What Obstructs Health Policy Implementation? A Multi-Method Qualitative Case Study of the Delayed Deployment of Community Pharmacies in Ireland's National COVID-19 Vaccination Programme.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, there were months of delay in deploying community pharmacies for the National COVID-19 Vaccination Programme in Ireland. We aimed to explore what may have accounted for this delay between 15th December 2020 (publication of policies) and 14th June 2021 (commencement of community pharmacy-based vaccination). We carried out a multi-method qualitative case study that involved engaging with 11 stakeholders, reviewing 246 documents, and conducting semi-structured interviews with 11 policy elites.

Strengthening systems of accountability for women's leadership in the health sector.

Accountability can improve equal opportunities for women’s career progression and it must be strengthened in the health sector, argue

Pathways to leadership: what accounts for women's (in)equitable career paths in the health sectors in India and Kenya? A scoping review.

Objectives: We aimed to capture evidence on enablers and barriers to improving equal opportunity and effective organisational interventions that can advance women's leadership in India and Kenya's health sectors.

Methods: We systematically searched JSTOR, PubMed, SCOPUS and Web of Science databases, reference lists of selected articles and Google Scholar using string searches. We included studies that were published in English from 2000 to 2022 in peer-reviewed journals or grey literature, focused on paid, formal health professionals in India or Kenya, described factors relating to women's representation/leadership.

Mono-2-ethylhexylphthalate (MEHP) is a potent agonist of human TRPA1 channel.

Phthalates are extensively used as plasticizers in diverse consumer care products but have been reported to cause adverse health effects in humans. A commonly used phthalate, di-2-ethylhexylphthalate (DEHP) causes developmental and reproductive toxicities in humans, but the associated molecular mechanisms are not fully understood. Mono-2-ethylhexylphthalate (MEHP), a hydrolytic product of DEHP generated by cellular esterases, is proposed to be the active toxicant.

Inhibitors of human bitter taste receptors from the five-flavour berry, .

The human bitter taste 2 receptor member 16 (TAS2R16) is one of 25 class A G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and responds to a variety of molecules responsible for the bitter taste sensation perceived in humans. TAS2R16 can be activated by β-glucopyranosides, and its activation can be inhibited by probenecid, a synthetic drug compound used to treat gout. In this study we describe naturally derived compounds which can inhibit the activation of TAS2R16 by salicin .

The medication self-management work system of patients and informal carers from a human factors & ergonomics perspective: A scoping review protocol.

Healthcare is increasingly delivered closer to the patients' homes, which increases the level of responsibility that patients and informal carers take for managing their medication-taking, although this is associated with hazards. Medication self-management has been conceptualised as work taking place in non-formal settings ( , households), which are complex systems. Human factors and ergonomics (HFE) models provide a framework for studying such systems.

A sweeter future: Using protein language models for exploring sweeter brazzein homologs.

With growing concerns over the health impact of sugar, brazzein offers a viable alternative due to its sweetness, thermostability, and low risk profile. Here, we demonstrated the ability of protein language models to design new brazzein homologs with improved thermostability and potentially higher sweetness, resulting in new diverse optimized amino acid sequences that improve structural and functional features beyond what conventional methods could achieve. This innovative approach resulted in the identification of unexpected mutations, thereby generating new possibilities for protein engineering.

A scoping review of non-professional medication practices and medication safety outcomes during public health emergencies.

Objectives: Public health emergencies (PHE) can disrupt personal medication practices and increase the risk of medication-related harm and other negative medication-related outcomes. Our aim was to examine the extent and nature of published research on this topic to guide future research and practice.

Study Design: Scoping review.

Low-concentration atropine eyedrops for myopia control in a multi-racial cohort of Australian children: A randomised clinical trial.

Background: To test the hypothesis that 0.01% atropine eyedrops are a safe and effective myopia-control approach in Australian children.

Methods: Children (6-16 years; 49% Europeans, 18% East Asian, 22% South Asian, and 12% other/mixed ancestry) with documented myopia progression were enrolled into this single-centre randomised, parallel, double-masked, placebo-controlled trial and randomised to receive 0.

Protective Factors for LGBTI+ Youth Wellbeing: A Scoping Review Underpinned by Recognition Theory.

Considerable research has been undertaken regarding the mental health inequalities experienced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI+) youth as a consequence of societal and individual prejudice, stigma and discrimination. Far less research has focussed on protective factors that promote wellbeing for this population. A scoping review was conducted using a six-stage methodological framework, and is reported in accordance with the PRISMA-ScR statement.

Resveratrol-Based Nanoformulations as an Emerging Therapeutic Strategy for Cancer.

Resveratrol is a polyphenolic stilbene derivative widely present in grapes and red wine. Broadly known for its antioxidant effects, numerous studies have also indicated that it exerts anti-inflammatory and antiaging abilities and a great potential in cancer therapy. Regrettably, the oral administration of resveratrol has pharmacokinetic and physicochemical limitations such as hampering its effects so that effective administration methods are demanding to ensure its efficiency.

Hesperetin's health potential: moving from preclinical to clinical evidence and bioavailability issues, to upcoming strategies to overcome current limitations.

Flavonoids are common in the plant kingdom and many of them have shown a wide spectrum of bioactive properties. Hesperetin (Hst), the aglycone form of hesperidin, is a great example, and is the most abundant flavonoid found in plants. This review aims to provide an overview on the in vitro, in vivo and clinical studies reporting the Hst pharmacological effects and to discuss the bioavailability-related issues.

