Clinical and Autopsy Characteristics of Fatal Methamphetamine Toxicity in Australia.

Characteristics of death attributed solely to methamphetamine toxicity (MT, n = 93) by forensic pathologists were examined and compared to cases of multiple drug toxicity (MDT, n = 634). The mean age of MT cases was 36.7 years, and 86.

Comparison of preservation and transportation protocols for preloaded Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty.

Background/aims: Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) preparation is technically demanding and is a limiting factor for uptake of this kind of surgery. Supply methods that simplify the procedure for surgeons are key to increasing uptake. This study compares two different shipping protocols for DMEK.

Identification of Feeder Vessels in Ocular Surface Neoplasia Using Indocyanine Green Angiography.

Purpose: To evaluate indocyanine green angiography (ICGA) for the identification and characterization of afferent (feeding) and efferent (draining) vessels in patients with ocular surface neoplasia.

Materials And Methods: Consecutive patients with biopsy-proven benign, pre-invasive, or invasive ocular surface tumors of the bulbar conjunctiva were included. Patients underwent anterior segment optical coherence tomography, ICGA, and color photography for the evaluation of the thickness, location, number, and diameter of afferent and efferent vessels of the lesions.

Detecting Change in Conjunctival Hyperemia Using a Pixel Densitometry Index.

Purpose: To investigate a pixel densitometry index (PDI) for measuring ocular surface inflammation (OSI).

Methods: Efron's grading was performed by two independent observers. Color photographs and indocyanine green angiography were undertaken before and after instillation of phenylephrine (PE) hydrochloride 2.

Gene-based antiangiogenic applications for corneal neovascularization.

Corneal avascularity is maintained by angiogenic privilege, an active process involving the production of higher level of angiostatic factors to offset the effect of angiogenic factors. A wide range of pathological insults to the cornea can disrupt this intricate equilibrium and promote angiogenesis and corneal neovascularization with resultant visual impairment. Corneal neovascularization is also a major risk factor for graft failure after keratoplasty.

A Rare Case of Gestational Choriocarcinoma Presenting as Cornual Ectopic Pregnancy.

Background: Choriocarcinoma associated with cornual pregnancy is extremely rare. To our knowledge, only three other cases have been reported in the literature.

Case: A 38-year-old woman was found to have a left cornual ectopic pregnancy on ultrasound after presenting with abdominal pain, irregular vaginal bleeding, and a positive pregnancy test.

Subcutaneous adipose tissue gene expression and DNA methylation respond to both short- and long-term weight loss.

Background: Few studies have examined both gene expression and DNA methylation profiles in subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) during long-term weight loss. Thus, molecular mechanisms in weight loss and regain remain elusive.

Participants/methods: We performed a 1-year weight loss intervention on 19 healthy obese participants (mean body mass index (BMI) 34.

Is there an observational effect? An exploratory study into speed cameras and self-reported offending behaviour.

Fixed and mobile speed cameras are an important element of enforcement initiatives designed to create a strong deterrent effect and improve road safety. Despite the widespread use of the technology and the need to create a strong deterrent effect, research has yet to determine if there is a relationship between levels of exposure to the devices and subsequent self-reported deterrent effects. As a result, licensed motorists (N=536; 51% female) in Queensland (Australia) were recruited to complete a questionnaire that measured exposure to speed cameras and associated offending behaviours.

Plasmatic coagulation and fibrinolysis in healthy and Otostrongylus-affected Northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris).

Background: Prepatent Otostrongylus arteritis results in hemorrhagic diathesis in free-ranging Northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) attributed to aberrant larval migration of the lungworm, Otostrongylus circumlitus. Clinical signs are often nonspecific, including lethargy, anorexia, and blepharospasm, but can progress to spontaneous frank hemorrhage and death within 72 hours of onset. Previously published case reports describe coagulopathy with prolonged PT and APTT, normal to elevated platelet counts, normal antithrombin concentrations, and low concentrations of fibrinogen degradation products.

A Systematic Review of Psychological Interventions for Sleep and Fatigue after Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.

This review evaluated the evidence for psychological interventions to improve sleep and reduce fatigue after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Eight electronic databases were searched up until August 2016 for studies that: 1) included adults; 2) tested intervention effectiveness on sleep quality and fatigue post-acutely; and 3) applied a broadly-defined psychological intervention (e.g.

