Assessment of fracture risk with FRAX and FRAXplus.

FRAX, a risk calculator that provides individualized 10-year probabilities of hip and major osteoporotic fracture, has been widely used for fracture risk assessment since its launch in 2008. It is now incorporated into very many guidelines worldwide to inform osteoporosis management. In this review, we explore the development of FRAX and how it enhances fracture risk prediction as compared to use of bone mineral density alone, as well as approaches to utilizing FRAX in determining intervention and assessment thresholds.

Recent policy recommendations won't protect young people from alcohol-related content on social media: what needs to change?

The federal Australian government has introduced legislation to require social media platforms to restrict access to their platforms for young people under 16 years of age. Amongst the conversations about protecting the health and wellbeing of young people, we have yet to see discussion on the impact of alcohol imagery as a pervasive 'unhealthy' industry on social media. This is problematic because young people consume a large amount of social media content and are exposed to glamorised alcohol depictions and targeted advertising.

Proteomic characterization and comparison of the infective and adult life stage secretomes from Necator americanus and Ancylostoma ceylanicum.

More than 470 million people globally are infected with the hookworms Ancylostoma ceylanicum and Necator americanus, resulting in an annual loss of 2.1 to 4 million disability-adjusted-life-years. Current infection management approaches are limited by modest drug efficacy, the costs associated with frequent mass drug administration campaigns, and the risk of reinfection and burgeoning drug resistance.

Psychological symptoms, quality of life and dyadic relations in family members of intensive care survivors: a multicentre, prospective longitudinal cohort study.

Background: There is scarce literature evaluating long term psychological or Quality of Life (QoL) outcomes in family members of ICU survivors, who have not experienced invasive ventilation. The objective was to compare long-term psychological symptoms and QoL outcomes in family members of intubated versus non-intubated ICU survivors and to evaluate dyadic relationships between paired family members and survivors.

Methods: Prospective, multicentre cohort study among four medical-surgical ICUs in Australia.

Barriers and enablers to measuring resting metabolic rate in the high-performance sporting system: A qualitative exploratory study.

Measurements of resting metabolic rate (RMR) may be undertaken for dietary planning purposes or to assess for low energy availability (LEA). This study investigated barriers and enablers to measuring RMR in real-world, high-performance sport environments. Twelve interviews were conducted with technicians ( = 6 dietitians,  = 6 physiologists) employed across six National Institute Networks, two National Sporting Organisations and one professional sporting code.

Identifying the Factors That Drive Health Service Utilization Among Healthy and Non-Healthy Agers in a Sample of Older Ethiopians: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background And Aims: Population aging is associated with the rising incidence of chronic illness. This presents a significant challenge to healthcare systems, particularly in developing countries, as untreated chronic conditions can lead to years of disability and loss of independence straining health budgets and resources. Promoting healthy aging can be one avenue for mitigating these challenges.

adapted to steppe-desert climate extremes one million years ago.

Questions about when early members of the genus adapted to extreme environments like deserts and rainforests have traditionally focused on . Here, we present multidisciplinary evidence from Engaji Nanyori in Tanzania's Oldupai Gorge, revealing that thrived in hyperarid landscapes one million years ago. Using biogeochemical analyses, precise chronometric dating, palaeoclimate simulations, biome modeling, fire history reconstructions, palaeobotanical studies, faunal assemblages, and archeological evidence, we reconstruct an environment dominated by semidesert shrubland.

Enhancing Farm Dams Increases Tadpole Abundance.

Understanding how agricultural and land management practices affect amphibian biodiversity is essential for conservation efforts in farmland. We investigated the impact of farm dam enhancement on tadpole abundance and growth in a highly modified farming landscape in south-eastern Australia. We completed detailed surveys on 52 farm dams (artificial ponds or agricultural reservoirs).

De novo and inherited dominant variants in U4 and U6 snRNAs cause retinitis pigmentosa.

The U4 small nuclear RNA (snRNA) forms a duplex with the U6 snRNA and, together with U5 and ~30 proteins, is part of the U4/U6.U5 tri-snRNP complex, located at the core of the major spliceosome. Recently, recurrent variants in the U4 RNA, transcribed from the gene, and in at least two other genes were discovered to cause neurodevelopmental disorder.

Clinical toxicity of nitazene detections in two Australian emergency department toxicosurveillance systems.

Introduction: Nitazenes are a group of potent synthetic opioids that have had increasing prominence as novel psychoactive drugs in the last 5 years. We describe emergency department nitazene-related presentations.

Methods: This is a prospective series of patients with analytically confirmed nitazene presentations identified by the Emerging Drugs Network of Australia and Emerging Drugs Network of Australia Victoria.

A time series analysis of Medicare-reimbursed telepsychiatry consultations across Australian states and territories before and after telehealth item expansion: Enabling policy can improve access to care.

Objective: We aimed to examine the associations of telepsychiatry consultations with the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) telehealth policy changes (pandemic-related expansion and subsequent consolidation).

Methods: We performed a time series analysis of MBS telepsychiatry usage (January 2016-December 2023) using state/territory-level Medicare panel data. Linear regression analyses with panel-corrected standard error and autocorrelation were performed for telepsychiatry consultations (overall and age and sex subgroups).

Fluorine Doping-Assisted Reconstruction of Isolated Cu Sites for CO Electroreduction Toward Multicarbon Products.

