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A scale-sensitive approach for comparing and classifying point patterns
No full textThis paper proposes a novel method for comparing and classifying point patterns. The method explicitly considers the spatial scale since the evaluation of similarity depends on the scale at which one compares point patterns. Three functions were proposed, each of which represents the similarity between point patterns. A single measure was introduced to summarize the overall similarity between patterns. This single measure was used to classify point patterns into groups according to their spatial patterns. The validity of the method was tested through numerical experiments as well as the analysis of travel transaction data in Southeast Queensland, Australia
Crop wild relatives as a genetic resource for generating low-cyanide, drought-tolerant Sorghum
No full textUsing a Sorghum bicolor cultivar and seven wild Sorghum species endemic to Australia as our experimental system, we monitored their different responses to drought by assessing growth and morphological, physiological and biochemical parameters. Drought stress significantly decreased height, biomass, the maximum potential quantum efficiency of photosystem II, photosynthetic rate and relative water content in S. bicolor, while several of the wild species were much more tolerant. Drought significantly increased dhurrin concentration in aboveground tissue in S. bicolor but not in the wild species. Root dhurrin content was unaffected by drought in S. bicolor, in contrast to the varied responses observed in the wild species. Sorghum macrospermum and S. brachypodum maintained relatively high growth and photosynthetic performance under drought, with negligible aboveground dhurrin content. These wild species are promising candidates for sorghum crop improvement
Letting the cat out of the bag: Athletes, coaches and physiotherapists share their perspectives on injury prevention in elite sports
No full textObjectives: To explore how sports injury prevention takes place in elite sport practice and to describe the perspectives of athletes, coaches and physiotherapists regarding the most critical factors that help prevent injury in the elite sports context. Methods: Qualitative study. Semistructured interviews with 19 international level athletes, coaches and physiotherapists, from different Olympic sports. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using comparative data analysis based on Grounded Theory. Results: The participants perceived injury risk as an inherent part of elite sports, because athletes try to enhance performance by pushing their limits. Participants described injury prevention as a learning process that changed over time, based on their sports experience and the injuries that they had sustained along their career. Communication among the athletes, coaches and physiotherapists was described as a key component of the injury prevention process. Study participants emphasised the relevance of teamwork and shared responsibility. Performance was presented as the core of the athlete's daily practice, indicating that injury prevention can be a means to that end but is not a goal in itself for this community. Conclusion: Participants perceive injury prevention as part of elite sports and thus embrace the need for injury prevention. Injury prevention strategies in elite sports were described as a learning process, following the dynamic nature of training for maximal performance. Performance is the participants' main goal
Critical success and failure factors in large scale complex projects
No full textLarge-scale complex projects are known to be the prime enablers of business and social change; they are also vital contributors to future business success, although they are notoriously difficult to manage. Despite the growing number of complex projects implemented around the world, most complex projects fail to meet their objectives and experience substantial cost and schedule overruns. This chapter argues that evaluating success and failure factors in complex projects are important, as the meaning of success may vary in complex projects. Some failure factors have already been identified in the literature. For example, H. Thamhain revealed that the main causes of project failure stem from a lack of competent and effective leadership, lack of management commitment, instability of project team and redesign or changing project requirements. The research methods used in the project management literature on complex project topics appear to be more or less positivistic
Patients prefer clinical handover at the bedside; nurses do not: evidence from a Discrete Choice Experiment
No full textBackground Shift-to-shift bedside handover is advocated as a patient-centred approach, yet its enactment is challenging. Objectives To describe and compare the preferences of both patients and nurses in the implementation of bedside handover in a Swedish University Hospital. Design A discrete choice experiment (DCE) survey. Settings University setting, four medical wards in two hospitals. Participants Adult medical patients (n=218) and registered nurses (n=101) Methods The survey was administered by an electronic tablet-assisted face-to-face survey. Respondents made repeated choices between two hypothetical bedside handover alternatives and a third alternative of ‘handover away from the bedside’. Handover alternatives were described according to six attributes: invitation to participate, number of nurses present at the handover, family member, carer or trusted friend (of the patient) allowed to be present, level of (patient) involvement, what information related to your (patient) care is discussed. Choice data were analysed using a mixed logit model. Results A total of 1308 (patients) and 909 (nurses) choice observations were included in the preference models. Patients showed a strong preference for handover at the bedside compared to nurses. Nurses generally preferred handover away from the bedside. Patients perceived their level of involvement in handover as highly important, being able to speak, hear what was said being the most important characteristic, closely followed by being invited to participate and asked questions as well as being heard. Nurses considered patients being invited to participate most important, followed by level of involvement. Different options for handing over sensitive information were not perceived of importance by patients or nurses. There was substantial variation at the individual level across both patients and nurses for where and how handover is delivered. Conclusions In this study, patients strongly preferred handover at the bedside, while the nurses considered patients to be invited to participate to be the most important preference but generally preferred handover to take place away from the bedside, all else equal. When implementing bedside handover in a Swedish context this must be considered, although participation is a prerequisite for bedside handover. Differences between patients and nurses’ preferences could jeopardize future introduction of bedside handover in Swedish health care, and might explain why bedside handover is still not very common in hospital wards
