The effect of sex on social cognition and functioning in schizophrenia

Social cognitive impairment is a core feature of schizophrenia and plays a critical role in poor community functioning in the disorder. However, our understanding of the relationship between key biological variables and social cognitive impairment in schizophrenia is limited. This study examined the effect of sex on the levels of social cognitive impairment and the relationship between social cognitive impairment and social functioning in schizophrenia. Two hundred forty-eight patients with schizophrenia (61 female) and 87 healthy controls (31 female) completed five objective measures and one subjective measure of social cognition. The objective measures included the Facial Affect Identification, Emotion in Biological Motion, Self-Referential Memory, MSCEIT Branch 4, and Empathic Accuracy tasks. The subjective measure was the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), which includes four subscales. Patients completed measures of social and non-social functional capacity and community functioning. For objective social cognitive tasks, we found a significant sex difference only on one measure, the MSCEIT Branch 4, which in both patient and control groups, females performed better than males. Regarding the IRI, females endorsed higher empathy-related items on one subscale. The moderating role of sex was found only for the association between objective social cognition and non-social functional capacity. The relationship was stronger in male patients than female patients. In this study, we found minimal evidence of a sex effect on social cognition in schizophrenia across subjective and objective measures. Sex does not appear to moderate the association between social cognition and functioning in schizophrenia.

Cognitive determinants of community functioning and quality of life in homeless adults with mental illness: 6-year follow-up from the At Home/Chez Soi Study Toronto site

Background High rates of physical and mental health comorbidities are associated with functional impairment among persons who are homeless. Cognitive dysfunction is common, but how it contributes to various functional outcomes in this population has not been well investigated. This study examines how cognition covaries with community functioning and subjective quality of life over a 6-year period while accounting for the effects of risk and protective factors. Methods Participants were 349 homeless adults (mean age = 39.8) recruited from the Toronto site of the At Home/Chez Soi study, a large Canadian randomized control trial of Housing First. Participants completed up to four clinical evaluations over 6 years. Factor scores were created to index verbal learning and memory (vLM) and processing speed-cognitive flexibility (PSCF). The primary outcomes were community functioning and subjective quality of life. Risk factors included lifetime homelessness, mental health diagnoses, medical comorbidity, and childhood adversity. Linear mixed-effects models were conducted to examine cognition-functional outcome associations over time, with resilience as a moderator. Results Better vLM (b = 0.787, p = 0.010) and PSCF (b = 1.66, p < 0.001) were associated with better community functioning, but not with quality of life. Resilience conferred a protective effect on subjective quality of life (b = 1.45, p = 0.011) but did not moderate outcomes. Conclusions Our findings suggest a need to consider the unique determinants of community functioning and quality of life among homeless adults. Cognition should be prioritized as a key intervention target within existing service delivery models to optimize long-term functional outcomes.

Drought intensity effects on grassland plant communities and soil microbial community function

