Neighbourhood characteristics and social isolation of people with psychosis: a multi-site cross-sectional study

Purpose: People with psychosis are vulnerable to social isolation, which is associated with worse clinical outcomes. In general populations, people living in areas with higher population density have more social contacts, while those living in more socially deprived and fragmented areas are less satisfied with their relationships. We assessed whether and how neighbourhood factors are associated with social contacts and satisfaction with friendships for people with psychosis. Methods: We carried out a cross-sectional study including people with psychosis aged 18–65 years in urban and rural sites in England. Population density and social deprivation and fragmentation indexes were described within Lower Level Super Output Areas (LSOA). Their associations with participants’ social contacts and satisfaction with friendships were tested with negative binomial and ordinal regression models, respectively. Results: We surveyed 511 participants with psychotic disorders. They had a median of two social contacts in the previous week (interquartile range [IQR] = 1–4), and rated satisfaction with friendships as 5 out of 7 (Manchester Short Assessment of Quality of Life; IQR = 4–6). Higher population density was associated with fewer social contacts (Z-standardised relative risk [RR] = 0.88; 95% CI = 0.79–0.99, p = 0.03), but not with satisfaction with friendships (RR = 1.08; 95% CI = 0.93–1.26, p = 0.31). No associations were found for social contacts or satisfaction with friendships with social deprivation or fragmentation indexes. Conclusions: Clinicians in urban areas should be aware that their patients with psychosis are more socially isolated when more people live around them, and this could impact their clinical outcomes. These findings may inform housing programmes

Nanodiamond Theranostic for Light-Controlled Intracellular Heating and Nanoscale Temperature Sensing

[Image: see text] Temperature is an essential parameter in all biological systems, but information about the actual temperature in living cells is limited. Especially, in photothermal therapy, local intracellular temperature changes induce cell death but the local temperature gradients are not known. Highly sensitive nanothermometers would be required to measure and report local temperature changes independent of the intracellular environment, including pH or ions. Fluorescent nanodiamonds (ND) enable temperature sensing at the nanoscale independent of external conditions. Herein, we prepare ND nanothermometers coated with a nanogel shell and the photothermal agent indocyanine green serves as a heat generator and sensor. Upon irradiation, programmed cell death was induced in cancer cells with high spatial control. In parallel, the increase in local temperature was recorded by the ND nanothermometers. This approach represents a great step forward to record local temperature changes in different cellular environments inside cells and correlate these with thermal biology

Microstructure of Complex Silicon-containing Modifier

Various research methods show that the microstructure of the complex siliconcontaining modifier ”Insteel 7” consists of six phases: TiFeSi2, Ca1

On the Cauchy Problem for the Korteweg-de Vries Equation with Steplike Finite-Gap Initial Data I. Schwartz-Type Perturbations

We solve the Cauchy problem for the Korteweg-de Vries equation with initial conditions which are steplike Schwartz-type perturbations of finite-gap potentials under the assumption that the respective spectral bands either coincide or are disjoint.Comment: 29 page

Upconversion luminescence of Ca<inf>1-x</inf>Ho<inf>x</inf>F<inf>2+x</inf>and Sr<inf>0.98-x</inf>Er<inf>0.02</inf>Ho<inf>x</inf>F<inf>2.02+x</inf>powders upon excitation by an infrared laser

© 2017 Astro Ltd. Fluorite-type Ca 1-x Ho x F 2+x and Sr 0.98-x Er 0.02 Ho x F 2.02+x powders were synthesized using the co-precipitation from water solution technique. The upconversion luminescence of Ca 1-x Ho x F 2+x and Sr 0.98-x Er 0.02 Ho x F 2.02+x powders in the visible spectral region upon excitation of 5 I 7 level Ho 3+ ions and 4 I 13/2 level Er 3+ ions were studied for the first time. The possibility of visualizing near IR laser radiation using Ca 1-x Ho x F 2+x and Sr 0.98-x Er 0.02 Ho x F 2.02+x powders is proposed. Optimal compositions of Ca 1-x Ho x F 2+x and Sr 0.98-x Er 0.02 Ho x F 2.02+x powders for application as visualizers are discussed

Effects of enzymatically depolymerised fucoidan on effector functions of innate and adaptive immunity cells

