Anaerobic digestion is a promising technology as a renewable source of energy products, but these products have low economic value and process control is challenging. Identifying intermediates formed ...throughout the process could enhance understanding and offer opportunities for improved monitoring, control, and valorisation. In this review, intermediates present in the anaerobic digestion process are identified and discussed, including the following: volatile fatty acids, carboxylic acid, amino acids, furans, terpenes and phytochemicals. The key limitations associated with exploiting these intermediates are also addressed including challenging mixed cultures of microbiology, complex feedstocks, and difficult extraction and separation techniques.
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•AD intermediates are not fully exploited for optimisation or valorisation.•Study of biogas, biofuel and VFAs are reported extensively in the literature.•Longer chain carboxylic acids are receiving increasing research interest.•Phytochemicals, terpenes, furans and amino acids should also be considered.•Biological, extraction and analytical challenges need to be addressed.
Sexual script theory and masculinity theory suggest that men should demonstrate high levels of desire in order to abide by social norms and expectations. The current study explored the degree to ...which men’s descriptions of their sexual desire supported or deviated from these theories’ propositions. Thirty men between the ages of 30 and 65 (
M
age
= 42.83) in heterosexual long-term relationships (
M
duration
= 13 years, 4 months, range = 2 years, 11 months – 39 years, 4 months) were interviewed about their experience of sexual desire. Grounded theory methodology from an interpretivist perspective was used to analyze the data. The majority of participants described having high and constant levels of sexual desire and just over half reported never turning down an opportunity to engage in a sexual encounter. However, most men also indicated that their sexual desire was sometimes feigned in order to appear more masculine or to prevent upsetting their female partner. It is suggested that researchers, therapists, and sex educators be mindful that men face pressures to exhibit sexual desire in stereotypically masculine ways and that outward demonstrations of sexual interest may not always be accurate representations of men’s true experiences.
A multitude of theories, models and frameworks relating to implementing evidence-based practice in health care exist, which can be overwhelming for clinicians and clinical researchers new to the ...field of implementation science. Clinicians often bear responsibility for implementation, but may be unfamiliar with theoretical approaches designed to inform or understand implementation.
In this article, a multidisciplinary group of clinicians and health service researchers present a pragmatic guide to help clinicians and clinical researchers understand what implementation theories, models and frameworks are; how a theoretical approach to implementation might be used; and some prompts to consider when selecting a theoretical approach for an implementation project. Ten commonly used and highly cited theoretical approaches are presented, none of which have been utilised to their full potential in the literature to date. Specifically, theoretical approaches tend to be applied retrospectively to evaluate or interpret findings from a completed implementation project, rather than being used to plan and design theory-informed implementation strategies which would intuitively have a greater likelihood of success. We emphasise that there is no right or wrong way of selecting a theoretical approach, but encourage clinicians to carefully consider the project's purpose, scope and available data and resources to allow them to select an approach that is most likely to "value-add" to the implementation project.
By assisting clinicians and clinical researchers to become confident in selecting and applying theoretical approaches to implementation, we anticipate an increase in theory-informed implementation projects. This then will contribute to more nuanced advice on how to address evidence-practice gaps and ultimately to contribute to better health outcomes.
Current sexual scripts for heterosexual relationships in the Western world stipulate that men should be the ones to initiate sexual activity, push to the next level of physical intimacy, and to ...desire women (and not be desirable themselves). However, there is building evidence that sexual scripts and gender roles are not only limited, they may be evolving and shifting over time. The purpose of the current study was to explore the degree to which feeling desired is considered important to heterosexual men in intimate relationships as well as how heterosexual men feel desired by their partners. Three hundred men between the ages of 18 and 65 were recruited from the online platform Reddit. Using Thematic Analysis, we determined that the vast majority of men in this study felt that feeling desired was very important to their sexual experiences. Men in this study listed several ways they felt desired, many that fell outside of traditional gender roles such as romantic, non-sexual touch and having women initiate sexual activity. The findings add to a growing body of literature which suggests traditional sexual scripts for heterosexual men may be limiting and not accurate for all men's sexual experiences.
To explore the differences in social norms around parents' food provision in different provision contexts and by demographics.
Qualitative study using story completion methodology via an online ...survey in September 2021. Adults 18+ with or without children were randomised to one of three story stems focusing on food provision in different contexts; food provision at home (non-visitor), with visitors present and with the involvement of sport. Stories were coded and themed using thematic analysis. A content analysis was performed to determine count and frequency of codes in stories by participant demographics and story assumptions.
Australia.
Adults (
196).
Nine themes were identified from the data resulting in four social norms around providing healthy foods and justifying non-adherence to healthy eating guidelines, evolution of family life and mealtime values, the presence of others influencing how we engage with food provision and unhealthy foods used as incentives/rewards in sport. Following content analysis, no differences of themes or norms by participant demographics or story assumptions were found.
We identified pervasive social norms around family food provision and further identified how contextual factors resulted in variations or distinct norms. This highlights the impact context may have on the social norms parents face when providing food to their children and the opportunities and risks of leveraging these social norms to influence food choice in these contexts. Public health interventions and practitioners should understand the influence of context and social environments when promoting behaviour change and providing individualised advice. Future research could explore parents' experiences of these norms and to what extent they impact food choice.
This study aimed to explore older patients' oral health status, their opinions about oral health care and their experiences with oral health care while in hospital.
Improving older adults' oral ...health is considered an urgent priority at both the national and international levels, especially for hospitalised older patients who have been found to have poor oral health. However, a one-size-fits-all standardised approach to oral care delivery may not be the answer.
This study was an embedded, multiple-case study, integrating qualitative and quantitative data. Seven patients were recruited from a geriatric ward of an acute hospital in Australia and participated in semi-structured interviews and oral health assessments using the Oral Health Assessment Tool (OHAT) in June-July 2022. Data were analysed descriptively and presented in case summaries.