&lt;p&gt;Plant and soil communities are intimately connected. Plants shape soil microbial community composition through their resource acquisition strategies and via root carbon (C) inputs, which has cascading effects on biogeochemical cycles. Drought has been shown to disrupt the connection between plants and soil microorganisms. However, the effects of drought intensity on soil microbial community functioning, including the uptake of recent plant-derived C, are largely unknown. Here, we determined how two plant communities with contrasting resource acquisition strategies (acquisitive versus conservative) responded to a gradient of drought (control, and eight drought intensities). Using a &lt;sup&gt;13&lt;/sup&gt;C pulse labelling approach, we tracked C allocated from plants to soil and its uptake by the microbial community. We measured potential extracellular enzyme activity as a proxy of microbial community functioning. We hypothesized that (1) drought responses are non-linear, and (2) acquisitive plant communities have lower drought resistance but recover faster than conservative plant communities, which is reflected in lower &lt;sup&gt;13&lt;/sup&gt;C transfer and reduced microbial functioning during drought and increases after drought. In general, we found that the responses we measured were non-linearly related to drought intensity. After three weeks of drought, drought intensity decreased aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) of both plant communities. Soil extractable organic &lt;sup&gt;13&lt;/sup&gt;C decreased with increasing drought intensity, indicating that less recently assimilated C was allocated to root exudation. Although microbial biomass remained stable over the drought intensity gradient, &lt;sup&gt;13&lt;/sup&gt;C uptake into microbial biomass decreased at peak drought, and was lower in the conservative vs. acquisitive plant community at mild drought levels. Potential enzyme activity of &amp;#946;-1,4-glucosidase, involved in cellulose breakdown, and&amp;#160; &amp;#946;-N-acetyl-glucosaminidase, involved in chitin breakdown, decreased with increasing drought intensity. Urease activity was higher in conservative than acquisitive plant communities exposed to drought. Seven days after re-wetting, we found that microbial uptake of &lt;sup&gt;13&lt;/sup&gt;C increased along the drought gradient and was higher than the control in communities previously subjected to high drought intensities. This fast microbial recovery could affect nutrient mobilisation, which could underlie longer-term plant community recovery. Two months after re-wetting, we indeed found that plant communities that had previously experienced high drought intensity (&gt; 75% soil water deficit) had higher ANPP than the control. We conclude that drought intensity has significant non-linear effects on microbial uptake of recent plant C and on potential extracellular enzyme activities both during drought and recovery, with consequences for plant community recovery dynamics. &amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;

Phylloplane of trees under stress in the city

&lt;p&gt;Phylloplane or the microbial habitat on leaf surfaces is an integrated part of green infrastructure, with the potential to stimulate plant community productivity, affect plant fitness, and release of ecosystem services. Anthropogenic pressure, among which urbanization and related stressors was shown to affect the phylloplane microbial community composition and diversity. However, taxonomic characterization of the phylloplane with the aim to link it to the ecosystem functioning is not sufficient because it considers the microbial pool as a whole, not distinguishing between active, potentially active, dormant, and dead units. Meanwhile, only active microorganisms drive biochemical processes and determine the microbial community functioning. Determination of ecologically relevant microorganisms is linked to characterization the active microbial states but little is known on the phylloplane activity and its variation with the quality of the environment.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In this study, we attempted to verify how a change in environmental quality affects the phylloplane composition and activity. For this purpose, leaves of &lt;em&gt;Betula pendula&lt;/em&gt; were sampled in Moscow (Russian Federation) along the three transects established starting from the road with heavy traffic and increasing gradually the distance from this pollution source. For determination of phylloplane activity and functional diversity a Microresp&lt;sup&gt;TM&lt;/sup&gt; tool, used generally for characterization of the soil microbiome, was adopted. The diversity of phylloplane microbiome was determined by its cultivation on nutrient media. Additionally, total genomic DNA was extracted from the leaf surface. Environmental quality was assessed by collecting the dust deposited on the leaf surface and analyzing its chemical composition on ICP-OES.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Activity of the phylloplane close to the road was 1.6 higher than far from it. Functional diversity or the ability to metabolize different substrates was on the contrary lower here. The amount of DNA was used to quantify the metabolic quotient (activity per DNA unit) which substantially increased in trees adjacent to the road. It could serve as an indication of the stress conditions or inefficiency of microbial community functioning with increase of contaminants concentrations. Elements that affected microbial activity were Ca and Zn. The amount of DNA declined with increase of Cu in leaf dust. While the total DNA and microbial functional diversity declined closer to the road, the amount of cultivable microorganisms, especially saprotrophic and enterobacteria, as well as the fungi species richness, increased on the leaf surface. This study showed that the distribution patterns under stress for phylloplane activity and functional diversity don&amp;#8217;t correspond to those for species richness of cultivable fungi. The activity of phylloplane could be considered as an additional tool for bioindication of environmental quality.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The current research was financially supported by RFBR No 19-05-50112&lt;/p&gt;

