Evaluation of a global training program in One Health communication

Aim: A global Train-the-Trainer Program, focused on improving the communication techniques of One Health advocates, is assessed and evaluated in this study.Methods: Between November 2020 and November 2022, a Train-the-Trainer Program engaged 1.583 trainees from 98 countries between the ages of 18 and 74. Trainees practiced public speaking by teaching a lesson about One Health in mostly underserved primary school classrooms. Two surveys of trainees (n = 222 and 203) assessed the impact of the Program’s orientation session on their confidence in science communication to a novice audience. The classroom teacher survey (n = 184 teachers, representing 4.109 students) measured the trainee’s impact at the community level during and following the lesson.Results: The Program significantly improved the trainee’s confidence in communicating science (0.1 scale points) and teaching novice audiences (0.3 scale points) about One Health. Trainees cultivated student interest in One Health [median = 9 (7.3, 10)] and 90.8% of responding classroom teachers reported a desire to continue teaching about One Health after the trainee’s lesson, 99.1% noted a post-lesson increase in student interest in science, and 97.4% recommended this lesson to their colleagues.Conclusion: This study was the first to evaluate an extensive One Health-focused communication program finding the model effective for trainees and communities alike. The trainees, through public speaking, active teaching and engaging mostly primary school students, mainstreamed One Health and inspired action in communities. The classroom teachers benefited by learning about One Health and gained a desire to share this new knowledge with others in their community

Development and validation of a tool to measure collaborative practice between community pharmacists and physicians from the perspective of community pharmacists: the professional collaborative practice tool.

BACKGROUND: Collaborative practice between community pharmacists and physicians is becoming increasingly common. Although tools and models to explore collaborative practice between both health care professionals have been developed, very few have been validated for their use in clinical practice. The objective of this study was to develop and validate a tool for measuring collaborative practice between community pharmacists and physicians from the perspective of community pharmacists. METHODS: The DeVellis method was used to develop and validate the Professional Collaborative Practice Tool. A pool of 40 items with Likert frequency scales was generated based on previous literature and expert opinion. This study was undertaken in Spain. A sample of community pharmacists providing medication reviews with follow-up and a random sample of pharmacists providing usual care were invited to participate. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis was used to assess the tool's reliability and content validity. RESULTS: Three hundred thirty-six pharmacists were invited with an overall response rate of 84.8%. The initial 40 items selected were reduced to 14 items. Exploratory Factor Analysis provided a 3-factor solution explaining 62% of the variance. Confirmatory Factor Analysis confirmed the three factors "Activation for collaborative professional practice," the "Integration in collaborative professional practice," and the "Professional acceptance in collaborative professional practice." The tool demonstrated an adequate fit (X2/df = 1.657, GFI = 0.889 and RMSEA = 0.069) and good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.924). CONCLUSIONS: The Professional Collaborative Practice Tool has shown good internal reliability and criterion validity. The tool could be used to measure the perceived level of collaborative practice between community pharmacists and physicians and monitor changes over time. Its applicability and transferability to other settings should be evaluated

Are the Follicular Fluid Characteristics of Recovered Coronavirus Disease 2019 Patients Different From Those of Vaccinated Women Approaching in vitro Fertilization?

The aim of this pilot study is to evaluate if SARS-CoV-2 infection or vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 infection induce observable metabolic effects in follicular fluid of women who are following in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments. The possible impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on fertility and IVF outcome is considered. We have selected for this study: six women vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 infection, five recovered COVID-19 patients, and we used nine healthy women as the control group. At the time of oocytes retrieval from participants in the study, follicular fluids were collected and metabolomic analysis was performed by 1H NMR spectroscopy in combination with multivariate analysis to interpret the spectral data. The search for antibody positivity in the follicular fluid aspirates was also carried out, together with the western blotting analysis of some inflammatory proteins, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα), and the free radical scavenger superoxide dismutase 2. Higher levels of Ala and Pro together with lower levels of lipids and trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) were found in follicular fluids (FFs) of vaccinated women while lower levels of many metabolites were detected in FFs of recovered COVID patients. Expression level of TNF-α was significantly lower both in recovered COVID-19 patients and vaccinated women in comparison to healthy controls

