Objectives: Intrathecal opioids delivered by implanted pumps are used to treat malignant or nonmalignant chronic pain. In this study, we 1) review a case in which intrathecal infusions of sufentanil along with other adjuvants were used and after an extended period led to an intrathecal mass and 2) compared and contrasted the potential mechanisms for these phenomena.
Materials And Methods: A woman aged 66 years with a history of scoliosis and multiple spine surgeries was treated with an implantable drug delivery system for treating persistent pain after laminectomy.
Introduction: The aim of this study is to document the distribution of classic versus non-classic presentation of Placenta Accreta Spectrum (PAS) disorders as well as grading categories by the Society for Pediatric Pathology (SPP) and FIGO systems in an institutional cohort of gravid hysterectomies. We also document the prevalence of uterine scar as a histologic correlate for uterine scar dehiscence, a phenomenon raised by some as central to PAS pathogenesis.
Methods: PAS cases were assigned grade and designated as classic (anterior lower uterine segment implantation, prior C-section) or non-classic (implantation away from anterior lower uterine segment and/or no prior C-section).
Reported rates of BRAF mutation in Irish cutaneous melanoma cohorts are lower than the reported international data. We aimed to assess the mutational status of a cohort of primary cutaneous melanomas and to correlate it with clinical follow-up data.A total of 92 cases of primary cutaneous melanoma diagnosed at a single institution in 2012 were analyzed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA series of block copolymers comprising styrene and maleic acid (SMA) has been prepared using RAFT polymerisation. RAFT often results in a large hydrophobic alkylthiocarbonylthio end group and this work examines its effect on the solution behaviour of the copolymers. SMA variants with, and without, this end group were synthesised and their behaviour compared with a commercially-available random copolymer of similar molecular weight.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFluorescently-labelled variants of poly(styrene--maleic acid), SMA, have been synthesised by RAFT copolymerisation. We show that low ratios of vinyl fluorophores, analogous to styrene, can be successfully incorporated during polymerisation without detriment to nanodisc formation upon interaction with lipids. These novel copolymers are capable of encapuslating lipids and the model membrane protein, gramicidin, and hence have the potential to be applied in fluorescence-based biological studies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF: Collaborative, Indigenous-led pedagogical and research approaches in nursing education are fundamental to ensuring culturally safe curriculum innovations that address institutional racism. These approaches privilege, or make central, Indigenous worldviews in the ways healthcare practices are valued and assessed. With the aim of informing excellence in cultural safety teaching and learning, and research approaches, this study draws on the experiences and key learnings of non-Indigenous nursing academics in the collaborative implementation of First Peoples Health interprofessional and simulation-based learning (IPSBL) innovations in an Australian Bachelor of Nursing (BN) program.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Small angle scattering techniques are beginning to be more widely utilised for structural analysis of biological systems. However, applying these techniques to study membrane proteins still remains problematic, due to sample preparation requirements and analysis of the resulting data. The development of styrene-maleic acid co-polymers (SMA) to extract membrane proteins into nanodiscs for further study provides a suitable environment for structural analysis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMost pelvic tumors originate from the organs. Less commonly, tumors can arise from the various anatomic pelvic compartments and are comprised of mesenchymal tissue: muscles, connective tissue, vessels, lymphatics, and fat. Among some of the rarer entities are benign tumors (eg, angiomyxoma, cellular angiofibroma, and desmoid fibromatosis), malignant tumors (eg, sarcoma), and tumors that can manifest as benign or malignant (eg, solitary fibrous tumor or nerve sheath tumor).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProstatic-type differentiation in the lower female genital tract is encountered rarely and its causes and clinical associations are not well established. Within the vagina, reports to date have invariably described ectopic prostatic-type differentiation as restricted to the lamina propria. We recently encountered a patient receiving testosterone for gender dysphoria whose vaginectomy specimen showed a prostatic glandular proliferation within the surface epithelium.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: A rounded intraplacental hematoma (RIH) is a recently delineated placental lesion. Following the observation of two cases of RIH in placentas associated with stillbirth in 2012, we postulated that RIHs were associated with a higher risk obstetric phenotype when compared to other lesions characteristic of maternal vascular malperfusion (MVM). We aimed to investigate this further by reviewing the associated maternal and fetal characteristics in a series of prospectively identified cases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFibroadenomas (FA) are the most common benign tumor in the female breast. Most are managed conservatively provided there is clinical, radiologic, and pathologic concordance. However, surgical excision is typically recommended for cellular fibroepithelial lesions or those lesions with clinical, radiologic, or pathologic features concerning for phyllodes tumor (PT).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFor the next decade, the global water crisis remains the risk of highest concern, and ranks ahead of climate change, extreme weather events, food crises and social instability. Across the globe, nearly one in ten people is without access to an improved drinking water source. Least Developed Countries (LDCs) especially in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are the most affected, having disproportionately more of the global population without access to clean water than other major regions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To assess the vitamin D status of men and women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF)/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), and to investigate associations between vitamin D status and fertility variables.
