A novel, web-based, psychological intervention for people with psoriasis: the electronic Targeted Intervention for Psoriasis (eTIPs) study.

Background: Psychological morbidity and reduced quality of life are common and linked with nonadherence to medication in psoriasis. Access to psychological therapy is often poor with long waiting times. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a well-accepted therapy for psychological disorders and is particularly effective when tailored to address condition-specific concerns.

Asymmetric methallylation of ketones catalyzed by a highly active organocatalyst 3,3'-F2-BINOL.

(S)-3,3'-F2-BINOL has been synthesized for the first time and demonstrated as a highly active organocatalyst for asymmetric methallylation of ketones. Up to 98:2 enantioselectivity and 99% yield were obtained with 5 mol % catalyst loading. The catalyst (S)-3,3'-F2-BINOL could be easily recovered and reused.

The clinical and cost-effectiveness of the BRinging Information and Guided Help Together (BRIGHT) intervention for the self-management support of people with stage 3 chronic kidney disease in primary care: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Improving the quality of care for people with vascular disease is a key priority. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) has recently been included as a target condition for general practices to add to registers of chronic conditions as part of the Quality and Outcome Framework. This paper outlines the implementation and evaluation of a self-management intervention involving an information guidebook, tailored access to local resources and telephone support for people with stage 3 chronic kidney disease.

Simulations of magnetic nanoparticle Brownian motion.

Magnetic nanoparticles are useful in many medical applications because they interact with biology on a cellular level thus allowing microenvironmental investigation. An enhanced understanding of the dynamics of magnetic particles may lead to advances in imaging directly in magnetic particle imaging or through enhanced MRI contrast and is essential for nanoparticle sensing as in magnetic spectroscopy of Brownian motion. Moreover, therapeutic techniques like hyperthermia require information about particle dynamics for effective, safe, and reliable use in the clinic.

Leukopenia associated with long-term colchicine administration.

Purpose: A case of leukopenia in a patient receiving colchicine for calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate deposition disease, or pseudogout, is reported.

Summary: An 85-year-old man experienced leukopenia likely due to colchicine. His medical history included chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), pseudogout, osteoarthritis, and hypertension.

Patients' experiences of shared decision making in primary care practices in the United kingdom.

Background: Shared decision making (SDM) and patient self-management support are key components of US and UK policy for chronic disease management, whereby SDM is seen as enhancing physician-patient negotiation around self-management. The WISE trial is implementing training in self-management support for primary care physicians in one UK region. This article describes preintervention levels of patient-reported SDM and explores how this varies with patient and practice characteristics.

Precision of individual and composite performance scores: the ideal number of indicators in an indicator set.

Background: In many countries, quality indicators are used to assess the quality of care of family practice. Such assessments need to have an adequate precision, so that the results can be interpreted correctly. However, a small sample size per practitioner can lead to inadequate precision.

Impact of structured heterogeneities on reactive two-phase porous flow.

Two-phase flow through heterogeneous media leads to scale-free distributions of irregularly shaped pockets of one fluid trapped within the other. Although reactions within these fluids are often modeled at the homogeneous continuum scale, there exists no current framework for upscaling from the pore scale that accounts for the complex and scale-free geometry of the bubbles. In this paper, we apply a linear-kinetics reaction-diffusion model to characterize the steady-state chemical environment inside the irregular pockets.

Overview of electronic data sharing: why, how, and impact.

Electronic data sharing is a critical, but underappreciated, requirement for modern medical informatics systems. This capability is facilitated by acquisition of structured clinical data, but optimized only if this data is stored and transmitted using standardized representations. Most electronic medical record and clinical trials management systems are poorly suited for data sharing.

Psychometric properties of the Patient Assessment Of Chronic Illness Care measure: acceptability, reliability and validity in United Kingdom patients with long-term conditions.

Background: The Patient Assessment of Chronic Illness Care (PACIC) is a US measure of chronic illness quality of care, based on the influential Chronic Care Model (CCM). It measures a number of aspects of care, including patient activation; delivery system design and decision support; goal setting and tailoring; problem-solving and contextual counselling; follow-up and coordination. Although there is developing evidence of the utility of the scale, there is little evidence about its performance in the United Kingdom (UK).

Recorded quality of primary care for patients with diabetes in England before and after the introduction of a financial incentive scheme: a longitudinal observational study.

Background: The UK's Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) was introduced in 2004/5, linking remuneration for general practices to recorded quality of care for chronic conditions, including diabetes mellitus. We assessed the effect of the incentives on recorded quality of care for diabetes patients and its variation by patient and practice characteristics.

Methods: Using the General Practice Research Database we selected a stratified sample of 148 English general practices in England, contributing data from 2000/1 to 2006/7, and obtained a random sample of 653,500 patients in which 23,920 diabetes patients identified.

Optimization of de novo transcriptome assembly from high-throughput short read sequencing data improves functional annotation for non-model organisms.

