Clinical and Psychological Characteristics of Patients after First-Episode Psychosis with Cognitive, Emotional, and Volitional Deficiencies: Comparative Analysis

This research featured 139 patients (60 men, 79 women) after the first-episode psychosis. All patients demonstrated cognitive and/or emotional deficiency. The research objective was to compare clinical, sociodemographic, psychosocial, and individual characteristics. The expert clinical assessment revealed three groups. Group I included 29 patients with negative symptoms in the cognitive sphere; group II consisted of 46 people with negative symptoms in the emotional and volitional sphere; group III included 64 people with no pronounced deficiencies. The authors employed the method of clinical psychological interview and various pathopsychological non-standard methods to study the cognitive activity of the patients. The list of psychometric methods included the Beck’s Depression Inventory, a coping behavior questionnaire, a short version of Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), and the Suicide Risk Assessment Scale. The data obtained were processed using SPSS v. 25.0 and Excel 2010. The three groups demonstrated the following statistically significant differences: diagnosis, critical attitude to one’s own condition, and continuity of psychiatric care (clinical characteristics); social adaptation problems (psychosocial characteristics); association and motivation (cognitive activity); suicidal risk (emotions, personality, and behavior). The MMPI and the coping behavior test also showed differences from the test norm, as well as between the groups. A comparative analysis of clinical and psychological characteristics in patients after the first-episode psychosis makes it possible to develop a correct psychorehabilitation program, prevent deficit symptoms, and improve social functioning

Contrasting metacognitive profiles and their association with negative symptoms in groups with schizophrenia, early psychosis and depression in a Russian sample

Research has suggested that negative symptoms in psychotic disorders may be in part fueled by deficits in metacognition or the ability to form integrated ideas about oneself and others. One limitation of this work is that it has largely come from North America and Western Europe. To further the literature, we assessed symptoms using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale and Metacognition using the Metacognitive Assessment Scale - Abbreviated in a sample of outpatients with prolonged schizophrenia (n = 41), early episode psychosis (n = 37) and major depression (n = 30) gathered in Moscow, Russia. Verbal memory was assessed for use as a potential covariate. ANOVA revealed the two groups with psychosis had significantly poorer metacognitive function in terms of self-reflectivity and awareness of the other, than the group with depression. In both psychosis groups negative symptoms were more robustly related to metacognition than other forms of symptoms after controlling for neurocognition. Results support the possibility that metacognitive deficits are a psychological factor which cross culturally contributes to negative symptoms and point to metacognition as a potentially important target for intervention

Practical quality monitoring of bituminous binders used at federal highways construction

The work is devoted to the applied bitumen binders’ quality practical monitoring results at construction sites, repair and reconstruction of highways in the Russian Federation at all the production and technological stages, from their manufacture by the supplier, including transportation and storage, and ending with their use in the production of asphalt concrete mixtures. The quality control of bituminous binders was carried out according to the modern methods of Russia and abroa

Modeling and thermal calculation of a pipeline insulation system

Energy efficiency of heating networks depends on the costs of the manufacture of insulation materials and components, its installation and exploitation of insulating jacket. As insulation materials for insulation of heating networks, products based on rock wool, polyurethane foam extruded polystyrene foam, foam rubber and polyethylene foam. In this contribution introduced basic principles of calculating the thickness of the thermal insulation of a pipeline by the value of the standard density of the heat flow are given using an example of the use of products based on polyethylene foam. Calculation of the heat flux from the surface of the heat-insulating structure is carried out at a given thickness of the heat-insulating layer if there is a need to determine heat loss (or cold loss). The basis for the calculation is a mathematical model of heat transfer, a developed calculation algorithm and a computer program. The method of installation of thermal insulation depends on the diameter of the pipeline and the selected type of product. Insulating cylinders or cylinders in combination with heat-insulating mats are used for pipelines of small diameters. Roll materials are used to isolate large diameters. Products are fixed on pipelines using mechanical fasteners

Optical frequency modulated pulse power losses, caused by optical fiber material dispersion

The equations were obtained to estimate the pulse power losses of broadband light pulses caused by material dispersion in an optical fiber. It was found that the dispersion caused by the extension of a signal bandwidth leads to decreasing a signal base as well as the noise immunity of a system, which uses broadband pulses

The paradoxical moderating effects of metacognition in the relationships between self-esteem, depressive symptoms, and quality of life in anorexia and bulimia

