Evidence for an X-ray Emitting Galactic Bulge: Shadows Cast by Distant Molecular Gas

A mosaic of 7 ROSAT PSPC pointed observations in the direction of (l,b ~ 10,0 deg) reveals deep X-ray shadows in the 0.5-2.0 keV band cast by dense molecular gas. The comparison between the observed on-cloud and off-cloud X-ray fluxes indicates that ~43% of the diffuse X-ray background in this direction in both the 3/4 keV and 1.5 keV bands originates behind the molecular gas, which is located at 2-4 kpc from the Sun. Given the short mean free path of X-rays in the 3/4 keV band in the Galactic plane (~1 kpc assuming an average space density of 1 cm^-3), this large percentage of the observed flux which originates beyond the molecular gas most likely indicates a strong enhancement in the distribution of X-ray emitting gas in the Galactic center region, possibly associated with a Galactic X-ray bulge.Comment: 16 pages LaTex, 2 figures. Accepted for the publication in Astrophysical Journal, Letter

Actuarial prediction of violent recidivism in mentally disordered offenders

Background Actuarial instruments may be useful in predicting long-term violence in mentally disordered patients. We compared two instruments that differ in terms of what they are designed to predict (general versus violent recividism) and the inclusion of stable mental health variables. Method A large sample of mentally disordered patients were scored on two risk assessment instruments, the Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (VRAG) and the Offender Group Reconviction Scale (OGRS), based on information at the point of discharge. Their criminal histories for at least 2 years following discharge were obtained from official records. Results Both instruments were good predictors of both violent and general offending. Over shorter periods (0·85], which were significantly better than the OGRS. For longer follow-up periods the instruments had approximately equal prediction accuracy. However, both instruments predicted far more offences than were in fact recorded. Conclusions The VRAG is a very good predictor of future violence in the UK sample. The OGRS may also be of value as it can be completed quickly and without the need for mental health variables. Caution is needed, however, as both instruments appeared to over-predict the levels of reconvictions in this sample

The development of a novel smart material based on colloidal microgels and cotton

Colloidal microgels are often described as “smart” due to their ability to undergo quite dramatic conformational changes in response to a change in their environmental conditions (e.g. temperature, pH). A range of novel smart materials were developed by the incorporation of colloidal microgels into cotton fabric. A series of microgels have been prepared by a surfactant free emulsion polymerization based on N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) monomer. Poly(NIPAM) is a thermosensitive polymer which undergoes a conformational transition close to the human skin temperature. Poly(NIPAM) was co-polymerized acrylic acid (AA), to prepare pH/temperature-sensitive microgels. Microgel particles were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), attenuated total reflectance fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy, and dynamic light scattering (DLS). This research aims at coupling microgel particles onto cotton fibers and comparing between different attachment techniques. The coupling reactions between microgels and cotton cellulose are only feasible if they both have appropriate functionalities. For microgels, this was achieved by using different initiators which introduce different functional groups on the particle surface and different surface charges. Cotton samples were successfully modified by carboxymethylation, periodate oxidation, grafting of 1,2,3,4-butanetetracarboxylic acid, and chloroacetylation in order to target possible reactions with the terminal functional groups of the microgel particles. Microgels were attached to the cotton fabrics using different methods and the bonds formed were determined by ATR-FTIR spectroscopy and SEM. The reaction yields were quantified gravimetrically and the maximum weight increase of cotton samples due to the attached microgels was around 24% (w/w)

