Randomised Double-blind Controlled Trial Of Oxygen Versus Air To Palliate Intractable End-of-life Dyspnoea When Pa02 >55
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$463,318.00
Summary
Shortness of breath at the end-of-life is one of the most feared symptoms. Unlike most other symptoms, it worsens as death approaches. Despite the fact that more than 50,000 Australian will die an expected death in the next year, of whom the majority will have breathlessness toward the end-of-life, we know little about how best to treat this symptom. Oxygen is frequently introduced but we have not identified whether it is more effective than medical air, and, if it is more effective, which patie ....Shortness of breath at the end-of-life is one of the most feared symptoms. Unlike most other symptoms, it worsens as death approaches. Despite the fact that more than 50,000 Australian will die an expected death in the next year, of whom the majority will have breathlessness toward the end-of-life, we know little about how best to treat this symptom. Oxygen is frequently introduced but we have not identified whether it is more effective than medical air, and, if it is more effective, which patients would most benefit from it. Because of this lack of evidence, oxygen is only funded in Australia in community settings for people who have severely low oxygen levels in their blood. Palliative oxygen is provided on a compassionate basis at times but this is on an ad hoc basis and does not ensure equitable access for people at the end of life who experience shortness of breath. This multi-centre study will compare oxygen and air, with neither the participant nor caring clinicians knowing which treatment they will receive. After careful explanation, volunteers who agree to participate will be asked to use the oxygen machine for at least 15 hours each day for 7 days and fill out a diary twice each day. Five centres across Australia are planning to enroll 240 participants in this study. Outcomes will include whether the sensation of breathlessness has improved, the overall quality of life while being treated, the ability to perform activities of daily living and any side effects experienced. This study is eagerly awaited by clinicians and health planners not only in Australia but in North America and Europe. This study will provide data in a long-standing international debate about the role of oxygen in people with relatively normal levels of oxygen in their blood who suffer from shortness of breath at the end-of-life.Read moreRead less
Multi-centre RDBC Trial Of Oxygen Vs Air For Relief Of Breathlessness In Terminally-ill Patients With Intractable Dyspno
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$149,701.00
Summary
This study will compare the effects of oxygen and air in the relief of breathlessness in patients at the end of life who do not currently qualify for home oxygen. This landmark study will provide accurate information about any benefits that oxygen offers for breathlessness in this setting. This international multi-site study will ask 226 people to participate using either oxygen or air for 7 days while keeping a diary. We will measure breathlessness, quality of life, anxiety and side effects exp ....This study will compare the effects of oxygen and air in the relief of breathlessness in patients at the end of life who do not currently qualify for home oxygen. This landmark study will provide accurate information about any benefits that oxygen offers for breathlessness in this setting. This international multi-site study will ask 226 people to participate using either oxygen or air for 7 days while keeping a diary. We will measure breathlessness, quality of life, anxiety and side effects experienced.Read moreRead less
Development of genetic technology for rodent population suppression. Vertebrate pests cost Australia over $1 billion each year in agricultural losses and environmental damage and novel strategies are urgently required to tackle this massive challenge. Newly proposed “gene drives”, which might rapidly spread through populations, have enormous potential for the sustained management and even eradication of pests. Through innovative application of cutting-edge genome editing approaches, this proposa ....Development of genetic technology for rodent population suppression. Vertebrate pests cost Australia over $1 billion each year in agricultural losses and environmental damage and novel strategies are urgently required to tackle this massive challenge. Newly proposed “gene drives”, which might rapidly spread through populations, have enormous potential for the sustained management and even eradication of pests. Through innovative application of cutting-edge genome editing approaches, this proposal aims to develop gene drive technology in mice as a prototypical vertebrate pest species. We will also develop cutting-edge mathematical models of rodent gene drives to identify crucial parameters for efficacious employment and investigate potential for impact on non-target populations.Read moreRead less
An integrated tool for informing pest management: modelling range shifts for an invasive vertebrate in response to climate change. Invasive species and climate contribute directly to loss of biodiversity and economic productivity. This research project focuses on providing user-orientated tools that enable a strategic approach to European rabbit management and vertebrate pest control in Australia in response to anticipated climate and land-use change.
