The Temple Vie weight management and lifestyle programme: initial data and reflections on Covid-19.

During the first three months of the Temple Vie programme, average weight loss in 36 subjects exceeded 13 kg. There were associated improvements in Patient Reported Outcome Measures, blood pressure and serum lipids. The Covid-19 pandemic may focus attention on programmes that give rise to rapid weight loss and improvements in cardiovascular health parameters.

Seasonal symptoms in bipolar and primary care patients.

Background: There is evidence of seasonality in bipolar affective disorder (BAD) and the preponderance of atypical symptoms in bipolar depressive episodes is also seen in winter type Seasonal Affective Disorder. Differences in seasonal symptoms between BAD and appropriate comparison populations have been scrutinised only in small studies.

Methods: Symptoms described on the Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ) were compared between 183 patients with BAD and 468 patients consulting their general practitioners.

The seasonality of bipolar affective disorder: comparison with a primary care sample using the Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire.

Background: In contrast with recurrent unipolar depression, relatively little is known about the seasonality of depressive episodes in bipolar affective disorder (BAD).

Method: We compared responses on the Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ) between a cohort of 183 patients with BAD and a large sample of patients in primary care (N=4746). Comparisons were adjusted for age and gender.

High throughput screening of mutants of oat that are defective in triterpene synthesis.

The triterpenes are a large and diverse group of plant natural products that have important functions in plant protection and food quality, and a range of pharmaceutical and other applications. Like sterols, they are synthesised from mevalonate via the isoprenoid pathway, the two pathways diverging after 2,3-oxidosqualene. During triterpene synthesis 2,3-oxidosqualene is cyclised to one of a number of potential products, the most common of these being the pentacyclic triterpene beta-amyrin.

Wake-up call for British psychiatry.

The recent drive within the UK National Health Service to improve psychosocial care for people with mental illness is both understandable and welcome: evidence-based psychological and social interventions are extremely important in managing psychiatric illness. Nevertheless, the accompanying downgrading of medical aspects of care has resulted in services that often are better suited to offering non-specific psychosocial support, rather than thorough, broad-based diagnostic assessment leading to specific treatments to optimise well-being and functioning. In part, these changes have been politically driven, but they could not have occurred without the collusion, or at least the acquiescence, of psychiatrists.

Relatedness of medically important strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae as revealed by phylogenetics and metabolomics.

Ten medically important Saccharomyces strains, comprising six clinical isolates of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and four probiotic strains of Saccharomyces boulardii, were characterized at the genetic and metabolic level and compared with non-medical, commercial yeast strains used in baking and wine-making. Strains were compared by genetic fingerprinting using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis, by ribosomal DNA ITS1 sequencing and by metabolic footprinting using both direct injection mass spectrometry (DIMS) and gas chromatography-time of flight-mass spectrometry (GC-ToF-MS). Overall, the clinical isolates fell into different groupings when compared with the non-medical strains, with good but not perfect correlation amongst strains at both the genetic and metabolic levels.

Acute effect of poly-gamma-glutamic acid on calcium absorption in post-menopausal women.

Objective: Poly-gamma-glutamic acid (PGA) increases calcium (Ca) solubility in vitro and in vivo, and is associated with reduced bone loss in post-menopausal Japanese women. This study is the first to examine the effect of PGA on Ca absorption in humans.

Methods: A single-blind, randomized, crossover study with a 3-4 week wash-out was performed to determine the effect of PGA (80.

Core undergraduate psychiatry: what do non-specialists need to know?

Objective: The purpose of this study is to define the most relevant topics for inclusion in an undergraduate psychiatric curriculum by asking non-psychiatrists what knowledge, skills and attitudes related to psychiatry they need in their day-to-day practice.

Methods: A questionnaire study involving non-psychiatric doctors (based both in hospitals and general practice) was carried out using Delphi methodology in 2 waves. In the first wave, 408 doctors described the psychiatric competencies they required in their current posts.

