19683 research outputs found
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Chemiluminescence and electrochemiluminescence of water-soluble iridium(III) complexes containing a tetraethylene-glycol functionalised triazolylpyridine ligand
No full textBackground: Iridium(III) complexes, exhibiting high luminescence quantum yields and a wide range of emission colours, are promising alternatives to tris(2,2ʹ-bipyridine)ruthenium(II) for chemiluminescence (CL) and electrochemiluminescence (ECL) detection. This emerging class of reagent, however, is limited by the poor solubility of many iridium(III) complexes in aqueous solution, and lack of understanding of their remarkably variable selectivities towards different analytes.
Results: Seven [Ir(C^N)2(pt-TEG)]+ complexes, exhibiting a wide range of reduction potentials and emission energies, were examined with six model analytes. For CL, cerium(IV) was used as the oxidant. The alkylamine analytes generally produced greater CL and ECL with the more readily oxidised Ir(III) complexes (C^N = piq, bt, ppy), predominantly through the ‘direct’ pathway requiring oxidation of both metal complex and analyte. Aniline derivatives that did not also contain secondary or tertiary alkylamines elicited CL from the less readily oxidised complexes (C^N = df-ppy-CF3, df-ppy) via energy transfer. The most difficult to oxidise complexes (C^N = df(CF3)-ppy-Me, df(CN)-ppy) gave poor responses due to the limited potential window of the solvent and inefficiency of energy transfer to their high energy excited states. Greater CL and/or ECL intensities were generally obtained for each analyte with at least one Ir(III) complex than with [Ru(bpy)3]2+; superior limits of detection for two analytes were demonstrated.
Significance: This exploration of CL/ECL in which the properties of luminophore, analyte and oxidant are all varied provides a new understanding of the influence of the metal-complex potentials and excited state energy on the light-producing and quenching pathways, and consequently, their distinct selectivity towards different analytes. These findings will guide the development of water-soluble Ir(III) complexes as CL and ECL reagents. </p
Recruitment and baseline characteristics of young adults at risk of early-onset knee osteoarthritis after ACL reconstruction in the SUPER-Knee trial
No full textOBJECTIVES: The study aims to (1) report the process of recruiting young adults into a secondary knee osteoarthritis prevention randomised controlled trial (RCT) after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR); (2) determine the number of individuals needed to be screened to include one participant (NNS) and (3) report baseline characteristics of randomised participants. METHODS: The SUpervised exercise-therapy and Patient Education Rehabilitation (SUPER)-Knee RCT compares SUPER and minimal intervention for young adults (aged 18-40 years) with ongoing symptoms (ie, mean score of <80/100 from four Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score subscales (KOOS4)) 9-36 months post-ACLR. The NNS was calculated as the number of prospective participants screened to enrol one person. At baseline, participants provided medical history, completed questionnaires (demographic, injury/surgery, rehabilitation characteristics) and underwent physical examination. RESULTS: 1044 individuals were screened to identify 567 eligible people, from which 184 participants (63% male) enrolled. The sample of enrolled participants was multicultural (29% born outside Australia; 2% Indigenous Australians). The NNS was 5.7. For randomised participants, mean±SD age was 30±6 years. The mean body mass index was 27.3±5.2 kg/m2, with overweight (43%) and obesity (21%) common. Participants were, on average, 2.3 years post-ACLR. Over half completed <8 months of postoperative rehabilitation, with 56% having concurrent injury/surgery to meniscus and/or cartilage. The most affected KOOS (0=worst, 100=best) subscale was quality of life (mean 43.7±19.1). CONCLUSION: Young adults post-ACLR were willing to participate in a secondary osteoarthritis prevention trial. Sample size calculations should be multiplied by at least 5.7 to provide an estimate of the NNS. The SUPER-Knee cohort is ideally positioned to monitor and intervene in the early development and trajectory of osteoarthritis. </p
Analysing the impact of comorbid conditions and media coverage on online symptom search data: a novel AI-based approach for COVID-19 tracking
No full textBackground: Web search data have proven to bea valuable early indicator of COVID-19 outbreaks. However, the influence of co-morbid conditions with similar symptoms and the effect of media coverage on symptom-related searches are often overlooked, leading to potential inaccuracies in COVID-19 simulations. Method: This study introduces a machine learning-based approach to estimate the magnitude of the impact of media coverage and comorbid conditions with similar symptoms on online symptom searches, based on two scenarios with quantile levels 10–90 and 25–75. An incremental batch learning RNN-LSTM model was then developed for the COVID-19 simulation in Australia and New Zealand, allowing the model to dynamically simulate different infection rates and transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2 variants. Result: The COVID-19 infected person-directed symptom searches were found to account for only a small proportion of the total search volume (on average 33.68% in Australia vs. 36.89% in New Zealand) compared to searches influenced by media coverage and comorbid conditions (on average 44.88% in Australia vs. 50.94% in New Zealand). The proposed method, which incorporates estimated symptom component ratios into the RNN-LSTM embedding model, significantly improved COVID-19 simulation performance. Conclusion: Media coverage and comorbid conditions with similar symptoms dominate the total number of online symptom searches, suggesting that direct use of online symptom search data in COVID-19 simulations may overestimate COVID-19 infections. Our approach provides new insights into the accurate estimation of COVID-19 infections using online symptom searches, thereby assisting governments in developing complementary methods for public health surveillance
