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2D‐Hexagonal Boron Nitride Screen‐Printed Bulk‐Modified Electrochemical Platforms Explored towards Oxygen Reduction Reactions
Get PDFA low‐cost, scalable and reproducible approach for the mass production of screen‐printed electrode (SPE) platforms that have varying percentage mass incorporations of 2D hexagonal boron nitride (2D‐hBN) (2D‐hBN/SPEs) is demonstrated herein. These novel 2D‐hBN/SPEs are explored as a potential metal‐free electrocatalysts towards oxygen reduction reactions (ORRs) within acidic media where their performance is evaluated. A 5% mass incorporation of 2D‐hBN into the SPEs resulted in the most beneficial ORR catalysis, reducing the ORR onset potential by ca. 200 mV in comparison to bare/unmodified SPEs. Furthermore, an increase in the achievable current of 83% is also exhibited upon the utilisation of a 2D‐hBN/SPE in comparison to its unmodified equivalent. The screen‐printed fabrication approach replaces the less‐reproducible and time‐consuming dropcasting technique of 2D‐hBN and provides an alternative approach for the large‐scale manufacture of novel electrode platforms that can be utilised in a variety of application
Differential humanistic and economic burden of mild, moderate and severe haemophilia in european adults: a regression analysis of the CHESS II study
Get PDFBackground: The lifelong nature of haemophilia makes patient-centred and societal assessments of its impact important to clinical and policy decisions. Quantifying the humanistic and economic burden by severity is key to assessing the impact on healthcare systems. We analysed the annual direct medical (excluding factor replacement therapy costs) and non-medical costs as well as societal costs and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of mild, moderate and severe disease among adults with haemophilia A or B without inhibitors in Europe. Participants in the CHESS II study reported their HRQoL, non-medical costs, and work impairment; physicians provided costs and consultation history from the medical chart. Descriptive statistics summarized patient characteristics, costs, and HRQoL scores. Regression models estimated differences in outcomes for moderate and severe versus mild disease, adjusting for age, body mass index, country, comorbidities, weight-adjusted factor consumption and education.
Results: The analytic sample included 707 patients with a mean age of 38 years; the majority of patients had haemophilia A (81%), and 47% had severe disease, followed by moderate (37%) and mild disease (16%). Patients with severe or moderate disease had on average higher direct costs, €3105 and €2469 respectively, versus mild disease. Societal costs were higher for patients with severe and moderate disease by €11,115 and €2825, respectively (all P < 0.01). HRQoL scores were also significantly worse for severe and moderate patients versus those with mild disease.
Conclusion: Severity of haemophilia is predictive of increasing economic and humanistic burden. The burden of moderate disease, as measured by direct costs and HRQoL, did not appear to be substantially different than that observed among patients with severe haemophilia.Sanofi; Grant(s): Sanof
Creating and Contesting Christian Martyrdom
No full textThis essay examines the way in which martyrdom narratives are not primarily accounts of a death, but literature that reflects a wider conflict in which the martyr represents a community against their real or perceived enemies. It examines the process of martyr making
Distribution and habitat requirements of the Bahama Warbler Setophaga flavescens on Grand Bahama in 2018
Get PDFThe Bahama Warbler Setophaga flavescens is restricted to Grand Bahama and Abaco in the Bahamas Islands, where in recent decades its pine forest habitat has been seriously affected by hurricanes. To assess its conservation status and determine its habitat requirements, we conducted point transects with playback and simultaneously took measurements at 464 locations in pine forest across Grand Bahama from April to June 2018. Warbler presence was predicted by taller Thatch Palms Thrinax radiata and some fire disturbance; and its absence by a higher number of needleless pines. A comparison of these habitat predictors between the combined regions where warblers were detected (Lucayan Estates and East End) vs. where they were not (West End and Freeport) also revealed that Bahama Warblers showed a marked preference for taller Thatch Palms (>140 cm) and habitat plots within the middle fire disturbance category. These findings suggest that the species is adapted to a climax pine forest habitat maintained under a standard fire regime. Our research was intended to provide a first baseline study of the warbler’s distribution and ecology on Grand Bahama, but the distribution may have radically changed following Hurricane Dorian’s devastation of the island in 2019, and the species may now only survive on Abaco. Nevertheless, ecological insights from Grand Bahama seem likely to help conservation management on Abaco; but both islands now need to be surveyed
Feasibility of RESTORE: An online Acceptance and Commitment Therapy intervention to improve palliative care staff wellbeing
Get PDFFinucane, A., Hulbert-Williams, N. J., Swash, B., Spiller, J., Lydon, B., Milton, L., & Gillanders, D., Feasibility of RESTORE: An online Acceptance and Commitment Therapy intervention to improve palliative care staff wellbeing, Palliative Medicine (Journal Volume Number 37 and Issue Number 2) pp. 244-256. Copyright © [2022] (The Authors). Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications.Background: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is a form of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy which uses behavioural psychology, values, acceptance, and mindfulness techniques to improve mental health and wellbeing. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is efficacious in treating stress, anxiety and depression in a broad range of settings including occupational contexts where emotional labour is high. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy could help palliative care staff to manage work-related stress and promote wellbeing.
