COVID-19 : psychological distress, fear, and coping strategies among community members across the United Arab Emirates
- Al Dweik, Rania, Rahman, Muhammad Aziz, Ahamed, Fathima, Ramada, Heba, Al Sheble, Yousef, ElTaher, Sondos, Cross, Wendy, Elsori, Deena
- Authors: Al Dweik, Rania , Rahman, Muhammad Aziz , Ahamed, Fathima , Ramada, Heba , Al Sheble, Yousef , ElTaher, Sondos , Cross, Wendy , Elsori, Deena
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: PLoS ONE Vol. 18, no. 3 March (2023), p.
- Full Text:
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- Description: Background The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the psychosocial well-being of the United Arab Emirates [UAE] population like other communities internationally. Objectives We aimed to identify the factors associated with psychological distress, fear, and coping amongst community members across the UAE. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional online survey across the UAE during November 2020. Adults aged
- Authors: Al Dweik, Rania , Rahman, Muhammad Aziz , Ahamed, Fathima , Ramada, Heba , Al Sheble, Yousef , ElTaher, Sondos , Cross, Wendy , Elsori, Deena
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: PLoS ONE Vol. 18, no. 3 March (2023), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Background The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the psychosocial well-being of the United Arab Emirates [UAE] population like other communities internationally. Objectives We aimed to identify the factors associated with psychological distress, fear, and coping amongst community members across the UAE. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional online survey across the UAE during November 2020. Adults aged
- Oatley, Giles, Williams, Stephen, Barnes, Geoffrey, Clare, Joseph, Chapman, Brendan
- Authors: Oatley, Giles , Williams, Stephen , Barnes, Geoffrey , Clare, Joseph , Chapman, Brendan
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Journal of Forensic Sciences Vol. 51, no. sup1 (2019), p. S136-S140
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: In an applied criminology context, recent meta-analyses and randomized control trials have demonstrated the benefits of targeting police patrols at hot spots or concentrations of street level crime and disorder. This study asked a group of 79 police officers from Perth to make a prediction, based on their experience, of where hot spots of crime would occur in the near future. Officer-defined hot spots were then compared with hot spots derived from police crime data over the preceding 24 month period. Finally, officer patrol time was tracked using a GPS-enabled smart phone and overlayed against both types of hot spot. This analysis indicates that police officers should be supported with hot spot mapping tools which identify data derived micro-places with persistent issues. Analysis also reveals officers patrol both their own and data-derived hot spots regularly; however, they only stay for a matter of a few minutes. These short stays are contrary to best evidence, which dictates officer patrols in hot spots should last for approximately 15 minutes in order to create both initial and residual deterrence.
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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- 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.
Data-driven decision-making in COVID-19 response : a survey
- Yu, Shuo, Qing, Qing, Zhang, Chen, Shehzad, Ahsan, Oatley, Giles, Xia, Feng
- Authors: Yu, Shuo , Qing, Qing , Zhang, Chen , Shehzad, Ahsan , Oatley, Giles , Xia, Feng
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: IEEE Transactions on Computational Social Systems Vol. 8, no. 4 (2021), p. 989-1002
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: COVID-19 has spread all over the world, having an enormous effect on our daily life and work. In response to the epidemic, a lot of important decisions need to be taken to save communities and economies worldwide. Data clearly play a vital role in effective decision-making. Data-driven decision-making uses data-related evidence and insights to guide the decision-making process and verify the plan of action before it is committed. To better handle the epidemic, governments and policy-making institutes have investigated abundant data originating from COVID-19. These data include those related to medicine, knowledge, media, and so on. Based on these data, many prevention and control policies are made. In this survey article, we summarize the progress of data-driven decision-making in the response to COVID-19, including COVID-19 prevention and control, psychological counseling, financial aid, work resumption, and school reopening. We also propose some current challenges and open issues in data-driven decision-making, including data collection and quality, complex data analysis, and fairness in decision-making. This survey article sheds light on current policy-making driven by data, which also provides a feasible direction for further scientific research. © 2014 IEEE.
- Authors: Yu, Shuo , Qing, Qing , Zhang, Chen , Shehzad, Ahsan , Oatley, Giles , Xia, Feng
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: IEEE Transactions on Computational Social Systems Vol. 8, no. 4 (2021), p. 989-1002
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: COVID-19 has spread all over the world, having an enormous effect on our daily life and work. In response to the epidemic, a lot of important decisions need to be taken to save communities and economies worldwide. Data clearly play a vital role in effective decision-making. Data-driven decision-making uses data-related evidence and insights to guide the decision-making process and verify the plan of action before it is committed. To better handle the epidemic, governments and policy-making institutes have investigated abundant data originating from COVID-19. These data include those related to medicine, knowledge, media, and so on. Based on these data, many prevention and control policies are made. In this survey article, we summarize the progress of data-driven decision-making in the response to COVID-19, including COVID-19 prevention and control, psychological counseling, financial aid, work resumption, and school reopening. We also propose some current challenges and open issues in data-driven decision-making, including data collection and quality, complex data analysis, and fairness in decision-making. This survey article sheds light on current policy-making driven by data, which also provides a feasible direction for further scientific research. © 2014 IEEE.
