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Ketogenic diets as an adjuvant therapy for glioblastoma (KEATING): a randomized, mixed methods, feasibility study
Get PDFThis is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in Journal of Neuro-Oncology. The final authenticated version is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11060-020-03417-8Purpose We conducted a feasibility study to investigate the use of ketogenic diets (KDs) as an adjuvant therapy for patients
with glioblastoma (GBM), investigating (i) trial feasibility; (ii) potential impacts of the trial on patients’ quality of life and
health; (iii) patients’ perspectives of their decision-making when invited to participate in the trial and (iv) recommending
improvements to optimize future phase III trials.
Methods A single-center, prospective, randomized, pilot study (KEATING), with an embedded qualitative design. Twelve
newly diagnosed patients with GBM were randomized 1:1 to modifed ketogenic diet (MKD) or medium chain triglyceride
ketogenic diet (MCTKD). Primary outcome was retention at three months. Semi-structured interviews were conducted
with a purposive sample of patients and caregivers (n=15). Descriptive statistics were used for quantitative outcomes and
qualitative data were analyzed thematically aided by NVivo.
Results KEATING achieved recruitment targets, but the recruitment rate was low (28.6%). Retention was poor; only four
of 12 patients completed the three-month diet (MCTKD n=3; MKD n=1). Participants’ decisions were intuitive and emotional; caregivers supported diet implementation and infuenced the patients’ decision to participate. Those who declined
made a deliberative and considered decision factoring diet burden and quality of life. A three-month diet was undesirable to
patients who declined and withdrew.
Conclusion Recruitment to a KD trial for patients with GBM is possible. A six-week intervention period is proposed for a
phase III trial. The role of caregiver should not be underestimated. Future trials should optimize and adequately support
the decision-making of patients
Public Archaeology for the Dark Ages
No full textThis introductory chapter identifies the principal issues and themes in the public archaeology of the Early Middle Ages, exploring the specific and compelling challenges of investigating and evaluating the early medieval past in contemporary society mediated by archaeology. In doing so, we review and contextualise the contributions to the 3rd University of Chester Archaeology Student conference: ‘Digging into the Dark Ages’, which took place at the Grosvenor Museum, Chester, 13 December 2017. The resulting book comprises a selection of the student contributions and a range of additional chapters by heritage professionals and academics. The book’s structure and contents are then outlined: the first-ever collection dedicated to ‘Dark Age’ public archaeology. It is argued that for future research, critical public archaeologies are essential for ethical and engaging early medieval archaeology in both theory and practice
Duval and the Woman Employee
Get PDFBook chapterThis Chapter will examine aspects of the life and work of Duval as both
exemplary of and, in some aspects in contradiction to, conceptions of the emerging
roles of professional women in the journals and literature of the later nineteenth
century. Utilising both Duval’s drawings and her historic place in the remediation
culture of new serialised papers, the novel and popular theatre productions in the
1870s and 80s, the chapter will extrapolate and examine shared characteristics in the
fictional women newspaper journalists Henrietta Stackpole (in James’ The Portrait of a
Lady, 1881) and Elsie Bengough (in Onions’ The Beckoning Fair One, 1911).
Considering the impact of class on nineteenth century gendering of professional work,
first in Patmore’s iteration of the “separate spheres” of agency of men and women in
The Angel in the House (1854, derived from de Toqueville’s 1840 Democracy in
America), and then in Sarah Grand’s antithetical The New Aspect of the Woman
Question (1894), in which the term “new woman” first appeared, the chapter will chart
the transformation of women’s domestic work into new types of professional
occupations––particularly the new, equivocally gendered, professions that arose with
the advent of serial journals, including Judy, or The London Serio-Comic Journal. The
Chapter will argue for more diverse conceptions of the lives of urban professional
women in the later nineteenth century, touching on recent critiques of masculine
constructions of ‘journalistic’ observation and public commentary
Interactive Three-Dimensional Simulation and Visualisation of Real Time Blood Flow in Vascular Networks
Get PDFOne of the challenges in cardiovascular disease management is the clinical
decision-making process. When a clinician is dealing with complex and uncertain
situations, the decision on whether or how to intervene is made based upon distinct
information from diverse sources. There are several variables that can affect how
the vascular system responds to treatment. These include: the extent of the damage
and scarring, the efficiency of blood flow remodelling, and any associated pathology.
Moreover, the effect of an intervention may lead to further unforeseen complications
(e.g. another stenosis may be “hidden” further along the vessel). Currently, there is
no tool for predicting or exploring such scenarios.
This thesis explores the development of a highly adaptive real-time simulation of
blood flow that considers patient specific data and clinician interaction. The simulation
should model blood realistically, accurately, and through complex vascular networks
in real-time. Developing robust flow scenarios that can be incorporated into the
decision and planning medical tool set. The focus will be on specific regions of the
anatomy, where accuracy is of the utmost importance and the flow can develop into
specific patterns, with the aim of better understanding their condition and predicting
factors of their future evolution. Results from the validation of the simulation showed
promising comparisons with the literature and demonstrated a viability for clinical
use
A genetic approach to examine the relationship between vitamin B12 status and metabolic traits in a South Asian population
Get PDFBackground: Observational studies in South Asian populations have suggested an association between vitamin B12 status and metabolic traits; however, the findings have been inconclusive. Hence, the aim of the present study was to use a genetic approach to explore the relationship between metabolic traits and vitamin B12 status in a Sri Lankan population and to investigate whether these relationships were modified by dietary intake.
