Publications by authors named "Smyth S"

Inherited cardiac conditions (ICCs) encompass a range of rare genetic heart diseases and require the expert care of a skilled multidisciplinary team. Increased awareness of these conditions and advances in genetic testing have led to a rise in demand for specialist ICC services. The Centre for Inherited Cardiovascular Diseases at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, England, is a tertiary centre for the diagnosis and management of ICCs in children and young people.

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Article Synopsis
  • The aim of the study was to explore nurses' and midwives' experiences with clinical supervision and to define how clinical supervision is characterized in existing literature.
  • The scoping review analyzed 43 peer-reviewed articles from various databases, focusing on different types of supervision experiences across 15 countries and noting variations in definitions.
  • The findings suggest that while there is some evidence on these experiences, significant gaps and inconsistencies in the definitions and practices of clinical supervision remain, highlighting the need for more research in this area.
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Virtual reality simulation (VRS) has the potential to disrupt and transform current understandings and practices in simulation-based education in health professions curricula. Recent technological developments, including AI applications, give the learner high levels of immersion into a virtual environment that even more closely mimic the real world than heretofore. At the same time, there are significant obstacles facing educators who strive to integrate VRS into their simulation curricula.

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Forecasted increases in the prevalence and severity of extreme weather events accompanying changes in climatic behavior pose potential risk to the reproductive capacity of humans and animals of ecological and agricultural significance. While several studies have revealed that heat stress induced by challenges such as testicular insulation can elicit a marked negative effect on the male reproductive system, and particularly the production of spermatozoa, less is known about the immediate impact on male reproductive function following subchronic whole-body exposure to elevated ambient temperature. To address this knowledge gap, we exposed unrestrained male mice to heat stress conditions that emulate a heat wave (daily cycle of 8 h at 35 °C followed by 16 h at 25 °C) for a period of 7 d.

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Background: A dementia diagnosis can lead to a decline in cognitive, social, and physical health, but people with dementia can live meaningful lives and participate actively in society with psychosocial support. This single-arm, non-randomised feasibility study explored the feasibility and acceptability of a Comprehensive REsilience-building psychoSocial intervenTion (CREST) for people with dementia, their caregivers, General Practitioners (GPs), and the public.

Methods: Nine people with dementia and their primary caregivers living in the community (n = 9 dyads) completed the CREST intervention which had three components (cognitive stimulation therapy [CST], physical exercise, and dementia education).

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Background: A novel Complex REsilience-building psychoSocial intervenTion (CREST) targeted at people with dementia, their informal carers, general practitioners and the wider community with the aim of increasing resilience and strengthening the personal attributes or external assets of people with dementia living at home, in the community, was developed. It included three components: cognitive stimulation therapy (CST), physical exercise and dementia education. A non-randomised feasibility study was conducted of the CREST intervention, the aim of which was to inform the design of a future randomised controlled trial.

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Objectives: The aim of this study of this study was to evaluate preoperative radiology and histopathology findings in cervical cancer lymphadenopathy detection, allowing targeted frozen section examination (FSE).

Design: A retrospective analysis was conducted of 203 early-stage cervical cancer patients between 2010 and 2019 in a tertiary centre.

Participants/materials, Setting, And Methods: All patients had histologically confirmed cervical cancer and underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) prior to intraoperative FSE.

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This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (intervention). The objectives are as follows: To evaluate the benefits and harms of secondary CRS and chemotherapy in comparison to chemotherapy alone for women with platinum-sensitive recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer.

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Endometriosis may contribute to Mullerian adenosarcoma development but makes diagnosis challenging given similar symptoms. Survival benefit has not been definitively shown for chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, or radiotherapy, consolidating surgery as the mainstay treatment. Local excision may be a treatment option for patients with confined tumors wishing to preserve their fertility.

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Cold heavy oil production with sand (CHOPS) is an extraction process for heavy oil in Canada, with the potential to lead to higher CH venting than conventional oil sites, that have not been adequately characterized. In order to quantify CH emissions from CHOPS activities, a focused aerial measurement campaign was conducted in the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan in June 2018. Total CH emissions from each of 10 clusters of CHOPS wells (containing 22-167 well sites per cluster) were derived using a mass balance computation algorithm that uses in situ wind data measurement on board aircraft.

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Objective: To outline and examine what evidence exists related to nurses' and midwives' experiences of participating in clinical supervision.

Introduction: The practice of clinical supervision is increasingly prevalent in nursing and midwifery, yet disparity remains in relation to professionals' understanding and experience of this clinical support and how it is implemented in practice. This scoping review will identify the available evidence and gaps in knowledge that exist in relation to nurses' and midwives' experience of this practice and examine how the various forms are defined in the literature.

