160 research outputs found

    Hyper-Rayleigh scattering in centrosymmetric systems

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    Hyper-Rayleigh scattering (HRS) is an incoherent mechanism for optical second harmonic generation. The frequency-doubled light that emerges from this mechanism is not emitted in a laser-like manner, in the forward direction; it is scattered in all directions. The underlying theory for this effect involves terms that are quadratic in the incident field and involves an even-order optical susceptibility (for a molecule, its associated hyperpolarizability). In consequence, HRS is often regarded as formally forbidden in centrosymmetric media. However, for the fundamental three-photon interaction, theory based on the standard electric dipole approximation, representable as E13, does not account for all experimental observations. The relevant results emerge upon extending the theory to include E12M1 and E12E2 contributions, incorporating one magnetic dipolar or electric quadrupolar interaction, respectively, to a consistent level of multipolar expansion. Both additional interactions require the deployment of higher orders in the multipole expansion, with the E12E2 interaction analogous in rank and parity to a four-wave susceptibility. To elicit the correct form of response from fluid or disordered media invites a tensor representation which does not oversimplify the molecular components, yet which can produce results to facilitate the interpretation of experimental observations. The detailed derivation in this work leads to results which are summarized for the following: perpendicular detection of polarization components both parallel and perpendicular to the pump radiation, leading to distinct polarization ratio results, as well as a reversal ratio for forward scattered circular polarizations. The results provide a route to handling data with direct physical interpretation, to enable the more sophisticated design of molecules with sought nonlinear optical properties

    Trends in antidepressant prescriptions in children and young people in England, 1998-2017: protocol of a cohort study using linked primary care and secondary care datasets

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    Introduction Increasing numbers of children and young people (CYP) are receiving prescriptions for antidepressants. This is the protocol of a study aiming to describe the trends and variation in antidepressant prescriptions in CYP in England, and to examine the indications for the prescriptions recorded and whether there was contact with secondary care specialists on or around the time of the first antidepressant prescription. Methods and analysis All eligible CYP aged between 5-17 years in 1998-2017 from the QResearch primary care database will be included. Incidence and prevalence rates of any antidepressant prescription in each year will be calculated. We will examine four different antidepressant classes: selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), tricyclic and related antidepressants (TCAs), serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) and other antidepressants, as well as for individual drugs. Linked primary and secondary care data (hospital episode statistics) in the year before and up to six months after the first antidepressant prescription will be examined for CYP whose first antidepressant prescription was in 2006-2017. Whether there were records of indications and being seen by psychiatric or paediatric specialists will be identified. Trends over time and differences by region, deprivation and ethnicity will be examined using Poisson regression. Discussion This large, population-based study will give an up-to-date picture of antidepressant prescribing in CYP and identify any variation. Understanding what indications are recorded when CYP are being prescribed antidepressants, and whether this was done in partnership with secondary care specialists, will provide evidence of whether appropriate guidelines are being followed

    MP745: A Long-Term Study of an Oak Pine Forest Ecosystem: A Brief Overview of the Holt Research Forest

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    This publication provides an overview of the long-term forest ecosystem project at the Holt Research Forest in Arrowsic, Maine. It is based on nearly 16 years of work by an interdisciplinary team from the College of Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture, including faculty, professional staff, visiting scientists, University of Maine graduate students, and undergraduate field assistants. We hope this publication will be useful to other researchers, to our workshop participants, and to others interested in forest ecosystem science.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/aes_miscpubs/1029/thumbnail.jp

    Secondary care specialist visits made by children and young people prescribed antidepressants in primary care: A descriptive study using the QResearch database

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    © 2020 The Author(s). Background: Antidepressants may be used to manage a number of conditions in children and young people including depression, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. UK guidelines for the treatment of depression in children and young people recommend that antidepressants should only be initiated following assessment and diagnosis by a child and adolescent psychiatrist. The aim of this study was to summarise visits to mental health specialists and indications recorded around the time of antidepressant initiation in children and young people in UK primary care. Methods: The study used linked English primary care electronic health records and Hospital Episode Statistics secondary care data. The study included 5-17-year-olds first prescribed antidepressants between January 2006 and December 2017. Records of visits to paediatric or psychiatric specialists and potential indications (from a pre-specified list) were extracted. Events were counted if recorded less than 12 months before or 6 months after the first antidepressant prescription. Results were stratified by first antidepressant type (all, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), tricyclic and related antidepressants) and by age group (5-11 years, 12-17 years). Results: In total, 33,031 5-17-year-olds were included. Of these, 12,149 (37%) had a record of visiting a paediatrician or a psychiatric specialist in the specified time window. The majority of recorded visits (7154, 22%) were to paediatricians. Of those prescribed SSRIs, 5463/22,130 (25%) had a record of visiting a child and adolescent psychiatrist. Overall, 17,972 (54%) patients had a record of at least one of the pre-specified indications. Depression was the most frequently recorded indication (12,501, 38%), followed by anxiety (4155, 13%). Conclusions: The results suggest many children and young people are being prescribed antidepressants without the recommended involvement of a relevant specialist. These findings may justify both greater training for GPs in child and adolescent mental health and greater access to specialist care and non-pharmacological treatments. Further research is needed to explore factors that influence how and why GPs prescribe antidepressants to children and young people and the real-world practice barriers to adherence to clinical guidelines

    Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on incidence of tics in children and young people: a population-based cohort study

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    Background: Since the onset of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, clinicians have reported an increase in presentations of sudden and new onset tics particularly affecting teenage girls. This population-based study aimed to describe and compare the incidence of tics in children and young people in primary care before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in England. Methods: We used information from the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) Aurum dataset and included males and females aged 4–11 years and 12–18 years between Jan 1, 2015, and Dec 31, 2021. We grouped the pre-pandemic period (2015–2019) and presented the pandemic years (2020, 2021) separately. We described the characteristics of children and young people with a first record of a motor or vocal tic in each time period. Incidence rates of tics by age-sex groups in 2015–2019, 2020, and 2021 were calculated. Negative binomial regression models were used to calculate incidence rate ratios. Findings: We included 3,867,709 males and females aged 4–18 years. Over 14,734,062 person-years of follow-up, 11,245 people had a first tic record during the whole study period. The characteristics of people with tics differed over time, with the proportion of females aged 12–18 years and the proportion with mental health conditions including anxiety increasing during the pandemic. Tic incidence rates per 10,000 person-years were highest for 4–11-year-old males in all three time periods (13.4 [95% confidence interval 13.0–13.8] in 2015–2019; 13.2 [12.3–14.1] in 2020; 15.1 [14.1–16.1] in 2021) but increased markedly during the pandemic in 12–18-year-old females, from 2.5 (2.3–2.7) in 2015–2019, to 10.3 (9.5–11.3) in 2020 and 13.1 (12.1–14.1) in 2021. There were smaller increases in incidence rates in 12–18-year-old males (4.6 [4.4–4.9] in 2015–2019; 4.7 [4.1–5.3] in 2020; 6.2 [5.5–6.9] in 2021) and 4–11-year-old females (4.9 [4.7–5.2] in 2015–2019; 5.7 [5.1–6.4] in 2020; 7.6 [6.9–8.3] in 2021). Incidence rate ratios comparing 2020 and 2021 with 2015–2019 were highest in the 12–18-year-old female subgroup (4.2 [3.6–4.8] in 2020; 5.3 [4.7–6.0] in 2021). Interpretation: The incidence of tics in children and young people increased across all age and sex groups during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a differentially large effect in teenage girls (a greater than four-fold increase). Furthermore, in those with tic symptoms, proportions with mental health disorders including anxiety increased during the pandemic. Further research is required on the social and contextual factors underpinning this rise in onset of tics in teenage girls. Funding: National Institute for Health Research Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre

    Shortwave infrared hyperspectral imaging as a novel method to elucidate multi-phase dolomitization, recrystallization, and cementation in carbonate sedimentary rocks

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    From Springer Nature via Jisc Publications RouterHistory: received 2021-07-08, accepted 2021-10-18, registration 2021-10-25, pub-electronic 2021-11-05, online 2021-11-05, collection 2021-12Publication status: PublishedFunder: Society for Sedimentary Geology Foundation; Grant(s): Student research grantFunder: International Association of Sedimentologists; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100007463; Grant(s): Postgraduate research grantFunder: British Sedimentological Research Group; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100011045; Grant(s): Trevor Elliot memorial grantFunder: American Association of Petroleum Geologists Foundation; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100013604; Grant(s): Classen Family grantFunder: Canadian Foundation for Innovation; Grant(s): John R. Evans Leaders Fund - Funding for research infrastructure (project 22222)Funder: National Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada; Grant(s): Discovery grantAbstract: Carbonate rocks undergo low-temperature, post-depositional changes, including mineral precipitation, dissolution, or recrystallisation (diagenesis). Unravelling the sequence of these events is time-consuming, expensive, and relies on destructive analytical techniques, yet such characterization is essential to understand their post-depositional history for mineral and energy exploitation and carbon storage. Conversely, hyperspectral imaging offers a rapid, non-destructive method to determine mineralogy, while also providing compositional and textural information. It is commonly employed to differentiate lithology, but it has never been used to discern complex diagenetic phases in a largely monomineralic succession. Using spatial-spectral endmember extraction, we explore the efficacy and limitations of hyperspectral imaging to elucidate multi-phase dolomitization and cementation in the Cathedral Formation (Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin). Spectral endmembers include limestone, two replacement dolomite phases, and three saddle dolomite phases. Endmember distributions were mapped using Spectral Angle Mapper, then sampled and analyzed to investigate the controls on their spectral signatures. The absorption-band position of each phase reveals changes in %Ca (molar Ca/(Ca + Mg)) and trace element substitution, whereas the spectral contrast correlates with texture. The ensuing mineral distribution maps provide meter-scale spatial information on the diagenetic history of the succession that can be used independently and to design a rigorous sampling protocol

