Internet-based search of randomised trials relevant to mental health originating in the Arab world

BACKGROUND: The internet is becoming a widely used source of accessing medical research through various on-line databases. This instant access to information is of benefit to busy clinicians and service users around the world. The population of the Arab World is comparable to that of the United States, yet it is widely believed to have a greatly contrasting output of randomised controlled trials related to mental health. This study was designed to investigate the existence of such research in the Arab World and also to investigate the availability of this research on-line. METHODS: Survey of findings from three internet-based potential sources of randomised trials originating from the Arab world and relevant to mental health care. RESULTS: A manual search of an Arabic online current contents service identified 3 studies, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PsycINFO searches identified only 1 study, and a manual search of a specifically indexed, study-based mental health database, PsiTri, revealed 27 trials. CONCLUSION: There genuinely seem to be few trials from the Arab world and accessing these on-line was problematic. Replication of some studies that guide psychiatric/psychological practice in the Arab world would seem prudent

Anaplastic Ganglioglioma in a Middle-aged Woman: A Case Report with a Review of the Literature

We report a case of anaplastic ganglioglioma. A 45-yr-old woman was admitted with a 5-month history of headache and dizziness, both of which progressed slowly. Preoperative magnetic resonance imaging revealed a strong enhancing mass in the left frontal lobe extending to the cingulate gyrus. Adjuvant radiation therapy and chemotherapy were given after gross total resection of the tumor. Histological and immunohistochemical studies showed an anaplastic ganglioglioma. Gangliogliomas of the central nervous system are rather uncommon tumors, and anaplastic ones are extremely rare. The pertinent literature regarding gangliogliomas is reviewed

Significance of p27kip1 as potential biomarker for intracellular oxidative status

Our previous proteomic study demonstrated that oxidative stress and antioxidant delphinidin regulated the cellular level of p27kip1 (referred to as p27) as well as some heat shock proteins in human colon cancer HT 29 cells. Current study was conducted to validate and confirm the regulation of these proteins using both in vitro and in vivo systems. The level of p27 was decreased by hydrogen peroxide in a dose-dependent manner in human colon carcinoma HCT 116 (p53-positive) cells while it was increased upon exposure to hydrogen peroxide in HT 29 (p53-negative) cells. However, high concentration of hydrogen peroxide (100 µM) downregulated p27 in both cell lines, but delphindin, one of antioxidative anthocyanins, enhanced the level of p27 suppressed by 100 µM hydrogen peroxide. ICR mice were injected with varying concentrations of hydrogen peroxide, delphinidin and both. Western blot analysis for the mouse large intestinal tissue showed that the expression of p27 was upregulated by 25 mg/kg BW hydrogen peroxide. To investigate the association of p27 regulation with hypoxia-inducible factor 1-beta (HIF-1β), the level of p27 was analyzed in wild-type mouse hepatoma hepa1c1c7 and Aryl Hydrocarbon Nuclear Translocator (arnt, HIF-1β)-defective mutant BPRc1 cells in the absence and presence of hydrogen peroxide and delphinidin. While the level of p27 was responsive to hydrogen peroxide and delphinidin, it remained unchanged in BPRc1, suggesting that the regulation of p27 requires functional HIF-1β. We also found that hydrogen peroxide and delphinidin affected PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway which is one of upstream regulators of HIFs. In conclusion, hydrogen peroxide and antioxidant delphinidin seem to regulate intracellular level of p27 through regulating HIF-1 level which is, in turn, governed by its upstream regulators comprising of PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway. The results should also encourage further study for the potential of p27 as a biomarker for intracellular oxidative or antioxidant status

International Frameworks Dealing with Human Risk Assessment of Combined Exposure to Multiple Chemicals

The development of harmonised terminology and frameworks for the human risk assessment of combined exposure to multiple chemicals (“chemical mixtures”) is an important area for EFSA and a number of activities have already been undertaken, i.e. in the fields of pesticides and contaminants. The first step prior to a risk assessment of combined exposure to multiple chemicals is problem formulation defining the relevant exposure, hazard and population to be considered. In practice, risk assessment of multiple chemicals is conducted using a tiered approach for exposure assessment, hazard assessment and risk characterisation. Higher tiers require increasing knowledge about the group of chemicals under assessment and the tiers can range from tier 0 (default values, data poor situation) to tier 3 (full probabilistic models). This scientific report reviews the terminology, methodologies and frameworks developed by national and international agencies for the human risk assessment of combined exposure to multiple chemicals and provides recommendations for future activities at EFSA in this area

Improving the physical health of people with severe mental illness in a low secure forensic unit: An uncontrolled evaluation study of staff training and physical health care plans

