Suicide in the Northern Territory, 1981-2002

Objective: To examine trends in suicide in the Northern Territory between 1981 and 2002, and demographic and other characteristics of people completing suicide in the Top End region in 2000-2002. Design: Retrospective descriptive analysis of Australian Bureau of Statistics death registration data and data from the NT Coroner's Office. Setting and participants: All residents of the NT who completed suicide between 1981 and 2002. Main outcome measures: Changes in the age-adjusted and age- and sex-specific rates of suicide in Indigenous and non-Indigenous NT residents over time; prior diagnosis of mental illness and use of alcohol or other drugs by those completing suicide. Results: The age-adjusted suicide rate in the NT increased significantly between 1981 and 2002 (P 0.05), respectively. Indigenous males aged under 45 years and non-Indigenous males aged 65 years and over were most at risk. In the Top End, a history of diagnosed mental illness was present in 49% of suicide cases, and misuse of alcohol or other drugs around the time of death was associated with 72% of suicide cases. Conclusion: Our study highlights the rising rate of suicide in the NT and suggests that suicide prevention initiatives need to specifically target Indigenous and non-Indigenous males in the age groups most at risk

A new integrated and homogenized global monthly land surface air temperature dataset for the period since 1900

A new dataset of integrated and homogenized monthly surface air temperature over global land for the period since 1900 [China Meteorological Administration global Land Surface Air Temperature (CMA-LSAT)] is developed. In total, 14 sources have been collected and integrated into the newly developed dataset, including three global (CRUTEM4, GHCN, and BEST), three regional and eight national sources. Duplicate stations are identified, and those with the higher priority are chosen or spliced. Then, a consistency test and a climate outlier test are conducted to ensure that each station series is quality controlled. Next, two steps are adopted to assure the homogeneity of the station series: (1) homogenized station series in existing national datasets (by National Meteorological Services) are directly integrated into the dataset without any changes (50% of all stations), and (2) the inhomogeneities are detected and adjusted for in the remaining data series using a penalized maximal t test (50% of all stations). Based on the dataset, we re-assess the temperature changes in global and regional areas compared with GHCN-V3 and CRUTEM4, as well as the temperature changes during the three periods of 1900–2014, 1979–2014 and 1998–2014. The best estimates of warming trends and there 95% confidence ranges for 1900–2014 are approximately 0.102 ± 0.006 °C/decade for the whole year, and 0.104 ± 0.009, 0.112 ± 0.007, 0.090 ± 0.006, and 0.092 ± 0.007 °C/decade for the DJF (December, January, February), MAM, JJA, and SON seasons, respectively. MAM saw the most significant warming trend in both 1900–2014 and 1979–2014. For an even shorter and more recent period (1998–2014), MAM, JJA and SON show similar warming trends, while DJF shows opposite trends. The results show that the ability of CMA-LAST for describing the global temperature changes is similar with other existing products, while there are some differences when describing regional temperature changes

Absent otoacoustic emissions predict otitis media in young Aboriginal children: A birth cohort study in Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children in an arid zone of Western Australia

AbstractBackground: Otitis media (OM) is the most common paediatric illness for which antibiotics areprescribed. In Australian Aboriginal children OM is frequently asymptomatic and starts at a youngerage, is more common and more likely to result in hearing loss than in non-Aboriginal children.Absent transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs) may predict subsequent risk of OM.Methods: 100 Aboriginal and 180 non-Aboriginal children in a semi-arid zone of WesternAustralia were followed regularly from birth to age 2 years. Tympanometry was conducted atroutine field follow-up from age 3 months. Routine clinical examination by an ENT specialist wasto be done 3 times and hearing assessment by an audiologist twice. TEOAEs were measured at ages<1 and 1–2 months. Cox proportional hazards model was used to investigate the associationbetween absent TEOAEs and subsequent risk of OM.Results: At routine ENT specialist clinics, OM was detected in 55% of 184 examinations inAboriginal children and 26% of 392 examinations in non-Aboriginal children; peak prevalence was72% at age 5–9 months in Aboriginal children and 40% at 10–14 months in non-Aboriginal children.Moderate-severe hearing loss was present in 32% of 47 Aboriginal children and 7% of 120 non-Aboriginal children aged 12 months or more.TEOAE responses were present in 90% (46/51) of Aboriginal children and 99% (120/121) of non-Aboriginal children aged <1 month and in 62% (21/34) and 93% (108/116), respectively, inAboriginal and non-Aboriginal children at age 1–2 months. Aboriginal children who failed TEOAEat age 1–2 months were 2.6 times more likely to develop OM subsequently than those who passed.Overall prevalence of type B tympanograms at field follow-up was 50% (n = 78) in Aboriginalchildren and 20% (n = 95) in non-Aboriginal children

