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Stereotypic behaviours (SBs) are linked with behavioural inflexibility and resemble symptoms of autism, suggesting that stereotypic animals could have autistic-like social impairments. SBs are also common in caged mice. We therefore hypothesised relationships between stereotypic and social behaviours, predicting that highly stereotypic mice would give/receive more agonism and be less effective in social learning tasks. Experiment One used C57BL/6 and DBA/2 mice in non-enriched or enriched housing (15 cages each); Experiment Two, more cages (six non-enriched, 44 enriched) plus a third strain (BALB/c). Across both experiments, enrichment reduced SB and agonism (aggression, plus ‘displacements’ where one mouse supplants another at a resource). These effects appeared related: housing effects on agonism became negligible when SB was statistically controlled for, and, at least in enriched cages, SB covaried with receiving aggression. In Experiment Three, 20 DBAs varying in SB from Experiment Two acted as demonstrators in a ‘social transmission of food preferences’ task. They were fed a novel flavour (shatavari powder), then each mingled with a familiar but flavour-naïve C57 observer. Observers were subsequently offered two novel flavours: shatavari or marjoram. Those spontaneously choosing more shatavari (n = 10) tended to have had less stereotypic demonstrators than the other ten observer mice. Overall, highly stereotypic mice thus received more agonism — an effect with obvious welfare implications that can be reduced with enrichment — and seemed potentially less effective at inducing flavour preferences in conspecifics. Such effects are consistent with social impairment, suggesting that reducing SB may perhaps enhance interactions between conspecifics.
Area-level residential instability (ARI), an index of social fragmentation, has been shown to explain the association between urbanicity and psychosis. Urban upbringing has been shown to be associated with decreased gray matter volumes (GMV)s of brain regions corresponding to the right caudal middle frontal gyrus (CMFG) and rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC).
Objectives
We hypothesize that greater ARI will be associated with reduced right posterior CMFG and rACC GMVs.
Methods
Data were collected at baseline as part of the North American Prodrome Longitudinal Study. Counties where participants resided during childhood were geographically coded using the US Censuses to area-level factors. ARI was defined as the percentage of residents living in a different house five years ago. Generalized linear mixed models tested associations between ARI and GMVs.
Results
This study included 29 HC and 64 CHR-P individuals who were aged 12 to 24 years, had remained in their baseline residential area, and had magnetic resonance imaging scans. ARI was associated with reduced right CMFG (adjusted β = -0.258; 95% CI = -0.502 – -0.015) and right rACC volumes (adjusted β = -0.318; 95% CI = -0.612 – -0.023). The interaction terms (ARI X diagnostic group) in the prediction of both brain regions were not significant, indicating that the relationships between ARI and regional brain volumes held for both CHR-P and HCs.
Conclusions
Like urban upbringing, ARI may be an important social environmental characteristic that adversely impacts brain regions related to schizophrenia.
We describe a new low-frequency wideband radio survey of the southern sky. Observations covering 72–231 MHz and Declinations south of
$+30^\circ$
have been performed with the Murchison Widefield Array “extended” Phase II configuration over 2018–2020 and will be processed to form data products including continuum and polarisation images and mosaics, multi-frequency catalogues, transient search data, and ionospheric measurements. From a pilot field described in this work, we publish an initial data release covering 1,447
$\mathrm{deg}^2$
over
$4\,\mathrm{h}\leq \mathrm{RA}\leq 13\,\mathrm{h}$
,
$-32.7^\circ \leq \mathrm{Dec} \leq -20.7^\circ$
. We process twenty frequency bands sampling 72–231 MHz, with a resolution of 2′–45′′, and produce a wideband source-finding image across 170–231 MHz with a root mean square noise of
$1.27\pm0.15\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$
. Source-finding yields 78,967 components, of which 71,320 are fitted spectrally. The catalogue has a completeness of 98% at
${{\sim}}50\,\mathrm{mJy}$
, and a reliability of 98.2% at
$5\sigma$
rising to 99.7% at
$7\sigma$
. A catalogue is available from Vizier; images are made available via the PASA datastore, AAO Data Central, and SkyView. This is the first in a series of data releases from the GLEAM-X survey.
