Comparison of clinical characteristics and outcomes between alcohol-induced and gallstone-induced acute pancreatitis: An Australian retrospective observational study.

Objectives: To compare the characteristics and outcomes of patients presenting to hospital with alcohol-induced and gallstone-induced acute pancreatitis.

Methods: Retrospective study of all patients with alcohol-induced or gallstone-induced pancreatitis during the period 1 June 2012 to 31 May 2016. The primary outcome measure was hospital mortality.

Maternal thoughts of self-harm and their association with future offspring mental health problems.

Introduction: Depression and self-harm are leading causes of disability in young people, but prospective data on how maternal depression and self-harm thoughts contribute to these outcomes, and how they may interact is lacking.

Methods: The study sample consisted of 8,425 mothers and offspring from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, an ongoing birth cohort study. Exposures were maternal self-harm ideation and depression measured using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, collected at eleven time points over the period 18 weeks' gestation to 18 years post-partum.

Who engages in the arts in the United States? A comparison of several types of engagement using data from The General Social Survey.

Background: Engaging in the arts is a health-related behavior that may be influenced by social inequalities. While it is generally accepted that there is a social gradient in traditional arts and cultural activities, such as attending classical music performances and museums, previous studies of arts engagement in the US have not adequately investigated whether similar demographic and socioeconomic factors are related to other forms of arts engagement.

Methods: Using cross-sectional data from the General Social Survey (GSS) in the US, we examined which demographic, socioeconomic, residential, and health factors were associated with attendance at arts events, participation in arts activities, membership of creative groups, and being interested in (but not attending) arts events.

Long-Term Functional Outcome and Quality of Life Following In-Hospital Cardiac Arrest-A Longitudinal Cohort Study.

Objectives: To evaluate the functional outcome and health-related quality of life of in-hospital cardiac arrest survivors at 6 and 12 months.

Design: A longitudinal cohort study.

Setting: Seven metropolitan hospitals in Australia.

DISPERSION OF AEROSOLIZED BACTERIA FROM ASIAN ELEPHANTS ().

Transmission of tuberculosis typically requires close and prolonged contact with an infected individual. However, several cases of transmission between elephants and from elephants to humans or other animals without direct contact or over long distances have been reported. Elephants have been shown to be capable of producing aerosolized bacterial droplets, suggesting a possible route of transmission that is magnified by the size and force of the elephant respiratory tract.

Measured energy expenditure in mildly hypothermic critically ill patients with traumatic brain injury: A sub-study of a randomized controlled trial.

Background & Aims: Prophylactic hypothermia, often used in critically ill patients with traumatic brain injury, reduces energy expenditure and may affect energy delivered by nutrition therapy. The primary objective of this study was to measure energy expenditure in hypothermic patients over the first 3 days after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Secondary objectives included comparison of measured energy expenditure and nutrition delivery to day 7.

The reciprocal Bayesian LASSO.

A reciprocal LASSO (rLASSO) regularization employs a decreasing penalty function as opposed to conventional penalization approaches that use increasing penalties on the coefficients, leading to stronger parsimony and superior model selection relative to traditional shrinkage methods. Here we consider a fully Bayesian formulation of the rLASSO problem, which is based on the observation that the rLASSO estimate for linear regression parameters can be interpreted as a Bayesian posterior mode estimate when the regression parameters are assigned independent inverse Laplace priors. Bayesian inference from this posterior is possible using an expanded hierarchy motivated by a scale mixture of double Pareto or truncated normal distributions.

Summary of the Proceedings of the Basic Science of Uterine Fibroids Meeting: New Developments February 28, 2020.

Scientists from multiple basic disciplines and an international group of physician-scientists from the field of obstetrics and gynecology presented recent studies and discussed new and evolving theories of uterine fibroid etiology, growth and development at The Basic Science of the Uterine Fibroids meeting, sponsored by the Campion Fund and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. The purpose was to share up-to date knowledge and to stimulate new concepts regarding the basic molecular biology and pathophysiology of uterine fibroids, and to promote future collaborations. The meeting was held at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in North Carolina on February 28, 2020.

