Development and Evaluation of a Bariatric Mannequin Simulation System.

Physical assessment of obese patients is an essential clinical skill for identifying the numerous health problems of obese patients and monitoring treatment effectiveness. Use of simulation mannequins facilitates teaching and learning of physical assessment. Available bariatric simulation mannequins have poor functional design, unrealistic appearance, and limited assessment functions.

Comparison of Laboratory Confirmed Drugs in Acute Recreational Drug Toxicity Presentations to an Urban Hospital in London, UK, 2016/17 versus 2019/20.

Introduction: Novel Psychoactive Substance (NPS) use is increasingly prevalent and is often associated with severe acute recreational drug toxicity (ARDT). 258 UK deaths were attributed to NPS use in 2021. Confirmatory testing which identifies NPS is limited by expense and timeliness.

The Emerging Cloud: a survey of vapers, their health and utilization of healthcare within the UK.

Background: Recent work in the UK estimated the prevalence of current cannabinoid-based vaping to be higher than in the USA, a factor previously associated with e-cigarette or vaping-associated lung injury (EVALI). Research in the USA has demonstrated that attendances to emergency departments relating to e-cigarettes began to rise before the EVALI outbreak, suggesting that vapers also experience milder forms of vaping-related illness.

Aim: Quantify symptom prevalence and healthcare utilization amongst current UK vapers.

A Machine-Learning Algorithm for the Automated Perceptual Evaluation of Dysphonia Severity.

Objectives: Auditory-perceptual assessments are the gold standard for assessing voice quality. This project aims to develop a machine-learning model for measuring perceptual dysphonia severity of audio samples consistent with assessments by expert raters.

Methods: The Perceptual Voice Qualities Database samples were used, including sustained vowel and Consensus Auditory-Perceptual Evaluation of Voice sentences, which were previously expertly rated on a 0-100 scale.

Cannabinoid Use in the Treatment of Laryngeal Dystonia and Vocal Tremor: A Pilot Investigation.

Objectives/hypothesis: Laryngeal dystonia and vocal tremor can be debilitating conditions with suboptimal treatment options. Botulinum toxin chemodenervation is typically the first-line treatment and is considered the gold standard. However, patient response to botulinum toxin varies widely.

E-cigarette or vaping-associated lung injury (EVALI): a review of international case reports from outside the United States of America.

Introduction: E-cigarette or vaping-associated lung injury has been reported extensively throughout the United States without a corresponding number of international cases. Cannabinoid-based products have been implicated in the majority of cases.

Objectives: To collate published reports of E-cigarette or vaping-associated lung injury outside the United States and to identify the reasons behind the discrepancy in reported cases between the United States and the international community.

The unseen cloud: a survey of vaping practices and the acquisition of vaping products within the UK.

Background: Vaping of cannabinoid-based products and informal acquisition of vaping products were associated with the outbreak of E-cigarette or vaping associated lung injury (EVALI) in the USA. Current prevalence of cannabinoid-based vaping within the UK is not known and literature regarding the acquisition of vaping products is limited.

Aim: To estimate the prevalence of nicotine-based, nicotine-free and cannabinoid-based product vaping within the UK and to determine where vaping products are acquired.

Provider and Patient Satisfaction with Telemedicine Voice Therapy During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic expanded the use of telemedicine, but there is no literature exploring both patient and provider satisfaction specifically in the provision of voice therapy. This study aims to investigate patient and provider satisfaction with virtual voice therapy, its associated factors, and any correlation between the two.

Methods: Cross-sectional study.

Cricothyroid Muscle Botulinum Toxin Chemodenervation to Treat Recalcitrant High-Pitched Functional Dysphonia in an Adult Male.

Introduction: Functional dysphonia occurs in the absence of structural or neurologic laryngeal abnormalities with various manifestations including aphonia and inappropriate vocal pitch. Voice therapy is the first-line treatment, and literature on treatment options for functional dysphonia unresponsive to voice therapy is limited.

Methods: Retrospective medical records review and report of a case.

Isotonitazene, a novel psychoactive substance opioid, detected in two cases following a local surge in opioid overdoses.

Background: Isotonitazene is a novel opioid that was first reported in Europe in 2019. There have been no reports of the detection of isotonitazene in patients presenting to the emergency department with acute drug toxicity.

Aim: There was an increase in presentations to our emergency department with acute opioid toxicity in August 2021.

The Voice Problem Impact Scales (VPIS).

Introduction: Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are important for systematically assessing a person's perspectives and experiences with disease to inform clinical decision-making. However, PROMs can occasionally fail to capture subtle differences amongst subgroups. In response to this problem, the aim of the current study was to examine the convergent validity of four patient-reported voice activity and participation scales to better reflect and describe the impact of a voice problem in a patient's work, home, social and overall life.

Laryngologists' Reported Decision-Making in Presbyphonia Treatment.

Objective: Decision-making regarding behavioral versus procedural intervention in the treatment of presbyphonia has not been well defined. The study objective was to survey laryngologists' reported practice patterns and decision-making in presbyphonia.

Methods: All laryngology faculty in U.

Pilot Evaluation of Community-Based Vocal Health Screenings.

Introduction: Community-based health fairs can help identify at-risk populations, improve health literacy, and facilitate access to medical services. No community-based screenings specifically targeting vocal health were identified in the literature. The purpose of this study is to compare the results of community-based vocal health screenings across two populations: a group of community members with unknown risk of voice problems, and a group of actors belonging to a profession with a known increased risk of voice problems.

Human P2Y Expression Level Affects Human P2X7 Receptor-Mediated Cell Death.

Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is known to induce cell death in T lymphocytes at high extracellular concentrations. CD4 and CD8 T lymphocytes have a differential response to ATP, which in mice is due to differences in the P2X7 receptor expression levels. By contrast, we observed that the difference in human CD4 and CD8 T lymphocyte response toward the synthetic ATP-analog BzATP is not explained by a difference in human P2X7 receptor expression.

Validation of antibodies for neuroanatomical localization of the P2Y receptor in macaque brain.

Focus on the purinergic receptor P2Y has increased following the finding of an association between the sleep disorder narcolepsy and a genetic variant in P2RY11 causing decreased gene expression. Narcolepsy is believed to arise from an autoimmune destruction of the hypothalamic neurons that produce the neuropeptide hypocretin/orexin. It is unknown how a decrease in expression of P2Y might contribute to an autoimmune reaction towards the hypocretin neurons and the development of narcolepsy.