Investigating the impact of a national educational program on patient adherence to osteoporosis medications.

Unlabelled: Interrupted time series analysis (ITS) measured improvements in osteoporosis medication adherence after a national education program. The proportion of patients who were adherent to treatment increased following the program.

Introduction: The NPS MedicineWise osteoporosis program, implemented nationally in 2015-2016 in Australia, sought to improve adherence to osteoporosis medicines using evidence-based multifaceted large-scale educational interventions targeting general practitioners.

The claustrum's proposed role in consciousness is supported by the effect and target localization of Salvia divinorum.

THIS ARTICLE BRINGS TOGETHER THREE FINDINGS AND IDEAS RELEVANT FOR THE UNDERSTANDING OF HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS: (I) Crick's and Koch's theory that the claustrum is a "conductor of consciousness" crucial for subjective conscious experience. (II) Subjective reports of the consciousness-altering effects the plant Salvia divinorum, whose primary active ingredient is salvinorin A, a κ-opioid receptor agonist. (III) The high density of κ-opioid receptors in the claustrum.

Health effects of the September 2009 dust storm in Sydney, Australia: did emergency department visits and hospital admissions increase?

Background: During September 2009, a large dust storm was experienced in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Extremely high levels of particulate matter were recorded, with daily average levels of coarse matter (<10 μm) peaking over 11,000 μg/m3 and fine (<2.5 μm) over 1,600 μg/m3.

Relationship between the population incidence of pertussis in children in New South Wales, Australia and emergency department visits with cough: a time series analysis.

Background: Little is known about the potential of syndromic surveillance to provide early warning of pertussis outbreaks. We conducted a time series analysis to assess whether an emergency department (ED) cough syndrome would respond to changes in the incidence of pertussis in children aged under 10 years in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, and to evaluate the timing of any association. A further aim was to assess the lag between the onset of pertussis symptoms and case notification in the infectious diseases surveillance system in NSW.

Sample size calculations for the design of health studies: a review of key concepts for non-statisticians.

Sample size calculations before conducting a health study or clinical trial are important to provide evidence that the proposed study is capable of detecting real associations between study factors. This review aims to clarify statistical issues related to the calculation of sample sizes and is illustrated with an example of a recent study design to improve health outcomes related to water and sewage in NSW Aboriginal communities. The effect of power, significance level and effect size on sample size are discussed.

Associations between the use of metformin, sulphonylureas, or diet alone and cardiovascular outcomes in 6005 people with type 2 diabetes in the FIELD study.

Aims: We aimed to determine the associations between metformin or sulphonylurea monotherapy at study entry into the FIELD diabetes trial and (1) metabolic risk factors, (2) risk of a first major cardiovascular (CVD) outcome, and (3) the effect of each therapy on the risk-modifying effect of fenofibrate.

Methods: Patients receiving metformin or sulphonylureas without insulin therapy were compared for the relative risk of CVD outcomes, adjusted for differences in baseline characteristics likely to affect risk.

Results: Metformin-treated patients were likely to be younger, female, or obese.

Simulating invasion with cellular automata: connecting cell-scale and population-scale properties.

Interpretive and predictive tools are needed to assist in the understanding of cell invasion processes. Cell invasion involves cell motility and proliferation, and is central to many biological processes including developmental morphogenesis and tumor invasion. Experimental data can be collected across a wide range of scales, from the population scale to the individual cell scale.