Evidence, and replication thereof, that molecular-genetic and environmental risks for psychosis impact through an affective pathway

Background There is evidence that environmental and genetic risk factors for schizophrenia spectrum disorders are transdiagnostic and mediated in part through a generic pathway of affective dysregulation. Methods We analysed to what degree the impact of schizophrenia polygenic risk (PRS-SZ) and childhood adversity (CA) on psychosis outcomes was contingent on co-presence of affective dysregulation, defined as significant depressive symptoms, in (i) NEMESIS-2 (n = 6646), a representative general population sample, interviewed four times over nine years and (ii) EUGEI (n = 4068) a sample of patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder, the siblings of these patients and controls. Results The impact of PRS-SZ on psychosis showed significant dependence on co-presence of affective dysregulation in NEMESIS-2 [relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI): 1.01, p = 0.037] and in EUGEI (RERI = 3.39, p = 0.048). This was particularly evident for delusional ideation (NEMESIS-2: RERI = 1.74, p = 0.003; EUGEI: RERI = 4.16, p = 0.019) and not for hallucinatory experiences (NEMESIS-2: RERI = 0.65, p = 0.284; EUGEI: -0.37, p = 0.547). A similar and stronger pattern of results was evident for CA (RERI delusions and hallucinations: NEMESIS-2: 3.02, p < 0.001; EUGEI: 6.44, p < 0.001; RERI delusional ideation: NEMESIS-2: 3.79, p < 0.001; EUGEI: 5.43, p = 0.001; RERI hallucinatory experiences: NEMESIS-2: 2.46, p < 0.001; EUGEI: 0.54, p = 0.465). Conclusions The results, and internal replication, suggest that the effects of known genetic and non-genetic risk factors for psychosis are mediated in part through an affective pathway, from which early states of delusional meaning may arise

Adaptive Optics based on Liquid Total Internal Re?ection Mirrors

This thesis investigates a novel deformable mirror that works on the basis of the electrostatic deformation of a liquid surface. The liquid mirror allows large surface displacements, a large number of actuators, and the modification of its properties, while at the same time the mirror design is simple and may be realized without sophisticated technology. The mirror is capable of dynamic wavefront correction, fine imaging, and spatial light modulation. The mirror is demonstrated to be a low-cost versatile tool for Adaptive Optics that can be implemented for less than 100 Euro.Electronic InstrumentationElectrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Scienc

Characterization and closed-loop performance of a liquid mirror adaptive optical system

A deformable mirror based on the principle of total internal reflection of light from an electrostatically deformed liquid–air interface was realized and used to perform closed-loop adaptive optical (AO) correction on a collimated laser beam aberrated by a rotating phase disk. Equations describing the resonant and oscillatory behavior of the liquid system were obtained and applied to the system under consideration. Characterization of the mirror included open- and closed-loop frequency responses, determination of rise times, the damping times of the liquid, and the influence of liquid surface motion in the absence of external optical aberrations. The performance of the AO system was determined for static and dynamic aberrations for various sets of system parameters. The predictions of the general expressions were compared to the results of the experimental realization and were found to be in good agreement.MicroelectronicsElectrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Scienc

Characterization and closed-loop AO performance of a liquid deformable mirror

Closed-loop adaptive optical correction using a deformable mirror based on the total internal reflection (TIR) from an electrostatically deformed liquid-air interface was performed on a collimated beam of a HeNe-laser that was aberrated by a rotating phase disk. The frequency response of the system was measured and the influence of liquid surface motion in absence of external optical aberrations on the liquid mirror was characterized. The performance of the AO system was determined for static and dynamic aberrations for various sets of system parametersMicroelectronicsElectrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Scienc