Factors associated with emergency department methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus coverage in patients with skin and soft tissue infections in an urban, tertiary care emergency department.

Introduction: Skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) are common and contribute significantly to morbidity and healthcare costs in emergency departments (EDs). The rise of antimicrobial resistance, particularly due to community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), complicates treatment decisions. Objective physical examination findings suggesting need for empiric MRSA coverage are sometimes ignored.

Combining tissue biomarkers with mpMRI to diagnose clinically significant prostate cancer. Analysis of 21 biomarkers in the PICTURE study.

Background: Serum PSA and digital rectal examination remain the key diagnostic tools for detecting prostate cancer. However, due to the limited specificity of serum PSA, the applicability of this marker continues to be controversial. Recent use of image-guided biopsy along with pathological assessment and the use of biomarkers has dramatically improved the diagnosis of clinically significant cancer.

Associations between mesolimbic connectivity, and alcohol use from adolescence to adulthood.

Dopaminergic projections from the ventral tegmental area (VTA) to limbic regions play a key role in the initiation and maintenance of substance use; however, the relationship between mesolimbic resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) and alcohol use during development remains unclear. We examined the associations between alcohol use and VTA RSFC to subcortical structures in 796 participants (12-21 years old at baseline, 51 % female) across 9 waves of longitudinal data from the National Consortium on Alcohol and Neurodevelopment in Adolescence. Linear mixed effects models included interactions between age, sex, and alcohol use, and best fitting models were selected using log-likelihood ratio tests.

Using Apple Watches to Monitor Health and Behaviors of Individuals with Cognitive Impairment: A Case Series Study.

Objectives: This study explores the potential of developing digital biomarkers from wearables for monitoring individuals with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias, focusing on the feasibility of using Apple Watches for tracking health and behaviors in older adults with cognitive impairment.

Method: Data collection used the Amissa Health technology stack, which passively collects time-series data from smartwatches and provides a high-frequency cloud database for secure data storage, query, and visualization by clinicians and researchers. The platform consists of i) AmissaWear, a software app that runs on smartwatches and sends information to a cloud database using a secure API; and ii) AmissaOrbis, a centralized cloud portal for the collected data.

PlsX and PlsY: Additional roles beyond glycerophospholipid synthesis in Gram-negative bacteria.

The unique asymmetry of the Gram-negative outer membrane, with glycerophospholipids (GPLs) in the inner leaflet and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in the outer leaflet, works to resist external stressors and prevent the entry of toxic compounds. Thus, GPL and LPS synthesis must be tightly controlled to maintain the integrity of this essential structure. We sought to decipher why organisms like possess two redundant pathways-PlsB and PlsX/Y-for synthesis of the GPL precursor lysophosphatidic acid (LPA).

Women's satisfaction with intrapartum fetal surveillance: A mixed-method study within the STan Australian randomised controlled trial (START).

Background: Childbirth satisfaction can impact short and long-term health outcomes. In an Australian-first randomised controlled trial (RCT) (ACTRN1261800006268), two techniques for intrapartum fetal surveillance were compared; ST analysis (STan) as an adjunct to cardiotocography (CTG) compared to CTG alone. The aim was to determine if CTG+STan can reduce emergency caesarean section rates whilst maintaining or improving neonatal outcomes.

A conserved hub protein for coordinating peptidoglycan turnover that activates cell division amidases in .

Unlabelled: Gram-negative bacteria produce a multilayered cell envelope in which their peptidoglycan is sandwiched between two membranes, an inner membrane made of glycerophospholipids and an asymmetric outer membrane with glycerophospholipids in the inner leaflet and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in the outer leaflet. The outer membrane contains lipooligosaccharide (LOS), a variant of LPS lacking O-antigen. LPS/LOS is typically essential, but can survive without LOS.

The Polyanalgesic Consensus Conference (PACC)®: Updates on Clinical Pharmacology and Comorbidity Management in Intrathecal Drug Delivery for Cancer Pain.

Introduction: The International Neuromodulation Society convened a multispecialty group of physicians based on expertise with international representation to establish evidence-based guidance on using intrathecal drug delivery in chronic pain treatment. This Polyanalgesic Consensus Conference (PACC)® project's scope is to provide evidence-based guidance for clinical pharmacology and best practices for intrathecal drug delivery for cancer pain.

Materials And Methods: Authors were chosen on the basis of their clinical expertise, familiarity with the peer-reviewed literature, research productivity, and contributions to the neuromodulation literature.

Effect of secondary and tertiary wastewater treatment methods on opioids and the subsequent environmental impact of effluent and biosolids.

Opioids are widely distributed, potent prescription analgesics that are known to be diverted for illicit use. Their prevalence of use is reflected by high concentrations of parent compounds and/or metabolites found in samples collected from wastewater treatment plants. Given that treatment byproducts enter the environment through several routes, the consequences of insufficient removal by treatment methods include unwanted environmental exposure and potential to disrupt ecosystems.

Reporting population size in wastewater-based epidemiology: A scoping review.

Knowledge of the number of people present in a catchment is fundamental for the assessment of spatio-temporal trends in wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE). Accurately estimating the number of people connected to wastewater catchments is challenging however, because populations are dynamic. Methods used to estimate population size can significantly influence the calculation and interpretation of population-normalised wastewater data (PNWD).

Perceiving less but wasting more: The relationship between perceived resource scarcity and consumer food waste.

Consumers' food-related behaviors often culminate in significant food waste. Surprisingly however, limited attention has been given to psychological reasons why this occurs. Across four studies, this research suggests that, because perceived resource scarcity activates a resource acquisition goal, under conditions where product scarcity is not present it leads consumers to engage in inaccurate over-acquisition of resources (i.

