bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
PSVII-32 In vitro evaluation of antimicrobial activity of short- and medium-chain fatty acid salts and their combinations against Streptococcus suis
Authors: Sol Cinta , Puyalto Mónica , Canal Bernat , Carvajal Ana Maria , Gómez Manuel , Mallo Juan José
Published: November 2020

The aim of this study was to investigate the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of organic acid salts against six field isolates of Streptococcus suis. The three products evaluated were sodium salt of coconut fatty acids distillate (DIC) alone and two combinations with sodium butyrate (NaBut): DIC70:30, being 70% of NaBut protected with 30% of DIC; and DIC50:50, being 50% of NaBut protected with 50% of DIC. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed to estimate the MIC values for each product and strain by the broth microdilution method at pH 6.0. MBC values were also determined by sub-culturing supernatant from wells without evident bacterial growth. The values of MIC50/MBC50 were calculated as the concentration which inhibited/killed 50% of the isolates tested. The MIC50 showed DIC as the most effective (8 ppm) against S. suis followed by DIC50:50 (32 ppm) and DIC70:30 (64 ppm). The MBC50 demonstrated a similar trend, DIC being the most effective (16 ppm) followed by DIC50:50 (64 ppm) and DIC70:30 (64 ppm). It is well known that butyric acid is a short-chain fatty acid which has strong antimicrobial activity against Gram-negative bacteria. In contrast, coconut fatty acids distillate is a medium-chain fatty acid source (MCFA) rich in lauric acid which has strong antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive bacteria. Both products are generally available as salts to facilitate their application in feed. In this study, the results showed that DIC was the most effective against the Gram-positive bacteria tested, followed by DIC50:50 and DIC70:30, the sodium butyrate-based products. As expected, a higher concentration of MCFA in the tested product was associated with a higher inhibitory and bactericidal activity. Further studies would be required to better understand these interactions as well as in vivo studies to demonstrate the effects on microbial populations.
PSIV-33 The Animal Welfare Assessment Contest® as a Tool to Promote Animal Welfare Education
Authors: Kuca Sharon , McKinney Lindsey , Johnson Cia
Published: November 2020

Established in 2001, the Animal Welfare Assessment Contest® (AWJAC®) aims to be an innovative educational tool for enhancing understanding and awareness of welfare issues affecting animals used for human purposes (e.g., research, agriculture, entertainment, companionship). The contest is open to participation by veterinary, undergraduate, and graduate students who may participate as individuals or as part of a team. A limited number of veterinarians are also eligible to compete as non-placing participants. Participation in the contest entails assessment of live and computer-based scenarios encompassing data, photographs, and videos of animals in comparable situations. Students then use the information obtained to rank the welfare of the animals in those situations on the basis of physiologic and behavioral indicators, with attention to facilities and management, and present their analyses orally to expert judges. The species featured change each year of the contest. At the completion of each contest, participants and coaches are asked to anonymously complete a written survey. The quantitative and qualitative results of this survey are used to determine if the contest has achieved its aims and incorporate suggestions for improvement of future contests. The majority of survey respondents from the five contests held between 2014–2018 report they either strongly agree or agree that the AWJAC increased their knowledge of animal welfare science (98%, n = 549) and was an overall valuable experience (99%, n = 547) that they would recommend to their peers (98%, n = 550). Respondents cited networking opportunities and diversity of species featured in the contest as key reasons the contest is valuable. Given these results, the AWJAC is successfully achieving its aims to increase animal welfare knowledge in an innovative way.
PSI-27 Effect of antral follicle count on time intervals to estrus and ovulation in crossbred beef heifers
Authors: Chavez Maria K , Rosasco Shelby L , Herrington Matthew C , Beard Joslyn K , Summers Adam F
Published: November 2020

While genetics are an unreliable indicator of fertility, antral follicle count (AFC) has recently been recognized as a useful fertility prediction tool in heifers. The aim of this study was to determine if AFC exerts an effect on response to synchronization, time to estrus (TTE), and/or time to ovulation (TTO). Twenty-five crossbred heifers were classified by AFC, either high (> 25 antral follicles), moderate (16–24 antral follicles), or low (< 15 follicles) and utilized in two experiments. In experiment 1, heifers were subjected to the Select Synch + CIDR fixed time artificial insemination (FTAI) protocol. After synchronization, estrus activity was monitored every 3 h until standing estrus was observed. Heifers were examined at 12 and 18 h after observation of standing estrus and every 3 h thereafter to monitor ovulation. In experiment 1, the proportion of heifers that responded to the protocol was not significant (P = 0.71) among classification groups. Time to estrus and time to ovulation were similar between groups (P > 0.90). In experiment 2, heifers were placed with bulls for 60 d and were monitored for signs of estrus every 3 h. Results of experiment 2 indicated that response to estrus synchronization was similar across groups (P = 0.46). Time to estrus was greater (P = 0.04) in the high AFC group than in the low or moderate AFC groups. This may be attributed to lower concentrations of circulating gonadotropins in high AFC heifers, resulting in decreased intrafollicular estradiol. Differences in TTE results between experiment 1 and experiment 2 may be explained by increased reproductive function as heifers continued to mature during the study. These results suggest that differences in TTE may be related to AFC. Additional research is needed to corroborate these results and inform the creation of differing FTAI protocols based on AFC.
PSI-39 Retrospective analysis of semen quality attributes of bulls in the Cal Poly Bull Test
Authors: Thomas Payton A , Field Catherine E , Abo-Ismail Mohammed , McFarlane Zach D
Published: November 2020

