"It's nothing you could ever prepare anyone for": the experiences of young people and their families following parental stroke

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis Group in Brain Injury on 21 March 2018, available online at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02699052.2018.1426879. The accepted manuscript is under embargo until 18 January 2019.Aims: This study sought to explore the experiences of young people (aged 8–16) and their families following parental acquired brain injury (ABI), with the aim of developing an understanding of the ways in which members of a family make sense of events post-injury, and to consider the implications of different perspectives on adjustment and coping. Design: The study applied a qualitative approach using a thematic analysis methodology. Procedure: Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 individuals from three families affected by parental stroke. Results: Findings suggested that post-injury, families experienced a period of uncertainty in which they were required to renegotiate their roles and adjust to the loss associated with parental stroke. Additionally, the psychosocial wellbeing of young people was negatively affected, whilst protective and coping strategies were recognised. Conclusions: The research offers an insight into the processes that may contribute to patterns of interpersonal relating that could negatively impact on adjustment. Provision of adequate information, psychological and practical support during recovery may therefore be crucial elements of supporting young people and their families in adjusting to the challenges posed by stroke.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Age stratigraphy and basal properties of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet from radio-echo sounding measurements : and inferences about ice dynamics

The ice sheet internal structure is an imprint of its history and dynamics, and, additionally, the ice and enclosed air provide valuable information about the past climate. An established continent-wide stratigraphy can constrain both paleo-climate reconstructions and ice-flow models. In this study, the internal stratigraphy and basal properties of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) are inferred from radio-echo sounding (RES) measurements and interpreted with respect to ice dynamics. The first part evaluates the compatibility of multiple RES data sets and investigates the physical cause for RES internal reflections, ensuring their isochronicity. These reflections are used to map the age-depth stratigraphy of the EAIS. The depth distribution of paleo surfaces provides first estimates about accumulation-rate distribution and maximum age of the ice. The third part analyzes the roughness of the EAIS' base. Relationships between basal roughness, ice-flow speed and basal temperatures are observed, which could serve as a method to infer the basal thermal condition or validate modeled temperate-bed locations

Entwicklung und Evaluation einer spieltherapeutischen Intervention bei maladaptiven subjektiven Krankheitsannahmen pädiatrisch-onkologischer Patient:innen

Die Überlebenschancen bei Krebserkrankungen im Kindesalter haben sich in den letzten Jahrzehn-ten durch weiterentwickelte Behandlungsmöglichkeiten stark verbessert. Bei den Überlebenden einer Krebserkrankung kommen nach Abschluss der Krebstherapie allerdings gehäuft psychische Belastungssymptome vor. Aus aktueller Forschung ist bekannt, dass das Gesundheitsverhalten und die psychische Gesundheit nicht nur von medizinischen Faktoren abhängen, sondern auch abhängig von der individuellen Wahrnehmung und Einschätzung der eigenen Erkrankung sind. Diese sogenannten subjektiven Krankheitsannahmen hängen signifikant mit Ängsten, Depressio-nen und der Lebensqualität der Patient:innen zusammen. Die Veränderung negativer subjektiver Krankheitsannahmen durch psychologische Interventionen könnte zu einer Verbesserung psychi-scher Symptomatik führen. Für Erwachsene gibt es bereits verschiedene publizierte manualisierte therapeutische Interventionen zur Veränderung negativer Krankheitsannahmen. Für Patient:innen im Kindesalter existieren dagegen noch keine derartigen Interventionen. In meiner Dissertation entwickle ich eine spielerische handpuppenbasierte Kurzintervention zur Veränderung negativer Krankheitsannahmen für krebskranke Kinder im Alter von 5-10 Jahren. Um Inhalte einer solchen Intervention zu identifizieren, wurden in einem ersten Schritt n=19 Ex-pert:innen in einer Delphi-Befragung um ihre Einschätzungen zu verschiedenen Fallbeispielen ge-beten. Die befragten Expert:innen sind Sozialarbeiter:innen, Psycholog:innen, Psychothera-peut:innen, Sozialpädagog:innen, Kunsttherapeut:innen, Musiktherapeut:innen, Sportthera-peut:innen und Erzieher:innen, welche in der ambulanten und stationären psychosozialen Versor-gung von Kindern mit Krebserkrankungen tätig sind. Die so erhaltenen Interventionsideen werden derzeit ausgewertet und zusammengefasst. In einem zweiten Schritt werden die Expert:innen nochmals befragt und sollen die Umsetzbarkeit und Sinnhaftigkeit der Interventionsideen ein-schätzen. So soll unter allen Expert:innen ein Konsens gefunden werden, um die spielerische Kurzintervention zur Veränderung negativer Krankheitsannahmen zu entwickeln. Die so entstan-dene manualisierte Intervention soll anschließend mit n=8 Patient:innen pilotiert und auf ihre Machbarkeit hin überprüft werden.:Theoretischer Hintergrund Methoden Ergebnisse Ausblic

Bismuth-Based Nano- and Microparticles in X-Ray Contrast, Radiation Therapy, and Radiation Shielding Applications

Bismuth has gained attention in preclinical research because of its ability to attenuate X-rays and high biocompatibility, which make it an excellent element for use in a biomedical agent or in radiation shielding. Developments in the synthesis of elemental bismuth nano- and microparticles, their X-radiation interactions, and their biological interactions will be reviewed in this chapter. The chapter will pay special focus to emerging medical applications of elemental bismuth nano- and microparticles, including the possibility of targeted molecular X-ray imaging, photo-thermal and X-radiation dose enhancing therapies for cancer treatment, and the construction of flexible radiation shielding materials and X-ray opaque devices

