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A Feasibility Assessment of an Extended LADM: Enhancing Land Administration Systems Through Object-Relational Database Management
No full textThe modernisation of land administration systems (LAS) is essential for enhancing sustainable land management, particularly in developing countries where the challenges of population growth, climate change, and resource scarcity are most pronounced. This paper evaluates the feasibility of implementing an extended land administration domain model (LADM), tailored to the specific needs of developing countries. This study employs an object-relational database management system, PostgreSQL, with its spatial extension PostGIS, to implement the extended LADM. This approach allows for the incorporation of data elements driven from global initiatives, such as those elements reflecting gender equality, indigenous rights, and informal land tenure, into the LAS framework. The process involves extracting and modifying data definition language (DDL) specifications from enterprise architecture frameworks to align with the specific project requirements. The feasibility of the extended LADM is validated through a series of queries that demonstrate the model's enhanced capabilities in addressing critical land administration challenges. This research contributes to the field by offering a standardized data management framework with a focus on less recognized land ownership rights, ensuring more inclusive and effective LAS
Dynamic life cycle assessment of buildings and building stocks – A review
No full textAlthough life cycle assessment (LCA) as a method and framework has been extensively examined in the scientific literature, a new emphasis is put on integrating evolving spatiotemporal conditions of the analysed system, aiming to promote a more robust assessment through dynamic LCA. However, dynamic LCA methodologies remain inconsistent across multiple aspects, including on time-dependency, dynamic parameters, and links with other widely applied tools, such as material stocks and flows analysis or geographic information systems. Focusing on the four main phases of the LCA framework, this work presents a systematic review of the latest scientific literature reporting on prospective LCA modelling of buildings, while covering at least one dynamic parameter, such as the decarbonisation of the energy mix. First, this research presents the bibliometric structure of 64 published documents on the dynamic LCA of buildings, through four network visualisation maps. Then, it identifies a sample of 218 documents through the literature review method, and deeply analyses a sub-sample of 34 documents to systematise the emerging knowledge on dynamism in LCA as applied to buildings. We need a more comprehensive dynamic LCA modelling framework that can assess environmental performance of multiple building types, at a high level of spatial and temporal detail. Such framework should be able to integrate dynamic parameters in a simplified manner, and allow flexible time horizons and spatial scopes. Such framework should be able to quickly provide modelling results that may inform decision-making processes in finding solutions towards the challenges of resource depletion and climate change
HIV, STI, and Hepatitis Among People Who Inject Drugs at a Sexual Health Clinic in Melbourne, Australia: 2012 to 2022
No full textBACKGROUND: This study aimed to examine the sexual practices and sexually transmitted infection (STI) positivity among people who inject drugs (PWID). METHODS: This was a repeated cross-sectional study analyzing data collected at a sexual health center during 2012-2022. New clients who were aged 18 and older, sexually active, and had injected drugs in the last 12 months were eligible for inclusion. Clients were categorized as men who have sex with women only (MSWO), gay or bisexual men who have sex with men (gbMSM), or women. We calculated the 2-year positivity of HIV, STIs, hepatitis B virus (HBV), and hepatitis C virus (HCV), and temporal analyses were conducted using the chi-square trend test. RESULTS: A total of 1229 clients (395 MSWO, 457 gbMSM, and 377 women) were included in the study. There was a significant rise in syphilis (P trend = .0033); however, no significant changes were observed for other infections. The 2-year positivity for syphilis increased significantly from 0.6% (1/156) in 2012/2013 to 10.0% (13/130) in 2020/2021 (P trend = .0033). gbMSM had higher positivity for any infection (29.1%, 133/457) than MSWO (19.8%, 78/395) and women (17.0%, 64/377; P < .001). Positivity of new HIV was 2.6% (95% CI, 1.6%-3.8%; 22/861), infectious syphilis was 6.8% (95% CI, 5.2%-8.7%; 59/866), gonorrhea was 8.6% (95% CI, 6.8%-10.7%; 77/892), chlamydia was 8.7% (95% CI, 7.0%-10.5%; 95/1093), HBV was 0.6% (95% CI, 0.1%-1.6%; 3/545), and HCV antibody was 10.0% (95% CI, 7.4%-13.2%; 45/448). The HCV testing rate was 37.6% (462/1229). CONCLUSIONS: PWID are highly susceptible to STIs and blood-borne infections. Future prevention programs directed at PWID must include increasing the rate of HCV testing and messages related to sexual risk practices to help reduce the burden of disease in PWID
