Search

Maternal immunisation, a low cost and high efficacy intervention is recommended for its pathogen specific protection. Evidence suggests that maternal immunisation has another significant impact: reduction of preterm birth (PTB), the single greatest cause of childhood morbidity and mortality globally. Our overarching question is: how does maternal immunisation modify the immune system in pregnant women and/or their newborn to reduce adverse pregnancy outcomes and enhance the newborn infant's capacity to protect itself from infectious diseases during early childhood? To answer this question we are conducting a multi-site, prospective observational cohort study collecting maternal and infant biological samples at defined time points during pregnancy and post-partum from nulliparous women. We aim to enrol 400 women and determine the immune trajectory in pregnancy and the impact of maternal immunisation (including influenza, pertussis and/or COVID-19 vaccines) on this trajectory. The results are expected to identify areas that can be targeted for future intervention studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There are more than 7,800 people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in Victoria, Australia. Crucial in maximising the individual and population level benefits from antiretroviral therapy (ART) is understanding how to achieve patient retention in care and the factors that drive it. This study was an expansion of a 2015 assessment of HIV-care retention in Victoria, which sought out to determine whether the inclusion of a broader range of HIV-healthcare sites would yield more accurate estimates of retention in HIV-care. We aimed to improve our understanding of HIV-care retention in Victoria, Australia, identify people living with HIV (PLHIV) with unknown outcomes, and attempt to re-engage PLHIV in care. Methods: A network of 15 HIV-care sites was established in Victoria, Australia across diverse care settings which ranged from low-caseload rural sites to high-caseload metropolitan GP clinics and hospitals. Individuals who had an HIV viral load (VL) performed in both calendar years of 2016 and 2017 were classified as retained in care. Individuals with a VL test in 2016 but not in 2017 were considered to potentially have unknown outcomes as they may have been receiving care elsewhere, have disengaged from care or died. For this group, an intervention of cross-referencing partially de-identified data between healthcare sites, and contact tracing individuals who still had unknown outcomes was performed. Results: For 5223 individuals considered to be retained in care across 15 healthcare sites in the study period, 49 had unconfirmed transfers of care to an alternative provider and 79 had unknown outcomes. After the intervention, the number of unconfirmed care transfers was reduced to 17 and unknown outcomes reduced to 51. These changes were largely attributed to people being reclassified as confirmed transfers of care. Retention in care estimates that did not include the patient outcome of confirmed transfer of care ranged from 76.2 to 95.8% and did not alter with the intervention. However, retention in care estimates which considered confirmed transfers and those that re-entered care at a new site as retained in care significantly increased across five of the sites with estimates ranging from 80.9 to 98.3% pre-intervention to 83.3–100% post-intervention. Individuals whose outcomes remained unknown post-intervention were more often men who have sex with men (MSM) when compared to other categories (person who injects drugs (PWID), combined PWID/MSM, men who identify as heterosexual or unknown) (74.5% vs. 53.5%, [p = 0.06]) and receiving ART at their last HIV-care visit (84.3% vs. 67.8% [p = 0.09]). Conclusion: This study confirmed high retention in HIV-care and low numbers of people disengaged from HIV-care in Victoria. This was demonstrated across a larger number of sites with varying models of care than a prior assessment in 2015. These data align with national and state targets aiming for 95% of PLHIV retained in HIV-care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preparation for the operatic stage means that for some students their voice will undergo significant transformation during training. For most operatic singers, voice type will determine future roles, the music they perform and potential career trajectory. Voice type becomes a facet of identity and position within the operatic world. This article presents a narrative thematic analysis of a young woman's account of her teaching and learning experiences in preparation for a career on the operatic stage. Two semi-structured interviews were conducted, and beliefs and values about her singing and voice type were elicited. This article discusses how significant changes to her voice have affected her self-concept, singer identity and potential career in opera. Also discussed is the impact of conservatorium environment, peers and mentors on her feelings of self-belief. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article seeks to interrogate aspects of assessment practices in musical theatre. Practices in the training of musical theatre students are rarely a source for reflection, and this project sought to unveil some of the processes of learning, teaching and assessment in a new musical theatre degree. The larger project on which this article is based sought to develop and evaluate assessment protocols that assisted in facilitating practices with a stronger alignment with the professional realities of musical theatre. The data for this research consists of perceptions of students and their lecturers in relation to the implementation of a continuous assessment regime in a musical theatre degree in Australia. The assessment process is designed to provide students with regular commentary about their progress. In addition to end-of-semester exams, weekly marks are awarded for approximately twenty sub-activities within the broad areas of acting, dance, performance project, singing and speech. In addition, this means of assessment is located within a degree structure that employs a sliding scale across three years: students are assessed through formative assessment in the early years, and summative in the later years of the degree. Through individual interviews with staff and students, the efficacy of this assessment process was documented. Staff members who worked with students in the programme were interviewed to ascertain the strengths and weaknesses of such an approach. Students were interviewed to determine whether they believed it assisted them in both their learning and in achieving goals during and beyond the degree. An action research cycle was initiated and the findings demonstrate a relative degree of agreement between expectations of participants in the course and the proposed outcomes at the end of the degree. These findings, combined with artefacts from the programme and previously reported student perceptions, are presented as a model that may provide the potential for replication in other training programmes that seek to prepare students for the realities of a career in the creative and performing arts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports on a case study of three directors of large ensembles within a large conservatoire and the ways in which they attempted to scaffold their students into professional music careers. The core aim in this article is to respond to the question “What is the role and function of the ensemble experience on the training of the professional musician?” The study reported on here formed part of a larger project into ensemble assessment practices. However as the study progressed, it became clear that each director perceived that their responsibilities to their students extended well beyond the institutional imperatives of reporting on progress and assessment practices. The sub-questions that relate to this aspect of the study therefore