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Background and Hypothesis: Abnormal psychomotor behavior is a core schizophrenia symptom. However, assessment of motor abnormalities with expert rating scales is challenging. The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) includes 3 items broadly related to hypokinetic motor behavior. Here, we tested whether a sum score of the PANSS items mannerisms and posturing (G5), motor retardation (G7), and disturbance of volition (G13) corresponds to expert ratings, potentially qualifying as a proxy-marker of motor abnormalities., Study Design: Combining baseline datasets (n = 196) of 2 clinical trials (OCoPS-P, BrAGG-SoS), we correlated PANSS motor score (PANSSmot) and 5 motor rating scales. In addition, we tested whether the cutoff set at ≥3 on each PANSS motor item, ie, "mild" on G05, G07, and G13 (in total ≥9 on PANSSmot) would differentiate the patients into groups with high vs low scores in motor scales. We further sought for replication in an independent trial (RESIS, n = 102), tested the longitudinal stability using week 3 data of OCoPS-P (n = 75), and evaluated the validity of PANSSmot with instrumental measures of physical activity (n = 113)., Study Results: PANSSmot correlated with all motor scales (Spearman-Rho-range 0.19-0.52, all P ≤ .007). Furthermore, the cutoff set at ≥3 on each PANSS motor item was able to distinguish patients with high vs low motor scores in all motor scales except using Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (Mann-Whitney-U-Tests: all U ≥ 580, P ≤ .017)., Conclusions: Our findings suggest that PANSSmot could be a proxy measure for hypokinetic motor abnormalities. This might help to combine large datasets from clinical trials to explore whether some interventions may hold promise to alleviate hypokinetic motor abnormalities in psychosis., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center.)

The executive control process of monitoring information in working memory depends on the mid-dorsolateral prefrontal cortical region (cytoarchitectonic areas 46 and 9/46) in interaction with the hippocampal memory system. Anatomical studies demonstrated strong connectivity between the mid-dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the medial parietal area PGm that lies on the precuneus. Area PGm is also strongly connected with the attentional system on the lateral inferior parietal lobule (area PG) and the limbic retrosplenial/posterior cingulate region that interacts with the hippocampal memory system. Thus, in terms of anatomical connectivity, area PGm appears to be a critical node for the integration of executive control processing from the prefrontal cortex with the online attentional and memory related processing. This hypothesis was tested in macaque monkeys with the crossed unilateral lesion methodology. A unilateral lesion in the mid-dorsolateral prefrontal cortex was combined with a unilateral lesion in area PGm in the opposite hemisphere. The results demonstrated an impairment on the externally ordered working memory task that assesses the monitoring of information in working memory. Thus, the medial parietal area PGm is a critical node in mediating the functional interaction between the prefrontal region for the executive control process of monitoring information and the memory system., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Aims: To identify and describe nursing practices on the sexual health of people with neurological disorders., Design: Narrative review., Methods: Data were extracted from 1 January 2002, to 20 May 2021. Inclusion criteria were nursing practices, sexual health and people with neurological disorders. The main outcome measures were: context of nursing practice implementation (assumptions, knowledge, strategies and skills), facilitators of and barriers to addressing and treating the sexual health of people with neurological disorders, and benefits of nursing practices in sexual health. PRISMA reporting guidelines were used., Data Sources: PubMed, Embase, ScienceDirect and CINAHL., Results: In total, 926 articles were identified and nine were included. The involvement of nurses was recommended in most studies. Assumptions about the impact of neurology on sexuality and nurse's role in sexual healthcare, biopsychosocial knowledge, and skills (ethical, interpersonal, and technical) were highlighted. We found that the modes of knowledge proposed by Carper were mobilized in an unequal way. Sexual difficulties were the key focus and eroticization concerns were not addressed in any of the articles., Conclusion: Several studies advocate nursing intervention; however, few accurately present, detail and evaluate sexual health nursing practices of patients with neurological pathologies. Literature describes practices structured around disorders rather than the potentials, fails to address the brake of eroticism and provides little information on the results of interventions., Implications for the Profession And/or Patient Care: Developing teaching programs on sexual health in nursing programs may be necessary if nurses are to support a diverse range of patients in an inclusive and positive manner. These programs should highlight the domain-specific knowledge that is mobilized., Impact: Sexual health is a fundamental human right. Alterations in the nervous system have shown to affect sexual health, however, it is not often discussed among patients with neurological disorders, who are rarely provided with sexual health counselling. Our findings may impact healthcare professionals engaged in care with these patients., Reporting Method: PRISMA. No patient or public contribution., (© 2024 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Purpose: Hope is important in serious illnesses, as it has been linked to patient quality of life. We aimed to determine factors associated with lower hope scores among patients with central nervous system disease or bone metastases., Methods and Materials: The Adult Dispositional Hope Scale (AHS) is a 12-item questionnaire that measures hope through 2 qualities: agency (goal-directed energy) and pathways (plan to meet goals). Total scores range from 8 to 64, with higher scores reflecting higher agency and pathways thinking. We prospectively collected scores from patients seen in 2 radiation oncology clinics at our institution from October 2022 to April 2023. The method of least squares to fit general linear models and Pearson's correlation coefficients was used to determine relationships between AHS score and socioeconomic and disease factors., Results: Of the 197 patients who responded, the median age was 60.5 years (range, 16.9-92.5 years) and most patients were male (60.9%), were White (59.4%), and had malignant disease (59.4%). The