Exploring the Challenges of Commissioning Mental Health Services for Black Men

This research explored the challenges for commissioning services for Black men in Mental Health Services in the UK National Health Service (NHS). More specifically, the focus was on how commissioners conceptualised the structural and social issues in developing services for Black men with the aim of understanding how these issues might translate into service development. The context of commissioning was the focus of the study due to the influence this has on service provision and consequently on supporting the mental health of Black men. The study involved individual in-depth interviews with eight commissioners who had a role in commissioning adult NHS Mental Health Services. Interviews were analysed using thematic analysis drawing on an Intersectionality framework within a critical realist epistemology. Three main themes were identified, ‘Challenges to Commissioning Mental Health Services’, ‘Reframing Mental Health Services’ and ‘Black Men and Power Dynamics’. Key findings from the analysis highlighted various intersecting locations such as maleness, ‘race’, and social context in understanding factors that contribute to the mental health of Black men. These issues were drawn upon to discuss the constrains of service provisions available and explain why Black men were excluded from commissioning processes, leaving them with little power to influence decisions regarding mental health provisions. Based on the analysis, the limitations of current mental health provisions and processes involved in commissioning are discussed and considered in relation to supporting Black men’s mental health. This research indicates that more inclusion and support is required to empower Black men to be involved in commissioning processes in order to address some of the structural and social issues relevant to addressing mental health needs. The implications and suggestions are discussed in relation to considering ways that Clinical Psychologists in particular can facilitate this

JDFTx: software for joint density-functional theory

Density-functional theory (DFT) has revolutionized computational prediction of atomic-scale properties from first principles in physics, chemistry and materials science. Continuing development of new methods is necessary for accurate predictions of new classes of materials and properties, and for connecting to nano- and mesoscale properties using coarse-grained theories. JDFTx is a fully-featured open-source electronic DFT software designed specifically to facilitate rapid development of new theories, models and algorithms. Using an algebraic formulation as an abstraction layer, compact C++11 code automatically performs well on diverse hardware including GPUs. This code hosts the development of joint density-functional theory (JDFT) that combines electronic DFT with classical DFT and continuum models of liquids for first-principles calculations of solvated and electrochemical systems. In addition, the modular nature of the code makes it easy to extend and interface with, facilitating the development of multi-scale toolkits that connect to ab initio calculations, e.g. photo-excited carrier dynamics combining electron and phonon calculations with electromagnetic simulations.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, 2 code listing

Efecto del tiempo de cosecha sobre los compuestos volátiles y las propiedades bioactivas de flores, hojas y tallos de Echinacea Pallida y su utilización para mejorar la estabilidad oxidativa de aceites vegetales

The present study was undertaken to investigate the effect of harvest time on the bioactive properties of Echinacea pallida and to determine the antioxidant effect of its extract in vegetable oils. E. pallida was harvested in June, 2009, June, 2010 and August. 2010. Total phenolic content and antioxidant activity analyses of the plant extracts obtained with three different solvents were carried out using spectrophotometric methods. It was determined that harvest time and solvent type had significant effects on bioactive properties. In addition, the effect of E. pallida extract on the oxidative stability of vegetable oils was determined by the rancimat method. The extract (2000 ppm) obtained by ethanol (100%) showed similar oxidative stability on sunflower and canola oils compared to BHA (100 ppm). The GC-MS results revealed various volatile compounds such as bornyl acetate, caryophyllene E, musk ambrette, germacrene D, α-muurolol, musk ambrette, imidazo (1,2-a) pyrimidine, 1-pyrrolidino-1-cyclohexene, 2,3,5,6-tetrahydro-1H-pyrrolizine, pyrazine, and benzenaminium.El presente estudio se realizó para determinar el efecto del tiempo de cosecha sobre las propiedades bioactivas de Echinacea pallida y el efecto antioxidante de su extracto en aceites vegetales. E. pallida se cosechó en junio de 2009, junio de 2010 y agosto de 2010. Los análisis de contenido fenólico total y actividad antioxidante de los extractos de plantas obtenidos con tres solventes diferentes se realizaron utilizando métodos espectrofotométricos. Se determinó que el tiempo de cosecha y el tipo de solvente tenían efectos significativos sobre las propiedades bioactivas. Además, se determinó el efecto del extracto de E. pallida sobre la estabilidad oxidativa de aceites vegetales mediante el método rancimat. El extracto (2000 ppm) obtenido con etanol (%100) mostró una estabilidad oxidativa similar en los aceites de girasol y canola en comparación con BHA (100 ppm). Los resultados de GC-MS mostraron la presencia de compuestos volátiles específicos, como el acetato de bornilo, cariofileno E, ambreta de almizcle, germacreno D, α-muurolol, ambreta de almizcle, imidazo (1,2-a) pirimidina, 1-pirrolidino-1-ciclohexeno, 2,3,5,6-tetrahidro-1H-pirrolizina, pirazina y bencenaminio

Anticancer therapy and apoptosis imaging

Early response prediction is considered an essential tool to obtain a more customized anticancer treatment because it allows for the identification of patients who will benefit most from a particular therapy and prevents the exposure of those patients to toxic, non-effective regimens. Recent discoveries of novel markers in functional imaging have created exciting opportunities for in vivo visualization and quantification of cell death. This review will focus on in vivo apoptosis imaging with various radiotracers as predictive tools for tumor response after anticancer therapy. Particular focus will be on annexin V imaging, a technique with the largest clinical experience to date. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled “Apoptosis: Four Decades Later”

Development of a High-Throughput Functional Screen Using Nanowell-Assisted Cell Patterning

Living-cell-based screens can facilitate lead discovery of functional therapeutics of interest. A versatile and scalable method is reported that uses dense arrays of nanowells for imparting defined patterns on monolayers of cells. It is shown that this approach can coordinate a multi-component biological assay by designing and implementing a high-throughput, functional nanoliter-scale neutralization assay to identify neutra­lizing antibodies against HIV.National Cancer Institute (U.S.) (P30-CA14051

Characterization of disturbed hemodynamics due to stenosed aortic jets with a Lagrangian Coherent structures technique

Isfahan University of Technology. The aortic valve is located at left ventricular outlet and is exposed to the highest pressure in the cardiovascular system. Problems associated with the valve leaflet movement can cause complications for the heart. Specifically, aortic stenosis (AS) arises when aortic leaflets do not efficiently open. In the present study, Lagrangian Coherent Structures (LCSs) were utilized by processing a variety of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) models velocity vector data further to identify the characteristics of AS jets. Particularly, effective orifice areas (EOA) for different cases were accurately identified from unstable manifolds of finite time Lyapunov exponent (FTLE) fields. Calcified leaflets were modeled by setting the leaflet's Young modulus to 10 MPa and 20 MPa for moderately and severely calcified leaflets respectively while a healthy leaflet's Young modulus was assigned to be 2 MPa. Increase in calcification degree of the leaflet caused destruction of the vortex structures near the fibrosa layer of the leaflet indicating a malfunctioning for the movement mechanism of the leaflet. Furthermore, when we analyzed stable manifolds, we identified a blockage region at the flow upstream due to the stagnant blood here. Compared to a healthy case, for the calcified valve, this blockage region was enlarged, implying an increase in AS jet velocity and wall shear stress on leaflets. As a conclusion, results from the present study indicate that aortic leaflet malfunctioning could be accurately evaluated when LCS technique was employed by post processing velocity vector data from CFD. Such precise analysis is not possible using the Eulerian CFD approach or a Doppler echocardiography since these methods are based on only analyzing instantaneous flow quantities and they overlook fluid flow characteristics of highly unsteady flows