3,476 results match your criteria: "the Open University[Affiliation]"

Lockdowns were a key policy response to the COVID-19 pandemic. While they were viewed as a necessary intervention, concerns were raised about their potential for harmful economic and livelihood impacts. However, few studies have addressed the unequal economic and livelihood impacts of lockdowns.

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Silver is the metal of choice for the fabrication of highly transparent grid electrodes for photovoltaics because it has the highest electrical conductivity among metals together with high stability toward oxidation in air. Conventional methods for fabricating silver grid electrodes involve printing the metal grid from costly colloidal solutions of nanoparticles, selective removal of metal by etching using harmful chemicals, or electrochemical deposition of the silver, an inherently chemical intensive and slow process. This Spotlight highlights an emerging approach to the fabrication of transparent and patterned silver electrodes that can be applied to glass and flexible plastic substrates or directly on top of a device, based on spatial modulation of silver vapor condensation.

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Objective: One in six young adults presents with at least one mental health problem. However, so far, little attention has been directed to the mental health needs and the efficacy of therapeutic interventions for young adults. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of the type, quality and efficacy of psychoanalytic psychotherapy for young people.

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In Thailand, since the 2000s, malaria post (MP) workers have been tasked with promptly detecting and treating all malaria cases to prevent onward transmission in the communities. Expanding their roles to provide health services beyond malaria has been proposed as a strategy to sustain their activities until elimination is reached. This article examines the perspectives of stakeholders on community-based malaria care to assess prospects for expanding the role of MPs.

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Video gaming and sleep in adults: A systematic review.

Sleep Med

December 2024

Center for Health Sciences, SRI International, Menlo Park, CA, USA; Lisa Health Inc., Oakland, CA, USA.

Video games (VGs) are one of the most common forms of entertainment and their diffusion is constantly increasing. Although largely studied in the framework of their relationship with mental and physical health, the relationship of VGs with sleep are not yet fully understood. This review provides a systematic assessment of the studies that investigated the relationships between video gaming and sleep in adults.

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Ryugu is the C-type asteroid from which material was brought to Earth by the Hayabusa2 mission. A number of individual grains and fine-grained samples analysed so far for noble gases have indicated that solar wind and planetary (known as P1) noble gases are present in Ryugu samples with concentrations higher than those observed in CIs, suggesting the former to be more primitive compared to the latter. Here we present results of analyses of three fine-grained samples from Ryugu, in one of which Xe concentration is an order of magnitude higher than determined so far in other samples from Ryugu.

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The development of a capability wellbeing measure in economic evaluation for children and young people aged 11-15.

Soc Sci Med

November 2024

Health Economics & Health Policy (HEHP@Bristol), Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1NU, UK. Electronic address:

The capability approach provides a broad evaluative space for making funding decisions for health and care interventions, with capability wellbeing as the outcome of value. A range of capability measures have been developed for the economic evaluation of health and care interventions for adults. However, such measures have not been previously developed for children and young people for this purpose and may be valuable.

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The Guardian Node Slow DoS Detection Model for Real-Time Application in IoT Networks.

Sensors (Basel)

August 2024

School of Computing and Communications, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK.

The pernicious impact of malicious Slow DoS (Denial of Service) attacks on the application layer and web-based Open Systems Interconnection model services like (HTTP) has given impetus to a range of novel detection strategies, many of which use (ML) for computationally intensive full packet capture and post-event processing. In contrast, existing detection mechanisms, such as those found in various approaches including ML, artificial intelligence, and neural networks neither facilitate real-time detection nor consider the computational overhead within resource-constrained (IoT) networks. Slow DoS attacks are notoriously difficult to reliably identify, as they masquerade as legitimate application layer traffic, often resembling nodes with slow or intermittent connectivity.

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A Comprehensive Review of the Triangular Relationship among Diet-Gut Microbiota-Inflammation.

Int J Mol Sci

August 2024

Food Science and Technology Program, Department of Life Sciences, BNU-HKBU United International College, Zhuhai 519087, China.

