JADARA Conference Wrap-Up

Ms. Michelle Niehaus, Immediate Past President, shares her perspective of the 50th anniversary of the ADARA conference in Rochester, NY

Self-Efficacy, Intrinsic Motivation, and Academic Outcomes Among Latino Middle School Students Participating in an After-School Program

This longitudinal study examined how academic self-efficacy, intrinsic motivation, and participation in an after-school program contributed to the academic achievement of Latino middle school students over the course of one school year. Participants were 47 Latino students in sixth through eighth grades who attended two public middle schools in which an after-school program was held that was specifically for Latino students. Results from ordinary least squares regression revealed that intrinsic motivation was positively associated with students GPAs, self-efficacy was a positive predictor of students’ school attendance and standardized math achievement scores, and attendance at the after-school program also contributed positively to students’ math achievement. Results from multilevel growth modeling showed that students’ self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation remained stable across the school year and were not related to students’ degree of participation in the after-school program. Several avenues for future research within the Latino student population are discussed

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Time-dependent versus static quantum transport simulations beyond linear response

To explore whether the density-functional theory non-equilibrium Green's function formalism (DFT-NEGF) provides a rigorous framework for quantum transport, we carried out time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) calculations of the transient current through two realistic molecular devices, a carbon chain and a benzenediol molecule inbetween two aluminum electrodes. The TDDFT simulations for the steady state current exactly reproduce the results of fully self-consistent DFT-NEGF calculations even beyond linear response. In contrast, sizable differences are found with respect to an equilibrium, non-self-consistent treatment which are related here to differences in the Kohn-Sham and fully interacting susceptibility of the device region. Moreover, earlier analytical conjectures on the equivalence of static and time-dependent approaches in the low bias regime are confirmed with high numerical precision.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Psychiatric genetics in South Africa: cutting a rough diamond

Psychiatric disorders place a considerable healthcare burden on South African society. Incorporating genetic technologies into future treatment plans offers a potential mechanism to reduce this burden. This review focuses on psychiatric genetic research that has been performed in South African populations with regards to obsessive-compulsive disorder, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Preliminary findings from these studies suggest that data obtained in developed countries cannot necessarily be extrapolated to South African population groups. Psychiatric genetic studies in South Africa seem to involve relatively low-cost methodologies and only a limited number of large national collaborative studies. Future research in South Africa should therefore aim to incorporate highthroughput technologies into large scale psychiatric studies through the development of collaborations. On a global level, the vast majority of psychiatric genetic studies have been performed in non-African populations. South Africa, as the leading contributor to scientific research in Africa, may provide a foundation for addressing this disparity and strengthening psychiatric genetic research on the continent. Although the elucidation of the genetic architecture of psychiatric disorders has proved challenging, examining the unique genetic profiles found in South African populations could provide valuable insight into the genetics of psychiatric disorders.Keywords: Bipolar disorder; Obsessive-compulsive disorder; Pharmacogenetics; Psychiatric genetics; Schizophrenia; South African population

Applicability and fairness of the oral examination in undergraduate psychiatry training in South Africa

Objective: There are several methods of evaluating medical students’ performance, such as written examination, oral examination and objective structured clinical examination (OSCE). Many studies have focused on the reliability and validity of these methods but few studies have explored comparison between these methods. Psychiatry is the only subject at the University of Stellenbosch where the final assessment consists of solely an oral component. The aim of the study was to compare students’ final overall and discipline specific examination marks (i.e. in the other subjects) with the examination marks in psychiatry, and to determine if content or structure (e,g. oral, written or OSCE format) of examination impacts more on the student performance in the examination. Method: 343 final year medical students were included. All undertook their psychiatry rotation at the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa during 2008 and 2009. Data of marks obtained in all the disciplines during 2008 and 2009 were collected and class marks were compared with their final examination marks across all disciplines. Bland-Altman plots were used to assess the level of agreement between the class and examination marks. Cases below the lower threshold were compared to all other cases across all disciplines. The odds ratio for group status was calculated for gender distribution of examiners. Results: The psychiatry class mark and final oral examination mark provided similar measures within a width of 31.5. Cases below the threshold had poorer performance in two other disciplines. The gender distribution of the examiners (female-female) significantly increased the odds ratio for poorer performance in the oral examination.Conclusion: The results suggest that a group of students underperform in their final examination independent of method of evaluation and that the gender of examiners impacts on examination marks. Therefore future research should focus on identifying and modifying factors (including choice of examiner combinations) that contribute to the poor performance of medical students in their final examination, in order to help students perform better. Gender distribution of examiners should also be considered when examinations are structured and designed.Keywords: Oral; Medical; Student; Gender; Examiner; Performance; OSC

Neurological soft signs as an endophenotype in an African schizophrenia population – a pilot study

