Changes in isolation guidelines for CPE patients results in only mild reduction in required hospital beds.

Background: Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE) are an emerging public health concern globally as they are resistant to a broad spectrum of antibiotics. Colonisation with CPE typically requires patients to be managed under 'contact precautions', which creates additional physical bed demands in healthcare facilities.

Methods: This study examined the potential impact of revised isolation guidelines introduced in late 2023 in Victoria, Australia, that relaxed the requirement for indefinite isolation of CPE-colonised patients in contact precautions, based on admission of CPE-diagnosed cases prior to the guideline change.

Mathematical modelling for pandemic preparedness in Canada: Learning from COVID-19.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic underlined the need for pandemic planning but also brought into focus the use of mathematical modelling to support public health decisions. The types of models needed (compartment, agent-based, importation) are described. Best practices regarding biological realism (including the need for multidisciplinary expert advisors to modellers), model complexity, consideration of uncertainty and communications to decision-makers and the public are outlined.

The Impact of Varying Pasture Levels on the Metabolomic Profile of Bovine Ruminal Fluid.

A pasture or concentrate-based dietary regime impacts a variety of factors including both ruminal health and function, and consequently milk production and quality. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of feeding differing pasture levels on the metabolite composition of bovine ruminal fluid. Ruminal fluid was obtained from rumen-cannulated spring-calving cows (N = 9, Holstein-Friesian breed, average lactation number = 5) fed one of three diets across a full lactation season.

Intraoperative physician assessment during total hip arthroplasty correlates with DXA parameters.

Purpose: Orthopedic surgeons can assess bone status intraoperatively and recommend skeletal health evaluation for patients with poor bone quality. Intraoperative physician assessment (IPA) at the time of total knee arthroplasty correlates with preoperative DXA-measured bone mineral density (BMD). This study evaluated IPA during total hip arthroplasty (THA) as a quantitative measure of bone status based on tactile assessment.

Trends in Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Canada: Variation by Migration and Temporal Factors, 2001-2018.

Background: Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death in Canada, but how the major cardiovascular risk factors vary across ethnicity and immigration status has yet to be examined.

Methods: Using data from the Canadian Community Health Surveys, national trends in health conditions (hypertension, diabetes, high blood cholesterol level, and obesity) and health behaviours (smoking, activity levels, and alcohol consumption) were estimated for the period 2001-2018. In this cross-sectional study, the trends were then compared across sex, age, ethnicity, and immigration status.

Impact of dietary regime on the metabolomic profile of bovine buttermilk and whole milk powder.

Introduction: Bovine milk contains a rich matrix of nutrients such as carbohydrates, fat, protein and various vitamins and minerals, the composition of which is altered by factors including dietary regime.

Objectives: The objective of this research was to investigate the impact of dietary regime on the metabolite composition of bovine whole milk powder and buttermilk.

Methods: Bovine whole milk powder and buttermilk samples were obtained from spring-calving cows, consuming one of three diets.

Carbapenemase-producing enterobacterales colonisation status does not lead to more frequent admissions: a linked patient study.

Background: Hospitals in any given region can be considered as part of a network, where facilities are connected to one another - and hospital pathogens potentially spread - through the movement of patients between them. We sought to describe the hospital admission patterns of patients known to be colonised with carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE), and compare them with CPE-negative patient cohorts, matched on comorbidity information.

Methods: We performed a linkage study in Victoria, Australia, including datasets with notifiable diseases (CPE notifications) and hospital admissions (admission dates and diagnostic codes) for the period 2011 to 2020.

Bt corn and cotton planting may benefit peanut growers by reducing aflatoxin risk.

Decades of studies have shown that Bt corn, by reducing insect damage, has lower levels of mycotoxins (fungal toxins), such as aflatoxin and fumonisin, than conventional corn. We used crop insurance data to infer that this benefit from Bt crops extends to reducing aflatoxin risk in peanuts: a non-Bt crop. In consequence, we suggest that any benefit-cost assessment of how transgenic Bt crops affect food safety should not be limited to assessing those crops alone; because the insect pest control offered by Bt crops affects the food safety profile of other crops grown nearby.

