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The experiences of people with diabetes during covid-19 pandemic lockdown

  • Authors: Al-Moteri, Modi , Plummer, Virginia , Youssef, Hanan , Yaseen, Ruba , Al Malki, Mohammed , Elryah, Ahmed , Al Karani, Ahmed
  • Date: 2022
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Vol. 19, no. 1 (2022), p.
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  • Description: Little is known about the theoretical foundation underling the response of people with diabetes managing their everyday routines during COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Aim: To explore the experience of people with diabetes during COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in light of the risk perception, response and behavioral change theories. Method: A qualitative descriptive design was employed, and Braun and Clark’s six step analysis were used for thematic analysis. Semi-structured interviews were conducted online using Zoom Videos Communication. Result: Five themes were defined as follows: (1) perceived the threat and faced their fears, (2) appraised the damage, (3) identified the challenges, (4) modified their routine, and (5) identified the strengths that facilitate the efficacy of their response. There were eight sub-themes within the themes. Conclusion: The results of this study may provide an opportunity for nurses to reflect on issues highlighted by the patients regarding more effective communication, knowledge and skill development for people to support self-care during national emergencies. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

The Importance of the koala in Aboriginal society in nineteenth-century Queensland (Australia) : a reconsideration of the archival record

  • Authors: Cahir, David (Fred) , Schlagloth, Rolf , Clark, Ian
  • Date: 2022
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Anthrozoos Vol. 35, no. 1 (2022), p. 75-89
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  • Description: The principal purpose of this study was to gain a greater understanding of the utilitarian and symbolic significance of koalas for Aboriginal communities in Queensland, Australia as recorded by colonists during the early period of colonization and the early twentieth century. It does this primarily through a close examination of the nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century archival records and contemporary publications that relate to Queensland Aboriginal peoples’ associations with koalas. This paper is the third in a series investigating the historic and cultural importance of the koala according to the location in Australia. It likewise employs the historical method approach, which relies on identifying historical sources, evaluating their relative authority, and combining their testimony appropriately in order to construct an accurate and reliable picture of past events and environments. Through a critique of the published historical sources, the distribution of and the etymology of “koala” are briefly discussed before an examination is made of the animal’s spiritual importance, associated cultural traditions, and simultaneous utilitarian role. Mirroring previous studies published by the authors on Victoria and New South Wales, we confirm that the predominately non-Aboriginal historical records reveal that koalas were hunted for food and their skin in some Queensland regions. It shall be seen that the ethno-historical records are inconclusive about the koala’s distribution in Queensland, whether they were hunted across all of the state at the point of colonization and whether they were considered an integral food source in some regions. Furthermore, this study demonstrates that the extent to which they were used varied across regions and between language groups and was subject to certain rules, and that their spiritual significance can be traced directly to epic creation stories. The implications of this paper are consistent with the earlier New South Wales and Victorian studies: regional variations exist in Queensland in relation to the (pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial) historic relationship between Aboriginal communities and koalas and that close consultation with Aboriginal communities needs to be taken into consideration when planning conservation measures relating to koalas. © 2021 International Society for Anthrozoology (ISAZ).

The role of late-night infotainment comedy in communicating climate change consensus

  • Authors: Clarke, Edward , Klas, Anna , Stevenson, Joshua , Kothe, E
  • Date: 2022
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Environmental Communication Vol. 16, no. 3 (2022), p. 289-295
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  • Description: Climate change is a politically-polarized issue, with conservatives less likely than liberals to support mitigation and adaptation policies needed to reduce its impacts. This study aimed to examine whether John Oliver’s “A Mathematically Representative Climate Change Debate” clip on his program Last Week Tonight polarized or depolarized a politically-diverse audience on climate policy support and behavioral intentions. One hundred and fifty-nine participants, recruited via Amazon MTurk (94 female, 64 male, one not stated, Mage = 51.07, SDage = 16.35), were presented with either John Oliver’s climate change consensus clip, or a humorous video unrelated to climate change. Although the climate change consensus clip did not reduce polarization on mitigation policy support (or increase it), relative to a control, it resulted in larger polarization on support for adaptation policies, and higher climate action intentions among liberals but not conservatives. © 2022 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