Aim: To develop, and feasibility test, an online Acceptance and Commitment Therapy intervention to improve wellbeing of palliative care staff.
Design: A single-arm feasibility trial of an 8-week Acceptance and Commitment Therapy -based intervention for staff consisting of three online facilitated group workshops and five online individual self-directed learning modules. Data was collected via online questionnaire at four time-points and online focus groups at follow-up.
Setting/participants: Participants were recruited from Marie Curie hospice and nursing services in Scotland.
Results: 25 staff commenced and 23 completed the intervention (93%). 15 participated in focus groups. Twelve (48%) completed questionnaires at follow-up. Participants found the intervention enjoyable, informative, and beneficial. There was preliminary evidence for improvements in psychological flexibility (Cohen’s d = 0.7) and mental wellbeing (Cohen’s d = 0.49) between baseline and follow-up, but minimal change in perceived stress, burnout or compassion satisfaction.
Conclusion: Online Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for wellbeing is acceptable to palliative care staff and feasible to implement using Microsoft Teams in a palliative care setting. Incorporating ways to promote long-term maintenance of behaviour changes, and strategies to optimise data collection at follow-up are key considerations for future intervention refinement and evaluation
Terahertz Faraday rotation of SrFe12O19 hexaferrites enhanced by Nb-doping
Get PDFThis document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in [ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces], copyright © American Chemical Society after peer review and technical editing by the publisher. To access the final edited and published work see [https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acsami.2c13088].The magneto-optical and dielectric behaviour of M-type hexaferrites as permanent magnets in the THz band are essential for potential applications like microwave absorbers and antennas, while are rarely reported recent years. In this work, single-phase SrFe12-xNbxO19 hexaferrite ceramics were prepared by conventional solid state sintering method. Temperature-dependent of dielectric parameters were investigated here to search the relationship between dielectric response and magnetic phase transition. The saturated magnetization increases by nearly 12% while the coercive field decreases by 30% in the x = 0.03 composition compared to that of the x = 0.00 sample. Besides, Nb substitution improves the magneto-optical behaviour in the THz band by comparing the Faraday rotation parameter from 0.75 (x = 0.00) to 1.30 (x = 0.03). The changes in the magnetic properties are explained by a composition-driven increase of the net magnetic moment and enhanced ferromagnetic exchange coupling. The substitution of donor dopant Nb on the Fe site is a feasible way to obtain multifunctional M-type hexaferrites, as preferred candidates for permanent magnets, sensors and other electronic devices
The benefits of hindsight: Lessons learnt from leading my first cross-department student-staff partnership project
Get PDFStudent-staff partnerships have been shown to offer significant potential for enhancing learning and teaching in higher education, however, they are not without their challenges. This paper reflects on my experience of leading a team in our first cross-department student-staff partnership project, which focused on the curriculum design, identifying five key lessons that were learnt from the experience. Despite the challenges faced in this project this did not lessen the success of the project in terms of the production of four successful modules, and the act of undertaking the project and introducing colleagues to partnership practice has enhanced the capacity for partnership across the department
Theological reflection
Get PDFEighty years ago, on December 1 1942, the Beveridge Report, widely seen as the founding document of the post-1945 welfare state in the UK, was published. In grandiloquent terms, the report called for an attack on ‘Five Giant Evils’ – Disease, Idleness, Ignorance, Squalor and Want -- that needed to be combatted as Britain prepared for peace and post-war reconstruction. Beveridge’s recommendations captured the public mood perfectly. Having made so many sacrifices for a common cause of defeating Nazism, armed forces and civilians alike shared a determination that the peace which followed should be built for the benefit of all. That mood found expression in the post-war Labour government’s pledges to achieve full employment, universal education and a welfare state, free of the privations and anxieties of poverty, low pay or old age.
Like the 1939-45 war, the global COVID-19 pandemic has exposed fundamental inadequacies in the economy, the National Health Service and social care provision. As society moves out of the worst of the pandemic, it may be time to contemplate, as did Beveridge and his contemporaries (including William Temple), what kind of future provision may be required for the future: both in redressing the longer-term stresses and shortcomings of the existing system and in ‘building back better’. Certainly, the political historian Peter Hennessey believes the ‘never again’ impulse that sprung from the 1939-45 conflict has resurfaced today, and may be harnessed to build consensus around new priorities (Hennessey).
