Impacts of COVID-19 on U.S. seafood availability. (Special Issue: COVID-19 impacts on selected commodities.)

Seafood is the food group with the highest share traded, and the U.S. is the world's largest seafood importer, importing 79% of the seafood consumed. Hence, a study examining the impacts of the measures to contain COVID-19 on U.S. seafood imports will not only show how U.S. seafood availability has been affected, but will also give strong indications of how resiliently the global seafood markets have worked through the pandemic. We find that U.S. imports of seafood actually increased in 2020 and 2021, suggesting supply chains were able to adapt to potential disruptions. Moreover, for the 14 largest product forms imported to the U.S., there are no strong price movements. Given that there is a global market for most species groups, this adaption also suggests that the markets have worked quite well beyond the U.S. Hence, while there have undoubtedly been market shocks associated with the COVID-19 measures such as the reduction in demand from the restaurant sector and the increased sales in the retail sector, opportunities seem to balance out challenges, and the supply chains for seafood to the U.S. have been highly resilient.

Co-infections and antimicrobial use in hospitalized patients with moderate-severe COVID-19

Introduction/Aim: Coinfection in COVID-19 has been reported internationally, however, data on prevalence and outcomes in Australia is lacking. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and microbiology of coinfections, associated antimicrobial use, and outcomes in hospitalised patients with moderate-severe COVID-19 admitted to the Sunshine Coast University Hospital (SCUH). Method(s): A retrospective observational cohort study of adult patients admitted to the SCUH from February to July 2022 with moderate-severe COVID-19 was conducted. Demographics, comorbidities, laboratory, microbiological and radiological results, antimicrobial use, and hospital length of stay were collected. All-cause 30-day mortality and ICU admission were also collected, and incidence rate ratios (IRR) were calculated. Result(s): Sixty-six patients (57% male;median age 78.3) were captured. 13 coinfections occurred in 11 (16.7%) patients. Microbiological testing was performed in 94% of patients;respiratory viral PCR in 78.8%, blood cultures in 69.7%, sputum cultures in 25.8%, urinary antigens in 13.6% and atypical serology in 12.1%. Bacterial pathogens were most prevalent (53.8% of coinfections), whilst viral and fungal infections accounted for 30.8% and 15.4%, respectively. The most common pathogens were Streptococcus pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and influenza A. Most patients (74.2%) received empirical antibiotic therapy (mean = 5.5 days), with similar rates of use between those with coinfection (66.7%) and those without (75.9%). Overall patient mortality was 10.6%, with coinfections demonstrating a higher 30-day mortality (IRR = 2.0). Coinfected patients were seven times more likely to experience ICU admission (IRR = 7.5) compared to patients without coinfections. Conclusion(s): The prevalence of confirmed coinfection in hospitalised patients with moderate-severe COVID 19 was low;however, antimicrobial use was high. Importantly, patients with coinfections were twice as likely to die, and seven times more likely to be admitted to ICU. This study indicates the importance of developing improved diagnostic tools to identify coinfection and to help guide appropriate antimicrobial use.

The effects of a `COVID Nurse Assistant' application on patient satisfaction in COVID isolation rooms

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a major shift in the healthcare delivery system. With the limited personal protection equipment and a nursing service shortage caused ineffective nursing care delivered to COVID-19 patients. Wearing full personal protective equipment (PPE) hinders nurse-patients communication and inhibiting the achievement of treatment goals. This study aims to examine the effect of a `COVID Nurse Assistant' (CNA) application on patient satisfaction in COVID-19 isolation rooms. Design and Methods: This was a comparative study with an experimental and control group design. The participants were patients confirmed positive with COVID-19 receiving care in an isolation room for at least three days and were fully conscious. The intervention used was accessing health information related to COVID-19 through a mobile-friendly application namely`COVID Nurse Assistant'. The instrument used was the Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire (PSQ-18) translated into Bahasa Indonesia. In addition, an independent t-Test was used to perform statistical analysis. Results and Discussions: A total 158 respondents completed the online survey among of 219 eligible patients (72% response rate). The score in the general and financial satisfaction sub-scales reported by patients in the experimental group were significantly different from the control with p-values of 0.032 and 0.018 respectively. However, other subscales were not significantly different between the two groups. Conclusions: The implementation of the CNA online application has noteworthy implications on patient satisfaction. However, further studies examining similar system in different clinical areas would provide better information for the optimal use of technology in patient education.

