Paton Prize Lecture Winner 2024: Gordon Holmes and the Irish spirit of adventure: Lessons for modern thinkers.

This lecture is given in honour of Sir William Paton (1917-1993), physiologist, pharmacologist and Fellow of the Royal Society. His passion for the history of medicine led to generous donations to the Society, who consequently founded the Paton Prize Fund for historical research. After his death, this eponymous Prize Lecture was debuted in 1994.

Increased sodium consumption is associated with psoriasis: A population-based cohort study.

Background: Sodium is stored in skin and may trigger or perpetuate autoimmune diseases including psoriasis. One previous study found skin sodium was elevated in a small group of patients with severe psoriasis compared to healthy controls, but the relationship between sodium intake and psoriasis within a population has not been investigated.

Objectives: To identify whether dietary sodium intake is associated with psoriasis and whether there are subgroups of individuals more likely to have salt-sensitive psoriasis.

Exploring Dietitians' Experience of Blended Tube Feed in Paediatric Inpatient Settings: National Cross-Sectional Survey, United Kingdom.

Background: Enteral tube feeding is used for children who are unable to meet their nutritional requirements orally. Gastrointestinal symptoms are some complications that can occur in enteral tube-fed patients. Blended tube feeds (BTFs) for children who are gastrotomy tube-fed have significantly increased in the last decade.

Curative Parathyroidectomy in Primary Hyperparathyroidism Improves Both Systolic and Diastolic Cardiac Dysfunction: A Six-Month Follow-Up Study at a Tertiary Care Hospital.

Background: Primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) is associated with hypertension, left ventricular hypertrophy, and myocardial and valvular calcifications, leading to increased mortality rates. While the association between PHPT and diastolic dysfunction has been well-documented, data on systolic dysfunction and its reversal after curative parathyroidectomy (PTX) remains limited.

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of PTX on cardiovascular parameters, especially systolic dysfunction, in PHPT patients using conventional and speckle-tracking echocardiography (STE).

Adverse Cardiovascular Risk Profile and Increased Diurnal Salivary Cortisol in Girls With Turner Syndrome: An Exploratory Study.

Patients with Turner Syndrome (TS) and those exposed to high concentrations of glucocorticoids have a number of characteristics in common, including an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Pediatric TS patients underwent studies of salivary cortisol (SC) and cortisone (SCn), body composition, continuous glucose monitoring, vascular function, and ambulatory blood pressure (BP). Biochemical indicators of cardiovascular risk were also measured.

Proximal humerus fracture dislocations: outcomes of management.

Purpose: Proximal humerus fracture dislocations are amongst the most severe proximal humerus injuries, presenting a challenging management problem. The aim of this study was to report on long-term outcomes of management of proximal humerus fracture dislocations.

Methods: Patients with a proximal humerus fracture dislocation managed at a Level 1 trauma centre from January 2010 to December 2018 were included.

Rapid, Accurate and Reproducible Prediction of the Glass Transition Temperature Using Ensemble-Based Molecular Dynamics Simulation.

For the computational design of new polymeric materials, accurate methods for determining the glass transition temperature () are required. We apply an ensemble approach in molecular dynamics (MD) and examine its predictions of and their associated uncertainty. We separate the uncertainty into the aleatoric contributions arising from dynamical chaos and that due to the computational scenarios chosen to compute .

Perceptions and Attitudes of People With Cancer and Diabetes Towards Patient Guidelines: A Mixed Methods Study.

Objective: To explore patients' perceptions and attitudes towards patient guidelines (PGs) and to identify specific factors related to PG content, design, presentation, and management that may influence patients' use or adoption of PGs.

Methods: An exploratory sequential mixed-methods design was employed. Initial semi-structured interviews were conducted with a diverse group of individuals, including people with diabetes or oncology, and clinicians.

School Attendance Among Autistic Students in Aotearoa/New Zealand: A Population Cross-Sectional Study Using the Integrated Data Infrastructure.

