Regulatory resistance? Narratives and uses of evidence around “black market” provision of gambling during the british gambling act review
- Wardle, Heather, Reith, Gerda, Dobbie, Fiona, Rintoul, Angela, Shiffman, Jeremy
- Authors: Wardle, Heather , Reith, Gerda , Dobbie, Fiona , Rintoul, Angela , Shiffman, Jeremy
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Vol. 18, no. 21 (2021), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Commercial gambling is increasingly viewed as being part of the unhealthy commodities industries, in which products contribute to preventable ill-health globally. Britain has one of the world’s most liberal gambling markets, meaning that the regulatory changes there have implications for developments elsewhere. A review of the British Gambling Act 2005 is underway. This has generated a range of actions by the industry, including mobilising arguments around the threat of the “black market”. We critically explore industry’s framing of these issues as part of their strategy to resist regulatory change during the Gambling Act review. We used a predefined review protocol to explore industry narratives about the “black market” in media reports published between 8 December 2020 and 26 May 2021. Fifty-five articles were identified and reviewed, and themes were narratively synthesised to examine industry framing of the “black market”. The black market was framed in terms of economic threat and loss, and a direct connection was made between its growth and increased regulation. The articles mainly presented gambling industry perspectives uncritically, citing industry-generated evidence (n = 40). Industry narratives around the “black market” speak to economically and emotionally salient concerns: fear, safety, consumer freedom and economic growth. This dominant framing in political, mainstream and industry media may influence political and public opinion to support the current status quo: “protecting” the existing regulated market rather than “protecting” people. Debates should be reframed to consider all policy options, especially those designed to protect public health. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
- Authors: Wardle, Heather , Reith, Gerda , Dobbie, Fiona , Rintoul, Angela , Shiffman, Jeremy
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Vol. 18, no. 21 (2021), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Commercial gambling is increasingly viewed as being part of the unhealthy commodities industries, in which products contribute to preventable ill-health globally. Britain has one of the world’s most liberal gambling markets, meaning that the regulatory changes there have implications for developments elsewhere. A review of the British Gambling Act 2005 is underway. This has generated a range of actions by the industry, including mobilising arguments around the threat of the “black market”. We critically explore industry’s framing of these issues as part of their strategy to resist regulatory change during the Gambling Act review. We used a predefined review protocol to explore industry narratives about the “black market” in media reports published between 8 December 2020 and 26 May 2021. Fifty-five articles were identified and reviewed, and themes were narratively synthesised to examine industry framing of the “black market”. The black market was framed in terms of economic threat and loss, and a direct connection was made between its growth and increased regulation. The articles mainly presented gambling industry perspectives uncritically, citing industry-generated evidence (n = 40). Industry narratives around the “black market” speak to economically and emotionally salient concerns: fear, safety, consumer freedom and economic growth. This dominant framing in political, mainstream and industry media may influence political and public opinion to support the current status quo: “protecting” the existing regulated market rather than “protecting” people. Debates should be reframed to consider all policy options, especially those designed to protect public health. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Resource optimization‐based software risk reduction model for large‐scale application development
- Shahzad, Basit, Amin, Fazal-e, Abro, Ahsanullah, Imran, Muhammad, Shoaib, Muhammad
- Authors: Shahzad, Basit , Amin, Fazal-e , Abro, Ahsanullah , Imran, Muhammad , Shoaib, Muhammad
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Sustainability (Switzerland) Vol. 13, no. 5 (2021), p. 1-17
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Software risks are a common phenomenon in the software development lifecycle, and risks emerge into larger problems if they are not dealt with on time. Software risk management is a strategy that focuses on the identification, management, and mitigation of the risk factors in the software development lifecycle. The management itself depends on the nature, size, and skill of the project under consideration. This paper proposes a model that deals with identifying and dealing with the risk factors by introducing different observatory and participatory project factors. It is as-sumed that most of the risk factors can be dealt with by doing effective business processing that in response deals with the orientation of risks and elimination or reduction of those risk factors that emerge over time. The model proposes different combinations of resource allocation that can help us conclude a software project with an extended amount of acceptability. This paper presents a Risk Reduction Model, which effectively handles the application development risks. The model can syn-chronize its working with medium to large‐scale software projects. The reduction in software failures positively affects the software development environment, and the software failures shall re-duce consequently. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
- Authors: Shahzad, Basit , Amin, Fazal-e , Abro, Ahsanullah , Imran, Muhammad , Shoaib, Muhammad
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Sustainability (Switzerland) Vol. 13, no. 5 (2021), p. 1-17
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Software risks are a common phenomenon in the software development lifecycle, and risks emerge into larger problems if they are not dealt with on time. Software risk management is a strategy that focuses on the identification, management, and mitigation of the risk factors in the software development lifecycle. The management itself depends on the nature, size, and skill of the project under consideration. This paper proposes a model that deals with identifying and dealing with the risk factors by introducing different observatory and participatory project factors. It is as-sumed that most of the risk factors can be dealt with by doing effective business processing that in response deals with the orientation of risks and elimination or reduction of those risk factors that emerge over time. The model proposes different combinations of resource allocation that can help us conclude a software project with an extended amount of acceptability. This paper presents a Risk Reduction Model, which effectively handles the application development risks. The model can syn-chronize its working with medium to large‐scale software projects. The reduction in software failures positively affects the software development environment, and the software failures shall re-duce consequently. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Risk assessment of SARS-CoV-2 in Antarctic wildlife
- Barbosa, Andres, Varsani, Arvind, Morandini, Virginia, Grimaldi, Wray, Vanstreels, Ralph, Diaz, Julia, Boulinier, Thierry, Dewar, Meagan, González-Acuña, Daniel, Gray, Rachael, McMahon, Clive, Miller, Gary, Power, Michelle, Gamble, Amandine, Wille, Michelle
- Authors: Barbosa, Andres , Varsani, Arvind , Morandini, Virginia , Grimaldi, Wray , Vanstreels, Ralph , Diaz, Julia , Boulinier, Thierry , Dewar, Meagan , González-Acuña, Daniel , Gray, Rachael , McMahon, Clive , Miller, Gary , Power, Michelle , Gamble, Amandine , Wille, Michelle
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Science of the Total Environment Vol. 755, no. 2 (2021), p. 1-8
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). This pathogen has spread rapidly across the world, causing high numbers of deaths and significant social and economic impacts. SARS-CoV-2 is a novel coronavirus with a suggested zoonotic origin with the potential for cross-species transmission among animals. Antarctica can be considered the only continent free of SARS-CoV-2. Therefore, concerns have been expressed regarding the potential human introduction of this virus to the continent through the activities of research or tourism to minimise the effects on human health, and the potential for virus transmission to Antarctic wildlife. We assess the reverse-zoonotic transmission risk to Antarctic wildlife by considering the available information on host susceptibility, dynamics of the infection in humans, and contact interactions between humans and Antarctic wildlife. The environmental conditions in Antarctica seem to be favourable for the virus stability. Indoor spaces such as those at research stations, research vessels or tourist cruise ships could allow for more transmission among humans and depending on their movements between different locations the virus could be spread across the continent. Among Antarctic wildlife previous in silico analyses suggested that cetaceans are at greater risk of infection whereas seals and birds appear to be at a low infection risk. However, caution needed until further research is carried out and consequently, the precautionary principle should be applied. Field researchers handling animals are identified as the human group posing the highest risk of transmission to animals while tourists and other personnel pose a significant risk only when in close proximity (< 5 m) to Antarctic fauna. We highlight measures to reduce the risk as well as identify of knowledge gaps related to this issue. © 2020 The Authors
