Design Study Research Articles

Nurses' practices of children and family-centered care for chronically ill children: A cross-sectional study

PurposeThere is limited evidence of children and family-centered care (CFCC) practice in different cultural contexts, particularly regarding the factors that predict it among nurses providing care to chronically ill children. Also, the CFCC's impact on the quality of care has not been well studied. This study aimed to test a hypothesized model in which nurses' attributes and care environments predict CFCC, thereby increasing the quality of nursing care. Design and methodsA multicenter cross-sectional study recruited a convenience sample of 405 nurses caring for chronically ill children in Saudi Arabia for an online survey between February 2023 and August 2023. Structural Equation Modeling evaluated the hypothesized model. ResultsThe hypothesized model fits the data based on the fit indices. Care environment affected CFCC (β = 0.831, p = .000), while nursing attributes only indirectly affected CFCC practices through the mediating effect of the work environment (β = 0.553, p = .000). The CFCC practices positively affect the quality of nursing care (β = 0.636, p = .000). ConclusionsNursing attributes impact the work environment, which affects the practice of CFCC and enhances the quality of care for chronically ill children. Investing in nurses' attributes and a positive work environment is crucial for nursing leaders to enhance CFCC practice and the quality of care. Practical implicationsThe findings of this study can be used to shape policies and develop interventions to improve nursing CFCC practices and promote better quality of care for chronically ill children.

Increasing Positive Attitudes towards Organ Donation and Improving the Competence of Coping with Death through Organ Transplant Nursing Course: A Two-Group Quasi-Experimental Study

AimThe aim of the study was to determine the effect of an organ transplant nursing course offered to nursing students on increasing positive attitudes towards organ donation and developing competence in coping with death. BackgroundIncorporating organ donation education into undergraduate nursing curricula and promoting of coping mechanisms for coping with death, has been emphasized as a critical foundation for the preparating of the next generation of nurses. DesignTwo-groups pre- and post-intervention evaluation quasi-experimental design study. MethodsThis study was conducted between February and July 2023 with a total of 237 nursing students studying at two different universities, 116 of whom took the organ transplant course and 121 of whom did not take the course. Sociodemographic Characteristics Form, Coping with Death Scale-Short Form and Organ Donation Attitudes Scale were used for data collection. Mann-Whitney U test, Chi-Square, t-test, Pearson correlation and linear regression were used to analyze the data. ResultsThere was a statistically significant difference between the students who took organ transplant nursing courses and those who did not in terms of the mean scores of coping with death competence and positive and negative attitudes toward organ donation (p<0.05). It was found that taking an organ transplant nursing course affected nursing students' coping with death competence and their positive and negative attitudes toward organ donation (p <0.01). ConclusionTaking the organ transplant nursing course was associated with improved competence in coping with death a increased positive and decreased negative attitudes.

Optimal design of multilayer optical thin film structure for smart energy saving applications using needle optimization approach

In this work, a novel design of a one dimensional photonic crystal (1D PC) is investigated. The 1DPC structure is composed of alternating layers of tantalum pentoxide (Ta2O5) and silicon dioxide (Sio2). The proposed 1D PC structure is designed to act as short wave pass (SWP) edge filter that selectively passes light of short wavelengths, while the infrared light is blocked. In this study, Essential Macleod software is used to create the optimal design with the computational support of the needle synthesis technique. By varying the incidence angle of the mean polarized light mode, we can determine the features of the optimal SWP edge filter design, which leads to an important application for this filter. It can shed light on the filter’s suitability as a smart energy saving window coating for hot climate regions. The study includes different hot regions in Saudi Arabia such as Mecca, Riyadh, Dammam, Arar and Alaqiq. They were used as case studies in this research. According to the study of the optimal design of SWP edge filter applied in Mecca, Riyadh, Dammam, Arar and Alaqiq provinces, the light transmittance in the visible region is more than 99% during the summer solstice and more than 96% during the winter solstice. The photonic band gab (PBG) is almost constant during the summer solstice without shifting or decreasing in size whereas in the winter solstice, the PBG shifts toward the short wavelengths and decreases in size by increasing the angle of incidence. This allows an amount of solar energy to enter in winter. Riyadh, Dammam, and Arar provinces experienced a significant increase in solar energy during the winter solstice, more than Mecca and Alaqiq provinces.

