2015 researcher's mini-symposium

Postgraduate researchers from the Faculties of Science, Engineering, Medicine & Surgery and Health Sciences gathered for a forum to present their research interests. The symposium was held in the afternoon of 30 January 2015 in the Engineering Lecture Theatre. The symposium promoted multi-disciplinary networking between various university faculties. Participants were invited based on research topic diversity and gender balance.peer-reviewe

Report: Rural Youth Health in Canada, Sweden and Australia

The small size coupled with remoteness of rural communities in Canada, Australia, and Sweden introduce challenges in accessing sufficient health services (1-3). The sparse health services in rural areas impose “the tyranny of distance” on rural and remote populations, necessitating lengthy travel times to receive care. Despite the increased challenges rural communities face, a dearth of research on rural health persists, particularly rural youth health (4,5). A broad scoping review was undertaken to identify literature regarding rural youth health in Canada, Australia, and Sweden. The studies were coded according to population focus, health focus, access, and general. The scoping review produced the Rural Youth Health Scoping Review Database, which provides an overview of the available research on rural youth health

Book Reviews

Book reviews by Edward A. Westin, John P. Frank, Charles W. Joiner, Roger Paul Peters, and Aaron I. Abell

Implementation considerations in a Complex Adaptive System

This report is provides guidance for research teams who are currently planning or are in the midst of implementing an e-health intervention in rural communities. It describes the important factors which need to be considered when scaling - up a pilot project from one context to another, and demonstrates what a successful project needs to maximize the probability that it will achieve the desired level of spread within the healthcare system. This report can be used as a reference for people who wish to implement a novel intervention into a new environment. Ideally it will be used in the early stages of intervention design to help researchers understand how a complex adaptive system functions and why navigating one is important for the outcome of their intervention. To begin, the report covers some basic terminology used when discussing complex adaptive systems and highlights the importance of working with these ideas moving forward. Next, in-depth discussions about sense-making, leverage points, self-organization, and agent-based modelling provide evidence of the complexity of implementation. Finally, the principle of antifragility is discussed, as well as a tangible example of an intervention which has been designed with antifragility in mind. Finally, the conclusion summarizes the key findings of the report, offers future directions, and identifies some of the limitations

Report: Telepaediatrics in Rural and Remote Australia and Canada

Rural and remote communities in Australia and Canada experience barriers to accessing healthcare services (1). These barriers are especially pronounced when attempting to access more specialized health care services, such as paediatric (2–4). Both countries have implemented programs that aim to bridge the gap between rural communities and specialized healthcare. One such service is telepaediatrics. Telepaediatrics, as part of telehealth, refers to any paediatric health-related service, network, or medical tool that transmits voice, data, images and information through telecommunication programs as part of providing health services (5–7). Telehealth services are ideal because they remove the need to relocate the rural patient to urban specialist sites (5–7). In a WHO survey (2010), 60% of member countries had telehealth services in place but only 30% of these programs were implemented as part of routin

Report: Interventions for Rural and Remote Youth Mental Health

Rural and remote communities in both Australia and Canada have a higher burden of mental illness relative to their urban counterparts. Suicide rates, particularly, are higher across all age groups among men in rural communities as compared to metropolitan areas. Mental health issues are especially present in younger populations within these communities. Additionally, rural and remote communities tend to have higher propo

Characterization of 11C-GSK1482160 for Targeting the P2X7 Receptor as a Biomarker for Neuroinflammation

