151398 research outputs found
Sort by
Neuropsychological test performance in mild cognitive impairment with Lewy bodies: A systematic review and meta-analysis
No full textBACKGROUNDWe sought to characterize the cognitive profile among individuals with mild cognitive impairment with Lewy bodies (MCI-LB) to help guide future clinical criteria.METHODSSystematic review and meta-analysis included MCI-LB studies with cognitive data from PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and PsycINFO (January 1990 to March 2023). MCI-LB scores were compared to controls, MCI due to Alzheimer's disease (MCI-AD), and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) groups with random-effects models.RESULTSWe included 26 studies and 2823 participants. Across all domains, the MCI-LB group performed worse than controls and better than DLB. Compared to MCI-AD, the MCI-LB group performed worse in attention/processing speed (g = –0.24, 95% confidence interval [CI]: –0.35, –0.12), attention/executive (g = –0.42, 95% CI: –0.56, –0.28); better in verbal immediate recall (g = 0.37; 95% CI: 0.15, 0.59) and delayed memory (g = 0.40; 95% CI: 0.22, 0.58).DISCUSSIONThe cognitive profiles in MCI-LB and MCI-AD are consistent with established profiles in DLB and AD. Neuropsychological assessment may be helpful in differential diagnosis, even in early disease states
Geospatial mapping of drug-resistant tuberculosis prevalence in Africa at national and sub-national levels
No full textObjectiveTo map subnational and local prevalence of drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) across Africa.MethodsWe assembled a geolocated dataset from 173 sources across 31 African countries, comprising drug susceptibility test results and covariate data from publicly available databases. We used Bayesian model-based geostatistical framework with multivariate Bayesian logistic regression model to estimate DR-TB prevalence at lower administrative levels.ResultsWe estimated 148,239 DR-TB cases (95% Uncertainty Interval [UI]: 17,499- 313,683) in Africa, showing significant variation by country. Eswatini and South Africa had highest case numbers, while Algeria and Egypt had the lowest. The highest DR-TB prevalence was estimated in Eswatini (53.26; 95%UI 13.13-66.12), Morocco, Tunisia, and South Africa, while the lowest prevalence was found in Gabon, the Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, and Mali. Marked subnational variation in DR-TB prevalence was noted, where 91 subnational areas across 12 countries had prevalence rates higher than their respective national averages. Factors such as mean temperature (β=2.01; 95% CrI: 1.21, 3.42), population density (β=0.41; 95% CrI: 0.19, 0.95), and fine particulate matter (β=0.66; 95% CrI: 0.20, 0.80) were positively associated with DR-TB prevalence.ConclusionThe study highlights substantial national and subnational variability in DR-TB prevalence across Africa, aiding policymakers in designing localized TB control interventions
Psychological impact of an intensive care admission for COVID-19 on patients in the United Kingdom
No full textBACKGROUND: The psychological impact of surviving an admission to an intensive care unit (ICU) with COVID-19 is uncertain. The objective of the study was to assess the prevalence of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in ICU survivors treated for COVID-19 infection, and identify risk factors for psychological distress.METHODS: This observational study was conducted at 52 ICUs in the United Kingdom. Participants, treated for COVID-19 infection during an ICU admission of ⩾24 h, were recruited post-ICU discharge. Self-report questionnaires were completed at 3, 6 and/or 12 months. Symptoms of anxiety and depression were identified using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. PTSD was assessed using the Impact of Events Scale-6. Demographic, clinical, physical and psychosocial factors were considered as putative predictors of psychological distress.RESULTS: 1620 patients provided consent and 1258 (77.7%) responded to at least one questionnaire, with responses at 3 months (N = 426), 6 months (N = 656) and 12 months (N = 1050) following ICU admission. The following prevalence rates were found at 3, 6 and 12 months, respectively: anxiety in 28.8% (95% CI 24.6-33.1), 30.4% (95% CI 27.0-33.8) and 29.3% (95% CI 26.5-32.1); depression in 25.1% (21.0-29.3), 25.9% (22.7-29.3) and 24.0% (21.5-26.6); and PTSD in 43.5% (38.8-48.2), 44.3% (40.6-48.0) and 43.2% (40.2-46.1) of patients. Risk factors for psychological distress included a previous mental health diagnosis, unemployment or being on sick leave, and a history of asthma or COPD.CONCLUSION: Clinically significant symptoms of anxiety, depression and PTSD were common and persisted up to 12 months post-ICU discharge.</p
The antimicrobial activity and resistance evolution of nanomaterials: a review
No full textThe pervasive threat of microbial infections, compromising human health, compounded by the rising incidence of multidrug-resistant bacteria, has underscored the urgent need for the development of innovative antimicrobial strategies. Nanomaterials have garnered substantial attention as alternative antimicrobial materials, owing to their remarkable chemical and physical properties. Despite the prominent bactericidal activity of these nanomaterials, some studies have proposed otherwise, suggesting that certain nanomaterials can potentially trigger the evolution of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Therefore, it is urgent to elucidate the underlying mechanism governing the dual characteristics of antimicrobial nanomaterials. This Review commences by providing an overview of the antimicrobial properties of three distinct nanomaterials. Subsequently, it delves into the primary inactivation mechanisms and analyzes the physicochemical factors influencing their antimicrobial activity. Concurrently, the impact of molecular initiation events on AMR evolution via nanomicrobe interactions is systematically elucidated, enabling the proposal of four guiding design principles to mitigate AMR evolution
