Publications by authors named "Simon P"

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the biomechanical properties of SutureTape as an alternative technique for arthrodesis of the metacarpophalangeal (MCP) and proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joint arthrodesis when compared with surgical steel wire.

Methods: A total of 32 fingers (index, long, ring, and small) from two matched pair cadaveric hands were used. K-wire and surgical steel wire were used for MCP and PIP joint arthrodesis of the control group (group I), whereas K-wire and SutureTape were used for the experimental group (group II).

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  • Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) mainly affects young females during puberty and early adulthood, leading to symptoms like lightheadedness, palpitations, weakness, and fatigue.
  • These symptoms not only affect daily life but also contribute to mental health issues such as anxiety and depression, highlighting the importance of support in academic environments.
  • There is a lack of research and standardized treatment guidelines for POTS, indicating a need for increased awareness, collaboration among healthcare professionals, educators, and policymakers to improve care for affected individuals.
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Introduction: Households are increasingly studied in population health research as an important context for understanding health and social behaviours and outcomes. Identifying household units of analysis in routinely collected data rather than traditional surveys requires innovative and standardised tools, which do not currently exist.

Objectives: To design a utility that identifies households at a point in time from pseudonymised Unique Property Reference Numbers (UPRNs) known as Residential Anonymised Linkage Fields (RALFs) assigned to general practitioner (GP) patient addresses in electronic health records (EHRs) in north east London (NEL).

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The advancement of high-performance fast-charging materials has significantly propelled progress in electrochemical capacitors (ECs). Electrochemical capacitors store charges at the nanoscale electrode material-electrolyte interface, where the charge storage and transport mechanisms are mediated by factors such as nanoconfinement, local electrode structure, surface properties and non-electrostatic ion-electrode interactions. This Review offers a comprehensive exploration of probing the confined electrochemical interface using advanced characterization techniques.

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Background: Hip resection arthroplasty (HRA) serves as a salvage treatment option for various conditions affecting paraplegic patients, such as arthritis pain, infection, and spasticity. In non-paraplegic individuals, it is often utilized to manage complex infections. There exists a paucity of studies comparing outcomes between paraplegic and non-paraplegic patients undergoing HRA as definitive treatment.

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Background/objectives: Research on cyclodextrin-based metal-organic frameworks (CD-MOFs) is still in its infancy, but their potential for use in drug delivery-expressly in the lung-seems promising. We aimed to use the freeze-drying method to create a novel approach for preparing CD-MOFs. MOFs consisting of γ-cyclodextrin (γCD) and potassium cations (K) were employed to encapsulate the poorly water-soluble model drug Ibuprofen (IBU) for the treatment of cystic fibrosis (CF).

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Background/objectives: Carrot is a major root vegetable in the owing to its abundant carotenoids, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. The modern dark orange western carrot was derived from sequential domestication events from the white-rooted wild form to the pale orange-, purple-, or yellow-rooted eastern carrot. Genetic and molecular studies between eastern and western carrots are meager despite their evolutionary relatedness.

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  • Culturally competent care for the LGBTQ+ community is crucial in nursing, but many healthcare professionals lack the necessary training and skills to provide such care effectively.!* -
  • The LGBTQ+ population often faces discrimination in healthcare settings, which highlights the need for better education for health professionals regarding LGBTQ+ issues.!* -
  • The project aims to enhance nursing education by incorporating simulation-based learning focused on LGBTQ+ care, providing valuable training that can be adapted for healthcare programs globally.!*
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Here, we report the results of the prospective cohort study EORTC-CLG 58081 and compare them to the control arm of the randomized phase 3 trial EORTC-CLG 58951, on which treatment recommendations were built. In both studies, patients aged 1-18 years with negative acute lymphoblastic leukemia of the B-lineage (B-ALL) or T-lineage (T-ALL) were treated using a BFM backbone without cranial irradiation. Similarly to the control arm of 58951, prednisolone (PRED) 60 mg/m/day was used for induction therapy, but a few modifications were made.

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Sodium-ion batteries have emerged as a promising secondary battery system due to the abundance of sodium resources. One of the boosters for accelerating the practical application of sodium-ion batteries is the innovation in anode materials. This study focuses on developing a high-performance hard carbon anode material derived from hydroxymethylfurfural, produced from carbohydrates, using a straightforward thermal condensation method.

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Multiple van der Waals (vdW) gaps invoke abundant opportunities for contriving artificial architectures and tailoring desired properties via the intercalation route beyond the reach of conventional concepts. Intriguingly, the electrochemical intercalation strategy can precisely and reversibly tune the intercalation stage of charged functional species. This study presents a valid structural editing protocol facilitated by electrochemical intercalation to engineer MXene interlayers, ultimately incorporating in situ constructed carbon nanotube (CNT) electric bridges for enhanced ion storage and transport pathways.

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  • The study evaluates the psychometric properties of the WHO-5 well-being index in the Philippines, particularly during the pandemic, as previous research on its validity has not been done in this context.
  • Using a total of 2,521 general respondents and additional groups of government workers and emerging adult children, the study employed various statistical methods including exploratory structural equation modeling and confirmatory factor analysis to validate the one-dimensional model of well-being.
  • Results indicated that the WHO-5 is a reliable measure of well-being among Filipinos, showing a clear connection between pandemic-related adversities and lower well-being, as well as its relationship with mental health issues like anxiety and depression.
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Background: The 2022 monkeypox (mpox) outbreak in Los Angeles County (LAC) emphasized the need to prepare for emergent infectious disease outbreaks. Vaccination and promotion of sexual risk reduction practices appeared successful in LAC, as mpox cases declined starting in August. Nonetheless, questions persisted regarding the effectiveness of targeting vaccinations and the role of sexual risk reduction in reducing mpox cases.

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  • Chemotherapy is crucial for cancer treatment but is often too expensive; the Indian government launched Jan Aushadhi (JAS) stores to provide affordable generic medicines.
  • The study aimed to compare the costs of chemotherapy regimens using JAS drugs, as well as the most and least expensive branded drugs in India.
  • Results showed substantial cost differences when using JAS drugs for chemotherapy across various types of cancers, indicating potential savings for patients.
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  • Dupuytren contracture causes cords and nodules in the palm, and while surgery is a standard treatment, collagenase clostridium histolyticum (CCH) offers a non-surgical alternative, particularly for challenging proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joint contractures.
  • A study reviewed 304 patients treated with CCH and found that both isolated and combined contractures significantly improved post-treatment, with residual contractures averaging around 6-7 degrees.
  • However, the treatment was associated with a high incidence of adverse events, especially skin tears, particularly in more severe cases, suggesting that earlier intervention could enhance treatment outcomes.
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  • - The study evaluated the Arabic version of the EQ-5D tool for measuring health-related quality of life in atrial fibrillation patients in Syria, addressing a gap in existing data.
  • - Involving 432 participants, the research demonstrated strong reliability and validity of the EQ-5D through various testing methods, confirming its effectiveness for this patient group.
  • - The successful validation of the EQ-5D in this context encourages its broader use across Arabic-speaking regions, potentially enhancing healthcare decision-making and patient care strategies.
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  • AL and ATTR are two common types of cardiac amyloidosis leading to serious heart issues and potentially fatal outcomes, with recent studies suggesting a link to cardiac inflammation.
  • In a study of 157 patients, myocardial biopsies were examined for immune cell types (T lymphocytes, macrophages, neutrophils) and various clinical measures to explore their relationships.
  • Results showed a significant link between macrophage presence and the severity of heart failure, indicating that macrophages may play an important role in the progression of cardiac amyloidosis.
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Understanding the interplay between individual magnetic impurities and superconductivity is crucial for bottom-up construction of novel phases of matter. Sub-gap bound states that are used in this endeavor are typically considered as independent entities that each result from the exchange scattering between the respective impurity orbitals and electrons of the superconducting condensate. Here we present experimental evidence of individual multi-spin impurities where the sub-gap states are not independent.

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  • Blood transfusion rates in total hip arthroplasty (THA) typically range from 3% to 22%, but this study focuses on conducting THA without blood transfusions for Jehovah's Witness patients who have specific beliefs regarding blood use.
  • The study analyzed 94 out of 110 primary THA cases between 2011 and 2022, utilizing strategies like erythropoietin, tranexamic acid (TXA), and minimizing blood loss to enhance surgical outcomes.
  • Results showed that while hemoglobin levels significantly dropped post-surgery, no patient required a transfusion, indicating that THA can be safely performed on Jehovah's Witness patients using a combination of blood conservation techniques.
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The incorporation of sensitive bioactive substances such as proteins or DNA into nanofibers poses a significant problem due to the toxicity of most organic solvents. The main idea of this study is to use alternating current electrospraying to create a suspension consisting of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) capsules containing a bioactive substance dispersed in a solvent system suitable for a water-insoluble biocompatible polymer. In this suspension consisting of PVA capsules and a chloroform/ethanol mixture, poly (ε-caprolactone) (PCL) was dissolved and spun by needle-free electrospinning.

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To outline the demographic and clinical features, treatment approaches and clinical outcomes of patients treated with palbociclib as the initial therapy for HR+/HER2- advanced or metastatic breast cancer (aBC/mBC) in private healthcare facilities in Brazil. This study involved a retrospective review conducted from June 2022 to May 2023. The study included 121 patients, with an average age of 54.

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Conductive layered metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have demonstrated promising electrochemical performances as supercapacitor electrode materials. The well-defined chemical structures of these crystalline porous electrodes facilitate structure-performance studies; however, there is a fundamental lack in the molecular-level understanding of charge storage mechanisms in conductive layered MOFs. To address this, we employ solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to study ion adsorption in nickel 2,3,6,7,10,11-hexaiminotriphenylene, Ni(HITP).

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α-Olefins are very important bulk and fine chemicals and their synthesis from ethylene, an abundantly available and inexpensive feedstock, is highly attractive. Unfortunately, the direct or on-purpose synthesis of olefins from ethylene is limited to three examples, 1-butene, 1-hexene, and 1-octene, all having a linear structure. Herein, the direct synthesis of 3-methylenepentane and 4-ethylhex-1-ene, branched trimerization, and tetramerization products of ethylene, respectively, is reported.

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