Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (H5N1) in Humans after the emergence of clade 2.3.4.4b in 2020.

The highly pathogenic avian influenza virus A (HPAI) H5N1 was first identified in a farmed goose in 1996 from China. High pathogenic avian influenza viruses cause severe disease in poultry and represent a smaller proportion of avian influenzas. In 2008, the H5Nx acquired the function to reassort its neuraminidase (N) and created the 2.3.4.4 H5Nx clade. Initial outbreaks of 2.3.4.4b began in H5N8 and H5N6 in 2016. However, in 2020, whole genome sequencing (WGS) conducted in the Netherlands detected a new H5N1 clade, 2.3.4.4b in wild birds along the Adriatic flyway, which reassorted from H5N8 2.3.4.4b clade. Currently, the 2.3.4.4b HPAI H5N1 outbreak is the dominant circulating strain in the panzootic outbreak. This clade has been responsible for large outbreaks within avian species and spillover into human cases has occurred. The earliest reported human case was in 2021. The reported human cases of this clade have been within the United Kingdom (UK), the United States (US), China, Spain, Vietnam, Ecuador, and Chile

The management of patients with primary chronic anal fissure: a position paper

Anal fissure is one of the most common and painful proctologic diseases. Its treatment has long been discussed and several different therapeutic options have been proposed. In the last decades, the understanding of its pathophysiology has led to a progressive reduction of invasive and potentially invalidating treatments in favor of conservative treatment based on anal sphincter muscle relaxation. Despite some systematic reviews and an American position statement, there is ongoing debate about the best treatment for anal fissure. This review is aimed at identifying the best treatment option drawing on evidence-based medicine and on the expert advice of 6 colorectal surgeons with extensive experience in this field in order to produce an Italian position statement for anal fissures. While there is little chance of a cure with conservative behavioral therapy, medical treatment with calcium channel blockers, diltiazem and nifepidine or glyceryl trinitrate, had a considerable success rate ranging from 50 to 90%. Use of 0.4% glyceryl trinitrate in standardized fashion seems to have the best results despite a higher percentage of headache, while the use of botulinum toxin had inconsistent results. Nonresponding patients should undergo lateral internal sphincterotomy. The risk of incontinence after this procedure seems to have been overemphasized in the past. Only a carefully selected group of patients, without anal hypertonia, could benefit from anoplasty

Dr Len Notaras is interviewed by ABC breakfast radio following an explosion on board an asylum-seekers' boat being escorted to Christmas Island by an Australian Navy vessel

Dr Len Notaras, the General Manager of Royal Darwin Hospital, is interviewed by ABC breakfast radio following an explosion aboard the boat SIEV 36 carrying 47 Afghani asylum seekers being escorted to Christmas island by the Australian Navy. He discusses the emergency response. Duration 4 min. 30 sec

Dr Len Notaras is interviewed by ABC breakfast radio following an explosion on board an asylum-seekers' boat being escorted to Christmas Island by an Australian Navy vessel

Dr Len Notaras, the General Manager of Royal Darwin Hospital, is interviewed by ABC breakfast radio following an explosion aboard the boat SIEV 36 carrying 47 Afghani asylum seekers being escorted to Christmas island by the Australian Navy. He discusses the emergency response. Duration 4 min. 30 sec

Exploring the Psychology Behind the STEM Gender Gap: Correlations Among Mindset, Math Anxiety, and Stereotypical Beliefs About Women

Why do women tend to be underrepresented in STEM college majors and math-intensive careers? Starting in elementary school, girls, regardless of IQ, are more likely to endorse a fixed mindset than their male counterparts (Murphy & Thomas, 2008). Students with fixed mindsets are less likely to embrace new challenges, so fixed mindsets among women could be a leading cause of the clear underrepresentation of women in STEM. Despite making up half the population and workforce, women only make up 24% of STEM jobs (“Women in STEM,” 2017). There have been few experiments relating mindsets and gender stereotypes; it is the goal of this study to further understand the correlational relationship between these two. This paper will explain a rationale for increasing the population of women in STEM, discuss previous studies and their implications for this study’s findings, explore historical data related to the math gender gap in New Jersey (as a case study) and explore the protocol and findings of the present research investigation aimed at shedding light on the phenomenon of interest. Here, I investigate the correlational relationship among academic mindset, math anxiety, and explicit and implicit perceptions of gender bias in STEM in students at two New Jersey high schools. The aim is to better understand what is discouraging women from pursuing math-intensive majors and careers and to determine whether mindset interventions can help alleviate this gap. While the origins of the gap can be attributed to many factors, such as hiring practices and cultural norms, this paper will solely focus on the impact of psychological interventions for women in STEM. The results demonstrate that fixed mindsets are positively correlated with endorsing gender stereotypes about women in STEM while the opposite is true of growth mindsets; this means that growth mindset interventions may be one viable solution to the gender gap in STEM. Extrapolating from these findings, perhaps mindset interventions could positively affect the number of women in STEM, and they could also change how women are treated throughout their careers. Fewer stereotypes about women can benefit women and men while encouraging growth mindsets can help more students reach their full potential and learn to enjoy a challenge