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Research

Maternal stressful life events during pregnancy have been associated with immune dysregulation and increased risk for asthma and atopy in offspring. Few studies have investigated whether prenatal stress is associated with increased overall or specific infectious diseases in childhood, nor explored sex differences. We sought to examine the relationship between the nature and timing of maternal stress in pregnancy and hospitalisation with infection in offspring.

Research

Cancer cells display DNA hypermethylation at specific CpG islands in comparison to their normal healthy counterparts, but the mechanism that drives this so-called CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP) remains poorly understood. Here, we show that CpG island methylation in human T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) mainly occurs at promoters of Polycomb Repressor Complex 2 (PRC2) target genes that are not expressed in normal or malignant T-cells and which display a reciprocal association with H3K27me3 binding.

Research

A widespread G2P[4] rotavirus epidemic in rural and remote Australia provided an opportunity to evaluate the performance of Rotarix and RotaTeq rotavirus vaccines, ten years after their incorporation into Australia's National Immunisation Program.

Research

The proportion of births via cesarean section (CS) varies worldwide and in many countries exceeds WHO-recommended rates. Long-term health outcomes for children born by CS are poorly understood, but limited data suggest that CS is associated with increased infection-related hospitalisation. We investigated the relationship between mode of birth and childhood infection-related hospitalisation in high-income countries with varying CS rates.

Research

Previous studies have shown that there is overlap between victimization and the perpetration of bullying, and social and motivational variables are known to mediate this relationship. However, the effects of different moral disengagement strategies have not been studied, despite the fact that they exert a major influence on aggressive behavior.

Research

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a congenital disorder resulting in a multisystemic impairment in ion homeostasis. The subsequent alteration of electrochemical gradients severely compromises the function of the airway epithelia.

Research

Epidemiological evidence suggests offspring exposed to prenatal alcohol are at increased risk of alcohol use disorders in adulthood. The evidence on the risk of developing harmful alcohol use in adolescence is less clear.

Research

Energy drinks (ED) are popular among young people despite evidence of associated health risks. Research into the prevalence and pattern of ED intake among young people is sparse. The present study investigates the prevalence and pattern of ED intake among a large sample of adolescents, including how many consume them, how often, for what reasons and in what contexts.

Research

Several researchers have hypothesised that individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) show encoding delays in their obligatory event-related potentials (ERPs)/ event-related fields (ERFs) for low-level auditory information compared to neurotypical (NT) samples. However, empirical research has yielded varied findings, such as low-level auditory processing in ASD samples being unimpaired, superior, or impaired compared to NT samples. Diverse outcomes have also been reported for studies investigating ASD-NT differences in functional lateralisation of delays.

Research

To identify barriers to influenza vaccination of children hospitalised for acute respiratory illness in Australia. A total of 595 parents of children hospitalised with acute respiratory illness across five tertiary hospitals in 2019 participated in an online survey. Multivariate logistic regression identified factors most strongly associated with influenza vaccination barriers.