median overall AHS score was 54 (range, 8-64), and median pathway and agency thinking scores were 27 (range, 4-32) and 27 (range, 4-32), respectively. Patients who needed an interpreter compared with those who did not had significantly lower overall AHS scores (mean score, 45.4 vs 51.2, respectively; P = .0493) and pathway thinking scores (mean score, 21.5 vs 25.7, respectively; P = .0085), and patients with poorer performance status had significantly worse overall AHS scores (Pearson's correlation coefficient = -0.2703, P = .0003)., Conclusions: Patients with central nervous system disease or bone metastases requiring the use of an interpreter had lower AHS scores, highlighting the possible association of language barriers to hope. Addressing patient language barriers and further studies on the possible association of language barriers to hope may improve hope, quality of life, and outcomes among these patients., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Arterial Spin Labeling is a valuable functional imaging tool for both clinical and research purposes. However, little is known about the test-retest reliability of cerebral blood flow measurements over longer periods. In this study, we investigated the reliability of pulsed Arterial Spin Labeling in assessing cerebral blood flow over a 3 (n = 28) vs 8 (n = 19) weeks interscan interval in 47 healthy participants. As a measure of cerebral blood flow reliability, we calculated voxel-wise, whole-brain, and regions of interest intraclass correlation coefficients. The whole-brain mean resting-state cerebral blood flow showed good to excellent reliability over time for both periods (intraclass correlation coefficients = 0.85 for the 3-week delay, intraclass correlation coefficients = 0.53 for the 8-week delay). However, the voxel-wise and regions of interest intraclass correlation coefficients fluctuated at 8-week compared to the 3-week interval, especially within cortical areas. These results confirmed previous findings that Arterial Spin Labeling could be used as a reliable method to assess brain perfusion. However, as the reliability seemed to decrease over time, caution is warranted when performing correlations with other variables, especially in clinical populations., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest Sebastian Walther has received honoraria from Neurolite, Janssen, Lundbeck, Otsuka, and Sunovion. The other authors reported no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The present study investigated the relation between personality and ideas generation abilities. Ideas generation was assessed by the "egg task" in which participants had to generate as many solutions as possible to design ways to drop a hen's egg from a height of 10 m so that it does not break. The 102 participants were also presented with the standard Process Communication Model (PCM) questionnaire. Results suggest that idea generation varied according to PCM Base Type of participants. Even if five out of six Base Types (Thinker, Persister, Harmonizer, Promoter and Rebel) presented similar fluency and categorical flexibility, Imaginer Base presented higher scores than other Base Types. These results, discussed according to cognitive control abilities, reinforce the view that PCM can highlight an individual's creative performance considering interindividual differences., Competing Interests: SL is employed by Kahler Communication France (KCF), which has the right for the exploitation of the PCM questionnaire. KCF had no role in the study design, data collection, decision to publish. KCF only check for the exact description of the PCM. The remaining author declares 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 © 2024 Lefebvre and Camarda.)

Importance: Psychomotor slowing is a frequent symptom of psychosis, impairing gross and fine motor behavior. It is associated with poor outcomes and functioning, and no treatment is available., Objective: To investigate whether 15 sessions of inhibitory repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) may reduce psychomotor slowing., Design, Setting, and Participants: This was a 4-arm, double-blind, randomized, sham-controlled trial at a university hospital in Switzerland. Enrollment took place from March 2019 to August 2022. Adults aged 18 to 60 years with schizophrenia spectrum disorders and severe psychomotor slowing were eligible. All patients continued existing medications, including antipsychotics and benzodiazepines. Those with substance misuse (other than nicotine), conditions associated with impaired or aberrant movement, convulsions, history of hearing problems, other conditions typically excluded from magnetic resonance imaging or TMS, any TMS treatment in the past 3 months, or those who were pregnant or breastfeeding were excluded. Of 615 patients screened for eligibility, 103 were randomized and 88 received at least 1 session of rTMS: 22 were assigned to 1-Hz rTMS, 22 to iTBS, 22 to sham, and 22 to the waiting group. Follow-up was conducted at 6 weeks and 24 weeks following the week 3 assessments including clinical, functional, and motor measures., Interventions: Fifteen sessions of rTMS in 3 weeks over the supplementary motor area: 1-Hz rTMS, iTBS, sham, or no treatment (waiting). After 3 weeks, the waiting group received 15 sessions of 1-Hz rTMS over the supplementary motor area., Main Outcomes and Measures: The main outcome was the proportion of responders at week 3 in the Salpêtrière Retardation Rating Scale (SRRS) defined as a 30% or greater reduction from baseline (last-observation-carried-forward). The SRRS has 15 items and a maximum total score of 60., Results: Of the 88 participants analyzed, 45 were men and 43 were women. The mean (SD) age was 36.3 (12.4) years and the mean (SD) SRRS score was 24.0 (5.9). A total of 69 participants completed the study. At week 3, response rates differed between groups: 15 of 22 (68%) in the 1-Hz rTMS group, 8 of 22 (36%) in the iTBS group, 7 of 22 (32%) in the sham group, and 4 of 22 (18%) in the waiting group (χ23 = 12.1; P = .007). The 1-Hz rTMS group had more responders than sham (odds ratio [OR], 0.13; 95% CI, 0.02-0.65; P = .03), iTBS (OR, 0.12; 95% CI, 0.02-0.61; P = .02), and waiting (OR, 0.04; 95% CI, 0.01-0.22; P = .003). In the waiting group, 10 of 16 participants (63%) responded after receiving 15 sessions of 1-Hz rTMS. No serious adverse events occurred., Conclusions and Relevance: In this study, inhibitory add-on rTMS safely alleviated psychomotor slowing in psychosis compared with iTBS, sham, and no treatment. The treatment was also effective with delayed onset. Future studies need to explore the neural changes associated with supplementary motor area rTMS in psychosis., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03921450.

