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Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) causes significant morbidity and mortality; however, the diagnosis of CDI remains controversial. The primary aim of our study was to evaluate the association of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) cycle threshold (Ct) values with CDI disease severity, recurrence, and mortality among adult patients with CDI.
Design:
Retrospective cohort study.
Setting:
Single tertiary-care hospital.
Patients:
Adult patients diagnosed with hospital-onset, healthcare facility–associated CDI from June 2014 to September 2015.
Methods:
We performed a retrospective chart review of included patients. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression methods were used to evaluate the association between Ct values and CDI severity, 8-week recurrence, and 30-day mortality.
Results:
Among 318 included patients, 51% were male and the mean age was 62 years; ~32% of the patients developed severe CDI and 11% developed severe–complicated CDI. The 30-day all-cause mortality rate was 11% and the 8-week recurrence rate was 9.5%. The overall mean Ct value was 32.9 (range, 23–40). Multivariable analyses showed that lower values of PCR Ct were associated with increased odds of 30-day morality (odds ratio [OR] 0.83; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.72–0.96) but were not independently associated with CDI severity (OR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.90–1.09) or recurrence (OR, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.77–1.00).
Conclusions:
Our findings suggest that PCR Ct values at the time of diagnosis may have a limited predictive value and utility in clinical decision making for inpatients with CDI. Larger, prospective studies across different patient populations are needed to confirm our findings.
Basal melt of ice shelves is not only an important part of Antarctica's ice sheet mass budget, but it is also the origin of platelet ice, one of the most distinctive types of sea ice. In many coastal Antarctic regions, ice crystals form and grow in supercooled plumes of Ice Shelf Water. They usually rise towards the surface, becoming trapped under an ice shelf as marine ice or forming a semi-consolidated layer, known as the sub-ice platelet layer, below an overlying sea ice cover. In the latter, sea ice growth consolidates loose crystals to form incorporated platelet ice. These phenomena have numerous and profound impacts on the physical properties, biological processes and biogeochemical cycles associated with Antarctic fast ice: platelet ice contributes to sea ice mass balance and may indicate the extent of ice-shelf basal melting. It can also host a highly productive and uniquely adapted ecosystem. This paper clarifies the terminology and reviews platelet ice formation, observational methods as well as the geographical and seasonal occurrence of this ice type. The physical properties and ecological implications are presented in a way understandable for physicists and biologists alike, thereby providing the background for much needed interdisciplinary research on this topic.
Access to cutting-edge technologies is essential for investigators to advance translational research. The Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CTSI) spans three major and preeminent universities, four large academic campuses across the state of Indiana, and is mandate to provide best practices to a whole state.
Methods:
To address the need to facilitate the availability of innovative technologies to its investigators, the Indiana CTSI implemented the Access Technology Program (ATP). The activities of the ATP, or any program of the Indiana CTSI, are challenged to connect technologies and investigators on the multiple Indiana CTSI campuses by the geographical distances between campuses (1–4 hr driving time).
Results:
Herein, we describe the initiatives developed by the ATP to increase the availability of state-of-the-art technologies to its investigators on all Indiana CTSI campuses, and the methods developed by the ATP to bridge the distance between campuses, technologies, and investigators for the advancement of clinical translational research.
Conclusions:
The methods and practices described in this publication may inform other approaches to enhance translational research, dissemination, and usage of innovative technologies by translational investigators, especially when distance or multi-campus cultural differences are factors to efficient application.
Radiocarbon (14C) ages cannot provide absolutely dated chronologies for archaeological or paleoenvironmental studies directly but must be converted to calendar age equivalents using a calibration curve compensating for fluctuations in atmospheric 14C concentration. Although calibration curves are constructed from independently dated archives, they invariably require revision as new data become available and our understanding of the Earth system improves. In this volume the international 14C calibration curves for both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, as well as for the ocean surface layer, have been updated to include a wealth of new data and extended to 55,000 cal BP. Based on tree rings, IntCal20 now extends as a fully atmospheric record to ca. 13,900 cal BP. For the older part of the timescale, IntCal20 comprises statistically integrated evidence from floating tree-ring chronologies, lacustrine and marine sediments, speleothems, and corals. We utilized improved evaluation of the timescales and location variable 14C offsets from the atmosphere (reservoir age, dead carbon fraction) for each dataset. New statistical methods have refined the structure of the calibration curves while maintaining a robust treatment of uncertainties in the 14C ages, the calendar ages and other corrections. The inclusion of modeled marine reservoir ages derived from a three-dimensional ocean circulation model has allowed us to apply more appropriate reservoir corrections to the marine 14C data rather than the previous use of constant regional offsets from the atmosphere. Here we provide an overview of the new and revised datasets and the associated methods used for the construction of the IntCal20 curve and explore potential regional offsets for tree-ring data. We discuss the main differences with respect to the previous calibration curve, IntCal13, and some of the implications for archaeology and geosciences ranging from the recent past to the time of the extinction of the Neanderthals.
Anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) are derived by chemical manipulation of the testosterone molecule. The specified category of drugs produces anabolic, androgenic and psycho-active effects including elevated aggressive, hostile, violent and anti social behavior.
Objective
The objective of this case report observational study was to evaluate the possible psychological consequences of AS use in the twin user of each pair, compared with the non-user twin.
Methodology
We studied two pairs of male monozygotic twins: one pair 24 years old and the other 31 years old, with absolute genome and phenotype similarity. One of the twins of each pair used AAS while the other did not. Both pairs lived in Hellenic provincial towns and followed a common training and nutrition regime. The psychometric instruments used were the Symptoms Check List-90 (SCL-90) and the Hostility and Direction of Hostility Questionnaire (HDHQ). The psychometric evaluations took place within a time interval of 6 months.
Results
The study found high levels of aggressiveness, hostility, anxiety and paranoid ideation in the twins who used AS. The non-user twins showed no deviation from their initial status.
Conclusion
The use of AAS induced several important psychiatric changes in monozygotic twins which were not present in the twin who did not use AAS.
The objective of our study was to evaluate the psychological consequences of real-world AAS use in athletes abusing such agents, in comparison with a placebo and control group of comparable athletes, while correlating the severity of abuse with the side effects observed. The hypothesis tested by the study was that the use of AAS induces a wide range of psychological side effects whose impact and emergence is dependent upon the severity of the abuse.
Design
The study includes a substantial group of AAS abusing athletes and two more groups demographically similar to the first, one composed of athletes not using any substance and a placebo group. All athletes were stratified according to the severity of AAS abuse. Psychometric instruments were applied to all athletes in specific time intervals, dependent to the AAS abusers' regimens, providing us with a final psychological profile that was to be compared to the pre-study profile. All results were comparable (within and between groups) for statistically significant differences and correlated to the severity of the abuse. Homogeneity of all groups was safeguarded by random doping controls, monitoring of drug levels and analysis of all self obtained drugs by method of liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. All athletes were provided with a common exercise and dietary regime, so common training and nutritional conditions were achieved.
Methods
We studied a cohort of 320 body-building, amateur and recreational athletes, of whom 160 were active users of AAS (group C), 80 users administering placebo drugs (group B) and 80 not abusing any substance (Group A). Group C athletes were stratified according to AAS abuse parameters, thus providing us with three subgroups of “light, medium and heavy abuse”. Athletes of groups A and B were included in a “no abuse” subgroup. The psychometric instruments used were the Symptoms Check List-90 (SCL-90) and the Hostility and Direction of Hostility Questionnaire (HDHQ). The psychometric evaluations took place within a time interval of 13 months. Statistical analysis was performed by using the Mann–Whitney/Wilcoxon two-sample non-parametric test (Kruskal–Wallis test for two groups) for data that were not normally distributed and Linear regression analysis was used to ascertain the correlation between severity of use and escalation of side effects.
Results
The study showed a statistically significant increase in all psychometric subscales recorded in group C, and no statistically significant difference in group C and A. There was a significant increase in the scorings of group C for all subscales of SCL-90 and HDHQ. Correlation of abuse severity and side effects showed that there was a statistical significant increase in Δ values of all SCL-90 and HDHQ subscales that escalated from light abuse to medium and heavy abuse/consumption patterns.
Conclusions
The results of the study suggest that the wide range of psychiatric side effects induced by the use of AAS is correlated to the severity of abuse and the force of these side effects intensifies as the abuse escalates.
People with bipolar disorders may have relapse of mood episodes associated with sleep deprivation and postpartum states. Jet lag can cause sleep problems resulting in relapse of mood episodes in vulnerable people. Melatonin synthesized in the pineal gland will normalize the circadian rhythm and prevent the recurrence of mood episodes in predisposed people. We are reporting a case of successful use of melatonin in a 30-year old lady with history of postpartum onset mood disorder and multiple relapses of mania precipitated by jet lag.
