Urinary continence and incontinence in men: New insight through new technologies. Healthy ageing in men is largely overlooked. Disorders of continence are surprisingly common with increasing age, and are socially debilitating. To understand changes in continence and address healthy ageing it is first necessary to gain an understanding of continence mechanisms in healthy men. Continence in women has received wide attention, but anatomy and function differ, as do the challenges throughout life (ch ....Urinary continence and incontinence in men: New insight through new technologies. Healthy ageing in men is largely overlooked. Disorders of continence are surprisingly common with increasing age, and are socially debilitating. To understand changes in continence and address healthy ageing it is first necessary to gain an understanding of continence mechanisms in healthy men. Continence in women has received wide attention, but anatomy and function differ, as do the challenges throughout life (childbirth vs. prostate disease). Using novel methods we will test a new hypothesis of male continence with the goal to provide new physiological discoveries, new methods, and baseline data upon which strategies to enhance healthy ageing and reduce the economic burden of disorders of continence can be developed and refined. Read moreRead less
Dietary sugarcane-derived polyphenols reduce obesity. The Australian Sugar Industry is a billion dollar industry with refined sugar being calorie-rich but nutrition poor. Consumption of refined sugar is a main contributor to the increasing problem of obesity and metabolic syndrome, costing the Australian health system billions of dollars annually. The principal outcomes of this project will be to show that the polyphenols contained in the waste products from sugar refining can be used to reduce ....Dietary sugarcane-derived polyphenols reduce obesity. The Australian Sugar Industry is a billion dollar industry with refined sugar being calorie-rich but nutrition poor. Consumption of refined sugar is a main contributor to the increasing problem of obesity and metabolic syndrome, costing the Australian health system billions of dollars annually. The principal outcomes of this project will be to show that the polyphenols contained in the waste products from sugar refining can be used to reduce body fat and insulin resistance. These outcomes have enormous implications for human health and disease, and for the sugar industry, thus providing a competitive edge in the world sugar market.Read moreRead less
Disposable microfluidic diagnostics for new generation foods, beverages and oral care products. The outcomes of this project will lead to the establishment of a new paradigm in designing foods, beverages and oral care products that have tailored health and vitality benefits (e.g. reduced levels of fat, sugar and salt). In addition, these foods will contain beneficial additives (e.g. anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients) targeted to specific consumer groups according to their lifesty ....Disposable microfluidic diagnostics for new generation foods, beverages and oral care products. The outcomes of this project will lead to the establishment of a new paradigm in designing foods, beverages and oral care products that have tailored health and vitality benefits (e.g. reduced levels of fat, sugar and salt). In addition, these foods will contain beneficial additives (e.g. anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients) targeted to specific consumer groups according to their lifestyle, age, medical condition or requirement for nutritional/nourishment efficacy, thereby contributing to healthy ageing. It is foreseen that this novel approach to designing foods will be extended to products intended for consumers whose sensory perception is compromised by existing medical therapeutic practices (such as radiation therapy).Read moreRead less
Use of an animal model to understand mechanisms underlying reductions in body weight associated with use of the laparoscopic adjustable gastric band. At least one in ten Australians is classified as morbidly obese and as such are eligible for bariatric surgery. Those undergoing the surgery will achieve an average excess weight loss of up to 60 per cent, they will have reduced or eliminated diabetes and will appreciably improve their prospects of survival. These experiments aimed at understandin ....Use of an animal model to understand mechanisms underlying reductions in body weight associated with use of the laparoscopic adjustable gastric band. At least one in ten Australians is classified as morbidly obese and as such are eligible for bariatric surgery. Those undergoing the surgery will achieve an average excess weight loss of up to 60 per cent, they will have reduced or eliminated diabetes and will appreciably improve their prospects of survival. These experiments aimed at understanding the mechanisms underpinning this success have the potential to further improve surgical approaches and outcomes and provide insights that will better enable weight loss therapies for all overweight and obese Australians.Read moreRead less
Establishing evidence for the functional properties of a whole grain in weight management. The successful development of functional foods relies on communicating proven effects. This project aims to prove that the food containing the satiety properties of a whole grain (OG) may help in weight management. We will conduct basic research investigating the link between consumption of OG-containing foods and the regulatory mechanisms of satiety, and test whether the satiety properties can be used to ....Establishing evidence for the functional properties of a whole grain in weight management. The successful development of functional foods relies on communicating proven effects. This project aims to prove that the food containing the satiety properties of a whole grain (OG) may help in weight management. We will conduct basic research investigating the link between consumption of OG-containing foods and the regulatory mechanisms of satiety, and test whether the satiety properties can be used to prevent, reduce and correct body weight gain in the early, middle and late stages of obesity. We will then apply this understanding in a human trial of mildly and long term overweight subjects, to aid the formulation of statements on the potential health benefits from consuming OG.Read moreRead less