Crustaceans, One Health and the changing ocean.

Crustaceans permeate every habitat on Earth but are especially impactful in the marine environment. They can be small and extremely abundant like the ubiquitous marine copepods found throughout the world's oceans, or large and highly prized by fishermen like spiny lobsters found in tropical and temperate seas, globally. The latter are among the decapod crustaceans, a group which includes crabs, shrimps, and lobsters - those targeted most commonly by fishery and aquaculture industries. Hence, crustaceans are ecologically important, but they are also directly linked to the economic and nutritional health of human populations. To most effectively manage and conserve crustacean populations in the face of a changing ocean environment, whether they are harvested or not, requires a One Health approach that underscores the linkages between crustacean, human, and environmental health. Here, we give an overview of the need, benefits, and challenges to taking the One Health approach to crustacean health and argue that when viewed through the One Health lens, there is perhaps no other group of marine animals more worthy of that perspective.

Increasing Canadian paediatricians' awareness and use of the new Canadian Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines for ages 0 to 17 years.

OBJECTIVE: To examine changes in the awareness, use, feasibility, and barriers associated with the Canadian Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines for Children and Youth ages 0-17 years in a sample of Canadian paediatricians, and to assess tools/resources developed by the Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS). METHODS: Practicing paediatricians who were members of the CPS were invited to complete an on-line survey in February 2013. In response to survey findings, the CPS developed and promoted tools/resources to increase and improve paediatricians' counselling of the guidelines. The CPS membership was surveyed again in September-October 2014. Findings are based on responses from 331 and 217 (23% and 16% participation rate) Canadian paediatricians who completed the survey in 2013 and 2014, respectively. RESULTS: No significant differences were observed for awareness, use, or feasibility associated with the physical activity or sedentary behaviour guidelines between 2013 and 2014. However, a lack of knowledge/training was reported as a barrier sometimes/often/always by paediatricians significantly less in 2014 (14%) compared to 2013 (32%). Insufficient motivation/lack of support from parents/caregivers/youth was also reported as a barrier less frequently in 2014 (64%) compared to 2013 (75%) but it was borderline non-significant (P=0.05). Only 9% of paediatricians were unaware of the new CPS tools/resources. CONCLUSIONS: The new tools/resources developed by the CPS appeared to reduce some barriers experienced by paediatricians in counselling families about the guidelines. However, this did not appear to translate into greater awareness or use of the guidelines. Continued tool/resource development and training initiatives may be required.

OBJECTIF: Examiner les modifications à la prise de conscience, à l'utilisation, à la faisabilité et aux limites associées aux Lignes directrices en matière d'activité et de comportement sédentaire pour les enfants et les adolescents de 0 à 17 ans auprès d'un échantillon de pédiatres canadiens et évaluer les outils et les ressources produits par la Société canadienne de pédiatrie (SCP). MÉTHODOLOGIE: En février 2013, les pédiatres en exercice membres de la SCP ont été invités à participer à un sondage en ligne. Compte tenu des résultats, la SCP a produit et promu des outils et des ressources pour accroître et améliorer les conseils des médecins au sujet des lignes directrices. Les membres de la SCP ont été sondés une seconde fois en septembre-octobre 2014. Les résultats reposent sur les réponses de 331 et 217 pédiatres canadiens qui ont participé au sondage en 2013 et 2014 (taux de participation de 23 % et 16 %), respectivement. RÉSULTATS: Les chercheurs n'ont observé aucune différence significative sur le plan de la prise de conscience, de l'utilisation ou de la faisabilité des Lignes directrices en matière d'activité et de comportement sédentaire entre 2013 et 2014. Cependant, les pédiatres étaient beaucoup moins nombreux à déclarer ne pas posséder parfois, souvent ou toujours les connaissances et la formation nécessaires en 2014 (14 %) qu'en 2013 (32 %). Le manque de motivation ou l'absence de soutien des parents, des tuteurs ou des adolescents étaient également moins considérés comme un obstacle en 2014 (64 %) qu'en 2013 (75 %), mais ce résultat n'était pratiquement pas significatif (P=0,05). Seulement 9 % des pédiatres n'étaient pas au courant de l'existence des nouveaux outils et ressources de la SCP. CONCLUSIONS: Les nouveaux outils et ressources de la SCP semblaient réduire certains obstacles qu'affrontaient les pédiatres pour conseiller les familles au sujet des lignes directrices. Cependant, cette constatation ne semble pas se traduire par une plus grande prise de conscience ou une plus grande utilisation des lignes directrices. Il faudrait peut-être poursuivre la préparation d'outils et de ressources ainsi que les initiatives de formation.