Promoting fit bodies, healthy eating and physical activity among Indigenous Australian men: a study protocol

Background: Overall the physical health of Indigenous men is among the worst in Australia. Research has indicated that modifiable lifestyle factors, such as poor nutrition and physical inactivity, appear to contribute strongly to these poor health conditions. To effectively develop and implement strategies to improve the health of Australia&rsquo;s Indigenous peoples, a greater understanding is needed of how Indigenous men perceive health, and how they view and care for their bodies. Further, a more systematic understanding of how sociocultural factors affect their health attitudes and behaviours is needed. This article presents the study protocol of a communitybased investigation into the factors surrounding the health and body image of Indigenous Australian men.Methods and design: The study will be conducted in a collaborative manner with Indigenous Australian men using a participatory action research framework. Men will be recruited from three locations around Australia (metropolitan, regional, and rural) and interviewed to understand their experiences and perspectives on a number of issues related to health and health behaviour. The information that is collected will be analysed using modified grounded theory and thematic analysis. The results will then be used to develop and implement community events in each location to provide feedback on the findings to the community, promote health enhancing strategies, and determine future action and collaboration.Discussion: This study will explore both risk and protective factors that affect the health of Indigenous Australian men. This knowledge will be disseminated to the wider Indigenous community and can be used to inform future health promotion strategies. The expected outcome of this study is therefore an increased understanding of health and health change in Indigenous Australian men, the development of strategies that promote healthy eating and positive patterns of physical activity and, in the longer term, more effective and culturally-appropriate interventions to improve health.<br /

Mitochondrial respiratory states and rate

As the knowledge base and importance of mitochondrial physiology to human health expands, the necessity for harmonizing the terminologyconcerning mitochondrial respiratory states and rates has become increasingly apparent. Thechemiosmotic theoryestablishes the mechanism of energy transformationandcoupling in oxidative phosphorylation. Theunifying concept of the protonmotive force providestheframeworkfordeveloping a consistent theoretical foundation ofmitochondrial physiology and bioenergetics.We followguidelines of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry(IUPAC)onterminology inphysical chemistry, extended by considerationsofopen systems and thermodynamicsof irreversible processes.Theconcept-driven constructive terminology incorporates the meaning of each quantity and alignsconcepts and symbols withthe nomenclature of classicalbioenergetics. We endeavour to provide a balanced view ofmitochondrial respiratory control and a critical discussion on reporting data of mitochondrial respiration in terms of metabolic flows and fluxes.Uniform standards for evaluation of respiratory states and rates will ultimatelycontribute to reproducibility between laboratories and thussupport the development of databases of mitochondrial respiratory function in species, tissues, and cells.Clarity of concept and consistency of nomenclature facilitate effective transdisciplinary communication, education, and ultimately further discovery

Current benzodiazepine issues

This article deals with some of the recent evidence bearing on the issues of the liability of benzodiazepines to lead to abuse, dependence, and adverse behavioral effects. Reviews of epidemiological, clinical and experimental literature indicated that the previous conclusion about abuse of these drugs still holds: the vast majority of the use of benzodiazepines is appropriate. Problems of nonmedical use arise nearly exclusively among people who abuse other drugs. Nevertheless, there are reasons for concern about patients who take benzodiazepines regularly for long periods of time. These drugs can produce physiological dependence when taken chronicaly, and although this does not appear to result in dose escalation or other evidence of “psychological dependence,” physiological dependence can result in patient discomfort if drug use is abruptly discontiniued. Also, physicians are currently prescribing shorter-acting benzodiazepines in preference to longer-acting benzodiazepines. The shorter-acting drugs can produce a more intense withdrawal syndrome following chronic administration. Furthermore, rates of use of benzodiazepines increase with age, and elderly patients are more likely than younger ones to take the drug chronically. The clearest adverse effect of benzodiazepines is impairment of memory. This, too, may be particular concern in older patients whose recall in the absence of drug is typically impaired relative to younger individuals, and who are more compromised following drug administration.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/46347/1/213_2005_Article_BF02245824.pd