- Ooi, Ean Tat, Iqbal, M., Birk, C., Natarajan, Sundararajan, Ooi, E. H., Song, C.
- Authors: Ooi, Ean Tat , Iqbal, M. , Birk, C. , Natarajan, Sundararajan , Ooi, E. H. , Song, C.
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Engineering Fracture Mechanics Vol. 240, no. (2020), p.
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: The scaled boundary finite element method is developed for transient thermoelastic fracture analysis. To enable this, a set of novel shape functions are derived considering thermoelastic equilibrium. The salient features of the proposed framework are: (a) can be formulated on polygons with an arbitrary number of sides leading to flexible mesh generation and (b) facilitates an accurate and direct evaluation of the stress intensity factors from their definition without resorting to any post-processing techniques using relatively coarse meshes. Several numerical benchmark problems demonstrate the aforementioned features of the technique. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd
- Shahabuddin, M., Alam, Md Tanvir, Krishna, Bhavya, Bhaskar, Thallada, Perkins, Greg
- Authors: Shahabuddin, M. , Alam, Md Tanvir , Krishna, Bhavya , Bhaskar, Thallada , Perkins, Greg
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: Bioresource Technology Vol. 312, no. (2020), p.
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: This article reviews the production of renewable aviation fuels from biomass and residual wastes using gasification followed by syngas conditioning and Fischer-Tropsch catalytic synthesis. The challenges involved with gasifying wastes are discussed along with a summary of conventional and emerging gasification technologies. The techniques for conditioning syngas including removal of particulate matter, tars, sulphur, carbon dioxide, compounds of nitrogen, chlorine and alkali metals are reported. Recent developments in Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, such as new catalyst formulations are described alongside reactor technologies for producing renewable aviation fuels. The energy efficiency and capital cost of converting biomass and residual wastes to aviation fuels are major barriers to widespread adoption. Therefore, further development of advanced technologies will be critical for the aviation industry to achieve their stated greenhouse gas reduction targets by 2050. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd
A survey dataset to evaluate the changes in mobility and transportation due to COVID-19 travel restrictions in Australia, Brazil, China, Ghana, India, Iran, Italy, Norway, South Africa, United States
- Barbieri, Diego, Lou, Baowen, Passavanti, Marco, Hui, Cang, Lam, Louisa
- Authors: Barbieri, Diego , Lou, Baowen , Passavanti, Marco , Hui, Cang , Lam, Louisa
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Data in Brief Vol. 33, no. (2020), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: COVID-19 pandemic has heavily impacted the global community. To curb the viral transmission, travel restrictions have been enforced across the world. The dataset documents the mobility disruptions and the modal shifts that have occurred as a consequence of the restrictive measures implemented in ten countries: Australia, Brazil, China, Ghana, India, Iran, Italy, Norway, South Africa and the United States. An online questionnaire was distributed during the period from the 11st to the 31st of May 2020, with a total of 9 394 respondents. The first part of the survey has characterized the frequency of use of all transport modes before and during the enforcement of the restrictions, while the second part of the survey has dealt with perceived risks of contracting COVID-19 from different transport modes and perceived effectiveness of travel mitigation measures. Overall, the dataset (stored in a repository publicly available) can be conveniently used to quantify and understand the modal shifts and people's cognitive behavior towards travel due to COVID-19. The collected responses can be further analysed by considering other demographic and socioeconomic covariates. © 2020 The Author(s). *Please note that there are multiple authors for this article therefore only the name of the first 5 including Federation University Australia affiliate “Louisa Lam” is provided in this record*
- Authors: Barbieri, Diego , Lou, Baowen , Passavanti, Marco , Hui, Cang , Lam, Louisa
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Data in Brief Vol. 33, no. (2020), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: COVID-19 pandemic has heavily impacted the global community. To curb the viral transmission, travel restrictions have been enforced across the world. The dataset documents the mobility disruptions and the modal shifts that have occurred as a consequence of the restrictive measures implemented in ten countries: Australia, Brazil, China, Ghana, India, Iran, Italy, Norway, South Africa and the United States. An online questionnaire was distributed during the period from the 11st to the 31st of May 2020, with a total of 9 394 respondents. The first part of the survey has characterized the frequency of use of all transport modes before and during the enforcement of the restrictions, while the second part of the survey has dealt with perceived risks of contracting COVID-19 from different transport modes and perceived effectiveness of travel mitigation measures. Overall, the dataset (stored in a repository publicly available) can be conveniently used to quantify and understand the modal shifts and people's cognitive behavior towards travel due to COVID-19. The collected responses can be further analysed by considering other demographic and socioeconomic covariates. © 2020 The Author(s). *Please note that there are multiple authors for this article therefore only the name of the first 5 including Federation University Australia affiliate “Louisa Lam” is provided in this record*
Aberrant pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A expression in breast cancers prognosticates clinical outcomes
- Prithviraj, Prashanth, Anaka, Matthew, Thompson, Erik, Sharma, Revati, Walkiewicz, Marzena, Tutuka, Candani, Behren, Andreas, Kannourakis, George, Jayachandran, Aparna
- Authors: Prithviraj, Prashanth , Anaka, Matthew , Thompson, Erik , Sharma, Revati , Walkiewicz, Marzena , Tutuka, Candani , Behren, Andreas , Kannourakis, George , Jayachandran, Aparna
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Scientific Reports Vol. 10, no. 1 (2020), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Elevated levels of pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) have been implicated in the pathogenesis of various malignancies, including breast cancers. Breast cancer is one of the most frequent carcinomas and is the second most common cancer type detected in women of child-bearing age. Throughout pregnancy PAPP-A is produced and secreted by the placental syncytiotrophoblast cells; co-incidentally pregnancy-associated breast cancers often have an aggressive clinical course. The components of the PAPP-A/IGF axis was assessed in a panel of breast cancer cell lines. Using neutralising antibodies the impact of PAPP-A/IGF axis on cell motility was evaluated. PAPP-A was expressed in four of the twelve breast cancer cell lines tested. Blocking PAPP-A and IGFBP4 with neutralising antibodies significantly decreased motiliy of MDA-MB-231 cells. Upregulation of PAPP-A expression in breast tumours resulted in a trend towards worse overall survival. Notably, PAPP-A expression also positively correlated with epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition markers. In conclusion, these results indicate that PAPP-A plays an important role in breast cancer progression and it may be a promising therapeutic target in breast cancer. © 2020, The Author(s).
