Improving Access To Mental Health in the United States

Access to mental healthcare has continually become an elusive dream for many of American citizens affected by illness. Mental health disorders are responsible for the disability of a third of the adult population in the U.S. The statistics might be a little higher given that it also affects young people. These challenges call for a thorough change in the structure and practices of mental healthcare including integrating mental healthcare to the medical care system, use of technology, efficient payment approaches, and mass sensitization. Community based healthcare programs are among the many ways of sensitizing people on mental health disorders and treatment methods. They also provide a chance of taking healthcare treatment closer to the people where they can easily access the services. Adequately trained personnel, enough resources and a working infrastructure are among other factors that can improve access to mental health treatment. This study seeks to identify the challenges facing mental healthcare and establish measures that can potentially increase access to mental healthcare. A report by the Institute of medicine, Crossing the Quality Chasm: A New Health System for the 21st Century (IOM, 2001), brought forth recommendation that can potentially improve the whole healthcare system. However, mental healthcare has various distinctive characteristic such as a differently structured marketplace, culture and care delivery system. This study examines those differences to find the applicability of Quality Chasm framework in mental health care and describes the best approach for doing so to bring the necessary changes in mental health care system. The mental healthcare system should take an advantage of technology, infrastructural changes and integration to medical care system to make sure they reach more people and avail their resources to the people who are in dire need of their services

Palladate precatalysts for the formation of C-N and C-C bonds

A series of imidazolium-based palladate precatalysts has been synthesized and the catalytic activity of these air- and moisture-stable complexes evaluated as a function of the nature of the imidazolium counterion. These precatalysts can be converted under catalytic conditions to Pd-NHC species capable of enabling the Buchwald-Hartwig aryl amination and the alpha-arylation of ketones. Both reactions can be carried out efficiently under very mild operating conditions. The effectiveness of the protocol was tested on functionality-laden substrates

Rheology Of Cement Paste Containning Chemical Admixtures

Understanding the Rheology of cement and water is a not a simple task since, thebehaviour of complicated system varies with time and there is still a great deal of work to bedone before, it is properly understood. In this study, we used a new simple and cheaptechnique to evaluate flow properties of cement paste .This technique is based on dropping aneedle from a constant height. The penetration depth is measured at different circumstances,different w/c ratios, different types of super plasticizer, and different percentage of admixturefor two types of cement types of cements OPC type V (CEMEX) and OPC type I (HELWAN)were considered in this study. Also, effect of retempering on penetration depth were alsoconsidered. Finally effect of variation of needle drop height was also considered. Thepenetration depth technique proved to be effective in monitoring the effect ofsuperplasticizer/cement ratio percentage, effect of time, manual remixing after 30 minutesand needle drop height on the rheological behavior of different types of cement paste, whichfurther proves the effectiveness of this method in evaluation of cement paste Rheology

Cycle-finite module categories

We describe the structure of module categories of finite dimensional algebras over an algebraically closed field for which the cycles of nonzero nonisomorphisms between indecomposable finite dimensional modules are finite (do not belong to the infinite Jacobson radical of the module category). Moreover, geometric and homological properties of these module categories are exhibited

Hochschild cohomology of relation extension algebras

Minor corrections. This version is close to the published version (to appear in Journal of Pure and Applied Algebra).International audienceLet $B$ be the split extension of a finite dimensional algebra $C$ by a $C$-$C$-bimodule $E$. We define a morphism of associative graded algebras \varphi^*:\HH^*(B)\rightarrow \HH^*(C) from the Hochschild cohomology of $B$ to that of $C$, extending similar constructions for the first cohomology groups made and studied by Assem, Bustamante, Igusa, Redondo and Schiffler. In the case of a trivial extension $B=C\ltimes E$, we give necessary and sufficient conditions for each $\varphi^n$ to be surjective. We prove the surjectivity of $\varphi^1$ for a class of trivial extensions that includes relation extensions and hence cluster-tilted algebras. Finally, we study the kernel of $\varphi^1$ for any trivial extension, and give a more precise description of this kernel in the case of relation extensions

The combined effect of environmental thermal drop and isotonicity on metabolic stores of the teleost, Oreochromis niloticus

