Publications by authors named "Francis N"

Background: Optimal management of anaemia following surgery for colorectal cancer remains unclear. Peri-operative anaemia is common in patients undergoing resectional surgery for colorectal cancer. A significant amount of research has been conducted into the management of pre-operative anaemia; however, little work has investigated post-operative anaemia.

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Background: The surgical management of complicated diverticulitis varies across Europe. EAES members prioritized this topic to be addressed by a clinical practice guideline through an online questionnaire.

Objective: To develop evidence-informed clinical practice recommendations for key stakeholders involved in the treatment of complicated diverticulitis; to improve operative and perioperative outcomes, patient experience and quality of life through a systematic evidence-to-decision approach by a diverse, multidisciplinary panel.

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Background: We performed a systematic review and network meta-analysis (NMA) of individualized patient data (IPD) to inform the development of evidence-informed clinical practice recommendations.

Methods: We searched MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane Central in October 2023 to identify RCTs comparing Hartmann's resection (HR), primary resection and anastomosis (PRA), or laparoscopic peritoneal lavage (LPL) among patients with class Ib-IV Hinchey diverticulitis. Outcomes of interest were prioritized by an international, multidisciplinary panel including two patient partners.

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Background: Multiple long-term conditions (MLTCs), living with two or more long-term conditions (LTCs), often termed multimorbidity, has a high and increasing prevalence globally with earlier age of onset in people living in deprived communities. A holistic understanding of the patient's perspective of the work associated with living with MLTCs is needed. This study aimed to synthesise qualitative evidence describing the experiences of people living with MLTCs (multimorbidity) and to develop a greater understanding of the effect on people's lives and ways in which living with MLTCs is 'burdensome' for people.

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Background: This systematic review evaluates the effect of audit and feedback (A&F) interventions targeting antibiotic prescribing in primary care and examines factors that may explain the variation in effectiveness.

Methods: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving A&F interventions targeting antibiotic prescribing in primary care were included in the systematic review. Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and ClinicalTrials.

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Article Synopsis
  • Immunotherapy has enhanced survival rates for patients with advanced clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), but many patients still develop resistance to treatment.
  • A study examined tumor samples from patients with both treatment-naïve and treatment-exposed ccRCC, revealing that tumors exposed to immunotherapy contained more immune cells (like CD8+ T cells and neutrophils) and showed significant changes in cellular markers.
  • Key findings included increased expression of COL4A1 and ITGAV in the stroma of treated tumors, suggesting a need for further investigation into how these changes impact the tumor immune environment and potential new therapies.
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Background: There has been a recent rapid growth in the adoption of robotic systems across Europe. This study aimed to capture the current state of robotic training in gastrointestinal (GI) surgery and to identify potential challenges and barriers to training within Europe.

Methods: A pan-European survey was designed to account for the opinion of the following GI surgery groups: (i) experts/independent practitioners; (ii) trainees with robotic access; (iii) trainees without robotic access; (iv) robotic industry representatives.

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Objectives: Many patients presenting with acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) in primary care do not benefit from antibiotics. Excessive use wastes resources, promotes antimicrobial resistance and can harm patients.

Design: We conducted a within-trial economic evaluation, using a UK National Health Service perspective, as part of the multicentre, parallel-arm, open, individually randomised, controlled PACE trial.

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Sorghum is a significant source of polyphenols, whose content, antioxidant properties and bioaccessibility may be modulated by digestion. Studies have reported sorghum polyphenol changes after simulated digestion. However, the effects of simulated digestion on processed, pigmented sorghum are unknown.

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Background: People live longer, and frailty has become an important problem in the acute hospital setting. Increasingly the association between frailty and hospital-acquired complications has been reported. However, the overall burden of frailty in this setting has not been described.

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Purpose: To empirically examine associations between parental opposition towards comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) and religiosity.

Methods: A nationally representative survey of Australian parents ( = 2,418) examined opposition towards 40 CSE topics, by parental religiosity and secular/religious school sector.

Results: Whilst opposition to most CSE topics correlated positively with religiosity, even amongst religious parents, disapproval was minimal (2.

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in presupposition denials.

