Publications by authors named "Paula Carroll"

Stigma surrounding mental health, particularly among men, remains a significant barrier to men engaging with support services for their mental health. Despite increasing evidence of interventions targeting different aspects of stigma reduction, there is a notable gap in the literature concerning male-specific mental health stigma reduction interventions and on the underlying behavior change techniques (BCTs) used to reduce stigma. The purpose of this review is to synthesize the evidence relating to the impact of mental health stigma reduction interventions among men and to explore the underlying BCTs associated with each intervention.

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CDC45-MCM2-7-GINS (CMG) helicase assembly is the central event in eukaryotic replication initiation. In yeast, a multi-subunit "pre-loading complex" (pre-LC) accompanies GINS to chromatin-bound MCM2-7, leading to CMG formation. Here, we report that DONSON, a metazoan protein mutated in microcephalic primordial dwarfism, is required for CMG assembly in vertebrates.

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Introduction: Farmers in Ireland experience poor health outcomes and are considered 'hard to reach'. Agricultural advisors ('advisors') are uniquely positioned to support and signpost farmers on health issues. This paper explores the acceptability and terms of reference of a potential health role for advisors, and offers key recommendations for developing a bespoke farmers' health training programme.

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Background: Obesity increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, mobility problems and some cancers, and its prevalence is rising. Men engage less than women in existing weight loss interventions. Game of Stones builds on a successful feasibility study and aims to find out if automated text messages with or without endowment incentives are effective and cost-effective for weight loss at 12 months compared to a waiting list comparator arm in men with obesity.

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The mutational landscape is shaped by many processes. Genic regions are vulnerable to mutation but are preferentially protected by transcription-coupled repair. In microorganisms, transcription has been demonstrated to be mutagenic; however, the impact of transcription-associated mutagenesis remains to be established in higher eukaryotes.

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Background: Over the past decade several physical activity (PA) interventions have been shown to be efficacious in a controlled research setting, however there is a continued lack of evidence for how to successfully implement these PA interventions in real-world settings such as the community. This review aims to explore the barriers and facilitators that affect the implementation of community-based PA interventions and make recommendations to improve implementation from the included studies.

Methods: A systematic literature search of EBSCOhost, Scopus, PUBMED and Web of Science was conducted to identify articles that reported qualitative data on the implementation factors of community-based interventions where PA was a primary outcome.

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Compared to other occupational groups, farmers in Ireland experience a disproportionate burden of health problems, which impact farmers' livelihoods and farming sustainability. Internationally, farmers' poor health outcomes are associated with intersecting economic, environmental, socio-cultural, and occupation-specific factors linked to changes in agricultural governance. This qualitative study explored the challenges and stressors facing farmers in Ireland and how changes in farming governance have impacted farmers' identities, masculinities and health.

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DNA replication is fundamental for cell proliferation in all organisms. Nonetheless, components of the replisome have been implicated in human disease, and here we report encoding the catalytic subunit of DNA primase as a novel disease gene. Using a variant classification agnostic approach, biallelic mutations in PRIM1 were identified in five individuals.

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Background: Men, particularly those living in disadvantaged areas, are less likely to participate in weight management programmes than women despite similar levels of excess weight. Little is known about how best to recruit men to weight management interventions. This paper describes patient and public involvement in pre-trial decisions relevant to recruitment and aims to report on recruitment to the subsequent men-only weight management feasibility trial, including the: i) acceptability and feasibility of recruitment; and ii) baseline sample characteristics by recruitment strategy.

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Article Synopsis
  • The 'Men on the Move' (MOM) program is a community-based physical activity intervention for men that has shown significant health benefits and cost-effectiveness, making it a public health priority in Ireland.
  • The economic evaluation was done by comparing the costs of the program to its health benefits, specifically focusing on quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) gained from improvements in participants' health.
  • Results indicated that MOM costs €125.82 per participant, yielding improvement in health status with a cost per QALY of €3723, which is well below established benchmarks, confirming its effectiveness and potential for national rollout.
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Objectives: To examine the acceptability and feasibility of narrative text messages with or without financial incentives to support weight loss for men.

