Anti-thyroid Peroxidase Antibody Positivity and Chronic Hyperglycemia as Key Risk Factors for Peripheral Artery Disease in Type 2 Diabetes: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: Anti-thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPOAb) affects metabolic and thyroid function parameters, which may worsen macrovascular complications. This study aims to find the association between chronic hyperglycemia, thyroid autoantibody, and peripheral artery disease (PAD) in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients, as well as examine important clinical demographic and metabolic variables.

Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study.

Association Between Different Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone Levels and Macrovascular Complications in Subclinical Hypothyroidism Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

Aim: Subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) is frequently observed in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and may exacerbate macrovascular complications due to its impact on metabolic and thyroid function parameters. This study aims to explore the association between varying levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and the risk of macrovascular complications, alongside analyzing key metabolic, demographic, and clinical factors in T2DM patients with SCH.

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, and data was collected from 2017 to 2023.

Respiratory Therapy Leaders' Perceptions of Value of Respiratory Care Services.

Respiratory care departments are experiencing an increased need to demonstrate value in the care they deliver. Value efficiency is a concept that incorporates the value of individual treatments into the normal operations of a department. The purpose of this study was to describe respiratory care leaders' attitudes about the value of services provided by respiratory care departments.

Morphological, Metabolomic and Genomic Evidences on Drought Stress Protective Functioning of the Endophyte Bacillus safensis Ni7.

The metabolomic and genomic characterization of an endophytic Bacillus safensis Ni7 was carried out in this study. This strain has previously been isolated from the xerophytic plant Nerium indicum L. and reported to enhance the drought tolerance in Capsicum annuum L.

The valproate prescription pattern for female mental healthcare users of reproductive age.

Background: Sodium valproate (valproate) that is used both as an anti-epileptic and a mood stabiliser is teratogenic in pregnancy. A Dear Health Care Professional Letter (DHCPL) issued in December 2015 recommended the avoidance of sodium valproate prescription in women of childbearing age (WOCBA) and pregnant women.

Aim: This study aimed to describe the prescription pattern of valproate in female mental healthcare users (MHCUs).

Ketamine for depressive symptoms: A retrospective chart review of a private ketamine clinic.

Background: There is currently no published evidence demonstrating the effectiveness and safety of subanaesthetic doses of ketamine, when administered intravenously as an adjunct treatment for depressive symptoms, in a real world setting in South Africa.

Aim: This retrospective chart review reports the clinical response (change in Patient Health Questionnaire - 7 score) to an initial infusion series of ketamine added to usual treatment, and the pattern of its subsequent maintenance use, for depressive symptoms.

Setting: A private ketamine clinic in Hilton, KwaZulu-Natal.

Tumor histoculture captures the dynamic interactions between tumor and immune components in response to anti-PD1 in head and neck cancer.

Dynamic interactions within the tumor micro-environment drive patient response to immune checkpoint inhibitors. Existing preclinical models lack true representation of this complexity. Using a Head and Neck cancer patient derived TruTumor histoculture platform, the response spectrum of 70 patients to anti-PD1 treatment is investigated in this study.

Knowledge, attitudes, and help-seeking behaviour for mental illness in a Christian community.

Background: Christian beliefs have a role in conceptualising mental illness, which determines help-seeking behaviour and treatment choices. The topic of mental illness is controversial in many Christian circles and is often avoided because of the beliefs and teachings stemming from the Christian faith. Inadequate and inaccurate knowledge about mental illness and its causes negatively impacts the attitudes towards mental illness, the mentally ill, and ultimately help-seeking behaviour.

Addressing the Main Barrier to Sarcopenia Identification: Utility of Practical Office-Based Bioimpedance Tools Vs. Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA) Body Composition for Identification of Low Muscle Mass in Older Adults.

Background: Sarcopenia is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Clinically, sarcopenia can be overlooked, especially in obesity. Sarcopenia diagnostic criteria include muscle mass (MM) and function assessments.

Drought-Alleviating Effects of Endophytic Bacteria Isolated from Xerophytic Plants on Capsicum annuum L. Seedlings.

In the current study, 51 endophytic bacteria were isolated from 5 different xerophytic plants. Their drought tolerance properties were screened in vitro, and from these, four endophytes with tolerance up to - 1.5 MPa water potential were further selected and identified as Acinetobacter sp.

Observational cohort study of highly functioning community-dwelling older adults to assess their sarcopenic status, leisure physical activity, and quality of life over 12-months.

Background: The prevalence of sarcopenia varies depending on the cohort evaluated, and the diagnostic criteria used. Older adults with sarcopenia report lower quality of life than their non-sarcopenic peers. Leisure physical activity is reported to have a variable effect on sarcopenic status.

"Collapsing into Darkness": An Exploratory Qualitative Thematic Analysis of the Experience of Workplace Reintegration among Nurses with Operational Stress Injuries.

Background: Nurses are engaged in an unpredictable and dynamic work environment where they are exposed to events that may cause or contribute to physical and/or psychological injuries. Operational stress injury (OSI) may lead to an extended time away from work or nurses leaving the profession altogether. A deliberate focus on the workplace reintegration phase of the mental health recovery process may lead to the increased retention of nurses in their profession.

