Linkage of national health and social care data: a cross-sectional study of multimorbidity and social care use in people aged over 65 years in Scotland.

Background: little is known about the relationship between multimorbidity and social care use (also known as long-term care). The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between receipt of formal social care services and multimorbidity.

Methods: this retrospective data linkage, observational study included all individuals over the age of 65 in the population of Scotland in financial years 2014-15 and 2015-16 (n = 975,265).

Understanding the Mothers of Children with Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus in Tanzania.

Objective: To identify if there are cultural, medical, educational, economic, nutritional and geographic barriers to the prevention and treatment of spina bifida and hydrocephalus.

Methods: The mothers of infants with spina bifida and hydrocephalus admitted to Muhimbilli Orthopaedic Institute, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, between 2013 and 2014 were asked to complete a questionnaire. A total of 299 infants were identified: 65 with myelomeningoceles, 19 with encephaloceles, and 215 with isolated hydrocephalus.

Establishing reliability and validity for mental health screening instruments in resource-constrained settings: Systematic review of the PHQ-9 and key recommendations.

Mental illness is one of the largest contributors to the global disease burden. The importance of valid and reliable mental health measures is crucial in order to accurately measure said burden, to capture symptom improvement, and to ensure that symptoms are appropriately identified and quantified. This is of particular importance in low and middle-income countries (LMICs), where the burden of mental illness is relatively high, and there is heterogeneity in linguistic, racial, and ethnic groups.

Developing a harmonized heat warning and information system for Ontario: a case study in collaboration.

Background: Heat wave early warning systems help alert decision-makers and the public to prepare for hot weather and implement preventive actions to protect health. Prior to harmonization, public health units across Ontario either used independent systems with varying methodologies for triggering and issuing public heat warnings or did not use any system. The federal government also issued heat warnings based on different criteria.

Vangl2 in the Dentate Network Modulates Pattern Separation and Pattern Completion.

The organization of spatial information, including pattern completion and pattern separation processes, relies on the hippocampal circuits, yet the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying these two processes are elusive. Here, we find that loss of Vangl2, a core PCP gene, results in opposite effects on pattern completion and pattern separation processes. Mechanistically, we show that Vangl2 loss maintains young postmitotic granule cells in an immature state, providing increased cellular input for pattern separation.

Prefrontal cortex eQTLs/mQTLs enriched in genetic variants associated with alcohol use disorder and other diseases.

This study aimed to investigate the function of genome-wide association study (GWAS)-identified variants associated with alcohol use disorder (AUD)/comorbid psychiatric disorders. Genome-wide genotype, transcriptome and DNA methylome data were obtained from postmortem prefrontal cortex (PFC) of 48 Caucasians (24 AUD cases/24 controls). Expression/methylation quantitative trait loci (eQTL/mQTL) were identified and their enrichment in GWAS signals for the above disorders were analyzed.

Temperature dependence of differential capacitance in the electric double layer.Symmetric valency 1:1 electrolytes.

The differential capacitance of an electric double layer formed by an aqueous solution of KNO on a glassy carbon electrode is measured by impedance analysis at constant frequency. Results are obtained at electrolyte concentrations of 0.1 mol/dm, 0.

sig2db: a Workflow for Processing Natural Language from Prescription Instructions for Clinical Data Warehouses.

We present sig2db as an open-source solution for clinical data warehouses desiring to process natural language from prescription instructions, often referred to as "sigs". In electronic prescribing, the sig is typically an unstructured text field intended to capture all requirements for medication administration. The sig captures certain fields that the structured data may lack such as days supply, time of day, or meal-time considerations.

and Interact in the Pharyngeal Endoderm to Control Cardiovascular Development.

The correct formation of the aortic arch arteries depends on a coordinated and regulated gene expression profile within the tissues of the pharyngeal arches. Perturbation of the gene regulatory networks in these tissues results in congenital heart defects affecting the arch arteries and the outflow tract of the heart. Aberrant development of these structures leads to interruption of the aortic arch and double outlet right ventricle, abnormalities that are a leading cause of morbidity in 22q11 Deletion Syndrome (DS) patients.

Immune checkpoint inhibitor induced large vessel vasculitis.

This is a case report of a 67-year-old patient with castration resistant metastatic prostate cancer who developed an immune-mediated large vessel vasculitis following treatment with ipilimumab (anti-CTLA-4) and nivolumab (anti-PD-1).

Isolation and next generation sequencing of archival formalin-fixed DNA.

DNA from archived organs is presumed unsuitable for genomic studies because of excessive formalin-fixation. As next generation sequencing (NGS) requires short DNA fragments, and Uracil-N-glycosylase (UNG) can be used to overcome deamination, there has been renewed interest in the possibility of genomic studies using these collections. We describe a novel method of DNA extraction capable of providing PCR amplicons of at least 400 bp length from such excessively formalin-fixed human tissues.

Alternative splicing of jnk1a in zebrafish determines first heart field ventricular cardiomyocyte numbers through modulation of hand2 expression.

