Human Research Ethics Committee Experiences and Views About Children's Participation in Research: Results From the MESSI Study.

As part of a larger study, Australian Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) members and managers were surveyed about their decision-making and views about social research studies with child participants. Responses of 229 HREC members and 42 HREC managers are reported. While most HREC members had received ethical training, HREC training and guidelines specific to research involving children were rare. Most applications involving children had to go through a full ethical review, but few adverse events were reported to HRECs regarding the conduct of the studies. Revisions to study proposals requested by HRECs were mostly related to consent processes and age-appropriate language. One-third of HREC members said that they would approve research on any topic. Most were also concerned that the methodology was appropriate, and the risks and benefits were clearly articulated. Specific training and guidance are needed to increase HREC members' confidence to judge ethical research with children

Channelled spectrum liquid refractometer

We describe an experimental demonstration of a novel technique for liquid refractometry. A channeled spectrum is produced from an optical beam generated by a diode laser operating below threshold by intercepting half of the beam with a liquid cell. The spectrum is analyzed using a grating and a linear CCD array and provides information on the refractive index of the liquid. The experimental results show that accuracies of better than 0.3% in the index may be obtained with the present method

DESIGNING AND TESTING A PARK-BASED VISITOR SURVEY

This technical report is part of a broader national project ‘Systematic and strategic collection and use of visitor information in protected area management’, funded by Sustainable Tourism Cooperative Research Centre (STCRC), and conducted in partnership with protected area agencies across Australia. The aim of this report is to provide a systematic approach to using a set of core variables to collect data in a way that can be consistently applied across Australian protected areas. This information is most relevant to park-level management, but is also of central interest for corporate reporting. An associated aim was to develop and test a questionnaire for collecting these data. The questionnaire was developed and tested in collaboration with the WA Department of Environment and Conservation (WA DEC) and Parks Australia (PA). Surveys were conducted in Yanchep National Park, a moderately sized peri-urban park managed by WA DEC, in April 2008 and in Booderee National Park, NSW, which encompasses marine features and a botanic garden, and is managed by Parks Australia (PA), in January 2009. In WA following the survey, a focus group was held with staff to obtain their feedback on the efficacy of the questionnaire. The following recommendations are based on statistical analyses of the results, feedback from the focus group, and the observations of the researchers conducting the surveys

Mammography Facility Characteristics Associated With Interpretive Accuracy of Screening Mammography

BackgroundAlthough interpretive performance varies substantially among radiologists, such variation has not been examined among mammography facilities. Understanding sources of facility variation could become a foundation for improving interpretive performance.MethodsIn this cross-sectional study conducted between 1996 and 2002, we surveyed 53 facilities to evaluate associations between facility structure, interpretive process characteristics, and interpretive performance of screening mammography (ie, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value [PPV1], and the likelihood of cancer among women who were referred for biopsy [PPV2]). Measures of interpretive performance were ascertained prospectively from mammography interpretations and cancer data collected by the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium. Logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses estimated the association between facility characteristics and mammography interpretive performance or accuracy (area under the ROC curve [AUC]). All P values were two-sided.ResultsOf the 53 eligible facilities, data on 44 could be analyzed. These 44 facilities accounted for 484 463 screening mammograms performed on 237 669 women, of whom 2686 were diagnosed with breast cancer during follow-up. Among the 44 facilities, mean sensitivity was 79.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 74.3% to 84.9%), mean specificity was 90.2% (95% CI = 88.3% to 92.0%), mean PPV1 was 4.1% (95% CI = 3.5% to 4.7%), and mean PPV2 was 38.8% (95% CI = 32.6% to 45.0%). The facilities varied statistically significantly in specificity (P < .001), PPV1 (P < .001), and PPV2 (P = .002) but not in sensitivity (P = .99). AUC was higher among facilities that offered screening mammograms alone vs those that offered screening and diagnostic mammograms (0.943 vs 0.911, P = .006), had a breast imaging specialist interpreting mammograms vs not (0.932 vs 0.905, P = .004), did not perform double reading vs independent double reading vs consensus double reading (0.925 vs 0.915 vs 0.887, P = .034), or conducted audit reviews two or more times per year vs annually vs at an unknown frequency (0.929 vs 0.904 vs 0.900, P = .018).ConclusionMammography interpretive performance varies statistically significantly by facility

Dietary strategies for remission of type 2 diabetes: A narrative review

Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) is a growing health issue globally, which, until recently, was considered to be both chronic and progressive. Although having lifestyle and dietary changes as core components, treatments have focused on optimising glycaemic control using pharmaceutical agents. With data from bariatric surgery and, more recently, total diet replacement (TDR) studies that have set out to achieve remission, remission of T2DM has emerged as a treatment goal. A group of specialist dietitians and medical practitioners was convened, supported by the British Dietetic Association and Diabetes UK, to discuss dietary approaches to T2DM and consequently undertook a review of the available clinical trial and practice audit data regarding dietary approaches to remission of T2DM. Current available evidence suggests that a range of dietary approaches, including low energy diets (mostly using TDR) and low carbohydrate diets, can be used to support the achievement of euglycaemia and potentially remission. The most significant predictor of remission is weight loss and, although euglycaemia may occur on a low carbohydrate diet without weight loss, which does not meet some definitions of remission, it may rather constitute a ‘state of mitigation’ of T2DM. This technical point may not be considered as important for people living with T2DM, aside from that it may only last as long as the carbohydrate restriction is maintained. The possibility of actively treating T2DM along with the possibility of achieving remission should be discussed by healthcare professionals with people living with T2DM, along with a range of different dietary approaches that can help to achieve this

