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Machine Learning-Based DNA Methylation Score for Fetal Exposure to Maternal SmokingFetal exposure to maternal smoking during pregnancy is associated with the development of noncommunicable diseases in the offspring. Maternal smoking may induce such long-term effects through persistent changes in the DNA methylome, which therefore hold the potential to be used as a biomarker of this early life exposure. With declining costs for measuring DNA methylation, we aimed to develop a DNA methylation score that can be used on adolescent DNA methylation data and thereby generate a score for in utero cigarette smoke exposure.
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Repair of an Attenuated Low-Passage Murine Cytomegalovirus Bacterial Artificial Chromosome Identifies a Novel Spliced Gene Essential for Salivary Gland TropismThe cloning of herpesviruses as bacterial artificial chromosomes (BAC) has revolutionized the study of herpesvirus biology, allowing rapid and precise manipulation of viral genomes. Several clinical strains of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) have been cloned as BACs; however, no low-passage strains of murine CMV, which provide a model mimicking these isolates, have been cloned. Here, the low-passage G4 strain of was BAC cloned. G4 carries an m157 gene that does not ligate the natural killer cell-activating receptor, Ly49H, meaning that unlike laboratory strains of MCMV, this virus replicates well in C57BL/6 mice.
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Ambient Air Pollution, Extreme Temperatures and Birth Outcomes: A Protocol for an Umbrella Review, Systematic Review and Meta-AnalysisPrenatal exposure to ambient air pollution and extreme temperatures are among the major risk factors of adverse birth outcomes and with potential long-term effects during the life course. Although low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are most vulnerable, there is limited synthesis of evidence in such settings. This document describes a protocol for both an umbrella review (Systematic Review 1) and a focused systematic review and meta-analysis of studies from LMICs (Systematic Review 2).
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Maternal HIV infection alters antimicrobial immunity in exposed and uninfected infantsImplementation of lifelong ART of all HIV-infected women has the potential to improve maternal determinants of protective immunity in the young infant
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Exploring Associations Between Playgroup Attendance and Early Childhood Development at School Entry in Australia: A Cross-Sectional Population-Level StudyChildren who attended playgroup had better development at school entry relative to those who had not attended playgroup
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Role of maternal mental health disorders on stillbirth and infant mortality risk: a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysisWe plan to examine whether prenatal maternal mental health disorders impact the risk of stillbirth and infant mortality
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Association between diesel engine exhaust exposure and lung function in Australian gold minersDiesel engine exhaust exposures were higher in underground miners and had a negative association with their lung function over a single 12-h shift
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The Evolving Landscape of e-Cigarettes: A Systematic Review of Recent EvidenceThis review focuses on smokers and nonsmokers and evaluates the most recent data regarding the potential health effects of e-cigarettes
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ApoB48-remnant lipoproteins are associated with increased cardiometabolic risk in adolescentsPlasma apoB48 remnant lipoproteins associate with cardiometabolic risk factors in adolescents and provide support for the screening of remnant cholesterol in youth
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Feasibility of a Consumer Centred Tobacco Management intervention in Community Mental Health Services in AustraliaThis study tested a new program for helping smokers with severe mental illness to reduce their tobacco use, together with determining the feasibility of such research in community mental health settings in Australia.