This study examined the long-term effects of a randomized controlled trial of the Family Check-Up (FCU) intervention initiated at age 2 on inhibitory control in middle childhood and adolescent internalizing and externalizing problems. We hypothesized that the FCU would promote higher inhibitory control in middle childhood relative to the control group, which in turn would be associated with lower internalizing and externalizing symptomology at age 14. Participants were 731 families, with half (n = 367) of the families assigned to the FCU intervention. Using an intent-to-treat design, results indicate that the FCU intervention was indirectly associated with both lower internalizing and externalizing symptoms at age 14 via its effect on increased inhibitory control in middle childhood (i.e., ages 8.5–10.5). Findings highlight the potential for interventions initiated in toddlerhood to have long-term impacts on self-regulation processes, which can further reduce the risk for behavioral and emotional difficulties in adolescence.
Two new species, Begonia bracteolata and Begonia keralensis, are described from the Western Ghats of India. They are placed in the newly created Begonia sect. Flocciferae, along with B. albo-coccinea Hook. and B. floccifera Bedd. Lectotypes are designated for three names within this section. Colour photoplates, illustrations and an identification key to Begonia sect. Flocciferae are also provided.
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) history have high rates of performance validity test (PVT) failure. The study aimed to determine whether those with scores in the invalid versus valid range on PVTs show similar benefit from psychotherapy and if psychotherapy improves PVT performance.
Method:
Veterans (N = 100) with PTSD, mild-to-moderate TBI history, and cognitive complaints underwent neuropsychological testing at baseline, post-treatment, and 3-month post-treatment. Veterans were randomly assigned to cognitive processing therapy (CPT) or a novel hybrid intervention integrating CPT with TBI psychoeducation and cognitive rehabilitation strategies from Cognitive Symptom Management and Rehabilitation Therapy (CogSMART). Performance below standard cutoffs on any PVT trial across three different PVT measures was considered invalid (PVT-Fail), whereas performance above cutoffs on all measures was considered valid (PVT-Pass).
Results:
Although both PVT groups exhibited clinically significant improvement in PTSD symptoms, the PVT-Pass group demonstrated greater symptom reduction than the PVT-Fail group. Measures of post-concussive and depressive symptoms improved to a similar degree across groups. Treatment condition did not moderate these results. Rate of valid test performance increased from baseline to follow-up across conditions, with a stronger effect in the SMART-CPT compared to CPT condition.
Conclusion:
Both PVT groups experienced improved psychological symptoms following treatment. Veterans who failed PVTs at baseline demonstrated better test engagement following treatment, resulting in higher rates of valid PVTs at follow-up. Veterans with invalid PVTs should be enrolled in trauma-focused treatment and may benefit from neuropsychological assessment after, rather than before, treatment.
Positive symptoms are a useful predictor of aggression in schizophrenia. Although a similar pattern of abnormal brain structures related to both positive symptoms and aggression has been reported, this observation has not yet been confirmed in a single sample.
Method
To study the association between positive symptoms and aggression in schizophrenia on a neurobiological level, a prospective meta-analytic approach was employed to analyze harmonized structural neuroimaging data from 10 research centers worldwide. We analyzed brain MRI scans from 902 individuals with a primary diagnosis of schizophrenia and 952 healthy controls.
Results
The result identified a widespread cortical thickness reduction in schizophrenia compared to their controls. Two separate meta-regression analyses revealed that a common pattern of reduced cortical gray matter thickness within the left lateral temporal lobe and right midcingulate cortex was significantly associated with both positive symptoms and aggression.
Conclusion
These findings suggested that positive symptoms such as formal thought disorder and auditory misperception, combined with cognitive impairments reflecting difficulties in deploying an adaptive control toward perceived threats, could escalate the likelihood of aggression in schizophrenia.
