This study explored whether lifestyle therapy that promoted adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet as a treatment for depression led to environmental co-benefits. Participants (n 75 complete case) were Australian adults in the Curbing Anxiety and Depression using Lifestyle Medicine non-inferiority, randomised controlled trial, which showed that lifestyle therapy was non-inferior to psychotherapy in reducing depressive symptoms, when delivered in group format via video conferencing over an 8-week treatment period. In this secondary analysis, we hypothesised that the lifestyle arm would be superior to the psychotherapy arm in reducing the environmental impact of self-reported diet over time. Dietary intake derived from FFQ at baseline and 8 weeks was transformed into environmental impact scores by calculating global warming potential (GWP)*. GWP* was calculated for total dietary intake and distinct food groups (Australian Dietary Guidelines and NOVA classifications). Within-arm changes in GWP* over time were calculated using the median difference. Neither arm showed significant changes. Between-arm differences in percentage change in GWP* scores over time were analysed using generalised estimating equations models. No between-arm difference for total GWP* score was found (β = 11·06 (–7·04, 29·15)). When examining distinct food groups, results were mixed. These novel findings contribute to the sparse evidence base that has measured the environmental impact of diets in a clinical trial context. Whilst lifestyle therapy that reduced depressive symptoms did not have clear environmental benefits relative to psychotherapy, nutritional counselling that focuses on the environmental impact of food choices may drive more pronounced planetary co-benefits.

Cognitive impairments are a core feature of psychotic disorders, but their long-term trajectory remains contentious. Previous meta-analyses focused on the first 5 years following psychosis onset. Here, we evaluated the change in cognitive impairments in psychotic disorders with a meta-analysis of studies with follow-ups of 5+ years. Following preregistration, databases were searched for relevant articles until July 2024. Two authors screened the reports for studies reporting on the change in cognitive impairments in global cognition, verbal learning and memory, visual learning and memory, working memory, attention, speed of processing, reasoning and problem-solving, and verbal fluency in individuals with psychotic disorders, with a minimum follow-up of 5 years. Three authors extracted data, and the PRISMA guidelines were followed. Random-effects meta-analyses and moderator analyses were conducted. Twenty-four studies comprising 2,633 patients and 1,019 controls were included in the study. Over an average of 8.46 years, cognitive impairments remained stable in all eight measures: global cognition (g = 0.09; 95% CI = 0.03–0.20), verbal memory (g = 0.05; 95% CI = −0.11, 0.21), visual memory (g = −0.16; 95% CI = −0.35, 0.03), working memory (g = 0.03; 95% CI = −0.09, 0.14), attention (g = 0.22; 95% CI = −0.36, 0.80), speed of processing (g = 0.10; 95% CI = −0.14, 0.35), reasoning and problem-solving (g = 0.16; 95% CI = −0.03, 0.35), and verbal fluency (g = 0.08; 95% CI = −0.03, 0.19). We conclude that cognitive impairments remain stable over time, consistent with the neurodevelopmental view of psychotic disorders.

Exposure to environmentally transmitted parasites should increase with population density due to accumulation of infective parasites in space. However, resource competition also increases with density, lowering immunity and increasing susceptibility, offering an alternative pathway for density-dependent infection. To test the relationships between these two processes and parasitism, we examined associations between host density, resource availability, immunity, and counts of 3 common helminth parasites using a long-term study of red deer. We found evidence that immunity increased with resource availability while parasite counts declined with immunity. We also found that greater density correlated with reduced resource availability, and while density was positively associated with both strongyle and tissue worm burdens, resource availability was independently and negatively associated with the same burdens. Our results support separate roles of density-dependent exposure and susceptibility in driving infection, providing evidence that resource competition is an important driver of infection, exacerbating effects of density-dependent increases in exposure.

Background: Seronegative autoimmune encephalitis (SAE) in children is associated with cognitive deficits, particularly executive dysfunction. However, the relationship between cognitive impairment, disease severity, and lesion burden remains unclear. Identifying these associations could improve patient management and outcomes. This study characterizes neuropsychological symptoms in pediatric SAE and compares patients with and without formal neuropsychological assessments to determine factors influencing cognitive impairment. Methods: A retrospective review was conducted on 155 pediatric autoimmune encephalitis cases, including 80 with SAE. Eleven had neuropsychological evaluations. Statistical analyses assessed differences in age, disease severity, lesion characteristics, hospitalization, and treatment needs. Results: Executive dysfunction was present in 75% of SAE cases. Patients with neuropsychological evaluations were older (median: 8 vs. 3 years, p = 0.0115) and had more severe encephalitis at admission (p = 0.0391) and one year later (p = 0.0011). Lesion burden did not differ (p > 0.05), but patients with assessments had longer hospitalizations and required more intensive treatments (p < 0.005). Conclusions: Executive dysfunction in pediatric SAE is linked to disease severity rather than lesion burden. Systematic neuropsychological assessments should be integrated into patient care. Deeper phenotyping of cognitive profiles and identifying risk factors for poor prognosis will help personalize care in order to improve outcomes.

