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[In Press] A standardized classification scheme for gastroduodenal disorder evaluation using the gastric alimetry system : prospective cohort study
No full textBackground and Aims: Gastric Alimetry™ (Alimetry, New Zealand) is a new clinical test for gastroduodenal disorders involving simultaneous body surface gastric electrical mapping and validated symptom profiling. Studies have demonstrated a range of distinct pathophysiological profiles, and a classification scheme is now required. We utilised Gastric Alimetry spectral and symptom profiles to develop a mechanism- based test classification scheme, then assessed correlations with symptom severity, psychometrics, and quality of life. Methods: We performed a multicentre prospective cohort study of patients meeting Rome IV criteria for functional dyspepsia (FD) and chronic nausea and vomiting syndromes (CNVS). Patients underwent Gastric Alimetry profiling, and a standardised digital classification framework was devised and applied to separate patients into those with: a) abnormal spectral analyses (i.e. aberrant gastric frequencies, amplitudes, and rhythms); and normal spectral analyses with b) symptoms correlated to gastric amplitude (subgroups: sensorimotor, post-gastric, and activity-relieved), and c) symptoms independent of gastric amplitude (subgroups: continuous, meal-relieved, meal-induced). Results: 210 patients were included (80% female, median age 37), of whom 169 met criteria for CNVS and 206 met criteria for FD (79% meeting both criteria). Overall, 83% were phenotyped using the novel scheme, with 79/210 (37.6%) classified as having a spectral abnormality. Of the remainder, the most common phenotypes were: ‘continuous pattern’ (37, 17.6%), ‘meal-induced pattern’ (28, 13.3%), and ‘sensorimotor pattern’ (15, 7.1%). Symptom patterns independent of gastric amplitude were more strongly correlated with depression and anxiety (PHQ-2: exp(β) 2.38, p=0.024, STAI-SF score: exp(β) 1.21, p=0.021). Conclusion: A mechanistic classification scheme for assessing gastroduodenal disorders is presented. Classified phenotypes showed independent relationships with symptom severity, quality of life, and psychological measures. The scheme is now being applied clinically and in research studies
Impact of a functional dairy powder and its primary component on the growth of pathogenic and probiotic gut bacteria and human coronavirus 229E
No full textMilk boasts an array of potent bioactive compounds, such as lactoferrin (Lf), immunoglobulins, and functional proteins, all delivering substantial therapeutic benefits. In this study, Immune Powder (a functional dairy formulation) and its primary component called Fractionated Milk Protein (FMP) containing Lf, zinc, and immunoglobulins and formulated by Ausnutria Pty Ltd. were evaluated for their potential broad-spectrum pharmacological activity. In particular, this study investigated the antibacterial (against pathogenic Escherichia coli), prebiotic (promoting Lactobacillus delbrueckii growth), anti inflammatory (inhibition of NO production in RAW264.7 macrophages), and antiviral (against human coronavirus 229E) effects of the samples. In addition, the impact of simulated gastric digestion on the efficacy of the samples was explored. LCMS-based proteomics was implemented to unveil cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying antiviral activity. The Immune Powder demonstrated antibacterial activity against E. coli (up to 99.74 ± 11.47% inhibition), coupled with prebiotic action (10.84 ± 2.2 viability fold change), albeit these activities diminished post-digestion (p 0.05) with up to 3-fold improvement. Likewise, FMP exhibited antibacterial potency pre-digestion at high concentrations (95.56 ± 1.23% inhibition at 125 mg/mL) and post-digestion at lower doses (61.82 ± 5.58% inhibition at 3906.25 μg/mL ). FMP also showed enhanced prebiotic activity post-digestion (p < 0.0001), NO inhibition pre-digestion, and significant antiviral activity. The proteomics study suggested that the formulation and its primary component shared similar antiviral mechanisms by inhibiting scavenger receptor binding and extracellular matrix interaction
Computer science undergraduate programs in Australia
