Methotrexate encephalopathy: Two cases in adult cancer patients, who recovered with pathophysiologically based therapy.

Background/objectives: Neurotoxicity is a serious and sometimes fatal adverse effect that can occur following methotrexate treatment. We describe two adult patients with hematological malignancies with methotrexate encephalopathy who recovered with dextromethorphan therapy.

Results: : A 24-year-old male with acute lymphoblastic leukemia developed the acute onset of bilateral facial weakness and slurred speech after his first treatment with high-dose intravenous methotrexate.

Preventing Internalizing Problems in 6-8 Year Old Children: A Universal School-Based Program.

The Aussie Optimism Program: Feelings and Friends (AOP-FF) is a 10 week, universal mental health promotion program based on social/emotional and cognitive and behavioral strategies. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the efficacy of a universal Cognitive Behavioral Therapy based program in preventing and reducing internalizing problems in 6-8 year olds (Years 1-3 in Australia). Year 1-3 students from a low SES primary school ( = 206) were randomly assigned in classes to either an intervention or a control group and assessed at baseline and post-test.

Relationships between psychosocial outcomes in adolescents who are obese and their parents during a multi-disciplinary family-based healthy lifestyle intervention: One-year follow-up of a waitlist controlled trial (Curtin University's Activity, Food and Attitudes Program).

Background: Limited studies have investigated relationships in psychosocial outcomes between adolescents who are obese and their parents and how psychosocial outcomes change during participation in a physical activity and healthy eating intervention. This study examined both adolescent and parent psychosocial outcomes while participating in a one - year multi-disciplinary family-based intervention: Curtin University's Activity, Food, and Attitudes Program (CAFAP).

Methods: Following a waitlist control period, the intervention was delivered to adolescent (n = 56, ages 11-16) and parent participants over 8 weeks, with one-year maintenance follow-up.

Assessment of a model for achieving competency in administration and scoring of the WAIS-IV in post-graduate psychology students.

There is a need for an evidence-based approach to training professional psychologists in the administration and scoring of standardized tests such as the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) due to substantial evidence that these tasks are associated with numerous errors that have the potential to significantly impact clients' lives. Twenty three post-graduate psychology students underwent training in using the WAIS-IV according to a best-practice teaching model that involved didactic teaching, independent study of the test manual, and in-class practice with teacher supervision and feedback. Video recordings and test protocols from a role-played test administration were analyzed for errors according to a comprehensive checklist with self, peer, and faculty member reviews.

Bidirectional relationships between cigarette use and spinal pain in adolescents accounting for psychosocial functioning.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine the presence of possible bidirectional causal pathways between cigarette use and spinal pain in adolescents controlling for psychosocial functioning, using a prospective longitudinal research design.

Design: The data for this study was collected from a cohort of Australian adolescents at 14 (n = 1596) and 17 (n = 1291) years of age.

Methods: Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess i) if cigarette use at 14 predicted low back pain (LBP), mid back pain (MBP) or neck shoulder pain (NSP) at 17 in those adolescents without each condition at 14, and ii) if back pain only (BP), neck shoulder pain only (NSP) or comorbid BP and NSP at 14 predicted cigarette use at 17 in those adolescents who did not smoke at 14.

Rationale, design and methods for a staggered-entry, waitlist controlled clinical trial of the impact of a community-based, family-centred, multidisciplinary program focussed on activity, food and attitude habits (Curtin University's Activity, Food and Attitudes Program--CAFAP) among overweight adolescents.

Background: Current estimates place just under one quarter of adolescents in Australia as overweight or obese. Adolescence has been identified as a critical period for the development of obesity, yet despite this recognition, there is limited systematic research into or evaluation of interventions for overweight adolescents. Reviews have concluded that there is a substantive evidence gap for effective intervention, but physical activity, lifestyle change and family involvement have been identified as promising foci for treatment.

Development and preliminary validation of the Parent Efficacy for Child Healthy Weight Behaviour Scale.

This study developed a new measure of parent self-efficacy for promoting healthy weight behaviours in their children, the Parent Efficacy for Child Healthy Weight Behaviour Scale (PECHWB). In total 601 primary caregivers of children aged 4-17 completed an online survey consisting of the PECHWB, a measure of general parenting self-efficacy, measures of parental depression, anxiety and stress and demographic questions. Factor analysis identified four PECHWB subscales with high levels of internal consistency.

Hypertrophic osteoarthropathy as a clinical manifestation of lung cancer.

Hypertrophic osteoarthropathy is a paraneoplastic syndrome most often found in non-small cell lung cancer. Diagnosis is confirmed by the presence of clubbing on physical examination and periostitis on bone scintigram, and the syndrome generally resolves with treatment of the underlying malignancy. This article presents a case study and describes symptom management options, including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents, octreotide, and bisphosphonates.

Adolescent drug use, psychosocial functioning and spinal pain.

This study tested whether there is an independent relationship between adolescent drug use and neck and shoulder pain (NSP) and back pain (BP) when psychosocial functioning is controlled in a community sample of 1608 14-year-old Australian adolescents. Multivariable logistic regression was used to calculate the odds ratios of alcohol and cigarette use for NSP and BP before and after adjusting for a range of psychosocial variables. Results showed that the use of alcohol, but not cigarettes or marijuana, has a significant independent association with adolescent spinal pain.

Time-dependent changes in skeletal response to teriparatide: escalating vs. constant dose teriparatide (PTH 1-34) in osteoporotic women.

Once-daily injections of teriparatide initially increase biochemical markers of bone formation and resorption, but markers peak after 6-12 months and then decline despite continued treatment. We sought to determine whether increasing teriparatide doses in a stepwise fashion could prolong skeletal responsiveness. We randomized 52 postmenopausal women with low spine and/or hip bone mineral density (BMD) to either a constant or an escalating subcutaneous teriparatide dose (30 μg daily for 18months or 20 μg daily for 6 months, then 30 μg daily for 6 months, and then 40 μg daily for 6 months).

Layered droplet microstructures in sheared emulsions: finite-size effects.

We investigate the influence of confinement on the steady state microstructure of emulsions sheared between parallel plates, in a regime where the average droplet dimension is comparable to the gap width between the confining walls. Utilizing droplet velocimetry, we find that the droplets can organize into discrete layers under the influence of shear. The number of layers decreases from two (at relatively higher shear rates) to one (at lower shear rates), as the drops grow slightly larger due to coalescence.