Amalgamation of health services in South-West Victoria: reinvention or survival?

In Australia 'the hospital' has long been considered the cornerstone of small, rural health services. However, this premise has been altered significantly by the introduction of casemix loading and diagnostic-related groups that promote a rationalised output-based model of management. In the light of these changes, many rural health services have struggled to reinvent themselves by establishing a range of service models such as Multi-purpose Service (MPS) and Health Streams, while maintaining traditional models (i.e. bush nursing centres, nursing homes and aged-care facilities). These changes are about survival. This paper analyses one such case in south-west Victoria, the Macarthur and District Community Outreach Service, and compares the outcomes with other similar Victorian rural health research projects. Particular attention is paid to the nature of the health services, the management of change and the proposed health outcomes for the local rural communities. In conclusion, it is argued that this study adds to the body of knowledge surrounding the construction of models of community health and development programming, These models impact upon future rural and remote area initiatives throughout Australia.

Effect of lowered salinity on the survival, condition and reburial of Soletellina alba (Lamarck, 1818) (Bivalvia: Psammobiidae)

Mass mortalities of fauna are known to occur in estuarine environments during flood events. Specific factors associated with these mortalities have rarely been examined. Therefore, the effect of exposing, to lowered salinities, an infaunal bivalve that is susceptible to mass mortalities during winter flooding in a southern Australian estuary was tested in the present study. In a laboratory experiment, low salinities (≤6 parts per thousand [ppt]), which mimicked those expected during flood events in the Hopkins River estuary, were shown to affect Soletellina alba, both lethally and sublethally. All bivalves died at 1 ppt, while those at 6 ppt took longer to burrow and exhibited a poorer condition than those at 14 and 27 ppt. The limited salinity tolerance of S. alba suggests that lowered salinities are a likely cause of mass mortality for this species during winter flooding.

Breeding biology, adult survival and territoriality of the white-browed treecreeper (climacteris affinis) in north-west Victoria, Australia

This is the first study to present empirical data describing the social organisation and breeding biology of the White-browed Treecreeper (Climacteris affinis). The species is typical of many small Australian passerines in that it has high annual survival (~80%), small clutches (mean = 1.95 ± 0.05), long breeding seasons (eggs laid August to November) and long incubation (17–18 days) and nestling periods (25–26 days), corrected for body weight. Reproductive effort is modified in response to variation in climatic conditions by adjusting the commencement of breeding and number of clutches laid per season, which is facilitated by an extended breeding season. White-browed Treecreepers occupied relatively large (mean = 8.4 ± 0.8 ha), all-purpose territories throughout the year. However, unlike many group territorial birds, territory size was not related to the number of occupants. The role of food limitation and climatic variability in relation to territory dispersion and life-history traits is explored. Facultative cooperative breeding was confirmed. Cooperative groups were formed through male philopatry, with usually only one, but up to three, male helpers present in a moderate fraction (35%) of breeding units. Thus, all species of Climacteris are now confirmed as facultative cooperatively breeding species, which provides further evidence for the aggregation of cooperative breeders at the generic level in mixed (i.e. cooperative and pair breeders) phylogenetic clades. In C. affinis, males may attain breeding positions through inheritance of their natal territory or by filling vacancies in nearby territories. Females obtained breeding positions by ‘floating’ as non-breeding residents in established territories, waiting for a vacancy to arise.

Will he get back to normal? survival and functional status after intensive care therapy

The study aim was to address healthcare workers’ and patients’ questions about the likely level of recovery at 6 months of patients admitted to an Australian intensive care unit (ICU). Ninety-three consecutive, eligible adults were identified and followed prospectively. Severity of illness on admission was assessed using Acute Physiological and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE II), while functional status at 6 months was evaluated using the Sickness Impact Profile (SIP). Cumulative mortality was 25%. Admission severity of illness was associated with survival at 6 months (P≤0.001). Fifty-one (78%) of the 70 survivors were interviewed. Admission severity of illness scores correlated with functional status at 6 months (r=0.34, P=0.01), a finding reported in only one other study. More than half of those interviewed had returned to near pre-admission functional status. Those with poor functional status included high proportions of people with chronic illness and head injury. Overall, physical recovery was more complete than psychosocial recovery. The findings provide useful information for addressing questions relating to physical and psychosocial recovery, appetite, sleep patterns and return to work post discharge.

