Publications by authors named "Robb K"

Background: Adherence to post-polypectomy surveillance is poor despite evidence that it is associated with lower risk of future colorectal cancer.

Methods: We evaluated 6,210 bowel screening participants between 2009-2016 in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to assess potential barriers to post-polypectomy surveillance.

Results: Increasing deprivation (Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation quintile 1 vs 5; OR 1.

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Background: Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in the UK and Black African-Caribbean men are twice as likely to develop prostate cancer as white men. These cancer inequalities need urgent tackling. Barriers to early diagnosis are complex and require complex solutions.

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Introduction: Fear of recurrence is a transdiagnostic problem experienced by people with psychosis, which is associated with anxiety, depression and risk of future relapse events. Despite this, there is a lack of available psychological interventions for fear of recurrence, and psychological therapies for schizophrenia are often poorly implemented in general. However, low-intensity psychological therapy is available for people who experience fear of recurrence in the context of cancer, which means there is an opportunity to learn what has worked in a well-implemented psychological therapy to see if any learning can be adapted for schizophrenia care.

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Article Synopsis
  • This study focused on understanding how common diagnostic uncertainty is when critically ill children are admitted to Pediatric Intensive Care Units (PICUs) and what factors contribute to it.
  • Researchers reviewed medical records from 882 pediatric patients across four hospitals to assess the presence of diagnostic uncertainty at admission and how it changed by the time of discharge.
  • Key findings indicated that 25.9% of patients showed diagnostic uncertainty upon PICU admission, with significant factors being the time of admission, illness severity, atypical symptoms, and discrepancies in diagnoses between different healthcare providers.
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Fine-wire electromyography (EMG) is a traditional laboratory technique to estimate muscle activity of the small foot muscles, however, recordings have not been reported from extensor hallucis brevis (EHB). As an extensor of the great toe, EHB is an important muscle when studying physiological changes associated with foot pathologies such as hallux valgus. The purpose of this study was to develop an ultrasound-guided fine-wire EMG protocol to record EHB muscle activity and report normative EMG profiles of healthy young adults during locomotion.

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Concentrations of nine trace elements (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mn, Ni, Se, Zn) in hepatic, renal and epidermal tissues were investigated in three dolphin species (Burrunan dolphin, Tursiops australis; common bottlenose dolphin, T. truncatus; short-beaked common dolphin, Delphinus delphis) within southeast Australia. Elevated hepatic Hg was found in critically endangered Burrunan dolphins (62.

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The objective of this study was to understand gynecological cancer (GC) survivors' and their informal caregivers' perceptions about the usability of an educational resource to support their transition from primary cancer treatment into surveillance and/or recovery. After developing an empirical- and experiential-informed educational resource, we used a semi-structured questioning process to understand GC survivors and their caregivers' perceptions about its usability. Data were collected via online focus groups or 1:1 interviews that were audio recorded and transcribed.

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: : To provide contemporary data on cancer mortality rates within the context of incidence in the population with intellectual disabilities. : : Scotland's 2011 Census was used to identify adults with intellectual disabilities and controls with records linked to the Scottish Cancer Registry and death certificate data (March 2011-December 2019). The control cohort without intellectual disabilities and/or autism were used for indirect standardisation and calculation of crude incident rates/crude mortality rates, and age-sex standardised incident rate ratios/standardised mortality ratios (SIR/SMR), with 95% CIs.

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Introduction: Cancer cases are rising globally, with a noticeable rise in younger adults. Screening and early detection are effective in decreasing mortality. Workplaces can play a role in promoting cancer screening uptake.

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Previous research exploring the effects of tactile feedback in standing balance protocols may have generated results that misrepresent the modulatory capabilities of cutaneous afference on generating motor output responses. The neurosensory mechanism of textured foot orthoses to maximize the activation of cutaneous mechanoreceptors is through repetitive foot sole skin indentation. Thus, the purpose of this experimental protocol was to investigate muscular activity amplitude changes during the stance phase of gait, specifically when walking on level ground and when stepping onto a raised wedge, and while wearing textured foot orthoses compared to orthoses without texture.

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Background: The term 'non-utilised appointments' emerged in 2019 but lacks a clear definition. We focus on multiple non-utilised appointments owing to recent advances in understanding 'missingness' in UK health care. Studies on missed appointments show conflicting results regarding interventions such as text messaging owing to oversight of occasional versus repeated missed appointments.

