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Background: The Cultural Formulation Interview (CFI) is designed to improve understanding of patients' mental health care needs. The lack of empirical evidence on the impact and effectiveness of CFI use in clarifying people's perspectives, experiences, context, and identity, and in preventing cultural misunderstandings between migrant patients and clinicians, inspired this study. The objective is to examine the effect of the CFI on the strength of therapeutic working alliances, and the potential mediating or moderating role of perceived empathy., Materials and Methods: A multicenter randomized controlled trial will be conducted, involving migrant patients, their confidants, and clinicians. The CFI will be administered in the intervention group, but not in the control group. Validated questionnaires will be used to assess therapeutic working alliances and perceived empathy. T-tests and linear regression analyses will be conducted to investigate between-group differences and possible mediating or moderating effects., Results: This study will indicate whether or not the CFI strengthens the therapeutic working alliance between patients and clinicians, as moderated and/or mediated by perceived empathy., Discussion: Research on the effect and impact of using the CFI in mental health care for migrant patients is important to clarify whether its use strengthens the therapeutic working alliance with clinicians. This can lead to a reduction in cultural misunderstandings and improve mental health care for migrant patients. The results may also be important for the implementation of the CFI as a standard of care., Ethics and Dissemination: This research protocol was tailored to the needs of patients in collaboration with experts by experience. It was approved by the Ethical Review Board of the Tilburg Law School and registered in the Clinical Trials Register under number NCT05788315. Positive results may stimulate further implementation of the CFI in clinical practice, and contribute to improving the impact of the CFI on the therapeutic working alliances., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Brand, Groen, Destoop, Jongsma, Ghane, Sabbe, van Velsen, van Houten, Becan, Al Alyan and Braakman.)

Women with pelvic floor complaints experience restrictions and distress in their daily, social, and sexual functioning, and their intimate relationships. We interviewed forty-eight women to unravel differences between women receiving and not receiving pelvic physical therapy and between pregnant, parous, and nulliparous women in preparation for theory development. We analyzed data in a mixed-method design using NVivo and Leximancer. Sexual dysfunction, relationship dynamics, the nature and severity of restrictions and distress, and coping strategies appear to vary between women receiving and not receiving therapy. Specific combinations of restrictions and distress are present in pregnant, parous, and nulliparous women, and might influence women's decision to seek help.

Thousands of oil and gas structures have been installed in the world's oceans over the past 70 years to meet the population's reliance on hydrocarbons. Over the last decade, there has been increased concern over how to handle decommissioning of this infrastructure when it reaches the end of its operational life. Complete or partial removal may or may not present the best option when considering potential impacts on the environment, society, technical feasibility, economy, and future asset liability. Re-purposing of offshore structures may also be a valid legal option under international maritime law where robust evidence exists to support this option. Given the complex nature of decommissioning offshore infrastructure, a global horizon scan was undertaken, eliciting input from an interdisciplinary cohort of 35 global experts to develop the top ten priority research needs to further inform decommissioning decisions and advance our understanding of their potential impacts. The highest research priorities included: (1) an assessment of impacts of contaminants and their acceptable environmental limits to reduce potential for ecological harm; (2) defining risk and acceptability thresholds in policy/governance; (3) characterising liability issues of ongoing costs and responsibility; and (4) quantification of impacts to ecosystem services. The remaining top ten priorities included: (5) quantifying ecological connectivity; (6) assessing marine life productivity; (7) determining feasibility of infrastructure re-use; (8) identification of stakeholder views and values; (9) quantification of greenhouse gas emissions; and (10) developing a transdisciplinary decommissioning decision-making process. Addressing these priorities will help inform policy development and governance frameworks to provide industry and stakeholders with a clearer path forward for offshore decommissioning. The principles and framework developed in this paper are equally applicable for informing responsible decommissioning of offshore renewable energy infrastructure, in particular wind turbines, a field that is accelerating rapidly., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest Watson (first author) – received funding from the National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Marnane (co-author) – is an employee of Chevron Technology Energy Fokkema (co-author) – is an employee of Shell Global Solutions International, (Crown Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Despite the fact that the literature reports various restrictions and types of distress in women with pelvic floor complaints, a comprehensive overview of women's sexual and psychological burden emerging from these complaints is lacking, which compromises our ability to assess and grasp the impact to women., Aim: This study was performed to conceptualize women's sexual and psychological burden and create a more comprehensive overview on this topic from both women's and health care providers' perspectives. Furthermore, this research intended to identify items to populate a to-be-developed instrument to assess sexual and psychological burden., Methods: In Group Concept Mapping, 125 statements were used about restrictions and distress that women with pelvic floor complaints experienced. Women with, and health care providers with and without pelvic floor complaints (13 women and 3 men) sorted the statements into comprehensive self-labeled clusters and rated their nature and severity. Multidimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analyses were performed to identify a conceptual model of coherent clusters of statements. Item-total correlations of severity scores were calculated to identify statements that can be used in future research to represent women's sexual and psychological burden., Main Outcome Measure: A conceptual model emerged, and outcomes of item-total correlations were then examined again using the conceptual model., Results: Seven distress clusters were identified, namely, loss of control, sexual distress, feeling insecure, feeling wronged, feeling helpless, feeling angry, and feeling disappointed. Feeling insecure appeared more pervasive than other distresses. Furthermore, 33 statements were identified that can be used in future research to develop an instrument to assess sexual and psychological burden representing both women's and health care providers' perspectives., Conclusion: The conceptual model and list of statements may concisely represent the sexual and psychological burden of women with pelvic floor complaints from both women's and health care providers' perspectives on this topic. Brand AM, Rosas S, Waterink W, et al. Conceptualization and Inventory of the Sexual and Psychological Burden of Women With Pelvic Floor Complaints; A Mixed-Method Study. Sex Med 2022;10:100504., (Copyright © 2022 International Society for Sexual Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Six new Micarea species are described from Europe. Phylogenetic analyses, based on three loci, i.e. mtSSU rDNA, Mcm7 and ITS rDNA and ancestral state reconstructions, were used to evaluate infra-group divisions and the role of secondary metabolites and selected morphological characters on the taxonomy in the M. prasina group. Two main lineages were found within the group. The Micarea micrococca clade consists of twelve species, including the long-known M. micrococca and the newly described M. microsorediata , M. nigra and M. pauli . Within this clade, most species produce methoxymicareic acid, with the exceptions of M. levicula and M. viridileprosa producing gyrophoric acid. The M. prasina clade includes the newly described M. azorica closely related to M. prasina s.str., M. aeruginoprasina sp. nov. and M. isidioprasina sp. nov. The species within this clade are characterised by the production of micareic acid, with the exception of M. herbarum which lacks any detectable substances and M. subviridescens that produces prasinic acid. Based on our reconstructions, it was concluded that the ancestor of the M. prasina group probably had a thallus consisting of goniocysts, which were lost several times during evolution, while isidia and soredia evolved independently at multiple times. Our research supported the view that the ancestor of M. prasina group did not produce any secondary substances, but they were gained independently in different lineages, such as methoxymicareic acid which is restricted to M. micrococca and allied species or micareic acid present in the M. prasina clade.

Mice were intraperitoneally infected with 2 × 10(8) cfu Staphylococcus aureus Xen 36 and treated with 2,130 AU (arbitrary units) nisin (equivalent to 27.7 μg pure nisin), a class Ia lantibiotic, over 7 days. The metabolic activity of S. aureus Xen 36, concluded from changes in cell bioluminescence, declined for the first 3.5 h, but increased over the next 24 h and remained at this level for the remainder of the 7-day trial. Similar results were obtained with heat-inactivated (25 min at 121 °C) nisin, suggesting that the decline in metabolic activity of S. aureus Xen 36 cannot be attributed to the bacteriostatic activity of nisin. The decline in lymphocyte numbers in infected mice was of smaller magnitude after treatment with active nisin compared to inactive nisin, suggesting that active nisin limited the apoptosis of lymphocytes. The drastic increase in neutrophil versus lymphocyte (N:L) ratio observed in the presence of active nisin suggested that the decline in metabolic activity of S. aureus Xen 36 was due to an immune response triggered by the infection. Nisin, active or inactive, stimulated the activity of cytokines interleukin-6, interleukin-10 and tumour necrosis factor. However, the overall immune response triggered by both forms of nisin was too minute to trigger an abnormally high antigenic immune reaction.