A simple model for the motion of shape-changing swimmers in Poiseuille flow was recently proposed and numerically explored by Omori et al. (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 930, 2022, A30). These explorations hinted that a small number of interacting mechanics can drive long-time behaviours in this model, cast in the context of the well-studied alga Chlamydomonas and its rheotactic behaviours in such flows. Here, we explore this model analytically via a multiple-scale asymptotic analysis, seeking to formally identify the causal factors that shape the behaviour of these swimmers in Poiseuille flow. By capturing the evolution of a Hamiltonian-like quantity, we reveal the origins of the long-term drift in a single swimmer-dependent constant, whose sign determines the eventual behaviour of the swimmer. This constant captures the nonlinear interaction between the oscillatory speed and effective hydrodynamic shape of deforming swimmers, driving drift either towards or away from rheotaxis.
As refugees and asylum seekers are at high risk of developing mental disorders, we assessed the effectiveness of Self-Help Plus (SH + ), a psychological intervention developed by the World Health Organization, in reducing the risk of developing any mental disorders at 12-month follow-up in refugees and asylum seekers resettled in Western Europe.
Methods
Refugees and asylum seekers with psychological distress (General Health Questionnaire-12 ⩾ 3) but without a mental disorder according to the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.N.I.) were randomised to either SH + or enhanced treatment as usual (ETAU). The frequency of mental disorders at 12 months was measured with the M.I.N.I., while secondary outcomes included self-identified problems, psychological symptoms and other outcomes.
Results
Of 459 participants randomly assigned to SH + or ETAU, 246 accepted to be interviewed at 12 months. No difference in the frequency of any mental disorders was found (relative risk [RR] = 0.841; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.389–1.819; p-value = 0.659). In the per protocol (PP) population, that is in participants attending at least three group-based sessions, SH + almost halved the frequency of mental disorders at 12 months compared to ETAU, however so few participants and events contributed to this analysis that it yielded a non-significant result (RR = 0.528; 95% CI 0.180–1.544; p-value = 0.230). SH + was associated with improvements at 12 months in psychological distress (p-value = 0.004), depressive symptoms (p-value = 0.011) and wellbeing (p-value = 0.001).
Conclusions
The present study failed to show any long-term preventative effect of SH + in refugees and asylum seekers resettled in Western European countries. Analysis of the PP population and of secondary outcomes provided signals of a potential effect of SH + in the long-term, which would suggest the value of exploring the effects of booster sessions and strategies to increase SH + adherence.
There are numerous ways to control objects in the Stokes regime, with microscale examples ranging from the use of optical tweezers to the application of external magnetic fields. In contrast, there are relatively few explorations of theoretical controllability, which investigate whether or not refined and precise control is indeed possible in a given system. In this work, seeking to highlight the utility and broad applicability of such rigorous analysis, we recount and illustrate key concepts of geometric control theory in the context of multiple particles in Stokesian fluids interacting with each other, such that they may be readily and widely applied in this largely unexplored fluid-dynamical setting. Motivated both by experimental and abstract questions of control, we exemplify these techniques by explicit and detailed application to multiple problems concerning the control of two particles, such as the motion of tracers in flow and the guidance of one sphere by another. Further, we showcase how this analysis of controllability can directly lead to the construction of schemes for control, in addition to facilitating explorations of mechanical efficiency and contributing to our overall understanding of non-local hydrodynamic interactions in the Stokes limit.