Psychomotor slowing is a frequent symptom of schizophrenia. Short-interval intracortical inhibition assessed by transcranial magnetic stimulation demonstrated inhibitory dysfunction in schizophrenia. The inhibitory deficit results from additional noise during information processing in the motor system in psychosis. Here, we tested whether cortical inhibitory dysfunction was linked to psychomotor slowing and motor network alterations. In this cross-sectional study, we included 60 patients with schizophrenia and psychomotor slowing determined by the Salpêtrière Retardation Rating Scale, 23 patients without slowing and 40 healthy control participants. We acquired single and double-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation effects from the left primary motor cortex, resting-state functional connectivity and diffusion imaging on the same day. Groups were compared on resting motor threshold, amplitude of the motor evoked potentials, as well as short-interval intracortical inhibition. Regression analyses calculated the association between motor evoked potential amplitudes or cortical inhibition with seed-based resting-state functional connectivity from the left primary motor cortex and fractional anisotropy at whole brain level and within major motor tracts. In patients with schizophrenia and psychomotor slowing, we observed lower amplitudes of motor evoked potentials, while the short-interval intracortical inhibition/motor evoked potentials amplitude ratio was higher than in healthy controls, suggesting lower cortical inhibition in these patients. Patients without slowing also had lower amplitudes of motor evoked potentials. Across the combined patient sample, cortical inhibition deficits were linked to more motor coordination impairments. In patients with schizophrenia and psychomotor slowing, lower amplitudes of motor evoked potentials were associated with lower fractional anisotropy in motor tracts. Moreover, resting-state functional connectivity between the primary motor cortex, the anterior cingulate cortex and the cerebellum increased with stronger cortical inhibition. In contrast, in healthy controls and patients without slowing, stronger cortical inhibition was linked to lower resting-state functional connectivity between the left primary motor cortex and premotor or parietal cortices. Psychomotor slowing in psychosis is linked to less cortical inhibition and aberrant functional connectivity of the primary motor cortex. Higher neural noise in the motor system may drive psychomotor slowing and thus may become a treatment target., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain.)

Up to 70% of patients with major depressive disorder present with psychomotor disturbance (PmD), but at the present time understanding of its pathophysiology is limited. In this study, we capitalized on a large sample of patients to examine the neural correlates of PmD in depression. This study included 820 healthy participants and 699 patients with remitted (n = 402) or current (n = 297) depression. Patients were further categorized as having psychomotor retardation, agitation, or no PmD. We compared resting-state functional connectivity (ROI-to-ROI) between nodes of the cerebral motor network between the groups, including primary motor cortex, supplementary motor area, sensory cortex, superior parietal lobe, caudate, putamen, pallidum, thalamus, and cerebellum. Additionally, we examined network topology of the motor network using graph theory. Among the currently depressed 55% had PmD (15% agitation, 29% retardation, and 11% concurrent agitation and retardation), while 16% of the remitted patients had PmD (8% retardation and 8% agitation). When compared with controls, currently depressed patients with PmD showed higher thalamo-cortical and pallido-cortical connectivity, but no network topology alterations. Currently depressed patients with retardation only had higher thalamo-cortical connectivity, while those with agitation had predominant higher pallido-cortical connectivity. Currently depressed patients without PmD showed higher thalamo-cortical, pallido-cortical, and cortico-cortical connectivity, as well as altered network topology compared to healthy controls. Remitted patients with PmD showed no differences in single connections but altered network topology, while remitted patients without PmD did not differ from healthy controls in any measure. We found evidence for compensatory increased cortico-cortical resting-state functional connectivity that may prevent psychomotor disturbance in current depression, but may perturb network topology. Agitation and retardation show specific connectivity signatures. Motor network topology is slightly altered in remitted patients arguing for persistent changes in depression. These alterations in functional connectivity may be addressed with non-invasive brain stimulation., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Knowledge of the trophic structure and variability of planktonic communities is a key factor in understanding food-web dynamics and energy transfer from zooplankton to higher trophic levels. In this study, we investigated how stable isotopes of mesozooplankton species varied seasonally (winter, spring, autumn) in relation to environmental factors and plankton size classes in a temperate coastal ecosystem. Our results showed that spring is characterized by the strongest vertical and size-structured plankton food-web, mainly fueled by the phytoplankton bloom. As a result, spring displayed the largest isotopic niche space and trophic divergence among species. On the contrary, both pelagic and benthic-derived carbon influenced low productive seasons (winter and autumn), resulting in more generalist strategies (trophic redundancy). Stable isotope mixing models were used to explore how different seasonal structures influenced the overall food web up to predatory plankton (i.e., mysids, chaetognaths, and fish larvae). Different feeding strategies were found in spring, with predators having either a clear preference for larger prey items (> 1 mm, for herring and dab larvae) or a more generalist diet (sprat and dragonets larvae). During low productive seasons, predators seemed to be more opportunistic, feeding on a wide range of size classes but focusing on smaller prey. Overall, the food-web architecture of plankton displayed different seasonal patterns linked to components at the base of the food web that shaped the main energy