38869 research outputs found
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Microplastic accumulation in a Zostera marina L. bed at Deerness Sound, Orkney, Scotland
No full textCapper, A ORCiD: 0000-0002-4922-0253Seagrasses have global distribution and are highly productive and economically valuable habitats. They are sensitive and vulnerable to a range of human-induced pressures, including ongoing exposure to marine litter, such as microplastic particles (50% of the total microplastics observed across all samples. This is the first known study on Z. marina to describe microplastic loading within a seagrass bed and to identify microplastic adherence to seagrass blades.© 2020 Elsevier Lt
Effects of solarisation on soil thermal-physical properties under different soil treatments: A review
No full textGyasi-Agyei, Y ORCiD: 0000-0002-2671-1180Solarisation technology allows for improving soil quality as well as crop productivity. The influence of the properties and method of use of plastic materials used to cover soils, such as the number and thickness of layers, and colour of the material, significantly alters soil thermal-physical properties. These effects can be managed and modified to increase solarisation efficiency by achieving a decrease in vapour movement between the soil surface and the atmosphere. Also, soil solarisation establishes microclimates that increase the effectiveness of fertilisers, thus modifying the soil thermal-physical properties. However, there is a lack of complete and general overview of this widely used technology. This paper presents a comprehensive review of soil solarisation technology and describes the impacts it has on soil thermal-physical properties when combined with different soil treatments. It is well-known that the efficiency of solarisation technology increases with temperature. However, we describe that the heat transfer effectivity depends on several different soil thermal-physical properties such as the soil thermal flux, conductivity, diffusivity, soil volumetric heat capacity, and soil temperature. Other soil physical properties such as soil texture, soil bulk density, soil porosity, and soil volumetric moisture content have con-tributions to make. Moreover, there are several external factors which significantly modify the effectiveness of heat transfer under different solarisation conditions, particularly the weather conditions, the type of tillage management, properties of plastics used and moisture content. We conclude that more research needs to be done: (i) to quantify the degree to which soil thermal-physical properties affect soil solarisation technology, and (ii) to assess the impact of soil technology on crop productivity and quality
Learning lessons from rail safety storytelling: Telling safety like it is
No full textKlockner, KD ORCiD: 0000-0003-1981-7515There is a growing belief that people tend to modify their safety-related behaviour after hearing compelling stories about accidents, incidents and safety occurrences. It is, therefore, possible that through the appropriate structuring of a narrative around post accident storytelling, a remarkable persuasive power exists to convey the personal relevance of safety-related information from a lesson learnt perspective.
This research was interested in examining the use of storytelling as a method of sharing the lessons learned after a rail safety accident. The increasing recognition of the use of narrative in organisations continues to gain momentum as businesses seek alternative ways to optimise their safety and performance outcomes.
While the actual content of the narrative is recognised as important, of particular interest is the understanding of the key elements of the structure of the narrative used by experienced rail safety professionals who possess the art of storytelling.
Managers from a large commercial rail company who practice storytelling were interviewed and the structure of their storytelling methodology was examined. Results indicate that four main themes come into play and revealed that stories should encompass ‘sensemaking’, ‘trust’, ‘content’ and ‘person’ and when applied via an effective delivery method resulted in the subsequent uptake of a modification of workers' safety-related behaviour.
This research provides a platform for understanding how to enhance both safety communication messages and more importantly shared safety learnings postaccident or other safety occurrences using storytelling
Oxidative stress in alzheimer’s disease: A review on emergent natural polyphenolic therapeutics
No full textJohnson, JB ORCiD: 0000-0002-9172-8587; Naiker, M ORCiD: 0000-0002-6844-8325Objectives: The aim of this research was to review the literature on Alzheimer’s disease (AD) with a focus on polyphenolics as antioxidant therapeutics.
Design: This review included a search of the literature up to and including September 2019 in PubMed and MEDLINE databases using search terms that included: Alzheimer’s Disease, Aβ peptide, tau, oxidative stress, redox, oxidation, therapeutic, antioxidant, natural therapy, polyphenol. Any review articles, case studies, research reports and articles in English were identified and subsequently interrogated. Citations within relevant articles were also examined for consideration in this review.
