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Exploring solutions to reduce diet-related health inequities in people experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage
No full textNutritional intake and dietary patterns significantly impact a person’s health and disease trajectory throughout life. These patterns are influenced by factors such as genetics, psychological factors, health literacy, nutrition knowledge, social and cultural influences, physical environments, food prices, employment conditions, food marketing, economic disparities and government policies. Collectively, these factors affect long-term dietary patterns and nutrition-related health outcomes. Poor diet quality is a key modifiable risk factor for non-communicable diseases (NCDs), contributing to 11 million deaths and 255 million disability-adjusted life years globally. Health inequities, including higher rates of NCDs, disability, and early mortality, are significantly higher among people experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage compared to the general population. Socioeconomic disadvantage is a primary driver of food insecurity and lack of access to standard health care, further exacerbating diet-related health inequities.Although NCDs have complex and multifaceted causes, focusing on reducing modifiable risk factors such as suboptimal diet and improved access to health services, could effectively reduce or prevent these diseases. Nutrition interventions are highly effective in the prevention and treatment of NCDs, therefore improving dietary practices should be a central component in addressing health inequities, especially for people experiencing disadvantage. Despite this knowledge, there is limited research on long-term effective strategies to address dietary-related health inequities among people experiencing disadvantage, and there has been minimal collaboration with those directly involved in either accessing or providing services, where interventions could be particularly impactful. This highlights a need for broader innovative solutions. The primary aim of this research was to investigate the current landscape of nutrition-related services within charitable food and charitable residential care. There was a focus on developing policies and/or practices that are considerate of social, environmental and economic barriers to promote long-term nutritional health and minimise the risk of NCDs, and reduce diet-related health inequities. Additionally, this research sought to collaborate with key stakeholders to develop a cost-effective, self-sustaining framework for organisations, with broad applicability to improve nutrition-related health outcomes for people experiencing disadvantage.</p
Characteristics and clinical management of eosinophilic esophagitis in Australia: a national survey
No full textAustralian children and adults with EoE are characteristically similar to other Western populations.Self-imposed dietary restriction and limited food reintroduction may raise concerns about nutritional adequacy.</p
Understanding the Lifestyle Risk Profile of Men and Their Engagement With Preventive Care: A Cross-Sectional Survey
No full textAim: To explore men's health status and lifestyle risk profile and understand how they engage with preventive health care. Design: A cross-sectional survey within a sequential mixed-methods project. Methods: Four hundred thirty-one adult males, working or volunteering for the New South Wales Rural Fire Service (NSW RFS) completed the survey between September and November 2022. The survey captured demographic data, health status and lifestyle characteristics, as well as engagement with preventive health care. Results: Nearly three-quarters of respondents (n = 314; 72.8%) described themselves as being in good or very good health. Just 18.6% of respondents recorded a ‘healthy’ body mass index (BMI), despite only 29.9% having been told by a doctor that they were overweight/obese. Most (n = 344; 79.8%) respondents identified having a regular general practitioner (GP)/general practice. Nearly all respondents described having had blood pressure measurements (n = 403; 93.5%) and lipid profile (n = 346, 80.3%) in the last 2 years. Having a regular GP/general practice was significantly associated with engaging in all preventive and screening activities, except having a dental check. Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate a significant opportunity to support men to reduce lifestyle risk, despite their current engagement with general practice. Strategies need to support men and health professionals to have conversations about risk and risk reduction to promote behaviour change. Nurses are well placed to provide preventive health care to men in general practice. The general practice nurse has a key role in communicating lifestyle risk, supporting patients in modifying their behaviours and reducing the impact of such factors on their health and well-being. Implications for the Profession and/or Patient Care: Communicating the importance of lifestyle risk factors is imperative in supporting men to achieve behavioural change in the reduction in lifestyle risk. Nurses are well-placed to take a leading role in this area. Reporting Method: The STROBE checklist guided reporting. Patient or Public Contribution: Survey development was undertaken in collaboration with members of the NSW RFS. Key contacts within the organisation were involved in reviewing the analysis and interpretation of findings.</p