Dealing with Trade-Offs in destructive sampling designs for occupancy surveys
- Canessa, Stefano, Heard, Geoffrey, Robertson, Peter, Sluiter, Ian
- Authors: Canessa, Stefano , Heard, Geoffrey , Robertson, Peter , Sluiter, Ian
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: PLoS ONE Vol. 10, no. 3 (2015), p. e0120340
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Occupancy surveys should be designed to minimise false absences. This is commonly achieved by increasing replication or increasing the efficiency of surveys. In the case of destructive sampling designs, in which searches of individual microhabitats represent the repeat surveys, minimising false absences leads to an inherent trade-off. Surveyors can sample more low quality microhabitats, bearing the resultant financial costs and producing wider-spread impacts, or they can target high quality microhabitats were the focal species is more likely to be found and risk more severe impacts on local habitat quality. We show how this trade-off can be solved with a decision-theoretic approach, using the Millewa Skink Hemiergis millewae from southern Australia as a case study. Hemiergis millewae is an endangered reptile that is best detected using destructive sampling of grass hummocks. Within sites that were known to be occupied by H. millewae, logistic regression modelling revealed that lizards were more frequently detected in large hummocks. If this model is an accurate representation of the detection process, searching large hummocks is more efficient and requires less replication, but this strategy also entails destruction of the best microhabitats for the species. We developed an optimisation tool to calculate the minimum combination of the number and size of hummocks to search to achieve a given cumulative probability of detecting the species at a site, incorporating weights to reflect the sensitivity of the results to a surveyor's priorities. The optimisation showed that placing high weight on minimising volume necessitates impractical replication, whereas placing high weight on minimising replication requires searching very large hummocks which are less common and may be vital for H. millewae. While destructive sampling methods are sometimes necessary, surveyors must be conscious of the ecological impacts of these methods. This study provides a simple tool for identifying sampling strategies that minimise those impacts. © 2015 Canessa et al.
- Authors: Canessa, Stefano , Heard, Geoffrey , Robertson, Peter , Sluiter, Ian
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: PLoS ONE Vol. 10, no. 3 (2015), p. e0120340
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Occupancy surveys should be designed to minimise false absences. This is commonly achieved by increasing replication or increasing the efficiency of surveys. In the case of destructive sampling designs, in which searches of individual microhabitats represent the repeat surveys, minimising false absences leads to an inherent trade-off. Surveyors can sample more low quality microhabitats, bearing the resultant financial costs and producing wider-spread impacts, or they can target high quality microhabitats were the focal species is more likely to be found and risk more severe impacts on local habitat quality. We show how this trade-off can be solved with a decision-theoretic approach, using the Millewa Skink Hemiergis millewae from southern Australia as a case study. Hemiergis millewae is an endangered reptile that is best detected using destructive sampling of grass hummocks. Within sites that were known to be occupied by H. millewae, logistic regression modelling revealed that lizards were more frequently detected in large hummocks. If this model is an accurate representation of the detection process, searching large hummocks is more efficient and requires less replication, but this strategy also entails destruction of the best microhabitats for the species. We developed an optimisation tool to calculate the minimum combination of the number and size of hummocks to search to achieve a given cumulative probability of detecting the species at a site, incorporating weights to reflect the sensitivity of the results to a surveyor's priorities. The optimisation showed that placing high weight on minimising volume necessitates impractical replication, whereas placing high weight on minimising replication requires searching very large hummocks which are less common and may be vital for H. millewae. While destructive sampling methods are sometimes necessary, surveyors must be conscious of the ecological impacts of these methods. This study provides a simple tool for identifying sampling strategies that minimise those impacts. © 2015 Canessa et al.
Death in community Australian football : A ten year national insurance claims report
- Fortington, Lauren, Finch, Caroline
- Authors: Fortington, Lauren , Finch, Caroline
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Plos One Vol. 11, no. 7 (2016), p. 1-8
- Relation: http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1058737
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: While deaths are thought to be rare in community Australian sport, there is no systematic reporting so the frequency and leading causes of death is unknown. The aim of this study was to describe the frequency and cause of deaths associated with community-level Australian Football (AF), based on insurance-claims records. Retrospective review of prospectively collected insurance-claims for death in relation to community-level AF activities Australia-wide from 2004 to 2013. Eligible participants were aged 15+ years, involved in an Australian football club as players, coaches, umpires or supporting roles. Details were extracted for: year of death, level of play, age, sex, anatomical location of injury, and a descriptive narrative of the event. Descriptive data are presented for frequency of cases by subgroups. From 26,749 insurance-claims relating to AF, 31 cases were in relation to a death. All fatalities were in males. The initial event occurred during on-field activities of players (football matches or training) in 16 cases. The remainder occurred to people outside of on-field football activity (n = 8), or non-players (n = 7). Road trauma (n = 8) and cardiac conditions (n = 7) were the leading identifiable causes, with unconfirmed and other causes (including collapsed or not yet determined) comprising 16 cases. Although rare, fatalities do occur in community AF to both players and people in supporting roles, averaging 3 per year in this setting alone. A systematic, comprehensive approach to data collection is urgently required to better understand the risk and causes of death in participants of AF and other sports.
- Authors: Fortington, Lauren , Finch, Caroline
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Plos One Vol. 11, no. 7 (2016), p. 1-8
- Relation: http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1058737
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: While deaths are thought to be rare in community Australian sport, there is no systematic reporting so the frequency and leading causes of death is unknown. The aim of this study was to describe the frequency and cause of deaths associated with community-level Australian Football (AF), based on insurance-claims records. Retrospective review of prospectively collected insurance-claims for death in relation to community-level AF activities Australia-wide from 2004 to 2013. Eligible participants were aged 15+ years, involved in an Australian football club as players, coaches, umpires or supporting roles. Details were extracted for: year of death, level of play, age, sex, anatomical location of injury, and a descriptive narrative of the event. Descriptive data are presented for frequency of cases by subgroups. From 26,749 insurance-claims relating to AF, 31 cases were in relation to a death. All fatalities were in males. The initial event occurred during on-field activities of players (football matches or training) in 16 cases. The remainder occurred to people outside of on-field football activity (n = 8), or non-players (n = 7). Road trauma (n = 8) and cardiac conditions (n = 7) were the leading identifiable causes, with unconfirmed and other causes (including collapsed or not yet determined) comprising 16 cases. Although rare, fatalities do occur in community AF to both players and people in supporting roles, averaging 3 per year in this setting alone. A systematic, comprehensive approach to data collection is urgently required to better understand the risk and causes of death in participants of AF and other sports.
