Co-adsorbed self-assembled monolayer enables high-performance perovskite and organic solar cells.

Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) have become pivotal in achieving high-performance perovskite solar cells (PSCs) and organic solar cells (OSCs) by significantly minimizing interfacial energy losses. In this study, we propose a co-adsorb (CA) strategy employing a novel small molecule, 2-chloro-5-(trifluoromethyl)isonicotinic acid (PyCA-3F), introducing at the buried interface between 2PACz and the perovskite/organic layers. This approach effectively diminishes 2PACz's aggregation, enhancing surface smoothness and increasing work function for the modified SAM layer, thereby providing a flattened buried interface with a favorable heterointerface for perovskite. The resultant improvements in crystallinity, minimized trap states, and augmented hole extraction and transfer capabilities have propelled power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) beyond 25% in PSCs with a p-i-n structure (certified at 24.68%). OSCs employing the CA strategy achieve remarkable PCEs of 19.51% based on PM1:PTQ10:m-BTP-PhC6 photoactive system. Notably, universal improvements have also been achieved for the other two popular OSC systems. After a 1000-hour maximal power point tracking, the encapsulated PSCs and OSCs retain approximately 90% and 80% of their initial PCEs, respectively. This work introduces a facile, rational, and effective method to enhance the performance of SAMs, realizing efficiency breakthroughs in both PSCs and OSCs with a favorable p-i-n device structure, along with improved operational stability.

Piezophototronic Effect Enhanced Flexible Tunneling Devices by Separating the Photosensitive Layer and the Piezoelectric Modulation Layer.

The piezo-phototronic effect uses the piezoelectric potential/piezoelectric charge generated by the piezoelectric semiconductor material to regulate the energy band structure and photogenerated carrier behavior at the interface/junction, thereby modulating the device's performance. The positive/negative piezoelectric charges generated at the interface of piezoelectric semiconductors can reduce the electron/hole barriers and thus enhance the transport of photogenerated carriers. However, electron/hole potential wells are formed when the electron/hole potential barrier caused by positive/negative piezoelectric charges is lowered too much, hindering the transport of photogenerated carriers. It is difficult to balance the relationship between potential barriers and potential wells while introducing the piezo-phototronic effect. In this work, a physical mechanism by separating the photosensitive layer and the piezoelectric modulation layer is proposed to deal with the above-mentioned issue in flexible tunneling devices. The piezoelectric modulation layer is solely used to adjust the electron/hole barriers, while the photosensitive layer is used to absorb photons and generate photogenerated carriers. This avoids the limitation on the transport of photogenerated carriers caused by potential wells in the piezoelectric semiconductor, thereby significantly increasing the adjustable range of the barriers. Experimental results show that the photoresponsivity of the flexible p-Si/Al2O3/n-ZnO tunneling device is optimized from 5.5 A/W to 35.8 A/W by the piezo-phototronic effect after separating the piezoelectric charges and photogenerated carriers. In addition, finite element analysis is used to simulate the influence of piezoelectric charges on the energy bands to corroborate the accuracy of the theoretical mechanism and experimental results. This work not only presents an optoelectronic device with excellent performance but also offers novel guidance for improving the performance of optoelectronic devices using the piezo-phototronic effect.

The impacts of a healthy lifestyle on the physical and mental health status of female stroke survivors in Australia.

INTRODUCTION: This longitudinal study aimed to explore the impacts of adopting a healthy lifestyle on self-reported physical and mental health outcomes among Australian females who are living with stroke. METHODS: The study utilized data retrieved from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health's 1946-51 cohort (from survey 5 conducted in 2007 to survey 9 conducted in 2019), focusing on 531 female stroke survivors. The dependent variables for this study were self-reported physical and mental health status, whereas the independent variables were lifestyle behaviors, including physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption, and supplement use. Generalized Estimating Equation models were employed to assess the longitudinal associations between a dependent variable and the independent and confounding variables. RESULTS: The average age of the participants was 58.1 (SD = 1.4) years in survey 5 and 70.5 years in survey 9. The longitudinal analyses revealed that stroke survivors who engaged in moderate/high levels of physical activity had significantly better physical and mental health status than their inactive or sedentary counterparts. Besides, current smokers had significantly poorer physical and mental health status than nonsmokers. In addition, risky/high-risk alcohol consumers had significantly poorer mental health status compared to no/low-risk alcohol consumers. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that post-stroke individuals can improve their physical and mental health by maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Specifically, targeted and appropriate programs and strategies are needed to promote physical activity and reduce smoking and alcohol consumption in female stroke survivors in order to optimize their overall health and quality of life.

