Meeting the primary health care needs of refugees and asylum seekers

Australia currently accepts over 13,000 refugee entrants each year. A refugee is a person who, “owing to a well founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside of the country of his nationality and is unable or owing to such fear is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country”. An asylum seeker is a person seeking protection as a refugee but whose claim is still being reviewed. The application process may take considerable time. Refugees are provided with the same rights to healthcare as other Australian permanent residents, however asylum seekers have complex visa conditions and not all are eligible to use Medicare funded services. This RESEARCH ROUNDup examines the health needs and associated primary health care challenges for refugees and asylum seekers in Australia

Effects Of Dispersive 2-Photon Transitions On Femtosecond Pulse-Propagation In Semiconductor Wave-Guides

It is demonstrated that the frequency spectrum of femtosecond pulses becomes highly asymmetric when propagating as transverse magnetic modes in semiconductor multiple quantum well channel waveguides at photon energies near half the band gap. Calculations based on the frequency dispersion in two-photon transitions provide results consistent with the experiment

Coordinated primary health care for refugees: a best practice framework for Australia Department of health series: what works to achieve better primary health care for vulnerable consumers?

APHCRI Conversations was a regular program of presentations held at the Department of Health to facilitate exchange between APHCRI Network researchers and Department policymakers. Topics are developed jointly with the Department of Health and involve a range of speakers from APHCRI, including CRE invited experts, CRE Chief Investigators and stream project Chief Investigator

Mediation of Endogenous β-endorphin by Tetrandrine to Lower Plasma Glucose in Streptozotocin-induced Diabetic Rats

The role of β-endorphin in the plasma glucose-lowering action of tetrandrine in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats (STZ-diabetic rats) was investigated. The plasma glucose concentration was assessed by the glucose oxidase method. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to determine the plasma level of β-endorphin-like immunoreactivity (BER). The mRNA levels of glucose transporter subtype 4 (GLUT4) in soleus muscle and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) in the liver of STZ-diabetic rats were detected by Northern blotting analysis. The expressed protein of GLUT4 or PEPCK was characterized by Western blotting analysis. Tetrandrine dose-dependently increased plasma BER in a manner parallel to the decrease of plasma glucose in STZ-diabetic rats. Moreover, the plasma glucose-lowering effect of tetrandrine was inhibited by naloxone and naloxonazine at doses sufficient to block opioid μ-receptors. Further, tetrandrine failed to produce plasma glucose-lowering action in opioid μ-receptor knockout diabetic mice. Bilateral adrenalectomy eliminated the plasma glucose-lowering effect and plasma BER-elevating effect of tetrandrine in STZ-diabetic rats. Both effects were abolished by treatment with hexamethonium or pentolinium at doses sufficient to block nicotinic receptors. Tetrandrine enhanced BER release directly from the isolated adrenal medulla of STZ-diabetic rats and this action was abolished by the blockade of nicotinic receptors. Repeated intravenous administration of tetrandrine (1.0 mg/kg) to STZ-diabetic rats for 3 days resulted in an increase in the mRNA and protein levels of the GLUT4 in soleus muscle, in addition to the lowering of plasma glucose. Similar treatment with tetrandrine reversed the elevated mRNA and protein levels of PEPCK in the liver of STZ-diabetic rats. The obtained results suggest that tetrandrine may induce the activation of nicotinic receptors in adrenal medulla to enhance the secretion of β-endorphin, which could stimulate opioid μ-receptors to increase glucose utilization or/and reduce hepatic gluconeogenesis to lower plasma glucose levels in STZ-diabetic rats

Vocal cord dysfunction diagnosed by four-dimensional dynamic volume computed tomography in patients with difficult-to-treat asthma: A case series

Patients with asthma may also have vocal cord dysfunction (VCD), which leads to poor control of the asthma. Once patients are diagnosed with difficult-to-treat asthma with poor control, VCD should be excluded or treated accordingly. The gold standard for diagnosis of VCD is to perform a laryngoscopy. However, this procedure is invasive and may not be suitable for patients with difficult-to-treat asthma. Four-dimensional (4D) dynamic volume computed tomography (CT) is a noninvasive method for quantification of laryngeal movement, and can serve as an alternative for the diagnosis of VCD. Herein, we present a series of five cases with difficult-to-treat asthma patients who were diagnosed with VCD by 4D dynamic volume CT. Clinicians should be alert to the possibility of VCD when poor control is noted in patients with asthma. Early diagnosis by noninvasive 4D dynamic volume CT can decrease excessive doses of inhaled corticosteroids

Serum leptin is associated with cardiometabolic risk and predicts metabolic syndrome in Taiwanese adults

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Leptin is associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD); however, few studies have assessed its relationship with metabolic syndrome, especially in an Asian population. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to assess leptin levels and evaluate its association with CVD and metabolic syndrome.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In 2009, 957 subjects, who underwent a routine physical examination and choose leptin examination, were selected to participate. Participants (269 females and 688 males) were stratified according to leptin level quartiles. Metabolic syndrome was defined by NCEP ATP III using waist circumference cutoffs modified for Asian populations, and CVD risk was determined using the Framingham Heart Study profile.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Leptin levels were correlated with CVD risk in men and women. With the exception of fasting plasma glucose, increased leptin levels were observed as factors associated with metabolic syndrome increased in both males and females. After adjusting for age, an association between leptin levels and metabolic syndrome was observed. After adjusting for age alone or with tobacco use, subjects in the highest leptin quartile had a higher risk of having metabolic syndrome than those in the lowest quartile (OR = 6.14 and 2.94 for men and women, respectively). After further adjustment for BMI, metabolic syndrome risk remained significantly increased with increasing leptin quartiles in men. Finally, increased leptin levels were a predictor of metabolic syndrome in men and women.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Serum leptin levels are correlated with CVD risk and metabolic syndrome. Analysis of leptin as part of routine physical examinations may prove beneficial for early diagnosis of metabolic syndrome.</p