•Actissist is a cognitive behaviour therapy informed smartphone app for psychosis.•ClinTouch is a symptom monitoring app for psychosis.•In a powered RCT, Actissist did not improve psychotic symptoms ...more than clintouch.•Both groups showed improvement across all clinical measures. Both apps were safe.•Early psychosis patients should be given a choice of using digital symptom monitoring or digital intervention tools as part of routine care.
Schizophrenia affects 24 million people worldwide. Digital health interventions drawing on psychological principles have been developed, but their effectiveness remains unclear. This parallel, assessor-blinded, randomized clinical trial aimed to investigate whether a cognitive behaviour therapy-informed digital health intervention (Actissist app) confers added benefit on psychotic symptoms over and above remote symptom monitoring (ClinTouch app). Participants recruited from UK community health services were randomized 1:1 to receive either Actissist plus treatment as usual (TAU) or ClinTouch plus TAU. Eligible participants were adults with schizophrenia-spectrum psychosis within five years of first episode onset meeting a criterion level of positive symptoms severity. The primary outcome was Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) symptoms total score at 12 weeks post-randomization. Intention-to-treat analysis included 172 participants, with 149 participants (86.6 %) providing primary outcome data. Actissist plus TAU was not associated with greater reduction than an active control remote symptom monitoring app (ClinTouch) in PANSS total score at post-randomization. There were no significant effects between groups across secondary measures. There were no serious adverse reactions. Both groups improved on the primary psychotic symptoms measure at primary end-point and on secondary measures over time. The Actissist app is safe but not superior to digital symptom monitoring.
Several models have been developed to evaluate the dynamics of water temperature in open water bodies. However, few models have been successful in predicting the water temperatures of wetlands that ...have significant vegetation coverage. A mechanistic model is presented that estimates the water temperature within surface flow wetlands given basic information on influent flows and water temperature, wetland bathymetry, floating and emergent vegetation plant coverage, and meteorological data. The Heat Source Wetlands (HSW) model presented here was calibrated using data collected from two pilot constructed wetland cells in Salem, OR, USA and a wastewater oxidation pond in Stockton, CA, USA. Overall, the model performed well in predicting the effluent temperatures at these locations with annual root mean squared error values of 0.87–1.69°C tested over a range in temperature gradients (influent minus effluent temperature) of 12.0 to −6.0°C, a range of hydraulic retention times for wetlands (3.2–53 days) and ponds (7.4–27 days), and a wide range of emergent vegetation zone coverage (0–71 percent) under two different climate regimes. Additionally, the model was able to simulate the timing and amplitude of diurnal temperature variations in the CW over two annual cycles by accounting for the advection and dispersion and thermal heat storage within the wetland system, evaluating water and plant canopy energy balances separately, and by simulating the individual energy exchange processes on an hourly or shorter time period. Calibration of the models required local adjustments to the evaporation wind function coefficients to capture latent heat losses and adjustments to simulated water depth within the wetland models to capture the diurnal variations in water temperature. Water temperature dynamics in surface flow wetland systems are of increasing interest in settings where discharges are returned to regulated surface water bodies and the model presented here provides a comprehensive framework within which to evaluate these processes. The model also provides a powerful tool for design of engineered wetland systems when water temperatures are a key aspect of the required wetland system performance.
Prosocial behavior, helping others in need in particular, occurs preferentially in response to the perceived distress of one’s own group members or ingroup. To investigate the development of ingroup ...bias, neural activity during a helping test was analyzed in adolescent and adult rats. Although adults selectively released trapped ingroup members, adolescent rats helped both ingroup and outgroup members, suggesting that ingroup bias emerges in adulthood. Analysis of brain-wide neural activity, indexed by expression of the early-immediate gene c-Fos, revealed increased activity for ingroup members across a broad set of regions previously associated with empathy. Adolescents showed reduced hippocampal and insular activity and increased orbitofrontal cortex activity compared to adults. Non-helper adolescents demonstrated increased amygdala connectivity. These findings demonstrate that biases for group-dependent prosocial behavior develop with age in rats and suggest that specific brain regions contribute to prosocial selectivity, pointing to possible targets for the functional modulation of ingroup bias.