- Authors: Prithviraj, Prashanth , Anaka, Matthew , Thompson, Erik , Sharma, Revati , Walkiewicz, Marzena , Tutuka, Candani , Behren, Andreas , Kannourakis, George , Jayachandran, Aparna
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Scientific Reports Vol. 10, no. 1 (2020), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Elevated levels of pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) have been implicated in the pathogenesis of various malignancies, including breast cancers. Breast cancer is one of the most frequent carcinomas and is the second most common cancer type detected in women of child-bearing age. Throughout pregnancy PAPP-A is produced and secreted by the placental syncytiotrophoblast cells; co-incidentally pregnancy-associated breast cancers often have an aggressive clinical course. The components of the PAPP-A/IGF axis was assessed in a panel of breast cancer cell lines. Using neutralising antibodies the impact of PAPP-A/IGF axis on cell motility was evaluated. PAPP-A was expressed in four of the twelve breast cancer cell lines tested. Blocking PAPP-A and IGFBP4 with neutralising antibodies significantly decreased motiliy of MDA-MB-231 cells. Upregulation of PAPP-A expression in breast tumours resulted in a trend towards worse overall survival. Notably, PAPP-A expression also positively correlated with epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition markers. In conclusion, these results indicate that PAPP-A plays an important role in breast cancer progression and it may be a promising therapeutic target in breast cancer. © 2020, The Author(s).
Anxiety and Depression After a Cardiac Event: Prevalence and Predictors
- Murphy, Barbara, Le Grande, Michael, Alvarenga, Marlies, Worcester, Marian, Jackson, Alun
- Authors: Murphy, Barbara , Le Grande, Michael , Alvarenga, Marlies , Worcester, Marian , Jackson, Alun
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Frontiers in Psychology Vol. 10, no. (2020), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Introduction: Patients who are anxious or depressed after an acute cardiac event are at increased risk of a subsequent event and premature death. It is therefore important to identify these patients early in order to initiate supportive or even preventive measures. In the present study, we report on the prevalence of anxiety and depression during the first 12 months after an acute cardiac event, and the patient characteristics predictive of increased anxiety and depression risk in early and late convalescence. Methods: We recruited a sample of 911 patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), acute coronary syndrome (ACS), and/or unstable angina (UA), and/or undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABGS). Patients completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) close to the time of their event, and again during early (2–4 months post-event) and late (6–12 months post-event) convalescence. Using HADS-A and HADS-D cut-offs of 8+, prevalence rates for anxiety, depression, and comorbid anxiety and depression were determined for each timepoint. Chi-square tests and odds ratios were used to identify baseline patient characteristics associated with increased anxiety and depression risk over 12 months. Results: Anxiety rates were 43, 28, and 27% at the time of the event, early, and late convalescence. Depression rates were 22, 17, and 15%, respectively. Factors consistently associated with increased anxiety and depression risk were history of depression, financial strain, poor self-rated health, low socioeconomic status, younger age (<55 years), and smoking. Obesity, diabetes, and social isolation (living alone or being unpartnered) were identified as important albeit less significant risk factors. Neither sex nor event type were predictive of anxiety or depression. Conclusion: This large patient sample provided the opportunity to identify rates of anxiety and depression during the 12 months after a cardiac event and key patient characteristics for increased risk. These risk factors are easily identifiable at the time of the event, and could be used to guide the targeting of support programs for patients at risk. © Copyright © 2020 Murphy, Le Grande, Alvarenga, Worcester and Jackson.
- Authors: Murphy, Barbara , Le Grande, Michael , Alvarenga, Marlies , Worcester, Marian , Jackson, Alun
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Frontiers in Psychology Vol. 10, no. (2020), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Introduction: Patients who are anxious or depressed after an acute cardiac event are at increased risk of a subsequent event and premature death. It is therefore important to identify these patients early in order to initiate supportive or even preventive measures. In the present study, we report on the prevalence of anxiety and depression during the first 12 months after an acute cardiac event, and the patient characteristics predictive of increased anxiety and depression risk in early and late convalescence. Methods: We recruited a sample of 911 patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), acute coronary syndrome (ACS), and/or unstable angina (UA), and/or undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABGS). Patients completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) close to the time of their event, and again during early (2–4 months post-event) and late (6–12 months post-event) convalescence. Using HADS-A and HADS-D cut-offs of 8+, prevalence rates for anxiety, depression, and comorbid anxiety and depression were determined for each timepoint. Chi-square tests and odds ratios were used to identify baseline patient characteristics associated with increased anxiety and depression risk over 12 months. Results: Anxiety rates were 43, 28, and 27% at the time of the event, early, and late convalescence. Depression rates were 22, 17, and 15%, respectively. Factors consistently associated with increased anxiety and depression risk were history of depression, financial strain, poor self-rated health, low socioeconomic status, younger age (<55 years), and smoking. Obesity, diabetes, and social isolation (living alone or being unpartnered) were identified as important albeit less significant risk factors. Neither sex nor event type were predictive of anxiety or depression. Conclusion: This large patient sample provided the opportunity to identify rates of anxiety and depression during the 12 months after a cardiac event and key patient characteristics for increased risk. These risk factors are easily identifiable at the time of the event, and could be used to guide the targeting of support programs for patients at risk. © Copyright © 2020 Murphy, Le Grande, Alvarenga, Worcester and Jackson.
Burden and preparedness amongst informal caregivers of adults with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury
- Lieshout, Kirsten, Oates, Joanne, Baker, Anne, Unsworth, Carolyn, Cameron, Ian, Schmidt, Julia, Lannin, Natasha
- Authors: Lieshout, Kirsten , Oates, Joanne , Baker, Anne , Unsworth, Carolyn , Cameron, Ian , Schmidt, Julia , Lannin, Natasha
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Vol. 17, no. 17 (2020), p. 1-12
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: This study examined the patterns of informal (unpaid) caregiving provided to people after moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), explore the self-reported burden and preparedness for the caregiving role, and identify factors predictive of caregiver burden and preparedness. A cross-sectional cohort design was used. Informal caregivers completed the Demand and Difficulty subscales of the Caregiving Burden Scale; and the Mutuality, Preparedness, and Global Strain subscales of the Family Care Inventory. Chi-square tests and logistic regression were used to examine the relationships between caregiver and care recipient variables and preparedness for caregiving. Twenty-nine informal caregivers who reported data on themselves and people with a moderate to severe TBI were recruited (referred to as a dyad). Most caregivers were female (n = 21, 72%), lived with the care recipient (n = 20, 69%), and reported high levels of burden on both scales. While most caregivers (n = 21, 72%) felt “pretty well” or “very well” prepared for caregiving, they were least prepared to get help or information from the health system, and to deal with the stress of caregiving. No significant relationships or predictors for caregiver burden or preparedness were identified. While caregivers reported the provision of care as both highly difficult and demanding, further research is required to better understand the reasons for the variability in caregiver experience, and ultimately how to best prepare caregivers for this long-term role. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
- Description: Data collection for this project was supported by the NSW Lifetime Care and Support Scheme (now iCare Foundation). N.A.L. is supported by a Future Leader Fellowship (Award ID 102055) from the National Heart Foundation of Australia.
