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Adsorption behavior of 2, 3, 7, 8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin on pristine and doped black phosphorene: A DFT study
Get PDF© 2017 Elsevier. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
This author accepted manuscript is made available following 24 month embargo from date of publication (July 2017) in accordance with the publisher’s archiving policyPolychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) are highly toxic to humans. The search for novel and effective methods and materials for detecting or removing these gas pollutants is becoming more important and urgent. With its high specific surface area, abundance, and variety of potential applications, phosphorene has attracted much research interest. In this study, density functional theory was used to study the interactions between a doped phosphorene sheet and a tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) molecule. The initial configurations of the TCDD and metallic (Ca or Ti) or nonmetallic (S and Se) dopants were investigated during the TCDD–phosphorene interaction study. Adsorption energy, isosurface of electron density difference, and density of states analysis were utilized to explore the interactions between TCDD and phosphorene. The results indicated that Ca dopant effectively improved the interaction between TCDD and phosphorene. Se dopant reduced the interaction between TCDD and phosphorene. Combining interactions between TCDD and the pristine, Ca-doped, and Se-doped phosphorenes, phosphorene could be a promising candidate for TCDD sensing and removal
A new direction for water management? Indigenous nation building as a strategy for river health
Get PDFThis article is under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. You may share and adapt the work for noncommercial purposes provided the original author and source are credited, you indicate whether any changes were made, and you include a link to the license.Indigenous involvement in Australian water management is conventionally driven by a top-down approach by nonIndigenous government agencies, that asks “how do we engage Indigenous people?” and has culminated in the ineffective “consult” and “service delivery” processes evident in mainstream water management planning. This is a hopeful paper that identifies the critical importance of a “nation-based” approach for effective Indigenous engagement in water planning and policy through the work undertaken by the Ngarrindjeri Regional Authority (NRA) in the Murray Futures program. The NRA is an Indigenous government in the “settled-south” of Australia. Over past decades, the NRA has developed a range of political technologies that act as tools for redeveloping Ngarrindjeri Nationhood after colonial disempowerment and dispossession. These tools enable better collaboration with nonIndigenous governments, especially in natural resource management policy and practice. In turn, this has better enabled the NRA to exercise a decision-making and planning authority over the lands and waters in its jurisdiction, therefore, more effectively exercising its ongoing duty of care as Country. This paper presents a case study of the Sugar Shack Complex Management Plan, codeveloped by the NRA and the South Australian Government in 2015, to demonstrate the benefits that accrue when Indigenous nations are resourced as authorities responsible for reframing water management and planning approaches to facilitate the equitable collaboration of Indigenous and nonIndigenous worldviews. As a marker of the success of this strategy, the Ngarrindjeri Yarluwar-Ruwe Program, in partnership with the South Australian government, recently won the Australian Riverprize 2015 for delivering excellence in Australian river management
Thrasymachus, Reasons and Rationality
Get PDFAll rights reserved © 2017, Modern Greek Studies Association of Australia and New Zealand. Reproduced with permission of the publisher.Thrasymachus, in Plato’s Republic, claims that justice is what is in the interest of the
stronger party. Cross and Woozley interpret this as the claim that the weak have a duty
to serve the interests of the strong. I argue that this interpretation is mistaken and that
Thrasymachus agrees with Socrates (and Aristotle) that justice is giving people their
fair share. Thrasymachus’ point is that people who act justly in effect are serving the
interests of the stronger and, thereby, are acting irrationally. For Thrasymachus, the
rational thing to do is to pursue your own self-interest even if it is at the expense of
others. Thrasymachus seems to be adopting an instrumentalist account of rationality
here. I contrast this with the kind of objectivist account of rationality offered by philosophers
like Scanlon, Parfit and Nagel which maintains that there are substantive reasons
why one should sometimes pursue the interests of others for its own sake. I argue that
this apparent objectivity is an artifact of how talk about reasons works in public, as
opposed to private, reasoning. I conclude that Thrasymachus is correct that egoism is
rational, but he is mistaken to think that it is the only rational position. Acting justly
is also rational. I conclude that, while a just person is rational in sincerely advocating
justice, Thrasymachus is irrational in sincerely advocating egoism
The “Golden Greeks” from “Diggers” to Settlers: Greek Migration and Settlement during the Australian Gold Rush Era, 1850s–1890s
Get PDFAll rights reserved © 2017, Modern Greek Studies Association of Australia and New Zealand. Reproduced with permission of the publisher.Between the 1850s and 1890s, the gentle ripples of Australia’s early Greek presence surrendered to the first real wave of Greek migration. Gold was the initial stimulus. Greek seaman — particularly those on British vessels — jumped ship and left for the diggings with other “new chums”. Greeks dug, panned and sweated for the precious metal amongst bustling hopefuls from across the globe — the road to a multicultural Australia had been unintentionally initiated. Greek migration to, and settlement in Australia, reached a point of change during the gold rush era: the first collective Greek settlements appeared, family groups increased, occupational diversity began to emerge — together with what was to become the Greek café phenomenon — chain migration was stimulated, and eventually formal Greek communities were established. Gold encouraged and shaped the Australian colonies’ progress towards nationhood, it also secured, as this paper evidences, the Greek diaspora’s presence as part of the nation’s future