No full textAustralia is a country of 26 million people with the 5th highest Human Development Index (HDI) globally. Australian universities emerged in the colonial era over 170 years ago, based on the British model tempered by less emphasis on the liberal arts and more on providing skills for a developing colony [8]. Australian higher education is a highly regulated and relatively uniform sector dominated by 36 large public universities, see Figure 1. Private universities and smaller providers account for less than 5% of higher education enrollment. All 36 public universities provide a broad range of programs and grant PhDs across most disciplines. All programs must meet required standards within the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) [5]. Universities are regularly audited by the Tertiary Education Quality Standards Agency (TEQSA) [31] and part of the requirement is to demonstrate that undergraduate (UG) programs meet AQF Level 7 requirements
Tourism development and multidimensional poverty alleviation
No full textTourism development is often used as a strategy to fight poverty, but in the tourism literature it remains controversial as a tool for poverty alleviation in a poor region. This study adopts a multidimensional framework to measure regional poverty. Specifically, we examine four dimensions, including economics, education, social security, and medical service, to reflect poverty alleviation for a region. Then we establish econometric models to explore the link between tourism and poverty alleviation. The result shows that tourism development has a positive influence on multidimensional poverty alleviation in 73 counties in Guizhou province, a typically poor region in China. The consideration of the multidimensional nature of poverty in this study is more convictive to conclude that tourism can reduce poverty. This study further demonstrates that political pressure, indicated by the time period near the end of the fight-against-poverty campaign and by whether a county has red-culture heritages, affects tourism-led poverty alleviation in China
Exploring educational settings and projects for a balanced gender representation in undergraduate information technology education
No full textWomen’s representation in undergraduate Information Technology (IT) courses is still low in most undergraduate programs. While the problem is well known in research, teaching, and administration, despite concentrated efforts, these problems are still not addressed properly. In this chapter, we discuss some aspects that affect inbalance between genders in computer science. We provide an overview of socio-cultural factors that affect women in undergraduate IT degrees. Then we discuss learning and teaching and how improvements in the way teaching are done could lead to a better experience and retention for everyone enrolled in these degrees. In addition, we present some of the successful projects that have improved diversity and draw implications for practice
The perceptions of palliative care medical practitioners towards oral health : a descriptive qualitative study
No full textBackground: Oral health problems are common, but often overlooked, among people receiving palliative care.
Aim: To better understand how oral health can be addressed in this population, this study aimed to explore the perceptions of oral health care among medical practitioners who provide palliative care to inform the development of a palliative oral health care program.
Design: A descriptive qualitative design was adopted.
Setting/participants: A single focus group was conducted with 18 medical practitioners at a palliative care facility in Sydney, Australia. All participants had experience providing palliative care services to clients. The focus group was audio recorded, transcribed and
thematically analysed.
Results: The results from the inductive thematic analysis identified four themes. The themes highlighted that participants were aware of the oral health needs of people receiving palliative care; however, they also reflected on the complexity in delivering oral health care across the healthcare settings, as well as the challenges around cost, lack of appropriate dental referral pathways, time constraints and limited awareness. Participants also provided recommendations to improve the delivery of oral health care to individuals receiving palliative care.
