IL-2 availability regulates the tissue specific phenotype of murine intra-hepatic Tregs.

CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ Tregs are known to acquire tissue-specific features and exert cytoprotective and regenerative functions. The extent to which this applies to liver-resident Tregs is unknown. In this study, we aimed to explore the phenotypic and functional characteristics of adult murine liver resident Tregs during homeostasis.

Salivary testing for SARS-CoV-2 in the pediatric population: a diagnostic accuracy study.

Background: Accurate and timely testing for SARS-CoV-2 in the pediatric population is crucial to control the COVID-19 pandemic; saliva testing has been proposed as a less invasive alternative to nasopharyngeal swabs. We sought to compare the detection of SARS-CoV-2 using saliva versus nasopharyngeal swab in the pediatric population, and to determine the optimum time of testing for SARS-CoV-2 using saliva.

Methods: We conducted a longitudinal diagnostic study in Ottawa, Canada, from Jan.

Development of Gram Stain Scoring System Based on Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines in the Sheep Model for Testing Toxicity of Vaginal Products.

Development of safe, effective products to prevent the sexual transmission of HIV remains a priority. Prior to clinical testing, the products must undergo strict safety evaluations to avoid mucosal drug toxicity, inflammation, and vaginal microbiome (VMB) shifts. Based on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidance, we designed a study to measure the inflammatory markers and VMB changes after intravaginal treatment with products that have been associated with toxicity, with the objective to develop a Gram stain slide scoring system, similar to Nugent scoring, correlated with the proinflammatory cytokines in sheep.

Characterization of the Ovine Vaginal Microbiome and Inflammation Patterns as an Improved Testing Model of Human Vaginal Irritation.

The development of therapies targeted to improve the health of women has utilized direct vaginal delivery as a more effective and less toxic method of protection from HIV and other pathogens. Vaginal applicants and delivery devices that provide sustained effects have been met with increasing acceptability, but the efficacy and toxicity outcomes have not been successfully predicted by preclinical studies and animal modeling. We have explored the utilization of sheep as a model for testing the safety of vaginal applicants and devices based on spatial and structural similarities to the human vagina.

Postoperative Symptom Burden in Patients Undergoing Lung Cancer Surgery.

Context: Previous studies on quality of life (QOL) after lung cancer surgery have identified a long duration of symptoms postoperatively. We first performed a systematic review of QOL in patients undergoing surgery for lung cancer. A subgroup analysis was conducted focusing on symptom burden and its relationship with QOL.

Practice does not make perfect: Juvenile object play does not improve the predation skills of adult mink in "simulated prey" tests.

In carnivores, juvenile object play is hypothesized to improve the development of adult predation ability. We tested this hypothesis in a model carnivore, the American mink (Neovison vison). Play was induced via the provision of diverse "enrichment" objects to 32 litters from 4 to 15 weeks of age on a rotating schedule; control mink (32 litters) were instead provided with one static object.

Household transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from unvaccinated asymptomatic and symptomatic household members with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection: an antibody-surveillance study.

Background: Household transmission contributes to SARS-CoV-2 spread, but the role of children in transmission is unclear. We conducted a study that included symptomatic and asymptomatic children and adults exposed to SARS-CoV-2 in their households with the objective of determining how SARS-CoV-2 is transmitted within households.

Methods: In this case-ascertained antibody-surveillance study, we enrolled households in Ottawa, Ontario, in which at least 1 household member had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 on reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction testing.

In pursuit of a better broiler: a comparison of the inactivity, behavior, and enrichment use of fast- and slower growing broiler chickens.

Selection for rapid growth has produced heavier, more efficient broiler chickens, but has also introduced health and welfare issues, which may cause or be caused by inactivity. Rapid growth may also limit the performance of motivated behaviors, whereas the provision of enrichment may increase these behaviors and general activity. This study aimed to evaluate the inactivity, behavior patterns, and enrichment use of 2 fast- (CONV) and 12 slower growing broiler strains (categorized as fastest [FAST], moderate [MOD], and slowest slow [SLOW]), based on their growth rates; 4 strains/category].