Gamification Approach to Provide Support About the Deferral Experience in Blood Donation: Design and Feasibility Study.

Multiple studies have examined the impact of deferral on the motivation of prospective blood donors, proposing various policies and strategies to support individuals who undergo this experience. However, existing information and communications technology systems focused on blood donation have not yet integrated these ideas or provided options to assist with the deferral experience. This study aims to propose an initial gamified design aimed at mitigating the impact of the deferral experience by addressing the drivers of awareness and knowledge, interaction and validation, and motivation. Additionally, the study explores the feasibility of implementing such a system for potential users. We conducted a literature review focusing on the dynamics of motivation and intention related to blood donation, as well as the deferral situation and its impact on citizens. Through this review, we identified weak donor identity, lack of knowledge, and reduced motivation as key factors requiring support from appropriate interventions. These factors were then defined as our key drivers. Taking these into account, we proposed a gamification approach that incorporates concepts from the MDA framework. The aim is to stimulate the aforementioned drivers and expand the concept of contribution and identity in blood donation. For a preliminary evaluation, we designed a prototype to collect feedback on usability, usefulness, and interest regarding a potential implementation of our proposed gamification approach. Among the participants, a total of 11 citizens interacted with the app and provided feedback through our survey. They indicated that interacting with the app was relatively easy, with an average score of 4.13 out of 5 when considering the 11 tasks of interaction. The SUS results yielded a final average score of 70.91 from the participants' answers. Positive responses were received when participants were asked about liking the concept of the app (3.82), being likely to download it (3.55), and being likely to recommend it to others (3.64). Participants expressed positivity about the implementation of the design but also highlighted current shortcomings and suggested possible improvements in both functionality and usability. Although deferral is a common issue in blood donation, there is a missed opportunity in existing ICT services regarding how to effectively handle such experiences. Our proposed design and implementation seem to have captured the interest of prospective users due to its perceived positive usefulness and potential. However, further confirmation is needed. Improving the design of activities that currently rely heavily on extrinsic motivation elements and integrating more social components to create an enhanced activity loop for intrinsic motivation could further increase the value of the proposed project. Future research could involve conducting a more specialized and longitudinal design evaluation with a larger sample size.

W-HYDRA: a new experimental platform for the Water-Cooled Lead Lithium Breeding Blanket

In the framework of the activities coordinated by the EUROfusion consortium, the Water thermal-HYDRAulic (W-HYDRA) experimental platform is being built at the ENEA Brasimone Research Centre in order to support the development of the Water-Cooled Lead Lithium (WCLL) Breeding Blanket (BB). In particular, this infrastructure will make possible the installation and testing of prototypical mock-ups under relevant working conditions, such as the First Wall (FW), the manifold and the Steam Generator (SG). Moreover, it will represent an integral test facility for the investigation of phenomena characteristic of WCLL BB concept, such as the PbLi/water interaction. Finally, the collection of data coming from the different planned experimental campaigns will allow to qualify and validate numerical models and codes currently adopted for the design of components, as well as for the modelling of complex phenomena typical of the WCLL BB. In order to come to a definitive design of the different facilities constituting the experimental platform, several design analyses assessing the thermal, hydraulic and structural performances of the different facilities and components are necessary. The paper reports a highlight of the W-HYDRA platform with a general description of the facilities. Some of the most relevant design studies carried out so far are reported as well, highlighting their impact on the evolution of the design.

The Role of Pathways Early Autism Intervention in Improving Social Skills and Respeto for Young Hispanic Autistic Children.

We know very little about Hispanic autistic children's response to intervention as, historically, Hispanic children are underrepresented in intervention studies. Pathways parent-mediated early autism intervention is one of the few naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions (NDBIs) that is contextually and linguistically responsive to Hispanic families. However, some child-centered NDBI strategies do not align with the Hispanic caregiving value of respeto. A child exhibiting respeto demonstrates affiliative obedience by displaying deference and respect toward adults. Furthermore, theories of the ontogeny of cultural learning suggest that certain levels of social development may be necessary to learn cultural values. The current study investigates (1) the relationship between Hispanic autistic children's social skills and affiliative obedience and (2) the efficacy of Pathways in improving affiliative obedience in Hispanic children. This quasi-experimental design study used preexisting standardized test data and video recordings from 26 Hispanic participants who took part in a previous Pathways efficacy study. Recordings were coded for affiliative obedience and social connectedness. Residual change variables were used to measure progress from baseline to post-intervention, and correlation and hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to analyze the data. We found significant positive correlations between social skills and children's affiliative obedience for baseline and change variables. In addition, we found Pathways had a significant medium-large magnitude effect on change in affiliative obedience skills. This study highlights the benefits of NDBI interventions that advance social development in autistic children and support Hispanic parents in enculturating their children in the value of respeto.

