Deficient prepulse inhibition in schizophrenia detected by the multi-site COGS

BACKGROUND: Startle inhibition by weak prepulses (PPI) is studied to understand the biology of information processing in schizophrenia patients and healthy comparison subjects (HCS). The Consortium on the Genetics of Schizophrenia (COGS) identified associations between PPI and single nucleotide polymorphisms in schizophrenia probands and unaffected relatives, and linkage analyses extended evidence for the genetics of PPI deficits in schizophrenia in the COGS-1 family study. These findings are being extended in a 5-site “COGS-2” study of 1800 patients and 1200 unrelated HCS to facilitate genetic analyses. We describe a planned interim analysis of COGS-2 PPI data. METHODS: Eyeblink startle was measured in carefully screened HCS and schizophrenia patients (n=1402). Planned analyses of PPI (60 ms intervals) assessed effects of diagnosis, sex and test site, PPI-modifying effects of medications and smoking, and relationships between PPI and neurocognitive measures. RESULTS: 884 subjects met strict inclusion criteria. ANOVA of PPI revealed significant effects of diagnosis (p=0.0005) and sex (p<0.002), and a significant diagnosis × test site interaction. HCS > schizophrenia PPI differences were greatest among patients not taking 2(nd) generation antipsychotics, and were independent of smoking status. Modest but significant relationships were detected between PPI and performance in specific neurocognitive measures. DISCUSSION: The COGS-2 multi-site study detects schizophrenia-related PPI deficits reported in single-site studies, including patterns related to diagnosis, prepulse interval, sex, medication and other neurocognitive measures. Site differences were detected and explored. The target COGS-2 schizophrenia “endophenotype” of reduced PPI should prove valuable for identifying and confirming schizophrenia risk genes in future analyses

Applied nucleation in the restoration of a suitable tree species composition in a protected forest

Applied nucleation is one of silvicultural measures used in the afforestation of new areas and reclamation or rebuilding of the forest species composition. It involves sawing or planting small patches of trees, or nuclei as focal areas for succession, which spread out into the environment as soon as they produce seeds. The aim of the study was to create a plan of planted nuclei that facilitate, in the long term, the enrichment of the species composition and gradual reconstruction of forests in the Stołowe Mountains National Park (PNGS), south−western Poland. The plan was assumed to comprise the locations of nuclei with an indication of tree species designated for planting in a given nucleus. Stand descriptions and maps from 2014 were used to determine: (1) the expected proportion (tab. 1) as well as the need to change of the proportion of individual tree species (tab. 3), (2) the urgency of actions to be taken due to the difference between the desired and actual proportion of a given tree species in individual stands (tab. 2), (3) the proportion of nuclei with a given tree species (tab. 3) and (4) the location of nuclei (200 in total) taking into consideration the local needs to increase the proportion of a given species. To determine the proportion (and then the number) of nuclei with a given tree species we took into account: (1) the difference between the present and desired proportion of a given species (considering the most numerous one), (2) the frequency of species as desired admixture or co−dominant species, and (3) the occurrence of species in rare but important habitats, e.g. along streams or ravines (tab. 3). A map of the distribution of stands where introduction of a given tree species is desirable, including information on the urgency of this treatment was prepared (fig. 1). The PNGS forest area was divided into patches using polygons of different shape and area. The boundaries of the polygons were drawn separately for each tree species in such a way that the number of patches was equal to the number of nuclei designed for planting, and the number of stands in the two highest planting urgency classes within each of these patches was equal. One nucleus of a given tree species was planned to be established within a patch. Only proportion of European beech, silver fir and wych elm was lower than desired (tab. 3). Such an assessment did not reflect the scarcity of species in individual stands. In more than thousand cases, the urgency of introduction of a given species was very high (tab. 4). It was essential to establish some nuclei in a significant part of the PNGS forests (fig. 2)

FTIR spectroscopic measurement of halogenated compounds produced during fire suppression tests of two halon replacements

Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye

Synanthropization of vascular plant flora in the Wieliszewskie Legi Nature Reserve (central Poland)

Understanding human influence on vegetation dynamics is important from both conservation and human management perspectives. The Wieliszewskie Łęgi Reserve, located in central Poland, is a young forest area that was cut off from the flood waters of the Narew river in 1963, but since then has been constantly and intensively supplied with water from overflows under the dike. On the southern side, adjacent to the reserve, there are patches of valuable meadows, rushes and scrub communities. The aim of this study was to determine the degree of synanthropization of the flora in the Wieliszewskie Łęgi reserve and to assess changes occurring in its vegetation. The vascular plant flora of the reserve and its southern vicinity was surveyed in 2017 and the plant communities within the study area were mapped. In the area of the reserve, we observed a total of 264 vascular plant species, whereas for the entire area under study, 314 spe- cies were recorded. Of these, 14 were classified as valuable. The high species richness was mainly due to the presence of a large number of apophytes – native species quickly colonizing sites transformed by man. Therefore the degree of naturalness of the reserve's flora was relatively low, which is most likely due to the lack of refugia for typical forest species. A number of plant communities of non-forest, scrub and forest character, typical for swampy, wet, semixeric as well as dry habitats were recorded. Succession, manifested by the disappearance of non-forest and scrub communities and progression of forest communities, is superimposed on the processes of transformation into semixeric oak-hornbeam communities in the highest areas and carr com- munities in the lowest areas. A low proportion of kenophytes (16 species) and a zero value of the index of fluctuation changes indicate a relative resistance of the reserve to invasion by alien species