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Sports Stars is a group physiotherapy program for school-aged children with Cerebral Palsy. It aims to introduce children to a range of sports specific drills, training activities and modified game scenarios to improve fundamental movement skills and provide an avenue to go on to participate in mainstream junior entry level sports programs. This study aims to investigate the feasibility, effectiveness and efficiency of group-based, sports-oriented, movement therapy for school-aged, ambulant children with CP with outcomes anticipated and measured in body structure and function, activity and participation dimensions of the ICF.

UP-STEP ACS is a prospective single-blinded, two-arm, parallel, randomized control trial with an aim to enrol 200 patients assessing the affect that personal activity monitors have on exercise capacity in patients post acute coronary syndromes primarily measured by a six minute walk test. Secondary end points will be the change in cardiovascular risk factors, namely; blood lipid and glucose levels, weight, waist circumference, medication adherence, mood and quality of life and cardiac rehabilitation adherence. Patients will be randomized to either receive a personal activity tracker or not after initial baseline assessment has been completed while inpatients during their index event. At 8 weeks patients will return for a clinical review and repeat of baseline assessments.

K inder for Children and Families O verweight: for overcoming and becoming OK A ctivity: for an active body and mind L ifestyle: for a living life-giving diet A ctions: for looking ahead together Up to 30% of children in our society are overweight or obese. This is national health crisis as 50% of such individuals will go on to develop diabetes mellitus, liver and cardiovascular disease as adolescents or young adults. We hypothesise that a "Holistic Approach" incorporating an effective proven behavioural strategy (Lifestyle Triple P) and exercise lifestyle program for children and their families will be effective at proving sustainable improvements in lifestyle and general health in children who are overweight or obese and their families. The KOALA research program aims to improve the quality of lives for children with obesity and their families for sustainable health improvements into adulthood. The KOALA research program links a tertiary based clinic at the Mater Children's Hospital (MCH) with a Community Based sustainable support network involving Triple P (Positive Parenting Program) Scouts Qld Active camps, General Practitioners (GP's) and researchers at the University of Qld to improve the quality of lives of children with obesity and their families for sustainable health improvements into adulthood. We will enrol 100-150 children into a randomised control study that compares "Care as Usual" with an "Enhanced Care Program". All participants will receive a medical, nutritional, physical activity and psychosocial assessment at baseline, 6 and 12 months at the MCH KOALA clinic, and receive standard nutritional advice, “Eat Well be Active” – Qld Health Tip sheets, and be encouraged to attend weekly physical activity sessions through programs such as Active After Schools (AASC) program or Scouts or UQ “Motor Active” programs. The “Enhanced Care” program in Arm B will be complimented by family involvement in a 20 week Lifestyle Triple P and a Scouts Active Program, including attendance at 3 weekend camps. The GP will also be supported by a GP Liaison officer with access to training and workshops. Clinical research outcomes will include 1) assessments of body mass index and body composition, 2) Metabolic and Cardiovascular health, 3) Family and Quality of Life (QOL) and Self-Esteem 4) Physical Aerobic fitness and 5)Understanding of Healthy Lifestyle changes. If successful KOALA could be implemented nationally through well-established Scouts, Triple P and GP networks to improve child and family health and lifestyle.

The primary purpose of this study is to evaluate a new questionnaire, the EORTC QLQ-MEL-38, in comparison to two existing questionnaires assessing quality of life in participants with melanoma, to ensure that the questions accurately capture how a patient with melanoma feels when they are going through treatment and follow-up care, and how this affects mood, relationships, daily living activities, work life and the experience of being a patient in hospital. Who is it for? You may be eligible to enroll in this study if you are aged 18 or over and have been diagnosed with melanoma within the previous 5 years. Study details All participants enrolled in this study will be asked to complete a brief survey which includes personal information such as living circumstances, work status and information relating to their melanoma and treatment. They will then complete five paper-based questionnaires which ask questions about quality of life, one of which is the new questionnaire being evaluated. Participants will also be asked for feedback on the new questionnaire. This whole process should take about 40 minutes and can be completed during the time spent in the clinic. It is hoped that the findings from this study will lead to validation of the new questionnaire as an accurate quality of life assessment specific to patients with melanoma.

