30913 research outputs found
Sort by
A novel, somatic, transforming mutation in the extracellular domain of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor identified in myeloproliferative neoplasm
Get PDFOpen Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.We describe a novel ERBB1/EGFR somatic mutation (p. C329R; c.985 T > C) identified in a patient with JAK2V617F Polycythaemia Vera (PV). This substitution affects a conserved cysteine residue in EGFR domain 2 and leads to the formation of a ligand-independent covalent receptor dimer, associated with increased transforming potential. Aberrant signalling from the EGFRC329R receptor is cell type-dependent and in the TF1.8 erythroid cell line expression of this mutant suppresses EPO-induced differentiation. Clonal analysis shows that the dominant JAK2V617F-positive clone in this PV patient harbors EGFRC329R, thus this mutation may contribute to clonal expansion. Somatic mutations affecting other ERBB and related receptor tyrosine kinases are observed in myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN), and we show elevated EGFR levels in MPN samples, consistent with previous reports. Thus activation of this group of receptors, via multiple mechanisms, may contribute to clonal growth and survival of the JAK2V617F disease clone in MPN
The Pneumococcal Alpha-Glycerophosphate Oxidase Enhances Nasopharyngeal Colonization through Binding to Host Glycoconjugates
Get PDFThis is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).Streptococcus pneumoniae (the pneumococcus) is a major human pathogen, causing a broad spectrum of diseases including otitis media, pneumonia, bacteraemia and meningitis. Here we examined the role of a potential pneumococcal meningitis vaccine antigen, alpha-glycerophosphate oxidase (SpGlpO), in nasopharyngeal colonization. We found that serotype 4 and serotype 6A strains deficient in SpGlpO have significantly reduced capacity to colonize the nasopharynx of mice, and were significantly defective in adherence to human nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells in vitro. We also demonstrate that intranasal immunization with recombinant SpGlpO significantly protects mice against subsequent nasal colonization by wild type serotype 4 and serotype 6A strains. Furthermore, we show that SpGlpO binds strongly to lacto/neolacto/ganglio host glycan structures containing the GlcNAcβ1-3Galβ disaccharide, suggesting that SpGlpO enhances colonization of the nasopharynx through its binding to host glycoconjugates. We propose that SpGlpO is a promising vaccine candidate against pneumococcal carriage, and warrants inclusion in a multi-component protein vaccine formulation that can provide robust, serotype-independent protection against all forms of pneumococcal disease
Consumer attitudes and misperceptions associated with trends in self-reported cereal foods consumption: cross-sectional study of Western Australian adults, 1995 to 2012
Get PDFThis article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.Background
The reasons for low adherence to cereal dietary guidelines are not well understood but may be related to knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and perceived barriers. This study aims to assess trends in cereal foods consumption, intention to change and factors associated with intake among Western Australian (WA) adults 18 to 64 years.
Method
Cross-sectional data from the 1995, 1998, 2001, 2004, 2009, and 2012 Nutrition Monitoring Survey Series involving 7044 adults were pooled. Outcome variables: types and amount of cereals (bread, rice, pasta, and breakfast cereal) eaten the day prior. Attitudes, knowledge, intentions, weight status and sociodemographic characteristics were measured. Descriptive statistics, multiple binary logistic and multinomial logistic regressions assess factors associated with consumption.
Results
Bread (78%) was the most commonly consumed cereal food. The proportion eating bread decreased across survey years (Odds Ratio OR = 0.31; 95% Confidence Interval; 0.24–0.40 in 2012 versus 1995), as did the amount (4.1 slices of bread in 1995 to 2.4 in 2012). The odds of consuming whole-grain cereal foods increased since 2009 (OR = 1.27; 1.02–1.58 versus 1995 p < 0.05). The likelihood of trying to eat less cereal food in the past year was greater in 2012 compared to 1995 (Relative Risk Ratio RRR 10.88; 6.81–17.4). Knowledge of cereal recommendations decreased over time (OR = 0.20; 0.15–0.27 in 2012 versus 1995 p < 0.001). Overweight and obese respondents were more likely than healthy weight respondents to have tried to eat less cereals (RRR 1.65; 1.22–2.24 and 1.88; 1.35–2.63 respectively). ‘I already eat enough’ was the main barrier (75% in 1995 to 84% in 2012 (p < 0.001)).
Conclusions
WA adults are actively reducing the amount of cereal foods they eat and intake is associated with a misperception of adequacy of intake. Nutrition intervention is needed to increase awareness of the health benefits of cereal foods, particularly whole-grains, and to address barriers to incorporating them daily
Let’s talk about sex: How people with intellectual disability in Australia engage with online social media and intimate relationships
Get PDFOpen access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.People with intellectual disability often experience repression and control of their sexuality as they have historically been perceived as being childlike and asexual by members of society. Such acts can be seen to contravene their Human Rights under The Convention on the Rights of Person with Disabilities (CRPD), which endorses the rights of people with intellectual disability to fully express their sexuality.
The purpose of this study was to explore if people with intellectual disability access internet based social media, and if so, if they use it to form relationships that express their sexuality.
Using an interpretative phenomenological approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 adults with an intellectual disability (22 males, 8 females), aged between 20 to 66 years. Participants were purposely sampled though disability organisations.
Three themes emerged from the data: creating new friendships, maintaining existing friendships, exploring and expressing sexuality. People with intellectual disability used a variety of personal electronic devices to access internet based social media to be socially and sexually active. Facebook was accessed to make contact with existing platonic friends, peers and interest groups to meet socially. Sexually explicit material was viewed using the internet, either as an individual activity or by couples in monogamous relationships.