“It's the Ride of Your Life”: A Qualitative Study on Survivor Awareness and Understanding of Blood and Marrow Transplantation
No full textObjective: This paper describes blood and marrow transplantation (BMT) survivors’ and carers' knowledge and understanding of BMT and long-term care requirements. Methods: Semistructured, online interviews with 22 BMT survivors and 6 carers were used to collect qualitative data. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: Findings indicate the diversity of information and education received by survivors, the importance of timing in the delivery of information, and the need to provide education as an ongoing intervention in the long-term care provided. Conclusions: The health, psychological, and functional status of BMT survivors is significantly improved by the provision of better education, understanding, and decision-making around their long-term care. Many survivors lack a good understanding of the BMT process, the late effects of BMT, and the need for and mechanism of long-term follow-up. As the number of BMT survivors increases over time, improvements in how and where education and support are provided need to be addressed to ensure adherence to recommended long-term follow-up requirements. Implications for Nursing Practice: Nurses who work with BMT survivors should continuously reassess survivors' knowledge and understanding of their condition and provide person-centered education and resources to assist learning and treatment adherence throughout the transplant journey. Further research is necessary to explore the validity and processes of consent for BMT and establish the best model of care for long-term follow-up and education.</p
Accounting for the Institution of Peshgi: A Case Study of Vernacular Accounting Practices in a Pakistani Brick Kiln
No full textPurpose: This thesis explores vernacular accounting practices in relation to the institutionalised practice of bonded labour (the Peshgi system) in Pakistan’s brick kiln industry. Despite the extensive focus on accounting systems across diverse industries, vernacular accounting practices related to work arrangements such as the Peshgi system, remain underexplored. This thesis explores the historical development of the Peshgi system as an institutional work arrangement and how it impacts local accounting practice in the informal sector and its influence on labour dynamics in the brick kiln industry.Theoretical and Methodological Approach: This thesis employs a two-stage analysis based on a theoretical framework grounded in Historical Institutionalism and Vernacular Accounting Systems (VAS). Recognising accounting as a culturally embedded and socially constructed phenomenon, Historical Institutionalism provides a means to explore institutionalised practices by tracing its origins and highlighting how historical forces shape contemporary VAS. Accounting for Peshgi presents an alternative to standardised double-entry bookkeeping. Therefore, the thesis adopts a case study approach to study the accounting records of the Good Bricks Company situated in the Pakistani Brick Belt.Findings: This thesis provides a critique of current understandings of the Peshgi system as modern slavery, particularly the concept of debt bondage. Debt bondage is characterised by the presence of exploitation in the form of threat, violence, coercion, deception, and/or abuse of power. In this thesis, the Peshgi system emerges, not merely as an archaic remnant, but as a dynamic manifestation of historical contingencies including colonial rule and subsequent postcolonial Partition. On one hand, the bonded labourer is rendered visible in the accounting records, and the repayment of debt is revealed through an intricate system of accounts. On the other hand, the family members and children of the bonded labourer are not accounted for. While the VAS represents a routinised and institutional practice with enabling potential for the Peshgi labourer, it is silent on other labourers in the brick kiln.Research contributions: The thesis reveals that VAS are a significant phenomenon in some settings. The Peshgi system in Pakistan’s brick kilns offers insights into how accounting shapes labour dynamics and perceptions of bonded labour as exploitative or as an historic and conventional practice. The study expands the literature on vernacular accounting practices by exploring a novel context and underscoring the ongoing influence of colonial histories on contemporary accounting.Research limitations: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic during the research design phase impacted the ability to conduct interviews. Instead, the thesis relies on an interpretation of accounting records which presented a rich data source to study accounting for Peshgi.Future research: Future research could extend the analysis to brick kilns in other contexts with a different historical trajectory including regions beyond the “Brick Belt”. Exploring contexts where Peshgi is not a feature of work arrangements would offer insights into other forms of labour relations within the brick kiln industry. Investigating brick kiln operations in different contexts such as non-British colonies would provide a contrast to the effects of the Partition on socio-economic practices. Future research would benefit from incorporating interviews with bonded labourers and families to understand their perceptions of Peshgi, especially the understanding from women and children within the brick kiln industry.</p
