Guidelines for the recording and evaluation of pharmaco-EEG data in man: the International Pharmaco-EEG Society (IPEG)

The International Pharmaco-EEG Society (IPEG) presents updated guidelines summarising the requirements for the recording and computerised evaluation of pharmaco-EEG data in man. Since the publication of the first pharmaco-EEG guidelines in 1982, technical and data processing methods have advanced steadily, thus enhancing data quality and expanding the palette of tools available to investigate the action of drugs on the central nervous system (CNS), determine the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of novel therapeutics and evaluate the CNS penetration or toxicity of compounds. However, a review of the literature reveals inconsistent operating procedures from one study to another. While this fact does not invalidate results per se, the lack of standardisation constitutes a regrettable shortcoming, especially in the context of drug development programmes. Moreover, this shortcoming hampers reliable comparisons between outcomes of studies from different laboratories and hence also prevents pooling of data which is a requirement for sufficiently powering the validation of novel analytical algorithms and EEG-based biomarkers. The present updated guidelines reflect the consensus of a global panel of EEG experts and are intended to assist investigators using pharmaco-EEG in clinical research, by providing clear and concise recommendations and thereby enabling standardisation of methodology and facilitating comparability of data across laboratories

Legislative Policy Agendas in the United Kingdom, 1910-2010

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.The policy agenda is the topics that public decision-makers pay attention to at any one time. It is comprised of major policy topics such as crime or health or minor topics such as prescription drug coverage and costs or riots and crime prevention. This research project has mapped the policies the UK government concentrated on over the last hundred years by coding data on Speeches from the Throne and Acts of UK Parliament since 1911, budgetary expenditure since 1910, public opinion since 1960, the front page of The Times newspaper since 1960, and Prime Minister's Questions since 1997. The aims of the project were:to measure and describe the policy agenda in the legislative arenas of the UKto examine whether the legislative agenda responds to public opinion and the interest of the mediato examine the extent to which UK attention to policy is punctuated or incrementalto compare change in agendas with comparable data from the rest of Europe as part of an ESF Eurocores collaborationto describe and analyse the legislative agenda of the Scottish Parliament in comparison with the United Kingdom ParliamentFurther documentation and information can be found on the Legislative policy agendas in the UK ESRC End of Award webpage and also the project website.Main Topics:The study consists of nine datasets:UK Acts of Parliament 1911-2008: the date of royal assent and long and short-titles of Acts of the UK and Scottish ParliamentsUK Media 1960-2008: front page headlines from The Times (London) newspaper, sampled every WednesdayPrime Minister's Questions 1997-2008: Prime Minister's Questions for the duration of the Labour governmentPublic Opinion (Speech Year) and (Yearly) 1959-2009 (two datasets): average responses to Gallup's 'most important problem' question and Ipsos-MORI's 'most important issue' by speech year and yearlyScottish Bills 1999-2008: the introduction, outcome and royal assent data as well as the outcome and short and long title of each billScottish Hearings 1999-2007: the year, committee type, type of hearing and title of each hearingSpeech from the Throne 1911-2010: speeches from the throne have been coded with a major and sub-topic codeUK Expenditure 1910-2007: UK budgetary expenditure data presented in millions of constant 2003 pounds</ul

