Restoring brain connectivity by phrenic nerve stimulation in sedated and mechanically ventilated patients.

Background: In critically ill patients, deep sedation and mechanical ventilation suppress the brain-diaphragm-lung axis and are associated with cognitive issues in survivors.

Methods: This exploratory crossover design study investigates whether phrenic nerve stimulation can enhance brain activity and connectivity in six deeply sedated, mechanically ventilated patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Results: Our findings indicate that adding phrenic stimulation on top of invasive mechanical ventilation in deeply sedated, critically ill, moderate acute respiratory distress syndrome patients increases cortical activity, connectivity, and synchronization in the frontal-temporal-parietal cortices.

Real-world occupational therapy interventions for early-stage dementia: Characteristics and contextual barriers.

Aim: There is an absence of evidence generated in a UK context to support interventions based on occupational therapists' core skills for people living with early-stage dementia. To inform the development of a programme theory and a future evaluation, this paper aimed to describe real-world (routine) community-based occupational therapy interventions for this population and contextual barriers.

Method: Occupational therapy practitioners ( = 21) from five Health Boards in Wales, UK participated in semi-structured interviews ( = 17) which were audio recorded, transcribed, and analysed thematically.

Distributed sensing along fibers for smart clothing.

Textile sensors transform our everyday clothing into a means to track movement and biosignals in a completely unobtrusive way. One major hindrance to the adoption of "smart" clothing is the difficulty encountered with connections and space when scaling up the number of sensors. There is a lack of research addressing a key limitation in wearable electronics: Connections between rigid and textile elements are often unreliable, and they require interfacing sensors in a way incompatible with textile mass production methods.

Factors associated with the outcomes of a novel virtual reality therapy for military veterans with PTSD: Theory development using a mixed methods analysis.

Background: Multi-modular motion-assisted memory desensitization and reconsolidation therapy (3MDR) is a new psychological intervention for people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 3MDR is immersive, delivered in a virtual reality environment, and emphasises engagement, recollection and reprocessing.

Objective: Through a theory-driven examination of data relating to 10 out of 42 UK military veterans taking part in a trial of 3MDR, the principal objective was to explore the complex interrelationships between people, interventions and context and to investigate how factors within these domains interacted in specific outcome typologies.