African and Black Caribbean origin cancer survivors: a qualitative study of the narratives of causes, coping and care experiences.

Objectives: Although there is evidence in the U.S.A.

A case study of organisational Cultural Competence in mental healthcare.

Background: Ensuring Cultural Competence (CC) in health care is a mechanism to deliver culturally appropriate care and optimise recovery. In policies that promote cultural competence, the training of mental health practitioners is a key component of a culturally competent organisation. This study examines staff perceptions of CC and the integration of CC principles in a mental healthcare organisation.

Resveratrol and black tea polyphenol combination synergistically suppress mouse skin tumors growth by inhibition of activated MAPKs and p53.

Cancer chemoprevention by natural dietary agents has received considerable importance because of their cost-effectiveness and wide safety margin. However, single agent intervention has failed to bring the expected outcome in clinical trials; therefore, combinations of chemopreventive agents are gaining increasing popularity. The present study aims to evaluate the combinatorial chemopreventive effects of resveratrol and black tea polyphenol (BTP) in suppressing two-stage mouse skin carcinogenesis induced by DMBA and TPA.

Tea polyphenols induce apoptosis through mitochondrial pathway and by inhibiting nuclear factor-kappaB and Akt activation in human cervical cancer cells.

Phytochemicals present in tea, particularly polyphenols, have anticancer properties against several cancer types. However, studies elucidating the role and the mechanism(s) of action of tea polyphenols in cervical cancer are sparse. In this study, we investigated the mechanism of antiproliferative and apoptotic actions exerted by tea polyphenols on human papilloma virus-18-positive HeLa cervical cancer cells.

Association between provision of mental illness beds and rate of involuntary admissions in the NHS in England 1988-2008: ecological study.

Objective: To examine the rise in the rate of involuntary admissions for mental illness in England that has occurred as community alternatives to hospital admission have been introduced.

Design: Ecological analysis.

Setting: England, 1988-2008.

Preventive psychiatry: a paradigm to improve population mental health and well-being.

The government's Public Health White Paper for England sets out a utopian vision of how to prevent and remedy mental health problems. The public health approach relies on primary prevention, promoting individual responsibilities and resilience, while also sustaining existing services and tackling inequalities. These ambitions are consistent with the preventive psychiatric paradigm, and with the best of evidence-based psychiatric practice.

Cultural psychiatry and epidemiology: researching the means, methods and meanings.

This article describes my developing interest in cultural psychiatry. This is both a challenging and yet a privileged opportunity to reflect on my research and clinical work over the last 25 years. I describe cultural and interpersonal influences on my thinking and interests, and the development of my research career moving from health services research of specialist services, to primary care research to public mental health research.

Early sexual risk among black and minority ethnicity teenagers: a mixed methods study.

Purpose: To determine how ethnic background influences early sexual activity among young adults.

Methods: Quantitative data were collected during the Research with East London Adolescents Community Health Survey study, a population-based survey of young adults belonging to white and black and minority ethnic groups and residing in east London in 2001 (n = 2,689) and 2003 (n = 2,675). Qualitative data were obtained from 146 young adults between January and September 2003.

Synergistic growth inhibition of mouse skin tumors by pomegranate fruit extract and diallyl sulfide: evidence for inhibition of activated MAPKs/NF-κB and reduced cell proliferation.

Limited outcomes from earlier chemopreventive studies have necessitated that some modifications be made to get better efficacy. It is proposed that cancer prevention is more feasible than treatment, and this could be achieved effortlessly with use of multiple agents competent of targeting multiple targets. This study was initiated to examine the chemopreventive efficacy of pomegranate fruit extract (PFE) and diallyl sulfide (DAS), alone and in combination, using 2-stage mouse skin tumorigenesis model.

Bromelain inhibits nuclear factor kappa-B translocation, driving human epidermoid carcinoma A431 and melanoma A375 cells through G(2)/M arrest to apoptosis.

Bromelain, obtained from pineapple, is already in use clinically as adjunct in chemotherapy. Our objective was to test its ability to act as a sole anti-cancer agent. Therefore, we describe its anti-proliferative, anti-inflammatory and subsequent anti-cancer effects in vitro, against human epidermoid carcinoma-A431 and melanoma-A375 cells.

Chronic fatigue syndrome in an ethnically diverse population: the influence of psychosocial adversity and physical inactivity.

Background: Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a complex multifactorial disorder. This paper reports the prevalence of chronic fatigue (CF) and CFS in an ethnically diverse population sample and tests whether prevalence varies by social adversity, social support, physical inactivity, anxiety and depression.

Methods: Analysis of survey data linking the Health Survey for England (1998 and 1999) and the Ethnic Minority Psychiatric Illness Rates in the Community (EMPIRIC) study undertaken in 2000.

WPA guidance on mental health and mental health care in migrants.

