P300 component in euthymic patients with bipolar disorder type I, bipolar disorder type II and healthy controls: a preliminary event-related potential study

The aim of the present study was to investigate P300 event-related potential components in euthymic bipolar disorder type I (BDI) and bipolar disorder type II (BDII) patients and matched controls. A total of 10 BDI patients, 10 BDII patients and 10 healthy individuals were enrolled in the study. Event-related potential data were collected according to a standard auditory 'oddball' paradigm. A significant groups effect in both the peak amplitude (P<0.001) and the mean amplitude (P<0.001) was observed; post-hoc comparisons showed that the peak and mean amplitudes of BDI and BDII patients were significantly lower than the peak and mean amplitudes of the healthy controls. The neurophysiological patterns found in the present study might at least partially reflect the presence of a mild selective cognitive impairment in euthymic BDI and BDII patients. From a clinical point of view, these evidences support the potential role of cognitive interventions in the treatment of BD

Prefronto-cerebellar transcranial direct current stimulation increases amplituded and decreases latency of P3b component in patients with euthymic bipolar disorder

INTRODUCTION: Neurocognitive impairments have been observed in patients with bipolar disorder (BD) even during the euthymic phase of the disease, potentially representing trait-associated rather than state-associated characteristics of the disorder. In the present study, we used transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) applied to cerebellar and prefrontal cortices to improve the neurophysiological performances of patients with euthymic BD. METHODS: Twenty-five outpatients with BD underwent open-label prefrontocerebellar tDCS for 3 consecutive weeks. Neurophysiological performances were assessed through the examination of the P3b and P3a subcomponents of P300 event-related potential at baseline and after stimulation. RESULTS: Compared to baseline, P3b component after tDCS showed significantly higher amplitude and shorter latency (latency: Fz P=0.02, Cz P=0.03, and Pz P=0.04; amplitude: Fz P=0.24, Cz P=0.02, and Pz P=0.35). CONCLUSION: In our sample of patients with euthymic BD, concomitant prefrontoexcitatory and cerebellar-inhibitory modulations led to improved brain information processing stream. This improvement may at least partially result from neuroplastic modulation of prefrontocerebellar circuitry activity

Improving Project Logistics by using IoT

This Bachelor´s thesis is made on behalf of Wärtsilä Energy Solutions, Project Logistics & Transport Management department whose main task is to coordinate and ensure that materials and products are transported to the right place and on time in Project Logistics. This thesis examines how you could improve Wärtsilä´s Project Logistics by using Internet of Things. By developing IoT, there has been an increased chance to get more information about transports than before and Wärtsilä is currently looking for new solutions to use that could improve their current logistics system. The purpose of this thesis is to review new, and used, solutions on the market, and then see what could work in practice at Wärtsilä. Material to this thesis are gathered from books, web pages and articles that reviewed interesting IoT solutions and which also gave examples on different solutions that are used by other companies in the same business. The Result is two different methods that could improve Wärtsilä´s Project Logistics in different occasions. These results are intended to give tips on how IoT could improve the department´s ways of coordinating and check transports and logistics within a project.Detta examensarbete är gjort i uppdrag av Wärtsilä Energy Solutions, Project logistics & Transport Management avdelningen vars huvuduppgift är att koordinera och se till att material och produkter transporteras till rätt plats i rätt tid inom projekt logistiken. Examensarbetet behandlar hur man kunde förbättra Wärtsiläs projekt logistik genom att använda Internet of Things. Genom att IoT har utvecklats har det uppstått möjligheter att få fram mer information om transporter än tidigare och Wärtsilä söker för tillfället nya lösningar som kunde användas för att förbättra deras nuvarande logistiksystem. Syftet med arbetet är att gå igenom nya, men även redan befintliga, lösningar som används på dagens marknad - för att sedan se vad som kunde fungera i praktiken hos Wärtsilä. Material till arbetet är samlat från böcker, webbsidor och artiklar som gick igenom intressanta IoT lösningar och som också gav exempel på hur olika system fungerar och används av andra företag inom samma bransch. Slutresultatet blev två olika metoder som kunde förbättra Wärtsiläs projekt logistik vid olika tillfällen. Dessa resultat är tänkta för att ge tips på hur IoT kunde förbättra avdelningens sätt hur man koordinerar och granskar transporter och logistiken inom ett projekt

Promoting innovation and excellence to face the rapid diffusion of Novel Psychoactive Substances (NPS) in the EU : the outcomes of the ReDNet project

Objectives: The recent emergence of new psychoactive compounds (NPS) has raised prominent challenges in the fields of drug policy, substance use research, public health and service provision. The Recreational Drugs European Network (ReDNet) project, funded by the European Commission, was implemented to improve the information stream to young people and professionals about effects/risks of NPS identifying online products and disseminating relevant information through technological tools. Methods: Regular multilingual qualitative assessments of websites, drugs fora and other online resources were carried out using the Google search engine in 8 languages from collaborating countries. These included: the UK, Norway, Belgium, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Italy and Spain. Products were tested and prevention messages were developed and disseminated via technological tools such as interactive websites, SMS alert, social networking (Facebook, Twitter), Multimedia (You Tube), Smartphone applications (iPhone), and virtual learning environments (Second Life). Results: The ReDNet project established itself as the first Europe-wide prevention programme designed for NPS based on the efficacy of novel ICT-based forms of intervention. More than 650 NPS products and combinations were identified; relevant information was disseminated to target population and advice was given to both EU/ international agencies and national policy makers. Conclusions: Web monitoring activities are essential for mapping the diffusion of NPS and the use of technological tools can be successfully incorporated in specific prevention programmes. Furthermore, the involvement of multi-disciplinary international partnerships was and continues to be fundamental for responding to such a prominent challenge.Peer reviewedSubmitted Versio

