Youth offending teams: a grounded theory of the barriers and facilitators to young people seeking help from mental health services

Young people within the youth justice system experience three times higher rates of mental health problems than the general youth population yet are one of the least likely groups to seek help. Very little theory or research is available within this population to explain these high rates of unmet need. The study aimed to develop a theory about the barriers and facilitators that Youth Offending Team workers experience when supporting young people to access mental health services. Eleven semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants; eight Youth Offending Team workers, two young people and a mental health worker. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim before being analyzed using “grounded theory”. This method was chosen to allow the in-depth exploration of participants experiences and the development of theory within an under-researched area. Youth Offending Team workers appeared to play a crucial role in supporting a young person’s help-seeking from mental health services. A preliminary model was developed which demonstrated the complex relationships between six identified factors which influenced this role. Youth Offending Team workers would benefit from more support, training and recognition of the key role they play in supporting young people to become ready for a referral to mental health services. Mental health services could be well placed to provide this. Clinical implications are discussed. Further research is needed to develop our understanding of what influenced the help-seeking of this vulnerable population

Ergothioneine in an Enzyme: Using Protein Engineering to Create Unique Antioxidant Enzymes Containing 2-thiohistidine

Ergothioneine is a sulfur containing amino acid found in foods such as mushrooms. It is a unique antioxidant and is a potential vitamin. However, ergothioneine is unable to be incorporated into a peptide or protein because its nitrogen is trimethylated. The amino acid 2- thiohistidine is an analogue of ergothioneine with similar antioxidant properties but can be inserted into a peptide/protein because the nitrogen is bonded to three hydrogens instead of three carbons. The goal of this project is to use protein engineering to replace a catalytic cysteine residue of the C-terminus of Plasmodium falciparum thioredoxin reductase (PfTrxR) with 2- thiohistidine in three variants: PfTrxR–CGGGK2THG, PfTrxR– CG2THKPG2THK, and PfTrxR– CUGGK2THG, where “PfTrxR” represents the body of the enzyme and the letters after the dash are the amino acids of the C-terminal redox center. PfTrxR–CGGGK2THG was hypothesized to gain the ability to reduce free radicals; PfTrxR– CG2THKPG2THK to metabolize singlet oxygen, and the 2TH in PfTrxR–CUGGK2THG to protect the active selenocysteine residue. The catalytic cysteine of PfTrxR is also a sulfur-containing amino acid, but it reduces radicals very poorly. Our data supports the protective effects of 2-thiohistidine on the redox-active residue selenocysteine. It was also observed that the mutant PfTrxR– CUGGK2THG may have gained the ability to metabolize singlet oxygen, instead of PfTrxR– CG2THKPG2THK. This work is an example of protein engineering using a non-standard amino acid in which the mutant gained a new function that was not possible using only the twenty standard amino acids

Parental involvement: a grounded theory of the role of parents in adolescent help seeking for mental health problems

There is a high prevalence of mental health problems within adolescent populations, but they are unlikely to seek help. Adults, including parents are important within this help seeking process. The study therefore aimed to develop a theory of the influence of parents upon adolescent help seeking. Eighteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with adolescents, their parents and clinicians working within Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). A grounded theory analysis allowed for the in-depth exploration of participants’ experiences. A model was developed identifying help seeking as a family journey. Parents were highly influential, and parents who were able to be more available to their adolescents tended to be more involved in the help seeking process. Other adults were utilised within the help seeking process. Once adolescents were engaged with the help seeking process they were often able to then seek further help independently. The findings suggest that consideration should be given to making services accessible to adolescents. CAMHS services should explore ways with adolescents to give control over parental involvement, and ways with parents to develop availability. Future research should consider the experiences of older and younger adolescents separately, and the transition into adult services

17beta-oestradiol and Enovid mammary tumorigenesis in C3H/HeJ female mice: counteraction by concurrent 2-bromo-alpha-ergocryptine.

