Can a One-Item Mood Scale Do the Trick? Predicting Relapse over 5.5-Years in Recurrent Depression

To examine whether a simple Visual Analogue Mood Scale (VAMS) is able to predict time to relapse over 5.5-years.187 remitted recurrently depressed out-patients were interviewed using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID-I) and the 17-item Hamilton Depression rating scale (HAM-D) to verify remission status (HAM-D <10). All patients rated their current mood with the help of a Visual Analogue Mood Scale (VAMS) at baseline and at a follow-up assessment three months later. Relapse over 5.5-years was assessed by the SCID-I. Cox regression revealed that both the VAMS at baseline and three months later significantly predicted time to relapse over 5.5-years. Baseline VAMS even predicted time to relapse when the number of previous depressive episodes and HAM-D scores were controlled for. The baseline VAMS explained 6.3% of variance in time to relapse, comparable to the HAM-D interview.Sad mood after remission appears to play a pivotal role in the course of depression. Since a simple VAMS predicted time to relapse, the VAMS might be an easy and time-effective way to monitor mood and risk of early relapse, and offers possibilities for daily monitoring using e-mail and SMS.International Standard Randomized Controlled Trial Register Identifier: ISRCTN68246470

Key physicochemical characteristics governing organic micropollutant adsorption and transport in ion-exchange membranes during reverse electrodialysis

The co-generation of electricity and electrodialysis of seawater in a hybrid system is a promising approach to overcome water scarcity. Reverse electrodialysis harvests energy from the salinity gradient, where seawater is used as a high salinity stream while secondary treated wastewater can be used as a sustainable low salinity stream. Treated wastewater contains organic micropollutants, which can be transported to the seawater stream. The current research establishes a connection between adsorption and transport of organic micropollutants in ion exchange membranes, using a cross-flow stack in adsorption and zero-current experiments. To mimic the composition of treated wastewater, a mixture of nineteen organic micropollutants of varied physicochemical characteristics (e.g. size, charge, polarity, hydrogen donor/acceptor count, hydrophobicity) at environmentally relevant concentrations was used. Depending on the charge, micropollutants develop different types of mechanisms responsible for short-distance interactions with ion-exchange membranes, which has a direct influence in their transport behavior. This study provides a rational basis for the optimization/design of next-generation ion-exchange membranes, in which the permeability toward organic micropollutants should be also included. This investigation highly contributes to understanding the potential hazard posed by organic micropollutants in reverse electrodialysis in seawater desalination systems, where treated wastewater is used as a low salinity stream

Implicit and Explicit Self-Esteem in Current, Remitted, Recovered, and Comorbid Depression and Anxiety Disorders: The NESDA Study

BACKGROUND: Dual processing models of psychopathology emphasize the relevance of differentiating between deliberative self-evaluative processes (explicit self-esteem; ESE) and automatically-elicited affective self-associations (implicit self-esteem; ISE). It has been proposed that both low ESE and ISE would be involved in major depressive disorder (MDD) and anxiety disorders (AD). Further, it has been hypothesized that MDD and AD may result in a low ISE "scar" that may contribute to recurrence after remission. However, the available evidence provides no straightforward support for the relevance of low ISE in MDD/AD, and studies testing the relevance of discrepant SE even showed that especially high ISE combined with low ESE is predictive of the development of internalizing symptoms. However, these earlier findings have been limited by small sample sizes, poorly defined groups in terms of comorbidity and phase of the disorders, and by using inadequate indices of discrepant SE. Therefore, this study tested further the proposed role of ISE and discrepant SE in a large-scale study allowing for stricter differentiation between groups and phase of disorder. METHOD: In the context of the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety (NESDA), we selected participants with current MDD (n = 60), AD (n = 111), and comorbid MDD/AD (n = 71), remitted MDD (n = 41), AD (n = 29), and comorbid MDD/AD (n = 14), recovered MDD (n = 136) and AD (n = 98), and never MDD or AD controls (n = 382). The Implicit Association Test was used to index ISE and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale indexed ESE. RESULTS: Controls reported higher ESE than all other groups, and current comorbid MDD/AD had lower ESE than all other clinical groups. ISE was only lower than controls in current comorbid AD/MDD. Discrepant self-esteem (difference between ISE and ESE) was not associated with disorder status once controlling for ESE. LIMITATIONS: Cross-sectional design limits causal inferences. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest a prominent role for ESE in MDD and AD, while in comorbid MDD/AD negative self-evaluations are also present at the implicit level. There was no evidence to support the view that AD and MDD would result in a low ISE "scar"