Background: Self-esteem and depressive symptoms contribute to a lower quality of life in people suffering from eating disorders. However, limited research has examined whether other factors may affect how these variables influence one another over time. Metacognition is a previously unexplored determinant that may impact the relationships between self-esteem, depressive symptoms, and quality of life in instances of eating disorders. Aim: This study sought to examine metacognitive self-reflectivity and mastery as moderators of the relationships between self-esteem, depressive symptoms, and quality of life and to determine if these relationships are different in people with anorexia compared with people with bulimia. Methods: Participants with anorexia (n=40) and bulimia (n=40) were recruited from outpatient clinics. The participants were assessed on their metacognitive ability and self-reported on measures to assess their depressive symptoms, self-esteem, and quality of life. Results: The results indicate that metacognitive self-reflectivity moderates the relationship between self-esteem, depressive symptoms, and quality of life in people with anorexia such that when self-reflectivity is high, lower self-esteem and higher depressive symptoms are associated with a lower quality of life. These relationships did not appear to be significant when self-reflectivity was low. In contrast, in the anorexia and bulimia groups, metacognitive mastery appeared to moderate the relationships between self-esteem, depressive symptoms, and quality of life such that when mastery was low, lower self-esteem and higher depressive symptoms were associated with a lower quality of life. These relationships did not appear significant when mastery was high. Conclusion: Metacognitive self-reflectivity and mastery seem to play paradoxical moderating roles in the relationships between self-esteem, depressive symptoms, and quality of life in people with anorexia and bulimia. These findings pave the way toward further research and have important clinical implications

Humic Polyelectrolytes Facilitate Rapid Microwave Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles Suitable for Wound-Healing Applications

This article describes the one-pot microwave synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) assisted with natural polyelectrolytes—humic substances (HS). The humic polyelectrolytes served both as chemical reductants for silver ions and as end-capping agents for AgNPs. Three commercially available sodium humates extracted from lignites and leonardite and one sodium fulvate isolated from natural brown water seeped through peat deposits were used in this study. The dynamics of the growth rate of AgNPs was characterised by UV–VIS spectroscopy by measuring the intensity of surface plasmon resonance at 420 nm. Transmission electron microscopy was used to characterise the size and morphology of AgNPs. Dynamic light scattering was used to determine size distributions of the synthesised AgNPs in the solutions. It was established that both conventional and microwave syntheses assisted with the coal humates produced small-size AgNPs in the range from 4 to 14 nm, with the maximum share of particles with sizes of (6 ± 2) nm by TEM estimates. The peat fulvate yielded much larger NPs with sizes from 10 to 50 nm by TEM estimates. DLS measurements revealed multimodal distributions of AgNPs stabilised with HS, which included both single NPs with the sizes from 5 to 15 nm, as well as their dominating aggregates with sizes from 20 to 200 nm and a smaller portion of extra-large aggregates up to 1000 nm. The given aggregates were loosely bound by humic polyelectrolyte, which prevented the coalescence of AgNPs into larger particles, as can be seen in the TEM images. The significant acceleration in the reaction time—a factor of 60 to 70—was achieved with the use of MW irradiation: from 240 min down to 210–240 s. The coal humate stabilised AgNPs showed antimicrobial properties in relation to S. aureus. A conclusion was made regarding the substantial advantages of microwave synthesis in the context of time and scaling up for the large-scale production of AgNP-HS preparations with antimicrobial properties suitable for external wound-healing applications

Constraints on the KS0→μ+μ−K^0_S \rightarrow \mu^+ \mu^- Branching Fraction

International audienceA search for the decay KS0→μ+μ- is performed using proton-proton collision data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.6  fb-1 and collected with the LHCb experiment during 2016, 2017, and 2018 at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. The observed signal yield is consistent with zero, yielding an upper limit of B(KS0→μ+μ-)<2.2×10-10 at 90% C.L.. The limit reduces to B(KS0→μ+μ-)<2.1×10-10 at 90% C.L. once combined with the result from data taken in 2011 and 2012

Observation of the Λb0→χc1(3872)pK−\Lambda_b^0\rightarrow \chi_{c1}(3872)pK^- decay

International audienceUsing proton-proton collision data, collected with the LHCb detector and corresponding to 1.0, 2.0 and 1.9 fb$^{−1}$ of integrated luminosity at the centre-of-mass energies of 7, 8, and 13 TeV, respectively, the decay {\Lambda}_{\mathrm{b}}^0\to {\upchi}_{\mathrm{c}1} (3872)pK$^{−}$ with χ$_{c1}$(3872) → J/ψ π$^{+}$π$^{−}$ is observed for the first time. The significance of the observed signal is in excess of seven standard deviations. It is found that (58 ± 15)% of the decays proceed via the two-body intermediate state χ$_{c1}$(3872)Λ(1520). The branching fraction with respect to that of the ${\Lambda}_{\mathrm{b}}^0$ → ψ(2S)pK$^{−}$ decay mode, where the ψ(2S) meson is reconstructed in the J/ψ π$^{+}$π$^{−}$ final state, is measured to be: $ \frac{\beta \left({\Lambda}_{\mathrm{b}}^0\to {\upchi}_{\mathrm{c}1}(3872){\mathrm{pK}}^{-}\right)}{\beta \left({\Lambda}_{\mathrm{b}}^0\to \uppsi \left(2\mathrm{S}\right){\mathrm{pK}}^{-}\right)}\times \frac{\beta \left({\upchi}_{\mathrm{c}1}(3872)\to \mathrm{J}/\uppsi {\uppi}^{+}{\uppi}^{-}\right)}{\beta \left(\uppsi \left(2\mathrm{S}\right)\to \mathrm{J}/\uppsi {\uppi}^{+}{\uppi}^{-}\right)}=\left(5.4\pm 1.1\pm 0.2\right)\times {10}^{-2},