Chronic administration of 17beta-oestradiol (via drinking water) or the oral contraceptive Enovid (norethynodrel and mestranol) (0-1 mg injected s.c. twice weekly) to nulliparous C3H/HeJ female mice, beginning at one month of age and terminating at 20 months (17beta-oestradiol) or 22 months (Enovid), significantly increased the incidence of mammary tumours over solvent-treated controls. Concurrent treatment of the steroid-treated mice with 2-bromo-alpha-ergocryptine (CB-154) (0-1 mg s.c. injected daily) significantly reduced mammary tumour incidence and mammary hyperplastic nodule development to the control level. CB-154 is an efficacious inhibitor of pituitary prolactin secretion. These results demonstrate that steroid-induced mammary gland dysplasias can be sharply reduced by chronic CB-154 treatment, and suggest that some of the mammary tumorigenic activities of oestrogenic steroids in C3H mice are mediated via an increased secretion of pituitary prolactin

Gravitational dynamics for all tensorial spacetimes carrying predictive, interpretable and quantizable matter

Only a severely restricted class of tensor fields can provide classical spacetime geometries, namely those that can carry matter field equations that are predictive, interpretable and quantizable. These three conditions on matter translate into three corresponding algebraic conditions on the underlying tensorial geometry, namely to be hyperbolic, time-orientable and energy-distinguishing. Lorentzian metrics, on which general relativity and the standard model of particle physics are built, present just the simplest tensorial spacetime geometry satisfying these conditions. The problem of finding gravitational dynamics---for the general tensorial spacetime geometries satisfying the above minimum requirements---is reformulated in this paper as a system of linear partial differential equations, in the sense that their solutions yield the actions governing the corresponding spacetime geometry. Thus the search for modified gravitational dynamics is reduced to a clear mathematical task.Comment: 47 pages, no figures, minor update

The Antigen Display on Bacillus Endospore (ADOBE) System a Noninvasive Biodegradable Microparticle Display System

Biomedical Tissue Engineering, Biomaterials, and Medical Devices Poster SessionThe development of safe and effective vaccines and adjuvants remains an important global public health goal. The Antigen Display on Bacillus Endospore (ADOBE) system, developed at the University of Missouri's College of Veterinary Medicine, is a unique, non-replicating, microparticle-based antigen delivery platform with inherent adjuvant properties. Killed spores can be readily engineered to present single or multiple antigens to the immune system. Bioactive targeting molecules and molecular adjuvants can also be co-displayed with the immunogen on the spore surface to enhance specific innate or acquired immune responses. The combination of a strong natural adjuvant and an easily produced microparticle delivery vehicle makes ADOBE-based vaccines excellent candidates for preclinical development against a large number of human and veterinary diseases. Because virtually any molecule of interest can be covalently attached to the outer spore surface, the ADOBE method also allows for the use of spores as biodegradable solid-phase platforms for use in diagnostic tests, molecular imaging, biocatalytic reactions, and the identification, quantification, and or purification of specific compounds from a complex mixture of compounds. We are currently looking for corporate as well as academic collaborators that are interested in capitalizing on the ADOBE methodology for the development of novel biopharmaceuticals to diagnose, treat and prevent infectious and metastatic diseases

Geometric invariant theory of syzygies, with applications to moduli spaces

We define syzygy points of projective schemes, and introduce a program of studying their GIT stability. Then we describe two cases where we have managed to make some progress in this program, that of polarized K3 surfaces of odd genus, and of genus six canonical curves. Applications of our results include effectivity statements for divisor classes on the moduli space of odd genus K3 surfaces, and a new construction in the Hassett-Keel program for the moduli space of genus six curves.Comment: v1: 23 pages, submitted to the Proceedings of the Abel Symposium 2017, v2: final version, corrects a sign error and resulting divisor class calculations on the moduli space of K3 surfaces in Section 5, other minor changes, In: Christophersen J., Ranestad K. (eds) Geometry of Moduli. Abelsymposium 2017. Abel Symposia, vol 14. Springer, Cha

Video and computer-based interactive exercises are safe and improve task-specific balance in geriatric and neurological rehabilitation: A randomised trial

