Higher Aircraft Noise Exposure Is Linked to Worse Heart Structure and Function by Cardiovascular MRI.

Background: Aircraft noise is a growing concern for communities living near airports.

Objectives: This study aimed to explore the impact of aircraft noise on heart structure and function.

Methods: Nighttime aircraft noise levels (L) and weighted 24-hour day-evening-night aircraft noise levels (L) were provided by the UK Civil Aviation Authority for 2011.

A Psychosocial Critique of the Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic on UK Care Home Staff Attitudes to the Flu Vaccination: A Qualitative Longitudinal Study.

Vaccinating care home staff is essential to protect vulnerable residents by reducing infection risks and creating a safer care environment. However, vaccine hesitancy amongst staff remains a challenge, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic raised concerns about side effects and vaccination mandates. This study examines how the pandemic influenced flu vaccine hesitancy amongst UK care home staff.

Vaccination Communication Strategies and Uptake in Africa: A Systematic Review.

: African countries experience high rates of infectious diseases that are mostly preventable by vaccination. Despite the risks of infections and other adverse outcomes, vaccination coverage in the African region remains significantly low. Poor vaccination knowledge is a contributory factor, and effective communication is crucial to bridging the vaccination uptake gap.

Experimental and Mathematical Modelling Investigation of Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation (PEO) for Surface Hardening of 20Ch Steel.

This study aimed to develop an alternative surface hardening technique for low-carbon steel alloy type 20Ch using plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO). The surface hardening of 20Ch alloy steel samples was achieved through PEO in a NaCO electrolyte solution. Optimal processing parameters were determined experimentally by measuring voltage and applied current.

A Protocol Investigation Comparing Transcatheter Repair with the Standard Surgical Procedure for Secondary Mitral Regurgitation.

Secondary mitral regurgitation (SMR) is characterized by a pathological process impacting the left ventricle (LV) as opposed to the mitral valve (MV). In the absence of structural alterations to the MV, the expansion of the LV or impairment of the papillary muscles (PMs) may ensue. A number of technical procedures are accessible for the purpose of determining the optimal resolution for MR.

International Nephrology Masterclass in Chronic Kidney Disease: Rationale, Summary, and Future Perspectives.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a progressive condition that affects more than 10% of the population worldwide, accounting for more than 843 million (M) individuals. The prevalence of CKD (844 M patients) is higher than that of diabetes mellitus (422 M patients), cancer (42 M patients), and HIV (37 M patients), but people are often less aware of it. Global expert groups predict reductions in the nephrology workforce in the next decade, with a declining interest in nephrology careers.

An 'Index of Oro-dental Disease': A holistic method for understanding the impacts of different risk factors on oral health in archaeological populations.

Objective: To gain a more holistic understanding of oral health in the past by producing an 'Index of Oro-dental Disease' (IOD), incorporating multiple oro-dental diseases and accounting for differences in antemortem/postmortem alveolar bone and tooth loss.

Materials: UK Adult Dental Health Survey, 2009 anonymised dataset (N = 6206). Archaeological dental data from skeletal individuals from medieval and post-medieval Barton-upon-Humber, North Lincolnshire (N = 214, 1150-1855) and St James's Gardens Burial Ground, London (N = 281, 1789-1853).

Association between glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists use and change in alcohol consumption: a systematic review.

Background: Despite the availability of various pharmacological and behavioural interventions, alcohol-related mortality is rising. This systematic review aimed to critically evaluate the existing literature on the association between glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists use (GLP-1 RAs) and alcohol consumption.

Methods: Electronic searches were conducted on Ovid Medline, EMBASE, PsycINFO, clintrials.

Perception of the Importance of Inherited Genetics and Lifestyle on the Development of Chronic Diseases: A UK Cross-Sectional Survey.

Background And Aims: There is emerging evidence that genes, lifestyles and environment play a prominent role in the development of non-communicable diseases. Currently, there is not information on people's perception of inherited genetics vs. lifestyle on disease development.

Prevalence of and factors associated with long COVID among diverse healthcare workers in the UK: a cross-sectional analysis of a nationwide study (UK-REACH).

Objectives: To assess the prevalence of UK healthcare workers (HCWs) who reported symptoms of COVID-19 lasting for longer than 5 weeks and examine associated factors with experiencing long COVID in an ethnically diverse cohort.

Design: A cross-sectional study using data from the UK Research study into Ethnicity And COVID-19 Outcomes in HCWs cohort study.

Setting: Data were collected electronically between December 2020 and March 2021.

Meaningful Patient Participation in Health Care Education: A Theoretically Informed Study Exploring Boundaries and Identities.

Purpose: After recent policy and practice changes, health care schools are expected to involve patients as partners in the management, design, and delivery of professional curricula. However, what these partnerships mean for academic communities and the processes needed to support them are not yet understood. This study examines what involving patients as partners within an academic community means for key stakeholders.

Association of radiation-induced normal tissue toxicity with a high genetic risk for rheumatoid arthritis.

Purpose: Overlapping genes are involved with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and DNA repair pathways. Therefore, we hypothesised that patients with a high polygenic risk score (PRS) for RA will have an increased risk of radiotherapy (RT) toxicity given the involvement of DNA repair.

Methods: Primary analysis was performed on 1494 prostate cancer, 483 lung cancer and 1820 breast cancer patients assessed for development of RT toxicity in the REQUITE study.

The role of aspirin in preventing gastrointestinal cancers.

