Symptoms associated with victimization in patients with schizophrenia and related disorders

Background: Patients with psychoses have an increased risk of becoming victims of violence. Previous studies have suggested that higher symptom levels are associated with a raised risk of becoming a victim of physical violence. There has been, however, no evidence on the type of symptoms that are linked with an increased risk of recent victimization. Methods: Data was taken from two studies on involuntarily admitted patients, one national study in England and an international one in six other European countries. In the week following admission, trained interviewers asked patients whether they had been victims of physical violence in the year prior to admission, and assessed symptoms on the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS). Only patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia or related disorders (ICD-10 F20–29) were included in the analysis which was conducted separately for the two samples. Symptom levels assessed on the BPRS subscales were tested as predictors of victimization. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression models were fitted to estimate adjusted odds ratios. Results: Data from 383 patients in the English sample and 543 patients in the European sample was analysed. Rates of victimization were 37.8% and 28.0% respectively. In multivariable models, the BPRS manic subscale was significantly associated with victimization in both samples. Conclusions: Higher levels of manic symptoms indicate a raised risk of being a victim of violence in involuntary patients with schizophrenia and related disorders. This might be explained by higher activity levels, impaired judgement or poorer self-control in patients with manic symptoms. Such symptoms should be specifically considered in risk assessments

The effects of changes in the order of verbal labels and numerical values on children's scores on attitude and rating scales

Research with adults has shown that variations in verbal labels and numerical scale values on rating scales can affect the responses given. However, few studies have been conducted with children. The study aimed to examine potential differences in children’s responses to Likert-type rating scales according to their anchor points and scale direction, and to see whether or not such differences were stable over time. 130 British children, aged 9 to 11, completed six sets of Likert-type rating scales, presented in four different ways varying the position of positive labels and numerical values. The results showed, both initially and 8-12 weeks later, that presenting a positive label or a high score on the left of a scale led to significantly higher mean scores than did the other variations. These findings indicate that different arrangements of rating scales can produce different results which has clear implications for the administration of scales with children

Photosynthetic Limitation as a Factor Influencing Yield in Highbush Blueberries (<i>Vaccinium Corymbosum</i>) Grown in a Northern European Environment

Published evidence indicates that nearly 60% of blueberry-producing countries experience yield instability. Yield is a complex trait determined by genetic and environmental factors. Here, using physiological and biochemical approaches, we tested the hypothesis that yield instability results from year-to-year environmental variation that limits carbon assimilation, storage and partitioning. The data indicate that fruit development depends primarily on the daily production of non-structural carbohydrates by leaves, and there is no accumulation of a starch buffer to allow continuous ripening under conditions limiting for photosynthesis. Photosynthesis was saturated at moderate light irradiance and this was mainly due to stomatal and biochemical limitations. In a dynamic light environment, photosynthesis was further limited by slow stomatal response to increasing light. Finally, labelling with 13 CO 2 at specific stages of fruit development revealed a relatively even distribution of newly assimilated carbon between stems, roots and fruits, suggesting that the fruit is not a strong sink. We conclude that a significant component of yield variability results from limitations in photosynthetic efficiency that are compounded by an inability to accumulate starch reserves in blueberry storage tissues in a typical northern European environment. This work informs techniques for improving agronomic management and indicates key traits required for yield stability in such environments.</p

Loss of chromosome Y leads to down regulation of KDM5D and KDM6C epigenetic modifiers in clear cell renal cell carcinoma

Recent genomic studies of sporadic clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) have uncovered novel driver genes and pathways. Given the unequal incidence rates among men and women (male:female incidence ratio approaches 2:1), we compared the genome-wide distribution of the chromosomal abnormalities in both sexes. We observed a higher frequency for the somatic recurrent chromosomal copy number variations (CNVs) of autosomes in male subjects, whereas somatic loss of chromosome X was detected exclusively in female patients (17.1%). Furthermore, somatic loss of chromosome Y (LOY) was detected in about 40% of male subjects, while mosaic LOY was detected in DNA isolated from peripheral blood in 9.6% of them, and was the only recurrent CNV in constitutional DNA samples. LOY in constitutional DNA, but not in tumor DNA was associated with older age. Amongst Y-linked genes that were downregulated due to LOY, KDM5D and KDM6C epigenetic modifiers have functionally-similar X-linked homologs whose deficiency is involved in ccRCC progression. Our findings establish somatic LOY as a highly recurrent genetic defect in ccRCC that leads to downregulation of hitherto unsuspected epigenetic factors, and suggest that different mechanisms may underlie the somatic and mosaic LOY observed in tumors and peripheral blood, respectively

Childhood bullying, paranoid thinking, and the misappraisal of social threat: trouble at school

Background:Experiences of bullying predict the development of paranoia in school-age adolescents. While many instances of psychotic phenomena are transitory, maintained victimization can lead to increasingly distressing paranoid thinking. Furthermore, paranoid thinkers perceive threat in neutral social stimuli and are vigilant for environmental risk. Aims:The present paper investigated the association between different forms of bullying and paranoid thinking, and the extent to which school-age paranoid thinkers overestimate threat in interpersonal situations. Methods: Two hundred and thirty participants, aged between eleven and fourteen, were recruited from one secondary school in the UK. Participants completed a series of questionnaires hosted on the Bristol Online Survey tool. All data were collected in a classroom setting in quiet and standardized conditions. Results: A significant and positive relationship was found between experiences of bullying and paranoid thinking: greater severity of bullying predicted more distressing paranoid thinking. Further, paranoid thinking mediated the relationship between bullying and overestimation of threat in neutral social stimuli. Conclusion: Exposure to bullying is associated with distressing paranoid thinking and subsequent misappraisal of threat. As paranoid thinkers experience real and overestimated threat, the phenomena may persist

