Dexterity assessment of hospital workers: prospective comparative study.

Objectives: To compare the manual dexterity and composure under pressure of people in different hospital staff roles using a buzz wire game.

Design: Prospective, observational, comparative study (Tremor study).

Setting: Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Leeds, UK, during a three week period in 2024.

Improving recovery after bowel cancer surgery: mixed methods feasibility study of a co-produced information intervention (Recover Together).

Aim: Recovery after surgery for colorectal cancer is a complex process, involving numerous physiological, emotional, social and economic challenges. Good information is a key factor for enabling patients to recover well, but there is a paucity of evidence to guide how this should be done. A new information intervention (Recover Together) comprising a booklet, an online video and an inpatient goal board has been developed.

Operative versus conservative management for inguinal hernia: a methodology scoping review of randomized controlled trials.

Introduction: There is a lack of consensus on the management of inguinal hernia with limited symptoms. To address this issue a systematic review of existing randomized clinical trials (RCTs) was performed to critically appraise all existing data on asymptomatic hernia management, focusing on generalizability.

Methods: A scoping review to identify all RCTs comparing surgical and conservative management of patients with inguinal hernias was undertaken.

N-DNA stable isotope probing reveals niche differentiation of ammonia oxidizers in paddy soils.

Chemoautotrophic canonical ammonia oxidizers (ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB)) and complete ammonia oxidizers (comammox Nitrospira) are accountable for ammonia oxidation, which is a fundamental process of nitrification in terrestrial ecosystems. However, the relationship between autotrophic nitrification and the active nitrifying populations during N-urea incubation has not been totally clarified. The N-labeled DNA stable isotope probing (DNA-SIP) technique was utilized in order to study the response from the soil nitrification process and the active nitrifying populations, in both acidic and neutral paddy soils, to the application of urea.

Formation of a conceptual framework during the development of a patient-reported outcome measure for early gastrointestinal recovery: phase I of the PRO-diGi study.

Aim: Patients admitted to hospital for abdominal surgery often experience gastrointestinal dysfunction. Many studies have reported outcomes following gastrointestinal dysfunction, yet there is no unified definition of recovery or a validated patient-reported outcome measure (PROM). The first stage of PROM development requires formation of a conceptual framework to identify key themes to patients.

Analytical profile of the lysergamide 1cP-AL-LAD and detection of impurities.

The development of novel lysergamides continues to occur, based on both the needs of psychedelic medicine and commercial interest in new recreational substances. The present study continues the authors' research on novel lysergamides and describes the analytical profile of 1-cyclopropanoyl-AL-LAD (IUPAC name: 1-(cyclopropanecarbonyl)-N,N-diethyl-6-(prop-2-en-1-yl)-9,10-didehydroergoline-8β-carboxamide; 1cP-AL-LAD), using various chromatographic, mass spectrometric, and spectroscopic methods. Analysis of a powdered sample of 1cP-AL-LAD, obtained from an online vendor, by high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry in full scan/AutoMS/MS mode revealed the detection of 17 impurities based on high-resolution tandem mass spectral data; tentative determination of their identity was based on mass spectral grounds alone, though detection of AL-LAD and 1P-AL-LAD was confirmed using available reference standards.

Clinical associations with carriage of pulmonary .

Background: causes opportunistic respiratory infections and is associated with declining lung function in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). Risk factors for carrying remain unclear.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of patients yielding ⩾1 respiratory isolate at the Oxford University Hospitals Trust between 2014 and 2019 and a cohort study of carriage in CF patients attending annual review in 2018.

Duplication and nonregistration of COVID-19 systematic reviews: Bibliometric review.

Objectives: This study examines the conduct of systematic reviews during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, including compliance to protocol registration and duplication of reviews on similar topics. The methodological and reporting quality were also explored.

Methods: A cross-sectional, bibliometric study was undertaken of all systematic review manuscripts on a COVID-19 intervention published between January 1st and June 30th, 2020.

Establishing the acceptability and usability of an animated virtual patient simulation.

Background: An animated, video-based, virtual patient (VP) has been developed to allow pharmacists to learn how, and practice how, to advise patients taking non-vitamin K oral anticoagulants, a group of high-risk medicines. VPs are well-established resources but have historically only been accessed within specific online teaching sessions or at university sites; this new VP represents a mobile design that can be accessed from anywhere.

Objective: To investigate the usability and acceptability of the VP application with a focus on exploring perspectives on accessibility.

Dietary tryptophan-rich protein hydrolysate can acutely impact physiological and psychological measures of mood and stress in healthy adults.

Background: Tryptophan is the precursor to the mood regulating neurotransmitter serotonin. Its brain bioavailability from food can be dependent on the dietary source. Egg protein hydrolysate (EPH), a dietary supplement rich in tryptophan, has previously shown to acutely impact cognition, mood and stress benefits at 2 g dose.

Effects of different carbon sources on methane production and the methanogenic communities in iron rich flooded paddy soil.

