A preliminary investigation into the growth of the Sisters scoria cone complex, Ascension Island.

Ascension Island, located in the South Atlantic Ocean, is an active ocean island volcano and a British Overseas Territory with strategically important UK and USA military infrastructure. The most recent eruption occurred from the Sisters scoria cone complex (SSCC) in the north of the island, which is composed of at least 4 scoria cones, tephra fall deposits and lavas. Here I present a textural study of the Unit 3 tephra fall deposit from two locations, as well as tephra dispersal analysis. Petrographic analysis of a further three tephra fall deposits and nine lava samples from the Sisters scoria cone complex was also undertaken in an attempt to correlate the lava flows and tephra falls. Three distinct types of pyroclasts were identified: type 1, which are equant and platy shaped with a dull, wrinkly skin that is adhered with ash fragments, lithic clasts, Pele’s hair, spherical lava droplets and mineral precipitates. Their interiors are moderately-highly vesicular with a moderate microlite content; type 2, which are elongate and fluidal shaped with a black, glassy skin. Their interiors range from poorly-highly vesicular with a moderate microlite content; type 3, which range from elongate and fluidal to equant and sub-angular with a golden brown, glassy skin. Their interiors are highly vesicular with a poor microlite content. The Unit 3 eruption began with locally dispersed Hawaiian lava fountaining, before transitioning to Strombolian explosions that were more widely dispersed. As the eruption continued Strombolian explosions became dominant. Towards the end of the eruption, the magma came into contact with a limited volume of groundwater, which led to a series of small-scale, weak phreatomagmatic explosions, separated by magmatic phases. The Unit 3 eruption covered >24 km2 of the island and a similar eruption in the future would have a 50% chance of ash accumulation up to 2.5 cm (10 kg/m2) thick over Georgetown. The other eruptions that contributed to the Sisters scoria cone complex are inferred to have been broadly similar to that which produced Unit 3

Alternating Subplinian and phreatomagmatic phases during the construction of a phonolitic maar-diatreme volcano (Caldera del Rey, Tenerife, Canary Islands)

The Early Pleistocene, well exposed, Caldera del Rey maar-diatreme volcano, Tenerife, Canary Islands was constructed during a ∼ VEI 4 phonolitic eruption that involved two cycles of magmatic-to-phreatomagmatic activity and resulted in two overlapping craters aligned NE-SW. Magmatic phases fed unsteady Subplinian eruption columns that reached 8–12 km altitude and dispersed tephra to the west and southwest of the volcano and shed pyroclastic density currents. Phreatomagmatic phases, driven by explosive interactions between magma and groundwater, constructed an extensive tephra ring via deposition from ballistic curtains, pyroclastic density currents, and tephra fall. Near-optimal-scaled depth phreatomagmatic explosions (strong and/or shallow) excavated a substantial diatreme beneath the north crater and constructed a substantial tephra ring. This abruptly transitioned to deeper-than-optimal scaled depth explosions (weak and/or deep) that erupted mostly fine ash which was dispersed by dilute pyroclastic density currents and fallout and filled the south crater. At distances of >4 km from the volcano, over a metre of ash and pumice accumulated during the phreatomagmatic phases. The Caldera del Rey volcano provides an instructive study on how interaction between ascending felsic magma and groundwater can modify Subplinian eruptions

Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a universal parenting skills programme in deprived communities : multicentre randomised controlled trial

