Socio-economic disadvantage is associated with heavier drinking in high but not middle-income countries participating in the International Alcohol Control Study.

Introduction And Aims: To investigate if socio-economic disadvantage, at the individual- and country-level, is associated with heavier drinking in some middle- and high-income countries.

Design And Methods: Surveys of drinkers were undertaken in some high- and middle-income countries. Participating countries were Australia, England, New Zealand, Scotland (high-income) and Peru, Thailand and Vietnam (middle-income).

The effects of trophic transfer and environmental factors on microplastic uptake by plaice, Pleuronectes plastessa, and spider crab, Maja squinado.

Microplastic pollution is apparent throughout the marine environment from deep ocean sediments to coastal habitats. Most of this is believed to originate on land, although marine activities, such as fishing and shipping, also contribute to the release and redistribution of microplastic. The relative importance of these maritime plastic sources, the manner by which they are distributed in the environment, and their effect on uptake by marine organisms are yet to be fully quantified.

Operating list composition and surgical performance.

Background: Recent reviews suggest that the way in which surgeons prepare for a procedure (warm up) can affect performance. Operating lists present a natural experiment to explore this phenomenon. The aim was to use a routinely collected large data set on surgical procedures to understand the relationship between case list order and operative performance.

Patients with systemic rheumatic diseases admitted to the intensive care unit: what the rheumatologist needs to know.

Patients with systemic rheumatic diseases (SRDs) may require admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) throughout the course of their disease. Therefore, the rheumatologist needs an understanding of the factors which may influence the course of patients with SRDs who are admitted to ICU. These include the causes for admission, patient characteristics including comorbidities and drug therapies, outcome (in-ICU mortality and causes of death), and prognostic factors.

British Neuropathological Society and International Society of Forensic Radiology and Imaging expert consensus statement for post mortem neurological imaging.

Aims: To develop an expert consensus statement regarding appropriate clinical and forensic post mortem neurological imaging.

Methods: An expert panel of clinicians were recruited from registered members of the British Neuropathological Society (BNS) and the International Society of Forensic Radiology and Imaging (ISFRI) with post mortem expertise. Following a focus group meeting, 16 core statements were incorporated into an online modified Delphi survey and each panellist was asked to score their level of agreement.

Computer simulations of the catalytic mechanism of wild-type and mutant β-phosphoglucomutase.

β-Phosphoglucomutase (β-PGM) has served as an important model system for understanding biological phosphoryl transfer. This enzyme catalyzes the isomerization of β-glucose-1-phosphate to β-glucose-6-phosphate in a two-step process proceeding via a bisphosphate intermediate. The conventionally accepted mechanism is that both steps are concerted processes involving acid-base catalysis from a nearby aspartate (D10) side chain.

Cross-country comparison of proportion of alcohol consumed in harmful drinking occasions using the International Alcohol Control Study.

Introduction And Aims: This study examines the proportion of alcohol markets consumed in harmful drinking occasions in a range of high-, middle-income countries and assesses the implications of these findings for conflict of interest between alcohol producers and public health and the appropriate role of the alcohol industry in alcohol policy space.

Design And Methods: Cross-sectional surveys were conducted in 10 countries as part of the International Alcohol Control study. Alcohol consumption was measured using location- and beverage-specific measures.

The association between child maltreatment and adult poverty - A systematic review of longitudinal research.

Child maltreatment is a global problem affecting millions of children and is associated with an array of cumulative negative outcomes later in life, including unemployment and financial difficulties. Although establishing child maltreatment as a causal mechanism for adult economic outcomes is fraught with difficulty, understanding the relationship between the two is essential to reducing such inequality. This paper presents findings from a systematic review of longitudinal research examining experiences of child maltreatment and economic outcomes in adulthood.

The Solution of the Puzzle of Smectic-Q: The Phase Structure and the Origin of Spontaneous Chirality.

The so-called smectic-Q (SmQ) liquid crystal phase was discovered in 1983 in rod-like molecules, but its structure remain unclear in spite of numerous attempts to solve it. Herein, we report what we believe to be the solution: A unique bicontinuous phase that is non-cubic and is made up of orthogonal twisted columns with planar 4-way junctions. While SmQ had only been observed in chiral compounds, we show that this chiral phase forms also in achiral materials through spontaneous symmetry breaking.

Combined electrical stimulation and exercise for swallow rehabilitation post-stroke: a pilot randomized control trial.

Background: Dysphagia is common after stroke, affecting up to 50% of patients initially. It can lead to post-stroke pneumonia, which causes 30% of stroke-related deaths, a longer hospital stay and poorer health outcomes. Dysphagia care post-stroke generally focuses on the management of symptoms, via modified oral intake textures and adapted posture, rather than direct physical rehabilitation of the swallowing function.

Media Screening for Obtaining Haematococcus pluvialis Red Motile Macrozooids Rich in Astaxanthin and Fatty Acids.

Astaxanthin from is commercially produced in a two-stage process, involving green vegetative (macrozooid) and red aplanospore stages. This approach has been scaled up to an industrial process but constraints limit its commercial success and profitability, including: contamination issues, high pigment extraction costs, requirements for high light levels and photo-bleaching in the red stage. However, in addition to the aplanospore stage, this alga can produce astaxanthin in vegetative palmelloid and motile macrozooid cells.

