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Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) exhibit maternally driven fidelity to feeding grounds, and yet occasionally occupy new areas. Humpback whale sightings and mortalities in the New York Bight apex (NYBA) have been increasing over the last decade, providing an opportunity to study this phenomenon in an urban habitat. Whales in this area overlap with human activities, including busy shipping traffic leading into the Port of New York and New Jersey. The site fidelity, population composition and demographics of individual whales were analysed to better inform management in this high-risk area. Whale watching and other opportunistic data collections were used to identify 101 individual humpback whales in the NYBA from spring through autumn, 2012–2018. Although mean occurrence was low (2.5 days), mean occupancy was 37.6 days, and 31.3% of whales returned from one year to the next. Individuals compared with other regional and ocean-basin-wide photo-identification catalogues (N = 52) were primarily resighted at other sites along the US East Coast, including the Gulf of Maine feeding ground. Sightings of mother-calf pairs were rare in the NYBA, suggesting that maternally directed fidelity may not be responsible for the presence of young whales in this area. Other factors including shifts in prey species distribution or changes in population structure more broadly should be investigated.
Valproate is widely used in psychiatry and neurology, including off-label use. Here we consider its potential benefits and risks, particularly for women of childbearing potential, and the evidence that clinical guidelines are adhered to. Finally, we consider the implications for clinical practice and research into its efficacy in off-label indications.
The Promoting Activity, Independence and Stability in Early Dementia (PrAISED) is delivering an exercise programme for people with dementia. The Lincolnshire partnership NHS foundation Trust successfully delivered PrAISED through a video-calling platform during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Objectives
This qualitative case-study identified participants that video delivery worked for, and highlighted its benefits and challenges.
Methods
Interviews were conducted with participants with dementia, caregivers and therapists, and analysed through thematic analysis.
Results
Video delivery worked best when participants had a supporting carer, when therapists showed enthusiasm and had an established rapport with the client. Benefits included time-efficiency of sessions, enhancing participants’ motivation, caregivers’ dementia awareness and therapists’ creativity. Limitations included users’ poor IT skills and resources.
Conclusions
The COVID-19 pandemic required innovative ways of delivering rehabilitation. This study supports that people with dementia can use tele rehab, but success is reliant on having a caregiver and an enthusiastic and known therapist.
Offspring of parents with major mood disorders (MDDs) are at increased risk for early psychopathology. We aim to compare the rates of neurodevelopmental disorders in offspring of parents with bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, and controls.
Method
We established a lifetime diagnosis of neurodevelopmental disorders [attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, communication disorders, intellectual disabilities, specific learning disorders, and motor disorders] using the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia, Present and Lifetime Version in 400 participants (mean age 11.3 + s.d. 3.9 years), including 93 offspring of parents with bipolar disorder, 182 offspring of parents with major depressive disorder, and 125 control offspring of parents with no mood disorder.
Results
Neurodevelopmental disorders were elevated in offspring of parents with bipolar disorder [odds ratio (OR) 2.34, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.23–4.47, p = 0.010] and major depressive disorder (OR 1.87, 95% CI 1.03–3.39, p = 0.035) compared to controls. This difference was driven by the rates of ADHD, which were highest among offspring of parents with bipolar disorder (30.1%), intermediate in offspring of parents with major depressive disorder (24.2%), and lowest in controls (14.4%). There were no significant differences in frequencies of other neurodevelopmental disorders between the three groups. Chronic course of mood disorder in parents was associated with higher rates of any neurodevelopmental disorder and higher rates of ADHD in offspring.
Conclusions
Our findings suggest monitoring for ADHD and other neurodevelopmental disorders in offspring of parents with MDDs may be indicated to improve early diagnosis and treatment.
