Mental Health of Children and Young People in England 2021 - wave 2 follow up to the 2017 survey

This report examines the mental health of 6 to 23 year olds living in England in 2021 and describes their experiences of family life, education, and services during the coronavirus (COVID- 19) pandemic. Comparisons are made with 2017 and 2020 (where possible), to monitor changes over time

Practitioner Review: effectiveness of indicated school-based interventions for adolescent depression and anxiety - a meta-analytic review

Background: Interest in delivering psychological interventions within schools to facilitate early intervention is increasing. However, most reviews have focused on universal or preventative programmes rather than interventions designed to decrease existing symptoms of depression or anxiety. This paper aims to provide a meta-analytic review of randomised controlled trials of indicated psychological interventions for young people aged 10-19 with elevated symptoms of depression and/or anxiety. Methods: Eight electronic databases were systematically searched from inception to April 2019 for eligible trials. Study quality was assessed using two scales designed to evaluate psychotherapy intervention trials. Random effects meta-analyses were conducted separately for trials that recruited participants based on symptoms of depression and based on symptoms of anxiety. Results: Data from 45 trials were analysed. Most interventions studied used cognitive and behavioural strategies. Few studies met methodological quality criteria, but effect size was not associated with study quality. Indicated school-based interventions had a small effect on reducing depression symptoms (SMD = 0.34, 95% CI -0.48, -0.21) and a medium effect on reducing anxiety symptoms (SMD=-0.49, 95% CI -0.79, -0.19) immediately post-intervention. Subgroup analyses indicated that interventions delivered by internal school staff did not have significant effects on symptoms. Reductions in depression were maintained at short-term (≤6 months) but not medium (>6 months ≤12) or long-term (>12 month) follow up. Reductions in anxiety symptoms were not maintained at any follow up. Conclusions: Indicated school-based interventions are effective at reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety in adolescents immediately post-intervention but there is little evidence that these reductions are maintained. Interventions delivered by school staff are not supported by the current evidence-base. Further high quality randomised controlled trials incorporating assessment of longer-term outcomes are needed to justify increased investment in school-based interventions for adolescent depression and anxiety

Resources for sports engineering education

This paper serves as a resource guide for Sports Engineering educators. The paper covers key topics in Sports Engineering, including ball impact, friction, safety and materials. A variety of resource types are presented to reflect modern methods of learning and searching for information, including textbooks, research and review papers, websites and videos. The field could benefit from more resources specifically designated for teaching Sports Engineering, particularly textbooks

Convalescent plasma in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised controlled, open-label, platform trial

Background: Many patients with COVID-19 have been treated with plasma containing anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of convalescent plasma therapy in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19. Methods: This randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy [RECOVERY]) is assessing several possible treatments in patients hospitalised with COVID-19 in the UK. The trial is underway at 177 NHS hospitals from across the UK. Eligible and consenting patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive either usual care alone (usual care group) or usual care plus high-titre convalescent plasma (convalescent plasma group). The primary outcome was 28-day mortality, analysed on an intention-to-treat basis. The trial is registered with ISRCTN, 50189673, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04381936. Findings: Between May 28, 2020, and Jan 15, 2021, 11558 (71%) of 16287 patients enrolled in RECOVERY were eligible to receive convalescent plasma and were assigned to either the convalescent plasma group or the usual care group. There was no significant difference in 28-day mortality between the two groups: 1399 (24%) of 5795 patients in the convalescent plasma group and 1408 (24%) of 5763 patients in the usual care group died within 28 days (rate ratio 1·00, 95% CI 0·93–1·07; p=0·95). The 28-day mortality rate ratio was similar in all prespecified subgroups of patients, including in those patients without detectable SARS-CoV-2 antibodies at randomisation. Allocation to convalescent plasma had no significant effect on the proportion of patients discharged from hospital within 28 days (3832 [66%] patients in the convalescent plasma group vs 3822 [66%] patients in the usual care group; rate ratio 0·99, 95% CI 0·94–1·03; p=0·57). Among those not on invasive mechanical ventilation at randomisation, there was no significant difference in the proportion of patients meeting the composite endpoint of progression to invasive mechanical ventilation or death (1568 [29%] of 5493 patients in the convalescent plasma group vs 1568 [29%] of 5448 patients in the usual care group; rate ratio 0·99, 95% CI 0·93–1·05; p=0·79). Interpretation: In patients hospitalised with COVID-19, high-titre convalescent plasma did not improve survival or other prespecified clinical outcomes. Funding: UK Research and Innovation (Medical Research Council) and National Institute of Health Research

Intramolecular base composition heterogeneity of human DNA.

The intramolecular base composition heterogeneity of human DNA has been investigated by electron microscopic observations of partially denatured structures and by equilibrium solution thermal denaturation techniques. DNA sequences having an average length of less than 2000 base pairs are found to be heterogeneous in base composition. These heterogeneous sequences occupy a minimum of 67 to 81% of the human genome