Paediatricians' awareness of, agreement with and use of the new Canadian Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines for children and youth zero to 17 years of age.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the awareness of, agreement with and use of the new Canadian Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines for children and youth zero to 17 years of age in a sample of Canadian paediatricians. METHODS: The findings are based on responses from 331 paediatricians across Canada who completed an online survey in February 2013. Frequencies were calculated for each question. RESULTS: Few paediatricians reported being very familiar with the physical activity (6% for the early years, and 9% for children and youth) or sedentary behaviour guidelines (5% for the early years, children and youth). When made aware of the guidelines, a large percentage strongly agreed or agreed with the physical activity (99% for the early years, and 96% for children and youth) and sedentary behaviour recommendations (96% for the early years, and 94% for children and youth). Of paediatricians who performed well-child visits, 16% and 27% reported almost always making physical activity and sedentary behaviour recommendations, respectively, to parents or caregivers of children in the early years, compared with 37% for both behaviours among children and youth. Thirty-nine per cent (for the early years) and 46% (for children and youth) of paediatricians reported it would be highly feasible to briefly explain the guidelines at a well-child visit. The most common barriers reported for recommending the guidelines were insufficient motivation or support from parents, caregivers or youth, and lack of time. CONCLUSION: To increase the use of these new evidence-informed guidelines, strategies are needed to increase paediatricians' awareness and reduce perceived barriers.

OBJECTIF: Examiner la sensibilisation des pédiatres aux nouvelles Directives canadiennes en matière d'activité physique et de comportement sédentaire chez les jeunes de zéro à 17 ans, leur acceptation et leur utilisation de ces directives dans un échantillon de pédiatres canadiens. MÉTHODOLOGIE: Les résultats se fondent sur les réponses de 331 pédiatres du Canada qui ont rempli un sondage virtuel en février 2013. La fréquence a été calculée à l'égard de chaque question. RÉSULTATS: Peu de pédiatres ont déclaré bien connaître les directives en matière d'activité physique (6 % pour les jeunes enfants et 9 % pour les enfants et les adolescents) ou de comportement sédentaire (5 % pour les jeunes enfants, les enfants et les adolescents). Lorsqu'ils étaient informés des lignes directrices, un fort pourcentage était fortement d'accord ou d'accord avec les recommandations en matière d'activité physique (99 % pour les jeunes enfants, et 96 % pour les enfants et les adolescents) et de comportement sédentaire (96 % pour les jeunes enfants, et 94 % pour les enfants et les adolescents). Chez les pédiatres qui effectuaient des bilans de santé, 16 % et 27 % affirmaient faire presque toujours des recommandations en matière d'activité physique et de comportement sédentaire, respectivement, aux parents ou aux personnes qui s'occupaient de jeunes enfants, par rapport à 37 % à l'égard des deux types de comportements chez les enfants et les adolescents. De plus, 39 % (pour la petite enfance) et 46 % (pour les enfants et les adolescents) des pédiatres affirmaient qu'il serait très faisable d'expliquer brièvement les directives lors des bilans de santé. Les principaux obstacles relevés pour recommander les directives étaient la motivation et le soutien insuffisants de la part des parents, des adolescents ou des personnes qui s'occupent des enfants, ainsi que le manque de temps. CONCLUSION: Pour accroître l'utilisation de ces nouvelles directives fondées sur des données probantes, il faut adopter des stratégies pour les faire mieux connaître des pédiatres et réduire les obstacles perçus.

