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Road safety of micro-mobility and vulnerable road users: Insights and issues from a world café
Get PDF© 2025. The Authors. Published by Taylor & Francis.
This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence.
The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: https://doi.org/10.1080/15568318.2025.2522370Road traffic incidents are responsible for the loss of ∼1.19 million lives annually and the 50 million people who sustain injuries. Vulnerable Road Users (VRUs) account for a significant portion of these data, constituting 70% in Europe and 50% in the United Kingdom (UK). Addressing these alarming fatality rates requires initiatives such as the European Union’s Vision Zero, which aims at eradicating road collision fatalities and serving as a model for global action. Similarly, the UK is committed to realizing its transport vision 2050, emphasizing seamless, safe, net-zero, interconnected, cost-effective, accessible, and dependable transportation for all. Effective implementation of appropriate safety interventions hinges on understanding the challenges VRUs face. While previous studies have delved into challenges encountered by specific VRU groups, this research fills a gap by comprehensively examining difficulties encountered by various VRUs. Therefore, this study aims to adopt a co-creation process to expose insights and issues shared by VRUs across Oxfordshire, UK, and to identify collective solutions that could improve road safety. The study adopted a world café method, which fosters an environment where diverse perspectives and ideas are explored through open-ended conversations. Thematic analysis of the qualitative data identified critical areas for intervention: infrastructure, behavior, technology, environment, law enforcement, and awareness. Apart from the interventions, the research underscores the need for end-user involvement in mobility infrastructure planning, as safety requirements vary among VRU categories, emphasizing the urgency of adopting a human-centric design approach to reduce road injuries and fatalities and ensure equal accessibility and safety for all.The study was conducted as part of the SOTERIA project, which received funding from the European Commission’s Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No. 101077433, as well as by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) under the UK government’s Horizon Europe funding guarantee [Grant Nos.: 10052969, 10058247, 10059948, and 10064506]
Revisiting oral travel narratives and the Egyptian circumnavigation of Africa: a decolonial approach
No full text© 2025 Vishvanatha Kaviraja Institute, India.This paper delves into the historical nuances of travel narratives, shedding light on the marginalisation of oral traditions within the broader travel writing tradition. Despite the temporal precedence of African travel narratives, they are often relegated to a belated and marginalised status within the travel writing genre, inextricably bound to colonial influences. The primary objective of this paper is to contribute to the decolonisation of the travel writing genre by scrutinising and validating the veracity of an oral travel account documenting one of the most disputed circumnavigations of Africa by ancient Egyptians. Through a thorough examination of historical evidence and sources, this research seeks to establish the factual basis of the Egyptian circumnavigation, thereby reshaping the narrative and affording oral traditions their rightful place in the annals of travel literature
The approaches carrying out research with organisation AX
No full textThis is an accepted manuscript of an article published by Palgrave Macmillan in Third Sector Organisations, Asylum Seekers and Refugees on 11/03/2025, available online: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-85137-7_2
The accepted version of the publication may differ from the final published version.This short Pivot explores the the physical, emotional, and psychological impact of the lived experiences of asylum seekers on the staff and volunteers of third sector organisations who assist and support them.
The understanding of the issues, challenges and barriers of frontline staff who work with asylum seekers by understanding how Covid-19 affected their support work is often overlooked and not widely reported. Many organisations work diligently and without much media attention and are motivated by their mission to help and support vulnerable individuals from marginalised social groups. This research adopts a Constructivist Grounded Theory (CGT) which is a qualitative research method that involves co-constructing theories with participants. It is based on the theory that we all form views based on our own life experiences. As this work is multi-disciplinary, this approach is justified and used in many examples of social science research. The views of staff are heard within the research to give meaning to the work that they do and understand how their work impacts the lives of asylum seekers and refugees. It also is used as a means of reflection as to their own emotions, and feeling based on their experiences during the pandemic helping others. Similarly, the views and opinions of asylum seekers are necessary as they describe the impact that the pandemic had on them and the way they were still accommodated by staff during the social restrictions which were in place at that time.Accepted versio
Emotional eating within a clinical and community population
