Next-generation X-ray satellite telescopes such as XRISM, NewAthena and Lynx will enable observations of exotic astrophysical sources at unprecedented spectral and spatial resolution. Proper interpretation of these data demands that the accuracy of the models is at least within the uncertainty of the observations. One set of quantities that might not currently meet this requirement is transition energies of various astrophysically relevant ions. Current databases are populated with many untested theoretical calculations. Accurate laboratory benchmarks are required to better understand the coming data. We obtained laboratory spectra of X-ray lines from a silicon plasma at an average spectral resolving power of $\sim$7500 with a spherically bent crystal spectrometer on the Z facility at Sandia National Laboratories. Many of the lines in the data are measured here for the first time. We report measurements of 53 transitions originating from the K-shells of He-like to B-like silicon in the energy range between $\sim$1795 and 1880 eV (6.6–6.9 Å). The lines were identified by qualitative comparison against a full synthetic spectrum calculated with ATOMIC. The average fractional uncertainty (uncertainty/energy) for all reported lines is ${\sim}5.4 \times 10^{-5}$. We compare the measured quantities against transition energies calculated with RATS and FAC as well as those reported in the NIST ASD and XSTAR’s uaDB. Average absolute differences relative to experimentally measured values are 0.20, 0.32, 0.17 and 0.38 eV, respectively. All calculations/databases show good agreement with the experimental values; NIST ASD shows the closest match overall.

This is a proof-of-concept study to compare the effects of a 2-week program of “Remind-to-move” (RTM) treatment using closed-loop and open-loop wearables for hemiparetic upper extremity in patients with chronic stroke in the community. The RTM open-loop wearable device has been proven in our previous studies to be useful to address the learned nonuse phenomenon of the hemiparetic upper extremity. A closed-loop RTM wearable device, which emits reminding cues according to actual arm use, was developed in this study. A convenience sample of 16 participants with chronic unilateral stroke recruited in the community was engaged in repetitive upper extremity task-specific practice for 2 weeks while wearing either a closed-loop or an open-loop ambulatory RTM wearable device on their affected hand for 3 hrs a day. Evaluations were conducted at pre-/post-intervention and follow-up after 4 weeks using upper extremity motor performance behavioral measures, actual arm use questionnaire, and the kinematic data obtained from the device. Results showed that both open-loop and closed-loop training groups achieved significant gains in all measures at posttest and follow-up evaluations. The closed-loop group showed a more significant improvement in movement frequency, hand functions, and actual arm use than did the open-loop group. Our findings supported the use of closed-loop wearables, which showed greater effects in terms of promoting the hand use of the hemiparetic upper extremity than open-loop wearables among patients with chronic stroke.

Background: Schizencephaly is a congenital brain malformation involving a cleft in the cerebral hemisphere lined with abnormal gray matter with an estimated incidence of 1.5 per 100,000 live births. Methods: This study aims to characterize the radiological, etiological, and clinical features of schizencephaly, identifying factors predictive of patient outcomes. A retrospective cohort of 94 individuals, both adult and pediatric, was analyzed across four tertiary care centers. A neuroradiologist systematically reviewed imaging, while charts were reviewed for clinical features. Results: Several perinatal risk factors were identified, including young maternal age and prenatal infections. However, genetic testing yielded only one pathogenic COL4A1 mutation. MRI findings showed frequent additional malformations, including those in the pituitary, corpus callosum, and fornix. Clinical characteristics included neurodevelopmental delay (71.6%), seizures (50.0%), and motor impairments (53.3%). Outcomes were heterogeneous, with bilateral and open-lip clefts associated with more severe developmental delays, while seizure rates were comparable across subtypes. Conclusions: The complexity of schizencephaly is highlighted in the largest cohort reported with high rates of seizures, neurodevelopmental delays, and motor impairments, but outcomes varied widely based on imaging features, underscoring the importance of individualized management. The low yield of genetic findings emphasizes prenatal environmental risk factors as etiological contributors.

