Summary
Objective
To quantify the experience of discrimination, domestic violence, abuse, and other stressful life events in people with epilepsy in comparison with the general population and people ...with other chronic conditions. To assess whether any excess relative burden of these adversities could explain the higher rates of depression in people with epilepsy.
Methods
The Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey 2007 used comprehensive interviews with 7,403 individuals living in private residences in England. Doctor‐diagnosed epilepsy and other chronic conditions were established by self‐report. Discrimination, domestic violence, physical and sexual abuse, and other stressful life events were assessed using computerized self‐completion and a face‐to‐face interview, respectively.
Results
People with epilepsy were sevenfold more likely to have reported experiencing discrimination due to health problems (adjusted odds ratio OR 7.1; 95% confidence interval CI 3.1–16.3), than the general population without epilepsy. This estimate was substantially greater in people with epilepsy than for people with other chronic conditions. People with epilepsy also had greater odds of experiencing domestic violence and sexual abuse than the general population, although these associations were also found in people with other chronic conditions. There was less evidence of an association between epilepsy and a history of physical abuse or having a greater burden of other stressful life events. In exploratory analyses, assuming they lie on the causal pathway, discrimination, domestic violence, and sexual abuse explained 42.7% of the total effect of the relationship between epilepsy and depression or anxiety disorders.
Significance
People with epilepsy can face a range of psychosocial adversities and extensively report feeling discriminated against as compared to the general population. In addition, if confirmed in longitudinal studies, the results suggest that these psychosocial adversities may have a significant role in the development of psychiatric comorbidity and may be targets for future interventions.
Anxiety is common in children with ASD; however, the burden of specific anxiety disorders for adults with ASD is under-researched. Using the Stockholm Youth Cohort, we compared anxiety disorder ...diagnoses among autistic adults (n = 4049), with or without intellectual disability, and population controls (n = 217,645). We conducted additional sibling analyses. Anxiety disorders were diagnosed in 20.1% of adults with ASD compared with 8.7% of controls (RR = 2.62 95% CI 2.47–2.79), with greatest risk for autistic people without intellectual disability. Rates of almost all individual anxiety disorders were raised, notably obsessive–compulsive disorder and phobic anxiety disorders. Anxiety disorders were more common in full siblings and half-siblings of people with ASD. The implications of this are explored.
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common developmental disorder, often persisting into adulthood. Whilst medication is first-line treatment for ADHD, there is a need for ...evidence-based non-pharmacological treatment options for adults with ADHD who are either still experiencing significant symptoms or for those who have made the informed choice not to start medication.
We systematically searched PsycINFO, MEDLINE (Ovid), EMBASE, CINAHL and CENTRAL for randomised controlled trials of non-pharmacological treatments for ADHD in adults. After screening of titles and abstracts, full text articles were reviewed, data extracted and bias assessed using a study proforma.
There were 32 eligible studies with the largest number of studies assessing cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). CBT consisted of either group, internet or individual therapy.
The majority found an improvement in ADHD symptoms with CBT treatment. Additionally, mindfulness and cognitive remediation have evidence as effective interventions for the core symptoms of ADHD and there is evidence for the use of group dialectical behavioural therapy and hypnotherapy. However, evidence for these is weaker due to small numbers of participants and limitations due to the lack of suitable control conditions, and a high risk of bias.
AbstractA new four-bed unit was opened in Bristol, UK, in 2014, for people detained under section 136 of the Mental Health Act. Police bring individuals posing a risk to themselves or others to a ...Place of Safety (PoS) in order to receive a mental health assessment. Individuals may be held for up to 72 hours, but cannot receive treatment against their will, unless assessed as lacking the capacity to refuse treatment. Issues requiring medical input arose in more than a third of patients, yet there was little guidance for trainees around the PoS.We conducted a survey which confirmed that robust clinical guidance was needed for junior doctors around medical assistance in this unique environment. We identified specific concerns around patient safety in relation to alcohol withdrawal, uncertainties around legislation and lack of clarity of who to call out of hours. Trainees felt they were working outside of their expertise.We collaborated with a variety of professionals to produce clinical guidance in line with best evidence, and made this easily accessible. We also gained a consensus that more experienced core trainees (SHOs) in Psychiatry should be the first point of contact.We then conducted a survey in June 2015, and found that doctors covering the PoS now felt there was sufficient guidance on most clinical scenarios, 100% consensus on who to contact and improved confidence in their ability to manage issues arising.In August 2015 we held an informal training session for the new intake of trainees on the rota. A subsequent survey revealed similarly positive results.Through this project, we were able to identify defects in a system, provide needed guidance to enable safer and more equitable care to a vulnerable group, and foster closer collaboration between junior doctors and managers in the design and use of services.
