Search

This research examines the changing role of the Course Leader in further education/higher education (FE/HE) by observing the daily activities of a typical course leader over a two-term period. Major components of the role were highlighted in terms of balance, distribution of activities and constraints. The findings point to a series of fragmented, unrelated tasks vying for position in a climate of accountability. This is comparable with other research on workload. In addition to the observation of the actual role of the course leader, managers were interviewed to gauge current and future perceptions of the role. Their perceptions varied depending on their level of seniority, with the added inference that radical changes and future efficiency gains were imminent. The evidence suggests that if academic quality is to be assured, there must be a fuller appreciation of the role of the Course Leader and a review of the notion that instructional delivery and lecturer time ought to be the only targets for efficiency gains. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This observational study was designed to establish whether there is a relationship between intuitive eating and gestational weight gain. Intuitive eating involves eating according to hunger and satiety cues, rather than following diet rules or eating in response to external triggers or emotions. Higher levels of intuitive eating are associated with bodyweight in the normal range in women during young and middle adulthood. Excess gestational weight gain is associated with an increased incidence of adverse health outcomes for mothers and children, including many pregnancy related conditions and, following pregnancy, an increased likelihood of obesity among mothers and children. Pregnant women were recruited at their nuchal translucency scan (11-14 weeks gestation), in Dunedin, New Zealand, between 2013 and 2015. A cohort of 218 women completed questionnaires at four times during their pregnancies. Intuitive eating was measured using a version of the Intuitive Eating Scale (IES) adapted for pregnant women and revalidated with this population. Gestational weight gain was calculated at the term visit (>35 weeks gestation) and babies' birth weight was established from the electronic maternity system. Mean total IES scores (and all IES subscales) increased across pregnancy. For every one point greater total IES score at baseline, there was a 1.7 (0.5, 2.9) kg lower gestational weight gain. There was no association between babies' birth weight and intuitive eating. Intuitive eating appears to be associated with lower gestational weight gain but not babies' birth weight. It remains to be seen whether intuitive eating can be increased by educational interventions during pregnancy and thus have an impact on gestational weight gain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To reduce the memory decay associated with delayed reporting, witnesses are often encouraged to note down their recall immediately after the event. However, research has only investigated the benefits of immediate recall for single events; no research has explored whether immediate recall can improve memory for repeated events. Therefore, this research examined the effect of immediate recall on adult memory for a repeated event. In Experiment 1 (N = 42), participants watched four workplace bullying videos. After each video, the experimental group immediately recalled what occurred during the bullying instance, while the control group did not. One-week after the final video, all participants completed a final recall report about each video in the series. In Experiment 2 (N = 46), the same design and procedure were followed as Experiment 1, except prior to completing their final recall reports, all participants received correct and misleading post-event information about the third instance. The findings revealed that immediate recall enhanced memory accuracy across instances, but did not impact recall of source memory errors nor misinformation acceptance. The findings suggest that it may be beneficial for victims/witnesses of repeated offences, such as domestic abuse, to document their memories soon after experiencing an incident. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A response from the author of the article regarding the need for teenagers to routinely be administered long-acting reversible contraception before becoming sexually active is presented.

The present study investigated the impact of false feedback about individual memory performance relative to a co-witness on susceptibility to misinformation. Pairs of participants (n = 130; 65 pairs) completed a visual memory test and received false feedback on their performance indicating that the memory ability of one participant in the pair was stronger relative to the other participant. The participants then viewed a crime video (either the same video or one slightly different to their partner) and discussed their memories for this video with their co-witness. Participants completed a semi-cued recall task and a recognition test about the video. False memory feedback indicating lower relative performance was associated with significant increases in sensitivity to misinformation. The results are discussed in reference to the potential contributions that co-witnesses' perceptions of both their partner's reliability and their own reliability have on event memory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author discusses the need of pre-emptive use of long acting reversible contraceptive (LARC) method in teens and young adults before sexual activity and includes information on the need of sex education program to avoid teen pregnancy and significant costs on the individual and society.