Adaptive Acoustic Metamaterials Based on Magnetorheological Elastomer and Magnetofluid for Vibration Control
No full textThis Ph.D. thesis focuses on advancing the field of acoustic metamaterials by integrating smart materials, particularly magnetorheological elastomers (MREs), to enhance vibration control capabilities. Over recent decades, acoustic metamaterials have emerged as a promising solution for vibration isolation and noise reduction, utilizing their unique ability to create bandgaps where vibrations and waves are significantly attenuated. While traditional acoustic metamaterials have seen success in creating narrow and relatively high-frequency bandgaps, applications often demand for wider and lower-frequency bandgaps, especially in fields such as civil engineering, automotive, and precision equipment where low-frequency vibrations can cause significant issues. This research seeks to address these limitations through the novel use of MRE-based acoustic metamaterials, which offer tunable stiffness properties, thereby enabling adaptive vibration control in real-time.One of the primary contributions of this thesis is the design and experimental validation of several MRE-based acoustic metamaterial isolators that use semi-active control to adjust bandgap properties dynamically. In these designs, MREs have tunable stiffness which can be modified when different external magnetic fields are applied, allowing the bandgap frequency ranges to be controlled in real-time. Negative stiffness elements, achieved through opposing permanent magnets, help to achieve the low-frequency vibration isolation of the MRE acoustic metamaterial isolator. According to the nonlinearity of the magnetic force, structural stiffness at low amplitudes is relatively low, which is better for the vibration suppression, while the stiffness can be larger at higher amplitudes which is suitable for the maintenance of structural stability. Additionally, by introducing negative stiffness structures and inerters, the thesis demonstrates that the bandgap can not only be shifted to lower frequency ranges but also widened. The inerters within the acoustic metamaterial system introduce additional masses to the resonators without significantly increasing self-weight. This feature contributes to achieving lower-frequency bandgaps while maintaining the stability of the system.Additionally, this thesis explores the potential of magnetofluid (MF) based acoustic metamaterial for actively acoustic wave manipulation. MFs are fluids that respond to magnetic fields and alter their shape. Under varying magnetic field strengths and orientations, the shape of the MF changes, which can effectively affect the distribution of the acoustic field and create new energy bands for the acoustic metamaterial. With varying volumes of MF, different magnetic field strengths, and directional magnetic poles, experiments demonstrate that the metamaterial can achieve diverse acoustic wave manipulation effects, including selective wave guidance and concentration. By introducing designed structural defects within the acoustic metamaterial, the research demonstrate that acoustic waves can be guided or concentrated, which allows for applications requiring directed sound waves or focused acoustic energy.The findings of this research not only contribute to the application of acoustic metamaterials in practical engineering fields, but also highlight the potential of MREs and MFs as smart materials for tunable acoustic metamaterials. This work paves the way for further advancements in acoustic metamaterial research, particularly in achieving lower and broader bandgaps. It also contributes to the development of tunable acoustic metamaterials capable of real-time adaptation to changing environmental conditions and varying vibration frequencies.</p
Francine's Quest: Learning from the Academy and the Street
No full textFrancine is a nurse, but her passion is helping activists be more effective. She decides to find out what activists can learn from academic work - maybe nothing! How better to do this than by recruiting some of her activist friends to join the project? Francine and her co-investigators explore how to obtain and understand scholarly articles and what it means to think theoretically, and get some insight into what it’s like to be an academic. While making some progress in their quest, each one is inspired in a personal way.
