Implementation of a data-driven quality improvement program in primary care for patients with coronary heart disease: a mixed methods evaluation of acceptability, satisfaction, barriers and enablers.

Background The study aimed to understand the acceptability, satisfaction, uptake, utility and feasibility of a quality improvement (QI) intervention to improve care for coronary heart disease (CHD) patients in Australian primary care practices and identify barriers and enablers, including the impact of COVID-19. Methods Within the QUality improvement for Effectiveness of care for people Living with heart disease (QUEL) study, 26 Australian primary care practices, supported by five Primary Health Networks (PHN) participated in a 1-year QI intervention (November 2019 - November 2020). Data were collected from practices and PHNs staff via surveys and semi-structured interviews.

A method for mimicking tumour tissue in brain ex-vivo ultrasound for research application and clinical training.

Background: Intraoperative ultrasound is becoming a common tool in neurosurgery. However, effective simulation methods are limited. Current, commercial, and homemade phantoms lack replication of anatomical correctness and texture complexity of brain and tumour tissue in ultrasound images.

Dual-responsive micromotor pill for targeted retention in the intestines .

There has been considerable interest in the recent advances in synthetic micro/nanomotors in diverse biofluids due to their potential biomedical applications. However, the propulsion of existing micro/nanomotor platforms for delivery in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract is inefficient. Herein, we present a magnetically and chemically actuated micromotor-tableted pill that can be actively retained in the GI tract .

Impact of Frailty on Antihypertensive Treatment in Older Adults.

Background: The association between systolic blood pressure and all-cause mortality differs between frail and nonfrail individuals, highlighting uncertainties about the effectiveness of antihypertensive treatments in frail populations.

Methods: Using data from the SHEP trial (Systolic Hypertension in the Elderly Program), a baseline frailty index (FI), including 55 variables, was constructed. Fine-Gray subdistribution hazard models and Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to explore the association between baseline FI and the risks of stroke, cardiovascular disease, and all-cause death, as well as to examine whether the impact of antihypertensive treatment on these outcomes was modified by baseline FI.

Can Contrast Injections Cause or Propagate Coronary Injuries? Insights From Vessel and Guiding Catheter Hemodynamics.

Background: The mechanistic association between the hydraulic forces generated during contrast injection and the risk of coronary injury is poorly understood. In this study, we sought to evaluate whether contrast injections increase intracoronary pressures beyond resting levels and estimate the risk of hydraulic propagation of coronary dissections.

Methods: This is a prospective, single-arm, multicenter study that included patients with nonculprit, non-flow-limiting coronaries.

Prosocial Intentions and Subsequent Cognitive Health: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Objectives: Prosociality, defined as positive other-regarding intentions and behaviors, is a modifiable factor demonstrated to be associated with better mental, physical, and cognitive health in older adults. Prior studies have largely focused on individual prosocial behaviors, especially volunteering. This study examines whether prosocial intentions are associated with maintaining cognitive health over time.

Meta-analysis of longitudinal comparison of transcatheter versus surgical aortic valve replacement in patients at low to intermediate surgical risk.

Background: Surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) is the commonly used approach for aortic valve replacement (AVR) in patients with aortic stenosis at low or intermediate surgical risk. However, transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has emerged as an alternative to SAVR for AVR. This meta-analysis aims to assess the comparative efficacy and safety of TAVR versus SAVR in low-to-intermediate surgical risk patients by analyzing temporal trends in the outcomes of TAVR and SAVR at various follow-up intervals, providing a more detailed understanding.

Study protocol for Adaptive ChemoTherapy for Ovarian cancer (ACTOv): a multicentre phase II randomised controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of adaptive therapy (AT) with carboplatin, based on changes in CA125, in patients with relapsed platinum-sensitive high-grade serous or high-grade endometrioid ovarian cancer.

Introduction: Adaptive ChemoTherapy for Ovarian cancer (ACTOv) is a phase II, multicentre, randomised controlled trial, evaluating an adaptive therapy (AT) regimen with carboplatin in women with relapsed, platinum-sensitive high-grade serous or high-grade endometrioid cancer of the ovary, fallopian tube and peritoneum whose disease has progressed at least 6 months after day 1 of the last cycle of platinum-based chemotherapy. AT is a novel, evolutionarily informed approach to cancer treatment, which aims to exploit intratumoral competition between drug-sensitive and drug-resistant tumour subpopulations by modulating drug dose according to a patient's own response to the last round of treatment. ACTOv is the first clinical trial of AT in this disease setting.

'We are not trained to do clinical work': security staff providing physical restraint for NGT feeding in English paediatric wards-a qualitative multi-informant study.

Objective: To gain insights into the experience, and impact, of using security staff to facilitate physical restraints for nasogastric tube feeding.

Design: A cross-sectional design using 39 individual interviews, three online focus groups and three written submissions involving young people with lived experience (PWLE), parents/carers, paediatric staff and security staff involved in nasogastric feeding under restraint in paediatric settings in England. Qualitative semistructured interviews were transcribed and thematically analysed.

Point-of-care tests, diagnostic uncertainty and antimicrobial stewardship in the ICU: procalcitonin or PCR to aid antibiotic-stop decisions - an observational cohort study.

Objectives: Intensive care unit (ICU) clinicians stop antibiotics more often, with a negative infection: point-of-care test (PCR-POCT). Simulated cases of diagnostic uncertainty regarding infection resolution led clinicians to choose options such as procalcitonin (PCT) and/or PCR-POCTs +/- de-escalation to aid stop decisions. We hypothesised that a direct infection indicator, PCR-POCT, would influence stop judgements more than indirect PCT.

Harnessing the tumor microenvironment: targeted cancer therapies through modulation of epithelial-mesenchymal transition.

