Schizophrenia and alcohol dependence: The combined effects on emotion processing

Substance abuse co-occurs at high rates with schizophrenia, with alcohol as the most commonly abused substance. Dual diagnoses have been associated with lower levels of quality of life; greater rates of medication noncompliance, homelessness, hostility, violence, legal problems, interpersonal conflict; and increased costs for services; The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of alcohol dependence on emotion processing in schizophrenia. There are currently no studies that investigate this. Research has identified deficits in facial affect processing and cognitive functioning in schizophrenia and chronic alcoholism. However, the level of impairment is less severe in alcoholism; The current study investigated whether alcohol dependence detrimentally impacted emotion processing in schizophrenia. A comprehensive evaluation of diagnosis, symptoms, emotion processing, and neuropsychological functioning was performed for three groups of participants: Comorbid Schizophrenia with Alcohol Dependence (SZA), Schizophrenia (SZ), and Healthy Control (HC). There were 22 participants in each group who were screened for inclusion and exclusion criteria. Informed consent was obtained and participants were administered the Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM-IV to confirm diagnoses in the SZA and SZ groups and rule-out psychopathology in the HC group. Severity of psychiatric symptoms and extrapyramidal side-effects were rated for individuals in the schizophrenia groups. Individuals in the SZA group were assessed for the severity of alcohol use, current and past. All participants were administered neuropsychological and emotion processing tests; Results of emotion processing testing revealed that the schizophrenia groups were more impaired on tests of facial affect labeling and discrimination and learning a list of emotional words than the HC group, regardless of the type of emotion. Results of neuropsychological testing revealed that the HC group outperformed the schizophrenia groups on tests of visual spatial processing, facial perception, verbal learning and memory, general knowledge, and attention. However, the SZA and SZ group did not significantly differ across tests; In conclusion, the study did not support the presence of an additive detrimental effect on emotion processing and cognitive functioning for dually diagnosed individuals. Instead, this study revealed that individuals with schizophrenia had more global deficits in cognitive and emotion processing

A new continuous planar fit method for calculating fluxes in complex, forested terrain.

The planar fit method is often recommended for long-term eddy covariance flux measurements since it offers a number of advantages over rotating into streamwise coordinates. For sites over complex, forested terrain a single planar fit may not account for complex variations in slope and canopy cover with wind direction. An alternative to the planar fit method is presented where the tilt angle is fitted as a continuous function of the wind direction. This retains many of the benefits of the planar fit method, while at the same time better representing local variations in tilt with wind direction

Sampling Errors in Observed Gravity Wave Momentum Fluxes from Vertical and Tilted Profiles

Observations from radiosondes or from vertically pointing remote sensing profilers are often used to estimate the vertical flux of momentum due to gravity waves. For planar, monochromatic waves, these vertically integrated fluxes are equal to the phase averaged flux and equivalent to the horizontal averaging used to deduce momentum flux from aircraft data or in numerical models. Using a simple analytical solution for two-dimensional hydrostatic gravity waves over an isolated ridge, it is shown that this equivalence does not hold for mountain waves. For a vertical profile, the vertically integrated flux estimate is proportional to the horizontally integrated flux and decays with increasing distance of the profile location from the mountain. For tilted profiles, such as those obtained from radiosonde ascents, there is a further sampling error that increases as the trajectory extends beyond the localised wave field. The same sampling issues are seen when the effects of the Coriolis force on the gravity waves are taken into account. The conclusion of this work is that caution must be taken when using radiosondes or other vertical profiles to deduce mountain wave momentum fluxes

