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iWetland is a community science wetland water level monitoring platform developed by the McMaster Ecohydrology Lab and tested from 2016 to 2019 in wetlands located east of Georgian Bay, Ontario, Canada. The goal of iWetland is to engage community members in wetland science while collecting data to better understand the spatiotemporal variability in water level patterns of wetlands. We installed 24 iWetland water level monitoring stations in popular hiking and camping areas where visitors can text the water level of the wetland to an online database that automatically collates the data. Here, we share our approach for developing the iWetland community science platform and its importance for monitoring all types of wetland ecosystems. From 2016 through 2019, almost 2,000 individuals recorded more than 2,600 water table measurements. The iWetland platform successfully collected accurate water table data for 24 wetlands. We discuss the successes and shortcomings of the community science platform with respect to data collection, community engagement, and participation. We found that forming mutually beneficial partnerships with community groups paired with strong outreach presence were key to the success of this community science platform. Finally, we recommend that those interested in adopting the iWetland platform in their community partner with community groups, recognize participant contributions, identify accessible sites, and host outreach activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Northern peatlands have cooled the global climate by accumulating large quantities of soil carbon (C) over thousands of years. Maintaining the C sink function of these peatlands and their immense long‐term soil C stores is critical for achieving net‐zero global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 2050 to mitigate climate warming. One‐quarter of the world's northern peatlands are in Canada, with these mostly intact ecosystems providing a global C service that is increasingly recognized as a critical part of nature‐based solutions to combat climate change. However, land‐use change and other disturbances threaten these globally important stores of "irrecoverable C" (that is, soil C lost to disturbance that will take centuries to recover). Inadequate policy safeguards to avoid conversion and degradation, and the limited quantification and reporting of peatland greenhouse‐gas emissions and removals, increase the vulnerability of these peatlands. Targeted policies from local to global scales will be needed for improved decision making and incentivizing long‐term C management of northern peatlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peritonsillar abscess is extremely rare in infants and is potentially life-threatening. We report the case of a 3 month old infant with a background of congenital bone marrow failure who presented with sepsis and desaturation requiring intubation and PICU care. Ultrasound and CT scan revealed an inflammatory mass. Examination in theatre revealed a self-draining quinsy. Following formal drainage in theatre, the child improved and was extubated uneventfully 1 day later. Prompt surgical and medical management as well as the presence of a well-coordinated multidisciplinary team are crucial in ensuring the adequate management of complex paediatric patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The prevalence of incidental temporal bone disease on magnetic resonance imaging has been widely reported in the medical literature. Despite this, there currently is little evidence regarding incidental otological disease on computerized tomography (CT). Thus, the study aimed to review the CT prevalence of asymptomatic adult ear disease and evaluate the appropriateness of ear, nose, and throat (ENT) referral following its discovery.Study Design: Retrospective observational study of 468 CT scans.Methods: All CT head scans performed between January 2015 and January 2016 containing the keyword mastoid in the radiological report initially were recruited for the study. Scans performed in the pediatric population following head trauma or for otological indications were excluded, leaving 468 eligible radiological images. The presence of prior otological disease or referral subsequently was established using electronic patient records.Results: Mastoid and/or middle ear opacification was noted to be present in 62 patients (13%). Of these patients, 10 subsequently were found to have prior otological intervention or review. Following exclusion of these patients, the rate of incidental temporal bone disease was recorded as 11%.Conclusion: Data from this study suggests that incidental findings in an asymptomatic individual do not necessitate referral or further intervention. Furthermore, it is the author's recommendation that radiological findings be closely correlated with clinical examination to reduce false diagnosis and inappropriate referral to ENT.Level Of Evidence: 4. Laryngoscope, 127:2860-2865, 2017. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A suite of autogenic ecohydrological feedbacks and moss traits are important for protecting vast peatland carbon stocks following wildfire disturbance. Here, we examine how peat burn severity and water table depth (WTD) affect the strength of one such feedback—the hydrophobicity–evaporation feedback (HEF). The HEF is an evaporation‐limiting feedback known to minimize water loss following wildfire. The peatland surface becomes hydrophobic creating an evaporative cap and thereby reducing post‐fire evaporation; however, recent studies hypothesize that this is dependent on peat burn severity. To test this hypothesis, we studied plots along a peat burn severity gradient in a partially drained black spruce peatland that burned during the 2016 Fort McMurray Horse River wildfire. Evaporation rates were significantly lower in plots where hydrophobicity was present. Hydrophobicity was lowest in the severely burned area, and the average instantaneous evaporation rate (2.75 mm day−1) was significantly higher than moderately and typical‐lightly burned areas (0.82 and 1.64 mm day−1, respectively). Based on lab results, increasing WTD affected hydrophobicity within lightly burned (singed) feather moss samples but not in heavily burned feather moss, showing the importance of post‐fire ground cover and in situ WTD. Our results provide evidence of a burn severity threshold where increased depth of burn removes the feather moss evaporative cap and causes the HEF to break down. We argue that this threshold has important implications for boreal peatlands, which are predicted to undergo climate‐mediated pre‐fire drying and increasing burn severities, potentially leading to further carbon losses due to enhanced post‐fire drying and concomitant decomposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tumour responses to radiotherapy are currently primarily assessed by changes in size. Imaging permits non-invasive, whole-body assessment of tumour burden and guides treatment options for most tumours. However, in most tumours, changes in size are slow to manifest and can sometimes be difficult to interpret or misleading, potentially leading to prolonged durations of ineffective treatment and delays in changing therapy. Functional imaging techniques that monitor biological processes have the potential to detect tumour responses to treatment earlier and refine treatment options based on tumour biology rather than solely on size and staging. By considering the biological effects of radiotherapy, this review focusses on emerging functional imaging techniques with the potential to augment morphological imaging and serve as biomarkers of early response to radiotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peat properties such as bulk density, moisture retention and specific yield (Sy) influence water table fluctuations, drying rates and peat combustion vulnerability, therefore determining peat susceptibility and response to wildfire. Smouldering peat fires are challenging to suppress and emit vast quantities of carbon and particulate matter into the atmosphere. A 120-year peatland fire return interval was used to constrain a landscape-wide space-for-time chronosequence in the boreal plains ecozone of Alberta, where peat properties were assessed along spatial gradients within 26 peatlands. Bulk density depth profiles are different between microforms where hummocks < hollows < margins, correspondingly Sy followed the opposite trend. Hummock moisture retention parameters, modelled using the Van Genuchten-Mualem model, are maintained over time whereas hollows and margins experience changes due to wildfire impacts and subsequent recovery, causing decreased Sy immediately following fire but increased moisture retention. This trend is exacerbated in coarse and moraine hydrogeological settings which is also where margin: peatland proper area tends to be greatest. We find that only minimal increases in the annual water deficit would be required to cause high combustion vulnerability in some hydrogeological settings. This study provides the first landscape-wide assessment of peat properties across a fire return interval and assessment of potential smouldering vulnerability given increased water deficits under future climate change. Such studies will be useful to inform wildfire management decision-making especially at the wildland society interface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This paper reports a 10-year series of spontaneous nasal septal abscesses in immune-competent children, with suggestions for optimal management., Methods: A retrospective case note review was conducted of children undergoing an operation for incision and drainage of nasal septal abscesses between 2013 and 2023., Results: Six children were identified via electronic hospital records during the 10-year review period, five with a spontaneous abscess. The children were aged 10-14 years. All were immunocompetent and none had active sinus infection. The most common presenting features were nasal swelling, facial swelling, headache, nasal congestion and fever. The most common bacterial isolate was Staphylococcus aureus . All children received prompt surgical drainage and intravenous antibiotic therapy. Complications were seen in three children, with one child developing significant intracranial complications., Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the first series of spontaneous nasal septal abscesses in immunocompetent children. The high prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus suggests spread from the nasal mucosa or vestibule. Early recognition, computed tomography scanning, surgical drainage and antibiotic therapy are the mainstays of treatment, to prevent potentially life-threatening complications.

A woman in her 70s presented to a tertiary otorhinolaryngology outpatient department with a 25-year history of right-sided subcutaneous neck lesion that had steadily grown over the preceding 6 months, now with skin involvement. The patient was asymptomatic except for some mild tenderness. The 3 × 3 cm mass lay fixed to deep tissues adjacent to the sternocleidomastoid muscle, though no associated lymphadenopathy was found on palpation, with imaging confirming no regional or distant metastases. Biopsy confirmed the lesion to be primary cutaneous adenoid cystic carcinoma, a malignancy not previously described as a primary on the neck, which was treated by wide local excision after multidisciplinary team discussion. The lesion was completely excised with negative margins, and after surveillance over 3 years, the patient is still well with no signs of recurrence., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© BMJ Publishing Group Limited 2022. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)