Primal Characterizations of error bounds for composite-convex inequalities
- Wei, Zhou, Théra, Michel, Yao, Jen-Chih
- Authors: Wei, Zhou , Théra, Michel , Yao, Jen-Chih
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Convex Analysis Vol. 30, no. 4 (2023), p. 1329-1350
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- Description: This paper is devoted to primal conditions of error bounds for a general function. In terms of Bouligand tangent cones, lower Hadamard directional derivatives and the Hausdorff-Pompeiu excess of subsets, we provide several necessary and/or sufficient conditions for error bounds with mild assumptions. Then we use these primal results to characterize error bounds for composite-convex functions (i.e. the composition of a convex function with a continuously differentiable mapping). It is proved that the primal characterization of error bounds can be established via Bouligand tangent cones, directional derivatives and the Hausdorff-Pompeiu excess if the mapping is metrically regular at the given point. The accurate estimate on the error bound modulus is also obtained. © 2023 Heldermann Verlag. All rights reserved.
- Authors: Wei, Zhou , Théra, Michel , Yao, Jen-Chih
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Convex Analysis Vol. 30, no. 4 (2023), p. 1329-1350
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: This paper is devoted to primal conditions of error bounds for a general function. In terms of Bouligand tangent cones, lower Hadamard directional derivatives and the Hausdorff-Pompeiu excess of subsets, we provide several necessary and/or sufficient conditions for error bounds with mild assumptions. Then we use these primal results to characterize error bounds for composite-convex functions (i.e. the composition of a convex function with a continuously differentiable mapping). It is proved that the primal characterization of error bounds can be established via Bouligand tangent cones, directional derivatives and the Hausdorff-Pompeiu excess if the mapping is metrically regular at the given point. The accurate estimate on the error bound modulus is also obtained. © 2023 Heldermann Verlag. All rights reserved.
Prior cancer diagnosis and mortality profile in US adults
- Wang, Yutang, Fang, Yan, Sobey, Christopher, Drummond, Grant
- Authors: Wang, Yutang , Fang, Yan , Sobey, Christopher , Drummond, Grant
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: American Journal of the Medical Sciences Vol. 365, no. 2 (2023), p. 176-183
- Relation: https://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1062671
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- Description: Background: Mortality profiles with multivariate adjustment in patients with a prior cancer diagnosis are scarce. This study aimed to investigate multivariate-adjusted mortality profile in US adults with a prior cancer diagnosis. Methods: This cohort study included 58,109 US adults (5,016 with a prior cancer diagnosis) who attended the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Mortality outcomes were ascertained by linkage to the National Death Index records. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and confidence intervals (CIs) of prior cancer diagnosis for mortality. Results: This cohort was followed up for 646,033 person-years with a mean follow-up of 11.1 years. Compared with those without cancer, participants with a prior cancer diagnosis had increased crude cumulative mortality rates in each leading cause. Prior cancer diagnosis was associated with a higher multivariate-adjusted risk of mortality from all causes (HR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.22-1.35), cancer (HR, 2.32; 95% CI, 2.10-2.56), and accidents (HR, 1.90; 95% CI, 1.34-2.68). Prior cancer diagnosis-associated increase in accident mortality appeared only in males and was significant only in non-Hispanic black participants. Prior cancer diagnosis-associated increase in cancer mortality appeared high in non-Hispanic black participants. Conclusions: This study found that patients with a prior cancer diagnosis had higher multivariate-adjusted accident mortality risks, suggesting that oncologists may need to evaluate accident risks in cancer patients and provide preventive interventions in particular for male and non-Hispanic black patients. Increased cancer mortality risk associated with prior cancer diagnosis in non-Hispanic black participants may also need clinical attention. © 2022 Southern Society for Clinical Investigation
- Authors: Wang, Yutang , Fang, Yan , Sobey, Christopher , Drummond, Grant
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: American Journal of the Medical Sciences Vol. 365, no. 2 (2023), p. 176-183
- Relation: https://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1062671
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- Description: Background: Mortality profiles with multivariate adjustment in patients with a prior cancer diagnosis are scarce. This study aimed to investigate multivariate-adjusted mortality profile in US adults with a prior cancer diagnosis. Methods: This cohort study included 58,109 US adults (5,016 with a prior cancer diagnosis) who attended the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Mortality outcomes were ascertained by linkage to the National Death Index records. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and confidence intervals (CIs) of prior cancer diagnosis for mortality. Results: This cohort was followed up for 646,033 person-years with a mean follow-up of 11.1 years. Compared with those without cancer, participants with a prior cancer diagnosis had increased crude cumulative mortality rates in each leading cause. Prior cancer diagnosis was associated with a higher multivariate-adjusted risk of mortality from all causes (HR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.22-1.35), cancer (HR, 2.32; 95% CI, 2.10-2.56), and accidents (HR, 1.90; 95% CI, 1.34-2.68). Prior cancer diagnosis-associated increase in accident mortality appeared only in males and was significant only in non-Hispanic black participants. Prior cancer diagnosis-associated increase in cancer mortality appeared high in non-Hispanic black participants. Conclusions: This study found that patients with a prior cancer diagnosis had higher multivariate-adjusted accident mortality risks, suggesting that oncologists may need to evaluate accident risks in cancer patients and provide preventive interventions in particular for male and non-Hispanic black patients. Increased cancer mortality risk associated with prior cancer diagnosis in non-Hispanic black participants may also need clinical attention. © 2022 Southern Society for Clinical Investigation
Proposed machine learning techniques for bridge structural health monitoring : a laboratory study
- Noori Hoshyar, Azadeh, Rashidi, Maria, Yu, Yang, Samali, Bijan
- Authors: Noori Hoshyar, Azadeh , Rashidi, Maria , Yu, Yang , Samali, Bijan
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Remote Sensing Vol. 15, no. 8 (2023), p.
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- Description: Structural health monitoring for bridges is a crucial concern in engineering due to the degradation risks caused by defects, which can become worse over time. In this respect, enhancement of various models that can discriminate between healthy and non-healthy states of structures have received extensive attention. These models are concerned with implementation algorithms, which operate on the feature sets to quantify the bridge’s structural health. The functional correlation between the feature set and the health state of the bridge structure is usually difficult to define. Therefore, the models are derived from machine learning techniques. The use of machine learning approaches provides the possibility of automating the SHM procedure and intelligent damage detection. In this study, we propose four classification algorithms to SHM, which uses the concepts of support vector machine (SVM) algorithm. The laboratory experiment, which intended to validate the results, was performed at Western Sydney University (WSU). The results were compared with the basic SVM to evaluate the performance of proposed algorithms. © 2023 by the authors.
- Authors: Noori Hoshyar, Azadeh , Rashidi, Maria , Yu, Yang , Samali, Bijan
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Remote Sensing Vol. 15, no. 8 (2023), p.
