Optimising Low Temperature Pyrolysis of Mesoporous Alginate-Derived Starbon® for Selective Heavy Metal Adsorption.

In response to the ever increasing need to develop more efficient and sustainable methods for removing heavy metal contaminants from aqueous systems, the following article reports on the design of highly mesoporous alginate-derived materials (Starbon) and their application to the adsorption of heavy metals. Using the Starbon process to expand, dry and pyrolyse an inherently porous polysaccharide precursor, it was possible to produce mesoporous materials (BJH mesopore volumes 0.81-0.

Benchmarking alcohol policy based on stringency and impact: The International Alcohol Control (IAC) policy index.

This study developed a measurement tool to assess stringency and 'on-the-ground' impact of four key alcohol policy domains to create an alcohol policy index suitable for benchmarking alcohol policy and assessing change over time in middle- and high-income countries. It involved a collaboration between researchers in 12 diverse countries: New Zealand; Australia; England; Scotland; Netherlands; Vietnam; Thailand; South Africa; Turkey; Chile; Saint Kitts and Nevis and Mongolia. Data on the four most effective alcohol policy domains (availability, pricing policy, alcohol marketing, drink driving) were used to create an alcohol policy index based on their association with alcohol per capita consumption (APC) of commercial (recorded) alcohol.

Effective alcohol policies and lifetime abstinence: An analysis of the International Alcohol Control policy index.

Introduction: Alcohol abstinence remains common among adults globally, although low and middle-income countries are experiencing declines in abstention. The effect of alcohol policies on lifetime abstinence is poorly understood. The International Alcohol Control (IAC) policy index was developed to benchmark and monitor the uptake of effective alcohol policies and has shown strong associations with alcohol per capita consumption and drinking patterns.

Comprehensive Biotransformation Analysis of Phenylalanine-Tyrosine Metabolism Reveals Alternative Routes of Metabolite Clearance in Nitisinone-Treated Alkaptonuria.

Metabolomic analyses in alkaptonuria (AKU) have recently revealed alternative pathways in phenylalanine-tyrosine (phe-tyr) metabolism from biotransformation of homogentisic acid (HGA), the active molecule in this disease. The aim of this research was to study the phe-tyr metabolic pathway and whether the metabolites upstream of HGA, increased in nitisinone-treated patients, also undergo phase 1 and 2 biotransformation reactions. Metabolomic analyses were performed on serum and urine from patients partaking in the SONIA 2 phase 3 international randomised-controlled trial of nitisinone in AKU (EudraCT no.

Enhanced Photoacoustic Visualisation of Clinical Needles by Combining Interstitial and Extracorporeal Illumination of Elastomeric Nanocomposite Coatings.

Ultrasound (US) image guidance is widely used for minimally invasive procedures, but the invasive medical devices (such as metallic needles), especially their tips, can be poorly visualised in US images, leading to significant complications. Photoacoustic (PA) imaging is promising for visualising invasive devices and peripheral tissue targets. Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) acting as PA excitation sources facilitate the clinical translation of PA imaging, but the image quality is degraded due to the low pulse energy leading to insufficient contrast with needles at deep locations.

The body politics of successful ageing in the nexus of health, well-being and energy consumption practices.

In this paper, we introduce the idea of the bio-socio-material body to think through the body politics that emerge within the nexus of health, well-being and domestic energy consumption as people age. Our work draws upon an ethnographic study with older Australians in regional New South Wales, Australia. We enrich social practice theory conceptualisations by foregrounding the body as a dynamic bio-socio-material entity that shapes and is shaped by practices.

CuInS Quantum Dot and Polydimethylsiloxane Nanocomposites for All-Optical Ultrasound and Photoacoustic Imaging.

Dual-modality imaging employing complementary modalities, such as all-optical ultrasound and photoacoustic imaging, is emerging as a well-suited technique for guiding minimally invasive surgical procedures. Quantum dots are a promising material for use in these dual-modality imaging devices as they can provide wavelength-selective optical absorption. The first quantum dot nanocomposite engineered for co-registered laser-generated ultrasound and photoacoustic imaging is presented.

Gambling as social practice: a complementary approach for reducing harm?

Background: Gambling is now a well-recognised public health issue and forms the focus of extensive harm reduction initiatives. Recent developments in policy, practice and technology, such relaxation of regulations, the increasing influence of global gambling corporations, and the development of devices such as mobile phone apps and fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs) mean that the landscape is a complex, dynamic, and fast moving one. Gambling is now practiced using new technologies, in various spaces and places, and features in a range of social surroundings.

Evaluation of the serum metabolome of patients with alkaptonuria before and after two years of treatment with nitisinone using LC-QTOF-MS.

Background: The homogentisic acid-lowering therapy nitisinone is being evaluated for the treatment of alkaptonuria (AKU) at the National Centre for AKU. Beyond hypertyrosinemia, the wider metabolic consequences of its use are largely unknown. The aim of this work was to evaluate the impact of nitisinone on the serum metabolome of patients with AKU after 12 and 24 months of treatment.

Proton Chelating Ligands Drive Improved Chemical Separations for Rhodium.

Current methods for the extraction of rhodium carry the highest carbon footprint and worst pollution metrics of all of the elements used in modern technological applications. Improving upon existing methods is made difficult by the limited understanding of the molecular-level chemistry occurring in extraction processes, particularly in the hydrometallurgical separation step. While many of the precious metals can be separated by solvent extraction, there currently exist no commercial extractants for Rh.

A Comprehensive LC-QTOF-MS Metabolic Phenotyping Strategy: Application to Alkaptonuria.

Background: Identification of unknown chemical entities is a major challenge in metabolomics. To address this challenge, we developed a comprehensive targeted profiling strategy, combining 3 complementary liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-QTOF-MS) techniques and in-house accurate mass retention time (AMRT) databases established from commercial standards. This strategy was used to evaluate the effect of nitisinone on the urinary metabolome of patients and mice with alkaptonuria (AKU).

Storying energy consumption: Collective video storytelling in energy efficiency social marketing.

Despite calls for more socio-technical research on energy, there is little practical advice to how narratives collected through qualitative research may be melded with technical knowledge from the physical sciences such as engineering and then applied in energy efficiency social action strategies. This is despite established knowledge in the environmental management literature about domestic energy use regarding the utility of social practice theory and narrative framings that socialise everyday consumption. Storytelling is positioned in this paper both as a focus for socio-technical energy research, and as one potential practical tool that can arguably enhance energy efficiency interventions.

The Alcohol Environment Protocol: A new tool for alcohol policy.

Introduction And Aim: To report data on the implementation of alcohol policies regarding availability and marketing, and drink driving, along with ratings of enforcement from two small high-income to three high-middle income countries, and one low-middle income country.

Method: This study uses the Alcohol Environment Protocol, an International Alcohol Control study research tool, which documents the alcohol policy environment by standardised collection of data from administrative sources, observational studies and interviews with key informants to allow for cross-country comparison and change over time.

Results: All countries showed adoption to varying extents of key effective policy approaches outlined in the World Health Organization Global Strategy to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol (2010).

Extraoral Uses of Autologous Oral Soft Tissue Grafts: A Different Bridge Between Mouth and Body Health.

Focused Clinical Question: Are there any extraoral uses for intraoral soft tissue grafts? Summary: Despite extensive literature on the intraoral uses of soft tissue autografts harvested from oral sites, the periodontal literature is lacking information on the extraoral uses of such grafts. The purpose of this article is to review the autologous use of certain oral soft tissue grafts for extraoral indications. A literature search revealed that several medical specialties, including otolaryngology, ophthalmology, dermatology, plastic surgery, and urology, have a track record of positive outcomes with the use of free gingival, buccal fat pad, and buccal mucosa grafts for a wide variety of reconstructive procedures at diverse body sites.

Creating symbolic cultures of consumption: an analysis of the content of sports wagering advertisements in Australia.

Background: Since 2008, Australia has seen the rapid emergence of marketing for online and mobile sports wagering. Previous research from other areas of public health, such as tobacco and alcohol, has identified the range of appeal strategies these industries used to align their products with culturally valued symbols. However, there is very limited research that has investigated the tactics the sports wagering industry uses within marketing to influence the consumption of its products and services.

Anion Receptor Design: Exploiting Outer-Sphere Coordination Chemistry To Obtain High Selectivity for Chloridometalates over Chloride.

High anion selectivity for PtCl6(2-) over Cl(-) is shown by a series of amidoamines, R(1)R(2)NCOCH2CH2NR(3)R(4) (L1 with R(1) = R(4) = benzyl and R(2) = R(3) = phenyl and L3 with R(1) = H, R(2) = 2-ethylhexyl, R(3) = phenyl and R(4) = methyl), and amidoethers, R(1)R(2)NCOCH2CH2OR(3) (L5 with R(1) = H, R(2) = 2-ethylhexyl and R(3) = phenyl), which provide receptor sites which extract PtCl6(2-) preferentially over Cl(-) in extractions from 6 M HCl solutions. The amidoether receptor L5 was found to be a much weaker extractant for PtCl6(2-) than its amidoamine analogues. Density functional theory calculations indicate that this is due to the difficulty in protonating the amidoether to generate a cationic receptor, LH(+), rather than the latter showing weaker binding to PtCl6(2-).

