Impact of copper sulphate treatment on cyanobacterial blooms and subsequent water quality risks.

Control of algal blooms and associated biologically-induced water quality risks in drinking reservoirs is problematic. Copper sulphate (CuSO4) treatment is one intervention that has been utilised for >100 years. Evidence indicates a favourable short-term reduction in Cyanobacterial biomass (e.g. bloom termination), but here we indicate that it may also increase longer-term water quality risk. In 2022, we investigated the impacts of CuSO4 spraying on Cyanobacterial communities and nutrient levels within a drinking water supply reservoir using environmental DNA (eDNA) to assess community shifts, alongside monitoring nutrient fractions, orthophosphate (OP) and total phosphate (TP), post-treatment. CuSO4 application successfully reduced Cyanobacterial abundance, however elimination of Cyanobacteria resulted in a shift in bacterial dominance favouring Planctomycetota throughout the summer and a combination of Actinobacteriota and Verrucomicrobiota, throughout autumn. As Cyanobacterial abundance recovered post-treatment, Cyanobacterial genera demonstrated greater diversity compared to only three Cyanobacterial genera present across samples pre-treatment, and included taxa associated with water quality risk (e.g. taste and odour (T&O) metabolite and toxin producers). The increase in Cyanobacteria post-treatment was attributed to an increase in biologically available nutrients, primarily a significant increase in OP. Overall, findings suggest that the significant shift in biodiversity likely induces a less stable ecosystem with greater plasticity of response to changing environmental and biogeochemical variables. Legacy implications of CuSO4 spraying, in terms of shifts in ecosystem and nutrient balance over time, may have implications for drinking water quality, but importantly also for reservoir management options. As such, the effects of CuSO4 spraying should be considered carefully before consideration as a contender for in-reservoir biological control.

D2/D3 dopamine supports the precision of mental state inferences and self-relevance of joint social outcomes.

Striatal dopamine is important in paranoid attributions, although its computational role in social inference remains elusive. We employed a simple game-theoretic paradigm and computational model of intentional attributions to investigate the effects of dopamine D2/D3 antagonism on ongoing mental state inference following social outcomes. Haloperidol, compared with the placebo, enhanced the impact of partner behaviour on beliefs about the harmful intent of partners, and increased learning from recent encounters. These alterations caused substantial changes to model covariation and negative correlations between self-interest and harmful intent attributions. Our findings suggest that haloperidol improves belief flexibility about others and simultaneously reduces the self-relevance of social observations. Our results may reflect the role of D2/D3 dopamine in supporting self-relevant mentalising. Our data and model bridge theory between general and social accounts of value representation. We demonstrate initial evidence for the sensitivity of our model and short social paradigm to drug intervention and clinical dimensions, allowing distinctions between mechanisms that operate across traits and states.

The effects of paranoia and dopamine on perception of cohesion and conspiracy: a pre-registered, double-blind, placebo-controlled experiment.

Paranoia is a common symptom of psychotic disorders but is also present on a spectrum of severity in the general population. Although paranoia is associated with an increased tendency to perceive cohesion and conspiracy within groups, the mechanistic basis of this variation remains unclear. One potential avenue involves the brain's dopaminergic system, which is known to be altered in psychosis. In this study, we used large-N online samples to establish the association between trait paranoia and perceptions of cohesion and conspiracy. We further evaluated the role of dopamine on perceptions of cohesion and conspiracy using a double-blind, placebo-controlled laboratory experiment where participants received levodopa or a placebo control. Our results were mixed: group perceptions and perceptions of cohesion were higher among more paranoid individuals but were not altered under dopamine administration. We outline the potential reasons for these discrepancies and the broader implications for understanding paranoia in terms of dopamine dysregulation.

Mushrooms as future generation healthy foods.