Objective: The use of endophenotypes, such as neurological soft signs (NSS), is advocated as one possible method to elucidate the heterogeneity of schizophrenia. Exploring the associations between NSS and specific illness symptoms has revealed some trends, although results have been conflicting. To date, such studies have been conducted largely on Caucasian populations and our pilot study represents the first attempt to gather such data in a homogenous African population. Method: Fifty-one patients, all of Xhosa ethnicity and participating in a larger schizophrenia genetic study were recruited. NSS were evaluated using a modified Neurological Evaluation Scale. Data were analysed using SPSS with the strength of the overall relationships between NES groups and SANS and SAPS components analyzed by means of canonical correlation analysis. Results: The canonical correlation of SANS domains (excluding asociality) with the NES conceptual groups was 0.53 (SE=0.11, p=0.024) and of the SAPS domains 0.38 (SE=0.13, p=0.943). Conclusion: Our results suggest a correlation between negative symptoms of schizophrenia and the presence of NSS, supporting the recruitment of a larger sample to more comprehensively evaluate a possible role for NSS as an endophenotype in the Xhosa schizophrenia population. Taking into account that NSS evaluations allow for inexpensive, relatively easy-to-do objective evaluations, this method presents us with a valuable research tool that can be used effectively within our under-resourced environment to help inform on the neurobiological substrate of schizophrenia.Keywords: Schizophrenia; Endophenotype; Neurological Soft Sign

Undiagnosed metabolic syndrome and other adverse effects among clozapine users of Xhosa descent

Background. Clozapine use is known to be associated with significant side-effects, including prolongation of the QT-interval, agranulocytosis and metabolic syndrome. However, few data exist on the prevalence of clozapine side-effects in patients of Xhosa descent.  Objective. To gather data from Xhosa patients with schizophrenia to establish the prevalence of clozapine side-effects in this population.  Methods. Twenty-nine Xhosa patients with schizophrenia (as per the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR)) who had been receiving clozapine treatment for >1 year on an outpatient basis were selected for inclusion. All patients were participating in a genetics study in the Cape Metropolitan area. The participants were evaluated for the presence of side-effects (tests including an electrocardiogram, white blood cell count (WCC) and fasting blood glucose).  Results. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 44.8% (95% confidence interval (CI) 26.7 - 62.9) and of undiagnosed diabetes mellitus 13.8% (95% CI 1.24 - 26.34). There was a significant association between metabolic syndrome and body mass index (BMI) (p<0.01). The mean (SD) WCC was 7.8 × 109/L (2.8), with 3.4% of the subjects having a WCC <3.5 × 109/L. Sedation (82.8%; 95% CI 69.0 - 96.5), hypersalivation (79.3%; 95% CI 64.6 - 94.1) and constipation (44.8%; 95% CI 26.7 - 62.9) were common. The mean QT-interval was 373.8 (35.9) ms and 10% had a corrected QT-interval >440 ms. There was an association between the duration of clozapine treatment and QT-interval (with Bazett’s correction).   Conclusion. The high prevalence of metabolic syndrome and undiagnosed diabetes mellitus in this sample points to a need to monitor glucose levels and BMI on a regular basis. A larger study should be done to accurately quantify the differences in prevalence of side-effects between population groups

On the importance to consider the cloud dependence in parameterizing the albedo of snow on sea ice

The impact of a slightly modified broadband snow surface albedo parameterization, which explicitly considers the cloud dependence of the snow albedo, is evaluated in simulations of a coupled regional climate model of the Arctic. The cloud dependence of the snow albedo leads to a more realistic simulation of the variability of the surface albedo during the snowmelt period in late May and June. In particular, the reproduction of lower albedo values under cloud-free/broken-cloud conditions during the snowmelt period represents an improvement and results in an earlier disappearance of the snow cover and an earlier onset of sea-ice melt. In this way, the consideration of the cloud dependence of the snow albedo results in an amplification of the two-stage snow/ice albedo feedback in the model. This finds expression in considerably increased sea-ice melt during the summer months and ends up in a new quasi-stationary equilibrium in sea ice with statistically significant lower sea-ice volume and statistically significant lower summer sea-ice area

A semi-classical over-barrier model for charge exchange between highly charged ions and one-optical electron atoms

Absolute total cross sections for electron capture between slow, highly charged ions and alkali targets have been recently measured. It is found that these cross sections follow a scaling law with the projectile charge which is different from the one previously proposed basing on a classical over-barrier model (OBM) and verified using rare gases and molecules as targets. In this paper we develop a "semi-classical" (i.e. including some quantal features) OBM attempting to recover experimental results. The method is then applied to ion-hydrogen collisions and compared with the result of a sophisticated quantum-mechanical calculation. In the former case the accordance is very good, while in the latter one no so satisfactory results are found. A qualitative explanation for the discrepancies is attempted.Comment: RevTeX, uses epsf; 6 pages text + 3 EPS figures Journal of Physics B (scehduled March 2000). This revision corrects fig.