Many short gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) originate from binary neutron star mergers, and there are several theories that predict the production of coherent, prompt radio signals either prior, during, or shortly following the merger, as well as persistent pulsar-like emission from the spin-down of a magnetar remnant. Here we present a low frequency (170–200 MHz) search for coherent radio emission associated with nine short GRBs detected by the Swift and/or Fermi satellites using the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) rapid-response observing mode. The MWA began observing these events within 30–60 s of their high-energy detection, enabling us to capture any dispersion delayed signals emitted by short GRBs for a typical range of redshifts. We conducted transient searches at the GRB positions on timescales of 5 s, 30 s, and 2 min, resulting in the most constraining flux density limits on any associated transient of 0.42, 0.29, and 0.084 Jy, respectively. We also searched for dispersed signals at a temporal and spectral resolution of 0.5 s and 1.28 MHz, but none were detected. However, the fluence limit of 80–100 Jy ms derived for GRB 190627A is the most stringent to date for a short GRB. Assuming the formation of a stable magnetar for this GRB, we compared the fluence and persistent emission limits to short GRB coherent emission models, placing constraints on key parameters including the radio emission efficiency of the nearly merged neutron stars (
$\epsilon_r\lesssim10^{-4}$
), the fraction of magnetic energy in the GRB jet (
$\epsilon_B\lesssim2\times10^{-4}$
), and the radio emission efficiency of the magnetar remnant (
$\epsilon_r\lesssim10^{-3}$
). Comparing the limits derived for our full GRB sample (along with those in the literature) to the same emission models, we demonstrate that our fluence limits only place weak constraints on the prompt emission predicted from the interaction between the relativistic GRB jet and the interstellar medium for a subset of magnetar parameters. However, the 30-min flux density limits were sensitive enough to theoretically detect the persistent radio emission from magnetar remnants up to a redshift of
$z\sim0.6$
. Our non-detection of this emission could imply that some GRBs in the sample were not genuinely short or did not result from a binary neutron star merger, the GRBs were at high redshifts, these mergers formed atypical magnetars, the radiation beams of the magnetar remnants were pointing away from Earth, or the majority did not form magnetars but rather collapse directly into black holes.
Motivated by the industrial manufacture of organic light-emitting-diode displays, we formulate and analyse a mathematical model for the evolution of a thin droplet in a shallow axisymmetric well of rather general shape both before and after touchdown that accounts for the spatially non-uniform evaporation of the fluid, perform physical experiments using three cylindrical wells with different small aspect ratios, and validate the mathematical model by comparing the present experimental results with the corresponding theoretical predictions for a cylindrical well.
The GaLactic and Extragalactic All-sky Murchison Widefield Array (GLEAM) is a radio continuum survey at 76–227 MHz of the entire southern sky (Declination
$<\!{+}30^{\circ}$
) with an angular resolution of
${\approx}2$
arcmin. In this paper, we combine GLEAM data with optical spectroscopy from the 6dF Galaxy Survey to construct a sample of 1 590 local (median
$z \approx 0.064$
) radio sources with
$S_{200\,\mathrm{MHz}} > 55$
mJy across an area of
${\approx}16\,700\,\mathrm{deg}^{2}$
. From the optical spectra, we identify the dominant physical process responsible for the radio emission from each galaxy: 73% are fuelled by an active galactic nucleus (AGN) and 27% by star formation. We present the local radio luminosity function for AGN and star-forming (SF) galaxies at 200 MHz and characterise the typical radio spectra of these two populations between 76 MHz and
${\sim}1$
GHz. For the AGN, the median spectral index between 200 MHz and
${\sim}1$
GHz,
$\alpha_{\mathrm{high}}$
, is
$-0.600 \pm 0.010$
(where
$S \propto \nu^{\alpha}$
) and the median spectral index within the GLEAM band,
$\alpha_{\mathrm{low}}$
, is
$-0.704 \pm 0.011$
. For the SF galaxies, the median value of
$\alpha_{\mathrm{high}}$
is
$-0.650 \pm 0.010$
and the median value of
$\alpha_{\mathrm{low}}$
is
$-0.596 \pm 0.015$
. Among the AGN population, flat-spectrum sources are more common at lower radio luminosity, suggesting the existence of a significant population of weak radio AGN that remain core-dominated even at low frequencies. However, around 4% of local radio AGN have ultra-steep radio spectra at low frequencies (
$\alpha_{\mathrm{low}} < -1.2$
). These ultra-steep-spectrum sources span a wide range in radio luminosity, and further work is needed to clarify their nature.
