Publications by authors named "Sydney Clements"

Purpose: This study investigated the relationship between travel demands and match loads on perceptual recovery, fatigue, and sleep following postmatch travel in national football teams. In addition, the influence of travel demands and the time between match kickoff and travel departure on postmatch recovery was examined.

Methods: Match-running load (via GPS) and travel data were obtained from 79 male national-team footballers.

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Purpose: This study examined the relationship of prematch travel and in-camp training on ensuing physical and technical match performance of footballers (soccer) competing for a national team.

Methods: Match running and technical performance data were obtained from 68 national-team footballers competing in international matches (N = 108). Match performance data were aligned with the confirmed travel durations, time-zone change, travel direction, and time between arrival and kickoff for the travel to the match.

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  • - The study investigated how factors like match exposure, travel demands, wellness perceptions, and musculoskeletal screening influence training load during national football team duties.
  • - Researchers collected data on match minutes, travel duration, self-reported wellness metrics, and conducted musculoskeletal testing at the start of national team camp, measuring training load over the first three days using various performance metrics.
  • - Results indicated that training load peaked on day 3, with only minor correlations between fatigue/soreness and performance metrics, suggesting that the training schedule at camp is more significant than prior match exposure.
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Purpose: There is a paucity of data on preferences for obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) diagnostic tests during pregnancy. Simple test completion rates fail to capture patient preference or experience of completing sleep diagnostic tests. We assessed preference, ease of use, convenience, and the repeatability of level I, II and III sleep diagnostic tests, using questionnaires, in pregnant women in early to mid-gestation.

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Intraspecific and habitat-mediated responses to chemical cues play key roles in structuring populations of marine species. We investigated the behaviour of herbivorous-stage juvenile crown-of-thorns sea stars (COTS; sp.) in flow-through choice chambers to determine if chemical cues from their habitat influence movement and their transition to become coral predators.

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Purpose: Polysomnography (PSG) may be completed in the home environment (unattended), and when self-applied, allow the collection of data with minimal healthcare worker intervention. Self-applied, unattended PSG in the home environment using Somte PSG V2 (Somte) has not been validated in pregnant women in early to mid-gestation. We undertook a study to evaluate the accuracy of Somte compared to attended PSG.

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  • Angiosperms are vital for ecosystems and human life, making it important to understand their evolutionary history to grasp their ecological dominance.
  • The study builds an extensive tree of life for about 8,000 angiosperm genera using 353 nuclear genes, significantly increasing the sampling size and refining earlier classifications.
  • The findings reveal a complex evolutionary history marked by high gene tree conflict and rapid diversification, particularly during the early angiosperm evolution, with shifts in diversification rates linked to global temperature changes.
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GPR4 is a proton-sensing G protein-coupled receptor implicated in many peripheral and central physiological processes. GPR4 expression has previously been assessed only via detection of the cognate transcript or indirectly, by use of fluorescent reporters. In this work, CRISPR/Cas9 knock-in technology was used to encode a hemagglutinin (HA) epitope tag within the endogenous locus of and visualize GPR4-HA in the mouse central nervous system using a specific, well characterized HA antibody; GPR4 expression was further verified by complementary mRNA detection.

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  • The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of Apnealink Air (AL) as a less invasive alternative to polysomnography (PSG) for detecting obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) in pregnant women during early-mid gestation (≤ 24 weeks).
  • A total of 49 pregnant participants were tested using both AL and PSG, with results indicating a high level of agreement between the two methods and finding that 29% of participants had OSA.
  • The results showed that Apnealink Air outperformed traditional screening questionnaires and could effectively diagnose OSA using both manual and automatic scoring approaches.
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Background: Splenic artery embolisation (SAE) has become a vital strategy in the modern landscape of multidisciplinary trauma care, improving splenic salvage rates in patients with high-grade injury. However, due to a lack of prospective data there remains contention amongst stakeholders as to whether SAE should be performed at the time of presentation (prophylactic or pSAE), or whether patients should be observed, and SAE only used only if a patient re-bleeds. This systematic review aimed to assess published practice management guidelines which recommend pSAE, stratified according to their quality.

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  • A recent study analyzed genetic data from over 156,000 prostate cancer cases and 788,000 controls from diverse populations, significantly increasing the representation of non-European participants.
  • Researchers identified 187 new genetic risk variants for prostate cancer, bringing the total to 451, enhancing understanding of genetic factors across different ancestries.
  • The developed genetic risk score (GRS) showed varying risk levels for prostate cancer among different ancestry groups, highlighting its potential for better risk assessment, especially in men of African descent.
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  • The CoDe-STH trial in Dak Lak, Vietnam, tested whether community-wide mass drug administration (MDA) is more effective than school-based preventive chemotherapy (PC) alone in reducing soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections in schoolchildren.
  • The study involved 64 primary schools, randomly assigned to either the school arm (targeted PC) or community arm (MDA), with children receiving a single dose of albendazole for deworming.
  • While both approaches reduced hookworm prevalence similarly, the community arm showed a significantly greater reduction in infection intensity, demonstrating the advantage of community-wide treatment in managing STH infections.
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The juveniles of predatory sea stars can remain in their recruitment-nursery habitat for some time before their ontogenetic shift to the adult habitat and diet. These small juveniles are vulnerable to a range of factors with their sensitivity amplified by climate change-driven ocean warming. We investigate the thermal tolerance of the waiting stage herbivorous juveniles of the keystone coral predator, the crown-of-thorns sea star (COTS, Acanthaster sp.

