School amalgamation and wellbeing for LGBTQ+ students: A scoping review protocol

School amalgamations, or the merging of two or more pre-existing schools, are typically conducted in response to resource constraints. While merging existing schools can be financially beneficial, the wellbeing of marginalised students, such as those who identify as LGBTQ+, may be at risk. Evidence on the impact that school amalgamation may have for LGBTQ+ students’ wellbeing has not been consolidated in a review. The proposed scoping review aims to identify empirical studies which measure the impact of school amalgamation on the wellbeing of LGBTQ+ students, to document the methodologies they use, and to identify challenges faced by LGBTQ+ students in amalgamated schools. Methods This review will be conducted in line with the JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis and PCC framework. Searches will be conducted in multidisciplinary databases and relevant citations exported to Covidence. Articles will be screened against inclusion and exclusion criteria by two independent reviewers. Results Relevant studies will be charted and synthesised for inclusion in the final scoping review. Particular attention will be given to the scope of existing literature relating to the review question, methodological trends, and areas for further study.</p

Human factors considerations for critical maintenance tasks and their effect on the transition to digital documentation: an exploratory expert survey

Digitised maintenance documentation will soon be the norm in aviation. Failure to correctly perform maintenance tasks may lead to aviation safety hazardous events. This article explores the views of aviation maintenance subject matter experts on errors affecting critical maintenance tasks and how views can inform transition to digitised documentation. This exploratory study offers a fresh view on human factors’ implications around critical maintenance tasks and their relation to digital documentation. A cross-sectional design method was utilised. Anonymous responses were collected with a mixed-methods questionnaire from convenience sample of participants from different aircraft maintenance and continuing airworthiness management organisations. Expert opinions of 25 aircraft maintenance and technical services engineers were recorded. All participants had personal experience with maintenance errors, where human factors attributed to these errors. They highlighted the lack of human factors’ awareness and the need to strengthen their contributory role in critical maintenance tasks. Participants’ views appeared divided in terms of challenges associated with digital documentation utilisation. Positive features emerged, such as critical maintenance tasks or duplicate/independent inspections’ highlighting, notes and warnings’ higher visibility, up-to-date documentation availability and better connectivity among activities. Negative themes concentrated on the tactile nature of paper and on the additional technology knowledge requirements.</p

Exploring a new silica-supported Brønsted-Lewis ionic liquid catalyst for the cycloaddition of CO2 and propylene oxide: A combined experimental and computational study

The field of liquid phase catalysis has explored the replacement of traditional solvents with ionic liquids, as well as the use of ionic liquids as catalyst. Herein, a novel silica-supported Fe-based Brønsted-Lewis functionalized ionic liquid (BLsIL-Fe) was synthesized and used as a catalyst for the cycloaddition of CO2 to propylene oxide, yielding propylene carbonate. The catalyst was prepared by grafting a sulfonic acid-functionalized imidazole with a FeCl4 - complex anion onto a commercial silica support (silica gel 60). The effects of temperature, pressure, catalyst loading, and reaction time on the catalytic activity of BLsILs were investigated. Our findings reveal that our catalyst remained active at a low catalyst loading of 0.18 mol% (active sites per mol of propylene oxide) at 120 ◦C, achieving up to 90.5 % conversion with a propylene carbonate selectivity above 97.0 % after four hours. The catalyst demonstrated reusability through a simple filtration and washing procedure, maintaining its catalytic activity over five cycles. Plausible catalytic reaction pathways for the CO2 valorization process using BLsILs were elucidated using density functional theory, revealing that the ring-closing step is the rate determining step. Overall, the work opens new avenues for designing dual-acid functionalized ILs, enhancing performance across a wide range of catalytic reactions.</p

Assessing readiness for change: A Baseline situational analysis of breastfeeding support within acute and community healthcare settings in the republic of Ireland

Breastfeeding is a critical component of maternal and child health, but breastfeeding rates vary widely, with Ireland's rates lowest in Europe. This paper, the first stage of the Practice Enhancement for Exclusive Breastfeeding (PEEB) study, describes the methodology and key findings from a multi‐component baseline situational analysis of breastfeeding support conducted in acute and community healthcare settings in Ireland. Guided by the Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (PARIHS) framework, a survey of healthcare professionals (n = 85) examined breastfeeding training, competency and attitude towards practice change. Additionally, a workplace environment and policy assessment were conducted. A gap between current practices and evidence‐based guidelines was demonstrated and the need for cultural shifts within healthcare settings towards better breastfeeding support. The study also uncovered notable variations in breastfeeding training, perceived barriers to effective breastfeeding support, including staff shortages and communication challenges, which impede successful implementation of breastfeeding initiatives. Despite high levels of staff motivation, there was a lack of empowerment and confidence to implement change. Findings revealed significant differences between community and acute staff across certain factors like community staff being less likely to agree that their teammates considered implementation of changes as futile, acute staff were less likely to disagree that changes would be subject to audit. The PARIHS framework provided a structured approach to understanding the evidence and contextual factors relevant to implementing evidence‐based practices in breastfeeding support. Future work will focus on the design and implementation of strategies to optimise breastfeeding support across acute and community settings.</p

