Prospective memory functioning among ecstasy/polydrug users: evidence from the Cambridge Prospective Memory Test (CAMPROMPT)

Rationale: Prospective memory (PM) deficits in recreational drug users have been documented in recent years. However, the assessment of PM has largely been restricted to self-reported measures that fail to capture the distinction between event-based and time-based PM. The aim of the present study is to address this limitation. Objectives: Extending our previous research, we augmented the range laboratory measures of PM by employing the CAMPROMPT test battery to investigate the impact of illicit drug use on prospective remembering in a sample of cannabis only, ecstasy/polydrug and non-users of illicit drugs, separating event and time-based PM performance. We also administered measures of executive function and retrospective memory in order to establish whether ecstasy/polydrug deficits in PM were mediated by group differences in these processes. Results: Ecstasy/polydrug users performed significantly worse on both event and time-based prospective memory tasks in comparison to both cannabis only and non-user groups. Furthermore, it was found that across the whole sample, better retrospective memory and executive functioning was associated with superior PM performance. Nevertheless, this association did not mediate the drug-related effects that were observed. Consistent with our previous study, recreational use of cocaine was linked to PM deficits. Conclusions: PM deficits have again been found among ecstasy/polydrug users, which appear to be unrelated to group differences in executive function and retrospective memory. However, the possibility that these are attributable to cocaine use cannot be excluded

A922 Sequential measurement of 1 hour creatinine clearance (1-CRCL) in critically ill patients at risk of acute kidney injury (AKI)

Meeting abstrac

A Phase 1 Trial of MSP2-C1, a Blood-Stage Malaria Vaccine Containing 2 Isoforms of MSP2 Formulated with Montanide® ISA 720

Background: In a previous Phase 1/2b malaria vaccine trial testing the 3D7 isoform of the malaria vaccine candidate Merozoite surface protein 2 (MSP2), parasite densities in children were reduced by 62%. However, breakthrough parasitemias were disproportionately of the alternate dimorphic form of MSP2, the FC27 genotype. We therefore undertook a dose-escalating, double-blinded, placebo-controlled Phase 1 trial in healthy, malaria-naïve adults of MSP2-C1, a vaccine containing recombinant forms of the two families of msp2 alleles, 3D7 and FC27 (EcMSP2-3D7 and EcMSP2-FC27), formulated in equal amounts with Montanide® ISA 720 as a water-in-oil emulsion. Methodology/Principal Findings: The trial was designed to include three dose cohorts (10, 40, and 80 μg), each with twelve subjects receiving the vaccine and three control subjects receiving Montanide® ISA 720 adjuvant emulsion alone, in a schedule of three doses at 12-week intervals. Due to unexpected local reactogenicity and concern regarding vaccine stability, the trial was terminated after the second immunisation of the cohort receiving the 40 μg dose; no subjects received the 80 μg dose. Immunization induced significant IgG responses to both isoforms of MSP2 in the 10 μg and 40 μg dose cohorts, with antibody levels by ELISA higher in the 40 μg cohort. Vaccine-induced antibodies recognised native protein by Western blots of parasite protein extracts and by immunofluorescence microscopy. Although the induced anti-MSP2 antibodies did not directly inhibit parasite growth in vitro, IgG from the majority of individuals tested caused significant antibody-dependent cellular inhibition (ADCI) of parasite growth. Conclusions/Significance: As the majority of subjects vaccinated with MSP2-C1 developed an antibody responses to both forms of MSP2, and that these antibodies mediated ADCI provide further support for MSP2 as a malaria vaccine candidate. However, in view of the reactogenicity of this formulation, further clinical development of MSP2-C1 will require formulation of MSP2 in an alternative adjuvant. Trial Registration: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry 12607000552482

Diagnosis and management of Silver–Russell syndrome: first international consensus statement

This Consensus Statement summarizes recommendations for clinical diagnosis, investigation and management of patients with Silver–Russell syndrome (SRS), an imprinting disorder that causes prenatal and postnatal growth retardation. Considerable overlap exists between the care of individuals born small for gestational age and those with SRS. However, many specific management issues exist and evidence from controlled trials remains limited. SRS is primarily a clinical diagnosis; however, molecular testing enables confirmation of the clinical diagnosis and defines the subtype. A 'normal' result from a molecular test does not exclude the diagnosis of SRS. The management of children with SRS requires an experienced, multidisciplinary approach. Specific issues include growth failure, severe feeding difficulties, gastrointestinal problems, hypoglycaemia, body asymmetry, scoliosis, motor and speech delay and psychosocial challenges. An early emphasis on adequate nutritional status is important, with awareness that rapid postnatal weight gain might lead to subsequent increased risk of metabolic disorders. The benefits of treating patients with SRS with growth hormone include improved body composition, motor development and appetite, reduced risk of hypoglycaemia and increased height. Clinicians should be aware of possible premature adrenarche, fairly early and rapid central puberty and insulin resistance. Treatment with gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues can delay progression of central puberty and preserve adult height potential. Long-term follow up is essential to determine the natural history and optimal management in adulthood

Internationalisation of West African Transport-Logistics SMEs Facing the Crushing Weight of MNCs

International audienc

APOE E4 carriers show prospective memory enhancement under nicotine, and evidence for specialisation within medial BA10

There is evidence to suggest that the APOE ε4 allele (which confers an increased risk of developing dementia) might be associated with cognitive advantages earlier in life. Further, nicotine might selectively benefit ε4 carriers. We used fMRI to explore performance on a prospective memory (PM) task in young adults (age 18–30) with and without nicotine using a within-subjects design. Participants performed an ongoing task while retaining a PM instruction to respond to specific stimuli embedded in the task. Nicotine effects varied according to APOE status. Reaction times to the PM cue were improved under nicotine in ε4 carriers, but not in ε3 carriers. In an event-related analysis, extrastriate responses to PM trials were enhanced by nicotine only in ε4 carriers. These differences in early visual processing may contribute to the behavioural findings. Activity in medial BA10 (previously implicated in PM) differentiated ε4 from ε3 carriers. One BA10 subregion showed greater deactivation in ε4 carriers during PM trials. Activity in other BA10 subregions were modulated by PM reaction time, pointing to region-specific effects within medial BA10. In addition, activity in right hippocampal formation was only seen in ε4 carriers receiving nicotine. These results demonstrate that cognitive enhancement by nicotine can selectively benefit APOE ε4 carriers, and point to genotype-specific differences in neural activity during PM. In addition, these results show that the role of medial BA10 in PM likely involves varying contributions from functionally-specific subregions

Dynamic Analysis of Production

A parable of economic life is that some factors can adjust rapidly while others adjust slowly in a given time scale. Focusing on production analysis in the dynamic setting leads us to emphasize the technology specification that permits the theoretical construction that can be translated and amenable to empirical implementation. A historical perspective of the framing the dynamic decision-making is reviewed. The adjustment cost model of the investment is the key conceptual feature as it can be incorporated into the formal structure of a production technology, which offers the opportunity to exploit primal-dual theory in both analysis and empirical implementation. An overview of empirical formulations in both econometric (parametric) and nonparametric settings is discussed. Dynamic production decision environment allows explicitly for the evolution of assets implying firms may not be in long-run equilibrium at a given point in time. The dynamic generalizations of modern production theory concepts measuring economic performance are reviewed given the need to properly account and value the factors that are out of equilibrium. Empirical nonparametric and parametric approaches are addressed at length. While these cases can be addressed relatively easily within a nonparametric, dynamic data envelopment analysis setting, econometric formulations are a greater challenge