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Consumption of unpasteurised milk in the United States has presented a public health challenge for decades because of the increased risk of pathogen transmission causing illness outbreaks. We analysed Foodborne Disease Outbreak Surveillance System data to characterise unpasteurised milk outbreaks. Using Poisson and negative binomial regression, we compared the number of outbreaks and outbreak-associated illnesses between jurisdictions grouped by legal status of unpasteurised milk sale based on a May 2019 survey of state laws. During 2013–2018, 75 outbreaks with 675 illnesses occurred that were linked to unpasteurised milk; of these, 325 illnesses (48%) were among people aged 0–19 years. Of 74 single-state outbreaks, 58 (78%) occurred in states where the sale of unpasteurised milk was expressly allowed. Compared with jurisdictions where retail sales were prohibited (n = 24), those where sales were expressly allowed (n = 27) were estimated to have 3.2 (95% CI 1.4–7.6) times greater number of outbreaks; of these, jurisdictions where sale was allowed in retail stores (n = 14) had 3.6 (95% CI 1.3–9.6) times greater number of outbreaks compared with those where sale was allowed on-farm only (n = 13). This study supports findings of previously published reports indicating that state laws resulting in increased availability of unpasteurised milk are associated with more outbreak-associated illnesses and outbreaks.
Persons at clinical high-risk for psychosis (CHR) are characterised by specific neurocognitive deficits. However, the course of neurocognitive performance during the prodromal period and over the onset of psychosis remains unclear. The aim of this meta-analysis was to synthesise results from follow-up studies of CHR individuals to examine longitudinal changes in neurocognitive performance. Three electronic databases were systematically searched to identify articles published up to 31 December 2021. Thirteen studies met inclusion criteria. Study effect sizes (Hedges' g) were calculated and pooled for each neurocognitive task using random-effects meta-analyses. We examined whether changes in performance between baseline and follow-up assessments differed between: (1) CHR and healthy control (HC) individuals, and (2) CHR who did (CHR-T) and did not transition to psychosis (CHR-NT). Meta-analyses found that HC individuals had greater improvements in performance over time compared to CHR for letter fluency (g = −0.32, p = 0.029) and digit span (g = −0.30, p = 0.011) tasks. Second, there were differences in longitudinal performance of CHR-T and CHR-NT in trail making test A (TMT-A) (g = 0.24, p = 0.014) and symbol coding (g = −0.51, p = 0.011). Whilst CHR-NT improved in performance on both tasks, CHR-T improved to a lesser extent in TMT-A and had worsened performance in symbol coding over time. Together, neurocognitive performance generally improved in all groups at follow-up. Yet, evidence suggested that improvements were less pronounced for an overall CHR group, and specifically for CHR-T, in processing speed tasks which may be a relevant domain for interventions aimed to enhance neurocognition in CHR populations.
Previous qualitative research suggests that university students feel that current service provision does not meet their needs. Exploring the reasons for this may help to promote service change, encourage the uptake of care, improve outcomes and increase satisfaction within university services.
Aims
This study aimed to improve the understanding of how students experience the process of accessing and using mental health support, barriers and facilitators to treatment, and how students would adapt provision to improve experiences.
Method
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 full-time students who had used mental health services at university. Data were analysed using thematic analysis.
Results
Five higher-order themes were identified: personalisation and informed choice, simplifying the process, feeling abandoned ignored or invisible, stigma, and superiority of private and external services. Sixteen subthemes were identified within these themes.
Conclusions
Findings indicate that access to mental health support should be simplified, with collaboration across university and external health and care services, to prevent students feeling lost or abandoned when seeking care. An inclusive approach to support access and provision of services for all presentations of mental health problems should be developed.
Dementia is estimated to affect 50 million people worldwide, with around 60% of these cases attributable to Alzheimer's disease (AD). One of the common behavioural and psychological symptoms associated with AD is psychosis. Psychosis, experiencing delusions or hallucinations, can be one of the most distressing ordeals for patients with AD, as well as those around them. Effectively managing these symptoms can lead to a vast improvement in life quality. Currently, there are no medications specifically licensed in the UK for the treatment of psychosis in AD. To help guide clinical practice, we reviewed the evidence underpinning the pharmacological treatment of psychosis in AD. The aim of the study was to positively influence clinical practice and thereby improve the life quality of this patient group.
