Background Despite the importance of pathology testing in diagnosis and disease monitoring, there is little in-depth research about pathology test ordering in general practice and how it impacts patient outcomes. This is in part due to the limited availability of high-quality data. With the now-widespread use of electronic software in general practice comes the potential for electronic patient data to be used for research leading to better understanding of general practice activities, including pathology testing. Objectives This study aimed to examine the usefulness of electronic general practice pathology data to (1) identify patients’ characteristics, (2) monitor quality of care, (3) evaluate intervention effects, (4) identify variations in patient care, and (5) measure patient outcomes. An exemplar study evaluating kidney function testing in type 2 diabetes mellitus (type 2 diabetes) compared to guidelines was used to demonstrate the value of pathology data. Materials and methods De-identified electronic died the electronic data’s usefulness in monitoring patient outcomes, such as appropriate prescribing based on pathology test results. Conclusions Electronic general practice data is an important resource which can provide valuable insights about the quality use of pathology. There are clear benefits to patients for better monitoring, and consequent better outcomes, and to inform policymakers about the best ways to channel resources to enhance the quality of care.Folie a deux is a rare syndrome characterized by induction of a delusion in a susceptible person in close proximity with an individual with known delusional disorder. We report a rare case of monozygotic twins with induced delusional disorder in one of the twins. The twins had experienced childhood trauma in the form of emotional neglect and physical abuse by the father. The primary case (Twin A) was diagnosed with delusional disorder and was treated with oral antipsychotic. The secondary case (Twin B) showed resolution of symptoms after separation from twin A. The case highlights the unique presentation of induced delusional symptoms in monozygotic twins and the close association between childhood trauma and psychosis.Aims The primary aim of this study was to develop a diagnostic cluster of common clinical findings that would assist in ruling out an active spondylolysis in adolescent athletes with low back pain (LBP). Selleckchem GSK1838705A Design Retrospective case-series. Setting Hospital-based sports medicine clinic. Patients One thousand and twenty-five adolescent athletes with LBP (age 15.0 ± 1.8 years, 56% female) were reviewed. Active spondylolytic injuries were identified in 22% (n = 228) of these patients. Main outcome measure presence or absence of active spondylolysis on advanced imaging. Results Through logistic regression analysis, pain with extension (p less then 0.001), difference between active and resting pain ≥3/10 (p less then 0.001), and male sex (p = 0.002) were identified as significantly associated with active spondylolysis. The clinical cluster had a sensitivity of 88% (95% CI 83%-93%) to help rule out active spondylolysis. The negative likelihood ratio was 0.34 (95% CI 0.23-0.51) and the negative predictive value was 90% (95% CI 86%-93%). Diagnostic accuracy of the cluster was acceptable (area under the curve = 0.72 (95% CI 0.69, 0.76; p less then 0.001). Conclusion This study found a cluster of three patient characteristics that may assist in ruling out active spondylolysis in adolescent athletes with LBP.Background and aims With restrictions on face to face clinical consultations in the COVID-19 pandemic, Telemedicine has become an essential tool in providing continuity of care to patients. We explore the common pitfalls in remote consultations and strategies that can be adopted to avoid them. Methods We have done a comprehensive review of the literature using suitable keywords on the search engines of PubMed, SCOPUS, Google Scholar and Research Gate in the first week of May 2020 including ‘COVID-19’, ‘telemedicine’ and ‘remote consultations’. Results Telemedicine has become an integral part to support patient’s clinical care in the current COVID-19 pandemic now and will be in the future for both primary and secondary care. Common pitfalls can be identified and steps can be taken to prevent them. Conclusion Telemedicine it is going to play a key role in future of health medicine, however, telemedicine technology should be applied in appropriate settings and situations. Suitable training, enhanced documentations, communication and observing information governance guidelines will go a long way in avoiding pitfalls associated with remote consultations.Introduction Brain organoids are highly complex multi-cellular tissue proxies, which have recently risen as novel tools to study neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, with increasing complexity of the system, usage of quantitative tools becomes challenging. Objectives The primary objective of this study was to develop a neurotoxin-induced PD organoid model and to assess the neurotoxic effect on dopaminergic neurons using microscopy-based phenotyping in a high-content fashion. Methods We describe a pipeline for a machine learning-based analytical method, allowing for detailed image-based cell profiling and toxicity prediction in brain organoids treated with the neurotoxic compound 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA). Results We quantified features such as dopaminergic neuron count and neuronal complexity and built a machine learning classifier with the data to optimize data processing strategies and to discriminate between different treatment conditions. We validated the approach with high content imaging data from PD patient derived midbrain organoids. Conclusions The here described model is a valuable tool for advanced in vitro PD modeling and to test putative neurotoxic compounds.A simple, reliable and efficient fluorescent probe has been developed for the detection and quantitation of betahistine using inner filter effect (IFE) of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) on zinc sulphide (ZnS) quantum dots. The synthesized ZnS exhibited blue emission at 403 nm which was quenched upon mixing with AgNPs due to intensive localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) absorption at 401 nm. The presence of IFE was confirmed by UV-Visible and fluorescence spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy. Addition of betahistine caused aggregation of AgNPs as visualized by the change in colour of nano-suspension. The reduced absorption at LSPR resulted in inhibition of IFE leading to higher fluorescence intensities in the presence of betahistine. Parameters such as pH, incubation time and concentration of AgNPs were suitably optimized. The fluorescence signal (I – I0/I0) responded linearly for betahistine in the concentration range from 0.1 to 10 μM under the optimized experimental conditions.