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SABRE (Sodium iodide with Active Background REjection) is a direct detection dark matter experiment based on arrays of radio-pure NaI(Tl) crystals. The experiment aims at achieving an ultra-low background rate and its primary goal is to confirm or refute the results from the DAMA/LIBRA experiment. The SABRE Proof-of-Principle phase was carried out in 2020–2021 at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory (LNGS), in Italy. The next phase consists of two full-scale experiments: SABRE South at the Stawell Underground Physics Laboratory, in Australia, and SABRE North at LNGS. This paper focuses on SABRE South and presents a detailed simulation of the detector, which is used to characterise the background for dark matter searches including DAMA/LIBRA-like modulation. We estimate an overall background of 0.72 cpd/kg/ keV ee in the energy range 1–6 keV ee primarily due to radioactive contamination in the crystals. Given this level of background and considering that the SABRE South has a target mass of 50 kg, we expect to exclude (confirm) DAMA/LIBRA modulation at 4 (5) σ within 2.5 years of data taking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To report intensive care unit admission outcomes for head and neck cancer patients. Methods: A retrospective, observational cohort analysis of all Australian and New Zealander head and neck cancer patient intensive care unit admissions from January 2000 to June 2016, including data from 192 intensive care units. Results: There were 10 721 head and neck cancer patients, with a median age of 64 years (71.6 per cent male). Of admissions, 76.4 per cent were in public hospitals, 96.9 per cent were post-operative and 43.6 per cent required mechanical ventilation. Annual head and neck cancer admissions increased from 2000 to 2015 (from 348 to 1132 patients), but the overall proportion of intensive care unit admissions remained constant. In-hospital mortality was 2.7 per cent, and intensive care unit mortality was 0.7 per cent. The in-hospital mortality risk decreased three-fold (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Head and neck cancer patients had low mortality in the intensive care unit and in hospital. Risk of dying decreased despite more intensive care unit admissions. This is the first large-scale cohort study quantifying intensive care unit utilisation by head and neck cancer patients. It informs future work investigating alternatives to the intensive care unit for these patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study Objectives: In a population-based survey, we determined sex differences in health profiles and quality of life between individuals who have a confirmed diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and those who are at high risk of OSA yet remain undiagnosed., Methods: An online survey of Australian adults ≥ 18 years (n = 3,818) identified participants with self-reported diagnosed OSA (n = 460) or high-risk, undiagnosed OSA (OSA50 score ≥ 5, n = 1,015). Ever-diagnosed comorbidities, sociodemographics, and quality of life (EQ-5D-5L, Functional Outcomes of Sleep Questionnaire-10) were assessed., Results: Women were more frequently represented in the high-OSA-risk group compared with those with diagnosed OSA (55.5%, n = 563, versus 43%, n = 198; P < .001). In sex-specific logistic regression analyses, diagnosed OSA was associated with increased likelihoods of ≥ 1 cardiovascular condition (odds ratio: 3.0; 95% confidence interval: 2.0-4.5), hypertension (1.9; 1.3-2.8), gout (1.8; 1.1-2.9), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (3.8; 2.1-6.9) in men. In women, an association with asthma (2.0; 1.3-3.0) was seen. Diabetes, arthritis, mental health conditions (ever-diagnosed), and all EQ-5D-5L dimensions were associated with an OSA diagnosis regardless of sex, except for EQ-5D-5L anxiety/depression, which was only associated with an OSA diagnosis in women. A diagnosis of OSA was associated with sleepiness-related impairment (lowest quartile of Functional Outcomes of Sleep Questionnaire-10) in men (1.6; 1.01-2.5) and women (2.2; 1.4-3.6)., Conclusions: Sex-specific health conditions may drive diagnosis of OSA; however, clinical suspicion of OSA needs to be increased in men and women. The impaired quality of life and persistent sleepiness in participants with diagnosed OSA observed at a population level requires greater clinical attention., Citation: Krishnan S, Chai-Coetzer CL, Grivell N, et al. Comorbidities and quality of life in Australian men and women with diagnosed and undiagnosed high-risk obstructive sleep apnea. J Clin Sleep Med . 2022;18(7):1757-1767., (© 2022 American Academy of Sleep Medicine.)

Domestic violence is highly prevalent in Australia and has serious and complex impacts. This study aimed to analyse research outputs on domestic violence in Australia from the period of 1984 to 2019. Articles relevant to domestic violence in Australia that met specified inclusion criteria were retrieved using the Scopus database. Bibliometric analysis of the output was conducted to examine trends in publications. A trend of an increase in publications relating to domestic violence in Australia over time was identified, with the majority published in institutions located in densely populated capital cities. Significant diversity was found in the subject matter of highly cited articles, reflecting the far-reaching impacts of domestic violence. The increase in social attention to domestic violence over time was reflected in an increase in publications. Future research would benefit from examining trends in the reporting of domestic violence, and analysing the effectiveness of interventions for perpetrators and victims.

