We conducted a randomized controlled trial to test whether a Brief Mobile Treatment (BMT) intervention could improve outcomes relative to usual care among suicide attempters. The intervention included training in problem solving therapy, meditation, a brief intervention to increase social support as well as advice on alcohol and other drugs, and mobile phone follow-up. The effect of the intervention was measured in terms of a reduction in suicidal ideation, depression and self-harm at Baseline, six and 12 months. A wait-list control group received usual care. A total of 68 participants was recruited from a Sri Lankan hospital following a suicide attempt. Participants who received the intervention were found to achieve significant improvements in reducing suicidal ideation and depression than those receiving usual care. The BMT group also experienced a significant improvement of social support when compared to the control group. However, the BMT group did not demonstrate a significant effect in reducing actual self-harm and most substance use, and differential effects on alcohol use were restricted to men. Although the present study was limited in revealing which component of the intervention was more effective in preventing suicide, it showed its efficacy in reducing suicide as a whole.

A study was made to establish a norm for the frequency distribution of the size of particles produced by masticating a certain food item to its swallowable composition by normal dentate subjects. Only about 80% of the initial weight of food taken into the mouth could be recovered after mastication for particle size analysis. The particles ranged from 53 micrometers to 4750 micrometers, showing a positively skewed distribution with a mode value between 600 micrometers and 1200 micrometers.

The final composition of the size of particles of food or the swallowable composition (SC) has been investigated in subjects with different types of dentition. A convenient mouthful of hard-baked soya beans was masticated and thereafter the bolus was dried, sieved and weighed. Full denture wearers prepared a SC with a mode value around 4000 microns whereas subjects with mixed dentition prepared a SC with a mode value around 2000 microns. Subjects with partial dentition produced wide variations in the SC. To produce a SC which is usually swallowed by a particular subject the quantity of masticated food should bear an optimum ratio to the area of the healthy oral tissues.

Objective Varieties of red raw rice are widely believed to have a better nutritional quality. The physiological effects of consuming different varieties of rice may not be so. The glycaemic index has been developed as an indicator of the physiological effect of foods. It is the glycaemic response of a 50 g carbohydrate portion of food expressed as a percentage of that of a standard. The objective of this study was to determine the glycaemic indices of different varieties of rice grown in Sri Lanka. Design Digestible carbohydrate content of 11 varieties of rice flour and bread were determined. Fasting blood samples followed by half-hourly samples for two hours were drawn after giving portions of either cooked rice or bread con taining 50 g carbohydrate each. Setting Fibre mill in Gampaha district. Subjects Twenty-two fibre mill workers aged between 25 and 50 years. Measurements The area under the blood glucose curve (AUC) for varieties of rice for a subject was calculated. Average AUC of 3 values for bread were calculated. Glycaemic index of each variety of rice was determined from the above variables. Results Glycaemic indices of varieties of rice differ. The glycaemic indices of varieties of red raw rice varied be tween 56 and 73 and the variety Bg 350 had the lowest glycaemic index. There was no significant difference be tween mean glycaemic index of varieties of white raw and some varieties of red raw rice (p=0.2). Parboiled varieties of red raw rice had a significantly lower glycaemic index than white raw rice (p=0.04) and some of the red raw rice (p=0.005). Conclusions The glycaemic index cannot be predicted from the colour of the rice grain. Red parboiled varieties of rice and Bg 350 can be recommended for patients with diabetes.

This study aimed to find out the changes which occur in the frequency distribution of the size of particles produced during mastication of a convenient mouthful of hard-baked soya beans to its swallowable composition (SC), and to identify the particles which undergo rapid pulverization. In this group the total number of masticatory strokes utilized to prepare food for the SC varied between forty and eighty masticatory strokes. All the subjects produced a similar pattern of the frequency distribution of particles produced at the end of mastication and when mastication was interrupted at a particular phase. Particles larger than 1180 micrometers were pulverized to form particles smaller than 1180 micrometers. Most rapid pulverization was seen in particles of 2400 micrometers whereas particles of average size 655 micrometers, formed rapidly.