Sleep and biorythm disturbances in schizophrenia, mood and anxiety disorders: a review

Sleep problems and circadian rhythms disturbances are common in many psychiatric disorders, with the mostoften-reported sleep problem in most cases being insomnia. In this paper, the main findings about sleep disturbances (features and therapy) and other biorhythm disturbances (biological timekeepers, CLOCK genes, GSK3, melatonin, hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis, body temperature) are reviewed in relation to schizophrenia, mood and anxiety disorders

Seizure threshold variations in ECT-treated chronic patients with schizophrenia: A brief report

Seizure threshold (ST) is a parameter that differs in each person and can be modified both spontaneously and because of drug intake and/or other exogenous factors. A rise in ST during a course of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has been demonstrated in patients with depression and mania, but little information has been available as to whether the same result occurs in schizophrenia (SCZ). 11 male patients underwent estimation of the seizure threshold over a bilateral ECT course. Mean ST changed not significantly. No correlations were found between baseline ST and Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) scores. A significant positive correlation emerged between baseline ST and the variation of Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) total and cognitive scores. The results suggest that ST in SCZ patients is not related to baseline psychopathological features, it is not related to clinical improvements of negative or positive SCZ symptoms and it does not change during the ECT course but it appears predictive of the improvement of affective and cognitive symptmos. Copyright - Il Pensiero Scientifico Editore

Prefronto-cerebellar tDCS improves cognition in euthymic bipolar patients: preliminary neuropsychological and neurophysiological (P300) findings

Bipolar Disorder Type I (BDI) and Bipolar Disorder Type II (BDII) are chronic and disabling conditions characterized by manic/hypomanic and depressive episodes. Cognitive disturbances seem to affect both the subtypes of BD, specifically in frontal executive functioning and verbal learning working memory. The aim of the current study was to verify whether the transcranial tDCS applied to cerebellar and prefrontal cortices could improve the cognitive functioning of euthymic patients with bipolar disorder or not, and assess the variation of the cognitive functioning and the global information processing stream through neuropsychological, neurophysiological and neurological measures. 25 BD outpatients underwent prefrontal (anodal) and cerebellar (cathodal) tDCS for 3 consecutive weeks. All participants were clinically assessed through neuropsychological and neurophysiological (P300) examinations at baseline and after tDCS therapy. Neuropsychological tests in the domains of visuo-spatial memory and attention improved significantly (p<0.05) or showed a favourable statistical trend (p<0.07) after the treatment. The patients who had worse baseline cognitive performances showed a more relevant improvement in all the neuropsychological domains investigated. After tDCS treatment the P3b component revealed a significant higher amplitude and shorter latency (Latency: Fz p=0.02, Cz p=0.03, Pz p=0.04; Amplitude: Fz p=0.24, Cz p=0.02, Pz p=0.35). In our study, prefrontal-excitatory and cerebellar-inhibitory stimulations lead to better global cognitive performances quantified through neuropsychological, neurophysiological and neurological assessments. This improvement could result from the normalization of prefrontal-talamic-cerebellum circuit activity pattern, that has been proven to be altered in BD. Prefronto-cerebellar tDCS may represent a useful therapeutic tools to increase the efficiency of standard treatment used for BD

Pre-treatment allostatic load and metabolic dysregulation predict SSRI response in major depressive disorder : A preliminary report

BackgroundMajor depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with increased allostatic load (AL; a measure of physiological costs of repeated/chronic stress-responding) and metabolic dysregulation (MetD; a measure of metabolic health and precursor to many medical illnesses). Though AL and MetD are associated with poor somatic health outcomes, little is known regarding their relationship with antidepressant-treatment outcomes.MethodsWe determined pre-treatment AL and MetD in 67 healthy controls and 34 unmedicated, medically healthy MDD subjects. Following this, MDD subjects completed 8-weeks of open-label selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant treatment and were categorized as 'Responders' (≥50% improvement in depression severity ratings) or 'Non-responders' (<50% improvement). Logistic and linear regressions were performed to determine if pre-treatment AL or MetD scores predicted SSRI-response. Secondary analyses examined cross-sectional differences between MDD and control groups.ResultsPre-treatment AL and MetD scores significantly predicted continuous antidepressant response (i.e. absolute decreases in depression severity ratings) (p = 0.012 and 0.014, respectively), as well as post-treatment status as a Responder or Non-responder (p = 0.022 and 0.040, respectively), such that higher pre-treatment AL and MetD were associated with poorer SSRI-treatment outcomes. Pre-treatment AL and MetD of Responders were similar to Controls, while those of Non-responders were significantly higher than both Responders (p = 0.025 and 0.033, respectively) and Controls (p = 0.039 and 0.001, respectively).ConclusionsThese preliminary findings suggest that indices of metabolic and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal-axis dysregulation are associated with poorer SSRI-treatment response. To our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate that these markers of medical disease risk also predict poorer antidepressant outcomes