Randomised controlled trial of the short-term effects of OROS-methylphenidate on ADHD symptoms and behavioural outcomes in young male prisoners with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (CIAO-II)

Background Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a highly prevalent disorder, seen in 20–30% of young adult prisoners. Pharmacoepidemiological studies, a small randomised controlled trial and open trial data of methylphenidate suggest clinically significant reductions in ADHD symptoms, emotional dysregulation, disruptive behaviour and increased engagement with educational activities. Yet, routine treatment of ADHD in offenders is not yet established clinical practice. There is continued uncertainty about the clinical response to methylphenidate (MPH), a first-line treatment for ADHD, in offenders, who often present with an array of complex mental health problems that may be better explained by states of inattentive, overactive, restless and impulsive behaviours. To address this problem, we will conduct an efficacy trial to establish the short-term effects of osmotic-controlled release oral delivery system (OROS)-methylphenidate (Concerta XL), an extended release formulation of MPH, on ADHD symptoms, emotional dysregulation and behaviour. Methods This study is a parallel-arm, randomised, placebo-controlled trial of OROS-MPH on ADHD symptoms, behaviour and functional outcomes in young male prisoners aged 16–25, meeting Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition criteria for ADHD. Participants are randomised to 8 weeks of treatment with OROS-MPH or placebo, titrated over 5 weeks to balance ADHD symptom improvement against side effects. Two hundred participants will be recruited with a 1:1 ratio of drug to placebo. The primary outcome is change in level of ADHD symptoms after 8 weeks of trial medication. Discussion Potential benefits include improvement in ADHD symptoms, emotional dysregulation, attitudes towards violence and critical incidents and increased engagement with educational and rehabilitation programmes. Demonstrating the efficacy and safety of MPH on ADHD symptoms and associated impairments may provide the data needed to develop effective healthcare pathways for a significant group of young offenders. Establishing efficacy of MPH in this population will provide the foundation needed to establish long-term effectiveness studies with the potential for demonstrating significant reductions in criminal behaviour and improved health-economic outcomes

Toward the Integrated Marine Debris Observing System

Plastics and other artificial materials pose new risks to the health of the ocean. Anthropogenic debris travels across large distances and is ubiquitous in the water and on shorelines, yet, observations of its sources, composition, pathways, and distributions in the ocean are very sparse and inaccurate. Total amounts of plastics and other man-made debris in the ocean and on the shore, temporal trends in these amounts under exponentially increasing production, as well as degradation processes, vertical fluxes, and time scales are largely unknown. Present ocean circulation models are not able to accurately simulate drift of debris because of its complex hydrodynamics. In this paper we discuss the structure of the future integrated marine debris observing system (IMDOS)thatisrequiredtoprovidelong-termmonitoringofthestateofthisanthropogenic pollution and support operational activities to mitigate impacts on the ecosystem and on the safety of maritime activity. The proposed observing system integrates remote sensing and in situ observations. Also, models are used to optimize the design of the system and, in turn, they will be gradually improved using the products of the system. Remote sensing technologies will provide spatially coherent coverage and consistent surveying time series at local to global scale. Optical sensors, including high-resolution imaging, multi- and hyperspectral, fluorescence, and Raman technologies, as well as SAR will be used to measure different types of debris. They will be implemented in a variety of platforms, from hand-held tools to ship-, buoy-, aircraft-, and satellite-based sensors. A network of in situ observations, including reports from volunteers, citizen scientists and ships of opportunity, will be developed to provide data for calibration/validation of remote sensors and to monitor the spread of plastic pollution and other marine debris. IMDOS will interact with other observing systems monitoring physical, chemical, and biological processes in the ocean and on shorelines as well as the state of the ecosystem, maritime activities and safety, drift of sea ice, etc. The synthesized data will support innovative multi-disciplinary research and serve a diverse community of users

Genetic and environmental aetiologies of associations between dispositional mindfulness and ADHD traits: a population-based twin study

© The Author(s) 2019. To get additional insight into the phenotype of attentional problems, we examined to what extent genetic and environmental factors explain covariation between lack of dispositional mindfulness and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) traits in youth, and explored the incremental validity of these constructs in predicting life satisfaction. We used data from a UK population-representative sample of adolescent twins (N = 1092 pairs) on lack of dispositional mindfulness [Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS)], ADHD traits [Conners’ Parent Rating Scale-Revised (CPRS-R): inattentive (INATT) and hyperactivity/impulsivity (HYP/IMP) symptom dimensions] and life satisfaction (Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale). Twin model fitting analyses were conducted. Phenotypic correlations (rp) between MAAS and CPRS-R (INATT: rp = 0.18, HYP/IMP: rp = 0.13) were small, but significant and largely explained by shared genes for INATT (% rp INATT–MAAS due to genes: 93%, genetic correlation rA = 0.37) and HYP/IMP (% rp HYP/IMP–MAAS due to genes: 81%; genetic correlation rA = 0.21) with no significant contribution of environmental factors. MAAS, INATT and HYP/IMP significantly and independently predicted life satisfaction. Lack of dispositional mindfulness, assessed as self-reported perceived lapses of attention (MAAS), taps into an aspect of attentional functioning that is phenotypically and genetically distinct from parent-rated ADHD traits. The clinically relevant incremental validity of both scales implicates that MAAS could be used to explore the underlying mechanisms of an aspect of attentional functioning that uniquely affects life satisfaction and is not captured by DSM-based ADHD scales. Further future research could identify if lack of dispositional mindfulness and high ADHD traits can be targeted by different therapeutic approaches resulting in different effects on life satisfactio

