Using the Australian Immunisation Register to support general practices to improve childhood vaccination rates.

Background And Objectives: Strategies to improve vaccination rates have been implemented with considerable benefits. The main objective of this study was to assess the impact of a supported general practice intervention to 'catch up' overdue children.

Method: Between 2017 and 2018, a public health nurse visited 23 general practices with high numbers of overdue children to assist staff identify and follow up truly overdue children.

New global indicator for workers' health: mortality rate from diseases attributable to selected occupational risk factors.

Through sustainable development goals 3 and 8 and other policies, countries have committed to protect and promote workers' health by reducing the work-related burden of disease. To monitor progress on these commitments, indicators that capture the work-related burden of disease should be available for monitoring workers' health and sustainable development. The World Health Organization and the International Labour Organization estimate that only 363 283 (19%) of 1 879 890 work-related deaths globally in 2016 were due to injuries, whereas 1 516 607 (81%) deaths were due to diseases.

Lessons from the 2018 International Symposium on Alternatives Assessment: Advances and Reflections on Practice and Ongoing Needs to Build the Field.

Alternatives assessment is gaining traction as a systematic method to support the informed substitution of chemicals of concern. The 2nd International Symposium on Alternatives Assessment, on 1-2 November 2018, convened nearly 150 professionals from government agencies, industry, consultant firms, academia, and advocacy organizations to advance a greater understanding of the evolving methods, practices, and challenges in the use of alternatives assessment. This article reviews highlights and lessons from the symposium, including 1) notable advances in methods, 2) shared insights from practitioners on best practices as well as inherent tensions and challenges, and 3) research and practice needs in the field that can be addressed by organizations such as the newly launched Association for the Advancement of Alternatives Assessment.

An Assessment of Climate Change and Health Vulnerability and Adaptation in Dominica.

A climate change and health vulnerability and adaptation assessment was conducted in Dominica, a Caribbean small island developing state located in the Lesser Antilles. The assessment revealed that the country's population is already experiencing many impacts on health and health systems from climate variability and change. Infectious diseases as well as food and waterborne diseases pose continued threats as climate change may exacerbate the related health risks.

Advancing alternatives assessment for safer chemical substitution: A research and practice agenda.

Alternatives assessment has emerged as a science policy field that supports the evaluation and adoption of safer chemistries in manufacturing processes and consumer products. The recent surge in the development and practice of alternatives assessment has revealed notable methodological challenges. Spurred by this need, we convened an informal community of practice comprising industry experts, academics, and scientists within government and nongovernmental organizations to prioritize a research and practice agenda for the next 5 years that, if implemented, would significantly advance the field of alternatives assessment.

The Architecture of Chemical Alternatives Assessment.

Chemical alternatives assessment is a method rapidly developing for use by businesses, governments, and nongovernment organizations seeking to substitute chemicals of concern in production processes and products. Chemical alternatives assessment is defined as a process for identifying, comparing, and selecting safer alternatives to chemicals of concern (including those in materials, processes, or technologies) on the basis of their hazards, performance, and economic viability. The process is intended to provide guidance for assuring that chemicals of concern are replaced with safer alternatives that are not likely to be later regretted.

Alternatives Assessment Frameworks: Research Needs for the Informed Substitution of Hazardous Chemicals.

Background: Given increasing pressures for hazardous chemical replacement, there is growing interest in alternatives assessment to avoid substituting a toxic chemical with another of equal or greater concern. Alternatives assessment is a process for identifying, comparing, and selecting safer alternatives to chemicals of concern (including those used in materials, processes, or technologies) on the basis of their hazards, performance, and economic viability.

Objectives: The purposes of this substantive review of alternatives assessment frameworks are to identify consistencies and differences in methods and to outline needs for research and collaboration to advance science policy practice.

Histone deacetylase 1 and 2 are essential for normal T-cell development and genomic stability in mice.

Histone deacetylase 1 and 2 (HDAC1/2) regulate chromatin structure as the catalytic core of the Sin3A, NuRD and CoREST co-repressor complexes. To better understand the key pathways regulated by HDAC1/2 in the adaptive immune system and inform their exploitation as drug targets, we have generated mice with a T-cell specific deletion. Loss of either HDAC1 or HDAC2 alone has little effect, while dual inactivation results in a 5-fold reduction in thymocyte cellularity, accompanied by developmental arrest at the double-negative to double-positive transition.

New species of dictyostelids from Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, Argentina.

In late Jan and early Feb 2005 samples for isolation of dictyostelid cellular slime molds (dictyostelids) were collected in five different provinces and from six national parks (all located 39-55°S) in Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. Southern beech (Nothofagus) forests represented the primary vegetation type investigated, but some samples were obtained from Patagonian steppe, alpine meadows, Valdivian temperate rainforests and coniferous forests dominated by Araucaria, Austrocedrus and Fitzroya. Among the dictyostelids isolated from the samples we collected were seven species new to science.

Cost implications of improving the quality of child care using integrated clinical algorithms: evidence from Northeast Brazil.

Objectives: Previous research has shown that providers trained in the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness offered higher quality care for under-fives than those providing routine care in several settings including Northeast Brazil. The objective of this paper is to examine if such quality improvements adds to total costs or is cost saving.

Methods: The additional costs associated with treating children based on IMCI clinical algorithms in northeast Brazil are estimated by comparing the total costs of under-five care in 22 municipalities with IMCI with 22 matched municipalities providing routine care.

Using child age or weight in selecting type of in-vehicle restraint: implications for promotion and design.

A survey of motor vehicle child restraint use found around 28% of children under the age of six using weight-inappropriate restraints. Many parents did not know when a child was likely to outgrow a booster seat nor the weight of their child, but they did know the child's age. Anthropometric data show that, if advice on restraint transition, given solely in terms of age (6 months, 4 years, 8 years) were followed in Australia, incorrect restraint selection would occur in 5% of children under the age of six.

Gender and cleaner production: toward a framework for including gender analysis when developing strategies and designing solutions.

Environmental policies that do not consider global gender dimensions often create benefits for some people and ecosystems but result in costs for others, in particular women, at some point along the global chain of production and consumption. This article is intended to begin a dialogue about the importance of including gender analysis in the design of cleaner production strategies. We review global development policy and its critiques that have identified a need for gender awareness and analysis.

Capacity constraints to the adoption of new interventions: consultation time and the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness in Brazil.

Information on how health workers spend their time can help programme managers determine whether it is possible to add new services or activities to their schedules and at what cost. One set of interventions with the potential to reduce under-five mortality is training of facility-based health workers according to the guidelines for Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI), along with improvements to supervision, procurement and information systems that are part of the IMCI strategy. Although it has been shown that IMCI is associated with improved quality of care, it is important to determine if it also requires additional consultation time.

Climate variability and campylobacter infection: an international study.

Campylobacter is among the most important agents of enteritis in developed countries. We have described the potential environmental determinants of the seasonal pattern of infection with campylobacter in Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Specifically, we investigated the role of climate variability on laboratory-confirmed cases of campylobacter infection from 15 populations.