CSIRO Health and Biosecurity

Summary‘Chemobrain’ language symptoms are commonly reported by adults receiving intensive chemotherapy for acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), but real‐time detection eludes clinical imaging modalities. We performed a prospective, observational, longitudinal cohort study employing serial comprehensive neurocognitive assessment and brain functional MRI (fMRI) in 20 adults receiving intensive chemotherapy for newly diagnosed AML. At chemotherapy completion, fMRI demonstrated significantly reduced functional connectivity between the salience (anterior cingulate cortex [ACC]) and the left language (inferior frontal gyrus [IFG] and posterior superior temporal gyrus [pSTG]) networks (p = 0.008), supported by significant decreases in white matter fibre density in the corpus callosum (p = 0.009) and in the tract connecting the ACC and left IFG (p = 0.037). Increasing cytarabine dose significantly correlated with decreasing ACC–IFG connectivity (R2 = 0.51, p = 0.021). Correlative analyses identified significant associations between worse brain imaging findings (language region connectivity and volume); worse verbal fluency scores; and increasing treatment intensity (cytarabine dose, transfusions and serum ferritin) (R2 > 0.5, p < 0.05). Taken together, this study provides novel evidence that AML chemotherapy induces measurable alterations in brain microstructure and functional connectivity, particularly affecting salience and language networks, and suggests a dose‐dependent effect with escalating cytarabine and transfusion exposure.

Hodgkin lymphoma is a rare neoplasm of the lymphatic system, representing one of the most common cancers in young adults. It is characterised by a low number of malignant cells derived from B-lymphocytes and an extensive microenvironment. We used Scopus, Web of Science and PubMed databases with search descriptors; “Hodgkin* lymphoma“ and “Hodgkin* disease”. The common bibliometric indicators were applied. We retrieved a total of 18,304 articles within 2002 and 2022. The growth pattern showed a saturated pattern, with the linear and exponential plots coinciding. A small number of authors were responsible for the majority of the publications, with a transience index of 71.84%. The Bradford core consisted of 32 journals, with Leukemia and Lymphoma being at the top. The most productive institutions were resident in United States with the University of Texas MD Anderson Center at the helm. The United States was found to be the most productive country. Engert A. was the most productive author. Scientific production in Hodgkin lymphoma was found to be saturated with a high transience index. This study provides a reference for oncologists, epidemiologists, funders, policy decision makers, academics, and Hodgkin lymphoma researchers.

Understanding the drivers of seasonal disease outbreaks remains a fundamental challenge in disease ecology. Periodic outbreaks can be driven by several seasonally varying factors, including pulses of susceptible individuals through births, changes in host behaviour and social aggregation and variation in host immunity. However, when these potential drivers overlap temporally, isolating their relative contributions to outbreak patterns becomes challenging. We studied Hendra virus, a zoonotic pathogen with seasonal spillovers from bats to horses and humans. Multiple seasonal factors have been hypothesized to drive Hendra virus transmission, including food shortages, birth pulses and changes in host aggregation, but their temporal overlap has made identifying primary drivers difficult. We conducted a 4-year longitudinal study of Pteropus bats to test whether seasonal birth pulses and the resulting influx of susceptible juveniles drive Hendra virus transmission. Using a Bayesian ageing model, we aged sexually immature bats and placed them into birth cohorts. We used our age predictions to model how viral shedding and antibody responses changed as bats aged. We tracked Bartonella spp. Infection-a bacterial pathogen requiring close contact for transmission-as an indicator of transmission opportunities within each cohort for comparison. We found no evidence that seasonal birth pulses of immunologically naïve juveniles drove Hendra virus transmission. Two out of three cohorts showed substantially reduced maternal antibody transfer compared to the 2018 cohort, with seroprevalence near zero at our earliest sampling timepoints and showed no clear evidence of synchronized seroconversion. Furthermore, Bartonella infection rates were consistent across cohorts, indicating that opportunities for pathogen transmission remained consistent across cohorts despite varying viral shedding patterns. Our findings demonstrate that birth pulses alone cannot explain observed patterns of Hendra virus outbreaks. These results highlight the importance of using multiple lines of evidence to evaluate competing mechanisms underlying seasonal disease dynamics, particularly when potential drivers coincide temporally.

