Expert consensus and recommendations for Healthcare-Associated Infection surveillance in Queensland, Australia: A modified Delphi study.

Background: Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) continue to contribute significantly to Australia's burden of disease. In Queensland, varied surveillance protocols exist contributing to unnecessary complexity. With end-user partners, we defined a minimum dataset to support the public reporting of HAI surveillance data.

Representing particulate nitrate photolysis over seawater improves CMAQ ozone predictions over the contiguous United States.

We implement particulate nitrate (pNO) photolysis into the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQv5.5) model and examine the impact of pNO photolysis on air quality over the contiguous U.S.

Protocol to establish standards for the elements infection prevention and control programs and competencies for infection control professionals in Australian residential aged care homes.

The COVID-19 pandemic elucidated the importance of infection prevention and control (IPC) in residential aged care homes (RACHs), both on the health and wellbeing of its residents, and the staff and clinicians who care for them. While considerable efforts have been made in Australia to improve IPC both during and in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of these resources remain reliant on evidence originating from hospitals and acute healthcare settings. This research aims to establish the core minimum components that will populate standards for IPC programs and governance (Stream A) and for professional practice and competencies (Stream B) in RACHs.

The effect of tobacco use on clinical outcomes in total knee arthroplasty patients.

Introduction: Previous research has established that smoking significantly increases the complication rate of total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Risk of infection, prosthetic loosening, fractures, wound healing issues, and revisions are increased in smokers, but research is limited on the long-term clinical outcomes of pain, range of motion, stability, and functionality between smokers, nonsmokers, and former smokers, specifically utilizing Knee Society Scores (KSS).

Methods: This was a retrospective chart review of primary TKA patients (n = 203) at a single university hospital.

SUDA: A SUrface Dust Analyser for Compositional Mapping of the Galilean Moon Europa.

The Surface Dust Analyser (SUDA) is a mass spectrometer onboard the Europa Clipper mission for investigating the surface composition of the Galilean moon Europa. Atmosphereless planetary moons such as the Galilean satellites are wrapped into a ballistic dust exosphere populated by tiny samples from the moon's surface produced by impacts of fast micrometeoroids. SUDA will measure the composition of such surface ejecta during close flybys of Europa to obtain key chemical signatures for revealing the satellite's composition such as organic molecules and salts, history, and geological evolution.