- Authors: Lieshout, Kirsten , Oates, Joanne , Baker, Anne , Unsworth, Carolyn , Cameron, Ian , Schmidt, Julia , Lannin, Natasha
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Vol. 17, no. 17 (2020), p. 1-12
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: This study examined the patterns of informal (unpaid) caregiving provided to people after moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), explore the self-reported burden and preparedness for the caregiving role, and identify factors predictive of caregiver burden and preparedness. A cross-sectional cohort design was used. Informal caregivers completed the Demand and Difficulty subscales of the Caregiving Burden Scale; and the Mutuality, Preparedness, and Global Strain subscales of the Family Care Inventory. Chi-square tests and logistic regression were used to examine the relationships between caregiver and care recipient variables and preparedness for caregiving. Twenty-nine informal caregivers who reported data on themselves and people with a moderate to severe TBI were recruited (referred to as a dyad). Most caregivers were female (n = 21, 72%), lived with the care recipient (n = 20, 69%), and reported high levels of burden on both scales. While most caregivers (n = 21, 72%) felt “pretty well” or “very well” prepared for caregiving, they were least prepared to get help or information from the health system, and to deal with the stress of caregiving. No significant relationships or predictors for caregiver burden or preparedness were identified. While caregivers reported the provision of care as both highly difficult and demanding, further research is required to better understand the reasons for the variability in caregiver experience, and ultimately how to best prepare caregivers for this long-term role. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
- Description: Data collection for this project was supported by the NSW Lifetime Care and Support Scheme (now iCare Foundation). N.A.L. is supported by a Future Leader Fellowship (Award ID 102055) from the National Heart Foundation of Australia.
Clusterwise support vector linear regression
- Joki, Kaisa, Bagirov, Adil, Karmitsa, Napsu, Mäkelä, Marko, Taheri, Sona
- Authors: Joki, Kaisa , Bagirov, Adil , Karmitsa, Napsu , Mäkelä, Marko , Taheri, Sona
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: European Journal of Operational Research Vol. 287, no. 1 (2020), p. 19-35
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: In clusterwise linear regression (CLR), the aim is to simultaneously partition data into a given number of clusters and to find regression coefficients for each cluster. In this paper, we propose a novel approach to model and solve the CLR problem. The main idea is to utilize the support vector machine (SVM) approach to model the CLR problem by using the SVM for regression to approximate each cluster. This new formulation of the CLR problem is represented as an unconstrained nonsmooth optimization problem, where we minimize a difference of two convex (DC) functions. To solve this problem, a method based on the combination of the incremental algorithm and the double bundle method for DC optimization is designed. Numerical experiments are performed to validate the reliability of the new formulation for CLR and the efficiency of the proposed method. The results show that the SVM approach is suitable for solving CLR problems, especially, when there are outliers in data. © 2020 Elsevier B.V.
- Description: Funding details: Academy of Finland, 289500, 294002, 319274 Funding details: Turun Yliopisto Funding details: Australian Research Council, ARC, (Project no. DP190100580 ).
- Authors: Joki, Kaisa , Bagirov, Adil , Karmitsa, Napsu , Mäkelä, Marko , Taheri, Sona
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: European Journal of Operational Research Vol. 287, no. 1 (2020), p. 19-35
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: In clusterwise linear regression (CLR), the aim is to simultaneously partition data into a given number of clusters and to find regression coefficients for each cluster. In this paper, we propose a novel approach to model and solve the CLR problem. The main idea is to utilize the support vector machine (SVM) approach to model the CLR problem by using the SVM for regression to approximate each cluster. This new formulation of the CLR problem is represented as an unconstrained nonsmooth optimization problem, where we minimize a difference of two convex (DC) functions. To solve this problem, a method based on the combination of the incremental algorithm and the double bundle method for DC optimization is designed. Numerical experiments are performed to validate the reliability of the new formulation for CLR and the efficiency of the proposed method. The results show that the SVM approach is suitable for solving CLR problems, especially, when there are outliers in data. © 2020 Elsevier B.V.
- Description: Funding details: Academy of Finland, 289500, 294002, 319274 Funding details: Turun Yliopisto Funding details: Australian Research Council, ARC, (Project no. DP190100580 ).
Confirmatory factor analysis and exploratory structural equation modelling of the factor structure of the depression anxiety and stress scales-21
- Gomez, Rapson, Stavropoulos, Vasileios, Griffiths, Mark
- Authors: Gomez, Rapson , Stavropoulos, Vasileios , Griffiths, Mark
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Plos One Vol. 15, no. 6 (Jun 2020), p. 16
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: The Depression Anxiety and Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21) involves a simple structure first-order three-factor oblique model, with factors for depression, anxiety, and stress. Recently, concerns have been raised over the value of using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) for studying the factor structure of scales in general. However, such concerns can be circumvented using exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM). Consequently, the present study used CFA and ESEM with target rotation to examine the factor structure of the DASS-21 among an adult community. It compared first-order CFA, ESEM with target rotation, bi-factor CFA (BCFA), and bi-factor BESEM with target rotation models with group/specific factors for depression, anxiety, and stress. A total of 738 adults (males = 374, and females = 364; M = 25.29 years; SD = 7.61 years) completed the DASS-21. While all models examined showed good global fit values, one or more of the group/specific factors in the BCFA, ESEM with target rotation and BESEM with target rotation models were poorly defined. As the first-order CFA model was most parsimonious, with well-defined factors that were also supported in terms of their reliabilities and validities, this model was selected as the preferred DASS-21 model. The implications of the findings for use and revision of the DASS-21 are discussed.
- Authors: Gomez, Rapson , Stavropoulos, Vasileios , Griffiths, Mark
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Plos One Vol. 15, no. 6 (Jun 2020), p. 16
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: The Depression Anxiety and Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21) involves a simple structure first-order three-factor oblique model, with factors for depression, anxiety, and stress. Recently, concerns have been raised over the value of using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) for studying the factor structure of scales in general. However, such concerns can be circumvented using exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM). Consequently, the present study used CFA and ESEM with target rotation to examine the factor structure of the DASS-21 among an adult community. It compared first-order CFA, ESEM with target rotation, bi-factor CFA (BCFA), and bi-factor BESEM with target rotation models with group/specific factors for depression, anxiety, and stress. A total of 738 adults (males = 374, and females = 364; M = 25.29 years; SD = 7.61 years) completed the DASS-21. While all models examined showed good global fit values, one or more of the group/specific factors in the BCFA, ESEM with target rotation and BESEM with target rotation models were poorly defined. As the first-order CFA model was most parsimonious, with well-defined factors that were also supported in terms of their reliabilities and validities, this model was selected as the preferred DASS-21 model. The implications of the findings for use and revision of the DASS-21 are discussed.
- Dawson, Blake, Barton, Philip, Wallman, James
- Authors: Dawson, Blake , Barton, Philip , Wallman, James
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Forensic Science International Vol. 316, no. (2020), p.
