Beyond boundaries: exploring a generative artificial intelligence assignment in graduate, online science courses.

Generative artificial intelligence (GAI) offers increased accessibility and personalized learning, though the potential for inaccuracies, biases, and unethical use is concerning. We present a newly developed research paper assignment that required students to utilize GAI. The assignment was implemented within three online, asynchronous graduate courses for medical laboratory sciences.

Perceptual tri-stability, measured and fitted as emergent from a model for bistable alternations.

The human auditory system in attempting to decipher ambiguous sounds appears to resort to perceptual exploration as evidenced by multi-stable perceptual alternations. This phenomenon has been widely investigated via the auditory streaming paradigm, employing ABA_ triplet sequences with much research focused on perceptual bi-stability with the alternate percepts as either a single integrated stream or as two simultaneous distinct streams. We extend this inquiry with experiments and modeling to include tri-stable perception.

Emergency department triage decision-making by registered nurses: An instrument development study.

Aim: To develop and psychometrically test the triage decision-making instrument, a tool to measure Emergency Department Registered Nurses decision-making.

Design: Five phases: (1) defining the concept, (2) item generation, (3) face validity, (4) content validity and (5) pilot testing.

Methods: Concept definition informed by a grounded theory study from which four domains emerged.

Low-level elevations in high-sensitivity cardiac troponin predict obstructive coronary artery disease and revascularisation in rural patients with non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction referred for coronary angiography.

Rural patients with non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) are transferred to metropolitan hospitals for invasive coronary angiography (ICA). Yet, many do not have obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD). In this analysis of rural Western Australian patients transferred for ICA for NSTEMI, low-level elevations in high-sensitivity cardiac troponin (≤5× upper reference limit) were associated with less obstructive CAD and revascularisation.

Telehealth during COVID-19 restrictions in patients with cardiovascular disease: impact on medication prescriptions and patient satisfaction.

Background And Aims: Telehealth plays an integral part in healthcare delivery. The impact of telehealth and the COVID-19 pandemic on medication prescribing and patient satisfaction with telehealth in cardiology clinics remains unknown.

Methods: A retrospective study of cardiology clinic patients at an Australian tertiary hospital was conducted; 630 patients seen before the COVID-19 pandemic (0.

Early SGLT2 inhibitor use is associated with improved left atrial strain following acute coronary syndrome.

Aim: Left atrial (LA) strain, a novel marker of LA function, reliably predicts diastolic dysfunction. SGLT2 inhibitors improve heart failure outcomes, but limited data exists regarding their use in the immediate aftermath of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). We studied the effect of empagliflozin on LA strain in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and ACS.

"How are you?" Perspectives From Patients and Health Care Providers of Text Messaging to Support Rheumatoid Arthritis Care: A Thematic Analysis.

Objective: Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) may need to access rheumatology care between scheduled visits. WelTel is a virtual care platform that supports secure two-way text-messaging between patients and their health care team. The objective of the present study was to explore perspectives and experiences of health care providers (HCPs) and patients related to the use of WelTel as an adjunct to routine care.

Content validity testing of the INTERMED Self-Assessment in a sample of adults with rheumatoid arthritis and rheumatology healthcare providers.

Background: Care complexity can occur when patients experience health challenges simultaneously with social barriers including food and/or housing insecurity, lack of transportation or other factors that impact care and patient outcomes. People with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) may experience care complexity due to the chronicity of their condition and other biopsychosocial factors. There are few standardised instruments that measure care complexity and none that measure care complexity specifically in people with RA.

A streamlined Emergency Department approach to moderate risk chest pain in patients with no pre-existing coronary artery disease: A pilot study.

Objective: Moderate risk patients with chest pain and no previously diagnosed coronary artery disease (CAD) who present to ED require further risk stratification. We hypothesise that management of these patients by ED physicians can decrease length of stay (LOS), without increasing patient harm.

Methods: A prospective pilot study with comparison to a pre-intervention control group was performed on patients presenting with chest pain to an ED in Perth, Australia between May and October 2021, following the introduction of a streamlined guideline consisting of ED led decision making and early follow up.

Evaluation of stable chest pain following emergency department presentation: Impact of first-line cardiac computed tomography diagnostic strategy in an Australian setting.

Objective: International guidelines provide increasing support for computed tomography coronary angiography (CTCA) in investigating chest pain. A pathway utilising CTCA first-line for outpatient stable chest pain evaluation was implemented in an Australian ED.

Methods: In pre-post design, the impact of the pathway was prospectively assessed over 6 months (August 2021 to January 2022) and compared with a 6-month pre-implementation group (February 2021 to July 2021).

Artificial Intelligence in Cardiology: An Australian Perspective.

Significant advances have been made in artificial intelligence technology in recent years. Many health care applications have been investigated to assist clinicians and the technology is close to being integrated into routine clinical practice. The high prevalence of cardiac disease in Australia places overwhelming demands on the existing health care system, challenging its capacity to provide quality patient care.