Building on prior work using Tom Dishion's Family Check-Up, the current article examined intervention effects on dysregulated irritability in early childhood. Dysregulated irritability, defined as reactive and intense response to frustration, and prolonged angry mood, is an ideal marker of neurodevelopmental vulnerability to later psychopathology because it is a transdiagnostic indicator of decrements in self-regulation that are measurable in the first years of life that have lifelong implications for health and disease. This study is perhaps the first randomized trial to examine the direct effects of an evidence- and family-based intervention, the Family Check-Up (FCU), on irritability in early childhood and the effects of reductions in irritability on later risk of child internalizing and externalizing symptomatology. Data from the geographically and sociodemographically diverse multisite Early Steps randomized prevention trial were used. Path modeling revealed intervention effects on irritability at age 4, which predicted lower externalizing and internalizing symptoms at age 10.5. Results indicate that family-based programs initiated in early childhood can reduce early childhood irritability and later risk for psychopathology. This holds promise for earlier identification and prevention approaches that target transdiagnostic pathways. Implications for future basic and prevention research are discussed.
Several research teams have previously traced patterns of emerging conduct problems (CP) from early or middle childhood. The current study expands on this previous literature by using a genetically-informed, experimental, and long-term longitudinal design to examine trajectories of early-emerging conduct problems and early childhood discriminators of such patterns from the toddler period to adolescence. The sample represents a cohort of 731 toddlers and diverse families recruited based on socioeconomic, child, and family risk, varying in urbanicity and assessed on nine occasions between ages 2 and 14. In addition to examining child, family, and community level discriminators of patterns of emerging conduct problems, we were able to account for genetic susceptibility using polygenic scores and the study's experimental design to determine whether random assignment to the Family Check-Up (FCU) discriminated trajectory groups. In addition, in accord with differential susceptibility theory, we tested whether the effects of the FCU were stronger for those children with higher genetic susceptibility. Results augmented previous findings documenting the influence of child (inhibitory control [IC], gender) and family (harsh parenting, parental depression, and educational attainment) risk. In addition, children in the FCU were overrepresented in the persistent low versus persistent high CP group, but such direct effects were qualified by an interaction between the intervention and genetic susceptibility that was consistent with differential susceptibility. Implications are discussed for early identification and specifically, prevention efforts addressing early child and family risk.
Item 9 of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) queries about thoughts of death and self-harm, but not suicidality. Although it is sometimes used to assess suicide risk, most positive responses are not associated with suicidality. The PHQ-8, which omits Item 9, is thus increasingly used in research. We assessed equivalency of total score correlations and the diagnostic accuracy to detect major depression of the PHQ-8 and PHQ-9.
Methods
We conducted an individual patient data meta-analysis. We fit bivariate random-effects models to assess diagnostic accuracy.
Results
16 742 participants (2097 major depression cases) from 54 studies were included. The correlation between PHQ-8 and PHQ-9 scores was 0.996 (95% confidence interval 0.996 to 0.996). The standard cutoff score of 10 for the PHQ-9 maximized sensitivity + specificity for the PHQ-8 among studies that used a semi-structured diagnostic interview reference standard (N = 27). At cutoff 10, the PHQ-8 was less sensitive by 0.02 (−0.06 to 0.00) and more specific by 0.01 (0.00 to 0.01) among those studies (N = 27), with similar results for studies that used other types of interviews (N = 27). For all 54 primary studies combined, across all cutoffs, the PHQ-8 was less sensitive than the PHQ-9 by 0.00 to 0.05 (0.03 at cutoff 10), and specificity was within 0.01 for all cutoffs (0.00 to 0.01).
Conclusions
PHQ-8 and PHQ-9 total scores were similar. Sensitivity may be minimally reduced with the PHQ-8, but specificity is similar.
Dokuchaevite, ideally Cu8O2(VO4)3Cl3, was found in the Yadovitaya fumarole of the Second scoria cone of the North Breach of the Great Tolbachik Fissure Eruption (1975–1976), Tolbachik volcano, Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia. Dokuchaevite occurs on the crusts of various copper sulfate exhalative minerals (such as kamchatkite and euchlorine) as individual prismatic crystals. Dokuchaevite is triclinic, P
$\bar{1}$
, a = 6.332(3), b = 8.204(4), c = 15.562(8) Å, α = 90.498(8), β = 97.173(7), γ = 90.896(13)°, V = 801.9(7) Å3 and R1 = 0.057. The eight strongest lines of the X-ray powder diffraction pattern are (d, Å (I)(hkl): (15.4396)(18)(00
$\bar{1}$
), (7.2762)(27)(0
$\bar{1}$
1), (5.5957)(43)(012), (4.8571)(33)(
$\bar{1}\bar{1}$
1), (3.1929) (29)(023), (2.7915)(30)(202), (2.5645)(21)(032), (2.5220)(100)(1
$\bar{3}$
0), (2.4906)(18)(130) and (2.3267)(71)(2
$\bar{2}$
2). The chemical composition determined by electron-microprobe analysis is (wt.%): CuO 60.87, ZnO 0.50, FeO 0.36, V2O5 19.85, As2O5 6.96, SO3 0.44, MoO3 1.41, SiO2 0.20, P2O5 0.22, Cl 10.66, –O = Cl2 2.41, total 99.06. The empirical formula calculated on the basis of 17 anions per formula unit is (Cu7.72Zn0.06Fe0.05)Σ7.83(V2.20As0.61Mo0.10S0.06P0.03Si0.03)Σ3.03O13.96Cl3.04.
