Development of a Versatile Plant-Derived Mitochondrial Targeting Sequence Based on a Reporter Protein Sorting Analysis and Biological Information.

Methods for the delivery of exogenous substances to specific organelles are important because each organelle functions according to its own role. Specifically, mitochondria play an important role in energy production. Recently, plant mitochondrial transformation via delivery methods to mitochondria has been actively researched.

Feasibility, safety and outcomes of stereotactic radiotherapy for ultra-central thoracic oligometastatic disease guided by linear endobronchial ultrasound-inserted fiducials.

Background & Purpose: Local treatment of oligometastases has been found to improve survival and prognosis. Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) has emerged as a treatment option for oligometastases but its use in ultra-central (UC) areas can cause significant toxicity and mortality. Fiducial markers (FM) can be used to improve SBRT accuracy, and can be inserted in the central thorax using linear endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) bronchoscopy.

The effect of modern devices of alveolar ridge split and expansion in the management of horizontally deficient alveolar ridge for dental implant: A systematic review.

The alveolar ridge split and expansion (ARSE) can be performed using conventional devices (osteotome/chisel) or modern devices (ultrasonographic [USG], motorized ridge expansion [MRE], etc.). The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the effect of modern devices for ARSE.

Topical antibiotics prophylaxis for infections of indwelling pleural/peritoneal catheters (TAP-IPC): A pilot study.

Background And Objective: Indwelling pleural catheter (IPC) and indwelling peritoneal catheter (IPeC) have established roles in the management of malignant pleural and peritoneal effusions but catheter-related infections remain a major concern. Topical mupirocin prophylaxis has been shown to reduce peritoneal dialysis catheter infections. This study aimed to assess the (i) compatibility of IPC with mupirocin and (ii) feasibility, tolerability and compliance of topical mupirocin prophylaxis in patients with an IPC or IPeC.

Survival of people with cystic fibrosis in Australia.

Survival statistics, estimated using data from national cystic fibrosis (CF) registries, inform the CF community and monitor disease progression. This study aimed to estimate survival among people with CF in Australia and to identify factors associated with survival. This population-based cohort study used prospectively collected data from 23 Australian CF centres participating in the Australian CF Data Registry (ACFDR) from 2005-2020.

Preferred health outcome states following treatment for pulmonary exacerbations of cystic fibrosis.

Background: Treatment for pulmonary exacerbations of cystic fibrosis (CF) can produce a range of positive and negative outcomes. Understanding which of these outcomes are achievable and desirable to people affected by disease is critical to agreeing to goals of therapy and determining endpoints for trials. The relative importance of outcomes resulting from treatment of these episodes are not reported.

Development of an International Tool for Students to Record and Reflect on Patient Safety Learning Experiences.

Background: Underpinning all nursing education is the development of safe practitioners who provide quality care. Learning in practice settings is important, but student experiences vary.

Purpose: This study aimed to systematically develop a robust multilingual, multiprofessional data collection tool, which prompts students to describe and reflect on patient safety experiences.

Learning From Student Experience: Development of an International Multimodal Patient Safety Education Package.

Background: Patient safety is a global concern. Learning to provide safe, high-quality care is core to nursing education.

Problem: Students are exposed to diverse clinical practices, and experiences may vary between placements and across countries.

Novel method to select meaningful outcomes for evaluation in clinical trials.

Background: A standardised framework for selecting outcomes for evaluation in trials has been proposed by the Core Outcome Measures in Effectiveness Trials working group. However, this method does not specify how to ensure that the outcomes that are selected are causally related to the disease and the health intervention being studied. Causal network diagrams may help researchers identify outcomes that are both clinically meaningful and likely to be causally dependent on the intervention, and endpoints that are, in turn, causally dependent on those outcomes.

Towards integrated modeling of the long-term impacts of oil spills.

Although great progress has been made to advance the scientific understanding of oil spills, tools for integrated assessment modeling of the long-term impacts on ecosystems, socioeconomics and human health are lacking. The objective of this study was to develop a conceptual framework that could be used to answer stakeholder questions about oil spill impacts and to identify knowledge gaps and future integration priorities. The framework was initially separated into four knowledge domains (ocean environment, biological ecosystems, socioeconomics, and human health) whose interactions were explored by gathering stakeholder questions through public engagement, assimilating expert input about existing models, and consolidating information through a system dynamics approach.

Annotating Putative Proteins Using I-TASSER.

Using Gene Ontology annotation in any aspect or using any evidence code, we found that approximately 14% percent of predicted proteins have no GO annotations and no obvious similarity to any annotated protein across diverse organisms. We have been systematically examining these unannotated protein sequences using software that predicts a protein structure and then compares the predicted structure to known structures.

Trade-offs between risks of predation and starvation in larvae make the shelf break an optimal spawning location for Atlantic bluefin tuna.

