Human Health Surveillance During Animal Disease Emergencies: Minnesota Department of Health Response to Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Outbreaks, 2015 and 2022-2023.

Objectives: Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) poses an occupational risk for poultry workers, responders, and others in contact with infected birds. The objective of this analysis was to describe HPAI surveillance methods and outcomes, and highlight the challenges, successes, and lessons learned during the Minnesota Department of Health's (MDH's) public health response to HPAI outbreaks in Minnesota poultry flocks in the years 2015 and 2022-2023.

Methods: During both outbreaks, MDH staff attempted to contact all potentially exposed people and conduct a standardized interview.

Links among maternal antenatal attachment, postnatal depressive symptoms and infant crying: a prospective cohort study.

Purpose: This study investigated whether maternal antenatal attachment (MAA) in the third trimester was associated with self-reported problematic infant crying at eight weeks postnatally and explored links with postnatal depressive symptoms.

Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted with 1287 pregnant participants in Danish general practice. MAA was measured using the Maternal Antenatal Attachment Scale (MAAS) in the third trimester.

How Does Deep Neural Network-Based Noise Reduction in Hearing Aids Impact Cochlear Implant Candidacy?

Background/objectives: Adult hearing-impaired patients qualifying for cochlear implants typically exhibit less than 60% sentence recognition under the best hearing aid conditions, either in quiet or noisy environments, with speech and noise presented through a single speaker. This study examines the influence of deep neural network-based (DNN-based) noise reduction on cochlear implant evaluation.

Methods: Speech perception was assessed using AzBio sentences in both quiet and noisy conditions (multi-talker babble) at 5 and 10 dB signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) through one loudspeaker.

Paramedics providing end-of-life care: an online survey of practice and experiences.

Background: Global demand for care during the last year of life (end-of-life) is rising and with shortfalls in community healthcare services, paramedics are increasingly called on to deliver this. Despite this growing demand on the paramedic workforce, little large-scale or detailed empirical research has evaluated current practice and paramedic experiences of attending this patient group. Therefore, as part of a wider study evaluating paramedic delivery of end-of-life care, a large-scale survey in England describing paramedics' current practice and experiences providing end-of-life care was undertaken.

SPARCL1 and NT-proBNP as biomarkers of right ventricular-to-pulmonary artery uncoupling in pulmonary hypertension.

Aims: SPARCL1 was recently identified as a biomarker of right ventricular (RV) maladaptation in patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH), and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic protein (NT-proBNP) is an established biomarker of RV failure in PH. The present study investigated whether NT-proBNP and SPARCL1 concentrations are associated with load-independent parameters of RV function and RV-to-pulmonary artery (RV-PA) coupling as measured using invasive pressure-volume (PV) loops in the RV.

Methods: SPARCL1 and NT-proBNP were measured in the plasma of patients with idiopathic pulmonary artery hypertension (IPAH, n = 73).