Development of a Digital Patient Assistant for the Management of Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome: Patient-Centric Design Study.

Cyclic vomiting syndrome (CVS) is an enigmatic and debilitating disorder of gut-brain interaction that is characterized by recurrent episodes of severe vomiting and nausea. It significantly impairs patients' quality of life and can lead to frequent medical visits and substantial health care costs. The diagnosis for CVS is often protracted and complex, primarily due to its exclusionary diagnosis nature and the lack of specific biomarkers. This typically leads to a considerable delay in accurate diagnosis, contributing to increased patient morbidity. Additionally, the absence of approved therapies for CVS worsens patient hardship and reflects the urgent need for innovative, patient-centric solutions to improve CVS management. We aim to develop a digital patient assistant (DPA) for patients with CVS to address their unique needs, and iteratively enhance the technical features and user experience on the initial DPA versions. The development of the DPA for CVS used a design thinking approach, prioritizing user needs. A literature review and Patient Advisory Board shaped the initial prototype, focusing on diagnostic support and symptom tracking. Iterative development, informed by the design thinking approach and feedback from patients with CVS and caregivers through interviews and smartphone testing, led to significant enhancements in user interaction and artificial intelligence integration. The final DPA's effectiveness was validated using the System Usability Scale and feedback questions, ensuring it met the specific needs of the CVS community. The DPA developed for CVS integrates an introductory bot, daily and weekly check-in bots, and a knowledge hub, all accessible via a patient dashboard. This multicomponent solution effectively addresses key unmet needs in CVS management: efficient symptom and impacts tracking, access to comprehensive disease information, and a digital health platform for disease management. Significant improvements, based on user feedback, include the implementation of artificial intelligence features like intent recognition and data syncing, enhancing the bot interaction and reducing the burden on patients. The inclusion of the knowledge hub provides educational resources, contributing to better disease understanding and management. The DPA achieved a System Usability Scale score of 80 out of 100, indicating high ease of use and relevance. Patient feedback highlighted the DPA's potential in disease management and suggested further applications, such as integration into health care provider recommendations for patients with suspected or confirmed CVS. This positive response underscores the DPA's role in enhancing patient engagement and disease management through a patient-centered digital solution. The development of this DPA for patients with CVS, via an iterative design thinking approach, offers a patient-centric solution for disease management. The DPA development framework may also serve to guide future patient digital support and research scenarios.

Fostering Decolonization, Reading and Multilingualism through Book Donation: A Case Study of One Primary School in South Africa

Despite the UNESCO declaration of literacy and access to primary education as a fundamental human right, many developing countries still face low literacy levels, limited access to reading material and poor reading culture. This can arguably be used to explain why children from developing countries are (according to large-scale studies such as Progress in International Reading Competency Study) performing below the expected standard compared to those from developed countries. While the low literacy levels are not solely attributed to limited access to reading material, the researchers argue that exploring the positive impacts of book donation will, in one way or the other, subvert the issue around low reading competency levels, and advance multilingualism as well as curriculum decolonization. This paper, therefore, discusses how decolonialism, reading and multilingualism are concurrently developed and realized through book donation. Using the decolonial thought theory as a lens, a qualitative design and case study approach were followed to explore how teachers used donated books to foster decolonization and advance reading as well as multilingualism in their classrooms. Three teachers from one rural primary school participated in the semi-structured interviews. Data was analyzed thematically. The findings revealed that the donated books written by university students empowered teachers to decolonize lesson presentations. In addition, the study found that the different languages in which the donated books were written promoted multilingualism. Finally, teachers reported learners’ interest in reading the donated books written by university students. This study concluded that it is important to evaluate the practice of book donation considering the current debates around decolonization, low reading competencies and multilingualism. Keywords: Book Donation; Decolonization, Primary Schools, Rural, Multilingualism

New Pyrimidinone Bearing Aminomethylenes and Schiff Bases as Potent Antioxidant, Antibacterial, SARS-CoV-2, and COVID-19 Main Protease MPro Inhibitors: Design, Synthesis, Bioactivities, and Computational Studies.

