Applying a values-based decision process to facilitate comanagement of threatened species in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Ko koe ki tēnā, ko ahau ki tēnai kīwai o te kete (you at that, and I at this handle of the basket). This Māori (New Zealanders of indigenous descent) saying conveys the principle of cooperation-we achieve more through working together, rather than separately. Despite decades of calls to rectify cultural imbalance in conservation, threatened species management still relies overwhelmingly on ideas from Western science and on top-down implementation.

Impact of COVID-19 on accident and emergency attendances and emergency and planned hospital admissions in Scotland: an interrupted time-series analysis.

Objectives: Following the outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus and the subsequent global spread of the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), health systems and the populations who use them have faced unprecedented challenges. We aimed to measure the impact of COVID-19 on the uptake of hospital-based care at a national level.

Design: The study period (weeks ending 5 January to 28 June 2020) encompassed the pandemic announcement by the World Health Organization and the initiation of the UK lockdown.

Rapid molecular testing for bacteraemia improves clinical management.

bacteraemia (SAB) causes significant morbidity and mortality. Standard diagnostic methods require 24-48 h to provide results, during which time management is guideline-based and may be suboptimal. Evaluate the impact of rapid molecular detection of in positive blood culture bottle fluid on patient management.

"A Lot of People Are Struggling Privately. They Don't Know Where to Go or They're Not Sure of What to Do": Frontline Service Provider Perspectives of the Nature of Household Food Insecurity in Scotland.

This qualitative study explored frontline service providers' perceptions of the nature of food insecurity in Scotland in 2015 to inform national policy and the provision of locally-based support for 'at risk' groups. A country-wide in-depth interview study was undertaken with informants from 25 health, social care, and third sector organisations. The study investigated informants' perspectives associated with how food insecurity was manifesting itself locally, and what was happening at the local level in response to the existence of food insecurity.

Glibenclamide and metfoRmin versus stAndard care in gEstational diabeteS (GRACES): a feasibility open label randomised trial.

Background: Metformin is widely used to treat gestational diabetes (GDM), but many women remain hyperglycaemic and require additional therapy. We aimed to determine recruitment rate and participant throughput in a randomised trial of glibenclamide compared with standard therapy insulin (added to maximum tolerated metformin) for treatment of GDM.

Methods: We conducted an open label feasibility study in 5 UK antenatal clinics among pregnant women 16 to 36 weeks' gestation with metformin-treated GDM.

Development and early application of the Scottish Community Nursing Workload Measurement Tool.

This article describes the development and early application of the Scottish Community Nursing Workload Measurement Tool, part of a suite of tools aiming to ensure a consistent approach to measuring nursing workload across NHS Scotland. The tool, which enables community nurses to record and report their actual workload by collecting information on six categories of activity, is now being used by all NHS boards as part of a triangulated approach. Data being generated by the tool at national level include indications that approximately 50% of band 6 district nurses' time is spent in face-to-face and non-face-to-face contact and planned sessions with patients, and that over 60% of face-to-face contacts are at 'moderate' and 'complex' levels of intervention (2012 data).

Biobanking trends, challenges, and opportunities.

Objectives: To review the different interests and needs of industry and academic users of human biomaterials.

Methods: A review of the current literature and interviews with involved parties. Questionnaires were e-mailed to assess current attitudes towards biobanking and opinions of trends and implications for the future.

Meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA): global epidemiology and harmonisation of typing methods.

This article reviews recent findings on the global epidemiology of healthcare-acquired/associated (HA), community-acquired/associated (CA) and livestock-associated (LA) meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and aims to reach a consensus regarding the harmonisation of typing methods for MRSA. MRSA rates continue to increase rapidly in many regions and there is a dynamic spread of strains across the globe. HA-MRSA is currently endemic in hospitals in most regions.

Meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA): screening and decolonisation.

Meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections are of increasing importance to clinicians, public health agencies and governments. Prevention and control strategies must address sources in healthcare settings, the community and livestock. This document presents the conclusions of a European Consensus Conference on the role of screening and decolonisation in the control of MRSA infection.

The effectiveness of drug round tabards in reducing incidence of medication errors.

Background: A number of inpatients experience medication errors, which carry potential risks for patients and have cost implications for the NHS. These errors are often a result of interruptions during drug rounds.

Aim: This audit study explored whether introducing drug round tabards reduced the number of interruptions during drug rounds and improved patient care and safety.

Antimicrobial resistance profiles of Campylobacter from humans, retail chicken meat, and cattle feces.

We determined the antimicrobial resistance profiles of Campylobacter isolates from cases of sporadic human infection (n = 119), retail chicken meat (n = 105), and cattle feces (n = 105). Ampicillin and tetracycline resistance was highest in human isolates (32% and 29%, respectively) and retail chicken isolates (25% and 25%, respectively), whereas nalidixic acid resistance was highest in cattle fecal isolates (20%). We found that the antimicrobial resistance profiles were more similar in human and chicken meat isolates than those observed when comparing human and cattle fecal isolates.

