Blogging as a viable research methodology for young people with arthritis: a qualitative study.

The development of services that are responsive to the needs of users is a health policy priority. Finding ways of engaging young people in research to gain insights into their particular experiences, perspectives, and needs is vital but challenging. These data are critical to improving services in ways that meet the needs of young people

Understanding and optimising an identification/brief advice (IBA) service about alcohol in the community pharmacy setting

This is the final report of an evaluation into the identification/brief advice (IBA) service about alcohol in community pharmacy settings in the North West of England. Since 2007, almost 100 pharmacies in the North West have - at some point - been commissioned to provide an identification and brief advice (IBA) service for alcohol. This evaluation sought to understand how the service had been adapted for and implemented in the community pharmacy setting, and how its potential might be maximised. Its aims were: 1. To characterise, consolidate and optimise both the constant and variable elements of the pharmacy alcohol identification/brief advice (IBA) service in NHS Northwest, and 2. To inform planning for current and future pharmacy based services promoting safe consumption of alcohol. The evaluation was split into three main workstreams, supported by a preliminary scoping phase, and combined quantitative and qualitative methods: • Descriptive and comparative statistical analysis of pharmacy alcohol IBA data; • In-pharmacy work, including observation of staff engagement with customers, recording consultations between staff and customers, follow-up telephone interviews with customers, and group feedback interviews with pharmacy staff; • Stakeholder engagement through self-completion surveys, semi-structured interviews and a workshop. This report gives the background to the project, and details the methods, results and implications

The role of pharmacists in caring for young people with chronic illness

PURPOSE: To explore the perceived and potential roles of pharmacists in the care of young people aged 10–24 years with chronic illness, through the exemplar of juvenile arthritis, from the perspectives of UK community and hospital pharmacists, health service commissioners, rheumatology health professionals, and lay advocates. METHODS: A sequential mixed methods study design comprises the following: focus groups with community and hospital pharmacists; telephone interviews with pharmacy and rheumatology stakeholders and commissioners; and multidisciplinary group discussions to prioritize roles generated by the first two qualitative phases. RESULTS: The high priority roles for pharmacists, identified by pharmacists and rheumatology staff, were developing generic health care skills among young people; transferring information effectively across care interfaces; building trusting relationships with young people; helping young people to find credible online health information; and the need to develop specialist expertise. Participants identified associated challenges for pharmacists in supporting young people with chronic illness. These challenges included parents collecting prescription refills alone, thus reducing opportunities to engage, and pharmacist isolation from the wider health care team. CONCLUSIONS: This study has led to the identification of specific enhancements to pharmacy services for young people, which have received the endorsement of a wide range of stakeholders. These suggestions could inform the next steps in developing the contribution of community and hospital pharmacy to support young people with chronic illness in the optimal use of their medication

MIRO: A robot “Mammal” with a biomimetic brain-based control system

We describe the design of a novel commercial biomimetic brain-based robot, MIRO, developed as a prototype robot companion. The MIRO robot is animal-like in several aspects of its appearance, however, it is also biomimetic in a more significant way, in that its control architecture mimics some of the key principles underlying the design of the mammalian brain as revealed by neuroscience. Specifically, MIRO builds on decades of previous work in developing robots with brain-based control systems using a layered control architecture alongside centralized mechanisms for integration and action selection. MIRO’s control system operates across three core processors, P1-P3, that mimic aspects of spinal cord, brainstem, and forebrain functionality respectively. Whilst designed as a versatile prototype for next generation companion robots, MIRO also provides developers and researchers with a new platform for investigating the potential advantages of brain-based control

Feasibility of identifying families for genetic studies of birth defects using the National Health Interview Survey