New 2-thioxopyrimidinone derivatives (A1-A10) were synthesized in 87-96% yields via a simple three-component condensation reaction. These compounds were screened extensively through in vitro assays for antioxidant and antibacterial investigations. The DPPH assays resulted in the excellent potency of A6-A10 as antioxidants with IC50 values of 0.83 ± 0.125, 0.90 ± 0.77, 0.36 ± 0.063, 1.4 ± 0.07, and 1.18 ± 0.06 mg/mL, which were much better than 1.79 ± 0.045 mg/mL for the reference ascorbic acid. These compounds exhibited better antibacterial potency against Klebsiella with IC50 values of 2 ± 7, 1.32 ± 8.9, 1.19 ± 11, 1.1 ± 12, and 1.16 ± 11 mg/mL for A6-A10. High-throughput screenings (HTS) of these motifs were carried out including investigation of drug-like behaviors, physiochemical property evaluation, and structure-related studies involving DFT and metabolic transformation trends. The radical scavenging ability of the synthesized motifs was validated through molecular docking studies through ligand-protein binding against human inducible nitric oxide synthase (HINOS) PDB ID: 4NOS, and the results were promising. Furthermore, the antiviral capability of the compounds was examined by in silico studies using two viral proteins PDB ID: 6Y84 and PDB ID: 6LU7. Binding poses of ligands were discussed, and amino acids in the protein binding pockets were investigated, where the tested compounds showed much better binding affinities than the standard inhibitors, proving to be suitable leads for antiviral drug discovery. The stabilities of the molecular docked complexes in real systems were validated by molecular dynamics simulations.

Morality matters: social psychological perspectives on how and why CSR activities and communications affect stakeholders’ support - experimental design evidence for the mediating role of perceived organizational morality comparing WEIRD (UK) and non-WEIRD (Russia) country

Companies’ communications about Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) have become increasingly prevalent yet psychological reasons for why those communications might lead to positive reactions of the general public are not fully understood. Building on theories on impression formation and social evaluation, we assess how CSR communications affect perceived morality and competence of a company. We theorize that the organization’s CSR activities would positively impact on perceived organizational morality rather than on perceived organizational competence and that this increase in perceived organizational morality leads to an increase in stakeholders’ support. Two experimental design studies show support for our theorizing. We cross-validated the robustness and generality of the prediction in two countries with different business practices (UK (N = 203), Russia (N = 96)). We demonstrated that while the general perceptions of companies and CSR differ between the UK and Russia, the underlying psychological mechanisms work in a similar fashion. By testing our predictions in western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (WEIRD) and in non- WEIRD countries, we also extend current socio-psychological insights on the social evaluation of others. We discuss theoretical and practical implications.

Assessing the Challenges and Interventions for Primary Education Learners

This research assessed the learners’ challenges encountered and interventions provided at Dumaguete City Central School in Dumaguete City Division during school year 2023-2024 for a proposed behavior modification guide. This descriptive correlational design study had purposively selected 120 parent and 16 teacher respondents who answered a researcher-made survey questionnaire. The data gathered were statistically treated. Findings revealed that the majority of parent respondents were 30-49 years old, females, high school graduates, with 3-4 children, and middle-income. Teacher respondents mostly were 51-69 years old, female, with master’s units, and had 16 years or more in service. The parents and teachers perceived the extent of the learners’ challenges encountered as to family and peers was high, and the classroom was moderate for parents and low for teachers. Parents’ perception of the extent of the interventions provided to the learners in terms of family, peers, and classroom was all moderately done. While for the teachers, as to family was done, for peers and classroom was extensively done. There was no significant difference between the teachers’ and parents’ perception of the learners’ challenges encountered by family and peers, but there was a significant difference in the classroom variable. There was no significant difference between the teachers and parents’ perception on the extent of Interventions provided towards the learners in terms of family, peers, and classroom. There was a significant relationship between the challenges encountered and the interventions provided towards the learners.

