Evaluation of Protein Adequacy From Plant-Based Dietary Scenarios in Simulation Studies: A Narrative Review.

Although a diet high in plant foods can provide beneficial nutritional outcomes, unbalanced and restrictive plant-based diets may cause nutrient deficiencies. Protein intake from these diets is widely discussed, but the comparison of animal and plant proteins often disregards amino acid composition and digestibility as measurements of protein quality. Poor provision of high-quality protein may result in adverse outcomes, especially for individuals with increased nutrient requirements. Several dietary modeling studies have examined protein adequacy when animal-sourced proteins are replaced with traditional and novel plant proteins, but no review consolidating these findings are available. This narrative review aimed to summarize the approaches of modeling studies for protein intake and protein quality when animal-sourced proteins are replaced with plant foods in diet simulations and examine how these factors vary across age groups. A total of 23 studies using dietary models to predict protein contribution from plant proteins were consolidated and categorized into the following themes-protein intake, protein quality, novel plant-based alternatives, and plant-based diets in special populations. Protein intake from plant-based diet simulations was lower than from diets with animal-sourced foods but met country-specific nutrient requirements. However, protein adequacy from some plant-sourced foods were not met for simulated diets of children and older adults. Reduced amino acid adequacy was observed with increasing intake of plant foods in some scenarios. Protein adequacy was generally dependent on the choice of substitution with legumes, nuts, and seeds providing greater protein intake and quality than cereals. Complete replacement of animal to plant-sourced foods reduced protein adequacy when compared with baseline diets and partial replacements.

Health-related quality of life after a diagnosis of bladder cancer: a longitudinal survey over the first year.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of patients in a prospective 12-month observational cohort study of new bladder cancer diagnoses and compare with national cancer and general population surveys. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A prospective UK study in patients with new bladder cancer diagnoses at 13 NHS Trusts. The HRQoL data were collected at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months. Questionnaires used included: the EuroQoL five Dimensions (EQ-5D), European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer quality of life questionnaire (EORTC QLQ)-30-item core, EORTC QLQ-24-item non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer, and EORTC QLQ-30-item muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Results were compared with the Cancer Quality of Life Survey and Health Survey for England. RESULTS: A total of 349 patients were recruited, 296 (85%) completed the first (baseline) and 233 (67%) the final survey. The patients underwent transurethral resection of bladder tumour (TURBT) ± intravesical therapy (238 patients, 80%), radical cystectomy/radiotherapy (51, 17%) or palliation (seven, 2%). At baseline, patients needing radical treatment reported worse HRQoL including lower social function (74.2 vs 83.8, P = 0.002), increased fatigue (31.5 vs 26.1, P = 0.03) and more future worries (39.2 vs 29.4, P = 0.005) than patients who underwent TURBT. Post-treatment surveys showed no change/improvements for patients who underwent TURBT but deterioration for the radically treated cohort. At final survey, reports were similar to baseline, regardless of treatment. Radically treated patients continued to report poorer HRQoL including issues with body image (23.4 vs 12.5, P = 0.007) and male sexual function (75.8 vs 40.4, P < 0.001) compared to those who underwent TURBT. Radically treated patients reported lower EQ-5D utility scores and more problems with usual activities than the general population. DISCUSSION: Patients undergoing TURBT can be reassured regarding HRQoL following treatment. However, those requiring radical treatment report greater changes in HRQoL with the need for appropriate clinical and supportive care to minimise the impact of treatments.

The role of holistic nutritional properties of diets in the assessment of food system and dietary sustainability.

Advancing sustainable diets for nutrition security and sustainable development necessitates clear nutrition metrics for measuring nutritional quality of diets. Food composition, nutrient requirements, and dietary intake are among the most common nutrition metrics used in the current assessment of sustainable diets. Broadly, most studies in the area classify animal-source foods (ASF) as having a substantially higher environmental footprint in comparison to plant-source foods (PSF). As a result, much of the current dietary advice promulgates diets containing higher proportions of PSF. However, this generalization is misleading since most of these studies do not distinguish between the gross and bioavailable nutrient fractions in mixed human diets. The bioavailability of essential nutrients including ß-carotene, vitamin B-12, iron, zinc, calcium, and indispensable amino acids varies greatly across different diets. The failure to consider bioavailability in sustainability measurements undermines the complementary role that ASF play in achieving nutrition security in vulnerable populations. This article critically reviews the scientific evidence on the holistic nutritional quality of diets and identifies methodological problems that exist in the way the nutritional quality of diets is measured. Finally, we discuss the importance of developing nutrient bioavailability as a requisite nutrition metric to contextualize the environmental impacts of different diets.

