Hepatosplenomegaly associated with chronic malaria exposure: evidence for a pro-inflammatory mechanism exacerbated by schistosomiasis.

In sub-Saharan Africa, chronic hepatosplenomegaly, with palpable firm/hard organ consistency, is common, particularly among school-aged children. This morbidity can be caused by long-term exposure to malaria, or by Schistosoma mansoni, and it is exacerbated when these two occur together. Although immunological mechanisms probably underlie the pathogenic process, these mechanisms have not been identified, nor is it known whether the two parasites augment the same mechanisms or induce unrelated processes that nonetheless have additive or synergistic effects.

Sedentariness, small-screen recreation, and fitness in youth.

Background: There are concerns that sedentariness among young people has increased and that this may be detrimental to their health. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between sedentary activities, including small-screen recreation (SSR: watching TV/DVDs/videos, recreational computer use) and cardiorespiratory endurance (CRE) in children aged 11-15 years.

Methods: A cross-sectional representative population survey was taken of New South Wales (Australia) school students in Grades 6, 8, and 10 (N=2750) in 2004.

Protein and energy utilization and the requirements for maintenance in juvenile mulloway (Argyrosomus japonicus).

This study describes the digestible protein (DP) and digestible energy (DE) utilization in juvenile mulloway, and determined the requirements for maintenance. This was achieved by feeding triplicate groups of fish weighing 40 or 129 g held at two temperatures (20 or 26 degrees C), on a commercial diet (21.4 g DP mJ DE(-1)) at four different ration levels ranging from 0.

Real-time extended depth of field microscopy.

We describe an optical microscope system whose focal setting can be changed quickly without moving the objective lens or specimen. Using this system, diffraction limited images can be acquired from a wide range of focal settings without introducing optical aberrations that degrade image quality. We combine this system with a real time Nipkow disc based confocal microscope so as to permit the acquisition of extended depth of field images directly in a single frame of the CCD camera.

Experts' views on long-term care in New Zealand.

Aims: This study reports findings from the first national survey of long-term care opinion leaders in New Zealand.

Methods: Potential respondents were chosen purposively based on their knowledge and experience in long-term care policy and planning. Questions focused on assessing views regarding long-term care quality, financing, services, workforce, organisation, and regulation.

Encounters between adolescents and general practice in Australia.

Aim: To describe the nature of the encounters between adolescents and general practice in Australia.

Methods: Data collected by the Bettering the Evaluation and Care of Health programme from 1998-2004 were analysed. Data for 10-14-year-old and 15-19-year-old males and females were compared with data for 25-29-year-olds.

The population prevalence of adverse concentrations and associations with adiposity of liver tests among Australian adolescents.

Aim: Paediatric overweight has a high incidence and has serious consequences for health, including non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). However, very little is known about NAFLD among young people, particularly from a population perspective. This paper reports the prevalence of elevated concentrations of four liver enzymes and their associations with adiposity in a representative population sample of Australian adolescents.

Development of a reliable self-report outcome measure for pragmatic trials of communication therapy following stroke: the Communication Outcome after Stroke (COAST) scale.

Objective: To develop and validate a clinically feasible measure of communication effectiveness for people with any type of communication problem following stroke.

Design: Cross-sectional, interview-based, psychometric study, building on the development phase for construction of the Communication Outcome after Stroke (COAST) scale.

Setting: A community sample from the northwest of England, UK.

Signal transduction in multifactorial neuroendocrine control of gonadotropin secretion and synthesis in teleosts-studies on the goldfish model.

In teleosts, gonadotropin (GTH) secretion and synthesis is controlled by multiple neuroendocrine factors from the hypothalamus, pituitary and peripheral sources. Pituitary gonadotropes must be able to differentiate and integrate information from these regulators at the cellular and intracellular level. In this article, the intracellular signal transduction mechanisms mediating the actions of some of these regulators, including GTH-releasing hormones, pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide, dopamine, ghrelin, sex steroids, activin, and follistatin from experiments with goldfish are reviewed and discussed in relation with recent findings.

Plasmodium falciparum and helminth coinfection in a semi urban population of pregnant women in Uganda.

Background: Helminth infections and malaria are widespread in the tropics. Recent studies suggest helminth infections may increase susceptibility to Plasmodium falciparum infection. If confirmed, this increased susceptibility could be particularly important during pregnancy-induced immunosuppression.

Does weight status influence associations between children's fundamental movement skills and physical activity?

This study sought to determine whether weight status influences the association among children's fundamental movement skills (FMS) and physical activity (PA). Two hundred forty-eight children ages 9-12 years participated. Proficiency in three object-control skills and two locomotor skills was examined.

Double disadvantage: the influence of ethnicity over socioeconomic position on childhood overweight and obesity: findings from an inner urban population of primary school children.

Objective: To examine the relationship between overweight/obesity in children, socioeconomic status and ethnicity/cultural background.

Design: Cross-sectional survey of children aged 4-13 years.

Setting: A total of 23 primary (elementary) schools in an inner urban municipality of Melbourne, Australia.

Increasing ecological inference from high throughput sequencing of fungi in the environment through a tagging approach.

High throughput sequencing methods are widely used in analyses of microbial diversity, but are generally applied to small numbers of samples, which precludes characterization of patterns of microbial diversity across space and time. We have designed a primer-tagging approach that allows pooling and subsequent sorting of numerous samples, which is directed to amplification of a region spanning the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacers and partial large subunit from fungi in environmental samples. To test the method for phylogenetic biases, we constructed a controlled mixture of four taxa representing the Chytridiomycota, Zygomycota, Ascomycota and Basidiomycota.

Adaptive optics for structured illumination microscopy.

We implement wave front sensor-less adaptive optics in a structured illumination microscope. We investigate how the image formation process in this type of microscope is affected by aberrations. It is found that aberrations can be classified into two groups, those that affect imaging of the illumination pattern and those that have no influence on this pattern.

Extracellular signal-regulated kinase mediates gonadotropin subunit gene expression and LH release responses to endogenous gonadotropin-releasing hormones in goldfish.

The possible involvement of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) in mediating the stimulatory actions of two endogenous goldfish gonadotropin-releasing hormones (salmon (s)GnRH and chicken (c)GnRH-II) on gonadotropin synthesis and secretion was examined. Western blot analysis revealed the presence of ERK and phosphorylated (p)ERK in goldfish brain, pituitary, liver, ovary, testis and muscle tissue extracts, as well as extracts of dispersed goldfish pituitary cells and HeLa cells. Interestingly, a third ERK-like immunoreactive band of higher molecular mass was detected in goldfish tissue and pituitary cell extracts in addition to the ERK1-p44- and ERK2-p42-like immunoreactive bands.

Meeting the demographic challenges ahead: Toward culture change in an ageing New Zealand.

There are several innovative service delivery models in the United States (US) relevant to long-term care policy development and implementation in New Zealand. An especially fruitful source of innovation has been the culture change movement, which originated in the US but has begun to spread to New Zealand and other OECD countries. The culture change philosophy requires that providers respond to the values, preferences, and needs of care recipients.

Physical activity among adolescents in New South Wales (Australia): 1997 and 2004.

Purpose: To examine secular trends, seasonal and socioeconomic differences in physical activity participation among Australian adolescents in 1997 and 2004.

Methods: Repeat cross-sectional school survey, conducted in 1997 and 2004. School students were randomly selected from grades 8 and 10 in New South Wales Australia (1997, N = 2026; 2004 N = 1771).

Does laparoscopic antireflux surgery improve quality of life in patients whose gastro-oesophageal reflux disease is well controlled with medical therapy?

Objective: Both medical therapy and laparoscopic antireflux surgery have been shown to improve quality of life in gastro-oesophageal reflux disease. Although patients with poor symptom control or side effects on medical therapy might be expected to have improved quality of life after surgery, our aim was to determine, for the first time, whether patients whose symptoms are well controlled on medical therapy but who decide to undergo surgery (patient preference) would experience improved quality of life.

Methods: Retrospective analysis of our patient database (1998-2003, n=313) identified 60 patients who underwent laparoscopic antireflux surgery for the indication of patient preference.

Hepatosplenomegaly is associated with low regulatory and Th2 responses to schistosome antigens in childhood schistosomiasis and malaria coinfection.

Hepatosplenomegaly among Kenyan schoolchildren has been shown to be exacerbated where there is transmission of both Schistosoma mansoni and Plasmodium falciparum. This highly prevalent and chronic morbidity often occurs in the absence of ultrasound-detectable periportal fibrosis and may be due to immunological inflammation. For a cohort of school-age children, whole-blood cultures were stimulated with S.

Outcomes of a group-randomized trial to prevent excess weight gain, reduce screen behaviours and promote physical activity in 10-year-old children: switch-play.

Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention to prevent excess weight gain, reduce time spent in screen behaviours, promote participation in and enjoyment of physical activity (PA), and improve fundamental movement skills among children.

Participants: In 2002, 311 children (78% response; 49% boys), average age 10 years 8 months, were recruited from three government schools in low socioeconomic areas of Melbourne, Australia.

Design: Group-randomized controlled trial.

Changes in physical activity participation from 1985 to 2004 in a statewide survey of Australian adolescents.

Objective: To examine changes in physical activity during a 19-year period between 2 representative cohorts of adolescents from New South Wales, Australia.

Design: Repeat cross-sectional study.

Setting: Randomly selected secondary schools from New South Wales, the most populous state in Australia.

Informed consent in emergency research: a contradiction in terms.

Improving the treatment of life threatening emergency illness or disease requires that new or novel therapies be assessed in clinical trials. As most subjects for these trials will be incapacitated there is some controversy about they might best protected whilst still allowing research to continue. Recent European and UK clinical trials legislation, which has effectively stopped research into emergency conditions, is discussed.