Rational selection of TbpB variants yields a bivalent vaccine with broad coverage against Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

Neisseria gonorrhoeae is an on-going public health problem due in part to the lack of success with efforts to develop an efficacious vaccine to prevent this sexually transmitted infection. The gonococcal transferrin binding protein B (TbpB) is an attractive candidate vaccine antigen. However, it exhibits high levels of antigenic variability, posing a significant obstacle in evoking a broadly protective immune response.

Potentially Avoidable Emergency Department Utilization by Persons with Psoriatic Arthritis and Ankylosing Spondylitis: A Population-Based Cohort Study.

Objective: Greater accessibility to ambulatory services may mitigate emergency department (ED) presentations for lower acuity issues. This study examined ED utilization patterns for individuals with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) in a universal access healthcare setting.

Methods: Linked population-based administrative datasets in Alberta, Canada (fiscal years 2008-2017) were assessed for yearly ED visit frequency, timing, triage acuity, most responsible diagnoses, and disposition for persons with PsA and AS.

Special Issue on Anti-Racism, Health, and Nursing.

Although race is socially constructed, racism and racialization are social determinants of health. Over four centuries of colonial genocide and structural violence against Indigenous and Black peoples in Canada have resulted in intergeneration traumas and health disparities among Indigenous and Black people, sustained by ongoing social, political, and economic inequities. Evidence indicates the impact of contemporary and historical forms of racism on health outcomes.

Direct, non-medical out-of-pocket expenditures for mothers of moderate or late preterm infants in a level II NICU: Comparison of Alberta Family Integrated Care versus standard care.

Objective: To compare direct, non-medical out-of-pocket expenditures (OOPE) between mothers receiving Alberta Family Integrated Care (FICare™) versus standard care (SC) during their infant's neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission and explore factors influencing spending extremes.

Methods: In this exploratory, concurrent mixed-methods sub-study, we compared mother-reported OOPE from Alberta FICare™ and SC parent journals. We thematically analyzed hand-written notes from 30 journals with the highest and lowest 5 % of OOPE.

Intermediate-dose immune tolerance induction outperforms with faster success, less bleeding, and no added cost in comparison with low dose: a multicenter randomized clinical trial.

Background: Low-dose (LD) or intermediate-dose (MD) immune tolerance induction (ITI) is effective in children with severe hemophilia A (SHA) with high-titer inhibitors (HTIs) and is attractive in countries with economic constraints. However, high-quality evidence of their use is lacking.

Objectives: This was a multicenter randomized clinical trial comparing the efficacy, safety, and medication cost between LD-ITI and MD-ITI for SHA-HTI children.

Neuromuscular Ultrasound Training in Neuromuscular Fellowship Programs in Canada: Minding the Gap.

Introduction/aims: Neuromuscular ultrasound (NMUS) is gaining prominence as a valuable tool for diagnosing neuromuscular disorders at the point of care. Neuromuscular disorder diagnostic criteria guidelines have begun incorporating NMUS findings. As interest grows, fellowship programs must consider incorporating training into their curricula.

Aura phenomenon: a proposal for an etiology-based clinical classification.

Background: The term "aura" refers to a well-defined pattern of usually positive, progressive, and reversible neurological symptoms, with spreading depolarization as the underlying mechanism. While commonly associated with migraine, aura can also occur in other neurological disorders (i.e.

Case report: Diagnostic challenges of papulonodular mucinosis in a 67-year-old female.

Papulonodular mucinosis is a rare dermatological condition characterized by mucin deposition in the dermis, leading to the formation of papules and nodules that can occur with, or antedate, autoimmune connective tissue diseases. This case report presents a 67-year-old female with a chronic history of cutaneous mucinosis, which posed significant diagnostic challenges. Despite various treatments and extensive diagnostic workup, her condition evolved, highlighting the difficulties in diagnosing papulonodular mucinosis, especially in the absence of systemic lupus erythematosus and antinuclear antibody positivity.

Impact of age-related changes in buccal epithelial cells on pediatric epigenetic biomarker research.

Cheek swabs, heterogeneous samples consisting primarily of buccal epithelial cells, are widely used in pediatric DNA methylation studies and biomarker creation. However, the decrease in buccal proportion with age in adults remains unexamined in childhood. We analyzed cheek swabs from 4626 typically developing children 2-months to 20-years-old.

Joint Associations of Sedentary Time and Intensity-Specific Physical Activity With Cancer Mortality: A Device-Based Cohort Study of 72,458 UK Adults.

Background: There are no studies examining the prospective joint association of device-based measures of sedentary time and physical activity (PA) with cancer mortality. We examined the joint associations of sedentary time and intensity-specific PA with cancer mortality in 72,458 adults from UK Biobank.

Methods: Participants wore an Axivity AX3 accelerometer on their dominant wrist for at least 3 days (with at least 1 weekend day).

Amplitude and frequency of human gait synchronization with a machine oscillator system.

Humans sometimes synchronize their steps to mechanical oscillations in the environment (e.g., when walking on a swaying bridge or with a wearable robot).