COVID-19 and Sports Law

The last chapter in the professional sport section of the Handbook of Sport and COVID-19 examines the impact of COVID-19 from a legal and sports law perspective. Written by two sport law scholars, the chapter investigates how prepared the sport industry was to deal with the global health crisis and the impact that resulted, especially from a legal and regulatory standpoint. © 2023 selection and editorial matter, Stephen Frawley and Nico Schulenkorf;individual chapters, the contributors.

Routine Periodic Fasting Is Associated with a Lower Risk of Inpatient Hospitalization for the Primary Diagnosis of Heart Failure Following Covid-19 Diagnosis

Background Intermittent fasting modulates inflammation and reduces cardiometabolic risks, even without weight loss. Many Utahns (30%) engage in routine periodic fasting, primarily for religious purposes (1 day/month for?>40 years). Periodic fasting is associated with greater longevity, lower incidence of heart failure (HF) and diabetes, and lower COVID-19 severity. This study evaluated the association of periodic fasting with inpatient hospitalization (hosp.) for the primary diagnosis of HF after COVID-19 diagnosis. Methods Patients undergoing cardiac catheterization at Intermountain Healthcare from 2/2013-3/2020 were enrolled in the INSPIRE registry (NCT02450006) and provided survey data for periodic fasting (n=5,795). Between March 6, 2020 and April 8, 2022, COVID-19 was diagnosed in N=464 (1852 COVID-negative, 3466 no test, 13 fasted routinely <5 years). Subjects were followed to April 17, 2022 for HF hosp., mortality, MI, revascularization, and stroke. Results Periodic fasting was reported by 135 (29.1%) of the 464 subjects and they had fasted routinely for 42.7+/-19.0 years (min: 7 years, max: 82 years). HF hosp. (n=65, 14.0%) was found in 8.1% of fasters and 16.4% of non-fasters (HR=0.45, 95% CI=0.24, 0.87;p=0.017). Fasting was retained in multivariable analyses (adjusted HR=0.44, CI=0.23, 0.84;p=0.013). Age, diabetes, prior MI, TIA, and prior HF diagnosis also predicted HF hosp. Qualitative but non-significantly lower risk for fasting vs non-fasters was found for mortality (3.7% vs 5.8%), MI (0% vs 1.2%), and revasc. (1.5% vs 2.7%), but not stroke (1.5% vs 1.5%). Composites were significant: HF hosp./mortality, n=74 (10.4% vs 18.2%, adj. HR=0.55, CI=0.30, 0.99;p=0.047) and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE: HF hosp., mortality, MI, revasc., stroke), n=86 (12.6% vs 21.0%, adj. HR=0.58, CI=0.34, 1.00;p=0.0504). Conclusion Routine periodic fasting was associated with a lower risk of HF hosp., HF hosp./mortality, and MACE in patients at high risk due to COVID-19 diagnosis. This supports and expands on previous studies that reported fasting may reduce the risk of incident HF and reduce the risk of severe COVID-19. Further study of fasting and heart failure is indicated. Prevention and Health PromotionCopyright © 2023 American College of Cardiology Foundation

Perception shifts in seafood consumption in the United States

Perceptions about specific seafood attributes play an essential role in American consumers' choices of a seafood entre ' e served in casual and fine dining restaurants. However, the trends and determinants of consumer per-ceptions are underexplored. This research analyzes how consumers perceive specific attributes of a seafood entre ' e and examines the effect of socioeconomic and demographic characteristics on their perceptions. Factor analysis and multivariate Tobit models were employed to analyze data collected online via Qualtrics' consumer panels in the U.S. The results indicate that the proportion of participants who deem farm-raised and sustainability-certified fish safer to eat, better tasting, higher quality, more fairly traded, and more environ-mentally friendly is the highest. However, the difference in perceptions of domestic and imported fish is ambiguous. The perceptions of nutritional value for human consumption are near neutral among these seafood attributes. The main determinants of these perceptions are the frequency they eat fish, whether having children in a household, gender, ethnicity, and the age of consumers. These perceptions and determinants are relatively consistent before and during Covid-19. This study contributes to the literature on seafood perceptions at casual and fine dining restaurants and provides the most recent trend on American seafood perceptions and their de-terminants. These results are beneficial to seafood producers, distributors, and policymakers for providing more appropriate regulations related to future seafood supply in the U.S.

