25507 research outputs found
Sort by
Referral to chronic pain management and physiotherapy services in adults with severe mental illness: a matched cohort study
Get PDFIntroduction
Chronic pain (CP) is common among people with severe mental illness (SMI). It remains unclear whether patients with comorbid CP and SMI receive equivalent pain management referrals compared to those with CP alone. This retrospective cohort study used linked primary and mental healthcare data to address this knowledge gap.
Methods
We identified patients aged ≥18 years with comorbid SMI and CP from secondary mental healthcare records, with the later of either diagnosis serving as the index date. Cases were matched 1:4 by age bands and gender to controls with CP but no SMI diagnosis. Co-primary outcomes were referrals to specialized pain treatment services and musculoskeletal physiotherapy. Cox regression models analyzed associations between SMI status and referral patterns, with sensitivity analyses stratifying follow-up into early (0–3.99 years), medium (4–7.99 years), and late (≥8 years) periods.
Results
The final sample included 1120 patients with CP and SMI and 2681 matched non-SMI controls. SMI diagnosis strongly predicted increased healthcare utilization in adjusted analyses, with significantly higher referral rates to pain treatments (HR = 13.2, 95 % CI 7.8–22.4, p < 0.001) and physiotherapy (HR = 11.5, 95 % CI 9.3–14.4, p < 0.001). The association between SMI and pain treatment referrals was strongest during the early post-diagnosis period (HR = 13.2, 95 % CI 6.6–26.4, p < 0.001).
Conclusion
Contrary to expectations, people with SMI and CP received more pain management referrals compared to matched controls, particularly in the early post-diagnosis period. These findings were restricted to those with a CP diagnosis already, and further research should investigate whether increased referrals translate to improved clinical outcomes
Understanding young consumers' motivations for purchasing plant-based burgers: insights from the means-end chain theory
Get PDFBy applying the means-end chains (MEC) theory, the purpose of this paper is to provide new insights related to the motivations behind consumer purchase intention of plant-based burgers (PBBs). We presented six pictures of PBBs showing the front and back of the product packages to 62 Italian burger consumers and asked them to rank their preferred product of purchase. This stage was followed by a soft laddering interviewing technique (“Why is this element important for you?") to elicit the most important attributes, consequences, and values associated with the selected product. Socio-demographic and attitudinal variables were asked to segment the sample into sub-groups. Our findings showed heterogeneity in the drivers leading consumers to purchase PBBs. Specifically, differences based on individual traits (gender and meat attachment level) and product characteristics (meat-like burgers vs. non-meat-like burgers) were identified. In addition, some similarities across consumer segments emerged, which confirm that both non-sensory attributes (e.g., nutritional information) and expected sensory characteristics (e.g., product appearance) are important elements to the market success of plant-based meat alternatives. Interestingly, environmental motives emerged only for specific consumer groups. Finally, to ensure the market success of PBBs, culinary professionals and marketing strategies should consider different consumer segments based on demographic and attitudinal variables to meet consumers’ specific needs. This study contributes to the literature on consumer motivation to include plant-based products by directly asking consumers to elicit the most important product attributes, consequences, and values linked to such products. Implications for the gastronomy sector and policymakers are provided
Nigeria offers free caesareans to save mothers’ lives – but it’s not enough
Get PDFNigeria’s government launched an initiative in 2024 offering free emergency caesarean sections to poor and vulnerable women, in a plan to bring down the high number of mothers dying in childbirth. Aduragbemi Banke-Thomas, a maternal and newborn health researcher, and Itohan Osayande, a teaching fellow in public health, discuss the initiative and how it can achieve its objectives
Using critical race theory to explore the potential of children's texts as counternarratives: inside the Gingerbread House
