Peripheral parenteral nutrition use outside of a dedicated nutrition support service: A descriptive cohort study.

Background: Hospitalized patients may require nutrition support because of inadequate intake or impaired gut function. Enteral nutrition is preferred over parenteral nutrition because of fewer complications and earlier return of gut function. This study describes peripheral parenteral nutrition (PPN) use in an Australian tertiary center, evaluating its indications, incidence of adverse effects, and outcomes without the support of a nutrition support service.

Estimands for Early-Phase Dose Optimization Trials in Oncology.

Phase I dose escalation trials in oncology generally aim to find the maximum tolerated dose. However, with the advent of molecular-targeted therapies and antibody drug conjugates, dose-limiting toxicities are less frequently observed, giving rise to the concept of optimal biological dose (OBD), which considers both efficacy and toxicity. The estimand framework presented in the addendum of the ICH E9(R1) guidelines strengthens the dialogue between different stakeholders by bringing in greater clarity in the clinical trial objectives and by providing alignment between the targeted estimand under consideration and the statistical analysis methods.

Use of the i-PARIHS framework in nutrition and dietetics research and practice: A citation analysis of the literature and case studies.

Theoretical approaches can help to plan, guide, and evaluate implementation projects that target real-world practice problems. This paper provides an overview of the integrated Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (i-PARIHS) framework and summarizes its use in nutrition and dietetics research and practice. A narrative summary of its use was compiled from the published literature based on citations from two key reference sources of the i-PARIHS framework.

Implications of Changing the Diagnostic Criteria for Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (CDC4G): A Healthcare Cost Analysis Alongside a Stepped Wedge Cluster Randomised Trial.

Objective: To estimate the effect on healthcare resource use after introducing the World Health Organization diagnostic criteria (WHO-2013) for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) compared to former criteria in Sweden (SWE-GDM).

Design: A cost-analysis alongside the Changing Diagnostic Criteria for Gestational Diabetes (CDC4G) randomised controlled trial.

Setting: Sweden, with risk-factor based screening for GDM.

LONP1 Variants Are Associated With Clinically Diverse Phenotypes.

LONP1 encodes a mitochondrial protease essential for protein quality control and metabolism. Variants in LONP1 are associated with a diverse and expanding spectrum of disorders, including Cerebral, Ocular, Dental, Auricular, and Skeletal anomalies syndrome (CODAS), congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH), and neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD), with some individuals exhibiting features of mitochondrial encephalopathy. We report 16 novel LONP1 variants identified in 16 individuals (11 with NDD, 5 with CDH), further expanding the clinical spectrum.

Parameter estimation of hyper-spherical diffusion models with a time-dependent threshold: An integral equation method.

Over the past several decades, decision-making research has been dominated by the study of binary choice tasks, with key models assuming that people remain equally cautious regardless of how long they have spent on the choice problem. Recent research has begun to place a greater focus on studying tasks with a continuous-response scale, as well as models that allow for decreases in caution over decision time; however, these research topics have remained separate from one another. For instance, proposed models of continuous-response scales have assumed constant caution over time, and studies investigating whether caution decreases over time have focused on binary choice tasks.

Neuropsychology Strengths-Based Approach for the Assessment of Autism in Adults: Qualitative Thematic Analysis of Clients' Experiences of the Diagnosis and Feedback Process.

Investigate the utility of a neuropsychological strengths-based approach to the assessment of Autism in adults; to determine the acceptability of the approach and feedback provided to clients; and gather information about improving the assessment process for future clients. The approach was grounded in a neurodiversity-positive framework, providing diagnosis-affirming care. Participants were inpatient clients of the neuropsychology service of a private adult, mental health treatment service.

Redox-driven mineral and organic associations in Jezero Crater, Mars.

The Perseverance rover has explored and sampled igneous and sedimentary rocks within Jezero Crater to characterize early Martian geological processes and habitability and search for potential biosignatures. Upon entering Neretva Vallis, on Jezero Crater's western edge, Perseverance investigated distinctive mudstone and conglomerate outcrops of the Bright Angel formation. Here we report a detailed geological, petrographic and geochemical survey of these rocks and show that organic-carbon-bearing mudstones in the Bright Angel formation contain submillimetre-scale nodules and millimetre-scale reaction fronts enriched in ferrous iron phosphate and sulfide minerals, likely vivianite and greigite, respectively.