This is a fictional story for activists and potential activists so they can better understand what’s going on in the academic world and figure out what, if anything, they might be able to learn from it.</p
Characterising blast environment and structural loading from large-scale unconfined hydrogen explosions
No full textUnderstanding the risks of hydrogen explosions is essential to mitigating hazards and ensuring safe implementation in various applications. This study investigates the blast environment and structural loading associated with large-scale, unconfined hydrogen-air explosions. A 5.09 m3 tent was filled with a stoichiometric hydrogen-air mixture and ignited using various initiation methods to generate different combustion modes (deflagration, fast deflagration, and detonation). The results revealed pronounced differences in flame velocity and blast loading between these combustion modes (e.g., approximately 33 times faster flame velocity, 40 times higher peak overpressure, and 2 times higher positive phase impulse between deflagration and detonation modes). Experimental measurements of the incident and reflected blast wave parameters were processed and compared with existing empirical models and equivalent TNT. Additionally, a method to determine reflected blast parameters by converting incident blast parameters, either experimentally or empirically obtained, is proposed, which could be used by structural engineers to assess structural response to hydrogen explosions.</p
Investigation of Novel Transmissions for Electric Vehicles
No full textElectric vehicles (EVs) are regarded as the most promising and sustainable option for personal urban transportation over the coming decades due to their minimal environmental pollution, low noise levels, high efficiency, versatility in energy sources, and capability for energy feedback. However, one significant limitation of EVs is their relatively short driving range. Enhancing the powertrain's efficiency is a crucial and effective strategy to extend the driving distance of EVs. A dual-clutch transmission (DCT) in electric vehicles can substantially reduce torque interruption and enhance shifting comfort. Additionally, a two-speed transmission can significantly improve driving performance, lower energy consumption, reduce the size of the electric motor, and offer a balanced trade-off between efficiency and dynamic performance compared to a central electric motor with a single-speed transmission. This thesis investigates the novel two-speed DCT for EVs.This thesis begins by examining existing literature on two-speed transmissions, DCT, magneto-rheological fluid (MRF), MRF-based clutches, modelling of hysteresis, torque control in DCT, and gear shifting mechanisms in DCT. It identifies the relevant research gaps within these areas.Secondly, this thesis introduces an innovative two-speed DCT featuring two traditional friction clutches and a two-stage planetary gear set. The powertrain models, encompassing the electric motor, the two-speed DCT and vehicle dynamics, are developed using MATLAB/Simulink®. To enhance both dynamic and economic performance, a fuzzy logic-based gear shift schedule, designed to capture the driver's intentions, is implemented. The effectiveness of this proposed gear shift schedule is validated through comparisons with a conventional two-parameter gear shift schedule. Simulation results demonstrate that the dynamic and economic performance of the novel DCT for EVs is significantly improved with the fuzzy logic gear shift schedule.Thirdly, this thesis presents an innovative MRF dual-clutch (MRFDC) design for the two-speed transmission in EVs, combining the advantages of dual-clutch transmissions (DCT) and magneto-rheological fluid (MRF) clutches. The MRFDC consists of an internal clutch and an external clutch, both of which can switch between two gears by adjusting the input current through their respective coils. Finite element analysis of the magnetic field is employed to establish the relationship between the input current and magnetic flux density. The output torque model is formulated using the Herschel-Bulkley model to characterize MRF behaviour, thereby determining the correlation between the transmissible torque and the applied input current. The MRFDC model is experimentally validated on a testbed, including separate transmissible torque and response time tests for the internal and external MRF clutches. The test results are consistent with the simulation results, with differences within 2 N·m, suggesting that the MRFDC can be effectively applied in EVs to enhance vehicle performance.Fourthly, this study explores the nonlinear hysteresis phenomena in a prototyped MRFDC used in EV transmission systems. It provides a detailed analysis of three commonly used hysteresis models: the Bouc-Wen model and the algebraic model (parametric), and the NARX model (non-parametric). The models are evaluated based on accuracy, fitting time, and stack size. The results show that the NARX model excels in accuracy but requires significantly more memory. The algebraic model is noted for its computational efficiency due to its simple expression, while the Bouc-Wen model falls in an intermediate position for all three metrics. To enhance the classic Bouc-Wen model (CBW), a fractional-order modified Bouc-Wen model (FOMBW) is introduced, incorporating polynomial input functions and fractional-order derivatives. The FOMBW model demonstrates superior performance in capturing asymmetric and rate-dependent characteristics compared to the CBW model. These insights provide a foundation for selecting an appropriate model to accurately capture nonlinear current hysteresis phenomena in MRFDCs, ensuring precise torque control during