- Authors: Barbosa, Andres , Varsani, Arvind , Morandini, Virginia , Grimaldi, Wray , Vanstreels, Ralph , Diaz, Julia , Boulinier, Thierry , Dewar, Meagan , González-Acuña, Daniel , Gray, Rachael , McMahon, Clive , Miller, Gary , Power, Michelle , Gamble, Amandine , Wille, Michelle
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Science of the Total Environment Vol. 755, no. 2 (2021), p. 1-8
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). This pathogen has spread rapidly across the world, causing high numbers of deaths and significant social and economic impacts. SARS-CoV-2 is a novel coronavirus with a suggested zoonotic origin with the potential for cross-species transmission among animals. Antarctica can be considered the only continent free of SARS-CoV-2. Therefore, concerns have been expressed regarding the potential human introduction of this virus to the continent through the activities of research or tourism to minimise the effects on human health, and the potential for virus transmission to Antarctic wildlife. We assess the reverse-zoonotic transmission risk to Antarctic wildlife by considering the available information on host susceptibility, dynamics of the infection in humans, and contact interactions between humans and Antarctic wildlife. The environmental conditions in Antarctica seem to be favourable for the virus stability. Indoor spaces such as those at research stations, research vessels or tourist cruise ships could allow for more transmission among humans and depending on their movements between different locations the virus could be spread across the continent. Among Antarctic wildlife previous in silico analyses suggested that cetaceans are at greater risk of infection whereas seals and birds appear to be at a low infection risk. However, caution needed until further research is carried out and consequently, the precautionary principle should be applied. Field researchers handling animals are identified as the human group posing the highest risk of transmission to animals while tourists and other personnel pose a significant risk only when in close proximity (< 5 m) to Antarctic fauna. We highlight measures to reduce the risk as well as identify of knowledge gaps related to this issue. © 2020 The Authors
- Ibrahim, Abraham, Rocco, Weglarz
- Authors: Ibrahim, Abraham , Rocco, Weglarz
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: The Australasian review of African studies Vol. 42, no. 2 (2021), p. 54-78
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: This article analyses the experiences of scholars of Africa in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), advancing upon critical research on African Studies and contemporary academia. Drawing upon interviews with researchers, this article makes three arguments about the study of Africa in the ACT and Australia. Firstly, that universities have undergone bureaucratisation, altering the way researchers organise their working lives. Secondly, that the study of Africa in the ACT's universities demonstrates disciplinisation such that researchers' methodologies are more important to their identities and career trajectories than their regions of research. Finally, that research practices have undergone projectisation, with scholars increasingly employed on precarious contracts and periodically shifting their focus to or from Africa. It is argued that the African Studies paradigm and Africanist identity are inoperative in the ACT.
Symptom checklist-90-revised : a structural examination in relation to family functioning
- Gomez, Rapson, Stavropoulos, Vasileios, Zarate, Daniel, Palikara, Olympia
- Authors: Gomez, Rapson , Stavropoulos, Vasileios , Zarate, Daniel , Palikara, Olympia
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: PLoS ONE Vol. 16, no. 3 March (2021), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: The accurate assessment of psychopathological behaviours of adolescents and young adults is imperative. Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) is one of the most comprehensive and widely used scales addressing this purpose internationally. Interestingly, associations between the different SCL-90 symptoms and family functioning have been highlighted. Nevertheless, the scale’s factorial structure has often been challenged. To contribute in this area, this study scrutinizes the psychopathological dimensions of the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) in a large cohort of high school students (Mean age = 16.16; SD = .911) from Greece. It addresses this aim by: a) using first order and bi-factor confirmatory factor analysis, and exploratory structural equation models and; b) investigating the factors’ associations with family functioning. A total of 2090 public Greek High School students completed the SCL-90-R and the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scale IV (FACES-IV) covering family functioning, satisfaction and communication. Six different solutions, yielded by separate permutations of CFA, ESEM, and bifactor models, were evaluated. Based on global fit, the clarity, reliabilities and the family functioning links of the dimensions in the models, the ESEM oblique model with the theorized nine factors emerged as the optimum. This model had adequate fit, and symptom dimensions were well defined. Also six of the nine factors demonstrated external associations with family functioning, satisfaction and communication. The clinical assessment benefits of these results are discussed. Copyright: © 2021 Gomez et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
- Authors: Gomez, Rapson , Stavropoulos, Vasileios , Zarate, Daniel , Palikara, Olympia
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: PLoS ONE Vol. 16, no. 3 March (2021), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: The accurate assessment of psychopathological behaviours of adolescents and young adults is imperative. Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) is one of the most comprehensive and widely used scales addressing this purpose internationally. Interestingly, associations between the different SCL-90 symptoms and family functioning have been highlighted. Nevertheless, the scale’s factorial structure has often been challenged. To contribute in this area, this study scrutinizes the psychopathological dimensions of the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) in a large cohort of high school students (Mean age = 16.16; SD = .911) from Greece. It addresses this aim by: a) using first order and bi-factor confirmatory factor analysis, and exploratory structural equation models and; b) investigating the factors’ associations with family functioning. A total of 2090 public Greek High School students completed the SCL-90-R and the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scale IV (FACES-IV) covering family functioning, satisfaction and communication. Six different solutions, yielded by separate permutations of CFA, ESEM, and bifactor models, were evaluated. Based on global fit, the clarity, reliabilities and the family functioning links of the dimensions in the models, the ESEM oblique model with the theorized nine factors emerged as the optimum. This model had adequate fit, and symptom dimensions were well defined. Also six of the nine factors demonstrated external associations with family functioning, satisfaction and communication. The clinical assessment benefits of these results are discussed. Copyright: © 2021 Gomez et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Temperature dynamics in different body regions of decomposing vertebrate remains
- Barton, Philip, Dawson, Blake, Barton, Andrew, Joshua, Sergio, Wallman, James
- Authors: Barton, Philip , Dawson, Blake , Barton, Andrew , Joshua, Sergio , Wallman, James
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Forensic Science International Vol. 325, no. (2021), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: The decomposition of vertebrates is controlled largely by external temperature, yet internal temperatures can also play an important role but are generally poorly documented. In this study, we compared continuous hourly temperature recordings from the mouth, under the head, right chest and right abdomen, and in the rectum of one refrigerated human and one fresh pig cadaver during 29 days of decomposition. Each cadaver differed in its internal starting temperature, thus providing two contrasting case studies for examining temperature dynamics among body regions. We used time-series analysis methods common to hydrology to reveal key differences in internal temperature dynamics. Within both cadavers, the chest region experienced the highest average temperatures, and the mouth experienced the highest maximum hourly temperature. Temperatures exceeded 30 °C inside the pig for between 40% (rectum) and 75% (chest) of the duration of the study, but for only 20% (rectum) and 35% (chest) of the time in the human. Our study provides evidence of the different thermal trajectories occurring in different body regions, and some similarities between two cadavers despite their different starting thermal conditions. These results improve our understanding of why decomposition occurs at different rates within the same cadaver, and that the location of blowfly larvae collections should be noted to improve estimates of the post-mortem interval. © 2021 Elsevier B.V.
