Leptospirosis in the Platypus () in Australia: Who Is Infecting Whom?

The platypus () is an amphibious, egg-laying mammal of high conservation value that is found only in Australia. The zoonotic bacterium serovar Hardjo was discovered in platypuses in prior studies, but little is known about its epidemiology. Samples in the Platypus Serum Bank were tested in 2023 and the results were combined with historical records.

A Scoping Review of Intimate Partner Violence Research in Canada.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is at epidemic levels across low-, middle-, and high-income countries, including Canada, where recent lifetime prevalence indicated that over 40% of women had IPV experiences. In response to this, Canada's federal government has made investments toward IPV prevention and response. We conducted a scoping review of English and French literature identified through searches of multiple databases and specific journals to assess the current state of IPV research in Canada.

Aesthetic Considerations for Neuromodulator Use in Transgender Patients.

Background: The aesthetic dimension of transgender experiences involves various aspects linked to the visual representation and expression of one's gender identity. Nonsurgical cosmetic procedures, such as neuromodulators, have consequently become a viable treatment option for patients with gender dysphoria because of the ability to yield significant, although temporary, results with minimal associated risks and downtime.

Objective: To comprehensively review literature pertaining to the aesthetic considerations for use of neuromodulators in transgender and nonbinary individuals.

Combined medical-interventional approaches for the management of complex fungal balls: a case series as a viable alternative in non-surgical patients.

Intracavitary pulmonary aspergilloma is a persistent and life-threatening infection that carries a mortality rate of up to 15%. It occurs when Aspergillus species gain entry to an existing lung cavity. In the absence of definitive treatment, patients may succumb to severe complications such as massive hemoptysis, cachexia, or secondary infections.

Lessons learned from early implementation of the Growing Expertise in E-health Knowledge and Skills (GEEKS) program in Nigeria, 2019 - 2021.

Introduction: the Growing Expertise in E-health Knowledge and Skills (GEEKS) program is an applied apprenticeship program that aims to improve informatics capacity at various levels of the national health system and create a sustainable informatics workforce. Nigeria adapted the GEEKS model in 2019 as a mechanism to strengthen data quality and use of routine immunization (RI) and vaccine-preventable disease (VPD) surveillance data among Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) staff. Since the start of the GEEKS-EPI program, there has not been a formal assessment conducted to measure the extent to which GEEKS-EPI has been able to build local informatics workforce capacity and strengthen RI and VPD surveillance (VPDS) data quality and use in Nigeria.

Atrioesophageal Fistula Rates Before and After Adoption of Active Esophageal Cooling During Atrial Fibrillation Ablation.

Background: Active esophageal cooling reduces the incidence of endoscopically identified severe esophageal lesions during radiofrequency (RF) catheter ablation of the left atrium for the treatment of atrial fibrillation. A formal analysis of the atrioesophageal fistula (AEF) rate with active esophageal cooling has not previously been performed.

Objectives: The authors aimed to compare AEF rates before and after the adoption of active esophageal cooling.

"Our services are not the same": the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on care interactions in women's shelters.

Background: Guidelines and regulations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have significantly impacted the health care sector. We explore these impacts in the gender-based violence (GBV) services sector and, more specifically, in the context of women's shelters.

Methods: Using an interpretive description and integrated knowledge mobilization approach, we interviewed 8 women's shelter clients, 26 staff, and conducted focus groups with 24 Executive Directors.

Lack of hydroxyurea-associated mutagenesis in pediatric sickle cell disease patients.

Hydroxyurea is approved for treating children and adults with sickle cell anemia (SCA). Despite its proven efficacy, concerns remain about its mutagenic and carcinogenic potential that hamper its widespread use. Cell culture- and animal-based investigations indicate that hydroxyurea's genotoxic effects are due to indirect clastogenicity in select cell types when high dose and time thresholds are exceeded (reviewed by Ware & Dertinger, 2021).

Navigating multiple pandemics: A critical analysis of the impact of COVID-19 policy responses on gender-based violence services.

COVID-19 illustrated what governments can do to mobilise against a global threat. Despite the strong governmental response to COVID-19 in Canada, another 'pandemic', gender-based violence (GBV), has been causing grave harm with generally insufficient policy responses. Using interpretive description methodology, 26 interviews were conducted with shelter staff and 5 focus groups with 24 executive directors (EDs) from GBV service organizations in Ontario, Canada.

Heparin Does Not Regulate Circulating Human PCSK9 (Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin-Kexin Type 9) in a General Population-Brief Report.

Background: PCSK9 (proprotein convertase subtilisin-kexin type 9) chaperones the hepatic LDLR (low-density lipoprotein receptor) for lysosomal degradation, elevating serum LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol and promoting atherosclerotic heart disease. Though the major effect on the hepatic LDLR comes from secreted PCSK9, the details of PCSK9 reuptake into the hepatocyte remain unclear. In both tissue culture and animal models, HSPGs (heparan sulfate proteoglycans) on hepatocytes act as co-receptors to promote PCSK9 reuptake.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Staff in Violence Against Women Services.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been harmful to survivors of abuse. Less understood is the impact on staff in the violence against women (VAW) service sector. Using interpretive description methodology, we examined staff experiences during the pandemic in Ontario, Canada, and found four core themes: (1) the emotional toll of the work; (2) remote (doesn't) work; (3) work restructuring; (4) efforts to stay well and subthemes nuancing staff experiences in a sector vulnerable to vicarious trauma.

