Oral Health in South Australia - 2008

Oral health in South Australia 2008 provides a comprehensive summary of the oral health of South Australian residents. This publication was developed from a range of surveys conducted by the Australian Research Centre for Population Oral Health (ARCPOH) and administrative data provided by state dental services. Information provided in this publication includes data on caries experience and periodontal diseases of children and adults, tooth retention and loss among adults, access to dental care, cost of dental care and the dental labour force. Information on the oral health of Indigenous children and adults is also provided. The publication highlights the recent increase in the level of dental decay among primary and secondary school children, the low percentage of school aged children visiting the school dental service, the extent of individual out-of-pocket expenditure on dental services, and issues with access to dentists and dental hygienists outside of the Adelaide metropolitan area

Time Dependent Models of Flares from Sagittarius A*

The emission from Sgr A*, the supermassive black hole in the Galactic Center, shows order of magnitude variability ("flares") a few times a day that is particularly prominent in the near-infrared (NIR) and X-rays. We present a time-dependent model for these flares motivated by the hypothesis that dissipation of magnetic energy powers the flares. We show that episodic magnetic reconnection can occur near the last stable circular orbit in time-dependent magnetohydrodynamic simulations of black hole accretion - the timescales and energetics of these events are broadly consistent with the flares from Sgr A*. Motivated by these results, we present a spatially one-zone time-dependent model for the electron distribution function in flares, including energy loss due to synchrotron cooling and adiabatic expansion. Synchrotron emission from transiently accelerated particles can explain the NIR/X-ray lightcurves and spectra of a luminous flare observed 4 April 2007. A significant decrease in the magnetic field strength during the flare (coincident with the electron acceleration) is required to explain the simultaneity and symmetry of the simultaneous lightcurves. Our models predict that the NIR and X-ray spectral indices differ by 0.5 and that there is only modest variation in the spectral index during flares. We also explore implications of this model for longer wavelength (radio-submm) emission seemingly associated with X-ray and NIR flares; we argue that a few hour decrease in the submm emission is a more generic consequence of large-scale magnetic reconnection than delayed radio emission from adiabatic expansion.Comment: 18 pages, 10 figures, ApJ accepte

Electronic cigarettes and health outcomes: systematic review of global evidence

This report aims to provide a systematic overview of the contemporary evidence on the health effects of nicotine and non-nicotine e-cigarette use, excluding where possible use of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and other illicit substances. The primary health outcomes of interest include, but are not limited to: dependence; cardiovascular disease; cancer; respiratory disease; oral diseases; reproductive outcomes; injuries and poisonings; mental health conditions; and environmental hazards with human health implications. These findings are integrated with those from previous systematic reviews on smoking uptake and cessation.Australian Department of Healt

Efficacy of e-cigarettes as aids to cessation of combustible tobacco smoking: updated evidence review

This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to summarise the current published peer-reviewed randomised control trial (RCT) evidence on the efficacy of e-cigarettes – nicotine and non-nicotine – for the sustained cessation of combustible tobacco cigarette smoking and for the cessation of ongoing exposure to nicotine. The review also considers the evidence in the light of potential competing interests.The project is funded by the Australian Government Department of Healt

Workforce participation in relation to cancer diagnosis, type and stage: Australian population-based study of 163,556 middle-aged people

Purpose To quantify the relationship of cancer diagnosis to workforce participation in Australia, according to cancer type, clinical features and personal characteristics. Methods Questionnaire data (2006–2009) from participants aged 45–64 years (n=163,556) from the population-based 45 and Up Study (n=267,153) in New South Wales, Australia, were linked to cancer registrations to ascertain cancer diagnoses up to enrolment. Modified Poisson regression estimated age- and sex-adjusted prevalence ratios (PRs) for non-participation in the paid workforce—in participants with cancer (n=8,333) versus without (n=155,223), for 13 cancer types. Results Overall, 42% of cancer survivors and 29% of people without cancer were out of the workforce (PR=1.18; 95%CI=1.15– 1.21). Workforce non-participation varied substantively by cancer type, being greatest for multiple myeloma (1.83; 1.53–2.18), oesophageal (1.70; 1.13–2.58) and lung cancer (1.68; 1.45–1.93) and moderate for colorectal (1.23; 1.15–1.33), breast (1.11; 1.06–1.16) and prostate cancer (1.06; 0.99–1.13). Long-term survivors, 5 or more years post-diagnosis, had 12% (7–16%) greater non-participation than people without cancer, and non-participation was greater with recent diagnosis, treatment or advanced stage. Physical disability contributed substantively to reduced workforce participation, regardless of cancer diagnosis. Conclusions Cancer survivors aged 45–64 continue to participate in the workforce. However, participation is lower than in people without cancer, varying by cancer type, and is reduced particularly around the time of diagnosis and treatment and with advanced disease. Implications for Cancer Survivors While many cancer survivors continue with paid work, participation is reduced. Workforce retention support should be tailored to survivor preferences, cancer type and cancer journey stage

A Symbiotic Qualia: Studio Art, Bachelor of Fine Arts 2017–18 \ Western Gallery Exhibition

A Symbiotic Qualia is the fourth annual Studio Art, BFA catalogue. “Qualia” is the moment when one becomes aware of the subjectivity of an experience. Although each of our works represent individual experiences, we have formed a symbiotic network through concurrent artistic expression.https://cedar.wwu.edu/bfa_catalogs/1002/thumbnail.jp

