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The prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in individuals affected by war and conflict is high, with approximately 1 in 3 refugees and asylum-seekers meeting diagnostic criteria for PTSD. PTSD in refugees and asylum-seekers is associated with significant emotion dysregulation which may arise from chronic trauma exposure and post-migration stressors and lead to impaired day-to-day functioning. There is evidence that treatments that target emotion regulation skills prior to implementing exposure-based therapies lead to improved treatment response and reduced attrition in survivors of interpersonal traumas such as sexual abuse. The current case study details the use of a novel adaptation of one such treatment – Skills Training in Affective and Interpersonal Regulation for refugees and asylum-seekers (STAIR-R). In this case study, we report on the implementation of STAIR-R in combination with Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET) with Sara, a 60-year-old Iraqi woman who presented with high levels of nightmares, avoidance and emotion dysregulation following exposure to war- and conflict-related trauma and post-migration stressors. In this case study, we explore the intersection of emotion regulation skills training (in STAIR-R) and exposure therapy (in NET), and the potential for this combined intervention to improve emotion regulation skills, enhance coping with post-migration stressors and facilitate engagement with exposure-based treatment for PTSD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective delivery of Benzyl isothiocyante, nutraceutical – a ray of hope for cancer treatment. • Ceria as delivery vehicle was used for delivery of BITC. • Nanoparticles with high stability and excellent encapsulation efficiency. • Hemocompatibility and biosafe formulation. • Promising results against bacterial strains of Escherichia coli (E. Coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. Aureus) • Dose-dependent cytotoxicity analysed on MDA-MB 231. The arena of drug delivery is intensifying; hence, it becomes seemingly significant to develop efficient fabrication methodologies while, contemporaneously preserving human health and environment for future generations. The present work dwells upon designing of Ceria nanoparticles (Nps) based drug delivery system in a reproducible and rather restrained controlled manner using nano-emulsion as the template and further, exploiting them as potential candidates in treating one of the pernicious diseases, Cancer. The cavitation procedure employed reinforces the rate of synthesis, resulting in a swift fabrication. The as-synthesized Nps (size ≤ 5 nm) were loaded with Benzyl isothiocyanate (BITC) and in-depth characterization procedures were conducted exploiting Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, Zeta potential and Zeta sizer. Small angle X-ray scattering and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller reveal the morphological disposition of these synthesized systems. The structural investigation was carried out using field emission electron microscopy. The biocompatibility studies having Bovine serum albumin (BSA) as a model biomolecule signified the configuration of ground state complex between the ceria loaded BITC (CB) Nps and BSA. Further, the thermodynamic parameters for the complex formation were assessed using fluorescence, UV–visible and circular dichroism spectroscopy. The hemolysis was conducted to evaluate the safety levels of the carrier system on the blood components. The MTT assay demonstrated the adeptness of the formulation on MDA MB-231 cell lines. The proficiency of CB Nps against the bacterial infections is strikingly indicated by the antimicrobial studies which proves that the nano formulation is monumental in inhibiting the growth of E. coli and S. aureus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering the significant impact of magnetically retrievable nanostructures, herein, Fe 3 O 4 and Ce-doped Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles were employed as scaffolds for the removal of the Reactive Black 5 (RB5) azo dye. We synthesized the Ce-doped Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles via hydrothermal treatment at 120 °C for 10 h with varying cerium concentrations (1.5-3.5%) and characterized them using basic techniques such as FTIR and UV-visible spectroscopy, and XRD analysis. The retention of their magnetic behaviors even after cerium amalgamation was demonstrated and confirmed by the VSM results. FESEM and EDX were used for the morphological and purity analysis of the synthesized nanoabsorbents. XPS was carried out to determine the electronic configuration of the synthesized samples. The porosity of the magnetic nanoparticles was investigated by BET analysis, and subsequently, the most porous sample was further used in the adsorption studies for the cleanup of RB5 from wastewater. The dye adsorption studies were probed via UV-visible spectroscopy, which indicated the removal efficiency of 87%. The prepared Ce-doped Fe 3 O 4 nanoabsorbent showed the high adsorption capacity of 84.58 mg g -1 towards RB5 in 40 min. This is attributed to the electrostatic interactions between the nanoabsorbent and the dye molecules and high porosity of the prepared sample. The adsorption mechanism was also analyzed. The kinetic data well-fitted the pseudo-first-order model, and the adsorption capability at different equilibrium concentrations of the dye solution indicated monolayer formation and chemisorption phenomena. Furthermore, the magnetic absorbent could be rapidly separated from the wastewater using an external magnetic field after adsorption., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)