Recent changes to US research funding are having far-reaching consequences that imperil the integrity of science and the provision of care to vulnerable populations. Resisting these changes, the BJPsych Portfolio reaffirms its commitment to publishing mental science and advancing psychiatric knowledge that improves the mental health of one and all.

This editorial considers the value and nature of academic psychiatry by asking what defines the specialty and psychiatrists as academics. We frame academic psychiatry as a way of thinking that benefits clinical services and discuss how to inspire the next generation of academics.

Between 1992 and 1996, 95 rabbits from the immediate locality of Malham Tarn, North Yorkshire, UK were examined for the presence of helminth parasites. All the examinations took place in late September or October. Three species of nematodes, Graphidium strigosum, Passalurus ambiguusand Trichostrongylus retortaeformis and two species of cestodes, Taenia pisiformis and Cittotaenia pectinata were identified. There were no associations between helminth species richness and year of sampling, host weight or sex. A logistic model was fitted to the prevalence data from these helminths as was an over-dispersed Poisson model to the worm burden data. Graphidium strigosum was the most frequently identified species with an average prevalence of 78%. The mean prevalence and intensity of Graphidiuminfection were significantly effected by sampling year. The lower than normal rainfall recorded at the Tarn during the years 1995 and 1996 may have be one reason for this pattern. The worm burden of G. strigosum was significantly positively associated with rabbit body weight. The intensity of infection with P. ambiguus was significantly higher in female rabbits. There was a significant non-linear relationship between P. ambiguus worm burden and rabbit weight (P = 0.002) with worm burdens being highest in the 1000 g to 1499 g weight cohort. Trichostrongylus retortaeformis was only identified in 1994 and male rabbits harboured significantly higher worm burdens than females (48 vs. 7, P = 0.022). Over the five years, the average Taenia pisiformis prevalence was 31% and there was a significant positive association between worm burden and rabbit weight (P = 0.001). Cittotaenia pectinata had a prevalence of 37% over the whole study period with no interactions between prevalence or intensity and body weight, year of sampling or rabbit sex. All five helminths showed an overdispersed distribution with k values less than 1.

Retention studies of the cobalt-goethite system were carried out using synthetic, star-shaped and lath-shaped pure, Al-, Cd-, Cu- and Si-associated goethites. Aluminium and Si are commonly occurring foreign elements in natural goethites. The goethites were prepared by coprecipitating Fe and the foreign element under controlled conditions and characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, specific surface area determination and 2 M HCl extraction. The foreign-element associated goethites contained ∼3, ∼5 and ∼9 mole % Al, ∼4 mole % Cd and ∼3 mole % Cu incorporated by isomorphous substitution but only ∼0.4 mole % of probably occluded Si. Crystal size and shape but also number of defects and domains, and hence specific surface area, unit-cell dimensions and reactivity towards 2 M HCl, exhibited great variability among the goethites. Accordingly the amounts of Co sorbed from initially 10−7 M Co in 0.1 M Ca(NO3)2 in relation to pH (3–8) and reaction time (2–504 h) were very different for the eight goethites. The affinity of Co is highest for Cd- and lowest for Cu-goethite. These samples also form the extremes regarding time-dependent sorption with Cu-goethite showing the smallest and Cd-goethite the largest increase in sorption with increasing reaction time. The Co uptake was not caused by precipitation Co(III) oxides due to Co(II) oxidation, since oxygen exclusion during sorption had no effect on the amount of Co sorbed. The amounts of sorbed Co extracted by 2 M HCl decreased with increasing sorption time but 40–87% of sorbed Co remained unextracted after 48 h, most in Cu-goethite and least in lath-shaped pure goethite. The strong retention suggests Co uptake by diffusion into micropores and fissures resulting from structural defects and intergrowths. The diffusion coefficients range from 3·10−19 to 6·10−17 cm2/s with the highest values for Al- and Si-associated goethites emphasizing the importance for Co immobilization, and hence availability, of foreign-element associations in goethite.

