Digital Commons Network^™

Development And Evaluation Of A Gc-Msms Method For The Quantification Of Gamma Hydroxybutyrate In Hair, Jacob Robert Keller

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Gamma (γ)-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) is an endogenous short-chain fatty acid, and is of forensic importance due to its use in drug facilitated sexual assault (DFSA). Exogenous GHB has a limited window of detection in blood (1-hour) and urine (12-hours). Testing hair allows detection of drugs months after ingestion. This thesis contains a literature review which compares published methods which determine concentration of endogenous GHB in hair to determine which procedures are suitable for experimental comparison. The aims of this thesis were to develop a GC-MS-based method for the detection of GHB, test various methods to improve extraction, determine linearity, precision, accuracy, …

The Development And Pilot Evaluation Of An Out-Of-Hospital Immersive Birthing Simulation Training Application For Paramedics And Ambulance Officers Using Virtual-Reality Technology, Michella Hill

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Out-of-hospital births (OOHBs) are births which occur outside a hospital setting. This includes planned home births attended by midwives, or unplanned OOHBs where the intention was to birth in a hospital or maternity centre, however, occurs in an unintended location. Prehospital clinicians, inclusive of registered paramedics and volunteer ambulance officers (VAOs) infrequently attend OOHBs, as most births occur in maternity wards as anticipated. OOHBs comprises < 1% of emergency ambulance requests and requires specialised skills for prehospital clinicians to competently manage birthing and potential complications. As exposure to birthing is so rare, these specialised skills and knowledge are underutilised and subject to rapid decay. Compounding the problem, obstetrics is infrequently taught across undergraduate education, in-service training, or within individual clinician’s continuing professional development. Placements shadowing midwives are scarce due to nursing and medical students receiving priority. Previous research regarding OOHBs is limited, nonetheless suggests prehospital clinicians are underprepared to manage an OOHB, which has serious patient safety implications. The present research sought to explore prehospital clinicians’ preparedness and confidence in managing OOHBs. It also investigates whether a digital training solution such as virtual reality (VR) simulation may reduce the theory-practice gap and assist in competency retention.

Publication one provides a comprehensive methodology outline which is applied to Study One; a scoping review of prehospital clinician and birth parent experiences with OOHBs. Risk factors, complications and interventions provided by prehospital clinicians, as …

Emotional Coding In Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’S Music: The Influence Of Text-Driven Musical Patterns, Antonio Toppi

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis investigates the phenomenon of emotional coding in the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791), with particular attention to the ways in which text-driven musical patterns influence both vocal and instrumental works. The study draws on 18th-century theories of key characteristics, musical-rhetorical figures, and topoi, compositional devices that carried emotional implications for contemporary listeners. These codes are first examined in two of Mozart’s operas, Le Nozze di Figaro (KV492) and Don Giovanni (KV527), where the setting of text to music provides a framework for associating compositional choices with emotion. Findings from the analyses are then applied to three contemporaneous …

Multimodal Scene Understanding For Mobile Robot Navigation In Unstructured Outdoor Environments, Liyana Mudiyanselage Nipuna Dinendra Wijayathunga

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The application of autonomous field robots in agriculture, mining, transport and logistics, disaster management, and exploration has increased with advances in sensing, perception, and autonomous navigation technologies. Western Australian off-road environments present challenges for autonomous ground robots because they contain unstructured ter rain, variations in appearance and geometry, changing illumination, and visually similar regions with different traversal characteristics. Reliable operation therefore requires scene understanding methods capable of representing the environment according to its navigability for robot traversal.

This PhD research investigates multimodal scene understanding for autonomous ground robot navigation in unstructured off-road environments. The research focuses on the development of …

Overcoming The Challenges Faced By Leaders Of Purpose-Led Medium-Sized Businesses: The Role Of Corporate Communication And Its Interplay With Corporate Reputation And Organisational Identity, Taofeeq Ibn-Mohammed, Suranga Herath, Nicholas Swallow, Charlie Gower, Adriana P. Montes, Dawn Brooks, Andres P. Garcia, Angus Morrison-Saunders