The perinatal period has been identified as a period of increased risk for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) onset and worsening, for both mothers and fathers. Preliminary research suggests that metacognitive therapy (MCT) may be an effective treatment for OCD. MCT focuses on correcting misinterpretations about the meaning and importance of intrusive thoughts, and the need to control these. MCT does not involve the use of traditional exposure and response prevention exercises for OCD, often experienced as aversive by participants. Small trials to date have noted low drop out rates for MCT, so it proposed to be well tolerated by participants. Preliminary research also indicates that MCT may be an effective transdiagnostic treatment approach, meaning that it may be able to treat multiple psychological problems by targeting shared underlying maintaining factors. In clinically diverse populations, significant improvements were noted in depression, anxiety, worry, rumination and metacognition following a MCT intervention, with treatment gains sustained over 6 month follow-up. In populations with a primary OCD diagnosis MCT was found to be effective with a range of comorbid mental health conditions reflecting transdiagnostic efficacy of the treatment. To date, no studies have evaluated the use of MCT for OCD that has onset or worsened in the perinatal period. The aim of the present study is to investigate the efficacy of an 8-week group MCT program for perinatal OCD. It is hypothesised that: 1. Participants will show a categorical improvement in OCD symptoms following MCT, demonstrated by no longer meeting the diagnostic criteria for OCD at post-treatment, and maintained at 3-month follow-up. 2. Participants will show a reduction in symptom severity and intensity of OCD following MCT, demonstrated by meeting clinically significant and reliable change criteria, at post-treatment and maintained at follow-up. 3. Participants will show a reduction in co-morbid depressive symptoms following MCT, demonstrated by decreased scores on measures of depressive symptoms. 4. Participants will show decreases in scores of unhelpful metacognitive and cognitive beliefs following MCT

Surgery for many procedures involving the leg requires the surgeons to stop the blood flow for a variable period of time. During this period certain changes occur in the leg. When the blood supply is restored, these changes result in a very strong stimulus to the immune system. Some of these changes are beneficial, promoting healing of wounds and repair of damaged tissues. Some of these changes, however, can cause depression of the immune system and make infections more likely. During surgery, the anaesthetist administers anaesthetic drugs, and oxygen. The amount of oxygen that is given varies according to a number of factors. There is some evidence that the amount of oxygen in the body at the time of restoring blood supply to a limb may be of importance. This importance is in terms of the damage that may occur during surgery and the recovery from the surgery. We do not know how much oxygen is good or bad when the blood supply is restored, and we would like to perform a study looking at this question. At all times in this study, patients will receive at least more than the minimum amount of oxygen that is necessary for all of the bodies organs to function entirely normally, and make a complete recovery from anaesthesia and surgery. Study protocol After randomisation to one of the three groups, patients will receive a standardised general anaesthetic based upon the gas “Sevoflurane”. All patients will receive 30% oxygen during the surgery, up until the time of restoring blood supply to the leg. At that point patients in one of three groups will receive either a). 30% oxygen before the blood supply is restored and continued until the end of surgery -(Conventional Care) b). 30% oxygen before the blood supply is restored and then 50 % until the end of surgery c). 30% oxygen before the blood supply is restored and then 80 % until the end of surgery - all of the above are in addition to the usual standard anaesthetic care. A small ( 3 ml. ) sample of blood will be taken at ten separate times up until 2 hours after the blood supply is restored. The study period then ends for each patient at that point. In summary, our hypothesis is that different concentrations of oxygen will produce changes in biochemistry that we wish to measure. These changes will help us to identify which is the best oxygen concentration to give to patients who are having this type of surgery.

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of 4 weeks of supplementation with a multivitamin and mineral preparation on brain activity and health as measured by cognitive function, mood, and nutritional status. The study will recruit healthy adults, aged 18-40 years, who will attend two testing sessions, one baseline and one after 4-weeks supplementation. During testing sessions participants will complete a series of common assessments including nutritional status, mood and cognitive assessment. A sub-sample will go on to complete an MRI assessment to explore changes in brain activity. The trial will test the predictions that 28-days treatment with the active multivitamin/mineral intervention will result in improved mood, increased functional brain activity, and improved cognitive performance under cognitive demand, when compared to those receiving placebo.

