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A Scoping review of autism and the way it changes the presentation of suicidal thoughts and behavior compared to the general population

  • Authors: Cleary, Michelle , West, Sancia , McLean, Loyola , Hunt, Glenn , Hungerford, Catherine , Kornhaber, Rachel
  • Date: 2023
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Issues Mental Health Nursing Vol. 44, no. 4 (2023), p. 282-301
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  • Description: Autism spectrum conditions are a group of neurodevelopmental conditions that carries an array of co-occurring diagnoses, including a heightened risk of suicide attempts and suicide. This scoping review examined primary research focusing on autism and suicidality, to understand what is currently known on the topic, including how autism changes the presentation of suicidal thoughts and behavior and to assess the suicide awareness and prevention education programs currently available for autistic people, their families, and health professionals and support workers. A comprehensive search (November 2021) across Scopus, PubMed and CINAHL identified 39 articles from 38 studies. Three themes emerged, with five subthemes. 1. The prevalence of suicidality in autistic people 2. The presentation of suicidality in autistic people, including (a) risk of suicidality (b) gender, age, employment and education (c) co-occurring psychiatric conditions (d) autism traits and social communication (e) intellectual disability and 3. Autism-specific approaches to suicidal thoughts, behavior and prevention. Findings were mixed, including conflicting evidence on the risk of autism and suicidality, and limited evidence of resources related to autism-specific suicide awareness or information, and education or prevention programs.

A simultaneous power and data transmission technology based on coil multiplexing in domino-resonator WPT systems

  • Authors: Li, Yong , Yang, Xiao , Sun, Wenjun , Hu, Jiefeng , He, Zhengyou
  • Date: 2023
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics Vol. 38, no. 3 (2023), p. 2878-2883
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  • Description: To achieve parallel power and data transmission in domino-resonator wireless power transfer (WPT) systems, a novel simultaneous power, and data transfer (SPDT) technology based on coil multiplexing is proposed in this letter. Benefiting from the magnetic field characteristics of the bipolar coil structure, the power and data can be injected into multiplexed coils with different flow directions, leading to opposite induced voltage polarities in each coupling coil. Subsequently, a corresponding resonator circuit is developed to form independent power and data resonance loops. In addition, an injected data transmission scheme is developed for domino-resonator WPT systems. Compared with traditional SPDT methods, additional wave trappers and coupling structures are avoided by this proposed technology, and the interference between power and data transfer is significantly eliminated. A 23.6 W laboratory prototype with five domino resonators is built to validate the feasibility of this proposed technology. The experimental results show that the power transfer efficiency reaches 70% at 50 kb/s data transfer rate. © 1986-2012 IEEE.

A smart healthcare framework for detection and monitoring of COVID-19 using IoT and cloud computing

  • Authors: Nasser, Nidal , Emad-ul-Haq, Qazi , Imran, Muhammad , Ali, Asmaa , Razzak, Imran , Al-Helali, Abdulaziz
  • Date: 2023
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Neural Computing and Applications Vol. 35, no. 19 (2023), p. 13775-13789
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  • Description: Coronavirus (COVID-19) is a very contagious infection that has drawn the world’s attention. Modeling such diseases can be extremely valuable in predicting their effects. Although classic statistical modeling may provide adequate models, it may also fail to understand the data’s intricacy. An automatic COVID-19 detection system based on computed tomography (CT) scan or X-ray images is effective, but a robust system design is challenging. In this study, we propose an intelligent healthcare system that integrates IoT-cloud technologies. This architecture uses smart connectivity sensors and deep learning (DL) for intelligent decision-making from the perspective of the smart city. The intelligent system tracks the status of patients in real time and delivers reliable, timely, and high-quality healthcare facilities at a low cost. COVID-19 detection experiments are performed using DL to test the viability of the proposed system. We use a sensor for recording, transferring, and tracking healthcare data. CT scan images from patients are sent to the cloud by IoT sensors, where the cognitive module is stored. The system decides the patient status by examining the images of the CT scan. The DL cognitive module makes the real-time decision on the possible course of action. When information is conveyed to a cognitive module, we use a state-of-the-art classification algorithm based on DL, i.e., ResNet50, to detect and classify whether the patients are normal or infected by COVID-19. We validate the proposed system’s robustness and effectiveness using two benchmark publicly available datasets (Covid-Chestxray dataset and Chex-Pert dataset). At first, a dataset of 6000 images is prepared from the above two datasets. The proposed system was trained on the collection of images from 80% of the datasets and tested with 20% of the data. Cross-validation is performed using a tenfold cross-validation technique for performance evaluation. The results indicate that the proposed system gives an accuracy of 98.6%, a sensitivity of 97.3%, a specificity of 98.2%, and an F1-score of 97.87%. Results clearly show that the accuracy, specificity, sensitivity, and F1-score of our proposed method are high. The comparison shows that the proposed system performs better than the existing state-of-the-art systems. The proposed system will be helpful in medical diagnosis research and healthcare systems. It will also support the medical experts for COVID-19 screening and lead to a precious second opinion. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag London Ltd., part of Springer Nature.