The crystal structure of dokuchaevite represents a new structure type with eight Cu sites, which demonstrate the remarkable diversity of Cu2+ mixed-ligand coordination environments. The crystal structure of dokuchaevite is based on OCu4 tetrahedra that share common corners thus forming [O2Cu6]8+ single chains. Two of the eight symmetrically independent copper atoms do not form Cu–O bonds with additional oxygen atoms, and thus are not part of the OCu4 tetrahedra, but provide the three-dimensional integrity of the [O2Cu6]8+ chains into a framework. TO4 mixed tetrahedral groups are located within the cavities of the framework. The structural formula of dokuchaevite can be represented as Cu2[Cu6O2](VO4)3Cl3.
Precise radiocarbon (14C) dating of sedimentary sequences is important for developing robust chronologies of environmental change, but sampling of suitable components can be challenging in highly dynamic landscapes. Here we investigate radiocarbon determinations of different peat size fractions from six peat sites, representing a range of geomorphological contexts on the South Atlantic subantarctic islands of the Falklands and South Georgia. To investigate the most suitable fraction for dating, 112 measurements were obtained from three components within selected horizons: a fine fraction <0.2 mm, a coarse fraction >0.2 mm, and bulk material. We find site selection is critical, with locations surrounded by high-ground and/or relatively slowly accumulating sites more susceptible to the translocation of older carbon. Importantly, in locations with reduced potential for redeposition of material, our results show that there is no significant or systematic difference between ages derived from bulk material, fine or coarse (plant macrofossil) material, providing confidence in the resulting age model. Crucially, in areas comprising complex terrain with extreme relief, we recommend dating macrofossils or bulk carbon rather than a fine fraction, or employing comprehensive dating of multiple sedimentary fractions to determine the most reliable fraction(s) for developing a robust chronological framework.
Background: Cervical sponylotic myelopathy (CSM) may present with neck and arm pain. This study investiagtes the change in neck/arm pain post-operatively in CSM. Methods: This ambispective study llocated 402 patients through the Canadian Spine Outcomes and Research Network. Outcome measures were the visual analogue scales for neck and arm pain (VAS-NP and VAS-AP) and the neck disability index (NDI). The thresholds for minimum clinically important differences (MCIDs) for VAS-NP and VAS-AP were determined to be 2.6 and 4.1. Results: VAS-NP improved from mean of 5.6±2.9 to 3.8±2.7 at 12 months (P<0.001). VAS-AP improved from 5.8±2.9 to 3.5±3.0 at 12 months (P<0.001). The MCIDs for VAS-NP and VAS-AP were also reached at 12 months. Based on the NDI, patients were grouped into those with mild pain/no pain (33%) versus moderate/severe pain (67%). At 3 months, a significantly high proportion of patients with moderate/severe pain (45.8%) demonstrated an improvement into mild/no pain, whereas 27.2% with mild/no pain demonstrated worsening into moderate/severe pain (P <0.001). At 12 months, 17.4% with mild/no pain experienced worsening of their NDI (P<0.001). Conclusions: This study suggests that neck and arm pain responds to surgical decompression in patients with CSM and reaches the MCIDs for VAS-AP and VAS-NP at 12 months.
The formation of Low mass X-ray binaries (LMXB) is favored within dense stellar systems such as Globular Clusters (GCs). The connection between LMXB and Globular Clusters has been extensively studied in the literature, but these studies have always been restricted to the innermost regions of galaxies. We present a study of LMXB in GCs within the central 1.5 deg2 of the Fornax cluster with the aim of confirming the existence of a population of LMXB in intra-cluster GCs and understand if their properties are related to the host GCs, to the environment or/and to different formation channels.