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Background/Objectives Environmental sustainability is essential for food systems to support population health, yet is under-emphasized in diet-related population health efforts in the United States (U.S.). Corporate food retailers authorized for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are a meaningful sample for an exploration of environmental sustainability commitments, given their geographic spread and reach across socioeconomic segments of the population. There is no documentation of the landscape of environmental sustainability commitments by corporate SNAP-authorized food retailers to inform integrated population health and environmental sustainability research, practice, and policy. The purpose of this study was to identify the public commitments made by SNAP- authorized food retailers related to environmental sustainability. Methods Corporate SNAP-authorized food retailers were defined as prominent and considered for study inclusion by the number of physical locations nationwide. Supermarkets and groceries were classified as traditional retailers, and all other store formats were non-traditional. Corporate commitments were collected on public facing websites between June- September 2024 as data sources for a content analysis. Commitments to environmental sustainability were categorized into nine relevant United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs). Results A total of 48 retailers ( n  = 13 traditional and n  = 35 non-traditional) were included, and 31 retailers had commitments included in the content analysis. The most retailers ( n  = 31) had commitments related to SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production, while few food retailers ( n  = 7) had commitments related to SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being. Between 16 and 28 food retailers committed towards five relevant SDGs including: Zero Hunger, Clean Water, Affordable Energy, Climate Action, Life Below Water, Life on Land, and Strong Institutions. Conclusions Food retailers committed to a range of environmental sustainability topics, representing opportunities for partnerships, future research, and policy action. Developing partnerships for topics of interest to food retailers, like those within SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production, may be viable opportunities for public health practitioners.

Background The low diagnosis rate and poor access to clinical care among people with CHB is a major barrier to reducing HBV-related morbidity and mortality in Australia. One explanation for this is a lack of disease-specific knowledge among people living with CHB. Health literacy has been shown to be important for maximising engagement with medical care and adherence to recommended management. The ‘teach-back’ communication strategy has been shown to improve patient understanding in other clinical areas. This study aims to assess disease-specific knowledge; and evaluate the efficacy of the teach-back strategy for improving HBV knowledge, compared to a standard medical consultation. Method A randomized pilot study was conducted between February and June 2017. Participants were recruited from the liver clinic at an inner-city tertiary hospital. English-speaking patients aged ≥18 years and diagnosed with CHB were eligible for the study. Participants were randomised to a control group (medical specialist appointment) and intervention group (teach-back). Knowledge was assessed at baseline, immediately post-intervention and at one month using a validated questionnaire. Participants in the intervention group received a one-on-one teach-back session about CHB. The main outcome measure was a combined knowledge score of the domains assessed – transmission, natural history, epidemiology and prevention and clinical management. Results Seventy participants were recruited (control n  = 32, teach-back n  = 38). Mean baseline knowledge score was 19.1 out of 23 with 55 (79%) participants scoring ≥17.3 (defined as high knowledge) (7). Sub-analysis of CHB knowledge domains identified focal deficits concerning transmission and whether HBV is curable. Knowledge scores were found to be positively associated with English proficiency and antiviral treatment experience ( p  < 0.05). Teach-back was associated with a significant increase in CHB knowledge at early recall (22.5 vs 18.7, p  < 0.001) and at 1-month follow-up (21.9 vs 18.7, p < 0.001); there was no improvement in CHB knowledge associated with standard clinical consultant (early recall: 19.6 vs 19.4, p  = 0.49, one-month follow-up: 19.5 vs 19.4, p  = 0.94). Conclusion In a tertiary hospital liver clinic population, baseline knowledge about CHB was good, but there were focal deficits concerning transmission and potential for cure. Teach-back was associated with improvement in CHB knowledge and it is a simple communication tool suitable for incorporation into a standard medical consultation.

Background Pregnant women are a priority group for hepatitis B testing. Guideline-based care during antenatal and post-partum periods aims to prevent mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B virus and lower the risk of liver complications in mothers. This qualitative study explored knowledge of hepatitis B and experiences of hepatitis B related care among pregnant women and mothers. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with thirteen women with hepatitis B who were attending antenatal or post-partum hepatitis B care. The interviews were thematically analysed to assess knowledge and understanding of hepatitis B. Participants were recruited from specialist clinics in metropolitan Melbourne between August 2019 and May 2020. Results Four major themes were identified from interviews: (1) knowledge and understanding of hepatitis B, (2) treatment pathways, (3) accessing hepatitis B related care, and (4) disclosing status to friends. Most participants displayed an understanding of hepatitis B transmission, including mother to child transmission. The main motivator of post-partum attendance was reassurance gained concerning their child’s health. Sources of hepatitis B information included doctors, online information and family. Participants identified parents and siblings as sources of support and reported an unwillingness to disclose hepatitis B status to friends. Conclusions Women attending antenatal or post-partum care reported having overall positive experiences, particularly regarding reassurance of their child’s health, but displayed misconceptions around horizontal transmission. Knowledge gained from these results can contribute to the development of targeted models of care for pregnant women and mothers with young children to ensure their successful linkage to care.

