Publications by authors named "Lowe H"

Background: At a global level, regional variation in the management of ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is influenced by patient demographics and geography. Rural patients with STEMI are disadvantaged in reaching timely care owing to distance and limited ambulance and healthcare resources. Optimising models of STEMI care is key to overcoming the excess rural vs metropolitan cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.

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Background: Women with disabilities experience higher rates of intimate partner violence (IPV). Evidence suggests this violence often manifests in more subtle and severe forms over longer periods of time. There is limited evidence on this association in the Pacific Islands region, despite facing one of the highest global prevalences of IPV.

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Biliary intraepithelial neoplasm (BilIN) and intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm of the bile duct (IPMN-B) are recognized as the two main precursors to biliary carcinoma. Surgical resection is the mainstay of treatment, with pancreaticoduodenectomy for extrahepatic biliary duct disease involving the pancreatic or distal portion of the bile duct, and bile duct and liver resection for perihilar and intrahepatic bile duct involvement. For diffuse IPMN-B with involvement of the entirety of the biliary epithelium of both intrahepatic and extrahepatic biliary systems, there is no well-documented consensus on treatment due to its rarity.

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As part of its roadmap to developing commercial fusion plants, Tokamak Energy Ltd. operates the high field spherical tokamak ST40. Studies on this device will help to expand the high field spherical tokamak physics basis by characterizing confinement and the fusion triple product.

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Background: Early phase clinical trials in Oncology represent a subspecialised area where UK patient selection is influenced by access to Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres (ECMCs). Equity of access with respect to social determinants of health (SDoH) were explored for two major ECMCs.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study including all referrals to Newcastle and Manchester ECMCs in 2021 was completed.

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Bronchopulmonary sequestration presents rarely in adults and less frequently with an aneurysmal aberrant feeding artery. Treatment of bronchopulmonary sequestration generally involves lung resection with vascular ligation; however, aneurysmal disease increases the risk of intra- and postoperative hemorrhage and often necessitates more extensive surgery for vascular control. A 39-year-old female patient with a history of prior abdominal surgery presented with sudden onset epigastric and back pain.

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Article Synopsis
  • * This case presents a unique instance of TCM triggered by thyrotoxicosis from Graves' disease, highlighting the complexity of the condition.
  • * Learning objectives include understanding hyperthyroidism as a potential cause of TCM and how radioiodine contrast can impact the diagnosis of different TCM types.
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We examined behavioural risk factors and quality of life (QoL) in women and men, younger and older adults 12 months after a Rapid Access Cardiology Clinic (RACC) visit. Routine clinical care data were collected in person from three Sydney hospitals between 2017 and 2018 and followed up by questionnaire at 365 days. 1491 completed the baseline survey, at 1 year, 1092 provided follow-up data on lifestyle changes, and 811 completed the EQ-5D-5L (QoL) survey.

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Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) affects approximately 26% of women worldwide and is driven by a complex interplay of factors across individual, relationship/household, community and societal levels. Individual and relationship/household factors are well studied however little empirical evidence exists on factors at the community level that drive IPV which are needed to inform prevention interventions.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional, multi-level analysis of factors associated with women's IPV experience in Samoa using the 2019-20 Demographic and Health Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey.

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Introduction: Head and neck cancer is the eighth most common cancer in the UK. Current standard of care treatment for patients with recurrent/metastatic squamous cell head and neck carcinoma (HNSCC) is platinum-based chemotherapy combined with the anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (anti-EGFR) monoclonal antibody, cetuximab. However, most patients will have poor median overall survival (OS) of 6-9 months despite treatment.

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This paper explores the concept of communities as complex adaptive systems in the context of violence against women (VAW) prevention. Using thematic network analysis on data from 80 semi-structured interviews with community members in Samoa, we found that communities exhibit many properties of complex adaptive systems. Within nested systems, diverse and dynamic agents interact based on their knowledge and attitudes, which changes over time, leading to emergent and unpredictable outcomes.