Design: Individually randomised three-arm feasibility trial with 12 months' follow-up.

Setting: Two sites in Scotland with high levels of disadvantage according to Scottish Index for Multiple Deprivation (SIMD).

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Background: Amid increasing concerns about rising obesity rates and unhealthy lifestyle behaviours, physical activity (PA) is seen as a prophylactic to many chronic conditions affecting men. Men respond best to community-based PA programmes, using gender-specific promotional and delivery strategies. 'Men on the Move' (MOM) was developed on this basis and targeted inactive adult men in Ireland.

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Background: Issues surrounding gender and men's health have become an increasing focus of public health globally. Unhealthy lifestyles and lower engagement in health promotion initiatives contributed to lower life expectancy and higher mortality rates among men. This study presents the pre-adoption characteristics of men who registered for 'Men on the Move'-a community-based physical activity (CBPA) programme, to ascertain whether the programme reached its intended target group, i.

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DNA is strictly compartmentalized within the nucleus to prevent autoimmunity; despite this, cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS), a cytosolic sensor of double-stranded DNA, is activated in autoinflammatory disorders and by DNA damage. Precisely how cellular DNA gains access to the cytoplasm remains to be determined. Here, we report that cGAS localizes to micronuclei arising from genome instability in a mouse model of monogenic autoinflammation, after exogenous DNA damage and spontaneously in human cancer cells.

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Article Synopsis
  • Cells have developed various mechanisms to ensure smooth DNA replication and fix issues when replication stalls, and the study introduces DONSON as a new factor that helps protect the DNA replication process.
  • Researchers discovered biallelic mutations in the DONSON gene in 29 individuals with microcephalic dwarfism, indicating a link between these mutations and the disease.
  • DONSON is essential for maintaining stability at replication forks; its absence leads to DNA damage and increased chromosomal instability, highlighting its critical role in healthy DNA replication and genome stability.
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Ireland's National Men's Health Policy recommended developing training programmes tailored to the needs of those working in health and allied health professionals and ENGAGE was developed to meet that recommendation. This study evaluated the impact of ENGAGE on frontline service providers' self-reported knowledge, skills, capacity and practice up to 5-months post training. Between 2012 and 2015, ENGAGE Trainers (n = 57) delivered 62 1-day training programmes to 810 participants.

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Compaction of chromosomes is essential for accurate segregation of the genome during mitosis. In vertebrates, two condensin complexes ensure timely chromosome condensation, sister chromatid disentanglement, and maintenance of mitotic chromosome structure. Here, we report that biallelic mutations in NCAPD2, NCAPH, or NCAPD3, encoding subunits of these complexes, cause microcephaly.

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This study set out to identify the mediators of diffusion of a Training of Trainers (ToT) programme; focusing on ENGAGE, Ireland's national men's health training programme, we explored the process (planning, implementation and maintenance) of using a ToT model of training to affect change in gender sensitive health and social service provision for men. Our findings indicate that an experiential learning approach in combination with mechanisms for feedback and fostering peer-based support during training and beyond are key strategies that foster individual (Trainer), community (of Trainers) and organizational (Trainer workplaces) level ownership. Moreover, by adapting in response to feedback, ENGAGE was able to remain relevant over a number years and to different cohorts of Trainers.

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Aicardi-Goutières syndrome (AGS) provides a monogenic model of nucleic acid-mediated inflammation relevant to the pathogenesis of systemic autoimmunity. Mutations that impair ribonuclease (RNase) H2 enzyme function are the most frequent cause of this autoinflammatory disorder of childhood and are also associated with systemic lupus erythematosus. Reduced processing of eitherRNA:DNAhybrid or genome-embedded ribonucleotide substrates is thought to lead to activation of a yet undefined nucleic acid-sensing pathway.

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Non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) is a key cellular process ensuring genome integrity. Mutations in several components of the NHEJ pathway have been identified, often associated with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), consistent with the requirement for NHEJ during V(D)J recombination to ensure diversity of the adaptive immune system. In contrast, we have recently found that biallelic mutations in LIG4 are a common cause of microcephalic primordial dwarfism (MPD), a phenotype characterized by prenatal-onset extreme global growth failure.

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