New Zealand District Health Boards' Open Disclosure Policies: A Qualitative Review.

Background: New Zealand health and disability providers are expected to have local open disclosure policies in place, however, empirical analysis of these policies has not been undertaken.

Aim: This study aims to (1) examine the scope and content of open disclosure policies in New Zealand (2) compare open disclosure policies in New Zealand, and (3) provide baseline results for future research.

Methods: Open disclosure policies were requested from all twenty New Zealand District Health Boards in June 2016.

In Vivo and In Vitro Monitoring of Amyloid Aggregation via BSA@FGQDs Multimodal Probe.

Early detection of peptide aggregate intermediates is quite challenging because of their variable and complex nature as well as due to lack of reliable sensors for diagnosis. Herein, we report the detection of monomers and oligomers using specified fluorescence and a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) multimodal probe based on bovine-serum-albumin-capped fluorine functionalized graphene quantum dots (BSA@FGQDs). This probe enables in vitro fluorescence-based monitoring of human islet amyloid polypeptide (hIAPP), insulin, and amyloid β (Aβ) monomers and oligomers during the fibrillogenesis dynamic.

Protein assemblies ejected directly from native membranes yield complexes for mass spectrometry.

Membrane proteins reside in lipid bilayers and are typically extracted from this environment for study, which often compromises their integrity. In this work, we ejected intact assemblies from membranes, without chemical disruption, and used mass spectrometry to define their composition. From outer membranes, we identified a chaperone-porin association and lipid interactions in the β-barrel assembly machinery.

Overcoming barriers to use of child car seats in an urban Aboriginal community-formative evaluation of a program for Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services.

Background: Little is known about the barriers to use of child car seats in Australian Aboriginal communities, or the acceptability of programs to increase appropriate car seat use. This formative evaluation sought to consult and partner with Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHS) to develop and evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of a program intended to improve optimal use of child car seats.

Methods: Focus groups were conducted with parents and carers of Aboriginal children to identify the barriers and facilitating factors for child car seat use, and staff of two ACCHS were interviewed to inform program development.

Integrative oncology and complementary medicine cancer services in Australia: findings from a national cross-sectional survey.

Background: Individuals living with and beyond a cancer diagnosis are increasingly using complementary therapies and medicines (CM) to enhance the effectiveness of cancer treatment, manage treatment-related side effects, improve quality-of-life, and promote self-efficacy. In response to the increasing use and demand for CM by cancer patients, interest in the implementation of Integrative Oncology (IO) services that provide CM alongside conventional cancer care in Australia and abroad has developed. The extent that cancer services in Australia are integrating CM is uncertain.

The Role of Sacral Slope in the Progression of a Bilateral Spondylolytic Defect at L5 to Spondylolisthesis: A Biomechanical Investigation Using Finite Element Analysis.

Study Design: A biomechanical study using finite element analysis.

Objectives: The main objective of this study was to investigate the role of sacral slope in the progression of a L5 bilateral spondylolytic defect to spondylolisthesis.

Methods: A 3-dimensional model of lumbosacral spine was built using computed tomography (CT) data procured from an anonymized healthy male subject.

Structure of the membrane-assembled retromer coat determined by cryo-electron tomography.

Eukaryotic cells traffic proteins and lipids between different compartments using protein-coated vesicles and tubules. The retromer complex is required to generate cargo-selective tubulovesicular carriers from endosomal membranes. Conserved in eukaryotes, retromer controls the cellular localization and homeostasis of hundreds of transmembrane proteins, and its disruption is associated with major neurodegenerative disorders.

NO Releasing and Anticancer Properties of Octahedral Ruthenium-Nitrosyl Complexes with Equatorial 1 H-Indazole Ligands.

With the aim of enhancing the biological activity of ruthenium-nitrosyl complexes, new compounds with four equatorially bound indazole ligands, namely, trans-[RuCl(Hind)(NO)]Cl·HO ([3]Cl·HO) and trans-[RuOH(Hind)(NO)]Cl·HO ([4]Cl·HO), have been prepared from trans-[Ru(NO)(Hind)] ([2]). When the pH-dependent solution behavior of [3]Cl·HO and [4]Cl·HO was studied, two new complexes with two deprotonated indazole ligands were isolated, namely [RuCl(ind)(Hind)(NO)] ([5]) and [RuOH(ind)(Hind)(NO)] ([6]). All prepared compounds were comprehensively characterized by spectroscopic (IR, UV-vis, H NMR) techniques.

Greenland ice mass loss during the Younger Dryas driven by Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation feedbacks.

Understanding feedbacks between the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is crucial for reducing uncertainties over future sea level and ocean circulation change. Reconstructing past GrIS dynamics can extend the observational record and elucidate mechanisms that operate on multi-decadal timescales. We report a highly-constrained last glacial vertical profile of cosmogenic isotope exposure ages from Sermilik Fjord, a marine-terminating ice stream in the southeast sector of the GrIS.

Application of a Protocol Based on Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) to Manage Unowned Urban Cats on an Australian University Campus.

In August 2008, the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney, Australia, commenced a trap-neuter-return (TNR) program to manage the population of approximately 69 free-roaming unowned urban cats on its Kensington campus. The goals of the program included an ongoing audit of cats on campus, stabilization of cat numbers through TNR, and a subsequent reduction in cat numbers over time while maintaining the health of remaining campus cats. Continuation of the TNR program over nine years resulted in a current population, as of September 2017, of 15 cats, all desexed (78% reduction).

Online Monitoring of Bacterial Growth with an Electrical Sensor.

Herein, we developed an automatic electrical bacterial growth sensor (EBGS) based on a multichannel capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detector (CD). With the use of the EBGS, up to eight culture samples of E. coli in disposable tubes were online monitored simultaneously in a noninvasive manner.

Mild (not severe) disc degeneration is implicated in the progression of bilateral L5 spondylolysis to spondylolisthesis.

Background: Spondylolytic (or lytic) spondylolisthesis is often associated with disc degeneration at the index-level; however, it is not clear if disc degeneration is the cause or the consequence of lytic spondylolisthesis. The main objective of this computed tomography based finite element modelling study was to examine the role of different grades of disc degeneration in the progression of a bilateral L5-lytic defect to spondylolisthesis.

Methods: High-resolution computed tomography data of the lumbosacral spine from an anonymised healthy male subject (26 years old) were segmented to build a 3D-computational model of an INTACT L1-S1 spine.

Exploring factors impacting early childhood health among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and communities: protocol for a population-based cohort study using data linkage (the 'Defying the Odds' study).

Introduction: Empirical evidence on family and community risk and protective factors influencing the comparatively high rates of potentially preventable hospitalisations and deaths among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander infants and children is limited. As is evidence on geographical variation in these risks. The 'Defying the Odds' study aims to explore the impact of perinatal outcomes, maternal social and health outcomes and level of culturally secure service availability on the health outcomes of Western Australian (WA) Aboriginal infants and children aged 0-5 years.

Performance of the inFLUenza Patient-Reported Outcome (FLU-PRO) diary in patients with influenza-like illness (ILI).

Background: The inFLUenza Patient Reported Outcome (FLU-PRO) measure is a daily diary assessing signs/symptoms of influenza across six body systems: Nose, Throat, Eyes, Chest/Respiratory, Gastrointestinal, Body/Systemic, developed and tested in adults with influenza.

Objectives: This study tested the reliability, validity, and responsiveness of FLU-PRO scores in adults with influenza-like illness (ILI).

Methods: Data from the prospective, observational study used to develop and test the FLU-PRO in influenza virus positive patients were analyzed.

Determinants of antenatal depression and postnatal depression in Australia.

Background: Depression is a leading source of morbidity and health loss in Australian women. This study investigates the determinants of antenatal depressive symptoms and postnatal depressive symptoms in an Australian population, including people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds.

Method: The study used a retrospective cohort of mothers of all live births in public health facilities in 2014 (N = 17,564) within South Western Sydney Local Health District and Sydney Local Health District in New South Wales, Australia.

Patterns, biases and prospects in the distribution and diversity of Neotropical snakes.

Motivation: We generated a novel database of Neotropical snakes (one of the world's richest herpetofauna) combining the most comprehensive, manually compiled distribution dataset with publicly available data. We assess, for the first time, the diversity patterns for all Neotropical snakes as well as sampling density and sampling biases.

Main Types Of Variables Contained: We compiled three databases of species occurrences: a dataset downloaded from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), a verified dataset built through taxonomic work and specialized literature, and a combined dataset comprising a cleaned version of the GBIF dataset merged with the verified dataset.

Microstructural and associated chemical changes during the composting of a high temperature biochar: Mechanisms for nitrate, phosphate and other nutrient retention and release.

Recent studies have demonstrated the importance of the nutrient status of biochar and soils prior to its inclusion in particular agricultural systems. Pre-treatment of nutrient-reactive biochar, where nutrients are loaded into pores and onto surfaces, gives improved yield outcomes compared to untreated biochar. In this study we have used a wide selection of spectroscopic and microscopic techniques to investigate the mechanisms of nutrient retention in a high temperature wood biochar, which had negative effects on Chenopodium quinoa above ground biomass yield when applied to the system without prior nutrient loading, but positive effects when applied after composting.

High quality of evidence is uncommon in Cochrane systematic reviews in Anaesthesia, Critical Care and Emergency Medicine.

Background: The association between the quality of evidence in systematic reviews and authors' conclusions regarding the effectiveness of interventions relevant to anaesthesia has not been examined.

Objective: The objectives of this study were: to determine the proportion of systematic reviews in which the authors made a conclusive statement about the effect of an intervention; to describe the quality of evidence derived from outcomes in reviews that used the Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) working group system for grading the quality of evidence; and to identify review characteristics associated with conclusiveness.

Design: Cross-sectional analysis of Cochrane systematic reviews from the Anaesthesia, Critical Care and Emergency Review Group was undertaken.

High-Resolution Computational Fluid Dynamic Simulation of Haemodialysis Cannulation in a Patient-Specific Arteriovenous Fistula.

Arteriovenous fistulae (AVF) are the preferred choice of vascular access in hemodialysis patients; however, complications such as stenosis can lead to access failure or recirculation, which reduces dialysis efficiency. This study utilized computational fluid dynamics on a patient-specific radiocephalic fistula under hemodialysis treatment to determine the dynamics of access recirculation and identify the presence of disturbed flow. Metrics of transverse wall shear stress (transWSS) and oscillatory shear index (OSI) were used to characterize the disturbed flow acting on the blood vessel wall, while a power spectral density (PSD) analysis was used to calculate the any turbulence within the access.

Antibiotic optimisation in 'the bush': Local know-how and core-periphery relations.

The growing global concern around antimicrobial mis-use and proliferating resistance has resulted in increasing interest in optimising antibiotics, particularly in hospitals. While the agenda to tighten antibiotic use has been critically explored in metropolitan settings, the dynamics of rural and remote settings have remained largely unexplored. Drawing on 30 interviews with doctors, nurses, and pharmacists in a remote Australian hospital, we focus on the pertinence of setting, and its importance for contextualising and potentially achieving antibiotic optimisation.

Demonstration and Analysis of the Suction Effect for Pumping Lymph from Tissue Beds at Subatmospheric Pressure.

Many tissues exhibit subatmospheric interstitial pressures under normal physiologic conditions. The mechanisms by which the lymphatic system extracts fluid from these tissues against the overall pressure gradient are unknown. We address this important physiologic issue by combining experimental measurements of contractile function and pressure generation with a previously validated mathematical model.

Is Stand-Alone Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion a Safe and Efficacious Treatment for Isthmic Spondylolisthesis of L5-S1?

Study Design: A systematic review.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the safety and efficacy of stand-alone anterior lumbar interbody fusion (sa-ALIF) for the treatment of symptomatic isthmic spondylolisthesis of L5-S1 by assessing the level of available clinical and radiographic evidence.

Methods: A systematic review utilizing Medline, Embase, and Scopus online databases was undertaken.

Mortality trends in Australian Aboriginal peoples and New Zealand Māori.

Background: The health status of Indigenous populations of Australia and New Zealand (NZ) Māori manifests as life expectancies substantially lower than the total population. Accurate assessment of time trends in mortality and life expectancy allows evaluation of progress in reduction of health inequalities compared to the national or non-Indigenous population.

Methods: Age-specific mortality and life expectancy (at birth) (LE) for Indigenous populations (Australia from 1990 and NZ from 1950); and all Australia and non-Māori NZ (from 1890), males (M) and females (F), were obtained from published sources and national statistical agency reports.

Off-Label Use of Phosphodiesterase Type 5 Inhibitor Erectile Dysfunction Medication to Enhance Sex Among Gay and Bisexual Men in Australia: Results From the FLUX Study.

Background: Gay and bisexual men (GBM) use oral erectile dysfunction medications (EDMs) often with little evidence of medical indication necessitating their use.

Aim: To investigate the prevalence, contexts, and motivations for oral EDM use and its relation to sexual risk behavior.

Methods: A total of 2,250 Australian GBM completed an online survey of licit and illicit drug use and their associated behaviors.