As two particles approach each other, the continuum lubrication force diverges, with decreasing separation preventing contact. However, for separations comparable to the mean free path of the gas, $\lambda$, non-continuum effects cause the lubrication force to diverge more slowly with decreasing separation distance, allowing for contact in finite time. The first study of this phenomenon was done by Sundararajakumar & Koch (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 313, 1996, pp. 238–308) for two particles moving along their line of centres. We extend their normal motion study to include tangential motions. For small Knudsen number $Kn=\lambda / a$, where $a$ is the harmonic mean of the two particle radii, we use a matched asymptotic expansion technique to obtain the non-continuum forces and torques for tangential motions of spheres separated by distances within the lubrication regime that are at or below the mean free path of the gas. The hydrodynamic resistivity functions are fitted to provide a uniformly valid approximation that smoothly transitions between the continuum multipole and non-continuum lubrication expressions for the forces and torques as the minimum gap between the particles $h_0$ varies from values of $O(a)$ to values of $O(\lambda )$. These functions, in combination with the result by Sundararajakumar & Koch (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 313, 1996, pp. 238–308) and the classical work by Jeffrey & Onishi (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 139, 1984, pp. 261–290), yield a complete formulation for the hydrodynamic interactions of two spheres at all separations, from non-interacting spheres in the extreme far field through all the transitions that occur up to contact. We apply the new formulation to the classical case of a particle settling parallel to a vertical wall. The continuum Stokes equation predicts a settling speed that decreases with decreasing gap separation and vanishes at contact, whereas the non-continuum model developed herein predicts a finite settling speed at contact.
In the healthy brain, homeostatic balance between excitation and inhibition maintains neural stability. Reduced inhibition may explain shared symptoms observed in autism and psychosis. Here we review evidence suggesting that altered levels of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) may underlie both disorders, providing a potential cross-diagnostic therapeutic target.
Out of hours, there is only one on-site junior doctor. First year psychiatry trainees (CT1s) and GP trainees may have no prior experience in psychiatry. On-call shifts are therefore potentially daunting for new trainees.
Objectives
Expand the resources available for trainees when on-call.
Methods
We issued questionnaires to CT1s asking if they would have appreciated more information about on-call scenarios and in what format.
Based on the questionnaire results we implemented some changes. These were:
– a printed “pocket-guide” summarising common on-call scenarios;
– a training video on common on-call scenarios.
The handout was given to new trainees in February 2016 and in August 2016. The video was shown to new trainees in August 2016. Trainees provided feedback on the resources.
Results
Of 24 CT1s, 15 (63%) were “neutral” or “disagreed” that they had felt prepared for on-calls.
CT1s wanted additional resources, especially a paper handout or phone download.
Feedback on the “pocket-guide” from trainees in February 2016 (n = 8) was positive (62.5% reported increased confidence in on-call situations). Feedback is also being collected from trainees who received the guide in August 2016.
Trainees in August 2016 (n = 36) liked the video – no trainees “disagreed” with statements asking if the video had been useful.
The video improved the confidence of trainees about on-call situations by an average of 2.8 points.
Conclusions
We have expanded available resources relating to on-calls and improved confidence. Further improvements would include making resources more easily available in downloadable formats.
Disclosure of interest
The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.
The use of mechanical restraint is a challenging area for psychiatry. Although mechanical restraint remains accepted as standard practice in some regions, there are ethical, legal and medical reasons to minimise or abolish its use. These concerns have intensified following the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Despite national policies to reduce use, the reporting of mechanical restraint has been poor, hampering a reasonable understanding of the epidemiology of restraint. This paper aims to develop a consistent measure of mechanical restraint and compare the measure within and across countries in the Pacific Rim.
Methods
We used the publicly available data from four Pacific Rim countries (Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the United States) to compare and contrast the reported rates of mechanical restraint. Summary measures were computed so as to enable international comparisons. Variation within each jurisdiction was also analysed.
Results
International rates of mechanical restraint in 2017 varied from 0.03 (New Zealand) to 98.8 (Japan) restraint events per million population per day, a variation greater than 3000-fold. Restraint in Australia (0.17 events per million) and the United States (0.37 events per million) fell between these two extremes. Variation as measured by restraint events per 1000 bed-days was less extreme but still substantial. Within all four countries there was also significant variation in restraint across districts. Variation across time did not show a steady reduction in restraint in any country during the period for which data were available (starting from 2003 at the earliest).
Conclusions
Policies to reduce or abolish mechanical restraint do not appear to be effecting change. It is improbable that the variation in restraint within the four examined Pacific Rim countries is accountable for by psychopathology. Greater efforts at reporting, monitoring and carrying out interventions to achieve the stated aim of reducing restraint are urgently needed.