Prevalence of depression after TBI in a prospective cohort: The SHEFBIT study.

Objective: The objective is to measure the prevalence of depression after traumatic brain injury (TBI) and the features associated with increased risk in a cohort that reflects clinical practice.

Methods: Prospective TBI admissions to a large Teaching Hospital Emergency Department were recruited over a 2-year period. Assessments for depression and other psychosocial and global outcomes were completed at 3 months post-injury.

Factors influencing the quality of vital sign data in electronic health records: A qualitative study.

Aims And Objectives: To investigate reasons for inadequate documentation of vital signs in an electronic health record.

Background: Monitoring vital signs is crucial to detecting and responding to patient deterioration. The ways in which vital signs are documented in electronic health records have received limited attention in the research literature.

The utility of anti-Müllerian hormone in the diagnosis and prediction of loss of ovarian function following chemotherapy for early breast cancer.

Aim: Chemotherapy results in permanent loss of ovarian function in some premenopausal women. Accurate identification in women with hormone-sensitive early breast cancer (eBC) would allow optimisation of subsequent endocrine treatment. We sought to assess whether analysis of anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) using a sensitive automated assay could identify women who would not regain ovarian function after chemotherapy.

Risk of Serious Infection in Patients with Psoriasis Receiving Biologic Therapies: A Prospective Cohort Study from the British Association of Dermatologists Biologic Interventions Register (BADBIR).

Serious infection is a concern for patients with psoriasis receiving biologic therapies. We assessed the risk of serious infections for biologics used to treat psoriasis by comparison with a cohort receiving non-biologic systemic therapies in a propensity score-weighted Cox proportional hazards model using data from the British Association of Dermatologists Biologic Interventions Register. Overall, 1,352; 3,271; and 994 participants were included in the etanercept, adalimumab, ustekinumab cohorts, respectively, and 3,421 participants were in the non-biologic cohort.

TREM2 expression in the human brain: a marker of monocyte recruitment?

Mutation in the triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells (TREM) 2 gene has been identified as a risk factor for several neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's disease (AD). Experimental studies using animal models of AD have highlighted a number of functions associated with TREM2 and its expression by microglial cells. It has therefore been assumed that this is also the case in humans.

Phenotypic Characterization of Mutation Carriers in a Large Cohort of Patients Diagnosed Clinically With Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.

Background: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a rare disease with an emerging genetic basis. Heterozygous mutations in the gene encoding the bone morphogenetic protein receptor type 2 () are the commonest genetic cause of PAH, whereas biallelic mutations in the eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 alpha kinase 4 gene () are described in pulmonary veno-occlusive disease/pulmonary capillary hemangiomatosis. Here, we determine the frequency of these mutations and define the genotype-phenotype characteristics in a large cohort of patients diagnosed clinically with PAH.

Does improving sleep lead to better mental health? A protocol for a meta-analytic review of randomised controlled trials.

Introduction: Sleep and mental health go hand-in-hand, with many, if not all, mental health problems being associated with problems sleeping. Although sleep has been traditionally conceptualised as a secondary consequence of mental health problems, contemporary views prescribe a more influential, causal role of sleep in the formation and maintenance of mental health problems. One way to evaluate this assertion is to examine the extent to which interventions that improve sleep also improve mental health.

Fuzzy Logic to Determine the Likelihood of Survival for Trauma Injury Patients.

A system to determine the likelihood of survival for trauma injury patients is being developed. It uses a fuzzy logic approach that can model complex processes without reliance on sophisticated mathematical formulations and may have the potential to be more accurate than the existing approaches. The outline operation of the system that is currently in a prototype stage is described.

Nanocryl Coating of PMMA Complete Denture Base Materials to Prevent Scratching.

The surface of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) is vulnerable to indentation by hard objects that may contribute to abrade the material surface and subject it to wear. This phenomenon promotes an increase in the surface roughness leading to microbial colonisation which can endanger the general health of wearers and damage the intra-oral prosthesis. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of three different nanocryl coating agents (Easy Glaze, G-Coat Plus and Formulation XP) on surface roughness and thickness of PMMA material after a simulating cleaning process utilizing an electric toothbrush and three different dentifrices (pastes and immersion).

Rethinking informal payments by patients in Europe: An institutional approach.

The aim of this paper is to explain informal payments by patients to healthcare professionals for the first time through the lens of institutional theory as arising when there are formal institutional imperfections and asymmetry between norms, values and practices and the codified formal laws and regulations. Reporting a 2013 Eurobarometer survey of the prevalence of informal payments by patients in 28 European countries, a strong association is revealed between the degree to which formal and informal institutions are unaligned and the propensity to make informal payments. The association between informal payments and formal institutional imperfections is then explored to evaluate which structural conditions might reduce this institutional asymmetry, and thus the propensity to make informal payments.

Impact of pelvic floor muscle training on sexual function of women with urinary incontinence and a comparison of electrical stimulation versus standard treatment (IPSU trial): a randomised controlled trial.

Aims: To evaluate the clinical and cost-effectiveness of electric stimulation plus standard pelvic floor muscle training compared to standard pelvic floor muscle training alone in women with urinary incontinence and sexual dysfunction.

Methods: Single centre two arm parallel group randomised controlled trial conducted in a Teaching hospital in England. Participants were women presenting with urinary incontinence and sexual dysfunction.