The Cal Poly Bull Test has been offering valuable information for genetic improvement via a performance test of yearling beef bulls across the western United States since 1951. Growth and reproductive performance phenotypes were measured and collected over time. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the relationship between growth traits and semen quality traits. Performance records and semen samples of Hereford and Angus bulls were collected over a 12-year span from 2001–2013. A total of 1,982 records from Angus (n = 1692) and Hereford (n = 290) bulls were analyzed. All bulls were fall-born and weaned prior to the start of test in May. Bulls were fed for 99.83 ± 0.37 days in accordance with the guidelines of the Beef Improvement Federation where growth performance was assessed monthly during that period. After the conclusion of the test, usually in August, semen was collected from bulls and assessed for sperm motility, morphology and total sperm count. Bulls were retrospectively classified as low (0–1.4 kg), moderate (1.4–1.8 kg), or high (1.8–2.7 kg) average daily gain (ADG) bulls. The correlation among traits was evaluated using Pearson correlation, whereas a linear mixed model was used to evaluate the effect of growth on semen quality attributes. Bull age was moderately, negatively correlated (P < 0.01, r2 = -0.3) with scrotal circumference. Sperm motility and morphology were moderately correlated (P < 0.01, r2 = 0.35). Bull ADG was not strongly correlated (P < 0.01, r2 = 0.15) with semen motility or morphology. The results indicated a significant breed effect (P < 0.01) on semen motility and morphology. Angus bulls had a higher percent of progressively motile spermatozoa (P < 0.01; 72.23% ± 0.73) when compared with Hereford bulls (65.88% ± 1.37). Additionally, Angus bulls had a higher percentage of morphologically normal sperm (P < 0.01; 73.65% ± 0.59) when compared with Hereford bulls (66.29% ± 1.1). However, ADG as a class variable had no impact (P ≥ 0.50) on semen motility or morphology. Thus, these results indicate that higher levels of ADG during the testing period did not negatively impact semen quality attributes. More data must be collected to assess the biology behind the breed effects and validate the effect of body weight gain on semen quality attributes.
Matching global service standards—the role of intermediaries in economic upgrading of support-service firms in global production networks
Authors: Kumar Randhir , Beerepoot Niels
Published: November 2020

Economic upgrading of local firms in developing countries is a central theme in research on global value chains/production networks. Within this literature, few studies have concentrated on upgrading in non-tradable services. Even when serving international business clients these tend to be understood as locally rendered, peripheral activities that offer limited upgrading opportunities. Using the facilities management sector in Mumbai as a case in point, this article argues that such a view overlooks how: (1) more sophisticated demands from advanced international business service firms lead to enhanced standards and economic upgrading in low-end, non-tradable services, and (2) the emergence of global support-service providers acting as intermediaries in global production networks (GPNs) has contributed to enhanced operational standards in low-end support services. At the conceptual level, this article aims to elucidate the capital and labor dimensions of economic upgrading. This allows for a better understanding of the variations in economic upgrading across sectors and the ripple effects of economic upgrading in places where GPNs are grounded.
Genomics of Population Differentiation in Humpback Dolphins,Sousaspp. in the Indo-Pacific Ocean
Authors: Amaral Ana R , Chanfana Cátia , Smith Brian D , Mansur Rubaiyat , Collins Tim , Baldwin Robert , Minton Gianna , Parra Guido J , Krützen Michael , Jefferson Thomas A , Karczmarski Leszek , Guissamulo Almeida , Brownell Robert L , Rosenbaum Howard C
Published: November 2020

Speciation is a fundamental process in evolution and crucial to the formation of biodiversity. It is a continuous and complex process, which can involve multiple interacting barriers leading to heterogeneous genomic landscapes with various peaks of divergence among populations. In this study, we used a population genomics approach to gain insights on the speciation process and to understand the population structure within the genus Sousa across its distribution in the Indo-Pacific region. We found 5 distinct clusters, corresponding to S. plumbea along the eastern African coast and the Arabian Sea, the Bangladesh population, S. chinensis off Thailand and S. sahulensis off Australian waters. We suggest that the high level of differentiation found, even across geographically close areas, is likely determined by different oceanographic features such as sea surface temperature and primary productivity.
The Place, and Problems, of Truth
Authors: Tonstad Linn Marie
Published: November 2020