- Authors: Barton, Philip , Dawson, Blake , Barton, Andrew , Joshua, Sergio , Wallman, James
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Forensic Science International Vol. 325, no. (2021), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: The decomposition of vertebrates is controlled largely by external temperature, yet internal temperatures can also play an important role but are generally poorly documented. In this study, we compared continuous hourly temperature recordings from the mouth, under the head, right chest and right abdomen, and in the rectum of one refrigerated human and one fresh pig cadaver during 29 days of decomposition. Each cadaver differed in its internal starting temperature, thus providing two contrasting case studies for examining temperature dynamics among body regions. We used time-series analysis methods common to hydrology to reveal key differences in internal temperature dynamics. Within both cadavers, the chest region experienced the highest average temperatures, and the mouth experienced the highest maximum hourly temperature. Temperatures exceeded 30 °C inside the pig for between 40% (rectum) and 75% (chest) of the duration of the study, but for only 20% (rectum) and 35% (chest) of the time in the human. Our study provides evidence of the different thermal trajectories occurring in different body regions, and some similarities between two cadavers despite their different starting thermal conditions. These results improve our understanding of why decomposition occurs at different rates within the same cadaver, and that the location of blowfly larvae collections should be noted to improve estimates of the post-mortem interval. © 2021 Elsevier B.V.
The dominance of big teams in china’s scientific output
- Liu, Linlin, Yu, Jianfei, Huang, Junming, Xia, Feng, Jia, Tao
- Authors: Liu, Linlin , Yu, Jianfei , Huang, Junming , Xia, Feng , Jia, Tao
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Quantitative Science Studies Vol. 2, no. 1 (2021), p. 350-362
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Modern science is dominated by scientific productions from teams. A recent finding shows that teams of both large and small sizes are essential in research, prompting us to analyze the extent to which a country’s scientific work is carried out by big or small teams. Here, using over 26 million publications from Web of Science, we find that China’s research output is more dominated by big teams than the rest of the world, which is particularly the case in fields of natural science. Despite the global trend that more papers are written by big teams, China’s drop in small team output is much steeper. As teams in China shift from small to large size, the team diversity that is essential for innovative work does not increase as much as that in other countries. Using the national average as the baseline, we find that the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) supports fewer small teams than the National Science Foundation (NSF) of the United States does, implying that big teams are preferred by grant agencies in China. Our finding provides new insights into the concern of originality and innovation in China, which indicates a need to balance small and big teams. © 2020 Linlin Liu, Jianfei Yu, Junming Huang, Feng Xia, and Tao Jia. Published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.
- Authors: Liu, Linlin , Yu, Jianfei , Huang, Junming , Xia, Feng , Jia, Tao
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Quantitative Science Studies Vol. 2, no. 1 (2021), p. 350-362
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Modern science is dominated by scientific productions from teams. A recent finding shows that teams of both large and small sizes are essential in research, prompting us to analyze the extent to which a country’s scientific work is carried out by big or small teams. Here, using over 26 million publications from Web of Science, we find that China’s research output is more dominated by big teams than the rest of the world, which is particularly the case in fields of natural science. Despite the global trend that more papers are written by big teams, China’s drop in small team output is much steeper. As teams in China shift from small to large size, the team diversity that is essential for innovative work does not increase as much as that in other countries. Using the national average as the baseline, we find that the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) supports fewer small teams than the National Science Foundation (NSF) of the United States does, implying that big teams are preferred by grant agencies in China. Our finding provides new insights into the concern of originality and innovation in China, which indicates a need to balance small and big teams. © 2020 Linlin Liu, Jianfei Yu, Junming Huang, Feng Xia, and Tao Jia. Published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.
The effect of human amnion epithelial cells on lung development and inflammation in preterm lambs exposed to antenatal inflammation
- Papagianis, Paris, Ahmadi-Noorbakhsh, Siavash, Lim, Rebecca, Wallace, Euan, Polglase, Graeme, Pillow, J. Jane, Moss, Timothy
- Authors: Papagianis, Paris , Ahmadi-Noorbakhsh, Siavash , Lim, Rebecca , Wallace, Euan , Polglase, Graeme , Pillow, J. Jane , Moss, Timothy
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: PloS one Vol. 16, no. 6 (2021), p. e0253456-e0253456
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Lung inflammation and impaired alveolarization are hallmarks of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). We hypothesize that human amnion epithelial cells (hAECs) are anti-inflammatory and reduce lung injury in preterm lambs born after antenatal exposure to inflammation. Pregnant ewes received either intra-amniotic lipopolysaccharide (LPS, from E.coli 055:B5 4mg) or saline (Sal) on day 126 of gestation. Lambs were delivered by cesarean section at 128 d gestation (term ~150 d). Lambs received intravenous hAECs (LPS/hAECs: n = 7 30x10.sup.6 cells) or equivalent volumes of saline (LPS/Sal, n = 10 or Sal/Sal, n = 9) immediately after birth. Respiratory support was gradually de-escalated, aimed at early weaning from mechanical ventilation towards unassisted respiration. Lung tissue was collected 1 week after birth. Lung morphology was assessed and mRNA levels for inflammatory mediators were measured. Respiratory support required by LPS/hAEC lambs was not different to Sal/Sal or LPS/Sal lambs. Lung tissue:airspace ratio was lower in the LPS/Sal compared to Sal/Sal lambs (P<0.05), but not LPS/hAEC lambs. LPS/hAEC lambs tended to have increased septation in their lungs versus LPS/Sal (P = 0.08). Expression of inflammatory cytokines was highest in LPS/hAECs lambs. Postnatal administration of a single dose of hAECs stimulates a pulmonary immune response without changing ventilator requirements in preterm lambs born after intrauterine inflammation.