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness and cost utility of a universally provided early years parenting programme. Design: Multicentre randomised controlled trial with cost-effectiveness analysis. Setting: Early years centres in four deprived areas of South Wales. Participants: Families with children aged between 2 and 4 years. 286 families were recruited and randomly allocated to the intervention or waiting list control. Intervention: The Family Links Nurturing Programme (FLNP), a 10-week course with weekly 2 h facilitated group sessions. Main outcome measures: Negative and supportive parenting, child and parental well-being and costs assessed before the intervention, following the course (3 months) and at 9 months using standardised measures. Results: There were no significant differences in primary or secondary outcomes between trial arms at 3 or 9 months. With ‘+’ indicating improvement, difference in change in negative parenting score at 9 months was +0.90 (95%CI −1.90 to 3.69); in supportive parenting, +0.17 (95%CI −0.61 to 0.94); and 12 of the 17 secondary outcomes showed a non-significant positive effect in the FLNP arm. Based on changes in parental well-being (SF-12), the cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained was estimated to be £34 913 (range 21 485–46 578) over 5 years and £18 954 (range 11 664–25 287) over 10 years. Probability of cost per QALY gained below £30 000 was 47% at 5 years and 57% at 10 years. Attendance was low: 34% of intervention families attended no sessions (n=48); only 47% completed the course (n=68). Also, 19% of control families attended a parenting programme before 9-month follow-up. Conclusions: Our trial has not found evidence of clinical or cost utility for the FLNP in a universal setting. However, low levels of exposure and contamination mean that uncertainty remains. Trial registration: The trial is registered with Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN13919732

Foundations of attention sharing: orienting and responding to attention in term and preterm 5-month-old infants

Attention is the gateway to perceptual, cognitive, and socioemotional development in humans. We observed 104 5-month-old term and preterm infants and their mothers in social interactions to address three questions about the role of maturation in orienting and responding to attention. We used a fine-grained coding system to allow parallel comparisons across infant and maternal orienting, and sequential analysis to evaluate infant and maternal responding to attention. Orienting and responding to attention differed for attention to people versus objects, as did the relations between maturity and attention. We conclude that maturity contributes to orienting and responding to attention and that orienting and responding to attention are specific rather than homogenous. We discuss the implications of these conclusions for future studies of how attention influences cognitive and communicative development

Effects of 5-HT2C, 5-HT1A receptor challenges and modafinil on the initiation and persistence of gambling behaviours

Rationale Problematic patterns of gambling are characterised by loss of control and persistent gambling often to recover losses. However, little is known about the mechanisms that mediate initial choices to begin gambling and then continue to gamble in the face of losing outcomes. Objectives These experiments first assessed gambling and loss-chasing performance under different win/lose probabilities in C57Bl/6 mice, and then investigated the effects of antagonism of 5-HT2CR with SB242084, 5-HT1AR agonism with 8-OH-DPAT and modafinil, a putative cognitive enhancer. Results As seen in humans and other species, mice demonstrated the expected patterns of behaviour as the odds for winning were altered increasing gambling and loss-chasing when winning was more likely. SB242084 decreased the likelihood to initially gamble, but had no effects on subsequent gambling choices in the face of repeated losses. In contrast, 8-OH-DPAT had no effects on choosing to gamble in the first place, but once started 8-OH-DPAT increased gambling choices in a dose-sensitive manner. Modafinil effects were different to the serotonergic drugs in both decreasing the propensity to initiate gambling and chase losses. Conclusions We present evidence for dissociable effects of systemic drug administration on different aspects of gambling behaviour. These data extend and reinforce the importance of serotonergic mechanisms in mediating discrete components of gambling behaviour. They further demonstrate the ability of modafinil to reduce gambling behaviour. Our work using a novel mouse paradigm may be of utility in modelling the complex psychological and neurobiological underpinnings of gambling problems, including the analysis of genetic and environmental factors

Statewide cross-sectional survey of emergency departments\u27 adoption and implementation of the Ohio opioid prescribing guidelines and opioid prescribing practices