Declining tropical cyclone frequency under global warming
- Chand, Savin, Walsh, Kevin, Camargo, Suzana, Kossin, James, Tory, Kevin, Wehner, Michael, Chan, Johnny, Klotzbach, Philip, Dowdy, Andrew, Bell, Samuel, Ramsay, Hamish, Murakami, Hiroyuki
- Authors: Chand, Savin , Walsh, Kevin , Camargo, Suzana , Kossin, James , Tory, Kevin , Wehner, Michael , Chan, Johnny , Klotzbach, Philip , Dowdy, Andrew , Bell, Samuel , Ramsay, Hamish , Murakami, Hiroyuki
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Nature Climate Change Vol. 12, no. 7 (2022), p. 655-661
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Assessing the role of anthropogenic warming from temporally inhomogeneous historical data in the presence of large natural variability is difficult and has caused conflicting conclusions on detection and attribution of tropical cyclone (TC) trends. Here, using a reconstructed long-term proxy of annual TC numbers together with high-resolution climate model experiments, we show robust declining trends in the annual number of TCs at global and regional scales during the twentieth century. The Twentieth Century Reanalysis (20CR) dataset is used for reconstruction because, compared with other reanalyses, it assimilates only sea-level pressure fields rather than utilize all available observations in the troposphere, making it less sensitive to temporal inhomogeneities in the observations. It can also capture TC signatures from the pre-satellite era reasonably well. The declining trends found are consistent with the twentieth century weakening of the Hadley and Walker circulations, which make conditions for TC formation less favourable. © 2022, The Author(s).
- Authors: Chand, Savin , Walsh, Kevin , Camargo, Suzana , Kossin, James , Tory, Kevin , Wehner, Michael , Chan, Johnny , Klotzbach, Philip , Dowdy, Andrew , Bell, Samuel , Ramsay, Hamish , Murakami, Hiroyuki
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Nature Climate Change Vol. 12, no. 7 (2022), p. 655-661
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Assessing the role of anthropogenic warming from temporally inhomogeneous historical data in the presence of large natural variability is difficult and has caused conflicting conclusions on detection and attribution of tropical cyclone (TC) trends. Here, using a reconstructed long-term proxy of annual TC numbers together with high-resolution climate model experiments, we show robust declining trends in the annual number of TCs at global and regional scales during the twentieth century. The Twentieth Century Reanalysis (20CR) dataset is used for reconstruction because, compared with other reanalyses, it assimilates only sea-level pressure fields rather than utilize all available observations in the troposphere, making it less sensitive to temporal inhomogeneities in the observations. It can also capture TC signatures from the pre-satellite era reasonably well. The declining trends found are consistent with the twentieth century weakening of the Hadley and Walker circulations, which make conditions for TC formation less favourable. © 2022, The Author(s).
Decoding employee ambidexterity : understanding drivers, constraints, and performance implications for thriving in the evolving work landscapes - a scoping review
- Joseph, Jane, Firmin, Sally, Oseni, Taiwo, Stranieri, Andrew
- Authors: Joseph, Jane , Firmin, Sally , Oseni, Taiwo , Stranieri, Andrew
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Heliyon Vol. 9, no. 12 (2023), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Employee ambidexterity (EA) is becoming increasingly recognised as a significant factor in enhancing individual and organisational performance across diverse industries. Ambidexterity refers to the capacity to exploit and explore organisational resources simultaneously. Scholars from diverse industry sectors have been motivated to delve deeper into the topic of EA due to its growing popularity. The objective of conducting a scoping review was to scrutinise the existing literature and identify the key drivers and constraints that impact EA to thrive in the changing work landscape. The insights gained from this review can assist decision-makers in formulating effective strategies to cultivate the ambidexterity skills of their workforce and achieve desirable outcomes. This review adheres to the PRISMA-ScR protocol. Articles were obtained from databases including Scopus, Web of Science, and EBSCOhost (Academic Search Complete, Business Source Complete). The body of literature concerning EA is in its nascent stage. 23 articles assessing EA's performance outcomes were identified using targeted search terms and thorough screening. After conducting a thorough thematic analysis using the iterative categorisation (IC) technique, tailored for scoping a review, we successfully identified twenty-nine factors contributing to the enhancement of EA, meticulously organised into five distinct categories: organisational factors, social connectedness, employee behaviour, employee personality, and work environment related factors. Similarly, we discovered four factors that impede EA: functional tenure, team identification, bounded discretion, and conscientiousness. Our findings underscore the profound impact of employee ambidexterity on distinct types of performance. Among the sixteen types of performance reported to be enhanced by EA, ten are linked to individual performance, while six are tied to organisational performance. Notably, our analysis revealed that nearly all studies have relied on cross-sectional research methods except for one. However, we advocate for the exploration of longitudinal studies as they hold the promise of offering a more comprehensive understanding of EA. The paper presents valuable insights into how to cultivate ambidextrous capabilities in the workforce for unparalleled success in today's rapidly evolving work environment. Additionally, it identifies several intriguing avenues for future research that could further elucidate and bridge existing knowledge gaps. © 2023
- Authors: Joseph, Jane , Firmin, Sally , Oseni, Taiwo , Stranieri, Andrew
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Heliyon Vol. 9, no. 12 (2023), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Employee ambidexterity (EA) is becoming increasingly recognised as a significant factor in enhancing individual and organisational performance across diverse industries. Ambidexterity refers to the capacity to exploit and explore organisational resources simultaneously. Scholars from diverse industry sectors have been motivated to delve deeper into the topic of EA due to its growing popularity. The objective of conducting a scoping review was to scrutinise the existing literature and identify the key drivers and constraints that impact EA to thrive in the changing work landscape. The insights gained from this review can assist decision-makers in formulating effective strategies to cultivate the ambidexterity skills of their workforce and achieve desirable outcomes. This review adheres to the PRISMA-ScR protocol. Articles were obtained from databases including Scopus, Web of Science, and EBSCOhost (Academic Search Complete, Business Source Complete). The body of literature concerning EA is in its nascent stage. 23 articles assessing EA's performance outcomes were identified using targeted search terms and thorough screening. After conducting a thorough thematic analysis using the iterative categorisation (IC) technique, tailored for scoping a review, we successfully identified twenty-nine factors contributing to the enhancement of EA, meticulously organised into five distinct categories: organisational factors, social connectedness, employee behaviour, employee personality, and work environment related factors. Similarly, we discovered four factors that impede EA: functional tenure, team identification, bounded discretion, and conscientiousness. Our findings underscore the profound impact of employee ambidexterity on distinct types of performance. Among the sixteen types of performance reported to be enhanced by EA, ten are linked to individual performance, while six are tied to organisational performance. Notably, our analysis revealed that nearly all studies have relied on cross-sectional research methods except for one. However, we advocate for the exploration of longitudinal studies as they hold the promise of offering a more comprehensive understanding of EA. The paper presents valuable insights into how to cultivate ambidextrous capabilities in the workforce for unparalleled success in today's rapidly evolving work environment. Additionally, it identifies several intriguing avenues for future research that could further elucidate and bridge existing knowledge gaps. © 2023
