ORCID Profile
0000-0001-8396-6123
Current Organisation
University of Adelaide
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Publisher: Wiley
Date: 21-09-2021
DOI: 10.1111/CODI.15902
Abstract: Perioperative anaemia is common and is associated with increased postoperative complications, delayed recovery and increased morbidity and mortality. However, current management of anaemia after surgery is variable. This student‐ and trainee‐led collaborative study aims to audit the postoperative variations in anaemia treatment and transfusions (POSTVenTT) and quantify its impact on patient outcomes after major abdominal surgery. This is the first Australian and Aotearoa New Zealand multicentre study in surgical patients conducted by networks of trainees, students and consultants. Data will be prospectively collected on consecutive adult patients undergoing elective and emergency major abdominal surgery with follow‐up to 30 days after hospital discharge. The primary endpoint will be adherence to anaemia management guidelines. Secondary outcomes will include postoperative anaemia, blood transfusion, postoperative complications as per the Clavien–Dindo classification, length of stay and hospital readmission at 30 days. This protocol describes the first Australian and Aotearoa New Zealand collaborative study by medical students and surgical trainees. The collaboration will aim to provide a clear understanding of current practices regarding the management and risk factors for anaemia and association with patient outcomes after major abdominal surgery.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 11-10-2020
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 02-2011
DOI: 10.1375/TWIN.14.1.53
Abstract: Background: Somatic symptoms often co-occur with psychological symptoms but this overlap is poorly understood. Some aspects of this overlap differ in the South Asian context, but it is not clear whether this is a reporting effect or an underlying difference in experienced illness. Methods: Home interviews were administered to 4,024 twins randomly selected from a population-based twin register in the Colombo district of Sri Lanka (the CoTASS study). These included assessments of psychological, somatic and fatigue symptoms. The data were analyzed using factor analytic and quantitative genetic approaches. Results: Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the symptoms from the three scales represented three separate dimensions, rather than all tapping into a single dimension. However, familial correlations among the data were most consistent with a common pathway model. This implies that a portion of the underlying vulnerability is common across psychological, fatigue and somatic symptoms. There were sex differences in the etiology of this model, with shared environmental and genetic influences playing different roles in men and women. Conclusions: There is a complex etiological relationship between psychological, fatigue and somatic symptoms. This is similar in Sri Lanka to Western countries, but there may be a greater influence from the family environment, suggesting that care needs to be taken when generalizing research findings between countries. People who complain of certain fatigue or somatic symptoms may well also have psychological symptoms, or may have genetic or environmental vulnerabilities to such problems.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 02-05-2022
Abstract: This study provides a global overview of the management of patients with acute cholecystitis during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. CHOLECOVID is an international, multicentre, observational comparative study of patients admitted to hospital with acute cholecystitis during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data on management were collected for a 2-month study interval coincident with the WHO declaration of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and compared with an equivalent pre-pandemic time interval. Mediation analysis examined the influence of SARS-COV-2 infection on 30-day mortality. This study collected data on 9783 patients with acute cholecystitis admitted to 247 hospitals across the world. The pandemic was associated with reduced availability of surgical workforce and operating facilities globally, a significant shift to worse severity of disease, and increased use of conservative management. There was a reduction (both absolute and proportionate) in the number of patients undergoing cholecystectomy from 3095 patients (56.2 per cent) pre-pandemic to 1998 patients (46.2 per cent) during the pandemic but there was no difference in 30-day all-cause mortality after cholecystectomy comparing the pre-pandemic interval with the pandemic (13 patients (0.4 per cent) pre-pandemic to 13 patients (0.6 per cent) pandemic P = 0.355). In mediation analysis, an admission with acute cholecystitis during the pandemic was associated with a non-significant increased risk of death (OR 1.29, 95 per cent c.i. 0.93 to 1.79, P = 0.121). CHOLECOVID provides a unique overview of the treatment of patients with cholecystitis across the globe during the first months of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. The study highlights the need for system resilience in retention of elective surgical activity. Cholecystectomy was associated with a low risk of mortality and deferral of treatment results in an increase in avoidable morbidity that represents the non-COVID cost of this pandemic.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-2020
DOI: 10.1111/ANS.16333
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2022
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 02-06-2009
DOI: 10.1038/MP.2009.55
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 07-2022
DOI: 10.1111/ANS.17902
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 08-07-2014
DOI: 10.1038/NCOMMS5204
Abstract: Dissecting how genetic and environmental influences impact on learning is helpful for maximizing numeracy and literacy. Here we show, using twin and genome-wide analysis, that there is a substantial genetic component to children’s ability in reading and mathematics, and estimate that around one half of the observed correlation in these traits is due to shared genetic effects (so-called Generalist Genes). Thus, our results highlight the potential role of the learning environment in contributing to differences in a child’s cognitive abilities at age twelve.
