151398 research outputs found
Sort by
A scoping review of the psychosocial challenges of pancreatic cancer on family caregivers
No full textObjectives/ PurposeFamily caregivers are essential members of the care team of someone with pancreatic cancer. Family caregivers often experience substantial psychosocial impact due to the short life expectancy and rapid deterioration associated with pancreatic cancer. Therefore, this scoping review aimed to identify and synthesise existing literature on the psychosocial challenges of pancreatic cancer on family caregivers across the disease trajectory.Sample and SettingThe review included 42 studies: 22 qualitative, 15 quantitative, and 5 mixed methods. These were published between 2001 and 2024, across 11 different countries. Participants of included studies were family caregivers of individuals diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, no restrictions were placed on disease stage, or study setting.ProceduresA Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) mixed methods scoping review was conducted across four databases in March 2024, updated in November 2024, and reported in line with the PRISMA-ScR checklist. Data extraction and synthesis was guided by ‘The Cancer Family Caregiving Experience’ model (Fletcher et al., 2012) to map findings to key constructs such as primary and secondary stressors, appraisal, cognitive behavioural responses, and health and wellbeing outcomes.ResultsFamily caregivers of people with pancreatic cancer experienced substantial psychosocial challenges including distress related to caregiving responsibility, disruptions in daily life and relationships and high levels of unmet need. Compared to caregivers of other cancer types, this population reported poorer quality of life and an increased risk of various psychiatric disorders. A persistent lack of support was a recurring theme, exacerbating the psychosocial challenges faced. ConclusionPancreatic cancer caregivers face considerable psychosocial challenges compared to other cancer caregivers, exacerbated by the rapid progression and poor prognosis of the disease. Feelings of a lack of support reflected throughout the literature emphasises the need for future research into how this population may be best supported to minimise the psychosocial challenges they face.Fletcher, B. S., Miaskowski, C., Given, B., & Schumacher, K. (2012). The cancer family caregiving experience: an updated and expanded conceptual model. European Journal of Oncology Nursing, 16(4), 387-398
A novel salicylaldehyde dehydrogenase from alpine soil metagenome reveals a unique catalytic mechanism
No full textMetagenomic approaches have revolutionised the discovery of novel enzymes with ecological and biotechnological significance from different environments. Here, we report the comprehensive characterisation of a novel salicylaldehyde dehydrogenase (SALDAP) obtained from an alpine soil metagenome. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that SALDAP is the first experimentally characterised Alphaproteobacterial SALD, forming a distinct evolutionary clade among known bacterial enzymes. The recombinant enzyme exhibited strict specificity for NAD⁺ and exceptional catalytic efficiency toward aromatic aldehydes, with benzaldehyde as the preferred substrate. Kinetic analyses showed catalytic efficiencies exceeding 10⁶ M⁻¹ s⁻¹ for aromatics, whereas aliphatics were oxidised with much lower efficiency, consistent with ecological specialisation for aromatic catabolism in alpine soils enriched in lignin-derived compounds. SALDAP was most active under mildly alkaline conditions (optimum pH 8.0) and tolerated a range of chemical environments, though high concentrations of certain metals and solvents were inhibitory. Differential scanning fluorimetry demonstrated that the enzyme was stabilised by ligand binding, with maximal thermal stability observed when both substrate and cofactor were present. Structural alignment with Pseudomonas NahF and docking analyses revealed that SALDAP employs a distinctive catalytic configuration involving ASN-137, ARG-145, GLU-238, and CYS-272, highlighting a non-canonical role for ASN-137 in substrate binding and stabilisation. Based on these findings, we propose a mechanistic model for SALDAP that expands the catalytic diversity of the aldehyde dehydrogenase superfamily. This study establishes a new paradigm for aromatic aldehyde oxidation, underscores the ecological significance of SALDAP in alpine soil microbiomes, and provides a foundation for engineering novel biocatalysts for bioremediation and synthetic biology applications.<br/
Financial rewards for smoking cessation during pregnancy and birth weight: a meta-analysis
No full textImportance Offering pregnant women financial rewards to stop smoking is associated with a more than 2-fold increase in smoking cessation and is cost-effective; however, it is possible that the association is the result of gaming of the outcome measure (eg, not smoking for 24 hours before outcome measurement using a carbon monoxide breath test). Birth weight is an outcome measure that is independent of the rewards process.Objective To examine birth weight change associated with offering financial rewards for smoking cessation to pregnant women, and to estimate the average expected birth weight change for neonates born to those who quit smoking because of the rewards.Data Sources Medline, American Psychological Association PsycInfo, Embase, Cochrane (the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, the Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group Specialized Register, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews), and PubMed were searched from their inception until December 5, 2023, for published reports of trials of incentives for abstinence from substance use among pregnant women.Study Selection Only trials using an experimental design allowing treatment effects to be attributed to the reward intervention were included. For this review update, potentially relevant studies retrieved were screened by a reviewer.Data Extraction and Synthesis Data were pooled using both fixed-effects and random-effects models. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guideline was followed.Main Outcomes and Measures The primary outcomes were mean (SD) birth weight, birth weight for gestational age z score, and numbers of newborns with low birth weight (<2.5 kg) and who were small for gestational age (<10th percentile).Results Fixed-effects intention-to-treat analysis including 8 trials (2351 participants)—2 trials from the UK (1475 participants), 1 trial from France (407 participants), and 5 trials from the US (469 participants)—estimated a statistically significant mean 46.30 g (95% CI, 0.05 to 92.60 g) birth weight increase associated with adding financial rewards for smoking cessation. Complier average causal effects analysis (2239 participants) estimated a mean 206.00 g (95% CI, −69.12 to 481.14 g) increase for neonates born to smokers who quit because of rewards, but the increase was not statistically significant. There was no association with low birth weight or birth weight adjusted for gestational age, although fewer neonates were born small for gestational age, particularly if cessation was associated with rewards (complier average causal effects risk difference −17.70%; 95% CI, −34.90% to −0.42%).Conclusions and Relevance In this meta-analysis, neonates were significantly heavier when pregnant women were offered the addition of financial rewards contingent on smoking cessation, supporting the effectiveness and, therefore, cost-effectiveness of financial rewards in this health care setting
From workplace‐based to work‐related violence: reframing hrm research and practice in the era of growing tensions
No full textViolence at work has traditionally been conceptualized in human resource management (HRM) as workplace‐based violence—an episodic, interpersonal issue occurring within bounded organizational settings. This perspective article adopts the term work‐related violence as a more expansive and timely framing, encompassing physical, psychological, and symbolic harm related to work but occurring across dispersed geographies, identities, relationships, and organizational arrangements. It contends that prevailing HRM frameworks remain ill‐equipped to address these fragmented and often unacknowledged harms, particularly as work becomes increasingly hybrid, precarious, and digitally mediated. Drawing on interdisciplinary scholarship, we advance a multilevel and multistakeholder analytical framework that theorizes violence as relational and spatially unbounded, embedded across micro (identity and employees' lived experience, and psychological factors), meso (organizational culture, HRM systems and silencing mechanisms), and macro (regulatory, ideological, and institutional) levels. The framework further identifies underexplored domains of violence within HRM, including employee‐perpetrated violence, ideologically motivated aggression, and the critical role of community‐based interventions in mitigating harm. In doing so, the article contributes to HRM theory by problematizing the spatial and behavioral assumptions underpinning conventional approaches to workplace violence. We argue for a broadened research and practice agenda that expands the field's analytical and operational capacity, calling for the development of HRM models that are structurally, institutionally, and ideologically attuned to violence emerging from inequality, institutional complicity, and the broader political economies of contemporary work
A compact four-element multiple-input multiple-output array with an integrated frequency selective surface for millimeter-wave applications
No full textA compact fork-shaped four-element multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna system with wide bandwidth for 5G millimeter-wave (mmWave) applications is presented. The antenna elements are arranged orthogonally to achieve a compact footprint of 20×26mm2. To enhance the gain, a frequency selective surface (FSS) is placed above the MIMO system, providing an average gain improvement of 1.5 dB across the entire operating band and achieving a peak gain of 7.5 dB at 41 GHz. The proposed design operates in the Ka-band (22–46 GHz), making it well suited for 5G communications. The antenna exhibits an isolation greater than 20 dB and radiation efficiency exceeding 80% across the band. Moreover, key MIMO performance metrics, including diversity gain (DG ≈ 10) and envelope correlation coefficient (ECC < 0.05), meet the required standards. A prototype of the proposed system was fabricated and measured, with the experimental results showing good agreement with simulations
Las conflictivas historias de los médicos israelíes que trataron a prisioneros palestinos en el campo de detención Sde Teiman
No full textAn immunoregulatory amphipathic peptide derived from Fasciola hepatica helminth defense molecule (FhHDM-1.C2) exhibits potent biotherapeutic activity in a murine model of multiple sclerosis
No full textThe helminth defense molecules (HDM) are a family of immune regulatory peptides exclusively expressed by trematode worms. We have previously demonstrated that in vivo FhHDM‐1, the archetypal member of the HDMs, regulated macrophage responses to inflammatory ligands, thereby ameliorating the progression of immune‐mediated tissue damage in several murine models of inflammatory disease. Accordingly, we postulated that an understanding of the structure–function relationship of the HDMs would facilitate the identification of the minimal bioactive peptide, which would represent a more synthesizable, cost‐effective, potent biotherapeutic. Thus, using a combination of bioinformatics, structural analyses, and cellular assays we discovered a 40 amino acid peptide derivative termed FhHDM‐1.C2. This peptide contains a 12 amino acid motif at its N‐terminus, which facilitates cellular interaction and uptake, and an amphipathic α‐helix within the C‐terminus, which is necessary for lysosomal vATPase inhibitory activity, with both regions linked by a short unstructured segment. The FhHDM‐1.C2 peptide exhibits enhanced regulation of macrophage function, compared with the full‐length FhHDM‐1, and potent prevention of the progression of relapsing–remitting‐experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) when administered prophylactically or therapeutically. The protective effect of FhHDM‐1.C2 is not associated with global immune suppression, which places the HDMs peptides as an improved class of biotherapeutics for the treatment of inflammatory diseases. Comparing the HDMs from several zoonotic trematodes revealed a similar capacity for immune regulation. These important new advances into the structure–function relationship of the lead HDM peptide, FhHDM‐1, encourage further prospecting and screening of the broader trematode family of peptides for the discovery of novel and potent immune‐biotherapeutics