This article takes up some questions, and problems, of truth, relating both to the place of theology, the study of religion, and the humanities in the academy, and to the lives within which scholarship happens. Looking at the university, the challenge of religious language, the limitations of the confessional, and the shattering effect of lost lives, the article places loss, desire, and ongoingness beside each other to stage the inadequacy of its own tools to a proffered vision of truth as temporally indexed adequacy: what matters to someone at some time. In conversation with Friedrich Nietzsche, Stanley Cavell, Sara Ahmed, and Deborah Nelson, the article performs the failures and intensities it hopes to surface.
“The condom broke and I’m tired of worrying about HIV”
Authors: Hosek Sybil , Landovitz Raphael J.
Published: November 2020

Potential nonoccupational exposures to HIV should be considered as emergencies and access to postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) is urgently required. There is no need to wait for initial HIV testing results before dispensing PEP because a 3-drug regimen is being used. For patients who remain at risk of HIV infection during or after the course of PEP, a seamless transition from PEP to preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is ideal along with appropriate testing for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. There also is no need to have a “break” between PEP and PrEP, particularly if HIV transmission risk is ongoing. Interval testing before again prescribing medications is needed.
“Do I need to use condoms if I’m taking my meds?”
Authors: Bolan Robert K.
Published: November 2020

It has been conclusively proven that sexual transmission of HIV does not occur if the individual living with HIV is adherent to antiretroviral therapy and HIV replication is consistently maintained below a plasma level of 200 copies/mL. What remains to be defined is the frequency of viral load testing to provide assurance that HIV is suppressed and how long must it remain so until suppression can be considered durable. This is required in order to provide guidance for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) use by a sexual partner who is not living with HIV. Based on currently published studies and until more data are presented, it seems prudent to recommend that sexual partners of individuals living with HIV who are highly adherent to treatment use PrEP for 6 months to 1 year following initiation of HIV treatment and that viral load testing be performed quarterly for at least the first 2 years in the partner living with HIV.
“My hair is falling out, and they told me I have syphilis!”
Authors: Gravett Ronnie M. , Marrazzo Jeanne
Published: November 2020

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) significantly impact persons living with HIV and occur at relatively high incidence among persons living with HIV. Bacterial STIs, namely, chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis, have increased tremendously since the advent of safe and effective antiretroviral therapy. Thus, while persons living with HIV are living much longer and healthier lives, many are experiencing a higher burden of STIs. The majority of STIs are asymptomatic, which raises challenges in screening and diagnosis and consequently the potential for delayed treatment. Taking a sexual history including sexual practices, partners, and symptoms should be a part of routine care of persons living with HIV. Annual screening for STIs is essential and should be more frequent as determined by sexual history. Prompt treatment can prevent further morbidity and adverse outcomes.
“I’ve been rashed and confused”: Part 2
Authors: Barker David E.
Published: November 2020

Herpes Zoster is a distressingly common occurrence in people living with HIV and AIDS. But what happens when a patient has multiple recurrences and stops responding to therapeutic and suppressive acyclovir analogs. What clues should lead to a reconsideration of the diagnosis and treatment.
Sex, Drugs, and Acholic Stools
Authors: Rojas Sarah A. , Ramers Christian B.
Published: November 2020

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection causes an acute, sometimes icteric, illness and is typically transmitted through contact with blood of an infected person. Roughly 75% of exposed individuals will develop a chronic infection, and 25% of cases will spontaneously resolve, although slightly lower rates of spontaneous clearance have been observed in people living with HIV. Symptoms of acute HCV are similar to other acute viral hepatidites, such as hepatitis A, B, or E, and include jaundice, scleral icterus, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, dark urine, and acholic stools. However, the majority of patients with acute HCV have few symptoms and do not present to medical care. Chronic infection with HCV can cause liver inflammation, scarring, and damage and can lead to cirrhosis, liver cancer, and death, as well as several extrahepatic manifestations. HCV is a curable infection, and therapies have improved significantly with the development of direct-acting antivirals, which can achieve cure rates of 95% and greater with courses of 2 to 3 months of oral therapy.
“I’ve got a bad headache”
Authors: Nasser Khalil , Ramgopal Moti
Published: November 2020

The incidence of nearly all AIDS-defining opportunist infections (OIs) decreased significantly in the era after antiretroviral therapy (ART). Those OIs that occur do so at low CD4+ T-cell counts, primarily in persons living with HIV (PLWH) with delayed diagnosis who have either not initiated ART or have been nonadherent to both ART and OI prophylaxis. The most profound effect on survival of patients living with AIDS is conferred by ART, but specific OI prevention measures are all associated with a survival benefit. For most PLWH with an acute OI, ART should be considered within the first 2 weeks of treatment for the acute OI. However, in treatment-naïve PLWH with cryptococcal meningitis or tuberculosis (TB), it has been shown that there is increased mortality and morbidity in industrialized countries with early initiation of ART due to immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome complications. Prophylaxis against many OIs can be discontinued for patients who respond to ART and maintain CD4+ cells above the recommended threshold for more than 3 months. This chapter presents cases of the most common opportunistic central nervous system infections in PLWH.
“Is the bright red patch on the roof of my mouth related to the purple splotches on my back?”
Authors: Netto Juliana , Merçon Monica
Published: November 2020

Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS) is an important differential diagnosis for skin lesions in individuals living with HIV/AIDS that may also present systemic manifestations. KS is the most common AIDS-associated cancer (ADC) worldwide. KS was initially described in 1981 among young men wo have sex with men in USA. Since then, we have learned that Kaposi Sarcoma Herpes Virus (KSHV), also called Human Herpes Virus 8 (HHV8) is necessary but not sufficient factor to develop KS. Replication of each virus, HIV and KSHV/HHV8, can be enhanced in the presence of the other while adaptive immune response plays an important role to control KS. KSHV/HHV8 is the causative agent of a spectrum of diseases Kaposi Sarcoma (KS), Multicenter Cattleman's Disease (MCD), Pleural Effusion Lymphoma (PEL). Late presentation to care at the time of HIV diagnosis is still a significant risk for opportunistic infections and ADCs.
“Don’t disrespect me, I’m Ms., not Mr.”
Authors: Urbina Antonio E.
Published: November 2020

Care of the transgender patient living with HIV is not too dissimilar from the care of any patient living with HIV. Clinicians should be comfortable asking patients about their gender identity and sexual orientation. Once preferred gender has been identified, providers should be mindful of using the patient’s preferred name and pronouns even if not incorporated into the patient’s medical record. Obtaining an organ inventory is an important element to the clinical examination as patients may use terms other than the anatomical names of body parts to refer to their bodies. All transgender patients living with HIV should be offered antiretroviral therapy (ART), with the goal of achieving an undetectable viral load. HIV and ART are not contraindications to gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT). Many of the currently approved ART regimens do not interact with GAHT and can be safely coadministered. Importantly, continuation of GAHT has been associated with improved adherence to ART. Last, immunizations against infectious diseases are an important component of care for transgender individuals living with HIV.
Applying Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) dimensions to psychosis
Authors: Morris Sarah E. , Pacheco Jennifer , Sanislow Charles A.
Published: November 2020

Understanding and treating psychotic-spectrum disorders presents a great challenge for psychiatry; such psychopathology is complex and involves disruptions that span basic neural mechanisms and higher order cognitive processes. That these disruptions can occur in many variations, over the course of development, and unfold with epigenetic variants interacting with environmental events, helps to define the scope of the substantial heterogeneity characteristic of psychosis syndromes. This chapter argues that the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) offers an approach to facilitate progress by providing a framework to catalog and relate dimensional disruptions in neural systems, psychological processes, and behaviors relevant to understanding psychotic-spectrum psychopathology. It further argues that the “grain size” of the psychotic clinical syndromes is too large to deconstruct the heterogeneity of psychotic disorders as they are currently defined and reiterates defining principles of the RDoC that offer an alternative for researching psychosis.
Psychosis in personality disorders
Authors: Kapil-Pair K. Nidhi , Landa Yulia , Hansen Marie C. , Vaccaro Daniel H. , Goodman Marianne
Published: November 2020

Psychotic presentations are discussed in context of ten personality disorders (PDs). The PDs were examined across the literature for associations with psychosis. Hallucinations and delusions are often symptoms of paranoid, schizoid, and schizotypal PDs. Patients with borderline PD present with both auditory and visual hallucinations, and range of delusional thinking. Hallucinations are generally absent among patients with antisocial, histrionic, and narcissistic PDs. Various delusions, however, are common symptoms of these disorders. Patients with avoidant, dependent, and obsessive-compulsive PDs present with delusional thinking, olfactory hallucinations (in cases of avoidant, obsessive-compulsive PDs), and possibly tactile hallucinations (in cases of avoidant PD). Approaching PDs from multiple disciplines across neurobiological and cognitive behavioral domains could further inform treatments of psychosis in PDs. Exploration of transdiagnostic domains of emotion, cognition, motivation, and social behavior could provide vital information for diagnostic and clinical purposes. More investigation is needed to draw further associations between psychosis, PDs, and co-occurring conditions.
Epilepsy and psychosis
Authors: Trimble Michael R. , Kanemoto Kousuke , Hesdorffer Dale C.
Published: November 2020

This chapter reviews the important place that epilepsy has had in developing concepts of psychosis in general and for understanding some of the basic biological issues of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. It starts out by offering a historical introduction noting important observations stemming from the nineteenth century. It reviews the complexity of classification in this area, highlighting in particular problems with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 5th edition (DSM-5). Epidemiology is followed by brief discussions of the relationship between seizures and psychosis, commenting on some paradoxes revealing why postictal psychoses are underdiagnosed, and the pitfalls of missing forced normalization, a concept that relates to the worsening of behavior with the cessation of seizures in people with intractable epilepsy. Finally, the chapter provides some guides to management of patients with epilepsy who have comorbid psychiatric disorders.
Epigenomic regulation in psychosis
Authors: Kassim Bibi S. , Javidfar Behnam , Akbarian Schahram
Published: November 2020