Impacts of COVID-19 on U.S. Seafood Availability

Seafood is the food group with the highest share traded, and the U.S. is the world's largest seafood importer, importing 79% of the seafood consumed. Hence, a study examining the impacts of the measures to contain COVID-19 on U.S. seafood imports will not only show how U.S. seafood availability has been affected, but will also give strong indications of how resiliently the global seafood markets have worked through the pandemic. We find that U.S. imports of seafood actually increased in 2020 and 2021, suggesting supply chains were able to adapt to potential disruptions. Moreover, for the 14 largest product forms imported to the U.S., there are no strong price movements. Given that there is a global market for most species groups, this adaption also suggests that the markets have worked quite well beyond the U.S. Hence, while there have undoubtedly been market shocks associated with the COVID-19 measures such as the reduction in demand from the restaurant sector and the increased sales in the retail sector, opportunities seem to balance out challenges, and the supply chains for seafood to the U.S. have been highly resilient. © 2022 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston 2022.

Pulmonary Hemorrhage Due to Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis in a Pediatric Patient

INTRODUCTION: Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) is a rare rheumatologic disease in pediatric patients but with a similar presentation and organ involvement as an adult patient. We present a case of a patient with pulmonary hemorrhage due to GPA who was managed without extracorporeal life support. DESCRIPTION: A 14 year-old female with no medical history presented with migratory polyarthritis, sore throat, chest tightness, fatigue, and positive rheumatoid factor. Found to be hypoxic on presentation. Her respiratory failure progressed, requiring intubation and inhaled nitric oxide, with minimal improvement. A chest CT showed nonspecific bilateral multifocal, patchy airspace opacification. Her C-ANCA and proteinase 3 antibody were positive, making GPA the most likely diagnosis for which she was started on methylprednisolone and rituximab. Her hypoxemia continued to worsen despite maximal mechanical ventilator support and neuromuscular blockade infusion. She had bloody secretions from her endotracheal tube, concerning for pulmonary hemorrhage, despite high positive end-expiratory pressure. A chest radiograph at that time was consistent with worsening bilateral infiltrates. Echocardiogram showed normal biventricular function, pulmonary hypertension, and a 1.8 cm by 1.5 cm thrombus at the cavoatrial junction. A multidisciplinary team determined that the location of the clot precluded placement of ECMO cannulas without risking clot mobilization. Plasmapheresis was emergently initiated followed by further rituximab and cyclophosphamide. Her respiratory status stabilized after being placed in the prone position. She was ultimately discharged home after a prolonged period of intubation and hospitalization, on a steroid taper, oral anticoagulation for her cavoatrial thrombus, and maintenance rituximab therapy. DISCUSSION: This case highlights a rare case of GPA with multiorgan involvement in a pediatric patient resulting in refractory hypoxemia treated with aggressive rheumatologic therapy and proning. There is limited evidence for the efficacy of plasmapheresis in patients with GPA, although this patient may have benefited from it since she was not safe for extracorporeal life support. Furthermore, as highlighted through the COVID-19 pandemic, proning proved crucial in managing her severe hypoxemia.

VIRTUAL TELEHEALTH CLINICAL EXPERIENCE TO PREPARE STUDENT PHYSICAL THERAPISTS FOR PRACTICE IN A SNF

Student training was suspended in most post-acute settings in the United States due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Through a collaborative partnership between a university and a healthcare organization we offered a virtual telehealth clinical experience to prepare student physical therapists for practice in a skilled nursing facility (SNF) setting. 35 students engaged virtually for 80 hours with two clinical instructors. The curriculum included eight virtual learning modules along with four telehealth patient encounters that exposed students to interdisciplinary teams in the SNF context. Students completed a retrospective pre/post Self-Perception of Learning Survey. Results demonstrated students' self-perception of learning was significantly increased implying an improved ability to practice in the SNF setting. This approach advanced student learning in patient care management, interprofessional practice, and telehealth practice in the SNF setting. Future work is planned to expand the program to include 20 physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech and language pathology students.