Method
An advanced PubMed search was used to identify studies which investigated the pharmacological treatments for acute psychosis in people with AD. Papers included were double blind, placebo controlled, randomised controlled trials specifically for AD dementia. Papers must have reported their findings using a specific psychosis subscale (PS); examples being “Behavioural Pathology in AD” (BEHAVE-AD-PS), “Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale” (BPRS-PS), and “Neuropsychiatric Inventory - Nursing Home Version” (NPI-NH-PS). Populations of both outpatients and residential patients were accepted. 14 papers, comprising some 3237 patients, were included and critically analysed in the final review.
Result
Risperidone (BEHAVE-AD-PS: -1.3 [p = 0.004] & -1.9 [p = 0.039]; BPRS-PS: -0.5 [p = 0.08]) and aripiprazole (NPI-NH-PS: -1.0 [p = 0.169] & -1.8 [p = 0.013]) successfully reduced psychosis symptoms in patient populations. However, these medications were associated with a statistical increase in severe adverse events including strokes and cognitive decline. Pimavanserin (NPI-NH-PS: -1.9 [p = 0.045]) also offered a notable reduction in psychosis symptoms, but was associated with increased agitation/aggression. Whilst commonly used in clinical practice, quetiapine, olanzapine, and haloperidol showed negligible therapeutic changes compared to placebo using multiple psychosis subscales. Olanzapine and haloperidol were associated with increased rates of severe adverse events including extrapyramidal symptoms. Quetiapine showed limited side effects.
Conclusion
Risperidone and aripiprazole offer effective means to help AD patients cope with psychosis, but these medications also come with an increased risk of developing life-threatening complications. They should, therefore, be administered judiciously. Pimavanserin shows early promise in treating this group of patients, with no life-threatening adverse effects associated with its use. Further research is required before endorsing the use of pimavanserin. There is little evidence to support the therapeutic use of quetiapine, olanzapine, and haloperidol in this patient population. No financial sponsorship declared.
Background:
The Tennessee (TN) Department of Health (TDH) has been identifying clusters of reportable conditions using the Electronic Surveillance System for Early Notification of Community-Based Epidemics (ESSENCE), a cluster detection method using space-time scan permutation statistics based on patient ZIP code. CRE are reportable in Tennessee; isolate submission is required for carbapenemase (CP) production and resistance mechanism (eg, KPC gene) testing. The Council for Outbreak Response: Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAI) and Antimicrobial-Resistant (AR) Pathogens (CORHA) released proposed thresholds of reporting CRE to public health. Thresholds vary by healthcare facility type and regional epidemiology. The TDH HAI/AR program currently runs a daily automated SAS code using the CORHA reporting threshold to help public health identify suspect KPC clusters. We evaluated our rule-based CORHA method against 2 space-time statistic-based methods for KPC cluster detection in Tennessee. Methods: Simulations for each cluster detection method were performed using retrospective CP-CRE surveillance data for 2018. Simulations were conducted using (1) CORHA reporting thresholds by facility case count to flag clusters of 2 or more cases within 28 days, (2) ESSENCE using patient residence ZIP code and the earliest of collection date or symptom onset date as is used for other reportable conditions in Tennessee, and (3) a modified space-time statistical method using SaTScan in which reporting facility, rather than a geographic location, was used as space variable to detect within-facility clusters within 1–28 days. We compared the number and overlap of cases and clusters identified with each method. Univariate logistic regression with CORHA flagging as predictor and flagging by each ESSENCE or CORHA method as outcome variables, were used to compare cases tagged by each method pair, respectively. Results: Of 183 KPC CP-CRE cases, 54 (30.6%) were flagged as part of suspect clusters by at least 1 method. Simulations generated 16 alerts (36 cases) using CORHA, 10 clusters (25 cases) using modified SaTScan, and 10 clusters (20 cases) using standard ESSENCE protocol. Among KPC CP-CRE cases flagged by CORHA, 12 (33.3%) were also flagged by modified SaTScan and 2 (5%) by ESSENCE. A case flagged using CORHA method has 5.15 (95% CI, 2.10–12.64) times higher odds of also being flagged by the modified SaTScan method compared to cases not flagged by CORHA. Conclusions: An algorithm based on CORHA thresholds for reporting CRE to public health had strong agreement with modified SaTScan, a space-time method. We intend to explore the extension of the time interval for ESSENCE.
Cognitive impairments in childhood are associated with increased risk of schizophrenia in later life, but the extent to which poor academic achievement is associated with the disorder is unclear.