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Induced by worsening environmental conditions, pursuing purpose, not solely profit, now constitutes an ethical obligation for leaders of business organisations, towards future generations. Consequently, increasing numbers of businesses seek to become purpose-led (PLBs), but challenges exist. Despite the significant growth in PLB research since the turn of the millennium, attention has mainly focussed on multinational companies, although small- and medium-sized businesses (MSBs) hugely impact any economy. This research sets out to better understand the challenges faced by leaders of companies undergoing purpose-led MSB transitioning. Thematic analysis of the interview data from founders and leaders of B-Corp certified purpose-led MSBs revealed …

Cancer Survivor Preferences For Breast Cancer Follow-Up Care: A Discrete Choice Experiment, Sameera Senanayake, Sanjeewa Kularatna, Fiona Crawford-Williams, David Brain, Michelle Allen, Ruvini M. Hettiarachchi, Nicolas H. Hart, Bogda Koczwara, Carolyn Ee, Raymond J. Chan

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Purpose: To identify the key attributes of breast cancer follow-up care models preferred by cancer survivors in Australia. Methods: A discrete choice experiment (DCE) was conducted to elicit preferences for attributes of breast cancer follow-up care. Respondents were presented with two hypothetical scenarios, known as choice sets, and asked to select a preference. Respondents were individuals living in Australia who were diagnosed with breast cancer within the past five years prior to survey completion and were recruited through the Breast Cancer Network of Australia and other community or consumer networks. Latent class modelling (LCM) approach under a random utility framework …

Invisible Innovation: Intellectual Labour On Regional University Campuses In Australia, Merete Schmidt, Lucinda Aberdeen, Colleen Carlon, Robyn Eversole

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

In Australia, regional university campuses occupy a geographically and institutionally peripheral position in a metrocentric higher education system. We argue that the concentration of research funding and capabilities at metropolitan campuses devalues the intellectual labour of academics working on regional university campuses. The authors use collaborative autoethnography to explore a common theme of ‘gap filling’, that is, mobilising scarce resources to create unique solutions for local issues, and draw on Southern Theory to theorise the implications for our work in the location-based power relations of the Australian knowledge production economy. In this context, we utilise Eversole's concept of ‘invisible innovation’ …

Retrenchment, Segregation, And Public Education: A Five-Year Analysis Of State Exclusionary School Discipline Legislation, Thalia Gonzalez, Will Martel

Faculty Scholarship

Notwithstanding the decision in Brown v. Board of Education formally ending educational segregation and more than two decades of state reform, the legislative landscape protecting minoritized children from the structural violence of exclusionary school discipline has dramatically shifted in less than five years. From the passage of state “Teacher’s Bills of Rights” to mandatory expulsions, rescissions of prior protections, and new categories of removal, a retrenchment of anti-inclusion legislation—and its corollary, educational carcerality— has occurred. While studies of other forms of legislative retrenchment in K–12 public schools, such as anti-Critical Race Theory and Don’t Say Gay laws, literacy bans, and …

Open Secrets, Robin C. Feldman, Vaughn Goehrig

Faculty Scholarship

Patents and trade secrets were never intended to meet, but in the world of biologic drugs, they've become as thick as thieves. Patent law's disclosure requirement has demanded far too little of biologics manufacturers-allowing them to keep vital manufacturing details under trade secret lock and key. This intellectual property patchwork has been devastating for drug affordability: Because the most critical manufacturing information remains hidden, makers of follow-on biologics (called biosimilars) are often stuck reinventing the wheel, even after the original patents have expired.

This Article makes two principal contributions to illuminating this problem. First, it presents, for the first time …

Medical Device Dangers: Choosing Ignorance In The Courts And At The Fda, George Horvath

Faculty Scholarship

Medical devices save lives and improve well-being but have caused as many as 83,000 deaths and 1.7 million injuries in a recent decade. Decisions of critical importance—patients’ decisions whether to have a device implanted, doctors’ decisions about which device to use, insurers’ decisions whether to reimburse for those devices—depend on information about risk that is provided by manufacturers. But producing this information is costly. Injured patients, through private lawsuits under state products liability theories, can incentivize device manufacturers to incur these costs and to produce and disclose information about device risk. Unfortunately, courts are making it increasingly unlikely that this …

A Deal's A Deal: The Obvious Problem In Patent Law, Robin C. Feldman, Gideon Schor

Faculty Scholarship

Critics and industry alike agree that something is amiss in the market for medicines: Drug prices continue to rise, while various players point fingers, attributing the problem to different systemic inefficiencies. At the heart of this problem, however, lies the patent system, which provides the power that drives many of the strategic behaviors discussed in the literature.

