19683 research outputs found
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Sequential mediation analysis of physical activity, healthy diet, BMI, and academic burnout in the Pakistani educational landscape
No full textResearch has indicated a negative impact of physical activity on academic burnout among students, however, there is a paucity of evidence about the underlying mechanism of this association in Pakistani students. The present research seeks to investigate the relationship between physical activity and academic burnout by investigating the potential mediating effects of adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MD) and body mass index (BMI). A sample of 596 students using a cross-sectional survey design was gathered from two public universities (Riphah International University and Mohammed Ali Jinnah University) in Rawalpindi, Pakistan from June to July 2022. The study participants were asked to fill out the Physical Activity Rating Scale-3, the Learning Burnout Scale, and the Test of Adherence to MD questionnaires. The study employed descriptive, bivariate, and path analysis through regression utilizing the SPSS software version 27. The findings demonstrated a negative correlation between academic burnout and BMI, physical activity, and adherence to the MD. The relationship between physical activity and academic burnout was mediated by BMI. Physical activity and academic burnout were inversely correlated, with adherence to the MD and BMI interacting as sequential mediators. The outcomes of this research have expanded our knowledge of the association between physical activity and academic burnout and have suggested crucial and appropriate strategies for addressing student academic burnout
Cancer-related cognitive impairment and wellbeing in patients with newly diagnosed aggressive lymphoma compared to population norms and healthy controls: an exploratory study
No full textPurpose: There has been little dedicated research on cancer-related cognitive impairment in patients with aggressive lymphoma. We describe and compare patients’ cognitive function with that of healthy controls and patients’ wellbeing and distress with general population values. We also explore associations between patients’ neuropsychological test performance and self-reported cognitive function and distress. Methods: Secondary analysis of data from a feasibility study of 30 patients with newly diagnosed aggressive lymphoma and 72 healthy controls. Patients completed neuropsychological tests and self-report measures before and 6–8 weeks after chemotherapy. Healthy controls completed neuropsychological tests and the FACT-Cog at enrolment and 6 months later. Mixed models were used to analyze neuropsychological test and FACT-Cog scores. One-sample t-tests were used to compare patients’ self-reported wellbeing and distress with population norms. Associations were explored with Kendall’s Tau b. Results: Patients and healthy controls were well matched on socio-demographics. Differences between neuropsychological test scores were mostly large-sized; on average, patients’ scores on measures of information processing speed, executive function, and learning and memory were worse both before and after chemotherapy (all p ≤ 0.003). The same pattern was observed for impact of perceived cognitive impairment on quality-of-life (both p 0.10). Conclusion: For many patients with aggressive lymphoma, impaired neuropsychological test performance and impact of perceived impairments on quality-of-life precede chemotherapy and are sustained after chemotherapy. Findings support the need for large-scale longitudinal studies with this population to better understand targets for interventions to address cognitive impairments
Finding Harmony between Decolonization and Christianity in Academia
No full textThis article presents our theoretical musings on practicing decolonization as Christian Tongan academics, recorded and shared within our Australian collective during 2022-2023. We aim to discuss the strength and power that comes from our Indigenous inheritance of God and Tonga, living in diaspora of Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand (tu'a Tonga). Amidst this Indigenous strength, there are also subtleties and crescendos of coloniality taking place in and around us, as well as the complexities and vulnerabilities with which Tongan Christian academics grapple in their sense making and meaning making processes. The significance of this discussion is that Oceanian women’s opinions and experiences of decoloniality are not often considered, particularly within the contexts of academia. We pray this article offers insights into how we can successfully navigate simultaneous private, public, individual, and collective journeys, daily, as Christian academics in the decolonization of these various spaces. This is our contribution as Christian academics, as daughters of Tonga, and wives and mothers of Oceania.</p
Implementing Good Life with osteoArthritis from Denmark (GLA:D®) in Australian public hospitals. Part 2: service providers’ perceptions
No full textBackground: Previous literature has reported the successful implementation of the Good Life with osteoArthritis in Denmark (GLA:D®) program into predominantly private practice settings. There may be unique challenges present within the public hospital setting that influence GLA:D® implementation in public health. Objective: Explore the attitudes and experiences of service providers directly involved in implementing GLA:D® in Australian public tertiary hospitals. Design: Qualitative descriptive study design. Method: Service providers (n = 14) from three participating hospitals took part in semi-structured focus groups at the completion of the 6-month implementation period. Inductive thematic analysis was employed to identify primary domains across all facilities. Results: Four broad domains were identified. Factors that influenced uptake included GLA:D® being a recognisable, evidence-based product requiring minimal development or adaptation. The fidelity of the GLA:D® Australia program was challenged by referral of patients with multiple/complex medical comorbidities, and patient preference to complete registry data via paper rather than online. Several operational considerations are required when delivering GLA:D® in a public hospital setting, including adequate numbers of GLA:D®-trained staff, additional screening requirements, obtaining appropriate clinical space, and persisting patient barriers to attending the service. GLA:D® provided benefits beyond improvement in pain and function, including social interactivity, high attendance and promotion of long-term self-management, while also maximising service efficiencies. Conclusions: Implementing GLA:D® in Australian public hospitals was supported by service providers. Specific operational and administrative factors, including staff training, patient complexity, and registry requirements should be considered when attempting to embed and sustain GLA:D® in large Australian public tertiary hospitals
