Summary of appropriations made by the Legislature of 1932 for the State Department of Mental Hygiene

Psychiatric Quarterly -     

The promise of methylation on beads for cancer detection and treatment

Despite numerous technical hurdles, the realization of true personalized medicine is becoming a progressive reality for the future of patient care. With the development of new techniques and tools to measure the genetic signature of tumors, biomarkers are increasingly being used to detect occult tumors, determine the choice of treatment and predict outcomes. Methylation of CpG islands at the promoter region of genes is a particularly exciting biomarker as it is cancer-specific. Older methods to detect methylation were cumbersome, operator-dependent and required large amounts of DNA. However, a newer technique called methylation on beads has resulted in a more uniform, streamlined and efficient assay. Furthermore, methylation on beads permits the extraction and processing of miniscule amounts of methylated tumor DNA in the peripheral blood. Such a technique may aid in the clinical detection and treatment of cancers in the future.     

Patterns of Mood and Personality Factors and Associations With STI/HIV-Related Drug and Sex Risk Among African American Male Inmates

Background: Research on the association between antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) with comorbid mental disorders and sexually transmitted infection (STI)/HIV risk among inmates is scant despite the high prevalence of psychopathology and of STI/HIV in this population. Methods: We used baseline data from Project DISRUPT, a cohort study conducted among incarcerated African American men (n = 207), to measure associations between ASPD and STI/HIV risk. We also conducted latent class analyses (LCAs) to identify subgroups defined by ASPD with comorbid stress, depression, and borderline personality disorder symptoms and measured associations between latent class membership and STI/HIV risk. Results: Approximately 15% had ASPD and 39% reported depression. Controlling for sociodemographics, stress, and depression, ASPD was independently associated with illicit [AOR = 3.23, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.18–8.87] and injection drug use (AOR: 5.49, 95% CI: 1.23–24.42) but not with sexual risk. LCAs suggested that those at high risk of ASPD were likely to experience co-morbid mental disorders. ASPD comorbid with these disorders was linked to drug and sex risk. Conclusions: STI/HIV prevention for inmates should incorporate diagnosis and treatment of ASPD and comorbid disorders, and interventions to address ASPD-related factors (e.g., impulsivity) that drive STI/HIV risk.     

Material and mechanical factors： new strategy in cellular neurogenesis

Since damaged neural circuits are not generally self-recovered, developing methods to stimulate neurogenesis is critically required. Most studies have examined the effects of soluble pharma- cological factors on the cellular neurogenesis. On the other hand, it is now recognized that the other extracellular factors, including material and mechanical cues, also have a strong potential to induce cellular neurogenesis. This article will review recent data on the material （chemical patterning, micro/nano-topography, carbon nanotube, graphene） and mechanical （static cue from substrate stiffness, dynamic cue from stretch and flow shear） stimulations of cellular neuro- genesis. These approaches may provide new neural regenerative medicine protocols. Scaffolding material templates capable of triggering cellular neurogenesis can be explored in the presence of neurogenesis-stimulatory mechanical environments, and also with conventional soluble factors, to enhance axonal growth and neural network formation in neural tissue engineering.