The voice from elsewhere: women's anti-epic in the ancient Greek literary tradition
No full text© 2025 Noah D WellingtonThis thesis examines a tradition of women’s subversive speech acts in Greek literature, which criticises and undermines traditional epic narratives of male valour and martial prowess. Anchored in the feminist theories of Teresa de Lauretis and Julia Kristeva, this thesis uncovers this ‘anti-epic’ tradition in Greek literary works from the Archaic through to the Hellenistic period. Correlated with issues of women’s sexuality, speech, knowledge, and unique relationship with time and memory production, the anti-epic discourse is closely entwined with the anxieties of Greek men concerning each of these. In male-authored texts, the anti-epic discourse is enlarged and filtered through these anxieties. As the archetypical victims of war in the mythology and literature of ancient Greece, the women of Troy—including Helen—are uniquely poised to voice the anti-epic. As women, foreigners, and victims ranging from young womanhood to old age, the Trojan women were focal points for Greek anxieties concerning the reputation and conduct of men in war. Focused on the four Trojan women who recur most frequently in extant Greek literature—Andromache, Cassandra, Hecuba, and Helen—this thesis excavates the anti-epic discourse through close readings of poetic and dramatic texts. The key texts here, beyond the Homeric epics which offer an idiosyncratic perspective on the content of conventional heroic epic, are fragments 16 and 44 of Sappho, the Trojan Women, Hecuba, Andromache, and Helen of Euripides, and the Alexandra of Lycophron. These texts demonstrate the continuity and consistency of the anti-epic discourse and its close entanglement with male anxieties—particularly in Euripides and Lycophron—which were similarly consistent. Ultimately, this thesis offers a reading of Greek literature that is opposed to the mainstream discourses of the ancient Greek world. The anti-epic reveals not only the underbelly of the masculine pursuit of war, but opens a window into the submerged knowledge, memory, and speech of ancient women
Delirium is associated with inpatient morbidity in the Specialist Treatment of Inpatients: Caring for Diabetes in Surgery (STOIC-D Surgery) randomised controlled trial
No full textAim: To determine the prevalence of and associations with delirium in hospitalised surgical patients in the STOIC-D trial and evaluate its association with healthcare-associated infection (HAI) and patient-stay patient-day-weighted mean glucose (PSPDWMG)). STOIC-D Surgery investigated the effect of early intervention with a specialist-led “proactive” model of care for patients admitted with diabetes.
Methods: A total of 1,371 patients from STOIC-D Surgery were audited for delirium. Patients aged below 65 were excluded. The remaining patients were audited for 4AT score ≥4, positive Single question in Delirium and positive free-text identification of delirium or confusion. Delirium incidence was compared between groups. Multivariable regression was performed to identify associations with delirium. Co-variables included age, gender, modified Charlson Comorbidity Index excluding age and diabetes (mCCI), length of stay (LOS) and PSPDWMG.
Results: 758 patients met criteria for the study, there was no statistically significant differences in clinical characteristics. Prevalence of delirium was 35.8% in the STOIC-D Surgery intervention arm and 39.5% in the control arm (p=0.33). Patients with delirium (Odds Ratio [OR] 1.64; Confidence interval [CI] 1.03-2.64, p=0.04), in the control arm (OR 1.64 CI 1.03-2.64, p<0.002) and with longer LOS (OR 1.09, CI 1.07-1.11, p<0.001) were independently associated with HAI. Patients in the control arm (OR 1.35, CI 1.02-1.81, p<0.001) and shorter LOS (OR 0.97, CI 0.96-0.98, p<0.001) was independently associated with higher PSPDWMG.
