HPV.edu study protocol: a cluster randomised controlled evaluation of education, decisional support and logistical strategies in school-based human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination of adolescents.

Background: The National Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccination Program in Australia commenced in 2007 for females and in 2013 for males, using the quadrivalent HPV vaccine (HPV 6,11,16,18). Thus far, we have demonstrated very substantial reductions in genital warts and in the prevalence of HPV among young Australian women, providing early evidence for the success of this public health initiative. Australia has a long history of school-based vaccination programs for adolescents, with comparatively high coverage.

Five-year Antibody Persistence and Safety After a Single Dose of Combined Haemophilus influenzae Type B Neisseria meningitidis Serogroup C-Tetanus Toxoid Conjugate Vaccine in Haemophilus influenzae Type B-primed Toddlers.

Background: Antibody persistence is evaluated in healthy Australian children 4 and 5 years postvaccination with a single dose of combined Haemophilus influenzae type b-Neisseria meningitidis serogroup C tetanus toxoid conjugate vaccine (Hib-MenC-TT) compared with separately administered Hib-TT and MenC-CRM197 vaccines (Hib + MCC).

Methods: This is another follow-up of a phase III, open, randomized, controlled study (NCT00326118), in which 433 Hib-primed but MenC naïve toddlers aged 12-18 months were randomized 3:1 to receive Hib-MenC-TT or Hib + MCC vaccines. Protection against (1) MenC was measured by serum bactericidal antibody assay using rabbit complement (rSBA) and (2) Hib was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay of antibodies to polyribosylribitol phosphate (anti-PRP).

Leukocyte Populations in Human Preterm and Term Breast Milk Identified by Multicolour Flow Cytometry.

Background: Extremely preterm infants are highly susceptible to bacterial infections but breast milk provides some protection. It is unknown if leukocyte numbers and subsets in milk differ between term and preterm breast milk. This study serially characterised leukocyte populations in breast milk of mothers of preterm and term infants using multicolour flow cytometry methods for extended differential leukocyte counts in blood.

Lot-to-lot consistency of a tetravalent dengue vaccine in healthy adults in Australia: a randomised study.

Background: The recombinant yellow fever-17D-dengue virus, live, attenuated, tetravalent dengue vaccine (CYD-TDV) has undergone extensive clinical trials. Here safety and consistency of immunogenicity of phase III manufacturing lots of CYD-TDV were evaluated and compared with a phase II lot and placebo in a dengue-naïve population.

Methods: Healthy 18-60 year-olds were randomly assigned in a 3:3:3:3:1 ratio to receive three subcutaneous doses of either CYD-TDV from any one of three phase III lots or a phase II lot, or placebo, respectively in a 0, 6, 12 month dosing schedule.

Immune responses to a recombinant, four-component, meningococcal serogroup B vaccine (4CMenB) in adolescents: a phase III, randomized, multicentre, lot-to-lot consistency study.

Background: For decades, a broadly effective vaccine against serogroup B Neisseria meningitidis (MenB) has remained elusive. Recently, a four-component recombinant vaccine (4CMenB) has been developed and is now approved in Europe, Canada, Australia and some Latin American countries. This phase III, randomized study evaluated the lot consistency, early immune responses and the safety profile of 4CMenB in 11 to 17-year-old adolescents in Australia and Canada (NCT01423084).

Multivalent meningococcal serogroup B vaccines: challenges in predicting protection and measuring effectiveness.

Vaccines targeting Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B (MenB) have been attempted for 40 years. Monovalent outer membrane vesicle vaccines targeted at epidemic outbreaks have been successfully developed. Newer vaccines aim to induce antibodies to cross-reactive antigens, such as factor H binding protein (rLP2086) or a mix of outer membrane vesicle, factor H binding protein and other minor antigens (4CMenB).

Human Infant Memory B Cell and CD4+ T Cell Responses to HibMenCY-TT Glyco-Conjugate Vaccine.

Unlabelled: Carrier-specific T cell and polysaccharide-specific B cell memory responses are not well characterised in infants following glyco-conjugate vaccination. We aimed to determine if the number of Meningococcal (Men) C- and Y- specific memory B cells and; number and quality of Tetanus Toxoid (TT) carrier-specific memory CD4+ T cells are associated with polysaccharide-specific IgG post HibMenCY-TT vaccination. Healthy infants received HibMenCY-TT vaccine at 2, 4 and 6 months with a booster at 12 months.

