Effects of cocaine and HIV on decision-making abilities.

Our study aimed to understand the impact of cocaine dependence on high-risk decision-making abilities in individuals with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and individuals with cocaine dependence. We recruited 99 participants (27 HIV/Cocaine, 20 HIV Only, 26 Cocaine Only, and 26 Healthy Controls). The Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) was applied to assess decision-making abilities.

Comparison of the Analgesic Duration of 0.5% Bupivacaine With 1:200,000 Epinephrine Versus 0.5% Ropivacaine Versus 1% Ropivacaine for Low-Volume Ultrasound-Guided Interscalene Brachial Plexus Block: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Bupivacaine and ropivacaine are the preferred long-acting local anesthetics for peripheral nerve blocks as they provide prolonged analgesia in the postoperative period. No studies have directly compared the analgesic duration of these commonly used local anesthetics in the setting of low-volume ultrasound-guided interscalene block (US-ISB). This study was designed to determine which local anesthetic and concentration provides superior analgesia (duration and quality) for low-volume US-ISB.

Interfacial Chemistry-Induced Modulation of Schottky Barrier Heights: In Situ Measurements of the Pt-Amorphous Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide Interface Using X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy.

A method to understand the role of interfacial chemistry on the modulation of Schottky barrier heights for platinum and amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide (a-IGZO) interfaces is demonstrated through thermal processing and background ambient pressure control. In situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to characterize the interfacial chemistries that modulate barrier heights in this system. The primary changes were a significant chemical reduction of indium, from In to In, that occurs during deposition of Pt on to the a-IGZO surface in ultrahigh vacuum.

Going wireless and booth-less for hearing testing in industry.

Objective: To assess the test-retest variability of hearing thresholds obtained with an innovative, mobile wireless automated hearing-test system (WAHTS) with enhanced sound attenuation to test industrial workers at a worksite as compared to standardised automated hearing thresholds obtained in a mobile trailer sound booth.

Design: A within-subject repeated-measures design was used to compare air-conducted threshold tests (500-8000 Hz) measured with the WAHTS in six workplace locations, and a third test using computer-controlled audiometry obtained in a mobile trailer sound booth. Ambient noise levels were measured in all test environments.

The abandonment of the RANZCP OCI--and why we may live to regret it.

Objective: The objective of this article is to explore the tension between what should be complementary notions of medical education and professional identity formation, referencing a major recent change to the assessment program of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP). The College recently determined that the observed clinical interview (OCI) is to cease with equivalent skills assessed by multiple workplace-based assessments within a competency-based education program. The literature relating to the change is briefly reviewed.

White light-informed optical properties improve ultrasound-guided fluorescence tomography of photoactive protoporphyrin IX.

Subsurface fluorescence imaging is desirable for medical applications, including protoporphyrin-IX (PpIX)-based skin tumor diagnosis, surgical guidance, and dosimetry in photodynamic therapy. While tissue optical properties and heterogeneities make true subsurface fluorescence mapping an ill-posed problem, ultrasound-guided fluorescence-tomography (USFT) provides regional fluorescence mapping. Here USFT is implemented with spectroscopic decoupling of fluorescence signals (auto-fluorescence, PpIX, photoproducts), and white light spectroscopy-determined bulk optical properties.

Collagen synthesis modulated in wounds treated by pulsed radiofrequency energy.

Background: Chronic wounds are biochemically complex and are associated with insufficient cell proliferation, angiogenesis, and extracellular matrix remodeling. The mechanisms by which pulsed radiofrequency energy modulates wound healing are still unclear.

Methods: Db/db mice were wounded and exposed to pulsed radiofrequency energy.

Nanoparticle uptake in tumors is mediated by the interplay of vascular and collagen density with interstitial pressure.

