Humans may play a key role in providing small prey mammals spatial and temporal refuge from predators, but few studies have captured the heterogeneity of these effects across space and time. Global COVID-19 lockdown restrictions offered a unique opportunity to investigate how a sudden change in human presence in a semi-urban park impacted wildlife. Here, we quantify how changes in the spatial distributions of humans and natural predators influenced the landscape of fear for the California ground squirrel (Otospermophilus beecheyi) in a COVID-19 pandemic (2020) and non-COVID (2019) year.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The inclusion of clinical frailty in the assessment of patients planned for major surgery has proven to be an independent predictor of outcome. Since approximately half of all patients in the UK diagnosed with oesophagogastric (OG) cancer are over 75 years of age, assessment of frailty may be important in selection for surgery.
Materials And Methods: This retrospective cohort study applied the Hospital Frailty Risk Score to data obtained from the NHS Secondary Uses Service electronic database for patients aged 75 years or older undergoing oesophagectomy and gastrectomy between April 2017 and March 2020.
This article updates the prior 2018 consensus statement by the National Network of Depression Centers (NNDC) on the use of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in the treatment of depression, incorporating recent research and clinical developments. Publications on TMS and depression between September 2016 and April 2024 were identified using methods informed by PRISMA guidelines. The NNDC Neuromodulation Work Group met monthly between October 2022 and April 2024 to define important clinical topics and review pertinent literature.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Cardiovasc Dev Dis
November 2024
Despite the multiple definitions currently used to express enteric methane emissions from ruminants, no consensus has been reached on the most appropriate definition. The objective of the present study was to explore alternative trait definitions reflecting animal-level differences in enteric methane emissions in growing cattle. It is likely that no single methane trait definition will be best suited to all intended use cases, but at least knowing the relationships between the different traits may help inform the selection process.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCongenital heart disease (CHD) affects approximately 1% of live births. Although genetic and environmental etiologic contributors have been identified, the majority of CHD lacks a definitive cause, suggesting the role of gene-environment interactions (GxEs) in disease pathogenesis. Maternal diabetes mellitus (matDM) is among the most prevalent environmental risk factors for CHD.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe selective hydrogenation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to 2,5-bishydroxymethyltetrahydrofuran (BHMTHF), a vital fuel precursor and solvent, is crucial for biomass refining. Herein, we report highly selective and stable PdNi nanoalloy catalysts for this deep hydrogenation process. A CO-assisted green method was developed for the controllable synthesis of various bimetallic and monometallic catalysts.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Current acute healthcare service metrics are not meaningful for older people living with frailty. Healthcare knowledge, situational security, and physical and psychosocial function are important outcomes typically not collected. The use of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) could support these assessments.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGenome-wide association studies (GWASs) of major depressive disorder (MDD) have recently achieved extremely large sample sizes and yielded substantial numbers of genome-wide significant loci. Because of the approach to ascertainment and assessment in many of these studies, some of these loci appear to be associated with dysphoria rather than with MDD, potentially decreasing the clinical relevance of the findings. An alternative approach to MDD GWAS is to focus on the most severe forms of MDD, with the hope that this will enrich for loci of larger effect, rendering their identification plausible, and providing potentially more clinically actionable findings.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Transthoracic (TTE) follow up guidelines after PFO device closure are vague. The primary goal of this study was to perform a literature search to characterize the timing of complications that occur after PFO device placement to determine the utility of long-term routine TTE.
Methods: A search was performed in Medline (PubMed) with English language and publication date (2000-2023) filters were applied.
Frailty is an important concept in the care of older adults. Over the past two decades, significant advances have been made in measuring frailty. While it is now well-recognised that frailty status is an important determinant of outcomes from medical illnesses or surgical interventions, frailty measurement is not currently routinely integrated into clinical practice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To report real-world outcomes for high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (HRNMIBC), including bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) and radical cystectomy (RC), as randomised comparisons of these have not been possible.
Methods: We detail consecutive participants screened for the BRAVO randomised controlled trial comparing RC with BCG (International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number [ISRCTN]12509361). Patients were prospectively registered and case-note review used for outcomes.
