Policy briefs from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health: report prepared for the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing

This major report, a key deliverable of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (ALSWH) to the Australian Government Department of Health, contains 10 policy briefs which overview evidence on mental health, violence and abuse, sexual health, reproductive health, pregnancy and maternal health, weight and weight gain, nutrition, physical activity and sedentary behaviour, chronic conditions and housing and care for older women

Do pediatric gastroenterology doctors address pediatric obesity?

Objectives: To assess how often obesity is acknowledged at pediatric gastroenterology outpatient visits. Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed to identify obese children seen at a gastroenterology subspecialty clinic over a 1-year period of time; 132 children were identified. Demographics, obesity comorbidities, reasons for referral, diagnosis of obesity, and a plan to address obesity were abstracted. Chi-square or Fisher’s exact tests were used to examine statistical associations. Results: Only 49% of children were given a diagnosis of obesity. In total, 52% of children were given a body mass index reduction plan. Those diagnosed with obesity were more likely to receive a body mass index reduction plan (p \u3c 0.0001). Younger children and males were more likely to receive an obesity diagnosis (p = 0.002 and p = 0.02, respectively). Diagnosis of obesity was more likely in patients with obesity-related comorbidities (p = 0.0004) and those referred for obesity or related comorbidities (p = 0.01). Conclusion: Obesity is diagnosed less than 50% of the time in pediatric gastroenterology outpatient clinics. To increase opportunities for addressing childhood obesity in the pediatric gastroenterology outpatient setting, further investigation of barriers and optimal provider education is urgently required

Anaerobic biodegradation of citric acid in the presence of Ni and U at alkaline pH; impact on metal fate and speciation

Biodegradation of citrate occurred under LLW repository relevant conditions with Ni and U present. Citrate biodegradation led to the formation of insoluble Ni sulfides or nanocrystalline U(iv)–phosphate and may promote Ni/U retention in LLW repositories.</jats:p

Does device matter? Impacts of food-specific inhibition training on food choice, liking and approach bias when delivered by smartphone or computer.

Food-specific inhibition training (FSIT) requires users to inhibit responses to energy-dense (ED) food stimuli within a reaction time game. FSIT reduces choice and liking of ED foods. Research with the public shows larger effects when FSIT is delivered by computer versus smartphone. This pre-registered study is the first to compare computer-FSIT versus smartphone-FSIT in a controlled setting. Three-hundred-and-thirty-one adults were randomised to computer-FSIT, smartphone-FSIT or non-food control training (computer-delivered). In session 1, participants completed baseline measures of impulsive food choice, food approach bias (approach/avoid implicit association test), and food liking ratings, before completing eight minutes of FSIT/control training. In session 2, participants repeated the same training task, followed by the same measures of food choice, approach bias and liking. We hypothesised that FSIT groups would show healthier food choices, lower ED food liking, and reduced ED food approach bias at post-training compared to control. We expected no statistically significant differences between the two FSIT groups. Post-exclusions, data for 259 participants was analysed. Contrary to predictions, there was no evidence of significant group differences on any of the outcome measures. Baseline measures suggest participants already showed high approach to healthy foods, which may explain these null results

Dispersion, solvent and metal effects in the binding of gold cations to alkynyl ligands: implications for Au(i) catalysis.

The coordination modes of the [Au(PPh3)](+) cation to metal alkynyl complexes have been investigated. On addition to ruthenium, a vinylidene complex, [Ru(η(5)-C5H5)(PPh3)2([double bond, length as m-dash]C[double bond, length as m-dash]CPh{AuPPh3})](+), is obtained while addition to a gold(iii) compound gives di- and trinuclear gold complexes depending on the conditions employed. In the trinuclear species, a gold(i) cation is sandwiched between two gold(iii) alkynyl complexes, suggesting that coordination of multiple C-C triple bonds to gold is facile

The role of configurality in the Thatcher illusion: an ERP study.

The Thatcher illusion (Thompson in Perception, 9, 483-484, 1980) is often explained as resulting from recognising a distortion of configural information when 'Thatcherised' faces are upright but not when inverted. However, recent behavioural studies suggest that there is an absence of perceptual configurality in upright Thatcherised faces (Donnelly et al. in Attention, Perception & Psychophysics, 74, 1475-1487, 2012) and both perceptual and decisional sources of configurality in behavioural tasks with Thatcherised stimuli (Mestry, Menneer et al. in Frontiers in Psychology, 3, 456, 2012). To examine sources linked to the behavioural experience of the illusion, we studied inversion and Thatcherisation of faces (comparing across conditions in which no features, the eyes, the mouth, or both features were Thatcherised) on a set of event-related potential (ERP) components. Effects of inversion were found at the N170, P2 and P3b. Effects of eye condition were restricted to the N170 generated in the right hemisphere. Critically, an interaction of orientation and eye Thatcherisation was found for the P3b amplitude. Results from an individual with acquired prosopagnosia who can discriminate Thatcherised from typical faces but cannot categorise them or perceive the illusion (Mestry, Donnelly et al. in Neuropsychologia, 50, 3410-3418, 2012) only differed from typical participants at the P3b component. Findings suggest the P3b links most directly to the experience of the illusion. Overall, the study showed evidence consistent with both perceptual and decisional sources and the need to consider both in relation to configurality