fluxes, either from phytoplankton or recycled material. Additionally, these patterns extended to carnivorous plankton, such as fish larvae, emphasizing the importance of bottom-up processes., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The neurobiology of catatonia is still poorly understood. Particularly structural MRI studies yielded conflicting results. Heterogeneity of findings was suggested to stem from specifics of different rating scales. This study sought to test grey matter differences between patients with catatonia, patients without catatonia, and healthy controls using the two main instruments of catatonia rating. We included 98 patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders and 42 healthy controls. Catatonia was measured using the Bush Francis Catatonia Rating Scale and the Northoff Catatonia Rating Scale. According to these scales, patients were classified into those with and those without catatonia. We tested whole brain grey matter volume, cortical thickness, and local gyrification across groups. Both catatonia rating scales correlated at tau = 0.65 but failed to classify identical subjects as catatonia patients. However, group differences in grey matter parameters were broadly similar with either rating scale to identify catatonia cases. Catatonia patients had reduced grey matter volume compared to controls in a large network including orbitofrontal cortex, cingulate, thalamus, and amygdala. While there was no group difference in cortical thickness, catatonia patients had increased local gyrification in premotor, motor, and parietal cortices compared to controls. Hypergyrification of the motor cortex and higher order cortical areas was found in catatonia patients compared to patients without catatonia. Both catatonia rating scales find similar symptom severity and group differences in grey matter indices. Catatonia is linked to reduced grey matter volume and increased local gyrification, suggesting some impact of early neurodevelopmental insults., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest Sebastian Walther received honoraria from Lundbeck, Mepha, and Neurolite unrelated to this work. All other others report no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Mycoplasmas are pathogens involved in respiratory disorders of various animal hosts. In horses, Mycoplasma (M.) equirhinis is the species most frequently detected in clinical respiratory specimens, with a prevalence of 12-16%, but its clinical implication in equine respiratory disorders remains unclear. Here we screened 1948 clinical specimens for the presence of M. equirhinis. The samples were both tracheal washes (TW) and bronchoalveolar lavages (BAL) collected by veterinarians in France in day-to-day work between 2020 and 2022. The samples were associated with a standardized form that served to collect key general and clinical information, such as horse age, breed, and living environment. M. equirhinis was detected using a combination of culture and post-enrichment PCR. Other diagnostic data included virology and bacteriology as well as neutrophil counts, when available. Prevalence of M. equirhinis was examined as a function of a clinical score based on four significant clinical signs (nasal discharge, cough, dyspnoea, and hyperthermia). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was run to identify risk factors for the presence of M. equirhinis, and comparative prevalence analysis was used to test for association with other bacteria and viruses. TW and BAL were analysed independently, as we found that TW samples were associated with a higher prevalence of M. equirhinis. As prevalence remained steady whatever the clinical score, M. equirhinis cannot be considered a primary pathogen. M. equirhinis was more frequently isolated in thoroughbreds and trotters and in horses living exclusively stabled compared to other horses or other living environments. M. equirhinis was never detected in BAL specimens with a 'normal' neutrophil count, i.e. 5%, suggesting it could be associated with an inflammatory response, similar to that observed in equine asthma. Prevalence of M. equirhinis was shown to increase in the presence of other bacteria such as Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus (S. zoo) or viruses, and S. zoo load was higher in M. equirhinis-positive samples, suggesting a potential increase of clinical signs in the event of co-infection., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None of the authors of this paper has a financial or personal relationship with other people or organisations that could inappropriately influence or bias the content of the paper. No competing interests have been declared., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Interspecific and intraspecific diversity are essential components of biodiversity with far-reaching implications for ecosystem function and service provision. Importantly, genotypic and phenotypic variation within a species can affect responses to anthropogenic pressures more than interspecific diversity. We investigated the effects of interspecific and intraspecific diversity on microplastic ingestion by two coexisting mussel species in South Africa, Mytilus galloprovincialis and Perna perna, the latter occurring as two genetic lineages. We found significantly higher microplastic abundance in M. galloprovincialis (0.54 ± 0.56 MP items g -1 WW) than P. perna (0.16 ± 0.21 MP items g -1 WW), but no difference between P. perna lineages. Microbeads were the predominant microplastic (76 % in P. perna, 99 % in M. galloprovincialis) and polyethylene the prevalent polymer. Interspecific differences in microplastic abundance varied across locations, suggesting diverse sources of contamination. We suggest that microplastic ingestion can be species-specific even in organisms that coexist and play similar functional roles within ecosystems., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

