Rationale
Previous studies on psychotropic drugs prescribing in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) were from the USA or the UK. However, these studies may not be generalizable to other countries. There ...is a need to understand the extent of psychopharmacological prescribing for ASD treatment at a multinational level to identify areas of prescribing which lack evidence.
Methods
We used the IMS Prescribing Insights database to investigate psychotropic drugs prescribing patterns for ASD treatment in children and adults in 2010–2012. Data were obtained from Europe (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and UK), South America (Mexico and Brazil), North America (Canada and USA) and Asia (Japan).
Results
North American countries have the highest prescription rates, followed by the European and South American countries. Prescribing rates were higher in children compared to adults in individual countries. The most commonly prescribed drug for ASD was risperidone in young people (except in UK and Japan). In the UK, methylphenidate (34 %) was the most commonly prescribed for young people and haloperidol (44.1 %) in Japan. In adults, the most commonly prescribed drug class was antipsychotics and particularly risperidone (thioridazine and ziprasidone were the most prescribed antipsychotics in Brazil and USA, respectively).
Conclusion
There is variation in medication prescription for people with ASD among countries, which may be attributable to diagnostic criteria, clinical guidelines or health care systems. However, there is a lack of evidence of efficacy and safety for many psychotropic drugs prescribed for people with ASD. Research is needed to bridge the evidence gaps in prescribing.
We have conducted a Galactic plane survey of methanol masers at 6668 MHz using a seven-beam receiver on the Parkes telescope. Here we present results from the first part, which provides sensitive ...unbiased coverage of a large region around the Galactic Centre. Details are given for 183 methanol maser sites in the longitude range 345° through the Galactic Centre to 6°. Within 6° of the Galactic Centre, we found 88 maser sites, of which more than half (48) are new discoveries. The masers are confined to a narrow Galactic latitude range, indicative of many sources at the Galactic Centre distance and beyond, and confined to a thin disc population; there is no high-latitude population that might be ascribed to the Galactic bulge. Within 2° of the Galactic Centre the maser velocities all lie between −60 and +77 km s−1, a range much smaller than the 540 km s−1 range observed in CO. Elsewhere, the maser with highest positive velocity (+107 km s−1) occurs, surprisingly, near longitude 355° and is probably attributable to the Galactic bar. The maser with the most negative velocity (−127 km s−1) is near longitude 346°, within the longitude–velocity locus of the near side of the ‘3-kpc arm’. It has the most extreme velocity of a clear population of masers associated with the near and far sides of the 3-kpc arm. Closer to the Galactic Centre the maser space density is generally low, except within 0.25 kpc of the Galactic Centre itself, the ‘Galactic Centre zone’, where it is 50 times higher, which is hinted at by the longitude distribution, and confirmed by the unusual velocities.
The emergence of the H7N9 influenza virus in humans in Eastern China has raised concerns that a new influenza pandemic could occur. Here, we used a ferret model to evaluate the infectivity and ...transmissibility of A/Shanghai/2/2013 (SH2), a human H7N9 virus isolate. This virus replicated in the upper and lower respiratory tracts of the ferrets and was shed at high titers for 6 to 7 days, with ferrets showing relatively mild clinical signs. SH2 was efficiently transmitted between ferrets via direct contact, but less efficiently by airborne exposure. Pigs were productively infected by SH2 and shed virus for 6 days but were unable to transmit the virus to naïve pigs or ferrets. Under appropriate conditions, human-to-human transmission of the H7N9 virus may be possible.