This study adds to the paucity of research examining the use of internet based social media by people with intellectual disability for sexual expression. This research revealed the people with intellectual disability exercised cyber safe practices without any explicit formal education and conducted themselves in a respectful manner. Few participants acted in a manner that appeared to put them at risk of exploitation
Caring for country and the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians
Get PDFSchultz R and Cairney S. Caring for country and the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. Med J Aust 2017; 207 (1): 8-10. © Copyright 2017. The Medical Journal of Australia - reproduced with permission
Breakthroughs in Medicinal Chemistry: New Targets and Mechanisms, New Drugs, New Hopes
Get PDFThis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. (CC BY 4.0).The Editorial Board of the Medicinal Chemistry section of the journal Molecules publishes here its first Editorial, which has been prepared by highlighting, in sub-editorials of about one hundred words, some selected recently published articles that may have a profound impact on drug discovery and therapy.
In particular, this editorial highlights new drug targets and mechanisms of action and new classes of drugs, as well as new therapeutic uses for known drugs or the involvement of known biological targets in new diseases. We also discuss some structural biology studies and new computational tools that may pave the way for the rational design or identification of more efficacious and safer drugs. Overall, the findings reported in these highlighted papers raise our hopes for the management of difficult-to-treat diseases that are posing a growing health threat, with new or repurposed drugs that overcome the limitations of currently applied therapies
Taxonomic review of the late Cenozoic megapodes (Galliformes: Megapodiidae) of Australia
Get PDFPublished by the Royal Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, which permits unrestricted use, provided the original author and source are credited.Megapodes are unusual galliform birds that use passive heat sources to incubate their eggs. Evolutionary relationships of extant megapode taxa have become clearer with the advent of molecular analyses, but the systematics of large, extinct forms (Progura gallinacea, Progura naracoortensis) from the late Cenozoic of Australia has been a source of confusion. It was recently suggested that the two species of Progura were synonymous, and that this taxon dwarfed into the extant malleefowl Leipoa ocellata in the Late Pleistocene. Here, we review previously described fossils along with newly discovered material from several localities, and present a substantial taxonomic revision. We show that P. gallinacea and P. naracoortensis are generically distinct, describe two new species of megapode from the Thylacoleo Caves of south-central Australia, and a new genus from Curramulka Quarry in southern Australia. We also show that L. ocellata was contemporaneous with larger species. Our phylogenetic analysis places four extinct taxa in a derived clade with the extant Australo-Papuan brush-turkeys Talegalla fuscirostris, L. ocellata, Alectura lathami and Aepypodius bruijnii. Therefore, diversity of brush-turkeys halved during the Quaternary, matching extinction rates of scrubfowl in the Pacific. Unlike
extant brush-turkeys, all the extinct taxa appear to have been burrow-nesters
Prevalence, perceptions and predictors of alcohol consumption and abstinence among South Australian school students: a cross-sectional analysis
Get PDFThis article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.Background
Alcohol consumption by young people (particularly early initiation) is a predictor for poorer health in later life. In addition, evidence now clearly shows a causal link between alcohol and cancer. This study investigated prevalence, predictors of alcohol consumption among adolescents including perceptions of the link between alcohol and cancer, and the role of parents and peers.
Methods
A sample of Australian school students aged 12–17 years participated in a survey (n = 2885). Logistic regression analysis was undertaken to determine predictors.
Results
Alcohol use increased with age and by 16, most had tried alcohol with 33.1% of students aged 12–17 reporting that they drank at least occasionally (95% CI = 31.0–35.2). Awareness of the link between alcohol and cancer was low (28.5%). Smoking status and friends’ approval were predictive of drinking, whereas parental disapproval was protective. Those aged 14–17 who did not think the link between alcohol and cancer was important were more likely to drink, as were those living in areas of least disadvantage. The only factors that predicted recent drinking were smoking and the perception that alcohol was easy to purchase.
Conclusions
An education campaign highlighting the link between alcohol and cancer may have positive flow-on effects for young people, and schools should incorporate this messaging into any alcohol education programs. Consideration should be given to factors that serve to regulate under-aged accessibility of alcohol
Philoponus on the Nature of Time
Get PDFReproduced with permission of the publisher. © 2017, Modern Greek Studies Association of Australia and New Zealand. All rights reserved.John Philoponus produced an influential argument that time must have had a beginning. While that argument has been widely discussed, particularly in its Kantian form, little attention has been paid to his view of the nature of time, which is contained in his exposition of Aristotle. Yet the argument seems to rest on his view of the nature of time. I produce a sketch of his dynamic and relationist account of time and explain how it can overcome various problems raised by Aristotle. I also explain how, with a little help from Damascius, he could have overcome a problem raised for dynamic theories of time by McTaggart and Smart. I argue that it might well be possible to modernise his view in the light of modern science
Cross-cultural care program for aged care staff: An online self-directed learning program
No full textCreative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/Cultural and linguistic diversity between residents and staff is significant in residential aged care homes in Australia. This diversity generates many opportunities for aged care organisations to address equitable and culturally appropriate care for residents. However, the diversity can also be a challenge to achieving high-quality care for residents and to staff cohesion. The ‘Cross-Cultural Care Program for Aged Care Staff: An online self-directed learning program’ is an evidence-based and interactive learning program developed in a large action research project. This program includes five learning modules that cover most care activities in residential aged care homes. These modules are:
• Module 1: An introduction to cross-cultural care for new staff and ‘Work-related English Language Resources for Staff’
• Module 2: Cross-cultural Communication
• Module 3: Cross-cultural leadership
• Module 4: Cross-cultural dementia care
• Module 5: Cross-cultural end of life care
The program gives staff an option to learn in a self-directed and flexible learning manner. A self-directed learning portfolio is presented to assist staff to document the evidence of their learning and apply knowledge to their own practice. Staff may use the evidence as part of their professional development.Department of Health, Australian Governmen