Digital Commons Network^™

Concordant Peripheral Lipidome Signatures In Two Large Clinical Studies Of Alzheimer’S Disease, Kevin Huynh, Wei Ling Florence Lim, Corey Giles, Kaushala S. Jayawardana, Agus Salim, Natalie A. Mellett, Adam Alexander T. Smith, Gavriel Olshansky, Brian G. Drew, Pratishtha Chatterjee, Ian Martins, Simon M. Laws, Ashley I. Bush, Christopher C. Rowe, Victor L. Villemagne, David Ames, Colin L. Masters, Matthias Arnold, Kwangsik Nho, Andrew J. Saykin, Rebecca Baillie, Xianlin Han, Rima Kaddurah-Daouk, Ralph N. Martins, Peter J. Meikle

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020, The Author(s). Changes to lipid metabolism are tightly associated with the onset and pathology of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Lipids are complex molecules comprising many isomeric and isobaric species, necessitating detailed analysis to enable interpretation of biological significance. Our expanded targeted lipidomics platform (569 species across 32 classes) allows for detailed lipid separation and characterisation. In this study we examined peripheral samples of two cohorts (AIBL, n = 1112 and ADNI, n = 800). We are able to identify concordant peripheral signatures associated with prevalent AD arising from lipid pathways including; ether lipids, sphingolipids (notably GM3 gangliosides) and lipid …

Comparing Web-Based Mindfulness With Loving-Kindness And Compassion Training For Promoting Well-Being In Pregnancy: Protocol For A Three-Arm Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial, Amy Louise Finlay-Jones, Jacqueline Ann Davis, Amanda O'Donovan, Keerthi Kottampally, Rebecca Anne Ashley, Desiree Silva, Jeneva Lee Ohan, Susan L. Prescott, Jenny Downs

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© Amy Louise Finlay-Jones, Jacqueline Ann Davis, Amanda O'Donovan, Keerthi Kottampally, Rebecca Anne Ashley, Desiree Silva, Jeneva Lee Ohan, Susan L Prescott, Jenny Downs. Originally published in JMIR Research Protocols (http://www.researchprotocols.org), 14.10.2020. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in JMIR Research Protocols, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on http://www.researchprotocols.org, as well as this copyright and license information must be included. Background: Promoting psychological well-being and preventing …

Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms In Lcat May Contribute To Dyslipidaemia In Hiv-Infected Individuals On Haart In A Ghanaian Population, Simon Bannison Bani, Kwabena Owusu Danquah, Christian Obirikorang, William K. B. A. Owiredu, Lawrence Quaye, Edmund Muonir Der, Emmanuel Acheampong, Yussif Adams, Peter Paul M. Dapare, Moses Banyeh, Enoch Odame Anto, Samuel Asamoah Sakyi

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020, The Author(s). Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) is known to cause lipid abnormalities such as dyslipidaemia in HIV-infected individuals. Yet, dyslipidaemia may not independently occur as it may be worsened by single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in lecithin cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) and lipoprotein lipase (LPL). This case–control study was conducted in three-selected hospitals in the Northern part of Ghana. The study constituted a total of 118 HIV-infected participants aged 19–71 years, who had been on HAART for 6–24 months. Dyslipidaemia was defined based on the NCEP-ATP III criteria. HIV-infected individuals on HAART with dyslipidaemia were classified as cases while …

Perceived Influence Of Value Systems On The Uptake Of Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision Among Men In Kweneng East, Botswana, Thandisizwe R. Mavundla, Fungai Mbengo, Khanyenda Bruce Ngomi

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Botswana is one of the countries in Eastern and Southern Africa significantly impacted by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). To control the spread of HIV, the government in 2009 rolled out the voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) programme as an additional HIV prevention strategy with the goal of circumcising 80% of HIV negative men by 2016. However, the country failed to achieve this goal as less than 30% of the targeted men were circumcised by 2016. A study was therefore conducted to explore and describe …

One-Year Outcome And Adherence To Pharmacological Guidelines In First-Episode Schizophrenia: Results From A Consecutive Cohort Study, Petros Drosos, Kolbjørn Brønnick, Inge Joa, Jan Olav Johannessen, Erik Johnsen, Rune Andreas Kroken, Helen Joy Stain, Wenche Ten Velden Hegelstad, Tor Ketil Larsen

