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We present the Evolutionary Map of the Universe (EMU) survey conducted with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP). EMU aims to deliver the touchstone radio atlas of the southern hemisphere. We introduce EMU and review its science drivers and key science goals, updated and tailored to the current ASKAP five-year survey plan. The development of the survey strategy and planned sky coverage is presented, along with the operational aspects of the survey and associated data analysis, together with a selection of diagnostics demonstrating the imaging quality and data characteristics. We give a general description of the value-added data pipeline and data products before concluding with a discussion of links to other surveys and projects and an outline of EMU’s legacy value.
Participant representation, including the Good Participatory Practice guidelines, in the design and execution of clinical research can profoundly affect research structure and process. Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, an online registry called the Healthcare Worker Exposure Response and Outcomes (HERO) Registry, was launched to capture the experiences of healthcare workers (HCWs) on the pandemic frontlines. It evolved into a program that distributed COVID-19-related information and connected participants with COVID-19-related research opportunities. Furthermore, a subcommittee of HCWs was created to inform the COVID-19-related clinical research, engagement, and communication efforts. This paper, coauthored by the HERO HCW subcommittee, describes how it was formed, the impact of community participation on the HERO Registry and Research Program, reflections on lessons learned, and implications for future research. Engagement of the HCW Subcommittee resulted in representing their lived experience and ensured that their perspectives as HCWs were incorporated into the HERO Research. The strategies not only supported recruitment and retention efforts but also influenced the HERO research team in framing research questions and data collection pertinent to the participant community. This experience demonstrated the importance of having participants’ input as expert advisors to an investigative team in their research efforts during a global health emergency.
To meet the development needs of aeroengines for high thrust-to-weight ratios and fuel-air ratios, a high temperature rise triple-swirler main combustor was designed with a total fuel-air ratio of 0.037, utilising advanced technologies including staged combustion, multi-point injection and multi-inclined hole cooling. Fluent software was used to conduct numerical simulations under both takeoff and idle conditions, thereby obtaining the distribution characteristics of the velocity and temperature fields within the combustor, as well as the generation of pollutants. The simulation results indicate that under takeoff conditions, the high temperature rise triple-swirler combustor achieves a total pressure loss coefficient of less than 6% and a combustion efficiency exceeding 99%. Under takeoff conditions, the OTDF and RTDF values are 0.144 and 0.0738, respectively. The mole fraction of NOx emissions is 3,700ppm, while the mole fraction of soot emissions is 2.55×10−5ppm. Under idle conditions, the triple-swirler combustor maintains a total pressure loss coefficient of less than 6% and a combustion efficiency greater than 99.9%. The OTDF and RTDF values are 0.131 and 0.0624, respectively. The mole fractions of CO and UHC emissions are both 0×10−32ppm at the calculation limit of Fluent software.
Achieving equitable healthcare access is a global challenge. Improving whole-population mental health and reducing the global burden of mental disorders is a key recommendation of the 2018 Lancet Global Mental Health Commission, which proposed monitoring national indicators, including the proportion of people with severe mental disorders who are service-users. This study aims to derive an equity indicator from national datasets integrating need, service utilisation and socioeconomic status, and demonstrate its utility in identifying gaps in mental health service use amongst those with the greatest need, thereby guiding equitable healthcare delivery.
Methods
We present a case study of a universal health insurance scheme (Medicare) in Australia. We developed the equity indicator using three national datasets. Geographic areas were linked to an area-based socioeconomic deprivation quintile (Census 2016). Per geographic area, we estimated the number with a mental healthcare need using scores ≥30 on the Kessler-10 (Australian National Health Surveys 2015 and 2018), and obtained the number of services used, defined as mental health-related contacts with general practitioners and mental health professionals (Medicare administrative data 2015–2019). We divided the number of services by the population with an estimated mental healthcare need and averaged these use-rates across each socioeconomic deprivation quintile. The equity indicator is the ratio of the use-rates in the least versus most deprived quintiles.
