Yoga in Edinburgh: For the Mind or For the Body?

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Sheep scab:comparison of spatial and temporal patterns determined by clinical diagnosis or ELISA

BACKGROUND: Ovine psoroptic mange (sheep scab) is an infectious condition caused by an allergen-induced hypersensitivity response to the mite Psoroptes ovis. Infestation results in clinical disease, economic loss and welfare issues in many sheep-producing countries. The aim of this study was to compare the prevalence and spatial pattern of sheep scab on contiguous farms, using both self-reported clinical outbreak history (2012–2020) and serological testing with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (2021/2022). METHODS: Farms included in the study were located in three regions of known high scab prevalence in North, Central and Southwest England. In total, 254 farms completed both a questionnaire, which provided the clinical scab history of the farm, and submitted results of serological testing with the ELISA. RESULTS: A scab outbreak was reported by 17.4% (± confidence interval [CI]: 4.6%; n = 48) of farms in 2020 based on clinical diagnosis; scab was diagnosed by the ELISA on 25.6% (± 5.5%; n = 65) of farms in 2021/2022. Comparison of self-reported clinical scab cases with the ELISA test results identified a group of farms (n = 52) that did not report scab in 2020, or in some cases did not report having scab over the previous 8 years (n = 20), but whose flocks were nevertheless seropositive in 2021/2022. CONCLUSION: A small number of flocks, particularly those using common grazings in North England, where handling is infrequent, often comprising less susceptible sheep breeds, may have persistent scab infestations that are generally undetected by clinical inspection. The data highlight the advantages of serological testing to identify exposure to scab in flocks where clinical signs are less easily detected. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT: [Image: see text

International rates of receipt of psychological therapy for psychosis and schizophrenia:Systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: International clinical practice guidelines commonly recommend the provision of psychological therapies for psychosis and schizophrenia as an adjunct to medication. However, access to recommended therapies in routine clinical practice is limited. The aim of this review was to synthesise the available data on the provision of recommended psychological therapies for psychosis and schizophrenia across international mental health systems. Methods: Electronic databases (PsychINFO, Pubmed and EMBASE) were searched for audits, service evaluation projects, or surveys, which reported data on rates of offer or receipt of any recommended psychological therapy or therapeutic intervention as part of routine clinical care.Results: Twenty-two eligible studies from 9 countries were identified (N participants = 79,407). The most commonly recommended therapies in national guidelines were Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy for Psychosis (CBTp) and Family Interventions (FI). The overall pooled prevalence of rate of receipt of CBTp was 24% [95% CI 0.15-0.32] based on 15 studies (N = 42,494), with a higher rate of receipt of therapy found when pooling data from Early Intervention services only (41% [95% CI 0.21 – 0.60], 6 studies, N = 11, 068). The overall pooled prevalence of rate of receipt of FI was 30% [95% CI 0.22-0.37] based on 14 studies (N =13, 863).Conclusions: Overall rates of receipt of recommended psychological therapies for psychosis were low across the 9 countries data were available for in this review. However, there were high rates of heterogeneity across studies, meaning that pooled estimates should be interpreted with caution. Sources of heterogeneity included different service settings (e.g. early intervention vs. non-early intervention services), and varying methods used to collect the data (e.g. audit of electronic health records vs. self-report etc.). There were no available data from the continents of South America, Asia, or Africa, meaning that a truly global picture of provision of psychological therapies for psychosis and schizophrenia is currently lacking.<br/

Dropping the bass: The relationship between heart rate and expectation in electronic dance music (A preliminary report)

The relationship between musical expectation and physiological stress has been examined with increasing frequency in recent years (Huron, 2006; Tarr, et al. 2016). Stress induced from either an unexpected musical event can be studied through the measurement of heart rate (Steinbeis et al., 2006). Previous studies have focused on the interaction between global features (e.g., beat subdivision and pitch height) and stress (Liu, et al. 2018), while others have found no effect of local harmonic violations on heart rate (Steinbeis et al., 2006) and little effect of rhythmic entrainment (Mütze, Kopiez, & Wolf, 2020). More research is needed that focuses on the relationship between predictors of stress through local textural and rhythmic features inherent in musical genres. This study examines the role of specific musical and stylistic features on heart rate. Specifically, we examined elements of electronic dance music (EDM), including fulfilled and avoided "bass drops", defined as a climax of beat subdivision and pitch height which acts as a resolution for the musical phrase. Due to COVID-19, the data collection for this study is still ongoing, although we hypothesize that musical markers of stress, such as the avoidance of bass drops, are positively correlated with a heart rate

Developmental risk among Aboriginal children living in urban areas in Australia : the Study of Environment on Aboriginal Resilience and Child Health (SEARCH)

