The Risk of Venous Thromboembolism in Children With Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Background: Recent studies of children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) demonstrate an increased venous thromboembolism (VTE) risk. However, estimates of risk are variable and case numbers are limited. The aim of this study was to provide national estimates of the risk of VTE in children with IBD.

Marine waste derived carbon materials for use as sulfur hosts for Lithium-Sulfur batteries.

Lithium-sulfur batteries are a promising alternative to lithium-ion batteries as they can potentially offer significantly increased capacities and energy densities. The ever-increasing global battery market demonstrates that there will be an ongoing demand for cost effective battery electrode materials. Materials derived from waste products can simultaneously address two of the greatest challenges of today, i.

The impact of changes in coding on mortality reports using the example of sepsis.

Objectives: NHS Digital issued new guidance on sepsis coding in April 2017 which was further modified in April 2018. During these timeframes some centres reported increased sepsis associated mortality, whilst others reported reduced mortality, in some cases coincident with specific quality improvement programmes. We hypothesised that changes in reported mortality could not be separated from changes in coding practice.

One-Step Grown Carbonaceous Germanium Nanowires and Their Application as Highly Efficient Lithium-Ion Battery Anodes.

Developing a simple, cheap, and scalable synthetic method for the fabrication of functional nanomaterials is crucial. Carbon-based nanowire nanocomposites could play a key role in integrating group IV semiconducting nanomaterials as anodes into Li-ion batteries. Here, we report a very simple, one-pot solvothermal-like growth of carbonaceous germanium (C-Ge) nanowires in a supercritical solvent.

Early renal function trajectories, cytomegalovirus serostatus and long-term graft outcomes in kidney transplant recipients.

Background: Improved recognition of factors influencing graft survival has led to better short-term kidney transplant outcomes. However, efforts to prevent long-term graft decline and improve graft survival have seen more modest improvements. The adoption of electronic health records has enabled better recording and identification of donor-recipient factors through the use of modern statistical techniques.

Mental health in hospital emergency departments: cross-sectional analysis of attendances in England 2013/2014.

Objective: To describe the population of patients who attend emergency departments (ED) in England for mental health reasons.

Methods: Cross-sectional observational study of 6 262 602 ED attendances at NHS (National Health Service) hospitals in England between 1 April 2013 and 31 March 2014. We assessed the proportion of attendances due to psychiatric conditions.

Development of risk prediction models to predict urine culture growth for adults with suspected urinary tract infection in the emergency department: protocol for an electronic health record study from a single UK university hospital.

Background: Urinary tract infection (UTI) is a leading cause of hospital admissions and is diagnosed based on urinary symptoms and microbiological cultures. Due to lags in the availability of culture results of up to 72 h, and the limitations of routine diagnostics, many patients with suspected UTI are started on antibiotic treatment unnecessarily. Predictive models based on routinely collected clinical information may help clinicians to rule out a diagnosis of bacterial UTI in low-risk patients shortly after hospital admission, providing additional evidence to guide antibiotic treatment decisions.

Ethnicity and risk of death in patients hospitalised for COVID-19 infection in the UK: an observational cohort study in an urban catchment area.

Background: Studies suggest that certain black and Asian minority ethnic groups experience poorer outcomes from COVID-19, but these studies have not provided insight into potential reasons for this. We hypothesised that outcomes would be poorer for those of South Asian ethnicity hospitalised from a confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, once confounding factors, health-seeking behaviours and community demographics were considered, and that this might reflect a more aggressive disease course in these patients.

Methods: Patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection requiring admission to University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB) in Birmingham, UK between 10 March 2020 and 17 April 2020 were included.

Simplifying the synthesis of carbon inverse opals.

Carbon inverse opals (IOs) were prepared a facile synthesis approach using a sucrose-based precursor and polystyrene (PS) spheres as a sacrificial template. During IO preparation, polymer spheres are typically removed by dispersion in organic solvents, such as toluene or tetrahydrofuran. In this study, carbon IOs are prepared with and without removal of PS spheres by toluene to determine the influence of template removal prior to high-temperature treatment on the morphology and chemistry of the resulting carbons.

Comparing nanoparticles for drug delivery: The effect of physiological dispersion media on nanoparticle properties.

Delivering therapeutics to disease sites is a challenge facing modern medicine. Nanoparticle delivery systems are of considerable interest to overcome this challenge, but these systems suffer from poor clinical translation. It is believed this is, in part, due to incomplete understanding of nanoparticle physico-chemical properties in vivo.

Diagnostic uncertainty and urinary tract infection in the emergency department: a cohort study from a UK hospital.

Background: Suspected urinary tract infection (UTI) syndromes are a common reason for empirical antibiotics to be prescribed in the Emergency Department (ED), but differentiating UTI from other conditions with a similar presentation is challenging. We investigated how often an ED diagnosis of UTI is confirmed clinically/microbiologically, and described conditions which present as UTI syndromes.

Methods: Observational study using electronic health records from patients who attended the ED with suspected UTI and had a urine sample submitted for culture.

Germanium tin alloy nanowires as anode materials for high performance Li-ion batteries.

The combination of two active Li-ion materials (Ge and Sn) can result in improved conduction paths and higher capacity retention. Here we report for the first time, the implementation of Ge Sn alloy nanowires as anode materials for Li-ion batteries. Ge Sn alloy nanowires have been successfully grown via vapor-liquid-solid technique directly on stainless steel current collectors.