A new member of the Nudiviridae from the Florida stone crab (Menippe mercenaria).

Menippe mercenaria, the Florida stone crab, supports an unconventional fishery across the southern USA and Caribbean that involves claw-removal and the return of de-clawed animals to the sea. We provide pathological, ultrastructural, and genomic detail for a novel hepatopancreatic, nucleus-specific virus - Menippe mercenaria nudivirus (MmNV) - isolated from M. mercenaria, captured during fisheries-independent monitoring. The virus has a genome of 99,336 bp and encodes 84 predicted protein coding genes and shows greatest similarity to Aratus pisonii nudivirus (ApNV) (<60% protein similarity and 31 shared genes of greatest similarity), collected from the Florida Keys, USA. MmNV is a member of the Gammanudivirus genus (Naldaviricetes: Lefavirales: Nudiviridae). Comparisons of virus genome size, preferred host environment, and gene number revealed no clear associations between the viral traits and phylogenetic position. Evolution of the virus alongside the diversification of host taxa, with the potential for host-switching, remain more likely evolutionary pathways.

Acceptance and Mindfulness-Based Exposure Therapy for PTSD After Cardiac Arrest: An Open Feasibility Trial.

Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is prevalent after surviving sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). SCA-induced PTSD is associated with increased mortality and cardiovascular risk, yet no psychotherapeutic treatment has been developed and tested for this population. Exposure therapy is standard treatment for PTSD, but its safety and efficacy remain unconfirmed for SCA survivors: current protocols do not address their specific disease course and have high attrition. Mindfulness-based interventions are typically well-tolerated and have shown promise in reducing PTSD symptoms from other traumas.Objective: This study sought to determine feasibility, safety, and preliminary efficacy of acceptance and mindfulness-based exposure therapy (AMBET), a novel SCA-specific psychotherapy protocol combining mindfulness and exposure-based interventions with cardiac focused psychoeducation to reduce symptoms and improve health behaviors in patients with post-SCA PTSD.Methods: We conducted an open feasibility pilot study from January 2021 to April 2022 with a small sample (N = 11) of SCA survivors meeting DSM-5 PTSD criteria. AMBET comprised eight 90-minute remotely delivered individual sessions. Clinical evaluators assessed PTSD symptoms using the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5) at baseline, midpoint, posttreatment, and 3-month follow-up.Results: Ten (91%) of 11 enrolled patients completed treatment. Satisfaction was high and patients reported no adverse events. PTSD symptoms significantly improved statistically (P < .001) and clinically with large effect sizes (g = 1.34-2.21) and treatment gains sustained at 3-month follow-up. Posttreatment, 80% of completers (n = 8) showed significant treatment response, 70% (n = 7) with PTSD diagnostic remission. No patient reported symptom increases.Conclusions: This initial trial found AMBET feasible, safe, and potentially efficacious in reducing PTSD following SCA. These encouraging pilot results warrant further research.Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04596891.

A scuticociliate causes mass mortality of Diadema antillarum in the Caribbean Sea.

Echinoderm mass mortality events shape marine ecosystems by altering the dynamics among major benthic groups. The sea urchin Diadema antillarum, virtually extirpated in the Caribbean in the early 1980s by an unknown cause, recently experienced another mass mortality beginning in January 2022. We investigated the cause of this mass mortality event through combined molecular biological and veterinary pathologic approaches comparing grossly normal and abnormal animals collected from 23 sites, representing locations that were either affected or unaffected at the time of sampling. Here, we report that a scuticociliate most similar to Philaster apodigitiformis was consistently associated with abnormal urchins at affected sites but was absent from unaffected sites. Experimentally challenging naïve urchins with a Philaster culture isolated from an abnormal, field-collected specimen resulted in gross signs consistent with those of the mortality event. The same ciliate was recovered from treated specimens postmortem, thus fulfilling Koch's postulates for this microorganism. We term this condition D. antillarum scuticociliatosis.

Exploring Trauma and Resilience among NYS COVID-19 Pandemic Survivors.

