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Hybrid renewable multi-generation system optimization: Attaining sustainable development goals
Get PDFThe optimization of hybrid renewable multi-generation systems is crucial for enhancing energy efficiency, reducing costs, and ensuring sustainable power generation. These factors can be significantly affected by system designs, optimization methods, climate changes, and varying energy demands. The optimization of a stand-alone hybrid renewable energy system (HRES) that integrates various combinations of electricity, heating, cooling, hydrogen, and freshwater needs has not been reported in a single comprehensive study. Additionally, there has been insufficient attention given to the impact of temporal resolution, the recovery of excess energy usage, and aligning these efforts with the sustainable development goals (SDGs). This study reviews the recent state-of-the-art studies on the stand-alone HRES options for meeting electric, heating, cooling, hydrogen, electric vehicles, and freshwater demands with various combinations. This study further contributes by examining contemporary literature on sizing optimization, reliability analysis, sensitivity analysis, control techniques, detailed modelling, and techno-environmental-economic features. It also provides justification for selecting configurations suitable for specific geographical locations, along with an analysis of the choice of algorithms and power management systems required to meet the various load demands of a self-sufficient community. By highlighting the improvements and potentials of HRES to achieve various United Nations SDGs, this review study aims to bridge existing research gaps
Patient and family involvement in nursing bedside handover: A qualitative descriptive study of consumer perceptions of nursing care
Get PDFBackground/Objectives: Patient and family involvement in bedside handover is a requirement of the national standards on patient safety and quality in Australia. To ensure patient-and-family-centred care, it is essential to understand how patients and families perceive their involvement in nursing bedside handover and what difficulties they face when participating. This study aimed to explore patient and family perceptions of their involvement in nursing bedside handover. Methods: We employed a qualitative descriptive study design with in-depth and semi-structured interviews. Using purposive and convenience sampling, 24 patients and family members were recruited from two adult hospitals in Western Australia between November 2021 and February 2022. The data were thematically analysed. Results: Participants had mixed experiences that overlapped with their individual perceptions, needs, and experiences. Their responses were grouped into three major themes with sub-themes: (1) discovering new nursing care approaches; (2) seeing the value of involvement in bedside handover; and (3) barriers hindering patient and family involvement in bedside handover. The findings revealed that patients and families valued their involvement in nursing bedside handover. However, several factors challenged their participation, including a lack of awareness about their right to participate, the timing of handovers, the nurse’s approach, and fear of asking questions. Conclusions: The findings serve as a guide for evidence-based practice and may significantly influence policy and practice in nursing bedside handover, potentially enhancing patient-and-family-centred care. While considered best practice, the consistent involvement of patients and their families in nursing bedside handover is not routinely achieved and is implemented to varying extents
Return to on-snow performance in ski racing after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction
Get PDFBackground: The individual variation in on-snow performance outcomes after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction (ACLR) in elite alpine ski racers has not been reported and may be influenced by specific injury characteristics. Purpose: To report the performance statistics of elite ski racers before and after ACLR and to identify surgical and athlete-specific factors that may be associated with performance recovery. Study Design: Descriptive epidemiological study. Methods: International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) points, FIS ranking, average placing, and average percentage behind the winning time in each race were calculated for 30 national and provincial team ski racers at 1 year before and 3 years after ACLR. Injury characteristics were obtained from operative reports and clinical notes. Results: The mean age at the time of primary ACLR was 21.6 ± 3.5 years. Overall, 27 of 30 (90%) ski racers returned to the same preinjury competition level. Yet, only 16 of 30 (53%) improved in FIS points, and 13 of 30 (43%) improved in FIS ranking, in one of the speed or technical disciplines by 3 years after surgery. Of the skiers who improved in FIS points, 36% sustained multiligamentous injuries, 45% sustained meniscal tears, and 45% sustained chondral lesions. Of those who failed to improve in FIS points, 50% sustained multiligamentous injuries, 50% sustained meniscal tears, and 60% sustained chondral lesions. Meniscal tears and chondral lesions occurred mostly on the lateral side. The medial collateral ligament was involved in 8 of 9 multiligamentous injuries. Conclusion: These findings suggest significant individual variation in the recovery of on-snow performance of ski racers after ACLR, despite returning to the same competition circuit. The pattern of secondary injuries alongside primary ACL ruptures showed little association with improved performance
Sparse seagrass meadows are critical dugong habitat: A novel rapid assessment of habitat-wildlife associations using paired drone and in-water surveys
Get PDFUnderstanding the fine-scale behavioural and feeding ecology of marine megafauna is imperative for effective management of their habitat areas; however, obtaining the relevant data can be both costly and challenging. Here we integrate the use of small drones for dugong surveys with underwater benthic habitat assessment techniques at the local spatial scale (∼30 km2), to determine the drivers of dugong (Dugong dugon) distribution across three locations in the Pilbara, Western Australia. Paired assessment data was collected three times over two years. Benthic habitat (percent cover), seagrass nutritional quality and environmental parameters (temperature, water clarity, water current, water depth) were tested as predictor variables using generalised linear models, to examine drivers of both dugong presence/absence and abundance. We found that low cover (typical for this region; 2–10 %) of colonising seagrass is a key driver of the presence and abundance of dugongs. Halophila ovalis and Halodule uninervis were the main predictors of dugong presence and abundance across the three locations surveyed. Where both seagrass species simultaneously occurred, the likelihood of dugongs being present increased by over 60 times. The presence of H. uninervis alone was predicted to increase the abundance of dugongs by 1.4 times across all locations and by 6.8 times in one location, Exmouth Gulf, compared to when no seagrass was present. This study provided evidence of critical seagrass habitat, which is important knowledge for the protection and conservation of dugongs and their foraging habitat. The methods developed in this study could be employed in environmental impact assessments to predict and confirm potential seagrass forage habitat