Background: Assessing an individual patient's post-operative risk profile prior to laryngectomy for cancer is difficult. The American College of Surgeons' National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS-NSQIP) risk calculator was developed to better inform preoperative decision-making. The calculator uses patient-specific characteristics to estimate the risk of experiencing post-operative complications within 30 days of surgery. We investigated the ACS-NSQIP risk calculator's performance for Australian laryngectomy patients., Methods: The ACS-NSQIP risk calculator was used to retrospectively calculate the 30-day post-operative predicted outcomes in patients who underwent laryngectomy for laryngeal, hypopharyngeal and thyroid cancers (with laryngeal involvement) in two institutions in South Australia. These data were compared against the actual mortality, morbidity, complications and length of stay (LOS) collected from a retrospective chart review., Results: A total of 144 patients underwent surgical intervention for malignancies with laryngeal involvement. The median LOS was 25 days (range 13-197) compared to the predicted LOS of 6.5 days (range 3.5-12.5). Overall mortality was 2.78% with post-operative complications occurring in 63% of patients. The most common complication was wound infection, occurring in 33% of patients. Hosmer-Lemeshow plots demonstrated good agreement between predicted and observed rates for complications., Conclusion: The ACS-NSQIP risk calculator effectively predicted post-operative complication rates in South Australian laryngeal cancer patients undergoing laryngectomy. However, differences in predicted and actual LOS may limit the usefulness of the calculator's LOS predictions for Australian patients., (© 2020 Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.)

Transoral robotic surgery (TORS) provides improved access to head and neck subsites resulting in well-validated functional and oncological outcomes, but access to and cost of robotic platforms can limit their use. Evidence suggests TORS is increasingly being adopted globally, but there is a paucity of data on the adoption and diffusion of TORS in Australia and New Zealand. A cross-sectional analysis was performed. An online survey was distributed to otolaryngologists and head and neck surgeons through three different Australian and New Zealand specialty membership databases. A 5-point Likert scale based on a Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model was incorporated to assess barriers and facilitators to adoption. 77 respondents completed the survey. 43.6% of head and neck surgeons had performed TORS. The most common cases were lateral oropharyngectomy (35.9%), base of tongue resection (33.3%), tongue base mucosectomy (28.2%), supraglottic laryngectomy (15.4%) and TORS for obstructive sleep apnoea (12.8%). Perceived barriers to adoption were high costs, access to and availability of the robotic platform and limited training opportunities. This study provides evidence of adoption of TORS in Australia and New Zealand; however, there is a perception that significant barriers to adoption persist. Results from this study may help guide decisions on how we train and license surgeons in the era of this technology.

Background: The incidence of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma in the Western world is increasing, with the human papillomavirus epidemic implicated in this observed trend. The optimal treatment modality is yet undetermined regarding oncological outcomes., Methods: This study comprised 98 patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma, treated with either primary transoral surgery with adjuvant therapy or primary chemoradiotherapy with curative intent, between 2008 and 2012. Clinicopathological characteristics including tumour-node-metastasis stage, human papillomavirus status, treatment modality, recurrence and overall survival were collated., Results: Five per cent of primary surgical patients had locoregional recurrences compared with 25 per cent of primary chemoradiotherapy patients. A lower rate of locoregional recurrence was observed in the human papillomavirus positive group., Conclusion: This paper reports higher rates of overall survival and local control for oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma treated with primary surgery compared with primary chemoradiotherapy. This reflects overall lower tumour stage and higher human papillomavirus status in this group.

Background: Rice is a major source of human food with a predominantly Asian production base. Domestication involved selection of traits that are desirable for agriculture and to human consumers. Wild relatives of crop plants are a source of useful variation which is of immense value for crop improvement. Australian wild rices have been isolated from the impacts of domestication in Asia and represents a source of novel diversity for global rice improvement. Oryza rufipogon is a perennial wild progenitor of cultivated rice. Oryza meridionalis is a related annual species in Australia., Results: We have examined the sequence of the genomes of AA genome wild rices from Australia that are close relatives of cultivated rice through whole genome re-sequencing. Assembly of the resequencing data to the O. sativa ssp. japonica cv. Nipponbare shows that Australian wild rices possess 2.5 times more single nucleotide polymorphisms than in the Asian wild rice and cultivated O. sativa ssp. indica. Analysis of the genome of domesticated rice reveals regions of low diversity that show very little variation (polymorphism deserts). Both the perennial and annual wild rice from Australia show a high degree of conservation of sequence with that found in cultivated rice in the same 4.58 Mbp region on chromosome 5, which suggests that some of the 'polymorphism deserts' in this and other parts of the rice genome may have originated prior to domestication due to natural selection., Conclusions: Analysis of genes in the 'polymorphism deserts' indicates that this selection may have been due to biotic or abiotic stress in the environment of early rice relatives. Despite having closely related sequences in these genome regions, the Australian wild populations represent an invaluable source of diversity supporting rice food security.

Purpose of Review: To provide a perspective of contemporary practice in rehabilitation of speech and swallowing in patients undergoing total laryngectomy in Australia., Recent Findings: In Australia, the preferred method of voice rehabilitation is by the use of tracheo-oesophageal voice prosthesis. Dysphagia is an ongoing problem and the use of adjuvant radiation and chemotherapy compounds this problem. There are difficulties associated with surgery because of the variation in disease involvement of pharyngeal mucosa and musculature, as well as difficulties associated with healing in previously chemoradiated surgical fields., Summary: This article demonstrates the need for careful consideration of surgical technique, particularly in closure of the neopharynx in the chemoradiated patient. It encourages further research into the problems of speech and particularly swallowing in this patient population, as these problems impact significantly on the quality of life.