Background: RAISE-XT (NCT04225871; Phase 3 study) showed clinically meaningful and sustained improvements in myasthenia gravis (MG)-specific outcomes with zilucoplan, a macrocyclic peptide complement component 5 inhibitor, in patients with acetylcholine receptor autoantibody-positive generalised MG. Methods: Adults self-administered once-daily subcutaneous zilucoplan 0.3mg/kg. This post hoc analysis assessed durability of response to Week 120 in MG-Activities of Daily Living (MG-ADL) and Quantitative MG (QMG) responders at Week 1 of two double-blind studies (NCT03315130, NCT04115293). Responder definitions: improvements of ≥3-points (MG-ADL) or ≥5-points (QMG) (interim data cut: 11 November 2023). Results: 93 patients were randomised to zilucoplan 0.3mg/kg in the double-blind studies; 43.0% (n=40/93) and 33.3% (n=31/93) were MG-ADL and QMG responders, respectively, at Week 1. Week 1 responders spent a median #of 98.9% (5.8–99.2) and 99.0% (2.5–99.2) time in response up to Week 120 for MG-ADL and QMG. Week 1 non-responders spent# a median #of 84.6% (0.0–98.3) and 66.7% (0.0–98.9) time in response up to Week 120 for MG-ADL and QMG, with most responding later in the study. Conclusions: Among early (Week 1) zilucoplan responders, time in response remained high (99%) up to Week 120. These data demonstrate rapid and sustained efficacy with long-term zilucoplan treatment.#

Background: Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) is a devastating disease process that represents a significant health shock for thousands of patients each year. Return to work outcomes and associated factors require evaluation to counsel patients and identify domains on which to focus clinical efforts. Methods: A systematic review of the literature following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 2020 guidelines was performed using MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane databases from inception to February 2024. Proportion of patients returning to work was collected from included studies. Odds ratios were pooled from studies evaluating the association between pre-rupture demographic variables, post-rupture clinical variables and return to work following aSAH. Results: Literature search yielded 3861 studies, of which 40 studies were included in the final analysis for a total of 6888 patients. On average, 55% (SD 17%) of all patients returned to work after an aSAH. Female sex (male sex OR 1.75), high grade aSAH on presentation (OR 0.30), and need for permanent CSF diversion (OR 0.50) are significantly associated with unemployment after aSAH. Conclusions: Female sex, high grade presentation, and permanent CSF diversion are associated with unemployment after aSAH. About half of all patients that experience aSAH return to work.

Background: Attitudes toward aging influence many health outcomes, yet their relationship with cognition and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) remains unknown. To better understand their impact on cognition and AD risk, we examined whether positive attitudes predict better cognition and diminished risk on AD biomarkers. Methods: A subsample of older adults with a family history of AD (n=54; women=39) from the McGill PREVENT-AD cohort participated in this study. Participants completed the Attitudes to Ageing Questionnaire (AAQ-24), providing three scores: psychosocial loss, psychological growth and physical change. Participants underwent cognitive testing (Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, RAVLT; Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System-Color Word Interference Test, D-KEFS-CWIT), and AD blood-based biomarker assessments (p-tau217, Aβ42/40). Regression models tested associations, adjusting for covariates (age, sex, education, depression, APOE4), and were Bonferroni corrected. Results: Positive attitudes were associated with better recall and recognition (RAVLT) and improved word reading, colour naming, switching, and inhibition (D-KEFS-CWIT) (p<0.00077), while negative attitudes showed the opposite pattern. Negative attitudes were correlated with lower Aβ42/40 ratios, while positive attitudes were linked to lower p-tau217 (p<0.0167). Conclusions: These findings demonstrate that positive attitudes predict better cognition and a lower risk profile for AD biomarkers, suggesting that life outlook may be an early disease feature or a risk factor.

The literature on cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) practitioner development suggests that extensive training that monitors adherence and reinforces skilfulness produces increased therapist competence, which is related to better patient outcomes. However, little is still known about how trainees perceive their training and its impact on what they understand to be competent CBT practice. Fifteen trainee and recently qualified CBT practitioners who were taking or had taken a UK BABCP Level 2 CBT training course were recruited and asked to complete a photo elicitation task followed by a semi-structured individual interview. Reflexive thematic analysis resulted in an over-arching theme of training as a personal odyssey, consisting of four main themes: (1) an opportunity to work in a meaningful and interesting profession; (2) a reflective learning process, (3) a well-rounded practitioner, and (4) a worthwhile outcome. The multi-faceted nature of each theme is described and related to existing theory and to author reflexivity. Recommendations are made for ways these findings might be applied to help make CBT training more effective and less demanding, and for future research. Limitations of the study include the preponderance of participants drawn from the NHS Talking Therapies for Anxiety and Depression programme in England and the lack of gender and ethnic diversity.

Key learning aims

1. (1) To understand better the motivation to train, and the experience of training and its outcomes for trainee and recently qualified UK CBT practitioners.

2. (2) To explore what competence in CBT means to participants, and how they evaluate their competence.

3. (3) To describe participants’ perceptions of how training has influenced their own development of competence including the role of the personal and professional selves.

