Anxiety, depression, and perceived wellbeing in antenatal women at risk of preterm birth: a retrospective cohort study.

Introduction: Women identified at risk for preterm may be vulnerable to developing mental health difficulties due to the increased likelihood of poor pregnancy outcome and uncertainty surrounding their delivery. Formal assessment of mental wellbeing in specialist preterm birth clinics is not routinely offered, but may offer the opportunity for early intervention.

Methods: We aimed to investigate if demographic characteristics and obstetric risk factors were associated with psychological wellbeing in women at risk of preterm birth.

Current policy and practice for the identification, management, and treatment of postpartum anxiety in the United Kingdom: a focus group study.

Background: Postpartum Anxiety [PPA] is a prevalent problem in society, posing a significant burden to women, infant health, and the National Health Service [NHS]. Despite this, it is poorly detected by current maternal mental health practices. Due to the current lack of appropriate psychometric measures, insufficiency in training of healthcare professionals, fragmentation of maternal mental healthcare policy and practice, and the magnitude of the effects of PPA on women and their infants, PPA is a critical research priority.

Block copolymer synthesis in ionic liquid polymerisation-induced self-assembly: a convenient route to gel electrolytes.

We report for the first time a reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerisation-induced self-assembly (RAFT-PISA) formulation in ionic liquid (IL) that yields worm gels. A series of poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate)--poly(benzyl methacrylate) (PHEMA--PBzMA) block copolymer nanoparticles were synthesised RAFT dispersion polymerisation of benzyl methacrylate in the hydrophilic IL 1-ethyl-3-methyl imidazolium dicyanamide, [EMIM][DCA]. This RAFT-PISA formulation can be controlled to afford spherical, worm-like and vesicular nano-objects, with free-standing gels being obtained over a broad range of PBzMA core-forming degrees of polymerisation (DPs).

Measurement invariance analysis of the Postpartum Specific Anxiety Scale - Research Short Form in mothers of premature and term infants.

Objective: Mothers of premature infants are more likely to develop anxiety during the first postpartum year than mothers of term infants. However, commonly used measures of anxiety were developed for general adult populations and may produce spurious, over-inflated scores when used in a postpartum context. Although perinatal-specific tools such as the Postpartum Specific Anxiety Scale [PSAS] offer a promising alternative form of measurement, it is not clear whether the measure performs similarly in mothers of premature infants as it does in mothers of term infants.

Associations between prematurity, postpartum anxiety, neonatal intensive care unit admission, and stress.

Introduction: It is well established that a premature birth increases the likelihood of developing anxiety during the postpartum period, and that the environment of the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) might be a contributing factor. Mothers of earlier premature infants may experience these anxieties to a higher degree compared to mothers of later premature infants. The aim of this study was to explore the association between prematurity and postpartum-specific anxiety, and the relationship between postpartum-specific anxiety and stress in the NICU.

A consensus statement on perinatal mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic and recommendations for post-pandemic recovery and re-build.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic posed a significant lifecourse rupture, not least to those who had specific physical vulnerabilities to the virus, but also to those who were suffering with mental ill health. Women and birthing people who were pregnant, experienced a perinatal bereavement, or were in the first post-partum year (i.e.

Generating Edge Cases for Testing Autonomous Vehicles Using Real-World Data.

In the past decade, automotive companies have invested significantly in autonomous vehicles (AV), but achieving widespread deployment remains a challenge in part due to the complexities of safety evaluation. Traditional distance-based testing has been shown to be expensive and time-consuming. To address this, experts have proposed scenario-based testing (SBT), which simulates detailed real-world driving scenarios to assess vehicle responses efficiently.

The identification and measurement of postpartum anxiety in England: A Delphi survey.

Postpartum anxiety has negative consequences for both mother and infant, so effective identification and measurement is vital to enable intervention. Despite NICE recommendations to prioritise the measurement of postpartum anxiety in mothers, current clinical measurement in England remains both fragmented and flawed. The Postpartum Specific Anxiety Scale [PSAS] offers an alternative, as it measures maternal-focused anxieties which can enable specifically targeted interventions.

Relationship between D-dimers and dead-space on disease severity and mortality in COVID-19 acute respiratory distress syndrome: A retrospective observational cohort study.

Background: Despite its diagnostic and prognostic importance, physiologic dead space fraction is not included in the current ARDS definition or severity classification. ARDS caused by COVID-19 (C-ARDS) is characterized by increased physiologic dead space fraction and hypoxemia. Our aim was to investigate the relationship between dead space indices, markers of inflammation, immunothrombosis, severity and intensive care unit (ICU) mortality.

Wasabi () Reduces Obesity and Blood Pressure in Diet-Induced Metabolic Syndrome in Rats.

6-(Methylsulfinyl)hexyl isothiocyanate (6-MSITC) has several biological functions. The present study aimed to evaluate the composition of hydroponically grown Tasmanian wasabi ( (Miq.) Koidz.

Effectiveness and Safety of Early Initiation of Poststernotomy Cardiac Rehabilitation Exercise Training: The SCAR Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Guidelines recommend that cardiac rehabilitation (CR) exercise training should not start until 6 weeks after sternotomy, although this is not evidence based. Limited data suggest that starting earlier is not detrimental, but clinical trials are needed.

