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Objective: Following recent work examining alcohol industry involvements in science, this is a case study that examines the ways in which the alcohol research community engages in "boundary work"--in which scientists define and defend the demarcation between their community of knowledge makers and others, justifying their claim to legitimacy and authority--in response to alcohol industry-sponsored interventions. The case here involves an economist who disputes the research consensus positions and policy recommendations of the field, having been funded by the key global alcohol industry political organization., Method: We examine the "functional" statements of both sides of this issue to show the ways in which the scientific and policy consensus of the field is disputed. Three examples of the responses of the alcohol research community, presenting different types of responses, are interrogated., Results: In late career and retirement, this economist published extensively in alcohol and health economics journals within the peer-reviewed literature on two key topics in alcohol policy: pricing/taxation measures and advertising restrictions. These commentaries, reviews, and correspondence propose alternative policies favored by the alcohol industry, which are at odds with the alcohol public health evidence base. The three examples examined of boundary work performed by alcohol public health researchers illustrate the variety of ways in which the legitimacy of these interventions has been questioned: on technical grounds, on explicitly normative grounds, and as a body of work as a whole., Conclusions: Interventions in the scientific literature create important resources for alcohol industry actors to oppose alcohol policy measures globally. The alcohol research field may benefit from discussion about how to respond to these kinds of interventions.

We describe the use of direct superficial temporal artery puncture to access the left middle meningeal artery for embolization of a recurrent chronic subdural hematoma in a patient with a type A aortic dissection, involving the origin of the left common carotid artery which precluded conventional access from a radial or femoral approach., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Background: The global burden of alcohol harm has increased and is forecast to grow further without effective policy implementation. Public-private partnerships aiming to address global health, and other societal challenges, are a burgeoning feature of neoliberal governance. Rhetorically distancing themselves from tobacco, the major alcohol companies are committed to tackling 'harmful drinking' and have created a distinct type of public relations organization for this purpose. The activities of such organizations are increasingly recognized as an impediment to the implementation of policies to reduce alcohol harm, including in low- and middle-income countries where markets are expanding., Methods: The approach of critical discourse analysis is used to examine the discursive tactics and strategies used in Working Together; a 'toolkit' published by the key global level alcohol industry public relations organization, the International Alliance for Responsible Drinking (IARD). This study considers how it works discursively to set the terms of, and overcome skepticism about partnerships, to define aims and position various actors by constructing their roles. The construction of prospective partners provides insights into the alcohol industry itself., Results: The toolkit operates as an ideological resource for forming public-private partnerships across the world based on the accumulated know-how of the major companies through IARD. This allows the largest alcohol companies to exercise leadership of the industry, while remaining off-stage. The toolkit relies on a form of rhetorical work which creates distance from obvious corporate interests and the harms caused to population health and society. This is accomplished by working against evidence-informed population level approaches, and thus avoiding policies that will make any significant difference to overall alcohol harm. Unspecific "complexity" affords opportunity for preferred types of "actions", and "partnership" provides opportunity to gain credibility by association, further minimizing the likelihood of any material harm being reduced., Conclusions: The toolkit is designed to not only legitimate the inclusion of alcohol industry actors as initiating 'partners', but also assigns them roles as managers of a set of carefully constructed relationships. This vision of public-private partnership reproduces the hegemonic narrative that has successfully blocked policy advances for decades and led to growing alcohol harm globally., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Objectives: The objective of this scoping review is to summarize the available information on types of telehealth services provided to older adults when physical therapy is involved in their delivery of care. Methods of clinical assessment and outcomes will also be identified., Introduction: Information on telerehabilitation interventions for older adults is lacking, yet older individuals can greatly benefit from person-centered care within a home setting. Hence, it is important to synthesize the literature pertaining to telehealth and physical therapy to identify gaps and key implications., Inclusion Criteria: This review will consider studies that include adults who are 65 years of age or older, who receive telehealth services within their home, and have a physical therapist involved. Quantitative, qualitative, and gray literature will be included in this review. There will be no language limits., Methods: A 3-step search strategy will be followed, in line with the JBI methodology for scoping reviews. Databases to be searched will include JBI Evidence Synthesis , Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, MEDLINE (Ovid), CINAHL (EBSCOhost), PRIMO, PubMed Central, PsycINFO (Ovid), LWW Nursing/Medical Journals (Ovid), and OpenGrey. Data will be extracted by 2 independent reviewers. The results will be synthesized, charted, and mapped and the findings will be presented in a peer-reviewed journal., Review Registration: Open Science Framework https://osf.io/9kyus/., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 JBI.)

Introduction: Public health and alcohol industry actors compete to frame alcohol policy problems and solutions. Little is known about how sudden shifts in the political context provide moments for policy actors to re-frame alcohol-related issues. South Africa's temporary bans on alcohol sales during the COVID-19 pandemic offered an opportunity to study this phenomenon., Methods: We identified Professor Charles Parry from the South African Medical Research Council as a key policy actor. Parry uses a Twitter account primarily to comment on alcohol-related issues in South Africa. We harvested his tweets posted from March 18 to August 31, 2020, coinciding with the first two alcohol sales bans. We conducted a thematic analysis of the tweets to understand how Parry framed alcohol policy evidence and issues during these 'extraordinary times.', Results: Parry underlined the extent of alcohol-related harm during 'normal times' with scientific evidence and contested industry actors' efforts to re-frame relevant evidence in a coherent and well-constructed argument. Parry used the temporary sales restrictions to highlight the magnitude of the health and social harms resulting from alcohol consumption, particularly trauma, rather than the COVID-19 transmission risks. Parry portrayed the sales ban as a policy learning opportunity (or 'experiment') for South Africa and beyond., Conclusions: Crisis conditions can provide new openings for public health (and industry) actors to make salient particular features of alcohol and alcohol policy evidence., (© 2023. BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature.)

This study examines the functions and purposes of the International Center for Alcohol Policies (ICAP) book series, published by Routledge between 1998 and 2010. The books were authored by invited academics, ICAP staffers, and alcohol industry representatives.The key data source for this paper was the framing material - forewords, introductions, conclusions - of the books. A thematic analysis positioned the contents with regard to ongoing alcohol research and public health policy issues.This was a project to 'shift the paradigm'. ICAP frames alcohol policy choices in ways which direct policy attention to sub-groups rather than the population level. Population-level approaches are caricatured as 'ideological'. The concept of 'balance' is prominent and is employed in multiple ways. Business interests are elided and industry involvement in policy making is promoted on scientific grounds. The intellectual programme is lent credibility by leading scientists and the imprimatur of an academic publisher.While this attempt to change the paradigm in alcohol science has failed, ineffective alcohol policies remain common, uninformed by scientific evidence on how harms at the societal level may be reduced. The ICAP book series continues to serve its function as a resource to support the status quo in respect of alcohol policy., (© 2023. BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature.)