BackgroundTailoring of weight management interventions has tended to focus on demographic characteristics, anthropometric data, health behavior, but seldom on psychological variations or personality traits. The objectives of this study were to (1) shorten and validate an existing dieting style tool; and (2) launch an online tool to assess the uptake and acceptability of segmented feedback.MethodThis study used an existing dieting styles tool consisting of over 100 items about personality traits, self-efficacy, restraint, impulsivity, perfectionism, food involvement, motivation, mindfulness, habits, and habits related to eating and dieting behavior. The number of items was reduced, and a shorter survey was tested in a sample of 1,551 Australians (83.2% female). The revised version with a blurb based on different styles was beta tested (n = 74) and launched as the Diet Types tool on the homepage of an online weight management program.ResultsThe structure of the short form survey replicated the original with both Eigenvalue criteria and Monte Carlo analysis, indicating the presence of 5 factors that would become the final types of Thinker, Craver, Socializer, Foodie, and Freewheeler. The correlation between factors ranged from 0.265 to 0.506. Internal consistency was acceptable to excellent. The launch of the final Diet Types tool resulted in 29,394 participants completing the survey in 5 days. The sample was mostly women (81.3%), with 42.9% aged 30–49 years and 36.0% aged 50–69 years. Three-quarters of the sample was categorized as overweight or obese (41.9% obese). One-third of the sample (33.8%, n = 9,935) was classified as having a single dominant type, with an additional 38.5% (n = 11,310) showing two equally dominant options. Thinker was the most common (29.7%), followed by Craver (18.1%). Those classified as Cravers were more highly represented in the obese weight status category and reported the highest number of dieting attempts.ConclusionThe development of a short segmentation tool with feedback about dieting personality proved to be popular, with high uptake particularly among older females living with obesity within the Australian population. In future, the information collected may help to create and deliver messages that are more relevant and persuasive than generic messages for weight management.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic, multifactorial disorder of the gastrointestinal tract, often associated with dysbiosis in gut microbiota. While the exact cause of IBD remains unclear, alterations in gut microbiome composition and function are recognised as key contributors to IBD pathogenesis. Natural compounds with anti-inflammatory properties are increasingly explored as potential therapeutic options for IBD. This study evaluated the therapeutic effects of two newly isolated galloyl glucosides-galloyl-lawsoniaside A (comp-4) and uromyrtoside (comp-6)-alongside dexamethasone (DEX) on microbiome regulation in a 2, 4, 6-Trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS)-induced colitis mouse model. We employed PacBio HiFi full-length 16S rRNA gene sequencing on mouse colon tissue to assess changes in the intestinal microbiome and its associated functional pathways. TNBS-induced colitis significantly altered microbial composition, increasing the abundance of Acutalibacter muris, Monoglobus pectinilyticus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Parabacteroides merdae, and Haemophilus influenzae, while decreasing Staphylococcus ureilyticus and Mailhella massiliensis. Treatment with comps 4 and 6 effectively restored the imbalanced microbiota. Functional pathway analysis revealed that colitis reduced microbial pathways, including peptidoglycan biosynthesis and the Bifidobacterium shunt. These disruptions were restored following treatment with our plant-derived compounds. Functional improvements were likely associated with reduced IL-6 production and restoring intestinal barrier integrity. Notably, comp-4 exhibited the most pronounced therapeutic efficacy across both microbial and host-associated parameters. In silico docking further supported the anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory potential of these compounds. Together, our findings highlight the interplay between microbial function and host immunity in IBD and identify plant-derived galloyl glucosides as promising candidates for microbiome-targeted IBD therapeutics.