Cereal genomics databases and plant genetic resources in crop improvement
No full textCereal improvement is based upon effective utilization of genetic resources. These include germplasm and genomics data and tools. Cereal germplasm is available from major global seed banks. Wild material remains an additional less well utilized resource. Sourcing of germplasm requires protocols to ensure intellectual property matters are adequately addressed. Advances in genomics technology have made extensive data set available for the cereals. Reference genome sequences, transcriptome resources, and pan genomes are now available for the major cereal species. The use of genomic data is facilitated by the addition of user-friendly interfaces that allow breeders to access the information they need
The microglial NLRP3 inflammasome is activated by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis proteins
No full textMicroglial NLRP3 inflammasome activation is emerging as a key contributor to neuroinflammation during neurodegeneration. Pathogenic protein aggregates such as β-amyloid and α-synuclein trigger microglial NLRP3 activation, leading to caspase-1 activation and IL-1β secretion. Both caspase-1 and IL-1β contribute to disease progression in the mouse SOD1 model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), suggesting a role for microglial NLRP3. Prior studies, however, suggested SOD1 mice microglia do not express NLRP3, and SOD1 protein generated IL-1β in microglia independent to NLRP3. Here, we demonstrate using Nlrp3-GFP gene knock-in mice that microglia express NLRP3 in SOD1 mice. We show that both aggregated and soluble SOD1 activates inflammasome in primary mouse microglia leading caspase-1 and IL-1β cleavage, ASC speck formation, and the secretion of IL-1β in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Importantly, SOD1 was unable to induce IL-1β secretion from microglia deficient for Nlrp3, or pretreated with the specific NLRP3 inhibitor MCC950, confirming NLRP3 as the key inflammasome complex mediating SOD1-induced microglial IL-1β secretion. Microglial NLRP3 upregulation was also observed in the TDP-43 ALS mouse model, and TDP-43 wild-type and mutant proteins could also activate microglial inflammasomes in a NLRP3-dependent manner. Mechanistically, we identified the generation of reactive oxygen species and ATP as key events required for SOD1 -mediated NLRP3 activation. Taken together, our data demonstrate that ALS microglia express NLRP3, and that pathological ALS proteins activate the microglial NLRP3 inflammasome. NLRP3 inhibition may therefore be a potential therapeutic approach to arrest microglial neuroinflammation and ALS disease progression
Machining characteristics and mechanism of GO/SiO2 nanoslurries in fixed abrasive lapping
No full textWater-based slurries with silica (SiO) nanoparticles, graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets and GO/SiO hybrid nanostructures as abrasives were synthesised in order to achieve a high-efficiency and low-damage lapping. Tribological characteristics of SiO, GO and GO/SiO nanoslurries were systematically investigated to optimise slurry formulae, and the lubricating mechanisms involved were revealed based on the analyses of worn surfaces and used slurries. Machining performance of the optimised slurries was then examined in the fixed abrasive lapping of glass substrates in terms of surface quality and material removal. The GO/SiO slurry of 0.16 wt.% at a mass ratio of 1:1 generated a lubricating layer consisting of C deposited and SiO dynamic films at the rubbing interface. This improved friction and wear conditions at the contact, producing a significantly lower COF and a better worn surface quality than those slurries containing only GO or SiO. The lapping with the GO/SiO slurry thus reduced the surface damage on glass and achieved a crack-free subsurface. In comparison with a conventional lapping, the new lapping process resulted in a 35% reduction in surface roughness, but a 28% increase in material removal rate. Such improvements were attributed to the synergistic lubrication behaviour of the formed nanostructures of GO/SiO in water
Malt protein inhibition of β-amylase alters starch molecular structure during barley mashing
No full textThe molecular structural changes in starch in barley malts during mashing (a major step in brewing beer) with and without protein removal were investigated using size exclusion chromatography. The aim was to uncover how proteins affects barley starch degradation in brewing. It was found that for malts containing lower β-amylase activity, protein removal significantly increased fermentable sugar content, whilst no significant change was observed for malts with higher β-amylase, with or without addition of a metalloprotease (Neutrase®). However, metalloprotease addition significantly reduced both the content and molecular sizes of remaining wort-soluble starches. This suggests that the effects of malt protein removal on starch degradation, particularly on fermentable sugar production, largely depend on malt enzyme activity, especially that of β-amylase. This provides useful information for brewers: for example, the fact that soluble starch molecular structure correlates significantly with fermentation efficiency gives a new criterion for selecting barley varieties for optimal brewing performance
Treatment and resource recovery options for first and second generation bioethanol spentwash – a review
No full textA decline in the availability of fossil fuel resources coupled with deleterious environmental concerns has prompted further research into biofuels. Conventional bioethanol production via a first-generation approach may soon become superseded through integration with lignocellulosic feedstocks. However, the underlying concerns pertaining to the disposal of high-strength liquid waste (i.e. spentwash) remain both unchanged and constitute a substantial cost to bioethanol manufacturers. Therefore this review details current efforts in the literature to elucidate various approaches for spentwash treatment and investigate the potential for resource recovery. Insight into the composition of distillery wastewater is given in the lead-up to a thorough discussion encompassing the origin, transformation and characterisation of the highly problematic melanoidin compounds entrained within this effluent. Close examination of advanced organic characterisation methods used by researches yields further insight into the nature of spentwash dissolved organic matter (DOM). Employment of both biological and physio-chemical treatment schemes to alleviate the environmental footprint of such high-strength wastewater are also reviewed. Opportunities to dramatically improve the economic viability of biofuel production by exploiting the potential for resource recovery in the form of energy, organic/inorganic constituents and effluent reuse are discussed. Overall, the review culminates by highlighting recommendations for future work to accelerate the onset of an environmentally benign bio-refinery
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