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Obesity is a growing global public health problem in developed nations. It is estimated that half of all Australian women of childbearing age are overweight or obese. Obese pregnant women are more likely to deliver their babies by caesarean section and are also more likely to have complications such as surgical site infections after caesarean section than non-obese women. Wounds that fail to heal may cause considerable distress to patients and negatively affect the physical, social, emotional and economic aspects of their life. Wound complications also add to the cost of health care. Negative Pressure Wound Therapy has been used to aid healing since it was first developed in the late 1990s. The treatment is based on a closed sealed system that produces negative pressure to the wound surface. The wound is covered and sealed with an occlusive dressing and suction tube which is connected to a vacuum pump which provides intermittent or continuous suction. Negative Pressure Wound Therapy is being used more frequently as a way to prevent wound complications especially surgical site infection, but it has not been well tested yet. This study will test the effectiveness of two different methods to dress surgical wounds following caesarean section. These include Negative Pressure Wound Therapy compared to current care (standard care). We are doing this research study to find out the best practice for preventing Surgical Site Infections in obese women. To do this we need to study women with a body mass index (BMI) greater than or equal to 30 for one month following their surgery, and closely monitor their surgical wound.

This trial will compare the clinical performance of somofilcon A and formofilcon B contact lenses worn for two weeks. The hypothesis is the subjective responses with test lenses are not different to the control contact lenses.

Nutritional support during allogeneic stem cell transplantation is imperative to prevent malnutrition. Nutrition support can be provided via either enteral (nasogastric) or parenteral (intravenous) feeding. Despite increased risks of infections and complications parenteral nutrition is used routinely at most transplant units due to patient's gastrointestinal toxicity at the time feeding is required. Recently a few small studies have shown benefits with early enteral nutrition in this group, including less infections, reduced risk of complications such as graft versus host disease, earlier neutrophil engraftment and improved survival. This study aims to assess tolerability of enteral feeding versus standard care (parenteral feeding) when commenced the day after transplantation, before the onset of gastrointestinal toxicity. This research study will determine which is the best form of nutritional supplementation for patients undergoing stem cell transplantation and the results will directly improve patient care as it will inform future clinical practice and lead to new clinical guideline development.

The aim of this study is determine if data collected on a mobile device has the same accuracy and reliability as the traditional paper based method of data collection. Data collection using mobile technology (including iPads) has the capacity to improve the efficiency of data collection and reduce transcription errors in large data sets. Measurement of subjective measures such as Pain, Fatigue, Exertion, Enjoyment and Perceived benefits of an intervention allow researchers to determine valuable information, from the perspective of the participants, in any intervention that they are carrying out. These factors have been identified as important barriers or facilitators to participation in in physical activity or exercise programs. Tools to measure these parameters have been validated in paper form. In larger studies the ability to collect this data electronically has huge potential to improve research efficiency, but to date no validation studies have been done using the iPad and these tools in an older population. Advantages: *Reduced time for data collection *Improved storage of data (no paper copies required) *Reduced research time (no data transcription required) *Easy ability to securely gain and store de-identified/re-identifiable data

The aim of the research is to explore the interaction between different types of caloric and non caloric sweeteners in snack foods on glucose and triglyceride levels to see if there is an optimal sweetener. High levels of sugars and high fructose corn syrup in particular have been associated with weight gain and type 2 diabetes but it is not clear if it is the type of sweetener or just the increased caloric load that causes this effect. Current tests of the role of fructose use extremely high amounts that would not be found in normal food items. Biscuits, cakes and muffins all contain a much lower amount of fat and sugar, but contain wheat starch and components of food that will moderate the glycemic and triglyceridemic response such as fibre and protein. We need to know if changing the sweetener in this kind of snack alters the response of glucose and triglycerides.

Multiple clinical trials have shown that perioperative hypothermia affects multiple organ systems and leads to adverse surgical outcomes. Cocoon Forced Air Warming (FAW) Blanket is one of the devices being used in Austin Hospital to minimise intraoperative hypothermia. Our aim is to compare the efficacy of Easywarm self-heating blankets with Cocoon FAW blanket in preventing intraopearative hypothermia by conducting a small randomised control trial. Patients undergoing relaxant general anaesthesia in supine position will be randomised into two groups. The control group will be warmed using Cocoon FAW and the other group will be warmed using Easywarm blanket. Easywarm blanket has not yet been compared with the FAW devices. The information we obtain from the project will help us to choose the optimal warming device in clinical practice.

The purpose of this study is to further develop a nasal dressing for use after endoscopic sinus surgery. The gel being use is called Chitodex (Chitosan-Dextran gel) and has already been shown to be effective in controlling blood loss and reducing adhesions after endoscopic sinus surgery. The effectiveness and safety of the gel has been demonstrated in numerous human and animal trials. We are trying to incorporate additional medications into the gel to further accentuate it's uses after endoscopic sinus surgery. The addition of budesonide has shown to reduce adhesions and inflammation after sinus surgery, thus reducing the failure rate of the operation and the chance a patient needs another procedure. This has been demonstrated in a clinical trial. We hypothesise that the addition of a local anaesthetic to the gel, known as ropivacaine, will reduce the pain and discomfort that patients typically experience after endoscopic sinus surgery.

The purpose of the Active minds, happy kids program is to trial a program to support young children’s social skills and cognitive functioning by decreasing their electronic media use. Social skill is an important aspect of children’s psychological and social health. For instance, how well the child is able to manage emotions such as anger and frustration, their confidence in being able to ask for what they need, and the way they interact with other people. Cognitive functioning includes language development and memory functioning. Supporting social skills and cognitive functioning during the preschool years is essential to enhance educational, psychological, work and mental health outcomes in later years. This research is being conducted by Dr Trina Hinkley, Dr Jarrad Lum, Dr Dylan Cliff and Dr Kylie Hesketh. We hope to learn more about the sorts of behaviours which might help to support healthy social skills and positive cognitive functioning in young children. We plan to trial a number of strategies in this program to allow us to assess which might be most appropriate to use in the future. This information is important as it will help us understand how best to support parents so that they in turn may support healthy growth and development in their young children.

Each individual differs in how his/her body handles a medication, meaning that even when every patient is given the exact same dose, each person can end up with a very different concentration of the drug in the blood. It is the drug concentration in the body, not the dose given, which determines a drug’s effects – both its benefits and unwanted side effects. This drug concentration is critical for many anti-rejection drugs used in kidney transplantation, because of the delicate balance between giving enough to prevent rejection and loss of the transplant kidney, whilst minimising adverse effects of the medication. Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) is one of the most important ‘anti-rejection’ drugs that have improved kidney transplant outcomes. We are testing whether giving patients MMF before their kidney transplant, and testing the concentrations in their blood, allow us to optimally dose each individual's MMF dose from the time of transplant. This potentially means that a patient can be on the best, personalised dose from the start. This has the potential to reduce transplant rejection rates and improve outcomes, whilst also reducing harmful effects of MMF, with an overall improvement in quality of life.

The aim of the research is to compare the efficacy of a 6-month weight loss intervention for young (18 to 35 years) overweight and obese (Body Mass Index 25 to 34.9kg/m2) women delivered using eHealth technologies to a waiting list control group. Participants will be randomly allocated to the intervention (Be Positive Be Healthe) or waiting list control group. After 6-months the waiting list control group will receive access to Be Positive Be Healthe program tools. Participants in both groups will be asked to have a series of measures taken (e.g. weight, height) and complete online questionnaires at the start of the program (baseline), mid-program (3-months) and post program (6-months). The researchers will also track intervention participants use of the eHealth tools.