Asymmetric Coordination of Bimetallic Fe-Co Single-Atom Pairs toward Enhanced Bifunctional Activity for Rechargeable Zinc-Air Batteries.

The advancement of rechargeable zinc-air batteries (RZABs) faces challenges from the pronounced polarization and sluggish kinetics of oxygen reduction and evolution reactions (ORR and OER). Single-atom catalysts offer an effective solution, yet their insufficient or singular catalytic activity hinders their development. In this work, a dual single-atom catalyst, FeCo-SAs, was fabricated, featuring atomically dispersed N3-Fe-Co-N4 sites on N-doped graphene nanosheets for bifunctional activity. Introducing Co into Fe single-atoms and secondary pyrolysis altered Fe coordination with N, creating an asymmetric environment that promoted charge transfer and increased the density of states near the Fermi level. This catalyst achieved a narrow potential gap of 0.616 V, with a half-wave potential of 0.884 V for ORR (vs the reversible hydrogen electrode) and a low OER overpotential of 270 mV at 10 mA cm-2. Owing to the superior activity of FeCo-SAs, RZABs exhibited a peak power density of 203.36 mW cm-2 and an extended cycle life of over 550 h, exceeding the commercial Pt/C + IrO2 catalyst. Furthermore, flexible RZABs with FeCo-SAs demonstrated the promising future of bimetallic pairs in wearable energy storage devices.

Association between gut microbiota and onset of type 2 diabetes mellitus: a two-sample Mendelian randomization study.

Aim: Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis has been used in the exploration of the role of gut microbiota (GM) in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM); however, it was limited to the genus level. This study herein aims to investigate the relationship of GM, especially at the species level, with T2DM in order to provide some evidence for further exploration of more specific GM taxa and pathway abundance in T2DM. Methods: This two-sample MR study was based on the summary statistics of GM from the available genome-wide association study (GWAS) meta-analysis conducted by the MiBioGen consortium as well as the Dutch Microbiome Project (DMP), whereas the summary statistics of T2DM were obtained from the FinnGen consortium released data. Inverse variance weighted (IVW), MR-Egger, strength test (F), and weighted median methods were used to examine the causal association between GM and the onset of T2DM. Cochran's Q statistics was employed to quantify the heterogeneity of instrumental variables. Bonferroni's correction was conducted to correct the bias of multiple testing. We also performed reverse causality analysis. Results: The corrected IVW estimates suggested the increased relative abundance of family Oxalobacteraceae (OR = 1.0704) and genus Oxalobacter (OR = 1.0874), respectively, were associated with higher odds of T2DM, while that of species faecis (OR = 0.9460) had a negative relationship with T2DM. The relationships of class Betaproteobacteria, family Lactobacillaceae, species finegoldii, and species longum with T2DM were also significant according to the IVW results (all P < 0.05). Conclusions: GM had a potential causal association with T2DM, especially species faecis, finegoldii, and longum. Further studies are still needed to clarify certain results that are contradictory with previous findings.

