The effects of acute hot-water immersion on force steadiness and motor unit discharge rate variability in young, healthy adults.

This study examined the effects of core and muscle temperature on force steadiness and motor unit discharge rate (MUDR) variability after a hot-water immersion session. Fifteen participants (6 women; 25±6 years) completed neuromuscular assessments before and after either 42ºC (hot) or 36ºC (control) water immersion. Force steadiness was measured during knee extension, while HD-sEMG signals were recorded from vastus lateralis and medialis for MUDR variability analysis.

Food-derived extracellular vesicles in the human gastrointestinal tract: Opportunities for personalised nutrition and targeted therapeutics.

Food-derived extracellular vesicles (FDEVs) such as those found in mammalian milk and plants are of great interest for both their health benefits and ability to act as biological nanocarriers. While the extracellular vesicle (EV) field is expanding rapidly to perform characterisation studies on FDEVs from plants, yeasts and bacteria, species-specific differences in EV uptake and function in the human gastrointestinal (GI) tract are poorly understood. Moreover, the effects of food processing on the EV surfaceome and intraluminal content also raises questions surrounding biological viability once consumed.

Development of a standardized minimum dataset for including low-severity trauma patients in trauma registry collections in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.

Background: Trauma continues to place a burden on individuals, communities and health care systems around the world. To help reduce this burden and improve care, trauma registries in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand collect standardized data on patients admitted with Injury Severity Scores greater than 12. There is currently no agreed minimum data set for trauma patients with Injury Severity Score less than 13, representing an opportunity to provide more data for quality improvement and injury prevention.

Social determinant factors and access to health care for women experiencing domestic and family violence: Qualitative synthesis.

Aims: The aim of this study was to explore the social determinant factors and access to health care for women with lived experience of domestic and family violence.

Design: Qualitative synthesis.

Data Sources: A search of CINHAL, Embase, Medline and PubMed, was conducted between December 2021 and March 2022.

A Micropatterned Human-Specific Neuroepithelial Tissue for Modeling Gene and Drug-Induced Neurodevelopmental Defects.

The generation of structurally standardized human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC)-derived neural embryonic tissues has the potential to model genetic and environmental mediators of early neurodevelopmental defects. Current neural patterning systems have so far focused on directing cell fate specification spatio-temporally but not morphogenetic processes. Here, the formation of a structurally reproducible and highly-organized neuroepithelium (NE) tissue is directed from hPSCs, which recapitulates morphogenetic cellular processes relevant to early neurulation.

Family meetings in paediatric palliative care: an integrative review.

Objective: Our aim was to synthesise the available evidence surrounding the structure, processes and outcomes of family meetings in the paediatric palliative care literature.

Methods: We undertook an integrative literature review informed by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. The protocol was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42019138938).

The draft genome of reveals insights into toxin evolution.

Sea anemones have a wide array of toxic compounds (peptide toxins found in their venom) which have potential uses as therapeutics. To date, the majority of studies characterizing toxins in sea anemones have been restricted to species from the superfamily, Actinioidea. No highly complete draft genomes are currently available for this superfamily, however, highlighting our limited understanding of the genes encoding toxins in this important group.

The contribution of bullying victimisation to the burden of anxiety and depressive disorders in Australia.

Aim: There is now a strong body of literature showing that bullying victimisation during childhood and adolescence precedes the later development of anxiety and depressive disorders. This study aimed to quantify the burden of anxiety and depressive disorders attributable to experiences of bullying victimisation for the Australian population.

Methods: This study updated a previous systematic review summarising the longitudinal association between bullying victimisation and anxiety and depressive disorders.

Textured shoe insoles to improve balance performance in adults with diabetic peripheral neuropathy: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

Introduction: Peripheral neuropathy is a major risk factor for falls in adults with diabetes. Innovative footwear devices which artificially manipulate the sensory environment at the feet, such as textured shoe insoles, are emerging as an attractive option to mitigate balance and walking problems in neuropathic populations. This study aims to explore whether wearing textured insoles for 4 weeks alters balance performance in adults with diabetic peripheral neuropathy.

Differential BDNF methylation in combat exposed veterans and the association with exercise.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene is associated with increased risk of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and plays a role in neuroplasticity, cognition and memory. BDNF has strong potential as a therapeutic target as studies have shown that antidepressants, electroconvulsive treatment and exercise modulate BDNF expression and methylation. In this study we examined the role of BDNF methylation and expression in PTSD and the implications of exercise in mediating these effects.

Insights into the phylogenetic and molecular evolutionary histories of and gene families in Actiniaria.

The biosynthesis of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs, ≥ C) is reliant on the action of desaturase and elongase enzymes, which are encoded by the fatty acyl desaturase () and elongation of very long-chain fatty acid () gene families, respectively. In Metazoa, research investigating the distribution and evolution of these gene families has been restricted largely to Bilateria. Here, we provide insights into the phylogenetic and molecular evolutionary histories of the and gene families in Cnidaria, the sister phylum to Bilateria.

Hepatic iron concentration correlates with insulin sensitivity in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Rodent and cell-culture models support a role for iron-related adipokine dysregulation and insulin resistance in the pathogenesis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD); however, substantial human data are lacking. We examined the relationship between measures of iron status, adipokines, and insulin resistance in patients with NAFLD in the presence and absence of venesection. This study forms part of the Impact of Iron on Insulin Resistance and Liver Histology in Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (IIRON2) study, a prospective randomized controlled trial of venesection for adults with NAFLD.

