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Associations between change in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and sedentary behaviour with risk of recurrent cardiovascular events among individuals with coronary heart disease:A prospective cohort study
No full textBACKGROUND: Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and limiting time in sedentary behaviour (SB) are recommended for the secondary prevention of coronary heart disease (CHD). Little is known about MVPA and SB changes and recurrent cardiovascular events. This study explores the associations between changes in MVPA and SB for recurrent cardiovascular events among individuals with CHD.METHODS: Prospective cohort study based on individuals with CHD. MVPA and SB were self-reported, and recurrent cardiovascular events were identified using health registers (2006-2022). Changes in MVPA and SB were categorized as remaining high, decreasing, increasing, and remaining low. Associations were explored using Cox proportional regression models.RESULTS: There were 9430 Australians, 62 % males with a mean age of 70 (SD = 10) years. During the follow-up, with a median time of 4.9 (IQR = 6.1) years, 508 non-fatal cardiac events, 951 total cardiac events, and 2481 major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) occurred. The risk of recurrent cardiovascular events was 32-39 % lower when MVPA remained high compared to remaining low. An increase in MVPA was associated with a 30 % lower risk of total cardiac events and a 26 % lower risk of MACE, while a decrease was associated with a 16 % lower risk of MACE. Keeping low SB was associated with a 25-29 % lower risk of total cardiac events and MACE than SB remained high. A decrease in SB was associated with a 25 % lower risk of MACE.CONCLUSION: Supporting individuals with CHD to remain high or improve levels of MVPA and low levels of SB is important in secondary prevention.</p
Changes to Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) Testing and Associations with the GDM Prevalence and Large- and Small-for-Gestational-Age Infants—An Observational Study in an Australian Jurisdiction, 2012–2019
No full textBackground: Two changes to gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) testing were implemented in the Australian Capital Territory in 2015 and 2017. Aims: We aimed to determine the associations between testing regimes and the prevalence of GDM and large-for-gestational-age (LGA) and small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infants and to compare the prevalence of LGA and SGA infants between women with and without GDM in each testing period. Methods: A total of 23,790 singleton live births with estimated GDM testing and birth dates between June 2012 and December 2019 were stratified into groups: pre-testing changes (June 2012–December 2014, group 1, n = 8069), revised diagnostic criteria (January 2015–May 2017, group 2, n = 8035) and changed pathology centrifugation protocol (June 2017-December 2019, group 3, n = 7686). Women were allocated to groups based on their estimated GDM testing date and stratified by their GDM status. A chi-square test, pairwise z-tests and logistic regression tested the associations. Results: The GDM prevalence significantly increased from 9.5% (group 1) to 19.4% (group 2) to 26.3% (group 3) (all: p < 0.001). The LGA infant prevalence significantly decreased in non-GDM women following revised diagnostic criteria implementation (11.6% vs. 9.7%, p = 0.001). Compared to group 1, women with GDM in groups 2 and 3 had significantly reduced odds of having LGA infants (aOR = 0.73, 95% CI of 0.56–0.95 and p = 0.021 and aOR = 0.75, 95% CI of 0.59–0.97 and p = 0.029, respectively). Compared to group 1, non-GDM women in groups 2 and 3 had significantly reduced odds of having LGA infants (aOR = 0.83, 95% CI of 0.74–0.92 and p < 0.001 and aOR = 0.88, 95% CI of 0.79–0.99 and p = 0.026, respectively). There were no significant associations for group 3 compared to group 2 nor for SGA infants. Conclusions: While significantly increasing the GDM prevalence, implementing the testing changes was associated with a reduced whole-population LGA infant prevalence without a change in the SGA infant prevalence.</p
Development and validation of a questionnaire to assess quality of life in Australian adults with type 1 diabetes:a pilot psychometric study
No full textThe burdensome nature of managing type 1 diabetes (T1D) can influence psychological well-being and reduce quality of life (QoL). This pilot study aims to develop and validate a new questionnaire identifying factors impacting the QoL of Australian adults with T1D. Questionnaire development included literature review, pre-testing, semi-structured interviews, expert evaluation, and pilot testing. Questionnaire validation involved an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to identify the initial factor structure. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) determined domain validity. Further statistical analysis included convergent, relative, predictive validity, and reliability. The initial questionnaire had 28-items relating to physical, psychological, social, and dietary well-being. CFA revealed ‘psychological’ and ‘social’ items underpinned the four questionnaire domains. The four domains identified were: (1) ‘Coping and Adjusting’ (4-items), (2) ‘Fear and Worry’ (4-items), (3) ‘Loss and Grief’ (3-items), and (4) ‘Social Impact’ (4-items). Significant correlations were revealed between ‘Coping and Adjusting’ and HbA1c (rs = − 0.44, p < 0.01) and ‘Social Impact’ and HbA1c (rs = 0.13, p < 0.01) respectively. Acceptable convergent validity and reliability (test–retest, internal consistency) was observed in all domains. Our study concludes that dietary well-being does not independently impact QoL but is interwoven with psychological factors.</p
