Geelong Football Club

About: Geelong Football Club is a based out in . It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Wool. The organization has 1503 authors who have published 1826 publications receiving 34162 citations. The organization is also known as: Geelong Cats.

Hepatitis C virus treatment in the 'real-world': how well do 'real' patients respond?

Abstract: Background Published clinical trials of the treatment of HCV are largely multicentre prospective pharmaceutical trials. Patients in clinical trials tend to have more favorable outcomes than patients in the ‘real-world’, due to strict patient selection and differences in treatment conditions and available resources. Objectives To assess the outcomes of Hepatitis C infected patients treated at the Barwon Health Liver Clinic with combination Pegylated interferon (PEG-IFN) and Ribavirin (RBV) therapy and to determine factors associated with a treatment response. Methods Retrospective review of patients who received treatment for Hepatitis C at our institution's Liver Clinic from January 2001–September 2011. Patient demographics, comorbidities, treatment-related parameters and side effects were extracted from medical records and analyzed. Results A total of 190 patients (120 male, 70 female) with a mean age of 42.8 years (range 20–68 years) commenced treatment. The most common genotype was genotype 3 (48.9%), followed by genotype 1 (42.6%). 150 of 190 patients (78.9%) completed treatment and had end of treatment data available. 107 of 182 patients, (58.8%) for whom sustained virologic response (SVR) rate data was available achieved an SVR. Overall response rates were; 46.9%, 68.8% and 62.4% in genotypes 1, 2 and 3 respectively. The response rate was significantly lower in 29 patients with documented cirrhosis (20.7%). Age, diabetes and alcohol abuse did not predict treatment response in our cohort. Side effects reported in 81.6% of patients included general malaise, hematological disturbance and psychiatric issues, and necessitated cessation of therapy in 16 patients (8.4%) and dose reduction in 26 patients (13.7%). Conclusions Response rates to combination PEG-IFN and RBV therapy at our institution are comparable to other ‘real-world’ and pharmaceutical registration trials. Side effects of combination therapy were prominent but resulted in fewer discontinuations of therapy compared to pharmaceutical trials.

Formaldehyde Treatments for Stabilizing Set in Wool

Abstract: It is now well known that the treatment of wool with formaldehyde introduces cross links [1, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13]. Formaldehyde treatment of set fabrics might, therefore, be expected to stabilize set by introducing cross links between the polypeptide chains in their new conformation. These cross links would increase the internal viscosity of the fiber, thereby decreasing the rate at which set is lost in hot water.

HealthPathways improving access to care.

Abstract: Objective HealthPathways (HPW) is an international web-based information portal that provides health practitioners with guidelines and referral pathways to specialists and services. The present study explored usage of HPW by general practitioners (GPs) in the Barwon region, south-west Victoria, and any benefits and barriers to its use. Methods Approximately 421 GPs provide services in 86 clinics across the Barwon region, south-west Victoria and Barwon Health is the public health service providing acute, subacute, residential aged care and community health services to approximately 350000 people. The present study was a mixed-methods analysis of all GPs in the region, who were invited to complete a survey in two waves (2014 and 2016) and participate in focus groups. Data were survey/questionnaire (fixed response and free text options, analysed with descriptive statistics and content analysis), and focus groups (interview and facilitated group discussion, analysed using the principles of thematic analysis). Results Most GPs surveyed used HPW and usage increased over time from 2014 to 2016 (67% vs 77% respectively). Junior GPs used HPW more often than the more experienced practitioners. GPs reported that HPW was easy to access and navigate, improved their knowledge of local services, improved their confidence, changed their clinical management and saved them time. Main barriers to use of HPW were: GPs did not think to look at HPW, or simply did not know about it. Conclusions HPW has the potential to improve patient management and health outcomes, and use of HPW is increasing over time. What is known about the topic? Initiatives such as HPW are viewed positively by clinicians and have the potential to address challenges at the primary-secondary care interface, specifically, referral to secondary specialists. What does this paper add? Proof of concept that the ongoing availability of localised HPW for common clinical conditions improves GP usage of HPW and has increased access to HPW as the first source of clinical information. Benefits and barriers to use have been identified. What are the implications for practitioners? HPW improves knowledge of local services and provides GPs with easy access to referral pathways.

A comprehensive systematic review of stakeholder attitudes to alternatives to prospective informed consent in paediatric acute care research.

Abstract: A challenge of performing research in the paediatric emergency and acute care setting is obtaining valid prospective informed consent from parents. The ethical issues are complex, and it is important to consider the perspective of participants, health care workers and researchers on research without prospective informed consent while planning this type of research. We performed a systematic review according to PRISMA guidelines, of empirical evidence relating to the process, experiences and acceptability of alternatives to prospective informed consent, in the paediatric emergency or acute care setting. Major medical databases and grey sources were searched and results were screened and assessed against eligibility criteria by 2 authors, and full text articles of relevant studies obtained. Data were extracted onto data collection forms and imported into data management software for analysis. Thirteen studies were included in the review consisting of nine full text articles and four abstracts. Given the heterogeneity of the methods, results could not be quantitatively combined for meta-analysis, and qualitative results are presented in narrative form, according to themes identified from the data. Major themes include capacity of parents to provide informed consent, feasibility of informed consent, support for alternatives to informed consent, process issues, modified consent process, child death, and community consultation. Our review demonstrated that children, their families, and health care staff recognise the requirement for research without prior consent, and are generally supportive of enrolling children in such research with the provisions of limiting risk, and informing parents as soon as possible. Australian data and perspectives of children are lacking and represent important knowledge gaps.

Local Government Paradiplomacy in the UK: The Case of the Kent-Virginia Project

Abstract: This article investigates the Kent-Virginia Project, a recent partnership between Kent County Council (KCC) and the US state of Virginia, as a case study of local government paradiplomacy in the UK. It sets the project in the context of the growing international involvement of local government, which has so far largely been neglected in the literature. It seeks to explain why KCC embarked on this initiative and to identify what opportunities and constraints shaped the latter's development. The evidence shows that KCC was primarily motivated by personal and institutional ambition, that decision-making was rather opaque and that communication was highly selective. As a result of its seizing a series of unforeseen opportunities that changed the nature of the project, KCC found itself performing roles traditionally reserved for central government. It also faced, however, severe constraints in terms of maintaining multiple institutional relations as well as managing media and public attitudes to the p...