Has the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in more advanced breast cancer? A hospital-based retrospective study.

Background: The suspension of breast cancer screening during the COVID-19 pandemic altered patient diagnosis and management. This study investigates the impact of the COVID-19 lockdowns, screening delays and reduced healthcare attendance on changes in tumour and treatment characteristics, particularly for biologically more aggressive breast cancers.

Methods: This retrospective single-hospital analysis utilized data from a prospective cancer database between July 2019 and June 2022.

The Unified Narcissism Scale-Revised: Testing Incremental Validity and Shortening the Measure.

Narcissism has had a long history of conceptual and measurement confusion. In this paper, we aimed to assess the incremental and external validity of the Unified Narcissism Scale-Revised (UNS-R), and to determine a prototype short form of the measure that is invariant across cultures. In Study 1, we constructed a 15-item short form prototype that was scalar invariant across four countries (United States, China, Sri Lanka, and Australia).

A level playing field? Evaluation of the virtual Objective Structured Clinical Examination in Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine: A mixed methods study.

Objective: The Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) has been used for clinical assessment of a broad range of medical student competencies in Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine. However, there has been little research into online assessments. We investigated the virtual OSCE (v-OSCE) from the user perspective to better understand its acceptability, usefulness, benefits, challenges and potential improvements.

Efficacy of two brief trauma-focussed writing interventions in comparison to positive experiences writing: A randomized controlled trial.

Background: There is emerging literature regarding the efficacy of trauma-focussed writing therapies (TF-WTs) for posttraumatic stress. Such therapies have the potential to reduce posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in a brief time frame and can be delivered remotely. There remains a need for further research assessing the efficacy of different types of TF-WTs, as well comparing them to alternative control conditions not previously assessed.

Pilot study with randomised control of dual site theta burst transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) for methamphetamine use disorder: a protocol for the TARTAN study.

Background: Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) (including the theta burst stimulation (TBS) form of TMS used in this study) is a non-invasive means to stimulate nerve cells in superficial areas of the brain. In recent years, there has been a growth in the application of TMS to investigate the modulation of neural networks involved in substance use disorders. This study examines the feasibility of novel TMS protocols for the treatment of methamphetamine (MA) use disorder in an ambulatory drug and alcohol treatment setting.

Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists professional practice guidelines for the administration of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation.

Objectives: To provide guidance for the optimal administration of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, based on scientific evidence and supplemented by expert clinical consensus.

Methods: Articles and information were sourced from existing guidelines and published literature. The findings were then formulated into consensus-based recommendations and guidance by the authors.

Lifestyle management and brain MRI metrics in female Australian adults living with multiple sclerosis: a feasibility and acceptability study.

Background: Limited studies of multiple sclerosis (MS) exist whereby magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain with consistent imaging protocols occurs at the same time points as collection of healthy lifestyle measures. The aim of this study was to test the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary efficacy of acquiring MRI data as an objective, diagnostic and prognostic marker of MS, at the same time point as brain-healthy lifestyle measures including diet.

Methods: Participants living with relapsing remitting MS partook in one structural MRI scanning session of the brain, completed two online 24-hour dietary recalls and demographic and self-reported lifestyle questionnaires (e.

Disentangling fetal insulin hypersecretion and insulin resistance.

Disentangling which of insulin hypersecretion and insulin resistance is upstream in obesity-related type 2 diabetes (T2D) is challenging. Here, we consider the dynamics of insulin secretion and action in the fetuses of mothers with diabetes. We argue that fetal insulin hypersecretion occurs first, with insulin resistance being an adaptive protective response.

Non-invasive high-frequency ventilation in newborn infants with respiratory distress.

Background: Respiratory distress occurs in up to 7% of newborns, with respiratory support (RS) provided invasively via an endotracheal (ET) tube or non-invasively via a nasal interface. Invasive ventilation increases the risk of lung injury and chronic lung disease (CLD). Using non-invasive strategies, with or without minimally invasive surfactant, may reduce the need for mechanical ventilation and the risk of lung damage in newborn infants with respiratory distress.

Site Dependency of Anodal Transcranial Direct-Current Stimulation on Reaction Time and Transfer of Learning during a Sequential Visual Isometric Pinch Task.

Considering the advantages of brain stimulation techniques in detecting the role of different areas of the brain in human sensorimotor behaviors, we used anodal transcranial direct-current stimulation (a-tDCS) over three different brain sites of the frontoparietal cortex (FPC) in healthy participants to elucidate the role of these three brain areas of the FPC on reaction time (RT) during a sequential visual isometric pinch task (SVIPT). We also aimed to assess if the stimulation of these cortical sites affects the transfer of learning during SVIPT. A total of 48 right-handed healthy participants were randomly assigned to one of the four a-tDCS groups: (1) left primary motor cortex (M1), (2) left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), (3) left posterior parietal cortex (PPC), and (4) sham.

Complement C5a Receptor Signaling Alters Stress Responsiveness and Modulates Microglia Following Chronic Stress Exposure.

Background: Accumulating evidence underscores the pivotal role of heightened inflammation in the pathophysiology of stress-related diseases, but the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. The complement system, a key effector of the innate immune system, produces the C5-cleaved activation product C5a upon activation, initiating inflammatory responses through the canonical C5a receptor 1 (C5aR1). While C5aR1 is expressed in stress-responsive brain regions, its role in stress responsiveness remains unknown.

A Comprehensive Examination of Prediction-Based Error as a Mechanism for Syntactic Development: Evidence From Syntactic Priming.

Prediction-based accounts of language acquisition have the potential to explain several different effects in child language acquisition and adult language processing. However, evidence regarding the developmental predictions of such accounts is mixed. Here, we consider several predictions of these accounts in two large-scale developmental studies of syntactic priming of the English dative alternation.

Vein of Galen Aneurysmal Malformation: A Case Report.

Vein of Galen aneurysmal malformation is a relatively rare disease in which failure of the median prosencephalic vein of Markowski to involute early in gestation leads to a grossly dilated deep cerebral vein with multiple arterial feeders, causing a large arteriovenous shunt which leads to high-output cardiac failure. We describe a case of a term neonate who presented to a tertiary neonatal centre on day one of life with history, symptoms, and signs consistent with perinatal asphyxia; however, in the context of worsening multi-organ dysfunction and cardiomegaly, the infant was found to have a severe vein of Galen aneurysmal dilatation leading to high-output cardiac failure. The patient was transferred to a tertiary paediatric hospital and underwent a total of four coiling procedures to embolise the multiple feeder arteries supplying the aneurysmal malformation.

Diagnostic delay of sarcoidosis: an integrated systematic review.

Background: Sarcoidosis is a chronic inflammatory granulomatous disease of unknown cause. Delays in diagnosis can result in disease progression and poorer outcomes for patients. Our aim was to review the current literature to determine the overall diagnostic delay of sarcoidosis, factors associated with diagnostic delay, and the experiences of people with sarcoidosis of diagnostic delay.

Evaluating the Digital Health Experience for Patients in Primary Care: Mixed Methods Study.

Background: The digital health divide for socioeconomic disadvantage describes a pattern in which patients considered socioeconomically disadvantaged, who are already marginalized through reduced access to face-to-face health care, are additionally hindered through less access to patient-initiated digital health. A comprehensive understanding of how patients with socioeconomic disadvantage access and experience digital health is essential for improving the digital health divide. Primary care patients, especially those with chronic disease, have experience of the stages of initial help seeking and self-management of their health, which renders them a key demographic for research on patient-initiated digital health access.

Social Comparison Processes of Hispanic Students at Hispanic Majority Institutions.

This paper describes the types of social comparison used by Hispanic students at a Hispanic Majority Institution through two studies ( = 406). We found that students engaged in upward identification more often than downward identification, downward contrast, and upward contrast. However, when comparing themselves on an academic measure, downward identification and upward contrast became relatively more frequent.

"I'm more than my sport": Exploring the dynamic processes of identity change in athletic retirement.

Retirement is one of the most impactful career transitions athletes face. Researchers recognise the role that athletic identity plays in this, but analysis of identity content and change processes is limited. Addressing this gap, we conducted a qualitative study exploring the experience of identity change in 21 competitive and successful elite athletes who had retired from sport.

The effect of appearance and functionality concerns, and weight status, on negative body image mental health literacy in women.

Few studies have investigated community knowledge and beliefs about negative body image. Yet, low rates of recognition and help-seeking for body image concerns have been reported. Given the prevalence of body image problems and associated mental health risks in women, the current online study investigated negative body image mental health literacy in 260 women aged 18 to 64 years recruited via Prolific.

Economic evaluation: immunoglobulin vs prophylactic antibiotics in hypogammaglobulinemia and hematological malignancies.

Patients with hematological malignancies are at high risk of developing hypogammaglobulinemia (HGG) and infections. Immunoglobulin (Ig) is one recommended option to prevent these infections, but it is expensive, and its cost-effectiveness compared with other prevention strategies remains unknown. We conducted a trial-based economic evaluation from the Australian health care system perspective to estimate the 12-month cost-effectiveness of prophylactic Ig vs prophylactic antibiotics in 63 adults with HGG and hematological malignancies participating in the RATIONAL feasibility trial.