Witnesses' reports of repeated events have been the focus of much research; however, the spacing interval between each episode of the event has differed greatly. The aim of the current study was to determine whether spacing interval affects participants' memory reports. Adults (N = 217) watched one (n = 52) or four videos depicting workplace bullying. The repeated event participants watched the four videos all in one day (n = 55), one per day over four consecutive days (n = 60), or one every three days over 12 days (n = 50). One week after the last (or only) video, participants reported on that video and answered some reflective questions about the procedure. Repeated-event participants also reported on what usually happens across the videos. Single-event participants reported proportionally more accurate information about the target video than repeated-event participants, and spacing interval did not affect repeated event participants' accuracy. However, accuracy scores were close to ceiling while errors rates were at floor levels, preventing us from drawing strong conclusions. We found some evidence that episode spacing affected participants' perceptions of their memory performance. Overall, spacing may have a minimal effect on adults' memory for repeated events, but further research is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The combined oral contraceptive (COC) is the most commonly used hormonal contraceptive in Aotearoa New Zealand (Aotearoa/NZ). Currently there is limited data available on who uses COC in Aotearoa/NZ. The aims were to (i) define the population of reproductive‐aged females in Aotearoa/NZ in 2018 and identify the rate of COC use among this group and (ii) describe the sociodemographic and geographic characteristics of the population of COC users compared to the general population of reproductive‐aged females in 2018. Methods: This whole‐of‐population cross‐sectional study used the Integrated Data Infrastructure, a large research database managed by Statistics New Zealand. Females aged 16–50 years with complete sociodemographic and geographic information in 2018 from Aotearoa/NZ's estimated resident population were included. COC dispensing records to this cohort were identified from the national Pharmaceutical Collection. This paper reports descriptive counts of COC use and employs generalised linear regression with a binomial distribution and a log link to estimate adjusted risk ratios (aRR) of COC use for key sociodemographic and geographic subgroups. Results: Of 1 113 750 individuals in the study, 159 789 (14.3%) were dispensed as COC in 2018. European/other individuals were most likely to use COC (aRR: 2.72, 2.67–2.78), and Pacific Peoples were least likely (aRR: 0.56, 0.55–0.58) to use COC. Individuals residing in the most deprived quintile had less COC use than individuals in the least deprived quintile (aRR: 0.73, 0.72–0.74). Conclusion: Our study is able to highlight significant disparities in use by ethnicity, area‐level deprivation, and geographic factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Across the Asia-Pacific region, approximately 38% of pregnancies are unintended. Long-acting reversible contraception, such as intrauterine contraception (IUC), is effective in reducing unintended pregnancy.Objective: This study aims to review access to, uptake of and influencing factors on IUC use in the Asia-Pacific region.Methods: We searched PubMed and MEDLINE for articles published between 1990 and 2015. We identified and reviewed primary studies that examined the following points and were relevant to the Asia-Pacific region: available types and utilization rates of IUC and factors that influence these. We also obtained the opinions of local experts to gain a better understanding of the situation in specific countries.Results: Types of IUC used and utilization rates vary widely across the region. Factors influencing rates of utilization relate to healthcare systems, such as government policy on and subsidization of IUC, types of healthcare providers authorized to place IUC and local guidelines on preinsertion screening. Healthcare provider factors include concerns around pelvic inflammatory disease and the suitability of IUC in certain groups of women, whereas end-user factors include lack of awareness of IUC, concerns about safety, cultural or religious attitudes, access to IUC and costs.Conclusions: Across the Asia-Pacific region, clear data gaps and unmet needs exist in terms of access to and uptake of IUC. We believe that several recommendations are necessary to update future practice and policy for enhanced IUC utilization so that women across this region have better access to IUC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For crimes such as child abuse and family violence, jurors' assessments of memory reports from key witnesses are vital to case outcomes in court. Since jurors are not experts on memory, the present research measured laypeople's (i.e., non-experts') beliefs about how three key factors affect witnesses' memory reports for an experienced event: how frequently an event was experienced (repeated, single), the delay between experiencing and reporting the event, and the emotional valence of the event. Across two studies, lay participants completed an online survey that measured their beliefs about each factor. In Study 1, 51 participants completed a survey about how the three factors affect children's memory. In Study 2, another 51 participants completed a survey about how the three factors affect adult's memory. Across both studies, delays were believed to worsen memory, and emotion was believed to improve memory. Beliefs about single and repeated events showed different patterns across the studies. In Study 1, participants' beliefs about children's memory for repeated experience were variable. In Study 2, participants believed that adults' memory was worse for repeated events than single events. Overall, laypeople demonstrated many accurate beliefs about memory, but showed some confusion about children's memory for repeated events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. The search for objective markers of a true versus false confession is an important but under-researched area. In the first study of its kind, we examined the utility of expressions of remorse as a marker of a true compared with a false oral versus written confession. Methods. We elicited both written and oral false confessional statements and true accounts from 85 participants. Results. Results showed that the proportion of remorseful words that participants produced was significantly higher in their true compared with their false confessions, in both oral and written confession modalities. Furthermore, an acoustic analysis of oral confessions revealed that participants' remorseful utterances were significantly louder in their true compared with their false confessions. Conclusions. These findings suggest that the presence and nature of remorseful utterances in oral and written statements are useful in the identification of true versus false confessions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aims of this paper were to systematically review the evidence for the effectiveness of active behaviour change safety interventions in the construction industry; and to determine the intervention characteristics most commonly associated with effectiveness in reducing injury rates and improving safety behaviour – intensity/frequency/duration, behaviour change techniques (BCTs) and theory-base. An electronic literature search (June 2014) was conducted to identify eligible interventions: those involving active involvement from workers/management in the construction industry; targeted one/both of the primary outcomes. All intervention designs involving construction workers aged >18 years, published in English and in a peer-reviewed journal were included. Fifteen studies were included, half of which successfully improved injury rates. Longer interventions and those that included active/volitional BCTs (feedback/monitoring rather than instruction/information) were more effective. The methodological quality of the interventions was poor and use of theory was inconsistent and infrequent. Despite some positive results, very few interventions achieved all their aims. More rigorous, theory-driven research is needed to structure intervention efforts and determine the mechanism of action of effective interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To gain insight into health practitioners' understanding of how people experience the first trimester abortion journey., Methods: Qualitative interviews informed by phenomenology with health practitioners from a range of practice settings across Aotearoa New Zealand. Participants were recruited via a separate but related study. Inductive thematic analysis was used to develop themes., Results: Interviews were undertaken with 18 health practitioners. Analysis revealed three main themes: 1) abortion is a stepwise process, 2) barriers to accessing abortion care, and 3) solutions to improve access to abortion care. There were a number of sub-themes., Conclusion: While there remain multiple personal, institutional and societal barriers to abortion in Aotearoa, this study identifies potential solutions and that a desire for positive change among health practitioners exists. To achieve this, a strategy is required to ensure that the health consumer is placed at the centre of abortion services to provide accessible, equitable and culturally appropriate care. The primary care sector stands to play a significant role in future abortion provision but requires appropriate funding and support to do so., Competing Interests: Emma Macfarlane is a member of the Abortion Providers Group Aotearoa New Zealand (APGANZ), an associate member of and LARC trainer for the New Zealand College of Sexual and Reproductive Health (NZCSRH) and an associate member of the New Zealand College of Sexual and Reproductive Health (NZCSRH). Michael Stitely and Pauline Dawson have no competing interests to report relating to the article content. Helen Paterson is the co-director of the Women’s Health Bus, deputy chair NZCSRH and an abortion provider for Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand., (© PMA.)