Ecophysiological modeling of photosynthesis and carbon allocation to the tree stem in the boreal forest

A better understanding of the coupling between photosynthesis and carbon allocation in the boreal forest, together with its associated environmental factors and mechanistic rules, is crucial to accurately predict boreal forest carbon stocks and fluxes, which are significant components of the global carbon budget. Here, we adapted the MAIDEN ecophysiological forest model to consider important processes for boreal tree species, such as nonlinear acclimation of photosynthesis to temperature changes, canopy development as a function of previous-year climate variables influencing bud formation and the temperature dependence of carbon partition in summer. We tested these modifications in the eastern Canadian taiga using black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P.) gross primary production and ring width data. MAIDEN explains 90% of the observed daily gross primary production variability, 73% of the annual ring width variability and 20-30% of its high-frequency component (i.e., when decadal trends are removed). The positive effect on stem growth due to climate warming over the last several decades is well captured by the model. In addition, we illustrate how we improve the model with each introduced model adaptation and compare the model results with those of linear response functions. Our results demonstrate that MAIDEN simulates robust relationships with the most important climate variables (those detected by classical response-function analysis) and is a powerful tool for understanding how environmental factors interact with black spruce ecophysiol-ogy to influence present-day and future boreal forest carbon fluxes.Peer reviewe

Adolescent victimization and early-adult psychopathology:Approaching causal inference using a longitudinal twin study to rule out non-causal explanations

Background: Previous research has reported associations between victimization exposure and many psychiatric conditions. However, causality remains controversial. Methods: Within the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study, we tested whether 7 types of adolescent victimization increased risk of multiple psychiatric conditions and approached causal inference by systematically ruling out non-causal explanations. Results: Longitudinal within-individual analyses showed that victimization was followed by increased mental health problems over a childhood baseline of emotional/behavioral problems. Discordant-twin analyses showed that victimization increased risk of mental health problems independent of family background and genetic risk. Both childhood and adolescent victimization made unique contributions to risk. Victimization predicted heightened generalized liability (the “p-factor”) to multiple psychiatric spectra, including internalizing, externalizing, and thought disorders. Conclusion: Adolescence is the peak age for both victimization and mental disorder onset. Victimization may be a preventable cause of disorder. Results recommend violence-reduction and identification and treatment of adolescent victims to reduce psychiatric burden. <br/

Can a warm and supportive adult protect against mental health problems amongst children with experience of adversity? A twin-difference study

Background Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with mental health problems, but many children who experience ACEs do not develop such difficulties. A warm and supportive adult presence in childhood is associated with a lower likelihood of developing mental health problems after exposure to ACEs. However, it is unclear whether this association is causal, as previous research has not accounted for genetic and environmental confounding. Methods We used the twin-difference design to strengthen causal inference about whether a warm and supportive adult presence protects children exposed to ACEs from mental health problems. Participants were from the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study, a UK population-representative birth cohort of 2,232 same-sex twins. ACEs were measured prospectively from ages 5 to 12. Maternal warmth was assessed at ages 5 and 10 through maternal speech samples. Adult support was assessed through child reports at age 12. Mental health problems were assessed through interviews at age 12 with parents and teachers and participants at age 18. Results Among children exposed to ACEs, those who experienced greater maternal warmth and adult support had lower levels of mental health problems at ages 12 and 18. In monozygotic twin-difference analyses, the protective effects of maternal warmth and adult support on mental health were attenuated by 70% for maternal warmth and 81% for adult support, compared to phenotypic analyses. Twins who experienced greater maternal warmth and adult support had minimal or no difference in mental health compared to their co-twins, concordant for ACE exposure. Conclusions The apparent protective effect of a warm, supportive adult against mental health problems following ACEs is largely explained by genetic and environmental confounding. This suggests that interventions which boost maternal warmth and adult support should be supplemented by components addressing wider family environments and heritable vulnerabilities in children exposed to adversity, to improve mental health

The relationship between type, timing and duration of exposure to adverse childhood experiences and adolescent self-harm and depression: findings from three UK prospective population-based cohorts

BACKGROUND: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are well-established risk factors for self-harm and depression. However, despite their high comorbidity, there has been little focus on the impact of developmental timing and the duration of exposure to ACEs on co-occurring self-harm and depression. METHODS: Data were utilised from over 22,000 children and adolescents participating in three UK cohorts, followed up longitudinally for 14-18 years: the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) and the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study. Multinomial logistic regression models estimated associations between each ACE type and a four-category outcome: no self-harm or depression, self-harm alone, depression alone and self-harm with co-occurring depression. A structured life course modelling approach was used to examine whether the accumulation (duration) of exposure to each ACE, or a critical period (timing of ACEs) had the strongest effects on self-harm and depression in adolescence. RESULTS: The majority of ACEs were associated with co-occurring self-harm and depression, with consistent findings across cohorts. The importance of timing and duration of ACEs differed across ACEs and across cohorts. For parental mental health problems, longer duration of exposure was strongly associated with co-occurring self-harm and depression in both ALSPAC (adjusted OR: 1.18, 95% CI: 1.10-1.25) and MCS (1.18, 1.11-1.26) cohorts. For other ACEs in ALSPAC, exposure in middle childhood was most strongly associated with co-occurring self-harm and depression, and ACE occurrence in early childhood and adolescence was more important in the MCS. CONCLUSIONS: Efforts to mitigate the impact of ACEs should start in early life with continued support throughout childhood, to prevent long-term exposure to ACEs contributing to risk of self-harm and depression in adolescence