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Increase in invasive group A streptococcal disease among Australian children coinciding with northern hemisphere surgesIncreases in invasive group A streptococcal disease (iGAS) have recently been reported in multiple countries in the northern hemisphere, occurring during, and outside of, typical spring peaks. We report the epidemiology of iGAS among children in Australia from 1 July 2018 to 31 December 2022.
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Reproducible Bioinformatics Analysis Workflows for Detecting IGH Gene Fusions in B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia PatientsB-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (B-ALL) is characterised by diverse genomic alterations, the most frequent being gene fusions detected via transcriptomic analysis (mRNA-seq). Due to its hypervariable nature, gene fusions involving the Immunoglobulin Heavy Chain (IGH) locus can be difficult to detect with standard gene fusion calling algorithms and significant computational resources and analysis times are required. We aimed to optimize a gene fusion calling workflow to achieve best-case sensitivity for IGH gene fusion detection.
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Incremental effectiveness of 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine against pneumonia hospitalisation among Australian Indigenous children: A record linkage studyThe impact of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) on pneumonia in children is well-documented but data on 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV23) are lacking. Between 2001 and 2011, Indigenous children in Western Australia (WA) were recommended to receive PPV23 at 18-24 months of age following 3 doses of 7-valent PCV. We evaluated the incremental effectiveness of PPV23 against pneumonia hospitalisation.
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Mental ill-health and substance use among sexuality diverse adolescents: The critical role of school climate and teacher self-efficacyMental ill-health, substance use and their co-occurrence among sexuality diverse young people during earlier adolescence is relatively understudied. The preventive utility of positive school climate for sexuality diverse adolescents' mental health is also unclear, as well as the role of teachers in conferring this benefit.
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A review of pediatric fasting guidelines and strategies to help children manage preoperative fastingFasting for surgery is a routine step in the preoperative preparation for surgery. There have however been increasing concerns with regard to the high incidence of prolonged fasting in children, and the subsequent psycho-social distress and physiological consequences that this poses.
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A biobank of pediatric patient-derived-xenograft models in cancer precision medicine trial MAPPYACTS for relapsed and refractory tumorsPediatric patients with recurrent and refractory cancers are in most need for new treatments. This study developed patient-derived-xenograft (PDX) models within the European MAPPYACTS cancer precision medicine trial.
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Invasive aspergillosis in adult patients in Australia and New Zealand: 2017–2020New and emerging risks for invasive aspergillosis (IA) bring the need for contemporary analyses of the epidemiology and outcomes of IA, in order to improve clinical practice.
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‘It’s been a lifelong thing for me’: parents’ experiences of facilitating a healthy lifestyle for their children with severe obesityFor parents and guardians, assisting children/adolescents with severe obesity to lose weight is often a key objective but a complex and difficult challenge. Our aim in this study was to explore parents' (and guardians') perspectives on the challenges they have faced in assisting their children/adolescents with severe obesity to lead a healthy lifestyle.
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Rett Syndrome Behaviour Questionnaire in Children and Adults With Rett Syndrome: Psychometric Characterization and Revised Factor StructureRett syndrome (RTT) is a severe neurodevelopmental disorder associated with multiple neurobehavioral abnormalities. The Rett Syndrome Behaviour Questionnaire (RSBQ) was developed for pediatric RTT observational studies. Because its application has expanded to adult and interventional studies, we evaluated the RSBQ's psychometric properties in six pediatric (n = 323) and five adult (n = 309) datasets.
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Risk factors for poorer respiratory outcomes in adolescents and young adults born pretermThe respiratory outcomes for adult survivors of preterm birth in the postsurfactant era are wide-ranging with prognostic factors, especially those encountered after the neonatal period, poorly understood.