#Research Australia

[orgasmictomato]

DSC05240 crop 1 orig by Jim Via Flickr: Original crop of a selection of a group of "Orbs" in the night sky as captured by the camera. I do not see - dust particles, pollen, insects or the like.... I do not see "ghosts or spirits" as such.... I do see and capture "dimensional entities" and so does my camera. Please remember this is a "ORIGINAL" crop with no alterations except cropping to a selection of the original photo.... Can your camera do this, then post and show me.... Scientific Research Australia FRJS Research

[tvmusiclife]

Australia's b girl Raygun may have lied on her resume, but she got a trip to Paris, free gear, access to the Olympic chocolate muffins, and is forever an Olympian, PhD brain outsmarted 😭

[reality-detective]

Uluru in Australia 🤔

[thepro-lifemovement]

“Since 2019 I have endured six workplace investigations because of my advocacy and research on abortion and in every investigation I have been cleared of misconduct,”

Howe stated that she had endured six separate workplace investigations since 2019 regarding her pro-life research. She was found innocent of misconduct in each case, including the most recent investigation launched at the beginning of the year, which determined she was innocent of any breach in the Australian Code for Responsible Research.

Seems universities really don’t like when you conduct research on abortion if it’s not going to swing in favor of the pro-abortion stance.

[australianwomensnews]

Medical research has a major problem: an alarmingly high number of trials are based on fake, fraudulent or misinterpreted data.

Research misconduct sleuths call them “zombie” studies. They look like real research papers but they’re rotten to the core. And when these studies go on to influence clinical guidelines, that is, how patients are treated in hospitals and doctors’ rooms, they can be dangerous.

Professor Ben Mol, head of the Evidence-based Women’s Health Care Research Group at Monash University, is a professional zombie hunter. For years, he has warned that between 20 and 30 per cent of medical trials that inform clinical guidelines aren’t trustworthy.

“I’m surprised by the limited response from people in my field on this issue,” he says. “It’s a topic people don’t want to talk about.”

The peer review process is designed to ensure the validity and quality of findings, but it’s built on the assumption that data is legitimate.

Science relies on an honour system whereby researchers trust that colleagues have actually carried out the trials they describe in papers, and that the resulting data was collected with rigorous attention to detail.

But too often, once findings are queried, researchers can’t defend their conclusions. Figures such as former BMJ editor Richard Smith and Anaesthesia editor John Carlise argue it’s time to assume all papers are flawed or fraudulent until proven otherwise. The trust has run out.

“I think we have been naive for many years on this,” Mol says. “We are the Olympic Games without any doping checks.”

How bad science gets into the clinic

Untrustworthy papers may be the result of scientists misinterpreting their data or deliberately faking or plagiarising their numbers. Many of these “zombie” papers emerge from Egypt, Iran, India and China and usually crop up in lower-quality journals.

The problem gets bad when these poor-quality papers are laundered by systematic reviews or meta-analyses in prestigious journals. These studies aggregate hundreds of papers to produce gold-standard scientific evidence for whether a particular treatment works.

Often papers with dodgy data are excluded from systematic reviews. But many slip through and go on to inform clinical guidelines.

My colleague Liam Mannix has written about an example of this with the hormone progesterone. Official guidelines held that the hormone could reduce the risk of pre-term birth in women with a shortened cervix.

But those guidelines were based on a meta-analysis largely informed by a paper from Egypt that was eventually retracted due to concerns about the underlying data. When this paper was struck from the meta-analysis, the results reversed to suggest progesterone had no preventative effect.

There’s a litany of other examples where discounting dodgy data can fundamentally alter the evidence that shapes clinical guidelines. That’s why, in The Lancet’s clinical journal eClinical Medicine, Mol and his colleagues have reported a new way to weed out bad science before it makes it to the clinic.

Holding back the horde

The new tool is called the Research Integrity in Guidelines and evIDence synthesis (RIGID) framework. It mightn’t sound sexy, but it’s like a barbed-wire fence that can hold back the zombie horde.

The world-first framework lays out a series of steps researchers can take when conducting a meta analysis or writing medical guidelines to exclude dodgy data and untrustworthy findings. It involves two researchers screening articles for red flags.

“You can look at biologically implausible findings like very high success rates of treatments, very big differences between treatments, unfeasible birth weights. You can look at statistical errors,” says Mol.

“You can look at strange features in the data, only using rounded numbers, only using even numbers. There are studies where out of dozens of pairs of numbers, everything is even. That doesn’t happen by chance.”

A panel decides if a paper has a medium to high risk of being untrustworthy. If that’s the case, the RIGID reviewers put their concerns to the paper’s authors. They’re often met with stony silence. If authors cannot address the concerns or provide their raw data, the paper is scrapped from informing guidelines.

The RIGID framework has already been put to use, and the results are shocking.

In 2023, researchers applied RIGID to the International Evidence-based Guidelines for Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), a long misunderstood and misdiagnosed syndrome that affects more than 1 in 10 women. As a much maligned condition, it was critical the guidelines were based on the best possible evidence.

In that case, RIGID discounted 45 per cent of papers used to inform the health guidelines.

That’s a shockingly high number. Those potentially untrustworthy papers might have completely skewed the guidelines.

Imagine, Mol says, if it emerged that almost half of the maintenance reports of a major airline were faked? No one would be sitting around waiting for a plane to crash. There would be swift action and the leadership of the airline sacked.

[reasonsforhope]

"Five people have gone into remission thanks to advancements in medicine — and a sixth patient may also now be free of HIV.

One of the biggest breakthroughs in HIV/AIDS prevention in recent years is the widespread use of PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis). 

This drug therapy, approved by the Federal Drug Administration in 2012, has been a key player in preventing HIV transmission through sex or injection drug use. Antiretroviral drugs, such as PrEP, also slow the replication of the virus and prevent it from progressing to AIDS.

Although PrEP has become a more accessible treatment for the virus, scientists have been hurriedly working towards cures for HIV for decades — and we’re finally seeing some results.

In February of this year, scientists in Germany confirmed a fifth-ever patient had been cured of HIV after receiving stem cell transplants that include genetic mutations that carry a resistance to HIV. 

But it looks like a sixth patient may soon be able to join this very exclusive club. 

The man, referred to as the “Geneva patient,” underwent a stem cell transplant after cancer treatment, though these cells did not include the HIV-resistant genetic mutation. 

Still, he went off antiretroviral therapy for HIV in November 2021, and his viral load remains undetectable. 

Instead, doctors are researching whether a drug called ruxolitinib may be partially responsible for his recovery. 

Ruxolitinib decreases inflammation associated with HIV by blocking two proteins, JAK1 and JAK2. This helps kill off “reservoir cells” that lay dormant in the body and have a potential to cause rebounds in patients with HIV.

Experts say the AIDS crisis can end by 2030 across the globe — as long as leaders prioritize this goal. 

A new report from UNAIDS shows a clear, optimistic path to ending the AIDS crisis. (This looks like a 90% reduction in cases by 2030.)

The organization’s report includes data and case studies that show that ending AIDS is a political and financial choice — and that governments that have prioritized a path towards progress are seeing extraordinary results.

By following the data, science, and evidence; tackling inequality; and ensuring sufficient and sustainable funding across communities, the global community could wipe out the AIDS pandemic by the end of the decade.

The report demonstrates that progress has been strongest in the countries and regions that have the most financial investments, like eastern and southern Africa, where new HIV infections have been reduced by 57% since 2010. 

Investments in treatments, education, and access to care have also led to a 58% reduction in new HIV infections among children from 2010 to 2022 — the lowest number since the 1980’s.

Plus, the number of people on antiretroviral treatment around the globe has risen from 7.7 million in 2010 to 29.8 million in 2022.

The moral of the story? This goal can be achieved, if world leaders put their minds — and wallets — to it. 

A region in Australia might be the first place in the world to reach the United Nations targets for ending HIV transmission. 

Researchers believe that the central district of Sydney, Australia is close to becoming the first locality in the world to reach the UN’s target for ending transmission of HIV. 

Specifically, new infections among gay men have fallen by 88% between 2010 and 2022. In fact, there were only 11 new HIV cases recorded in central Sydney last year, and almost all HIV-positive Australians are on antiretroviral drugs. 

... "These numbers show us that virtual elimination of HIV transmissions is possible. Now, we need to look closely at what has worked in Sydney, and adapt it for other cities and regions across Australia.”

Namibia is ahead of schedule in UN targets to end HIV/AIDS. 

Although the virus is still the leading cause of death in Namibia, the country is well on track to hit 95-95-95 UNAIDS targets before its 2030 deadline. 

In Namibia, 92% of people know their HIV status, 99% of people living with HIV are on treatment, and 94% of people living with HIV who are on treatment are virally suppressed.

In addition to these exciting statistics, new infections have plummeted. The estimated rate of new HIV infections in Namibia is five times lower than it was in 2002, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.

These encouraging numbers are thanks to the investment and strategic response of PEPFAR, but also to the willingness of local governmental agencies and organizations to adhere to the UN’s Fast-Track approach.

Breakthroughs are being made in HIV vaccine therapies.

Long before we were all asking each other “Pfizer or Moderna?” about our COVID-19 vaccines, scientists have been researching the potential of mRNA vaccines in treating some of the world’s deadliest diseases — like HIV.

And with the success of our mainstream mRNA vaccines, an HIV inoculation remains a goal for researchers across the globe.

Last year, the National Institutes of Health launched a clinical trial of three mRNA vaccines for HIV, and similar studies are being conducted in Rwanda and South Africa, as well. 

CAR T-cell clinical trials are underway to potentially cure HIV.

This spring, UC Davis Health researchers have dosed the second participant in their clinical trial, which poses the use of CAR T-cell therapy as a potential cure for HIV.

The study involves taking a participant’s own white blood cells (called T-cells), and modifying them so they can identify and target HIV cells, ultimately controlling the virus without medication. 

The first participant in the study was dosed with anti-HIV T-cells last August, and the trial is the first of its kind to utilize this technology to potentially treat HIV. 