Results
Those estimated to have the greatest need for mental healthcare in 2019 ranged between 8.2% in the most disadvantaged area quintile (Q1) and 2.4% in the least (Q5), corresponding to a proportional increase of 27.7% in Q1 and 19.5% in Q5 since 2015. Equity-indicator-adjusted service rates of 4.2 (3.8–4.6) and 23.9 (22.4–25.4) showed that individuals with the highest need for care residing in Q1 areas received a stark 6 times fewer services compared to their Q5 counterparts, producing an equity indicator of 6.
Conclusions
As the global prevalence of common mental disorders may be increasing, it is crucial to calculate robust indicators evaluating the equity of mental health service use. In this Australian case study, we developed an equity indicator enabling the direct comparison of geographic areas with different need profiles. The results revealed striking inequities that persisted despite publicly-funded universal healthcare, recent service reforms and being a high-income country. This study demonstrates the importance and feasibility of generating such an indicator to inform and empower communities, healthcare providers and policymakers to pursue equitable service provision.
Background: Efgartigimod, a human immunoglobulin G (IgG)1 antibody Fc fragment, blocks the neonatal Fc receptor, decreasing IgG recycling and reducing pathogenic IgG autoantibody levels. ADHERE assessed the efficacy and safety of efgartigimod PH20 subcutaneous (SC; co-formulated with recombinant human hyaluronidase PH20) in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP). Methods: ADHERE enrolled participants with CIDP (treatment naive or on standard treatments withdrawn during run-in period) and consisted of open-label Stage A (efgartigimod PH20 SC once weekly [QW]), and randomized (1:1) Stage B (efgartigimod or placebo QW). Primary outcomes were clinical improvement (assessed with aINCAT, I-RODS, or mean grip strength; Stage A) and time to first aINCAT score deterioration (relapse; Stage B). Secondary outcomes included treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) incidence. Results: 322 participants entered Stage A. 214 (66.5%) were considered responders, randomized, and treated in Stage B. Efgartigimod significantly reduced the risk of relapse (HR: 0.394; 95% CI: 0.25–0.61) versus placebo (p=0.000039). Reduced risk of relapse occurred in participants receiving corticosteroids, intravenous or SC immunoglobulin, or no treatment before study entry. Most TEAEs were mild to moderate; 3 deaths occurred, none related to efgartigimod. Conclusions: Participants treated with efgartigimod PH20 SC maintained a clinical response and remained relapse-free longer than those treated with placebo.
Population-wide restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic may create barriers to mental health diagnosis. This study aims to examine changes in the number of incident cases and the incidence rates of mental health diagnoses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods
By using electronic health records from France, Germany, Italy, South Korea and the UK and claims data from the US, this study conducted interrupted time-series analyses to compare the monthly incident cases and the incidence of depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, alcohol misuse or dependence, substance misuse or dependence, bipolar disorders, personality disorders and psychoses diagnoses before (January 2017 to February 2020) and after (April 2020 to the latest available date of each database [up to November 2021]) the introduction of COVID-related restrictions.
Results
A total of 629,712,954 individuals were enrolled across nine databases. Following the introduction of restrictions, an immediate decline was observed in the number of incident cases of all mental health diagnoses in the US (rate ratios (RRs) ranged from 0.005 to 0.677) and in the incidence of all conditions in France, Germany, Italy and the US (RRs ranged from 0.002 to 0.422). In the UK, significant reductions were only observed in common mental illnesses. The number of incident cases and the incidence began to return to or exceed pre-pandemic levels in most countries from mid-2020 through 2021.
Conclusions
Healthcare providers should be prepared to deliver service adaptations to mitigate burdens directly or indirectly caused by delays in the diagnosis and treatment of mental health conditions.
The present study examines whether neuroticism is predicted by genetic vulnerability, summarized as polygenic risk score for neuroticism (PRSN), in interaction with bullying, parental bonding, and childhood adversity. Data were derived from a general population adolescent and young adult twin cohort. The final sample consisted of 202 monozygotic and 436 dizygotic twins and 319 twin pairs. The Short Eysenck Personality questionnaire was used to measure neuroticism. PRSN was trained on the results from the Genetics of Personality Consortium (GPC) and United Kingdom Biobank (UKB) cohorts, yielding two different PRSN. Multilevel mixed-effects models were used to analyze the main and interacting associations of PRSN, childhood adversity, bullying, and parental bonding style with neuroticism. We found no evidence of gene–environment correlation. PRSN thresholds of .005 and .2 were chosen, based on GPC and UKB datasets, respectively. After correction for confounders, all the individual variables were associated with the expression of neuroticism: both PRSN from GPC and UKB, childhood adversity, maternal bonding, paternal bonding, and bullying in primary school and secondary school. However, the results indicated no evidence for gene–environment interaction in this cohort. These results suggest that genetic vulnerability on the one hand and negative life events (childhood adversity and bullying) and positive life events (optimal parental bonding) on the other represent noninteracting pathways to neuroticism.