EPR/ENDOR and Computational Study of Outer Sphere Interactions in Copper Complexes of Phenolic Oximes.

Copper complexes of the phenolic oxime family of ligands (3-X-salicylaldoximes) are used extensively as metal solvent extractants. Incorporation of electronegative substituents in the 3-position, ortho to the phenol group, can be used to buttress the interligand H-bonding, leading to an enhancement in extractant strength. However, investigation of the relevant H-bonding in these complexes can be exceedingly difficult.

Understanding the heavy-tailed dynamics in human behavior.

The recent availability of electronic data sets containing large volumes of communication data has made it possible to study human behavior on a larger scale than ever before. From this, it has been discovered that across a diverse range of data sets, the interevent times between consecutive communication events obey heavy-tailed power law dynamics. Explaining this has proved controversial, and two distinct hypotheses have emerged.

Serum markers in alkaptonuria: simultaneous analysis of homogentisic acid, tyrosine and nitisinone by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.

Background: Alkaptonuria is a rare debilitating autosomal recessive disorder of tyrosine metabolism, where deficiency of homogentisate 1,2-dioxygenase results in increased homogentisic acid. Homogentisic acid is deposited as an ochronotic pigment in connective tissues, especially cartilage, leading to a severe early onset form of osteoarthritis, increased renal and prostatic stone formation and hardening of heart vessels. Treatment with the orphan drug, nitisinone, an inhibitor of 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase has been shown to reduce urinary excretion of homogentisic acid.

A review of current practices to increase Chlamydia screening in the community--a consumer-centred social marketing perspective.

Background: Chlamydia trachomatis is one of the most frequently reported sexually transmitted infections (STI) in Australia, the UK and Europe. Yet, rates of screening for STIs remain low, especially in younger adults.

Objective: To assess effectiveness of Chlamydia screening interventions targeting young adults in community-based settings, describe strategies utilized and assess them according to social marketing benchmark criteria.

Suitability Of Nitisinone In Alkaptonuria 1 (SONIA 1): an international, multicentre, randomised, open-label, no-treatment controlled, parallel-group, dose-response study to investigate the effect of once daily nitisinone on 24-h urinary homogentisic acid excretion in patients with alkaptonuria after 4 weeks of treatment.

Background: Alkaptonuria (AKU) is a serious genetic disease characterised by premature spondyloarthropathy. Homogentisate-lowering therapy is being investigated for AKU. Nitisinone decreases homogentisic acid (HGA) in AKU but the dose-response relationship has not been previously studied.

Dynamic multifactor clustering of financial networks.

We investigate the tendency for financial instruments to form clusters when there are multiple factors influencing the correlation structure. Specifically, we consider a stock portfolio which contains companies from different industrial sectors, located in several different countries. Both sector membership and geography combine to create a complex clustering structure where companies seem to first be divided based on sector, with geographical subclusters emerging within each industrial sector.

Australian alcohol policy 2001-2013 and implications for public health.

Background: Despite a complex and multi-faceted alcohol policy environment in Australia, there are few comprehensive reviews of national and state alcohol policies that assess their effectiveness and research support. In mapping the Australian alcohol policy domain and evaluating policy interventions in each of the core policy areas, this article provides a useful resource for researchers. The implications for protecting public health emanating from this mapping and evaluation of alcohol policy are also discussed.

Distinct developmental trends in sleep duration during early childhood.

Background And Objectives: Sleep is important to child development, but there is limited understanding of individual developmental patterns of sleep, their underlying determinants, and how these influence health and well-being. This article explores the presence of various sleep patterns in children and their implications for health-related quality of life.

Methods: Data were collected from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children.

Systematic evaluation of extraction methods for multiplatform-based metabotyping: application to the Fasciola hepatica metabolome.

Combining data from multiple analytical platforms is essential for comprehensive study of the molecular phenotype (metabotype) of a given biological sample. The metabolite profiles generated are intrinsically dependent on the analytical platforms, each requiring optimization of instrumental parameters, separation conditions, and sample extraction to deliver maximal biological information. An in-depth evaluation of extraction protocols for characterizing the metabolome of the hepatobiliary fluke Fasciola hepatica , using ultra performance liquid chromatography and capillary electrophoresis coupled with mass spectroscopy is presented.