The triple blow effect : retailing in an era of disasters and pandemics—the case of Christchurch, New Zealand

  • Authors: Dyason, David , Fieger, Peter , Prayag, Girish , Hall, C.
  • Date: 2022
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Sustainability (Switzerland) Vol. 14, no. 3 (2022), p.
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  • Description: In the last two decades, the retail sector has experienced unprecedented upheaval, having severe implications for economic development and sustenance of traditional inner-city retail dis-tricts. In the city of Christchurch, New Zealand, this effect has been exacerbated by a series of earthquakes in 2010/2011 which destroyed much of the traditional retail precinct of the city. After exten-sive rebuild activity of the city’s infrastructure, the momentum of retailers returning to the inner city was initially sluggish but eventually gathered speed supported by increased international vis-itation. In early 2020, the return to retail normality came to an abrupt halt after the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study uses spending and transaction data to analyze the compounding impact of the earthquake’s aftermath, shift to online shopping, and the retail disruption in the Christchurch central retail precinct because of COVID-19. The findings illustrate how consumers through their spending respond to different types of external shocks, altering their consumption patterns and retail mode (offline and online) to cope with an ever-changing retail landscape. Each event triggers different spending patterns that have some similarities but also stark differences, having implications for a sustainable and resilient retail industry in Christchurch. Implications for urban retail precinct development are also discussed. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Urban region profiling with spatio-temporal graph neural networks

  • Authors: Hou, Mingliang , Xia, Feng , Gao, Haoran , Chen, Xin , Chen, Honglong
  • Date: 2022
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: IEEE Transactions on Computational Social Systems Vol. 9, no. 6 (2022), p. 1736-1747
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  • Description: Region profiles are summaries of characteristics of urban regions. Region profiling is a process to discover the correlations between urban regions. The learned urban profiles can be used to represent and identify regions in supporting downstream tasks, e.g., region traffic status estimation. While some efforts have been made to model urban regions, representation learning with awareness of graph-structured data can improve the existing methods. To do this, we first construct an attribute spatio-temporal graph, in which a node represents a region, an edge represents mobility across regions, and a node attribute represents a region's point of interest (PoI) distribution. The problem of region profiling is reformulated as a representation learning problem based on attribute spatio-temporal graphs. To solve this problem, we developed URGENT, a spatio-temporal graph learning framework. URGENT is made up of two modules. The graph convolutional neural network is used in the first module to learn spatial dependencies. The second module is an encoding-decoding temporal learning structure with self-attention mechanism. Furthermore, we use the learned representations of regions to estimate region traffic status. Experimental results demonstrate that URGENT outperforms major baselines in estimation accuracy under various settings and produces more meaningful results. © 2014 IEEE.

Using historical tropical cyclone climate datasets to examine wind speed recurrence for coastal Australia