Bipolar disorder (BD) is a severe psychotic disease repeats depression, hypomania or mania. Using mobile applications to record emotions can help BD patients to self-manage and reduce emotional symptoms. Gamification applied in health-manage applications can improve the using frequency and satisfaction. Nurturing and horticultural therapy could increase the using frequency and alleviate the depression and anxiety.
Objectives
This study chose plants-nurturing to add to a self-management application, and explored the users’ experiences.
Methods
A one-group pretest-posttest design with qualitative interview was used. Analysis included the frequency of usage, emotional changes, and users’ feedback of the plants-nurturing in the first three months and after three months.。
Results
A total of 26 participants were included. In the frequency of usage, the times and ratio of days were increased but no significant difference. The emotional symptoms were no significant difference. Positive experiences were novelty and interesting, while negative experiences were the slow rate of growth.Table 1.
Demographics (N=26)
Range
Mean (SD)
Age
20-62
37.0(11.35)
n
Percentage
Gender
Female
15
57.7
Educational level
University
14
53.8
Employment situation
Employment
14
53.8
Image:
Image 2:
Image 3:
Conclusions
There was a preliminary increase when adding plants-nurturing to the self-manage application, whereas the effect should be examined by further research. The more delicate elements of gamification could be included in self-manage application, considered the users’ other sensory perception in the future. Meanwhile, to improve the frequency of usage and self-management in BD patients, the subjective experiences should be explored in-depth.
While the role of benzodiazepines (BZDs) has been well established for anxiety and related disorders, there are significant concerns about BZD dependence, withdrawal, and tolerance. There is a lot of ambiguity regarding the potential long-term effects of BZDs on mental health. However, the risk of developing subsequent other substance use disorders is in question.
Objectives
In this electronic medical record (EMR) based retrospective cohort study, the study cohort was defined as patients between the ages of 18 and 65 with anxiety disorders (ICD-10-CM: F40-F48) prescribed with at least one BZD; the control cohort was defined as patients between the ages of 18 and 65 with anxiety disorders (ICD-10-CM: F40-F48) with no BZD prescription during the five-year timeframe examined. We excluded patients with pre-existing substance use disorders (ICD-10-CM: F10-F19), et al.
Methods
We collected data from TriNetX Research database, a real-time international EMR network, from September 2017 to September 2022. Patients in the two cohorts were matched by gender, age, race, ethnicity, and common medical conditions at a 1:1 ratio by propensity scoring and then underwent Kaplan–Meier analysis and association analysis.
Results
A total of 626,754 patients were identified and matched for analysis. Patients in the study cohort were more likely to be female (67.6% vs. 66.7%, p < 0.001), non-Hispanic (65.8% vs. 62.5%, p < 0.001) and white (72.8% vs. 69.1%, p < 0.001). Kaplan–Meier analysis showed the survival probability at the end of the time window was 94.1% for the control cohort and 89.5% for the study cohort (Hazard ratio, 2.20; 95% CI, 2.16-2.25; P < 0.001) in all type of substance use disorders. (Table 1)Table 1.
Hazard ratio of substance use disorders difference in BZD cohort versus the control cohort.
Substance use disorders was defined as Mental and behavioral disorders due to psychoactive substance use (ICD-10-CM: F10-F19).
Conclusions
Patients with an anxiety disorder who were prescribed BZDs are at higher risk of not only BZD dependence but all types of substance use disorders than a matched cohort not prescribed BZDs. Given this notable association, clinicians should be cautious while prescribing BZDs and inform the patient about the risks associated with their utilization.
