The variable polarity plasma arc welding process: Its application to the Space Shuttle external tank

The technical history of the variable polarity plasma arc (VPPA) welding process being introduced as a partial replacement for the gas shielded tungsten arc process in assembly welding of the space shuttle external tank is described. Interim results of the weld strength qualification studies, and plans for further work on the implementation of the VPPA process are included

Milk Products in Bread Making

The topic was the usage of milk in bread making. Initial investigations in bread making using milk were aimed at learning how to prepare milk best suited for bread making and finding the proper quantities for optimum results. The convenience, economy, and uniformity of dry milk solids greatly increased their usage by bakers. These advantages have been further augmented by research and experimentation by the dry milk producers, which have resulted in a product which would appreciably improve bread quality. Milk may be altered both in physical and chemical properties by heating. The article goes on to give more information on milk usage in baking

High-Potency Cannabis, Mental Health and Substance Use in Adolescence:Results from a UK General Population Sample

Importance Cannabis use is consistently linked to poorer mental health outcomes, and there is evidence that use of higher-potency cannabis increases these risks. To date, no studies have described the association between cannabis potency and concurrent mental health in a general population sample or addressed confounding using longitudinal data. Objective To explore the association between cannabis potency and substance use and mental health outcomes, accounting for preceding mental health and frequency of cannabis use. Design, Setting, and Participants This cohort study used data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, a UK birth cohort of participants born between April 1, 1991, and December 31, 1992. Present data on outcomes and exposures were collected between June 2015 and October 2017 from 1087 participants at 24 years of age who reported recent cannabis use. Exposures Self-reported type of cannabis most commonly used in the past year, coded to a binary exposure of use of high-potency cannabis or lower-potency cannabis. Main Outcomes and Measures Outcomes were reported frequency of cannabis use, reported cannabis use problems, recent use of other illicit drugs, tobacco dependence, alcohol use disorder, depression, generalized anxiety disorder, and psychotic-like experiences. The study used secondary data; consequently, the hypotheses were formulated after data collection. Results Past-year cannabis use was reported by 1087 participants (580 women; mean [SD] age at onset of cannabis use, 16.7 [3.0] years). Of these, 141 participants (13.0%) reported the use of high-potency cannabis. Use of high-potency cannabis was associated with increased frequency of cannabis use (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 4.38; 95% CI, 2.89-6.63), cannabis problems (AOR, 4.08; 95% CI, 1.41-11.81), and increased likelihood of anxiety disorder (AOR, 1.92; 95% CI, 1.11-3.32). Adjustment for frequency of cannabis use attenuated the association with psychotic experiences (AOR 1.29; 95% CI, 0.67-2.50), tobacco dependence (AOR, 1.42; 95% CI, 0.89-2.27), and other illicit drug use (AOR, 1.29; 95% CI, 0.77-2.17). There was no evidence of association between the use of high-potency cannabis and alcohol use disorder or depression. Conclusions and Relevance To our knowledge, this study provides the first general population evidence suggesting that the use of high-potency cannabis is associated with mental health and addiction. Limiting the availability of high-potency cannabis may be associated with a reduction in the number of individuals who develop cannabis use disorders, the prevention of cannabis use from escalating to a regular behavior, and a reduction in the risk of mental health disorders

Machine Learning Analysis of Individual Tumor Lesions in Four Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Clinical Studies: Linking Tumor Heterogeneity to Overall Survival

Total tumor size (TS) metrics used in TS models in oncology do not consider tumor heterogeneity, which could help to better predict drug efficacy. We analyzed individual target lesions (iTLs) of patients with metastatic colorectal carcinoma (mCRC) to determine differences in TS dynamics by using the ClassIfication Clustering of Individual Lesions (CICIL) methodology. Results from subgroup analyses comparing genetic mutations and TS metrics were assessed and applied to survival analyses. Data from four mCRC clinical studies were analyzed (1781 patients, 6369 iTLs). CICIL was used to assess differences in lesion TS dynamics within a tissue (intra-class) or across different tissues (inter-class). First, lesions were automatically classified based on their location. Cross-correlation coefficients (CCs) determined if each pair of lesions followed similar or opposite dynamics. Finally, CCs were grouped by using the K-means clustering method. Heterogeneity in tumor dynamics was lower in the intra-class analysis than in the inter-class analysis for patients receiving cetuximab. More tumor heterogeneity was found in KRAS mutated patients compared to KRAS wild-type (KRASwt) patients and when using sum of longest diameters versus sum of products of diameters. Tumor heterogeneity quantified as the median patient’s CC was found to be a predictor of overall survival (OS) (HR = 1.44, 95% CI 1.08–1.92), especially in KRASwt patients. Intra- and inter-tumor tissue heterogeneities were assessed with CICIL. Derived metrics of heterogeneity were found to be a predictor of OS time. Considering differences between lesions’ TS dynamics could improve oncology models in favor of a better prediction of OS

The cumulative effect of reporting and citation biases on the apparent efficacy of treatments:the case of depression

Evidence-based medicine is the cornerstone of clinical practice, but it is dependent on the quality of evidence upon which it is based. Unfortunately, up to half of all randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have never been published, and trials with statistically significant findings are more likely to be published than those without (Dwan et al., 2013). Importantly, negative trials face additional hurdles beyond study publication bias that can result in the disappearance of non-significant results (Boutron et al., 2010; Dwan et al., 2013; Duyx et al., 2017). Here, we analyze the cumulative impact of biases on apparent efficacy, and discuss possible remedies, using the evidence base for two effective treatments for depression: Antidepressants and psychotherapy

The influence of psychiatric screening in healthy populations selection: a new study and meta-analysis of functional 5-HTTLPR and rs25531 polymorphisms and anxiety-related personality traits

