the US. What does this paper add? This paper systematically identifies all publications that have examined the prevalence of prescription opioid use in Australia since 2000, and only identified prevalence estimates that were at moderate or high risk of bias, and found significant delays to publication of these estimates. What are the implications for practitioners? Because published literature on the prevalence of prescription opioid consumption is restricted to incomplete, delayed and historical data, the ability of clinicians and policy makers to appropriately intervene to curb prescription opioid use is limited. A national policy of real-time monitoring and reporting of opioid prescribing may support improvements in practice.Objective This study investigated the delivery of guideline-recommended services for the management of acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) in Australian primary healthcare centres participating in the Audit and Best Practice for Chronic Disease (ABCD) National Research Partnership project. Methods ARF and RHD clinical audit data were collected from 63 Aboriginal centres in four Australian jurisdictions using the ABCD ARF/RHD audit tool. Records of up to 30 patients treated for ARF and/or RHD were analysed per centre from the most recent audit conducted between 2009 and 2014.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/mrtx849.html  The main outcome measure was a quality of ARF and RHD care composite indicator consisting of nine best-practice service items. Results Of 1081 patients, most were Indigenous (96%), female (61%), from the Northern Territory and Queensland (97%) and 15 years to be a significant negative factor for several care indicators, particularly for the delivery of long-acting antibiotic injections and specialist services in accessed 3 October 2019). CQI strategies can assist PHC centres to improve the care they provide to patients.Vaginal cytology is the most common method of monitoring the estrous cycle in rats; however, this test requires specifictechnical training and can be subject to interpretation. Vaginal impedance offers a quicker and less technically challengingalternative and has been used successfully to identify estrus in normally cycling breeder rats. We hypothesize that vaginalimpedance can also be used to stage the estrous cycle in rats that have been given luteinizing hormone releasing hormone(LHRH) for timed mating. Vaginal impedance measurements and vaginal cytology were performed in LHRH-primed femalerats (n = 36) at the expected peak of proestrus and paired with proven stud males. Breeding success was determined by grossnecropsy to detect embryo implantation sites in the female rats. We found that the predictive rates of vaginal cytology andimpedance measurement for proestrus were similar; however, both methods resulted in high proportions of false positive and false negative determinations (28% and 31%, respectively). We further hypothesized that females respond to LHRH at variable rates, resulting in variable times of peak proestrus. To test this, vaginal impedance measurements were performed multiple times throughout the expected day of proestrus in LHRH-primed female rats (n = 36). Females were either paired with a male 24 h after reaching the proestrus threshold (n = 18) or paired according to our standard protocol at 1300 h on the day after the expected proestrus (n = 18). Sequential measurements reduced false positive and negative rates (14% and 8%,respectively). Pregnancy rates did not differ based on the time of pairing during expected estrus. Overall, we determined vaginal impedance can be more successful than vaginal cytology at identifying proestrus in the rat, but only if multiple measurements are taken.Prenatal exposure to mercury in utero causes abnormal foetal growth and adverse outcomes. DNA methylation is currently considered a possible mechanism through which this occurs. However, few studies have investigated the association between prenatal exposure to mercury and DNA methylation in detail. This study aimed to clarify the relationship between prenatal exposure to total mercury (Hg) and DNA methylation and its associations with sex-specific characteristics in male and female offspring. In a birth cohort study known as the Chiba study of Mother and Child Health, the DNA methylation status in cord tissue and Hg concentrations in cord serum were examined. A total of 67 participants (27 males and 40 females) were analysed based on Spearman's correlations, adjusted by a false discovery rate of the sex of each offspring. Only one methylated locus was positively correlated with Hg concentrations in cord serum in male offspring, but not in female offspring, and was annotated to the haloacid dehalogenase-like hydrolase domain-containing protein 1 (HDHD1) gene on chromosome X. This locus was located in the intron of the HDHD1 gene body and is a binding site for the zinc finger protein CCCTC-binding factor. One of the other loci, located in HDHD1, was highly methylated in the group with higher mercury concentrations, and this locus was in the gene body of HDHD1. Our results suggest that prenatal exposure to Hg might affect the epigenetic status of male foetuses.BACKGROUND Maternal depression is a notable concern, yet little evidence exists on its economic burden in low- and middle-income countries. AIMS This study assessed societal costs and economic outcomes across pregnancy to 12 months postpartum comparing women with depression with those without depression. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01977326 (registered on 24 October 2013); Pan African Clinical Trials Registry (www.pactr.org) PACTR201403000676264 (registered on 11 October 2013). METHOD Participants were recruited during the first antenatal visit to primary care clinics in Khayelitsha, Cape Town. In total, 2187 women were screened, and 419 women who were psychologically distressed were retained in the study. Women were interviewed at baseline, 8 months gestation and at 3 and 12 months postpartum; the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression was used to categorise women as having depression or not having depression at each interview. Collected data included sociodemographics; health service costs; user fees; opportunity costs of accessing care; and travelling expenses for the women and their child(ren).