Most of the research explored the attrition rate and predictive factors for the smartphone application of emotion monitoring in bipolar disorder patients. However, there is less focus on the efficacy of maintaining the retention rate if the incentive system is employed.
Objectives
The aim of our research is to evaluate the efficacy of two different kinds of incentive systems on improving frequency of using the Smartphone Mood Relapse Warning application (MRW-APP) (Su et al., 2021) in bipolar patients.
Methods
A one-group pretest-posttest pilot study was conducted. Participants with bipolar disorder (n = 63) recorded their moods and symptoms through MRW-APP for 29 weeks with the attrition rate of 44%. Two different kinds of incentive systems, reward and lottery, were implemented. To know whether incentive implementation could play a role in motivating the participants to better adhere to the app, we used Friedman’s test and paired sample t-test to analyze the participants’ app-using frequency in the corresponding weeks.
Results
There was no significant difference in the participants’ app-using frequency (p>.05) before and after we implemented the first incentive system, reward (n=63). For the second incentive system, lottery (n=41), a significant difference in app-using frequency was still not observed (p>.05) after the intervention. But, for those who both had experienced two kinds of incentive systems (n=35), there were significant changes in their app-using frequency (p<.05).Table 1.
Demographics (n=63)
Variables
All (n=63)
Mean
SD
Age (n=55)
36.4025.27
11.10
Onset age (n=48)
9.35
n
%
Gender (n=54)
Female
33
61.1
Educational level (n=54)
Above undergraduates
40
74.1
SD= Standard deviation
Image:
Image 2:
Conclusions
This research found the two incentive systems, award and lottery, may help increase the using frequency of the smartphone monitoring app for participants with bipolar disorder. The results from our study can be a reference for mood monitoring apps development in the future, and it also suggested that incentive system has its potential on encouraging patients’ adherence to e-healthcare.
Visitors to zoos are a source of potential stress to certain captive-housed animals. Much research has focused on Europe and America, whereas the effect of human audiences on the behaviour of captive animals in Chinese parks has so far not been investigated. Sika deer (Cervus nippon) housed in Zhu-Yu-Wan Park, Yangzhou City, Jiangsu Province, China, were studied to determine the effect of different visitor density levels on the animals’ activity. From June 21 to December 10, 2006, and again from February 21 to July 10, 2007, 21 subjects were observed for 10 h per week for a total of 44 weeks. Continuous focal animal sampling was used to quantify behaviours, and visitor density was recorded every minute. Friedman's tests were used to examine the effects of visitor density on the behaviour of sika deer. Results showed that high visitor density was significantly related to foraging, resting, watching and ‘non-visible’ behaviours. The findings demonstrate that high numbers of visitors have an effect on the welfare of sika deer.
We consider a two-dimensional (2-D) model of an autophoretic particle. Beyond a certain emission/absorption rate (characterized by a dimensionless Péclet number, $Pe$) the particle is known to undergo a bifurcation from a non-motile to a motile state, with different trajectories, going from a straight to a chaotic motion by increasing $Pe$. From the full model, we derive a reduced closed model which involves only two time-dependent complex amplitudes $C_1(t)$ and $C_2(t)$ corresponding to the first two Fourier modes of the solute concentration field. It consists of two coupled nonlinear ordinary differential equations for $C_1$ and $C_2$ and presents several advantages: (i) the straight and circular motions can be handled fully analytically; (ii) complex motions such as chaos can be analysed numerically very efficiently in comparison with the numerically expensive full model involving partial differential equations; (iii) the reduced model has a universal form dictated only by symmetries (meaning that the form of the equations does not depend on a given phoretic model); (iv) the model can be extended to higher Fourier modes. The derivation method is exemplified for a 2-D model, for simplicity, but can easily be extended to three dimensions, not only for the presently selected phoretic model, but also for any model in which chemical activity triggers locomotion. A typical example can be found, for example, in the field of cell motility involving acto-myosin kinetics. This strategy offers an interesting way to cope with swimmers on the basis of ordinary differential equations, allowing for analytical tractability and efficient numerical treatment.