Inertial Confinement Fusion and Magnetic Confinement Fusion (ICF and MCF) follow different paths toward goals that are largely common. In this paper, the claim is made that progress can be accelerated by learning from each other across the two fields. Examples of successful cross-community knowledge transfer are presented that highlight the gains from working together, specifically in the areas of high-resolution x-ray imaging spectroscopy and neutron spectrometry.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this article we explore how people who experienced a stroke, transient ischaemic attack, or heart attack sought health care during the COVID-19 lockdown periods. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 27 patients admitted to hospital between March 2020 and May 2021, and one carer who was recruited from cardiac and stroke rehabilitation services in two large acute NHS trusts in England. Drawing on concepts of candidacy, illness and moral work, we discuss how people's sense-making about their symptoms fundamentally shaped both their decisions about seeking help and the impact of COVID-19 on help seeking.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Limited research exists on mother-infant interaction in women at-risk-of postpartum psychosis (PP). This study aimed to investigate potential predictors of mother-infant interaction quality in women at-risk-of-PP during the first postnatal year. Potential predictors investigated were: maternal ability to recognize emotions, childhood maltreatment, parenting stress, and infant social-interactive behaviour at birth.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: While neuropsychological deficits are commonly observed in affective and psychotic disorders, this remains unexplored in these disorders when they occur during pregnancy and the postpartum period.
Methods: A neuropsychological test battery was administered to women defined at risk of postpartum depression (PD, N = 53) because having either a current or past diagnosis of major depressive disorder, women at risk of postpartum psychosis (PP, N = 43) because of a diagnosis of bipolar disorder or schizoaffective disorder and/or a previous episode of PP and women not at risk (NR, N = 48) in the third trimester of pregnancy. Generalized and specific cognitive abilities were compared between groups.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of the KardiaMobile (KM) device in adults with a Fontan palliation, and to assess the KM function as a screening tool for atrial arrhythmias. While patient driven electrocardiogram (EKG) devices are becoming a validated way to evaluate cardiac arrhythmias, their role for patients with congenital heart disease is less clear. Patients with single ventricle Fontan palliation have a high prevalence of atrial arrhythmias and represent a unique cohort that could benefit from early detection of atrial arrhythmias.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNoninvasive functional assessment of systemic right ventricles (RV) in hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) is challenging. This study aimed to compare pediatric cardiologists' current noninvasive imaging practices to those reported in 2013. A web-based survey was distributed to pediatric cardiologists via various listservs which queried timing of echocardiograms during HLHS palliative stages and measurements of RV function.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: In preparation for a prospective syphilis network study of sexual minority men, we conducted a mixed-methods formative study with the following objectives: ( a ) assess acceptability of respondent-driven sampling, ( b ) assess acceptability of study procedures, ( c ) social network seed selection, and ( d ) pilot an ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study to assess social networking, sexual, and substance use behaviors.
Methods: We conducted in-depth interviews with 8 providers serving sexual minority men and 5 focus group discussions with 34 sexual minority men, prioritizing 4 target populations: (1) young Black sexual minority men, (2) on preexposure prophylaxis, (3) living with HIV, and (4) not engaged in care. The 4-week EMA pilot was conducted with 40 sexual minority men.
Constipation and fecal impaction are common issues with the potential for significant morbidity in older people presenting to the Emergency Department (ED). While many of these patients present with classical symptoms of constipation or fecal impaction, atypical presentations are also frequent. These atypical presentations may include paradoxical diarrhea, fecal incontinence, urinary retention or overflow incontinence, hyperactive or hypoactive delirium, anorexia/dysphagia, and syncope.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOlder people living with frailty are frequent users of emergency care and have multiple and complex problems. Typical evidence-based guidelines and protocols provide guidance for the management of single and simple acute issues. Meanwhile, person-centred care orientates interventions around the perspectives of the individual.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Initial surfactant studies demonstrated improvements in survival and need for respiratory support. However, as the use of non-invasive respiratory support has increased the use of surfactant has decreased. We examined in a contemporary cohort of BPD patients if surfactant use was associated with BPD severity.
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