Psychosocial outcomes and health service use after notifying women participating in population breast screening when they have dense breasts: a BreastScreen Queensland randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Robust evidence regarding the benefits and harms of notifying Australian women when routine breast screening identifies that they have dense breasts is needed for informing future mammography population screening practice and policy. OBJECTIVES: To assess the psychosocial and health services use effects of notifying women participating in population-based breast cancer screening that they have dense breasts; to examine whether the mode of communicating this information about its implications (print, online formats) influences these effects. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The study population comprises women aged 40 years or older who attend BreastScreen Queensland Sunshine Coast services for mammographic screening and are found to have dense breasts (BI-RADS density C or D). The randomised controlled trial includes three arms (952 women each): standard BreastScreen care (no notification of breast density; control arm); notification of dense breasts in screening results letter and print health literacy-sensitive information (intervention arm 1) or a link or QR code to online video-based health literacy-sensitive information (intervention arm 2). Baseline demographic data will be obtained from BreastScreen Queensland. Outcomes data will be collected in questionnaires at baseline and eight weeks, twelve months, and 27 months after breast screening. Primary outcomes will be psychological outcomes and health service use; secondary outcomes will be supplemental screening outcomes, cancer worry, perceived breast cancer risk, knowledge about breast density, future mammographic screening intentions, and acceptability of notification about dense breasts. ETHICS APPROVAL: Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service Ethics Committee (HREC/2023/QGC/89770); Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service Research Governance and Development (SSA/2023/QSC/89770). DISSEMINATION OF FINDINGS: Findings will be reported in peer-reviewed journals and at national and international conferences. They will also be reported to BreastScreen Queensland, BreastScreen Australia, Cancer Australia, and other bodies involved in cancer care and screening, including patient and support organisations. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12623000001695p (prospective: 9 January 2023).

Measuring quality of life in care homes when self-report is challenging: the construct validity, structural characteristics and internal consistency of the mixed-methods adult social care outcomes toolkit.

INTRODUCTION: The adult social care outcomes toolkit (ASCOT) measures social care-related quality of life (SCRQoL) using self-completion questionnaires and interviews. Many care home residents find such methods inaccessible, leading to a reliance on proxy-reporting. This study aimed to establish the psychometric properties of the mixed-methods toolkit [ASCOT-Care Homes, 4 outcome (CH4)] for measuring SCRQoL when residents cannot self-report. METHODS: Two cross-sectional, mixed-methods studies were undertaken in care homes for older people in England between 2015 and 2020. We used the ASCOT-CH4 (observation, and interviews with residents and proxies) to collect information about SCRQoL and collected additional data on residents' needs and characteristics, and variables hypothesised to be related to SCRQoL.Hypothesis testing was applied to establish construct validity, Cronbach's alpha for internal consistency and exploratory factor analysis for structural validity. RESULTS: The combined dataset included 475 residents from 54 care homes (34 nursing, 20 residential). Half had a diagnosis of dementia. Less than a third of residents were able to complete an ASCOT interview. Observations and proxy interviews informed researcher ratings, meaning there were no missing ASCOT-CH4 scores. ASCOT-CH4 was found to be a weak unidimensional scale, consistent with other ASCOT measures, with acceptable internal consistency (α = 0.77, 8 items). Construct validity was supported by the findings. CONCLUSIONS: The ASCOT-CH4 is an alternative to conventional proxy-questionnaires for measuring the SCRQoL of care home residents, with good psychometric properties. A limitation is that users need a range of data collection skills. Future research should explore whether findings are replicable when data are collected by other researchers.

