19683 research outputs found
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Implementing falls prevention patient education in hospitals - older people’s views on barriers and enablers
No full textBackground: World falls guidelines recommend that hospitalised older patients receive individualised falls prevention education, yet no studies have sought older people’s feedback on how best to deliver falls prevention education in hospitals. The objective of the study was to explore the perspectives of older people and their caregivers about barriers and enablers to implementation of a tailored hospital falls education program. Methods: A qualitative descriptive design was used. Three focus groups and 16 semi-structured interviews were conducted. A purposive sample of older people who had previous hospital admissions and caregivers of older people were selected to review a co-designed patient falls education program (the revised Safe Recovery program). They provided feedback on how to implement the program in hospital settings. Data were thematically analysed taking an deductive-inductive approach. Results: Participants were 37 older people [female n = 24 (64.9%), age range 64 to 89 years] and nine caregivers (female n = 8). The first theme was that the Safe Recovery Program resources were of high quality, enabling strong patient engagement and increased knowledge and awareness about falls prevention in hospitals. The second theme identified practical strategies to enable program delivery in hospital wards. The key enablers identified were: timing of delivery around wellness and the patient’s mobility; tailoring messages for each older patient; key staff members being assigned to lead program delivery. Participants recommended that staff assist older patients to set appropriate behavioural goals in relation to preventing falls in hospitals. They also recommended that staff raise older patients’ confidence and motivation to take action to reduce the risk of falls. Providing resources in other languages and alternative shorter versions was recommended to enable broad dissemination. Conclusions: Older people and their caregivers advised that implementing falls education in hospitals can be enabled by using high quality resources, delivering falls education in a timely manner and personalising the education and support to individual needs.</p
Modeling the mechanism of Ca<sup>2+</sup> release in skeletal muscle by DHPRs easing inhibition at RyR I1-sites
No full textCa2+ release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) plays a central role in excitation–contraction coupling (ECC) in skeletal muscles. However, the mechanism by which activation of the voltage-sensors/dihydropyridine receptors (DHPRs) in the membrane of the transverse tubular system leads to activation of the Ca2+-release channels/ryanodine receptors (RyRs) in the SR is not fully understood. Recent observations showing that a very small Ca2+ leak through RyR1s in mammalian skeletal muscle can markedly raise the background [Ca2+] in the junctional space (JS) above the Ca2+ level in the bulk of the cytosol indicate that there is a diffusional barrier between the JS and the cytosol at large. Here, I use a mathematical model to explore the hypothesis that a sudden rise in Ca2+ leak through DHPR-coupled RyR1s, caused by reduced inhibition at the RyR1 Ca2+/Mg2+ inhibitory I1-sites when the associated DHPRs are activated, is sufficient to enable synchronized responses that trigger a regenerative rise of Ca2+ release that remains under voltage control. In this way, the characteristic response to Ca2+ of RyR channels is key not only for the Ca2+ release mechanism in cardiac muscle and other tissues, but also for the DHPRdependent Ca2+ release in skeletal muscle.</p
Julian Pakay_Education_BioMolecular Horizons 2024 OER Presentation.pptx
No full textThis is a PowerPoint presentation (slides only) presented at the BioMolecular Horizons 2024 conference in Melbourne, Australia, as part of the Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology's (ASBMB) education sessions. This was an invited talk for receiving the 2024 ASBMB SDR Education Award.</p
ChatGPT and generative AI in urology and surgery—A narrative review
No full textIntroduction: ChatGPT (generative pre-trained transformer [GPT]), developed by OpenAI, is a type of generative artificial intelligence (AI) that has been widely utilised since its public release. It orchestrates an advanced conversational intelligence, producing sophisticated responses to questions. ChatGPT has been successfully demonstrated across several applications in healthcare, including patient management, academic research and clinical trials. We aim to evaluate the different ways ChatGPT has been utilised in urology and more broadly in surgery. Methods: We conducted a literature search of the PubMed and Embase electronic databases for the purpose of writing a narrative review and identified relevant articles on ChatGPT in surgery from the years 2000 to 2023. A PRISMA flow chart was created to highlight the article selection process. The search terms ‘ChatGPT’ and ‘surgery’ were intentionally kept broad given the nascency of the field. Studies unrelated to these terms were excluded. Duplicates were removed. Results: Multiple papers have been published about novel uses of ChatGPT in surgery, ranging from assisting in administrative tasks including answering frequently asked questions, surgical consent, writing operation reports, discharge summaries, grants, journal article drafts, reviewing journal articles and medical education. AI and machine learning has also been extensively researched in surgery with respect to patient diagnosis and predicting outcomes. There are also several limitations with the software including artificial hallucination, bias, out-of-date information and patient confidentiality. Conclusion: The potential of ChatGPT and related generative AI models are vast, heralding the beginning of a new era where AI may eventually become integrated seamlessly into surgical practice. Concerns with this new technology must not be disregarded in the urge to hasten progression, and potential risks impacting patients' interests must be considered. Appropriate regulation and governance of this technology will be key to optimising the benefits and addressing the intricate challenges of healthcare delivery and equity
Digital Technologies in the Sex Lives of Australian Adults: Perceptions of Risk and Benefits
No full textA Thesis Submitted in Total Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia.</p
The Roots of Power: Plant-Microbe Synergy and the Engineering of Electrochemically Active Communities
No full textSubmitted in total fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the School of Agriculture, Biomedicine and Environment, La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia.</p
