The differential effects of a focus on symptoms versus recovery in reducing stigma of schizophrenia

Although it has been contended that contact with individuals with mental illness is the most effective intervention for stigma reduction, the content of the contact experience is likely to determine whether or not it is beneficial. In the current study, we extend investigations of the impact of whether such contact highlights the potential for recovery versus the nature of acute symptoms. We examine whether any differential impacts persist over a two week period and the extent to which they are mediated by perceptions of similarity and feelings of empathy and/or sympathy. We also measured an overt behaviour, seating distance, at two week follow-up. Using a randomized control design, we found that video exposure to an individual who described his recovery from schizophrenia was generally more effective in improving impressions and reducing preferred level of social distance than when the same person described acute symptoms of schizophrenia or a no-video control condition. These effects persisted up to two weeks. Although the symptom-focused video resulted in great sympathy for the person, this did not translate into positive impressions or reduced social distance. Mediational analyses yielded findings consistent with the benefits of the recovery video being partially mediated by increased perceptions of similarity to the person and lower feelings of sympathy. There were no differential effects of experimental condition on seating distance, but exposure to the recovery-focused video did result in less anxiety in anticipation of meeting the person in the video relative to the control condition

Magnetic inspection platform for teleoperated remote inspections of complex geometry

The NDE industry is under constant pressure to increase inspection speeds, while simultaneously reducing costs to keep up with the ever-expanding demands of providing robust inspection for new infrastructure as well as ongoing inspections for currently operating facilities, and the increasing rise in the need for extensions in the planned life of existing plants. Currently, setting up an automated phased array ultrasonic inspection requires significant manpower, especially on components with complex geometry, this often exposes operators to hazardous environments. This is a particular problem with conventional ultrasonic NDT where operators must regularly exchange probes (an ‘intervention’). Furthermore, inspections are often carried out during planned outages, and the necessary installation time of rigging can represent a significant part of the inspection cost. To alleviate these challenges, several specialised robotic systems have been developed in industry for performing NDE in areas with well-defined geometries. However, these systems are often limited by a high degree of manual intervention, a lack of general-purpose design, and unsophisticated brute-force data acquisition with little to no data interpretation. The development of next generation, automated NDE solutions present considerable improvements to the current state of design such as reduced inspection time, greater separation of data capture and analysis, data localization – data are intrinsically encoded with the position they were captured. These benefits lead to a reduction in plant downtime & operator dosage. The platform presented will achieve these improvements through a set of universal automated deployment tools, implemented through hardware and software advances. By creating a platform consisting of a motorised magnetic base paired with a miniature robotic arm, a very capable and adaptable system is formed. This allows for different sensing modalities with an initial focus on phased array ultrasonics to be delivered accurately and repeatably to the target inspection site. Furthermore, by introducing additional perceptual sensors such as cameras, laser scanners, & a force-torque sensor the system can understand the environment in which it is operating. Through these sensors the user may guide the robot through the plant remotely in a safe and controlled manner. In addition to this these sensors may be used to generate scan paths of critical areas with unknown geometry on the fly as well as adapt the path in a conformable manner

Characterization of EMAT guided wave reflectivity on welded structures for use in ranging

Guided wave ranging measurements offers an elegant method to localize an inspection robot relative to the geometric features, such as welds, of a structure under test. This paper characterizes the suitability of various EMAT generated guided wave modes when reflecting from butt welds for the purpose of choosing a low frequency mode suitable for accurate ranging. Wave modes were tested in 10mm mild steel plate in experiment and simulation, the method of data extraction is discussed as well as the determination of the wave mode best suited for weld ranging by means of comparison of the reflection coefficients. The authors conclude SH1 at a frequency-thickness product of 2 MHz.mm, is shown to be a highly suitable wave mode for gaining a large reflection from a weld, with an average reflection co-efficient of approximately 0.45 across four different sized weld crowns. A ranging over 1 meter experimentally was demonstrated to have a 2.65% error using our method. This work will enable simultaneous detailed mapping through ranging and inspection of large welded structures by mobile robotic inspection systems using EMAT'

Reduced Amygdala and Ventral Striatal Activity to Happy Faces in PTSD Is Associated with Emotional Numbing

There has been a growing recognition of the importance of reward processing in PTSD, yet little is known of the underlying neural networks. This study tested the predictions that (1) individuals with PTSD would display reduced responses to happy facial expressions in ventral striatal reward networks, and (2) that this reduction would be associated with emotional numbing symptoms. 23 treatment-seeking patients with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder were recruited from the treatment clinic at the Centre for Traumatic Stress Studies, Westmead Hospital, and 20 trauma-exposed controls were recruited from a community sample. We examined functional magnetic resonance imaging responses during the presentation of happy and neutral facial expressions in a passive viewing task. PTSD participants rated happy facial expression as less intense than trauma-exposed controls. Relative to controls, PTSD participants revealed lower activation to happy (-neutral) faces in ventral striatum and and a trend for reduced activation in left amygdala. A significant negative correlation was found between emotional numbing symptoms in PTSD and right ventral striatal regions after controlling for depression, anxiety and PTSD severity. This study provides initial evidence that individuals with PTSD have lower reactivity to happy facial expressions, and that lower activation in ventral striatal-limbic reward networks may be associated with symptoms of emotional numbing

Explaining young adults' drinking behaviour within an augmented Theory of Planned Behaviour: Temporal stability of drinker prototypes

Objectives: Prototypes (i.e., social images) predict health-related behaviours and intentions within the context of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). This study tested the moderating role of temporal stability of drinker prototype perceptions on prototype–intentions and prototype–behaviour relationships, within an augmented TPB. The study examined abstainer, moderate drinker, heavy drinker, tipsy, and drunk prototypes. Design and Methods: An online prospective study with 1-month follow-up was conducted among 410 young adults (18–25 years old, Mage = 21.0, SD = 2.14, 21.7% male). Assessed were prototype perceptions (favourability and similarity, T1, T2), stability of prototype perceptions, TPB variables (T1), intentions (T2), and drinking behaviour (T2). Intention analyses were corrected for baseline behaviour; drinking behaviour analyses were corrected for intentions and baseline behaviour. Results: Hierarchical regressions showed that prototype stability moderated the relationships of drunk and abstainer prototype similarity with intentions. Similarity to the abstainer prototype explained intentions to drink sensibly more strongly among individuals with stable perceptions than among those with unstable perceptions. Conversely, intentions were explained stronger among individuals with stable perceptions of dissimilarity to the drunk prototype than among those with unstable perceptions. No moderation effects were found for stability of favourability or for relationships with behaviour. Conclusions: Stable prototype similarity perceptions were more predictive of intentions than unstable perceptions. These perceptions were most relevant in enhancing the explanation of young adults' intended drinking behaviour. Specifically, young adults' health intentions seem to be guided by the dissociation from the drunk prototype and association with the abstainer prototype

Personality traits and mental disorders

Peer reviewe