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Research

Diagnosis and analysis of unexplained cases of childhood encephalitis in Australia using metatranscriptomic sequencing

Encephalitis is most often caused by a variety of infectious agents identified through diagnostic tests utilizing cerebrospinal fluid. We investigated the clinical characteristics and potential aetiological agents of unexplained encephalitis through metagenomic sequencing of residual clinical samples from multiple tissue types and independent clinical review.

Research

Non-severe burn injury increases cancer incidence in mice and has long-term impacts on the activation and function of T cells

Recent evidence suggests that burn patients are at increased risk of hospital admission for infection, mental health conditions, cardiovascular disease and cancer for many years after discharge for the burn injury itself.

Research

A novel statistical framework for exploring the population dynamics and seasonality of mosquito populations

Understanding the temporal dynamics of mosquito populations underlying vector-borne disease transmission is key to optimizing control strategies. Many questions remain surrounding the drivers of these dynamics and how they vary between species-questions rarely answerable from individual entomological studies (that typically focus on a single location or species).

Research

Racism and Indigenous Adolescent Development: A Scoping Review

Previous studies on the impacts of racism on adolescent development have largely overlooked Indigenous youth. We conducted a scoping review of the empirical literature on racism against Indigenous adolescents to determine the nature and scope of this research and to establish associations with developmental outcomes.

Research

A Prospective Study Investigating the Impact of Obesity on the Immune Response to the Quadrivalent Influenza Vaccine in Children and Adolescents

Obesity can increase the severity of influenza infection. Data are limited regarding immune responses to influenza vaccination in obese children. We aimed to investigate the impact of obesity on quadrivalent influenza vaccine responses in children.

Research

Development and implementation of a national online application system for cross-jurisdictional linked data

The Population Health Research Network (PHRN) is an Australian national data linkage infrastructure that links a wide range of health and human services data in privacy-preserving ways. The data linkage infrastructure enables researchers to apply for access to routinely collected, linked, administrative data from the six states and two territories which make up the Commonwealth of Australia, as well as data collected by the Australian Government.

Research

The Host-Pathogen Interactions and Epicellular Lifestyle of Neisseria meningitidis

Neisseria meningitidis is a gram-negative diplococcus and a transient commensal of the human nasopharynx. It shares and competes for this niche with a number of other Neisseria species including N. lactamica, N. cinerea and N. mucosa. Unlike these other members of the genus, N. meningitidis may become invasive, crossing the epithelium of the nasopharynx and entering the bloodstream, where it rapidly proliferates causing a syndrome known as Invasive Meningococcal Disease.

Research

Adherence to Oral Targeted Anti-Lung Cancer Therapy: A Qualitative Interview Study

Oral targeted antineoplastic drugs (OTADs) are becoming more and more acceptable for lung cancer treatment due to their advantages such as the convenience of administration and milder side effects. However, medication adherence represents a major issue for prolonged OTAD treatment.

Research

Associations between changes in caregiver’s and child’s weight status in a community-based obesity intervention programme

We examined whether caregivers of children/adolescents enroled in a randomised controlled trial (RCT) of a family-centred intervention indirectly achieved reductions in body mass index (BMI), and if these were associated with changes in their children’s BMI.

Research

Circulating Memory B Cells in Early Multiple Sclerosis Exhibit Increased IgA+ Cells, Globally Decreased BAFF-R Expression and an EBV-Related IgM+ Cell Signature

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an immune-mediated inflammatory disease of the central nervous system that results in demyelination of axons, inefficient signal transmission and reduced muscular mobility. Recent findings suggest that B cells play a significant role in disease development and pathology. To further explore this, B cell profiles in peripheral blood from 28 treatment-naive patients with early MS were assessed using flow cytometry and compared to 17 healthy controls.