Exploring the impact of perceived early marriage on women’s education and employment in Bangladesh through a mixed-methods study
No full textChild marriage negatively affects women's socio-economic empowerment, particularly in education and employment. This study aimed to explore women' perspectives on the timing of their marriages, considering their educational and employment status at the time. It also sought to identify factors influencing early married women's perception of their marriages as timely. We analyzed both quantitative and qualitative data. The quantitative data included a sample of 5,596 women aged 15-24 from the 2017/18 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey. Additionally, we collected qualitative data through six in-depth interviews, two focus group discussions, and 13 key informant interviews. We used a multilevel mixed-effects Poisson regression model to examine the relationship between women's formal employment, education, and child marriage. Thematic analysis was employed for the qualitative data. Around 62% of the total women analysed reported their married occurred early with the mean age at marriage was 15.2 years. Approximately 55% of the total early married women believed their marriages occurred at the right time, especially among those who were employed at the time of their marriage. Among this subset, we also noticed a higher likelihood of discontinuing work and education following marriage. Qualitative findings revealed reasons behind this perception, such as escaping poverty, safety concerns, limited job prospects, and the impact of non-marital relationship and societal norms. While many early-married women perceived their marriage as timely, particularly those initially employed, this decision often coincides with a subsequent withdrawal from work and education. This underscores the pressing need for policies and programs aimed at educating women about the legal age for marriage and the negative consequences associated with early marriage while also equipping them with knowledge and resources for informed decision-making
Hang up your cleats and hope for the best? A cross-sectional study of five health domains in retired elite female rugby players
No full textOBJECTIVES: To investigate retired elite female rugby players' health outcomes (and their relationships) in five key areas (musculoskeletal, cognitive, mental, reproductive/endocrinological and cardiovascular) and how those compare with the general population.
METHODS: Female rugby players aged ≥18 years old and retired from elite competition ≥2 years were recruited via email or social media to complete a 179-item online questionnaire and neurocognitive assessment. Data from general population controls (matched for age and sex) were obtained where available.
RESULTS: 159 participants responded (average age 43 (±5) years). 156 (98%) reported a hip/groin, knee, foot/ankle or lower back injury during their career, of which 104 (67%) reported ongoing pain. Participants reported worse hip and knee outcomes compared with the general population (p
CONCLUSION: Our findings point to the potential value of screening and monitoring, and identifying preventative measures during sporting careers to promote health and long-term quality of life for athletes.</p
Experimental playback of urban noise does not affect cognitive performance in captive Australian magpies.
No full textExposure of wildlife to anthropogenic noise is associated with disruptive effects. Research on this topic has focused on behavioural and physiological responses of animals to noise, with little work investigating links to cognitive function. Neurological processes that maintain cognitive performance can be impacted by stress and sleep disturbances. While sleep loss impairs cognitive performance in Australian magpies, it is unclear whether urban noise, which disrupts sleep, can impact cognition as well. To fill this gap, we explored how environmentally relevant urban noise affected the performance of wild-caught, city-living Australian magpies (Gymnorhina tibicen tyrannica) on a cognitive task battery including associative and reversal learning, inhibitory control, and spatial memory. Birds were housed and tested in a laboratory environment; sample sizes varied across tasks (n=7–9 birds). Tests were conducted over 4 weeks, during which all magpies were exposed to both an urban noise playback and a quiet control. Birds were presented with the entire test battery twice: following exposure to, and in the absence of, an anthropogenic noise playback; however, tests were always performed without noise (playback muted during testing). Magpies performed similarly in both treatments on all four tasks. We also found that prior experience with the associative learning task had a strong effect on performance, with birds performing better on their second round of trials. Like previous findings on Australian magpies tested on the same tasks in the wild under noisy conditions, we could not find any disruptive effects on cognitive performance in a controlled experimental laboratory setting.</p
Working with adult families of origin: On the nature of rupture and repair
No full textIn this paper, we report on findings from a three-part enquiry into the essence of working with families of origin where all members are adult. Findings, in conversational form, describe the nature of adult family ruptures encountered, pathways to repair and unique factors associated with the therapeutic encounter with adult families relative to those with still dependent children. In exploring emergent themes, we hoped to come to some understandings of the models and unique skill sets that characterise and enhance family therapy with adult families. We found that, unlike families with younger children, adult children are often the more motivated sub-system and indeed the drivers of a referral for therapy. The therapeutic focus centred around legacy work from prior unresolved family traumas or disrupted developmental processes. Features of the therapeutic process included supporting new and more proportional narratives about ingrained wounds, together with redefinition of caregiving relationships and a future gaze towards becoming an independent yet connected family structure. We consider the therapist's posture in validating the adult child's experience, contextualising parent histories and clearing emotional barriers that block healthy giving and receiving of care. Key decision points in the therapist's work included how to balance the past context of the rupture with its current legacy, and the place of exoneration versus forgiveness in the progression towards secure individuation. Findings may help refine therapeutic methods in the application of systemic therapies with adult family forms, particularly on the intersection with the adult mental health system.</p