Socioeconomic inequalities and trends in self-reported hypertension and antihypertensive medication use in Australia between 2009 and 2021: a nationwide population-based cohort study.

This study examined trends in the proportion of adults with self-reported hypertension and in antihypertensive medication use among community-dwelling Australian adults. We analysed data from a longitudinal panel study, covering four waves: 2009 (n = 8023), 2013 (n = 11,475), 2017 (n = 12,843), and 2021 (n = 14,571) for adults aged 18-74 years. Hypertension and antihypertensive medication use were self-reported.

Antimicrobial stewardship from a One Health perspective.

The global rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a profound threat to human, animal and environmental health. Although antimicrobials have revolutionized modern medicine, their overuse and misuse have accelerated AMR, necessitating urgent, multisectoral action. Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS), a set of coordinated strategies that promote responsible antimicrobial use, has emerged as a key intervention in managing AMR.

ABO blood group antigens influence host-microbe interactions and risk of early spontaneous preterm birth.

The mechanisms by which vaginal microbiota shape spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB) risk remain poorly defined. Using electronic clinical records data from 74,913 maternities in conjunction with metaxanomic (n = 596) and immune profiling (n = 314) data, we show that the B blood group phenotype associates with increased risk of sPTB and adverse vaginal microbiota composition. The O blood group associates with sPTB in women who have a combination of a previous history of sPTB, an adverse vaginal microbial composition and pro-inflammatory cervicovaginal milieu.

Late fluid flow in a primitive asteroid revealed by Lu-Hf isotopes in Ryugu.

Carbonaceous asteroids are the source of the most primitive meteorites and represent leftover planetesimals that formed from ice and dust in the outer Solar System and may have delivered volatiles to the terrestrial planets. Understanding the aqueous activity of asteroids is key to deciphering their thermal, chemical and orbital evolution, with implications for the origin of water on the terrestrial planets. Analyses of the objects, in particular pristine samples returned from asteroid Ryugu, have provided detailed information on fluid-rock interactions within a few million years after parent-body formation.

Metagenomic complexity of high, seasonal transmission of Plasmodium spp. in asymptomatic carriers in Northern Sahelian Ghana.

Background: Mixed-species, mixed-strain plasmodia infections are known to occur in humans in malaria endemic areas. It may be surprising that to date, the extent of this complexity has not been systematically explored in high-burden countries of sub-Saharan Africa, especially in the reservoir of asymptomatic infections in all ages, which sustains transmission.

Methods: Here we take a metagenomic lens to these infections by sampling variable blood volumes from 188 afebrile residents living in high, seasonal transmission in Northern Sahelian Ghana.

Astrocytic monoamine oxidase B (MAOB)-gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) axis as a molecular brake on repair following spinal cord injury.

Neuroregeneration and remyelination rarely occur in the adult mammalian brain and spinal cord following central nervous system (CNS) injury. The glial scar has been proposed as a major contributor to this failure in the regenerative process. However, its underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms remain unclear.

Academic leadership careers are not limited to scientific research.

Early career researchers (ECRs) are often faced with uncertainty about their professional futures, a challenge exacerbated by the increasing pressures within the academic research landscape. As ECRs navigate their next steps in science, mentorship is crucial, particularly as they face points of decision-making and possible career diversions from the traditional postdoctoral-to-professor pathway. In response to these challenges, the second iteration of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Immunology (ASI) Mentor-Mentee Program aimed to provide mentorship and training to ECRs about academic career pathways in research and education to bridge the professional communities, values and advice of these two often independent career choices.

Prevalence of vision impairment and refractive error in rural Nepalese children under five years of age.

Clinical Relevance: Good vision is critical for childhood development and education. Pre-school vision screening is important for early detection and treatment of visual problems, and prevention of life-long vision loss.

