Multicomponent perinatal breastfeeding support in women with BMI >25: The Latch On multi-centre randomised trial.

Objective: To investigate the effectiveness of a multicomponent breastfeeding support intervention on breastfeeding prevalence at 3 months among women with a body mass index (BMI) >25 kg/m.

Design: Multicentre multicomponent randomised controlled trial.

Setting: Four maternity centres in Ireland.

Imaging Brain Injury in Former National Football League Players.

Importance: Pilot studies that involved early imaging of the 18 kDa translocator protein (TSPO) using positron emission tomography (PET) indicated high levels of TSPO in the brains of active or former National Football League (NFL) players. If validated further in larger studies, those findings may have implications for athletes involved in collision sport.

Objective: To test for higher TSPO that marks brain injury and repair in a relatively large, unique cohort of former NFL players compared with former elite, noncollision sport athletes.

[F]FNDP PET neuroimaging test-retest repeatability and whole-body dosimetry in humans.

Purpose: Soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) is an enzyme that shapes immune signaling through its role in maintaining the homeostasis of polyunsaturated fatty acids and their related byproducts. [F]FNDP is a radiotracer developed for use with positron emission tomography (PET) to image sEH, which has been applied to imaging sEH in the brains of healthy individuals. Here, we report the test-retest repeatability of [F]FNDP brain PET binding and [F]FNDP whole-body dosimetry in healthy individuals.

The importance of communication and involvement in decision-making: A study in Ireland exploring birth satisfaction using the Birth Satisfaction Scale-Revised (BSS-R).

Introduction: Evaluation in healthcare services has become a priority, globally. The Government of Ireland has highlighted the importance of stakeholder engagement to identify the needs of women in the design and delivery of high-quality health services, driven by necessity rather than financial ability. The Birth Satisfaction Scale-Revised (BSS-R), an internationally validated tool, and recommended for measuring childbirth satisfaction by the International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement (ICHOM); however, it has yet to be considered in the Irish context.

First-in-human imaging using [C]MDTC: a radiotracer targeting the cannabinoid receptor type 2.

Purpose: We report findings from the first-in-human study of [C]MDTC, a radiotracer developed to image the cannabinoid receptor type 2 (CB2R) with positron emission tomography (PET).

Methods: Ten healthy adults were imaged according to a 90-min dynamic PET protocol after bolus intravenous injection of [C]MDTC. Five participants also completed a second [C]MDTC PET scan to assess test-retest reproducibility of receptor-binding outcomes.

Multi-timepoint imaging with PSMA-targeted [F]F-Florastamin PET/CT: lesion detection and comparison to conventional imaging.

Objective: The aims of this study were to investigate the utility of [F]F-Florastamin, a novel prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-targeted PET radiotracer with facile radiochemistry, relative to the conventional imaging for the detection of sties of disease and evaluate the effect of multi-timepoint imaging with [F]F-Florastamin PET on lesion detectability.

Methods: Eight prostate cancer patients with known or suspected recurrence who underwent [F]F-Florastamin PET/CT at 1-h and 2-h imaging time-points were included in this prospective pilot study. [F]F-Florastamin PET images were interpreted visually and quantitatively at both time points and compared with CIM.

Dynamic F-Pretomanid PET imaging in animal models of TB meningitis and human studies.

Pretomanid is a nitroimidazole antimicrobial active against drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis and approved in combination with bedaquiline and linezolid (BPaL) to treat multidrug-resistant (MDR) pulmonary tuberculosis (TB). However, the penetration of these antibiotics into the central nervous system (CNS), and the efficacy of the BPaL regimen for TB meningitis, are not well established. Importantly, there is a lack of efficacious treatments for TB meningitis due to MDR strains, resulting in high mortality.

First-in-human use of C-CPPC with positron emission tomography for imaging the macrophage colony-stimulating factor 1 receptor.

Purpose: Study of the contribution of microglia to onset and course of several neuropsychiatric conditions is challenged by the fact that these resident immune cells often take on different phenotypes and functions outside the living brain. Imaging microglia with radiotracers developed for use with positron emission tomography (PET) allows researchers to study these cells in their native tissue microenvironment. However, many relevant microglial imaging targets such as the 18 kDa translocator protein are also expressed on non-microglial cells, which can complicate the interpretation of PET findings.

