Factors for success in mental health advocacy.

BACKGROUND: Mental health advocacy groups are an effective way of pushing the mental health agenda and putting pressure on national governments to observe the right to health; however, there is limited research that highlights best practices for such groups in low-resource settings. In an effort to improve the scaling up of mental health in Sierra Leone, stakeholders came together to form the country's first mental health advocacy group: the Mental Health Coalition - Sierra Leone. Since its inception, the group has worked towards raising the profile of mental health in Sierra Leone and developing as an advocacy organisation. DESIGN: The study's aim was to investigate views on enabling factors and barriers associated with mental health advocacy in a low-income country using a community-based participatory approach and qualitative methodology. Focus groups (N=9) were held with mental health stakeholders, and key informant interviews (N=15) were conducted with advocacy targets. Investigators analysed the data collaboratively using coding techniques informed by grounded theory. RESULTS: Investigators reveal viewpoints on key factors in networking, interacting with government actors, and awareness raising that enabled mental health advocacy aims of supporting policy, service delivery, service user rights, training for service delivery, and awareness raising. The investigators outline viewpoints on barriers for advocacy aims in framing the issue of mental health, networking, interacting with government actors, resource mobilization, and awareness raising. CONCLUSIONS: The findings outline enabling factors, such as networking with key stakeholders, and barriers, such as lack of political will, for achieving mental health advocacy aims within a low-resource setting, Sierra Leone. Stakeholder coalitions can further key policy development aims that are essential to strengthen mental health systems in low-resource settings.

Simple click reactions on polymer surfaces leading to antimicrobial behavior.

In this study we developed simple reactions that combined microwave plasma reactions in the presence of maleic anhydride with alkyne click chemistries to achieve a platform for unlimited possibilities for further surface modifications of aliphatic polymer surfaces. Using this approach, we covalently attached ampicillin (AMP) to polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) substrates. As a result, high efficacy against microbial film formation, manifested by efficient antimicrobial activity against S. aureus with a 97-99.8% decrease of bacterial growth, was achieved. This simple and clean process allows functionalization of any polymeric substrate without adverse effects on bulk polymer properties.

Covalent attachment of multilayers (CAM): a platform for pH switchable antimicrobial and anticoagulant polymeric surfaces.

These studies show covalent attachment of multilayers (CAM) to chemically alter surfaces to achieve pH switchable antimicrobial and anticoagulant properties. Polyethylene (PE), poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE), and silicon (Si) surfaces were functionalized by tethering pH-responsive "switching" polyelectrolytes consisting of poly(2-vinyl pyridine) (P2VP) and poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) terminated with NH2 and COOH groups, respectively. At pH < 2.3, the P2VP segments are protonated and expended, but at pH > 5.5, they collapse while the PAA segments are expanded. The presence of terminal NH2 or COOH moieties on P2VP and PAA, respectively, facilitated the opportunity for covalently bonding ampicillin (AMP) and heparin (HEP) to both polyelectrolyte chains. Such surfaces, when exposed to S. aureus, inhibit the growth of microbial films (AMP) as well as anticoagulant properties (HEP). Comparison of "dynamic" pH dependent surfaces developed in these studies with "static" surfaces terminated with (AMP) entities shows significant enhancement in the longevity of surface activity against microbial film formation.

Phage-bacterium war on polymeric surfaces: can surface-anchored bacteriophages eliminate microbial infections?

These studies illustrate synthetic paths to covalently attach T1 and Φ11 bacteriophages (phages) to inert polymeric surfaces while maintaining the bacteriophage's biological activities capable of killing deadly human pathogens. The first step involved the formation of acid (COOH) groups on polyethylene (PE) and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) surfaces using microwave plasma reactions in the presence of maleic anhydride, followed by covalent attachment of T1 and Φ11 species via primary amine groups. The phages effectively retain their biological activity manifested by a rapid infection with their own DNA and effective destruction of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus human pathogens. These studies show that simultaneous covalent attachment of two biologically active phages effectively destroy both bacterial colonies and eliminate biofilm formation, thus offering an opportunity for an effective combat against multibacterial colonies as well as surface detections of other pathogens.

Micro-patterning of streptavidin-biotin-ampicillin/heparin on poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) surfaces: simultaneous antimicrobial and anticoagulant activity.