A step toward restoring hand functions in patients with multiple sclerosis—a study protocol

  • Authors: Zoghi, Maryam , Jaberzadeh, Shapour
  • Date: 2023
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Frontiers in Rehabilitation Sciences Vol. 4, no. (2023), p.
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  • Description: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by inflammation, demyelination of axons, and oligodendrocyte loss in the central nervous system. This leads to neurological dysfunction, including hand impairment, which is prevalent among patients with MS. However, hand impairment is the least targeted area for neurorehabilitation studies. Therefore, this study proposes a novel approach to improve hand functions compared to current strategies. Studies have shown that learning new skills in the motor cortex (M1) can trigger the production of oligodendrocytes and myelin, which is a critical mechanism for neuroplasticity. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been used to enhance motor learning and function in human subjects. However, tDCS induces non-specific effects, and concurrent behavioral training has been found to optimize its benefits. Recent research indicates that applying tDCS during motor learning can have priming effects on the long-term potentiation mechanism and prolong the effects of motor training in health and disease. Therefore, this study aims to assess whether applying repeated tDCS during the learning of a new motor skill in M1 can be more effective in improving hand functions in patients with MS than current neurorehabilitation strategies. If this approach proves successful in improving hand functions in patients with MS, it could be adopted as a new approach to restore hand functions. Additionally, if the application of tDCS demonstrates an accumulative effect in improving hand functions in patients with MS, it could provide an adjunct intervention during rehabilitation for these patients. This study will contribute to the growing body of literature on the use of tDCS in neurorehabilitation and could have a significant impact on the quality of life of patients with MS. 2023 Zoghi and Jaberzadeh.

A study of teacher educators’ work : complexity and confrontation

  • Authors: McDonough, Sharon , Brandenburg, Robyn , Moran, Wendy
  • Date: 2023
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Educational Forum Vol. 87, no. 4 (2023), p. 334-346
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  • Description: Using pedagogical confrontations as a lens for a study of teacher educator work, we identify the way that teacher educator practice is mediated by teacher educator values and beliefs. We highlight the ways that an examination of these confrontations provides greater understanding of the pedagogy, practice, and decision-making of teacher educators and contend that analysis of practice is vital to revealing the complexity of teacher educator work. © 2023 Kappa Delta Pi.

A study on critical failure factors of Design for Six Sigma in Indian companies : results from a pilot survey