The purpose of this guidance is to review currently available evidence on mental health problems in migrants and to present advice to clinicians and policy makers on how to provide migrants with appropriate and accessible mental health services. The three phases of the process of migration and the relevant implications for mental health are outlined, as well as the specific problems of groups such as women, children and adolescents, the elderly, refugees and asylum seekers, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals. The concepts of cultural bereavement, cultural identity and cultural congruity are discussed.

Neoplastic alterations induced in mammalian skin following mancozeb exposure using in vivo and in vitro models.

Mancozeb, ethylene(bis)dithiocarbamate fungicides, has been well documented in the literature as a multipotent carcinogen, but the underlying mechanism remains unrevealed. Thus, mancozeb has been selected in this study with the objective to decipher the molecular mechanism that culminates in carcinogenesis. We employed two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry to generate a comparative proteome profile of control and mancozeb (200 mg/kg body weight) exposed mouse skin.

Identifying depression in South asian patients with end-stage renal disease: considerations for practice.

Depression is a prevalent burden for patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and one that is under-recognized and consequently under-treated. Although several studies have explored the association between depression symptoms, treatment adherence and outcomes in Euro-American patient groups, quantitative and qualitative exploration of these issues in patients from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds has been lacking. This review discusses the methodological issues associated with measuring depression in patients of South Asian origin who have a 3- to 5-fold greater risk of developing ESRD.

Experiences of acute mental health care in an ethnically diverse inner city: qualitative interview study.

Purpose: Ethnic inequalities in experiences of mental health care persist in the UK, although most evidence derives from in-patient settings. We aimed to explore service users' and carers' accounts of recent episodes of severe mental illness and of the care received in a multi-cultural inner city. We sought to examine factors impacting on these experiences, including whether and how users and carers felt that their experiences were mediated by ethnicity.

Genotoxic and carcinogenic risks associated with the consumption of repeatedly boiled sunflower oil.

Repeated boiling of vegetable oils at high temperature in cooking and frying is a very common practice and leads to the formation of a class of toxic substances. Among them, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are well-documented for their mutagenic/carcinogenic potential. The objectives of the present study were to evaluate the genotoxic and carcinogenic risks associated with the consumption of repeatedly boiled sunflower oil, which is one of the commonly consumed vegetable oils in southeast Asian countries.

Pineapple bromelain induces autophagy, facilitating apoptotic response in mammary carcinoma cells.

Bromelain, from pineapple, possesses potent anticancer effects. We investigated autophagic phenomenon in mammary carcinoma cells (estrogen receptor positive and negative) under bromelain treatment and also illustrated the relationship between autophagy and apoptosis in MCF-7 cells. MCF-7 cells exposed to bromelain showed delayed growth inhibitory response and induction of autophagy, identified by monodansylcadaverine localization.

Culture and complex interventions: lessons for evidence, policy and practice.

Evidence-based mental healthcare is evolving rapidly. There is a need for well-tested and effective interventions that are suited to culturally diverse populations. This editorial considers the findings from the SITARA study.

Genotoxic and carcinogenic risks associated with the dietary consumption of repeatedly heated coconut oil.

Repeated heating of vegetable oils at high temperatures during cooking is a very common cooking practice. Repeated heating of edible oils can generate a number of compounds, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), some of which have been reported to have carcinogenic potential. Consumption of these repeatedly heated oils can pose a serious health hazard.

Polo-like kinase1 (Plk1) knockdown enhances cisplatin chemosensitivity via up-regulation of p73α in p53 mutant human epidermoid squamous carcinoma cells.

Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1), a critical regulator of mitotic entry, progression and exit, has been shown to be involved in a variety of cancers and thus is becoming an attractive target for cancer management. In case of DNA damage, Plk1 not only inhibits p53 independent apoptosis by dysfunctioning p73α but also allows cells to recover from growth arrest. Here, we showed the effects of knocking down plk1 gene through small interference RNA (siRNA) on cell cycle progression, proliferation and chemosensitivity of p53 mutant A431 cells to cisplatin (CDDP).

Trauma, khat and common psychotic symptoms among Somali immigrants: a quantitative study.

Aim Of The Study: To investigate the relationship between (i) khat use and (ii) traumatic events, with measures of common psychotic symptoms and symptoms of anxiety and depression. To undertake this work in a Somali population of emigrants who have sought asylum in a non-conflict zone country.

Materials And Methods: A secondary analysis of data on a population sample of 180 Somali men and women.

Trauma, khat and common psychotic symptoms: a quantitative study.

Aim: To investigate the relationship between (i) khat use and (ii) traumatic events, with measures of common psychotic symptoms and symptoms of anxiety and depression. To undertake this work in a Somali population of emigrants who have sought asylum in a non-conflict zone country.

Materials & Methods: A secondary analysis of data on a population sample of 180 Somali men and women.

The promotion of children's health and wellbeing: the contributions of England's charity sector.

Background: Sports and arts based services for children have positive impacts on their mental and physical health. The charity sector provides such services, often set up in response to local communities expressing a need. The present study maps resilience promoting services provided by children's charities in England.