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Non-human vertebrate animals, primarily domestic pigs, have been widely used in forensic science research as analogues for humans due to ethical and logistical constraints. Yet the suitability of pigs to mimic human decomposition and entomological patterns remains largely untested, and explicit comparative research in this area is lacking. We compared the decomposition rates and insect communities found at pig and human remains during summer and winter at the Australian Facility for Taphonomic Experimental Research (AFTER). Pigs decomposed faster than humans, with pigs entering active decay earlier in both summer and winter, and humans undergoing desiccation rather than skeletonisation. There was also a delay in the colonisation of humans by both flies and beetles. Species richness of these necrophagous taxa was between two and five times higher during the first two weeks of decomposition on pigs compared to humans during both summer and winter. Insect species composition was also significantly different between pigs and humans in each season. We interpret our findings to mean that the difference between humans and pigs, such as their mass, diet, medical history, or their microbiomes, might be causing different decomposition processes and altered timing or production of chemical cues for insect colonisation. Although preliminary, our results suggest that pigs might not be accurate substitutes for humans in particular fields of taphonomy and forensic entomology. Our findings also have broader implications for the reliability of forensic studies using pigs as models for humans, and highlight the need to recognise intrinsic differences between animal models and humans. © 2020 Elsevier B.V.
- Description: This work was supported in part by the Australian Research Council ( LE150100015 ), as well as by a SMAH Small Project Grant ( University of Wollongong ).
Cyberattacks detection in iot-based smart city applications using machine learning techniques
- Rashid, Md Mamunur, Kamruzzaman, Joarder, Hassan, Mohammad, Imam, Tassadduq, Gordon, Steven
- Authors: Rashid, Md Mamunur , Kamruzzaman, Joarder , Hassan, Mohammad , Imam, Tassadduq , Gordon, Steven
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Vol. 17, no. 24 (2020), p. 1-21
- 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.
- Authors: Rashid, Md Mamunur , Kamruzzaman, Joarder , Hassan, Mohammad , Imam, Tassadduq , Gordon, Steven
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Vol. 17, no. 24 (2020), p. 1-21
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: In recent years, the widespread deployment of the Internet of Things (IoT) applications has contributed to the development of smart cities. A smart city utilizes IoT-enabled technologies, communications and applications to maximize operational efficiency and enhance both the service providers’ quality of services and people’s wellbeing and quality of life. With the growth of smart city networks, however, comes the increased risk of cybersecurity threats and attacks. IoT devices within a smart city network are connected to sensors linked to large cloud servers and are exposed to malicious attacks and threats. Thus, it is important to devise approaches to prevent such attacks and protect IoT devices from failure. In this paper, we explore an attack and anomaly detection technique based on machine learning algorithms (LR, SVM, DT, RF, ANN and KNN) to defend against and mitigate IoT cybersecurity threats in a smart city. Contrary to existing works that have focused on single classifiers, we also explore ensemble methods such as bagging, boosting and stacking to enhance the performance of the detection system. Additionally, we consider an integration of feature selection, cross-validation and multi-class classification for the discussed domain, which has not been well considered in the existing literature. Experimental results with the recent attack dataset demonstrate that the proposed technique can effectively identify cyberattacks and the stacking ensemble model outperforms comparable models in terms of accuracy, precision, recall and F1-Score, implying the promise of stacking in this domain. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Designing multi-agent system organisations for flexible runtime behaviour
- Keogh, Kathleen, Sonenberg, Liz
- Authors: Keogh, Kathleen , Sonenberg, Liz
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Applied Sciences (Switzerland) Vol. 10, no. 15 (2020), p.
- 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.
- Alkurdi, Susan, Al-Juboori, Raed, Bundschuh, Jochen, Bowtell, Les, McKnight, Stafford
- Authors: Alkurdi, Susan , Al-Juboori, Raed , Bundschuh, Jochen , Bowtell, Les , McKnight, Stafford
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Environmental Pollution Vol. 262, no. (2020), p.
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: This study examined arsenite [As(III)], arsenate [As(V)] and fluoride (F−) removal potential of bone char produced from sheep (Ovis aries) bone waste. Pyrolysis conditions tested were in the 500 °C–900 °C range, for a holding time of 1 or 2 h, with or without N2 gas purging. Previous bone char studies mainly focused on either low or high temperature range with limited information provided on As(III) removal. This study aims to address these gaps and provide insights into the effect of pyrolysis conditions on bone char sorption capacity. A range of advanced chemical analyses were employed to track the change in bone char properties. As pyrolysis temperature and holding time increased, the resulting pH, surface charge, surface roughness, crystallinity, pore size and CEC all increased, accompanied by a decrease in the acidic functional groups and surface area. Pyrolysis temperature was a key parameter, showing improvement in the removal of both As(III) and As(V) as pyrolysis temperature was increased, while As(V) removal was higher than As(III) removal overall. F− removal displayed an inverse relationship with increasing pyrolysis temperature. Bone char prepared at 500 °C released significantly more dissolved organic carbon (DOC) then those prepared at a higher temperature. The bone protein is believed to be a major factor. The predominant removal mechanisms for As were surface complexation, precipitation and interaction with nitrogenous functional groups. Whereas F− removal was mainly influenced by interaction with oxygen functional groups and electrostatic interaction. This study recommends that the bone char pyrolysis temperature used for As and F− removal are 900 °C and 650 °C, respectively. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd
- Description: This research was performed as a part of PhD research which was supported in part by the Iraqi Government and the Australian Research Training Program.
Estimation of parameters for distribution of timber pole failures due to inground decay
- Rahman, Anisur, Chattopadhyay, Gopinath
- Authors: Rahman, Anisur , Chattopadhyay, Gopinath
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: IAPQR Transactions Vol. 45, no. 1-2 (2020), p. 36-48
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Abstract: Timber components are very popular due to its flexibility in use and therefore, widely used in bridges and building constructions, rail tracks and supply electricity throughout the world and in Australia. The main reason of this choice is for their high strength per unit weight, low cost and excellent durability. Reliability of these components is extremely important because a failure of these components may cause loss of money, loss of properties, injuries or even loss of lives. Reliability depends on various factors such as species of the timber, structural dimensions in design, environmental condition, human factors in installation, operations and maintenance. In general, the timber structure failures are due to the loss of load bearing capacity from the decrease in peripheral dimensions at or below ground level and loss of strength of timber fibre affecting bending resistance. Soil factors and related decays reduce the diameter and the strength of timber component affecting the safety in operation and service. Rotting of fibre can be from centre to outward or outward to centre by accelerating fungal and insect (termite) attack affecting reliability, availability, maintainability and safety of infrastructure assets. This paper is on investigating soil factors for modelling in ground decay and estimating parameters for failure distribution of timber poles. Real life data from electricity supply company in Australia have been used for modelling and validation. Results from this investigation can be used in optimal decision in maintenance and replacements for reducing the life cycle costs and risks of in-service failure of timber poles and infrastructure assets in similar environment.