Transition from child to adult health services for young people with cerebral palsy in Ireland; implications from a mixed-methods study
No full textBACKGROUND: Poor transition from child- to adult-oriented healthcare may lead to negative outcomes and dissatisfaction with services in adulthood. The aim of the study was to examine how transition is provided to and experienced by young people with cerebral palsy in Ireland. This report provides integrated quantitative and qualitative findings and implications based on the totality of knowledge generated.METHODS: A convergent parallel mixed-methods study was conducted. Data were collected from people with cerebral palsy aged 16-22 years, parents, and health professionals using surveys and semi-structured interviews, which were both informed by a framework of nine key transition practices. Quantitative finding from the surveys and qualitative findings from interviews were integrated at the interpretation stage of the research using integration through joint displays. Implications were developed through discussions with health professionals, young people, and parents.RESULTS: Surveys were completed by 75 young people/parents and 108 health professionals. Interviews were conducted with 13 young people, 14 parents, and 27 health professionals. There was complementarity between quantitative and qualitative findings indicating lack of a named worker, limited information provision, insufficient self-management support, no opportunity to meet the adult team, limited contact with the general practitioner, and no opportunity for attending formal life skills training. There was dissonance between quantitative and qualitative findings regarding appropriate level of parental involvement. Quantitative findings identified limited promotion of health self-efficacy and a lack of senior managers responsible for transition. These practices were not described in the qualitative findings.CONCLUSION: Implications of integrated findings include the need for a standardised transition pathway, intentional actions to enable parents and young people to adapt to changing roles, provision of information in a collaborative and phased approach, a common understanding of self-management between young people, parents and health professionals, and the need to involve general practitioners in transition.</p
Developing Chinese college EFL teachers’ translation competence: an integrated instructional design
No full textSustainability, chemo-dynamics and remediation of climate-threatened soils in Barishal Division, Bangladesh
No full textThe implementation of compulsory relationships and sex education in English secondary schools: qualitative research in the 2022–23 school year
No full textThe quality of sex education varies. In England from 2020, the government attempted to improve provision by making lessons a statutory requirement. We assessed implementation in 25 secondary schools in 2022–23, framed by May’s general theory of implementation. This identifies processes of sense-making, cognitive participation, collective action and reflexive monitoring, influenced by an intervention’s capability, stakeholder potential (individual and collective commitment), and institutional capacity (norms, and material and cognitive resources). Interview data from staff leading relationships and sex education (RSE) were coded thematically informed by May’s concepts. Those leading implementation ‘made sense’ of statutory guidance, finding it relevant and clear. ‘Cognitive participation’ among participants was strong, promoted by individual support for RSE but undermined by social norms prioritising academic attainment, limited skills among non-specialist teachers, and lack of ‘collective commitment’ among some staff and students. ‘Collective action’ varied across schools, influenced by availability of material resources and specialist staff. Schools undertook internal the ‘reflexive monitoring’ of provision, supported by school leaders’ awareness work would be assessed by government inspectors. On its own, statutory status is likely insufficient to achieve a step-change in RSE implementation. Other forms of support may be needed including training and offering support to more specialist teachers.</p
The financialisation of contemporary urban planning policy discourse: insights into Serbian and Irish planning legislation
No full textWhile existing literature highlights the role of private real estate interests in shaping urban policy agendas, few studies have examined formal changes in planning legislation as a key site of influence. This paper investigates planning legislation reforms in Serbia and Ireland as illustrative cases of a broader trend of reducing investment risks and enhancing the financial viability of real estate development. Employing critical and context-sensitive narrative analysis of policy change, we present three key insights. First, we reveal how planning has been transformed into a tool for creating real estate assets driven primarily by financial considerations. Second, we demonstrate that public interest is often subordinated to private interests under a policy narrative dominated by financial sector logic and document how legislative and policy changes frequently introduce new barriers that restrict democratic engagement in planning policy formation. Third, we identify an increasing centralization in planning administrative structures, which undermines the principle of subsidiarity and provides opportunities for certain lobby groups to exert undue influence over policymakers. As the financial sector's influence on built environments grows globally, this study calls for more research into how real estate finance and planning systems affect each other, and how this plays out in practice.<br/
