Influenza Vaccination Receipt in Pediatric Patients With Cancer or Sickle Cell Disease.

Background: Influenza causes greater morbidity in children with cancer or sickle cell disease (SCD). Literature on influenza vaccination receipt for these populations is limited in low-vaccination states. Outpatient interventions improve vaccine receipt but isolated inpatient interventions remain unstudied.

Timing of Vaccine Decision-Making Among First-Time Parents.

Objective: Decreased childhood vaccination can lead to local outbreaks of vaccine-preventable disease. In a pilot study from our group, 72% of parents of newborns reported initiating their vaccine decision-making for that child prior to conception. Since a sound understanding of the timing of parental vaccine decision-making is needed to direct educational efforts, we surveyed a national cohort of first-time parents to extend our preliminary findings.

Incorporating non-genetic risk factors and behavioural modifications into risk prediction models for colorectal cancer.

Background: Epidemiological studies have identified potentially modifiable risks for colorectal cancer, including alcohol intake, diet and a sedentary lifestyle. Modelling these environmental factors alongside genetic risk is critical in obtaining accurate estimates of disease risk and improving our understanding of behavioural modifications.

Methods: 14 independent single nucleotide polymorphisms identified though GWAS studies and reported on by the international consortium COGENT were used to model genetic disease risk at a population level.

Non-physician clinicians can safely provide first trimester medical abortion.

Mid-level clinicians are integral to provision of pregnancy-related care in many settings. Yet midwives and other non-physician clinicians are excluded from training and from providing medical abortion. A substantial body of evidence exists demonstrating that mid-level providers, including nurses and midwives specialized in pregnancy-related care for women, are either already competently involved in providing medical abortions or have the requisite skills to expand their scope of practice to include medical abortion with a short course of additional training.

Medium-dependent phenotypes of Streptomyces coelicolor with mutations in ftsI or ftsW.

Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) ftsI- and ftsW-null mutants produced aerial hyphae with no evidence of septation when grown on a traditional osmotically enhanced medium. This phenotype was partially suppressed when cultures were grown on media prepared without sucrose. We infer that functional FtsZ rings can form in ftsI- and ftsW-null mutants under certain growth conditions.