Digital health for early psychosis in Ghana: patient and caregiver needs and preferences.

In West Africa, the long-term consequences of poor early psychosis recovery include poverty, neglect, and community ostracization. To understand the potential for digital health approaches to support early psychosis care in Ghana, we conducted a survey study among early psychosis patients and their caregivers about mental health needs, technology use and access, and interest in digital mental health. Hospital staff at Accra Psychiatric Hospital reviewed hospital medical records from January 2023 - December 2023 identifying young adults (≥18 years old) who had experienced psychosis symptoms for the first time within the prior five years.

mHealth and Digital Innovations as Catalysts for Transforming Mental Health Care in Ghana.

How mHealth and digital innovations are key to transforming mental health care in Ghana, bridging gaps in a system challenged by resource scarcities and a critical shortage of mental health professionals.

Combining mHealth Technology and Pharmacotherapy to Improve Mental Health Outcomes and Reduce Human Rights Abuses in West Africa: Intervention Field Trial.

Background: In West Africa, healers greatly outnumber trained mental health professionals. People with serious mental illness (SMI) are often seen by healers in "prayer camps" where they may also experience human rights abuses. We developed "M&M," an 8-week-long dual-pronged intervention involving (1) a smartphone-delivered toolkit designed to expose healers to brief psychosocial interventions and encourage them to preserve human rights (M-Healer app), and (2) a visiting nurse who provides medications to their patients (Mobile Nurse).

Groundwater quality and potential analysis using geospatial techniques: The case of Ashanti Region in Ghana.

The ecosystem and economy's reliance on clean water is influenced by various factors such as geology, topography, soil types, activities, and the presence of plants and animals. The Ghana Water Company is encountering difficulties in delivering water to consumers in the Ashanti Region due to the shortage of surface water resources, leading to water rationing in the area. Furthermore, poor waste disposal practices, illegal mining, use of fertilizers, and industrial activities have resulted in surface and groundwater source damage.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Healthcare and Academic Radiology: A Critical Examination of Demographic Disparities in 2023.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are fundamental to a just healthcare system, yet academic radiology continues to grapple with the underrepresentation of women and underrepresented minorities (URMs). This study investigates demographic disparities within academic radiology and proposes strategies to enhance DEI. Through analysis of demographic data and a review of successful DEI initiatives, I identified a severe underrepresentation of URMs and women throughout every stage of the radiology pipeline.

Evaluating the impact of land use and land cover changes on forest ecosystem service values using landsat dataset in the Atwima Nwabiagya North, Ghana.

This study investigated land use and land cover (LULC) changes and its impact on forest ecosystem service values for 20 years in the Atwima Nwabaiagya North District using Landsat images of 2002, 2012 and 2022. Supervised classification with Maximum Likelihood Algorithm was used to classify the Landsat images. Five LULC types (high-dense forest, low-dense forest, water, bare-ground, and Built-up area) were successfully classified, with overall accuracies of 99.

Azido Inositol Probes Enable Metabolic Labeling of Inositol-Containing Glycans and Reveal an Inositol Importer in Mycobacteria.

Bacteria from the genus include pathogens that cause serious diseases in humans and remain as difficult infectious agents to treat. Central to these challenges are the composition and organization of the mycobacterial cell envelope, which includes unique and complex glycans. Inositol is an essential metabolite for mycobacteria due to its presence in the structural core of the immunomodulatory cell envelope glycolipids phosphatidylinositol mannoside (PIM) and PIM-anchored lipomannan (LM) and lipoarabinomannan (LAM).

Survival and failure rate of lower lingual bonded retainers: A retrospective cohort evaluation.

Objective: The objectives of the study were to evaluate the survival rates for lower lingual retainers (LLRs) and to establish a correlation between patients' treatment-related factors (age, sex, malocclusion, appliance used for treatment, teeth bonded, retention protocols) to the survival of LLRs.

Materials And Methods: A total of 765 subjects [474 females and 291 males: mean age = 24.29 ± 10.

Analysis of the Stimulative Effect of Tryptophan on Hepatic Protein Synthesis in Rats.

Tryptophan is an essential amino acid important as a protein building block, but it also serves as substrate for the generation of several bioactive compounds with important physiological roles. Furthermore, tryptophan has been reported to have a unique role as a nutritional signaling molecule that regulates protein synthesis in mouse and rat liver. In the present study, the acute effects of tryptophan on protein synthesis were confirmed and compared with those of leucine in rats.

An Increase in Liver Polyamine Concentration Contributes to the Tryptophan-Induced Acute Stimulation of Rat Hepatic Protein Synthesis.

Tryptophan has a unique role as a nutritional signaling molecule that regulates protein synthesis in mouse and rat liver. However, the mechanism underlying the stimulating actions of tryptophan on hepatic protein synthesis remains unclear. Proteomic and metabolomic analyses were performed to identify candidate proteins and metabolites likely to play a role in the stimulation of protein synthesis by tryptophan.