The Boy from the Sea
No full textTHE IRISH TIMES NO. 4 BESTSELLERA Sunday Times Best Book of 2025An Economist Best Book of 2025An Observer Best Debut of 2025Reviews and comments:Compulsive reading . . . Compassionate, lyrical and full of devilment -- Louise Kennedy, author of TrespassesWarm, funny, full of lightly worn wisdom and wit. In short, it is a joy . . . the power of Carr’s novel lies in the contrast between its warm hilarity and the cold truths those jokes contain . . . vivid, loving and genuinely funny ― The Sunday TimesA beautifully written, tragi-comic triumph ― Sunday IndependentA novel of heart-bumping power and sparkling vividness. This is a strange, beautiful, truly compelling triumph, a story about a very specific place that somehow comes to seem an everywhere and a people who feel familiar as faces in mirrors. A breathtaking achievement -- Joseph O'Connor, author of Star of the Sea and My Father's HouseA tremendous story about a family changed by the arrival of a strange boy, which feels like an instant classic. . . huge hearted, masterful. . . Told in a captivating communal voice like nothing I've ever read before . . . The Boy from the Sea is a dazzling exploration of the ties that make and bind us -- Lauren Brown, The Bookseller, Book of the MonthA ruefully funny portrait of a dysfunctional family in a struggling town, The Boy from the Sea rings painfully true. I was gripped -- Emma Donoghue, bestselling author of RoomBeautifully written - gorgeous modern folklore -- Sarah Moss, author of SummerwaterStunning ― Good HousekeepingOutstanding . . . one of those beautiful books that soothe the soul ― Prima MagazineThe Boy from the Sea is an utterly engrossing read. Atmospheric and incredibly moving, I was captivated by the trials and triumphs of the Bonnars. A bittersweet ballad of a novel I'll be thinking about for a very long time -- Jan Carson, author of The RapturesThe Boy from the Sea by Garrett Carr captures the changing feelings and textures of the latter decades of the twentieth century in Ireland more precisely than any other recent novel I could name. Its language and sensibility reflects the sly humour of its Donegal setting, and the reader is riveted by the heroic efforts of its characters to hold on to one another in the face of gale-force winds of historical change -- Niamh Mulvey, author of The AmendmentsAn original and rambunctious Irish seafaring novel that vividly portrays a community moving through changing times and tides―as lively a portrait as it is convincing. With a refreshing narrative approach, The Boy From the Sea excels in its clarity and particularity of voice -- Caoilinn Hughes, author of The AlternativesThe Boy from the Sea has that rare quality I often find myself searching for in a novel – narrative intimacy among the vastness of life. Garrett Carr is meticulous and precise in his writing – the skilled invisibility of a true craftsman -- Rónán Hession, author of Ghost MountainThe Boy from the Sea is a single-generation family saga as dazzlingly compact as it is comprehensively insightful, a love story in which the tenderness and forbearance are all the more moving for the eloquence with which the hardships and reticence are rendered. This is as impressively wise and idiosyncratic a novel as I’ve read in years -- Jim Shepard, author of The Book of AronA lyrical, beautifully written portrait of a place and its people ― Mail on SundayHypnotic . . . Carr has a terrific knack for detail, both poetic and quotidian . . . This is a surprising, tender and warm-hearted novel about a real place and real people: a gentle gift for spring ― The GuardianThe son of a Killybegs fisherman, Carr writes from knowledge and reflects with good humour on his characters' inability to understand themselves . . . plenty of emotion and feeling ― Daily MirrorCharming . . . humorous . . . a fresh perspective ― Financial TimesWry, observant, various and thoughtful, this novel does something only art can ― Irish TimesExpansive and intimate, funny and warm . . . it carries a cargo hold full of feeling beneath decks ― The HeraldBeautifully observed, funny and poignant. I didn't want it to ever end -- Jennie Godfrey, Sunday Times bestselling author of The List of Suspicious ThingsA delectably warm, communal voice through which the reader bears witness to one family’s most private moments ― The ObserverA mesmerising, meditative debut; reminiscent of John McGahern and Jon McGregor ― Irish IndependentThis stunning literary offering holds your heart in its hands from the first page to the last. Masterfully crafted, mischievous and moving ― The CourierCharming . . . a quiet meditation on how family, community and industry intertwine around the bountiful but perilous Atlantic . . . Carr’s biggest strength lies in capturing the fishbowl quality of small-town life ― The ListBeautiful, funny, utterly glorious -- Nina Stibbe, author of Love, NinaAbout the novel: 1973. In a close-knit community on Ireland’s west coast, a baby is found abandoned on the beach. Named Brendan by Ambrose Bonnar, the fisherman who adopts him, the baby captivates the town and the boy he grows to be will captivate them still – no one can quite fathom Brendan Bonnar.For Christine, Ambrose’s wife, Brendan brings both love and worry. For their existing son, his new brother’s arrival is the start of a life-long rivalry. And though Ambrose brings Brendan into his home out of love, it is a decision that will fracture his family and force this man – more comfortable at sea than on land – to try to understand himself and those he cares for.Told over two decades, Garrett Carr's The Boy from the Sea is a novel about a restless boy trying to find his place in the world and a family fighting to hold itself together. It is a story of ordinary lives made extraordinary, a drama about a community who can’t help but look to the boy from the sea for answers as they face the storm of a rapidly changing world.<br/