Plasma phosphorylated tau and neuropsychiatric symptoms in dementia with Lewy bodies.

Introduction: Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPSs) are common in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) but their neurobiological mechanisms are poorly understood.

Methods: NPSs and cognition were assessed annually in participants (DLB n = 222; Alzheimer's disease [AD] n = 125) from the European DLB (E-DLB) Consortium, and plasma phosphorylated tau-181 (p-tau181) and p-tau231 concentrations were measured at baseline.

Results: Hallucinations, delusions, and depression were more common in DLB than in AD and, in a subgroup with longitudinal follow-up, persistent hallucinations and NPSs were associated with lower p-tau181 and p-tau231 in DLB.

Improving Conversations about Parkinson's Dementia.

Background: People with Parkinson's disease (PD) have an increased risk of dementia, yet patients and clinicians frequently avoid talking about it due to associated stigma, and the perception that "nothing can be done about it". However, open conversations about PD dementia may allow people with the condition to access treatment and support, and may increase participation in research aimed at understanding PD dementia.

Objectives: To co-produce information resources for patients and healthcare professionals to improve conversations about PD dementia.

Understanding COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in Ethnic Minorities Groups in the UK.

COVID-19 vaccines have been developed and administered at record pace in order to curtail the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Vaccine hesitancy has impacted uptake unequally across different groups. This study explores the drivers for vaccine hesitancy in ethnic minority groups in the UK, the impact of social media on vaccine hesitancy and how vaccine hesitancy may be overcome.

Challenges and opportunities for infection prevention and control in hospitals in conflict-affected settings: a qualitative study.

Background: Healthcare associated infections (HAIs) are the most frequent adverse outcome in healthcare delivery worldwide. In conflict-affected settings HAIs, in particular surgical site infections, are prevalent. Effective infection prevention and control (IPC) is crucial to ending avoidable HAIs and an integral part of safe, effective, high quality health service delivery.

Preferences for Digital Smartphone Mental Health Apps Among Adolescents: Qualitative Interview Study.

Background: Mental health digital apps hold promise for providing scalable solutions to individual self-care, education, and illness prevention. However, a problem with these apps is that they lack engaging user interfaces and experiences and thus potentially result in high attrition. Although guidelines for new digital interventions for adults have begun to examine engagement, there is a paucity of evidence on how to best address digital interventions for adolescents.

An analysis on the risk of being injured and killed in road travel injuries in Namibia.

Road traffic injuries (RTIs) are a major, global problem. Few studies on RTIs have been conducted in Namibia, despite having one of the highest RTI rates globally. We conducted multinomial logistic regression on national Namibian datasets on RTIs 2012-2014.

Effect of evidence-based therapy for secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: The combination pharmacotherapy of antiplatelet agents, lipid-modifiers, ACE inhibitors/ARBs and beta-blockers are recommended by international guidelines. However, data on effectiveness of the evidence-based combination pharmacotherapy (EBCP) is limited.

Objectives: To determine the effect of EBCP on mortality and Cardiovascular events in patients with Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) or cerebrovascular disease.

SOCIETY FOR ENDOCRINOLOGY CLINICAL GUIDANCE: Inpatient management of cranial diabetes insipidus.

Cranial diabetes insipidus (CDI) is a treatable chronic condition that can potentially develop into a life-threatening medical emergency. CDI is due to the relative or absolute lack of the posterior pituitary hormone vasopressin (AVP), also known as anti-diuretic hormone. AVP deficiency results in uncontrolled diuresis.

Biomimetic heterogenous elastic tissue development.

There is an unmet need for artificial tissue to address current limitations with donor organs and problems with donor site morbidity. Despite the success with sophisticated tissue engineering endeavours, which employ cells as building blocks, they are limited to dedicated labs suitable for cell culture, with associated high costs and long tissue maturation times before available for clinical use. Direct 3D printing presents rapid, bespoke, acellular solutions for skull and bone repair or replacement, and can potentially address the need for elastic tissue, which is a major constituent of smooth muscle, cartilage, ligaments and connective tissue that support organs.

Update in diagnosis and management of interstitial lung disease .

The field of interstitial lung disease (ILD) has undergone significant evolution in recent years, with an increasing incidence and more complex, ever expanding disease classification. In their most severe forms, these diseases lead to progressive loss of lung function, respiratory failure and eventually death. Despite notable advances, progress has been challenged by a poor understanding of pathological mechanisms and patient heterogeneity, including variable progression.

Update in diagnosis and management of interstitial lung disease.

