Enhancement of mechanical properties of nanocellulose xerogels using TEMPO-oxidized fibers.

We report xerogels prepared from TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanofiber (Ox-CNF) that have enhanced yield stresses and Young's Modulus (E) up to 15.4 MPa. The xerogels were highly porous (>95 %) and were measured by density determination, SEM, Brunauer-Emmet-Teller (BET) experiments, and microCT analysis.

Programming Mechanical Properties through Encoded Network Topologies.

Polymer networks remain an essential class of soft materials. Despite their use in everyday materials, connecting the molecular structure of the network to its macroscopic properties remains an active area of research. Much current research is enabled by advances in modern polymer chemistry providing an unprecedented level of control over macromolecular structure.

Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of offering a chair-based yoga programme in addition to usual care in older adults with multiple long-term conditions: a pragmatic, parallel group, open label, randomised controlled trial.

Background: People with multiple long-term conditions are more likely to have poorer health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Yoga has the potential to improve HRQOL. Gentle Years Yoga© (GYY) is a chair-based yoga programme for older adults.

Chair-based yoga programme for older adults with multimorbidity: RCT with embedded economic and process evaluations.

Background: Older adults with multimorbidity experience impaired health-related quality of life and treatment burden. Yoga has the potential to improve several aspects of health and well-being. The British Wheel of Yoga's Gentle Years Yoga© programme was developed specifically for older adults, including those with chronic conditions.

Correction: Effects of structured exercise programmes on physiological and psychological outcomes in adults with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD): A systematic review and meta-analysis.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Combating bone marrow failure with polymer materials.

Bone marrow failure (BMF) has become one of the most studied autoimmune disorders, particularly due to its prevalence both as an inherited disease, but also as a result of chemotherapies. BMF is associated with severe symptoms such as bleeding episodes and susceptibility to infections, and often has underlying characteristics, such as anemia, thrombocytopenia, and neutropenia. The current treatment landscape for BMF requires stem cell transplantation or chemotherapies to induce immune suppression.

Bottlebrush Networks: A Primer for Advanced Architectures.

Bottlebrush networks (BBNs) are an exciting new class of materials with interesting physical properties derived from their unique architecture. While great strides have been made in our fundamental understanding of bottlebrush polymers and networks, an interdisciplinary approach is necessary for the field to accelerate advancements. This review aims to act as a primer to BBN chemistry and physics for both new and current members of the community.

International consensus is needed on a core outcome set to advance the evidence of best practice in cancer prehabilitation services and research.

Prehabilitation aims to optimise patients' physical and psychological status before treatment. The types of outcomes measured to assess the impact of prehabilitation interventions vary across clinical research and service evaluation, limiting the ability to compare between studies and services and to pool data. An international workshop involving academic and clinical experts in cancer prehabilitation was convened in May 2022 at Sheffield Hallam University's Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre, England.

Supporting physical activity through co-production in people with severe mental ill health (SPACES): protocol for a randomised controlled feasibility trial.

Background: Severe mental ill health (SMI) includes schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and schizoaffective disorder and is associated with premature deaths when compared to people without SMI. Over 70% of those deaths are attributed to preventable health conditions, which have the potential to be positively affected by the adoption of healthy behaviours, such as physical activity. People with SMI are generally less active than those without and face unique barriers to being physically active.

PRMT5 regulates epigenetic changes in suppressive Th1-like iTregs in response to IL-12 treatment.

Background: Induced regulatory T cells (iTregs) are a heterogeneous population of immunosuppressive T cells with therapeutic potential. Treg cells show a range of plasticity and can acquire T effector-like capacities, as is the case for T helper 1 (Th1)-like iTregs. Thus, it is important to distinguish between functional plasticity and lineage instability.

Network Constitutional Isomers.

Bottlebrush networks designed to be constitutional isomers of each other were synthesized for the first time. These network constitutional isomers (NCIs) have significantly different mechanical properties depending on their kinetic chain lengths (), which are controlled by the monomer-to-initiator ratio. Specifically, the low frequency moduli, yield behavior, elongation at break, and adhesive strength of these NCIs are different at the same cross-link densities.

Alcohol-containing protein transduction domain mimics.