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•Adolescents rats — but not adult rats — helped outgroup members, releasing them from a trap•Neural activity was higher for ingroup members across some regions independent of age•Activity was modulated by age in the insula, hippocampus, hypothalamus, and vOFC•Adolescent “non-openers” showed increased amygdala connectivity
Behavioral neuroscience; Cellular neuroscience;
Individuals with psychosis report favourable attitudes towards psychological interventions delivered via smartphone apps. Evidence for acceptability, safety, feasibility and efficacy is promising but ...in-depth reporting of app engagement in trials is sparse.
To examine how people with psychosis engaged with the cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT)-informed Actissist app over a 12-week intervention period, and to examine factors associated with app engagement.
Secondary data from participants in the intervention arm (n = 24) of a proof-of-concept randomised controlled trial of the Actissist app were analysed. The app prompted participants to engage with app-based CBT-informed material in five domains (voices, socialization, cannabis use, paranoia, perceived criticism) at pseudo-random intervals (three notifications per day, six days per week). Participants could self-initiate use any time. App use was financially incentivised.
Participants responded to 47% of app notifications. Most app engagements (87%) were app-initiated rather than self-initiated. Participants engaged most with the voices domain, then paranoia. Age and employment status were significantly associated with overall app engagement.
Individuals with psychosis engaged well with Actissist, particularly with areas focussing on voice-hearing and paranoia. App-generated reminders successfully prompted app engagement. As financial incentives may have increased app engagement, future studies of non-incentivized engagement in larger samples are needed.
Capillary NMR spectroscopy (CapNMR) was used to characterize 13 new cardenolides and related steroids from a severely mass-limited natural products sample derived from a rare firefly, Lucidota atra. ...These analyses were carried out on only partially purified samples, each containing 20−100 μg of up to three steroids. Compared to other NMR spectroscopic techniques, CapNMR provided an up to 3-fold gain in sensitivity while maintaining very high spectral quality, which was essential for the identification of the L. atra steroids. We show that CapNMR allows for routine 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopic characterization of small molecule samples containing as little as 40 nmol of material.
Protagonists allege that artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionising contemporaneous mindscapes. Here, we authoritatively review the
status quo
of AI and machine learning application in ...irrigated agriculture, evaluating the potential of, and challenges associated with, a wide range of existential AI approaches. We contend that aspiring developers of AI irrigation systems may benefit from human-centred AI, a nascent algorithm that captures diverse end-user views, behaviours and actions, potentially facilitating refinement of proposed systems through iterative stakeholder feedback. AI-guided human–machine collaboration can streamline integration of user needs, allowing customisation towards situational farm management adaptation. Presentation of big data in intuitive, legible and actionable forms for specialists and laypeople also urgently requires attention: here, AI-explainable interpretability may help harness human expertise, enabling end-users to contribute their experience within an AI pipeline for bespoke outputs. Transfer learning holds promise in contextualising place-based AI to agroecological regions, production systems or enterprise mixes, even with limited data inputs. We find that the rate of AI scientific and software development in recent times has outpaced the evolution of adequate legal and institutional regulations, and often social, moral and ethical license to operate, revealing consumer issues associated with data ownership, legitimacy and trust. We opine that AI has great potential to elicit sustainable outcomes in food security, social innovation and environmental stewardship, albeit such potential is more likely to be realised through concurrent development of appropriate ethical, moral and legal dimensions.
The livestock industry accounts for a considerable proportion of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions, and in response, the Australian red meat industry has committed to an aspirational target of ...net-zero emissions by 2030. Increasing soil carbon storage in grazing lands has been identified as one method to help achieve this, while also potentially improving production and provision of other ecosystem services. This review examined the effects of grazing management on soil carbon and factors that drive soil carbon sequestration in Australia. A systematic literature search and meta-analysis was used to compare effects of stocking intensity (stocking rate or utilisation) and stocking method (i.e, continuous, rotational or seasonal grazing systems) on soil organic carbon, pasture herbage mass, plant growth and ground cover. Impacts on below ground biomass, soil nitrogen and soil structure are also discussed.