Results: Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that is clinically characterised by the progressive deterioration of cognitive functions and drastic changes in behaviour and personality. Due to the significant presence of oxidative damage associated with abnormal Aβ accumulation and neurofibrillary tangle deposition in AD patients’ brains, antioxidant drug therapy has been investigated as potential AD treatment. In particular, naturally occurring compounds, such as plant polyphenols, have been suggested to have potential neuroprotective effects against AD due to their diverse array of physiological actions, which includes potent antioxidant effects.
Conclusions: The impact of oxidative stress and various mechanisms of pathogenesis in AD pathophysiology was demonstrated along with the therapeutic potential of emergent antioxidant drugs to address such mechanism of oxidation
Validity and bias on the online active Australia survey: Activity level and participant factors associated with self-report bias
No full textVandelanotte, CL ORCiD: 0000-0002-4445-8094BACKGROUND: This study examined the criterion validity of the online Active Australia Survey, using accelerometry as the criterion, and whether self-report bias was related to level of activity, age, sex, education, body mass index and health-related quality of life. METHODS: The online Active Australia Survey was validated against the GENEActiv accelerometer as a direct measure of activity. Participants (n = 344) wore an accelerometer for 7 days, completed the Active Australia Survey, and reported their health and demographic characteristics. A Spearman's rank coefficient examined the association between minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity recorded on the Active Australia Survey and GENEActiv accelerometer. A Bland-Altman plot illustrated self-report bias (the difference between methods). Linear mixed effects modelling was used to examine whether participant factors predicted self-report bias. RESULTS: The association between moderate-to-vigorous physical activity reported on the online Active Australia Survey and accelerometer was significant (rs = .27, p < .001). Participants reported 4 fewer minutes per day on the Active Australia Survey than was recorded by accelerometry (95% limits of agreement -104 - 96 min) but the difference was not significant (t(343) = -1.40, p = .16). Self-report bias was negatively associated with minutes of accelerometer-recorded moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and positively associated with mental health-related quality of life. CONCLUSIONS: The online Active Australia Survey showed limited criterion validity against accelerometry. Self-report bias was related to activity level and mental health-related quality of life. Caution is recommended when interpreting studies using the online Active Australia Survey
Research combining physical activity and sleep: A bibliometric analysis
No full textVandelanotte, CL ORCiD: 0000-0002-4445-8094; Vincent, GE ORCiD: 0000-0002-7036-7823This study used a bibliometric analysis through the Scopus database to examine papers that combined physical activity and sleep, published between 1979 and 2018. Bibliometric indicators of productivity included publication volume and citation distribution, top 10 authors, average authors per paper, single- and multicountry collaboration, collaborative index, top 10 countries, leading journals, highly cited papers and network visualization for coauthorship, international collaboration, and co-occurrence of author keywords. The initial search identified 1,509 papers, of which 607 passed through comprehensive screening and were included in the final analysis. Most of the papers were research articles (90.8%) and published in English (90.8%). Most papers (81.4%) were published within the past decade, 2009–2018. The mean number of papers published per year was 15.2, the mean number of citations per paper was 257.3, and the mean number of authors per paper was 5.5. International collaboration was evident for 21.6% of the papers, and 95.6% of papers were multiauthored. The most prolific publishing institutions and authors were from the United States, Canada, Australia, Switzerland, and Brazil. Keyword analysis suggested that almost all age groups and study designs were covered, but most papers focus on noncommunicable diseases. Although there has been a rise in scientific production on combined physical activity and sleep research in recent years, future work in this area should include researchers from developing countries. © The Author(s) 2019
Why don't bushfire warnings work as intended? Responses to official warnings during bushfires in New South Wales, Australia