Ophiopogonin D improves oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction in pancreatic ß cells induced by hydrogen peroxide through Keap1/Nrf2/ARE pathway in diabetes mellitus.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disease characterized by high blood sugar. Due to its complex pathogenesis, no effective drugs have been found so far. Ophiopogonin D (OP-D) has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anticancer activities, but its role in DM has not been studied so far. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) was used to induce INS-1 cells. INS-1 cells induced by H2O2 were treated with OP-D, and cell apoptosis, oxidative stress damage, and related indexes of mitochondrial function were respectively detected by cell counting kit-8, flow cytometry, western blot, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, JC-1 fluorescent probe, and related kits. Subsequently, molecular docking techniques were used to investigate the relationship between OP-D and Keap1 and to explore the regulation mechanism of OP-D on H2O2-induced oxidative stress and mitochondrial function in INS-1 cells. OP-D inhibited the apoptosis and oxidative stress level of H2O2-induced INS-1 cells, thereby inhibiting cell damage. Moreover, OP-D inhibited mitochondrial dysfunction in H2O2-induced INS-1 cells. At last, we found that Keap1/Nrf2 specific signaling pathway inhibitor ML385 was able to reverse the inhibitory effect of OP-D on H2O2-induced oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction in INS-1 cells. In conclusion, OP-D improves oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction in pancreatic ß cells induced by H2O2 through activating Keap1/Nrf2/ARE pathway in DM.

Mental health and use of Medicare Benefits Schedule follow-up mental health services by Indigenous people in Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: Mental health care has declined during the COVID-19 pandemic as has attendance for preventive mental health health services. This study aimed to investigate trends in all types of mental health service claims identified in an Indigenous-specific health assessment for Indigenous people before and during COVID-19. Methods: We conducted an analysis of Medicare Benefits Scheme (MBS) mental health service items (Items 81,325 and 81,355), to investigate the trends in all types of mental health service claims specifically intended for Indigenous people of Australia. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, including the total annual numbers of Indigenous peoples' mental health service claims cross-tabulated by age groups and gender, between the calendar years 2017-2021. Multivariable Poisson regression modelling was used to determine associations that were statistically significant. Results: Our results indicate an overall rise in MBS claims for mental health follow-up services during 2019-2020 followed by a decline in 2020-2021. In addition, there was an overall decline in claims for follow-up psychology services across the time period 2019-2021. Conclusion: We found a significant decline in MBS items specific to follow-up mental health services (MBS Items 81,325 and 81,355) for Indigenous people in Australia suggesting a decline in attendance for mental health service follow-up which in turn may indicate a deficit in mental health care during the COVID-19 pandemic, an issue that may lead to poorer mental health outcomes in the future. Further research is needed to understand whether these changes were due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic or other factors.

Selective Depolymerization of Lignin Towards Isolated Phenolic Acids Under Mild Conditions.

The selective transformation of lignin to value-added biochemicals (e. g., phenolic acids) in high yields is incredibly challenging due to its structural complexity and many possible reaction pathways. Phenolic acids (PA) are key building blocks for various aromatic polymers, but the isolation of PAs from lignin is below 5 wt.% and requires harsh reaction conditions. Herein, we demonstrate an effective route to selectively convert lignin extracted from sweet sorghum and poplar into isolated PA in a high yield (up to 20 wt.% of lignin) using a low-cost graphene oxide-urea hydrogen peroxide (GO-UHP) catalyst under mild conditions (<120 °C). The lignin conversion yield is up to 95 %, and the remaining low molecular weight organic oils are ready for aviation fuel production to complete lignin utilization. Mechanistic studies demonstrate that pre-acetylation allows the selective depolymerization of lignin to aromatic aldehydes with a decent yield by GO through the Cα activation of ß-O-4 cleavage. A urea-hydrogen peroxide (UHP) oxidative process is followed to transform aldehydes in the depolymerized product to PAs by avoiding the undesired Dakin side reaction due to the electron-withdrawing effect of the acetyl group. This study opens a new way to selectively cleave lignin side chains to isolated biochemicals under mild conditions.

Comprehensive Detection of PD-L1 Protein and mRNA in Tumor Cells and Extracellular Vesicles through a Real-Time qPCR Assay.

