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Serotonin transporter (SERT) and dopamine transporter (DAT) levels differ in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) who are in a depressed state in comparison with healthy controls. In addition, a family history of depression is a potent risk factor for developing depression, and inherited vulnerability to serotonergic and dopaminergic dysfunction is suspected in this. The aim of this study was to examine the availabilities of midbrain SERT and striatal DAT in healthy subjects with and without a first-degree family history of MDD.
Methods
Eight healthy subjects with first-degree relatives with MDD and 16 sex- and age-matched healthy controls were recruited. The availabilities of SERT and DAT were approximated using SPECT, employing [123I] 2-((2-((dimethylamino)methyl)phenyl)thio)-5-iodophenylamine (ADAM) and [99mTc] TRODAT-1 as the ligands, respectively. There are missing data for one participant with a first-degree family history of MDD from the ADAM study, due to a lack of the radio-ligand at the time of experiment.
Results
SERT availability in the midbrain was significantly lower in subjects with a first-degree family history of MDD than in healthy subjects. However, DAT availability was no different between two groups.
Conclusions
The results with regard to the midbrain SERT level suggest the heritability of MDD.
This paper investigates the recidivism of Mount Sinai Hospital mental health court support program in Toronto, Canada among patients involved in the criminal justice system. It also looks to find relationships between recidivism and factors including gender, age and ethnicity.
Method
Follow up periods of up to 48 months after the time of initial admission to the program was conducted and the frequency of re-offense was observed. Comparisons for the significance of risk factors were analyzed using t-tests and Chisquare tests.
Results
191 clients were admitted to the Mount Sinai Hospital Court Support Program between September 2001 and June 2007. At first admission, the mean ± s.d. age was 35.8 ± 9.8 years (range=18-74 years; n=184). The median age was 35 years. The modal age was 34 years. Of the 191 clients, 16 (8.4%) reoffended. Two of them (12.5%) had a third offense; and 1 (6.3%) had a total of four offenses within this tracking period. it appears that re-offense is more likely between 13 and 24 months. No re-offense was noted beyond the 48 months. The gender distribution was not significantly different between reoffenders and non-reoffenders. The mean age at first admission also did not differ between reoffenders and non-reoffenders. The distribution of ethnic groups among reoffenders and non-reoffenders did not differ.
Conclusions
The findings seem to indicate that recidivism has no relationship with gender, age and ethnic groups. The comprehensive and length of support services seem more important in preventing recidivism.
Deep learning using convolutional neural networks represents a form of artificial intelligence where computers recognise patterns and make predictions based upon provided datasets. This study aimed to determine if a convolutional neural network could be trained to differentiate the location of the anterior ethmoidal artery as either adhered to the skull base or within a bone ‘mesentery’ on sinus computed tomography scans.
Methods
Coronal sinus computed tomography scans were reviewed by two otolaryngology residents for anterior ethmoidal artery location and used as data for the Google Inception-V3 convolutional neural network base. The classification layer of Inception-V3 was retrained in Python (programming language software) using a transfer learning method to interpret the computed tomography images.
Results
A total of 675 images from 388 patients were used to train the convolutional neural network. A further 197 unique images were used to test the algorithm; this yielded a total accuracy of 82.7 per cent (95 per cent confidence interval = 77.7–87.8), kappa statistic of 0.62 and area under the curve of 0.86.
Conclusion
Convolutional neural networks demonstrate promise in identifying clinically important structures in functional endoscopic sinus surgery, such as anterior ethmoidal artery location on pre-operative sinus computed tomography.
Background: Status epilepticus (SE) is the most common pediatric neurological emergency. Timely treatment is crucial, yet administration of rescue medications is often delayed and under-dosed. We aim to improve SE management by ensuring that every child at risk of SE in our province has an individualized seizure action plan (SAP) outlining the steps that should be taken during SE. Methods: A survey was distributed to parents of epilepsy patients aged 1 month to 19 years. Primary outcome was percentage of patients with SAPs. Secondary outcome was parental interest in a SAP mobile application. Following chart review, univariate and multivariate analysis was performed to identify variables that predict whether patients have SAPs. Results: Of 192 participants, 61.5% have SAPs. On univariate analysis, history of prior SE and male gender increased likelihood of having a SAP. On logistic regression, Nagelkerke R2 was 0.204 and our model correctly predicted 82.2% of patients with SAPs. 83.3% of parents were interested in a SAP mobile application. Conclusions: This is one of the first studies to examine SAP prevalence in a pediatric epilepsy population. There is a need to increase the percentage of epilepsy patients with SAPs. Most parents would find a SAP mobile application valuable in their child’s management.