- Authors: Papagianis, Paris , Ahmadi-Noorbakhsh, Siavash , Lim, Rebecca , Wallace, Euan , Polglase, Graeme , Pillow, J. Jane , Moss, Timothy
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: PloS one Vol. 16, no. 6 (2021), p. e0253456-e0253456
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Lung inflammation and impaired alveolarization are hallmarks of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). We hypothesize that human amnion epithelial cells (hAECs) are anti-inflammatory and reduce lung injury in preterm lambs born after antenatal exposure to inflammation. Pregnant ewes received either intra-amniotic lipopolysaccharide (LPS, from E.coli 055:B5 4mg) or saline (Sal) on day 126 of gestation. Lambs were delivered by cesarean section at 128 d gestation (term ~150 d). Lambs received intravenous hAECs (LPS/hAECs: n = 7 30x10.sup.6 cells) or equivalent volumes of saline (LPS/Sal, n = 10 or Sal/Sal, n = 9) immediately after birth. Respiratory support was gradually de-escalated, aimed at early weaning from mechanical ventilation towards unassisted respiration. Lung tissue was collected 1 week after birth. Lung morphology was assessed and mRNA levels for inflammatory mediators were measured. Respiratory support required by LPS/hAEC lambs was not different to Sal/Sal or LPS/Sal lambs. Lung tissue:airspace ratio was lower in the LPS/Sal compared to Sal/Sal lambs (P<0.05), but not LPS/hAEC lambs. LPS/hAEC lambs tended to have increased septation in their lungs versus LPS/Sal (P = 0.08). Expression of inflammatory cytokines was highest in LPS/hAECs lambs. Postnatal administration of a single dose of hAECs stimulates a pulmonary immune response without changing ventilator requirements in preterm lambs born after intrauterine inflammation.
The socioeconomic characteristics of childhood injuries in regional Victoria, Australia : what the missing data tells us
- Peck, Blake, Terry, Daniel, Kloot, Kate
- Authors: Peck, Blake , Terry, Daniel , Kloot, Kate
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Vol. 18, no. 13 (2021), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Background: Injury is the leading cause of death among those between 1–16 years of age in Australia. Studies have found that injury rates increase with socioeconomic disadvantage. Rural Urgent Care Centres (UCC) represent a key point of entry into the Victorian healthcare system for people living in smaller rural communities, often categorised as lower socio-economic groups. Emergency presentation data from UCCs is not routinely collated in government datasets. This study seeks to compare socioeconomic characteristics of children aged 0–14 attending a UCC to those who attend a 24-h Emergency Departments with an injury-related emergency presentation. This will inform gaps in our current understanding of the links between socioeconomic status and childhood injury in regional Victoria. Methods: A network of rural hospitals in South West Victoria, Australia provide ongoing detailed de-identified emergency presentation data as part of the Rural Acute Hospital Data Register (RAHDaR). Data from nine of these facilities was extracted and analysed for children (aged 0–14 years) with any principal injury-related diagnosis presenting between 1 February 2017 and 31 January 2020. Results: There were 10,137 injury-related emergency presentations of children aged between 0–14 years to a participating hospital. The relationship between socioeconomic status and injury was confirmed, with overall higher rates of child injury presentations from those residing in areas of Disadvantage. A large proportion (74.3%) of the children attending rural UCCs were also Disadvantaged. Contrary to previous research, the rate of injury amongst children from urban areas was significantly higher than their more rural counterparts. Conclusions: Findings support the notion that injury in Victoria differs according to socioeconomic status and suggest that targeted interventions for the reduction of injury should consider socioeconomic as well as geographical differences in the design of their programs. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
- Authors: Peck, Blake , Terry, Daniel , Kloot, Kate
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Vol. 18, no. 13 (2021), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Background: Injury is the leading cause of death among those between 1–16 years of age in Australia. Studies have found that injury rates increase with socioeconomic disadvantage. Rural Urgent Care Centres (UCC) represent a key point of entry into the Victorian healthcare system for people living in smaller rural communities, often categorised as lower socio-economic groups. Emergency presentation data from UCCs is not routinely collated in government datasets. This study seeks to compare socioeconomic characteristics of children aged 0–14 attending a UCC to those who attend a 24-h Emergency Departments with an injury-related emergency presentation. This will inform gaps in our current understanding of the links between socioeconomic status and childhood injury in regional Victoria. Methods: A network of rural hospitals in South West Victoria, Australia provide ongoing detailed de-identified emergency presentation data as part of the Rural Acute Hospital Data Register (RAHDaR). Data from nine of these facilities was extracted and analysed for children (aged 0–14 years) with any principal injury-related diagnosis presenting between 1 February 2017 and 31 January 2020. Results: There were 10,137 injury-related emergency presentations of children aged between 0–14 years to a participating hospital. The relationship between socioeconomic status and injury was confirmed, with overall higher rates of child injury presentations from those residing in areas of Disadvantage. A large proportion (74.3%) of the children attending rural UCCs were also Disadvantaged. Contrary to previous research, the rate of injury amongst children from urban areas was significantly higher than their more rural counterparts. Conclusions: Findings support the notion that injury in Victoria differs according to socioeconomic status and suggest that targeted interventions for the reduction of injury should consider socioeconomic as well as geographical differences in the design of their programs. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
- Ooi, Ean Tat, Iqbal, M., Birk, C., Natarajan, Sundararajan, Ooi, E. H., Song, C.
- Authors: Ooi, Ean Tat , Iqbal, M. , Birk, C. , Natarajan, Sundararajan , Ooi, E. H. , Song, C.
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Engineering Fracture Mechanics Vol. 240, no. (2020), p.