Methods: A total of 109 Sinhalese adults (61 men and 48 women aged 25-50 years), from Colombo city underwent anthropometric, biochemical, dietary intake analysis and genetic tests. Genetic risk scores (GRS) based on 10 metabolic single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (metabolic-GRS) and 10 vitamin B12 SNPs (B12-GRS) were constructed.
Results: The B12-GRS was significantly associated with serum vitamin B12 (P=0.008), but not with metabolic traits (P>0.05); whereas, the metabolic-GRS had no effect on metabolic traits (P>0.05) and vitamin B12 concentrations (P>0.05). An interaction was observed between B12-GRS and protein energy intake (%) on waist circumference (P=0.002). Interactions were also seen between the metabolic-GRS and carbohydrate energy intake (%) on waist to hip ratio (P=0.015).
Conclusion: Our findings suggest that a genetically lowered vitamin B12 concentration may have an impact on central obesity in the presence of a dietary influence; however, our study failed to provide evidence for an impact of metabolic-GRS on lowering B12 concentrations. Given that our study has a small sample size, further large studies are required to confirm our findings
Building the capacity for psycho-oncology research: A survey of the research barriers and training needs within the International Psycho-Oncology Society (IPOS)
Get PDFBackground: The International Psycho-Oncology Society (IPOS) is a multidisciplinary professional network that aims to improve psychosocial care for individuals impacted by cancer. IPOS encourages research activity, recognising that a high-quality evidence-base is essential to provide best-practice, data-driven clinical care. This study aimed to determine the barriers to research involvement and the training needs and priorities of IPOS members, with the goal of facilitating the development of training resources tailored to the needs of IPOS members.
Methods: A link to an online, cross-sectional survey was disseminated to all registered members of IPOS via email. The online survey platform SimpleSurvey was used, and questions included demographic characteristics and items related to research interests, involvement, and training needs. High priority research training needs were identified as research tasks respondents rated as highly important, yet possessed a low perceived skill level in.
Results: 32% of IPOS members (n = 142) completed the survey. Participants represented 49 countries and were at a variety of career stages. Overall, participants reported spending an average of 17.3 hours per week on research (range = 0 to 80 hours per week), with 69% of respondents wanting to increase their research involvement. The main barriers to research participation included lack of research funding (80%) and lack of protected time (63%). IPOS members identified five high priority training needs: (1) preparing successful grant applications; (2) preparing research budgets; (3) community-based participatory research; (4) working with decision makers; and (5) finding collaborators or expert consultants. Participants suggested funding access, statistical advisors and networking and mentorship opportunities as ways to enhance research involvement. Members preferred online training modules (39%) and mentorship programs (19%) as methods by which IPOS could provide research support. IPOS was viewed as being able to contribute to many aspects of research capacity building such as networking, training, and dissemination of research findings.
Conclusions: IPOS has an important role in encouraging research capacity building among members. This survey provides an agenda for workshops and training opportunities. Mainly, for respondents it was less about training in research methods and more about training in how to prepare successful grant applications, including budgets, and receiving mentorship on this as well as having opportunities to collaborate with other researchers
Textile Recycling in Victorian Literature: An Interview with Deborah Wynne
Get PDFAn interview: Helene B. Ducros interviews Deborah Wynne about her research on Victorian textile recycling and its representation in the work of Charles Dickens.This interview refers to Wynne's research into Victorian textile recycling and how it was represented in Victorian literature and culture, particularly the work of Charles Dickens
UV phototransistors based upon spray coated and sputter deposited ZnO TFTs
Get PDFA comparison of Zinc Oxide (ZnO) phototransistors prepared by spray and sputter coating process is presented. The work shows that spray coated layers provide significant advantages in sensor response over ZnO phototransistors made by physical vapour deposition and we show that spray deposited ZnO phototransistors can exhibit state-of-the-art performances for UV photodetectors. Topographic images of the samples surface shows that there is increase in surface roughness in spray coated samples indicating increasing grain sizes, which is considered the source of the greater sensor responsivity. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is also used to understand the root cause of the greater UV responsivity. It was observed that sprayed ZnO TFTs are more sensitive to UV radiation due to higher adsorption of oxygen level. Responsivity and external quantum efficiency (EQE) of the sprayed and sputtered ZnO TFTs are also evaluated
Stay Well in Wales Super Profiles: Who thinks what about the nation's health
Get PDFUsing a household and online survey, the views of 3,310 individuals in Wales (aged 16+ years) on 19 public health statements were gathered. Eight demographic and five health-related behaviour super profiles were created to explore differences in opinions across population groups
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