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The comparative toxicity of six per‐ and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS)–free and one PFAS‐containing aqueous film‐forming foam (AFFF) was evaluated in an outbred mouse species as well as several in vitro assays. The in vivo toxicological profile of PFAS‐free AFFFs in short‐term, high‐concentration exposures is different than that of a PFAS‐containing AFFF. The PFAS‐containing reference product induced increased liver weights, while the PFAS‐free AFFFs were linked to either decreased or unaffected relative liver weights. The in vitro toxicological profile across PFAS‐free AFFFs was uniform except in the Microtox® assay, where thresholds were variable and spanned several orders of magnitude. This direct comparison of products through short‐term toxicity tests and in vitro screenings represents early data to support evaluation of potential regrettable substitutions when selecting alternative PFAS‐free AFFFs. Further work in diverse taxa (e.g., aquatic organisms, terrestrial invertebrates, birds) and mammalian studies capturing sensitive life stages will refine and expand this data set across a range of risk‐relevant toxicological endpoints. Environ Toxicol Chem 2023;42:2364–2374. Published 2023. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study investigated body weight and nutritional behavior perceptions among Division II collegiate athletes. Participants: The sample was composed of 155 collegiate athletes who responded to a survey. Methods: Data were self-reported by athletes via questionnaire. Independent-sample t tests were used to identify significant gender differences related to body weight perceptions, nutritional practices, and ideal weight difference (IWD). An alpha level of 0.05 was used to determine statistical significance. Results: Mean ± SD female and male IWD was -6.8 ± 8.8 and 1.3 ± 12.3 lbs, respectively (p < 0.001). Significant differences in level of agreement regarding perceived body weight effects on performance and dietary practices existed between genders. Conclusions: Significant gender differences may exist regarding body weight perceptions and nutritional practices among collegiate athletes. Deliverance of gender-specific educational information about proper nutritional practices is warranted. To properly tailor interventions to specific sports, research with larger sample sizes is needed.

Ensuring for the national defense requires the use of substances such as energetics, propellants, pyrotechnics, and other materials in environmental applications. Systems that use these materials do so in testing and training environments and must be used in an environmentally sustained manner to ensure success during actual kinetic defensive operations. Environmental and occupational health assessments require a weighted evaluation of toxicity, bioaccumulation, persistence, and environmental fate and transport considerations for each substance in the formulation to include potential combustion products. Data that support these criteria need to be collected in a phased and matrixed approach and considered iteratively as technology advances. Further, these criteria are often considered as disparate and separate; hence, comparing favorable aspects of one may or may not offset detrimental data from another. Here, we describe an approach to the phased collection of environmental, safety, and occupational health (ESOH) information for new systems and substances and provide recommendations for evaluating such data streams in making decisions for use and for evaluating alternatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mutations in methyl DNA binding protein 2 (MeCP2) cause the neurodevelopmental disorder Rett syndrome (RTT). The mechanism(s) by which the native MeCP2 protein operates in the cell are not well understood. Historically, MeCP2 has been characterized as a proximal gene silencer with 2 functional domains: a methyl DNA binding domain and a transcription repression domain. However, several lines of new data indicate that MeCP2 structure and function relationships are more complex. In this review, we first discuss recent studies that have advanced understanding of the basic structural biochemistry of MeCP2. This is followed by an analysis of cell-based experiments suggesting MeCP2 is a regulator, rather than a strict silencer, of transcription. The new data establish MeCP2 as a multifunctional nuclear protein, with potentially important roles in chromatin architecture, regulation of RNA splicing, and active transcription. We conclude by discussing clinical correlations between domain-specific mutations and RTT pathology to stress that all structural domains of MeCP2 are required to properly mediate cellular function of the intact protein. Key words: Rett syndrome, epigenomics, chromatin architecture, splice regulation, methyl DNA binding. Les mutations au sein de la proteine MeCP2 (<< methyl DNA binding protein 2 >>) sont responsables d'une maladie