Predictors of confidence in research: a cross-sectional survey of pharmacists in the north of England.

Objective: Pharmacist-led research is key to optimizing medicines use and improving pharmacy services, yet it is not yet widely embedded into careers. This study aims to identify predictors of confidence in meeting the research learning outcomes in the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) Post-Registration Foundation and Core Advanced curricula, to provide targeted recommendations for building research capability and capacity within the profession.

Methods: The study was a cross-sectional electronic survey, distributed to eligible pharmacists in March 2023 (n = 253).

A call from 40 public health scientists for an end to the continuing humanitarian and environmental catastrophe in Gaza.

An under-recognised aspect of the current humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza is the impact of the war on the environment and the associated risks for human health. This commentary contextualises these impacts against the background of human suffering produced by the overwhelming violence associated with the use of military force against the general population of Gaza. In calling for an immediate cessation to the violence, the authors draw attention to the urgent need to rebuild the health care system and restore the physical and human infrastructure that makes a liveable environment possible and promotes human health and well-being, especially for the most vulnerable in the population.

Severity influences categorical likelihood communications: A case study with Southeast Asian weather forecasters.

Risk assessments are common in multiple domains, from finance to medicine. They require evaluating an event's potential severity and likelihood. We investigate the possible dependence of likelihood and severity within the domain of impact-based weather forecasting (IBF), following predictions derived from considering asymmetric loss functions.

Mental health and the overall tendency to follow official recommendations against COVID-19: A U-shaped relationship?

This paper investigates the association between several mental health indicators (depression, anxiety, stress, and loneliness) and the overall tendency to follow official recommendations regarding self-protection against COVID-19 (i.e., overall compliance).

Workforce thresholds and the non-linear association between registered nurse staffing and care quality in long-term residential care: A retrospective longitudinal study of English care homes with nursing.

Background: Care needs amongst 425,000 dependent older residents in English care homes are becoming more complex. The quality of care in these homes is influenced by staffing levels, especially the presence of registered nurses (RNs). Existing research on this topic, often US-focused and relying on linear assumptions, has limitations.

How Stakeholder Pressure Affects the Effectiveness of International-Local Nongovernmental Organization Collaboration in Localization of Humanitarian Aid.

Collaborative engagement between international and local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) has recently been promoted as an effective strategy to enhance internal process strengths but less as a strategy to localize humanitarian aid programs; a grand strategy that aims to strengthen local capacity, develop local capabilities, and boost regional humanitarian project performance. While stakeholders deem to play an important role in leveraging the efficiencies of such collaborative engagements between international and local actors, there is limited empirical knowledge about how stakeholder pressure affects the association between the collaboration-performance association within international and local NGOs. Drawing on stakeholder theory, we propose a model to examine the role of donors, media, and governments, three major stakeholders noteworthy because of their power and legitimacy to moderate the collaboration-performance association in this NGO context.

Managing nurse redeployment during the Covid-19 pandemic, lessons for future redeployment: A qualitative study.

Background: The mass redeployment of nurses was critical across countries necessitated by the acute health impact of Covid-19. Knowledge was limited regarding how to manage nurse redeployment or the impact that redeployment might have. Redeployment continues, particularly in response to the current staffing crisis and surges such as winter pressures.

Risk-Adapted Breast Screening for Women at Low Predicted Risk of Breast Cancer: An Online Discrete Choice Experiment.

Background: A risk-stratified breast screening program could offer low-risk women less screening than is currently offered by the National Health Service. The acceptability of this approach may be enhanced if it corresponds to UK women's screening preferences and values.

Objectives: To elicit and quantify preferences for low-risk screening options.

Inflammatory risk and cardiovascular events in patients without obstructive coronary artery disease: the ORFAN multicentre, longitudinal cohort study.

Background: Coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) is the first line investigation for chest pain, and it is used to guide revascularisation. However, the widespread adoption of CCTA has revealed a large group of individuals without obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD), with unclear prognosis and management. Measurement of coronary inflammation from CCTA using the perivascular fat attenuation index (FAI) Score could enable cardiovascular risk prediction and guide the management of individuals without obstructive CAD.

Understanding Functional Neurological Disorder: Recent Insights and Diagnostic Challenges.

Functional neurological disorder (FND), formerly called conversion disorder, is a condition characterized by neurological symptoms that lack an identifiable organic purpose. These signs, which can consist of motor, sensory, or cognitive disturbances, are not deliberately produced and often vary in severity. Its diagnosis is predicated on clinical evaluation and the exclusion of other medical or psychiatric situations.

The effectiveness of autologous platelet concentrates in prevention and treatment of medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaws: A systematic review.

The systematic review aims to answer the PICOS question: "Are the autologous platelet concentrates (APCs) an effective strategy in prevention and/or treatment of patients at risk of/affected by medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaws (MRONJ)?". A literature search was conducted via PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CINAHL (January 2006 - September 2023). 30 articles were included, evaluating preventive (n = 8*) and treatment strategies (n = 23*).

Relationship between staff and quality of care in care homes: StaRQ mixed methods study.