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- Description: Structural health monitoring for bridges is a crucial concern in engineering due to the degradation risks caused by defects, which can become worse over time. In this respect, enhancement of various models that can discriminate between healthy and non-healthy states of structures have received extensive attention. These models are concerned with implementation algorithms, which operate on the feature sets to quantify the bridge’s structural health. The functional correlation between the feature set and the health state of the bridge structure is usually difficult to define. Therefore, the models are derived from machine learning techniques. The use of machine learning approaches provides the possibility of automating the SHM procedure and intelligent damage detection. In this study, we propose four classification algorithms to SHM, which uses the concepts of support vector machine (SVM) algorithm. The laboratory experiment, which intended to validate the results, was performed at Western Sydney University (WSU). The results were compared with the basic SVM to evaluate the performance of proposed algorithms. © 2023 by the authors.
Psychological distress, fear and coping strategies among hong kong people during the COVID-19 pandemic
- Chair, Sek, Chien, Wai, Liu, Ting, Lam, Louisa, Cross, Wendy, Banik, Biswajit, Rahman, Muhammad Aziz
- Authors: Chair, Sek , Chien, Wai , Liu, Ting , Lam, Louisa , Cross, Wendy , Banik, Biswajit , Rahman, Muhammad Aziz
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Current Psychology Vol. 42, no. 3 (2023), p. 2538-2557
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- Description: The COVID-19 pandemic contributed to potential adverse effects on the mental health status of a wide range of people. This study aimed to identify factors associated with psychological distress, fear and coping strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among general population in Hong Kong. Psychological distress was assessed using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale; level of fear was evaluated using the Fear of COVID-19 scale; and coping strategies were assessed using the Brief Resilient Coping Scale. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify key factors associated with these mental health variables. Of the 555 participants, 53.9% experienced moderate to very high levels of psychological distress, 31.2% experienced a high level of fear of COVID-19, and 58.6% showed moderate to high resilient coping. Multivariable logistic regression indicated that living with family members, current alcohol consumption, and higher level of fear were associated with higher levels of psychological distress; perceived stress due to a change in employment condition, being a frontline worker, experiencing ‘moderate to very high’ distress, and healthcare service use to overcome the COVID-19 related stress in past 6 months were associated with a higher level of fear; and perceived better mental health status was associated with a moderate to high resilient coping. This study identified key factors associated with distress, fear and coping strategies during the pandemic in Hong Kong. Mental health support strategies should be provided continuously to prevent the mental impact of the pandemic from turning into long-term illness. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
- Authors: Chair, Sek , Chien, Wai , Liu, Ting , Lam, Louisa , Cross, Wendy , Banik, Biswajit , Rahman, Muhammad Aziz
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Current Psychology Vol. 42, no. 3 (2023), p. 2538-2557
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- Description: The COVID-19 pandemic contributed to potential adverse effects on the mental health status of a wide range of people. This study aimed to identify factors associated with psychological distress, fear and coping strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among general population in Hong Kong. Psychological distress was assessed using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale; level of fear was evaluated using the Fear of COVID-19 scale; and coping strategies were assessed using the Brief Resilient Coping Scale. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify key factors associated with these mental health variables. Of the 555 participants, 53.9% experienced moderate to very high levels of psychological distress, 31.2% experienced a high level of fear of COVID-19, and 58.6% showed moderate to high resilient coping. Multivariable logistic regression indicated that living with family members, current alcohol consumption, and higher level of fear were associated with higher levels of psychological distress; perceived stress due to a change in employment condition, being a frontline worker, experiencing ‘moderate to very high’ distress, and healthcare service use to overcome the COVID-19 related stress in past 6 months were associated with a higher level of fear; and perceived better mental health status was associated with a moderate to high resilient coping. This study identified key factors associated with distress, fear and coping strategies during the pandemic in Hong Kong. Mental health support strategies should be provided continuously to prevent the mental impact of the pandemic from turning into long-term illness. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
Psychological, physical, and sexual violence against children in Australian community sport : frequency, perpetrator, and victim characteristics
- Pankowiak, Aurelie, Woessner, Mary, Parent, Sylvie, Vertommen, Tine, Eime, Rochelle, Spaaij, Ramon, Harvey, Jack, Parker, Alexandra
- Authors: Pankowiak, Aurelie , Woessner, Mary , Parent, Sylvie , Vertommen, Tine , Eime, Rochelle , Spaaij, Ramon , Harvey, Jack , Parker, Alexandra
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Interpersonal Violence Vol. 38, no. 3-4 (2023), p. 4338-4365
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- Description: Childhood sport participation is associated with physical, social, and mental health benefits, which are more likely to be realized if the sport environment is safe. However, our understanding of children’s experience of psychological, physical, and sexual violence in community sport in Australia is limited. The aims of this study were to provide preliminary evidence on the extent of experiences of violence during childhood participation in Australian community sport and to identify common perpetrators of and risk factors for violence. The Violence Towards Athletes Questionnaire (VTAQ) was administered online to a convenience sample of Australian adults (>18 years), retrospectively reporting experiences of violence during childhood community sport. Frequencies of experience of violence were calculated and Chi-square tests were conducted to determine differences between genders. In total, there were 886 respondents included in the analysis. Most survey respondents were women (63%) and about a third were men (35%). About 82% of respondents experienced violence in sport as a child. Psychological violence was most prevalent (76%), followed by physical (66%) and sexual (38%) violence. Peers perpetrated the highest rates of psychological violence (69%), and the rates of physical and psychological violence by coaches (both >50%) were also high. Age, sexual orientation, disability, and hours of weekly sport participation as a child were all associated with childhood experience of violence in sport. The rates of interpersonal violence against children in sport were high. This novel data on perpetrators of the violence and the risk factors for experiencing violence provides further context to inform safeguarding strategies in sport. A national prevalence study is recommended to advance our understanding of the childhood experiences of violence in Australian sport. © The Author(s) 2022.
- Authors: Pankowiak, Aurelie , Woessner, Mary , Parent, Sylvie , Vertommen, Tine , Eime, Rochelle , Spaaij, Ramon , Harvey, Jack , Parker, Alexandra
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Interpersonal Violence Vol. 38, no. 3-4 (2023), p. 4338-4365
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- Description: Childhood sport participation is associated with physical, social, and mental health benefits, which are more likely to be realized if the sport environment is safe. However, our understanding of children’s experience of psychological, physical, and sexual violence in community sport in Australia is limited. The aims of this study were to provide preliminary evidence on the extent of experiences of violence during childhood participation in Australian community sport and to identify common perpetrators of and risk factors for violence. The Violence Towards Athletes Questionnaire (VTAQ) was administered online to a convenience sample of Australian adults (>18 years), retrospectively reporting experiences of violence during childhood community sport. Frequencies of experience of violence were calculated and Chi-square tests were conducted to determine differences between genders. In total, there were 886 respondents included in the analysis. Most survey respondents were women (63%) and about a third were men (35%). About 82% of respondents experienced violence in sport as a child. Psychological violence was most prevalent (76%), followed by physical (66%) and sexual (38%) violence. Peers perpetrated the highest rates of psychological violence (69%), and the rates of physical and psychological violence by coaches (both >50%) were also high. Age, sexual orientation, disability, and hours of weekly sport participation as a child were all associated with childhood experience of violence in sport. The rates of interpersonal violence against children in sport were high. This novel data on perpetrators of the violence and the risk factors for experiencing violence provides further context to inform safeguarding strategies in sport. A national prevalence study is recommended to advance our understanding of the childhood experiences of violence in Australian sport. © The Author(s) 2022.