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A genetic liability for anxiety-related personality traits in healthy subjects has been associated with the functional serotonin transporter promoter polymorphism (5-HTTLPR), although the data are somewhat conflicting. Moreover, only one study has investigated the functional significance of the 5-HTTLPR/rs25531 haplotypes in relation to anxiety traits in healthy subjects. We tested whether the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism and the 5-HTTLPR/rs25531 haplotypes are linked to Harm Avoidance (HA) using an association study (STUDY I) and a meta-analytic approach (STUDY II).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>STUDY I: A total of 287 unrelated Italian volunteers were screened for DSM-IV Axis I disorders and genotyped for the 5-HTTLPR and rs25531 (A/G) polymorphisms. Different functional haplotype combinations were also analyzed. STUDY II: A total of 44 studies were chosen for a meta-analysis of the putative association between 5-HTTLPR and anxiety-related personality traits.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>STUDY I: In the whole sample of 287 volunteers, we found that the SS genotype and S'S' haplotypes were associated with higher scores on HA. However, because the screening assessed by Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.N.I.) showed the presence of 55 volunteers affected by depression or anxiety disorders, we analyzed the two groups ("disordered" and "healthy") separately. The data obtained did indeed confirm that in the "healthy" group, the significant effects of the SS genotype and S'S' haplotypes were lost, but they remained in the "disordered" group. STUDY II: The results of the 5-HTTLPR meta-analysis with anxiety-related traits in the whole sample confirmed the association of the SS genotype with higher anxiety-related traits scores in Caucasoids; however, when we analyzed only those studies that used structured psychiatric screening, no association was found.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study demonstrates the relevance to perform analyses on personality traits only in DSM-IV axis I disorder-free subjects. Furthermore, we did not find an association between functional serotonin transporter gene polymorphisms and anxiety traits in healthy subjects screened through a structured psychiatric interview.</p

Genetics of callous-unemotional behavior in children

Callous-unemotional behavior (CU) is currently under consideration as a subtyping index for conduct disorder diagnosis. Twin studies routinely estimate the heritability of CU as greater than 50%. It is now possible to estimate genetic influence using DNA alone from samples of unrelated individuals, not relying on the assumptions of the twin method. Here we use this new DNA method (implemented in a software package called Genome-wide Complex Trait Analysis, GCTA) for the first time to estimate genetic influence on CU. We also report the first genome-wide association (GWA) study of CU as a quantitative trait. We compare these DNA results to those from twin analyses using the same measure and the same community sample of 2,930 children rated by their teachers at ages 7, 9 and 12. GCTA estimates of heritability were near zero, even though twin analysis of CU in this sample confirmed the high heritability of CU reported in the literature, and even though GCTA estimates of heritability were substantial for cognitive and anthropological traits in this sample. No significant associations were found in GWA analysis, which, like GCTA, only detects additive effects of common DNA variants. The phrase ‘missing heritability’ was coined to refer to the gap between variance associated with DNA variants identified in GWA studies versus twin study heritability. However, GCTA heritability, not twin study heritability, is the ceiling for GWA studies because both GCTA and GWA are limited to the overall additive effects of common DNA variants, whereas twin studies are not. This GCTA ceiling is very low for CU in our study, despite its high twin study heritability estimate. The gap between GCTA and twin study heritabilities will make it challenging to identify genes responsible for the heritability of CU

EMOTICOM: A Neuropsychological Test Battery to Evaluate Emotion, Motivation, Impulsivity, and Social Cognition.

In mental health practice, both pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments are aimed at improving neuropsychological symptoms, including cognitive and emotional impairments. However, at present there is no established neuropsychological test battery that comprehensively covers multiple affective domains relevant in a range of disorders. Our objective was to generate a standardized test battery, comprised of existing, adapted and novel tasks, to assess four core domains of affective cognition (emotion processing, motivation, impulsivity and social cognition) in order to facilitate and enhance treatment development and evaluation in a broad range of neuropsychiatric disorders. The battery was administered to 200 participants aged 18-50 years (50% female), 42 of whom were retested in order to assess reliability. An exploratory factor analysis identified 11 factors with eigenvalues greater than 1, which accounted for over 70% of the variance. Tasks showed moderate to excellent test-retest reliability and were not strongly correlated with demographic factors such as age or IQ. The EMOTICOM test battery is therefore a promising tool for the assessment of affective cognitive function in a range of contexts.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Frontiers via http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2016.0002

Overview of CAPICE—Childhood and Adolescence Psychopathology: unravelling the complex etiology by a large Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Europe—an EU Marie Skłodowska-Curie International Training Network

The Roadmap for Mental Health and Wellbeing Research in Europe (ROAMER) identified child and adolescent mental illness as a priority area for research. CAPICE (Childhood and Adolescence Psychopathology: unravelling the complex etiology by a large Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Europe) is a European Union (EU) funded training network aimed at investigating the causes of individual differences in common childhood and adolescent psychopathology, especially depression, anxiety, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. CAPICE brings together eight birth and childhood cohorts as well as other cohorts from the EArly Genetics and Life course Epidemiology (EAGLE) consortium, including twin cohorts, with unique longitudinal data on environmental exposures and mental health problems, and genetic data on participants. Here we describe the objectives, summarize the methodological approaches and initial results, and present the dissemination strategy of the CAPICE network. Besides identifying genetic and epigenetic variants associated with these phenotypes, analyses have been performed to shed light on the role of genetic factors and the interplay with the environment in influencing the persistence of symptoms across the lifespan. Data harmonization and building an advanced data catalogue are also part of the work plan. Findings will be disseminated to non-academic parties, in close collaboration with the Global Alliance of Mental Illness Advocacy Networks-Europe (GAMIAN-Europe)