Publisher: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Date: 06-10-2014
Abstract: Differences among children in educational achievement are highly heritable from the early school years until the end of compulsory education at age 16, when UK students are assessed nationwide with standard achievement tests [General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE)]. Genetic research has shown that intelligence makes a major contribution to the heritability of educational achievement. However, we show that other broad domains of behavior such as personality and psychopathology also account for genetic influence on GCSE scores beyond that predicted by intelligence. Together with intelligence, these domains account for 75% of the heritability of GCSE scores. These results underline the importance of genetics in educational achievement and its correlates. The results also support the trend in education toward personalized learning.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 27-06-2008
Abstract: The Sri Lankan twin registry is one of the first to be established in a developing country, and its design has ensured s ling from a wide range of environmental conditions. It thus has great potential to examine environmental and genetic influences on erse phenotypes, including psychiatric disorders, in the context of a ersity of environmental exposures, which may not have been fully explored in previous twin studies in developed countries. This paper presents the rationale for the study, describes its context, and the methods for twin ascertainment and data collection. A population-based twin register was established in the Colombo district of Sri Lanka using infrastructure designed to periodically update the electoral register. We invited a subs le from this register to participate in the project on common mental disorders, using random ascertainment. A separate non-twin s le was randomly selected from the geographical areas where twins were found. Home interviewers collected diagnostic information on common mental disorders, as well as environmental exposures including life events, socio-economic conditions, and the impact of the civil war and the Tsunami of 2004. We identified 19,302 in iduals in the creation of the population based twin register. We randomly selected a subs le, of whom 4,387 were eligible to participate and 4,024 agreed to be interviewed (including data on 1,954 complete pairs of twins and 5 sets of triplets). Those who refused consent had a similar mean age and sex ratio to those who were interviewed. We invited 2,485 singletons to participate and 2,019 were interviewed. Initial exploration of the data suggests the s les are very representative of the Colombo district of Sri Lanka, so we have created a unique resource for understanding the influences on mental disorders in developing countries, and to compare to the influences found in developed countries.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 02-02-2010
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 26-05-2022
DOI: 10.5694/MJA2.51558
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 10-01-2013
DOI: 10.1017/THG.2012.119
Abstract: The Sri Lankan Twin Registry (SLTR), established in 1997, is a unique resource for twin and genetic research in a low- and middle-income country (LMIC). It comprises of a volunteer cohort of 14,120 twins (7,060 pairs) and 119 sets of triplets, and a population-based cohort of 19,040 (9,520 pairs) twins and 89 sets of triplets. Several studies have been conducted using this registry, including the Colombo Twin and Singleton Study (CoTaSS 1 4,387 twins, 2,311 singletons), which have explored the prevalence and heritability of a range of psychiatric disorders as well as gene-environmental interplay. Currently, a follow-up study (CoTaSS 2) of the same cohort is underway, looking at the prevalence and interrelationship of key cardiovascular and metabolic risk markers (e.g., metabolic syndrome). A significant feature of CoTaSS 2 is the establishment of a biobank. Current SLTR work is extending beyond mental health and the interface between mental and physical health to new horizons, extending collaborations with the wider global twin research community. Ethics and governance have been given special emphasis in the initiative. Capacity building and public engagement are two crucial components. Establishment of a state-of-the-art genetic laboratory was a major accomplishment. SLTR is a classic showcase of successful North–South partnership in building a progressive research infrastructure in a LMIC.