  • Authors: Bell, Samuel , Dowdy, Andrew , Ramsay, H. , Chand, Savin , Su, C. , Ye, Harvey
  • Date: 2022
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Scientific Reports Vol. 12, no. 1 (2022), p.
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  • Description: Likelihood estimates of extreme winds, including those from tropical cyclones (TCs) at certain locations are used to inform wind load standards for structural design. Here, wind speed average recurrence intervals (ARIs) determined from TC climate data dating back to the 1970s in two quantile–quantile adjusted reanalysis datasets (ERA5 and BARRA [1990]), and best-track observations for context, were compared with Standardized ARIs (AS/NZS) across seven tropical and two subtropical Australian inland coastal regions. The novelty of this work lies in determining TC-wind speed ARIs from a range of datasets that are not typically used to evaluate this metric. Inherent differences between the data used to determine the Standard ARIs (large sample size allow for larger extrapolations; GEV function) and TC data ARIs (smaller sample size and less certain data; the more asymptotic Lognormal/Weibull functions are used) led to the use of different extreme value functions. Results indicated that although these are two distinct ways of determining design wind speeds, when they are considered equivalent, there was a moderate reproduction of the ARI curves with respect to the Standard in both reanalysis datasets, suggesting that similar analyses using climate model products can provide useful information on these types of metrics with some caveats. Trends in TC wind strength affecting coastal Australia were also analyzed, indicating a potential slight downtrend in tropical West coast TC wind strength and slight uptrend for tropical East coast TC wind strength, noting considerable uncertainty given the short time period and limitations of data quality including over longer time periods. Such trends are not only limited to the relationship between TC intensity and anthropogenic warming, but also to regional changes in TC frequency and track direction. This could lead to significant trends emerging in regional Australian TC wind gust strength before several decades of warming have occurred. It is hoped that climate models can provide both longer-term and a more homogenous base for these types of evaluations and subsequent projections with respect to climate change simulations. © 2022, Crown.

Validating an inertial measurement unit for cricket fast bowling : a first step in assessing the feasibility of diagnosing back injury risk in cricket fast bowlers during a tele-sport-and-exercise medicine consultation

  • Authors: Harnett, Keegan , Plint, Brenda , Chan, Ka , Clark, Benjamin , Netto, Kevin , Davey, Paul , Müller, Sean , Rosalie, Simon
  • Date: 2022
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: PeerJ Vol. 10, no. (2022), p.
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  • Description: This study aimed to validate an array-based inertial measurement unit to measure cricket fast bowling kinematics as a first step in assessing feasibility for tele-sport-and-exercise medicine. We concurrently captured shoulder girdle relative to the pelvis, trunk lateral flexion, and knee flexion angles at front foot contact of eight cricket medium-fast bowlers using inertial measurement unit and optical motion capture. We used one sample t-tests and 95% limits of agreement (LOA) to determine the mean difference between the two systems and Smallest Worth-while Change statistic to determine whether any differences were meaningful. A statistically significant (p < 0.001) but small mean difference of -4.7̊ ± 8.6̊ (95% Confidence Interval (CI) [-3.1̊ to -6.4̊], LOA [-22.2 to 12.7], SWC 3.9̊) in shoulder girdle relative to the pelvis angle was found between the systems. There were no statistically significant differences between the two systems in trunk lateral flexion and knee flexion with the mean differences being 0.1̊ ± 10.8̊ (95% CI [-1.9̊ to 2.2̊], LOA [-22.5 to 22.7], SWC 1.2̊) and 1.6̊ ± 10.1̊ (95% CI [-0.2̊ to 3.3̊], LOA [-19.2 to 22.3], SWC 1.9̊) respectively. The inertial measurement unit-based system tested allows for accurate measurement of specific cricket fast bowling kinematics and could be used in determining injury risk in the context of tele-sport-and-exercise-medicine. Copyright 2022 Harnett et al.

A global-scale screening of non-native aquatic organisms to identify potentially invasive species under current and future climate conditions

