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Stride Forward: Exploring the journey of running with multiple sclerosis. A qualitative study
No full textAim: To explore the experience of running from the perspective of individuals with multiple sclerosis, through the lens of health professionals.
Design: A qualitative descriptive study using thematic analysis.
Methods: Regular runners with a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis who were living in Australia were invited to participate in one of five semi-structured focus group interviews or an individual interview. Interviews were conducted online and analysed thematically using NVivo software. Demographic and running activity data for 18 runners were collected via survey and analysed using descriptive statistics.
Results: Eighteen participants (3 male, 15 female) with a median age of 44 years (IQR 12.8; range 31-57) participated in the study. Most met or exceeded the multiple sclerosis general aerobic exercise guidelines, running three days per week (IQR 2.0; range 1-4) for a median duration of 42 minutes per run (IQR 25; range 15-243). Six themes were generated from the interviews: running ability and adaptation, navigating environmental temperatures, ensuring environmental safety, managing health and MS, developing strategies to support running, and the need to run.
Conclusion: There are specific needs and challenges faced by individuals with multiple sclerosis who wish to engage in running. Physiotherapists can promote safe running by adapting training, ensuring environmental safety, and facilitating appropriate symptom management.
Key practice points:
• Tailored guidance and support from physiotherapists can be useful in engaging and sustaining safe participation in running for individuals with multiple sclerosis
• Physiotherapists can enable individuals with multiple sclerosis to maximise their potential in exercise such as running
Fate of cystic ovarian follicles, clinical responses, and pregnancy in dairy cows subjected to Ovsynch and timed artificial insemination, with or without an intravaginal progesterone device
No full textOur objectives were to determine the fate of cystic ovarian follicles (COF), clinical responses, and pregnancy to timed artificial insemination (TAI) in lactating Holstein cows subjected to an Ovsynch protocol, with or without insertion of a progesterone releasing intravaginal device (PRID). Cows diagnosed with at least 1 COF (≥ 25 mm) were given 100 µg of gonadorelin acetate (GnRH; day –10 and day –1), 500 µg cloprostenol (prostaglandin F2α; day –3), and TAI (day 0). Cows randomly received PRID® (n = 49) for 7 days or NO-PRID (n = 62). Transrectal ultrasonography was conducted on days –10, –3, 0, 1, and 11 to monitor ovarian responses and on day 32 for pregnancy diagnosis. Cows were also categorized as low progesterone (LP; n = 50) or high progesterone (HP; n = 61) based on plasma progesterone concentrations (< or ≥ 1.0 ng/ml) or luteal status (presence or absence of luteal tissue) on day –10. Mean (± SEM) diameter of COF was 33 ± 0.6 mm. Although ovarian responses did not differ by PRID treatment, a higher (p = 0.05) proportion of COF in HP compared to LP cows underwent complete luteinization (21 versus 8%) after 1st GnRH treatment. In contrast, the proportion of cows ovulating an existing follicle after 1st GnRH treatment was higher (p = 0.03) in LP than in HP cows (72 versus 54%). No interactions existed between treatment (PRID or NO-PRID) and progesterone categories (LP, HP) in any of the ovarian or endocrine responses. Furthermore, 10% of COF ovulated and 62% of other preexisting follicles ovulated after 1st GnRH treatment. A new follicle was detected (day –3) in 95% of cases and 84% ovulated after 2nd GnRH. Pregnancy per AI did not differ (p = 0.46) between PRID and NO-PRID cows (37 versus 45%). Plasma progesterone at TAI was elevated (p = 0.02) in LP than HP cows (0.7 versus 0.2 ng/ml) and pregnancy tended to be lower (p = 0.13) in LP than in HP cows (34 versus 48%). In summary, cows with COF responded normally to Ovsynch protocol; although incorporating PRID into the protocol was not beneficial, cows with HP status at the start of the protocol tended to have higher pregnancy per AI
Comment on ‘Investigating CO₂ sequestration via enhanced rock weathering: Effects of temperature and citric acid on dolomite and basalt’
No full textXu et al. (2024) reported a carefully conducted soil incubation study into CO2 capture following application of crushed dolomite or basalt, but we have re-examined their data and arrived at different conclusions. While Xu et al. collected sufficient C data to measure CO2 capture directly, they instead estimated it from the Mg balance and the assumption that release of Mg from the applied rock was associated with carbonic acid weathering. Although cation-based approaches have been used widely in the past, they do not provide an accurate estimate of CO2 capture in most situations (Green et al., 2024; Hasemer et al., 2024). We show here that when CO2 capture was calculated directly from the C balance, the effects of the treatments on CO2 capture differed from the original published estimates; dolomite addition led to CO2 capture, but basalt addition did not
Botanical women artists in northern Queensland: science, art, and entanglement, 1880–1999