We conducted a post hoc analysis of an antibiotic stewardship intervention implemented across our health system’s urgent-care network to determine whether there was a differential impact among patient groups. Respiratory urgent-care antibiotic prescribing decreased for all racial, ethnic, and preferred language groups, but disparities in antibiotic prescribing persisted.

Healthcare disparities and inequities exist in a variety of environments and manifest in diagnostic and therapeutic measures. In this commentary, we highlight our experience examining our organization’s urgent care respiratory encounter antibiotic prescribing practices. We identified differences in prescribing based on several individual characteristics including patient age, race, ethnicity, preferred language, and patient and/or clinician gender. Our approach can serve as an electronic health record (EHR)–based methodology for disparity and inequity audits in other systems and for other conditions.

This article is a clinical guide which discusses the “state-of-the-art” usage of the classic monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) antidepressants (phenelzine, tranylcypromine, and isocarboxazid) in modern psychiatric practice. The guide is for all clinicians, including those who may not be experienced MAOI prescribers. It discusses indications, drug-drug interactions, side-effect management, and the safety of various augmentation strategies. There is a clear and broad consensus (more than 70 international expert endorsers), based on 6 decades of experience, for the recommendations herein exposited. They are based on empirical evidence and expert opinion—this guide is presented as a new specialist-consensus standard. The guide provides practical clinical advice, and is the basis for the rational use of these drugs, particularly because it improves and updates knowledge, and corrects the various misconceptions that have hitherto been prominent in the literature, partly due to insufficient knowledge of pharmacology. The guide suggests that MAOIs should always be considered in cases of treatment-resistant depression (including those melancholic in nature), and prior to electroconvulsive therapy—while taking into account of patient preference. In selected cases, they may be considered earlier in the treatment algorithm than has previously been customary, and should not be regarded as drugs of last resort; they may prove decisively effective when many other treatments have failed. The guide clarifies key points on the concomitant use of incorrectly proscribed drugs such as methylphenidate and some tricyclic antidepressants. It also illustrates the straightforward “bridging” methods that may be used to transition simply and safely from other antidepressants to MAOIs.

Herbicides have been a primary means of managing undesirable brush on grazing lands across the southwestern United States for decades. Continued encroachment of honey mesquite and huisache on grazing lands warrants evaluation of treatment life and economics of current and experimental treatments. Treatment life is defined as the time between treatment application and when canopy cover of undesirable brush returns to a competitive level with native forage grasses (i.e., 25% canopy cover for mesquite and 30% canopy cover for huisache). Treatment life of industry-standard herbicides was compared with that of aminocyclopyrachlor plus triclopyr amine (ACP+T) from 10 broadcast-applied honey mesquite and five broadcast-applied huisache trials established from 2007 through 2013 across Texas. On average, the treatment life of industry standard treatments (IST) for huisache was 3 yr. In comparison, huisache canopy cover was only 2.5% in plots treated with ACP+T 3 yr after treatment. The average treatment life of IST for honey mesquite was 8.6 yr, whereas plots treated with ACP+T had just 2% mesquite canopy cover at that time. Improved treatment life of ACP+T compared with IST life was due to higher mortality resulting in more consistent brush canopy reduction. The net present values (NPVs) of ACP+T and IST for both huisache and mesquite were similar until the treatment life of the IST application was reached (3 yr for huisache and 8.6 yr for honey mesquite). At that point, NPVs of the programs diverged as a result of brush competition with desirable forage grasses and additional input costs associated with theoretical follow-up IST necessary to maintain optimum livestock forage production. The ACP+T treatments did not warrant a sequential application over the 12-yr analysis for huisache or 20-yr analysis for honey mesquite that this research covered. These results indicate ACP+T provides cost-effective, long-term control of honey mesquite and huisache.