Learner-Centred, Teacher-Centred and Blended Curriculum Design in Swarm Systems
No full textRobot swarms have been used in various civilian and military applications, from entertainment to serious missions. Complex swarm tasks involve multiple interdependent skills that swarm members need to possess for successful operation. Swarm operation environments can be dynamic, noisy or with limited communication resources, which exacerbates task complexity. The non-linear interactions between swarm members make it challenging for experts to formulate agent-level rules that result in the emergence of a desirable swarm-level behaviour. Until now, there has been no general methodology that algorithm designers can follow to go from the individuals to the group behaviour. Automated swarm behaviour design has demonstrated its potential in enabling the learning of several swarm tasks. Nonetheless, incorporating human knowledge in these automated techniques is instrumental in accelerating the learning process and ensuring that the learning results in the intended behaviours. The inclusion of domain expertise in automated swarm design has mostly been conducted in an ad hoc manner without sufficiently studying how to maximise the benefit of domain expertise while not overwhelming the human expert. This chapter investigates the use of machine education as a holistic approach for teaching swarm members the required skills in complex swarm tasks. Specifically, we study various ways of designing a curriculum to systematise the process of learning and the incorporation of expert knowledge. We focus on three curriculum design approaches: learner centred, teacher centred and blended. We present case studies for each of these approaches and present the key lessons learnt and recommendations for future studies
Is there a golden hour for exercise in aging females?:A perspective on the female-specific effects of estradiol in regulating vascular endothelial function
No full textSex hormones are known for their roles in reproductive health; however, they pose auxiliary actions on nonreproductive tissues such as the vasculature, notably involving the mediation of endothelial vasodilation and vasoconstriction (1). Abrupt declines in estrogen during the menopausal transition have been associated with endothelial dysfunction and a subsequent increase in cardiovascular events (2). It should come as no surprise that participation in physical activity and exercise is recommended as a common strategy to enhance endothelial function, and the effectiveness of different exercise modalities on vascular health outcomes and risk modulation has been investigated (3–7). However, despite the awareness of increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk during and after menopause, there is conflicting evidence surrounding the efficacy of exercise as a means to enhance endothelial function in females throughout this critical period
Objects as Participants in the Democratic Assemblage:A Playful Exploration of the Affective Materiality of Junk
No full textObjects, their material affordances, and agentic potentials are neglected by research on democratic participation. This article draws on new materialist assemblage theory to make sense of objects in participatory settings and explores the claim that objects may act as participants. It conceptualises participatory processes, commonly framed as democratic innovations, as democratic assemblages, which draws attention to the affective role of nonhumans, including material objects. These assemblages function as a democratic microverse that prefigures democratic futures. To deepen and substantiate these theoretical claims, the article infuses new materialist thinking with ethnographic observations from junk playgrounds, in which human participants interact with discarded materials in response to a political question. We observe how objects resist, invite, and transform humans and make the case for more playful and joyful democratic engagements
Greenizing the Chinese city:urban regeneration, state developmentalism, and ecotopia in Shanghai Expo 2010
No full textWorld Expos are both urban realities and urban utopias. In the 175-year history of World Expos, Shanghai Expo 2010 is the only one dedicated to a ‘city’ theme–‘Better City, Better Life’. In the first decade of the twenty-first century, the Chinese government orchestrated a ‘city’ Expo in its prime city for considered reasons. The global event provided a golden opportunity to show (off) a global Shanghai and a rising China. It was also an arena for advancing innovations for an urbanizing country and an urban world. Local planners repackaged the Expo–an urban regeneration project of an inner-city precinct per se–into a world's fair of ecotopia. They proposed notions like ‘harmonious city’ and ‘eco-positive city'–despite acknowledged limitations in both conceptualization and applicability–to strike a chord with the then political rhetoric of ‘harmonious society’ and a pressing imperative for green development. In retrospect one and a half decades later, the Expo was an icon for re-imagining and re-narrating a state developmentalism–that had underpinned both the progress and problems of China's rapid and massive urbanization for decades–under a greenism hat, but with a compromised vision and mixed outcomes.</p
