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Pharmacists’ Perspectives on Deprescribing Psychotropic Medicines in People with Intellectual Disabilities
Get PDFIntroduction Psychotropic medicines are sometimes inappropriately prescribed for individuals with intellectual disabilities without a clinical diagnosis of a mental illness, increasing risks of side effects and poor physical health. This study aims to understand how attitudes, training, experience, and work settings are associated with pharmacist confidence in deprescribing psychotropic medicines and to identify enablers and barriers to the psychotropic deprescribing process in people with intellectual disabilities. Methods An online survey collected data from 64 pharmacists who reviewed psychotropic medication for individuals with intellectual disabilities between July and December 2022. Linear regression examined the relationship between pharmacist confidence and chosen predictors of attitudes, non medical prescriber status, and working in primary or secondary care. Content analysis applied to free-text data identified enablers and barriers of the psychotropic deprescribing process. Results Positive attitudes and working in secondary care were associated with greater deprescribing confidence. Enablers included stakeholder support, good communication, specialist interventions, education, and regular medication reviews. Barriers were lack of support, resources and education, poor communication, and fear of negative consequences. Conclusion Pharmacists’ positive attitudes towards deprescribing were associated with increased confidence. Successfully deprescribing psychotropic medications, while aiming to improve health outcomes, requires the active support and collaboration of all stakeholders. This support is important as deprescribing interventions may carry potential risks such as discontinuation symptoms and the return of previously managed symptoms
From science management to innovation management: New forms of science-industry relations and knowledge transfer
Get PDFThere is a long tradition of research on university-industry collaboration, but recent developments—including expanded academic engagement, the rise of new intermediaries and platforms for science-industry engagement, the revitalization of corporate science, and the development of mission-oriented research policies—call for fresh investigation. These changes have raised new questions about ways to align diverse knowledge transfer practices, foster meaningful collaboration, and support evolving academic engagement and corporate science practices. The papers included in this Special Issue examine science-industry relations at three levels. At the micro level, they look at how individual motivations, identities, and engagement practices shape knowledge exchange and research productivity. At the meso level, they explore organizational structures, strategic intent, and governance mechanisms that enhance scientific development and innovation. And at the macro level, they investigate ecosystem-wide dynamics, including intermediaries, living labs, and broader policy landscapes that foster interdisciplinary co-creation and legitimacy-building. Together, these perspectives underscore the transformative potential of science-industry collaboration while illustrating the inherent complexities of the process. Reflecting on these insights, this Special Issue proposes an agenda for expanding methodological approaches, contextualizing research across diverse settings, developing novel theoretical anchors, and addressing Grand Challenges through more integrated and inclusive collaborations
Parental use of structure-based and autonomy support feeding practices with children with avid eating behaviour: an Ecological Momentary Assessment study
Get PDFBackground Avid eating is an eating profile which confers greater risk for childhood obesity and can be challenging for parents to manage. Using Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA), we have previously shown that parental mood, feeding goals, and eating context determine parents’ use of coercive and indulgent feeding practices. Parents have also reported using specific noncoercive practices which provide structure (e.g., modelling) or autonomy support (e.g., nutrition education) when feeding children with avid eating behaviour more effectively. However, research is yet to examine the momentary predictors of these adaptive feeding practices. Method This EMA study aimed to examine parental mood, goals, and context as momentary predictors of parents’ use of noncoercive feeding practices during daily feeding interactions with preschool children (3–5-years-old) with an avid eating profile. Parents (N = 109; females n = 85) completed a 10-day EMA period which assessed momentary mood, feeding goals, feeding practices, and contextual factors. Results Parents were more likely to use structure-based feeding practices when feeding goals were health-related, the atmosphere was positive or neutral, or when parents initiated eating occasions. Parents were also more likely to use autonomy support feeding practices when their feeding goals were health-related or when parents initiated eating occasions. Encouraging children to eat or negotiating with children about how much or what food to eat was significantly associated with a negative atmosphere during eating occasions. Conclusions Together, our findings show that parental mood, feeding goals and context are momentary predictors of parents’ use of noncoercive feeding practices to manage children’s avid eating behaviour. Further work is needed to examine whether supporting parents to prioritise health-related goals at mealtimes increases the use of adaptive, noncoercive feeding practices
