A Psychosocial Critique of the Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic on UK Care Home Staff Attitudes to the Flu Vaccination: A Qualitative Longitudinal Study.

Vaccinating care home staff is essential to protect vulnerable residents by reducing infection risks and creating a safer care environment. However, vaccine hesitancy amongst staff remains a challenge, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic raised concerns about side effects and vaccination mandates. This study examines how the pandemic influenced flu vaccine hesitancy amongst UK care home staff.

Interpersonal counselling for adolescent depression delivered by youth mental health workers without core professional training: the ICALM feasibility RCT.

Background: As milder cases of adolescent depression do not meet treatment thresholds for specialist mental health services, young people often receive support from non-qualified professionals in third-sector/voluntary agencies. Early psychological interventions to meet growing demand with limited resources are crucial.

Objectives: The study aimed to explore the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of interpersonal counselling for adolescents by (1) assessing the feasibility and acceptability of trial procedures; (2) exploring the delivery of, and differences between, interpersonal counselling for adolescents and treatment as usual; (3) evaluating the extent of contamination of the control arm and if it should be mitigated against in a future trial; and (4) investigating whether the interval estimate of benefit of interpersonal counselling for adolescents over treatment as usual in depression post treatment includes a clinically significant effect.

Diet and Physical Activity Interventions for People from Minority Ethnic Backgrounds in the UK: A Scoping Review Exploring Barriers, Enablers and Cultural Adaptations.

Background: Type 2 diabetes (T2D) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) are a global pandemic, driven by obesity, poor diet and physical inactivity. In the UK, the prevalence of T2D and CVD is higher in minority ethnic groups. Lifestyle prevention interventions can be effective but uptake amongst minority ethnic groups in the UK is low and the extent of cultural adaptations to increase engagement unknown.

Doing research in non-specialist mental health services for children and young people: lessons learnt from a process evaluation of the ICALM (Interpersonal Counselling for Adolescent Low Mood) feasibility randomised controlled trial.

Background: The rising prevalence of adolescent mild depression in the UK and the paucity of evidence-based interventions in non-specialist sectors where most cases present, creates an urgent need for early psychological interventions. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) are considered the gold standard for obtaining unbiased estimates of intervention effectiveness. However, the complexity of mental health settings poses great challenges for effectiveness evaluations.

Retrospective chart analysis to determine the impact of a patient-facing digital risk stratification tool combined with a clinical screener for hereditary cancer genetic risk assessment triage in a community oncology clinic.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the utility of adding a clinical screener to the patient-facing digital risk stratification tool triage process for the identification of patients eligible for a genetic risk assessment for hereditary cancer. Digital risk stratification entries were retrospectively reviewed to determine the overall number of patients eligible for genetic risk assessment. These were also analyzed to determine how many patients were re-contacted by the clinical screener, and how many of those recontacted patients met criteria after their personal and family history was revised by the clinical screener.

Early whole-body mutant huntingtin lowering averts changes in proteins and lipids important for synapse function and white matter maintenance in the LacQ140 mouse model.

Expansion of a triplet repeat tract in exon 1 of the HTT gene causes Huntington's disease (HD). The mutant HTT protein (mHTT) has numerous aberrant interactions with diverse, pleiomorphic effects. Lowering mHTT is a promising approach to treat HD, but it is unclear when lowering should be initiated, how much is necessary, and what duration should occur to achieve benefits.

Protocol of the process evaluation of cluster randomised control trial for estimating the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a complex intervention to increase care home staff influenza vaccination rates compared to usual practice (FluCare).

Background: Influenza (flu) vaccination rates in UK care home staff are extremely low. Less than 40% of staff in care homes are vaccinated for influenza (flu), presenting risks to the health of frail residents and potential staff absence from cross-infection. Staff often do not perceive a need for vaccination and are unaware they are entitled to free flu vaccination.

Early whole-body mutant huntingtin lowering averts changes in proteins and lipids important for synapse function and white matter maintenance in the LacQ140 mouse model.

Expansion of a triplet repeat tract in exon1 of the HTT gene causes Huntington's disease (HD). The mutant HTT protein (mHTT) has numerous aberrant interactions with diverse, pleiomorphic effects. No disease modifying treatments exist but lowering mutant huntingtin (mHTT) by gene therapy is a promising approach to treat Huntington's disease (HD).

Risk of Infection Associated With Administration of Intravenous Iron: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Importance: Intravenous iron is recommended by many clinical guidelines based largely on its effectiveness in reducing anemia. However, the association with important safety outcomes, such as infection, remains uncertain.

Objective: To examine the risk of infection associated with intravenous iron compared with oral iron or no iron.

Taming the Huntington's Disease Proteome: What Have We Learned?

Mass spectrometry (MS) is a physical technique used to identify specific chemicals and molecules by precise analysis of their mass and charge; this technology has been adapted for biological sciences applications. Investigators have used MS to identify differential expressions of proteins in Huntington's disease (HD), to discover Huntingtin (HTT) interacting proteins and to analyze HTT proteoforms. Using systems biology and computational approaches, data from MS screens have been leveraged to find differentially expressed pathways.

Disposition of Proteins and Lipids in Synaptic Membrane Compartments Is Altered in Q175/Q7 Huntington's Disease Mouse Striatum.

