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Formative evaluation of a community-based approach to reduce the incidence of Strep A infections and acute rheumatic feverWe explore the acceptability of a novel, outreached-based approach to improve primary and primordial prevention of Strep A skin sores, sore throats and acute rheumatic fever in remote Aboriginal communities. A comprehensive prevention program delivered by trained Aboriginal Community Workers was evaluated using approximately fortnightly household surveys about health and housing and clinical records.
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Alcohol-related harm in emergency departments: linking to subsequent hospitalizations to quantify under-reporting of presentationsAlcohol-related harm in emergency departments: linking to subsequent hospitalizations to quantify under-reporting of presentations.To quantify the proportion of emergency department (ED) presentations that could be identified as alcohol-related when linking to a patient's subsequent hospitalization, compared with using ED data alone, and to assess that comparison according to the change in alcohol harm rates over time and potential variations within subpopulations.
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Exploiting the reactive oxygen species imbalance in high-risk paediatric acute lymphoblastic leukaemia through auranofinThe prognosis for high-risk childhood acute leukaemias remains dismal and established treatment protocols often cause long-term side effects in survivors. This study aims to identify more effective and safer therapeutics for these patients.
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An observational study of antibody responses to a primary or subsequent pertussis booster vaccination in Australian healthcare workersAdult pertussis vaccination is increasingly recommended to control pertussis in the community. However, there is little data on the duration and kinetics of immunity to pertussis boosters in adults. We compared IgG responses to vaccination with a tetanus, low-dose diphtheria, low-dose acellular pertussis (Tdap) booster at 1 week, 1 month and 1 year post-vaccination in whole-cell (wP)-primed Australian paediatric healthcare workers who had received an adult Tdap booster 5-12 years previously, to those who received their first Tdap booster. Tdap vaccination was well tolerated in both groups.
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Using Hawkes Processes to model imported and local malaria cases in near-elimination settingsDeveloping new methods for modelling infectious diseases outbreaks is important for monitoring transmission and developing policy. In this paper we propose using semi-mechanistic Hawkes Processes for modelling malaria transmission in near-elimination settings. Hawkes Processes are well founded mathematical methods that enable us to combine the benefits of both statistical and mechanistic models to recreate and forecast disease transmission beyond just malaria outbreak scenarios.
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Malignant Pleural Effusions—A Window Into Local Anti-Tumor T Cell Immunity?The success of immunotherapy that targets inhibitory T cell receptors for the treatment of multiple cancers has seen the anti-tumor immune response re-emerge as a promising biomarker of response to therapy. Longitudinal characterization of T cells in the tumor microenvironment (TME) helps us understand how to promote effective anti-tumor immunity. However, serial analyses at the tumor site are rarely feasible in clinical practice.
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Lower HbA1c targets are associated with better metabolic controlPrevious studies have suggested that clear HbA1c target setting by the diabetes team is associated with HbA1c outcomes in adolescents. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether this finding is consistent in a larger cohort of children from centers participating in the SWEET international diabetes registry. A questionnaire was sent out to 76 SWEET centers, of which responses from 53 pediatric centers were included (70%). Descriptive outcomes were presented as median with lower and upper quartile.
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Variation in nutrition education practices in SWEET pediatric diabetes centers-an international comparisonNutrition education is central to pediatric type 1 diabetes management. Dietary management guidelines for type 1 diabetes are evidence based, but implementation may be challenging and inconsistent.
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Locomotor and robotic assistive gait training for children with cerebral palsyTo determine if robotic assisted gait training (RAGT) using surface muscle electrical stimulation and locomotor training enhances mobility outcomes when compared to locomotor training alone in children with cerebral palsy (CP). Forty children (18 females, 22 males; mean age 8y 1mo, SD 2y 1mo; range 5y 1mo-12y 11mo) with CP in Gross Motor Function Classification System levels (GMFCS) III, IV, and V were randomly assigned to the RAGT and locomotor training (RAGT+LT) group or locomotor training only group (dosage for both: three 1-hour sessions a week for 6 weeks). Outcomes were assessed at baseline T1 (week 0), post-treatment T2 (week 6), and retention T3 (week 26).
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Case report: congenital intraventricular meningioma demonstrated with fetal MRICongenital intracranial meningiomas are rare lesions. We present a case of congenital intraventricular cystic meningioma, initially characterized with fetal MRI and confirmed postnatally with histopathology. To our knowledge, this is the first in vivo description of a congenital meningioma with fetal MRI. The fetal MRI was able to characterize the lesion as an atypical intraventricular mass which was separate from the choroid plexus, differentiating the mass from a choroid plexus neoplasm.