19325 research outputs found
Sort by
Implementing same day discharge following percutaneous coronary intervention: a process evaluation
No full textBackground:The safety and effectiveness of same day discharge (SDD) following percutaneous coronary intervention are well demonstrated; however, the uptake of this model of care is low.
Purpose:The aim was to examine the effectiveness of implementing SDD using a process evaluation methodology.
Methods:This study was undertaken in a cardiac services department of a tertiary teaching hospital in southeast Queensland, Australia. It was anticipated before the implementation that 120 patients could be discharged the same day in a 6 months\u27 time period. Patient selection process and guideline adherence were assessed along with patients\u27 and relatives\u27 satisfaction.
Results:During implementation, 22 patients were discharged home the same day. It was found that staff did not follow the guideline consistently, with an overall adherence of 77.3%.
Conclusion:The uptake of SDD was low in this implementation. The study is important as it provides direction for future improvement both in the criteria and the implementation process
Improved cellulosic ethanol titres from highly lignified cotton trash residues using various batch and fed-batch process configurations
No full textThis study investigates a fed-batch simultaneous saccharification fermentation (F-SSF) process to increase ethanol titres from highly lignified (41.6 wt.%) cotton gin trash residue. The optimal initial solid loading, enzyme dose, feed quantities and intervals to maximize substrate feed and subsequent ethanol titres were examined. Under batch SSF conditions, initial extracted cotton gin trash (ECGT) solid loadings were maximised at 19.35 wt.% and attained an ethanol titre of 23.3 g/l with a corresponding yield of 53.7%. Operating under optimised F-SSF mode, fermentations were initiated with 16.13 wt% EGCT solids followed by fresh ECGT feeds of 16.13 wt% and 12.9 wt.% at 12-h intervals. Cellulase levels were maintained at 44 FPU/g glucan throughout the fermentations. The final ethanol titre of 41 .4 g/l with a corresponding conversion rate of 70.1% was achieved after 72 h. Comparable ethanol yields of 40 g/l with 67.8% conversion were realized with lower cellulase dosing (25 FPU g/glucan) but only after extending the fermentation by 24 h
Performance enhancement of human motion based piezoelectric energy harvesters
No full textHarvesting electricity from human motions using piezoelectric materials is attracting the attention of many researchers in recent years. These harvesters can potentially power portable electronic devices without the need of external power sources.
The aim of this thesis was to improve the efficiency of piezoelectric energy harvesting from human motions. To achieve this, optimising orientation of piezoelectric cantilever beam investigated; the new mechanism consisting of double pendulum system was studied and finally the new shape design of cantilever was proposed to generate multi resonance peaks. These achievements may help to improve the efficiency of piezoelectric energy harvesters in the future
Preparedness for advancing future health: a national qualitative exploration of dietetics graduates\u27 experiences
No full textEffective health workforce preparation is critical to the health of those who stand to benefit from its services. Emerging dietitians can provide important insights on an evolving workforce that is well-placed to advance future global health. This study aimed to explore a national sample of dietetics graduates\u27 experiences of, and challenges faced in, dietetics workforce preparation and preparedness in Australia. An interpretive description methodology guided this study whereby researchers interpreted the meanings that participants attributed to their experiences. Twenty dietitians (graduated within the last 2 years) were purposively sampled from across Australia and detailed insights were obtained through semi-structured interviews. A multi-analyst approach employing thematic and template analysis, enabled five themes to be identified across the data set. These included: (1) being held back; (2) chasing the prize; (3) valuing real learning; (4) easing the transition; and (5) encountering influencers. While graduates appreciated their preparation, they were not empowered or equipped to embrace opportunities in diverse and emerging areas of dietetics practice. Graduates were challenged by the competitive landscape of securing obvious job opportunities and by a lack of support in transitioning into the workforce. Practice exposures and encounters with influential dietitians were highly valued. Research on role-emerging dietetics placements along with enhanced support mechanisms for novice dietitians is urgently required to ensure appropriate alignment between future dietetics preparation and practice. Obtaining insights into health professional graduates\u27 experiences of their education can be used to ensure that emerging health workforces are relevant and responsive to future market needs
Low energy diet-induced and bariatric surgery-induced weight loss decreases branched-chain and aromatic amino acids in plasma and tissue (P21-078-19)