Growth and survival rates of large-type sporophytes of Ecklonia cava transplanted to a growth environment with small-type sporophytes

Stipe lengths of sporophytes of Ecklonia cava Kjellman have been reported to be longer along the southeast than southwest coast of the Izu Peninsula, central Japan. Two bays in this region that have natural populations of E. cava, but with different stipe lengths, were chosen for transplant experiments to examine if stipe length was an environmentally controlled trait. Transplant experiments were carried out in order to determine whether large-type sporophytes of E. cava with long stipes growing in Nabeta Bay (southeast Izu Peninsula, Japan) would turn into small-type sporophytes with short stipes when transplanted to Nakagi Bay (southwest Izu Peninsula). Ten juvenile sporophytes of E. cava (stipe length < 5 cm) were collected from Nabeta Bay (large-type habitat) and transplanted to Nakagi Bay (short-type habitat) in December 1995. As a transplant control, ten juvenile sporophytes of E. cava growing in Nakagi Bay were also transplanted to the same artificial reefs. Growth and survival rates of the sporophytes were monitored monthly for 3 y until December 1998. The transplanted sporophytes showed an increase in their stipe length and diameter from winter to spring, whereas almost no increase was observed from summer to autumn. However, the elongation was greater in Nabeta sporophytes than in Nakagi sporophytes. The primary blade length increased mainly from winter to early spring and decreased largely in autumn. Average primary blade lengths were similar in both Nabeta and Nakagi sporophytes from the end of the first year of transplanting. Although ca. 70% of both Nabeta and Nakagi sporophytes survived during the first 2 y after transplantation, no Nakagi sporophytes and only two Nabeta sporophytes survived to the end of the 3 y study period. Despite transplantation to Nakagi Bay, where short sitpes are naturally present, the sporophytes from Nabeta Bay persisted in having longer stipes, which suggests that stipe length is genetically, rather than environmentally, controlled.

Effect of Glucocorticoid pretreatment on oxidative liver injury and survival in jaundiced rats with Endotoxing Cholangitis

Introduction: Biliary tract infection is associated with high mortality. This study investigated the effect of glucocorticoid pretreatment on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced cholangitis. Methods: Rats undergoing either sham operation or ligation of the extrahepatic bile duct (BDL) for 2 weeks were randomly assigned to receive intravenous injections of dexamethasone (DX) or normal saline (NS) prior to infusing LPS into the biliary tract. The plasma levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα), chemokines monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and macrophage inflammatory protein-2 (MIP-2) as well as liver mRNA expression of MCP-1 and MIP-2 were determined. Infiltration of monocytes, Kupffer cells, and neutrophils in rat liver were studied with immunohistochemistry. Oxidative liver injury was measured by the malondialdehyde (MDA) content. Results: Dexamethasone pretreatment resulted in significantly decreased plasma levels of TNFα at 1 hour, MCP-1 and MIP-2 at 2 and 3 hours, and decreased liver MCP-1 mRNA expression at 3 hours following LPS infusion in BDL-DX rats than in BDL-NS rats. The number of inflammatory cells in the liver was significantly different between sham- and BDL-treated rats but was not affected by DX pretreatment. Pretreatment with DX resulted in significantly decreased liver MDA contents in the BDL-DX group than that in the BDL-NS group. Jaundiced rats pretreated with 5 mg DX prior to infusion of 1 g of LPS were 6.8 times more likely to survive than those that were not pretreated. Conclusions: Pretreatment of jaundiced, LPS-treated rats with a  supraphysiological dose of dexamethasone may rescue their lives by suppression of chemokine expression and alleviation of oxidative liver injury.

Survival of relatives of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

Background:Families of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) carry a high risk of developing HCC. We determine the number of fatalities in relatives of HCC patients during an 8-year period to understand the risk and cause of HCC in relatives of patients with HCC.
Methods:From 1992 to 1997, 15 410 relatives of HCC patients in three generations were screened prospectively for HCC by ultrasonography, α-fetoprotein, liver biochemistry and viral markers. By using national citizen identification numbers, we searched the total fatalities in relatives of HCC patients between 1992 and 1999 from the national mortality data bank. The results were compared among different viral infection groups.
Results:Of the relatives studied, 37.8% were hepatitis B s antigen (HBsAg) positive (+), 4.3% were anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) (+) and 1.7% were both HBsAg (+) and anti-HCV (+). A total of 399 fatalities, including 139 because of HCC (34.8%), 37 because of liver diseases (9.3%), 88 because of other cancers (22.1%) and 135 because of other diseases (33.8%), were found. Relatives who were HBsAg (+) or anti-HCV (+)showed a lower cumulative survival than did relatives who were negative for both HBsAg and anti-HCV. Relatives with dual infection of hepatitis B and C virus showed the highest mortality due to HCC or terminal liver diseases.
Conclusions:Chronic viral infection rather than a hereditary factor is the main cause of a familial tendency for HCC. Dual infection of hepatitis B and C virus increases the risk of HCC or decompensated liver diseases.
Background:Families of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) carry a high risk of developing HCC. We determine the number of fatalities in relatives of HCC patients during an 8-year period to understand the risk and cause of HCC in relatives of patients with HCC.
Methods:From 1992 to 1997, 15 410 relatives of HCC patients in three generations were screened prospectively for HCC by ultrasonography, α-fetoprotein, liver biochemistry and viral markers. By using national citizen identification numbers, we searched the total fatalities in relatives of HCC patients between 1992 and 1999 from the national mortality data bank. The results were compared among different viral infection groups.
Results:Of the relatives studied, 37.8% were hepatitis B s antigen (HBsAg) positive (+), 4.3% were anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) (+) and 1.7% were both HBsAg (+) and anti-HCV (+). A total of 399 fatalities, including 139 because of HCC (34.8%), 37 because of liver diseases (9.3%), 88 because of other cancers (22.1%) and 135 because of other diseases (33.8%), were found. Relatives who were HBsAg (+) or anti-HCV (+)showed a lower cumulative survival than did relatives who were negative for both HBsAg and anti-HCV. Relatives with dual infection of hepatitis B and C virus showed the highest mortality due to HCC or terminal liver diseases.
Conclusions:Chronic viral infection rather than a hereditary factor is the main cause of a familial tendency for HCC. Dual infection of hepatitis B and C virus increases the risk of HCC or decompensated liver diseases.

