Labor Status at Delivery and Lung Function in Extremely Prematurely Born Young Adults.

Background: There has been conflicting evidence regarding the impact of mode of delivery on respiratory outcomes in later childhood and adulthood. It is possible labor status, rather than mode of delivery, influences later respiratory morbidity. We hypothesized that extremely premature infants born to mothers in labor would have better lung function at follow-up than those born to mothers not in labor.

Modular, multi-robot integration of laboratories: an autonomous workflow for solid-state chemistry.

Automation can transform productivity in research activities that use liquid handling, such as organic synthesis, but it has made less impact in materials laboratories, which require sample preparation steps and a range of solid-state characterization techniques. For example, powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) is a key method in materials and pharmaceutical chemistry, but its end-to-end automation is challenging because it involves solid powder handling and sample processing. Here we present a fully autonomous solid-state workflow for PXRD experiments that can match or even surpass manual data quality, encompassing crystal growth, sample preparation, and automated data capture.

"But can chatbots understand sex?" Attitudes towards artificial intelligence chatbots amongst sexual and reproductive health professionals: An exploratory mixed-methods study.

Background: Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enabled chatbots can offer anonymous education about sexual and reproductive health (SRH). Understanding chatbot acceptability and feasibility allows the identification of barriers to the design and implementation.

Methods: In 2020, we conducted an online survey and qualitative interviews with SRH professionals recruited online to explore the views on AI, automation and chatbots.

Lung function at 16-19 years in males and females born very prematurely.

Objectives: To determine if there were differences in lung function at 16-19 years of age between males and females born very prematurely.

Working Hypothesis: Females compared with males would have superior lung function and exercise capacity.

Study Design: Cohort study.

How are young people's mental health related to their sexual health and substance use? A systematic review of UK literature.

Objectives: The transition from childhood to adulthood is complex and presents challenges to young people's mental health. Mental health impacts and is impacted by a range of contextual and personal factors. Adolescence and young adulthood also coincide with increased experimentation with sex, sexuality and substance use.

Influence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia on lung function in adolescents who were born extremely prematurely.

Objectives: To assess if a previous diagnosis of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) was associated with poorer lung function at 16 to 19 years of age, regardless of whether postnatal corticosteroids had been administered.

Working Hypothesis: Infants with BPD will have poorer lung function at 16 to 19 years of age.

Study Design: Prospective follow-up study.

Investigating the viability of sulfur polymers for the fabrication of photoactive, antimicrobial, water repellent coatings.

Elemental sulfur (), a by-product of the petroleum refining industries, possesses many favourable properties including photocatalytic activity and antibacterial activity, in addition to being intrinsically hydrophobic. Despite this, there is a relative lack of research employing elemental sulfur and/or sulfur copolymers within superhydrophobic materials design. In this work, we present the use of sulfur copolymers to produce superhydrophobic materials with advanced functionalities.

Longitudinal changes in lung function in very prematurely born young people receiving high-frequency oscillation or conventional ventilation from birth.

Objective: To examine changes in lung function over time in extremely prematurely born adolescents.

Working Hypothesis: Changes in lung function during adolescence would vary by ventilation mode immediately after birth.

Study Design: Longitudinal follow-up study.

Working with clients of higher weight in Australia: Findings from a national survey exploring occupational therapy practice.

Introduction: Occupational therapists are key members of the multidisciplinary team and regularly work with people of higher weight across age groups and practice settings. There is limited existing research regarding the occupational therapy role with this client group. The aim of this study was to explore occupational therapy practice and barriers to service provision for Australian occupational therapists working with clients of higher weight.

The Early Changes in Emergency General Surgery Following Implementation of UK COVID-19 Policy: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Introduction Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has rapidly spread worldwide. On 23rd March 2020, the UK introduced measures in an effort to curb the disease spread. The aim of this study was to analyse the effect of government and Royal College measures on the general surgical take.

Mechanical and Microstructural Characterisation of Cooling Pipes for the Compact Muon Solenoid Experiment at CERN.

The Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) is a particle physics experiment situated on the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, Switzerland. The CMS upgrade (planned for 2025) involves installing a new advanced sensor system within the CMS tracker, the centre of the detector closest to the particle collisions. The increased heat load associated with these sensors has required the design of an enhanced cooling system that exploits the latent heat of 40 bar CO.

Sexual healthcare professionals' views on the rapid provision of remote services at the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed-methods study.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing measures forced sexual health services to engage with patients remotely. We aimed to understand perceived barriers and facilitators to the provision of digital sexual health services during the first months of the pandemic.

Methods: An online survey and qualitative interviews with UK sexual healthcare professionals recruited online and via snowball sampling were conducted in May-July 2020.

Intrauterine growth retardation and lung function of very prematurely born young people.

Objectives: To assess if intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) was associated with reduced lung function at 16-19 years.

Working Hypothesis: Very prematurely born young people who had IUGR would have reduced lung function postpuberty.