The application and design of protein transduction domains (PTDs) and protein transduction domain mimics (PTDMs) have revolutionized the field of biomacromolecule delivery. Our group has previously synthesized block copolymer PTDMs with well-defined hydrophobic and cationic blocks via ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP). We have optimized the balance of hydrophobicity and cationic density to intracellularly deliver model proteins, active proteins, and antibodies.

Towards the standardization of physical activity programs for severe mental ill health: A survey of current practice across 54 mental health trusts in England.

Aims: While physical activity (PA) is recommended in the treatment of severe mental illness (SMI), there are no standardized processes for implementing PA in mental healthcare, and the extent to which PA programs have been implemented is unknown. Therefore, we sought to describe usual care in terms of the provision of PA in the National Health Service (NHS) mental health trusts in England for people with SMI.

Methods: We invited all NHS Mental Health Trusts across England to participate in a bespoke survey.

The Impact of Polymerization Chemistry on the Mechanical Properties of Poly(dimethylsiloxane) Bottlebrush Elastomers.

We compare the low-strain mechanical properties of bottlebrush elastomers (BBEs) synthesized using ring-opening metathesis and free radical polymerization. Through comparison of experimentally measured elastic moduli and those predicted by an ideal, affine model, we evaluate the efficiency of our networks in forming stress-supporting strands. This comparison allowed us to develop a structural efficiency ratio that facilitates the prediction of mechanical properties relative to polymerization chemistry (.

Bottlebrush Amphiphilic Polymer Co-Networks.

We report the synthesis of novel poly(ethylene glycol) and poly(dimethyl siloxane) (PEG and PDMS, respectively) bottlebrush amphiphilic polymer co-networks (B-APCNs) with high gel fractions by a grafting-through ring-opening metathesis polymerization. By varying the volume fraction of PEG (), we alter the crystallinity of the networks, achieving complete suppression of PEG crystallinity at . Furthermore, we show that the crystallinity of these networks can be tuned to alter their moduli.

Bioactive lipid lysophosphatidic acid species are associated with disease progression in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive disease with significant mortality. Prognostic biomarkers to identify rapid progressors are urgently needed to improve patient management. Since the lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) pathway has been implicated in lung fibrosis in preclinical models and identified as a potential therapeutic target, we aimed to investigate if bioactive lipid LPA species could be prognostic biomarkers that predict IPF disease progression.

Exercise Perceptions and Experiences in Adults With Crohn's Disease Following a Combined Impact and Resistance Training Program: A Qualitative Study.

Background: Exercise is increasingly being recognized to counteract specific complications of Crohn's disease (CD). The aim of this study was to explore exercise experiences and perceptions after engaging in a combined impact and resistance training program, involving both intervention and control group viewpoints.

Methods: Semistructured telephone interviews, involving a convenience sample of participants with CD ( = 41; aged 49.

LKB1 isoform expression modulates T cell plasticity downstream of PKCθ and IL-6.

Following activation, CD4 T cells undergo metabolic and transcriptional changes as they respond to external cues and differentiate into T helper (Th) cells. T cells exhibit plasticity between Th phenotypes in highly inflammatory environments, such as colitis, in which high levels of IL-6 promote plasticity between regulatory T (Treg) cells and Th17 cells. Protein Kinase C theta (PKCθ) is a T cell-specific serine/threonine kinase that promotes Th17 differentiation while negatively regulating Treg differentiation.

Enclosing a pen in a postal questionnaire follow-up to increase response rate: a study within a trial.

Background: Poor response rates to follow-up questionnaires can adversely affect the progress of a randomised controlled trial and the validity of its results. This embedded 'study within a trial' aimed to investigate the impact of including a pen with the postal 3-month questionnaire completed by the trial participants on the response rates to this questionnaire.

Methods: This study was a two-armed randomised controlled trial nested in the Gentle Years Yoga (GYY) trial.

Physical Activity in Adults with Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder: A Large Cross-Sectional Survey Exploring Patterns, Preferences, Barriers, and Motivating Factors.

Adults with severe mental ill health may have specific attitudes toward physical activity. To inform intervention development, we conducted a survey to assess the physical activity patterns, preferences, barriers, and motivations of adults with severe mental ill health living in the community. Data were summarised using descriptive statistics, and logistic regressions were used to explore relationships between physical activity status and participant characteristics.