The Effect of Polyamines and Silver Thiosulphate on Micropropagation of Date Palm Followed by Genetic Stability Assessment

There are some limitations in the practical applications of in vitro date palm tissue culture, such as low multiplication efficiency, low rooting rate, and high mortality experienced by in vitro raised plantlets during laboratory to soil transfer. This study’s objective was to investigate the effect of the two types of polyamines (putrescine "PUT" and spermidine" SPD") in combination with silver thiosulfate (STS) on the growth and development and genetic stability of cultures of Quntar cultivar. Media supplemented with 75 mg L−1 SPD in combination with 10 mgL−1 STS gave the highest percentage of callus producing buds (83.34%) and average bud formation (16.3) per jar. The addition of PUT and STS to the medium was most effective in root formation and the number of roots per shoot, where the best result 91.67% and 6.37 roots per shoot, respectively, were obtained using 75 mgL−1 PUT and 10 mgL−1 STS, resulting in fast-growing plantlets during acclimatization phase, reaching 90% of plant survival. The genetic fidelity assessment of plants derived from micropropagation was confirmed by RAPD analysis. Four operon primers were used, and all of them showed amplified unambiguous (OPA02, OPC-04, OPD-07, and OPE-15). All generated bands were monomorphic and had no variation among the tissue culture-derived plants tested. Accordingly, these results indicate that adding polyamines and silver thiosulfate to the nutrient medium of date palm cv. Quntar is beneficial in improving shoot organogenesis, rooting, and production of genetically stable date palm plants.

Large Scale Modelling of Damage and Failure of Nuclear Graphite Moderated Reactor

The UK Advanced Gas-Cooled reactors (AGRs) have cores made of graphite bricks with dual functions: as structural elements of the core, providing space for and separating fuel and control rods; and as moderator of the nuclear reaction. Nuclear graphite is a quasi-brittle material, where the dominant mechanism for failure is cracking. While cracking of isolated bricks is expected due to operation-induced changes in graphite microstructure and stress fields, these could be tolerated as far as the overall structural function of the core is maintained. Assessment of the whole core behaviour has been previously done with whole scale models where bricks have been considered as rigid body elements connected by elastic-brittle springs. This approach does not allow for the realistic assessment of the stresses in the bricks and associated brick cracking. Reported here are results from an ongoing project, which addresses this shortcoming. The proposed model uses deformable bricks with appropriate interactions, allowing for physically realistic whole core analysis. The results are focused on the damage that a graphite moderated reactor develops during a life cycle, how this affects the behaviour of the whole core, and how changes in bricks' behaviour impacts the core integrity. The proposed methodology is a major step towards high-fidelity assessment of AGRs' fitness for service, required for supporting continuous safe operation and life-extension decisions.

Automatic cabin virtualization based on preliminary aircraft design data

Preliminary aircraft design and cabin design are essential and well-established steps within the product development cycle for modern passenger aircraft. In practice, the execution usually takes place sequentially, with the preliminary design defining a basic cabin layout and the detail implementation following in a subsequent step. To enable higher fidelity assessment of the cabin early in the design process—for example by means of virtual reality applications—this paper proposes an interface, which can derive detailed 3D geometry of the fuselage from preliminary design data provided in the Common Parametric Aircraft Configuration Schema (CPACS). This is a key step towards integration of cabin analysis and preliminary design in automated collaborative aircraft design chains, not only in terms of passenger comfort, but also manufacturability or crash safety. Like the TiGL Geometry Library for CPACS, the interface presented acts as a parameter engine, which translates data from CPACS into CAD geometry using the Open Cascade Technology library. However, the scope of TiGL is expanded significantly, albeit with an explicit focus on the fuselage, by including more details such as extruded frame and stringer profiles and floor structures. Furthermore, advanced knowledge management techniques are employed to detect and augment missing data. For virtual reality applications, triangulated representations of the CAD geometry can be provided in established exchange formats, creating an interface to common visualization platforms. Additionally, a new evolution of the cabin definition schema in CPACS is presented, to incorporate models of cabin components such as seats or sidewall panels enabling immersive virtual mock-ups.