Psychometric characteristics of the brazil mood scale among youth and elite athletes using two response time frames
- Rohlfs, Izabel, Noce, Franco, Gabbett, Tim, Wilke, Carolina, Vido, Marcelo, Terry, Victoria, Terry, Peter
- Authors: Rohlfs, Izabel , Noce, Franco , Gabbett, Tim , Wilke, Carolina , Vido, Marcelo , Terry, Victoria , Terry, Peter
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Sports Vol. 11, no. 12 (2023), p.
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- Description: Regular assessment of the mood construct as an indicator of psychological wellbeing is used in Brazil to screen athletes for risk of mental health issues. The present study tested the psychometric characteristics of the Brazil Mood Scale (BRAMS) using both “right now” and “past week” response time frames and investigated between-group differences in mood based on athletes’ sex, age, and social vulnerability. Participants were 898 athletes (511 male, 387 female, age range: 12–44 years) from eight sports. The factorial validity of the BRAMS was supported using both response time frames independently and in a multi-sample analysis. Subscale reliability was supported for both time frames. Fatigue, depression, and tension scores were higher using the “past week” time frame than the “right now” time frame. Males reported higher vigor scores than females, and younger participants (<18 years) reported lower scores for anger and depression than older participants (18+ years). No significant differences in mood (p > 0.05) were found between participants identified as socially vulnerable and those who were not socially vulnerable. Findings supported the psychometric integrity of the BRAMS and its use as a screening measure for psychological wellbeing among youth and elite athletes in Brazil. © 2023 by the authors.
- Authors: Rohlfs, Izabel , Noce, Franco , Gabbett, Tim , Wilke, Carolina , Vido, Marcelo , Terry, Victoria , Terry, Peter
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Sports Vol. 11, no. 12 (2023), p.
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- Description: Regular assessment of the mood construct as an indicator of psychological wellbeing is used in Brazil to screen athletes for risk of mental health issues. The present study tested the psychometric characteristics of the Brazil Mood Scale (BRAMS) using both “right now” and “past week” response time frames and investigated between-group differences in mood based on athletes’ sex, age, and social vulnerability. Participants were 898 athletes (511 male, 387 female, age range: 12–44 years) from eight sports. The factorial validity of the BRAMS was supported using both response time frames independently and in a multi-sample analysis. Subscale reliability was supported for both time frames. Fatigue, depression, and tension scores were higher using the “past week” time frame than the “right now” time frame. Males reported higher vigor scores than females, and younger participants (<18 years) reported lower scores for anger and depression than older participants (18+ years). No significant differences in mood (p > 0.05) were found between participants identified as socially vulnerable and those who were not socially vulnerable. Findings supported the psychometric integrity of the BRAMS and its use as a screening measure for psychological wellbeing among youth and elite athletes in Brazil. © 2023 by the authors.
Psychometric properties of the Bergen social media addiction scale : an analysis using item response theory
- Zarate, Daniel, Hobson, Ben, March, Evita, Griffiths, Mark, Stavropoulos, Vasileios
- Authors: Zarate, Daniel , Hobson, Ben , March, Evita , Griffiths, Mark , Stavropoulos, Vasileios
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Addictive Behaviors Reports Vol. 17, no. (2023), p.
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- Description: Background: Social media use has become an everyday behavior in contemporary life resulting in increased participation. A minority of individuals, especially younger adults, may engage excessively with the medium, resulting in the emergence of problematic social media use (PSMU). One way of assessing PSMU is by administering the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS). The present study investigated the psychometric properties and prevalence of the BSMAS using Item Response Theory (IRT). Additionally, it evaluated risk factors such as gender and age. Methods: A relatively large community sample (N = 968, Mage = 29.5 years, SD = 9.36, 32.5% women) completed the BSMAS online. Results: IRT analyses showed differences regarding the BSMAS items’ discrimination, difficulty, and reliability capacities, with a raw score exceeding 26 (out of 30) indicating a higher risk of PSMU (n = 11; 1.1%). Females and younger participants were at greater risk of developing PSMU. Conclusion: The BSMAS functions as a reliable measure of PSMU, particularly between average to high levels of the trait. Additionally, younger participants were shown to be at higher risk of PSMU suggesting that prevention and intervention protocols should focus on this group. © 2022 The Author(s)
- Authors: Zarate, Daniel , Hobson, Ben , March, Evita , Griffiths, Mark , Stavropoulos, Vasileios
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Addictive Behaviors Reports Vol. 17, no. (2023), p.
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- Description: Background: Social media use has become an everyday behavior in contemporary life resulting in increased participation. A minority of individuals, especially younger adults, may engage excessively with the medium, resulting in the emergence of problematic social media use (PSMU). One way of assessing PSMU is by administering the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS). The present study investigated the psychometric properties and prevalence of the BSMAS using Item Response Theory (IRT). Additionally, it evaluated risk factors such as gender and age. Methods: A relatively large community sample (N = 968, Mage = 29.5 years, SD = 9.36, 32.5% women) completed the BSMAS online. Results: IRT analyses showed differences regarding the BSMAS items’ discrimination, difficulty, and reliability capacities, with a raw score exceeding 26 (out of 30) indicating a higher risk of PSMU (n = 11; 1.1%). Females and younger participants were at greater risk of developing PSMU. Conclusion: The BSMAS functions as a reliable measure of PSMU, particularly between average to high levels of the trait. Additionally, younger participants were shown to be at higher risk of PSMU suggesting that prevention and intervention protocols should focus on this group. © 2022 The Author(s)
Psychometric properties of the caring efficacy scale among personal care attendants working in residential aged care settings
- Shrestha, Sumina, Wells, Yvonne, While, Christine, Rahman, Muhammad Aziz
- Authors: Shrestha, Sumina , Wells, Yvonne , While, Christine , Rahman, Muhammad Aziz
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australasian Journal on Ageing Vol. 42, no. 3 (2023), p. 491-498
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- Description: Objective: This study assessed the psychometric properties of the Caring Efficacy Scale (CES) among personal care attendants providing care to older residents in residential aged care settings. Methods: This cross-sectional study was completed in Australia in 2020–2021. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of the 30-item original CES (Model 1) and 28-item CES validated in registered nurses (Model 2) was conducted to assess the goodness of fit of these models in our study population. Due to unsatisfactory fit indices for both models, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted to examine the dimensionality and underlying structure of the original CES among personal care attendants. Internal consistency of the final scale and subscales identified was examined using item-total correlations and Cronbach's alpha coefficients. Results: Two hundred and eighty personal care attendants participated in the study. The model fit indices such as Comparative Fit Index and Tucker Lewis Index of both models were less than 0.90, while the Standardised Root Mean Square Residual and Root Mean Square of Approximation values were greater than or equal to 0.08 and 0.06, respectively. The EFA identified a two-factor structure, and 22 items of the 30 in the original scale were retained. Item-total correlations amongst items retained in the scale and subscales were greater than 0.3. Cronbach's alpha for the abbreviated scale was 0.85, with 0.83 and 0.79, respectively, for the two subscales. Conclusions: The modified CES can be used as a robust tool to assess the self-efficacy of personal care attendants in providing care to older residents in residential aged care settings. © 2023 The Authors. Australasian Journal on Ageing published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of AJA Inc’.