Reducing the dimensionality of three-dimensional hybrid metal halide perovskites can improve their optoelectronic properties. Here, we show that the third-order optical nonlinearity, n
, of hybrid ...lead iodide perovskites is enhanced in the two-dimensional Ruddlesden-Popper series, (CH
(CH
)
NH
)
(CH
NH
)
Pb
I
(n = 1-4), where the layer number (n) is engineered for bandgap tuning from E
= 1.60 eV (n = ∞; bulk) to 2.40 eV (n = 1). Despite the unfavorable relation, Formula: see text, strong quantum confinement causes these two-dimensional perovskites to exhibit four times stronger third harmonic generation at mid-infrared when compared with the three-dimensional counterpart, (CH
NH
)PbI
. Surprisingly, however, the impact of dimensional reduction on two-photon absorption, which is the Kramers-Kronig conjugate of n
, is rather insignificant as demonstrated by broadband two-photon spectroscopy. The concomitant increase of bandgap and optical nonlinearity is truly remarkable in these novel perovskites, where the former increases the laser-induced damage threshold for high-power nonlinear optical applications.Hybrid metal halide perovskites can exhibit improved optoelectronic properties when their dimensionality is reduced. Here, Saouma et al. study the enhancement of third-order nonlinearities in two-dimensional lead iodide perovskites in the Ruddlesden-Popper series.
The neurobiological underpinnings of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are diverse and likely multifactorial. One possible mechanism is increased oxidative stress leading to altered neurodevelopment and ...brain function. However, this hypothesis has mostly been tested in post-mortem studies. So far, available in vivo studies in autistic individuals have reported no differences in glutathione (GSH) levels in frontal, occipital, and subcortical regions. However, these studies were limited by the technically challenging quantification of GSH, the main brain antioxidant molecule. This study aimed to overcome previous studies' limitations by using a GSH-tailored spectroscopy sequence and optimised quantification methodology to provide clarity on GSH levels in autistic adults. We used spectral editing proton-magnetic resonance spectroscopy (.sup.1 H-MRS) combined with linear combination model fitting to quantify GSH in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC) and medial occipital cortex (mOCC) of autistic and non-autistic adults (male and female). We compared GSH levels between groups. We also examined correlations between GSH and current autism symptoms, measured using the Autism Quotient (AQ). Data were available from 31 adult autistic participants (24 males, 7 females) and 40 non-autistic participants (21 males, 16 females); the largest sample to date. The GSH levels did not differ between groups in either region. No correlations with AQ were observed. GSH levels as measured using .sup.1 H-MRS are unaltered in the DMPFC and mOCC regions of autistic adults, suggesting that oxidative stress in these cortical regions is not a marked neurobiological signature of ASD.
Photosynthesis makes use of sunlight to convert carbon dioxide into useful biomass and is vital for life on Earth. Crucial components for the photosynthetic process are antenna proteins, which absorb ...light and transmit the resultant excitation energy between molecules to a reaction centre. The efficiency of these electronic energy transfers has inspired much work on antenna proteins isolated from photosynthetic organisms to uncover the basic mechanisms at play. Intriguingly, recent work has documented that light-absorbing molecules in some photosynthetic proteins capture and transfer energy according to quantum-mechanical probability laws instead of classical laws at temperatures up to 180 K. This contrasts with the long-held view that long-range quantum coherence between molecules cannot be sustained in complex biological systems, even at low temperatures. Here we present two-dimensional photon echo spectroscopy measurements on two evolutionarily related light-harvesting proteins isolated from marine cryptophyte algae, which reveal exceptionally long-lasting excitation oscillations with distinct correlations and anti-correlations even at ambient temperature. These observations provide compelling evidence for quantum-coherent sharing of electronic excitation across the 5-nm-wide proteins under biologically relevant conditions, suggesting that distant molecules within the photosynthetic proteins are ‘wired’ together by quantum coherence for more efficient light-harvesting in cryptophyte marine algae.
•Fruit flavor, but not tobacco flavor, enhances e-liquid consumption and preference.•The nicotine-free flavored e-liquid is not preferred over nicotine alone.•Conditioning rewarding and aversive ...effects are equal between nicotine and e-liquid.
The use of electronic cigarettes has increased over the past decade. To determine how the abuse liability of electronic cigarette liquids (e-liquids) differs from nicotine alone, and to determine the impact of flavor, we compared nicotine-containing fruit- and tobacco-flavored e-liquids, and their nicotine-free versions, to nicotine alone in mouse models of oral consumption, reward and aversion.