Many species experience less pressure from herbivores, predators, or pathogens in their introduced range than in their native range. This phenomenon, known as enemy release, is one explanation for the success of introduced plant species worldwide. However, species experience enemy release to different extents, or not at all. Surprisingly, we have little understanding of what types of species or circumstances are associated with strong enemy release. We aimed to test whether ten defensive leaf traits that contribute to plants' palatability to aboveground herbivores can predict the level of enemy release they experience. Our study expands upon previous work, which found enemy release occurring across 16 plant species studied at 12 sites within their native (5 sites; European) and introduced (7 sites; Australian) ranges. Contrary to all predictions, we found no evidence that enemy release was related to ash content, C:N ratio, hair density, leaf dry matter content, leaf mass per area, cyanogen presence, lipid content, phenolic compounds, oxidative activity, or combined chemical, physical, and total defences. This result demonstrates the need to further assess other traits, or environmental variables that may contribute to enemy release, so that we may more accurately predict when and where it is most likely to occur. Finding that these defensive traits do not predict enemy release in our study system brings us a step closer to understanding the mechanisms underlying successful invasion, which is increasingly important in our rapidly changing world.

This study aimed to identify distinct dementia risk profiles in middle-aged adults with two or more potential dementia risk factors, to inform targeted prevention strategies. Cross-sectional analysis of baseline sociodemographic, clinical, and dementia-risk data from the HAPPI MIND trial. Dementia risk was assessed using the Australian National University Alzheimer's Disease Risk Index. Risk profiles were identified using latent class analysis (LCA). Among 403 participants (mean age 56.4±5.7 years, 62.5% female), the median number of dementia risk factors was 5.0; hyperlipidaemia (92.5%), low cognitive activity (72.5%), obesity (57.6%), and hypertension (52.7%) were the most prevalent. Several risk factors showed significant positive correlations. LCA identified three distinct classes: 1-High Cardiometabolic Burden; 2-High Behavioural and Psychosocial Risk; and 3-Low Risk with Healthy Behaviours. The identified latent classes highlight heterogeneity of dementia risk profile in midlife. Tailored, multidomain interventions addressing each group's specific needs may improve dementia risk profiles and support broader health outcomes. Middle-aged Australians who participated in the HAPPI MIND dementia risk reduction trial had a median of five modifiable risk factors. Significant positive correlations were observed between behavioral and clinical risk factors, such as depression, along with poor diet, social isolation, and smoking. Latent class analysis revealed three distinct profiles: High Cardiometabolic Burden; High Behavioral and Psychosocial Risk; and Low Risk with Healthy Behaviors. The findings suggest there is a need for personalized, multidomain prevention strategies tailored to individual risk profiles in primary care.

Background: Food service in Australian residential aged care settings has faced criticism for poor food quality and service.This has been attributed to a lack of trained chefs and limited training for kitchen staff.Food and nutrition manuals may address these issues, but it is unclear

Abstract Background Oral immunotherapy (OIT) is an important treatment option for food allergy but achieving sustained unresponsiveness (SU) via OIT is challenging. Improving SU for OIT with adjuvants is of great interest but little progress has been made so far. Gut microbiota-derived metabolites like short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) protect against food allergy in mouse models via promoting regulatory T cells (Treg) generation. We thus aim to investigate the impacts from metabolite-based dietary supplement as an adjuvant in food allergic children receiving peanut OIT. Methods Based on a prior phase 2 single centre open label interventional randomized controlled trial Oral Peanut Immunotherapy with Short Chain Fatty Acid Adjuvant (OPIA, ACTRN12617000914369), gut microbiota and immune profiles from food allergic children receiving peanut OIT supplemented with butyrylated high-amylose maize starch (HAMSB) or with low amylose maize starch (LAMS) were comprehensively profiled. Results HAMSB conferred minimal effects on gut microbiota, except transiently increasing their SCFA production like propionate and butyrate. HAMSB skewed CD4 + FOXP3 + Treg towards a tolerogenic phenotype and strikingly increased anti-inflammatory CD4 - FOXP3 + Treg, even after cessation of OIT and HAMSB. Conclusions We present the first report of the potent immune modulatory effects of dietary butyrate supplementation via HAMSB over an extended period of 1 year in food allergic children. Our findings highlight the tolerance inducing effects of HAMSB and its potential as immunotherapy adjuvant for food allergy and/or autoimmune diseases.