Evolution of the Danube River's islands on the Bulgaria-Romania border over the last century.

The border line between Bulgaria and Romania was established a century ago on the Danube River's thalweg, going around islands. Over time, islands migrated; to avoid conflicts, islands located on the border line are declared neutral territory by both countries and they exit from use. In this context, the paper aims to draw conclusions on the spatial dynamics of the Danube River's sandy islands along the Bulgaria-Romania border.

Social ecology of artisanal sand mining in the Niger River around Bamako, Mali.

Sand, shaping both natural waterways and urban infrastructure, has recently seen a major surge in extraction, particularly in rapidly urbanizing regions like West Africa. To assess the organization, quantification, and socio-ecological implications of sand mining around Mali's capital Bamako, we employed a mixed methods approach including structured and unstructured interviews, truck counts, turbidity analyses, and river depth measurements. Our study identified five artisanal systems for mining sand and gravel from the Niger River, using tied-up pirogues, single pirogues, carts, tractors, and trucks.

Cascade of testing for chlamydia and gonorrhoea inclusive of an annual health check in an urban Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service.

Background To gain an understanding of chlamydia (CT) and gonorrhoea (NG) testing conducted within an annual health check (AHC) and in standard clinical consultations for clients aged 15-29years attending an urban Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service in the period 2016-2021. Methods De-identified electronic medical record data were extracted and analysed on CT and NG testing by sex, age, Indigenous status and the context of testing (conducted within an AHC or not). An access, testing, and diagnosis cascade for CT and NG, inclusive of an AHC, was constructed.

Chlamydia and gonorrhoea testing and positivity within an urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Controlled Health Service 2016-2021.

Background This study describes chlamydia and gonorrhoea testing, positivity, treatment, and retesting among individuals aged ≥15years attending an urban Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service during the period 2016-2021. Method Utilising routinely collected clinical data from the ATLAS program (a national sentinel surveillance network), a retrospective time series analysis was performed. The study assessed testing rates, positivity, treatment efficacy, retesting and trends over time within an urban Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service.

2023 Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE®) Standards and Interpretive Guide (effective July 31, 2025).

The Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE®) Standards and Interpretive Guide provides the required elements for educational programs and establishes critical competencies necessary to prepare students to become entry-level occupational therapists (OTs) or occupational therapy assistants (OTAs). The Standards review process is completed every 5 years to ensure that the entry-level educational standards reflect current occupational therapy practice. ACOTE uses a comprehensive review process to ensure participation by all stakeholders and communities of interest.

Spatial Variation in the Association between Extreme Heat Events and Warm Season Pediatric Acute Care Utilization: A Small-Area Assessment of Multiple Health Conditions and Environmental Justice Implications in California (2005-2019).

Background: The increasing frequency and severity of extreme heat events due to climate change present unique risks to children and adolescents. There is a lack of evidence regarding how heat's impacts on pediatric patients vary spatially and how structural and sociodemographic factors drive this heterogeneity.

Objectives: We examined the association between extreme heat events and pediatric acute care utilization in California for 19 distinct health conditions.

The Adverse Health Effects of Air Pollution from Sugarcane Burning: A Scoping Review of Observational and Experimental Evidence.

Background: Sugarcane burning is an agricultural practice that is implemented to increase sugar yields. However, sugarcane burning produces air pollutants associated with adverse health outcomes. This review summarizes the current knowledge of the defined exposures and health effects associated with sugarcane burning and identifies research gaps.

Systematic bias in malaria parasite relatedness estimation.

Genetic studies of Plasmodium parasites increasingly feature relatedness estimates. However, various aspects of malaria parasite relatedness estimation are not fully understood. For example, relatedness estimates based on whole-genome-sequence (WGS) data often exceed those based on sparser data types.

Graph contrastive learning of subcellular-resolution spatial transcriptomics improves cell type annotation and reveals critical molecular pathways.

Imaging-based spatial transcriptomics (iST), such as MERFISH, CosMx SMI, and Xenium, quantify gene expression level across cells in space, but more importantly, they directly reveal the subcellular distribution of RNA transcripts at the single-molecule resolution. The subcellular localization of RNA molecules plays a crucial role in the compartmentalization-dependent regulation of genes within individual cells. Understanding the intracellular spatial distribution of RNA for a particular cell type thus not only improves the characterization of cell identity but also is of paramount importance in elucidating unique subcellular regulatory mechanisms specific to the cell type.

A comprehensive benchmarking for evaluating TCR embeddings in modeling TCR-epitope interactions.

The complexity of T cell receptor (TCR) sequences, particularly within the complementarity-determining region 3 (CDR3), requires efficient embedding methods for applying machine learning to immunology. While various TCR CDR3 embedding strategies have been proposed, the absence of their systematic evaluations created perplexity in the community. Here, we extracted CDR3 embedding models from 19 existing methods and benchmarked these models with four curated datasets by accessing their impact on the performance of TCR downstream tasks, including TCR-epitope binding affinity prediction, epitope-specific TCR identification, TCR clustering, and visualization analysis.

Assessment of the underreporting of rhinitis in patients with asthma: A MASK-air® real-world study.

Rhinitis is a common comorbidity in patients with asthma. However, the frequency of underreported rhinitis in asthma is not known. In this study, we aimed to assess the characteristics of patients with self-reported asthma and no self-reported rhinitis, as well as the extent of the underreporting of rhinitis.

Overcoming Hesitancy and Barriers to Care with Integration of Telemedicine in a Free Student-run Health Clinic.

