[Suicide prevention: challenges and recommendations]. / Suïcidepreventie: uitdagingen en aanbevelingen.

Background DESPITE VARIOUS NATIONAL INITIATIVES AND A STRONG MENTAL HEALTH CARE SYSTEM, THE NUMBER OF SUICIDES IN THE NETHERLANDS AND FLANDERS HAS NOT CHANGED AS HOPED. Aim TO PROVIDE INSIGHT INTO THE CURRENT SUICIDE PREVENTION POLICY IN THE NETHERLANDS AND FLANDERS, AND THE EVIDENCE ON THEIR EFFECTIVENESS. Method DISCUSSION OF UNIVERSAL, SELECTIVE AND INDICATED PREVENTION INITIATIVES, AND OF THE EVIDENCE FOR THE VARIOUS INITIATIVES, BASED ON THE USE OF REVIEWS AND META-ANALYSIS. Results THERE IS A NATIONAL SUICIDE PREVENTION AGENDA IN BOTH THE NETHERLANDS AND FLANDERS. IT IS DIFFICULT TO DEMONSTRATE THE DIRECT EFFECT OF THE VARIOUS INITIATIVES ON NATIONAL SUICIDE RATES, BECAUSE OF THE LOW BASE RATE, AND BECAUSE OF ITS MULTIPLE CAUSES. Conclusion THERE ARE LITTLE EVIDENCE FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION STRATEGIES. THIS DOES NOT MEAN SUICIDE PREVENTION HAS NO USE, BUT MODESTY SEEMS IN PLACE. Key words EVALUATION, POLICY, RCT, SUICIDE PREVENTION TIJDSCHRIFT VOOR PSYCHIATRIE 63(2021)2, 133-137.

Marine plastic litter in the ROPME Sea Area: Current knowledge and recommendations.

The impact of marine litter, particularly plastic waste, is widely acknowledged as a growing global concern. Marine litter is an understudied issue in the Regional Organisation for Protection of the Marine Environment (ROPME) Sea Area where rapid economic growth has already placed considerable stress on infrastructure and coastal ecosystems. This paper outlines some of the drivers for waste generation in region and reviews the available literature to summarise the current state of knowledge on the environmental fate, behaviour and impact of marine litter within the ROPME Sea Area. While data is limited, those studies conducted demonstrate marine litter is posing a clear and growing threat to the environmental and socioeconomic prosperity of the ROPME Sea Area. The development of regional and national marine litter reduction plans are clearly a priority to focus and coordinate activity across multiple stakeholders. Discussion of the potential environmental impacts arising as a result of marine litter are presented together with a roadmap for establishing and implementing a ROPME Sea Area Marine Litter and Single-Use Plastic Action Plan.

Insights in particulate matter-induced allergic airway inflammation: Focus on the epithelium.

Outdoor air pollution is a major environmental health problem throughout the world. In particular, exposure to particulate matter (PM) has been associated with the development and exacerbation of several respiratory diseases, including asthma. Although the adverse health effects of PM have been demonstrated for many years, the underlying mechanisms have not been fully identified. In this review, we focus on the role of the lung epithelium and specifically highlight multiple cytokines in PM-induced respiratory responses. We describe the available literature on the topic including in vitro studies, findings in humans (ie observations in human cohorts, human controlled exposure and ex vivo studies) and in vivo animal studies. In brief, it has been shown that exposure to PM modulates the airway epithelium and promotes the production of several cytokines, including IL-1, IL-6, IL-8, IL-25, IL-33, TNF-α, TSLP and GM-CSF. Further, we propose that PM-induced type 2-promoting cytokines are important mediators in the acute and aggravating effects of PM on airway inflammation. Targeting these cytokines could therefore be a new approach in the treatment of asthma.

A chest physician's guide to mechanisms of sinonasal disease.

The upper and lower airways are closely linked from an anatomical, histological and immunological point of view, with inflammation in one part of the airways influencing the other part. Despite the concept of global airway disease, the upper airways tend to be overlooked by respiratory physicians. We provide a clinical overview of the most important and recent insights in rhinitis and rhinosinusitis in relation to lower airway disease. We focus on the various exogenous and endogenous factors that play a role in the development and aggravation of chronic upper airway inflammation. In addition to the classical inhaled allergens or microorganisms with well-defined pathophysiological mechanisms in upper airway disease, environmental substances such as cigarette smoke, diesel exhaust particles and occupational agents affecting lower airway homeostasis have recently gained attention in upper airway research. We are only at the beginning of understanding the complex interplay between exogenous and endogenous factors like genetic, immunological and hormonal influences on chronic upper airway inflammation. From a clinical perspective, the involvement of upper and lower airway disease in one patient can only be fully appreciated by doctors capable of understanding the interplay between upper and lower airway inflammation.