The electrocatalytic synthesis of multicarbon compounds from CO is a promising method for storing renewable electricity and addressing global CO issues. Single-atom catalysts are promising candidates for CO reduction, but producing high-value multicarbon (C) products using a single-atom structure remains a significant challenge. In this study, a fluorine doping strategy is proposed to facilitate the reconstruction of isolated Cu atoms, promoting multicarbon generation.

Global transcriptome changes during growth of a novel Penicillium coffeae isolate on the wheat stripe rust fungus, Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici.

Wheat stripe rust caused by the fungus Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst) is currently the most destructive disease of wheat.

The complexities of aeronautical transfer of acutely unwell neurosurgical patients.

Objective: Neurosurgical care is difficult to access in many scenarios. Aeromedical evacuation of acutely unwell neurosurgical patients from remote, isolated or poorly equipped locations can be considered. This article aims to provide a framework of logistical factors which deserve special consideration in the preparation of these patients for transfer.

Metagenomics: a new frontier for routine pathology testing of gastrointestinal pathogens.

Background: Accurate and comprehensive identification of enteropathogens, causing infectious gastroenteritis, is essential for optimal patient treatment and effective isolation processes in health care systems. Traditional diagnostic techniques are well established and optimised in low-cost formats. However, thorough testing for a wider range of causal agents is time consuming and remains limited to a subset of pathogenic organisms.

Transcriptional regulation of Rankl by Txnip-Ecd in aging and diabetic related osteoporosis.

Introduction: Bone homeostasis between osteoclast bone resorption and osteoblastic bone formation is tightly regulated by a series of factors such as the receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL). Denosumab that neutralizes RANKL is effective and widely applied in the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis. However, factors that participated in the RANKL-related bone remodeling process in primary and secondary osteoporosis are less known.

Symbiosis and horizontal gene transfer promote herbivory in the megadiverse leaf beetles.

Beetles that feed on the nutritionally depauperate and recalcitrant tissues provided by the leaves, stems, and roots of living plants comprise one-quarter of herbivorous insect species. Among the key adaptations for herbivory are plant cell wall-degrading enzymes (PCWDEs) that break down the fastidious polymers in the cell wall and grant access to the nutritious cell content. While largely absent from the non-herbivorous ancestors of beetles, such PCWDEs were occasionally acquired via horizontal gene transfer (HGT) or by the uptake of digestive symbionts.

Dynamic linkages and spillover effects of biodiversity risk in socially responsible investment and commodity markets.

This study employs a novel biodiversity risk measure, developed through textual analysis, to examine how biodiversity risk affects socially responsible investment (SRI) and commodity markets. Biodiversity-related financial risks, arising from ecosystem degradation, represent an emerging and underexplored dimension of market risk, particularly for investors seeking sustainability-aligned portfolios. Our analysis reveals that both SRI equity and commodity indices consistently exhibit negative time-varying correlations with biodiversity risk, with correlations as low as -0.

Adverse events during and after early mobilisation: A post hoc analysis of the TEAM trial.

Background: The Treatment of Mechanically Ventilated Adults with Early Activity and Mobilisation (TEAM) trial reported a higher occurrence of adverse events with greater mobilisation. However, their timing and nature remained unexplored. We conducted an in-depth exploration of such events.

Carbapenemase-Producing Enterobacterales: An Increasing Threat to Australian Liver Transplant Recipients.

Introduction: Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE) are associated with increased morbidity and mortality in liver transplant recipients (LTRs). There is a paucity of data regarding CPE colonization and infection in Australian LTRs.

Methods: A single-center retrospective cohort study of CPE was performed in LTRs from 2015 to 2024.

Early developmental trajectories of the impaired hand in infants with unilateral cerebral palsy.

Aim: To identify developmental trajectories of impaired hand function in infants aged 3 to 15 months with unilateral cerebral palsy (CP).

Method: Sixty-three infants (37 male; median gestational age 37 weeks [interquartile range 30-39.1 weeks]) recruited as part of a randomized trial with a confirmed diagnosis of unilateral CP were included.

Associations between bone material strength index and FRAX scores.

Introduction: Impact microindentation (IMI) measures bone material strength index (BMSi) in vivo. However, its ability to predict fractures is still uncertain. This study aimed to determine the association between BMSi and 10 year fracture probability, as calculated by the FRAX algorithm.

An observational study of socioeconomic disparities in psychiatry consultation uptake in Australia, using routinely collected national data from 2015 to 2022.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with increased psychological distress and psychiatric service usage in Australia. Previous research into the first few months of the pandemic found severe inequality in telehealth psychiatry but no change in inequality for psychiatry service usage overall. However, it is unknown how inequality evolved over the remainder of the pandemic, as extended lockdowns continued in major Australian cities.

Online interest in ADHD predicts ADHD medication prescriptions in Australia from 2004 to 2023: A time-series analysis revealing COVID-19-related acceleration.

Objective: Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medication prescriptions in Australia have grown sharply in recent years. We examined the association between online interest in ADHD and prescriptions.

Methods: Monthly Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) and Repatriation PBS (RPBS) Item Reports of ADHD prescriptions and Australian ADHD-related Google Trends (GT) data (2004-2023) were sourced.

Impact of a multidisciplinary diabetes care programme on glycaemic and metabolic outcomes in regional and First Nations communities: a retrospective observational study.

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) poses a significant public health challenge in Australia, particularly among underserved populations such as First Nations people and rural communities. In response, the Together Strong Connected Care (TSCC) programme was developed to address these disparities by offering a culturally appropriate, multidisciplinary approach to diabetes management in a regional hospital setting.

Aims: The aim of the study was to assess the impact of the TSCC programme on glycaemic and metabolic control in people living with diabetes.