Home-Based comprehensive geriatric assessment for community-dwelling, at-risk, frail older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA), an operational model of integrated care, has become a fundamental component of healthcare delivery models for older adults. It is a multidimensional diagnostic process intended to determine a frail elderly person's medical, psychosocial, and functional capabilities and limitations to develop an integrated care plan. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to update and synthesize the totality of research evidence related to the effectiveness of home-based CGA compared with usual care among community-dwelling at-risk older adults. A secondary aim of the review was to characterize the components of CGA delivered across the included studies. Methods: CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, trial registers (WHO ICTRP, ClinicalTrials.gov, and McMaster Aging Portal), and gray literature were searched. Two independent reviewers conducted screening, data extraction, quality appraisal, and applied the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluations framework to quantify the certainty of evidence. Meta-analyses were performed in Review Manager 5.4. The primary outcome was functional status. Results: Twenty-two trials recruiting 7219 community-dwelling older adults were included. Home-based CGA resulted in improved functional status at 6–24 months (standardized mean difference [SMD] 0.17, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.09–0.25), at 12 months (SMD 0.24, 95% CI 0.02–0.47), and at 24 months (SMD 0.11, 95% CI 0.01–0.22); an increased health-related quality of life (HRQoL) at 6–24 and 12 months; a reduction in mortality at 36 months; a reduction in hospitalizations at 6–36months; and improved patient satisfaction with care at 6–12months. Home-based CGA resulted in little or no difference in nursing home admission, emergency department presentation, or adverse events. Intervention characteristics and multidisciplinary team composition varied across trials</p

A needle in a haystack: transient porosity in a closed pore square lattice coordination network

Guest transport through discrete voids (closed pores) in crystalline solids is poorly understood. Herein, we report the gas sorption properties of a nonporous coordination network, {[Co(bib)2Cl2] ⋅ 2MeOH}n (sql-bib-Co-Cl-α), featuring square lattice (sql) topology and the bent linker 1,3-bis(1H-imidazol-1-yl)benzene (bib). The as-synthesized sql-bib-Co-Cl-α has 11.3 % (313 Å3) of its unit cell volume in closed pores occupied by methanol (MeOH). Upon desolvation and air exposure, sql-bib-Co-Cl-α underwent a single-crystal to single-crystal (SC-SC) phase transformation to sql-bib-Co-Cl-β′, wherein MeOH was replaced by water. Activation (vacuum or N2 flow) resulted in dehydration and retention of the closed pores, affording sql-bib-Co-Cl-β with 7.7 % (194 Å3) guest-accessible space. sql-bib-Co-Cl-β was found to preferentially adsorb C2H2 (at 265 K) over CO2 (at 195 K) through gate-opening mechanisms, at gate-opening pressures of 59.8 and 27.7 kPa, respectively, while other C2 gases were excluded. PXRD was used to monitor transformations between the three phases of sql-bib-Co-Cl, while in situ DSC, in situ SCXRD under CO2 pressure, and computational studies provided insight into the guest transport mechanism, which we attribute to the angular, flexible nature of the bib ligand. Further, the preferential adsorption of C2H2 over CO2 and other C2 gases suggests that transiently porous sorbents might have utility in separations.</p

Psychosocial effects of a behavioural augmentation of existing public physical activity programs for middle-aged and older adults in Ireland

The combination of an ageing population, increasing prevalence of preventable noncommunicable diseases and a decline in physical activity with age emphasizes the need for investment in physical activity programs and services for older people. This study aimed to add to the initial evidence on the effectiveness of the Move for Life (MFL) intervention by examining its effects on psychosocial health outcomes and determinants of physical activity. MFL is an intervention that aims to augment existing community-based public physical activity programs for middle-aged and older adults in Ireland with strategies derived from behavioural theory and support from peer leaders. A 3-arm cluster randomised feasibility trial compared MFL intervention, usual provision (UP) and waiting list control (CON) groups at baseline (T0), post-intervention (T1, at 8-, 10- or 12-weeks) and 6-month follow up after baseline (T2). Psychosocial health and determinants of physical activity were assessed at each occasion by validated self-report measures. Linear or generalized linear mixed models were fitted to estimate group differences over time. Of 733 recruited individuals, 601 (mean age: 63.06±8.1 years, 80.4% female) met study inclusion criteria. Significant advantages were found in the MFL group relative to UP in ratings of self-efficacy to over-come barriers to physical activity participation, subjective norms for and attitudes towards participation in physical activity (ps<.05). Subsequent analyses accounting for implementation fidelity revealed additional advantages for the ‘high fidelity’ MFL group relative to other groups, notably regarding loneliness and relatedness to others, perceived behavioural control, attitudes toward and intentions to participate in physical activity (ps<.05). The pattern of results shows the potential of MFL to impact positively the psychosocial health of inactive adults aged 50+ years and change psychosocial determinants of physical activity, particularly when implemented as intended. The results suggest as well that existing physical activity programs may have unexpected psychosocial consequence</p

Ecological momentary assessment of physical and eating behaviours: The WEALTH feasibility and optimisation study with recommendations for large-scale data collection

Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) enables the real-time capture of health-related behaviours, their situational contexts, and associated subjective experiences. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of an EMA targeting physical and eating behaviours, optimise its protocol, and provide recommendations for future large-scale EMA data collections. The study involved 52 participants (age 31±9 years, 56% females) from Czechia, France, Germany, and Ireland completing a 9-day free-living EMA protocol using the HealthReact platform connected to a Fitbit tracker. The EMA protocol included time-based (7/day), event-based (up to 10/day), and self-initiated surveys, each containing 8 to 17 items assessing physical and eating behaviours and related contextual factors such as affective states, location, and company. Qualitative insights were gathered from post-EMA feedback interviews. Compliance was low (median 49%), particularly for event-based surveys (median 34%), and declined over time. Many participants were unable or unwilling to complete surveys in certain contexts (e.g., when with family), faced interference with their daily schedules, and encountered occasional technical issues, suggesting the need for thorough initial training, an individualised protocol, and systematic compliance monitoring. The number of event-based surveys was less than desired for the study, with a median of 2.4/day for sedentary events, when 4 were targeted, and 0.9/day for walking events, when 3 were targeted Conducting simulations using participants’ Fitbit data allowed for optimising the triggering rules, achieving the desired median number of sedentary and walking surveys (3.9/day for both) in similar populations. Self-initiated reports of meals and drinks yielded more reports than those prompted in time-based and event-based EMA surveys, suggesting that self-initiated surveys might better reflect actual eating behaviours. This study highlights the importance of assessing feasibility and optimising EMA protocols to enhance subsequent compliance and data quality. Conducting pre-tests to refine protocols and procedures, including simulations using participants’ activity data for optimal event-based triggering rules, is crucial for successful large-scale data collection in EMA studies of physical and eating behaviours.</p

Mutual promotion on the mechanical and tribological properties of the nacre-like self-lubricant film designed for demanding green tribological applications

The inverse relationship between the tribological and mechanical properties of environmentally friendly self-lubricant films, induced by the addition of soft lubricant agents that can diffuse quickly at elevated temperatures, has hindered the widespread use of these materials in industrial applications. This paper took this challenge to break through the above established relationship by developing novel nacre-like multilayered Mo2N–SiNx /Ag–SiNx self-lubricant films via an radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering system for real applications where harsh conditions at elevated temperatures exist. The multilayered films, deposited by alternating deposition of Mo2N–SiNx and Ag–SiNx modulation layers, exhibited three phases of face-centered cubic (fcc) Mo2N, fcc Ag and SiNx , where SiNx encapsulated the nano-crystalline Mo2N and Ag phases in each layer to successfully induce a “brick and mortar” nacre-like microstructure (in the area without the coherent structure). The epitaxy growth of the Ag–SiNx layers with thickness below 6 nm on the Mo2N template resulted in an extraordinary increase in both the hardness and elastic modulus, which was able to prevent severe degradation of the mechanical properties caused by the addition of Ag. The room-temperature anti-friction property could be enhanced by increasing the Ag–SiNx layer thickness due to the excellent lubricant nature of Ag, which acts in synergy with Mo2N, while the wear rate below 4×10−8 mm3 /(N·mm) was due to the high mechanical strength. The tribological properties at 600 °C also benefited from the interlocked multilayered architecture, which allowed an extreme low friction coefficient of ~0.12 and a negligible wear rate (WR). This behavior was attributed to the synergism between the lubricant action of Ag and Mo2N and the tribo-phase transformation from Ag2Mo4O13 to Ag2MoO4 .</p

Preservice teachers’ perceived and assessed levels of examinable physical education content knowledge

Physical education is now examined as part of the Leaving Certificate in Ireland. The primary aim of this study was to analyse the relationship between preservice physical education teachers’ perceived and assessed Leaving Certificate Physical Education (LCPE) subject-specific knowledge, referred to as common content knowledge (CCK). In total, 30 participants (73% female; undergraduate, n=15; postgraduate, n=15) were recruited from one teacher education institute in Ireland. Participants completed a perceived CCK survey followed by an assessment of CCK for all 10 topics on the LCPE specification. Mean perceived CCK was 60.1% (SD =11.2); however, mean assessed CCK was 24.1% (SD =7.7). The highest individual assessed CCK score was 51.3%. Over half (53.3%) of participants did not achieve a pass grade. Male teachers’ perceived CCK rating (63.3%, SD =6.9) was significantly higher than females’ (52.8%, SD =11.2, p=0.03). However, female teachers’ assessed CCK (31.0%, SD ±8.8) was marginally higher than males’ (27.7%, SD ±11.3; p=0.41). Postgraduate students’ perceived (58.5%, SD ±10.27) and assessed CCK (33.1%, SD ±9.24) did not differ significantly from undergraduates’ perceived (52.7%, SD ±11.41) and assessed CCK (27.08%, SD ±9.12) (p=0.37). Findings demonstrated deficiencies in preservice physical education teachers’ CCK, despite higher levels of perceived CCK. The introduction of a terminal physical education examination in secondary schools in Ireland may require more emphasis to be placed on CCK in physical education teacher education programmes.</p