neurodeveloppementale, le syndrome de Rett (RTT). Les mecanismes par lesquels la proteine MeCP2 intacte agit dans la cellule ne sont pas bien compris. Historiquement, la MeCP2 a ete caracterisee comme etant un silenceur genique proximal possedant 2 domaines fonctionnels : un domaine de liaison de l'ADN methyle et un domaine de repression de la transcription. Cependant, plusieurs pistes nouvelles indiquent que les relations structure/fonction de la MeCP2 sont plus complexes. Dans cette synthese, nous discuterons d'abord des etudes recentes qui ont permis de faire avancer nos connaissances de la biochimie structurale de base de la MeCP2. Suivra une analyse d'experiences realisees sur des cellules qui suggerent que la MeCP2 est davantage un regulateur qu'un strict silenceur de la transcription. Les nouveaux resultats etablissent que la MeCP2 est une proteine nucleaire multifonctionnelle possedant des roles potentiellement importants dans l'architecture de la chromatine, la regulation de l'epissage de YARN et la transcription active. Nous concluons en discutant des correlations cliniques qui peuvent s'etablir entre les mutations specifiques a chaque domaine et la pathologie du RTT afin de mettre en evidence le fait que tous les domaines structuraux de la MeCP2 sont requis pour assurer adequatement la fonction cellulaire de la proteine intacte. Mots-cles : syndrome de Rett, epigenomique, architecture de la chromatine, regulation de l'epissage, liaison a l'ADN methyle. [Traduit par la Redaction], Introduction: a historical perspective of MeCP2 structure and function Methyl CpG binding protein (MeCP) 2 is a 53 kDa nuclear protein named for its ability to bind methylated DNA (Lewis [...]

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a versatile petrochemical used in the preparation of high volume polymers including polycarbonates and epoxy resins. Unfortunately, BPA is also an endocrine disrupter and has been banned from use in various consumer products by several regulatory agencies. To address this issue, our group evaluated the estrogenic activity of nine bio-based tris/bisphenols derived from resveratrol (1 and 2), anethole (3, 4), eugenol (5), carvacrol (6), and creosol (7–9). Compounds 5–9 were determined to be non-estrogenic, while compound 3 exhibited a response at a lower concentration than BPA, and compounds 1, 2, and 4 exhibited responses similar to BPA. Polycarbonates of the bio-based bisphenols (PC3–PC9) were then synthesized via interfacial polymerization and characterized by SEC, MALDI-MS, DSC, TGA, and UV-VIS spectroscopy. The bio-based polycarbonates exhibited Mn values up to 14 600 Da (SEC) and had a wide range of glass transition temperatures (Tg) with values up to 156 °C (∼25 °C higher than BPA with a similar molecular weight) depending on the monomer structure. The bio-based polycarbonates had high thermal stabilities with Td5% values up to 383 °C under a nitrogen atmosphere. The non-estrogenic properties of 5–9 coupled with the good thermal properties of the derivative polycarbonates suggests that these materials are sustainable, lower toxicity alternatives for BPA-based polycarbonates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

4,4′-Methylenedianiline (MDA) is widely used in high-temperature polyimide resins, including polymerization of monomer reactants-15. The toxicity of MDA significantly limits the manufacturability using this resin. Modifying the substitution and electronics of MDA could allow for the reduction of toxicity while maintaining the high-performing properties of the materials derived from the modified MDA. The addition of a single methyl substituent, methoxy substituent, location of these substituents, and location of the amine relative to the phenolic bridge were modified as were other non-aniline diamines. Various anilines were condensed with paraformaldehyde under acidic conditions to yield dianilines. These dianilines and diamines were reacted with nadic anhydride and 3,3′,4,4′-benzophenonetetracarboxylic dianhydride in methanol to form the polyamic acid oligomers and heated at elevated temperature to form polyimide oligomers. It was found that the molecular weight of the oligomers derived from MDA alternatives was generally lower than that of MDA oligomers resulting in lower glass transition temperatures (T gs) and degradation temperatures. Additionally, methoxy substituents further reduce the T g of the polymers versus methyl substituents and reduce the thermal stability of the resin. Methyl-substituted alternatives produced polyimides with similar T gs and degradation temperatures. The toxicity of the MDA alternatives was examined. Although a few were identified with reduced toxicities, the alternatives with properties similar to that of MDA also had high toxicities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) often occur concurrently, and untreated OSA may potentially amplify the high risk of cardiovascular disease in T2DM. Compliance with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), the conventional