19683 research outputs found
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Temporal and geographical lineage dynamics of invasive Streptococcus pyogenes in Australia from 2011 to 2023: a retrospective, multicentre, clinical and genomic epidemiology study
No full textSummary:-Background: Defining the temporal dynamics of invasive Streptococcus pyogenes (group A Streptococcus) and differences between hyperendemic and lower-incidence regions provides crucial insights into pathogen evolution and, in turn, informs preventive measures. We aimed to examine the clinical and temporal lineage dynamics of S pyogenes across different disease settings in Australia to improve understanding of drivers of pathogen diversity.Methods: In this retrospective, multicentre, clinical and genomic epidemiology study, we identified cases of invasive S pyogenes infection from normally sterile sites between Jan 1, 2011, and Feb 28, 2023. Data were collected from five hospital networks across low-incidence regions in temperate southeast Australia and the hyperendemic, tropical, and largely remote Top End of the Northern Territory of Australia. The crude incidence rate ratio (IRR) of bloodstream S pyogenes infection comparing the Top End and southeast Australia and in First Nations people compared with non-First Nations people was estimated by quasi-Poisson regression. We estimated odds ratios (ORs) of intensive care unit (ICU) admission, in-hospital mortality, and 30-day mortality for the Top End versus southeast Australia using logistic regression. Retrieved and successfully sequenced isolates were assigned lineages at whole-genome resolution. Temporal trends in the composition of co-circulating lineages were compared between the two regions. We used an S pyogenes-specific multistrain simulated transmission model to examine the relationship between host population-specific parameters and observed pathogen lineage dynamics. The prevalence of accessory genes (those present in 5–95% of all genomes) was compared across geographies and temporal periods to investigate genomic drivers of diversity.Findings: We identified 500 cases of invasive S pyogenes infection in patients in the Top End and 495 cases in patients in southeast Australia. The crude IRR of bloodstream infection for the Top End compared with southeast Australia was 5·97 (95% CI 4·61–7·73) across the entire study period; in the Top End, infection disproportionately affected First Nations people compared with non-First Nations people (5·41, 4·28–6·89). The odds of in-hospital mortality (OR 0·43, 95% CI 0·26–0·70), 30-day mortality (0·38, 0·23–0·63), and ICU admission (0·42, 0·30–0·59) were lower in the Top End than in southeast Australia. Longitudinal lineage analysis of 642 S pyogenes genomes identified waves of replacement with distinct lineages in the Top End, whereas southeast Australia had a small number of dominant lineages that persisted and cycled in frequency. The transmission model qualitatively reproduced a similar pattern of replacement with distinct lineages when using a high transmission rate, small population size, and high levels of human movement—characteristics similar to those of communities in the hyperendemic Top End. Using a lower transmission rate, larger population size, and lower levels of migration similar to those of communities in urbanised southeast Australia, the transmission model qualitatively reproduced a pattern of dominant lineages that cycled in frequency. Despite distinct circulating lineages, the prevalence of accessory genes in the bacterial population was maintained across geographies and temporal periods.Interpretation: In a hyperendemic setting, the replacement of distinct S pyogenes lineages occurred in waves, which could be linked to the disproportionate burden of disease and sparse human population in this setting. The maintenance of bacterial gene frequency could be consistent with multilocus selection. These findings suggest that lineage-specific interventions—such as vaccines under development—should consider disease setting and, without broad cross-protection, might lead to lineage replacement.</p
#IDeserveSafety: National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence
No full text“Sexual violence in higher education institutions, particularly universities, has been well documented in Australian research and government reports (e.g. Australian Human Rights Commission [AHRC], 2017; Funnell & Hush, 2018; Mickelburgh & Mackinlay, 2023; McCall et al., 2023). One notable example is the National Student Safety Survey (NSSS) (2022), which identified that one in six respondents had been sexually harassed and one in 20 respondents had been sexually assaulted in Australian university contexts since starting their degree. The incident rates of these experiences were even higher for women and gender-diverse students. Of the respondents who had experienced sexual assault, an alarming 5.6% had made a formal report to their university. Furthermore, fewer than one in three were satisfied with the outcome of their formal complaint (NSSS, 2022). A more recent national survey (n = 1,749) of women international students showed similar results, identifying that 40% of participants had experienced at least one form of sexual violence since arriving in Australia (Tarzia et al., 2025).”</p