- Kraal, Peter, Burton, Edward, Rose, Andrew, Cheetham, Michael, Bush, Richard, Sullivan, Leigh
- Authors: Kraal, Peter , Burton, Edward , Rose, Andrew , Cheetham, Michael , Bush, Richard , Sullivan, Leigh
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Environmental Science and Technology Vol. 47, no. 7 (2013), p. 3114-3121
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Estuaries are crucial biogeochemical filters at the land-ocean interface that are strongly impacted by anthropogenic nutrient inputs. Here, we investigate benthic nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) dynamics in relation to physicochemical surface sediment properties and bottom water mixing in the shallow, eutrophic Peel-Harvey Estuary. Our results show the strong dependence of sedimentary P release on Fe and S redox cycling. The estuary contains surface sediments that are strongly reducing and act as net P source, despite physical sediment mixing under an oxygenated water column. This decoupling between water column oxygenation and benthic P dynamics is of great importance to understand the evolution of nutrient dynamics in marine systems in response to increasing nutrient loadings. In addition, the findings show that the relationship between P burial efficiency and bottom water oxygenation depends on local conditions; sediment properties rather than oxygen availability may control benthic P recycling. Overall, our results illustrate the complex response of an estuary to environmental change because of interacting physical and biogeochemical processes. © 2013 American Chemical Society.
- Good, Megan, Price, Jodi, Clarke, Peter, Reid, Nick
- Authors: Good, Megan , Price, Jodi , Clarke, Peter , Reid, Nick
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Rangeland Journal Vol. 34, no. 2 (2012), p. 219-233
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Clearing of native vegetation and changes to disturbance regimes have resulted in dense regeneration of native trees and shrubs in parts of Australia. The conversion of open vegetation to dense woodlands may result in changes to the composition of plant communities and ecosystem function if structure, composition and function are tightly linked. Widespread clearing of the floodplain tree Eucalyptus coolabah subsp. coolabah (coolibah), in New South Wales, Australia, has led to state and federal listings of coolibah woodland as an endangered ecological community. Dense regeneration of coolibah in the mid 1970s, however, also resulted in its listing as an 'invasive native species' in NSW, meaning it can be legally cleared under certain conditions. Dense regeneration could be a novel state dissimilar to the threatened community or it could represent the next generation of coolibah woodlands and may contribute to passive restoration of heavily cleared landscapes. This study investigated if dense stands are distinct from remnant woodland by comparing floristic composition of the ground-storey community and top-soil properties of four coolibah vegetation states: derived grassland, derived degraded grassland, dense regeneration and remnant woodland. Ground-storey composition was found to overlap broadly among states regardless of tree density. Most species were common to all states, although dense regeneration contained characteristic woodland species that were absent from grasslands. The carbon:nitrogen ratio of the soil was significantly higher in dense regeneration and remnant woodland than in either of the grassland states, indicating that the woody states are broadly similar in terms of nutrient cycling. The study demonstrates that structurally different vegetation states (grasslands, woodlands and dense regeneration) are not associated with distinct plant communities. The results also suggest that grazing management has a more pronounced effect on ground-storey composition of plant communities than tree density and that well managed derived grasslands and dense regeneration are floristically similar to remnant woodlands. Since dense regeneration and remnant woodlands are not floristically distinct from one another, dense regeneration could contribute to the conservation of endangered coolibah woodlands in cleared agricultural landscapes. © Australian Rangeland Society 2012.
Description and assessment of a new high resolution erosion model for constructed landforms
- Yavari, Shahla, McIntyre, Neil, Shao, Qi, Baumgartl, Thomas
- Authors: Yavari, Shahla , McIntyre, Neil , Shao, Qi , Baumgartl, Thomas
- Date: 2024
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Environmental Modelling and Software Vol. 172, no. (2024), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Literature review reveals that many erosion models have limitations for application to constructed landforms. The new EroCA model aims to address this gap. The model uses established erosion and sediment transport models applied to multiple particle size classes at fine spatial and temporal resolutions, covering both suspended load and bedload. Using data from an experimental plot in Northern Australia, global sensitivity analysis was used to investigate the sources of uncertainty, limitations of the model, and priorities for data collection. Further analysis explored sensitivity to model grid size. The results showed that the Manning roughness, erodibility parameters and particle size are the most important parameters. Results also showed low parameter identifiability and hence the difficulty of calibration, even when using high quality experimental data. EroCA has the capacity to be a powerful landform modelling tool at appropriate scales of application; however ideally its data needs would be considered during monitoring design. © 2023 The Authors
- Authors: Yavari, Shahla , McIntyre, Neil , Shao, Qi , Baumgartl, Thomas
- Date: 2024
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Environmental Modelling and Software Vol. 172, no. (2024), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Literature review reveals that many erosion models have limitations for application to constructed landforms. The new EroCA model aims to address this gap. The model uses established erosion and sediment transport models applied to multiple particle size classes at fine spatial and temporal resolutions, covering both suspended load and bedload. Using data from an experimental plot in Northern Australia, global sensitivity analysis was used to investigate the sources of uncertainty, limitations of the model, and priorities for data collection. Further analysis explored sensitivity to model grid size. The results showed that the Manning roughness, erodibility parameters and particle size are the most important parameters. Results also showed low parameter identifiability and hence the difficulty of calibration, even when using high quality experimental data. EroCA has the capacity to be a powerful landform modelling tool at appropriate scales of application; however ideally its data needs would be considered during monitoring design. © 2023 The Authors
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.
