Publications by authors named "Higgs S"

Brain health is a pressing global concern. Poor diet quality is a recognized major environmental risk factor for brain disorders and one of the few that is modifiable. There is substantial evidence that nutrition impacts brain development and brain health across the life course.

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Social care practitioners are often under-represented in research activity and output. Evidence-based practice enables social care practitioners to develop/engage the skills to evaluate evidence and be more actively involved in research. REalist Synthesis Of non-pharmacologicaL interVEntions for antipsychotic-induced weight gain (RESOLVE) is a NIHR-funded study where realist synthesis is used to understand and explain how, why, for whom, and in what contexts non-pharmacological interventions help service users, with severe mental illness, to manage antipsychotic-induced weight gain.

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Exercise is associated with changes in food consumption and cognitive function. The aim of this study was to examine the immediate effects of acute exercise on appetite, food choices, and cognitive processes, and the mediating role of cognitive functioning, namely inhibitory control, working memory, cognitive flexibility and decision making. We compared the effects of high-intensity interval exercise (HIIE) to a resting condition on appetite and food choices, using visual analogue rating scales and a computerised portion selection task.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Zika virus (ZIKV) is a serious global health threat due to its association with neurological diseases like Guillain-Barré syndrome and microcephaly, and it spreads primarily through mosquito bites.
  • - Accurate detection of ZIKV is complicated by its genetic similarity to other flaviviruses and the cross-reactivity of existing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), particularly those targeting the envelope protein.
  • - Researchers have developed two specific mAbs, A11 and A42, which target distinct regions of the ZIKV E protein, enhancing the tools available for research on ZIKV detection and understanding its behavior in infected cells.
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Exposing children to adults eating a raw vegetable with positive facial expressions ('positive modelling') increases children's consumption of the modelled vegetable. However, whether repeated versus a single exposure to positive modelling enhances this effect, and whether it generalises to a non-modelled vegetable, remains to be examined. Hence, this study examined the effect of a single exposure, versus repeated, exposure to positive modelling on children's acceptance and intake of a modelled and non-modelled vegetable.

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Introduction: Food enjoyment can be conveyed through facial expressions. Observing others' enjoyment of food has been found to influence adults' desirability of liked and disliked food. Exposing adults to other eaters enjoying nutritious foods that are typically disliked (e.

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Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms are associated with disordered eating and negative mood. The purpose of this study was to examine whether irrational beliefs mediate this relationship along with previously reported mediators such as depression and impulsivity. Irrational beliefs trigger negative automatic thoughts which are believed, in cognitive behavior therapies, to be a source of psychopathology.

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  • * The study developed a serological assay using anti-premembrane (prM) antibodies to distinguish between infections from four major flavivirus serocomplexes: dengue, Zika, West Nile, and yellow fever.
  • * Results showed high sensitivity and specificity for identifying infections in various samples from Brazil and the Philippines, suggesting that anti-prM antibodies can effectively differentiate flavivirus exposures in co-circulating environments.
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Background: The rapid adoption of robotics within minimally invasive surgical specialties has also seen an explosion of new technology including multi- and single port, natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES), endoluminal and "on-demand" platforms. This review aims to evaluate the validation status of current and emerging MIS robotic platforms, using the IDEAL Framework.

Methods: A scoping review exploring robotic minimally invasive surgical devices, technology and systems in use or being developed was performed, including general surgery, gynaecology, urology and cardiothoracics.

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Introduction: Staging of oesophagogastric (OG) cancers usually involves endoscopy (OGD), and separate visits for contrast enhanced computed tomography (CeCT) and positron emission tomography (PET/CT). At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, some of our patients underwent single-visit combined staging with PET/CeCT. We compare this novel pathway with standard separate imaging in time to completion of staging, to start of treatment, and cost.

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The flavivirus envelope protein is a class II fusion protein that drives flavivirus-cell membrane fusion. The membrane fusion process is triggered by the conformational change of the E protein from dimer in the virion to trimer, which involves the rearrangement of three domains, EDI, EDII, and EDIII. The movement between EDI and EDII initiates the formation of the E protein trimer.