Design, synthesis and molecular docking studies of new indole scaffolds

A convenient and straightforward approach for the construction of angular and linear indole scaffolds from commercially available β‐tetralones through a sequential methylation/ allylation/ propargylation followed by ring closing metathesis (RCM)/ [2+2+2] cyclotrimerization and Fischer indolization (FI) sequence has been described. The dipropargyl derivatives were further investigated for Sonogashira cross‐coupling with iodo‐benzene and click chemistry with benzyle azide to synthesize diverse indole motifs. The [2+2+2] cyclotrimerized products were treated with 3,5‐dimethyl aniline to obtain the product that resembles the structure of Alectinib, an FDA approved drug for the treatment of cancer. The approach provides a series of indole derivatives in moderate to good yields with excellent functional group tolerance and hence these compounds are utilized for molecular docking studies which shows good results. All the compounds synthesized here are well characterized by NMR and HRMS data.

Multiple androgen pathways contribute to the steroid signature of adrenarche

ContextAdrenarche is a normal developmental event in mid-childhood characterized by increasing adrenal androgen secretion. The role of the classic androgen pathway has been well described in adrenarche, but the role of newer active androgens and additional androgen pathways is less clear. ObjectiveTo study the contribution of novel androgens and related steroid biosynthesis pathways to the development of adrenarche, and to identify additional steroid biomarkers of adrenarche. DesignA longitudinal study of children aged 6–8 years at baseline, followed up at ages 8–10 and 14–16 years. A total of 34 children (20 girls) with clinical and/or biochemical signs of adrenarche (cases) and 24 children (11 girls) without these signs (controls) at age 8–10 years were included. Serum steroid profiling was performed by liquid chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry. Main outcome measuresThirty-two steroids compartmentalized in progestagens, gluco- and mineralocorticoid pathways, and four androgen related pathways, including the classic, backdoor, 11-oxy, and 11-oxy backdoor pathways. ResultsThe classic and 11-oxy androgen pathways were more active, and serum concentrations of main androgens in the classic (dehydroepiandrosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, androstenedione and androsterone) and 11-oxy (11β-hydroxyandrostenedione, 11β-hydroxytestosterone, 11-ketoandrostenedione, and 11-ketotestosterone) pathways were higher in cases at ages 6–8 and 8–10 years. Pregnenolone concentrations at adrenarchal age (8–10 years) and cortisol concentrations at adolescence (14–16 years) were higher in cases. 11β-hydroxyandrosterone and 11-ketoandrosterone tended to be higher in cases with clinical signs compared to cases who had only biochemical evidence of adrenarche, albeit they were detected at low levels. In biomarker analyses, calculated steroid ratios with cortisol, cortisone, or 11-deoxycortisone as dividers were better classifiers for adrenarche than single steroids. Among these ratios, androstenedione/cortisone was the best. ConclusionsThe classic and 11-oxy androgen pathways are active in adrenarche. Children with earlier timing of adrenarche have higher serum cortisol levels at late pubertal age, suggesting that early adrenarche might have long-term effects on adrenal steroidogenesis by increasing the activity of the glucocorticoid pathway. Future studies should employ comprehensive steroid profiling to define novel classifiers and biomarkers for adrenarche and premature adrenarche.

The Durban University of Technology Faculty of Health Sciences Decentralized Clinical Training Project: Protocol for an Implementation Study in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

