Diminished differentiation of rewards in individuals at clinical high-risk for psychosis.

Reward processing is impaired in people with schizophrenia, which may begin in the clinical high-risk (CHR) for psychosis period. The Monetary Incentive Delay (MID) task has been important in understanding the neural correlates of reward processing deficits in various psychiatric disorders. Previous research has found that CHR individuals have an imprecise mental representation of rewards, which leads to a diminished differentiation between rewards, though this has not been observed behaviorally. A total of 19 CHR individuals and 20 controls were given a novel variant of the MID task, designed to examine how modulating reward context may impact responses to reward cues, a process often referred to as "adaptive coding." Both groups appeared to update their behavior in response to the rewards available in this adaptive task. However, when compared to controls who showed a more graded decrease in response time to increasing reward contexts, CHR individuals appeared to have a sharp decrease in response time in the low reward context that is nearly stable across higher reward contexts. This is largely driven by the exponential component of the response time distribution, which is often interpreted to be more cognitively or effortfully influenced. Response times are related to negative symptoms, but not positive symptoms, disorganized symptoms, or estimated intelligence. Although an adaptive coding effect was not observed, these results provide novel insight into the reward processing mechanisms and volitional processes in the CHR population, as this was the first study to observe the diminished differentiation of rewards behaviorally.

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus in livestock ticks and animal handler seroprevalence at an abattoir in Ghana.

BACKGROUND: Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever Virus (CCHFV) is a zoonotic virus transmitted by Ixodid ticks and causes Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) disease in humans with up to 50 % mortality rate. METHODS: Freshly slaughtered livestock at the Kumasi abattoir in the Ashanti Region of Ghana were examined for the presence of ticks once a month over a 6-month period from May to November 2011. The ticks were grouped into pools by species, sex, and animal source. CCHFV was detected in the ticks using reverse transcription PCR. Blood samples were collected from enrolled abattoir workers at initiation, and from those who reported fever in a preceding 30-day period during monthly visits 2-5 months after initiation. Six months after initiation, all participants who provided baseline samples were invited to provide blood samples. Serology was performed using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Demographic and epidemiological data was also obtained from enrolled participants using a structured questionnaire. RESULTS: Of 428 freshly slaughtered animals comprising 130 sheep, 149 cattle, and 149 goats examined, 144 ticks belonging to the genera Ambylomma, Hyalomma and Boophilus were identified from 57 (13.3 %): 52 (34.9 %), 4 (3.1 %) and 1 (0.7 %) cattle, sheep and goat respectively. Of 97 tick pools tested, 5 pools comprising 1 pool of Hyalomma excavatum and 4 pools of Ambylomma variegatum, collected from cattle, were positive for CCHFV. Of 188 human serum samples collected from 108 abattoir workers, 7 (3.7 %) samples from 6 persons were anti-CCHF IgG positive with one of them also being CCHF IgM positive. The seroprevalence of CCHFV identified in this study was 5.7 %. CONCLUSIONS: This study detected human exposure to CCHF virus in slaughterhouse workers and also identified the CCHF virus in proven vectors (ticks) of Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever in Ghana. The CCHFV was detected only in ticks collected from cattle, one of the livestock known to play a role in the amplification of the CCHF virus.

Cognitive-behavioural suicide prevention for male prisoners: a pilot randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Prisoners have an exceptional risk of suicide. Cognitive-behavioural therapy for suicidal behaviour has been shown to offer considerable potential, but has yet to be formally evaluated within prisons. This study investigated the feasibility of delivering and evaluating a novel, manualized cognitive-behavioural suicide prevention (CBSP) therapy for suicidal male prisoners. METHOD: A pilot randomized controlled trial of CBSP in addition to treatment as usual (CBSP; n = 31) compared with treatment as usual (TAU; n = 31) alone was conducted in a male prison in England. The primary outcome was self-injurious behaviour occurring within the past 6 months. Secondary outcomes were dimensions of suicidal ideation, psychiatric symptomatology, personality dysfunction and psychological determinants of suicide, including depression and hopelessness. The trial was prospectively registered (number ISRCTN59909209). RESULTS: Relative to TAU, participants receiving CBSP therapy achieved a significantly greater reduction in suicidal behaviours with a moderate treatment effect [Cohen's d = -0.72, 95% confidence interval -1.71 to 0.09; baseline mean TAU: 1.39 (S.D. = 3.28) v. CBSP: 1.06 (S.D. = 2.10), 6 months mean TAU: 1.48 (S.D. = 3.23) v. CBSP: 0.58 (S.D. = 1.52)]. Significant improvements were achieved on measures of psychiatric symptomatology and personality dysfunction. Improvements on psychological determinants of suicide were non-significant. More than half of the participants in the CBSP group achieved a clinically significant recovery by the end of therapy, compared with a quarter of the TAU group. CONCLUSIONS: The delivery and evaluation of CBSP therapy within a prison is feasible. CBSP therapy offers significant promise in the prevention of prison suicide and an adequately powered randomized controlled trial is warranted.

