Fast is fine, but accuracy is everything: making intraoperative transfusion decisions using point-of-care testing.

Accurate and timely diagnostic information is a vital adjunct to clinical assessment to inform therapeutic decision-making, including decisions to transfuse, or not transfuse, blood components. A prospective cohort study of diagnostic point-of-care (POC) haemoglobin measurements on arterial or central venous samples from adults undergoing major noncardiac surgery compared three widely used devices, HemoCue®, i-STAT™, and the Rad-67™ pulse CO-Oxymeter® finger sensor device, against standard laboratory haemoglobin measurements, but importantly not against a blood gas analyser. The study focused on haemoglobin results below 100 g L to establish the utility of these devices to guide red cell transfusion decisions.

How does the first index mode of birth in public or private hospitals predict subsequent births? A 16-year Australian population-based linked data study.

Objectives: In this descriptive study, we aimed to assess how the index mode of birth and subsequent birth modes vary over time for public and private hospital maternity care funding models. The second aim was to determine to what extent the index mode of birth predicts subsequent birth modes in general and whether this differs in public versus private hospital maternity care funding models. With our aim, we have an innovative approach, specifically the women's life course approach, which is hypothesis-generating and can be assessed in future studies.

Prevalence of chronic kidney disease in Western Australia, 2010-2020.

Objective: To assess the prevalence and trends of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in Western Australia (WA) from 2010 to 2020 using linked pathology data.

Design: A retrospective observational cohort study using linked de-identified data from WA pathology providers, hospital morbidity records and mortality records.

Setting: A Western Australian population-based study.

Starfield's 4Cs of NCD management in primary healthcare: a conceptual framework development from a case study of 19 countries.

Introduction: Faced with a backdrop of an increasing chronic disease burden from an ageing global population compounded with rising healthcare costs, health systems are required to implement cost-effective, safe and equitable care through efficient service delivery models. One approach to achieving this is through Starfield's 4Cs of primary healthcare (PHC), which delineates the key attributes of a high-performing PHC system that upholds the pillars of care coordination, first contact of care, continuity of care and comprehensive care. Therefore, this study aims to explore and elucidate the key themes and subthemes related to and extending beyond Starfield's 4Cs of PHC by integrating findings from a comprehensive literature review and a qualitative study.

Carbon monoxide alleviates endotoxin-induced acute lung injury via NADPH oxidase inhibition in macrophages and neutrophils.

Sepsis is a life-threatening condition caused by severe infection and often complicates acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and acute lung injury (ALI) due to the collapse of the oxidative and inflammatory balance induced by microbial pathogens, including lipopolysaccharides (LPS). In sepsis-related ARDS/ALI, NADPH oxidase (NOX) and toll-like receptors (TLR) in neutrophils and macrophages are key players in initiating oxidative and inflammatory imbalances. Although NOX and TLR activation has been linked to carbon monoxide (CO), the mechanism by which CO affects sepsis-related ARDS/ALI through NOX and TLR remains unknown.

Anaphylaxis definition, overview, and clinical support tool: 2024 consensus report.

Background: The 2006 National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease/Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (NIAID/FAAN) anaphylaxis criteria are widely used in clinical care and research. In 2020, the World Allergy Organization (WAO) published modified criteria that have not been uniformly adopted. Different criteria contribute to inconsistent care and research outcomes.

Stabilised hyaluronic acid gel marker versus surgical clips for tumour bed delineation in breast cancer radiotherapy using MRI-simulation.

Background And Purpose: Compare breast cancer tumour bed (TB) delineation using stabilised hyaluronic acid (sHA) gel and MRI-simulation versus surgical clips and CT-simulation within same patient cohort.

Materials And Methods: Prospective single arm study of patients undergoing breast conserving surgery. Patients had both clips (≥5) and sHA gel markers inserted to define the TB and underwent MRI and CT simulation scans.

