Patterns of paternity: insights into mating competition and gene flow in a recovering population of humpback whales.

Variation in reproductive success is a fundamental prerequisite for sexual selection to act upon a trait. Assessing such variation is crucial in understanding a species' mating system and offers insights into population growth. Parentage analyses in cetaceans are rare, and the underlying forces of sexual selection acting on their mating behaviours remain poorly understood.

Exploring rural Scottish GPs' migration decisions: a secondary qualitative analysis considering burnout.

Background: The challenges of recruiting and retaining rural GPs are well described. UK data suggests high levels of burnout, characterised by detachment, exhaustion and cynicism, plays a role in GP turnover. The contrast is engagement with work.

Five year mortality in an RCT of a lung cancer biomarker to select people for low dose CT screening.

The role of biomarkers in risk-based early detection of lung cancer may enable screening to become cost effective and widely accessible. EarlyCDT-Lung is an example of such a blood-based autoantibody biomarker which may improve accessibility to Low dose Computed Tomography (LDCT) screening for those at highest risk. We randomized 12 208 individuals aged 50-75 at high risk of developing lung cancer to either the test or to standard clinical care.

Myocardial Fibroblast Activation After Acute Myocardial Infarction: A Positron Emission Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Study.

Background: Myocardial fibrosis is a key healing response after myocardial infarction driven by activated fibroblasts. Gallium-68-labeled fibroblast activation protein inhibitor ([Ga]-FAPI) is a novel positron-emitting radiotracer that binds activated fibroblasts.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the intensity, distribution, and time-course of fibroblast activation after acute myocardial infarction.

Cognitive Functioning in Children and Young People with Congenital Heart Disease: A Systematic Review of Meta-Analyses.

: Congenital heart disease (CHD) is a prevalent condition affecting young people that often necessitates complex medical interventions. This study aims to provide a synthesis of existing meta-analyses examining the impact of CHD on the cognitive functioning in children and young people; : A comprehensive literature review was conducted, identifying peer-reviewed meta-analyses from 1 January 1976 to 17 December 2024, focusing on the cognitive outcomes of CHD patients aged 0-24 years. Data extraction covered study details, participant demographics, outcomes, and quality assessments.

Fatal systemic bacterial infections in two harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) secondary to bite wounds from grey seals (Halichoerus grypus).

Mycoplasma phocicerebrale, the causative agent of seal ('speck') finger, a zoonotic disease, is a common commensal in the oral cavity of various seal species. Historically associated with seal hunters, it remains a significant risk for those handling or rehabilitating marine mammals. While primarily known for causing severe cellulitis in humans, M.

Cerebral perfusion alterations in healthy young adults due to two genetic risk factors of Alzheimer's disease: APOE and MAPT.

Functional brain changes such as altered cerebral blood flow occur long before the onset of clinical symptoms in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative disorders. While cerebral hypoperfusion occurs in established AD, middle-aged carriers of genetic risk factors for AD, including APOE ε4, display regional hyperperfusion due to hypothesised pleiotropic or compensatory effects, representing a possible early biomarker of AD and facilitating earlier AD diagnosis. However, it is not clear whether hyperperfusion already exists even earlier in life.

A multi-level analysis of motor and behavioural dynamics in 9-month-old preterm and term-born infants during changing emotional and interactive contexts.

Computational analysis of infant movement has significant potential to reveal markers of developmental health. We report two studies employing dynamic analyses of motor kinematics and motor behaviours, which characterise movement at two levels, in 9-month-old infants. We investigate the effect of preterm birth (< 33 weeks of gestation) and the effect of changing emotional and social-interactive contexts in the still-face paradigm.

Predicting incident dementia in community-dwelling older adults using primary and secondary care data from electronic health records.