The potential of edible mushrooms as an unexploited treasure trove, although rarely included in known food guidelines, is highlighted. Their role in shielding people against the side effects of an unhealthy stylish diet is reviewed. Mushrooms complement the human diet with various bioactive molecules not identified or deficient in foodstuffs of plant and animal sources, being considered a functional food for the prevention of several human diseases. Mushrooms have been widely used as medicinal products for more than 2,000 years, but globally the potential field of use of wild mushrooms has been untapped. There is a broad range of edible mushrooms which remain poorly identified or even unreported which is a valuable pool as sources of bioactive compounds for biopharma utilization and new dietary supplements. Some unique elements of mushrooms and their role in preventative healthcare are emphasized, through their positive impact on the immune system. The potential of mushrooms as antiviral, anti-inflammatory, anti-neoplastic, and other health concerns is discussed. Mushrooms incorporate top sources of non-digestible oligosaccharides, and ergothioneine, which humans are unable to synthesize, the later a unique antioxidant, cytoprotective, and anti-inflammatory element, with therapeutic potential, approved by world food agencies. The prebiotic activity of mushrooms beneficially affects gut homeostasis performance and the balance of gut microbiota is enhanced. Several recent studies on neurological impact and contribution to the growth of nerve and brain cells are mentioned. Indeed, mushrooms as functional foods' nutraceuticals are presently regarded as next-generation foods, supporting health and wellness, and are promising prophylactic or therapeutic agents.

Factors affecting conspiracy theory endorsement in paranoia.

Paranoia and conspiracy thinking are known to be distinct but correlated constructs, but it is unknown whether certain types of conspiracy thinking are more common in paranoia than others. In a large (n = 1000), pre-registered online study we tested if endorsement of items on a new Components of Conspiracy Ideation Questionnaire varied according to whether harm was described as being (a) intentional and (b) self-referential. Our predictions were supported: paranoia was positively associated with endorsement of items on this questionnaire overall and more paranoid individuals were more likely to endorse items describing intentional and self-referential harm. Belief in any item on the Components of Conspiracy Ideation Questionnaire was associated with belief in others and items describing incidental harm and harm to others were found to be more believable overall. Individuals who endorsed conspiracy theory items on the questionnaire were more likely to state that people similar to them would as well, although this effect was not reduced in paranoia, counter to our expectations.

Dopamine manipulations modulate paranoid social inferences in healthy people.

Altered dopamine transmission is thought to influence the formation of persecutory delusions. However, despite extensive evidence from clinical studies there is little experimental evidence on how modulating the dopamine system changes social attributions related to paranoia, and the salience of beliefs more generally. Twenty seven healthy male participants received 150mg L-DOPA, 3 mg haloperidol, or placebo in a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled study, over three within-subject sessions. Participants completed a multi-round Dictator Game modified to measure social attributions, and a measure of belief salience spanning themes of politics, religion, science, morality, and the paranormal. We preregistered predictions that altering dopamine function would affect (i) attributions of harmful intent and (ii) salience of paranormal beliefs. As predicted, haloperidol reduced attributions of harmful intent across all conditions compared to placebo. L-DOPA reduced attributions of harmful intent in fair conditions compared to placebo. Unexpectedly, haloperidol increased attributions of self-interest about opponents' decisions. There was no change in belief salience within any theme. These results could not be explained by scepticism or subjective mood. Our findings demonstrate the selective involvement of dopamine in social inferences related to paranoia in healthy individuals.

Paranoia, sensitization and social inference: findings from two large-scale, multi-round behavioural experiments.

The sensitization model suggests that paranoia is explained by over-sensitivity to social threat. However, this has been difficult to test experimentally. We report two preregistered social interaction studies that tested (i) whether paranoia predicted overall attribution and peak attribution of harmful intent and (ii) whether anxiety, interpersonal sensitivity and worry predicted the attribution of harmful intent. In Study 1, we recruited a large general population sample (N = 987) who serially interacted with other participants in multi-round dictator games and matched to fair, partially fair or unfair partners. Participants rated attributions of harmful intent and self-interest after each interaction. In Study 2 (N = 1011), a new sample of participants completed the same procedure and additionally completed measures of anxiety, worry and interpersonal sensitivity. As predicted, prior paranoid ideation was associated with higher and faster overall harmful intent attributions, whereas attributions of self-interest were unaffected, supporting the sensitization model. Contrary to predictions, neither worry, interpersonal sensitivity nor anxiety was associated with harmful intent attributions. In a third exploratory internal meta-analysis, we combined datasets to examine the effect of paranoia on trial-by-trial attributional changes when playing fair and unfair dictators. Paranoia was associated with a greater reduction in harmful intent attributions when playing a fair but not unfair dictator, suggesting that paranoia may also exaggerate the volatility of beliefs about the harmful intent of others.

Stress, burnout, depression and work satisfaction among UK anaesthetic trainees; a quantitative analysis of the Satisfaction and Wellbeing in Anaesthetic Training study.