Epigenetic decoration of the genome is a highly regulated cell-specific and life-long process including DNA methylation, many different types of covalent and posttranslational histone modifications, and complex nonrandom chromosomal conformations including “loopings” and self-folding “domains.” These epigenomic determinants remain “plastic” throughout all periods of development and aging, with ongoing dynamic regulation even in neurons and other highly differentiated brain cells. There can be little doubt that DNA methylation landscapes show substantial reorganization during the course of normal development and aging of the human cerebral cortex and participate in alterations in gene expression with disease. With the underlying DNA sequence left intact, it is possible to imagine that simultaneous epigenomic targeting of enhancer and promoter sequences within multiple risk haplotypes could offer a promising approach to effectively alter cognition and behavior.
Endophenotypes
Authors: Braff David
Published: November 2020

Since Gottesman introduced the concept of endophenotypes in schizophrenia research, the endophenotype strategy for understanding the genetics of schizophrenia has been used widely. Endophenotypes are wide-ranging laboratory-based quantitative measures from gene transcripts to neurocognition that show deficits in schizophrenia patients and their first-degree relatives. In addition, these deficits are primarily state related and cosegregate with the disorder. Quantitative endophenotypes, such as working memory, share many genes with schizophrenia itself but have 100 times the efficiency and require about 10 times fewer subjects than case-control designs to reach statistical significance for gene finding. Endophenotypes are also platforms for collaborations with scientists studying key issues including de novo mutations and methylation events in psychosis. In addition, the endophenotypes most commonly used in psychosis research are neurocognitive and tap into cognitive domains that have been identified by the FDA and MATRICS project as targets for new treatment development. Thus, the endophenotype strategy is an exciting and dynamic path for gene discovery and personalized treatment strategies in the future.
Self-awareness in schizophrenia
Authors: Silberstein Juliet M. , Pinkham Amy E. , Harvey Philip D.
Published: November 2020

Unawareness of illness has been known to be a feature of schizophrenia since the first descriptions of the condition in the early 1900s. Recently it has become clear that unawareness, accompanied by perception biases, also extends to awareness of cognitive abilities, social cognition, and social competence, and the ability to perform everyday activities. These problems in awareness, referred to as introspective accuracy (IA), have several correlates, including depression, reduced life experience, and some elements of cognitive impairment. This chapter reviews the characteristics and correlates of IA impairments as well as their major functional implications. Although IA is also inaccurate in healthy people, the concurrent cognitive and environmental challenges experienced by people with schizophrenia increase their impact. Treatment of IA and related biases has been attempted, with some success in improving everyday outcomes in people with schizophrenia. Future challenges include identification of the neurobiological substrates of these impairments.
Oculomotor biomarkers of illness, risk, and pharmacogenetic treatment effects across the psychosis spectrum
Authors: Reilly James L. , McDowell Jennifer , Bishop Jeffrey , Sprenger Andreas , Lencer Rebekka
Published: November 2020

Eye movements are used to assess alterations in brain systems involved in cognitive and sensorimotor processes in psychiatric disorders. This chapter summarizes findings comparing saccadic and smooth pursuit eye movement performance across psychotic proband and relative groups, with an emphasis on schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and psychotic bipolar disorder. Inhibitory errors on the antisaccade task represent a robust and graded deficit across probands, with greatest impairment observed in schizophrenia, and among relatives, particularly those with elevated psychosis spectrum traits. Abnormalities in the use of early visual motion information during smooth pursuit is apparent among both probands and relatives, while deficient use of visual feedback for dynamical pursuit appears restricted to probands. Select eye movement measures appear differentially affected by glutamate and dopamine gene variants. Overall, research findings support eye movement measures as promising biomarkers of altered brain systems underlying select cognitive and sensorimotor processes across the psychosis spectrum.
Aberrant salience attribution and psychosis
Authors: Winton-Brown Toby T. , Kapur Shitij
Published: November 2020

Nearly two decades ago, Berridge and Robinson conceptualized a role for dopamine in motivational salience, and in 2003 it was invoked as an explanation for psychosis in schizophrenia. In the years since, research developing and testing the “aberrant salience hypothesis” has grown steadily. However even basic questions remain: How is salience calculated and attributed in the brain, and how can we measure it? How does it involve dopamine signaling and how does it go wrong? How does it change with the course of psychosis and with treatment? Does abnormal salience attribution underlie all psychoses? This chapter reviews fifteen years of research into aberrant salience processing in psychosis. It compares the different operationalizations of salience processing in online and offline tasks in controls and in various patient groups. It provides an up-to-date picture of the state of the art, and suggest directions for future research.
Resilience in psychosis spectrum disorder
Authors: Pries Lotta-Katrin , Guloksuz Sinan , Rutten Bart P. F.
Published: November 2020

