Knock-out mouse models and single particle ICP-MS reveal that SP-D and SP-A deficiency reduces agglomeration of inhaled gold nanoparticles in vivo without significant changes to overall lung clearance.

The role of surfactant proteins A and D (SP-A and SP-D) in lung clearance and translocation to secondary organs of inhaled nanoparticles was investigated by exposing SP-A and SP-D knockout (AKO and DKO) and wild type (WT) mice nose-only for 3 hours to an aerosol of 20 nm gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). Animals were euthanised at 0-, 1-, 7- and 28-days post-exposure. Analysis by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) of the liver and kidneys showed that extrapulmonary translocation was below the limits of detection.

Reflecting on the quality of a methodologically pluralist evaluation of a large-scale Indigenous health research collaboration in Australia.

Background: Indigenous communities worldwide lead calls for all evaluations of research, programmes and policies affecting their communities to reflect the values, priorities and perspectives of the Indigenous peoples and communities involved. Tools, such as the Quality Appraisal Tool (QAT), are available to assess research quality through an Indigenous cultural lens. Good evaluation requires that evaluation efforts be evaluated.

Identifying barriers and facilitators to primary care practitioners implementing health assessments for people with intellectual disability: a Theoretical Domains Framework-informed scoping review.

Introduction: People with intellectual disability experience poorer health outcomes compared with the general population, partly due to the difficulties of accessing preventive care in primary care settings. There is good evidence that structured annual health assessments can enhance quality of care for people with intellectual disability, and their use has become recommended policy in several high-income countries. However, uptake remains low.

Analysis of carbon nanotube levels in organic matter: an inter-laboratory comparison to determine best practice.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are increasingly being used in industrial applications, but their toxicological data in animals and humans are still sparse. To assess the toxicological dose-response of CNTs and to evaluate their pulmonary biopersistence, their quantification in tissues, especially lungs, is crucial. There are currently no reference methods or reference materials for low levels of CNTs in organic matter.

Producing knowledge together: a participatory approach to synthesising research across a large-scale collaboration in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health.

Background: Despite that stakeholder participation in evidence synthesis could result in more useful outcomes, there are few examples of processes that actively involve them in synthesis work. Techniques are needed that engage diverse stakeholders as equal partners in knowledge co-production. The aims of this paper are to describe an innovative participatory process of synthesising a large body of academic research products and compare the findings of the participatory process against two traditional approaches to synthesis: a rapid review and a structured review.

Identifying Sources of Lead Exposure for Children in the Republic of Georgia, with Lead Isotope Ratios.

In the Republic of Georgia, a 2018 national survey estimated that more than 40% of children aged 2-7 years had a blood lead concentration (BLC) of more than 5 µg/dL. The objective of this study was to document the feasibility of employing lead isotope ratios (LIRs) to identify and rank the Pb (lead) exposure sources most relevant to children across Georgia. A cross-sectional survey between November 2019 and February 2020 of 36 children previously identified as having BLCs > 5 µg/dL from seven regions of Georgia involved the collection of blood and 528 environmental samples, a questionnaire on behaviours and potential exposures.

Culturally Informed Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Evaluations: A Scoping Review.

Rigorous and effective evaluations inform policy and service delivery and create evidence of program impacts and outcomes for the communities they are designed to support. Genuine engagement of communities is a key feature of effective evaluation, building trust and enhancing relevancy for communities and providing meaningful outcomes and culturally relevant findings. This applies to Indigenous peoples' leadership and perspectives when undertaking evaluations on programs that involve Indigenous communities.

Air trapping in small airway diseases: A review of imaging technique and findings with an overview of small airway diseases.

Air trapping is a common finding radiologists encounter on CT imaging of the thorax. This term is used when there are geographic areas of differing attenuation within the lung parenchyma. Most commonly, this is the result of abnormal retention of air due to complete or partial airway obstruction from small airway pathologies.