treatment for OSA, can be poor and considering weight loss is the most effective treatment for OSA. This trial examines whether the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist liraglutide, a glucose-lowering therapy associated with significant weight loss used in T2DM, can improve the severity and symptoms of OSA. Methods and analysis This is an outpatient, single-centred, open-labelled, prospective, phase IV randomised controlled trial in a two-by- two factorial design. One hundred and thirty-two patients with newly diagnosed OSA (apnoea–hypopnoea index (AHI) ≥15 events/hour), and existing obesity and T2DM (glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) ≥47 mmol/mol), will be recruited from diabetes and sleep medicine outpatient clinics in primary and secondary care settings across Liverpool. Patients will be allocated equally, using computer-generated random, permuted blocks of unequal sizes, to each of the four treatment arms for 26 weeks: (i) liraglutide (1.8 mg once per day) alone, (ii) liraglutide 1.8 mg once per day with CPAP, (iii) CPAP alone (conventional care) or (iv) no treatment (control). The primary outcome measure is change in OSA severity, determined by AHI. Secondary outcome measures include effects on glycaemic control (glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c)), body weight and quality of life measures. Exploratory measures include measures of physical activity, MRI-derived measures of regional body composition including fat mass (abdominal subcutaneous, visceral, neck and liver fat) and skeletal muscle mass (cross-sectional analysis of thigh), indices of cardiac function (using transthoracic echocardiography) and endothelial function. Ethical approval The study has been approved by the North West Liverpool Central Research Ethics Committee (14/NW/1019) and it is being conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and Good Clinical Practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

4,4′‐Methylenedianiline (MDA) is utilized to produce high temperature epoxy resins as well as other high‐performance composites; however, MDA is a known carcinogen and liver toxicant. Novel dianilines derived from both petroleum and biomass with different quantities and types of methyl and methoxy substituents on the aromatic ring were prepared and studied to reduce toxicity and carcinogenic aspects of the resulting material while maintaining thermal and mechanical integrity. These dianilines were primarily prepared by coupling commercial anilines using paraformaldehyde under acidic conditions. Another dianiline was prepared by nitration of bisphenol A and subsequent reduction of the nitrates to amines. Structure–toxicity relationships indicate that multiple substituents on the aromatic ring are necessary to reduce the toxicity of the dianiline. Epoxy‐amine resins were prepared by blending the dianilines with 50 wt % Epikure W liquid amine curing agent and mixing with a stoichiometric amount of EPON 828 epoxy resin. Methoxy and methyl substituents increase the melting point of the dianilines by as much as 65 °C, thereby worsening the processing of these monomers as liquid thermoset resins. Structure–property relationships show that the addition of a methoxy group to the aromatic ring and moving the amine from the 4,4′ position on the dianiline reduces the glass transition temperature (Tg) by approximately 10 °C. A single methyl group has little effect on Tg and two methyl groups increase the Tg only when both are ortho to the amine, yet this causes a large 14 °C increase in Tg. Thermal degradation profiles are not significantly affected by the dianiline. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019, 137, 48707. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concurrent ageing of parental care-givers and people with intellectual disabilities is driving academic and social welfare concern for a post-parental care 'crisis'. The 'crisis' typically pertains to a transition from primary care in the family home precipitated by the death or incapacity of older parents without a pre-planned pathway to post-parental care. This crisis is amplified in rural communities given low service engagement with families and a deficit of disability-supported accommodation and services. Academics, service providers and policy makers have responded through a problematisation of post-parental care planning. This focus continues to normalise informal care, burdens families with responsibility for planning, and diverts attention from structural deficits in the socio-political carescape. This paper attends to the Australian policy landscape in which long-term care-giving for families living with intellectual disability is enmeshed. It contends that the dyadic and didactic model of informal long-term care has profound implications for social service support and post-parental care planning. Problematisation of carers' 'need' to relinquish primary care and for people with intellectual disabilities to transition to independent and