Dye-Loaded Mechanochromic and pH-Responsive Elastomeric Opal Films

In this work, the preparation and fabrication of elastomeric opal films revealing reversible mechanochromic and pH-responsive features are reported. The core-interlayer-shell (CIS) particles are synthesized via stepwise emulsion polymerization leading to hard core (polystyrene), crosslinked interlayer (poly(methyl methacrylate-co-allyl methacrylate), and soft poly(ethyl acrylate-co-butyl acrylate-co-(2-hydroxyethyl) methacrylate) shell particles featuring a size of 294.9 ± 14.8 nm. This particle architecture enables the application of the melt-shear organization technique leading to elastomeric opal films with orange, respectively, green brilliant reflection colors dependent on the angle of view. Moreover, the hydroxyl moieties as part of the particle shell are advantageously used for subsequent thermally induced crosslinking reactions enabling the preparation of reversibly tunable mechanochromic structural colors based on Bragg's law of diffraction. Additionally, the CIS particles can be loaded upon extrusion or chemically by a postfunctionalization strategy with organic dyes implying pH-responsive features. This convenient protocol for preparing multi-responsive, reversibly stretch-tunable opal films is expected to enable a new material family for anti-counterfeiting applications based on external triggers

Dye-Loaded Mechanochromic and pH-Responsive Elastomeric Opal Films

In this work, the preparation and fabrication of elastomeric opal films revealing reversible mechanochromic and pH-responsive features are reported. The core–interlayer–shell (CIS) particles are synthesized via stepwise emulsion polymerization leading to hard core (polystyrene), crosslinked interlayer (poly(methyl methacrylate-co-allyl methacrylate), and soft poly(ethyl acrylate-co-butyl acrylate-co-(2-hydroxyethyl) methacrylate) shell particles featuring a size of 294.9 ± 14.8 nm. This particle architecture enables the application of the melt-shear organization technique leading to elastomeric opal films with orange, respectively, green brilliant reflection colors dependent on the angle of view. Moreover, the hydroxyl moieties as part of the particle shell are advantageously used for subsequent thermally induced crosslinking reactions enabling the preparation of reversibly tunable mechanochromic structural colors based on Bragg's law of diffraction. Additionally, the CIS particles can be loaded upon extrusion or chemically by a postfunctionalization strategy with organic dyes implying pH-responsive features. This convenient protocol for preparing multi-responsive, reversibly stretch-tunable opal films is expected to enable a new material family for anti-counterfeiting applications based on external triggers

Metal Uptake and Toxicity in Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) When Exposed to Metal Mixtures Plus Natural Organic Matter

Multiple metal-gill modelling based on the toxic unit concept suggests that metals with the same toxic actions (e.g. Pb and Cd interacting at Ca-gill channels) will exhibit strictly additive binding at the gills of fish if the concentrations of the two metals sum to one toxic unit. Due to the non-linear nature in which metals bind to fish gills, the metal mixture will be more than additive below one toxic unit and less than additive above one toxic unit. This research tested the models by exposing rainbow trout to mixtures of Cd and Pb to investigate the metal-gill binding of these two metals when present in mixtures with fish. The relationship between Cd and Pb in mixtures was also investigated when natural organic matter (NOM) was added to the treatment solutions. Juvenile rainbow trout (5 g) were exposed to equal mixtures of Cd and Pb at 0.75, 1.5, 2.25 and 3.0 µM each. The high gill-Pb accumulation in relation to gill-Cd was unexpected and suggested an additional gill-binding site for Pb aside from the apical Ca channels on the gill. 96 h toxicity experiments revealed that Cd and Pb in mixtures were more toxic than either Cd or Pb alone. The bioaccumulation and partitioning of Cd and Pb within the body of 50 g rainbow trout was investigated when these fish were exposed to mixtures of Cd and Pb. The accumulation of metals within the trout body did not change between the single metal and mixture exposures. To investigate how Pb affects Cd binding to fish gills, and how these metals exert toxicity when present in mixtures, trout (2 g) were exposed to a range of Cd concentrations (0.75, 1.5, 2.25 and 3.0 µM) while maintaining constant Pb concentrations over the same concentration range. Gill binding results revealed that Pb reduced or inhibited gill-Cd binding. With the addition of NOM, this inhibition was lost. LT50 results for fish exposed to metal mixtures for 96 h revealed that without NOM, the mixture toxicity was dependent on Pb concentration. With the addition of NOM, mixture toxicity decreased with increasing Pb

Basal roughness of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet in relation to flow speed and basal thermal state

Basal motion of ice sheets depends in part on the roughness and material properties of the subglacial bed and the occurrence of water. To date, basal motion represents one of the largest uncertainties in ice-flow models. It is that component of the total flow velocity that can change most rapidly and can, therefore, facilitate rapid variations in dynamic behaviour. In this study, we investigate the subglacial properties of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet by statistically analysing the roughness of the bed topography, inferred from radio-echo sounding measurements. We analyse two sets of roughness parameters, one derived in the spatial and the other in the spectral domain, with two roughness parameters each. This enables us to compare the suitability of the four roughness parameters to classify the subglacial landscapes below the ice sheet. We further investigate the relationship of the roughness parameters with observed surface flow velocity and modelled basal temperatures of the ice sheet. We find that one of the roughness parameters, the Hurst exponent derived in the spatial domain, coincides with the thermal condition at the base of the ice sheet for slow flow velocities and varies with flow velocity