Investigation of hospital discharge cases and SARS-CoV-2 introduction into Lothian care homes

Background The first epidemic wave of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Scotland resulted in high case numbers and mortality in care homes. In Lothian, over one-third of care homes reported an outbreak, while there was limited testing of hospital patients discharged to care homes. Aim To investigate patients discharged from hospitals as a source of SARS-CoV-2 introduction into care homes during the first epidemic wave. Methods A clinical review was performed for all patients discharges from hospitals to care homes from 1st March 2020 to 31st May 2020. Episodes were ruled out based on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) test history, clinical assessment at discharge, whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data and an infectious period of 14 days. Clinical samples were processed for WGS, and consensus genomes generated were used for analysis using Cluster Investigation and Virus Epidemiological Tool software. Patient timelines were obtained using electronic hospital records. Findings In total, 787 patients discharged from hospitals to care homes were identified. Of these, 776 (99%) were ruled out for subsequent introduction of SARS-CoV-2 into care homes. However, for 10 episodes, the results were inconclusive as there was low genomic diversity in consensus genomes or no sequencing data were available. Only one discharge episode had a genomic, time and location link to positive cases during hospital admission, leading to 10 positive cases in their care home. Conclusion The majority of patients discharged from hospitals were ruled out for introduction of SARS-CoV-2 into care homes, highlighting the importance of screening all new admissions when faced with a novel emerging virus and no available vaccine

SARS-CoV-2 Omicron is an immune escape variant with an altered cell entry pathway

Vaccines based on the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 are a cornerstone of the public health response to COVID-19. The emergence of hypermutated, increasingly transmissible variants of concern (VOCs) threaten this strategy. Omicron (B.1.1.529), the fifth VOC to be described, harbours multiple amino acid mutations in spike, half of which lie within the receptor-binding domain. Here we demonstrate substantial evasion of neutralization by Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 variants in vitro using sera from individuals vaccinated with ChAdOx1, BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273. These data were mirrored by a substantial reduction in real-world vaccine effectiveness that was partially restored by booster vaccination. The Omicron variants BA.1 and BA.2 did not induce cell syncytia in vitro and favoured a TMPRSS2-independent endosomal entry pathway, these phenotypes mapping to distinct regions of the spike protein. Impaired cell fusion was determined by the receptor-binding domain, while endosomal entry mapped to the S2 domain. Such marked changes in antigenicity and replicative biology may underlie the rapid global spread and altered pathogenicity of the Omicron variant

The association between school environment and children’s general health and oral health outcomes in Australia

Schooling forms a large part of a child’s life experience and schools are recognised as an appropriate setting for health promotion activities. Characteristics of schools have been associated with various health outcomes. The association between aspects of schools and child oral health outcomes was assessed for a sample of children from New South Wales, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory. Parents of a random sample of 5,418 children aged 5–14 years responded to self-complete surveys, and children participated in a dental examination. Parent perceptions of their child’s school were collected as were administrative data for participating schools from the MySchool website (including school type, socioeconomic information, number of students and teachers and percentage of students from non-English speaking background). Various health outcome measures were assessed across three sample populations: full sample (children aged 5–14 years), deciduous dentition subset (children aged 5–10 years, n=3,477) and permanent dentition subset (children aged 9–14 years, n=3,044). These included parent-rated health and oral health (PRH and PROH), presence of deciduous and permanent caries (poc and POC), deciduous and permanent decayed, missing and filled surfaces (dmfs and DMFS), and deciduous and permanent untreated decayed surfaces (ud and UD). Multilevel, multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted on outcome measures, using child sociodemographic information, MySchool information and parent perception of schools at individual-level (collected) and at school-level (amalgamated). Reference models for all outcome measures showed significant school-level variation. Among dichotomised outcome measures the Median Odds Ratio (MOR) was between 1.09 (deciduous PROH) and 1.50 (deciduous PRH). Among continuous outcome measures, the Intraclass Correlation (ICC) was between 2.5% (dmfs) and 5.3% (UD). The effects were small but have the potential for large consequences when considering population-level impact. In adjusted models, child-level parent perceptions of school variables demonstrated a higher number of significant associations with outcome measures in the permanent rather than the deciduous subset, particularly among clinical outcome measures. School socioeconomic status was persistently associated with outcome measures in the deciduous but not the permanent subset. The opposite was seen for teacher workload. Of school-level parent perceptions of school variables, school relations demonstrated the most persistent associations with outcomes. Better parent perceptions of school were generally associated with better oral health outcomes among children. Outcomes in the permanent subset saw more school-level variation explained in models than outcomes in the deciduous subset, potentially representing effects of longer exposure to school environment among older than younger children. School-level parent perception variables explained more variance than individual-level, supporting the concept of relevant contextual differences in school environment. There was significant variation across schools for all outcome measures indicating the presence of a general contextual effect of the school environment on child general and oral health outcomes. There were numerous significant specific effects seen in the univariable, bivariable and multivariable analyses. Better parent perceptions of school were generally associated with better health and oral health outcomes among children. Well-considered policy instigating appropriate change in school environment could help alleviate children’s oral disease experience.Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Dentistry, 2016