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Why the government is failing international students during Covid-19 and its likely impacts
No full textBertone, SD ORCiD: 0000-0002-3028-306X; Khan, SI ORCiD: 0000-0001-8807-3121Recent articles (Doughney, 2020: Morris, 2020) have documented the major contribution made by international students to the Australian economy. Morris (2020) indicated that in 2019 there were over 750,000 international full fee paying students in Australia, half of them living in rental accommodation and working in low paid jobs in hospitality, retail, food delivery etc. Hurley (2020) indicated that for every 1.15 in the economy. They also paid taxes, both direct and indirect. Now with the advent of the
COVID-19 crisis, international students are being told that if it gets difficult for them, they have the option to go home (Prime Minister Scott Morrison,
ABC TV News, 3 April 2020). Many of them have lost their jobs since the temporary demise of large parts of the sectors they worked in due to the
introduction of strict government restrictions. Since international students have no access to Centrelink payments, wage subsidies or public health care,
their situation could get difficult indeed
Does bank profitability stimulate economic growth in the Arab region?
No full textAziz, OG ORCiD: 0000-0001-7140-4174This study empirically investigates the impact of bank profitability, as a complementary measure of financial development, on growth in the Arab countries between 1985 and 2016. Using a generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation to test the impact of the bank profitability on growth, this study utilises two variables in the econometric model which are return on assets and return on equity. This study reveals that both variables of bank profitability are positive and significant. This confirms that the bank profitability, beside other financial development variables, has positive impact on the growth. This study points out some important implications based on this result
Sex differences in emotional insight after traumatic brain injury
No full textZupan, BA ORCiD: 0000-0002-4603-333XObjective: To compare sex differences in alexithymia (poor emotional processing) in males and females with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and uninjured controls. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: TBI rehabilitation facility in the United States and a university in Canada. Participants: Sixty adults with moderate to severe TBI (62% men) and 60 uninjured controls (63% men) (N=120). Interventions: Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures: Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 (TAS-20). Results: Uninjured men had significantly higher (worse) alexithymia scores than uninjured female participants on the TAS-20 (P=.007), whereas, no sex differences were found in the TBI group (P=.698). Men and women with TBI had significantly higher alexithymia compared with uninjured same-sex controls (both P<.001). The prevalence of participants with scores exceeding alexithymia sex-based norms for men and women with TBI was 37.8% and 47.8%, respectively, compared with 7.9% and 0% for men and women without TBI. Conclusions: Contrary to most findings in the general population, men with TBI were not more alexithymic than their female counterparts with TBI. Both men and women with TBI have more severe alexithymia than their uninjured same-sex peers. Moreover, both are equally at risk for elevated alexithymia compared with the norms. Alexithymia should be evaluated and treated after TBI regardless of patient sex. © 2020 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicin
School-based physical education: Physical activity and implementation barriers in Vietnamese elementary schools
No full textTo, GQ ORCiD: 0000-0002-3355-6326Information about the Vietnamese physical education (PE) programme is limited due to a lack of relevant studies. Using the Health Optimising Physical Education as a conceptual framework, this study examined students’ physical activity (PA) levels in the fifth-grade PE programme in Vietnam and barriers to programme implementation. Eight schools (28 PE classes) were randomly selected for assessing students’ PA levels, lesson context, and PA promotion during PE lessons using the System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time. In-depth interviews were also conducted with school administrators, PE instructors, and classroom teachers using semi-structured guides to examine barriers influencing the implementation of the current PE programme. Results showed students spent 33% of PE time in moderate–vigorous physical activity (MVPA), which is less than the international recommendation of 50%. The amount of MVPA varied by school type, instructor gender and qualification. Programme implementation was negatively affected by the current structure that limits autonomy, a proclivity for a “one size fits all” approach to teaching PE, and limited motivation for PE instructors to improve their teaching. The low perceived value of PE, lack of support and professional development for existing PE instructors, and an over-emphasis on sports training due to available financial incentives were also identified as important barriers that affected programme implementation. Addressing these barriers could help improve the quality of the Vietnamese PE programme