The Durban University of Technology (DUT) Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, is embarking on a project to implement a Decentralized Clinical Training Program (DCTP). The DUT FHS DCTP project is being conducted in response to the growing demands of students requiring clinical service placements as part of work-integrated learning. The project is also geared toward responding to existing gaps in current practices related to the implementation of a DCTP, which has mainly been through traditional universities providing training to medical, optometry, occupational therapy, and physiotherapy students. In South Africa, a DCTP is yet to be implemented within the context of a university of technology; it is yet to be implemented within health science faculties that offer undergraduate health science programs in mainstream biomedicine and alternative and complementary disciplines. We aim to design, pilot, and establish an effective DCTP at the DUT FHS in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Participatory action research comprising various designs-namely, appreciative inquiry, qualitative case study design, phenomenography, and descriptive qualitative study design-will be used to conduct the study. Data will be collected using individual interviews, focus group discussions, nominal group technique, consensus methodology, and narrative inquiry. Study participants will include various internal and external stakeholders of the DUT, namely, academic staff; students; key informants from universities currently using successfully established DCTPs; academic support staff; staff working in human resources, finance, procurement, and accounting; and experts in other disciplines such as engineering and information systems. Overall, 4 undergraduate health science programs-namely, Radiography, Medical Orthotics and Prosthetics, Clinical Technology, and Emergency Medical Care and Rescue-will be part of the project's pilot phase. Findings from the project's pilot phase will be used to inform scale-up in the other undergraduate programs in the DUT FHS. The project is being implemented as part of the university's strategic objective of devising innovative curricula and pedagogical practices to improve the mastery, skill set, and competence of health science graduates. The study has currently commenced with the situational analysis, consisting of engagement with external stakeholders implementing DCTPs. The data to be generated from the completion of the situational analysis are anticipated to be published in 2024. This project is envisioned to facilitate collaboration among the universities of technology, traditional universities, Ministry of Health, and private sector for clinical placement of undergraduate health science students in health establishments that are away from the university, thereby exposing them to real-life experiences related to health care. This will facilitate authentic learning experiences that will contribute to improved competencies of graduates in relation to the health needs of society and the multiple realities of the South African health system. PRR1-10.2196/52243.

Prototyping a Disruptive Self-Sustaining Power Plant enabled to overcome Perpetual Motion Machines

This research discusses a strategic methodology for implementing a disruptive Self-Sustaining Power Plant (SSPP) characterized by the cascading coupling of a group of Power Units (PUs). In this configuration, the heat released from each PU due to the cooling of the thermal working fluid (TWF) is efficiently recovered and reused as supply heat for the first PU in the cascade. Two case studies on the SSPP have been conducted using air and helium as TWFs. The first deals with PUs coupled in cascade operating with closed processes-based Vsp thermal cycles, while the second involves PUs coupled in cascade operating with closed processes-based VsVs thermal cycles. Following the corresponding analysis of both case studies, significant results were obtained. These results, derived from this preliminary design study, will be applied to the implementation of the disruptive SSPP prototype operating with real gases as working fluids. This allows for a precise and clear understanding of the issue of generating useful work through expansion, contraction, or both. Moreover, according to the results, the SSPP composed by a group of power units where the efficiency of each power unit operating with air as working fluid only approaches a value of the efficiency of 22%, can exceed 100% of the nominal design power under certain conditions, which supposes a flagrant violation of the principle of conservation of energy due to the fact that such disruptive Self-Sustaining Power Plant is enabled to overcome a Perpetual Motion Machine of second kind.

HVAC Design Optimization for Pharmaceutical Facilities with BIM and CFD

Building Information Modeling (BIM) has been widely used in the past decade to enhance the design quality of Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems. However, in specialized areas such as pharmaceutical facilities, HVAC design has traditionally relied on Computer-Aided Design (CAD) drawings. This conventional approach does not allow for the simulation of temperature distribution or the verification of system efficiency, which may lead to design failures. To address these challenges in pharmaceutical facilities, this study proposed a BIM-based approach for optimizing HVAC design with Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). By employing CFD to simulate the dynamic airflow conditions of pharmaceutical clean rooms, the effectiveness of HVAC systems can be verified. A case study of a clean room HVAC design is presented to demonstrate the workflow. The results of the case study indicated that the pharmaceutical temperature requirements were met within 1 °C during the design optimization simulation, and there was a 95% match in the 72 h temperature mapping test during site validation. The results confirmed that using CFD with BIM not only successfully simulates the design intentions of indoor air quality but also suggests HVAC system optimization for the required clean room design. The findings of this paper contribute to the body of knowledge on overcoming the limitations of the traditional CAD-based HVAC design process and provide valuable insights on optimizing HVAC design with BIM and CFD technologies.

Impact of traumatic brain injury on risk for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder

The impact of traumatic brain injury (TBI) on subsequent risk of schizophrenia (SCZ) or bipolar disorder (BD) remains contested. Possible genetic and environmental confounding effects have also been understudied. Therefore, we aim to investigate the impact of TBI on the risk of SCZ and BD and whether the effect varies by injury severity, age at injury, and sex. We identified 4,184 SCZ and 18,681 BD cases born between 1973 and 1998 in the Swedish National Registers. Case-control samples matched (1:5) on birth year, sex, and birthplace were created along with a family design study, with cases matched to non-case full siblings. TBI was associated with higher risk of SCZ and BD (IRR=1.33 for SCZ, IRR=1.78 for BD). The association remained significant in the sibling comparison study. Moderate or severe TBI was associated with higher risk for both SCZ and BD compared to mild TBI. Older age at injury was associated with higher risk of SCZ and BD, and the effect of TBI was stronger in women than men. Findings indicate that TBI is a risk factor for both SCZ and BD with differential impact by age, severity and sex and that this association cannot be explained by familial confounding alone.