A growing number of studies have shown that tumor cells secrete extracellular vesicles (EVs) containing programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) protein. These vesicles can travel to lymph nodes and remotely inactivate T cells, thereby evading immune system attack. Therefore, the simultaneous detection of PD-L1 protein expression in cells and EVs is of great significance in guiding immunotherapy. Herein, we developed a method based on qPCR for the simultaneous detection of PD-L1 protein and mRNA in EVs and their parental cells (PREC-qPCR assay). Lipid probes immobilized on magnetic beads were used to capture EVs directly from samples. For RNA assay, EVs were directly broken by heating and quantified with qPCR. As to protein assay, EVs were recognized and bound with specific probes (such as aptamers), which were used as templates in subsequent qPCR analysis. This method was used to analyze EVs of patient-derived tumor clusters (PTCs) and plasma samples from patients and healthy volunteers. The results revealed that the expression of exosomal PD-L1 in PTCs was correlated with tumor types and significantly higher in plasma-derived EVs from tumor patients than that of healthy individuals. When extended to cells and PD-L1 mRNAs, the results showed that the expression of PD-L1 protein was consistent with mRNA in cancer cell lines, while PTCs demonstrated significant heterogeneity. This comprehensive detection of PD-L1 at four levels (cell, EVs, protein, and mRNA) is believed to enhance our understanding of the relationship among PD-L1, tumors, and the immune system and to provide a promising tool for predicting the benefits of immunotherapy.

Piezotronic and Piezo-Phototronic Effects-Enhanced Core-Shell Structure-Based Nanowire Field-Effect Transistors.

Piezotronic and piezo-phototronic effects have been extensively applied to modulate the performance of advanced electronics and optoelectronics. In this study, to systematically investigate the piezotronic and piezo-phototronic effects in field-effect transistors (FETs), a core-shell structure-based Si/ZnO nanowire heterojunction FET (HJFET) model was established using the finite element method. We performed a sweep analysis of several parameters of the model. The results show that the channel current increases with the channel radial thickness and channel doping concentration, while it decreases with the channel length, gate doping concentration, and gate voltage. Under a tensile strain of 0.39‱, the saturation current change rate can reach 38%. Finally, another core-shell structure-based ZnO/Si nanowire HJFET model with the same parameters was established. The simulation results show that at a compressive strain of -0.39‱, the saturation current change rate is about 18%, which is smaller than that of the Si/ZnO case. Piezoelectric potential and photogenerated electromotive force jointly regulate the carrier distribution in the channel, change the width of the channel depletion layer and the channel conductivity, and thus regulate the channel current. The research results provide a certain degree of reference for the subsequent experimental design of Zn-based HJFETs and are applicable to other kinds of FETs.

The direct and mediating effect of social support on health-related quality of life during pregnancy among Australian women.

BACKGROUND: Prenatal stress can have a negative effect on the quality of life (QoL) of pregnant women. Social support plays a vital role in improving the psychological well-being of pregnant women by enhancing their stress-coping ability. The current study assessed the association between social support and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) as well as the mediating role of social support in the linkage between perceived stress and HRQoL among pregnant Australian women. METHODS: Secondary data was obtained from 493 women who reported being pregnant in survey six of the 1973-78 cohort of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (ALSWH). Social support and perceived stress were assessed using the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Index (MOS-SSS-19) and the Perceived Stress Scale, respectively. The Mental Component Scale (MCS) and Physical Component Scale (PCS) of the SF-36 were used to examine the mental and physical HRQoL. A mediation model was used to examine the mediating effect of social support in the relationship between perceived stress and HRQoL. A multivariate quantile regression (QR) model was used to assess the association between social support and HRQoL after adjusting for potential confounders. RESULT: The mean age of the pregnant women was 35.8 years. The mediational analysis revealed that emotional/informational support (ß= -1.53; 95% CI: -2.36, -0.78), tangible support (ß= -0.64; 95% CI: -1.29, -0.09), and affectionate support/positive social interaction (ß= -1.33; 95% CI: -2.25, -0.48), played a significant mediating role in the relationship between perceived stress and mental health-related QoL. In addition, perceived stress had a significant indirect effect on mental health-related QoL through overall social support (ß = -1.38; 95% CI: -2.28, -0.56), and the mediator accounted for approximately 14.3% of the total effect. The multivariate QR analysis indicated that all the domains of social support and overall social support scores were positively associated with higher MCS scores (p < 0.05). However, social support was found to have no significant association with PCS (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Social support plays a direct and mediating role in improving the HRQoL of pregnant Australian women. Maternal health professionals need to consider social support as an essential tool to improve the HRQoL of pregnant women. Further, as part of routine antenatal care activity, assessing pregnant women's level of social support is beneficial.

