Schizotypy : do not worry, it is not all worrisome

A long-standing tradition in personality research in psychology, and nowadays increasingly in psychiatry, is that psychotic and psychotic-like thoughts are considered common experiences in the general population. Given their widespread occurrence, such experiences cannot merely reflect pathological functioning. Moreover, reflecting the multi-dimensionality of schizotypy, some dimensions might be informative for healthy functioning while others less so. Here, we explored these possibilities by reviewing research that links schizotypy to favourable functioning such as subjective wellbeing, cognitive functioning (major focus on creativity) and personality correlates. This research highlights the existence of healthy people with psychotic-like traits who mainly experience positive schizotypy (but also affective features mapping onto bipolar disorder). These individuals seem to benefit from a healthy way to organise their thoughts and experiences, i.e. they employ an adaptive cognitive framework to explain and integrate their unusual experiences. We conclude that, instead of focussing only on the pathological, future studies should explore the behavioural, genetic, imaging and psychopharmacological correlates that define the healthy expression of psychotic-like traits. Such studies would inform on protective or compensatory mechanisms of psychosis-risk and could usefully inform us on the evolutionary advantages of the psychosis dimension.

Les cadres scolaires souhaitent plus d'autonomie qu'ils pensent en avoir : une analyse de la situation en Suisse romande

De manière générale, l'autonomie des établissements de formation influence positivement la performance scolaire. Une enquête réalisée en Suisse romande auprès de 219 cadres scolaires permet, dans la présente contribution, de mesurer l'écart existant entre le degré d'autonomie souhaitée par les cadres scolaires d'une part et le degré d'autonomie dont ils disent disposer d'autre part. Le traitement descriptif des données de l'enquête démontre que, dans tous les domaines de gestion, les cadres scolaires souhaitent disposer de plus d'autonomie qu'ils n'en perçoivent. Ce constat est valable dans tous les cantons, tous les degrés du système éducatif et toutes les fonctions. Le degré d'autonomie souhaitée ne varie que peu selon les cantons, les degrés ou les fonctions. Sur cette base, il n'est pas possible de conclure à la nécessité ou à la pertinence d'un degré d'autonomie différenciée selon les cantons, les degrés ou les fonctions. Le traitement analytique des données de l'enquête identifie les facteurs expliquant l'écart entre les degrés d'autonomie souhaitée et perçue. Cet écart est plus élevé que la moyenne dans les cantons de Fribourg et de Genève, dans le degré primaire et dans la fonction de directeur. En d'autres termes, l'adéquation entre les degrés d'autonomie souhaitée et perçue est moins bonne dans ces cantons, ce degré et cette fonction. Un rattrapage en matière de délégation d'autonomie est dès lors possible. La reconnaissance, à l'intérieur de l'établissement, d'une faculté de conduite et de pilotage à la direction exerce un effet positif sur le degré d'autonomie souhaitée et un effet positif plus important encore sur le degré perçu. Par conséquent, il apparaît qu'une direction dont la faculté de conduite est avérée souhaite non seulement disposer de plus d'autonomie mais parvienne à obtenir (ou à « gagner ») plus d'autonomie. Abstract School autonomy has a positive influence on pupils' performance. This article presents the results of a survey conducted in the French-speaking part of Switzerland on 219 school leaders. The objective of the survey is to measure and to explain the gap between the level of autonomy desired by school leaders, and the level of autonomy that they perceive. Descriptive statistics show that, in every single management area, school leaders wish to have more autonomy than they actually have. This result is valid in all cantons, all levels of the education system and all types of job. The desired level of autonomy varies only slightly depending on the cantons, the levels of the education system and the types of job. On this basis, it is not possible to conclude that it is necessary and relevant to differentiate the level of autonomy depending on the cantons, the levels of the education system and the types of job. Analytical statistics identify the explanatory variables of the gap between the desired level of autonomy and the perceived level of autonomy. This gap is higher than average in the cantons of Fribourg and Geneva, in the primary level of education and in the position of head-teacher. In other words, the adequacy between the desired and the perceived levels of autonomy is worse in these cantons, this level and this position. As a result, a catch-up on the delegation of school autonomy is possible. Results also show that school leaders, whose management competence is recognized by its staff, not only want more autonomy but succeed in securing (or "gaining") more autonomy.

Metabolic equivalent: one size does not fit all.

