Transient Patterns of Functional Dysconnectivity in Clinical High Risk and Early Illness Schizophrenia Individuals Compared with Healthy Controls.

Schizophrenia shows abnormal dynamic functional network connectivity (dFNC), but it is unclear whether these abnormalities are present early in the illness course or precede illness onset in individuals at clinical high risk (CHR) for psychosis. We examined dFNC from resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data in CHR (n = 53), early illness schizophrenia (ESZ; n = 58), and healthy control (HC; n = 70) individuals. We applied a sliding temporal window approach capturing five distinct dFNC states.

Impact of formulary restrictions on medication intensification in diabetes treatment.

Objectives: To explore formulary restrictions on noninsulin antihyperglycemic drugs (NIADs) in Medicare Part D plans and to estimate the impact of formulary restrictions on use of NIADs among low-income subsidy (LIS) recipient enrollees with type 2 diabetes (T2D) undergoing treatment intensification.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Methods: A cohort of 2919 LIS enrollees with T2D receiving metformin monotherapy during the first quarter of 2012 who intensified treatment later in the year was tracked to assess selection of and days' supply with sulfonylureas, dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors, and other NIADs.

Childhood trauma and clinical high risk for psychosis.

As a risk factor for psychosis, childhood trauma rates are elevated in the clinical-high-risk (CHR) syndrome compared to the general population. However, it is unknown whether trauma is typically experienced in childhood or adolescence/young adulthood, whether it occurred prior to CHR syndrome onset, and how severe trauma relates to presenting symptoms. In this study, we examined the relationship of trauma history to symptoms and functioning in individuals diagnosed with the CHR syndrome on the Structured Interview for Psychosis-Risk Syndromes (N = 103).

Antidepressants for insomnia in adults.

Background: Insomnia disorder is a subjective condition of unsatisfactory sleep (e.g. sleep onset, maintenance, early waking, impairment of daytime functioning).

Is the future already here? The impact of climate change on the distribution of the eastern coral snake ().

Anthropogenic climate change is a significant global driver of species distribution change. Although many species have undergone range expansion at their poleward limits, data on several taxonomic groups are still lacking. A common method for studying range shifts is using species distribution models to evaluate current, and predict future, distributions.

Emollient bath additives for the treatment of childhood eczema (BATHE): multicentre pragmatic parallel group randomised controlled trial of clinical and cost effectiveness.

Objectives: To determine the clinical effectiveness and cost effectiveness of including emollient bath additives in the management of eczema in children.

Design: Pragmatic randomised open label superiority trial with two parallel groups.

Setting: 96 general practices in Wales and western and southern England.

A new Limnonectes (Anura: Dicroglossidae) from southern Laos.

A new species of "fanged frog" in the genus Limnonectes resembling L. kohchangae (Smith, 1922) from southeastern Thailand and southwestern Cambodia is described from upper elevations of the Bolaven Plateau, southern Laos. However, the new species, L.

Report from the fifth international consensus meeting to harmonize core outcome measures for atopic eczema/dermatitis clinical trials (HOME initiative).

This is the report from the fifth meeting of the Harmonising Outcome Measures for Eczema initiative (HOME V). The meeting was held on 12-14 June 2017 in Nantes, France, with 81 participants. The main aims of the meeting were (i) to achieve consensus over the definition of the core domain of long-term control and how to measure it and (ii) to prioritize future areas of research for the measurement of the core domain of quality of life (QoL) in children.

Gallium incorporation into phosphate based glasses: Bulk and thin film properties.

The osteogenic ions Ca, P, Mg, and antimicrobial ion Ga were homogenously dispersed into a 1.45 µm thick phosphate glass coating by plasma assisted sputtering onto commercially pure grade titanium. The objective was to deliver therapeutic ions in orthopaedic/dental implants such as cementeless endoprostheses or dental screws.

Lessons in Integrating Shared Decision-Making Into Cancer Care.

The benefits of shared decision-making (SDM) in health care delivery are well documented, but implementing SDM at the institutional level is challenging, particularly when patients have complex illnesses and care needs, as in cancer. Denmark's Lillebaelt Hospital, in creating The Patient's Cancer Hospital in Vejle, has learned key lessons in implementing SDM so that the organization's culture is actually being transformed. In short, SDM is becoming part of the fabric of care, not a mere add-on to it.

Findings from a feasibility study to improve GP elicitation of patient concerns in UK general practice consultations.

Objectives: To establish: a) feasibility of training GPs in a communication intervention to solicit additional patient concerns early in the consultation, using specific lexical formulations ("do you have 'any' vs. 'some' other concerns?") noting the impact on consultation length, and b) whether patients attend with multiple concerns and whether they voiced them in the consultation.

Methods: A mixed-methods three arm RCT feasibility study to assess the feasibility of the communication intervention.

Hidden species diversity in Sylvirana nigrovittata (Amphibia: Ranidae) highlights the importance of taxonomic revisions in biodiversity conservation.

Accurately delimiting species and their geographic ranges is imperative for conservation, especially in areas experiencing rapid habitat loss. Southeast Asia currently has one of the highest rates of deforestation in the world, is home to multiple biodiversity hotspots, and the majority of its countries have developing economies with limited resources for biodiversity conservation. Thus, accurately delimiting species and their ranges is particularly important in this region.

Large-scale phylogenetic analyses provide insights into unrecognized diversity and historical biogeography of Asian leaf-litter frogs, genus Leptolalax (Anura: Megophryidae).

