38869 research outputs found
Sort by
A holistic review of the present and future drivers of the renewable energy mix in Maharashtra, State of India
No full textDas, NK ORCiD: 0000-0002-3396-4194A strong energy mix of Renewable Energy Sources (RESs) is needed for sustainable development in the electricity sector. India stands as one of the fastest developing countries in terms of RES production. In this framework, the main objective of this review is to critically scrutinize the Maharashtra state energy landscape to discover the gaps, barriers, and challenges therein and to provide recommendations and suggestions for attaining the RES target by 2022. This work begins with a discussion about the RES trends in various developing countries. Subsequently, it scrutinizes the installed capacity of India, reporting that Maharashtra state holds a considerable stake in the Indian energy mix. A further examination of the state energy mix is carried out by comparing the current and future targets of the state action plan. It is found that the installed capacity of RESs accounts for about 22% of the state energy mix. Moreover, the current installed capacity trend is markedly different from the goals set out in the action plan of the state. Notably, the installed capacity of solar energy is four times less than the target for 2020. Importantly, meeting the targeted RES capacity for 2022 presents a great challenge to the state. Considering this, an analysis of the state’s strengths, barriers, and challenges is presented. Moreover, strong suggestions and recommendations are provided to clear the track to reach the desired destination. This can be useful for the government agencies, research community, private investors, policymakers, and stakeholders involved in building a sustainable energy system for the future.</jats:p
Occupational therapy and activity pacing with hospital-associated deconditioned older adults: A randomised controlled trial
No full textBrowne, M ORCiD: 0000-0002-2668-6229; Timmer, AJ ORCiD: 0000-0001-6668-727X; Unsworth, CA ORCiD: 0000-0001-6430-2823Purpose: To examine the efficacy of an occupational therapy activity pacing intervention with deconditioned older adults in rehabilitation. Method: Randomised, single-blind controlled trial of deconditioned older adults admitted for rehabilitation following treatment of an acute medical condition, allocated to intervention [n = 51, males = 14, mean age = 80(8)] or control [n = 49, males = 12, mean age = 81(7)] group. The intervention group received individual and group activity pacing education with practice and application of techniques to daily activities and the home environment, while the control group received a typical occupational therapy program, which included brief activity pacing education. Outcomes included participation in daily living skills, health status (including pain and fatigue symptoms), self-efficacy in daily activities and activity pacing techniques using the Australian Therapy Outcome Measures-Occupational Therapy (AusTOMs-OT), Short Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36), Self-Efficacy Gauge and Activity Pacing Assessment. Results: No differences in groups at admission. Comparison at discharge and three months post discharge using 2 × 2 mixed ANOVA demonstrated small differences in only one scale of the activity limitation domain of the AusTOMs-OT. No significant differences were found in other scales or domains of the AusTOMs-OT, nor secondary outcome measures. Conclusion: Activity pacing in addition to typical occupational therapy during inpatient rehabilitation did not demonstrate benefits to participants in the management of their daily activities on returning home post hospitalisation.Implications for rehabilitation Activity pacing has been identified as one of the commonly used occupational therapy interventions utilised with deconditioned older adults in rehabilitation. An activity pacing intervention in conjunction with typical occupational therapy demonstrated no benefits for deconditioned older adults over typical occupational therapy which included basic education on this topic. Continuation of the activity pacing intervention into the outpatient setting may be of benefit to older adults and requires further investigation. © 2018, © 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
The ‘lifecycle’ of human beings: A call to explore vector-borne diseases from an ecosystem perspective
No full textMuurlink, OT ORCiD: 0000-0002-8251-9521; Taylor-Robinson, AW ORCiD: 0000-0001-7342-8348Background: Dengue virus, an Aedes mosquito-borne flavivirus, is associated with close to 400 million reported infections per annum worldwide. Reduction of dengue virus transmission depends entirely on limiting Aedes breeding or preventing adult female contact with humans. Currently, the World Health Organization promotes the strategic approach of integrated vector management in order to optimise resources for mosquito control.
Main text: Neglected tropical disease researchers focus on geographical zones where the incidence of clinical cases, and prevalence of vectors, are high. In combatting those infectious diseases such as dengue that affect mainly low-income populations in developing regions, a mosquito-centric approach is frequently adopted. This prioritises environmental factors that facilitate or impede the lifecycle progression of the vector. Climatic variables (such as rainfall and wind speed) that impact the vector’s lifecycle either causally or by happenstance also affect the human host’s ‘lifecycle’, but in very different ways. The socioeconomic impacts of the same variables that influence vector control impact host vulnerability but at different points in the human lifecycle to those of the vector. Here, we argue that the vulnerability of the vector and that of the host interact in complex and unpredictable ways that are characteristic of (complex and intransigent) ‘wicked problems’. Moreover, they are treated by public health programs in ways that may ignore this complexity. This opinion draws on recent evidence showing that the best climate predictors of the scale of dengue outbreaks in Bangladesh cannot be explained through a simple vector-to-host causal model.
Conclusions: In mapping causal pathways for vector-borne diseases this article makes a case to elevate the lifecycle of the human host to a level closer in equivalence to that of the vector. Here, we suggest value may be gained from transferring Rittel and Webber’s concept of a wicked (social) problem to dengue, malaria and other mosquito-transmitted public health concerns. This would take a ‘problem definition’ rather than a ‘solution-finding’ approach, particularly when considering problems in which climate impacts simultaneously on human and vector vulnerability
Complex trauma and ecological vulnerability: Development of a resources perspective framework to inform longitudinal examination
No full textKeane, CA ORCiD: 0000-0001-8134-7388Translation and application of current complex trauma knowledge for high-risk groups such as the homeless is needed. Existing research in this area has been limited by lack of a cohesive theoretical framework that captures the dynamic and heterogeneous nature of complex trauma within the context of ecological vulnerability (e.g. homelessness). This paper aims to address these gaps by proposing an integrated resources perspective framework situating Layne and colleagues’ (Layne et al. 2009, 2010) concept of ‘risk factor caravans’ as central focus. We demonstrate how the ‘risk factor caravan’ representation captures current theoretical and clinical insights into the pervasive and enduring consequences of complex trauma exposure. Personal resources are highlighted as key for understanding resource loss and gain in the current context. Longitudinal person-centered approaches as integral methodological considerations for future application of this proposed framework are examined.
implications for reducing barriers to access of available support services are discussed
Insider research: Representing peripheral voices and multiple identities when writing about personal trauma
No full textDodd, LT ORCiD: 0000-0001-5916-9386As an ‘insider’ researcher writing about personal trauma, I sought to reconcile my multiple identities in my doctoral thesis: scholar/researcher, creative writing practitioner, and trauma survivor evolving from the process of writing about trauma. Concerns arose about how I could insert these peripheral voices and multiple identities into my creative thesis, while paying attention to the tenets of scholarly rigour and my desire for creativity. This article presents a case study of the design of my thesis, where my research endeavour was to ‘re-story’ my self-narrative through ficto-memoir: a creative writing process whereby my personal experiences were fictionalised, but carried the same emotional affect and benefits as writing about real experiences. This article contends that creativity could still be achieved in a conventional academic thesis structure with a slightly modified format that allows for the insertion of an author’s parallel voices into the research and alignment with the creative work
GIS-based geomorphometric analysis for potential applications in reversing land and biosystem degradation
No full textKoech, RK ORCiD: 0000-0002-0563-6687Watershed morphometric assessment is about measurements and calculations of land surface forms for the purpose of understanding hydro-geomorphological character and patterns. Important natural environment geo-information and summary of the spatial characteristics
of Tana River Basin (TRB) in Kenya have been obtained through hydro-geomorphometric analysis. Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer Digital Elevation Model (ASTERDEM) data and ArcGIS (ESRI Inc., version 10.4.1) together with published mathematical equations were applied to extract morphometric parameters of the drainage basin, which covers a total area of 94,930 km2 and a span of
527.75 km. The quantitative morphometric analysis considered a total of 28 relief, areal, and linear hydromorphometric characteristics of the TRB. Relief parameters of the basin suggest moderate-to-low overall watershed
steepness, upland with rolling land surface patterns, rugged landforms susceptible to erosion and sediment transportation, and a landscape in evolution process tending towards maturity. This means stability of the land surface can be attained with intensive land degradation reversing strategies like erosion control measures. Areal characteristics further support the basin’s susceptibility to erosion as shown by stream length, stream drainage density, and circulatory ratio values. Also, the areal aspects portray peak runoffs with
short duration flashes. Linear parameter value results
such as bifurcation ratio imply that infiltration capacity
varies with stream orders across the watershed. This
hydro-geomorphometric analysis would be useful to
land and water managers, researchers and practitioners
of TRB, and other similar systems in designing and
planning soil and water conservation and management
practices such as soil erosion control, groundwater recharge
activities, catchment modelling, runoff and flood
studies, prospecting groundwater mapping, and biological
applications.
Keywords Stream network . Tana River watershed .
Drainage density . Soil erosion . ASTERDEM.
