Title Participants Abstract "Remediating reduced memory specificity in bipolar disorder: A case study using a Computerized Memory Specificity Training" "Kris Martens, Filip Raes" "OBJECTIVES: Reduced autobiographical memory specificity (rAMS) is a vulnerability factor found across unipolar depression (UD), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), eating disorder, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder (BD). A group delivered psychological therapy training called Memory Specificity Training (MeST) remediates rAMS in UD and PTSD, with additional downstream effects on related psychological processes and symptoms. Its impact in BD is unknown. In this case study, we examined the impact of a computerized version of MeST (c-MeST) on improving AMS and related symptoms and processes in participant with rapid cycling type I BD. METHOD: An experimental case study with an ABA design was used. During baseline (14 days, Phase A), the training phase (nine sessions across 17 days, Phase B), and a 1-month follow-up (Phase A), memory specificity, depressive symptoms, and related processes and symptoms were repeatedly measured. RESULTS: Memory specificity increased significantly after the participant completed c-MeST. Session-to-session scores indicated that AMS improved most from the in-person baseline assessment to the first online session. All other measures of processes and symptoms deteriorated during the training phase but regressed to baseline during follow-up. CONCLUSION: Memory specificity was improved as indicated by increased AMS from pre-intervention measurement to 1-month follow-up. Other improvements in symptoms were not observed. Rather, some related maladaptive psychological processes and symptoms worsened during the training phase and regressed to baseline during follow-up." "Face specificity of developmental prosopagnosia, moving beyond the debate on face specificity" "Jan Van den Stock" "Rumination relates to reduced autobiographical memory specificity in formerly depressed patients following a self-discrepancy challenge: The case of autobiographical memory specificity reactivity" "Filip Raes, Hanne Schoofs, Jamie Griffith, Dirk Hermans" "BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Reduced Autobiographical Memory Specificity (rAMS) is a hypothesized vulnerability factor for depression. Rumination is thought to be one of the processes underlying rAMS, but research has failed to show an association between trait rumination and rAMS in individuals who are not currently depressed (e.g., community samples, college samples, and formerly depressed samples). The present study tested whether a challenge procedure that induces a self-discrepancy focus can elicit an association between trait rumination and rAMS in formerly depressed participants. METHODS: Trait rumination was assessed via self-report. Measures of psychopathology and cognitive function, including depression, were assessed via self-report and interview. Autobiographical Memory Specificity (AMS) was evaluated before and after the induction of a self-discrepancy focus in formerly depressed participants. RESULTS: Results showed that trait rumination was indeed negatively correlated with AMS after, but not before the induction. Moreover, high trait ruminating participants showed a decrease in AMS following the induction. In other words, memory specificity was reactive to the induction, but no such decrease was observed in low trait ruminating individuals. LIMITATIONS: This study is mostly of women. These results may not generalize well to men. Our experimental control was within-subjects, which, although powerful and economical, cannot rule out certain confounding processes including natural changes in self-discrepancy, or non-specific or unintended effects of the induction. CONCLUSIONS: In order to detect rAMS in formerly depressed individuals or to observe associations between rAMS and trait measures of rumination, state ruminative processing needs to be activated. Results are discussed by framing rAMS as an example of cognitive reactivity, a general type of processing that is associated with depression." "Feasibility and effectiveness of memory specificity training in depressed outpatients: A pilot study" "Filip Raes" "BACKGROUND: Research has shown that depressed patients suffer from reduced autobiographical memory specificity (rAMS). This cognitive phenomenon is associated with the maintenance and recurrence of depressive symptoms. OBJECTIVES: This pilot study aims to investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of a relatively new group-based intervention (Memory Specificity Training; MeST) that aims to reduce rAMS in an outpatient setting. METHODS: Twenty-six depressed outpatients received MeST during the waiting period prior to psychotherapy. The Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ-8) was used to measure client satisfaction after the training. The Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT) was used to measure memory specificity before and after the training. Depressive symptoms were measured using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) and the Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS), before and after the training, and at a 3-month follow-up. RESULTS: Participants as well as trainers were positive about the use of MeST. Participants also showed an increase in memory specificity and a decrease in depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that MeST is feasible in an outpatient setting, that it increases autobiographical memory specificity and that it may decrease depressive symptoms. A randomized controlled trial is recommended to examine MeST and its effects on autobiographical memory specificity, depressive symptoms and depressive relapse more extensively. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Key Practitioner Message: Research suggests that modification of rAMS can advance recovery and reduce the chance of developing a depression relapse. However, most existing psychotherapies for depression do not include these specific interventions. This is the first study to show that MeST in an outpatient setting is feasible and can lead to an increase in autobiographical memory specificity and that it may decrease depressive symptoms. A larger scale randomized controlled trial is required to examine whether the addition of MeST to care as usual decreases depressive symptoms more effectively than care as usual without MeST, and to examine whether subgroups of patients benefit specifically from this intervention (e.g. patients with more severely decreased memory specificity)." "An experimental test to compare potential and realised specificity in ticks with different ecologies" "Arend Raoul van Oosten, Joris Elst, Sophie Philtjens" "The majority of studies on ecological specialisation rely on data reflecting realised specificity, without considering species' potential specificity. Most species of ticks, a large family of hematophagous ectoparasites, have a narrow host range in nature, but it is unclear whether this is due to host-driven adaptations or other processes (such as off-host abiotic environment). We investigated the potential specificity of two tick species with contrasting ecology by infesting three avian host species that occur in the same off-host macrohabitat but are unequally infested by the ticks in nature (i.e. have contrasting realised specificity). The endophilic specialist tick Ixodes arboricola resides inside the hosts' nest and has high realised host specificity, whereas the exophilic generalist tick I. ricinus encounters hosts in the field and has very low realised specificity. As hosts, we used great tits (frequently infested by both tick species), blackbirds (frequently infested by I. ricinus but never by I. arboricola) and great spotted woodpeckers (no ticks of either species have been reported). If realised specificity is constrained by host-driven adaptations there should be no differences between potential and realised specificity, whereas if realised specificity is constrained by other processes potential specificity and realised specificity should be different. We found that attachment rates and weight during feeding of I. arboricola were lower on blackbirds than on great tits, whereas there were no such differences for I. ricinus. No ticks of either species attached to woodpeckers. These results indicate that realised host specificity of ticks is, at least partially, constrained by hostdriven adaptations. This specificity therefore strongly depends on the ticks' encounter rates with particular host types, which are affected by the ticks' off-host ecological requirements, behaviour and life-history characteristics." "Host specificity and habitat preference of Laboulbenia slackensis" "André De Kesel" "Experiments were carried out with Laboulbenia slackensis (Ascomycetes, Laboulbeniales), an ectoparasitic univorous fungus of Pogonus chalceus (Coleoptera, Carabidae). Relative growth of Laboulbenia slackensis populations was significantly affected by environmental conditions, i.e., the soil composition, under which the typical host was reared. Optimal conditions for the development of the fungus corresponded with the optimal habitat selected by the typical host, i.e., pure salt marsh clay. Artificial infections with L. slackensis showed that the fungus was potentially plurivorous on Carabidae and that its specificity was not fully accounted for by the host physiology or integumental characteristics. L. slackensis was successfully transferred to 19 atypical carabid host species, and the morphological characteristics used to differentiate it from related taxa are stable on these hosts. As with the typical host, successful establishment of L. slackensis on an atypical host also depended on the soil composition trader which the atypical host was reared. The host was essential, but alone not sufficient, for the establishment of the fungus. It is postulated that the specificity of L. slackensis observed in nature depends both on its host specificity and environmental preferences. Specialization of L. slackensis probably was the result of reinforced ecological isolation caused by obligate ectoparasitism, host specificity, and dependence on a specific environment that was rigorously selected by a very restricted number of host species. Host populations of univorous Laboulbeniales probably are similar to islands in the model of island biogeography." "High Specificity but Low Sensitivity of Lab-on-a-Disk Technique in Detecting Soil-Transmitted Helminth Eggs among Pre- and School-Aged Children in North-Western Tanzania" "Humphrey D. Mazigo, Nyanda C. Justine, Jeffer Bhuko, Sarah Rubagumya, Namanya Samson Basinda, Maria M. Zinga, Deodatus Ruganuza, Vyacheslav R. Misko, Matthieu Briet, Filip