A través de los ojos del niño: Una intervención avanzada de coordinación de parentalidad para las familias con alto conflicto posterior al divorcio

This article describes and outlines a brief intervention designed to help bring high conflict divorcing parents back together in solidarity with the express purpose of bettering the family climate for their shared child or children. “Through the Eyes of the Child”, a six-session intervention based on principles of a Focused Coparenting Consultation model, was designed to be implemented during parenting coordination work with high conflict couples, either as an enhancement of the work itself, or as an adjunct intervention that may be offered by another professional concurrently with Phase II of the parenting coordination work. Rationale for and components of the intervention are described, and commentary is offered regarding skills needed to aptly deliver the intervention. Este artículo describe y detalla una breve intervención diseñada para ayudar a que los progenitores en un divorcio con alto grado de conflicto se unan en solidaridad con el propósito de mejorar el clima familiar para sus hijos o hijas en común. «A través de los ojos del niño» es una intervención de seis sesiones basada en los principios del modelo denominado «Focused Coparenting Consultation» (consulta centrada en la coparentalidad). Se diseñó para ser implementada durante la coordinación de parentalidad, ya sea como un potenciador del trabajo en sí o como una intervención paralela que puede ofrecer otro profesional en la fase II de un proceso de coordinación de parentalidad. En el artículo se describen la justificación y los componentes de esta intervención y se comentan las habilidades necesarias para poder implementar esta intervención de manera adecuada.

Sonodynamic inactivation of Gram-positive and Gram-negativebacteria using a Rose Bengal–antimicrobial peptide conjugate

Combating antimicrobial resistance is one of the most serious public health challenges facing society today. The development of new antibiotics or alternative techniques that can help combat antimicrobial resistance is being prioritised by many governments and stakeholders across the globe. Antimicrobial photodynamic therapy is one such technique that has received considerable attention but is limited by the inability of light to penetrate through human tissue, reducing its effectiveness when used to treat deep-seated infections. The related technique sonodynamic therapy (SDT) has the potential to overcome this limitation given the ability of low-intensity ultrasound to penetrate human tissue. In this study, a Rose Bengal–antimicrobial peptide conjugate was prepared for use in antimicrobial SDT (ASDT). When Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa planktonic cultures were treated with the conjugate and subsequently exposed to ultrasound, 5 log and 7 log reductions, respectively, in bacterial numbers were observed. The conjugate also displayed improved uptake by bacterial cells compared with a mammalian cell line (P ≤ 0.01), whilst pre-treatment of a P. aeruginosa biofilm with ultrasound resulted in a 2.6-fold improvement in sensitiser diffusion (P ≤ 0.01). A preliminary in vivo experiment involving ASDT treatment of P. aeruginosa-infected wounds in mice demonstrated that ultrasound irradiation of conjugate-treated wounds affects a substantial reduction in bacterial burden. Combined, the results obtained from this study highlight ASDT as a targeted broad-spectrum novel modality with potential for the treatment of deep-seated bacterial infections

Iodinated Cyanine Dyes: A New Class of Sensitisers for use in NIR Activated Photodynamic Therapy (PDT)

Iodinated cyanine dye 6a has been developed for use as a NIR excited photosensitiser in photodynamic therapy.</p

A long period grating optical fiber sensor with nano-assembled porphyrin layers for detecting ammonia gas

In this study, the ability of a long period grating (LPG) optical fiber sensor coated with a multilayer film of poly(diallyldimethyammonium chloride) (PDDA) and tetrakis(4-sulfophenyl)porphine (TSPP) to detect ammonia gas was demonstrated. The nano-assembled thin film was prepared using a layer-by-layer deposition technique. This combination of an LPG and TSPP could allow highly sensitive optical sensors that specifically bind ammonia to be fabricated. An LPG with a period of 100 μm and a PDDA/TSPP coating produced by depositing fifteen layers afforded a limit of detection of 0.67 ppm for ammonia gas. TSPP molecules in the film acted as ammonia receptors because the TSPP morphologically changed from J- or H-aggregates to free base monomers when it was deprotonated by being exposed to ammonia. Interestingly, HCl vapor could be used to increase the relative amount of J-aggregation in the TSPP and to restore the sensor response. The reversibility of the morphological change in the TSPP allowed reversible changes to occur in the properties of the coating, including the refractive index, film thickness and density, and electrostatic interactions; these influenced the transmission spectrum of the LPG

Ultrasound Mediated Gemcitabine Delivery Reduces the Normal-Tissue Toxicity of Chemoradiation Therapy in a Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer Model