Interpersonal difficulties in borderline personality disorder (BPD) could be related to the disturbed self-views of BPD patients. This study investigates affective and neural responses to positive and negative social feedback (SF) of BPD patients compared with healthy (HC) and low self-esteem (LSE) controls and how this relates to individual self-views.
Methods
BPD (N = 26), HC (N = 32), and LSE (N = 22) performed a SF task in a magnetic resonance imaging scanner. Participants received 15 negative, intermediate and positive evaluative feedback words putatively given by another participant and rated their mood and applicability of the words to the self.
Results
BPD had more negative self-views than HC and felt worse after negative feedback. Applicability of feedback was a less strong determinant of mood in BPD than HC. Increased precuneus activation was observed in HC to negative compared with positive feedback, whereas in BPD, this was similarly low for both valences. HC showed increased temporoparietal junction (TPJ) activation to positive v. negative feedback, while BPD showed more TPJ activation to negative feedback. The LSE group showed a different pattern of results suggesting that LSE cannot explain these findings in BPD.
Conclusions
The negative self-views that BPD have, may obstruct critically examining negative feedback, resulting in lower mood. Moreover, where HC focus on the positive feedback (based on TPJ activation), BPD seem to focus more on negative feedback, potentially maintaining negative self-views. Better balanced self-views may make BPD better equipped to deal with potential negative feedback and more open to positive interactions.
The treatment gap between the number of people with mental disorders and the number treated represents a major public health challenge. We examine this gap by socio-economic status (SES; indicated by family income and respondent education) and service sector in a cross-national analysis of community epidemiological survey data.
Methods
Data come from 16 753 respondents with 12-month DSM-IV disorders from community surveys in 25 countries in the WHO World Mental Health Survey Initiative. DSM-IV anxiety, mood, or substance disorders and treatment of these disorders were assessed with the WHO Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI).
Results
Only 13.7% of 12-month DSM-IV/CIDI cases in lower-middle-income countries, 22.0% in upper-middle-income countries, and 36.8% in high-income countries received treatment. Highest-SES respondents were somewhat more likely to receive treatment, but this was true mostly for specialty mental health treatment, where the association was positive with education (highest treatment among respondents with the highest education and a weak association of education with treatment among other respondents) but non-monotonic with income (somewhat lower treatment rates among middle-income respondents and equivalent among those with high and low incomes).
Conclusions
The modest, but nonetheless stronger, an association of education than income with treatment raises questions about a financial barriers interpretation of the inverse association of SES with treatment, although future within-country analyses that consider contextual factors might document other important specifications. While beyond the scope of this report, such an expanded analysis could have important implications for designing interventions aimed at increasing mental disorder treatment among socio-economically disadvantaged people.
Rural-to-urban migrant workers are a large marginalised population in urban China. Prevalence estimates of common mental health problems (CMHPs) in previous studies varied widely and very few studies have investigated migration-related factors of CMHPs in migrant workers. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and risk factors of CMHPs among Chinese migrant workers.
Methods.
A random sample of 3031 migrant workers of ten manufacturing factories in Shenzhen, China, completed a standardised questionnaire containing socio-demographic and migration-related variables and the Chinese 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). A GHQ-12 score of three or higher was used to denote the presence of CMHPs.
Results.
The prevalence of CMHPs was 34.4% in Chinese migrant workers. In multiple logistic regression, risk factors for CMHPs included being 16–25 years old (odd ratio [OR] 1.65, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.28, 2.12), being 26–35 years old (OR 1.36, 95% CI: 1.05, 1.75), low monthly income (OR 1.42, 95% CI 1.04, 1.92), poor living condition (OR: 1.76, 95% CI: 1.22, 2.54), physical illness in the past 2 weeks (OR 1.72, 95% CI 1.43, 2.05), having worked in many cities (OR 1.34, 95% CI 1.03, 1.74), infrequently visiting hometown (OR 1.56, 95% CI 1.22, 1.99), poor Mandarin proficiency (OR 1.51, 95%CI 1.13, 2.01), a low level of perceived benefits of migration (OR 1.33, 95% CI 1.14, 1.55) and working more than 8 h/day (OR 1.39, 95% CI 1.14, 1.70).