Dysfunction at synapses is thought to be an early change contributing to cognitive, psychiatric and motor disturbances in Huntington's disease (HD). In neurons, mutant Huntingtin collects in aggregates and distributes to the same sites as wild-type Huntingtin including on membranes and in synapses. In this study, we investigated the biochemical integrity of synapses in HD mouse striatum.

Computational Modeling of Carotid Bruits.

The sound generated by diseased carotid arteries was investigated through computational means using three-dimensional, idealized, stenosed carotid bifurcation models. Stenosis levels of 50% and 70% with axi-symmetric and asymmetric stenosis shapes were considered. The hemodynamic flow field was obtained by solving the incompressible, Navier-Stokes equations.

Protein changes in synaptosomes of Huntington's disease knock-in mice are dependent on age and brain region.

Molecular changes at synapses are thought to underly the deficits in motor and cognitive dysfunction seen in Huntington's disease (HD). Previously we showed in synaptosome preparations age dependent changes in levels of selected proteins examined by western blot assay in the striatum of Q140/Q140 HD mice. To assess if CAG repeat length influenced protein changes at the synapse, we examined synaptosomes from 6-month old heterozygote HD mice with CAG repeat lengths ranging from 50 to 175.

Seven-Year Experience From the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke-Supported Network for Excellence in Neuroscience Clinical Trials.

Importance: One major advantage of developing large, federally funded networks for clinical research in neurology is the ability to have a trial-ready network that can efficiently conduct scientifically rigorous projects to improve the health of people with neurologic disorders.

Observations: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Network for Excellence in Neuroscience Clinical Trials (NeuroNEXT) was established in 2011 and renewed in 2018 with the goal of being an efficient network to test between 5 and 7 promising new agents in phase II clinical trials. A clinical coordinating center, data coordinating center, and 25 sites were competitively chosen.

Ventromedial prefrontal theta activity during rapid eye movement sleep is associated with improved decision-making on the Iowa Gambling Task.

Recent research is beginning to reveal an intricate relationship between sleep and decision-making. The Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) is a unique decision-making task that relies on the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), an area that integrates and weighs previous experiences with reward and loss to select choices with the highest overall value. Recently, it has been demonstrated that a period of sleep can enhance decision-making on this task.

Post learning sleep improves cognitive-emotional decision-making: evidence for a 'deck B sleep effect' in the Iowa Gambling Task.

The Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) is widely used to assess real life decision-making impairment in a wide variety of clinical populations. Our study evaluated how IGT learning occurs across two sessions, and whether a period of intervening sleep between sessions can enhance learning. Furthermore, we investigate whether pre-sleep learning is necessary for this improvement.

Quantitation of a spin polarization-induced nuclear Overhauser effect (SPINOE) between a hyperpolarized (13) C-labeled cell metabolite and water protons.

The spin polarization-induced nuclear Overhauser effect (SPINOE) describes the enhancement of spin polarization of solvent nuclei by the hyperpolarized spins of a solute. In this communication we demonstrate that SPINOEs can be observed between [1,4-(13) C2 ]fumarate, hyperpolarized using the dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization technique, and solvent water protons. We derive a theoretical expression for the expected enhancement and demonstrate that this fits well with experimental measurements.

Passiflora incarnata L. (Passionflower) extracts elicit GABA currents in hippocampal neurons in vitro, and show anxiogenic and anticonvulsant effects in vivo, varying with extraction method.

Potential mechanisms of Passiflora incarnata extracts and the effect of extraction methods on ingredients and biological effects were explored. Using the same batch of plant material, total flavonoid yields as measured by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) increased substantially with hot versus cold extraction methods. Whole Passiflora extract induced prominent, dose-dependent direct GABA(A) currents in hippocampal slices, but the expected modulation of synaptic GABA(A) currents was not seen.

The importance of cultural competency in general pediatrics.

Purpose Of Review: There is a growing awareness of the importance of cultural competency in pediatrics. The authors review the most recent studies that examine the impact of cultural competency on general pediatric care, explore cultural beliefs and practices affecting clinical care, and describe culturally sensitive interventions designed to address racial/ethnic health disparities.

Recent Findings: The beneficial effects of cultural competency embrace health outcomes, quality of care, and patient satisfaction, while failure to consider language and culture can have serious adverse consequences for clinical care, including patient safety and healthcare access.

A baseline study of medication error rates at Baylor University Medical Center in preparation for implementation of a computerized physician order entry system.

Objective: To determine baseline levels of medication errors and their root causes so as to highlight areas of potential process improvements and serve as a ruler against which to measure future improvements.

Design: A prospective pharmacist intervention study determining errors in 1014 medication orders at Baylor University Medical Center. Only errors in the process of medication ordering were documented; errors in drug administration were not considered.

Eosinophilia as a marker of resistance to Teladorsagia circumcincta in Scottish Blackface lambs.

Faecal egg counts and peripheral blood eosinophil counts were taken from Scottish Blackface lambs following natural, predominantly Teladorsagia circumcincta infection. Peripheral eosinophil concentrations were higher in animals with lower egg counts but only in lambs that were at least 3 months of age. The reduced egg counts were due to reduced fecundity of T.