North East Referendum Campaign and Media Coverage, 2003-2005

<p>Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.</p>The North East referendum of November 2004 asked voters whether an elected assembly should be created for the region. The referendum aimed to formalise New Labour's regional programme in England and to mirror the creation of elected assemblies in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and London. Initially, referendums had been planned in three northern English regions, including the North West, Yorkshire and the Humber and the North East. However, two referendums were cancelled by the government once it became apparent that defeat was almost inevitable. Only in the North East was a referendum held. In the event, voters in the North East rejected an elected assembly by almost four votes to one, effectively ending plans for elected regional government in England.<br> <br> This project investigated the activities of the official 'Yes' (supporting an elected assembly) and 'No' (opposing an elected assembly) campaigns in the North East. It set the referendum in the wider context of debates on English regionalism and spatial inequalities of power in the UK state. The interaction between the campaigns and the regional and national media was also researched. It was felt that the media played a key role in translating campaign arguments into issues of public interest.<br> <br> There were three distinct research elements in the project.<br> <br> The first was a programme of qualitative interviews with key actors in the campaigns and regional and national media.<br> <br> Second, an extensive media monitoring exercise was carried out, reviewing newspaper coverage of the referendum over two years leading up to November 2004. It used LexisNexis archives and the web archives of individual newspapers (source: www.lexisnexis.com, no copyright permissions necessary). These data were aggregated into summary information on media coverage.<br> <br> Third, quantitative analysis of elite social networks within the North East region was conducted using UCINET V software. This looked at the board membership of regional and local institutions of governance. A comparison of networks in the North East, North West, and the Yorkshire and the Humber regions was also conducted.<br> <br> <a href="http://www.esrcsocietytoday/esrcinfocentre/viewawardpage.aspx?awardnumber=RES-219-25-2001" title="ESRC award page">ESRC award page.</a><br> <br

Esophagogastric dissociation reduces the re-operation rate for persistent gastroesophageal reflux in severely neurologically impaired children

Purpose: In this study we want to demonstrate the effectiveness of the esophagogastric dissociation as a first level operation in treatment of the gastroesophageal reflux in severe neurologically impaired children, in term of a reduction of reoperation rate.Methods: We divided patients operated from 1998 to 2005 in a group A, composed by children treated with fundoplication, and in a group AR, composed by the patients of group A who had a recurrence of reflux and that was treated with esophagogastric dissociation. Patients operated from 2005 to 2013 were selected on the basis of the severity of the neurological impairment and were divided in a group B, treated with fundoplication, and in a group C of more severe impaired children, treated with esophagogastric dissociation. Data regarding the complications of the A and C groups were analyzed with Fisher’s test.Results: We evaluated 63 patients: 34 (54 %) in group A, 11 in group AR, 15 (23.6 %) in group B, 14 (22.4 %) in group C. The Fisher’s test showed a non significant difference with a p value of 0.2.Conclusion: Despite of statistic result we believe that TOGD is a useful procedure as the first choice of surgical management in severe neurological impaired children affected by gastroesophageal reflux

Effectiveness of Bariatric Surgery in Reducing Weight and Body Mass Index Among Hispanic Adolescents

BACKGROUND: Ethnic minority adolescents and Hispanics in particular, are disproportionately affected by extreme obesity and its associated co-morbidities. Bariatric surgery is one of the few effective treatments for morbid obesity, yet little information about weight outcomes after surgery in this demographic are available. We determined the effectiveness of bariatric surgery in reducing weight and body mass index (BMI) in adolescents, a majority of whom were non-Mexican American Hispanic and originated from Central and/or South America and the Caribbean Basin region. METHODS: Adolescents (16-to-19 years old) who had undergone gastric bypass or adjustable gastric band surgery between 2001 and 2010 and who had complete follow up data available (91%) were included in the analysis. Mean weight and BMI before and 1-year after surgery were compared. RESULTS: Among 71 adolescents (80% Hispanic, 77% female), Mean BMI and weight, and z-scores and percentile transformations were all significantly lower after surgery for the entire sample (P<0.001). Gastric bypass surgery showed significantly better weight loss outcomes for all anthropometric measures versus adjustable gastric band surgery (P<0.05). The weight loss was similar among Hispanics and non-Hispanics. No perioperative complications were reported. Three patients who stopped taking supplements as prescribed experienced iron-deficiency anemia within the year following surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that bariatric surgery can markedly reduce weight among a predominantly Hispanic adolescent patient sample, and gastric bypass procedure in particular. These findings indicate that bariatric surgery has the potential to be safe and effective in substantially reducing weight in a group of adolescents who are at particularly high risk for obesity-related health consequences