Formation of heterogeneous and controllable surface patterns on polymeric materials containing antimicrobial and anticoagulant components represent an attractive way of maintaining synthetic materials "clean" from adverse bio-activities. The primary surface "contaminants" are microbial films as well as blood coagulation, both affecting not only performance of internal or external devices, but often exhibiting detrimental effects on patients. In an effort to simultaneously inhibit formation of microbial films and surface blood coagulation multifunctional assemblies containing streptavidin (STR)-biotin bioconjugates were developed on poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) surfaces. Using STR conjugated to a biotin-functionalized PTFE surface, spatially controlled micro-patterning was produced by grafting biotinylated polyethylene glycol (B-PEG) to COOH modified PTFE (MA-PTFE), followed by inkjet micro-printing of biotinylated ampicillin (B-AM) and biotinylated heparin (B-HP) molecules. These surfaces exhibit simultaneous antimicrobial and anticoagulant attributes manifested by "zone of inhibition" and anticoagulant measurements. Quantitative spectroscopic analysis revealed that the required surface density of COOH groups on PTFE is 2.94 × 10-7 g cm-2, and B-PEG and STR densities of 9.2 × 10-8 g cm-2 and 3.5 × 10-8 g cm-2, respectively, are sufficient to achieve simultaneous antimicrobial and anticoagulant responses. These studies also showed that the force required to remove STR-biotin conjugates attached to PTFE surfaces measured by atomic force microscopy is approximately 1090 pN, thus providing desirable surface mechanical stability.

Rat intubation and ventilation for surgical research.

Effective outcomes in cardiothoracic surgical research using rodents are dependent upon adequate techniques for intubation and mechanical ventilation. Multiple methods are available for intubation of the rat; however, not all techniques are appropriate for survival studies. This article presents a refinement of intubation techniques and a simplified mechanical ventilation setup necessary for intrathoracic surgical procedures using volatile anesthetics. The procedure is defined and complications of the procedure are elucidated that provide a justification for animal numbers needed for initiating new studies. Lewis rats weighing 178-400 g (287 +/- 44) were anesthetized using Enflurane and intubated with a 16-G angiocatheter using transillumination. Mechanical ventilation (85 bpm, 2.5 mL TV, enflurane 1.5-2%) maintained adequate sedation for completion of an intrathoracic procedure. Complications of the intubation and ventilation included mortality from anesthetic overdose, intubation difficulty, pneumothorax, traumatic extubation, and ventilation disconnection. Anesthetic agents and their related effects on the rat heart and reflexes are compared. This article also underscores the importance of refinement, reduction, and replacement in the context of cardiothoracic surgery using rodent models.

Probing the limits of tool competence: experiments with two non-tool-using species (Cercopithecus aethiops and Saguinus oedipus).

Non-human animals vary in their ability to make and use tools. The goal of the present study was to further explore what, if anything, differs between tool-users and non-tool-users, and whether these differences lie in the conceptual or motor domain. We tested two species that typically do not use tools-cotton top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus) and vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops)-on problems that mirrored those designed for prolific tool users such as chimpanzees. We trained subjects on a task in which they could choose one of two canes to obtain an out-of-reach food reward. After training, subjects received several variations on the original task, each designed to examine a specific conceptual aspect of the pulling problem previously studied in other tool-using species. Both species recognized that effective pulling tools must be made of rigid materials. Subsequent conditions revealed significant species differences, with vervets outperforming tamarins across many conditions. Vervets, but not tamarins, had some recognition of the relationship between a tool's orientation and the position of the food reward, the relationship between a tool's trajectory and the substance that it moves on, and that tools must be connected in order to work properly. These results provide further evidence that tool-use may derive from domain-general, rather than domain-specific cognitive capacities that evolved for tool use per se.

Discrimination between host songs by brood parasitic brown-headed cowbirds ( Molothrus ater).

Songbirds can learn both to produce and to discriminate between different classes of acoustic stimuli. Varying levels of auditory discrimination may improve the fitness of individuals in certain ecological and social contexts and, thus, selection is expected to mold the cognitive abilities of different species according to the potential benefits of acoustic processing. Although fine-scale auditory discrimination of conspecific songs and calls has been frequently reported for brood parasitic brown-headed cowbirds ( Molothrus ater), it remains unclear why and how they perceive differently the songs of their many host species. Using habituation-dishabituation paradigms and measuring behavioral and physiological (heart-rate) responses, we found that captive female cowbirds consistently discriminated between songs of two host species, the song sparrow ( Melospiza melodia) and the red-winged blackbird ( Agelaius phoeniceus). Playback experiments with stimuli composed of con-specific followed by heterospecific vocalizations in the field also demonstrated discrimination between these heterospecific songs even though cowbirds were not attracted to playbacks of either host species' songs alone. Our results do not directly support a nest-searching function of heterospecific song discrimination by cowbirds and are most consistent with a function of the parasites' avoidance of attacks by their aggressive hosts. These data demonstrate discrimination between heterospecific vocalizations by brown-headed cowbirds and add a novel dimension to the already expansive auditory perceptual abilities of brood parasitic species and other songbirds.