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The researchers aimed to assess the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on nursing education through semi-structured interviews with undergraduate nursing students. The researchers explored themes related to online education, clinical placements, and mental health. Findings revealed that the sudden shift to online learning caused increased stress, and decreased confidence. Clinical placements were affected, leading to missed time and altered learning experiences. Mental health suffered as students faced stressors and challenges brought on by the pandemic. These interviews elucidate the challenges faced by nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic and provide valuable information for future planning in nursing education during crises. [Articles in this journal were presented at the University of Calgary Conference on Postsecondary Learning and Teaching.]

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is the causative agent of tuberculosis, the worlds deadliest infectious disease. Mtb uses a variety of mechanisms to evade the human hosts defenses and survive intracellularly. Mtbs oxidative stress response enables Mtb to survive within activated macrophages, an environment with reactive oxygen species and low pH. Dye-decolorizing peroxidase (DyP), an enzyme involved in Mtbs oxidative stress response, is encapsulated in a nanocompartment, encapsulin (Enc), and is important for Mtbs survival in macrophages. Encs are homologs of viral capsids and encapsulate cargo proteins of diverse function, including those involved in iron storage and stress responses. DyP contains a targeting peptide (TP) at its C-terminus that recognizes and binds to the interior of the Enc nanocompartment. Here, we present the crystal structure of the Mtb-Enc•DyP complex and compare it to cryogenic-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) Mtb-Enc structures. Investigation into the canonical pores formed at symmetrical interfaces reveals that the five-fold pore for the Mtb-Enc crystal structure is strikingly different from that observed in cryo-EM structures. We also observe DyP-TP electron density within the Mtb-Enc shell. Finally, investigation into crystallographic small-molecule binding sites gives insight into potential novel avenues by which substrates could enter Mtb-Enc to react with Mtb-DyP.

Advanced glycation end-products (AGE) are a pervasive form of protein damage implicated in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disease, atherosclerosis and diabetes mellitus. Glycation is typically mediated by reactive dicarbonyl compounds that accumulate in all cells as toxic byproducts of glucose metabolism. Here, we show that AGE crosslinking is harnessed to activate an antibacterial phospholipase effector protein deployed by the type VI secretion system of Enterobacter cloacae. Endogenous methylglyoxal reacts with a specific arginine-lysine pair to tether the N- and C-terminal α-helices of the phospholipase domain. Substitutions at these positions abrogate both crosslinking and toxic phospholipase activity, but in vitro enzyme function can be restored with an engineered disulfide that covalently links the N- and C-termini. Thus, AGE crosslinking serves as a bona fide post-translation modification to stabilize phospholipase structure. Given the ubiquity of methylglyoxal in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, these findings suggest that glycation may be exploited more generally to stabilize other proteins. This alternative strategy to fortify tertiary structure could be particularly advantageous in the cytoplasm, where redox potentials preclude disulfide bond formation.

Abstract Aims Few randomized trials assessed the changes over time in the chronotropic heart rate (HR) reactivity (CHR), HR recovery (HRR) and exercise endurance (EE) in response to the incremental shuttle walk test (ISWT). We addressed this issue by analysing the open HOMAGE (Heart OMics in Aging) trial. Methods In HOMAGE, 527 patients prone to heart failure were randomized to usual treatment with or without spironolactone (25–50 mg/day). The current sub‐study included 113 controls and 114 patients assigned spironolactone (~70% on beta‐blockers), who all completed the ISWT at baseline and at Months 1 and 9. Within‐group changes over time (follow‐up minus baseline) and between‐group differences at each time point (spironolactone minus control) were analysed by repeated measures ANOVA, unadjusted or adjusted for sex, age and body mass index, and additionally for baseline for testing 1 and 9 month data. Results Irrespective of randomization, the resting HR and CHR did not change from baseline to follow‐up, with the exception of a small decrease in the HR immediately post‐exercise (−3.11 b.p.m.) in controls at Month 9. In within‐group analyses, HR decline over the 5 min post‐exercise followed a slightly lower course at the 1 month visit in controls and at the 9 month visits in both groups, but not at the 1 month visit in the spironolactone group. Compared with baseline, EE increased by two to three shuttles at Months 1 and 9 in the spironolactone group but remained unchanged in the control group. In the between‐group analyses, irrespective of adjustment, there were no HR differences at any time point from rest up to 5 min post‐exercise or in EE. Subgroup analyses by sex or categorized by the medians of age, left ventricular ejection fraction or glomerular filtration rate were confirmatory. Combining baseline and Months 1 and 9 data in both treatment groups, the resting HR, CHR and HRR at 1 and 5 min averaged 61.5, 20.0, 9.07 and 13.8 b.p.m. and EE 48.3 shuttles. Conclusions Spironolactone on top of usual treatment compared with usual treatment alone did not change resting HR, CHR, HRR and EE in response to ISWT. Beta‐blockade might have concealed the effects of spironolactone. The current findings demonstrate that the ISWT, already used in a wide variety of pathological conditions, is a practical instrument to measure symptom‐limited exercise capacity in patients prone to developing heart failure because of coronary heart disease.

Abstract Microgrids (MGs) have emerged as a promising solution for providing reliable and sustainable electricity, particularly in underserved communities and remote areas. Integrating diverse renewable energy sources into the grid has further emphasized the need for effective management and sophisticated control strategies. This review explores the crucial role of control strategies in optimizing MG operations and ensuring efficient utilization of distributed energy resources, storage systems, networks, and loads. To maximize energy source utilization and overall system performance, various control strategies are implemented, including demand response, energy storage management, data management, and generation‐load management. Employing artificial intelligence (AI) and optimization techniques further enhances these strategies, leading to improved energy management and performance in MGs. The review delves into the control strategies and their architectures, and highlights the significant contributions of AI and emerging technologies in advancing MG energy management.

The Collisional Orogeny in the Scandinavian Caledonides (COSC) project focuses on processes related to the closure of the Iapetus Ocean, causing the OrdovicianâSilurian continentâcontinent collision between Baltica and Laurentia. The rock succession in the second drill core (COSC-2) from the Jämtland County, central Sweden, provides the base for detailed sedimentological, stratigraphic, geophysical, geochemical, geothermal and structural studies. The basement, comprising 1.66â1.65 Ga Transscandinavian Igneous Belt porphyries intruded by 1.47 Ga and 1.27â1.26 Ga mafic dykes and sills, is heavily weathered towards the top. Here it grades into typical saprock and saprolite (including immature soil reflecting the sub-Cambrian peneplain). The overlying sedimentary sequence starts with basal conglomerates and heterogeneous sediments with shell fragments, indicating an early Cambrian rather than a Neoproterozoic age for the marine transgression in the area. The developing early Cambrian basin was rapidly filled, initially by mostly coarse-grained sediment gravity flows. These strata are covered by sandstone turbidites that show an upward transition into the Alum Shale Formation, representing a tectonically quieter period (mid-Cambrian/Maolingian to Early Ordovician/Tremadocian). The upper part of the Alum Shale Formation is overlain by a late Early Ordovician turbidite succession. Local sources of sediments below the Alum Shale Formation and the extended deposition period may indicate continuous sedimentation in a pull-apart basin preserved in a window beneath the Caledonian thrust sheets.

