New-Onset Diabetes After Statin Exposure in Elderly Women: The Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health.

Introduction: Extensive clinical research has consistently shown statins lower the risk of cardiovascular events and mortality. Some studies also suggest statins increase the risk of new-onset diabetes. Research to date has rarely included elderly women, hence little is known about the risk of diabetes after statin exposure in this population.

Early menarche, nulliparity and the risk for premature and early natural menopause.

Study Question: Are parity and the timing of menarche associated with premature and early natural menopause?

Summary Answer: Early menarche (≤11 years) is a risk factor for both premature menopause (final menstrual period, FMP <40 years) and early menopause (FMP 40-44 years), a risk that is amplified for nulliparous women.

What Is Known Already: Women with either premature or early menopause face an increased risk of chronic conditions in later life and of early death. Findings from some studies suggest that early menarche and nulliparity are associated with early menopause, however overall the evidence is mixed.

The association of bacterial C-based TTX-like compounds with Prorocentrum minimum opens new uncertainties about shellfish seafood safety.

In 2012, Tetrodotoxin (TTX) was identified in mussels and linked to the presence of Prorocentrum minimum (P. minimum) in Greece. The connexion between TTX and P.

Nutritional Programming of Lifespan by FOXO Inhibition on Sugar-Rich Diets.

Consumption of unhealthy diets is exacerbating the burden of age-related ill health in aging populations. Such diets can program mammalian physiology to cause long-term, detrimental effects. Here, we show that, in Drosophila melanogaster, an unhealthy, high-sugar diet in early adulthood programs lifespan to curtail later-life survival despite subsequent dietary improvement.

Evaluation of phenyl-propanedione on yellowing and chemical-mechanical properties of experimental dental resin-based materials.

Objective: To evaluate the influence of phenyl-propanedione on yellowing and chemical-mechanical properties of experimental resin-based materials photoactivated using different light curing units (LCUs).

Material And Methods: Experimental resin-based materials with the same organic matrix (60:40 wt% BisGMA:TEGDMA) were mechanically blended using a centrifugal mixing device. To this blend, different photoinitiator systems were added in equimolar concentrations with aliphatic amine doubled by wt%: 0.

For Disproportionate-Share Hospitals, Taxes And Fees Curtail Medicaid Payments.

After accounting for supplemental payments, we found that in 2011, disproportionate-share hospitals, on average, received gross Medicaid payments that totaled 108 percent of their costs for treating Medicaid patients but only 89 percent of their costs for Medicaid and uninsured patients combined. However, these payments were reduced by approximately 4-11 percent after we accounted for provider taxes and local government contributions that are used to help finance Medicaid payments.

Study of the performance of a thermophilic biological methanation system.

This study investigated the operation of ex-situ biological methanation at two thermophilic temperatures (55°C and 65°C). Methane composition of 85-88% was obtained and volumetric productivities of 0.45 and 0.

The Drosophila transcriptional network is structured by microbiota.

Background: Resident microorganisms (microbiota) have far-reaching effects on the biology of their animal hosts, with major consequences for the host's health and fitness. A full understanding of microbiota-dependent gene regulation requires analysis of the overall architecture of the host transcriptome, by identifying suites of genes that are expressed synchronously. In this study, we investigated the impact of the microbiota on gene coexpression in Drosophila.

Improvements in physical function and pain sustained for up to 10 years after knee or hip arthroplasty irrespective of mental health status before surgery.

Background and purpose - There are concerns that mental health (MH) may influence outcomes of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) or total hip arthroplasty (THA). We examined effects of poor MH before surgery on long-term outcomes of osteoarthritis-related TKA or THA in women. Patients and methods - The data were from 9,737 middle-aged participants (47-52 years) and 9,292 older participants (73-78 years) in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health who completed surveys between 1998 and 2013.

Mycotoxins in spices and herbs-An update.

Spices and herbs have been used since ancient times as flavor and aroma enhancers, colorants, preservatives, and traditional medicines. There are more than 30 spices and herbs of global economic and culinary importance. Among the spices, black pepper, capsicums, cumin, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, turmeric, saffron, coriander, cloves, dill, mint, thyme, sesame seed, mustard seed, and curry powder are the most popular spices worldwide.

The InterLACE study: Design, data harmonization and characteristics across 20 studies on women's health.

Objectives: The International Collaboration for a Life Course Approach to Reproductive Health and Chronic Disease Events (InterLACE) project is a global research collaboration that aims to advance understanding of women's reproductive health in relation to chronic disease risk by pooling individual participant data from several cohort and cross-sectional studies. The aim of this paper is to describe the characteristics of contributing studies and to present the distribution of demographic and reproductive factors and chronic disease outcomes in InterLACE.

Study Design: InterLACE is an individual-level pooled study of 20 observational studies (12 of which are longitudinal) from ten countries.

Diversity of Natural Product Biosynthetic Genes in the Microbiome of the Deep Sea Sponges Inflatella pellicula, Poecillastra compressa, and Stelletta normani.

Three different deep sea sponge species, Inflatella pellicula, Poecillastra compressa, and Stelletta normani comprising seven individual samples, retrieved from depths of 760-2900 m below sea level, were investigated using 454 pyrosequencing for their secondary metabolomic potential targeting adenylation domain and ketosynthase domain sequences. The data obtained suggest a diverse microbial origin of nonribosomal peptide synthetases and polyketide synthase fragments that in part correlates with their respective microbial community structures that were previously described and reveals an untapped source of potential novelty. The sequences, especially the ketosynthase fragments, display extensive clade formations which are clearly distinct from sequences hosted in public databases, therefore highlighting the potential of the microbiome of these deep sea sponges to produce potentially novel small-molecule chemistry.

