RISING STARS: Hormonal regulation of the breast cancer microenvironment.

The tumor microenvironment is a dynamic ecosystem of stromal and immune cells that, under the influence of cancer cells, govern biochemical signaling, mechanical signaling via production and remodeling of the extracellular matrix (ECM), formation of vascular networks, and ultimately promotion of tumor growth. In breast cancer, hormone receptor-mediated signaling is a key coordinator of cancer cell proliferation and invasiveness not only through cell-autonomous means but also via cancer cell-stroma cross-talk. In the absence of hormone receptors, a different microenvironment landscape emerges, which comes with its own challenges for therapy.

Actomyosin-mediated cellular tension promotes Yap nuclear translocation and myocardial proliferation through α5 integrin signaling.

The cardiomyocyte phenotypic switch from a proliferative to terminally differentiated state results in the loss of regenerative potential of the mammalian heart shortly after birth. Nonmuscle myosin IIB (NM IIB)-mediated actomyosin contractility regulates cardiomyocyte cytokinesis in the embryonic heart, and NM IIB levels decline after birth, suggesting a role for cellular tension in the regulation of cardiomyocyte cell cycle activity in the postnatal heart. To investigate the role of actomyosin contractility in cardiomyocyte cell cycle arrest, we conditionally activated ROCK2 kinase domain (ROCK2:ER) in the murine postnatal heart.

Evaluation of antenatal point-of-care ultrasound training workshops for rural/remote healthcare clinicians: a prospective single cohort study.

Background: There is limited access to life-saving antenatal ultrasound in low-resource rural and remote settings worldwide, including Australia, mainly due to shortages in skilled staff. Point-of-care ultrasound (PoCUS) offers a viable solution to this service deficit, however, rural clinicians face many barriers accessing training and professional development critical to advancing their clinical practice. Standards for PoCUS training and competency assessment are unclear.

The Roles of Gestural and Symbolic Schematizations in Inhibition as a Component of Executive Functions.

The role of gestural schematization in enhancing thinking processes has been the subject of a large body of works. In this process, contextually unimportant or irrelevant information related to a concept (or a system of concepts) is deleted or ignored, while relevant spatial information is maintained. This process is a special type of inhibition, which is one of the key components of executive functions.

Variation in patient reported outcomes following radical prostatectomy: A bi-national registry-based study.

Background And Objective: Radical prostatectomy (RP) is a common and widely used treatment for localized prostate cancer. Sequela following RP may include urinary incontinence and sexual dysfunction, outcomes which are recorded within a bi-national Prostate Cancer Outcomes Registry. The objective was to report population-wide urinary incontinence and sexual function outcomes recorded at 12 months following RP; and to quantify and explore factors associated with variation in outcome.

Emerging biomaterials and technologies to control stem cell fate and patterning in engineered 3D tissues and organoids.

The ability to create complex three-dimensional cellular models that can effectively replicate the structure and function of human organs and tissues in vitro has the potential to revolutionize medicine. Such models could facilitate the interrogation of developmental and disease processes underpinning fundamental discovery science, vastly accelerate drug development and screening, or even be used to create tissues for implantation into the body. Realization of this potential, however, requires the recreation of complex biochemical, biophysical, and cellular patterns of 3D tissues and remains a key challenge in the field.

The roles of motion, gesture, and embodied action in the processing of mathematical concepts.

This article discusses perspective and frame of reference in the metaphorical description of mathematical concepts in terms of motions, gestures, and embodied actions. When a mathematical concept is described metaphorically in terms of gestures, embodied actions, or fictive motions, the motor system comes into play to ground and understand that concept. Every motion, gesture, or embodied action involves a perspective and a frame of reference.

Human variation in population-wide gene expression data predicts gene perturbation phenotype.

Population-scale datasets of healthy individuals capture genetic and environmental factors influencing gene expression. The expression variance of a gene of interest (GOI) can be exploited to set up a quasi loss- or gain-of-function "" experiment. We describe here an approach, , taking advantage of population-scale multi-layered data to infer gene function and relationships between phenotypes and expression.