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Background: Women living in indigenous communities in Peru currently experience extremely high rates of intimate partner violence (IPV). Over the past 10 years, there has been a large multi-sectoral initiative to establish a national network of Centros de Emergencia de la Mujer (Women's Emergency Centres) that integrate health and police services, and substantial increase in efforts from non-governmental organisations in supporting survivors of violence. However, there is currently little evidence on how existing services meet the needs of indigenous women experiencing violence in Peru.

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The use of native plants in land application systems for treated municipal wastewater (TMW) can contribute to ecological restoration. However, research on the potential of native species to manage the nutrients and contaminants contained in TMW is scarce. At a 10-hectare field site irrigated with TMW at >4000 mm yr, we investigated the distribution of nutrients and trace elements in the soil-plant system, comparing the New Zealand native Myrtaceae species and with pasture.

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Endovascular procedures provide surgeons and other interventionalists with minimally invasive methods to treat vascular diseases by passing guidewires, catheters, sheaths and treatment devices into the vasculature to and navigate toward a treatment site. The efficiency of this navigation affects patient outcomes, but is frequently compromised by catheter "herniation", in which the catheter-guidewire system bulges out from the intended endovascular pathway so that the interventionalist can no longer advance it. Here, we showed herniation to be a bifurcation phenomenon that can be predicted and controlled using mechanical characterizations of catheter-guidewire systems and patientspecific clinical imaging.

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Despite the widespread adoption of Theories of Change (ToC) for programme evaluation, the process of collaboratively developing these theories is rarely outlined or critical analysed, limiting broader methodological discussions on co-production. We developed a ToC as part of ('Love Shouldn't Hurt') - a participatory peer-research study to prevent violence against women (VAW) in Samoa. The ToC was developed in four phases: (1) semi-structured interviews with village representatives (n = 20); (2) peer-led semi-structured interviews with community members (n = 60), (3) community conversations with 10 villages (n = 217) to discuss causal mechanisms for preventing VAW, and (4) finalising the ToC pathways.

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Adolescent girls are among those at the greatest risk of experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV). Despite adolescence being widely regarded as a window of opportunity to influence attitudes and behaviours related to gender equality, evidence on what works to prevent IPV at this critical stage is limited outside of high-income, school-based settings. Even less is understood about the mechanisms of change in these interventions.

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Laser-driven ion sources are a rapidly developing technology producing high energy, high peak current beams. Their suitability for applications, such as compact medical accelerators, motivates development of robust acceleration schemes using widely available repetitive ultraintense femtosecond lasers. These applications not only require high beam energy, but also place demanding requirements on the source stability and controllability.

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Old Age Psychiatry.

Australas Psychiatry

August 2023

Objective: Older Chinese people in New Zealand underutilise mental health services. Lack of recognition of mental health issues and awareness of available treatment is a potential barrier to accessing care. This study investigated depression literacy in older Chinese people.

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Poor hand hygiene among healthcare workers is an important driver of infectious disease transmission. Although social norms are considered a key determinant of hand hygiene behaviour, little is known about them among healthcare workers. This study describes hand hygiene social norms among health workers, assesses their predictors, and tests if social expectations increased during the early stages of COVID-19.

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The T7 RNA polymerase is considered one of the most popular tools for heterologous gene expression in the gold standard biotechnological host . However, the exploitation of this tool in other prospective hosts, such as the biotechnologically relevant bacterium , is still very scarce. The majority of the existing T7-based systems in show low expression strengths and possess only weak controllability.

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Background: Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a therapeutic target to which HER2/HER3 activation may contribute resistance. This Phase I/II study examined the toxicity and efficacy of high-dose pulsed AZD8931, an EGFR/HER2/HER3 inhibitor, combined with chemotherapy, in metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC).

Methods: Treatment-naive patients received 4-day pulses of AZD8931 with irinotecan/5-FU (FOLFIRI) in a Phase I/II single-arm trial.

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Objectives: Routinely used performance status scales, assessing patients' suitability for cancer treatment, have limited ability to account for multimorbidity, frailty and cognition. The Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) is a suggested alternative, but research detailing its use in oncology is limited. This study aims to evaluate if CFS is associated with prognosis and care needs on discharge in oncology inpatients.

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