Introduction: Experiential education helps to integrate knowledge into practice, develops professionalism and understanding of a pharmacist's role in practice, and is a major component of pharmacy education. The role of the preceptor in experiential education is to model professional behaviours and provide feedback on student preceptee performance and competence. Little is known about how preceptors feel about their competency being assessed or the most appropriate way to assess competency., Methods: A qualitative study using focus groups was designed, and a purposive convenience sampling strategy was used to target pharmacy students, current pharmacy interns, and registered pharmacists. A semi-structured interview guide was used to probe participants' views of what makes for a good preceptorship experience, opinions about assessment of preceptor competency, and barriers to training and assessment of preceptors., Results: Thirteen focus groups and three interviews were conducted with 56 participants from rural, regional, and urban areas in New South Wales, Australia. Six main themes were generated: the purpose of preceptorship, becoming a preceptor, developing shared expectations, experiences, competing demands, and assessment of preceptor competence., Conclusions: Preceptorship plays a vital role in the career development of pharmacy students and graduates. Preceptees expect the experience they attain will be the same as their peers regardless of site. Assessing preceptor competency has been identified as a way of standardising performance. This study highlights the need to better support preceptors with the aim of better standardising the preceptorship experience., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no competing interests, (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Who is licensed to make knowledge claims about society? A more diffuse group of individuals are afforded the status of legitimate speakers on society in the public sphere than is the case when the questions relate to the expertise of the natural sciences. We draw on the concept of the 'locus of legitimate interpretation' and the sensibilities of Collins and Evans' Studies of Expertise and Experience programme to help make sense of these issues. The social sciences are not the natural sciences, and one key difference is their relationship with publics. The social sciences are intrinsically entangled, at both the level of the research question and the research subject/object, with public knowledge, the knowledges of publics and public interests. We therefore outline what these differences might mean for a serious, distinct and purposive Public Understanding of Social Science programme and how this differs from current work in the Public Understanding of Science.

Introduction: Associates for Research in Substances of Enjoyment (ARISE) was formed by tobacco companies in the late 1980s designed to counter public health policy development. This study examines the alcohol content of ARISE and the contribution of ARISE to alcohol industry activities in a key period in the globalisation of the alcohol industry, generating insights into the inter-relationships between the tobacco and alcohol industries in their involvements in policy-oriented science., Methods: We systematically searched the UCSF Truth Tobacco Documents Library for information about ARISE, alcohol and the alcohol industry. This material was supplemented with an analysis of the contributions by ARISE associates to one volume in the International Center for Alcohol Policies (ICAP) book series on alcohol and pleasure., Results: ARISE placed nicotine alongside caffeine, chocolate and other foods, and alcohol as treats which brought pleasure and other benefits. Alcohol was thus intrinsic to the ARISE project for the tobacco industry. This study shows that at a formative moment in the mid-1990s the major alcohol companies took advantage of the intellectual inheritance and personnel provided by the tobacco industry when establishing ICAP. Key to this was an ICAP conference that resulted in Alcohol and pleasure: A health perspective (1999)., Discussion and Conclusions: Not only did ARISE use alcohol to play a supporting role in a sophisticated tobacco industry strategy, the alcohol industry engaged with ARISE as part of its own strategy. This shows the importance of careful attention to corporate activities on the fringes of peer-reviewed science., (© 2023 The Authors. Drug and Alcohol Review published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.)

Background and Aims: The Transformative Research on the Alcohol industry, Policy and Science (TRAPS) programme investigates the alcohol industry, with an innovative focus on public health sciences. TRAPS adds to an under-developed literature on the study of alcohol industry influence on alcohol science and policymaking. This paper provides a synthesis of TRAPS findings to inform future research., Methods: We conducted an interpretive review of TRAPS research findings across its component studies, identifying and integrating the key contributions made by individual studies to the literature on alcohol policymaking and science, and identifying areas where TRAPS progress was limited. This produced themes for consideration in future research agenda setting., Results: TRAPS explored the interventions of the alcohol industry in science and policymaking using various methods, including systematic reviews and qualitative interviews. These studies identified the industry's activities in several key areas, such as the debate over minimum unit pricing (MUP), cardiovascular health and alcohol research and a long-running public relations programme developed in close connection with the tobacco industry. Collectively, the research shows that alcohol policymaking has involved a contest between the research community and alcohol industry actors about whether and how science should be used to inform policy., Conclusions: The TRAPS programme demonstrates the need for a transdisciplinary approach to understand the nature of corporate political activity; the crucial role industry involvement in science plays in the development of corporate political power; and how public health actors have successfully overcome industry opposition to evidence-based policies. Advances in alcohol policy should be underpinned by strong, reflexive public health sciences, alert to the role of industry in the alcohol harms under study and thorough in their investigation of the alcohol industry as an object of study in itself., (© 2022 The Authors. Addiction published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society for the Study of Addiction.)

Glucocorticoids are a key component to the cellular response to stress. Glucocorticoids act via glucocorticoid receptors found ubiquitously in the brain and body. Glucocorticoid receptors can bind to response elements throughout the genome to elicit changes in transcription, an adaptation observed at the cellular level. Yet, the transcriptional changes as a consequence of glucocorticoid receptor activation are variable across brain regions, stress conditions and recurrent bouts of glucocorticoid exposure. Here we describe a non-coding RNA, B2 SINE, which is regulated by glucocorticoids and can in turn regulate glucocorticoid receptor transcriptional activity. We show that activated glucocorticoid receptors interact directly with B2 SINE RNA via a decoy response element contained within the transcript sequence and alter receptor binding to response elements in the genome and, subsequently, changes in loci expression., Competing Interests: No authors have any conflict of interest to disclose, and there has been no financial support that might influence this work., (© 2023 Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Introduction: Verbal communication is a vital skill for pharmacists and essential for improving patient care. The aim of this study was to explore students' perception of the impact of self-reflection and self- and peer-assessment on simulated patient counselling sessions., Methods: Focus groups explored student perceptions of how this course and way of learning has impacted their performance at counselling patients. Data were analysed using iterative inductive thematic analysis procedures and mapped to the self-determination theory., Results: Nine focus groups with 47 pharmacy students. We identified three main themes and ten associated subthemes. These were learning style (sub-themes gradual introduction to assessment, learning through self-reflection videos, authentic assessment, individual learning compared to group learning, and learning through observation of best practice), feedback (sub-themes inconsistent feedback, summative feedback, perception of self and relationship with peers informing peer assessment) and benefits in real life practice. These themes mapped well to self-determination theory and highlighted that additional focus may be required for benefits in real-life practice., Conclusion: Students' perceptions of self-reflection and self- and peer-assessment centred on learning style, feedback, and benefits in real-life practice. Additional focus on benefits of this unit of study in real-life practice and work integrated learning on placements may further strengthen the impact of these learning activities.