included: “What is the rationale for activities within the ensemble?” “How does the ensemble director facilitate and enable this learning experience?” and “What activities does the director see as intrinsic to the overall ensemble experience?”Using a case study approach, the ensembles involved were observed and their directors were interviewed. Artifacts were also used to support the data generated. These included course outlines, detailed rehearsal expectations and other university prerequisites. The data are presented as narrative accounts of each director. While Directors centered their practices on short-term rehearsal and performance outcomes, they were also keenly aware of the need for students to develop generic musicianship skills and to ensure the development of self-management strategies for life after the conservatoire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Participation in an ensemble is a significant aspect of tertiary music experience. Learning and assessment practices within ensembles have rarely been investigated in Australia and the perceptions of staff and students as to how they learn and are assessed within ensembles remain largely unexplored. This paper reports on part of a larger project that investigated learning and assessment practices within ensembles at an Australian Conservatorium of Music. Ensembles contribute to approximately 25% of student work in each semester, and the assessment contributes to a final grade for the semester. Using a case study methodology, four music ensembles were studied. The data generated were coded into themes including assessment practices and processes; collaborative learning practices; the development of the professional musician; and communication and transparency between participants and the institution. Findings revealed that both staff and student participants in this study perceived ensemble participation to be valuable to the development of a professional musician, but that assessment procedures did not always support this goal. Institutional demands were found to be an inhibiting factor in the assessment of ensembles, and both students and teachers had problems with current assessment procedures, resulting in confusion and lack of transparency about how ensembles are assessed. Approaches to the development of the professional musician became a dominant discussion point and a substantial finding of the research. By examining dominant and subjugated knowledge in this domain, institutional power relations were interrogated, existing practices were challenged, and assessment practices rethought. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A common herbicide, atrazine, is associated with poor health. Atrazine acts as an endocrine disruptor at supra-environmental levels. Little research, however, has been conducted regarding chronic exposure to environmental atrazine concentrations across generations. This study utilized comprehensive endpoint measures to investigate the effects of chronic exposure to a conservative atrazine concentration (0.02 ng/mL), measured in Australian waterways, on male mice fertility across two generations. Mice were exposed through the maternal line, from the pre-conception period and through the F1 and F2 generations until three or six months of age. Atrazine did not impact sperm function, testicular morphology nor germ cell parameters but did alter the expression of steroidogenic genes in the F1, down-regulating the expression of Cyp17a1 (Cytochrome P450 family 17, subfamily A member 1; p = 0.0008) and Ddx4 (DEAD-box helicase 4; p = 0.007), and up-regulating the expression of Star (Steroidogenic acute regulatory protein; p = 0.017). In the F2, atrazine induced up-regulation in the expression of Star (p = 0.016). The current study demonstrates that chronic exposure to an environmentally relevant atrazine concentration perturbs testicular steroid-associated gene expression that varies across generations. Future studies through the paternal and combined parental lineages should be undertaken to further elucidate the multigenerational effects of atrazine on male fertility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One-to-one lessons based on the master-apprentice model are recognised in research and practice as an indispensable foundation for the training of professional musicians including singers. Given its primary importance to musician training, it is essential that researchers of this pedagogical model adopt methodologies and methods well-suited to illuminating the unique nature of one-to-one pedagogy. This article on methodology introduces multi-sited ethnography (MSFE) for one-to-one pedagogy research, exemplified through its use in a research project focused on one-to-one musical theatre singing voice pedagogy. MSFE is presented as 'Big Q' qualitative research approach which cohesively engages with epistemological, ontological, and methodological considerations facilitating the use of research methods which are well-suited to the private and ephemeral nature of the one-to-one lesson. MSFE is positioned as a research methodology which extends on and can address the challenges of extant research approaches in one-to-one pedagogy. MSFE is of particular use when researching participants across a broad cultural group (for example, studio teachers of a particular instrument or voice at multiple educational sites). We conclude with a discussion of the limitations of MSFE and make recommendations for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic pain is a prevalent and debilitating health problem that often persists in the absence of an identifiable biomedical cause. Uncertainty regarding the origins of a pain problem may lead to pain catastrophizing and unfruitful healthcare seeking behaviors. Individuals with chronic pain often turn to the internet to identify possible causes or sources of their pain symptoms, thus affirming their pain experience. Despite evidence that pain catastrophizing amplifies distress about pain complaints, no studies have investigated whether it is associated with escalations in health anxiety that result from searching for online health information (i.e., cyberchondria). The aim of the present study was to investigate whether pain catastrophizing predicted variance in cyberchondria above and beyond health anxiety. Undergraduate students (N = 221, 70.6% female) completed questionnaires assessing pain catastrophizing, health anxiety, and cyberchondria. Results from hierarchical regression models indicated that pain catastrophizing predicted unique variance in four dimensions of cyberchondria: compulsion, distress, excessiveness, and reassurance. Findings are consistent with research highlighting the consequences of pain catastrophizing on myriad psychological outcomes. Individuals who catastrophize about pain experiences may be vulnerable to developing severe health anxiety from searching the internet for health information. Implications for research among individuals with chronic pain are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Music performance in the higher educational context is shaped by a reciprocal chain of interactions between students, part-time tutors and full-time teaching staff, each with specific expectations about the teaching and learning process. Such expectations can provide valuable insights not only for designing and implementing meaningful educational strategies but also for defining higher education (HE) institutions’ specific mission, inside and outside departmental boundaries. Drawing on an empirical investigation about the dynamics of the expectations of the above stakeholders regarding the integration of instrumental/vocal tuition into the HE learning environment, this article discusses the need for developing teaching excellence in instrumental and vocal tuition across the UK, arguing that HE environments have a crucial role to play in such process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]