A Prospective, Longitudinal and Exploratory Study of Head and Neck Lymphoedema and Dysphagia Following Chemoradiotherapy for Head and Neck Cancer.

The aim of the study was to examine the following: (a) the trajectory of external and internal head and neck lymphoedema (HNL) in patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) up to 12 months post-chemoradiotherapy (CRT) and (b) the relationship between HNL and swallowing function. Using a prospective longitudinal cohort study, external/internal HNL and swallowing were examined in 33 participants at 3, 6 and 12 months post-CRT. External HNL was assessed using the Assessment of Lymphoedema of the Head and Neck and the MD Anderson Cancer Centre Lymphoedema Rating Scale.

Association between external and internal lymphedema and chronic dysphagia following head and neck cancer treatment.

Background: To examine the relationship between chronic external and internal head and neck lymphedema (HNL) and swallowing function in patients following head and neck cancer (HNC) treatment.

Methods: Seventy-nine participants, 1-3 years post treatment were assessed for external HNL using the MD Anderson Cancer Centre Lymphedema Rating Scale, and internal HNL using Patterson's Radiotherapy Edema Rating Scale. Swallowing was assessed via instrumental, clinical and patient-reported outcome measures.

Personal noise exposure assessment of Kuwaiti printing industry workers.

Recent technological improvements in the printing industry may have altered noise exposures in printeries. Of the eight printery noise assessments published since 2000, none assessed the exposure of workers using computer-to-plate machines and only two used personal noise dosimetry. This method measures noise levels as the worker moves about and permits examination of the impulsiveness of noise levels.

Inhalation exposure to volatile organic compounds in the printing industry.

This study reports on the occupational inhalation exposure to VOCs of workers in the Kuwaiti printing industry. Using the evacuated canister methodology, we targeted 72 VOCs in three printeries and compared the concentrations to previous reports and relevant occupational exposure levels (OELs). We found that recent efforts in the printing industry to reduce VOC usage had been successful, as concentrations of key hazardous VOCs were substantially lower than anticipated.

Direct detection of neural activity in vitro using magnetic resonance electrical impedance tomography (MREIT).

We describe a sequence of experiments performed in vitro to verify the existence of a new magnetic resonance imaging contrast - Magnetic Resonance Electrical Impedance Tomography (MREIT) -sensitive to changes in active membrane conductivity. We compared standard deviations in MREIT phase data from spontaneously active Aplysia abdominal ganglia in an artificial seawater background solution (ASW) with those found after treatment with an excitotoxic solution (KCl). We found significant increases in MREIT treatment cases, compared to control ganglia subject to extra ASW.

Fruit and vegetable intake assessed by food frequency questionnaire and plasma carotenoids: a validation study in adults.

Dietary validation studies of self-reported fruit and vegetable intake should ideally include measurement of plasma biomarkers of intake. The aim was to conduct a validation study of self-reported fruit and vegetable intakes in adults, using the Australian Eating Survey (AES) food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), against a range of plasma carotenoids. Dietary intakes were assessed using the semi-quantitative 120 item AES FFQ.

Comparison of 30-Day Outcomes of Transfemoral Versus Transapical Approach for Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement: A Single-Center US Experience.

Background: The optimal access route for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) remains debatable. We compared early safety outcomes at 30 days between the transfemoral (TF) and transapical (TA) approaches in a single, high-volume center in the United States.

Methods: Data were collected retrospectively on consecutive patients who underwent TAVR by the TF or TA approach.

The comparative validity and reproducibility of a diet quality index for adults: the Australian Recommended Food Score.

Adult diet quality indices are shown to predict nutritional adequacy of dietary intake as well as all-cause morbidity and mortality. This study describes the reproducibility and validity of a food-based diet quality index, the Australian Recommended Food Score (ARFS). ARFS was developed to reflect alignment with the Australian Dietary Guidelines and is modelled on the US Recommended Food Score.

Perceived recollection of frequent exposure to foods in childhood is associated with adulthood liking.