Background: Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains a refractory disease; however, modern cytotoxic chemotherapeutics can induce tumor regression and extend life. A blood-based, pharmacogenomic, chemosensitivity assay using gene expression profiling of circulating tumor and invasive cells (CTICs) to predict treatment response was previously developed. The combination regimen of 5-fluorouracil, leucovorin, irinotecan, and oxaliplatin (FOLFIRINOX) and gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel (G/nab-P) are established frontline approaches for treating advanced PDAC; however, there are no validated biomarkers for treatment selection. A similar unmet need exists for choosing second-line therapy., Methods: The chemosensitivity assay was evaluated in metastatic PDAC patients presenting for frontline treatment. A prospective study enrolled patients (n = 70) before receiving either FOLFIRINOX or G/nab-P at a 1:1 ratio. Six milliliters of peripheral blood was collected at baseline and at time of disease progression. CTICs were isolated, gene-expression profiling was performed, and the assay was used to predict effective and ineffective chemotherapeutic agents. Treating physicians were blinded to the assay prediction results., Results: Patients receiving an effective regimen as predicted by the chemosensitivity assay experienced significantly longer median progression-free survival (mPFS; 7.8 months vs. 4.2 months; hazard ratio [HR], 0.35; p = .0002) and median overall survival (mOS; 21.0 months vs. 9.7 months; HR, 0.40; p = .005), compared with an ineffective regimen. Assay prediction for effective second-line therapy was explored. The entire study cohort experienced favorable outcomes compared with historical controls, 7.1-month mPFS and 12.3-month mOS., Conclusions: Chemosensitivity assay profiling is a promising tool for guiding therapy in advanced PDAC. Further prospective validation is under way (clinicaltrials.gov NCT03033927)., (© 2022 American Cancer Society.)

Cytotoxic chemotherapy remains the mainstay of treatment for advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Emerging studies support metronomic chemotherapy (MCT) as effective, challenging established paradigms of dosing and schedules. The blood-based ChemoSensitivity Assay has been shown to predict response and survival in advanced PDAC patients treated with standard chemotherapy. The current study combines these concepts for a highly personalized treatment approach. This was a retrospective analysis; a pilot ( n = 50) and validation cohort ( n = 45) were studied. The ChemoSensitivity Assay was performed at baseline and during therapy; results were correlated to drugs administered and patient outcomes. MCT was administered based on the assay results at the treating physician's discretion. Patients in the pilot cohort experienced favorable survival compared with historical controls (median overall survival (mOS) 16.8 mo). Patients whose treatment closely matched the ChemoSensitivity Assay predictions experienced longer median time on lines of therapy (5.3 vs. 3.3 mo, p = 0.02) and showed a trend for longer mOS (20.9 vs. 12.5 mo, p = 0.055) compared with those not closely matched. These findings were confirmed in the validation cohort. Overall, patients treated with MCT closely matching Assay results experienced a remarkable mOS of 27.7 mo. ChemoSensitivity profiling-guided MCT is a promising approach for personalized therapy in advanced PDAC.

In rodents, gonadal steroids play a critical yet variable role in behaviors such as social interaction and cognitive performance. Gonadal steroids organize sex differences observed in spatial working memory, while the absence of activational effects induced by castration generally impedes spatial learning and memory. Although male sexual behavior is typically inhibited following castration, a significant proportion of gonadectomized B6D2F1 hybrid males retains the complete repertoire of male reproductive behavior. In a prior study, amyloid precursor protein and tau, proteins involved in cognitive behavior, facilitated steroid-independent male sex behavior in B6D2F1 hybrid male mice. We used this strain to investigate the relationship between gonadal steroid-independent male sexual behavior and cognition. After identifying "maters" (animals retaining steroid-independent male sex behavior) and "non-maters," we tested spatial memory in an 8-arm radial arm maze. Although neither group demonstrated a decrease in errors as a function of time, maters committed fewer errors compared to non-maters overall (p < 0.05). Maters also completed the maze more quickly than non-maters (p < 0.05). We measured mRNA expression of APP and MAPT as well as LEPR and D2R to probe potential roles of metabolism and motivation. Uniquely among maters, increased relative expression of D2R and LEPR in the hippocampus was associated with a longer latency to complete the maze during the last 3 or across all trials, respectively. These data demonstrate that maters outperform non-maters in the radial arm maze, warranting further study of potential differences in acquisition of spatial memory tasks or learning strategy between these groups., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: In 2015/2016 controversy followed the publication of a report on an anthropological study of Australian and New Zealand night-time economies funded by a major alcohol producer. This paper explores the background, moments of public controversy and political uses of the report., Methods: Informed by the sociology of scientific controversies, we review the available relevant work of the author of the report, associated material such as press releases, newspaper articles (n = 18) and industry submissions to government (n = 12). Attention was paid to the ways in which claims were made about the relationship between alcohol and violence, and the ways in which credibility and legitimacy were constructed., Results: The author of the report has longstanding associations with alcohol industry organisations. Claims made regarding alcohol and violence have remained highly consistent over time, and appear oblivious to developments in the evidence. In the media, the story was largely framed as a contest of credibility between compromised parties. The report continues to be used in alcohol industry submissions to government., Discussion and Conclusions: This analysis suggests that this is a 'counterfeit scientific controversy'; in our assessment, the report has had value not as a contribution to the scientific literature, but as a resource in the claims-making practices of the alcohol industry. Studies of the ways in which industry actors foster science-related content conducted at significant social and conceptual distance from the core of the relevant research community will enhance understandings of the ways in which industry actors engage with science and policy., (© 2021 The Authors. Drug and Alcohol Review published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.)

Brain kappa-opioid receptors (KORs) are implicated in the pathophysiology of depressive and anxiety disorders, stimulating interest in the therapeutic potential of KOR antagonists. Research on KOR function has tended to focus on KOR-expressing neurons and pathways such as the mesocorticolimbic dopamine system. However, KORs are also expressed on non-neuronal cells including microglia, the resident immune cells in the brain. The effects of KOR antagonists on microglia are not understood despite the potential contributions of these cells to overall responsiveness to this class of drugs. Previous work in vitro suggests that KOR activation suppresses proinflammatory signaling mediated by immune cells including microglia. Here, we examined how KOR antagonism affects microglia function in vivo, together with its effects on physiological and behavioral responses to an immune challenge. Pretreatment with the prototypical KOR antagonist JDTic potentiates levels of proinflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6) in blood following administration of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), an immune-activating agent, without triggering effects on its own. Using magnetic-activated cell sorting (MACs), we found that KOR antagonism potentiates LPS-induced cytokine expression within microglia. This effect is accompanied by potentiation of LPS-induced hyperthermia, although reductions in body weight and locomotion were not affected. Histological analyses confirm that LPS produces visible changes in microglia morphology consistent with activation, but this effect is not altered by KOR antagonism. Considering that inflammation is increasingly implicated in depressive and anxiety disorders, these findings raise the possibility that KOR antagonist actions on microglia may detract from actions on neurons that contribute to their therapeutic potential., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: One research group has recently published three articles on the ways in which alcohol companies and industry social aspects organizations (SAOs) communicate with the public. These articles show how the information produced by the alcohol industry works to produce doubt and uncertainty. Replies from SAOs were published in the respective scientific journals. This article examines these "moments of controversy," asking in what ways, on which grounds, do the SAOs contest the claims made about them?, Method: Three moments of controversy were examined, prompted by articles on SAO information on cancer, on use of Twitter, and on pregnancy and fertility. The articles ( n = 3), the responses from the SAOs ( n = 8), and the replies by authors Petticrew and colleagues ( n = 4), were analyzed, identifying the rhetorical repertoires at work., Results: The responses by SAOs use two main strategies: 1. Posing narrow questions of accuracy rather than engaging with the overall findings of the articles on the context and framing of information; and 2. Making normative claims about what it is to do good science, suggesting that the articles and their findings are not. The second strategy questions the very legitimacy of research examining SAOs. The credibility of being published in the scientific literature affords the responses themselves a rhetorical function, a resource for later use to signal doubt and uncertainty., Conclusions: The SAO interventions in the scientific literature generate controversies. Furthermore, the published traces they leave in the scientific literature enhance SAOs' ability to make credible claims that the original findings were controversial.

Introduction: Vaccine-induced immune thrombocytopenia and thrombosis (VITT) following ChAdOx1 nCOV-19 vaccine has been described, associated with unusual site thrombosis, thrombocytopenia, raised D-dimer, and high-titer immunoglobulin-G (IgG) class anti-platelet factor 4 (PF4) antibodies. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) have been shown to detect anti-PF4 in patients with VITT, but chemiluminescence assays do not reliably detect them. ELISA assays are not widely available in diagnostic laboratories, and, globally, very few laboratories perform platelet activation assays., Methods: Assays that are commercially available in the United Kingdom were evaluated for their ability to identify anti-PF4 antibodies in samples from patients with suspected VITT. Four IgG-specific ELISAs, two polyspecific ELISAs, and four rapid assays were performed on samples from 43 patients with suspected VITT from across the United Kingdom. Cases were identified after referral to the UK Expert Haematology Panel multidisciplinary team and categorized into unlikely, possible, or probable VITT., Results and Discussion: We demonstrated that the HemosIL AcuStar HIT-IgG, HemosIL HIT-Ab, Diamed PaGIA gel, and STic Expert assays have poor sensitivity for VITT in comparison to ELISA. Where these assays are used for heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) diagnosis, laboratories should ensure that requests for suspected VITT are clearly identified so that an ELISA is performed. No superiority of IgG-ELISAs over polyspecific ELISAs in sensitivity to VITT could be demonstrated. No single ELISA method detected all possible/probable VITT cases; if a single ELISA test is negative, a second ELISA or a platelet activation assay should be considered where there is strong clinical suspicion., (© 2021 International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis.)

Teaching large cohorts of pharmacy students with a team of multiple tutors in a feedback intensive course poses challenges in relation the amount of data generated, data integrity, interpretation of the data and importantly application of the insights gained from the data. The dispensing and counselling course in the third year BPharm at the University of Sydney has implemented the USyd Pharmacy Dashboard, developed to address these challenges following the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge Framework (TPACK) to integrate technology into teaching. The dashboard was designed to improve the student experience through more consistent feedback, gain insights to improve teaching delivery and provide efficiencies in maintaining data integrity. The tool has been developed using an action-based research approach whereby ideas are put into practice as the means to further develop the idea and improve practice. Refinement of the USyd Pharmacy Dashboard over three years has shown improvements in teaching delivery as teachers can respond to emerging trends. Student performance and satisfaction scores have increased, mainly due to improved consistency between tutors and improved delivery of feedback. Time involved with administrative tasks such as data maintenance is reduced. Opportunities for further refinements such as real time benchmarking and developing an open learner model have become apparent.

Naturally occurring and recombinant protein-based materials are frequently employed for the study of fundamental biological processes and are often leveraged for applications in areas as diverse as electronics, optics, bioengineering, medicine, and even fashion. Within this context, unique structural proteins known as reflectins have recently attracted substantial attention due to their key roles in the fascinating color-changing capabilities of cephalopods and their technological potential as biophotonic and bioelectronic materials. However, progress toward understanding reflectins has been hindered by their atypical aromatic and charged residue-enriched sequences, extreme sensitivities to subtle changes in environmental conditions, and well-known propensities for aggregation. Herein, we elucidate the structure of a reflectin variant at the molecular level, demonstrate a straightforward mechanical agitation-based methodology for controlling this variant's hierarchical assembly, and establish a direct correlation between the protein's structural characteristics and intrinsic optical properties. Altogether, our findings address multiple challenges associated with the development of reflectins as materials, furnish molecular-level insight into the mechanistic underpinnings of cephalopod skin cells' color-changing functionalities, and may inform new research directions across biochemistry, cellular biology, bioengineering, and optics.