The purpose of the present study is to investigate if exercise can reduce the disruptions to circadian metabolomics observed with the intake of a high fat diet. Additionally, the effect of timing of exercise (i.e. morning vs. evening) will be examined by comparing exercise performed in the morning versus in the evening. We hypothesise that exercise will reduce the deleterious effects of high-fat diet on circadian metabolomics in overweight/obese individuals. Additionally, this study will give direct insight regarding the effects of timing of exercise on circadian metabolism.

Endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) requires pre-surgery medication applied into the nose to minimise bleeding. At Monash Health we either use a solution called modified Moffat’s solution which contains cocaine, adrenaline and saline, or just adrenaline with saline. Although acting inside the nose a small percentage of both adrenaline and cocaine may be absorbed into the blood. The absorption may depend on the concentration, method of application and time in contact with the lining of the nose. Overall there exists limited research looking at cocaine absorption in the context of sinus surgery. Specifically, no studies have looked at modified Moffat’s solution sprayed into the nose. It is important that we determine how much and for how long cocaine is absorbed so we can advise patients appropriately after the operation. Additionally, it is thought that cocaine may affect a brain chemical called dopamine, and this may in turn affect how much anaesthetic is required to keep you asleep. The study will aim to look at how deeply patients sleep after being administered either the Modified Moffat’s spray or the adrenaline spray. Overall we will aim to enroll a total of 30 patients. Half (15) will receive the modified Moffat’s solution prior to surgery and the other half (15) will receive the dilute adrenaline prior to surgery. Blood samples taken during and after surgery will measure cocaine blood levels.

Population studies indicate that regular consumption of tea can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by between 5 and 15%. The pooled estimate of risk reduction for black tea is influenced by two studies which included populations from the United Kingdom where milk is traditionally added to tea. This has led to the suggestion that addition of milk may diminish or negate cardiovascular health benefits of tea. Results of population and intervention studies suggest that regular consumption of tea can reduce blood pressure by 1 to 10 mm Hg. At a population level, a 5 mm Hg lower blood pressure would be associated with a 10% lower risk of coronary artery disease, and a 20% lower risk of stroke. A meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials to have assessed the effects of tea on endothelial function was recently published. This analysis suggests that acute and chronic tea ingestion can improve endothelial function, assessed by measuring flow-mediated dilatation of the brachial artery, by 30 to 40% (~2% absolute improvement). If sustained, this would be associated with about a 25% reduction in risk of cardiovascular events, which would be consistent with estimates of risk reduction from population studies. The precise pathway linking flavonoids to vascular function is not clear. However, it is known that the majority of dietary flavonoids are not absorbed or bioactive without prior metabolism by specific groups of enzymes produced by the microbes residing in the gastrointestinal tract (the microbiome). Although increased flavonoid intake can improve measures of vascular function, there is substantial inter-individual variability in response. Current knowledge of flavonoid metabolism indicates that this is largely due to individual differences in the capacity of the microbiome to metabolise flavonoids. However, this hypothesis has yet to be explored. Initial research needs to describe changes to the microbiome that occur with tea consumption. Furthermore, despite studies showing that the effect of the addition of milk to tea on bioavailability of tea flavonoids is modest, questions remain regarding the effects of milk to black tea on its bioactivity. One study has suggested that addition of milk almost negates the acute improvement in endothelial function. However, it is possible that this may relate to the study design, where endothelial function was assessed at a single time point following a single dose of tea. It is possible that addition of milk may delay absorption of the active components of tea (the flavonoids), but the overall impact on endothelial function is similar. Thus, the primary aim of the proposed study will be to investigate the short-term effects of black tea on endothelial function. We will investigate the effect of the addition of milk to black tea on its bioactivity. We will also describe and compare the changes to the microbiome after short-term regular consumption of black tea with and without milk.