University of the Sunshine Coast
USC Research Bank - University of the Sunshine CoastNot a member yet
28663 research outputs found
Sort by
Comparative genomics confirms a rare melioidosis human-to-human transmission event and reveals incorrect phylogenomic reconstruction due to polyclonality
No full textHuman-to-human transmission of the melioidosis bacterium, Burkholderia pseudomallei , is exceedingly rare, with only a handful of suspected cases documented to date. Here, we used whole-genome sequencing (WGS) to characterize one such unusual B. pseudomallei transmission event, which occurred between a breastfeeding mother with mastitis and her child. Two strains corresponding to multilocus sequence types (STs)-259 and -261 were identified in the mother’s sputum from both the primary culture sweep and in purified colonies, confirming an unusual polyclonal infection in this patient. In contrast, primary culture sweeps of the mother’s breast milk and the child’s cerebrospinal fluid and blood samples contained only ST-259, indicating monoclonal transmission to the child. Analysis of purified ST-259 isolates showed no genetic variation between mother and baby isolates, providing the strongest possible evidence of B. pseudomallei human-to-human transmission, probably via breastfeeding. Next, phylogenomic analysis of all isolates, including the mother’s mixed ST-259/ST-261 sputum sample, was performed to investigate the effects of mixtures on phylogenetic inference. Inclusion of this mixture caused a dramatic reduction in the number of informative SNPs, resulting in branch collapse of ST-259 and ST-261 isolates, and several instances of incorrect topology in a global B. pseudomallei phylogeny, resulting in phylogenetic incongruence. Although phylogenomics can provide clues about the presence of mixtures within WGS datasets, our results demonstrate that this methodology can lead to phylogenetic misinterpretation if mixed genomes are not correctly identified and omitted. Using current bioinformatic tools, we demonstrate a robust method for bacterial mixture identification and strain parsing that avoids these pitfalls
Producing Children's Television in the On Demand Age
No full textDrawing on extended interviews with leading industry figures including successful children's content producers, this book provides a detailed insider account of the transforming creative circumstances of contemporary children's screen content. Streaming television services like Netflix and YouTube have increased in popularity while public service broadcasters like the BBC are investing heavily in children's content in an effort to stay relevant to UK children's culture. Despite their very considerable successes, the screen producers profiled here have had to adjust their creative practices and the screen content they produce, to television's distribution revolution. The comprehensive case studies in this book provide valuable insights into how creative practices, production norms and funding models in children's screen content have been altered and modified by the distribution revolution affecting all screen industries. [Book Synopsis
Bleeding Management Practices of Australian Cardiac Surgeons, Anesthesiologists and Perfusionists: A Cross-Sectional National Survey Incorporating the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) and COM-B Model
No full textPurpose: Excessive bleeding is an acknowledged consequence of cardiac surgery, occurring in up to 10% of adult patients. This clinically important complication leads to poorer patient outcomes. Clinical practice guidelines are available to support best practice however variability in bleeding management practice and related adverse outcomes still exist. This study had two objectives: 1) to gain insight into current bleeding management practice for adult cardiac surgery in Australia and how that compared to guidelines and literature; and 2) to understand perceived difficulties clinicians face implementing improvements in bleeding management.
Methods: A national cross-sectional questionnaire survey was utilized. Perspectives were sought from cardiac surgeons, cardiac anesthesiologists and perfusionists. Thirty-nine closed-ended questions focused on routine bleeding management practices to address pre and intra-operative care. One open-ended question was asked; “What would assist you to improve bleeding management with cardiac surgery patients?” Quantitative data were analysed with SPSS. Qualitative data were categorized into the domains of the Theoretical Domains Framework; the domains were then mapped to the COM-B model.
Results: Survey responses from 159 Anesthesiologists, 39 cardiac surgeons and 86 perfusionists were included (response rate 37%). Four of the recommendations queried in this survey were reported as routinely adhered to 76% of the time.