  • Authors: Bhat, Shreeranga , Antony, Jiju , Gijo, E. , Koul, Rajesh , Cudney, Elizabeth , Chakraborty, Ayon
  • Date: 2023
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: TQM Journal Vol. 35, no. 4 (2023), p. 1072-1093
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  • Description: Purpose: While Six Sigma (SS) has been deployed effectively in Indian manufacturing and service sectors as a process improvement methodology, the implementation of Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) for robust product and service development has not shown noticeable results. Therefore, this article aims to determine the critical failure factors (CFFs) of DFSS in the Indian context. Design/methodology/approach: The paper presents the results of a pilot survey on the CFFs of DFSS in Indian companies. The survey participants were specialists in DFSS who have been involved in DFSS projects in their past and present companies. Moreover, the pilot study participants were DFSS Champions, Master Black Belts, Black Belts and Green Belts from the manufacturing and service sectors. Findings: Company-wide applications of DFSS are very limited in India. Most of the DFSS project failures are reported in the Analyse phase of the project. The results indicated that all 18 CFFs used in the survey have a significant impact on project failures. Also, it was determined that all CFFs are positively correlated with each other. Further, a strong correlation was observed between the voice of the customer (VOC) and project selection and prioritisation. In addition, effective training showed a strong correlation with the right selection of tools. Research limitations/implications: The pilot survey was based on a limited sample size. Moreover, the study is confined to only the Indian context and data were collected through the authors' networks. However, respondents were proficient, certified and involved in DFSS project deployment in the manufacturing and service sectors. Therefore, the study's findings are useful and meaningful to draw robust inferences. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first empirical study conducted in the Indian context to identify the reasons for DFSS project failures. The study's findings can aid academicians and practitioners in comprehending and critically examining the CFFs of DFSS before executing a project. Moreover, the research outcome motivates policymakers to create an ecosystem to effectively adopt DFSS for start-ups and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) to ensure a circular economy and support the “Atmanirbhar Bharat” initiative. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.

A systematic literature review of workplace physical activity programs : an exploration of barriers and enabling factors

  • Authors: Dabkowski, Elissa , Porter, Joanne , Barbagallo, Michael , Prokopiv, Val , Snell, Christopher , Missen, Karen
  • Date: 2023
  • Type: Text , Journal article , Review
  • Relation: Cogent Psychology Vol. 10, no. 1 (2023), p.
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  • Description: Physical inactivity continues to be a global issue with many adolescents and adults failing to meet the recommendations for daily exercise. Efforts to reduce physical inactivity in adults include the incorporation of strategies such as workplace physical activity programs, especially for sedentary workers. In this systematic literature review we examined current literature about the efficacy of workplace physical activity programs, as well as the barriers and enablers to these programs. Six EBSCO databases were searched (Academic Search Complete, CINAHL Complete, MEDLINE, APA PsycInfo, APA PsycArticles and SPORTDiscus with full text) between a ten year period (2011 to 2021). The search terms used were “physical activity”, “workplace” and “program” along with their variations. Following a systematic process, eighteen papers met the eligibility criteria. The authors analysed the findings using a narrative synthesis, in which four themes emerged from the data. These include Benefits to physical health, Benefits to mental health, Barriers to workplace physical activity and Workplace activity enablers. These findings provided several recommendations for organizations that endeavour to improve the health of workplace employees. Generalised workplace physical activity programs were viewed favourably by both employees and employers. Incorporating these practices into daily work structures may provide favourable outcomes such as increased work productivity and reduced physical inactivity. © 2023 The Author(s). This open access article is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license.

A systematic review of demographic and background factors associated with the development of children’s aquatic competence

  • Authors: Duke, Charlotte , Calverley, Hannah , Petrass, Lauren , Peters, Jacqui , Moncrieff, Kate , Konjarski, Loretta , Matthews, Bernadette
  • Date: 2023
  • Type: Text , Journal article , Review
  • Relation: Injury Epidemiology Vol. 10, no. 1 (2023), p.
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  • Description: Background: Globally, drowning is a leading cause of unintentional injury and death among children. Teaching aquatic competencies (swimming skills and water safety knowledge) to children has been proposed as a prevention strategy. In Australia, however, many children are not meeting standard aquatic competency benchmarks. Exploration of the connection between demographic and background factors and aquatic competencies could provide insight into why differences in acquisition of aquatic knowledge and skills occur. Main body: A systematic literature review guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses was performed to identify studies that reported on the association between demographic and background factors and aquatic competencies. Nine databases were searched for English language peer-reviewed studies published since 2000. Fourteen studies fulfilled all inclusion criteria. Studies were quasi-experimental or cross-sectional in design, which is considered quality level III-2 or IV, respectively, on the National Health and Medical Research Council Evidence Hierarchy. Study quality was moderate, and risk of bias was high. While aquatic competencies can be taught, this review found that factors including age, gender, geographic residence, medical conditions/disabilities, socioeconomic status, and swimming frequency were significantly associated with the demonstration and/or acquisition of aquatic competencies. Conclusion: This review provides insight into demographic and background factors that are significantly associated with the development of aquatic competence. Whilst further investigation is required to increase the evidence base, these findings may assist in tailoring swimming and water safety programs to accommodate those at-risk of not achieving age-appropriate aquatic competencies. © 2023, Columbia University Center for Injury Epidemiology and Prevention.