  • Authors: Vilizzi, Lorenzo , Copp, Gordon , Hill, Jeffrey , Adamovich, Boris , Lloyd, Lance
  • Date: 2021
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Science of the Total Environment Vol. 788, no. (2021), p.
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  • Description: The threat posed by invasive non-native species worldwide requires a global approach to identify which introduced species are likely to pose an elevated risk of impact to native species and ecosystems. To inform policy, stakeholders and management decisions on global threats to aquatic ecosystems, 195 assessors representing 120 risk assessment areas across all six inhabited continents screened 819 non-native species from 15 groups of aquatic organisms (freshwater, brackish, marine plants and animals) using the Aquatic Species Invasiveness Screening Kit. This multi-lingual decision-support tool for the risk screening of aquatic organisms provides assessors with risk scores for a species under current and future climate change conditions that, following a statistically based calibration, permits the accurate classification of species into high-, medium- and low-risk categories under current and predicted climate conditions. The 1730 screenings undertaken encompassed wide geographical areas (regions, political entities, parts thereof, water bodies, river basins, lake drainage basins, and marine regions), which permitted thresholds to be identified for almost all aquatic organismal groups screened as well as for tropical, temperate and continental climate classes, and for tropical and temperate marine ecoregions. In total, 33 species were identified as posing a ‘very high risk’ of being or becoming invasive, and the scores of several of these species under current climate increased under future climate conditions, primarily due to their wide thermal tolerances. The risk thresholds determined for taxonomic groups and climate zones provide a basis against which area-specific or climate-based calibrated thresholds may be interpreted. In turn, the risk rankings help decision-makers identify which species require an immediate ‘rapid’ management action (e.g. eradication, control) to avoid or mitigate adverse impacts, which require a full risk assessment, and which are to be restricted or banned with regard to importation and/or sale as ornamental or aquarium/fishery enhancement. © 2021 The Authors. **Please note that there are multiple authors for this article therefore only the name of the first 5 including Federation University Australia affiliate “Lance Lloyd" is provided in this record**

An annotated catalog of Iranian Symphypleona and Neelipleona (Hexapoda: Collembola) : new records and key to species

  • Authors: Mayvan, Mahmood , Sadeghi-Namaghi, Hussein , Shayanmehr, Masoumeh , Greenslade, Penelope
  • Date: 2021
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Journal of Asia-Pacific Biodiversity Vol. 14, no. 4 (2021), p. 501-513
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  • Description: This article provides an annotated catalog of the Symphypleona and Neelipleona (Hexapoda: Collembola) of Iran based on published literature and specimens recently collected from three different ecosystems in North Khorasan province (Forest, Rangeland, and Agricultural) of the years 2018 and 2019. Thirty-five species in seven families and 17 genera are listed. Among them, Megalothorax minimus and Bourletiella sp. are recorded for the first time from Iran. An updated key to the Iranian species and information on the biology and geographical distribution of each species is provided. © 2021 National Science Museum of Korea (NSMK) and Korea National Arboretum (KNA)

An empirical analysis of sediment export dynamics from a constructed landform in the wet tropics

  • Authors: Yavari, Shahla , McIntyre, Neil , Baumgartl, Thomas
  • Date: 2021
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Water (Switzerland) Vol. 13, no. 8 (2021), p.
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  • Description: Although plot-scale erosion experiments are numerous, there are few studies on constructed landforms. This limits the understanding of their long-term stability, which is especially important for planning mined land rehabilitation. The objective of this study was to gain insight into the erosion processes in a 30 × 30 m trial plot on a mine waste rock dump in tropical northern Australia. The relationships between rainfall, runoff and suspended and bedload sediment export were assessed at annual, seasonal, inter-event and intra-event timescales. During a five-year study period, 231 rainfall– runoff–sediment export events were examined. The measured bedload and suspended sediments (mainly represented in nephelometric turbidity units (NTU)) showed the dominance of the wet season and heavy rainfall events. The bedload dominated the total mass, although the annual bedload diminished by approximately 75% over the five years, with greater flow energy required over time to mobilise the same bedload. The suspended load was more sustained, though it also exhibited an exhaustion process, with equal rainfall and runoff volumes and intensities, leading to lower NTU values over time. Intra-event NTU dynamics, including runoff-NTU time lags and hysteretic behaviours, were somewhat random from one event to the next, indicating the influence of the antecedent distribution of mobilisable sediments. The value of the results for supporting predictive modelling is discussed. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Analysis of water quantity and quality trade-offs to inform selective harvesting of inflows in complex water resource systems

