To evaluate the impact of implementing clinical decision support (CDS) tools for outpatient antibiotic prescribing in the emergency department (ED) and clinic settings.

We performed a before-and-after, quasi-experimental study that employed an interrupted time-series analysis.

The study institution was a quaternary, academic referral center in Northern California.

We included prescriptions for patients in the ED and 21 primary-care clinics within the same health system.

We implemented a CDS tool for azithromycin on March 1, 2020, and a CDS tool for fluoroquinolones (FQs; ie, ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, and moxifloxacin) on November 1, 2020. The CDS added friction to inappropriate ordering workflows while adding health information technology (HIT) features to easily perform recommended actions. The primary outcome was the number of monthly prescriptions for each antibiotic type, by implementation period (before vs after).

Immediately after azithromycin-CDS implementation, monthly rates of azithromycin prescribing decreased significantly in both the ED (−24%; 95% CI, −37% to −10%; P < .001) and outpatient clinics (−47%; 95% CI, −56% to −37%; P < .001). In the first month after FQ-CDS implementation in the clinics, there was no significant drop in ciprofloxacin prescriptions; however, there was a significant decrease in ciprofloxacin prescriptions over time (−5% per month; 95% CI, −6% to −3%; P < .001), suggesting a delayed effect of the CDS.

Implementing CDS tools was associated with an immediate decrease in azithromycin prescriptions, in both the ED and clinics. CDS may serve as a valuable adjunct to existing antimicrobial stewardship programs.

Primary deficit schizophrenia (DS) is characterized by enduring negative symptoms and represents a qualitatively different disease entity with respect to non-deficit schizophrenia (NDS). No studies investigated the association between the enzyme paraoxonase 1 (PON1) and DS and its phenomenology.

In this case-control study, Thai women and men, aged 18 to 65 years, were divided in DS (n = 40) and NDS (n = 40) and were compared to controls (n = 40). PON1 activities against 4-(chloromethyl)phenyl acetate (CMPA) and phenylacetate were determined. Moreover, subjects were genotyped for their PON1 Q192R polymorphism and immunoglobulin A (IgA) levels responses directed to Gram-negative bacteria were measured.

DS is significantly associated with the QQ genotype and the Q allele as compared with NDS and controls. PON1 activities are significantly and inversely associated with negative symptoms, formal thought disorders, psychomotor retardation, excitation and DS. The presence of the Q allele is associated with increased IgA responses to Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Morganella morganii, and Pseudomonas putida as compared with RR carriers.

The PON1 Q allele and lower PON1 activities especially against CMPA are associated with DS, indicating lowered quorum quenching abilities as well as lowered defenses against lipoperoxidation and immune activation. It is suggested that lowered PON1 activity in DS constitutes an impairment in the innate immune system which together with lowered natural IgM may cause lower immune regulation thereby predisposing toward greater neurotoxic effects of immune-inflammatory, oxidative and nitrosative pathways and Gram-negative microbiota.

Neurocognitive and functional neuroimaging studies point to frontal lobe abnormalities in schizophrenia. Molecular and behavioural genetic studies suggest that the frontal lobe is under significant genetic influence. We carried out structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the frontal lobe in monozygotic (MZ) twins concordant or discordant for schizophrenia and healthy MZ control twins.

The sample comprised 21 concordant pairs, 17 discordant affected and 18 discordant unaffected twins from 19 discordant pairs, and 27 control pairs. Groups were matched on sociodemographic variables. Patient groups (concordant, discordant affected) did not differ on clinical variables. Volumes of superior, middle, inferior and orbital frontal gyri were calculated using the Cavalieri principle on the basis of manual tracing of anatomic boundaries. Group differences were investigated covarying for whole-brain volume, gender and age.

Results for superior frontal gyrus showed that twins with schizophrenia (i.e. concordant twins and discordant affected twins) had reduced volume compared to twins without schizophrenia (i.e. discordant unaffected and control twins), indicating an effect of illness. For middle and orbital frontal gyrus, concordant (but not discordant affected) twins differed from non-schizophrenic twins. There were no group differences in inferior frontal gyrus volume.

These findings suggest that volume reductions in the superior frontal gyrus are associated with a diagnosis of schizophrenia (in the presence or absence of a co-twin with schizophrenia). On the other hand, volume reductions in middle and orbital frontal gyri are seen only in concordant pairs, perhaps reflecting the increased genetic vulnerability in this group.

Schizophrenia is associated with robust hippocampal volume deficits but subregion volume deficits, their associations with cognition, and contributing genes remain to be determined.

Hippocampal formation (HF) subregion volumes were obtained using FreeSurfer 6.0 from individuals with schizophrenia (n = 176, mean age ± s.d. = 39.0 ± 11.5, 132 males) and healthy volunteers (n = 173, mean age ± s.d. = 37.6 ± 11.3, 123 males) with similar mean age, gender, handedness, and race distributions. Relationships between the HF subregion volume with the largest between group difference, neuropsychological performance, and single-nucleotide polymorphisms were assessed.

