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Climatologists currently estimate that the environmental threshold for human heat tolerance is 6 hours at a wet-bulb temperature (Twet) of 35 °C. When accounting for human physiological thermoregulatory variables such as metabolic heat production and sweating capacity, however, it is likely that this threshold is severely underestimated. Contrary to the assumptions made by the 35 °C Twet model, in real-world scenarios, people expend anywhere between 1.5 to 5.0 METs to perform activities of daily living, and the ability to cool down through sweating is limited in certain conditions. Specifically, in very humid environments, evaporative capacity is limited by a low vapour pressure gradient between the air and skin; whereas in very dry environments, it is limited by the ability of the body to produce sweat. This is an important distinction because the same Twet can be represented by different combinations of air temperature and relative humidity, which means that the limiting factor to achieving heat balance will be different depending on the environmental conditions being experienced. It is more than likely that the limits to human heat tolerance are not represented by a universal Twet temperature threshold, but rather differ based on the type of heat stress an individual is exposed to (i.e., humid vs. dry). This theory has only ever been modelled and has never been tested in human subjects which is imperative to moving this area of research forward.

The primary purpose of the study is to seek expert advice on the best methods to prevent and manage hospital falls. Using the Delphi technique, We will conduct a series of questionnaires and an online meeting with health professionals until consensus is reached on how best to mitigate and manage falls and associated injuries in hospital settings.

This study will determine if there are any changes in period pain, and other symptoms of primary dysmenorrhea as well as looking at the rate of adverse events after using medicinal cannabis. Changes in inflammatory markers in menstrual blood will also be tracked. This study will provide data for future clinical trials if potential benefits are found.

Physical inactivity is a leading modifiable cause of death and disease, but less than half of Australian adults are meeting the National Physical Activity Guidelines. Therefore, developing and evaluating new strategies to support people in becoming more active is important. The use of digital assistants is becoming increasingly common and a digital assistant powered by artificial intelligence could potentially offer a cost-effective, scalable solution physical activity program. Therefore, the aim of this study is to conduct a randomised controlled trial to examine the effectiveness of a machine learning and app-based digital assistant to increase physical activity. We hypothesise that participants receiving the intervention will significantly increase their moderate to vigorous physical activity at 3- and 6-month follow-up time-points compared to participants allocated to a no intervention control group.

Management of chronic low back pain is challenging, and current best evidence recommends incorporating physiotherapeutic exercise training. Despite this, physical exercise can lead to flare up in pain immediately following exercise and over the subsequent days in individuals with chronic pain. Virtual reality (VR) is a novel emerging technology that is increasingly being used in pain rehabilitation with demonstrated effectiveness in decreasing pain. One application of VR that has received relatively little attention to date in the management of chronic pain is virtual reality mindfulness/meditation (VRM). VRM offers a novel approach to addressing chronic pain as it can create a calming and relaxing setting that facilitates practicing mindfulness skills, with demonstrated effects. This study investigates if VRM has a positive effect on reducing exacerbation of pain following exercise among individuals with chronic low back pain. We hypothesise that the VRM intervention will reduce immediate and laten pain levels compared to controls undertaking usual post-exercise management as well as the VRM is tolerated with minimal side effects and is feasible and acceptable.

This study is a multi-site parallel group cluster randomized trial delivering pain education and biopsychosocial care to students attending secondary schools. This school-based intervention aims to provide the opportunity for all adolescents to access accurate and evidence-based information about pain and pain management. This study is a three-arm parallel group cluster randomized trial, with economic evaluation. Participating schools will be randomly allocated to 1) pain education module and parent resources, 2) pain education module and parent resources, plus biopsychosocial care for students reporting problems with pain, or 3) no intervention.

Tonsillectomy is one of the most common childhood surgical procedures, however the postoperative recovery is often long and challenging for children and their families. This study aims to investigate if seven days of oral melatonin is able to improve sleep and pain management in children post-tonsillectomy, without increasing the risk of postoperative complications compared to placebo. We hypothesise that: (1) Melatonin will improve sleep following tonsillectomy; (2) melatonin will decrease post-operative pain and reduce breakthrough opioid requirement; and (3) melatonin will not increase the risk of post-operative complications.

There is an increasing focus on, and acknowledgement of, the role of behaviour change science, in modifying health and other behaviours. The current project involves developing a behaviour change readiness index for predicting health behaviour change in the domain of dietary interventions. The study focuses on understanding behavioural outcomes rather than improving health behaviours. Therefore, a simple health behaviour (improving water intake) will be used as a behaviour change target. The aim of this study is to refine and validate the CSIRO behaviour change readiness index by assessing its utility to predict successful short-term behaviour change in the dietary domain (i.e., water drinking) but also to better understand the associations and strengths of relevant psychological factors to refine this tool into a succinct survey.

The primary objective of the proposed study is to evaluate the safety and tolerability of the Coolio System when administered as a genicular nerve block for pain management in subjects with osteoarthritis of the knee. The secondary objective of the study is to observe analgesic performance of the device. The Coolio System intends to utilize cold temperatures to temporarily inhibit nerve signaling through the injection of Neural Ice into the extra-neural space of target sensory nerves. Brixton Biosciences hypothesizes that the injection of Neural Ice around three genicular nerves in the knee can reduce knee pain associated with osteoarthritis. The anesthesiologist-investigator will inject Neural Ice around these three nerves and evaluate pain scores and other assessments throughout a 6-month follow-up period.

We aim to improve vegetable intake of 3-5 year old children in Early Child Education and Care (ECEC) services and at home through targeted strategies. These include a children's daily mid-morning vegetable break and experiential learning activities while in ECEC, parental resources and ECEC educator professional development support to support children's behavioural intentions and increase opportunities to eat vegetables. Efficacy will be primarily measured by change in skin carotenoid levels. Secondary outcomes include changes in child preferences for vegetables and vegetable provision by parents in lunchboxes. A process evaluation to assess the implementation fidelity of the program strategies will also be undertaken.