TRIAGE: an R package for regulatory gene analysis.

Regulatory genes are critical determinants of cellular responses in development and disease, but standard RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis workflows, such as differential expression analysis, have significant limitations in revealing the regulatory basis of cell identity and function. To address this challenge, we present the TRIAGE R package, a toolkit specifically designed to analyze regulatory elements in both bulk and single-cell RNA-seq datasets. The package is built upon TRIAGE methods, which leverage consortium-level H3K27me3 data to enrich for cell-type-specific regulatory regions.

L-Arginine and L-Citrulline for Prevention and Treatment of Pre-Eclampsia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Evidence suggests L-arginine may be effective at reducing pre-eclampsia and related outcomes. However, whether L-arginine can prevent or only treat pre-eclampsia, and thus the target population and timing of initiation, remains unknown.

Objectives: To evaluate the effects of L-arginine and L-citrulline (precursor of L-arginine) on the prevention and treatment of pre-eclampsia.

The impact of the BreastScreen NSW transition from film to digital mammography, 2002-2016: a linked population health data analysis.

Objectives: To assess the impact of the transition from film to digital mammography in the Australian national breast cancer screening program.

Study Design: Retrospective linked population health data analysis (New South Wales Central Cancer Registry, BreastScreen NSW); interrupted time series analysis.

Setting: New South Wales, 2002-2016.

The Use of Omics in Untangling the Effect of Lifestyle Factors in Pregnancy and Gestational Diabetes: A Systematic Review.

Aim: To synthesise the evidence from clinical trials and observational studies using omics techniques to investigate the impact of diet and lifestyle factors on metabolite profile in pregnancy, and in the prevention and management of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM).

Materials And Methods: A systematic literature search was performed using PubMed, Ovid, CINAHL, and Web of Science databases in October 2023 and updated in September 2024. Inclusion criteria were randomised controlled trials (RCT) or non-RCTs in pregnant women with or without GDM, that measured diet and lifestyle factors, and which applied post-transcriptional omics approaches.

Factors Influencing the Use of Shave Biopsy for Lesions Suspicious of Melanoma in Australia: An Exploratory Mixed-Methods Study.

Background: Recent Australian trends indicate that shave biopsies for diagnosing lesions suspicious of melanoma are increasing, yet reasons for this remain relatively unknown. We sought to understand which factors influence Australian clinicians' use of shave biopsy for managing thin lesions suspicious of melanoma in sites of low cosmetic sensitivity.

Methods: We used a convergent, exploratory mixed-methods design, with a cross-sectional online survey (n = 59) and semi-structured qualitative interviews (n = 15).

Proprioception After Unilateral Stroke: Changes in the Affected and Unaffected Lower Limbs Over Time.

Background: Proprioceptive deficits are common among stroke survivors and can negatively impact their balance and postural control. However, there has been little evaluation of the change in proprioceptive deficits in the lower limbs over time after stroke. This study aimed to examine proprioceptive deficits over time after stroke in both the affected and "unaffected" lower limbs.

Measuring Food and Water Security in an Aboriginal Community in Regional Australia.

Objective: To measure current levels and experiences of food and water security in Walgett to guide a community-led program and to provide a baseline measure.

Design: A community-led cross-sectional survey conducted in April 2022 by trained local researchers.

Setting: Walgett, a regional town in NSW, Australia.

The Prevalence of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Psychotic Disorders: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Background: Although attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is known to be common in psychotic disorders, reported prevalence rates vary widely, with limited understanding of how different factors (eg, assessment methods, geographical region) may be associated with this variation. The aim was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine the prevalence of ADHD in psychotic disorders and factors associated with the variability in reported rates.

Study Design: Searches were conducted in MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and Scopus in May 2023.

Potential global distributions of an important aphid pest, Rhopalosiphum padi: insights from ensemble models with multiple variables.

Species distribution modeling is extensively used for predicting potential distributions of invasive species. However, an ensemble modeling approach has been less frequently used particularly pest species. The bird cherry-oat aphid Rhopalosiphum padi L.

Seed banking impacts native Acacia ulicifolia seed microbiome composition and function.

Background: Seed banks are a vital resource for preserving plant species diversity globally. However, seedling establishment and survival rates from banked seeds can be poor. Despite a growing appreciation for the role of seed-associated microbiota in supporting seed quality and plant health, our understanding of the effects of conventional seed banking processes on seed microbiomes remains limited.

Tracking hydrothermal infiltration within light oil reservoirs using organic geochemical proxies in the Shunbei area of Tarim Basin in China.

Deep oil reservoirs are becoming increasingly significant fields of hydrocarbon exploration in recent decades. Hydrothermal fluid flow is deemed as a potentially crucial factor affecting the occurrence of deep oil reservoirs, such as enhancing porosity/permeability of reservoirs, accelerating oil generation and thermal cracking, and modifying organic properties of crude oils. Understanding the interplay between hydrothermal fluids and crude oils would provide useful constraints for reconstructing hydrocarbon accumulation processes and predicting the distribution patterns of crude oils.

Seroprevalence, incidence estimates, and environmental risk factors for dengue, chikungunya, and Zika infection amongst children living in informal urban settlements in Indonesia and Fiji.