- Authors: Shrestha, Sumina , Wells, Yvonne , While, Christine , Rahman, Muhammad Aziz
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australasian Journal on Ageing Vol. 42, no. 3 (2023), p. 491-498
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- Description: Objective: This study assessed the psychometric properties of the Caring Efficacy Scale (CES) among personal care attendants providing care to older residents in residential aged care settings. Methods: This cross-sectional study was completed in Australia in 2020–2021. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of the 30-item original CES (Model 1) and 28-item CES validated in registered nurses (Model 2) was conducted to assess the goodness of fit of these models in our study population. Due to unsatisfactory fit indices for both models, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted to examine the dimensionality and underlying structure of the original CES among personal care attendants. Internal consistency of the final scale and subscales identified was examined using item-total correlations and Cronbach's alpha coefficients. Results: Two hundred and eighty personal care attendants participated in the study. The model fit indices such as Comparative Fit Index and Tucker Lewis Index of both models were less than 0.90, while the Standardised Root Mean Square Residual and Root Mean Square of Approximation values were greater than or equal to 0.08 and 0.06, respectively. The EFA identified a two-factor structure, and 22 items of the 30 in the original scale were retained. Item-total correlations amongst items retained in the scale and subscales were greater than 0.3. Cronbach's alpha for the abbreviated scale was 0.85, with 0.83 and 0.79, respectively, for the two subscales. Conclusions: The modified CES can be used as a robust tool to assess the self-efficacy of personal care attendants in providing care to older residents in residential aged care settings. © 2023 The Authors. Australasian Journal on Ageing published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of AJA Inc’.
Public health messaging during disasters : a qualitative study of emergency department key informants
- Coombs, Nicole, Porter, Joanne, Barbagallo, Michael
- Authors: Coombs, Nicole , Porter, Joanne , Barbagallo, Michael
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australasian Emergency Care Vol. 26, no. 4 (2023), p. 284-289
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- Description: Background: Patient education is a professional obligation for all nurses. Public health messaging in emergency departments during disasters can help prevent further risk or illness for affected communities. In this study, Australian emergency nurse Key Informants share their perceptions and experiences of preventative messaging provided in their departments during disasters and the governance and processes in place to support this practice. Methods: The qualitative phase of a mixed methods study, where semi structured interviews were utilised, and data analysed using a six step Thematic analysis. Results: Three themes were identified: (1) Part of the Job; (2) It's all in the delivery; and (3) Preparation is the key. These themes include concepts involving the confidence and competence of nurses providing messages, what, when and how messages are being given and how prepared both the department and staff are regarding patient education during disaster events. Conclusions: Nurse confidence is a key factor in the delivery of preventative messages during disasters, potentially resulting from a lack of exposure, a junior workforce and minimal training. Leaders agree that departments are not preparing or supporting messaging practice, with an absence of specific training, formal guidelines, and patient education resources; and that improvement is needed. © 2023
- Authors: Coombs, Nicole , Porter, Joanne , Barbagallo, Michael
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australasian Emergency Care Vol. 26, no. 4 (2023), p. 284-289
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Background: Patient education is a professional obligation for all nurses. Public health messaging in emergency departments during disasters can help prevent further risk or illness for affected communities. In this study, Australian emergency nurse Key Informants share their perceptions and experiences of preventative messaging provided in their departments during disasters and the governance and processes in place to support this practice. Methods: The qualitative phase of a mixed methods study, where semi structured interviews were utilised, and data analysed using a six step Thematic analysis. Results: Three themes were identified: (1) Part of the Job; (2) It's all in the delivery; and (3) Preparation is the key. These themes include concepts involving the confidence and competence of nurses providing messages, what, when and how messages are being given and how prepared both the department and staff are regarding patient education during disaster events. Conclusions: Nurse confidence is a key factor in the delivery of preventative messages during disasters, potentially resulting from a lack of exposure, a junior workforce and minimal training. Leaders agree that departments are not preparing or supporting messaging practice, with an absence of specific training, formal guidelines, and patient education resources; and that improvement is needed. © 2023
Quantification of intra- vs. inter-row leaching of major plant nutrients in sloping vineyard soils
- Filipović, Lana, Krevh, Vedran, Chen, Rui, Defterdarović, Jasmina, Kovač, Zoran, Mustać, Ivan, Bogunović, Igor, He, Hailong, Baumgartl, Thomas, Gerke, Horst, Toor, Gurpal, Filipović, Vilim
- Authors: Filipović, Lana , Krevh, Vedran , Chen, Rui , Defterdarović, Jasmina , Kovač, Zoran , Mustać, Ivan , Bogunović, Igor , He, Hailong , Baumgartl, Thomas , Gerke, Horst , Toor, Gurpal , Filipović, Vilim
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Water (Switzerland) Vol. 15, no. 4 (2023), p.
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- Description: Nutrient leaching from agricultural soils presents an economic loss for farmers and can degrade the quality of the surrounding environment. Thus, leachates from 18 in situ wick lysimeters, installed at 40 cm soil depth at the vineyard hilltop, backslope, and footslope intra- and inter-row area (SUPREHILL Critical Zone Observatory, Croatia) were collected monthly over two years and analyzed for major plant nutrient ions. Our objectives were to quantify nutrient losses via leaching from the hilltop towards the backslope and to the footslope, and to compare leaching from vine plant rows (intra-row) with grassed areas between vine rows (inter-row). We found that the concentrations of nitrate, orthophosphate, and potassium were significantly higher in leachates collected at the footslope as compared to the hilltop and backslope only at intra- and not at inter-row positions, while ammonium was independent of the slope and row positions. The vineyard intra-row is identified as the probable spatial origin of nutrient leaching along the slope, thus confirming spatially different contributions of overall hillslope to major plant nutrients leaching. The experimental field scheme used in this study, which separately analyses vineyard intra- and inter-row, was confirmed to be an adequate approach for optimizing vineyard management practices. © 2023 by the authors.