Magnonlike dispersion of spin resonance in Ni-doped BaFe2As2.

Inelastic neutron scattering measurements on Ba(Fe0.963Ni0.037)2As2 manifest a neutron spin resonance in the superconducting state with anisotropic dispersion within the Fe layer. Whereas the resonance is sharply peaked at the antiferromagnetic (AFM) wave vector Q(AFM) along the orthorhombic a axis, the resonance disperses upwards away from Q(AFM) along the b axis. In contrast to the downward dispersing resonance and hourglass shape of the spin excitations in superconducting cuprates, the resonance in electron-doped BaFe2As2 compounds possesses a magnonlike upwards dispersion.

Inelastic neutron scattering study of a nonmagnetic collapsed tetragonal phase in nonsuperconducting CaFe2As2: evidence of the impact of spin fluctuations on superconductivity in the iron-arsenide compounds.

The relationship between antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations and superconductivity has become a central topic of research in studies of superconductivity in the iron pnictides. We present unambiguous evidence of the absence of magnetic fluctuations in the nonsuperconducting collapsed tetragonal phase of CaFe2As2 via inelastic neutron scattering time-of-flight data, which is consistent with the view that spin fluctuations are a necessary ingredient for unconventional superconductivity in the iron pnictides. We demonstrate that the collapsed tetragonal phase of CaFe2As2 is nonmagnetic, and discuss this result in light of recent reports of high-temperature superconductivity in the collapsed tetragonal phase of closely related compounds.

Using high resolution electronic spectroscopy to probe the effects of ring twist on charge transfer in 2-phenylindole and N-phenylcarbazole.

High resolution electronic spectra of 2-phenylindole (PI) and N-phenylcarbazole (PC) have been recorded in the collision-free environment of a molecular beam. Inertial defects determined from fits of the spectra were used to determine the twist angles between the two chromophores and their attached benzene rings in the ground (S0) and excited (S1) electronic states. PI was found to be significantly more planar than PC, especially in the S1 state. Stark-effect measurements of the permanent electric dipole moments of both molecules in both states show that significantly more charge is transferred from the phenyl group to the chromophore in PI (0.13e) than in PC (0.076e) when the photon is absorbed. Thereby demonstrated for the first time is a direct connection between photo-induced geometry change and charge transfer on excitation of an isolated molecule by light.

Effects of transition metal substitutions on the incommensurability and spin fluctuations in BaFe2As2 by elastic and inelastic neutron scattering.

The spin fluctuation spectra from nonsuperconducting Cu-substituted, and superconducting Co-substituted, BaFe(2)As(2) are compared quantitatively by inelastic neutron scattering measurements and are found to be indistinguishable. Whereas diffraction studies show the appearance of incommensurate spin-density wave order in Co and Ni substituted samples, the magnetic phase diagram for Cu substitution does not display incommensurate order, demonstrating that simple electron counting based on rigid-band concepts is invalid. These results, supported by theoretical calculations, suggest that substitutional impurity effects in the Fe plane play a significant role in controlling magnetism and the appearance of superconductivity, with Cu distinguished by enhanced impurity scattering and split-band behavior.

