A Case of Cribriform-Morular Thyroid Carcinoma Presenting Without Thyroid Nodule.

Cribriform-morular thyroid carcinoma is a rare type of thyroid cancer. It has a strong association with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP), a hereditary genetic disorder that predisposes individuals to the development of numerous polyps in the colon and rectum. We describe the case of a young female patient who presented with an enlarging goiter, notably without detectable thyroid nodules or masses on ultrasound, who after total thyroidectomy was found to have cribriform-morular thyroid carcinoma.

Feasibility of Integrating MEditatioN inTO heaRt Disease (the MENTOR Study): A Phase II Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Comorbid depression and/or anxiety symptoms occur in 25% of patients attending cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programs and are associated with poorer prognosis. There is a need to evaluate psychological interventions, including meditation, that have potential to improve psychological health in CR programs.

Aims: The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility and acceptability of integrating a meditation intervention into an existing Australian CR program for the reduction of depression and anxiety symptoms.

Lidocaine for Neuropathic Cancer Pain (LiCPain): study protocol for a mixed-methods pilot study.

Introduction: Many patients experience unrelieved neuropathic cancer-related pain. Most current analgesic therapies have psychoactive side effects, lack efficacy data for this indication and have potential medication-related harms. The local anaesthetic lidocaine (lignocaine) has the potential to help manage neuropathic cancer-related pain when administered as an extended, continuous subcutaneous infusion.

Health professionals' perspectives of integrating meditation into cardiovascular care: A descriptive qualitative study.

Preliminary research suggests that meditation may provide benefits in psychological health and well-being in people with cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, little is known about health professionals' perceptions of the barriers and facilitators to integrating meditation into CVD. A descriptive qualitative study design with semi-structured interviews was used to explore the acceptability of integrating meditation into outpatient CVD programs and the organisational factors that may affect its integration.

Improving the methods for patient-reported experience measures in palliative care: findings from a cognitive interview study.

Background: Patient-reported experience measures (PREMs) are questionnaires that ask patients about their experience of healthcare to inform service improvements. It is unclear how palliative care patients manage the cognitive demands of completing PREMs, or how this can best be supported. This study aimed to explore cognitive operations among people with palliative care needs when completing a PREM focused on the care domains known to be important to this patient population in order to inform future administration of questionnaires for this purpose.

Thyroid Storm in a Patient With COVID-19.

Objective: A thyroid storm is a severe exacerbation of thyrotoxicosis that can cause significant morbidity and mortality. The emergence of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) that originated in Wuhan, China, has become a worldwide pandemic. We present the first documented case of thyroid storm (as defined by the Burch-Wartofsky criteria) in a patient with COVID-19.

The Role of Lifestyle and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Dropout From an Australian Cardiac Rehabilitation Program. A Longitudinal Cohort Study.

Background: Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programs reduce the risk of further cardiac events and improve the ability of people living with cardiovascular disease to manage their symptoms. However, many people who experience a cardiac event do not attend or fail to complete their CR program. Little is known about the characteristics of people who drop out compared to those who complete CR.

Patients', caregivers' and clinicians' understandings of an advance care planning process: the example of ambulance palliative care plans.

Background: With the introduction of New South Wales Ambulance Authorised Palliative Care Plans within a metropolitan palliative care service, the perspectives of patients, caregivers and clinicians and their understandings of the processes involved in completing the Plans were investigated.

Methods: This qualitative sub-study used semi-structured interviews. Nineteen patients and caregivers who had received an Ambulance Palliative Care Plan and 10 clinicians who completed the Plans were interviewed (n=4) or participated in a focus group (n=6).

Optimal Gender-Specific Strategies for the Secondary Prevention of Heart Disease in Women: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW.

Background: There is a paucity of evidence on gender-specific, individually tailored secondary prevention (cardiac rehabilitation [CR]) services for women with heart disease. Women participate less in CR programs, thus increasing their risk of further cardiac events. This review aims to (1) determine the effectiveness of gender-specific interventions specifically designed for women with heart disease, delivered in outpatient CR settings; and (2) classify key elements of effective CR strategies/models for women with heart disease.