- Authors: Filipović, Lana , Krevh, Vedran , Chen, Rui , Defterdarović, Jasmina , Kovač, Zoran , Mustać, Ivan , Bogunović, Igor , He, Hailong , Baumgartl, Thomas , Gerke, Horst , Toor, Gurpal , Filipović, Vilim
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Water (Switzerland) Vol. 15, no. 4 (2023), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Nutrient leaching from agricultural soils presents an economic loss for farmers and can degrade the quality of the surrounding environment. Thus, leachates from 18 in situ wick lysimeters, installed at 40 cm soil depth at the vineyard hilltop, backslope, and footslope intra- and inter-row area (SUPREHILL Critical Zone Observatory, Croatia) were collected monthly over two years and analyzed for major plant nutrient ions. Our objectives were to quantify nutrient losses via leaching from the hilltop towards the backslope and to the footslope, and to compare leaching from vine plant rows (intra-row) with grassed areas between vine rows (inter-row). We found that the concentrations of nitrate, orthophosphate, and potassium were significantly higher in leachates collected at the footslope as compared to the hilltop and backslope only at intra- and not at inter-row positions, while ammonium was independent of the slope and row positions. The vineyard intra-row is identified as the probable spatial origin of nutrient leaching along the slope, thus confirming spatially different contributions of overall hillslope to major plant nutrients leaching. The experimental field scheme used in this study, which separately analyses vineyard intra- and inter-row, was confirmed to be an adequate approach for optimizing vineyard management practices. © 2023 by the authors.
Quantifying the cohesive strength of rock materials by roughness analysis using a domain based multifractal framework
- Aligholi, Saeed, Torabi, Ali, Khandelwal, Manoj
- Authors: Aligholi, Saeed , Torabi, Ali , Khandelwal, Manoj
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences Vol. 170, no. (2023), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Cohesive strength or intrinsic tensile strength as well as cohesive length are two important unknowns for cohesive modelling of fracture and failure analysis of quasi-brittle materials including rocks. There is no direct method for measuring these parameters and their quantification is always challenging and controversial. In this study, a novel multifractal framework is employed to quantify the cohesive length of four different rock types including sandstone, marble, fine-grained granite and coarse-grained granite by analysing the roughness of their fracture surfaces in a wide range of length scales. On the one hand, microstructural heterogeneities of rock material at small enough length scales will cause multifractality of the roughness of its fractured surface. On the other hand, this intrinsic heterogeneity together with extrinsic features including loading and environmental conditions as well as geometrical features including shape and size of a quasi-brittle specimen or structure are forming a fracture process zone (FPZ) in front of any stress concentrators before crack propagation. Therefore, it is proposed that locating the transition from multifractality to mono-fractality of a rough rock fractured surface using the employed statistical mechanics method leads to quantifying the effective length of FPZ of a sharp crack or the cohesive length. This length is quantified for the studied rocks ranging from 0.4 to 1.1 mm. Moreover, by employing the theory of critical distances, the cohesive strength
- Authors: Aligholi, Saeed , Torabi, Ali , Khandelwal, Manoj
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences Vol. 170, no. (2023), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Cohesive strength or intrinsic tensile strength as well as cohesive length are two important unknowns for cohesive modelling of fracture and failure analysis of quasi-brittle materials including rocks. There is no direct method for measuring these parameters and their quantification is always challenging and controversial. In this study, a novel multifractal framework is employed to quantify the cohesive length of four different rock types including sandstone, marble, fine-grained granite and coarse-grained granite by analysing the roughness of their fracture surfaces in a wide range of length scales. On the one hand, microstructural heterogeneities of rock material at small enough length scales will cause multifractality of the roughness of its fractured surface. On the other hand, this intrinsic heterogeneity together with extrinsic features including loading and environmental conditions as well as geometrical features including shape and size of a quasi-brittle specimen or structure are forming a fracture process zone (FPZ) in front of any stress concentrators before crack propagation. Therefore, it is proposed that locating the transition from multifractality to mono-fractality of a rough rock fractured surface using the employed statistical mechanics method leads to quantifying the effective length of FPZ of a sharp crack or the cohesive length. This length is quantified for the studied rocks ranging from 0.4 to 1.1 mm. Moreover, by employing the theory of critical distances, the cohesive strength
Radial and oblique impact testing of alpine helmets onto snow surfaces
- Patton, Declan, Mohammadi, Reza, Halldin, Peter, Kleiven, Svein, McIntosh, Andrew
- Authors: Patton, Declan , Mohammadi, Reza , Halldin, Peter , Kleiven, Svein , McIntosh, Andrew
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Applied Sciences (Switzerland) Vol. 13, no. 6 (2023), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Recent studies have found that alpine helmets reduce the risk of focal injuries associated with radial impacts, which is likely due to current alpine helmet standards requiring helmets to be drop-tested on flat anvils with only linear acceleration pass criteria. There is a need to evaluate the performance of alpine helmets in more realistic impacts. The current study developed a method to assess the performance of alpine helmets for radial and oblique impacts on snow surfaces in a laboratory setting. Snow samples were collected from a groomed area of a ski slope. Radial impacts were performed as drop tests onto a stationary snow sample. Oblique impacts were performed as drop tests onto a snow sample moving horizontally. For radial impacts, snow sample collection time was found to significantly (p = 0.005) influence mean peak linear headform acceleration with an increase in ambient temperature softening the snow samples. For oblique tests, the recreational alpine sports helmet with a rotation-damping system (RDS) significantly (p = 0.002) reduced mean peak angular acceleration compared to the same helmets with no RDS by approximately 44%. The ski racing helmet also significantly (p = 0.006) reduced mean peak angular acceleration compared to the recreational alpine sports helmet with no RDS by approximately 33%, which was attributed to the smooth outer shell of the ski racing helmet. The current study helps to bridge the knowledge gap between real helmet impacts on alpine snow slopes and laboratory helmet impacts on rigid surfaces. © 2023 by the authors.
- Authors: Patton, Declan , Mohammadi, Reza , Halldin, Peter , Kleiven, Svein , McIntosh, Andrew
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Applied Sciences (Switzerland) Vol. 13, no. 6 (2023), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Recent studies have found that alpine helmets reduce the risk of focal injuries associated with radial impacts, which is likely due to current alpine helmet standards requiring helmets to be drop-tested on flat anvils with only linear acceleration pass criteria. There is a need to evaluate the performance of alpine helmets in more realistic impacts. The current study developed a method to assess the performance of alpine helmets for radial and oblique impacts on snow surfaces in a laboratory setting. Snow samples were collected from a groomed area of a ski slope. Radial impacts were performed as drop tests onto a stationary snow sample. Oblique impacts were performed as drop tests onto a snow sample moving horizontally. For radial impacts, snow sample collection time was found to significantly (p = 0.005) influence mean peak linear headform acceleration with an increase in ambient temperature softening the snow samples. For oblique tests, the recreational alpine sports helmet with a rotation-damping system (RDS) significantly (p = 0.002) reduced mean peak angular acceleration compared to the same helmets with no RDS by approximately 44%. The ski racing helmet also significantly (p = 0.006) reduced mean peak angular acceleration compared to the recreational alpine sports helmet with no RDS by approximately 33%, which was attributed to the smooth outer shell of the ski racing helmet. The current study helps to bridge the knowledge gap between real helmet impacts on alpine snow slopes and laboratory helmet impacts on rigid surfaces. © 2023 by the authors.
