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Let’s talk about our mayor
No full textThe members of Supportive CWELL project group were keen to build both their personal and their community’s capacity to identify community needs through community conversations/consultations. The group were in the initial stages of planning their community conversations when they were asked to support the Your Mayor, Your Voice campaign. This campaign sought the opinions of people across Limerick City and County Council in relation to the role of the Limericks first directly elected Mayor. The Supportive CWELL group were essential to the success of this campaign and provided invaluable community insight.</p
Mentorship in surgical training; a systematic scoping review to inform a mentorship framework for ophthalmology trainees
No full textBackground Mentorship plays a vital role in surgical training. In the field of ophthalmology, effective mentorship is particularly critical due to the specialised nature of surgeries and the need for comprehensive skill development. However, the landscape of mentorship remains underexplored. Understanding key characteristics and components of effective mentorship is essential for optimising training and ensuring the success of future generations of surgeons. This scoping review aims to analyse existing literature on mentorship in surgical training and to employ Levac et al.‘s enhanced methodological framework to construct a conceptual framework for a bespoke mentorship programme tailored to the needs of ophthalmology trainees. Methods The search strategy adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and included relevant databases such as MEDLINE, Scopus, CINAHL Complete, ERIC, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library. Selection criteria encompassed studies exploring mentorship experiences, perceptions, and outcomes across all surgical training domains. A two-step screening process was employed, followed by thematic analysis using Braun and Clarke’s approach. The Medical Education Research Study Quality Instrument (MERSQI) assessed study quality. Results Of the 81 identified articles, 24 were included in the review, with an average MERSQI score of 11.65. Studies comprised randomised controlled trials, systematic reviews, cohort, cross-sectional studies, and reviews. The thematic analysis identified five domains: (1) mentorship and burnout; (2) surgical skill and performance; (3) career paths and professional development; (4) diversity promotion; and (5) work-life balance. Conclusions This review underscores the significance of mentorship in surgical training and proposes a conceptual framework tailored to ophthalmology trainees. By synthesising existing literature and through author engagement with relevant training bodies, the study contributes to the development of an imminent mentoring programme, aiming to enhance surgical training outcomes and foster trainee well-being and professional growth</p
How do doctors manage physical activity advocacy for patients and their own self-care? A qualitative interview study of general practitioners in Ireland
No full textObjectives This study explored general practitioners’ (GPs) understanding of physical activity advocacy to patients and their own self-care, how GPs perceive their own physical activity behaviours, how their personal experience of physical activity affects how they promote it in practice and how they define the limitations of their role in this.Design A qualitative design, involving online semi-structured interviews, was employed. Data was analysed by an interdisciplinary team of researchers using an inductive thematic approach.Setting and participants Participants were GPs (n=21) and were recruited from an education and research network.Findings A single meta-theme was identified—moving towards more physically active lifestyles through the art of medicine—with three related subthemes. Subthemes relate to how GPs determine the extent of their role and responsibilities, how physical activity promotion is adapted to the context and how ‘what I’ say is not necessarily ‘what I do’. After many consultations, mutual trust can develop when the GP’s role is clarified, and the GP can educate and support the initiation and maintenance of physical activity behavioural change by sharing personal experiences of physical activity behaviour.Conclusion Based on personal experience and enduring relationships with their patients, GPs are in a unique position to discuss appropriate physical activity with their patients and perform an important role in explaining and gaining access to physical activity for their patients. Support in the form of community-based resources and programmes as well as brief intervention skills could enhance GP ability to further promote physical activity.</p
Teachers’ professional journeys during the first decade longitudinal study: reviews of literature
No full textTeachers’ Professional Journeys during the first decade longitudinal study: Reviews of literature: 2024 Report No.1</p
Election results can decrease intergroup threat and through that positively affect intergroup relations
No full textPrevious research has established that intergroup threat is pivotal to intergroup relations in divided societies. We used the Northern Ireland Assembly Elections in 2022 as a unique chance to investigate how elections can affect feelings of threat and intergroup relations between communities with a history of violent intergroup conflict. We argued that because of their conflicting goals, if Sinn Féin (i.e., a Republican party that promotes a united Ireland) gains more votes than the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP, i.e., a party promoting Northern Ireland's union with the United Kingdom), it would threaten DUP supporters and vice versa. We assessed whether participants supported Sinn Féin or DUP relatively to each other, intergroup threat, and intergroup bias before and after the elections (N=285). Following an election outcome where Sinn Féin gained more votes than DUP, Sinn Féin supporters showed decreased feelings of threat which in turn decreased their intergroup bias. DUP supporters, the party that received fewer votes, showed no changes in their feelings of threat or intergroup bias. This research highlights how electoral results affect intergroup relations in postconflict societies.</p