Study Design: Prospective follow-up study.

ACE inhibition and cardiometabolic risk factors, lung and gene expression, and plasma ACE2 levels: a Mendelian randomization study.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and serine protease TMPRSS2 have been implicated in cell entry for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus responsible for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The expression of and in the lung epithelium might have implications for the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection and severity of COVID-19. We use human genetic variants that proxy angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor drug effects and cardiovascular risk factors to investigate whether these exposures affect lung and gene expression and circulating ACE2 levels.

Multi-Scale Digital Image Correlation Analysis of In Situ Deformation of Open-Cell Porous Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene Foam.

Porous ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) is a high-performance bioinert polymer used in cranio-facial reconstructive surgery in procedures where relatively low mechanical stresses arise. As an alternative to much stiffer and more costly polyether-ether-ketone (PEEK) polymer, UHMWPE is finding further wide applications in hierarchically structured hybrids for advanced implants mimicking cartilage, cortical and trabecular bone tissues within a single component. The mechanical behaviour of open-cell UHMWPE sponges obtained through sacrificial desalination of hot compression-moulded UHMWPE-NaCl powder mixtures shows a complex dependence on the fabrication parameters and microstructural features.

Postnatal dexamethasone exposure and lung function in adolescents born very prematurely.

We previously demonstrated corticosteroid administration on the neonatal intensive care unit was associated with reduced lung function at 11 to 14 years of age in children born very prematurely. The objective of this observational study was to assess if lung function remained impaired at 16 to 19 years of age in those who had received postnatal corticosteroids and whether the trajectory of lung function with increasing age differed between those who had and had not received corticosteroids. One hundred and fifty-nine children born prior to 29 weeks of gestational age had comprehensive lung function measurements; 49 had received postnatal dexamethasone.

Lung function and exercise capacity in prematurely born young people.

Objectives: To determine if lung function abnormalities in young people born very prematurely routinely exposed to antenatal corticosteroids and postnatal surfactant were associated with reduced exercise capacity.

Working Hypothesis: In the current era, lung function abnormalities would not be associated with exercise intolerance STUDY DESIGN: Follow-up of young people from the United Kingdom Oscillation study (UKOS).

Patient-subject Selection: One hundred twenty-six young people of 797 recruited to UKOS, born at a mean gestational age of 27 weeks were assessed at a mean age of 17 years.

Exploration of alternative supply chains and distributed manufacturing in response to COVID-19; a case study of medical face shields.

Quarantine conditions arising as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) have had a significant impact on global production-rates and supply chains. This has coincided with increased demands for medical and personal protective equipment such as face shields. Shortages have been particularly prevalent in western countries which typically rely upon global supply chains to obtain these types of device from low-cost economies.

Lung function and respiratory outcomes in teenage boys and girls born very prematurely.

Objectives: Male sex in prematurely born infants has been associated with worse respiratory outcomes in early childhood.

Working Hypothesis: Respiratory outcomes at 11 to 14 years of age in children born very prematurely and routinely exposed to antenatal corticosteroids and postnatal surfactant would differ according to sex.

Study Design: Analysis of follow-up data.

Investigations into the interface failure of yttria partially stabilised zirconia - porcelain dental prostheses through microscale residual stress and phase quantification.

Objectives: Yttria Partially Stabilised Zirconia (YPSZ) is a high strength ceramic which has become widely used in porcelain veneered dental copings due to its exceptional toughness. Within these components the residual stress and crystallographic phase of YPSZ close to the interface are highly influential in the primary failure mode; near interface porcelain chipping. In order to improve present understanding of this behaviour, characterisation of these parameters is needed at an improved spatial resolution.

Residual strain mapping through pair distribution function analysis of the porcelain veneer within a yttria partially stabilised zirconia dental prosthesis.

Objective: Residually strained porcelain is influential in the early onset of failure in Yttria Partially Stabilised Zirconia (YPSZ) - porcelain dental prosthesis. In order to improve current understanding it is necessary to increase the spatial resolution of residual strain analysis in these veneers.

Methods: Few techniques exist which can resolve residual stress in amorphous materials at the microscale resolution required.

Nutritional status and pulmonary outcome in children and young people with cystic fibrosis.

Background: Nutrition is closely related to mortality and pulmonary and respiratory muscle function in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. We initially validated results from a bioelectrical impedance device against dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). We then determined whether fat free mass assessed by a portable impedance device rather than body mass index (BMI) better correlated with pulmonary function, respiratory muscle strength and exercise capacity in CF patients.

Effect of dexamethasone exposure on the neonatal unit on the school age lung function of children born very prematurely.

The objective of this study was to determine the impact of postnatal dexamethasone treatment on the neonatal unit on the school age lung function of very prematurely born children. Children born prior to 29 weeks of gestational age had been entered into a randomised trial of two methods of neonatal ventilation (United Kingdom Oscillation Study). They had comprehensive lung function measurements at 11 to 14 years of age.