Cancer remains an increasing global health issue and is projected to cause 50% of all global deaths by 2050. Gastrointestinal (GI) tract cancers currently account for approximately 25-30% of all cancer deaths. Consequently, there has been an emerging focus to optimize preventative measures for these cancers through varied avenues such as dietary change, public policy, screening/surveillance via endoscopy and most recently, chemoprevention.

Health-related quality of life and health state utility value in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is associated with high mortality, heavy economic burden, limited treatment options and poor prognosis, and seriously affects the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and life expectancy of patients. This systematic review and meta-analysis of HRQoL and health state utility value (HSUV) in IPF patients and the instruments used in this assessment aimed to provide information sources and data support for the future research on IPF HRQoL and HSUV.

Methods: We searched the PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science and Cochrane Library databases for studies reporting the HRQoL or HSUV of IPF patients, with the retrieval time from the establishment of each database to April 2024.

A multi-centre UK-based survey on angioedema secondary to acquired C1 inhibitor deficiency.

Background: Acquired angioedema due to C1-inhibitor deficiency (AAE-C1-INH) is very rare compared to its prototype, hereditary angioedema. An updated characterisation of the AAE-C1-INH cohort in UK is required to inform management.

Objectives: To describe the disease burden of AAE-C1-INH, long-term prophylaxis (LTP) and the clinical, immunochemical and treatment profiles of AAE-associated diseases in UK.

The GLOB-cAGE Consortium: A Global Cardiovascular Collaborative Network of Older Adults with Cardiovascular Disease.

Background: GLOB-cAGE is a newly established unprecedented consortium that brings together cohorts of older persons with cardiovascular disease worldwide. GLOB-cAGE aims to harmonize non-identifiable data from longitudinal cohorts examining cardiovascular health and cardiovascular disease diagnosis and management in older individuals to perform meta-regression analyses using combined repositories of standardized subject-level data points.

Methods And Design: Studies registered into GLOB-cAGE are population-based longitudinal cohort studies or clinical trials, either ongoing or completed, that involve assessing cardiovascular health as a central objective.

Spatiotemporal multi-feature fusion vehicle trajectory anomaly detection for intelligent transportation: An improved method combining autoencoders and dynamic Bayesian networks.

With the continuous development of intelligent transportation systems, traffic safety has become a major societal concern, and vehicle trajectory anomaly detection technology has emerged as a crucial method to ensure safety. However, current technologies face significant challenges in handling spatiotemporal data and multi-feature fusion, including difficulties in big data processing, and have room for improvement in these areas. To address these issues, this paper proposes a novel method that combines autoencoders, Mahalanobis distance, and dynamic Bayesian networks for anomaly detection.

Cough and sputum symptoms reduce physical activity in patients with NTM pulmonary disease.

Although physical activity is an important outcome in patients with chronic respiratory disease, it has not been characterised in those with non-tuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease (NTM-PD). This study aimed to evaluate physical activity and its associated factors in patients with NTM-PD.This prospective observational study measured daily step counts using an accelerometer to assess physical activity (steps per day).

Air pollution modifies colonisation factors in beneficial symbiont Snodgrassella and disrupts the bumblebee gut microbiome.

Particulate air pollutants, a major air pollution component, are detrimental to human health and a significant risk to wildlife and ecosystems globally. Here we report the effects of particulate pollutant black carbon on the beneficial gut microbiome of important global insect pollinator, the buff-tailed bumblebee (Bombus terrestris). Our data shows that exposure to black carbon particulates alters biofilm structure, gene expression and initial adhesion of beneficial bee gut coloniser, Snodgrassella alvi.

Anticipatory smooth pursuit eye movements scale with the probability of visual motion: The role of target speed and acceleration.

Sensory-motor systems can extract statistical regularities in dynamic uncertain environments, enabling quicker responses and anticipatory behavior for expected events. Anticipatory smooth pursuit eye movements (aSP) have been observed in primates when the temporal and kinematic properties of a forthcoming visual moving target are fully or partially predictable. To investigate the nature of the internal model of target kinematics underlying aSP, we tested the effect of varying the target kinematics and its predictability.

Quality-by-design principles applied to the development and optimisation of lidocaine-loaded dissolving microneedle arrays - a proof-of-concept.

The use of dissolving microneedle arrays (dMNA) for intradermal and transdermal drug delivery has been a growing trend in the field for the past decades. However, a lack of specific regulatory standards still hinders their clinical development and translation to market. It is also well-known that dMNA composition significantly impacts their performance, with each new formulation potentially presenting a challenge for developers, manufacturers and regulatory agencies.

Detecting and Attributing Change in Climate and Complex Systems: Foundations, Green's Functions, and Nonlinear Fingerprints.

Detection and attribution (DA) studies are cornerstones of climate science, providing crucial evidence for policy decisions. Their goal is to link observed climate change patterns to anthropogenic and natural drivers via the optimal fingerprinting method (OFM). We show that response theory for nonequilibrium systems offers the physical and dynamical basis for OFM, including the concept of causality used for attribution.

Epidemiological and Clinical Characteristics of Mpox in Jakarta, Indonesia During October 2023 to February 2024.

Objective: Mpox, a zoonotic disease, has emerged as a significant international public health concern due to an increase in the number of cases diagnosed in non-endemic countries. To support public health response efforts to interrupt Mpox transmission in the community, this study aims to identify epidemiological and clinical aspects of Mpox in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Methods: The study collected Mpox data from the Provincial Health Department in Jakarta, Indonesia, from October 2023 to February 2024.