Kochia [Bassia scoparia (L.) A. J. Scott] is one of the most troublesome weeds throughout the North American Great Plains. Herbicides such as glyphosate and dicamba have been used widely to control B. scoparia for decades. However, many B. scoparia populations have evolved resistance to these herbicides due to selection. Especially, dicamba-resistant B. scoparia populations are often also found to be glyphosate-resistant. The objective of this research was to determine whether these two herbicide resistances are linked in B. scoparia. Reciprocal crosses were performed between glyphosate- and dicamba-resistant (GDR) and glyphosate- and dicamba-susceptible (GDS) B. scoparia to produce F1 and F2 progeny. Two F1 and seven F2 progeny families were screened with various doses of dicamba or glyphosate. All the F1 progeny survived both dicamba and glyphosate treatments. Chi-square analyses of F2 progeny suggest (1) glyphosate and dicamba resistances in B. scoparia are inherited via single, dominant nuclear genes; and (2) glyphosate- and dicamba-resistant genes are not linked. Thus, the dicamba and glyphosate resistances appear to have evolved independently due to intense selection but do not seem to spread together.

Background: Central neuropathic pain syndromes are a result of central nervous system injury, most commonly related to stroke, traumatic spinal cord injury, or multiple sclerosis. These syndromes are distinctly less common than peripheral neuropathic pain, and less is known regarding the underlying pathophysiology, appropriate pharmacotherapy, and long-term outcomes. The objective of this study was to determine the long-term clinical effectiveness of the management of central neuropathic pain relative to peripheral neuropathic pain at tertiary pain centers. Methods: Patients diagnosed with central (n=79) and peripheral (n=710) neuropathic pain were identified for analysis from a prospective observational cohort study of patients with chronic neuropathic pain recruited from seven Canadian tertiary pain centers. Data regarding patient characteristics, analgesic use, and patient-reported outcomes were collected at baseline and 12-month follow-up. The primary outcome measure was the composite of a reduction in average pain intensity and pain interference. Secondary outcome measures included assessments of function, mood, quality of life, catastrophizing, and patient satisfaction. Results: At 12-month follow-up, 13.5% (95% confidence interval [CI], 5.6-25.8) of patients with central neuropathic pain and complete data sets (n=52) achieved a ≥30% reduction in pain, whereas 38.5% (95% CI, 25.3-53.0) achieved a reduction of at least 1 point on the Pain Interference Scale. The proportion of patients with central neuropathic pain achieving both these measures, and thus the primary outcome, was 9.6% (95% CI, 3.2-21.0). Patients with peripheral neuropathic pain and complete data sets (n=463) were more likely to achieve this primary outcome at 12 months (25.3% of patients; 95% CI, 21.4-29.5) (p=0.012). Conclusion: Patients with central neuropathic pain syndromes managed in tertiary care centers were less likely to achieve a meaningful improvement in pain and function compared with patients with peripheral neuropathic pain at 12-month follow-up.

The Neotoma Paleoecology Database is a community-curated data resource that supports interdisciplinary global change research by enabling broad-scale studies of taxon and community diversity, distributions, and dynamics during the large environmental changes of the past. By consolidating many kinds of data into a common repository, Neotoma lowers costs of paleodata management, makes paleoecological data openly available, and offers a high-quality, curated resource. Neotoma’s distributed scientific governance model is flexible and scalable, with many open pathways for participation by new members, data contributors, stewards, and research communities. The Neotoma data model supports, or can be extended to support, any kind of paleoecological or paleoenvironmental data from sedimentary archives. Data additions to Neotoma are growing and now include >3.8 million observations, >17,000 datasets, and >9200 sites. Dataset types currently include fossil pollen, vertebrates, diatoms, ostracodes, macroinvertebrates, plant macrofossils, insects, testate amoebae, geochronological data, and the recently added organic biomarkers, stable isotopes, and specimen-level data. Multiple avenues exist to obtain Neotoma data, including the Explorer map-based interface, an application programming interface, the neotoma R package, and digital object identifiers. As the volume and variety of scientific data grow, community-curated data resources such as Neotoma have become foundational infrastructure for big data science.

The Fellowship Program of the Department of Cardiology at Boston Children’s Hospital seeks to train academically oriented leaders in clinical care and laboratory and clinical investigation of cardiovascular disease in the young. The core clinical fellowship involves 3 years in training, comprising 24 months of clinical rotations and 12 months of elective and research experience. Trainees have access to a vast array of research opportunities – clinical, basic, and translational. Clinical fellows interested in basic science may reverse the usual sequence and start their training in the laboratory, deferring clinical training for 1 or more years. An increasing number of clinical trainees apply to spend a fourth year as a senior fellow in one of the subspecialty areas of paediatric cardiology. From the founding of the Department to the present, we have maintained a fundamental and unwavering commitment to training and education in clinical care and research in basic science and clinical investigation, as well as to the training of outstanding young clinicians and investigators.

