Development of CD33-Targeted Dual Drug-Loaded Nanoparticles for the Treatment of Pediatric Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

Paediatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a heterogeneous hematological malignancy still heavily reliant on traditional chemotherapeutic approaches. Combination treatments have shown to be a superior approach, but their success is often hindered by side effects and different drugs' pharmacokinetics. Here, we investigated ABT-737 and Purvalanol A as a potential drug pairing for pediatric AML and described the development of CD33-targeted polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) to enable their simultaneous targeted codelivery.

Sulfated Alginate for Biomedical Applications.

Alginate (Alg) polymers have received much attention due to the mild conditions required for gel formation and their good bio-acceptability. However, due to limited interactions with cells, many drugs, and biomolecules, chemically modified alginates are of great interest. Sulfated alginate (S-Alg) is a promising heparin-mimetic that continues to be investigated both as a drug molecule and as a component of biomaterials.

Applications of Functional Polymeric Eutectogels.

Over the past two decades, deep eutectic solvents (DESs) have captured significant attention as an emergent class of solvents that have unique properties and applications in differing fields of chemistry. One area where DES systems find utility is the design of polymeric gels, often referred to as "eutectogels," which can be prepared either using a DES to replace a traditional solvent, or where monomers form part of the DES themselves. Due to the extensive network of intramolecular interactions (e.

"Dissolve-on-Demand" 3D Printed Materials: Polymerizable Eutectics for Generating High Modulus, Thermoresponsive and Photoswitchable Eutectogels.

Solvent-free photopolymerization of vinyl monomers to produce high modulus materials with applications in 3D printing and photoswitchable materials is demonstrated. Polymerizable eutectic (PE) mixtures are prepared by simply heating and stirring various molar ratios of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM), acrylamide (AAm) and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA). The structural and thermal properties of the resulting mixtures are evaluated by 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy as well as differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA).

Social marketing and mass media interventions to increase sexually transmissible infections (STIs) testing among young people: social marketing and visual design component analysis.

Introduction: Globally, sexually transmissible infections (STIs) continue to disproportionately affect young people. Regular STI testing is an important public health strategy but remains low among this age group. Raising awareness of testing is an essential step and requires effective interventions designed for young people.

Synthesis of sulfated alginate from its tributylammonium salt: Comparing the sulfating agents HSO-DCC and SO·py.

Direct comparison of the sulfating agents HSO-DCC and SO·py for the synthesis of sulfated alginate (S-Alg) as well as detailed characterisation of the products that form is lacking. This study involving three researchers used the tributylammonium salt of alginate (T-Alg) as a common substrate for the sulfation reactions. It was found that the use of HSO-DCC resulted in poor control of the degree of sulfation (DS) and that the S-Alg polymers contained nitrogen (determined by elemental analysis) as a result of formation of an unwanted N-acylurea adduct.

Physicochemical and in vitro biological evaluation of an injectable self-healing quaternized chitosan/oxidized pectin hydrogel for potential use as a wound dressing material.

Injectable self-healing hydrogels are attractive materials for use as wound dressings. To prepare such hydrogels, the current study used quaternized chitosan (QCS) to improve the solubility and antibacterial activity and oxidized pectin (OPEC) to introduce aldehyde groups for Schiff's base reaction with the amine groups from QCS. Self-healing hydrogels were made by co-injection of polymer solutions at specific polymer concentrations and reagent ratios that optimized both Schiff's base reactions and ionic interactions.

"They're My Go-To People": A Qualitative Study of Support Networks for People Recently Diagnosed With HIV in Queensland, Australia.

Support networks promote care engagement and prevent social isolation for people living with HIV (PLWH). This study examined the personal support networks of recently diagnosed PLWH and explored how these networks change over time. We developed qualitative social network maps with 10 recently diagnosed PLWH in Queensland and identified unique and dynamic support networks.

HIV Health literacy beyond the biomedical model: an innovative visual learning tool to highlight the psychosocial complexities of care.

