Appropriate Prescribing for older adults with Multimorbidity (Pro-M): protocol for a feasibility study.

Background: Potentially inappropriate prescribing is common among older adults with multimorbidity due to various reasons, from concurrent application of multiple single-disease clinical guidelines to fragmentation of care. Interventions such as medication review have been implemented worldwide to reduce inappropriate prescribing for older adults. However, the implementability of such interventions are underexplored in the outpatient clinics in Singapore's public hospitals.

Separation of protactinium from uranium-niobium alloys for Pa-U radiochronometry in nuclear forensic investigations.

Unlabelled: The isolation and purification of protactinium from uranium materials is essential for Pa-U radiochronometry, but separating Pa from uranium-niobium alloys, a common material in the nuclear fuel cycle, is challenging due to the chemical similarity of Pa and Nb. Here we present three resin chromatography separation techniques for isolating Pa from U and Nb which were independently developed by three different laboratories through ad hoc adaptations of standard operating procedures. Our results underscore the need for and value of purification methods suitable for a diversity of uranium-based materials to ensure the operational readiness of nuclear forensics laboratories.

Systemic racial disparities in funding rates at the National Science Foundation.

Concerns about systemic racism at academic and research institutions have increased over the past decade. Here, we investigate data from the National Science Foundation (NSF), a major funder of research in the United States, and find evidence for pervasive racial disparities. In particular, white principal investigators (PIs) are consistently funded at higher rates than most non-white PIs.

Frailty prevalence and its associations in a subacute geriatric ward in Singapore.

Introduction: Our aim was to study the prevalence of frailty and its associated factors in a subacute geriatric ward.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 167 participants between June 2018 and June 2019. Baseline demographics and participants' Mini Nutritional Assessment, Geriatric Depression Scale, Mini Mental State Examination, Charlson's Comorbidity Index and LACE index scores were obtained.

A retrospective review of specialist referrals for refugees into Greece's health system: A humanitarian organization's perspective.

Aim: Refugee arrivals to Europe have numbered more than one million since 2015 with the majority arriving through Greece. The healthcare needs of refugees have placed strains on Greece's healthcare system which has already been affected by its ongoing economic crisis. At the peak of arrivals during 2016, primary healthcare was primarily provided by humanitarian organizations with specialist referrals into the Greek healthcare system.

Andean drought and glacial retreat tied to Greenland warming during the last glacial period.

Abrupt warming events recorded in Greenland ice cores known as Dansgaard-Oeschger (DO) interstadials are linked to changes in tropical circulation during the last glacial cycle. Corresponding variations in South American summer monsoon (SASM) strength are documented, most commonly, in isotopic records from speleothems, but less is known about how these changes affected precipitation and Andean glacier mass balance. Here we present a sediment record spanning the last ~50 ka from Lake Junín (Peru) in the tropical Andes that has sufficient chronologic precision to document abrupt climatic events on a centennial-millennial time scale.

Ambulances under siege in Syria.

Background: Healthcare is under attack in Syria with repeated air strikes on hospitals and ambulances and the largest death toll of health workers in any recorded conflict.1 Ambulances in Syria have been bombed, shot at, stolen, looted and obstructed, significantly impeding their ability to safely evacuate the wounded and provide medical aid.

Methods: This article presents the summary of a literature review on attacks against ambulances in Syria from 2011 to 2018, as well as a descriptive secondary data analysis on individual attacks reported by the Syrian Network for Human Rights from January 2016 to December 2017.

Longitudinal expression profiling of CD4+ and CD8+ cells in patients with active to quiescent giant cell arteritis.

Background: Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is the most common form of vasculitis affecting elderly people. It is one of the few true ophthalmic emergencies but symptoms and signs are variable thereby making it a challenging disease to diagnose. A temporal artery biopsy is the gold standard to confirm GCA, but there are currently no specific biochemical markers to aid diagnosis.

Approach to frailty in the elderly in primary care and the community.

Frailty is a distinct clinical syndrome wherein the individual has low reserves and is highly vulnerable to internal and external stressors. Although it is associated with disability and multiple comorbidities, it can also be present in individuals who seem healthy. Frailty is multidimensional and its pathophysiology is complex.

Participant understanding and recall of informed consent for induced pluripotent stem cell biobanking.