Abstract We present a 400–800 MHz polarimetric analysis of 128 nonrepeating fast radio bursts (FRBs) from the first CHIME/FRB baseband catalog, increasing the total number of FRB sources with ...polarization properties by a factor of ∼3. A total of 89 FRBs have >6 σ linearly polarized detections, 29 FRBs fall below this significance threshold and are deemed linearly unpolarized, and for 10 FRBs, the polarization data are contaminated by instrumental polarization. For the 89 polarized FRBs, we find Faraday rotation measure (RM) amplitudes, after subtracting approximate Milky Way contributions, in the range 0.5–1160 rad m −2 with a median of 53.8 rad m −2 . Most nonrepeating FRBs in our sample have RMs consistent with Milky Way–like host galaxies, and their linear polarization fractions range from ≤10% to 100% with a median of 63%. We see marginal evidence that nonrepeating FRBs have more constraining lower limits than repeating FRBs for the host electron-density-weighted line of sight magnetic field strength. We classify the nonrepeating FRB polarization position angle (PA) profiles into four archetypes: (i) single component with constant PA (57% of the sample), (ii) single component with variable PA (10%), (iii) multiple components with a single-constant PA (22%), and (iv) multiple components with different or variable PAs (11%). We see no evidence for population-wide frequency-dependent depolarization, and, therefore, the spread in the distribution of fractional linear polarization is likely intrinsic to the FRB emission mechanism. Finally, we present a novel method to derive redshift lower limits for polarized FRBs without host galaxy identification and test this method on 20 FRBs with independently measured redshifts.
Abstract
FRB 20180916B is a repeating fast radio burst (FRB) with a 16.3 day periodicity in its activity. In this study, we present morphological properties of 60 FRB 20180916B bursts detected by ...CHIME/FRB between 2018 August and 2021 December. We recorded raw voltage data for 45 of these bursts, enabling microseconds time resolution in some cases. We studied variation of spectro-temporal properties with time and activity phase. We find that the variation in dispersion measure (DM) is ≲1 pc cm
−3
and that there is burst-to-burst variation in scattering time estimates ranging from ∼0.16 to over 2 ms, with no discernible trend with activity phase for either property. Furthermore, we find no DM and scattering variability corresponding to the recent change in rotation measure from the source, which has implications for the immediate environment of the source. We find that FRB 20180916B has thus far shown no epochs of heightened activity as have been seen in other active repeaters by CHIME/FRB, with its burst count consistent with originating from a Poissonian process. We also observe no change in the value of the activity period over the duration of our observations and set a 1
σ
upper limit of 1.5 × 10
−4
day day
−1
on the absolute period derivative. Finally, we discuss constraints on progenitor models yielded by our results, noting that our upper limits on changes in scattering and DM as a function of phase do not support models invoking a massive binary companion star as the origin of the 16.3 day periodicity.
Abstract Localizing fast radio bursts (FRBs) to their host galaxies is an essential step to better understanding their origins and using them as cosmic probes. The Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping ...Experiment (CHIME)/FRB Outriggers program aims to add very long baseline interferometry localization capabilities to CHIME, such that FRBs may be localized to tens of milliarcsecond precision at the time of their discovery, more than sufficient for host galaxy identification. The first-built outrigger telescope is the Outrigger (KKO), located 66 km west of CHIME. Cross-correlating KKO with CHIME can achieve arcsecond precision along the baseline axis while avoiding the worst effects of the ionosphere. Since the CHIME–KKO baseline is mostly east/west, this improvement is mostly in right ascension. This paper presents measurements of KKO’s performance throughout its commissioning phase, as well as a summary of its design and function. We demonstrate KKO’s capabilities as a standalone instrument by producing full-sky images, mapping the angular and frequency structure of the primary beam, and measuring feed positions. To demonstrate the localization capabilities of the CHIME–KKO baseline, we collected five separate observations each, for a set of 20 bright pulsars, and aimed to measure their positions to within 5″. All of these pulses were successfully localized to within this specification. The next two outriggers are expected to be commissioned in 2024 and will enable subarcsecond localizations for approximately hundreds of FRBs each year.