OHAT assessments identified oral health problems in all patients, but not all patients self-reported problems with their mouths. Each patient valued oral health care, but the reasons given varied. Patients had established, individualised oral health care routines, which they brought to hospital.
Clinical observations of patient's oral health status might not match the patient's own judgement of their oral health and, if not explicitly addressed, may mask the need for oral health and hygiene intervention. Assessment and care planning needs to incorporate patients' own perceptions of their oral health and existing oral health care routines. Oral health histories may provide a means of facilitating this person-centred oral health care for older patients in hospital.
Social relationships play a key role in both substance use and homelessness. Transitioning out of homelessness often requires reduction in substance use as well as changes in social networks. A ...social network-based behavior change intervention that targets changes personal social networks may assist the transition out of homelessness. Most behavior change interventions that incorporate social networks assume a static network. However, people experiencing homelessness who transition into housing programs that use a harm reduction approach experience many changes in their social networks during this transition. Changes may include disconnecting from street-based network contacts, re-connecting with former network contacts, and exposure to new network members who actively engage in substance use. An intervention that helps people transitioning out of homelessness make positive alterations to their social networks may compliment traditional harm reduction housing program services.
We conducted a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) of an innovative Social Network Intervention (MI-SNI), which combines network visualization and Motivational Interviewing to assist adults transitioning out of homelessness. The MI-SNI provides feedback to new residents about their social environments and is designed to motivate residents to make positive changes in both their individual behavior and their personal network. In a sample of 41 adult housing program residents with past year risky substance use, we examined whether participants randomized to receive a MI-SNI showed greater changes in their personal networks over 3 months compared to those receiving usual care.
There were significant differences in the networks of the MI-SNI group compared to the group receiving usual care at follow-up, controlling for baseline network characteristics. The MI-SNI group had greater reductions in the proportion of their network members who influenced alcohol or other drug use (AOD) use, such as drinking partners, and more frequently changed their relationships in the direction of lower AOD risk with network members who were retained in their networks across waves.
This study is the first pilot test of a MI-SNI customized for assisting the transition out of homelessness to test for personal network changes. Results indicate that MI-SNIs can have a positive impact on short-term network changes and thus may serve as a useful adjunct to behavioral change interventions. These findings suggest that a MI-SNI approach may help individuals experiencing homelessness and risky AOD use positively restructure their social networks while transitioning into supportive housing. These promising results suggest the need for a larger RCT test of this innovative intervention approach.
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02140359.
Motivation: Robust large-scale sequence analysis is a major challenge in modern genomic science, where biologists are frequently trying to characterize many millions of sequences. Here, we describe a ...new Java-based architecture for the widely used protein function prediction software package InterProScan. Developments include improvements and additions to the outputs of the software and the complete reimplementation of the software framework, resulting in a flexible and stable system that is able to use both multiprocessor machines and/or conventional clusters to achieve scalable distributed data analysis. InterProScan is freely available for download from the EMBl-EBI FTP site and the open source code is hosted at Google Code.
Availability and implementation: InterProScan is distributed via FTP at ftp://ftp.ebi.ac.uk/pub/software/unix/iprscan/5/ and the source code is available from http://code.google.com/p/interproscan/.
Contact:
http://www.ebi.ac.uk/support or interhelp@ebi.ac.uk or mitchell@ebi.ac.uk
PURPOSEThis study explored experiences of the management of challenging behaviours after traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the acute hospital setting from the perspectives of family members.MATERIALS ...AND METHODSA qualitative, interpretive phenomenological approach was adopted involving semi-structured interviews with 10 family members. Interviews were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis, with Ecological Systems Theory applied as a guiding framework to discuss findings and implications for practice.RESULTSFour primary themes were identified: 1) The hospital environment; 2) Hospital staffing; 3) Identifying and preventing triggers, and 4) Family support and information.CONCLUSIONSThis qualitative study highlights the need for further information, education, and support to families of patients with TBI in the acute setting. Further research investigating the implementation of best practice approaches for managing challenging behaviours practice in acute settings is needed to overcome the barriers of the hospital environment, inexperienced and inconsistent staffing, and difficulties identifying triggers within the acute hospital setting, experienced by families. Approaches for family involvement in behaviour management strategies, and facilitation of communication for people with TBI in the acute setting requires exploration.
Background and Aims
To review published studies on the effectiveness of combining cognitive‐behavioural therapy (CBT) and motivational interviewing (MI) to treat comorbid clinical and subclinical ...alcohol use disorder (AUD) and major depression (MDD) and estimate the effect of this compared with usual care.
Methods
We conducted systematic literature searches in PubMed, PsycINFO and Embase up to June 2013 and identified additional studies through cross‐references in included studies and systematic reviews. Twelve studies comprising 1721 patients met our inclusion criteria. The studies had sufficient statistical power to detect small effect sizes.
Results
CBT/MI proved effective for treating subclinical and clinical AUD and MDD compared with controls, with small overall effect sizes at post‐treatment g = 0.17, confidence interval (CI) = 0.07–0.28, P < 0.001 for decrease of alcohol consumption and g = 0.27, CI: 0.13–0.41, P < 0.001 for decrease of symptoms of depression, respectively. Subgroup analyses revealed no significant differences for both AUD and MDD. However, digital interventions showed a higher effect size for depression than face‐to‐face interventions (g = 0.73 and g = 0.23, respectively, P = 0.030).
Conclusions
Combined cognitive‐behavioural therapy and motivational interviewing for clinical or subclinical depressive and alcohol use disorders has a small but clinically significant effect in treatment outcomes compared with treatment as usual.
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