The assessment and management of patients with type 2 myocardial infarction: an international Delphi study.

Aims: Type 2 myocardial infarction due to myocardial oxygen supply-demand imbalance is associated with poor outcomes. There are no guidelines to inform care for these patients. The consensus on the assessment and management of type 2 myocardial infarction is gained.

Characterisation of the Historic Demographic Decline of the British European Polecat Population.

The European polecat (Mustela putorius) has a widespread distribution across many countries of mainland Europe but is documented to be declining within these ranges. In Britain, direct persecution led to a severe decline of the polecat population during the 19th century. Unlike European mainland populations, it is now recovering across much of its former British range.

Fuelling aortic stenosis: the integral role of 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-biphosphatase 3-mediated glycolysis in Lp(a)-induced valve inflammation.

Aims: Calcific aortic valve disease is the most common valvular heart disease characterized by an inflammatory response in the leaflets followed by fibro-calcific remodelling of valvular interstitial cells (VICs). Lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] is a well-recognized risk factor for CAVD, however the role of metabolism in driving Lp(a)-induced inflammation remains largely elusive. Therefore, we aim to investigate the role of Lp(a) in driving inflammatory and metabolic changes in VICs and examine how alterations in cellular metabolism can alter their inflammatory phenotype.

Alternative splicing drives a dynamic transcriptomic response during programmed cell death.

Programmed cell death (PCD) in unicellular organisms is not well characterized. This study investigated the transcriptomic response of to G418-induced PCD, focusing on the role of alternative splicing (AS). RNA sequencing revealed extensive transcriptional changes, affecting approximately 70% of annotated genes over six hours of treatment.

Experimental signatures of interstitial electron density in transparent dense sodium.

The transparent 4 phase of dense sodium (Na), stable above 200 GPa, has been computed to be an electride in which valence electrons are localised on interstitial lattice sites within the structure. However, there is no experimental evidence for this interstitial electron localisation in Na, or indeed in other high-density electride phases. Using static compression and single-crystal X-ray diffraction techniques, we have grown and studied a single-crystal sample of Na in the 4 phase at 223 GPa.

Silicate precursor silane detected in cold low-metallicity brown dwarf.

Within 20 pc of the Sun, there are currently 29 known cold brown dwarfs-sources with measured distances and an estimated effective temperature between that of Jupiter (170 K) and approximately 500 K (ref. ). These sources are almost all isolated and are the closest laboratories we have for detailed atmospheric studies of giant planets formed outside the Solar System.

Discovery of core genes for systemic lupus erythematosus via genome-wide aggregated trans-effects analysis.

The "omnigenic" hypothesis postulates that the polygenic effects of common variants on a typical complex trait coalesce on relatively few core genes through trans-effects on their expression. Our aim was to identify core genes for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) by testing for association with genome-wide aggregated trans-effects (GATE) scores for gene expression in a large genetic dataset (5267/4909 SLE cases/controls). SLE was strongly associated with upregulation of expression of eight interferon-stimulated genes driven by shared trans-effects.

Challenges in reducing the 10-item CARE measure to a two-item version: comparison of patients' preferences with psychometric evaluation in a cross-sectional survey in Scotland.

Background: The Consultation and Relational Empathy (CARE) Measure is a widely used 10-item measure to assess patients' perceptions of physician empathy. Takahashi et al.'s (2022) recent study proposed a two-item version based on psychometric evaluation of survey responses, without considering patient preferences.

Has the new Scottish GP contract improved GPs' working lives in deprived areas? A secondary analysis of two cross-sectional national surveys of GPs' views in 2018 and 2023.

Background: The new 2018 Scottish GP contract aimed to reduce GP workload and address health inequalities in primary care.

Aim: To compare the working life experiences of GPs working in affluent and deprived areas in 2023, and assess changes since 2018.

Design & Setting: Two postal surveys were conducted in 2018 (=2465, 56% response rate) and 2023 (=1378, 30% response rate), of all qualified GPs in Scotland.

Delivering public health advice to sign language users: a qualitative study with key stakeholders.

Objectives: There are more than 10 million deaf or hard of hearing people in the UK. While the deaf and hard of hearing population is heterogeneous, many of those with profound hearing loss are part of deaf communities (UK estimate around 120 000) which are defined minority communities. Many members of deaf communities are sign language users.

Developing a machine learning prediction model for postpartum psychiatric admission: Findings from the born in Queensland study.

Background: We utilised novel prenatal depression screening data in a population sample to develop a machine learning-based prediction model for postpartum psychiatric admissions.

Methods: We used health administrative data from Queensland, Australia, containing 945 clinical and demographic variables for 205,495 pregnancies between July 2015 and January 2021. Two machine learning algorithms, gradient-boosted trees and elastic net regularisation, were compared to predict postpartum psychiatric admissions occurring within 12 months of neonatal discharge.

Parent reports of eating behaviour and feeding practices: effects of parent and child sex.