'Labour Hopscotch': Women's evaluation of using the steps during labor.

Introduction: Concerns have been expressed globally about the decline in rates of physiological birth and rising intervention rates during labor and birth. The 'Labour Hopscotch' Framework, a visual depiction of steps required to remain active during labor was implemented in a large tertiary maternity hospital in Ireland. The aim of this study was to evaluate the steps of the Labour Hopscotch women found most useful, examine the use of non-pharmacological and pharmacological methods of pain relief used during labor and finally to investigate the labor and birth outcomes of women who used 'Labour Hopscotch' during labor.

Exploring midwives' experiences of implementing the Labour Hopscotch Framework: A midwifery innovation.

Introduction: Midwives are ideally placed to promote physiological birth and improve women's birth experiences. Freedom of movement in labor is highly recommended as it reduces a need for obstetric interventions in labor and prevents and corrects labor complications, such as poor progress and malposition of the fetus. The Labour Hopscotch Framework (LHF) provides women and midwives with a visual depiction of the steps they can undertake to remain active and, in this way, support physiological birth processes.

Pharmacokinetics of high-titer anti-SARS-CoV-2 human convalescent plasma in high-risk children.

BACKGROUNDWhile most children who contract COVID-19 experience mild disease, high-risk children with underlying conditions may develop severe disease, requiring interventions. Kinetics of antibodies transferred via COVID-19 convalescent plasma early in disease have not been characterized.METHODSIn this study, high-risk children were prospectively enrolled to receive high-titer COVID-19 convalescent plasma (>1:320 anti-spike IgG; Euroimmun).

A discursive study exploring the professional identities of registered nurses employed in older person residential care settings.

Background: The phenomenon of an ageing population is being experienced globally requiring the ongoing provision of residential care services. A large number of registered nurses work in these settings; however, many challenges exist in their recruitment and retention.

Objectives: To explore professional identities and emerging discourses of registered nurses working in older person residential care settings.

Latch On: A protocol for a multi-centre, randomised controlled trial of perinatal support to improve breastfeeding outcomes in women with a raised BMI.

Introduction: Breastfeeding is associated with improved maternal and child outcomes. Women with a higher body mass index (BMI), who comprise about 50% of the population, are at increased risk of poorer breastfeeding practices and are a population who would benefit from breastfeeding.

Methods: This protocol is for a multi-centre, randomised controlled trial of perinatal breastfeeding support among primiparous women with a BMI >25 kg/m, using a previously-tested, multi-component intervention.

In the Global Epicenter: Social Work Leadership in a New York City Hospital.

The Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City was in the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic and had to transform from a tertiary to crisis care hospital and increase its bed capacity by 50 percent to care for COVID-19 patients. The size, scope, complexity and uncertainty of this crisis was unparalleled. This article describes the comprehensive response of the Department of Social Work Services, one of the largest hospital social work departments in the country.

First-in-human neuroimaging of soluble epoxide hydrolase using [F]FNDP PET.

Purpose: Soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) is an enzyme with putative effect on neuroinflammation through its influence on the homeostasis of polyunsaturated fatty acids and related byproducts. sEH is an enzyme that metabolizes anti-inflammatory epoxy fatty acids to the corresponding, relatively inert 1,2-diols. A high availability or activity of sEH promotes vasoconstriction and inflammation in local tissues that may be linked to neuropsychiatric diseases.

Perineal management: Midwives' confidence and educational needs.

Objective: The overall aim of this study was to collate information to inform the updating of a perineal management educational programme for midwives. This paper explores midwives' confidence and educational needs in managing the woman's perineum during the second stage of labour, focusing on future quality initiatives to improve midwives' experiences and expertise in the prevention of perineal trauma during birth.

Design: A mixed-methods sequential exploratory design was used.

Smoking Prevalence and Secondhand Smoke Exposure during Pregnancy and Postpartum-Establishing Risks to Health and Human Rights before Developing a Tailored Programme for Smoking Cessation.

Both smoking during pregnancy and secondhand smoke exposure are associated with reduced health outcomes. However, limited consistent evidence exists of risks of secondhand smoke exposure in pregnancy. Currently, inadequate smoking cessation services exist in Irish maternity hospitals.