Insecticides, more than herbicides, land use, and climate, are associated with declines in butterfly species richness and abundance in the American Midwest.

Mounting evidence shows overall insect abundances are in decline globally. Habitat loss, climate change, and pesticides have all been implicated, but their relative effects have never been evaluated in a comprehensive large-scale study. We harmonized 17 years of land use, climate, multiple classes of pesticides, and butterfly survey data across 81 counties in five states in the US Midwest.

The effect of twice daily 3-nitroxypropanol supplementation on enteric methane emissions in grazing dairy cows.

Although 3-nitroxypropanol (3-NOP) has been proven to reduce enteric methane (CH) by ∼30% in indoor systems of dairying when the additive is mixed throughout a TMR, very limited research has been done to date in grazing systems in which the most convenient method of additive supplementation is at milking twice daily. To investigate the effect of twice daily 3-NOP supplementation on enteric CH emissions, a 12-wk study was undertaken in which treatment cows (n = 26) were supplemented with 3-NOP (80 mg/kg DMI) twice daily at morning and evening milking, and control cows (n = 26) received no additive supplementation. Enteric CH, hydrogen (H) and carbon dioxide (CO) were measured using GreenFeed units, and milk production, BW, BCS, and DMI were monitored to determine the effect of 3-NOP supplementation on productivity.

Pasture feeding improves the nutritional, textural, and techno-functional characteristics of butter.

There is an increasing consumer desire for pasture-derived dairy products, as outdoor pasture-based feeding systems are perceived as a natural environment for animals. Despite this, the number of grazing animals globally has declined as a result of the higher milk yields achieved by indoor TMR feeding systems, in addition to the changing climatic conditions and lower grazing knowledge and infrastructure. This has led to the development of pasture-fed standards, stipulating the necessity of pasture and its minimum requirements as the primary feed source for products advertising such claims, with various requirements depending on the region for which it was produced.

Achieving Specified Laxity in a Noncruciate Total Knee: A Laboratory Design Study.

Background: Noncruciate total knee arthroplasty designs, including ultracongruent, medially congruent, and medial pivot, are gaining increasing attention in total knee arthroplasty surgery. However, there is no consensus for the bearing surface design, whether there should be different medial, lateral, anterior, and posterior laxities, or whether the medial side should be a medial pivot. This study proposes the criterion of reproducing the laxity of the anatomic knee, defined as the displacements and rotations of the femur on the tibia in the loaded knee when shear and torque are applied.

Mode of Fixation and Survivorship in Primary Total Knee Arthroplasty in the American Joint Replacement Registry.

Background: A recent rapid increase in cementless total knee arthroplasty (TKA) has been noted in the American Joint Replacement Registry (AJRR). The purpose of our study was to compare TKA survivorship based on the mode of fixation reported to the AJRR in the Medicare population.

Methods: Primary TKAs from Medicare patients submitted to AJRR from 2012 to 2022 were analyzed.

Impact of feeding regimes and lactation stage on sensory attributes of Cheddar cheese.

This study investigated the effects of diet and stage of lactation (SOL) on sensory profiles, texture, volatile profiles, and colour of Cheddar cheese. Cheddar cheese was manufactured from early-, mid-, and late-lactation milk obtained from seasonally calved cows (n = 54). Cows were assigned a diet; group 1: perennial ryegrass (GRS), group 2: total mixed ration (TMR), and group 3: partial mixed ration (PMR).

Population vulnerability to heat: A case-crossover analysis of heat health alerts and hospital morbidity data in Victoria, Australia.

Objective: From 2010 to 2022, the Victorian Department of Health operated a heat health alert system. We explored whether changes to morbidity occurred during or directly after these alerts, and how this differed for certain population groups.

Methods: We used a space-time-stratified case-crossover design and conditional logistic regression to examine the associations between heat health alerts and heat-related and all-cause emergency department (ED) presentations and hospital admissions at the state-wide level, with models created for the whole population and subgroups.