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to determine whether the National Health Interview Survey is a useful source to identify informative families for genetic studies of birth defects. METHODS: The 1994/1995 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) was used to identify households where individuals with two or more birth defects reside. Four groups of households were identified: 1) single non-familial (one individual with one birth defect); 2) single familial (more than one individual with one birth defect); 3) multiple non-familial (one individual with more than one birth defect), and 4) multiple familial (more than one individual with more than one birth defect). The March 2000 U.S. Census on households was used to estimate the total number of households in which there are individuals with birth defects. RESULTS: Of a total of 28,094 households and surveyed about birth defects and impairments, 1,083 single non-familial, 55 multiple non-familial, 54 single familial, and 8 multiple familial households were identified. Based on the 2000 U.S. census, it is estimated that there are 4,472,385 households where at least one person has one birth defect in the United States and in 234,846 of them there are at least two affected individuals. Western states had the highest prevalence rates. CONCLUSIONS: Population-based methods, such as the NHIS, are modestly useful to identify the number and the regions where candidate families for genetic studies of birth defects reside. Clinic based studies and birth defects surveillance systems that collect family history offer better probability of ascertainment

Patient information leaflets (PILs) for UK randomised controlled trials : a feasibility study exploring whether they contain information to support decision making about trial participation

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG-supplemented formula expands butyrate-producing bacterial strains in food allergic infants.

Dietary intervention with extensively hydrolyzed casein formula supplemented with Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (EHCF+LGG) accelerates tolerance acquisition in infants with cow's milk allergy (CMA). We examined whether this effect is attributable, at least in part, to an influence on the gut microbiota. Fecal samples from healthy controls (n=20) and from CMA infants (n=19) before and after treatment with EHCF with (n=12) and without (n=7) supplementation with LGG were compared by 16S rRNA-based operational taxonomic unit clustering and oligotyping. Differential feature selection and generalized linear model fitting revealed that the CMA infants have a diverse gut microbial community structure dominated by Lachnospiraceae (20.5±9.7%) and Ruminococcaceae (16.2±9.1%). Blautia, Roseburia and Coprococcus were significantly enriched following treatment with EHCF and LGG, but only one genus, Oscillospira, was significantly different between infants that became tolerant and those that remained allergic. However, most tolerant infants showed a significant increase in fecal butyrate levels, and those taxa that were significantly enriched in these samples, Blautia and Roseburia, exhibited specific strain-level demarcations between tolerant and allergic infants. Our data suggest that EHCF+LGG promotes tolerance in infants with CMA, in part, by influencing the strain-level bacterial community structure of the infant gut

Regional and developmental brain expression patterns of SNAP25 splice variants

SNAP25 is an essential SNARE protein for regulated exocytosis in neuronal cells. Differential splicing of the SNAP25 gene results in the expression of two transcripts, SNAP25a and SNAP25b. These splice variants differ by only 9 amino acids, and studies of their expression to date have been limited to analysis of the corresponding mRNAs. Although these studies have been highly informative, it is possible that factors such as differential turnover of the SNAP25 proteins could complicate interpretations based entirely on mRNA expression profiles

Intestinal lesions in dogs with acute hemorrhagic diarrhea syndrome associated with netF-positive Clostridium perfringens type A

Acute hemorrhagic diarrhea syndrome (AHDS), formerly named canine hemorrhagic gastroenteritis, is one of the most common causes of acute hemorrhagic diarrhea in dogs, and is characterized by acute onset of diarrhea, vomiting, and hemoconcentration. To date, histologic examinations have been limited to postmortem specimens of only a few dogs with AHDS. Thus, the aim of our study was to describe in detail the distribution, character, and grade of microscopic lesions, and to investigate the etiology of AHDS. Our study comprised 10 dogs with AHDS and 9 control dogs of various breeds, age, and sex. Endoscopic biopsies of the gastrointestinal tract were taken and examined histologically (H&E, Giemsa), immunohistochemically (Clostridium spp., parvovirus), and bacteriologically. The main findings were acute necrotizing and neutrophilic enterocolitis (9 of 10) with histologic detection of clostridia-like, gram-positive bacteria on the necrotic mucosal surface (9 of 10). Clostridium perfringens isolated from the duodenum was identified as type A (5 of 5) by multiplex PCR (5 of 5). In addition, each of the 5 genotyped isolates encoded the pore-forming toxin netF. Clostridium spp. (not C. perfringens) were cultured from duodenal biopsies in 2 of 9 control dogs. These findings suggest that the pore-forming netF toxin is responsible for the necrotizing lesions in the intestines of a significant proportion of dogs with AHDS. Given that the stomach was not involved in the process, the term acute hemorrhagic diarrhea syndrome seems more appropriate than the frequently used term hemorrhagic gastroenteritis