Various carbon sources as substrates and electron donors can produce methane via different metabolic pathways. In particular, the methane produced by rice cultivation has a severe impact on climate change. However, how Fe, the most abundant oxide in paddy soil, mediates the methanogenesis of different carbon sources is unknown.

Postoperative nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in relation to recurrence, survival and anastomotic leakage after surgery for colorectal cancer.

Aim: The aim of this work was to investigate whether nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) could be beneficial or harmful when used perioperatively for colorectal cancer patients, as inflammation may affect occult disease and anastomotic healing.

Method: This is a protocol-based retrospective cohort study on colorectal cancer patients operated on between 2007 and 2012 at 21 hospitals in Sweden. NSAID exposure was retrieved from postoperative analgesia protocols, while outcomes and patient data were retrieved from the Swedish Colorectal Cancer Registry.

Experiencing a virtual patient to practice patient counselling skills.

Introduction: Virtual patients (VPs) are a safe and standardised method of simulating clinical environments but few studies have explored health care professional's experiences of learning via a VP. This study explored how users experienced and used a VP that aimed to teach the user to deliver non-vitamin K oral anticoagulant patient education.

Methods: The study used semi-structured interviews with pharmacists and pre-registration trainees from a wider research study.

Can aged biochar offset soil greenhouse gas emissions from crop residue amendments in saline and non-saline soils under laboratory conditions?

Applying biochar in association with crop residues might optimize costs and effectiveness in the reclamation of saline soils. Here, we explored the potential effects of biochar in association with crop residue amendments on soil greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and microbial communities. Previously, we found that soil NO emission significantly increased with increasing salinity levels followed by cotton straw addition.

Post-operative ileus: definitions, mechanisms and controversies.

Post-operative ileus (POI) is a syndrome of impaired gastrointestinal transit which occurs following abdominal surgery. There are few effective targeted therapies for ileus, and research has been limited by inconsistent definitions and an incomplete understanding of the underlying pathophysiology. Despite considerable effort, there remains no widely-adopted definition of ileus, and recent work has identified variation in outcome reporting is a major source of heterogeneity in clinical trials.

Epidemiology of in England: an observational study.

Background: has emerged as a significant clinical concern following reports that it is readily transmissible in health-care settings between patients with cystic fibrosis. We linked routinely collected whole-genome sequencing and health-care usage data with the aim of investigating the extent to which such transmission explains acquisition in patients with and without cystic fibrosis in England.

Methods: In this retrospective observational study, we analysed consecutive whole-genome sequencing data from England (beginning of February, 2015, to Nov 14, 2019) to identify genomically similar isolates.

Improving uptake of Fracture Prevention drug treatments: a protocol for Development of a consultation intervention (iFraP-D).

Introduction: Prevention of fragility fractures, a source of significant economic and personal burden, is hindered by poor uptake of fracture prevention medicines. Enhancing communication of scientific evidence and elicitation of patient medication-related beliefs has the potential to increase patient commitment to treatment. The mproving uptake of cture revention drug treatments (iFraP) programme aims to develop and evaluate a theoretically informed, complex intervention consisting of a computerised web-based decision support tool, training package and information resources, to facilitate informed decision-making about fracture prevention treatment, with a long-term aim of improving informed treatment adherence.

Non-invasive, vagus nerve stimulation to reduce ileus after colorectal surgery: protocol for a feasibility trial with nested mechanistic studies.

Introduction: Ileus is a common and distressing condition characterised by gut dysfunction after surgery. While a number of interventions have aimed to curtail its impact on patients and healthcare systems, ileus is still an unmet challenge. Electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve is a promising new treatment due to its role in modulating the neuro-immune axis through a novel anti-inflammatory reflex.

Shared Decision-Making With a Virtual Patient in Medical Education: Mixed Methods Evaluation Study.

Background: Shared decision-making (SDM) is a process in which clinicians and patients work together to select tests, treatments, management, or support packages based on clinical evidence and the patient's informed preferences. Similar to any skill, SDM requires practice to improve. Virtual patients (VPs) are simulations that allow one to practice a variety of clinical skills, including communication.

The anaerobic oxidation of methane in paddy soil by ferric iron and nitrate, and the microbial communities involved.

The anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) mediated by microorganisms is a key process in the reduction of methane emissions, and AOM-coupled electron acceptors have been shown to regulate methane emissions into the atmosphere in marine systems. Paddy fields are a significant source of methane and account for 20% of global methane emissions, but the effect of electron acceptors on the methane emission process in flooded paddy fields has been poorly characterized. This study aimed to determine whether the electron acceptors ferric iron and nitrate, and biochar, acting as an electron shuttle, can regulate the AOM process in paddy soil, with or without interaction between biochar and these two electron acceptors.

Separating the wheat from the chaff: Observations on the analysis of lysergamides LSD, MIPLA, and LAMPA.

Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is a potent psychoactive substance that has attracted great interest in clinical research. As the pharmacological exploration of LSD analogs continues to grow, some of those analogs have appeared on the street market. Given that LSD analogs are uncontrolled in many jurisdictions, it is important that these analogs be differentiated from LSD.