Methods: A cross-sectional prospective study was undertaken of men and women attending a fertility clinic in Ireland for IVF/ICSI between January and March 2014. Vitamin D status was determined by measurement of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D).
Background: This study attempted to develop health risk-based metrics for defining a heatwave in Brisbane, Australia.
Methods: Poisson generalised additive model was performed to assess the impact of heatwaves on mortality and emergency hospital admissions (EHAs) in Brisbane.
Results: In general, the higher the intensity and the longer the duration of a heatwave, the greater the health impacts.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) warranting neurosurgical intervention in the pregnant population is a rarity. We describe a case of a 27-year-old woman who at 13 weeks of gestation presented with multiple traumas having been involved in a near fatal road traffic accident. Glasgow Coma Scale was 6/15.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe removal of the neural tube in salamander embryos allows the development of nerve-free aneurogenic limbs. Limb regeneration is normally nerve-dependent, but the aneurogenic limb regenerates without nerves and becomes nerve-dependent after innervation. The molecular basis for these tissue interactions is unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Heatwaves can have significant health consequences resulting in increased mortality and morbidity. However, their impact on people living in tropical/subtropical regions remains largely unknown. This study assessed the impact of heatwaves on mortality and emergency hospital admissions (EHAs) from non-external causes (NEC) in Brisbane, a subtropical city in Australia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAust N Z J Public Health
June 2005
Background: This paper examines the short-term health effects of air pollution on daily hospital admissions in Australian cities (those considered comprise more than 50% of the Australian population) for the period 1996-99.
Methods: The study used a similar protocol to overseas studies and derived single city and pooled estimates using different statistical approaches to assess the accuracy of the results.
Results: There was little difference between the results derived from the different statistical approaches for cardiovascular admissions, while in those for respiratory admissions there were differences.
Aust N Z J Public Health
June 2005
Objective: To examine the short-term health effects of air pollution on daily mortality in four Australian cities (Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney), where more than 50% of Australians reside.
Methods: The study used a similar protocol to APHEA2 (Air Pollution and Health: A European Approach) study and derived single-city and pooled estimates.
Results: The results derived from the different approaches for the 1996-99 period showed consistent results for different statistical models used.
Commun Dis Intell
August 2000
A case-control study was conducted to investigate the cause of a sudden increase in cases of cryptosporidiosis notified to the Brisbane Southside Public Health Unit from January to March 1998. Fifty-two eligible cases were identified over a three-week period early in 1998. Thirty-one of these cases and 21 control subjects participated in the study.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFReference 1H, 19F and 13C NMR, mass, IR and Raman spectra are provided to the open literature for the first time for the potent antifungal agent fluconazole, alpha-(2,4-difluorophenyl)-alpha-(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-ylmethyl++ +)-1H-1,2, 4-triazole-1-ethanol. The 1H, 19F and 13C NMR spectra were analyzed in detail to attribute shifts, including 19F chemical shifts and C-F and F-F coupling constants. The EI mass spectrum, although rich in fragment ions, lacked a molecular ion.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe dissolution of reference and archival samples of flurazepam dihydrochloride (2) was studied in DMSO-d6 and in D2O by 1H-, 13C- and 19F-NMR spectroscopy to identify and distinguish solvated species of the parent drug (2), the "benzophenone" (4) and glycine (5) hydrochloride degradation products. In DMSO-d6, for most samples, only the ring intact form (2) could be detected by 13C-NMR whereas the inherently greater sensitivity of 19F-NMR allowed detection of initial trace amounts (< 1%) of the open-ring form (3). 19F-NMR spectroscopy also afforded the best means of quantifying the various entities in solution, including the increase towards equilibrium levels of the open-ring entity and detection/quantitation of a new equilibrium species, possibly the cis/trans rotamer of the open-chain entity (3).
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