UK National Fingerprint Collaborative Exercise 2022-23.

In 2022-2023 the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) designed and conducted a two-part fingerprint Collaborative Exercise (CE). The CE focussed on fingermarks contaminated in blood as they provide a complex scenario for forensic units and it involved both fingermark visualisation and comparison elements. Participants were requested to treat the exercise as a major crime submission following internal protocols and were invited to provide comments relating to how the marks were deposited (if appropriate).

Socio-demographic variation in diagnosis of and prescribing for common mental illnesses among children and young people during the COVID-19 pandemic: time series analysis of primary care electronic health records.

Background: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of children and young people (CYP) has been widely reported. Primary care electronic health records were utilised to examine trends in the diagnosing, recording and treating of these common mental disorders by ethnicity and social deprivation in Greater Manchester, England.

Methods: Time-series analyses conducted using Greater Manchester Care Record (GMCR) data examined all diagnosed episodes of anxiety disorders and depression and prescribing of anxiolytics and antidepressants among patients aged 6-24 years.

Are We Missing the Mark? Understanding Health Literacy in A Rural-Border Hospital.

Low health literacy (LHL) significantly impacts patients' ability to participate actively in their healthcare. Registered nurses (RNs) play a crucial role in identifying LHL and addressing patient knowledge gaps and skill deficits. This correlational study examined the relationship between RNs' predictions of patients' health literacy levels (HLL) and the actual HLL of a predominately Hispanic patient population.

Trajectories of distress and recovery, secondary stressors and social cure processes in people who used the resilience hub after the Manchester Arena bombing.

Background: Terrorist incidents lead to a range of mental health outcomes for people affected, sometimes extending years after the event. Secondary stressors can exacerbate them, and social support can provide mitigation and aid recovery. There is a need to better understand distress and mitigating factors among survivors of the Manchester Arena attack in 2017.

The GoodHope Exercise and Rehabilitation (GEAR) Program for People With Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes and Generalized Hypermobility Spectrum Disorders.

The Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes (EDS) and Generalized Hypermobility Spectrum Disorders (G-HSD) comprise a heterogeneous group of genetic disorders of abnormal synthesis and/or maturation of collagen and other matricellular proteins. EDS is commonly characterized by manifestations such as multi joint hypermobility that can lead to musculoskeletal pains, subluxations and dislocations, fragile skin, organ dysfunction, and chronic significant diffuse pain with fatigue, deconditioning eventuating to poor quality of life. Evidence suggests exercise and rehabilitation interventions may ameliorate symptoms of unstable joints, recurrent subluxations/dislocations, and chronic widespread musculoskeletal pain.

Exercise and Rehabilitation in People With Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome: A Systematic Review.

Objective: To conduct a systematic review examining the effect of exercise and rehabilitation in people with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS).

Data Sources: The following databases were systematically searched: MEDLINE, MEDLINE In-Process/ePubs, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PsycINFO, and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health. The final time point captured by the search is November 27, 2020.

The GoodHope Ehlers Danlos Syndrome Clinic: development and implementation of the first interdisciplinary program for multi-system issues in connective tissue disorders at the Toronto General Hospital.

Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) are a heterogeneous group of genetic connective tissue disorders, and typically manifests as weak joints that subluxate/dislocate, stretchy and/or fragile skin, organ/systems dysfunction, and significant widespread pain. Historically, this syndrome has been poorly understood and often overlooked. As a result, people living with EDS had difficulty obtaining an accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment, leading to untold personal suffering as well as ineffective health care utilization.

Replacing Synperonic® N in the physical developer fingermark visualisation process: Pseudo-operational trial and parameter studies.

A reformulated physical developer (PD) solution has been devised to replace the use of Synperonic® N for environmental reasons. The performance of the replacement solution has proved promising in laboratory trials using planted fingermarks [1] however; this may not always represent how a reagent works on real world samples. This paper therefore explores the effectiveness of the decaethylene glycol monododecyl ether (DGME)-based PD formulation through a pseudo-operational trial.

Replacing Synperonic® N in the Physical Developer fingermark visualisation process: Reformulation.

The Physical Developer solution currently recommended for use in the United Kingdom for fingermark visualisation uses two surfactants: n-dodecylamine acetate (nDDAA) and Synperonic® N. Synperonic® N is covered by the EU directive 82/242/EEC, which sought to phase out chemicals with degradation products more harmful than their precursor. This study explores the replacement of Synperonic® N with alternative detergents and examines their ability to produce clear, stable solutions that are effective at developing fingermarks.

Mitochondria form contact sites with the nucleus to couple prosurvival retrograde response.

Mitochondria drive cellular adaptation to stress by retro-communicating with the nucleus. This process is known as mitochondrial retrograde response (MRR) and is induced by mitochondrial dysfunction. MRR results in the nuclear stabilization of prosurvival transcription factors such as the nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB).

The Effects of Augmented Reality on Prelicensure Nursing Students' Anxiety Levels.

Background: Prelicensure nursing students experience high anxiety as they enter the clinical setting, which can have a negative impact on learning care performance and critical thinking. This study explored the viability of an innovative technological teaching strategy, augmented reality (AR), as a platform to prepare students and decrease their anxiety levels when entering a new environment.

Method: A pretest/posttest quasiexperimental design was used to assess the effect of AR 360 photosphere on preli-censure nursing students' anxiety levels as they entered a new clinical environment compared with anxiety levels of prelicensure nursing students who participated in the traditional faculty-led orientation method.

Top 10 research priorities for human milk banking and use of donor human milk: A partnership between parents and clinicians.