Pyro-Phototronic Effect for Advanced Photodetectors and Novel Light Energy Harvesting.

Pyroelectricity was discovered long ago and utilized to convert thermal energy that is tiny and usually wasted in daily life into useful electrical energy. The combination of pyroelectricity and optoelectronic yields a novel research field named as Pyro-Phototronic, where light-induced temperature variation of the pyroelectric material produces pyroelectric polarization charges at the interfaces of semiconductor optoelectronic devices, capable of modulating the device performances. In recent years, the pyro-phototronic effect has been vastly adopted and presents huge potential applications in functional optoelectronic devices. Here, we first introduce the basic concept and working mechanism of the pyro-phototronic effect and next summarize the recent progress of the pyro-phototronic effect in advanced photodetectors and light energy harvesting based on diverse materials with different dimensions. The coupling between the pyro-phototronic effect and the piezo-phototronic effect has also been reviewed. This review provides a comprehensive and conceptual summary of the pyro-phototronic effect and perspectives for pyro-phototronic-effect-based potential applications.

On the contact electrification mechanism in semiconductor-semiconductor case by vertical contact-separation triboelectric nanogenerator.

With the speed of industrialization accelerating, the traditional energy is in the predicament of being exhausted. Humans urgently need a clean energy to maintain the peace and development. Triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) is a tiny device that collects and converts the renewable energy, such as wind, vibration and tidal/blue energy, into electrical energy. As the most significant working principle of TENG, contact electrification (CE) has been broadly studied since it was documented thousands of years ago. A large number of related researches are reported. However, most of them are focused on the polymer materials, device structures and potential applications. There are few literatures about the mechanism of CE, especially in the semiconductor-semiconductor case. Semiconductor-semiconductor CE is a promising method to generate electricity, which has been used in many fields, such as the photodetector and displacement sensor. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a serious and detailed theory in order to deeply explain the underlying mechanisms of semiconductor-semiconductor CE. In this work, a novel Fermi level model based on energy band theory is proposed to illustrate the semiconductor-semiconductor CE mechanism. By assembling a ZnO/Si vertical contact-separation (CS) mode TENG, the charge transfer introduced by CE is systematically measured. According to the energy band theory and TENG governing equation, the experimental data is qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed. Moreover, the effects of different concentrations of growth solutions on the morphology of ZnO nanowires and the Fermi level difference between ZnO and Si are explored as well. Results show that it is the Fermi level difference that dominates the short circuit transfer charge amount and direction of semiconductor-semiconductor CE mechanism. Our work can be applied to understand the CE mechanism in semiconductor-semiconductor case and broaden the application prospects of semiconductor-based TENG.

Prevalence and risk factors contributing to the occurrence of diabetes mellitus in Chinese international migrants: A narrative review.

AIMS: This paper reviewed the literature on diabetes prevalence and risk factors associated with diabetes among first-generation Chinese international migrants. METHODS: MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, CINAHL and Maternity and Infant Care were searched until March 2022, for articles written in English. The quality of the included articles was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. RESULTS: In total, 17 articles were included (nine for gestational diabetes, six for type 2 diabetes, and none for type 1 diabetes). The average crude prevalence rate for type 2 diabetes and gestational diabetes was 12.1% and 9.3% respectively. Risk factors contributing to the occurrence of type 2 diabetes included older age, sex, family history of type 2 diabetes, higher BMI/waist circumference, longer time since migration, alcohol consumption, smoker, hypertension, and high triglycerides. Risk factors contributing to the occurrence of gestational diabetes included older maternal age, history of gestational diabetes, higher weight/pre-pregnancy BMI, longer time since migration, and Chinese ethnicity. CONCLUSIONS: We identified a research gap in the diabetes health of Chinese migrants, particularly for type 1 diabetes, highlighting the need for ethnic-specific diabetes research and care, including for subsequent generations of migrants and those living in developing countries.

