134125 research outputs found
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Virtual surgical planning with dual-stage guide using internal irrigation for cortical plate access and apicectomy
Full text linkEndodontic microsurgery (EMS) performed on mandibular molars poses complex challenges due to difficult accessibility, thick mandibular plate of bone, and poor visibility. The aim of this case report is to present the clinical application of virtual surgical planning with a novel dual-stage surgical guide featuring integrated internal irrigation, used to facilitate cortical plate access and apicectomy of a mandibular molar. A 64-year-old healthy male patient was referred with the chief complaint of constant ache and discomfort associated with the endodontically treated mandibular right first molar. Clinically, the tooth was tender to percussion. Intraoral periapical radiograph revealed periapical radiolucency associated with the tooth. The tooth was diagnosed with previous endodontic treatment with symptomatic apical periodontitis. EMS was performed on the mesial root, utilizing a dual-stage surgical guide with internal irrigation. The guide enabled controlled corticotomy and apicectomy, followed by retrofilling and repositioning of the bony window. Cone-beam computed tomography at 12 months revealed excellent osseous healing, with only minor remodeling at the mesial cortical plate. The image also demonstrated a clearly defined trephine cutting angle, indicating precise guidance by the second-stage component. The surgical guide design mitigated critical risks by protecting the adjacent distal root, enabling accurate apical third resection, and maintaining effective irrigation throughout the procedure. This case report emphasizes the potential of guided microsurgical techniques in managing complex posterior cases, improving accuracy, safety, and efficiency – while empowering less experienced clinicians with greater procedural confidence.Full Tex
Magnesium oxide nanoparticles enhance tomato growth and magnesium uptake with reduced leaching in acidic soils
No full textMagnesium (Mg) leaching in acidic soils poses a significant challenge to sustainable agriculture. While nanotechnology offers potential solutions, the efficacy of magnesium oxide nanoparticles (MgO-NPs) in mitigating Mg loss remains poorly understood.
This study investigated the effects of MgO-NPs on tomato growth and Mg migration in acidic soil using a soil column experiment, comparing them with conventional bulk MgO and MgSO4.
Our results demonstrated that MgO-NPs were the most effective treatment in reducing Mg leaching, showing a significantly lower Mg migration flux than MgSO4 in tomatoes. Concurrently, MgO-NPs substantially increased exchangeable Mg content in the topsoil (0–20 cm) by over 113% and improved soil pH, thereby enhancing the retention of other key nutrients such as potassium and calcium. These improvements in the soil environment translated into enhanced plant performance: MgO-NPs significantly boosted chlorophyll content, photosynthetic efficiency, and mineral nutrient accumulation, which collectively led to increased plant growth and superior fruit yield and quality.
In conclusion, MgO-NPs present a highly promising sustainable amendment for acidic soils, outperforming traditional Mg fertilizers by simultaneously minimizing nutrient leaching and promoting tomato productivity.No Full Tex
Feeding-associated hypophosphatemia in critically ill patients. A multicentre, observational study
Full text linkBackground Feeding-associated hypophosphataemia in critically ill patients is a well-recognised phenomenon that has been associated with adverse outcomes. However, the research has been limited by various definitions and small sample sizes. Methods A multicentre retrospective cohort study of critically ill patients from six intensive care units in Queensland, Australia. Feeding-associated hypophosphataemia was defined as a decrease of >0.16 mmol.L−1 and a phosphate nadir of 0.80 ≤ mmol.L−1 within 24 h of nutrition commencement. Results A total of 10,672 patients, with a mean age of 56 ± 17 years and a mean Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation III score of 63 ± 27, were included. On the day of nutrition commencement, 7801 (73 %) patients were invasively ventilated, and 7053 (66 %) were on vasopressor support. Within 24 h of nutrition, 1298 (13 %) developed moderate to severe feeding-associated hypophosphataemia. Crude hospital mortality was higher in the moderate/severe feeding-associated hypophosphatemia group compared to the control group (18 % vs. 14 %, p < 0.001). Caloric quantity (aOR = 1.06; 95 %CI [1.02, 1.10]), feeding commenced within 48 h of admission (aOR = 1.56; 95 %CI [1.28, 1.91]) and receiving insulin on the day of feeding start (aOR = 1.22; 95 %CI [1.07, 1.40]) were independently associated with developing feeding-associated hypophosphataemia. After adjustment for confounders, moderate-severe feeding-associated hypophosphataemia was independently associated with an increased risk of 30-day hospital mortality (HR = 1.30; 95 %CI [1.08 to 1.56]). Conclusion In a large group of critically ill patients, almost one in seven patients experienced moderate to severe hypophosphatemia after starting to consume calories. The dose of caloric intake and early nutrition initiation were linked to its development. Additionally, moderate to severe hypophosphatemia was independently associated with a higher risk of 30-day hospital mortality.Full Tex
