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Research

Impact of covid-19 restrictions on western Australian children’s physical activity and screen time

Physical activity is essential for children’s healthy development, yet COVID-19 physical distancing restrictions such as school closures and staying at home, playground closures, and the cancelling of organised community sport have dramatically altered children’s opportunities to be physically active. This study describes changes in levels of physical activity and screen time from February 2020 (i.e., before COVID-19 restrictions were introduced in Western Australia) to May 2020 (i.e., when COVID-19 restrictions were in place). Parents of children aged 5 to 9 years from Western Australia were eligible to participate and recruited through convenience sampling.

Research

The Role of Cannabinoids as Anticancer Agents in Pediatric Oncology

Cannabinoids are a group of chemicals that bind to receptors in the human body and, in turn, modulate the endocannabinoid system (ECS). They can be endogenously produced, synthetic, or derived from the plant Cannabis sativa L. Research over the past several decades has shown that the ECS is a cellular communication network essential to maintain multiple biological functions and the homeostasis of the body. Indeed, cannabinoids have been shown to influence a wide variety of biological effects, including memory, pain, reproduction, bone remodeling or immunity, to name a few. Unsurprisingly, given these broad physiological effects, alterations of the ECS have been found in different diseases, including cancer.

Research

OmicsVolcano: software for intuitive visualization and interactive exploration of high-throughput biological data

Advances in omics technologies have generated exponentially larger volumes of biological data; however, their analyses and interpretation are limited to computationally proficient scientists. We created OmicsVolcano, an interactive open-source software tool to enable visualization and exploration of high-throughput biological data, while highlighting features of interest using a volcano plot interface. In contrast to existing tools, our software and user-interface design allow it to be used without requiring any programming skills to generate high-quality and presentation-ready images.

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Hospital admissions for skin and soft tissue infections in a population with endemic scabies: A prospective study in Fiji, 2018-2019

Scabies is an important predisposing factor for impetigo but its role in more serious skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) is not well understood. Information is limited on incidence of SSTIs in the presence of endemic scabies. We conducted a prospective study of hospital admissions for SSTIs in the Northern Division of Fiji (population: 131,914). Prospective surveillance for admissions with impetigo, abscess, cellulitis, wound infection, pyomyositis, necrotizing fasciitis, infected scabies, and crusted scabies was conducted at the Division's referral hospital between 2018 to 2019. Information was collected on demographic characteristics, clinical features, microbiology, treatment and outcomes.

Research

Assessing the impact of the 13 valent pneumococcal vaccine on childhood empyema in Australia

Empyema is a serious complication of pneumonia frequently caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae (SP). We assessed the impact of the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (13vPCV) on childhood pneumonia and empyema after inclusion in the Australian National Immunisation Program.

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Sensitization to immune checkpoint blockade through activation of a STAT1/NK axis in the tumor microenvironment

Our results identify a pretreatment tumor microenvironment that predicts response to immune checkpoint blockade, which can be therapeutically attained

Research

Seasonal and regional patterns of lower leg cellulitis in Western Australia

In the warmer tropical regions of WA no seasonality was observed, but overall incidence of LLC presentations were higher

Research

Prebiotics: mechanisms and preventive effects in allergy

In this review, we describe both the mechanisms and the therapeutic evidence from preclinical and clinical studies exploring the role of prebiotics in allergy prevention

Research

Poverty, Parental Mental Health and Child/Adolescent Mental Disorders: Findings from a National Australian Survey

The purpose of this study is to examine the association between poverty and child mental disorders