Prolonged Cre expression driven by the α-myosin heavy chain promoter can be cardiotoxic.

Studying the importance of genetic factors in a desired cell type or tissue necessitates the use of precise genetic tools. With the introduction of bacteriophage Cre recombinase/loxP mediated DNA editing and promoter-specific Cre expression, it is feasible to generate conditional knockout mice in which particular genes are disrupted in a cell type-specific manner in vivo. In cardiac myocytes, this is often achieved through α-myosin heavy chain promoter (αMyHC)-driven Cre expression in conjunction with a loxP-site flanked gene of interest.

Translation of the Risk Avoidance Partnership (RAP) for Implementation in Outpatient Drug Treatment Clinics.

Scientific literature increasingly calls for studies to translate evidence-based interventions into real-world contexts balancing fidelity to the original design and fit to the new setting. The Risk Avoidance Partnership (RAP) is a health promotion intervention originally designed to train active drug users to become Peer Health Advocates. A theoretically driven approach was used to adapt RAP to fit implementation in outpatient methadone treatment clinics and pilot it with clinic patients.

Comparison of text-messaging to voice telephone interviews for active surveillance of adverse events following immunisation.

Objectives: In 2013, the Follow-up and Active Surveillance of Trivalent Influenza Vaccine in Mums (FASTMum) program began using short message service (SMS) to collect adverse event information in pregnant women who recently received trivalent influenza vaccine (TIV). This study was designed to compare data collected via SMS and telephone for the purposes of monitoring vaccine safety.

Methods: A number of 344 women who received TIV were randomly assigned to a telephone interview group.

Group A Streptococcal Carriage and Seroepidemiology in Children up to 10 Years of Age in Australia.

Background: Group A streptococci (GAS) and other β-hemolytic streptococci (BHS) cause pharyngitis, severe invasive disease and serious nonsuppurative sequelae including rheumatic heart disease and post streptococcal glomerulonephritis. The aim of this study was to assess carriage rates and anti-streptococcal C5a peptidase (anti-SCP) IgG levels and identify epidemiologic factors related to carriage or seropositivity in Australian children.

Methods: A throat swab and blood sample were collected for microbiological and serological analysis (anti-SCP IgG) in 542 healthy children aged 0-10 years.

Phase ii, randomized, placebo-controlled, 90-day study of emixustat hydrochloride in geographic atrophy associated with dry age-related macular degeneration.

Purpose: This study assessed the safety, tolerability, and pharmacodynamics of emixustat hydrochloride (ACU-4429), a novel visual cycle modulator, in subjects with geographic atrophy associated with dry age-related macular degeneration.

Methods: Subjects were randomly assigned to oral emixustat (2, 5, 7, or 10 mg once daily) or placebo (3:1 ratio) for 90 days. Recovery of rod photoreceptor sensitivity after a photobleach was measured by electroretinography.

A prospective cohort study comparing the reactogenicity of trivalent influenza vaccine in pregnant and non-pregnant women.

Background: Influenza vaccination during pregnancy can prevent serious illness in expectant mothers and provide protection to newborns; however, historically uptake has been limited due to a number of factors, including safety concerns. Symptomatic complaints are common during pregnancy and may be mistakenly associated with reactions to trivalent influenza vaccine (TIV). To investigate this, we compared post-vaccination events self-reported by pregnant women to events reported by non-pregnant women receiving TIV.

Quantitative trait locus mapping of acute functional tolerance in the LXS recombinant inbred strains.

Background: We previously reported that acute functional tolerance (AFT) to the hypnotic effects of alcohol was significantly correlated with drinking in the dark (DID) in the LXS recombinant inbred panel, but only in mice that had been pretreated with alcohol. Here, we have conducted quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping for AFT. DNA sequencing of the progenitor ILS and ISS strains and microarray analyses were also conducted to identify candidate genes and functional correlates.

Antibody persistence in Australian adolescents following meningococcal C conjugate vaccination.

Background: In Australia, following the introduction of serogroup C meningococcal (MenC) conjugate vaccine for toddlers and catch-up immunization through adolescence, MenC disease incidence plummeted and remains low. However, individual protection following MenC conjugate vaccination, particularly in young children, may be short-lived. We investigated the persistence of MenC serum bactericidal antibody (SBA) titers in adolescents, more than 7 years after a single "catch-up" dose of MenC conjugate vaccine.

Polyploidy can drive rapid adaptation in yeast.