Food preferences and habits learned at a young age can influence adulthood dietary patterns and weight, but the mechanism remains to be elucidated. We investigated the effect of perceived recollections of early food experiences on current liking for those foods by 670 college students. We showed that the perceived recollection of frequent consumption of foods in childhood was significantly related to current liking for the vast majority of the foods, including nutritious foods such as vegetables.

In-kennel behavior predicts length of stay in shelter dogs.

Previous empirical evaluations of training programs aimed at improving dog adoption rates assume that dogs exhibiting certain behaviors are more adoptable. However, no systematic data are available to indicate that the spontaneous behavior of shelter dogs has an effect on adopter preference. The aim of the present study was to determine whether any behaviors that dogs exhibit spontaneously in the presence of potential adopters were associated with the dogs' length of stay in the shelter.

Occupational exposures, smoking and airway inflammation in refractory asthma.

Background: The influence of occupation and ex/passive smoking on inflammatory phenotype is not well understood. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between occupation, past smoking and current passive smoking and airway inflammation in a population of adults with refractory asthma.

Methods: Sixty-six participants with refractory asthma were characterised.

Validity of the Australian Recommended Food Score as a diet quality index for Pre-schoolers.

Background: Diet quality tools provide researchers with brief methods to assess the nutrient adequacy of usual dietary intake. This study describes the development and validation of a pediatric diet quality index, the Australian Recommended Food Scores for Pre-schoolers (ARFS-P), for use with children aged two to five years.

Methods: The ARFS-P was derived from a 120-item food frequency questionnaire, with eight sub-scales, and was scored from zero to 73.

Dietary Intake Is Related to Multifactor Cardiovascular Risk Score in Obese Boys.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) originates in childhood and early identification of risk factors provides an early intervention opportunity. The aim was to identify children at higher risk using a CVD risk score, developed from factors known to cluster in childhood. Risk was scored as very high (≥97.

Reproducibility and comparative validity of a food frequency questionnaire for Australian adults.

Background: Food frequency questionnaires (FFQ) are used in epidemiological studies to investigate the relationship between diet and disease. There is a need for a valid and reliable adult FFQ with a contemporary food list in Australia.

Aims: To evaluate the reproducibility and comparative validity of the Australian Eating Survey (AES) FFQ in adults compared to weighed food records (WFRs).

Analysis of the Trojan Y-Chromosome eradication strategy for an invasive species.

The Trojan Y-Chromosome (TYC) strategy, an autocidal genetic biocontrol method, has been proposed to eliminate invasive alien species. In this work, we analyze the dynamical system model of the TYC strategy, with the aim of studying the viability of the TYC eradication and control strategy of an invasive species. In particular, because the constant introduction of sex-reversed trojan females for all time is not possible in practice, there arises the question: What happens if this injection is stopped after some time? Can the invasive species recover? To answer that question, we perform a rigorous bifurcation analysis and study the basin of attraction of the recovery state and the extinction state in both the full model and a certain reduced model.

The C. elegans male exercises directional control during mating through cholinergic regulation of sex-shared command interneurons.

Background: Mating behaviors in simple invertebrate model organisms represent tractable paradigms for understanding the neural bases of sex-specific behaviors, decision-making and sensorimotor integration. However, there are few examples where such neural circuits have been defined at high resolution or interrogated.

Methodology/principal Findings: Here we exploit the simplicity of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans to define the neural circuits underlying the male's decision to initiate mating in response to contact with a mate.

Can Better Outdoor Environments Lead to Cost Benefits in Assisted Living Facilities Through Increased Word-of-Mouth Referrals?

Objective: This study explores how better outdoor environments may produce cost benefits for assisted living providers by raising occupancy levels through increased resident satisfaction and word-of-mouth referrals.

Background: Older adults who spend even minimal time outdoors may reap substantial health benefits. However, many existing outdoor areas in assisted living facilities are reportedly underutilized, in part because of design issues.

An application of a diabetes knowledge scale for low-literate Hispanic/Latinos.