Southeast Asia and southern China (SEA-SC) harbor a highly diverse and endemic flora and fauna that is under increasing threat. An understanding of the biogeographical history and drivers of this diversity is lacking, especially in some of the most diverse and threatened groups. The Asian leaf-litter frog genus Leptolalax Dubois 1980 is a forest-dependent genus distributed throughout SEA-SC, making it an ideal study group to examine specific biogeographic hypotheses.

Using an internet intervention to support self-management of low back pain in primary care: findings from a randomised controlled feasibility trial (SupportBack).

Objective: To determine the feasibility of a randomised controlled trial of an internet intervention for low back pain (LBP) using three arms: (1) usual care, (2) usual care plus an internet intervention or (3) usual care plus an internet intervention with additional physiotherapist telephone support.

Design And Setting: A three-armed randomised controlled feasibility trial conducted in 12 general practices in England.

Participants: Primary care patients aged over 18 years, with current LBP, access to the internet and without indicators of serious spinal pathology or systemic illness.

Independent determinants of disease-related quality of life in COPD - scope for nonpharmacologic interventions?

Purpose: Quality-of-life (QoL) scores in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have a weak relationship with physiologic impairment. We investigated factors associated with poor QoL, focusing on psychological measures potentially amenable to intervention.

Patients And Methods: We utilized a pre-existing Birmingham (UK) COPD cohort to assess factors associated with QoL impairment (COPD Assessment Test [CAT] scores).

Views and experiences of seeking information and help for vitiligo: a qualitative study of written accounts.

Objectives: Vitiligo is a relatively common autoimmune condition causing loss of skin pigment. Around 1 in 100 people in the UK develop vitiligo. It can have a significant impact on quality of life for many of those affected.

Probiotic capsules and xylitol chewing gum to manage symptoms of pharyngitis: a randomized controlled factorial trial.

Background: Reducing the use of antibiotics for upper respiratory tract infections is needed to limit the global threat of antibiotic resistance. We estimated the effectiveness of probiotics and xylitol for the management of pharyngitis.

Methods: In this parallel-group factorial randomized controlled trial, participants in primary care (aged 3 years or older) with pharyngitis underwent randomization by nurses who provided sequential intervention packs.

Predictors of pneumonia in lower respiratory tract infections: 3C prospective cough complication cohort study.

The aim was to aid diagnosis of pneumonia in those presenting with lower respiratory tract symptoms in routine primary care.A cohort of 28 883 adult patients with acute cough attributed to lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) was recruited from 5222 UK practices in 2009-13. Symptoms, signs and treatment were recorded at presentation and subsequent events followed-up for 30 days by chart review.

Identifying functional network changing patterns in individuals at clinical high-risk for psychosis and patients with early illness schizophrenia: A group ICA study.

Although individuals at clinical high risk (CHR) for psychosis exhibit a psychosis-risk syndrome involving attenuated forms of the positive symptoms typical of schizophrenia (SZ), it remains unclear whether their resting-state brain intrinsic functional networks (INs) show attenuated or qualitatively distinct patterns of functional dysconnectivity relative to SZ patients. Based on resting-state functional magnetic imaging data from 70 healthy controls (HCs), 53 CHR individuals (among which 41 subjects were antipsychotic medication-naive), and 58 early illness SZ (ESZ) patients (among which 53 patients took antipsychotic medication) within five years of illness onset, we estimated subject-specific INs using a novel group information guided independent component analysis (GIG-ICA) and investigated group differences in INs. We found that when compared to HCs, both CHR and ESZ groups showed significant differences, primarily in default mode, salience, auditory-related, visuospatial, sensory-motor, and parietal INs.

Amoxicillin for acute lower respiratory tract infection in primary care: subgroup analysis by bacterial and viral aetiology.

Objective: We aimed to assess the effects of amoxicillin treatment in adult patients presenting to primary care with a lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) who were infected with a potential bacterial, viral, or mixed bacterial/viral infection.

Methods: This multicentre randomized controlled trial focused on adults with LRTI not suspected for pneumonia. Patients were randomized to receive either antibiotic (amoxicillin 1 g) or placebo three times daily for 7 consecutive days using computer-generated random numbers (follow-up 28 days).

Impact of formulary restrictions on medication use and costs.

Objectives: To evaluate the effects of formulary restrictions on utilization and costs of oral hypoglycemic agents (OHAs), statins, and renin-angiotensin system (RAS) antagonists among low-income subsidy (LIS) recipients in Medicare Part D plans.

Study Design: We analyzed a 5% sample of 2012 Medicare data from the Chronic Conditions Data Warehouse together with a customized dataset capturing beneficiaries' histories of plan assignment.

Methods: We constructed 3 nonexclusive study cohorts comprising of users of OHAs, statins, and RAS antagonists.

Dynamic functional connectivity impairments in early schizophrenia and clinical high-risk for psychosis.

Individuals at clinical high-risk (CHR) for psychosis are characterized by attenuated psychotic symptoms. Only a minority of CHR individuals convert to full-blown psychosis. Therefore, there is a strong interest in identifying neurobiological abnormalities underlying the psychosis risk syndrome.

Does the offer of free prescriptions increase generic prescribing?

Objectives: To test if offering zero generic co-pays for oral antidiabetic drugs (OADs) and statins increases generic dispensing for low-income subsidy (LIS) recipients with diabetes enrolled in Medicare Part D.

Study Design: We analyzed a natural experiment in which LIS recipients were randomized to Part D plans in 2008. Some plans placed selected generic OADs and statins on zero co-pay tiers whereas others did not.