© 2015. Question: Does adding video/computer-based interactive exercises to inpatient geriatric and neurological rehabilitation improve mobility outcomes? Is it feasible and safe? Design: Randomised trial. Participants: Fifty-eight rehabilitation inpatients. Intervention: Physiotherapist-prescribed, tailored, video/computer-based interactive exercises for 1 hour on weekdays, mainly involving stepping and weight-shifting exercises. Outcome measures: The primary outcome was the Short Physical Performance Battery (0 to 3) at 2 weeks. Secondary outcomes were: Maximal Balance Range (mm); Step Test (step count); Rivermead Mobility Index (0 to 15); activity levels; Activity Measure for Post Acute Care Basic Mobility (18 to 72) and Daily Activity (15 to 60); Falls Efficacy Scale (10 to 40), ED5D utility score (0 to 1); Reintegration to Normal Living Index (0 to 100); System Usability Scale (0 to 100) and Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (0 to 126). Safety was determined from adverse events during intervention. Results: At 2 weeks the between-group difference in the primary outcome (0.1, 95% CI -0.2 to 0.3) was not statistically significant. The intervention group performed significantly better than usual care for Maximal Balance Range (38. mm difference after baseline adjustment, 95% CI 6 to 69). Other secondary outcomes were not statistically significant. Fifty-eight (55%) of the eligible patients agreed to participate, 25/29 (86%) completed the intervention and 10 (39%) attended > 70% of sessions, with a mean of 5.6 sessions (SD 3.3) attended and overall average duration of 4.5. hours (SD 3.1). Average scores were 62 (SD 21) for the System Usability Scale and 62 (SD 8) for the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale. There were no adverse events. Conclusion: The addition of video/computer-based interactive exercises to usual rehabilitation is a safe and feasible way to increase exercise dose, but is not suitable for all. Adding the exercises to usual rehabilitation resulted in task-specific improvements in balance but not overall mobility. Registration: ACTRN12613000610730

A characterization of compact complex tori via automorphism groups

We show that a compact Kaehler manifold X is a complex torus if both the continuous part and discrete part of some automorphism group G of X are infinite groups, unless X is bimeromorphic to a non-trivial G-equivariant fibration. Some applications to dynamics are given.Comment: title changed, to appear in Math. An

Assessment of health‐related family role functioning in systemic lupus erythematosus: Preliminary validation of a new measure

Objective Individuals with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) often experience symptoms that affect family relationships, which are important components of quality of life. To assess the impact of SLE on family role functioning, we developed a 6‐domain (Fatigue, Activity participation, Mental health, Isolation, Love and intimacy, and You/fulfilling family roles [FAMILY]) measure. The objectives of this study were to pilot test and achieve preliminary validation for the SLE‐FAMILY questionnaire. Methods This was a 3‐phase study. In phase 1 (development), domains were identified and items were generated for evaluation. During phase 2 (pilot test), a pilot test was conducted to assess the performance of candidate items. In phase 3 (initial validation), 52 individuals with SLE completed questionnaires, including the 6‐item SLE‐FAMILY. Data were analyzed for internal consistency reliability, and validity was assessed using correlations between the SLE‐FAMILY questionnaire and well‐validated measures. Results The SLE‐FAMILY had good test–retest reliability (0.82) and internal consistency (0.67). Reliability analysis of individual items revealed weakness in the performance of item 5. We reviewed raw data and determined that 9 individuals likely overlooked the reverse scoring of item 5, thus explaining its poor reliability. When these 9 individuals were excluded from analysis, Cronbach's alpha increased to 0.71, while test–retest reliability remained acceptable (0.75). Spearman's rho correlations supported the validity of the SLE‐FAMILY measure. A pilot test of the SLE‐FAMILY questionnaire without the reverse‐scored item was conducted; results suggested that the modified version is superior to the initial form. Conclusion The SLE‐FAMILY questionnaire is a promising new instrument for robust measurement of family role functioning.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/93567/1/21676_ftp.pd