Routine Opt out Hepatitis C Testing Upon Intake in the Philadelphia Jail System

Background: Hepatitis C (HCV) infection disproportionately affects those in United States' correctional institutions with seroprevalence rates from 17.4-23.1%. Jails have represented a particularly challenging setting for HCV testing and treatment given the short duration of stay and uncertainty of the timing of prisoners' release. Despite recommendations that all incarcerated persons undergo HCV testing, screening is not universally performed. In the Philadelphia jails, 1463 (7.5%) of the 19395 prisoners in 2018 were screened at sentencing. Method(s): On September 3, 2019 the Philadelphia jail partnered with Philadelphia FIGHT Community Health Centers to implement routine opt out HCV testing upon intake. Protocols for testing, result delivery and provider follow up were developed in a collaborative manner between the jail and FIGHT and subsequently adapted to ensure success in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Herein, we report the findings of the first thirty-two months of routine opt out screening at intake. Result(s): Between September 3, 2019 and April 30, 2022, 27633 individuals entered the jail. 25206 (91.22%) individuals were tested for HCV antibody (ab) upon entry. 2639 (95.72%) of 2757 ab+ individuals had reflexive RNA confirmatory testing and 1892 (68.63%) were chronically infected. Of those, 950 (50.21%) were seen by a linkage coordinator from FIGHT while incarcerated, 1338 (70.72%) were seen by a jail-based HCV provider, and 619 individuals were prescribed HCV treatment. Of the treated persons, 304 (65.84%) were released from jail before completing HCV treatment, but all left jail with a full course of treatment;linkage to care to determine treatment response and ongoing medical care is in progress. Conclusion(s): Establishment of routine opt out HCV screening in a jail setting resulted in more than 90% of individuals entering the jail being screened for HCV and 32% of those with chronic infection initiating treatment. Short duration of incarceration, the need for rapid result delivery, increased linkage coordinator visits, and coordination of treatment between the jail and the community are challenges that must be addressed for successful program implementation in a jail setting. Collaboration between health care providers in the correctional system and community is necessary to coordinate HCV services in a high volume, high turnover urban jail.

BYOZ: Protecting BYOD Through Zero Trust Network Security

As the COVID-19 pandemic scattered businesses and their workforces into new scales of remote work, vital security concerns arose surrounding remote access. Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) also plays a growing role in the ability of companies to support remote workforces. As more enterprises embrace concepts of zero trust in their network security posture, access control policy management problems become a more significant concern as it relates to BYOD security enforcement. This BYOD security policy must enable work from home, but enterprises have a vested interest in maintaining the security of their assets. Therefore, the BYOD security policy must strike a balance between access, security, and privacy, given the personal device use. This paper explores the challenges and opportunities of enabling zero trust in BYOD use cases. We present a BYOD policy specification to enable the zero trust access control known as BYOZ. Accompanying this policy specification, we have designed a network architecture to support enterprise zero trust BYOD use cases through the novel incorporation of continuous authentication & authorization enforcement. We evaluate our architecture through a demo implementation of BYOZ and demonstrate how it can meet the needs of existing enterprise networks using BYOD. © 2022 IEEE.

“The most seen I have ever felt”: Labour-Based Grading as a pedagogical practice of care

This paper discusses experiments with Labour-Based Grading (LBG) in undergraduate anthropology courses at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington. Since before the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been aware that our teaching was not serving students, especially those from different class backgrounds and historically marginalised communities, and those with learning disabilities or mental health issues. The challenges these students face are compounded by a secondary school education that does not adequately prepare them for university, leaving many feeling uncared for in the classroom. In response, we developed pedagogical practices of care using LBG. We discuss LBG as an assessment method that determines students’ grades based on the time and effort they spend on an assignment, instead of more conventional subjective criteria. We reflect on staff and student experiences with LBG to offer it as a model for a future of learning that actualises care in the classroom. © 2022, University of the Western Cape. All rights reserved.