We present the Widefield ASKAP L-band Legacy All-sky Blind surveY (WALLABY) Pilot Phase I Hi kinematic models. This first data release consists of Hi observations of three fields in the direction of the Hydra and Norma clusters, and the NGC 4636 galaxy group. In this paper, we describe how we generate and publicly release flat-disk tilted-ring kinematic models for 109/592 unique Hi detections in these fields. The modelling method adopted here—which we call the WALLABY Kinematic Analysis Proto-Pipeline (WKAPP) and for which the corresponding scripts are also publicly available—consists of combining results from the homogeneous application of the FAT and 3DBarolo algorithms to the subset of 209 detections with sufficient resolution and
$S/N$
in order to generate optimised model parameters and uncertainties. The 109 models presented here tend to be gas rich detections resolved by at least 3–4 synthesised beams across their major axes, but there is no obvious environmental bias in the modelling. The data release described here is the first step towards the derivation of similar products for thousands of spatially resolved WALLABY detections via a dedicated kinematic pipeline. Such a large publicly available and homogeneously analysed dataset will be a powerful legacy product that that will enable a wide range of scientific studies.
We present WALLABY pilot data release 1, the first public release of H i pilot survey data from the Wide-field ASKAP L-band Legacy All-sky Blind Survey (WALLABY) on the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder. Phase 1 of the WALLABY pilot survey targeted three
$60\,\mathrm{deg}^{2}$
regions on the sky in the direction of the Hydra and Norma galaxy clusters and the NGC 4636 galaxy group, covering the redshift range of
$z \lesssim 0.08$
. The source catalogue, images and spectra of nearly 600 extragalactic H i detections and kinematic models for 109 spatially resolved galaxies are available. As the pilot survey targeted regions containing nearby group and cluster environments, the median redshift of the sample of
$z \approx 0.014$
is relatively low compared to the full WALLABY survey. The median galaxy H i mass is
$2.3 \times 10^{9}\,{\rm M}_{{\odot}}$
. The target noise level of
$1.6\,\mathrm{mJy}$
per 30′′ beam and
$18.5\,\mathrm{kHz}$
channel translates into a
$5 \sigma$
H i mass sensitivity for point sources of about
$5.2 \times 10^{8} \, (D_{\rm L} / \mathrm{100\,Mpc})^{2} \, {\rm M}_{{\odot}}$
across 50 spectral channels (
${\approx} 200\,\mathrm{km \, s}^{-1}$
) and a
$5 \sigma$
H i column density sensitivity of about
$8.6 \times 10^{19} \, (1 + z)^{4}\,\mathrm{cm}^{-2}$
across 5 channels (
${\approx} 20\,\mathrm{km \, s}^{-1}$
) for emission filling the 30′′ beam. As expected for a pilot survey, several technical issues and artefacts are still affecting the data quality. Most notably, there are systematic flux errors of up to several 10% caused by uncertainties about the exact size and shape of each of the primary beams as well as the presence of sidelobes due to the finite deconvolution threshold. In addition, artefacts such as residual continuum emission and bandpass ripples have affected some of the data. The pilot survey has been highly successful in uncovering such technical problems, most of which are expected to be addressed and rectified before the start of the full WALLABY survey.
The impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on mental health is still being unravelled. It is important to identify which individuals are at greatest risk of worsening symptoms. This study aimed to examine changes in depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms using prospective and retrospective symptom change assessments, and to find and examine the effect of key risk factors.
Method
Online questionnaires were administered to 34 465 individuals (aged 16 years or above) in April/May 2020 in the UK, recruited from existing cohorts or via social media. Around one-third (n = 12 718) of included participants had prior diagnoses of depression or anxiety and had completed pre-pandemic mental health assessments (between September 2018 and February 2020), allowing prospective investigation of symptom change.
Results
Prospective symptom analyses showed small decreases in depression (PHQ-9: −0.43 points) and anxiety [generalised anxiety disorder scale – 7 items (GAD)-7: −0.33 points] and increases in PTSD (PCL-6: 0.22 points). Conversely, retrospective symptom analyses demonstrated significant large increases (PHQ-9: 2.40; GAD-7 = 1.97), with 55% reported worsening mental health since the beginning of the pandemic on a global change rating. Across both prospective and retrospective measures of symptom change, worsening depression, anxiety and PTSD symptoms were associated with prior mental health diagnoses, female gender, young age and unemployed/student status.
