A qualitative exploration of the prospective acceptability of the MiDerm app; a complex digital intervention for adults living with skin conditions.

Objectives: Skin conditions carry a substantial psychological burden but support for patients is limited. Digital technology could support patient self-management; we found preliminary evidence for the effectiveness and acceptability of digital psychological interventions for adults living with skin conditions. We have, therefore, developed a complex digital intervention called MiDerm with patients.

"I think her life got so much better": parents' perceptions of children's quality of life following treatment of tracheomalacia with aortopexy.

Background: Aortopexy is a procedure to reduce pressure on the trachea in children with severe tracheomalacia. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) has not been studied in children who have undergone aortopexy; we aimed to explore parents' perceptions of their child's HRQoL before and after aortopexy.

Methods: Parents of children < 18 years who underwent aortopexy at a quaternary specialist centre were purposively sampled and invited to participate in a semi-structured interview.

Slide Tracheoplasty in Long Segment Tracheobronchial Stenosis.

Background: Long segmental congenital tracheal stenosis and long segmental congenital tracheobronchial stenosis are rare congenital airway anomalies with variable arborizations. This study aimed to analyze presentations and outcomes of slide tracheoplasty in long segmental congenital tracheal and tracheobronchial stenosis with variable arborizations.

Methods: Retrospective analysis included all patients who underwent slide tracheoplasty between March 1995 and February 2023 for long segmental congenital tracheal and tracheobronchial stenosis at the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children (London, United Kingdom).

Laue-DIALS: Open-source software for polychromatic x-ray diffraction data.

Most x-ray sources are inherently polychromatic. Polychromatic ("pink") x-rays provide an efficient way to conduct diffraction experiments as many more photons can be used and large regions of reciprocal space can be probed without sample rotation during exposure-ideal conditions for time-resolved applications. Analysis of such data is complicated, however, causing most x-ray facilities to discard >99% of x-ray photons to obtain monochromatic data.

Effects of maternal contact and positive human contact during lactation on pork quality: Positive human contact to piglets during lactation improves pork loin muscle pH.

Enhancing stress resilience through the early life period in pigs could potentially improve pork quality. It was hypothesised that pigs receiving maternal contact or positive human contact during lactation would have improved carcass and pork quality. Seventy-nine mixed-sex pigs were selected from a 2 × 2 factorial randomised block design for treatments maternal contact (MC+) / reduced maternal contact (MC-); and positive human contact (HC+) / control (HC-).

Crossing the wicked frontier. Why sustainability science needs integrative research.

Integrative research approaches have lost prominence in the scientific literature, and related concepts of 'wicked problems' and 'post-normal science' complement but do not adequately replace them. From a detailed examination of the foundational literature, three key principles are shown to be central to integrative research: (i) the knowledge cycle; (ii) representativeness and participation; and (iii) knowledge exchange mechanisms at the science-policy interface. As an example of the importance of the integrative research framework in the context of policy-relevant science, it is argued that the shortcomings of current climate change mitigation efforts arise from inappropriately 'closing down' the science-policy interface and focusing on a few narrow options acceptable to powerful stakeholders.

Muscle, season, sex, and carcass weight affected pork texture, collagen characteristics, and intramuscular fat content.

In this study, pigs from 3 supply chains were slaughtered in an Australian summer and winter (n = 20 for each supply chain). The pigs were from 2 sexes (female and castrated male) and 2 carcass weight groups (high: 95.0 to 100.

A Qualitative Exploration of the Impact, Management, and Existing Psychological Support Available for Adults Living with Skin Conditions.

Skin conditions carry a significant physical, psychological, and social burden. People with skin conditions often engage in health-threatening behaviours that can worsen symptoms and increase cardiovascular disease risk. However, access to dedicated psychological and behaviour-change support is limited.

Consumer eating quality and physicochemical traits of pork Longissimus and Semimembranosus differed between genetic lines.

Pork eating quality is affected by various factors. In this study, Longissimus thoracis et lumborum (LTL) and Semimembranosus (SM) muscles from seven genetic lines (PM-LR - Pure maternal, Landrace-type; PM-LW - Pure maternal, Large White-type; PM-D - Pure maternal, Duroc-type; PT-D - Pure terminal, Duroc-type; PT-LW - Pure terminal, Large White-type; PT-LR - Pure Terminal, Landrace-type; Comp-P × LW × D - Composite Terminal - Pietran × Large white × Duroc) were analyzed for pH, intramuscular fat (IMF) content, and collagen content and solubility. A consumer sensory test using check-all-that-apply (CATA) and biometric approaches was also conducted.

Artificial stone silicosis: a UK case series.

Silicosis due to artificial stone (AS) has emerged over the last decade as an increasing global issue. We report the first eight UK cases. All were men; median age was 34 years (range 27-56) and median stone dust exposure was 12.

Laue-DIALS: open-source software for polychromatic X-ray diffraction data.

Most X-ray sources are inherently polychromatic. Polychromatic ("pink") X-rays provide an efficient way to conduct diffraction experiments as many more photons can be used and large regions of reciprocal space can be probed without sample rotation during exposure-ideal conditions for time-resolved applications. Analysis of such data is complicated, however, causing most X-ray facilities to discard >99% of X-ray photons to obtain monochromatic data.

Novel approach for tracheal resection in Morquio a syndrome with end-stage critical airway obstruction: a UK case series.