Formation of a bile salt-drug hydrogel to predict human intestinal absorption

The unique character of bile salts to self-assemble into hydrogels in the presence of halide salts was exploited in this work to facilitate the prediction of human intestinal absorption (%HIA) for a set of 25 compounds. This was achieved by firstly incorporating each compound separately within the process of gel formation to create a series of gel-drug membranes. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analysis of the freeze-dried samples of the blank bile salt hydrogels and drug loaded bile salt hydrogels indicated a unique microstructure made of a network of intertwined fibrils. Drug-loaded sodium deoxycholate (NaDC) hydrogels were then utilised as the donor phase to study permeability using flow-through and static diffusion cells. The resulting values of the release-permeability coefficient (Kp) were then analysed, along with other molecular descriptors, for the prediction of human intestinal absorption (%HIA) using multiple linear regression (MLR). Overall, when comparing predicted values (using the systems presented in this study) with known literature values, it can be seen that both methods (i.e. using static and flow through cells) had good predictability with R2PRED. values of 79.8 % and 79.7 % respectively. This study therefore proposes a novel, accurate and precise way to predict human intestinal absorption for compounds of pharmaceutical interest using a simple in vitro permeation system. It is important to develop alternatives to the current methods used in prediction of HIA which are expensive and time consuming or include the use of animals. Therefore, the proposed method in this study being economic and time saving provides superiority over these current methods and suggests the possibility of its use as an alternate to such methods for prediction of HIA

Structured professional judgment to assist the evaluation and safety planning of suicide risk: The Risk of Suicide Protocol (RoSP)

Background: The Risk of Suicide Protocol (RoSP) is a structured professional judgment (SPJ) scheme designed in line with NICE guidelines to improve clinicians' ability to evaluate and manage suicide risk. Aims: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of RoSP in two settings: (1) unexpected deaths of people in the community who were known to mental health services; and (2) an inpatient hospital specializing in the assessment and treatment of patients with personality disorder. Method: In Study 1, information from a database of unexpected deaths (N = 68) within an NHS health board was used to complete a RoSP assessment (blind to cause of death) and information from the Coroner's Court was used to assign people to suicide vs. natural causes/accidental death. In Study 2, patients (N = 62) were assessed on the RoSP upon admission to hospital and their self-injurious behaviors were recorded over the first 3 months of admission. Results: (1) Evaluations using RoSP were highly reliable in both samples (ICCs 0.93–0.98); (2) professional judgment based on the RoSP was predictive of completed suicide in the community sample (AUC = 0.83) and; (3) was predictive of both suicide attempts (AUC = 0.81) and all self-injurious behaviors (AUC = 0.80) for the inpatient sample. Conclusion: RoSP is a reliable and valid instrument for the structured clinical evaluation of suicide risk for use in inpatient psychiatric services and in community mental health services. RoSP's efficacy is comparable to well-established structured professional judgment instruments designed to predict other risk behavior (e.g., HCR-20 and the prediction of violence). The use of RoSP for the clinical evaluation of suicide risk and safety-planning provides a structure for meeting NICE guidelines for suicide prevention and is now evidence-based

Alloreactivity: the Janus-face of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Differences in major and minor histocompatibility antigens between donor and recipient trigger powerful graft-versus-host reactions after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). The clinical effects of alloreactivity present a Janus-face: detrimental graft-versus-host disease increases non-relapse mortality, beneficial graft-versus-malignancy may cure the recipient. The ultimate consequences on long-term outcome remain a matter of debate. We hypothesized that increasing donor-recipient antigen matching would decrease the negative effects, while preserving antitumor alloreactivity. We analyzed retrospectively a predefined cohort of 32 838 such patients and compared it to 59 692 patients with autologous HSCT as reference group. We found a significant and systematic decrease in non-relapse mortality with decreasing phenotypic and genotypic antigen disparity, paralleled by a stepwise increase in overall and relapse-free survival (Spearman correlation coefficients of cumulative excess event rates at 5 years 0.964; P<0.00; respectively 0.976; P<0.00). We observed this systematic stepwise effect in all main disease and disease-stage categories. The results suggest that detrimental effects of alloreactivity are additive with each step of mismatching; the beneficial effects remain preserved. Hence, if there is a choice, the best match should be donor of choice. The data support an intensified search for predictive genomic and environmental factors of ‘no-graft-versus-host disease’.Leukemia advance online publication, 7 April 2017; doi:10.1038/leu.2017.79