- 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.
- 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.
Detecting the seeds of Nassella neesiana in large round hay bales, by means of non-destructive core sampling
- Weller, Sandra, Florentine, Singarayer, Sillitoe, Jim, Grech, Charles, McLaren, David, Chauhan, Bhagirath
- Authors: Weller, Sandra , Florentine, Singarayer , Sillitoe, Jim , Grech, Charles , McLaren, David , Chauhan, Bhagirath
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Plos One Vol. 10, no. 9 (2015), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: In the last three decades or so there has been a significant increase in fodder trading, both in terms of the quantity of fodder traded and in terms of its economic value to the industry. Often, this fodder type may be supplied free of charge to graziers in distress due to circumstances that follow natural disasters such as bushfires, drought, and flood. However, because of the obvious urgency arising from these situations, it is suspected that much relief fodder may unintentionally pose an elevated risk for dispersal of weeds since it may be supplied from pasture not normally used for trade in fodder, and therefore is of unknown quality. Previous destructive method to detect weed propagules in bales of fodder are cumbersome, time consuming and of limited ecological and statistical value. Therefore, objective of this paper was to development of a convenient method to assess round pasture hay bales for the presence of weed propagules, to prevent unintentional spread of noxious species in hay bales. To examine this objective known quantity of seeds were added in a series of distributions to bales of seed free pasture hay, and a positive correlation for the amount of seed added per bale with that recovered in core samples was observed. Whilst the number of seeds detected per bale varied according to the distribution of seeds within the bales and the number of cores analysed, the absolute detection of seeds suggests that this sampling method is worthy of further examination. In addition, a pragmatic estimation of bale remnants after stock feeding has been investigated to more closely estimate the potential size of the remaining seed bank. The authors propose that development of this approach is timely, in the light of future climatic uncertainty driving extreme weather events that increase the need for relief fodder, which can be a potential vector for the spread of noxious weed seeds.
- Authors: Weller, Sandra , Florentine, Singarayer , Sillitoe, Jim , Grech, Charles , McLaren, David , Chauhan, Bhagirath
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Plos One Vol. 10, no. 9 (2015), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: In the last three decades or so there has been a significant increase in fodder trading, both in terms of the quantity of fodder traded and in terms of its economic value to the industry. Often, this fodder type may be supplied free of charge to graziers in distress due to circumstances that follow natural disasters such as bushfires, drought, and flood. However, because of the obvious urgency arising from these situations, it is suspected that much relief fodder may unintentionally pose an elevated risk for dispersal of weeds since it may be supplied from pasture not normally used for trade in fodder, and therefore is of unknown quality. Previous destructive method to detect weed propagules in bales of fodder are cumbersome, time consuming and of limited ecological and statistical value. Therefore, objective of this paper was to development of a convenient method to assess round pasture hay bales for the presence of weed propagules, to prevent unintentional spread of noxious species in hay bales. To examine this objective known quantity of seeds were added in a series of distributions to bales of seed free pasture hay, and a positive correlation for the amount of seed added per bale with that recovered in core samples was observed. Whilst the number of seeds detected per bale varied according to the distribution of seeds within the bales and the number of cores analysed, the absolute detection of seeds suggests that this sampling method is worthy of further examination. In addition, a pragmatic estimation of bale remnants after stock feeding has been investigated to more closely estimate the potential size of the remaining seed bank. The authors propose that development of this approach is timely, in the light of future climatic uncertainty driving extreme weather events that increase the need for relief fodder, which can be a potential vector for the spread of noxious weed seeds.
Determination of soil hydraulic parameters and evaluation of water dynamics and nitrate leaching in the unsaturated layered zone: A modeling case study in Central Croatia
- Defterdarović, Jasmina, Filipović, Lana, Kranjčec, Filip, Ondrašek, Gabrijel, Kikić, Diana, Novosel, Alen, Mustać, Ivan, Krevh, Vedran, Magdić, Ivan, Rubinić, Vedran, Bogunović, Igor, Dugan, Ivan, Čopec, Krešimir, He, Hailong, Filipović, Vilim
- Authors: Defterdarović, Jasmina , Filipović, Lana , Kranjčec, Filip , Ondrašek, Gabrijel , Kikić, Diana , Novosel, Alen , Mustać, Ivan , Krevh, Vedran , Magdić, Ivan , Rubinić, Vedran , Bogunović, Igor , Dugan, Ivan , Čopec, Krešimir , He, Hailong , Filipović, Vilim
- Date: 2021
- Type: Journal article
- Relation: Sustainability (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 13, no. 12 (2021), p. 6688
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Nitrate leaching through soil layers to groundwater may cause significant degradation of natural resources. The aims of this study were: (i) to estimate soil hydraulic properties (SHPs) of the similar soil type with same management on various locations (ii) to determine annual water dynamics and (iii) to estimate the impact of subsoil horizon properties on nitrate leaching. The final goal was to compare the influence of different SHPs and layering on water dynamics and nitrate leaching. The study was conducted in central Croatia (Zagreb), at four locations on Calcaric Phaeozem, Calcaric Regosol, and Calcaric Fluvic Phaeozem soil types. Soil hydraulic parameters were estimated using the HYPROP system and HYPROP-FIT software. Water dynamics and nitrate leaching were evaluated using HYDRUS 2D/3D during a period of 365 days. The amount of water in the soil under saturated conditions varied from 0.422 to 0.535 cm3 cm−3 while the hydraulic conductivity varied from 3 cm day−1 to 990.9 cm day−1. Even though all locations have the same land use and climatic conditions with similar physical properties, hydraulic parameters varied substantially. The amount and velocity of transported nitrate (HYDRUS 2D/3D) were affected by reduced hydraulic conductivity of the subsoil as nitrates are primarily transported via advective flux. Despite the large differences in SHPs of the topsoil layers, the deeper soil layers, having similar SHPs, imposed a buffering effect preventing faster nitrate downward transport. This contributed to a very similar distribution of nitrates through the soil profile at the end of simulation period. This case study indicated the importance of carefully selecting relevant parameters in multilayered soil systems when evaluating groundwater pollution risk.