The HIV care continuum represents a linear clinical pathway from testing to viral suppression; however, it does not capture the psychosocial complexities of contemporary HIV care. We developed an innovative and appealing visual learning resource to extend the scope of HIV health literacy beyond biomedical constructs. Based on the lived experiences of recently diagnosed people living with HIV in Queensland, the "Journeys through the HIV Care Continuum" Map presents the continuum as a complex journey incorporating challenges such as poor health literacy, health service access and stigma alongside facilitators to care, including emotional and peer support.

Using information and communication technology learnings to alleviate social isolation for older people during periods of mandated isolation: A review.

Objective: To examine the effectiveness of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in reducing social isolation in older people and draw recommendations from previous literature appropriate for informing ICT use in future mandated periods of isolation.

Methods: A systematically conducted review of key databases to identify studies investigating ICT interventions that targeted social isolation or loneliness among older people.

Results: Fifteen articles were identified.

: Cascading health and social issues for women living and aging with HIV.

Background: There has been limited qualitative inquiry aimed at understanding the gendered and unique experiences of women living with HIV in high-income countries. In Australia, the relatively small number of women living with HIV means they have been largely overlooked in social, clinical, and policy representations of HIV over time.

Objectives: To explore the experiences of women living long-term and aging with HIV, to understand the complex intersections between their health and social trajectories.

Understanding access to healthcare for gender diverse young people: a critical review of the literature.

Gender diverse young people face well-documented physical, mental and sexual health disparities compared to the general population. Differential access to healthcare is a key driver of these inequities and literature highlights high unmet healthcare need among members of this group. Healthcare access has been described through a model that defines five dimensions of health services: approachability; acceptability; availability and accommodation; affordability; and appropriateness; and five abilities of health service consumers that interact with these dimensions: the abilities to perceive, seek, reach, pay and engage.

Multiplex Screening for Interacting Compounds in Paediatric Acute Myeloid Leukaemia.

Paediatric acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) is a heterogeneous disease characterised by the malignant transformation of myeloid precursor cells with impaired differentiation. Standard therapy for paediatric AML has remained largely unchanged for over four decades and, combined with inadequate understanding of the biology of paediatric AML, has limited the progress of targeted therapies in this cohort. In recent years, the search for novel targets for the treatment of paediatric AML has accelerated in parallel with advanced genomic technologies which explore the mutational and transcriptional landscape of this disease.

Enduring stigma and precarity: A review of qualitative research examining the experiences of women living with HIV in high income countries over two decades.

The lived experience of HIV for women remains poorly understood. In particular, there has been little attention to the consequences for women living with HIV (WLHIV) of changing social, epidemiological, biomedical and policy contexts, or to the implications of long-term treatment and aging for the current generation of HIV-positive women. We reviewed qualitative research with WLHIV in selected high-income countries (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and the USA) to identify the most prevalent experiences of HIV for women and trends over time.

Views and preferences of people living with HIV about smoking, quitting and use of nicotine products.

Aims And Background: People living with HIV (PLHIV) have a higher rate of smoking and experience a greater burden of tobacco-related disease than the general population. This study aimed to understand the role smoking plays in the lives of PLHIV, participants' views of traditionally available nicotine products (e.g.

Peer navigators' role in supporting people living with human immunodeficiency virus in Australia: Qualitative exploration of general practitioners' perspectives.

The redefining of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) from an acute disease to a manageable chronic illness has reshaped the focus of care, emphasising clinical outcomes and sidelining the complex social barriers many people living with HIV (PLHIV) still face. This parallels changes in the location of HIV care in Australia, with many PLHIV seeking care from private general practitioners whose ability to address complex social issues is constrained by limitations of time and resources. In response, peer navigation has emerged as a model of care implemented by some HIV-based community health organisations seeking to support PLHIV's biomedical and psychosocial needs.

Exploring the Social Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on People Living with HIV (PLHIV): A Scoping Review.