Objective(s): This study synthesises existing knowledge on the linkages between Weather and Climate Information Services (WCIS) and Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) practices. Specifically, it addresses the following questions: (1) What is the current status of knowledge on WCIS and CSA in the global south, specifically the African continent?, (2) Are WCIS effectively tailored and linked to CSA practices and technologies to improve agricultural water management (AWM) amongst smallholder farmers?, and (3) How can linking WCIS and CSA facilitate the identification, appraisal and prioritization of regionally differentiated and context-specific climate-appropriate technologies and policies that enhance agricultural water management at various levels (field, farm, scheme, and catchment)? Methods: The study used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic and Meta-Analysis Protocol (PRISMA-P) guidelines. It involved the search of the Scopus and Web of Science databases for peer-reviewed articles, books, and grey literature focussed on the global south. Results: The results revealed that seasonal forecasts were the main WCIS available to farmers who utilised them to plan predominantly for irrigation and water harvesting activities. Daily forecasts were linked to practices such as irrigation. The study also revealed that temperature and rainfall (amount and distribution) were predominantly disseminated to farmers through extension services. The dominant CSA practices used by farmers were carbon-smart (e.g., composting), water-smart practices (improved varieties, irrigation, RWH), weather-smart practices (IPM & crop insurance), and nitrogen-smart practices (organic fertiliser, crop diversification). Advisories on carbon-smart practices generally aligned closely with the start and end of rainfall information, while the water-smart practices were corroborated with the rainfall onset, end of rainfall season, and rainfall intensity. Weather smart practices were strongly linked to drought, temperature, and rainfall distribution, whereas nitrogen smart practices were linked with the end of rainfall and temperature. Conclusions: The study concluded that distinct linkages exist between WCIS and various CSA categories. The study argues that increasing access to WCIS can facilitate the adoption and scaling of CSA practices.

Academic peer leadership positions provide opportunities for undergraduate students to develop content knowledge, Twenty-first Century Skills, and their beliefs about teaching and learning. To explore peer leaders' (PLs') epistemological development, the Epistemological Beliefs about Physical Sciences (EBAPS) survey was administered to 135 PLs three times a year, over a three-year period. This instrument was demonstrated to be valid and reliable for use with STEM PLs. Although the majority of positive shifts within instrument constructors occurred during the fall semester, responses did not regress by the end of the spring semester, demonstrating a retention of the new or altered beliefs over time. Implications for the design of PL development programs are discussed.

Background: Young adults (YA) with cancer often have unmet psychosocial needs. The impact of peer support delivered in an online format to fulfil these needs in the populations of YA with cancer has not been thoroughly examined. Methods: We searched Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, CINAHL, Embase, and Medline databases. We included articles about online peer support interventions for YA cancer survivors between the ages of 18 to 40 years old. Results: Our literature search yielded n = 2,773 articles and we obtained consensus on 12 articles for inclusion. We qualitatively synthesized these articles using data abstraction based on the Template for Intervention and Replication (TIDierR) checklist. Overall, six studies demonstrated correlation between online peer support and improved wellbeing of participants. Thus, online peer support may be useful for young cancer patients. Conclusion: This systematic review summarizes the current state of knowledge regarding the availability and evaluation of online YA peer support programs and reveals the need for further research in this field.

Contexte : Il n’est pas rare que les besoins psychosociaux des jeunes adultes atteints de cancer ne soient pas satisfaits. Peu d’études se sont penchées de manière exhaustive sur l’efficacité des ressources de soutien par les pairs en ligne pour répondre aux besoins de cette population. Méthodologie : Une recherche dans les bases de données Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, CINAHL, Embase et Medline a permis de trouver des articles portant sur les interventions de soutien par les pairs à l’intention des jeunes survivants du cancer âgés entre 18 et 40 ans. Résultats : Cette recherche a fait ressortir 2 773 articles, dont 12 ont été retenus par consensus. Les articles ont fait l’objet d’une synthèse qualitative à partir de données extraites à l’aide de la liste de vérification Template for Intervention Description and Replication (TIDieR; modèle pour la description et la reproduction des interventions). En tout, 6 études ont montré l’existence d’une corrélation entre le soutien par les pairs en ligne et l’amélioration du bien-être. Ce type d’intervention pourrait donc être utile pour les jeunes atteints de cancer. Conclusion : La présente revue systématique résume l’état actuel des connaissances sur la disponibilité et l’évaluation des programmes en ligne de soutien par les pairs à l’intention des jeunes; elle révèle également le besoin d’approfondir la recherche dans ce domaine.