Article Synopsis
  • The gut microbiota, a community of microorganisms in the gastrointestinal tract, is crucial for digestion, metabolism, and immune function, and its composition is significantly influenced by diet.
  • Research indicates a connection between gut microbiota and inflammation, which plays a role in chronic diseases like inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases.
  • The review highlights how different diets—like the Mediterranean and plant-based diets—can promote healthy gut microbiota and reduce inflammation, while the Western diet can lead to imbalances that increase inflammation and health risks.
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Purpose: To investigate the performance of a simple prediction scheme for the formula constants optimized for a mean (MPE), standard deviation (SDPE) or root-mean-squared refractive prediction error (RMSPE).

Design: Retrospective cross-sectional study.

Methods: Using IOLMaster 700 biometric data from 888 eyes treated with the Hoya Vivinex lens and 821 eyes treated with the Alcon SA60AT lens, plus the power of the implanted lens and postoperative spherical equivalent refraction, optimized constants for SRKT, Hoffer Q, Holladay 1, Haigis, and K6 formulae were calculated using an iterative nonlinear optimization for zero MPE and minimal SDPE and RMSPE.

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Background: Health and social care regulators ensure that professionals have the correct qualifications and experience to practice in their profession. Globally, there are over 130 regulators of nursing alone and 13 health and social care statutory regulators in the United Kingdom. The public are the largest source of concerns to regulators about the registrants' fitness to practise (FtP).

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Effects of dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitors on the risk of acute respiratory failure in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a meta-analysis of cardiovascular outcomes trials.

Endocr J

December 2024

State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicines, Macau Institute for Applied Research in Medicine and Health, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau, 999078, People's Republic of China.

Dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP-4) inhibitors are new antidiabetic drugs. Their effects on the respiratory system remain unclear. This study aimed to determine the association between DDP-4 inhibitors and acute respiratory failure (ARF) among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

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Psychiatric nurses face moral dilemmas that affect their mental health. We investigated whether sense of coherence (SOC) buffers psychiatric nurses' perceived effects of moral dilemmas on their psychological distress. A total of 418 nursing professionals in 6 psychiatric hospitals in Japan completed self-administered questionnaires.

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Improving the integration of care for trans adults: ICTA a mixed-methods study.

Health Soc Care Deliv Res

August 2024

The Open University Business School, Faculty of Business and Law, Open University, Milton Keynes, UK.

Background: This research concerns improving the National Health Service health services trans adults need. These include the national specialist Gender Identity Clinics that support people making a medical transition. Not all trans people need to make a medical transition, and transition can take many different paths.

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Sex-Specific ADNP/NAP (Davunetide) Regulation of Cocaine-Induced Plasticity.

J Mol Neurosci

September 2024

The Elton Laboratory for Molecular Neuroendocrinology, Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Sagol School of Neuroscience and Adams Super Center for Brain Studies, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 6997801, Israel.

Cocaine use disorder (CUD) is a chronic neuropsychiatric disorder estimated to effect 1-3% of the population. Activity-dependent neuroprotective protein (ADNP) is essential for brain development and functioning, shown to be protective in fetal alcohol syndrome and to regulate alcohol consumption in adult mice. The goal of this study was to characterize the role of ADNP, and its active peptide NAP (NAPVSIPQ), which is also known as davunetide (investigational drug) in mediating cocaine-induced neuroadaptations.

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This study examines whether students' experience of combined victimization, the experience of both traditional bullying and cyberbullying, is correlated with psychological difficulties. Additionally, the study examines whether Israeli students who cope with combined victimization differ in their resilience resources from students who experience solely traditional bullying, cyberbullying, or neither. Participants included 430 students aged 13-15 years from four Israeli schools who completed self-report questionnaires.

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Challenges beyond reaching a 30% of area protection.

NPJ Biodivers

May 2024

Laboratorio de Socioecosistemas. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.