Pyro-Phototronic Effect Enhanced Pyramid Structured p-Si/n-ZnO Nanowires Heterojunction Photodetector.

The emergence of nanomaterials has brought about the development of miniature photodetectors into a new stage, and ZnO nanomaterials are currently one of the most popular research objects. Here, the performance of a photodetector consisting of micropyramid structured p-Si/n-ZnO NWs heterojunction constructed by an anisotropic chemical etching and hydrothermal method is optimized by using the pyro-phototronic effect, and the photoresponses of the device to 405 and 648 nm lasers are investigated. The results show that, with the introduction of pyro-phototronic effect, the photoresponsivity Rpyro increases to 208 times that of Rphoto when the wavelength is 405 nm and the optical power density is 0.0693 mW/cm2. Moreover, with the increase of the chopper frequency, the photocurrent increases by more than 3 times, and the photoresponsivity is also increased by a factor of 4.5, making it possible to detect ultrafast pulsed light. In addition, in order to increase the current collection efficiency, a thin film Al layer was deposited as the back electrode on the basis of the device, and the photocurrent and photoresponsivity are significantly improved. Finally, the coupling between the pyro-phototronic effect and the piezo-phototronic effect is analyzed by applying compressive strain to the photodetector. When the compressive strain is -1.02%, the photocurrent decreases by 31.4% and the photoresponsivity decreases by 27.9% due to the opposite direction between laser illumination induced pyroelectric polarization charges and compressive strain induced piezoelectric polarization charges. This work not only demonstrates the great potential of pyro-phototronic effect in enhancing the silicon-based heterojunction photodetectors for high-performance photodetection and ultrafast pulsed light detection but also provides assistance for a better understanding of the coupling mechanism between pyro-phototronic and piezo-phototronic effects.

The effect of the Mediterranean diet on health outcomes in post-stroke adults: a systematic literature review of intervention trials.

BACKGROUND: Stroke represents a major source of mortality and morbidity worldwide. Guidelines for stroke management and secondary prevention focus on reducing stroke-related risk factors such as smoking cessation, exercise and diet. Several clinical practice guidelines specifically recommend a Mediterranean diet (MD) for individuals with stroke. However, these recommendations rely primarily on observational research. The aim of this review is to critically appraise the current experimental evidence assessing the use of a Mediterranean diet on health outcomes in post-stroke adults. METHODS: A systematic literature review was conducted of original research which assessed the role of a Mediterranean diet on health outcomes in post-stroke adults. The following databases were searched: PROQUEST, SCOPUS (Elsevier), MEDLINE (EBSCO), EMBase and Cochrane Library up to the 25th of August 2021. RESULTS: A total of 6 studies from a total of 5838 identified studies met the full inclusion criteria and were included in this review. Several different health outcomes were assessed, including blood pathology tests, physical examinations, secondary vascular events and mortality. The Mediterranean diet appears to be beneficial for systolic and diastolic blood pressure, LDL cholesterol, BMI and waist circumference. CONCLUSION: This review suggests a Mediterranean diet may be helpful for several health outcomes in post-stroke adults. However, more research is needed to confirm these findings. To ensure robust methodology and replication of results, specific details of the included and excluded foods, quantities and serving sizes should be reported in future research.

The use of self-management strategies for stroke rehabilitation: a scoping review.

INTRODUCTION: Self-management is generally considered a dynamic and collaborative process by individuals and caregivers to manage a chronic condition. Self-management has recently emerged as a promising strategy for stroke rehabilitation. This scoping review aims to examine and summarize self-management strategies utilized by stroke survivors for stroke rehabilitation. METHODS: PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL (EBSCO), Embase, and ProQuest were searched for articles published between January 2010 and December 2021. Studies were selected if they were published in English in a peer-reviewed journal, utilized a non-experimental research design, and focused on adult stroke survivors. All relevant information from the included articles was extracted in a systematic way using a pre-developed data extraction form. Two authors performed data extraction and quality evaluation independently. All issues were resolved through discussion among the authors. RESULTS: We narratively summarized the findings of 15 quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method studies, including a total of 1,494 stroke survivors. The stroke survivors used a range of self-management strategies for their stroke rehabilitation, including domains related to lifestyle, social support, communication, knowledge and information, and goal-setting. Gender, age, stroke-related disability, fatigue, self-management education, social support, and communication with others were found to be associated with self-management use in stroke rehabilitation. CONCLUSIONS: This scoping review provides an important overview on stroke survivors' use of self-management strategies and their experience. Their use of self-management strategies is complicated and multifaceted, comprising several domains and involving a diverse range of approaches and personal experiences. However, we identified several gaps in the literature and more research is required.