A systematic review of industrial wastewater management : evaluating challenges and enablers

  • Authors: Singh, Bikram , Chakraborty, Ayon , Sehgal, Rippin
  • Date: 2023
  • Type: Text , Journal article , Review
  • Relation: Journal of Environmental Management Vol. 348, no. (2023), p.
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  • Description: The study provides a systematic literature review (SLR) encompassing industrial wastewater management research from the past decade, examining enablers, challenges, and prevailing practices. Originating from manufacturing, energy production, and diverse industrial processes, industrial wastewater's handling is critical due to its potential to impact the environment and public health. The research aims to comprehend the current state of industrial wastewater management, pinpoint gaps, and outline future research prospects. The SLR methodology involves scouring the Scopus database, yielding an initial pool of 253 articles. Refinement via search code leaves 101 articles, followed by abstract screening that reduces articles to 79, and finally 66 well-focused articles left for thorough full-text examination. Results underscore the significance of regulatory frameworks, technological innovation, and sustainability considerations as cornerstones for effective wastewater management. However, substantial impediments like; inadequate infrastructure, resource constraints and the necessity for stakeholder collaboration still exist. The study highlights emerging research domains, exemplified by advanced technologies like nanotechnology and bioremediation, alongside the pivotal role of circular economy principles in wastewater management. The SLR offers an exhaustive view of contemporary industrial wastewater management, accentuating the imperative of an all-encompassing approach that integrates regulatory, technological, and sustainability facets. Notably, the research identifies gaps and opportunities for forthcoming exploration, advocating for interdisciplinary research and intensified stakeholder collaboration. The study's insights cater to policymakers, practitioners, and researchers, equipping them to address the challenges and capitalize on prospects in industrial wastewater management effectively. © 2023 The Author(s)

A systematic review of preceptor's experience in supervising undergraduate nursing students : lessons learned for mental health nursing

  • Authors: Benny, Jessy , Porter, Joanne , Joseph, Bindu
  • Date: 2023
  • Type: Text , Journal article , Review
  • Relation: Nursing Open Vol. 10, no. 4 (2023), p. 2003-2014
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  • Description: Background: Preceptorship in nursing has been a valued concept in nursing. Speciality area such as mental health nursing has a massive gap in research study. To develop sturdy mental health nursing workforce, it is necessary to conduct more studies. Aim: This literature review aims to explore preceptor's experience in precepting undergraduate nursing students in mental health. Design: Systematic review of literature. Methods: The systematic review was conducted from January 2021 to August 2021. Population of the studies included Registered Nurses supervising nursing students in the clinical area. Only studies conducted in English were included. A systematic search using EBSCO Host databases, CINAHL Complete, MEDLINE APA Psycinfo & APA PsycArticles, has been used in this review paper. Papers were also selected from the citation reference of included papers. The new version of the PRISMA 2020 guidelines used to represent the process of selection of papers has been incorporated as part of this review. The final set of data included 14 original papers meeting the eligibility criteria which involved quantitative (n = 5), qualitative (n = 4) and mixed-method studies (n = 5). Result: Results were presented under three major themes: time-consuming, lack of recognition and need extra support. Further research is required in the mental health clinical setting to effectively explore the impact of relationships between preceptors and the preceptees. Conclusion: Preceptors reported supervising students in the clinical area has many benefits. However, some challenges they raised were increase in workload, requiring some guidance and acknowledgement from the organization. © 2022 The Authors. Nursing Open published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A systematic review of wheelchair and mobility scooter containment systems used internationally on public transit buses

  • Authors: Unsworth, Carolyn , Timmer, Amanda
  • Date: 2023
  • Type: Text , Journal article , Review
  • Relation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Vol. 20, no. 20 (2023), p.
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  • Description: Despite the daily need for people to travel on public transit buses using their wheeled mobility devices, relatively little information is available regarding the most efficacious, affordable, and independent approaches to assist passengers with keeping their mobility devices in the designated wheelchair access space. A systematic review was undertaken to summarize this literature, place it within a geographical and temporal context, appraise its quality, and establish common themes. Key academic and grey literature transportation databases and government websites searched from 1990 to May 2022 identified 33 documents, which were appraised using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) or the Authority, Accuracy, Coverage, Objectivity, Date, Significance (AACODS) tool. Overall, the documents included were of good quality. The literature retrieved focused on the development and testing of the active containment systems favored for use in North America with a contrastingly small examination of the effectiveness of passive or semi-passive containment systems. Almost no literature was retrieved in English from European researchers documenting the use or effectiveness of rearward-facing passive systems. While tip or slide events are relatively rare among mobility device users, the effective use of containment systems is vital to minimize these. Further research is required to support transport policy makers, operators, and bus drivers to identify and correctly implement optimal containment systems to promote safety for all passengers on public buses. © 2023 by the authors.

A three-stage developmental pathway for human V

A true triaxial strength criterion for rocks by gene expression programming

  • Authors: Zhou, Jian , Zhang, Rui , Qiu, Yingui , Khandelwal, Manoj
  • Date: 2023
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering Vol. 15, no. 10 (2023), p. 2508-2520
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  • Description: Rock strength is a crucial factor to consider when designing and constructing underground projects. This study utilizes a gene expression programming (GEP) algorithm-based model to predict the true triaxial strength of rocks, taking into account the influence of rock genesis on their mechanical behavior during the model building process. A true triaxial strength criterion based on the GEP model for igneous, metamorphic and magmatic rocks was obtained by training the model using collected data. Compared to the modified Weibols-Cook criterion, the modified Mohr-Coulomb criterion, and the modified Lade criterion, the strength criterion based on the GEP model exhibits superior prediction accuracy performance. The strength criterion based on the GEP model has better performance in R2, RMSE and MAPE for the data set used in this study. Furthermore, the strength criterion based on the GEP model shows greater stability in predicting the true triaxial strength of rocks across different types. Compared to the existing strength criterion based on the genetic programming (GP) model, the proposed criterion based on GEP model achieves more accurate predictions of the variation of true triaxial strength (

Aboriginal use of fire as a weapon in Colonial Victoria : a preliminary analysis

  • Authors: Clark, Ian , Cahir, David (Fred) , Wilkie, Benjamin , Tout, Dan , Clark, Jidah
  • Date: 2023
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Australian Historical Studies Vol. 54, no. 1 (2023), p. 109-124
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  • Description: The use of fire as an offensive and defensive weapon on the colonial frontier in Australia has received little scholarly attention. This article aims to build on insights from current historiography about the customary use of fire by Aboriginal peoples within the borders of Victoria, Australia. Specifically, our aim is to highlight the historically significant role Aboriginal peoples’ use of fire played in resisting the colonists in Victoria during the colonial period. By closely scrutinising documentary records it is possible to demonstrate that Aboriginal people used fire, both offensively and defensively, against the colonists. © Editorial Board, Australian Historical Studies 2023.

Acupuncture for comorbid depression and insomnia in perimenopause : a feasibility patient-assessor-blinded, randomized, and sham-controlled clinical trial

  • Authors: Zhao, Fei , Zheng, Zhen , Fu, Qiang-Qiang , Conduit, Russell , Xu, Hong , Wang, Hui-ru , Huang, Yu-Ling , Jiang, Ting , Zhang, Wen-Jing , Kennedy, Gerard
  • Date: 2023
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Frontiers in Public Health Vol. 11, no. (2023), p.
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  • Description: Background and objective: Whilst acupuncture is widely used for treating psychosomatic diseases, there is little high-quality evidence supporting its application in comorbid perimenopausal depression (PMD) and insomnia (PMI) which are common complaints during climacteric. This feasibility, patient-assessor-blinded, randomized, sham-controlled clinical trial addresses this gap by investigating the efficacy and safety of acupuncture on depressed mood and poor sleep in women with comorbid PMD and PMI. Methods: Seventy eligible participants were randomly assigned to either real-acupuncture (RA) or sham-acupuncture (SA) groups. Either RA or SA treatment were delivered in 17 sessions over 8 weeks. The primary outcomes for mood and sleep were changes on 17-items Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D17) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) scores, from baseline to 16-week follow-up. Secondary outcome measures involved anxiety symptoms, perimenopausal symptoms, quality of life, participants' experience of and satisfaction with the acupuncture treatment. Blood samples were taken to measure reproductive hormone levels. Intention-To-Treat and Per-Protocol analyses were conducted with linear mixed-effects models. The James' and Bang's blinding indices were used to assess the adequacy of blinding. Results: Sixty-five participants completed all treatment sessions, and 54 and 41 participants completed the eight- and 16-week follow-ups, respectively. At post-treatment and 8-week follow-up, the RA group showed a significantly greater reduction in PSQI scores than the SA group did; although the reduction of HAM-D17 scores in RA group was significant, the change was not statistically different from that of SA. There were no significant mean differences between baseline and 16-week follow-up in either HAM-D17 or PSQI in either group. There were no significant between-group differences in serum reproductive hormone levels. All treatments were tolerable and no serious adverse events were reported, and the blinding was successful. Conclusion: Acupuncture is safe and can contribute to clinically relevant improvements in comorbid PMD and PMI, with satisfactory short-and medium-term effects. Whether the anti-depressive benefit of acupuncture is specific or non-specific remains to be determined. No evidence was found for any longer-term benefit of acupuncture compared to sham at 16 weeks. Further research is required to elucidate mechanisms underlying the short to medium term effects of acupuncture. Copyright © 2023 Zhao, Zheng, Fu, Conduit, Xu, Wang, Huang, Jiang, Zhang and Kennedy.

Adaptive capacity task offloading in multi-hop D2D-based social industrial IoT

  • Authors: Ibrar, Muhammad , Wang, Lei , Akbar, Aamir , Jan, Mian , Balasubramanian, Venki , Muntean, Gabriel-Miro , Shah, Nadir
  • Date: 2023
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: IEEE Transactions on Network Science and Engineering Vol. 10, no. 5 (2023), p. 2843-2852
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  • Description: Traditional communication technologies such as cellular networks are facing problems to support high service quality when used for time-critical applications in an Industrial Internet-of-Things (IIoT) context, including real-time data transmission, route dependability, and scalability. To address these problems, device-to-device (D2D) communications based on social relationships can be used, which allow for task-offloading: resource-rich devices share unused computing resources with resource constraint devices. However, unbalanced task offloading in Social IIoT (SIIoT) might actually degrade the overall system performance, which is not desirable. In this paper, we propose an adaptive capacity task offloading solution for D2D-based social industrial IoT (ToSIIoT) which considers devices utilization ratio and strength of social relationships in order to improve resource utilization, increase QoS and achieve better task completion rate. The proposed approach consists of three aspects: social-aware relay selection in a multi-hop D2D communication context, choice of a resource-rich SIIoT device for task offloading, and adaptive redistribution of tasks. The paper proposes heuristic algorithms, as finding optimal solutions to the problems are NP-hard. Extensive experimental results show that the proposed ToSIIoT performs better than existing approaches in terms of utilization ratio, QoS violation, average execution delay, and task completion ratio. © 2013 IEEE.

