A survey of speech-language pathology service delivery in Australian schools.

Purpose: Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) work in Australian schools yet, little is documented about their service delivery practices. This study therefore explores Australian speech-language pathology service delivery in schools, inclusive of work activities, caseloads, and assessment and intervention practices.

Method: An online survey comprising multiple choice, constant sum, Likert scale, and open text questions was completed by 105 SLPs.

A class I PI3K signalling network regulates primary cilia disassembly in normal physiology and disease.

Primary cilia are antenna-like organelles which sense extracellular cues and act as signalling hubs. Cilia dysfunction causes a heterogeneous group of disorders known as ciliopathy syndromes affecting most organs. Cilia disassembly, the process by which cells lose their cilium, is poorly understood but frequently observed in disease and upon cell transformation.

MANAGEMENT OF LARGE FULL-THICKNESS MACULAR HOLES: Long-Term Outcomes of Internal Limiting Membrane Flaps and Internal Limiting Membrane Peels.

Background/purpose: To determine and compare the efficacy of a surgical internal limiting membrane (ILM) flap technique with the traditional ILM peel on long-term visual and anatomical outcomes for large (>400 µm) full-thickness macular holes.

Methods: From October 2016 to July 2022, patients undergoing initial full-thickness macular hole repair with the ILM flap or ILM peel technique were reviewed. Final outcomes were recorded and based on size in microns: 401 to 800, 801 to 1,200, and >1,200.

Mitochondrial influences on smooth muscle phenotype.

Smooth muscle cells transition reversibly between contractile and noncontractile phenotypes in response to diverse influences, including many from mitochondria. Numerous molecules including myocardin, procontractile miRNAs, and the mitochondrial protein prohibitin-2 promote contractile differentiation; this is opposed by mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mtROS), high lactate concentrations, and metabolic reprogramming induced by mitophagy and/or mitochondrial fission. A major pathway through which vascular pathologies such as oncogenic transformation, pulmonary hypertension, and atherosclerosis cause loss of vascular contractility is by enhancing mitophagy and mitochondrial fission with secondary effects on smooth muscle phenotype.

Factors influencing the successful implementation of a novel digital health application to streamline multidisciplinary communication across multiple organisations for emergency care.

Rationale: Delivering optimal patient health care requires interdisciplinary clinician communication. A single communication tool across multiple pre-hospital and hospital settings, and between hospital departments is a novel solution to current systems. Fit-for-purpose, secure smartphone applications allow clinical information to be shared quickly between health providers.

Impact of Prefilled Syringes and Masking on Postintravitreal Injection Endophthalmitis.

To compare rates of endophthalmitis (1) following intravitreal injection of antivascular endothelial growth factor therapies with glass-vial preparation (GVP) vs prefilled syringes (PFS) and (2) before and after masking protocols were implemented. Medical records within a multicenter retina practice in Houston, Texas, from January 2015 to August 2021 were retrospectively reviewed. The primary outcome was rate of endophthalmitis after intravitreal injection.

Home language variation in the narratives of urban First Nations Australian children in their first year of school.

First Nations children may speak a dialect of English that has different grammatical rules from Standard Australian English (school language). Limited studies have investigated Aboriginal English (home language) dialect in First Nations children and its impact on differential diagnosis of language disorder. This study measured the density of home language dialect and grammatical accuracy in oral narratives produced by typically developing First Nations children.

Demographic and Socioeconomic Factors in Prospective Retina-Focused Clinical Trial Screening and Enrollment.

Historically marginalized populations are disproportionately affected by many diseases that commonly affect the retina, yet they have been traditionally underrepresented in prospective clinical trials. This study explores whether this disparity affects the clinical trial enrollment process in the retina field and aims to inform future trial recruitment and enrollment. Age, gender, race, ethnicity, preferred language, insurance status, social security number (SSN) status, and median household income (estimated using street address and zip code) for patients referred to at least one prospective, retina-focused clinical trial at a large, urban, retina-based practice were retrospectively extracted using electronic medical records.

Risk Factors for the Development of Fellow Eye Horseshoe Retinal Tears Following Horseshoe Retinal Tear in the Presenting Eye.

Background: This study investigated factors associated with fellow eye horseshoe retinal tear (HST) development in consecutive patients with a presenting eye HST.

Materials And Methods: Medical records were reviewed for patients with initial HSTs between 2015 and 2017 and 24 factors were analyzed. Logistic regression was used to assess factors associated with fellow eye HST development.

USE OF OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY IN DETECTING RETINAL TEARS IN ACUTE, SYMPTOMATIC POSTERIOR VITREOUS DETACHMENT.

Purpose: To evaluate the association of posterior vitreous opacities (PVOs) on optical coherence tomography with retinal tears identified on examination in patients with acute, symptomatic posterior vitreous detachment (PVD).

Methods: Data were retrospectively collected from the medical records of 388 patients with acute, symptomatic PVD between January 1, 2021, and June 30, 2021. Included patients had received a primary diagnosis of PVD and presented with flashes and/or floaters.

Long-term treatment of cancer-prone germline PTEN mutant mice with low-dose rapamycin extends lifespan and delays tumour development.

PTEN is one of the most commonly inactivated tumour suppressor genes in sporadic cancer. Germline heterozygous PTEN gene alterations also underlie PTEN hamartoma tumour syndrome (PHTS), a rare human cancer-predisposition condition. A key feature of systemic PTEN deregulation is the inability to adequately dampen PI3-kinase (PI3K)/mTORC1 signalling.

Real-world, feasibility study to investigate the use of a multidisciplinary app (Pulsara) to improve prehospital communication and timelines for acute stroke/STEMI care.