Objective: To compare the effectiveness and safety of CR exercise training started either 2 weeks (early CR) or 6 weeks (usual-care CR) after sternotomy.

The Current Landscape of Research Advocacy and Education for Patients with Colorectal Cancer.

Research advocacy is an evolving concept and should be tailored for the colorectal cancer research community. Research advocacy training and evaluation must be designed for the patient community with their insight included at each step of engagement, training, and implementation. Patient advocates bring a great deal of expertise to the research review process, but it is important to ensure that their insight is appropriately placed, and they bring an appropriate orientation to the research process as the most informed patient.

A Systematic Review of Intravenous β-Hydroxybutyrate Use in Humans - A Promising Future Therapy?

Therapeutic ketosis is traditionally induced with dietary modification. However, owing to the time delay involved, this is not a practical approach for treatment of acute conditions such as traumatic brain injury. Intravenous administration of ketones would obviate this problem by rapidly inducing ketosis.

Priorities of Unmet Needs for Those Affected by Colorectal Cancer: Considerations From a Series of Nominal Group Technique Sessions.

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer among men and women in the United States. Patients and survivors experience a range of challenges, including anxiety, financial issues, long-term adverse effects, and more. The intent of this project was to assess the needs of the CRC community directly from survivors and their caregivers and to lay a foundation for ongoing support.

Using highly time-resolved online mass spectrometry to examine biogenic and anthropogenic contributions to organic aerosol in Beijing.

Organic aerosols, a major constituent of fine particulate mass in megacities, can be directly emitted or formed from secondary processing of biogenic and anthropogenic volatile organic compound emissions. The complexity of volatile organic compound emission sources, speciation and oxidation pathways leads to uncertainties in the key sources and chemistry leading to formation of organic aerosol in urban areas. Historically, online measurements of organic aerosol composition have been unable to resolve specific markers of volatile organic compound oxidation, while offline analysis of markers focus on a small proportion of organic aerosol and lack the time resolution to carry out detailed statistical analysis required to study the dynamic changes in aerosol sources and chemistry.

Key Role of NO Radicals in the Production of Isoprene Nitrates and Nitrooxyorganosulfates in Beijing.

The formation of isoprene nitrates (IsN) can lead to significant secondary organic aerosol (SOA) production and they can act as reservoirs of atmospheric nitrogen oxides. In this work, we estimate the rate of production of IsN from the reactions of isoprene with OH and NO radicals during the summertime in Beijing. While OH dominates the loss of isoprene during the day, NO plays an increasingly important role in the production of IsN from the early afternoon onwards.

Demonstrations of Cooperative Perception: Safety and Robustness in Connected and Automated Vehicle Operations.

Cooperative perception, or collective perception (CP), is an emerging and promising technology for intelligent transportation systems (ITS). It enables an ITS station (ITS-S) to share its local perception information with others by means of vehicle-to-X (V2X) communication, thereby achieving improved efficiency and safety in road transportation. In this paper, we present our recent progress on the development of a connected and automated vehicle (CAV) and intelligent roadside unit (IRSU).

The influence of wasabi on the gut microbiota of high-carbohydrate, high-fat diet-induced hypertensive Wistar rats.

The human gut microbiota plays a critical role in the regulation of adiposity, obesity and metabolic and cardiovascular disease. Wasabi is a pungent spice and its active component, allyl isothiocyanate, improves plasma triacylglycerol, cholesterol and high blood pressure in rodents, but it is unclear if this occurs through alterations to the composition of the microbiota. The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of Wasabi japonica stem and rhizome blend on ameliorating cardiovascular disease parameters including plasma sodium concentration, systolic blood pressure (SBP), plasma endothelin-1 and angiotensin II concentrations by altering the gut microbiota in a Wistar rat model of obesity and metabolic syndrome.

Development of DNA aptamers targeting low-molecular-weight amyloid-β peptide aggregates in vitro.

We have developed a novel functional nucleic acid aptamer to amyloid-β peptide 1-40 (Aβ1-40) and investigated its potential to detect Aβ peptide fragments in neuropathologically confirmed Alzheimer brain hippocampus tissues samples. Our results demonstrate that the aptamer candidate RNV95 could detect tetrameric/pentameric low-molecular-weight Aβ aggregates in autopsy hippocampal tissue from two neuropathologically confirmed Alzheimer disease cases. Although these are preliminary observations, detailed investigations are under way.

Nitrite circumvents platelet resistance to nitric oxide in patients with heart failure preserved ejection fraction and chronic atrial fibrillation.

Aims: Heart failure (HF) is a pro-thrombotic state. Both platelet and vascular responses to nitric oxide (NO) donors are impaired in HF patients with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) compared with healthy volunteers (HVs) due to scavenging of NO, and possibly also reduced activity of the principal NO sensor, soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC), limiting the therapeutic potential of NO donors as anti-aggregatory agents. Previous studies have shown that nitrite inhibits platelet activation presumptively after its reduction to NO, but the mechanism(s) involved remain poorly characterized.