Evaluating the holistic costs and benefits of corn production systems in Minnesota, US
- Sandhu, Harpinder, Scialabba, Nadia, Warner, Chris, Behzadnejad, Fatemeh, Keohane, Kieran
- Authors: Sandhu, Harpinder , Scialabba, Nadia , Warner, Chris , Behzadnejad, Fatemeh , Keohane, Kieran
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Scientific Reports Vol. 10, no. 1 (2020), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Global agriculture aims to minimize its impacts on environment and human health while maintaining its productivity. This requires a comprehensive understanding of its benefits and costs to ecosystems and society. Here, we apply a new evaluation framework developed by the Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity for Agriculture and Food (TEEBAgriFood) to assess key benefits and costs on the production side of genetically modified (GM) and organic corn systems in Minnesota, USA. The market value of GM corn is $4.5 billion, and only $31.8 million for organic corn using production data and market prices of 2017. GM corn generates revenue of $1488 per hectare (at $121 per MT), which is significantly lower than the organic corn at $2793 per hectare (at $294 per MT). Using a novel three-stage wellbeing valuation, analysis of the associations between corn production intensity and subjective measures of general health and wellbeing indicates that the total non-financial health cost associated with GM corn is $427.50 per hectare or $1.3 billion annually. We also find that the total annual environmental cost associated with GM corn production is $179 per hectare or $557.65 million within Minnesota. The use of the evaluation framework can help to improve decision making at farm and policy level to develop sustainable agriculture in order to minimize environmental and health related costs to society and economy. © 2020, The Author(s). **Please note that there are multiple authors for this article therefore only the name of the first 5 including Federation University Australia affiliate “Harpinder Sandhu” is provided in this record**
- Description: Global agriculture aims to minimize its impacts on environment and human health while maintaining its productivity. This requires a comprehensive understanding of its benefits and costs to ecosystems and society. Here, we apply a new evaluation framework developed by the Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity for Agriculture and Food (TEEBAgriFood) to assess key benefits and costs on the production side of genetically modified (GM) and organic corn systems in Minnesota, USA. The market value of GM corn is $4.5 billion, and only $31.8 million for organic corn using production data and market prices of 2017. GM corn generates revenue of $1488 per hectare (at $121 per MT), which is significantly lower than the organic corn at $2793 per hectare (at $294 per MT). Using a novel three-stage wellbeing valuation, analysis of the associations between corn production intensity and subjective measures of general health and wellbeing indicates that the total non-financial health cost associated with GM corn is $427.50 per hectare or $1.3 billion annually. We also find that the total annual environmental cost associated with GM corn production is $179 per hectare or $557.65 million within Minnesota. The use of the evaluation framework can help to improve decision making at farm and policy level to develop sustainable agriculture in order to minimize environmental and health related costs to society and economy. © 2020, The Author(s). **Please note that there are multiple authors for this article therefore only the name of the first 5 including Federation University Australia affiliate “________________” is provided in this record**
- Authors: Sandhu, Harpinder , Scialabba, Nadia , Warner, Chris , Behzadnejad, Fatemeh , Keohane, Kieran
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Scientific Reports Vol. 10, no. 1 (2020), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Global agriculture aims to minimize its impacts on environment and human health while maintaining its productivity. This requires a comprehensive understanding of its benefits and costs to ecosystems and society. Here, we apply a new evaluation framework developed by the Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity for Agriculture and Food (TEEBAgriFood) to assess key benefits and costs on the production side of genetically modified (GM) and organic corn systems in Minnesota, USA. The market value of GM corn is $4.5 billion, and only $31.8 million for organic corn using production data and market prices of 2017. GM corn generates revenue of $1488 per hectare (at $121 per MT), which is significantly lower than the organic corn at $2793 per hectare (at $294 per MT). Using a novel three-stage wellbeing valuation, analysis of the associations between corn production intensity and subjective measures of general health and wellbeing indicates that the total non-financial health cost associated with GM corn is $427.50 per hectare or $1.3 billion annually. We also find that the total annual environmental cost associated with GM corn production is $179 per hectare or $557.65 million within Minnesota. The use of the evaluation framework can help to improve decision making at farm and policy level to develop sustainable agriculture in order to minimize environmental and health related costs to society and economy. © 2020, The Author(s). **Please note that there are multiple authors for this article therefore only the name of the first 5 including Federation University Australia affiliate “Harpinder Sandhu” is provided in this record**
- Description: Global agriculture aims to minimize its impacts on environment and human health while maintaining its productivity. This requires a comprehensive understanding of its benefits and costs to ecosystems and society. Here, we apply a new evaluation framework developed by the Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity for Agriculture and Food (TEEBAgriFood) to assess key benefits and costs on the production side of genetically modified (GM) and organic corn systems in Minnesota, USA. The market value of GM corn is $4.5 billion, and only $31.8 million for organic corn using production data and market prices of 2017. GM corn generates revenue of $1488 per hectare (at $121 per MT), which is significantly lower than the organic corn at $2793 per hectare (at $294 per MT). Using a novel three-stage wellbeing valuation, analysis of the associations between corn production intensity and subjective measures of general health and wellbeing indicates that the total non-financial health cost associated with GM corn is $427.50 per hectare or $1.3 billion annually. We also find that the total annual environmental cost associated with GM corn production is $179 per hectare or $557.65 million within Minnesota. The use of the evaluation framework can help to improve decision making at farm and policy level to develop sustainable agriculture in order to minimize environmental and health related costs to society and economy. © 2020, The Author(s). **Please note that there are multiple authors for this article therefore only the name of the first 5 including Federation University Australia affiliate “________________” is provided in this record**
Genetic aetiology of self-harm ideation and behaviour
- Campos, Adrian, Verweij, Karin, Statham, Dixie, Madden, Pamela, Maciejewski, Dominique, Davis, Katrina, John, Ann, Hotopf, Matthew, Heath, Andrew, Martin, Nicholas, Rentería, Miguel
- Authors: Campos, Adrian , Verweij, Karin , Statham, Dixie , Madden, Pamela , Maciejewski, Dominique , Davis, Katrina , John, Ann , Hotopf, Matthew , Heath, Andrew , Martin, Nicholas , Rentería, Miguel
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Scientific Reports Vol. 10, no. 1 (2020), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Family studies have identified a heritable component to self-harm that is partially independent from comorbid psychiatric disorders. However, the genetic aetiology of broad sense (non-suicidal and suicidal) self-harm has not been characterised on the molecular level. In addition, controversy exists about the degree to which suicidal and non-suicidal self-harm share a common genetic aetiology. In the present study, we conduct genome-wide association studies (GWAS) on lifetime self-harm ideation and self-harm behaviour (i.e. any lifetime self-harm act regardless of suicidal intent) using data from the UK Biobank (n > 156,000). We also perform genome wide gene-based tests and characterize the SNP heritability and genetic correlations between these traits. Finally, we test whether polygenic risk scores (PRS) for self-harm ideation and self-harm behaviour predict suicide attempt, suicide thoughts and non-suicidal self-harm (NSSH) in an independent target sample of 8,703 Australian adults. Our GWAS results identified one genome-wide significant locus associated with each of the two phenotypes. SNP heritability (hsnp2) estimates were ~10%, and both traits were highly genetically correlated (LDSC rg > 0.8). Gene-based tests identified seven genes associated with self-harm ideation and four with self-harm behaviour. Furthermore, in the target sample, PRS for self-harm ideation were significantly associated with suicide thoughts and NSSH, and PRS for self-harm behaviour predicted suicide thoughts and suicide attempt. Follow up regressions identified a shared genetic aetiology between NSSH and suicide thoughts, and between suicide thoughts and suicide attempt. Evidence for shared genetic aetiology between NSSH and suicide attempt was not statistically significant. © 2020, The Author(s).