Increasing rates of biological invasions pose major ecological and economic threats globally. The pet trade is one major invasion pathway, and environmental change could mediate the successful establishment and impact of these released or escaped non-native species (NNS). Salinity regime shifts are a pervasive but often overlooked environmental change in aquatic ecosystems. This study investigates the establishment and impact risks posed by three readily available, traded snail species – Melanoides tuberculata, Tarebia granifera and Anentome helena – by assessing their survival and feeding responses across a spectrum of salinity levels (0.2–16 g/kg). Survival differed among the species, with M. tuberculata showing close to 100% survival across the salinity range, T. granifera exhibiting heightened mortality at 16 g/kg, and A. helena displaying no survival at salinities above 12 g/kg. In feeding experiments assessing the more resilient M. tuberculata and T. granifera, the former had greater consumption rates towards both plant- (spinach) and animal-based (daphniid) resources. While salinity and density effects did not affect animal consumption, they both had significant effects on plant consumption, with feeding suppressed for both consumers under a salinity of 8 g/kg relative to freshwater conditions. When combining proportional survival and resource consumption for M. tuberculata and T. granifera, M. tuberculata demonstrated higher impact potential towards both plant and animal resources, highlighting its potential to exert higher ecological impacts. Studies have overlooked the importance of salinity for invasion success and the impact of pet trade species. We therefore propose that these methods provide a screening tool to assess the potential risks of traded species establishing and exerting impacts, and we encourage future studies to account for a broader range of abiotic stressors.

Application of electrochemical energy storage systems (ESSs) in off-grid renewable energy (RE) mini-grids (REMGs) is crucial to ensure continuous power supply. These storage systems face accelerated degradation due to fluctuations in demand and supply power of the system. Although various research has been conducted in the field of ESSs, study on selecting appropriate ESSs for off-grid REMGs, considering power fluctuations impact, is still a gap which needs further research. This review study therefore, focused on studying and selecting appropriate electrochemical and electrical storage systems for off-grid REMGs through investigating their technical, economic and environmental factors. On economic factors investigation; capital recovery factor (CRF) and annualised cost (AC) of considered ESSs were used in this study. Comparison and analysis of technical and economic factors of the storage systems were done using graphical method. Results show that hybrid combination of lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery or lead acid (Pb-Acid) battery with supercapacitor (SC) are appropriate ESSs for off-grid REMGs. Furthermore, trade-offs between ESSs options are analysed and the study recommends hybridisation of Li-ion, Pb-Acid and SC to further improve performance of the hybrid storage. Finally, challenges in deploying the proposed hybrid energy storage system (HESS) configurations are discussed and areas needing further research for improvement are proposed.

Crisis makes bold policy actions possible. In responding to socioeconomic and technological ruptures, policymakers create new imaginaries or revitalise existing ones. With the Australian Government's Job-Ready Graduates (JRG) reform during the COVID-19 pandemic as an empirical case, this paper shows how crisis instrumentalism and policy imaginaries intersect to effect swift policy changes. Drawing on a thematic analysis of key documents that constitute the JRG reform, we highlight three findings. First, the reformers used a new crisis context to repackage pre-existing policy agendas. Second, in justifying the timeliness of the reform, rather than constructing new imaginaries, the Government reactivated old neoliberal visions of society and the economy. Finally, the reform agendas are characterised by reductionist accounts of the value of university education, a nativist view of the future workforce, and the omissions of key issues: research training, social justice, and the urgency of decarbonising the economy. We close the paper by arguing that "crisis" makes swift "reform" possible to the extent that key actors can mobilise new or pre-existing policy "imaginaries."