Aim: Cervical cancer is now preventable with human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and HPV screening. However, structural health system barriers in rural areas can inhibit screening access. Inequitable access for rural Māori is exacerbated by social determinants and racism. Pro-equity tools, such as self-taken swabs point of care (POC) testing, now exist. This study aimed to investigate whether POC HPV testing and immediate offer of colposcopy by a mobile colposcopy service is possible at a rural community event., Methods: This case study was a collaboration between a research centre, a women's health bus, a molecular diagnostics company, a Māori health provider and a community charity, and took place prior to the new cervical screening programme introduction at a 2-day community event-a shearathon. Eligible participants were offered a self-taken swab for HPV, which was analysed by POC testing. If high-risk HPV was detected, they were offered an immediate colposcopy. The Māori-centred qualitative component explored women's experiences of the process., Results: Fourteen women undertook a self-test for HPV. High-risk HPV was detected in six women and all were offered immediate colposcopy. Six women were interviewed. All were supportive of the service. Culturally safe staff taking time to put women at ease contributed to acceptability and positive experiences., Conclusion: This case study shows that provision of POC HPV testing and colposcopy at a rural community event setting is possible through cross-sector collaboration. This service was acceptable to rural transient workers who face barriers to healthcare in a high-income country., Competing Interests: Cepheid loaned the GeneXpert® machine but had no part in the conceptualisation, study design, protocol development, project administration or findings of the study. The study was funded by the Health Research Council of New Zealand (HRC 20/550)., (© PMA.)