Radius theorems for subregularity in infinite dimensions
- Gfrerer, Helmut, Kruger, Alexander
- Authors: Gfrerer, Helmut , Kruger, Alexander
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Computational Optimization and Applications Vol. 86, no. 3 (2023), p. 1117-1158
- Relation: https://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP160100854
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: The paper continues our previous work (Dontchev et al. in Set-Valued Var Anal 28:451–473, 2020) on the radius of subregularity that was initiated by Asen Dontchev. We extend the results of (Dontchev et al. in Set-Valued Var Anal 28:451–473, 2020) to general Banach/Asplund spaces and to other classes of perturbations, and sharpen the coderivative tools used in the analysis of the robustness of well-posedness of mathematical problems and related regularity properties of mappings involved in the statements. We also expand the selection of classes of perturbations, for which the formula for the radius of strong subregularity is valid. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
- Authors: Gfrerer, Helmut , Kruger, Alexander
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Computational Optimization and Applications Vol. 86, no. 3 (2023), p. 1117-1158
- Relation: https://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP160100854
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: The paper continues our previous work (Dontchev et al. in Set-Valued Var Anal 28:451–473, 2020) on the radius of subregularity that was initiated by Asen Dontchev. We extend the results of (Dontchev et al. in Set-Valued Var Anal 28:451–473, 2020) to general Banach/Asplund spaces and to other classes of perturbations, and sharpen the coderivative tools used in the analysis of the robustness of well-posedness of mathematical problems and related regularity properties of mappings involved in the statements. We also expand the selection of classes of perturbations, for which the formula for the radius of strong subregularity is valid. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
RBFK cipher : a randomized butterfly architecture-based lightweight block cipher for IoT devices in the edge computing environment
- Rana, Sohel, Mondal, Mondal, Kamruzzaman, Joarder
- Authors: Rana, Sohel , Mondal, Mondal , Kamruzzaman, Joarder
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Cybersecurity Vol. 6, no. 1 (2023), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Internet security has become a major concern with the growing use of the Internet of Things (IoT) and edge computing technologies. Even though data processing is handled by the edge server, sensitive data is generated and stored by the IoT devices, which are subject to attack. Since most IoT devices have limited resources, standard security algorithms such as AES, DES, and RSA hamper their ability to run properly. In this paper, a lightweight symmetric key cipher termed randomized butterfly architecture of fast Fourier transform for key (RBFK) cipher is proposed for resource-constrained IoT devices in the edge computing environment. The butterfly architecture is used in the key scheduling system to produce strong round keys for five rounds of the encryption method. The RBFK cipher has two key sizes: 64 and 128 bits, with a block size of 64 bits. The RBFK ciphers have a larger avalanche effect due to the butterfly architecture ensuring strong security. The proposed cipher satisfies the Shannon characteristics of confusion and diffusion. The memory usage and execution cycle of the RBFK cipher are assessed using the fair evaluation of the lightweight cryptographic systems (FELICS) tool. The proposed ciphers were also implemented using MATLAB 2021a to test key sensitivity by analyzing the histogram, correlation graph, and entropy of encrypted and decrypted images. Since the RBFK ciphers with minimal computational complexity provide better security than recently proposed competing ciphers, these are suitable for IoT devices in an edge computing environment. © 2023, The Author(s).
- Authors: Rana, Sohel , Mondal, Mondal , Kamruzzaman, Joarder
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Cybersecurity Vol. 6, no. 1 (2023), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Internet security has become a major concern with the growing use of the Internet of Things (IoT) and edge computing technologies. Even though data processing is handled by the edge server, sensitive data is generated and stored by the IoT devices, which are subject to attack. Since most IoT devices have limited resources, standard security algorithms such as AES, DES, and RSA hamper their ability to run properly. In this paper, a lightweight symmetric key cipher termed randomized butterfly architecture of fast Fourier transform for key (RBFK) cipher is proposed for resource-constrained IoT devices in the edge computing environment. The butterfly architecture is used in the key scheduling system to produce strong round keys for five rounds of the encryption method. The RBFK cipher has two key sizes: 64 and 128 bits, with a block size of 64 bits. The RBFK ciphers have a larger avalanche effect due to the butterfly architecture ensuring strong security. The proposed cipher satisfies the Shannon characteristics of confusion and diffusion. The memory usage and execution cycle of the RBFK cipher are assessed using the fair evaluation of the lightweight cryptographic systems (FELICS) tool. The proposed ciphers were also implemented using MATLAB 2021a to test key sensitivity by analyzing the histogram, correlation graph, and entropy of encrypted and decrypted images. Since the RBFK ciphers with minimal computational complexity provide better security than recently proposed competing ciphers, these are suitable for IoT devices in an edge computing environment. © 2023, The Author(s).
