Policies on the collection, analysis, and reporting of sex and gender in Australian health and medical research: a mixed methods study.

Objective: To explore the policies of key organisations in Australian health and medical research on defining, collecting, analysing, and reporting data on sex and gender, and to identify barriers to and facilitators of developing and implementing such policies.

Study Design: Mixed methods study: online planning forum; survey of organisations in Australian health and medical research, and internet search for policies defining, collecting, analysing, and reporting data by sex and gender in health and medical research.

Setting, Participants: Australia, 19 May 2021 (planning forum) to 12 December 2022 (final internet search).

Risk Factors Associated With Negative Appendicectomy Rates: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: Acute appendicitis (AA) is the most common emergency general surgical condition worldwide. Diagnosis is challenging and incorporates clinical, biochemical and radiological investigations. Our aim was to provide data from routine practice investigating widely utilised diagnostic methods from a single centre within the United Kingdom.

Epidural analgesia during labour and severe maternal morbidity: population based study.

Objectives: To determine the effect of labour epidural on severe maternal morbidity (SMM) and to explore whether this effect might be greater in women with a medical indication for epidural analgesia during labour, or with preterm labour.

Design: Population based study.

Setting: All NHS hospitals in Scotland.

Multi-tissue profiling of oxylipins reveal a conserved up-regulation of epoxide:diol ratio that associates with white adipose tissue inflammation and liver steatosis in obesity.

Background: Obesity drives maladaptive changes in the white adipose tissue (WAT) which can progressively cause insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and metabolic dysfunction-associated liver disease (MASLD). Obesity-mediated loss of WAT homeostasis can trigger liver steatosis through dysregulated lipid pathways such as those related to polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA)-derived oxylipins. However, the exact relationship between oxylipins and metabolic syndrome remains elusive and cross-tissue dynamics of oxylipins are ill-defined.

A wireless, implantable bioelectronic system for monitoring urinary bladder function following surgical recovery.

Partial cystectomy procedures for urinary bladder-related dysfunction involve long recovery periods, during which urodynamic studies (UDS) intermittently assess lower urinary tract function. However, UDS are not patient-friendly, they exhibit user-to-user variability, and they amount to snapshots in time, limiting the ability to collect continuous, longitudinal data. These procedures also pose the risk of catheter-associated urinary tract infections, which can progress to ascending pyelonephritis due to prolonged lower tract manipulation in high-risk patients.

Socio-economic disadvantage and utilisation of labour epidural analgesia in Scotland: a population-based study.

Socio-economic deprivation is associated with adverse maternal and childhood outcomes. Epidural analgesia, the gold standard for labour analgesia, may improve maternal well-being. We assessed the association of socio-economic status with utilisation of epidural analgesia and whether this differed when epidural analgesia was advisable for maternal safety.

Multipotent bone marrow cell-seeded polymeric composites drive long-term, definitive urinary bladder tissue regeneration.

To date, there are no efficacious translational solutions for end-stage urinary bladder dysfunction. Current surgical strategies, including urinary diversion and bladder augmentation enterocystoplasty (BAE), utilize autologous intestinal segments (e.g.

Variability in auditory processing performance is associated with reading difficulties rather than with history of otitis media.

The nature and cause of auditory processing deficits in dyslexic individuals have been debated for decades. Auditory processing deficits were argued to be the first step in a causal chain of difficulties, leading to difficulties in speech perception and thereby phonological processing and literacy difficulties. More recently, it has been argued that auditory processing difficulties may not be causally related to language and literacy difficulties.

Feasibility of Implementation and the Impact of a Digital Prehabilitation Service in Patients Undergoing Treatment for Oesophago-Gastric Cancer.

Background: Home-based and supervised prehabilitation programmes are shown to have a positive impact on outcomes in patients with oesophago-gastric (OG) cancer. The primary aim of this study was to establish the feasibility of delivering a digital prehabilitation service.

Methods: Patients undergoing treatment for OG cancer with curative intent were recruited into the study.

Personalized Prehabilitation Improves Tolerance to Chemotherapy in Patients with Oesophageal Cancer.

Background: Prehabilitation programmes aim to optimise patients before and after cancer treatment including surgery. Previous studies in surgical patients demonstrate that prehabilitation improves pre-operative fitness and overcomes the negative impact of neoadjuvant chemotherapy on fitness. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of prehabilitation on the tolerance of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with oesophageal cancer.

Histochemical Comparison of Human and Rat Lacrimal Glands: Implications for Bio-Engineering Studies.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine whether rodent lacrimal glands (LGs) represent a suitable surrogate for human tissue in bio-engineering research, we undertook a meticulous histological and histochemical comparison of these two tissues.

Methods: Histological techniques and immunohistochemistry were used to compare the structure of adult human and rat LG tissues and the expression of key functional tissue elements.

Results: Compared with humans, the rat LG is comprised of much more densely packed acini which are devoid of an obvious central lumen.

Brain structure correlates with auditory function in children diagnosed with auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder.

Introduction: Auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder (ANSD) is a term for a collection of test results which indicate disruption of the auditory signal at some point along the neural pathway. This results in a spectrum of functional outcomes, ranging from reasonably normal hearing to profound hearing loss. This study assessed brain structure changes and behavioral correlates in children diagnosed with ANSD.

