Cultural adaptation of an evidence-based intervention to address mental health among youth affected by armed conflict in Colombia: An application of the ADAPT-ITT approach and FRAME-IS reporting protocols.

Background: In Colombia, over 9 million people have been impacted by armed conflict, creating a significant need for mental health services. This study aimed to culturally adapt and pilot test the Youth Readiness Intervention (YRI), an evidence-based transdiagnostic mental health intervention, for conflict-affected Colombian youth aged 18-28 years.

Methods: The eight phases of the Assessment, Decision, Administration, Production, Topical Experts, Integration, Training, and Testing (ADAPT-ITT) framework were used to culturally adapt the YRI for conflict-affected Colombian youth.

Tailoring implementation of a youth-focused mental health intervention in Sierra Leone using an implementation blueprint methodology.

Background: Identifying contextual factors that might support or hinder implementation of evidence-based mental health interventions for youth in low- and middle- income countries may improve implementation success by increasing the alignment of intervention implementation with local needs and resources. This study engaged community partners in Sierra Leone to: (a) investigate barriers and facilitators to implementing a mental health intervention within Sierra Leone's schools; (b) develop an implementation blueprint to address identified implementation barriers; (c) explore the feasibility of using the implementation blueprint methodology in Sierra Leone.

Methods: We recruited Ministry of Education Officials (n = 2), teachers (n = 15) and principals (n = 15) in Sierra Leone to participate in needs assessment qualitative interviews.

Short-term report of early glaucoma surgery with a clear lens extraction and an intraocular lens, OMNI canaloplasty, and a HYDRUS microstent: a case series in younger patients.

Purpose: The purpose of this case series is to report the surgical outcomes from the combination of a clear lensectomy, OMNI® canaloplasty, and a HYDRUS® microstent with an adjacent goniotomy.

Methods: This is a retrospective non-comparative single-center case series of four black patients of African descent with glaucoma who were treated with a clear lensectomy, OMNI canaloplasty, and a HYDRUS microstent with an adjacent goniotomy. The surgeries were performed by an experienced cataract and glaucoma surgeon, Daniel Laroche, MD.

A Methodology for the Rapid Qualification of Additively Manufactured Materials Based on Pore Defect Structures.

Additive manufacturing (AM) can create net or near-net-shaped components while simultaneously building the material microstructure, therefore closely coupling forming the material and shaping the part in contrast to traditional manufacturing with distinction between the two processes. While there are well-heralded benefits to AM, the widespread adoption of AM in fatigue-limited applications is hindered by defects such as porosity resulting from off-nominal process conditions. The vast number of AM process parameters and conditions make it challenging to capture variability in porosity that drives fatigue design allowables during qualification.

Advancing sustainable implementation of an evidence-based mental health intervention in Sierra Leone's schools: protocol for a hybrid type 3 implementation-effectiveness trial.

Background: Mental health disorders among youth contribute substantially to the global burden of disease, which is exacerbated in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) due to large mental health treatment gaps. In Sierra Leone, a West African country with a long history of complex adversity, the mental health treatment gap is estimated at 98%. Implementing innovative mental health interventions that can be sustained at scale is a priority.

Integrating Youth Readiness Intervention and Entrepreneurship in Sierra Leone: A Hybrid Type II Cluster Randomized Trial.

Objective: Conflict-affected youth are at risk for poor psychological and social outcomes, yet few receive mental health services. Strategies to expand access and sustain evidence-based interventions (EBIs) across novel delivery platforms must be tested. The present study was a hybrid type II implementation-effectiveness trial using a cluster randomized design.

Exploring potential mental health spillover effects among caregivers and partners of youth in Sierra Leone: A qualitative study.

Given the large mental health treatment gap in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), particularly in post-conflict settings like Sierra Leone, and the limited healthcare infrastructure, understanding the wider benefits of evidence-based mental health interventions within households is critical. This study explored potential mental health spillover effects - the phenomenon of beneficial effects among nonparticipants - among cohabitating caregivers and partners of youth who participated in an evidence-based mental health intervention in Sierra Leone. We recruited a sub-sample of cohabitating caregivers and partners ( = 20) of youth intervention participants; caregivers had enrolled in a larger study investigating indirect benefits of the evidence-based intervention in Sierra Leone (MH117359).

The adaptation of a youth mental health intervention to a peer-delivery model utilizing CBPR methods and the ADAPT-ITT framework in Sierra Leone.

Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) carry a significant proportion of the global burden of untreated mental health disorders. Peer-delivered programs offer LMICs with limited mental health professionals an opportunity to increase mental health service access. This study describes the process of adapting a lay-worker-delivered evidence-based youth mental health intervention to a peer-delivery model in Sierra Leone using participatory methods.

Ultrasound-guided lymph node fine-needle aspiration for evaluating post-vaccination germinal center responses in humans.

The lymph node (LN) is a critical biological site for immune maturation after vaccination as it includes several cell populations critical for priming the antibody response. Here, we present a protocol for sampling the LN and isolating cell populations to evaluate immunogens targeting germline cells. We describe steps for media and tube preparation and sample collection using an ultrasound-guided LN fine-needle aspiration procedure.