Conclusions.
CMHPs are very prevalent among Chinese migrant workers. Given the large number of Chinese migrant workers, there is an urgent need to address the mental health burden of China's migrant worker population.
There has been wide-spread use of plane wave theory in muffler design in industry. However, This has led to an underestimation of acoustical performances at higher frequencies. To overcome the above drawback, the finite element and boundary element methods have been developed. Nevertheless, the time consumed in calculating the noise level is unacceptable. Moreover, considering the acoustical effect and necessity of space-constrained situation in industry, a compact design of reverse mufflers which may improve the acoustical efficiency is then proposed.
In this paper, a numerical assessment of rectangular mufflers hybridized with straight/reverse chambers using eigen function, four-pole matrix, and genetic algorithm under limited space is developed. Before the optimization is performed, an accuracy check of the mathematical models for the muffler will be carried out. Results reveal that the noise reduction will increase when the number of chambers increases. In addition, the acoustical performance of the mufflers is reversely proportional to the diameter of the inlet/outlet tubes. Also, the TL of the mufflers will be improved when using more number of target tones in the objective function. Consequently, a successful approach in searching optimal shaped rectangular straight/reverse mufflers using an eigen function and a genetic algorithm method within a constrained space has been demonstrated.
Surveillance data on the burden of pertussis in Asian adults are limited. This cross-sectional study evaluated the prevalence of serologically confirmed pertussis in adults with prolonged cough in Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand. Adults (⩾19 years) with cough lasting for ⩾14 days without other known underlying cause were enrolled from outpatient clinics of seven public and/or private hospitals. Single blood samples for anti-pertussis toxin antibodies (anti-PT IgG) were analysed and economic impact and health-related quality of life (EQ-5D) questionnaires assessed. Sixteen (5·13%) of the 312 chronically coughing adults had serological evidence of pertussis infection within the previous 12 months (anti-PT IgG titre ⩾62·5 IU/ml). Three of them were teachers. Longer duration of cough, paroxysms (75% seroconfirmed, 48% non-seroconfirmed) and breathlessness/chest pain (63% seroconfirmed, 36% non-seroconfirmed) were associated with pertussis (P < 0·04). Of the seroconfirmed patients, the median total direct medical cost per pertussis episode in public hospitals (including physician consultations and/or emergency room visits) was US$13 in Malaysia, US$83 in Taiwan (n = 1) and US$26 in Thailand. The overall median EQ-5D index score of cases was 0·72 (range 0·42–1·00). Pertussis should be considered in the aetiology of adults with a prolonged or paroxysmal cough, and vaccination programmes considered.
Civilian suicide rates vary by occupation in ways related to occupational stress exposure. Comparable military research finds suicide rates elevated in combat arms occupations. However, no research has evaluated variation in this pattern by deployment history, the indicator of occupation stress widely considered responsible for the recent rise in the military suicide rate.
Method
The joint associations of Army occupation and deployment history in predicting suicides were analysed in an administrative dataset for the 729 337 male enlisted Regular Army soldiers in the US Army between 2004 and 2009.
Results
There were 496 suicides over the study period (22.4/100 000 person-years). Only two occupational categories, both in combat arms, had significantly elevated suicide rates: infantrymen (37.2/100 000 person-years) and combat engineers (38.2/100 000 person-years). However, the suicide rates in these two categories were significantly lower when currently deployed (30.6/100 000 person-years) than never deployed or previously deployed (41.2–39.1/100 000 person-years), whereas the suicide rate of other soldiers was significantly higher when currently deployed and previously deployed (20.2–22.4/100 000 person-years) than never deployed (14.5/100 000 person-years), resulting in the adjusted suicide rate of infantrymen and combat engineers being most elevated when never deployed [odds ratio (OR) 2.9, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.1–4.1], less so when previously deployed (OR 1.6, 95% CI 1.1–2.1), and not at all when currently deployed (OR 1.2, 95% CI 0.8–1.8). Adjustment for a differential ‘healthy warrior effect’ cannot explain this variation in the relative suicide rates of never-deployed infantrymen and combat engineers by deployment status.
Conclusions
Efforts are needed to elucidate the causal mechanisms underlying this interaction to guide preventive interventions for soldiers at high suicide risk.