Linguist Philos

October 2024

This paper explores a puzzling polarity-based asymmetry in the use of in sentences that deny presuppositions. It argues that this asymmetry is produced by the interaction of 's controversial additive presupposition with the alternatives that are salient in the relevant contexts and demonstrates that this proposal makes good crosslinguistic predictions. Along the way, this paper shows that presupposition denials are a fruitful testing ground for uncovering details about the behaviour of and the role of presuppositions triggered within focus alternatives.

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The ability to work in teams is one of the most sought-after graduate skills by employers. However, team-based learning activities, and especially team-based assessments, are commonly disliked (even actively avoided) by students. Team-based assessments are often problematic for students, mostly due to logistical problems and interpersonal difficulties.

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There is a critical unmet need for safe and efficacious neoadjuvant treatment for cisplatin-ineligible patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Here we launched a phase 1b study using the combination of intravesical cretostimogene grenadenorepvec (oncolytic serotype 5 adenovirus encoding granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor) with systemic nivolumab in cisplatin-ineligible patients with cT2-4aN0-1M0 muscle-invasive bladder cancer. The primary objective was to measure safety, and the secondary objective was to assess the anti-tumor efficacy as measured by pathologic complete response along with 1-year recurrence-free survival.

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Assessment and the associated feedback from those assessments are powerful factors in the development of students' learning. We have seen a shift within the Higher Education sector to conceptualise assessment as being more than summative assessment 'of' learning. Instead, there has been a greater emphasis on assessment 'as' learning, or assessment 'for' learning, through the enhanced use of formative assessments.

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Introduction: Surgical residency programs are facing ongoing challenges since the pandemic. The Young Member (YM) Task Force of the European Association for Endoscopic Surgery (EAES) has been created to support surgical residents and surgeons under 40, promoting activities that could be useful for young surgeons and to improve networking between members of different countries. This project aimed to explore educational needs among European surgical residents to inform the EAES curriculum for young surgeons.

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Background: Manual objective assessment of skill and errors in minimally invasive surgery have been validated with correlation to surgical expertise and patient outcomes. However, assessment and error annotation can be subjective and are time-consuming processes, often precluding their use. Recent years have seen the development of artificial intelligence models to work towards automating the process to allow reduction of errors and truly objective assessment.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to evaluate how different chemical surface treatments affect the bond strength between acrylic teeth and denture bases.
  • Three groups were tested: a control group with no treatment, one treated with monomethyl methacrylate monomer, and another treated with acetone, with shear bond strength measured for each.
  • Results indicated that acetone treatment provided the strongest bond (183.21 N), followed by monomethyl methacrylate (171.64 N) and the control group (149.32 N), highlighting acetone's effectiveness in enhancing adhesion in dental prosthetics.
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  • Cellulitis is a painful skin infection, often recurring in about one-third of cases, and nurses play a crucial role in managing risk factors like leg swelling and wound care.
  • The study involved interviews with 21 practice and community nurses in England to understand their experiences and challenges in managing these risk factors for patients with recurrent cellulitis.
  • Nurses face obstacles such as time constraints and patient capabilities, but they suggest focusing on prevention and providing resources to empower patients and caregivers in self-management.
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Understanding the behavioral and neural dynamics of social interactions is a goal of contemporary neuroscience. Many machine learning methods have emerged in recent years to make sense of complex video and neurophysiological data that result from these experiments. Less focus has been placed on understanding how animals process acoustic information, including social vocalizations.

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Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory demyelinating disease with heterogeneous clinical presentations and variable long-term disability accumulation. There are currently no standard criteria to accurately predict disease outcomes. In this study we investigated the cross-sectional relationship between disease phenotype and immune-modulating cytokines and chemokines in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).

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Spectral Photon Counting Computed Tomography (SPCCT), a ground-breaking development in CT technology, has immense potential to address the persistent problem of metal artefacts in CT images. This study aims to evaluate the potential of Mars photon-counting CT technology in reducing metal artefacts. It focuses on identifying and quantifying clinically significant materials in the presence of metal objects.

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  • Acne is a common skin condition that affects women's quality of life and often leads to long-term antibiotic use, prompting the study of spironolactone as a potential treatment.
  • The study was a randomized, double-blind trial assessing the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of spironolactone for treating facial acne in women aged 18 and older, continuing their usual topical treatments.
  • Results showed that among the 410 women randomized, the treatment group successfully tolerated spironolactone at increasing doses, with a focus on improvements in acne-related quality of life over a 12-week period.
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