Healthcare use, costs and quality of life in patients with end-stage kidney disease receiving conservative management: results from a multi-centre observational study (PACKS).

Background: Previous research has explored the cost of providing renal replacement therapies in patients with end-stage kidney disease and their quality of life. This is the first study to examine the healthcare costs of patients receiving conservative care without dialysis for end-stage kidney disease. This alternative to dialysis is an option for patients who prefer a supportive and palliative care approach.

Studying Positive and Negative Direct and Extended Contact: Complementing Self-Reports With Social Network Analysis.

Traditionally, studies of intergroup contact have primarily relied on self-reports, which constitute a valid method for studying intergroup contact, but has limitations, especially if researchers are interested in negative or extended contact. In three studies, we apply social network analyses to generate alternative contact parameters. Studies 1 and 2 examine self-reported and network-based parameters of positive and negative contact using cross-sectional datasets ( N = 291, N = 258), indicating that both methods help explain intergroup relations.

Sialylation of Porphyromonas gingivalis LPS and its effect on bacterial-host interactions.

Porphyromonas gingivalis produces different LPS isoforms with significant structural variations of their lipid A and O-antigen moieties that can affect its pro-inflammatory and bone-resorbing potential. We show here, for the first time, that P. gingivalis LPS isolated from W83 strain is highly sialylated and possesses significantly reduced inflammatory potential compared with less sialylated ATCC 33277 strain LPS.

Desistance From Sexual Offending: A Policy and Research Agenda Whose Time Has Come.

For the past three decades or so, criminal justice policies have been enacted under the assumption that individuals who have been convicted of a sex offense are life course persistent sex offenders. In that context, research has been heavily focused on the assessment of risk and the prediction of sexual recidivism.Simultaneously, little to no attention has been given to the majority of individuals convicted of sex offenses who are not arrested or convicted again.

Public perceptions of personalised nutrition through the lens of Social Cognitive Theory.

Social Cognitive Theory has been used to explain findings derived from focus group discussions ( N = 4) held in the United Kingdom with the aim of informing best practice in personalised nutrition. Positive expectancies included weight loss and negative expectancies surrounded on-line security. Monitoring and feedback were crucial to goal setting and progress.