Objectives: To determine if a digital communication app improves care timelines for patients with suspected acute stroke/ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).

Design: Real-world feasibility study, quasi-experimental design.

Setting: Prehospital (25 Ambulance Victoria branches) and within-hospital (2 hospitals) in regional Victoria, Australia.

Risk factors for changes in carotid intima media thickness and plaque over 5 years in women with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Objective: To investigate the occurrence of and risk factors for progression of carotid intima media thickness (IMT) and plaque in women with and without SLE.

Methods: A cohort of 149 women with SLE and 126 controls participated in SOLVABLE (Study of Lupus Vascular and Bone Long-term Endpoints). Demographics, cardiovascular and SLE factors, and laboratory assessments were collected at baseline.

Clinical outcomes following intravitreal methotrexate for primary vitreoretinal lymphoma.

Purpose: To describe the visual acuity and anatomic outcomes of intravitreal methotrexate (MTX) for the treatment of primary vitreoretinal lymphoma (PVRL).

Methods: Single-center retrospective case series of patients with a diagnosis of PVRL treated with intravitreal MTX. Patient records were reviewed for demographic information, ocular exam findings, and treatment regimens including number of MTX injections.

Postnatal development alters functional compartmentalization of myosin light chain kinase in ovine carotid arteries.

The rate-limiting enzyme for vascular contraction, myosin light chain kinase (MLCK), phosphorylates regulatory myosin light chain (MLC) at rates that appear faster despite lower MLCK abundance in fetal compared with adult arteries. This study explores the hypothesis that greater apparent tissue activity of MLCK in fetal arteries is due to age-dependent differences in intracellular distribution of MLCK in relation to MLC. Under optimal conditions, common carotid artery homogenates from nonpregnant adult female sheep and near-term fetuses exhibited similar values of and for MLCK.

Narrative comprehension skills of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian children in their first year of school.

: The suitability of existing speech-language pathology assessments for Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Indigenous) children is questioned in the literature. There is emerging evidence that the differences reported between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian children on standardised assessment are diminished on more naturalistic assessments such as narrative production (macrostructure and microstructure). Little is documented, however, about the narrative comprehension skills of Australian children.

Maternal Undernutrition Modulates Neonatal Rat Cerebrovascular Structure, Function, and Vulnerability to Mild Hypoxic-Ischemic Injury via Corticosteroid-Dependent and -Independent Mechanisms.

The present study explored the hypothesis that an adverse intrauterine environment caused by maternal undernutrition (MUN) acted through corticosteroid-dependent and -independent mechanisms to program lasting functional changes in the neonatal cerebrovasculature and vulnerability to mild hypoxic-ischemic (HI) injury. From day 10 of gestation until term, MUN and MUN-metyrapone (MUN-MET) group rats consumed a diet restricted to 50% of calories consumed by a pair-fed control; and on gestational day 11 through term, MUN-MET groups received drinking water containing MET (0.5 mg/mL), a corticosteroid synthesis inhibitor.

Hypoxic modulation of fetal vascular MLCK abundance, localization, and function.

Changes in vascular contractility are among the most important physiological effects of acute and chronic fetal hypoxia. Given the essential role of myosin light-chain kinase (MLCK) in smooth muscle contractility and its heterogeneous distribution, this study explores the hypothesis that subcellular changes in MLCK distribution contribute to hypoxic modulation of fetal carotid artery contractility. Relative to common carotid arteries from normoxic term fetal lambs (FN), carotids from fetal lambs gestated at high altitude (3,802 m) (FH) exhibited depressed contractility without changes in MLCK mRNA or protein abundance.

Speech-language pathologists' perceptions and experiences when working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.

Purpose: This study explored the perceptions of speech-language pathologists with regards to culturally responsive service delivery, assessment practices, and confidence when working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.

Method: An online survey was used. Descriptive statistics were analysed with SPSS.

Approach to Cataract Surgery in an Ebola Virus Disease Survivor with Prior Ocular Viral Persistence.

A 46-year-old patient with previously documented Ebola virus persistence in his ocular fluid, associated with severe panuveitis, developed a visually significant cataract. A multidisciplinary approach was taken to prevent and control infection. Ebola virus persistence was assessed before and during the operation to provide safe, vision-restorative phacoemulsification surgery.

Treatment of presumed Nocardia endophthalmitis and subretinal abscess with serial intravitreal amikacin injections and pars plana vitrectomy.

A 64-year-old man with a past medical history of liver transplantation on chronic immunosuppressive therapy presented with gradual worsening of vision over 2 months in his right eye. His recent history of Aspergillus and Nocardia pneumonia with positive bronchoalveolar lavage, in concert with vitritis and subretinal abscess, were concerning for endogenous endophthalmitis. A sputum culture and transbronchial lung biopsy stains grew Nocardia farcinica although aqueous humor sampling was negative.

Metastatic breast carcinoma involving the optic disc.

Purpose: To report a rare case of unilateral optic nerve metastasis without choroidal involvement in a patient with known metastatic carcinoma of the breast.

Observations: A 65-year old female with a history of metastatic breast carcinoma presented to our clinic with a one-month history of blurred vision and floaters of the left eye. Fundoscopy of the left eye revealed a flesh colored nodule with white lobules demonstrating an endophytic growth pattern from the optic nerve.

Acute Treatment With Gleevec Does Not Promote Early Vascular Recovery Following Intracerebral Hemorrhage in Adult Male Rats.

Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) remains one of the most debilitating types of stroke and is characterized by a sudden bleeding from a ruptured blood vessel. ICH often results in high mortality and in survivors, permanent disability. Most studies have focused on neuroprotective strategies designed to minimize secondary consequences and prevent further pathology.