Recent interest in the diverse ecosystem of bacteria, fungi, parasites, and viruses that make up the skin microbiome has led to several studies investigating the microbiome in healthy skin and in a variety of dermatological conditions. An imbalance of the normal skin flora can cause some skin diseases, and current culture techniques are often unable to detect a microorganism to further our understanding of the clinical-microbiological correlates of disease and dysbiosis. Atopic dermatitis and rosacea are presentations that GPs often manage that may have an infective or microbiological component and can be challenging to treat.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Children with wheeze and asthma present with airway epithelial vulnerabilities, such as impaired responses to viral infection. It is postulated that the in utero environment may contribute to the development of airway epithelial vulnerabilities. The aims of the study were to establish whether the receptors for rhinovirus (RV), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are expressed in the amniotic membrane and whether the pattern of expression is similar to newborn nasal epithelium.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: There is limited data showing the predictive accuracy of traditional cardiovascular risk scores (CVRS) to predict asymptomatic coronary artery disease (CAD) determined by coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA).
Methods: Asymptomatic individuals without known CAD undergoing a screening CCTA and sufficient data to calculate their CVRS, were extracted retrospectively. Atherosclerosis was extracted using natural language processing of the CCTA report, including the coronary artery calcium score (CACS) and the extent and severity of CAD.
The pathogenesis of pulmonary fibrosis, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and other forms of interstitial lung disease, involves a complex interplay of various factors including host genetics, environmental pollutants, infection, aberrant repair and dysregulated immune responses. Highly variable clinical outcomes of some ILDs, in particular IPF, have made it difficult to identify the precise mechanisms involved in disease pathogenesis and thus the development of a specific cure or treatment to halt and reverse the decline in patient health. With the advent of in-depth molecular diagnostics, it is becoming evident that the pathogenesis of IPF is unlikely to be the same for all patients and therefore will likely require different treatment approaches.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) play a crucial role in regulation of the mammalian cell cycle. CDK4 and CDK6 control the G1/S restriction checkpoint through their ability to associate with cyclin D proteins in response to growth factor signals. CDK4 deficiency in mice gives rise to a range of endocrine-specific phenotypes including diabetes, infertility, dwarfism, and atrophy of the anterior pituitary.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIssue Addressed: Outdoor adventure education (OAE) (programs involving outdoor activities such as rock climbing or white-water canoeing) that participants perceive as risky, conducted in a social support setting, can be utilised by practitioners to elicit changes in educational and psychosocial outcomes to support participant adolescent wellbeing.
Methods: This study garnered the opinions of an expert OAE panel on the content of future programs aiming to impact adolescent wellbeing. The panel consisted of local (Western Australia, n = 7), national (Australia, n = 4), and international (Canada, Germany, New Zealand, United Kingdom, United States, n = 7) experts.
Background: This qualitative descriptive study gauged the perceptions of adolescent focus group participants and outdoor adventure education teachers on their preferred program components to improve adolescent wellbeing during a secondary school outdoor adventure education program.
Methods: Five student focus groups (N = 29) and four key informant interviews were conducted. Manual clustering of transcripts and template thematic analysis involving the development of a priori codes from interview questions resulted in an initial deductive code frame, followed by an inductive coding process.
Purpose: Matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and -3 (MMP-3), and osteopontin (OPN) are associated with adipose-tissue expansion and development of metabolic disease. The purpose of the current study was to assess the circulating concentration of these markers, along with adiponectin and glucose concentrations, in response to acute exercise in individuals with overweight or obesity.
Methods: Fourteen sedentary males with overweight or obesity (29.
Expert sport performers cope with a multitude of visual information to achieve precise skill goals under time stress and pressure. For example, a major league baseball or cricket batter must read opponent variations in actions and ball flight paths to strike the ball in less than a second. Crowded playing schedules and training load restrictions to minimise injury have limited opportunity for field-based practice in sports.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIdiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is an interstitial lung disease associated with chronic inflammation and tissue remodelling leading to fibrosis, reduced pulmonary function, respiratory failure and death. Bleomycin (Blm)-induced lung fibrosis in mice replicates several clinical features of human IPF, including prominent lymphoid aggregates of predominantly B-cells that accumulate in the lung adjacent to areas of active fibrosis. We have shown previously a requirement for B-cells in the development of Blm-induced lung fibrosis in mice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIt has been accepted for decades that T lymphocytes and metastasising tumour cells traverse basement membranes (BM) by deploying a battery of degradative enzymes, particularly proteases. However, since many redundant proteases can solubilise BM it has been difficult to prove that proteases aid cell migration, particularly in vivo. Recent studies also suggest that other mechanisms allow BM passage of cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn 2020, several geographically isolated farms in Victoria, Australia, experienced an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus H7N7 and low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) viruses H5N2 and H7N6. Effective containment and control measures ensured the eradication of these viruses but the event culminated in substantial loss of livestock and significant economic impact. The avian HPAI H7N7 virus generally does not infect humans; however, evidence shows the ocular pathway presents a favourable tissue tropism for human infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: The completion of concurrent strength and endurance training can improve exercise economy in cyclists and runners; however, the efficacy of strength training (ST) implementation to improve economy in long-distance (LD) triathletes has not yet been investigated. The purpose of this study was to investigate physiological outcomes in LD triathletes when ST was completed concurrently to endurance training.
