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Electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance and rotating ring disk electrode analysis of manganese dioxide electrodeposition for thin film electrochemical capacitors
No full textThis work compares the electrodeposition behavior of thin films of manganese dioxide produced from solutions of four commonly available Mn(II) salts; namely, sulfate, chloride, nitrate and acetate, as well as their corresponding acids. The deposition behavior is investigated in terms of the masses of the thin films produced, calculated by integration of charge current during deposition, and by the electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM). Generally, it was shown that EQCM masses deviated from the mass expected from current integration, with increases ranging from 14-40%, depending on the anion. The most notable deviations from this trend were the high-acid (0.1 M) and low-Mn(II) (0.01-0.001 M) solutions where MnCl₂ and HCl were used. This difference is discussed in terms of the deposition mechanism, and in particular, complexation of the Mn(III) intermediate with excess chloride in solution, accounting for any anomalous behavior. This claim is further corroborated through rotating ring disk electrode (RRDE) data, which was used to detect any Mn(III) that would be lost to the solution after an initial oxidation. Their behavior as supercapacitor electrode materials has also been compared
Educating boys: what's your problem? A field and discourse analysis of boys' education in Australia from 1996 to 2006
No full textThis Bourdieusian and Strategic Action field analysis and Critical Language Analysis investigated the Australian field of boys’ education in the turbulent period from 1996 to 2006. The study indicated that the focus on boys’ education created shock waves that reverberated through the hierarchical layers or sub-fields of practice, research, policy and politics in the somewhat autonomous field of gender equity in education. The findings of this research suggest that there were two major factors in the field’s vulnerability to incursions. The first was the nature of the field structures, as players in each layer of the field were unable to understand or accommodate the logic and purpose of other layers and players operated from positions of incumbent or challenger, thereby leading to fractures in the purpose of the field. The second major factor in the field’s vulnerability to incursion was logical inconsistencies in the dominant discourses of the doxa of the field. The conclusions reached in the thesis indicate that, although there has been little sustained activity in boys’ or girls’ education since 2007, gender considerations continue to be important in education. Although positioning any group as disadvantaged is dangerous, the field of equity in education could be reinvigorated by renewed focus on the complexities and intersections of differences and identities and a reconsideration of the concept of the disadvantaged subject. A policy, research and practice agenda with a focus on the inter-connection of positive aspects of identities as well as a critical examination of where these interconnections lead to disadvantage would be useful. Envisaging and focusing on these intersections as similar to a magnetic force field of factors rather than as dichotomies or static jigsaws could reinvigorate the field and allow for international cooperation and collaborations to investigate how issues arise, how discourses about them get transferred and how global movements for change occur. This conceptualisation could have application to many fields
Young Indonesian cruise workers, symbolic violence and international class relations
No full textThis article reports on an investigation of the experiences of well-educated young Indonesians who choose a career in cruise ship work rather than go to university, or work in the local tourist industry. A sociological approach is taken that sees the cruise ship environment as a microcosm of international class relations. Attention is paid to the symbolic violence experienced by yoting workers who find their dream of travel on the high seas consists of mundane service work in uncomfortable conditions far from home. The phenomenon suggests the emergence of a young cosmopolitan migrant worker who does not experience any acculturation to a new country, but acculturation to life in a "total environment" of 24 hour service work subject to few international labor regulations. Undoubtedly there are financial and work experience benefits, but there is also much to be endured in the extended transition from youth to adulthood during cruise ship work
Randomized controlled trial of a web-based primary care intervention for multiple health risk behaviors
No full textBackground: Physical inactivity, low fruit and vegetable intake, hazardous drinking, and smoking are leading risk factors for disease and injury. The aim of this study was to obtain estimates of efficacy in reducing the first three of these behaviors. Method: The design was a randomized controlled trial: 218 patients (17–24 years) attending a student health service at a New Zealand university in 2003 were assigned to: (A) web-based assessment and personalized feedback (n = 72); or (B) assessment only (n = 74); or (C) minimal contact (n = 72). Outcome measures were the proportion meeting recommendations for fruit and vegetable consumption, physical activity, and alcohol consumption 6 weeks later. Results: Follow-up assessments were attained for 86% of participants, with no evidence of differential attrition. There were significant differences in the proportion meeting recommendations for fruit and vegetable consumption and physical activity in group A relative to C. Hazardous drinking prevalence did not vary significantly by group. Conclusions: Differences appear attributable to the intervention. The intervention could be routinely provided in primary care, and its efficacy could be assessed in a large randomized controlled trial
Fundamental movement skills and physical activity among children living in low-income communities: a cross-sectional study
No full textBackground: Although previous studies have demonstrated that children with high levels of fundamental movement skill competency are more active throughout the day, little is known regarding children’s fundamental movement skill competency and their physical activity during key time periods of the school day (i.e., lunchtime, recess and after-school). The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between fundamental movement skill competency and objectively measured moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) throughout the school day among children attending primary schools in low-income communities. Methods: Eight primary schools from low-income communities and 460 children (8.5 ± 0.6 years, 54% girls) were involved in the study. Children’s fundamental movement skill competency (TGMD-2; 6 locomotor and 6 object-control skills), objectively measured physical activity (ActiGraph GT3X and GT3X + accelerometers), height, weight and demographics were assessed. Multilevel linear mixed models were used to assess the cross-sectional associations between fundamental movement skills and MVPA. Results: After adjusting for age, sex, BMI and socio-economic status, locomotor skill competency was positively associated with total (P = 0.002, r = 0.15) and after-school (P = 0.014, r = 0.13) MVPA. Object-control skill competency was positively associated with total (P < 0.001, r = 0.20), lunchtime (P = 0.03, r = 0.10), recess (P = 0.006, r = 0.11) and after-school (P = 0.022, r = 0.13) MVPA. Conclusions: Object-control skill competency appears to be a better predictor of children’s MVPA during school-based physical activity opportunities than locomotor skill competency. Improving fundamental movement skill competency, particularly object-control skills, may contribute to increased levels of children’s MVPA throughout the day
The phenomenology of union decision-making: a new way to enquire into reality.
No full textThis paper inaugurates a discussion about the phenomenology of union decision-making. Phenomenology provides a new lens that may enable us to gain penetrating insights into how unions function in the fractious world of human resources management. The present paper is preliminary to any fieldwork that may be undertaken. Its main purposes are to identify theory that could be the foundation of further practical work, relate recent work in the phenomenology of management to union practices and to propose directions of enquiry. The relevant theory is that of Edmund Husserl who provides us with a practical method of enquiry into the real world of human resource practice. Husserl’s work has already been applied in relation to local government functioning and some of the findings there appear relevant to the present enquiry. In particular, the nature and role of plebiscites – when seen with the phenomenological lens – challenges our ideas about the rationality of union decisions and how they affect union members and businesses
A comparison of complementary and alternative medicine users and use across geographical areas: a national survey of 1,427 women
No full textEvidence indicates that people who reside in non-urban areas have a higher use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) than people who reside in urban areas. However, there is sparse research on the reasons for such differences. This paper investigates the reasons for geographical differences in CAM use by comparing CAM users from four geographical areas (major cities, inner regional, outer region, rural/remote) across a range of health status, healthcare satisfaction, neighbourhood and community factors. A cross-sectional survey of 1,427 participants from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (ALSWH) conducted in 2009. The average total cost of consultations with CAM practitioners was 349 per annum, but this did not significantly differ across geographical areas. The increased use of CAM in rural and remote areas appears to be influenced by poorer access to conventional medical care (p < 0.05) and a greater sense of community (p < 0.05) amongst these rural and remote residents. In contrast to the findings of previous research this study found that health status was not associated with the differences in CAM use between urban and non-urban areas. It appears that a number of factors influence the different levels of CAM use across the urban/non-urban divide. Further research is needed to help tease out and understand these factors. Such research will help support health care policy and practice with regards to this topic
Fluoxetine prevents development of an early stress-related molecular signature in the rat infralimbic medial prefrontal cortex. Implications for depression?
