Stigma and Discrimination in People Suffering with a Mood Disorder: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background. Much research is done on the stigma of mental illness, but little research has been done to characterize these phenomena from the perspective of people with mood disorders. Objective. To characterize the extent to which individuals with bipolar disorder and depression are stigmatized, determine factors related to higher levels of stigmatization, and assess the reliability of the Inventory of Stigmatizing Experiences in a population of people with a mood disorder. Methods. Two hundred and fourteen individuals with depression and bipolar disorder were recruited from a tertiary care psychiatric hospital and surveyed using the Inventory of Stigmatizing Experiences. Results. Participants reported high levels of stigma experiences and this did not differ by diagnosis (P = 0.578). However, people with bipolar disorder reported greater psychosocial impact of stigma on themselves and their family members compared to people with depression (P = 0.019). The two subscales produced internally consistent results with both populations. Conclusion. Stigma negatively affects those with both depression and bipolar disorder but appears to have a greater psychosocial impact on those with bipolar disorder

Broadband Records of Earthquakes in Deep Gold Mines and a Comparison with Results from SAFOD, California

For one week during September 2007, we deployed a temporary network of field recorders and accelerometers at four sites within two deep, seismically active mines. The ground-motion data, recorded at 200 samples/sec, are well suited to determining source and ground-motion parameters for the mining-induced earthquakes within and adjacent to our network. Four earthquakes with magnitudes close to 2 were recorded with high signal/noise at all four sites. Analysis of seismic moments and peak velocities, in conjunction with the results of laboratory stick-slip friction experiments, were used to estimate source processes that are key to understanding source physics and to assessing underground seismic hazard. The maximum displacements on the rupture surfaces can be estimated from the parameter Rv, where v is the peak ground velocity at a given recording site, and R is the hypocentral distance. For each earthquake, the maximum slip and seismic moment can be combined with results from laboratory friction experiments to estimate the maximum slip rate within the rupture zone. Analysis of the four M 2 earthquakes recorded during our deployment and one of special interest recorded by the in-mine seismic network in 2004 revealed maximum slips ranging from 4 to 27 mm and maximum slip rates from 1.1 to 6:3 m=sec. Applying the same analyses to an M 2.1 earthquake within a cluster of repeating earthquakes near the San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth site, California, yielded similar results for maximum slip and slip rate, 14 mm and 4:0 m=sec

Stigma and Discrimination in People Suffering with a Mood Disorder: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background. Much research is done on the stigma of mental illness, but little research has been done to characterize these phenomena from the perspective of people with mood disorders. Objective. To characterize the extent to which individuals with bipolar disorder and depression are stigmatized, determine factors related to higher levels of stigmatization, and assess the reliability of the Inventory of Stigmatizing Experiences in a population of people with a mood disorder. Methods. Two hundred and fourteen individuals with depression and bipolar disorder were recruited from a tertiary care psychiatric hospital and surveyed using the Inventory of Stigmatizing Experiences. Results. Participants reported high levels of stigma experiences and this did not differ by diagnosis (P = 0.578). However, people with bipolar disorder reported greater psychosocial impact of stigma on themselves and their family members compared to people with depression (P = 0.019). The two subscales produced internally consistent results with both populations. Conclusion. Stigma negatively affects those with both depression and bipolar disorder but appears to have a greater psychosocial impact on those with bipolar disorder

Metabolic oscillations on the circadian time scale in <i>Drosophila</i> cells lacking clock genes.

Circadian rhythms are cell-autonomous biological oscillations with a period of about 24 h. Current models propose that transcriptional feedback loops are the primary mechanism for the generation of circadian oscillations. Within this framework, &lt;i&gt;Drosophila&lt;/i&gt; S2 cells are regarded as "non-rhythmic" cells, as they do not express several canonical circadian components. Using an unbiased multi-omics approach, we made the surprising discovery that &lt;i&gt;Drosophila&lt;/i&gt; S2 cells do in fact display widespread daily rhythms. Transcriptomics and proteomics analyses revealed that hundreds of genes and their products, and in particular metabolic enzymes, are rhythmically expressed in a 24-h cycle. Metabolomics analyses extended these findings and demonstrate that central carbon metabolism and amino acid metabolism are core metabolic pathways driven by protein rhythms. We thus demonstrate that 24-h metabolic oscillations, coupled to gene and protein cycles, take place in nucleated cells without the contribution of any known circadian regulators. These results therefore suggest a reconsideration of existing models of the clockwork in &lt;i&gt;Drosophila&lt;/i&gt; and other eukaryotic systems