Collaboration between Public Health and Schools: An Example of an Integrated Community Social Care Model.

Introduction: There is a need to improve public health interventions to promote youth social and emotional development in close collaboration with schools, families and local communities. A close intersectoral collaboration between the regional public health, schools and school boards was established to co-construct and implement "Positive Intervention (PI)" in the Eastern Townships region (Quebec, Canada). This paper describes its implementation according to the "Integrated Community Care (ICC)" framework.

The feasibility and acceptability of Project POWER: a mindfulness-infused, cognitive-behavioral group intervention to address mental and sexual health needs of young pregnant women in Liberia.

Background: Following 14 years of civil war in Liberia, war exposure, gender-based violence, and extreme poverty have been identified as key challenges affecting the mental and sexual health of young pregnant women and the health of their unborn children. Despite ongoing efforts to rebuild the country's healthcare infrastructure, empirical and culturally tailored interventions to address the consequences of war are severely limited. To address these concerns, we developed Project POWER (Progressing Our Well-being, Emotions, and Relationships), a mindfulness-infused, cognitive-behavioral intervention for young adult pregnant women.

Exploring Naturalistic Diffusion of an Evidence-Based Mental Health Intervention across Peer Networks of Youth in Sierra Leone.

Background: Understanding the mechanisms by which evidence-based interventions (EBIs) for mental health are naturally diffused among youth in low-and middle-income countries-particularly those with histories of violence and civil unrest-can illuminate which intervention elements are most transferrable and inform scale-up decisions that support youth adjustment. This study explored the diffusion of an evidence-based mental health intervention-the Youth Readiness Intervention (YRI)-among peer networks of Sierra Leonean youth (aged 18-30) who participated in a trial of the intervention as integrated into youth entrepreneurship programs.

Methods: Trained research assistants recruited index participants who had completed the YRI integrated within entrepreneurship training (N = 165) and control index participants (N = 165).

Applying Human-Centered Design in Global Mental Health to Improve Reach Among Underserved Populations in the United States and India.

Introduction: Human-centered design (HCD) refers to a diverse suite of interactive processes that engage end users in the development of a desired outcome. We showcase how 2 global mental health research teams applied HCD to develop mobile health tools, each directed at reducing treatment gaps in underserved populations. CASE STUDY 1: Refugees face higher risks for mental health problems, yet these communities face structural and cultural barriers that reduce access to and use of services.

Alternative Delivery Platforms for Expanding Evidence-based Mental Health Interventions for Youth in Sierra Leone: A Pilot Study.

Given the high rates of mental health problems and poor service access among youth in war-affected countries throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, incorporating evidence-based mental health interventions into alternative delivery platforms could improve service access in these settings. We conducted a randomized controlled pilot study with high-risk Sierra Leonean youth to investigate the feasibility of implementing the Youth Readiness Intervention (YRI), a cognitive behavioral and interpersonal therapy-based group intervention, within an employment promotion program (EPP) and preliminary effects of the YRI on mental health outcomes. Participants were 175 youth (females=62%) ages 18-30 recruited via flyers and radio announcements.

Programmable self-regulated molecular buffers for precise sustained drug delivery.

Unlike artificial nanosystems, biological systems are ideally engineered to respond to their environment. As such, natural molecular buffers ensure precise and quantitative delivery of specific molecules through self-regulated mechanisms based on Le Chatelier's principle. Here, we apply this principle to design self-regulated nucleic acid molecular buffers for the chemotherapeutic drug doxorubicin and the antimalarial agent quinine.

[Bereaved parents’ experience of support groups following perinatal bereavement: a thematic synthesis].

Support groups play an essential role in caring for parents experiencing perinatal death and bereavement. However, there is very little data on the effectiveness of these services on their well-being. To better understand the experience of bereaved parents using support group services, a qualitative systematic review was conducted using Thomas and Harden’s method.

Laboratory-Controlled Experiments Reveal Microbial Community Shifts during Sediment Resuspension Events.

In freshwater ecosystems, dynamic hydraulic events (floods or dam maintenance) lead to sediment resuspension and mixing with waters of different composition. Microbial communities living in the sediments play a major role in these leaching events, contributing to organic matter degradation and the release of trace elements. However, the dynamics of community diversity are seldom studied in the context of ecological studies.

Behavioral Health Integration in Community Health Centers and Emergency Department Use.

Medicaid enrollees with behavioral health disorders often experience fragmented care, leading to high rates of preventable use of emergency departments (EDs). As part of its Medicaid Transformation Program, the Washington Health Care Authority partnered with regional accountable communities of health to collect data on behavioral health integration in community health centers. Clinics who participated in the integrated care demonstration received technical and financial support to increase capacity for integration.

Monitoring protein conformational changes using fluorescent nanoantennas.

Understanding the relationship between protein structural dynamics and function is crucial for both basic research and biotechnology. However, methods for studying the fast dynamics of structural changes are limited. Here, we introduce fluorescent nanoantennas as a spectroscopic technique to sense and report protein conformational changes through noncovalent dye-protein interactions.