Whether holding the arm still or standing, the brain uses a silent proprioceptive sense that unconsciously detects and controls our movements. Key sensory receptors for this sense are located within the muscles that are also contracting. This is a project to discover how proprioception is affected by muscle contraction and how this affects postural control. This will improve the management of many common disorders that affect movement and balance.
Human Factors And Patient Safety During Paediatric Heart Surgery: An Evidence-based Approach To Improve Patient Outcomes
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Summary
The research project aims to improve outcomes of children undergoing repair of heart birth defects. The novel study is devised to engage health care providers in the re-design of surgical interventions to improve child outcomes. The collaborative approach of engaging health care providers and carers in the design of improvement interventions can help overcome the implementation gap and ensure rapid improvement and enhanced patient safety of children undergoing heart surgery repair.
Phenotypic And Functional Characterization Of Human Dendritic Cell Subsets Generated In Vitro And Isolated From Tissues
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$586,428.00
Summary
The immune system defends us against infections and cancer. Dendritic cells (DC) are white blood cells that have a central role to both activate the immune system and to regulate immune responses. In this study, we will determine the functional differences of human DC populations, because a clear understanding of the functional differences between different human DC types is essential for utilizing DC in designing more effective vaccines and immune therapies for clinical applications.
There are a number of important medical conditions that are characterised by a loss of bone. These include osteoporosis, cancer-induced bone loss, and the bone loss that causes loosening of orthopaedic prostheses. Bone loss is understood to be due to an excess of bone resorption by osteoclasts in relation to bone formation. Understanding of the regulation of osteoclast formation and activity has increased greatly in the last few years, but important questions remain. In particular, more informat ....There are a number of important medical conditions that are characterised by a loss of bone. These include osteoporosis, cancer-induced bone loss, and the bone loss that causes loosening of orthopaedic prostheses. Bone loss is understood to be due to an excess of bone resorption by osteoclasts in relation to bone formation. Understanding of the regulation of osteoclast formation and activity has increased greatly in the last few years, but important questions remain. In particular, more information is needed about the process of human osteoclast formation. We have devised a novel cell culture model of human osteoclast formation, in which osteoclast precursor cells mature into osteoclasts under the influence of human osteoblast cells. The importance of this model is that it allows us, for the first time, to investigate the role, and the potential relevance in human disease, of agents that positively and negatively affect osteoclasts. We intend also to use this model to study the way in which cancer cells in bone cause bone loss, as well as the involvement of cells of the immune system in osteoclast formation, in normal bone and in inflammatory conditions.Read moreRead less