Improving evidence based practice in postgraduate nursing programs: A systematic review: Bridging the evidence practice gap (BRIDGE project).

Background: The nursing profession has a significant evidence to practice gap in an increasingly complex and dynamic health care environment.

Objective(s): To evaluate effectiveness of teaching and learning strategies related to a capstone project within a Masters of Nursing program that encourage the development of evidence based practice capabilities.

Design: Systematic review that conforms to the PRISMA statement.

Is energy healing an effective non-pharmacological therapy for improving symptom management of chronic illnesses? A systematic review.

Background: Emerging evidence suggests that some people living with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have integrated energy healing into their self-management strategy, however little is known about its efficacy.

Purpose: To identify energy healing interventions that impacted positively on the symptom management outcomes for patients living in the community with various NCDs.

Methods: A systematic review of energy healing interventions for the management of non-communicable disease related symptoms, conducted between 01 January 2000 and 21 April 2015, published in an English peer-reviewed journal.

Prevalence and characteristics of Australian women who use prayer or spiritual healing: A nationally representative cross-sectional study.

Objectives: To determine the prevalence and characteristics of users of prayer or spiritual healing among Australian women aged 31-36 years.

Design And Setting: This cross-sectional study was conducted as a part of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (ALSWH). The sample used in the current sub-study were participants from the 'young' cohort (1973-78) (n=8180) aged between 31 and 36 years.

Prayer or spiritual healing as adjuncts to conventional care: a cross sectional analysis of prevalence and characteristics of use among women.

Objectives: To determine the prevalence and characteristics of users of prayer or spiritual healing among women.

Design And Setting: This cross sectional study was conducted as a part of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (ALSWH), a 20-year study that examines various factors affecting women's health and well-being.

Participants: The sample used in the current study were women from the 1946-1951 cohort (n=9965) (59-64 years) who were surveyed in 2010.

1,2,5-Oxadiazole analogues of leflunomide and related compounds.

A new series of compounds, structurally related to leflunomide, based on the 1,2,5-oxadiazole ring system (furazan) has been synthesised, and their ability to undergo ring scission at physiological pH to afford the corresponding cyano-oximes has been analyzed. The latter, together with the respective nitro derivatives obtained by oxidation, have been characterised as weak inhibitors of rat dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH).

Novel N1-substituted 1,3-dihydro-2H-benzimidazol-2-ones as potent non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors.

Several N(1)-substituted 1,3-dihydro-2H-benzimidazol-2-ones were synthesized and evaluated as anti-HIV agents. Some of them proved to be highly effective in inhibiting HIV-1 replication at nanomolar concentration as potent non-nucleoside HIV-1 RT inhibitors (NNRTIs) with low cytotoxicity. SAR studies highlighted that the nature of the substituents at N(1) and on the benzene ring of benzimidazolone moiety significantly influenced the anti-HIV activity of this class of potent antiretroviral agents.

New 4-[(1-benzyl-1H-indol-3-yl)carbonyl]-3-hydroxyfuran-2(5H)-ones, beta-diketo acid analogs as HIV-1 integrase inhibitors.

In addition to our recent report on a series of rationally designed benzylindolyldiketo acids acting as potent HIV-1 integrase strand transfer inhibitors, we disclose the results obtained with novel compounds chemically modified on the diketo acid moiety in order to investigate its influence on the biological activity and cytotoxicity. The activity of designed and synthesized 4-[(1-benzyl-1H-indol-3-yl)carbonyl]-3-hydroxyfuran-2(5H)-one derivatives lies in the micromolar range with regard to HIV IN enzymatic activity. The microwave-assisted synthesis was employed in some steps of the chemical procedures.

Discovery of novel benzimidazolones as potent non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors active against wild-type and mutant HIV-1 strains.

Molecular modeling studies led to the rational discovery of N(1)-arylsulfonyl-1,3-dihydro-2H-benzimidazol-2-one as a novel template for the design of new non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) that are active against wild-type and mutant strains of HIV-1. It is worth noting that compound 3 proved to have antiretroviral activity similar to that of efavirenz and greater than that of nevirapine, two of the three NNRTIs currently available in antiretroviral therapy.