Dates of birth and seasonal changes in well-being among 4904 subjects completing the seasonal pattern assessment questionnaire.

Background: Abnormal distributions of birthdates, suggesting intrauterine aetiological factors, have been found in several psychiatric disorders, including one study of out-patients with Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.

Identification and quantification of glucosinolates in sprouts derived from seeds of wild Eruca sativa L. (salad rocket) and Diplotaxis tenuifolia L. (wild rocket) from diverse geographical locations.

The Brassicaceae rocket species Eruca sativa L. (salad rocket) and Diplotaxis tenuifolia L. (wild rocket) are consumed throughout the world in salads, predominantly the leaves but also the flowers and more recently the sprouts (seedlings).

A different function for a member of an ancient and highly conserved cytochrome P450 family: from essential sterols to plant defense.

CYP51 sterol demethylases are the only cytochrome P450 enzymes with a conserved function across the animal, fungal, and plant kingdoms (in the synthesis of essential sterols). These highly conserved enzymes, which are important targets for cholesterol-lowering drugs, antifungal agents, and herbicides, are regarded as the most ancient member cytochrome P450 family. Here we present a report of a CYP51 enzyme that has acquired a different function.

YtjE from Lactococcus lactis IL1403 Is a C-S lyase with alpha, gamma-elimination activity toward methionine.

Cheese microbiota and the enzymatic conversion of methionine to volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs) are important factors in flavor formation during cheese ripening and the foci in biotechnological approaches to flavor improvement. The product of ytjE of Lactococcus lactis IL1403, suggested to be a methionine-specific aminotransferase based on genome sequence analysis, was therefore investigated for its role in methionine catabolism. The ytjE gene from Lactococcus lactis IL1403 was cloned in Escherichia coli and overexpressed and purified as a recombinant protein.

Impact of pediatric epilepsy on Indian families: influence of psychopathology and seizure related variables.

The impact of epilepsy on families has been little studied in the developing countries, where it is the most common neurological disorder among children. In Vellore, India, the impact on 132 families who had a child with epilepsy was rated with the Impact of Pediatric Epilepsy on the Family Scale (IPES). An adverse impact was experienced by 42% of families.

A case-control study of family composition in anorexia nervosa.

Objectives: The family compositions of patients with anorexia nervosa may inform consideration of the etiology of the disorder, and previous studies in this area have had methodologic weaknesses which we sought to address in a case-control design.

Methods: The family composition of 259 females with anorexia nervosa was compared with that of 200 control subjects. Birth order and numbers of brothers and sisters were compared in unmatched and matched analyses using both univariate and multivariate statistical techniques.

Anorexia nervosa mortality in Northeast Scotland, 1965-1999.

Objective: Most previous studies of mortality in anorexia nervosa patients have shown an increased risk of premature death but have been limited by methodological constraints. This study aimed to overcome some of these constraints by having a large original sample size, diagnosis confirmed by case note review, a long duration of follow-up, and a clear base population.

Method: The authors identified 524 anorexia nervosa cases seen in specialist services in Northeast Scotland; anorexia nervosa diagnosis was confirmed by scrutinizing case notes.

A placebo-controlled study of sertraline in the treatment of outpatients with seasonal affective disorder.

Rationale: Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a relatively common cyclical depressive illness characterized by seasonal depressions during winter. The disorder is commonly responsive to light therapy, but antidepressant drug efficacy has not been definitely established. Serotonin selective re-uptake inhibitors are potentially efficacious treatments for SAD.

Quantification of unlabelled non-haem iron absorption in human subjects: a pilot study.

A method for measuring unlabelled Fe absorption has been investigated in a pilot study using a simple mathematical model. The metabolism of newly absorbed Fe can be approximated as a single-compartment model with the sampled compartment being the plasma pool. Five female volunteers (aged 30-55 years) were recruited to participate in the pilot study.

Variations in lipophilic and vacuolar flavonoids among European Pulicaria species.

Four European Pulicaria species, P. odora, P. paludosa, P.