- Authors: Defterdarović, Jasmina , Filipović, Lana , Kranjčec, Filip , Ondrašek, Gabrijel , Kikić, Diana , Novosel, Alen , Mustać, Ivan , Krevh, Vedran , Magdić, Ivan , Rubinić, Vedran , Bogunović, Igor , Dugan, Ivan , Čopec, Krešimir , He, Hailong , Filipović, Vilim
- Date: 2021
- Type: Journal article
- Relation: Sustainability (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 13, no. 12 (2021), p. 6688
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Nitrate leaching through soil layers to groundwater may cause significant degradation of natural resources. The aims of this study were: (i) to estimate soil hydraulic properties (SHPs) of the similar soil type with same management on various locations (ii) to determine annual water dynamics and (iii) to estimate the impact of subsoil horizon properties on nitrate leaching. The final goal was to compare the influence of different SHPs and layering on water dynamics and nitrate leaching. The study was conducted in central Croatia (Zagreb), at four locations on Calcaric Phaeozem, Calcaric Regosol, and Calcaric Fluvic Phaeozem soil types. Soil hydraulic parameters were estimated using the HYPROP system and HYPROP-FIT software. Water dynamics and nitrate leaching were evaluated using HYDRUS 2D/3D during a period of 365 days. The amount of water in the soil under saturated conditions varied from 0.422 to 0.535 cm3 cm−3 while the hydraulic conductivity varied from 3 cm day−1 to 990.9 cm day−1. Even though all locations have the same land use and climatic conditions with similar physical properties, hydraulic parameters varied substantially. The amount and velocity of transported nitrate (HYDRUS 2D/3D) were affected by reduced hydraulic conductivity of the subsoil as nitrates are primarily transported via advective flux. Despite the large differences in SHPs of the topsoil layers, the deeper soil layers, having similar SHPs, imposed a buffering effect preventing faster nitrate downward transport. This contributed to a very similar distribution of nitrates through the soil profile at the end of simulation period. This case study indicated the importance of carefully selecting relevant parameters in multilayered soil systems when evaluating groundwater pollution risk.
- Barua, Bipasha, Barua, Suborna, Hasan Rana, Rezwanul
- Authors: Barua, Bipasha , Barua, Suborna , Hasan Rana, Rezwanul
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: The Journal of Developing Areas Vol. 52, no. 3 (2018), p. 153-168
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Non-life insurance companies are an important part of the financial system in any country. Constant development and financial sustainability of these institutions is key to foster the rapidly growing economic activities of emerging economies like Bangladesh. This study made an attempt to establish the impact of different firm-specific factors on profitability using the non-life insurance sector in Bangladesh. A thriving insurance industry, especially in the non-life sector, can accelerate economic growth by mobilizing large funds and providing risk-hedging services to economic activities. This paper investigates the temporary and permanent impact of different firm-specific factors on financial performance, using the case of the non-life insurance sector in Bangladesh: one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Using panel data on 16 non-life insurance companies from 1999 to 2014, this paper utilizes both Static Panel Data (SPD) and Dynamic Panel Data (DPD) estimation techniques. For DPD estimation, a Pooled Mean Group (PMG) estimator built on an ARDL Framework that can produce short run and long run impacts separately has been employed. In addition to the average impact generated from static estimations, this paper identifies the significant impact of all variables on profitability in the long-term (those of a permanent nature) while the investment ratio shows some impact in the short-term (those of a temporary nature). The results of the study indicate that the average impact is predominantly derived from the long-term and thus appear to be permanent in nature. Moreover, investment ratio contributes positively to profitability, mostly in the short-term (temporarily) with some effects in the long-term. The findings on liquidity and investment ratio suggest the permanent nature of their impact on profitability in the long-term and, hence, insurers are probably better served investing funds in short-term opportunities (e.g. investing in securities) rather than in long-term ones. Lastly, the empirical results regarding the impact of leverage is not clear, as it shows mixed impact in two different estimations, including the permanent nature of negative impact in the long-term. The non-life insurance companies of Bangladesh should implement strong policies to reduce the faulty underwriting procedures to improve the profitability. This paper offers significant contributions to the literature by separately identifying the 'temporary' and 'permanent' impact of several determinants, thereby producing novel estimations for Bangladesh that may have implications for other emerging economies.
Diatom index of Galela Lake, Halmahera, Indonesia in relation to human activities
- Soeprobowati, Tri, Saraswati, Tyas, Jumari, Jumari, Sari, Kenanga, Gell, Peter
- Authors: Soeprobowati, Tri , Saraswati, Tyas , Jumari, Jumari , Sari, Kenanga , Gell, Peter
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology Vol. 20, no. 7 (2023), p. 7707-7722
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Diatoms, silicious microalgae, have been used successfully as bioindicators of water quality assessment in aquatic ecosystems. Diatoms have a degree of tolerance to the water quality and some diatoms are a good indicator for several water quality variables. Diatom indices have been developed to assess river water quality, mostly in Europe. This study aims to apply diatom indices developed in Europe for the tropical lake of Galela adjacent to residential areas influenced by human activities. Galela Lake is one of the biggest lakes in Halmahera Utara, Indonesia with its main functions being domestic water supply, irrigation, fisheries, and tourism. Human activities have impacted the area around the lake. The 90-cm and 85-cm long sediment cores were collected using a piston corer from Site 1 and 2, respectively. Sediment samples were sliced every 5 cm, separated from sediment by adding HCl and H2O2. The diatom valves were identified under a microscope with 1,000 × magnification. The water quality status of each layer was inferred with diatom indices performed using OMNIDIA software version 6.0. Forty-nine and 63 diatoms species were identified from Site 1 and Site 2, respectively. The number of species and diversity of diatoms was higher in the lower layers than those in the upper layers. The preserved diatom assemblages reflect past physical and chemical water quality. Generic Diatom Index and Specific Pollution Sensitivity Index provided the best evidence for change in Galela Lake—they integrated 70–100% of the diatom taxa from the sediment core samples. © 2022, The Author(s) under exclusive licence to Iranian Society of Environmentalists (IRSEN) and Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University.
