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Background: Convergent evidence implicates gut microbiota in human health and disease. Hitherto, relatively few studies have evaluated the gut microbiota profile in individuals with bipolar disorder (BD) relative to healthy controls (HC). Methods: Fecal samples were collected from subjects (aged 18–65) meeting DSM-5-defined criteria for BD and age- and sex-matched HC without current or past history of mental or major medical disorders. Samples were sequenced using Illumina sequencing and association of specific taxa and co-occurrence of taxa with sample groups including the effect of diet was assessed using cluster analysis and analysis of communities of microorganisms (ANCOM). Nutritional composition was evaluated using the Dietary Questionnaire for Epidemiological Studies (DQES v2) Food Frequency Questionnaire. Results: Forty-six subjects were enrolled (n=23 BD, n=23 HC). Cluster analyses did not identify any significant differences between BD and HC (p=0.38). Lower microbiota diversity was observed among BD subjects relative to HC (p=0.04). A greater abundance of a Clostridiaceae OTU was observed among BD subjects when compared to HC and of Collinsella among BD-II subjects relative to BD-I. Cluster analysis revealed that neither diagnosis (p=0.38) nor diet (p=0.43) had a significant effect on overall gut microbiota composition. Limitations: This study has a small sample size and insufficient control for some potential moderating factors (e.g. psychotropic medication and smoking). Conclusion: This study suggests that individuals with BD may have a distinct gut microbiota profile compared to healthy controls, with a greater abundance of Clostridiaceae and Collinsella. These findings need to be replicated in future studies with larger sample sizes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Short melodies are commonly linked to referents in jingles, ringtones, movie themes, and even auditory displays (i.e., sounds used in human–computer interactions). While melody associations can be quite effective, auditory alarms in medical devices are generally poorly learned and highly confused. Here, we draw on approaches and stimuli from both music cognition (melody recognition) and human factors (alarm design) to analyze the patterns of confusions in a paired-associate alarm-learning task involving both a standardized melodic alarm set (Experiment 1) and a set of novel melodies (Experiment 2). Although contour played a role in confusions (consistent with previous research), we observed several cases where melodies with similar contours were rarely confused – melodies holding musically distinctive features. This exploratory work suggests that salient features formed by an alarm’s melodic structure (such as repeated notes, distinct contours, and easily recognizable intervals) can increase the likelihood of correct alarm identification. We conclude that the use of musical principles and features may help future efforts to improve the design of auditory alarms. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: COVID-19 is a global pandemic and vaccination efforts may be impeded by vaccine hesitancy. The present study examined willingness to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, the associated reasons for willingness/unwillingness, and vaccine safety perceptions in a cross-sectional assessment of community adults in Ontario. Methods: One thousand three hundred sixty seven individuals (60.6% female, mean age = 37.5%) participated in this study between January 15, 2021 and February 15, 2021. Perceptions of vaccine safety and reasons for willingness/unwillingness to receive the COVID-19 vaccine were investigated using an online assessment. Perceptions were investigated in general and by age, sex and education using analysis of variance. Results: Overall, 82.8% of the sample reported they were willing to receive a COVID-19 vaccine and 17.2% reported they were unwilling. The three most common reasons for unwillingness were long-term side effects (65.5%), immediate side effects (60.5%), and lack of trust in the vaccine (55.2%). Vaccine willingness significantly differed by sex and education level, with female participants and those with less than a bachelor's degree being more likely to report unwillingness. Perception of COVID-19 vaccine safety was significantly lower (-10.3%) than vaccines in general and differed by age, sex and education, with females, older adults, and individuals with less than a bachelor's degree reporting lower perceived COVID-19 vaccine safety. Conclusion: In this sample of community adults, the COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy rate was less than one in five individuals, but with higher rates in population subgroups. Targeting public health messaging to females and individuals with less than bachelor's degree, and addressing concerns about long-term and immediate side effects may increase vaccine uptake., Competing Interests: JM is a principal and senior scientist in BEAM Diagnostics, Inc. and a consultant to Clairvoyant Therapeutics, Inc., but no related products or services were used in this research. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Syan, Gohari, Levitt, Belisario, Gillard, DeJesus and MacKillop.)

There is some evidence that cannabis use is associated with lower cognitive performance and symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but the existing literature is relatively inconsistent, potentially due to small samples in previous studies. Using a dimensional design, the current study examined cannabis use severity and age of first cannabis use in relation to neurocognitive performance and ADHD symptoms in a large sample of community adults ( N = 1,008, M age = 38.49, 56.0% female). Participants were assessed for cannabis involvement, neurocognitive performance, and ADHD symptoms. Dimensional relationships were investigated using multiple hierarchical regressions. Using a covariate model of age, income, sex, alcohol use, and tobacco use, severity of cannabis involvement was significantly associated with greater endorsement of both hyperactive-impulsive and inattentive ADHD symptoms but not with any other cognitive measures in the full sample. Exploratory analyses found greater cannabis use severity was associated with digit span forward and hyperactive ADHD symptoms in young adults ( n = 371) and was associated with greater delay discounting, hyperactive, and impulsive ADHD symptoms in high-risk cannabis users ( n = 161). Age of first cannabis use was not significantly associated with any neurocognitive variables or ADHD symptomatology in all analyses. The current findings provide evidence of a link between current cannabis misuse and both hyperactive and inattentive ADHD symptoms in general, and possible links to attention and impulsive delay discounting in subgroups of cannabis users, but no associations in other cognitive domains or implication of earlier initiation of cannabis use in relation to cognitive performance or ADHD. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Purpose: The aim of this cross-sectional exploratory study was to identify qualities associated with resilience in families with a child with a physical disability., Methods: Questionnaires (The Family Hardiness Index, The Family Crisis Oriented Personal Evaluation Scales, The Relative and Friend Support Index, The Social Support Index, The Family Sense of Coherence Scale) and an open-ended question were used to collect data independently from parents and children belonging to 68 families., Results: The following resources and qualities were identified by both the parents and the children: family hardiness, evaluation of a stressful situation as a challenge, positive redefinition of a stressful situation, the educational level of the parent, and the experience of social support., Discussion: Help providers need to ensure that families are provided with information regarding qualities that can be developed, while families should be aware of formal and informal support networks that may assist them in their adaptation process., Conclusion: There are a number of qualities that came up as important to both the parents and children and family workers can help the family to identify an area of commonality to work on between the parents and children., (© 2012 Association of Rehabilitation Nurses.)