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Lessons learnt during the COVID-19 pandemic: Why Australian schools should be prioritised to stay openIn 2020, school and early childhood educational centre (ECEC) closures affected over 1.5 billion school-aged children globally as part of the COVID-19 pandemic response. Attendance at school and access to ECEC is critical to a child's learning, well-being and health. School closures increase inequities by disproportionately affecting vulnerable children. Here, we summarise the role of children and adolescents in Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission and that of schools and ECECs in community transmission and describe the Australian experience.
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Otitis media guidelines for Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children: summary of recommendationsThe 2001 Recommendations for clinical care guidelines on the management of otitis media in Aboriginal and Torres Islander populations were revised in 2010. This 2020 update by the Centre of Research Excellence in Ear and Hearing Health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children used for the first time the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach.
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Analysis of common genetic variation and rare CNVs in the Australian Autism BiobankAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental condition whose biological basis is yet to be elucidated. The Australian Autism Biobank (AAB) is an initiative of the Cooperative Research Centre for Living with Autism (Autism CRC) to establish an Australian resource of biospecimens, phenotypes and genomic data for research on autism.
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Clinical Implications of Minimal Residual Disease Detection in Infants With KMT2A-Rearranged Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Treated on the Interfant-06 ProtocolInfant acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is characterized by a high incidence of KMT2A gene rearrangements and poor outcome. We evaluated the value of minimal residual disease (MRD) in infants with KMT2A-rearranged ALL treated within the Interfant-06 protocol, which compared lymphoid-style consolidation (protocol IB) versus myeloid-style consolidation (araC, daunorubicin, etoposide/mitoxantrone, araC, etoposide).
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Time spent outdoors in childhood is associated with reduced risk of myopia as an adultMyopia (near-sightedness) is an important public health issue. Spending more time outdoors can prevent myopia but the long-term association between this exposure and myopia has not been well characterised. We investigated the relationship between time spent outdoors in childhood, adolescence and young adulthood and risk of myopia in young adulthood. The Kidskin Young Adult Myopia Study (KYAMS) was a follow-up of the Kidskin Study, a sun exposure-intervention study of 1776 children aged 6-12 years.
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Two decades of increasing incidence of childhood-onset type 2 diabetes in Western Australia (2000–2019)This retrospective population‐based study aimed to determine the incidence of type 2 diabetes from 2012 to 2019 in Western Australian youth aged under 16 years, and to examine temporal trends between 2000 and 2019, using data from the Western Australian Children’s Diabetes Database (WACDD). The data extracted for eligible patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, according to standard criteria, included diagnosis year, age, sex and self‐reported Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander status.
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Associations of serum short-chain fatty acids with circulating immune cells and serum biomarkers in patients with multiple sclerosisAltered composition of gut bacteria and changes to the production of their bioactive metabolites, the short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), have been implicated in the development of multiple sclerosis (MS). However, the immunomodulatory actions of SCFAs and intermediaries in their ability to influence MS pathogenesis are uncertain. In this study, levels of serum SCFAs were correlated with immune cell abundance and phenotype as well as with other relevant serum factors in blood samples taken at first presentation of Clinically Isolated Syndrome (CIS; an early form of MS) or MS and compared to healthy controls. There was a small but significant reduction in propionate levels in the serum of patients with CIS or MS compared with healthy controls.
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Maternal diet, depression and antidepressant treatment in pregnancy and across the first 12 months postpartum in the MPEWS pregnancy cohort studyThere is increasing interest in the association between perinatal depression and diet including whether diet may have an impact on depressive symptoms and equally whether depression influences diet. Furthermore, whether pharmacological treatment of depression with antidepressant medication also may influence diet.
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ERS International Congress 2020 Virtual: highlights from the Allied Respiratory Professionals AssemblyThis article provides an overview of outstanding sessions that were (co)organised by the Allied Respiratory Professionals Assembly during the European Respiratory Society International Congress 2020, which this year assumed a virtual format. The content of the sessions was mainly targeted at allied respiratory professionals, including respiratory function technologists and scientists, physiotherapists, and nurses.
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Bilateral murine tumor models for characterizing the response to immune checkpoint blockadeThis protocol describes bilateral murine tumor models that display a symmetrical yet dichotomous response to immune checkpoint blockade