Exploration of how youth justice staff perceive the speech-language pathology role and service provision in an Australian youth justice setting.

PURPOSE: The aims of this project were to explore how youth justice staff perceive the speech-language pathology role and provision in an Australian youth justice setting, including the speech-language pathologist's role in supporting young people to participate in the activities of the youth justice service studied. METHOD: A narrative inquiry approach was employed to guide semi-structured interviews with youth justice staff. Perceptions and experiences were analysed via reflexive thematic analysis, with member checking and inter-rater coding utilised for rigour. RESULT: Seven semi-structured interviews were conducted. Interviewees worked in either the custodial setting (n = 3) or the community setting (n = 4) for the youth justice service studied, though most had worked in both settings. Six themes and six subthemes were identified from the interview data and related to factors that supported improved participation in the activities of the youth justice service studied. These factors were the speech-language pathology skillset and approach, and that there were systemic barriers within the service. All participants perceived speech-language pathology input as valuable for the young people in the service studied. There was also acknowledgement by the participants of how speech, language, and communication needs of the young people impacted their participation in the activities of the service studied. These findings were despite the perceived need for organisation-wide education on the speech-language pathologist role and offering. CONCLUSION: Increased understanding of how youth justice staff perceive the role and benefits of speech-language pathology in supporting young people in contact with the youth justice system will assist with service planning, inform education strategies, and may support policy change.

Genomic insights into the critically endangered King Island scrubtit.

Small, fragmented, or isolated populations are at risk of population decline due to fitness costs associated with inbreeding and genetic drift. The King Island scrubtit Acanthornis magna greeniana is a critically endangered subspecies of the nominate Tasmanian scrubtit A. m. magna, with an estimated population of <100 individuals persisting in three patches of swamp forest. The Tasmanian scrubtit is widespread in wet forests on mainland Tasmania. We sequenced the scrubtit genome using PacBio HiFi and undertook a population genomic study of the King Island and Tasmanian scrubtits using a double-digest restriction site-associated DNA (ddRAD) dataset of 5,239 SNP loci. The genome was 1.48 Gb long, comprising 1,518 contigs with an N50 of 7.715 Mb. King Island scrubtits formed one of four overall genetic clusters, but separated into three distinct subpopulations when analyzed independently of the Tasmanian scrubtit. Pairwise FST values were greater among the King Island scrubtit subpopulations than among most Tasmanian scrubtit subpopulations. Genetic diversity was lower and inbreeding coefficients were higher in the King Island scrubtit than all except one of the Tasmanian scrubtit subpopulations. We observed crown baldness in 8/15 King Island scrubtits, but 0/55 Tasmanian scrubtits. Six loci were significantly associated with baldness, including one within the DOCK11 gene which is linked to early feather development. Contemporary gene flow between King Island scrubtit subpopulations is unlikely, with further field monitoring required to quantify the fitness consequences of its small population size, low genetic diversity, and high inbreeding. Evidence-based conservation actions can then be implemented before the taxon goes extinct.

Giant coronary aneurysm in a toddler with Kawasaki disease: technical challenges in CT coronary angiography.

Kawasaki disease is the most common vasculitis causing acquired coronary artery aneurysm (CAA) and affects mostly children. Computed tomography coronary angiography (CTCA) has unique diagnostic and prognostic values in cases of giant CAA. Here, we report technical challenges encountered when performed CTCA for a case of Kawasaki disease complicated with giant CAA. In particular, there was significant flow alteration caused by the giant CAA(s) causing suboptimal enhancement when the standard protocol was applied. We share our experience in optimizing the scan and propose the use of either manual bolus tracking or test bolus technique in similar scenarios, as well as multidisciplinary approach to optimize patient preparation.