End-user involvement in a systematic review of quantitative and qualitative research of non-pharmacological interventions for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder delivered in school settings: reflections on the impacts and challenges.

JOURNAL ARTICLEBACKGROUND: The benefits of end-user involvement in health-care research are widely recognized by research agencies. There are few published evaluations of end-user involvement in systematic reviews. OBJECTIVES: (i) Describe end-user involvement in a complex mixed-methods systematic review of ADHD in schools, (ii) reflect on the impact of end-user involvement, (iii) highlight challenges and benefits experienced and (iv) provide suggestions to inform future involvement. METHODS: End-users were involved in all stages of the project, both as authors and as members of an advisory group. In addition, several events were held with groups of relevant end-users during the project. RESULTS: End-user input (i) guided the direction of the research, (ii) contributed to a typology of interventions and outcomes, (iii) contributed to the direction of data analysis and (iv) contributed to the robustness of the syntheses by demonstrating the alignment of interim findings with lived experiences. Challenges included (i) managing expectations, (ii) managing the intensity of emotion, (iii) ensuring that involvement was fruitful for all not just the researcher, (iv) our capacity to communicate and manage the process and (v) engendering a sense of involvement amongst end-users. CONCLUSIONS: End-user involvement was an important aspect of this project. To minimize challenges in future projects, a recognition by the project management team and the funding provider that end-user involvement even in evidence synthesis projects is resource intensive is essential to allow appropriate allocation of time and resources for meaningful engagement.NIHR HTA programmeNIHRExeter NHS Foundation Trus

Toward an understanding of risk factors for binge-eating disorder in black and white women: A community-based case-control study

This study sought to identify in white women risk factors specific to binge-eating disorder (BED) and for psychiatric disorders in general, and to compare black and white women on risk factors for BED.

Hormonal measurement in rat anterior pituitary cell cultures: Loss of immunoreactive LH counteracted by fetal calf serum and bacitracin

Immunoassayable LH in media samples from rat anterior pituitary cell cultures declines during storage and only 20% of the LH remains after 4 weeks at -20[deg]C. The LH loss was not due to bacterial contamination or to damage to the hormone from repeated freezing and thawing. SDS-PAGE of 125IrLH in media samples showed greater recovery of 125IrLH when 1 mM bacitracin or 2% fetal calf serum were present in the medium. The ratio of intact: subunit 125IrLH was unchanged by the presence of bacitracin or fetal calf serum indicating that the loss of immunoreactive LH was not due to dissociation of intact hormone. LH appears to be irreversibly altered in stored culture media, a process which can be prevented by the addition of bacitracin or fetal calf serum to the media prior to storage. The use of either substance allows accurate and reproducible measurement of LH released from pituitary cells in culture.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/23267/1/0000203.pd

Post-diagnosis body mass index and mortality among women diagnosed with endometrial cancer: Results from the Women\u27s Health Initiative.

Higher body mass index (BMI) measured before endometrial cancer diagnosis has been associated with greater risk of developing endometrial cancer and higher mortality, but the association between BMI measured after diagnosis and mortality risk is unclear. We identified 467 women (91 deaths) in the Women\u27s Health Initiative (WHI) with information on BMI measured after diagnosis and used Cox proportional hazards regression to generate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for all-cause mortality. Comparing BMI 35+ with/m2, we observed no association with all-cause mortality (HR = 1.02, 95% CI 0.55-1.91). Our study does not support the hypothesis that higher BMI after endometrial cancer diagnosis is associated with poorer survival

Internal Insulation of Historic Buildings: A Stochastic Approach to Life Cycle Costing Within RIBuild EU Project

The application of internal insulation is a widespread and effective solution for energy renovation of historic buildings.However, it entails quite high installation costs and a certain risk of failure due to moisture-related problems. A probabilistic risk assessment of both hygrothermal performance and life cycle costs can be used to address internal insulation issue, in order to support riskmanagement and decisionmaking. This paper presents the application of a probabilistic approach to Life Cycle Costing developed within the EU project RIBuild (Robust Internal Thermal Insulation of Historic Buildings), to five internal insulations solutions widely used in Italy. The method provides estimates of the range and likelihood of global costs and payback periods, also considering alternative energy and future economic scenarios. The impact of insulation systems service life on global costs is also addressed, in order to highlight the possible connection of the method to a stochastic estimation of insulation systems durability based on hygrothermal and damage assessments

Cyclic dermal BMP signalling regulates stem cell activation during hair regeneration

In the age of stem cell engineering it is critical to understand how stem cell activity is regulated during regeneration. Hairs are mini-organs that undergo cyclic regeneration throughout adult life1, and are an important model for organ regeneration. Hair stem cells located in the follicle bulge2 are regulated by the surrounding microenvironment, or niche3. The activation of such stem cells is cyclic, involving periodic -catenin activity4, 5, 6, 7. In the adult mouse, regeneration occurs in waves in a follicle population, implying coordination among adjacent follicles and the extrafollicular environment. Here we show that unexpected periodic expression of bone morphogenetic protein 2 (Bmp2) and Bmp4 in the dermis regulates this process. This BMP cycle is out of phase with the WNT/-catenin cycle, thus dividing the conventional telogen into new functional phases: one refractory and the other competent for hair regeneration, characterized by high and low BMP signalling, respectively. Overexpression of noggin, a BMP antagonist, in mouse skin resulted in a markedly shortened refractory phase and faster propagation of the regenerative wave. Transplantation of skin from this mutant onto a wild-type host showed that follicles in donor and host can affect their cycling behaviours mutually, with the outcome depending on the equilibrium of BMP activity in the dermis. Administration of BMP4 protein caused the competent region to become refractory. These results show that BMPs may be the long-sought 'chalone' inhibitors of hair growth postulated by classical experiments. Taken together, results presented in this study provide an example of hierarchical regulation of local organ stem cell homeostasis by the inter-organ macroenvironment. The expression of Bmp2 in subcutaneous adipocytes indicates physiological integration between these two thermo-regulatory organs. Our findings have practical importance for studies using mouse skin as a model for carcinogenesis, intra-cutaneous drug delivery and stem cell engineering studies, because they highlight the acute need to differentiate supportive versus inhibitory regions in the host skin