Introduction: Nadezhda Clinic is a free student-run health clinic that provides culturally sensitive primary care services to the underserved Russian-speaking population of the greater Sacramento area. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the clinic suspended in-person services and solely offered telemedicine visits. Most patients were hesitant to utilize telemedicine due to poor technological literacy, privacy concerns, and a preference for in-person care.

"Nobody Seemed to Notice My Work": The Lived Experiences of Home Care Workers Assisting People With Chronic Diseases: A Phenomenological Study.

Introduction: Home care workers (HCWs) are paid caregivers who provide support to patients with chronic conditions and functional limitations. Additionally, they provide emotional support to patients and familial support. Although several qualitative studies have been conducted on HCWs, they focused more on studying prevalently the lived experiences about the workplace violence, the end of life, stressor and resilience, during the COVID-19 pandemic or focused more in dementia and heart failure, but not on feelings and working conditions.

Ophthalmic Complications Associated With the Antidiabetic Drugs Semaglutide and Tirzepatide.

Importance: Nearly 2% of the US population received a prescription for semaglutide in 2023. There has been a recent concern that this drug and other similar medications may be associated with ophthalmic complications.

Objective: To report ophthalmic complications associated with the use of semaglutide or tirzepatide.

Community Racial and Ethnic Representation Among Physicians in US Internal Medicine Residency Programs.

Importance: Increasing underrepresented in medicine (URIM) physicians among historically underserved communities helps reduce health disparities. The concordance of URIM physicians with their communities improves access to care, particularly for American Indian and Alaska Native, Black, and Hispanic or Latinx individuals.

Objectives: To explore county-level racial and ethnic representation of US internal medicine (IM) residents, examine racial and ethnic concordance between residents and their communities, and assess whether representation varies by presence of academic institutions or underserved settings.

Management of Psychosis and Schizophrenia by Primary Care GPs: A Cross-Sectional Study in Spain.

Aim: To investigate the detection and initial management of first psychotic episodes, as well as established schizophrenia, within the primary care of the Andalusian Health System.

Background: Delay in detecting and treating psychosis is associated with slower recovery, higher relapse risk, and poorer long-term outcomes. Often, psychotic episodes go unnoticed for years before a diagnosis is established.

The nonbinary god: Disaggregating spirituality and Christian religiosity among nonbinary Black womxn (NBBW).

This study examined how 11 nonbinary Black womxn (NBBW) in the United States experience and distinguish between spirituality and religion using an endarkened Black feminist decolonial paradigm and an Afro-Indigenous eco-womxnist cosmological theoretic framework. Data were from Project NBBW, a community-based participatory action research project led by Black sexual and gender minority womxn community members and researchers. We conducted individual semistructured interviews and examined participant's qualitative responses to the following research inquiry: How do NBBW perceive their relationship to spirituality and religion? Participants were 11 NBBW, aged 21-30, living in the United States.

Development and validation of an MMPI-3 Antagonism scale.

Antagonism is a personality domain located in most major trait models and is central to multiple personality disorders. This construct has been linked to many societally harmful externalizing behaviors (e.g.

"Minimal-Advice" on Salt Intake: Results of a Multicentre Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial on Hypertensive Patients.

Introduction: A strong and well-known association exists between salt consumption, potassium intake, and cardiovascular diseases. MINISAL-SIIA results showed high salt and low potassium consumption in Italian hypertensive patients. In addition, a recent Italian survey showed that the degree of knowledge and behaviour about salt was directly interrelated, suggesting a key role of the educational approach.

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of Healthcare Providers and Healthcare Experiences of Women Regarding Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C): A Scoping Review of Evidence from Canada and the United States.

Healthcare providers (HCPs) play a critical role in the care of women with experience of FGM/C although there is limited research on knowledge about FGM/C among HCPs in Canada and USA. Research evidence suggests that many women with experience of FGM/C have negative care experiences. We sought to investigate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of Canadian and USA HCPs regarding FGM/C, along with women's healthcare experiences with FGM/C in both countries.

Experiences of Disclosure, Resilience and Viral Suppression among People Living with HIV in Ghana.

Support for people living with HIV (PLHIV) as they disclose their HIV status can impact continuity of HIV treatment and adherence to antiretrovirals. In the presence of multi-level adversities, resilience among PLHIV can promote health-seeking behaviors and better health outcomes. However, few studies have examined how disclosure experience and resilience work together to impact HIV treatment outcomes among PLHIV.

Brief Report: Preferences and Acceptability in Methods of Tenofovir Diphosphate in Dried Blood Spots Collection and Feedback in a Cohort of PLWH in Cape Town South Africa.

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence is crucial for HIV viral suppression. Tenofovir diphosphate (TFV-DP) concentrations in dried blood spots (DBS) offer a potential tool for monitoring and supporting adherence. We assessed acceptability and preferences of fingerstick-based DBS collection and drug-level feedback among 224 people living with HIV (PLWH) in South Africa.

Saving coral reefs: significance and biotechnological approaches for coral conservation.

Coral reefs are highly productive ecosystems that provide valuable services to coastal communities worldwide. However, both local and global anthropogenic stressors, threaten the coral-algal symbiosis that enables reef formation. This breakdown of the symbiotic relationship, known as bleaching, is often triggered by cumulative cell damage.

Clinical presentation, outcomes and risk of relapses of lupus podocytopathy in a multicentre Italian cohort.

Background: In an Italian cohort of lupus podocytopathy patients, we aimed to characterize the presenting features, therapy, and outcomes, and explore differences between relapsing and non-relapsing patients.

Methods: We identified 29 patients with lupus podocytopathy from 1994 to 2023 in 11 Italian Nephrology/Rheumatology Units, and divided them into two groups: relapsing and non-relapsing. Given the limited sample size, a p-value ≤ 0.