Oxytocin is important for postnatal developmental experiences for mothers, infants, and transactions between them. Oxytocin is also implicated in adult affiliative behaviors, including social buffering of stress. There is evidence for connections between early life experience and adult oxytocin system functioning, but effects of early experience on behavioral, endocrine, and neurophysiological outcomes related to adult social buffering are not well explored. We use a limited bedding and nesting (LBN) material paradigm as an environmental disruption of early experiences and assessed central oxytocin systems in brain regions related to hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis regulation (paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus, amygdala, hippocampus). We also assessed developmentally-appropriate social behaviors and HPA reactivity during social buffering testing in adulthood. LBN litters had larger huddles and more pups visible compared to control litters during the first two weeks of life. LBN also altered the developmental trajectory of oxytocin-expressing cells and oxytocin receptor cells, with increases in oxytocin receptor cells at P15 in LBN pups. By adulthood, LBN females had more and LBN males had fewer oxytocin and oxytocin receptor cells in these areas compared to sex-matched controls. Adult LBN females, but not LBN males, had behavioral changes during social interaction and social buffering testing. The sex-specific effects of early experience on central oxytocin systems and social behavior may contribute to female resilience to early life adversity., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: In healthcare, preceptors act as a role model and supervisor, thereby facilitating the socialisation and development of the preceptee into a professional fit to practice. To ensure a consistent approach to every preceptorship experience, preceptor competencies should be measured or assessed to ensure that the desired outcomes are achieved. Defining these would ensure quality management and could inform development of an preceptor competency framework. This review aimed to evaluate the evidence for preceptor competencies and assessment in health professions., Methods: This study followed the PRISMA ScR scoping review guidelines. A database search was conducted in Embase, Medline, CINAHL and IPA in 2019. Articles were included if they defined criteria for competency, measured or assessed competency, or described performance indicators of preceptors. A modified GRADE CERQual approach and CASP quality assessment were used to appraise identified competencies, performance indicators and confidence in evidence., Results: Forty one studies identified 17 evidence-based competencies, of which 11 had an associated performance indicator. The competency of preceptors was most commonly measured using a preceptee completed survey (moderate to high confidence as per CERQual), followed by preceptor self-assessment, and peer-assessment. Preceptee outcomes as a measure of preceptor performance had good but limited evidence., Conclusions: Competencies with defined performance indicators allow for effective measurement and may be modifiable with training. To measure preceptor competency, the preceptor perspective, as well as peer and preceptee assessment is recommended. These findings can provide the basis for a common preceptor competency framework in health professions.

The ability to adapt to stressful circumstances, known as emotional resilience, is a key factor in the maintenance of mental health. Several individual biomarkers of the stress response (e.g., corticosterone) that influence an animal's position along the continuum that ranges from adaptive allostasis to maladaptive allostatic load have been identified. Extending beyond specific biomarkers of stress responses, however, it is also important to consider stress-related responses relative to other relevant responses for a thorough understanding of the underpinnings of adaptive allostasis. In this review, behavioral, neurobiological, developmental and genomic variables are considered in the context of emotional resilience [e.g., explore/exploit behavioral tendencies; DHEA/CORT ratios and relative proportions of protein-coding/nonprotein-coding (transposable) genomic elements]. As complex and multifaceted relationships between pertinent allostasis biomediators are identified, translational applications for optimal resilience are more likely to emerge as effective therapeutic strategies., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The glucocorticoid receptor (GR) has been shown to be important for mediating cellular responses to stress and circulating glucocorticoids. Ligand-dependent transcriptional changes induced by GR are observed across numerous tissues. However, the mechanisms by which GR achieves cell and tissue-specific effects are less clear. Epigenetic mechanisms have been proposed to explain some of these differences as well as some of the lasting, even transgenerational, effects of stress and glucocorticoid action. GR functions in tandem with epigenetic cellular machinery to coordinate transcription and shape chromatin structure. Here, we describe GR interactions with these effectors and how GR acts to reshape the epigenetic landscape in response to the environment., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Early recognition of intraoperative critical events is essential in optimizing the health outcomes of surgical patients. Use of simulation in nurse anesthesia education allows students to practice recognizing changes in the patient's condition in a safe learning environment. Second- and third-year student registered nurse anesthetists were randomly assigned to 2 groups to explore differences in recognizing intraoperative myocardial infarction (MI) using highfidelity mannequin simulation vs virtual simulation. One group participated in a virtual simulation first, followed by a high-fidelity mannequin simulation. The other group participated in a high-fidelity mannequin simulation first, then virtual simulation. Second-year students recognized an intraoperative MI faster when using high-fidelity mannequin simulation than when using virtual simulation. However, there was no significant difference among third-year students in the time it took to recognize a critical event when using high-fidelity mannequin simulation vs virtual simulation. These findings indicate that both simulation modalities are useful in evaluating student registered nurse anesthetists' timely recognition of intraoperative critical events such as MI. However, for students with less didactic and clinical practicum experience in the program, such as second-year students, the use of high-fidelity mannequin simulation for recognizing an intraoperative MI may be more beneficial than virtual simulation., Competing Interests: The authors have declared no financial relationships with any commercial entity related to the content of this article. The authors did not discuss off-label use within the article. Disclosure statements are available for viewing upon request., (Copyright© by the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists.)

DNA has long been viewed as a promising material for nanoscale electronics, in part due to its well-ordered arrangement of stacked, pi-conjugated base pairs. Within this context, a number of studies have investigated how structural changes, backbone modifications, or artificial base substitutions affect the conductivity of DNA. Herein, we present a comparative study of the electrical properties of both well-matched and perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic diimide (PTCDI)-containing DNA molecular wires that bridge nanoscale gold electrodes. By performing current-voltage measurements for such devices, we find that the incorporation of PTCDI DNA base surrogates within our macromolecular constructs leads to an approximately 6-fold enhancement in the observed current levels. Together, these findings suggest that PTCDI DNA base surrogates may enable the preparation of designer DNA-based nanoscale electronic components., (© 2019 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Glucocorticoids have long been recognized for their role in regulating the availability of energetic resources, particularly during stress. Furthermore, bidirectional connections between glucocorticoids and the physiology and function of mitochondria have been discovered over the years. However, the precise mechanisms by which glucocorticoids act on mitochondria have only recently been explored. Glucocorticoids appear to regulate mitochondrial transcription via activation of glucocorticoid receptors (GRs) with elevated circulating glucocorticoid levels following stress. While several mechanistic questions remain, GR and other nuclear transcription factors appear to have the capacity to substantially alter mitochondrial transcript abundance. The regulation of mitochondrial transcripts by stress and glucocorticoids will likely prove functionally relevant in many stress-sensitive tissues including the brain.