A Cross-Sectional Study on the Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Ocular Health at a Tertiary Care Department of Ophthalmology

Purpose : The COVID-19 pandemic caused disruptions in ophthalmic care, and may have negatively impacted some patients more than others. We performed a retrospective, cross-sectional study at our large, tertiary care ophthalmology referral center in the Midwest region of the United States in an attempt to identify patients at risk for worsening ocular health during the COVID-19 shutdowns. Methods : We completed retrospective Electronic Health Record data extraction of demographic and clinical outpatient encounter-level data for all patients examined in our department from March-May 2019, August-October 2019, March-May 2020 (peak COVID), and August-October 2020 (COVID recovery). Changes in mean logMAR visual acuity (logMAR VA), mean intraocular pressure (IOP), and mean number of procedures per encounter were tested and stratified by age (<18, 18-64, and 65+ years-old), and compared based on associated billing codes. Results : During peak COVID, there was a 73% decrease in the number of outpatient clinical encounters compared to the control time period in 2019 (6,976 vs. 26,068), and mean patient age was significantly lower during peak COVID (mean age 53.4, 95% CI 52.8- 54.0) compared with the other time periods. Documented best-corrected logMAR VA of the right and left eyes worsened for pediatric, adult, and elderly patient age groups;IOP of the right and left eyes worsened when evaluating all patients together;and the mean number of procedures performed per encounter increased by 74% comparing early 2019 to peak COVID months. The billing diagnoses associated with the worst ocular health outcomes during the COVID-related shutdowns include patients with anophthalmia of the fellow eye;infectious keratitis;open, chronic angle closure, and secondary causes of glaucoma;ocular inflammatory disorders;optic neuritis and ischemic optic neuropathies;and vitreoretinal disorders related to diabetes, macular degeneration, and vitreous or retinal hemorrhages. Conclusions : Patients seen during the COVID-19 pandemic were younger, had worsened logMAR VA, increased IOP, and underwent more procedures compared to the COVID-recovery and 2019 control months. Numerous billing diagnoses were associated with worse measures ocular health. Patients with these ocular disorders may need prioritization during future periods of reduced access ophthalmic care.

ZANUBRUTINIB IN OLDER PATIENTS (PTS) WITH RELAPSED/REFRACTORY (R/R) MARGINAL ZONE LYMPHOMA (MZL): SUBGROUP ANALYSIS OF THE MAGNOLIA STUDY

