Objectives: To evaluate a 12-month trial of an evidence-based non-residential treatment program for Indigenous clients with alcohol problems, offering three streams of care: pharmacotherapy, psychological and social support. Methods: Process evaluation of program implementation; outcome evaluation of client outcomes. Results: Implementation: despite constraints of time and remoteness, the trial...

BACKGROUND: Asia is experiencing a type 2 diabetes epidemic, but prevalence differs by ethnicity and level of socioeconomic development. Singapore and Mauritius have implemented comprehensive campaigns to address this public health problem. We compared diabetes and obesity prevalence trends among Chinese and South Asians living in Singapore and Mauritius to determine the contribution of ethn...

Comparison of the prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in adults aged 25-64 years in selected Pacific Island countries using whole blood and plasma glucose cut-off points. Unit records of STEPwise approach to Surveillance (STEPS) surveys obtained from Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga Ministries of Health; T2DM prevalence recalculated using whole blood and plasma cut-off points. Shaded bars indic...

BACKGROUND: The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence and risk factors of prediabetes and diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetes mellitus (DM) in rural Bangladesh. METHODS: Using a population-based cluster random sampling strategy, 3104 adults aged ≥30 years were recruited. Fasting capillary blood glucose, blood pressure, height, weight, waist circumference, and knowledge, att...

BACKGROUND: Cardiac conduction abnormalities are observed early in the progression of type 1 diabetes (T1D), but the mechanism(s) involved are undefined. Connexin 43, a critical component of ventricular gap junctions, depends on tyrosine phosphorylation status to modulate channel conductance; changes in connexin 43 content, distribution, and/or phosphorylation status may be involved in cardi...

AIM: To describe the first foods of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander infants and young children who were recruited to a nutrition promotion and anaemia prevention program conducted from 2010 to 2012, in six remote communities across northern Australia. METHODS: Food records (24-hour diet history, food variety checklist) were completed on recruitment by interview with a parent or car...

Adeno-associated virus (AAV) has become one of the most promising gene transfer tools for gene therapy. This work aims to evaluate tropism, gene transfer efficiency and safety of AAV9 vectors produced with recombinant baculovirus (rBac)-based system. AAV9-CMV-GFP and AAV9-CBA-GFP were produced using a rBac system, 1 × 10(11) particles of each vectors were administered intravenously (i.v.) into ...

Many acute cardiovascular disease states are associated with neutrophil infiltration of myocardium and subsequent release of superoxide (O2 (-) ) and myeloperoxidase (MPO), which contribute to inflammatory reactions. B-Type natriuretic peptide (BNP) is known to exert anti-inflammatory and antifibrotic effects, but it is not known whether these may include interactions with neutrophils. In neutr...

Observational studies indicate that psychological stress may contribute to the pathogenesis of hypertension and this may be further accentuated by factors such as endothelial dysfunction. On this basis, we aimed to determine whether oxidative stress enhances pressor responses to stressful stimuli and whether augmenting endothelial function by increasing the transport of L-arginine can counter t...

HDAC inhibitors can regulate gene expression by post-translational modification of histone as well as nonhistone proteins. Often studied at single loci, increased histone acetylation is the paradigmatic mechanism of action. However, little is known of the extent of genome-wide changes in cells stimulated by the hydroxamic acids, TSA and SAHA. In this article, we map vascular chromatin modificat...

OBJECTIVE: To examine the influence of age and gender on the development of proximal gastric pouch distension (PPD) after laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) surgery. BACKGROUND: PPD is the most common reason for revision with adjustable gastric banding surgery. Maintaining the anatomical integrity of bariatric surgery is a key to long-term success. It is therefore important to unde...

With animal models, death as an intentional end point is ethically unacceptable. However, in the study of septic shock, death is still considered the only relevant end point. We defined eight humane end points into four stages of severity (from healthy to moribund) and used to design a clinically relevant scoring tool, termed "the mouse clinical assessment score for sepsis" (M-CASS). The M-CASS...

OBJECTIVES: Glucose metabolism plays a fundamental role in supporting the growth, proliferation and effector functions of T cells. We investigated the impact of HIV infection on key processes that regulate glucose uptake and metabolism in primary CD4 and CD8 T cells. DESIGN AND METHODS: Thirty-eight HIV-infected treatment-naive, 35 HIV+/combination antiretroviral therapy, seven HIV+ long-ter...

Objective This study investigated the impact of stress on effectors of the l-arginine/nitric oxide (NO) system including the endogenous inhibitor asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA). Methods Black (n = 168) and white (n = 206) South African teachers were exposed to a mental and a physical stressor for 1 minute, respectively. Serum samples for determination of l-arginine, NO metabolites, ADMA, an...

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer affects a wide range of working-age people. Little is known about the consequent work limitations. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to understand the extent and changing nature of work-related limitations of middle-aged (45-64 years) people over the first 12 months of colorectal cancer. METHODS: Surveys were administered to participants recruited via...

BACKGROUND: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which encompasses ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD), is believed to be caused by abnormal host immune responses to the intestinal microbiome. However, the precise etiology of IBD remains unknown. Lipid metabolism and signaling are suggested to play important roles in inflammation with significant implications for IBD. In this study, ...

Two systematic reviews concluded that there was limited evidence to support an association between physical activity and sedentary behavior and developing low back pain (LBP). The aim of this study was to examine the associations of physical activity and television viewing time with LBP intensity and disability in community-based adults.Five thousand fifty-eight participants (44% men) of the Au...

Low back pain (LBP) and obesity are major public health problems; however, the relationship between body composition and low back pain in men is unknown. This study aims to examine the association between body composition and LBP and disability in a population-based sample of men, as well as the factors that may affect this relationship. Nine hundred seventy-eight male participants from the Gee...

Inflammation plays an important role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Recent studies indicate that macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is a potent proinflammatory cytokine which mediates the inflammatory process during atherosclerosis. The polymorphism of MIF gene (rs755622 [-173G/C], rs1007888, and rs2096525) were genotyped by TaqMan single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyp...

Type A acute aortic dissection is a life-threatening vascular emergency because of its high morbidity and mortality. Platelet is a pivotal ingredient involved in the development of acute aortic dissection. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether mean platelet volume (MPV)/platelet count ratio predicts in-hospital complications and long-term mortality in type A acute aortic dissection. In...