  • Authors: Dey, Sayani , Barton, Andrew , Kandra, Harpreet , Bagirov, Adil , Wilson, Kym
  • Date: 2021
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Water Resources Management Vol. 35, no. 12 (2021), p. 4149-4165
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  • Description: Challenges faced by water resource systems are multi-faceted. The problem can be even more pronounced in a dry continent like Australia where the water resources can often be afflicted by high salinity and turbidity. Therefore, modern water resource systems require to appropriately manage both water quality and quantity. This study aims to illustrate the trade-offs between water quantity and quality in a reservoir, based on decisions to harvest different inflow sources. Taylors Lake of the Grampians reservoir system in Western Victoria, Australia was chosen as the case study for this research as it is sufficiently complex and includes many of the contemporary water resources challenges seen around the world. Different operational scenarios were analysed which included increasingly stringent water quality criteria before the water was harvested or otherwise allowed to by-pass the storage. The study suggests that selective harvesting of water can be an option to improve the overall and long-term water quality within a reservoir, but stringent water quality measures can lead to an associated loss of overall water quantity. This research study provides useful insight to water planners and stakeholders in similar catchment settings around the world, to identify water harvesting regimes with competing water quality constraints. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V. Correction to: Analysis of Water Quantity and Quality Trade‑Offs to Inform Selective Harvesting of Inflows in Complex Water Resource Systems (Water Resources Management, (2021), 35, 12, (4149-4165), 10.1007/s11269-021-02936-x)

Association between nocturnal activity of the sympathetic nervous system and cognitive dysfunction in obstructive sleep apnoea

  • Authors: Alomri, Ridwan , Kennedy, Gerard , Wali, Siraj , Alhejaili, Faris , Robinson, Stephen
  • Date: 2021
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Scientific Reports Vol. 11, no. 1 (2021), p. 11990-11990.
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  • Description: Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is associated with repetitive breathing obstructions during sleep. These episodes of hypoxia and associated arousals from sleep induce physiological stress and nocturnal over-activation of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). One consequence of OSA is impairment in a range of cognitive domains. Previous research into cognitive impairment in OSA have focussed on intermittent hypoxia and disrupted sleep, but not nocturnal over-activation of the SNS. Therefore, we investigated whether nocturnal over-activity of the SNS was associated with cognitive impairments in OSA. The extent of nocturnal SNS activation was estimated from heart rate variability (HRV), pulse wave amplitude (PWA) and stress response biomarkers (cortisol and glucose levels). OSA severity was significantly associated with PWA indices and the HRV low frequency/ high frequency ratio (p < 0.05). Morning blood glucose levels were significantly associated with the duration of a blood oxygen saturation (SaO2) < 90% (p < 0.01). PWA and HRV were significantly associated with the time taken to perform a task involving visuospatial functioning (p < 0.05), but not with impairments in sustained attention, reaction time or autobiographical memory. These results suggest that the visuospatial dysfunction observed in people with OSA is associated with increased nocturnal activity of the SNS. © 2021, The Author(s).

Associations of the initial Covid-19 lockdown on self-reported happiness and worry about developing loneliness : a cross-sectional analysis of rural, regional, and urban Australian communities

  • Authors: Isaac, Vivian , Cheng, Teresa , Townsin, Louise , Assareh, Hassan , Li, Amy , McLachlan, Craig
  • Date: 2021
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Vol. 18, no. 18 (2021), p.
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  • Description: Australia adopted hard lockdown measures to eliminate community transmission of COVID-19. Lockdown imposes periods of social isolation that contributes to increased levels of stress, anxiety, depression, loneliness, and worry. We examined whether lockdowns have similar psychosocial associations across rural and urban areas and whether associations existed between happiness and worry of loneliness in the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. Data were collected using the “COVID-19 Living Survey” between 13 and 20 May 2020 by BehaviourWorks Australia at the Monash Sustainable Development Institute. The mean self-reported feeling of happiness and anxiousness (N = 1593), on a 10-point Likert scale with 0 being least happy or highly anxious, was 6.5 (SD = 2.4) and 3.9 (2.9), respectively. Factors associated with happiness were older age and having a postgraduate education. Participants worried about becoming lonely also exhibited reduced happiness (estimate = −1.58, 95%CI = −1.84–−1.32) and higher anxiousness (2.22, 1.93–2.51) scores, and these conditions remained associated after adjusting for demographics. Interestingly, worry about loneliness was greater in rural areas than in urban communities. The negative impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on rural youth and those less-educated was evident. Participants in rural Australia who were worried about becoming lonely were reportedly less happy than participants in major cities. This dataset provides a better understanding of factors that influence psychological well-being and quality of life in the Australian population and helps to determine whether happiness may be an associative factor that could mitigate self-feelings of anxiety and worry about loneliness. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