Background: The k-mer hash length is a key factor affecting the output of de novo transcriptome assembly packages using de Bruijn graph algorithms. Assemblies constructed with varying single k-mer choices might result in the loss of unique contiguous sequences (contigs) and relevant biological information. A common solution to this problem is the clustering of single k-mer assemblies.

Creature comforts: personal communities, pets and the work of managing a long-term condition.

Objectives: To explore in the context of peoples' personal social networks, the contribution that pets make to 'the work' associated with the management of long-term conditions.

Method: Mixed methods survey with nested parallel qualitative study; 300 participants were drawn from diabetes and chronic heart disease registers of General Practices across Greater Manchester in the North West of England. Notions of 'work' were used to describe the illness and everyday activities associated with chronic illness.

SU-E-I-81: Toward in Vivo Magnetic Spectroscopy of Brownian Motion.

Purpose: Magnetic spectroscopy of Brownian motion (MSB) has been used previously to measure temperature, viscosity, and cellular binding in vitro. The MSB signal - a ratio of the 5th to 3rd harmonic of the response from magnetic nanoparticles to an oscillating field - provides insight into particle microenvironment. These biosensing capabilities would be productive in vivo but until now were prevented by sensitivity limits.

Balance of activity between LN(v)s and glutamatergic dorsal clock neurons promotes robust circadian rhythms in Drosophila.

Circadian rhythms offer an excellent opportunity to dissect the neural circuits underlying innate behavior because the genes and neurons involved are relatively well understood. We first sought to understand how Drosophila clock neurons interact in the simple circuit that generates circadian rhythms in larval light avoidance. We used genetics to manipulate two groups of clock neurons, increasing or reducing excitability, stopping their molecular clocks, and blocking neurotransmitter release and reception.

The role of primary care in service provision for people with severe mental illness in the United Kingdom.

Background: Severe mental illness is a serious and potentially life changing set of conditions. This paper describes and analyses patient characteristics and service usage over one year of a representative cohort of people with a diagnosis of severe mental illness across England, including contacts with primary and secondary care and continuity of care.

Methods And Findings: Data were collected from primary care patient notes (n = 1150) by trained nurses from 64 practices in England, covering all service contacts from 1(st) April 2008 to 31st March 2009.

Successful desensitization to docetaxel after severe hypersensitivity reactions in two patients.

Purpose: Two cases of successful desensitization to docetaxel after severe hypersensitivity reactions are reported.

Summary: Two patients with gynecological malignancies (uterine leiomyosarcoma and ovarian adenocarcinoma) experienced severe hypersensitivity reactions with docetaxel, including flushing, numbness, sharp radiating pain, severe nausea and vomiting, apnea, and unresponsiveness. Both patients received ondansetron before docetaxel.

Prevalence and benefits of care plans and care planning for people with long-term conditions in England.

Objectives: Among patients with long-term conditions, to determine the prevalence and benefits of care planning discussions and of care plans.

Methods: Data from the 2009/10 General Practice Patient Survey, a cross sectional survey of 5.5 million patients in England.

A cluster randomised controlled trial of the clinical and cost-effectiveness of a 'whole systems' model of self-management support for the management of long- term conditions in primary care: trial protocol.

Background: Patients with long-term conditions are increasingly the focus of quality improvement activities in health services to reduce the impact of these conditions on quality of life and to reduce the burden on care utilisation. There is significant interest in the potential for self-management support to improve health and reduce utilisation in these patient populations, but little consensus concerning the optimal model that would best provide such support. We describe the implementation and evaluation of self-management support through an evidence-based 'whole systems' model involving patient support, training for primary care teams, and service re-organisation, all integrated into routine delivery within primary care.

A genome sequence resource for the aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis), a nocturnal lemur from Madagascar.

We present a high-coverage draft genome assembly of the aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis), a highly unusual nocturnal primate from Madagascar. Our assembly totals ~3.0 billion bp (3.

The Quality and Outcomes Framework and self-management dialogue in primary care consultations: a qualitative study.

Background: Two key elements to improve the quality of care for people with long-term conditions in primary care are improved clinical information systems to support delivery of evidence-based care, and enhanced self-management support. Although both elements are viewed as necessary, their interaction is not well understood.

Aim: To explore the use of computer-based 'disease management' templates and their relevance to self-management dialogue within clinical encounters.

Depression and work family conflict among corrections officers.

Objective: This article assessed work-to-family conflict (W-FC) and family-to-work conflict (F-WC) and their impact on depression among corrections officers in two correctional facilities in the United States.

Methods: The sample consisted of 220 officers who completed questionnaires that included data on demographics, sense of coherence (SOC), physical health, psychosocial job characteristics, and work-family conflict. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D-10) assessed depression.

5-HT3 receptor ion size selectivity is a property of the transmembrane channel, not the cytoplasmic vestibule portals.

5-HT3A receptors select among permeant ions based on size and charge. The membrane-associated (MA) helix lines the portals into the channel's cytoplasmic vestibule in the 4-Å resolution structure of the homologous acetylcholine receptor. 5-HT3A MA helix residues are important determinants of single-channel conductance.