Several temporal and event classifications are used for the Quaternary glacial and interglacial record in the Great Lakes region of North America. Although based on contrasting principles, the classifications, as practiced, are similar to one another in most respects and they differ little from the classification proposed by Chamberlin a century ago. All are based on stratigraphic units having time-transgressive boundaries; thus the associated time spans and events are diachronous. Where application of geochronologic classification based on isochronous boundaries is not practical or useful, we advocate the use of diachronic principles to establish local and regional temporal and event classifications. Diachronic and event classifications based on such principles are proposed herein for the Great Lakes region. Well-established names, including Wisconsin, Sangamon, and Illinois, are used at the episode (or glaciation/interglaciation) rank without significant redefinition. The Hudson Episode (Interglaciation) is introduced for postglacial time, the current interglacial interval. The Wisconsin Episode is divided into the Ontario, Elgin, and Michigan Subepisodes in the eastern and northern parts of the Great Lakes region and into the Athens and Michigan Subepisodes in the southern and western parts of the Great Lakes region.

Background: Painful diabetic neuropathy (PDN) is a frequent complication of diabetes mellitus. Current treatment recommendations are based on short-term trials, generally of ≤3 months’ duration. Limited data are available on the long-term outcomes of this chronic disease. The objective of this study was to determine the long-term clinical effectiveness of the management of chronic PDN at tertiary pain centres. Methods: From a prospective observational cohort study of patients with chronic neuropathic non-cancer pain recruited from seven Canadian tertiary pain centres, 60 patients diagnosed with PDN were identified for analysis. Data were collected according to Initiative on Methods, Measurement, and Pain Assessment in Clinical Trials guidelines including the Brief Pain Inventory. Results: At 12-month follow-up, 37.2% (95% confidence interval [CI], 23.0-53.3) of 43 patients with complete data achieved pain reduction of ≥30%, 51.2% (95% CI, 35.5-66.7) achieved functional improvement with a reduction of ≥1 on the Pain Interference Scale (0-10, Brief Pain Inventory) and 30.2% (95% CI, 17.2-46.1) had achieved both these measures. Symptom management included at least two medication classes in 55.3% and three medication classes in 25.5% (opioids, antidepressants, anticonvulsants). Conclusions: Almost one-third of patients being managed for PDN in a tertiary care setting achieve meaningful improvements in pain and function in the long term. Polypharmacy including analgesic antidepressants and anticonvulsants were the mainstays of effective symptom management.

Dr. Stratford (p. 133, February 1965 Journal) is to be supported in his endeavour to apply boundary layer theory to the prediction of optimum loading requirements in flow through blades in cascade. Inevitably some simplification of the general flow system in a blade passage is necessary if undue complexity is to be avoided. In the simplified flow model, however, care must be taken to avoid over-simplification, and the limitations imposed by legitimate approximations must be appreciated.

This paper considers the effects of both wind-tunnel walls and a downstream support structure, on the aerodynamics of a 70° delta wing. A RANS model of the flow was used with the wind-tunnel walls and supports being modelled with inviscid wall boundary conditions. A consistent discretisation of the domain was employed such that grid dependence effects were consistent in all solutions, thus any differences occurring were due to varying boundary conditions (wall and support locations). Comparing solutions from wind-tunnel simulations and simulations with farfield conditions, it has been shown that the presence of tunnel walls moves the vortex breakdown location upstream. It has also been seen that vortex strength, helix angle, and mean incidence also increase, leading to a more upstream breakdown location in wind-tunnels. The secondary separation line was also observed to move outboards. It was observed that for high Reynolds numbers, with a support downstream of the wing, vortex breakdown can be delayed due to blockage effects providing the vortices do not impinge on the support This was observed to be the case for smaller supports also.