The metabolic equivalent (MET) is a widely used physiological concept that represents a simple procedure for expressing energy cost of physical activities as multiples of resting metabolic rate (RMR). The value equating 1 MET (3.5 ml O2 x kg(-1) x min(-1) or 1 kcal x kg(-1) x h(-1)) was first derived from the resting O2 consumption (VO2) of one person, a 70-kg, 40-yr-old man. Given the extensive use of MET levels to quantify physical activity level or work output, we investigated the adequacy of this scientific convention. Subjects consisted of 642 women and 127 men, 18-74 yr of age, 35-186 kg in weight, who were weight stable and healthy, albeit obese in some cases. RMR was measured by indirect calorimetry using a ventilated hood system, and the energy cost of walking on a treadmill at 5.6 km/h was measured in a subsample of 49 men and 49 women (26-45 kg/m2; 29-47 yr). Average VO2 and energy cost corresponding with rest (2.6 +/- 0.4 ml O2 x kg(-1) x min(-1) and 0.84 +/- 0.16 kcal x kg(-1) x h(-1), respectively) were significantly lower than the commonly accepted 1-MET values of 3.5 ml O2 x kg(-1) x min(-1) and 1 kcal x kg(-1) x h(-1), respectively. Body composition (fat mass and fat-free mass) accounted for 62% of the variance in resting VO2 compared with age, which accounted for only 14%. For a large heterogeneous sample, the 1-MET value of 3.5 ml O2 x kg(-1) x min(-1) overestimates the actual resting VO2 value on average by 35%, and the 1-MET of 1 kcal/h overestimates resting energy expenditure by 20%. Using measured or predicted RMR (ml O2 x kg(-1) x min(-1) or kcal x kg(-1) x h(-1)) as a correction factor can appropriately adjust for individual differences when estimating the energy cost of moderate intensity walking (5.6 km/h).

A new all-round density functional based on spin states and SN2 barriers

We report here a new empirical density functional that is constructed based on the performance of OPBE and PBE for spin states and SN 2 reaction barriers and how these are affected by different regions of the reduced gradient expansion. In a previous study [Swart, Sol̀, and Bickelhaupt, J. Comput. Methods Sci. Eng. 9, 69 (2009)] we already reported how, by switching between OPBE and PBE, one could obtain both the good performance of OPBE for spin states and reaction barriers and that of PBE for weak interactions within one and the same (SSB-sw) functional. Here we fine tuned this functional and include a portion of the KT functional and Grimme's dispersion correction to account for π- π stacking. Our new SSB-D functional is found to be a clear improvement and functions very well for biological applications (hydrogen bonding, π -π stacking, spin-state splittings, accuracy of geometries, reaction barriers)

A new, automated, four-colour interphase FISH approach for the simultaneous detection of specific aneuploidies of diagnostic and prognostic significance in high hyperdiploid ALL

In hyperdiploid acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), the simultaneous occurrence of specific aneuploidies confers a more favourable outcome than hyperdiploidy alone. Interphase (I) FISH complements conventional cytogenetics (CC) through its sensitivity and ability to detect chromosome aberrations in non-dividing cells. To overcome the limits of manual I-FISH, we developed an automated four-colour I-FISH approach and assessed its ability to detect concurrent aneuploidies in ALL. I-FISH was performed using centromeric probes for chromosomes 4, 6, 10 and 17. Parameters established for automatic nucleus selection and signal detection were evaluated (3 controls). Cut-off values were determined (10 controls, 1000 nuclei/case). Combinations of aneuploidies were considered relevant when each aneuploidy was individually significant. Results obtained in 10 ALL patients (1500 nuclei/patient) were compared with those by CC. Various combinations of aneuploidies were identified. All clones detected by CC were observed by I-FISH. I-FISH revealed numerous additional abnormal clones, ranging between 0.1% and 31.6%, based on the large number of nuclei evaluated. Four-colour automated I-FISH permits the identification of concurrent aneuploidies of prognostic significance in hyperdiploid ALL. Large numbers of cells can be analysed rapidly by this method. Owing to its high sensitivity, the method provides a powerful tool for the detection of small abnormal clones at diagnosis and during follow up. Compared to CC, it generates a more detailed cytogenetic picture, the biological and clinical significance of which merits further evaluation. Once optimised for a given set of probes, the system can be easily adapted for other probe combinations.