Neuropsychiatric disorders are highly prevalent (e.g., affecting children 2-8 years old at a rate of 14%). Many of these disorders are highly heritable such as major depressive disorder and schizophrenia. Despite this, genome-wide association has failed to identify gene(s) significantly associated with diagnostic status suggesting a strong role for environmental factors and the epigenome. From a molecular standpoint, the study of DNA-protein interactions yields fruitful information regarding the regulation of cellular processes above the level of the nucleotide sequence. Understanding chromatin dynamics may continue to explain individual variation to environmental perturbation and subsequent behavioral response. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) techniques have allowed for probing of epigenetic effectors at specific regions of the genome. The following article reviews the current techniques and considerations when incorporation ChIP into neuropsychiatric models.

Previous studies have shown that pharmacogenomic modeling of circulating tumor and invasive cells (CTICs) can predict response of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) to combination chemotherapy, predominantly 5-fluorouracil-based. We hypothesized that a similar approach could be developed to predict treatment response to standard frontline gemcitabine with nab-paclitaxel (G/nab-P) chemotherapy. Gene expression profiles for responsiveness to G/nab-P were determined in cell lines and a test set of patient samples. A prospective clinical trial was conducted, enrolling 37 patients with advanced PDAC who received G/nab-P. Peripheral blood was collected prior to treatment, after two months of treatment, and at progression. The CTICs were isolated based on a phenotype of collagen invasion. The RNA was isolated, cDNA synthesized, and qPCR gene expression analyzed. Patients were most closely matched to one of three chemotherapy response templates. Circulating tumor and invasive cells' SMAD4 expression was measured serially. The CTICs were reliably isolated and profiled from peripheral blood prior to and during chemotherapy treatment. Individual patients could be matched to distinct response templates predicting differential responses to G/nab-P treatment. Progression free survival was significantly correlated to response prediction and Δ SMAD4 was significantly associated with disease progression. These findings support phenotypic profiling and Δ SMAD4 of CTICs as promising clinical tools for choosing effective therapy in advanced PDAC, and for anticipating disease progression.

Expression of transposable elements (TE) is transiently activated during human preimplantation embryogenesis in a developmental stage- and cell type-specific manner and TE-mediated epigenetic regulation is intrinsically wired in developmental genetic networks in human embryos and embryonic stem cells. However, there are no systematic studies devoted to a comprehensive analysis of the TE transcriptome in human adult organs and tissues, including human neural tissues. To investigate TE expression in the human Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex (DLPFC), we developed and validated a straightforward analytical approach to chart quantitative genome-wide expression profiles of all annotated TE loci based on unambiguous mapping of discrete TE-encoded transcripts using a de novo assembly strategy. To initially evaluate the potential regulatory impact of DLPFC-expressed TE, we adopted a comparative evolutionary genomics approach across humans, primates, and rodents to document conservation patterns, lineage-specificity, and colocalizations with transcription factor binding sites mapped within primate- and human-specific TE. We identified 654,665 transcripts expressed from 477,507 distinct loci of different TE classes and families, the majority of which appear to have originated from primate-specific sequences. We discovered 4,687 human-specific and transcriptionally active TEs in DLPFC, of which the prominent majority (80.2%) appears spliced. Our analyses revealed significant associations of DLPFC-expressed TE with primate- and human-specific transcription factor binding sites, suggesting potential cross-talks of concordant regulatory functions. We identified 1,689 TEs differentially expressed in the DLPFC of Schizophrenia patients, a majority of which is located within introns of 1,137 protein-coding genes. Our findings imply that identified DLPFC-expressed TEs may affect human brain structures and functions following different evolutionary trajectories. On one side, hundreds of thousands of TEs maintained a remarkably high conservation for ∼8 My of primates' evolution, suggesting that they are likely conveying evolutionary-constrained primate-specific regulatory functions. In parallel, thousands of transcriptionally active human-specific TE loci emerged more recently, suggesting that they could be relevant for human-specific behavioral or cognitive functions.

Heart failure (HF) is the most common reason for admission to the hospital in people over the age of 65 and has been found to be a possible complication following a joint replacement. Self-management education has been shown to reduce hospital readmissions rates among patients with HF and to cause significant improvements. The purpose of this case report was to describe physical therapy (PT) self-management education in the care of a patient with both a recent hip replacement (THR) surgery and HF., Case Description: 85-year-old female with a THR and HF. Objective measurements included Timed Up and Go Test (TUG); 10-meter walk test (10MWT) and the 6-minute walk test (6MWT). Standard PT care for THR and self-management education strategies was provided. The patient was seen two times per week for nine weeks. Improvements were noted in all outcome measures: (TUG, 10MWT, 6MWT). The patient was able to meet all ambulation goals and become independent in transfers. In this case, self-management education was shown to provide positive benefits by increasing functional mobility and helping prevent further complications from HF. Self- management education in the home health setting is important for older adult patients who had a THR.

The brain is responsible for both recognition and adaptation to stressful stimuli. Many molecular mechanisms have been implicated in this response including those governing neuronal plasticity, neurogenesis and, changes gene expression. Far less is known regarding effects of stress on the deep genome. In the hippocampus, stress appears to regulate expression of non-coding elements of the genome as well as the chromatin permissive for their transcription. Specifically, hippocampal retrotransposon (RT) elements are regulated by acute stress via the accumulation of the repressive H3K9me3 mark at RT loci. Further, corticosteroids appear to induce changes in heterochromatin status as well as RT expression in both adrenalectomized animal and rat cell culture models. Dysregulation of RT expression is predicted to result in functional deficits in affected brain areas. More broadly, however, transposons may have a variety of adaptive functions. As techniques improve to probe the deep genome, this approach to understanding stress neurobiology has the potential to yield insights into environment and genome interactions that may contribute to the physiology underlying a number of stress-related mental health disorders., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

This study describes the synthesis of modular diquinolineanthracene and polydiquinolineanthracene derivatives. The reported facile and scalable aza-Diels-Alder-based approach requires mild conditions, proceeds in two steps, uses commercially available starting materials, and accommodates varying functionalities. Given the known utility of the acene and quinoline motifs, the synthesized molecules and polymers hold promise for organic electronics applications.

Background: Bioinformatics has multitudinous identities, organisational alignments and disciplinary links. This variety allows bioinformaticians and bioinformatic work to contribute to much (if not most) of life science research in profound ways. The multitude of bioinformatic work also translates into a multitude of credit-distribution arrangements, apparently dismissing that work., Results: We report on the epistemic and social arrangements that characterise the relationship between bioinformatics and life science. We describe, in sociological terms, the character, power and future of bioinformatic work. The character of bioinformatic work is such that its cultural, institutional and technical structures allow for it to be black-boxed easily. The result is that bioinformatic expertise and contributions travel easily and quickly, yet remain largely uncredited. The power of bioinformatic work is shaped by its dependency on life science work, which combined with the black-boxed character of bioinformatic expertise further contributes to situating bioinformatics on the periphery of the life sciences. Finally, the imagined futures of bioinformatic work suggest that bioinformatics will become ever more indispensable without necessarily becoming more visible, forcing bioinformaticians into difficult professional and career choices., Conclusions: Bioinformatic expertise and labour is epistemically central but often institutionally peripheral. In part, this is a result of the ways in which the character, power distribution and potential futures of bioinformatics are constituted. However, alternative paths can be imagined.

