Leaf Dry Matter Content Is Phylogenetically Conserved and Related to Environmental Conditions, Especially Wildfire Activity.

Leaf dry matter content (LDMC) is an important determinant of plant flammability. Investigating global patterns of LDMC could provide insights into worldwide plant flammability patterns, informing wildfire management. We characterised global patterns of LDMC across 4074 species from 216 families, revealing that phylogenetic and environmental constraints influence LDMC.

Factors influencing communication issues during hospital discharge for older adults in 11 high-income countries: a secondary analysis of the 2021 International Health Policy Survey.

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of hospital discharge communication problems with older adults, compare them across countries and determine factors associated with those problems.

Design: Secondary analysis of cross-sectional survey data.

Setting: 2021 Commonwealth Fund International Health Policy (IHP) Survey of Older Adults conducted across 11 high-income countries, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and the USA.

Amniotic Fluid as a Potential Treatment for Vocal Fold Scar in a Rabbit Model.

Objectives/hypothesis: Vocal fold (VF) injury and chronic inflammation can progress to scarring, which is notoriously difficult to treat. Human amniotic fluid (AF) has potential for VF wound healing in a rabbit model, and we hypothesized that AF would demonstrate wound healing properties superior to hyaluronic acid (HA) over time.

Study Design: Randomized, controlled trial.

Characterizing the sleep location, patterns, and maternally perceived sleep problems of the infants of Māori and non-Māori mothers in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Objectives: To investigate potential sleep inequities between the infants of Māori and non-Māori mothers in Aotearoa New Zealand, identify socio-ecological factors associated with infant sleep, and determine features of infant sleep that contribute to a mother-perceived infant sleep problem.

Design: Secondary analysis of longitudinal data from the Moe Kura: Mother and Child, Sleep and Well-being in Aotearoa New Zealand study when infants were approximately 12 weeks old.

Participants: 383 Māori and 702 non-Māori mother-infant dyads.

True prevalence and spatial distribution of antibodies to Brucella spp. in goat populations in Hubei Province, People's Republic of China: Progress toward disease elimination.

Caprine brucellosis, mainly caused by Brucella melitensis, remains a significant zoonotic threat worldwide, affecting animal productivity, welfare, and public health. This study aimed to estimate the true prevalence (TP) and spatial distribution of antibodies to Brucella spp. among goat populations in Hubei Province, China.

Dental care and services of children and young people with cerebral palsy in Australia: A comprehensive survey of oral health-related quality of life.

Aims: To investigate caregiver-reported dental care experiences and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of children and young people with cerebral palsy (CP).

Methods: Between May and August 2023, caregivers of children and young people from three Australian states were invited to complete questionnaires, including the Child Oral Health Impact Profile (COHIP-SF 19).

Results: Sixty-eight caregivers participated in the survey.

Effects of wearable resistance during warm-up on physical fitness measures in young female athletes.

The aim of this study was to quantify the training effects of wearing calf-loaded wearable resistance (WR) during a netball specific warm-up in female netball athletes. Twenty-nine high school female netball athletes were matched for change of direction (COD) speed and randomly allocated to either WR training or an unloaded group. Both groups performed the same warm-up two times per week for 6 weeks, with the WR group wearing 1%-1.

Four-electron reduction of benzene by a samarium(II)-alkyl without the addition of external reducing agents.

Benzene reduction by molecular complexes remains an important synthetic challenge, requiring harsh reaction conditions involving group I metals. Reductions of benzene, to date, typically result in a loss of aromaticity, although the benzene tetra-anion, a 10π-electron system, has been calculated to be stable and aromatic. Due to the lack of sufficiently potent reductants, four-electron reduction of benzene usually requires the use of group I metals.

Pan-phylum genomes of hornworts reveal conserved autosomes but dynamic accessory and sex chromosomes.

Hornworts, one of the three bryophyte phyla, show some of the deepest divergences in extant land plants, with some families separated by more than 300 million years. Previous hornwort genomes represented only one genus, limiting the ability to infer evolution within hornworts and their early land plant ancestors. Here we report ten new chromosome-scale genomes representing all hornwort families and most of the genera.

A risk-based approach can guide safe cell line development and cell banking for scaled-up cultivated meat production.

For commercial viability, cultivated meats require scientifically informed approaches to identify and manage hazards and risks. Here we discuss food safety in the rapidly developing field of cultivated meat as it shifts from lab-based to commercial scales. We focus on what science-informed risk mitigation processes can be implemented from neighbouring fields.

Preclinical evaluation of DC-CIK cells as potentially effective immunotherapy model for the treatment of glioblastoma.

Despite the favorable effects of immunotherapies in multiple types of cancers, its complete success in CNS malignancies remains challenging. Recently, a successful clinical trial of cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cell immunotherapy in patients with glioblastoma (GBM) has opened a new avenue for adoptive cellular immunotherapies in CNS malignancies. Prompt from these findings, herein, we investigated whether dendritic cells (DC) in combination with cytokine-induced killer cells (DC-CIK) could also provide an alternative and more effective way to improve the efficacy of GBM treatment.

Early noninvasive ventilation in general wards for acute respiratory failure: an international, multicentre, open-label, randomised trial.

Background: The impact of noninvasive ventilation (NIV) managed outside the intensive care unit in patients with early acute respiratory failure remains unclear. We aimed to determine whether adding early NIV prevents the progression to severe respiratory failure.

Methods: In this multinational, randomised, open-label controlled trial, adults with mild acute respiratory failure (arterial oxygen partial pressure/fraction of inspiratory oxygen [Pao/FiO] ratio ≥200) were enrolled across 11 hospitals in Italy, Greece, and Kazakhstan.