In everyday life, we are continuously confronted with multiple levels of visual information processes (e.g., global information, the forest, and local information, the tree) and we must select information that has to be processed. In the present study, we investigated the relation between personality and the ability to process global and local visual information. Global precedence phenomenon was assessed by a standard global/local visual search task used in many visuo-spatial precedent studies, and the 77 participants were also presented with the standard Process Communication Model (PCM) questionnaire. Results suggest that the ability to process global and local properties of visual stimuli varied according to the Base type of participants. Even if four among six Base types (Thinker, Persister, Harmonizer and Promoter) presented a classical global visual precedence, the two other Base types (Rebel and Imaginer) presented only an effect of distractors and an effect of global advantage, respectively. Taken together, these results evidenced that each human being does not equally perceive the "forest" (global information) and the "tree" (local information). Even if objectively presented with similar visual stimuli, individual responses differ according to the Base, an inter-individual variability that could be taken into account during daily life situations., Competing Interests: Virginie Beaucousin has declared that no competing interests exist. Sixtine Lefebvre is employee by Kahler Communication France (KCF) which has the right for the exploitation of the PCM questionnaire. KCF had no role in the study design, data collection, decision to publish. KCF only check for the exact description of the PCM. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials., (Copyright: © 2023 Lefebvre, Beaucousin. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Background and Hypothesis: Formal thought disorder (FTD) is a core symptom of psychosis, but its neural correlates remain poorly understood. This study tested whether four FTD dimensions differ in their association with brain perfusion and brain structure., Study Design: This cross-sectional study investigated 110 patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders using 3T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The Thought and Language Disorder scale (TALD) was utilized, which comprises four subscales: Objective Positive (OP), Objective Negative (ON), Subjective Positive (SP), and Subjective Negative (SN). Resting-state cerebral blood flow (rsCBF), cortical thickness (CortTh), gray matter volume (GMV), and diffusion MRI tractography were tested for associations with TALD subscales controlling for age, medication, total intracranial volume, and for variance of the 3 other TALD subscales., Study Results: Following Bonferroni correction, the FTD dimensions presented distinct neural correlates. OP scores were associated with increased rsCBF and increased GMV in the right cerebellum lingual gyrus. Higher SP scores were linked to increased GMV in bilateral prefrontal cortex. In contrast, ON was associated with increased GMV in the right premotor cortex. At more liberal statistical thresholds, higher SP was associated with increased CortTh in the right inferior frontal gyrus, whereas SN scores were linked to decreased GMV in the right prefrontal lobe, the left inferior temporal gyrus, and the left supplementary motor area. Unadjusted analyses mostly corroborated these findings., Conclusion: These findings stress the heterogeneity in FTD, suggesting distinct neural patterns for specific FTD experiences. In sum, FTD in psychosis may require distinct treatment strategies and further mechanistic investigations on single-item levels., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center.)

Objectives: Psychomotor slowing (PS) occurs in up to half of schizophrenia patients and is linked to poorer outcomes. As standard treatment fails to improve PS, novel approaches are needed. Here, we applied the RDoC framework using 3 units of analysis, ie, behavior, self-report, and physiology to test, whether patients with PS are different from patients without PS and controls., Methods: Motor behavior was compared between 71 schizophrenia patients with PS, 25 without PS, and 42 healthy controls (HC) using 5 different measures: (1) for behavior, an expert rating scale: Motor score of the Salpêtrière Retardation Rating Scale, (2) for self-report, the International Physical Activity Questionnaire; and for physiology, (3) Actigraphy, which accounts for gross motor behavior, (4) Gait velocity, and (5) coin rotation task to assess manual dexterity., Results: The ANCOVAs comparing the 3 groups revealed differences between patients with PS and HC in expert ratings, self-report, and instrumental measures (all P ≤ .001). Patients with PS also scored higher in expert ratings and had lower instrumental activity levels compared to patients without PS (all P ≤ .045). Instrumental activity levels correlated with an expert rating of PS (rho = -0.51, P-fdr corrected <.001) and classified similarly at 72% accuracy., Conclusions: PS is characterized by slower gait, lower activity levels, and slower finger movements compared to HC. However, only actigraphy and observer ratings enable to clearly disentangle PS from non-PS patients. Actigraphy may become the standard assessment of PS in neuroimaging studies and clinical trials., (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center.)

Aim: To validate a French version of the Multiple Sclerosis Intimacy and Sexuality Questionnaire 15 which examines patients' perception of the effect of multiple sclerosis symptoms on their sexual activity., Methods: After completing a translation/re-translation process to ensure linguistic and content validity, the Multiple Sclerosis Intimacy and Sexuality Questionnaire 15 French (MSISQ-15Fr) was completed by patients with multiple sclerosis. The validity of the construction, reliability, stability and reproducibility of the translation was evaluated., Explanatory Mixed Observational Study: Validation of a French assessment tool for sexual disorders (borrowed theoretical framework): the Multiple Sclerosis Intimacy and Sexuality Questionnaire 15 (MSISQ 15) RESULTS: The normed χ 2 was 1.21, the root mean square error of approximation was 0.046 [0.00; 0.07], the comparative fit index was 0.974, and the standardized root mean square was 0.065. The calculated Cronbach's coefficients indicated strong internal coherence, and the intraclass correlation coefficient was satisfactory at 0.9. Translations of the Multiple Sclerosis Intimacy and Sexuality Questionnaire 15 (MSISQ-15) have already been validated in five languages. This French version is valid, stable and reproducible. It provides French-speaking nurses an accessible and appropriate tool that will enable them to play an active role in the sexual health strategy recommended by the World Health Organization., (© 2022 The Authors. Nursing Open