F-Sodium Fluoride Positron Emission Tomography and Computed Tomography in Acute Aortic Syndrome.

Background: Acute aortic syndrome is associated with aortic medial degeneration. F-sodium fluoride (F-NaF) positron emission tomography (PET) detects microscopic tissue calcification as a marker of disease activity.

Objectives: In a proof-of-concept study, this investigation aimed to establish whether F-NaF PET combined with computed tomography (CT) angiography could identify aortic medial disease activity in patients with acute aortic syndrome.

Shrink rethink: rebranding psychiatry.

Negative public attitudes towards psychiatry hinder individuals coming for treatment and prevent us from attracting and retaining the very brightest and best doctors. As psychiatrists we are skilled in using science to change the thoughts and behaviours of individuals, however, we lack the skills to engage entire populations. Expertise in this field is the preserve of branding, advertising and marketing professionals.

Using Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors and Serotonin-Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors in Critical Care: A Systematic Review of the Evidence for Benefit or Harm.

Objective: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor/serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors are among the most commonly prescribed drugs in patients admitted to the ICU. Our objective was to systematically review available literature for evidence of benefit or harm in ICU patients resulting from chronic effects, continued use, or withdrawal.

Data Sources: Medline, Embase, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (1990 to November 2014).

The Endovascular Preprocedural Run Through and Brief: A Simple Intervention to Reduce Radiation Dose and Contrast Load in Endovascular Aneurysm Repair.

Objectives: To assess the impact of a quality assured planning and sizing process and the endovascular team briefing (preprocedure run through and brief - PRTB) on the delivery of endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR), in Edinburgh.

Design: Prospective observational study, comparing parameters before and after the intervention.

Materials: Prospectively collected database recording infrarenal aneurysms treated with EVAR performed from January 2007 to April 2014 at our institution.

Attitudes towards mental illness in Malawi: a cross-sectional survey.

Background: Stigma and discrimination associated with mental illness are strongly linked to suffering, disability and poverty. In order to protect the rights of those with mental disorders and to sensitively develop services, it is vital to gain a more accurate understanding of the frequency and nature of stigma against people with mental illness. Little research about this issue has been conducted in Sub- Saharan Africa.

Choice of antipsychotic treatment by European psychiatry trainees: are decisions based on evidence?

Background: Little is known about the factors influencing treatment choice in psychosis, the majority of this work being conducted with specialists (consultant) in psychiatry. We sought to examine trainees' choices of treatment for psychosis if they had to prescribe it for themselves, their patients, and factors influencing decision-making.

Methods: Cross-sectional, semi-structured questionnaire-based study.

Progenitor cell characterization and location in the developing human liver.

Tissue-derived stem cells may offer future liver disease therapies. The developing human liver provides an excellent model to examine normal hepatic progenitor cell maturation, but candidate populations are poorly characterized. We sought to identify putative progenitor phenotypes in first-trimester human liver, by characterizing the architectural relationship between developing epithelial, mesenchymal, and hematopoietic lineages.

X inactivation patterns of closely, but not distantly, related cells are highly correlated: little evidence for stem cell plasticity in normal females.

The early, random nature of X inactivation should cause related cells to have similar, but distinctive, active X chromosomes. We assessed the frequency of stem cell plasticity using X inactivation proportions (XIPs), determined at the human androgen receptor locus, in paired tissue samples from healthy individuals. Tissues sampled were stomach (n = 18 informative females), duodenum (n = 18), colon (n = 10) with corresponding peripheral blood samples (n = 33), and varicose veins (n = 28) with corresponding T cells (n = 26) and peripheral blood granulocytes (n = 25).

Hepatic progenitor cells in human fetal liver express the oval cell marker Thy-1.

Hepatic progenitor cells play a major role in regenerating diseased liver. In rodents, progenitors forming hepatocytes or cholangiocytes are identified by the stem cell marker Thy-1. The aim of this study was to ascertain whether progenitor cells expressing Thy-1 could be identified in human fetal liver.

The attitudes of medical students towards homeless people: does medical school make a difference?

Background: Homeless people have greater health care needs than those who are housed, yet often experience difficulty in accessing health care. Evidence suggests that the attitudes of doctors can create significant barriers to health care for homeless people.

Methods: A validated structured questionnaire, the Attitudes Towards the Homeless Questionnaire (ATHQ), was posted to a year group of 211 medical students 2 weeks prior to their starting at the University of Birmingham in 1997, and again during their final clinical placement 5 years later.