Manufacturing a chimpanzee adenovirus-vectored SARS-CoV-2 vaccine to meet global needs.

Manufacturing has been the key factor limiting rollout of vaccination during the COVID-19 pandemic, requiring rapid development and large-scale implementation of novel manufacturing technologies. ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (AZD1222, Vaxzevria) is an efficacious vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, based upon an adenovirus vector. We describe the development of a process for the production of this vaccine and others based upon the same platform, including novel features to facilitate very large-scale production. We discuss the process economics and the "distributed manufacturing" approach we have taken to provide the vaccine at globally-relevant scale and with international security of supply. Together, these approaches have enabled the largest viral vector manufacturing campaign to date, providing a substantial proportion of global COVID-19 vaccine supply at low cost.

Examination of hydrogen cross-feeders using a colonic microbiota model.

BACKGROUND: Hydrogen cross-feeding microbes form a functionally important subset of the human colonic microbiota. The three major hydrogenotrophic functional groups of the colon: sulphate-reducing bacteria (SRB), methanogens and reductive acetogens, have been linked to wide ranging impacts on host physiology, health and wellbeing. RESULTS: An existing mathematical model for microbial community growth and metabolism was combined with models for each of the three hydrogenotrophic functional groups. The model was further developed for application to the colonic environment via inclusion of responsive pH, host metabolite absorption and the inclusion of host mucins. Predictions of the model, using two existing metabolic parameter sets, were compared to experimental faecal culture datasets. Model accuracy varied between experiments and measured variables and was most successful in predicting the growth of high relative abundance functional groups, such as the Bacteroides, and short chain fatty acid (SCFA) production. Two versions of the colonic model were developed: one representing the colon with sequential compartments and one utilising a continuous spatial representation. When applied to the colonic environment, the model predicted pH dynamics within the ranges measured in vivo and SCFA ratios comparable to those in the literature. The continuous version of the model simulated relative abundances of microbial functional groups comparable to measured values, but predictions were sensitive to the metabolic parameter values used for each functional group. Sulphate availability was found to strongly influence hydrogenotroph activity in the continuous version of the model, correlating positively with SRB and sulphide concentration and negatively with methanogen concentration, but had no effect in the compartmentalised model version. CONCLUSIONS: Although the model predictions compared well to only some experimental measurements, the important features of the colon environment included make it a novel and useful contribution to modelling the colonic microbiota.

Use of the DELTA Model to Understand the Food System and Global Nutrition.

BACKGROUND: Increasing attention is being directed at the environmental, social, and economic sustainability of the global food system. However, a key aspect of a sustainable food system should be its ability to deliver nutrition to the global population. Quantifying nutrient adequacy with current tools is challenging. OBJECTIVE: To produce a computational model illustrating the nutrient adequacy of current and proposed global food systems. METHODS: The DELTA Model was constructed using global food commodity balance sheet data, alongside demographic and nutrient requirement data from UN and European Food Safety Authority sources. It also includes nutrient bioavailability considerations for protein, the indispensable amino acids, iron, and zinc, sourced from scientific literature. RESULTS: The DELTA Model calculates global per capita nutrient availability under conditions of equal distribution and identifies areas of nutrient deficiency for various food system scenarios. Modeling the 2018 global food system showed that it supplied insufficient calcium (64% of demographically weighted target intake) and vitamin E (69%), despite supplying sufficient macronutrients. Several future scenarios were modeled, including variations in waste; scaling up current food production for the 2030 global population; plant-based food production systems; and removing sugar crops from the global food system. Each of these scenarios fell short of meeting requirements for multiple nutrients. These results emphasize the need for a balanced approach in the design of future food systems. CONCLUSIONS: Nutrient adequacy must be at the forefront of the sustainable food system debate. The DELTA Model was designed for both experts and nonexperts to inform this debate as to what may be possible, practical, and optimal for our food system. The model results strongly suggest that both plant and animal foods are necessary to achieve global nutrition. The model is freely available for public use so that anyone can explore current and simulated global food systems.

Mathematical modelling supports the existence of a threshold hydrogen concentration and media-dependent yields in the growth of a reductive acetogen.

