Correction: A prospective, multi-site, cohort study to estimate incidence of infection and disease due to Lassa fever virus in West African countries (the Enable Lassa research programme)-Study protocol.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Dosimetric comparison of proton therapy and CyberKnife in stereotactic body radiation therapy for liver cancers.

Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) has been increasingly used for the ablation of liver tumours. CyberKnife and proton beam therapy (PBT) are two advanced treatment technologies suitable to deliver SBRT with high dose conformity and steep dose gradients. However, there is very limited data comparing the dosimetric characteristics of CyberKnife to PBT for liver SBRT.

Single high-energy arc proton therapy with Bragg peak boost (SHARP).

Introduction: Because of the co-location of critical organs at risk, base of skull tumours require steep dose gradients to achieve the prescribed dosimetric criteria. When available, proton beam therapy (PBT) is often considered a desirable modality for these cases, but in many instances, compromises in target coverage are still required to achieve critical organ at risk (OAR) tolerance doses. A number of techniques have been proposed to further improve the penumbra of PBT.

Correction: 'They eat it like sweets': A mixed methods study of antibiotic perceptions and their use among patients, prescribers and pharmacists in a district hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Outcomes Following Intrasphincteric Injection of Botulinum Toxin for Treatment of Anal Fissures.

Background Intrasphincteric injection of botulinum toxin is an alternative treatment for anal fissures, which may present less risk of fecal incontinence than more invasive procedures, such as lateral internal sphincterotomy. The aim is to compare cure and complication rates between these two treatments. Methods We conducted a retrospective audit of patients who underwent treatment of anal fissures with intrasphincteric botulinum toxin or lateral internal sphincterotomy from 2016 to 2020 at the Colorectal Surgery Unit of Monash Health, Melbourne, Australia, excluding those who had previously had either procedure.

Pre-labor and post-labor cesarean delivery and early childhood adiposity in the Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development (CHILD) Cohort Study.

Background/objectives: Delivery by cesarean section (CS) compared to vaginal delivery has been associated with increased risk of overweight in childhood. Our study examined if the presence or absence of labor events in CS delivery altered risk of overweight in early childhood (1-5 years) compared to vaginal delivery and if this association differed according to infant sex.

Subjects/methods: The study included 3073 mother-infant pairs from the CHILD Cohort Study in Canada.

Point-of-care ultrasound as a diagnostic tool in respiratory assessment in awake paediatric patients: a comparative study.

Background: Chest X-ray (CXR) has typically been the main investigation in children with suspected respiratory pathology. Recent advances in lung point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) have shown the potential for it to be comparative, if not better, than CXR. The objective of this study was to compare CXR with lung POCUS in children with respiratory illness in a ward-based setting at a paediatric teaching hospital.

Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor signaling modifies the extent of diabetic kidney disease through dampening the receptor for advanced glycation end products-induced inflammation.

Glucagon like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is a hormone produced and released by cells of the gastrointestinal tract following meal ingestion. GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RA) exhibit kidney-protective actions through poorly understood mechanisms. Here we interrogated whether the receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) plays a role in mediating the actions of GLP-1 on inflammation and diabetic kidney disease.

Dosimetric comparison of gantry and horizontal fixed-beam proton therapy treatment plans for base of skull chordoma.

Introduction: Australia's first proton beam therapy (PBT) centre will house a fixed-beam room and two gantry rooms. As the only PBT facility in Australia for at least the short term, there is a need to efficiently allocate treatment appointments between the gantry and fixed-beam rooms. This planning study assesses the dosimetric differences between fixed-beam and gantry-based treatment plans for base of skull chordoma, one of the core indications likely to be referred for PBT in Australia.

A systematic review of volumetric image guidance in proton therapy.

In recent years, proton therapy centres have begun to shift from conventional 2D-kV imaging to volumetric imaging systems for image guided proton therapy (IGPT). This is likely due to the increased commercial interest and availability of volumetric imaging systems, as well as the shift from passively scattered proton therapy to intensity modulated proton therapy. Currently, there is no standard modality for volumetric IGPT, leading to variation between different proton therapy centres.

A prospective, multi-site, cohort study to estimate incidence of infection and disease due to Lassa fever virus in West African countries (the Enable Lassa research programme)-Study protocol.

Background: Lassa fever (LF), a haemorrhagic illness caused by the Lassa fever virus (LASV), is endemic in West Africa and causes 5000 fatalities every year. The true prevalence and incidence rates of LF are unknown as infections are often asymptomatic, clinical presentations are varied, and surveillance systems are not robust. The aim of the Enable Lassa research programme is to estimate the incidences of LASV infection and LF disease in five West African countries.