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  • Firefighting foams containing PFAS have led to environmental contamination in specific Australian regions, prompting an investigation into perinatal risks for mothers living in these areas compared to less contaminated regions.
  • The study analyzed pregnancy data from three states over various years, assessing 12 perinatal outcomes and three growth measurements while controlling for socio-demographics and confounders.
  • Results indicated some elevated risks, such as stillbirths in Oakey and hemorrhaging in Williamtown, but overall evidence of increased perinatal risks was limited and inconsistent across the different contaminated areas studied.
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  • * Advances in diagnostic methods, including biomarkers and computer-assisted tools, could enhance precision medicine, allowing for tailored treatments based on individual patient profiles and disease characteristics.
  • * The review highlights the importance of various diagnostic techniques, like polygenic risk scores and liquid biopsies, in improving treatment decisions and outcomes for patients with advanced PCa, ultimately leading to lower mortality and better quality of life.
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Elite football (soccer) involves club, continental and international fixtures, requiring players to undertake extensive travel [1]. For a national football federation, this includes the transport of players between club and camp/tournament commitments, which is often a point of contention between respective organisations [2]. Partly this contention results from the effects of travel, whereby jet lag and travel fatigue can negatively affect physical performance [3-5] and athlete wellbeing [6, 7].

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Background: Soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infection is driven by a complex interaction of demographic, socioeconomic and behavioural factors, including those related to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). Epidemiological studies that measure both infection and potential risk factors associated with infection help to understand the drivers of transmission in a population and therefore can provide information to optimise STH control programmes.

Methods: During October and November 2019, we conducted a cross-sectional survey of the prevalence and intensity of STH infection and associated risk factors among 7710 primary-school-age children from 64 primary schools across 13 districts in Dak Lak province, Vietnam.

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Purpose: This study examined posttravel perceptual responses of national-team footballers (soccer) following different flight paths, arrival/departure times, and trip contexts.

Methods: Details of 396 flights from national-team players (N = 68) were obtained and verified via an online flight database. Each player provided ratings of perceptual fatigue, sleep, soreness, stress, and jet lag for 2 days before and after each trip.

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Genome-wide polygenic risk scores (GW-PRSs) have been reported to have better predictive ability than PRSs based on genome-wide significance thresholds across numerous traits. We compared the predictive ability of several GW-PRS approaches to a recently developed PRS of 269 established prostate cancer-risk variants from multi-ancestry GWASs and fine-mapping studies (PRS). GW-PRS models were trained with a large and diverse prostate cancer GWAS of 107,247 cases and 127,006 controls that we previously used to develop the multi-ancestry PRS.

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Background And Aims: Recent guidelines recognize the limitations of standard coagulation tests in predicting bleeding and guiding pre-procedural blood component prophylaxis in cirrhosis. It is unclear whether these recommendations are reflected in clinical practice. We performed a nationwide survey to investigate pre-procedural transfusion practices and opinions of key health care stakeholders involved in managing cirrhosis.

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  • The study evaluates the effectiveness of irreversible electroporation (IRE) in treating intermediate-risk prostate cancer while minimizing damage to surrounding tissues compared to conventional treatments like robot-assisted radical prostatectomy and radiotherapy.
  • It involves two randomized controlled trials focusing on functional outcomes: urinary incontinence and irritative urinary symptoms, to provide evidence of IRE's lower impact.
  • The research aims to enroll 184 men with specific eligibility criteria to establish a foundation for future multicenter studies targeting oncological outcomes.
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Background: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been associated with higher cholesterol and liver function markers in some studies, but the evidence for specific cardiometabolic conditions has been inconclusive.

Objectives: We quantified the associations of single and combined PFAS with cardiometabolic markers and conditions in a cross-sectional study of three Australian communities with PFAS-contaminated water from the historical use of aqueous film-forming foam in firefighting activities, and three comparison communities.

Methods: Participants gave blood samples for measurement of nine PFAS, four lipids, six liver function markers, and completed a survey on sociodemographic characteristics and eight cardiometabolic conditions.

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Background: Soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections are a significant public health problem affecting over 900 million people globally. Health education has been shown to complement mass drug administration (MDA) for the control of these intestinal worms. We reported recently results of a cluster randomised control trial (RCT) showing the positive impact of the "The Magic Glasses Philippines (MGP)" health education package in reducing STH infections among schoolchildren in intervention schools with ≤15% STH baseline prevalence in Laguna province, the Philippines.

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