The bacterial production of acetate via reductive acetogenesis along the Wood-Ljungdahl metabolic pathway is an important source of this molecule in several environments, ranging from industrial bioreactors to the human gastrointestinal tract. Here, we contributed to the study of reductive acetogens by considering mathematical modelling techniques for the prediction of bacterial growth and acetate production. We found that the incorporation of a hydrogen uptake concentration threshold into the models improves their predictions and we calculated this threshold as 86.2 mM (95% confidence interval 6.1-132.6 mM). Monod kinetics and first-order kinetics models, with the inclusion of two candidate threshold terms or reversible Michaelis-Menten kinetics, were compared to experimental data and the optimal formulation for predicting both growth and metabolism was found. The models were then used to compare the efficacy of two growth media for acetogens. We found that the recently described general acetogen medium was superior to the DSMZ medium in terms of unbiased estimation of acetogen growth and investigated the contribution of yeast extract concentration to acetate production and bacterial growth in culture. The models and their predictions will be useful to those studying both industrially and environmentally relevant reductive acetogenesis and allow for straightforward adaptation to similar cases with different organisms.

Should Biden Apologize for Trump? National Remorse and the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election.

This paper argues that if Biden wins the 2020 U.S. presidential election, his supporters should advocate for him to provide a value-declaring apology for what they consider the major offenses of the Trump administration. Such apologies differ considerably from categorical apologies, but they can provide significant meanings and serve substantive objectives during such a potentially volatile political transition.

A cross-sectional study exploring the relationship between regulator quality ratings and care home residents' quality of life in England.

BACKGROUND: The quality of life of people receiving health and social care is an important indicator of service quality, but the relationship between patient experience and outcomes and regulator quality ratings in England is unknown. In 2013, the health and social care regulator in England, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), introduced a new ratings system and by February 2017, all social care services were inspected and awarded new quality ratings (outstanding, good, requires improvement and inadequate). This study aimed to explore whether quality ratings were associated with residents' quality of life, controlling for confounding variables. METHODS: We conducted a nested, cross-sectional study, collecting social care-related quality of life (SCRQoL) data for 293 older care home residents in 34 care homes (20 nursing and 14 residential) in the South East of England. CQC ratings and other resident and home-level variables were also collected for the analysis. Multilevel modelling explored whether residents' social care-related quality of life (SCRQoL) was associated with regulator ratings, controlling for confounding variables. RESULTS: Outstanding and good homes were collapsed into one category and compared with homes requiring improvement. Nationally, only 2 % of care homes for older people are rated as inadequate and it was not possible to capture sufficient numbers for the analysis. We recruited one but it was re-inspected during the fieldwork period and its rating changed to requires improvement. The random intercept multilevel model, which accounted for 16.93% of the differences in SCRQoL within homes and 69.80% between, indicated that better SCRQoL was significantly associated with being female, better functioning, no dementia diagnosis, fewer communication difficulties, and living in a care home rated as outstanding/good by CQC. Size of home and registration category were not significant predictors. CONCLUSIONS: This study found evidence that quality ratings are associated with residents' SCRQoL. As well as aiming to improve quality and ensure minimum standards, quality ratings have the potential to inform user choice and help the public compare care homes based on quality. Future research to establish the generalisability and replicability of the results is required.

Higher survivorship following meniscal allograft transplantation in less worn knees justifies earlier referral for symptomatic patients: experience from 240 patients.

