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Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) occurs frequently following cardiothoracic surgery and treatment decisions are informed by evidence‐based clinical guidelines. Outside this setting there are few data to guide clinical management. Aim: To describe the characteristics, management and outcomes of hospitalised adult patients with new‐onset AF. Methods: The medical emergency team (MET) database was utilised to identify patients who had a 'MET call' activated for tachycardia between 2015 and 2016. Patients with sinus tachycardia, pre‐existing AF/atrial flutter or other known tachyarrhythmia were excluded. Primary outcomes were length of hospital stay and in‐hospital mortality. Results: New‐onset AF was identified in 137 patients: 68 medically managed; 38 non‐cardiothoracic post‐operative; and 31 cardiothoracic post‐operative. Mean age was 74 ± 11.6 years and 72 (53%) were male. Of 79 patients who underwent echocardiography, 80% had left atrial dilatation and 14% had reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). Mean length of stay (LOS) was 12 days and in‐hospital mortality rate was 11%. On multivariable analysis, the odds of death during acute hospitalisation was 7.4 times higher in patients with heart failure with reduced LVEF (odds ratio 7.4, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.23–44.8, P = 0.028). Length of acute hospital stay increased by 36% if the duration of AF was longer than 48 h (beta coefficient 0.36, 95% CI −0.015 to 0.74, P = 0.059). Conclusion: Left ventricular systolic dysfunction in hospitalised patients with new‐onset AF is associated with increased all‐cause mortality whereas lower serum potassium levels are associated with an increased LOS. A prospective study is planned to compare outcomes based on in‐hospital treatment strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Aims Methods Results Conclusions Anecdotally, patients don't seem to be more unwell than they were 10 years ago, yet they still seem more ‘complex’.The aim of this study was to use an objective measure to assess the trend in complexity of general medicine patients over a 9‐year period.Complexity was pragmatically defined as a composite of comorbidity plus dependence/frailty. We selected 100 consecutive patients discharged from General Medicine at Monash Medical Centre (a tertiary hospital in Melbourne, Australia) in the month of April of each year from 2011 to 2019. For each patient, we retrospectively calculated their burden of comorbidity and their degree of dependency/frailty. Comorbidity was measured using the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), and dependence/frailty was assessed using the Katz Index of Independence in Activities of Daily Living (Katz ADL) and the Braden Scale (BS). The BS is a pressure injury risk assessment tool. Additional demographic data were collected, including length of stay, admission and discharge residence, 30‐day readmission rate and inpatient mortality.There was no statistically significant change in the CCI or the Katz ADL. The median BS did however significantly decrease from 19 in 2011 to 16 in 2019 (P = 0.006), reflecting an increased risk of pressure injuries.Despite a stable level of comorbidity, our finding of a decreasing BS score may suggest that patients are becoming more dependent. This increase in dependency rather than a change in chronic disease burden may be the cause of apparent increasing patient complexity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lithium‐rich transition metal oxides with a cation‐disordered rocksalt structure (disordered rocksalt oxides or DRX) are promising candidates for sustainable, next‐generation Li‐ion cathodes due to their high energy densities and compositional flexibility, enabling Co‐ and Ni‐free battery chemistries. However, current methods to synthesize DRX compounds require either high temperature (≈1000 °C) sintering for several hours, or high energy ball milling for several days in an inert atmosphere. Both methods are time‐ and energy‐intensive, limiting the scale up of DRX production. The present study reports the rapid synthesis of various DRX compositions in ambient air via a microwave‐assisted solid‐state technique resulting in reaction times as short as 5 min, which are more than two orders of magnitude faster than current synthesis methods. The DRX compounds synthesized via microwave are phase‐pure and have a similar short‐ and long‐range structure as compared to DRX materials synthesized via a standard solid‐state route, resulting in nearly identical electrochemical performance. In some cases, microwave heating allows for better particle size and morphology control. Overall, the rapid and energy‐efficient microwave technique provides a more sustainable route to produce DRX materials, further incentivizes the development of next‐generation DRX cathodes, and is key to accelerating their optimization via high‐throughput studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose To evaluate an incentive-based intervention to increase time spent outdoors among children in a 9-month cluster randomised controlled trial. Methods Two hundred and eighty-five children aged 6-12 years of age were randomised to the intervention ( n = 147) or control arm ( n = 138) in the Family incentive trial ( FIT). The FIT intervention comprised of targeted education on myopia and good eye care habits, structured weekend outdoor activities and incentives for children to increase their daily steps via pedometers. The main outcome measure was outdoor time, measured by the WHO questionnaire and a 1-week diary. Results Interim analysis at 6 months showed a significant increase in mean outdoor time per week in the intervention arm (14.75 h week−1) compared to the control arm (12.40 h week−1) as measured by the questionnaire ( p = 0.04). However, greater outdoor time was not statistically significant at the end of the trial (15.95 h week−1 vs 14.34 h in the control group ( p = 0.29). Conclusions There was an increase in outdoor time for children in the incentive-based physical activity outdoor program after 6 months but not at the end of the trial. Further larger school trials with better compliance with the intervention and longer duration could be conducted to evaluate clinical outcomes such as myopic shifts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With prevalence rates of postnatal depression (PND) as high as at least 7%, there was a need for early detection and intervention of postpartum mental illness amongst Singaporean mothers. This is a report on the first year results of our country's first PND Intervention Programme. The programme consists of two phases: (1) postpartum women were screened with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and provided appropriate care plans; (2) individualized clinical intervention using a case management multidisciplinary team model. Screening for PND was generally acceptable, as 64% eligible women participated voluntarily. Nine percent (126) were identified as probable cases from 1369 women. Forty-one women accepted intervention and achieved 78% reduction in the EPDS symptom scores to below the cutoff of 13, 76% had improvement in GAF functioning scores, and 68% had improved health quality scores. Preliminary results are promising, and this intervention model can be replicated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]