ASPREN surveillance system for influenza-like illness - A comparison with FluTracking and the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System.

Background: General practitioners play an important role in the detection and clinical management of influenza. The Australian Sentinel Practice Research Network (ASPREN) has been collecting data from sentinel GPs on selected conditions, including influenza-like illness (ILI), since 1991 to inform public health authorities of communicable disease activity in the community.

Methods: Weekly incidence of ILI data reported by ASPREN GPs in 2007-2008 was compared with data from two separate surveillance systems: New South Wales data from FluTracking, an online self reporting ILI surveillance system; and national laboratory notifications of influenza reported to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System between 2003 and 2008.

Encephalitis in Australia, 1979-2006: trends and aetiologies.

The acute encephalitis syndrome has heralded the emergence of multiple virulent pathogens, including Murray Valley encephalitis, Hendra virus and Australian bat lyssavirus, which may result in severe morbidity and mortality. In Australia, encephalitis is not notifiable and there has been no analysis of trends in encephalitis death rates or causation. Australian Bureau of Statistics mortality and population data for the period 1979-2006 were obtained and cause of death data were extracted using ICD-9 (1979-1998) and ICD-10 (1999-2006) codes that included all relevant encephalitis related diagnoses.

Etiology of encephalitis in Australia, 1990-2007.

Encephalitis is a clinical syndrome commonly caused by emerging pathogens, which are not under surveillance in Australia. We reviewed rates of hospitalization for patients with encephalitis in Australia's most populous state, New South Wales, from January 1990 through December 2007. Encephalitis was the primary discharge diagnosis for 5,926 hospital admissions; average annual hospitalization rate was 5.

Modeling of drug delivery into tissues with a microneedle array using mixture theory.

In this paper, we apply mixture theory to quantitatively predict the transient behavior of drug delivery by using a microneedle array inserted into tissue. In the framework of mixture theory, biological tissue is treated as a multi-phase fluid saturated porous medium, where the mathematical behavior of the tissue is characterized by the conservation equations of multi-phase models. Drug delivery by microneedle array imposes additional requirements on the simulation procedures, including drug absorption by the blood capillaries and tissue cells, as well as a moving interface along its flowing pathway.

Recent developments in selenium research.

Some of the main biochemical features of selenium have emerged only in the last five years, although it has been known to be an essential element for nearly 40 years. The investigations into selenoproteome gene expression and a better understanding of the selenocysteine synthetic pathway have undoubtedly provided the evidence that underpins the biochemical roles of the element. To date, 25 selenium-containing proteins have been identified in humans but the functions of a number of these have yet to be elucidated.

Functionalized nanoparticles for bioanalysis by SERRS.

Metallic nanoparticles can be used as basic materials for a wide variety of purposes including building blocks for nanoassemblies, substrates for enhanced spectroscopies such as fluorescence and Raman and as labels for biomolecules. In the present paper, we report how silver and gold nanoparticles can be functionalized with specific biomolecular probes to interact in a specific manner with a target molecule to provide a change in the properties of the nanoparticles which can be measured to indicate the molecular recognition event. Examples of this approach include DNA hybridization to switch on SERRS (surface-enhanced resonance Raman scattering) when a specific target sequence is present, the use of nanoparticles for in vivo SERRS imaging and the use of nanoparticles functionalized with antibodies to provide a new type of immunoassay.

Irritable bowel syndrome patients' ideal expectations and recent experiences with healthcare providers: a national survey.

Unlabelled: The purpose of this paper is to identify patients' ideal expectations from their healthcare providers. The IBS-Patient Education Questionnaire was developed using focus groups, and was administered to a national sample of IBS patients. Frequencies of item endorsements were obtained.

International survey of patients with IBS: symptom features and their severity, health status, treatments, and risk taking to achieve clinical benefit.

Background: Although clinicians generally make treatment decisions in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) related to the type of symptoms, other factors such as the perceived severity and the risks patients are willing to tolerate for effective treatment are also important to consider. These factors are not fully understood.

Objective: To describe among patients with IBS their symptoms and severity, quality of life and health status, medications taken, and the risk that they would take to continue medications for optimal relief.

A very low-carbohydrate diet improves symptoms and quality of life in diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome.

Background & Aims: Patients with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D) anecdotally report symptom improvement after initiating a very low-carbohydrate diet (VLCD). This study prospectively evaluated a VLCD in IBS-D.

Methods: Participants with moderate to severe IBS-D were provided a 2-week standard diet, then 4 weeks of a VLCD (20 g carbohydrates/d).

Atypical antipsychotic quetiapine in the management of severe refractory functional gastrointestinal disorders.

Management of severe refractory functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) is difficult. Quetiapine, an atypical antipsychotic, may benefit patients by mitigating associated anxiety and sleep disturbances, augmenting the effect of antidepressants, and providing an independent analgesic effect. Outpatient records from a university-based FGID clinic were reviewed, and 21 patients with refractory symptoms who received quetiapine were identified and interviewed.

Early MRI in optic neuritis: the risk for disability.

Background: MRI findings influence the risk of patients with optic neuritis (ON) developing clinically definite (CD) multiple sclerosis (MS) but their influence on future disability is less clear.

