A mixed-methods SWOT analysis of a medical student Balint group programme.

Background: Balint groups use case-based discussions to explore, reflect on, and enhance the clinician-patient relationship. They facilitate the development of empathy and reflective practice and reduce burnout. This study aimed to explore how the benefits of a traditional Balint group format can be accessed and optimised for medical students during a one-year pilot programme.

Mortality rates and proximal causes of death in patients with Lewy body dementia versus Alzheimer's disease: A longitudinal study using secondary care mental health records.

Background: Previous studies have shown reduced survival in Lewy body dementia (LBD) compared to Alzheimer's disease (AD), but the reasons for this are not known. We identified cause of death categories accounting for the reduced survival in LBD.

Methods: We linked cohorts of patients with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD) and AD, with proximal cause of death data.

The Incidence of Recorded Delirium Episodes Before and After Dementia Diagnosis: Differences Between Dementia With Lewy Bodies and Alzheimer's Disease.

Objectives: To describe the incidence of delirium recording before and after a diagnosis of dementia is established in patients with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and compare findings to a matched cohort of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting And Participants: A cohort of patients with dementia from a large mental health and dementia care database in South London, linked to hospitalization and mortality data.

Laser irradiation of Mg-Al-Zn alloy: Reduced electrochemical kinetics and enhanced performance in simulated body fluid.

As a lightweight metal with mechanical properties similar to natural bone, Mg and its alloys are great prospects for biodegradable, load bearing implants. However, rapid degradation and H gas production in physiological media has prevented widespread use of Mg alloys. Surface heterogeneities in the form of intermetallic particles dominate the corrosion response.

Delirium clinical motor subtypes: a narrative review of the literature and insights from neurobiology.

Introduction: Clinical motor subtypes have been long recognised in delirium and, despite a growing body of research, a lack of clarity exists regarding the importance of these motor subtypes. The aims of this review are to (1) examine how the concept of motor subtypes has evolved, (2) explore their relationship to the clinical context, (3) discuss the relationship between the phenomenology of delirium and motor activity, (4) discuss the application of neurobiology to the theory of delirium motor subtypes, and (5) identify methodological issues and provide solutions for further studies.

Methods: The following databases were searched: PubMed, PsychInfo, EBSCO, Medline, BioMed central and Science Direct.

Sleep-wake cycle disturbances in elderly acute general medical inpatients: Longitudinal relationship to delirium and dementia.

Introduction: Sleep disturbances in elderly medical inpatients are common, but their relationship to delirium and dementia has not been studied.

Methods: Sleep and delirium status were assessed daily for a week in 145 consecutive newly admitted elderly acute general hospital patients using the Delirium Rating Scale-Revised-98 (DRS-R98), Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5, and Richards-Campbell Sleep Quality Scale measures. The longitudinal relationship between DRS-R98 and Richards-Campbell Sleep Quality Scale sleep scores and delirium, also with dementia as a covariate, was evaluated using generalized estimating equation logistic regression.

The first survey of attitudes of medical students in Ireland towards termination of pregnancy.

Background: Since the UK Abortion Act (1967), women have travelled from Ireland to the UK for legal abortion. In 2011 >4000 women did so. Knowledge and attitudes of medical students towards abortion have been published, however, this is the first such report from Ireland.

Delirium: a disturbance of circadian integrity?

Delirium is a serious neuropsychiatric syndrome of acute onset that occurs in approximately one in five general hospital patients and is associated with serious adverse outcomes that include loss of adaptive function, persistent cognitive problems and increased mortality. Recent studies indicate a three-domain model for delirium that includes generalised cognitive impairment, disturbed executive cognition, and disruption of behaviours that are under circadian control such as sleep-wake cycle and motor activity levels. As a consequence, attention has focused upon the possible role of the circadian timing system (CTS) in the pathophysiology of delirium.

Making molecular balloons in laser-induced explosive boiling of polymer solutions.

The effect of the dynamic molecular rearrangements leading to compositional segregation is revealed in coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations of short pulse laser interaction with a polymer solution in a volatile matrix. An internal release of matrix vapor at the onset of the explosive boiling of the overheated liquid is capable of pushing polymer molecules to the outskirts of a transient bubble, forming a polymer-rich surface layer enclosing the volatile matrix material. The results explain unexpected "deflated balloon" structures observed in films deposited by the matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation technique.