PURPOSE: To analyse the clinical outcome and survivorship of meniscal allograft transplantation (MAT), performed in a single unit, specifically to assess the impact of concomitant operations and the influence of articular cartilage lesions on outcome. METHOD: A prospective case series analysis of 240 patients undergoing MAT with follow-up greater than 12 months (range 1-10 years) was performed. Group A represented patients with good chondral surfaces (ICRS 0-3A); Group B had good chondral surfaces with concomitant realignment osteotomy. Group C had good chondral surfaces with ACL reconstruction performed at the same time. Groups D and E had bare bone on one or both surfaces respectively. Kaplan-Meier survivorship and PROMS including Lysholm, KOOS, Tegner, and IKDC subjective scores were analysed. RESULTS: Overall survivorship was 96.7% at 1 year, 87% at 5 years and 82.2% at 7 years. Groups A-C (knees without significant chondral damage) had significantly improved survivorship (95% at 5 years) compared to Groups D, E (full-thickness chondral wear) with 77% survivorship at 5 years. Survivorship and PROMS were equivalent between Groups A-C. Groups D and E had similar PROMS to Group A, but did have a higher failure rate. Overall 27% required further operative intervention. CONCLUSIONS: Meniscal transplantation is clinically effective in treating patients with symptomatic meniscal deficiency. Where indicated, the addition of osteotomy or ACL reconstruction achieves results similar to patients undergoing simple meniscal transplantation in stable and normally aligned knees. Survivorship is lower in patients with full-thickness chondral loss and future treatments should, therefore, be directed at improving success in this at-risk group. The results support encouragement for earlier referral of symptomatic patients to a specialist meniscal reconstruction centre before a significant chondral damage is sustained. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III.

Allografts in reconstruction of the posterior cruciate ligament: a health economics perspective.

PURPOSE: To review the relative cost-effectiveness of allografts and autografts in reconstruction of the posterior cruciate ligament. METHODS: Systematic review and cost-effectiveness analysis. RESULTS: The available evidence does not show any significant difference in clinical effectiveness between autografts and allografts. Given that, only a cost analysis is provided, which shows that allografts are more costly. CONCLUSION: Given the lack of any benefit of allografts over autografts, autografts should be preferred on cost grounds, if available. However, there may be situations where an allograft is indicated, for example, in multiple ligament reconstructions. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: IV.

Autograft or allograft for reconstruction of anterior cruciate ligament: a health economics perspective.

PURPOSE: To assess the clinical and cost-effectiveness of allografts versus autografts in the reconstruction of anterior cruciate ligaments. METHODS: Systematic review of comparative clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness analysis. RESULTS: Both autograft and allograft reconstruction are highly effective. Recent studies show little difference in failure rates between autografts and allografts (about 6% and 7%, respectively). In cost-effectiveness analysis, the price differential is the main factor, making autografts the first choice. However, there will be situations, particularly in revision ACL reconstruction, where an allograft may be preferred, or may be the only reasonable option available. CONCLUSION: In ACL reconstruction, clinical results with autografts are as good as or slightly better than with allografts. Allografts cost more, indicating that autografts are more cost-effective and should usually be first choice. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: II.

The cost-effectiveness of osteochondral allograft transplantation in the knee.

PURPOSE: Osteochondral allografts (OCA) consist of a layer of hyaline cartilage and a layer of underlying bone. They are used to repair combined defects of articular cartilage and bone. Such defects often occur in people far too young to have knee arthroplasty, for whom the main alternative to OCA is conservative symptomatic care, which will not prevent development of osteoarthritis. The aim of this report was to assess the cost-effectiveness of osteochondral allograft transplantation in the knee. METHODS: Systematic review of evidence on clinical effectiveness and economic modelling. RESULTS: The evidence on osteochondral allograft transplantation comes from observational studies, but often based on good quality prospective registries of all patients having such surgery. Without controlled trials, it was necessary to use historical cohorts to assess the effect of osteochondral grafts. There is good evidence that OCA are clinically effective with a high graft survival rate over 20 years. If an OCA graft fails, there is some evidence that revision with a second OCA is also effective, though less so than primary OCA. Economic modelling showed that osteochondral allograft transplantation was highly cost-effective, with costs per quality adjusted life year much lower than many other treatments considered cost effective. CONCLUSIONS: Osteochondral allograft transplantation appears highly cost-effective though the cost per quality adjusted life year varies according to the widely varying costs of allografts. Based on one small study, revision OCA also appears very cost-effective, but more evidence is needed. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: II.

Meniscal allograft transplantation after meniscectomy: clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness.

PURPOSE: To assess the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of meniscal allograft transplantation (MAT) after meniscal injury and subsequent meniscectomy. METHODS: Systematic review of clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness analysis. RESULTS: There is considerable evidence from observational studies, of improvement in symptoms after meniscal allograft transplantation, but we found only one small pilot trial with a randomised comparison with a control group that received non-surgical care. MAT has not yet been proven to be chondroprotective. Cost-effectiveness analysis is not possible due to a lack of data on the effectiveness of MAT compared to non-surgical care. CONCLUSION: The benefits of MAT include symptomatic relief and restoration of at least some previous activities, which will be reflected in utility values and hence in quality-adjusted life years, and in the longer term, prevention or delay of osteoarthritis, and avoidance or postponement of some knee replacements, with resulting savings. It is likely to be cost-effective, but this cannot be proven on the basis of present evidence. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: IV.

The fraction of cancer attributable to modifiable risk factors in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the United Kingdom in 2015.

BACKGROUND: Changing population-level exposure to modifiable risk factors is a key driver of changing cancer incidence. Understanding these changes is therefore vital when prioritising risk-reduction policies, in order to have the biggest impact on reducing cancer incidence. UK figures on the number of risk factor-attributable cancers are updated here to reflect changing behaviour as assessed in representative national surveys, and new epidemiological evidence. Figures are also presented by UK constituent country because prevalence of risk factor exposure varies between them. METHODS: Population attributable fractions (PAFs) were calculated for combinations of risk factor and cancer type with sufficient/convincing evidence of a causal association. Relative risks (RRs) were drawn from meta-analyses of cohort studies where possible. Prevalence of exposure to risk factors was obtained from nationally representative population surveys. Cancer incidence data for 2015 were sourced from national data releases and, where needed, personal communications. PAF calculations were stratified by age, sex and risk factor exposure level and then combined to create summary PAFs by cancer type, sex and country. RESULTS: Nearly four in ten (37.7%) cancer cases in 2015 in the UK were attributable to known risk factors. The proportion was around two percentage points higher in UK males (38.6%) than in UK females (36.8%). Comparing UK countries, the attributable proportion was highest in Scotland (41.5% for persons) and lowest in England (37.3% for persons). Tobacco smoking contributed by far the largest proportion of attributable cancer cases, followed by overweight/obesity, accounting for 15.1% and 6.3%, respectively, of all cases in the UK in 2015. For 10 cancer types, including two of the five most common cancer types in the UK (lung cancer and melanoma skin cancer), more than 70% of UK cancer cases were attributable to known risk factors. CONCLUSION: Tobacco and overweight/obesity remain the top contributors of attributable cancer cases. Tobacco smoking has the highest PAF because it greatly increases cancer risk and has a large number of cancer types associated with it. Overweight/obesity has the second-highest PAF because it affects a high proportion of the UK population and is also linked with many cancer types. Public health policy may seek to mitigate the level of harm associated with exposure or reduce exposure levels-both approaches may effectively impact cancer incidence. Differences in PAFs between countries and sexes are primarily due to varying prevalence of exposure to risk factors and varying proportions of specific cancer types. This variation in turn is affected by socio-demographic differences which drive differences in exposure to theoretically avoidable 'lifestyle' factors. PAFs at UK country level have not been available previously and they should be used by policymakers in devolved nations. PAFs are estimates based on the best available data, limitations in those data would generally bias toward underestimation of PAFs. Regular collection of risk factor exposure prevalence data which corresponds with epidemiological evidence is vital for analyses like this and should remain a priority for the UK Government and devolved Administrations.

A review of sex-related differences in colorectal cancer incidence, screening uptake, routes to diagnosis, cancer stage and survival in the UK.