No full textThis article explicates the contributions of two women botanical artists, Marian Ellis Rowan (1848–1922) and Vera Scarth-Johnson (1912–1999) to botanical science in northern Queensland. Despite the perception of botany as more accessible to women than other scientific fields, formal botanical institutions during the late Victorian era and early twentieth century remained male dominated. Within this context, Rowan’s privilege enabled her to navigate colonial and botanical networks, facilitating her access to the colonial frontier where she encountered and painted rare and newly identified plants. By contrast, in the late twentieth century, Scarth-Johnson expanded the scope of botanical illustration to encompass environmental activism and the inclusion of Indigenous ecological knowledge. Although Rowan and Scarth-Johnson operated in different historical and political contexts, collectively their work showed the entanglement of botanical science with broader environmental, cultural, and social issues specific to the Endeavour River valley in northern Queensland
Deep learning steganography for big data security using squeeze and excitation with inception architectures
No full textWith the exponential growth of big data in domains such as telemedicine and digital forensics, the secure transmission of sensitive medical information has become a critical concern. Conventional steganographic methods often fail to maintain diagnostic integrity or exhibit robustness against noise and transformations. In this study, we propose a novel deep learning-based steganographic framework that combines Squeeze-and-Excitation (SE) blocks, Inception modules, and residual connections to address these challenges. The encoder integrates dilated convolutions and SE attention to embed secret medical images within natural cover images, while the decoder employs residual and multi-scale Inception-based feature extraction for accurate reconstruction. Designed for deployment on NVIDIA Jetson TX2, the model ensures real-time, low-power operation suitable for edge healthcare applications. Experimental evaluation on MRI and OCT datasets demonstrates the model’s efficacy, achieving Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR) values of 39.02 and 38.75, and Structural Similarity Index (SSIM) values of 0.9757, confirming minimal visual distortion. This research contributes to advancing secure, high-capacity steganographic systems for practical use in privacy-sensitive environments
Mobile app-based intervention for paternal perinatal depression, anxiety, and stress: A randomised controlled trial
No full textBackground: Paternal perinatal mental health significantly impacts family outcomes, yet fathers are often overlooked and underserved in mental health services. This study evaluates the efficacy of a mindfulness-based cognitive behaviour therapy intervention delivered via mobile app to address paternal perinatal depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms. Method: A randomised controlled trial was conducted with perinatal fathers experiencing moderate depression, anxiety, or stress symptoms. Participants were assigned to either the Rover app mindfulness-based CBT intervention (n = 81) or an active control app, moodmonitor (n = 75). Primary outcomes were depression (EPDS), anxiety, and stress (DASS21); secondary outcomes included social support, parenting self-efficacy, and couple relationship quality. Post-test analysis occurred at four weeks, with an additional eight-week follow-up for the intervention group. Results: Contrary to hypotheses, no differences were found between groups for depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms. Both groups showed significant reductions in anxiety (intervention d = −1.7, control d = −1.94) and stress (intervention d = −2.9, control d = −2.8) and improved couple relationship quality. Rover users maintained improvements at 8-week follow-up. Fathers with severe baseline depression experienced greater reductions in depression using the Rover app (b = 5.36, p < 0.01). Limitations: Low adherence to the intervention and moderate attrition over the study duration. Conclusions: Although the intervention was acceptable to fathers, treatment adherence was low, highlighting the need for more engaging content. App-based interventions show potential benefits for paternal mental health, but user engagement must be improved. This study contributes to the growing literature on digital interventions for fathers' mental health and emphasizes the importance of including fathers in perinatal mental health research. Trial registration: Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry: ACTRN12621000275864
Combined Stable and Radiogenic Nd Isotope Characterisation of Sedimentary and Iron Formation Reference Materials by Double Spike MC‐ICP‐MS
No full textThis study presents combined stable (146Nd/144Nd, 148Nd/144Nd) and radiogenic (143Nd/144Nd) Nd isotope ratios obtained by double spike (DS) MC-ICP-MS for twenty-five geological reference materials (RMs), focusing particularly on the initial characterisation of sedimentary, phosphate and iron formation (IF) RMs. Pure Nd solutions and previously characterised igneous RMs of basaltic to rhyolitic composition were utilised to validate the DS MC-ICP-MS method. The (combined) expanded uncertainty (95% c.i.) on JNdi-1 normalised δ146/144Nd measurement results was improved by ca. 4 ppm when data collection was increased from 50 to 100 cycles, which translates into a shift from ±0.016 to ±0.012‰. Intermediate measurement precision (over nearly 3 years) of δ146/144Nd determined from Nd solutions (n = 4) and igneous, sedimentary and iron formation RMs with multiple digestions (n = 17) is on average ±0.016‰ 2s. Our obtained results agree well with published stable δ146/144Nd and radiogenic 143Nd/144Nd values for all igneous RMs analysed herein, attesting to the accuracy of the DS MC-ICP-MS approach. Sedimentary RMs are overall isotopically light with δ146/144Nd signatures between -0.057 and -0.006‰, overlapping closely with igneous RMs (-0.038 to +0.010‰ δ146Nd) and the bulk silicate Earth. The two phosphate RMs with δ146/144Nd of +0.040 and +0.090‰, are significantly heavier in comparison. In contrast, global IF RMs exhibit a large range in δ146/144Nd from -0.057 to +0.261‰ and include the heaviest (so far) recorded Nd stable isotope signature in a terrestrial geological material. Correlations of heavy δ146/144Nd with seawater proxies (e.g., Y/Ho) and light δ146/144Nd with tracers for continental contamination (e.g., Zr) suggest a strong potential for the application of stable Nd isotopes in sediments and IF for palaeo-reconstruction purposes