Dataset for "Direct Thermal Imaging of Domain Wall Hot Spots in LiNbO3"
No full textThis is the dataset associated with the publication: Lindsey R Lynch et al. "Direct Thermal Imaging of Domain Wall Hot Spots in LiNbO3" Small, e08603, 2025 (https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202508603). The data files are the raw and processed outputs of Scanning Thermal Microscopy measurements used to plot the spatial maps of temperature in Figure 2,3 and 4 of the main manuscript. The files are .ibw format (a proprietary format used by Wave Metric Igor Pro software for storing scanning probe microscopy data). The file are also supplied in plain text .txt format. Abstract Ferroelectric domain wall devices offer a promising route to low voltage, reconfigurable nanoelectronics by confining currents to nanoscale conducting interfaces within an insulating bulk. However, the potential for resistive heating and unregulated temperature increases due to domain wall conduction remains unexplored. Here, we employ scanning thermal microscopy to directly image hot spots in thin-film lithium niobate domain wall devices. Piezoresponse force microscopy shows that the hot spots correlate with nanodomain structure and thermal mapping reveals surface temperature rises of ~ 20 K at most, levels that are unlikely to negatively affect device performance. This is due to the moderate electrical conductivity of domain walls, their voltage-tunable erasure, and distributed current pathways, which inherently limit power dissipation and peak temperatures. Finite element electrothermal modelling indicates that domain walls behave as pseudo-planar heat sources, distinct from the filament-based heating typically observed in resistive switching oxides. These findings highlight the potential for domain wall devices as an energy-efficient, thermally stable platform for emerging memory and logic applications
Relationship of perinatal outcomes to the competence and quantity of contact with community health workers
No full textBackground The effectiveness of perinatal home visits by community health workers (CHWs) often diminishes when large regional or national programmes are implemented. To address this gap, we aimed to identify which CHW behaviours influence maternal and child outcomes.Methods We randomised all government-funded CHWs at eight deeply rural clinics (n=43) by clinic to usual care, which consisted of home visits (control group; four clinics, 23 CHWs, 392 mothers), or to home visiting, which included improved monitoring and supervision (intervention group; four clinics, 20 CHWs, 423 mothers). Since fewer than 7% of CHWs in the control group ever implemented home visits and no data was available on the frequency of visits, we focussed on the CHWs in the intervention group. We monitored the number and timing of home visits over time and documented it by paper and mobile phone records. Supervisors who conducted at-home observations of visits completed competency ratings on each CHW. We evaluated the associations between the competency of the CHW and the number and timing of CHWs’ visits with 13 maternal/child outcomes using multiple regression analyses. Results Consistent home visits by CHWs reached the threshold at about 9–12 months, with the frequency reducing because of COVID-19. There were two significant outcomes (antiretroviral therapy adherence and securing the child grant) associated with the number of home visits in the intervention group, but insufficient to demonstrate efficacy. The CHW competency was unrelated to any maternal/child outcome. Moreover, CHWs visited 7% of mothers during the first two days of their infants’ lives, 26% during the first week, 57% within the first month, and 90% by the first three months of life. Conclusions Current standards for training and monitoring of paraprofessional home visitors are highly unrealistic. Substantial and ongoing investments are needed for visits to occur consistently over time. However, hiring and selection criteria are likely as important as training and monitoring. CHW programmes must be embedded in organisational contexts that are well functioning and have management and support structures that are operational to ensure their success.<p/
Investigative approaches to resilient emotion regulation neurodevelopment in a South African birth cohort
No full textUnderstanding the neurobiology of resilient emotion regulation following adversities is critical for addressing mental health problems globally. However, the functional neurobiology of resilience has rarely been studied in low- and middle-income countries, which comprise 90% of the world's population and experience more consistent adversities. Here, we describe how we are investigating the neurodevelopment of resilient emotion regulation in adolescents (anticipated N = 525) from a South African birth cohort recruited from a low-income, high-adversity township. Across 2 longitudinal time points (13–14 and 15–16 years), magnetic resonance imaging, behavior, and self-report measures from adolescents and their caregivers are collected. These data are complemented by existing developmental histories (from the prenatal period to 8 years). The culturally adapted measures, protocols, and analytic plans for investigating resilient emotion regulation are presented. By characterizing neurodevelopmental correlates of adolescent resilience from an understudied low- and middle-income country, this research will provide deeper insights into mental health globally.</p