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  • Emerging mosquito-borne flaviviruses like dengue, Zika, West Nile, and yellow fever are causing public health issues, complicating serosurveillance due to overlapping antibody responses.
  • This study developed a serological assay utilizing anti-premembrane (prM) antibodies, which effectively discriminated between infections of the four flavivirus serocomplexes, showing high sensitivity and specificity.
  • The assay was tested on serum samples from Brazil and the Philippines, revealing various co-infections and confirming the utility of prM antibodies for identifying flavivirus infections in endemic regions.
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Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) is a mosquito-borne zoonotic flavivirus and the leading cause of pediatric encephalitis in the Asian Pacific region. The transmission cycle primarily involves spp. mosquitoes and Ardeid birds, with domestic pigs () being the source of infectious viruses for the spillover of JEV from the natural endemic transmission cycle into the human population.

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Background: Gastro-oesophageal junctional (GOJ) cancers have been, more latterly, considered a distinct tumor entity with characteristic genetic profiles. The optimal multimodal therapy of advanced GOJ cancers remains debatable. In this comparative study, we analyzed the outcomes of peri-operative chemotherapy (CT) versus pre-operative chemoradiotherapy (CRT) in treatment of advanced GOJ adenocarcinomas.

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Cognition underpins the flexibility of human eating and disruption to higher cognitive processes, such as inhibitory control and memory, and can result in increased food intake, which in the long term could result in weight gain. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the current evidence on cognition as a causal factor in the development of obesity in humans. Evidence from meta-analyses supports the suggestion that cognitive function is cross-sectionally associated with obesity even when controlling for a range of confounding variables.

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Aims: The aim of this narrative review was to identify important knowledge gaps in behavioural science relating to type 2 diabetes prevention, to inform future research in the field.

Methods: Seven researchers who have published behaviour science research applied to type 2 diabetes prevention independently identified several important gaps in knowledge. They met to discuss these and to generate recommendations to advance research in behavioural science of type 2 diabetes prevention.

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Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms are associated with disordered eating and interoceptive deficits (as assessed by reliance on hunger/satiety cues) have been suggested as a potential mediating influence. The aim of this longitudinal study was to examine whether the association between ADHD symptoms and disordered eating is explained by deficits in specific facets of interoception. We also aimed to provide further evidence on the previously reported association between ADHD symptoms, negative mood and disordered eating.

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Social norms could be a tool in dietary transition toward more sustainable diets, but the results of social norms interventions aimed at encouraging the selection of plant-based foods to date have been inconsistent. One reason for this might be because there are important moderating factors that have yet to be investigated. Here we examine social modeling of vegetarian food choices and test whether modeling is dependent upon individual intentions to follow a vegetarian diet in the future in two different settings.

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  • Cache Valley virus (CVV) is a mosquito-borne virus that mainly affects livestock, causing significant agricultural issues like abortions and embryonic death in ruminants, and is being recognized as a zoonotic threat.
  • This study compared two candidate vaccines for CVV: a live-attenuated vaccine (2delCVV) with specific gene deletions and an inactivated vaccine (BEI-CVV), analyzing their ability to trigger immune responses in sheep.
  • Results showed that both vaccines created a strong antibody response, but 2delCVV was notably more effective by day 63 post-vaccination, supporting its potential as a promising option for further vaccine development against CVV and similar viruses.
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Diets influence our mental health and social wellbeing (MHSW) in multiple ways. A rising community concept, Eco-Regions, has gained interest. The research project "Indicators for assessment of health effects of consumption of sustainable, organic school meals in Ecoregions" (INSUM) aims to develop future-oriented research approaches to measure the potential health effects of more sustainable and healthy diets.

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  • Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is a newly emerging virus affecting both animals and humans, causing severe outbreaks primarily in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, with potential to spread to other regions.
  • Currently, while there are vaccines for livestock, there is no licensed vaccine available for humans, creating a need for new vaccine development.
  • A novel live-attenuated vaccine candidate called r2segMP12 has been developed, showing a stronger immune response in mice compared to an existing vaccine, indicating its potential effectiveness as a human vaccine.
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The emergence or re-emergence of several orthobunyaviruses (order: ; family: ), including Cache Valley virus (CVV) and Oropouche virus, warrants the development and evaluation of candidate live-attenuated vaccines (LAVs). Ideally, these vaccines would elicit long-lasting immunity with one single immunization. Since the deletion of two virulence factors, NSs and NSm, has been shown to attenuate the virulence phenotype of orthobunyaviruses, phleboviruses, and nairoviruses, genetic manipulation of the viral genome is considered an effective strategy for the rational design of candidate LAVs for bunyaviruses across multiple families.

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