No full textThis chapter will provide an overview of the key tenets of critical race theory (CRT) and offer an insight into how the framework, which has its roots in the American legal system, has been applied to children’s literary criticism both in the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK). Within this, the tensions which arise from applying a critical lens that was primarily developed in and for a US context to the UK will be discussed. The author will then focus on how CRT can be employed as a lens for exploring the counternarrative potential of children’s books featuring characters from racially marginalised backgrounds. This will be done through a close critical reading of Rachel Isadora’s (2009) Hansel and Gretel, which depicts the characters of the story as Black, and is said to be set in Africa. Through applying the tenets of both CRT and critical literacy, these analyses will situate the primary text within the context in which it was created and in which they may be read. The text’s subversive potential will be interrogated through an exploration of markers which may differentiate narratives which undermine dominant, discriminatory portrayals of racially marginalised people from those which reinforce them. The chapter will conclude by considering implications for children’s literary criticism and classroom practice
Architecture for Warfare: How Corporations Profit From Destruction and Reconstruction
Get PDFSome of the largest architecture firms have effectively become war corporations. At the same time as designing Olympic parks and world-famous buildings, they have constructed military bases, maintained weaponry, and trained personnel for wars in which hundreds of thousands of people have been killed. In some conflicts, the same firms have been contracted from invasion to reconstruction, including facilitating military attacks, rebuilding war-damaged infrastructure, and establishing new governments. Architecture for Warfare tells the story of a form of multidisciplinary corporation that employs architects skilled in designing structures alongside former military personnel with experience handling live-fire weapons. It highlights the tensions and contradictions within these architecture-led firms that claim to make the world a better place. The book combines personal narrative with detailed research to reveal unsettling relations between design, planning, and armed conflict
Animating avatars for social good
No full textHow are animated digital identities, increasingly connected to real-time data, pushing forward connected access to our individual and group social needs as living beings? This panel focuses on a diverse range of digital bodies working across time and space, rapidly evolving and being adopted in a range of social need sectors, for example education, health, social connectivity and wellbeing
Structural and molecular differentiation of cultured human neurons is accompanied by alterations of spontaneous and evoked calcium dynamics
Get PDFDuring development, neuronal precursors transform from a pluripotent state into specialized neurons. While much research has been conducted into morphological and molecular changes, there is a pressing need to define accompanying functional alterations. We used immunofluorescence microscopy and live imaging in SH-SY5Y-derived human neurons to elucidate the relationship between structural and molecular differentiation with evoked and spontaneous Ca2+ dynamics. In the undifferentiated state expressing trace amounts of neuronal markers, SH-SY5Y cells maintain spontaneous high-amplitude slow Ca2+ oscillations, with their stimulation by carbochol activating low-amplitude Ca2+ transients. Driving SH-SY5Y cells into the 2CL state by retinoic acid facilitated the outgrowth of neurites and expression of neuron-specific proteins. These changes are accompanied by the abolition of Ca2+ oscillations. Differentiating SH-SY5Y cells into definitive neurons by a cocktail of retinoic acid and BDNF induced their polarization and enrichment with specific neuronal markers, accompanied by a resurgence of spontaneous Ca2+ oscillations but with faster kinetics. The carbachol-induced rise of Ca2+ in these cells showed a higher peak and biphasic decay. At all developmental stages, Ca2+ transients in response to ionomycin were indistinguishable. These findings lead us to conclude that a switch of Ca2+ dynamics accompanies structural and molecular differentiation of SH-SY5Y cell-derived human neurons, contributing to the developmental process
Quality by design (QbD) liposomes engineering using 3D printed Tesla microfluidic arrays