Phase I clinical trials in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer treated within a Drug Development Unit: What have we learnt?

Objectives: Despite advances in novel drug development for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), there are still only a limited number of approved treatments. We therefore evaluated the clinical outcomes of patients with advanced NSCLC referred to a dedicated phase I clinical trials unit assessed baseline clinical factors associated with successful enrollment onto phase I trials.

Material And Methods: We conducted a retrospective study involving patients with advanced NSCLC referred to the Drug Development Unit at the RMH between January 2005 and December 2013.

Young females' attention toward road safety images: An ERP study of the revised reinforcement sensitivity theory.

Objective: This study examined whether reward and punishment sensitivities, as conceptualized by Gray and McNaughton's revised reinforcement sensitivity theory (RST), influenced young female drivers' attention toward a series of positive and negative antispeeding advertisement images. Young females' increasing crash risk is associated with their engagement in risky behaviors, which, in turn, has been associated with a stronger behavioral approach system (BAS; sensitive to rewards). It was predicted that individuals with a stronger BAS would elicit larger N100 and N200 mean amplitudes (reflecting greater attention) toward the positive images.

Clinical Characteristics of Fatal Methamphetamine-related Stroke: A National Study.

The study aimed to determine the clinical characteristics of fatal methamphetamine-related stroke in Australia, 2009-2015. There were 38 cases, 60.5% male, with a mean age of 40.

RNAi screen reveals synthetic lethality between cyclin G-associated kinase and FBXW7 by inducing aberrant mitoses.

Background: F-box and WD40 repeat domain-containing 7 (FBXW7) is an E3 ubiquitin ligase involved in the ubiquitination and degradation of multiple oncogenic substrates. The tumour suppressor function is frequently lost in multiple cancers through genetic deletion and mutations in a broad range of tumours. Loss of FBXW7 functionality results in the stabilisation of multiple major oncoproteins, culminating in increased cellular proliferation and pro-survival pathways, cell cycle deregulation, chromosomal instability and altered metabolism.

Prevalence and nature of cardiovascular disease in methamphetamine-related death: A national study.

Background: Methamphetamine dependence is a major public health problem. This study examined the nature, and extent, of cardiovascular disease amongst cases of methamphetamine-related death in Australia, 2009-2015.

Methods: Analysis of 894 cases of methamphetamine-related death with full autopsy reports retrieved from the National Coronial Information System.

Indolent peritoneal mesothelioma: PI3K-mTOR inhibitors as a novel therapeutic strategy.

Unlabelled: Peritoneal mesothelioma (MPeM) is a scarce abdominal-pelvic malignancy that presents with non-specific features and exhibits a wide clinical spectrum from indolent to aggressive disease. Due to it being a rare entity, there is a lack of understanding of its molecular drivers. Most treatment data are from limited small studies or extrapolated from pleural mesothelioma.

HIV-positive pregnant women attending the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS (PMTCT) services in Ethiopia: economic productivity losses across urban-rural settings.

HIV/AIDS impacts significantly on pregnant women and on children in Ethiopia. This impact has a multiplier effect on household economies and on productivity losses, and is expected to vary across rural and urban settings. Applying the human capital approach to data collected from 131 respondents, this study estimated productivity losses per HIV-positive pregnant woman-infant pair across urban and rural health facilities in Ethiopia, which in turn were used to estimate the national productivity loss.

The impact of immunoglobulin in acute HIV infection on the HIV reservoir: a randomized controlled trial.

Objectives: Antiretroviral therapy (ART) during acute HIV infection (AHI) restricts the HIV reservoir, but additional interventions are necessary to induce a cure. Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) is not HIV-specific but is safe and temporarily reduces the HIV reservoir in chronic HIV infection. We present a randomized controlled trial to investigate whether IVIG plus ART in AHI reduces the HIV reservoir and immune activation compared with ART alone.

The role of hormonal therapy in patients with relapsed high-grade ovarian carcinoma: a retrospective series of tamoxifen and letrozole.

Background: Hormonal therapy is used as a treatment option in high-grade ovarian carcinoma (HGOC), but the role and choice of treatment remains unclear. Agents used include tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitors. Our aim was to evaluate the efficacy of tamoxifen (T) and letrozole (L) in HGOC in clinical practice and investigate factors influencing clinical outcome.