Place-based household vouchers for locally supplied fruit and vegetables: the Fresh Street pilot cluster randomised controlled trial.

Background: Households in areas of socio-economic deprivation are more likely to consume diets low in fruit and vegetables. Fresh Street is a place-based fruit and vegetable voucher scheme with vouchers redeemable with local independent (non-supermarket) vendors. Paper vouchers are offered to all households in a geographical area regardless of household type, size, or income with no requirement to demonstrate need.

Home Urine Dipstick Screening for Bladder and Kidney Cancer in High-Risk Populations in England: A Microsimulation Study of Long-Term Impact and Cost-Effectiveness.

Background: Testing high-risk populations for non-visible haematuria may enable earlier detection of bladder cancer, potentially decreasing mortality. This research aimed to assess the cost-effectiveness of urine dipstick screening for bladder cancer in high-risk populations in England.

Methods:  A microsimulation model developed in R software was calibrated to national incidence data by age, sex and stage, and validated against mortality data.

Behind the scenes of EQA - characteristics, capabilities, benefits and assets of external quality assessment (EQA).

External quality assessment (EQA) enhances patient safety through the evaluation of the quality of laboratory-based and point of care testing. Regulatory agencies and accreditation organizations utilize the results and the laboratory's response to them as part of assessing the laboratory's fitness to practice. In addition, where EQA samples are commutable and the assigned value has been determined using reference measurement procedures (RMPs), EQA data contributes to the verification of metrological traceability of assays as part of the post-market surveillance of diagnostic (IVD) medical devices (IVD-MDs).

Disentangling Sources of Momentum Fluctuations in Xe+Xe and Pb+Pb Collisions with the ATLAS Detector.

High-energy nuclear collisions create a quark-gluon plasma, whose initial condition and subsequent expansion vary from event to event, impacting the distribution of the eventwise average transverse momentum [P([p_{T}])]. Disentangling the contributions from fluctuations in the nuclear overlap size (geometrical component) and other sources at a fixed size (intrinsic component) remains a challenge. This problem is addressed by measuring the mean, variance, and skewness of P([p_{T}]) in ^{208}Pb+^{208}Pb and ^{129}Xe+^{129}Xe collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=5.

Interacting Dark Energy after DESI Baryon Acoustic Oscillation Measurements.

We investigate the implications of the baryon acoustic oscillations measurement released by the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument for interacting dark energy (IDE) models characterized by an energy-momentum flow from dark matter to dark energy. By combining Planck-2018 and Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument data, we observe a preference for interactions, leading to a nonvanishing interaction rate ξ=-0.32_{-0.

Health state utilities associated with invasive pneumococcal disease, pneumonia, and recurrent acute otitis media in young children.

Purpose: Cost-utility analyses examining the value of new vaccines for pneumococcal disease will require health state utilities as inputs. Existing utilities for pneumococcal infections in young children are limited. The purpose of this study was to estimate health state utilities associated with pneumococcal infections in young children.

Determinants and progression of stigma in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/motor neuron disease.

: Stigma in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/motor neurone disease (ALS/MND) may be felt or enacted; felt stigma covers feeling devalued by the illness, whereas enacted stigma refers to being treated differently because of it. Stigma in ALS/MND has been shown to increase social withdrawal, worsen quality of life, and reduce use of assistive devices, so we explored prevalence and factors influencing stigma. : Participants in the Trajectories of Outcome in Neurological Conditions-ALS study completed scales measuring stigma, fatigue, spasticity, functioning, mood, worry, self-esteem, and perceived health, as well as demographic information and symptoms like head drop or emotional lability.

Access to Healthy Built and Natural Environments and Physical Activity and Screen Time in New Zealand Adolescents: A Geospatial Cross-Sectional Study.

The built and natural environment can facilitate (un)healthy behaviors in adolescence. However, most previous studies have focused on examining associations between singular aspects of the environment. This study examined the association between the mixture of health-promoting and health-constraining environmental features in a Healthy Location Index (HLI) and physical activity and screen time among adolescents.

Corpus Linguistics as a Research Method in Nursing: A Practical Approach to Analysing Language Data.

Aim: To highlight the use of corpus linguistics for analysing language data and to provide a worked example of this approach in nursing research.

Design: Methodology discussion paper.

Methods: This paper introduces corpus linguistics as a distinct approach to undertaking qualitative research in nursing.

Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetic Modeling of Cannabidiol, Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol, and Their Metabolites in Healthy Adults After Administration by Multiple Routes.

The two most extensively studied cannabinoids, cannabidiol (CBD) and delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), are used for myriad conditions. THC is predominantly eliminated via the cytochromes P450 (CYPs), whereas CBD is eliminated through both CYPs and UDP-glucuronosyltransferases (UGTs). The fractional contributions of these enzymes to cannabinoid metabolism have shown conflicting results among studies.

Food Allergy Prevalence in Two Population-Based UK Cohorts Born 12 Years Apart.

Background: Adverse food reactions include food allergy (FA; immune-mediated) and food intolerances (non-immune-mediated). FA are classified into IgE- and non-IgE-mediated FA. There is limited information available about changes in FA prevalence over time.

Antibiotic therapy for treating overactive bladder is not supported by clinical evidence.

A number of reports have suggested that the use of prolonged antibiotic treatment could be an effective therapy for patients with overactive bladder (OAB); however, this approach is contrary to existing recommendations regarding the prolonged non-specific use of antibiotics. The existing evidence in this area seems to be circumstantial and anecdotal but, despite this limitation, the use of long-term antibiotic therapy for OAB seems to be increasing. Review and synthesis of the existing evidence for use of antibiotic therapy in patients with OAB identify few studies - just seven papers and four conference proceedings - which are heterogeneous in their design, inclusion and exclusion criteria, treatment regimen employed, approach to the use of antimuscarinic medications, follow-up protocols, and measured outcomes.

In vivo spontaneous Ca activity in the pre-hearing mammalian cochlea.

The refinement of neural circuits towards mature function is driven during development by patterned spontaneous calcium-dependent electrical activity. In the auditory system, this sensory-independent activity arises in the pre-hearing cochlea and regulates the survival and refinement of the auditory pathway. However, the origin and interplay of calcium signals during cochlear development is unknown in vivo.

Exploring cultural imaginaries of robots with children with brittle bone disease: a participatory design study.

A symbiotic relationship exists between narrative imaginaries of and real-life advancements in technology. Such cultural imaginings have a powerful influence on our understanding of the potential that technology has to affect our lives; as a result, narrative-based approaches to (PD) of technology are an active area of investigation.In this ongoing study, the following research questions are addressed: how can PD be optimised for the fields of robotics and assistive technology, particularly with regard to fostering empowerment and eliciting how people imagine the role of technology in their own futures? How can the symbiotic relationship between (popular) cultural imaginaries and real-life technological advancements be acknowledged within the PD process?The study synthesises fictional inquiry and science fiction prototyping methodologies and processes over multiple workshops.

Instrumentalising the imagination: science fiction prototyping as posthumanist methodology.

Imagination and narrative are of vital importance in understanding how we conceive of our potential (disability) futures, and the role technology has in shaping our realities. The concept of 'science fiction prototyping' (SFP) is not only useful for articulating how narrative can be used to foster imaginations about potential future worlds, but also for creating a methodology through which we can understand how the imagination can work as a tool for co-designing better futures. Johnson's conception of SFP (2011) serves as a useful starting place, but we need to more critically examine this (and related) conceptions.

Towards a critical posthumanist perspective on participatory design.

Participatory design places a strong emphasis on human agency, user perspectives and democratic ideals of inclusivity and empowerment, and is therefore often associated with humanist principles and values. In contrast, critical posthumanism questions key humanist assumptions about the centred and singular nature of the 'human condition'. Instead, posthumanism points to the evolving and diverse lived experiences of people and how these are transformed by (and are transforming of) culture, environment and technology.

MYO7A is required for the functional integrity of the mechanoelectrical transduction complex in hair cells of the adult cochlea.

Myosin-VIIA (MYO7A) is an unconventional myosin responsible for syndromic (Usher 1B) or nonsyndromic forms of deafness in humans when mutated. In the cochlea, MYO7A is expressed in hair cells, where it is believed to act as the motor protein tensioning the mechanoelectrical transducer (MET) channels, thus setting their resting open probability (). However, direct evidence for this unique role for an unconventional myosin in mature hair cells is lacking.

Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetic Modeling and Simulation to Support a Change in the FDA-Labeled Dosing Frequency of RHB-105 Low-Dose Rifabutin Triple Therapy for Helicobacter pylori Eradication.

Patient adherence is vital for Helicobacter pylori eradication. Simplifying therapy dosing schedules may promote patient adherence, enhance treatment success rates, and help mitigate the development of antibiotic resistance. We aimed to assess plasma and intragastric rifabutin, amoxicillin, and omeprazole concentrations comparing two dosing schedules of RHB-105 (every 8 h and a more flexible three-times daily schedule, at 8 a.

Exploring the Versatile Uses of Triplet States: Working Principles, Limitations, and Recent Progress in Phosphorescence, TADF, and TTA.

Triplet excited states in organic semiconductors are usually optically dark and long-lived as they have a spin-forbidden transition to the singlet ground state and therefore hinder processes in light-harvesting applications. Also, triplets often cause damage to the system as they can sensitize the formation of reactive singlet oxygen. Despite these unfavorable characteristics, there exist mechanisms through which we can utilize triplet states, and that constitutes the scope of this review.

Evaluating the Safety and Effectiveness of Regional Upper GI Bleed Services Through an Outcome-Based Analysis at a Centre in the United Kingdom.

Background The aim of this study was to compare the clinical characteristics and clinical outcomes of patients who presented with acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding (AUGIB) among two groups of patients who were transferred from local and district hospitals for endoscopy and subsequent management versus direct admissions to the emergency department with AUGIB to the Sheffield University Hospital NHS Trust. Methods We included 259 patients who underwent upper GI endoscopy from April 2018 to March 2022, of whom 29 were transferred and 230 were direct admissions. The analysis focused on demographics, pathological findings, time to endoscopy, blood transfusions, and hospital stay.

Bowel preparation for small bowel capsule endoscopy: standard regimen with 2 L polyethylene glycol versus 1 L polyethylene glycol plus ascorbate.

Background/aims: Optimization of bowel preparation for small bowel capsule endoscopy (SBCE) is debated. Guidelines recommend 2 L of iso-osmolar polyethylene glycol (PEG) to improve SBCE visibility. We compared the efficacy of the standard 2 L PEG solution with a 1 L PEG plus ascorbate (PEG-ASC) preparation, which has already been established for large-bowel preparation.