Measurements of the radiocarbon (14C) content of subannual wood cellulose samples over the 1963 bomb spike have revealed an apparent delay between the increase in atmospheric radiocarbon content and that of wood cellulose. This delay is apparent in both coniferous and deciduous tree species and is of a magnitude of approximately 4 weeks. The delay in wood cellulose 14C change as measured in a Sitka spruce from Washington state, USA, was previously used to estimate the relative influence of tree physiological effects contra environmental effects. We repeated the measurements with the increased measurement precision of today’s AMS systems and compare the new results to the ones of a Scots pine tree from Trondheim, central Norway and a white oak from Oregon state, USA. The results challenge the assumption that the 14C tree ring records directly show the atmospheric 14C concentration of a homogeneous, zonally well-mixed atmosphere. Instead, the apparent 1963 delay reflects local influences of the ecosystem and tree physiology. The 1963/1964 data allows for exploratory modeling of the effects of biospheric decay CO2 and local environmental influences assuming the absence of stored photosynthates from the previous year. Compared to the 10–30% contribution from biospheric CO2, the effects of delayed incorporation of carbon into the wood cellulose and the effect of stored photosynthate are small in the conifers. Highly detailed 14C records of stem cellulose can, in combination with stable isotope studies, contribute to our understanding of variability of the local carbon cycle, climate, and the environment.

Multicenter clinical trials are essential for evaluating interventions but often face significant challenges in study design, site coordination, participant recruitment, and regulatory compliance. To address these issues, the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences established the Trial Innovation Network (TIN). The TIN offers a scientific consultation process, providing access to clinical trial and disease experts who provide input and recommendations throughout the trial’s duration, at no cost to investigators. This approach aims to improve trial design, accelerate implementation, foster interdisciplinary teamwork, and spur innovations that enhance multicenter trial quality and efficiency. The TIN leverages resources of the Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) program, complementing local capabilities at the investigator’s institution. The Initial Consultation process focuses on the study’s scientific premise, design, site development, recruitment and retention strategies, funding feasibility, and other support areas. As of 6/1/2024, the TIN has provided 431 Initial Consultations to increase efficiency and accelerate trial implementation by delivering customized support and tailored recommendations. Across a range of clinical trials, the TIN has developed standardized, streamlined, and adaptable processes. We describe these processes, provide operational metrics, and include a set of lessons learned for consideration by other trial support and innovation networks.

Through a series of example research studies, we illustrate processes in translating case report forms to increase language diversity in study populations while simultaneously highlighting implications for data collection and analyses. The Northwestern University Data Analysis and Coordinating Center manages the translation of participant-facing study documents into languages other than English through a process that has been refined over several years, adjusting for changes in technical capabilities in electronic case report forms. This approach to manage, examine for context, and implement certified case report form translations offers an efficient workflow to streamline data capture in multiple languages.

Overt political retribution, typically considered outside the bounds of American democracy, has recently risen to the surface of American political discourse. How do voters respond to elected officials wielding their powers of office for retributive purposes? In the current partisan political climate, do voters’ views of retribution depend on whether the official is a member of their party? Politicians in both parties have demonstrated willingness to threaten or pursue retaliation against corporations for using their political voice to publicly express opposition. Due to the American public’s ambivalence about the role of business in politics and the rights of corporations to political speech, the scenario of corporate political speech provides a useful case in which to test for partisan acceptance of the use of political retaliation. In an original and replication experiment, we find strong bipartisan rebuke of an elected official’s employment of “abusive legalism” in response to corporate political criticism. Strikingly, the negative consequences are greatest for an in-party official. The drop in support suffered by the official is equivalent to the effect of partisanship, such that an in-party official using their powers of office to “keep business out of politics” is viewed as unfavorably as a non-responsive out-party official.

The fifty-year anniversary of the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between Japan and the United States, signed on January 19, 1960, was not exactly a cause for unrestrained celebration. In 2010, contentious disagreements over the relocation and expansion of the American military presence in Okinawa, lawsuits against the Toyota Motor Corporation, ongoing restrictions on the import of American beef, and disclosures of secret pacts that have allowed American nuclear-armed warships to enter Japan for decades, subdued commemorative tributes to the U.S.-Japan security agreement commonly known as “Ampo” in Japan.