Inattentional blindness refers to when people fail to notice obvious and unexpected events when their attention is elsewhere. Existing research suggests that inattentional blindness is a poorly understood concept that violates the beliefs that are commonly held by the public about vision and attention. Given that legal cases may involve individuals who may have experienced inattentional blindness, it is important to understand the beliefs legal populations and members of the community have about inattentional blindness, and their general familiarity and experience with the concept. Australian police officers (n = 94) and lawyers (n = 98), along with psychology students (n = 99) and community members (n = 100) completed a survey where they: a) stated whether an individual would have noticed an event in six legal vignettes, b) rated whether factors would make an individual more, less, or just as likely to notice an unexpected event, c) reported their familiarity with and personal experiences of inattentional blindness, and d) indicated whether they believed individuals could make themselves more likely to notice unexpected events. Respondents in all populations frequently responded "yes" to detecting the unexpected event in most legal vignettes. They also held misconceptions about some factors (expertise and threat) that would influence the noticing of unexpected events. Additionally, personal experiences with inattentional blindness were commonly reported. Finally, respondents provided strategies for what individuals can do to make themselves more likely to notice of unexpected events, despite a lack of evidence to support them. Overall, these findings provide direction for where education and training could be targeted to address misconceptions about inattentional blindness held by legal populations, which may lead to improved decision-making in legal settings., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Cullen et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

The liver plays a key role in sensing nutritional and hormonal inputs to maintain metabolic homeostasis. Recent studies into pre-mRNA splicing and alternative splicing (AS) and their effects on gene expression have revealed considerable transcriptional complexity in the liver, both in health and disease. While the contribution of these mechanisms to cell and tissue identity is widely accepted, their role in physiological and pathological contexts within tissues is just beginning to be appreciated. In this review, we showcase recent studies on the splicing and AS of key genes in metabolic pathways in the liver, the effect of metabolic signals on the spliceosome, and therapeutic intervention points based on RNA splicing., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests A.M.J., S.Y., H.A.B.P., and S.V. are inventors on a patent covering the use of SSOs to modify liver metabolism. I.C.’s partner has stock options in Ochre Bio. The other authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

The Abortion Legislation Act 2020 established comprehensive grounds for approving abortions after 20 weeks. These grounds are less restrictive than before law reform. They give qualified health practitioners (QHP) the scope to approve any abortion anyone wants and might reasonably request, if the QHP believes the abortion is clinically justified in the circumstances, having considered all the factors required by law. Because patients hold QHPs accountable under the Health and Disability Commission and legal processes, it is unlikely a QHP will need to justify approving an abortion, although they may well be called upon to justify refusing one., (© 2023 Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.)

RNA alternative splicing (AS) expands the regulatory potential of eukaryotic genomes. The mechanisms regulating liver-specific AS profiles and their contribution to liver function are poorly understood. Here, we identify a key role for the splicing factor RNA-binding Fox protein 2 (RBFOX2) in maintaining cholesterol homeostasis in a lipogenic environment in the liver. Using enhanced individual-nucleotide-resolution ultra-violet cross-linking and immunoprecipitation, we identify physiologically relevant targets of RBFOX2 in mouse liver, including the scavenger receptor class B type I (Scarb1). RBFOX2 function is decreased in the liver in diet-induced obesity, causing a Scarb1 isoform switch and alteration of hepatocyte lipid homeostasis. Our findings demonstrate that specific AS programmes actively maintain liver physiology, and underlie the lipotoxic effects of obesogenic diets when dysregulated. Splice-switching oligonucleotides targeting this network alleviate obesity-induced inflammation in the liver and promote an anti-atherogenic lipoprotein profile in the blood, underscoring the potential of isoform-specific RNA therapeutics for treating metabolism-associated diseases., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Background: In 2020, abortion was removed from the Crimes Act. Abortions under 20 weeks gestation no longer require an indication and criteria for abortion above 20 weeks gestation has broadened. Prior to law reform, all abortions were provided on licensed premises and the responsible health practitioner was a doctor. Subsequently, any health practitioner with abortion in their scope of practice can provide abortion care., Aims: To describe the characteristics of health practitioners who expressed an interest in participating in second trimester abortion care, and to identify and describe the barriers to providing an optimal second trimester abortion service., Materials and Methods: This was an exponential non-discriminating snowball email survey using tick boxes and open comments. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics and free-text components were analysed using a general inductive approach., Results: The 113 respondents included: 38 hospital-based obstetrics and gynaecology doctors, 22 primary care doctors, 13 midwives and 14 nurses/nurse practitioners. Thirty-three (29.2%) and 62 (54.9%) respondents reported interest in providing second trimester surgical and medical abortion care respectively. The most commonly identified barrier to both surgical and medical second trimester abortion provision was lack of trained staff, followed by an unsupportive work environment. Thematic analysis aligned with these findings and commonly featured difficulty in accessing feticide., Conclusions: We need to actively recruit and train all health practitioners interested in providing second trimester abortion care to strengthen the workforce. This requires an organisation to oversee an inclusive national framework for abortion training, including feticide, and provide professional supervision., (© 2022 Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.)