Adult male C57BL/6 J mice voluntarily consumed oral nicotine, equivalent nicotine concentrations of fruit- and tobacco-flavored e-liquid, and equivalent dilutions of the nicotine-free versions in 2-bottle choice tests. Conditioned place preference and place aversion were assessed with peripherally administered e-liquids or nicotine. Serum nicotine and cotinine levels were measured after subcutaneous injections of e-liquid or nicotine.
Mice showed higher consumption and preference for the fruit-flavored e-liquid compared with nicotine alone. This increase was not due to the flavor itself as consumption of the nicotine-free fruit-flavored e-liquid was not elevated until the highest concentration tested. The increased consumption and preference were not observed with the tobacco-flavored e-liquid. The conditioned place preference, place aversion and nicotine pharmacokinetics of the fruit-flavored e-liquid were not significantly different from nicotine alone.
Our data suggest that fruit, but not tobacco flavor, increased the oral consumption of e-liquid compared with nicotine alone. Moreover, this enhancement was not due to increased consumption of the flavor itself, altered rewarding or aversive properties after peripheral administration, or altered pharmacokinetics. This flavor-specific enhancement suggests that some flavors may lead to higher nicotine intake and increased use of e-liquids compared with nicotine alone.
Highlights • LPS resulted in impairment of sensorimotor behaviors in neonatal rats. • LPS caused nitrosative and oxidative stress damages in neonatal rat brain. • Melatonin attenuated LPS-induced ...neurobehavioral disturbance in neonatal rats. • Melatonin protects against LPS-induced stress damages in neonatal rat brain.
Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) can be used to investigate cerebral structural connectivity in never-medicated individuals with first-episode schizophrenia.
Subjects with first-episode schizophrenia ...according to DSM-IV-R who had never been exposed to antipsychotic medication (n=25) and healthy controls (n=26) were recruited. Groups were matched for age, gender, best parental socio-economic status and ethnicity. All subjects underwent DTI and structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. Voxel-based analysis was performed to investigate brain regions where fractional anisotropy (FA) values differed significantly between groups. A confirmatory region-of-interest (ROI) analysis of FA scores was performed in which regions were placed blind to group membership.
In patients, FA values significantly lower than those in healthy controls were located in the left fronto-occipital fasciculus, left inferior longitudinal fasciculus, white matter adjacent to right precuneus, splenium of corpus callosum, right posterior limb of internal capsule, white matter adjacent to right substantia nigra, and left cerebral peduncle. ROI analysis of the corpus callosum confirmed that the patient group had significantly lower mean FA values than the controls in the splenium but not in the genu. The intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) for independent ROI measurements was 0.90 (genu) and 0.90 (splenium). There were no regions where FA values were significantly higher in the patients than in the healthy controls.
Widespread structural dysconnectivity, including the subcortical region, is already present in neuroleptic-naive patients in their first episode of illness.
The 6-GHz multibeam maser survey – I. Techniques Green, J. A.; Caswell, J. L.; Fuller, G. A. ...
Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society,
January 2009, Letnik:
392, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
A new seven-beam 6–7 GHz receiver has been built to survey the Galaxy and the Magellanic Clouds for newly forming high-mass stars that are pinpointed by strong methanol maser emission at 6668 MHz. ...The receiver was jointly constructed by Jodrell Bank Observatory (JBO) and the Australia Telescope National Facility (ATNF) and allows simultaneous coverage at 6668 and 6035 MHz. It was successfully commissioned at Parkes in 2006 January and is now being used to conduct the Parkes–Jodrell multibeam maser survey of the Milky Way. This will be the first systematic survey of the entire Galactic plane for masers of not only 6668-MHz methanol, but also 6035-MHz excited-state hydroxyl. The survey is two orders of magnitude faster than most previous systematic surveys and has an rms noise level of ∼0.17 Jy. This paper describes the observational strategy, techniques and reduction procedures of the Galactic and Magellanic Cloud surveys, together with deeper, pointed, follow-up observations and complementary observations with other instruments. It also includes an estimate of the survey detection efficiency. The 111 d of observations with the Parkes telescope have so far yielded >800 methanol sources, of which ∼350 are new discoveries. The whole project will provide the first comprehensive Galaxy-wide catalogue of 6668-MHz and 6035-MHz masers.
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