The focal point of this paper is to uncover, by analyzing the higher order wave effect, an improved mechanism for space-constrained rectangular plenums using a simplified objective function in conjunction with a genetic (GA). Three kinds of rectangular mufflers hybridized with extended tubes will be assessed: Plenum A: A two-chamber plenum equipped with an extended tube; plenum B: A three-chamber plenum with two extended tubes; and plenum C: A two-chamber plenum equipped with three extended tubes. In order to shorten the numerical assessment, a simplified objective function (OBJ) is established using a boundary element model (BEM) in conjunction with the neural network model (NNM). To expediently approach an optimal plenum, the best OBJ will be numerically searched using a genetic algorithm (GA). However, before the GA operation is performed, the accuracy of the BEM is verified using analytical data. And, because the simplified objective function (OBJ) is seen to be in agreement with the BEM, the numerical cases of sound elimination relative to the various parameter sets and pure tones (300, 750, and 1300Hz) can be carried out.
Results reveal that the maximum value of the sound transmission loss (STL) can be accurately obtained at the desired frequencies. Additionally, the acoustical performance of the lower frequencies will be improved if the number of chambers and rectangular tubes are increased. However, the acoustical performance of the higher frequencies will decrease when the number of chambers and rectangular tubes are decreased. Consequently, the algorithms proposed in this study will efficiently develop optimal rectangular plenums with multiple rectangular extended tubes.
Cross-national population data from the WHO World Mental Health surveys are used to compare role attainments and role impairments associated with binge-eating disorder (BED) and bulimia nervosa (BN).
Methods.
Community surveys assessed 23 000 adults across 12 countries for BED, BN and ten other DSM-IV mental disorders using the WHO Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Age-of-onset was assessed retrospectively. Ten physical disorders were assessed using standard conditions checklists. Analyses examined reciprocal time-lagged associations of eating disorders (EDs) with education, associations of early-onset (i.e., prior to completing education) EDs with subsequent adult role attainments and cross-sectional associations of current EDs with days of role impairment.
Results.
BED and BN predicted significantly increased education (females). Student status predicted increased risk of subsequent BED and BN (females). Early-onset BED predicted reduced odds of current (at time of interview) marriage (females) and reduced odds of current employment (males). Early-onset BN predicted increased odds of current work disability (females and males). Current BED and BN were both associated with significantly increased days of role impairment (females and males). Significant BED and BN effects on adult role attainments and impairments were explained by controls for comorbid disorders.
Conclusions.
Effects of BED on role attainments and impairments are comparable with those of BN. The most plausible interpretation of the fact that these associations are explained by comorbid disorders is that causal effects of EDs are mediated through secondary disorders. Controlled treatment effectiveness studies are needed to trace out long-term effects of BED–BN on secondary disorders.
Previous studies examining the role of single foods or nutrients in the aetiology of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) have produced inconsistent findings. Few studies have examined associations for dietary patterns, which may more accurately reflect patterns of consumption and the complexity of dietary intake. The objective of the present study was to examine whether dietary patterns identified by factor analysis were associated with NHL risk.
Design
Case–control.
Setting
Population-based sample residing in Nebraska from 1999 to 2002.
Subjects
A total of 336 cases and 460 controls.
Results
Factor analysis identified two major dietary patterns: (i) a ‘Meat, Fat and Sweets’ dietary pattern characterized by high intakes of French fries, red meat, processed meat, pizza, salty snacks, sweets and desserts, and sweetened beverages; and (ii) a ‘Fruit, Vegetables and Starch’ dietary pattern characterized by high intakes of vegetables, fruit, fish, and cereals and starches. In multivariable logistic regression models, the ‘Meat, Fat and Sweets’ dietary pattern was associated with an increased risk of overall NHL (ORQ4v.Q1 = 3·6, 95 % CI 1·9, 6·8; Ptrend = 0·0004), follicular lymphoma (ORQ4v.Q1 = 3·1, 95 % CI 1·2, 8·0; Ptrend = 0·01), diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (ORQ4v.Q1 = 3·2, 95 % CI 1·1, 9·0; Ptrend = 0·09) and marginal zone lymphoma (ORQ4v.Q1 = 8·2, 95 % CI 1·3, 51·2; Ptrend = 0·05). No association with overall or subtype-specific risk was detected for the ‘Fruit, Vegetables and Starch’ dietary pattern. No evidence of heterogeneity was detected across strata of age, sex, BMI, smoking status or alcohol consumption.
Conclusions
Our results suggest that a dietary pattern high in meats, fats and sweets may be associated with an increased risk of NHL.