Methods
Major databases were searched for articles published in English up to 31 December 2019. We conducted random-effects meta-analyses to: (1) compare general academic and mathematics achievement in youth who later developed schizophrenia and those who did not; (2) to examine the association between education level achieved and adult-onset schizophrenia; and, (3) compare general academic achievement in youth at-risk for schizophrenia and typically developing peers. Meta-regression models examined the effects of type of academic assessment, educational system, age at assessment, measurement of educational level attained, school leaving age, and study quality on academic achievement and education level among individuals with schizophrenia.
Results
Meta-analyses, comprising data of over four million individuals, found that: (1) by age 16 years, those who later developed schizophrenia had poorer general academic (Cohen's d = −0.29, p ⩽ 0.0001) and mathematics achievement (d = −0.23, p = 0.01) than those who did not; (2) individuals with schizophrenia were less likely to enter higher education (odds ratio = 0.49, p ⩽ 0.0001); and, (3) youth reporting psychotic-like experiences and youth with a family history of schizophrenia had lower general academic achievement (d = −0.54, p ⩽ 0.0001; d = −0.39, p ⩽ 0.0001, respectively). Meta-regression analyses determined no effect modifiers.
Discussion
Despite significant heterogeneity across studies, various routinely collected indices of academic achievement can identify premorbid cognitive dysfunction among individuals who are vulnerable for schizophrenia, potentially aiding the early identification of risk in the population.
Emerging research suggests that maternal immune activation (MIA) may be associated with an increased risk of adverse neurodevelopmental and mental health outcomes in offspring. Using data from the Raine Study, we investigated whether MIA during pregnancy was associated with increased behavioral and emotional problems in offspring longitudinally across development.
Methods
Mothers (Generation 1; N = 1905) were classified into the following categories: AAAE (Asthma/Allergy/Atopy/Eczema; N = 1267); infection (during pregnancy; N = 1082); no AAAE or infection (N = 301). The Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) was administered for offspring at ages 5, 8, 10, 14, and 17. Generalized estimating equations were used to investigate the effect of maternal immune status on CBCL scores.
Results
AAAE conditions were associated with significant increases in CBCL Total (β 2.49; CI 1.98–3.00), Externalizing (β 1.54; CI 1.05–2.03), and Internalizing (β 2.28; CI 1.80–2.76) scores. Infection conditions were also associated with increased Total (β 1.27; CI 0.77–1.78), Externalizing (β 1.18; CI 0.70–1.66), and Internalizing (β 0.76; CI 0.28–1.24) scores. Exposure to more than one AAAE and/or infection condition was associated with a greater elevation in CBCL scores than single exposures in males and females. Females showed greater increases on the Internalizing scale from MIA, while males showed similar increases on both Internalizing and Externalizing scales.
Conclusions
MIA was associated with increased behavioral and emotional problems in offspring throughout childhood and adolescence. This highlights the need to understand the relationship between MIA, fetal development, and long-term outcomes, with the potential to advance early identification and intervention strategies.
In 2015, excavations at Stainton Quarry, Furness, Cumbria, recovered remains that provide a unique insight into Early Neolithic farming in the vicinity. Five pits, a post-hole, and deposits within a tree-throw and three crevices in a limestone outcrop were investigated. The latter deposits yielded potentially the largest assemblage of Carinated Bowl fragments yet recovered in Cumbria. Lipid analysis identified dairy fats within nine of these sherds. This was consistent with previous larger studies but represents the first evidence that dairying was an important component of Early Neolithic subsistence strategies in Cumbria. In addition, two deliberately broken polished stone axes, an Arran pitchstone core, a small number of flint tools and debitage, and a tuff flake were retrieved. The site also produced moderate amounts of charred grain, hazelnut shell, charcoal, and burnt bone. Most of the charred grain came from an Early Neolithic pit and potentially comprises the largest assemblage of such material recovered from Cumbria to date. Radiocarbon dating indicated activity sometime during the 40th–35th centuries cal bc as well as an earlier presence during the 46th–45th centuries. Later activity during the Chalcolithic and the Early Bronze Age was also demonstrated. The dense concentration of material and the fragmentary and abraded nature of the pottery suggested redeposition from an above-ground midden. Furthermore, the data recovered during the investigation has wider implications regarding the nature and use of the surrounding landscape during the Early Neolithic and suggests higher levels of settlement permanence, greater reliance on domesticated resources, and a possible different topographical focus for settlement than currently proposed.