published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs), particularly second-generation compounds (SGAR), are known to be a potential threat to unintended species due to their tissue persistence. The liver is the storage tissue of ARs and is a matrix of choice in diagnosing exposure and intoxication of non-target fauna. However, it is only available on dead animals. Blood and faeces can be used on living animals. These two biological matrices were compared in terms of their relevance to exposure to ARs. In addressing this question, we compared the faecal, plasma and liver concentrations of bromadiolone, one of the SGAR frequently implicated in wildlife exposure. We studied this comparison at the individual level and at the population level, considering three influencing factors: dose, sex and time. Our findings demonstrate that faecal analyses are more valuable than plasma analyses for monitoring AR exposure of domestic and wild animals, even if faecal concentrations cannot be correlated with liver concentrations., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Measuring brain activity during functional MRI (fMRI) tasks is one of the main tools to identify brain biomarkers of disease or neural substrates associated with specific symptoms. However, identifying correct biomarkers relies on reliable measures. Recently, poor reliability was reported for task-based fMRI measures. The present study aimed to demonstrate the reliability of a finger-tapping fMRI task across two sessions in healthy participants. Thirty-one right-handed healthy participants aged 18-60 years took part in two MRI sessions 3 weeks apart during which we acquired finger-tapping task-fMRI. We examined the overlap of activations between sessions using Dice similarity coefficients, assessing their location and extent. Then, we compared amplitudes calculating intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) in three sets of regions of interest (ROIs) in the motor network: literature-based ROIs (10-mm-radius spheres centred on peaks of an activation likelihood estimation), anatomical ROIs (regions as defined in an atlas) and ROIs based on conjunction analyses (superthreshold voxels in both sessions). Finger tapping consistently activated expected regions, for example, left primary sensorimotor cortices, premotor area and right cerebellum. We found good-to-excellent overlap of activations for most contrasts (Dice coefficients: .54-.82). Across time, ICCs showed large variability in all ROI sets (.04-.91). However, ICCs in most ROIs indicated fair-to-good reliability (mean = .52). The least specific contrast consistently yielded the best reliability. Overall, the finger-tapping task showed good spatial overlap and fair reliability of amplitudes on group level. Although caution is warranted in interpreting correlations of activations with other variables, identification of activated regions in response to a task and their between-group comparisons are still valid and important modes of analysis in neuroimaging to find population tendencies and differences., (© 2022 The Authors. European Journal of Neuroscience published by Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder, in which 50% of the patients present with motor abnormalities such as psychomotor slowing. Slow spontaneous gait has been reported in schizophrenia. However, comprehensive objective instrumental assessments of multiple gait conditions are missing. Finally, the specific gait patterns of subjects with psychomotor slowing are still unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to objectively assess multiple gait parameters at different walking conditions in patients with schizophrenia with and without psychomotor slowing. Also, we hypothesised gait impairments to correlate with expert ratings of hypokinetic movement disorders and negative symptoms. We collected gait data (GAITRite®) in 70 patients with psychomotor slowing (SRRS (Salpetriere retardation rating scale) ≥15), 22 non-psychomotor slowed patients (SRRS < 15), and 42 healthy controls. Participants performed four walking conditions (self-selected speed, maximum speed, head reclined, and eyes closed) and six gait parameters were extracted (velocity, cadence, stride length, functional ambulation profile (FAP), and variance of stride length and time). Patients with psychomotor slowing presented slower velocity, lower cadence, and shorter stride length in all walking conditions compared to healthy controls, with the non-slowed patients in an intermediate position (all F > 16.18, all p < 0.001). Secondly, slower velocity was associated with more severe hypokinetic movement disorders and negative symptoms. In conclusion, gait impairments exist in a spectrum with healthy controls on one end and patients with psychomotor slowing on the other end. Patients with psychomotor slowing are specifically impaired when an adaptation of gait patterns is required, contributing to the deleterious effects of sedentary behaviours., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Nutrition concerns are prevalent in individuals with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Despite the prevalence of nutrition concerns, few data are available on perceptions and experiences of nutrition interventions in individuals with ALS and their caregivers; this study aimed to collect this information. An online survey was developed and hosted on Survey Monkey ® . Individuals with ALS and their caregivers from Saskatchewan, Canada, were invited to complete the survey through email to attendees of the ALS Clinic (Saskatoon, Canada), and via the ALS Society of Saskatchewan Facebook page in February-March, 2021. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Twelve eligible respondents completed the survey (n = 10 individuals with ALS; n = 2 caregivers). The present study found nutrition was important to respondents and there was interest in trying diets and supplements for ALS management; of note, many respondents were interested in exploring the ketogenic diet. Six (50%) respondents had weight loss concerns. All respondents would recommend consulting with a dietitian upon being diagnosed with ALS. Many respondents reported a predefined negative perception of tube feeding. The results of this study suggest that increasing the accessibility of dietitians could positively impact ALS-related care. The findings also provide guidance for dietitians to enhance nutrition care for individuals with ALS.