Atlantic bluefin tuna (ABT) () travel long distances to spawn in oligotrophic regions of the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) which suggests these regions offer some unique benefit to offspring survival. To better understand how larval survival varies within the GoM a spatially explicit, Lagrangian, individual-based model was developed that simulates dispersal and mortality of ABT early life stages within realistic predator and prey fields during the spawning periods from 1993 to 2012. The model estimates that starvation is the largest cumulative source of mortality associated with an early critical period.

Exploration of student nurses' experiences in practice of patient safety events, reporting and patient involvement.

Background/introduction: Qualified and student nurses remain at the forefront of dealing with, and reporting, patient safety events or incidents. There has been limited exploration of whether and how the patient's perspective is represented by staff or student nurses using formal reporting systems.

Objectives: The overall aim of the study was to explore the student nurses' experiences in practice of patient safety events they were themselves directly or indirectly involved in.

The Transition to "Patienthood," the Contribution of the Nursing Assistant: A Grounded Theory Study.

The face of nursing is changing, as health-care organizations are looking to new assistant roles to support the registered nurse and potentially provide a source for apprenticeship toward registration. These developments are within a context of an existing assistant staff group, delivering much of the bedside care. Few studies have explored the dyadic relationship between nursing assistant and patient, despite the potential for their interactions to contribute to the patient experience.

Mepolizumab use in cystic fibrosis-associated allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis.

Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) is common in cystic fibrosis (CF). Treatment is challenging and the relapse rate is high. Standard therapy is oral steroids and antifungals.

High rate of hepatitis C reinfection following antiviral treatment in the North East England Prisons.

To achieve elimination of hepatitis C (HCV), a critical group to prioritise for diagnosis and treatment is the prison population, where HCV prevalence is high. A universal offer of blood-borne virus testing (UOBBVT) programme and a new treatment pathway were introduced to seven North East England (NEE) Prisons. Our aim was to assess: (a) the proportion of individuals with active HCV commencing direct-acting antivirals (DAAs); (b) the outcomes following DAA treatment; (3) the reinfection rate following sustained virological response (SVR).

A smartphone application for reporting symptoms in adults with cystic fibrosis improves the detection of exacerbations: Results of a randomised controlled trial.

Background: Respiratory exacerbations impair lung function and health-related quality of life in people with CF, with delayed identification of exacerbations often resulting in worse outcomes. We developed a smartphone application (app) for adults with CF to report symptoms to the CF team, and investigated its impact on antibiotic use and other outcomes.

Methods: Participants were randomised to intervention (use of the app weekly or sooner if symptoms had worsened) or control (usual care).

Storage of Information Using Small Organic Molecules.

Although information is ubiquitous, and its technology arguably among the highest that humankind has produced, its very ubiquity has posed new types of problems. Three that involve storage of information (rather than computation) include its usage of energy, the robustness of stored information over long times, and its ability to resist corruption through tampering. The difficulty in solving these problems using present methods has stimulated interest in the possibilities available through fundamentally different strategies, including storage of information in molecules.

Pregabalin and Its Involvement in Coronial Cases.

Pregabalin is an anticonvulsant and analgesic designed to treat neuropathic pain and partial seizure disorders and has been available in Australia as a prescription medication since 2005. Studies have found high rates of polydrug use associated with pregabalin and it is reportedly used recreationally for its euphoric and relaxing effects as well as to self-manage opioid withdrawal symptoms. A robust analytical method for the analysis of pregabalin using protein precipitation and LC/MS/MS was developed, validated and employed in routine case work.

Characterisation of a rice vacuolar invertase isoform, OsINV2, for growth and yield-related traits.

OsINV2, a rice vacuolar invertase isoform, was assessed for its functional roles in plant growth and development with key focus on its agronomic traits such as grain weight, grain filling percentage, grain number and dry weights at various stages until harvest. Lack of differences between the wild-type and the mutants with respect to any of the aforementioned traits tested revealed a possibility of functional compensation of OsINV2 in the mutants conceivably by its isoform. This was confirmed by OsINV2 promoter::GUS studies, where its spatial and temporal expression in the panicle elongation stages showed that although OsINV2 expression was observed from the stage with young panicles ~1 cm in length to the flag leaf stage, significant differences with respect to panicle and spikelet phenotypes between the wild-type and the mutant were not present.

Distance to treatment as a factor for loss to follow up of hepatitis C patients in North East England.

Background: A large proportion of the 200 000 HCV-infected individuals in the UK are undiagnosed or lost to follow-up. Engaging known infected individuals in treatment is essential for elimination.

Methods: Using PHE surveillance data and HCV treatment registers from North East of England (NE) treatment centres for 1997-2016, we estimated the number of HCV cases not linked to treatment and the proportion with active infection.

Increased diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis C in prison by universal offer of testing and use of telemedicine.

With recent advances in antiviral therapy, there is an opportunity to eliminate hepatitis C virus (HCV) from the UK population. HCV is common in incarcerated individuals, with previous estimates suggesting ~7% of the UK prison population is anti-HCV antibody positive. Increasing diagnosis and treatment of HCV in prison is a priority in seeking to eliminate transmission in the general population.