Angiostrongylus cantonensis is a pathogenic nematode and the cause of neuroangiostrongyliasis, an eosinophilic meningitis more commonly known as rat lungworm disease. Transmission is thought to be primarily due to ingestion of infective third stage larvae (L3) in gastropods, on produce, or in contaminated water. The gold standard to determine the effects of physical and chemical treatments on the infectivity of A. cantonensis L3 larvae is to infect rodents with treated L3 larvae and monitor for infection, but animal studies are laborious and expensive and also raise ethical concerns. This study demonstrates propidium iodide (PI) to be a reliable marker of parasite death and loss of infective potential without adversely affecting the development and future reproduction of live A. cantonensis larvae. PI staining allows evaluation of the efficacy of test substances in vitro, an improvement upon the use of lack of motility as an indicator of death. Some potential applications of this assay include determining the effectiveness of various anthelmintics, vegetable washes, electromagnetic radiation and other treatments intended to kill larvae in the prevention and treatment of neuroangiostrongyliasis.
Children of parents with mood and psychotic disorders are at elevated risk for a range of behavioral and emotional problems. However, as the usual reporter of psychopathology in children is the parent, reports of early problems in children of parents with mood and psychotic disorders may be biased by the parents' own experience of mental illness and their mental state.
Methods
Independent observers rated psychopathology using the Test Observation Form in 378 children and youth between the ages of 4 and 24 (mean = 11.01, s.d. = 4.40) who had a parent with major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or no history of mood and psychotic disorders.
Results
Observed attentional problems were elevated in offspring of parents with major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia (effect sizes ranging between 0.31 and 0.56). Oppositional behavior and language/thought problems showed variable degrees of elevation (effect sizes 0.17 to 0.57) across the three high-risk groups, with the greatest difficulties observed in offspring of parents with bipolar disorder. Observed anxiety was increased in offspring of parents with major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder (effect sizes 0.19 and 0.25 respectively) but not in offspring of parents with schizophrenia.
Conclusions
Our results suggest that externalizing problems and cognitive and language difficulties may represent a general manifestation of familial risk for mood and psychotic disorders, while anxiety may be a specific marker of liability for mood disorders. Observer assessment may improve early identification of risk and selection of youth who may benefit from targeted prevention.
We present a highly detailed study of calving dynamics at Tunabreen, a tidewater glacier in Svalbard. A time-lapse camera was trained on the terminus and programmed to capture images every 3 seconds over a 28-hour period in August 2015, producing a highly detailed record of 34 117 images from which 358 individual calving events were distinguished. Calving activity is characterised by frequent events (12.8 events h−1) that are small relative to the spectrum of calving events observed, demonstrating the prevalence of small-scale calving mechanisms. Five calving styles were observed, with a high proportion of calving events (82%) originating at, or above, the waterline. The tidal cycle plays a key role in the timing of calving events, with 68% occurring on the falling limb of the tide. Calving activity is concentrated where meltwater plumes surface at the glacier front, and a ~ 5 m undercut at the base of the glacier suggests that meltwater plumes encourage melt-under-cutting. We conclude that frontal ablation at Tunabreen may be paced by submarine melt rates, as suggested from similar observations at glaciers in Svalbard and Alaska. Using submarine melt rate to calculate frontal ablation would greatly simplify estimations of tidewater glacier losses in prognostic models.
Strong strain-mediated magnetoelectric (ME) coupling in magnetic/ferroelectric heterostructures has great potential for different high-frequency multiferroic devices. In this article, we present the most recent progress in integrated multiferroic devices. Integrated magnetic tunable inductors with a wide operation frequency range, integrated nonreciprocal bandpass filters with dual magnetic and electric-field tunability based on magnetostatics surface waves, and novel radio-frequency nanomechanical ME resonators with pico-Tesla sensitivity for direct current magnetic fields are presented. Finally, a new antenna miniaturization mechanism, acoustically actuated nanomechanical ME antennas, which can successfully miniaturize the size by 1–2 orders, is introduced. With the advantages of high magnetic field sensitivity, highest antenna gain among all nanoscale antennas at similar frequency, integrated capability with complementary metal oxide semiconductor technology, and ground-plane immunity from metallic surfaces and the human body, ME antennas have a bright future for biomedical applications, wearable antennas, and the Internet of Things due to their unique and particular properties.
The properties of the acoustic modes are sensitive to magnetic activity. The unprecedented long-term Kepler photometry, thus, allows stellar magnetic cycles to be studied through asteroseismology. We search for signatures of magnetic cycles in the seismic data of Kepler solar-type stars. We find evidence for periodic variations in the acoustic properties of about half of the 87 analysed stars. In these proceedings, we highlight the results obtained for two such stars, namely KIC 8006161 and KIC 5184732.