The impact of parent-only interventions on child anxiety: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Parent-only interventions for childhood anxiety may be an important alternative to resource and time intensive child-focused cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to investigate the efficacy of parent-only interventions in reducing symptoms of anxiety disorders in school-aged children. METHODS: A systematic search of five databases (inception to March 2021) identified 29 eligible studies. A range of study designs were captured, including randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and case series. A narrative synthesis was conducted. Random effects meta-analyses were performed on parent- and child-reported outcomes and pre-test post-test effect sizes were calculated for uncontrolled studies. RESULTS: Findings indicated a significant treatment effect for parent-only interventions compared to waitlist controls. No significant differences were found when comparing parent-only interventions with other active interventions; anxiety symptoms reduced in both conditions. No significant treatment effects were found for child-rated outcomes. Calculated effect sizes for uncontrolled studies were typically large, although sample sizes were small. No clear evidence was found for a superior type, duration or format of intervention. LIMITATIONS: The methodological quality of many studies in this review (19/29) was rated 'weak'. Only English language papers were included. CONCLUSIONS: To date, this is the first systematic review and meta-analysis of the efficacy of parent-only interventions for reducing symptoms of child anxiety disorders. Our results suggest that parent-only interventions may be effective in reducing child anxiety. These findings are important for clinical practice because they suggest that efficient, low intensity interventions delivered to parents may lead to positive outcomes for children.

The relationship between minority stress factors and suicidal ideation and behaviours amongst transgender and gender non-conforming adults: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: The impact of Minority Stress (MS) upon suicidal ideation and behaviours amongst Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming (TGNC) adults is not sufficiently understood, hence our intervention efforts on an individual and societal level are limited. This review aims to evaluate recent literature that reports on the association between MS and suicidal ideation and behaviours amongst TGNC adults. METHODS: PsycINFO, Web of Science, MEDLINE, CINAHL and EMBASE were systematically searched for relevant articles. Peer reviewed and grey literature were considered. Included papers reported quantitative analyses on associations between MS factors and suicidal ideation and behaviours amongst TGNC adults. The quality of papers was assessed. RESULTS: 28 papers were identified as eligible. Findings suggested positive associations between external and internal minority stressors and suicidal ideation and behaviour. Dysfunctional individual coping was associated with a greater likelihood of suicide attempts. Community resilience was negatively associated with suicidal outcomes, but did not consistently buffer the effects of minority stress. LIMITATIONS: Overall quality of included papers was 'poor'. Almost all papers were cross-sectional by design, therefore causality cannot be inferred. Many papers measured variables using non-standardised measures undermining the reliability and validity of reported results. CONCLUSIONS: Findings offer support to the application of MS theory to the understanding of suicidal ideation and behaviour amongst TGNC. Future research should use standardised measures and longitudinal designs to better support the investigation of directionality and causality. More research is needed to understand the complex interactions between minority stress factors and the role of resilience in this population.

Incommensurate spin-density wave order in electron-doped BaFe2 As2 superconductors.

Neutron diffraction studies of Ba(Fe(1-x)Co(x))(2)As)(2) reveal that commensurate antiferromagnetic order gives way to incommensurate magnetic order for Co compositions between 0.056 < x < 0.06. The incommensurability has the form of a small transverse splitting (0, ± ε, 0) from the commensurate antiferromagnetic propagation vector Q(AFM) = (1,0,1) (in orthorhombic notation) where ε ≈ 0.02-0.03 and is composition dependent. The results are consistent with the formation of a spin-density wave driven by Fermi surface nesting of electron and hole pockets and confirm the itinerant nature of magnetism in the iron arsenide superconductors.

Peripheral human T cells sensitized in mixed leukocyte culture synthesize and express Ia-like antigens.

We have studied the modulation of Ia-like antigens on the surface membrane of human T cells responding in a one-way mixed leukocyte culture. A heterologous antiserum, (anti-p23,30), which is specific to HLA-D-related antigens and which is unreactive with normal peripheral T cells or thymocytes, was found to bind significantly to all T cells transformed in mixed leukocyte culture (MLC) as determined by indirect immunofluorescence on a fluorescence-activated cell sorter 1. Furthermore, cytotoxic T cells responsible for cell-mediated lympholysis were shown to react with anti-p23,30, whereas their unactivated progenitors did not. Immunoprecipitation and sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of a radioactive 29,000 and 34,000 dalton complex from MLC-primed T cells labeled with [35S]methionine indicated that allosensitized T cells synthesized these HLA-D-related antigens.

Cloning and expression of a Leishmania donovani gene instructed by a peptide isolated from major histocompatibility complex class II molecules of infected macrophages.

