Edward Trautner (1890-1978), a pioneer of psychopharmacology.

This article examines the scientific career of Edward Trautner, who did pioneering research in the 1950s on lithium treatment for psychiatric disorders. Trautner was the first scientist to study the mechanism of action of lithium as a psychiatric medication. His research established that lithium could be used safely and rationally, and anticipated by a decade the large volume of research in the 1960s and 1970s that led to international acceptance of lithium treatment for mood disorders. Trautner was a pioneer of biological psychiatry who considered pharmacology to be a useful therapeutical tool rather than a permanent cure for putative chemical imbalances. His research involved cross-disciplinary collaborations that combined clinical and laboratory research in the disciplines of psychiatry, physiology, biochemistry, teratology, and even oncology. Trautner himself had a multidisciplinary background that included publications in literature and philosophy.

Quantification and characterization of plastics in near-shore surface waters of Atlantic Canada.

Plastics are a ubiquitous pollutant in the marine environment. Despite growing concerns, quantitative and qualitative data on microplastics in aquatic and marine environments of Atlantic Canada is just emerging. Surface water plastics were measured and categorized by morphology (thread, microfibre, fragment, foam, film, pellet, and microbead) in two locations in Nova Scotia and one in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. All sites within the three locations contained plastic with an average abundance of 9669 items/km2. Most plastics (68 %) were sized as microplastics (0.425-5 mm), and plastic fragments were the most common morphological type. Polyethylene accounted for a third (30 %) of all particles found across all three locations, followed by polypropylene (23 %). Results can inform future research for community-based environmental groups, government, and academia.

Mucosal healing in Crohn's disease: a systematic review.

The traditional goals of Crohn's disease therapy, to induce and maintain clinical remission, have not clearly changed its natural history. In contrast, emerging evidence suggests that achieving and maintaining mucosal healing may alter the natural history of Crohn's disease, as it has been associated with more sustained clinical remission and reduced rates of hospitalization and surgical resection. Induction and maintenance of mucosal healing should therefore be a goal toward which therapy is now directed. Unresolved issues pertain to the benefit of achieving mucosal healing at different stages of the disease, the relationship between mucosal healing and transmural inflammation, the intensity of treatment needed to achieve mucosal healing when it has not been obtained using standard therapy, and the means by which mucosal healing is defined using current endoscopic disease activity indices. The main clinical challenge relates to defining the means of achieving high rates of mucosal healing in clinical practice.

Bipolar II disorder in rural New South Wales.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency with which bipolar II disorder (BD II) was diagnosed in clinics held in four rural towns in New South Wales (NSW). METHOD: A retrospective case file audit was conducted for patients referred for psychiatric assessment and treatment in four towns in rural NSW over a period of two years and nine months. RESULTS: Of 559 patients seen for the first time during the study period, 113 (20.2%) were diagnosed with BD II, and of these this diagnosis was made for the first time in 69 patients (61%). Associated clinical findings in BD II patients are presented and a comparison is made with patients with non-bipolar depression seen during the same period. CONCLUSION: BD II was commonly seen in these rural clinics, and appears to be often under-diagnosed in general practice, as has been found to be the case in urban centres. This is seen as a serious public health problem, which needs to be addressed by educational steps directed at general practitioners (GPs), mental health clinicians, and perhaps also the general public.

Efficacy and safety of single-session argon plasma coagulation in the management of chronic radiation proctitis.

BACKGROUND: Chronic radiation proctitis (CRP) manifests as rectal bleeding 12 to 24 months after pelvic radiotherapy. No criterion standard of treatment has been established, although argon plasma coagulation (APC) has increasingly become the treatment of choice. Previous studies have applied APC over multiple sessions, necessitating increased numbers of treatments. OBJECTIVE: To assess the safety and efficacy of large-volume APC application in the treatment of CRP with the intention of a single-session treatment protocol. DESIGN: Prospective study. SETTING: Tertiary referral hospital. PATIENTS: Over an 8-year period, consecutive patients with CRP with rectal bleeding were prospectively enrolled. INTERVENTION: Large-volume APC application to affected rectal mucosa. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: Number of treatments, bleeding scores, complications. RESULTS: Fifty patients (mean age 72.1 years; range 51-87 years) were treated; 45 were men (prostate cancer). The mean period between radiotherapy and initial APC treatment was 23 months (range 4-140 months). Seventeen (34%) patients had grade A endoscopic severity, 23 (46%) grade B, and 10 (20%) grade C. Other therapies failed in 16 (32%) patients. The mean number of treatments was 1.36 (range 1-3) with a mean follow-up of 20.6 months (range 6-48 months). Sixty-eight percent of patients were successfully treated after 1 session and 96% after 2 sessions. Bleeding scores improved in all patients (P < .001). Seventeen (34%) patients experienced short-term, self-limiting complications; 1 (2%) patient experienced a long-term complication. LIMITATIONS: Nonrandomized study. CONCLUSIONS: Large-volume APC treatment was successful in the treatment of CRP, including those in whom other therapies had previously failed, and resulted in a decreased number of treatments compared with other published studies. The benefits were offset by an increased incidence of short-term complications but no increase in long-term complications.

Correlates of intent to be vaccinated against human papillomavirus: an exploratory study of college-aged women.

This study identified correlates of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine acceptance among college-aged women. Data were collected by self-administered questionnaire. In multivariate analyses, women having vaginal sex (past 12 months) were nearly four times more likely to indicate acceptance (P = 0.0001). Those reporting ever having a sexually transmissible infection (STI; P = 0.03) and those indicating ever having an abnormal Pap test (P = 0.03) were more likely to indicate acceptance. Thus, three forms of 'exposure' (having sex, having an STI or abnormal Pap) may be linked to vaccine acceptance among young women attending universities. The findings suggest that opportunities may exist for clinic-based HPV vaccine promotion among this population of women.