Modelling Canopy Flows over Complex Terrain

Recent studies of flow over forested hills have been motivated by a number of important applications including understanding CO22 and other gaseous fluxes over forests in complex terrain, predicting wind damage to trees, and modelling wind energy potential at forested sites. Current modelling studies have focussed almost exclusively on highly idealized, and usually fully forested, hills. Here, we present model results for a site on the Isle of Arran, Scotland with complex terrain and heterogeneous forest canopy. The model uses an explicit representation of the canopy and a 1.5-order turbulence closure for flow within and above the canopy. The validity of the closure scheme is assessed using turbulence data from a field experiment before comparing predictions of the full model with field observations. For near-neutral stability, the results compare well with the observations, showing that such a relatively simple canopy model can accurately reproduce the flow patterns observed over complex terrain and realistic, variable forest cover, while at the same time remaining computationally feasible for real case studies. The model allows closer examination of the flow separation observed over complex forested terrain. Comparisons with model simulations using a roughness length parametrization show significant differences, particularly with respect to flow separation, highlighting the need to explicitly model the forest canopy if detailed predictions of near-surface flow around forests are required

Improving dialysis adherence for high risk patients using automated messaging: Proof of concept

AbstractComorbidities and socioeconomic barriers often limit patient adherence and self-management with hemodialysis. Missed sessions, often associated with communication barriers, can result in emergency dialysis and avoidable hospitalizations. This proof of concept study explored using a novel digital-messaging platform, EpxDialysis, to improve patient-to-dialysis center communication via widely available text messaging and telephone technology. A randomized controlled trial was conducted through Washington University-affiliated hemodialysis centers involving ESRD patients with poor attendance, defined as missing 2–6 sessions over the preceding 12 weeks. A cross-over study design evaluated appointment adherence between intervention and control groups. Comparing nonadherence rates eight weeks prior to enrollment, median appointment adherence after using the system increased by 75%, and median number of unintended hospitalization days fell by 31%. A conservative cost-benefit analysis of EpxDialysis demonstrates a 1:36 savings ratio from appointment adherence. EpxDialysis is a low-risk, cost-effective, intervention for increasing hemodialysis adherence in high-risk patients, especially at centers caring for vulnerable and low-income patients.</jats:p

Up and away: ontogenic transference as a pathway for aerial dispersal of microplastics

Microplastics (MPs) are ubiquitous pollutants found in marine, freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems. With so many MPs in aquatic systems it is inevitable that they will be ingested by aquatic organisms, and be transferred up through the food chain. However, to date, no study has considered whether MPs can be transmitted by means of ontogenic transference i.e. between life stages that utilise different habitats. Here, we determine whether fluorescent polystyrene beads could transfer between Culex mosquito life stages and, particularly, could move into the flying adult stage. We show for the first time that MPs can be transferred ontogenically from a feeding (larva) into a non-feeding (pupa) life stage and subsequently into the adult terrestrial life stage. However, transference is dependent on particle size, with smaller 2 µm MPs transferring readily into pupae and adult stages, whilst 15 µm MPs transferred at a significantly reduced rate. Microplastics appear to accumulate in the Malpighian tubule renal excretion system. The transfer of MPs to the adults represents a potential aerial pathway to contamination of new environments. Thus, any organism that feeds on terrestrial life phases of freshwater insects could be impacted by MPs found in aquatic ecosystems

Assessment of valley cold pools and clouds in a very high-resolution numerical weather prediction model

The formation of cold air pools in valleys under stable conditions represents an important challenge for numerical weather prediction (NWP). The challenge is increased when the valleys that dominate cold pool formation are on scales unresolved by NWP models, which can lead to substantial local errors in temperature forecasts. In this study a 2-month simulation is presented using a nested model con- figuration with a finest horizontal grid spacing of 100 m. The simulation is compared with observations from the recent COLd air Pooling Experiment (COLPEX) project and the model’s ability to represent cold pool formation, and the surface energy balance is assessed. The results reveal a bias in the model long-wave radiation that results from the assumptions made about the sub-grid variability in humidity in the cloud parametrization scheme. The cloud scheme assumes relative humidity thresholds below 100 % to diagnose partial cloudiness, an approach common to schemes used in many other models. The biases in radiation, and resulting biases in screen temperature and cold pool properties are shown to be sensitive to the choice of critical relative humidity, suggesting that this is a key area that should be improved for very high-resolution modeling

