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Size-resolved aerosol samples for subsequent quantitative determination of polymer sugars (polysaccharides) after hydrolysis to their subunit monomers (monosaccharides) were collected in surface air over the central Arctic Ocean during the biologically most active summer period. The analysis was carried out by novel use of liquid chromatography coupled with highly selective and sensitive tandem mass spectrometry. Polysaccharides were detected in particle sizes ranging from 0.035 to 10 μm in diameter with distinct features of heteropolysaccharides, enriched in xylose, glucose + mannose as well as a substantial fraction of deoxysugars. Polysaccharides, containing deoxysugar monomers, showed a bimodal size structure with about 70% of their mass found in the Aitken mode over the pack ice area. Pentose (xylose) and hexose (glucose + mannose) had a weaker bimodal character and were largely found with super-micrometer sizes and in addition with a minor sub-micrometer fraction. The concentration of total hydrolysable neutral sugars (THNS) in the samples collected varied over two orders of magnitude (1 to 160 pmol m−3) in the super-micrometer size fraction and to a somewhat lesser extent in sub-micrometer particles (4 to 140 pmol m−3). Lowest THNS concentrations were observed in air masses that had spent more than five days over the pack ice. Within the pack ice area, about 53% of the mass of hydrolyzed polysaccharides was detected in sub-micrometer particles. The relative abundance of sub-micrometer hydrolyzed polysaccharides could be related to the length of time that the air mass spent over pack ice, with the highest fraction (> 90%) observed for > 7 days of advection. The aerosol samples collected onboard ship showed similar monosaccharide composition, compared to particles generated experimentally in situ at the expedition's open lead site. This supports the existence of a primary particle source of polysaccharide containing polymer gels from open leads by bubble bursting at the air–sea interface. We speculate that the occurrence of atmospheric surface-active polymer gels with their hydrophilic and hydrophobic segments, promoting cloud droplet activation, could play a potential role as cloud condensation nuclei in the pristine high Arctic.

IntroductionAlexithymia is a construct which has been described in persons under the autistic spectrum. Besides Autistic Spectrum Disorders, alexithymia nowadays is highly correlated with several psychiatric disorders, among them being Eating Disorders. Several studies suggested a “cognitive-affective” division in the inner experience of patients with Anorexia Nervosa, because of their difficulty in describing, identifying and recognising their own emotions as well as othersObjectivesThis study aims to identify how many adolescents diagnosed with Anorexia Nervosa meet the characteristics of alexithymic personality traits and in which domain of these traits they had the most struggles with.MethodsThe study lot includes 34 adolescents diagnosed with Anorexia Nervosa evaluated by a self report survey: Online Alexithymia Questionnaire-G2 (OAQ-G2). The cut-off scores are: 113 and above - correlated with alexithymia, 95-112 - correlated with possible alexithymia and under 94 - insignificant clinical score. We analyzed the result of every subcategory of the questionnaire in order to determine whether there is an area affected more than others.ResultsThe sample included 34 patients, female to male ratio 31:3, evaluated in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, “Prof. Dr. Alexandru Obregia” Psychiatry Hospital. 29,41% had clinically semnificative scores for alexithymic traits, while 52,94% scored for possibile alexithymia according to the OAQ-G2.ConclusionsIn 82,35% of patients from the lot we identified alexithymic personality traits. The F1 subcategory (difficulty identifying feelings) and F5a (problematic interpersonal process) were the ones that distinguished the alexithymic group from the possible alexithymic one.DisclosureNo significant relationships.

IntroductionA psychotic episode might stem from various psychiatric disorders, such as Major Depressive Disorder, Mania, Autism Spectrum Disorder, it might lead to Schizophrenia, or it might be a single event.ObjectivesThe study aimed to assess the main comorbidities encountered in the onset of psychotic episodes in children and adolescents, who were hospitalized in a pediatric psychiatry department for at least one night. Furthermore, another objective was to establish whether a family history of mental illness or a poor socio-economic status have bigger impact on the evolution of these patients.MethodsTo analyze the objectives, it was used an observational study, based on patients with the onset of a psychotic episode and associated diagnosis according to ICD-10, evaluated in Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Department of “Prof. Dr. Al. Obregia” Hospital, between 2015-2019. Patients with psychotic episodes with onset related to Major Depressive Disorder and Mania or a personal history of Schizophrenia were excluded.ResultsThe most frequent associated comorbidity was Autism Spectrum Disorder. In terms of long-term evolution, patients with comorbidities have poorer outcomes, more relapses and hospitalizations. Family history of mental illness, low socio-economic status, the age of onset were found to be prognostic factors and have an important impact on the outcome.ConclusionsThis study compared patients with psychotic episodes with and without comorbid conditions associated, considering the length of hospitalization period, the evolution and the number of relapses. The presence and the type of comorbidities are important factors of evolution and prognostic for these patients.DisclosureNo significant relationships.