The ability to generate human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) has opened new avenues for human disease modelling and therapy. The aim of our study was to determine research participants' understanding of the information given when donating skin biopsies for the generation of patient-specific iPSCs. A customised 35-item questionnaire based on previous iPSC consent guidelines was sent to participants who had previously donated samples for iPSC research.

Baseline Predictors for Good Versus Poor Visual Outcomes in the Treatment of Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration With Intravitreal Anti-VEGF Therapy.

Purpose: To examine the baseline factors associated with good (20/60 or better) versus poor (20/200 or worse) visual outcomes in eyes with treatment-naïve neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) receiving intravitreal antivascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) on a treat-and-extend regimen (TER).

Methods: An observational, retrospective series of patients managed with a TER, identified as having either good or poor visual outcomes, was examined. A multivariate regression analysis of baseline characteristics identified factors associated with good and poor vision at 2, 3, and 4 years.

Correlation between neovascular lesion type and clinical characteristics of nonneovascular fellow eyes in patients with unilateral, neovascular age-related macular degeneration.

Purpose: To investigate the association between the type of neovascularization (NV) and the clinical characteristics of nonneovascular fellow eyes in patients with unilateral, neovascular age-related macular degeneration.

Methods: Eighty-three patients with treatment-naive, unilateral, neovascular age-related macular degeneration were retrospectively analyzed. Neovascular lesions were classified using both fluorescein angiography and optical coherence tomography as Type 1 (subretinal pigment epithelium), 2 (subretinal), 3 (intraretinal), or mixed NV.

The incidence of neovascular subtypes in newly diagnosed neovascular age-related macular degeneration.

Purpose: To determine the frequency of neovascularization subtypes as determined by fluorescein angiography (FA) alone vs FA and optical coherence tomography (OCT) grading in age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Design: Retrospective cohort.

Methods: participants: Newly diagnosed neovascular AMD patients who initiated intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy by 1 physician from October 1, 2005 to December 1, 2012.

Better ventilator settings using a computerized clinical tool.

Background: The Acute Respiratory Distress Syndome (ARDS) Network low tidal volume (VT) trial paved the ground for mechanically ventilating ARDS patients with a VT of 6 mL/kg ideal body weight (IBW). Although there is no consensus that a low VT is advantageous in non-ARDS patients,it is accepted that high VT should be avoided. Because compliance rates with ventilator recommendations are 30%, there is a need for process improvement.

Role of the hepatocyte growth factor gene in refractive error.

Objective: Refractive errors such as myopia and hypermetropia are among the leading causes of visual impairment worldwide. Several genetic loci have been associated with myopia but none to date have been reported for hypermetropia. We investigated the hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) as a candidate gene influencing these 2 refractive error states.

Structural and functional analysis of the globular head domain of p115 provides insight into membrane tethering.

Molecular tethers have a central role in the organization of the complex membrane architecture of eukaryotic cells. p115 is a ubiquitous, essential tether involved in vesicle transport and the structural organization of the exocytic pathway. We describe two crystal structures of the N-terminal domain of p115 at 2.

Fine mapping linkage analysis identifies a novel susceptibility locus for myopia on chromosome 2q37 adjacent to but not overlapping MYP12.

Purpose: Myopia (shortsightedness) is one of the most common ocular conditions worldwide and results in blurred distance vision. It is a complex trait influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. We have previously reported linkage of myopia to a 13.

Myopia and personality: the genes in myopia (GEM) personality study.

Purpose: A long-held view among the medical and broader community is that people who are short-sighted (myopic persons) have distinctive personality characteristics such as introversion and conscientiousness. However, existing research on this question is flawed, and its findings are inconsistent. The authors therefore aimed to determine whether myopia and personality are associated.

Assessment of TGIF as a candidate gene for myopia.

Purpose: Transforming growth beta-induced factor (TGIF) has been identified as a candidate gene for high myopia through genetic linkage studies and through its role in ocular growth in animal studies. However, the association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), based solely on myopia refraction, has so far been inconclusive. This is the first study conducted to investigate the association of TGIF with refraction and ocular biometric measurements.

Vision-related quality of life comparison for emmetropes, myopes after refractive surgery, and myopes wearing spectacles or contact lenses.

Purpose: To compare the vision-related quality of life among emmetropes, myopes who had refractive surgery, and myopes who wore spectacles and/or contact lenses.

Methods: This cross-sectional study assessed vision-related quality of life using the Vision Quality of Life Index. Participants were age 18 years or older with a presenting visual acuity of 20/40 or better and no other ocular pathology.