Anxiety disorders are highly prevalent psychiatric disorders often comorbid with depression and substance abuse. Twin studies have shown that anxiety disorders are moderately heritable. Yet, genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have failed to identify gene(s) significantly associated with diagnosis suggesting a strong role for environmental factors and the epigenome. A number of anxiety disorder subtypes are considered "stress related." A large focus of research has been on the epigenetic and anxiety-like behavioral consequences of stress. Animal models of anxiety-related disorders have provided strong evidence for the role of stress on the epigenetic control of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and of stress-responsive brain regions. Neuroepigenetics may continue to explain individual variation in susceptibility to environmental perturbations and consequently anxious behavior. Behavioral and pharmacological interventions aimed at targeting epigenetic marks associated with anxiety may prove fruitful in developing treatments.

This study aimed to investigate whether the use of protection devices and attitudes of interventional professionals (including radiologists, cardiologists, vascular surgeons, medical imaging technicians and nurses) towards radiation protection will differ between Saudi Arabian and Australian hospitals. Hard copies of an anonymous survey were distributed to 10 and 6 clinical departments in the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia and metropolitan hospitals in Western Australia, respectively. The overall response rate was 43 % comprising 110 Australian participants and 63 % comprising 147 Saudi participants. Analysis showed that Australian respondents differed significantly from Saudi respondents with respect to their usages of leaded glasses (p < 0.001), ceiling-suspended lead screen (p < 0.001) and lead drape suspended from the table (p < 0.001). This study indicates that the trained interventional professionals in Australia tend to adhere to benefit from having an array of tools for personal radiation protection than the corresponding group in Saudi Arabia., (© The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Advanced molecular electronic components remain vital for the next generation of miniaturized integrated circuits. Thus, much research effort has been devoted to the discovery of lossless molecular wires, for which the charge transport rate or conductivity is not attenuated with length in the tunneling regime. Herein, we report the synthesis and electrochemical interrogation of DNA-like molecular wires. We determine that the rate of electron transfer through these constructs is independent of their length and propose a plausible mechanism to explain our findings. The reported approach holds relevance for the development of high-performance molecular electronic components and the fundamental study of charge transport phenomena in organic semiconductors., (© 2016 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Bioinformatics, a specialism propelled into relevance by the Human Genome Project and the subsequent -omic turn in the life science, is an interdisciplinary field of research. Qualitative work on the disciplinary identities of bioinformaticians has revealed the tensions involved in work in this "borderland." As part of our ongoing work on the emergence of bioinformatics, between 2010 and 2011, we conducted a survey of United Kingdom-based academic bioinformaticians. Building on insights drawn from our fieldwork over the past decade, we present results from this survey relevant to a discussion of disciplinary generation and stabilization. Not only is there evidence of an attitudinal divide between the different disciplinary cultures that make up bioinformatics, but there are distinctions between the forerunners, founders and the followers; as inter/disciplines mature, they face challenges that are both inter-disciplinary and inter-generational in nature.

Bioinformatics - the so-called shotgun marriage between biology and computer science - is an interdiscipline. Despite interdisciplinarity being seen as a virtue, for having the capacity to solve complex problems and foster innovation, it has the potential to place projects and people in anomalous categories. For example, valorised 'outputs' in academia are often defined and rewarded by discipline. Bioinformatics, as an interdisciplinary bricolage, incorporates experts from various disciplinary cultures with their own distinct ways of working. Perceived problems of interdisciplinarity include difficulties of making explicit knowledge that is practical, theoretical, or cognitive. But successful interdisciplinary research also depends on an understanding of disciplinary cultures and value systems, often only tacitly understood by members of the communities in question. In bioinformatics, the 'parent' disciplines have different value systems; for example, what is considered worthwhile research by computer scientists can be thought of as trivial by biologists, and vice versa . This paper concentrates on the problems of reward and recognition described by scientists working in academic bioinformatics in the United Kingdom. We highlight problems that are a consequence of its cross-cultural make-up, recognising that the mismatches in knowledge in this borderland take place not just at the level of the practical, theoretical, or epistemological, but also at the cultural level too. The trend in big, interdisciplinary science is towards multiple authors on a single paper; in bioinformatics this has created hybrid or fractional scientists who find they are being positioned not just in-between established disciplines but also in-between as middle authors or, worse still, left off papers altogether.

Dry eye disease and other ocular surface diseases are complex multifactorial disorders often characterized by ocular surface inflammatory changes, instability of the tear film, and functional vision impairment. Recent research has led to new concepts regarding diagnosis and management, and therapeutic interventions now include ocular lubricants, secretagogues, topical and systemic anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive agents, tear preservation, and, for advanced cases, a variety of surgical approaches. This review considers contemporary procedures for treatment of advanced ocular surface diseases, including thermal and electrocautery of the lacrimal puncta, lid surgeries such as tarsorrhaphy, and multiple procedures to protect the exposed or compromised ocular surface.

Questions of community are central to many research settings in the social sciences. Rabinow argued that, in the wake of the Human Genome Project, an increasingly important form of collectivity would be biosociality. Biosociality recognises a central role for biomedical knowledge in constructing genetic identities and producing and reproducing social relationships. Accordingly, it is often imagined as a new form of social solidarity. We draw on observations of parent-led conferences to explore the way in which biosociality is expressed at events organised around a particular genetic syndrome - 22q11 deletion syndrome. The parent-led conferences took place within the United Kingdom between 2007 and 2010 and were observed as part of a multi-sited ethnographic study. By bringing together a geographically dispersed group of people together within the same physical location, conferences offer an ideal platform to empirically examine sociality. Durkheim used the term collective effervescence to describe the collective expression of heightened emotion. We suggest that in the case of the 22q11 deletion syndrome activities discussed in this paper, collective effervescence is a mechanism through which individuals become a collective. We argue that parent-led conferences gather individuals in one location on the basis of common biological factors, but it is the shared emotional experience of being together that consolidates and renews the connection between members., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: HIV-1 tropism needs to be determined before the use of CCR5 antagonist drugs such as maraviroc (MVC), which are ineffective against CXCR4-using HIV-1. This study assessed how different computational methods for predicting tropism from HIV sequence data performed in a large clinical cohort. The value of adding clinical data to these algorithms was also investigated., Design and Methods: PCR amplification and sequence analysis of the HIV-1 gp120 V3 loop region was performed on triple replicates of plasma viral RNA or proviral DNA extracted from peripheral blood monocytes (PBMCs) in 242 patients. Coreceptor usage was predicted from V3 sequences using seven bioinformatics interpretation algorithms, combined with clinical data where appropriate. An intention-to-treat approach was employed for exploring outcomes and performance for different viral subtypes was examined., Results: The frequency of R5 predictions varied by 22.6%, with all seven algorithms agreeing for only 75.3% of tests. The identification of individuals likely to fail was poor for all algorithms. The addition of clinical data improved this, but at the expense of their ability to predict success. The clinical algorithms varied across subtypes, whereas other algorithms were more consistent. Furthermore, individuals with discordant clonal and clinical predictions were more likely to fail MVC treatment., Conclusion: Eligibility for MVC varied depending on the algorithm method used. The addition of clinical parameters alongside sequence data may help predict X4 emergence during treatment. It could be that V3 loop analysis in isolation may not be the best method for selecting individuals for MVC.

Fabricating large single crystals with colloidal spheres as building blocks is challenging and of competitive interest. Spin-coating of colloids offers a robust technique, which is highly reproducible in obtaining colloidal crystals even at fast dynamical regimes; however, these crystals are intrinsically polycrystalline due to the axial symmetry of spin-coating. We report a new method that applies a nonuniform electric field during the spin-coating process. By arranging the field direction to be stationary in the rotating frame, we are able to break the axial symmetry and to orient the colloids along one predefined direction. By regulating the applied field strength, we demonstrate local control over the orientation of the crystallites, and thus, the orientation is determined by the applied field strength.

Order-disorder transitions in colloidal systems are an attractive option for making switchable materials. Electric-field-driven order-disorder transitions are especially attractive for this purpose because the tuning parameter is easily and externally controllable. However, precise positional control of 3D structure is immensely challenging. Using patterned electrodes, we demonstrate that ac electric fields-dominantly dielectrophoresis (DEP) coupled with an electrohydrodynamic mechanism consisting of induced-charge electro-osmosis (ICEO)-can be used to template colloidal order dynamically in three dimensions. We find that the electric field geometry dictates the location, size, and shape of colloidal patterns and can produce patterns with surprising complexity., (© 2011 American Chemical Society)

An age-matched case-control study was initiated to determine the major risk factors associated with CKD in cats and dogs and to determine what clinical signs cat and dog owners observed before their veterinarian diagnosed their pet with CKD. When compared to controls, the feline cases were more likely to have had polydipsia and polyuria in the year before the owners' cats were diagnosed with CKD. In the dogs, increased water intake, increased urination, small size and a recent history of weight loss and bad breath were noticed by the dog owners before veterinary CKD diagnosis. Dog owners recognized abnormal drinking and urination behavior over half a year before their pet's veterinary diagnosis with CKD, and they recognized weight loss almost 4 months before CKD diagnosis. Bad breath was noticed 1.2 years before recognition of CKD by a veterinarian. Given that earlier CKD diagnosis should have been possible in most cases, clinical trials should proceed to measure the efficacy of early interventions.

This paper examines the role of complexity in descriptions of the aetiology of common psychiatric disorders. While scientists attest to the discovery of an underlying reality of complex inheritance--the so-called 'witches' brew' of genetic and non-genetic factors--we argue that 'complexity' also performs rhetorical work. In our analysis of scientific review papers (1999-2008), we find a relatively stable genre of accountability in which descriptions of complexity appear to neutralize past failures by incorporating different and sometimes competing methodological perspectives. We identify two temporal strategies: retrospective accounting, which reconstructs a history of psychiatric genetics that deals with the recent failures, citing earlier twin studies as proof of the heritability of common psychiatric disorders; and prospective accounting, which engages in the careful reconstruction of expectations by balancing methodological limitations with moderated optimism. Together, these strategies produce a simple-to-complex narrative that belies the ambivalent nature of complexity. We show that the rhetorical construction of complexity in scientific review papers is oriented to bridging disciplinary boundaries, marshalling new resources and reconstructing expectations that justify delays in gene discovery and risk prediction.

The purpose of this study was to present a technique of stereoscopic visualization in the evaluation of patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm treated with fenestrated stent grafts compared with conventional 2D visualizations. Two patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm undergoing fenestrated stent grafting were selected for inclusion in the study. Conventional 2D views including axial, multiplanar reformation, maximum-intensity projection, and volume rendering and 3D stereoscopic visualizations were assessed by two experienced reviewers independently with regard to the treatment outcomes of fenestrated repair. Interobserver agreement was assessed with Kendall's W statistic. Multiplanar reformation and maximum-intensity projection visualizations were scored the highest in the evaluation of parameters related to the fenestrated stent grafting, while 3D stereoscopic visualization was scored as valuable in the evaluation of appearance (any distortions) of the fenestrated stent. Volume rendering was found to play a limited role in the follow-up of fenestrated stent grafting. 3D stereoscopic visualization adds additional information that assists endovascular specialists to identify any distortions of the fenestrated stents when compared with 2D visualizations.

Estimates of canine and feline euthanasia at U.S. animal shelters--largely based on voluntary surveys with low response rates--make it difficult to estimate the population from which the euthanized animals derive. Estimates of euthanasia rates (animals euthanized per unit of population) have varied widely and been available only sporadically. This study used requirements of Michigan state law (Pet Shops, Dog Pounds, and Animal Shelters Act, 1969) for animal shelters to collect admission and discharge data for all 176 Michigan-licensed animal shelters. In 2003, Michigan shelters discharged 140,653 dogs: Of these, 56,972 (40%) were euthanized; 40,005 (28%) were adopted. This annual euthanasia rate is 2.6% of the estimated 2003 Michigan dog population. Michigan shelters discharged 134,405 cats in 2003: 76,321 (57%) by euthanasia and (24%) by adoption. The estimated ratio of euthanized cats to cats who had owners was 3.1%. Small shelters and privately owned shelters were associated with higher adoption rates. Comparison with historical information from the past 10 to 20 years suggests the number of companion animals being euthanized in shelters has decreased and that progress has been made in reducing the companion animal overpopulation problem.