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved. Background Remission in schizophrenia is difficult to achieve. Antipsychotic drugs are critical in the treatment of schizophrenia. International guidelines for the pharmacological treatment of schizophrenia recommend a 3-step algorithm with clozapine being the third-line antipsychotic agent. This study investigated the 1-year outcome and the application of the guidelines for the pharmacological treatment of nonremitted first-episode schizophrenia (FES) patients during the first year of follow-up. Methods A sample of 78 FES patients from the Norwegian TIPS (Early Treatment and Intervention in Psychosis) 2 study was assessed at the end of the first year …

Being The Adult You Needed As A Kid: Why The Aitsl Standards Are Not The Best Fit For Drama Teachers, Christina Gray, Kirsten Lambert

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2019 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. The Australian Professional Standards for teachers attempts to regulate the profession and improve teacher quality. Yet the standardisation of teachers’ work has attracted criticism from researchers who assert that a “one size fits all” model for judging teacher quality fails to recognise the affective, enactive and relational aspects of teaching. Given the interactive and interpersonal nature of teaching drama, this concern has salience. Our research into the experiences of early-career drama teachers reveals the positive influence these teachers have on their students and in their …

Broad Spectrum Epidemiological Contribution Of Cannabis And Other Substances To The Teratological Profile Of Northern New South Wales: Geospatial And Causal Inference Analysis, Albert Stuart Reece, Gary Kenneth Hulse

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020, The Author(s). Background: Whilst cannabis commercialization is occurring rapidly guided by highly individualistic public narratives, evidence that all congenital anomalies (CA) increase alongside cannabis use in Canada, a link with 21 CA’s in Hawaii, and rising CA’s in Colorado indicate that transgenerational effects can be significant and impact public health. It was therefore important to study Northern New South Wales (NNSW) where cannabis use is high. Methods: Design: Cohort. 2008–2015. Setting: NNSW and Queensland (QLD), Australia. Participants. Whole populations. Exposures. Tobacco, alcohol, cannabis. Source: National Drug Strategy Household Surveys 2010, 2013. Main Outcomes. CA Rates. NNSW-QLD comparisons. Geospatial …

Systematic Review Of Clinical Practice Guidelines To Identify Recommendations For Sleep In Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Management, Aisling Smyth, Mark Jenkins, Melissa Dunham, Yvonne Kutzer, Shahrad Taheri, Lisa Whitehead

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Introduction

Sleep quality, quantity and timing have been shown to impact glycaemic control, with a role in insulin sensitivity, glucose tolerance and HbA1C levels, in both diabetic and non-diabetic populations. The aim of this study was to identify recommendations for sleep assessment and management in international clinical practice guidelines focused on type 2 diabetes mellitus management in adults.

Study design: Systematic Review.

Methodology

Clinical practice guidelines which focused on the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus in adults were included (n = 35). Two independent reviewers utilised the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation tool (AGREE) II and a …

Interpreting Health Events In Big Data Using Qualitative Traditions, Roschelle L. Fritz, Gordana Dermody

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© The Author(s) 2020. The training of artificial intelligence requires integrating real-world context and mathematical computations. To achieve efficacious smart health artificial intelligence, contextual clinical knowledge serving as ground truth is required. Qualitative methods are well-suited to lend consistent and valid ground truth. In this methods article, we illustrate the use of qualitative descriptive methods for providing ground truth when training an intelligent agent to detect Restless Leg Syndrome. We show how one interdisciplinary, inter-methodological research team used both sensor-based data and the participant’s description of their experience with an episode of Restless Leg Syndrome for training the intelligent agent. …

Reply To Lipworth Et Al., Angela M. Moran, Sanjay Ramakrishnan, Catherine A. Borg, Clare M. Connolly, Simon Couillard, Christine M. Mwasuku, Ian D. Pavord, Timothy S.C. Hinks, Lauri Lehtimӓki

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

We thank Dr. Lipworth and colleagues for their interest in our work published recently in the Journal (1). They rightly point out that the biology of asthma attacks is more complex than blood eosinophils alone and that corticosteroids have a wide range of other potentially relevant antiinflammatory effects. However, local treatment with inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) is usually the mainstay of patients with frequent eosinophilic exacerbations, and therefore in the great majority of patients, the key question is what oral corticosteroids (OCS) add to ICS in an acute attack (2) and whether this effect is seen with benralizumab. We suggest that …

