Postoperative pain after single-visit root canal treatments in necrotic teeth comparing instruments' kinematics and apical instrumentation limits - a prospective randomized multicenter clinical trial.

Objectives: This prospective randomized multicenter clinical trial (PRMCT) investigated postoperative pain after single-visit root canal treatments in teeth affected by pulp necrosis (PN), and asymptomatic apical periodontitis (AAP) (with apical radiolucent areas) or normal periradicular tissues (without apical radiolucent areas) comparing different instruments' kinematics and apical instrumentation limits.

Methods: Before chemomechanical preparation, 240 patients/teeth were randomly distributed into four groups (n = 60) according to the instruments' kinematics (rotary or reciprocating) and apical instrumentation limits (with or without intentional foraminal enlargement [IFE]). After that, specimens were submitted to the same irrigation and obturation techniques, and the patients were referred to undergo the definitive restorations.

It starts at home: non-economic factors influencing consumer acceptance of battery storage in Australia.

Homeowners play a critical role in the uptake of low-carbon technologies, yet little is known about the factors that underlie market acceptance of residential battery storage. This research integrates social-psychological, demographic and behavioural factors into a holistic model that predicts market acceptance. Previous research has indicated that social factors play a crucial role in the adoption of rooftop solar.

An assessment workflow to recover microplastics from complex biological matrices.

A criteria-guided workflow was applied to assess the effectiveness of microplastic separation methods on complex marine biological matrices. Efficacy of four methods (nitric acid, HNO, and potassium hydroxide, KOH, digestions, and sodium chloride, NaCl, and potassium iodide, KI, density flotations) was evaluated on four taxa (hard coral, sponge, sea squirt, sea cucumber) using five microplastics (polyethylene, polystyrene, polyethylene terephthalate, PET, polyvinylchloride, rayon). Matrix clarification was only unacceptably low for KOH.

Recovery of Carbon Fibre from Waste Prepreg via Microwave Pyrolysis.

Management of waste from carbon fibre composites has become a significant societal issue as the application of composite grows across many industries. In this study, carbon fibres (CF) were successfully recovered from cured carbon fibre/epoxy (CF/EP) prepreg under microwave pyrolysis at 450, 550 and 650 °C followed by oxidation of any residual char. The recovered fibres were investigated for their tensile properties, surface morphologies and the elements/functional groups presented on the surface.

A circular economy approach to green energy: Wind turbine, waste, and material recovery.

Wind energy has been considered as one of the greenest renewable energy sources over the last two decades. However, attention is turning to reducing the possible environmental impacts from this sector. We argue that wind energy would not be effectively "green" if anthropogenic materials are not given attention in a responsible manner.

Patient co-payments for women diagnosed with breast cancer in Australia.

Purpose: Among Australian women, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer. The out-of-pocket cost to the patient is substantial. This study estimates the total patient co-payments for Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) for women diagnosed with breast cancer and determined the distribution of these costs by Indigenous status, remoteness, and socioeconomic status.

Seasonal variation and persistence of tungiasis infestation in dogs in an endemic community, Bahia State (Brazil): longitudinal study.

Tungiasis is a zoonosis neglected by authorities, health professionals, and affected populations. Domestic, synanthropic, and sylvatic animals serve as reservoirs for human infestation, and dogs are usually considered a main reservoir in endemic communities. To describe the seasonal variation and the persistence of tungiasis in dogs, we performed quarterly surveys during a period of 2 years in a tourist village in the municipality of Ilhéus, Bahia State, known to be endemic for tungiasis.

The impact of the introduction of a toxicology service on the intensive care unit.

To examine the impact of a clinical toxicology service on toxicology patients admitted to an intensive care department The authors performed a retrospective chart audit of all patients presenting to Cairns Emergency Department (ED) over a five-year period from 2011 to 2016 with a toxicology diagnosis requiring Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission. They were divided into two groups: pre-toxicology (1 April 2011 to 30 September 2012), and post-toxicology service (1 October 2012 to 31 of March 2016) introduction. Patients were identified using ED and ICU databases.

Cost analysis of early discharge using combined copeptin/cardiac troponin testing versus serial cardiac troponin testing in patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome.

Background: Symptoms indicating acute coronary syndrome are commonly seen in emergency rooms, but only 10% of patients are actually diagnosed with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The Guidelines for the diagnosis of patients with suspected AMI include either multiple testing of cardiac troponin (cTN) or a single combined test of cTN and copeptin, which facilitates earlier diagnosis or exclusion of AMI. The aim of the present analysis was to investigate the impact of combined copeptin/cTN testing on health care resource consumption and related costs both during and after initial hospital treatment.

Phototoxic effects of PAH and UVA exposure on molecular responses and developmental success in coral larvae.

Exposure to polycyclic aromatic carbons (PAHs) poses a growing risk to coral reefs due to increasing shipping and petroleum extraction in tropical waters. Damaging effects of specific PAHs can be further enhanced by the presence of ultraviolet radiation, known as phototoxicity. We tested phototoxic effects of the PAHs anthracene and phenanthrene on larvae of the scleractinian coral Acropora tenuis in the presence and absence of UVA (320-400 nm).

Continuous Exposure to Microplastics Does Not Cause Physiological Effects in the Cultivated Mussel Perna perna.

The environmental impact of microplastics is a challenging theme, especially under realistic experimental conditions. We investigated physiological responses to 0.1-1.

Avoiding Implementation Failure in Catchment Landscapes: A Case Study in Governance of the Great Barrier Reef.