Background: Extant literature indicates autistic students have lower school attendance compared to the general population. However, there remains considerable heterogeneity between studies, a lack of large population-based studies beyond the UK and US, and insufficient consideration of age and sex differences in attendance rates. The aim of this study was to examine school attendance among autistic compared with non-autistic students including stratification by age and sex.

Lignin-Based Mucus-Mimicking Antiviral Hydrogels with Enzyme Stability and Tunable Porosity.

Mucus is a complex hydrogel that acts as a defensive and protective barrier in various parts of the human body. The rise in the level of viral infections has underscored the importance of advancing research into mucus-mimicking hydrogels for the efficient design of antiviral agents. Herein, we demonstrate the gram-scale synthesis of biocompatible, lignin-based virus-binding inhibitors that reduce waste and ensure long-term availability.

The Impact of Motivation on Sustained Attention in Very Preterm and Term-born Children: An ERP Study.

Objective: To compare the effect of motivational features on sustained attention in children born very preterm and at term.

Method: EEG was recorded while 34 8-to-11-year-old children born very preterm and 34 term-born peers completed two variants of a cued continuous performance task (CPT-AX); a standard CPT-AX with basic shape stimuli, and structurally similar variant, with a storyline, familiar characters, and feedback.

Results: Higher hit rates, quicker response times and larger event-related potential (ERP) amplitudes were observed during the motivating, compared with the standard, task.

Assessment of Commercial Baby Food Quality and Promotion in Malaysia for Policy Development.

Nutritional quality of food for infants and young children (FIYC) is key to optimum development and health. To evaluate commercial FIYC products, the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe (WHO-EURO) has defined a Nutrient and Promotion Profile Model (NPPM). Although FIYC is commonly used in Malaysia, its quality is largely unknown.

"Am I in 'Suboptimal Health'?": The Narratives and Rhetoric in Carving out the Grey Area Between Health and Illness in Everyday Life.

This paper examines the concept of 'suboptimal health' (subhealth, ), a term popularised by traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) professionals and widely used in public health discourses in China at the turn of the century. Despite criticisms of it being a commercial buzzword, subhealth provides a unique lens for individuals to articulate their health experiences concerning work and life pressures. Through virtual ethnography on Chinese social media such as Weibo and interviews, this study explores the usage and implications of subhealth in everyday life.

Recommendations for Improving Surveillance of Congenital Anomalies in Europe Using Healthcare Databases.

Background: Although accessing administrative data in healthcare databases may be a more time-efficient and cost-effective method of conducting surveillance, there is evidence suggesting that administrative data alone are not sufficient for population-based surveillance of congenital anomalies.

Objective: To propose recommendations to maximise the potential use of healthcare databases for surveillance of congenital anomalies based on our data linkage experiences and results from the EUROlinkCAT study.

Methods: EUROlinkCAT is a population-based cohort study of 99,416 children with anomalies born between 1995 and 2014.

Exploring experiences of dementia post-diagnosis support and ideas for improving practice: A co-produced study.

It takes time to adjust to a diagnosis of dementia. Post-diagnosis support has an important part to play in navigating this transition. However, it is often scarce and variable according to location.

Integrated Longitudinal Population Dose-Hemoglobin Response of Daprodustat Following Dose Titration in Patients With Anemia in Chronic Kidney Disease.

Daprodustat, a novel oral hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor is approved in the United States for the treatment of anemia due to chronic kidney disease (CKD) in adults receiving dialysis for at least 4 months. Pharmacodynamic dose-hemoglobin (Dose-Hgb) models were developed as daprodustat progressed through development. To support global phase III development, a dose-titration algorithm, guided by simulations from the initial Dose-Hgb model based on phase II clinical data, was implemented.

Clinical outcomes of a real-world prospective study using Dexcom ONE continuous glucose monitoring in people with diabetes treated with two or more insulin injections per day.

