The importance of microbiology reference laboratories and adequate funding for infectious disease surveillance.

Microbiology reference laboratories perform a crucial role within public health systems. This role was especially evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this Viewpoint, we emphasise the importance of microbiology reference laboratories and highlight the types of digital data and expertise they provide, which benefit national and international public health.

IDyOMpy: A new Python-based model for statistical analysis of musical expectations.

Background: IDyOM (Information Dynamics of Music) is the statistical model of music the most used in the community of neuroscience of music. It has been shown to allow for significant correlations with EEG (Marion, 2021), ECoG (Di Liberto, 2020) and fMRI (Cheung, 2019) recordings of human music listening. The language used for IDyOM -Lisp- is not very familiar to the neuroscience community and makes this model hard to use and more importantly to modify.

Updates on pancreatic cancer treatment - invited special issue.

Despite an increased understanding of the underlying biology of the disease, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains a challenging condition with poor outcomes and a 5-year survival rate, even at an early stage, of less than 10%. This dismal prognosis is due in part to biological aggressiveness, the lack of early diagnosis, suboptimal surgical selection, and the need for effective neoadjuvant and adjuvant therapies. However, progress is being made with significant advancements in the diagnosis, staging, and treatment of PDAC, with a focus on precision therapy, improved surgical care, and supportive care, coupled with a deeper understanding of PDAC's biology.

"Shrink back is not my intention": a qualitative exploration of Chinese security guards' experiences with bystander CPR.

Background: Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is a major public health burden worldwide. Promoting bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (B-CPR) is a key element in improving the survival rate of OHCA. The security guard is a specific population in China that plays a significant role as bystanders in public settings.

High-Valent Cobalt-Difluoride in Oxidative Fluorination of Saturated Hydrocarbons.

The heme paradigm where Fe=O acts as the C-H oxidant and Fe-OH rebounds with the formed carbon-centered radical guides the design of the prototypical synthetic hydroxylation catalyst. We are exploring methods to evolve beyond the metal-oxo oxidant and hydroxide rebound, to incorporate a wider array of functional group. We have demonstrated the application of CoII(OTf)2 (10 mol% catalyst; OTf = trimfluoromethanesulfonate) in combination with polydentate N-donor ligands (e.

A 4-year outbreak of MRSA ST72-MRSA-IV type t1597 in a surgical high dependency unit in Ireland linked to repeated healthcare worker recolonisation.

Background: Patients undergoing cardiac surgery are identified as high risk for infection, including MRSA. An outbreak of MRSA was identified when two patients experienced MRSA infection concurrently in a cardiothoracic high dependency unit with uncommon detection of MRSA previously and an established screening programme.

Methods: An outbreak control team was convened and interventions applied including refresher training in hand and environmental hygiene, review of practice with regard to aseptic access of medical devices and consideration of antibiotic use in the unit.

A cadaveric analysis of the efficacy of blind injections into the lateral pterygoid muscle.

Background: Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) are amongst the most common causes of orofacial pain. Hyperactivity of the lateral pterygoid muscle (LPM) is associated with the pathological mechanisms associated with TMD. Botulinum Toxin-A (BTX) injections into the LPM can be used as a treatment for TMD; however, a lack of clinical standardisation for this procedure can lead to adverse outcomes, especially when using anatomical landmark-based approaches.

Guidance for evaluating biomaterials' properties and biological potential for dental pulp tissue engineering and regeneration research.

Background: Dental pulp regeneration is a complex and advancing field that requires biomaterials capable of supporting the pulp's diverse functions, including immune defense, sensory perception, vascularization, and reparative dentinogenesis. Regeneration involves orchestrating the formation of soft connective tissues, neurons, blood vessels, and mineralized structures, necessitating materials with tailored biological and mechanical properties. Numerous biomaterials have entered clinical practice, while others are being developed for tissue engineering applications.