Conclusions: To improve the provision of oral health care in this population, this study highlighted the need for oral health training across the multidisciplinary team, standardised screening assessments and referrals, a collective responsibility across the board and exploring the potential for teledentistry to support oral health care provision
Nightly reductions in body temperature and effect of transmitter attachment method in free-living welcome swallows (Hirundo neoxena)
No full textSmall birds and mammals face similar energetic challenges, yet use of torpor to conserve energy while resting is considered less common among birds, especially within the most specious order Passeriformes. We conducted the first study to record the natural thermoregulatory physiology of any species from the family Hirundinidae, which we predicted would use torpor because of their specialised foraging by aerial pursuit of flying insects, that are less active during cold or windy weather. We used temperature telemetry on wild-living welcome swallows (Hirundo neoxena, 13 to 17 g) and found that skin temperature declined during nightly resting by an average by 5 ◦C, from daytime minima of 41.0 ± 0.8 ◦C to nightly minima of 36.3 ± 0.8 ◦C, and by a maximum of 8 ◦C to a minimum recorded skin temperature of 32.0 ◦C. The extent of reduction in skin temperature was greater on cold nights and following windy daytime (foraging) periods. Further, we found that transmitters glued directly to the skin between feather tracts (i.e., an apterium) provided a less variable and probably also more accurate reflection of body temperature than transmitters applied over closely trimmed feathers. A moderate decrease in skin temperature, equivalent to shallow torpor, would provide energy savings during rest. Yet, deeper torpor was not observed, despite a period of extreme rainfall that presumedly decreased foraging success. Further studies are needed to understand the resting thermoregulatory energetics of swallows under different environmental conditions. We advocate the importance of measuring thermal biology in wild-living birds to increase our knowledge of the physiology and ecological importance of torpor among passerine birds
[In Press] Masculinism, institutional violence and #MeToo : understanding Australian university responses to the COVID-19 pandemic
No full textThis article offers an analysis of data from the project Sexism, Higher Education, and Covid-19: The Australian Perspective. The authors argue that the gendered impact of the pandemic in Higher Education Institutions constitutes a form of institutionally perpetrated sexist harassment, and that raising awareness of the ways in which institutions themselves enable and perpetrate such harassment is consistent with the aims of the #MeToo movement. This article is intended to act as testament to the ways in which Australian universities function as masculinist institutions that, during this time of crisis, deployed tactics that were experienced by women and minority-identifying research participants as sexist and violent. The article illustrates how the COVID-19 pandemic, and university responses to it, are evidence of the everyday sexual violence that women and gender-diverse academics experience due to inherent norms about the labour that ‘counts’ in the masculinist, neoliberal academy
Regulating spatiotemporal dynamics for a delay Gierer–Meinhardt model
No full textAs a classical activator-inhibitor system with diffusion effects, the Gierer–Meinhardt (GM) model has received a considerable attention in recent years. Discussions on dynamic behaviors of the GM model are well underway. However, we still lack the means to further detect the bifurcation direction and the stability of bifurcated periodic solutions as a Hopf bifurcation appears in the space–time evolution. Besides, control strategies for regulating the space-time dynamics to achieve the desired biological patterns are also neglected. These are the tasks that this paper attempts to tackle. Through Hopf bifurcation and Turing instability theorems, it is demonstrated that by adjusting the controller parameters appropriately, the occurrence of the Hopf bifurcation can be delayed and the threshold of Turing instability can also be broadened. Go a step further, we have deliberated the bifurcation direction of the controlled GM model under the influence of self-diffusion coefficients. As a result, the control effect is verified by comparison in numerical simulations
Reducing PHYTOENE SYNTHASE activity fine-tunes the abundance of a cis-carotene-derived signal that regulates the PIF3/HY5 module and plastid biogenesis
No full textPHYTOENE SYNTHASE (PSY) is a rate-limiting enzyme catalysing the first committed step of carotenoid biosynthesis, and changes in PSY gene expression and/or protein activity alter carotenoid composition and plastid differentiation in plants. Four genetic variants of PSY (psy-4, psy-90, psy-130, and psy-145) were identified using a forward genetics approach that rescued leaf virescence phenotypes and plastid abnormalities displayed by the Arabidopsis CAROTENOID ISOMERASE (CRTISO) mutant ccr2 (carotenoid and chloroplast regulation 2) when grown under a shorter photoperiod. The four non-lethal mutations affected alternative splicing, enzyme–substrate interactions, and PSY:ORANGE multi-enzyme complex binding, constituting the dynamic post-transcriptional fine-tuning of PSY levels and activity without changing localization to the stroma and protothylakoid membranes. psy genetic variants did not alter total xanthophyll or β-carotene accumulation in ccr2, yet they reduced specific acyclic linear cis-carotenes linked to the biosynthesis of a currently unidentified apocarotenoid signal regulating plastid biogenesis, chlorophyll biosynthesis, and photomorphogenic regulation. ccr2 psy variants modulated the PHYTOCHROME-INTERACTING FACTOR 3/ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL 5 (PIF3/HY5) ratio, and displayed a normal prolamellar body formation in etioplasts and chlorophyll accumulation during seedling photomorphogenesis. Thus, suppressing PSY activity and impairing PSY:ORANGE protein interactions revealed how cis-carotene abundance can be fine-tuned through holoenzyme–metabolon interactions to control plastid development