Study objective To evaluate the implementation of the Ohio Emergency and Acute Care Facility Opioids and Other Controlled Substances Prescribing Guidelines and their perceived impact on local policies and practice. Methods The study design was a cross-sectional survey of emergency department (ED) medical directors, or appropriate person identified by the hospital, perception of the impact of the Ohio ED Opioid Prescribing Guidelines on their departments practice. All hospitals with an ED in Ohio were contacted throughout October and November 2016. Distribution followed Dillman’s Tailored Design Method, augmented with telephone recruitment. Hospital chief executive officers were contacted when necessary to encourage ED participation. Descriptive statistics were used to assess the impact of opioid prescribing policies on prescribing practices. Results A 92% response rate was obtained (150/163 EDs). In total, 112 (75%) of the respondents stated that their ED has an opioid prescribing policy, is adopting one or is implementing prescribing guidelines without a specific policy. Of these 112 EDs, 81 (72%) based their policy on the Ohio ED Opioid Prescribing Guidelines. The majority of respondents strongly agreed/agreed that the prescribing guidelines have increased the use of the prescription drug monitoring programme (86%) and have reduced inappropriate opioid prescribing (71%). Conclusion This study showed that the Ohio ED Opioid Prescribing Guidelines have been widely disseminated and that the majority of EDs in Ohio are using them to develop local policies. The majority of respondents believed that the Ohio opioid prescribing guidelines reduced inappropriate opioid prescribing. However, prescribing practices still varied greatly between EDs

An investigation into aripiprazole's partial D(2) agonist effects within the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex during working memory in healthy volunteers

Rationale: Working memory impairments in schizophrenia have been attributed to dysfunction of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) which in turn may be due to low DLPFC dopamine innervation. Conventional antipsychotic drugs block DLPFC D2 receptors, and this may lead to further dysfunction and working memory impairments. Aripiprazole is a D2 receptor partial agonist hypothesised to enhance PFC dopamine functioning, possibly improving working memory. Objectives: We probed the implications of the partial D2 receptor agonist actions of aripiprazole within the DLPFC during working memory. Investigations were carried out in healthy volunteers to eliminate confounds of illness or medication status. Aripiprazole’s prefrontal actions were compared with the D2/5-HT2A blocker risperidone to separate aripiprazole’s unique prefrontal D2 agonist actions from its serotinergic and striatal D2 actions that it shares with risperidone. Method: A double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel design was implemented. Participants received a single dose of either 5 mg aripiprazole, 1 mg risperidone or placebo before performing the n-back task whilst undergoing fMRI scanning. Results: Compared with placebo, the aripiprazole group demonstrated enhanced DLPFC activation associated with a trend for improved discriminability (d’) and speeded reaction times. In contrast to aripiprazole’s neural effects, the risperidone group demonstrated a trend for reduced DLPFC recruitment. Unexpectedly, the risperidone group demonstrated similar effects to aripiprazole on d’ and additionally had reduced errors of commission compared with placebo. Conclusion: Aripiprazole has unique DLPFC actions attributed to its prefrontal D2 agonist action. Risperidone’s serotinergic action that results in prefrontal dopamine release may have protected against any impairing effects of its prefrontal D2 blockade

Message Journal, Issue 5: COVID-19 SPECIAL ISSUE Capturing visual insights, thoughts and reflections on 2020/21 and beyond...

