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Current gastric banding devices use elastic in their function in nutritional modulation for bariatrics, ingestible electronics for diagnosis and monitoring, and gastric-retentive dosage forms for prolonged drug delivery. They have to be tough to survive the acid encountered in the stomach, yet flexible so they can be manipulated through the oesophagus and other narrow parts of the digestive system. [ + ]

Max Kamien, University of Western Australia [ + ]

The National Antimicrobial Prescribing Practice: results of the 2014 National Antimicrobial Prescribing Survey report was released by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care and the National Centre for Antimicrobial Stewardship in Victoria. It summarises the results of a voluntary annual audit of 248 hospitals (197 public and 51 private) from across Australia and resulted in a data set of almost 20,000 prescriptions. [ + ]

The Suicidal Affect Behaviour Cognition Scale (SABCS) is a more accurate predictor of suicidality than other methods, and has the potential to save lives, according to its developer psychology researcher Dr Keith Harris. [ + ]

Researchers at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee have developed a revolutionary device for performing endoscopic surgery using a device based on needlescopic or micro-laparoscopy tools which allows transnasal brain surgery. [ + ]

The delay in the processing abilities of the electronic claims systems supplied by the Department of Social Services for providers of aged care has been slammed by Leading Aged Services Australia. [ + ]

NPS MedicineWise has developed resources for patients living with chronic pain to work with their care providers in managing their health, discussing particular concerns and exploring support options. [ + ]

Scientists are using synthetic sugar in their quest for the answer to drug-resistant bacteria. A team of scientists from The University of Queensland and Queensland biotechnology company Alchemia have discovered a potential new class of antibiotics inspired by sugar molecules produced by bacteria. [ + ]

Cough into this phone please: The University of Queensland has developed a mobile application that allows for the diagnosis of respiratory conditions such as pneumonia and asthma based on an algorithm that uses the sound of the patient’s cough for recognition. [ + ]

Fetal screening is commonplace among pregnant women these days. Somewhere around 10 weeks into their pregnancies, most women undergo ultrasounds accompanied by aneuploidy sampling which determine if further diagnostic tests such as amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling are required. [ + ]

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Chronic sufferers of tinnitus have received non-invasive brain stimulation to sucessfully reduce their symptoms by up to 31% in US trials published in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery. [ + ]

A study published in Molecular Psychiatry has shown that persistent depression causes brain damage by shrinking the hippocampus, leading to a loss of emotional and behavioural function. [ + ]

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