Phylogenetic and metabolic diversity have contrasting effects on the ecological functioning of bacterial communities

ABSTRACT Quantifying the relative contributions of microbial species to ecosystem functioning is challenging, because of the distinct mechanisms associated with microbial phylogenetic and metabolic diversity. We constructed bacterial communities with different diversity traits and employed exoenzyme activities (EEAs) and carbon acquisition potential (CAP) from substrates as proxies of bacterial functioning to test the independent effects of these two aspects of biodiversity. We expected that metabolic diversity, but not phylogenetic diversity would be associated with greater ecological function. Phylogenetically relatedness should intensify species interactions and coexistence, therefore amplifying the influence of metabolic diversity. We examined the effects of each diversity treatment using linear models, while controlling for the other, and found that phylogenetic diversity strongly influenced community functioning, positively and negatively. Metabolic diversity, however, exhibited negative or non-significant relationships with community functioning. When controlling for different substrates, EEAs increased along with phylogenetic diversity but decreased with metabolic diversity. The strength of diversity effects was related to substrate chemistry and the molecular mechanisms associated with each substrate's degradation. EEAs of phylogenetically similar groups were strongly affected by within-genus interactions. These results highlight the unique flexibility of microbial metabolic functions that must be considered in further ecological theory development.

The case for and against selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in rapid cycling bipolar disorder

Patients affected by the rapid cycling variant of bipolar disorder often experience significant functional difficulties. Physicians caring for affected patients face many challenges managing the turbulent course of this disorder, complicated at times by psychiatric comorbidities (including substance use disorders), polypharmacy, risk management (of suicidality and aggression), and difficulties with community functioning. There is some controversy about the use of selective serotonin receptor inhibitors (SSRIs) in managing bipolar depression, particularly in the rapid cycling variant. The potential benefit of SSRIs in reducing depressive symptoms must be balanced against the risks of mood phase switching and overall worsening of the rapid cycling course. This case report highlights challenges inherent in the application of SSRIs in a case of treatment-refractory rapid cycling bipolar disorder, and discusses the controversy of their use.

Forms of the local community functioning in the framework of territorial self-government on the territory of municipalities of the Russian Federation

This article focuses on the study of territorial self-government as one of the most relevant forms of the local community functioning. A special scientific interest in it is due to its exceptional ability for self-organization, which makes it possible to realize the potential of citizens in solving local issues. The authors present an analysis of two main trends in the formation of the TSG system and structure - administrative and initiative - and their organizational potential. The study of the organizational structure of territorial self-government and the forms of its implementation reveals a number of specific features of TSG. Particular attention in the article is paid to the analysis of the TSG of the Far Eastern Federal District, the problems of the functioning of this form of self-organization and the prospects for development

The Effects of Major Depressive Disorder on the Sequential Organization of Information Processing Stages: An Event-Related Potential Study

The adverse effects of depression on patients’ life have been reported but information about its effects on the sequential organization of the information processing stages remains poorly understood as previous studies focused only on distinct stages. This study adds to existing knowledge by examining the effect of major depressive disorder (MDD) on the sequential organization of information processing, executive and community functioning. Fifty-seven participants with 19 participants each for first episode depression (FMDD), recurrent episodes depression (RMDD), and healthy controls (HCs) participated in this study. They completed assessments on executive and community functioning measures, and choice reaction time task (CRTT) for the event-related potential (ERP) data. Findings revealed no significant between-group difference in executive functioning but participants with depression (FMDD and RMDD) were found to be more depressed, with FMDD participants having worse community functioning skills compared with HCs. There was no significant between-group main effect on behavioral data. ERP data showed significantly less positive-going P3b among RMDD participants compared with HCs. FMDD participants used a different information processing strategy at P1, while HCs and RMDD participants used a different processing strategy at N2b compared with the other group(s), respectively. The results suggest the use of multifaceted assessment to get a holistic view of the health status of people with MDD in order to inform clinicians on the appropriate interventional strategies needed for the patient.