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The Role of the Avatar in Gaming for Trans and Gender Diverse Young PeopleA significant proportion of trans and gender diverse (TGD) young people report membership of the gaming community and resultant benefits to wellbeing. To date their experiences and needs regarding a key feature of games, the avatar, are largely unexplored, despite increasing interest in the therapeutic role of avatars in the general population. The aim of this study was to better understand the role of the avatar in gaming, its impact on TGD young people's mental health, and their unique needs regarding avatar design.
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Global maps of travel time to healthcare facilitiesAccess to healthcare is a requirement for human well-being that is constrained, in part, by the allocation of healthcare resources relative to the geographically dispersed human population. Quantifying access to care globally is challenging due to the absence of a comprehensive database of healthcare facilities. We harness major data collection efforts underway by OpenStreetMap, Google Maps and academic researchers to compile the most complete collection of facility locations to date.
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Time spent outdoors through childhood and adolescence - assessed by 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration - and risk of myopia at 20 yearsTo investigate the relationship between time spent outdoors, at particular ages in childhood and adolescence, and myopia status in young adulthood using serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentration as a biomarker of time spent outdoors. Participants of the Raine Study Generation 2 cohort had 25(OH)D concentrations measured at the 6-, 14-, 17- and 20-year follow-ups. Participants underwent cycloplegic autorefraction at age 20 years, and myopia was defined as a mean spherical equivalent -0.50 dioptres or more myopic. Logistic regression was used to analyse the association between risk of myopia at age 20 years and age-specific 25(OH)D concentrations. Linear mixed-effects models were used to analyse trajectory of 25(OH)D concentrations from 6 to 20 years.
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Prophage exotoxins enhance colonization fitness in epidemic scarlet fever-causing Streptococcus pyogenesThe re-emergence of scarlet fever poses a new global public health threat. The capacity of North-East Asian serotype M12 (emm12) Streptococcus pyogenes (group A Streptococcus, GAS) to cause scarlet fever has been linked epidemiologically to the presence of novel prophages
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Early disease surveillance in young children with cystic fibrosis: A qualitative analysis of parent experiencesSensitive measures of early lung disease are being integrated into therapeutic trials and clinical practice in cystic fibrosis (CF). The impact of early disease surveillance (EDS) using these novel and often intensive techniques on young children and their families is not well researched.
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Spatial analysis of hepatobiliary abnormalities in a population at high-risk of cholangiocarcinoma in ThailandCholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a serious health challenge with low survival prognosis. The liver fluke, Opisthorchis viverrini, plays a role in the aetiology of CCA, through hepatobiliary abnormalities: liver mass (LM), bile duct dilation, and periductal fibrosis (PDF). A population-based CCA screening program, the Cholangiocarcinoma Screening and Care Program, operates in Northeast Thailand. Hepatobiliary abnormalities were identified through ultrasonography.
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Microbiomic Analysis on Low Abundant Respiratory Biomass Samples; Improved Recovery of Microbial DNA From Bronchoalveolar Lavage FluidIn recent years the study of the commensal microbiota is driving a remarkable paradigm shift in our understanding of human physiology. However, intrinsic technical difficulties associated with investigating the Microbiomics of some body niches are hampering the development of new knowledge. This is particularly the case when investigating the functional role played by the human microbiota in modulating the physiology of key organ systems. A major hurdle in investigating specific Microbiome communities is linked to low bacterial density and susceptibility to bias caused by environmental contamination.
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SMART Work Design: Accelerating the Diagnosis of Rare Diseases in the Western Australian Undiagnosed Diseases ProgramThe accurate and efficient diagnosis of rare diseases, many of which include congenital anomalies, depends largely on the specialists who diagnose them - including their ability to work alongside specialists from other fields and to take full advantage of cutting-edge precision medicine technologies and precision public health approaches.
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Role of viral and bacterial pathogens in causing pneumonia among Western Australian children: A case-control study protocolWe aim to determine the contribute of bacteria and virus to childhood CAP to inform further development of effective strategies.
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The Risk of Neurodevelopmental Disabilities in Children of Immigrant and Refugee Parents: Current Knowledge and Directions for Future ResearchWe investigated the literature from 2002 to 2016 describing the risk of ASD, intellectual disability and ADHD in children of refugee and immigrant backgrounds.