Professional relationships between nephrology clinicians and patients: A systematic review
No full textCousins, MJ ORCiD: 0000-0002-8457-0902Background: Nephrology nurses and patients expressed that the clinician–patient relationship in a haemodialysis (HD) unit might be best described as being part of an extended family. However, there is a risk that professional boundaries may become blurred due to the perceived closeness of this relationship. Objective: This systematic review sought to explore the experiences of nephrology clinicians in establishing and maintaining a professional relationship with people experiencing end-stage kidney disease who are receiving HD treatment. Method: A search strategy was created using JBI systematic review guidelines for six databases (PubMed, CINAHL, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Cochrane Library and JBI library). Qualitative studies were eligible for inclusion when the participants were nephrology clinicians who provided HD treatment or management of patients in a hospital outpatient HD unit or a community HD centre. Results: Three studies met the inclusion criteria and the findings were synthesised into two themes (1) establishing a professional relationship and (2) coping mechanisms. All three studies focused on nephrology clinicians realising the importance of treating patients as individuals. Nephrology clinicians demonstrated advanced communication skills, empathy and compassion when interacting with patients, which seemed to contribute to patient satisfaction. This systematic review found some qualitative evidence to explain how nephrology clinicians establish and maintain a professional clinician–patient relationship with patients in the HD unit. Conclusion: This review highlighted a significant gap in research concerning the trajectory of the clinician–patient relationship across all members of the renal multidisciplinary health care team. © 2020 European Dialysis and Transplant Nurses Association/European Renal Care Associatio
Phenolic compounds with antioxidant properties from canola meal extracts inhibit adipogenesis
No full textStrappe, P ORCiD: 0000-0003-0100-0558The extraction of phenolic compounds from canola meal produces functional health products and renders the canola meal a more digestible animal feed. The extracted phenolics may have novel bioactivity worth investigation. In this study, several solvents were evaluated for their ability to extract phenolic compounds from canola meal: Water (WE) and various 80% organic solvent/water mixtures of methanol (ME), acetone (AE), ethanol (EE), butanol (BE), chloroform (CE) and hexane (HE). The in vitro antioxidant and anti-obesity properties of various extracts were investigated. Anti-obesity properties were studied using adipogenic differentiation inhibition of a murine mesenchymal stem cell line (C3H10T1/2) and a pancreatic lipase inhibition assay. AE, ME, and BE showed significant (p < 0.05) adipogenesis and pancreatic lipase inhibitory activities and may have more pharmacological properties. AE down-regulated the gene expression of the major adipogenic transcription factor, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR), correlating to phenolic content in a dose-dependent manner. The chemical characterization of AE revealed the presence of sinapic acid, ferulic acid, and kaempferol derivatives as main bioactive phenols. © 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland
Impact of land use/cover changes on soil erosion in Western Kenya
No full textKoech, RK ORCiD: 0000-0002-0563-6687This study examined the impact of land use/cover changes on soil erosion in western Kenya in the years 1995 and 2017. The study used the GIS-based Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) modelling approach and remote sensing assessment. The results showed that the average soil loss through sheet, rill and inter-rill soil erosion processes was 0.3 t/ha/y and 0.5 t/ha/y, in the years 1995 and 2017, respectively. Of the total soil loss, farms contributed more than 50%, both in 1995 and 2017 followed by grass/shrub (7.9% in 1995 and 11.9% in 2017), forest (16% in 1995 and 11.4% in 2017), and the least in built-up areas. The highest soil erosion rates were observed in farms cleared from forests (0.84 tons/ha) followed by those converted from grass/shrub areas (0.52 tons/ha). The rate of soil erosion was observed to increase with slope due to high velocity and erosivity of the runoff. Areas with high erodibility in the region are found primarily in slopes of more than 30 degrees, especially in Mt. Elgon, Chereng’anyi hills and Elgeyo escarpments. This study forms the first multi-temporal assessment to explore the extent of soil erosion and seeks to provide a useful knowledge base to support decision-makers in developing strategies to mitigate soil erosion for sustainable crop production