Correlating aggregate kinematics and void volume variation through SmartRock for digital twin monitoring of asphalt concrete compaction
No full textThe development of Digital Twin (DT) technology has facilitated the digital construction of road engineering. The formation of asphalt concrete strength results from a reduction in void volume fraction (VVF) and rearrangement of coarse aggregates under external loads. Investigating the relationship between these two is critical for exploring the intrinsic mechanisms of compaction and achieving DT construction for asphalt concrete compaction. By utilizing Computed Tomography (CT) technology and SmartRock, this study obtains the phased changes in the VVF of specimens and continuous kinematic response of coarse aggregates during compaction. Then, an asphalt concrete compaction DT model combining machine learning (ML) and SmartRock has been established. The results indicate that the reduction in void volume of asphalt concrete limits aggregate motion, and angle change rate (ACR) in the X and Y directions is highly correlated with the void volume change rate (VVCR) of asphalt concrete during compaction. By inputting the angle change signal of SmartRock into the established DT model, the compaction process monitoring and prediction in real time could be realized. It indicates the feasibility of constructing a DT model for asphalt concrete compaction by integrating ML with SmartRock, which can provide robust and enabling technical support for the construction of DT highways
Humiliation and perceived power loss as drivers of radicalisation vulnerability in Northwestern Europe
Get PDFThis study explores the relationships between humiliation, perceived power loss, discrimination, and vulnerability to radicalisation across Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, and the United Kingdom. Analysing survey data from 5,501 respondents, we developed a measure of radicalisation vulnerability that captures both general vulnerability factors and specific ideological orientations. Muslims and ethnic minorities were marginally more likely to experience humiliation than ethnic majorities, though this relationship varied by national context. A strong positive association was found between perceived ethnic power loss and radicalisation vulnerability, with higher perceived power loss linked to increased vulnerability. While humiliation positively correlated with discrimination, our analysis distinguished between discrete discrimination experiences and broader perceptions of ethnic power loss, suggesting distinct pathways to radicalisation vulnerability. Notably, humiliation mediated the relationship between Muslim or foreign-born status and radicalisation vulnerability, suggesting that addressing humiliation may be more effective than targeting specific demographic groups or ideologies. Cross-national comparisons revealed significant differences in radicalisation vulnerability, with the Netherlands showing the highest mean score and Denmark the lowest. These findings highlight the role of the national context in radicalisation processes and emphasise the need for culturally informed, holistic prevention strategies that address underlying psychological and social factors, particularly humiliation and perceived power loss
Association between atopic disorders and mental ill health: a UK-based retrospective cohort study
Get PDFObjective To examine the mental ill health burden associated with allergic and atopic disorders, in a UK primary care cohort. Design Population-based retrospective open cohort study. Setting United Kingdom. Participants 2 491 086 individuals with primary-care recorded atopic disorder (food allergy, drug allergy, anaphylaxis, urticaria, allergic rhino-conjunctivitis) diagnosis were matched by sex, age (± 2 years), and socio-economic deprivation (Townsend quintile score) at index to 3 120 719 unexposed individuals. The mean age of exposed patients at cohort entry was 39.42 years (SD (SD) 23.65) compared with 35.81 years (SD 22.17) for unexposed patients. Main outcome measures The primary outcome was a composite of mental ill health (severe mental illness, anxiety, depression, eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and self-harm), identified using Read codes. Cox regression was used to estimate adjusted hazard ratios with 95% confidence intervals for the composite mental ill health outcome and each of the individual mental health disorders. Covariates adjusted for were age, sex, alcohol use, smoking status, body mass index (BMI), Townsend deprivation quintile score, asthma exposure, and eczema exposure at baseline. Results Between first January 1995 to 31st January 2022, a total of 2 491 086 eligible individuals were identified with a primary care recorded diagnosis of atopic disease and were matched to 3 120 719 unexposed individuals. 229 124 exposed individuals developed a mental ill health outcome during the study period (incidence ratio (IR) 144.13 per 10 000 person-years) compared with 203 450 in the unexposed group (IR 117.82 per 10 000 person-years). This translated to an adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) of 1.16 (95% CI 1.15 to 1.17). Notably, the risk of anxiety was greatest, aHR 1.22 (95% CI 1.21 to 1.23). Our findings were robust to a sensitivity analysis, where individuals were also matched for asthma and eczema. Conclusion There is an increased risk of mental ill health disorders among patients with diagnosis of an allergic and atopic disorders. There is a need to consider dual delivery of allergy and psychology services to optimise mental well-being among this cohort
