The bacterial displacement test: an in vitro microbiological test for the evaluation of intermittent catheters and urinary tract infection.

Aims: Intermittent catheters (ICs) are commonly used in bladder management, but catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) remain challenging. Insertion tips may reduce the risk of CAUTIs by minimizing bacterial transfer along the urinary tract. However, there are few laboratory tests to evaluate such technologies.

Blue carbon benefits from global saltmarsh restoration.

Coastal saltmarshes are found globally, yet are 25%-50% reduced compared with their historical cover. Restoration is incentivised by the promise that marshes are efficient storers of 'blue' carbon, although the claim lacks substantiation across global contexts. We synthesised data from 431 studies to quantify the benefits of saltmarsh restoration to carbon accumulation and greenhouse gas uptake.

Microplastics alter multiple biological processes of marine benthic fauna.

Marine sediments are a sink for microplastics, making seabed organisms particularly exposed. We used meta-analysis to reveal general patterns in a surge in experimental studies and to test for microplastic impact on biological processes including invertebrate feeding, survival and energetics. Using Hedge's effect size (g), which assesses the mean response of organisms exposed to microplastics compared to control groups, we found negative impacts (significant negative g values) across all life stages (overall effect size (g) = -0.

Evaluating recovery following hip fracture: a qualitative interview study of what is important to patients.

Objective: To explore what patients consider important when evaluating their recovery from hip fracture and to consider how these priorities could be used in the evaluation of the quality of hip fracture services.

Design: Semistructured interviews exploring the experience of recovery from hip fracture at two time points-4 weeks and 4 months postoperative hip fixation. Two approaches to analysis: thematic analysis of data specifically related to recovery from hip fracture; summarising the participant's experience overall.

WHOQOL Pain and Discomfort Module: development and validity testing of the Italian version.

Background: The World Health Organization Quality of Life scale Pain and Discomfort Module (WHOQOL PDM) was designed to assess quality of life (QoL) in adults with chronic pain. It comprises 16 items covering four facets of pain: relief, anger/frustration, vulnerability/fear/worry, and uncertainty.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to validate the Italian version of the WHOQOL PDM.

Making friends at antenatal classes: a qualitative exploration of friendship across the transition to motherhood.

This study explored how friendships made at antenatal classes preserve new mothers' well-being, postnatally. Eight women from the United Kingdom who had attended antenatal classes in the third trimester were interviewed following the birth of their first baby. Transcripts were analyzed using a constant comparative method.

Severity of depression and response to antidepressants: GENPOD randomised controlled trial.

Background: Antidepressant prescribing is widespread. Nonetheless, response to antidepressants is variable. If it was possible to predict response to medication and thus tailor treatment accordingly, this would not only improve patient outcomes but may also have economic benefits.

The experience of burnout across different surgical specialties in the United Kingdom: a cross-sectional survey.

Background: We used a cross-sectional e-mail survey to assess the prevalence of psychological morbidity across different surgical specialties and identify predictor variables of burnout in surgeons.

Method: The survey was sent to 1971 surgeons from 127 National Health Service (NHS) hospital trusts across the United Kingdom. Burnout prevalence and mood were assessed using the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey and Profile of Mood States (POMS), respectively.

Polymorphism of the 5-HT transporter and response to antidepressants: randomised controlled trial.

Background: Antidepressants exhibit a variety of pharmacological actions including inhibition of the serotonin and noradrenaline transporters. We wished to investigate whether genetic variation could be used to target or personalise treatment, in a comparison of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) with noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors (NARIs).

Aims: To test the hypothesis that patients homozygous for the long (insertion) polymorphism of the serotonin transporter (5-HTTLPR) have an increased response to SSRI antidepressants but not to NARI antidepressants.

The impact of an integrated pharmacology and medicines management curriculum for undergraduate adult nursing students on the acquisition of applied drug/pharmacology knowledge.

Aims: To investigate the efficacy of a 14-month integrated pharmacology and medicines management curriculum for undergraduate nursing students on the acquisition of applied drug/pharmacology knowledge.

Background: Despite considerable debate regarding nurses' ability to be able to fulfill their medication management responsibilities, little is known about how nurses should be educated in medicines management.

Methods: Two groups of nursing students were compared.

Assessing the properties of the WHOQOL-Pain: quality of life of chronic low back pain patients during treatment.

Objectives: Assessing subjective, patient-reported outcomes such as quality of life (QoL) is essential to health care research. This study aimed to assess the properties of a QoL measure relating to pain and discomfort: the WHOQOL-Pain.

Method: Chronic low back pain patients (n=133) completed the WHOQOL-Pain, SF-12, and short-form McGill Pain Questionnaire before treatment started and again 2-4 weeks later.

The psychological impact of exposure to floods.

A number of studies have shown a range of symptoms resulting from exposure to natural disasters such as flooding. Among these consequences, individuals may experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and anxiety. The aim of this study was to examine the psychological impact of flooding in the UK.

Surgeons' experience of learning psychological skills: a preliminary evaluation of a psychological skills training course.

Introduction: A range of human factors have been shown to impact on surgical performance although little is known about the impact of training on the views of surgeons towards these factors or how receptive surgeons are to such training.

Subjects And Methods: This was an observational pilot study using a short questionnaire designed to elicit views of surgeons towards a range of human factors prior to, and immediately following, a course designed to address human factors in surgical performance. Focus groups were also conducted before and immediately after the course to elicit views.

GENetic and clinical predictors of treatment response in depression: the GenPod randomised trial protocol.

Background: The most effective pharmacological treatments for depression inhibit the transporters that reuptake serotonin (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors - SSRIs) and noradrenaline (Noradrenaline Reuptake Inhibitors - NaRIs) into the presynaptic terminal. There is evidence to suggest that noradrenaline and serotonin enhancing drugs work through separate mechanisms to produce their clinical antidepressant action. Although most of the current evidence suggests there is little difference in overall efficacy between SSRIs and NaRIs, there are patients who respond to one class of compounds and not another.

Accepting low back pain: is it related to a good quality of life?

Objectives: Whether individuals with chronic low back pain (CLBP) are willing to accept their pain, is of interest to pain management, but how far is the acceptance of pain related to a good quality of life (QoL)? Recently available measures now enable this question to be investigated; these are (1) the Chronic Pain Acceptance Questionnaire (CPAQ) and a revised version, here described as a short-form (SF-CPAQ), and (2) the World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment (WHOQOL)-Pain, which is composed of the generic WHOQOL-100 profile (25 facets in 6 domains), and 4 additional facets within a specific pain and discomfort module (PDM).

Method: Eighty-six CLBP outpatients (62.8% female, mean age 54.

Development of a pain and discomfort module for use with the WHOQOL-100.

Clinicians and researchers have become increasingly interested in the impact of chronic pain (CP) on quality of life (QoL). This report describes the qualitative stages of developing a pain and discomfort module for persons with CP to be used with the UK World Health Organisation generic measure of quality of life (WHOQOL). The aims were to investigate patients' perceptions of CP and its effect on QoL, and to generate items to be used in the development of a module appended to the UK WHOQOL-100.

The use of video information in obtaining consent for female sterilisation: a randomised study.

Hypothesis: Providing additional information by video in addition to the standard consultation in women requesting sterilisation increases patients' knowledge about the procedure with no change in anxiety levels.

Design: Randomised control trial in 6 weeks.

Population: Women requesting sterilisation (n = 31).