SMN protein deficiency causes motoneuron disease spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). SMN-based therapies improve patient motor symptoms to variable degrees. An early hallmark of SMA is the perturbation of the neuromuscular junction (NMJ), a synapse between a motoneuron and muscle cell. NMJ formation depends on acetylcholine receptor (AChR) clustering triggered by agrin and its co-receptors lipoprotein receptor-related protein 4 (LRP4) and transmembrane muscle-specific kinase (MuSK) signalling pathway. We have previously shown that flunarizine improves NMJs in SMA model mice, but the mechanisms remain elusive. We show here that flunarizine promotes AChR clustering in cell-autonomous, dose- and agrin-dependent manners in C2C12 myotubes. This is associated with an increase in protein levels of LRP4, integrin-beta-1 and alpha-dystroglycan, three agrin co-receptors. Furthermore, flunarizine enhances MuSK interaction with integrin-beta-1 and phosphotyrosines. Moreover, the drug acts on the expression and splicing of Agrn and Cacna1h genes in a muscle-specific manner. We reveal that the Cacna1h encoded protein Cav3.2 closely associates in vitro with the agrin co-receptor LRP4. In vivo, it is enriched nearby NMJs during neonatal development and the drug increases this immunolabelling in SMA muscles. Thus, flunarizine modulates key players of the NMJ and identifies Ca v 3.2 as a new protein involved in the NMJ biology., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness. Current glaucoma medications work by lowering intraocular pressure (IOP), a risk factor for glaucoma, but most treatments do not directly target the pathological changes leading to increased IOP, which can manifest as medication resistance as disease progresses. To identify physiological modulators of IOP, we performed genome- and exome-wide association analysis in >129,000 individuals with IOP measurements and extended these findings to an analysis of glaucoma risk. We report the identification and functional characterization of rare coding variants (including loss-of-function variants) in ANGPTL7 associated with reduction in IOP and glaucoma protection. We validated the human genetics findings in mice by establishing that Angptl7 knockout mice have lower (~2 mmHg) basal IOP compared to wild-type, with a trend towards lower IOP also in heterozygotes. Conversely, increasing murine Angptl7 levels via injection into mouse eyes increases the IOP. We also show that acute Angptl7 silencing in adult mice lowers the IOP (~2-4 mmHg), reproducing the observations in knockout mice. Collectively, our data suggest that ANGPTL7 is important for IOP homeostasis and is amenable to therapeutic modulation to help maintain a healthy IOP that can prevent onset or slow the progression of glaucoma., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Paranoia is a frequent and highly distressing experience in psychosis. Models of paranoia suggest limbic circuit pathology. Here, we tested whether resting-state functional connectivity (rs-fc) in the limbic circuit was altered in schizophrenia patients with current paranoia. We collected MRI scans in 165 subjects including 89 patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, brief psychotic disorder, schizophreniform disorder) and 76 healthy controls. Paranoia was assessed using a Positive And Negative Syndrome Scale composite score. We tested rs-fc between bilateral nucleus accumbens, hippocampus, amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex between groups and as a function of paranoia severity. Patients with paranoia had increased connectivity between hippocampus and amygdala compared to patients without paranoia. Likewise, paranoia severity was linked to increased connectivity between hippocampus and amygdala. Furthermore, paranoia was associated with increased connectivity between orbitofrontal and medial prefrontal cortex. In addition, patients with paranoia had increased functional connectivity within the frontal hubs of the default mode network compared to healthy controls. These results demonstrate that current paranoia is linked to aberrant connectivity within the core limbic circuit and prefrontal cortex reflecting amplified threat processing and impaired emotion regulation. Future studies will need to explore the association between limbic hyperactivity, paranoid ideation and perceived stress., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Newborn screening (NBS) dramatically improves outcomes in severe childhood disorders by treatment before symptom onset. In many genetic diseases, however, outcomes remain poor because NBS has lagged behind drug development. Rapid whole-genome sequencing (rWGS) is attractive for comprehensive NBS because it concomitantly examines almost all genetic diseases and is gaining acceptance for genetic disease diagnosis in ill newborns. We describe prototypic methods for scalable, parentally consented, feedback-informed NBS and diagnosis of genetic diseases by rWGS and virtual, acute management guidance (NBS-rWGS). Using established criteria and the Delphi method, we reviewed 457 genetic diseases for NBS-rWGS, retaining 388 (85%) with effective treatments. Simulated NBS-rWGS in 454,707 UK Biobank subjects with 29,865 pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants associated with 388 disorders had a true negative rate (specificity) of 99.7% following root cause analysis. In 2,208 critically ill children with suspected genetic disorders and 2,168 of their parents, simulated NBS-rWGS for 388 disorders identified 104 (87%) of 119 diagnoses previously made by rWGS and 15 findings not previously reported (NBS-rWGS negative predictive value 99.6%, true positive rate [sensitivity] 88.8%). Retrospective NBS-rWGS diagnosed 15 children with disorders that had been undetected by conventional NBS. In 43 of the 104 children, had NBS-rWGS-based interventions been started on day of life 5, the Delphi consensus was that symptoms could have been avoided completely in seven critically ill children, mostly in 21, and partially in 13. We invite groups worldwide to refine these NBS-rWGS conditions and join us to prospectively examine clinical utility and cost effectiveness., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests K.P.H., C.M.K., S.S.M., and D.T. are employees and shareholders of Illumina, Inc. G.D,A., B.M., S.L., and T.D. are employees and shareholders of Alexion Pharmaceuticals. E.F. and M.G.R. are employees and shareholders of Fabric Genomics, Inc. M.K. and S.S. are employees and shareholders of Genomenon, Inc. C.K., G.P., S.S., S.P., and A.R.W. are employees and shareholders of TileDB, Inc. S.K. is an employee and shareholder of Luna PBC, Inc. S.K. has filed a patent related to this work., (Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Falling is a public health problem that could be prevented by screening at-risk populations. Several tools exist, some of which assess lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). Our aim was to examine knowledge and practice regarding the assessment of LUTS when screening for fall risk in older people., Materials and Methods: The knowledge and practices of geriatric caregivers regarding falls risk screening were surveyed by an online self-administered questionnaire, consisting of 6 to 29 questions depending on the responses. A descriptive analysis of the responses was performed., Results: Of 120 caregivers approached, 71 responded to the questionnaire (92% female, median age 44 years [40.5-50.7]). Most respondents were nurses (58%). 