No full textA research portfolio submitted in part fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Wolverhampton for the award of Professional Doctorate in Counselling Psychology.Introduction: Emotional eating literature has focused on those with a clinical diagnosis around eating difficulties, exploring emotional eating in response to ‘negative’ emotions. Limited studies investigate the prevalence of emotional eating within community samples, and evidence appears inconclusive as to the underlying reasons why individuals emotionally eat. Aim: This research explores emotional eating within clinical and community samples. A clinically obese binge eating disordered population in study one, and a community sample during the coronavirus pandemic in study two. The aims were to explore experiences of emotional eating, comparing and contrasting across the two populations and in doing so, provide recommendations for therapeutic interventions. Method: In Study one, in-person focus groups and telephone individual interviews were conducted with a clinically obese binge eating disordered population (focus groups n = 8 female, n = 2 male; individual interviews n = 5 female) recruited via two national health service weight management centres. In study two, semi-structured online interviews using Microsoft Teams were carried out with eight participants (male n = 5; female n = 3) recruited following engagement with a previous emotional eating based study (see Ruiz et al., 2023), and via an opportunity and snowball sampling to explore emotional eating during the COVID-19 pandemic. Reflexive thematic analysis was employed as the approach to understand the experiences of participants whilst allowing for the researcher to engage in reflection throughout analysis. Findings: For the clinical population four main themes were generated: ‘An awareness of eating in response to emotions’ which reflects an initial lack of awareness of eating in response to emotions with a growing awareness and moment of insight into this phenomenon. ‘Emotions eliciting emotional eating’ reflects the participants experiences of individual emotions eliciting an eating response. ‘Factors perceived as influencing eating behaviours’ reflects factors that influence eating behaviours such as environmental influences. ‘Recommendations for interventions’ reflects the need for interventions that identifies emotional eating and binge eating disorder. Within the community population four main themes were generated those were ‘The impact of the coronavirus pandemic’ highlighting the changes and effect of the pandemic on participants. ‘The influence of emotions on eating behaviours’ reflects the emotional antecedents of subsequent eating behaviours. ‘The function of eating beyond reaching satiety’ reflects the participants use of eating including emotional regulation and ‘the emotional eating cycle’. Conclusions: Emotional eating was present in both clinical and community populations. For the clinical population emotional eating occurred predominantly in response to unpleasant emotions and was used to manage emotions. Emotional eating in response to unpleasant emotions occurred in the community population but to a lesser extent. The community population were able to draw on a wider range of coping mechanisms including emotional eating. Pleasant emotional states appeared to align with eating healthier foods and wellbeing. Implications for clinical practice: At a community level exploration of emotions and eating behaviours could help avoid the development of clinical difficulties. Eating could be used in a conscious way to regulate emotions, and through being mindful of such uses, it can form part of a well-developed repertoire of emotional regulation strategies. When eating becomes a dominant emotion regulatory mechanism clinical difficulties and unwanted outcomes such as weight gain can occur
A plain language summary of the CEPHEUS study of daratumumab plus bortezomib, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone for people with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma who are not expected to receive a stem cell transplant
Get PDFThis is an author's accepted manuscript due to be published by Taylor & Francis in Future Oncology 07/10/2025, available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/14796694.2025.2560134.
The accepted manuscript may differ from the final published version.This manuscript was funded by Johnson & Johnson
Prolactin monitoring for patients on antipsychotic drugs: A narrative review of clinical relevance
Get PDF© 2025 The Authors. Published by Scientific Scholar on behalf of Archives of Biological Psychiatry. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence.
The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: https://archivesbiologicalpsychiatry.org/prolactin-monitoring-for-patients-on-antipsychotic-drugs-a-narrative-review-of-clinical-relevance/Hyperprolactinemia is known to be a common side effect of antipsychotic drugs. It is associated with specific symptoms and long-term complications. There are inconsistencies in the monitoring of prolactin in patients taking antipsychotic medications. It was intended to review the recent literature regarding causes, symptoms of hyperprolactinemia, monitoring guidelines about antipsychotic drug-induced hyperprolactinemia, and suggested treatment approaches. There are multiple etiologies of hyperprolactinemia, which include side effects of a wide range of medications. While it is not recommended to monitor prolactin in all patients taking antipsychotic medication routinely, there are variations of approaches based on the antipsychotic drugs and the presence of hyperprolactinemia symptoms. Observations in this narrative review based on current evidence suggest careful clinical investigation and monitoring of hyperprolactinemia in psychiatric patients
Challenges in managing depression in clinical practice: result of a global survey
Get PDF© 2025 The Author. Published by MDPI. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence. The published version can be accessed at the following link: https://doi.org/10.3390/pharma4010005Background/Objectives: Despite an improved knowledgebase, effective intervention, and guidelines, many patients with depression do not receive adequate treatment and treatment discontinuation and non-response are common. It was intended to explore the challenges clinicians face while managing depression in their clinical practice and their suggestions for solutions. Methods: It was an online survey of 137 psychiatrists in 18 countries including both high and low economies, using a pre-designed questionnaire; with both quantitative and qualitative measures. Results: Antidepressant prescribing appeared close to the evidence-based guidelines. There was frequent use of other medications alongside antidepressants since treatment initiation. There were many challenges in managing depression, such as treatment non-response, resistance, and discontinuation; side effects, mostly sexual problems; inadequate psychological intervention; availability and affordability of treatment modalities; comorbidities, especially substance use and personality disorders; stigma; and lack of education