People who inject drugs are at risk of acute bacterial and fungal injecting-related infections. There is evidence that incidence of hospitalizations for injecting-related infections are increasing in several countries, but little is known at an individual level. We aimed to examine injecting-related infections in a linked longitudinal cohort of people who inject drugs in Melbourne, Australia. A retrospective descriptive analysis was conducted to estimate the prevalence and incidence of injecting-related infections using administrative emergency department and hospital separation datasets linked to the SuperMIX cohort, from 2008 to 2018. Over the study period, 33% (95%CI: 31–36%) of participants presented to emergency department with any injecting-related infections and 27% (95%CI: 25–30%) were admitted to hospital. Of 1,044 emergency department presentations and 740 hospital separations, skin and soft tissue infections were most common, 88% and 76%, respectively. From 2008 to 2018, there was a substantial increase in emergency department presentations and hospital separations with any injecting-related infections, 48 to 135 per 1,000 person-years, and 18 to 102 per 1,000 person-years, respectively. The results emphasize that injecting-related infections are increasing, and that new models of care are needed to help prevent and facilitate early detection of superficial infection to avoid potentially life-threatening severe infections.

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is a chronic, zoonotic infection of domestic and wild animals caused mainly by Mycobacterium bovis. The Test and Vaccinate or Remove (TVR) project was a 5-year intervention (2014–2018) applied to Eurasian badgers (Meles meles) in a 100 km2 area of County Down, Northern Ireland. This observational study used routine bTB surveillance data of cattle to determine if the TVR intervention had any effect in reducing the infection at a herd level. The study design included the TVR treatment area (Banbridge) compared to the three adjacent 100 km2 areas (Dromore, Ballynahinch, and Castlewellan) which did not receive any badger intervention. Results showed that there were statistically lower bTB herd incidence rate ratios in the Banbridge TVR area compared to two of the other three comparison areas, but with bTB herd history and number of bTB infected cattle being the main explanatory variables along with Year. This finding is consistent with other study results conducted as part of the TVR project that suggested that the main transmission route for bTB in the area was cattle-to-cattle spread. This potentially makes any wildlife intervention in the TVR area of less relevance to bTB levels in cattle. It must also be noted that the scientific power of the TVR study (76%) was below the recommended 80%, meaning that results must be interpreted with caution. Even though statistical significance was achieved in two cattle-related risk factors, other potential risk factors may have also demonstrated significance in a larger study.

From 2016–2019, dry bulb onions were the suspected cause of three multistate outbreaks in the United States. We investigated a large multistate outbreak of Salmonella Newport infections that caused illnesses in both the United States and Canada in 2020. Epidemiologic, laboratory and traceback investigations were conducted to determine the source of the infections, and data were shared among U.S. and Canadian public health officials. We identified 1127 U.S. illnesses from 48 states with illness onset dates ranging from 19 June to 11 September 2020. Sixty-six per cent of ill people reported consuming red onions in the week before illness onset. Thirty-five illness sub-clusters were identified during the investigation and seventy-four per cent of sub-clusters served red onions to customers during the exposure period. Traceback for the source of onions in illness sub-clusters identified a common onion grower in Bakersfield, CA as the source of red onions, and onions were recalled at this time. Although other strains of Salmonella Newport were identified in environmental samples collected at the Bakersfield, CA grower, extensive environmental and product testing did not yield the outbreak strain. This was the third largest U.S. foodborne Salmonella outbreak in the last 30 years. It is the first U.S. multistate outbreak with a confirmed link to dry bulb onions, and it was nearly 10-fold larger than prior outbreaks with a suspected link to onions. This outbreak is notable for its size and scope, as well as the international data sharing that led to implication of red onions as the primary cause of the outbreak. Although an environmental assessment at the grower identified several factors that likely contributed to the outbreak, no main reason was identified. The expedient identification of the outbreak vehicle and response of multiple public health agencies allowed for recall and removal of product from the marketplace, and rapid messaging to both the public and industry on actions to protect consumers; these features contributed to a decrease in cases and expeditious conclusion of the outbreak.