Trans Health: Insights from ARCSHS
No full textAt ARCSHS, our research tells us a lot about the impact that gender affirmation has on the lives of trans and gender diverse people of all ages. We have conducted a series of innovative new analyses to understand trans affirming experiences. These new analyses have been published in academic peer-reviewed journal articles. We provide here a summary and synthesis of this important collection of research in order to help inform and shape policy and practice interventions for trans and gender diverse people in Australia.</p
A key to seasonal shellfish exploitation: Elemental mapping of Mg/Ca ratios in Lutruwita (Tasmania) Cellana limpets
No full textThe littoral environment has considerable influence on life history traits and patterns of growth in marine molluscs due to changes in water temperature, oxygen levels and nutrient availability. The outer shell that protects the soft bodied invertebrate is laid down in individual growth increments, which contain biogeochemical signatures related to seasonal fluctuations and annual variations in the animal's immediate environment. On Lutruwita (Tasmania) coastlines, shellfish was a dependable food resource of past Pakana/Palawa (northern/southern Tasmanian Aboriginal peoples') through variable climatic regimes of the Holocene epoch. The durability of mollusc shell in depositional sediments makes them one of the most ubiquitous materials in archaeological sites that can provide valuable archives on the season of human consumption, subsistence strategies, and palaeoclimatic history. Yet, the ability to test large samples for robust biogeochemical interpretations using oxygen isotope analysis (δ18Ο) can be restrictive due to limitations of time and finances. Recent developments in Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) offer an affordable, rapid and minimally invasive technique in screening zooarchaeological shell assemblages for variations in their temperature records over time. In our study, initial testing of modern Lutruwita gastropods using LIBS to map elemental Mg/Ca intensity ratios in Cellana solida (Blainville, 1825) produced promising results consistent with other limpet sclerochronology studies. Oxygen isotope measurements were used to calibrate LIBS results and interpret parallel changes in Sea-surface Temperature (SST) to develop a model on the season of collection in the modern samples. Results revealed high-resolution records of SST variability and seasonal limpet feeding patterns. This indicates that C. solida holds great potential for investigating past marine economies and land use patterns.</p
Protecting Access to Medicines After Cambodia Graduates From Least Developed Country Status: A Policy Analysis
No full textABSTRACT: Cambodia is a least developed country (LDC); however, it may graduate from the LDC status by 2029 Membership in the World Trade Organisation, will require Cambodia to provide patent protection for medicines that meet standard criteria. This qualitative policy analysis examines Cambodia's readiness for LDC graduation in terms of protecting access to medicines and explores how it can prepare to mitigate the impact of graduation on access to medicines. The study employed a single case study design that included analysis of key informant interviews and documents retrieved from a targeted literature review and website scans. The Health Policy Triangle framework informed the research design, methods, data collection, and analysis. While Cambodia has established structures and processes to facilitate preparations for LDC graduation and engaged with UN agencies that support sustainable graduation, there has been little focus on the implications of graduation for access to medicines. To prepare for graduation Cambodia will need technical assistance to reform its patent‐related laws and policies. This study demonstrates that LDCs are poorly equipped for the introduction of patent protection and agencies tasked with supporting LDC graduation need to provide assistance to protect access to medicines in countries planning graduation.</p
LGBTQA+ mental health and suicidality: State and Territory snapshots
No full textA summary of eight state- and territory-based reports on LGBTQA+ mental health and suicidality in Australia.</p
The Influence of Vegan, Vegetarian, and Omnivorous Diets on Protein Metabolism: A Role for the Gut–Muscle Axis?
