Widely Distributed Pigeon Paramyxovirus Sub-Genotypes Pose a Risk to Immunocompromised Humans.

Introduction: Pigeon paramyxovirus type 1 (PPMV-1) is an antigenic variant of Avian Orthoavulavirus 1 (AOAV-1) (Newcastle disease virus) with a global distribution that causes lethal infections in pigeon and dove species. AOAV-1's infecting humans normally cause mild, self-limiting conjunctivitis, but since 2003, PPMV-1 has been associated with an increased number of severe and lethal respiratory and neurological infections in immunocompromised persons in the Netherlands, the USA, France, China and Australia.

Methods: PPMV-1's isolated from free-living pigeons and doves across South Africa from 2012 to 2024 were sequenced using conventional or next generation technologies.

Tumor-Specific Critical Intraoperative Findings Influence Multidisciplinary Therapy.

Background: Local control strategies in pediatric oncology are guided by disease-specific considerations. Effective communication of the goals of surgical procedure and associated intraoperative events plays a crucial role in shaping subsequent treatment decisions. However, accurately and comprehensively documenting these findings remains challenging, with considerable variability across different tumor types.

Treatment modifiers and predictors of risperidone response in dementia: An individual participant data meta-analysis of six randomized controlled trials.

Introduction: Risperidone is approved for behaviors and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD), despite modest efficacy and known risks. Identifying responsive symptoms, treatment modifiers, and predictors is crucial for personalized treatment.

Method: A one-stage individual participant data meta-analysis of six randomized controlled trials (risperidone: n = 1009; placebo: N = 712) was conducted.

Attitudes and perceptions of biomedical journal editors in chief towards the use of artificial intelligence chatbots in the scholarly publishing process: a cross-sectional survey.

Background: Artificial intelligence chatbots (AICs) are designed to mimic human conversations through text or speech, offering both opportunities and challenges in scholarly publishing. While journal policies of AICs are becoming more defined, there is still a limited understanding of how Editors in chief (EiCs) of biomedical journals' view these tools. This survey examined EiCs' attitudes and perceptions, highlighting positive aspects, such as language and grammar support, and concerns regarding setup time, training requirements, and ethical considerations towards the use of AICs in the scholarly publishing process.

An Intervention to Build Grit, Resilience and a Growth Mindset in Physiotherapy Students.

Background: Grit, resilience and a growth mindset are traits that help health professional students respond positively and adapt to the challenges of the clinical learning environment. The aim of this study was to determine if a 5-week education-based intervention can enhance grit, resilience and a growth mindset in physiotherapy students on clinical placement.

Methods: In this single group intervention study, physiotherapy students participated in a 5-week group-based, online educational intervention for 1 h per week during their first clinical placement.

Precision plant epigenome editing: what, how, and why.

Advances in genome engineering have paved the way for targeted epigenome engineering, providing fundamental insights into the role of epigenetic modifications in trait inheritance. Engineered epialleles have already delivered stable, heritable changes in agronomic traits. Despite this capacity, progress in the field has not yet achieved its potential, leaving many avenues of research unexplored.

Biomechanic regulation of neutrophil extracellular traps in the cardiovascular system.

Neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) formation, or NETosis, is a key innate immune response that contributes to cardiovascular diseases, including vascular inflammation, atherosclerosis, and thrombosis. In the cardiovascular system, neutrophils encounter mechanical cues such as shear stress, matrix stiffness, and cyclic stretch that influence their activation and NET release. This review examines emerging evidence linking altered mechanotransduction to dysregulated NETosis in vascular aging and cardiovascular pathology.

The Transmission of Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile with a One Health Perspective.

Clostridioides difficile infection is a significant public health concern traditionally linked to health care settings. However, genomic evidence increasingly supports the spread of C difficile across humans, animals, food, and the environment with sources and reservoirs outside health care settings. Here, we review the transmission routes of C difficile within a One Health framework to uncover these complex interconnections.

Unravelling the novel mode of action of the spinosyn insecticides: A 25 year review.

Since their registration more than 25 years ago, the spinosyns have become a significant insect management tool in farmers' battles to protect crop quality and yield. Spinosad (Qalcova™ active) and spinetoram (Jemvelva™ active), the two members of the Insecticide Resistance Action Committee (IRAC) Group 5 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) allosteric modulators Site I, class of insecticides, have proven highly effective at controlling chewing insect pests on over 250 different crops. Their importance as an integral rotation partner in insect pest management programs has stimulated a large body of research into their mode of action (MoA) and mechanisms of resistance.

Small organic ligands for the ecdysone receptor - agrochemicals, gene switches, and beyond.

While pesticides are essential for the world to meet its increasing demand for food, off-target toxicity in humans and other species is an ongoing environmental issue. There is a strong motivation for developing more selective pesticides that can target pest insects, for example, while being benign for beneficial insects such as bees, and other nontarget species more generally. The ecdysone receptor is absent in vertebrates so constitutes a very useful target for green insecticides.

Exploring priority areas to establish quality improvement education partnerships: A nominal group technique study.

Background: Quality improvement partnerships between higher education and healthcare organizations are emerging as a valuable way to engage pre-licensure nursing students in this content. There are no agreed guidelines to assist with the establishment of these partnerships.

Aim: To convene key stakeholders with the objective of reaching consensus on the following question: What needs to happen to establish quality improvement education partnerships between higher education and healthcare organizations?