Understanding the clinical impact of COVID-19 has been central to emerging research in the HIV field, but in focusing on the biomedical, researchers must not overlook the socially embedded nature of HIV and the potential social impacts of this new pandemic on PLHIV. We conducted a scoping review to explore emerging research examining the social impacts of COVID-19 on PLHIV in OECD countries over the first 12 months of the pandemic. Twenty articles were identified and included for review.

Understanding the Social and Emotional Dimensions of HIV Self-Management: A Qualitative Study of Newly Diagnosed People Living With HIV in Queensland, Australia.

Understanding of HIV self-management increasingly focuses on treatment adherence and associated health-related behaviors, yet people living with HIV (PLWH) seldom perform these actions in a social vacuum. Thus, delivering comprehensive self-management support programs for PLWH requires an understanding of the social and emotional dimensions of HIV self-management. Through thematic analysis of in-depth interviews with 35 newly diagnosed PLWH, this descriptive qualitative study highlights these dimensions and their effect on experiences of HIV diagnosis and care.

Evaluation of surface layer stability of surface-modified polyester biomaterials.

Surface modification of biomaterials is a strategy used to improve cellular and in vivo outcomes. However, most studies do not evaluate the lifetime of the introduced surface layer, which is an important aspect affecting how a biomaterial will interact with a cellular environment both in the short and in the long term. This study evaluated the surface layer stability in vitro in buffer solution of materials produced from poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (50:50) and polycaprolactone modified by hydrolysis and/or grafting of hydrophilic polymers using grafting from approaches.

Developing a prototype for integrated dental and diabetes care: understanding needs and priorities.

Background: Periodontal treatment may be a useful adjunct to medical management of diabetes; however, oral health has not been integrated into multidisciplinary diabetes care in Australia. This study aimed to understand the needs of patients and staff at a diabetes clinic to inform a prototype of integrated dental and diabetes care.

Methods: Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from patients and staff at West Moreton Diabetes Clinic (WMDC) between September-October 2019.

Factors affecting the embedding of integrated primary-secondary care into a health district.

With the aging population, the tide of chronic disease is rising with attendant increases in health service need. Integrated care and patient-centred approaches, which established partnerships between a regional Hospital and health service (HHS), the local primary health network and local general practitioners (GPs), were identified as exemplars of an approach needed to support growing community health needs. This paper summarises the findings from a process evaluation of four GP-specialist care integration programs with the aim of identifying recommendations for embedding integrated GP-specialist care into routine practice within the HHS.

Consumer perspectives on pharmacy staff roles in providing oral health services in Australia.

Australian and international findings report pharmacy staff are motivated to expand and undertake new roles in public health and expressed a strong interest in providing oral healthcare services to the community. We sought to describe consumer experiences within primary oral healthcare, and views about pharmacy staff roles and boundaries in providing oral health services as perceived by a sample of consumers living within metropolitan Australia. Sampling occurred purposively to enable diverse perspectives on the topic.

Exploring nurse navigators' contribution to integrated care: a qualitative study.

This paper examines nurse navigation as a model of integrated care operating across primary and secondary healthcare settings. A two-phase qualitative study involving a focus group with seven nurse navigators (NNs) to explore their understandings and perceptions of the role, followed by in-depth interviews with three NNs to examine current practice, was undertaken in Queensland, Australia. NNs' role spanned a continuum of patient and population care, and involved engagement in clinical integration, coordinating patient care and providing education and points-of-contact for healthcare professionals.

Applying intersectionality theory in health promotion research and practice.

Health promotion researchers and practitioners are grappling with how to address growing health inequalities for population groups. In particular, critiques of dominant behaviour change approaches draw attention to the need to engage with social theories to better understand the social and relational drivers of health. Public health researchers are increasingly acknowledging intersectionality as an important theoretical approach, providing a framework for investigating health inequalities by highlighting intersections of individuals' multiple identities within social systems of power that compound and exacerbate experiences of ill health.