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is a chronic, infectious and zoonotic disease of domestic and wild animals caused mainly by Mycobacterium bovis. This study investigated farm management factors associated with recurrent bTB herd breakdowns (n = 2935) disclosed in the period 23 May 2016 to 21 May 2018 and is a follow-up to our 2020 paper which looked at long duration bTB herd breakdowns. A case control study design was used to construct an explanatory set of farm-level management factors associated with recurrent bTB herd breakdowns. In Northern Ireland, a Department of Agriculture Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) Veterinarian investigates bTB herd breakdowns using standardised guidelines to allocate a disease source. In this study, source was strongly linked to carryover of infection, suggesting that the diagnostic tests had failed to clear herd infection during the breakdown period. Other results from this study associated with recurrent bTB herd breakdowns were herd size and type (dairy herds 43% of cases), with both these variables intrinsically linked. Other associated risk factors were time of application of slurry, badger access to silage clamps, badger setts in the locality, cattle grazing silage fields immediately post-harvest, number of parcels of land the farmer associated with bTB, number of land parcels used for grazing and region of the country.

A reproductive population of the Asian longhorned beetle, Anoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), an adventive insect from Asia, was discovered in 2003 in an urban landscape in Ontario, Canada. This polyphagous beetle, which attacks maples, Acer spp. (Sapindaceae), had the potential to seriously and permanently alter the composition and structure of forests in eastern North America. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) developed and implemented an eradication programme, with partners from various agencies in both Canada and the United States of America. Surveys were used to delineate the infestation and establish a regulated area around it. Treatment consisted of removing and destroying both trees with signs of A. glabripennis injury and trees assumed at high risk of being injured within the regulated area. After nine years of monitoring the regulated area, the CFIA declared A. glabripennis eradicated on 5 April 2013. Herein, we detail the response undertaken, summarise lessons learned, and provide preliminary observations and results pertaining to the arrival, establishment, and spread of A. glabripennis in Ontario.

Background: Pituitary adenomas are common and often require complex multidisciplinary care with multiple specialists. This may result in a health care system that is challenging for patients to navigate. Audits of care at our institution revealed opportunities for improvement to better align care with patients’ needs. Methods: A quality improvement initiative that incorporated a patient advisory committee of patients who had received treatment for pituitary adenoma at our center and their family members was used to help identify opportunities for improvement. The patient-identified gaps in care included the need to coordinate and minimize appointments and the desire for better communication and education. Based on this information, changes were implemented to the pituitary program, including increasing access to the multidisciplinary clinic and developing a standardized and centralized triage process. Results: A pre and post-intervention analysis consisting of retrospective chart reviews revealed that these changes had an impact on wait times for first assessment, and a significant shift in location of this first visit – with a larger proportion of patients being seen in the multidisciplinary clinic after intervention. Conclusions: We demonstrate that patient involvement, beyond individual patient-physician interactions, can lead to meaningful and observable changes, and can improve the quality of care for pituitary adenoma.

Contemporary theories of early development and emerging child psychopathology all posit a major, if not central role for physiological responsiveness. To understand infants’ potential risk for emergent psychopathology, consideration is needed to both autonomic reactivity and environmental contexts (e.g., parent–child interactions). The current study maps infants’ arousal during the face-to-face still-face paradigm using skin conductance (n = 255 ethnically-diverse mother–infant dyads; 52.5% girls, mean infant age = 7.4 months; SD = 0.9 months). A novel statistical approach was designed to model the potential build-up of nonlinear counter electromotive force over the course of the task. Results showed a significant increase in infants’ skin conductance between the Baseline Free-play and the Still-Face phase, and a significant decrease in skin conductance during the Reunion Play when compared to the Still-Face phase. Skin conductance during the Reunion Play phase remained significantly higher than during the Baseline Play phase; indicating that infants had not fully recovered from the mild social stressor. These results further our understanding of infant arousal during dyadic interactions, and the role of caregivers in the development of emotion regulation during infancy.

