New living evidence resource of human and non-human studies for early intervention and research prioritisation in anxiety, depression and psychosis

In anxiety, depression and psychosis, there has been frustratingly slow progress in developing novel therapies that make a substantial difference in practice, as well as in predicting which treatments will work for whom and in what contexts. To intervene early in the process and deliver optimal care to patients, we need to understand the underlying mechanisms of mental health conditions, develop safe and effective interventions that target these mechanisms, and improve our capabilities in timely diagnosis and reliable prediction of symptom trajectories. Better synthesis of existing evidence is one way to reduce waste and improve efficiency in research towards these ends. Living systematic reviews produce rigorous, up-to-date and informative evidence summaries that are particularly important where research is emerging rapidly, current evidence is uncertain and new findings might change policy or practice. Global Alliance for Living Evidence on aNxiety, depressiOn and pSychosis (GALENOS) aims to tackle the challenges of mental health science research by cataloguing and evaluating the full spectrum of relevant scientific research including both human and preclinical studies. GALENOS will also allow the mental health community-including patients, carers, clinicians, researchers and funders-to better identify the research questions that most urgently need to be answered. By creating open-access datasets and outputs in a state-of-the-art online resource, GALENOS will help identify promising signals early in the research process. This will accelerate translation from discovery science into effective new interventions for anxiety, depression and psychosis, ready to be translated in clinical practice across the world

Mutation increasing β-carotene concentrations does not adversely affect concentrations of essential mineral elements in pepper fruit

<div><p>Vitamin and mineral deficiencies are prevalent in human populations throughout the world. Vitamin A deficiency affects hundreds of millions of pre-school age children in low income countries. Fruits of pepper (<i>Capsicum annuum</i> L.) can be a major dietary source of precursors to Vitamin A biosynthesis, such as β-carotene. Recently, pepper breeding programs have introduced the orange-fruited (<i>of</i>) trait of the mutant variety Oranzheva kapiya, which is associated with high fruit β-carotene concentrations, to the mutant variety Albena. In this manuscript, concentrations of β-carotene and mineral elements (magnesium, phosphorus, sulphur, potassium, zinc, calcium, manganese, iron and copper) were compared in fruit from P31, a red-fruited genotype derived from the variety Albena, and M38, a genotype developed by transferring the orange-fruited mutation (<i>of</i>) into Albena. It was observed that fruit from M38 plants had greater β-carotene concentration at both commercial and botanical maturity (4.9 and 52.7 mg / kg fresh weight, respectively) than fruit from P31 plants (2.3 and 30.1 mg / kg fresh weight, respectively). The mutation producing high β-carotene concentrations in pepper fruits had no detrimental effect on the concentrations of mineral elements required for human nutrition.</p></div

New living evidence resource of human and non-human studies for early intervention and research prioritisation in anxiety, depression and psychosis

In anxiety, depression and psychosis, there has been frustratingly slow progress in developing novel therapies that make a substantial difference in practice, as well as in predicting which treatments will work for whom and in what contexts. To intervene early in the process and deliver optimal care to patients, we need to understand the underlying mechanisms of mental health conditions, develop safe and effective interventions that target these mechanisms, and improve our capabilities in timely diagnosis and reliable prediction of symptom trajectories. Better synthesis of existing evidence is one way to reduce waste and improve efficiency in research towards these ends. Living systematic reviews produce rigorous, up-to-date and informative evidence summaries that are particularly important where research is emerging rapidly, current evidence is uncertain and new findings might change policy or practice. Global Alliance for Living Evidence on aNxiety, depressiOn and pSychosis (GALENOS) aims to tackle the challenges of mental health science research by cataloguing and evaluating the full spectrum of relevant scientific research including both human and preclinical studies. GALENOS will also allow the mental health community-including patients, carers, clinicians, researchers and funders-to better identify the research questions that most urgently need to be answered. By creating open-access datasets and outputs in a state-of-the-art online resource, GALENOS will help identify promising signals early in the research process. This will accelerate translation from discovery science into effective new interventions for anxiety, depression and psychosis, ready to be translated in clinical practice across the world