Proton-to-photon comparative treatment planning guidelines for the Australian context.

Proton-to-photon comparative treatment planning is a current requirement of Australian Government funding for patients to receive proton beam therapy (PBT) overseas, and a future requirement for Medicare funding of PBT in Australia. Because of the fundamental differences in treatment plan creation and evaluation between PBT and conventional radiation therapy with x-rays (XRT), there is the potential for a lack of consistency in the process of comparing PBT and XRT treatment plans. This may have an impact on patient eligibility assessment for PBT.

If we build it, will they come? Modeling of public hospital care requirements for the Australian Bragg Centre for Proton Therapy and Research.

Introduction: The Australian Bragg Centre for Proton Therapy and Research (ABCPTR) will be Australia's first proton beam therapy (PBT) facility. A model was developed to predict associated public hospital care requirements for patients during PBT, to facilitate resource planning for pediatric, adolescent and young adult (AYA), and adult public hospitals in South Australia.

Methods: National incidence rates for specific cancer indications were obtained from the Australian Childhood Cancer Registry, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and published data.

Volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) comparison to 3D-conformal technique in lung stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR).

Introduction: Stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) can be a curative option for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and oligometastatic lung disease. Volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) has offered further advancements in terms of radiation dose shaping without compromising treatment times however there is potential for greater low-dose exposure to the lung. This study was to assess whether VMAT lung SABR would result in any increase to the dosimetry parameters compared with three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT) that could confer increased risk of radiation pneumonitis.

Clinical documentation requirements for the accurate coding of hospital-acquired urinary tract infections in Australia.

Aims We evaluated the accuracy of medical coders in distinguishing the aetiology of urinary tract infection according to clinical documentation. Methods The clinical documentation of patients coded as having had a hospital-acquired urinary tract infection from January to June 2020 at two Melbourne hospitals were assessed for community or hospital acquisition. Results We found that 48.

Radiation shielding assessment of high-energy proton imaging at a proton therapy facility.

Background: Proton imaging makes use of high-energy, low-intensity proton beams that fully traverse the patient and has been suggested to reduce range uncertainty in proton therapy. Upright patient positioning with proton imaging is being considered for a fixed beam room of a new proton therapy facility currently under construction. Considering that the yield and energy spectrum of secondary radiation from high-energy proton beams is proton beam energy dependent, an assessment of radiation shielding at the energies required for proton imaging should be performed prior to use.

The Role of Hypofractionation in Proton Therapy.

Hypofractionated radiotherapy is an attractive approach for minimizing patient burden and treatment cost. Technological advancements in external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) delivery and image guidance have resulted in improved targeting and conformality of the absorbed dose to the disease and a reduction in dose to healthy tissue. These advances in EBRT have led to an increasing adoption and interest in hypofractionation.

The impact of Victorian COVID-19 lockdowns on the presentation and management of acute appendicitis.

Backgrounds: The COVID-19 pandemic presents ongoing challenges for healthcare. Stay at Home orders ('lockdowns') and community fears have been suggested to create reluctance to seek healthcare. We aimed to determine whether the rates of perforated appendicitis and negative appendicectomy have been affected by the pandemic, and to analyse the effect of lockdowns on the management of acute appendicitis in Victoria.

'They eat it like sweets': A mixed methods study of antibiotic perceptions and their use among patients, prescribers and pharmacists in a district hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Background: Antibiotic resistance is a growing public health threat. In Afghanistan, high levels of indiscriminate antibiotic use exist, and healthcare programmes are not informed by understanding of local attitudes towards rational antibiotic use. Médecins Sans Frontières is an international non-governmental organization providing healthcare services to the Ahmad Shah Baba (ASB) District Hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan, since 2009.

Deteriorating Patient Training Using Nonimmersive Virtual Reality: A Descriptive Qualitative Study.

Recent nurse education pedagogical strategies are starting to embrace the use of virtual patient simulations in higher education settings. This study evaluated student, simulation technician, and lecturer perspectives on student performance after virtual training for care of a deteriorating diabetic patient. Second year nursing students learned using a virtual patient simulation, which was a follow-up of a randomized controlled trial that took place during the academic year 2017-2018.

A novel TPS toolkit to assess correlation between transit fluence dosimetry and DVH metrics for adaptive head and neck radiotherapy.

Inter-fractional anatomical variations in head and neck (H&N) cancer patients can lead to clinically significant dosimetric changes. Adaptive re-planning should thus commence to negate any potential over-dosage to organs-at-risk (OAR), as well as potential under-dosage to target lesions. The aim of this study is to explore the correlation between transit fluence, as measured at an electronic portal imaging device (EPID), and dose volume histogram (DVH) metrics to target and OAR structures in a simulated environment.