Purpose: Chemoradiation is the standard of care in muscle-invasive bladder. While agents such as gemcitabine can enhance tumour radiosensitisation, their side effects can limit patient eligibility and treatment efficacy. Here we investigate ultrasound and microbubbles for targeting gemcitabine delivery to reduce normal tissue toxicity in a murine orthotopic MIBC model. Materials and Methods: CD1-nude mice were injected orthotopically with RT112 bladder tumour cells. Conventional chemoradiation involved injecting gemcitabine (10 mg/kg) before 6 Gy targeted irradiation of the bladder area using a Small Animal Radiation Research Platform (SARRP). Ultrasound-mediated gemcitabine delivery (10 mg/kg gemcitabine) involved either co-administration of microbubbles with gemcitabine or conjugating gemcitabine onto microbubbles followed by exposure to ultrasound (1.1 MHz centre frequency, 1 MPa peak negative pressure, 1% duty cycle and 0.5 Hz pulse repetition frequency), prior to SARRP irradiation. The effect of ultrasound and microbubbles alone was also tested. Tumour volumes were measured by 3D ultrasound imaging. Acute normal tissue toxicity from 12 Gy to the lower bowel area was assessed using an intestinal crypt assay in mice culled. 3.75 days post-treatment. Results: Significant tumour growth delay was observed with conventional chemoradiation and both microbubble groups (p Conclusions: Ultrasound and microbubbles offer a promising new approach for improving chemoradiation therapy in muscle-invasive bladder cancer, maintaining tumour growth delay but with reduced acute intestinal toxicity compared to conventional chemoradiation therapy.</p

Initiating the dialogue between infant mental health and family therapy: a qualitative inquiry and recommendations

This qualitative study explores infant-family mental health experts' perspectives and experiences regarding the inclusion of infants in the family therapy setting. Infant socioemotional development is relational in nature and evolves in the context of both dyadic attachment relationships and broader multi-person co-parenting systems. Given this, we sought to understand why family therapy interventions involving families with infants rarely include the infant in a triangular or family systemic approach. Interviews were completed by clinical and/or research experts whose work integrates tenets of both infant mental health (IMH) and family theory and therapy. All interviewees brought at least 5 years of expertise and were actively engaged in the field. Interviewees expressed consistent beliefs that infants have a rightful and helpful place in family therapy approaches. They maintained that infants' innate social drive and communicative capacities position them to make meaningful and clinically significant contributions within family and systemic psychotherapy contexts. Noting that infants have remained on the periphery of these practices, experts advocated expansion and greater integration between IMH and family therapy, while preserving each field's distinctive identity. Experts reported that the interplay between IMH and family therapy fields has been uni-directional as family systems concepts are embedded within IMH approaches, but few IMH premises are incorporated in mainstream family therapy practices. The disconnect was attributed to multiple factors, including graduate and professional training and theoretical, clinical, research, and sociocultural barriers, which were mutually reinforcing. Experts also identified clinical gains for both infants and family members when infants were meaningfully included in family interventions. Common ground was identified between the disciplines, with a belief that relationally distressed young children and parents are best served by clinical engagement with their network of relationships. Results call for greater collaboration between disciplines to challenge existing traditions and to more fully include infants in mainstream family therapy. Recommendations for integration of family therapy and IMH in clinical, theoretical, research, training, and sociocultural domains are offered

In situ polymerisation of isoeugenol as a green consolidation method for waterlogged archaeological wood

Waterlogged archaeological wood is often in need of consolidation prior to drying to prevent shrinkage and cracking of the object. There is a need for new greener materials (than for example polyethylene glycol) and methods for consolidation to be developed. The use of wood-based components could provide good interaction between the consolidant and the remaining wood structure and would also support a shift away from fossil fuel-based materials to those with more sustainable sources. Based on this, lignin-like structures have been investigated for their ability to consolidate waterlogged archaeological wood. The in situ formation of a lignin-like material has been carried out using isoeugenol polymerised by horse radish peroxidase in aqueous solution. The formation of the oligomeric/polymeric materials within the wood following this reaction has been determined by Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Infra Red (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy. The oligomers remaining in solution have been characterised by ATR-FTIR and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy as well as analytical ultracentrifugation, showing that they have a weight average Mw of 0.4–0.9 kDa and a lignin-like structure rich in the β-5′ moiety. Therefore, this approach is proposed as a basis to further develop a green consolidation method for waterlogged archaeological wood