No full textThere has been a growing interest globally in vegan and vegetarian diets over the last decade for a combination of health, ethical, environmental, spiritual, and social reasons. In line with this popularity, research examining the role of plant-based food sources, including vegan and vegetarian diets, in supporting skeletal muscle remodeling and anabolism in humans has also received considerable attention. The emergence of the microbiota-gut–muscle axis, a bidirectional pathway where the gut microbiota impacts skeletal muscle and vice versa, has been suggested as a potential mediator of food and nutrition’s influence on the mechanistic processes that regulate muscle mass and function. Considering inherent nutritional differences between vegan, vegetarian, and omnivorous diets related to the fiber and macronutrient content, presence of anti-nutritional factors, and diverse food and supplemental sources for obtaining protein, it stands to reason that the regulation of the microbiota–gut–muscle axis via diet-induced changes in gut microbiota composition and function may be dissimilar. However, whether this translates into differential effects on the skeletal muscle is unclear. This review article aims to provide a contemporary perspective for how variations in gut microbiota linked to vegan, vegetarian, and omnivorous diets may be a potential mechanism for influencing protein metabolism in skeletal muscle mass via a purported microbiota-gut–muscle axis.</p
Subsoil manuring improves the soil physical properties and crop rooting behaviour in soil profiles in dryland cropping systems over three seasons
No full textThe deep-banding of nutrient-rich organic amendments has been shown to improve crop yields and to ameliorate soil physicochemical constraints present in dense clay subsoils. However, the management practice needs further validation on a range of these constrained cropping soils, with different crops grown in different climates. This study involved a series of soil measurements undertaken at a high (Tatyoon) and medium (Kiata) rainfall site in Victoria, Australia from 2018 to 2020, where these respective soils were classified as Sodosol and Vertosol. The impacts of four amendment treatments involving a control, surface manuring, subsoil manuring and deep-banded gypsum applied at a soil depth of 25 −35 cm on the condition of the subsoil were assessed through measurements of saturated hydraulic conductivity (Kc), rainfall accumulation in the soil profile, and crop root growth. Subsoil manuring had increased the Kc at 25 cm depth by 25 −110 % 3 −4 years after placement, at both sites. Water accumulation and extraction from the soil profile (0 −130 cm) were respectively 30 and 50 mm greater in response to the manure amendments at the high-rainfall site in 2019, but produced no significant effect at the medium rainfall site. Increased root lengths were observed in the subsoil layers with all three amendments, but only in barley (Hordeum vulgare) grown at the high-rainfall site in 2019. We attribute the relatively small changes in the condition of the subsoils at these sites to limited rainfall that occurred during the study, which stranded the deep-banded amendments in dry subsoil.</p
MHz Wavefront Characterisation of X-ray Free Electron Laser Pulses
No full textA thesis submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the School of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia.</p
Enhancing Malware Detection and Analysis using Deep Learning and Explainable AI (XAI)
No full textThe rising complexity of malware threats has raised significant concerns within the antimalware community. The rapid evolution of cyber threats, particularly malware, is one of the most dangerous cybercrimes for online users due to its fast speed and self-replication. Advanced detection and analysis techniques may be required to detect it correctly. Deep learning (DL), a powerful tool in the fight against malware, accurately classifies and automates feature extraction. However, the black-box nature of DL models prevents them from being used in security-critical applications since they are difficult to understand and trust. Explainable AI (XAI) techniques enhance transparency and clarity in model decision-making, fostering a deeper understanding and building trust among cybersecurity professionals. This work introduces a new approach to identifying the behavior of modern malware through the integration of Deep learning combined with heuristics approaches and Explainable AI (XAI), precisely Shapley Additive explanations (SHAP),and Local Interpretable Model-agnostic Explanations (LIME).A synthetic dataset obtained from Kaggle served to train several models, including CNN, DNN, Random Forest, and Decision Trees. The experimental results clearly indicated that the Random Forest model achieved the highest accuracy at 69. 3%, whereas the CNN and DNN models delivered similar performances, with accuracy rates of 59. 5% and 59. 2%, respectively. Further analysis using SHAP and LIME unveiled critical features that influenced the models' decisions, thereby enhancing our understanding of AI-driven security solutions. This study effectively bridges the gap between performance and interpretability in the field of malware detection.</p