A Process Evaluation of ‘We Can Quit’: a Community-Based Smoking Cessation Intervention Targeting Women From Areas of Socio-Disadvantage in Ireland

Background: Smoking poses a serious risk of early preventable death and disease especially for women living with socio-economic disadvantage (SED). A smoking cessation programme ‘We Can Quit’ was developed in Ireland tailored to SED women. The programme includes group-based support delivered by trained lay local women and free nicotine replacement therapy (NRT). The intervention was pilot tested in a cluster randomised controlled trial, ‘We Can Quit 2’. A process evaluation assessed feasibility and acceptability of the programme and trial processes.Methods: Embedded qualitative design using the Medical Research Council’s (MRC) process evaluation framework. Semi-structured interviews with trial participants (N=18) and programme deliverers, the community facilitators (CFs; N=8). Thematic analysis was used for interview transcripts.Results: Results focused on programme and trial operational factors. Peer-modelling, a non-judgemental environment, and CFs supportive role of group support were viewed as facilitative. Potential for broader message diffusion into the social networks of participating women was observed. Free NRT was helpful for cessation. Some participants expressed concerns about NRT side effects. Community pharmacists provided guidance relating to NRT and additional support between programme meetings. Provision of saliva samples proved challenging. Low literacy was a barrier for engagement with programme and trial-related materials. Hypothetical scenarios of direct or indirect observational fidelity assessment for a future definitive trial (DT) were acceptable. Conclusions: The We Can Quit intervention and trial-related processes were feasible and acceptable to participants and Community Facilitators. Any future DT will need to address low literacy.Trial registration: Controlled trials ISRCTN74721694.

Preventing opioid use among justice-involved youth as they transition to adulthood: leveraging safe adults (LeSA)

Background Juvenile justice (JJ) youth are at high risk of opioid and other substance use (SU), dysfunctional family/social relationships, and complex trauma. The purpose of the Leveraging Safe Adults (LeSA) Project is to examine the effectiveness of Trust-Based Relational Intervention® (TBRI®; leveraging family systems by providing emotional and instrumental guidance, support, and role modeling) in preventing opioid and other SU among youth after release from secure residential facilities. Methods An effectiveness-implementation Hybrid Type 1 design is used to test the effectiveness of TBRI for preventing non-medical use of opioids among JJ-youth (delayed-start at the site level; a randomized controlled trial at participant level) and to gain insight into facility-level barriers to TBRI implementation as part of JJ re-entry protocols. Recruitment includes two samples (effectiveness: 360 youth/caregiver dyads; implementation: 203 JJ staff) from nine sites in two states over 3 years. Participant eligibility includes 15 to 18-year-olds disposed to community supervision and receiving care in a secure JJ facility, without active suicide risk, and with one caregiver willing to participate. Effectiveness data come from (1) youth and caregiver self-report on background, SU, psychosocial functioning, and youth-caregiver relationships (Months 0, 3, 6, 12, and 18), youth monthly post-release check-ins, and caregiver report on youth psychological/behavioral symptoms, and (2) JJ facility records (e.g., recidivism, treatment utilization). Fidelity assessment includes post-session checklists and measures of TBRI strategy use. Collected four times over four years, implementation data include (1) JJ staff self-report on facility and staff characteristics, use of trauma-informed care and TBRI strategies, and (2) focus groups (line staff, leadership separately) on use of trauma-informed strategies, uptake of new interventions, and penetration, sustainment, and expansion of TBRI practices. Discussion The LeSA study is testing TBRI as a means to empower caregivers to help prevent opioid use and other SU among JJ-youth. TBRI’s multiple components offer an opportunity for caregivers to supplement and extend gains during residential care. If effective and implemented successfully, the LeSA protocol will help expand the application of TBRI with a wider audience and provide guidance for implementing multi-component interventions in complex systems spanning multiple contexts. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.govNCT04678960; registered November 11, 2020; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04678960.

“Everything the hujur tells is very educative but if I can’t not apply those in my own life then there is no meaning”: A mixed-methods process evaluation of a smoke-free homes intervention in Bangladesh.