Characteristics and Outcomes of Young Patients With ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction Without Standard Modifiable Risk Factors.

Patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) with no standard modifiable risk factors (SMuRFs: hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hypercholesterolemia, and smoking) have worse short-term mortality than those with SMuRFs. Whether this association extends to younger patients is unclear. A retrospective cohort study was performed of patients aged 18 to 45 years with STEMI at 3 Australian hospitals between 2010 and 2020.

Hierarchical processing underpins competition in tactile perceptual bistability.

Ambiguous sensory information can lead to spontaneous alternations between perceptual states, recently shown to extend to tactile perception. The authors recently proposed a simplified form of tactile rivalry which evokes two competing percepts for a fixed difference in input amplitudes across antiphase, pulsatile stimulation of the left and right fingers. This study addresses the need for a tactile rivalry model that captures the dynamics of perceptual alternations and that incorporates the structure of the somatosensory system.

Intimate partner violence: A practice development issue for orthopaedic nurses.

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is an underrecognized healthcare phenomenon that causes significant harm to the health of those affected. The lifetime estimated global prevalence of IPV is one in three for women and one in twelve for men. Orthopaedic fracture clinics care for patients affected by IPV and, in fact, orthopaedic patients themselves believe they should be screened for IPV.

Contemporary Chest Pain Evaluation: The Australian Case for Cardiac CT.

Computed tomography coronary angiography (CTCA) is a non-invasive diagnostic modality that provides a comprehensive anatomical assessment of the coronary arteries and coronary atherosclerosis, including plaque burden, composition and morphology. The past decade has witnessed an increase in the role of CTCA for evaluating patients with both stable and acute chest pain, and recent international guidelines have provided increasing support for a first line CTCA diagnostic strategy in select patients. CTCA offers some advantages over current functional tests in the detection of obstructive and non-obstructive coronary artery disease, as well as for ruling out obstructive coronary artery disease.

Hepatic fat as a novel marker for high-risk coronary atherosclerotic plaque features in familial hypercholesterolaemia.

Background & Aims: Hepatic steatosis has been associated with increased risk of coronary artery disease. Individuals with familial hypercholesterolaemia have accelerated but variable progression of coronary artery disease. We investigated whether hepatic steatosis is associated with novel coronary atherosclerosis biomarkers in adults with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia, using comprehensive coronary computed tomographic angiography.

Short-term DAPT after coronary stenting has similar ischemic and bleeding outcomes as long-term DAPT: a 5-year population-based cohort study.

Background: Optimal duration of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) remains controversial.

Aim: We investigated the relationship between DAPT duration following PCI and long-term ischemic and bleeding outcomes under real-world conditions.

Methods: Patients aged ≥ 65 years who underwent PCI with stenting in Western Australian hospitals between 2003 and 2008 and survived 2 years were identified from linked hospital admissions data.

Development and testing of the rheumatoid arthritis quality of care survey.

Objectives: The Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) Quality of Care Survey (RAQCS) was developed to measure care quality according to a previously developed national RA quality improvement framework.

Methods: The development of the RAQCS occurred over 3 phases. First, the survey was developed by a team of healthcare providers, researchers, and two patient partners based on the existing national quality framework's 21 performance measures (PMs) and strategic objectives.

Early Australian experience with intravascular lithotripsy treatment of severe calcific coronary stenosis: IVL in acute/chronic coronary syndromes.

Aims: Calcified coronary stenoses are a serious impediment to optimal stent expansion and can lead to stent failure and catastrophic adverse outcomes. We hereby present early Australian experience with intravascular lithotripsy for the treatment of calcific lesions in acute and chronic coronary syndromes.

Methods And Results: This was a single-centre retrospective study of all patients treated with intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) between October 2019 and June 2021.

Contemporary Evidence-Based Diagnosis and Management of Severe Coronary Artery Calcification.

Percutaneous treatment of heavily calcified coronary lesions remains a challenge for interventional cardiologists with increased risk of incomplete lesion preparation, suboptimal stent deployment, procedural complications, and a higher rate of acute and late stent failure. Adequate lesion preparation through calcium modification is crucial in optimising procedural outcomes. Several calcium modification devices and techniques exist, with rotational atherectomy the predominant treatment for severely calcified lesions.

Revisiting horizontal connectivity rules in V1: from like-to-like towards like-to-all.

Horizontal connections in the primary visual cortex of carnivores, ungulates and primates organize on a near-regular lattice. Given the similar length scale for the regularity found in cortical orientation maps, the currently accepted theoretical standpoint is that these maps are underpinned by a like-to-like connectivity rule: horizontal axons connect preferentially to neurons with similar preferred orientation. However, there is reason to doubt the rule's explanatory power, since a growing number of quantitative studies show that the like-to-like connectivity preference and bias mostly observed at short-range scale, are highly variable on a neuron-to-neuron level and depend on the origin of the presynaptic neuron.