Structure-based pharmacophore identification of new chemical scaffolds as non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors.

A structure-based molecular modeling approach was performed to identify novel structural characteristics and scaffolds that might represent new classes of HIV-1 non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs). The software LigandScout was used for identification and visualization of protein-ligand interaction sites and pharmacophore model generation. In the next step virtual screening of 3D multiconformational databases together with docking experiments allowed the identification of promising candidates for biological testing.

Anti-enterovirus activity and structure-activity relationship of a series of 2,6-dihalophenyl-substituted 1H,3H-thiazolo[3,4-a]benzimidazoles.

Despite the fact that enteroviruses are implicated in a variety of human diseases, there is no approved therapy for the treatment of enteroviral infections. Here, a series of 2,6-dihalophenyl-substituted 1H,3H-thiazolo[3,4-a]benzimidazoles with anti-enterovirus activity is reported. The compounds elicit potent activity against coxsackievirus A9, echovirus 9 and 11 and all six strains of coxsackievirus B.

Pharmacophore-based design of HIV-1 integrase strand-transfer inhibitors.

Using a training set of diketo-like acid HIV-1 integrase (IN) strand-transfer inhibitors, a 3D pharmacophore model was derived having quantitative predictive ability in terms of activity. The best statistical hypothesis consisted of four features (one hydrophobic aromatic region, two hydrogen-bond acceptors, and one hydrogen-bond donor) with r of 0.96.

Computational strategies in discovering novel non-nucleoside inhibitors of HIV-1 RT.

A three-dimensional common feature pharmacophore model was developed using the X-ray structure of RT/non-nucleoside inhibitor (NNRTI) complexes. Starting from the pharmacophore hypothesis and the structure of the lead compound TBZ, new NNRTIs were designed and synthesized, having the benzimidazol-2-one system as a scaffold. Docking experiments showed that these molecules docked in a position and orientation similar to that of known inhibitors.

Design, synthesis, and 3D QSAR of novel potent and selective aromatase inhibitors.

The design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of a series of new aromatase inhibitors bearing an imidazole or triazole ring linked to a fluorene (A), indenodiazine (B), or coumarin scaffold (C) are reported. Properly substituted coumarin derivatives displayed the highest aromatase inhibitory potency and selectivity over 17-alpha-hydroxylase/17-20 lyase. The modeling of the aromatase inhibition data by Comparative Molecular Field Analysis (CoMFA/GOLPE 3D QSAR approach) led to the development of a PLS model with good fitting and predictive powers (n = 22, ONC = 3, r(2) = 0.

Efficient 3D database screening for novel HIV-1 IN inhibitors.

We describe the use of pharmacophore modeling as an efficient tool in the discovery of novel HIV-1 integrase (IN) inhibitors. A three-dimensional hypothetical model for the binding of diketo acid analogues to the enzyme was built by means of the Catalyst program. Using these models as a query for virtual screening, we found several compounds that contain the specified 3D patterns of chemical functions.

Synthesis of new 2,3-diaryl-1,3-thiazolidin-4-ones as anti-HIV agents.

Several 2,3-diaryl-1,3-thiazolidin-4-ones were synthesized and evaluated as anti-HIV agents. The results of the in vitro tests showed that some of them were highly effective inhibitors of HIV-1 replication at 30-50 nM concentrations with minimal cytotoxicity, thereby acting as non-nucleoside HIV-1 reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs).

Anti-HIV agents: design and discovery of new potent RT inhibitors.

This paper reports our work in the field of nonnucleoside RT inhibitors (NNRTIs). On the basis of extensive studies on 1H,3H-thiazolo[3,4-a]benzimidazole derivatives (TBZs) followed by structure-activity relationship (SAR) considerations and molecular modeling, the design and synthesis of a series of 2,3-diaryl-1,3-thiazolidin-4-ones have been performed. Some derivatives proved to be highly effective in inhibiting human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) replication at nanomolar concentrations with minimal toxicity, acting as reverse transcriptase (RT) inhibitors.