Get PDFMicrofluidic arrays have been successfully implemented for the design and development of liposome nanoparticles. In this study we have applied a Quality by Design (QbD) approach to investigate the effect of 3D printed Tesla microfluidic designs (direct and serpentine shape) on the liposome nanoparticles in comparison with conventional ultrasonication methodology. Critical processing parameters (CPP) such as the shape, length and channel width of the Tesla arrays were also studied. Furthermore, the effect of critical material attributes (CMA), including the length of the phosphatidylcholine (PC) carbon chain and the lipid:cholesterol ratio on the produced nanoparticles was investigated. The obtained findings revealed that both CPP and CMA play a key role in the formation of liposome nanoparticles. The liposome size was decreasing with a descending order for plain array > Tesla (serpentine) > Tesla (direct) > ultrasonication. However, improved Tesla arrays with narrow channel width (200 μm) produced the smallest liposome particle size (74 nm). The PC carbon chain length was critical for the obtained particle size where Lipoid S75 produced smaller nanoparticles when compared to Lipoid E80. The increase of cholesterol content resulted in liposome size reduction and decreased zeta-potential
Chapter 5. Ultra-processed foods and children’s diets in developing economies: the case of West Africa
No full textWest Africa is undergoing a rapid nutrition transition. While the prevalence of stunting among children under 5 years of age remains among the highest globally, overweight and obesity are increasing rapidly. Unhealthy diets are a key driver of this transition, fuelled by the widespread availability, affordability, convenience and aggressive marketing of ultra-processed foods (UPFs). This chapter examines the drivers and implications of UPF consumption for the nutrition, health and well-being of children and adolescents in West Africa. It uses a state-of-the-art review process, with focused analyses of Cabo Verde, Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal. UPFs permeate food environments in West Africa, shaping diets, especially among children and adolescents. In Nigeria, UPF sales doubled between 2010 and 2025, increasing from 2.9 to 5.9 billion kilograms of product and from US5.2 billion in sales. By 2024, national soft drinks intake in Nigeria had risen to 53 billion litres of non-alcoholic beverages, including 3.4 billion litres of sodas. In Ghana, per capita consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) was estimated at US$66.5 in 2023, and supermarkets devoted substantially more shelf-space to unhealthy products than to healthy foods, at a ratio of 6:1. In Senegal, consumption of SSB is rising, and 86.6 per cent of households in Dakar use bouillon cubes, which are typically high in salt and contain artificial additives. Early socialization to UPFs, reinforced by marketing and economic incentives, steers consumers towards these products. Global evidence indicates that healthy food environment policies can reduce UPF consumption. Despite data gaps, converging signals – including rapid UPF penetration and powerful marketing – justify the urgency of precautionary, adaptive policies. Regional harmonization of food standards and policies – including marketing, labelling, fiscal policies and school food measures – via the West African Economic and Monetary Union, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the West Africa Health Organization, can limit regulatory loopholes and improve efficiency
Surfactant‐modified progesterone‐loaded PVP/cellulose fibres for future drug delivery applications in menopause
Get PDFMenopause often results in symptoms that impact physical and mental well‐being, and hormone replacement therapy (HRT) using progesterone (PGS) is a common treatment. This study explores PGS‐loaded transdermal cellulose‐based binary fibres as a potential adjunct for oestrogen in HRT. Using ethyl cellulose (EC) and cellulose acetate (CA) bound with Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), the release of PGS is studied via a Franz Diffusion Cell system. Various analyses, including rheology, SEM, FTIR, in vitro drug release, and mathematical modelling, are conducted. SEM revealed that CA fibres are thinner than EC fibres, and FTIR showed more uniform PGS distribution in CA fibres. In vitro drug release tests indicated 400–600 µg of PGS is released from 11.9 mg fibre patches into 5mL PBS within 70 min, demonstrating effective drug penetration. Adding Polysorbate 80 (PS80) significantly increased PGS release. The Makoid‐Banakar model best suited EC fibres, while both the Makoid‐Banakar and Peppas Sahlin models fit CA fibres. These findings suggest that the fibrous patches offer a convenient, minimally invasive, and personalised method for delivering precise PGS doses in HRT. The study sets a strong foundation for further in vivo and cytotoxicity testing to validate the clinical effectiveness and safety of these patches in alleviating menopausal symptoms
Access Repository Dashboard
Do you manage Open Research Online? Become a CORE Member to access insider analytics, issue reports and manage access to outputs from your repository in the CORE Repository Dashboard! 👇