Morphometric analysi
Phytochemical activity against drug-resistant microbes: Current status and future prospects
No full textTaylor-Robinson, AW ORCiD: 0000-0001-7342-8348The advance of antimicrobial resistance to existing frontline therapeutics is widely recognized as a global health threat. In order to address the increasing challenge that this presents to patient treatment by the medical profession pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors continue to seek novel therapeutic agents to which pathogens, notably bacteria, are sensitive.
The discovery of antibiotics in the last century led to a rapid and profound reduction in morbidity and mortality associated with commonly occurring bacterial diseases. However, the ongoing heavy reliance and indiscriminate use has resulted, due to genetic mutation under selective pressure, in the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. In searching for new commercial sources of antimicrobials crude extracts of medicinal plants have attracted attention. The wide range of metabolites – for example, alkaloids, tannins and polyphenols – carry therapeutic potential as either novel antimicrobials or modifiers of existing resistance. Plant extracts containing such phytochemicals are able to bind to protein domains, thereby modifying or inhibiting protein-protein interactions. This enables these herbal derivatives to act as effective modulators of cellular metabolic pathways involved in the immune response, mitosis, apoptosis and signal transduction. Hence, the mechanism(s) of action may not necessarily be directly microbicidal but instead affect key events within the host cell that reduce the ability of bacteria, fungi and viruses to thrive in an intracellular environment.
In this chapter, a brief history of antibiotics and the spread of resistance is provided. We describe phytochemicals that are currently known and outline their antimicrobial activities. Future strategies to combat drug-resistant microbes are discussed
Losing sleep over it: Sleep in basketball players affected by game but not training workloads
No full textFox, J ORCiD: 0000-0001-8367-5297; O'Grady, CJ ORCiD: 0000-0003-1001-8725; Sargent, C ORCiD: 0000-0001-5340-4701; Scanlan, AT ORCiD: 0000-0002-0750-8697; Stanton, R ORCiD: 0000-0002-6684-5087Purpose: To examine the impact of workload volume during training sessions and games on subsequent sleep duration and sleep quality in basketball players. Methods: Seven semiprofessional male basketball players were monitored across preseason and inseason phases to determine training session and game workloads, sleep duration, and sleep quality. Training and game data were collected via accelerometers, heart-rate monitors, and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) and reported as PlayerLoad™ (PL), summated heart-rate zones, and session RPE (sRPE). Sleep duration and sleep quality were measured using wrist-worn activity monitors in conjunction with self-report sleep diaries. For daily training sessions and games, all workload data were independently sorted into tertiles representing low, medium, and high workload volumes. Sleep measures following low, medium, and high workloads and control nights (no training/games) were compared using linear mixed models. Results: Sleep onset time was significantly later following medium and high PL and sRPE game workloads compared with control nights (P .05). Conclusions: Following high PL and sRPE game workloads, basketball practitioners should consider strategies that facilitate longer time in bed, such as napping and/or adjusting travel or training schedules the following day. © 2020 Human Kinetics, Inc
Charging your phone using a public USB port? Beware of ‘juice jacking’
No full textChugh, R ORCiD: 0000-0003-0061-7206Have you ever used a public charging station to charge your mobile phone when it runs out of battery? If so, watch out for “juice jacking”.
Cybercriminals are on the prowl to infect your mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet computers and access your personal data, or install malware while you charge them.
Specifically, juice jacking is a cyber attack in which criminals use publicly accessible USB charging ports or cables to install malicious software on your mobile device and/or steal personal data from it
Australian exercise physiology student attitudes and knowledge towards people living with mental illness
No full textStanton, R ORCiD: 0000-0002-6684-5087Purpose: Physical activity is increasingly recognised as critical to improving physical and mental health (MH). Understanding the education and training requirements of exercise professionals will support better integration of these emerging MH professionals within the multidisciplinary MH team. The purpose of this study was to determine the exposure to, knowledge and attitudes of final year exercise physiology students towards people with mental illness (MI). Design/methodology/approach: Student exposure to and knowledge and attitudes of people living with MH were assessed via a 24-item online questionnaire. Findings: In total, n = 63 out of 78 eligible students participated (81%). Of the participants, 81% (n = 51) showed a favourable attitude towards people with MI and 68% (n = 43) of participants had good knowledge of topics relating to MI. Significant correlations existed between the total score for attitude and any exposure to MH issues and having undertaken placement as part of university training and knowledge and total scores. Further training and education are needed to better equip exercise physiology graduates to work with people with MI. Originality/value: This is the first study to examine the attitudes and knowledge of exercise physiology students towards people living with MI and their association with exposure to MI. Given the growing number of exercise professionals being integrated into multidisciplinary MH teams, this study may help to direct the delivery of associated training and education services. © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited