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Leveraging Social Media and Crowdsourcing to Recruit and Retain Military Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder or Experience of Harmful Gambling for mHealth Interventions : Descriptive Study
(2025) Heath, Conor; Williams, Jess M.; Leightley, Daniel; Murphy, Dominic; Dymond, Simon; Department of Psychology
Background: Military veterans may be at increased risk of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) compared to the general population. PTSD is often comorbid with harmful and problematic patterns of gambling. Behavioral therapies such as acceptance and commitment therapy have shown promise in treating these co-occurring disorders, especially if combined with mobile health (mHealth) interventions to circumvent known help-seeking barriers faced by veterans. However, to date, recruitment for mHealth interventions has been challenging and may impact intervention feasibility. Objective: In this paper, our objectives were to describe the strategies used to recruit UK military veterans with PTSD or experience of harmful gambling to a pilot study of a smartphone-based digital intervention, ACT Vet. Methods: We used several recruitment strategies, such as direct mailing, paid study advertising on social media (Facebook) and an online research platform (Prolific), study-specific website management, in-person event hosting with veterans’ charities, snowball sampling, and incentives for completion. Results: Results showed that, over 27 days, recruitment through Facebook accounted for 21 eligible veterans (n=7, 33% through unpaid advertising and n=14, 67% through paid advertising), whereas Prolific accounted for 50 veterans. Additional strategies recruited 8 eligible veterans. In total, 79 eligible military veterans were recruited for ACT Vet, with 24 (30%) completing the final steps of the study. Conclusions: Difficulties such as low advertisement conversion rate and participant and data attrition arose throughout this study. Our findings illustrate the relative effectiveness of social media– and online platform–based initiatives in recruiting veterans with PTSD or harmful gambling. Future research should consider establishing an online presence for effective digital intervention recruitment with diverse branding to attract representative samples of veterans for mHealth research.
Verk
Implementation of European national driving regulations for obstructive sleep apnoea : challenges and recommendations
(2025) the study collaborators in the Assembly of National Sleep Societies and other National Representatives; Department of Engineering
Background Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) carries an increased risk of motor vehicle accidents, which resulted in the European Commission introducing a legal directive (2014/85/EU) restricting driving in patients with moderate/severe OSA and sleepiness, unless effectively treated. We assessed the implementation of the directive in European Union (EU) member and non-member states. Methods National sleep societies and/or selected other sleep specialists in EU member states and selected other European countries completed a questionnaire on the local introduction of the EU Directive, or similar, the OSA severity to restrict driving, criteria to resume driving, and the validity period for different driving licences. Results Data were obtained from 25 out of 27 EU member states and all eight non-member states included, representing a population of ∼770 million. All EU members had introduced the Directive into national regulations, largely unchanged, although some countries applied stricter criteria such as mild OSA and a minimum treatment period before resuming driving. Only five non-member states had driving regulations for OSA. Problems with implementation of regulations were reported in most countries, including inadequate resources to diagnose/treat OSA patients, excessive restrictions regarding disease severity and certification to resume driving, and under-reporting of symptoms by patients fearing the loss of their licence, especially professional drivers. Conclusions Driving regulations for OSA apply in most European countries, but excessively strict criteria for OSA severity, sleepiness and delayed permission to resume driving are questionable. Further research is needed on whether such regulations result in fewer accidents and on the objective identification of sleepiness.
Verk
Impact of radiation dose on neurocognitive function and quality of life in long-term survivors of childhood brain tumour
(2025-09-18) Toussaint, Laura; Helligsø, Anne Sophie Lind; Muren, Ludvig Paul; Amidi, Ali; Dahlrot, Rikke Hedegaard; Henriksen, Louise Tram; Maraldo, Maja Vestmø; Nielsen, Martin Skovmos; Trip, Anouk Kirsten; Wu, Lisa Maria; Lassen-Ramshad, Yasmin; Department of Psychology
Background and purpose: Children treated with radiotherapy (RT) for a brain tumour often exhibit neurocognitive impairment and report lower quality of life (QoL) later in life. The aim of this nationwide cross-sectional cohort study was to explore the impact of RT dose to brain organs at risk (OARs) on neurocognition and QoL in long-term survivors of childhood brain tumours. Patient/material and methods: A total of 132 survivors of childhood brain tumours, diagnosed from 2001 to 2017 in Denmark, underwent neurocognitive tests and QoL questionnaires at least 5-years post-diagnosis. Neurocognitive assessments were complete and available for 86 patients (61 no-RT/25 RT), and QoL scores for 107 (79 no-RT/28 RT). Mann Whitney U-tests were used to compare scores between no-RT and RT groups. For scores impacted by RT, OAR-specific robust linear regressions were performed to evaluate RT dose effects while adjusting for potential confounders. Results: Clinically significant overall cognitive impairment was observed for 55% of the neurocognitive sub-cohort, with younger age at treatment time as a significant risk factor, while hydrocephalus status had no impact. There were no statistically significant differences on neurocognitive tests between the RT and no-RT group. However, patients treated with RT had significantly lower scores on the physical and social functioning QoL domains, with mean dose to the pituitary gland and left hippocampus, respectively, as significant predictors. Interpretation: This cross-sectional study indicates that RT dose-effects, particularly in the pituitary gland and left hippocampus, might contribute to reduced QoL in survivors of childhood brain tumours.
Verk
IDENTIFYING CURRICULUM DISRUPTIONS IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION THROUGH SERIOUS GAMING
(European Society for Engineering Education (SEFI), 2025) Waldeck, Roger; Winkens, Ann Kristin; Lemke, Clara; Leicht-Scholten, Carmen; Audunsson, Haraldur; Kangaslampi, Riikka; Langie, Greet; J�rvinen, Hannu-Matti; Nagy, Bal�zs; Department of Engineering
This workshop introduces participants to SUCRE, a serious game designed to enhance curriculum resilience in higher education by simulating crisis scenarios. While applicable to various disciplines, this session focuses on engineering curricula, identifying discipline-specific challenges and potential adaptations. Participants will engage in Step 1 of the game, analyzing trigger events and their impacts on curriculum structures. At the end of the workshop, attendees will be able to identify key triggers that may affect curricula, assess their cascading effects, and reflect on the applicability of SUCRE within their own institutions.
Verk
Human tendon stem/progenitor cell-derived extracellular vesicle production promoted by dynamic culture
(2025) Clerici, Marta; Ciardulli, Maria Camilla; Lamparelli, Erwin Pavel; Lovecchio, Joseph; Giordano, Emanuele; Dale, Tina P.; Forsyth, Nicholas R.; Maffulli, Nicola; Della Porta, Giovanna
Tendon injuries significantly impact quality of life, prompting the exploration of innovative solutions beyond conventional surgery. Extracellular Vesicles (EVs) have emerged as a promising strategy to enhance tendon regeneration. In this study, human Tendon Stem/Progenitor Cells (TSPCs) were isolated from surgical biopsies and cultured in a Growth-Differentiation Factor-5-supplemented medium to promote tenogenic differentiation under static and dynamic conditions using a custom-made perfusion bioreactor. Once at 80% confluence, cells were transitioned to a serum-free medium for conditioned media collection. Ultracentrifugation revealed the presence of vesicles with a 106 particles/mL concentration and sub-200nm diameter size. Dynamic culture yielded a 3-fold increase in EV protein content compared to static culture, as confirmed by Western-blot analysis. Differences in surface marker expression were also shown by flow cytometric analysis. Data suggest that we efficiently developed a protocol for extracting EVs from human TSPCs, particularly under dynamic conditions. This approach enhances EV protein content, offering potential therapeutic benefits for tendon regeneration. However, further research is needed to fully understand the role of EVs in tendon regeneration.

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