The impact of point mutations in the human androgen receptor : classification of mutations on the basis of transcriptional activity

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Androgen Receptor Modulation Optimized for Response (ARMOR) Phase I and II Studies: Galeterone for the Treatment of Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer

Purpose: Galeterone is a selective, multitargeted agent that inhibits CYP17, antagonizes the androgen receptor (AR), and reduces AR expression in prostate cancer cells by causing an increase in AR protein degradation. These open-label phase I and II studies [Androgen Receptor Modulation Optimized for Response-1 (ARMOR1) and ARMOR2 part 1] evaluated the efficacy and safety of galeterone in patients with treatment-naive nonmetastatic or metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) and established a dose for further study. Experimental Design: In ARMOR1, 49 patients received increasing doses (650–2,600 mg) of galeterone in capsule formulation; 28 patients in ARMOR2 part 1 received increasing doses (1,700–3,400 mg) of galeterone in tablet formulation for 12 weeks. Patients were evaluated biweekly for safety and efficacy, and pharmacokinetic parameters were assessed. Results: In ARMOR1, across all doses, 49.0% (24/49) achieved a ≥30% decline in prostate-specific antigen (PSA; PSA30) and 22.4% (11/49) demonstrated a ≥50% PSA decline (PSA50). In ARMOR2 part 1, across all doses, PSA30 was 64.0% (16/25) and PSA50 was 48.0% (12/25). In the 2,550-mg dose cohort, PSA30 was 72.7% (8/11) and PSA50 was 54.5% (6/11). Galeterone was well tolerated; the most common adverse events were fatigue, increased liver enzymes, gastrointestinal events, and pruritus. Most were mild or moderate in severity and required no action and there were no apparent mineralocorticoid excess (AME) events. Conclusions: The efficacy and safety from ARMOR1 and ARMOR2 part 1 and the pharmacokinetic results support the galeterone tablet dose of 2,550 mg/d for further study. Galeterone was well tolerated and demonstrated pharmacodynamic changes consistent with its selective, multifunctional AR signaling inhibition

(Against a) Theory of Audience Engagement with News

Audience engagement has become a key concept in contemporary discussions on how news companies relate to the public and create sustainable business models. These discussions are irrevocably tied to practices of monitoring, harvesting and analyzing audience behaviours with metrics, which is increasingly becoming the new currency of the media economy. This article argues this growing tendency to equate engagement to behavioural analytics, and study it primarily through quantifiable data, is limiting. In response, we develop a heuristic theory of audience engagement with news comprising four dimensions—the technical-behavioural, emotional, normative and spatiotemporal—and explicate these in terms of different relations of engagement between human-to-self, human-to-human, human-to-content, human-to-machine, and machine-to-machine. Paradoxically, this model comprises a specific theory of audience engagement while simultaneously making visible that constructing a theory of audience engagement is an impossible task. The article concludes by articulating methodological premises, which future empirical research on audience engagement should consider

Observations of red-giant variable stars by Aboriginal Australians

Aboriginal Australians carefully observe the properties and positions of stars, including both overt and subtle changes in their brightness, for subsistence and social application. These observations are encoded in oral tradition. I examine two Aboriginal oral traditions from South Australia that describe the periodic changing brightness in three pulsating, red-giant variable stars: Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis), Aldebaran (Alpha Tauri), and Antares (Alpha Scorpii). The Australian Aboriginal accounts stand as the only known descriptions of pulsating variable stars in any Indigenous oral tradition in the world. Researchers examining these oral traditions over the last century, including anthropologists and astronomers, missed the description of these stars as being variable in nature as the ethnographic record contained several misidentifications of stars and celestial objects. Arguably, ethnographers working on Indigenous Knowledge Systems should have academic training in both the natural and social sciences.Comment: The Australian Journal of Anthropology (2018

Dimeticone 4% liquid gel found to kill all lice and eggs with a single 15 minute application

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Dimeticone 4% lotion is an effective and widely accepted treatment for head louse infestation. However, it is a highly mobile fluid that some people find difficult to apply and is mainly left on the hair for 8 hours or overnight. User preference is for a more manageable and viscous product that can be used with a short application time.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>This proof of concept study in 41 people investigated dimeticone 4% liquid gel, a product that is easier to apply than the lotion, applied for 15 minutes on two occasions a week apart. We found that head lice were eliminated from all participants following the first application of product. We did not find lice of any stage on any participant during four post treatment assessments and particularly, unlike other treatments, no young nymphs on days 1 and 6 prior to the second treatment, indicating ovicidal as well as pediculicidal activity.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Dimeticone 4% liquid gel has demonstrated efficacy greater than other similar products and the evidence obtained indicates elimination of head louse infestation with a single 15 minute application.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>Current Controlled Trials <a href="http://www.controlled-trials.com/ISRCTN59227204">ISRCTN59227204</a></p