The Eighth World Congress of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery (WCPCCS) will be held in Washington DC, USA, from Saturday, 26 August, 2023 to Friday, 1 September, 2023, inclusive. The Eighth World Congress of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery will be the largest and most comprehensive scientific meeting dedicated to paediatric and congenital cardiac care ever held. At the time of the writing of this manuscript, The Eighth World Congress of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery has 5,037 registered attendees (and rising) from 117 countries, a truly diverse and international faculty of over 925 individuals from 89 countries, over 2,000 individual abstracts and poster presenters from 101 countries, and a Best Abstract Competition featuring 153 oral abstracts from 34 countries. For information about the Eighth World Congress of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery, please visit the following website: [www.WCPCCS2023.org]. The purpose of this manuscript is to review the activities related to global health and advocacy that will occur at the Eighth World Congress of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery.

Acknowledging the need for urgent change, we wanted to take the opportunity to bring a common voice to the global community and issue the Washington DC WCPCCS Call to Action on Addressing the Global Burden of Pediatric and Congenital Heart Diseases. A copy of this Washington DC WCPCCS Call to Action is provided in the Appendix of this manuscript. This Washington DC WCPCCS Call to Action is an initiative aimed at increasing awareness of the global burden, promoting the development of sustainable care systems, and improving access to high quality and equitable healthcare for children with heart disease as well as adults with congenital heart disease worldwide.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture–Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) has been a leader in weed science research covering topics ranging from the development and use of integrated weed management (IWM) tactics to basic mechanistic studies, including biotic resistance of desirable plant communities and herbicide resistance. ARS weed scientists have worked in agricultural and natural ecosystems, including agronomic and horticultural crops, pastures, forests, wild lands, aquatic habitats, wetlands, and riparian areas. Through strong partnerships with academia, state agencies, private industry, and numerous federal programs, ARS weed scientists have made contributions to discoveries in the newest fields of robotics and genetics, as well as the traditional and fundamental subjects of weed–crop competition and physiology and integration of weed control tactics and practices. Weed science at ARS is often overshadowed by other research topics; thus, few are aware of the long history of ARS weed science and its important contributions. This review is the result of a symposium held at the Weed Science Society of America’s 62nd Annual Meeting in 2022 that included 10 separate presentations in a virtual Weed Science Webinar Series. The overarching themes of management tactics (IWM, biological control, and automation), basic mechanisms (competition, invasive plant genetics, and herbicide resistance), and ecosystem impacts (invasive plant spread, climate change, conservation, and restoration) represent core ARS weed science research that is dynamic and efficacious and has been a significant component of the agency’s national and international efforts. This review highlights current studies and future directions that exemplify the science and collaborative relationships both within and outside ARS. Given the constraints of weeds and invasive plants on all aspects of food, feed, and fiber systems, there is an acknowledged need to face new challenges, including agriculture and natural resources sustainability, economic resilience and reliability, and societal health and well-being.

The development of wearable technology, which enables motion tracking analysis for human movement outside the laboratory, can improve awareness of personal health and performance. This study used a wearable smart sock prototype to track foot–ankle kinematics during gait movement. Multivariable linear regression and two deep learning models, including long short-term memory (LSTM) and convolutional neural networks, were trained to estimate the joint angles in sagittal and frontal planes measured by an optical motion capture system. Participant-specific models were established for ten healthy subjects walking on a treadmill. The prototype was tested at various walking speeds to assess its ability to track movements for multiple speeds and generalize models for estimating joint angles in sagittal and frontal planes. LSTM outperformed other models with lower mean absolute error (MAE), lower root mean squared error, and higher R-squared values. The average MAE score was less than 1.138° and 0.939° in sagittal and frontal planes, respectively, when training models for each speed and 2.15° and 1.14° when trained and evaluated for all speeds. These results indicate wearable smart socks to generalize foot–ankle kinematics over various walking speeds with relatively low error and could consequently be used to measure gait parameters without the need for a lab-constricted motion capture system.