Reconstruction of tropical cyclone and depression proxies for the South Pacific since the 1850s
- Yeasmin, Alea, Chand, Savin, Sultanova, Nargiz
- Authors: Yeasmin, Alea , Chand, Savin , Sultanova, Nargiz
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Weather and Climate Extremes Vol. 39, no. (2023), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Southwest Pacific nations are highly vulnerable to extreme weather and climate events, particularly those associated with synoptic-scale systems such as tropical cyclones (TCs) and depressions (TDs). This study utilises the Okubo–Weiss–Zeta parameter (OWZP) method to reconstruct historical records of both TCs and TDs for the South Pacific basin using state-of-the-art NOAA-CIRES Twentieth Century Reanalysis (20CR) product. Extensive statistical assessments of these reconstructions are carried out using observational records for the satellite period (i.e., 1979–2014) as ‘ground-truths’. Results show that 20CR-derived TCs and TDs resemble several key characteristics of the observational records, including spatial distribution of genesis locations and track shapes. This gives us confidence that the 20CR-derived long-term records of TCs and TDs can serve as an effective tool for examining historical changes in various characteristics of TCs and TDs, particularly in the context of anthropogenic climate change. © 2022
- Authors: Yeasmin, Alea , Chand, Savin , Sultanova, Nargiz
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Weather and Climate Extremes Vol. 39, no. (2023), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Southwest Pacific nations are highly vulnerable to extreme weather and climate events, particularly those associated with synoptic-scale systems such as tropical cyclones (TCs) and depressions (TDs). This study utilises the Okubo–Weiss–Zeta parameter (OWZP) method to reconstruct historical records of both TCs and TDs for the South Pacific basin using state-of-the-art NOAA-CIRES Twentieth Century Reanalysis (20CR) product. Extensive statistical assessments of these reconstructions are carried out using observational records for the satellite period (i.e., 1979–2014) as ‘ground-truths’. Results show that 20CR-derived TCs and TDs resemble several key characteristics of the observational records, including spatial distribution of genesis locations and track shapes. This gives us confidence that the 20CR-derived long-term records of TCs and TDs can serve as an effective tool for examining historical changes in various characteristics of TCs and TDs, particularly in the context of anthropogenic climate change. © 2022
Recycling timber waste into geopolymer cement bonded wood composites
- Gigar, Firesenay, Khennane, Amar, Liow, Jong-leng, Tekle, Biruk, Katoozi, Elmira
- Authors: Gigar, Firesenay , Khennane, Amar , Liow, Jong-leng , Tekle, Biruk , Katoozi, Elmira
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Construction and Building Materials Vol. 400, no. (2023), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Addressing critical societal challenges, such as climate change, resource depletion, and environmental protection, requires sustainable management of resources. This study reports on the results of an experimental program using waste wood, including chromium copper arsenic (CCA) treated wood, to produce ambiently cured geopolymer cement bonded wood composites (WGC), and the results are very encouraging. The composite exhibited a reasonable compressive strength, which ranged between 7 and 27 MPa inversely corresponding to the amount of wood per binder ratio ranging between 0.1 and 0.4, conferring it the possibility of being used as a building material. The compressive strength of the composite with 40% wood chips showed the lowest compressive strength with values of 9.79, 7.29, and 7.92 MPa for decontaminated, CCA-treated, and non-CCA-treated wood chips, respectively. The results indicated that for all the wood per binder ratios, the use of decontaminated wood chips significantly improves the compressive, flexural, and specific strength of the composites, as well as their ductility, compared to non-decontaminated CCA-treated and non-CCA-treated wood chips. This paves the way for using wood waste in sustainability oriented product development and manufacturing. © 2023 The Author(s)
- Authors: Gigar, Firesenay , Khennane, Amar , Liow, Jong-leng , Tekle, Biruk , Katoozi, Elmira
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Construction and Building Materials Vol. 400, no. (2023), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Addressing critical societal challenges, such as climate change, resource depletion, and environmental protection, requires sustainable management of resources. This study reports on the results of an experimental program using waste wood, including chromium copper arsenic (CCA) treated wood, to produce ambiently cured geopolymer cement bonded wood composites (WGC), and the results are very encouraging. The composite exhibited a reasonable compressive strength, which ranged between 7 and 27 MPa inversely corresponding to the amount of wood per binder ratio ranging between 0.1 and 0.4, conferring it the possibility of being used as a building material. The compressive strength of the composite with 40% wood chips showed the lowest compressive strength with values of 9.79, 7.29, and 7.92 MPa for decontaminated, CCA-treated, and non-CCA-treated wood chips, respectively. The results indicated that for all the wood per binder ratios, the use of decontaminated wood chips significantly improves the compressive, flexural, and specific strength of the composites, as well as their ductility, compared to non-decontaminated CCA-treated and non-CCA-treated wood chips. This paves the way for using wood waste in sustainability oriented product development and manufacturing. © 2023 The Author(s)
Reinforcement sensitivity theory of personality questionnaire : measurement and structural invariance across age and gender groups
- Gomez, Rapson, Stavropoulos, Vasileios, Watson, Shaun, Footitt, Trent, Corr, Philip
- Authors: Gomez, Rapson , Stavropoulos, Vasileios , Watson, Shaun , Footitt, Trent , Corr, Philip
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction Vol. 21, no. 1 (2023), p. 131-144
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Revised reinforcement sensitivity theory (r-RST) of personality is a major neuropsychological theory of motivation, emotion, and personality. To measure the specific components of r-RST, the Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory of Personality Questionnaire (RST-PQ; Corr & Cooper(Psychological Assessment 28(11), 1427–1400, 2016) has been developed. The current study examined the measurement (configural, metric, scalar, and residual) and structural (factor variances, covariances) invariance across gender and age groups for an exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) version of the theorized six-factor oblique model. A total of 901 adults (M = 32.07, SD = 16.38) from the general community completed ratings of the RST-PQ. Multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) supported full measurement and structural invariance. There was also no difference for the six latent mean scores across gender and age. The psychometric and practical implications of the findings are discussed. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
- Authors: Gomez, Rapson , Stavropoulos, Vasileios , Watson, Shaun , Footitt, Trent , Corr, Philip
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction Vol. 21, no. 1 (2023), p. 131-144
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Revised reinforcement sensitivity theory (r-RST) of personality is a major neuropsychological theory of motivation, emotion, and personality. To measure the specific components of r-RST, the Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory of Personality Questionnaire (RST-PQ; Corr & Cooper(Psychological Assessment 28(11), 1427–1400, 2016) has been developed. The current study examined the measurement (configural, metric, scalar, and residual) and structural (factor variances, covariances) invariance across gender and age groups for an exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) version of the theorized six-factor oblique model. A total of 901 adults (M = 32.07, SD = 16.38) from the general community completed ratings of the RST-PQ. Multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) supported full measurement and structural invariance. There was also no difference for the six latent mean scores across gender and age. The psychometric and practical implications of the findings are discussed. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
Relative contribution of photodegradation to litter breakdown in Australian grasslands
- Butler, Freja, Good, Megan, Morgan, John, Schultz, Nick
- Authors: Butler, Freja , Good, Megan , Morgan, John , Schultz, Nick