Gelfoam slurry tract occlusion after computed tomography-guided percutaneous lung biopsy: Does it prevent major pneumothorax?

Introduction: Computed tomography (CT)-guided lung biopsy is a frequently performed procedure in the diagnostic workup for suspicious lung nodules that can be complicated by pneumothorax. This retrospective study assessed the efficacy of biopsy tract occlusion with a gelatin sponge slurry for preventing post-biopsy pneumothorax.

Methods: Retrospective analysis was conducted on consecutive adult patients who underwent CT-guided lung biopsy over a 10-year period.

Pet rat welfare in the United Kingdom: The good, the bad and the ugly.

Background: To date, despite the substantial literature investigating how rats prefer to be kept in captivity, no research has been conducted to assess the housing, husbandry and health of pet rats.

Methods: To better understand the United Kingdom's pet rat population and the welfare issues they face, we conducted an online survey of pet rat owners. The survey included questions about the owner and their opinions about pet rats, and about their rats' health, husbandry and housing.

Routine Frailty Screening in Critical Illness: A Population-Based Cohort Study in Australia and New Zealand.

Background: Frailty is associated with poor outcomes in critical illness. However, it is unclear whether frailty screening on admission to the ICU can be conducted routinely at the population level and whether it has prognostic importance.

Research Question: Can population-scale frailty screening with the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) be implemented for critically ill adults in Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) and can it identify patients at risk of negative outcomes?

Study Design And Methods: We conducted a binational prospective cohort study of critically ill adult patients admitted between July 1, 2018, and June 30, 2020, in 175 ICUs in ANZ.

Treatable traits in an English cohort: prevalence and predictors of future decline in lung function and quality of life in COPD.

Background: "Treatable traits (TTs)" is a precision medicine approach for facilitating multidimensional assessment of every patient with chronic airway disease, in order to determine the core traits associated with disease outcomes where targeted treatments may be applied.

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of TTs in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and which traits predict future decline in lung function and quality of life (QoL).

Methods: A 4-year longitudinal evaluation was conducted using data from 3726 participants in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA).

Care-Seeking for Fever for Children Under the Age of Five Before and After the Free Healthcare Initiative in Burkina Faso: Evidence from Three Population-Based Surveys.

Background: In 2016, a free healthcare policy (FHP) was implemented in Burkina Faso for children under the age of five. In our study, we aimed to determine the prevalence of care-seeking for a fever in children under the age of five before and after the implementation of the FHP and to analyze the determinants of not seeking care under the FHP.

Methods: The data of three nationally representative surveys were used to evaluate the trends of the prevalence of care-seeking.

The mediating effects of quality of life, depression, and generalized anxiety on perceived barriers to employment success for people diagnosed with Neurofibromatosis Type 1.

Background: Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1) is a genetic disorder that presents with physical symptoms that can negatively impact numerous areas of one's life, including occupational and psychological functioning, with decreased quality of life compared to a normative population. The purpose of the current study was to explore differences in the impact of psychological factors (anxiety and depression), quality of life and employment hope on barriers to successful employment between those with NF1 and matched controls.

Methods: A total of 212 individuals were stratified into two groups (NF1 and matched controls) using a cross-sectional design that collected a one-time response.

Genetic architecture of root and shoot ionomes in rice (Oryza sativa L.).

Association analysis for ionomic concentrations of 20 elements identified independent genetic factors underlying the root and shoot ionomes of rice, providing a platform for selecting and dissecting causal genetic variants. Understanding the genetic basis of mineral nutrient acquisition is key to fully describing how terrestrial organisms interact with the non-living environment. Rice (Oryza sativa L.

Mobilization During Critical Illness: A Higher Level of Mobilization Improves Health Status at 6 Months, a Secondary Analysis of a Prospective Cohort Study.

Objectives: To determine the influence of active mobilization during critical illness on health status in survivors 6 months post ICU admission.

Design: Post hoc secondary analysis of a prospective cohort study conducted between November 2013 and March 2015.

Setting: Two tertiary hospital ICU's in Victoria, Australia.

Integration of mechanics and biology in computer simulation of bone remodeling.