Industrialisation, the Sewing Machine, and the Paper Pattern: Mixed Messages for the Heritage of Kendimata
Get PDFAll rights reserved © 2017, Modern Greek Studies Association of Australia and New Zealand. Reproduced with permission of the publisher.Modern Greece embraced the new Western European approach to dress and culture through the industrialisation of textiles. The new technology of the sewing machine and paper pattern were adopted with great enthusiasm to show the rest of Europe that Greece was part of Western Europe. At the same time Western Europe became enamoured with Greek kendimata, which were highly sought after in the western world. Greece straddled the mixed messages of a newly industrialised country forming its national European identity alongside the tradition of kendimata as an essential part of its national cultural heritag
‘My Learning’: Results of pre-test, post-test evaluation Evaluation Program: Report No. 21 A white paper published by the Flinders Research Centre for Palliative Care, Death and Dying
Get PDFCopyright Flinders UniversityFor professionals who are seeking to implement Evidence Based Practice (EBP), understanding how to use evidence in clinical practice can be difficult. While research evidence can be important in highlighting the efficacy of various treatments and therapies, translating available evidence into practice can be challenging for clinicians and act as an obstacle to the provision of high-quality care
Continuing Development and Initial Validation of a Questionnaire to Measure Sonographer Skill-Teaching Perceptions in Clinical Practice
Get PDFThis is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).Objective
Medical ultrasound examinations are performed by diverse professional cohorts: sonographers are one group. Little evidence exists regarding the teaching practices used in medical ultrasonography and their effectiveness. We report the continued development and validation of an instrument to measure sonographer skill-teaching practice perceptions (SonoSTePs).
Methods
An online survey was administered to a convenience sample of sonographers who were employed in Queensland, Australia. This paper reports on the continued psychometric testing of the measurement tool.
Findings
The 25-item scale demonstrated good internal reliability. Exploratory factor analysis generated four factors with acceptable internal reliability: Factor 1 (Skill execution feedback, Cronbach’s α = 0.89), Factor 2 (Cognitive overload, Cronbach’s α = 0.68), Factor 3 (Teach new skill, Cronbach’s α = 0.70), and Factor 4 (Assist learners scanning, Cronbach’s α = 0.67). The combined instrument value was 0.83. The weighted kappa of the test–retest items identified that the majority of items achieved an interrater level of agreement of ≥0.5.
Conclusion
Results indicate that the SonoSTePs instrument items and factors are underpinned by theories and principles related to teaching a complex psychomotor skill. The initial data suggest that the tool is both reliable and valid
Flow and sediment transport dynamics in a slot and cauldron blowout and over a foredune, Mason Bay, Stewart Island (Rakiura), NZ
Get PDFThis manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
This author accepted manuscript is made available following 24 month embargo from date of publication (August 2017) in accordance with the publisher’s archiving policyThis study is the first to simultaneously compare flow and sediment transport through a blowout and over an adjacent foredune, and the first study of flow within a highly sinuous, slot and cauldron blowout. Flow across the foredune transect is similar to that observed in other studies and is primarily modulated by across-dune vegetation density differences. Flow within the blowout is highly complex and exhibits pronounced accelerations and jet flow. It is characterised by marked helicoidal coherent vortices in the mid-regions, and topographically vertically forced flow out of the cauldron portion of the blowout. Instantaneous sediment transport within the blowout is significant compared to transport onto and/or over the adjacent foredune stoss slope and ridge, with the blowout providing a conduit for suspended sediment to reach the downwind foredune upper stoss slope and crest. Medium term (4 months) aeolian sedimentation data indicates sand is accumulating in the blowout entrance while erosion is taking place throughout the majority of the slot, and deposition is occurring downwind of the cauldron on the foredune ridge. The adjacent lower stoss slope of the foredune is accreting while the upper stoss slope is slightly erosional. Longer term (16 months) pot trap data shows that the majority of foredune upper stoss slope and crest accretion occurs via suspended sediment delivery from the blowout, whereas the majority of the suspended sediment arriving to the well-vegetated foredune stoss slope is deposited on the mid-stoss slope. The results of this study indicate one mechanism of how marked alongshore foredune morphological variability evolves due to the role of blowouts in topographically accelerating flow, and delivering significant aeolian sediment downwind to relatively discrete sections of the foredune
Pharmacovigilance in Hospice/Palliative Care: Net Effect of Haloperidol for Nausea or Vomiting
Get PDFFinal publication is available from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/jpm.2017.0159"
This author accepted manuscript is made available following 12 month embargo from date of publication (August 2017) in accordance with the publisher’s archiving policyBackground: Haloperidol is widely prescribed as an antiemetic in patients receiving palliative care, but there is limited evidence to support and refine its use.