Identification of novel pheno-groups in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction using machine learning.

Objective: Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is a heterogeneous syndrome. We aimed to derive HFpEF phenotype-based groups ('phenogroups') based on clinical and echocardiogram data using machine learning, and to compare clinical characteristics, proteomics and outcomes across the phenogroups.

Methods: We applied model-based clustering to 32 echocardiogram and 11 clinical and laboratory variables collected in stable condition from 320 HFpEF outpatients in the Karolinska-Rennes cohort study (56% female, median 78 years (IQR: 71-83)).

How healthcare professionals in acute settings construct identities for people with dementia.

Background: Healthcare professionals working in acute settings lack education and training in dementia care, resulting in people living with dementia receiving a reduced quality of care. Discourses are ways of communicating through written and spoken language, and healthcare professionals often adopt ageist discourses when constructing the identities of people living with dementia.

Aim: To explore how healthcare professionals working in acute settings construct the identities of people living with dementia.

Serum kidney injury molecule 1 and β-microglobulin perform as well as larger biomarker panels for prediction of rapid decline in renal function in type 2 diabetes.

Aims/hypothesis: As part of the Surrogate Markers for Micro- and Macrovascular Hard Endpoints for Innovative Diabetes Tools (SUMMIT) programme we previously reported that large panels of biomarkers derived from three analytical platforms maximised prediction of progression of renal decline in type 2 diabetes. Here, we hypothesised that smaller (n ≤ 5), platform-specific combinations of biomarkers selected from these larger panels might achieve similar prediction performance when tested in three additional type 2 diabetes cohorts.

Methods: We used 657 serum samples, held under differing storage conditions, from the Scania Diabetes Registry (SDR) and Genetics of Diabetes Audit and Research Tayside (GoDARTS), and a further 183 nested case-control sample set from the Collaborative Atorvastatin in Diabetes Study (CARDS).

Antenatal breastfeeding self-efficacy and breastfeeding outcomes among mothers participating in a feasibility breastfeeding-support intervention.

Background: Breastfeeding rates in Ireland are among the lowest worldwide. A feasibility study of a breastfeeding-support intervention explored maternal characteristics associated with antenatal breastfeeding self-efficacy and with infant-feeding mode at 6 weeks postpartum among women giving birth in Ireland.

Methods: We conducted a prospective study across two sites, urban and rural: The National Maternity Hospital (NMH), Dublin and Wexford General Hospital (WGH), Wexford.

Bereavement care education and training in clinical practice: Supporting the development of confidence in student midwives.

Aims: To improve the confidence in student Midwives to provide bereavement careto parents following pregnancy loss and perinatal death.

Background: The one-day interactive Educational Training Workshop in Bereavement Care (ETWBC) was developed for student midwives in their final year of their B.Sc.

A Genome-Wide Association Study of Diabetic Kidney Disease in Subjects With Type 2 Diabetes.

Identification of sequence variants robustly associated with predisposition to diabetic kidney disease (DKD) has the potential to provide insights into the pathophysiological mechanisms responsible. We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of DKD in type 2 diabetes (T2D) using eight complementary dichotomous and quantitative DKD phenotypes: the principal dichotomous analysis involved 5,717 T2D subjects, 3,345 with DKD. Promising association signals were evaluated in up to 26,827 subjects with T2D (12,710 with DKD).

A feasibility study of a multidimensional breastfeeding-support intervention in Ireland.

Background: Breastfeeding is the optimum mode of infant feeding. Despite this, most global populations do not achieve the World Health Organisation's recommendation of exclusive breast milk for the first 6 months of life. Irish breastfeeding rates are among the lowest in Europe, necessitating a well-designed breastfeeding-support intervention.

The Genetic Landscape of Renal Complications in Type 1 Diabetes.

Diabetes is the leading cause of ESRD. Despite evidence for a substantial heritability of diabetic kidney disease, efforts to identify genetic susceptibility variants have had limited success. We extended previous efforts in three dimensions, examining a more comprehensive set of genetic variants in larger numbers of subjects with type 1 diabetes characterized for a wider range of cross-sectional diabetic kidney disease phenotypes.