A Deal’s a Deal suggests that a key element of patent law — obviousness doctrine — has been overlooked in the search for causes and solutions of the many distortions in pharmaceutical markets. This uniquely comprehensive Article examines obviousness doctrine from numerous angles: …

Amino Acids And Lean Mass Accretion In Preterm Neonates, Antonio C Ramos Dos Santos, Marta L Fiorotto, Teresa A Davis

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Purpose of review: This review evaluates recent evidence on how total protein and energy intake, amino acid composition, and nutrient delivery modality influence protein synthesis in preterm neonates, with the goal of informing nutritional strategies to support optimal lean mass accretion and growth.

Recent findings: Preterm neonates exhibit anabolic resistance to feeding due to impaired insulin and amino acid signaling in skeletal muscle. Enteral nutrition, especially fortified human milk, supports better lean mass accretion and neurodevelopment than parenteral nutrition. Intermittent bolus feeding and pulsatile leucine supplementation during continuous feeding further enhance mTORC1-dependent translation initiation signaling and protein synthesis efficiency in …

Phase I Study Of Niraparib With Radiotherapy For Treatment Of Metastatic And Locally Advanced Invasive Carcinoma Of The Cervix (Nivix), Piyush Pathak, Eunji Jo, Susan Hilsenbeck, Matthew L Anderson, Alfredo Echeverria, Shelly Sharma, Jan Sunde, Tracilyn Hall, Anthony Costales, Claire Hoppenot, Michelle Ludwig

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Introduction: This Phase I study evaluated the safety and tolerability of concurrent niraparib, an oral poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) 1/2 inhibitor, with definitive radiotherapy in women with locally advanced or platinum-sensitive metastatic cervical cancer. Dose escalation followed a Bayesian Optimal Interval (BOIN) design with a target dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) rate of 30%.

Methods: Women ≥18 years with FIGO stage IIIC2 (bulky nodes >1 cm) or stage IV cervical cancer demonstrating response to platinum-based induction chemotherapy were eligible. Niraparib 100 mg was administered daily concurrent with pelvic radiotherapy (45-57.5 Gy via IMRT with nodal boosts) and brachytherapy, continuing 28 days post-radiation. Per …

A Biographic-Narrative Of The Masquerade Collections Of Alhassan Mahamudu Saliga: Reechoing The Textile Art Future, Kweku Safo-Ankama, Enock Swanzy-Impraim

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This study explores the biographical narratives of Alhassan Mahamudu Saliga’s masquerade collections. It examines his innovative textile art practices and their integration into Winneba masquerade culture. An in-depth narrative analysis was employed to interpret and construct his life story, facilitating an understanding of biographical data. The researchers employed interviews, observations, and document reviews as data collection instruments. The interviews focused on four key aspects: design concepts, construction techniques, material selection, and the benefits of using recycled materials. The findings revealed that Alhassan Mahamudu Saliga has been a prominent masquerade costume designer from 1984 to 2025. It was discovered that the …

Multiparametric Flow Cytometry Immune Profiling Of Pulmonary And Extra-Pulmonary Tuberculosis Reveals Distinct Blood-Based Biomarker Signatures, Kalaiarasan Ellappan, Prakash Babu Narasimhan, Harriet N. Garlant, Seshadri Vasan, Komal Jain, Saka Vinod Kumar, Vishnukanth Govindaraj, Vir Singh Negi, Karen E. Kempsell

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This study investigated immune cell distributions, cell-specific immune markers, and selected biomarker targets in pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) and extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) using multiparametric flow cytometry (MFC). Whole blood was collected from 45 individuals, including healthy controls (HC), EPTB, and PTB patients (n = 15/group). Peripheral blood leukocytes were analysed by MFC to characterize CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, natural killer (NK), invariant NKT (iNKT) and NKT cells, classical (CM), intermediate (IM) and non-classical monocytes (NCM), and activated monocytes (AM). Expression of GBP1, CALCOCO2, IFIT3, SNX10, ARG1, PD-1, and PD-L1 was assessed across these immune subsets. Increased frequencies of NK, NKT, …

A Metabolite-Dependent Mechanism By Which Bifidobacterium Animalis Subsp. Lactis Promotes Bacteroides Colonization, Khashayar Shahin, Liang Wang, Zihan He, Bomin Lv, Arya Van Alin, Richard Lo-Man, Hao Wu, Philippe Sansonetti, Jean Marc Collard

