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The quininib series is a novel collection of small-molecule drugs with antiangiogenic, antivascular permeability, anti-inflammatory, and antiproliferative activity. Quininib was initially identified as a drug hit during a random chemical library screen for determinants of developmental ocular angiogenesis in zebrafish. To enhance drug efficacy, novel quininib analogs were designed by applying medicinal chemistry approaches. The resulting quininib drug series has efficacy in in vitro and ex vivo models of angiogenesis utilizing human cell lines and tissues. In vivo, quininib drugs reduce pathological angiogenesis and retinal vascular permeability in rodent models. Quininib acts as a cysteinyl leukotriene (CysLT) receptor antagonist, revealing new roles of these G-protein-coupled receptors in developmental angiogenesis of the eye and unexpectedly in uveal melanoma (UM). The quininib series highlighted the potential of CysLT receptors as therapeutic targets for retinal vasculopathies (e.g., neovascular age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and diabetic macular edema) and ocular cancers (e.g., UM). Enterprise Ireland European Commission Horizon 2020 Health Research Board Irish Research Council Science Foundation Ireland

Worldwide, 1 in 2000 people suffer from inherited retinal dystrophies (IRD). Individuals with IRD typically present with progressive vision loss that ultimately results in blindness. Unfortunately, effective treatment options are not widely available due to the genetic and clinical heterogeneity of these diseases. There are multiple gene, cell, and drug-based therapies in various phases of clinical trials for IRD. This mini-review documents current progress made in drug-based clinical trials for treating IRD.

The validity of the general self-rated health (SRH) assessment is well established; however, there are empirical questions as to the utility of health assessment measures that employ more refined comparisons. The aim of this study is to examine subjective health assessment measures in comparison to the most widely used SRH measure (Global SRH) among men and women. We investigate agreement between these measures, by gender, and their correspondence with objective health conditions using a sample of adults over the age of 60 from the 2006 La Encuesta Nacional de Salud y Nutricion (ENSANUT). ENSANUT is a nationally representative, repeated cross-sectional Mexican survey (n = 5511) and advantageous given its inclusion of three distinct subjective health assessment questions including: global self-rated health, self-rated heath today, and 12-month self-rated health. First, we descriptively examine demographic characteristics of the sample and the degree of correspondence between health ratings. Then, we explore congruence between objective health conditions and subjective-health ratings within each SRH measure. We estimate three ordered logistic regression models testing responses on a three-point scale and use predicted probabilities for interpretation. Our findings reaffirm the role of physical health conditions as strong predictors of poor SRH and highlight the significance of mental health as a determinant of subjective health in this sample of older Mexican adults. We caution that future research examining older adults’ health should carefully consider the type of subjective health assessment used.

The aim of this study was to explore nurses' experience of using leech therapy. Leech therapy is useful in promoting revascularisation of skin grafts. Nurse disquiet in their role as leech therapists has been noted. This study explored the experience of Irish nurses. A qualitative design with an interview schedule was used to learn about emotional and practical clinical experiences. Interviews were carried out with seven nurses working with leeches in reconstructive surgery in 2013. These interviews were coded and explored for themes. Results revealed that many nurses feel aversion to the use of leeches. This may be associated with the use of a parasitic organism as treatment in conflict with the nurse's role in cross infection. It was also found that management of a nurse's own and patient's emotional responses is required. In conclusion, preparation for the role of leech therapy beyond the purely practical is necessary, and should explore affective responses of the practitioner and patients.

The impact of technological and scientific innovations combined with consumer demands for clear, usable product information have changed the core competencies that technical communicators now need. In short, the job title, ‘technical communicator’ does not reflect what contemporary practitioners do. Despite the debate over the various meanings and ‘ownership’ of information design, the title, ‘information designer,’ appears to be the ‘best fit’ to describe the new profile of technical communicators. A study of contemporary New Zealand technical communicators reveals a shift similar to that of practitioners in the United States to redefine their roles as information designers.

In Ireland, approximately 3,000 patients present to the Emergency Department (ED) with hip fractures annually. These patients are at high risk of decubitus ulceration, which contributes to significant morbidity, and extended length of hospital stay.Aim/Service Description: Our aim was to implement improved clinical standards for early identification and prevention of decubitus ulceration in at risk patients. All nursing staff were involved with regard to the audit and implementation of new practices to improve clinical practice in this patient group.Clinical Effectiveness Initiative: We conducted an audit of our nursing documentation to establish if risk assessment on skin integrity is performed on at risk ED patients aged over 65. Additionally, an audit was conducted on ED trolleys using the ‘’bottoming out test’’ to establish pressure relieving status. In consultation with tissue viability, we are implementing revisions of our nursing documentation to include a 24-hour skin inspection and a patient repositioning schedule, coupled with a training programme for all staff. We are also piloting a tissue viability scanner to identify vulnerable skin areas, requiring additional interventions.Results: Our audit highlighted deficits in compliance with routine skin assessment (< 30%), and the documentation tools of skin integrity. The ED trolley audit identified that over 95% of our mattresses failed the ‘’bottoming out test’’.Challenges and Supports: We are in the process of contacting the suppliers of our current mattresses. It has been difficult to locate the person(s) to identify what pressure relieving properties are in or current mattresses. It is important to obtain this information to identify if they provide adequate pressure relieving properties or if we need to research and obtain mattresses from a different supplier.With regard to implementing a new repositioning/pressure area care documentation chart we need to go through documentation committee locally and gain approval to implement within the department.Benefits and Outcomes: We are reviewing our ED trolley mattresses, implementing revised nursing documentation, skin inspection and a repositioning schedule chart. We are also introducing pressure relieving devices e.g. heal suspension boots, sacral protectors and electronically flagging at risk patients at the time of admission.Conclusion: we have identified significant areas for improvement both in clinical processes and education to reduce the prevalence of decubitus ulceration in our patients. We plan to examine pressure ulceration in hip fractures as a barometer of optimum care in this area.