Harnessing generative AI: understanding the needs of the SEE program
No full textNo description supplie
FOXO1 enhances CAR T cell stemness, metabolic fitness and efficacy
No full textChimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy has transformed the treatment of haematological malignancies such as acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, B cell lymphoma and multiple myeloma1–4, but the efficacy of CAR T cell therapy in solid tumours has been limited5. This is owing to a number of factors, including the immunosuppressive tumour microenvironment that gives rise to poorly persisting and metabolically dysfunctional T cells. Analysis of anti-CD19 CAR T cells used clinically has shown that positive treatment outcomes are associated with a more ‘stem-like’ phenotype and increased mitochondrial mass6–8. We therefore sought to identify transcription factors that could enhance CAR T cell fitness and efficacy against solid tumours. Here we show that overexpression of FOXO1 promotes a stem-like phenotype in CAR T cells derived from either healthy human donors or patients, which correlates with improved mitochondrial fitness, persistence and therapeutic efficacy in vivo. This work thus reveals an engineering approach to genetically enforce a favourable metabolic phenotype that has high translational potential to improve the efficacy of CAR T cells against solid tumours
The noisy neighbor conundrum: what influences the value of urban sites for forest birds?
No full textNo description supplied. </p
‘We have a right to flourish in our own land’: using pedagogies of healing to support Indigenous students to thrive in university classrooms
No full textABSTRACT: This article responds to a pressing question, posed by Māori university students in Aotearoa, New Zealand: How do teachers transform universities into places where Indigenous students can thrive and heal? To address this question, we engage with pedagogies of healing, a radical critique of wellbeing within the classroom. We utilized the Māori practice of wānanga to facilitate collective reflection and action. We propose three principles for enabling Māori and Indigenous healing within classrooms: engage colonial histories, foreground Indigenous forms of knowledge, and uplift students through Indigenous research on/as healing. Within these, we offer seven teaching strategies to enact a pedagogy of healing and create classroom ‘healing zones’, strategies that challenge the individualized and depoliticized approaches to wellbeing dominant within contemporary universities.</p
Biphasic nanocomposite films of polypyrrole and poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene) using a surface-tethered dopant strategy
No full textUsing a newly invented surface-tethered dopant approach for the electrochemical polymerization growth of conductive polymer films, nanocomposites are created consisting of two distinct phases of polypyrrole (PPy) and Poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene) (PEDOT). The growth of the conductive nanocomposite films takes advantage of the unique way in which a conductive polymer film forms when grown using a surface-tethered dopant, starting out as a highly nanoporous film that gradually becomes more and more solid as additional polymer deposition occurs preferentially within the nanopores rather than at the films outer surface. Nanocomposite films can thus be fabricated simply and controllably by first growing one nanoporous conductive polymer film followed by the deposition of a second conductive polymer within the nanopores of the first. This study investigates the morphological and electrochemical properties of nanocomposite films grown using a surface-tethered dopant and how these properties are affected by simple changes in electrochemical polymerization parameters
Cohort profile: Worldwide Collaboration on OsteoArthritis prediCtion for the Hip (World COACH) - an international consortium of prospective cohort studies with individual participant data on hip osteoarthritis.
No full textABSTRACT: Purpose: Hip osteoarthritis (OA) is a major cause of pain and disability worldwide. Lack of effective therapies may reflect poor knowledge on its aetiology and risk factors, and result in the management of end-stage hip OA with costly joint replacement. The Worldwide Collaboration on OsteoArthritis prediCtion for the Hip (World COACH) consortium was established to pool and harmonise individual participant data from prospective cohort studies. The consortium aims to better understand determinants and risk factors for the development and progression of hip OA, to optimise and automate methods for (imaging) analysis, and to develop a personalised prediction model for hip OA. Participants: World COACH aimed to include participants of prospective cohort studies with ≥200 participants, that have hip imaging data available from at least 2 time points at least 4 years apart. All individual participant data, including clinical data, imaging (data), biochemical markers, questionnaires and genetic data, were collected and pooled into a single, individual-level database. Findings to date: World COACH currently consists of 9 cohorts, with 38 021 participants aged 18–80 years at baseline. Overall, 71% of the participants were women and mean baseline age was 65.3±8.6 years. Over 34 000 participants had baseline pelvic radiographs available, and over 22 000 had an additional pelvic radiograph after 8–12 years of follow-up. Even longer radiographic follow-up (15–25 years) is available for over 6000 of these participants. Future plans: The World COACH consortium offers unique opportunities for studies on the relationship between determinants/risk factors and the development or progression of hip OA, by using harmonised data on clinical findings</p