Applying search theory for eradicating invasive species. Invasive species have major economic and environmental impacts in Australia and are a major cause of extinctions worldwide. Monitoring is crucial for the timely control of invasive species in sensitive environments. Early detection increases the probability of eradication and increased accuracy in detection reduces the impact of control programs on non-target species. Efficient monitoring also is crucial in determining whether eradication ....Applying search theory for eradicating invasive species. Invasive species have major economic and environmental impacts in Australia and are a major cause of extinctions worldwide. Monitoring is crucial for the timely control of invasive species in sensitive environments. Early detection increases the probability of eradication and increased accuracy in detection reduces the impact of control programs on non-target species. Efficient monitoring also is crucial in determining whether eradication has succeeded. Search Theory has been applied for over 60 years in a wide range of non-biological monitoring problems, resulting in large increases in target detection rates. Gains of a similar magnitude in invasive species detection would greatly enhance Australia's capacity to manage these threats.Read moreRead less
Improving the reintroduction success of mammals. Improving the reintroduction success of mammals. This project intends to improve the anti-predator traits of mammals and reduce the population density of introduced predators, using a novel two-pronged approach to combat predation by introduced predators. Predation by cats and foxes is the chief cause of reintroduction failure in Australian mammals. This project will look to improve the reintroduction success of burrowing bettongs outside predator ....Improving the reintroduction success of mammals. Improving the reintroduction success of mammals. This project intends to improve the anti-predator traits of mammals and reduce the population density of introduced predators, using a novel two-pronged approach to combat predation by introduced predators. Predation by cats and foxes is the chief cause of reintroduction failure in Australian mammals. This project will look to improve the reintroduction success of burrowing bettongs outside predator-free sanctuaries by exposing individuals to predators before release and by harnessing the suppressive effects of dingoes on introduced predators. Anticipated outcomes are improved re-introduction protocols for threatened mammals and re-established populations of endangered wildlife outside predator-free-sanctuaries.Read moreRead less
Motility as a means to understand prokaryotic function in the biosphere. Bacterial processes are crucial to the environment, industry and technology of Australia. This work will open a new area of research to expand our understanding of how bacteria behave and function. This will lay the foundation for improved environmental management and resource utilisation in the critical areas of groundwater purification, coral infections, fisheries yields, petroleum remediation and bioenergy generation. Th ....Motility as a means to understand prokaryotic function in the biosphere. Bacterial processes are crucial to the environment, industry and technology of Australia. This work will open a new area of research to expand our understanding of how bacteria behave and function. This will lay the foundation for improved environmental management and resource utilisation in the critical areas of groundwater purification, coral infections, fisheries yields, petroleum remediation and bioenergy generation. This proposal will train over a dozen new scientists in these crucial areas and bring leading international scientists to Australia in the areas of bioenergy production, microfluidics, advanced microscopy and bioengineering.Read moreRead less
Potential of gene drives to eliminate incursions of Drosophila suzukii. This project aims to test the efficacy and evolutionary stability of different types of gene drives, and model whether gene drives can be used to eliminate incursions of Drosophila suzukii into Australia. It is now possible to use genome editing technology to alter populations of organisms using ‘gene drives’. Multiple strategies have been conceived with a major distinction between those that aim to eliminate populations ver ....Potential of gene drives to eliminate incursions of Drosophila suzukii. This project aims to test the efficacy and evolutionary stability of different types of gene drives, and model whether gene drives can be used to eliminate incursions of Drosophila suzukii into Australia. It is now possible to use genome editing technology to alter populations of organisms using ‘gene drives’. Multiple strategies have been conceived with a major distinction between those that aim to eliminate populations versus those that aim to modify populations. This project will examine these strategies in two fly species, the model, Drosophila melanogaster and the devastating pest of horticulture, Drosophila suzukii. The project expects to assess a gene drive strategy to control the invasive pest that threatens the Australian soft-skinned fruit industries.Read moreRead less
Making Green Guard® greener: enhancing the efficacy of a biopesticide. The project aims to identify naturally occurring micro-organisms to increase the effectiveness of Green Guard ®, which is a biopesticide used against the Australian plague locust. The project will use next-generation sequencing and other molecular techniques to potentially identify candidate microbes or combinations of microbes that can be added to Green Guard to enhance locust susceptibility. The project also aims to quantif ....Making Green Guard® greener: enhancing the efficacy of a biopesticide. The project aims to identify naturally occurring micro-organisms to increase the effectiveness of Green Guard ®, which is a biopesticide used against the Australian plague locust. The project will use next-generation sequencing and other molecular techniques to potentially identify candidate microbes or combinations of microbes that can be added to Green Guard to enhance locust susceptibility. The project also aims to quantify the interactive impact of temperature and nutrition on immune function, disease resistance and host-plant quality of plague locusts; and to explore the combined effects of temperature, habitat and Green Guard, in combination with candidate microbes or pathogens, on the behaviour and collective movement of locusts. It is anticipated that this will have implications for management and control strategies.Read moreRead less
Why do only some exotics become invasive? Combining ecological and genomic approaches to address alternative hypotheses in a recent Australian weed. This project will specifically test alternative hypotheses about how weeds become invasive. As invasive weeds affect both agricultural and native ecosystems equally, research on understanding the mechanisms of weed invasion is critical. Outcomes will benefit Australia by allowing better prioritisation of management against exotic plants already i ....Why do only some exotics become invasive? Combining ecological and genomic approaches to address alternative hypotheses in a recent Australian weed. This project will specifically test alternative hypotheses about how weeds become invasive. As invasive weeds affect both agricultural and native ecosystems equally, research on understanding the mechanisms of weed invasion is critical. Outcomes will benefit Australia by allowing better prioritisation of management against exotic plants already in the country by providing predictive tools to estimate likelihood of spread. For formal Pest Risk Analysis by regulators (eg Biosecurity Australia), our project will provide genomic tools by which the potential weediness of a regulated plant can be assessed through genetic screening, and forms part of an international effort to identify 'weedy genes'. Read moreRead less