The variable relationship between the National Early Warning Score on admission to hospital, the primary discharge diagnosis, and in-hospital mortality.

Background: Patients with an elevated admission National Early Warning Score (NEWS) are more likely to die while in hospital. However, it is not known if this increased mortality risk is the same for all diagnoses. The aim of this study was to determine and compare the increased risk of in-hospital mortality associated with an elevated NEWS and different primary discharge diagnoses in unselected emergency admissions to a UK university teaching hospital.

Piloting a minimum data set for older people living in care homes in England: a developmental study.

Background: We developed a prototype minimum data set (MDS) for English care homes, assessing feasibility of extracting data directly from digital care records (DCRs) with linkage to health and social care data.

Methods: Through stakeholder development workshops, literature reviews, surveys and public consultation, we developed an aspirational MDS. We identified ways to extract this from existing sources, including DCRs and routine health and social care datasets.

Longitudinal Assessment of Sexual Behavior and Relationship Quality During the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Britain: Findings from a Longitudinal Population Survey (Natsal-COVID).

While the impact of social restrictions on sexual and romantic life early in the COVID-19 pandemic has been widely studied, little is known about impacts beyond the initial months. We analyzed responses from 2,098 British adults (aged 18-59) taking part in the Natsal-COVID study (Waves 1 and 2). Participants were recruited via a web panel and surveyed twice: four months and one year after the start of the UK's first national lockdown (July 2020 and March 2021).

The genome sequence of the striped dolphin, (Meyen, 1833).

We present a genome assembly from an individual male (the striped dolphin; Chordata; Mammalia; Artiodactyla; Delphinidae). The genome sequence has a total length of 2,691.40 megabases.

Developing and implementing whole systems approaches to reduce inequalities in childhood obesity: A mixed methods study in Dundee, Scotland.

Background: UK local authorities are developing and implementing Whole Systems Approaches to childhood obesity to tackle persistent and complex health inequalities. However, there is a lack of research on the practical application of these approaches. This paper reports on findings of a study into the initial implementation of this approach in Dundee, Scotland.

Effects of community action on animal vaccination uptake, antimicrobial usage, and farmers' wellbeing in Ghana: study protocol for a cluster-randomized controlled trial.

Infectious animal diseases represent a major constraint to livestock productivity, food security and wellbeing in many developing countries. To mitigate these impacts, farmers frequently use antimicrobials without professional advice, potentially yielding drug residues in livestock products and the food chain, as well as resistant antimicrobial genes. Recent studies identified Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP) and Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) as the diseases most negatively affecting ruminant livestock productivity and farmers' wellbeing in Ghana.

Retinotopic biases in contextual feedback signals to V1 for object and scene processing.

Identifying the objects embedded in natural scenes relies on recurrent processing between lower and higher visual areas. How is cortical feedback information related to objects and scenes organised in lower visual areas? The spatial organisation of cortical feedback converging in early visual cortex during object and scene processing could be retinotopically specific as it is coded in V1, or object centred as coded in higher areas, or both. Here, we characterise object and scene-related feedback information to V1.

Robust analysis of diel activity patterns.

Research Highlight: Iannarilli, F., Gerber, B. D.

Precision psychiatry: thinking beyond simple prediction models - enhancing causal predictions.

Making informed clinical decisions based on individualised outcome predictions is the cornerstone of precision psychiatry. Prediction models currently employed in psychiatry rely on algorithms that map a statistical relationship between clinical features (predictors/risk factors) and subsequent clinical outcomes. They rely on associations that overlook the underlying causal structures within the data, including the presence of latent variables, and the evolution of predictors and outcomes over time.

Evidence-Based Evaluation of Student and Marker Performances in Assessment and Examination.

Students are assessed by coursework and/or exams, all of which are marked by assessors (markers). Student and marker performances are then subject to end-of-session board of examiner handling and analysis. This occurs annually and is the basis for evaluating students, but also the wider learning and teaching efficiency of an academic institution.

Early systemic insults following severe sepsis-associated encephalopathy of critically ill patients: association with mortality and awakening-an analysis of the OUTCOMEREA database.

Background: Sepsis-associated encephalopathy (SAE) may be worsened by early systemic insults. We aimed to investigate the association of early systemic insults with outcomes of critically ill patients with severe SAE.

Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis using data from the French OUTCOMEREA prospective multicenter database.

Ultrasonographic evaluation of optic nerve sheath diameter in patients severe traumatic brain injury: a comparison with intraparenchymal pressure monitoring.

Objective: Increased intracranial pressure (ICP) can worsen the clinical condition of traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients. One non-invasive and easily bedside-performed technique to estimate ICP is ultrasonographic measurement of optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD). This study aimed to analyze ONSD and correlate it with ICP values obtained by intraparenchymal monitoring to establish the ONSD threshold value for elevated ICP and reference range of ONSD in severe TBI patients.

Obstetric Sonar, Media Archaeology, Feminist Critique.

