Skip to content

Search

Codesign and knowledge translation of the Strength-based, Tiered, Accessible Resources and Supports (STARS) for Kids study to identify and support child development

Many children and their families, especially those from priority populations, experience barriers to accessing high-quality early childhood health, education, social and legal services. Further, these families are often under-represented in service planning and research; hence innovations are not designed to meet their needs. Our aim is to codesign with families and the wider community, a Strength-based, Tiered, Accessible Resources and Supports for Kids (STARS for Kids) programme to optimise child development, parental mental well-being, and family psychosocial needs in the first 2000 days from pregnancy to start of school

Body mass index, prebiotic supplementation during pregnancy and gestational diabetes mellitus risk: an effect modification analysis from a randomised controlled trial

Prebiotic dietary supplementation has been shown to improve glucose homeostasis in type 2 diabetes patients. The aim of this analysis was to determine whether pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) modifies the effect of prebiotic supplementation from mid-pregnancy on reducing the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus

Moral injury in clinical and academic medicine—it is time to act

When doctors working within healthcare systems under pressure perpetrate, witness, or fail to prevent acts that contradict their own moral or ethical values and expectations, it can lead to moral distress or moral injury. This can result from active behaviour and from purposeful inactive behaviour. It is a growing and critical concern, representing significant distress that extends far beyond traditional concepts such as burnout. This article discusses moral injury in clinical and academic medicine and actively gives suggestions to prevent and address moral injury. 

Shame as a mediator of the association of childhood emotional abuse with aversive cognitive perseveration in adults

Childhood emotional abuse (CEA) has been linked to response-focused emotion regulation in adulthood. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unexplored. This pre-registered study examined whether shame mediates the association between CEA history and aversive cognitive perseveration (ACP), including brooding rumination, experiential avoidance and emotional non-acceptance, in adulthood. 

An infant nasal microbial gene atlas uncovers intervention-driven microbiome shifts and salt-resistant pathogen expansion

Functional studies of how early-life interventions shape the airway microbiome remain scarce. Here, we performed metagenomic sequencing of 704 longitudinal nasal swabs from infants with and without cystic fibrosis (CF) to construct and characterize a non-redundant gene atlas of the infant nasal microbiome. We aimed to determine how the nasal microbiome is perturbed by early therapies, as CF is commonly treated with inhaled hypertonic saline to improve mucociliary clearance.

Neonatal sepsis and cardiovascular dysfunction II: assessment

Neonatal sepsis-induced cardiovascular dysfunction includes impaired myocardial function (which may be systolic and/or diastolic) and vasoregulatory failure (which may lead to vasodilation or vasoconstriction). The haemodynamic response in neonatal sepsis may therefore be hyperdynamic or hypodynamic, and the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms are heterogenous.

Low-plastic diet and urinary levels of plastic-associated phthalates and bisphenols: the randomized controlled PERTH Trial

The everyday use of plastic products exposes us to plastic-associated chemicals (PACs), which have been associated with risks to human health. We present the results of the Plastic Exposure Reduction Transforms Health Trial, with an observational cohort of 211 Australian participants and a 7-day pilot randomized controlled trial in 60 participants. Intervention groups received combinations of plastic-free kitchenware, low-plastic personal-care products and food sourced from more than 100 producers that minimized all plastic touchpoints from paddock to plate, while the control group received no intervention.

Pharmacological inhibition of sclerostin protects bone from B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia-mediated destruction

B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) is the most common pediatric cancer. Current therapeutic regimens have improved 5-year event-free survival rates to 90%, however clinical outcomes for high-risk subgroups, such as BCR-ABL1+ B-ALL and relapsed ALL, remain poor. In addition, 16% of newly diagnosed children with ALL present with vertebral compression fractures. Moreover, 16% of children with ALL undergoing glucocorticoid therapy also experience a high incidence of vertebral fractures, indicating that bone health may be compromised by both leukemia progression and osteotoxicity of chemotherapy.

Temporal analysis of respiratory virus epidemics in Victoria over winter 2024

During winter months of temperate regions, concurrent epidemics of multiple respiratory pathogens can occur, causing periods of increased clinical burden. Case time series, which are predominantly used to monitor infection levels, can exhibit substantial noise and day-of-the-week effects, limiting the visual interpretation of trends in raw data.

Working together for perioperative excellence in pediatric perioperative research

Pediatric perioperative care can be described as a journey, starting when surgery is first contemplated, all the way through to a patient’s full recovery. For the child and their family, this journey spans from the time at home pre-operatively through a hospital stay and finishes with at-home recovery.