Protocol for an intervention for new parents experiencing moderate psychosocial adversity: pilot feasibility randomised trial.

Background: Parents exposed to psychosocial adversities often experience challenges which, combined with the needs of a new-born infant, can be difficult to manage and increase the risk of poor outcomes for both parents and infants. Psychosocial adversity can disrupt the development of parental-foetal attachment to the baby during pregnancy, which can have a negative effect on parental care and quality of interaction during the postnatal period. This intervention is based on the proposition that enhanced parental capacity to mentalise and emotionally connect to unborn children during pregnancy, and better understanding about how to manage distressing infant behaviour (i.

Complete Blood Count Values Over Time in Young Children During the Dengue Virus Epidemic in the Dominican Republic From 2018 to 2020.

Dengue fever (DF) is a mosquito-borne illness with substantial economic and societal impact. Understanding laboratory trends of hospitalized Dominican Republic (DR) pediatric patients could help develop screening procedures in low-resourced settings. We sought to describe laboratory findings over time in DR children with DF and DF severity from 2018 to 2020.

Large-scale analysis of structural brain asymmetries during neurodevelopment: Associations with age and sex in 4265 children and adolescents.

Only a small number of studies have assessed structural differences between the two hemispheres during childhood and adolescence. However, the existing findings lack consistency or are restricted to a particular brain region, a specific brain feature, or a relatively narrow age range. Here, we investigated associations between brain asymmetry and age as well as sex in one of the largest pediatric samples to date (n = 4265), aged 1-18 years, scanned at 69 sites participating in the ENIGMA (Enhancing NeuroImaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis) consortium.

Expanding the phenotype of neurofibromatosis type 1 microdeletion syndrome.

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF-1) microdeletion syndrome accounts for 5 to 11% of individuals with NF-1. The aim of our study was to characterize a large cohort of individuals with NF-1 microdeletion syndrome and expand its natural history. We conducted a retrospective chart review from 1994 to 2024 of individuals with NF-1 microdeletion syndrome followed at two large Neurofibromatosis Clinics.

Patient Perceptions of Illness Causes and Treatment Preferences for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A Mixed-Methods Study.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a condition with high patient morbidity and mortality. Research shows that eliciting patient explanations about illness causes and treatment preferences promotes cross-cultural work and engagement in health services. These topics are in the Cultural Formulation Interview (CFI), a semi-structured interview first published in DSM-5 that applies anthropological approaches within mental health services to promote person-centered care.

Enhancing teaching effectiveness in biochemistry labs: Author reflections and improvement strategies.

This article details the outcome of a joint reflective approach undertaken by the authors to identify common difficulties experienced by 2nd-year undergraduate Biochemistry students in laboratory classes. Difficulties experienced in laboratories can affect the development of hand skills, an understanding of how to correctly operate laboratory equipment and the linkage between didactic content and their experimental demonstration. These difficulties covered were identified based on their common appearance across multiple cohorts and are grouped into five broad areas.

KMT2D regulates activation, localization, and integrin expression by T-cells.

Individuals with Kabuki syndrome present with immunodeficiency; however, how pathogenic variants in the gene encoding the histone-modifying enzyme lysine methyltransferase 2D (KMT2D) lead to immune alterations remain poorly understood. Following up on our prior report of KMT2D-altered integrin expression in B-cells, we performed targeted analyses of KMT2D's influence on integrin expression in T-cells throughout development (thymocytes through peripheral T-cells) in murine cells with constitutive- and conditional-targeted deletion. Using high-throughput RNA-sequencing and flow cytometry, we reveal decreased expression (both at the transcriptional and translational levels) of a cluster of leukocyte-specific integrins, which perturb aspects of T-cell activation, maturation, adhesion/localization, and effector function.

Perioperative Health Interventions in Children With Chronic Neuromuscular Conditions Undergoing Major Musculoskeletal Surgery: A Scoping Review.

Background And Objectives: Children with chronic neuromuscular conditions (CCNMC) have many coexisting conditions and often require musculoskeletal surgery for progressive neuromuscular scoliosis or hip dysplasia. Adequate perioperative optimization may decrease adverse perioperative outcomes. The purpose of this scoping review was to allow us to assess associations of perioperative health interventions (POHI) with perioperative outcomes in CCNMC.

Seven-years of alcohol consumption in Australia by wastewater analysis: Exploring patterns by remoteness and socioeconomic factors.

Background: Wastewater analysis provides a complementary measure of alcohol use in whole communities. We assessed absolute differences and temporal trends in alcohol consumption by degree of remoteness and socioeconomics indicators in Australia from 2016 to 2023.

Methods: Alcohol consumption estimates from 50 wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) in the Australian National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program were used.

Vitamin D regulates microbiome-dependent cancer immunity.

A role for vitamin D in immune modulation and in cancer has been suggested. In this work, we report that mice with increased availability of vitamin D display greater immune-dependent resistance to transplantable cancers and augmented responses to checkpoint blockade immunotherapies. Similarly, in humans, vitamin D-induced genes correlate with improved responses to immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment as well as with immunity to cancer and increased overall survival.

Accounting for missing ticks: Use (or lack thereof) of hierarchical models in tick ecology studies.

Ixodid (hard) ticks play important ecosystem roles and have significant impacts on animal and human health via tick-borne diseases and physiological stress from parasitism. Tick occurrence, abundance, activity, and key life-history traits are highly influenced by host availability, weather, microclimate, and landscape features. As such, changes in the environment can have profound impacts on ticks, their hosts, and the spread of diseases.