The effect of blood ozonation on mitochondrial function and apoptosis of peripheral blood mononuclear cells in the presence and absence of plasma antioxidants

Ozone-autohemotherapy (O3-AHT) has recently gained interest as a form of alternative and complementary medicine. There is, however, some concern regarding its toxicity and effectiveness. Ozone is a powerful oxidant and when introduced into biological fluids react with most cellular components including proteins, lipids and DNA. We assessed the effect of O3-AHT on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) viability, apoptosis and mitochondrial function in the presence and absence of plasma antioxidants. Exposure to ozone increased lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release and caspase 3/7 activity in PBMC. A decrease in mitochondrial function was measured as a decrease in ATP levels and an increase in NADH/ NAD+ ratio. Complex IV (cytochrome c oxidase) of the respiratory chain was almost completely inhibited by ozone. These results indicated that the death of PBMC was probably through apoptosis. These effects were more evident in the absence of plasma antioxidants. Therefore, high concentrations of ozone were damaging to the cells, but this effect was diminished by antioxidants present in plasma. It is not certain if the in vitro damage will be propagated when ozonated blood is injected back into individuals. One must bear in mind that only a fraction of the total blood volume is ozonated

Genetic diversity and population structure of locally adapted South African chicken lines: Implications for conservation

In this study microsatellite markers were applied to investigate the genetic diversity and population structure of the six local chicken lines kept in the “Fowls for Africa” program, for better clarification of parameters for breed differentiation and genetic conservation of this valuable resource. The lines included the Black Australorp, Potchefstroom Koekoek, New Hampshire, Ovambo, Lebova- Venda and a Naked Neck line. Unbiased estimates for heterozygosity ranged from 50% in the Potchefstroom Koekoek to as high as 65% in the Naked Neck chickens. FIS values varied from as low as 0.16 for the Black Australorp line to as high as 0.35 for the Ovambo chickens. The FST values indicated moderate to high genetic differentiation between the Naked Neck and New Hampshire (0.11); Ovambo and Naked Neck lines (0.12), and Naked Neck and Lebowa- Venda (0.14). A total of 13% of the total genetic variation observed was between the chicken lines and 87% within the lines, supporting moderate genetic differentiation. Population structure was assessed using STRUCTURE where the Black Australorp was genetically best defined. Although six clusters for the different populations could be distinguished, the other lines were not as clearly defined, with individual birds tending to share more than one cluster. Results support a broad classification of these lines and further investigation of unique alleles is recommended for conservation of the lines within the program. Keywords: Native chicken, microsatellite markers, genetic variation, population structure, South Africa South African Journal of Animal Science Vol. 38 (4) 2008: pp. 271-28

Risk of criminal victimisation in outpatients with common mental health disorders