Background In Australia, Chinese migrants are among the populations most affected by hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection but often experience late diagnosis or access to clinical care. This study aims to explore approaches to increase HBV testing in Australia’s Chinese community and inform evaluation planning, specifically to i) assess the feasibility and acceptability of HBV educational programs, and ii) compare HBV testing uptake in people receiving a tailored education resource focussing on liver cancer prevention compared with a standard HBV education package. Methods This is a pre-post mixed-methods pilot and feasibility study. People of Chinese ethnicity and unsure of their HBV infection or immunity status were recruited from ten community sites in Melbourne, Australia in 2019–2020. Participants were randomised to receive an education package (comprised of a leaflet and in-person one-on-one educational session) with a focus on either 1) standard HBV-related information, or 2) liver cancer prevention. Participants completed a baseline questionnaire prior to receiving the intervention and were followed up at 6 months’ time for a questionnaire and an opt-in semi-structured interview. Primary study outcomes included feasibility of study procedures, measured by recruitment, participation, and retention rates; acceptability of the education program assessed by acceptability scores; and HBV testing uptake rate in each arm. Secondary outcomes include HBV-related knowledge change, assessed by pre-post comparison; and factors affecting participants’ testing behaviour analysed using qualitative data. Results Fifty-four participants received an education package; baseline and follow-up data from 33 (61%) were available. The study procedures of recruitment and retention were feasible; the acceptability of the education program was moderate with improved HBV-related knowledge observed. Four participants self-reported being tested: one (1/15, 7%) in the standard HBV information group and three (3/18, 17%) in the liver cancer prevention information group. Factors identified as affecting testing included perceived relevance and seriousness of HBV, healthcare access and costs of testing, and perceptions of the role of primary care providers in HBV-related care. Conclusion A tailored education program targeting ethnic Chinese in Australia was feasible with moderate acceptability. A larger study is required to determine if a liver cancer prevention message would improve HBV testing uptake in Chinese community than standard HBV education message. Supports from healthcare providers, community-based testing programs, and public health education programs are likely needed to motivate diagnostic testing among Chinese people at risk of HBV infection.

Intraoperative sensory cortical mapping is a reliable and safe method for the functional localization of the central sulcus (CS). It is utilized during neurosurgical procedures performed near eloquent brain tissue. It helps in identifying the somatosensory cortex and CS, hence preventing any postoperative neurological deficits. When executed properly, this method can identify the somatosensory cortex for both the upper and lower limbs by locating the CS. This technical report outlines the benefits of cortical sensory mapping (CsM) and detailed methodology. With the help of a properly trained intraoperative neuromonitoring staff who can accurately interpret the signals being monitored, CsM can help in injury prevention during brain surgeries.

There is a growing global body of literature examining the experiences of adolescents in sport-based youth development programs. Conversely, the advantages of such programming are often contingent on intention, design, population, and environment. One often overlooked setting that serves a vital population benefiting from the integration of sport-based youth development programs, is juvenile justice facilities. Beyond adolescents, much literature remains to be explored in penal settings, particularly, the inception of sport-based prison programs that utilize an evidence-based curriculum and explicit approach to foster life skill development. Often overlooked are staff, administrators, and youth perspectives of sport-based youth development programs in juvenile justice facilities which are vital to ensure program sustainability. This three-study dissertation sought to explore an overview of the burgeoning field of sport-based development within juvenile justice and how it has been applied within the highly unique, hard-to-access setting of youth prisons. In a similar vein, this paper will provide commentary on one high quality SBYD prison program, Project Flex, a sport-based prison program in three Midwest-based facilities, including stakeholders’ perceptions and youths lived experiences in the SBYD program.

Over the past few decades, the Cambro-Ordovician-aged Deadwood Formation in the Williston Basin was studied by many researchers for oil and gas exploration and alternative energy production. The previous Deadwood Formation published literature documents surface and subsurface research, with the only outcrops exposed in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Despite decades of petroleum exploration and development in the Deadwood Formation, research shows that the conventional hydrocarbon reservoirs of the Deadwood Formation are not as lucrative as previously understood. Consequently, the current research focuses on these basal siliciclastic sands for emerging renewable energy sectors such as carbon capture sequestration (CCS) and sedimentary geothermal energy resources.Geothermal exploration in the Deadwood Formation is already underway in the northern part of the Williston Basin in southern Saskatchewan by DEEP Earth Energy Production Corporation and various other researchers. This study focuses on determining the geographic extent of geothermal energy prospectivity in western North Dakota. This project combines traditional hydrocarbon reservoir characterization techniques such as well-log based petrophysical analysis, core descriptions, XRF methods, and geothermal exploration methods such as isotherm mapping. The key outcome of this detailed reservoir characterization research will be to improve the understanding of the geothermal energy potential of the Deadwood Formation within the specific study area, along with identifying key reservoirs for various geothermal energy development. Achieving these goals will help to advance and encourage geothermal energy development in basal siliciclastic reservoirs within sedimentary basins that lack significant heat flow from active magmatism.

Globally, approximately 257 million people are living with chronic hepatitis B. Many people are undiagnosed, have low health literacy and experience barriers to engaging in care. In Australia, there is a lack of culturally and linguistically appropriate resources to support people living with the infection to increase their understanding and build their capacity. This innovative practice paper describes the process of developing a culturally and linguistically appropriate resource using the principles of participatory action research. The hepatitis B story was designed to facilitate discussion between healthcare workers and consumers, and to increase the knowledge and understanding of both. Consultation with consumers and a broad range of health services contributed to the quality of and demand for the resource. A case study tells the story of ‘Thuy’. This case study demonstrates the practical application of the resource and describes the positive affect its use had on Thuy and her family. Increasing our understandings of how people experience chronic hepatitis B is crucial to improving health information, testing and engagement in care. Producing health information with consumers is a worthwhile process to increase consumers’ health literacy and improve service delivery.

The field of sport for development (SfD) has built a strong body of knowledge on the potential of sport to address broad health and social issues, opportunities, and injustices. Within this field, there is an expanding cross-disciplinary area of inquiry focused on sport within correctional settings. Research topics have included rights and access to sport, program development, and delivery, the role that sport can play in individual development and support (e.g., rehabilitation, health), facility management and safety, and societal-level implications (e.g., recidivism). These topics have been explored through diverse disciplinary perspectives ranging from sport management to criminology and sociology. Our scoping review adopts a broad approach to map the current academic literature in sport and corrections and to answer the following review questions: (a) what is being studied in sport and correctional settings, (b) how is it being studied, (c) what conclusions can be drawn, and (d) where is the evidence being disseminated? Findings from the scoping review provide an opportunity to understand the current status of inquiry and have implications to inform a unified, transdisciplinary SfD research agenda moving forward.

The solar thermochemical process of splitting CO2, known as CDS, is studied here using a redox cycle involving GeO2/GeO. The required thermodynamic data for a second-law-efficiency analysis is obtained from the HSC Chemistry software. The goal of this study is to investigate how different parameters, such as the operating temperatures and molar flow rate of the inert sweep gas, as well as the inclusion of separation units, heat exchangers, heaters, and coolers, can affect the solar-to-fuel energy conversion efficiency of the GeO2/GeO cycle. All calculations assume a constant gas-to-gas heat recovery effectiveness of 0.5. The analysis shows that the solar-to-fuel energy conversion efficiency is lower at a thermal reduction temperature of 1600 K (11.9%) compared to 2000 K. This is because high energy duties are required for heater-2, heater-3, and separator-1 due to the need for a higher inert gas flow rate. After conducting a comparative analysis of the three CDS cycles, it can be inferred that the GeO2/GeO cycle exhibits a significantly higher solar-to-fuel energy conversion efficiency in comparison to the ZnO/Zn and SnO2/SnO cycles across all thermal reduction temperatures. According to the comparison, it is confirmed that the GeO2/GeO CDS cycle can achieve a reasonably high solar-to-fuel energy conversion efficiency of 10% at less than 1600 K. On the other hand, ZnO/Zn and SnO2/SnO CDS cycles require a thermal reduction temperature of more than 1850 K to achieve a solar-to-fuel energy conversion efficiency of 10%.