Distribution And Evolution Of Fukushima Dai-Ichi Derived 137cs, 90sr, And 129i In Surface Seawater Off The Coast Of Japan, Jennifer A. Kenyon, Ken O. Buesseler, Núria Casacuberta, Maxi Castrillejo, Shigeyoshi Otosaka, Pere Masqué, Jessica A. Drysdale, Steven M. Pike, Virginie Sanial

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020 American Chemical Society. The Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plants (FDNPPs) accident in 2011 led to an unprecedented release of radionuclides into the environment. Particularly important are 90Sr and 137Cs due to their known health detriments and long half-lives (T1/2 ≈ 30 y) relative to ecological systems. These radionuclides can be combined with the longer-lived 129I (T1/2 = 15.7 My) to trace hydrologic, atmospheric, oceanic, and geochemical processes. This study seeks to evaluate 137Cs, 90Sr, and 129I concentrations in seawater off the coast of Japan, reconcile the sources of contaminated waters, and assess the application of 137Cs/90Sr, 129I/137Cs, and …

A Review On Green Caching Strategies For Next Generation Communication Networks, M. Ishtiaque A. Zahed, Iftekhar Ahmad, Daryoush Habibi, Quoc Viet Phung, Md Munjure Mowla, Muhammad Waqas

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020 IEEE. In recent years, the ever-increasing demand for networking resources and energy, fueled by the unprecedented upsurge in Internet traffic, has been a cause for concern for many service providers. Content caching, which serves user requests locally, is deemed to be an enabling technology in addressing the challenges offered by the phenomenal growth in Internet traffic. Conventionally, content caching is considered as a viable solution to alleviate the backhaul pressure. However, recently, many studies have reported energy cost reductions contributed by content caching in cache-equipped networks. The hypothesis is that caching shortens content delivery distance and eventually achieves …

External Barriers For Including Parents Of Preterm Infants In A Randomised Clinical Trial In The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit In Sweden: A Descriptive Study, Evalotte Mörelius, Emma Olsson, Charlotte Sahlén Helmer, Ylva Thernström Blomqvist, Charlotte Angelhoff

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. Objectives Performing randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in neonatal intensive care is challenging in many ways. While restrictive inclusion criteria or busy study protocols are obvious barriers, external barriers leading to termination of a study are seldom discussed. The aim of this study was to describe barriers for inclusion of families in neonatal intensive care in an RCT aiming to evaluate the effects of continuous skin-to-skin contact on mood and sleep quality in parents of preterm infants, as well as the quality of parent-infant interaction and salivary cortisol concentrations at the time of discharge. Design …

Eftilagimod Alpha, A Soluble Lymphocyte Activation Gene-3 (Lag-3) Protein Plus Pembrolizumab In Patients With Metastatic Melanoma, Victoria Atkinson, Adnan Khattak, Andrew Haydon, Melissa Eastgate, Amitesh Roy, Prashanth Prithviraj, Christian Mueller, Chrystelle Brignone, Frederic Triebel

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ. BACKGROUND: To evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of eftilagimod alpha (efti), a soluble lymphocyte activation gene-3 protein, in combination with the programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) antagonist pembrolizumab. METHODS: The study was divided into two parts; parts A and B, where part A was the dose escalation part and part B was an extension part of the study. Patients with metastatic melanoma were treated with efti plus the standard dose of pembrolizumab. Blood samples were assayed to determine …

Contemporary Epidemiology Of Rising Atrial Septal Defect Trends Across Usa 1991–2016: A Combined Ecological Geospatiotemporal And Causal Inferential Study, Albert Stuart Reece, Gary Kenneth Hulse

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020, The Author(s). Background: Cardiovascular anomalies are the largest group of congenital anomalies and the major cause of death in young children, with various data linking rising atrial septal defect incidence (ASDI) with prenatal cannabis exposure. Objectives / Hypotheses. Is cannabis associated with ASDI in USA? Is this relationship causal? Methods: Geospatiotemporal cohort study, 1991–2016. Census populations of adults, babies, congenital anomalies, income and ethnicity. Drug exposure data on cigarettes, alcohol abuse, past month cannabis use, analgesia abuse and cocaine taken from National Survey of Drug Use and Health (78.9% response rate). Cannabinoid concentrations from Drug Enforcement Agency. Inverse …

Evaluation Of A Remote Symptom Assessment And Management (Sam) System For People Receiving Adjuvant Chemotherapy For Breast Or Colorectal Cancer: Mixed Methods Study, Lisa Whitehead, Laura Emery, Deborah Kirk, Diane Twigg, Deborah Brown, Joanna Dewar