A case‐study of cold‐air pool evolution in hilly terrain using field measurements from COLPEX

A case‐study investigation of cold‐air pool (CAP) evolution in hilly terrain is conducted using field measurements made during IOP 16 of the COLd‐air Pool EXperiment (COLPEX). COLPEX was designed to study cold‐air pooling in small‐scale valleys typical of the UK (∼100–200 m deep, ∼1 km wide). The synoptic conditions during IOP 16 are typical of those required for CAPs to form during the night, with high pressure, clear skies and low ambient winds. Initially a CAP forms around sunset and grows uninterrupted for several hours. However, starting 4 hr after sunset, a number of interruptions to this steady cooling rate occur. Three episodes are highlighted from the observations and the cause of disruption attributed to (a) wave activity, in the form of gravity waves and/or Kelvin–Helmholtz (KH) instability, (b) increases in the above‐valley winds resulting from the development of a nocturnal low‐level jet (NLLJ), (c) shear‐induced mixing resulting from instability of the NLLJ. A weakly stable residual layer provides the conditions for wave activity during Episode 1. This residual layer is eroded by a developing NLLJ from the top down during Episode 2. The sustained increase in winds at hill‐top levels – attributed to the NLLJ – continue to disrupt the CAP through Episode 3. Although cooling is interrupted, the CAP is never completely eroded during the night. Complete CAP break‐up occurs some 3.5 hr after local sunrise. This case‐study highlights a number of meteorological phenomena that can disrupt CAP evolution even in ideal CAP conditions. These processes are unlikely to be sufficiently represented by current operational weather forecast models and can be challenging even for high‐resolution research models

Radiocarbon Chronologies and Extinction Dynamics of the Late Quaternary Mammalian Megafauna of the Taimyr Peninsula, Russian Federation

This paper presents 75 new radiocarbon dates based on late Quaternary mammal remains recovered from eastern Taimyr Peninsula and adjacent parts of the northern Siberian lowlands, Russian Federation, including specimens of woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius), steppe bison (Bison priscus), muskox (Ovibos moschatus), moose (Alces alces), reindeer (Rangifer tarandus), horse (Equus caballus) and wolf (Canis lupus). New evidence permits reanalysis of megafaunal extinction dynamics in the Asian high Arctic periphery. Increasingly, radiometric records of individual species show evidence of a gap at or near the Pleistocene/Holocene boundary (PHB). In the past, the PHB gap was regarded as significant only when actually terminal, i.e., when it marked the apparent ‘‘last’’ occurrence of a species (e.g., current ‘‘last’’ occurrence date for woolly mammoth in mainland Eurasia is 9600 yr BP). However, for high Arctic populations of horses and muskoxen the gap marks an interruption rather than extinction, because their radiocarbon records resume, nearly simultaneously, much later in the Holocene. Taphonomic effects, ΔC14 flux, and biased sampling are unlikely explanations for these hiatuses. A possible explanation is that the gap is the signature of an event, of unknown nature, that prompted the nearly simultaneous crash of many megafaunal populations in the high Arctic and possibly elsewhere in Eurasia.

4-(3-Carb­oxy-1-ethyl-6-fluoro-4-oxo-1,4-dihydro-7-quinol­yl)-1-methyl­piper­azin­ium picrate

The pefloxacinium cation of the title salt, C17H21FN3O3 +·C6H2N3O7 −, is composed of an essentially planar quinoline ring system [maximum deviation = 0.021 (2) Å] and a piperazine ring, which adopts a chair conformation. In the picrate anion, the two O atoms of one of the o-NO2 groups are disordered over two positions, with an occupancy ratio of 0.56 (4):0.44 (4). In the crystal structure, cations and anions are connected by inter­molecular N—H⋯O, O—H⋯O, C—H⋯O and C—H⋯F hydrogen bonds, forming a three-dimensional network. In addition, π–π inter­actions between the pyridine rings and between the benzene rings of the anions, with centroid–centroid distances of 3.6103 (12) and 3.5298 (11) Å, respectively, are observed