and training. Suggested approaches for solutions included personalized treatment, quicker follow-up, psychoeducation, blending psychological intervention into routine clinical practice, improving continuity of care, and preventing treatment discontinuation. Support from governments for improving access, making interventions affordable, and providing socio-occupational support is essential. Training and development of professionals, public education providing information, and dealing with stigma are still relevant. Conclusions: The results indicated a need for reviewing current practices in managing depression, optimizing it with available resources, and preventing treatment discontinuation, and non-response. Making treatment available and affordable, public education fighting stigma to improve treatment acceptability, and research addressing gaps in interventions, especially for treatment resistance and psychotherapy are other approaches that may improve depression management
Adverse childhood experiences, their co-occurrence profiles, and mental disorders in adults in China
No full textThis is an author's accepted manuscript of an article published by Elsevier in The Lancet Regional Health – Western Pacific on 24/01/2025, available online: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanwpc.2025.101478 The accepted manuscript may differ from the final published version.Published versio
Advances in additive manufacturing of fuel cells: A review of technologies, materials, and challenges
Get PDF© 2025 The Author. Published by Elsevier. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence. The published version can be accessed at the following link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.susmat.2025.e01317Fuel cells offer high-efficiency power production compared to internal combustion (IC) engines and gas/steam turbines. They are also very clean and come in several types, including PEM fuel cells, solid oxide fuel cells, direct methanol fuel cells, alkaline fuel cells, molten carbonate fuel cells, and phosphoric acid fuel cells. This diversity enables a broad market for decentralized power supply—both stationary and vehicular. In recent years, significant progress has been made in using additive manufacturing (AM) to fabricate fuel cell components such as electrolytes, electrodes, and casings. AM has revolutionised fuel cell fabrication by providing a sustainable process for producing parts with complex geometries, high material flexibility, and enhanced efficiency. This review aims to summarize the importance and current status of AM in fuel cell production. Various AM techniques (such as vat photopolymerization, material jetting, and powder bed fusion (PBF)) used in manufacturing different fuel cell components are discussed, along with recent advancements in materials and their corresponding properties. The review critically analyses the state of the art, highlighting the advantages and limitations of different techniques. Furthermore, this analysis extends to identifying suitable solutions to address challenges in fuel cell fabrication, providing valuable insights for researchers and engineers focused on clean energy production. This review article will benefit researchers interested in exploring the scope of AM in fuel cells.Published versio
Investigating WNT signalling in the lung
Get PDFA thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirement of the University of Wolverhampton for the degree of Master of Philosophy.Autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD) is a rare hereditary condition that has been reported to affect approximately one in every 20,000 newborns worldwide. It is caused by a mutation in PKHD1, the gene encoding the protein Fibrocystin (FPC). The primary pathophysiology of ARPKD has been characterized by cystic kidney disease, liver fibrosis, and lung failure. The most severe cases of ARPKD have been observed in neonatal life, with a mortality rate of 30–40%, where the cause of death has been attributed to respiratory distress resulting from lung hypoplasia. If this stage is survived, the chances of long-term survival have been noted to increase to 80%. The specific etiology of this hypoplasia has remained unknown; however, it has been linked to kidney enlargement and oligohydramnios. As a branch of non-canonical WNT signalling, the planar cell polarity (PCP) pathway has emerged as a key ciliary signalling mechanism. Recent studies have highlighted the involvement of core PCP proteins in both ARPKD pathology and lung development and homeostasis. The aim of the study was to determine whether there was a link between non-canonical Wnt signalling and the PKHD1 mutation that was responsible for lung hypoplasia seen in ARPKD patients.
Both lung tissue samples from 9-month-old Pkhd1T36M/T36M mice and A549 cells were used in this study. Key proteins from both canonical and non-canonical Wnt pathways were quantified by Western blotting to determine the primary intercellular Wnt signalling pathway associated with lung hypoplasia in ARPKD mutant mouse lungs. Following this, WNT4 and ATMIN single and double knockdowns, as well as WNT11 and PKD2 single and double knockdowns, were performed in A549 cells to assess the interrelationship between these genes and to determine their functional effects in lung epithelial cells. Several cellular functions, including apoptosis, proliferation, adhesion, migration, cell morphology, and actin cytoskeleton expression and localization, were examined.
Studies on mouse lungs indicated that the PCP pathway was the primary pathway affected in Pkhd1-mutated mouse lungs, with observed changes in the protein expression of Vangl2 and Scribble. Meanwhile, studies on human lung cell lines suggested that WNT4, ATMIN, WNT11, and PKD2 could be potential regulators of lung development, particularly in branching morphogenesis, alveolar development, and angiogenesis. These findings suggested a contribution to the development of pulmonary hypoplasia in ARPKD patients, in contrast to the initial theory that pulmonary hypoplasia was a secondary effect of cystic and enlarged kidneys. Further investigations will be required to determine the direct involvement of Pkhd1 in lung development. If confirmed, these findings could aid in the development of effective diagnostic tools and therapeutic targets for pulmonary hypoplasia in ARPKD patients