Ischemic Preconditioning Negatively Affects Thrombogenic Clotting Profile in Cerebral Small Vessel Occlusion Stroke Patients.

Background: The study evaluated the effect of an acute and a 2-week daily repetitive ischemic preconditioning (IPC) on conduit artery vascular function and thrombogenic clotting profile, in patients with a recent ischemic stroke.

Methods: Fourteen patients, aged 71 ± 8 years, with a cerebral small vessel occlusion stroke were included in a randomized, controlled, open-label cross-over study. Treatment consisted of 2 weeks of daily IPC, four 5-min rounds of upper-arm occlusion, interspersed by 5 min rest periods.

Continuity and locum use for acute consultations: observational study of subsequent workload.

Background: Workload is probably the biggest challenge facing general practice and little is known about any modifiable factors. For GPs, both continuity and locum status are associated with differences in outcomes.

Aim: To determine whether practice and hospital workload after an index acute consultation depend on the type of GP consulted (locums and practice GPs with [regular] and without [non-regular] continuity, and locums).

Favipiravir for COVID-19 in adults in the community in PRINCIPLE, an open-label, randomised, controlled, adaptive platform trial of short- and longer-term outcomes.

Background: Evidence for the effect of favipiravir treatment of acute COVID-19 on recovery, hospital admissions and longer-term outcomes in community settings is limited.

Methods: In this multicentre. open-label, multi-arm, adaptive platform randomised controlled trial participants aged ≥18 years in the community with a positive test for SARS-CoV-2 and symptoms lasting ≤14 days were randomised to: usual care; usual care plus favipiravir tablets (loading dose of 3600 mg in divided doses on day one, then 800 mg twice a day for four days); or, usual care plus other interventions.

Reproducibility in Radiomics: A Comparison of Feature Extraction Methods and Two Independent Datasets.

Radiomics involves the extraction of information from medical images that are not visible to the human eye. There is evidence that these features can be used for treatment stratification and outcome prediction. However, there is much discussion about the reproducibility of results between different studies.

The Application of Radiomics and AI to Molecular Imaging for Prostate Cancer.

Molecular imaging is a key tool in the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer (PCa). Magnetic Resonance (MR) plays a major role in this respect with nuclear medicine imaging, particularly, Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen-based, (PSMA-based) positron emission tomography with computed tomography (PET/CT) also playing a major role of rapidly increasing importance. Another key technology finding growing application across medicine and specifically in molecular imaging is the use of machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI).

Ivermectin for COVID-19 in adults in the community (PRINCIPLE): An open, randomised, controlled, adaptive platform trial of short- and longer-term outcomes.

Background: The evidence for whether ivermectin impacts recovery, hospital admissions, and longer-term outcomes in COVID-19 is contested. The WHO recommends its use only in the context of clinical trials.

Methods: In this multicentre, open-label, multi-arm, adaptive platform randomised controlled trial, we included participants aged ≥18 years in the community, with a positive SARS-CoV-2 test, and symptoms lasting ≤14 days.

Differential Etching of Rays at Wood Surfaces Exposed to an Oxygen Glow Discharge Plasma.

Basswood samples were exposed to oxygen glow-discharge plasmas for 30 min, and etching of radial and tangential longitudinal surfaces was measured. It was hypothesized that there would be a positive correlation between etching and plasma energy, and differential etching of wood surfaces because of variation in the microstructure and chemical composition of different woody tissues. Etching at the surface of basswood samples was examined using profilometry.

Cost-utility analysis of molnupiravir for high-risk, community-based adults with COVID-19: an economic evaluation of the PANORAMIC trial.

Background: The cost-effectiveness of molnupiravir, an oral antiviral for early treatment of SARS-CoV-2, has not been established in vaccinated populations.

Aim: To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of molnupiravir relative to usual care alone among mainly vaccinated community-based people at higher risk of severe outcomes from COVID-19 over 6 months.

Design And Setting: An economic evaluation of the PANORAMIC trial in the UK.

Primary and secondary care collaboration in clinical research.

More patients are seen in primary care than in any other part of the health system in the UK. Our NHS datasets are the envy of the world and provide us with huge opportunities to support our patients and populations. In this paper, we demonstrate the breadth of primary care research, recruitment and delivery options.

Small is Powerful: Demonstration of the Impact of Nanoformed Piroxicam in a Controlled Clinical Study.

Purpose: New solutions are needed to enable the efficient use of poorly water-soluble drugs. Therefore, we aimed to demonstrate that decreasing particle size with a solution-to-particle method known as nanoforming can improve dissolution and thus bioavailability.

Methods: Piroxicam, a poorly water-soluble non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), was used as a model compound.

Platform adaptive trial of novel antivirals for early treatment of COVID-19 In the community (PANORAMIC): protocol for a randomised, controlled, open-label, adaptive platform trial of community novel antiviral treatment of COVID-19 in people at increased risk of more severe disease.

Introduction: There is an urgent need to determine the safety, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of novel antiviral treatments for COVID-19 in vaccinated patients in the community at increased risk of morbidity and mortality from COVID-19.

Methods And Analysis: PANORAMIC is a UK-wide, open-label, prospective, adaptive, multiarm platform, randomised clinical trial that evaluates antiviral treatments for COVID-19 in the community. A master protocol governs the addition of new antiviral treatments as they become available, and the introduction and cessation of existing interventions via interim analyses.

Including older people in health and social care research: best practice recommendations based on the INCLUDE framework.

Background: Older people are often explicitly or implicitly excluded from research, in particular clinical trials. This means that study findings may not be applicable to them, or that older people may not be offered treatments due to an absence of evidence.

Aims: The aim of this work was to develop recommendations to guide all research relevant to older people.

Obesity and chronic kidney disease: A current review.

Background: Obesity poses significant challenges to healthcare globally, particularly through its bi-directional relationship with co-morbid metabolic conditions such as type 2 diabetes and hypertension. There is also emerging evidence of an association between obesity and chronic kidney disease (CKD) which is less well characterized.

Methods: A literature search of electronic libraries was conducted to identify and present a narrative review of the interplay between obesity and CKD.