Functional attributes of the anterior mesendoderm in patterning the anterior neural structures during head formation in the mouse.

Induction of the neural ectoderm and the patterning of embryonic brain are the requisite organizing activity for head formation. Studies of loss-of-function mouse mutants that displayed a head truncation phenotype pointed to a key functional role of the anterior mesendoderm in anterior neural patterning. In this overview, we highlight the learning of the molecular attributes underpinning the formation of the anterior mesendoderm, the acquisition of ectoderm competence in the epiblast and the patterning of the embryonic brain during gastrulation and neurulation.

Goal-Framing Theory and Sustainable Food Choices: Leveraging Spillover to Activate Moral.

Transitioning to plant-dominant dishes in the growing meal kit delivery market could significantly reduce the greenhouse gas emission footprint of the sector. However, many consumers choose meat-based options without considering plant-based alternatives when ordering food online. This scenario-based survey experiment with 669 consumers tested whether an environmental message between lunch and dinner would increase stated plant-based dinner choices.

Rare Disease Policy in High-Income Countries: An Overview of Achievements, Challenges, and Solutions.

Objectives: To provide an overview of policy initiatives in high-income countries aimed at supporting the development and accessibility of treatments for rare diseases.

Methods: We examine how legislative, research, and pricing policies in high-income countries address barriers that have historically hindered innovation and access to rare disease treatments. By analysing examples from the EU, UK, US, Canada, Japan, and Australia, the article identifies ongoing initiatives, outlines current challenges, and explores proposed solutions to foster a sustainable, innovative, and accessible rare disease treatment ecosystem.

Moderating Effect of Green Space on Relationship Between Atmospheric Particulate Matter and Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Disease Mortality in Ningxia, China.

Objective: This study explores the moderating effect of green space on the association between atmospheric particulate matter (PM) and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease (CCVD) mortality.

Methods: Data on CCVD mortality, PM, meteorological factors, and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) of green spaces in Ningxia from 2010 to 2020 were collected. A time-series generalized additive mixed-effect model (GAMM) was applied to analyze the exposure-response relationship between PM and CCVD mortality.

The road forward with swarm systems.

Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics are accelerating progress in swarm systems. Large and bulky autonomous systems are being replaced with many, smaller, cheaper, distributed, decentralized and collectively smarter systems. However, developing these swarm intelligence systems comes with multiple challenges, including technological challenges to engineer smaller and smarter machines, interaction challenges to design novel interfaces and modalities for communication and sociotechnical challenges related to trustworthiness, ethics and legalities.

Human-inspired strategies for controlling swarm systems.

The control of swarms has emerged as a paradigmatic example of human-autonomy teaming. This review focuses on understanding human coordination behaviours, while controlling evasive autonomous agents, to inform the design of human-compatible teammates. We summarize the solutions employed by human dyads, as well as the verbal communication and division of labour strategies observed in four-person teams using virtual simulations.

Machine teaching in Swarm Metaverse under different levels of autonomy.

Shepherding algorithms enable scalable swarm control via the utilization of one or a few control agents. Despite their demonstrated effectiveness in controlling swarms of point-particle agents, shepherding algorithms have been barely evaluated in controlling realistic swarms of uncrewed vehicles (UxVs). Furthermore, existing shepherding algorithms face significant challenges in dealing with complex environments such as those featuring obstacles.

Navigating the road ahead: Assessing international guidelines for commercial drivers with epileptic seizures.

Objectives: To evaluate the availability and consistency of commercial driving eligibility criteria for patients with seizures.

Methods: We systematically evaluated commercial driver's license regulations for patients with epilepsy, first acute symptomatic seizure and first unprovoked seizure in different countries. Government driving authority websites and published guidelines were accessed and if not available, local neurologists were contacted.

Assessing the impact of non-pharmaceutical interventions against COVID-19 on 64 notifiable infectious diseases in Australia: A Bayesian Structural Time Series model.