No full textObjectives: Plasma levels of branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) and aromatic amino acids (AAA) phenylalanine (phe) and tyrosine (tyr) have been associated with obesity, insulin resistance and risk of type 2 diabetes. This study aimed to investigate the response of circulating plasma and tissue levels of BCAA and AAA to weight loss, and to correlate the level of these metabolites in plasma and tissue in obese women.Methods: 28 obese (mean BMI 46.2 kg/m2) women underwent low energy diet (LED)-induced weight loss (−9.2 ± 4.2 kg) followed by bariatric surgery-induced weight loss (−23.6 ± 2.5 kg). Plasma at baseline (t0), post-LED/pre-surgery (t1) and 6-month post-surgery (t2) as well as biopsies of subcutaneous abdomen adipose tissue (SAfat), superficial thigh adipose tissue (Tfat) and vastus lateralis thigh muscle (Tmuscle) at both t1 and t2 were collected, and profiled using mass spectrometry-based metabolomics approach. Paired t-tests were applied to assess between-timepoint differences, and Pearson correlation used to calculate correlation coefficient of metabolite levels between plasma and tissue.Results: Plasma BCAA and AAA were all significantly reduced post-LED at t1 (fold-change of 0.76–0.85 for val, leu, ile, tyr and phe, P \u3c 0.05) and 6-month post-surgery at t2 (fold-change of 0.74–0.85 for val, leu, ile, tyr and phe, P \u3c 0.05) as compared to baseline t0; but not significant between t1 and t2, although trends of decrease were observed. Among the 3 tissue biopsies, only SAfat showed significantly decreased levels of tyr, leu and ile at t2 compared to t1 (fold-change for tyr 0.63, leu 0.66, ile 0.68, P \u3c 0.05). In addition, plasma levels of val and ile were correlated with Tfat levels at both t1 and t2 (r2 = 0.47–0.57), and that of val, ile and leu were correlated with Tmuscle at t1 only (r2 = 0.64–0.67).Conclusions: Circulating levels of BCAA and AAA were decreased by weight loss interventions. The decrease following an LED program was sustained after bariatric surgery without further significant decrease. Bariatric surgery also decreased BCAA levels in SAfat; moreover, our data suggested that plasma BCAA levels correlated well with peripheral tissue Tfat and Tmuscle
Building resilience through the application of an incident management methodology : a Singaporean context
No full textThe anticipated catastrophic effects of the Year 2000 Millennium (Y2K) computer bug had far-reaching effects, despite the fear being eventually unfounded. It demonstrated the potential vulnerability of reliance on computers. This recognition sparked massive waves of planning and preparation, giving rise to resilience as a new emerging strategic capability for enterprises and governments alike. Thus, we have seen an increased focus by business leaders and academics on business continuity and recovery management (BCRM), corporate crisis and emergency management (CCEM), and enterprise risk and resource management (ERRM) to overcome disruptions due to natural and human-made incidents affecting business operations (Hamel & Valikangas, 2003; Smith, 2003; Sheffi, 2005). As the search to enhance the resilience of organizations continues, there has been an increasing interest in incident management (IM) and an IM methodology (Barney & Hesterly, 2010; Zhang & McMurray, 2013), which is the focus of this study.
Given limited research in the area of IM methodology, the objective of the study was to understand ‘how and why’ enterprises apply the IM methodology the way they do, and elicit the ‘need and want’ functions of their desired methodology. A qualitative case study methodology with a collective, descriptive, and exploratory approach was used to answer the research question (Yin, 1994), ‘What are the elements that drive the application of IM methodology in enterprises in Singapore?’ A questionnaire was used to draw out participants’ perceived roles with respect to the associated dimensions. This was followed by in-depth interviews to elicit the needed and wanted functions of the IM methodology through the respondents’ experiences. A total of 102 respondents took part in the questionnaire and interview given their role in IM. The data and findings were triangulated with enterprise documents, field observation of a mega-IM exercise, and a focus group discussion comprising IM practitioners (Sekaran & Bougie, 2013). The research study contributes three key findings to knowledge and the extant literature:
the incident management body of knowledge (IMBOK) competency framework;
the adaptive IM methodology (AIMM); and
the IM system architecture and focal points
Imidacloprid and formulated product impacts the fatty acids and enzymatic activities in tissues of Sydney rock oysters, Saccostrea glomerata
No full textThe use of imidacloprid (IMI) and its formulated products in agriculture is a risk to aquatic organisms due to deposition into waterways from runoff and aerial spraying. However, there is limited information on the potential effects of this pesticide on commercially important shellfish, such as oysters. We investigated the impacts of IMI and Spectrum 200SC (IMI formulation) on the activity of the enzymes Glutathione-S-transferase (GST), Catalase (CAT) and Acetylcholinesterase (AChE), in different oyster tissues including the gill, adductor muscle and digestive gland. We also investigated the condition index and fatty acid composition of the flesh of oysters after 2 weeks exposure. The concentrations of IMI in the different tissues was assessed using Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS) after QuEChERS extraction. Higher concentrations of IMI residues were detected in the adductor muscle of the oysters, followed by the gills and with the lowest amounts recovered from the digestive gland across all the concentrations tested. IMI and Spectrum 200SC significantly affected the gill AChE activity at 2 mg/L, but digestive gland CAT, and gill and digestive gland GST were impacted at environmentally relevant concentrations (0.01 and 0.05 mg/L). In the whole oyster, 2 weeks exposure to IMI (≥0.01 mg/L) resulted in a proportional increase in saturated fatty acids (SFA), altered the polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) to SFA ratio and altered the omega 3 fatty acids (n-3) to omega 6 fatty acids (n-6) ratio, but there were no effects on the condition index of the oyster. Although the oysters responded differently to the formulated product, there was no consistent difference in the sublethal effects of analytical IMI and Spectrum 200SC. This study showed that exposure to IMI and Spectrum 200SC can significantly affect the biochemical processes and metabolites in oysters, with implications for food quality and safety