This study found a significant group by region interaction on hippocampal subregion volumes. Compared to healthy volunteers, individuals with schizophrenia had significantly smaller dentate gyrus (DG) (Cohen's d = −0.57), Cornu Ammonis (CA) 4, molecular layer of the hippocampus, hippocampal tail, and CA 1 volumes, when statistically controlling for intracranial volume; DG (d = −0.43) and CA 4 volumes remained significantly smaller when statistically controlling for mean hippocampal volume. DG volume showed the largest between group difference and significant positive associations with visual memory and speed of processing in the overall sample. Genome-wide association analysis with DG volume as the quantitative phenotype identified rs56055643 (β = 10.8, p < 5 × 10−8, 95% CI 7.0–14.5) on chromosome 3 in high linkage disequilibrium with MOBP. Gene-based analyses identified associations between SLC25A38 and RPSA and DG volume.

This study suggests that DG dysfunction is fundamentally involved in schizophrenia pathophysiology, that it may contribute to cognitive abnormalities in schizophrenia, and that underlying biological mechanisms may involve contributions from MOBP, SLC25A38, and RPSA.

The mode of onset and the course of schizophrenia illness exhibit substantial individual variations. Previous studies have pointed out that the mode of onset affects the duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) and clinical outcomes, such as cognitive and social functioning. This study attempted to clarify the association between the DUP and clinical features, taking the different modes of onset into consideration, in a prospective longitudinal study examining patients with first-episode schizophrenia.

This study was conducted in six areas of Japan. Patients with first-episode schizophrenia were followed for over 18 months. Cognitive function, psychopathology, and social functioning were assessed at baseline and at 6, 12, and 18-month follow-up points.

We identified 168 patients and sufficient information was available to determine the DUP and the mode of onset for 156 patients (92.9%): 79 had an acute onset, and 77 had an insidious onset. The DUP was significantly associated with quality of life (QOL), social functioning, and cognitive function at most of the follow-up points in the insidious-onset group. The DUP and negative symptoms at baseline were significant predictors of cognitive function at the 18-month follow-up in the insidious-onset group.

The present results further support the hypothesis that the DUP affects QOL, social functioning, and cognitive function over the course of illness, especially in patients with an insidious onset. Effective strategies for detecting and caring for individuals with insidious onset early during the course of schizophrenia will be essential for achieving a full patient recovery.

Bone contouring is currently the best treatment for fibro-osseous lesions after bone growth arrest. Navigation systems available for this surgery allow intra-operative visualisation with improved cosmetic outcomes. However, conventional navigation systems using superficial skin registration cannot prevent subtle discrepancies.

To address this problem, we used a non-invasive cranial bone registration that uses patient-specific dental templates to maintain exact registration. We created the preset goal using the mirror image of the unaffected side for unilateral lesions, and using images obtained before the onset of symptoms for bilateral lesions. This system achieved precise pre-operative simulation. A sound aid in the navigation system provided information regarding proximity to critical structures and to the preset goal.

We used this system to contour fibro-osseous lesions in three patients. All patients achieved good facial contours and improvement in symptoms.

This method offers a safe, rapid surgical aid in treating orbital fibro-osseous lesions.

To investigate the characteristic physical properties of the oscillating system in the intact middle ear using a high-speed camera.

We analysed the oscillation of the guinea pig stapes using a high-speed camera. The specimens were prepared so that the middle-ear structures were intact. Tones of various frequencies were delivered into the external auditory canal.

We found that the stapes showed a damped oscillation after the sound stimulation had stopped. The damped oscillation after the sound stimulation showed a specimen-specific frequency that was independent of the frequency of the stimulating sound. An injury to the bony labyrinth, which removed most of the mass from the oscillating system, attenuated the damped oscillation. Therefore, this damped oscillation is likely a passive motion, rather than a reverberation of the stimulating sound.

Analysing the passive damped oscillation may reveal the characteristic physical properties of the oscillating system in the near-intact middle ear. Further refinement of this simple and straightforward system may enhance basic and clinical research on the middle ear in a more intuitive way.

We investigated the ossicular movement in the near-intact middle ear in response to acoustic stimulation using a high-speed video camera and video analysis software program.

We have designed a good visual access to the middle ear of the guinea pig by opening the ventral wall of the otic capsule, without injuring the sound-conducting structures, from the external auditory canal to the oval window. The high-speed video camera could record analysable ossicular motion up to 4000 frames per second.

The stapes showed reciprocal movement in the same frequency as the stimulating tone, and with an amplitude proportional to the stimulating sound intensity. Injury to the tympanic membrane attenuated the stapedial motion, which was recovered to that of the control level by patch repair of the perforation.

Our experimental set-up was capable of evaluating the conductive hearing, regardless of the status of the animal's sensorineural hearing or even life. Such a video analysis may provide a powerful tool to investigate the physiology of the middle ear.