Distributed all-atom simulations of intrinsically unstructured proteins

The Computational Biophysics Group at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (GRIB-UPF) hosts two unique computational resources dedicated to the execution of large scale molecular dynamics (MD) simulations: (a) the ACMD molecular-dynamics software, used on standard personal computers with graphical processing units (GPUs); and (b) the GPUGRID. net computing network, supported by users distributed worldwide that volunteer GPUs for biomedical research. We leveraged these resources and developed studies, protocols and open-source software to elucidate energetics and pathways of a number of biomolecular systems, with a special focus on flexible proteins with many degrees of freedom. First, we characterized ion permeation through the bactericidal model protein Gramicidin A conducting one of the largest studies to date with the steered MD biasing methodology. Next, we addressed an open problem in structural biology, the determination of drug-protein association kinetics; we reconstructed the binding free energy, association, and dissaciociation rates of a drug like model system through a spatial decomposition and a Makov-chain analysis. The work was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and become one of the few landmark papers elucidating a ligand-binding pathway. Furthermore, we investigated the unstructured Kinase Inducible Domain (KID), a 28-peptide central to signalling and transcriptional response; the kinetics of this challenging system was modelled with a Markovian approach in collaboration with Frank Noe’s group at the Freie University of Berlin. The impact of the funding includes three peer-reviewed publication on high-impact journals; three more papers under review; four MD analysis components, released as open-source software; MD protocols; didactic material, and code for the hosting group.

21st century climate change: where has all the geomorphology gone?

This Commentary draws together recently published work relating to the relationship between climate change and geomorphology to address the surprising observation that geomorphic work seems to have had little impact upon the work of the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change. However, recent papers show that methodological innovation has allowed geomorphological reconstruction over timescales highly relevant to late 20th century and 21st century climate change. In turn, these and other developments are allowing links to be made between climatic variability and geomorphology, to begin to predict geomorphic futures and also to appreciate the role that geomorphic processes play in the flux of carbon and the carbon cycle.

Opportunity for catch-up HPV vaccination in young women after first delivery.

Background Early age at first delivery has been identified as a risk factor for high-risk HPV-type infection and cervical cancer development. Methods A cross-sectional study was carried out in a large public maternity hospital in Sao Paulo, Brazil. During June 2006 to February 2007, 301 women aged 15-24 years who gave birth to their first child were recruited between 43 and 60 days after delivery. Detection of HPV DNA in cervical specimens was performed using a standardised PCR protocol with PGMY09/11 primers. The association of selected factors with HPV infection was assessed by using a Generalised Linear Model. Results HPV DNA was detected in 58.5% (95% CI 52.7% to 64.0%) of the enrolled young women. The most common types of HPV found were: HPV16, HPV51, HPV52, HPV58 and HPV71. The overall prevalence of HPV types targeted by the HPV prophylactic vaccines was: HPV 16-12.0%, HPV 18-2.3% and HPV 6 and 11 4.3%. In the multivariate analysis, only age (inversely, p for trend=0.02) and smoking habits were independently associated with HPV infection. Conclusions The findings show that these young primiparous women had high cervical HPV prevalence, suggesting that this is a high-risk group for cervical cancer development. Nevertheless, 17.3% were positive for any of the four HPV types included in HPV vaccines (HPV6, 11, 16 or 18), with 13.3% positive for HPV 16 or 18 and only 1.0% having both vaccine related-oncogenic HPV types. Thus, young primiparous women could benefit from catch-up HPV vaccination programmes.

A systolic array for linear MIMO detection based on an all-swap lattice reduction algorithm

A systolic array to implement lattice-reduction-aided lineardetection is proposed for a MIMO receiver. The lattice reductionalgorithm and the ensuing linear detections are operated in the same array, which can be hardware-efficient. All-swap lattice reduction algorithm (ASLR) is considered for the systolic design.ASLR is a variant of the LLL algorithm, which processes all lattice basis vectors within one iteration. Lattice-reduction-aided linear detection based on ASLR and LLL algorithms have very similarbit-error-rate performance, while ASLR is more time efficient inthe systolic array, especially for systems with a large number ofantennas.

Conquiste della Serenissima Republica di Venetia nella Moreasotto il comando del doge Francesco Morosini / Descritte, e dedicate all illustrissimo et eccellentissimo signore il signore Domenico Contarini, ... ; Alla Santità di N. S. Innocenzo XII ; Dal Padre Cosmografo Coronelli

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