The patient perspective on the environmental impact of inhalers.

Introduction: Increasing the proportion of low-carbon inhalers prescribed within the NHS forms a central part of net-zero policy. Yet, the patients' perspective on this strategy has not been determined. We aimed to establish if environmental issues are important to respiratory patients and whether this may influence inhaler choice.

The 2024 British Society for Rheumatology guideline for management of systemic sclerosis.

This guideline was developed according to the British Society for Rheumatology Guidelines Protocol by a Guideline Development Group comprising healthcare professionals with expertise in SSc and people with lived experience, as well as patient organization representatives. It is an update of the previous 2015 SSc guideline. The recommendations were developed and agreed by the group and are underpinned by published evidence, assessed by systematic literature review and reinforced by collective expert opinion of the group.

The 2024 British Society for Rheumatology guideline for management of systemic sclerosis-executive summary.

This guideline was developed according to the British Society for Rheumatology Guidelines Protocol by a Guideline Development Group comprising healthcare professionals with expertise in SSc and people with lived experience, as well as patient organization representatives. It is an update of the previous 2015 SSc guideline. The recommendations were developed and agreed by the group and are underpinned by published evidence, assessed by systematic literature review and reinforced by collective expert opinion of the group.

Money, Mentorship, and Misinformation: Barriers and Facilitators to Veterinarians' Pursuit of Postdoctoral Training in Laboratory Animal Medicine.

Since 2015, it has become progressively more difficult for programs to recruit residents in laboratory animal medicine (LAM). Veterinarians are a necessary part of animal research, and having a shortage in veterinarians trained to work in this field has the potential to negatively impact research progress as well as animal welfare. With a goal to increase recruitment, we performed this study to better understand the barriers and facilitators that veterinarians experience when navigating the decision to pursue postdoctoral training in LAM.

TRPV1 nociceptors are required to optimize antigen-specific primary antibody responses to novel antigens.

Background: Key to the advancement of the field of bioelectronic medicine is the identification of novel pathways of neural regulation of immune function. Sensory neurons (termed nociceptors) recognize harmful stimuli and initiate a protective response by eliciting pain and defensive behavior. Nociceptors also interact with immune cells to regulate host defense and inflammatory responses.

Risk factors for violence in an emergency department: Nurses' perspectives.

Objective: Work-related violence remains a significant problem in healthcare settings, including EDs. Violence risk assessment tools have been developed to improve risk mitigation in this setting; however, incorporation of these tools into standard hospital processes remains scarce. This research aimed to explore nurses' perspectives on the Bröset Violence Checklist used in routine violence risk assessment and their recommendations for additional items.

Emergency department staff experiences of the Bröset Violence Checklist.

Aim: Work-related violence is a significant problem in healthcare settings and emergency departments are one of the highest at-risk locations. There have been significant challenges in identifying successful risk-mitigation strategies to reduce the incidence and impact of work-related violence in this setting. This research explores the perspectives of clinical staff who routinely use violence risk assessment to provide recommendations for improvements.

Commercial Immunoglobulin Products Contain Neutralizing Antibodies Against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Spike Protein.

Background: Patients with antibody deficiency respond poorly to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination and are at risk of severe or prolonged infection. They are given long-term immunoglobulin replacement therapy (IRT) prepared from healthy donor plasma to confer passive immunity against infection. Following widespread COVID-19 vaccination alongside natural exposure, we hypothesized that immunoglobulin preparations will now contain neutralizing severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike antibodies, which confer protection against COVID-19 disease and may help to treat chronic infection.

Management of systemic sclerosis: British Society for Rheumatology guideline scope.

This guideline will provide a practical roadmap for management of SSc that builds upon the previous treatment guideline to incorporate advances in evidence-based treatment and increased knowledge about assessment, classification and management. General approaches to management as well as treatment of specific complications will be covered, including lung, cardiac, renal and gastrointestinal tract disease, as well as RP, digital vasculopathy, skin manifestations, calcinosis and impact on quality of life. It will include guidance related to emerging approved therapies for interstitial lung disease and account for National Health Service England prescribing policies and national guidance relevant to SSc.

Transient Receptor Potential Ankyrin-1-expressing vagus nerve fibers mediate IL-1β induced hypothermia and reflex anti-inflammatory responses.

Background: Inflammation, the physiological response to infection and injury, is coordinated by the immune and nervous systems. Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and other cytokines produced during inflammatory responses activate sensory neurons (nociceptors) to mediate the onset of pain, sickness behavior, and metabolic responses. Although nociceptors expressing Transient Receptor Potential Ankyrin-1 (TRPA1) can initiate inflammation, comparatively little is known about the role of TRPA1 nociceptors in the physiological responses to specific cytokines.

Implementing best practice occupational therapist-led environmental assessment and modification to prevent falls: A qualitative study of two regional and rural public health services in Australia.

Background: Occupational therapist-led environmental assessment and modification (EAM) is effective in reducing falls for populations at high risk. Two regional and rural public health services in Queensland devised an implementation strategy to embed best practice occupational therapist-led EAM.

Methods: A qualitative study was conducted to compare the determinants of implementation success across the different health services, using the COM-B model of behaviour change.

Engaging with a rural Aboriginal community to identify strategies to improve oral health within their community: a qualitative study.