Aims: This study assessed real-world glycaemic outcomes associated with the use of Dexcom ONE in adults with suboptimally controlled diabetes.

Methods: In this single-site prospective study, adults with type 1 (T1D) or type 2 diabetes (T2D) taking two or more insulin injections per day initiated Dexcom ONE CGM use and attended follow-up data collection visits after 3 and 6 months. During the study, participants received usual diabetes care.

Molecular and functional profiling unravels targetable vulnerabilities in colorectal cancer.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) patients with microsatellite-stable (MSS) tumors are mostly treated with chemotherapy. Clinical benefits of targeted therapies depend on mutational states and tumor location. Many tumors carry mutations in KRAS proto-oncogene, GTPase (KRAS) or B-Raf proto-oncogene, serine/threonine kinase (BRAF), rendering them more resistant to therapies.

Facile, Reversible Hydrogen Activation by Low-Coordinate Magnesium Oxide Complexes.

New approaches to achieve facile and reversible dihydrogen activation are of importance for synthesis, catalysis, and hydrogen storage. Here we show that low-coordinate magnesium oxide complexes [{(nacnac)Mg}(μ-O)] , with nacnac = HC(RCNDip), Dip = 2,6-PrCH, R = Me (), Et (), Pr (), readily react with dihydrogen under mild conditions to afford mixed hydride-hydroxide complexes [{(nacnac)Mg}(μ-H)(μ-OH)] . Dehydrogenation of complexes is strongly dependent on remote ligand substitution and can be achieved by simple vacuum-degassing of (R = Pr) to regain .

Dopamine genetic risk scores and psychiatric symptoms: Interacting risk factors for impulse control behaviours in de novo Parkinson's disease.

Up to 45% of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) experience impulse control disorders (ICDs), characterized by a loss of voluntary control over impulses, drives or temptations. This study aimed to investigate whether previously identified genetic and psychiatric risk factors interact towards the development of ICDs in PD. A total of 278 de novo PD patients (ICD-free at enrollment) were selected from the Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative database.

Peptide nucleic acid (PNA) clamps reduce amplification of host chloroplast and mitochondria rRNA gene sequences and increase detected diversity in 16S rRNA gene profiling analysis of oak-associated microbiota.

Background: Acquiring representative bacterial 16S rRNA gene community profiles in plant microbiome studies can be challenging due to the excessive co-amplification of host chloroplast and mitochondrial rRNA gene sequences that reduce counts of plant-associated bacterial sequences. Peptide Nucleic Acid (PNA) clamps prevent this by blocking PCR primer binding or binding within the amplified region of non-target DNA to stop the function of DNA polymerase. Here, we applied a universal chloroplast (p)PNA clamp and a newly designed mitochondria (m)PNA clamp to minimise host chloroplast and mitochondria amplification in 16S rRNA gene amplicon profiles of leaf, bark and root tissue of two oak species (Quercus robur and Q.

ZNF169 promotes thyroid cancer progression via upregulating FBXW10.

Background: Zinc finger protein 169 (ZNF169) plays a key role in cancer development. However, the specific role of ZNF169 in the tumorigenesis of thyroid carcinoma (THCA) remains poorly understood.

Methods: The expression of ZNF169 was measured using immunohistochemistry, RT-qPCR, and western blot.

Design and maintenance of medical oxygen concentrators in Sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review.

Background: Oxygen therapy is critical and vital treatment for hypoxemia and respiratory distress, however, access to reliable oxygen systems remains limited in SSA. Despite WHO initiatives that distributed over 30,000 OC oxygen concentrators worldwide, SSA faces significant challenges related to their maintenance and use, due to harsh environmental conditions, technical skill shortages and inadequate infrastructure. This review aims to systematically identify and assess the literature on OC design adaptations, maintenance challenges, and knowledge gaps in SSA, providing actionable recommendations to inform innovative and context-sensitive solutions to improve healthcare delivery in the region.