Conclusion: Delirium, standard diabetes care and longer LOS were associated with increased incidence of HAI. Integrating delirium risk assessment and proactive glycaemic management may reduce complications in hospitalised surgical patients with diabetes
Interactions among wildtype and heat-evolved photosymbionts shape performance of coral recruits
No full textAbstract
Anthropogenic climate change has driven many coral reef ecosystems to the brink of collapse as extreme temperature events cause widespread bleaching and mortality. Interventions that boost coral resilience are being developed to help restore reefs, and one such intervention is the manipulation of a coral’s symbiotic algae (which greatly affects their host’s physiology). New experimentally evolved symbiont strains have shown promise in increasing their host’s thermal tolerance, but how they will perform in juvenile corals when other strains are present is unclear. This study investigates the uptake and establishment of experimentally evolved Cladocopium proliferum and Durusdinium trenchii in mixed inocula and describes the effects hosting multiple symbiont strains has on the growth and survival of juvenile corals. Our results reveal that while both strains in the mixed culture inocula were taken up, most recruits were dominated by D. trenchii. Corals hosting D. trenchii over C. proliferum also displayed faster growth despite previous studies showing the opposite. We show that the costs and benefits of hosting mixed communities are highly dependent on the identities of the individual strains therein and suggest the compatibility of symbiont–symbiont–host assemblages should be assessed before being used for restoration
Key stakeholders’ perspectives on implementation of risk-based population breast cancer screening in Australia – “We can either get on the bus or get under it”
No full textBackground: Risk-based breast cancer screening would be a dramatic shift from the current one-size-fits-all model to a tailored approach where screening modality and frequency is directed by individual risk. This project assesses what key stakeholders, defined as those holding managerial and decision-making roles within BreastScreen, consider the issues are with implementing a risk-based approach to screening. Methods: A qualitative approach was undertaken, recruiting participants through professional networks with interviews guided by the Consolidated Framework of Implementation Research (CFIR). Participants were key stakeholders defined as those managing, overseeing and influencing Breast Screen throughout Australia. Data were deductively coded against a CFIR-informed codebook, followed by content analysis per CFIR domain. Results: Twenty interviews were conducted with 21 participants. 144 initial codes consolidated into 17 final themes. Key stakeholders are supportive and optimistic about risk-based screening in principle; however several issues exist, including knowledge gaps precluding support of evidence-based implementation. Concerns about worsening inequities within screening, cost and communication with clients are major issues key stakeholders consider important to address in the planning and implementing a change to the program. Conclusions: Key stakeholders in Australia were overwhelmingly enthusiastic about the benefits of a risk-based approach however there are concerns about risk assessment utility, cost and the potential risk to equity in the program. Systematic assessment of these concerns will be required to facilitate successful change to the well-established breast screening program in Australia should risk-stratification be undertaken
Teacher readiness for health promotion: A survey of Australian pre-service teachers’ knowledge, attitudes and skills
No full textWhole-school approaches to health promotion such as Health-promoting Schools (HPS) recognise the importance of health and wellbeing for student learning and educational outcomes, as well as schools as settings that support health and wellbeing. A myriad of teacher actions contribute to student health and wellbeing including creating positive social-emotional environments, modelling healthy behaviours, identifying concerning behaviours, and encouraging students and their families to access health services. In the absence of research on teacher trainees, we set out to explore pre-service teachers’ knowledge, skills and attitudes towards whole-school approaches to health and wellbeing by inviting students enrolled in postgraduate education training at an Australian university to complete an online survey which was designed to measure knowledge, skills and attitudes about HPS. Responses were obtained from 178 participants (20% response rate). Participants were relatively knowledgeable about HPS but less aware of the requirements to implement and sustain whole-school approaches. While participants generally agreed that teachers’ actions are important in promoting the health of school communities, this was not universally supported. During placements, participants reported high rates of engaging in health-related activities but had differing understanding of their roles in supporting student health and wellbeing. In conclusion, while participants had reasonable theoretical knowledge about whole-school approaches for promoting health, they were less confident about their skills to apply this to teaching practice. Many expressed the need for more practical experiences beyond coursework and others wanted more explicit focus on health promotion in their studies, suggesting greater focus on health promotion is warranted in pre-service and early teacher education
Stimuli-Responsive Materials for Biomedical Applications
No full textStimuli-responsive materials (SRMs) are materials that change properties when exposed to external or internal stimuli. They respond to physiological changes within cells and tissues, as well as external triggers including light, magnetic fields, ultrasound, and electricity. In medicine, SRMs have diverse applications spanning drug delivery, tissue engineering, and diagnostics. They enable targeted drug release at specific times and locations, facilitate tissue generation and repair, and enhance disease detection capabilities. Beyond medical uses, SRMs are employed in smart coatings and artificial muscle systems. The breadth of biomedical applications for SRMs is extensive, generating substantial research into novel and innovative material development. Challenges in creating safe and efficient SRMs for medical treatments have driven innovative approaches in two key areas: functionalizing and modifying naturally occurring materials and developing new synthetic nanomaterials. The complexity of producing effective SRMs has necessitated creative solutions to overcome safety and efficiency barriers in medical applications. This ongoing research continues to expand the potential therapeutic uses of these responsive materials. This review examines literature focused on SRM development for external stimuli responses, particularly light, magnetic fields, ultrasound, and electricity, rather than covering the complete spectrum of stimuli-responsive applications