Research on parental feeding practices has focused on mothers, often overlooking fathers' perspectives and the influence of child sex. This study examined (1) differences between fathers' and mothers' own eating behaviours, their use of feeding practices, and perceptions of their children's eating behaviours, and (2) the role of child sex in these perceptions and practices. Parents (N = 784; 145 fathers and 639 mothers) of preschoolers (3-5 years, 51.

Ancient host-associated microbes obtained from mammoth remains.

Ancient genomic studies have extensively explored human-microbial interactions, yet research on non-human animals remains limited. In this study, we analyzed ancient microbial DNA from 483 mammoth remains spanning over 1 million years, including 440 newly sequenced and unpublished samples from a 1.1-million-year-old steppe mammoth.

Nutritional co-therapy with vitamin D and L-theanine reduces unpredictable mild chronic stress (UCMS) in aged mice by restoring alpha-oscillations, dopamine levels and behavioral improvement.

Late-life depression (LLD) arises from the confluence of neurochemical dysfunction, oxidative stress, and neural network disintegration, presenting a formidable therapeutic challenge. Here, we demonstrated that combined vitamin D (Vit D) and L-theanine (L-thea) administration exerts multimodal neurorestorative effects in an aged murine model of unpredictable chronic mild stress (UCMS), addressing the core triad of LLD pathology: dopaminergic decline, redox imbalance, and thalamocortical dyssynchrony. Using a comprehensive battery of behavioral assays (Open Field Test, Elevated Plus Maze, Hole Board Test, Tail Suspension Test, Forced Swim Test, Sucrose Preference Test), we observed profound anxiogenic and anhedonic phenotypes in the UCMS-exposed mice, accompanied by elevated immobility and suppressed exploratory drive.

NRF2 deficiency is associated with synaptic alterations and ether-linked phospholipid imbalance in the hippocampus.

Synaptic loss is a key factor in the cognitive decline observed during aging and in neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia, where synaptopathy plays a central role in hippocampal dysfunction. In this study, we investigated the role of NRF2, a master regulator of cellular homeostasis, in maintaining synaptic integrity. We assessed synaptic contacts both in vitro and in vivo and found that NRF2 deficiency leads to a significant reduction in vGLUT1 levels, accompanied by a decrease in the number of synaptic contacts.

Stocking African catfish in Lake Victoria provides effective biocontrol of snail vectors of Schistosoma mansoni.

In areas of high infection prevalence, effective control of schistosomiasis - one of the most important Neglected Tropical Diseases - requires supplementing medical treatment with interventions targeted at the environmental reservoir of disease. In addition to provision of clean water, reliable sanitation, and molluscicide use to control the obligate intermediate host snail, top-down biological control of parasite-competent snails has recently gained increasing interest in the scientific community. However, evidence that natural predators can effectively reduce snail abundance and, ultimately, transmission risk to vulnerable human populations remains limited.

Power and sample size for reversible linear mixed models with clustering and longitudinality: GLIMMPSE Version 3.

GLIMMPSE Version 3 is a free, web-based, open-source software tool, which calculates power and sample size for general linear mixed models with Gaussian errors. The software permits power calculations for clinical trials, randomized experiments, and observational studies with clustering, repeated measures, and both, and almost any testable hypothesis. The software has been supported by five United States National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants, is used for more than 14,000 power or sample size calculations per year, has been cited in almost 500 peer-reviewed manuscripts, and used to design more than 200 million dollars in NIH-funded studies.

The relationship between expelled eggs, morbidity and age in a Schistosoma mansoni endemic setting in Uganda: Implications for current elimination policies.

Direct morbidity assessments are rarely included in monitoring and evaluation of Schistosoma mansoni mass drug administration programmes. This is despite morbidity reduction being the leading objective of control and elimination as a public health problem in the World Health Organization (WHO) targets. Instead, the number of eggs-per-gram (EPG) of faeces are used as a morbidity proxy.

How loneliness relates to health, wellbeing, quality of life, and healthcare resource utilisation and costs across multiple age groups in the UK.

Increasing evidence of its detrimental impact has brought loneliness to the forefront of public health in recent years. Loneliness has been recognised as a cross-cutting theme for Healthy Ageing by the World Health Organisation and there is increasing need to better understand its wide-ranging health, wellbeing, and economic impacts across the wider population. This study utilises data from wave 13(2021-2023) of the Understanding Society UK Household Longitudinal Study to evaluate health and economic outcomes associated to loneliness (UCLA 3-item scale).

Pathways between intimate partner violence and HIV care and treatment during pregnancy and postpartum: A qualitative study in southwestern Kenya.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is associated with suboptimal HIV treatment behaviors and health outcomes among perinatal women. Less is known about the postpartum phase or how distinct types of perinatal IPV exposure may inhibit HIV-related care. We conducted a qualitative study nested within an ongoing trial among perinatal women in rural Kenya to explore the influence of IPV on adherence to HIV treatment during pregnancy and postpartum.