Statistical principles in neurointervention part 2. Multivariable analysis: generalized linear models, modification, confounding, and mediation.

This two part series on statistical principles in neurointervention offers a comprehensive foundation for neurointerventionalists to engage with both fundamental and advanced statistical principles. This series aims to equip neurointerventionalists with essential statistical knowledge for critically reviewing literature and conducting methodologically sound research. Part one of this series covered fundamental concepts such as frequentism, study types, data types, summarization, visualization, hypothesis testing, and univariable analysis.

Statistical principles in neurointervention part 1: basic principles, descriptive statistics and univariable analysis.

Neurointervention has seen significant advancements in recent decades with the adoption of myriad new technologies and techniques. Initially reliant on case reports and small case series, we now benefit from multicenter studies and randomized trials that can provide robust practice-changing evidencea and often employ sophisticated statistical methods. This two-part series on statistical principles in neurointervention aims to equip neurointerventionalists with essential statistical knowledge for critically reviewing literature and conducting methodologically sound research.

Multi-crosslinking nanoclay/oxidized cellulose hydrogel bandage with robust mechanical strength, antibacterial and adhesive properties for emergency hemostasis.

Emergency bleeding presents significant challenges such as high blood flow and rapid hemorrhaging. However, many existing hemostatic bandages face limitations, including the uncontrolled release of hemostatic agents, insufficient mechanical strength, poor adhesion, and complex manufacturing processes. To address these limitations, we developed a multifunctional hydrogel bandage for emergency hemostasis using a one-pot synthesis method.

Placental extracellular vesicles induce ovarian tumour cell death in an ex vivo explant model: Possible therapeutic potential.

Introduction: Placental extracellular vesicles (EVs), lipid-enclosed particles released from the placenta, can facilitate intercellular communication and are classified as micro- or nano-EVs depending on size. Placental EVs contain molecules associated with cell proliferation and death. In this study, we investigated whether treating human ovarian tumour explants with placental EVs could induce ovarian tumour cell death.

Embedding LGBTQIA+ health equity in midwifery education: A holistic whole-of-programme approach.

Skilled midwifery care for LGBTQIA+ people is a human right, however LGBTQIA+ people have been under-served in perinatal care by the privileging of cisgender heterosexual endosex women as recipients of care. The education of midwives and other professionals to provide LGBTQIA+ inclusive care is a critical component of wider strategies to address LGBTQIA+ discrimination in perinatal care. This paper responds to this challenge by discussing an innovative and holistic approach to introducing and embedding LGBTQIA+ health equity into one midwifery education programme in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Side effects following administration of open-placebos: A randomized controlled trial.

Objective: To assess whether individuals reported more side effects and decreased mood after receiving an open-label placebo compared to a control group that received no treatment.

Methods: We randomized participants to receive an open placebo or no treatment. The primary outcome was reported side effects on the Side effect Attribution Scale (SEAS) at 15 min and at 24-h.

Pacific Peoples' Experiences of Cancer and Its Treatment in Aotearoa New Zealand Through Talanoa: A Qualitative Study of Samoan and Tongan Participants.

Purpose: In Aotearoa New Zealand, there are inequitable outcomes for Pacific peoples who experience higher rates of preventable cancers and poorer survival compared with other ethnicities. The aim of this study was to explore Pacific peoples lived experience of cancer and its treatment in the Auckland setting.

Methods: Data were collected through semistructured interviews (talanoa) with Pacific patients under the Auckland Regional Cancer and Blood Service.

Transformations to Simplify Phylogenetic Networks.

The evolutionary relationships between species are typically represented in the biological literature by rooted phylogenetic trees. However, a tree fails to capture ancestral reticulate processes, such as the formation of hybrid species or lateral gene transfer events between lineages, and so the history of life is more accurately described by a rooted phylogenetic network. Nevertheless, phylogenetic networks may be complex and difficult to interpret, so biologists sometimes prefer a tree that summarises the central tree-like trend of evolution.

Current approaches to the surgical management of Crohn's disease in Australia and New Zealand.

Purpose: Given the evolving literature regarding the optimal surgical approach to mitigate post-operative recurrence of Crohn's disease (CD), this survey study aimed to elucidate the practices and preferences of colorectal surgeons in Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) in their surgical management of CD.

Methods: Colorectal surgical consultants and fellows (n = 337) registered with the Colorectal Surgical Society of Australia and New Zealand (CSSANZ) were invited by email in April 2022 to participate in a cross-sectional survey consisting of basic demographics and 12 questions relating to their usual surgical practice and preferred operative strategy.

Results: A total of 135 responses were received (39.

The Association between Social Support and Musculoskeletal Health in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: Findings from the Hertfordshire Cohort Study.

Previous studies suggest social support is associated with musculoskeletal health in later life. We explored this relationship further in community-dwelling older adults, by considering associations between different aspects of social support and musculoskeletal health in community-dwelling adults. Participants from the Hertfordshire Cohort Study reported level of confiding/emotional, practical, and negative support using the Close Persons Questionnaire.

Prudent Physician Anger in Patient-Physician Interactions.

This paper questions the conventional wisdom that physicians must suppress anger in response to patient misbehaviour. It distinguishes the emotion of anger from its expression, which leans toward concerned frustration and disappointment for the sake of professionalism in patient care. Drawing on the framework of person-centred health care as a virtue ethic, the paper first suggests four reasons why and when physician anger toward patient behaviour may occasionally be appropriate: the inevitability of sometimes feeling angry, anger as a cognitive and behavioural resource, physician well-being, and potential patient benefit.