There is growing evidence that anaesthetic trainees experience, and may be particularly susceptible to, high levels of work stress, burnout and depression. This is concern for the safety and wellbeing of these doctors and for the patients they treat. To date, there has been no in-depth evaluation of these issues among UK anaesthetic trainees to examine which groups may be most affected, and to identify the professional and personal factors with which they are associated. We conducted an anonymous electronic survey to determine the prevalence of perceived stress, risk of burnout/depression and work satisfaction among anaesthetic trainees within South-West England and Wales, and explored in detail the influence of key baseline characteristics, lifestyle and anaesthetic training variables. We identified a denominator of 619 eligible participants and received 397 responses, a response rate of 64%. We observed a high prevalence of perceived stress; 37% (95%CI 32-42%), burnout risk 25% (21-29%) and depression risk 18% (15-23%), and found that these issues frequently co-exist. Having no children, > 3 days sickness absence in the previous year, ≤ 1 h.week-1 of exercise and > 7.5 h.week-1 of additional non-clinical work were independant predictors of negative psychological outcomes. Although female respondents reported higher stress, burnout risk was more likely in male respondents. This information could help in the identification of at-risk groups as well as informing ways to support these groups and to influence resource and intervention design. Targeted interventions, such as modification of exercise behaviour and methods of reducing stressors relating to non-clinical workloads, warrant further research.

Conflict and cooperation in paranoia: a large-scale behavioural experiment.

BACKGROUND: Paranoia involves thoughts and beliefs about the harmful intent of others but the social consequences have been much less studied. We investigated whether paranoia predicts maladaptive social behaviour in terms of cooperative and punitive behaviour using experimental game theory paradigms, and examined whether reduced cooperation is best explained in terms of distrust as previous studies have claimed. METHODS: We recruited a large population sample (N = 2132) online. All participants completed the Green et al. Paranoid Thoughts Scale and (i) a Dictator Game and (ii) an Ultimatum Game, the former with an option for costly punishment. Following distrust-based accounts, we predicted highly paranoid people would make higher offers when the outcome depended on receiving a positive response from their partner (Ultimatum Game) but no difference when the partner's response was irrelevant (Dictator Game). We also predicted paranoia would increase punitive responses. Predictions were pre-registered in advance of data collection. Data and materials are open access. RESULTS: Highly paranoid participants actually made lower offers than non-paranoid participants both in the Dictator Game and in the Ultimatum Game. Paranoia positively predicted punitive responses. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that distrust is not the best explanation for reduced cooperation in paranoia and alternative explanations, such as increased self-interest, may apply. However, the tendency to attribute harmful intent to partners was important in motivating punitive responses. These results highlight differing motivations underlying adverse social behaviour in paranoia and suggest that accounts based solely on the presenting features of paranoia may need to be rethought.

When two obese parents are worse than one! Impacts on embryo and fetal development.

The prevalence of overweight and obesity in reproductive-age adults is increasing worldwide. While the effects of either paternal or maternal obesity on gamete health and subsequent fertility and pregnancy have been reported independently, the combination of having both parents overweight/obese on fecundity and offspring health has received minimal attention. Using a 2 × 2 study design in rodents we established the relative contributions of paternal and maternal obesity on fetal and embryo development and whether combined paternal and maternal obesity had an additive effect. Here, we show that parental obesity reduces fetal and placental weights without altering pregnancy establishment and is not dependent on an in utero exposure to a high-fat diet. Interestingly combined parental obesity seemed to accumulate both the negative influences of paternal and maternal obesity had alone on embryo and fetal health rather than an amplification, manifested as reduced embryo developmental competency, reduced blastocyst cell numbers, impaired mitochondrial function, and alterations to active and repressive embryonic chromatin marks, resulting in aberrant placental gene expression and reduced fetal liver mtDNA copy numbers. Further understanding both the maternal cytoplasmic and paternal genetic interactions during this early developmental time frame will be vital for understanding how developmental programming is regulated and for the proposition of interventions to mitigate their effects.

The impact of projected increases in urbanization on ecosystem services.