4. (4) To consider practical implications for CBT training.

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.

The Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP) offers powerful new capabilities for studying the polarised and magnetised Universe at radio wavelengths. In this paper, we introduce the Polarisation Sky Survey of the Universe’s Magnetism (POSSUM), a groundbreaking survey with three primary objectives: (1) to create a comprehensive Faraday rotation measure (RM) grid of up to one million compact extragalactic sources across the southern $\sim50$% of the sky (20,630 deg$^2$); (2) to map the intrinsic polarisation and RM properties of a wide range of discrete extragalactic and Galactic objects over the same area; and (3) to contribute interferometric data with excellent surface brightness sensitivity, which can be combined with single-dish data to study the diffuse Galactic interstellar medium. Observations for the full POSSUM survey commenced in May 2023 and are expected to conclude by mid-2028. POSSUM will achieve an RM grid density of around 30–50 RMs per square degree with a median measurement uncertainty of $\sim$1 rad m$^{-2}$. The survey operates primarily over a frequency range of 800–1088 MHz, with an angular resolution of 20” and a typical RMS sensitivity in Stokes Q or U of 18 $\mu$Jy beam$^{-1}$. Additionally, the survey will be supplemented by similar observations covering 1296–1440 MHz over 38% of the sky. POSSUM will enable the discovery and detailed investigation of magnetised phenomena in a wide range of cosmic environments, including the intergalactic medium and cosmic web, galaxy clusters and groups, active galactic nuclei and radio galaxies, the Magellanic System and other nearby galaxies, galaxy halos and the circumgalactic medium, and the magnetic structure of the Milky Way across a very wide range of scales, as well as the interplay between these components. This paper reviews the current science case developed by the POSSUM Collaboration and provides an overview of POSSUM’s observations, data processing, outputs, and its complementarity with other radio and multi-wavelength surveys, including future work with the SKA.

A growing number of Australians are experiencing challenges accessing and affording healthy food due to climate-related disasters, global supply chain disruptions, and rapid inflation that is affecting the cost of healthy food(1). There is limited understanding of how participation community-based food cooperatives can address these challenges and improve food security and dietary intake. This study investigated the motivations for joining and impact of participation in a community-based food cooperative called Box Divvy on self-reported food security status and intake of fruits and vegetables among a sample of Australian adults. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among Box Divvy members, that measured sociodemographic characteristics, motivations for joining, self-reported fruit and vegetable intake (serves/week), and food insecurity status (USDA 6-item short form(2)) before and while using Box Divvy. Participants were classified as being food secure, or experiencing marginal, moderate, or severe food insecurity. Logistic regression assessed demographic predictors and self-reported change in food security status, and ANOVA examined changes in dietary intake before joining and while using Box Divvy. Of participants (n = 2764, 37% aged 35–44 years, 83% European ethnicity, 92% New South Wales residents), most joined Box Divvy to support local farmers (87.3%), and save money on healthy foods (70.6%). Around half of respondents (50.8%) reported experiencing food insecurity before joining Box Divvy (24.5% marginal, 18.4% moderate, 7.9% severe food insecurity). Univariate logistic regression identified age, household structure, and income as significant predictors of food insecurity (p < 0.001). Participants experiencing food insecurity reported significantly lower consumption of fruits and vegetables prior to joining Box Divvy compared to those who were food secure (p < 0.001). While using Box Divvy, 28.2% of participants reported experiencing food insecurity (16.6% marginal, 9.6% moderate, 2.1% severe food insecurity). The odds of food insecurity while using Box Divvy were 62% lower than before joining (OR: 0.38; 95% CI 0.34–0.43; p < 0.001). On average, participants reported their fruit intake increased by 2.5 ± 5.6 serves/week (p < 0.001), and vegetable intake increased by 3.3 ± 5.7 serves/week (p < 0.001). The mean increase was significantly greater among moderately food insecure (fruit mean difference 3.2 ± 6.5 serves/week; vegetable mean difference 3.9 ± 6.9 serves/week) and severely food insecure groups (fruit mean difference 4.4 ± 6.9 serves/week; vegetable mean difference 5.5 ± 7.7 serves/week; p < 0.001). Participation in Box Divvy significantly improved self-reported food security status and fruit and vegetable intake among a large sample of Australian adults. Notably, fruit and vegetable intake significantly increased among those experiencing moderate and severe food insecurity. This underscores the potential of community-based food cooperatives to improve food security and promote healthier eating habits among Australian adults, especially households experiencing food insecurity.