No full textAustralian fire services provide two broad types of warning to people in bushfire (or wildfire) risk areas. Fire Danger Ratings communicate the possible consequences of a bushfire due to its rate of spread, intensity and difficulty of suppression. Warnings are also issued to alert people to impending bushfires and advise them how to respond. This paper examines how people threatened and affected by bushfires in New South Wales, Australia, in 2017 understood, interpreted and acted upon warning messages they received. The research involved 113 semi-structured interviews and an online survey of 549 households. Results indicate that while most people found warnings easy to understand and useful, many did not respond in ways intended by fire services. Many waited until they were threatened before they evacuated, while others stayed to defend houses and property, assist or rescue other people, and protect pets and animals. Notably, the research highlights the tendency for people to seek confirmation of the bushfire threat before taking protective action, most commonly to avoid unnecessary evacuation and its associated costs. Furthermore, the research identifies three key messages in bushfire warnings that are not personally meaningful for many people because they do not align with how they are likely to respond to a bushfire. These include: (1) people should leave bushfire risk areas on days of Catastrophic fire danger, before there is a fire; (2) houses are not defendable under Catastrophic conditions; and (3) people should ‘leave early’. The paper offers suggestions on how fire authorities can provide better information to help people to make more effective decisions by acknowledging and working within the context in which warnings are understood, interpreted and acted upon. © 2020 Elsevier Lt
Landscape transformation alters functional diversity in coastal seascapes
No full textFlint, N ORCiD: 0000-0003-4331-4109Ecography published by John Wiley & Sons on behalf of Nordic Society Oikos The ecological impacts of landscape modification and urbanisation have transformed the composition of plant and animal assemblages, and altered the condition of ecosystems globally. Landscape transformation influences the spatial distribution of species and ecological functions by selecting for generalist species with wide ecological niches, which can adapt to opportunities in highly-modified environments. These effects of landscape modification can shape functional diversity on land, but it is not clear whether they have similar functional consequences in the sea. We used estuaries as a model system to test how landscape transformation alters functional diversity in coastal seascapes, and measured how variation in level of urbanisation, catchment modification and habitat loss influenced fish diversity across thirty-nine estuaries in eastern Australia. Fish were surveyed with baited remote underwater video stations and functional diversity was indexed with three metrics that describe variation in the functional traits and niche space of assemblages. The extent of landscape transformation in the catchment of each estuary was associated with variation in the functional diversity of estuarine fish assemblages. These effects were, however, not what we expected as functional diversity was highest in modified estuaries that supported a large area of both urban and grazing land in their catchments, were bordered by a small area of natural terrestrial vegetation and that contained a moderate area of mangroves. Zoobenthivores and omnivores dominated assemblages in highly-modified estuaries, and piscivorous fishes were common in natural waterways. Our results demonstrate, that the modification and urbanisation of ecosystems on land can alter functional diversity in the sea. Intense landscape transformation appears to select for abundant generalists with wide trophic niches, and against species with specialised diets, and we suggest that these changes might have fundamental consequences for ecosystem functioning in estuaries, and other highly modified seascapes. © 2019 The Authors
Cross-country analysis of tourist activities based on venue-referenced social media data
No full textInsights into the activity preferences of specific tourist groups are crucial for tourism practitioners in developing appropriate travel packages that attract tourists and meet their expectations. Tourist activities across different countries often vary depending on what these destinations can offer. Existing attempts to obtain comprehensive information on tourist activities across multiple countries often fail because of the limitations of traditional data collection approaches, which are heavily reliant on surveys and questionnaires. This study proposes to address the challenge by introducing a new type of data called venue-referenced social media data (VR-SMD), which can effectively determine various tourist activities and the temporal preferences for each activity at different destinations. We demonstrate the effectiveness of VR-SMD using a case study that focuses on Malaysian outbound travelers. Their cross-cultural differences from another travel group, namely, Thai outbound travelers, are highlighted through a comparative analysis. Analysis results provide valuable insights for various tourism applications
A state of the art on the structural performance of fabric formwork systems
No full textTahmoorian, F ORCiD: 0000-0002-5158-2077Fabric Formworks which are made using textile sheets such as Polyolefin, Polyesters/Polyethylene Terephthalate, nylon and Polypropylene are being used instead of conventional formworks in the construction industry. This article summarises significant studies and provides an updated review of references on the structural performance of fabric formworks over the last decade. The survey
showed that they could be categorised into seven themes; namely, “Feasibility studies and manufacturing methods of complex structural elements”; “Finite element modelling, structural optimizing and form-finding themes”; “Pneumatic / Vacuumatic formwork theme”; “Durability, sustainability, efficiency and quality improvement”; “Cable-net fabric formwork theme”; “Stayin-place structural formworks theme”; and “Review papers”. These categories comprise about
25%, 17%, 15%, 15%, 10%, 6% and 6% of related studies respectively