https://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/ /manager/Index ${session.getAttribute("locale")} 5 Exploring the risk factors for sudden infant deaths and their role in inflammatory responses to infection https://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/ /manager/Repository/uon:28095 Wed 22 Mar 2023 16:25:11 AEDT ]]> The Gomeroi gaaynggal cohort: a preliminary study of the maternal determinants of pregnancy outcomes in Indigenous Australian women https://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/ /manager/Repository/uon:22788 Tue 24 Aug 2021 14:32:21 AEST ]]> Effects of maternal inflammation and exposure to cigarette smoke on birth weight and delivery of preterm babies in a cohort of Indigenous Australian women https://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/ /manager/Repository/uon:21812 n = 131) were recruited as part of a longitudinal study while attending antenatal care clinics during pregnancy; blood samples were collected up to three times in pregnancy. Serum cotinine, indicating exposure to cigarette smoke, was detected in 50.4% of mothers. Compared with non-Indigenous women, the cohort had 10 times the prevalence of antibodies to Helicobacter pylori (33 vs. 3%). Levels of immunoglobulin G, antibodies to H. pylori, and C-reactive protein (CRP) were all inversely correlated with gestational age (P < 0.05). CRP levels were positively associated with maternal body mass index (BMI; ρ = 0.449, P = 0.001). The effects of cigarette smoke (cotinine) and inflammation (CRP) were assessed in relation to risk factors for SIDS: gestational age at delivery and birth weight. Serum cotinine levels were negatively associated with birth weight (ρ = -0.37, P < 0.001), this correlation held true for both male (ρ = -0.39, P = 0.002) and female (ρ = -0.30, P = 0.017) infants. Cotinine was negatively associated with gestational age at delivery (ρ = -0.199, P = 0.023). When assessed by fetal sex, this was significant only for males (ρ = -0.327, P = 0.011). CRP was negatively associated with gestational age at delivery for female infants (ρ = -0.46, P < 0.001). In contrast, maternal BMI was significantly correlated with birth weight. These data highlight the importance of putting programs in place to reduce cigarette smoke exposure in pregnancy and to treat women with chronic infections such as H. pylori to improve pregnancy outcomes and decrease risk factors for sudden death in infancy.]]> Tue 24 Apr 2018 16:00:57 AEST ]]> Gomeroi gaaynggal: empowerment of Aboriginal communities to understand health implications of research in pregnancy https://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/ /manager/Repository/uon:19071 Sat 24 Mar 2018 08:05:20 AEDT ]]> Comparison of cytokine gene polymorphisms among Greek patients with invasive meningococcal disease or viral meningitis https://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/ /manager/Repository/uon:19900 Sat 24 Mar 2018 08:03:48 AEDT ]]> Development of an experimental model for assessing the effects of cigarette smoke and virus infections on inflammatory responses to bacterial antigens https://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/ /manager/Repository/uon:28578 Sat 24 Mar 2018 07:35:50 AEDT ]]> Measurement of complement activation via plasma soluble C5b-9 comparison with terminal complement complex staining in a series of kidney biopsies https://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/ /manager/Repository/uon:53094 Fri 17 Nov 2023 11:54:34 AEDT ]]> Heparin Administration, but Not Myocardial Ischemia or Necrosis, Leads to Midkine Elevation https://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/ /manager/Repository/uon:41547 Fri 05 Aug 2022 14:23:18 AEST ]]> The use of the toxic plant myoporum montanum in a traditional Australian Aboriginal medicine https://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/ /manager/Repository/uon:29199 Myoporaceae, which includes the genus Myoporum, are extremely prized by the Australian Aboriginal people for their medicinal properties. Leaves from a plant, which was subsequently identified as Myoporum montanum, were provided for chemical investigation by representatives of an Aboriginal community from the Northern Tablelands district of northern New South Wales, Australia. Acetone extraction of the leaves provided a complex mixture of compounds including sesquiterpene hydrocarbons and more polar furanosesquiterpenes, which were identified by gas-liquid chromatography and retention indices (sesquiterpene hydrocarbons) and spectrometric techniques (furanosesquiterpenes). The major compounds found in a water extract were studied for their antibacterial activity using a disc diffusion assay and for their cell growth inhibition activity. The acetone extract contained sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (~30% of the total extract) in which the major compounds were germacrene-D and bicyclogermacrene. In addition, the extract contained five known toxic furanosesquiterpenes: myoporum ketol, (-)-10,11-dehydroisomyodesmone, (+)-10,11-dehydromyodesmone, 10,11-dehydromyoporum ketol, (-)-10,11-dehydromyoporone, and (±)-myoporone. An aqueous extract of the leaves, emulating the medicinal tea used by the Australian Aboriginal community, was found not to contain significant quantities of the sesquiterpene hydrocarbons and the most toxic furanosesquiterpenes. (±)-Myoporone and (-)-10,11-dehydromyoporone remained in the extract as well as a new furanosesquiterpene, 11-hydroxymyoporone. These three compounds were found to have significant antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus epidermidis, Enterococcus faecalis, and Moraxella catarrhalis but low cytotoxicity against a range of cancer cell lines and normal breast cells at 25µM.]]> Fri 01 Apr 2022 09:25:59 AEDT ]]>