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Quaternary Ammonium Compounds (QACs) are widely used in household, medical and industrial settings. As a consequence, they are ubiquitously found in the environment. Although significant efforts have been put into the development of sensitive and reproducible analytical methods, much less effort has been dedicated to the monitoring of QACs upon sample storage and sample preparation.

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This article provides an analysis and evaluation of peer-reviewed evidence on the contribution of crop biotechnology to climate change mitigation and adaption. While there is a range of agricultural technologies and products that contribute to climate change mitigation, this literature landscape analysis focuses on the development of genetically modified traits, their use and adoption in major commodity crops and responsive changes in production techniques. Jointly, these technologies and products are contributing to climate change mitigation, yet the technology, the literature and evidence is still evolving as more sophisticated research methods are used with greater consistency.

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The high environmental concentrations, persistence, and toxicity of synthetic musk compounds (SMCs) necessitate a better grasp of their fate in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). To investigate the importance of WWTPs as pathways of SMCs to the environment, air and wastewater samples were collected at four WWTPs in Ontario, Canada. Polycyclic musks (PCMs) were present at higher concentrations than nitro musks (NMs) and macrocyclic musks (MCMs).

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Background And Aims: Obesity and type 2 diabetes are significant risk factors for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD) worldwide, but the underlying pathophysiological links are poorly understood. Neurotensin (NT), a 13-amino-acid hormone peptide, facilitates intestinal fat absorption and contributes to obesity in mice fed a high-fat diet. Elevated levels of pro-NT (a stable NT precursor produced in equimolar amounts relative to NT) are associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes, and CVD in humans.

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Innovation is of fundamental importance for improving food production, as well as sustainability food production. Since 1960, food production has benefited from innovations in plant breeding technologies, fertilizer, chemicals and equipment. These innovations have dramatically increased food production, while the amount of land used has minimally increased.

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Aim: The aim of the study was to explore and understand the organizational culture of a workplace in terms of support and well-being for staff experiencing perimenopausal and menopausal symptoms at work.

Design: It is widely acknowledged that perimenopause and menopause symptoms are experienced by a large percentage of the female workforce. There is a lack of research into how nurses are supported through menopause (Cronin et al.

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Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) are priority contaminants historically used as flame retardants. PBDEs are known to occur in wastewater biosolids posing potential concerns with the beneficial land application of the biosolids. This study evaluated the removal of 21 congeners in nine full-scale sludge treatment systems including pelletization (P), alkaline stabilization (AS), and aerobic (AE) and anaerobic (AN) digestion.

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This paper explores the scope for the newly emerging technologies, based on gene editing (GE) contributing to addressing the global challenges that we face. These challenges relate to food security, climate change and biodiversity depletion. In particular, it examines the science and evidence behind the most appropriate forms of agricultural production to meet these challenges, the targets set in the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) agreed to at the end of 2022 and the possible role of GE technologies in contributing to meeting these targets.

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Stringent regulation of protein homeostasis pathways, under both physiological and pathological conditions, is necessary for the maintenance of proteome fidelity and optimal cell functioning. However, when challenged by endogenous or exogenous stressors, these proteostasis pathways can become dysregulated with detrimental consequences for protein fate, cell survival, and overall organism health. Most notably, there are numerous somatic pathologies associated with a loss of proteostatic regulation, including neurodegenerative disorders, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers.

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The B-cell lymphoma 2 (BCL2) family members, BCL2-associated protein X (BAX) and BCL2 homologous antagonist killer (BAK), are required for programmed cell death via the mitochondrial pathway. When cells are stressed, damaged or redundant, the balance of power between the BCL2 family of proteins shifts towards BAX and BAK, allowing their transition from an inactive, monomeric state to a membrane-active oligomeric form that releases cytochrome c from the mitochondrial intermembrane space. That oligomeric state has an essential intermediate, a symmetric homodimer of BAX or BAK.

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Objectives: To analyze methodological approaches (theoretical frameworks, study designs, methods) and competence areas of nursing students in research on virtual reality simulations (VRS) with a high level of immersion.

Methods: A scoping review was performed. A systematic search of the literature was conducted on MEDLINE, CINAHL and ERIC databases on 30/11/22.

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The concentrations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) were determined in raw influent, final effluent, and treated biosolids at Canadian wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) to evaluate the fate of PFAS through liquid and solids trains of typical treatment process types used in Canada and to assess time trends of PFAS in wastewater between 2009 and 2021. Data for 42 PFAS in samples collected from 27 WWTP across Canada were used to assess current concentrations and 48 WWTPs were included in the time trends analysis. Although regulated and phased-out of production by industry since the early 2000s and late 2000s/early2010s, respectively, perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), and other long-chain PFAS continue to be widely detected in Canadian wastewater and biosolids.

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