Standardization of electroencephalography for multi-site, multi-platform and multi-investigator studies: Insights from the canadian biomarker integration network in depression

Subsequent to global initiatives in mapping the human brain and investigations of neurobiological markers for brain disorders, the number of multi-site studies involving the collection and sharing of large volumes of brain data, including electroencephalography (EEG), has been increasing. Among the complexities of conducting multi-site studies and increasing the shelf life of biological data beyond the original study are timely standardization and documentation of relevant study parameters. We presentthe insights gained and guidelines established within the EEG working group of the Canadian Biomarker Integration Network in Depression (CAN-BIND). CAN-BIND is a multi-site, multi-investigator, and multiproject network supported by the Ontario Brain Institute with access to Brain-CODE, an informatics platform that hosts a multitude of biological data across a growing list of brain pathologies. We describe our approaches and insights on documenting and standardizing parameters across the study design, data collection, monitoring, analysis, integration, knowledge-translation, and data archiving phases of CAN-BIND projects. We introduce a custom-built EEG toolbox to track data preprocessing with open-access for the scientific community. We also evaluate the impact of variation in equipment setup on the accuracy of acquired data. Collectively, this work is intended to inspire establishing comprehensive and standardized guidelines for multi-site studies

Longitudinal changes in respiratory and upper limb function in a pediatric type III spinal muscular atrophy cohort after loss of ambulation

Introduction/Aims: Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) type III is a relatively mild form of SMA. Few studies have investigated the changes in both respiratory and upper limb function within this population after loss of ambulation. The aim of this study was to assess change in percentage of predicted forced vital capacity (FVC% predicted) and change in the Revised Upper Limb Module (RULM) score in these patients throughout a 24-month period after loss of ambulation. Effect of scoliosis and its surgical correction, disease duration since loss of ambulation, weight, and height were also investigated. / Methods: Retrospective analyses were performed on 24 nonambulant SMA III patients from data collected at two centers in the United Kingdom. / Results: The FVC% predicted score showed a significant progressive deterioration of 17% over the 24-month period. Respiratory deterioration correlated significantly with age, weight, disease duration since loss of ambulation, and spinal correctional surgery. Longitudinal RULM data were available for 16 patients; a significant deterioration was observed with a mean decrease in score of 3 over 24 months. Age correlated negatively with RULM score, as did height and time since loss of ambulation. A significant positive correlation between FVC% predicted and RULM was demonstrated. / Discussion: This study highlights how SMA type III patients have progressive deterioration of respiratory and upper limb function after loss of ambulation. Combining data from these assessments could provide insight into clinical progression, inform clinical trials, and provide assistance in managing disease progression expectations for patients

Metabolic oscillations on the circadian time scale in Drosophila cells lacking clock genes

Circadian rhythms are cell‐autonomous biological oscillations with a period of about 24 h. Current models propose that transcriptional feedback loops are the primary mechanism for the generation of circadian oscillations. Within this framework, Drosophila S2 cells are regarded as “non‐rhythmic” cells, as they do not express several canonical circadian components. Using an unbiased multi‐omics approach, we made the surprising discovery that Drosophila S2 cells do in fact display widespread daily rhythms. Transcriptomics and proteomics analyses revealed that hundreds of genes and their products, and in particular metabolic enzymes, are rhythmically expressed in a 24‐h cycle. Metabolomics analyses extended these findings and demonstrate that central carbon metabolism and amino acid metabolism are core metabolic pathways driven by protein rhythms. We thus demonstrate that 24‐h metabolic oscillations, coupled to gene and protein cycles, take place in nucleated cells without the contribution of any known circadian regulators. These results therefore suggest a reconsideration of existing models of the clockwork in Drosophila and other eukaryotic systems.Mol Syst Biol. (2018) 14: e837