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Prokaryote-prokaryote symbiotic relationships influence interactions within microbial communities, affecting colonization, survival, and organization. Unlike competition, consortium species facilitate growth via metabolite cross-feeding. This study explored interactions between two early human gut colonizers: partially aerotolerant Bifidobacterium spp. and strict anaerobic Bacteroides spp., using omics techniques. Promotion of Bacteroides spp. growth by Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis was demonstrated through co-culture experiments in anaerobic conditions. Metabolomic analysis revealed over 150 unique metabolites present in B. animalis subsp. lactis supernatants are absent in other Bifidobacterium species, including 3-hydroxycapric acid, D-alanyl-D-alanine, 2-isopropylmalic acid, and D-glucose 2-phosphate. These compounds served as nutritional substrates, including carbon and …

A Service Ecosystems Approach For Sustainable Volunteer Engagement: Developing Insights From Covid-19 Disruptions, Ingrid O'Brien, Fazlul K. Rabbanee, Eunjung Kim, Megan Paull, Kirsten Holmes, Jo Anne Kestel

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The purpose of this paper is to develop foundational propositions designed to reflect success factors in the recruitment and retention of volunteers for future longevity. Using insights gathered from three universities' experiences of student volunteering during COVID-19, plus capturing the experiences of volunteer involving organizations, we draw on existing theories, as well as service ecosystem literature, to identify critical emerging trends. We argue that conceptualizing volunteer pathways as a set of linear, sequential stages linked to a single volunteering experience does not adequately capture the complexity of the volunteer ecosystem, including the dynamic inter-relationships among actors and the multiple roles …

A Universal Hybrid Model-Free Deep Quantum–Transfer Learning Controller Enhanced By Grey Wolf Optimization For Dc–Dc Boost Converters With Hardware-In-Loop Validation, Seyyed Morteza Ghamari, Asma Aziz

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This paper proposes a universal hybrid model-free quantum–transfer learning controller with enhanced online grey wolf optimization algorithm (GWO–QTL) for DC–DC boost converter. This system has the characteristics of non-minimum phase behavior, parasitic effects, and fractional-order dynamics because of high frequency operation. These characteristics make analytical modeling complicated and make it difficult to have a single traditional controller that will operate reliably over different converter types. This motivates the creation of a unified model-free control framework that is able to learn directly from the behavior of the converter without relying on the topology specific models. Reinforcement learning, where an agent interacts …

Barriers And Facilitators To Providing Women Postpartum Care By Health Care Providers In The First 12 Months After Childbirth: A Systematic Qualitative Meta-Aggregation Review, Maryam Rouhi, Silvana Bettiol, Sarah Prior, Narges Rouhi, Theodora Dedo Azu, Christine Stirling, Lynne Staff, Linda Jones, Antigoni Leftherioti, Patricia Nicholson

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Introduction: Postpartum care is crucial for maternal and infant health but remains inconsistently administered. This systematic qualitative review aimed to synthesize health care providers’ perspectives by exploring the barriers and facilitators experienced by health care providers in administering optimal maternal care during the first 12 months after childbirth. Methods: A systematic qualitative meta-aggregation review was conducted using the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology. Peer-reviewed qualitative studies from January 2010 to April 2024 were retrieved from MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, and Web of Science. Findings were mapped onto the Behavioral Model of Health Services Use. Results: Twenty-three studies were included. Four key themes …

Crossing Borders For Transformative Professional Learning About Health And Physical Education Policy Through The Policy Process Case Method, Jenna R. Lorusso, Kellie Baker, Chris Clark, Muhammad Jafar, Dylan Scanlon, Laura Alfrey, David Aldous

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The Policy Process Case Method (PPCM) is a recent innovation for (health and physical) education professionals to transform their complex policy experiences into practical insights. This method engages professionals across roles and geographical borders in sustained reflexive dialogue to collaboratively interrogate their policy experiences through policy theories. In this ∼1.5-year PPCM investigation, our group (i.e. two curriculum officers, one department head, and one researcher, from four nations) engaged in the following process. First, each practitioner shared a policy experience, including advocating for school policy change, developing provincial/state curricula, and implementing provincial/state curricula. The researcher identified relevant policy theories through which …

