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Research

Childhood obesity is one of the most serious public health challenges of the 21st century and is affected not only by individual choice but also by societal and environmental influences. Childhood obesity is higher in children living in regional and remote compared with major cities, in one-parent families and for those with a disability.

Research

Greater facial asymmetry has been consistently found in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) relative to children without ASD. There is substantial evidence that both facial structure and the recurrence of ASD diagnosis are highly heritable within a nuclear family. Furthermore, sub-clinical levels of autistic-like behavioural characteristics have also been reported in first-degree relatives of individuals with ASD, commonly known as the 'broad autism phenotype'.

Research

There is a paucity of data on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Malawi. Here we present a study of AMR of extended-spectrum β-lactamases-producing Enterobacterales (ESBL-E) isolated from hospital and community settings in Blantyre, Malawi.

Research

Pneumococcal disease outbreaks of vaccine preventable serotype 4 sequence type (ST)801 in shipyards have been reported in several countries. We aimed to use genomics to establish any international links between them.

Research

Human rhinovirus (RV)-induced exacerbations of asthma and wheeze are a major cause of emergency room presentations and hospital admissions among children. Previous studies have shown that immune response patterns during these exacerbations are heterogeneous and are characterized by the presence or absence of robust interferon responses.

Research

We present the case of a prepubescent man of African descent who developed a spitzoid melanocytic proliferation showing evidence of a novel promoter hijacking ALK-C2orf42 rearrangement, with atypical histology, clinically apparent metastatic disease, and abnormal cytogenetic findings, representing a rare genuine case of "Spitz melanoma of childhood."

Research

Burn injuries are common and often life-threatening trauma. With this trauma comes an interruption of normal hemostasis, with distinct impacts on platelets.

Research

Impetigo, a bacterial infection caused by Streptococcus pyogenes and S. aureus of the superficial dermis affects up to 162 million children at any one time. Three out of every five school-children in Samoa have active or recently healed impetigo, far higher than the global median impetigo prevalence surpassing previous estimates for the Oceania region.

Research

We investigated whether a commonly used research assessment - the Autism Observation Scale for Infants (AOSI) - accurately measures autism behaviours among infants showing early signs of autism identified within the community. The AOSI is often included in studies tracking the development of infants at increased likelihood of autism, such as the infant siblings of diagnosed children. However, the suitability of this measure has not previously been tested with community-referred infants.

Research

The functional role of milk for the developing neonate is an area of great interest, and a significant amount of research has been done. However, a lot of work remains to fully understand the complexities of milk, and the variations imposed through genetics. It has previously been shown that both secretor (Se) and Lewis blood type (Le) status impacts the human milk oligosaccharide (HMO) content of human milk. While some studies have compared the non-HMO milk metabolome of Se+ and Se- women, none have reported on the non-HMO milk metabolome of Se- and Le- mothers.