Background: Most Australian Aboriginal children are on track with their development, however, the prevalence of children at risk of or with a developmental or behavioural problem is higher than in other children. Aboriginal child development data mostly comes from remote communities, whereas most Aboriginal children live in urban settings. We quantified the proportion of participating children at moderate and high developmental risk as identified by caregivers' concerns, and determined the factors associated with developmental risk among urban Aboriginal communities. Methods: Study methods were co-designed and implemented with four participating urban Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services in New South Wales, Australia, between 2008 and 2012. Caregiver-reported data on children < 8 years old enrolled in a longitudinal cohort study (Study of Environment on Aboriginal Resilience and Child Health: SEARCH) were collected by interview. The Parents' Evaluation of Developmental Status (PEDS) was used to assess developmental risk through report of caregiver concerns. Odds ratios (OR) were calculated using multinomial logistic regression to investigate risk factors and develop a risk prediction model. Results: Of 725 children in SEARCH with PEDS data (69% of eligible), 405 (56%) were male, and 336 (46%) were aged between 4.5 and 8 years. Using PEDS, 32% were at high, 28% moderate, and 40% low/no developmental risk. Compared with low/no risk, factors associated with high developmental risk in a mutually-adjusted model, with additional adjustment for study site, were male sex (OR 2.42, 95% confidence intervals 1.62-3.61), being older (4.5 to < 8 years versus < 3 years old, 3.80, 2.21-6.54), prior history of ear infection (1.95, 1.21-3.15), having lived in 4 or more houses versus one house (4.13, 2.04-8.35), foster care versus living with a parent (5.45, 2.32-12.78), and having a caregiver with psychological distress (2.40, 1.37-4.20). Conclusion: In SEARCH, 40% of urban Aboriginal children younger than 8 years were at no or low developmental risk. Several factors associated with higher developmental risk were modifiable. Aboriginal community-driven programs to improve detection of developmental problems and facilitate early intervention are needed

Impact of Industrial Practices on the Microbial and Quality Attributes of Fresh Vacuum-Packed Lamb Joints

The impact of different industrial practices at lamb export abattoirs in Ireland on the microbial and quality attributes of fresh vacuum-packed (VP) lamb leg joints, including Clean Livestock Policy (CLP), fleece clipping, carcass chilling times and vacuum pack storage, at typical chill and retail display temperatures was investigated. Five separate slaughter batches of lamb (ranging in size from 38 to 60 lambs) were followed at two lamb export plants over a two-year period, accounting for seasonal variation. In general, fleece clipping resulted in significantly lower microbial contamination on the fleece than the use of CLP alone. Lamb from carcasses chilled for 24 h had significantly lower psychrophilic total viable counts and Brochothrix thermosphacta and pseudomonad counts than carcasses chilled for 72 h. Following vacuum-packed (VP) storage of meat from these carcasses at 1.7 1.6 C for 23 days in the meat plant followed by retail display at 3.9 1.7 C (up to day 50), the dominant microorganisms were lactic acid bacteria, Br. thermosphacta, Enterobacteriaceae and pseudomonads, and all had reached maximum population density by storage day 34. Aligned with this, after day 34, the quality of the raw meat samples also continued to deteriorate, with off-odors and color changes developing. While the mean values for cooked meat eating quality attributes did not change significantly over the VP storage period, high variability in many attributes, including off-flavors and off-odors, were noted for lamb meat from all storage times, highlighting inconsistences in lamb quality within and between slaughter batches

Weak Effects of Geolocators on Small Birds: A Meta-analysis Controlled for Phylogeny and Publication Bias

Currently, the deployment of tracking devices is one of the most frequently used approaches to study movement ecology of birds. Recent miniaturization of light-level geolocators enabled studying small bird species whose migratory patterns were widely unknown. However, geolocators may reduce vital rates in tagged birds and may bias obtained movement data. There is a need for a thorough assessment of the potential tag effects on small birds, as previous meta-analyses did not evaluate unpublished data and impact of multiple life-history traits, focused mainly on large species and the number of published studies tagging small birds has increased substantially. We quantitatively reviewed 549 records extracted from 74 published and 48 unpublished studies on over 7,800 tagged and 17,800 control individuals to examine the effects of geolocator tagging on small bird species (body mass <100 g). We calculated the effect of tagging on apparent survival, condition, phenology and breeding performance and identified the most important predictors of the magnitude of effect sizes. Even though the effects were not statistically significant in phylogenetically controlled models, we found a weak negative impact of geolocators on apparent survival. The negative effect on apparent survival was stronger with increasing relative load of the device and with geolocators attached using elastic harnesses. Moreover, tagging effects were stronger in smaller species. In conclusion, we found a weak effect on apparent survival of tagged birds and managed to pinpoint key aspects and drivers of tagging effects. We provide recommendations for establishing matched control group for proper effect size assessment in future studies and outline various aspects of tagging that need further investigation. Finally, our results encourage further use of geolocators on small bird species but the ethical aspects and scientific benefits should always be considered.Grantova Agentura Ceske Republiky 13-06451SInstitut Polaire Francais Paul Emile Victor IPEV-1036Institutional Research Plan RVO: 68081766Leverhulme Trust RPG-2013288Russian Foundation for Basic Research Arctic-18-05-60261Russian Science Foundation 17-14-0114