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

©Lisa Whitehead, Laura Emery, Deborah Kirk, Diane Twigg, Deborah Brown, Joanna Dewar. Background: The Symptom Assessment and Management (SAM) program is a structured, online, nurse-supported intervention to support symptom self-management in people receiving adjuvant chemotherapy post surgery for breast or colorectal cancer. Objective: The objective of this study was to describe the development, implementation strategy, and evaluation of the SAM system. Methods: The development of the SAM program involved 3 phases. In phase 1, the web app was developed through consultation with consumers and clinicians and of the literature to ensure that the system was evidence-based and reflected the realities …

Brainwave Nets: Are Sparse Dynamic Models Susceptible To Brain Manipulation Experimentation?, Diego C. Nascimento, Marco A. Pinto-Orellana, Joao P. Leite, Dylan J. Edwards, Francisco Louzada, Taiza E.G. Santos

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© Copyright © 2020 Nascimento, Pinto-Orellana, Leite, Edwards, Louzada and Santos. Sparse time series models have shown promise in estimating contemporaneous and ongoing brain connectivity. This paper was motivated by a neuroscience experiment using EEG signals as the outcome of our established interventional protocol, a new method in neurorehabilitation toward developing a treatment for visual verticality disorder in post-stroke patients. To analyze the [complex outcome measure (EEG)] that reflects neural-network functioning and processing in more specific ways regarding traditional analyses, we make a comparison among sparse time series models (classic VAR, GLASSO, TSCGM, and TSCGM-modified with non-linear and iterative optimizations) …

An Exploratory Study Of The Relative Effects Of Various Protective Factors On Depressive Symptoms Among Older People, Caitlin Worrall, Michelle I. Jongenelis, Peter M. Mcevoy, Ben Jackson, Robert U. Newton, Simone Pettigrew

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© Copyright © 2020 Worrall, Jongenelis, McEvoy, Jackson, Newton and Pettigrew. Objective: The present study investigated the relative importance of various factors found to be negatively associated with depressive symptoms in older adults and assessed the potential moderating effect of sociodemographic characteristics for each factor. Method: Depressive symptoms were measured with the Center of Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. Psychological, social, and physical health measures relating to the following factors were also administered: personal growth, purpose in life, self-esteem, self-efficacy, social support, self-rated health, life satisfaction, and physical activity. Multivariate linear regression analysis was used to investigate the most important factors …

The Prognostic Impact Of Circulating Tumour Dna In Melanoma Patients Treated With Systemic Therapies—Beyond Braf Mutant Detection, Gabriela Marsavela, Peter A. Johansson, Michelle R. Pereira, Ashleigh C. Mcevoy, Anna L. Reid, Cleo Robinson, Lydia Warburton, Muhammad A. Khattak, Tarek M. Meniawy, Benhur Amanuel, Michael Millward, Nicholas K. Hayward, Melanie R. Ziman, Elin S. Gray, Leslie Calapre

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. In this study, we evaluated the predictive value of circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) to inform therapeutic outcomes in metastatic melanoma patients receiving systemic therapies. We analysed 142 plasma samples from metastatic melanoma patients prior to commencement of systemic therapy: 70 were treated with BRAF/MEK inhibitors and 72 with immunotherapies. Patient-specific droplet digital polymerase chain reaction assays were designed for ctDNA detection. Plasma ctDNA was detected in 56% of patients prior to first-line anti-PD1 and/or anti-CTLA-4 treatment. The detection rate in the immunotherapy cohort was comparably lower than those with BRAF inhibitors …

Factors Influencing Weight Loss Practices In Italian Boxers: A Cluster Analysis, Stefano Amatori, Oliver R. Barley, Erica Gobbi, Diego Vergoni, Attilio Carraro, Carlo Baldari, Laura Guidetti, Marco B.L. Rocchi, Fabrizio Perroni, Davide Sisti

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. It is common practice in combat sports that athletes rapidly lose body weight before a match, by applying different practices—some safer and others possibly dangerous. The factors behind the choice of practices utilised have not been fully studied. This study aimed to investigate the weight loss strategies used by Italian boxers and to look at the difference between higher and lower risk practice adaptors. A modified version of a validated questionnaire has been sent to 164 amateur (88%) and professional (12%) boxers by email. A heatmap with hierarchical clustering was used …