Background: Stroke presents significant challenges for both survivors and caregivers, particularly in resource-limited settings like Zimbabwe. Identifying factors contributing to caregiver burden strain (CBS) is crucial to enhance support strategies. Objectives: This longitudinal study identified caregiver and stroke survivor characteristics associated with CBS among caregivers in Harare, Zimbabwe. Method: Altogether 188 stroke survivors and their caregivers participated with CBS assessed at 3 months and 12 months using the Caregivers Strain Index. Multiple linear regression was used to evaluate the association of explanatory variables with CBS. Model fit was evaluated using the Akaike’s Information Criterion and R2. Results: Caregivers experiencing anxiety or depression showed increased CBS at 3 months (β = 2.46, p 0.001) and 12 months (β = 2.73, p = 0.016). Work adjustments were associated with higher CBS at 3 months (β = 3.84, p 0.001). Caregivers feeling overwhelmed had significantly higher CBS at 3 months (β = 3.36, p 0.001). Stroke survivors’ poor physical outcomes and reliance on health insurance were associated with CBS at 12 months (β = 4.34, p = 0.006). Caring for married stroke survivors was associated with reduced CBS (β = –2.83, p 0.001). Conclusion: Caregiver anxiety, depression, work adjustments and poor physical and social outcomes in stroke survivors contributed to increased CBS. Targeted interventions addressing mental health and social support are essential to reduce CBS. Clinical implications: Multifaceted interventions that address caregiver mental health and social support are vital to reduce CBS and improve outcomes in resource-constrained settings like Zimbabwe.

In 2012, three members of staff were recruited by the University of Strathclyde to sit in a room and talk to students. That was the whole of the plan. That is not how this story ends. The talking was supposed to ‘help’ students to do things ‘right’. That is not what we spoke about. That year, the student-facing part of the Centre for Academic Practice and Learning Enhancement (CAPLE) established in 1987, which at its height consisted of six permanent academics with varied research interests within the, then emergent, field of Learning Development (LD), was replaced by a generic Study Skills Service, staffed by LD practitioners with a considerable collective experience and who shared a vision that was more critical and looked to a more authentically (learning) developmental approach (Asher, 2024). In so doing, the university had created a service model which we would spend the next nine years dismantling (or, to be more accurate, redeveloping). What follows is our story. The story of how the Learner Development Service (LDS) came into being, and how the spaces and places we have inhabited (both hostile and hospitable) have shaped our practices (Gravett et al., 2023) and how, in June 2022, we took up residency in a dedicated LDS Centre designed by us for us. To date, we have occupied three physical locations and been positioned under three different university services. These spaces and places have defined what we could do but they have also informed the design of our current physical, virtual and conceptual environment, as this paper details. This session highlighted the need for Learning Development practitioner resilience and perseverance in difficult circumstances. It foregrounds the usefulness of initiating, developing, and nurturing productive and mutually rewarding professional relationships with academic departments, course leaders and individual academics in order to advance the growth of Learning Development provision in institutions.

Bike-sharing systems have grown in popularity in metropolitan areas, providing a handy and environmentally friendly transportation choice for commuters and visitors alike. As demand for bike-sharing programs grows, efficient capacity planning becomes critical to ensuring good user experience and system sustainability in terms of demand. The random forest model was used in this study to predict bike-sharing station demand and is considered a strong ensemble learning approach that can successfully capture complicated nonlinear correlations and interactions between input variables. This study employed data from the Smart Location Database (SLD) to test the model accuracy in estimating station demand and used a form of explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) function to further understand machine learning (ML) prediction outcomes owing to the blackbox tendencies of ML models. Vehicle Miles of Travel (VMT) and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions were the most important features in predicting docking station demand individually but not holistically based on the datasets. The percentage of zero-car households, gross residential density, road network density, aggregate frequency of transit service, and gross activity density were found to have a moderate influence on the prediction model. Further, there may be a better prediction model generating sensible results for every type of explanatory variable, but their contributions are minimum to the prediction outcome. By measuring each feature's contribution to demand prediction in feature engineering, bike-sharing operators can acquire a better understanding of the bike-sharing station capacity and forecast future demands during planning. At the same time, ML models will need further assessment before a holistic conclusion.

Decarbonization of the world is greatly contributed to by the recent technological advancements that have fostered the development of electric vehicles (EVs). The EVs relieve transportation dependence on natural fossil fuels as an energy source. More than 50 % of the petroleum products produced worldwide are estimated to be used in the transportation sector, accounting for more than 90 % of all transportation energy sources. Consequently, studies estimate that the transportation sector produces about 22 % of global carbon dioxide emissions, posing significant environmental issues. Thus, using EVs, particularly on road transport, is expected to reduce environmental pollution. To accelerate EV development and deployment, governments worldwide invest in EV development through various initiatives to make them more affordable. This research aims to investigate the changing needs of EV users to establish factors to be considered in the selection of charging demands using machine learning, using an extreme gradient boosting model. The model reached high accuracy, with an R2-Score of 0.964 to 1.000 across all predicted needs. The model performance is greatly affected by age, median income, education, and car ownership. High values of people with high income, high education, and age between 35–54 years show a positive contribution to the model’s performance, contrary to those with 65+, low income, and low education attainment. The outcomes of this research document factors that influence EV charging needs; therefore, it provides a basis for decision-makers and all stakeholders to decide where to locate EV charging stations for usability, efficiency, sustainability, and social welfare.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the causative agent of tuberculosis, poses a great threat to human health. With the emergence of drug resistant Mtb strains, new therapeutics are desperately needed. As iron is critical to the growth and survival of Mtb, mechanisms through which Mtb acquires host iron represent attractive therapeutic targets. Mtb scavenges host iron via Mtb siderophore-dependent and heme iron uptake pathways. While multiple studies describe the import of heme and ferric-siderophores and the export of apo-siderophores across the inner membrane, little is known about their transport across the periplasm and cell-wall environments. Mtb FecB and FecB2 are predicted periplasmic binding proteins implicated in host iron acquisition; however, their precise roles are not well understood. This study sought to differentiate the roles FecB and FecB2 play in Mtb iron acquisition. The crystallographic structures of Mtb FecB and FecB2 were determined to 2.0 Å and 2.2 Å resolution, respectively, and show distinct ligand binding pockets. In vitro ligand binding experiments for FecB and FecB2 were performed with heme and bacterial siderophores from Mtb and other species, revealing that both FecB and FecB2 bind heme, while only FecB binds the Mtb sideophore ferric-carboxymycobactin (Fe-cMB). Subsequent structure-guided mutagenesis of FecB identified a single glutamate residue-Glu339-that significantly contributes to Fe-cMB binding. A role for FecB in the Mtb siderophore-mediated iron acquisition pathway was corroborated by Mycobacterium smegmatis and Mtb pull-down assays, which revealed interactions between FecB and members of the mycobacterial siderophore export and import machinery. Similarly, pull-down assays with FecB2 confirms its role in heme uptake revealing interactions with a potential inner membrane heme importer. Due to ligand preference and protein partners, our data suggest that Mtb FecB plays a role in siderophore-dependent iron and heme acquisition pathways; in addition, we confirm that Mtb FecB2 is involved in heme uptake.

Abstract Aims Approximately half of patients with heart failure and a reduced ejection fraction (HeFREF) are discharged from hospital on triple therapy [angiotensin‐converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE‐Is) or angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), beta‐blockers (BBs), and mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (MRAs)]. We investigated what proportion of patients are on optimal doses prior to discharge and how many might be eligible for initiation of sacubitril–valsartan or sodium‐glucose co‐transporter‐2 inhibitors (SGLT2Is). Methods and results Between 2012 and 2017, 1277 patients admitted with suspected heart failure were enrolled at a single hospital serving a local community around Kingston upon Hull, UK. Eligibility for sacubitril–valsartan or SGLT2I was based on entry criteria for the PIONEER‐HF, DAPA‐HF, and EMPEROR‐Reduced trials. Four hundred fifty‐five patients had HeFREF with complete data on renal function, heart rate, and systolic blood pressure (SBP) prior to discharge. Eighty‐three per cent of patients were taking an ACE‐I or ARB, 85% a BB, and 63% an MRA at discharge. More than 60% of patients were eligible for sacubitril–valsartan and >70% for SGLT2I. Among those not already receiving a prescription, 37%, 28%, and 49% were eligible to start ACE‐I or ARB, BB, and MRA, respectively. Low SBP (≤105 mmHg) was the most frequent explanation for failure to initiate or up‐titrate therapy. Conclusions Most patients admitted for heart failure are eligible for initiation of life‐prolonging medications prior to discharge. A hospital admission may be a common missed opportunity to improve treatment for patients with HeFREF.