If there is a theme running through the Message Covid-19 special issue, it is one of caring. Of our own and others’ resilience and wellbeing, of friendship and community, of students, practitioners and their futures, of social justice, equality and of doing the right thing. The veins of designing with care run through the edition, wide and deep. It captures, not designers as heroes, but those with humble views, exposing the need to understand a diversity of perspectives when trying to comprehend the complexity that Covid-19 continues to generate. As graphic designers, illustrators and visual communicators, contributors have created, documented, written, visualised, reflected, shared, connected and co-created, designed for good causes and re-defined what it is to be a student, an academic and a designer during the pandemic. This poignant period in time has driven us, through isolation, towards new rules of living, and new ways of working; to see and map the world in a different light. A light that is uncertain, disjointed, and constantly being redefined. This Message issue captures responses from the graphic communication design community in their raw state, to allow contributors to communicate their experiences through both their written and visual voice. Thus, the reader can discern as much from the words as the design and visualisations. Through this issue a substantial number of contributions have focused on personal reflection, isolation, fear, anxiety and wellbeing, as well as reaching out to community, making connections and collaborating. This was not surprising in a world in which connection with others has often been remote, and where ‘normal’ social structures of support and care have been broken down. We also gain insight into those who are using graphic communication design to inspire and capture new ways of teaching and learning, developing themselves as designers, educators, and activists, responding to social justice and to do good; gaining greater insight into society, government actions and conspiracy. Introduction: Victoria Squire - Coping with Covid: Community, connection and collaboration: James Alexander & Carole Evans, Meg Davies, Matthew Frame, Chae Ho Lee, Alma Hoffmann, Holly K. Kaufman-Hill, Joshua Korenblat, Warren Lehrer, Christine Lhowe, Sara Nesteruk, Cat Normoyle & Jessica Teague, Kyuha Shim. - Coping with Covid: Isolation, wellbeing and hope: Sadia Abdisalam, Tom Ayling, Jessica Barness, Megan Culliford, Stephanie Cunningham, Sofija Gvozdeva, Hedzlynn Kamaruzzaman, Merle Karp, Erica V. P. Lewis, Kelly Salchow Macarthur, Steven McCarthy, Shelly Mayers, Elizabeth Shefrin, Angelica Sibrian, David Smart, Ane Thon Knutsen, Isobel Thomas, Darryl Westley. - Coping with Covid: Pedagogy, teaching and learning: Bernard J Canniffe, Subir Dey, Aaron Ganci, Elizabeth Herrmann, John Kilburn, Paul Nini, Emily Osborne, Gianni Sinni & Irene Sgarro, Dave Wood, Helena Gregory, Colin Raeburn & Jackie Malcolm. - Coping with Covid: Social justice, activism and doing good: Class Action Collective, Xinyi Li, Matt Soar, Junie Tang, Lisa Winstanley. - Coping with Covid: Society, control and conspiracy: Diana Bîrhală, Maria Borțoi, Patti Capaldi, Tânia A. Cardoso, Peter Gibbons, Bianca Milea, Rebecca Tegtmeyer, Danne Wo

Attention control in preterm and term 5-month-old infants: Cross-task stability increases with gestational age

Cross-task stability refers to performance consistency across different settings and measures of the same construct. Cross-task stability can help us understand developmental processes, including how risks such as preterm birth affect outcomes. We investigated cross-task stability of attention control in 32 preterm and 39 term infants. All infants had the same chronological age at time of testing (5 months) but varied in gestational age at birth (30 to 42 weeks). Infants completed an experimental attention following task with a researcher and a naturalistic play observation with their mothers. Both preterm and term infants demonstrated attention following in the experimental task. Gestational age and flexibility of attention were related: the likelihood of no turn trials decreased with increasing gestational age. To evaluate cross-task stability, we compared attention performance in the experimental and naturalistic settings. Flexible attention shifts on the experimental task were positively related to attention to objects in the naturalistic observation. Furthermore, the association between flexible attention shifts on the experimental task and attention to objects in the naturalistic observation was moderated by gestational age. Our study provides initial evidence that the consolidation of attention control increases with gestational age. These findings highlight the value of comparing experimental and observational measures of attention

Foundations of attention sharing: orienting and responding to attention in term and preterm 5-month-old infants

Attention is the gateway to perceptual, cognitive, and socioemotional development in humans. We observed 104 5-month-old term and preterm infants and their mothers in social interactions to address three questions about the role of maturation in orienting and responding to attention. We used a fine-grained coding system to allow parallel comparisons across infant and maternal orienting, and sequential analysis to evaluate infant and maternal responding to attention. Orienting and responding to attention differed for attention to people versus objects, as did the relations between maturity and attention. We conclude that maturity contributes to orienting and responding to attention and that orienting and responding to attention are specific rather than homogenous. We discuss the implications of these conclusions for future studies of how attention influences cognitive and communicative development