Antibiotic stewardship and consumption: findings from a pan-European hospital study.

Objectives: Much has been written about antibiotic stewardship although less is known about the structure and content of antibiotic policies at hospital level. As part of the European Commission Concerted Action Antibiotic Resistance Prevention And Control (ARPAC) Project, data on antibiotic stewardship were collated and relationships investigated by antibiotic consumption in European hospitals.

Methods: A questionnaire survey on antibiotic stewardship factors was completed by 170 hospitals from 32 European countries.

Progesterone for the prevention of preterm birth in twin pregnancy (STOPPIT): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study and meta-analysis.

Background: Women with twin pregnancy are at high risk for spontaneous preterm delivery. Progesterone seems to be effective in reducing preterm birth in selected high-risk singleton pregnancies, albeit with no significant reduction in perinatal mortality and little evidence of neonatal benefit. We investigated the use of progesterone for prevention of preterm birth in twin pregnancy.

Functionalized nanoparticles for nucleic acid sequence analysis using optical spectroscopies.

SERRS (surface-enhanced resonance Raman scattering) is a vibrational spectroscopy which allows extremely sensitive and selective detection of labelled DNA sequences with detection limits which rival, and in most cases surpass, that of fluorescence. SERRS relies on a visible chromophore adsorbing on to an enhancing surface. DNA itself is not SERRS-active, as it lacks a suitable visible chromophore and has poor adsorption properties on to the surfaces used for enhancement.

Bisphosphonate osteonecrosis: a protocol for surgical management.

We present a protocol for the management of a subgroup of patients with bisphosphonate osteonecrosis who presented with painful, exposed, necrotic, alveolar bone. It is simple and can easily be adapted to suit anatomical variations of the oral cavity. Current guidelines based on consensus for the management of bisphosphonate-induced osteonecrosis fail to provide mucosal coverage, which is a primary requirement in managing the condition.

The role of microbiology and pharmacy departments in the stewardship of antibiotic prescribing in European hospitals.

This observational, cross-sectional study describes the role played by clinical microbiology and pharmacy departments in the stewardship of antibiotic prescribing in European hospitals. A total of 170 acute care hospitals from 32 European countries returned a questionnaire on antibiotic policies and practices implemented in 2001. Data on antibiotic use, expressed as Defined Daily Doses per 100 occupied bed-days (DDD/100 BD) were provided by 139 hospitals from 30 countries.

Use of the bacteriology laboratory to decrease general practitioners' antibiotic prescribing.

Objective: Use of the bacteriology laboratory to guide antibiotic prescribing in primary care is often considered inappropriate due to difficulties of access in a relevant time scale. The overnight analysis offered to general practitioners in the Grampian area of Scotland for the past 6 years (ABLE), and which had previously been shown to reduce antibiotic prescribing by two-thirds in a randomized controlled trial, was audited to see if it was being used correctly in general practice, that is to reduce unnecessary antibiotic prescribing.

Methods: 699 consultations were audited.

Topical antimicrobials in combination with admission screening and barrier precautions to control endemic methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in an Intensive Care Unit.

We aimed to establish whether screening for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and body decontamination upon admission to an Intensive Care Unit (ICU), in combination with barrier precautions, reduced rates of MRSA infection acquired on the unit. This was an interrupted time series study employing segmented regression analysis of data collected for all patients admitted to a 16-bed adult ICU over 48 months. Before the intervention (24 months; 1232 patients (44% female)), MRSA was sought from clinical cultures only and positive patients were barrier nursed in isolation.

IMOP: randomised placebo controlled trial of outpatient cervical ripening with isosorbide mononitrate (IMN) prior to induction of labour - clinical trial with analyses of efficacy, cost effectiveness and acceptability.

Background: There is increasing interest in carrying out pre-induction cervical ripening on an outpatient basis. However, there are concerns about the use of prostaglandins, the agents commonly used in hospital settings for this indication, because prostaglandins induce uterine contractions that may lead to fetal hypoxia. Indeed, in a recent study we demonstrated abnormalities in 9% of fetal heart rate tracings performed following prostaglandin induced cervical ripening at term.

Relationship between the number of different antibiotics used and the total use of antibiotics in European hospitals.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to establish whether there was a relationship between the number of antibacterial agents used and total antibiotic use in European hospitals.

Methods: A total of 139 hospitals from 30 countries supplied data on antibiotic use (ATC group J01) for 2001, expressed as the number of defined daily doses per 100 occupied bed-days (DDD/100 BD) and also numbers of different antibiotics used.

Results: Participating hospitals used a median of 46 antibiotics in 2001 (range 16-82).

The inhibitory profile of Ibudilast against the human phosphodiesterase enzyme family.

Ibudilast is widely used in Japan to treat ischemic stroke and bronchial asthma. Its mode of action is through the inhibition of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases (PDEs). Growing evidence suggests this compound has utility in a range of neurological conditions linked to its ability to elevate cellular cyclic nucleotide concentrations, however limited data exists on Ibudilast's action on individual PDE families.