Resilience has been broadly conceptualized as decreased vulnerability and a swift recovery from adversities and illness. Practically, studies on resilience have often been directed to the evaluation of protective factors within a static and simplified model. Research in resilience in general terms as well as in psychosis spectrum disorder (PSD) has been obstructed by conceptually different approaches and a paucity of prospective studies. Nevertheless, some first evidence has been reported that certain biological, psychological, and social factors indeed possibly decrease the vulnerability for PSD, contribute to swift recovery, or even enhance further psychological growth beyond recovery. This review describes and discusses psychological, social, and biological aspects of resilience at different stages of PSD. It aims to provide an overview of the interacting resilience factors at different time points throughout the life span and discusses future research directions for resilience research in PSD.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy
Authors: Lincoln Tania , Brabban Alison
Published: November 2020

The view that psychotic symptoms lie on a continuum with normal experiences and can be explained by normal psychological processes has provided the basis for adapting cognitive-behavioral interventions for psychosis. Cognitive-behavioral therapy for psychosis (CBTp) focuses on reframing appraisals and modifying behavior related to psychotic symptoms to reduce distress and improve functioning and well-being. To date, the efficacy and effectiveness of CBTp has been demonstrated in over 30 intervention trials and it is widely recommended in various national treatment guidelines.

This introduction to CBTp provides an overview of the main strategies employed including interventions for building rapport, developing and working with a shared case formulation, enhancing patients’ use of coping strategies for disabling and distressing symptoms, working with beliefs seen as maintaining hallucinations, delusions and negative symptoms as well as strategies for preventing relapse. It also briefly summarizes the current evidence base for CBTp and point out further developments.
Stellar profile independent determination of the dark matter distribution of the Fornax Local Group dwarf spheroidal galaxy
Authors: Brownsberger Sasha R , Randall Lisa
Published: November 2020

We detail a method to measure the correspondence between dark matter (DM) models and observations of stellar populations within Local Group dwarf spheroidal galaxies (LG dSphs) that assumes no parametric stellar distribution. Solving the spherical or cylindrical Jeans equations, we calculate the consistency of DM and stellar kinematic models with stellar positions and line-of-sight velocities. Our method can be used to search for signals of standard and exotic DM distributions. Applying our methodology to the Fornax LG dSph and using statistical bootstrapping, we find: (i) that oblate or prolate cored DM haloes match the stellar data, respectively, ≃60 or ≃370 times better than oblate or prolate cusped DM haloes for isotropic and isothermal stellar velocity dispersions, (ii) that cusped spherical DM haloes and cored spherical DM haloes match the Fornax data similarly well for isotropic stellar velocity dispersions, (iii) that the semiminor to semimajor axial ratio of spheroidal DM haloes are more extreme than 80 per cent of those predicted by Lambda cold dark matter with baryon simulations, (iv) that oblate cored or cusped DM haloes are, respectively, ≃5 or ≃30 times better matches to Fornax than prolate cored or cusped DM haloes, and (v) that Fornax shows no evidence of a disc-like structure with more than two per cent of the total DM mass. We further note that the best-fitting cusped haloes universally favour the largest mass and size fit parameters. If these extreme limits are decreased, the cusped halo likelihoods decrease relative to those of cored haloes.
The effect of varying porosity and inhomogeneities of the surface dust layer on the modelling of comet gas production
Authors: Skorov Yuri , Reshetnyk Volodymyr , Bentley Mark , Rezac Ladislav , Agarwal Jessica , Blum Jürgen
Published: November 2020

We study how uncertainties in knowledge of the microstructure of the porous dust surface layer affect our estimates of effective gas production of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. We analyse the transport properties (distribution of free paths, mean pore size, permeability) for random densely packed porous layers. Bimodal layers, as well as various cases of inhomogeneous layers having cavities and cracks, are considered. Modelling is performed for various values of effective porosity and various particle sizes and thicknesses of the dust layer. The results of computer simulations are embedded in thermal models of the surface region of the cometary nucleus, including explicitly a radiation thermal conductivity and a resistance of the dust layer for the gas flow is used. The simulations show that the porosity variations within the range of values expected for the 67P can change the effective gas production by tens of percent for thin layers, and can vary by several times with increasing layer thickness. These effects are manifested at all heliocentric distances where sublimation of water ice makes a significant contribution to the energy budget of the nucleus. Modelling also shows that in all considered cases the microscopic cavities and cracks have a minor effect on the effective gas production: changes in the presence and number of inhomogeneities in comparison with a uniform layer of the same effective porosity are negligible.
Perspectives on mental health among patients receiving dialysis
Authors: Nataatmadja Melissa , Evangelidis Nicole , Manera Karine E , Cho Yeoungjee , Johnson David W , Craig Jonathan C , Baumgart Amanda , Hanson Camilla S , Shen Jenny , Guha Chandana , Scholes-Robertson Nicole , Tong Allison ,   for SONG-HD and SONG-PD
Published: November 2020

Background

Diminished mental health is associated with increased morbidity and mortality and may contribute to loss of independence and motivation in patients receiving dialysis and their caregivers. Increased understanding of the patient perspective on triggers, impacts and strategies for managing mental health may inform ways to address mental health conditions in this population.