Super-resolution far-field ghost imaging via compressive sampling

Much more image details can be resolved by improving the system's imaging resolution and enhancing the resolution beyond the system's Rayleigh diffraction limit is generally called super-resolution. By combining the sparse prior property of images with the ghost imaging method, we demonstrated experimentally that super-resolution imaging can be nonlocally achieved in the far field even without looking at the object. Physical explanation of super-resolution ghost imaging via compressive sampling and its potential applications are also discussed.Comment: 4pages,4figure

Assessment of long-range correlation in animal behaviour time series: the temporal pattern of locomotor activity of Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix) and mosquito larva (Culex quinquefasciatus)

The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of a classical method of fractal analysis, Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (DFA), in the analysis of the dynamics of animal behavior time series. In order to correctly use DFA to assess the presence of long-range correlation, previous authors using statistical model systems have stated that different aspects should be taken into account such as: 1) the establishment by hypothesis testing of the absence of short term correlation, 2) an accurate estimation of a straight line in the log-log plot of the fluctuation function, 3) the elimination of artificial crossovers in the fluctuation function, and 4) the length of the time series. Taking into consideration these factors, herein we evaluated the presence of long-range correlation in the temporal pattern of locomotor activity of Japanese quail ({\sl Coturnix coturnix}) and mosquito larva ({\sl Culex quinquefasciatus}). In our study, modeling the data with the general ARFIMA model, we rejected the hypothesis of short range correlations (d=0) in all cases. We also observed that DFA was able to distinguish between the artificial crossover observed in the temporal pattern of locomotion of Japanese quail, and the crossovers in the correlation behavior observed in mosquito larvae locomotion. Although the test duration can slightly influence the parameter estimation, no qualitative differences were observed between different test durations

New clinical and molecular insights on Barth syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Barth syndrome (BS) is an X-linked infantile-onset cardioskeletal disease characterized by cardiomyopathy, hypotonia, growth delay, neutropenia and 3-methylglutaconic aciduria. It is caused by mutations in the TAZ gene encoding tafazzin, a protein involved in the metabolism of cardiolipin, a mitochondrial-specific phospholipid involved in mitochondrial energy production. METHODS: Clinical, biochemical and molecular characterization of a group of six male patients suspected of having BS. Three patients presented early with severe metabolic decompensation including respiratory distress, oxygen desaturation and cardiomyopathy and died within the first year of life. The remaining three patients had cardiomyopathy, hypotonia and growth delay and are still alive. Cardiomyopathy was detected during pregnancy through a routine check-up in one patient. All patients exhibited 3-methylglutaconic aciduria and neutropenia, when tested and five of them also had lactic acidosis. RESULTS: We confirmed the diagnosis of BS with sequence analysis of the TAZ gene, and found five new mutations, c.641A>G p.His214Arg, c.284dupG (p.Thr96Aspfs*37), c.678_691del14 (p.Tyr227Trpfs*79), g.8009_16445del8437 and g.[9777_9814del38; 9911-?_14402del] and the known nonsense mutation c.367C>T (p.Arg123Term). The two gross rearrangements ablated TAZ exons 6 to 11 and probably originated by non-allelic homologous recombination and by Serial Replication Slippage (SRS), respectively. The identification of the breakpoints boundaries of the gross deletions allowed the direct detection of heterozygosity in carrier females. CONCLUSIONS: Lactic acidosis associated with 3-methylglutaconic aciduria is highly suggestive of BS, whilst the severity of the metabolic decompensation at disease onset should be considered for prognostic purposes. Mutation analysis of the TAZ gene is necessary for confirming the clinical and biochemical diagnosis in probands in order to identify heterozygous carriers and supporting prenatal diagnosis and genetic counseling

A comparative study on the effect of different reactive compatibilizers on injection-molded pieces of bio-based high-density polyethylene/polylactide blends