AusTraits, a curated plant trait database for the Australian flora

  • Authors: Falster, Daniel , Gallagher, Rachael , Wenk, Elizabeth , Wright, Ian , Cheal, David
  • Date: 2021
  • Type: Text , Journal article , Data article
  • Relation: Scientific Data Vol. 8, no. 1 (2021), p.
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  • Description: We introduce the AusTraits database - a compilation of values of plant traits for taxa in the Australian flora (hereafter AusTraits). AusTraits synthesises data on 448 traits across 28,640 taxa from field campaigns, published literature, taxonomic monographs, and individual taxon descriptions. Traits vary in scope from physiological measures of performance (e.g. photosynthetic gas exchange, water-use efficiency) to morphological attributes (e.g. leaf area, seed mass, plant height) which link to aspects of ecological variation. AusTraits contains curated and harmonised individual- and species-level measurements coupled to, where available, contextual information on site properties and experimental conditions. This article provides information on version 3.0.2 of AusTraits which contains data for 997,808 trait-by-taxon combinations. We envision AusTraits as an ongoing collaborative initiative for easily archiving and sharing trait data, which also provides a template for other national or regional initiatives globally to fill persistent gaps in trait knowledge. © 2021, 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 “David Cheal" is provided in this record**

Blood–brain barrier disruption and ventricular enlargement are the earliest neuropathological changes in rats with repeated sub-concussive impacts over 2 weeks

  • Authors: Hiles-Murison, Bailey , Lavender, Andrew , Hackett, Mark , Armstrong, Joshua , Nesbit, Michael
  • Date: 2021
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Scientific Reports Vol. 11, no. 1 (2021), p.
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  • Description: Repeated sub-concussive impact (e.g. soccer ball heading), a significantly lighter form of mild traumatic brain injury, is increasingly suggested to cumulatively alter brain structure and compromise neurobehavioural function in the long-term. However, the underlying mechanisms whereby repeated long-term sub-concussion induces cerebral structural and neurobehavioural changes are currently unknown. Here, we utilised an established rat model to investigate the effects of repeated sub-concussion on size of lateral ventricles, cerebrovascular blood–brain barrier (BBB) integrity, neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, and biochemical distribution. Following repeated sub-concussion 3 days per week for 2 weeks, the rats showed significantly enlarged lateral ventricles compared with the rats receiving sham-only procedure. The sub-concussive rats also presented significant BBB dysfunction in the cerebral cortex and hippocampal formation, whilst neuromotor function assessed by beamwalk and rotarod tests were comparable to the sham rats. Immunofluorescent and spectroscopic microscopy analyses revealed no significant changes in neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, lipid distribution or protein aggregation, within the hippocampus and cortex. These data collectively indicate that repeated sub-concussion for 2 weeks induce significant ventriculomegaly and BBB disruption, preceding neuromotor deficits. © 2021, 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 “Andrew Lavender” is provided in this record**

Can optimum solar radiation exposure or supplemented vitamin D intake reduce the severity of COVID-19 symptoms?

  • Authors: Abraham, Joji , Dowling, Kim , Florentine, Singarayer
  • Date: 2021
  • Type: Text , Journal article , Review
  • Relation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Vol. 18, no. 2 (2021), p. 1-21
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  • Description: The foremost mortality-causing symptom associated with COVID-19 is acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). A significant correlation has been identified between the deficiency in vitamin D and the risk of developing ARDS. It has been suggested that if we can reduce or modify ARDS in COVID-19 patients, we may significantly reduce the severity of COVID-19 symptoms and associated mortality rates. The increased mortality of dark-skinned people, who have a reduced UV absorption capacity, may be consistent with diminished vitamin D status. The factors associated with COVID-19 mortality, such as old age, ethnicity, obesity, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes, are all found to be linked with vitamin D deficiency. Based on this review and as a precautionary measure, it is suggested that the adoption of appropriate and safe solar exposure and vitamin D enriched foods and supplements should be considered to reduce the possible severity of COVID-19 symptoms. Safe sun exposure is deemed beneficial globally, specifically in low and middle- income countries, as there is no cost involved. It is also noted that improved solar exposure and vitamin D levels can reduce the impact of other diseases as well, thus assisting in maintaining general human well-being. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Changes in tobacco use patterns during COVID-19 and their correlates among older adults in Bangladesh

  • Authors: Mistry, Sabuj , Ali, , Armm , Rahman, Md Ashfikur , Yadav, , Uday , Rahman, Muhammad Aziz
  • Date: 2021
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Vol. 18, no. 4 (2021), p. 1-11
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  • Description: The present study explored the changes in tobacco use patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic and their correlates among older adults in Bangladesh. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 1032 older adults aged ≥60 years in Bangladesh through telephone interviews in October 2020. Participants’ characteristics and COVID-19-related information were gathered using a pretested semi-structured questionnaire. Participants were asked if they noted any change in their tobacco use patterns (smoking or smokeless tobacco) during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to pre-pandemic (6 months prior to the survey). Nearly half of the participants (45.6%) were current tobacco users, of whom 15.9% reported increased tobacco use during the COVID-19 pandemic and all others had no change in their tobacco use patterns. Tobacco use was significantly increased among the participants from rural areas, who had reduced communications during COVID-19 compared to pre-pandemic (OR = 2.76, 95%CI:1.51–5.03). Participants who were aged ≥70 years (OR = 0.33, 95% CI: 0.14–0.77), widowed (OR = 0.36, 95% CI: 0.13–1.00), had pre-existing, non-communi-cable, and/or chronic conditions (OR = 0.44, 95% CI:0.25–0.78), and felt themselves at the highest risk of COVID-19 (OR = 0.31, 95% CI: 0.15–0.62), had significantly lower odds of increased tobacco use. Policy makers and practitioners need to focus on strengthening awareness and raising initia-tives to avoid tobacco use during such a crisis period. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. **Please note that there are multiple authors for this article therefore only the name of the first 5 including Federation University Australia affiliate “Muhammad Aziz Rahman” is provided in this record**

Continuing the discussion about ecological futures for the lower Murray River (Australia) in the Anthropocene

  • Authors: Finlayson, C. Max , Gell, Peter , Conallin, John
  • Date: 2021
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Marine and Freshwater Research Vol. 73, no. 10 (2021), p. 1241-1244
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  • Description: The lower Murray River (Australia) has been subject to considerable change from human activities, including the conversion of a variable flow system to one with regulated water levels and the conversion of the estuary to a freshwater system. These conditions will face further pressures owing to reduced flows and higher sea levels associated with climate change. Policy decisions to retain present target conditions could be reconsidered to improve habitat conditions for wetlands, native fish and waterbirds. Contrary to many views, this would be permissible under the Ramsar Convention and, by increasing the diversity of conditions, may assist managers to retain functional systems. This paper encourages a new conversation across the broader community to develop pathways to prepare for emerging pressures on the riverine ecosystems, and move into anthropogenic futures for the Lower Murray. © 2021 CSIRO. All rights reserved.

Data-driven decision-making in COVID-19 response : a survey

  • 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
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  • 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.

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

  • 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
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  • 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.