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Ecology and Evolution Vol. 13, no. 12 (2023), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Grassy ecosystems cover ~40% of the global land surface and are an integral component of the global carbon (C) cycle. Grass litter decomposes via a combination of photodegradation (which returns C to the atmosphere rapidly) and biological decomposition (a slower C pathway). As such, decomposition and C storage in grasslands may vary with climate and exposure to solar radiation. We investigated rates of grass litter decomposition in Australian temperate grasslands along a climate gradient to uncouple the relative importance of photodegradation and climate on decomposition. Litterbags containing leaf litter from two common native grass species (Poa labillardierei, Themeda triandra) were deployed at six grassland sites across a precipitation gradient (380–890 mm) in south-eastern Australia. Bags were retrieved over 39 weeks to measure mass loss from decomposition. We used shade treatments on the litter of one species (T. triandra) to partition photodegradation from biological decomposition. The shade treatment reduced the rate of decomposition of T. triandra relative to the full-sun treatment at all sites, by an average of 38% at 39 weeks; the effect size of the shade treatment was not correlated with site productivity. The rate of decomposition in both species was positively correlated with rainfall midway through the experiment, but there were no significant differences in total decomposition among sites after 39 weeks. By week 39, total decomposition of T. triandra was significantly greater than for P. labillardierei. In general, we observed relatively linear decomposition rather than the strong negative exponential decay observed in many global litter decomposition studies. Synthesis: We found that solar radiation exposure was a strong contributor to litter decomposition in temperate Australian grasslands across a broad climate gradient, which may be related to a period of photopriming prior to further biotic decomposition. This study highlights the importance of litter composition and solar radiation exposure in our understanding of how decomposition patterns contribute to global C cycling. © 2023 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
- Authors: Butler, Freja , Good, Megan , Morgan, John , Schultz, Nick
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Ecology and Evolution Vol. 13, no. 12 (2023), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Grassy ecosystems cover ~40% of the global land surface and are an integral component of the global carbon (C) cycle. Grass litter decomposes via a combination of photodegradation (which returns C to the atmosphere rapidly) and biological decomposition (a slower C pathway). As such, decomposition and C storage in grasslands may vary with climate and exposure to solar radiation. We investigated rates of grass litter decomposition in Australian temperate grasslands along a climate gradient to uncouple the relative importance of photodegradation and climate on decomposition. Litterbags containing leaf litter from two common native grass species (Poa labillardierei, Themeda triandra) were deployed at six grassland sites across a precipitation gradient (380–890 mm) in south-eastern Australia. Bags were retrieved over 39 weeks to measure mass loss from decomposition. We used shade treatments on the litter of one species (T. triandra) to partition photodegradation from biological decomposition. The shade treatment reduced the rate of decomposition of T. triandra relative to the full-sun treatment at all sites, by an average of 38% at 39 weeks; the effect size of the shade treatment was not correlated with site productivity. The rate of decomposition in both species was positively correlated with rainfall midway through the experiment, but there were no significant differences in total decomposition among sites after 39 weeks. By week 39, total decomposition of T. triandra was significantly greater than for P. labillardierei. In general, we observed relatively linear decomposition rather than the strong negative exponential decay observed in many global litter decomposition studies. Synthesis: We found that solar radiation exposure was a strong contributor to litter decomposition in temperate Australian grasslands across a broad climate gradient, which may be related to a period of photopriming prior to further biotic decomposition. This study highlights the importance of litter composition and solar radiation exposure in our understanding of how decomposition patterns contribute to global C cycling. © 2023 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Relaxed lagrangian duality in convex infinite optimization : reducibility and strong duality
- Dinh, Nguyen, Goberna, Miguel, López-Cerdá, Marco, Volle, Michel
- Authors: Dinh, Nguyen , Goberna, Miguel , López-Cerdá, Marco , Volle, Michel
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Optimization Vol. 72, no. 1 (2023), p. 189-214
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: We associate with each convex optimization problem, posed on some locally convex space, with infinitely many constraints indexed by the set T, and a given non-empty family (Formula presented.) of finite subsets of T, a suitable Lagrangian-Haar dual problem. We obtain necessary and sufficient conditions for (Formula presented.) -reducibility, that is, equivalence to some subproblem obtained by replacing the whole index set T by some element of (Formula presented.). Special attention is addressed to linear optimization, infinite and semi-infinite, and to convex problems with a countable family of constraints. Results on zero (Formula presented.) -duality gap and on (Formula presented.) -(stable) strong duality are provided. Examples are given along the paper to illustrate the meaning of the results. © 2022 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
- Authors: Dinh, Nguyen , Goberna, Miguel , López-Cerdá, Marco , Volle, Michel
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Optimization Vol. 72, no. 1 (2023), p. 189-214
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: We associate with each convex optimization problem, posed on some locally convex space, with infinitely many constraints indexed by the set T, and a given non-empty family (Formula presented.) of finite subsets of T, a suitable Lagrangian-Haar dual problem. We obtain necessary and sufficient conditions for (Formula presented.) -reducibility, that is, equivalence to some subproblem obtained by replacing the whole index set T by some element of (Formula presented.). Special attention is addressed to linear optimization, infinite and semi-infinite, and to convex problems with a countable family of constraints. Results on zero (Formula presented.) -duality gap and on (Formula presented.) -(stable) strong duality are provided. Examples are given along the paper to illustrate the meaning of the results. © 2022 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Renewable energy-based energy-efficient off-grid base stations for heterogeneous network
- Islam, Khondoker, Hossain, Md Sanwar, Amin, B.M. Ruhul, Shafiullah, G., Sohel, Ferdous
- Authors: Islam, Khondoker , Hossain, Md Sanwar , Amin, B.M. Ruhul , Shafiullah, G. , Sohel, Ferdous
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Energies Vol. 16, no. 1 (2023), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: The heterogeneous network (HetNet) is a specified cellular platform to tackle the rapidly growing anticipated data traffic. From a communications perspective, data loads can be mapped to energy loads that are generally placed on the operator networks. Meanwhile, renewable energy-aided networks offer to curtailed fossil fuel consumption, so to reduce the environmental pollution. This paper proposes a renewable energy based power supply architecture for the off-grid HetNet using a novel energy sharing model. Solar photovoltaics (PV) along with sufficient energy storage devices are used for each macro, micro, pico, or femto base station (BS). Additionally, a biomass generator (BG) is used for macro and micro BSs. The collocated macro and micro BSs are connected through end-to-end resistive lines. A novel-weighted proportional-fair resource-scheduling algorithm with sleep mechanisms is proposed for non-real time (NRT) applications by trading-off the power consumption and communication delays. Furthermore, the proposed algorithm with an extended discontinuous reception (eDRX) and power saving mode (PSM) for narrowband internet of things (IoT) applications extends the battery lifetime for IoT devices. HOMER optimization software is used to perform optimal system architecture, economic, and carbon footprint analyses while the Monte-Carlo simulation tool is used for evaluating the throughput and energy efficiency performances. The proposed algorithms are validated through the practical data of the rural areas of Bangladesh from which it is evident that the proposed power supply architecture is energy-efficient, cost-effective, reliable, and eco-friendly. © 2022 by the authors.
- Authors: Islam, Khondoker , Hossain, Md Sanwar , Amin, B.M. Ruhul , Shafiullah, G. , Sohel, Ferdous
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Energies Vol. 16, no. 1 (2023), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: The heterogeneous network (HetNet) is a specified cellular platform to tackle the rapidly growing anticipated data traffic. From a communications perspective, data loads can be mapped to energy loads that are generally placed on the operator networks. Meanwhile, renewable energy-aided networks offer to curtailed fossil fuel consumption, so to reduce the environmental pollution. This paper proposes a renewable energy based power supply architecture for the off-grid HetNet using a novel energy sharing model. Solar photovoltaics (PV) along with sufficient energy storage devices are used for each macro, micro, pico, or femto base station (BS). Additionally, a biomass generator (BG) is used for macro and micro BSs. The collocated macro and micro BSs are connected through end-to-end resistive lines. A novel-weighted proportional-fair resource-scheduling algorithm with sleep mechanisms is proposed for non-real time (NRT) applications by trading-off the power consumption and communication delays. Furthermore, the proposed algorithm with an extended discontinuous reception (eDRX) and power saving mode (PSM) for narrowband internet of things (IoT) applications extends the battery lifetime for IoT devices. HOMER optimization software is used to perform optimal system architecture, economic, and carbon footprint analyses while the Monte-Carlo simulation tool is used for evaluating the throughput and energy efficiency performances. The proposed algorithms are validated through the practical data of the rural areas of Bangladesh from which it is evident that the proposed power supply architecture is energy-efficient, cost-effective, reliable, and eco-friendly. © 2022 by the authors.