Predicting risk of future dementia is essential for primary prevention strategies, particularly in the era of novel immunotherapies. However, few studies have developed population-level prediction models using existing routine healthcare data. In this longitudinal retrospective cohort study, we predicted incident dementia using primary and secondary care health records at 5, 10 and 13 years in 144 113 Scottish older adults who were dementia-free prior to 1st April 2009.

The pivotal role of sleep in mediating the effects of life stressors and healthy habits on allostatic load in mid-life adults.

Objectives: We assessed the modulation of allostatic load (AL) by engagement in healthy habits and life stressors, mediated through resilience and the perceived influence of the stressors. Sleep was included as third mediator given extensive evidence associating to all the analysed factors.

Methods: Structural equation models to assess the modulation of AL by either traumatic or psychosocial stressors and healthy habits were generated with data from 620 mid-life adults (age 51.

Laryngeal Cancer in the West of Scotland 2014-2020: Trends and Survival in a Cohort of 867 Patients.

Background: Laryngeal squamous cell cancer (LSCC) accounts for around one-third of head and neck cancers, with smoking and alcohol as major risk factors. Despite advances in organ preservation, survival rates have stagnated globally over recent decades. The impact of socioeconomic deprivation on LSCC outcomes in the West of Scotland remains underexplored.

A pipeline for harmonising NHS Scotland laboratory data to enable national-level analyses.

Objective: Medical laboratory data together with prescribing and hospitalisation records are three of the most used electronic health records (EHRs) for data-driven health research. In Scotland, hospitalisation, prescribing and the death register data are available nationally whereas laboratory data is captured, stored and reported from local health board systems with significant heterogeneity. For researchers or other users of this regionally curated data, working on laboratory datasets across regional cohorts requires effort and time.

Clinical Pharmacology and Approach to Dose Selection of Emestedastat, a Novel Tissue Cortisol Synthesis Inhibitor for the Treatment of Central Nervous System Disease.

This review demonstrates the value of central pharmacodynamics (PD), including positron emission tomography (PET) and computerized cognitive testing, to supplement pharmacokinetic (PK) and peripheral PD for determining the target dose range for clinical efficacy testing of emestedastat, an 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 1 (11β-HSD1) inhibitor. Combined data from 6 clinical trials in cognitively normal volunteers and patients with Alzheimer disease included a population PK model, endocrine PD, a human PET trial (11β-HSD1 brain imaging), and computerized cognitive testing. PK and PET findings were similar in volunteers and patients with Alzheimer disease.

Seafood supply mapping reveals production and consumption mismatches and large dietary nutrient losses through exports in the United Kingdom.

Seafood can contribute towards healthy and sustainable food systems by improving public health and helping achieve net zero carbon emissions. Here, we provide a high-resolution perspective on UK seafood supplies and nutrient flows at the species level. We mapped seafood production (capture and aquaculture), trade (imports and exports), purchases (within and out of home) and seafood consumption between 2009 and 2020.

Separating dementia with Lewy bodies from Alzheimer's disease dementia using a volumetric MRI classifier.

Objectives: Distinguishing dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) from Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia, particularly in patients with DLB and concomitant AD pathology (DLB/AD+), can be challenging and there is no specific MRI signature for DLB. The aim of this study is to examine the additional value of MRI-based brain volumetry in separating patients with DLB (AD+/-) from patients with AD and controls.

Methods: We included 1518 participants from four cohorts (ADC, ADNI, PDBP and PredictND); 147 were patients with DLB (n = 76, DLB/AD+; n = 71, DLB/AD-), 668 patients with AD dementia, and 703 controls.

Extensive cervical lesion and treatment outcomes in women with HIV/HPV co-infection.

Background: Cervical cancer is a common cancer worldwide, with > 85% of deaths occurring in Lower- and Middle-Income Countries where resources for screening programs are limited. Women living with HIV (WLHIV) are at increased risk. HPV test-and-treat is a screening strategy where women with HPV are offered ablative treatment of the cervix to reduce the risk of invasive cancer.