The New York State (NYS) Office of Mental Health created the NYS COVID-19 Emotional Support Helpline and enlisted graduate students to provide phone-based emotional support initially to the NYS community. This NYS-funded initiative transformed into providing psychosocial support for callers across the United States. Four NYS doctoral students acted as the helpline agents and received 251 individual calls from May-August 2020. The agents documented the calls with clinical notes which cannot be traced back to specific callers. The purpose of this retrospective qualitative study was to explore the themes that emerged from the calls to give voice to the trauma that callers were reporting during the early phases of the pandemic, and the resilience they demonstrated as they engaged with the Helpline. The agents' clinical transcripts were converted into codes using a critical-constructivist grounded theory approach (Levitt, 2021) with the NVIVO qualitative data analysis software. A second research team audited the initial codes for construct clarity. Emergent themes detailed the unique traumas that helpline callers divulged, how the agents provided support, and the callers' capacities for resilience. Recommendations are suggested to inform clinicians working with pandemic survivors, to offer guidance on providing distance or virtual interventions as well as to enhance policymakers' understanding of addressing mental health needs across populations served via the NYS COVID-19 Emotional Support Helpline.

Neurobiological Alterations in Females With PTSD: A Systematic Review.

Most females experience at least one traumatic event in their lives, but not all develop PTSD. Despite considerable research, our understanding of the key factors that constitute risk for PTSD among females is limited. Previous research has largely focused on sex differences, neglecting within group comparisons, thereby obviating differences between females who do and do not develop PTSD following exposure to trauma. In this systematic review, we conducted a search for the extent of existing research utilizing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to examine neurobiological differences among females of all ages, with and without PTSD. Only studies of females who met full diagnostic criteria for PTSD were included. Fifty-six studies were selected and reviewed. We synthesized here findings from structural MRI (sMRI), functional MRI (fMRI), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and resting state functional connectivity (rs-FC MRI) studies, comparing females with and without PTSD. A range of biopsychosocial constructs that may leave females vulnerable to PTSD were discussed. First, the ways timing and type of exposure to trauma may impact PTSD risk were discussed. Second, the key role that cognitive and behavioral mechanisms may play in PTSD was described, including rumination, and deficient fear extinction. Third, the role of specific symptom patterns and common comorbidities in female-specific PTSD was described, as well as sex-specific implications on treatment and parenting outcomes. We concluded by identifying areas for future research, to address the need to better understand developmental aspects of brain alterations, the differential impact of trauma types and timing, the putative role of neuroendocrine system in neurobiology of PTSD among females, and the impact of social and cultural factors on neurobiology in females with PTSD.

Community Nursing Care of Chinese-Australian Cancer Patients: A Qualitative Study.

BACKGROUND: Providing quality care and support to cancer patients from minority cultures can challenge community nurses when language barriers and cultural complexities intersect with the need for complex care. OBJECTIVES: This article reports on a qualitative study that explores interactions between community nurses and Chinese-Australian cancer patients. METHODS: The research method focused on particular nurse-patient encounters and involved preencounter and postencounter interviews with the nurse, postencounter interviews with the patient, and observation of the encounters. Participants included community nurses, Chinese cancer patients being cared for at home, and their carers if present. RESULTS: Four themes were conceptualized: (1) the impact of language barriers on nurse-patient interactions, (2) patient understandings of the scope and objectives of healthcare services, (3) cultural complexities and sensitivities, and (4) valued care and support. The study demonstrates that, although many nurses do provide comprehensive, culturally competent care, language barriers can lead to task-oriented rather than comprehensive approaches, and other cultural complexities do have an impact on patient experiences and on the quality of nurse-patient interactions. Nevertheless, most patient participants experienced a feeling of security as a result of regular contact with a community nursing service. CONCLUSION: Cancer patients with complex care needs but limited English proficiency require support to negotiate complicated community services networks. Culturally competent community nurses can provide this support. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The study highlights the need for continuing cultural competence education for community nurses and the importance of careful discharge planning to ensure continuity of care for this vulnerable patient group.