The resting calcaneal stance position (RCSP): an old dog, with new tricks
No full textThe objective of this study was to establish the accuracy of the resting calcaneal stance position (RCSP) for the assessment of flat foot (FF) in children, aligned to the validity of the foot posture index (FPI). The RCSP cut-off point was explored, in context of both FF prevalence and the relationship between FF and body weight. A total of 205 healthy children, aged 5 to 10 years, participated in a cross-sectional study. Correlation was performed between RCSP and FPI. ROC curve technique was calculated to assess differentiation between groups. A score equal to or greater than 7 on the FPI was used as the ‘gold standard’ for analysis. The correlation between FPI and RCSP was significant (r = 0.63; p < 0.01). The discrimination score on the ROC curve (6 points/degrees) shows that the model can be used to identify FF through RCSP, with a sensitivity of 67% and specificity of 85% returned. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate the role of RCSP for simple, accessible and quick screening of paediatric FF. This is especially pertinent for non-podiatric healthcare professional without specialised paediatric foot knowledge.</p
Study motivations of Bhutanese students in hospitality and tourism courses
No full textPurpose: The main purpose of this article is to understand the motivations for Bhutanese students to study hospitality and tourism courses. The second objective is to analyse what countries are the preferred destinations for study abroad and visitation for students. This includes focussing on new course topic areas such as sustainability for business in hospitality and tourism courses. Design/methodology/approach: A quantitative methodology approach was undertaken with two surveys administered to the first and second student intakes into the Bhutan Middle Management Hotel Program. Motivational and reasoned action theory form the basis of the theoretical framework to understand behavioural intentions regarding educational choices in hospitality and tourism courses. Findings: The results of the surveys indicate that the main motivations to study hospitality and tourism are for attraction, career opportunities, status, broader benefits and aptitude. In addition, it was found that students studying hospitality and tourism in Bhutan are likely to stay in the sector for a long period of time thereby contributing to the economic and social development of Bhutan. Moreover, it was found that the United Nations Sustainable Development goals are increasingly being integrated into the tourism and hospitality sector, which is influencing students to study these topic areas. Research limitations/implications: The results of this study will help government and hospitality providers support educational training programs by focussing on new education topic areas. This study is limited to Bhutan. Practical implications: The results of this study will help government and hospitality providers support educational training programs by focussing on new education topic areas such as sustainability for business management. This will enable hospitality and tourism providers in Bhutan to update their curriculum and to focus on emerging industry needs. Originality/value: This is amongst the first studies on Bhutanese students motivations for studying hospitality and tourism. It will provide practical and policy advise about how to train workers in order to become less reliant on foreign training providers and the importance of integrating sustainability topics in course design. </p
Association of Abnormal Lung Function and Its Subtypes With Arterial Stiffness: A Longitudinal Cohort Study
No full textBACKGROUND: Prior studies have reported the cross-sectional relationship between lung function and arterial stiffness, while the longitudinal association remains unclear to date. This study aimed to investigate whether abnormal lung function and its subtypes at baseline are associated with increased arterial stiffness using a cohort. METHODS AND RESULTS: This was a secondary analysis extracting 2461 participants from Beijing Health Management Cohort as baseline and annually followed for development of arterial stiffness. Abnormal lung function was defined by forced expiratory volume in 1s <80% of the predicted value, forced vital capacity of the predicted value, or forced expiratory volume in 1s/forced vital capacity ratio <70%. Increased arterial stiffness was determined by brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity ≥1400 cm/s. Cox proportional hazards model was used to calculate the hazard ratio and population