The life expectancy of people with severe mental illnesses is substantially reduced, and monitoring and screening for physical health problems is a key part of addressing this health inequality. Inpatient admission presents a window of opportunity for this health-care activity. The present study was conducted in a forensic mental health unit in England. A personal physical health plan incorporating clearly-presented and easily-understood values and targets for health status in different domains was developed. Alongside this, a brief physical education session was delivered to health-care staff (n = 63). Printed learning materials and pedometers and paper tape measures were also provided. The impact was evaluated by a single-group pretest post-test design; follow-up measures were 4 months' post-intervention. The feasibility and acceptability of personal health plans and associated resources were examined by free-text questionnaire responses. Fifty-seven staff provided measures of attitudes and knowledge before training and implementation of the physical health plans. Matched-pairs analysis indicated a modest but statistically-significant improvement in staff knowledge scores and attitudes to involvement in physical health care. Qualitative feedback indicated limited uptake of the care plans and perceived need for additional support for better adoption of this initiative. Inpatient admission is a key setting for assessing physical health and promoting improved management of health problems. Staff training and purpose-designed personalized care plans hold potential to improve practice and outcomes in this area, but further support for such innovations appears necessary for their uptake in inpatient mental health settings

Measurement of the cross-section of high transverse momentum vector bosons reconstructed as single jets and studies of jet substructure in pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper presents a measurement of the cross-section for high transverse momentum W and Z bosons produced in pp collisions and decaying to all-hadronic final states. The data used in the analysis were recorded by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider at a centre-of-mass energy of √s = 7 TeV;{\rm Te}{\rm V}$and correspond to an integrated luminosity of$4.6\;{\rm f}{{{\rm b}}^{-1}}$. The measurement is performed by reconstructing the boosted W or Z bosons in single jets. The reconstructed jet mass is used to identify the W and Z bosons, and a jet substructure method based on energy cluster information in the jet centre-of-mass frame is used to suppress the large multi-jet background. The cross-section for events with a hadronically decaying W or Z boson, with transverse momentum${{p}_{{\rm T}}}\gt 320\;{\rm Ge}{\rm V}$and pseudorapidity$|\eta |\lt 1.9$, is measured to be${{\sigma }_{W+Z}}=8.5\pm 1.7$ pb and is compared to next-to-leading-order calculations. The selected events are further used to study jet grooming techniques

Search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at √ s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum are reported. The search uses 20.3 fb−1 of √ s = 8 TeV data collected in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events are required to have at least one jet with pT > 120 GeV and no leptons. Nine signal regions are considered with increasing missing transverse momentum requirements between Emiss T > 150 GeV and Emiss T > 700 GeV. Good agreement is observed between the number of events in data and Standard Model expectations. The results are translated into exclusion limits on models with either large extra spatial dimensions, pair production of weakly interacting dark matter candidates, or production of very light gravitinos in a gauge-mediated supersymmetric model. In addition, limits on the production of an invisibly decaying Higgs-like boson leading to similar topologies in the final state are presente

Search for direct pair production of the top squark in all-hadronic final states in proton-proton collisions at s√=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The results of a search for direct pair production of the scalar partner to the top quark using an integrated luminosity of 20.1fb−1 of proton–proton collision data at √s = 8 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC are reported. The top squark is assumed to decay via t˜→tχ˜01 or t˜→ bχ˜±1 →bW(∗)χ˜01 , where χ˜01 (χ˜±1 ) denotes the lightest neutralino (chargino) in supersymmetric models. The search targets a fully-hadronic final state in events with four or more jets and large missing transverse momentum. No significant excess over the Standard Model background prediction is observed, and exclusion limits are reported in terms of the top squark and neutralino masses and as a function of the branching fraction of t˜ → tχ˜01 . For a branching fraction of 100%, top squark masses in the range 270–645 GeV are excluded for χ˜01 masses below 30 GeV. For a branching fraction of 50% to either t˜ → tχ˜01 or t˜ → bχ˜±1 , and assuming the χ˜±1 mass to be twice the χ˜01 mass, top squark masses in the range 250–550 GeV are excluded for χ˜01 masses below 60 GeV

Search for pair-produced long-lived neutral particles decaying to jets in the ATLAS hadronic calorimeter in ppcollisions at √s=8TeV

The ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN is used to search for the decay of a scalar boson to a pair of long-lived particles, neutral under the Standard Model gauge group, in 20.3fb−1of data collected in proton–proton collisions at √s=8TeV. This search is sensitive to long-lived particles that decay to Standard Model particles producing jets at the outer edge of the ATLAS electromagnetic calorimeter or inside the hadronic calorimeter. No significant excess of events is observed. Limits are reported on the product of the scalar boson production cross section times branching ratio into long-lived neutral particles as a function of the proper lifetime of the particles. Limits are reported for boson masses from 100 GeVto 900 GeV, and a long-lived neutral particle mass from 10 GeVto 150 GeV