The snub-nosed, reclining, and serene image of the fetus is commonplace in cultural representations and analyses of obstetric ultrasound. Yet following the provocation of various feminist scholars, taking the fetal sonogram as the automatic object of concern vis-à-vis ultrasound cedes ground to anti-abortionists, who deploy fetal images to argue that life begins at conception and that the unborn are rights bearing subjects who must be protected. How might feminists escape this analytical trap, where discussions of ultrasonics must always be engaged in the act of debunking? This article orients away from the problem of fetal representation by employing a method which may appear to be wildly unsuitable: media archaeology.

Advancing canopy-level entomological surveillance to monitor vector-borne and zoonotic disease dynamics.

Faced with the increased frequency of zoonotic spillover in recent decades, emerging vector-borne diseases from nonhuman primates pose a significant threat to global public health. Understanding transmission dynamics driven by arthropod vectors between wildlife populations is critical for surveillance, modeling, and mitigation. Elevated canopy-level sampling is a valuable approach for elucidating vector behavior and sylvatic transmission.

Ecological risk factors for the establishment of West Nile virus in Britain.

West Nile virus (WNV) is a zoonotic mosquito-borne virus which is emerging across Europe, largely due to climate and other environmental changes. Detection of WNV at increasingly northern latitudes raises concern that WNV may be introduced to Britain, where ecological conditions could eventually support sustained transmission. Establishment of WNV depends on spatial and temporal overlap between infectious migratory birds and native vectors.

Explaining the monoaural directional hearing of the moth .

(Fabricius, 1794) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) is a pyralid moth with two ears in its abdomen that it uses for detecting mates and predators. Despite no connection between the two ears having been found and no other elements having been observed through X-ray scans of the moth, it seems to be capable of directional hearing with just one ear when one of them is damaged. It is therefore suspected that the morphology of the eardrum can provide directional cues for sound localization.

A novel predictive model for Intensive Care Unit admission in Emergency Department patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding.

Acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) is a critical emergency. Conventional scoring models for patients with UGIB have limitations; thus, more suitable tools for the Emergency Department are necessary. We aimed to develop a new model that can identify significant predictors of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission in Emergency Department patients with UGIB and to compare its predictive accuracy with that of existing models.

Antiseizure Medications in Poststroke Seizures: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis.

Background And Objectives: The most effective antiseizure medications (ASMs) for poststroke seizures (PSSs) remain unclear. We aimed to determine outcomes associated with ASMs in people with PSS.

Methods: We systematically searched electronic databases for studies on patients with PSS on ASMs.

Neurodevelopmental Outcomes after Multiple General Anesthetic Exposures before 5 Years of Age: A Cohort Study.

Background: The general anaesthesia or awake-regional anaesthesia in infancy (GAS) trial demonstrated evidence that most neurodevelopmental outcomes at 2 and 5 yr of age in infants who received a single general anesthetic for elective inguinal herniorrhaphy were clinically equivalent when compared to infants who did not receive general anesthesia. More than 20% of the children in the trial had at least one subsequent anesthetic exposure after their initial surgery. Using the GAS database, this study aimed to address whether multiple (two or more) general anesthetic exposures compared to one or no general anesthetic exposure in early childhood were associated with worse neurodevelopmental outcomes at 5 yr.

Blockchain-enabled digital twin system for brain stroke prediction.

A digital twin is a virtual model of a real-world system that updates in real-time. In healthcare, digital twins are gaining popularity for monitoring activities like diet, physical activity, and sleep. However, their application in predicting serious conditions such as heart attacks, brain strokes and cancers remains under investigation, with current research showing limited accuracy in such predictions.

Predicting delayed neurological sequelae in patients with carbon monoxide poisoning using machine learning models.

Introduction: Delayed neurological sequelae is a common complication following carbon monoxide poisoning, which significantly affects the quality of life of patients with the condition. We aimed to develop a machine learning-based prediction model to predict the frequency of delayed neurological sequelae in patients with carbon monoxide poisoning.

Methods: A single-center retrospective analysis was conducted in an emergency department from January 01, 2018, to December 31, 2023.

A review on the effects of flavan-3-ols, their metabolites, and their dietary sources on gut barrier integrity.

Impairment of gut barrier integrity is associated with the pathogenesis of gastrointestinal diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease, colorectal cancer, and coeliac disease. While many aspects of diet have been linked to improved barrier function, (poly)phenols, a broad group of bioactive phytochemicals, are of potential interest. The (poly)phenolic sub-class, flavan-3-ols, have been investigated in some detail owing to their abundance in commonly consumed foods, including grapes, tea, apples, cocoa, berries, and nuts.

Treatment options for Achilles tendinopathy: a scoping review of preclinical studies.

Background: Achilles tendinopathy (AT) management can be difficult, given the paucity of effective treatment options and the degenerative nature of the condition. Innovative therapies for Achilles tendinopathy are therefore direly needed. New therapeutic developments predominantly begin with preclinical animal and in vitro studies to understand the effects at the molecular level and to evaluate toxicity.

Predictors of good prognosis for pediatric drowning patients.

Objective: We evaluated prognostic factors for pediatric drowning patients. The association between functional outcomes and clinical factors was investigated.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using data for pediatric drowning patients from the Korean Community-based Severe Trauma Survey from 2016 to 2020.