A mindfulness-based strategy for self-management of aggressive behavior in adolescents with autism

Some individuals with autism engage in physical aggression to an extent that interferes with not only their quality of life, but also that of their parents and siblings. Behavioral and psychopharmacological treatments have been the mainstay of treatments for aggression in children and adolescents with autism. We evaluated the effectiveness of a mindfulness-based procedure, Meditation on the Soles of the Feet, in helping three adolescents to manage their physical aggression. This procedure required the adolescents to rapidly shift the focus of their attention from the aggression-triggering event to a neutral place on their body, the soles of their feet. Incidents of aggression across the three adolescents ranged from a mean of 14–20 per week during baseline, 4–6 per week during mindfulness training, including zero rates during the last 4 weeks of intervention. Aggression occurred a rate of about 1 per year during a 3-year follow-up. Our results suggest adolescents with autism can learn, and effectively use, a mindfulness-based procedure to self-manage their physical aggression over several years.     

Evaluation of Antiviral Activities of Four Local Malaysian Phyllanthus Species against Herpes Simplex Viruses and Possible Antiviral Target

Nucleoside analogues such as acyclovir are effective antiviral drugs against herpes simplex virus infections since its introduction. However, with the emergence of acyclovir-resistant HSV strains particularly in immunocompromised patients, there is a need to develop an alternative antiherpetic drug and plants could be the potential lead. In this study, the antiviral activity of the aqueous extract of four Phyllanthus species were evaluated against herpes simplex virus type-1 (HSV-1) and HSV-2 in Vero cells by quantitative PCR. The protein expressions of untreated and treated infected Vero cells were studied by 2D-gel electrophoresis and Western blot. This is the first study that reported the antiviral activity of P. watsonii. P. urinaria was shown to demonstrate the strongest antiviral activity against HSV-1 and HSV-2, with SI >33.6. Time-of-addition studies suggested that the extract may act against the early infection stage and the replication stage. Protein expression studies indicated that cellular proteins that are involved in maintaining cytoskeletal structure could be potential target for development of antiviral drugs. Preliminary findings indicated that P. urinaria demonstrated potent inhibitory activity against HSV. Hence, further studies such as in vivo evaluation are required for the development of effective antiherpetic drug.     

Major Pathophysiological Correlations of Rosacea: A Complete Clinical Appraisal

Background: Rosacea is a characteristic cutaneous disorder with a diverse clinical manifestations ranging from facial vascular hyper-reactivity to sebaceous gland hyperplasia. Many theories on pathophysiology of rosacea were proposed over the past decade, however the pathogenicity is poorly understood.Aim: To review the evidence on different pathophysiological correlations of rosacea.Methods: A literature search was conducted for studies published between 1990 to March 2014. The inclusion criteria was pathophysiology, randomized controlled trials, controlled trials on rosacea.Results: Out of 5141 articles, 14 high quality studies met all the selection criteria. Of 14 articles, 5 are randomized control trials (RCTs), 2 are controlled trial, 3 comparative trials, 2 observational trials, 1 prospective and 1 diagnostic trial. The studies were categorized into two groups: the trigger factors and sub-types & symptoms. Of 7 high quality studies, 4 provided strong evidence that immune responses causing disease triggered by external/internal factors such as sunlight, food and chemical agents, 3 trials provided significant evidence of microorganisms as causative agents. The remaining trials did not provide significant evidences on pathophysiology.Conclusion: Vasculature, chronic inflammatory responses, environmental triggers, food and chemicals ingested and microorganisms either alone or in combination are responsible for rosacea. Many promising drugs are under various phases of clinical trials and interestingly, probiotics could also possibly be used as one of the treatment option.     

Phyllanthus spp. Exerts Anti-Angiogenic and Anti-Metastatic Effects Through Inhibition on Matrix Metalloproteinase Enzymes