Abstract In 2021, a catalog of 536 fast radio bursts (FRBs) detected with the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) radio telescope was released by the CHIME/FRB Collaboration. This ...large collection of bursts, observed with a single instrument and uniform selection effects, has advanced our understanding of the FRB population. Here we update the results for 140 of these FRBs for which channelized raw voltage (“baseband”) data are available. With the voltages measured by the telescope’s antennas, it is possible to maximize the telescope sensitivity in any direction within the primary beam, an operation called “beamforming.” This allows us to increase the signal-to-noise ratios of the bursts and to localize them to subarcminute precision. The improved localizations are also used to correct the beam response of the instrument and to measure fluxes and fluences with an ∼10% uncertainty. Additionally, the time resolution is increased by 3 orders of magnitude relative to that in the first CHIME/FRB catalog, and, applying coherent dedispersion, burst morphologies can be studied in detail. Polarization information is also available for the full sample of 140 FRBs, providing an unprecedented data set to study the polarization properties of the population. We release the baseband data beamformed to the most probable position of each FRB. These data are analyzed in detail in a series of accompanying papers.
We present a 400-800 MHz polarimetric analysis of 128 non-repeating fast radio bursts (FRBs) from the first CHIME/FRB baseband catalog, increasing the total number of FRB sources with polarization ...properties by a factor of ~3. Of the 128 sources, 89 FRBs have >6\({\sigma}\) linearly polarized detections, 29 FRBs fall below this significance threshold and are deemed linearly unpolarized, and for 10 FRBs the polarization data are contaminated by instrumental polarization. For the 89 polarized FRBs, we find Faraday rotation measure (RM) amplitudes, after subtracting approximate Milky Way contributions, in the range 0.5-1160 rad m\(^{-2}\) with a median of 53.8 rad m\(^{-2}\). Most non-repeating FRBs in our sample have RMs consistent with Milky Way-like host galaxies and their linear polarization fractions range from \({\leq}\)10% to 100% with a median of 63%. The non-repeater RMs and linear polarization fraction distributions are consistent with those of repeating FRBs. We see marginal evidence that non-repeating FRBs have more constraining lower limits than repeating FRBs for the host electron-density-weighted line-of-sight magnetic field strength. We classify the non-repeating FRB polarization position angle (PA) profiles into four archetypes: (i) single component with constant PA (57% of the sample), (ii) single component with variable PA (10%), (iii) multiple components with a single constant PA (22%), and (iv) multiple components with different or variable PAs (11%). We see no evidence for population-wide frequency-dependent depolarization and, therefore, the spread in the distribution of fractional linear polarization is likely intrinsic to the FRB emission mechanism.
We present the discovery of twelve thus far non-repeating fast radio burst (FRB) sources, detected by the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) telescope. These sources were selected ...from a database comprising of order \(10^3\) CHIME/FRB full-array raw voltage data recordings, based on their exceptionally high brightness and complex morphology. Our study examines the time-frequency characteristics of these bursts, including drifting, microstructure, and periodicities. The events in this sample display a variety of unique drifting phenomenologies that deviate from the linear negative drifting phenomenon seen in many repeating FRBs, and motivate a possible new framework for classifying drifting archetypes. Additionally, we detect microstructure features of duration \(\lesssim\) 50 \(\mu s\) in seven events, with some as narrow as \(\approx\) 7 \(\mu s\). We find no evidence of significant periodicities. Furthermore, we report the polarization characteristics of seven events, including their polarization fractions and Faraday rotation measures (RMs). The observed \(|\mathrm{RM}|\) values span a wide range of \(17.24(2)\) - \(328.06(2) \mathrm{~rad~m}^{-2}\), with linear polarization fractions between \(0.340(1)\) - \(0.946(3)\). The morphological properties of the bursts in our sample appear broadly consistent with predictions from both relativistic shock and magnetospheric models of FRB emission, as well as propagation through discrete ionized plasma structures. We address these models and discuss how they can be tested using our improved understanding of morphological archetypes.
PDF