attributable fraction. The mean age was 42.8±8.1 years, and 444 (18.0%) cases developed increased arterial stiffness during a median follow-up of 3.0 years. The adjusted hazard ratio (95% CI) of arterial stiffness was 1.47 (95% CI, 1.10-1.96) for abnormal lung function, with a population attributable fraction of 3.9% (95% CI, 0.8-7.1). Of subtypes, only obstructive ventilatory dysfunction was significantly associated with arterial stiffness (adjusted hazard ratio, 2.06 [95% CI, 1.27-3.36]), not restricted ventilatory dysfunction (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.95 [95% CI, 0.54-1.65]). Consistent results were observed on multiple sensitivity analyses. CONCLUSIONS: Our study indicated a longitudinal association of abnormal lung function with increased arterial stiffness using a large cohort, especially for the obstructive ventilatory dysfunction
Thinking About Disability: Implications for Practice
No full textThis chapter considers the diversity of people with disabilities, highlighting their common experiences of significant social disadvantage on all social indicators. It introduces different theoretical models for understanding disability, comparing and contrasting the orientation of each and implications for providing support services for people with disabilities. It reviews the relative merits of each approach for informing practice that furthers quality of life and highlights the drawbacks of reliance on any one model. It provides an overview of the rights-based aims of contemporary disability policy and the broad contours of individualised funding models such as the NDIS, the social demographics of people with disability and the eight domains of quality of life which form the framework for the book.It proposes the need for Both/And thinking in disability practice and the dangers of using As If as a device for obscuring difference.</p
Paramedic perceptions of decision-making when managing mental health-related presentations: a qualitative study
No full textBackground: Mental health presentations account for a considerable proportion of paramedic workload; however, the decision-making involved in managing these cases is poorly understood. This study aimed to explore how paramedics perceive their clinical decision-making when managing mental health presentations. Methods: A qualitative descriptive study design was employed. Overall, 73 paramedics participated in semi structured interviews, and data were analyzed from transcribed interviews in NVivo. Results: Four themes emerged that reflected participants’ perceptions: the assessment process, experience, the use of documents and standard procedures, and consultation with other healthcare providers. There were conflicting perceptions about the clinical decision-making process, with perception of role having a potential impact. The dual process theory of clinical decision-making, which includes both analytical and intuitive approaches, was evident in the decision-making process. Conclusion: Incorporating dual process theory into education and training, which highlights the strengths and weaknesses of analytical and intuitive decision-making, may reduce clinical errors made by cognitive bias. To further support clinical decision-making, additional education and training are warranted to promote critical thinking and clarify the scope of practice and roles when attending to mental health-related presentations.</p
A heutagogical approach to building the residential aged care workforce capability and capacity
No full textObjective: This paper reports on the design and implementation of an interactive online education package for the diverse Australian residential aged care workforce, in response to the findings of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety. A decade of reports has consistently highlighted the need for an educated workforce to care for the increasingly frail older people with complex care needs living in residential aged care. Cost, availability and timing of education have been identified as barriers to uptake of education for this workforce. Methods: A heutagogical approach was used to design an evidence-based, modular, online education package for nurses, care workers and allied health practitioners working in the residential aged care sector. The subject matter was developed by experts and the education divided into modules. A key challenge was to design a package that was inclusive of the diversity of educational needs in this workforce. The package does not provide assessments on completion of the modules, relying solely on the motivation of the individual learner. Results: This online education package provides choice and self-determination for users in their learning journey. Collaborating with experts to develop an online education program that is learner-driven, challenges the conventions of education. Users can navigate the package at their pace; choose the modules they have identified as knowledge gaps or are of interest; and complete the education in their own time. Conclusion: As expected, most users are care workers and nurses and the five modules of the Dementia program are the most popular.</p
Take a look at what I just found! Anti-money laundering and public and private sector information and intelligence-sharing in Australia
No full textA thesis submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the La Trobe Law School, La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia.</p