The purinergic receptor subtype 7 (P2X7R) represents a novel molecular target for imaging neuroinflammation via PET. GSK1482160, a potent P2X7R antagonist, has high receptor affinity, high blood–brain barrier penetration, and the ability to be radiolabeled with 11C. We report the initial physical and biologic characterization of this novel ligand. Methods: 11C-GSK1482160 was synthesized according to published methods. Cell density studies were performed on human embryonic kidney cell lines expressing human P2X7R (HEK293-hP2X7R) and underwent Western blotting, an immunofluorescence assay, and radioimmunohistochemistry analysis using P2X7R polyclonal antibodies. Receptor density and binding potential were determined by saturation and association–disassociation kinetics, respectively. Peak immune response to lipopolysaccharide treatment in mice was determined in time course studies and analyzed via Iba1 and P2X7R Western blotting and Iba1 immunohistochemistry. Whole-animal biodistribution studies were performed on saline- or lipopolysaccharide-treated mice at 15, 30, and 60 min after radiotracer administration. Dynamic in vivo PET/CT was performed on the mice at 72 h after administration of saline, lipopolysaccharide, or lipopolysaccharide + blocking, and 2-compartment, 5-parameter tracer kinetic modeling of brain regions was performed. Results: P2X7R changed linearly with concentrations or cell numbers. For high-specific-activity 11C-GSK1482160, receptor density and Kd were 1.15 ± 0.12 nM and 3.03 ± 0.10 pmol/mg, respectively, in HEK293-hP2X7R membranes. Association constant kon, dissociation constant koff, and binding potential (kon/koff) in HEK293-hP2X7R cells were 0.2312 ± 0.01542 min−1⋅nM−1, 0.2547 ± 0.0155 min−1, and 1.0277 ± 0.207, respectively. Whole-brain Iba1 expression in lipopolysaccharide-treated mice peaked by 72 h on immunohistochemistry, and Western blot analysis of P2X7R for saline- and lipopolysaccharide-treated brain sections showed a respective 1.8- and 1.7-fold increase in signal enhancement at 72 h. Biodistribution of 11C-GSK1482160 in saline- and lipopolysaccharide-treated mice at 72 h was statistically significant across all tissues studied. In vivo dynamic 11C-GSK1482160 PET/CT of mice at 72 h after administration of saline, lipopolysaccharide, or lipopolysaccharide + blocking showed a 3.2-fold increase and 97% blocking by 30 min. The total distribution volumes for multiple cortical regions and the hippocampus showed statistically significant increases and were blocked by an excess of authentic standard GSK1482160. Conclusion: The current study provides compelling data that support the suitability of 11C-GSK1482160 as a radioligand targeting P2X7R, a biomarker of neuroinflammation

Bioaccumulation and histopathological effects of oil on a stony coral

Colonies of the shallow-water Caribbean coral Manicina areolata incorporated petroleum hydrocarbons into their tissues during exposure to water accommodated fractions of No. 2 fuel oil for three months. This contamination was not removed after depuration periods of up to two weeks. Although these corals remained alive, evidence of pathological responses was found which included impaired development of reproductive tissues, degeneration and loss of symbiotic zooxanthellae, and atrophy of mucous secretory cells and muscle bundles.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/24242/1/0000505.pd

Best Practices for Rural eMental Health

A review of recent literature related to eHealth technologies in Canada and Australia was conducted to better understand specific barriers and enablers for the uptake, acceptability, and success of eMental health programs. It has been shown that the more “rural” or “remote” a community, the access to mental health services decreases. By mitigating barriers and promoting enablers, successful eMental health inte

Second-order phase transition at the phase boundary through the FeRh first-order metamagnetic phase transition

The phase coexistence present through first-order phase transitions implies the presence of phase boundary walls, which can be of finite size. Better understanding of the phase boundary wall properties will provide an insight into the dynamics of first-order phase transitions. Here, by combining x-ray photon correlation spectroscopy investigations with magnetometry measurements of magnetic relaxation through the thermally activated first-order metamagnetic phase transition present in the B2-ordered FeRh alloy, we are able to isolate the dynamic behaviour of the phase boundary wall present in this system. These investigations reveal a change in the nature of the dynamic behaviour and critical scaling of the relaxation time centred around the point of maximum phase coexistence within the phase transition. All of this behaviour can be attributed to the introduction of exchange coupling across the phase boundary wall and raises questions about the role of latent heat in dynamic behaviour of this region