The use of sulfated polysaccharides (fucoidans) as active pharmaceutical ingredients or adjuvants poses the challenge of obtaining structurally characterised and homogeneous samples or their oligomeric fractions maintaining high biological activity. The authors obtained a highly purified enzymatic hydrolysate of fucoidan from the brown alga Fucus evanescens and compared its biological activity with that of a native sample. The aim of the study was to compare, in vitro and in vivo, the effects of depolymerised fucoidan from the brown alga F. evanescens and native fucoidan on the effector functions of innate and adaptive immunity cells loaded with ovalbumin (OVA). Materials and methods: the effects of the fucoidan samples (depolymerised and native) on the expression of the main immunophenotypic markers by innate and adaptive immunity cells (neutrophils, monocytes, natural killers, and lymphocytes) were studied in vitro using flow cytometry. The levels of serum OVA-specific antibodies (IgG, IgG1, IgG2а) and cytokines (IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-10, IL-12) were studied in vivo using BALB/c mice immunised with OVA. The statistical analysis of the data obtained was performed using the Statistica 10 software package. Results: in vitro, both fucoidan samples altered the expression of the main immunophenotypic markers by innate and adaptive immunity cells, indicating their activation. In vivo, mice treated with the fucoidan samples demonstrated an increase in the levels of OVA-specific antibodies (IgG, IgG1 and IgG2a) and in the production of cytokines (IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-10). Conclusions: the effects of enzymatically depolymerised fucoidan on functional activity of innate and adaptive immunity cells are comparable to those of native fucoidan. The findings indicate the possibility of using enzymatic hydrolysis products of fucoidan as adjuvants for a wide range of prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines

Клинико-лабораторные аспекты новой коронавирусной инфекции у новорожденных и детей грудного возраста

Purpose: to identify clinical and laboratory aspects of a new coronavirus infection in newborns and infants. Materials and methods: a retrospective analysis of 131 observations of newborns and infants infected with SARS-CoV-2 treated in children's infectious diseases departments of Izhevsk was carried out. Results. The course of coronavirus infection in newborns and infants who became ill on an outpatient basis and were hospitalized did not have significant specific clinical and laboratory features and was similar to the symptoms of major respiratory infections. Among the hospitalized, 80.9% of children had a mild severity of coronavirus infection, the rest of the children had a moderate course. The clinical picture was dominated by cough (86.3%), nasal congestion (74%) and fever (71.8%). Significant clinical differences were obtained in newborns in the form of predominance of nasal obstruction, and in infants in the predominance of fever and dry cough. Pneumonia was diagnosed in 19.1% in the form of a mild, mainly bilateral lesion.Цель: выявление клинических и лабораторных аспектов новой коронавирусной инфекции у новорожденных и детей грудного возраста. Материалы и методы: проведен ретроспективный анализ 131 наблюдения новорожденных и детей грудного возраста, инфицированных SARS-CoV-2, получавших лечение в детских инфекционных отделениях г. Ижевска. Результаты. Течение коронавирусной инфекции у новорожденных и детей грудного возраста, заболевших в амбулаторных условиях и госпитализированных, не имело значимых специфических клинических и лабораторных особенностей и было схоже с симптомами основных респираторных инфекций. Среди госпитализированных у 80,9% детей преобладала легкая степень тяжести коронавирусной инфекции, у остальных детей отмечалось среднетяжелое течение. В клинической картине преобладал кашель (86,3%), заложенность носа (74%) и лихорадка (71,8%). Получены достоверные клинические различия у новорожденных в виде преобладания обструкции носовых ходов, а у грудных детей в превалировании лихорадки и сухого кашля. Пневмония была диагностирована в 19,1% случаев в виде нетяжелого, преимущественно двустороннего, поражения

Cortical and Striatal Reward Processing in Parkinson's Disease Psychosis

Psychotic symptoms frequently occur in Parkinson's disease (PD), but their pathophysiology is poorly understood. According to the National Institute of Health RDoc programme, the pathophysiological basis of neuropsychiatric symptoms may be better understood in terms of dysfunction of underlying domains of neurocognition in a trans-diagnostic fashion. Abnormal cortico-striatal reward processing has been proposed as a key domain contributing to the pathogenesis of psychotic symptoms in schizophrenia. This theory has received empirical support in the study of schizophrenia spectrum disorders and preclinical models of psychosis, but has not been tested in the psychosis associated with PD. We, therefore, investigated brain responses associated with reward expectation and prediction error signaling during reinforcement learning in PD-associated psychosis. An instrumental learning task with monetary gains and losses was conducted during an fMRI study in PD patients with (n = 12), or without (n = 17), a history of psychotic symptoms, along with a sample of healthy controls (n = 24). We conducted region of interest analyses in the ventral striatum (VS), ventromedial prefrontal and posterior cingulate cortices, and whole-brain analyses. There was reduced activation in PD patients with a history of psychosis, compared to those without, in the posterior cingulate cortex and the VS during reward anticipation (p < 0.05 small volume corrected). The results suggest that cortical and striatal abnormalities in reward processing, a putative pathophysiological mechanism of psychosis in schizophrenia, may also contribute to the pathogenesis of psychotic symptoms in PD. The finding of posterior cingulate dysfunction is in keeping with prior results highlighting cortical dysfunction in the pathogenesis of PD psychosis.This study was supported by a Medical Research Council Clinician Scientist award (G0701911), and an Isaac Newton Trust award to Dr. Murray; by support to Dr. Fletcher from the Wellcome Trust and Bernard Wolfe Health Neuroscience Fund; by a Wellcome Trust strategic award to University of Cambridge (097814/Z/11), by the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre and University of Cambridge Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, supported by a joint award from the Medical Research Council (G1000183) and Wellcome Trust (093875/Z/10/Z)