Suicide risk assessment aims to reduce uncertainty in order to focus treatment and supervision on those who are judged to be more likely to die by suicide. In this article we consider recent meta-analytic research that highlights the difference between uncertainty about suicide due to chance factors (aleatory uncertainty) and uncertainty that results from lack of knowledge (epistemic uncertainty). We conclude that much of the uncertainty about suicide is aleatory rather than epistemic, and discuss the implications for clinicians.
The catastrophic decline of the endangered Green peafowl Pavo muticus across its former range is well known, yet there are only a handful of reliable population estimates for this species from its remaining range, making global assessment challenging. We present the first rigorous population estimates for this species from Cambodia, and model the distribution and the relationships between this species and several environmental covariates from the Core Zone (187,900 ha) of Seima Protection Forest (SPF), eastern Cambodia. Using distance sampling the abundance of Green Peafowl in SPF in 2014 is estimated to be 541 (95% CI [252, 1160]). Density surface modelling was used to predict distribution and relative abundance within the study area, and there was some evidence that the species prefers areas of deciduous forest, non-forest, and to a lesser extent semi-evergreen forest. These results highlight the importance of the central and northern sections of SPF for this species. Furthermore, the analysis suggested that Green Peafowl abundance is higher in closer proximity to water, yet decreases in closer proximity to human settlement.
The HR 8799 four-planet host is known to host a multi-component disk from Spitzer observations. We have obtained Herschel† observations of the disk which provide increased sensitivity and resolution of its outer components: the planetesimal belt and halo. We find that the two components cannot be discerned from the spectral energy distribution alone, but require resolved images to independently identify them. In the resolved images, the halo stands out for its steep radial profile and large radial extent to 2000 AU, a factor of two larger than was estimated from Spitzer data.
The Auriga-California Molecular Cloud (AMC) is one of two nearby (within 500 pc) giant molecular clouds, the other being the Orion A Molecular Cloud (OMC). We aim to study the properties of circumstellar disks in the AMC to compare the planet formation potential and processes within the AMC to those for other clouds. A first look with measurements from Spitzer observations suggests that AMC disk properties, such as the distribution of disk luminosities and the evolution of the mid-IR excesses, are not vastly different from those in other regions. Follow-up observations in the submm, mm and cm can be used to measure disk masses and the degree of grain growth from spectral slopes to more completely characterize the disk population.
Objective: To expand upon the existing psychometric properties of the Comprehensive Assessment of Prospective Memory (CAPM) for use with adults with traumatic brain injury by examining concurrent and criterion validity. Method: Participants were 45 adults with a traumatic brain injury. Participants and their relatives completed Section A of the CAPM and a measure of psychosocial integration. Participants were also administered two neuropsychological tests of prospective memory, the Cambridge Prospective Memory Test (CAM-PROMPT) and the Memory Intentions Screening Test (MIST). Concurrent validity was measured by comparing scores on the CAPM with scores on the CAM-PROMPT and MIST. Criterion validity was examined by correlating CAPM scores with level of psychosocial integration. Results: Participant self-reports on the CAPM were not significantly correlated with the CAM-PROMPT or MIST, but were significantly correlated with level of psychosocial integration. Relative reports on the CAPM were correlated significantly with total score on the MIST and CAM-PROMPT and level of psychological integration. Conclusions: The findings indicate that the concurrent validity of the self-report version of CAPM is low suggesting that self-reports alone do not provide an objective measure for assessing prospective memory function. The relative report version however, demonstrated reasonable concurrent and criterion validity, suggesting that the relative report version of the Section A of the CAPM is a useful means of evaluating frequency of prospective memory failure in adults with traumatic brain injury.
Previous studies have established that prospective memory is commonly affected following traumatic brain injury (TBI). This study examines whether demographic factors, injury severity and site, executive function, and metacognitive factors predict prospective memory performance in adults with TBI, using a cross-sectional multivariate correlational model. Prospective memory of 44 adults (mean age = 30 years) with severe TBI was measured by the Cambridge Prospective Memory Test (CAMPROMPT) time-based and event-based scores. Using stepwise multiple regression, the time-based score was predicted by the Controlled Oral Word Association Test (COWAT) Animals subtest score, length of post-traumatic amnesia (PTA) and use of note-taking on the CAMPROMPT. The event-based score was predicted by length of PTA and COWAT Animals score. Therefore, patients with longer periods of PTA and executive function impairment may be expected to display poorer prospective memory. Note-taking was associated with improved performance on time-based prospective memory tasks. (JINS, 2008, 14, 823–831.)
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