Disruption of anterior insula modulation of large-scale brain networks in schizophrenia.

Background: Systems level modeling of functional magnetic resonance imaging data has demonstrated dysfunction of several large-scale brain networks in schizophrenia. Anomalies across multiple functional networks associated with schizophrenia could be due to diffuse pathology across multiple networks or, alternatively, dysfunction at converging control(s) common to these networks. The right anterior insula has been shown to modulate activity in the central executive and default mode networks in healthy individuals.

Changes in HIV-1 subtypes B and C genital tract RNA in women and men after initiation of antiretroviral therapy.

Background: Combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) reduces genital tract human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) load and reduces the risk of sexual transmission, but little is known about the efficacy of cART for decreasing genital tract viral load (GTVL) and differences in sex or HIV-1 subtype.

Methods: HIV-1 RNA from blood plasma, seminal plasma, or cervical wicks was quantified at baseline and at weeks 48 and 96 after entry in a randomized clinical trial of 3 cART regimens.

Results: One hundred fifty-eight men and 170 women from 7 countries were studied (men: 55% subtype B and 45% subtype C; women: 24% subtype B and 76% subtype C).

Changes in longer consultations for children in general practice.

Aim: To determine if the duration of general practitioner (GP) consultations, or the proportional distribution of item numbers associated with longer consultations, with children has changed in association with the demographic changes in Australia.

Method: Secondary data analysis of Medicare claims from 1996 to 2010, which were stratified by patient age and visit type as designated by billing item number, and of the Bettering the Evaluation of Care and Health (BEACH) database was conducted. The Medicare data that were analysed were changes in overall proportion and absolute numbers of longer consultations for children from 1996 to 2010, while the BEACH data that were analysed were changes in the average duration of visits for children and the proportion of visits by children for chronic conditions.

Effect of dietary carnosic acid on the fatty acid profile and flavour stability of meat from fattening lambs.

Thirty-two lambs were fed with barley straw supplemented by a concentrate alone, or a concentrate enriched with either vitamin E (VITE006: 0.6 g kg(-1) feed concentrate) or carnosic acid (CARN006: 0.6 g kg(-1) feed concentrate; or CARN012: 1.

Dietary composition in the treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome: a systematic review to inform evidence-based guidelines.

While lifestyle management is recommended as first-line treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), the optimal dietary composition is unclear. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of different diet compositions on anthropometric, reproductive, metabolic, and psychological outcomes in PCOS. A literature search was conducted (Australasian Medical Index, CINAHL, EMBASE, Medline, PsycInfo, and EBM reviews; most recent search was performed January 19, 2012).

Pediatric nurse practitioners: influences on career choice.

Background: The demand for hiring pediatric nurse practitioners (PNPs) is strong. However, the number of newly educated PNPs has remained relatively flat during the past several years. Understanding the rationale and timing for the decision to pursue this profession is essential to having a positive impact on increasing the future workforce.

Ultra-minimally invasive sonographically guided carpal tunnel release: anatomic study of a new technique.

Objectives: The purposes of this study were to measure a safe zone and a path for ultra-minimally invasive sonographically guided carpal tunnel release with a 1-mm incision in healthy volunteers and then test the procedure in cadavers.

Methods: First, a previously reported sonographic zone was defined as the space between the median nerve and the closest ulnar vascular structure. Axially, the safest theoretical cutting point for carpal tunnel release was set by bisecting this zone.

Brain circuits that link schizophrenia to high risk of cigarette smoking.

Schizophrenia is associated with a high prevalence of smoking. Functional connectivity between the dorsal anterior cingulate (dACC) and limbic regions including the ventral striatum, extended amygdala and parahippocampal areas has been previously implicated in the genetics and clinical severity of smoking. In this study, we test the hypothesis that dACC functional circuits are key paths for the high risk of smoking comorbidity in schizophrenia.

The effect of obesity on polycystic ovary syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

While many women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are overweight, obese or centrally obese, the effect of excess weight on the outcomes of PCOS is inconsistent. The review aimed to assess the effects of overweight, obesity and central obesity on the reproductive, metabolic and psychological features of PCOS. MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) and PSYCINFO were searched for studies reporting outcomes according to body mass index categories or body fat distribution.

Effects of energy-restricted high-protein, low-fat compared with standard-protein, low-fat diets: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Background: It is currently unclear whether altering the carbohydrate-to-protein ratio of low-fat, energy-restricted diets augments weight loss and cardiometabolic risk markers.

Objective: The objective was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies that compared energy-restricted, isocaloric, high-protein, low-fat (HP) diets with standard-protein, low-fat (SP) diets on weight loss, body composition, resting energy expenditure (REE), satiety and appetite, and cardiometabolic risk factors.

Design: Systematic searches were conducted by using MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials to identify weight-loss trials that compared isocalorically prescribed diets matched for fat intake but that differed in protein and carbohydrate intakes in participants aged ≥18 y.

Neurobehavioral alterations in HIV-1 transgenic rats: evidence for dopaminergic dysfunction.

