You\u27re the One That I Want

A theatrical exploration, that began with “the Diva” and eventually evolved into an examination of the impossibility of being a woman, through the fetishization of the 1978 film, Grease

Chronic disease self-management in Aboriginal communities: towards a sustainable program of care in rural communities

Bundoora, VI

Examining the association of life course neurocognitive ability with real-world functioning in schizophrenia-spectrum disorders

There is considerable variability in neurocognitive functioning within schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, and neurocognitive performance ranges from severe global impairment to normative performance. Few investigations of neurocognitive clusters have considered the degree to which deterioration relative to premorbid neurocognitive abilities is related to key illness characteristics. Moreover, while neurocognition and community functioning are strongly related, understanding of the sources of variability in the association between these two domains is also limited; it is unknown what proportion of participants would over-perform or under-perform the level of functioning expected based on current neurocognitive performance vs. lifelong attainment. This study examined data from 954 outpatients with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders across three previous studies. Neurocognition, community functioning, and symptoms were assessed. Neurocognitive subgroups were created based on current neurocognition, estimated premorbid IQ, and degree of deterioration from premorbid using z-score cut-offs; functional subgroups were created with cluster analysis based on the Specific Level of Functioning Scale and current neurocognition. The sample was neurocognitively heterogeneous; 65% displayed current neurocognitive impairment and 84% experienced some level of deterioration. Thirty percent of our sample was relatively higher functioning despite significant neurocognitive impairment. Individuals with better community functioning, regardless of neurocognitive performance, had lower symptom severity compared to those with worse functioning. These results highlight the variability in neurocognition and its role in functioning. Understanding individual differences in neurocognitive and functional profiles and the interaction between prior and current cognitive functioning can guide individualized treatment and selection of participants for clinical treatment studies

Adapting econometric causal effect estimators to the public health arena

This report is a description of an NCRM collaborative event-based project

Nkx2-5+Islet1+ Mesenchymal Precursors Generate Distinct Spleen Stromal Cell Subsets and Participate in Restoring Stromal Network Integrity

SummarySecondary lymphoid organ stromal cells comprise different subsets whose origins remain unknown. Herein, we exploit a genetic lineage-tracing approach to show that splenic fibroblastic reticular cells (FRCs), follicular dendritic cells (FDCs), marginal reticular cells (MRCs), and mural cells, but not endothelial cells, originate from embryonic mesenchymal progenitors of the Nkx2-5+Islet1+ lineage. This lineage include embryonic mesenchymal cells with lymphoid tissue organizer (LTo) activity capable also of supporting ectopic lymphoid-like structures and a subset of resident spleen stromal cells that proliferate and regenerate the splenic stromal microenvironment following resolution of a viral infection. These findings identify progenitor cells that generate stromal diversity in spleen development and repair and suggest the existence of multipotent stromal progenitors in the adult spleen with regenerative capacity

Systematic review of 3D mammography for breast cancer screening.

AbstractThis review investigated the relative performance of digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) (alone or with full field digital mammography (FFDM) or synthetic digital mammography) compared with FFDM alone for detecting breast cancer lesions in asymptomatic women. A systematic review was carried out according to systematic reviewing principles provided in the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Diagnostic Test Accuracy. A protocol was developed a priori. The review was registered with PROSPERO (number CRD42014013949). Searches were undertaken in October 2014. Following selection, five studies were eligible. Higher cancer detection rates were observed when comparing DBT + FFDM with FFDM in two European studies: the summary difference per 1000 screens was 2.43 (95% CI: 1.8 to 3.1). Both European studies found lower false positive rates for individual readers. One found a lower recall rate based on conditional recall. The second study was not designed to compare post-arbitration recall rates between FFDM and DBT + FFDM. One European study presented data on interval cancer rates; sensitivity and specificity for DBT + FFDM were both higher compared to FFDM. One large multicentre US study showed a higher cancer detection rate for DBT + FFDM, while two smaller US studies did not find statistically significant differences. Reductions in recall and false positive rates were observed in the US studies in favour of DBT + FFDM. In comparison to FFDM, DBT, as an adjunct to FFDM, has a higher cancer detection rate, increasing the effectiveness of breast cancer screening. Additional benefits of DBT may also include reduced recalls and, consequently, reduced costs and distress caused to women who would have been recalled

Gatekeepers of financial power: from London to Lagos

The main premise of this paper is that, until recently, African elites did not regulate or control financial flows moving across the continent. They were not financial gatekeepers. In Africa Since 1940, Cooper identified African elites as gatekeepers regulating access to resources and opportunities passing through strategic sites. This paper makes a case for revision of existing notions of the gatekeeper state in an ongoing effort to (re)negotiate the continent’s colonial past through two new arguments. The first is that financial power was never located at a ‘peripheral’ African gate, but resolutely held onto within leading financial centres, circumventing any opportunity for African elites to control financial flows. Failure to distinguish between types of flows distorts analysis of African political economic power under colonialism. It is only in the post-2000 period, that we see powerful African states driving the integration of African markets into the global financial system. The second argument is that these African goals to control financial flows correspond more to ‘gateway’ strategies than to gatekeeper. Drawing on the case of Lagos, I demonstrate how this ‘gateway’ concept better captures trans-scalar processes of new financial clustering in Africa’s emerging markets than a concept associated with ‘gates’ under Empire