Refueling the post COVID-19 brain: potential role of ketogenic medium chain triglyceride supplementation: an hypothesis.

COVID-19 infection causes cognitive changes in the acute phase, but also after apparent recovery. Over fifty post (long)-COVID symptoms are described, including cognitive dysfunction ("brain fog") precluding return to pre-COVID level of function, with rates twice as high in females. Additionally, the predominant demographic affected by these symptoms is younger and still in the workforce.

How Do We Keep our Heads above Water? An Embedded Mixed-Methods Study Exploring Implementation of a Workplace Reintegration Program for Nurses Affected by Operational Stress Injury.

Background: Nurses are exposed to potentially psychologically traumatic events which can lead to operational stress injuries (OSI). Workplace reintegration after an OSI can be challenging, especially with repeated exposure to potentially traumatic scenarios and workplace demands. A workplace reintegration program (RP) originally developed for police officers may be of benefit for nurses returning to work after an OSI.

Characteristics, Identification, Training, and Perception of Leaders in Respiratory Care.

Background: Leadership is critical to high-functioning teams; however, data are lacking for what defines successful respiratory therapist (RT) leadership. Leaders need a wide range of skills to be successful, although the exact characteristics, behaviors, and accomplishments of successful RT leaders are unknown. We performed a survey of respiratory care leaders to evaluate different aspects of RT leadership.

Description of a new montane freshwater crab (Arthropoda, Malacostraca, Decapoda, Potamonautidae) from the Eastern Cape, South Africa.

A new species of freshwater crab, , is described from the Winterberg-Amathole mountain range in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Morphologically, Peer & Gouws, most closely resembles but can be distinguished by key morphological characters including the variation in the shape of the subterminal segment of gonopod 2 between both species. Genetically, Peer & Gouws, is placed within the clade of small-bodied, mountain-dwelling crabs including , , , , , and .

Enhancing Respiratory Therapists' Well-Being: Battling Burnout in Respiratory Care.

Burnout is a major problem in health care and is associated with adverse sequelae for patients, health care workers, and organizations. Burnout among respiratory therapists (RTs) is as high as 79% and is associated with poor or ineffective leadership, inadequate staffing, high work load, non-leadership position, and work environment. An understanding of burnout is necessary for both staff and leadership to ensure RT well-being.

Post hip fracture orthogeriatric care-a Canadian position paper addressing challenges in care and strategies to meet quality indicators.

Introduction: Osteoporosis is a major disease state associated with significant morbidity, mortality, and health care costs. Less than half of the individuals sustaining a low energy hip fracture are diagnosed and treated for the underlying osteoporosis.

Objective: A multidisciplinary Canadian hip fracture working group has developed practical recommendations to meet Canadian quality indicators in post hip fracture care.

Cultural Knowledge in Context - People Aged 50 Years and Over Make Sense of a First Fracture and Osteoporosis.

Catch a Break (CaB) is a secondary fracture prevention program that uses medical understandings of osteoporosis to assess first fractures and determine appropriateness for secondary fracture prevention. In this study, we interviewed CaB program participants to identify the understandings that patients themselves used to make sense of first fractures and the osteoporosis suggestion as cause. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with female and male participants of the CaB program in Canada.

Trends in osteoporosis care patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic in Alberta, Canada.

Purpose/introduction: The objective of this study was to describe osteoporosis-related care patterns during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Alberta, Canada, relative to the 3-year preceding.

Methods: A repeated cross-sectional study design encompassing 3-month periods of continuous administrative health data between March 15, 2017, and September 14, 2020, described osteoporosis-related healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) and treatment patterns. Outcomes included patients with osteoporosis-related healthcare encounters, physician visits, diagnostic and laboratory test volumes, and treatment initiations and disruptions.

Trends in osteoporotic fracture and related in-hospital complications during the COVID-19 pandemic in Alberta, Canada.

Unlabelled: Fragility fractures (i.e., low-energy fractures) account for most fractures among older Canadians and are associated with significant increases in morbidity and mortality.

RNA Virus Gene Signatures Detected in Patients With Cardiomyopathy After Chemotherapy; A Pilot Study.

Background: Viral infections are pervasive and leading causes of myocarditis. Immune-suppression after chemotherapy increases opportunistic infections, but the incidence of virus-induced myocarditis is unknown.

Objective: An unbiased, blinded screening for RNA viruses was performed after chemotherapy with correlation to cardiac function.

Drought mitigation in cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) through developing tolerant hybrids.

Background: Cocoa, being a shade loving crop cannot withstand long periods of water stress. Breeding for drought tolerance is the need of the hour due to change in climatic condition and extension of crop to non-traditional areas. Hybrids were produced by crossing four tolerant genotypes in all possible combination.

Accounts of health risk assessment survey administration in the Catch a Break Program: the social construction of osteoporosis risk identification and need for intervention.

Unlabelled: Catch a Break staff conducting the organizational work of delivering secondary fracture prevention screening conversations drew on cultural and organizational resources to determine eligibility of individuals. They encountered and navigated their way through interactional troubles as they requested participation, assessed trauma risk, and provided lifestyle information.

Purpose: We investigated delivery of a population-based type C fracture liaison service for non-hip fractures.