Methods: A total of 25 LD triathletes were randomly assigned to either 26 weeks of concurrent endurance and ST (n = 14) or endurance training only (n = 11).
Sport performance consists of interacting individual, task and environmental constraints, but research has used a monodisciplinary, rather than an interdisciplinary approach to understand performance. This study used Australian football (AF) as the exemplar sport to investigate the value of an interdisciplinary approach to understand sport performance. Through this, it was also possible to quantify individual differences and representative task design.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe RNA-binding protein heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein L-like (hnRNPLL) controls alternative splicing of protein tyrosine phosphatase receptor type C (Ptprc) which encodes CD45. hnRNPLL deficiency leads to a failure in silencing Ptprc exons 4-6 causing aberrant expression of the corresponding CD45 isoforms, namely, CD45RA, RB and RC. While an N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea-induced point mutation in murine Hnrnpll results in loss of peripheral naïve T cells, its role in B-cell biology remains unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHeterogeneous nuclear ribonuclear protein l-like (hnRNPLL) is an RNA binding protein that regulates alternative splicing of mRNA and is abundantly expressed in memory T lymphocytes of the immune system and in the brain. A hypomorphic allele of the gene encoding hnRNPLL (Hnrpll) selectively reduces T cell accumulation in lymphoid tissues, but little is known about its effects in the brain. Therefore, we exposed Hnrpll mice to a test battery with relevance for a range of psychiatric illnesses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPulmonary fibrosis occurs in a heterogeneous group of lung disorders and is characterised by an excessive deposition of extracellular matrix proteins within the pulmonary interstitium, leading to impaired gas transfer and a loss of lung function. In the past 10 years, there has been a dramatic increase in our understanding of the immune system and how it contributes to fibrogenic processes within the lung. This review will compare some of the models used to investigate the pathogenesis and treatment of pulmonary fibrosis, in particular those used to study immune cell pathogenicity in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, highlighting their advantages and disadvantages in dissecting human disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe mesothelium when first described was thought to function purely as a non-adhesive surface to facilitate intracoelomic movement of organs. However, the mesothelium is now recognized as a dynamic cellular membrane with many important functions that maintain serosal integrity and homeostasis. For example, mesothelial cells interact with and help regulate the body's inflammatory and immune system following infection, injury, or malignancy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInfluenza viruses arise from animal reservoirs, and have the potential to cause pandemics. In 2013, low pathogenic novel avian influenza A(H7N9) viruses emerged in China, resulting from the reassortment of avian-origin viruses. Following evolutionary changes, highly pathogenic strains of avian influenza A(H7N9) viruses emerged in late 2016.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLiterature indicates that mental toughness contributes to successful performance when faced with challenge. This study used an exemplar sport of Australian Rules football to investigate whether skilled performance thrived across increased challenge in small-sided games. Higher ( = 14) and lower ( = 17) skilled Australian footballers were recruited.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study determined if small-sided games could discriminate perceptual-cognitive-motor skill in Australian Rules Footballers. Higher skilled Western Australian Football League (WAFL) (n = 17) and lesser skilled Amateur (n = 23) players were recruited. Participants played three small-sided games of three minutes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSports science research is traditionally monodisciplinary despite calls for an interdisciplinary focus. The primary purpose of this systematic review was to identify studies on talent identification, talent selection and competition performance to determine whether interdisciplinary research is being conducted. Thirty-six studies met the selection criteria.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLuckin, KM, Badenhorst, CE, Cripps, AJ, Landers, GJ, Merrells, RJ, Bulsara, MK, and Hoyne, GF. Strength training in long-distance triathletes: Barriers and characteristics. J Strength Cond Res 35(2): 495-502, 2021-The purpose of this investigation was to identify perceived and physical barriers toward the completion of concurrent strength training and endurance training in long-distance triathletes.
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