- Description: This research was conducted using data from the UK Biobank resource under application number 25331. AC-G is supported by a UQ Research Training Scholarship from The University of Queensland (UQ). MER thanks the support of the NHMRC and Australian Research Council (ARC), and National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) through a Research Fellowship (GNT1102821) and NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence in Suicide Prevention (GNT1042580). This research was made possible thanks to support from the US National Institutes of Health (grants AA013326, AA07535, AA0758O, AA07728, AA10249, AA13320, AA13321, AA14041, AA11998, AA17688, DA00272, DA012854, DA07261, DA018267, DA018660, DA23668 and DA019951); the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (241944, 339462, 389927, 389875, 389891, 389892, 389938, 442915, 442981, 496739, 552485, 552498, 628911 1047956); the Australian Research Council (A7960034, A79906588, A79801419, DP0770096, DP0212016 and DP0343921).
- Authors: Campos, Adrian , Verweij, Karin , Statham, Dixie , Madden, Pamela , Maciejewski, Dominique , Davis, Katrina , John, Ann , Hotopf, Matthew , Heath, Andrew , Martin, Nicholas , Rentería, Miguel
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Scientific Reports Vol. 10, no. 1 (2020), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Family studies have identified a heritable component to self-harm that is partially independent from comorbid psychiatric disorders. However, the genetic aetiology of broad sense (non-suicidal and suicidal) self-harm has not been characterised on the molecular level. In addition, controversy exists about the degree to which suicidal and non-suicidal self-harm share a common genetic aetiology. In the present study, we conduct genome-wide association studies (GWAS) on lifetime self-harm ideation and self-harm behaviour (i.e. any lifetime self-harm act regardless of suicidal intent) using data from the UK Biobank (n > 156,000). We also perform genome wide gene-based tests and characterize the SNP heritability and genetic correlations between these traits. Finally, we test whether polygenic risk scores (PRS) for self-harm ideation and self-harm behaviour predict suicide attempt, suicide thoughts and non-suicidal self-harm (NSSH) in an independent target sample of 8,703 Australian adults. Our GWAS results identified one genome-wide significant locus associated with each of the two phenotypes. SNP heritability (hsnp2) estimates were ~10%, and both traits were highly genetically correlated (LDSC rg > 0.8). Gene-based tests identified seven genes associated with self-harm ideation and four with self-harm behaviour. Furthermore, in the target sample, PRS for self-harm ideation were significantly associated with suicide thoughts and NSSH, and PRS for self-harm behaviour predicted suicide thoughts and suicide attempt. Follow up regressions identified a shared genetic aetiology between NSSH and suicide thoughts, and between suicide thoughts and suicide attempt. Evidence for shared genetic aetiology between NSSH and suicide attempt was not statistically significant. © 2020, The Author(s).
- Description: This research was conducted using data from the UK Biobank resource under application number 25331. AC-G is supported by a UQ Research Training Scholarship from The University of Queensland (UQ). MER thanks the support of the NHMRC and Australian Research Council (ARC), and National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) through a Research Fellowship (GNT1102821) and NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence in Suicide Prevention (GNT1042580). This research was made possible thanks to support from the US National Institutes of Health (grants AA013326, AA07535, AA0758O, AA07728, AA10249, AA13320, AA13321, AA14041, AA11998, AA17688, DA00272, DA012854, DA07261, DA018267, DA018660, DA23668 and DA019951); the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (241944, 339462, 389927, 389875, 389891, 389892, 389938, 442915, 442981, 496739, 552485, 552498, 628911 1047956); the Australian Research Council (A7960034, A79906588, A79801419, DP0770096, DP0212016 and DP0343921).
High intensity interval training (HIIT) improves cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) in healthy, overweight and obese adolescents : a systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled studies
- Martin-Smith, Rhona, Cox, Ashley, Buchan, Duncan, Baker, Julien, Grace, Fergal, Sculthorpe, Nicholas
- Authors: Martin-Smith, Rhona , Cox, Ashley , Buchan, Duncan , Baker, Julien , Grace, Fergal , Sculthorpe, Nicholas
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Vol. 17, no. 8 (2020), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Background: High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is a sustainable and effective method for improving Cardiorespiratory Fitness (CRF) in adolescents. HIIT is proven to produce equal or greater improvements in CRF when compared to moderate intensity continuous exercise (MICE) in adolescents. Methods: The studies included were considered eligible if: (1) Participants were adolescents (11–18 years old); (2) Examined changes in CRF measured either directly or indirectly; (3) Included a non-exercising control group or MICE comparison group; (4) Participants were matched at enrolment; (5) Reported HIIT protocol information; (6) Provided HIIT intensity. A meta-analysis was conducted to determine the effect of HIIT on CRF. Meta-regression and moderator analyses were performed out to quantitatively examine moderators of protocol design on CRF improvements. Results: HIIT displays a moderate effect to improve CRF (g = 0.86, 95% CI 0.518–1.106, p < 0.001). Neither study duration (weeks), nor total or weekly accumulated HIIT volume (min) displayed any significant moderation effect on pooled improvement on CRF (p > 0.05). Conclusions: HIIT is an effective method to improve CRF in adolescents, irrespective of body composition. Notably, meta regression analysis identified that prolonged high volume HIIT programs are similarly effective to short term low volume HIIT programs. This becomes of particular interest for those involved in school curricula, where short HIIT exercise may provide a pragmatic adjunct to the health benefits of Physical Education (PE) lessons. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
- Authors: Martin-Smith, Rhona , Cox, Ashley , Buchan, Duncan , Baker, Julien , Grace, Fergal , Sculthorpe, Nicholas
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Vol. 17, no. 8 (2020), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Background: High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is a sustainable and effective method for improving Cardiorespiratory Fitness (CRF) in adolescents. HIIT is proven to produce equal or greater improvements in CRF when compared to moderate intensity continuous exercise (MICE) in adolescents. Methods: The studies included were considered eligible if: (1) Participants were adolescents (11–18 years old); (2) Examined changes in CRF measured either directly or indirectly; (3) Included a non-exercising control group or MICE comparison group; (4) Participants were matched at enrolment; (5) Reported HIIT protocol information; (6) Provided HIIT intensity. A meta-analysis was conducted to determine the effect of HIIT on CRF. Meta-regression and moderator analyses were performed out to quantitatively examine moderators of protocol design on CRF improvements. Results: HIIT displays a moderate effect to improve CRF (g = 0.86, 95% CI 0.518–1.106, p < 0.001). Neither study duration (weeks), nor total or weekly accumulated HIIT volume (min) displayed any significant moderation effect on pooled improvement on CRF (p > 0.05). Conclusions: HIIT is an effective method to improve CRF in adolescents, irrespective of body composition. Notably, meta regression analysis identified that prolonged high volume HIIT programs are similarly effective to short term low volume HIIT programs. This becomes of particular interest for those involved in school curricula, where short HIIT exercise may provide a pragmatic adjunct to the health benefits of Physical Education (PE) lessons. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Influenza A virus causes maternal and fetal pathology via innate and adaptive vascular inflammation in mice
