Social Media Consumption and Effects on Eating Habits

We live in a world where image means everything. There is an emphasis to look a certain way and to be the ideal woman. Beauty trends and expectations have evolved into the new age of social media where the world is at our fingertips. Within this single subjects design, I tracked one individual\u27s social media consumption correlation with their eating habits. The focus of the study was to see social media consumptions\u27 effect on the subjects\u27 relationship with food. The interventions include: photo focused apps such as Instagram, Snapchat, and Tik Tok, news focused apps such as Buzzfeed and Apple News, and achievement focused apps including Linkedin and Facebook. The participant utilized a daily tracker to track their time on different social media apps and their resulting eating habits. There is currently a wide range of literature surrounding the body positivity movement, the impact of social media, and eating disorders in the modern age

Who uses NHS health checks? Investigating the impact of ethnicity and gender and method of invitation on uptake of NHS health checks

Background NHS Health Checks is a national risk assessment prevention programme for all individuals aged 40-74 that reside in England. Through the systematic assessment of an individual’s ten year disease risk, this programme aims to provide early identification and subsequent management of this risk. However, there is limited evidence on how socio-demographic factors impact on uptake and what influence the invitation method has on uptake to this programme. Methods NHS Health Check data from April 2013 to March 2014 was analysed (N = 50,485) for all 30 GP Practices in Luton, a culturally diverse town in England, UK. Data was collected for age, ethnicity, uptake (attendance and non attendance) and invitation method (letter written, verbal face-to-face, telephone). Actual usage of NHS Health Checks was determined for each ethnic group of the population and compared using Chi-square analysis. Results The overall uptake rate for Luton was 44 %, markedly lower that the set target of 50–75 %. The findings revealed a variation of uptake in relation to age, gender, level of deprivation. Ethnicity and gender variations were also found, with ‘White British’ ‘Black Caribbean’ and ‘Indian’ patients most likely to take up a NHS Health Check. However, patients from ‘Any Other White Background’ and ‘Black African’ were significantly less likely to uptake an NHS Health Check compared to all other ethnic groups. Ethnicity and gender differences were also noted in relation to invitation method. Conclusions The findings revealed that different invitation methods were effective for different ethnic and gender groups. Therefore, it is suggested that established protocols of invitation are specifically designed for maximizing the response rate for each population group. Future research should now focus on uncovering the barriers to uptake in particular culturally diverse population groups to determine how public health teams can better engage with these communities

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy

Surgical site infection after gastrointestinal surgery in high-income, middle-income, and low-income countries: a prospective, international, multicentre cohort study

Background: Surgical site infection (SSI) is one of the most common infections associated with health care, but its importance as a global health priority is not fully understood. We quantified the burden of SSI after gastrointestinal surgery in countries in all parts of the world. Methods: This international, prospective, multicentre cohort study included consecutive patients undergoing elective or emergency gastrointestinal resection within 2-week time periods at any health-care facility in any country. Countries with participating centres were stratified into high-income, middle-income, and low-income groups according to the UN's Human Development Index (HDI). Data variables from the GlobalSurg 1 study and other studies that have been found to affect the likelihood of SSI were entered into risk adjustment models. The primary outcome measure was the 30-day SSI incidence (defined by US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria for superficial and deep incisional SSI). Relationships with explanatory variables were examined using Bayesian multilevel logistic regression models. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02662231. Findings: Between Jan 4, 2016, and July 31, 2016, 13 265 records were submitted for analysis. 12 539 patients from 343 hospitals in 66 countries were included. 7339 (58·5%) patient were from high-HDI countries (193 hospitals in 30 countries), 3918 (31·2%) patients were from middle-HDI countries (82 hospitals in 18 countries), and 1282 (10·2%) patients were from low-HDI countries (68 hospitals in 18 countries). In total, 1538 (12·3%) patients had SSI within 30 days of surgery. The incidence of SSI varied between countries with high (691 [9·4%] of 7339 patients), middle (549 [14·0%] of 3918 patients), and low (298 [23·2%] of 1282) HDI (p < 0·001). The highest SSI incidence in each HDI group was after dirty surgery (102 [17·8%] of 574 patients in high-HDI countries; 74 [31·4%] of 236 patients in middle-HDI countries; 72 [39·8%] of 181 patients in low-HDI countries). Following risk factor adjustment, patients in low-HDI countries were at greatest risk of SSI (adjusted odds ratio 1·60, 95% credible interval 1·05–2·37; p=0·030). 132 (21·6%) of 610 patients with an SSI and a microbiology culture result had an infection that was resistant to the prophylactic antibiotic used. Resistant infections were detected in 49 (16·6%) of 295 patients in high-HDI countries, in 37 (19·8%) of 187 patients in middle-HDI countries, and in 46 (35·9%) of 128 patients in low-HDI countries (p < 0·001). Interpretation: Countries with a low HDI carry a disproportionately greater burden of SSI than countries with a middle or high HDI and might have higher rates of antibiotic resistance. In view of WHO recommendations on SSI prevention that highlight the absence of high-quality interventional research, urgent, pragmatic, randomised trials based in LMICs are needed to assess measures aiming to reduce this preventable complication

Analgesic targets identified in mouse sensory neuron somata and terminal pain translatomes

The relationship between transcription and protein expression is complex. We identified polysome-associated RNA transcripts in the somata and central terminals of mouse sensory neurons in control, painful (plus nerve growth factor), and pain-free conditions (Nav1.7-null mice). The majority (98%) of translated transcripts are shared between male and female mice in both the somata and terminals. Some transcripts are highly enriched in the somata or terminals. Changes in the translatome in painful and pain-free conditions include novel and known regulators of pain pathways. Antisense knockdown of selected somatic and terminal polysome-associated transcripts that correlate with pain states diminished pain behavior. Terminal-enriched transcripts included those encoding synaptic proteins (e.g., synaptotagmin), non-coding RNAs, transcription factors (e.g., Znf431), proteins associated with transsynaptic trafficking (HoxC9), GABA-generating enzymes (Gad1 and Gad2), and neuropeptides (Penk). Thus, central terminal translation may well be a significant regulatory locus for peripheral input from sensory neurons

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements

Chemoprophylactic Assessment of Combined Intranasal SARS-CoV-2 Polymerase and Exonuclease Inhibition in Syrian Golden Hamsters

Pibrentasvir (PIB) has been demonstrated to block exonuclease activity of the SARS-CoV-2 polymerase, protecting favipiravir (FVP) and remdesivir (RDV) from post-incorporation excision and eliciting antiviral synergy in vitro. The present study investigated the chemoprophylactic efficacy of PIB, FVP, RDV, FVP with PIB, or RDV with PIB dosed intranasally twice a day, using a Syrian golden hamster contact transmission model. Compared to the saline control, viral RNA levels were significantly lower in throat swabs in FVP (day 7), RDV (day 3, 5, 7), and RDV+PIB (day 3, 5) treatment groups. Similarly, findings were evident for nasal turbinate after PIB and RDV treatment, and lungs after PIB, FVP, and FVP+PIB treatment at day 7. Lung viral RNA levels after RDV and RDV+PIB treatment were only detectable in two animals per group, but the overall difference was not statistically significant. In situ examination of the lungs confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection in all animals, except for one in each of the RDV and RDV+PIB treatment groups, which tested negative in all virus detection approaches. Overall, prevention of transmission was observed in most animals treated with RDV, while other agents reduced the viral load following contact transmission. No benefit of combining FVP or RDV with PIB was observed

Evaluation of Nafamostat as Chemoprophylaxis for SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Hamsters

The successful development of a chemoprophylaxis against SARS-CoV-2 could provide a tool for infection prevention that is implementable alongside vaccination programmes. Nafamostat is a serine protease inhibitor that inhibits SARS-CoV-2 entry in vitro, but it has not been characterised for chemoprophylaxis in animal models. Clinically, nafamostat is limited to intravenous delivery and has an extremely short plasma half-life. This study sought to determine whether intranasal dosing of nafamostat at 5 mg/kg twice daily was able to prevent the airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from infected to uninfected Syrian Golden hamsters. SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detectable in the throat swabs of the water-treated control group 4 days after cohabitation with a SARS-CoV-2 inoculated hamster. However, throat swabs from the intranasal nafamostat-treated hamsters remained SARS-CoV-2 RNA negative for the full 4 days of cohabitation. Significantly lower SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations were seen in the nasal turbinates of the nafamostat-treated group compared to the control (p = 0.001). A plaque assay quantified a significantly lower concentration of infectious SARS-CoV-2 in the lungs of the nafamostat-treated group compared to the control (p = 0.035). When taken collectively with the pathological changes observed in the lungs and nasal mucosa, these data are strongly supportive of the utility of intranasally delivered nafamostat for the prevention of SARS-CoV-2 infection

DNAm scores for serum GDF15 and NT-proBNP levels associate with a range of traits affecting the body and brain

Background: Plasma growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) and N‐terminal pro‐B‐type natriuretic peptide (NT‐proBNP) are cardiovascular biomarkers that associate with a range of diseases. Epigenetic scores (EpiScores) for GDF15 and NT-proBNP may provide new routes for risk stratification.Results: In the Generation Scotland cohort (N ≥ 16,963), GDF15 levels were associated with incident dementia, ischaemic stroke and type 2 diabetes, whereas NT-proBNP levels were associated with incident ischaemic heart disease, ischaemic stroke and type 2 diabetes (all PFDR &lt; 0.05). Bayesian Epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS) identified 12 and 4 DNA methylation (DNAm) CpG sites associated (Posterior Inclusion Probability [PIP] &gt; 95%) with levels of GDF15 and NT-proBNP, respectively. EpiScores for GDF15 and NT-proBNP were trained in a subset of the population. The GDF15 EpiScore replicated protein associations with incident dementia, type 2 diabetes and ischaemic stroke in the Generation Scotland test set (Hazard Ratios (HR) range 1.36 – 1.41, PFDR &lt;0.03). The EpiScore for NT-proBNP replicated the protein association with type 2 diabetes, but failed to replicate an association with ischaemic stroke. EpiScores explained comparable variance in protein levels across both the Generation Scotland test set and the external LBC1936 test cohort (R2 range of 5.7-12.2%). In LBC1936, both EpiScores were associated with indicators of poorer brain health. Neither EpiScore was associated with incident dementia in the LBC1936 population.Conclusions: EpiScores for serum levels of GDF15 and Nt-proBNP associate with body and brain health traits. These EpiScores are provided as potential tools for disease risk stratification.<br/

Epigenetic scores for the circulating proteome as tools for disease prediction

Protein biomarkers have been identified across many age-related morbidities. However, characterising epigenetic influences could further inform disease predictions. Here, we leverage epigenome-wide data to study links between the DNA methylation (DNAm) signatures of the circulating proteome and incident diseases. Using data from four cohorts, we trained and tested epigenetic scores (EpiScores) for 953 plasma proteins, identifying 109 scores that explained between 1% and 58% of the variance in protein levels after adjusting for known protein quantitative trait loci (pQTL) genetic effects. By projecting these EpiScores into an independent sample (Generation Scotland; n = 9537) and relating them to incident morbidities over a follow-up of 14 years, we uncovered 137 EpiScore-disease associations. These associations were largely independent of immune cell proportions, common lifestyle and health factors, and biological aging. Notably, we found that our diabetes-associated EpiScores highlighted previous top biomarker associations from proteome-wide assessments of diabetes. These EpiScores for protein levels can therefore be a valuable resource for disease prediction and risk stratification