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: The scaled boundary finite element method is developed for transient thermoelastic fracture analysis. To enable this, a set of novel shape functions are derived considering thermoelastic equilibrium. The salient features of the proposed framework are: (a) can be formulated on polygons with an arbitrary number of sides leading to flexible mesh generation and (b) facilitates an accurate and direct evaluation of the stress intensity factors from their definition without resorting to any post-processing techniques using relatively coarse meshes. Several numerical benchmark problems demonstrate the aforementioned features of the technique. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd
- Shahabuddin, M., Alam, Md Tanvir, Krishna, Bhavya, Bhaskar, Thallada, Perkins, Greg
- Authors: Shahabuddin, M. , Alam, Md Tanvir , Krishna, Bhavya , Bhaskar, Thallada , Perkins, Greg
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: Bioresource Technology Vol. 312, no. (2020), p.
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: This article reviews the production of renewable aviation fuels from biomass and residual wastes using gasification followed by syngas conditioning and Fischer-Tropsch catalytic synthesis. The challenges involved with gasifying wastes are discussed along with a summary of conventional and emerging gasification technologies. The techniques for conditioning syngas including removal of particulate matter, tars, sulphur, carbon dioxide, compounds of nitrogen, chlorine and alkali metals are reported. Recent developments in Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, such as new catalyst formulations are described alongside reactor technologies for producing renewable aviation fuels. The energy efficiency and capital cost of converting biomass and residual wastes to aviation fuels are major barriers to widespread adoption. Therefore, further development of advanced technologies will be critical for the aviation industry to achieve their stated greenhouse gas reduction targets by 2050. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd
A survey dataset to evaluate the changes in mobility and transportation due to COVID-19 travel restrictions in Australia, Brazil, China, Ghana, India, Iran, Italy, Norway, South Africa, United States
- Barbieri, Diego, Lou, Baowen, Passavanti, Marco, Hui, Cang, Lam, Louisa
- Authors: Barbieri, Diego , Lou, Baowen , Passavanti, Marco , Hui, Cang , Lam, Louisa
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Data in Brief Vol. 33, no. (2020), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: COVID-19 pandemic has heavily impacted the global community. To curb the viral transmission, travel restrictions have been enforced across the world. The dataset documents the mobility disruptions and the modal shifts that have occurred as a consequence of the restrictive measures implemented in ten countries: Australia, Brazil, China, Ghana, India, Iran, Italy, Norway, South Africa and the United States. An online questionnaire was distributed during the period from the 11st to the 31st of May 2020, with a total of 9 394 respondents. The first part of the survey has characterized the frequency of use of all transport modes before and during the enforcement of the restrictions, while the second part of the survey has dealt with perceived risks of contracting COVID-19 from different transport modes and perceived effectiveness of travel mitigation measures. Overall, the dataset (stored in a repository publicly available) can be conveniently used to quantify and understand the modal shifts and people's cognitive behavior towards travel due to COVID-19. The collected responses can be further analysed by considering other demographic and socioeconomic covariates. © 2020 The Author(s). *Please note that there are multiple authors for this article therefore only the name of the first 5 including Federation University Australia affiliate “Louisa Lam” is provided in this record*
- Authors: Barbieri, Diego , Lou, Baowen , Passavanti, Marco , Hui, Cang , Lam, Louisa
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Data in Brief Vol. 33, no. (2020), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: COVID-19 pandemic has heavily impacted the global community. To curb the viral transmission, travel restrictions have been enforced across the world. The dataset documents the mobility disruptions and the modal shifts that have occurred as a consequence of the restrictive measures implemented in ten countries: Australia, Brazil, China, Ghana, India, Iran, Italy, Norway, South Africa and the United States. An online questionnaire was distributed during the period from the 11st to the 31st of May 2020, with a total of 9 394 respondents. The first part of the survey has characterized the frequency of use of all transport modes before and during the enforcement of the restrictions, while the second part of the survey has dealt with perceived risks of contracting COVID-19 from different transport modes and perceived effectiveness of travel mitigation measures. Overall, the dataset (stored in a repository publicly available) can be conveniently used to quantify and understand the modal shifts and people's cognitive behavior towards travel due to COVID-19. The collected responses can be further analysed by considering other demographic and socioeconomic covariates. © 2020 The Author(s). *Please note that there are multiple authors for this article therefore only the name of the first 5 including Federation University Australia affiliate “Louisa Lam” is provided in this record*
Aberrant pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A expression in breast cancers prognosticates clinical outcomes
- Prithviraj, Prashanth, Anaka, Matthew, Thompson, Erik, Sharma, Revati, Walkiewicz, Marzena, Tutuka, Candani, Behren, Andreas, Kannourakis, George, Jayachandran, Aparna
- Authors: Prithviraj, Prashanth , Anaka, Matthew , Thompson, Erik , Sharma, Revati , Walkiewicz, Marzena , Tutuka, Candani , Behren, Andreas , Kannourakis, George , Jayachandran, Aparna
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Scientific Reports Vol. 10, no. 1 (2020), p.
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- Description: Elevated levels of pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) have been implicated in the pathogenesis of various malignancies, including breast cancers. Breast cancer is one of the most frequent carcinomas and is the second most common cancer type detected in women of child-bearing age. Throughout pregnancy PAPP-A is produced and secreted by the placental syncytiotrophoblast cells; co-incidentally pregnancy-associated breast cancers often have an aggressive clinical course. The components of the PAPP-A/IGF axis was assessed in a panel of breast cancer cell lines. Using neutralising antibodies the impact of PAPP-A/IGF axis on cell motility was evaluated. PAPP-A was expressed in four of the twelve breast cancer cell lines tested. Blocking PAPP-A and IGFBP4 with neutralising antibodies significantly decreased motiliy of MDA-MB-231 cells. Upregulation of PAPP-A expression in breast tumours resulted in a trend towards worse overall survival. Notably, PAPP-A expression also positively correlated with epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition markers. In conclusion, these results indicate that PAPP-A plays an important role in breast cancer progression and it may be a promising therapeutic target in breast cancer. © 2020, The Author(s).
- Authors: Prithviraj, Prashanth , Anaka, Matthew , Thompson, Erik , Sharma, Revati , Walkiewicz, Marzena , Tutuka, Candani , Behren, Andreas , Kannourakis, George , Jayachandran, Aparna
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Scientific Reports Vol. 10, no. 1 (2020), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Elevated levels of pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) have been implicated in the pathogenesis of various malignancies, including breast cancers. Breast cancer is one of the most frequent carcinomas and is the second most common cancer type detected in women of child-bearing age. Throughout pregnancy PAPP-A is produced and secreted by the placental syncytiotrophoblast cells; co-incidentally pregnancy-associated breast cancers often have an aggressive clinical course. The components of the PAPP-A/IGF axis was assessed in a panel of breast cancer cell lines. Using neutralising antibodies the impact of PAPP-A/IGF axis on cell motility was evaluated. PAPP-A was expressed in four of the twelve breast cancer cell lines tested. Blocking PAPP-A and IGFBP4 with neutralising antibodies significantly decreased motiliy of MDA-MB-231 cells. Upregulation of PAPP-A expression in breast tumours resulted in a trend towards worse overall survival. Notably, PAPP-A expression also positively correlated with epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition markers. In conclusion, these results indicate that PAPP-A plays an important role in breast cancer progression and it may be a promising therapeutic target in breast cancer. © 2020, The Author(s).
