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Angiogenesis-associated pathways play critical roles in neonatal sepsis outcomesNeonatal sepsis is a major cause of childhood mortality. Limited diagnostic tools and mechanistic insights have hampered our abilities to develop prophylactic or therapeutic interventions. Biomarkers in human neonatal sepsis have been repeatedly identified as associated with dysregulation of angiopoietin signaling and altered arachidonic acid metabolism.
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sPLA2 study: Immune ontogeny and prediction, prevention and management of late-onset sepsis in very preterm infantsTobias Strunk MD, PhD, FRACP Head, Neonatal Health tobias.strunk@thekids.org.au Head, Neonatal Health Clinical Professor Tobias Strunk is a
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Skin-Microbiome Assembly in Preterm Infants during the First Three Weeks of Life and Impact of Topical Coconut Oil ApplicationThe structure and function of infant skin is not fully developed until 34 weeks of gestation, and this immaturity is associated with risk of late-onset sepsis (LOS). Topical coconut oil improves preterm-infant skin integrity and may reduce LOS. However, data on early-life skin-microbiome succession and potential effects of emollient skin care in preterm infants are scarce.
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Vitamin A supplementation in very-preterm or very-low-birth-weight infants to prevent morbidity and mortality: A systematic review and meta-Analysis of randomized trialsA previous systematic review showed that intramuscular vitamin A supplementation reduced the risk of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) infants. However, more recent studies have questioned this finding.
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Gene filtering strategies for machine learning guided biomarker discovery using neonatal sepsis RNA-seq dataMachine learning (ML) algorithms are powerful tools that are increasingly being used for sepsis biomarker discovery in RNA-Seq data. RNA-Seq datasets contain multiple sources and types of noise (operator, technical and non-systematic) that may bias ML classification. Normalisation and independent gene filtering approaches described in RNA-Seq workflows account for some of this variability and are typically only targeted at differential expression analysis rather than ML applications.
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Whole blood transcriptional responses of very preterm infants during late-onset sepsisBlood responses in very preterm infants with LOS are characterised by altered host immune responses that appear to reflect unbalanced immuno-metabolic homeostasis
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Plasma secretory phospholipase A2 as an early marker for late-onset sepsis in preterm infants—a pilot studyPreterm infants are particularly susceptible to bacterial late-onset sepsis (LOS). Diagnosis by blood culture and inflammatory markers have sub-optimal sensitivity and specificity and prolonged reporting times. There is an urgent need for more rapid, accurate adjunctive diagnostics in LOS to improve management and minimise antibiotic exposure.
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Outcomes of interventions in neonatal sepsis: A systematic review of qualitative researchWhile a systematic review exists detailing neonatal sepsis outcomes from clinical trials, there remains an absence of a qualitative systematic review capturing the perspectives of key stakeholders.
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The COSI-2 TrialTobias Jenny Strunk Mountain MD, PhD, FRACP MBA MClinEpi Head, Neonatal Health Program Manager, Neonatal Health / Protect Trial tobias.strunk@
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Psychomotor Vigilance Testing on Neonatal Transport: A Western Australian ExperienceThis study aimed to assess whether undertaking retrieval was associated with fatigue independent of sleep and circadian disruption. It also aimed to assess the feasibility of routinely measuring the psychomotor vigilance test on neonatal transport. Fatigue is associated with impaired clinician performance and safety.