Monoclonal antibody therapeutics to treat coronavirus disease (COVID-19) have been authorized by the US Food and Drug Administration under Emergency Use Authorization (EUA). Many barriers exist when deploying a novel therapeutic during an ongoing pandemic, and it is critical to assess the needs of incorporating monoclonal antibody infusions into pandemic response activities. We examined the monoclonal antibody infusion site process during the COVID-19 pandemic and conducted a descriptive analysis using data from 3 sites at medical centers in the United States supported by the National Disaster Medical System. Monoclonal antibody implementation success factors included engagement with local medical providers, therapy batch preparation, placing the infusion center in proximity to emergency services, and creating procedures resilient to EUA changes. Infusion process challenges included confirming patient severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) positivity, strained staff, scheduling, and pharmacy coordination. Infusion sites are effective when integrated into pre-existing pandemic response ecosystems and can be implemented with limited staff and physical resources.

In patients with β-lactam allergies, administration of non–β-lactam surgical prophylaxis is associated with increased risk of infection. Although many patients self-report β-lactam allergies, most are unconfirmed or mislabeled. A quality improvement process, utilizing a structured β-lactam allergy tool, was implemented to improve the utilization of preferred β-lactam surgical prophylaxis.

Cybermentoring refers to virtual peer support in which young people themselves are trained as cybermentors and interact with those needing help and advice (cybermentees) online. This article describes the training in, and implementation of, a cross-national cybermentoring scheme, Beatbullying Europe, developed in the United Kingdom. It involved train-the-trainer workshops for partners and life mentors in six European countries (Italy, Spain, Portugal, Romania, Poland and the Czech Republic) in 2013–2014, followed by training sessions for pupil cybermentors aged 11–16 years. Although BeatBullying went into liquidation in November 2014, the project was largely completed. We (1) report an evaluation of the training of the life mentors and mentors, via questionnaire survey; and (2) discuss findings about the implementation of the scheme and its potential at a cross-national level, via partner interviews during and at the end of the project. The training was found to be highly rated in all respects, and in all six countries involved. The overall consensus from the data available is that there was a positive impact for the schools and professionals involved; some challenges encountered are discussed. The BeatBullying Europe project, despite being unfinished, was promising, and a similar approach deserves further support and evaluation in the future.

Evolutionary science can serve as the high-level organising principle for understanding psychiatry. Evolutionary concepts generate new models and ideas for future psychiatric study, research, policy and therapy. The authors accordingly make the case for the inclusion of evolutionary biology in the postgraduate education of psychiatric trainees.

Our ALMA observations of HCO+ and HCN show such redshifted absorption toward an isolated core, BHR 71. Both lines show a similar redshifted absorption profile. We also found emissions of complex organic molecules (COMs) around 345 GHz from a compact region centered on the continuum source, which is barely resolved with a beam of 0″27, corresponding to ∼50 AU.

The Neotoma Paleoecology Database is a community-curated data resource that supports interdisciplinary global change research by enabling broad-scale studies of taxon and community diversity, distributions, and dynamics during the large environmental changes of the past. By consolidating many kinds of data into a common repository, Neotoma lowers costs of paleodata management, makes paleoecological data openly available, and offers a high-quality, curated resource. Neotoma’s distributed scientific governance model is flexible and scalable, with many open pathways for participation by new members, data contributors, stewards, and research communities. The Neotoma data model supports, or can be extended to support, any kind of paleoecological or paleoenvironmental data from sedimentary archives. Data additions to Neotoma are growing and now include >3.8 million observations, >17,000 datasets, and >9200 sites. Dataset types currently include fossil pollen, vertebrates, diatoms, ostracodes, macroinvertebrates, plant macrofossils, insects, testate amoebae, geochronological data, and the recently added organic biomarkers, stable isotopes, and specimen-level data. Multiple avenues exist to obtain Neotoma data, including the Explorer map-based interface, an application programming interface, the neotoma R package, and digital object identifiers. As the volume and variety of scientific data grow, community-curated data resources such as Neotoma have become foundational infrastructure for big data science.