High noise levels in a multi-noise plant can be harmful to workers and can lead to both psychological and physiological problems. Consequently, noise control work on equipment such as acoustic hoods becomes vital. However, research work of shape optimization on space-constrained close-fitting acoustic hoods has been neglected.
In this paper, a sound insertion loss used for evaluating the acoustic performance of an acoustical hood will be adopted. A numerical case for depressing the noise levels at the receiving points along the boundary of three kinds of multi-equipment plants by optimally designing a shaped one-layer close-fitting acoustic hood and reallocating the equipment within a constrained space will also be introduced. Moreover, an artificial immune method (AIM) is adopted and coupled with the equations of sound attenuation and minimal variation square in conjunction with a twelve-point monitoring system.
Consequently, this paper provides a quick and effective method for reducing the noise impact around a plant by optimally designing a shaped one-layer close-fitting acoustic hood and reallocating equipment within the AIM searching technique.
This paper presents the optimal design of an electromagnetic vibration-based generator using the simulated annealing method (SA). To optimally extract the vibrational energy of a system vibrating at a specific frequency, the selected mass and spring stiffness of a resonant vibration is required. The relationship between induced energy and the generator's structure, its permanent magnet height and diameter, number of turns, and wire diameter in a single air coil are discussed. Also, a prototype of the vibrationbased electrical generator is built and tested via a shaker excited at resonance frequency and input amplitude of 0.06mm. Consequently, results reveal that the design parameters (permanent magnet height and diameter, number of turns, and wire diameter) play essential roles in maximizing electrical power.
Background: This study examined the use of low doses of antipsychotic medications (300 mg/day CPZeq or less) in older Asian patients with schizophrenia and its demographic and clinical correlates.
Methods: Information on hospitalized patients with schizophrenia, aged 55 years or older, was extracted from the database of the Research on Asian Psychotropic Prescription Patterns (REAP) study (2001–2009). Data on 1,452 patients in eight Asian countries and territories including China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, India, and Malaysia were analyzed. Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics and antipsychotic prescriptions were recorded using a standardized protocol and data collection procedure.
Results: The prescription frequency for low doses of antipsychotic medications was 40.9% in the pooled sample. Multiple logistic regression analysis of the whole sample showed that patients on low doses of antipsychotic medications were more likely to be female, have an older age, a shorter length of illness, and less positive symptoms. Of patients in the six countries and territories that participated in all the surveys between 2001 and 2009, those in Japan were less likely to receive low doses of antipsychotics.
Conclusion: Low doses of antipsychotic medications were only applied in less than half of older Asian patients with schizophrenia.
Research on new techniques of multi-chamber mufflers equipped with a side inlet and internal nonperforated intruding tubes has been discussed in recent literature; however, the research work of multichamber mufflers in conjunction with side inlet and open-ended perforated intruding tubes which may efficiently increase the acoustical performance has been neglected. Therefore, the main purpose of this paper is to optimize the best design shape of multi-chamber side mufflers with open-ended perforated intruding tubes within a limited space.
In this paper, the four-pole system matrix in evaluating the acoustic performance is also deduced in conjunction with a simulated algorithm (SA). Results reveal that the maximum sound transmission loss (STL) is precisely located at the desired target tone. In addition, the acoustical performance of mufflers conjugated with perforated intruding tubes is superior to those equipped with non-perforated tubes. Additionally, the noise reduction ability for a three-chamber side muffler with a non-perforated intruding tube and a two-chamber side muffler with perforated intruding tubes are equivalent. Moreover, mufflers with more chambers will increase the acoustic performance for both pure tone and broadband noise.
Reliable estimates of the burden of 2009 pandemic influenza A(pH1N1) cannot be easily obtained because only a small fraction of infections were confirmed by laboratory tests in a timely manner. In this study we developed a Poisson prediction modelling approach to estimate the excess mortality associated with pH1N1 in 2009 and seasonal influenza in 1998–2008 in the subtropical city Hong Kong. The results suggested that there were 127 all-cause excess deaths associated with pH1N1, including 115 with cardiovascular and respiratory disease, and 22 with pneumonia and influenza. The excess mortality rates associated with pH1N1 were highest in the population aged ⩾65 years. The mortality burden of influenza during the whole of 2009 was comparable to those in the preceding ten inter-pandemic years. The estimates of excess deaths were more than twofold higher than the reported fatal cases with laboratory-confirmed pH1N1 infection.