Alteration in land use is likely to be a major driver of changes in the distribution of ecosystem services before 2050. In Europe, urbanization will probably be the main cause of land-use change. This increase in urbanization will result in spatial shifts in both supplies of ecosystem services and the beneficiaries of those services; the net outcome of such shifts remains to be determined. Here, we model changes in urban land cover in Britain based on large (16%) projected increases in the human population by 2031, and the consequences for three different services--flood mitigation, agricultural production and carbon storage. We show that under a scenario of densification of urban areas, the combined effect of increasing population and loss of permeable surfaces is likely to result in 1.7 million people living within 1 km of rivers with at least 10 per cent increases in projected peak flows, but that increasing suburban 'sprawl' will have little effect on flood mitigation services. Conversely, losses of stored carbon and agricultural production are over three times as high under the sprawl as under the 'densification' urban growth scenarios. Our results illustrate the challenges of meeting, but also of predicting, future demands and patterns of ecosystem services in the face of increasing urbanization.

Verification of cleaning efficiency and its possible role in programmed hygiene inspections of food businesses undertaken by local authority officers.

AIM: The aim of this study was to determine whether or not the assessment of surface cleanliness could make a contribution to visual inspections of food premises. METHODS AND RESULTS: Forty-five premises were studied with both rapid (ATP) and traditional microbiological swabbing being used to test surfaces that either come into direct contact with prepared foods or were likely to be touched by hands during food preparation. A significant link was found between aerobic colony counts and ATP measurements. In most cases, the visual appearance of surfaces could not be used to accurately predict either microbial or ATP results. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that ATP testing is a useful indicator of surface cleanliness and could be helpful to local authority officers as part of risk assessment inspections. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: This study provides further evidence that visual inspection alone may not always be adequate to assess surface cleanliness. In high-risk premises, ATP could, if appropriately targeted, help identify potential problem areas. The results are available at the time of the inspection and can be used as an on-the-spot teaching aid.

Two separate outbreaks of Salmonella enteritidis phage type 14b food poisoning linked to the consumption of the same type of frozen food.

OBJECTIVES: To ascertain, using a combination of epidemiological, environmental and microbiological methods of investigation, a possible link between two outbreaks of salmonella food poisoning. METHODS: Case-control studies were carried out on the known at-risk populations. Environmental investigations took place in the food preparation areas used for the social functions and microbiological examinations were carried out on faecal specimens obtained from cases, environmental swabs, and food specimens when these were available. RESULTS: In both outbreaks, illness was associated with the consumption of sesame prawn toast (outbreak one P<0.004; outbreak two P<0.0001). Salmonella enteritidis phage type 14b was cultured from the faecal specimens of cases in both outbreaks and from a packet of sesame prawn toast used for the second outbreak function. Molecular typing methods indicated that the salmonella cultures obtained in both outbreaks were indistinguishable from each other and from cultures obtained from imported Spanish eggs in a previous survey. Imported Spanish eggs were used in the manufacture of the sesame prawn toast. CONCLUSIONS: Adequate cooking must take place of raw food products, which should be clearly labelled as such. Manufacturers should consider, when possible, the use of pasteurized egg in the preparation of food products.

The preparation of reach-to-grasp movements in adults, children, and children with movement problems.

This study explored the use of advance information in the control of reach-to-grasp movements. The paradigm required participants to reach and grasp illuminated blocks with their right hand. Four target blocks were positioned on a table surface, two each side of the mid-saggital plane. In the complete precue condition, advance information precisely specified target location. In the partial precue condition, advance information indicated target location relative to the midsaggital plane (left or right). In the null condition, the advance information was entirely ambiguous. Participants produced fastest responses in the complete precue condition, intermediate response times in the partial condition, and the slowest responses in the null condition. This result was observed in adults and four groups of children including a group aged 4-6 years. In contrast, children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD, n=11, aged 7--13 years) showed no advantage of partial precueing. Movement duration was determined by target location but was unaffected by precue condition. Movement duration was a clear function of age apart from children in the DCD group who showed equivalent movement times to those of the youngest children. These findings provide important insights into the control of reach-to-grasp movements and highlight that partial cues are exploited by children as young as 4 years but are not used in situations of abnormal development.

The preparation of reach to grasp movements in adults with Down syndrome.