Controlling solid-state and particle properties of pharmaceutical materials by spray drying
No full textSpray drying is a continuous manufacturing technique which has added significant value to the pharmaceutical industry. The chapters herein highlight various advantageous applications of spray drying beyond commonly used applications including formulating amorphous solid dispersions (ASDs) and particles for pulmonary delivery. In this thesis, spray drying has been applied to control the solid-state and particle properties of pharmaceutical materials. This is made feasible through the particle engineering capabilities of spray drying governed by variable input process parameters.Chapter 1, the introduction chapter, outlines an overview of the theory related to the topics discussed herein. This chapter aims to support the succeeding chapters by providing more background to the explored concepts and pplications. A section of this chapter was adapted from our review paper published in the European Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences (DOI: 10.1016/j.ejps.2024.106931).Chapter 2, the first experimental chapter, focuses on spray drying the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), carbamazepine (CBZ). In this work spray drying is applied to control the polymorphic form of the spray dried powder produced. Currently, research in the areas of polymorphic control by spray drying has been less investigated. In this work. a pure, metastable polymorphic form of CBZ was isolated in a controlled manner. This chapter has been published in the Royal Society of Chemistry Journal CrystEngComm (DOI: 10.1039/D2CE01041K).Chapter 3 builds on the investigation in chapter 2 and applied the same spray drying technique of varying the atomising gas flowrate parameter to another API, chlorothiazide (CTZ). The chapter further highlights the control offered by spray drying polymorphic APIs as a novel polymorphic form of CTZ was isolated. The last polymorph of an API to be discovered by spray drying was in 1982. The polymorphic form obtained was the fourth polymorphic form of CTZ and has not been isolated by another technique. Chapters 2 and 3 demonstrate how spray drying can both control and lead to the discovery of polymorphic forms of pharmaceutical materials. Chapter 3 has been accepted for publication by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) Pharmaceutics Journal.Chapter 4 investigated another application of spray drying; a fixed dose combination co-amorphous system of CBZ and CTZ was spray dried. Co-amorphous systems, although advantageous in terms of solubility, pose a great challenge in terms of stability. As the stability of metastable polymorphic forms of CBZ and CTZ were controlled using the spray drying method outlined in chapters 2 and 3, in this chapter spray drying is applied to stabilise a co-amorphous mixture of the two APIs. This chapter demonstrated that a spray dried co?amorphous system consisting of the two APIs can be stabilised at accelerated stability conditions for three months. This chapter has been published in the RSC Pharmaceutics Journal.Chapter 5 outlines a collaborative project carried out at Johnson and Johnson (J&J) Innovative Medicine in Beerse, Belgium. This project investigated an additional application of spray drying pharmaceutical materials with the addition of comparing conventional spray drying with an emerging spray drying technique, electrostatic spray drying. The aim was to produce spray dried powder that can be stored at room temperature to be reconstituted with the same properties as the original suspensions mitigating the need for cold chain storage. In this work two pharmaceutical suspensions of two different APIs were spray dried. One API is a commercially available API, indomethacin (IND) and the other is a J&J API, referred to as API D. This chapter shows that spray drying can be applied to produce powder that can remain stable at room temperature for one month and can be reconstituted with the same properties as the original suspensions. This chapter has been submitted to Powder Technology.Chapter 6 is the conclusion chapter which ties the conclusions of each of the experimental chapters together. Chapter 7 is the final chapter herein which outlines the future prospectives of the work in this thesis.</p
Degree distributions, correlations, and information spread on networks
No full textIn this thesis we study several topics within the field of network science. This work can largely be divided into studies of network structure and dynamics on networks. First, we study the structure of networks and network algorithms, focused primarily on the degree distributions of networks and the presence of correlations among the degrees of network nodes.In particular, we describe a method for fitting degree distributions. We develop a new degree-preserving rewiring algorithm which outperforms current methods. To unite these two pieces of work, we put our rewiring algorithm to use in investigating the long-range correlations in that exist between properties of network nodes, and explore how these correlations relate to degree distributions.Following this, we turn our attention to information diffusion on networks with an innovative model of meme spread, which allows for the accounting of varying meme quality. We show detailed results in terms of how memes spread in the presence of other memes of different levels of fitness, with remarkable qualities for a model of self-organised criticality.</p
Application of Western models of posttraumatic stress disorder in Nepal: Confirmatory factor analysis in earthquake survivors and in spinal cord injury patients
