Development and assessment of a machine learning tool for predicting emergency admission in Scotland.

Emergency admissions (EA), where a patient requires urgent in-hospital care, are a major challenge for healthcare systems. The development of risk prediction models can partly alleviate this problem by supporting primary care interventions and public health planning. Here, we introduce SPARRAv4, a predictive score for EA risk that will be deployed nationwide in Scotland.

High-Throughput Analysis of Drug Safety Responses in Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Cardiomyocytes Using Multielectrode Array.

Microelectrode array (MEA) is an electrophysiological instrument used to track activities of ion channels in excitable cells. Neurons and cardiomyocytes are seeded to form a cell monolayer on a field of sensors able to detect electrical signals, called extracellular field potentials (EFPs). This noninvasive tool allows researchers to investigate key parameters such as EFP amplitude, duration, and arrhythmias.

Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells as a Screening Platform for Drug-Induced Vascular Toxicity.

Evaluation of potential vascular injury is an essential part of the safety study during pharmaceutical development. Vascular liability issues are important causes of drug termination during preclinical investigations. Currently, preclinical assessment of vascular toxicity primarily relies on the use of animal models.

Human-induced pluripotent stem cells in cardiovascular research: current approaches in cardiac differentiation, maturation strategies, and scalable production.

Manifestations of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) in a patient or a population differ based on inherent biological makeup, lifestyle, and exposure to environmental risk factors. These variables mean that therapeutic interventions may not provide the same benefit to every patient. In the context of CVDs, human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CMs) offer an opportunity to model CVDs in a patient-specific manner.

Transcriptome analysis of non human primate-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes in 2D monolayer culture vs. 3D engineered heart tissue.

Aims: Stem cell therapy has shown promise for treating myocardial infarction via re-muscularization and paracrine signalling in both small and large animals. Non-human primates (NHPs), such as rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta), are primarily utilized in preclinical trials due to their similarity to humans, both genetically and physiologically. Currently, induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CMs) are delivered into the infarcted myocardium by either direct cell injection or an engineered tissue patch.

Endogenous Retrovirus-Derived lncRNA BANCR Promotes Cardiomyocyte Migration in Humans and Non-human Primates.

Transposable elements (TEs) comprise nearly half of the human genome and are often transcribed or exhibit cis-regulatory properties with unknown function in specific processes such as heart development. In the case of endogenous retroviruses (ERVs), a TE subclass, experimental interrogation is constrained as many are primate-specific or human-specific. Here, we use primate pluripotent stem-cell-derived cardiomyocytes that mimic fetal cardiomyocytes in vitro to discover hundreds of ERV transcripts from the primate-specific MER41 family, some of which are regulated by the cardiogenic transcription factor TBX5.

Costs of formal and informal care in the last year of life for patients in receipt of specialist palliative care.

Background: Economic evaluation of palliative care has been slow to develop and the evidence base remains small.

Aim: This article estimates formal and informal care costs in the last year of life for a sample of patients who received specialist palliative care in three different areas in Ireland.

Design: Formal care costs are calculated for community, specialist palliative care, acute hospital and other services.

National Variation in Caesarean Section Rates: A Cross Sectional Study in Ireland.

Objective: Internationally, caesarean section (CS) rates are rising. However, mean rates of CS across providers obscure extremes of CS provision. We aimed to quantify variation between all maternity units in Ireland.

Modelling the fate of sulphur-35 in crops. 2. Development and validation of the CROPS-35 model.

Gas-cooled nuclear power plants in the UK release sulphur-35 during their routine operation, which can be readily assimilated by vegetation. It is therefore necessary to be able to model the uptake of such releases in order to quantify any potential contamination of the food chain. A model is described which predicts the concentration of (35)S in crop components following an aerial gaseous release.

Modelling the fate of sulphur-35 in crops. 1. Calibration data.

Gas-cooled nuclear power plants in the UK release sulphur-35 during their routine operation. The gas is in the form of COS which can be readily assimilated by vegetation. It is therefore necessary to be able to model the uptake of such releases in order to quantify any potential contamination of the food chain.