Background: Quality of life and care varies between and within the care homes in which almost half a million older people live and over half a million direct care staff (registered nurses and care assistants) work. The reasons are complex, understudied and sometimes oversimplified, but staff and their work are a significant influence.

Objective(s): To explore variations in the care home nursing and support workforce; how resident and relatives' needs in care homes are linked to care home staffing; how different staffing models impact on care quality, outcomes and costs; how workforce numbers, skill mix and stability meet residents' needs; the contributions of the care home workforce to enhancing quality of care; staff relationships as a platform for implementation by providers.

How to lose your memory without losing your money: shifty epistemology and Dutch strategies.

An objection to shifty epistemologies such as subject-sensitive invariantism is that it predicts that agents are susceptible to guaranteed losses. Bob Beddor (Analysis, 81, 193-198, 2021) argues that these guaranteed losses are not a symptom of irrationality, on the grounds that forgetful agents are susceptible to guaranteed losses without being irrational. I agree that forgetful agents are susceptible to guaranteed losses without being irrational- but when we investigate why, the analogy with shifty epistemology breaks down.

Pressure-Controlled Intermittent Coronary Sinus Occlusion (PiCSO) in Acute Myocardial Infarction: The PiCSO-AMI-I Trial.

Background: Primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI) has improved clinical outcomes in patients with ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction. However, as many as 50% of patients still have suboptimal myocardial reperfusion and experience extensive myocardial necrosis. The PiCSO-AMI-I trial (Pressure-Controlled Intermittent Coronary Sinus Occlusion-Acute Myocardial Infarction-I) evaluated whether PiCSO therapy can further reduce myocardial infarct size (IS) in patients undergoing pPCI.

Cognitive Impairment following Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI): A Review.

Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) has been increasingly recognized as a public health concern due to its prevalence and potential to induce long-term cognitive impairment. We aimed to consolidate this observation by focusing on findings of neuropsychological assessments, neuroimaging, risk factors, and potential strategies for intervention to prevent and treat mTBI-associated cognitive impairments. A thorough search of PubMed, PsycINFO, and Embase databases was performed for studies published until 2024.

Oxytocin Enhances Time-Dependent Responses in the Aggressive Zebrafish ().

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has become one of the most well-known disorders encountered since early childhood among people. Nowadays, the main concerns are its high prevalence and the lack of proper therapeutic interventions. In this way, the necessity of using animal models that can mimic some of the spectrum symptoms, besides deepening the mechanisms of occurrence, is undeniable.

Community based complex interventions to sustain independence in older people: systematic review and network meta-analysis.

Objective: To synthesise evidence of the effectiveness of community based complex interventions, grouped according to their intervention components, to sustain independence for older people.

Design: Systematic review and network meta-analysis.

Data Sources: Medline, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, CENTRAL, clinicaltrials.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on employment and inequalities: a systematic review of international evidence and critical appraisal of statistical methods.

Aims: To assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on individual labour market outcomes and how these vary over time and between different groups of individuals.

Methods: Searches were conducted using Medline, Scopus and EconLit. Grey literature searches used Google Scholar and Econpapers.

Organisation of paediatric echocardiography laboratories and governance of echocardiography services and training in Europe: current status, disparities, and potential solutions. A survey from the Association for European Paediatric and Congenital Cardiology (AEPC) imaging working group.

Background: There is limited data on the organisation of paediatric echocardiography laboratories in Europe.

Methods: A structured and approved questionnaire was circulated across all 95 Association for European Paediatric and Congenital Cardiology affiliated centres. The aims were to evaluate: (1) facilities in paediatric echocardiography laboratories across Europe, (2) accredited laboratories, (3) medical/paramedical staff employed, (4) time for echocardiographic studies and reporting, and (5) training, teaching, quality improvement, and research programs.

Going the extra mile for patients: Service-oriented high-performance work systems drive nurses' job crafting and extra-role service behaviour.

Aim: This study intends to investigate whether, how and when service-oriented high-performance work systems (SHPWSs) drive nurses' extra-role service behaviour.

Design: This was a quantitative cross-sectional study conducted with matched nurse-patient participants.

Method: We tested hypotheses using data from 284 nurses and their matched 566 patients.

Epidemiology, Risk Factors, and Biomarkers of Post-Traumatic Epilepsy: A Comprehensive Overview.

This paper presents an in-depth exploration of Post-Traumatic Epilepsy (PTE), a complex neurological disorder following traumatic brain injury (TBI), characterized by recurrent, unprovoked seizures. With TBI being a global health concern, understanding PTE is crucial for effective diagnosis, management, and prognosis. This study aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the epidemiology, risk factors, and emerging biomarkers of PTE, thereby informing clinical practice and guiding future research.

Non-traumatic head and neck emergencies.

This review aims to provide pictorial examples of non-traumatic head and neck emergencies one may commonly encounter in the Emergency Department, with a few important, rarer cases for educational purposes. It begins with a brief introduction to compartmental neck space anatomy and how one might approach choosing an imaging modality, moving on to consider a variety of predominantly infective pathologies that may present acutely. It is not a comprehensive overview of all non-traumatic emergencies but will hopefully stimulate interest in the subject and encourage further reading.