The evidence-based pharmacological treatment of paediatric ADHD.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is common in children, adolescents, and adults, with extensive research establishing it as a valid neurobiological disorder. Without intervention, ADHD can result in significant impairment throughout the lifespan for the individuals it afflicts. Fortunately, multiple evidence-based options are available for the treatment of ADHD, including several efficacious pharmacotherapies. The role of medication, including stimulants as well as non-stimulants, is well-documented by an extensive body of literature. Although there may be less enthusiasm for behavioural and other psychosocial interventions as stand-alone treatments for moderate to severe ADHD, they are recommended as first-line treatment for ADHD management in preschool-aged children, for those patients with mild symptoms, and as an adjunct to medication in patients with comorbid disorders or suboptimal responses to pharmacotherapy. When planning treatment for individuals with ADHD, the potential risks associated with the available interventions must be carefully balanced against the risks of not treating, or not treating adequately. The treatment plan must also include ongoing re-assessment of the effectiveness of and the need for continued therapy. Recent practice parameters provide further specific guidance for the evidence-based assessment and treatment of children and adolescents with ADHD

TeV scale resonant leptogenesis from supersymmetry breaking

We propose a model of TeV-scale resonant leptogenesis based upon recent models of the generation of light neutrino masses from supersymmetry-breaking effects with TeV-scale right-handed (rhd) neutrinos, $N_i$. The model leads to naturally large cosmological lepton asymmetries via the resonant behaviour of the one-loop self-energy contribution to $N_i$ decay. Our model addresses the primary problems of previous phenomenological studies of low-energy leptogenesis: a rational for TeV-scale rhd neutrinos with small Yukawa couplings so that the out-of equilibrium condition for $N_i$ decay is satisfied; the origin of the tiny, but non-zero mass splitting required between at least two $N_i$ masses; and the necessary non-trivial breaking of flavour symmetries in the rhd neutrino sector. The low mass-scale of the rhd neutrinos and their superpartners, and the TeV-scale $A$-terms automatically contained within the model offer opportunities for partial direct experimental tests of this leptogenesis mechanism at future colliders.Comment: 10 Pages latex, version for JHE

Internal Frame Dragging and a Global Analog of the Aharonov-Bohm Effect

It is shown that the breakdown of a {\it global} symmetry group to a discrete subgroup can lead to analogues of the Aharonov-Bohm effect. At sufficiently low momentum, the cross-section for scattering of a particle with nontrivial $\Z_2$ charge off a global vortex is almost equal to (but definitely different from) maximal Aharonov-Bohm scattering; the effect goes away at large momentum. The scattering of a spin-1/2 particle off a magnetic vortex provides an amusing experimentally realizable example.Comment: (14 pp

Dysfunctional attitudes scale perfectionism: a predictor and partial mediator of acute treatment outcome among clinically depressed adolescents.

The effect of perfectionism on acute treatment outcomes was explored in a randomized controlled trial of 439 clinically depressed adolescents (12-17 years of age) enrolled in the Treatment for Adolescents with Depression Study (TADS) who received cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), fluoxetine, a combination of CBT and FLX, or pill placebo. Measures included the Children\u27s Depression Rating Scale-Revised, the Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire-Grades 7-9, and the perfectionism subscale from the Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale (DAS). Predictor results indicate that adolescents with higher versus lower DAS perfectionism scores at baseline, regardless of treatment, continued to demonstrate elevated depression scores across the acute treatment period. In the case of suicidality, DAS perfectionism impeded improvement. Treatment outcomes were partially mediated by the change in DAS perfectionism across the 12-week period

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in pediatric depression: is the balance between benefits and risks favorable?

Recent controversies surrounding the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) have highlighted the need to reassess potential benefits, as well as potential risks of this class of medications in the treatment of pediatric depression. The recent availability of data from meta-analyses of published and unpublished antidepressant trials, epidemiological studies, and the Treatment for Adolescents with Depression Study (TADS) has facilitated a reanalysis of this risk/benefit relationship. Despite reviewing similar data, various regulatory agencies have arrived at rather disparate conclusions regarding the data, resulting in continued controversy. Although all groups appear to agree that careful assessment, education regarding risks, and closer monitoring are essential for SSRIs, only the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.K. Medicine and Health Care Products Regulatory Agency maintain that an acceptable risk/benefit relationship exists for fluoxetine. The European Medicines Agency concluded that the SSRIs should not be used in the treatment of depression in children and adolescents. The authors of this review have taken into consideration many of these same data and offer a critical discussion of the pros and cons of SSRIs in pediatric depression. The authors have concluded that SSRIs -- in particular, fluoxetine -- do have a role in the treatment of pediatric depression

Four-point functions and kaon decays in a minimal AdS/QCD model

We study the predictions of holographic QCD for various observable four-point quark flavour current-current correlators. The dual 5-dimensional bulk theory we consider is a $SU(3)_L \times SU(3)_R$ Yang Mills theory in a slice of $AdS_5$ spacetime with boundaries. Particular UV and IR boundary conditions encode the spontaneous breaking of the dual 4D global chiral symmetry down to the $SU(3)_V$ subgroup. We explain in detail how to calculate the 4D four-point quark flavour current-current correlators using the 5D holographic theory, including interactions. We use these results to investigate predictions of holographic QCD for the $\Delta I = 1/2$ rule for kaon decays and the $B_K$ parameter. The results agree well in comparison with experimental data, with an accuracy of 25% or better. The holographic theory automatically includes the contributions of the meson resonances to the four-point correlators. The correlators agree well in the low-momentum and high-momentum limit, in comparison with chiral perturbation theory and perturbative QCD results, respectively.Comment: Published version, title changed to conform with Journal format, references and clarifying remarks added, 40 pages, 5 figure

Are Textures Natural?

We make the simple observation that, because of global symmetry violating higher-dimension operators expected to be induced by Planck-scale physics, textures are generically much too short-lived to be of use for large-scale structure formation.Comment: 9p

Z(2)-Singlino Dark Matter in a Portal-Like Extension of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model.

We propose a Z2-stabilized singlino () as a dark matter candidate in extended and R-parity violating versions of the supersymmetric standard model. interacts with visible matter via a heavy messenger field S, which results in a supersymmetric version of the Higgs portal interaction. The relic abundance of can account for cold dark matter if the messenger mass satisfies GeV. Our model can be implemented in many realistic supersymmetric models such as the next-to-minimal supersymmetric (SUSY) standard model and nearly minimal SUSY standard model