Biochemical and physiological effects of target site resistance to herbicides inhibiting acetolactate synthase (ALS) were evaluated using sulfonylurea-resistant (R) and -susceptible (S) near isonuclear Lactuca sativa ‘Bibb’ lines derived by backcrossing the resistance allele from Lactuca serriola L. into L. sativa. Sequence data suggest that resistance in L. sativa is conferred by a single-point mutation that encodes a proline197 to histidine substitution in Domain A of the ALS protein; this is the same substitution observed in R L. serriola. K mapp (pyruvate) values for ALS isolated from R and S L. sativa were 7.3 and 11.1 mM, respectively, suggesting that the resistance allele did not alter the pyruvate binding domain on the ALS enzyme. Both R and S ALS had greater affinity for 2-oxobutyrate than for pyruvate at the second substrate site. Ratios of acetohydroxybutyrate: acetolactate produced by R ALS across a range of 2-oxobutyrate concentrations were similar to acetohydroxybutyrate: acetolactate ratios produced by S ALS. Specific activity of ALS from R L. sativa was 46% of the specific activity from S L. sativa, suggesting that the resistance allele has detrimental effects on enzyme function, expression, or stability. ALS activity from R plants was less sensitive to feedback inhibition by valine, leucine, and isoleucine than ALS from S plants. Valine, leucine, and isoleucine concentrations were about 1.5 times higher in R seed than in S seed on a per gram of seed basis, and concentrations of valine and leucine were 1.3 and 1.6 times higher, respectively, in R leaves than in S leaves. Findings suggest that the mutation for resistance results in altered regulation of branched-chain amino acid synthesis.

Experiments were conducted from 1989 to 1991 on two silt loam and two clay soils to determine the effect of herbicides applied to the previous crop on growth and yield of rice. All herbicides were applied preplant-incorporated at recommended rates adjusted as needed for soil texture. Rice was planted the following year. Imazaquin, imazethapyr, alachlor, metolachlor, clomazone, trifluralin, and atrazine did not injure rice the year following application. Norflurazon was the only herbicide to injure rice on silt loam soils, with injury at one silt loam location in one of two years. Norflurazon and fluometuron residues caused rice injury on clay soils, and chlorimuron residues caused injury in one year on a day soil. This chlorimuron carryover injury was from August-planted soybean but did not occur from June-planted soybean. Norflurazon, fluometuron, and chlorimuron temporarily reduced rice dry matter early in the season. No herbicide reduced either rough rice or percent head rice yield on any of the soils.

Introduction: Extended length of stay (LOS) in emergency departments (EDs) and overcrowding are a problems for the Canadian healthcare system, which can lead to the creation of a healthcare access block, a reduced health outcome for acute care patients, and decreased satisfaction with the health care system. The goal of this study is to identify and assess specific factors that predict length of stay in EDs for those patients who fall in the highest LOS category. Methods: A total of 130 patient charts from EDs in Regina were reviewed. Charts included in this study were from the 90th-100th percentile of time-users, who were registered during February 2016, and were admitted to hospital from the ED. Patient demographic data and ED visit data were collected. T-tests and multiple regression analyses were conducted to identify any significant predictors of our outcome variable, LOS. Results: None of the demographic variables showed a significant relationship with LOS (age: p=.36; sex: p=.92, CTAS: p=.48), nor did most of the included ED visit data such as door to doctor time (p=.34) and time for imaging studies (X-ray: p=.56; ultrasound: p=.50; CT p=.45). However, the time between the request for consult until the decision to admit did show a significant relationship with LOS (p<.01).Potential confounding variables analyzed were social work consult requests (p=.14), number of emergency visits on day of registration (p=.62), and hour of registration (00-12 or 12-24-p<.01). After adjustment for time of registration, using hierarchical multiple regression, time from consult request to admit decision maintained a significant predictor (p<.01) of LOS. Conclusion: After adjusting for the influence of confounding factors, “consult request to admit decision” was by far the strongest predictor of LOS of all included variables in our study. The results of this study were limited to some extent by inconsistencies in the documentation of some of the analyzed metrics. Establishing standardized documentation could reduce this issue in future studies of this nature. Future areas of interest include establishing a standard reference for our variables, a further analysis into why consult requests are a major predictor, and how to alleviate this in the future.