No full textBackground: Psychological stress, particularly in chronic form, can lead to mood and cognitive dysfunction and is a major risk factor in the development of depressive states. How stress affects the brain to cause psychopathologies is incompletely understood. We sought to characterise potential depression related mechanisms by analysing gene expression and molecular pathways in the infralimbic medial prefrontal cortex (ILmPFC), following a repeated psychological stress paradigm. The ILmPFC is thought to be involved in the processing of emotionally contextual information and in orchestrating the related autonomic responses, and it is one of the brain regions implicated in both stress responses and depression. Results: Genome-wide microarray analysis of gene expression showed sub-chronic restraint stress resulted predominantly in a reduction in transcripts 24 hours after the last stress episode, with 239 genes significantly decreased, while just 24 genes had increased transcript abundance. Molecular pathway analysis using DAVID identified 8 pathways that were significantly enriched in the differentially expressed gene list, with genes belonging to the brain-derived neurotrophic factor – neurotrophin receptor tyrosine kinase 2 (BDNF-Ntrk2) pathway most enriched. Of the three intracellular signalling pathways that are downstream of Ntrk2, real-time quantitative PCR confirmed that only the PI3K-AKT-GSK3B and MAPK/ERK pathways were affected by sub-chronic stress, with the PLCγ pathway unaffected. Interestingly, chronic antidepressant treatment with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, fluoxetine, prevented the stress-induced Ntrk2 and PI3K pathway changes, but it had no effect on the MAPK/ERK pathway. Conclusions: These findings indicate that abnormal BDNF-Ntrk2 signalling may manifest at a relatively early time point, and is consistent with a molecular signature of depression developing well before depression-like behaviours occur. Targeting this pathway prophylactically, particularly in depression-susceptible individuals, may be of therapeutic benefit
Genome-wide association and functional follow-up reveals new loci for kidney function
No full textChronic kidney disease (CKD) is an important public health problem with a genetic component. We performed genome-wide association studies in up to 130,600 European ancestry participants overall, and stratified for key CKD risk factors. We uncovered 6 new loci in association with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), the primary clinical measure of CKD, in or near MPPED2, DDX1, SLC47A1, CDK12, CASP9, and INO80. Morpholino knockdown of mpped2 and casp9 in zebrafish embryos revealed podocyte and tubular abnormalities with altered dextran clearance, suggesting a role for these genes in renal function. By providing new insights into genes that regulate renal function, these results could further our understanding of the pathogenesis of CKD
Validation of a measure of subjective well-being: an abbreviated version of the day reconstruction method
No full textBackground: The study of well-being is becoming a priority in social sciences. The Day Reconstruction Method (DRM) was developed to assess affective states. The aim of the present study was to validate an abbreviated version of the DRM designed for administration in population studies, and to assess its test-retest properties. Principal Findings: 1560 adults from Jodhpur (India) were interviewed using an abbreviated version of the DRM, and a week later they were re-interviewed using the original long version of the DRM, after which the abbreviated version of the DRM was compared with the original version. A regression model considering interaction terms was employed to analyse the impact of sociodemographic characteristics on net affect. Test-retest reliability was assessed, and found to be moderate. Positive affect showed more test-retest reliability than negative affect, while net affect had more temporal stability than U-index. The affect of sets A, B, and C, taken together, had a moderate predictive ability compared with the affect obtained using the full version of the DRM: AUC = 0.67 for positive affect; 0.66 for net affect; 0.61 for negative affect; and 0.60 for the U-index. Household income, gender, and setting all had a significant impact on net affect. Conclusions: Net affect and positive affect showed moderate temporal stability, whereas negative affect and the U-index showed fair temporal stability. Evaluating the affective state using the abbreviated version of the DRM provides a profile of the population similar to that of the full version. The results provide considerable support for using the short version of the DRM as an instrument to measure subjective well-being in large population surveys