Anxiety and Depression After a Cardiac Event: Prevalence and Predictors
- Murphy, Barbara, Le Grande, Michael, Alvarenga, Marlies, Worcester, Marian, Jackson, Alun
- Authors: Murphy, Barbara , Le Grande, Michael , Alvarenga, Marlies , Worcester, Marian , Jackson, Alun
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Frontiers in Psychology Vol. 10, no. (2020), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Introduction: Patients who are anxious or depressed after an acute cardiac event are at increased risk of a subsequent event and premature death. It is therefore important to identify these patients early in order to initiate supportive or even preventive measures. In the present study, we report on the prevalence of anxiety and depression during the first 12 months after an acute cardiac event, and the patient characteristics predictive of increased anxiety and depression risk in early and late convalescence. Methods: We recruited a sample of 911 patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), acute coronary syndrome (ACS), and/or unstable angina (UA), and/or undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABGS). Patients completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) close to the time of their event, and again during early (2–4 months post-event) and late (6–12 months post-event) convalescence. Using HADS-A and HADS-D cut-offs of 8+, prevalence rates for anxiety, depression, and comorbid anxiety and depression were determined for each timepoint. Chi-square tests and odds ratios were used to identify baseline patient characteristics associated with increased anxiety and depression risk over 12 months. Results: Anxiety rates were 43, 28, and 27% at the time of the event, early, and late convalescence. Depression rates were 22, 17, and 15%, respectively. Factors consistently associated with increased anxiety and depression risk were history of depression, financial strain, poor self-rated health, low socioeconomic status, younger age (<55 years), and smoking. Obesity, diabetes, and social isolation (living alone or being unpartnered) were identified as important albeit less significant risk factors. Neither sex nor event type were predictive of anxiety or depression. Conclusion: This large patient sample provided the opportunity to identify rates of anxiety and depression during the 12 months after a cardiac event and key patient characteristics for increased risk. These risk factors are easily identifiable at the time of the event, and could be used to guide the targeting of support programs for patients at risk. © Copyright © 2020 Murphy, Le Grande, Alvarenga, Worcester and Jackson.
- Authors: Murphy, Barbara , Le Grande, Michael , Alvarenga, Marlies , Worcester, Marian , Jackson, Alun
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Frontiers in Psychology Vol. 10, no. (2020), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Introduction: Patients who are anxious or depressed after an acute cardiac event are at increased risk of a subsequent event and premature death. It is therefore important to identify these patients early in order to initiate supportive or even preventive measures. In the present study, we report on the prevalence of anxiety and depression during the first 12 months after an acute cardiac event, and the patient characteristics predictive of increased anxiety and depression risk in early and late convalescence. Methods: We recruited a sample of 911 patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), acute coronary syndrome (ACS), and/or unstable angina (UA), and/or undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABGS). Patients completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) close to the time of their event, and again during early (2–4 months post-event) and late (6–12 months post-event) convalescence. Using HADS-A and HADS-D cut-offs of 8+, prevalence rates for anxiety, depression, and comorbid anxiety and depression were determined for each timepoint. Chi-square tests and odds ratios were used to identify baseline patient characteristics associated with increased anxiety and depression risk over 12 months. Results: Anxiety rates were 43, 28, and 27% at the time of the event, early, and late convalescence. Depression rates were 22, 17, and 15%, respectively. Factors consistently associated with increased anxiety and depression risk were history of depression, financial strain, poor self-rated health, low socioeconomic status, younger age (<55 years), and smoking. Obesity, diabetes, and social isolation (living alone or being unpartnered) were identified as important albeit less significant risk factors. Neither sex nor event type were predictive of anxiety or depression. Conclusion: This large patient sample provided the opportunity to identify rates of anxiety and depression during the 12 months after a cardiac event and key patient characteristics for increased risk. These risk factors are easily identifiable at the time of the event, and could be used to guide the targeting of support programs for patients at risk. © Copyright © 2020 Murphy, Le Grande, Alvarenga, Worcester and Jackson.
Burden and preparedness amongst informal caregivers of adults with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury
- Lieshout, Kirsten, Oates, Joanne, Baker, Anne, Unsworth, Carolyn, Cameron, Ian, Schmidt, Julia, Lannin, Natasha
- Authors: Lieshout, Kirsten , Oates, Joanne , Baker, Anne , Unsworth, Carolyn , Cameron, Ian , Schmidt, Julia , Lannin, Natasha
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Vol. 17, no. 17 (2020), p. 1-12
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- Description: This study examined the patterns of informal (unpaid) caregiving provided to people after moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), explore the self-reported burden and preparedness for the caregiving role, and identify factors predictive of caregiver burden and preparedness. A cross-sectional cohort design was used. Informal caregivers completed the Demand and Difficulty subscales of the Caregiving Burden Scale; and the Mutuality, Preparedness, and Global Strain subscales of the Family Care Inventory. Chi-square tests and logistic regression were used to examine the relationships between caregiver and care recipient variables and preparedness for caregiving. Twenty-nine informal caregivers who reported data on themselves and people with a moderate to severe TBI were recruited (referred to as a dyad). Most caregivers were female (n = 21, 72%), lived with the care recipient (n = 20, 69%), and reported high levels of burden on both scales. While most caregivers (n = 21, 72%) felt “pretty well” or “very well” prepared for caregiving, they were least prepared to get help or information from the health system, and to deal with the stress of caregiving. No significant relationships or predictors for caregiver burden or preparedness were identified. While caregivers reported the provision of care as both highly difficult and demanding, further research is required to better understand the reasons for the variability in caregiver experience, and ultimately how to best prepare caregivers for this long-term role. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
- Description: Data collection for this project was supported by the NSW Lifetime Care and Support Scheme (now iCare Foundation). N.A.L. is supported by a Future Leader Fellowship (Award ID 102055) from the National Heart Foundation of Australia.