Unlabelled: Nanoparticle delivery into solid tumors is affected by vessel density, interstitial fluid pressure (IFP) and collagen, as shown in this article by contrasting the in vivo macroscopic quantitative uptake of 40 nm fluorescent beads in three tumor types.The fluorescence uptake was quantified on individual animals by normalization with the transmitted light and then normalized to normal tissue uptake in each mouse. Mean data for uptake in individual tumor lines then showed expected trends with the largest uptake in the most vascularized tumor line.

Perceptions of psychiatry of old age amongst psychiatry registrars in Australia and New Zealand.

Objective: To assess the perceptions of psychiatry registrars of their training experience in Psychiatry of Old Age (POA), and whether factors such as clinical exposure and stage of training correlate with these perceptions.

Method: Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) registrars were surveyed in September 2009. Demographic information, POA exposure and responses to 14 statements related to registrar experience were collected.

Highly sensitive single-fibril erosion assay demonstrates mechanochemical switch in native collagen fibrils.

It has been established that the enzyme susceptibility of collagen, the predominant load-bearing protein in vertebrates, is altered by applied tension. However, whether tensile force increases or decreases the susceptibility to enzyme is a matter of contention. It is critical to establish a definitive understanding of the direction and magnitude of the force versus catalysis rate (k C ) relationship if we are to properly interpret connective tissue development, growth, remodeling, repair, and degeneration.

Molecular mechanism of force induced stabilization of collagen against enzymatic breakdown.

Collagen cleavage, facilitated by collagenases of the matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) family, is crucial for many physiological and pathological processes such as wound healing, tissue remodeling, cancer invasion and organ morphogenesis. Earlier work has shown that mechanical force alters the cleavage rate of collagen. However, experimental results yielded conflicting data on whether applying force accelerates or slows down the degradation rate.

Molecular mechanochemistry: low force switch slows enzymatic cleavage of human type I collagen monomer.

In vertebrate animals, fibrillar collagen accumulates, organizes, and persists in structures which resist mechanical force. This antidissipative behavior is possibly due to a mechanochemical force-switch which converts collagen from enzyme-susceptible to enzyme-resistant. Degradation experiments on native tissue and reconstituted fibrils suggest that collagen/enzyme kinetics favor the retention of loaded collagen.

Mechanical strain stabilizes reconstituted collagen fibrils against enzymatic degradation by mammalian collagenase matrix metalloproteinase 8 (MMP-8).

Background: Collagen, a triple-helical, self-organizing protein, is the predominant structural protein in mammals. It is found in bone, ligament, tendon, cartilage, intervertebral disc, skin, blood vessel, and cornea. We have recently postulated that fibrillar collagens (and their complementary enzymes) comprise the basis of a smart structural system which appears to support the retention of molecules in fibrils which are under tensile mechanical strain.

Probing collagen/enzyme mechanochemistry in native tissue with dynamic, enzyme-induced creep.

Mechanical strain or stretch of collagen has been shown to be protective of fibrils against both thermal and enzymatic degradation. The details of this mechanochemical relationship could change our understanding of load-bearing tissue formation, growth, maintenance, and disease in vertebrate animals. However, extracting a quantitative relationship between strain and the rate of enzymatic degradation is extremely difficult in bulk tissue due to confounding diffusion effects.

Mechanical strain enhances survivability of collagen micronetworks in the presence of collagenase: implications for load-bearing matrix growth and stability.

There has been great interest in understanding the methods by which collagen-based load-bearing tissue is constructed, grown and maintained in vertebrate animals. To date, the responsibility for this process has largely been placed with mesenchymal fibroblastic cells that are thought to fully control the morphology of load-bearing extracellular matrix (ECM). However, given clear limitations in the ability of fibroblastic cells to precisely place or remove single collagen molecules to sculpt tissue, we have hypothesized that the material itself must play a critical role in the determination of the form of structural ECM.

Using couple and family therapy to treat people experiencing alcohol problems.

This article outlines the introduction of systemic psychotherapeutic interventions for couples and families who are experiencing problems with alcohol. It explains the background to this therapeutic approach and the outcomes for clients. Systemic therapy is now used by the team as an integral part of the mainstream clinical programme within the alcohol treatment service.