Methods

A secondary thematic analysis was undertaken using data from the Standardized Outcomes in Nephrology (SONG)-Hemodialysis and SONG-Peritoneal Dialysis projects. We extracted and analysed data on the perceived causes, meaning, impact and management of mental health in patients receiving dialysis from 26 focus groups (in six countries), multinational Delphi surveys and consensus workshops.

Results

A total of 644 patients and caregivers participated. We identified five themes: bound to dialysis (forced into isolation, enslaved to a machine, stress of relentless planning and grieving the loss of a normal life), underrecognized and ignored (missed by health practitioners, need for mental health support), an uncertain future (dreading complications, coming to terms with mortality), developing self-reliance (vulnerability in being solely responsible for dialysis, sustaining motivation for dialysis, necessity for self-vigilance and taking charge to regulate emotions) and responding to a lifestyle overhaul (guilt of burdening family, controlling symptoms for overall mental wellness, protecting independence and trying to feel grateful).

Conclusions

Patients receiving dialysis and their caregivers endure mental and emotional distress attributed to the burden of dialysis, lifestyle restrictions, the constant threat of death and symptom burden, which can impair motivation for self-management. Increased attention to monitoring and management of mental health in this population is needed.
Time Warps During the French Revolution
Authors: Jones Rhys
Published: November 2020

On 10 August 1792, the Parisian sans-culottes surrounded the Tuileries Palace, overthrew the monarchy and helped to found a Republic. What might otherwise have taken centuries to achieve appeared to materialize within hours. During the preceding weeks, sans-culotte discourse began to coalesce around the belief that a demonstration of collective violence could enable France to bypass the ordinary laws of history and thereby realize, instantaneously, the revolutionary ideal of regeneration. It would create, in effect, a time warp. While historians are familiar with the perception of accelerated time that accompanied the Revolution, insufficient attention has been paid to ways in which time, as a discursive category, remained circumscribed by ideas of space. It was problematized as an interminable distance, a gulf or abyss, that separated present and future, nullifying the sense of limitless possibility unleashed in 1789. The process of political radicalization that culminated in 10 August was prompted not so much by a desire to quicken time as by a need to escape it altogether. In centring upon a micro-historical analysis of the time discourse that accompanied 10 August, this article reassesses the theories of temporality that have emerged in the historiography of the Revolution by foregrounding the perspective of lived experience.
Replica evolution of classical fields in 4+1D spacetime toward real-time dynamics of quantum fields
Authors: Ohnishi Akira , Matsuda Hidefumi , Kunihiro Teiji , Takahashi Toru T
Published: November 2020

Real-time evolution of replicas of classical fields is proposed as an approximate simulator of real-time quantum field dynamics at finite temperatures. We consider $N$ classical field configurations, $(\phi_{{\tau{\boldsymbol{x}}}},\pi_{{\tau{\boldsymbol{x}}}}) (\tau=0,1,\ldots, N-1)$, dubbed as replicas, which interact with each other via $\tau$-derivative terms and evolve with the classical equation of motion. The partition function of replicas is found to be proportional to that of a quantum field in the imaginary-time formalism. Since the replica index can be regarded as the imaginary-time index, replica evolution is technically the same as the molecular dynamics part of hybrid Monte Carlo sampling. Then the replica configurations should reproduce the correct quantum equilibrium distribution after long time evolution. At the same time, evolution of the replica-index average of field variables is described by the classical equation of motion when the fluctuations are small. In order to examine the real-time propagation properties of replicas, we first discuss replica evolution in quantum mechanics. Statistical averages of observables are precisely obtained by the initial condition average of replica evolution, and the time evolution of the unequal-time correlation function, $\langle x(t) x(t')\rangle$, in a harmonic oscillator is also described well by the replica evolution in the range $T/\omega > 0.5$. Next, we examine the statistical and dynamical properties of the $\phi^4$ theory in 4+1D spacetime, which contains three spatial, one replica index or imaginary time, and one real time. We note that the Rayleigh–Jeans divergence can be removed in replica evolution with $N \geq 2$ when the mass counterterm is taken into account. We also find that the thermal mass obtained from the unequal-time correlation function at zero momentum grows as a function of the coupling as in the perturbative estimate in the small coupling region.
A review on artificial intelligence in high-speed rail
Authors: Yin Mingjia , Li Kang , Cheng Xiaoqing
Published: November 2020