- Authors: Lieshout, Kirsten , Oates, Joanne , Baker, Anne , Unsworth, Carolyn , Cameron, Ian , Schmidt, Julia , Lannin, Natasha
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Vol. 17, no. 17 (2020), p. 1-12
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: This study examined the patterns of informal (unpaid) caregiving provided to people after moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), explore the self-reported burden and preparedness for the caregiving role, and identify factors predictive of caregiver burden and preparedness. A cross-sectional cohort design was used. Informal caregivers completed the Demand and Difficulty subscales of the Caregiving Burden Scale; and the Mutuality, Preparedness, and Global Strain subscales of the Family Care Inventory. Chi-square tests and logistic regression were used to examine the relationships between caregiver and care recipient variables and preparedness for caregiving. Twenty-nine informal caregivers who reported data on themselves and people with a moderate to severe TBI were recruited (referred to as a dyad). Most caregivers were female (n = 21, 72%), lived with the care recipient (n = 20, 69%), and reported high levels of burden on both scales. While most caregivers (n = 21, 72%) felt “pretty well” or “very well” prepared for caregiving, they were least prepared to get help or information from the health system, and to deal with the stress of caregiving. No significant relationships or predictors for caregiver burden or preparedness were identified. While caregivers reported the provision of care as both highly difficult and demanding, further research is required to better understand the reasons for the variability in caregiver experience, and ultimately how to best prepare caregivers for this long-term role. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
- Description: Data collection for this project was supported by the NSW Lifetime Care and Support Scheme (now iCare Foundation). N.A.L. is supported by a Future Leader Fellowship (Award ID 102055) from the National Heart Foundation of Australia.
Clusterwise support vector linear regression
- Joki, Kaisa, Bagirov, Adil, Karmitsa, Napsu, Mäkelä, Marko, Taheri, Sona
- Authors: Joki, Kaisa , Bagirov, Adil , Karmitsa, Napsu , Mäkelä, Marko , Taheri, Sona
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: European Journal of Operational Research Vol. 287, no. 1 (2020), p. 19-35
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- Description: In clusterwise linear regression (CLR), the aim is to simultaneously partition data into a given number of clusters and to find regression coefficients for each cluster. In this paper, we propose a novel approach to model and solve the CLR problem. The main idea is to utilize the support vector machine (SVM) approach to model the CLR problem by using the SVM for regression to approximate each cluster. This new formulation of the CLR problem is represented as an unconstrained nonsmooth optimization problem, where we minimize a difference of two convex (DC) functions. To solve this problem, a method based on the combination of the incremental algorithm and the double bundle method for DC optimization is designed. Numerical experiments are performed to validate the reliability of the new formulation for CLR and the efficiency of the proposed method. The results show that the SVM approach is suitable for solving CLR problems, especially, when there are outliers in data. © 2020 Elsevier B.V.
- Description: Funding details: Academy of Finland, 289500, 294002, 319274 Funding details: Turun Yliopisto Funding details: Australian Research Council, ARC, (Project no. DP190100580 ).
- Authors: Joki, Kaisa , Bagirov, Adil , Karmitsa, Napsu , Mäkelä, Marko , Taheri, Sona
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: European Journal of Operational Research Vol. 287, no. 1 (2020), p. 19-35
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: In clusterwise linear regression (CLR), the aim is to simultaneously partition data into a given number of clusters and to find regression coefficients for each cluster. In this paper, we propose a novel approach to model and solve the CLR problem. The main idea is to utilize the support vector machine (SVM) approach to model the CLR problem by using the SVM for regression to approximate each cluster. This new formulation of the CLR problem is represented as an unconstrained nonsmooth optimization problem, where we minimize a difference of two convex (DC) functions. To solve this problem, a method based on the combination of the incremental algorithm and the double bundle method for DC optimization is designed. Numerical experiments are performed to validate the reliability of the new formulation for CLR and the efficiency of the proposed method. The results show that the SVM approach is suitable for solving CLR problems, especially, when there are outliers in data. © 2020 Elsevier B.V.
- Description: Funding details: Academy of Finland, 289500, 294002, 319274 Funding details: Turun Yliopisto Funding details: Australian Research Council, ARC, (Project no. DP190100580 ).
Confirmatory factor analysis and exploratory structural equation modelling of the factor structure of the depression anxiety and stress scales-21
- Gomez, Rapson, Stavropoulos, Vasileios, Griffiths, Mark
- Authors: Gomez, Rapson , Stavropoulos, Vasileios , Griffiths, Mark
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Plos One Vol. 15, no. 6 (Jun 2020), p. 16
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- Description: The Depression Anxiety and Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21) involves a simple structure first-order three-factor oblique model, with factors for depression, anxiety, and stress. Recently, concerns have been raised over the value of using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) for studying the factor structure of scales in general. However, such concerns can be circumvented using exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM). Consequently, the present study used CFA and ESEM with target rotation to examine the factor structure of the DASS-21 among an adult community. It compared first-order CFA, ESEM with target rotation, bi-factor CFA (BCFA), and bi-factor BESEM with target rotation models with group/specific factors for depression, anxiety, and stress. A total of 738 adults (males = 374, and females = 364; M = 25.29 years; SD = 7.61 years) completed the DASS-21. While all models examined showed good global fit values, one or more of the group/specific factors in the BCFA, ESEM with target rotation and BESEM with target rotation models were poorly defined. As the first-order CFA model was most parsimonious, with well-defined factors that were also supported in terms of their reliabilities and validities, this model was selected as the preferred DASS-21 model. The implications of the findings for use and revision of the DASS-21 are discussed.
- Authors: Gomez, Rapson , Stavropoulos, Vasileios , Griffiths, Mark
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Plos One Vol. 15, no. 6 (Jun 2020), p. 16
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: The Depression Anxiety and Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21) involves a simple structure first-order three-factor oblique model, with factors for depression, anxiety, and stress. Recently, concerns have been raised over the value of using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) for studying the factor structure of scales in general. However, such concerns can be circumvented using exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM). Consequently, the present study used CFA and ESEM with target rotation to examine the factor structure of the DASS-21 among an adult community. It compared first-order CFA, ESEM with target rotation, bi-factor CFA (BCFA), and bi-factor BESEM with target rotation models with group/specific factors for depression, anxiety, and stress. A total of 738 adults (males = 374, and females = 364; M = 25.29 years; SD = 7.61 years) completed the DASS-21. While all models examined showed good global fit values, one or more of the group/specific factors in the BCFA, ESEM with target rotation and BESEM with target rotation models were poorly defined. As the first-order CFA model was most parsimonious, with well-defined factors that were also supported in terms of their reliabilities and validities, this model was selected as the preferred DASS-21 model. The implications of the findings for use and revision of the DASS-21 are discussed.