Even so, this will entail more than simple reform of the existing welfare system, for two key reasons. First, the political, economic, cultural and demographic landscape of the twenty-first century has changed. Second, any revision of welfare requires a rethinking not only of its fiscal and operational dimensions, but of the very values that underpin a ‘welfare society’ that is fit for purpose. What principles might inform any kind of reform? And in the midst of that, what is the role of faith-based social action?
In this article I will approach this question by beginning with the ‘Five Giants’ of Beveridge’s report, before asking what might form the basis of a ‘new Beveridge’ for the twenty-first century. Sam Wells’ recent survey of church-related provision argues that reforms of welfare should proceed not from a ‘deficit’ model but from one of ‘assets’ and social goods. It is in their ability to articulate and embody social capital, motivated by religious and moral values, that faith-based organisations demonstrate a distinctive and decisive contribution to civil society. This calls for a renewed focus on the significance of the voluntary sector in a revitalised ‘welfare society’, alongside the State and the market, and a consideration of five new social ‘goods’ to inform policy and inspire change
The Cost of Von Willebrand Disease in Europe: The CVESS Study
Get PDFBackground: Von Willebrand disease (VWD) is one of the most common inherited bleeding disorders, imposing a substantial health impact and financial burden. The Cost of von Willebrand disease in Europe: A Socioeconomic Study (CVESS) characterises the socio-economic cost of VWD across Germany, Spain, Italy, France, and the UK. Methods: A retrospective, cross-sectional design captured 12 months of patient disease management, collected from August-December 2018, for 974 patients. This enabled estimation of direct medical, direct non-medical and indirect costs, utilising prevalence estimates to extrapolate to population level. Results: Total annual direct medical cost (including/excluding von Willebrand factor [VWF]) across all countries was the highest cost (€2 845 510 345/€444 446 023), followed by indirect costs (€367 330 271) and direct non-medical costs (€60 223 234). Differences were seen between countries: the UK had the highest direct medical costs excluding VWF (€159 791 064), Italy the highest direct-non medical (€26 564 496), and Germany the highest indirect cost burden (€197 036 052). Total direct medical costs per adult patient increased across VWD types with Type 1 having the lowest cost (€23 287) and Type 3 having the highest cost (€133 518). Conclusion: A substantial financial burden arises from the prevalence of VWD for the European healthcare systems considered.Baxalta US Inc., a Takeda company, Lexington, MA, US
Collagen fingerprinting of Caribbean archaeological fish bones: Methodological implications for historical fisheries baselines and anthropogenic change
Get PDFThe Caribbean Sea is the most species-rich sea in the Atlantic, largely due to its vast coral reef systems. However,
its high biodiversity and endemism face unprecedented anthropogenic threats, including synergistic modern
pressures from overfishing, climate change and bioinvasion. Archaeological data indicate initial human settle-
ment of the Caribbean ~7000 years before present (yr BP), with regionally variable human impacts on fisheries
through time based on standard morphological identification of fish bone. Such studies, however, are challenged
by the low taxonomic resolution of archaeological fish bone identifications due to high species diversity and
morphological similarity between members of different families or genera. Here, we present collagen finger-
printing (Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry; ZooMS) as a method to overcome this challenge, applying it to
1000 archaeological bone specimens identified morphologically as ray-finned fish (superclass Actinopterygii)
from 13 circum-Caribbean sites spanning ca. 3150–300 yr BP (years before present). The method successfully
identified collagen-containing samples (n = 720) to family (21%), genus (57%), and species (13%) level. Of the
209 samples that were morphologically identified below superclass, collagen fingerprinting verified the taxo-
nomic identity of 94% of these, but also refined the identifications to a lower [more precise] taxon in 45% of
cases. The remaining 6% of morphological identifications were found to be incorrectly assigned. This study
represents the largest application of ZooMS to archaeological fish bones to date and advances future research
through the identification of up to 20 collagen biomarkers for 45 taxa in 10 families and 2 orders. The results
indicate that refinement of ZooMS archaeological fish identifications in this study is limited not by the quality of
the preserved collagen but by the extent of the available modern collagen reference collection. Thus, efforts
should be directed towards expanding collagen fingerprint databases in the first instance. Significantly, the high-
resolution taxonomic identifications of archaeological bone that ZooMS can offer make ancient fisheries data
highly relevant to modern sustainability and conservation efforts in the Caribbean. Additionally, more precise
identifications will allow archaeologists to address a variety of questions related to cultural fishing practices and
changes in fish stocks through time. This study supports the use of ZooMS as an effective biochemical tool
available for mass-taxonomic identification of archaeological fish bone samples spanning century to millennial
time scales in the circum-Caribbean
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