The adjuvant-like activity of staphylococcal enterotoxin B in a murine asthma model is independent of IL-1R signaling.

BACKGROUND: Staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) is a superantigen known to be a modulator of chronic airway inflammation in mice and humans, yet little is known about the mechanisms that regulate its interaction with the innate immune system. We investigated this mechanism in a murine model of allergic airway inflammation induced by OVA (ovalbumin) in the presence of SEB. METHODS: Superantigen-induced allergic inflammation was studied in IL-1R knockout (KO) mice exposed to OVA+SEB. Multicolor flow cytometry was used to analyze the inflammatory cell profile in airways and lymph nodes. Production of IL-4, IL-5, IL-10, and IL-13 in lymph nodes was assessed by Luminex technology. RESULTS: In wild-type mice, endonasal instillation of OVA+SEB induced a pulmonary inflammation, characterized by an increase in the number of eosinophils, T cells, and dendritic cells and in the production of Th2 cytokines and OVA-specific IgE. In IL-1R KO mice exposed to OVA+SEB, attraction of CD4+ cells and production of Th2 cytokines were reduced. However, knocking out IL-1R did not affect any of the features of allergic airway inflammation, such as bronchial eosinophilia, OVA-specific IgE production and goblet cell metaplasia. CONCLUSION: We provide new insights into the mechanisms of airways allergy development in the presence of bacterial superantigen. The asthma features induced by OVA+SEB, such as bronchial eosinophilia, goblet cell proliferation, production of OVA-specific IgE and increase in inflammatory dendritic cells, are IL-1R independent. Yet, IL-1R signaling is crucial for CD4 cell accumulation and Th2 cytokine production.

Search for new physics in the multijet and missing transverse momentum final state in proton-proton collisions at √s = 7 TeV.

A search for physics beyond the standard model is performed in events with at least three jets and large missing transverse momentum produced in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of √s=7 TeV. No significant excess of events above the expected backgrounds is observed in 4.98 fb(-1) of data collected with the CMS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The results are presented in the context of the constrained minimal supersymmetric extension of the standard model and more generically for simplified models. For the simplified models of gluino-gluino and squark-squark production, gluino masses below 1.0 TeV and squark masses below 0.76 TeV are excluded in case the lightest supersymmetric particle mass is below 200 GeV. These results significantly extend previous searches.

Search for signatures of extra dimensions in the diphoton mass spectrum at the large hadron collider.

A search for signatures of extra spatial dimensions in the diphoton invariant-mass spectrum has been performed with the CMS detector at the LHC. No excess of events above the standard model expectation is observed using a data sample collected in proton-proton collisions at √s=7 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.2 fb(-1). In the context of the large-extra-dimensions model, lower limits are set on the effective Planck scale in the range of 2.3-3.8 TeV at the 95% confidence level. These limits are the most restrictive bounds on virtual-graviton exchange to date. The most restrictive lower limits to date are also set on the mass of the first graviton excitation in the Randall-Sundrum model in the range of 0.86-1.84 TeV, for values of the associated coupling parameter between 0.01 and 0.10.

Search for the standard model Higgs boson in the decay channel H→ZZ→4ℓ in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV.

A search for a Higgs boson in the four-lepton decay channel H→ZZ, with each Z boson decaying to an electron or muon pair, is reported. The search covers Higgs boson mass hypotheses in the range of 110100 GeV (with 13 below 160 GeV), while 67.1±6.0 (9.5±1.3) events are expected from background. The four-lepton mass distribution is consistent with the expectation of standard model background production of ZZ pairs. Upper limits at 95% confidence level exclude the standard model Higgs boson in the ranges of 134-158 GeV, 180-305 GeV, and 340-465 GeV. Small excesses of events are observed around masses of 119, 126, and 320 GeV, making the observed limits weaker than expected in the absence of a signal.

Search for new physics with same-sign isolated dilepton events with jets and missing transverse energy.

