A Scoping Review on the Influence of Housing on the Health and Well-Being of People with a Spinal Cord Injury/Dysfunction.

Background/objectives: Despite the growing recognition of housing as a significant concern for individuals with a spinal cord injury/dysfunction (SCI/D), there is limited research available on this topic. This scoping review aimed to identify and describe the literature on housing across the continuum for people with an SCI/D.

Methods: This review utilized Arksey and O'Malley's scoping review framework.

Pneumococcal pneumonia trends in adults hospitalised with community-acquired pneumonia over 10 years (2013-2023) and the role of serotype 3.

Background: With higher valency pneumococcal vaccines on the horizon and new adult immunisation strategies under discussion, we aimed to evaluate the contribution of individual pneumococcal serotypes to the burden of pneumococcal community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Over 10 years, trends in pneumococcal pneumonia epidemiology in adults hospitalised with CAP were assessed. The risk factors and severity associated with serotype 3 were examined.

Navigating the Complexity of Stiff Person Syndrome: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Stiff person spectrum disorder is a disease that involves a host of conditions that are associated with glutamic acid decarboxylase 65-kilodalton isoform autoantibodies. These conditions may include diabetes mellitus type 1, pernicious anemia, autoimmune leukoencephalopathy, cerebellar ataxia, and stiff-person syndrome. Clinical recognition and diagnosis of stiff person spectrum disorder are important early, as immunologic treatment options showing reliable efficacy in slowing disease progression are available.

Exploring the Perspectives of Older Adults Living With HIV on Virtual Care: Qualitative Study.

Background: As the population of individuals with HIV ages rapidly due to advancements in antiretroviral therapy, virtual care has become an increasingly vital component in managing their complex health needs. However, little is known about perceptions of virtual care among older adults living with HIV.

Objective: This study aimed to understand the perceptions of older adults living with HIV regarding virtual care.

Risk of invasive pneumococcal disease during pregnancy and postpartum and association with adverse maternal and foetal outcomes: A prospective cohort study, England, 2014-19.

Background: Pneumococcal infections are associated with significant morbidity and mortality, especially at the extremes of age and in those with underlying conditions. Little is known about the risks, presentations or outcomes of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) during pregnancy or the postpartum period.

Methods: The UK Health Security Agency conducts enhanced national surveillance of IPD in England.

An Amperometric Sensor with Anti-Fouling Properties for Indicating Xylazine Adulterant in Beverages.

Amperometric electrochemical sensing schemes, which are easily fabricated and can directly relate measured current with analyte concentrations, remain a promising strategy for the development of the portable, in situ detection of commonly employed adulterants. Xylazine (XYL) is a non-narcotic compound designed for veterinary use as a sedative known as Rompun. XYL is increasingly being abused as a recreational drug, as an opioid adulterant and, because of its chemical properties, has found unfortunate prominence as a date rape drug spiked into beverages.

Fouling-Resistant Voltammetric Xylazine Sensors for Detection of the Street Drug "Tranq".

As the opioid crisis continues to wreak havoc on a global scale, it is increasingly critical to develop methodologies to detect the most dangerous drugs such as fentanyl and its derivatives, which have orders of magnitude higher potency than morphine. The scientific challenge for chemical detection of fentanyl and its derivatives is complicated by both the constantly increasing synthetic variations of the drug as well as the expanded use of adulterants. One tragically consequential example is the nocuous street drug known as "Tranq", which combines fentanyl or a fentanyl derivative with the veterinary sedative Rompun, chemically identified as xylazine (XYL).

Virion morphology and on-virus spike protein structures of diverse SARS-CoV-2 variants.

The evolution of SARS-CoV-2 variants with increased fitness has been accompanied by structural changes in the spike (S) proteins, which are the major target for the adaptive immune response. Single-particle cryo-EM analysis of soluble S protein from SARS-CoV-2 variants has revealed this structural adaptation at high resolution. The analysis of S trimers in situ on intact virions has the potential to provide more functionally relevant insights into S structure and virion morphology.

Calculating point spread functions: methods, pitfalls, and solutions.

The knowledge of the exact structure of the optical system point spread function (PSF) enables a high-quality image reconstruction in fluorescence microscopy. Accurate PSF models account for the vector nature of light and the phase and amplitude modifications. Most existing real-space-based PSF models fall into a sampling pitfall near the center position, yielding to the violation of energy conservation.

Evaluating methods for identifying and quantifying co-colonization using next-generation sequencing data.

Detection of multiple pneumococcal serotype carriage can enhance monitoring of pneumococcal vaccine impact, particularly among high-burden childhood populations. We assessed methods for identifying co-carriage of pneumococcal serotypes from whole-genome sequences. Twenty-four nasopharyngeal samples were collected during community carriage surveillance from healthy children in Blantyre, Malawi, which were then serotyped by microarray.

Carriage of Streptococcus pneumoniae in adults hospitalised with community-acquired pneumonia.

Objectives: We aimed to determine the prevalence of and risk factors for nasopharyngeal and oral pneumococcal carriage in adults with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), and the relationship between carried and disease-causing serotypes.

Methods: Between 2016 and 2018, nasopharyngeal swabs, oral-fluid, and urine were collected from hospitalised adults recruited into a prospective cohort study of CAP. Pneumococcal carriage was detected by semi-quantitative real-time PCR of direct and culture-enriched nasopharyngeal swabs and culture-enriched oral-fluid.

Subjective cognitive decline and objective cognitive performance in older adults: A systematic review of longitudinal and cross-sectional studies.