- Dawson, Blake, Barton, Philip, Wallman, James
- Authors: Dawson, Blake , Barton, Philip , Wallman, James
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Forensic Science International Vol. 316, no. (2020), p.
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Non-human vertebrate animals, primarily domestic pigs, have been widely used in forensic science research as analogues for humans due to ethical and logistical constraints. Yet the suitability of pigs to mimic human decomposition and entomological patterns remains largely untested, and explicit comparative research in this area is lacking. We compared the decomposition rates and insect communities found at pig and human remains during summer and winter at the Australian Facility for Taphonomic Experimental Research (AFTER). Pigs decomposed faster than humans, with pigs entering active decay earlier in both summer and winter, and humans undergoing desiccation rather than skeletonisation. There was also a delay in the colonisation of humans by both flies and beetles. Species richness of these necrophagous taxa was between two and five times higher during the first two weeks of decomposition on pigs compared to humans during both summer and winter. Insect species composition was also significantly different between pigs and humans in each season. We interpret our findings to mean that the difference between humans and pigs, such as their mass, diet, medical history, or their microbiomes, might be causing different decomposition processes and altered timing or production of chemical cues for insect colonisation. Although preliminary, our results suggest that pigs might not be accurate substitutes for humans in particular fields of taphonomy and forensic entomology. Our findings also have broader implications for the reliability of forensic studies using pigs as models for humans, and highlight the need to recognise intrinsic differences between animal models and humans. © 2020 Elsevier B.V.
- Description: This work was supported in part by the Australian Research Council ( LE150100015 ), as well as by a SMAH Small Project Grant ( University of Wollongong ).
Cyberattacks detection in iot-based smart city applications using machine learning techniques
- Rashid, Md Mamunur, Kamruzzaman, Joarder, Hassan, Mohammad, Imam, Tassadduq, Gordon, Steven
- Authors: Rashid, Md Mamunur , Kamruzzaman, Joarder , Hassan, Mohammad , Imam, Tassadduq , Gordon, Steven
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Vol. 17, no. 24 (2020), p. 1-21
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- Reviewed:
- Description: In recent years, the widespread deployment of the Internet of Things (IoT) applications has contributed to the development of smart cities. A smart city utilizes IoT-enabled technologies, communications and applications to maximize operational efficiency and enhance both the service providers’ quality of services and people’s wellbeing and quality of life. With the growth of smart city networks, however, comes the increased risk of cybersecurity threats and attacks. IoT devices within a smart city network are connected to sensors linked to large cloud servers and are exposed to malicious attacks and threats. Thus, it is important to devise approaches to prevent such attacks and protect IoT devices from failure. In this paper, we explore an attack and anomaly detection technique based on machine learning algorithms (LR, SVM, DT, RF, ANN and KNN) to defend against and mitigate IoT cybersecurity threats in a smart city. Contrary to existing works that have focused on single classifiers, we also explore ensemble methods such as bagging, boosting and stacking to enhance the performance of the detection system. Additionally, we consider an integration of feature selection, cross-validation and multi-class classification for the discussed domain, which has not been well considered in the existing literature. Experimental results with the recent attack dataset demonstrate that the proposed technique can effectively identify cyberattacks and the stacking ensemble model outperforms comparable models in terms of accuracy, precision, recall and F1-Score, implying the promise of stacking in this domain. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
- Authors: Rashid, Md Mamunur , Kamruzzaman, Joarder , Hassan, Mohammad , Imam, Tassadduq , Gordon, Steven
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Vol. 17, no. 24 (2020), p. 1-21
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: In recent years, the widespread deployment of the Internet of Things (IoT) applications has contributed to the development of smart cities. A smart city utilizes IoT-enabled technologies, communications and applications to maximize operational efficiency and enhance both the service providers’ quality of services and people’s wellbeing and quality of life. With the growth of smart city networks, however, comes the increased risk of cybersecurity threats and attacks. IoT devices within a smart city network are connected to sensors linked to large cloud servers and are exposed to malicious attacks and threats. Thus, it is important to devise approaches to prevent such attacks and protect IoT devices from failure. In this paper, we explore an attack and anomaly detection technique based on machine learning algorithms (LR, SVM, DT, RF, ANN and KNN) to defend against and mitigate IoT cybersecurity threats in a smart city. Contrary to existing works that have focused on single classifiers, we also explore ensemble methods such as bagging, boosting and stacking to enhance the performance of the detection system. Additionally, we consider an integration of feature selection, cross-validation and multi-class classification for the discussed domain, which has not been well considered in the existing literature. Experimental results with the recent attack dataset demonstrate that the proposed technique can effectively identify cyberattacks and the stacking ensemble model outperforms comparable models in terms of accuracy, precision, recall and F1-Score, implying the promise of stacking in this domain. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Designing multi-agent system organisations for flexible runtime behaviour
- Keogh, Kathleen, Sonenberg, Liz
- Authors: Keogh, Kathleen , Sonenberg, Liz
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Applied Sciences (Switzerland) Vol. 10, no. 15 (2020), p.
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- Description: We address the challenge of multi-agent system (MAS) design for organisations of agents acting in dynamic and uncertain environments where runtime flexibility is required to enable improvisation through sharing knowledge and adapting behaviour. We identify behavioural features that correspond to runtime improvisation by agents in a MAS organisation and from this analysis describe the OJAzzIC meta-model and an associated design method. We present results from simulation scenarios, varying both problem complexity and the level of organisational support provided in the design, to show that increasing design time guidance in the organisation specification can enable runtime flexibility afforded to agents and improve performance. Hence the results demonstrate the usefulness of the constructs captured in the OJAzzIC meta-model. © 2020 by the authors.
- Authors: Keogh, Kathleen , Sonenberg, Liz
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Applied Sciences (Switzerland) Vol. 10, no. 15 (2020), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: We address the challenge of multi-agent system (MAS) design for organisations of agents acting in dynamic and uncertain environments where runtime flexibility is required to enable improvisation through sharing knowledge and adapting behaviour. We identify behavioural features that correspond to runtime improvisation by agents in a MAS organisation and from this analysis describe the OJAzzIC meta-model and an associated design method. We present results from simulation scenarios, varying both problem complexity and the level of organisational support provided in the design, to show that increasing design time guidance in the organisation specification can enable runtime flexibility afforded to agents and improve performance. Hence the results demonstrate the usefulness of the constructs captured in the OJAzzIC meta-model. © 2020 by the authors.