Maternal creatine : does it reach the fetus and improve survival after an acute hypoxic episode in the spiny mouse (Acomys cahirinus)?

Objective
We hypothesized that elevating creatine in the maternal diet would reach fetal and placental tissues and improve fetal survival after acute hypoxia at birth.
Study Design
Pregnant spiny mice were fed a control or 5% creatine-supplemented diet from day 20 of gestation (term, approximately 39 days). On days 37-38, intrauterine hypoxia was induced by placement of the isolated uterus in a saline solution bath for 7.5-8 minutes, after which fetuses were expelled from the uterus and resuscitation was attempted by manual palpation of the chest. Total creatine content (creatine + phosphocreatine) of placental, fetal, and maternal organs was measured.
Results
The maternal creatine diet significantly increased total creatine content in the placenta, fetal brain, heart, liver, and kidney and increased the capacity of offspring to survive birth hypoxia. Maternal creatine improved postnatal growth after birth hypoxia.
Conclusion
This study provides evidence that creatine has potential as a prophylactic therapy for pregnancies that are classified as high risk for fetal hypoxia.

Estimating post-release survival and the influential factors for recreationally caught Black Bream (Acanthopagrus butcheri) in the Glenelg River, south eastern Australia

Black bream (Acanthopagrus butcheri) is the main target species amongst the estuarine recreational fisheries of Victoria, Australia. The A. butcheri fishery is managed through legal-minimum length and daily bag limits. The success of this management strategy requires that the survival rate for released fish is high. This study used the most common angling practices to estimate post-release survival and identify influential factors for undersized A. butcheri in Victoria. In total 1557 and 923 A. butcheri were caught and monitored for initial (≤1 h) and delayed (72 h) survival, respectively. Fish were caught across 3 years, with each year separated into cold and warm water periods with 8 fishing trial days in total. Only 1 of the 266 controls used to assess confinement effects died. Total survival was 95% (S.E. ± 0.8%) for shallow- and 74% (S.E. ± 3%) for deep-hooked fish and decreased as fish length increased. A post-mortem (PM) procedure was developed and showed that throat and gill injuries were the most frequent cause of deep-hooking death. It revealed that 97% of hooks left in fish remained there after 72 h and identified hooking location inaccuracies recorded at the time of capture. Total survival for deep-hooked fish was 20% higher when hooks were left in the fish. Deep-hooked fish were more likely to bleed when hooks were removed and total survival was lower for fish that bleed (58%) than fish that did not bleed (80%). Shallow-hooking rates decreased as fish length increased and were higher during warm water compared to cold water trials. The high shallow-hooking and survival rates observed suggest that A. butcheri survival in the fishery would be high, but deep-hooking has the potential to undermine the management strategy. Determining the shallow-hooking rate in the fishery would help clarify the impact of these findings at the fishery level.

Consequences of maternal yolk testosterone for offspring development and survival : experimental test in a lizard

1. Hormone-mediated maternal effects and developmental plasticity are important sources of phenotypic variation, with potential consequences for trait evolution. Yet our understanding of the importance of maternal hormones for offspring fitness in natural populations is very limited, particularly in non-avian species.

2. We experimentally elevated yolk testosterone by injection of a physiological dose into eggs of the lizard Ctenophorus fordi Storr, to investigate its roles in offspring development, growth and survival.

3. Yolk testosterone did not influence incubation period, basic hatchling morphology or survival under natural conditions. However, there was evidence for increased growth in hatchlings from testosterone-treated eggs, suggesting that maternal hormones have potential fitness consequences in natural populations.

4. The positive effect of prenatal testosterone exposure on postnatal growth could represent a taxonomically widespread developmental mechanism that has evolved into an adaptive maternal effect in some taxa, but remains deleterious or selectively neutral in others.

5. A broader taxonomic perspective should increase our understanding of the role of physiological constraints in the evolution of endocrine maternal effects.