Self-monitoring of blood pressure following a stroke or transient ischaemic attack (TASMIN5S): a randomised controlled trial.

Background: Blood pressure (BP) control following stroke is important but currently sub-optimal. This trial aimed to determine whether self-monitoring of hypertension with telemonitoring and a treatment escalation protocol, results in lower BP than usual care in people with previous stroke or transient ischaemic attack (TIA).

Methods: Unblinded randomised controlled trial, comparing a BP telemonitoring-based intervention with control (usual care) for hypertension management in 12 primary care practices in England.

Maternal and pregnancy factors contributing to the association between area deprivation and infant mortality in England: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Socioeconomic inequality in infant mortality in the UK is rising. This study aims to identify contributory maternal and pregnancy factors that can explain the known association between area deprivation and infant mortality.

Methods: A cohort study was conducted using Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) primary care data between 2004 and 2019 linked to the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD), and infant mortality from the Office for National Statistics death data.

Genotype-Guided Asthma Treatment Reduces Exacerbations in Children: Meta-Analysis of Two RCTs.

Background: Long-acting beta2-agonists (LABA) in combination with inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) are commonly used to treat asthma, however, some children lack response to the addition of LABA. This might be partially due to the presence of the Arg16Gly polymorphism, encoded by rs1042713 G>A in the ADRB2 gene. Carrying the A allele (Arg16) at this variant has been associated with an increased risk of exacerbations despite LABA treatment.

Novel type 2 diabetes prediction score based on traditional risk factors and circulating metabolites: model derivation and validation in two large cohort studies.

Background: We aimed to evaluate the incremental predictive value of metabolomic biomarkers for assessing the 10-year risk of type 2 diabetes when added to the clinical Cambridge Diabetes Risk Score (CDRS).

Methods: We utilized 86,232 UK Biobank (UKB) participants (recruited between 13 March 2006 and 1 October 2010) for model derivation and internal validation. Additionally, we included 4383 participants from the German ESTHER cohort (recruited between 1 July 2000 and 30 June 2002 for external validation).

AI education for clinicians.

Rapid advancements in medical AI necessitate targeted educational initiatives for clinicians to ensure AI tools are safe and used effectively to improve patient outcomes. To support decision-making among stakeholders in medical education, we propose three tiers of medical AI expertise and outline the challenges for medical education at different educational stages. Additionally, we offer recommendations and examples, encouraging stakeholders to adapt and shape curricula for their specific healthcare setting using this framework.

Next generation brain health: transforming global research and public health to promote prevention of dementia and reduce its risk in young adult populations.

Efforts to prevent dementia can benefit from precision interventions delivered to the right population at the right time; that is, when the potential to reduce risk is the highest. Young adults (aged 18-39 years) are a neglected population in dementia research and policy making despite being highly exposed to several known modifiable risk factors. The risk and protective factors that have the biggest effect on dementia outcomes in young adulthood, and how these associations differ across regions and groups, still remain unclear.

Linking Foraging Behaviour and Habitat Preferences During Moult Across Multiple Populations of Red-Throated Diver.

Understanding the habitat use of individuals can facilitate methods to measure the degree to which populations will be affected by potential stressors. Such insights can be hard to garner for marine species that are inaccessible during phases of their annual cycles. Here, we quantify the link between foraging habitat and behaviour in an aquatic bird of high conservation concern, the red-throated diver () across three breeding populations (Finland, Iceland and Scotland) during their understudied moult period.

Candidate Toroidal Electric Dipole Mode in the Spherical Nucleus ^{58}Ni.

Dipole toroidal modes appear in many fields of physics. In nuclei, such a mode was predicted more than 50 years ago, but clear experimental evidence was lacking so far. Using a combination of high-resolution inelastic scattering experiments with photons, electrons, and protons, we identify for the first time candidates for toroidal dipole excitations in the nucleus ^{58}Ni and demonstrate that transverse electron scattering form factors represent a relevant experimental observable to prove their nature.