Conclusion: There is a wide variation in peri-operative bleeding management practice among cardiac anaesthesiologists, surgeons and perfusionists in Australian cardiac surgery units. Conceptualizing factors believed necessary to improve practice with the TDF and COM-B model found that bleeding management could be improved with a standardized approach including; point of care diagnostic assays, a bleeding management algorithm, access to concentrated coagulation factors, cardiac surgery specific bleeding management education, multidisciplinary team agreement and support, and an overarching national approach
Carrageenans from the Red Seaweed Sarconema filiforme Attenuate Symptoms of Diet-Induced Metabolic Syndrome in Rats
No full textCarrageenans are thickening and gelling agents that may provide health benefits. Iota (ι)-carrageenan, a linear sulfated polysaccharide, is produced by the red seaweed, Sarconema filiforme. This study investigated the potential of this seaweed as a functional food for the reversal of metabolic syndrome and possible mechanisms. Male Wistar rats were divided into four groups in a 16-week protocol: corn starch diet-fed rats (C); C rats supplemented with 5% S. filiforme for the last 8 weeks (CSF); high-carbohydrate, high-fat diet-fed rats (H); and H rats supplemented with 5% S. filiforme for the last 8 weeks (HSF). S. filiforme was produced in tank-based aquaculture yielding 27 g dry weight/day/m2 of culture area. H rats developed obesity, hypertension, dyslipidaemia, glucose intolerance, fatty liver and increased left ventricular collagen deposition. S. filiforme supplementation decreased body weight, abdominal and liver fat, systolic blood pressure, plasma total cholesterol concentrations, and plasma activities of alanine transaminase and aspartate transaminase. S. filiforme supplementation modulated gut microbiota without changing the Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes ratio. S. filiforme improved symptoms of high-carbohydrate, high-fat diet-induced metabolic syndrome in rats. Possible mechanisms include a reduced infiltration of inflammatory cells into organs as well as prebiotic actions in the gastrointestinal tract
Mental disorders and medical conditions associated with causing injury or death: A population-based study
No full textThe aim of the present study is to examine mental disorders and medical conditions associated with causing harm to another person in the general adult population. The sample (n= 22,138) was drawn from a cross-sectional survey designed to characterize mental health needs in France. Twelve-month DSM-IV axis I mental disorders and medical conditions, and lifetime occurrence of potentially traumatic events were assessed with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Overall, 2% (n=430) of the sample reported having injured or killed someone. Causing harm was associated with male gender, lower education level, and being unemployed. The great majority (85%) of those who caused harm had experienced two or more additional potentially traumatic events. When adjusting for gender, employment status, education and number of events experienced, causing harm was associated with certain anxiety disorders, drug dependence and lifetime suicide attempt but not with major depression or post-traumatic stress disorder. Furthermore, causing harm was not associated with medical conditions in multivariate analyses. These results highlight the need for clinicians to be particularly attentive to the psychological burden that may be experienced by those who have harmed or killed someone
Smart manufacturing and DVSM based on an Ontological approach
No full textSmart manufacturing is characterized as transparent shop floor production, rapid and intelligentresponses to dynamic changes, and a utilization of high-performance inter-cooperation networks. Smartmanufacturing and a global appetite for personalized products have transitioned industry from massproduction into the age of mass customization. Increased autonomy is slowly changing customer expecta-tions as well, enabling customers to modify a product design not only during an order, but sometimes evenlong after placing an order. In this context, this paper fills a gap by presenting a data-centric infrastructureto enable interaction with a “global, virtual data space,” which overcomes the problems with traditionaldirect access methods such as interoperability and compatibility. Using a Cyber-Physical System (CPS),resource monitoring on the shopfloor as well as multiple parities beyond the enterprise boundary willbe interconnected through this data-centric infrastructure. A semantic knowledge management sys-tem, which encompasses product lifecycle knowledge and manufacturing process ontology, is developedas the data schema in the data-centric infrastructure. In comparison to relational databases which areeffective at handling paper forms and tabular structure, the flexible schema of graph databases enablethese to handle dynamic and uncertain variables. These capabilities are deemed critical for a platformsupporting real-time information exchange between customer, manufacturer and collaborators. Oneadvantage of such a system allowing for real-time information exchange is that it enables last minuteorder changes by the customer, allowing for product design changes even after production has startedon the order. The other advantage is that it allows manufacturing managers to monitor the productivityof customer-directed, dynamic manufacturing processes by utilizing Dynamic Value Stream Mapping(DVSM) methods
A cross-sectional survey of nursing students' patient safety knowledge
No full textBackground:
Knowledge provides a foundation for safe and effective nursing practice. However, most previous studies have focused on exploring nursing students' self-reported perceptions of, or confidence in, their level of patient safety knowledge, rather than examining their actual levels of knowledge.