Adaptation in communication technology utilization: caring for individuals with chronic conditions in South Asia during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Background: During the Covid-19 pandemic, people with chronic conditions experienced delayed or missed care, while their carers endured social isolation, loneliness, and reduced support. Information communication technology (ICT) can be utilized to encourage continuity of care, address misinformation, and allocate support. This study aimed to identify factors associated with the ICT adaptation of South Asian carers of individuals with chronic conditions by comparing changes in ICT utilization and preferences before and during the pandemic.

Telehealth memory clinics in primary healthcare: real-world experiences from low-resource settings in Greece.

Background: The role of primary healthcare is pivotal in the management of the surge of dementia prevalence particularly in low-resource areas. In this study, two telehealth-based memory clinics in primary healthcare operating within the frames of the INTegRated InterveNtion of pSychogerIatric Care (INTRINSIC) are presented.

Methods: The first clinic, which is led by a general practitioner, operates at a primary healthcare center in a semi-mountainous area and closely collaborates with the geriatric psychiatry outpatient clinic of the Patras University General Hospital via a telehealth medicine platform.

Empathy as a Psychometric Property in Dental Undergraduate Students.

Objectives: Empathy has been an essential competency in the clinical training of dental students and plays an important role in building relationship with patients. It has been found that gender and age may influence these empathetic responses; however, the findings vary across the literature. This study aims to investigate if age, gender and type of undergraduate dental training have a dependent relationship with the level of empathy.

Evaluation of first-principles Hubbard and Hund corrected DFT for defect formation energies in non-magnetic transition metal oxides.

Recent advances have shown that first-principles DFT+ techniques, such as DFT++ with parameters from linear response, are capable of high bandgap accuracy in transition metal oxides at a fraction of the computational cost of hybrid functionals. Extending the use of these functionals to defect calculations could save computational resources, but there is limited knowledge on whether such techniques are capable of reliably modelling defect energies. Furthermore, the use of separate and values for the same atomic species in different chemical environments, within the same system, can introduce significant errors into formation energy calculations.

Validation and implementation of whole-genome sequencing-based analytical methods for molecular surveillance and relatedness analysis of complex isolates at a national reference laboratory.

Whole genome sequencing-based methodologies have become extremely relevant for the molecular surveillance of human pathogens and are being increasingly introduced into national reference laboratory services. In this study, we describe the validation and implementation of core-genome Multi-Locus Sequence Typing (cgMLST) and whole genome single-nucleotide polymorphism (wgSNP) analysis at the Irish Mycobacteria Reference Laboratory, as a replacement for Mycobacterial Interspersed Repetitive Unit-Variable Number Tandem Repeat (MIRU-VNTR) typing. Concordance of clustering, discriminatory power, and ease-of-use of both WGS analytical methods were evaluated.

ESSD-ESGAR best practice position statements on the technical performance of videofluoroscopic swallowing studies in adult patients with swallowing disorders.

Objectives: Videofluoroscopic swallowing studies (VFSS) remain the gold standard for the instrumental assessment of oropharyngeal swallowing disorders alongside flexible endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES), requiring a high standard of quality and correct implementation. The current best practice position statements aim to guide the clinical practice of VFSS in individuals experiencing swallowing disorders.

Materials And Methods: An international expert consensus panel with expertise in oropharyngeal dysphagia, comprised of radiologists, speech-language therapists, otolaryngologists, and other professionals in the field, convened by the European Society of Swallowing Disorders (ESSD) and the European Society of Gastrointestinal and Abdominal Radiology (ESGAR), developed best practice position statements.

Managing ankle fracture-dislocation injury in the emergency department: a case study.

Ankle fracture-dislocation is a serious injury that requires prompt and appropriate management. The proximity of various neurovascular structures around the ankle joint means there is a risk of nerve or blood vessel damage. Initial management in the emergency department (ED), therefore, includes the realignment and repositioning of the dislocated joint to its normal anatomical position, referred to as reduction.