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is an illness strongly influenced by sex and gender, with mortality rates in males significantly higher than females. There is still a dearth of understanding on where sex differences exist along the pathway from presentation to survival. The aim of this review is to identify where actions are needed to improve outcomes for both sexes, and to narrow the gap for CRC. METHODS: A cross-sectional review of national data was undertaken to identify sex differences in incidence, screening uptake, route to diagnosis, cancer stage at diagnosis and survival, and their influence in the sex differences in mortality. RESULTS: Overall incidence is higher in men, with an earlier age distribution, however, important sex differences exist in anatomical site. There were relatively small differences in screening uptake, route to diagnosis, cancer staging at diagnosis and survival. Screening uptake is higher in women under 69 years. Women are more likely to present as emergency cases, with more men diagnosed through screening and two-week-wait. No sex differences are seen in diagnosis for more advanced disease. Overall, age-standardised 5-year survival is similar between the sexes. CONCLUSIONS: As there are minimal sex differences in the data from routes to diagnosis to survival, the higher mortality of colorectal cancer in men appears to be a result of exogenous and/or endogenous factors pre-diagnosis that lead to higher incidence rates. There are however, sex and gender differences that suggest more targeted interventions may facilitate prevention and earlier diagnosis in both men and women.

The acceptability and feasibility of using the Adult Social Care Outcomes Toolkit (ASCOT) to inform practice in care homes.

BACKGROUND: The Adult Social Care Outcomes Toolkit (ASCOT) measures social care related quality of life (SCRQoL) and can be used to measure outcomes and demonstrate impact across different social care settings. This exploratory study built on previous work by collecting new inter-rater reliability data on the mixed-methods version of the toolkit and exploring how it might be used to inform practice in four case study homes. METHOD: We worked with two care home providers to agree an in-depth study collecting SCRQoL data in four case-study homes. Data was collected about residents' age, ethnicity, cognitive impairment, ability to perform activities of daily living and SCRQoL in the four homes. Feedback sessions with staff and managers were held in the homes two weeks after baseline and follow-up data collected three months later. Interviews with managers explored their views of the feedback and recorded any changes that had been made because of it. RESULTS: Participant recruitment was challenging, despite working in partnership with the homes. Resident response rates ranged from 23 to 54 % with 58 residents from four care homes taking part in the research. 53 % lacked capacity to consent. Inter-rater reliability for the ASCOT ratings of SCRQoL were good at time one (IRR = 0.72) and excellent at time two (IRR = 0.76). During the study, residents' ability to perform activities of daily living declined significantly (z = -2.67, p < .01), as did their expected needs in the absence of services (z = -2.41, p < .05). Despite these rapid declines in functionings, residents' current SCRQoL declined slightly but not significantly (Z = -1.49, p = .14). Staff responded positively to the feedback given and managers reported implementing changes in practice because of it. CONCLUSION: This exploratory study faced many challenges in the recruitment of residents, many of whom were cognitively impaired. Nevertheless, without a mixed-methods approach many of the residents living in the care homes would have been excluded from the research altogether or had their views represented only by a representative or proxy. The value of the mixed-methods toolkit and its potential for use by providers is discussed.

Is meniscal allograft transplantation chondroprotective? A systematic review of radiological outcomes.

PURPOSE: The primary aim of this systematic review was to examine the hypothesis that meniscal allograft transplantation is chondroprotective by identifying and appraising studies that have assessed the progression of osteoarthritis following meniscal allograft transplantation. The secondary aim was to identify and appraise radiological measures of meniscal allograft integrity following surgery. METHODS: Clinical studies on human participants undergoing meniscal allograft transplantation with a minimum follow-up of 6 months were included. The primary outcome measure was any radiological osteoarthritis progression measure. Secondary outcomes included magnetic resonance measures of meniscal integrity including meniscal size, shape, healing, extrusion and signal intensity. RESULTS: Thirty-eight studies with 1056 allografts were included. The weighted mean joint space loss was 0.032 mm at 4.5 years across 11 studies. Other radiological classification systems were reported in small numbers and with variable progression rates. Meniscal extrusion was present in nearly all cases, but was not associated with clinical or other radiological outcomes. Meniscal healing rates were high, although the size, shape and signal intensity were commonly altered from that of the native meniscus. The quality of the included studies was low, with a high risk of bias. CONCLUSION: There is some evidence to support the hypothesis that meniscal allograft transplantation reduces the progression of osteoarthritis, although it is unlikely to be as effective as the native meniscus. If this is proven, there may be a role for prophylactic meniscal allograft transplantation in selected patients. Well-designed randomised controlled trials are needed to further test this hypothesis. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Systematic review of studies, Level IV.