Objective:
The overarching objective of this study was to examine final year nursing students' levels of knowledge about key patient safety concepts.
Design:
A cross-sectional design was used for this study. Data collection was undertaken during 2018 using a web-based patient safety quiz with 45 multiple choice questions informed by the Patient Safety Competency Framework for Nursing Students. A Modified Angoff approach was used to establish a pass mark or ‘cut score’ for the quiz.
Setting and participants:
Nursing students enrolled in the final year of a pre-registration nursing program in Australia or New Zealand were invited to participate in the study.
Results:
In total, 2011 final year nursing students from 23 educational institutions completed the quiz. Mean quiz scores were 29.35/45 or 65.23% (SD 5.63). Participants achieved highest scores in the domains of person-centred care and therapeutic communication, and lowest scores for infection prevention and control and medication safety.
Based on the pass mark of 67.3% determined by the Modified Angoff procedure, 44.7% of students (n = 899) demonstrated passing performance on the quiz. For eight of the institutions, less than half of their students achieved a passing mark.
Conclusions:
Given the pivotal role that nurses play in maintaining patient safety, the results from this quiz raise important questions about the preparation of nursing students for safe and effective clinical practice. The institutional results also suggest the need for increased curricula attention to patient safety
The Effectiveness of Simulation-Based Team Training in Obstetrics Emergencies for Improving Technical Skills: a systematic review
No full textThis review explores the effectiveness of simulation-based team training in obstetric emergencies for improving technical skills. A literature search was conducted that included all articles to January 2018. A total of 21 articles were included from a potential 1327 articles. Each included study was assessed for impact of the training program using Kirkpatrick's 4-level model. Only the performance of technical skills was evaluated. Five studies reported on acceptance of simulation as an education tool at a level 1. Level 2 outcomes were reported in 7 studies where staff demonstrated improved skills in an educational setting. Three studies reported improved performance in a clinical setting at a level 3. Ten studies were categorized as level 4 and found that simulation learning was translated into improved techniques or maneuvers in reduced time frames in emergency situations of shoulder dystocia and postpartum hemorrhage. There was evidence that neonatal outcomes were improved
Exploring the forced closure of a brand community that is also a participatory culture
No full textPurpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate members’ reactions to the forced closure of a narrative video game brand community and its participatory culture. Design/methodology/approach: The BioWare Social Network forums closure was announced in a thread, which attracted 8,891 posts. These were analysed using thematic analysis, facilitated by the software program Leximancer and non-participatory netnography. Findings: The brand community and participatory culture members were predominantly distressed because they would lose their relationships with each other and access to the participatory culture’s creative output. Research limitations/implications: Previous research suggested that video game players cannot be fans and that player-generated content is exploitative. However, members, self-identified as fans, encouraged BioWare’s use of their player-created content for financial gain and articulated the community’s marketing benefits, all of which have implications for Fan and Game Studies’ researchers. Research using primary data could identify brand communities and participatory cultures’ specific benefits and their members’ attitudes about brands’ commercial use of their outputs. Further research is required to identify other products and brands not suitable for establishing brand communities on social media to determine the best ways to manage them. Practical implications: Addressing narrative brand communities’ complaints quickly can prevent negative financial outcomes and using social media sites for brand communities may not be suitable structurally or because of members’ privacy concerns. Furthermore, consumers often have intense emotional bonds with narrative brands, their communities and participatory cultures, which marketers may underestimate or misunderstand. Originality/value: This study of the unique phenomenon of the forced closure of a narrative brand community and its participatory culture increased understandings about them