Terminal NK cell maturation is controlled by concerted actions of T-bet and Zeb2 and is essential for melanoma rejection

Natural killer (NK) cell maturation is a tightly controlled process that endows NK cells with functional competence and the capacity to recognize target cells. Here, we found that the transcription factor (TF) Zeb2 was the most highly induced TF during NK cell maturation. Zeb2 is known to control epithelial to mesenchymal transition, but its role in immune cells is mostly undefined. Targeted deletion of Zeb2 resulted in impaired NK cell maturation, survival, and exit from the bone marrow. NK cell function was preserved, but mice lacking Zeb2 in NK cells were more susceptible to B16 melanoma lung metastases. Reciprocally, ectopic expression of Zeb2 resulted in a higher frequency of mature NK cells in all organs. Moreover, the immature phenotype of Zeb2(-/-) NK cells closely resembled that of Tbx21(-/-) NK cells. This was caused by both a dependence of Zeb2 expression on T-bet and a probable cooperation of these factors in gene regulation. Transgenic expression of Zeb2 in Tbx21(-/-) NK cells partially restored a normal maturation, establishing that timely induction of Zeb2 by T-bet is an essential event during NK cell differentiation. Finally, this novel transcriptional cascade could also operate in human as T-bet and Zeb2 are similarly regulated in mouse and human NK cells

Opportunities and challenges of delivering digital clinical trials: lessons learned from a randomised controlled trial of an online behavioural intervention for children and young people

Background: Despite being the gold standard of research to determine effectiveness, randomised controlled trials (RCTs) often struggle with participant recruitment, engagement and retention. These issues may be exacerbated when recruiting vulnerable populations, such as participants with mental health issues. We aimed to update understanding of the scope of these problems in trials of health technology, and identify possible solutions through reflecting on experiences from an exemplar trial (Online Remote Behavioural Intervention for Tics; ORBIT).Method: We extracted anonymised data on recruitment, retention and requests for more funding and time from trials funded by the largest funder of health technology trials in the UK (the National Institute of Health Research Health Technology Assessment) between 2010-2020, and compared these with data from a recent, successful trial (ORBIT). ORBIT aimed to assess the clinical- and cost-effectiveness of blended online and human behavioural therapy for tics in young people. Many of the trial procedures, including recruitment, the intervention and data collection, were undertaken online. Results: Data were extracted on 51 trials conducted between 2010 and 2020. 60% of trials failed to reach their original recruitment target and only 44% achieved their follow-up in the specified time frame. In contrast, ORBIT recruited to target and achieved 90% follow up. We posit that these achievements are related to a) judicious use of digital technology for trial procedures and b) adequate numbers of highly trained and motivated trial staff. We provide details of both these to help other research teams plan and cost for successful trials. Conclusion: An approach combining human and online methods may be advantageous in facilitating trial delivery, particularly in paediatric mental health services. Given the importance of successful clinical trials in advancing healthcare delivery and the waste of human and economic resources associated with unsuccessfully delivered trials, it is imperative that trials are appropriately costed and future research focusses on improving trial design and delivery. Trial registration: The ORBIT Trial is registered with ISRTCN (ISRCTN70758207) and clinicaltrials.gov (NCT03483493)

FAIR Data Pipeline: provenance-driven data management for traceable scientific workflows

Modern epidemiological analyses to understand and combat the spread of disease depend critically on access to, and use of, data. Rapidly evolving data, such as data streams changing during a disease outbreak, are particularly challenging. Data management is further complicated by data being imprecisely identified when used. Public trust in policy decisions resulting from such analyses is easily damaged and is often low, with cynicism arising where claims of "following the science" are made without accompanying evidence. Tracing the provenance of such decisions back through open software to primary data would clarify this evidence, enhancing the transparency of the decision-making process. Here, we demonstrate a Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR) data pipeline developed during the COVID-19 pandemic that allows easy annotation of data as they are consumed by analyses, while tracing the provenance of scientific outputs back through the analytical source code to data sources. Such a tool provides a mechanism for the public, and fellow scientists, to better assess the trust that should be placed in scientific evidence, while allowing scientists to support policy-makers in openly justifying their decisions. We believe that tools such as this should be promoted for use across all areas of policy-facing research