Of course, the trials have a long way to go, and the lab is still preparing to dose a third participant for the study, but CAR T-cell treatments have been successful for lupus and forms of cancer in the past...

“So far, there have been no adverse events observed that were related to the treatment, and the two participants are doing fine.”

Guidance on how to reduce stigma and discrimination due to HIV/AIDS is reaching people around the globe.

While the stigma surrounding HIV and AIDS has significantly decreased — especially towards the LGBTQ+ community — with advancements in treatment and prevention, discrimination is certainly not gone. 

While most people now understand HIV/AIDS better than they did decades ago, those most impacted by the virus (like gay men and low-income women and children) still face ongoing barriers to care and economic security. 

It is vital to maintain awareness and education interventions. 

After all, experts suggest that eliminating discrimination and stigma are key factors in reducing disease.  And not eliminating stigma impedes HIV services, argues UNAIDS, “limiting access to and acceptance of prevention services, engagement in care, and adherence to antiretroviral therapy.” 

Luckily, UNAIDS provides guidance on how to reduce stigma and discrimination in the community, workplace, education, health care, justice, and emergency settings. 

The goal is to, of course, decrease stigma in order to decrease disease, but also to provide folks with the culturally significant support they need to live safe, integrated lives — with or without disease. 

For instance, a 2022 study conducted in Northern Uganda showed that local cultural knowledge passed through Elders was a successful intervention in reducing HIV-related stigma among young people.

“Research in school settings has shown that the use of local cultural stories, songs, myths, riddles, and proverbs increases resilient coping responses among students and strengthens positive and socially accepted morals and values,” the study’s discussion reads. 

So, while an uptick in acceptance gives us hope, it also gives us a directive: Keep telling the accurate, full, and human stories behind HIV/AIDS, and we’ll all be better for it. "

-via GoodGoodGood, August 3, 2023

[not-poignant]

Tbh one of the reasons I haven't gotten around to Palmarosa yet is because I knew I had to do a fuckton more worldbuilding research and couldn't be bothered because I was like 'this is going to be a lot more work than it needs to be.'

And after 4 straight hours and over 50 tabs which distilled down into 2000 words of worldbuilding that isn't even me getting to the chapter yet, I was right lmao. But in good news, it means I can officially get started! We're going to Luskan, folks :D

[marzipanandminutiae]

Just William Saville-Kent ThingsTM

when your treatise on the Great Barrier Reef distracts people from that time you tried to run away with your older sister, as teenagers, after she killed your four-year-old half brother as revenge on your stepmother for treating your actual mother badly while Actual Mother was dying (possibly of syphillis)

[banditblvd]

Magic mountain 7/7

[nando161mando]

Communist commuters

[lokh]

HA I WAS RIGHT!!! apparently kui said in a modern au laios would be a minimum wage retail worker

[orgasmictomato]

DSC05240 crop1d rsz tag by Jim Via Flickr: Crop of selected "Orb" d of group with slight contrast change for viewing.

[scrapironflotilla]

An early example of a reply guy, writing directly to the king to complain about the "disloyalty of many prominent persons within the Commonwealth of Australia, especially in New South Wales."

their speeches argue for a "republican government of Australia and in which the Crown is spoken of with the utmost hatred" sounds pretty fucking cool to me

[reality-detective]

Bird Flu Strain Discovery Forces Sydney Egg Farm Into Bio Lockdown

The Powers that be, say: 👇

"An egg farm in Sydney's north-west has been forced into a bio lockdown, after a strain of bird flu was confirmed at the property."

They will create a food shortage using this narrative. 🤔

[howtoditchyourdragon]

Random Wiki Trivia pt.2 (S2)

I’m back babyyyy - my last post of this got a weirdly large number of likes so here’s season 2, I guess. My streak of finding random historical references in rtte continues apparently:

Returning for the random US history references is this: Astrid’s speech to the auxiliary riders in Team Astrid (2x1) is almost word for word of the Rifleman’s Creed, a WWII speech given my General William H. Rupertus of the U.S. Marine Corps so I guess the streak of US history related facts continue

The Twins hug each other for the first time ever on screen in the whole franchise in Bad Moon Rising (2x4)

In real life both Tuff and Snotlout would have died because of the events of Bad Moon Rising - Tuff from the wolf bite and Snotlout from his several bites one of which was a sea snake which are apparently VERY venomous and almost impossible to cure

Ruffnut’s middle name is Eugene

There are several references to classic movies in this season: the first is the ropes being soaked in nightmare gel in Edge of Disaster (2x9) while the Hunters are climbing up them is a reference to Home Alone when Kevin does this with kerosene

In the same episode Tuff says the line "We've been expecting you” while petting Chicken which is a direct copy of a scene and line in James Bond

In A Time to Skrill Hiccup (2x11) mentions the Dragon Hunters have a new net launcher which are exactly the same design as the one Eret uses in httyd2

[taiyami]

Ain't nobody can tell me shit about instant coffee she is my friend and my lover I don't care what her quality is. She has been there for me at my lowest and sleepiest battles.