The studies reported here describe the isolation of peptides from MHC class II molecules of murine macrophages infected with Leishmania donovani, and the use of the derived peptide sequences to rescue the pathogen peptide donor protein. The isolation of the peptides was carried out by comparing the RP HPLC profile of peptides extracted from infected macrophages with the peptides extracted from noninfected cells. Several distinct HPLC peaks unique to infected macrophages were sequenced. One of the peptides that was not homologous to any known protein was used to instruct the designing of an oligonucleotide sense primer that was used in combination with an oligo dT nucleotide (anti-sense primer) to amplify by PCR a DNA fragment from L. donovani cDNA. The amplified DNA fragment was cloned and used as a probe to screen a L. donovani cDNA library. The cloned gene (Ld peptide gene) has an open reading frame of 525 bp and has no homology with any known protein/gene sequence. Northern blot analyses indicated that the Ld peptide/gene is broadly distributed and expressed among species of the Leishmania genus, in both the amastigote and promastigote life cycle forms. Using the pGEX 2T vector, the gene was expressed and the relationship of the purified recombinant protein with L. donovani was confirmed using both antibody and T cell responses from immunized or infected animals. The gene encodes a 23-kD molecule (Ldp 23) associated with the cell surface of L. donovani promastigotes. In addition, T cells purified from the lymph nodes of BALB/c mice immunized with L. donovani or infected with L. major, and from CBA/J mice infected with L. amazonensis were stimulated to proliferate by the recombinant Ldp 23 and produced high levels of IFN-gamma and no IL 4. This observation suggests that the Ldp 23 is an interesting parasite molecule for the studies concerning the host/parasite interaction because the Th1 pattern of cytokine response that it induces is correlated with resistance to Leishmania infections. These results clearly point to an alternative strategy for the purification of proteins useful for the development of both vaccines and immunological diagnostic tools not only against leishmaniasis but also for other diseases caused by intracellular pathogens.

Internalization of Leishmania mexicana complex amastigotes via the Fc receptor is required to sustain infection in murine cutaneous leishmaniasis.

We show here that maintenance of Leishmania infections with Leishmania mexicana complex parasites (Leishmania amazonensis and Leishmania pifanoi) is impaired in the absence of circulating antibody. In these studies, we used mice genetically altered to contain no circulating antibody, with and without functional B cells. This experimental design allowed us to rule out a critical role for B cell antigen presentation in Leishmania pathogenesis. In addition, we show that mice lacking the common gamma chain of Fc receptors (FcgammaRI, FcepsilonRI, and FcgammaRIII) are similarly refractory to infection with these parasites. These observations establish a critical role for antibody in the pathogenesis associated with infection by members of the L. mexicana complex.

Anomalous suppression of the orthorhombic lattice distortion in superconducting Ba(Fe1-xCox)2As2 single crystals.

High-resolution x-ray diffraction measurements reveal an unusually strong response of the lattice to superconductivity in Ba(Fe1-xCox)2As2. The orthorhombic distortion of the lattice is suppressed and, for Co doping near x=0.063, the orthorhombic structure evolves smoothly back to a tetragonal structure. We propose that the coupling between orthorhombicity and superconductivity is indirect and arises due to the magnetoelastic coupling, in the form of emergent nematic order, and the strong competition between magnetism and superconductivity.

Suicide in recently released prisoners: a case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Recently released prisoners are at markedly higher risk of suicide than the general population. The aim of this study was to identify key risk factors for suicide by offenders released from prisons in England and Wales. METHOD: All suicides committed by offenders within 12 months of their release from prison in England and Wales, between 2000 and 2002, were identified. One control matched on gender and date of release from prison was recruited for each case. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression modelling identified key independent risk factors for suicide. RESULTS: Of 256 920 released prisoners, 384 suicides occurred within a year of release. Factors significantly associated with post-release suicide were increasing age over 25 years, released from a local prison, a history of alcohol misuse or self-harm, a psychiatric diagnosis, and requiring Community Mental Health Services (CMHS) follow-up after release from prison. Non-white ethnicity and a history of previous imprisonment were protective factors. CONCLUSIONS: There is a need to improve the continuity of care for people who are released from prison and for community health, offender and social care agencies to coordinate care for these vulnerable individuals.

