Vibroacoustic disease II: The biological and acoustical basis of low frequency noise induced pathology

Proceedings Institute of Acoustics (UK); vol. 25, nº2, p. 72-78

The application of Desmos calculator for making educational games, tests and mathematical problems

W artykule przedstawione zostały możliwości kalkulatora graficznego Desmos w zakresie tworzenia testów i gier matematycznych. Zaprezentowano, przygotowane przez autorki, przykłady różnego typu zadań ilustrujących wybrane zagadnienia matematyczne. Materiały te pokazują, że kalkulator Desmos razem z Activity Builder mogą być wykorzystywane do tworzenia interaktywnych zadań przydatnych zarówno do samodzielnej nauki, jak i do pracy z grupą.The article presents the possibilities of graphic calculator Desmos in the scope of making tests and mathematical games. The authors give examples of various kinds of problems illustrating chosen mathematical issues. The materials show that Activity Builder can be used for producing interactive Desmos-based excercises both for individual learning and for group teaching. The application of Desmos calculator can make the classes more interesting. It can encourage students for selfreliant study and stimulate mathematical activity in a pleasant way. As Desmos developers say: „Our mission at Desmos is to help every student learn math and love learning math. Not some students. Every student.

Hypomania after augmenting venlafaxine and olanzapine with sarcosine in a patient with schizophrenia: a case study

Dominik Strzelecki, Justyna Szyburska, Magdalena Kotlicka-Antczak, Olga KałużyńskaDepartment of Affective and Psychotic Disorders, Medical University of Lódz, Central Clinical Hospital, Lódz, PolandAbstract: Glutamate is the main excitatory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system. Dysfunction of the glutamatergic system plays an important and well-established role in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. Agents with glutamatergic properties such as N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor coagonists (ie, glycine, D-cycloserine) and glycine transporter type 1 inhibitors (eg, sarcosine, bitopertin) are investigated in schizophrenia with special focus on negative and cognitive symptomatology. In this article, we describe a case of a 34-year-old woman with diagnosis of schizophrenia with persistent moderate negative and cognitive symptoms, a participant of the Polish Sarcosine Study (PULSAR) treated with olanzapine (25 mg per day) and venlafaxine (75 mg per day). During ten weeks of sarcosine administration (2 g per day) the patient’s activity and mood improved, but in the following 2 weeks, the patient reported decreased need for sleep, elevated mood, libido and general activity. We diagnosed drug-induced hypomania and recommended decreasing the daily dose of venlafaxine to 37.5 mg per day, which resulted in normalization of mood and activity in about 1 week. After this change, activity and mood remained stable and better than before adding sarcosine, and subsequent depressive symptoms were not noted. We describe here the second case report where sarcosine induced important affect changes when added to antidepressive and antipsychotic treatment, which supports the hypothesis of clinically important glutamate–serotonin interaction.Keywords: MNDA receptor, glutamatergic system, serotoninergic syste

Odor perception and hedonics in chronic schizophrenia and in first episode psychosis

Małgorzata Urban-Kowalczyk,1 Dominik Strzelecki,1 Janusz Śmigielski,2 Magdalena Kotlicka–Antczak1 1Department of Affective and Psychotic Disorders, Medical University of Łódź, Łódź, Poland; 2State Higher Vocational School in Konin, Konin, Poland Background and purpose: The study evaluated olfactory performance and pleasantness rating of odors in patients with first episode psychosis (FEP) and chronic schizophrenia (SCH) with regard to the severity of psychopathological symptoms and plasma β-endorphin concentration.Patients and methods: Twenty patients with FEP, 27 with SCH and 29 healthy individuals, were recruited to the research . The University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT), subjective odor hedonic judgment and plasma levels of β-endorphin (BE) assay were performed in all participants. Results: Individuals with SCH revealed higher BE concentration than other study groups (P=0.000). All patients identified pleasant odors poorer than controls, however, SCH made more identification errors (P=0.000) than those with FEP. Moreover, participants with FEP rated pleasant odors as more pleasant than individuals with chronic schizophrenia and healthy controls (P=0.009). Nevertheless, higher β-endorphin level was related with lower scores in pleasant odor identification (Rs=–0.452; P=0.046) and more severe psychotic symptoms in FEP sample. Chronic schizophrenia patients did not demonstrate any relationship between symptom severity, odor identification performance and β-endorphin concentration. No relationship was found between BE concentration and hedonic judgment of the presented odors among all study groups. Chronically ill subjects identified odors significantly more poorly than those with first episode psychosis. Deficits in identifying pleasant odors might not be the only potential risk factor for undergoing chronic, recurrent schizophrenia. All patients subjectively overrated pleasant odors. Those with SCH and more severe negative symptoms made significantly more identification errors. Conclusion: The endogenous morphine system deregulation is observed in first episode psychosis as well as in chronic schizophrenia. In first episode schizophrenia higher beta-endorphin concentration is related to pleasant odor identification deficit. Keywords: olfaction, negative symptoms, endogenous opioids, schizophreni

Deconstructing vulnerability for psychosis:Meta-analysis of environmental risk factors for psychosis in subjects at ultra high-risk

Background Subjects at ultra high-risk (UHR) for psychosis have an enhanced vulnerability to develop the disorder but the risk factors accounting for this accrued risk are undetermined. Method Systematic review of associations between genetic or environmental risk factors for psychosis that are widely established in the literature and UHR state, based on comparisons to controls. Results Forty-four studies encompassing 170 independent datasets and 54 risk factors were included. There were no studies on association between genetic or epigenetic risk factors and the UHR state that met the inclusion criteria. UHR subjects were more likely to show obstetric complications, tobacco use, physical inactivity, childhood trauma/emotional abuse/physical neglect, high perceived stress, childhood and adolescent low functioning, affective comorbidities, male gender, single status, unemployment and low educational level as compared to controls. Conclusions The increased vulnerability of UHR subjects can be related to environmental risk factors like childhood trauma, adverse life events and affective dysfunction. The role of genetic and epigenetic risk factors awaits clarification

Preventive Treatments for Psychosis: Umbrella Review (Just the Evidence)

Background: Indicated primary prevention in young people at Clinical High Risk for Psychosis (CHR-P) is a promising avenue for improving outcomes of one of the most severe mental disorders but their effectiveness has recently been questioned. Methods: Umbrella review. A multi-step independent literature search of Web of Science until January 11, 2019, identified interventional meta-analyses in CHR-P individuals. The individual randomised controlled trials that were analysed by the meta-analyses were extracted. A review of ongoing trials and a simulation of living meta-analysis complemented the analysis. Results: Seven meta-analyses investigating preventive treatments in CHR-P individuals were included. None of them produced pooled effect sizes across psychological, pharmacological, or other types of interventions. The outcomes analysed encompassed risk of psychosis onset, the acceptability of treatments, the severity of attenuated positive/negative psychotic symptoms, depression, symptom-related distress, social functioning, general functioning, and quality of life. These meta-analyses were based on 20 randomised controlled trials: the vast majority defined the prevention of psychosis onset as their primary outcome of interest and only powered to large effect sizes. There was no evidence to favour any preventive intervention over any other (or control condition) for improving any of these clinical outcomes. Caution is required when making clinical recommendations for the prevention of psychosis in individuals at risk. Discussion: Prevention of psychosis from a CHR-P state has been, and should remain, the primary outcome of interventional research, refined and complemented by other clinically meaningful outcomes. Stagnation of knowledge should promote innovative and collaborative research efforts, in line with the progressive and incremental nature of medical knowledge. Advancements will most likely be associated with the development of new experimental therapeutics that are ongoing along with the ability to deconstruct the high heterogeneity within CHR-P populations. This would require the estimation of treatment-specific effect sizes through living individual participant data meta-analyses, controlling risk enrichment during recruitment, statistical power, and embedding precision medicine within youth mental health services that can accommodate sequential prognosis and advanced trial designs. Conclusions: The evidence-based challenges and proposed solutions addressed by this umbrella review can inform the next generation of research into preventive treatments for psychosis