A Three-Domain Personality Analysis of a Mentally Tough Athlete.

The current study adopted McAdams' multilayer framework as the basis to develop a psychological portrait of an elite athlete who was identified as being particularly 'mentally tough'. The aim was to use this single case as an exemplar to demonstrate the utility of McAdams' framework for understanding the complexity of sport performers across three domains of personality: dispositional traits, characteristic adaptations, and narrative identity. We operationalised these domains through the development of specific research questions and, subsequently, the collection and integration of the participant's Big Five traits, personal strivings, coping strategies, and response to a life story interview.

A step forward in addressing cancer survivorship in the Asia-Pacific region.

Cancer survivorship is being increasingly recognized as an important component of cancer care. This commentary reviews the key findings reported in the recent BMC Medicine publication of the ACTION study, which focuses on the health-related quality of life and psychological distress in 5249 cancer survivors in eight low- and middle-income countries in Southeast Asia. The study identified that more than one-third of survivors experience at least mild levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms and that poorer outcomes in quality of life, anxiety, and depressive symptoms are linked to a number of clinical and demographic factors.

Influence of BOLD Contributions to Diffusion fMRI Activation of the Visual Cortex.

Reliance on the hemodynamic response as a surrogate marker of neural activity imposes an intrinsic limit on the spatial specificity of functional MRI. An alternative approach based on diffusion-weighted functional MRI (DfMRI) has been reported as a contrast less reliant on hemodynamic effects, however current evidence suggests that both hemodynamic and unique neural sources contribute to the diffusion signal. Here we compare activation patterns obtained with the standard blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) contrast to DfMRI in order to gain a deeper understanding of how the BOLD proportion contributes to the observable diffusion signal.

Ultrasound of paediatric appendicitis and its secondary sonographic signs: providing a more meaningful finding.

Sonography is an important clinical tool in diagnosing appendicitis in children as it can obviate both exposure to potentially harmful ionising radiation from computed tomography scans and the need for unnecessary appendicectomies. This review examines the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound in the identification of acute appendicitis, with a particular focus on the the utility of secondary sonographic signs as an adjunct or corollary to traditionally examined criteria. These secondary signs can be important in cases where the appendix cannot be identified with ultrasound and a more meaningful finding may be made by incorporating the presence or absence of secondary sonographic signs.

Automated replication of cone beam CT-guided treatments in the Pinnacle(3) treatment planning system for adaptive radiotherapy.

Introduction: Time-consuming manual methods have been required to register cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images with plans in the Pinnacle(3) treatment planning system in order to replicate delivered treatments for adaptive radiotherapy. These methods rely on fiducial marker (FM) placement during CBCT acquisition or the image mid-point to localise the image isocentre. A quality assurance study was conducted to validate an automated CBCT-plan registration method utilising the Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) Structure Set (RS) and Spatial Registration (RE) files created during online image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT).

Functional localization of the human color center by decreased water displacement using diffusion-weighted fMRI.

Introduction: Decreased water displacement following increased neural activity has been observed using diffusion-weighted functional MRI (DfMRI) at high b-values. The physiological mechanisms underlying the diffusion signal change may be unique from the standard blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) contrast and closer to the source of neural activity. Whether DfMRI reflects neural activity more directly than BOLD outside the primary cerebral regions remains unclear.

Factors influencing first-time mothers' introduction of complementary foods: a qualitative exploration.

Background: Optimal infant nutrition comprises exclusive breastfeeding, with complementary foods introduced from six months of age. How parents make decisions regarding this is poorly studied. This study begins to address the dearth of research into the decision-making processes used by first-time mothers relating to the introduction of complementary foods.

Is recovery driven by central or peripheral factors? A role for the brain in recovery following intermittent-sprint exercise.

Prolonged intermittent-sprint exercise (i.e., team sports) induce disturbances in skeletal muscle structure and function that are associated with reduced contractile function, a cascade of inflammatory responses, perceptual soreness, and a delayed return to optimal physical performance.

Urinary biomarkers of physical activity: candidates and clinical utility.

Chronic physical inactivity is a major risk factor for a number of important lifestyle diseases, while inappropriate exposure to high physical demands is a risk factor for musculoskeletal injury and fatigue. Proteomic and metabolomic investigations of the physical activity continuum - extreme sedentariness to extremes in physical performance - offer increasing insight into the biological impacts of physical activity. Moreover, biomarkers, revealed in such studies, may have utility in the monitoring of metabolic and musculoskeletal health or recovery following injury.

Identification and nursing management of dysphagia in individuals with acute neurological impairment (update).

Background: Dysphagia, or difficulty in swallowing, is a serious and life threatening medical condition that affects a significant number of individuals with neurological impairment. Nurses, who are available to patients 24 hours a day, are in the ideal position to identify individuals with swallowing difficulties and initiate interventions that may prevent further complications until a formal assessment can be undertaken. Appropriate assessment of swallowing function is essential to the accurate identification and diagnosis of deficits in swallowing and to the effective management of dysphagia.

Availability, functionality, and use of seat belts in Beijing taxis prior to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

Use of driver seat belts and availability and functionality of passenger seat belts in a convenience sample of 231 Beijing taxis were examined in the months prior to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Driver and front passenger seat belt use was mandated in China from 2004 to help address the growing public health crisis of road trauma. Results from observations made by in-vehicle passengers revealed that 21.