The Mortality After Release from Incarceration Consortium (MARIC): Protocol for a multi-national, individual participant data meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: More than 30 million adults are released from incarceration globally each year. Many experience complex physical and mental health problems, and are at markedly increased risk of preventable mortality. Despite this, evidence regarding the global epidemiology of mortality following release from incarceration is insufficient to inform the development of targeted, evidence-based responses. Many previous studies have suffered from inadequate power and poor precision, and even large studies have limited capacity to disaggregate data by specific causes of death, sub-populations or time since release to answer questions of clinical and public health relevance. OBJECTIVES: To comprehensively document the incidence, timing, causes and risk factors for mortality in adults released from prison. METHODS: We created the Mortality After Release from Incarceration Consortium (MARIC), a multi-disciplinary collaboration representing 29 cohorts of adults who have experienced incarceration from 11 countries. Findings across cohorts will be analysed using a two-step, individual participant data meta-analysis methodology. RESULTS: The combined sample includes 1,337,993 individuals (89% male), with 75,795 deaths recorded over 9,191,393 person-years of follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: The consortium represents an important advancement in the field, bringing international attention to this problem. It will provide internationally relevant evidence to guide policymakers and clinicians in reducing preventable deaths in this marginalized population. KEY WORDS: Mortality; incarceration; prison; release; individual participant data meta-analysis; consortium; cohort.

A Rotationally Resolved Fluorescence Excitation Spectrum of all-trans-1,4-Diphenyl-1,3-butadiene.

Band 1 in the jet-cooled one-photon S(1) <-- S(0) fluorescence excitation spectrum of all-trans-1,4-diphenyl-1,3-butadiene has been rotationally resolved with a molecular beam laser spectrometer. Both the orientation of the optical transition moment and the rotational constants of the two vibronic levels have been measured. The molecule shows no evidence of being significantly distorted from a C(24) geometry when it is low in the vibrational manifolds of either of the two electronic states.

Charge transfer by electronic excitation: Direct measurement by high resolution spectroscopy in the gas phase.

We report a quantitative measurement of the amount of charge that is transferred when the single ammonia complex of the photoacid beta-naphthol (2HNA) is excited by light. The measurement was made by comparing the permanent electric dipole moments of cis-2HNA in its ground (S(0)) and excited (S(1)) states, determined by Stark-effect studies of its fully resolved S(1)<--S(0) electronic spectrum. While the increase in electron transfer from the donor (NH(3)) to the acceptor (2HN) upon excitation is small ( approximately 0.05e), it is sufficient to redshift the electronic spectrum of the complex by approximately 600 cm(-1) ( approximately 0.1 eV). Thereby explored is the incipient motion of the acid-base complex along the excited state (electron-coupled) proton transfer coordinate.

Magnetic-field effects on the fragile antiferromagnetism in YbBiPt.

We present neutron-diffraction data for the cubic-heavy-fermion YbBiPt that show broad magnetic diffraction peaks due to the fragile short-range antiferromagnetic (AFM) order persist under an applied magnetic-field H . Our results for H ⊥ [ 1 ¯ 1 0 ] and a temperature of T = 0.14 1 K show that 1 2 , 1 2 , 3 2 ) magnetic diffraction peak can be described by the same two-peak line shape found for µ 0 H = 0 T below the Néel temperature of T N = 0.4 K . Both components of the peak exist for µ 0 H ≲ 1.4 T , which is well past the AFM phase boundary determined from our new resistivity data. Using neutron-diffraction data taken at T = 0.13 ( 2 ) K for H ∥ 0 0 1 taken at or 1 1 0 , we show that domains of short-range AFM order change size throughout the previously determined AFM and non-Fermi liquid regions of the phase diagram, and that the appearance of a magnetic diffraction peak at 1 2 , 1 2 , 1 2 at µ 0 H ≈ 0.4 T signals canting of the ordered magnetic moment away from 1 1 1 . The continued broadness of the magnetic diffraction peaks under a magnetic field and their persistence across the AFM phase boundary established by detailed transport and thermodynamic experiments present an interesting quandary concerning the nature of YbBiPt's electronic ground state.

Push-pull molecules in the gas phase: stark-effect measurements of the permanent dipole moments of p-aminobenzoic acid in its ground and electronically excited states.

Stark effect measurements of the permanent electric dipole moments of p-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) in the gas phase are reported based on studies of its fully resolved S1<--S0 electronic spectrum in the presence of an electric field. Ground-state (S0) PABA has mu = 3.3 D, whereas excited-state (S1) PABA has mu = 4.4 D. Despite PABA's reputation as a "push-pull" molecule, the photon-induced change in both the magnitude and orientation of mu is relatively small. Possible reasons for this behavior are discussed.