Proportion of people with diabetic retinopathy and macular oedema varies by ethnicity in a tertiary retinal clinic in Australia: findings from the Liverpool Eye and Diabetes Study (LEADS).

Objective: There are limited data on the influence of ethnicity on diabetic retinopathy (DR). We sought to determine the distribution of DR by ethnic group in Australia.

Design: Clinic-based cross-sectional study.

Stakeholder engagement variability across public, private and public-private partnership projects: A data-driven network-based analysis.

Stakeholder engagement is generally considered one of the most pertinent factors impacting project outcomes. However, there is lacking empirical evidence documenting patterns of stakeholder engagement and their potential differences between public, private and public-private partnership (PPP) projects. This study leverages social network research methods to capture and quantitively compare these engagement structures.

A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Study of Methotrexate to Increase Response Rates in Patients with Uncontrolled Gout Receiving Pegloticase: Primary Efficacy and Safety Findings.

Objective: To assess efficacy, safety, pharmacokinetics, and immunogenicity of pegloticase plus methotrexate (MTX) versus pegloticase plus placebo cotreatment for uncontrolled gout in a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial.

Methods: This study included adults with uncontrolled gout, defined as serum urate ≥7 mg/dl, oral urate-lowering therapy failure or intolerance, and presence of ongoing gout symptoms including ≥1 tophus, ≥2 flares in the past 12 months, or gouty arthritis. Key exclusion criteria included MTX contraindication, current immunosuppressant use, G6PDH deficiency, and estimated glomerular filtration rate <40 ml/minute/1.

Machine learning in project analytics: a data-driven framework and case study.

The analytic procedures incorporated to facilitate the delivery of projects are often referred to as project analytics. Existing techniques focus on retrospective reporting and understanding the underlying relationships to make informed decisions. Although machine learning algorithms have been widely used in addressing problems within various contexts (e.

Axonal Transport Impairment and its Relationship with Diffusion Tensor Imaging Metrics of a Murine Model of p301L Tau Induced Tauopathy.

Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) and Manganese Enhanced MRI (MEMRI) are noninvasive tools to characterize neural fiber microstructure and axonal transport. A combination of both may provide novel insights into the progress of neurodegeneration. To investigate the relationship of DTI and MEMRI in white matter of tauopathy, twelve optic nerves of 11-month-old p301L tau mice were imaged and finished with postmortem immunohistochemistry.

Efficacy of Topical Carbonic Anhydrase Inhibitors in Reducing Duration of Chronic Central Serous Chorioretinopathy.

Purpose: Topical carbonic anhydrase inhibitors (CAIs) can influence retinal fluid distribution, but their role in treating central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR) has not been studied. We examined the efficacy of a topical CAI (dorzolamide) in treating chronic CSCR.

Methods: Prospective, nonrandomized, controlled intervention study of patients with chronic CSCR of at least 3 months duration.

Systematic review of pleural-amniotic shunt insertion vs. conservative management in isolated bilateral fetal hydrothorax without hydrops.

Objective: In the management of bilateral fetal hydrothorax where the fetus is non-hydropic and apparently otherwise normal, we wished to determine if pleural-amniotic shunt insertion was better than conservative management in terms of mortality.

Methods: A systematic review was conducted between 1992 and 2017. Data extracted was inspected for heterogeneity.

Profile of a population-based diabetic macular oedema study: the Liverpool Eye and Diabetes Study (Sydney).

Purpose: The population prevalence of diabetic macular oedema (DME) is unclear. Previous estimates have depended on photographic grading of clinically significant macular oedema, which is subjective and has resulted in widely varying estimates. With the advent of optical coherence tomography (OCT), the presence and severity of DME can now be assessed objectively and accurately.

Isolated Ascites in a Monochorionic Twin after Fetoscopic Laser Ablation Is Not Necessarily Secondary to Recurrence or Anaemia: Bowel Complications in Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome after Fetoscopic Laser Ablation.

Background/purpose: We report a case study of jejunal atresia and the results of a systematic literature review of all reported cases of bowel complications occurring after fetoscopic laser ablation (FLA) for the treatment of twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS).

Methods: A systematic literature review was performed of bowel complications after FLA for TTTS according to PRISMA guidelines.

Results: There are 11 published cases of small bowel atresia, 5 cases of necrotising enterocolitis (NEC), and 2 cases with foetal bowel perforations.

Three-dimensional indices of renal perfusion in normal pregnancy and pre-eclampsia.

Introduction: We compared renal perfusion in normal pregnant women and women with pre-eclampsia using three-dimensional (3D) ultrasound. We measured the flow index (FI), vascular index (VI) and vascularisation flow index (VFI) which are believed to reflect vascularity and flow intensity.

Methods: Fourteen patients with normal pregnancy and 16 patients with pre-eclampsia were recruited.

An Assessment of Fetal Cerebral and Hepatic Perfusion in Normal Pregnancy and Pre-Eclampsia Using Three-Dimensional Ultrasound.

Background: Pre-eclampsia and placental causes of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) are part of the same spectrum of disorders. In IUGR, there is preferential shunting of blood to the fetal brain at the expense of other organs. We wanted to demonstrate that this also occurs in pre-eclampsia using three dimensional (3D) ultrasound.

Fetal umbilical artery Doppler pulsatility index and childhood neurocognitive outcome at 12 years.

Objective: To determine whether an elevated fetal umbilical artery Doppler (UAD) pulsatility index (PI) at 28 weeks' gestation, in the absence of fetal growth restriction (FGR) and prematurity, is associated with adverse neurocognitive outcome in children aged 12 years.

Methods: Prospective cohort study, comparing children with a normal fetal UAD PI (<90th centile) (n=110) and those with an elevated PI (≥90th centile) (n=40). UAD was performed at 28, 32 and 34 weeks gestation.