The confluence of project and innovation management:A scientometric analysis of emerging trends and research frontiers
No full textThe convergence of project management (PM) and innovation management (IM) has become an increasingly significant research domain, yet a comprehensive scientometric analysis of their intersection remains underexplored. This study bridges this gap by conducting a two-decade scientometric analysis (2003–2023) of 521 articles retrieved from Web of Science (WOS), Scopus, and PubMed. Using bibliometric techniques and CiteSpace visualization, key research trends, collaborative networks, and emerging fields within PM-IM literature are identified. The findings reveal three dominant disciplinary pillars—management, engineering, and business—shaping the PIM domain, while collaboration across institutions and countries remains sparse. Furthermore, foundational research landmarks, particularly the influence of the Stage-Gate system and dynamic capabilities in innovation-driven projects are revealed. The analysis highlights three dominant research streams: (1) managing project uncertainty in high-VUCA environments, (2) innovation-driven project methodologies, and (3) applications of PIM across diverse sectors. Furthermore, emerging research frontiers indicate increasing interest in artificial intelligence (AI), agile product management, and digital transformation in innovation projects. By providing a structured overview of the PM-IM confluence, this study offers valuable insights for researchers, policymakers, and industry professionals aiming to navigate the evolving landscape of project-based innovation.</p
Advancing Cognitive Load Detection in Simulated Driving Scenarios Through Deep Learning and fNIRS Data
No full textThe shift from manual to conditionally automated driving, supported by Advanced Driving Assistance Systems (ADASs), introduces challenges, particularly increased crash risks due to human factors like cognitive overload. Driving simulators provide a safe and controlled setting to study these human factors under complex conditions. This study leverages Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) to dynamically assess cognitive load in a realistic driving simulator during a challenging night-time-rain scenario. Thirty-eight participants performed an auditory n-back task (0-, 1-, and 2-back) while driving, simulating multitasking demands. A sliding window approach was applied to the time-series fNIRS data to capture short-term fluctuations in brain activation. The data were analyzed using EEGNet, a deep learning model, with both overlapping and non-overlapping temporal segmentation strategies. Results revealed that classification performance is significantly influenced by the learning rate and windowing method. Notably, a learning rate of 0.001 yielded the highest performance, with 100% accuracy using overlapping windows and 97% accuracy with non-overlapping windows. These findings highlight the potential of combining fNIRS and deep learning for real-time cognitive load monitoring in simulated driving scenarios and demonstrate the importance of temporal modeling in physiological signal analysis
Assessing the feasibility of adapting a nursing questionnaire for evaluating patient safety education in pharmacy
No full textAbstractBackground: Understanding pharmacy students’ views on patient safety learning during clinical placements is vital for addressing educational gaps and promoting safe practices. The Patient Safety in Nursing Education Questionnaire (PaSNEQ) assesses students’ perceptions of patient safety education. Objective: To assess PaSNEQ for evaluating pharmacy students’ perceptions of patient safety education during placements. Methods: In a mixed-methods approach, post-clinical placement students adapted PaSNEQ, measuring perceptions of patient safety learning. Focus groups of four participants explored their experiences. Data were analysed for reliability and consistency through thematic analysis. Results: The adapted PaSNEQ showed strong internal consistency and was feasible. Participants reported frequent discussions about patient safety with supervisors and a supportive safety environment. However, 55% lacked experience in reporting safety incidents. Focus group revealed perceived gaps in structured patient safety practices and inconsistencies in their inclusion across placements. Students emphasised the importance of hands-on experience and systematic patient safety learning. Conclusion: The adapted PaSNEQ is reliable for assessing pharmacy students' perceptions. Students recognised the importance of patient safety education and desire more structured, experiential learning, particularly in incident reporting. Integrating tools like the PaSNEQ into pharmacy education can help educators identify gaps, support curriculum development, and better prepare students for pharmacy practice