The Prevalence of Benign Pathology Following Major Pulmonary Resection for Suspected Malignancy.

Background: In the era of lung cancer screening with low-dose computed tomography, there is concern that high false-positive rates may lead to an increase in nontherapeutic lung resection. The aim of this study is to determine the current rate of major pulmonary resection for ultimately benign pathology.

Materials And Methods: A single-institution, retrospective analysis of all patients > 18 y who underwent major pulmonary resection between 2013 and 2018 for suspected malignancy and had benign final pathology was performed.

In pursuit of a better broiler: growth, efficiency, and mortality of 16 strains of broiler chickens.

To meet the growing consumer demand for chicken meat, the poultry industry has selected broiler chickens for increasing efficiency and breast yield. While this high productivity means affordable and consistent product, it has come at a cost to broiler welfare. There has been increasing advocacy and consumer pressure on primary breeders, producers, processors, and retailers to improve the welfare of the billions of chickens processed annually.

Development of a test method for adult ice hockey helmet evaluation.

Ice hockey helmet standards have primarily been developed to reduce risk of traumatic brain injury (TBI). While severe TBI has become a rare event in ice hockey, concussion, a type of mild TBI, remains a common head injury. Concussions, in ice hockey result from a number of head impact events including, collisions, stick impacts, puck impacts, falls into the boards, impacts to the glass, and falls to the ice.

Evaluation of a simulation-based Risk Management and Communication Masterclass to reduce the risk of complaints, medicolegal and dentolegal claims.

Objectives: To understand clinicians' experiences, learning and professional impacts following participation in a Risk Management and Communication Masterclass (RMCM) designed and delivered by Medical Protection Society. To identify the course's strengths and areas for enhancement.

Design: Mixed method study including semistructured telephone interviews.

Biomechanical Comparison of Real World Concussive Impacts in Children, Adolescents, and Adults.

Accidental falls occur to people of all ages, with some resulting in concussive injury. At present, it is unknown whether children and adolescents are at a comparable risk of sustaining a concussion compared to adults. This study reconstructed the impact kinematics of concussive falls for children, adolescents, and adults and simulated the associated brain tissue deformations.

A Statewide Curriculum Model for Teaching Simulation Education Leaders.

Background: The Maryland Clinical Simulation Resource Consortium (MCSRC) was funded to increase the quality and quantity of simulation used in nursing education.

Problem: Schools of nursing are substituting simulation for clinical experience without requisite knowledge of simulation pedagogy.

Approach: The MCSRC developed a statewide curriculum model for a 3-day train-the-trainer program framed in theory and grounded in evidence.

The influence of impact source on variables associated with strain for impacts in ice hockey.

Concussion can occur from a variety of events (falls to ice, collisions etc) in ice hockey, and as a result it is important to identify how these different impact sources affect the relationship between impact kinematics and strain that has been found to be associated to this injury. The purpose of this research was to examine the relationship between kinematic variables and strain in the brain for impact sources that led to concussion in ice hockey. Video of professional ice hockey games was analyzed for impacts that resulted in reported clinically diagnosed concussions.

The biomechanics of concussion for ice hockey head impact events.

The purpose of this research was to conduct reconstructions of concussive and non-concussive impacts in ice hockey to determine the biomechanics and thresholds of concussive injury in ice hockey. Videos of concussive and non-concussive impacts in an elite professional ice hockey league in North America were reconstructed using physical and finite element model methods. Eighty concussive and 45 non-concussive events were studied.

Safety and pharmacokinetics of single, dual, and triple antiretroviral drug formulations delivered by pod-intravaginal rings designed for HIV-1 prevention: A Phase I trial.