Background: MZL is the second most common lymphoma in older pts. Choosing an optimal treatment can be challenging because of patient-or disease-related risk factors and treatment-related toxicities (Curr Opin Oncol. 2019;31(5):386-393). Zanubrutinib is a potent, irreversible next-generation Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor designed to maximize BTK occupancy and minimize off-target kinase inhibition, which may improve efficacy outcomes and minimize toxicities, such as cardiac arrythmias and bleeding events. Zanubrutinib received accelerated approval from the United States FDA for the treatment of pts with R/R MZL (Haematologica . 2022;107(1):35-43). Aims: We aim to present a subgroup analysis of efficacy and safety of zanubrutinib in pts aged ≥65 years with R/R MZL enrolled in MAGNOLIA (BGB-3111-214;NCT03846427). Methods: MAGNOLIA is a phase 2, multicenter, single-arm study of adults with R/R MZL who had received ≥1 line of therapy including ≥1 CD20-directed regimen. All were treated with zanubrutinib 160 mg twice daily until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Use of long-term antiplatelet and anticoagulation agents was permitted. The primary endpoint was overall response rate (ORR;complete response [CR] and partial response [PR]) determined by an independent review committee (IRC) in accordance with the Lugano classification. Secondary endpoints include ORR by investigator assessment (INV), duration of response (DOR), progression-free survival (PFS), and safety. All pts gave informed consent. Results: As of 18 January 2021, a total of 68 pts were enrolled (Table). Forty (61%) pts were ≥65 years old with a median age of 73 (range, 65-85);18 pts were ≥75 years old. Median number of prior therapies was 2 (range, 1-6) and 10 (25%) pts were refractory to last therapy. Most pts received prior rituximab + cyclophosphamide + vincristine + prednisone (48%) or bendamustine + rituximab (30%), while 5 (13%) pts received rituximab monotherapy. MZL subtypes included extranodal (n=17, 43%), nodal (n=14, 35%), and splenic (n=8, 20%). Median duration of treatment was 14.4 months (mo;range, 0.9-19.6). At a median follow-up of 15.8 mo (range, 2.8-21.8), ORR by IRC was 75% (CR 25%, PR 50%;Table). Responses were observed in all subtypes, with an ORR of 71%, 86%, and 75% in extranodal, nodal, and splenic subtypes, respectively (CR 41%, 21%, and 0%, respectively). Median DOR and PFS were not reached;15-month PFS was 87% and 12-month DOR was 93%. Most (63%) pts are continuing zanubrutinib. Treatment discontinuation due to disease progression was 28% by INV. Most common treatmentemergent adverse events (AEs) observed in ≥20% of pts include contusion (28%), diarrhea (25%), and constipation (20%). Grade ≥3 neutropenia occurred in 5% of pts. The most common infection was upper respiratory tract infection (10%). Two (5%) pts discontinued zanubrutinib due to unrelated fatal AEs (COVID-19 pneumonia and myocardial infarction in a patient with pre-existing coronary artery disease). Atrial fibrillation/flutter and hypertension occurred in 2 (5%) pts each and did not lead to treatment discontinuation. No pts required dose reductions, or experienced major or serious hemorrhage. Image: Summary/Conclusion: The safety profile of zanubrutinib observed in older pts was consistent with previously published results (Clin Cancer Res . 2021;27(23):6323-6332). Zanubrutinib was well tolerated and effective, as demonstrated by a high response rate and durable disease control in older pts with R/R MZL.

Bovine Lactoferrin Induces Cell Death in Human Prostate Cancer Cells.

Bovine lactoferrin (bLf) is a multifunctional protein widely associated with anticancer activity. Prostate cancer is the second most frequent type of cancer worldwide. This study was aimed at evaluating the influence of bLf on cell viability, cell cycle progression, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and rate of apoptosis in the human prostate cancer cell line (DU-145). MTT assay and trypan blue exclusion were used to analyze cell viability. Morphological changes were analyzed through optical microscopy after 24 h and 48 h of bLf treatment. FITC-bLf internalization and cellular damage were observed within 24 h by confocal fluorescence microscopy. Cell cycle analyses were performed by flow cytometry and propidium iodide. For caspases 3/7 activation and reactive oxygen species production evaluation, cells were live-imaged using the high-throughput system Operetta. The cell viability assays demonstrated that bLf induces cell death and morphological changes after 24 h and 48 h of treatment compared to control on DU-145 cells. The bLf internalization was detected in DU-145 cells, G1-phase arrest of the cell cycle, caspase 3/7 activation, and increased oxidative stress on bLf-treated cells. Our data support that bLf has an important anticancer activity, thus offering new perspectives in preventing and treating prostate cancer.

COVID-19 Vaccine Brand Sentiment on Twitter

Online social networks (OSNs) are today a primary way to spread and consume information. Maybe the most important aspect of OSNs, both an opportunity and a weakness, is that OSNs are open: users can post anything, which leads to proliferation of information with various degrees of truthfulness. This impacts the volume of information, trending topics, and sentiment of users vis-à-vis of these topics. Our goal in this work is to analyze the spreading of information in Twitter, volume-wise and sentiment-wise (positive or negative), for COVID-19 vaccines overall, and for some specific brands. Our analysis was carried on over five 10-day time-windows in 2021, starting from February and until October. We also looked at what were the most popular tweets we collected during our predefined time-windows, and, by looking at the retweets counts, we observed how they trended over time. © 2022 ACM.