Background: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders bear a higher burden of oral disease compared to non-Indigenous persons. Rural Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are further disadvantaged due to service access difficulties. This study, initiated by community concern for oral health identified through its Health Action Group, aimed to explore a rural Aboriginal community's strategies to resolve oral health problems.

Famotidine activates the vagus nerve inflammatory reflex to attenuate cytokine storm.

Background: Severe COVID-19 is characterized by pro-inflammatory cytokine release syndrome (cytokine storm) which causes high morbidity and mortality. Recent observational and clinical studies suggest famotidine, a histamine 2 receptor (H2R) antagonist widely used to treat gastroesophageal reflux disease, attenuates the clinical course of COVID-19. Because evidence is lacking for a direct antiviral activity of famotidine, a proposed mechanism of action is blocking the effects of histamine released by mast cells.

Famotidine activates the vagus nerve inflammatory reflex to attenuate cytokine storm.

Severe COVID-19 is characterized by pro-inflammatory cytokine release syndrome (cytokine storm) which causes high morbidity and mortality. Recent observational and clinical studies suggest famotidine, a histamine 2 receptor (H2R) antagonist widely used to treat gastroesophageal reflux disease , attenuates the clinical course of COVID-19. Because evidence is lacking for a direct antiviral activity of famotidine, a proposed mechanism of action is blocking the effects of histamine released by mast cells.

Erratum: CHIP-dependent regulation of the actin cytoskeleton is linked to neuronal cell membrane integrity.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.

Managing oral health care and prevention: The experience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders living in a rural community in Queensland, Australia.

Objective: To understand the experience of rural Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in engaging with oral health care services and programs in order to support the development of oral health services and prevention programs that better meet their needs.

Design: The study used a qualitative research design, which aims to describe participants' lived experience of engaging with oral health services and prevention programs in a rural Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. Focus group discussions and in-depth interviews were conducted with 27 participants.

Using a quadruplet codon to expand the genetic code of an animal.

Genetic code expansion in multicellular organisms is currently limited to the use of repurposed amber stop codons. Here, we introduce a system for the use of quadruplet codons to direct incorporation of non-canonical amino acids in vivo in an animal, the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans. We develop hybrid pyrrolysyl tRNA variants to incorporate non-canonical amino acids in response to the quadruplet codon UAGA.

Silver Linings Reported by Australians Experiencing Public Health Restrictions during the First Phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Report.

This national study investigated the positives reported by residents experiencing the large-scale public health measures instituted in Australia to manage the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Most Australians had not previously experienced the traditional public health measures used (social distancing, hand hygiene and restriction of movement) and which could potentially impact negatively on mental well-being. The research design included qualitative semi-structured phone interviews where participants described their early pandemic experiences.

Experience of Healthcare Access in Australia during the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Changes in health-seeking behaviours and challenges in accessing care have been reported during the COVID-19 pandemic. This qualitative study examines Australian experiences related to healthcare access during the early months of the pandemic. The study aimed to identify key areas of concern as well as opportunities for services to prevent, manage and treat health concerns when normal access was disrupted.

Systemic administration of choline acetyltransferase decreases blood pressure in murine hypertension.

Acetylcholine (ACh) decreases blood pressure by stimulating endothelium nitric oxide-dependent vasodilation in resistance arterioles. Normal plasma contains choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) and its biosynthetic product ACh at appreciable concentrations to potentially act upon the endothelium to affect blood pressure. Recently we discovered a T-cell subset expressing ChAT (T), whereby genetic ablation of ChAT in these cells produces hypertension, indicating that production of ACh by T regulates blood pressure.

Control of inflammation using non-invasive neuromodulation: past, present and promise.

The nervous system has been increasingly recognized as a novel and accessible target in the regulation of inflammation. The use of implantable and invasive devices targeting neural circuits has yielded successful results in clinical settings but does have some risk or adverse effects. Recent advances in technology and understanding of mechanistic pathways have opened new avenues of non-invasive neuromodulation.

CHIP-dependent regulation of the actin cytoskeleton is linked to neuronal cell membrane integrity.

CHIP is an E3-ubiquitin ligase that contributes to healthy aging and has been characterized as neuroprotective. To elucidate dominant CHIP-dependent changes in protein steady-state levels in a patient-derived human neuronal model, CHIP function was ablated using gene-editing and an unbiased proteomic analysis conducted to compare knock-out and wild-type isogenic induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived cortical neurons. Rather than a broad effect on protein homeostasis, loss of CHIP function impacted on a focused cohort of proteins from actin cytoskeleton signaling and membrane integrity networks.

Precise optical control of gene expression in using improved genetic code expansion and Cre recombinase.

Synthetic strategies for optically controlling gene expression may enable the precise spatiotemporal control of genes in any combination of cells that cannot be targeted with specific promoters. We develop an improved genetic code expansion system in and use it to create a photoactivatable Cre recombinase. We laser-activate Cre in single neurons within a bilaterally symmetric pair to selectively switch on expression of a loxP-controlled optogenetic channel in the targeted neuron.

Aerosolized drug-loaded nanoparticles targeting migration inhibitory factors inhibit -induced inflammation and biofilm formation.

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine, which has been shown to promote disease severity in cystic fibrosis. : In this study, aerosolized drug-loaded nanoparticles containing SCD-19, an inhibitor of MIF's tautomerase enzymatic activity, were developed and characterized. The aerosolized nanoparticles had an optimal droplet size distribution for deep lung deposition, with a high degree of biocompatibility and significant cellular uptake.