Framework, principles and recommendations for utilising participatory methodologies in the co-creation and evaluation of public health interventions

Background: Due to the chronic disease burden on society, there is a need for preventive public health interventions to stimulate society towards a healthier lifestyle. To deal with the complex variability between individual lifestyles and settings, collaborating with end-users to develop interventions tailored to their unique circumstances has been suggested as a potential way to improve effectiveness and adherence. Co-creation of public health interventions using participatory methodologies has shown promise but lacks a framework to make this process systematic. The aim of this paper was to identify and set key principles and recommendations for systematically applying participatory methodologies to co-create and evaluate public health interventions. Methods: These principles and recommendations were derived using an iterative reflection process, combining key learning from published literature in addition to critical reflection on three case studies conducted by research groups in three European institutions, all of whom have expertise in co-creating public health interventions using different participatory methodologies. Results: Key principles and recommendations for using participatory methodologies in public health intervention co-creation are presented for the stages of: Planning (framing the aim of the study and identifying the appropriate sampling strategy); Conducting (defining the procedure, in addition to manifesting ownership); Evaluating (the process and the effectiveness) and Reporting (providing guidelines to report the findings). Three scaling models are proposed to demonstrate how to scale locally developed interventions to a population level. Conclusions: These recommendations aim to facilitate public health intervention co-creation and evaluation utilising participatory methodologies by ensuring the process is systematic and reproducible

Role of STAT4 in Innate Immune Response of Myeloid Cells

Background and Hypothesis: Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 4 (STAT4), which belongs to STAT protein family, is induced in myeloid cells after exposure bacteria pathogen-associated molecular pattern (PAMP) and IL-12. STAT4 is critical for the activation of genes that are part of the inflammatory response in myeloid cells. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is one of the multi-drug-resistant pathogens that has become a serious nosocomial and community acquired infection in the United States although the innate immune response to MRSA is still not completely defined. Our preliminary data suggests that STAT4 is required for the innate immune response to MRSA early during infection. Our hypothesis is that STAT4-deficient macrophages in mice will have a decreased production of cytokines and chemokine, which are critical for the activation of innate inflammatory response, compare to wild-type macrophages.Experimental Design or Project Methods: The innate immune response of STAT4-deficient macrophages in mice has been studied in vitro after subsequent exposure to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and heat killed MRSA. In addition, quantitative PCR (qPCR) and phosphor-STAT4 staining were used to determine the difference cytokines production and phosphorylation of STAT4 between wild type mice and STAT4 conditional knocked out (CKO) in myeloid cells.Results: Our findings demonstrate that STAT4-deficient macrophages in mice have decreased levels of STAT4 expression and production of cytokines, compared to wild-type macrophages.Conclusion and Potential Impact: Our data fill the existing gaps of the role of STAT4 in myeloid cells and innate immune response, which will allow us to discover alternative treatments against MRSA by manipulating STAT4 pathway in myeloid cells

Chronic Pain through COVID

Data availability statement: The datasets presented in this article are not readily available because the data is confidential and anonymous. Requests to access the datasets should be directed to [email protected] statement: The studies involving human participants were reviewed and approved by Abertay University’s Research Ethics Committee (EMS4573). The patients/participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study.Copyright © 2022 Dunham, Bacon, Cottom, McCrone, Mehrpouya, Spyridonis, Thompson and Schofield. Objectives: To identify good practice in the community management of chronic pain, and to understand the perspective of a group of healthcare service users towards the management of chronic pain using technology during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Forty-five people, recruited via social media and Pain Association Scotland, participated in three focus groups hosted over Zoom. Focus groups were conducted using semi-structured questions to guide the conversation. Data were analysed using Ritchie / Spencer's Framework Analysis. Results: The participants shared observations of their experiences of remotely supported chronic pain services and insights into the potential for future chronic pain care provision. Experiences were in the majority positive with some describing their rapid engagement with technology during the COVID pandemic. Conclusion: Results suggest there is strong potential for telehealth to complement and support existing provision of pain management services

Granzyme A-producing T helper cells are critical for acute graft-versus-host disease

Acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) can occur after hematopoietic cell transplant in patients undergoing treatment for hematological malignancies or inborn errors. Although CD4+ T helper (Th) cells play a major role in aGVHD, the mechanisms by which they contribute, particularly within the intestines, have remained elusive. We have identified a potentially novel subset of Th cells that accumulated in the intestines and produced the serine protease granzyme A (GrA). GrA+ Th cells were distinct from other Th lineages and exhibited a noncytolytic phenotype. In vitro, GrA+ Th cells differentiated in the presence of IL-4, IL-6, and IL-21 and were transcriptionally unique from cells cultured with either IL-4 or the IL-6/IL-21 combination alone. In vivo, both STAT3 and STAT6 were required for GrA+ Th cell differentiation and played roles in maintenance of the lineage identity. Importantly, GrA+ Th cells promoted aGVHD-associated morbidity and mortality and contributed to crypt destruction within intestines but were not required for the beneficial graft-versus-leukemia effect. Our data indicate that GrA+ Th cells represent a distinct Th subset and are critical mediators of aGVHD

Chronic pain through COVID

Objectives: To identify good practice in the community management of chronic pain, and to understand the perspective of a group of healthcare service users towards the management of chronic pain using technology during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Forty-five people, recruited via social media and Pain Association Scotland, participated in three focus groups hosted over Zoom. Focus groups were conducted using semi-structured questions to guide the conversation. Data were analysed using Ritchie / Spencer's Framework Analysis. Results: The participants shared observations of their experiences of remotely supported chronic pain services and insights into the potential for future chronic pain care provision. Experiences were in the majority positive with some describing their rapid engagement with technology during the COVID pandemic. Conclusion: Results suggest there is strong potential for telehealth to complement and support existing provision of pain management services

STAT4 is expressed in neutrophils and promotes antimicrobial immunity

Signal transducer and activator of transcription 4 (STAT4) is expressed in hematopoietic cells and plays a key role in the differentiation of T helper 1 cells. Although STAT4 is required for immunity to intracellular pathogens, the T cell-independent protective mechanisms of STAT4 are not clearly defined. In this report, we demonstrate that STAT4-deficient mice were acutely sensitive to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection. We show that STAT4 was expressed in neutrophils and activated by IL-12 via a JAK2-dependent pathway. We demonstrate that STAT4 was required for multiple neutrophil functions, including IL-12-induced ROS production, chemotaxis, and production of the neutrophil extracellular traps. Importantly, myeloid-specific and neutrophil-specific deletion of STAT4 resulted in enhanced susceptibility to MRSA, demonstrating the key role of STAT4 in the in vivo function of these cells. Thus, these studies identify STAT4 as an essential regulator of neutrophil functions and a component of innate immune responses in vivo

Critical thrust force and feed rate determination in drilling of GFRP laminate with backup plate

Using backup plate is one of the most commonly used methods to decrease drilling-induced delamination of composite laminates. It has been shown that, the size of the delamination zone is related to the vertical element of cutting force named as thrust force. Also, direct control of thrust force is not a routine task, because, it depends on both drilling parameters and mechanical properties of the composite laminate. In this research, critical feed rate and thrust force are predicted analytically for delamination initiation in drilling of composite laminates with backup plate. Three common theories, linear elastic fracture mechanics, classical laminated plate and mechanics of oblique cutting, are used to model the problem. Based on the proposed analytical model, the effect of drill radius, chisel edge size, and backup plate size on the critical thrust force and feed rate are investigated. Experimental tests were carried out to prove analytical model