High-speed rail (HSR) has brought a number of social and economic benefits, such as shorter trip times for journeys of between one and five hours; safety, security, comfort and on-time commuting for passengers; energy saving and environmental protection; job creation; and encouraging sustainable use of renewable energy and land. The recent development in HSR has seen the pervasive applications of artificial intelligence (AI). This paper first briefly reviews the related disciplines in HSR where AI may play an important role, such as civil engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and signalling and control. Then, an overview of current AI techniques is presented in the context of smart planning, intelligent control and intelligent maintenance of HSR systems. Finally, a framework of future HSR systems where AI is expected to play a key role is provided.
A hierarchical model for estimating the exposure-response curve by combining multiple studies of acute lower respiratory infections in children and household fine particulate matter air pollution
Authors: Keller Joshua P. , Katz Joanne , Pokhrel Amod K. , Bates Michael N. , Tielsch James , Zeger Scott L.
Published: November 2020

Background:

Adverse health effects of household air pollution, including acute lower respiratory infections (ALRIs), pose a major health burden around the world, particularly in settings where indoor combustion stoves are used for cooking. Individual studies have limited exposure ranges and sample sizes, while pooling studies together can improve statistical power.

Methods:

We present hierarchical models for estimating long-term exposure concentrations and estimating a common exposure-response curve. The exposure concentration model combines temporally sparse, clustered longitudinal observations to estimate household-specific long-term average concentrations. The exposure-response model provides a flexible, semiparametric estimate of the exposure-response relationship while accommodating heterogeneous clustered data from multiple studies. We apply these models to three studies of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ALRIs in children in Nepal: a case-control study in Bhaktapur, a stepped-wedge trial in Sarlahi, and a parallel trial in Sarlahi. For each study, we estimate household-level long-term PM2.5 concentrations. We apply the exposure-response model separately to each study and jointly to the pooled data.

Results:

The estimated long-term PM2.5 concentrations were lower for households using electric and gas fuel sources compared with households using biomass fuel. The exposure-response curve shows an estimated ALRI odds ratio of 3.39 (95% credible interval = 1.89, 6.10) comparing PM2.5 concentrations of 50 and 150 μg/m3 and a flattening of the curve for higher concentrations.

Conclusions:

These flexible models can accommodate additional studies and be applied to other exposures and outcomes. The studies from Nepal provides evidence of a nonlinear exposure-response curve that flattens at higher concentrations.
Ochrobactrum anthropi Keratitis in a Boston Type 1 Keratoprosthesis Recipient
Authors: Ma Kevin K. , Tone Stephan Ong , Chodosh James , Saeed Hajirah N.
Published: November 2020

Purpose:

To report a case of Ochrobactrum anthropi keratitis in an eye with a Boston type 1 keratoprosthesis.

Methods:

This is a case report and review of the literature.

Results:

A 78-year-old man with a history of implantation of a Boston type 1 keratoprosthesis in the left eye presented for a routine follow-up with no acute complaints. In the left eye, visual acuity was 20/60 and slit-lamp examination revealed a 1.5-mm inferotemporal corneal infiltrate adjacent to the optic stem. Corneal cultures grew abundant O. anthropi. After 7 weeks of topical antimicrobial therapy and placement of a temporary tarsorrhaphy, the keratitis resolved.

Conclusions:

Ochrobactrum anthropi is an organism associated with indwelling medical devices and can be pathogenic in eyes with implanted keratoprostheses.
Management of Ocular Surface Disease in Glaucoma: A Survey of Canadian Glaucoma Specialists
Authors: Muzychuk Adam , Racine Louis , Robert Marie-Claude , Birt Catherine , Penner Victor , Harasymowycz Paul , Crichton Andrew , Ford Bryce , Gooi Patrick , Harissi-Dagher Mona
Published: November 2020

Précis:

Ocular surface disease (OSD) in glaucoma is an area for improvement in the management of patients with glaucoma. This study explores the knowledge of glaucoma subspecialists toward OSD in glaucoma, then provides a suggested treatment algorithm.

Purpose:

To assess the attitudes, knowledge, and level of comfort of Canadian glaucoma specialists with respect to the assessment and management of OSD among patients with glaucoma.

Methods:

Ophthalmologist members of the Canadian Glaucoma Society with fellowship training in glaucoma were contacted to participate in this cross-sectional survey study. Responses were recorded to statements regarding attitudes toward OSD in glaucoma, and assessment and management modalities. These were recorded primarily in the form of a Likert scale rated 1 to 7 from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree.” Descriptive statistics were generated, and mean and SD for responses on Likert scales.

Results:

Thirty-six responses were included. All respondents agreed that comprehensive management of OSD could improve quality of life, 97% agreed it could lead to better glaucoma outcomes, whereas only 22% agreed it is presently being adequately managed in glaucoma practices. Respondents were asked to list all treatment modalities they felt knowledgeable about, ranging from 100% for optimizing topical glaucoma therapies to 31% for serum tears. Nearly all respondents (92%) agreed that a suggested algorithm for the treatment of OSD in glaucoma could improve their approach to management.

Conclusion:

OSD is a common comorbidity of glaucoma. Although respondents overwhelmingly agreed that comprehensive management of OSD may lead to improved quality of life and glaucoma-related outcomes, only a small percentage felt it was presently adequately managed. Increasing knowledge related to the assessment and management of OSD in glaucoma may in the future improve patient care.