Crustose Coralline Algae, Algal Turfs, And Coral Reef Calcification, Sterling B. Tebbett, Scott D. Ling, David R. Bellwood, James Gahan, Alexandre C. Siqueira, Kyle Morgan

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Crustose coralline algae (CCA) play a central role in coral reef framework consolidation and vertical accretion, yet their contribution to reef-scale calcification remains poorly quantified, particularly on reefs dominated by algal turfs. We examined how CCA calcification rates differed across ten reef sites with varying benthic composition around Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Using tiles from calcification accretion units (CAUs), we quantified CCA carbonate production on light-exposed tile surfaces and related these rates to CCA cover and the Epilithic Algal Ratio (i.e. the spectrum of algal states from CCA to turf dominance), quantified on both tiles and the adjacent …

Customer Participation In Service Recovery: Accounting For The Role Of Customers’ Perceived Control And Empowerment In Hotel Services, Aron O'Cass, Shahin Sharifi, Vida Siahtiri, Atefeh Saniee

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Customer participation in service recovery is common, yet little is known about how different participation roles shape recovery evaluations. This gap is especially salient in hotels, where recovery often unfolds under time pressure and heightened emotions. We conceptualize participatory service recovery as involving two distinct customer roles: solution identification and solution implementation. Across three studies, we examine how these roles shape recovery satisfaction and whether perceived control and psychological empowerment help shape these effects. Study 1 uses the critical incident technique to identify role-specific participation behaviours and customers' interpretations of their recovery involvement. Studies 2 and 3 use scenario-based experiments …

Development Of A Clinical Prediction Model To Guide The Selective Use Of Spect/Ct In Papillary Thyroid Cancer, Liya Zhu, Junik Son, Lu Wang, Haifeng Hou, Byeong Cheol Ahn

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background: Radioiodine whole-body scan (WBS) is routinely performed after radioiodine therapy in papillary thyroid cancer (PTC), but its two-dimensional nature limits anatomical localization. The addition of single-photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography (SPECT/CT) improves diagnostic accuracy; however, routine use exposes patients to additional radiation, longer imaging time, and higher costs. This study aimed to establish a predictive model to identify which patients with PTC are more likely to benefit by adding SPECT/CT imaging after WBS, enabling selective rather than routine use. Methods: This retrospective study included 265 patients with pathologically confirmed PTC who underwent postoperative radioiodine therapy followed by WBS and …

Cannabinoid Impacts On Ethnic Modulation Of Atrial Septal Defect Prevalence Usa, Albert Stuart Reece, Gary Kenneth Hulse

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Objective: To conduct a detailed epidemiological exploration of the relative contributions of cannabis and ethnicity to US atrial septal defect (ASD) rates (ASDR). Study design: State-based ASDR data from the US National Births Defects Prevention Network, substance use, income and ethnicity data analyzed in RStudio. Results: Ethnic effects were significant with relative risks amongst African Americans and American Indians and Alaskan Natives of 2·40 (95%C.I. 2·27, 2·54) and 2·31 (2·19, 21·43), Cohen’s D of 1·44 and 1·46 and P values of 2·94 × 10⁻¹⁶⁸ and 3·01 × 10⁻¹⁷² compared to others, respectively. In general, additive models inclusion of …

Diasporic Challenges, Domestic Abuse And Patriarchal Norms Experienced By Migrant Pakistani Women In Australia, Safia Iftikhar, Shajimon Peter, Vicki Banham, Elizabeth Reid Boyd

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This article examines diasporic challenges, domestic abuse and patriarchal ideologies that constitute unique diasporic lives of first-generation migrant married Pakistani women (MPW) in Australia. For this qualitative study, 21 MPW residing in Australia were recruited for semi-structured in-depth interviews. Results from the interpretative phenomenological analysis of data revealed the diasporic encounters MPW face in Australia and the influence of patriarchal ideology on their lives in navigating those encounters. MPW’s responses to patriarchal norms in their married lives fell on a spectrum, which include conformation to the norms of patriarchal familial structures on the one side and resistance and bargaining against …

Dose–Response Association Between Systemic And Dermatologic Glucocorticoid Use And Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Nationwide Case–Control Study, David Vadsholt, Annika V. Kvist, Chano Sandiramoorthy, Joshua R. Lewis, Peter Vestergaard, Johan Røikjer, Nicklas H. Rasmussen