Background: Mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) type IVA is a rare lysosomal storage disorder caused by aberrations of the N-acetyl-galactosamine-6-sulfatase (GALNS) enzyme. MPS IVA is associated with a wide gamut of respiratory and airway disorders that manifest in a continuum of severity. In individuals exhibiting severe phenotypic expression, terminal stages of the disease frequently culminate in life-threatening, critical airway obstruction.

Health-related quality of life following aortopexy for tracheomalacia: a cross-sectional study.

Objectives: The objective was to measure health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of children following treatment of all-cause tracheomalacia with aortopexy.

Methods: Children ≥5 years and parents of children <18 years who had undergone aortopexy completed the Paediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL4.0).

Factors limiting the potential range expansion of lodgepole pine in Interior Alaska.

Understanding the factors influencing species range limits is increasingly crucial in anticipating migrations due to human-caused climate change. In the boreal biome, ongoing climate change and the associated increases in the rate, size, and severity of disturbances may alter the distributions of boreal tree species. Notably, Interior Alaska lacks native pine, a biogeographical anomaly that carries implications for ecosystem structure and function.

Pediatric Congenital Anterior Skull Base Encephaloceles and Surgical Management: A Comparative Review of 22 Patients Treated Transnasally, Transcranially, or Combined Approach With a Review of the Literature.

Background And Objectives: Anterior basal encephaloceles are considered a rare entity and are often associated with midline cerebral abnormalities. Those with a large skull base defect and herniation of brain parenchyma in the neonate or young infant present unique challenges for surgical management.

Methods: We analyzed the neurosurgical administrative and operative databases between 1986 and 2022 to determine clinical presentation, operative approach, and outcome of basal encephaloceles.

Mast cell activation disrupts interactions between endothelial cells and pericytes during early life allergic asthma.

Allergic asthma generally starts during early life and is linked to substantial tissue remodeling and lung dysfunction. Although angiogenesis is a feature of the disrupted airway, the impact of allergic asthma on the pulmonary microcirculation during early life is unknown. Here, using quantitative imaging in precision-cut lung slices (PCLSs), we report that exposure of neonatal mice to house dust mite (HDM) extract disrupts endothelial cell/pericyte interactions in adventitial areas.

Is air pollution exposure linked to household income? Spatial analysis of Community Multiscale Air Quality Model results for Madrid.

This study explores the potential correlation between income and exposure to air pollution for the city of Madrid, Spain and its neighboring municipalities. Madrid is a well-known European air pollution hotspot with a high mortality burden attributable to nitrogen dioxide (NO) and fine particulate matter (PM). Statistical analyses were carried out using electoral district level data on gross household income (GHI), and NO and PM concentrations in air obtained from a mesoscale air quality model for the study area.

Lentiviral expression of wild-type LAMA3A restores cell adhesion in airway basal cells from children with epidermolysis bullosa.

The hallmark of epidermolysis bullosa (EB) is fragile attachment of epithelia due to genetic variants in cell adhesion genes. We describe 16 EB patients treated in the ear, nose, and throat department of a tertiary pediatric hospital linked to the United Kingdom's national EB unit between 1992 and 2023. Patients suffered a high degree of morbidity and mortality from laryngotracheal stenosis.

Patient prioritisation of items to develop the Patient-Reported Impact of Dermatological Diseases measure: A global Delphi study.

Background: The Global Research on the Impact of Dermatological Diseases (GRIDD) project is developing the new Patient-Reported Impact of Dermatological Diseases (PRIDD) measure. PRIDD measures the impact of dermatological conditions on the patient's life.

Objectives: This study aimed to seek consensus from patients on which items to prioritize for inclusion in PRIDD.

Arctic sea ice retreat fuels boreal forest advance.

Climate-induced northward advance of boreal forest is expected to lessen albedo, alter carbon stocks, and replace tundra, but where and when this advance will occur remains largely unknown. Using data from 19 sites across 22 degrees of longitude along the tree line of northern Alaska, we show a stronger temporal correlation of tree ring growth with open water uncovered by retreating Arctic sea ice than with air temperature. Spatially, our results suggest that tree growth, recruitment, and range expansion are causally linked to open water through associated warmer temperatures, deeper snowpacks, and improved nutrient availability.

Pedicled pericardial patch in tracheal reconstruction in children - Novel technique to provide vascularized tissue for salvaging difficult airways.

Background: Management of large central airway defects are often complex. Children who present with these defects have multiple co-morbidities or have had previous surgeries. Surgical options include various tissue cover for these defects without longer term benefits.

Root-associated fungi and acquisitive root traits facilitate permafrost nitrogen uptake from long-term experimentally warmed tundra.

Root-associated fungi (RAF) and root traits regulate plant acquisition of nitrogen (N), which is limiting to growth in Arctic ecosystems. With anthropogenic warming, a new N source from thawing permafrost has the potential to change vegetation composition and increase productivity, influencing climate feedbacks. Yet, the impact of warming on tundra plant root traits, RAF, and access to permafrost N is uncertain.

Revisiting the Great Ormond Street Hospital protocol for ward decannulation of children with tracheostomy.

Introduction: Tracheostomy decannulation is an important and final step in managing patients once the underlying issue requiring a tracheostomy resolves. However, no consensus exists on the optimal method to decannulate a paediatric patient. We revisit the Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) tracheostomy decannulation protocol, a 5-day process involving downsizing the tracheostomy tube, capping, and observation, to evaluate its effectiveness and assess if changes to the protocol are required.