Development and Evaluation of the Dietary Pattern Calculator (DiPaC) for Personalized Assessment and Feedback.

This study aimed to develop and validate a diet assessment screener - the Dietary Pattern Calculator (DiPaC). A scoping review identified currently available short diet quality assessment tools. Twenty-one articles covering 19 unique tools were included.

Coconut Water: A Sports Drink Alternative?

Coconut water is used as an alternative to conventional sports drinks for hydration during endurance cycling; however, evidence supporting its use is limited. This study determined if drinking coconut water compared to a sports drink altered cycling performance and physiology. In a randomized crossover trial, 19 experienced male ( = 15) and female ( = 4) cyclists (age 30 ± 9 years, body mass 79 ± 11 kg, V̇O 55 ± 8 mL·kg·min) completed two experimental trials, consuming either a commercially available sports drink or iso-calorific coconut water during 90 min of sub-maximal cycling at 70% of their peak power output, followed by a simulated, variable gradient, 20 km time trial.

Design and evaluation of a 3D printed mechanical balancer for soft tissue balancing in total knee replacement.

Purpose: Soft tissue balancing is an important step in a total knee procedure, carried out manually, or using an indicator. The purpose of this study was to evaluate our design of 3D printed Balancer, and demonstrate how it could be used at surgery.

Procedures: When inserted between the femur and tibia, the Balancer displayed the forces acting across the lateral and medial compartments, indicated by pointers at the end of the handle.

Health burden associated with tillage-related PM pollution in the United States, and mitigation strategies.

Exposure to airborne particulate matter of diameter less than 2.5 μm (PM) is associated with cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In agriculture, the practice of tilling generates PM emissions that can jeopardize human health.

Impact of varying levels of pasture allowance on the nutritional quality and functionality of milk throughout lactation.

The objective of this study was to examine the impact of increasing proportions of grazed pasture in the diet on the composition, quality, and functionality of bovine milk across a full lactation. Fifty-four spring-calving cows were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups (n = 18), blocked on the basis of mean calving date (February 15, 2020 ± 0.8 d), pre-experimental daily milk yield (24.

Assessment of the added value of intravenous gadolinium for knee osteosarcoma resection planning in pediatric and young adult patients.

Background And Objectives: To assess the impact of Gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences on Preoperative imaging evaluation and surgical planning parameters for osteosarcoma (OS) of the knee in pediatric and young adult patients.

Methods: Thirty MRI scans of patients with OS about the knee were reviewed by five orthopedic oncologists. Key preoperative parameters (neurovascular bundle involvement, intra-articular tumor extension, extent of intramedullary extension) and surgical plans were evaluated based on non-contrast versus Gd contrast enhanced sequences.

Disparities in insecurity, social support, and family relationships in association with poor mental health among US adults during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on mental health. Identifying risk factors and susceptible subgroups will guide efforts to address mental health concerns during the pandemic and long-term management and monitoring after the pandemic. We aimed to examine associations of insecurity (concerns about food, health insurance, and/or money), social support, and change in family relationships with poor mental health and to explore disparities in these associations.

Emerging weed resistance increases tillage intensity and greenhouse gas emissions in the US corn-soybean cropping system.

Tillage is a common agricultural practice that helps prepare the soil and remove weeds. However, it remains unknown how tillage intensity has evolved and its effect on net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Here, using a process-based modelling approach with a multi-source database, we examined the change in tillage intensity across the US corn-soybean cropping systems during 1998-2016 and the impact of tillage intensity on soil GHG emissions.

Determinants of farms' antibiotic consumption - A longitudinal study of pig fattening farms in Germany.

As high consumption of antibiotics in livestock production poses risks to public health, Germany has implemented a monitoring system to decrease their administration to farm animals. Data from 1,984 German pig farms are used to describe prescription trends for different antibiotic subclasses between Autumn 2017 and Autumn 2019. A panel Tobit model with control function approach is implemented to identify determinants of antibiotic consumption, where variables studied include farm, farmer, and county characteristics as well as weather variables.