A retrospective observational study to investigate the effect of frailty on outcomes of older adults admitted with major trauma.

The majority of major injuries admitted to hospital are now in older people, with a fall from standing height being the most common reason for injury. Our study will look at older adults admitted to hospital with serious traumatic injuries across England. It will aim to work out firstly if there is an effect of frailty on peoples' survival after injury. Frailty is the reserve a person has to cope with illness and is a measure of a person slowing down over time usually due to the collection of lots of health problems. Secondly, we will look at if being seen by an old age specialist (geriatrician) has an effect on a person's chances of surviving their injuries. The records we will look at are held collected routinely and held by a national database run by the Trauma and Audit Research Network (TARN) from the University of Manchester. They collect information from the 22 centres of major trauma excellence around the country and help researchers to work with them to access the anonymous data for specific research questions. We aim to use these results to help clinicians and health systems to improve how the fund and deliver care for older people.

SOPTI Meeting Abstracts 2021

After more than a year of blockade due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it was finally possible to return to the events in the presence. The 26th National Conference of the Italian Optometric Association (SOPTI) was held in Bologna on October 10–11, 2021. The theme of the conference was “Good practice in Optometry and Contact Lenses”, with the accent on two topics: the optometric management of the patient in old age and the progression of myopia. Four keynote speakers were invited during the conference: Prof. Rigmor C. Baraas from the University of South-Eastern Norway in Kongsberg, Prof. David B. Elliot from the University of Bradford, Dr. Fabrizio Zeri from the University of Milano Bicocca and the IACLE President, Prof. Phil Morgan, from the University of Manchester. The abstracts from accepted posters and free papers are presented here.

Graham Wood. 6 February 1934—4 November 2016

Graham Wood was a world-leading corrosion scientist who bridged both the aqueous (electrochemical) corrosion and high-temperature oxidation branches of the subject. His analytical predictions of depletion and enrichment profiles in substrate and scale during preferential oxidation have long been confirmed in practice. He also demonstrated that transient oxides can be vital solid lubricants in oxidative friction and wear processes. He elucidated ionic transport in amorphous anodic films, leading to precise models of pore initiation, development and closure, thus allowing the strict design of anodic films for practical application. He set up, and headed, the Corrosion and Protection Centre at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) and was instrumental in initiating the Corrosion and Protection Centre Industrial Service, which, respectively, became the world's largest academic centre on the study of materials degradation and the world's largest corrosion consulting organization. While keeping active in research, he held increasingly senior administrative roles, where he established a specialist graduate school and helped prepare UMIST to full independence from the Victoria University of Manchester.

Does Toxoplasma gondii Related to Schizophrenic Symptoms? A Narrative Systematic Review

Background: Accumulating evidence associated infectious agents with schizophrenia. Majority of these studies analyzed Toxoplasma. gondii association with schizophrenia. Aims and Objectives: the present study aimed to perform systematic search on studies conducted on investigating association between T. gondii and schizophrenia using IgG antibodies against T. gondii. Secondary objective was to discuss possible mechanisms by which T. gondii linked to schizophrenia. Methods: Systematic search performed using Google Scholar, PubMed, Web of Science and University of Manchester databases. Key words Schizo* AND Toxoplasm* used to find articles published from years 2010-2020, used IgG antibodies against T. gondii, and patients participated in these studies definitively diagnosed with schizophrenia using DSM-IV or ICD- 10. Results: Total of 122 articles was identified after duplicated were removed, of these 24 were included in review. Two-third of studies found that schizophrenic patients had significantly higher IgG antibodies versus controls. Conclusion: These findings suggest that T. gondii is associated with schizophrenia and that T. gondii might be risk factor for schizophrenia development. If causative link is ascertained, then it would be possible to treat and prevent schizophrenia.

First person – Judith Barbara Fülle

ABSTRACT First Person is a series of interviews with the first authors of a selection of papers published in Journal of Cell Science, helping early-career researchers promote themselves alongside their papers. Judith Barbara Fülle is first author on ‘ Desmosome dualism – most of the junction is stable, but a plakophilin moiety is persistently dynamic’, published in JCS. Judith is a PhD student in the labs of Christoph Ballestrem, David R. Garrod and E. Birgitte Lane at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell-Matrix Research, University of Manchester, UK and the Skin Research Institute of Singapore, Agency of Science Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, investigating the nature of cell–cell junctions, in particular the composition and regulation of desmosomes in health and disease.

First person – Daniel Bronder

ABSTRACT First Person is a series of interviews with the first authors of a selection of papers published in Disease Models & Mechanisms, helping early-career researchers promote themselves alongside their papers. Daniel Bronder is first author on ‘ TP53 loss initiates chromosomal instability in fallopian tube epithelial cells’, published in DMM. Daniel conducted the research described in this article while a doctoral student in Thomas Ried and Stephen Taylor's labs at the National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA and the University of Manchester, Manchester, UK. He is now a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Samuel Bakhoum at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA, investigating the causes and consequences of chromosomal instability in cancer.

Current topics in stem cell biology and regenerative medicine: a regional perspective from the United Kingdom

This special issue of Emerging Topics in Life Sciences entitled ‘Current Topics in Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine’ brings together expertise from a collaborative organisation known as the Mercia Stem Cell Alliance (MSCA). The alliance was established initially by Professors Sue Kimber (University of Manchester) and Jon Frampton (University of Birmingham) just over 10 years ago and now has multiple regional centres of excellence across the Midlands and North West of the UK, including Aston University, University of Chester, Keele University, Manchester Metropolitan University, Lancaster University, University of Leicester, University of Liverpool, Liverpool John Moore's University, Loughborough University, University of Nottingham, University of Oxford, University of Sheffield, University of York. Many of these centres have contributed reviews to this issue. The MSCA also partners with industrial and clinical organisations, including the NHS, and is active in bringing stem cells and regenerative medicines to a meaningful translational endpoint (see: http://www.msca.manchester.ac.uk/).

New insights on manipulating the material removal characteristics of Jet-Electrochemical machining through nozzle design

Jet-Electrochemical machining (Jet-ECM) is a novel variation of traditional electrochemical machining in which electrically conductive material is removed through anodic dissolution by means of a fine jet of electrolyte. In this study, the effect of nozzle geometry on material removal characteristics are investigated through physical experiments performed on a Jet-ECM system under development at the university of Manchester. A total of 8 nozzles with holes encompassing converging, diverging and rounded features are studied at flow rates between 0.125 and 0.225 l/min. The results show that the nozzle hole geometry has a significant effect on the machined profile produced due to variations in flow velocity, pressure, and electric current distribution with converging hole nozzles providing an increased depth of cut than the symmetrical cylindrical channel by up to 9.7%. A 2D Star CCM+ simulation is also proposed, and numerical results developed and compared with experimental ones to investigate the feasibility of using simulation to develop future nozzle designs. The simulated results show good profile comparison to the experimental results, however, the model needs developing to improve the process repeatability for future use in nozzle design.

Invited viewpoint: teaching programming to students in physical sciences and engineering

Computer programming is a key component of any physical science or engineering degree and is a skill sought by employers. Coding can be very appealing to these students as it is logical and another setting where they can solve problems. However, many students can often be reluctant to engage with the material as it might not interest them or they might not see how it applies to their wider study. Here, I present lessons I have learned and recommendations to increase participation in programming courses for students majoring in the physical sciences or engineering. The discussion and examples are taken from my second-year core undergraduate physics module, Introduction to Programming for Physicists, taught at The University of Manchester, UK. Teaching this course, I have developed successful solutions that can be applied to undergraduate STEM courses.