Collagen IV deficiency causes hypertrophic remodeling and endothelium-dependent hyperpolarization in small vessel disease with intracerebral hemorrhage.

Background: Genetic variants in COL4A1 and COL4A2 (encoding collagen IV alpha chain 1/2) occur in genetic and sporadic forms of cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD), a leading cause of stroke, dementia and intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH). However, the molecular mechanisms of CSVD with ICH and COL4A1/COL4A2 variants remain obscure.

Methods: Vascular function and molecular investigations in mice with a Col4a1 missense mutation and heterozygous Col4a2 knock-out mice were combined with analysis of human brain endothelial cells harboring COL4A1/COL4A2 mutations, and brain tissue of patients with sporadic CSVD with ICH.

Bipolar disorder is characterized by chronotype instability: A longitudinal investigation of circadian typology and mood.

Background: Chronotype is associated with circadian rhythmicity, a core etiological factor underlying bipolar disorder (BD). Given converging evidence linking late chronotype with poor mental health, the goal of the present study was to examine chronotype (in)stability and its relation to mood symptoms over time.

Methods: Participants with BD I (n = 271), BD II (n = 88), and healthy controls (n = 217) were included (follow-up=10 years, Range=5-15) from the Prechter Longitudinal Study.

An investigation of sleep problems, gastrointestinal symptoms, comorbid psychopathology and challenging behavior in children and adolescents with Down Syndrome.

Background: Down syndrome (DS) is one of the most common chromosomal abnormalities, and children with DS have increased risks of receiving diagnoses of specific comorbidities.

Aims: This study aimed to assess the frequencies and relationships between sleep problems, gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms, comorbid psychopathology, and challenging behavior.

Methods And Procedures: The Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire, Gastrointestinal Symptom Inventory, Autism Spectrum Disorder-Comorbid for Children, and Behavior Problems Inventory-Short Form were completed by 123 parents of children and adolescents with DS.

Patterns of acute hospital and specialist palliative care use among people with non-curative upper gastrointestinal cancer.

Purpose: Upper gastrointestinal (GI) cancers contribute to 16.7% of UK cancer deaths. These patients make high use of acute hospital services, but detail about palliative care use is lacking.

A novel method for the percutaneous induction of myocardial infarction by occlusion of small coronary arteries in the rabbit.

Arrhythmic sudden cardiac death (SCD) is an important cause of mortality following myocardial infarction (MI). The rabbit has similar cardiac electrophysiology to humans and is therefore an important small animal model to study post-MI arrhythmias. The established approach of surgical coronary ligation results in thoracic adhesions that impede epicardial electrophysiological studies.

The high cost of care and limited evidence on cost-effective strategies for Lewy body dementia: systematic review of evidence.

Background: Lewy body dementia (LBD) is a prevalent yet frequently underdiagnosed form of dementia, accounting for up to 15% of all dementia cases.

Aims: This study aims to increase awareness and advocacy for LBD by gathering and critically assessing the economic evidence, including the cost of illness and cost-effectiveness of interventions for managing LBD.

Method: A systematic literature review was undertaken with EMBASE, Medline, CINAHL, PsycINFO, NHS Economic Evaluation Database and EconLit.

Exploration of pain assessment and management processes in oncology outpatient services with healthcare professionals: a qualitative study.

Objectives: This study explored cancer pain management practices and clinical care pathways used by healthcare professionals (HCPs) to understand the barriers and facilitators for standardised pain management in oncology outpatient services (OS).

Design: Data were collected using semistructured interviews that were audio-recorded and transcribed. The data were analysed using thematic analysis.

Identifying predictors of the amount of veteran participation in cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia in the Veterans Affairs health care system.

Insomnia is a prevalent and negatively impactful disorder among veterans. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has committed significant resources to the development and dissemination of training related to cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), the recommended first-line intervention for chronic insomnia disorder. It has been established that VA clinicians can be effectively trained to deliver high fidelity CBT-I and that treatment results in significant improvements in insomnia.

Development of a Core Outcome Set for the research and assessment of inoperable malignant bowel obstruction.

Background: Malignant bowel obstruction is experienced by 15% of people with advanced cancer, preventing them from eating and drinking and causing pain, nausea and vomiting. Surgery is not always appropriate. Management options include tube or stent drainage of intestinal contents and symptom control using medication.

Antidepressant effects of acute sleep deprivation are reduced in highly controlled environments.

Background: Numerous studies summarized in a recent meta-analysis have shown sleep deprivation rapidly improves depressive symptoms in approximately 50 % of individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD), however those studies were typically conducted in clinical settings. Here we investigated the effects of sleep deprivation utilizing a highly controlled experimental approach.

Methods: 36 antidepressant-free individuals with MDD and 10 healthy controls (HC) completed a 5 day/4-night protocol consisting of adaptation, baseline, total sleep deprivation (TSD), and recovery phases.

Enhanced amygdala-cingulate connectivity associates with better mood in both healthy and depressive individuals after sleep deprivation.

Sleep loss robustly disrupts mood and emotion regulation in healthy individuals but can have a transient antidepressant effect in a subset of patients with depression. The neural mechanisms underlying this paradoxical effect remain unclear. Previous studies suggest that the amygdala and dorsal nexus (DN) play key roles in depressive mood regulation.

Finale: impact of the ORCHESTRA/ENCORE programmes on Southern Ocean heat and carbon understanding.

The 5-year Ocean Regulation of Climate by Heat and Carbon Sequestration and Transports (ORCHESTRA) programme and its 1-year extension ENCORE (ENCORE is the National Capability ORCHESTRA Extension) was an approximately 11-million-pound programme involving seven UK research centres that finished in March 2022. The project sought to radically improve our ability to measure, understand and predict the exchange, storage and export of heat and carbon by the Southern Ocean. It achieved this through a series of milestone observational campaigns in combination with model development and analysis.

Does insomnia treatment prevent depression?

Rates of major depressive disorder (MDD) are increasing globally, in part due to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, contributing to disease burden. It has long been known that insomnia is intricately connected with depression as indicated by greater depression severity and lower treatment response. Furthermore, insomnia is a significant risk factor for new-onset depression.

A novel binary pesticidal protein from Chryseobacterium arthrosphaerae controls western corn rootworm by a different mode of action to existing commercial pesticidal proteins.

The western corn rootworm (WCR) Diabrotica virgifera virgifera (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) remains one of the economically most important pests of maize (Zea mays) due to its adaptive capabilities to pest management options. This includes the ability to develop resistance to some of the commercial pesticidal proteins originating from different strains of Bacillus thuringiensis. Although urgently needed, the discovery of new, environmentally safe agents with new modes of action is a challenge.

The range and suitability of outcome measures used in the assessment of palliative treatment for inoperable malignant bowel obstruction: A systematic review.

Background: Malignant bowel obstruction, a complication of certain advanced cancers, causes severe symptoms which profoundly affect quality of life. Clinical management remains complex, and outcome assessment is inconsistent.

Aim: To identify outcomes evaluating palliative treatment for inoperable malignant bowel obstruction, as part of a four-phase study developing a core outcome set.

Do financial incentives increase mental health treatment engagement? A meta-analysis.

Objective: Engagement in mental health treatment is low, which can lead to poor outcomes. We evaluated the efficacy of offering patients financial incentives to increase their mental health treatment engagement, also referred to as contingency management.

Method: We meta-analyzed studies offering financial incentives for mental health treatment engagement, including increasing treatment attendance, medication adherence, and treatment goal completion.

Assessment of a hearing protection device on infant sleep in the neonatal intensive care unit.

Premature infants often require prolonged hospitalisation in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) where they are exposed to adverse noise that may disrupt sleep and further compromise recovery and developmental outcomes. This single-session trial assessed the effects of a novel circumaural hearing protection device (DREAMIES®; NEATCAP Medical LLC) on sleep in 10 premature infants (mean 34.1 weeks GA) in a Level III NICU.

Symptom burden and lived experiences of patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals on the management of malignant bowel obstruction: A qualitative systematic review.

Background: Malignant bowel obstruction occurs in up to 50% of people with advanced ovarian and 15% of people with gastrointestinal cancers. Evaluation and comparison of interventions to manage symptoms are hampered by inconsistent evaluations of efficacy and lack of agreed core outcomes. The patient perspective is rarely incorporated.

The role of basement membranes in cardiac biology and disease.

Basement membranes (BMs) are highly specialised extracellular matrix (ECM) structures that within the heart underlie endothelial cells (ECs) and surround cardiomyocytes and vascular smooth muscle cells. They generate a dynamic and structurally supportive environment throughout cardiac development and maturation by providing physical anchorage to the underlying interstitium, structural support to the tissue, and by influencing cell behaviour and signalling. While this provides a strong link between BM dysfunction and cardiac disease, the role of the BM in cardiac biology remains under-researched and our understanding regarding the mechanistic interplay between BM defects and their morphological and functional consequences remain important knowledge-gaps.

Evaluation of an ankylosing spondylitis education and self-management program: Beneficial effects on ankylosing spondylitis specific outcomes.

Background: Self-management programs have demonstrated significant health benefits in people with musculoskeletal diseases.

Aim: To examine the benefits of a tailored ankylosing spondylitis self-management program (ASSMP) delivered by trained health professionals for people with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) relative to health status, quality of life and disease activity.

Methods: ASSMP was developed within a continuous quality improvement framework following a needs assessment and focus group discussions.