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Metagenomic Characterisation of the Gut Microbiome and Effect of Complementary Feeding on Bifidobacterium spp. in Australian InfantsComplementary feeding induces dramatic ecological shifts in the infant gut microbiota toward more diverse compositions and functional metabolic capacities, with potential implications for immune and metabolic health. The aim of this study was to examine whether the age at which solid foods are introduced differentially affects the microbiota in predominantly breastfed infants compared with predominantly formula-fed infants.
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The ORIGINS Project Biobank: A Collaborative Bio Resource for Investigating the Developmental Origins of Health and DiseaseEarly onset Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), including obesity, allergies, and mental ill-health in childhood, present a serious and increasing threat to lifelong health and longevity. The ORIGINS Project (ORIGINS) addresses the urgent need for multidisciplinary efforts to understand the detrimental multisystem impacts of modern environments using well-curated large-scale longitudinal biological sample collections.
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Gene dysregulation in acute HIV-1 infection – early transcriptomic analysis reveals the crucial biological functions affectedTranscriptomic analyses from early human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection have the potential to reveal how HIV causes widespread and lasting damage to biological functions, especially in the immune system. Previous studies have been limited by difficulties in obtaining early specimens.
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Nature Connection: Providing a Pathway from Personal to Planetary HealthThe vast and growing challenges for human health and all life on Earth require urgent and deep structural changes to the way in which we live. Broken relationships with nature are at the core of both the modern health crisis and the erosion of planetary health. A declining connection to nature has been implicated in the exploitative attitudes that underpin the degradation of both physical and social environments and almost all aspects of personal physical, mental, and spiritual health.
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Vitality Revisited: The Evolving Concept of Flourishing and Its Relevance to Personal and Public HealthHuman flourishing, the state of optimal functioning and well-being across all aspects of an individual's life, has been a topic of philosophical and theological discussion for centuries. In the mid-20th century, social psychologists and health scientists began exploring the concept of flourishing in the context of health and high-level wellness.
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Urinary Ferritin as a Noninvasive Means of Assessing Iron Status in Young ChildrenIron deficiency (ID) is the most common nutritional deficiency affecting young children. Serum ferritin concentration is the preferred biomarker for measuring iron status because it reflects iron stores; however, blood collection can be distressing for young children and can be logistically difficult. A noninvasive means to measure iron status would be attractive to either diagnose or screen for ID in young children.
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Catalyst Twenty-Twenty: Post-Traumatic Growth at Scales of Person, Place and PlanetPlanetary health is a broad multidisciplinary effort that attempts to address what has been described as “Anthropocene Syndrome”—the wicked, interrelated challenges of our time. These include, but are not limited to, grotesque biodiversity losses, climate change, environmental degradation, resource depletion, the global burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), health inequalities, social injustices, erosion of wisdom and civility, together with the many structural underpinnings of these grand challenges.
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Circulating Epithelial Cell Cytokines Are Associated With Early-Onset Atopic DermatitisDebbie Susan Palmer Prescott BSc BND PhD MBBS BMedSci PhD FRACP Head, Nutrition in Early Life Honorary Research Fellow debbie.palmer@uwa.edu.au
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Lower Cord Blood IL-17 and IL-25, but Not Other Epithelial Cell-Derived Cytokines Are Associated with Atopic Dermatitis in InfancyThere is a growing need for early biomarkers that may predict the development of atopic dermatitis (AD). As alterations in skin barrier may be a primary event in disease pathogenesis, epithelial cell (EC) cytokines expression patterns may be a potential biomarker in early life to target allergy preventive strategies towards "at-risk" infants. The aim of this longitudinal investigation was to examine from birth over the course of infancy levels of the EC cytokines: thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), interleukin (IL)-33, IL-25, and IL-17 in infants at high-risk of AD due to maternal atopy.
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Comparing Web-Based Mindfulness With Loving-Kindness and Compassion Training for Promoting Well-Being in Pregnancy: Protocol for a Three-Arm Pilot Randomized Controlled TrialPromoting psychological well-being and preventing distress among pregnant women is an important public health goal. In addition to adversely impacting the mother's health and well-being, psychological distress in pregnancy increases the risk of poor pregnancy outcomes, compromises infant socioemotional development and bonding, and heightens maternal and child vulnerability in the postpartum period. Mindfulness and compassion-based interventions show potential for prevention and early intervention for perinatal distress.