Here we present stringent low-frequency (185 MHz) limits on coherent radio emission associated with a short-duration gamma-ray burst (SGRB). Our observations of the short gamma-ray burst (GRB) 180805A were taken with the upgraded Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) rapid-response system, which triggered within 20s of receiving the transient alert from the Swift Burst Alert Telescope, corresponding to 83.7 s post-burst. The SGRB was observed for a total of 30 min, resulting in a
$3\sigma$
persistent flux density upper limit of 40.2 mJy beam–1. Transient searches were conducted at the Swift position of this GRB on 0.5 s, 5 s, 30 s and 2 min timescales, resulting in
$3\sigma$
limits of 570–1 830, 270–630, 200–420, and 100–200 mJy beam–1, respectively. We also performed a dedispersion search for prompt signals at the position of the SGRB with a temporal and spectral resolution of 0.5 s and 1.28 MHz, respectively, resulting in a
$6\sigma$
fluence upper-limit range from 570 Jy ms at DM
$=3\,000$
pc cm–3 (
$z\sim 2.5$
) to 1 750 Jy ms at DM
$=200$
pc cm–3 (
$z\sim 0.1)$
, corresponding to the known redshift range of SGRBs. We compare the fluence prompt emission limit and the persistent upper limit to SGRB coherent emission models assuming the merger resulted in a stable magnetar remnant. Our observations were not sensitive enough to detect prompt emission associated with the alignment of magnetic fields of a binary neutron star just prior to the merger, from the interaction between the relativistic jet and the interstellar medium (ISM) or persistent pulsar-like emission from the spin-down of the magnetar. However, in the case of a more powerful SGRB (a gamma-ray fluence an order of magnitude higher than GRB 180805A and/or a brighter X-ray counterpart), our MWA observations may be sensitive enough to detect coherent radio emission from the jet-ISM interaction and/or the magnetar remnant. Finally, we demonstrate that of all current low- frequency radio telescopes, only the MWA has the sensitivity and response times capable of probing prompt emission models associated with the initial SGRB merger event.
To examine associations between maternal characteristics and feeding styles in Caribbean mothers.
Design:
Participants were mother–child pairs enrolled in a cluster randomised trial of a parenting intervention in three Caribbean islands. Maternal characteristics were obtained by questionnaires when infants were 6–8 weeks old. Items adapted from the Toddler Feeding Behaviour Questionnaire were used to assess infant feeding styles at the age of 1 year. Feeding styles were identified using factor analysis and associations with maternal characteristics assessed using multilevel linear regression.
Setting:
Health clinics in St. Lucia (n 9), Antigua (n 10) and Jamaica (n 20).
Participants:
A total of 405 mother–child pairs from the larger trial.
Results:
Maternal depressive symptoms were associated with uninvolved (β = 0·38, 95 % CI (0·14, 0·62)), restrictive (β = 0·44, 95 % CI (0·19, 0·69)) and forceful (β = 0·31, 95 % CI (0·06, 0·57)) feeding and inversely associated with responsive feeding (β = −0·30, 95 % CI (−0·56, −0·05)). Maternal vocabulary was inversely associated with uninvolved (β = −0·31, 95 % CI (−0·57, −0·06)), restrictive (β = −0·30, 95 % CI (−0·56, −0·04)), indulgent (β = −0·47, 95 % CI (−0·73, −0·21)) and forceful (β = −0·54, 95 % CI (−0·81, −0·28)) feeding. Indulgent feeding was negatively associated with socio-economic status (β = −0·27, 95 % CI (−0·53, −0·00)) and was lower among mothers ≥35 years (β = −0·32, 95 % CI (−0·62, −0·02)). Breast-feeding at 1 year was associated with forceful feeding (β = 0·41, 95 % CI (0·21, 0·61)). No significant associations were found between maternal education, BMI, occupation and feeding styles.
Conclusion:
Services to identify and assist mothers with depressive symptoms may benefit infant feeding style. Interventions to promote responsive feeding may be important for less educated, younger and socio-economically disadvantaged mothers.
HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HANDs) are prevalent in older people living with HIV (PLWH) worldwide. HAND prevalence and incidence studies of the newly emergent population of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART)-treated older PLWH in sub-Saharan Africa are currently lacking. We aimed to estimate HAND prevalence and incidence using robust measures in stable, cART-treated older adults under long-term follow-up in Tanzania and report cognitive comorbidities.
Design:
Longitudinal study
Participants:
A systematic sample of consenting HIV-positive adults aged ≥50 years attending routine clinical care at an HIV Care and Treatment Centre during March–May 2016 and followed up March–May 2017.
Measurements:
HAND by consensus panel Frascati criteria based on detailed locally normed low-literacy neuropsychological battery, structured neuropsychiatric clinical assessment, and collateral history. Demographic and etiological factors by self-report and clinical records.
Results:
In this cohort (n = 253, 72.3% female, median age 57), HAND prevalence was 47.0% (95% CI 40.9–53.2, n = 119) despite well-managed HIV disease (Mn CD4 516 (98-1719), 95.5% on cART). Of these, 64 (25.3%) were asymptomatic neurocognitive impairment, 46 (18.2%) mild neurocognitive disorder, and 9 (3.6%) HIV-associated dementia. One-year incidence was high (37.2%, 95% CI 25.9 to 51.8), but some reversibility (17.6%, 95% CI 10.0–28.6 n = 16) was observed.
Conclusions:
HAND appear highly prevalent in older PLWH in this setting, where demographic profile differs markedly to high-income cohorts, and comorbidities are frequent. Incidence and reversibility also appear high. Future studies should focus on etiologies and potentially reversible factors in this setting.
Identify risk factors that could increase progression to severe disease and mortality in hospitalized SARS-CoV-2 patients in the Southeast region of the United States.
Design, setting, and participants:
Multicenter, retrospective cohort including 502 adults hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 between March 1, 2020, and May 8, 2020 within 1 of 15 participating hospitals in 5 health systems across 5 states in the Southeast United States.
Methods:
The study objectives were to identify risk factors that could increase progression to hospital mortality and severe disease (defined as a composite of intensive care unit admission or requirement of mechanical ventilation) in hospitalized SARS-CoV-2 patients in the Southeast United States.
Results:
In total, 502 patients were included, and 476 of 502 (95%) had clinically evaluable outcomes. The hospital mortality rate was 16% (76 of 476); 35% (177 of 502) required ICU admission and 18% (91 of 502) required mechanical ventilation. By both univariate and adjusted multivariate analyses, hospital mortality was independently associated with age (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 2.03 for each decade increase; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.56-–2.69), male sex (aOR, 2.44; 95% CI, 1.34–4.59), and cardiovascular disease (aOR, 2.16; 95% CI, 1.15–4.09). As with mortality, risk of severe disease was independently associated with age (aOR, 1.17 for each decade increase; 95% CI, 1.00–1.37), male sex (aOR, 2.34; 95% CI, 1.54–3.60), and cardiovascular disease (aOR, 1.77; 95% CI, 1.09–2.85).
Conclusions:
In an adjusted multivariate analysis, advanced age, male sex, and cardiovascular disease increased risk of severe disease and mortality in patients with COVID-19 in the Southeast United States. In-hospital mortality risk doubled with each subsequent decade of life.
Nutrition during the periconceptional period influences postnatal cardiovascular health. We determined whether in vitro embryo culture and transfer, which are manipulations of the nutritional environment during the periconceptional period, dysregulate postnatal blood pressure and blood pressure regulatory mechanisms. Embryos were either transferred to an intermediate recipient ewe (ET) or cultured in vitro in the absence (IVC) or presence of human serum (IVCHS) and a methyl donor (IVCHS+M) for 6 days. Basal blood pressure was recorded at 19–20 weeks after birth. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) were measured before and after varying doses of phenylephrine (PE). mRNA expression of signaling molecules involved in blood pressure regulation was measured in the renal artery. Basal MAP did not differ between groups. Baroreflex sensitivity, set point, and upper plateau were also maintained in all groups after PE stimulation. Adrenergic receptors alpha-1A (αAR1A), alpha-1B (αAR1B), and angiotensin II receptor type 1 (AT1R) mRNA expression were not different from controls in the renal artery. These results suggest there is no programmed effect of ET or IVC on basal blood pressure or the baroreflex control mechanisms in adolescence, but future studies are required to determine the impact of ET and IVC on these mechanisms later in the life course when developmental programming effects may be unmasked by age.