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The densities of eutectic (LiF)-BeF and mixtures of this salt (FLiBe) with LaF were measured by dilatometry and by neutron attenuation from 673 K to 1,073 K. Because LaF has a limited solubility in FLiBe, it was necessary to determine the amount of LaF in solution before the density could be determined. The FLiBe density determination was favorably benchmarked against the literature data.

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Background: The effects of foot orthoses on lower limb biomechanics during walking have been studied extensively. However, the lack of knowledge regarding the effects of various foot orthoses models for the same population complicates model selection in clinical practice and research. Additionally, there is a critical need to enhance our ability to predict the outcomes of foot orthoses using clinical tests, such as the supination resistance test.

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A quarter of marine mammals are at risk of extinction, with disease and poor habitat quality contributing to population decline. Investigation of the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) provides insight into species' capacity to respond to immune and environmental challenges. The eighteen available cetacean chromosome level genomes were used to annotate MHC Class I loci, and to reconstruct the phylogenetic relationship of the described loci.

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Bottlenose dolphin () populations, also described as the Burrunan dolphins, consist of a resident population of approximately 150 individuals in Port Phillip Bay (PPB), Victoria. Previous reports indicate distribution across a small southern region of PPB; however, little is known about their full distribution patterns across the entire PPB region. Here, we investigate the spatiotemporal distribution of the Burrunan dolphins across four zones representative of PPB benthic habitats and bathymetry to gain a better understanding of the potential drivers of the population's habitat use.

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Foot posture describes the anatomical variance in an individual's overall foot shape, an important consideration in the provision of foot orthoses. Current orthoses designs could be optimized by considering the topographical organization of cutaneous mechanoreceptors. Currently, the effect of foot orthoses designs to enhance skin stimulation across different anatomical foot posture remains unknown.

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In this study we examine associations between substandard housing and the risk of COVID-19 infection and severity during the first year of the pandemic by linking individual-level housing and clinical datasets. Residents of Chelsea, Massachusetts who were tested for COVID-19 at any Mass General Brigham testing site and who lived at a property that had received a city housing inspection were included (N = 2873). Chelsea is a densely populated city with a high prevalence of substandard housing.

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Building upon the need for greater education, identified by gynecological cancer survivors and their caregivers, the objective of this paper is to describe our patient-clinician-researcher partnership to develop an evidence- and experiential-based educational resource. We engaged in five phases using multiple research methods: 1) assembling the essential expertise, 2) reviewing the literature, 3) drafting the resource, 4) testing the resource, and 5) disseminating the resource. Our diverse partnership provided expertise toward multiple research methods that produced results useful for each successive phase.

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Background: Foot orthoses are therapeutic insoles designed to induce various effects on lower limb biomechanics. However, conflicting findings in previous research, highlight the need to better understand how foot orthoses with different features affect lower limb biomechanics during challenging tasks, particularly during unilateral drop jump landings.

Methods: Seventeen participants with flat feet were recruited to participate in this cross-sectional descriptive study that examined the effects of thin-flexible foot orthoses and medially wedged foot orthoses on lower limb biomechanics during unilateral drop jump landings on level and valgus inclined surfaces.

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Foot orthoses (FO) are a commonly prescribed intervention to alter foot function during walking although their effects have been primarily studied in the extrinsic muscles of the foot. Furthermore, enhancing sensory feedback under the foot sole has been recently shown to alter extrinsic muscle activity during gait; however, the effects of FOs with enhanced sensory feedback on plantar intrinsic foot muscles (PIFMs) remain unknown. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of FOs with and without sensory facilitation on PIFM activity during locomotion.

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Background: Muslim women use cancer screening less often than the general female population, which puts them at risk of delayed detection. We used an asset-based approach to co-design a faith-based intervention to increase uptake of breast, colorectal, and cervical screening in Scottish Muslim women.

Methods: In this pilot qualitative study, we recruited Muslim women (n=28) of Asian and Arab ethnicity, aged 25-74 years, through snowball sampling from community organisations in Glasgow and Edinburgh.

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The attenuation of sensory inputs via various methods has been demonstrated to impair balance control and alter locomotor behavior during human walking; however, the effects of attenuating foot sole sensation under distinct areas of the foot sole on lower extremity motor output remains poorly understood. Thus, the purpose of this study was to attenuate cutaneous feedback via regional hypothermia under five different areas of the foot sole and investigate the resultant modulation of kinematic and muscle activity during level walking. Electromyography from eight lower leg muscles, kinematics, and location of center of pressure was recorded from 48 healthy young adults completing walking trials with normal and reduced cutaneous sensation from bilateral foot soles.

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