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Influenza A viruses (IAV) of avian and swine origin have caused 5 pandemics in the previous 2 centuries (1). Aquatic avian populations, the primary reservoir for IAV, harbor numerous virus [...]

In the hushed quiet of a recording studio, where melodies often speak louder than words, Vicki Lynn Maxwell pours out her heart through her music. Her song, 'Please Don't Take [...]

What are bacteria doing during "reversible attachment," the period of transient surface attachment when they initially engage a surface, besides attaching themselves to the surface? Can an attaching cell help any other cell attach? If so, does it help all cells or employ a more selective strategy to help either nearby cells (spatial neighbors) or its progeny (temporal neighbors)? Using community tracking methods at the single-cell resolution, we suggest answers to these questions based on how reversible attachment progresses during surface sensing for Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains PAO1 and PA14. Although PAO1 and PA14 exhibit similar trends of surface cell population increase, they show unanticipated differences when cells are considered at the lineage level and interpreted using the quantitative framework of an exactly solvable stochastic model. Reversible attachment comprises two regimes of behavior, processive and nonprocessive, corresponding to whether cells of the lineage stay on the surface long enough to divide, or not, before detaching. Stark differences between PAO1 and PA14 in the processive regime of reversible attachment suggest the existence of two surface colonization strategies. PAO1 lineages commit quickly to a surface compared to PA14 lineages, with early c-di-GMP-mediated exopolysaccharide (EPS) production that can facilitate the attachment of neighbors. PA14 lineages modulate their motility via cyclic AMP (cAMP) and retain memory of the surface so that their progeny are primed for improved subsequent surface attachment. Based on the findings of previous studies, we propose that the differences between PAO1 and PA14 are potentially rooted in downstream differences between Wsp-based and Pil-Chp-based surface-sensing systems, respectively.IMPORTANCE The initial pivotal phase of bacterial biofilm formation known as reversible attachment, where cells undergo a period of transient surface attachment, is at once universal and poorly understood. What is more, although we know that reversible attachment culminates ultimately in irreversible attachment, it is not clear how reversible attachment progresses phenotypically, as bacterial surface-sensing circuits fundamentally alter cellular behavior. We analyze diverse observed bacterial behavior one family at a time (defined as a full lineage of cells related to one another by division) using a unifying stochastic model and show that our findings lead to insights on the time evolution of reversible attachment and the social cooperative dimension of surface attachment in PAO1 and PA14 strains.

This study evaluated influenza A virus (IAV) detection and genetic diversity over time, specifically at the human–swine interface in breeding and nursery farms. Active surveillance was performed monthly in five swine farms in the Midwest United States targeting the employees, the prewean piglets at sow farms, and the same cohort of piglets in downstream nurseries. In addition, information was collected at enrollment for each employee and farm to assess production management practices, IAV vaccination status, diagnostic procedures, and biosecurity. Farm employee and swine samples were screened by IAV reverse transcription real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-rtPCR), followed by IAV subtyping RT-rtPCR and whole genome sequencing on PCR-positive samples. This study showed higher positivity of IAV RNA detection in nursery pigs compared to prewean pigs, and more whole genome sequences were also obtained in the nursery phase. Surveillance of farm employees revealed two detections of H3N2 representing the 2022–2023 human IAV season, confirming the presence of influenza in farm employees while present at work, and thus highlighting the importance of biosecurity measures at the human–swine interface. This study highlights the importance of routine active surveillance to understand the dynamics of IAV at the farm level in both farm employees and swine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Defence and Emergency Services personnel are exposed to a high number of traumatic events during their employment, which may result in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Art therapy serves as a possible as a trauma-focused treatment for PTSD. However, as health funding becomes more difficult to secure, there is a need to be able justify value to funding bodies. A Social Return on Investment (SROI) analysis provides the opportunity to value typically intangible social value outcomes through a ratio of X:1. Aim: The current study outlines the process and results of a SROI of a culturally informed art therapy programme for defence and emergency services personnel with PTSD symptoms in Australia. Methods: Six steps for conducting an SROI were followed: (1) establishing the scope and identifying the participants; (2) mapping the outcomes; (3) evidencing and valuing those outcomes; (4) establishing impact; (5) calculating the SROI; and (6) reporting the ratio. Results: Eight outcomes were identified, and proxy figures calculated for these outcomes. After weighting and discounting, a ratio of 3.05:1 was identified, indicating $3.05 of social value was generated for every $1 invested in the programme. Conclusion: Culturally informed art therapy offers a social return for military and emergency services personnel as a PTSD intervention. Implications for practice/policy/research: The findings of this study can be used by art therapy practitioners and programme leaders to justify art therapy practice for veterans with PTSD in policy and funding applications. They may also guide conducting SROI analyses contextualised to local cultural settings. Plain-language summary: Defence and Emergency Services personnel may be exposed to a high number of traumatic events during their employment, which can result in severe emotional distress. This distress can develop into post-traumatic stress (PTS) symptoms, or even a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Art therapy has been growing in popularity as a possible trauma-focused treatment for PTSD, especially for Defence and Emergency Services personnel. However, as health funding becomes more and more difficult to secure, there is a need to justify the impact of well-being programmes to funding bodies. Social Return on Investment (SROI) analysis provides the opportunity to measure and provide a monetary ratio value to typically intangible social value outcomes structurally and unambiguously. This is represented by detailing how many dollars of social value is returned for every dollar invested into the programme as a ratio of X:1. This study conducted an SROI analysis for an art therapy programme with current and former military and emergency services with PTSD in Australia. The following methods were undertaken: (1) establishing the scope and identifying the participants; (2) mapping the outcomes; (3) evidencing and valuing those outcomes; (4) establishing impact; (5) calculating the SROI; and (6) reporting the ratio of amount of social value. Conservative estimates were used. Eight outcomes were identified, and proxy figures calculated for these outcomes. After weighting and discounting, $3.05 of social value was generated for every $1 invested. This study suggests that a culturally informed art therapy as an intervention for PTSD symptoms with military and emergency services offers a social return for the money invested and may be worth funding. The results of this study can be utilised by art therapy practitioners and programme leaders to justify art therapy practice for veterans with PTSD in policy and funding applications, and guide conducting their own SROI analyses contextualised to their cultural settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are growing rates of U.S. college students studying abroad and existing literature reveals that college students experience moderate to high rates of certain types of crime; however, little is known about the victimization rates of college students while studying abroad. This is the first study known to use anonymous self-report data that examines the rates of various forms of victimization experienced while studying abroad. Findings from a sample of more than 1,000 undergraduate students studying on six continents revealed that victimization rates are low, with the exception of sexual harassment, unwanted touching, and theft. In addition, findings suggest that self-reported victimization rates vary depending upon the severity of the crime, respondents' sex, and continent of study. These findings suggest the need for further research and additional programming; suggestions are put forth.