Conclusions
We highlight the effect of prior mental health diagnoses on worsening mental health during the pandemic and confirm previously reported sociodemographic risk factors. Discrepancies between prospective and retrospective measures of changes in mental health may be related to recall bias-related underestimation of prior symptom severity.
A transdiagnostic and contextual framework of ‘clinical characterization’, combining clinical, psychopathological, sociodemographic, etiological, and other personal contextual data, may add clinical value over and above categorical algorithm-based diagnosis.
Methods
Prediction of need for care and health care outcomes was examined prospectively as a function of the contextual clinical characterization diagnostic framework in a prospective general population cohort (n = 6646 at baseline), interviewed four times between 2007 and 2018 (NEMESIS-2). Measures of need, service use, and use of medication were predicted as a function of any of 13 DSM-IV diagnoses, both separately and in combination with clinical characterization across multiple domains: social circumstances/demographics, symptom dimensions, physical health, clinical/etiological factors, staging, and polygenic risk scores (PRS). Effect sizes were expressed as population attributable fractions.
Results
Any prediction of DSM-diagnosis in relation to need and outcome in separate models was entirely reducible to components of contextual clinical characterization in joint models, particularly the component of transdiagnostic symptom dimensions (a simple score of the number of anxiety, depression, mania, and psychosis symptoms) and staging (subthreshold, incidence, persistence), and to a lesser degree clinical factors (early adversity, family history, suicidality, slowness at interview, neuroticism, and extraversion), and sociodemographic factors. Clinical characterization components in combination predicted more than any component in isolation. PRS did not meaningfully contribute to any clinical characterization model.
Conclusion
A transdiagnostic framework of contextual clinical characterization is of more value to patients than a categorical system of algorithmic ordering of psychopathology.
Sleep disturbance is common in gestational parents during pregnancy and postpartum periods. This study evaluated the feasibility and efficacy of a scalable cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) sleep intervention tailored for these periods.
Methods
This is a two-arm, parallel-group, single-blind, superiority randomised controlled trial. Nulliparous females without severe medical/psychiatric conditions were randomised 1:1 to CBT or attention- and time-matched control. All participants received a 1 h telephone session and automated multimedia emails from the third trimester until 6 months postpartum. Outcomes were assessed with validated instruments at gestation weeks 30 (baseline) and 35 (pregnancy endpoint), and postpartum months 1.5, 3, 6 (postpartum endpoint), 12 and 24.
Results
In total, 163 eligible participants (age M ± s.d. = 33.35 ± 3.42) were randomised. The CBT intervention was well accepted, with no reported adverse effect. Intention-to-treat analyses showed that compared to control, receiving CBT was associated with lower insomnia severity and sleep disturbance (two primary outcomes), and lower sleep-related impairment at the pregnancy endpoint (p values ⩽ 0.001), as well as at 24 months postpartum (p ranges 0.012–0.052). Group differences across the first postpartum year were non-significant. Participants with elevated insomnia symptoms at baseline benefitted substantially more from CBT (v. control), including having significantly lower insomnia symptoms throughout the first postpartum year. Group differences in symptoms of depression or anxiety were non-significant.
Conclusions
A scalable CBT sleep intervention is efficacious in buffering against sleep disturbance during pregnancy and benefitted sleep at 2-year postpartum, especially for individuals with insomnia symptoms during pregnancy. The intervention holds promise for implementation into routine perinatal care.
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE), underscoring the urgent need for simple, efficient, and inexpensive methods to decontaminate masks and respirators exposed to severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). We hypothesized that methylene blue (MB) photochemical treatment, which has various clinical applications, could decontaminate PPE contaminated with coronavirus.
Design:
The 2 arms of the study included (1) PPE inoculation with coronaviruses followed by MB with light (MBL) decontamination treatment and (2) PPE treatment with MBL for 5 cycles of decontamination to determine maintenance of PPE performance.
Methods:
MBL treatment was used to inactivate coronaviruses on 3 N95 filtering facepiece respirator (FFR) and 2 medical mask models. We inoculated FFR and medical mask materials with 3 coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2, and we treated them with 10 µM MB and exposed them to 50,000 lux of white light or 12,500 lux of red light for 30 minutes. In parallel, integrity was assessed after 5 cycles of decontamination using multiple US and international test methods, and the process was compared with the FDA-authorized vaporized hydrogen peroxide plus ozone (VHP+O3) decontamination method.
Results:
Overall, MBL robustly and consistently inactivated all 3 coronaviruses with 99.8% to >99.9% virus inactivation across all FFRs and medical masks tested. FFR and medical mask integrity was maintained after 5 cycles of MBL treatment, whereas 1 FFR model failed after 5 cycles of VHP+O3.
Conclusions:
MBL treatment decontaminated respirators and masks by inactivating 3 tested coronaviruses without compromising integrity through 5 cycles of decontamination. MBL decontamination is effective, is low cost, and does not require specialized equipment, making it applicable in low- to high-resource settings.
Food insecurity has been shown to be associated with fast-food consumption. However, to date, studies on this specific topic are scarce. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the association between food insecurity and fast-food consumption in adolescents aged 12–15 years from sixty-eight countries (seven low-income, twenty-seven lower middle-income, twenty upper middle-income, fourteen high-income countries). Cross-sectional, school-based data from the Global School-based Student Health Survey were analysed. Data on past 30-d food insecurity (hunger) and fast-food consumption in the past 7 d were collected. Multivariable logistic regression and meta-analysis were conducted to assess associations. Models were adjusted for age, sex and BMI. There were 180 164 adolescents aged 12–15 years (mean age 13·8 (sd 1·0) years; 50·8 % boys) included in the analysis. Overall, severe food insecurity (i.e. hungry because there was not enough food in home most of the time or always) was associated with 1·17 (95 % CI 1·08, 1·26) times higher odds for fast-food consumption. The estimates pooled by country-income levels were significant in low-income countries (adjusted OR (aOR) = 1·30; 95 % CI 1·05, 1·60), lower middle-income countries (aOR = 1·15; 95 % CI 1·02, 1·29) and upper middle-income countries (aOR = 1·26; 95 % CI 1·07, 1·49), but not in high-income countries (aOR = 1·04; 95 % CI 0·88, 1·23). The mere co-occurrence of food insecurity and fast-food consumption is of public health importance. To tackle this issue, a strong governmental and societal approach is required to utilise effective methods as demonstrated in some high-income countries such as the implementation of food banks and the adoption of free school meals.
A cumulative environmental exposure score for schizophrenia (exposome score for schizophrenia [ES-SCZ]) may provide potential utility for risk stratification and outcome prediction. Here, we investigated whether ES-SCZ was associated with functioning in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder, unaffected siblings, and healthy controls.
Methods
This cross-sectional sample consisted of 1,261 patients, 1,282 unaffected siblings, and 1,525 healthy controls. The Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scale was used to assess functioning. ES-SCZ was calculated based on our previously validated method. The association between ES-SCZ and the GAF dimensions (symptom and disability) was analyzed by applying regression models in each group (patients, siblings, and controls). Additional models included polygenic risk score for schizophrenia (PRS-SCZ) as a covariate.
Results
ES-SCZ was associated with the GAF dimensions in patients (symptom: B = −1.53, p-value = 0.001; disability: B = −1.44, p-value = 0.001), siblings (symptom: B = −3.07, p-value < 0.001; disability: B = −2.52, p-value < 0.001), and healthy controls (symptom: B = −1.50, p-value < 0.001; disability: B = −1.31, p-value < 0.001). The results remained the same after adjusting for PRS-SCZ. The degree of associations of ES-SCZ with both symptom and disability dimensions were higher in unaffected siblings than in patients and controls. By analyzing an independent dataset (the Genetic Risk and Outcome of Psychosis study), we replicated the results observed in the patient group.
Conclusions
Our findings suggest that ES-SCZ shows promise for enhancing risk prediction and stratification in research practice. From a clinical perspective, ES-SCZ may aid in efforts of clinical characterization, operationalizing transdiagnostic clinical staging models, and personalizing clinical management.