Fruit And Vegetable Knowledge And Intake Within An Australian Population: The Ausdiab Study, Caroline R. Hill, Lauren C. Blekkenhorst, Simone Radavelli-Bagatini, Marc Sim, Richard J. Woodman, Amanda Devine, Jonathan E. Shaw, Jonathan M. Hodgson, Robin M. Daly, Joshua R. Lewis

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Understanding the relationship between fruit and vegetable knowledge (FVK) and fruit and vegetable intake (FVI) is an important consideration for improved public health and successful targeting of health promotion messaging. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between FVK and FVI in Australian adults and to identify subgroups most at risk of poor knowledge. Using data from the Australian Diabetes, Obesity, and Lifestyle Study (AusDiab), we investigated associations between FVK and FVI, as well as demographic and lifestyle factors. Baseline FVK was measured using two self-reported questions. FVI …

Australian Consumers Are Willing To Pay For The Health Star Rating Front-Of-Pack Nutrition Label, Sheri L. Cooper, Lucy M. Butcher, Simone D. Scagnelli, Johnny Lo, Maria M. Ryan, Amanda Devine, Therese A. O’Sullivan

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. The Australia and New Zealand Ministerial Forum on Food Regulation has supported the recommendations set out in the 2019 Health Star Rating System Five Year Review Report. Specifically, the forum supported, in principle, Recommendation 9, to mandate the Health Star Rating if clear uptake targets were not achieved while the system is voluntary. Given that mandatory labelling is being considered, it is important to investigate how much consumers value the Health Star Rating in order to understand potential consumer uptake and inform industry. The aim of this study was to assess …

Influence Of Strength Level On The Acute Post-Activation Performance Enhancement Following Flywheel And Free Weight Resistance Training, Borja Sañudo, Moisés De Hoyo, Guy Gregory Haff, Alejandro Muñoz-López

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This study aimed to compare the post-activation potentiation performance enhancement (PAPE) response to the acute inertial flywheel (FW) and free weight resistance training (TRA) on subsequent countermovement jump (CMJ) and sprint performance (10 m sprint). This study used a randomized crossover design including twenty-eight healthy males that were divided into strong (relative one-repetition maximum (1RM) back squat > 2.0 × body mass) and weak (relative 1RM back squat < 2.0 × body mass) groups. All participants performed the following: (a) three reps at 90% of their 1RM back squat (TRA) and (b) three reps on an inertial FW (plus one repetition to initiate flywheel movement) with an intensity that generated a mean propulsive velocity equal to that achieved with 90% of the 1RM back squat. Before and after the conditioning activity, participants performed two CMJs and two 10 m sprints. Within-group analyses showed significantly greater CMJ (d > 0.9, p < 0.001) and sprint performance (d > 0.5, p < 0.05) in the FW and the TRA group. Between-group analysis showed that sprint changes were significantly greater in the FW-strong group when compared with the TRA (F1,18 = 5.11, p = 0.036, η2p = 0.221—large) group. These results suggest that using a squat activation protocol on a FW may lead to an acute positive effect on jump and sprint performance, especially in stronger individuals.

Turnaround Management Of Airport Service Providers Operating During Covid-19 Restrictions, Bassam Buhusayen, Pi-Shen Seet, Alan Coetzer

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Many sectors worldwide have been impacted by government restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, restrictions on travel have resulted in major losses for organizations operating within the aviation sector. This study aims to emphasize the challenges faced by these organizations while they implement turnaround management strategies. The study is based on 30 semi-structured interviews with frontline managers working for airline service providers in three different departments of an airport in Australia. The organization has implemented several turnaround management strategies to survive the crisis caused by COVID-19 restrictions, creating new …

Teaching Global Health In The Time Of Covid-19: Key Concepts For Social Studies Classrooms, Mark Helmsing, Shiri Noy

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Too Juul For School: Serious Dangers Wrapped In Fun Flavors, Nicole Franowicz

The Synapse: Intercollegiate science magazine

No abstract provided.

The Psychological Crisis Of Covid-19: Other Ways Lives Are At Risk In The Pandemic, Drew Dansby

The Synapse: Intercollegiate science magazine

No abstract provided.

The Synapse 25

The Synapse: Intercollegiate science magazine

No abstract provided.

The Synapse 26

The Synapse: Intercollegiate science magazine

No abstract provided.

The Breakfast Lab: The History Of Food Science That Gave Rise To The Modern Breakfast Cereal, Josh Holtzman

The Synapse: Intercollegiate science magazine

No abstract provided.