The application of MD simulation to lead identification, vaccine design, and structural studies in combat against leishmaniasis - A review.

Drug discovery, vaccine design, and protein interaction studies are rapidly moving toward the routine use of molecular dynamics simulations (MDS) and related methods. As a result of MDS, it is possible to gain insights into the dynamics and function of identified drug targets, antibody-antigen interactions, potential vaccine candidates, intrinsically disordered proteins, and essential proteins. The MDS appears to be used in all possible ways in combating diseases such as cancer, however, it has not been well documented as to how effectively it is applied to infectious diseases such as Leishmaniasis. As a result, this systematic review aims to survey the application of MDS in combating leishmaniasis. We have systematically collected articles that illustrate the implementation of MDS in drug discovery, vaccine development, and structural studies related to Leishmaniasis. Of all the articles reviewed, we identified that only a limited number of studies focused on the development of vaccines against Leishmaniasis through MDS. Also, the PCA and FEL studies were not carried out in most of the studies. These two were globally accepted utilities to understand the conformational changes and hence it is recommended that this analysis should be taken up in similar approaches in the future.

On the resonance frequency of the irregular shaped visco-acoustic Helmholtz cavity problem

In this paper we develop a closed-form mathematical solution for the resonance frequency of the axisymmetric irregular shaped visco-acoustic Helmholtz cavity problem. The solution is based on a conformal mapping that transforms the governing visco-acoustic equations of motion for the irregular cavity geometry into a new domain described by a set of orthogonal curvilinear coordinates. These orthogonal curvilinear coordinates have an important characteristic relative to the transformation of the physical boundary: the mapped domain is constructed such that the locus of all points for the length-wise profile of the physical boundary coincides with a constant value for a (quasi radial) coordinate in the new mapped domain. In these orthogonal curvilinear coordinates we obtain an analytical solution for the visco-acoustic equations of motion and exactly satisfy the no-slip fluid boundary conditions over the irregular shaped cavity walls by matching the coefficients of an orthogonal Legendre polynomial series representation for the non-uniform velocity on the cavity walls. The mathematical solution is an approximation to the extent that the scale factors chosen for the mapping consist of strictly the mutual-coupling terms of the true scale factors. Thus we analyze some results to understand the correlation of the analytical solution frequency response spectra with numerical finite element analyses of the idealized boundary conditions with various irregular shaped cavity geometries. The results for fundamental resonance frequency were found to exhibit good correlation with the results of finite element analyses over a significant range of fluid properties with different irregular cavity geometries. As the primary motivation for the derivation stems from the lack of a rapid yet accurate alternative to computationally intensive MultiPhysics FEA in the formulation of acoustic trendlines for sensor development, the solution’s acoustic impedance was applied as dispersive loading in a simple lumped parameter model of a fluid identification sensor for comparison. The resulting acoustic trendlines of the reduced (5 DOF) model were found to exhibit good correlation with the results of the MultiPhysics FEA (>105 DOF). Thus the solution was found to enable a closed-form analytical method for rapid construction of parametric studies in the practical design of fluid analysis sensors based on complex resonant cavity geometries.

Invasive Beatmung und prolongiertes Weaning: Auswirkungen osteopathischer Techniksequenzen

Mechanical ventilation is used as a life-sustaining tool in case of severe respiratory insufficiency. Weaning from the respiratory support is included in the process and the ability to breathe spontaneously independently. Prolonged weaning is the most difficult procedure. This process involves medical side effects, which should be counteracted by means of osteopathic approaches. For the evaluation of osteopathic influences in weaning, single-case studies in mixed method design were caried out. Osteopathic treatments were performed based on defined sequences of techniques. Quantitative data collection of medical measurement parameters was carried out in pre-post design. These were supplemented by standardized questionnaires regarding the patient's condition, as well as guided interviews. The results showed a supportive influence of osteopathic treatment on the weaning process.