The effectiveness of chemical restraint in managing acute agitation and aggression: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials
No full textGerace, A ORCiD: 0000-0001-8272-8799One approach to manage people with behaviours of concern including agitated or aggressive behaviours in health care settings is through the use of fast‐acting medication, called chemical restraint. Such management often needs to be delivered in crisis situations to patients who are at risk of harm to themselves or others. This paper summarizes the available evidence on the effectiveness and safety of chemical restraint from 21 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving 3788 patients. The RCTs were of moderate to high quality and were conducted in pre‐hospital, hospital emergency department, or ward settings. Drugs used in chemical restraint included olanzapine, haloperidol, droperidol, risperidol, flunitrazepam, midazolam, promethazine, ziprasidone, sodium valproate, or lorazepam. There was limited comparability between studies in drug choice, combination, dose, method of administration (oral, intramuscular, or intravenous drip), or timing of repeat administrations. There were 31 outcome measures, which were inconsistently reported. They included subjective measures of behaviours, direct measures of treatment effect (time to calm; time to sleep), indirect measures of agitation (staff or patient injuries, duration of agitative or aggressive episodes, subsequent violent episodes), and adverse events. The most common were time to calm and adverse events. There was little clarity about the superiority of any chemical method of managing behaviours of concern exhibited by patients in Emergency Departments or acute mental health settings. Not only is more targeted research essential, but best practice recommendations for such situations requires integrating expert input into the current evidence base
Adaptive midpoint relay selection: Enhancing throughput in D2D communications
No full textGordon, SD ORCiD: 0000-0003-4090-1199D2D communications in cellular networks can leverage social information of users in relay selection to improve its performance. As a relay can be deployed to either extend the range or improve quality of D2D communications, social trust among users in the network can be exploited for selection of relay nodes to yield higher throughput. The analysis of results shows that midpoint relay selection scheme with social trust offers higher throughput compared to hybrid relay selection scheme. It is seen that the maximum of average throughput is significantly dependent on the lower limit of the support rather than how fast the distribution tail decays. Moreover, performance of the scheme is unsatisfactory when social trust among the nodes are high. We have proposed adaptive midpoint relay selection scheme that is designed to achieve the performance of MRSS-ST when the social trust among the nodes are low and achieve the performance of M-Nearest when the social trust are high. © 2020, Springer Nature Switzerland AG
Locomotive adhesion control + rail friction field measurements = ?
No full textCole, CR ORCiD: 0000-0001-8840-7136; Nielsen, DA ORCiD: 0000-0002-5273-9021; Spiryagin, M ORCiD: 0000-0003-1197-898X; Wolfs, PJ ORCiD: 0000-0001-7048-1231; Wu, Q ORCiD: 0000-0001-9407-5617The design and validation of a locomotive adhesion control system is a very complex multi-disciplinary engineering problem that not only requires consideration of the electrical system but also requires to go very deeply into mechanical and material engineering as well as tribology. The typical approach for advanced locomotive traction studies focuses on the development of the following models and algorithms: train dynamics modelling, multibody locomotive model, traction power system model, adhesion control algorithms, wheelrail contact modelling and track models. These are required to cover all the physical processes present in the system. One of the complicated parts of this system is how to represent the creep force characteristics at the wheel-rail interface properly without measurements being performed on existing or modified/upgraded locomotives under traction or braking because any locomotive field measurements involve high testing costs. This paper discusses how this can be avoided using friction measurement data obtained in the field with an experimental tribometer and how that data should be interpreted for locomotive studies, and how it might affect locomotive performance outcomes considering locomotive adhesion control strategies. Numerical experiments have been performed by the co-simulation of two full traction control systems developed in Simulink, and two locomotive mechanical models developed in Gensys multibody software, representing two standard gauge heavy haul locomotives running under traction operational scenarios. All possible limitations and results observed during the development and implementation studies have been discussed