The Conference of the Parties of the signatories of the Convention on Biological Diversity agreed in 2022 to protect 30% of terrestrial and marine areas by 2030 (the "30 × 30" target). What challenges emerge or intensify once (if) this 30 × 30 goal is achieved globally? To help practitioners and researchers pre-empt and plan along the path towards 30% protected area (PA) coverage, we draw lessons from a sizable and biodiversity-rich region that has already hit the target on land. Based on experiences and research about PAs in Spain (36% of land and 12% of marine area protected), we identify, illustrate and discuss the socioeconomic and management challenges that emerge with a high proportion of a country's area protected, as well as possible strategies to address them.

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Background: Barriers to accessing and using primary care services among minoritised ethnic communities have been extensively evidenced in the UK. However, the impact of the rapid digitalisation of these services on these communities remains under-researched.

Aim: To explore the impact of digitalisation on access to and use of primary care services among minoritised ethnic communities.

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Background: Glucocerebrosidase 1 (GBA1) mutations are associated with reduced survival in Parkinson's disease but their effect on survival in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is unclear.

Objective: To assess the impact of GBA1 mutations on survival among Ashkenazi Jews with DLB, while controlling for APOE status.

Methods: One hundred and forty participants from Tel Aviv Medical Center, Israel were genotyped for GBA1 mutations and APOE polymorphisms.

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History of Microglia.

Adv Neurobiol

August 2024

Institute of Neuropathology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.

The term 'microglia' was first introduced into the scientific literature a century ago. The various eras of microglial research have been defined not only by the number of reports subsequently generated but, more critically, also by the concepts that have shaped our present-day views and understanding of microglia. Key methods, technologies, and models, as well as seminal discoveries made possible through their deployment have enabled breakthroughs, and now pave the way for lines of investigation that could not have been anticipated even a decade ago.

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Both maternal obesity and postnatal consumption of obesogenic diets contribute to the development of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, there is no consensus as to whether diets that are high in fat or carbohydrates/sugars differentially influence the development of HCC. Moreover, the long-term effects of prenatal HF exposure on HCC and whether this is influenced by postnatal diet has not yet been evaluated.

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Welfare and Enrichment of Managed Nocturnal Species, Supported by Technology.

Animals (Basel)

August 2024

North Carolina Zoo, 4401 Zoo Parkway, Asheboro, NC 27205, USA.

This paper addresses the potential for technology to support husbandry and enrichment opportunities that enhance the welfare of zoo and sanctuary-housed nocturnal and crepuscular species. This topic was investigated through the medium of a multidisciplinary workshop (Moon Jam) that brought together species experts, zoo designers, Animal-Computer Interaction researchers and post-graduate students in collaborative discussions and design sessions. We explain the context through an examination of existing research and current practices, and report on specific challenges raised and addressed during the Moon Jam, highlighting and discussing key themes that emerged.

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Flexible pulse-by-pulse regulation of sensorimotor synchronization is crucial for voluntarily showing rhythmic behaviors synchronously with external cueing; however, the underpinning neurophysiological mechanisms remain unclear. We hypothesized that the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) plays a key role by coordinating both proactive and reactive motor outcomes based on contextual mental imagery. To test our hypothesis, a missing-oddball task in finger-tapping paradigms was conducted in 33 healthy young volunteers.

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Article Synopsis
  • Sign-trackers show heightened responsiveness to cues linked with rewards, which may help understand psychiatric conditions.
  • Research indicates dopamine activity in the nucleus accumbens core (NAc) is tied to sign-tracking, but specific impacts on synaptic properties remain unclear.
  • A study found that experiencing a reward-paired cue without the reward decreased dendritic spine density in rats, especially in females, while increasing a presynaptic activity marker, emphasizing gender differences in behavior and neurobiology.
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Loss of peat through increased burning will have major impacts on the global carbon cycle. In a normal hydrological state, the risk of fire propagation is largely controlled by peat bulk density and moisture content. However, where humans have interfered with the moisture status of peat either via drainage, or indirectly via climate change, we hypothesise that its botanical composition will become important to flammability, such that peats from different latitudes might have different compositionally-driven susceptibility to ignition.

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