Pneumonia and poverty: a prospective population-based study among children in Brazil

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Children in developing country suffer the highest burden of pneumonia. However, few studies have evaluated associations between poverty and pneumonia.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A prospective population-based study on pneumonia was carried out as part of the Latin America Epidemiological Assessment of Pneumococcus (LEAP study). Chest x-rays were obtained for children one to 35 months old with suspected pneumonia presenting to emergency care centers and hospital emergency rooms in Goiania, Brazil. Chest radiographs were evaluated according to WHO guidelines. Clustering of radiologically-confirmed pneumonia were evaluated using a Poisson-based spatial scan statistic. Associations between census socioeconomic indicators and pneumonia incidence rates were analyzed using generalized linear models.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>From May, 2007 to May, 2009, chest radiographs were obtained from 11 521 children with clinical pneumonia; 3955 episodes were classified as radiologically-confirmed. Incidence rates were significantly higher in very low income areas (4825.2 per 10⁵) compared to high income areas (1637.3 per 10⁵). Spatial analysis identified clustering of confirmed pneumonia in Western (RR 1.78; p = 0.001) and Southeast (RR 1.46; p = 0.001) regions of the city, and clustering of hospitalized pneumonia in the Western region (RR 1.69; p = 0.001). Lower income households and illiteracy were associated with pneumonia incidence.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In infants the risk of developing pneumonia is inversely associated with the head of household income and with the woman educational level. Areas with deprived socioeconomic conditions had higher incidence of pneumonia and should be targeted for high vaccination coverage.</p

Assessment of Ionic Interferences to Nitrate and Potassium Analyses with Ion-Selective Electrodes

Ion-selective electrodes (ISEs) are simple tools used for rapid measurement of nitrate nitrogen (NO3-N) and potassium (K) concentrations in plant sap. With the development of best management practices (BMPs), interest exists in using ISEs for soil leachate and soil and fertilizer solutions. Nitrate N and K concentrations in the 0 to 10,000 mg L–1 ISE working range were measured in diluted solutions of common salts to assess ionic interference of calcium (Ca2+), ammonium (NH4+), chloride (Cl–), and sulfate (SO42–). The effects of meter (replication) were unexpectedly significant in one out of three ranges for NO3-N and K (P values of 0.50, 0.72, and 0.01 for NO3-N and 0.99, 0.01, and 0.74 for K, for the 0–100, 100–1,000 and 1,000–10,000 mg L–1 ranges, respectively). The responses of calculated NO3-N and K concentrations to measured NO3-N and K concentrations were linear, but slopes ranged from 0.85 to 1.54, from 0.24 to 2.72, and from 0.93 to 5.48 for NO3-N and from 0.80 to 1.01, from 0.71 to 1.39, and from 0.93 to 2.21 for K for the 0–100, 100–1,000, and 1,000–10,000 mg L–1 measuring ranges, respectively. All slopes were significantly different from zero, and several were significantly different from each other and the 1:1 line. Pairwise slope comparisons conducted with covariance analysis showed that SO42– alone interfered with NO3-N measurements at concentrations ranging from 34 to 171 mg L–1, which was less than the manufacturer’s information, and by its presence in combination with K+, NH4+, Ca2+, and Cl– within the medium and high concentration ranges. Potassium measurements were not subject to interference from the ions tested for all three concentration ranges. These results highlight the importance of using quality assurance / quality control (QA/QC) samples in the set of unknown samples to detect inacceptable departure from linearity in routine analysis. The increase in measurement variability from one range to the next showed the importance of keeping measurements within a single concentration range by using dilutions. Hence, ISEs may be used for field measurements of NO3-N and K concentrations in soil leachate as well as soil and nutrient solutions and are therefore a practical BMP tool. However, ISEs should not be used as substitutes for the laboratory methods when official measurements are needed