51 were aware of at least one fall risk screening tool, and 23 felt they assessed at least one LUTS. The 3 most known tools were the Timed up and go test (n=16), the unipodal stance time (n=10) and the Morse scale (n=8). 33 used fall risk screening tools, and 15 felt they assessed at least one SBAU. The 3 most used tools were the Timed up and go test (n=6), the STRATIFY scale (n=5) and the Morse scale (n=4)., Conclusion: Most fall risk screening tools known or used by caregivers involved in the care of the older adult do not assess LUTS., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Catatonia is a neuropsychiatric syndrome, with important psychomotor features, associated with schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders. The syndrome comprises multiple symptoms including abnormal motor control, behaviors, volition, and autonomic regulation. Catatonia assessment relies on clinical rating scales and clinicians familiar with the catatonia exam. However, objective instrumentation may aid the detection of catatonia. We aimed to investigate the relationship between movement parameters derived from actigraphy and expert ratings of catatonia symptoms measured by the Bush Francis Catatonia Rating Scale (BFCRS) and the Northoff Catatonia scale (NCS)., Methods: Eighty-six acutely ill inpatients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders were assessed with the BFCRS, the NCS, and 24 h continuous actigraphy. Non-wear and sleep periods were removed from the actigraphy data prior to analysis. Associations between total catatonia scores, derived from both BFCRS and NCS, and actigraphy parameters as well as between single BFCRS items and actigraphy parameters were calculated using Spearman's rank correlation and non-parametric ANCOVAs (Quade's ANCOVAs), respectively., Results: Both higher BFCRS total scores ( r = 0.369, p = 0.006) and NCS total scores ( r = 0.384, p = 0.004) were associated with lower activity levels (AL). Higher scores on single BFCRS items such as immobility/stupor or staring were linked to lower AL ( immobility/stupor : F = 17.388, p < 0.001, η 2 = 0.175; staring : F = 7.849, p = 0.001, η 2 = 0.162) and lower metabolic equivalents of task (MET)., Conclusion: Specific catatonia symptoms such as immobility/stupor and staring can be measured with actigraphy. This may aid the detection, staging, and monitoring of catatonia in clinical settings., Competing Interests: SW received honoraria from Janssen, Lundbeck, Mepha, Neurolite, and Sunovion, which were unrelated to this work. 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 © 2022 von Känel, Nadesalingam, Alexaki, Baumann Gama, Kyrou, Lefebvre and Walther.)

Thus far, no long-term in situ observation of planktonic biomass have been undertaken to optimize the black-lip pearl oyster aquaculture in the remote Tuamotu atolls. The feasibility of using data from the OLI sensor onboard Landsat-8 satellite to determine chlorophyll a concentrations (Chla) in a deep atoll, Ahe, was then assessed over the 2013-2021 period using 153 images. Validations with in situ observations were satisfactory, while seasonal and spatial patterns in Chla were evidenced within the lagoon. Then, a bioenergetic modelling exercise was undertaken to estimate oyster life-history traits when exposed to the retrieved Chla. The outputs provide spatio-temporal variations in pelagic larval duration (11.1 to 30.6 days), time to reach commercial size (18.8 to 45.3 months) and reproductive outputs (0.5 to 1.7 event year -1 ). This first study shows the potential of using remote sensing to monitor the trophic status of deep pearl farming lagoons and help aquaculture management., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

While many genetic diseases have effective treatments, they frequently progress rapidly to severe morbidity or mortality if those treatments are not implemented immediately. Since front-line physicians frequently lack familiarity with these diseases, timely molecular diagnosis may not improve outcomes. Herein we describe Genome-to-Treatment, an automated, virtual system for genetic disease diagnosis and acute management guidance. Diagnosis is achieved in 13.5 h by expedited whole genome sequencing, with superior analytic performance for structural and copy number variants. An expert panel adjudicated the indications, contraindications, efficacy, and evidence-of-efficacy of 9911 drug, device, dietary, and surgical interventions for 563 severe, childhood, genetic diseases. The 421 (75%) diseases and 1527 (15%) effective interventions retained are integrated with 13 genetic disease information resources and appended to diagnostic reports ( https://gtrx.radygenomiclab.com ). This system provided correct diagnoses in four retrospectively and two prospectively tested infants. The Genome-to-Treatment system facilitates optimal outcomes in children with rapidly progressive genetic diseases., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Arenicola marina , a marine benthic polychaete, is widespread on sandy beaches in Europe and considered as an ecosystem engineer despite commonly used as bait by fishermen. Data regarding the bioenergetics of the lugworm larval stages are still incomplete. Trochophore is initially lecithotroph and then becomes planktotroph while growing as metatrochophore on subtidal area, a quite stable daily temperature environment compared with the foreshore, where juveniles and adult live, with daily temperature fluctuating up to 15°C. These discrepancies in temperature ranges may influence the temperature corrections (TCs) that control metabolic rates during the life cycle of A. marina . We carried out laboratory experiments in microcosms by inducing artificial spawning of lugworms, and then undertaken in vitro fertilization to obtain embryos and, finally, to follow, the larval development up to 10 segments with chaetae for 50 days under three temperature conditions (13°C, 15°C and 17°C) and two food conditions ('fed' and 'non-fed'). The first feeding ('birth') of A. marina larvae was deciphered anatomically for a size between 450 and 500 μm and described at 17 days post-fertilization for larvae reared at 15°C and 17°C. Using a biphasic model with a von Bertalanffy growth before 'birth' and an exponential growth after 'birth', among the three temperature treatments, the 15°C condition exhibited the best larval performance. TC based on embryonic and larval metabolic rates gave an Arrhenius temperature of ~6661 K and a higher boundary temperature tolerance range of ~294.5 K. Both temperature values differ from those calculated from TC based mostly on juvenile and adult metabolic rates. We claim to use two sets of Arrhenius temperatures according to the life history stages of A. marina while using Dynamic Energy Budget model. This model was developed initially in order to manage the conservation of the lugworm species., (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press and the Society for Experimental Biology.)