Repeated offences, such as domestic violence, are often distressing for victims. When victims of such offences make an allegation of abuse, they are usually required to report details about specific incidents. Therefore, this pre-registered study examined whether memory for an emotionally stressful versus non-stressful repeated event would differ depending on the instance being recalled. Eighty female participants ( M age  = 22.3, SD  = 7.4) imagined being involved in four abusive (emotionally stressful repeated event) or non-abusive relationship instances (non-stressful repeated event) over a four-week period. One-week after the last instance, participants completed recall and source memory questions about each instance. We found no evidence that memory for stressful versus non-stressful repeated events differed depending on the instance being recalled. Instead, we found that memory was more accurate for the last instance relative to the other instances (i.e., recency effect), regardless of event stressfulness. We also found that memory accuracy was better across all instances in the stressful than the non-stressful group. The findings suggest that victim-survivors of abuse might find the last instance of abuse particularly memorable when the delay between the offence and report is one-week or less, and the stressfulness of the instance might help them recall more details.

Pre-mRNA processing is an essential mechanism for the generation of mature mRNA and the regulation of gene expression in eukaryotic cells. While defects in pre-mRNA processing have been implicated in a number of diseases their involvement in metabolic pathologies is still unclear. Here, we show that both alternative splicing and alternative polyadenylation, two major steps in pre-mRNA processing, are significantly altered in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Moreover, we find that Serine and Arginine Rich Splicing Factor 10 (SRSF10) binding is enriched adjacent to consensus polyadenylation motifs and its expression is significantly decreased in NAFLD, suggesting a role mediating pre-mRNA dysregulation in this condition. Consistently, inactivation of SRSF10 in mouse and human hepatocytes in vitro, and in mouse liver in vivo, was found to dysregulate polyadenylation of key metabolic genes such as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARA) and exacerbate diet-induced metabolic dysfunction. Collectively our work implicates dysregulated pre-mRNA polyadenylation in obesity-induced liver disease and uncovers a novel role for SRSF10 in this process., (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.)

The current study investigated the effects of immediate recall and subsequent interview on mock witnesses' memory of a crime. After watching a video of a crime, 111 participants were randomly allocated to an immediate recall condition (the iWitnessed mobile app, free recall). One week later, participants were randomly allocated to a retrieval condition (timeline aid, category clustering recall, free recall). Results showed that iWitnessed elicited more correct details than free recall at immediate recall (Time 1), without compromising accuracy. However, the immediate recall tool did not affect memory performance at a one-week delay (Time 2). At Time 2, participants with retrieval support (timeline aid, category clustering recall) reported more details than those with no retrieval support (free recall), without compromising accuracy. The findings highlight that high-quality immediate recall and retrieval support during a subsequent interview are necessary to elicit more complete and accurate accounts., (© 2021 The Australian and New Zealand Association of Psychiatry, Psychology and Law.)

For repeated crimes like domestic violence and workplace bullying, the primary evidence is often the alleged victim's testimony. Consequently, the perceived credibility of repeated event speakers can be pivotal to legal proceedings. In order to investigate perceptions of truthful and deceptive repeated-event speakers, undergraduate students observed interviews of speakers describing a single occurrence of an event that was either experienced or fabricated either once or multiple times. Some participants additionally read an expert statement on repeated-event memory. The effect of repetition on perceived credibility depended on the speaker's veracity, enhancing the credibility of fabricators but diminishing the credibility of truth-tellers. The expert testimony was found to raise the perceived honesty and cognitive competence of the repeated-event speakers and thus could be a promising mechanism for enhancing perceived credibility in legal proceedings., (© 2021 The Australian and New Zealand Association of Psychiatry, Psychology and Law.)

Two studies investigated the impact of recall timing on eyewitness memory. In Study 1, participants viewed a crime video and then completed the Self-Administered Interview (SAI © ) either immediately, after a 24-h delay, after a 1-week delay, or not at all. All participants completed a final recall questionnaire 2 weeks after they had viewed the stimulus video. Study 2 aimed to determine how long the beneficial impact of the SAI © on witnesses' long-term memory lasts. Participants watched a crime video and then either completed the SAI © or did not engage in an immediate recall attempt. Participants then completed a final recall questionnaire after a delay of 24 h, 1 week, 2 weeks, or 1 month. The results indicated that initial recall should be completed within 24 h of an incident and that under these conditions, the beneficial impact of early recall on long-term memory endures for at least 1 month., (© 2021 The Australian and New Zealand Association of Psychiatry, Psychology and Law.)