Loss of non-motor kinesin KIF26A causes congenital brain malformations via dysregulated neuronal migration and axonal growth as well as apoptosis.

Kinesins are canonical molecular motors but can also function as modulators of intracellular signaling. KIF26A, an unconventional kinesin that lacks motor activity, inhibits growth-factor-receptor-bound protein 2 (GRB2)- and focal adhesion kinase (FAK)-dependent signal transduction, but its functions in the brain have not been characterized. We report a patient cohort with biallelic loss-of-function variants in KIF26A, exhibiting a spectrum of congenital brain malformations.

The lasting impact of family and domestic violence on neonatal health outcomes.

Objectives: To compare the health of neonates born to women who experienced family and domestic violence (FDV) 12 months prior to birth, with the health of neonates born to women with an earlier history of FDV and women with no history of FDV.

Methods: A retrospective cohort of women who experienced FDV within 12 months of birth (antenatal FDV [AFDV]) (n = 1230) was identified using data from the Western Australia (WA) Police Force Incident Management System and WA Hospital Morbidity Data Collection. Two comparison cohorts were used, the first including women with a history of FDV (HFDV) 12-60 months prior to birth (n = 1549) and the second with no history of FDV (NFDV) recorded (n = 3690).

Creativity and Artificial Intelligence-A Student Perspective.

Creativity is a core 21st-century skill taught globally in education systems. As Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being implemented in classrooms worldwide, a key question is proposed: how do students perceive AI and creativity? Twelve focus groups and eight one-on-one interviews were conducted with secondary school-aged students after they received training in both creativity and AI over eight weeks. An analysis of the interviews highlights that the students view the relationship between AI and creativity as four key concepts: social, affective, technological and learning factors.

High rates of treatment stage migration for early hepatocellular carcinoma and association with adverse outcomes: An Australian multicenter study.

Background And Aim: The rate of contraindications to percutaneous ablation (PA) for inoperable early hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and subsequent outcomes is not well described. We investigated the prevalence and outcomes of inoperable early HCC patients with contraindications to PA, resulting in treatment stage migration (TSM).

Methods: Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) 0/A patients diagnosed between September 2013 and September 2019 across five hospitals were identified.

Epilepsy in children exposed to family and domestic violence in the first 5 years of life.

Aim: To investigate childhood (0-18 years) hospitalisation and emergency department (ED) contacts for epilepsy in Western Australian (WA) children exposed to family and domestic violence (FDV) pre 5 years of age compared to children with no FDV exposure.

Methods: A retrospective, population-based cohort study included children born 1987-2010 who were identified as being exposed to FDV (n = 7018) from two sources: WA Police Information Management System and WA Hospital Morbidity Data Collection (HMDC) and a non-exposed comparison group (n = 41 996). Epilepsy contact was identified in HMDC and ED Data Collection records.

Factors affecting medication adherence among older adults using tele-pharmacy services: a scoping review.

Background: Medication adherence among older adults (aged 60 and above), particularly those with chronic conditions who take several medications, is critical, and tele-pharmacy services are a way to improve medication adherence. This study sought to determine the factors influencing medication adherence (MA) in older adults using tele-pharmacy services.

Method: The Joana Briggs Institute scoping review methodology was implemented.

Exploration of potential indicators of burnout, psychological distress and post-traumatic stress disorder, among Australian female first responders.

There is limited research on the psychological wellbeing of female first responders (FRs) and therefore we explore potential indicators of burnout, psychological distress and post-traumatic stress disorder among Australian female FRs. We conducted an online health survey among Australian female FRs (fire, police, paramedical, aeromedical, remote area and other e.g.

Longitudinal Relationship Between Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms and Physical Symptoms in Military Veterans.

Objective: This study aimed to assess the temporal relationship of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and physical symptoms in a non-treatment-seeking deployed military sample.

Methods: Data were from a longitudinal study of Australian Defence Force personnel deployed to the Middle East Area of Operations between 2010 and 2012 ( n = 1871). Predeployment assessment was conducted 4 months before deployment (T1).

Variable expressivity in a four-generation ACDMPV family with a non-coding hypermorphic SNV in trans to the frameshifting FOXF1 variant.

Heterozygous single nucleotide variants (SNVs) or copy-number variant deletions involving FOXF1 or its distant lung-specific enhancer on chromosome 16q24.1 have been identified in 80-90% of patients with Alveolar capillary dysplasia with misalignment of pulmonary veins (ACDMPV), a lethal neonatal lung developmental disorder. We describe a four-generation family with a deceased ACDMPV neonate, her sibling from the electively terminated pregnancy, healthy mother with a history of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), an unaffected aunt, an aunt deceased due to findings consistent with ACDMPV, and a reportedly unaffected grandmother, all with the frameshifting variant c.

Assessment of the safety of the cationic arginine-rich peptides (CARPs) poly-arginine-18 (R18 and R18D) in models of mast cell degranulation and red blood cell hemolysis.

Our laboratory focuses on the development of novel neuroprotective cationic peptides, such poly-arginine-18 (R18: 18-mer of l-arginine; net charge +18) and its d-enantiomer R18D in stroke and other brain injuries. In the clinical development of R18/R18D, their cationic property raises potential safety concerns on their non-specific effects to induce mast cell degranulation and hemolysis. To address this, we first utilised primary human cultured mast cells (HCMCs) to examine anaphylactoid effects.

F-actin bending facilitates net actomyosin contraction By inhibiting expansion with plus-end-located myosin motors.

Contraction of actomyosin networks underpins important cellular processes including motility and division. The mechanical origin of actomyosin contraction is not fully-understood. We investigate whether contraction arises on the scale of individual filaments, without needing to invoke network-scale interactions.

SISTAQUIT: training health care providers to help pregnant Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women quit smoking. A cluster randomised controlled trial.

Background: About 44% of Indigenous Australian women smoke during pregnancy, compared with 12% of pregnant non-Indigenous women. Health care providers can assist smoking cessation, but they are not typically trained in culturally appropriate methods.

Objectives: To determine whether a health care worker training intervention increases smoking cessation rates among Indigenous pregnant smokers compared with usual care.

Performance comparison of homologous and heterologous Newcastle disease virus in vaccines and antibody tests.

Antigenic differences between commercial Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV) vaccine and circulating field virus reduce vaccine efficacy. Fifty-layer chickens were divided into five groups: three vaccinated chicken groups using killed LaSota (Genotype II/GII), Mega, or VD (Genotype VII/GVII) viral strains, negative, and positive control groups. On day 28, Hemagglutination Inhibition (HI) serology of vaccinated chickens was performed using whole virus antigens of RIVS, LaSota, Mega, and VD strains.

Discrete Wavelet Transform Analysis of the Electroretinogram in Autism Spectrum Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

Background: To evaluate the electroretinogram waveform in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) using a discrete wavelet transform (DWT) approach.

Methods: A total of 55 ASD, 15 ADHD and 156 control individuals took part in this study. Full field light-adapted electroretinograms (ERGs) were recorded using a Troland protocol, accounting for pupil size, with five flash strengths ranging from -0.

How frequently should "living" guidelines be updated? Insights from the Australian Living Stroke Guidelines.

Background: "Living guidelines" are guidelines which are continually kept up to date as new evidence emerges. Living guideline methods are evolving. The aim of this study was to determine how frequently searches for new evidence should be undertaken for the Australian Living Stroke Guidelines.

ARMC5 is part of an RPB1-specific ubiquitin ligase implicated in adrenal hyperplasia.

ARMC5 is implicated in several pathological conditions, but its function remains unknown. We have previously identified CUL3 and RPB1 (the largest subunit of RNA polymerase II (Pol II) as potential ARMC5-interacting proteins. Here, we show that ARMC5, CUL3 and RBX1 form an active E3 ligase complex specific for RPB1.