Osteopathy Referrals to and from General Practitioners: Secondary Analysis of Practitioner Characteristics from an Australian Practice-Based Research Network.

Australian osteopaths engage in multidisciplinary care and referrals with other health professionals, including general practitioners (GPs), for musculoskeletal care. This secondary analysis compared characteristics of Australian osteopaths who refer to, and receive referrals from, GPs with osteopaths who do not refer. The analysis was undertaken to identify pertinent characteristics that could contribute to greater engagement between Australian osteopaths and GPs. Data were from the Australian osteopathy practice-based research network comprising responses from 992 osteopaths (48.1% response rate). Osteopaths completed a practice-based survey exploring their demographic, practice, and clinical management characteristics. Backward logistic regression identified significant characteristics associated with referrals. Osteopaths who reported sending referrals (n = 878, 88.5%) to GPs were more likely than their non-referring colleagues to receive referrals from GPs (aOR = 4.80, 95% CI [2.62-8.82]), send referrals to a podiatrist (aOR = 3.09, 95% CI [1.80-5.28]) and/or treat patients experiencing degenerative spinal complaints (aOR = 1.71, 95% CI [1.01-2.91]). Osteopaths reporting receiving referrals (n = 886, 89.3%) from GPs were more likely than their non-referring colleagues to send referrals to GPs (aOR = 4.62, 95% CI [2.48-8.63]) and use the Medicare EasyClaim system (aOR = 4.66, 95% CI [2.34-9.27]). Most Australian osteopaths who report engaging in referrals with GPs for patient care also refer to other health professionals. Referrals from GPs are likely through the Chronic Disease Management scheme. The clinical conditions resulting in referrals are unknown. Further research could explore the GP-osteopath referral network to strengthen collaborative musculoskeletal care. The outcomes of this study have the potential to inform Australian osteopaths participating in advocacy, public policy and engagement with Australian GPs.

An examination of the association between marital status and prenatal mental disorders using linked health administrative data.

BACKGROUND: International research shows marital status impacts the mental health of pregnant women, with prenatal depression and anxiety being higher among non-partnered women. However, there have been few studies examining the relationship between marital status and prenatal mental disorders among Australian women. METHODS: This is a population-based retrospective cohort study using linked data from the New South Wales (NSW) Perinatal Data Collection (PDC) and Admitted Patients Data Collection (APDC). The cohort consists of a total of 598,599 pregnant women with 865,349 admissions. Identification of pregnant women for mental disorders was conducted using the 10th version International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Australian Modification (ICD-10-AM). A binary logistic regression model was used to estimate the relationship between marital status and prenatal mental disorder after adjusting for confounders. RESULTS: Of the included pregnant women, 241 (0.04%), 107 (0.02%) and 4359 (0.5%) were diagnosed with depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, and self-harm, respectively. Non-partnered pregnant women had a higher likelihood of depressive disorder (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) = 2.75; 95% CI: 2.04, 3.70) and anxiety disorder (AOR = 3.16, 95% CI: 2.03, 4.91), compared with partnered women. Furthermore, the likelihood of experiencing self-harm was two times higher among non-partnered pregnant women (AOR = 2.00; 95% CI: 1.82, 2.20) than partnered pregnant women. CONCLUSIONS: Non-partnered marital status has a significant positive association with prenatal depressive disorder, anxiety disorder and self-harm. This suggests it would be highly beneficial for maternal health care professionals to screen non-partnered pregnant women for prenatal mental health problems such as depression, anxiety and self-harm.