Dietary fatty acids and mortality risk from heart disease in US adults : an analysis based on NHANES
- Wang, Yutang, Fang, Yan, Witting, Paul, Charchar, Fadi, Sobey, Christopher, Drummond, Grant, Golledge, Jonothan
- Authors: Wang, Yutang , Fang, Yan , Witting, Paul , Charchar, Fadi , Sobey, Christopher , Drummond, Grant , Golledge, Jonothan
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Scientific Reports Vol. 13, no. 1 (2023), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: We investigated the association of dietary intake of major types of fatty acids with heart disease mortality in a general adult cohort with or without a prior diagnosis of myocardial infarction (MI). This cohort study included US adults who attended the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys from 1988 to 2014. Heart disease mortality was ascertained by linkage to the National Death Index records through 31 December 2015. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of fatty acid intake for heart disease mortality. This cohort included 45,820 adults among which 1,541 had a prior diagnosis of MI. Participants were followed up for 532,722 person-years (mean follow-up, 11.6 years), with 2,313 deaths recorded from heart disease being recorded. Intake of saturated (SFAs) and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) was associated with heart disease mortality after adjustment for all the tested confounders. In contrast, a 5% higher calorie intake from polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) was associated with a 9% (HR, 0.91; 95% CI 0.83–1.00; P = 0.048) lower multivariate-adjusted risk of heart disease mortality. Sub-analyses showed that this inverse association was present in those without a prior diagnosis of MI (HR,0.89; 95% CI 0.80–0.99) but not in those with the condition (HR, 0.94; 95% CI 0.75–1.16). The lack of association in the MI group could be due to a small sample size or severity and procedural complications (e.g., stenting and medication adherence) of the disease. Higher PUFA intake was associated with a favourable lipid profile. However, further adjustment for plasma lipids did not materially change the inverse association between PUFAs and heart disease mortality. Higher intake of PUFAs, but not SFAs and MUFAs, was associated with a lower adjusted risk of heart disease mortality in a large population of US adults supporting the need to increase dietary PUFA intake in the general public. © 2023, The Author(s).
Dietary fatty acids and mortality risk from heart disease in US adults : an analysis based on NHANES
- Authors: Wang, Yutang , Fang, Yan , Witting, Paul , Charchar, Fadi , Sobey, Christopher , Drummond, Grant , Golledge, Jonothan
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Scientific Reports Vol. 13, no. 1 (2023), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: We investigated the association of dietary intake of major types of fatty acids with heart disease mortality in a general adult cohort with or without a prior diagnosis of myocardial infarction (MI). This cohort study included US adults who attended the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys from 1988 to 2014. Heart disease mortality was ascertained by linkage to the National Death Index records through 31 December 2015. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of fatty acid intake for heart disease mortality. This cohort included 45,820 adults among which 1,541 had a prior diagnosis of MI. Participants were followed up for 532,722 person-years (mean follow-up, 11.6 years), with 2,313 deaths recorded from heart disease being recorded. Intake of saturated (SFAs) and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) was associated with heart disease mortality after adjustment for all the tested confounders. In contrast, a 5% higher calorie intake from polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) was associated with a 9% (HR, 0.91; 95% CI 0.83–1.00; P = 0.048) lower multivariate-adjusted risk of heart disease mortality. Sub-analyses showed that this inverse association was present in those without a prior diagnosis of MI (HR,0.89; 95% CI 0.80–0.99) but not in those with the condition (HR, 0.94; 95% CI 0.75–1.16). The lack of association in the MI group could be due to a small sample size or severity and procedural complications (e.g., stenting and medication adherence) of the disease. Higher PUFA intake was associated with a favourable lipid profile. However, further adjustment for plasma lipids did not materially change the inverse association between PUFAs and heart disease mortality. Higher intake of PUFAs, but not SFAs and MUFAs, was associated with a lower adjusted risk of heart disease mortality in a large population of US adults supporting the need to increase dietary PUFA intake in the general public. © 2023, The Author(s).
Differences in anxiety, insomnia, and trauma symptoms in wildfire survivors from australia, canada, and the United States of America
- Isaac, Fadia, Toukhsati, Samia, Klein, Britt, Di Benedetto, Mirella, Kennedy, Gerard
- Authors: Isaac, Fadia , Toukhsati, Samia , Klein, Britt , Di Benedetto, Mirella , Kennedy, Gerard
- Date: 2024
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Vol. 21, no. 1 (2024), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Many survivors of wildfires report elevated levels of psychological distress following the trauma of wildfires. However, there is only limited research on the effects of wildfires on mental health. This study examined differences in anxiety, depression, insomnia, sleep quality, nightmares, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms following wildfires in Australia, Canada, and the United States of America (USA). One hundred and twenty-six participants from Australia, Canada, and the USA completed an online survey. The sample included 102 (81%) women, 23 (18.3%) men, and one non-binary (0.8%) individual. Participants were aged between 20 and 92 years (M age = 52 years, SD = 14.4). They completed a demographic questionnaire, the Disturbing Dream and Nightmare Severity Index (DDNSI), Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire (GAD-7), the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and PTSD Checklist (PCL-5). Results showed that participants from the USA scored significantly higher on the GAD-7 (p = 0.009), ISI (p = 0.003), and PCL-5 (p = 0.021) than participants from Australia and Canada. The current findings suggest a need for more international collaboration to reduce the severity of mental health conditions in Australia, Canada, and the USA. © 2023 by the authors.