Older adults with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) have a higher risk of developing future cognitive decline than those without SCD. However, the association between SCD and objective cognitive performance remains unclear. This PRISMA 2020-compliant systematic review aims to provide a qualitative assessment of the longitudinal and cross-sectional relationship between SCD and objective cognitive performance in different cognitive domains, in neuropsychologically healthy, community-dwelling older adults (average age of 55 or older).

Campylobacter Infection Introduced Following Fecal Microbiota Transplantation.

Fecal microbiota transplantation is an evidence-based therapeutic option for recurrent infection, involving the transfer of healthy donor fecal material to restore gut microbial balance. Despite meticulous donor screening, , a prevalent cause of bacterial gastroenteritis, is not routinely tested, potentially impacting fecal microbiota transplant safety. We present a case of a female with recurrent infection treated with fecal microbiota transplantation, complicated by a subsequent infection.

A qualitative study on the Virtual Emergency Department care experiences of equity-deserving populations.

Patients from equity-deserving populations, such as those who are from racialized communities, the 2SLGBTQI+ community, who are refugees or immigrants, and/or who have a disability, may experience a unique set of challenges accessing virtual models of care. The objective of this qualitative study was to describe the experiences of patients from equity-deserving communities and their family members who received care from a Virtual Emergency Department (ED) in Toronto, Canada. Forty-three participants (36 patients and 7 family caregivers) with different and intersecting identities who used the Virtual ED participated in the study.

Variation in farming damselfish behaviour creates a competitive landscape of risk on coral reefs.

Interspecific interactions are fundamental drivers of animal space use. Yet while non-consumptive effects of predation risk on prey space use are well-known, the risk of aggressive interactions on space use of competitors is largely unknown. We apply the landscape of risk framework to competition-driven space use for the first time, with the hypothesis that less aggressive competitors may alter their behaviour to avoid areas of high competitor density.

Structures of H5N1 influenza polymerase with ANP32B reveal mechanisms of genome replication and host adaptation.

Avian influenza A viruses (IAVs) pose a public health threat, as they are capable of triggering pandemics by crossing species barriers. Replication of avian IAVs in mammalian cells is hindered by species-specific variation in acidic nuclear phosphoprotein 32 (ANP32) proteins, which are essential for viral RNA genome replication. Adaptive mutations enable the IAV RNA polymerase (FluPolA) to surmount this barrier.

Pilot Study on Therapeutic Horticulture for Chronic Low Back Pain: A Mixed Methods Study.

Background: Chronic low back pain (LBP) is common and associated with disability worldwide. Therapists trained in Therapeutic Horticulture (TH) use gardening activities and proximity to nature for therapy and rehabilitation. Patients seeking care for LBP would benefit physically and psychologically from participating in TH.

Phylogenetic inference of pneumococcal transmission from cross-sectional data, a pilot study.

Inference on pneumococcal transmission has mostly relied on longitudinal studies which are costly and resource intensive. Therefore, we conducted a pilot study to test the ability to infer who infected whom from cross-sectional pneumococcal sequences using phylogenetic inference. Five suspected transmission pairs, for which there was epidemiological evidence of who infected whom, were selected from a household study.

The Quebec Semantic Memory Battery: Development, Standardization, and Psychometric Assessment of a Semantic Memory Battery in French.

Objective: People with aphasia often experience semantic memory (SM) impairment. To improve diagnostic outcomes, SM tasks should recruit various sensory input channels (oral, written, and pictographic), permitting accessible, complete evaluation. There is a need for SM batteries for French-speaking Quebecers that use multiple input channels.

Pneumococcal serotypes and risk factors in adult community-acquired pneumonia 2018-20; a multicentre UK cohort study.

Background: Higher-valency pneumococcal vaccines are anticipated. We aimed to describe serotype distribution and risk factors for vaccine-serotype community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in the two years pre-SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study of adults hospitalised with CAP at three UK sites between 2018 and 2020.

Exploring the roles and functions of champions within community-based interventions to support older adults with chronic conditions: A scoping review protocol.

Background: Health care solutions are needed to meet the need of an ageing population. Health care champions are people who endorse the adoption of new initiatives being implemented within health care settings. Although the role of champions has been cited as key to the success of numerous community-based interventions implemented to improve the care of older adults with chronic conditions, no synthesis of their implementation experiences have been conducted.

An Influenza A virus can evolve to use human ANP32E through altering polymerase dimerization.

Human ANP32A and ANP32B are essential but redundant host factors for influenza virus genome replication. While most influenza viruses cannot replicate in edited human cells lacking both ANP32A and ANP32B, some strains exhibit limited growth. Here, we experimentally evolve such an influenza A virus in these edited cells and unexpectedly, after 2 passages, we observe robust viral growth.

Image scanning microscopy with a doughnut beam: signal strength and integrated intensity.

We discuss the effects of image scanning microscopy using doughnut beam illumination on the properties of signal strength and integrated intensity. Doughnut beam illumination can give better optical sectioning and background rejection than Airy disk illumination. The outer pixels of a detector array give a signal from defocused regions, so digital processing of these (e.

Alien plant fitness is limited by functional trade-offs rather than a long-term increase in competitive effects of native communities.

Alien plants experience novel abiotic conditions and interactions with native communities in the introduced area. Intra- and interspecific selection on functional traits in the new environment may lead to increased population growth with time since introduction (residence time). However, selection regimes might differ depending on the invaded habitat.