Biodiesel exhaust particle airway toxicity and the role of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

Renewable alternatives to fossil diesel (FD) including fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) biodiesel have become more prevalent. However, toxicity of exhaust material from their combustion, relative to the fuels they are displacing has not been fully characterised. This study was carried out to examine particle toxicity within the lung epithelium and the role for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

Supporting reorientation of health services in Indigenous Australian communities: the health promotion systems assessment tool.

Few tools and mechanisms exist to assist the reorientation of health services, especially in the Indigenous Australian health context; where improving health status and life expectancy is a priority. We developed a health promotion systems assessment tool (HPSAT) to provide health services with the information and support they need to drive health system change. Tool development occurred using a participatory, iterative approach that included a literature review, expert input by Indigenous and non-Indigenous stakeholders and annual group workshops in four Indigenous Australian primary health care (PHC) services.

Discordance between clinical and pathologic staging and the timeliness of care of non-small cell lung cancer patients diagnosed with operable tumors.

Aim: This study was performed to evaluate concordance between clinical and pathologic staging of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in our hospital network.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed records of 417 patients with NSCLC who received curative surgery and whose pathology was evaluated in our hospital between 2016 and 2021. Cytology, tissue pathology, and associated clinical, surgical, and imaging information were retrieved from hospital digital records.

The Use of Pb Isotope Ratios to Determine Environmental Sources of High Blood Pb Concentrations in Children: A Feasibility Study in Georgia.

The incidence of lead (Pb) poisoning in children in Georgia has been identified as a major health concern, with a recent national survey identifying that 41% of children aged 2-7 years had blood lead concentrations (BLCs) greater than the blood lead reference value (BLRV) of ≥5 µg dL. This study collected samples of blood, spices, paint, soil, dust, flour, tea, toys, milk, and water from 36 households in Georgia where a child had previously been identified as having a BLC > BLRV. The Pb concentrations of these samples were determined and compared to Georgian reference values.

Network evaluation of an innovation platform in continuous quality improvement in Australian Indigenous primary healthcare.

Background: From 2014 to 2019, the Centre for Research Excellence in Integrated Quality Improvement (CRE-IQI) was evaluated as an innovation platform focusing on continuous quality improvement in Indigenous Australian primary healthcare. Although social network analysis (SNA) is a recognized method for evaluating the functioning, collaboration and effectiveness of innovation platforms, applied research is limited. This study applies SNA to evaluate the CRE-IQI's functioning as an innovation platform.

The underwood project: A virtual environment for eliciting ambiguous threat.

Threatening environments can be unpredictable in many different ways. The nature of threats, their timing, and their locations in a scene can all be uncertain, even when one is acutely aware of being at risk. Prior research demonstrates that both temporal unpredictability and spatial uncertainty of threats elicit a distinctly anxious psychological response.

Post-Myocardial Infarction Ventricular Septal Defect Successfully Treated with Impella as Bridge to Cardiac Transplantation.

A 63-year-old female presented late with anterior ST-elevation myocardial infarction and cardiogenic shock. This was complicated by acute ventricular septal defect with large left-to-right shunt. An Impella CP was inserted on day seven with rapid haemodynamic improvement.

ZnO Nanomaterials and Ionic Zn Partition within Wastewater Sludge Investigated by Isotopic Labeling.

The increasing commercial use of engineered zinc oxide nanomaterials necessitates a thorough understanding of their behavior following their release into wastewater. Herein, the fates of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) and ionic Zn in a real primary sludge collected from a municipal wastewater system are studied via stable isotope tracing at an environmentally relevant spiking concentration of 15.2 g g.

Methodological pluralism for better evaluations of complex interventions: lessons from evaluating an innovation platform in Australia.

Complex interventions, such as innovation platforms, pose challenges for evaluators. A variety of methodological approaches are often required to build a more complete and comprehensive understanding of how complex interventions work. In this paper, we outline and critically appraise a methodologically pluralist evaluation of an innovation platform to strengthen primary care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.