Region of Birth Differences in Medication Adherence Among Patients with Stroke or Transient Ischemic Attack.

Background And Purpose: Cultural and language barriers may affect quality of care, such as adherence to medications. We examined whether adherence to prevention medications within the year after stroke/transient ischemic attack (TIA) differed by region of birth.

Methods: An observational study of adults with stroke/TIA admitted to hospitals in the Australian Stroke Clinical Registry (Queensland, Victoria; 2012-2016; n=45 hospitals), with linked administrative data.

Global migration and factors influencing retention of Asian internationally educated nurses: a systematic review.

Background: Given nurses' increasing international mobility, Asian internationally educated nurses (IENs) represent a critical human resource highly sought after within the global healthcare workforce. Developed countries have grown excessively reliant on them, leading to heightened competition among these countries. Hence, this review aims to uncover factors underlying the retention of Asian IENs in host countries to facilitate the development of more effective staff retention strategies.

GRID1/GluD1 homozygous variants linked to intellectual disability and spastic paraplegia impair mGlu1/5 receptor signaling and excitatory synapses.

The ionotropic glutamate delta receptor GluD1, encoded by the GRID1 gene, is involved in synapse formation, function, and plasticity. GluD1 does not bind glutamate, but instead cerebellin and D-serine, which allow the formation of trans-synaptic bridges, and trigger transmembrane signaling. Despite wide expression in the nervous system, pathogenic GRID1 variants have not been characterized in humans so far.

Cost-Effectiveness of a Government Policy to Incentivise Chronic Disease Management following Stroke: A Modelling Study.

Introduction: Little is known about the cost-effectiveness of government policies that support primary care physicians to provide comprehensive chronic disease management (CDM). This paper aimed to estimate the potential cost-effectiveness of CDM policies over a lifetime for long-time survivors of stroke.

Methods: A Markov model, using three health states (stable, hospitalised, dead), was developed to simulate the costs and benefits of CDM policies over 30 years (with 1-year cycles).

Factors Associated With Transition From Community to Permanent Residential Aged Care Following Stroke: A Linked Registry Data Study.

Background: Understanding factors that influence the transition to permanent residential aged care following a stroke or transient ischemic attack may inform strategies to support people to live at home longer. We aimed to identify the demographic, clinical, and system factors that may influence the transition from living in the community to permanent residential care in the 6 to 18 months following stroke/transient ischemic attack.

Methods: Linked data cohort analysis of adults from Queensland and Victoria aged ≥65 years and registered in the Australian Stroke Clinical Registry (2012-2016) with a clinical diagnosis of stroke/transient ischemic attack and living in the community in the first 6 months post-hospital discharge.

Contribution of the dihydropyrimidinase-like proteins family in synaptic physiology and in neurodevelopmental disorders.

The dihydropyrimidinase-like (DPYSL) proteins, also designated as the collapsin response mediators (CRMP) proteins, constitute a family of five cytosolic phosphoproteins abundantly expressed in the developing nervous system but down-regulated in the adult mouse brain. The DPYSL proteins were initially identified as effectors of semaphorin 3A (Sema3A) signaling and consequently involved in regulation of growth cone collapse in young developing neurons. To date, it has been established that DPYSL proteins mediate signals for numerous intracellular/extracellular pathways and play major roles in variety of cellular process including cell migration, neurite extension, axonal guidance, dendritic spine development and synaptic plasticity through their phosphorylation status.

Receipt of Mental Health Treatment in People Living With Stroke: Associated Factors and Long-Term Outcomes.

Background: Untreated poststroke mood problems may influence long-term outcomes. We aimed to investigate factors associated with receiving mental health treatment following stroke and impacts on long-term outcomes.

Methods: Observational cohort study derived from the Australian Stroke Clinical Registry (AuSCR; Queensland and Victorian registrants: 2012-2016) linked with hospital, primary care billing and pharmaceutical dispensing claims data.

Comparison of comorbidities of stroke collected in administrative data, surveys, clinical trials and cohort studies.

Background: Administrative data are used extensively for research purposes, but there remains limited information on the quality of these data for identifying comorbidities related to stroke.

Objective: To compare the prevalence of comorbidities of stroke identified using International Classification Diseases, Australian Modification (ICD-10-AM) or Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical codes, with those from (i) self-reported data and (ii) published studies.

Method: The cohort included patients with stroke or transient ischaemic attack admitted to hospitals (2012-2016; Victoria and Queensland) in the Australian Stroke Clinical Registry = 26,111).

Antihypertensive Medication Adherence and the Risk of Vascular Events and Falls After Stroke: A Real-World Effectiveness Study Using Linked Registry Data.

Background: Real-world evidence is limited on whether antihypertensive medications help avert major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) after stroke without increasing the risk of falls. We investigated the association of adherence to antihypertensive medications on the incidence of MACE and falls requiring hospitalization after stroke.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study of adults who were newly dispensed antihypertensive medications after an acute stroke (Australian Stroke Clinical Registry 2012-2016; Queensland and Victoria).