Intervention versus a conservative approach in the management of TRAP sequence: a systematic review.

Objective: In the management of twin reversed arterial perfusion (TRAP) sequence, we wished to (i) determine if intervention is better than a conservative approach and (ii) assess if any of the apparent adverse prognostic indicators could guide intervention.

Methods: A systematic review was conducted between 1994 and 2014. Data extracted were inspected for heterogeneity.

Do Regular Ultrasound Scans Reduce the Incidence of Stillbirth in Women with Apparently Normal Pregnancies?

Objective: To determine the incidence of stillbirth in women who have regular ante-natal ultrasound compared to those that have infrequent scans in a low risk population.

Study Design: A retrospective observational study was performed in a tertiary center with 5,700 deliveries per annum. Data on all deliveries was collected via the Northern Ireland Maternity System Database.

Clinical significance of incident hypokalemia and hyperkalemia in treated hypertensive patients in the antihypertensive and lipid-lowering treatment to prevent heart attack trial.

Concerns exist that diuretic-induced changes in serum potassium may have adverse effects in hypertensive patients. The Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial, a large practice-based clinical trial, made it possible to examine consequences of observed changes in potassium during care in conventional practice settings. Normokalemic participants randomized to chlorthalidone (C) versus amlodipine or lisinopril as a first-step drug were stratified by year-1 potassium.

Mortality and morbidity during and after the Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial.

A randomized, double-blind, active-controlled, multicenter trial assigned 32,804 participants aged 55 years and older with hypertension and ≥ 1 other coronary heart disease risk factors to receive chlorthalidone (n=15,002), amlodipine (n=8898), or lisinopril (n=8904) for 4 to 8 years, when double-blinded therapy was discontinued. Passive surveillance continued for a total follow-up of 8 to 13 years using national administrative databases to ascertain deaths and hospitalizations. During the post-trial period, fatal outcomes and nonfatal outcomes were available for 98% and 65% of participants, respectively, due to lack of access to administrative databases for the remainder.

Prognosis of isolated mild to moderate fetal cerebral ventriculomegaly: a systematic review.

Aims: To ascertain risk of aneuploidy, infection and neurological abnormality for the fetus diagnosed with isolated mild (10.1-12.0 mm) to moderate (12.

An assessment of vascularity and flow intensity of the placenta in normal pregnancy and pre-eclampsia using three-dimensional ultrasound.

Objective: To test the hypothesis that parameters of vascularity and flow intensity of the placenta as determined by three-dimensional (3D) ultrasound, (1) are different in normal pregnancy compared to pre-eclampsia (2) decrease from the basal plate towards the chorionic plate.

Methods: Twenty women with normal pregnancy and 17 women with pre-eclampisa were studied. 3D power Doppler ultrasound was used to acquire individual placental volumes.

Spiral artery blood volume in normal pregnancies and those compromised by pre-eclampsia.

The aim of this work was to use intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) to provide a non-invasive in vivo assessment of the function of the maternal spiral arteries that feed the placenta in normal pregnancy and in pre-eclampsia. Eleven normal pregnant women were scanned at 16, 22, 29 and 35 weeks gestation in a longitudinal study. Nine normal pregnant women and six women with pre-eclampsia were scanned in a cross-sectional study, within 10 days of delivery.

AGI-1067, a novel vascular protectant, anti-inflammatory drug and mild antiplatelet agent for treatment of atherosclerosis.

Oxidation-sensitive signals play an important role in platelet activation. AGI-1067 is a novel, phenolic, intra- and extracellular antioxidant that inhibits the expression of a number of proinflammatory genes involved in atherosclerosis. AGI-1067 is the metabolically stable monosuccinic acid ester of probucol, and a potent phenolic antioxidant representing a novel class of orally bioavailable compounds termed vascular protectants.

Patients with metabolic syndrome exhibit higher platelet activity than those with conventional risk factors for vascular disease.

Background: The metabolic syndrome is a matter of ongoing debate with regard to its existence, classification, clinical meaningfulness, and associated risks for vessel occlusion. Considering that persistent platelet activation is a cornerstone for the development of acute vascular events, and that patients with type 2 diabetes consistently exhibit high platelet activity, these characteristics may be critical for distinguishing and triageing specific features of metabolic syndrome among established risk factors for vascular disease.

Methods: We assessed the platelet activity by conventional aggregation, expression of major surface receptors by flow cytometry, and quantitatively by rapid bedside analyzers in 20 aspirin-naïve patients with documented metabolic syndrome, and compared these with 20 untreated subjects with multiple cardiovascular risk factors.

Fasting glucose levels and incident diabetes mellitus in older nondiabetic adults randomized to receive 3 different classes of antihypertensive treatment: a report from the Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial (ALLHAT).

Background: Elevated blood glucose levels are reported with thiazide-type diuretic treatment of hypertension. The significance of this finding is uncertain. Our objectives were to compare the effect of first-step antihypertensive drug therapy with thiazide-type diuretic, calcium-channel blocker, or angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor on fasting glucose (FG) levels and to determine cardiovascular and renal disease risks associated with elevated FG levels and incident diabetes mellitus (DM) in 3 treatment groups.

Remodeling of myometrial radial arteries in preeclampsia.

Objective: This study was undertaken to test for structural differences between myometrial radial arteries isolated from women having normal pregnancies and pregnancies complicated by preeclampsia and intrauterine growth restriction.

Study Design: Pressure myography was used to study myometrial radial arteries obtained at cesarean section. With the use of a transilluminating system, lumen diameter, wall thickness, wall/lumen ratio, distensibility and stress-strain relationship were studied through a range of pressures.