Bone remodeling is a complex physiological process that spans across multiple spatial and temporal scales and is regulated by both mechanical and hormonal cues. An imbalance between bone resorption and bone formation in the process of bone remodeling may lead to various bone pathologies. One powerful and non-invasive approach to gain new insights into mechano-adaptive bone remodeling is computer modeling and simulation.

Loneliness and Risk for Cardiovascular Disease: Mechanisms and Future Directions.

Purpose Of Review: In this review, we synthesise recent research on the association between loneliness and cardiovascular disease (CVD). We present evidence for mechanisms underlying this association and propose directions for future research.

Recent Findings: Loneliness is related to increased risk of early mortality and CVD comparable to other well-established risk factors such as obesity or smoking.

Attitudes towards vaccines and intention to vaccinate against COVID-19: Implications for public health communications.

Background: Negative attitudes towards vaccines and an uncertainty or unwillingness to receive vaccinations are major barriers to managing the COVID-19 pandemic in the long-term. We estimate predictors of four domains of negative attitudes towards vaccines and identify groups most at risk of uncertainty and unwillingness to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in a large sample of UK adults.

Methods: Data were cross-sectional and from 32,361 adults in the UCL COVID-19 Social Study.

Smoking cessation intervention in Australian general practice: a secondary analysis of a cluster randomised controlled trial.

Background: GPs have limited capacity to routinely provide smoking cessation support. New strategies are needed to reach all smokers within this setting.

Aim: To evaluate the effect of a pharmacist-coordinated interdisciplinary smoking cessation intervention delivered in Australian general practice.

Diagnostic tools used for melanoma: A survey of Australian general practitioners and dermatologists.

Background/objective: Diagnostic tools such as dermoscopy, sequential digital dermoscopy imaging (SDDI), total body photography (TBP) and automated diagnostic tools are available to assist in early melanoma diagnosis. The use, accessibility and barriers of dermoscopy have been well studied; however, there are few similar studies regarding SDDI, TBP and automated diagnostic tools. We aim to understand the use of these diagnostic aids amongst Australian general practitioners (GPs) and dermatologists.

Risk factors for invasive fungal infection in 5-azacytidine treated patients with acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome.

The rate of invasive fungal infection (IFI) in patients with myelodysplasia (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) receiving 5-azacytidine is incompletely defined and published recommendations for mold-active fungal prophylaxis in such patients vary according to source. We performed a retrospective cohort study in order to identify contemporary IFI rates and infection-related mortality in relation to known risk factors and the use of antifungal prophylaxis. One hundred and seventeen patients receiving 5-azacytidine for MDS and low blast count AML were identified, of whom 71 (61%) received antifungal prophylaxis.

Transcriptome Analyses of Myometrium from Fibroid Patients Reveals Phenotypic Differences Compared to Non-Diseased Myometrium.

Uterine fibroid tissues are often compared to their matched myometrium in an effort to understand their pathophysiology, but it is not clear whether the myometria of uterine fibroid patients represent truly non-disease control tissues. We analyzed the transcriptomes of myometrial samples from non-fibroid patients (M) and compared them with fibroid (F) and matched myometrial (MF) samples to determine whether there is a phenotypic difference between fibroid and non-fibroid myometria. Multidimensional scaling plots revealed that M samples clustered separately from both MF and F samples.

Comparison of clinical outcomes between nurse practitioner and registrar-led medical emergency teams: a propensity-matched analysis.

Objective: Medical emergency teams (MET) are mostly led by physicians. Some hospitals are currently using nurse practitioners (NP) to lead MET calls. These are no studies comparing clinical outcomes between these two care models.

Negative Vaccine Attitudes and Intentions to Vaccinate Against Covid-19 in Relation to Smoking Status: A Population Survey of UK Adults.

Introduction: We examined differences in negative attitudes toward vaccines in general, and intentions to vaccinate against Covid-19 specifically, by smoking status in a large sample of adults in the UK.

Method: Data were from 29 148 adults participating in the Covid-19 Social Study in September-October 2020. Linear regression analyses examined associations between smoking status (current/former/never) and four types of general negative vaccine attitudes: mistrust of vaccine benefit, worries about unforeseen effects, concerns about commercial profiteering, and preference for natural immunity.