Co-designing a film showcasing the dental experiences of community returners (ex-offenders).

Background: The oral health of over 90,000 individuals in UK prisons is four times worse than the general population. A recent scoping review on the oral health of prisoners inside the justice system highlighted the lack of research about what happens when they transition out of prison to become community returners.

Objectives: To co-design a film to showcase the dental experiences of community returners before and after they transition out of prison, change perceptions and inform oral health research priorities.

Multiomics Analysis Reveals Key Targeted Metabolic Pathways Underlying the Hormesis and Detrimental Effects of Enrofloxacin on Rice Plants.

Fluoroquinolone antibiotic enrofloxacin (ENR) is frequently detected in agricultural environments. The hormesis and detrimental effects of ENR on crops have been extensively observed. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying these crops' responses to ENR remain limited.

Do you think medicines can be prescribed in a more eco-directed, greener way? A qualitative study based on public and prescriber focus groups on the impact of pharmaceuticals in Scotland's water environment.

Objectives: This qualitative study explored public and prescriber awareness of pharmaceutical pollution in the water environment and eco-directed sustainable prescribing (EDSP) as a mitigation strategy to reduce the environmental impact of prescribing in Scotland.

Design: Focus groups explored prescriber and public perceptions of the topic. Common questions were asked through semistructured facilitation.

STEP 1: The Scottish Trauma & Orthopaedics Equality Project.

Aims: Trauma & Orthopaedic (T&O) surgery has come under scrutiny for lagging behind other medical specialties in promoting gender and cultural equity and diversity within their workforce. The proportions of female, ethnic minority, and sexual and gender minority individuals within orthopaedic membership bodies are disproportionate to the populations they serve. The aim of this study is to report the findings of a national workforce survey of demographics and working patterns within T&O in Scotland.

Interactions between live attenuated influenza vaccine and nasopharyngeal microbiota among children aged 24-59 months in The Gambia: a phase 4, open-label, randomised controlled trial.

Background: Live attenuated influenza vaccines (LAIVs) alter nasopharyngeal microbiota in adults. It is poorly understood why LAIV immunogenicity varies across populations, but it could be linked to the microbiome. We aimed to investigate the interactions between intranasal immunisation with LAIV and nasopharyngeal microbiota composition in children from The Gambia.

Shattering the Shield: Embracing Complexity in Undergraduate Medical Education.

Background: Multimorbidity and patient complexity are increasing, yet undergraduate medical education curricula remain dominated by single disease frameworks, where students are often shielded from exposure to this complexity. Why this shielding continues to occur is understandable; however, this may leave graduates feeling underprepared for real-world practice. This study aimed to explore medical students' experiences of encountering, managing and dealing with complexity and to provide informed recommendations for integrating complexity into clinical teaching.

A Clinical Care Pathway for Patients With Chronic Mechanical Low Back Pain Having Restorative Neurostimulation for Multifidus Muscle: Description, Patient Compliance, Clinical Outcomes, and Satisfaction in the First Two Years.

Objectives: Restorative neurostimulation for multifidus muscle is a novel therapy for chronic low back pain (CLBP). Optimal outcomes require interdisciplinary follow-up. We describe a clinical care pathway (CPW) for this therapy and report patient compliance, clinical outcomes, and patient satisfaction with the CPW.

Raman active diyne-girder conformationally constrained p53 stapled peptides bind to MDM2 for visualisation without fluorophores.

Peptide stapling is an effective strategy to stabilise α-helical peptides, enhancing their bioactive conformation and improving physiochemical properties. In this study, we apply our novel diyne-girder stapling approach to the MDM2/MDMX α-helical binding region of the p53 transactivation domain. By incorporation of an unnatural amino acid to create an optimal , + 7 bridge length, we developed a highly α-helical stapled peptide, 4, confirmed circular dichroism.

Hydrogel models of pancreatic adenocarcinoma to study cell mechanosensing.

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the predominant form of pancreatic cancer and one of the leading causes of cancer-related death worldwide, with an extremely poor prognosis after diagnosis. High mortality from PDAC arises partly due to late diagnosis resulting from a lack of early-stage biomarkers and due to chemotherapeutic drug resistance, which arises from a highly fibrotic stromal response known as desmoplasia. Desmoplasia alters tissue mechanics, which triggers changes in cell mechanosensing and leads to dysregulated transcriptional activity and disease phenotypes.

Oronasal mucosal melanoma is defined by two transcriptional subtypes in humans and dogs with implications for diagnosis and therapy.

Mucosal melanoma is a rare melanoma subtype associated with a poor prognosis and limited existing therapeutic interventions, in part due to a lack of actionable targets and translational animal models for preclinical trials. Comprehensive data on this tumour type are scarce, and existing data often overlooks the importance of the anatomical site of origin. We evaluated human and canine oronasal mucosal melanoma (OMM) to determine whether the common canine disease could inform the rare human equivalent.

BMP6 participates in the molecular mechanisms involved in APAP hepatotoxicity.

Given the lack of accurate diagnostic methods of acetaminophen (APAP)-induced acute liver failure (ALF), the search for new biomarkers for its diagnosis is an urgent need. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of bone morphogenetic protein 6 (BMP6) in APAP-induced ALF progression and its potential value as a biomarker of ALF. Hepatic and circulating BMP6 expression was assessed in APAP-treated mice and in serum samples from patients with APAP overdose.

Numerous rRNA molecules form the apicomplexan mitoribosome via repurposed protein and RNA elements.

Mitochondrial ribosomes (mitoribosomes) are essential, and their function of synthesising mitochondrial proteins is universal. The core of almost all mitoribosomes is formed from a small number of long and self-folding rRNA molecules. In contrast, the mitoribosome of the apicomplexan parasite Toxoplasma gondii assembles from over 50 extremely short rRNA molecules.