Exploring the Irish National Folklore Ethnography Database (Dúchas) for Open Data Research on Traditional Medicine Use in Post-Famine Ireland: An Early Example of Citizen Science.

A rich archive of oral and ethnological literature is housed in the National Folklore Collection, in University College Dublin, Ireland. The Schools' Manuscript Collection is one body of information that contains a wealth of ethnographic material, including that of an ethnomedicinal nature, collected by schoolchildren across Ireland in the 1930s, in an early example of Citizen Science. The collection has been digitized and is available online at Dúchas.

Severe Coronavirus Disease-2019 in Children and Young Adults in the Washington, DC, Metropolitan Region.

Despite worldwide spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2, few publications have reported the potential for severe disease in the pediatric population. We report 177 infected children and young adults, including 44 hospitalized and 9 critically ill patients, with a comparison of patient characteristics between infected hospitalized and nonhospitalized cohorts, as well as critically ill and noncritically ill cohorts. Children <1 year and adolescents and young adults >15 years of age were over-represented among hospitalized patients (P = .

Backbone resonance assignment for the full length tRNA-(NG37) methyltransferase of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Bacterial tRNA (guanine37-N)-methyltransferase (TrmD) plays important roles in translation, making it an important target for the development of new antibacterial compounds. TrmD comprises two domains with the N-terminal domain binding to the S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) cofactor and the C-terminal domain critical for tRNA binding. Bacterial TrmD is functional as a dimer.

Targeting the Bacterial Epitranscriptome for Antibiotic Development: Discovery of Novel tRNA-(NG37) Methyltransferase (TrmD) Inhibitors.

Bacterial tRNA modification synthesis pathways are critical to cell survival under stress and thus represent ideal mechanism-based targets for antibiotic development. One such target is the tRNA-(NG37) methyltransferase (TrmD), which is conserved and essential in many bacterial pathogens. Here we developed and applied a widely applicable, radioactivity-free, bioluminescence-based high-throughput screen (HTS) against 116350 compounds from structurally diverse small-molecule libraries to identify inhibitors of Pseudomonas aeruginosa TrmD ( PaTrmD).

Backbone resonance assignment for the N-terminal region of bacterial tRNA-(NG37) methyltransferase.

Bacterial tRNA (guanine-N)-methyltransferase (TrmD) is an important antibacterial target due to its essential role in translation. TrmD has two domains connected with a flexible linker. The N-terminal domain (NTD) of TrmD contains the S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) cofactor binding site and the C-terminal domain is critical for tRNA binding.

Phenotypic Screening for Inhibitors of a Mutant Thrombopoietin Receptor.

An inhibitor for the thrombopoietin receptor (TpoR) would be more specific for the treatment of myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) due to constitutively active mutant TpoR compared to the current treatment approach of inhibiting Janus kinase 2 (JAK2). We describe a cell-based high-throughput phenotypic screening approach to identify inhibitors for constitutively active mutant TpoR. A stepwise elimination process is used to differentiate generally cytotoxic compounds from compounds that specifically inhibit growth of cells expressing wild-type TpoR and/or mutant TpoR.

Applications of NMR and ITC for the Study of the Kinetics of Carbohydrate Binding by AMPK β-Subunit Carbohydrate-Binding Modules.

Understanding the kinetics of proteins interacting with their ligands is important for characterizing molecular mechanism. However, it can be difficult to determine the extent and nature of these interactions for weakly formed protein-ligand complexes that have lifetimes of micro- to milliseconds. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is a powerful solution-based method for the atomic-level analysis of molecular interactions on a wide range of timescales, including micro- to milliseconds.

Techniques for successful early retrieval of the Micra transcatheter pacing system: A worldwide experience.

Background: Experience with retrieval of the Micra transcatheter pacing system (TPS) is limited because of its relatively newer technology. Although abandonment of the TPS at end of life is recommended, certain situations such as endovascular infection or device embolization warrant retrieval.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to report the worldwide experience with successful retrieval of the Micra TPS.

Advance care planning uptake among patients with severe lung disease: a randomised patient preference trial of a nurse-led, facilitated advance care planning intervention.

Objective: Advance care planning (ACP) clarifies goals for future care if a patient becomes unable to communicate their own preferences. However, ACP uptake is low, with discussions often occurring late. This study assessed whether a systematic nurse-led ACP intervention increases ACP in patients with advanced respiratory disease.

Improved outcomes and reduced costs associated with a health-system-wide patient blood management program: a retrospective observational study in four major adult tertiary-care hospitals.

Background: Patient blood management (PBM) programs are associated with improved patient outcomes, reduced transfusions and costs. In 2008, the Western Australia Department of Health initiated a comprehensive health-system-wide PBM program. This study assesses program outcomes.

A Phenotypic Screen for Small-Molecule Inhibitors of Constitutively Active Mutant Thrombopoietin Receptor Implicated in Myeloproliferative Neoplasms.

Background: Rather than a Janus Kinase 2 inhibitor (ruxolitinib), a specific thrombopoietin receptor (TpoR) inhibitor would be more specific for the treatment of myeloproliferative neoplasms due to TpoR mutations.

Objective: A cell-based phenotypic approach to identify specific TpoR inhibitors was implemented and a library of 505,483 small molecules was screened for inhibitory effects on cells transformed by TpoR mutants.

Results: Among the identified hits are two analogs of 3-(4-piperidinyl) indole.