Publisher: EDP Sciences
Date: 08-2018
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201731778
Abstract: Context . An increasing number of hundred-parsec-scale, high line-mass filaments are being detected in the Galaxy. Their evolutionary path, including fragmentation towards star formation, is virtually unknown. Aims . We characterize the fragmentation within the hundred-parsec-scale, high line-mass Nessie filament, covering size-scales in the range ~0.1–100 pc. We also connect the small-scale fragments to the star-forming potential of the cloud. Methods . We combine near-infrared data from the VISTA Variables in the Via Lactea (VVV) survey with mid-infrared Spitzer /GLIMPSE data to derive a high-resolution dust extinction map for Nessie. We then apply a wavelet decomposition technique on the map to analyze the fragmentation characteristics of the cloud. The characteristics are then compared with predictions from gravitational fragmentation models. We compare the detected objects to those identified at a resolution approximately ten times lower from ATLASGAL 870 μ m dust emission data. Results . We present a high-resolution extinction map of Nessie (2″ full-width-half-max, FWHM, corresponding to 0.03 pc). We estimate the mean line mass of Nessie to be ~627 M ⊙ pc −1 and the distance to be ~3.5 kpc. We find that Nessie shows fragmentation at multiple size scales. The median nearest-neighbor separations of the fragments at all scales are within a factor of two of the Jeans’ length at that scale. However, the relationship between the mean densities of the fragments and their separations is significantly shallower than expected for Jeans’ fragmentation. The relationship is similar to the one predicted for a filament that exhibits a Larson-like scaling between size-scale and velocity dispersion such a scaling may result from turbulent support. Based on the number of young stellar objects (YSOs) in the cloud, we estimate that the star formation rate (SFR) of Nessie is ~371 M ⊙ Myr −1 similar values result if using the number of dense cores, or the amount of dense gas, as the proxy of star formation. The star formation efficiency is 0.017. These numbers indicate that by its star-forming content, Nessie is comparable to the Solar neighborhood giant molecular clouds like Orion A.
Publisher: Royal College of Psychiatrists
Date: 08-2010
DOI: 10.1192/BJP.BP.109.069674
Abstract: Fatigue is a common symptom in Western high-income countries but is often medically unexplained and little is known about its presentation in other populations. To explore the epidemiology and aetiology of fatigue in Sri Lanka, and of its overlap with depression. A total of 4024 randomly selected twins from a population-based register in Sri Lanka (Colombo district) completed home interviews including the Chalder Fatigue Questionnaire. The prevalence of fatigue was similar to that in other countries, although prolonged fatigue may be less common. There was substantial comorbidity with a screen for lifetime depression. Non-shared environmental factors made the largest contributions, although genetic/family factors also contributed. The aetiology appeared consistent across the spectrum of severity. The aetiology of fatigue is broadly similar in Sri Lanka and Western high-income countries. Abnormal experiences of fatigue appear to be the extreme form of more common fatigue, rather than representing independent entities with different genetic or environmental risk factors.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2014
Publisher: Royal College of Psychiatrists
Date: 12-2009
DOI: 10.1192/BJP.BP.109.063529
Abstract: Susceptibility to depression results from genetic and non-familially shared environmental influences in high-income, Western countries. Environments may play a different role for populations in different contexts. To examine heritability of depression in the first large, population-based twin study in a low-income country. Lifetime depression and a broader measure of depression susceptibility (D-probe) were assessed in 3908 adult twins in Sri Lanka (the CoTASS study). There were gender differences for the broad definition (D-probe), with a higher genetic contribution in females (61%) than males (4%). Results were similar for depression, but the prevalence was too low to estimate heritability for males. Genetic influences on depression in women appear to be at least as strong in this Sri Lankan s le as in higher-income countries. Conclusions are less clear for men but suggest a larger role for environments rather than genes. The nature as well as the magnitude of environmental influences may also differ across populations.
Publisher: Center for Open Science
Date: 17-04-2023
Abstract: Over the past decade, self-administered mindfulness interventions, such as those administered via phone apps, have become increasingly popular. However, their effectiveness for regulating stress is unclear. In a multi-site study (Nsites = 37, Nparticipants = 2,239 all fluent English speakers) we experimentally investigated the efficacy of four single, stand-alone mindfulness exercises (versus three active control conditions) on self-reported stress with Bayesian mixed-effects models. All mindfulness exercises proved to be more efficacious than the active control conditions in reducing participants' self-reported stress levels. Between the control condition (M = 1.95) and the condition with the largest reduction in stress levels (Body Scan M = 1.68), there was a mean difference of 0.27 on a four-point scale, (Cohen’s d = -.56) indicating a small decrease in stress. Our findings suggest that brief mindfulness exercises may be beneficial in reducing stress, even though we cannot fully distinguish between true effects and demand effects.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 19-05-2012
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2010
No related grants have been discovered for Laure Taher Mansour.