The community optometry workforce in Scotland: supporting sustainable eye care delivery.

Background: In early 2024, NHS Scotland published community optometrist workforce and activity data at a national level for the first time in the UK. These data are now over two years old, and anecdotal reports suggest changes amongst optometrists' work-patterns post-pandemic. To identify if that data continues to be reflective of the community optometrist workforce, the aim of this paper is to provide equivalent data for 2022 and 2023.

Novel adaptive immune systems in pristine Antarctic soils.

Antarctic environments are dominated by microorganisms, which are vulnerable to viral infection. Although several studies have investigated the phylogenetic repertoire of bacteria and viruses in these poly-extreme environments with freezing temperatures, high ultra violet irradiation levels, low moisture availability and hyper-oligotrophy, the evolutionary mechanisms governing microbial immunity remain poorly understood. Using genome-resolved metagenomics, we test the hypothesis that Antarctic poly-extreme high-latitude microbiomes harbour diverse adaptive immune systems.

The utility of split function testing in determining recovery of glomerular filtration rate after living kidney donation: a cohort study.

Background: A number of UK transplantation centres use isotope studies to estimate the relative contribution from each kidney in living kidney donor assessment. The evidence that the estimation of pre-donation split function of the non-donated kidney influences post-donation renal recovery is limited. The aim of this study was to analyse whether, in the context of other donor factors, the split function of the non-donated kidney predicts the percentage recovery of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) at one-year post-donation.

Epidemiology of dog bite and strike related hospital admissions in Scotland, 1997 to 2022.

Objectives: To describe the epidemiology of dog-related injuries leading to hospital admission in Scotland and to estimate the direct health care costs.

Study Design: A retrospective, longitudinal analysis of Scottish hospital admissions coded under the W54 ICD-10 code 'bitten or struck by dog', 1997-2022.

Methods: Hospital admissions episodes coded under W54 were extracted from the SMR1/01 dataset.

Characteristics of Ra-226 particles from legacy contamination and implications for radiological protection.

Radioactive particles are physically discrete sources of radioactivity that have been released into the environment as result of past accidents, incidents, and practices, and can present a hazard to members of the public. The historical use of radium in the luminising of aircraft components, and the subsequent decommissioning of those aircraft and associated waste disposal practices, has left a legacy of contamination, such as the radioactive particles containing Ra-226 at Dalgety Bay, Scotland. The aim of this research was to physically, chemically, and radiologically characterise Ra-226 particles from Dalgety Bay and consider the implications for radiological protection of the public.

Machine learning-based models for prediction of innovative medicine reimbursement decisions in Scotland.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the critical factors for reimbursement decisions of innovative medicines in Scotland and to explore the feasibility of machine learning models for predicting decisions.

Method: All appraisals for innovative medicines issued by the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) from 2016 to 2020 were screened to extract decision outcomes and 24 explanatory factors. SelectKBest with chi-square test was used for factor selection.

Surgeon's imposter syndrome: a systematic review.

Introduction: Imposter syndrome (IS) refers to the psychological experience of imagining that one's achievements do not originate from one's own authentic competence. Surgeons are constantly faced with life-threatening decisions and can easily feel inadequate or insecure despite their years of training and experience. Imposter syndrome can distress surgeons at all career stages and has profound psychological and professional consequences.

The commercial roots of the genomic commons.

Accounts of the origins of the genomic commons typically focus on the development of public repositories and data-sharing agreements. This article tells a different story. During the 1990s in the United States, efforts of private companies to prevent the patenting of certain kinds of DNA sequences were essentially a conservative response to shifts in the sociotechnical constitution of the pharmaceutical innovation system, and to the operation of intellectual property as one of the key knowledge control regimes that regulate that system.

Impact of Centralisation of Radical Prostatectomy Driven by the Introduction of Robotic Systems on Positive Surgical Margin and Biochemical Recurrence in pT2 Prostate Cancer.

Background: To assess how centralisation of cancer services via robotic surgery influenced positive surgical margin (PSM) occurrence and its associated risk of biochemical recurrence (BCR) in cases of pT2 prostate cancer (PC).

Methods: Retrospective analysis of all radical prostatectomy (RP) cases performed in the West of Scotland during the period from January 2013 to June 2022. Primary outcomes were PSM and BCR.

Exploring the purpose and stages of patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE) in audiology research: a case study approach.

Background: Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) has become an integral component of contemporary audiology research. It aims to capture diverse views and experiences, essential for evaluating the long-term impact of technological advancements and care models on individuals. Traditional inclusion methods, such as focus groups, may exclude individuals with additional needs or communication difficulties, necessitating the development of more inclusive approaches.

Post-colonoscopy cancer rates in Scotland from 2012 to 2018: A population-based cohort study.

Aim: The aim of this work was to quantify post-colonoscopy colorectal cancer (PCCRC) rates in National Health Service (NHS) Scotland using World Endoscopy Association guidelines, compare incidence between health boards and referral streams and explore comparisons in results with published data from other healthcare systems.

Method: This is a population-based cohort study using NHS Scotland data between 2012 and 2018. All people undergoing colonoscopy between 2012 and 2018 and subsequently diagnosed as having bowel cancer up to 3 years after their investigation were included.

EXamining the feasibility of exerCisE to manage symptoms of Lupus (EXCEL): a protocol for a randomised controlled pilot study.

Introduction: SLE is a chronic autoimmune disease that results in sustained hyperactivation of innate and adaptive immune cells and widespread inflammatory damage. Regular exercise reduces SLE symptoms including fatigue and joint pain and improves patient quality of life. However, most individuals with SLE are not sufficiently active to achieve these benefits, and guidance on the optimal approach to exercise is limited.