The tumor microenvironment (TME) is integral to cancer progression, impacting metastasis and treatment response. It consists of diverse cell types, extracellular matrix components, and signaling molecules that interact to promote tumor growth and therapeutic resistance. Elucidating the intricate interactions between cancer cells and the TME is crucial in understanding cancer progression and therapeutic challenges.

Predictive equation derived from 6,497 doubly labelled water measurements enables the detection of erroneous self-reported energy intake.

Nutritional epidemiology aims to link dietary exposures to chronic disease, but the instruments for evaluating dietary intake are inaccurate. One way to identify unreliable data and the sources of errors is to compare estimated intakes with the total energy expenditure (TEE). In this study, we used the International Atomic Energy Agency Doubly Labeled Water Database to derive a predictive equation for TEE using 6,497 measures of TEE in individuals aged 4 to 96 years.

Utility and interpretation of multiple breath washout in children with cystic fibrosis.

Transformative changes in the health of children with cystic fibrosis (CF) mean that more sensitive outcome measures are needed to monitor paediatric CF lung disease. Multiple breath washout (MBW) and its primary readout lung clearance index are gaining increasing traction as an endpoint for clinical trials in the CF space and show promise as a clinical investigation. In this article, we use four clinically based questions to explore what MBW can and cannot (yet) do and highlight some of its strengths and weaknesses as an investigation.

Dietary-Lifestyle Patterns and Colorectal Cancer Risk: Global Cancer Update Programme (CUP Global) Systematic Literature Review.

Background: While healthy dietary and lifestyle factors have been individually linked to lower colorectal cancer (CRC) risks, recommendations for whole diet-lifestyle patterns remained unestablished due to limited studies and inconsistent pattern definitions.

Objective: This updated review synthesized literature on dietary-lifestyle patterns and CRC risk/mortality.

Methods: PubMed and Embase were searched through 31 March 2023 for randomized controlled trials and prospective cohort studies examining adulthood dietary patterns combined with modifiable lifestyle factors such as adiposity, smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, and/or others.

R21 in Matrix-M adjuvant in UK malaria-naive adult men and non-pregnant women aged 18-45 years: an open-label, partially blinded, phase 1-2a controlled human malaria infection study.

Background: R21 is a novel malaria vaccine, composed of a fusion protein of the malaria circumsporozoite protein and hepatitis B surface antigen. Following favourable safety and immunogenicity in a phase 1 study, we aimed to assess the efficacy of R21 administered with Matrix-M (R21/MM) against clinical malaria in adults from the UK who were malaria naive in a controlled human malaria infection study.

Methods: In this open-label, partially blinded, phase 1-2A controlled human malaria infection study undertaken in Oxford, Southampton, and London, UK, we tested five novel vaccination regimens of R21/MM.

Ramadan intermittent fasting for patients with gastrointestinal and hepatobiliary diseases: practical guidance for health-care professionals.

Ramadan intermittent fasting can pose challenges and risks for some groups of patients. Based on a narrative literature review and our clinical expertise, we provide practical guidance for clinicians managing patients with gastrointestinal and hepatobiliary conditions who wish to fast during Ramadan. Following the established International Diabetes Federation and Diabetes and Ramadan International Alliance risk stratification framework, we categorised patients' risk as low or moderate, high, or very high.

Automated system for diagnosing pulmonary fibrosis using crackle analysis in recorded lung sounds based on iterative envelope mean fractal dimension filter.

Patients with pulmonary fibrosis (PF) often experience long waits before getting a correct diagnosis, and this delay in reaching specialized care is associated with increased mortality, regardless of the severity of the disease. Early diagnosis and timely treatment of PF can potentially extend life expectancy and maintain a better quality of life. Crackles present in the recorded lung sounds may be crucial for the early diagnosis of PF.

Clinicians' perspectives on the use of artificial intelligence to triage MRI brain scans.

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools can triage radiology scans to streamline the patient pathway and also relieve clinician workload. Validated AI tools can mitigate the delays in reporting scans by flagging time-sensitive and actionable findings. In this study, we aim to investigate current stakeholder perspectives and identify obstacles to integrating AI in clinical pathways.

Modulating Perovskite Surface Energetics Through Tuneable Ferrocene Interlayers for High-Performance Perovskite Solar Cells.

Achieving rational control over chemical and energetic properties at the perovskite/electron transport layer (ETL) interface is crucial for realizing highly efficient and stable next-generation inverted perovskite solar cells (PSCs). To address this, we developed multifunctional ferrocene (Fc)-based interlayers engineered to exhibit adjustable passivating and electrochemical characteristics. These interlayers are designed to minimize non-radiative recombination and, to modulate the work function (WF) and uniformity of the perovskite surface, thereby enhancing device performance.

What Do Mothers Know About Nutrition? Impacts on Childhood Nutrition Outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Introduction: Globally, the prevalence of undernutrition is highest in the sub-Saharan African region with over a third of the world's stunted children residing in this region. Many studies have explored child nutrition in sub-Saharan Africa, but they often overlook the intricate nuances of maternal knowledge. We examined the association between maternal nutritional knowledge and childhood nutritional outcomes.

Impact of Sex on Clinical Outcomes of Tandem Occlusion in Acute Ischemic Stroke Patients Treated With Mechanical Thrombectomy. A Propensity-Matched Analysis.

Background: Although mechanical thrombectomy (MT) represents the standard of care for ischemic stroke due to large-vessel occlusion (LVO), the impact of sex on outcomes in tandem occlusions remains unclear. We investigated sex-based differences in outcomes after MT for tandem occlusions.

Methods: This multicenter observational study included consecutive patients with tandem occlusion treated with MT across three stroke centers (2021-2023).