Clinical studies have provided evidence that the progression of HIV-1-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) involves alterations in dopamine (DA) systems. Drugs of abuse that act on the brain DA system, such as cocaine (Coc), may exacerbate HIV-1 infection and consequent behavioral and neurological manifestations. In the present study, we used the HIV-1 transgenic (Tg) rat, which constitutively expresses 7 of the 9 HIV-1 genes, to assess potential DA system alterations in three behavioral assays: prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the auditory startle response (ASR), novelty and habituation/retention, and sensitization to Coc across repeated administration.

Quercetin dietary supplementation of fattening lambs at 0.2% rate reduces discolouration and microbial growth in meat during refrigerated storage.

Thirty-two Merino lambs fed barley straw and a concentrate formulated either with palm oil (CTRL group) plus quercetin (QCT group) or flaxseed (FS group) plus quercetin (FS-QCT group) were used to assess the effects of this flavonoid on meat quality attributes. The animals were slaughtered after being fed for at least 5 weeks with the experimental diets. Chemical composition of longissimus thoracis (LT) muscle was not different among treatments.

Medical student perceptions of the scope of plastic and reconstructive surgery.

Background: The scope of plastic surgery is not well understood by people outside the field. Better educating medical students about plastic surgery may improve understanding of the field, establish appropriate referral patterns early on, and assist with career decision-making. The purpose of this study was to assess medical student understanding of plastic surgery and to analyze the impact of prior plastic surgery clinical exposure on this understanding.

Insular and anterior cingulate circuits in smokers with schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia (SZ) is associated with high rates of smoking. We previously found that resting state functional connectivity (rsFC) between the dorsal anterior cingulate (dACC) and striatum is independently associated with nicotine addiction and psychiatric illness. Since the insula is implicated in nicotine dependence, we hypothesized that SZ smokers will have greater dysfunction in smoking-related insular and dACC circuits than normal control smokers (NC) independent of smoking severity, consistent with an inherent disease-related weakening of smoking-related circuits.

Weight loss and vascular inflammatory markers in overweight women with and without polycystic ovary syndrome.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is associated with increased cardiovascular disease risk. The effect of weight loss on the vascular inflammatory markers plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1) and intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) is unknown. Overweight women with (n=14) and without (n=13) PCOS of comparable age and body mass index undertook an 8-week weight-loss programme.

Resident work hour changes in children's hospitals: impact on staffing patterns and workforce needs.

Background And Objective: Changes to the structure and nature of resident duty hour assignments can create compensatory workforce needs in hospital or outpatient settings to ensure appropriate patient care. The objective of this study was to understand what, if any, adjustments children's hospitals have made in staffing and assignments of specific duties during the past 2 years as a result of residency duty hour changes, and what changes are anticipated in the upcoming 2 years.

Methods: Mail survey to chief executive officers and chief operating officers of 114 freestanding children's hospitals or children's hospitals within a larger hospital.

Changes in the demography of Australia and therefore general practice patient populations.

Background: The population of Australia is ageing. We sought to examine the impact of this demographic trend on the demography of general practices.

Methods: Descriptive statistics of Medicare claims and census data, 1996-2010.

Efficacy and safety of three antiretroviral regimens for initial treatment of HIV-1: a randomized clinical trial in diverse multinational settings.

Background: Antiretroviral regimens with simplified dosing and better safety are needed to maximize the efficiency of antiretroviral delivery in resource-limited settings. We investigated the efficacy and safety of antiretroviral regimens with once-daily compared to twice-daily dosing in diverse areas of the world.

Methods And Findings: 1,571 HIV-1-infected persons (47% women) from nine countries in four continents were assigned with equal probability to open-label antiretroviral therapy with efavirenz plus lamivudine-zidovudine (EFV+3TC-ZDV), atazanavir plus didanosine-EC plus emtricitabine (ATV+DDI+FTC), or efavirenz plus emtricitabine-tenofovir-disoproxil fumarate (DF) (EFV+FTC-TDF).

Health-related behaviors in women with lifestyle-related diseases.

Lifestyle related diseases associated with physical inactivity and poor diet quality, represent a major health burden. This study assessed negative and positive health habits and health care utilization in healthy women (n = 50) and women with lifestyle related diseases such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) (n = 50), gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) (n = 44) and type 2 diabetes (DM2) (n = 43). A significant difference existed across groups for negative health habits (P = .

A decrease in diet quality occurs during pregnancy in overweight and obese women which is maintained post-partum.

Background: Ensuring adequate dietary intake during pregnancy has important implications for optimising maternal and fetal health. It is not known whether diet quality is altered over pregnancy and the post-partum period.

Objective: The aim of this study was to perform a comprehensive assessment of diet quality in overweight and obese women during pregnancy and early post-partum.

Peritubular capillary basement membrane multilayering on electron microscopy: a useful marker of early chronic antibody-mediated damage.

Background: Chronic antibody-mediated rejection is an important cause of late graft failure. Developing an early marker of the disease may allow diagnosis and treatment before irreversible graft damage has occurred. The aim of this study was to assess whether, on electron microscopy examination, peritubular capillary (PTC) basement membrane multilayering precedes and predicts the development of transplant glomerulopathy (TG).