To achieve the elimination of the hepatitis C virus (HCV), sustained and sufficient levels of HCV testing is critical. The purpose of this study was to assess trends in testing and evaluate the effectiveness of strategies to diagnose people living with HCV. Data were from 12 primary care clinics in Victoria, Australia, that provide targeted services to people who inject drugs (PWID), alongside general health care. This ecological study spanned 2009–2019 and included analyses of trends in annual numbers of HCV antibody tests among individuals with no previous positive HCV antibody test recorded and annual test yield (positive HCV antibody tests/all HCV antibody tests). Generalised linear models estimated the association between count outcomes (HCV antibody tests and positive HCV antibody tests) and time, and χ2 test assessed the trend in test yield. A total of 44 889 HCV antibody tests were conducted 2009–2019; test numbers increased 6% annually on average [95% confidence interval (CI) 4–9]. Test yield declined from 2009 (21%) to 2019 (9%) (χ2P = <0.01). In more recent years (2013–2019) annual test yield remained relatively stable. Modest increases in HCV antibody testing and stable but high test yield within clinics delivering services to PWID highlights testing strategies are resulting in people are being diagnosed however further increases in the testing of people at risk of HCV or living with HCV may be needed to reach Australia's HCV elimination goals.

The Variables and Slow Transients Survey (VAST) on the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) is designed to detect highly variable and transient radio sources on timescales from 5 s to $\sim\!5$ yr. In this paper, we present the survey description, observation strategy and initial results from the VAST Phase I Pilot Survey. This pilot survey consists of $\sim\!162$ h of observations conducted at a central frequency of 888 MHz between 2019 August and 2020 August, with a typical rms sensitivity of $0.24\ \mathrm{mJy\ beam}^{-1}$ and angular resolution of $12-20$ arcseconds. There are 113 fields, each of which was observed for 12 min integration time, with between 5 and 13 repeats, with cadences between 1 day and 8 months. The total area of the pilot survey footprint is 5 131 square degrees, covering six distinct regions of the sky. An initial search of two of these regions, totalling 1 646 square degrees, revealed 28 highly variable and/or transient sources. Seven of these are known pulsars, including the millisecond pulsar J2039–5617. Another seven are stars, four of which have no previously reported radio detection (SCR J0533–4257, LEHPM 2-783, UCAC3 89–412162 and 2MASS J22414436–6119311). Of the remaining 14 sources, two are active galactic nuclei, six are associated with galaxies and the other six have no multi-wavelength counterparts and are yet to be identified.

Research investigating social anxiety and the impacts on romantic relationships remains scarce. An online questionnaire examining romantic relationship status, social anxiety and depression symptomology, relationship satisfaction, and several relationship processes was completed by 444 adults. Individuals with higher social anxiety were less likely to be in romantic relationships. For the 188 adults in our sample in current relationships, relationship satisfaction was not influenced by social anxiety when controlling for depression. Although it was proposed that self-disclosure, social support, trust, and conflict initiation might influence romantic relationship satisfaction, none of these mechanisms interacted with social anxiety to explain additional variance in relationship satisfaction. These findings indicate that depression symptomology may be a treatment target for socially anxious individuals wishing to improve romantic relationship satisfaction.

Underrepresented minorities have higher attrition from the professoriate and have experienced greater negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study was to compare the impact of COVID-19 on the lives of 196 early-career physician-scientists versus PhD researchers who are underrepresented in biomedical research. Participants in the Building Up study answered questions on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their personal and professional lives, and a mixed-methods approach was used to conduct the analysis. While most participants experienced increases in overall stress (72% of PhD researchers vs 76% of physician-scientists), physician-scientists reported that increased clinical demands, research delays, and the potential to expose family members to SARS-CoV-2 caused psychological distress, specifically. PhD researchers, more than physician-scientists, reported increased productivity (27% vs 9%), schedule flexibilities (49% vs 25%), and more quality time with friends and family (40% vs 24%). Future studies should consider assessing the effectiveness of programs addressing COVID-19-related challenges experienced by PhD researchers and physician-scientists, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds.