Background The gender gap among authors publishing research in journals is narrowing in general medicine and various medical and surgical subspecialties. However, little is known regarding the gender gap among authors publishing research in orthopaedic journals. Questions/purposes (1) What is the proportion of women first and last authors of original research articles in three high-impact orthopaedic journals from 2006 to 2017? (2) What is the proportion women first authors of original research by orthopaedic subspecialty from 2006 to 2017? Methods A sample of original research publications from the even numbered months of issues of Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research ® (CORR®), the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, American volume (JBJS), and the American Journal of Sports Medicine (AJSM) were examined from 2006 to 2017. These journals were selected because of their clinical relevance, target audience, and relatively high impact factors. Over the studied period, a single author extracted and reviewed pertinent data, including the gender of the first and last authors and the primary subspecialty of the research article. The senior author refereed disputes regarding the primary subspecialty of each included article. The proportion of women first and last authors in each journal was compared between 2006 to 2017 using chi-square analysis. The proportion of women first authors according to orthopaedic subspecialty in which an article primarily focused its study was also compared between 2006 to 2017 using chi-square analysis. Results Data were collected from 6292 articles, 13% (800) of which were first-authored by women and 10% (604) of which were last-authored by women. From 2006 to 2017, the overall percentage of women first authors in the examined journals increased (from 11% in 2006 to 17% in 2017; odds ratio 1.6563 [95 % CI 1.4945 to 1.8356]; p < 0.001). Overall across the period studied, the percentage of women first authors in JBJS was 14% while 12% of first authors in CORR and AJSM were women. Regarding subspecialty, the percentage of women first authorship ranged from 9% in the shoulder subspecialty to 21% in pediatric orthopaedics across all three journals. Conclusions There has been an increase in the percentage of women first authors in articles published in three high-impact orthopaedic journals from 2006 to 2017. This observed increase is encouraging in terms of promoting gender diversity in orthopaedics and may be reflective of a modest increase in the number of women entering the orthopaedic workforce. Clinical Relevance Between 2006 and 2017, the overall number of women first authors in CORR, JBJS, and AJSM modestly increased. This may suggest a nascent narrowing of the gender gap in orthopaedics. Although this is a welcome finding in terms of promoting and encouraging gender diversity in this man-dominated field, the overall percentage of women authorship remains modest, at best. Future investigations should examine whether the modest increase in women first authorship over time found in this study translates into an increased percentage of senior/last authorship in the future, as this may have implications for women orthopaedic workforce retention.

Background Australia possesses a highly multicultural demographic, and thus dental practitioners are likely to regularly encounter culturally and linguistically diverse individuals. It is important for dental practitioners to be culturally competent, however, cultural competency education is highly variable in the curricula of dentistry and oral health courses in Australia, and research is largely limited to dentistry students. This study aims to investigate and compare perceived attitudes, beliefs and practices of cultural competence amongst first and final year Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) and Bachelor of Oral Health (BOH) students at the University of Melbourne Dental School. Methods Following ethics approval, anonymous questionnaires were completed by 213 participants. The questionnaire was adapted from Schwarz’s Healthcare Provider Cultural Competence Instrument and consisted of five scales. Data was analysed using SPSS V 24.0 software. Results A total of 213 students participated in this study (response rate = 88%) The majority of participants were female (n = 114, 53.5%) and the mean age of 23.5 years (range 18–40). The majority of participants were Australian born (n = 110) with 74.6% (n = 159) first generation Australians. Participants who identified as Australian represented 35.7% (n = 76) with 66.1% (n = 141) identified as partly Australian. Multivariate analysis indicated that, after controlling for other independent variables in the model, those who had the highest cultural competence score were female, who self-identify as “Australian”, who were in the final year. Furthermore, those who were in the final BOH year scored significatively higher than final year DDS students. Conclusion The findings of this study suggest that there is a significant difference in students self-reported cultural competence at different stages of their education. This may be attributed to differences in cultural competence education, scope of practice and the type of patient encounters and role modelling that students may experience. Future research should involve follow up to create longitudinal data, as well as research at other dental schools in Australia and overseas.

Objective. Doctor of pharmacy programs are encouraged to incorporate research training in their curricula, but literature is lacking describing health system student research support. The purpose of this study is to evaluate a process supporting fourth-year student pharmacist research in a health system affiliated with a school of pharmacy. Methods. In 2017, clinical non-tenure track faculty transitioned from facilitating a fourth-year research elective to implementing a new student research process which matches students to research preceptors at the beginning of the academic year and provides training and resources throughout the year. This institutional review board approved pre-post study evaluated student pharmacist research participation, dissemination, and position placement at the time of graduation, comparing 3 years before to 3 years after new process implementation. Results. Thirty-three fourth-year students assigned to the health system graduated during 2015-2017, and 31 graduated 2018-2020. The percent of students who completed research projects increased significantly (48.5% vs 87.1%, p=.0013), the number of projects increased significantly (18 vs 35, p=.0047), presentations increased significantly (29 vs 63, p=.0001), and publications increased numerically (9 vs 16, p=.0699). Notably, the percent of research students who pursued postgraduate training increased (68.8% vs 96.3%), as well as the rate of placement into training programs (81.8% vs 92.3%); for non-research students, the percent who pursued training also increased (17.6% vs 75%), but the rate of placement remained the same (66.7%). Conclusion.The new fourth-year pharmacy student research process supported increased research productivity.

Trichomoniasis in humans, caused by the protozoal parasite Trichomonas vaginalis, is the most common non-viral sexually transmitted disease, while Tritrichomonas foetus causes trichomonosis, an infection of the gastrointestinal tract and diarrhea in farm animals and domesticated cats. As part of an effort to determine the inhibitory effects of plant-based extracts and pure compounds, seven commercially available cherry tomato varieties were hand-peeled, freeze-dried, and pounded into powders. The anti-trichomonad inhibitory activities of these peel powders at 0.02% concentration determined using an in vitro cell assay varied widely from 0.0% to 66.7% against T. vaginalis G3 (human); from 0.9% to 66.8% for T. foetus C1 (feline); and from 0.0% to 81.3% for T. foetus D1 (bovine). The organic Solanum lycopersicum var. cerasiforme (D) peels were the most active against all three trichomonads, inhibiting 52.2% (G3), 66.8% (C1), and 81.3% (D1). Additional assays showed that none of the powders inhibited the growth of foodborne pathogenic bacteria, pathogenic fungi, or non-pathogenic lactobacilli. Tomato peel and pomace powders with high content of described biologically active compounds could serve as functional food and feed additives that might help overcome adverse effects of wide-ranging diseases and complement the treatment of parasites with the anti-trichomonad drug metronidazole.

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Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the fourth leading cause of cancer related death in western countries. The successful treatment of PDAC remains limited. We investigated the effect of Fraction B, which is a fraction purified from catfish (Arius bilineatus, Val.) skin secretions containing proteins and lipids, on PDAC biology both in-vivo and in-vitro. We report here that Fraction B potently suppressed the proliferation of both human and mouse pancreatic cancer cells in vitro and significantly reduced the growth of their relevant xenograft (Panc02) and orthotopic tumors (human Panc-1 cells) (p &lt; 0.05). The Reverse Phase Protein Array (RPPA) data obtained from the tumor tissues derived from orthotopic tumor bearing mice treated with Fraction B showed that Fraction B altered the cancer stem cells related pathways and regulated glucose and glutamine metabolism. The down-regulation of the cancer stem cell marker CD44 expression was further confirmed in Panc-1 cells. CBC and blood chemistry analyses showed no systemic toxicity in Fraction B treated Panc-1 tumor bearing mice compared to that of control group. Our data support that Fraction B is a potential candidate for PDAC treatment.

Background: Australia possesses a highly multicultural demographic, and thus dental practitioners are likely to encounter culturally and linguistically diverse individuals regularly. It is important for dental practitioners to be culturally competent, however, cultural competency education is highly variable in the curricula of dentistry and oral health courses in Australia, and research is largely limited to dentistry students. This study aims to investigate and compare perceived attitudes, beliefs and practices of cultural competence amongst first and final year Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) and Bachelor of Oral Health (BOH) students at the University of Melbourne Dental School.Methods: Following ethics approval, anonymous questionnaires were completed by 213 participants. The questionnaire was adapted from Schwarz’s Healthcare Provider Cultural Competence Instrument (HPCCI) and consisted of five scales. Data was analysed using SPSS V 24.0 software.Results: A total of 213 students participated in this study (response rate = 88%) The majority of participants were female (n=114, 53.5%) and the mean age of 23.5 years (range 18 - 40). The majority of participants were Australian born (n=110) with 74.6 percent (n=159) first generation Australians. Participants who identified as Australian represented 35.7 percent (n=76) with 66.1 percent (n=141) identified as partly Australian. Multivariate analysis indicated that, after controlling for other independent variables in the model, those who had the highest cultural competence score were female, who self-identify as “Australian”, who were in the final year. Furthermore, those who were in the final BOH year scored significatively higher than final year DDS students.Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that there is a significant difference in students self-reported cultural competence at different stages of their education. This may be attributed to differences in cultural competence education, scope of practice and the type of patient encounters that students may experience. Future research should involve follow up to create longitudinal data, as well as research at other dental schools in Australia and overseas.

Introduction Midshaft clavicle fractures are a common problem encountered by orthopedic surgeons. There remains debate between non-surgical and surgical treatment options for certain midshaft clavicle fractures. Due to the lack of a clear treatment strategy, this presents an opportunity for shared decision-making, which has been shown to be important to patients.