Gravitational waves from coalescing neutron stars encode information about nuclear matter at extreme densities, inaccessible by laboratory experiments. The late inspiral is influenced by the presence of tides, which depend on the neutron star equation of state. Neutron star mergers are expected to often produce rapidly rotating remnant neutron stars that emit gravitational waves. These will provide clues to the extremely hot post-merger environment. This signature of nuclear matter in gravitational waves contains most information in the 2–4 kHz frequency band, which is outside of the most sensitive band of current detectors. We present the design concept and science case for a Neutron Star Extreme Matter Observatory (NEMO): a gravitational-wave interferometer optimised to study nuclear physics with merging neutron stars. The concept uses high-circulating laser power, quantum squeezing, and a detector topology specifically designed to achieve the high-frequency sensitivity necessary to probe nuclear matter using gravitational waves. Above 1 kHz, the proposed strain sensitivity is comparable to full third-generation detectors at a fraction of the cost. Such sensitivity changes expected event rates for detection of post-merger remnants from approximately one per few decades with two A+ detectors to a few per year and potentially allow for the first gravitational-wave observations of supernovae, isolated neutron stars, and other exotica.
To report feasibility, early outcomes and challenges of implementing a 14-day threshold for undertaking surgical tracheostomy in the critically ill coronavirus disease 2019 patient.
Methods
Twenty-eight coronavirus disease 2019 patients underwent tracheostomy. Demographics, risk factors, ventilatory assistance, organ support and logistics were assessed.
Results
The mean time from intubation to tracheostomy formation was 17.0 days (standard deviation = 4.4, range 8–26 days). Mean time to decannulation was 15.8 days (standard deviation = 9.4) and mean time to intensive care unit stepdown to a ward was 19.2 days (standard deviation = 6.8). The time from intubation to tracheostomy was strongly positively correlated with: duration of mechanical ventilation (r(23) = 0.66; p < 0.001), time from intubation to decannulation (r(23) = 0.66; p < 0.001) and time from intubation to intensive care unit discharge (r(23) = 0.71; p < 0.001).
Conclusion
Performing a tracheostomy in coronavirus disease 2019 positive patients at 8–14 days following intubation is compatible with favourable outcomes. Multidisciplinary team input is crucial to patient selection.
OBJECTIVES/GOALS: To develop feasible screening methods for activity of the enzyme Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) with point of care applicability. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Current knowledge establishes the relevance of G6PD as a critical therapeutic determinant for effective antimalarial therapy due to the occurrence of mutations that lead to post-treatment severe adverse effects. We present our findings on development of cost effective point-of-care screening methodologies to ascertain G6PD deficiency. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Using Patient Cohort Explorer and data from the Department of Pathology, we established the prevalence of G6PD deficiency at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS as high as 11.8% (African-American males in all population, n = 2518). Next, for selection of potential target groups, we set up a protocol for recruitment of volunteers based on ethnic background, parental ethnicity, and medical history. G6PD activity was evaluated using point of care methods [Trinity Biotech test or CareSTART Biosensor], and Gold Standard quantitative spectrophotometric assay (LabCorp). Determinations in >20 subjects have showed comparable concordance. If used with a conservative interpretation of the signal, the Trinity Biotech test showed superior potential for use in the field relative to the CareSTART Biosensor. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: We established the prevalence of G6PD deficiency in our medical center. We have also setup tests for point-of-care assessment of G6PD. Pending evaluation of the relative tests performance, we will be in position to screen individuals and select them for a prospective clinical trial to evaluate the safety of antimalarial agents on scope of G6PD deficiency.
Resolving the detailed hydrodynamics of a slender body immersed in highly viscous Newtonian fluid has been the subject of extensive research, applicable to a broad range of biological and physical scenarios. In this work, we expand upon classical theories developed over the past fifty years, deriving an algebraically accurate slender-body theory that may be applied to a wide variety of body shapes, ranging from biologically inspired tapering flagella to highly oscillatory body geometries with only weak constraints, most significantly requiring that cross-sections be circular. Inspired by well known analytic results for the flow around a prolate ellipsoid, we pose an ansatz for the velocity field in terms of a regular integral of regularised Stokes-flow singularities with prescribed, spatially varying regularisation parameters. A detailed asymptotic analysis is presented, seeking a uniformly valid expansion of the ansatz integral, accurate at leading algebraic order in the geometry aspect ratio, to enforce no-slip boundary conditions and thus analytically justify the slender-body theory developed in this framework. The regularisation within the ansatz additionally affords significant computational simplicity for the subsequent slender-body theory, with no specialised quadrature or numerical techniques required to evaluate the regular integral. Furthermore, in the special case of slender bodies with a straight centreline in uniform flow, we derive a slender-body theory that is particularly straightforward via use of the analytic solution for a prolate ellipsoid. We evidence the validity of our simple theory with explicit numerical examples for a wide variety of slender bodies, and highlight a potential robustness of our methodology beyond its rigorously justified scope.
Craving in negative emotional situations (negative craving) is commonly associated with relapse and heavy alcohol use. Elevated dynorphin levels were associated with negative emotions, while variations in the OPRK1 and PDYN genes encoding OPRK1 receptor and dynorphins were associated with alcohol dependence.
Objectives
To investigate potential overlap in the genetic factors underlying, negative craving and alcohol dependence.
Aims
Examine the association of the negative craving and genetic variation in the OPRK1 and PDYN genes.
Methods
13 PDYN and 10 OPRK1 Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs), including those previously reported to be associated with alcohol dependence were genotyped in 196 alcohol dependent subjects. The raw scores of the negative subscale of Inventory of Drug Taking Situations (IDTS) were utilized as a quantitative measure of negative craving. Logistic regression models were used to test for associations after controlling for age and gender.
Results
Gene-level haplotype testing demonstrated significant association of negative craving with variation in PDYN (p < 0.05) but not OPRK1 gene. The rs2281285 - rs199794 haplotype showed significant association (p = 0.0236) with negative craving, while rs2235749 - rs10485703 haplotype showed marginally significant association (p = 0.055). This replicates previous findings of association between these haplotypes and alcohol dependence. Negative craving was also associated with PDYN rs2281285 variant (p = 0.012) with estimated effect size of 6.95 (SE = 2.75). This new association finding was not significant after correction for multiple testing (p = 0.18).
Conclusions
Our findings support association of PDYN sequence variation with negative craving in alcohol dependent subjects. Future studies should investigate functional mechanisms of this association.
22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS) associates with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSDs), autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), and other psychiatric disorders, but co-occurrence of diagnoses are not well described.
Methods
We evaluated the co-occurrence of SSDs, ASDs and other axis I psychiatric diagnoses in 31 adolescents and adults with 22q11DS, assessing ASDs using either stringent Collaborative Program for Excellence in Autism (ASD-CPEA) criteria, or less stringent DSM-IV criteria alone (ASD-DSM-IV).
Results
Ten (32%) individuals met criteria for an SSD, five (16%) for ASD-CPEA, and five others (16%) for ASD-DSM-IV. Of those with ASD-CPEA, one (20%) met SSD criteria. Of those with ASD-DSM-IV, four (80%) met SSD criteria. Depressive disorders (8 individuals; 26%) and anxiety disorders (7; 23%) sometimes co-occurred with SSDs and ASDs. SSDs, ASDs, and anxiety occurred predominantly among males and depression predominantly among females.
Conclusions
Individuals with 22q11DS can manifest SSDs in the presence or absence of ASDs and other axis I diagnoses. The results suggest that standard clinical care should include childhood screening for ASDs, and later periodic screening for all axis I diagnoses.