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Aims: To investigate the association and dose–response between systemic and topical glucocorticoids and odds of Type 2 diabetes mellitus. Materials and Methods: We conducted a nationwide case–control study using Danish registry data from 2013 to 2021. People aged 40 years or older with incident type 2 diabetes mellitus (n = 149 113) were matched 1:3 with controls (n = 447 339) by age, sex and weighted Charlson Comorbidity Index. Glucocorticoid exposure was defined as ≥ 1 prescription within 1 year before the date of diagnosis and ≥ 2 within 3 years and classified as systemic or topical. Conditional logistic regression …

Effect Of Molybdenum Content On The Microstructure And Tribological Properties Of Ti-Nb-Cu Alloys Produced By Lpbf Additive Manufacturing, Lei Qin, Shengfeng Zhou, Jianbo Jin, Huan Yang, Kunmao Li, Cheng Deng, Yujie Yuan, Seyed Reza Elmi Hosseini, Laichang Zhang

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Obtaining excellent wear resistance is critical for titanium alloys used as orthopedic implants. In this study, the β-type Ti-35Nb-5Cu- x Mo alloys (Ti355 x , x = 0, 1, 2, and 4 wt%) were fabricated by the laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) method. In the meantime, the influence mechanism of Mo content on the microstructure and tribological properties was systematically investigated. The results show that all the LPBF-produced Ti355 x alloys exhibit a bimodal columnar-equiaxed grain structure, with Mo refining columnar grains and suppressing the α″ phase formation. Moreover, increasing the Mo content reduced the relative density, while enhancing the …

Effects Of Eccentric Cycling Training On Aerobic And Functional Capacity In Patients With Heart Failure: A Randomised Controlled Trial, Lucy M. Stauborg, Andrew Haynes, Andrew J. Maiorana, Lawrence G. Dembo, David Lloyd, Kazunori Nosaka, Graham S. Hillis, Daniel J. Green, Louise H. Naylor

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Objectives: To evaluate the effects of eccentric and conventional concentric cycle training on aerobic and functional capacity and health-related quality of life in patients with heart failure. Design: Seventy participants (45 after attrition) with heart failure were randomised 1:1 to eccentric (n = 34) or concentric (n = 36) cycling and 45 completed the intervention (eccentric n = 25; concentric n = 20). Each intervention involved 2-weeks familiarisation and 12-weeks of training, performed at matched relative intensity (40–70% of heart rate reserve), twice weekly. Methods: The primary outcome was peak oxygen consumption (V̇O2peak); secondary outcomes included 6-minute walk distance, 30 …

Efficacy And Effectiveness Of Melatonin For The Management Of Musculoskeletal Pain: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis Of Placebo And Active Controlled Trials, Kangchao Wu, Ting Him Ho, Paula R. Beckenkamp, Michelle Hall, Hanzhi Zhang, James Puterflam, Karin Due Bruun, Jianhua Lin, Christopher Gordon, Ron Grunstein, Manuela L. Ferreira, Paulo Ferreira

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Melatonin may provide benefits for managing musculoskeletal (MSK) pain, and this review evaluated its efficacy and effectiveness on pain intensity and sleep quality. We searched 6 databases from inception to April 2025 and included randomized controlled trials in people with chronic or postoperative MSK pain reporting pain or sleep outcomes. Comparators included placebo or active controls (eg, analgesics). Random-effects meta-analyses were performed using mean differences with 95% confidence intervals. Subgroup analyses were conducted by comparator type. Sensitivity analyses included only low-risk studies. Certainty of evidence was assessed using GRADE. Twenty-three studies (2028 participants) were included. For people with chronic MSK …

Emerging Blood-Based Biomarkers For The Detection Of Parenchymal Brain Metastasis: Current Progress And Future Perspectives, Désirée Sexauer, Elin S. Gray, Helen Rizos, Pauline Zaenker, Aaron B. Beasley

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Parenchymal brain metastases of solid malignancies remain a significant clinical challenge, as they are often detected at later symptomatic stages, which are typically associated with worse prognosis. Delayed detection limits treatment options and contributes to poor outcomes, while early detection is critical for improving patient outcomes and quality of life. In this comprehensive review, we investigated the potential use and challenges of blood-based biomarkers, including circulating tumor cells, cell-free DNA, noncoding RNAs, extracellular vesicles, proteins, and other immune-related biomarkers, for the early detection of parenchymal brain metastasis. The use of blood-based liquid biopsies offers a promising avenue for early detection …