The aim of this study was to determine the extent to which adults with Down syndrome (DS) are able to utilise advance information to prepare reach to grasp movements. The study comprised ten adults with DS; ten children matched to an individual in the group with DS on the basis of their intellectual ability, and twelve adult controls. The participants used their right hand to reach out and grasp illuminated perspex blocks. Four target blocks were positioned on a table surface, two to each side of the midsagittal plane. In the complete precue condition, participants were provided with information specifying the location of the target. In the partial precue condition, participants were given advance information indicating the location of the object relative to the midsagittal plane (left or right). In the null condition, advance information concerning the position of the target object was entirely ambiguous. It was found that both reaction times and movement times were greater for the participants with DS than for the adults without DS. The reaction times exhibited by individuals with DS in the complete precue condition were lower than those observed in the null condition, indicating that they had utilised advance information to prepare their movements. In the group with DS, when advance information specified only the location of the target object relative to the midline, reaction times were equivalent to those obtained when ambiguous information was given. In contrast, the adults without DS exhibited reaction times that were lower in both the complete and partial precue conditions when compared to the null condition. The pattern of results exhibited by the children was similar to that of the adults without DS. The movement times exhibited by all groups were not influenced by the precue condition. In summary, our findings indicate that individuals with DS are able to use advance information if it specifies precisely the location of the target object in order to prepare a reach to grasp movement. The group with DS were unable, however, to obtain the normal advantage of advance information specifying only one dimension of the movement goal (i.e., the position of an object relative to the body midline).

A titanosilicate molecular sieve with adjustable pores for size-selective adsorption of molecules.

Zeolites and related crystalline microporous oxides-tetrahedrally coordinated atoms covalently linked into a porous framework-are of interest for applications ranging from catalysis to adsorption and ion-exchange. In some of these materials (such as zeolite rho) adsorbates, ion-exchange, and dehydration and cation relocation can induce strong framework deformations. Similar framework flexibility has to date not been seen in mixed octahedral/tetrahedral microporous framework materials, a newer and rapidly expanding class of molecular sieves. Here we show that the framework of the titanium silicate ETS-4, the first member of this class of materials, can be systematically contracted through dehydration at elevated temperatures to 'tune' the effective size of the pores giving access to the interior of the crystal. We show that this so-called 'molecular gate' effect can be used to tailor the adsorption properties of the materials to give size-selective adsorbents suitable for commercially important separations of gas mixtures of molecules with similar size in the 4.0 to 3.0 A range, such as that of N2/CH4, Ar/O2 and N2/O2.

Symptom distress three months after heart transplantation.

BACKGROUND: Although symptoms of heart failure abate after heart transplantation, other symptoms caused by the surgery, immunosuppressant drugs, and complications can be new sources of symptom distress for patients after operation. METHODS: This two-site National Institutes of Health study compared symptom distress in 173 adult heart transplant recipients from before operation to 3 months after operation. The Heart Transplant Symptom Scale was used to measure 92 symptoms related to heart disease and heart failure, transplantation, medication side effects, and complications commonly found in this population. Analysis was via paired t tests with Bonferroni correction. Most patients (93%) were receiving a triple immunosuppressant regimen of cyclosporine, azathioprine, and prednisone. RESULTS: Total symptom distress decreased significantly (p = 0.013) from before operation to 3 months after heart transplantation. The 23 symptoms that decreased the most (p = 0.000) after operation accounted for a cumulative total reduction of 583% less symptom distress. These symptoms were primarily cardiopulmonary, neuromuscular, and emotional. The 10 symptoms that worsened the most (p = 0.000) after operation accounted for a cumulative total increase of 284% more symptom distress. These symptoms were primarily dermatologic, neurologic, and gastrointestinal and were all side effects of prednisone and cyclosporine. CONCLUSIONS: The net change in symptom distress resulted in 299% less symptom distress in this cohort at 3 months after heart transplantation. This significant improvement in symptom outcomes scientifically documents the effectiveness of heart transplantation in reducing symptoms of heart failure, along with accompanying emotional symptoms. These research findings therefore reinforce and support the positive symptom outcomes often reported anecdotally in clinical practice.

Trustees expand their focus.

Paoli Memorial Hospital, a 180-bed community hospital in Philadelphia's western suburbs, has become increasingly involved in community health over the past several years. What spearheaded this involvement was the creation of a foundation and committee on community health whose mission is to: assess the needs of the community, provide financial ability to address those needs, and actively pursue the means to solve the problems identified. The work of the hospital foundation has received a strong, positive response from the hospital board, auxiliary and the community at large.

The "knack" of Alzheimer's care.

Some caregivers just seem to have a "knack" when it comes to dealing with people with Alzheimer's disease. But you don't have to be born with it--many coping techniques can be learned.