Crime victimisation is a serious problem in psychiatric patients. However, research has focused on patients with severe mental illness and few studies exist that address victimisation in other outpatient groups, such as patients with depression. Due to large differences in methodology of the studies that address crime victimisation, a comparison of prevalence between psychiatric diagnostic groups is hard to make. Objectives of this study were to determine and compare one-year prevalence of violent and non-violent criminal victimisation among outpatients from different diagnostic psychiatric groups and to examine prevalence differences with the general population.Criminal victimisation prevalence was measured in 300 outpatients living in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with outpatients with depressive disorder (n = 102), substance use disorder (SUD, n = 106) and severe mental illness (SMI, n = 92) using a National Crime Victimisation Survey, and compared with a matched general population sample (n = 10865).Of all outpatients, 61% reported experiencing some kind of victimisation over the past year; 33% reported violent victimisation (3.5 times more than the general population) and 36% reported property crimes (1.2 times more than the general population). Outpatients with depression (67%) and SUD (76%) were victimised more often than SMI outpatients (39%). Younger age and hostile behaviour were associated with violent victimisation, while being male and living alone were associated with non-violent victimisation. Moreover, SUD was associated with both violent and non-violent victimisation.Outpatients with depression, SUD, and SMI are at increased risk of victimisation compared to the general population. Furthermore, our results indicate that victimisation of violent and non-violent crimes is more common in outpatients with depression and SUD than in outpatients with SMI living independently in the community

Deriving stage at diagnosis from multiple population-based sources: colorectal and lung cancer in England.

BACKGROUND: Stage at diagnosis is a strong predictor of cancer survival. Differences in stage distributions and stage-specific management help explain geographic differences in cancer outcomes. Stage information is thus essential to improve policies for cancer control. Despite recent progress, stage information is often incomplete. Data collection methods and definition of stage categories are rarely reported. These inconsistencies may result in assigning conflicting stage for single tumours and confound the interpretation of international comparisons and temporal trends of stage-specific cancer outcomes. We propose an algorithm that uses multiple routine, population-based data sources to obtain the most complete and reliable stage information possible. METHODS: Our hierarchical approach derives a single stage category per tumour prioritising information deemed of best quality from multiple data sets and various individual components of tumour stage. It incorporates rules from the Union for International Cancer Control TNM classification of malignant tumours. The algorithm is illustrated for colorectal and lung cancer in England. We linked the cancer-specific Clinical Audit data (collected from clinical multi-disciplinary teams) to national cancer registry data. We prioritise stage variables from the Clinical Audit and added information from the registry when needed. We compared stage distribution and stage-specific net survival using two sets of definitions of summary stage with contrasting levels of assumptions for dealing with missing individual TNM components. This exercise extends a previous algorithm we developed for international comparisons of stage-specific survival. RESULTS: Between 2008 and 2012, 163 915 primary colorectal cancer cases and 168 158 primary lung cancer cases were diagnosed in adults in England. Using the most restrictive definition of summary stage (valid information on all individual TNM components), colorectal cancer stage completeness was 56.6% (from 33.8% in 2008 to 85.2% in 2012). Lung cancer stage completeness was 76.6% (from 57.3% in 2008 to 91.4% in 2012). Stage distribution differed between strategies to define summary stage. Stage-specific survival was consistent with published reports. CONCLUSIONS: We offer a robust strategy to harmonise the derivation of stage that can be adapted for other cancers and data sources in different countries. The general approach of prioritising good-quality information, reporting sources of individual TNM variables, and reporting of assumptions for dealing with missing data is applicable to any population-based cancer research using stage. Moreover, our research highlights the need for further transparency in the way stage categories are defined and reported, acknowledging the limitations, and potential discrepancies of using readily available stage variables

An approach to computing downward closures

The downward closure of a word language is the set of all (not necessarily contiguous) subwords of its members. It is well-known that the downward closure of any language is regular. While the downward closure appears to be a powerful abstraction, algorithms for computing a finite automaton for the downward closure of a given language have been established only for few language classes. This work presents a simple general method for computing downward closures. For language classes that are closed under rational transductions, it is shown that the computation of downward closures can be reduced to checking a certain unboundedness property. This result is used to prove that downward closures are computable for (i) every language class with effectively semilinear Parikh images that are closed under rational transductions, (ii) matrix languages, and (iii) indexed languages (equivalently, languages accepted by higher-order pushdown automata of order 2).Comment: Full version of contribution to ICALP 2015. Comments welcom