No full textPosttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is often diagnosed by counting the number of symptoms experienced in specified symptom clusters, as outlined by the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) of mental illness. However, PTSD measurement tools and this method of diagnosing and treating PTSD, even in non-Western countries, is based on Western concepts of the underlying factor structure. While some research has suggested that PTSD is a disorder found in Western, or “WEIRD” (White, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic) countries and it may not translate to non-Western cultural contexts, other research has documented PTSD in a variety of non-Western countries including India, China, and the Philippines. We examined if the underlying factor structure of PTSD was evident in another non-Western context—in Nepal. We translated and back-translated the PTSD Checklist Specific Stress Version (PCL-S), adapting it for use with populations with low literacy affected by two life changing traumas. We then tested a series of theoretical models of PTSD across two different trauma samples—in survivors of the 2015 earthquake (N=392) and in people who experienced a life-changing spinal cord injury (N=163). Using confirmatory factor analysis, we found some evidence that PTSD symptoms appear to map onto Western factors, with evidence of the four-factor Dysphoria model (Re-experiencing, Avoidance, Dysphoria, and Hyperarousal symptoms) in both populations, and demonstrating scalar invariance across samples. However, exploratory factor analyses suggested a different underlying structure. Further, measurement invariance testing suggested gendered responses to PTSD items. The results demonstrate PTSD symptoms in this non-Western context somewhat fit hypothesized Western concepts of PTSD but point to a holistic approach to diagnosing PTSD in such contexts, as opposed to using clusters or PTSD cut-offs</p
Machine learning models predicting risk of revision or secondary knee injury after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction demonstrate variable discriminatory and accuracy performance: a systematic review
No full textBackground To summarize the statistical performance of machine learning in predicting revision, secondary knee injury, or reoperations following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR), and to provide a general overview of the statistical performance of these models. Methods Three online databases (PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE) were searched from database inception to February 6, 2024, to identify literature on the use of machine learning to predict revision, secondary knee injury (e.g. anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) or meniscus), or reoperation in ACLR. The authors adhered to the PRISMA and R-AMSTAR guidelines as well as the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. Demographic data and machine learning specifics were recorded. Model performance was recorded using discrimination, area under the curve (AUC), concordance, calibration, and Brier score. Factors deemed predictive for revision, secondary injury or reoperation were also extracted. The MINORS criteria were used for methodological quality assessment. Results Nine studies comprising 125,427 patients with a mean follow-up of 5.82 (0.08–12.3) years were included in this review. Two of nine (22.2%) studies served as external validation analyses. Five (55.6%) studies reported on mean AUC (strongest model range 0.77–0.997). Four (44.4%) studies reported mean concordance (strongest model range: 0.67–0.713). Two studies reported on Brier score, calibration intercept, and calibration slope, with values ranging from 0.10 to 0.18, 0.0051–0.006, and 0.96–0.97 amongst highest performing models, respectively. Four studies reported calibration error, with all four studies demonstrating significant miscalibration at either two or five-year follow-ups amongst 10 of 14 models assessed. Conclusion Machine learning models designed to predict the risk of revision or secondary knee injury demonstrate variable discriminatory performance when evaluated with AUC or concordance metrics. Furthermore, there is variable calibration, with several models demonstrating evidence of miscalibration at two or five-year marks. The lack of external validation of existing models limits the generalizability of these findings. Future research should focus on validating current models in addition to developing new multimodal neural networks to improve accuracy and reliability</p
Micro-mixing characteristics of a pinched-tube, a fluidic oscillator and a vortex-based cavitation device☆
No full textMicro-mixing plays a crucial role in controlling performance and quality of products from anti-solvent crystallization, reactive precipitation and nanoparticle synthesis. In this work, micro-mixing was characterised using the Villermaux Dushman iodide-iodate reactions in three fluidic devices namely a pinched-tube, a fluidic oscillator and a vortex-based cavitation device operated in a loop configuration. A three-environment engulfment model was developed to simulate mixing and reactions in these devices operated in a flow loop. The loop was operated at different flow rates to cover a broad range of energy dissipation rates (ε = ~ 10− 1 –104 W/kg) with the three devices. The considered fluidic devices exhibited micro-mixing times in the range of 28–160 ms. The micro-mixing times estimated from the engulfment model were found to be proportional to ε− 0.17. Among the investigated devices, the fluidic oscillator had the lowest micro-mixing time of ~28 ms. The pinched tube exhibited a micro-mixing time in the range of 30–74 ms while the vortex-based cavitation device exhibited a micro-mixing time in the range of 33–80 ms before the inception of cavitation. For the conditions where cavitation occurred in the vortex-based cavitation device, the usual method of estimation of micro-mixing time was not suitable since oxidising radicals generated by cavitation interfere with the Villermaux Dushman reactions. The presented model, data and discussion will be useful for selecting appropriate fluidic devices for mixing applications and further work on characterising mixing in cavitation devices.</p