Background: Several studies have examined the effect of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) on COVID-19 and other infectious diseases in Australia and globally. However, to our knowledge none have sufficiently explored their impact on other infectious diseases with robust time series model. In this study, we aimed to use Bayesian Structural Time Series model (BSTS) to systematically assess the impact of NPIs on 64 National Notifiable Infectious Diseases (NNIDs) by conducting a comprehensive and comparative analysis across eight disease categories within each Australian state and territory, as well as nationally.

On the formation and stability mechanisms of diverse lipid-based nanostructures for drug delivery.

In the evolving landscape of nanotechnology and pharmaceuticals, lipid nanostructures have emerged as pivotal areas of research due to their unique ability to mimic biological membranes and encapsulate active molecules. These nanostructures offer promising avenues for drug delivery, vaccine development, and diagnostic applications. This comprehensive review explores the complex mechanisms underlying the formation and stability of various lipid nanostructures, including lipid liquid crystalline nanoparticles and solid lipid nanoparticles.

Intensive care clinician attitudes and perceptions towards whānau participation in adult intensive care bedside ward rounds in Aotearoa New Zealand: An online survey.

Background: Clinical practice guidelines endorse family involvement in ward rounds to improve communication and engagement between patients, whānau (family), and healthcare teams, yet the practice has not been universally implemented. Whānau inclusion in adult bedside rounds is often met with hesitation by intensive care unit (ICU) healthcare clinicians, and reasons for this have not been explored in Aotearoa, New Zealand.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess attitudes and perceptions of ICU clinicians towards whānau-family inclusion in adult ICU ward rounds in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Effect of UV exposure on DNA deposited on drug capsules.

Illicit drugs are often made in less-than-sterile environments and can be stored in ways which can be detrimental to any DNA present, such as whether they are exposed to UV radiation. Previously, analysis of how exposure to UV impacted DNA for forensic applications has been in controlled laboratory conditions isolating a single component of UV radiation and often on DNA-rich samples such as bloodstains or saliva. To evaluate DNA persistence in more realistic conditions, capsules, such as those used to distribute controlled substances, were manually made and then packed into ziplock bags.

Writing for publication: The basics.

Problem: Writing for publication can be a challenging experience. Whilst midwives develop writing skills through their university education, writing a journal article can be quite different.

Purpose: To explain some basic skills of scientific writing when preparing a paper for publication to support midwives in engaging in scientific writing.

Asphalt pavement emission behavior under solar radiation during in-service period.

The toxic fume emitted from asphalt pavement remains a health and environmental hazard towards public safety, especially the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Despite extensive studies focused on characterizing asphalt fumes generated during construction stages (i.e.

Intercomparison of in-well, depth profile and online soil gas measurements for estimating petroleum natural source zone depletion rates: Will in-well gas samples suffice?

Natural Source Zone Deletion (NSZD) is a viable long-term management option for sites impacted by petroleum hydrocarbon fuels. NSZD rate estimation methods for petroleum mass losses often use soil gas gradients of oxygen, carbon dioxide, methane or vapour concentrations through the vadose zone. Seeking greater efficiencies, we investigated if existing short-screened wells are reliable for representative sampling of soil gases in a vadose zone undergoing NSZD.

The regulatory mechanisms for beef tenderization by the calcium-independent phospholipase A activity of Peroxiredoxin 6.

This study investigated the effect of the inhibition of the activity of Ca-independent Phospholipase A (iPLA) of Peroxiredoxin 6 (Prdx6) on beef tenderization in the early post-mortem period. Longissimus lumborum (LL) were incubated with or without the inhibitor of iPLA activity of Prdx6 (MJ33) for 1, 6, 12, 24, or 36 h, followed by incubation with or without the HO. iPLA activity, troponin T and desmin, Ca concentration, calpain-1, caspases, apoptosis rate, and cell morphology were examined.