EARLY DIAGNOSIS OF IMMUNE DISTURBANCES AND ITS CORRECTION IN THE TREATMENT OF MULTIORGAN FAILURE AND SEPTIC COMPLICATIONS AFTER OPERATIONS WITH ARTIFICIAL AND ASSIST CIRCULATION

The study has shown that early diagnosis of the type and degree of immune disturbances in preparation for the operation and the first signs of multiorgan failure and septic complications in the postoperative period in cardiac surgery patients were the rationale for the earlier substitution immunocorrection by immunomodulators of cytokine nature and intravenous immunoglobulin. It allowed increasing the efficiency of the treatment of postoperative complications and lower mortality after operations with artificial and assist circulation

ДОЗОДИФФЕРЕНЦИРОВАННЫЕ КОРРЕЛЯЦИОННЫЕ ВЗАИМОДЕЙСТВИЯ МЕЖДУ ПОКАЗАТЕЛЯМИ ОБМЕНА ГЕМОГЛОБИНА У ИНДЕЕК ПОД ВОЗДЕЙСТВИЕМ ПРОБИОТИЧЕСКОГО ПРЕПРАТА ВЕТОМ 1.2

The effect of the probiotic preparation Vetom 1.2 on the basis of Bacillus subtilis VKPM B-10641, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens VKPM B-10642 and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens VKPM B-10643 in different doses on the correlation interactions between the parameters of turkey hemoglobin exchange, blood erythrocytes and blood red blood cells direct and total bilirubin, total protein and serum albumin was studies. Correlations were calculated using Spearman formula, the reliability of correlations was checked by Student. The formulation was used for turkeys once a day for 30 days in doses of 12.5; 25; fifty; 75 and 100 mg / kg body weight. It was found that Vetom 1.2 in minimal doses leads to an inverse correlation between iron and total bilirubin, direct bilirubin, total protein and albumin, an increase in the concentration of the formulation leads to the disappearance of this effect with a gradual subsequent decrease in this indicator. Vetom 1.2 in doses up to 50 mg / kg leads to an inverse correlation between the concentrations of hemoglobin and direct bilirubin, total protein and serum albumin, at a dose of 75 mg / kg there is a direct correlation between these indicators, and at a dose of 100 mg / kg returns a negative correlation. The probiotic preparation Vetom 1.2 leads to a direct dependence of the concentration of bilirubins (total and direct) in serum on the concentrations of hemoglobin and red blood cells when used in most doses, except 75 mg / kg, which reduces the correlation.Изучено действие пробиотического препарата Ветом 1.2 на основе Bacillus subtilis ВКПМ В-10641, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens ВКПМ В-10642 и Bacillus amyloliquefaciens ВКПМ В-10643 в разных дозах на корреляционные взаимодействия между показателями обмена гемоглобина индеек – концентрации эритроцитов крови, гемоглобина крови, а также железа, прямого и общего билирубина, общего белка и альбуминов сыворотки крови. Корреляции рассчитывались по формуле Спирмена, достоверность корреляций проверялись по Стьюденту. Препарат применяли индейкам 1 раз в сутки на протяжении 30 суток в дозах 12,5; 25; 50; 75 и 100 мг/кг живой массы. Установлено, что Ветом 1.2 в минимальных дозах приводит к обратной корреляционной зависимости между железом и общим билирубином, прямым билирубином, общим белком и альбуминами, повышение концентрации препарата приводит к исчезновению этого эффекта с постепенным последующим понижением данного показателя. Ветом 1.2 в дозах до 50 мг/кг приводит к обратной корреляционной зависимости между концентрациями гемоглобина крови и прямого билирубина, общего белка и альбуминами в сыворотке крови, при дозе 75 мг/кг наблюдается прямая корреляционная зависимость между этими показателями, а при дозе 100 мг/кг возвращается отрицательная корреляция. Пробиотический препарат Ветом 1.2 приводит к прямой зависимости концентрации билирубина (общего и прямого) в сыворотке крови от концентраций гемоглобина и эритроцитов крови при применении в большинстве доз, кроме 75 мг/кг, понижающей корреляционную связь