"We're so limited with what we actually can do if we follow all the rules": a qualitative study of the impact of COVID-19 public health protocols on violence against women services.

Background: Violence against women (VAW) is a major public health problem that grew worse during the COVID-19 pandemic. While all services were impacted by changing pandemic guidance, VAW shelters, as congregate settings with multiple funders and regulators, faced unique challenges.

Methods: We conducted a qualitative analysis of interviews with 26 women's shelter staff and eight women accessing care, as well as 10 focus groups (five each at two time points approximately a year apart) involving 24 leaders from VAW and related services in Ontario, Canada.

Development and application of an electronic synoptic report for reporting and management of low-dose computed tomography lung cancer screening examination.

Background: Interpretation of Low Dose CT scans and protocol driven management of findings is a key aspect of lung cancer screening program performance. Reliable and reproducible methods are needed to communicate radiologists' interpretation to the screening program or clinicians driving management decision.

Methods: We performed an audit of a subset of dictated reports from the PANCAN study to assess for omissions.

Experiences of Women Accessing Violence Against Women Outreach Services in Canada During the COVID-19 Pandemic: a Brief Report.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had significant impacts on violence against women (VAW), including increased prevalence and severity, and on VAW service delivery. The purpose of this research was to study women's experiences with VAW services in the first stages of the pandemic and describe their fears and concerns. This cross-sectional study was conducted from May through October 2020.

A Late Paleocene age for Greenland's Hiawatha impact structure.

The ~31-km-wide Hiawatha structure, located beneath Hiawatha Glacier in northwestern Greenland, has been proposed as an impact structure that may have formed after the Pleistocene inception of the Greenland Ice Sheet. To date the structure, we conducted Ar/Ar analyses on glaciofluvial sand and U-Pb analyses on zircon separated from glaciofluvial pebbles of impact melt rock, all sampled immediately downstream of Hiawatha Glacier. Unshocked zircon in the impact melt rocks dates to ~1915 million years (Ma), consistent with felsic intrusions found in local bedrock.

A review of mammalian genotoxicity of hexavalent chromium: implications for oral carcinogenicity risk assessment.

Assessment of genotoxicity is a critical component of mode of action (MOA) analysis and carcinogen risk assessment due to its influence on quantitative risk extrapolation approaches. To date, clear guidance and expert consensus on the determination of a mutagenic MOA remains elusive, resulting in different estimates of carcinogenic risk for the same chemical among different stakeholders. Oral toxicity criteria for hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)], for example, differ by orders of magnitude due largely to the interpretation of genotoxicity data.

A Genderfluid Approach to Aesthetic Language in Dermatology.

Dermatologists are in a unique position to help transgender and non-binary individuals achieve an appearance that corresponds to their identity. Minimally invasive procedures for gender affirmation are relatively safe and customizable, providing an increasingly favorable treatment niche for these patients.1-4.

Successful, Easy to Access, Online Publication of COVID-19 Data During the Pandemic, New York City, 2020.

Making public health data easier to access, understand, and use makes it more likely that the data will be influential. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the New York City (NYC) Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's Web-based data communication became a cornerstone of NYC's response and allowed the public, journalists, and researchers to access and understand the data in a way that supported the pandemic response and brought attention to the deeply unequal patterns of COVID-19's morbidity and mortality in NYC. (.

Collaborating With Parks and Recreation Departments to Address Youth Health.

Adolescence is an important time for addressing health, including mental health, obesity, substance use, and food insecurity. As the myriad health and wellness needs of community members expands, it becomes increasingly difficult for one profession alone to address these needs. The park and recreation field was founded to address the health and wellness needs of people, and much of their programming is focused on youth.

Not so Shocking: Electromyography in Pediatrics Remains Feasible and Diagnostically Useful.

Background: Electrodiagnostic testing, including nerve conduction studies (NCS) and electromyography (EMG), assists with localizing lesions within the peripheral nervous system. NCS/EMG in children can be technically challenging and its relevance has been questioned in the era of affordable genetic testing. NCS/EMG provides information that may not be available in the examination of a young or developmentally delayed child.

Measuring Trauma- (and Violence-) Informed Care: A Scoping Review.

Trauma- (and violence-) informed care (T(V)IC) has emerged as an important practice approach across a spectrum of care settings; however how to measure its implementation and impact has not been well-examined. The purpose of this scoping review is to describe the nature and extent of available measures of T(V)IC, including the cross-cutting concepts of vicarious trauma and implicit bias. Using multiple search strategies, including searches conducted by a professional librarian from database inception to Summer 2020, 1074 articles were retrieved and independently screened for eligibility by two team members.