Purpose: The threefold purpose of this study is to assess diabetes knowledge among Hispanic/Latinos attending a culturally sensitive, empowerment-based, diabetes self-management education program; second, to examine the utility of the Spoken Knowledge in Low Literacy in Diabetes (SKILLD) scale as an assessment tool for this population; and third, to assess the relationship between hemoglobin A1C and knowledge improvement in the intervention group.

Method: A prospective, quasi-experimental, repeated-measure design tested pre- and post-A1C and diabetes knowledge using the SKILLD scale. The sample consisted of 71 in the intervention group and 64 controls.

Effect of oral administration of pimobendan in cats with heart failure.

Objective: To determine the effect of PO administration of pimobendan on clinical and echocardiographic variables and survival time in cats with heart failure characterized by ventricular systolic dysfunction.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Animals: 27 client-owned cats (16 male and 11 female) with heart failure, treated with pimobendan (mean ± SD dosage, 0.

Retrospective review of carvedilol administration in 38 dogs with preclinical chronic valvular heart disease.

Objectives: Report the effect of carvedilol administration on clinical and echocardiographic parameters and outcome in dogs with preclinical (ACVIM Stage B) chronic valvular heart disease (CVD).

Animals, Materials And Methods: Retrospective case series of 38 client-owned dogs. Demographic, physical examination and diagnostic imaging findings, blood pressure (BP), administration details and outcome were obtained from medical records of dogs receiving carvedilol for preclinical CVD.

Coexistence of competing stage-structured populations.

This paper analyzes the stability of a coexistence equilibrium point of a model for competition between two stage-structured populations. In this model, for each population, competition for resources may affect any one of the following population parameters: reproduction, juvenile survival, maturation rate, or adult survival. The results show that the competitive strength of a population is affected by (1) the ratio of the population parameter influenced by competition under no resource limitation (maximum compensatory capacity) over the same parameter under a resource limitation due to competition (equilibrium rate) and (2) the ratio of interspecific competition over intraspecific competition; this ratio was previously shown to depend on resource-use overlap.

Relative risk of elevated hearing threshold compared to ISO1999 normative populations for Royal Australian Air Force male personnel.

Objective: This paper introduces a new method to calculate relative risks of elevated hearing thresholds, at various ages and frequencies, between a study population and ISO1999:2003: Annex A Screened, Annex B Unscreened and ISO1999 Section 5.3 adjustment for noise exposure using Annex A Screened data. We demonstrate this method on a study population of male Royal Australian Air Force personnel.

An empowerment-based diabetes self-management education program for Hispanic/Latinos: a quasi-experimental pilot study.

Purpose: The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the effects of a culturally sensitive, empowerment-based diabetes self-management education program for Spanish-speaking Hispanic/Latinos.

Methods: A prospective quasi-experimental repeated measures design tested the effectiveness of the ¡Si, Yo Puedo Controlar Mi Diabetes! diabetes self-management education program. In sum, 144 persons residing in 2 Texas counties at the Texas-Mexico border (Starr and Hidalgo) served as participants.

The effect of ocular blinkers on the horses' reactions to four different visual and audible stimuli: results of a crossover trial.

Objective: To determine the effect of ocular blinkers on driving horses' reactions to visual and audible stimuli.

Design: Balanced crossover trial with horses randomly assigned to either wear blinkers or not wear blinkers first or second, then subjected to repeated sequences of four distinct stimuli (chain rattle, cap gun, umbrella opening, and shaking of an aluminum can containing coins). Two weeks later, this process was repeated with the ordering of wearing blinkers reversed.

Peripheral neuropathy in military aircraft maintenance workers in Australia.

Objective: This study aimed to examine possible persisting peripheral neuropathy in a group who undertook fuel tank repairs on F-111 aircraft, relative to two contemporaneous comparison groups.

Methods: Vibration perception threshold (VPT) was tested using biothesiometry in 614 exposed personnel, compared with two unexposed groups (513 technical trades and 403 nontrades). Regression modeling was used to examine associations, adjusting for possible confounders.