Optical cavity enhancement of visible light-driven photochemical reaction in the crystalline state.

Photochemical reactions enable the synthesis of energetically unfavorable compounds but often require irradiation with ultraviolet light, which potentially induces side reactions. Here, cavity strong coupling enhances the efficiency of an all-solid state photocyclization in crystals of 2,4-dimethoxy-β-nitrostyrene under irradiation with visible light. The exposure to visible light facilitates photocyclization by the transition to a lower polaritonic state, which is energetically lower than the original transition state.

The COVID-19 pandemic and Urology - reflecting on successful initiatives and lessons in Australia.

Objectives: To summarise the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on urological practice globally with a focus on Australian initiatives, as the pandemic resulted in radical changes in healthcare infrastructure and policies.

Methods: We conducted a literature review of the Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE), Excerpta Medica dataBASE (EMBASE) and Web of Science medical databases. The key terms used to conduct our search algorithm comprised of 'COVID', 'wait list or wait time or delay', 'urology', 'surgery' and 'outcomes', and generated 231 articles.

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.

Developing, Piloting and Evaluating a Patient Support Portal for Men With Prostate Cancer in Victoria: An Action Research Study.

Introduction: Men with prostate cancer (PCa) and their support providers face challenges in accessing high-quality, impartial information tailored to their specific needs to enhance their overall care and decision-making. We describe the development, piloting and evaluation of the co-designed web portal 'BroSupPORT'.

Methods: IT teams developed and integrated BroSupPORT into the Victorian Prostate Cancer Outcomes Registry (PCOR-Vic) electronic patient-reported outcome follow-up process.

Codeine 3-O-demethylase catalyzed biotransformation of morphinan alkaloids in Escherichia coli: site directed mutagenesis of terminal residues improves enzyme expression, stability and biotransformation yield.

The cultivation of opium poppy is the only commercially viable source of most morphinan alkaloids. Bioproduction of morphinan alkaloids in recombinant whole-cell systems provides a promising alternate source of these valuable compounds. The enzyme codeine 3-O-demethylase can transform morphinan alkaloids by O-demethylation and has been applied in single step biotransformation reactions or as part of larger biosynthetic cascade, however, the productivity for these reactions remains low and suboptimal enzyme properties could be improved.

Recovery trajectories after major abdominal surgery: A retrospective pooled cohort study.

Background: Recovery from major surgery can be difficult to predict given the many factors involved in treating disease and restoring preoperative function. Postoperative recovery metrics such as length of stay, complications, and mortality are typically described. However, large data quantities for patient-reported recovery are scarce.

Using artificial intelligence to semi-automate trustworthiness assessment of randomized controlled trials: A case study.

Purpose: Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) are the cornerstone of evidence-based medicine. Unfortunately, not all RCTs are based on real data. This serious breach of research integrity compromises the reliability of systematic reviews and meta-analyses, leading to misinformed clinical guidelines and posing a risk to both individual and public health.

Incorporating ethics into infectious disease clinical practice guidelines.

Background: Incorporating ethics into clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) can be challenging. This is particularly evident for infectious diseases (ID) CPGs due to the complexity of ID ethics (IDE) and the multiplicity of populations at-risk for infections.

Objectives: The OPENING project (IncOrPorating Ethics iN ClINical Guidelines: Practical Indications) was initiated by the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) Ethics Advisory Committee (EEAC) in collaboration with the ESCMID Guidelines Subcommittee to generate guidelines for the systematic inclusion of ethics principles into ID CPGs.

Reconstructing the first COVID-19 pandemic wave with minimal data in England.

Accurate measurement of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 in the population is crucial for understanding the dynamics of disease transmission and evaluating the impacts of interventions. However, it was particularly challenging to achieve this in the early phase of a pandemic because of the sparsity of epidemiological data. We previously developed an early pandemic diagnostic tool that linked minimum datasets: seroprevalence, mortality and infection testing data to estimate the true exposure in different regions of England and found levels of SARS-CoV-2 population exposure to be considerably higher than suggested by seroprevalence surveys.

Association between anti-seizure medications and cardiac arrhythmias in patients undergoing ambulatory electroencephalographic and electrocardiographic monitoring.

Background Anti-seizure medications (ASMs) are commonly prescribed in epilepsy. However some have been associated with adverse cardiac outcomes including cardiac arrhythmias. Methods We conducted an observational study evaluating patients aged ≥16 years undergoing ambulatory video - electroencephalographic (EEG) - electrocardiographic (ECG) monitoring (AVEEM) between 2020 and 2023 in Australia.

Acute kidney injury.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common, heterogeneous, multifactorial condition, which is part of the overarching syndrome of acute kidney diseases and disorders. This condition's incidence highest in low-income and middle-income countries. In the short term, AKI is associated with increased mortality, an increased risk of complications, extended stays in hospital, and high health-care costs.

Reduced PI3K(p110α) induces atrial myopathy, and PI3K-related lipids are dysregulated in athletes with atrial fibrillation.

Background: Elucidating mechanisms underlying atrial myopathy, which predisposes individuals to atrial fibrillation (AF), will be critical for preventing/treating AF. In a serendipitous discovery, we identified atrial enlargement, fibrosis, and thrombi in mice with reduced phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) in cardiomyocytes. PI3K(p110α) is elevated in the heart with exercise and is critical for exercise-induced ventricular enlargement and protection, but the role in the atria was unknown.

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.

The potential for Safewards to reduce restrictive interventions for people arriving to the emergency Department with police for a mental health assessment.

Unlabelled: Safewards is a complex intervention developed to promote a therapeutic response to minimise conflict and containment in inpatient mental health settings. A pilot study was conducted to adapt Safewards for the emergency department (ED) setting to evaluate its impact on the use of restrictive interventions. This subgroup analysis focusses on patients transported to the ED by police for mental health assessment.

A deep learning approach versus expert clinician panel in the classification of posterior circulation infarction.

Background: Posterior circulation infarction (POCI) is common. Imaging techniques such as non-contrast-CT (NCCT) and diffusion-weighted-magnetic-resonance-imaging commonly fail to detect hyperacute POCI. Studies suggest expert inspection of Computed Tomography Perfusion (CTP) improves diagnosis of POCI.

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.

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.

BRCA Mutation Testing in Men with Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer: Practical Guidance for Australian Clinical Practice.

Some patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) possess germline or acquired defects in the DNA damage repair (DDR) genes BRCA1 and BRCA2. Tumors with BRCA mutations exhibit sensitivity to poly-ADP ribose polymerase inhibitors (PARPi) such as olaparib and rucaparib. As a result, molecular diagnostic testing to identify patients with BRCA mutations eligible for the PARPi therapy has become an integral component of managing patients with mCRPC.

Rationale and Ethical Assessment of an Oropharyngeal Gonorrhoea Controlled Human Infection Model.

Infection with Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the causative agent of gonorrhoea, causes significant morbidity worldwide and can have long-term impacts on reproductive health. The greatest global burden of gonorrhoea occurs in low- and middle-income settings. Global public health significance is increasing due to rising antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which threatens future gonorrhoea management.

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.

Study of Children Aged Under 2 Years Admitted With RSV at Four Australian Hospitals [2021-2022].

Aims: Primary aim was to review severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) hospitalisations caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in children aged < 2 years in paediatric hospitals in Australia. Secondary aims included RSV subtyping, assessing RSV seasonality and contributing to the World Health Organisation's RSV surveillance programme.

Methods: We prospectively reviewed the medical records of children (< 2 years of age) with a confirmed SARI who were admitted to one of four major Australian paediatric hospitals and had a respiratory sample analysed by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR).

Functional variants in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene are associated with increased risk of colorectal cancer.

Background: Individuals with cystic fibrosis (CF; a recessive disorder) have an increased risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). Evidence suggests individuals with a single CFTR variant may also have increased CRC risk.

Methods: Using population-based studies (GECCO, CORECT, CCFR, and ARIC; 53 785 CRC cases and 58 010 controls), we tested for an association between the most common CFTR variant (Phe508del) and CRC risk.