Using multigenerational, single-cell tracking we explore the earliest events of biofilm formation by Pseudomonas aeruginosa During initial stages of surface engagement (≤20 h), the surface cell population of this microbe comprises overwhelmingly cells that attach poorly (∼95% stay

Bacteria exhibit surface motility modes that play pivotal roles in early-stage biofilm community development, such as type IV pili-driven twitching motility and flagellum-driven spinning and swarming motility. Appendage-driven motility is controlled by molecular motors, and analysis of surface motility behavior is complicated by its inherently 3D nature, the speed of which is too fast for confocal microscopy to capture. Here, we combine electromagnetic field computation and statistical image analysis to generate 3D movies close to a surface at 5 ms time resolution using conventional inverted microscopes. We treat each bacterial cell as a spherocylindrical lens and use finite element modeling to solve Maxwells equations and compute the diffracted light intensities associated with different angular orientations of the bacterium relative to the surface. By performing cross-correlation calculations between measured 2D microscopy images and a library of computed light intensities, we demonstrate that near-surface 3D movies of Pseudomonas aeruginosa translational and rotational motion are possible at high temporal resolution. Comparison between computational reconstructions and detailed hydrodynamic calculations reveals that P. aeruginosa act like low Reynolds number spinning tops with unstable orbits, driven by a flagellum motor with a torque output of ∼2 pN μm. Interestingly, our analysis reveals that P. aeruginosa can undergo complex flagellum-driven dynamical behavior, including precession, nutation, and an unexpected taxonomy of surface motility mechanisms, including upright-spinning bacteria that diffuse laterally across the surface, and horizontal bacteria that follow helicoidal trajectories and exhibit superdiffusive movements parallel to the surface.

H5 influenza is considered a potential pandemic threat. Recently, H5 viruses belonging to clade 2.3.4.4b have caused large outbreaks in avian and multiple nonhuman mammalian species. Previous studies have identified molecular phenotypes of the viral hemagglutinin (HA) protein that contribute to pandemic potential in humans, including cell entry, receptor preference, HA stability, and reduced neutralization by polyclonal sera. However, prior experimental work has only measured how these phenotypes are affected by a handful of the >10,000 different possible amino-acid mutations to HA. Here, we use pseudovirus deep mutational scanning to measure how all mutations to a 2.3.4.4b H5 HA affect each phenotype. We identify mutations that allow HA to better bind α2-6-linked sialic acids and show that some viruses already carry mutations that stabilize HA. We also measure how all HA mutations affect neutralization by sera from mice and ferrets vaccinated against or infected with 2.3.4.4b H5 viruses. These antigenic maps enable rapid assessment of when new viral strains have acquired mutations that may create mismatches with candidate vaccine virus, and we show that a mutation present in some recent H5 HAs causes a large antigenic change. Overall, the systematic nature of deep mutational scanning combined with the safety of pseudoviruses enables comprehensive measurements of the phenotypic effects of mutations that can inform real-time interpretation of viral variation observed during surveillance of H5 influenza. H5 influenza is considered a potential pandemic threat. Using deep mutational scanning, this work reveals how the >10,000 different possible amino-acid mutations in hemagglutinin affect cell entry, receptor preference, protein stability and neutralization by antibodies, which can inform real-time interpretation of viral mutations observed during surveillance of H5 influenza. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined TikTok user engagement when parents post videos engaging in psychological maltreatment (PM) behaviors towards their children, using the APSAC-endorsed definition of PM. A new TikTok account was created and seeded with PM behavior videos identified previously; similar videos then appeared on the new account's "For You Page" (an algorithmic feed curated by TikTok). Researchers identified 35 creators who had posted at least one PM behavior video, resulting in their full profile being coded (N = 2684 videos) for five engagement metrics, presence of children, and presence of PM behavior. Non-parametric paired comparisons (Mann-Whitney tests) were made within individual creators for: (1) engagement metrics before and after the first PM behavior video, (2) engagement metrics for PM behavior videos versus non-PM videos, (3) engagement metrics for child videos versus non-child videos, and (4) proportion of videos containing children before and after the first PM video. All but one analysis was significant (effect sizes from.28 to.59, average r =.46). We discuss directions for future research, as well as how child welfare and content moderation policy can be updated to change social norms around sharenting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The demand for occupational therapy services in Australia has experienced considerable growth in the last decade. Despite an increase in occupational therapy numbers, there remains a substantial workforce shortage. One reason for this shortage is difficulty with the retention of occupational therapists and subsequent workforce attrition. The literature attributes planning to leave as being influenced by high workloads, insufficient time, a negative workplace culture, and stress impacting well‐being. However, much of this research is specific to a practice area, such as mental health, and does not explore the experiences of those who have already left. Knowing why people leave occupational therapy will inform our understanding of how to support and retain our occupational therapy workforce. Methods: A qualitative study was undertaken using narrative inquiry in an Australian context. In 2022, stories were gathered from six former occupational therapists who left within the previous 5 years. Data were collected via semi‐structured in‐depth interviews using Zoom. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. The data were analysed using narrative and thematic analysis. Findings: Four themes were developed: "I just want to help this person"; "there was no real understanding"; "Trying to find where occupational therapy fits for me"; and "I'm not able to continue ... anymore." Participants experienced dissonance between enacting their occupational therapy values and the expectations of their management. They were challenged by unsupportive workplace cultures and leadership styles that undermined their autonomy. They responded with resilience, and trying new ways to continue being occupational therapists, but became increasingly uncomfortable and stressed until they reached a tipping point where they decided to leave. Conclusion: Increasing leadership development within the profession is essential, along with creative strategies for meeting funding requirements and fulfilling occupational therapy values. Workplaces that provide autonomy and respect the occupational therapy role are likely to support retention. PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY: Occupational therapists are leaving the profession, leading to not having enough occupational therapists in the workforce to meet the needs in Australia. This research asked people who had left the occupational therapy profession to share their stories about why they chose to leave. Six people agreed to participate in an interview, and analysis of this data led to the development of four themes to represent their collective experiences. We found that participants were frustrated by being unable to help their clients in ways that aligned with their occupational therapy values, and they did not always feel supported by their managers when they expressed their concerns. They described their autonomy as constrained by funding models and external processes, and while they tried different strategies to address their growing disillusionment, they eventually decided to leave the profession. This decision was accelerated by issues arising with their health and well‐being, which they attributed to the stressors they were experiencing. This research highlighted a need to closely align work processes with the occupational therapy role and instill workplace cultures that are supportive with sufficient flexibility for occupational therapists to have appropriate autonomy. A review of leadership structures and creative strategies for meeting both the employer and employee expectations is recommended. The participants were all women, but they came from diverse practice areas with a wide range of years of experience prior to leaving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hauling out is an essential component of pinniped life-history. Haul-out behaviour may be affected by biological (e.g. sex, age and condition) and physical factors (e.g. food availability and environmental conditions), and identifying these factors may help explain the spatio-temporal distribution and habitat use of pinnipeds. The aim of this study is to describe observed winter haul-out patterns of adult Weddell seals in the Weddell Sea and investigate the role of potential predictors to gain insight into the way these animals interact with the physical environment in this region. We examined the haul-out behaviour in relation to available biological (i.e., diving effort, sex) and physical information (i.e., sun angle). Thirty-three satellite telemetry tags were deployed on adult Weddell seals in the southern Weddell Sea during February 2007, 2009 and 2011, following their annual moult recording information on the behavioural mode of the animal: at surface, hauled out or diving. At the end of the austral summer Weddell seals spent, on average, more than 40% of their time hauled out on the ice. Under constant light conditions, it appears that physiological factors drive sex differences in the timing and duration of haul-out behaviour, with females spending on average more time hauled out than males during daylight hours. This time spent hauled-out declined to around 15% in both sexes by the beginning of autumn and remained at this level with a clear nocturnal haul-out pattern during the winter. The time spent diving increased during this period, indicating an increase in foraging effort during the winter months, and led to a common haul-out pattern in both sexes over winter. We found a positive relationship between haul-out duration and the percentage of time spent diving prior to a haul-out in both sexes, with the exception of female daytime haul-outs early in the year.