supported living is necessary to unsettle the dominant policy and service discourse around the provision of services to sustain informal care-giving. Innovation is then needed to forge pathways of support for families in rural communities planning on continuing, transitioning and transforming care arrangements across the lifespan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We examined the effects of a group-based, behavioral physical activity (PA) intervention. Methods: Inactive older adults were randomized to a 12-week, evidence-based PA (Active Living Every Day, ALED) or nutrition control (Healthy Eating Every Day, HEED) intervention. Objectively measured PA and weight were obtained at baseline and 12 weeks. Repeated measures ANCOVAs were conducted and effect sizes (d) were calculated. Results: There was a significant Group x Time interaction for PA (p = .002, d = .84); there was a significant increase in the ALED group but no change in the HEED group. There was a statistically significant decrease in weight in both groups (p = .01). Conclusion: Behavioral interventions delivered in a group setting may be effective for increasing PA and decreasing weight in older adults, potentially leading to meaningful improvements in the health and independence of a growing, aging population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of this study is to examine the effects of a 12-week, behavioral nutrition intervention on dietary behaviors. Method: Inactive older adults (N = 50) were randomized to a 12-week, behavioral nutrition or physical activity intervention, delivered in a group-based format. Questionnaires assessed fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption, and fat- and fiber-related behaviors at baseline and postintervention. Height and weight were measured. Repeated-measures ANOVAs examined changes in dietary behaviors over time between groups, controlling for age, gender, and education. Results: Participants averaged 64.1 ± 8.4 years of age and had a body mass index (BMI) of 33.3 ± 7.5 kg/m2. Group × Time interactions were significant for FV consumption (p = .003), and fat- (p = .02) and fiber-related (p = .008) behaviors at 12 weeks. At 12 weeks, dietary behaviors improved significantly in the nutrition but not in the physical activity group. Effect sizes were medium to large. Discussion: A 12-week, behavioral nutrition intervention improved dietary behaviors. Behavioral interventions may be a low-cost way to improve dietary behaviors among older adults, potentially affecting population health significantly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Environmental health risk assessments often involve assessing the potential health effects of exposure to multiple chemicals at once (i.e., complex mixtures). Because the possible number of chemical combinations is very large, few controlled in vivo toxicological studies with chemical mixtures are relevant or practical. In lieu of specific mixture toxicity data, the segregated hazard index (HI) approach has been used to determine whether simultaneous exposures may warrant further investigation due to their combined adverse effects. Each chemical is assigned to one or more target organs based on critical effects; HIs for each target organ are generated by summing the individual hazard quotients for each of the chemicals assigned to that organ or organ system. To conduct this phased risk assessment approach in a consistent manner, a comprehensive, systematized list of toxicity targets for implementing this approach is needed. We present a comprehensive and standardized list of toxicity target organs and systems (TTOS), with example data sets, for consistent implementation of the segregated HI method. This method is designed to facilitate the standardization of the widespread use of the basic segregated HI approach. The basic hazard index mixtures screening (BHIMS) tool allows for rapid identification of exposure concerns that may warrant further and more sophisticated assessment. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2017;13:852-860. Published 2017. This article is a US Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study investigated body weight and nutritional behavior perceptions among Division II collegiate athletes. Participants: The sample was composed of 155 collegiate athletes who responded to a survey. Methods: Data were self-reported by athletes via questionnaire. Independent-sample t tests were used to identify significant gender differences related to body weight perceptions, nutritional practices, and ideal weight difference (IWD). An alpha level of.05 was used to determine statistical significance. Results: Mean ± SD female and male IWD was −6.8 ± 8.8 and 1.3 ± 12.3 lbs, respectively (p <.001). Significant differences in level of agreement regarding perceived body weight effects on performance and dietary practices existed between genders. Conclusions: Significant gender differences may exist regarding body weight perceptions and nutritional practices among collegiate athletes. Deliverance of gender-specific educational information about proper nutritional practices is warranted. To properly tailor interventions to specific sports, research with larger sample sizes is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes quantitative and qualitative data collected from three Australian national online surveys with chief executive officers of organizations providing services to older people and their families and family mediation agencies, service providers working in those organizations, and older people and their relatives. Respondents were asked to identify risk factors for the financial abuse of older people by a family member, comment on the potential usefulness of elder mediation as a strategy to prevent this commonly reported form of abuse, identify the specialist knowledge and skills an elder mediator would need, and identify other factors to be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study investigated the reliability of tongue and hand strength and endurance measurements in old adults using the Iowa Oral Performance Instrument (IOPI). Method: Thirty aged-care residents (6 males and 24 females) aged 79-97 years were tested on four occasions two weeks apart to determine test-retest reliability. The primary outcome measures were isometric anterior and posterior tongue and hand strength (best of three trials) and isometric tongue and hand endurance time at 50% of maximal strength. Results: Changes in the mean between sessions for tongue and hand strength indicated acceptable (< 10%) reliability particularly with familiarisation. The within-subject variation (mean-typical error expressed as a coefficient of variation, CV) indicated higher than acceptable variation for anterior and posterior tongue and hand strength. Intra-class correlations (ICC) indicated moderate to strong reliability for anterior (ICC 0.58-0.77) and posterior (ICC 0.77-0.84) tongue strength and hand strength (ICC 0.79-0.96). No tongue or hand endurance measures were regarded as reliable. Conclusion: These findings indicate that overall tongue and hand strength values demonstrate acceptable reliability in the elderly, especially where familiarisation with the IOPI is provided. Further investigation to reduce sources of variability in tongue endurance measurements is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a case study to illustrate the complexities of financial abuse of older people by their family members. It provides insights into why older people and social care professionals may not detect or define family member’s behaviour as abuse or feel discomfort in talking about it. The authors argue case studies can lead to new understandings about financial abuse that move beyond operational definitions to theoretical explanations that consider practices and outcomes of ageism and gender relations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

While the literature acknowledges that older people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CaLD) communities are particularly susceptible to financial abuse by their family members, there is a dearth of research that explores the nature of CaLD older people’s vulnerability to this form of abuse. This case study examines unique dynamics shaping this form of abuse and demonstrates how emotional vulnerability and dependence, exacerbated by cultural and linguistic disconnection, can place older people at risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), characterized by lipid deposition within the liver [intrahepatocellular lipid (IHCL)], is associated with insulin resistance and the metabolic syndrome (MS). It has been suggested that impaired skeletal muscle mitochondrial function may contribute to ectopic lipid deposition, and the associated MS, by altering post-prandial energy storage. To test this hypothesis, we performed a cross-sectional study of 17 patients with NAFLD [mean± S.D.; age, 45±11 years; body mass index (BMI), 31.6±3.4 kg/m²] and 18 age- and BMI-matched healthy controls (age, 44±11 years; BMI, 30.5±5.2 kg/m²). We determined body composition by MRI, IHCL and intramyocellular (soleus and tibialis anterior) lipids (IMCLs) by proton magnetic resonancespectroscopy (¹H-MRS) and skeletal muscle mitochondrial function by dynamic phosphorus magnetic resonancespectroscopy (31P-MRS) of quadriceps muscle. Although matched for BMI and total adiposity, after statisticaladjustment for gender, patients with NAFLD (defined by IHCL ≥ 5.5%) had higher IHCLs (25±16% compared with 2±2%; P<0.0005) and a higher prevalence of the MS (76% compared with 28%) compared with healthy controls. Despite this, the visceral fat/subcutaneous fat ratio, IMCLs and muscle mitochondrial function were similarbetween the NAFLD and control groups, with no significant difference in the rate constants of post-exercisephosphocreatine (PCr) recovery (1.55±0.4 compared with 1.51±0.4 min-1), a measure of muscle mitochondrialfunction. In conclusion, impaired muscle mitochondrial function does not seem to underlie ectopic lipid deposition, or the accompanying features of the MS, in patients with NAFLD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In the United Kingdom, patients with locally advanced rectal cancer routinely receive neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy. However, the effects of this on physical fitness are unclear. This pilot study is aimed to investigate the effect of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy on objectively measured in vivo muscle mitochondrial function and whole-body physical fitness. Methods: We prospectively studied 12 patients with rectal cancer who completed standardized neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy, recruited from a large tertiary cancer centre, between October 2012 and July 2013. All patients underwent a cardiopulmonary exercise test and a phosphorus magnetic resonance spectroscopy quadriceps muscle exercise-recovery study before and after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy. Data were analysed and reported blind to patient identity and clinical course. Primary variables of interest were the two physical fitness measures; oxygen uptake at estimated anaerobic threshold and oxygen uptake at Peak exercise (ml.kg−1.min−1), and the post-exercise phosphocreatine recovery rate constant (min−1), a measure of muscle mitochondrial capacity in vivo. Results: Median age was 67 years (IQR 64–75). Differences (95%CI) in all three primary variables were significantly negative post-NACRT: Oxygen uptake at estimated anaerobic threshold −2.4 ml.kg−1.min−1 (−3.8, −0.9), p = 0.004; Oxygen uptake at Peak −4.0 ml.kg−1.min−1 (−6.8, −1.1), p = 0.011; and post-exercise phosphocreatine recovery rate constant −0.34 min−1 (−0.51, −0.17), p<0.001. Conclusion: The significant decrease in both whole-body physical fitness and in vivo muscle mitochondrial function raises the possibility that muscle mitochondrial mechanisms, no doubt multifactorial, may be important in deterioration of physical fitness following neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy. This may have implications for targeted interventions to improve physical fitness pre-surgery. Trial Registration: Clinicaltrials.gov registration [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Financial abuse by a family member is the most common form of abuse experienced by older Australians, and early intervention is required. National online surveys of 228 chief executive officers and 214 aged care service providers found that, while they were well placed to recognize financial abuse, it was often difficult to intervene successfully. Problems providers encountered included difficulties in detecting abuse, the need for consent before they could take action, the risk that the abusive family member would withdraw the client from the service, and a lack of resources to deal with the complexities inherent in situations of financial abuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this systematic review was to examine the evidence for the use of the Iowa Oral Performance Instrument (IOPI) to measure strength and endurance of the tongue and hand in healthy populations and those with medical conditions. A systematic search of the scientific literature published since 1991 yielded 38 studies that addressed this purpose. The IOPI was used primarily for tongue strength (38 studies) and endurance (15 studies) measurement; relatively few studies measured hand strength (9 studies) or endurance (6 studies). The majority of the studies identified used the IOPI as an evaluation tool, although four used it as an intervention tool. Half the studies were conducted in healthy people, primarily adults. Most of the other participants had disorders with dysphagia, primarily Parkinson's disease or head or neck cancer. Age and gender, as well as a number of medical conditions, influence the values of tongue and hand strength. There is sufficient evidence to support the use of the IOPI as a suitable tool for measuring tongue strength and endurance and as an assessment tool for intervention studies, and there is growing support for its use to assess hand strength and endurance in healthy and clinical populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feminist economists identify reciprocity as a motivation for both paid and unpaid caring work. In general, reciprocity describes people responding to each other in similar ways, either benevolently or harmfully. The quality of care is potentially increased when care relationships are motivated by positive and generalized forms of reciprocity and decreased with negative forms of reciprocity. This study draws on nursing literature and two qualitative studies in Australian residential aged care facilities, conducted in 2002–3 and 2009, to identify a new form called “professional reciprocity.” This form of reciprocity involves deliberate and skilled relational work by nurses to facilitate mutual and interdependent exchanges with care recipients that are beneficial to both care recipients and nurses. This study argues that professional reciprocity, as a skill that can be taught, is important for achieving quality care and workers’ job satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research indicates that the most commonly reported form of abuse of older people in Australia is financial abuse and the majority of perpetrators are family members. The number of people aged 65 years and over in Australia is growing rapidly and the challenges of aging often require support and assistance from family members, so it is important to develop strategies to prevent this form of abuse. This article analyses data from two national online surveys that examined this issue. The first, conducted in 2009, explored service providers' (n=214) knowledge and understandings of financial abuse of older people. The second, conducted in 2010, investigated older people's and their family members' (n=113) views and experiences of financial abuse. In our sample, service providers' knowledge of risk factors for financial abuse of older people mirrored the experiences of older people and their family members in Australia and also confirmed factors identified in the literature. However, our findings also showed that many older people were not mindful of the potential risks to their financial wellbeing, particularly when and if they experience diminished capacity. Therefore, service providers may find it difficult to engage them in preventative strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RA) are effective for obese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) because they concomitantly target obesity and dysglycaemia. Considering the high prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in patients with T2DM, we determined the impact of 6 months' GLP-1 RA therapy on intrahepatic lipid (IHL) in obese, T2DM patients with hepatic steatosis, and evaluated the inter-relationship between changes in IHL with those in glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c), body weight, and volume of abdominal visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue (VAT and SAT). We prospectively studied 25 (12 male) patients, age 50±10 years, BMI 38.4±5.6 kg/m2 (mean ± SD) with baseline IHL of 28.2% (16.5 to 43.1%) and HbA1c of 9.6% (7.9 to 10.7%) (median and interquartile range). Patients treated with metformin and sulphonylureas/DPP-IV inhibitors were given 6 months GLP-1 RA (exenatide, n = 19; liraglutide, n = 6). IHL was quantified by liver proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H MRS) and VAT and SAT by whole body magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Treatment was associated with mean weight loss of 5.0 kg (95% CI 3.5,6.5 kg), mean HbA1c reduction of 1.6% (17 mmol/mol) (0.8,2.4%) and a 42% relative reduction in IHL (-59.3, -16.5%). The relative reduction in IHL correlated with that in HbA1c (ρ = 0.49; p = 0.01) but was not significantly correlated with that in total body weight, VAT or SAT. The greatest IHL reduction occurred in individuals with highest pre-treatment levels. Mechanistic studies are needed to determine potential direct effects of GLP-1 RA on human liver lipid metabolism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable use of military training ranges requires the development of compounds that have a minimal impact to the environment when used in a weapon system. Guanidinium 3,4-dinitropyrazolate (GDNP) is a novel explosive compound of interest for application in some weapon systems. Little is known of its toxicologic properties. To ensure the health of potentially exposed personnel and the environment, initial toxicity investigations were conducted and the results were compared with another widely used energetic (hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine [RDX]). In a microplate Ames assay, GDNP was not cytotoxic to bacterial tester strains at concentrations less than 100 μg/mL. However, GDNP was mutagenic to 4 of 5 bacterial strains with and without S9 metabolic incubation at concentrations as low as 0.7 μg/mL. Unlike RDX, GDNP did not have an affinity for the γ-aminobutyric acid(A) receptor convulsant site and was predicted to not induce seizure. After acute oral dosing in female rats, the median lethal dose in female rats of GDNP in tap water solution was determined to be 720 mg/kg. Daily oral exposure to 500 mg/kg per d of GDNP for 14 days caused weight loss, increased liver and spleen weights, and adverse histopathologic events in kidney and spleen. These adverse events were not observed in animals receiving lower doses of GDNP. In this study, the lowest-observed-adverse-effect-level from oral exposure to GDNP for 14 days was 500 mg/kg per d and the no-observable-adverse-effect-level was 152 mg/kg per d. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is reported to be more common in patients with GH deficiency (GHD) than in the general population. We aimed to determine: i) liver fat in patients with GHD compared with age and body mass index (BMI)-matched controls; and ii) effect of 6 months of GH replacement (GHR) on liver fat. Participants and methods: The study included 28 GHD patients and 24 controls. 12 patients were studied before and after 6 months of GHR. Anthropometry, liver enzymes and lipid profiles were measured, and body composition and intrahepatocellular lipid (IHCL) were determined by magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy. Results: Age and BMI (median (inter-quartile range)) of patients and controls were 52.6 (14) vs 52.6 (12) years (PZ0.9) and 27.8 (24.7, 34.7) vs 27.9 (25.1, 32.1) kg/m2 (PZ0.9). IGF1 was lower in the patients (11.5 vs 16.0 nmol/l, PZ0.002). There was no difference in liver transaminases, lipids or IHCL between patients and controls (2.8 (1.3, 8.6) vs 5.0 (1.5, 12.7), PZ0.72), despite significantly higher visceral fat in GHD patients. Thirty-two percent of patients and 50% of controls had NAFLD (defined as IHCL O5.6%), and the relationship between IHCL and BMI was the same in each group. GHR significantly reduced abdominal subcutaneous and visceral fat in all patients; however, GHR did not reduce liver fat. Conclusions: NAFLD is equally common in patients with GHD and matched controls. GHR is associated with a hierarchical reduction in fat deposition (fat loss: visceral O subcutaneous O liver). Further studies involving GHD patients with NAFLD are required to conclude the role of GHR in treating NAFLD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nurses in many industrialized countries are under pressure to prove that the care they provide is cost effective and an appropriate use of scarce healthcare funding. Attempts to describe what nursing care involves, however, have not yet resulted in a generally accepted articulation that is fully up to this task. This essay analyzes how Cartesian dualisms of mind versus body and knowledge versus virtue have contributed to the inadequacy of many current descriptions of nursing. The authors explore how a non-dualistic, practice-enhancing rhetoric might be developed, particularly in light of healthcare finance issues affecting college-educated nurses in the United States, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The authors present a diagram as a suggested tool for thinking that may help bring attention to neglected and undervalued aspects of nursing care. Special challenges in geriatric care are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To probe the tertiary structure and domain organization of native methyl CpG-binding protein 2 (MeCP2), the recombinant human e2 isoform was purified to homogeneity and characterized by analytical ultracentrifugation, CD, and protease digestion. The location of intrinsic disorder in the MeCP2 sequence was predicted using the FoldIndex algorithm. MeCP2 was found to be monomeric in low and high salt and over a nearly 1000-fold concentration range. CD indicated that the MeCP2 monomer was nearly 60% unstructured under conditions where it could preferentially recognize CpG dinucleotides and condense chromatin. Protease digestion experiments demonstrate that MeCP2 is composed of at least six structurally distinct domains, two of which correspond to the well characterized methyl DNA binding domain and transcriptional repression domain. These domains collectively are organized into a tertiary structure with coil-like hydrodynamic properties, reflecting the extensive disorder in the MeCP2 sequence. When expressed as individual fragments, the methyl DNA binding domain and transcriptional repression domain both could function as nonspecific DNA binding domains. The unusual structural features of MeCP2 provide a basis for understanding MeCP2 multifunctionality in vitro and in vivo. These studies also establish an experimental paradigm for characterizing the tertiary structures of other highly disordered proteins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During research towards her doctoral dissertation, the author noticed that nurses understated the conditions in which they worked. Seeking to understand how nursing culture shapes how nurses describe their work, she developed a "toolbox" of reflexive methods. She used metaphors of nursing and emotion expressed as laughter to identify aspects of nursing culture in semistructured interviews with nurses working in Australian residential aged care facilities. She also incorporated autoethnography, as she had worked as a registered nurse while studying economics. The inclusion of her voice in the data illustrates the difference between nursing culture and another worldview. These pluralist methods made explicit some of the effects of gendered socialization, such as understatement and self-consciousness, and demonstrate how they are embedded in nursing culture. Awareness of such norms is important for understanding marketized caring labor. This combination of methods has significance for uncovering workplace culture in other forms of marketized caring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]