A search for new physics is performed in events with two same-sign isolated leptons, hadronic jets, and missing transverse energy in the final state. The analysis is based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.98 fb(-1) produced in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. This constitutes a factor of 140 increase in integrated luminosity over previously published results. The observed yields agree with the standard model predictions and thus no evidence for new physics is found. The observations are used to set upper limits on possible new physics contributions and to constrain supersymmetric models. To facilitate the interpretation of the data in a broader range of new physics scenarios, information on the event selection, detector response, and efficiencies is provided.

Observation of a new Ξb baryon.

The observation of a new b baryon via its strong decay into Ξ(b)(-) π(+) (plus charge conjugates) is reported. The measurement uses a data sample of pp collisions at sqrt[s] = 7 TeV collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.3 fb(-1). The known Ξ(b)(-) baryon is reconstructed via the decay chain Ξ(b)(-) → J/ψΞ(-) → µ(+) µ(-) Λ(0) π(-), with Λ(0) → pπ(-). A peak is observed in the distribution of the difference between the mass of the Ξ(b)(-) π(+) system and the sum of the masses of the Ξ(b)(-) and π(+), with a significance exceeding 5 standard deviations. The mass difference of the peak is 14.84 ± 0.74(stat) ± 0.28(syst) MeV. The new state most likely corresponds to the J(P) = 3/2(+) companion of the Ξ(b).

Search for dark matter and large extra dimensions in pp collisions yielding a photon and missing transverse energy.

Results are presented from a search for new physics in the final state containing a photon (γ) and missing transverse energy (E[combininb /](T)). The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 fb(-1) collected in pp collisions at √[s]=7 TeV by the CMS experiment. The observed event yield agrees with standard-model expectations for the γ+E[combininb /](T) events. Using models for the production of dark-matter particles (χ), we set 90% confidence level (C.L.) upper limits of 13.6-15.4 fb on χ production in the γ+E[combininb /](T) state. These provide the most sensitive upper limits for spin-dependent χ-nucleon scattering for χ masses (M(χ)) between 1 and 100 GeV. For spin-independent contributions, the present limits are extended to M(χ)<3.5 GeV. For models with 3-6 large extra dimensions, our data exclude extra-dimensional Planck scales between 1.64 and 1.73 TeV at 95% C.L.

Azimuthal anisotropy of charged particles at high transverse momenta in Pb-Pb collisions at sqrt[s(NN)] = 2.76 TeV.

The azimuthal anisotropy of charged particles in Pb-Pb collisions at sqrt[s(NN)]=2.76 TeV is measured with the CMS detector at the LHC over an extended transverse momentum (p(T)) range up to approximately 60 GeV/c. The data cover both the low-p(T) region associated with hydrodynamic flow phenomena and the high-p(T) region where the anisotropies may reflect the path-length dependence of parton energy loss in the created medium. The anisotropy parameter (v2) of the particles is extracted by correlating charged tracks with respect to the event-plane reconstructed by using the energy deposited in forward-angle calorimeters. For the six bins of collision centrality studied, spanning the range of 0-60% most-central events, the observed v2 values are found to first increase with p(T), reaching a maximum around p(T)=3 GeV/c, and then to gradually decrease to almost zero, with the decline persisting up to at least pp(T)=40 GeV/c over the full centrality range measured.

Measurement of the pseudorapidity and centrality dependence of the transverse energy density in Pb-Pb collisions at √(s(NN))=2.76 TeV.

The transverse energy (E(T)) in Pb-Pb collisions at 2.76 TeV nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy (√(s(NN)) has been measured over a broad range of pseudorapidity (η) and collision centrality by using the CMS detector at the LHC. The transverse energy density per unit pseudorapidity (dE(T)/dη) increases faster with collision energy than the charged particle multiplicity. This implies that the mean energy per particle is increasing with collision energy. At all pseudorapidities, the transverse energy per participating nucleon increases with the centrality of the collision. The ratio of transverse energy per unit pseudorapidity in peripheral to central collisions varies significantly as the pseudorapidity increases from η=0 to |η|=5.0. For the 5% most central collisions, the energy density per unit volume is estimated to be about 14 GeV/fm(3) at a time of 1 fm/c after the collision. This is about 100 times larger than normal nuclear matter density and a factor of 2.6 times higher than the energy density reported at √(s(NN))=200 GeV at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider.

Measurement of the electron charge asymmetry in inclusive W production in pp collisions at sqrt[s]=7 TeV.