Legein, Wim De Malsche" "An estimated 1.5 billion people are infected with soil-transmitted helminths (hookworms, Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura). These infections are targeted for elimination by the World Health Organization (WHO) by 2030, with the main interventions being mass drug administration using albendazole or mebendazole. Tanzania is one of the endemic countries; it has been implementing MDA to school-aged children for more than a decade and the infection prevalence and intensity of infection have declined. Thus, at this point, the monitoring and evaluation of infection prevalence and intensity of infections, and assessing drug efficacy is crucial and requires accurate diagnostic tests. The currently used standard diagnostic test, the Kato–Katz (KK) technique, has several limitations and the WHO is calling for the development and evaluation of new diagnostic tests. The Lab-on-a-disk (LOD) was developed and tested in the endemic areas of north-western Tanzania to evaluate its sensitivity and specificity using KK and the formol-ether concentration technique. The results showed that when using a duplicate KK slide, the LOD had a sensitivity and specificity of 37.2% (95% CI: 30.7–43.9) and 67.3% (95% CI: 63.1–71.3%). Using four KK slides as a standard technique, the overall sensitivity and specificity were 37.7% (95% CI: 33.1–42.6) and 70.7% (95% CI: 65.5–75.6). The LOD attained high specificity but low sensitivity especially in detecting eggs of Trichuris trichiura. The LOD technique has potential as a promising diagnostic test, but its sensitivity still requires improvement." "A comparative study on indicators of vitamin A status and risk factors for sensitivity and specificity of the methods to detect vitamin A deficiency" "Ouahamin Olivier Sombie, Augustin N. Zeba, Jérome W. Somé, Adama Kazienga, Michael Grahn, Sherry A. Tanumihardjo, Stefaan De Henauw, Souheila Abbeddou" "Background Serum retinol (SR) and retinol-binding protein (RBP) are commonly used indicators, but they are affected by infections and inflammation. This study aimed to assess the sensitivity and specificity of VA indicators to detect vitamin A deficiency (VAD) in 36–59-month-old children living in a rural area in Burkina Faso. Methods In a community-based study, two cross-sectional surveys were carried out from November 2016 to September 2017 in the health district of Dandé in Burkina Faso. The surveys included 115 children 36–59 months old. Indicators of VA and inflammation assessed in all children included SR, RBP and total liver VA reserves (TLR) estimated by retinol isotope dilution, and inflammation markers (C-reactive protein (CRP) and alpha 1-acid glycoprotein (AGP)). We calculated the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values. In addition, the effects of inflammation, helminth infection, and season on sensitivity and specificity were assessed. Results The prevalence of VAD assessed by SR (" "Hesperomyces (Fungi, Ascomycota) associated with Hyperaspis ladybirds (Coleoptera, Coccinellidae) : rethinking host specificity" "Warre Van Caenegem, Piotr Ceryngier, Jerzy Romanowski, Donald H. Pfister, Danny Haelewaters" "Specificity of SARS-CoV-2 antibody detection assays against S and N proteins among pre-COVID-19 sera from patients with protozoan and helminth parasitic infections" "Cedric Yansouni, Jesse Papenburg, Matthew P Cheng, Rachel Corsini, Chelsea Caya, Fabio Vasquez Camargo, Luke B Harrison, Gerasimos Zaharatos, Philippe Büscher, Babacar Thiendella Faye, Magatte Ndiaye, Greg Matlashewski, Momar Ndao" "We aimed to assess the specificity of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibody detection assays among people with tissue-borne parasitic infections. We tested three SARS-CoV-2 antibody-detection assays (cPass SARS-CoV-2 neutralization antibody detection kit [cPass], Abbott SARS-CoV-2 IgG assay [Abbott Architect], and Standard Q COVID-19 IgM/IgG combo rapid diagnostic test [SD RDT IgM/SD RDT IgG]) among 559 pre-COVID-19 seropositive sera for several parasitic infections. The specificity of assays was 95 to 98% overall. However, lower specificity was observed among sera from patients with protozoan infections of the reticuloendothelial system, such as human African trypanosomiasis (Abbott Architect; 88% [95% CI, 75 to 95]) and visceral leishmaniasis (SD RDT IgG; 80% [95% CI, 30 to 99]), and from patients with recent malaria in areas of Senegal where malaria is holoendemic (ranging from 91% for Abbott Architect and SD RDT IgM to 98 to 99% for cPass and SD RDT IgG). For specimens from patients with evidence of past or present helminth infection overall, test specificity estimates were all ≥96%. Sera collected from patients clinically suspected of parasitic infections that tested negative for these infections yielded a specificity of 98 to 100%. The majority (>85%) of false-positive results were positive by only one assay. The specificity of SARS-CoV-2 serological assays among sera from patients with tissue-borne parasitic infections was below the threshold required for decisions about individual patient care. Specificity is markedly increased by the use of confirmatory testing with a second assay. Finally, the SD RDT IgG proved similarly specific to laboratory-based assays and provides an option in low-resource settings when detection of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG is indicated."