- Liong, Stella, Oseghale, Osezua, To, Eunice, Brassington, Kurt, Erlich, Jonathan, Luong, Raymond, Liong, Felicia, Brooks, Robert, Martin, Cara, O'Toole, Sharon, Vinh, Antony, O'Neill, Luke, Bozinovski, Steven, Vlahos, Ross, Papagianis, Paris, O'Leary, John, Brooks, Doug, Selemidis, Stavros
- Authors: Liong, Stella , Oseghale, Osezua , To, Eunice , Brassington, Kurt , Erlich, Jonathan , Luong, Raymond , Liong, Felicia , Brooks, Robert , Martin, Cara , O'Toole, Sharon , Vinh, Antony , O'Neill, Luke , Bozinovski, Steven , Vlahos, Ross , Papagianis, Paris , O'Leary, John , Brooks, Doug , Selemidis, Stavros
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Vol. 117, no. 40 (2020), p. 24964-24973
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Influenza A virus (IAV) infection during pregnancy causes severe maternal and perinatal complications, despite a lack of vertical transmission of IAV across the placenta. Here, we demonstrate a significant alteration in the maternal vascular landscape that underpins the maternal and downstream fetal pathology to IAV infection in mice. In IAV infection of nonpregnant mice, the local lung inflammatory response was contained to the lungs and was self-resolving, whereas in pregnant mice, virus dissemination to major maternal blood vessels, including the aorta, resulted in a peripheral "vascular storm," with elevated proinflammatory and antiviral mediators and the influx of Ly6Clow and Ly6Chigh monocytes, plus neutrophils and T cells. This vascular storm was associated with elevated levels of the adhesion molecules ICAM and VCAM and the pattern-recognition receptors TLR7 and TLR9 in the vascular wall, resulting in profound vascular dysfunction. The sequalae of this IAV-driven vascular storm included placental growth retardation and intrauterine growth restriction, evidence of placental and fetal brain hypoxia, and increased circulating cell free fetal DNA and soluble Flt1. In contrast, IAV infection in nonpregnant mice caused no obvious alterations in endothelial function or vascular inflammation. Therefore, IAV infection during pregnancy drives a significant systemic vascular alteration in pregnant dams, which likely suppresses critical blood flow to the placenta and fetus. This study in mice provides a fundamental mechanistic insight and a paradigm into how an immune response to a respiratory virus, such as IAV, is likely to specifically drive maternal and fetal pathologies during pregnancy. © 2020 National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
- Authors: Liong, Stella , Oseghale, Osezua , To, Eunice , Brassington, Kurt , Erlich, Jonathan , Luong, Raymond , Liong, Felicia , Brooks, Robert , Martin, Cara , O'Toole, Sharon , Vinh, Antony , O'Neill, Luke , Bozinovski, Steven , Vlahos, Ross , Papagianis, Paris , O'Leary, John , Brooks, Doug , Selemidis, Stavros
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Vol. 117, no. 40 (2020), p. 24964-24973
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Influenza A virus (IAV) infection during pregnancy causes severe maternal and perinatal complications, despite a lack of vertical transmission of IAV across the placenta. Here, we demonstrate a significant alteration in the maternal vascular landscape that underpins the maternal and downstream fetal pathology to IAV infection in mice. In IAV infection of nonpregnant mice, the local lung inflammatory response was contained to the lungs and was self-resolving, whereas in pregnant mice, virus dissemination to major maternal blood vessels, including the aorta, resulted in a peripheral "vascular storm," with elevated proinflammatory and antiviral mediators and the influx of Ly6Clow and Ly6Chigh monocytes, plus neutrophils and T cells. This vascular storm was associated with elevated levels of the adhesion molecules ICAM and VCAM and the pattern-recognition receptors TLR7 and TLR9 in the vascular wall, resulting in profound vascular dysfunction. The sequalae of this IAV-driven vascular storm included placental growth retardation and intrauterine growth restriction, evidence of placental and fetal brain hypoxia, and increased circulating cell free fetal DNA and soluble Flt1. In contrast, IAV infection in nonpregnant mice caused no obvious alterations in endothelial function or vascular inflammation. Therefore, IAV infection during pregnancy drives a significant systemic vascular alteration in pregnant dams, which likely suppresses critical blood flow to the placenta and fetus. This study in mice provides a fundamental mechanistic insight and a paradigm into how an immune response to a respiratory virus, such as IAV, is likely to specifically drive maternal and fetal pathologies during pregnancy. © 2020 National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Integration of palaeo-and-modern food webs reveal slow changes in a river floodplain wetland ecosystem
- Kattel, Giri, Eyre, Bradley, Gell, Peter
- Authors: Kattel, Giri , Eyre, Bradley , Gell, Peter
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Scientific Reports Vol. 10, no. 1 (2020), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Large rivers, including the Murray River system in southeast Australia, are disturbed by many activities. The arrival of European settlers to Australia by the mid-1800s transformed many floodplain wetlands of the lower Murray River system. River impoundment and flow regulation in the late 1800s and, from the 1930s, resulted in species invasion, and elevated nutrient concentrations causing widespread eutrophication. An integrated palaeoecology, and palaeo-and-modern food web approach, incorporating mixing models, was undertaken to reveal changes in a regulated wetland (i.e. Kings Billabong). The lack of preserved sediment suggests the wetland was naturally intermittent before 1890. After this time, when used as a water retention basin, the wetland experienced net sediment accumulation. Subfossil cladocerans, and δ13C of Daphnia, chironomid, and bulk sediment, all reflected an early productive, likely clear water state and shifts in trophic state following river regulation in the 1930s. Food web mixing models, based on δ13C and δ15N in subfossil and modern Daphnia, fish, and submerged and emergent macrophytes, also indicated a shift in the trophic relationships between fish and Daphnia. By the 1970s, a new state was established but a further significant alteration of nitrogen and carbon sources, and trophic interactions, continued through to the early 2000s. A possible switch from Daphnia as a prey of Australian Smelt could have modified the food web of the wetland by c. 2006. The timing of this change corresponded to the expansion of emergent macrophytes possibly due to landscape level disruptions. The evidence of these changes suggests a need for a broader understanding of the evolution of wetlands for the management of floodplains in the region. © 2020, The Author(s).
