Assessment of the tocolytic nifedipine in preclinical primary models of preterm birth.

Spontaneous preterm birth is the leading cause of perinatal morbidity and mortality. Tocolytics are drugs used in cases of imminent preterm birth to inhibit uterine contractions. Nifedipine is a calcium channel blocking agent used to delay threatened spontaneous preterm birth, however, has limited efficacy and lacks preclinical data regarding mechanisms of action. It is unknown if nifedipine affects the pro-inflammatory environment associated with preterm labour pathophysiology and we hypothesise nifedipine only targets myometrial contraction rather than also mitigating inflammation. We assessed anti-inflammatory and anti-contractile effects of nifedipine on human myometrium using in vitro and ex vivo techniques, and a mouse model of preterm birth. We show that nifedipine treatment inhibited contractions in myometrial in vitro contraction assays (P = 0.004 vs. vehicle control) and potently blocked spontaneous and oxytocin-induced contractions in ex vivo myometrial tissue in muscle myography studies (P = 0.01 vs. baseline). Nifedipine treatment did not reduce gene expression or protein secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines in either cultured myometrial cells or ex vivo tissues. Although nifedipine could delay preterm birth in some mice, this was not consistent in all dams and was overall not statistically significant. Our data suggests nifedipine does not modulate preterm birth via inflammatory pathways in the myometrium, and this may account for its limited clinical efficacy.

Rethinking Suicide in Rural Australia: A study Protocol for Examining and Applying Knowledge of the Social Determinants to Improve Prevention in Non-Indigenous Populations.

Disproportionate rates of suicide in rural Australia in comparison to metropolitan areas pose a significant public health challenge. The dynamic interrelationship between mental and physical health, social determinants, and suicide in rural Australia is widely acknowledged. Advancement of this knowledge, however, remains hampered by a lack of adequate theory and methods to understand how these factors interact, and the translation of this knowledge into constructive strategies and solutions. This paper presents a protocol for generating a comprehensive dataset of suicide deaths and factors related to suicide in rural Australia, and for building a program of research to improve suicide prevention policy and practice to better address the social determinants of suicide in non-indigenous populations. The two-phased study will use a mixed-methods design informed by intersectionality theory. Phase One will extract, code, and analyse quantitative and qualitative data on suicide in regional and remote Australia from the National Coronial Information System (NCIS). Phase Two will analyse suicide prevention at three interrelated domains: policy, practice, and research, to examine alignment with evidence generated in Phase One. Findings from Phase One and Two will then be integrated to identify key points in suicide prevention policy and practice where action can be initiated.

Towards Scalable, Integrative Assessment of Children's Self-Regulatory Capabilities: New Applications of Digital Technology.

The assessment of self-regulation in children is of significant interest to researchers within education, clinical and developmental psychology, and clinical neuroscience, given its importance to adaptive functioning across a wide range of social, educational, interpersonal, educational and health domains. Because self-regulation is a complex, multidimensional construct, a range of assessment approaches have been developed to assess its various components including behavioural, cognitive and emotional domains. In recent years, digital technology has been increasingly used to enhance or supplement existing measurement approaches; however, developments have predominantly focused on translating traditional testing paradigms into digital formats. There is a need for more innovation in digital psychological assessments that harness modern mechanisms such as game-based design and interactivity. Such approaches have potential for the development of scalable, adaptable universal approaches to screening and assessment of children's self-regulatory capabilities, to facilitate early identification of difficulties in individuals and also guide planning and decision-making at a population level. We highlight a novel, innovative digital assessment tool for children called Rumble's Quest, a new measure of children's socio-emotional functioning that shows promise as an integrative assessment of well-being and self-regulation, and which incorporates both self-report and direct assessment of cognitive self-regulation. This tool is scalable, can be integrated into normal classroom activities, and forms part of a comprehensive prevention support system that can be used to guide stakeholders' decision-making regarding early intervention and support at the individual, classroom, school and community level. We finish by discussing other innovative possibilities for psychological assessment with children, using new and emerging technologies and assessment approaches.

Neuroscience in gambling policy and treatment: an interdisciplinary perspective.

Neuroscientific explanations of gambling disorder can help people make sense of their experiences and guide the development of psychosocial interventions. However, the societal perceptions and implications of these explanations are not always clear or helpful. Two workshops in 2013 and 2014 brought together multidisciplinary researchers aiming to improve the clinical and policy-related effects of neuroscience research on gambling. The workshops revealed that neuroscience can be used to improve identification of the dangers of products used in gambling. Additionally, there was optimism associated with the diagnostic and prognostic uses of neuroscience in problem gambling and the provision of novel tools (eg, virtual reality) to assess the effectiveness of new policy interventions before their implementation. Other messages from these workshops were that neuroscientific models of decision making could provide a strong rationale for precommitment strategies and that interdisciplinary collaborations are needed to reduce the harms of gambling.

Early impacts of Communities for Children on children and families: findings from a quasi-experimental cohort study.

BACKGROUND: There have been few evaluations of national area-based interventions. This study evaluated the early effects of Commmunities for Children (CfC) on children and their families and whether the effectiveness differed for more disadvantaged families. METHODS: A quasi-experimental cohort study in socioeconomically disadvantaged communities in Australia. Mothers of children aged 2-3 years participated at wave 1; 1488 children in CfC communities and 714 children in comparison communities. Outcome measures included child health and development, family functioning and parenting, and services and community. RESULTS: After controlling for background factors, there were beneficial effects associated with CfC. At wave 3, in CfC areas children had higher receptive vocabulary (mean difference (MD) 0.25, 95% CI -0.02 to 0.51; p=0.07), parents showed less harsh parenting (MD -0.14, 95% CI -0.30 to 0.02; p=0.08) and higher parenting self-efficacy (MD 0.11, 95% CI 0.00 to 0.21; p=0.04). Fewer children living in CfC sites were living in a jobless household (OR 0.56, 95% CI 0.32 to 0.95; p=0.03) but children's physical functioning (MD -0.26, 95% CI -0.53 to 0.00; p=0.05) was worse in CfC sites. For children living in households with mothers with low education there were reduced child injuries requiring medical treatment (MD -0.61, 95% CI -0.07 to -1.13; p=0.03) and increased receptive vocabulary (MD 0.57, 95% CI 0.06 to 1.08; p=0.03). CONCLUSIONS: CfC showed some benefits for child receptive vocabulary, parenting and reducing jobless households and two adverse effects. Children living in the most disadvantaged households also benefited.