Twelve tips to afford students agency in programmatic assessment
Get PDFProgrammatic assessment is gaining traction in health professions education, emphasizing continuous, integrated appraisal to support holistic student development. Despite its adoption, effectively affording student agency within programmatic assessment remains challenging due to longstanding educational practices, entrenched power dynamics and cultural norms favoring educator and institutional control. This article aims to provide strategies to promote student agency in programmatic assessments, essential for modernizing educational practices and preparing self-regulated, lifelong learners. The tips include establishing student–educator partnerships, making power dynamics transparent, designing purposeful and inclusive assessments, and normalizing bidirectional feedback conversations. The strategies emphasize the importance of a growth mindset, effective communication, and the role of coaches. The article also explores leveraging artificial intelligence to empower students. Affording students agency requires a significant cultural shift but holds the potential to transform health professions education. By promoting student autonomy and engagement, educators can better prepare students as capable, self-regulated professionals, enhancing the quality and effectiveness of health education programs
Inflammatory bowel disease and dementia: Evidence triangulation from a meta-analysis of observational studies and Mendelian randomization study
No full textObjective: Observational studies have found associations between inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and the risk of dementia, including Alzheimer\u27s dementia (AD) and vascular dementia (VD); however, these findings are inconsistent. It remains unclear whether these associations are causal. Methods: We conducted a meta-analysis by systematically searching for observational studies on the association between IBD and dementia. Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis based on summary genome-wide association studies (GWASs) was performed. Genetic correlation and Bayesian co-localization analyses were used to provide robust genetic evidence. Results: Ten observational studies involving 80,565,688 participants were included in this meta-analysis. IBD was significantly associated with dementia (risk ratio [ RR] =1.36, 95% CI = 1.04-1.78; I2 = 84.8%) and VD ( RR = 2.60, 95% CI = 1.18-5.70; only one study), but not with AD ( RR = 2.00, 95% CI = 0.96-4.13; I2 = 99.8%). MR analyses did not supported significant causal associations of IBD with dementia (dementia: odds ratio [ OR] = 1.01, 95% CI = 0.98-1.03; AD: OR = 0.98, 95% CI = 0.95-1.01; VD: OR = 1.02, 95% CI = 0.97-1.07). In addition, genetic correlation and co-localization analyses did not reveal any genetic associations between IBD and dementia. Conclusion: Our study did not provide genetic evidence for a causal association between IBD and dementia risk. The increased risk of dementia observed in observational studies may be attributed to unobserved confounding factors or detection bias
Learning from the past, adapting to the future: Experimental approaches in conservation translocations
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Educator professional subjectivities in gamification: Knowing, being and doing
Get PDFGamification has emerged as a prominent innovation in contemporary education, yet its influence on the enactment of educators’ professional subjectivities remains underexplored. As such, little is known about how online gamification applications like Kahoot shape the dynamic ways educators perceive, understand and enact their professional selves within higher education contexts. Adopting a tripartite framework of knowing (epistemological), being (ontological) and doing (praxiological), this qualitative study employed visual-elicitation interviews and remote observations with ten lecturers at a Middle Eastern college. The analysis revealed three key themes shaping educator subjectivities: creating and sharing quiz content; conforming with institutional culture; and infantilizing students with gamified learning. The findings suggest that Kahoot influenced how these educators perceived and performed their professional roles, enabling them to position themselves as creative content developers and aligned institutional practitioners, while also raising concerns about appropriate pedagogical approaches in tertiary contexts. This study demonstrates how gamification applications may actively shape professional subjectivities in higher education, emphasizing how successful gamification requires careful consideration of both institutional support and educator agency. Moreover, the findings offer important implications for professional development, institutional policy, and the thoughtful integration of gamification across diverse cultural contexts in contemporary higher education
Considering the Need for Congruence in Closing the Gap, Target 10: Reducing High Rates of Adult Aboriginal Incarceration
Get PDFThe federal and Western Australia (WA) state governments have made a national commitment to reducing high rates of Aboriginal adults held in incarceration, using, respectively, justice reinvestment and bureaucratic inclusion of Aboriginal representatives and organisations. This aspiration is also being pursued by an Aboriginal team who seek to establish a place-based Aboriginal justice support service in a WA regional town. The proposed service is underpinned by a combination of justice reinvestment and restorative justice principles and aims to use peer support workers who will effectively increase community agency in justice matters. This article examines congruence between federal, state and local initiatives to achieve Target 10 through the lens of the Aboriginal team’s efforts to deliver a place-based service. The article determines that the multi-level efforts are not intersecting in their corresponding efforts to achieve Target 10 and will likely result in failure or frustration. The article concludes with the recommendation of creating congruence in communication and dialogue to increase the likelihood of reduced Aboriginal incarceration rates in regional settings