Tumor angiogenesis and metastasis are the major causes for high morbidity and mortality rates in cancer patient. Modulation on tumor angiogenesis and metastasis provides opportunities to halt progression of cancer. From our previous findings, Phyllanthus plant possesses antiproliferative effects on melanoma and prostate cancer cell lines and induction of apoptosis. The main aims of the present work were further investigated on the antimetastatic and antiangiogenic effects on cancer cells (MeWo and PC-3) and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) of 4 Phyllanthus species (P.amarus, P.niruri, P.urinaria and P.watsonii). Phyllanthus extracts significantly inhibited cell adhesion, migration, invasion, and transendothelial migration activities of cancer (MeWo and PC-3) cells in a dose-dependent manner (P < 0.05) by cell-matrix adhesion, Transwell migration, invasion, and transendothelial migration assays. Phyllanthus extracts were exhibited low cytotoxicity on HUVECs up to a concentration of 500.0 μg/ml by MTS reduction assay. Phyllanthus extracts also exhibited antiangiogenic effects through inhibition of migration, invasion, and microcapillary like-tube structure formation in HUVECs. These observations were due to alteration in activities of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) ?2, ?7, ?9, and ?26 in treated-endothelial and cancer cells by zymographies. These findings suggest that Phyllanthus plant has the potential to inhibit tumour metastasis and angiogenesis through the suppression of MMP enzymes.     

Birthing a better future: a mixed-methods evaluation of multimedia exposition conveying the importance of the first 1001 days of life

Background

The early years of life are marked by a crucial period for child development, occurring between conception and 2 years old. The charity, Zero2 Expo, created a multimedia exposition, Birthing a Better Future, to convey a public health message on the importance of the first 1001 days of life and the potential this period holds for intervention measures to have lifelong benefits. This evaluation aimed to determine whether this exposition is effective at raising awareness of the importance of the first 1001 days of life and inform the implementation of future expositions.

‘Birthing a Better Future’: A mixed‐methods evaluation of an exhibition on the early years of life

BackgroundOur study aimed to evaluate to what extent Zero2 Expo''s ‘Birthing a Better Future’, a co‐created multimedia exhibition, was effective in raising awareness on the importance of the first 1001 days of life and explore what refinements would help to optimize the impact of future exhibitions.MethodsWe conducted a mixed‐methods evaluation of the exhibition delivered in the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford. Through convenience sampling, 14 participants were selected to participate in 12 structured interviews and 19 participants completed a questionnaire. Interviews were thematically analysed alongside quantitative analysis of questionnaire responses through Likert scales.ResultsThe majority (78.6%, n = 11/14) of participants who completed the questionnaire either agreed or strongly agreed that the exhibition raised their awareness about the first 1001 days of life. This was supported by the analysis of interviews. The use of art was found to provoke an emotional engagement from participants. Participants felt that the length of the written pieces and location of the exhibition were important factors for designers to consider in future exhibitions.ConclusionThis study demonstrated that multimedia exhibitions, combining science with art, may be an effective way to raise awareness of public health messages. Engaging with key stakeholders will be an essential step in order to improve future public health exhibitions.Public ContributionWhen designing the study, the public reviewed the study tools, which were refined based on their feedback. At every phase of the study, members of the public who are artists co‐created the exhibition content.     

The Influence of Socioeconomic and Demographic Variables on Willingness to Donate Cadaveric Human Organs in Malaysia

The growing shortage in human organs has raised serious concerns. To address this problem, we examine in this article the association between demographic and socioeconomic factors, and respondents’ willingness to donate cadaveric organs using a large survey of Malaysian adults aged 18 years and above.A convenience sampling method was used to extract information from a total of 10,350 participants from Metropolitan Kuala Lumpur over the period of April 2, 2013 to February 29, 2014. In addition to analyzing the data using incidence of willingness to donate by demographic and socioeconomic factors, we carried out logistic regression analysis to estimate the odds ratio of respondents’ willingness to become cadaveric organ donors controlling for age.About less than a third of the participants pledged to donate their organs upon death with women (35.6%) showing a higher incidence compared with men (33.2%). The Chinese (35.7%) and Malays (35.0%) pledged to contribute more than the Indians (31.6%) and the logistic regressions show that Malays (adjusted odds ration [OR] = 1.18) and Chinese (adjusted OR = 1.21) are more likely to donate than Indians (reference group). The results by religion were significant among Muslims and Hindus but not Buddhists. The likelihood of Muslims donating was the lowest (adjusted OR = 0.26). Income was also highly significant but the relationship with willingness to donate was negative. Against tertiary education, all other occupations were significant. However, the respondents with primary education enjoyed the highest adjusted OR (5.46) whereas that of secondary (0.48) and higher secondary (0.83) education was low. Among occupations (against supervisory, clerical, and direct workers), it was significant only among the unemployed and managers with adjusted OR of 1.50 and 1.58, respectively.Sex, education, ethnicity, religion, and income are important demographic and socioeconomic influences on the likelihood of Malaysians willing to become cadaveric organ donors. The Malaysian evidence suggests that awareness programs should be targeted at men, Muslims, Hindus, Malays, and the rich more than the others.