Polyploidy is observed across the tree of life, yet its influence on evolution remains incompletely understood. Polyploidy, usually whole-genome duplication, is proposed to alter the rate of evolutionary adaptation. This could occur through complex effects on the frequency or fitness of beneficial mutations.

A randomized phase I study of the safety and immunogenicity of three ascending dose levels of a 3-antigen Staphylococcus aureus vaccine (SA3Ag) in healthy adults.

Background: Staphylococcus aureus is a common cause of healthcare-acquired morbidity and mortality and increased healthcare resource utilization. A prophylactic vaccine is being developed that may reduce this disease burden.

Methods: Volunteers in good general health aged 50-85 (n=312) and 18-24 (n=96) years were randomized to receive a single intramuscular dose of one of three dose levels of a non-adjuvanted, 3-antigen S.

Antimicrobial protein and Peptide concentrations and activity in human breast milk consumed by preterm infants at risk of late-onset neonatal sepsis.

Objective: We investigated the levels and antimicrobial activity of antimicrobial proteins and peptides (AMPs) in breast milk consumed by preterm infants, and whether deficiencies of these factors were associated with late-onset neonatal sepsis (LOS), a bacterial infection that frequently occurs in preterm infants in the neonatal period.

Study Design: Breast milk from mothers of preterm infants (≤ 32 weeks gestation) was collected on days 7 (n = 88) and 21 (n = 77) postpartum. Concentrations of lactoferrin, LL-37, beta-defensins 1 and 2, and alpha-defensin 5 were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

An inactivated Ross River virus vaccine is well tolerated and immunogenic in an adult population in a randomized phase 3 trial.

Ross River virus (RRV) is endemic in Australia and several South Pacific Islands. More than 90,000 cases of RRV disease, which is characterized by debilitating polyarthritis, were reported in Australia in the last 20 years. There is no vaccine available to prevent RRV disease.

Molecular tools for differentiation of non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae from Haemophilus haemolyticus.

Non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) and Haemophilus haemolyticus are closely related bacteria that reside in the upper respiratory tract. NTHi is associated with respiratory tract infections that frequently result in antibiotic prescription whilst H. haemolyticus is rarely associated with disease.

Computational fluid dynamics modeling of laboratory flames and an industrial flare.

A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methodology for simulating the combustion process has been validated with experimental results. Three different types of experimental setups were used to validate the CFD model. These setups include an industrial-scale flare setups and two lab-scale flames.

Intravitreal Aflibercept Outcomes in Patients with Persistent Macular Exudate Previously Treated with Bevacizumab and/or Ranibizumab for Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration.

Purpose. To assess whether intravitreal aflibercept (2.0 mg) can effectively reduce persistent macular exudate and enhance visual acuity in ranibizumab (0.

Febrile seizures following measles and varicella vaccines in young children in Australia.

Background: Febrile seizures (FS) are common in childhood with incidence peaking in the second year of life when measles and varicella-containing vaccines are administered. This study aimed to examine the vaccine-attributable risk of FS following separate administration of MMR and monovalent varicella vaccines (VV) prior to a planned change to MMRV as the second dose of measles-containing vaccine at 18 months of age.

Methods: All FS cases in children aged <5 years from 1st January 2012 to 30th April 2013 were identified from emergency department (ED) and inpatient databases at five Australian tertiary paediatric hospitals participating in PAEDS (Paediatric Active Enhanced Disease Surveillance).

The safety of seasonal influenza vaccines in Australian children in 2013.

Objective: To examine influenza vaccine safety in Australian children aged under 10 years in 2013.

Design, Participants And Setting: Active prospective surveillance study conducted with parents or carers of children who received influenza vaccine in outpatient clinics at six tertiary paediatric hospitals or from selected primary health care providers between 18 March and 19 July 2013.

Main Outcome Measures: Parental-reported frequency of systemic reactions (fever, headache, nausea, abdominal symptoms, convulsions, rash, rigors and fatigue), injection site reactions (erythema, swelling and/or pain at the injection site), use of antipyretics or analgesics, and medical attendance or advice within 72 hours after vaccination.

Gravity dual of supersymmetric gauge theories on a squashed five-sphere.

We present the gravity dual of large N supersymmetric gauge theories on a squashed five-sphere. The one-parameter family of solutions is constructed in Euclidean Romans F(4) gauged supergravity in six dimensions, and uplifts to massive type IIA supergravity. By renormalizing the theory with appropriate counterterms we evaluate the renormalized on-shell action for the solutions.