The planar cell polarity pathway is required for heart development and whilst the functions of most pathway members are known, the roles of the jnk genes in cardiac morphogenesis remain unknown as mouse mutants exhibit functional redundancy, with early embryonic lethality of compound mutants. In this study zebrafish were used to overcome early embryonic lethality in mouse models and establish the requirement for Jnk in heart development. Whole mount in-situ hybridisation and RT-PCR demonstrated that evolutionarily conserved alternative spliced jnk1a and jnk1b transcripts were expressed in the early developing heart.

Green stormwater infrastructure redirects deicing salt from surface water to groundwater.

Winter deicing salt application has led to water quality impairment as stormwater carries salt ions (Na and Cl) through watersheds. Green infrastructure (GI) is a promising urban stormwater management practice, but its efficacy in managing salt is unknown. GI is not yet designed to remove salt, but may have potential to mitigate its loading to surface waters.

Correlates of depression and quality of life among patients with epilepsy in Nigeria.

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of Major Depressive Disorders (MDD) and its relationship to Quality of life.

Design: A cross-sectional observational study.

Setting: Out-Patient Clinic of the Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Abeokuta, Nigeria.

Traumatic loss and psychosis - reconceptualising the role of trauma in psychosis.

Literature suggests that the occurrence of psychological trauma (PT) from various negative life experiences beyond events mentioned in the DSM-criterion A, receives little to no attention when comorbid with psychosis. In fact, despite research indicating the intricate interplay between PT and psychosis, and the need for trauma-focused interventions (TFI), there continue to be mixed views on whether treating PT would worsen psychosis, with many practitioners hesitating to initiate treatment for this reason. This study, therefore, aimed to understand patient perspectives on the role of PT in psychosis and related treatment options.

OssDsign cranioplasty in children: a single-centre experience.

Introduction: OssDsign have developed a new type of cranioplasty plate, consisting of calcium phosphate reinforced with titanium. Currently, there is little known about the cosmetic outcomes and infection rate when OssDsign cranioplasty plates are implanted into paediatric patients.

Methods: A retrospective case series was performed to include all paediatric patients who received an OssDsign cranioplasty at a single centre, Sheffield Children's Hospital.

A comparison between flow-regulated and adjustable valves used in hydrocephalus during infancy.

Introduction: Ventriculoperitoneal shunt insertion during the neonatal period and early infancy is associated with a high rate of shunt failure when compared to the adult population. Furthermore, the function of flow-regulated valves and differential pressure valves may be different in neonatal hydrocephalus.

Methods: A retrospective case series of all primary shunt procedures carried out during or immediately following the neonatal period, from August 2011 to February 2018 at Sheffield Children's Hospital.

Shedding and stability of CWD prion seeding activity in cervid feces.

CWD is an emergent prion disease that now affects cervid species on three continents. CWD is efficiently spread in wild and captive populations, likely through both direct animal contact and environmental contamination. Here, by longitudinally assaying in feces of CWD-exposed white-tailed deer by RT-QuIC, we demonstrate fecal shedding of prion seeding activity months before onset of clinical symptoms and continuing throughout the disease course.

The formation of paranodal spirals at the ends of CNS myelin sheaths requires the planar polarity protein Vangl2.

During axonal ensheathment, noncompact myelin channels formed at lateral edges of the myelinating process become arranged into tight paranodal spirals that resemble loops when cut in cross section. These adhere to the axon, concentrating voltage-dependent sodium channels at nodes of Ranvier and patterning the surrounding axon into distinct molecular domains. The signals responsible for forming and maintaining the complex structure of paranodal myelin are poorly understood.

The impacts of faculty caring on nursing students' intent to graduate: A systematic literature review.

Objectives: To examine the current studies about the impacts of faculty caring on nursing students' intent to graduate and provide recommendations. The nursing profession continues to face nursing shortages. One of the solutions recognized to alleviate the shortage is increasing the number of students graduating from nursing schools.

Development of Learning Objectives to Guide Enhancement of Chronic Disease Prevention and Management Curricula in Undergraduate Medical Education.

: Chronic disease is a leading cause of death and disability in the United States. With an increase in the demand for healthcare and rising costs related to chronic care, physicians need to be better trained to address chronic disease at various stages of illness in a collaborative and cost-effective manner. Specific and measurable learning objectives are key to the design and evaluation of effective training, but there has been no consensus on chronic disease learning objectives appropriate to medical student education.

A cell atlas of human thymic development defines T cell repertoire formation.

The thymus provides a nurturing environment for the differentiation and selection of T cells, a process orchestrated by their interaction with multiple thymic cell types. We used single-cell RNA sequencing to create a cell census of the human thymus across the life span and to reconstruct T cell differentiation trajectories and T cell receptor (TCR) recombination kinetics. Using this approach, we identified and located in situ CD8αα T cell populations, thymic fibroblast subtypes, and activated dendritic cell states.