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Quiles-Carrillo, L., Montanes, N., Jorda-Vilaplana, A., Balart, R. and Torres-Giner, S. (2019), A comparative study on the effect of different reactive compatibilizers on injection-molded pieces of bio-based high-density polyethylene/polylactide blends. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 136, 47396, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/APP.47396. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.[EN] The present study reports on the development of binary blends consisting of bio-based high-density polyethylene (bio-HDPE) with polylactide (PLA), in the 5¿20 wt % range, prepared by melt compounding and then shaped into pieces by injection molding. In order to enhance the miscibility between the green polyolefin and the biopolyester, different reactive compatibilizers were added during the melt-blending process, namely polyethylene grafted maleic anhydride (PE-g-MA), poly(ethylene-co-glycidyl methacrylate) (PE-co-GMA), maleinized linseed oil (MLO), and a combination of MLO with dicumyl peroxide (DCP). Among the tested compatibilizers, the dual addition of MLO and DCP provided the binary blend pieces with the most balanced mechanical performance in terms of rigidity and impact strength as well as the highest thermal stability. The fracture surface of the binary blend piece processed with MLO and DCP revealed the formation of a continuous structure in which the dispersed PLA phase was nearly no discerned in the bio-HDPE matrix. The resultant miscibility improvement was ascribed to both the high solubility and plasticizing effect of MLO on the PLA phase as well as the crosslinking effect of DCP on both biopolymers. The latter effect was particularly related to the formation of macroradicals of each biopolymer that, thereafter, led to the in situ formation of bio HDPE-co-PLA copolymers and also to the development of a partially crosslinked network in the binary blend. As a result, cost-effective and fully bio-based polymer pieces with improved mechanical strength, high toughness, and enhanced thermal resistance were obtained.This research was funded by the EU H2020 project YPACK (reference number 773872) and by the Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities (MICIU, project numbers MAT2017-84909-C2-2-R and AGL2015-63855-C2-1-R). Quiles-Carrillo and Torres-Giner are recipients of a FPU grant (FPU15/03812) from the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sports (MECD) and a Juan de la Cierva contract (IJCI-2016-29675) from the MICIU, respectively.Quiles-Carrillo, L.; Montanes, N.; Jorda-Vilaplana, A.; Balart, R.; Torres-Giner, S. (2019). 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One-year stability of glucose dehydrogenase confined in a 3D carbon nanotube electrode with coated poly-methylene green: Application as bioanode for a glucose biofuel cell

International audienceWe report a new approach to fabricate an efficient 3D glucose bioanode based on the co-immobilization of the enzyme glucose dehydrogenase (GDH), its cofactor NADP, and Multiwall Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNTs) coated with poly (methylene green) (PMG). The MWCNT-PMG composite was obtained by chemical polymerization of methylene green (MG) monomer on the MWCNT surfaces. Structural and chemical analyses clearly showed successful coating of the MWCNTs with PMG that markedly affected their morphological and surface charge properties. Electrochemical investigation of PMG-MWCNTs mixed with GDH and NADP showed high stability with extended bioanode electrocatalytic activity toward glucose oxidation for more than one year

Access and utilisation of maternity care for disabled women who experience domestic abuse:a systematic review

BACKGROUND: Although disabled women are significantly more likely to experience domestic abuse during pregnancy than non-disabled women, very little is known about how maternity care access and utilisation is affected by the co-existence of disability and domestic abuse. This systematic review of the literature explored how domestic abuse impacts upon disabled women’s access to maternity services. METHODS: Eleven articles were identified through a search of six electronic databases and data were analysed to identify: the factors that facilitate or compromise access to care; the consequences of inadequate care for pregnant women’s health and wellbeing; and the effectiveness of existing strategies for improvement. RESULTS: Findings indicate that a mental health diagnosis, poor relationships with health professionals and environmental barriers can compromise women’s utilisation of maternity services. Domestic abuse can both compromise, and catalyse, access to services and social support is a positive factor when accessing care. Delayed and inadequate care has adverse effects on women’s physical and psychological health, however further research is required to fully explore the nature and extent of these consequences. Only one study identified strategies currently being used to improve access to services for disabled women experiencing abuse. CONCLUSIONS: Based upon the barriers and facilitators identified within the review, we suggest that future strategies for improvement should focus on: understanding women’s reasons for accessing care; fostering positive relationships; being women-centred; promoting environmental accessibility; and improving the strength of the evidence base