Brillouin-induced Kerr frequency comb in normal dispersion fiber Fabry Perot resonators
Get PDFWe report the generation of a stable, broadband frequency comb, covering more than 10 THz, using a dispersion fiber Fabry-Perot resonator with a high quality factor of 69 millions. This platform ensures robust and easy integration into photonic devices via FC/PC connectors, and feature quality factors comparable to those of microresonators. We demonstrate a passive mode-locking phenomenon induced by the coherent interaction of the Kerr effect and Brillouin scattering, which generates a frequency comb with a repetition rate exceeding the free spectral range of the cavity. This parametric process modulates the continuous wave (CW) pump and can then be transformed into a train of almost square-wave pulses thanks to the generation of switching waves. Our results are supported by advanced numerical simulations, and theoretical derivations that include the Brillouin effect in the Fabry-Perot configuration. The very high stable feature of this optical frequency comb lying in the GHz range is critical to several applications ranging from telecommunication, spectroscopy and advanced microwave generation
New venture creation: innovativeness, speed‑to‑breakeven, and revenue tradeoffs
Get PDFWe present a Schumpeterian model of new venture creation, under uncertainty, which explains the tradeoff between speed-to-breakeven and revenue-at-breakeven and relates this to the level of innovation. We then explore the tradeoffs between these outcomes empirically in a sample of 331 information and communication technology (ICT) ventures using a multi-input, multioutput stochastic frontier model. We estimate the contribution of financial capital and labor to the outcomes and the tradeoffs between them, as well as address heterogeneity across ventures. We find that more innovative (and therefore more uncertain) ventures have lower speed-to-breakeven and/or lower revenue-at-breakeven. Moreover, for all innovativeness levels, new ventures face a tradeoff between speed-to-breakeven and revenue-at-breakeven. Our results suggest that it is the availability of proprietary resources (founder equity and founder labor) that helps ventures overcome bottlenecks in the venture creation process, and we propose a line of research to explain the variation in venture creation efficiency
Engineering Protein–Peptide Interfaces via Combinatorial Mutagenesis and Mass Photometric Screening
Get PDFThe SpyTag–SpyCatcher system, developed by the Howarth lab, is based on splitting the CnaB2 domain from Streptococcus pyogenes into two parts: a 13-amino-acid SpyTag and a 116-amino-acid SpyCatcher. Upon incubation, they spontaneously form a covalent isopeptide bond between Asp7 (SpyTag) and Lys31 (SpyCatcher). This study explores whether the interaction specificity can be modulated by altering hydrophobic residues within the SpyCatcher binding pocket and corresponding SpyTag positions, potentially to create orthogonal SpyTag–SpyCatcher pairs. Libraries of SpyCatcher and SpyTag were created by partial saturation mutagenesis using overlap PCR and MAX randomisation, respectively. To assess the specificity of the SpyCatcher–SpyTag interaction within the resulting protein mixtures, a novel screening strategy based on mass photometry was developed to detect isopeptide bond formation. We demonstrate tolerance to mutation in the hydrophobic binding pocket of SpyCatcher in terms of binding native SpyTag and demonstrate what to our knowledge constitutes the first example of using mass photometry to examine the interactions of small libraries of proteins with a given ligand. Mass photometry detects stable interactions whether covalent or not and so this study suggests the prospect of employing mass photometry for more general application in protein engineering
Echoes of Fascism?:Social Exclusion and Radicalisation among Muslim Minorities and Ethnic Majorities in Northwestern Europe
Get PDFThis paper examines how social exclusion and relative deprivation foster extremist ideologies among Muslim minorities and ethnic majorities in four Northwestern European countries and to what extent theories of fascism can help to unravel these contemporary trends. We identify three key findings based on extensive interview data from the DRIVE project. First, minority and majority participants express ideological positions sharing structural similarities with historical fascism, including perceptions of cultural threat, economic grievances, and desires for societal transformation. Second, these elements manifest distinctly: for ethnic majorities as nativist sentiments and calls for cultural homogeneity, and for Muslim minorities as totalising religious-political worldviews rejecting liberal pluralism. Third, social exclusion creates ‘cognitive openings’ for extremist narratives in both populations, but through different pathways: majorities through perceived cultural threats and economic insecurity, minorities through discrimination and cultural alienation. Here, we see critical divergences from theories of fascism, with minorities facing different processes as the result of exclusion from majority society. Ultimately, use of such theories has notable limitations, but helps to track different patterns of social exclusion and the normalisation of exclusionary ideologies. Our analysis bridges fascism studies and radicalisation research while highlighting the increasing significance of relative deprivation in driving contemporary patterns of extremism
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