New Zealand achieved a major sexual reproductive health and rights milestone when abortion ceased to be a crime. Introduction of the Abortion Legislation Act 2020 has significantly changed the way abortion care can be provided in New Zealand, with the potential to improve access, reduce inequities and transform the abortion experience for those people who choose to end their pregnancy. The primary care sector stands to be a key player in the provision of first-trimester abortion care. However, with issues relating to funding, training and access to medications yet to be resolved, the health sector is not yet ready to provide best-practice abortion care within the new legislative framework., Competing Interests: Ms Macfarlane reports: I am a committee member of Abortion Providers Group Aotearoa New Zealand (APGANZ) and a member of The College of Sexual and Reproductive Health. I was actively involved in campaigning in support of abortion law reform. While undertaking this research I was the recipient of the University of Otago Dunbar Scholarship which paid for my PhD fees and a monthly stipend. Dr Paterson reports: I received professional fees from Southern District Health Board and professional fees from Ministry of Justice, outside the submitted work; I was the Chair of Abortion Providers Group Aotearoa and a member of the committee, sat on the Ministry of Health Abortion Standards working group and presently act in an un-payed advisory role for the Ministry of Health abortion guidelines development. I am a member of The College of Sexual and Reproductive Health and have been funded to attend an educational conference by Bayer. I and Michael Stitely hold a contraception-related patent.

Chronic histiocytic intervillositis (CHI) is a rare placental lesion associated with adverse obstetric outcomes and high recurrence rate. We report a case of six consecutive pregnancies in one woman, where CHI was detected following an intrauterine death in the fifth pregnancy, after being missed in four earlier losses. The successful sixth pregnancy was treated with a combination of immunosuppressive and antithrombotic agents. While low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) and aspirin had been shown to improve pregnancy outcome in recurrent pregnancy loss, there was limited evidence of improved outcome in CHI. It has been suggested that CHI may result from a maternal immunological process and there have been a few reports of the use of corticosteroids because of this possibility, though without convincing evidence of efficacy. We too tried a corticosteroid, in combination with LMWH and aspirin. Comparative histopathological analysis of the placentae supported post-treatment effectiveness of our intervention strategy., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: None declared., (2017 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd.)

Aim: To determine the knowledge base of midwife lead maternity carers (LMCs) and explore their adjustments in practice for obese women., Materials & Methods: A nationwide cohort study of LMC midwives in New Zealand concerning obesity in pregnancy using an electronic survey., Results: A total of 428 LMCs responded. Most respondents were aware of the risks of obesity during pregnancy. Midwives felt it was important to provide customized care. Various barriers to accessing support for obese women within the health system were identified. Discussing weight and obesity was acknowledged as a sensitive issue for both the woman and the midwife., Conclusion: This study highlights the need to improve access to and availability of supportive maternity services and resources for pregnant women with increased BMI.

Background and Objectives: In forensic settings, individuals who experience a traumatic event are often encouraged to recall it soon afterwards to preserve their memory for it. Some theories of the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) suggest that this may increase psychopathology. The primary aim of the study was to examine the effect of immediate recall of a trauma analogue video on psychopathology., Method: Eighty-five undergraduate students were randomised to view a video of a car accident, described as either a real event (high stress) or training event (low stress). They then completed either the Self-Administered Interview (SAI©, Gabbert, Hope, & Fisher, 2009) or a filler task. All participants returned one week later to provide an account of the event., Results: As predicted, participants in the SAI early recall task condition remembered the video content better one week after seeing the video, shown both by their greater recall of correct details and greater rejection of misinformation. However, completing the SAI resulted in higher anxiety immediately afterwards, and more severe PTSD-like symptoms one week later, compared to control condition. PTSD intrusion-like symptoms also predicted more accurate recall, while avoidance predicted poorer memory., Limitations: While the trauma analogue video used in this study has been previously used, and did effectively trigger post-traumatic-like symptoms, it is unclear how well these results generalise to actual trauma situations., Conclusions: These results suggest the relationship between PTSD symptoms and memory might be more complex than previously recognised, with intrusive phenomena possibly promoting memory and avoidance symptoms compromising memory., (Crown Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)