Optimizing UAV-based herbicide applications for sustainable wheat weed management by a novel multi-parameter field evaluation under variable environmental conditions
Full text linkUnmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) offer potential for precise, sustainable herbicide application in wheat, but their efficacy under variable field conditions requires robust evaluation. This study aims to rectify these research gaps and introduces a novel multi-parameter field evaluation of UAV-based herbicide applications for sustainable wheat weed management, explicitly evaluating the critical impact of real-time meteorological variability and application parameters. Field experiments over two growing seasons (2021/2022 and 2022/2023) compared UAV applications (30 L ha−1, fine-to-medium droplets) at 1.5 m and 2.5 m altitudes with conventional spraying (200 L ha−1, medium-coarse droplets), using constant doses of two commercial herbicide formulations (1. tritosulfuron + florasulam; 2. iodosulfuron-methyl-sodium + amidosulfuron + mefenpyr-diethyl). Efficacy was measured via species-specific weed density and fresh mass reduction. UAV treatments achieved significantly higher or equivalent suppression of Capsella bursa-pastoris, Lactuca serriola, Sinapis arvensis, and Veronica persica compared to conventional spraying. Despite more challenging conditions (high temperature, lower humidity, stronger wind) in the second season, overall efficacy increased, attributed to using a more effective herbicide formulation, underscoring the critical role of herbicide selection for UAV systems. Lamium purpureum exhibited significant weather sensitivity, with lower flight altitude enhancing fresh mass reduction. Correlation analysis suggested temperature positively (r = 0.586, p = 0.045) and wind velocity negatively (r = ̵ 0.588, p = 0.045) influenced treatment efficacy. UAV applications achieved up to 90 % efficacy in the second year by 31 DAHA (i.e., herbicide application) while using 85 % less water. This research provides the first multi-parameter field validation of UAV herbicide application under variable environmental conditions, demonstrating its viability and significant water-saving potential. The findings offer crucial, actionable inferences for optimizing UAV parameters (altitude, droplet size) with herbicide selection and real-time weather data, benefiting global precision agriculture efforts towards resource-efficient and environmentally responsible weed management.Full Tex
Associations among autistic adults' self-reported literacy ability, autism traits, and quality of life
No full textPurpose: We sought to investigate autistic adults’ perceptions of their literacy skills and to examine if an association exists between these perceptions, autism traits, and Quality of Life (QoL). Methods: Participants were 163 autistic adults who completed measures of their literacy-related abilities, autism traits, and QoL. Results: Seventy-five percent of participants (n = 163) reported favorable perceptions of their literacy ability. Participants' literacy ability was positively associated with four QoL domains: physical health, psychological health, social relationships, and environment. Conclusion: This study offers important insights for autistic individuals, researchers, educators, and clinicians as they seek ways to co-identify responsive and effective early literacy support to improve life outcomes for autistic people.No Full Tex
Courting disaster: loss and long-term recovery of Tooth-billed Bowerbird courts after two tropical cyclones
No full textClimate change is the only known threat to Tooth-billed Bowerbirds and may include the impacts of tropical cyclones (TCs) which damage court sites and food resources. We monitored three groups of courts on the Atherton Tablelands, Queensland, for 15 years after TC Larry (2006) and TC Yasi (2011) which damaged the surrounding forest. Court numbers fell sharply after TC Larry, remained depressed following TC Yasi, and persisted at 50–60% of pre-Larry levels for over a decade. Recovery of court numbers began only after 10–12 years, reaching 86% of pre-Larry numbers across the three groups by 2020. Most courts were re-established in traditional locations, and leaf-decorating ‘cultures’ were maintained. Although TC Larry, probably exacerbated by TC Yasi, had severe and long-lasting effects on the number of Tooth-billed Bowerbird courts, we assume that forest resources recovered sufficiently within the species’ life span to allow surviving males to re-establish courts. With more frequent intense cyclones under climate change, Tooth-billed Bowerbird groups impacted by such events may be at heightened risk of local extirpation.No Full Tex
Optimizing tissue and tracer selection for improving the traceability of aquaculture fish and prawns