Cultural reimaginings of New Zealand and Australia

In 2017, the University of Opole and Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań co-hosted an international conference entitled Redefining Australia and New Zealand: Historical Heritage and Contemporary Perspectives in Language, Culture, and Literature. This was the first of the planned series of Redefining Australia and New Zealand (RANZ) conferences aimed to promote Australian and New Zealand Studies in Poland, as well as to endorse Polish studies of Australia and New Zealand on an international scale. The 2nd RANZ International Conference, Redefining Australia and New Zealand: Changes, Innovations, Reversals, hosted by the University of Warsaw, foregrounded the prevalent and emergent thematic trends in Australian and New Zealand Studies. This included a comprehensive range of theoretical frameworks encompassing historical, traumaoriented, eco-critical, Indigenous, multicultural and gendered perspectives on Australian and New Zealand literature, film and arts, as analysed by both Polish and international scholars. The COVID-19 pandemic forced conference organizers to go online, with the 3rd RANZ International Conference entitled Insularity, Solidarity, Disunity. This was organized by the Adam Mickiewicz University of Poznań, and it resulted in further fruitful transnational discussions on the history and culture of Australia and New Zealand. © 2022. Intellect Ltd Editorial. English language. https://doi.org/10.1386/nzps_00088_2

A NOVEL ONE-DAY VIRTUAL-LIVE HYBRID TRAINING COURSE IS FEASIBLE AND HAS A POSITIVE IMPACT ON COLONOSCOPY KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS OF EXPERIENCED ENDOSCOPY TRAINEES

DDW 2022 Author Disclosures: Louise Krott: NO financial relationship with a commercial interest ;Lynn Debels: NO financial relationship with a commercial interest ;Christophe Schoonjans: NO financial relationship with a commercial interest ;John Anderson: NO financial relationship with a commercial interest ;Roland Valori: NO financial relationship with a commercial interest ;Lobke Desomer: NO financial relationship with a commercial interest ;David Tate: NO financial relationship with a commercial interest Introduction: Colonoscopy is a complex practical skill, which is highly operator dependent. The consistent attainment of key performance indicators (KPIs) by a colonoscopist depends primarily upon training. Local factors, outside of a trainee’s control, may mean their training is unstructured and contingent upon the observed practice of a small number of trainers. This is particularly true given current travel restrictions imposed by the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. We sought to demonstrate the feasibility and impact of a one-day virtual-live colonoscopy-training course with remote, experienced trainers. Aims and methods: 6 endoscopy trainees [Belgium] underwent a one-day course (the intervention) involving training by consciously competent colonoscopists who were physically remote [United Kingdom]. The intervention comprised 5 interactive sessions on colonoscopy theory combined with 6 live sessions, where trainees performed colonoscopy in their local endoscopy unit, receiving real-time instruction and performance enhancing feedback via a tele-conference monitor situated next to the endoscopic image. Trainers and the five trainees not doing the colonoscopy could follow the procedure in real-time including room view, view of the magnetic colonoscope imager and the endoscopic image. Colonoscopy KPIs were assessed on trainee-performed colonoscopies [unsedated or midazolam/fentanyl sedation] for 3 weeks prior and 4 weeks after the training. Qualitative trainee and trainer feedback regarding the course was obtained. Results: 6 experienced colonoscopy trainees (median 26 months prior-training) underwent the intervention. Trainees performed 60 colonoscopies, (33 pre-, and 27 post-training). Favorable trends in cecal intubation rate (CIR) and adenoma detection rate (ADR) were observed, (91% vs 96% (P=0.386), and 39% vs 63% (P=0.069) respectively). A trend to improved endoscopist-reported comfort scores ([Gloucester Comfort Score (GCS)>3] 18% vs 11% (P=0.375)) and nurse-reported comfort scores (GCS>3 22% vs 8% (P=0.189)) was observed (Table 1). Course participants and trainers alike reported globally favourable qualitative experiences with the expert trainers finding the format feasible and specifically mentioning they could focus on the training without distraction due to reduced cognitive load. Conclusions: Standardization of colonoscopy training is critical to the consistent attainment of KPIs by practicing colonoscopists and improving patient experience. This is the first demonstration of delivering live colonoscopy training remotely: an approach acceptable to trainees and trainers that has a positive impact on KPIs. Pending larger studies focused on efficacy, this approach has the potential to create a standardized curriculum for colonoscopy training, removing the barriers of travel, and allowing expanded exposure to consciously-competent expert trainers. [Formula presented]