Aims: To determine if nisin F-loaded self-setting brushite cement could control the growth of Staphylococcus aureus in vivo., Methods and Results:   Brushite cement was prepared by mixing equimolar concentrations of β-tricalcium phosphate and monocalcium phosphate monohydrate. Nisin F was added at 5·0, 2·5 and 1·0% (w/w) and the cement moulded into cylinders. In vitro antibacterial activity was determined using a delayed agar diffusion assay. Release of nisin F from the cement was determined using BCA protein assays. Based on scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis, nisin F did not cause significant changes in cement structure or chemistry. Cement containing 5·0% (w/w) nisin F yielded the most promising in vitro results. Nisin F-loaded cement was implanted into a subcutaneous pocket on the back of mice and then infected with S. aureus Xen 36. Infection was monitored for 7 days, using an in vivo imaging system. Nisin F prevented S. aureus infection for 7 days and no viable cells were isolated from the implants., Conclusions: Nisin F-loaded brushite cement successfully prevented in vivo growth of S. aureus., Significance and Impact of the Study: Nisin F incorporated into bone cement may be used to control S. aureus infection in vivo., (© 2012 The Authors. Journal of Applied Microbiology © 2012 The Society for Applied Microbiology.)

Aims: To determine if nisin F has an effect on the bacterial population in the gastro-intestinal tract., Methods and Results: Six male C57BL/6 mice were intraperitoneally injected with 200 μl sterile saline and six with nisin F (200 μl, equivalent to 640 arbitrary units). Fecal samples were collected before injection and 8, 24 and 48 h after injection, and the bacteria amplified by PCR-DGGE using 16S rDNA primers. The composition of the bacterial population in the gastro-intestinal tract (GIT) of mice that were injected with saline changed during 48 h, whereas the bacterial population in the GIT remained relatively unchanged in animals injected with nisin F., Conclusions: These results suggest that nisin F inhibits the growth of specific bacteria in the GIT within the first 4 h. Furthermore, the species remained repressed for at least 44 h after one intraperitoneal injection with nisin F., Significance and Impact of the Study: This is the first report suggesting that nisin F may have a stabilizing effect on the bacterial population in the gastro-intestinal tract., (© 2011 The Authors. Letters in Applied Microbiology © 2011 The Society for Applied Microbiology.)

Mice intragastrically infected with Listeria monocytogenes EGDe and Staphylococcus aureus Xen 36 showed no visible signs of infection over 48 h. However, high numbers (6.2 × 10(5) cfu/mg feces) of S. aureus Xen 36 were detected 4 h, and 3.3 × 10(5) cfu/mg feces of L. monocytogenes EGDe 8 h, after administration. Mice intraperitoneally infected with S. aureus Xen 36 (1 × 10(7) cfu) developed infection immediately after administration and for at least the following 48 h. Injection with higher cell numbers of S. aureus Xen 36 (2 × 10(8) cfu) resulted in more intense bioluminescence (infection) of the peritoneal cavity. Injection of S. aureus Xen 36 in the tail and penile veins resulted in localized tissue infection for the first 120 h. Injection of S. aureus Xen 36 into the thigh produced a faint bioluminescent signal for 15 min. Nisin F injected into the peritoneal cavity at the same area of infection led to an immediate statistically significant decrease in infection (from 2 × 10(6) p/s/cm(2)/sr to 3 × 10(5) p/s/cm(2)/sr) within 2 h. Similar results were recorded when nisin F was injected subcutaneously. Intraperitoneal administration is an optimal administration route for bacterial infection and treatment with antimicrobial peptides.