Recurrent orbital inflammation associated with VEXAS syndrome.

VEXAS (Vacuoles, E1 enzyme, X-linked, Autoinflammatory, Somatic) syndrome is a newly recognised adult-onset multisystem autoinflammatory disease caused by a somatic mutation in the gene in myeloid or erythroid precursor cells. This report describes an atypical presentation of recurrent dacryoadenitis associated with VEXAS syndrome and provides a review of the literature. A 68-year-old male presented with three episodes of unilateral alternating dacryoadenitis followed by bilateral involvement over a 4-year period.

The effects of prehabilitation on body composition in patients undergoing multimodal therapy for esophageal cancer.

Prehabilitation aims to optimize a patient's functional capacity in preparation for surgery. Esophageal cancer patients have a high incidence of sarcopenia and commonly undergo neoadjuvant therapy, which is associated with loss of muscle mass. This study examines the effects of prehabilitation on body composition during neoadjuvant therapy in esophageal cancer patients.

Buprenorphine Compared with Methadone in Pregnancy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Introduction: Illicit opioid use in pregnancy is associated with adverse maternal, neonatal, and childhood outcomes. Opioid substitution is recommended, but whether methadone or buprenorphine is the optimal agent remains unclear.

Methods: We searched EMBASE, PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Open Gray, CINAHL and the Cochrane Central Registry of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) from inception to April 2020 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and cohort studies comparing methadone and buprenorphine treatment for opioid-using mothers.

Comparison of ultra-low, low and high concentration local anaesthetic for labour epidural analgesia: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.

Lumbar epidural is the gold standard for labour analgesia. Low concentrations of local anaesthetic are recommended. This network meta-analysis investigated whether further reducing the concentration of local anaesthetic can improve maternal and neonatal outcomes without compromising analgesia.

Perinatal outcomes of women with gestational breast cancer in Australia and New Zealand: A prospective population-based study.

Objective: To determine the epidemiology, clinical management, and outcomes of women with gestational breast cancer (GBC).

Methods: A population-based prospective cohort study was conducted in Australia and New Zealand between 2013 and 2014 using the Australasian Maternity Outcomes Surveillance System (AMOSS). Women who gave birth with a primary diagnosis of breast cancer during pregnancy were included.

Epidural analgesia in labor: A narrative review.

Lumbar epidural is the most effective form of pain relief in labor with around 30% of laboring women in the UK and 60% in the USA receiving epidural analgesia. Associations of epidural on maternal, obstetric, and neonatal outcomes have been the subject of intense study, though a number of uncertainties persist. The present narrative review explores important areas of research surrounding epidural analgesia in obstetric patients including methods of initiation and administration, choice of local anesthetic solution, and the addition of adjuvants.

Establishing human lacrimal gland cultures from biopsy-sized tissue specimens.

Objectives: To establish cultures of human lacrimal gland from patient-derived, biopsy-sized, tissue specimens.

Methods: Tissue was obtained after surgical removal from patients without dry eye disease undergoing routine procedures. Samples were subjected to mechanical and enzymatic digestion and resulting cell suspensions were plated onto collagen-coated glass coverslips and grown for up to 21 days.

Guide to Enhanced Recovery for Cancer Patients Undergoing Surgery: ERAS and Oesophagectomy.

Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocols are widely used in oesophageal cancer surgery. Multiple studies have demonstrated that ERAS protocols are associated with a shorter length of stay and a reduction in the incidence of post-operative complications after oesophagectomy. However, there is substantial heterogeneity in the content of ERAS protocols and the delivery of these pathways can be challenging.

Reference Intervals for Total T4 and Free T4 in Cynomolgus Macaques () and Rhesus Macaques ().

Thyroid diseases, associated with either increased or decreased concentrations of circulating thyroid hormones, are prevalent in both human and veterinary populations. Hypothyroidism is a differential diagnosis for many medical problems as the disease presents with nonspecific clinical signs that can include lethargy, weight gain, cold intolerance, and dermatologic manifestations such as alopecia. Alopecia is a frequently reported problem in captive nonhuman primates (NHP), and hypothyroidism is considered to be a differential diagnosis.

The Impact of Prehabilitation on Post-operative Outcomes in Oesophageal Cancer Surgery: a Propensity Score Matched Comparison.

Background: Patients undergoing oesophageal cancer surgery are often frail with a high risk of post-operative complications. Prehabilitation has been shown to reduce post-operative complications in specific patient populations but evidence in oesophageal cancer patients is inconclusive.

Methods: Between January 2016 and April 2019, all patients with resectable oesophageal cancer who underwent curative treatment at a specialist tertiary centre participated in a personalised, home-based, multimodal prehabilitation programme.

Relationship between sensitivity to temporal fine structure and spoken language abilities in children with mild-to-moderate sensorineural hearing loss.

Children with sensorineural hearing loss show considerable variability in spoken language outcomes. The present study tested whether specific deficits in supra-threshold auditory perception might contribute to this variability. In a previous study by Halliday, Rosen, Tuomainen, and Calcus [(2019).