Aim: This study sought to establish research priorities in human milk banking and use of pasteurised donor human milk. It aimed to (i) collaborate with national stakeholders, including parents of preterm infants, human milk donors and health-care professionals, to identify evidence uncertainties and (ii) agree by consensus on a consolidated prioritised list of research questions.

Methods: A consensus approach modelled on the James Lind Alliance was used.

Utilization of the 2017 diagnostic criteria for hEDS by the Toronto GoodHope Ehlers-Danlos syndrome clinic: A retrospective review.

The new 2017 diagnostic criteria for hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS) provide a framework for diagnosing hEDS but are more stringent than the previous Villefranche criteria. Our clinical experience at the GoodHope EDS clinic was that the 2017 criteria left many highly symptomatic patients without a diagnosis of hEDS. We conducted a retrospective cohort study to confirm our clinic experience and assess the accuracy of the 2017 diagnostic criteria for hEDS in patients who had a previous hEDS diagnosis based on the Villefranche criteria.

Use of antimicrobial dressings in England and the association with published clinical guidance: interrupted time series analysis.

Objectives: In healthcare systems, practices and products of unproven value and cost-effectiveness can decrease value and increase waste. Using the management of complex wounds, this study investigates temporal trends in the use of antimicrobials dressings, places this in the context of available evidence and discusses the potential impacts on the UK National Health Service (NHS).

Design: Secondary descriptive and interrupted time series (ITS) analysis of NHS prescription data.

Conceptualizations of climate-related health risks among health experts and the public in Ghana.

One major area that has gathered public attention in relation to climate change is health risks. Studies into risk perceptions have acknowledged differences between public and expert knowledge. What is less known is how perceptions of climate change related health risk vary between the public and health experts and how these differentiated perceptions are shaped and modified by everyday complex climate change narratives from multiple actors, and contextual ecologies of social and physical spaces.

Fingermark visualisation with iron oxide powder suspension: The variable effectiveness of iron (II/III) oxide powders, and Tween 20 as an alternative to Triton™ X-100.

The effectiveness of the current UK iron oxide powder suspension formulation, 'C-IOPS-09' (Triton X-100 based), for fingermark or latent fingerprint visualization is shown to be affected by variations between batches of the recommended iron oxide powder from Fisher Scientific (I/1100/53). When incorporated into the C-IOPS-09 formulation, a 2015 powder batch resulted in the detection of ∼19% fewer fingermarks, of broadly reduced contrast, when compared to powder suspension prepared with a 2008 batch of the same product. Furthermore, the 2015 powder batch was found to be unsuitable in experimental reduced-surfactant concentration powder suspension, because it caused surface-wide or background staining.

A validation study of the 1,2-indandione reagent for operational use in the UK: Part 1 - Formulation optimization.

This paper contains details of work carried out to examine the composition of 1,2-indandione formulations and to develop the most effective 1,2-indandione/zinc formulation for use under UK conditions. Previous research into the reactions of 1,2-indandione without zinc ions have concluded that formulations containing methanol produce stable hemiketals, which are less reactive to amino acids, resulting in reduced fluorescence intensity of developed fingermarks. In this study, fingermarks were treated using varying formulations of 1,2-indandione, with and without the presence of methanol and zinc ions.

Promoting early expression of breast milk in mothers of preterm infants in a neonatal unit: a best practice implementation project.

Objectives: The aim of this implementation project was to optimize lactation success in mothers of preterm infants by ensuring early (as soon as possible and within six hours) and frequent (eight to 12 times/day) milk expression.

Introduction: Evidence suggests that breast milk improves enteral feeding tolerance and neurodevelopmental outcomes and decreases the risk of necrotising enterocolitis and late onset sepsis in preterm infants. It is widely accepted that breast milk expression should commence as soon as possible and within six hours of delivery.

A validation study of the 1,2-indandione reagent for operational use in the UK: Part 2 - Optimization of processing conditions.

This paper contains details of work carried out to identify the most effective processing conditions for the optimized 1,2-indandione/zn formulation developed for use under UK conditions. Using direct measurements of fluorescence taken from test spots of amino acids and eccrine sweat during oven processing, complemented with experiments on real fingermarks, it was established that processing temperatures above 120°C in the oven were detrimental to the fluorescence of the developed mark. Alternative methods of development to oven processing were found to be effective, but less controllable.

Heart failure self-management and normalizing symptoms: an exploration of decision making in the community.

Objective: To explore the decision making processes undertaken by community-dwelling individuals with heart failure as they experience symptom changes.

Background: Heart failure patients are responsible for daily self-management that includes responding to symptom fluctuations between exacerbations. Despite education, some patients fail to seek timely medical intervention when symptoms change.

Gastrointestinal Motility Problems in Critically Ill Patients.

Gastrointestinal (GI) motility problems are common complications in critical care patients. GI problems contribute to an increased risk of morbidity and mortality. Toxic megacolon (TM) is a type of acquired megacolon categorized as a medical emergency and includes severe inflammation affecting all layers of the colon wall.

Differential reporting of work-related mental ill-health in doctors.

Background: Evidence suggests that the medical profession is reluctant to report mental ill-health despite its high prevalence.

Aims: To compare differential reporting patterns in the incidence of work-related mental ill-health (WRMIH) affecting doctors with selected comparison occupational groups, as determined by surveillance by general practitioners (GPs), specialist psychiatrists and occupational physicians (OPs).

Methods: New cases of medically reported WRMIH were reported prospectively between 2006 and 2009 by GPs, psychiatrists and OPs as part of The Health and Occupation Research (THOR) network.