Harm reduction practises for users of psychedelic drugs: a scoping review
No full textPsychedelic use in naturalistic settings in Australia is increasing. Although the risks and harms of psychedelics from a physical perspective are low, psychedelic drugs carry a unique psychological risk profile which is increased in uncontrolled settings. Harm reduction support services align with the Australian Government’s Federal Drug strategy, which includes harm reduction as the third pillar in the overall harm minimisation approach to drug use for the period of 2017–2026. This study examined the harm reduction behaviours which users of psychedelics in naturalistic settings currently use, and any harm reduction interventions which have been developed for this population. A scoping review was undertaken using online databases, Psychinfo, Medline, CINAHL and Scopus. Articles were included if they explored or informed harm reduction practices for users of psychedelic drugs in naturalistic settings, which included articles that investigated motivations for psychedelic use. Twenty-seven papers were included, which contained only four intervention-based studies. Harm reduction or benefit enhancing strategies were categorised into three themes: before psychedelic use, during psychedelic experience and after the experience (integration). The review found that users of psychedelic drugs in naturalistic settings employ several different harm minimisation strategies, predominantly before and during use. Motivation for use, social setting and dosage amount were all found to influence the strategies used. There were a limited number of evaluated interventions for users of psychedelics in naturalistic settings, identifying the need for further research in this area. Challenges for harm reduction campaigns such as low uptake of drug checking services and low trust in government institutions were identified. Further research needs to consider the differing motivations of psychedelic users and recognise strategies that promote benefit enhancement and reduce risk
Advancing fishery dependent and independent habitat assessments using automated image analysis: A fisheries management agency case study
No full textAdvances in artificial intelligence and machine learning have revolutionised data analysis, including in the field of marine and fisheries sciences. However, many fisheries agencies manage sensitive or proprietary data that cannot be shared externally, which can limit the adoption of externally hosted artificial intelligence platforms. In this study, we develop and evaluate two residual network-based automatic image annotation models to process fishery specific habitat data to support ecosystem-based fisheries management in the Exmouth Gulf Prawn Managed Fishery in Western Australia. Using an extensive dataset of 13,128 manually annotated benthic habitat images, we train a grid-based annotation model and an image-level object detection model. Both models demonstrated high overall accuracy, with the grid-based model achieving 90.8% and the image-level model 92.9%. Patch-wise accuracy of the image-level model was 74.2%, highlighting its ability to classify broader spatial context without requiring point-based labelling. Precision and recall values for both models often exceeded 70% for dominant habitat classes such as unconsolidated substrate, macroalgae, and seagrass. The development of these models supports the potential for cost-effective, robust, and scalable in-house habitat classification for fishery or ecoregion specific habitat data to support timely decision-making. Further, the grid-based model uniquely integrates spatial precision with compatibility to existing manual data workflows, enabling seamless adoption within many existing fisheries monitoring programs. Despite limitations, such as a class imbalanced dataset, both models present a scalable, data secure solution for fisheries management agencies. This study establishes a foundation for integrating artificial intelligence driven image analysis of proprietary fisheries data, to further support responsive, standardised and data-informed decision making
Enhancing animal care through digital tools: a challenge and hindrance perspective of technology adoption in a zoological institution
No full textThe adoption of digital technologies in zoological institutions is transforming animal care management. However, challenges persist in integrating mobile applications into daily workflows. This qualitative study examines technology adoption in a Southeast Asian zoological institution, focusing on a mobile application designed for animal care. Using the Technology-Organisation-Environment framework and the challenge-hindrance perspective, we conducted four focus group interviews with 21 users to explore the factors influencing adoption, including perceived usefulness, ease of use, organisational support, and environmental pressures. Findings reveal that while the Application enhances efficiency, collaboration, and animal welfare, fostering a challenge appraisal and voluntary adoption, barriers such as usability issues, security fatigue, and interoperability contribute to a hindrance appraisal and involuntary adoption. Organisational support, including onboarding, co-creation, and technical assistance, is crucial in mitigating the hindrance appraisal and resistance. The study contributes to a holistic adoption framework, offering practical insights for designing and implementing digital tools in specialised work environments, ultimately enhancing technology-driven wildlife management and conservation efforts