The disambiguation of threat/neutral homophones was investigated in high- and low-trait anxiety subjects who had been exposed to either a positive or a negative mood manipulation procedure. Subjects were required first to spell each auditorily presented word and second, to generate and speak a sentence using the word. Difference indices were calculated for the spelling and the sentence usage data, i.e. the number of threat minus neutral interpretations. Examination of these indices revealed that subjects exposed to the negative mood manipulation procedure produced relatively more threat than neutral interpretations (for both spelling and sentence usage) than did subjects exposed to the positive mood manipulation procedure. Multiple regression analyses revealed that both the trait anxiety and mood manipulation variables contributed significantly to the prediction of the difference index on the spelling task. In the analysis of the use of homophones in sentences, only the mood manipulation variable contributed significantly to the prediction of the difference index on the sentence usage task.

At elevated temperatures Nickel Alloys have the ability of forming a ‘glaze’ layer. If the test conditions are favourable, this layer can protect components from subsequent wear and fretting damage. This phenomenon has been previously shown by several researching bodies. Unfavourable conditions, on the other hand, can either delay or prevent its formation, rendering a component susceptible to further damage. This study investigates the effect that various test parameters have on the formation of these glaze layers, and how this may impact the fretting fatigue life. Parameters investigated include normal load and cycle frequency. Tests were carried out at two temperatures: 20°C was used as the control group, and 680°C as the experimental ‘glaze’ group. Experimental results are provided, and explained in terms of wear rate and frictional effect.Copyright © 2005 by ASME

Background The Malaria in Pregnancy (MiP) Library is a bibliographic database that was created by the MiP Consortium in 2005 and is updated every four months using a standardized search protocol. A bibliometric review was conducted of the contents of the Library to determine dynamics in the type, content and volume of literature on malaria in pregnancy over time. Methods Data on year of publication, type, language, country of first-author affiliation and content (topic) were extracted from entries in the MiP Library and plotted over time. Results By January 2012, the MiP Library contained 5,346 entries, consisting of 3,721 journal articles (69.6%), 697 reports (13.0%), 219 academic theses (4.1%), 92 books or book chapters (1.7%), 487 conference proceedings (9.1%), 68 registered studies (1.3%) and 62 ‘other’ (1.2%). Most of the sources were in English language (87.3%), followed by French (7.5%) and Spanish (1.5%). Over 40% of source material was publicly available online (42.4%) and the remaining with restricted access (35.0%) or otherwise unavailable (22.7%). The number of journal articles related to malaria in pregnancy increased from 41 in the 1960s, to 708 in the 1990s, and 1,895 between 2000 and 2009, and the variety of themes has increased over time. English-language articles were sourced from 737 different journals. The top three journals were the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (184), Malaria Journal (158) and the Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (131). Conclusion The last decade has seen a dramatic increase in publications related to malaria in pregnancy, and an increasing proportion of these are publically available online. The MiP Library is a useful, scholarly source for literature and systematic reviews related to malaria in pregnancy.

Summary Background The ongoing Ebola epidemic in parts of west Africa largely overwhelmed health-care systems in 2014, making adequate care for malaria impossible and threatening the gains in malaria control achieved over the past decade. We quantified this additional indirect burden of Ebola virus disease. Methods We estimated the number of cases and deaths from malaria in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone from Demographic and Health Surveys data for malaria prevalence and coverage of malaria interventions before the Ebola outbreak. We then removed the effect of treatment and hospital care to estimate additional cases and deaths from malaria caused by reduced health-care capacity and potential disruption of delivery of insecticide-treated bednets. We modelled the potential effect of emergency mass drug administration in affected areas on malaria cases and health-care demand. Findings If malaria care ceased as a result of the Ebola epidemic, untreated cases of malaria would have increased by 45% (95% credible interval 43–49) in Guinea, 88% (83–93) in Sierra Leone, and 140% (135–147) in Liberia in 2014. This increase is equivalent to 3·5 million (95% credible interval 2·6 million to 4·9 million) additional untreated cases, with 10 900 (5700–21 400) additional malaria-attributable deaths. Mass drug administration and distribution of insecticide-treated bednets timed to coincide with the 2015 malaria transmission season could largely mitigate the effect of Ebola virus disease on malaria. Interpretation These findings suggest that untreated malaria cases as a result of reduced health-care capacity probably contributed substantially to the morbidity caused by the Ebola crisis. Mass drug administration can be an effective means to mitigate this burden and reduce the number of non-Ebola fever cases within health systems. Funding UK Medical Research Council, UK Department for International Development, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Members of the European Influenza Surveillance Network: Portugal (Figueiredo Augusto Gonçalo, Machado Jorge, Moreira Guiomar Raquel, Nogueira Paulo, Rebelo de Andrade Helena, Rodrigues Ana Paula) The yearly influenza epidemics during each winter season vary in burden and severity. During the 2016/17 and 2017/18 seasons, all-cause excess mortality was observed during periods of high influenza virus circulation. Our aim is to describe and compare the pattern of influenza virus circulation and related disease severity by number of patients and fatal cases in intensive care units (ICUs) across European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) countries for the seasons 2016/17 and 2017/18. As influenza circulation progressed from a west to east direction across Europe in 2017/18, a better understanding of the current epidemiological situation might help to prepare countries in the eastern part of the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region for high influenza activity and severity. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion