Effect of introduced species and habitat alteration on the occurrence and distribution of euryhaline fishes in fresh- and brackish-water habitats on Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao (South Caribbean)

We conducted an ichthyological survey during the dry season of 2006 on the semi-arid islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao to provide information on species composition, richness and distribution in natural and non-natural aquatic habitats. The dry season species assemblages (N = 9 species) comprised less species than the wet seasons, and these data refine our knowledge of the indigenous fish fauna and its refuge localities during phases of drought and ensuing high salinity. A hierarchical cluster analysis reveals that the three islands have different species compositions with Curaçao being the most diverse, probably due to its having the most habitats and freshwaters present throughout the year. Species richness was unrelated to salinity and species diversity was highest in canalised streams. In the dry season fewer amphidromous species are present than in the wet season. We found no significant effect of human-induced changes on the presence or absence of fish species in the Netherlands Antilles. The presence of exotic species (including Xiphophorus helleri on Aruba, a first record for this island, and Oreochromis mossambicus and Poecilia reticulata occurring on all three islands) did not have a clear effect on the presence of indigenous species, nor did human alteration of the habitats have an influence on the occurrence of fish species

Co-existing violence and self-harm: dual harm in an early-stage male prison population

Purpose: This study examined the characteristics of men in prison who have a history of both self-harm and violence (known as dual harm) and the extent to which demographic and criminogenic factors, in-prison incidents and self-harm method could differentiate men who dual harm. Methods: Official prison sample data were examined for the period April 2010 to November 2017 (n = 965). Regression analysis of all custodial incidents, demographic and offending information, and imprisonment experience, was undertaken. Results: Self harm was associated with violence in prison, representing a 3.5-fold risk of violence compared with men who did not self-harm, after controlling for time in prison, age and index offence. 60% of men who harmed themselves also engaged in custodial violence, while 32% who were violent also had a self-harm event. After controlling for age at first incident, 11% of the sample had custodial history of dual harm and they accounted for 56% of all recorded custodial incidents. They had a high probability of property damage and fire-setting in prison and spent 40% longer in custody). Men who dual harmed used a greater variety of self-harm methods, with increased use of lethal methods. Conclusion: Dual harm is prevalent, particularly amongst those who harm themselves in prison. Men who dual harm contribute excessively to the overall incident burden in prison and demonstrate behavioural variability and risk regarding both violence and self-harm. The findings challenge the usual distinctive management responses or that self-harm or violence are solely the responsibility of health or justice; with greater integration required

Serious untoward incidents and their aftermath in acute inpatient psychiatry: The Tompkins Acute Ward Study

Background: Serious untoward incidents, or sentinel events (suicide, homicide, suicide attempt, serious assault and elopement of high risk patients) occur from time to time in association with acute psychiatric inpatient wards. Aim: To discover the impact of serious untoward incidents on inpatient wards. Method: Doctors, nurses and occupational therapists at three hospitals were interviewed about these events and their impact on their wards. Findings: Staff reported feelings of shock, depression, demoralisation, upset, loss, and grief, followed by ruminations, guilt and anxiety. Levels of containment increased, as did the focus on risk assessment. Processing of the emotional impact was hindered by the pace of ward life, a lack of external support, and management investigations. Patient responses were largely ignored. A few staff responded negatively, hindering service improvements. Conclusions: Much more attention needs to be given to the needs of the patient group following incidents. Substantial planning, organisation and investment are required to properly prepare for such events and manage their outcome. Without this planning and action, acute inpatient work has the capacity to be damaging to staff

Immunological and Clinical Effects of Vaccines Targeting p53-Overexpressing Malignancies

Approximately 50% of human malignancies carry p53 mutations, which makes it a potential antigenic target for cancer immunotherapy. Adoptive transfer with p53-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTL) and CD4+ T-helper cells eradicates p53-overexpressing tumors in mice. Furthermore, p53 antibodies and p53-specific CTLs can be detected in cancer patients, indicating that p53 is immunogenic. Based on these results, clinical trials were initiated. In this paper, we review immunological and clinical responses observed in cancer patients vaccinated with p53 targeting vaccines. In most trials, p53-specific vaccine-induced immunological responses were observed. Unfortunately, no clinical responses with significant reduction of tumor-burden have occurred. We will elaborate on possible explanations for this lack of clinical effectiveness. In the second part of this paper, we summarize several immunopotentiating combination strategies suitable for clinical use. In our opinion, future p53-vaccine studies should focus on addition of these immunopotentiating regimens to achieve clinically effective therapeutic vaccination strategies for cancer patients

The Nature and Purpose of Acute Psychiatric Wards: The Tompkins Acute Ward Study

Background: Acute inpatient care in the UK is being subjected to increasing critical scrutiny, highlighting concerns about content and quality. There is an absence of clarity and consensus on what acute inpatient care is for, adding to difficulties in developing this service sector. Aim: To define the function of acute psychiatric wards. Methods: Interviews were conducted with multidisciplinary staff (13 Ward Managers, 14 F Grade nurses, 11 Occupational Therapists and 9 Consultant Psychiatrists), on rationales for admission, their care and treatment philosophy, and the roles of different professionals. Results: Patients are admitted because they appear likely to harm themselves or others, and because they are suffering from a severe mental illness, and/or because they or their family/community require respite, and/or because they have insufficient support and supervision available to them in the community. The tasks of acute inpatient care are to keep patients safe, assess their problems, treat their mental illness, meet their basic care needs and provide physical healthcare. These tasks are completed via containment, 24-hour staff presence, treatment provision, and complex organisation and management. Conclusions: Professional education, audit, research and the structuring of services all need to be oriented towards these tasks. Declaration of interest: This study was funded by the Tompkins Foundation and the Department of Health Nursing Quality initiative

Detecting child grooming behaviour patterns on social media

Online paedophile activity in social media has become a major concern in society as Internet access is easily available to a broader younger population. One common form of online child exploitation is child grooming, where adults and minors exchange sexual text and media via social media platforms. Such behaviour involves a number of stages performed by a predator (adult) with the final goal of approaching a victim (minor) in person. This paper presents a study of such online grooming stages from a machine learning perspective. We propose to characterise such stages by a series of features covering sentiment polarity, content, and psycho-linguistic and discourse patterns. Our experiments with online chatroom conversations show good results in automatically classifying chatlines into various grooming stages. Such a deeper understanding and tracking of predatory behaviour is vital for building robust systems for detecting grooming conversations and potential predators on social media