Methods: A nominal group technique was used, adhering to the STROBE guidelines.

Upconverting nano-paste in 3D-printed phone camera setup for soil phyto-iron sensing.

Background: Iron (Fe) is an essential micronutrient for plant growth, but the conventional DTPA soil analysis method for detecting available iron has notable limitations, requiring advanced instruments and lengthy preparation time. Developing a more affordable, user-friendly, and efficient method for iron detection in soil could greatly improve crop nutrition management. Here, a facile nanoscopic method was developed to quantify available Fe ions in the soil by forming a luminescence quenching complex in chelation with bathophenanthroline disulphonic acid disodium salt (Fe/BPDS complex).

["Cultural safety": what decolonization of nursing are we talking about?].

"Cultural Safety, a decolonizing approach critical of the research conceptual frameworks and of care practices in nursing, has enjoyed since its emergence in the 1990s a growing success in New Zealand, Australia and Canada. Being reworked and adapted to new contexts, its political dimension however loses its importance, raising concerns about Cultural Safety's potential for systemic transformation and the fight against health inequalities affecting Indigenous peoples. At the heart of this debate lies the question of "culture" as a means of patient emancipation vis-à-vis the norms of the dominant society and the expertise of caregivers, a debate we seek to clarify in this article.

The Human Cardiac "Age-OME": Age-Specific Changes in Myocardial Molecular Expression.

Ageing is one of the most significant risk factors for heart disease; however, it is still not clear how the human heart changes with age. Taking advantage of a unique set of pre-mortem, cryopreserved, non-diseased human hearts, we performed omics analyses (transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and lipidomics), coupled with biologically informed computational modelling in younger (≤ 25 years old) and older hearts (≥ 50 years old) to describe the molecular landscape of human cardiac ageing. In older hearts, we observed a downregulation of proteins involved in calcium signalling and the contractile apparatus.

A Scoping Review of Health-Related Citizen Science Projects Involving Indigenous Peoples in Australia and Internationally.

Issue Addressed: Citizen science, an approach to health promotion that involves public participation and collaboration, has been posited as a promising approach to reach diverse or marginalised populations. This scoping review aims to explore the involvement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and other First Nations and Indigenous peoples internationally in citizen science in health-related studies. While current health promotion in Indigenous communities is already strongly embedded in participatory approaches, we sought to examine whether citizen science methodologies have been used in health promotion and see what it could add.

Whole genome characterisation of DS-1-like G8P[4] rotavirus A strains circulating in South Africa between 2009 and 2021 reveals endemic sub-lineages and evidence of radical epitope changes.

The sub-Saharan African region bears the highest burden of rotavirus-associated morbidity and mortality, with substantial genetic diversity observed in circulating strains despite vaccine introduction. The G8 genotype, originally predominant in bovine strains, has increasingly become prevalent in humans, suggesting a possible interface of animal-to-human transmission and highlighting its role in African strain diversity. In this study, we performed whole genome sequencing and evolutionary analysis of 21 archival G8P[4] strains collected through gastroenteritis surveillance in South Africa between 2009 and 2021 from children under five years of age.

Targeted deletion of Cyp24a1 in the intestine reduces mucosal injury and preserves epithelial proliferation after 5-fluorouracil treatment.

Vitamin D has been proposed to attenuate chemotherapy-induced gastrointestinal mucositis (GM). In the intestine, local catabolism of active vitamin D [1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D₃] is mediated by the enzyme Cyp24a1. This study assessed whether deletion of Cyp24a1 specifically in intestinal epithelial cells can protect against 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)-induced intestinal injury and microbiome disruption in mice.

The temporal change in heat-related mortality in relation to the Heat Health Action Plans in the five major cities of Australia.

Heat-Health Action Plans (HHAPs) are essential public health interventions to reduce heat-related mortality and morbidity, yet how heat-related health risks have changed following their implementation remains scarce. This study aimed to examine the temporal changes in heat-related mortality in relation to the implementation of the HHAPs across five major cities of Australia, including Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth. Daily mortality and temperature data from 1999-2019 were analysed using distributed lag non-linear models to compare the heat-related mortality attributable fractions (AF%) between pre- and post-HHAP periods.

ESCMID workshop: Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Medical Microbiology Diagnostics.

Rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) offer significant potential to transform medical microbiology diagnostics, improving pathogen identification, antimicrobial susceptibility prediction and outbreak detection. To address these opportunities and challenges, the ESCMID workshop, "Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Medical Microbiology Diagnostics", was held in Zurich, Switzerland, from June 2-5, 2025. The course featured expert lectures, practical sessions and panel discussions covering foundational ML concepts and deep learning architectures, data interoperability, quality control processes, model development and validation strategies.

Can Radiotherapy Quality Assurance (RT QA) improve nasopharyngeal cancer outcomes in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) - Reporting the technical component of the second phase of a prospective International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) study (E33039).

Title: Can Radiotherapy Quality Assurance (RT QA) improve nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) outcomes in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) -Reporting phase 2 of a prospective International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) study (E33039).

Background: Most of new NPC cases occur in LMICs, but these patients experience poorer survival than new NPC cases in high income countries. This study seeks to determine whether a radiotherapy quality assurance (RT QA) programme can improve NPC patient outcomes in LMICs.