Background: The burden of Aedes aegypti-transmitted viruses such as dengue, chikungunya, and Zika are increasing globally, fueled by urbanization and climate change, with some of the highest current rates of transmission in Asia. Local factors in the built environment have the potential to exacerbate or mitigate transmission.

Methods: In 24 informal urban settlements in Makassar, Indonesia and Suva, Fiji, we tested children under 5 years old for evidence of prior infection with dengue, chikungunya, and Zika viruses by IgG serology.

Approaches for difficult-to-induce-seizures electroconvulsive therapy cases (DEC): a Japanese expert consensus.

Background: Seizure threshold increases with age and the frequency of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Therefore, therapeutic seizures can be difficult to induce, even at maximum stimulus charge with available ECT devices. Such cases are known as difficult-to-induce-seizures electroconvulsive therapy cases (DECs).

Identification of positive childhood experiences with the potential to mitigate childhood unhealthy weight status in children within the context of adverse childhood experiences: a prospective cohort study.

Background: Despite potential protective and mitigating effects of positive childhood experiences (PCEs) on poor health outcomes, limited research has identified relevant PCEs and examined their individual and cumulative associations with weight status, or their mitigating effects on the associations between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and obesity in children. This study aims to develop an exploratory PCEs Index with the potential to protect against or mitigate the association between ACEs and unhealthy weight status.

Methods: Data came from the Growing Up in New Zealand study.

The world's most venomous spider is a species complex: systematics of the Sydney funnel-web spider (Atracidae: Atrax robustus).

The Sydney funnel-web spider Atrax robustus O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1877 is an iconic Australian species and considered among the most dangerously venomous spiders for humans. Originally described in 1877 from a single specimen collected in "New Holland", this spider has a complex taxonomic history.

Quarter of a century of contact lens prescribing trends in Australia (2000-2024).

Clinical Relevance: Knowledge of contact lens prescribing trends can (a) assist practitioners to benchmark their own prescribing habits, (b) help the contact lens industry understand preferred products, and (c) support academics in scholarly writings.

Background: This work aims to document contact lens prescribing trends in Australia over the past quarter of a century.

Methods: An annual survey of contact lens prescribing trends was conducted in Australia each year from 2000 to 2024, inclusive, by asking optometrists to provide information relating to 10 consecutive contact lens fits undertaken between January and March.

The Efficacy and Safety of Angiotensin II for Treatment of Vasoplegia in Critically Ill Patients: A Systematic Review.

Objectives: To summarize evidence regarding intravenous angiotensin II administration in critical illness and provide an updated understanding of its effects on various organ dysfunction and renin-angiotensin system (RAS) biomarkers.

Design: A systematic review.

Setting: A search of PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library from inception to May 3, 2024.

Interprofessional education and collaborative practice with practicing radiographers: A mixed methods scoping review.

Introduction: There is increasing evidence substantiating the advantages of Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice (IPECP) in healthcare. Despite this, global adoption is still in its infancy. Whilst there has been some recognition of the importance of collaborative practice in healthcare, implementation of IPECP programs remain limited in many countries.

Challenges of symptom management in interstitial lung disease: dyspnea, cough and fatigue.

Introduction: Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a broad group of conditions characterized by fibrosis of the lung parenchyma. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is the most common subvariant. IPF is marked by considerable symptom burden of dyspnea, cough and fatigue that is often refractory to optimal disease-directed treatment.

Patient factors associated with treatment completion in a 12-week inpatient dual diagnosis treatment program.

Objective: To identify whether mental health wellbeing, age, gender or recent substance use pattern affected completion rates of a dual diagnosis inpatient program.

Method: This retrospective cohort study reviewed medical records of patients admitted between October 2018 and December 2021 of Westside Lodge, a dual diagnosis inpatient program. Demographic information, mental health screening tool results (BASIS-24) and self-reported substance use data were accessed from the patients' electronic medical records.

Advocacy in Action: International Patient Group Improves Hereditary Angioedema Diagnosis and Care Across the Asia-Pacific.

This study demonstrates that patient advocacy groups significantly enhance medication availability and improve diagnosis of hereditary angioedema (HAE), particularly in emerging economies within the Asia-Pacific region. This study supports integrating patient advocacy group involvement into management guidelines, emphasising their role in improving access to diagnostics and treatment for HAE.

Mapping essential oral healthcare for the Australian context.

Australia's universal healthcare scheme, Medicare, has largely excluded oral healthcare resulting in inequitable access to affordable, essential oral healthcare. To achieve inclusion of oral health within Australia's universal healthcare scheme, it is necessary to identify and define the dental services that constitute essential oral healthcare. This perspective paper explores how essential oral healthcare should be considered for the Australian context and to align with the World Health Organization's approach to universal health coverage that includes oral health.

Microglial activation states and their implications for Alzheimer's Disease.

Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the accumulation of toxic amyloid-beta (Aβ) plaques and neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) of tau protein in the brain. Microglia, key immune cells of the central nervous system, play an important role in AD development and progression, primarily through their responses to Aβ and NFTs. Initially, microglia can clear Aβ, but in AD, chronic activation overwhelms protective mechanisms, leading to sustained neuroinflammation that enhances plaque toxicity, setting off a damaging cycle that affects neurons, astrocytes, cerebral vasculature, and other microglia.