An adaptive Fuzzy Logic Controller (FLC) is proposed to actuate MR damper smartly. Minimizing the excessive responses of buildings should be considered as a multi-objective optimization problem. The new-generation structural systems should be designed based on the seismic performance level. Designing based on performance requires dynamic, heavy, and repetitive time history analyses. The Endurance Time Analysis method (ETA) is a modern dynamic method based on the performance of the structure, which leads to the reduction of time and number of structural analyses. To investigate the efficiency of Dolphin Echolocation-Fuzzy Logic Controller (DE-FLC) and ETA, several ET simulations were performed. The seismic responses of llth-story benchmark building equipped with MR dampers were investigated in two cases of seven time-history analysis and six-generation ET functions. By using dolphin echolocation, the optimal arrangement and the number of sensors and dampers are determined. The proposed DE-FLC controller exhibits its efficiency by reducing the excessive displacement under seismic excitations in comparison with the uncontrolled case and classical FLC. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that the sixth generation of ETA can simulate responses of several time-history analyses well with proper accuracy, without necessitating any computational burden.

The half-life of 39 Ar is measured using the DEAP-3600 detector located 2 km underground at SNOLAB. Between 2016 and 2020, DEAP-3600 used a target mass of (3269 ± 24) kg of liquid argon distilled from the atmosphere in a direct-detection dark matter search. Such an argon mass also enables direct measurements of argon isotope properties. The decay of 39 Ar in DEAP-3600 is the dominant source of triggers by two orders of magnitude, ensuring high statistics and making DEAP-3600 well-suited for measuring this isotope’s half-life. Use of the pulse-shape discrimination technique in DEAP-3600 allows powerful discrimination between nuclear recoils and electron recoils, resulting in the selection of a clean sample of 39 Ar decays. Observing over a period of 3.4 years, the 39 Ar half-life is measured to be ( 302 ± 8 stat ± 6 sys ) years. This new direct measurement suggests that the half-life of 39 Ar is significantly longer than the accepted value, with potential implications for measurements using this isotope’s half-life as input.

The specific activity of the β decay of 39 Ar in atmospheric argon is measured using the DEAP-3600 detector. DEAP-3600, located 2 km underground at SNOLAB, uses a total of (3269 ± 24) kg of liquid argon distilled from the atmosphere to search for dark matter. This detector is well-suited to measure the decay of 39 Ar owing to its very low background levels. This is achieved in two ways: it uses low background construction materials; and it uses pulse-shape discrimination to differentiate between nuclear recoils and electron recoils. With 167 live-days of data, the measured specific activity at the time of atmospheric extraction is (0.964 ± 0.001 stat ± 0.024 sys ) Bq/kg atmAr , which is consistent with results from other experiments. A cross-check analysis using different event selection criteria and a different statistical method confirms the result.

IntroductionPsychiatric symptoms related with menstrual cycle vary from dysphoria to psychosis. There are only a few cases of menstrual psychosis reported, all characterized by acute onset, against a background of normality, brief duration, with full recovery and a circa-mensual periodicity.ObjectivesWe report a case of dissociative disorder, in a teenage girl, with atypical presentation and an unusual periodicity of symptoms and recoveries.MethodsPresentation of a case of dissociative disorder, followed by a review of the similar cases described in the literature.ResultsWe are presenting a case of a 15 years old female, who presented in our Emergency Department for confusion, anxiety, negativism in verbal and non-verbal response, bradylalia and bradypsychia, insomnia for over 48 hours. The symptoms suddenly began two days before arrival in our clinic. From the patient’s personal history, we retain the following: menarche at 14 years old, irregular periods, hypermenorrhea. Patient was born premature, G=1200g, spastic diplegia, periventricular leukomalacia (MRI – 2018). Three similar episodes happened a year ago, with one month periodicity, with spontaneous remission after 5-6 days. Patient was treated with antipsychotics and benzodiazepines for the second and the third episode, but the treatment was stopped six month ago. The investigations results were normal, except for a high level of plasmatic cortisol. Patient fully recovered in the day the menses stopped.ConclusionsWe considered this case to be atypical due to the sudden debut and recovery and there are still some remaining questions. Is it hormonal related, menstrual related or is it exclusively a psychiatric condition?DisclosureNo significant relationships.

IntroductionAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts and it is marked by repetitive sensory–motor behaviours and restricted interests or activities. Now recognized to occur in up to 1% of the population, the prevalence of ASD has registered a steady increase in the past two decades. Heterogeneity of presentation is a hallmark with comorbid psychiatric and medical morbidities frequently reported. Comorbidities mask and delay the diagnosis and are the cause of inadequate therapies.ObjectivesIn the present paper, we studied a cohort of patients with ASD, investigating the rates and types of psychiatric and medical comorbidities.MethodsA retrospective study of psychiatric and medical comorbidities was carried out on a sample of 120 participants that met ASD criteria according to DSM-V. The patients were examined with a detailed medical history, physical examination, as well as some additional functional, imaging, laboratory and genetic investigations. The associated conditions considered were: attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), epilepsy, intellectual disability, gastrointestinal symptoms, ophtalmologic manifestations, infections.ResultsOf the 120 ASD subjects referred, 25 (20.8%) received the diagnosis of epilepsy. ADHD was established in 24 cases (20%). IQ score was obtained in half of the patients, 43.3% of them presenting a severe intellectual disability (IQ<35). Respiratory disorders occured in 25% of the cases. Ophtalmological findings were observed in 9.1% of the cases. Other frequent comorbidities included motor disturbances and feeding problems.ConclusionsA better understanding of comorbidities in ASD patients improves interdisciplinary collaboration, thus facilitating effective treatment programs.DisclosureNo significant relationships.

Introduction15q11.2-q13.3 region is prone to genomic rearrangements leading to both deletions and duplications. A wide spectrum of neuropsychiatric conditions, such as developmental delay/intellectual disability (DD/ID), autism, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, schizophrenia, epilepsy was reported in association with genomic imbalances of this region.ObjectivesIn this paper we report on 9 children carrying 15q11.2-q13.3 duplications.MethodsSeven boys and two girls, aged 15 months to 15 years, were included in the study. Genomic investigations were carried out by array-based comparative genomic hybridization (Agilent Technologies). In all patients the psychomotor development, dysmorphic features, neuroimaging and EEG anomalies were assessed. Psychologic and psychiatric evaluation was performed with specific tests.ResultsThe size of the duplications ranged from 9.65 Mb to 0.38 Mb. All patients presented speech delay. Autistic behavior and muscular hypotonia were detected in 8 out of 9 patients, DD/ID in 6. Two children presented epileptic seizures, in addition 4 other children had EEG anomalies. Facial dysmorphic features were observed in 5 patients. Neuroimaging studies showed anomalies in 4 children. The smallest region of overlap in our patient group harbors CHRNA7 gene, a candidate for the behavioral abnormalities.Conclusions15q duplications encompassing CHRNA7 gene were associated with different neuropsychiatric features in our patients. Our results further support the association of 15q duplications with neuropsychiatric phenotypes, with clinical heterogeneity and variable severity, which is yet to be explained. Acknowledgment: The research leading to these results has received funding from the EEA RO NO Grant 2014-2021, the project contract No 6/2019.DisclosureNo significant relationships.

The objective of any organization is to create value for its stockholders. Given that sophistication in project management will lead to efficiency in operations, which in turn leads to better profits, enlightened enterprises are sensitive to project management sophistication and the definitive way of measuring it and improving it. Although in many organizations, projects are initiated in isolation of each other, and based on ad hoc urgencies, sophisticated enterprises have a formalized, logical, and consistent, structure for organizing, and managing, their projects. Project management sophistication is the state of enterprise practices in which success of projects is predictable and that the definitive measure of project management success continually improves with time. Conducting a full assessment of the organizational project management sophistication is relatively time consuming and costly. Thus, many organizations have a need and desire for instruments that would provide a rough estimate of the project management maturity of the organization without a major expenditure of funds. This book includes instruments that should help in that regard.