Objective: To explore the immediate and short-term net clinical effects of haloperidol when treating nausea and/or vomiting in palliative care patients.
Design: A prospective, multicenter, consecutive case series.
Setting/Subjects: Twenty-two sites, five countries: consultative, ambulatory, and inpatient services.
Measurements: When haloperidol was started in routine care as an antiemetic, data were collected at three time points: baseline; 48 hours (benefits); day seven (harms). Clinical effects were assessed using the National Cancer Institute's Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (NCI CTCAE).
Results: Data were collected (May 2014–March 2016) from 150 patients: 61% male; 86% with cancer; mean age 72 (standard deviation 11) years and median Australian-modified Karnofsky Performance Scale 50 (range 10–90). At baseline, nausea was moderate (88; 62%) or severe (11; 8%); 145 patients reported vomiting, with a baseline NCI CTCAE vomiting score of 1.0. The median (range) dose of haloperidol was 1.5 mg/24 hours (0.5–5 mg/24 hours) given orally or parenterally. Five patients (3%) died before further data collection. At 48 hours, 114 patients (79%) had complete resolution of their nausea and vomiting, with greater benefit seen in the resolution of nausea than vomiting. At day seven, 37 (26%) patients had a total of 62 mild/moderate harms including constipation 25 (40%); dry mouth 13 (21%); and somnolence 12 (19%).
Conclusions: Haloperidol as an antiemetic provided rapid net clinical benefit with low-grade, short-term harm
Association of cardiovascular system medications with cognitive function and dementia in older adults living in nursing homes in Australia
Get PDF"Authors retain copyright, under a Creative Commons Attribution License." - per Publisher's policyObjective To examine associations between cardiovascular system medication use with cognition function and diagnosis of dementia in older adults living in nursing homes in Australia. Methods As part of a cross-sectional study of 17 Australian nursing homes examining quality of life and resource use, we examined the association between cognitive impairment and cardiovascular medication use (identified using the Anatomical Therapeutic Classification System) using general linear regression and logistic regression models. People who were receiving end of life care were excluded. Results Participants included 541 residents with a mean age of 85.5 years (± 8.5), a mean Psychogeriatric Assessment Scale–Cognitive Impairment (PAS-Cog) score of 13.3 (± 7.7), a prevalence of cardiovascular diseases of 44% and of hypertension of 47%. Sixty-four percent of participants had been diagnosed with dementia and 72% had received cardiovascular system medications within the previous 12 months. Regression models demonstrated the use of cardiovascular medications was associated with lower (better) PAS-Cog scores [Coefficient (β) = -3.7; 95% CI: -5.2 to -2.2; P < 0.0001] and a lower probability of a dementia diagnosis (OR = 0.44; 95% CI: 0.26 to 0.75, P = 0.0022). Analysis by subgroups of medications showed cardiac therapy medications (C01), beta blocking agents (C07), and renin-angiotensin system agents (C09) were associated with lower PAS-Cog scores (better cognition) and lower dementia diagnosis probability. Conclusions This analysis has demonstrated an association between greater cardiovascular system medication use and better cognitive status among older adults living in nursing homes. In this population, there may be differential access to health care and treatment of cardiovascular risk factors. This association warrants further investigation in large cohort studies