Lichenicolous fungi are obligately lichen-associated organisms that have evolved many times throughout the Ascomycota and Basidiomycota. Approximately 20% of lichenicolous ascomycetes are recognized only from asexual (anamorphic) characteristics, so the phylogenetic position of many groups has never been resolved. Here we present the first molecular phylogeny of Lichenoconium, a genus of strictly asexual, obligately lichenicolous species with broad geographic distributions and diverse host ecologies. We obtained nuclear and mitochondrial rDNA sequences from fungal cultures isolated from four species in the genus, including a new species, Lichenoconium aeruginosum sp. nov., collected in France, Luxembourg and Netherlands. Our multilocus phylogeny supports the monophyly of fungi in the genus Lichenoconium, and places the genus in the Dothideomycetes, an ascomycete class made up mainly of saprobes and plant-associated endophytes and pathogens. There are only a few recognized groups of lichen-formers in the Dothideomycetes, but Lichenoconium is not supported as being closely related to any of these, nor to any other recognized order within the Dothideomycetes. Given that Lichenoconium is but one of over 100 genera of anamorphic lichenicolous fungi, most of which have never been studied phylogenetically, we suggest that asexual lichenicolous fungi may represent novel and evolutionarily significant phylogenetic groups in the Kingdom Fungi., (Copyright © 2010 The British Mycological Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Aims: To determine the ability of nisin F to control systematic infection caused by Staphylococcus aureus, using C57BL/6 mice as a model., Methods and Results: Twelve mice were intraperitoneally injected with 1 × 10(8) viable cells of Staph. aureus Xen 36 containing the modified Photorhabdus luminescence luxABCDE operon on plasmid pAUL-A Tn4001. After 4 h, six mice were intraperitoneally injected with 640 arbitrary units (AU) nisin F, and six were injected with sterile saline. Six mice, not infected with Staph. aureus, were treated with nisin F, and six not infected were left untreated. The viability of Staph. aureus Xen 36 was monitored over 48 h by recording photon emission levels. Nisin F suppressed Staph. aureus for 15 min in vivo. No abnormalities were recorded in blood analyses and internal organs of mice treated with nisin F., Conclusions: Nisin F suppressed the growth of Staph. aureus in the peritoneal cavity for at least 15 min. Re-emergence of Staph. aureus bioluminescence over the next 44 h suggests that nisin F was inactivated, most probably by proteolytic enzymes., Significance and Impact of the Study: A single dosage of nisin F administered in the peritoneal cavity controlled the growth of Staph. aureus for at least 15 min in vivo., (© 2010 The Authors. Letters in Applied Microbiology 51, 645-649 © 2010 The Society for Applied Microbiology.)

Almost all healthcare systems are currently facing fundamental challenges. New ways of organizing these systems based on novel knowledge and stakeholders' different needs are required to meet these challenges at the appropriate time. In this context, the issue of biobanking has become a specific challenge having major implications for future research and policy strategies as well as for the healthcare systems in general. Medicine is currently undergoing remarkable developments from its morphological and phenotype orientation to a molecular and genotype orientation, promoting the importance of prognosis and prediction. Yet, the discussion about the relevance of integrating genome-based information into biobanks and about the role of genome-based biobanking for epidemiological research and public health is still at the beginning. The following article contributes to this discussion by focusing on the use of genome-based biobanking for epidemiological research, surveillance systems, health policy development, individual health information management and effective health services., ((c) 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Infective hookworm L3 encounter a host specific signal during invasion that re-activates suspended developmental pathways. Response to this cue is critical for the successful infection and completion of the life cycle in the host. In the free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, recovery from the developmentally arrested dauer stage in response to environmental cues is analogous to the resumption of development in invading hookworm L3. Transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) and insulin-like signalling pathways mediate dauer formation and recovery. An insulin-like signalling pathway mediates L3 activation in hookworms. To determine the role of TGF-beta signalling in hookworm infection, an ortholog of the C. elegans TGF-beta signalling molecule daf-7 was cloned and characterised. Sequence from a hookworm expressed sequence tag was used to design specific primers for PCR amplification of Ac-daf-7 from Ancylostoma caninum infective L3 cDNA. Amplicons from the 5' and 3' ends were cloned, sequenced, and combined to create a full-length composite Ac-daf-7 cDNA sequence. The 1,634 nucleotide cDNA encoded a 355 amino acid open reading frame with significant homology to Ce-DAF-7 and other TGF-beta signalling molecules. The deduced amino acid sequence contained seven conserved cysteines characteristic of TGF-beta family members, as well as two additional conserved cysteines found in members of the TGF-beta/activin subfamily. Ac-DAF-7 contains a characteristic C-terminal ligand domain that is predicted to be released from a propeptide by proteolytic cleavage at a tetrabasic cleavage site. Ac-daf-7 mRNA was strongly detected by reverse transcriptase PCR in L3 and serum stimulated L3 cDNA, and weakly in cDNA from L1 and adult life cycle stages. Antiserum against Escherichia coli expressed recombinant Ac-DAF-7 detected the mature protein in L3 and adult soluble extracts, but not in excretory/secretory products from serum stimulated L3 or adults. Increased expression in arrested L3 stages suggests that Ac-daf-7 is important for developmental arrest.