Bullying, Harassment, and Undermining Behaviour in Cardiothoracic Surgery in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Background: Bullying, harassment, and undermining behaviour has a profound detrimental effect on the multi-professional team, patient safety, and clinical outcomes. Bullying creates a poor working and training environment , increasing stress, damaging confidence, and impairing wellbeing. We sought to characterize the prevalence and nature of bullying, harassment and undermining within cardiothoracic surgery in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland.

Management of Acute Ischemic Stroke Following Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation: A Systematic Review and Multidisciplinary Treatment Recommendations.

: Acute ischemic stroke is an uncommon but potentially devastating complication of Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI). Despite improvements in device technology and procedural techniques, stroke rates have remained stable, with cerebral embolic protection devices demonstrating only limited efficacy to date. Therefore, the management of acute ischemic stroke complicating TAVI (AISCT) remains a key priority.

Vascular and inflammatory biomarkers of cardiovascular events in non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug users.

Aims: The Standard care vs. Celecoxib Outcome Trial (SCOT) found similar risk of cardiovascular events with traditional non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and the cyclooxygenase-2-selective drug celecoxib. While pre-clinical work has suggested roles for vascular and renal dysfunction in NSAID cardiovascular toxicity, our understanding of these mechanisms remains incomplete.

Outcomes of Patients With Five or More Brain Metastases Treated With Stereotactic Radiosurgery From 2014 to 2019: A UK Series.

Aims: Treatment with stereotactic radiosurgery/radiotherapy (SRS/SRT) is standard practice in selected patients with small numbers of brain metastases (BMs). It is less accepted in those with ≥5 BMs, due to the lack of a prospective evidence base. While randomised trials are ongoing, we present the experience of a single UK cancer centre in using SRS/SRT for patients with 5 or more BMs without whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT).

Clinical Outcomes and Relevance of Composite V12 Gy in Patients With Four or More Brain Metastases Treated With Single Fraction Stereotactic Radiosurgery.

Aims: Tissue V12Gy (total brain volume receiving 12Gy including target) can predict for late toxicity in single target benign disease treated with stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS). The value of this metric remains uncertain for multiple brain metastases. This retrospective cohort study reports the outcomes and evaluates the predictors of toxicity in patients with four or more brain metastases treated with single-fraction SRS.

Disassembly of self-assembling peptide hydrogels as a versatile method for cell extraction and manipulation.

Self-assembling peptide hydrogels (SAPHs) are increasingly being used as two-dimensional (2D) cell culture substrates and three-dimensional (3D) matrices due to their tunable properties and biomimicry of native tissues. Despite these advantages, SAPHs often represent an end-point in cell culture, as isolating cells from them leads to low yields and disruption of cells, limiting their use and post-culture analyses. Here, we report on a protocol designed to easily and effectively disassemble peptide amphiphile (PA) SAPHs to retrieve 3D encapsulated cells with high viability and minimal disruption.

Network Analysis to Visualize Qualitative Results: Example From a Qualitative Content Analysis of The National Child Abuse Hotline.

Data visualization, such as figures created through network analysis, may be one way to present more complete information from qualitative analysis. Segments of qualitatively coded data can be treated as objects in network analysis, thus creating visual representations of the code frequency (i.e.

Reducing Length of Hospital Stay Following Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation.

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has emerged as a safe and effective treatment for severe aortic stenosis across the spectrum of surgical risk cohorts. Subsequently, the dramatic increase in procedural volume worldwide has placed significant financial and logistical pressures on healthcare institutions, particularly regarding hospital length of stay (LOS), which can adversely affect patient flow. In this review article, we discuss different peri-procedural strategies developed to reduce LOS and facilitate early discharge after TAVI.

Is Doing Good Good Enough? A Motivation, Action, Sacrifice, and Temptation (MAST) View of Moral Praiseworthiness.

We present the Motivation, Action, Sacrifice, and Temptation (MAST) view of moral praiseworthiness and evaluate four components shaping judgments of an actor's morality: (a) How did the person act? (b) Why did the person act? (c) Did the person sacrifice something when acting? and (d) Was the person tempted to avoid the sacrifice? Across multiple moral domains, we evaluate moral impressions of hypothetical actors who acted ostensibly morally under different motivational, sacrificial, and temptational conditions. Across four studies (total > 1,200) and 150 morally relevant scenarios, all components shaped moral impressions, with motivational purity having the strongest impact. Exploring motivation more deeply via Self-Determination Theory, we found effects of internalized (vs.

Mortality from pulmonary hypertension in Europe 2001-2019.

Background: The incidence of Pulmonary Hypertension (PH) and Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH) is believed to be on the rise and is associated with poor outcomes.

Methods: We extracted age-standardized mortality rates (ASMRs) for decedents ≥ 18 years of age from the World Health Organization Mortality Database, using International Classification of Diseases 10th edition codes for PH and PAH, covering the period from 2001 to 2019. The UK and European Union countries with at least 1,000,000 inhabitants and at least 75% of available data points over the study period were included.

Pulsed MPI Relaxometry of Brownian and Néel Field-Dependent Relaxation in Superparamagnetic Magnetite Nanoparticles Confirm Theory and Simulations.

Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIOs) are used as tracers in Magnetic Particle Imaging (MPI). It is crucial to understand the magnetic properties of SPIOs for optimizing MPI imaging contrast, resolution, and sensitivity. Brownian and Néel relaxation theory developed in the early 1950s posits that relaxation times can vary with particle size, shell thickness, medium viscosity, and the applied field strength.

A novel translational model of atherosclerosis, the ex vivo pump-perfused amputated human limb model.

The preclinical study of atherosclerosis has traditionally centred around the use of small animal models, translating to large animal models, prior to first-in-man studies. We propose to disrupt this paradigm by designing an ex vivo pump perfused human limb model. The novel model consists of taking a freshly amputated limb and incorporating it into an ex situ pump-perfused bypass system (akin to extracorporeal membrane oxygenation), circulating warmed, oxygenated blood.

Protein Identification for Stroke Progression via Mendelian Randomization in Million Veteran Program and UK Biobank.

Background: Individuals who have experienced a stroke, or transient ischemic attack, face a heightened risk of future cardiovascular events. Identification of genetic and molecular risk factors for subsequent cardiovascular outcomes may identify effective therapeutic targets to improve prognosis after an incident stroke.

Methods: We performed genome-wide association studies for subsequent major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE; n=51 929; n=39 980) and subsequent arterial ischemic stroke (AIS; n=45 120; n=46 789) after the first incident stroke within the Million Veteran Program and UK Biobank.

Biomarker screen for efficacy of oncolytic virotherapy in patient-derived pancreatic cancer cultures.

Background: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a tumour entity with unmet medical need. To assess the therapeutic potential of oncolytic virotherapy (OVT) against PDAC, different oncolytic viruses (OVs) are currently investigated in clinical trials. However, systematic comparisons of these different OVs in terms of efficacy against PDAC and biomarkers predicting therapeutic response are lacking.

Evidence-based decision-making in a climate of political expediency: insights from local government.

Aims: Local authorities in England are responsible for public health and health promotion. This article sought to explore how research and decision-making co-exist in a local authority in England.

Methods: An Embedded Researcher was based within the local authority and used qualitative methodology to address the research aim.

A Simple Nonviral Method to Generate Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Using SMAR DNA Vectors.

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are a powerful tool for biomedical research, but their production presents challenges and safety concerns. Yamanaka and Takahashi revolutionised the field by demonstrating that somatic cells could be reprogrammed into pluripotent cells by overexpressing four key factors for a sufficient time. iPSCs are typically generated using viruses or virus-based methods, which have drawbacks such as vector persistence, risk of insertional mutagenesis, and oncogenesis.

The use of pembrolizumab monotherapy for the management of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) in the UK.

Pembrolizumab has received approval in the UK as first-line monotherapy for recurrent and/or metastatic HNSCC (R/M HNSCC) following the results of the KEYNOTE-048 trial, which demonstrated a longer overall survival (OS) in comparison to the EXTREME chemotherapy regimen in patients with a combined positive score (CPS) ≥1. In this article, we provide retrospective real-world data on the role of pembrolizumab monotherapy as first-line systemic therapy for HNSCC across 18 centers in the UK from March 20, 2020 to May 31, 2021. 211 patients were included, and in the efficacy analysis, the objective response rate (ORR) was 24.

The epidemiology of tick infestation in dog breeds in the UK.

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to report the prevalence and risk factors for tick infestation in dogs in the UK based on anonymised electronic patient records.

Materials And Methods: Clinical records of dogs under veterinary care in 2016 at clinics participating in the VetCompass Programme were followed over a 5-year period to identify cases of tick infestation. Risk factor analysis used multivariable logistic regression modelling.

Correction: An impedimetric sensor based on molecularly imprinted nanoparticles for the determination of trypsin in artificial matrices - towards point-of-care diagnostics.

Correction for 'An impedimetric sensor based on molecularly imprinted nanoparticles for the determination of trypsin in artificial matrices - towards point-of-care diagnostics' by Sabrina Di Masi , 2024, , 742-750, https://doi.org/10.1039/D3AY01762A.

Randomized Trial of Remote Assessment of Patients After an Acute Coronary Syndrome.

Background: Telemedicine programs can provide remote diagnostic information to aid clinical decisions that could optimize care and reduce unplanned readmissions post-acute coronary syndrome (ACS).

Objectives: TELE-ACS (Remote Acute Assessment of Patients With High Cardiovascular Risk Post-Acute Coronary Syndrome) is a randomized controlled trial that aims to compare a telemedicine-based approach vs standard care in patients following ACS.

Methods: Patients were suitable for inclusion with at least 1 cardiovascular risk factor and presenting with ACS and were randomized (1:1) before discharge.

The cardiovascular effects of GLP-1 receptor agonists beyond obesity and type 2 diabetes: An anti-atherosclerotic action.

Obesity and overweight affect almost one third of the European population. Obesity and its associated conditions, including type 2 diabetes, significantly impact healthcare systems, life expectancy and quality of life. The emergence of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists for the treatment of obesity, with or without diabetes, has provided an effective alternative to metabolic surgery and dietary interventions.