No full textGeographic traceability of seafood products is essential for seafood authentication, sustainability, and biosecurity. Elemental profiling is often used to differentiate geographic origins of aquatic species due to relatively fine-scale spatial differences in environmental trace elements. However, regional differences in the trace element profiles of marine consumers are often difficult to distinguish due to species-specific regulation, metabolism, and accumulation processes. This study assessed the influence of tissue selection and tracer combinations on the geographic traceability of farmed Barramundi (Lates calcarifer) and Black Tiger Prawns (Penaeus monodon) across chemically distinct regions in Australia. Trace elements (TE) were analyzed in pond and estuary water, feed, and animal tissues including muscle, gill, liver, and kidney of fish and muscle, gill, and pleopods of prawns. Stable isotopes (SI) of C, N, and S were analyzed in feed and animal muscle samples. Regional differences in water chemistry were observed, and ponds had similar TE profiles to nearby estuaries. Different feed brands also varied in their TE composition. Multivariate analyses indicated that metabolically active fish tissues such as liver show clear separation of samples by geographic region and excellent discriminatory power. For prawns, pleopods yielded similar discriminatory power to muscle, indicating the potential use of pleopods as a non-lethal sampling alternative. Increasing sample size or combining TE and SI tracers are both suitable options for improving origin assignment of muscle samples. These findings provide practical guidance for optimizing tissue selection and sampling design in elemental profiling studies.Full Tex
When traditional restaurants meet service robots: Consumption rituals, authenticity and brand trust
No full textAs robotic technology reshapes dining experiences, few studies have explored the efficacy of service robots in traditional restaurants where consumption rituals are deeply embedded. Drawing on sense-making theory, this research aims to critically examine how service provider type (human vs. robot) interacts with consumption rituals (present vs. absent) to shape brand trust in traditional restaurants. Through three controlled experiments, the findings reveal a matching effect that human servers enhance brand trust when consumption rituals are present, whereas robot servers are more effective in non-ritualistic settings. These effects are mediated by distinct authenticity perceptions: human servers strengthen moral authenticity, while robot servers enhance food authenticity. By uncovering the nuanced sense-making process underlying human-robot interactions, this research advances knowledge by identifying authenticity as a dual-pathway mechanism in ritualistic dining contexts. Practically, this research provides insights into optimizing service automation in traditional restaurants, balancing technological innovation with cultural preservation to enhance brand trust.No Full Tex
Paint it white: Non-toxic white powder suspensions for enhancing bloody fingermarks on dark substrates
No full textBloody fingermarks serve as critical evidence in forensic investigations; however, their detection on dark substrates remains a challenge for practitioners. Although some highly effective methods exist for visualising such marks, they can have limitations and are generally protein dye treatments delivered in multi-step fixing and staining processes. In contrast, wet powder suspensions are commonly used to develop latent fingermarks on the adhesive side of tape, and some limited research has demonstrated their effectiveness in detecting bloody fingermarks. However, existing methods typically rely on commercially available products or methanol-based powder suspensions, which pose flammability and toxicity risks. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a simple, water-based, laboratory-prepared white powder suspension for detecting bloody fingermarks across various surfaces. Experimental results demonstrated that suspensions formulated with white fingerprint powder effectively visualised bloody fingermarks. A comparison study indicated that viscosity and the inclusion of a surfactant had minimal impact on fingermark quality, with the laboratory-prepared suspensions performing comparably to a commercial product. Further experiments revealed that higher-viscosity formulations yielded optimal development on complex substrates and that describing the desired consistency as “thick paint” was sufficient guidance for a fingerprint expert and a scenes-of-crime officer to successfully develop the majority of the bloody fingermarks in a blind pseudo-operational study. Laboratory-prepared white powder suspensions present a novel and practical approach for detecting bloody fingermarks on dark surfaces, expanding forensic capabilities and offering an accessible, cost-effective alternative for resource-limited jurisdictions in alignment with frugal forensic principles.No Full Tex
Tour guides as climate change agents: Conceptualizing meaningful work through agency theory in precarious employment
No full textThis paper addresses the mediating role of tour guides in educating tourists in climate sensitive regions. This role can be crucial in educating tourists about climate change and promoting environmentally responsible behaviour. However, tour guides frequently work under precarious employment conditions, such as freelancers, casual workers, or task-based labourers, which offer limited job security, benefits, or formal employment rights. Climate sensitivity offers opportunity to add meaning to work that tour guides undertake. Employing agency theory, this study addresses the gap in understanding how tour guides find meaning in their work as climate change advocates through indepth interviews with 43 casual-work tour guides. Findings reveal tour guides in climate-sensitive regions find significant meaning in their work as climate change advocates.No Full Tex