- Description: Funding details: National Key Research and Development Program of China Stem Cell and Translational Research, #2016YFC0402900 Funding details: National Key Research and Development Program of China Stem Cell and Translational Research, #2016YFE0201900 Funding details: Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science, Australian Research Council, ARC;ACES, DP160100248 Funding details: Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science, Australian Research Council, ARC;ACES, LE0668495
- Authors: Kattel, Giri , Eyre, Bradley , Gell, Peter
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Scientific Reports Vol. 10, no. 1 (2020), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Large rivers, including the Murray River system in southeast Australia, are disturbed by many activities. The arrival of European settlers to Australia by the mid-1800s transformed many floodplain wetlands of the lower Murray River system. River impoundment and flow regulation in the late 1800s and, from the 1930s, resulted in species invasion, and elevated nutrient concentrations causing widespread eutrophication. An integrated palaeoecology, and palaeo-and-modern food web approach, incorporating mixing models, was undertaken to reveal changes in a regulated wetland (i.e. Kings Billabong). The lack of preserved sediment suggests the wetland was naturally intermittent before 1890. After this time, when used as a water retention basin, the wetland experienced net sediment accumulation. Subfossil cladocerans, and δ13C of Daphnia, chironomid, and bulk sediment, all reflected an early productive, likely clear water state and shifts in trophic state following river regulation in the 1930s. Food web mixing models, based on δ13C and δ15N in subfossil and modern Daphnia, fish, and submerged and emergent macrophytes, also indicated a shift in the trophic relationships between fish and Daphnia. By the 1970s, a new state was established but a further significant alteration of nitrogen and carbon sources, and trophic interactions, continued through to the early 2000s. A possible switch from Daphnia as a prey of Australian Smelt could have modified the food web of the wetland by c. 2006. The timing of this change corresponded to the expansion of emergent macrophytes possibly due to landscape level disruptions. The evidence of these changes suggests a need for a broader understanding of the evolution of wetlands for the management of floodplains in the region. © 2020, The Author(s).
- Description: Funding details: National Key Research and Development Program of China Stem Cell and Translational Research, #2016YFC0402900 Funding details: National Key Research and Development Program of China Stem Cell and Translational Research, #2016YFE0201900 Funding details: Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science, Australian Research Council, ARC;ACES, DP160100248 Funding details: Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science, Australian Research Council, ARC;ACES, LE0668495
Internal and external validity of the brief version of the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire: Exploratory structural equation modelling
- Gomez, Rapson, Griffiths, Mark, Stavropoulos, Vasileios
- Authors: Gomez, Rapson , Griffiths, Mark , Stavropoulos, Vasileios
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: PLoS ONE Vol. 15, no. 4 (2020), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: The present study used exploratory structural equation modelling (ESEM) to examine the theorized dimension structure of the brief version of the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ-BR) at the scale-level (i.e., 11 lower-order primary factors loading on four higher-order factors) and item-level (sets of 12 items loading on 11 lower-order primary factors). A total of 214 adults from the community addressed the MPQ-BR and the Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS)/Behavioral Approach System (BAS) scales. The findings revealed poor fit and poorly defined factors at the item-level alongside adequate fit and well-defined factors at the scale-level. The higher-order factors in the latter model were supported for external validity in terms of demonstrating the expected theoretical and empirical correlations with the scales of the BIS/BAS scales. Result related implications for professional application, as well as potential revisions of the MPQ-BF are illustrated. © 2020 Gomez et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
- Authors: Gomez, Rapson , Griffiths, Mark , Stavropoulos, Vasileios
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: PLoS ONE Vol. 15, no. 4 (2020), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: The present study used exploratory structural equation modelling (ESEM) to examine the theorized dimension structure of the brief version of the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ-BR) at the scale-level (i.e., 11 lower-order primary factors loading on four higher-order factors) and item-level (sets of 12 items loading on 11 lower-order primary factors). A total of 214 adults from the community addressed the MPQ-BR and the Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS)/Behavioral Approach System (BAS) scales. The findings revealed poor fit and poorly defined factors at the item-level alongside adequate fit and well-defined factors at the scale-level. The higher-order factors in the latter model were supported for external validity in terms of demonstrating the expected theoretical and empirical correlations with the scales of the BIS/BAS scales. Result related implications for professional application, as well as potential revisions of the MPQ-BF are illustrated. © 2020 Gomez et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Investigating cumulative effects of preperformance routine interventions in beach volleyball serving
- Wergin, Vanessa, Beckmann, Jurgen, Gröpel, Peter, Mesagno, Christopher
- Authors: Wergin, Vanessa , Beckmann, Jurgen , Gröpel, Peter , Mesagno, Christopher
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: PLoS ONE Vol. 15, no. 1 (2020), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Pre-performance routines (PPRs) can be used in certain sports to minimize the effects of choking under pressure. This study aimed to investigate the cumulative effectiveness of PPR interventions on the accuracy of beach volleyball serves. Fifty-four beach volleyball players were randomly assigned to one of three PPR intervention groups or a control group. Participants performed 10 serves at a target on the opposite side of the beach volleyball court (pretest), were educated on a PPR intervention, and then completed 10 serves at the target under pressure that was induced through videotaping and ego-relevant instructions (posttest). The results indicated no difference in post-test serving accuracy among the intervention groups and the wait-list control group and no difference in effectiveness between cumulative and isolated PPR use. A possible explanation may be the inefficiency of the pressure manipulation. However, the null results related to isolated and cumulative PPR use under general (i.e., no pressure) conditions are still an important research finding. Future research should investigate the effectiveness of cumulative and other PPRs in other sports in general and under pressure. © 2020 Wergin et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Investigating cumulative effects of preperformance routine interventions in beach volleyball serving
- Authors: Wergin, Vanessa , Beckmann, Jurgen , Gröpel, Peter , Mesagno, Christopher
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: PLoS ONE Vol. 15, no. 1 (2020), p.
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- Description: Pre-performance routines (PPRs) can be used in certain sports to minimize the effects of choking under pressure. This study aimed to investigate the cumulative effectiveness of PPR interventions on the accuracy of beach volleyball serves. Fifty-four beach volleyball players were randomly assigned to one of three PPR intervention groups or a control group. Participants performed 10 serves at a target on the opposite side of the beach volleyball court (pretest), were educated on a PPR intervention, and then completed 10 serves at the target under pressure that was induced through videotaping and ego-relevant instructions (posttest). The results indicated no difference in post-test serving accuracy among the intervention groups and the wait-list control group and no difference in effectiveness between cumulative and isolated PPR use. A possible explanation may be the inefficiency of the pressure manipulation. However, the null results related to isolated and cumulative PPR use under general (i.e., no pressure) conditions are still an important research finding. Future research should investigate the effectiveness of cumulative and other PPRs in other sports in general and under pressure. © 2020 Wergin et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.