gear shifting.Finally, this study proposes a Gaussian Process (GP) hysteresis inverse model to compensate for the hysteresis observed in an MRFDC of an EV transmission, which enables the accurate determination of current commands corresponding to desired input torques, thereby facilitating feedforward compensation for the control of the MRFDC. The GP hysteresis inverse model effectively captures the nonlinear and rate-dependent hysteresis characteristics by incorporating both the clutch’s actual torque and its changing rate as inputs. Based on this point, a hybrid controller is designed, which integrates the Proportional-Integral (PI) feedback controller with a GP hysteresis inverse model-based feedforward compensator. The performance of the proposed hybrid controller is evaluated through a series of comparative experiments conducted on a prototyped MRFDC EV transmission platform. The results demonstrate that the proposed hybrid controller consistently outperforms a conventional PI controller after addressing the rate-dependent hysteresis characteristic of the MRFDC, exhibiting superior control performance across all tested scenarios, including single clutch torque tracking and clutch-shifting process.</p
Investigating FTIR spectroscopy and boron isotopes as novel proxies for wildfire characteristics
No full textWildfires are a critical component of the natural environment that controls landscape and biological evolution. Our ability to model how fire regimes may change in response to climate change is therefore crucial to understanding and managing the effects of wildfires. In Australia, fire records extend back 60 years at most, which is too short to construct a reliable fire regime model. Ongoing efforts to extend the fire record using proxies such as charcoals are hindered by the difficulty in constraining important fire characteristics such as fire severity and fire intensity, restricting our understanding of the environmental response to wildfires in the past. Thus, there is an urgent needfor new methods of constraining fire characteristics of past wildfires. Boron isotopes are cycled heavily through vegetation and could potentially be used to infer fire severity. However, boron isotope fractionation is sensitive to many factors, and their behavior during wildfires has not been analysed. In addition, previous studies have shown FTIR spectroscopy of soils and charcoals to be sensitive to artificial heating, but the sensitivity has never been tested with wildfires in the natural environment. This study investigates how wildfires modify boron isotopes and FTIR spectra of soils and charcoals, thereby testing their viability as novel fire characteristic proxies. Soil and charcoal samples from Yengo National Park and the Blue Mountains (NSW, Australia), which had last experienced a fire in 2001/2002 and 2019-2020 fire seasons, respectively, were analysed. In addition, lithium isotopes, which are not cycled through vegetation but otherwise behaves similarly to boron isotopes, were analysed for soils from Yengo National Park, the Blue Mountains, and Namadgi National Park (ACT, Australia), in order to elucidate the effects of wildfires on abiotic systems. Boron isotopes are highly fractionated by plants, resulting in leaves being isotopically heavier than barks. This intra-plant boron isotope fractionation is the dominant factor controlling boron isotope composition in soils following wildfires. Higher severity fires combust more leaves, imparting a heavier boron isotope composition to soils relative to low severity fires, as observed in Yengo National Park. However, soil samples from the Blue Mountains suggest a time lag of more than two years may be required to increase the hysteresis of boron isotope signals in the soil, so that boron adsorbed onto clays is not easily desorbed by water. In contrast, bark charcoals created in higher severity fires have a lighter boron isotope composition. As the intra-plant boron isotope fractionation is not involved, the boron isotope compositions of charcoals are likely controlled by combustion temperature and boron isotope fractionation during volatilisation. Therefore, boron isotopes in both soil and charcoal can respond to fire severity, although boron isotopes in charcoals are more reliable, and can differentiate moderate or higher severity fires from low severity fires with a 85 % accuracy. FTIR spectroscopy shows that in both charcoals and soils, the aromatic/aliphatic peak area ratios are higher for higher severity fires, due to the thermal destruction of aliphatic compounds. However, necromass deposition in the soil could disrupt this trend in the soil. The dehydroxylation of clay minerals such as kaolinite and gibbsite can also be detected with FTIR spectroscopy, which helps constrain soil temperature during different severity fires. Both the aromatic/aliphatic peakarea ratio and clay alteration are sensitive to temperature, thus allowing FTIR spectroscopy to infer fire intensity of wildfires. Lithium isotopes in the soil have large variations depending on the isotope composition of parent materials. After experiencing a fire of moderate or higher severity, lithium isotope compositions of soils converge to 0 h. How wildfires may homogenise soil lithium isotopes is unknown, with lithium input from plant and aeolian sources or output from leaching being inadequate explanations. The sensitivity of lithium isotopes to fire severity suggest their use as a robust fire severity proxy, and future research should focus on understanding the mechanism of their response to wildfires. Overall, this study highlights the potential use of boron and lithium isotopes, in addition to FTIR spectroscopy, as novel fire severity or intensity proxies. </p