    Seasonal trends in antidepressant prescribing, depression, anxiety and self-harm in adolescents and young adults: an open cohort study using English primary care data

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    Background There is an increasing demand for mental health services for young people, which may vary across the year.Objective To determine whether there are seasonal patterns in primary care antidepressant prescribing and mental health issues in adolescents and young adults.Methods This cohort study used anonymised electronic health records from general practices in England contributing to QResearch. It included 5 081 263 males and females aged 14–18 (adolescents), 19–23 and 24–28 years between 2006 and 2019. The incidence rates per 1000 person-years and the incidence rate ratios (IRRs) were calculated for the first records of a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) prescription, depression, anxiety and self-harm. The IRRs were adjusted for year, region, deprivation, ethnic group and number of working days.Findings There was an increase in SSRI prescribing, depression and anxiety incidence in male and female adolescents in the autumn months (September–November) that was not seen in older age groups. The IRRs for SSRI prescribing for adolescents peaked in November (females: 1.75, 95% CI 1.67 to 1.83, p<0.001; males: 1.72, 95% CI 1.61 to 1.84, p<0.001, vs in January) and for depression (females: 1.29, 95% CI 1.25 to 1.33,p<0.001; males: 1.29, 95% CI 1.23 to 1.35, p<0.001). Anxiety peaked in November for females aged 14–18 years (1.17, 95% CI 1.13 to 1.22, p<0.001) and in September for males (1.19, 95% CI 1.12 to 1.27, p<0.001).Conclusions There were higher rates of antidepressant prescribing and consultations for depression and anxiety at the start of the school year among adolescents.Clinical implications Support around mental health issues from general practitioners and others should be focused during autumn

    The risk of all-cause and cause-specific mortality in people prescribed mirtazapine: an active comparator cohort study using electronic health records

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    BackgroundStudies have reported an increased risk of mortality among people prescribed mirtazapine compared to other antidepressants. The study aimed to compare all-cause and cause-specific mortality between adults prescribed mirtazapine or other second-line antidepressants.Methods This cohort study used English primary care electronic medical records, hospital admission records, and mortality data from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD), for the period 01 January 2005 to 30 November 2018. It included people aged 18-99 years with depression first prescribed a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) and then prescribed mirtazapine (5,081), a different SSRI (15,032), amitriptyline (3,905), or venlafaxine (1,580). Follow-up was from starting to stopping the second antidepressant, with a 6-month wash-out window, censoring at the end of CPRD follow-up or 30 November 2018. Age-sex standardised rates of all-cause mortality and death due to circulatory system disease, cancer, or respiratory system disease were calculated. Survival analyses were performed, accounting for baseline characteristics using inverse probability of treatment weighting. ResultsThe cohort contained 25,598 people (median age 41 years). The mirtazapine group had the highest standardised mortality rate, with an additional 7.8 (95% confidence interval (CI) 5.9-9.7) deaths/1000 person-years compared to the SSRI group. Within two years of follow-up, the risk of all-cause mortality was statistically significantly higher in the mirtazapine group than the SSRI group (weighted hazard ratio (HR) 1.62, 95% CI 1.28-2.06). No significant difference was found between the mirtazapine group and the amitriptyline (HR 1.18, 95% CI 0.85-1.63) or venlafaxine (HR 1.11, 95% CI 0.60-2.05) groups. After two years, the risk was significantly higher in the mirtazapine group compared to the SSRI (HR 1.51, 95% CI 1.04-2.19), amitriptyline (HR 2.59, 95% CI 1.38-4.86), and venlafaxine (HR 2.35, 95% CI 1.02-5.44) groups. The risks of death due to cancer (HR 1.74, 95% CI 1.06-2.85) and respiratory system disease (HR 1.72, 95% CI 1.07- 2.77) were significantly higher in the mirtazapine than the SSRI group.ConclusionsMortality was higher in people prescribed mirtazapine than people prescribed a second SSRI, possibly reflecting residual differences in other risk factors between groups. Identifying these potential health risks when prescribing mirtazapine may help reduce the risk of mortality
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