Care for older adults living with dementia in the emergency department: a systematic review and meta-synthesis of care partner roles and perspectives.

Objective: Care partners play a vital role in supporting persons living with dementia (PLWD) in using medical services. We conducted a meta-synthesis to explore care partner perspectives of ED care for PLWD, as well as healthcare provider (HCP) perceptions of care partner roles within the ED, to identify care gaps and facilitators across the ED continuum.

Methods: MEDLINE, PsycINFO and Embase databases were searched from inception to 8 May 2023.

Anti-Mycobacterial Activity of Bacterial Topoisomerase Inhibitors with Dioxygenated Linkers.

Developing new classes of drugs that are active against infections caused by is a priority for treating and managing this deadly disease. Here, we describe screening a small library of 20 DNA gyrase inhibitors and identifying new lead compounds. Three structurally diverse analogues were identified with minimal inhibitory concentrations of 0.

A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial to Examine the Impact of a Therapy Dog Intervention on Loneliness in Hospitalized Older Adults.

Background And Objectives: Loneliness is linked to significant health threats and is potentially more dangerous than obesity; it affects as many as 29% of noninstitutionalized older adults. Loneliness is exacerbated for those who require inpatient rehabilitation, are displaced from their social networks, spend little time receiving therapy, and are physically inactive and socially isolated. Emerging evidence suggests that companion animals provide a number of health and well-being benefits and that interacting with a trained therapy dog may reduce loneliness.

A bivalent COVID-19 mRNA vaccine elicited broad immune responses and protection against Omicron subvariants infection.

Continuously emerging SARS-CoV-2 Omicron subvariants pose a threat thwarting the effectiveness of approved COVID-19 vaccines. Especially, the protection breadth and degree of these vaccines against antigenically distant Omicron subvariants is unclear. Here, we report the immunogenicity and efficacy of a bivalent mRNA vaccine, PTX-COVID19-M1.

Development of a predictive model for loss of functional and cognitive abilities in long-term care home residents: a protocol.

Introduction: Long-term care (LTC) residents require extensive assistance with daily activities due to physical and cognitive impairments. Medical treatment for LTC residents, when not aligned with residents' wishes, can cause discomfort without providing substantial benefits. Predictive models can equip providers with tools to guide treatment recommendations that support person-centred medical decision-making.

Acute and chronic cannabis vapor exposure influences basal and stress-induced release of glucocorticoids in male and female rats.

Management of stress and anxiety is often listed as the primary motivation behind cannabis use. Human research has found that chronic cannabis use is associated with increased basal cortisol levels but blunted neuroendocrine responses to stress. Preclinical research has demonstrated mixed effects of Δ-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC; the psychoactive constituent of cannabis), much of which is suggestive of dose-dependent effects; however, the predominance of this work has employed an injection method to deliver cannabis.

Knockout of the ING5 epigenetic regulator confirms roles in stem cell maintenance and tumor suppression in vivo.

INhibitor of Growth (ING1-5) proteins are epigenetic readers that target histone acetyltransferase (HAT) or histone deacetylase (HDAC) complexes to the H3K4Me3 mark of active transcription. ING5 targets Moz/Morf and HBO1 HAT complexes that alter acetylation of H3 and H4 core histones, affecting gene expression. Previous experiments in vitro indicated that ING5 functions to maintain stem cell character in normal and in cancer stem cells.

How prevalent are lactoferrin receptors in Gram-negative bacteria?

Surface receptors in Gram-negative bacteria that bind and extract iron from the host glycoproteins transferrin (Tf) or lactoferrin (Lf) was discovered 35 years ago in pathogenic species and subsequently was discovered in other pathogens of humans and food production animals. These bacterial species reside exclusively on the mucosal surfaces of the respiratory or genitourinary tract of their mammalian host and rely on their host specific Tf and Lf receptors to acquire iron for survival. Since the specificity of the bacterial Tf receptors was shown to be due to selective pressures on the host Tf, their presence in bacteria that reside in both mammals and birds indicates that they arose over 320 million years ago.

Using behavioural science to improve antibiotic stewardship in Canadian long-term care homes: Protocol for a multi-center cluster randomized quality improvement study.

Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is associated with significant human and financial costs, particularly among vulnerable populations like older adults living in long-term care homes (LTCHs). Urinary tract infection (UTI) is the leading indication for antibiotic use in this population, with some estimates suggesting that up to 70% of these prescriptions may be avoidable.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to develop and test novel behavioural science-informed antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) quality improvement strategies in Canadian LTCHs, which aim to decrease unnecessary testing and treatment for residents who lack the minimum clinical signs and symptoms of UTI.

Preoperative medication management turnkey order set for nonemergent adult cardiac surgery.

Objective: The management of preoperative medications is an essential component of perioperative care for the cardiac surgical patient. This turnkey order set is part of a series created by the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Cardiac Society, first presented at the Annual Meeting of The American Association for Thoracic Surgery in 2023. Numerous guidelines and expert consensus documents have been published to provide guidance in preoperative medication management.