Young women's psychological distress after a diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome or endometriosis.

Study Question: Do young women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) or endometriosis report more psychological distress than their peers without a history of these conditions?

Summary Answer: Young women (aged 18-23 years) with PCOS or endometriosis had a greater risk of moderate to severe psychological distress than women without a history of these conditions.

What Is Known Already: Psychological distress appears common among women with PCOS and endometriosis. However, population-based studies that examine the psychological outcomes for adolescents and young women are generally absent from the literature.

Associations of Guideline Recommended Medications for Acute Coronary Syndromes With Fall-Related Hospitalizations and Cardiovascular Events in Older Women With Ischemic Heart Disease.

Background: Guidelines for acute coronary syndrome recommend statins, β-blockers, angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitors or renin-angiotensin system blockers, and antiplatelet agents for the secondary prevention of cardiovascular events. The aim was to examine associations between guideline recommended medications and fall-related hospitalizations and cardiovascular events in robust and frail older women.

Methods: 2002-2011 surveys from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health linked with administrative hospital, pharmaceutical and death registry data (2003-mid-2011) were used.

Making It Safe to Grow Old: A Financial Simulation Model for Launching MediCaring Communities for Frail Elderly Medicare Beneficiaries.

Policy Points: At age 65, the average man and woman can respectively expect 1.5 years and 2.5 years of requiring daily help with "activities of daily living.

Lifestyle and Socioeconomic Determinants of Multimorbidity Patterns among Mid-Aged Women: A Longitudinal Study.

Background: Little is known about patterns of associative multimorbidity and their aetiology. We aimed to identify patterns of associative multimorbidity among mid-aged women and the lifestyle and socioeconomic factors associated with their development.

Methods: Participants were from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health.

Assessing Rotation-Invariant Feature Classification for Automated Wildebeest Population Counts.

Accurate and on-demand animal population counts are the holy grail for wildlife conservation organizations throughout the world because they enable fast and responsive adaptive management policies. While the collection of image data from camera traps, satellites, and manned or unmanned aircraft has advanced significantly, the detection and identification of animals within images remains a major bottleneck since counting is primarily conducted by dedicated enumerators or citizen scientists. Recent developments in the field of computer vision suggest a potential resolution to this issue through the use of rotation-invariant object descriptors combined with machine learning algorithms.

Trypanosoma cruzi-Trypanosoma rangeli co-infection ameliorates negative effects of single trypanosome infections in experimentally infected Rhodnius prolixus.

Trypanosoma cruzi, causative agent of Chagas disease, co-infects its triatomine vector with its sister species Trypanosoma rangeli, which shares 60% of its antigens with T. cruzi. Additionally, T.

Genomic Signatures of Experimental Adaptation to Antimicrobial Peptides in Staphylococcus aureus.

The evolution of resistance against antimicrobial peptides has long been considered unlikely due to their mechanism of action, yet experimental selection with antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) results in rapid evolution of resistance in several species of bacteria. Although numerous studies have utilized mutant screens to identify loci that determine AMP susceptibility, there is a dearth of data concerning the genomic changes that accompany experimental evolution of AMP resistance. Using genome resequencing, we analyzed the mutations that arose during experimental evolution of resistance to the cationic AMPs iseganan, melittin, and pexiganan, as well as to a combination of melittin and pexiganan, or to the aminoglycoside antibiotic streptomycin.

Antimicrobial defence and persistent infection in insects revisited.

Insects show long-lasting antimicrobial immune responses that follow the initial fast-acting cellular processes. These immune responses are discussed to provide a form of phrophylaxis and/or to serve as a safety measure against persisting infections. The duration and components of such long-lasting responses have rarely been studied in detail, a necessary prerequisite to understand their adaptive value.

General Practitioner Antimicrobial Stewardship Programme Study (GAPS): protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial.

Background: There is a strong link between antibiotic consumption and the rate of antibiotic resistance. In Australia, the vast majority of antibiotics are prescribed by general practitioners, and the most common indication is for acute respiratory infections. The aim of this study is to assess if implementing a package of integrated, multifaceted interventions reduces antibiotic prescribing for acute respiratory infections in general practice.

Comparative Genomic Analysis Reveals a Diverse Repertoire of Genes Involved in Prokaryote-Eukaryote Interactions within the Pseudovibrio Genus.

Strains of the Pseudovibrio genus have been detected worldwide, mainly as part of bacterial communities associated with marine invertebrates, particularly sponges. This recurrent association has been considered as an indication of a symbiotic relationship between these microbes and their host. Until recently, the availability of only two genomes, belonging to closely related strains, has limited the knowledge on the genomic and physiological features of the genus to a single phylogenetic lineage.

Effect of Multiple Deployments on Military Families: A Cross-Sectional Study of Health and Well-Being of Partners and Children.

This study explored the impact of multiple deployments on the health and well-being of the partners (married or de facto) and children of Australian military personnel who have deployed frequently. Permission to contact military partners was sought from a sample of Australian Defence Force (ADF) members. Partners provided data on deployment history, physical health, mental health, and their children's emotions, and behaviors.