A measurement of the electron charge asymmetry in inclusive pp→W+X→eν+X production at sqrt[s]=7 TeV is presented based on data recorded by the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 840 pb(-1). The electron charge asymmetry reflects the unequal production of W(+) and W(-) bosons in pp collisions. The electron charge asymmetry is measured in bins of the absolute value of electron pseudorapidity in the range of |η|<2.4. The asymmetry rises from about 0.1 to 0.2 as a function of the pseudorapidity and is measured with a relative precision better than 7%. This measurement provides new stringent constraints for parton distribution functions.

Search for a light pseudoscalar Higgs boson in the dimuon decay channel in pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV.

The dimuon invariant mass spectrum is searched in the range between 5.5 and 14 GeV for a light pseudoscalar Higgs boson a, predicted in a number of new physics models, including the next-to-minimal supersymmetric standard model. The data sample used in the search corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 1.3 fb(-1) collected in pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC. No excess is observed above the background predictions and upper limits are set on the cross section times branching fraction σ × B(pp→a→µ(+)µ(-)) in the range of 1.5-7.5 pb. These results improve on existing bounds on the abb coupling for m(a) < m(Υ(1S)) and are the first significant limits for m(a) > m(Υ(3S)). Constraints on the supersymmetric parameter space are presented in the context of the next-to-minimal model.

A large-scale study of microplastic abundance in sediment cores from the UK continental shelf and slope.

To inform risk assessments, reliable, time efficient and affordable quantification methods are required for creating a microplastic (MP) pollution baseline in the world's oceans. To facilitate this, MP abundance was investigated in sediments of three contrasting areas of the UK continental shelf: North West of Jones Bank, the Canyons in the Celtic Sea and Dogger Bank in the North Sea, utilising the Nile Red tagging method to assess its time efficiency and cost. Average MP abundance in the top 10 cm was 1050-2700 MP kg-1. MP abundance decreased with increasing sediment depth and increased with increasing water depth. The findings emphasise the extent of MP pollution and illustrate the value of Nile Red for large scale mapping at relatively low cost.

Search for stopped Gluinos in pp collisions at square root s=7 TeV.

The results of the first search for long-lived gluinos produced in 7 TeV pp collisions at the CERN Large Hadron Collider are presented. The search looks for evidence of long-lived particles that stop in the CMS detector and decay in the quiescent periods between beam crossings. In a dataset with a peak instantaneous luminosity of 1×10(32) cm-2 s-1, an integrated luminosity of 10 pb-1, and a search interval corresponding to 62 hours of LHC operation, no significant excess above background was observed. Limits at the 95% confidence level on gluino pair production over 13 orders of magnitude of gluino lifetime are set. For a mass difference mg - mχ1(0) >100 GeV/c2, and assuming BR(g→gχ1(0))=100%, mg < 370 GeV/c2 are excluded for lifetimes from 10 µs to 1000 s.

Dijet azimuthal decorrelations in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV.

Measurements of dijet azimuthal decorrelations in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV using the CMS detector at the CERN LHC are presented. The analysis is based on an inclusive dijet event sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.9 pb⁻¹. The results are compared to predictions from perturbative QCD calculations and various Monte Carlo event generators. The dijet azimuthal distributions are found to be sensitive to initial-state gluon radiation.

Measurement of the B(+) production cross section in pp collisions at sqrt[s]=7 TeV.

Measurements of the total and differential cross sections dσ/dp(T)(B) and dσ/dy(B) for B(+) mesons produced in pp collisions at sqrt[s]=7 TeV are presented. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 5.8 pb(-1) collected by the CMS experiment operating at the LHC. The exclusive decay B(+)→J/ψK(+), with J/ψ→µ(+)µ(-), is used to detect B(+) mesons and to measure the production cross section as a function of p(T)(B) and y(B). The total cross section for p(T)(B)>5 GeV and |y(B)|<2.4 is measured to be 28.1±2.4±2.0±3.1 µb, where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second is systematic, and the last is from the luminosity measurement.

Search for supersymmetry in pp collisions at √7 TeV in events with two photons and missing transverse energy.

A search for supersymmetry in the context of general gauge-mediated breaking with the lightest neutralino as the next-to-lightest supersymmetric particle and the gravitino as the lightest is presented. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 36 pb(-1) recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC. The search is performed by using events containing two or more isolated photons, at least one hadronic jet, and significant missing transverse energy. No excess of events at high missing transverse energy is observed. Upper limits on the signal cross section for general gauge-mediated supersymmetry between 0.3 and 1.1 pb at the 95% confidence level are determined for a range of squark, gluino, and neutralino masses, excluding supersymmetry parameter space that was inaccessible to previous experiments.