AbstractFour experimental regimes were designed to test the capacity of the Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus to make use of the energy saved form osmoregulation in an isotonic medium in overcoming the Winter Stress Syndrome (WSS). Fish either pre- acclimated to freshwater or isotonic salinity at 25°C were transferred directly to freshwater or an isotonic medium (ca. 12‰) at 14°C. Fish were killed 3, 6, 24, 48, 72 and 168h after transfer. The mobilisation and use of lipids from perivisceral and muscle fat observed in the study seem to be a direct response to cold stress as well as the associated fasting, these effects were salinity dependent being lesser at the isotonic salinity. The energy needs of fish diminish in cold conditions when the salinity of the environment approaches the isotonicity. The absence of any significant changes in muscle and water content indicated that the changes of muscle lipid are true and lipid was the sole source of energy upon thermal drop. The changes of blood haemoglobin levels throughout the four experimental regimes may indicate that the isotonic medium acclimated tilapia showed less haematological disturbance due to cold stress. Results from this experimental study recommend that the pre-acclimation of the Egyptian strain of Nile tilapia, O. niloticus, to an environmental salinity close to the isotonicity may improve fish cold tolerance

Environmental isotonicity improves cold tolerance of Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus, in Egypt

AbstractThe limited ability of Oreochromis niloticus to tolerate low temperatures during winter in temperate and some subtropical region, such as in Egypt, is of major economic concern. The present study was aimed to improve the cold tolerance of Nile tilapia, O. niloticus, by using the well documented phenomena of saving energy consumption for osmoregulation in isotonic medium to decrease the physiological response to cold stress at winter months and may solve the Winter Stress Syndrome (WSS) and the over-wintering problems. Fish which were either pre-acclimated to freshwater or isotonic salinity at 25°C were transferred directly to freshwater or isotonic medium (12‰) at 14°C. Fish were killed 3, 6, 24, 48, 72 and 168h after transfer. In the isotonic medium pre-acclimated fish, it is shown that the effect of cold stress on the increment of plasma glucose level was much lower than that in fresh water. From the observations of Na+, K+, Mg2+-ATPase enzyme activity we conclude that less disturbance of ionic balance caused by cold tolerance was occurred in the isotonic point water than in the fresh water. The results of the acetylcholinesterase specific activity showed that, brain enzyme was inhibited by cold stress, and that the disruption of the cholinergic function induced by cold stress was much more pronounced in fresh water pre-acclimated tilapia than in isotonic point water pre-acclimated fish. Results from this study recommend that pre-acclimation of Nile tilapia, O. niloticus, to an environmental salinity close to the isotonicity, before winter onset, may improve their cold tolerance

Experts aan het stuur - modelleren met ROC

De agrifood sector heeft te maken met een sterk concurrerende wereldmarkt. Innovatie is hierbij van levensbelang. Optimaal gebruikmaken van beschikbare kennis is een basisvoorwaarde voor innovatie. Kennis over de eigen business en kennis uit externe bronnen moeten in kaart worden gebracht en worden ontsloten. Binnen het Food Informatics project is onderzocht hoe Semantic Web technologie hiervoor gebruikt kan worden. Een belangrijke conclusie is dat relevante kennismodellen onmisbaar zijn om de aanwezige informatie te ontsluiten. Om het kostenefficiënt bouwen van kennismodellen mogelijk te maken is de ROC-methode ontwikkeld. ROC staat voor Rapid Ontology Construction en is een methode die speciaal ontworpen is om het kennismodelleringsproces efficiënter te make

Nitric oxide levels in chronic liver disease patients with and without oesophageal varices

Introduction Patients with chronic liver disease ultimately progress to develop cirrhosis and portal hypertension. Recently it seems well established that nitric oxide disturbances play a key role in the pathogenesis of chronic liver disease and portal hypertension. The aim of this work was to clarify the correlation between chronic liver disease stages, liver function status, esophageal varices presence and nitric oxide disturbances. Subjects and methods All subjects (n = 120) in the present study were classified into; group I which included 15 age and sex matched healthy volunteers (taken as control), group II which included 20 patients with chronic active hepatitis, and group III which included 85 patients with hepatic cirrhosis. All subjects included were subjected to full clinical assessment, routine laboratory investigations, serum nitrate level determination using colorimetric method, abdominal ultrasonography and upper endoscopy. Results Increased serum nitrate level could not be detected in patients with chronic active hepatitis as well as those with early cirrhosis (Child’s class A). Progressive and significant increase of serum nitrate levels were detected in more advanced stages of cirrhosis (Child’s class B & C). The best non-invasive predictor for the presence of oesophageal varices was a combination of platelet count <150.000/mm3, splenomegaly >18 cm, Child’s class B or C and serum nitrate ≥38 μmol/l, with 93.3% sensitivity and 100% specificity. Conclusion Serum nitrate level can be used as a non-invasive predictor for progression of chronic liver disease as well as for the presence of oesophageal varices