- Authors: Isaac, Fadia , Toukhsati, Samia , Klein, Britt , Di Benedetto, Mirella , Kennedy, Gerard
- Date: 2024
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Vol. 21, no. 1 (2024), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Many survivors of wildfires report elevated levels of psychological distress following the trauma of wildfires. However, there is only limited research on the effects of wildfires on mental health. This study examined differences in anxiety, depression, insomnia, sleep quality, nightmares, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms following wildfires in Australia, Canada, and the United States of America (USA). One hundred and twenty-six participants from Australia, Canada, and the USA completed an online survey. The sample included 102 (81%) women, 23 (18.3%) men, and one non-binary (0.8%) individual. Participants were aged between 20 and 92 years (M age = 52 years, SD = 14.4). They completed a demographic questionnaire, the Disturbing Dream and Nightmare Severity Index (DDNSI), Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire (GAD-7), the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and PTSD Checklist (PCL-5). Results showed that participants from the USA scored significantly higher on the GAD-7 (p = 0.009), ISI (p = 0.003), and PCL-5 (p = 0.021) than participants from Australia and Canada. The current findings suggest a need for more international collaboration to reduce the severity of mental health conditions in Australia, Canada, and the USA. © 2023 by the authors.
Divergent molecular networks program functionally distinct CD8+skin-resident memory T cells
- Park, Simone, Christo, Susan, Wells, Alexandria, Gandolfo, Luke, Zaid, Ali, Alexandre, Yannick, Burn, Thomas, Schröder, Jan, Collins, Nicholas, Han, Seong-Ji, Guillaume, Stephane, Evrard, Maximilien, Castellucci, Clara, Davies, Brooke, Osman, Maleika, Obers, Andreas, McDonald, Keely, Wang, Huimeng, Mueller, Scott, Kannourakis, George, Berzins, Stuart, Mielke, Lisa, Carbone, Francis, Kallies, Axel, Speed, Terence, Belkaid, Yasmine, MacKay, Laura
- Authors: Park, Simone , Christo, Susan , Wells, Alexandria , Gandolfo, Luke , Zaid, Ali , Alexandre, Yannick , Burn, Thomas , Schröder, Jan , Collins, Nicholas , Han, Seong-Ji , Guillaume, Stephane , Evrard, Maximilien , Castellucci, Clara , Davies, Brooke , Osman, Maleika , Obers, Andreas , McDonald, Keely , Wang, Huimeng , Mueller, Scott , Kannourakis, George , Berzins, Stuart , Mielke, Lisa , Carbone, Francis , Kallies, Axel , Speed, Terence , Belkaid, Yasmine , MacKay, Laura
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Science Vol. 382, no. 6674 (2023), p. 1073-1079
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Skin-resident CD8+T cells include distinct interferon-g-producing [tissue-resident memory T type 1 (TRM1)] and interleukin-17 (IL-17)-producing (TRM17) subsets that differentially contribute to immune responses. However, whether these populations use common mechanisms to establish tissue residence is unknown. In this work, we show that TRM1 and TRM17 cells navigate divergent trajectories to acquire tissue residency in the skin. TRM1 cells depend on a T-bet-Hobit-IL-15 axis, whereas TRM17 cells develop independently of these factors. Instead, c-Maf commands a tissue-resident program in TRM17 cells parallel to that induced by Hobit in TRM1 cells, with an ICOS-c-Maf-IL-7 axis pivotal to TRM17 cell commitment. Accordingly, by targeting this pathway, skin TRM17 cells can be ablated without compromising their TRM1 counterparts. Thus, skin-resident T cells rely on distinct molecular circuitries, which can be exploited to strategically modulate local immunity. © 2023 American Association for the Advancement of Science. All rights reserved.
Diverse cytokine production by NKT cell subsets and identification of an IL-17-producing CD4-NK1.1- NKT cell population
- Coquet, Jonathan, Chakravarti, Sumone, Kyparissoudis, Konstantinos, McNab, Finlay, Pitt, Lauren, McKenzie, Brent, Berzins, Stuart, Smyth, Mark, Godfrey, Dale
- Authors: Coquet, Jonathan , Chakravarti, Sumone , Kyparissoudis, Konstantinos , McNab, Finlay , Pitt, Lauren , McKenzie, Brent , Berzins, Stuart , Smyth, Mark , Godfrey, Dale
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Vol. 105, no. 32 (August 2008 2008), p. 11287-11292
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: NKT cell subsets can be divided based on CD4 and NK1.1 expression and tissue of origin, but the developmental and functional relationships between the different subsets still are poorly understood. A comprehensive study of 19 cytokines across different NKT cell subsets revealed that no two NKT subpopulations exhibited the same cytokine profile, and, remarkably, the amounts of each cytokine produced varied by up to 100-fold or more among subsets. This study also revealed the existence of a population of CD4-NK1.1 - NKT cells that produce high levels of the proinflammatory cytokine IL-17 within 2-3 h of activation. On intrathymic transfer these cells develop into mature CD4-NK1.1+ but not into CD4 +NK1.1+ NKT cells, indicating that CD4-NK1. 1- NKT cells include an IL-17-producing subpopulation, and also mark the elusive branch point for CD4+ and CD4- NKT cell sublineages.
- Description: C1
- Authors: Coquet, Jonathan , Chakravarti, Sumone , Kyparissoudis, Konstantinos , McNab, Finlay , Pitt, Lauren , McKenzie, Brent , Berzins, Stuart , Smyth, Mark , Godfrey, Dale
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Vol. 105, no. 32 (August 2008 2008), p. 11287-11292
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: NKT cell subsets can be divided based on CD4 and NK1.1 expression and tissue of origin, but the developmental and functional relationships between the different subsets still are poorly understood. A comprehensive study of 19 cytokines across different NKT cell subsets revealed that no two NKT subpopulations exhibited the same cytokine profile, and, remarkably, the amounts of each cytokine produced varied by up to 100-fold or more among subsets. This study also revealed the existence of a population of CD4-NK1.1 - NKT cells that produce high levels of the proinflammatory cytokine IL-17 within 2-3 h of activation. On intrathymic transfer these cells develop into mature CD4-NK1.1+ but not into CD4 +NK1.1+ NKT cells, indicating that CD4-NK1. 1- NKT cells include an IL-17-producing subpopulation, and also mark the elusive branch point for CD4+ and CD4- NKT cell sublineages.
- Description: C1