Revisiting Family Leisure Research and Critical Reflections on the Future of Family-Centered Scholarship

In this special issue of Leisure Sciences, we examine the progress made and challenges ahead in research on leisure and families—20 years revisited. We consider what advancements have been made in family leisure research and potential new directions that family-centered scholars can look towards. We also consider the dominance of particular theoretical perspectives and methodological designs, and the limitations and consequences of such perspectives, to understand the complexities, diversity, and richness of the lived family experience. Emphasis is placed on the need for scholarship that explores diverse constructions of family and to provide a call to action for family-centered scholars to engage with broader global social issues

Phylogenetic Comparison of F-Box (FBX) Gene Superfamily within the Plant Kingdom Reveals Divergent Evolutionary Histories Indicative of Genomic Drift

The emergence of multigene families has been hypothesized as a major contributor to the evolution of complex traits and speciation. To help understand how such multigene families arose and diverged during plant evolution, we examined the phylogenetic relationships of F-Box (FBX) genes, one of the largest and most polymorphic superfamilies known in the plant kingdom. FBX proteins comprise the target recognition subunit of SCF-type ubiquitin-protein ligases, where they individually recruit specific substrates for ubiquitylation. Through the extensive analysis of 10,811 FBX loci from 18 plant species, ranging from the alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii to numerous monocots and eudicots, we discovered strikingly diverse evolutionary histories. The number of FBX loci varies widely and appears independent of the growth habit and life cycle of land plants, with a little as 198 predicted for Carica papaya to as many as 1350 predicted for Arabidopsis lyrata. This number differs substantially even among closely related species, with evidence for extensive gains/losses. Despite this extraordinary inter-species variation, one subset of FBX genes was conserved among most species examined. Together with evidence of strong purifying selection and expression, the ligases synthesized from these conserved loci likely direct essential ubiquitylation events. Another subset was much more lineage specific, showed more relaxed purifying selection, and was enriched in loci with little or no evidence of expression, suggesting that they either control more limited, species-specific processes or arose from genomic drift and thus may provide reservoirs for evolutionary innovation. Numerous FBX loci were also predicted to be pseudogenes with their numbers tightly correlated with the total number of FBX genes in each species. Taken together, it appears that the FBX superfamily has independently undergone substantial birth/death in many plant lineages, with its size and rapid evolution potentially reflecting a central role for ubiquitylation in driving plant fitness

Clinical Utility of Random Anti–Tumor Necrosis Factor Drug–Level Testing and Measurement of Antidrug Antibodies on the Long-Term Treatment Response in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Objective: To investigate whether antidrug antibodies and/or drug non-trough levels predict the long-term treatment response in a large cohort of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated with adalimumab or etanercept and to identify factors influencing antidrug antibody and drug levels to optimize future treatment decisions.  Methods: A total of 331 patients from an observational prospective cohort were selected (160 patients treated with adalimumab and 171 treated with etanercept). Antidrug antibody levels were measured by radioimmunoassay, and drug levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 835 serial serum samples obtained 3, 6, and 12 months after initiation of therapy. The association between antidrug antibodies and drug non-trough levels and the treatment response (change in the Disease Activity Score in 28 joints) was evaluated.  Results: Among patients who completed 12 months of followup, antidrug antibodies were detected in 24.8% of those receiving adalimumab (31 of 125) and in none of those receiving etanercept. At 3 months, antidrug antibody formation and low adalimumab levels were significant predictors of no response according to the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) criteria at 12 months (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve 0.71 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.57, 0.85]). Antidrug antibody–positive patients received lower median dosages of methotrexate compared with antidrug antibody–negative patients (15 mg/week versus 20 mg/week; P = 0.01) and had a longer disease duration (14.0 versus 7.7 years; P = 0.03). The adalimumab level was the best predictor of change in the DAS28 at 12 months, after adjustment for confounders (regression coefficient 0.060 [95% CI 0.015, 0.10], P = 0.009). Etanercept levels were associated with the EULAR response at 12 months (regression coefficient 0.088 [95% CI 0.019, 0.16], P = 0.012); however, this difference was not significant after adjustment. A body mass index of ≥30 kg/m2 and poor adherence were associated with lower drug levels.  Conclusion: Pharmacologic testing in anti–tumor necrosis factor–treated patients is clinically useful even in the absence of trough levels. At 3 months, antidrug antibodies and low adalimumab levels are significant predictors of no response according to the EULAR criteria at 12 months