The field of interstitial lung disease (ILD) has undergone significant evolution in recent years, with an increasing incidence and more complex, ever expanding disease classification. In their most severe forms, these diseases lead to progressive loss of lung function, respiratory failure and eventually death. Despite notable advances, progress has been challenged by a poor understanding of pathological mechanisms and patient heterogeneity, including variable progression.

Coming or going? Un-BLOC-ing delivery and recycling pathways during melanosome maturation.

Melanosome biogenesis requires successive waves of cargo delivery from endosomes to immature melanosomes, coupled with recycling of the trafficking machinery. Dennis et al. (2016.

Feasibility study: honey for treatment of cough in children.

Respiratory tract infections are an important health problem because of high incidence and economic costs. The World Health Organization identifies honey as a potential demulcent treatment for cough. The aim of this study is to determine: i) patient public perceptions towards a proposed randomized controlled trial (RCT) comparing the effects of honey to placebo for treatment of cough in children; ii) potential participation rates for proposed trial; iii) whether age and gender of parent or child impacts on proposed cough assessment tools.

Image-directed, tissue-preserving focal therapy of prostate cancer: a feasibility study of a novel deformable magnetic resonance-ultrasound (MR-US) registration system.

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility of using computer-assisted, deformable image registration software to enable three-dimensional (3D), multi-parametric (mp) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-derived information on tumour location and extent, to inform the planning and conduct of focal high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) therapy.

Patients And Methods: A nested pilot study of 26 consecutive men with a visible discrete focus on mpMRI, correlating with positive histology on transperineal template mapping biopsy, who underwent focal HIFU (Sonablate 500®) within a prospective, Ethics Committee-approved multicentre trial ('INDEX'). Non-rigid image registration software developed in our institution was used to transfer data on the location and limits of the index lesion as defined by mpMRI.

Sonic hedgehog negatively regulates pre-TCR-induced differentiation by a Gli2-dependent mechanism.

Hedgehog signaling regulates differentiation, survival, and proliferation of the earliest double-negative (DN) thymocytes, but its importance at later stages of T-cell development is controversial. Here we use loss- and gain-of-function mouse models to show that Shh, by signaling directly to the developing thymocyte, is a negative regulator of pre-TCR-induced differentiation from DN to double-positive (DP) cell. When hedgehog signaling was reduced, in the Shh(-/-) and Gli2(-/-) thymus, or by T lineage-specific transgenic expression of a transcriptional-repressor form of Gli2 (Gli2DeltaC(2)), differentiation to DP cell after pre-TCR signal transduction was increased.

Audit of the peri-delivery use of unfractionated heparin in women on therapeutic low-molecular weight heparin.

There is no evidence-based approach for the optimal management of peri-delivery anticoagulation in women receiving therapeutic dose of low-molecular weight heparin (LMWH) during pregnancy. Nevertheless, the maintenance of anticoagulation for the maximal period peri-delivery appears appropriate in women considered to be at high risk of venous or arterial thromboembolism. We developed a regimen based on fixed thromboprophylactic dose of unfractionated heparin (UFH) peri-delivery and undertook an audit to evaluate the use and feasibility of this approach and any adverse events.

Dipole-dipole interactions and the structure of self-assembled monolayers.

The structure of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on the gold (111) surface is still a matter of debate despite a considerable experimental and theoretical effort. We address the problem from a new perspective, studying the influence of electrostatic interactions on the degree of disorder in COOH-terminated SAMs. We show that the HS(CH2)(n-1)COOH molecules carry two dipole moments associated with their head- and tail-groups.

Evaluation of the role of P-glycoprotein in inflammation induced blood-brain barrier damage.

In this study we evaluated the role of the multi-drug transporter p-glycoprotein (Pgp) in the process of activated T lymphocyte-mediated blood-brain barrier dysfunction as described previously. Lymphocyte exposure induced significant endothelial cell death and there was an elevation of the expression of Pgp in the surviving cells. Inhibition of Pgp function using the antibody MRK16 and verapamil displayed a dose-dependent prevention of T cell mediated endothelial cell death and barrier breakdown.

Unambiguous interpretation of atomically resolved force microscopy images of an insulator.

The (111) surface of CaF2 was imaged with dynamic mode scanning force microscopy and modeled using atomistic simulation. Both experiment and theory showed a clear triangular contrast pattern in images, and theory demonstrated that the contrast pattern is due to the interaction of a positive electrostatic potential tip with fluorine ions in the two topmost surface layers. We find a good agreement of position and relative height of scan line features between theory and experiment and thus establish for the first time an unambiguous identification of sublattices of an insulator imaged by force microscopy.

The CATH Database provides insights into protein structure/function relationships.

We report the latest release (version 1.4) of the CATH protein domains database (http://www.biochem.