Water quality outcomes affecting Australia's Great Barrier Reef (GBR) are governed by multi-level and multi-party decision-making that influences forested and agricultural landscapes. With international concern about the GBR's declining ecological health, this paper identifies and focuses on implementation failure (primarily at catchment scale) as a systemic risk within the overall GBR governance system. There has been limited integrated analysis of the full suite of governance subdomains that often envelop defined policies, programs and delivery activities that influence water quality in the GBR.

An innovative approach to improve ear, nose and throat surgical access for remote living Cape York Indigenous children.

Introduction: On a background of high rates of severe otitis media (OM) with associated hearing loss, children from the Torres Strait and Cape York region requiring ear, nose and throat (ENT) surgery, faced waiting times exceeding three years. After numerous clinical safety incidents were raised, indicating a failure of the current system to deliver appropriate care, the governing Hospital and Health service opted to deliver surgical care through an alternate process. ENT surgeries were performed on 16 consented children from two remote locations via the private health care system, funded by a health provider partnership.

CRISPR-Cas Defense System and Potential Prophages in Cyanobacteria Associated with the Coral Black Band Disease.

Understanding how pathogens maintain their virulence is critical to developing tools to mitigate disease in animal populations. We sequenced and assembled the first draft genome of AO1, the dominant cyanobacterium underlying pathogenicity of the virulent coral black band disease (BBD), and analyzed parts of the BBD-associated sp. BBD_1991 genome .

Risk analysis of the governance system affecting outcomes in the Great Barrier Reef.

The state and trend of the Great Barrier Reef's (GBR's) ecological health remains problematic, influencing United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) statements regarding GBR governance. While UNESCO's concerns triggered separate strategic assessments by the Australian and Queensland governments, there has been no independent and integrated review of the key risks within the overall system of governance influencing GBR outcomes. As a case study of international significance, this paper applies Governance Systems Analysis (GSA), a novel analytical framework that identifies the governance themes, domains and subdomains most likely to influence environmental and socio-economic outcomes in complex natural systems.

Maternal 'near miss' at Royal Darwin Hospital: An analysis of severe maternal morbidity at an Australian regional tertiary maternity unit.

Background: Assessment of severe maternal morbidity using World Health Organization (WHO) 'near-miss' criteria is gaining in importance as a valuable tool in the assessment of maternity care of women. Identification of cases allows an understanding of aetiology of severe morbidity and factors contributing to poor maternal outcomes.

Aim: The aim of this study is to determine the rate of maternal 'near miss' at Royal Darwin Hospital (RDH) and the utility of the WHO near-miss criteria as a tool for data collection in a regional Australian context.

Comparative Allometric Growth of the Mimetic Ephippid Reef Fishes Chaetodipterus faber and Platax orbicularis.

Mimesis is a relatively widespread phenomenon among reef fish, but the ontogenetic processes relevant for mimetic associations in fish are still poorly understood. In the present study, the allometric growth of two allopatric leaf-mimetic species of ephippid fishes, Chaetodipterus faber from the Atlantic and Platax orbicularis from the Indo-Pacific, was analyzed using ten morphological variables. The development of fins was considered owing to the importance of these structures for mimetic behaviors during early life stages.

A systematic review of studies evaluating Australian indigenous community development projects: the extent of community participation, their methodological quality and their outcomes.

Background: Community development is a health promotion approach identified as having great potential to improve Indigenous health, because of its potential for extensive community participation. There has been no systematic examination of the extent of community participation in community development projects and little analysis of their effectiveness. This systematic review aims to identify the extent of community participation in community development projects implemented in Australian Indigenous communities, critically appraise the qualitative and quantitative methods used in their evaluation, and summarise their outcomes.

The influence of fire-coral colony size and agonistic behaviour of territorial damselfish on associated coral reef fish communities.

Branching hydrocorals from the genus Millepora play an important ecological role in South Atlantic reefs, where branching scleractinian corals are absent. Previous studies have shown a high proportion of reef fish species using branching fire-coral colonies as shelter, breeding, and feeding sites. However, the effects of Millepora spp.

Epidemiology of avian influenza in wild aquatic birds in a biosecurity hotspot, North Queensland, Australia.

Migratory birds may introduce highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza from Southeast Asia into Australia via North Queensland, a key stopover along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, with severe consequences for trade and human health. A 3-year repeated cross sectional study on the epidemiology of avian influenza in Australian nomadic wild aquatic birds was conducted in this potential biosecurity hotspot using molecular and serological techniques. Avian influenza virus subtypes H6 and H9 were commonly present in the studied population.

Analysing the crystal purity of mebendazole raw material and its stability in a suspension formulation.

The objective of this study was to develop a simple, direct and non-destructive method to assess crystal purity of mebendazole raw material and to establish its stability in a suspension formulation using diffuse reflectance ultraviolet (DRA-UV) spectroscopy and attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy. Quantitation of mebendazole, found to exhibit polymorphism with three polymorphic forms A, B and C identified, was carried out with ATR-FTIR spectroscopy. Artificial neural network (ANN) was employed as a data-modelling tool.

Flexibility in algal endosymbioses shapes growth in reef corals.

The relation between corals and their algal endosymbionts has been a key to the success of scleractinian (stony) corals as modern reef-builders, but little is known about early stages in the establishment of the symbiosis. Here, we show that initial uptake of zooxanthellae by juvenile corals during natural infection is nonspecific (a potentially adaptive trait); the association is flexible and characterized by a change in (dominant) zooxanthella strains over time; and growth rates of experimentally infected coral holobionts are partly contingent on the zooxanthella strain harbored, with clade C-infected juveniles growing two to three times as fast as those infected with clade D.