Carrot-Derived Rhamnogalacturonan-I Consistently Increases the Microbial Production of Health-Promoting Indole-3-Propionic Acid Ex Vivo.

Background: Using dietary interventions to steer the metabolic output of the gut microbiota towards specific health-promoting metabolites is often challenging due to interpersonal variation in treatment responses.

Methods: In this study, we combined the ex vivo SIFR (Systemic Intestinal Fermentation Research) technology with untargeted metabolite profiling to investigate the impact of carrot-derived rhamnogalacturonan-I (cRG-I) on ex vivo metabolite production by the gut microbiota of 24 human adults.

Results: The findings reveal that at a dose equivalent to 1.

Identification and Characterization of Vancomycin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus CC45/USA600, North Carolina, USA, 2021.

Vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VRSA) is a rare but serious public health concern. We describe a VRSA case in North Carolina, USA. The isolate from the case belonged to the USA600 lineage and clonal complex 45.

Pediatric firearm injuries and socioeconomic vulnerability before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: Pediatric firearm injuries disproportionately affect groups experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage. Firearm injuries increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the impact on communities by degree of socioeconomic disadvantage is unknown. We examined the association between socioeconomic vulnerability and change in pediatric firearm injuries before versus during the pandemic.

Factors Influencing Nurses' Decisions to Leave or Remain in the Home and Community Care Sector During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Home and community care (HCC) nurses experienced increased occupational challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, including increased workloads, job stressors, and occupational risks, like virus exposure. The objective of this study was to elucidate what factors influenced nurses' decisions to stay in their role, take a temporary leave, or exit HCC during the COVID-19 pandemic. A secondary analysis of data collected using a cross-sectional online open survey distributed among HCC Registered Practical Nurses across Ontario between June and September 2022 was conducted.

A high-frequency, low-power resonant radio-frequency neutron spin flipper for high-resolution spectroscopy.

We present a resonant-mode, transverse-field, radio-frequency (rf) neutron spin flipper design that uses high-temperature superconducting films to ensure sharp transitions between uniform magnetic field regions. Resonant mode allows for low-power, high-frequency operation but requires strict homogeneity of the magnetic fields inside the device. This design was found to efficiently flip neutrons at 96.

Combinatorial Anti-Cancer Effect of Polypurine Reverse Hoogsteen Hairpins against and Targeting in Prostate and Pancreatic Cancer Cell Lines.

: and are proto-oncogenes that are strictly regulated in healthy cells that have key roles in several processes such as cell growth, proliferation, differentiation, or apoptosis. These genes are tightly interconnected, and their dysregulation can lead to cancer progression. We previously individually targeted these oncogenes using Polypurine Reverse Hoogsteen (PPRH) hairpins, mostly targeting the complementary strand of G-quadruplex-forming sequences.

A Leave of Absence Might Not Be a Bad Thing: Registered Practical Nurses Working in Home Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

To describe the resilience and emotional intelligence of Registered Practical Nurses working in Home and Community Care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, to determine if there was a relationship between resilience and emotional intelligence based on whether a nurse: (1) left the sector, (2) considered leaving, or (3) took a leave of absence during the pandemic. An online cross-sectional survey was used to capture respondents' demographic information and scores on the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, Resilience at Work Scale, and Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale.

COVID-19 and Mortality in the Spinal Cord Injury Population: Examining the Impact of Sex, Mental Health, and Injury Etiology.

Background/objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mortality rates in a community-dwelling spinal cord injury (SCI) population in Ontario.

Methods: Using health administrative databases, monthly mortality rates were evaluated pre-pandemic, during the pandemic, and post-pandemic from March 2014 to May 2024. Data were stratified by sex, injury etiology, and mental health status.

Sentinel Surveillance reveals phylogenetic diversity and detection of linear plasmids harboring and among enterococci collected in the United States.

and are frequent causes of healthcare-associated infections. Antimicrobial-resistant enterococci pose a serious public health threat, particularly vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), for which treatment options are limited. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion Sentinel Surveillance system conducted surveillance from 2018 to 2019 to evaluate antimicrobial susceptibility profiles and molecular epidemiology of 205 and 180 clinical isolates collected from nine geographically diverse sites in the United States.

Short Communication: Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Babesia spp. in ixodid ticks infesting red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in Great Britain.

Red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) are found throughout the United Kingdom (UK), and can reach high population densities in urban areas. They are often infested with ticks which may carry tick-borne pathogens, leading to a risk of transmission to domestic animals and humans. This study investigated the prevalence of tick-borne pathogens in ticks sourced from red fox carcasses across Great Britain between 2018 and 2022.

Waterjet pulse lavage as a safe adjunct to video assisted retroperitoneal debridement in necrotising pancreatitis.

Background: Minimally invasive surgical necrosectomy plays an important role in the management of infected pancreatic necrosis, with a goal of removing debris and debriding necrotic tissue. Pulse lavage is designed to simultaneously hydrostatically debride and remove the infected necrotic tissue with suction. It is also able to remove significant amounts of debris without traumatic manipulation of the necrotic tissue which may be adherent to surrounding tissue and can result in injury.

Resilience for working in Ontario home and community care: registered practical nurses need the support of themselves, family and clients, and employers.

Background: The context of practice is often not explicit in the discourse around the personal and professional resilience of nurses. The unique factors related to providing nursing care in home and community care may provide novel insight into the resilience of this health workforce. Therefore, this research addressed how nurses build and maintain resilience working in the home and community care sector.

Assessment of genetic diversity, inbreeding, and collection completeness of Jersey bulls in the US National Animal Germplasm Program.

Genomic selection and extensive use of a few elite bulls through artificial insemination are leading to reduced genetic diversity in Jersey cattle. Conservation of genetic diversity through gene banks can protect a breed's genetic diversity and genetic gain, ensuring continued genetic advancement in the future. The availability of genomic information in the US National Animal Germplasm Program (NAGP) facilitates characterization of Jersey bulls in the germplasm collection.

Technology, Aging and Home and Community Care: Picking the Right Problems to Solve.

As the Canadian population ages, the imperative to support aging in the community grows increasingly urgent. In this commentary, we build on Kokorelias et al.'s (2024) article to address the ethically appropriate role of digital technologies in supporting aging at home.

Carotid-Threatening Penetrating Oropharyngeal Trauma in a Pediatric Patient: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Penetrating oropharyngeal injury is a relatively common occurrence in pediatric patients; however, cases involving close proximity to critical vascular structures, such as the internal carotid artery (ICA), are exceedingly rare and pose significant risks. This case report describes a seven-year-old male who sustained penetrating oropharyngeal trauma with startling proximity to the ICA after being pushed into a locker with a pencil in his mouth. Initial evaluation showed the wooden pencil protruding from the soft palate without active bleeding.

COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake among People with Spinal Cord Injury and Dysfunction in Ontario, Canada: A Population-Based Retrospective Cohort Study.

Persons with disabilities experience numerous barriers to healthcare access including vaccine accessibility. The purpose of this study was to determine COVID-19 vaccine uptake in the spinal cord injury and disease (SCI/D) population of Ontario and identify potential factors influencing C OVID-19 vaccine uptake. This was a retrospective closed-cohort study using administrative health data on individuals with SCI/D of traumatic and non-traumatic causes to examine the monthly number of COVID-19 vaccine doses received between December 2020 and December 2023.