Background: Intravaginal rings (IVRs) for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) theoretically overcome some adherence concerns associated with frequent dosing that can occur with oral or vaginal film/gel regimens. An innovative pod-IVR, composed of an elastomer scaffold that can hold up to 10 polymer-coated drug cores (or "pods"), is distinct from other IVR designs as drug release from each pod can be controlled independently. A pod-IVR has been developed for the delivery of tenofovir (TFV) disoproxil fumarate (TDF) in combination with emtricitabine (FTC), as daily oral TDF-FTC is the only Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved regimen for HIV PrEP.

User evaluations offer promise for pod-intravaginal ring as a drug delivery platform: A mixed methods study of acceptability and use experiences.

Background: Effective HIV prevention requires efficient delivery of safe and efficacious drugs and optimization of user adherence. The user's experiences with the drug, delivery system, and use parameters are critical to product acceptability and adherence. Prevention product developers have the opportunity to directly control a drug delivery system and its impact on acceptability and adherence, as well as product efficacy.

Brain tissue analysis of impacts to American football helmets.

Concussion in American football is a prevalent concern. Research has been conducted examining frequencies, location, and thresholds for concussion from impacts. Little work has been done examining how impact location may affect risk of concussive injury.

Evaluation of a welfare assessment tool to examine practices for preventing, recognizing, and managing pain at companion-animal veterinary clinics.

Successful prevention, recognition, and treatment of pain are integral to ensuring veterinary patient welfare. A canine and feline welfare assessment tool, incorporating verbal interviews with veterinarians using open-ended questions, was developed to assess pain management practices that safeguard and improve patient welfare. The tool was evaluated in 30 companion- and mixed-animal veterinary clinics in Ontario in order to assess its reliability, feasibility, and validity, while also benchmarking current practices.

Vaginal ecosystem modeling of growth patterns of anaerobic bacteria in microaerophilic conditions.

The human vagina constitutes a complex ecosystem created through relationships established between host mucosa and bacterial communities. In this ecosystem, classically defined bacterial aerobes and anaerobes thrive as communities in the microaerophilic environment. Levels of CO and O present in the vaginal lumen are impacted by both the ecosystem's physiology and the behavior and health of the human host.

Pediatric concussion: biomechanical differences between outcomes of transient and persistent (> 4 weeks) postconcussion symptoms.

OBJECTIVE Currently, little is known about the biomechanics of head impact for concussion in youths (ages 5 to 18 years). Even less is known about the biomechanical characteristics and variables related to head impacts that may be useful in differentiating between transient and persistent postconcussion symptoms in a youth population. The purpose of this research was to examine the differences in biomechanics of youth head impact for transient postconcussion symptoms (TPCSs) and persistent postconcussion symptoms (PPCSs) by using data from a hospital population.

Intervention to improve follow-up for abnormal Papanicolaou tests: a randomized clinical trial.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of a theory-based, culturally targeted intervention on adherence to follow-up among low-income and minority women who experience an abnormal Pap test.

Method: 5,049 women were enrolled and underwent Pap testing. Of these, 378 had an abnormal result and 341 (90%) were randomized to one of three groups to receive their results: Intervention (I): culturally targeted behavioral and normative beliefs + knowledge/skills + salience + environmental constraints/barriers counseling; Active Control (AC): nontargeted behavioral and normative beliefs + knowledge/skills + salience + environmental constraints/barriers counseling; or Standard Care Only (SCO).

Recycling attitudes and behavior among a clinic-based sample of low-income Hispanic women in southeast Texas.

We examined attitudes and behavior surrounding voluntary recycling in a population of low-income Hispanic women. Participants (N = 1,512) 18-55 years of age completed a self-report survey and responded to questions regarding household recycling behavior, recycling knowledge, recycling beliefs, potential barriers to recycling (transportation mode, time), acculturation, demographic characteristics (age, income, employment, marital status, education, number of children, birth country), and social desirability. Forty-six percent of participants (n = 810) indicated that they or someone else in their household recycled.