Sex-Specific Differences in Survival and Heart Failure Hospitalization After Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy With or Without Defibrillation.

Background Women are underrepresented in cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) trials. Some studies suggest that women fare better than men after CRT. We sought to explore clinical outcomes in women and men undergoing CRT-defibrillation or CRT-pacing in real-world clinical practice.

Standardization of research methods employed in assessing the interaction between metallic-based nanoparticles and the blood-brain barrier: Present and future perspectives.

Treating diseases of the central nervous system (CNS) is complicated by the presence of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), a semipermeable boundary layer protecting the CNS from toxins and homeostatic disruptions. However, this layer also excludes almost 100% of therapeutics, impeding the treatment of CNS diseases. The advent of nanoparticles, in particular metallic-based nanoparticles, presents the potential to overcome this barrier and transport drugs into the CNS.

Survival after cardiac resynchronization therapy: results from 50 084 implantations.

Aims: Randomized controlled trials have shown that cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) prolongs survival in patients with heart failure. No studies have explored survival after CRT in relation to individuals in the general population (relative survival, RS). We sought to determine observed and RS after CRT in a nationwide cohort undergoing CRT.

Polysulfide Binding to Several Nanoscale Magnéli Phases Synthesized in Carbon for Long-Life Lithium-Sulfur Battery Cathodes.

In Li-S batteries, it is important to ensure efficient reversible conversion of sulfur to lithium polysulfide (LiPS). Shuttling effects caused by LiPS dissolution can lead to reduced performance and cycle life. Although carbon materials rely on physical trapping of polysulfides, polar oxide surfaces can chemically bind LiPS to improve the stability of sulfur cathodes.

Clinical outcomes and costs of cardiac revascularisation in England and New York state.

Objectives: Healthcare expenditure per-capita in the USA is higher than in England. We hypothesised that clinical outcomes after cardiac revascularisation are better in the USA. We compared costs and outcomes of patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in England and New York State (NYS).

Carbon-Coated Honeycomb Ni-Mn-Co-O Inverse Opal: A High Capacity Ternary Transition Metal Oxide Anode for Li-ion Batteries.

We present the formation of a carbon-coated honeycomb ternary Ni-Mn-Co-O inverse opal as a conversion mode anode material for Li-ion battery applications. In order to obtain high capacity via conversion mode reactions, a single phase crystalline honeycombed IO structure of Ni-Mn-Co-O material was first formed. This Ni-Mn-Co-O IO converts via reversible redox reactions and LiO formation to a 3D structured matrix assembly of nanoparticles of three (MnO, CoO and NiO) oxides, that facilitates efficient reactions with Li.

Long-term requirement for pacemaker implantation after cardiac valve replacement surgery.

Background: The risk of permanent pacemaker implantation (PPI) after cardiac valve replacement surgery is thought to be highest in the postoperative period. Long-term risks are uncertain.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine rates and timing of PPI after cardiac valve replacement surgery.

2D and 3D photonic crystal materials for photocatalysis and electrochemical energy storage and conversion.

This perspective reviews recent advances in inverse opal structures, how they have been developed, studied and applied as catalysts, catalyst support materials, as electrode materials for batteries, water splitting applications, solar-to-fuel conversion and electrochromics, and finally as photonic photocatalysts and photoelectrocatalysts. Throughout, we detail some of the salient optical characteristics that underpin recent results and form the basis for light-matter interactions that span electrochemical energy conversion systems as well as photocatalytic systems. Strategies for using 2D as well as 3D structures, ordered macroporous materials such as inverse opals are summarized and recent work on plasmonic-photonic coupling in metal nanoparticle-infiltrated wide band gap inverse opals for enhanced photoelectrochemistry are provided.

The structural conversion from α-AgVO to β-AgVO: Ag nanoparticle decorated nanowires with application as cathode materials for Li-ion batteries.

The majority of electrode materials in batteries and related electrochemical energy storage devices are fashioned into slurries via the addition of a conductive additive and a binder. However, aggregation of smaller diameter nanoparticles in current generation electrode compositions can result in non-homogeneous active materials. Inconsistent slurry formulation may lead to inconsistent electrical conductivity throughout the material, local variations in electrochemical response, and the overall cell performance.

Supercapattery Based on Binder-Free Co(PO)·8HO Multilayer Nano/Microflakes on Nickel Foam.

A binder-free cobalt phosphate hydrate (Co(PO)·8HO) multilayer nano/microflake structure is synthesized on nickel foam (NF) via a facile hydrothermal process. Four different concentrations (2.5, 5, 10, and 20 mM) of Co and PO were used to obtain different mass loading of cobalt phosphate on the nickel foam.

Growing Oxide Nanowires and Nanowire Networks by Solid State Contact Diffusion into Solution-Processed Thin Films.

New techniques to directly grow metal oxide nanowire networks without the need for initial nanoparticle seed deposition or postsynthesis nanowire casting will bridge the gap between bottom-up formation and top-down processing for many electronic, photonic, energy storage, and conversion technologies. Whether etched top-down, or grown from catalyst nanoparticles bottom-up, nanowire growth relies on heterogeneous material seeds. Converting surface oxide films, ubiquitous in the microelectronics industry, to nanowires and nanowire networks by the incorporation of extra species through interdiffusion can provide an alternative deposition method.