Overall, no significant impact of stocking intensity or method on soil carbon sequestration in Australia was found, although lower stocking intensity and incorporating periods of rest into grazing systems (rotational grazing) had positive effects on herbage mass and ground cover compared with higher stocking intensity or continuous grazing. Minimal impact of grazing management on pasture growth rate and below-ground biomass has been reported in Australia. However, these factors improved with grazing intensity or rotational grazing in some circumstances.
While there is a lack of evidence in Australia that grazing management directly increases soil carbon, this meta-analysis indicated that grazing management practices have potential to benefit the drivers of soil carbon sequestration by increasing above and below-ground plant production, maintaining a higher residual biomass, and promoting productive perennial pasture species. Specific recommendations for future research and management are provided in the paper.
•Overall, no significant impact of grazing management on soil carbon in Australia.•Grazing intensity and method affects SOC drivers, including biomass and ground cover.•Limited research on impact of grazing on above and below ground plant growth in Australia.•Management to promote plant growth, perennials & legumes, cover and soil health can increase SOC.•Further research on grazing management for SOC sequestration in Australia is required.
Enhanced expression of cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2) in podocytes contributes to glomerular injury in diabetic kidney disease, but some basal level of podocyte COX2 expression might be required to promote ...podocyte attachment and/or survival. To investigate the role of podocyte COX2 expression in diabetic kidney disease, we deleted COX2 specifically in podocytes in a mouse model of Type 1 diabetes mellitus (Akita mice). Podocyte-specific knockout (KO) of COX2 did not affect renal morphology or albuminuria in nondiabetic mice. Albuminuria was significantly increased in wild-type (WT) and KO Akita mice compared with nondiabetic controls, and the increase in albuminuria was significantly greater in KO Akita mice compared with WT Akita mice at both 16 and 20 wk of age. At the 20-wk time point, mesangial expansion was also increased in WT and KO Akita mice compared with nondiabetic animals, and these histologic abnormalities were not improved by KO of COX2. Tubular injury was seen only in diabetic mice, but there were no significant differences between groups. Thus, KO of COX2 enhanced albuminuria and did not improve the histopathologic features of diabetic kidney disease. These data suggest that
) KO of COX2 in podocytes does not ameliorate diabetic kidney disease in Akita mice, and
) some basal level of podocyte COX2 expression in podocytes is necessary to attenuate the adverse effects of diabetes on glomerular filtration barrier function.
Surface Properties of Near-Sun Asteroids Holt, Carrie E.; Knight, Matthew M.; Kelley, Michael S. P. ...
The planetary science journal,
08/2022, Letnik:
3, Številka:
8
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Abstract
Near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) with small perihelion distances reach subsolar temperatures of ≥1000 K. They are hypothesized to undergo “supercatastrophic” disruption, potentially caused by ...near-Sun processes such as thermal cracking, spin-up, meteoroid impacts, and subsurface volatile release, all of which are likely to cause surface alteration, which may change the spectral slope of the surface. We attempted to observe 35 of the 53 known near-Sun asteroids with
q
≤ 0.15 au from 2017 January to 2020 March to search for trends related to near-Sun processes. We report the optical colors and spectral slopes of 22 objects that we successfully observed and the measured rotation periods for three objects. We find the distribution of colors to be overall bluer than the color distribution of NEAs, though there is a large overlap. We attribute the large scatter to unknown dynamical histories and compositions for individual objects, as well as competing surface altering processes. We also investigated potential correlations between colors and other properties (e.g., perihelion distance, Tisserand parameter, rotation period) and searched for evidence of activity. Finally, we have compiled all known physical and dynamical properties of these objects, including probabilistic source regions and dwell times with
q
≤ 0.15 au.
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