Are Medicare Funded Multidisciplinary Care Policies Being Claimed in accordance to Rehabilitation Needs in Patients with Stroke?

Background: Australian Primary Care Practitioners are incentivised through Medicare funded policies to provide chronic disease management and facilitate multidisciplinary care. Little is known about how these policies are claimed in the long-term management of stroke. The objective of this study was to describe the use of funded primary care policies for people with stroke by impairment status.

Does a History of Cancer Influence the Effectiveness of Statins on Outcomes After Stroke?

Background: Evidence is growing on anticancer effects of statins. We investigated whether the effectiveness of treatment with statins after ischemic stroke on mortality is influenced by a history of cancer.

Methods: Analyses of 90-day survivors of ischemic stroke (2012-2016; 45 hospitals) using linked registry and administrative data.

Real-World Effectiveness of Lipid-Lowering Medications on Outcomes after Stroke: Potential Implications of the New-User Design.

Introduction: Observational studies are increasingly being used to provide evidence on the real-world effectiveness of medications for preventing vascular diseases, such as stroke. We investigated whether the real-world effectiveness of treatment with lipid-lowering medications after ischemic stroke is affected by prevalent-user bias.

Methods: An observational cohort study of 90-day survivors of ischemic stroke using person-level data from the Australian Stroke Clinical Registry (2012-2016; 45 hospitals) linked to administrative (pharmaceutical, hospital, death) records.

Factors associated with mental health service access among Australian community-dwelling survivors of stroke.

Purpose: To describe types of mental health treatment accessed by community-based stroke survivors and factors associated with access.

Methods: A sub-group of registrants from the Australian Stroke Clinical Registry completed a supplementary survey 2.5 years post-stroke.

Quality of life after stroke: a longitudinal analysis of a cluster randomized trial.

Purpose: Health-related quality of life (QoL) is poor after stroke, but may be improved with comprehensive care plans. We aimed to determine the effects of an individualized management program on QoL in people with stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA), describe changes in QoL over time, and identify variables associated with QoL.

Methods: This was a multicenter, cluster randomized controlled trial with blinded assessment of outcomes and intention-to-treat analysis.

Optimal Measures for Primary Care Physician Encounters after Stroke and Association with Survival: A Data Linkage Study.

Background And Purpose: Primary care physicians (PCPs) provide ongoing management after stroke. However, little is known about how best to measure physician encounters with reference to longer term outcomes. We aimed to compare methods for measuring regularity and continuity of PCP encounters, based on survival following stroke using linked healthcare data.

Developmental and Behavioral Phenotypes in a Mouse Model of DDX3X Syndrome.

Background: Mutations in the X-linked gene DDX3X account for approximately 2% of intellectual disability in females, often comorbid with behavioral problems, motor deficits, and brain malformations. DDX3X encodes an RNA helicase with emerging functions in corticogenesis and synaptogenesis.

Methods: We generated a Ddx3x haploinsufficient mouse (Ddx3x females) with construct validity for DDX3X loss-of-function mutations.

The psychosocial needs of underserved breast cancer survivors and perspectives of their clinicians and support providers.

Purpose: Breast cancer survivors (BrCS) experience many psychosocial difficulties following treatment, leading to an increased risk of psychological distress compared to the general population. This is especially true for underserved BrCS whose unmet supportive care needs can result in worse physical and mental health outcomes. This qualitative study compared healthcare and support providers' perceptions of BrCS' needs to survivors' perceptions of their own needs.

Haploinsufficiency of the HIRA gene located in the 22q11 deletion syndrome region is associated with abnormal neurodevelopment and impaired dendritic outgrowth.

The 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS) is associated with a wide spectrum of cognitive and psychiatric symptoms. Despite the considerable work performed over the past 20 years, the genetic etiology of the neurodevelopmental phenotype remains speculative.

Assuming one dose per day yields a similar estimate of medication adherence in patients with stroke: An exploratory analysis using linked registry data.

Purpose: Prescribed daily dose (PDD), the number of doses prescribed to be taken per day, is used to calculate medication adherence using pharmacy claims data. PDD can be substituted by (i) one dose per day (1DD), (ii) an estimate based on the 75th percentile of days taken by patients to refill a script (PDD ) or (iii) the World Health Organization's defined daily dose (DDD). We aimed to compare these approaches for estimating the duration covered by medications and whether this affects calculated 1-year adherence to antihypertensive medications post-stroke.

Designing nanoparticle interfaces for inner-sphere catalysis.

Interfaces are an intrinsic component of nanoparticle catalysts and play a critical role in directing their function. Our understanding of the complexity of the nanoparticle interface and how to manipulate it at the molecular level has advanced significantly in recent years. Given this, attention is shifting towards the creation of designer nanoparticle interfaces that impact the activity and direct the mechanisms of inner-sphere catalytic reactions.

Hydrogen on Cobalt Phosphide.

Cobalt phosphide (CoP) is one of the most promising earth-abundant replacements for noble metal catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Critical to HER is the binding of H atoms. While theoretical studies have computed preferred sites and energetics of hydrogen bound to transition metal phosphide surfaces, direct experimental studies are scarce.