Background: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of vision impairment (VI) and refractive error (RE) in rural Nepalese children under five years of age.

Adults with chronic low back pain hold negative beliefs towards running: a mixed methods study.

Objectives: To explore differences in beliefs towards running in adults with and without chronic low back pain.

Design: This convergent mixed methods cross-sectional study compared adults with chronic low back pain (n = 39) to pain-free adults with a history of chronic low back pain (n = 28) and a low back pain naive control group (n = 71).

Methods: Beliefs towards running (activity specific beliefs questionnaire; range: 1-4 points), pain intensity (101-point visual analogue scale), disability (Oswestry Disability Index), and habitual physical activity (International Physical Activity Questionnaire) were analysed.

Connecting the Dots: Hepatic Steatosis as a Central Player in the Choreography of the Liver-Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic Syndrome.

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is the most common chronic liver disease worldwide, with a reach extending beyond the liver to include other metabolic syndrome-related disorders. Cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus are recognised non-communicable disorders and often downstream complications of MASLD and share similar risk factors. However, MASLD has not been afforded parity alongside other cardiometabolic non-communicable disorders, including the cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) syndrome.

A comparison of a transdermal eutectic lidocaine/prilocaine cream and subcutaneous lidocaine injection prior to jugular vein catheterization in horses: a randomized crossover study.

Objective: To compare horses' aversive behavioural responses to the application of 5% prilocaine/lidocaine eutectic mixture of local anaesthetics (EMLA) cream versus subcutaneous infiltration of 2% lidocaine, followed by jugular vein catheterization.

Study Design: Blinded, randomized study.

Animals: A group of 26 university-owned research horses.

Association of intraoperative end-tidal CO levels with postoperative outcomes: a patient-level analysis of two randomised clinical trials.

Background: The relationship between intraoperative end-tidal CO (etCO) levels and postoperative outcomes remains unclear. We conducted a post hoc analysis of two randomised trials in adults undergoing major surgery under general anaesthesia.

Methods: We re-analysed individual participant data comparing high or low positive end-expiratory pressure with low tidal volume intraoperative ventilation using a merged database derived from two randomised trials in non-obese (PROVHILO: ISRCTN70332574) and obese (PROBESE: NCT02148692) patients.

A Simple Solution for a Complex Problem: The "Sterile Cockpit" to Improve Ward Rounds.

Background: Ward-round quality impacts patient outcomes, and poor conduct results in increased rates of preventable adverse events. Despite being a core component of patient outcomes, there is minimal literature informing best practice. The aviation industry has mitigated human error using a "Sterile Cockpit" to reduce interruptions and non-essential activities.

Lithium-induced kidney injury and fibrosis: A versatile model to explore cellular pathways of injury and repair.

Lithium-induced kidney injury is commonly associated with the development of nephrogenic diabetes insipidus. Longer term lithium exposure is associated with the development of chronic interstitial fibrosis. The mechanisms of lithium-induced kidney injury are multifaceted, affecting many intracellular cell signaling pathways associated with cell cycle regulation, cell proliferation, and subsequent increased extracellular matrix formation and interstitial fibrosis.

Reported use of implementation science theories, models, and frameworks in 151 implementation trials: secondary analysis of a systematic review targeting nursing practice.

Background: Theories, models, and frameworks (TMFs) are central to the development and evaluation of implementation strategies supporting evidence-based practice (EBP). However, evidence on how and to what extent TMFs are used in implementation trials remains limited.

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the nature and extent of TMF use in implementation trials, identify which TMFs are most frequently employed, and explore temporal trends in their use.

Self-censorship: should scientific journals decline to publish self-experimentation?

A virologist recently made headlines after successfully using an experimental form of oncolytic virotherapy to treat her own recurrent breast cancer. This case has come at a time when regulators are increasingly having to grapple with the proliferation of self-experimentation outside of accredited research institutions. There is, therefore, a pressing need to outline the key ethical dimensions of self-experimentation and to develop ethical guidance for journals that may be faced with decisions about whether to publish research involving self-experimentation.