Processes influencing dissolved iron distributions below the surface at the Atlantic Ocean - Celtic Sea shelf edge

Shelf break systems are highly dynamic environments. However little is known about the influence that benthic interactions and water mass mixing may have on vertical distributions of iron in these systems. Dissolved Fe (< 0.4 ?m) concentrations were measured in samples from nine vertical profiles across the upper slope (150–2950 m water depth) at the Atlantic Ocean–Celtic Sea shelf break. Dissolved iron concentrations varied between less than 0.2 and 5.4 nM, and the resulting detailed section showed evidence of a range of processes influencing the Fe distributions. The near sea floor data were interpreted in terms of release and removal processes. The concentrations of dissolved Fe present in near seabed waters were consistent with release of Fe from in situ remineralisation of particulate organic matter at two upper slope stations, and possibly release from pore water upon resuspension on shelf. Lateral transport of dissolved iron was evident from elevated Fe concentrations in an intermediate nepheloid layer and its advection along isopycnals. Surface waters at the shelf break also showed evidence of vertical mixing of deeper iron-rich waters. These waters contained macronutrients that sustained primary productivity in these otherwise nutrient-depleted surface waters. The data also suggest some degree of stabilisation of relatively high concentrations of iron, presumably through ligand association or as colloids. This study supports the view that lateral export of dissolved iron to the interior of the ocean from shelf and coastal zones and may have important implications for the global budget of oceanic iron

PMH6 deriving clinical outcome measures from expression and speech: results of a proof of concept study

OBJECTIVES: We have developed a mobile application and cloud analytics software solution to extract possible health outcome measures based on expression, voice acoustics and speech sentiment analysis from video diary footage collected using an Android app. This study aimed to assess the validity of expression detection. METHODS: Healthy volunteers were requested to view 21 validated images from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) database through a mobile app which simultaneously captured video footage of their face using the selfie camera. Images were selected to generate the following emotional responses: anger, disgust, sadness, contempt, fear, surprise and happiness. Expression analysis was performed using Microsoft Azure Cognitive services and the association with IAPS data was assessed for each image. RESULTS: Forty participants (ages 21-57 years; Sex: M (20), F (19), Not stated (1)) provided informed consent and participated in this proof-of-concept study. Emotion was summarised into valence (unpleasant to pleasant) and arousal (calm to exciting) values. Both valence and arousal scores estimated by the average emotion estimated by the analysis of video footage were adequate predictors of the IAPS image scores (p < 0.001 and p=0.04 respectively), based on linear mixed-effects multi-level modelling using a chi-squared test to assess the significance of video analysis estimates of emotional response. CONCLUSIONS: This proof-of-concept study provides early encouraging findings that facial expression derived from video footage may provide appropriate measures of expression. In combination with voice acoustical measures and speech sentiment analysis, this may lead to novel measures of health status in patients using a video diary in indications including depression, schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorder and PTSD amongst other conditions

Ion and electron beam processing of condensed molecular solids to form thin films

Electron and ion beams can be used to deposit thin films and etch surfaces using gas phase precursors. However, the generation of undesirable gas phase products and the diffusion of the reactive species beyond the region irradiated by the electron or ion beam can limit selectivity. In this paper, the feasibility of processing condensed precursors such as diborane, tri-methyl aluminum, ammonia and water at 78 K with low energy ( 100--1000 eV) electron and ion beams (Ar{sup +}, N{sub 2}{sup +} and H{sub 2}{sup +}) ranging in current density from 50 nA to several {mu}a per cm{sup 2} is examined. It was found that boron, boron nitride and stoichiometric aluminum oxide films could be deposited from the condensed volatile; species using charged particle beams and some of the physical and chemical aspects and limitations of this new technique are discussed

Ion and electron beam processing of condensed molecular solids to form thin films

Electron and ion beams can be used to deposit thin films and etch surfaces using gas phase precursors. However, the generation of undesirable gas phase products and the diffusion of the reactive species beyond the region irradiated by the electron or ion beam can limit selectivity. In this paper, the feasibility of processing condensed precursors such as diborane, tri-methyl aluminum, ammonia and water at 78 K with low energy ( 100--1000 eV) electron and ion beams (Ar[sup +], N[sub 2][sup +] and H[sub 2][sup +]) ranging in current density from 50 nA to several [mu]a per cm[sup 2] is examined. It was found that boron, boron nitride and stoichiometric aluminum oxide films could be deposited from the condensed volatile; species using charged particle beams and some of the physical and chemical aspects and limitations of this new technique are discussed