Background Exposure to second-hand smoke from tobacco is a major contributor to global morbidity and mortality. A cluster RCT in Bangladesh concluded a community-based smoke-free home (SFH) intervention delivered in mosques, with or without indoor air quality (IAQ) feedback to households was neither effective nor cost-effective compared to no intervention. This paper presents the process evaluation embedded within the trial. Methods A mixed method process evaluation comprising interviews with 30 household leads and six imams, brief questionnaire administered to 848 household leads, fidelity assessment of intervention delivery in six mosques and research team records. Data sets were triangulated using meta-themes informed by three process evaluation functions: implementation, mechanisms of impact and context. Results IMPLEMENTATION: The frequency of SFH intervention delivery was judged moderate to good. However there were mixed levels of intervention fidelity and poor reach. Ayahs-messages targeting SHS attitudes were most often fully implemented and had greatest reach (with social norms). Frequency and reach of IAQ feedback intervention were good. MECHANISMS OF IMPACT: Both interventions had good acceptability. However, views on usefulness of the interventions were mixed. Only half of households reported achieving a SFH home at 3-months follow-up. Individual drivers to behaviour change were new SFH knowledge with corresponding positive attitudes, social norms and intentions. Individual barriers were a lack of self-efficacy and plans. CONTEXT: Social context drivers to SFH intervention implementation in mosques were in place and important. No context barriers to implementation were reported. Social context drivers to SHS behaviour change were children’s requests. Barriers were a reluctance to request visitors to smoke outside. (Not) having somewhere to smoke outside was a physical context (barrier) and driver. Conclusions Despite detailed development and adaption work with relevant stakeholders, the SFH and IAQ interventions became educational interventions that were motivational but insufficient to overcome significant context barriers to SHS behaviour change. Embedding these interventions into community wide strategies that include practical cessation support and enforcement of SFH legislation is needed.

The case for prioritizing implementation strategy fidelity measurement: benefits and challenges

Implementation strategies are systematic approaches to improve the uptake and sustainability of evidence-based interventions. They frequently focus on changing provider behavior through the provision of interventions such as training, coaching, and audit-and-feedback. Implementation strategies often impact intermediate behavioral outcomes like provider guideline adherence, in turn improving patient outcomes. Fidelity of implementation strategy delivery is defined as the extent to which an implementation strategy is carried out as it was designed. Implementation strategy fidelity measurement is under-developed and under-reported, with the quality of reporting decreasing over time. Benefits of fidelity measurement include the exploration of the extent to which observed effects are moderated by fidelity, and critical information about Type-III research errors, or the likelihood that null findings result from implementation strategy fidelity failure. Reviews of implementation strategy efficacy often report wide variation across studies, commonly calling for increased implementation strategy fidelity measurement to help explain variations. Despite the methodological benefits of rigorous fidelity measurement, implementation researchers face multi-level challenges and complexities. Challenges include the measurement of a complex variable, multiple data collection modalities with varying precision and costs, and the need for fidelity measurement to change in-step with adaptations. In this position paper, we weigh these costs and benefits and ultimately contend that implementation strategy fidelity measurement and reporting should be improved in trials of implementation strategies. We offer pragmatic solutions for researchers to make immediate improvements like the use of mixed methods or innovative data collection and analysis techniques, the inclusion of implementation strategy fidelity assessment in reporting guidelines, and the staged development of fidelity tools across the evolution of an implementation strategy. We also call for additional research into the barriers and facilitators of implementation strategy fidelity measurement to further clarify the best path forward.

Social Phobia and Evasiveness: Trial Protocol for a Feasibility, Superiority, Randomized Controlled Trial of the Effect of Modified Collaborative Assessment vs. Standard Assessment on Patients’ Readiness for Psychotherapy (CO-ASSM-RCT).

BackgroundEvasive personality disorder (EPD) and social phobia (SP) have substantial costs to the patients and their families, and great economic costs to the community. While psychotherapy can be an efficient treatment, a large percentage of patients drop-out during treatment. Little is known about what can be done in order to decrease dropout from psychotherapy in general, including how to increase a patient’s readiness for psychotherapy. MethodsWe describe a feasibility randomized controlled trial of 42 individuals with a clinical diagnosis of either SP or evasive personality disorder, who are to initiate psychotherapeutic treatment in Danish outpatient mental health services. They will be randomized in a 1:1 ratio to either assessment-as-usual and receive no further assessment, or to a Modified Collaborative Assessment (MCA) provided as a pre-treatment intervention before psychotherapy initiation. MCA will included a battery of psychological tests designed to thoroughly assess the patients’ psychopathology. The tests is administered in collaboration with the patient including a detailed oral and written feedback. We hypothesize that the patients randomized to MCA will reach higher levels of readiness for psychotherapy as assessed with the University of Rhode Island Change Assessment Scale (URICA) and have lower dropout-rates than assessment-as-usual. DiscussionThis protocol assess the feasibility, efficacy, acceptability, and safety of an intervention aimed at changing the readiness for participation in psychotherapy for patients with SP and EVP. Results from this feasibility study could guide the development of future large-scale trials of MCA and procedures for MCA treatment fidelity assessment.