Smedegaarddaniel5951

Objective To create a clear and acceptable measure of fear of childbirth with satisfactory content validity for use with English-speaking women in the UK.Background Fear of childbirth (FOC) can have a significant impact on a woman's view of her pregnancy, birth and her recovery post birth. Early identification is paramount to ensure that women's needs are recognised so that appropriately tailored care can be provided in pregnancy. Availability of reliable and valid measures to assess FOC in an English-speaking population are sparse, mainly due to issues with definitions of FOC or cultural sensitivity after translation. GSK2795039 Recent research from phase one of the Fear of Childbirth study (FOCUS), has established key elements for FOC in an English-speaking UK population, and allows for a culturally sensitive measure of FOC to be developed. The aim was to ensure inclusion of all ten FOC elements and to attend to guidance from women in phase two of the FOCUS study about what would ensure clarity and acceptability.Method A multidisciplinary team developed items in accordance with FOCUS. The measure was then piloted with one reviewer and further refined by the team of perinatal researchers.Results The FCQ is a new 20-item fear of childbirth questionnaire, which has been developed and is grounded in fears reported by women in the UK.Conclusion A new tool to measure FOC in an English-speaking UK population with good content validity has undergone a preliminary phase of development and now needs testing for reliability and other forms of validity.The ongoing spread of SARS-CoV-2 has created a growing need to develop effective antiviral treatments; therefore, this work was undertaken to delve into the natural metabolites of the Red Sea soft coral Nephthea sp. (family Nephtheidae) as a source of potential anti-COVID-19 agents. Overall, a total of 14 structurally diverse minor constituents were isolated and identified from the petroleum ether fraction of Nephthea sp. The characterised compounds were screened and compared for their inhibitory potential against SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro) using Autodock Vina and MOE software. Interestingly, most compounds were able to bind effectively to the active site of Mpro, of which nephthoside monoacetate (1); an acylated tetraprenyltoluquinol glycoside, exhibited the highest binding capacity in both software with comparable interaction energies to the ligand N3 and moderately acceptable drug-likeness properties, which drew attention to the relevance of marine-derived metabolites from Nephthea sp., particularly compound (1), to develop potential SARS-CoV-2 protease inhibitors.Objectives Mindfulness-based interventions seem to be effective in promoting QOL of ALS patients and caregivers, but most require substantial time. In the Langerian approach, mindfulness can be easily promoted with mental tasks and short lectures. This study aims to explore the impact of an ALS-specific online Langerian mindfulness training program on QOL of ALS patients. Methods We developed and tested with an Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) a 5-week active learning mindfulness program. Participants were recruited from the ALS clinic at Penn State Health and online and were randomly assigned to either the mindfulness group or a wait-list control group. The primary outcome was the patient's QOL after the treatment. 3 and 6-month follow-ups, together with anxiety, depression, care burden, and physical function, assessed at all times for both patients and caregivers, were explored as secondary outcomes. Results 47 ALS patients and 27 caregivers were recruited. Among the ALS patients, the experimental group reported higher levels of QOL at the end of the treatment (d = 0.54). Moreover, they showed lower values of depression, anxiety, and negative emotions, compared to the controls, over time. The caregivers from the mindfulness group reported lower scores of care burden, depression, and anxiety, with higher values of energy and emotional well-being over time. Conclusions This small RCT provides preliminary evidence that this intervention leads to an increase of QOL and a reduction in psychological comorbidities in ALS patients and caregivers. Given the relatively short time commitment, it may be easily implemented by the ALS community.Aim To evaluate the effect of graft preparation and organ-culture storage on endothelial cell density (ECD) and viability of Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) grafts.Materials and methods DMEK grafts (n = 27) were prepared at Amnitrans EyeBank Rotterdam from 27 corneas (15 donors) that were eligible for transplantation but could not be allocated due to the Covid-19-related cancellation of elective surgeries. Cell viability (by Calcein-AM staining) and ECD of five grafts originally scheduled for transplantation were evaluated on the originally planned surgery day, whereas 22 grafts from paired donor corneas were evaluated either directly post-preparation or after 3-7 days of storage. ECD was analyzed by light microscopy (LM ECD) and Calcein-AM staining (Calcein-ECD).Results Light microscopy (LM) evaluation of all grafts showed an unremarkable endothelial cell monolayer directly after preparation. However, median Calcein-ECD for the five grafts initially allocated for transplantation was 18% (range 92-73%) lower than median LM ECD. For the paired DMEK grafts, Calcein-ECD determined by Calcein-AM staining on the day of graft preparation and after 3-7 days of graft storage showed a median decrease of 1% and 2%, respectively. Median percentage of central graft area populated by viable cells after preparation and after 3-7 days of graft storage was 88% and 92%, respectively.Conclusion Cell viability of most of the grafts will not be affected by preparation and storage. Endothelial cell damage may be observed for some grafts within hours after preparation, with insignificant additional ECD changes during 3-7 days of graft storage. Implementing an additional post-preparation step in the eye bank to evaluate cell density before graft release for transplantation may help to reduce postoperative DMEK complications.MiR-429 was reported to be downregulated in contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI). However, whether miR-429 is functionally relevant with CI-AKI needs further investigation. Human renal tubular epithelial cell (HK-2) cells were stimulated with contrast media iodixanol to establish in vitro CI-AKI model. Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) was applied to access cell viability. Flow cytometry was performed to determine apoptosis. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was applied to evaluate level of programmed cell death 4 (PDCD4) mRNA and miR-429 while western blot was applied to evaluate level of proteins including PDCD4, B-cell leukaemia/lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), BCL2-associated X protein (Bax), cleaved caspase 3, cleaved caspase 9, p65, phosphorylated p65. Dual luciferase assay was used to validate miR-429 targeting PDCD4. MiR-429 was downregulated whereas PDCD4 was upregulated in contrast media iodixanol-stimulated HK-2 cells. MiR-429 overexpression elevated cell viability and attenuated cell apoptosis. Moreover, the activation of nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) signalling was suppressed after miR-429 overexpression, while PDCD4 overexpression reversed these effects. MiR-429 directly targeted PDCD4 and negatively regulated its expression. CI-AKI induced NF-κB signalling activation and PDCD4 overexpression further promoted NF-κB signalling activation. However, the treatment of BAY11-7082 reversed above results. Overexpression of miR-429 attenuated apoptosis and elevated cell viability in a CI-AKI cell model via targeting PDCD4 and thus restraining NF-κB signalling.Myelolipoma is a benign tumor containing mature adipose cells and a combination of myeloid and erythroid elements. This tumor is typically found in the adrenal glands; however, it has been detected outside the adrenal glands in rare cases. We report an extremely rare case of myelolipoma in the lumbar spine causing significant neural compression due to the involvement of the posterior spinal elements. Given the significant neurological deficit, the patient was surgically managed as soon as possible. Extra-adrenal myelolipomas are rare lesions, and only one case has been reported in the spine so far. However, this diagnosis should be considered in cases with its characteristic imaging features.Women attending university are generally at a heightened risk of victimization. As such, there is an emerging body of literature exploring fear of crime among them. Although several studies have explored this phenomenon quantitatively, relatively few have investigated fear of crime among this group of women in their own words. Using a sample of women at the University of the West Indies, this study seeks to address this gap. The study reveals strong support for the shadow of sexual assault theory as the women interviewed overwhelmingly describe their fear of crime against the background of their perceived vulnerability to rape.A herbal mouthwash containing essential oils of holy basil and mountain tea, extracts of St John's wort and European goldenrod (Bucovia™) and cetylpyridinium chloride, was developed and in vitro tested for its efficiency against biofilm formation by Streptococcus mutans, together with its eradicating activity against already preformed (48 h with saccharose) streptococcal biofilm. The minimum inhibitory (MIC) and bactericidal concentrations (MBC) of the final formulation, as well as of its individual components, were initially determined. The results revealed that the mouthwash needed to be applied at two-times its MIC (0.63% v.v-1) to completely inhibit biofilm formation by S. mutans, which was otherwise capable of developing a robust biofilm on the tested surface. Once fully developed, the matrix of the biofilm was found to contain a significant amount of exopolysaccharides protecting the cells, being impossible to eradicate even when exposed to pure mouthwash for 15 min, highlighting the great recalcitrance of biofilm-embedded S. mutans.This article looks into the effects of the initial knee flexion angle at the contact time on the peak of the impulsive lower limb forces during landing, and how these effects are related to muscular activities. The impact dynamics of drop landing is studied via a musculoskeletal model with eight Hill-type lower-limb muscles. A method is proposed for the representation of two landing strategies landing with high and low joint stiffness. Then, in each landing strategy, the effect of the initial knee flexion angle on the peak ground reaction force (GRF), the peak knee ligaments force and the peak tibiofemoral contact force is investigated by considering different initial contact postures. It is observed that while landing with a flexed knee decreases the peak GRF in both landing strategies, it decreases the peak tibiofemoral and knee ligaments forces only in landing with low joint stiffness. Specifically, by increasing the initial knee flexion from 0° to 70°, the peak tibiofemoral and knee ligaments forces decrease monotonically by 54% and 82%, in landing with low joint stiffness. For high joint stiffness, however, as the initial knee flexion increases from 10° to 70°, the peak tibiofemoral force is seen to increase monotonically by 42% and the peak knee ligaments force is seen to have a non-monotonic behavior, first decreasing by 42%, and then, increasing by 250%. These results can be considered in training landing strategies to reduce the risk of knee injury.