Energy metabolism profile of the effects of amino acid treatment on skeletal muscle cells: Leucine inhibits glycolysis of myotubes.

Objectives: Amino acids are not only components of proteins, but also can be metabolized to energy substances or be used as signaling molecules. However, basic knowledge of the relationship between amino acid treatment and energy metabolism is still insufficient. The aims of this study was to profile the effects of essential amino acid and alanine treatment on the energy metabolism of both myoblasts and myotubes and to contribute to the understanding of the basic relationship between amino acid treatment and energy metabolism of skeletal muscle cell.

Acute oral administration of L-leucine upregulates slow-fiber- and mitochondria-related genes in skeletal muscle of rats.

Branched-chain amino acids promote both protein and mRNA synthesis through mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling. A previous report demonstrated that chronic branched-chain amino acid supplementation increased mitochondrial biogenesis in the skeletal muscle of middle-aged mice through activation of mTOR signaling. In this study, we hypothesized that the acute oral administration of L-leucine alone has the ability to alter the gene expression related to fiber type and metabolism in skeletal muscle of young rats through the activation of mTOR signaling.

Leucyl-tRNA synthetase is required for the myogenic differentiation of C2C12 myoblasts, but not for hypertrophy or metabolic alteration of myotubes.

Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling controls skeletal muscle cell differentiation, growth, and metabolism by sensing the intracellular energy status and nutrients. Recently, leucyl-tRNA synthetase (Lars) was identified as an intracellular sensor of leucine involved in the activation of mTOR signaling. However, there is still no evidence for the activation of mTOR signaling by Lars and its physiological roles in skeletal muscle cells.

Gender differences in injury severity risks in crashes at signalized intersections.

This paper analyzes gender differences in crash risk severities using data for signalized intersections. It estimates gender models for injury severity risks and finds that driver condition, type of crash, type of vehicle driven and vehicle safety features have different effects on females' and males' injury severity risks. Also, it finds some variables which are significantly related to females' injury severity risks but not males' and others which affect males' injury severity risks but not females'.

Injury severity, vehicle safety features, and intersection crashes.

Objective: This article examines injury severity in crashes that occur within signalized intersections and identifies some factors that explain them.

Method: It uses a random effect ordered logit model and an unbalanced longitudinal panel data for 303 intersections for one medium-size city.

Results: Among its findings are 3% and 0.

Atypical cystic meningioma of the trigeminal nerve in a pediatric patient.

We report an unusual case of atypical cystic meningioma of the trigeminal nerve proved by histology in a 15-year-old white girl. A review of the literature showed that this is only the second reported case of a meningioma of the trigeminal nerve without dural attachment and the first occurrence in a pediatric patient.

Some determinants of possible injuries in crashes at signalized intersections.

Introduction: This paper identifies some determinants of possible injuries from crashes that occur at signalized intersections using a conditional probability model.

Method: It uses longitudinal data for one city and calculates the marginal effects of these determinants.

Results: Among its findings, an airbag deploying in a crash reduces the conditional probability of sustaining possible injury.

Unidirectional cross-tolerance from levetiracetam to carbamazepine in amygdala-kindled seizures.

Purpose: Tolerance is a potential problem in long-term anticonvulsant therapy of epilepsy, bipolar disorder, and neuropathic pain. The present study was designed to determine whether cross-tolerance occurs between levetiracetam (LEV) and carbamazepine (CBZ) in amygdala-kindled rats.

Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were implanted with an electrode into the left amygdala.

Coadministration of gabapentin or MK-801 with lamotrigine slows tolerance to its anticonvulsant effects on kindled seizures.

The development of tolerance to therapeutic effects of antiepileptic drugs can be a problem in the treatment of epilepsy, bipolar disorder, and pain syndromes. In the present study, acute treatment with the new antiepileptic drug lamotrigine (LTG, 15 mg/kg) markedly suppressed seizure stage and seizure duration in amygdala-kindled rats; but this antiseizure effect was rapidly lost following 4-8 days of repeated treatment. When gabapentin (GBP, 20 mg/kg) was coadministered with LTG, the ability of LTG to suppress seizure stage, seizure duration, and after-discharge (AD) duration was markedly extended.

The benzodiazepine partial inverse agonist Ro15-4513 alters anticonvulsant and lethal effects of carbamazepine in amygdala-kindled rats.

Ro15-4513 (ethyl-8-azido-5,6-dihydro-5methyl-6-oxo-4H-imidazo-[1,5-a]-1,4-benzodiazepine-3-carboxylate), a benzodiazepine partial inverse agonist of the GABA(A) receptor, is known to protect against alcohol toxicities. The present study was designed to determine the role of Ro15-4513 in preventing anticonvulsant, toxic, and lethal effects of carbamazepine (CBZ) in amygdala-kindled rats. Acute treatment with CBZ (25 mg/kg, i.