Objective: To investigate in patients with ON the influence of lesion number, location and activity, and non-lesion MRI measures obtained on early scans on disability.

Methods: A total of 106 of 143 prospectively recruited patients with ON had reached a scheduled 5-year follow-up, of whom 100 were evaluated clinically.

Not all side effects associated with tricyclic antidepressant therapy are true side effects.

Background & Aims: Patients with functional gastrointestinal disorders treated with tricyclic antidepressants sometimes report nongastrointestinal symptoms; it is unclear whether these are drug side effects or reflect a behavioral tendency to report symptoms. We evaluated whether symptoms reported before treatment with a tricyclic antidepressant (desipramine) increased in number or worsened in severity after 2 weeks of treatment and assessed the baseline factors that predispose patients to report symptoms.

Methods: Female patients in a multicenter National Institutes of Health trial for functional bowel disorders completed a 15-item symptom questionnaire at baseline (before randomization), 2 weeks after they were given desipramine (n = 81) or placebo (n = 40), and at study completion (12 weeks).

Further characterization of painful constipation (PC): clinical features over one year and comparison with IBS.

Background: There has been some question about the classification of painful constipation (PC) and its relationship to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and in particular IBS with constipation (IBS-C). We sought to: (1) compare PC with IBS and its subtypes (IBS-C, IBS-D, and IBS-A) in terms of pain scores, stool habit and clinical features, and to determine which factors predict PC over IBS, (2) determine the variation in pain and stool habit for PC relative to IBS over time, and (3) compare whether there are clinical differences between those with high pain constipation (HPC) and low pain constipation (LPC) over time.

Methods: Among 231 women in an National Institutes of Health trial, Rome II moderate to severe PC (n=41), IBS-A (n=55), IBS-C (n=80), and IBS-D (n=55) received diary cards on stool frequency, consistency, and pain (visual analog scale) daily for 14 days before and after 12-week treatment and at 3-month intervals for 1 year.

Likely impact of school and childcare closures on public health workforce during an influenza pandemic: a survey.

During an influenza pandemic, public health staff may not report to work due to illness, transport disruptions or care responsibilities, including care of children if school closures occur. A survey was conducted in a population health unit to estimate the impact of closure of schools and day care facilities on staff ability to work at their usual workplace or at home, and determine their access to the Internet for communication. Staff were also asked about concerns associated with working from home.

The skin reservoir of sulphur mustard.

Studies of the percutaneous reservoir of sulphur mustard (HD) formed during absorption carried out during WWI and WWII are inconclusive. More recent studies have indicated that a significant amount of unreacted HD remains in human epidermal membranes during percutaneous penetration studies in vitro. The present study investigated the nature and persistence of the HD reservoir formed during in vitro penetration studies using dermatomed slices of human and pig skin (0.

Utility of the "surprise" question to identify dialysis patients with high mortality.

Background And Objectives: Dialysis patients are increasingly characterized by older age, multiple comorbidities, and shortened life expectancy. This study investigated whether the "surprise" question, "Would I be surprised if this patient died in the next year?" identifies patients who are at high risk for early mortality.

Design, Setting, Participants, & Measurements: This prospective cohort study of 147 patients in three hemodialysis dialysis units classified patients into "yes" and "no" groups on the basis of the "surprise" question response and tracked patient status (alive or dead) at 12 mo.

The safety of baclofen in pregnancy: intrathecal therapy in multiple sclerosis.

Intrathecal baclofen is a GABA-receptor agonist and one of the mainstay treatments of severe spasticity due to multiple sclerosis (MS). The authors report a case on the use of intrathecal baclofen administered using a Medtronic Synchromed II infusion pump. A healthy male infant (2.

Household disaster preparedness and information sources: Rapid cluster survey after a storm in New South Wales, Australia.

Background: A storm-related disaster in New South Wales, Australia in June 2007 caused infrastructure damage, interrupted essential services, and presented major public health risks. We investigated household disaster preparedness and information sources used before and during the disaster.

Methods: Rapid cluster survey of 320 randomly selected households in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia.

A norovirus outbreak associated with consumption of NSW oysters: implications for quality assurance systems.

Norovirus is a common cause of gastroenteritis outbreaks associated with raw shellfish consumption. In Australia there have been several reports of norovirus outbreaks associated with oysters despite the application of regulatory measures recommended by Food Standards Australia New Zealand. This study describes an outbreak of norovirus gastroenteritis following the consumption of New South Wales oysters.

Age-related differences in worry and related processes.

This study investigated the hypothesis that older adults would show age-related reductions in the tendency to worry in both their retrospective accounts and through cross-sectional age comparisons with a sample of younger adults. We also sought to determine whether age differences would be evident in psychological processes associated with a tendency to worry in general adult samples (intolerance of uncertainty and beliefs in the functional value of worry). Support was found for the hypothesized age-related reduction in worry in both retrospective reports among the older adults and cross-sectional age comparisons.

Patient educational media preferences for information about irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

Purpose: To identify the educational media preferences of patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

Methods: The IBS-Patient Education Questionnaire (PEQ) was administered to a national sample of IBS patients. Frequencies of item endorsements were compared and meaningful clinical differences were used to identify differences among subgroups.