Adaptive phase-field modelling of fracture propagation in poroelastic media using the scaled boundary finite element method

  • Authors: Wijesinghe, Dakshith , Natarajan, Sundararajan , You, Greg , Khandelwal, Manoj , Dyson, Ashley , Song, Chongmin , Ooi, Ean Tat
  • Date: 2023
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering Vol. 411, no. (2023), p.
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  • Description: A scaled boundary finite element-based phase field formulation is proposed to model two-dimensional fracture in saturated poroelastic media. The mechanical response of the poroelastic media is simulated following Biot's theory, and the fracture surface evolution is modelled according to the phase field formulation. To avoid the application of fine uniform meshes that are constrained by the element size requirement when adopting phase field models, an adaptive refinement strategy based on quadtree meshes is adopted. The unique advantage of the scaled boundary finite element method is conducive to the application of quadtree adaptivity, as it can be directly formulated on quadtree meshes without the need for any special treatment of hanging nodes. Efficient computation is achieved by exploiting the unique patterns of the quadtree cells. An appropriate scaling is applied to the relevant matrices and vectors according the physical size of the cells in the mesh during the simulations. This avoids repetitive calculations of cells with the same configurations. The proposed model is validated using a benchmark with a known analytical solution. Numerical examples of hydraulic fractures driven by the injected fluid in cracks are modelled to illustrate the capabilities of the proposed model in handling crack propagation problems involving complex geometries. © 2023 The Author(s)

Addressing global disparities in blood pressure control : perspectives of the International Society of Hypertension

  • Authors: Schutte, Aletta , Jafar, Tazeen , Poulter, Neil , Damasceno, Albertino , Khan, Nadia , Nilsson, Peter , Alsaid, Jafar , Neupane, Dinesh , Kario, Kazuomi , Beheiry, Hind , Brouwers, Sofie , Burger, Dylan , Charchar, Fadi , Cho, Myeong-Chan , Guzik, Tomasz , Haji Al-Saedi, Ghazi , Ishaq, Muhammad , Itoh, Hiroshi , Jones, Erika , Khan, Taskeen , Kokubo, Yoshihiro , Kotruchin, Praew , Muxfeldt, Elizabeth , Odili, Augustine , Patil, Mansi , Ralapanawa, Udaya , Romero, Cesar , Schlaich, Markus , Shehab, Abdulla , Mooi, Ching
  • Date: 2023
  • Type: Text , Journal article , Review
  • Relation: Cardiovascular Research Vol. 119, no. 2 (2023), p. 381-409
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  • Description: Raised blood pressure (BP) is the leading cause of preventable death in the world. Yet, its global prevalence is increasing, and it remains poorly detected, treated, and controlled in both high- and low-resource settings. From the perspective of members of the International Society of Hypertension based in all regions, we reflect on the past, present, and future of hypertension care, highlighting key challenges and opportunities, which are often region-specific. We report that most countries failed to show sufficient improvements in BP control rates over the past three decades, with greater improvements mainly seen in some high-income countries, also reflected in substantial reductions in the burden of cardiovascular disease and deaths. Globally, there are significant inequities and disparities based on resources, sociodemographic environment, and race with subsequent disproportionate hypertension-related outcomes. Additional unique challenges in specific regions include conflict, wars, migration, unemployment, rapid urbanization, extremely limited funding, pollution, COVID-19-related restrictions and inequalities, obesity, and excessive salt and alcohol intake. Immediate action is needed to address suboptimal hypertension care and related disparities on a global scale. We propose a Global Hypertension Care Taskforce including multiple stakeholders and societies to identify and implement actions in reducing inequities, addressing social, commercial, and environmental determinants, and strengthening health systems implement a well-designed customized quality-of-care improvement framework. © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. **Please note that there are multiple authors for this article therefore only the name of the first 30 including Federation University Australia affiliate “Fadi Charchar” is provided in this record**

ADHD symptoms among adolescents : measurement invariance across mother and adolescent self-ratings

  • Authors: Gomez, Rapson , Houghton, Stephen
  • Date: 2023
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Personality and Individual Differences Vol. 213, no. (2023), p.
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  • Description: This study employed confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to examine measurement invariance (configural, metric, and scalar) across mother and adolescent self-ratings of ADHD symptoms [inattention (IA), hyperactivity (HY), and impulsivity (IM)] as presented in the Disruptive Behavior Rating Scale (DBRS; Barkley & Murphy, 1998). The ADHD model used for this analysis was the ICD-10 3-factor model, with factors for IA, HY and IM. Findings supported configural invariance. Of the 18 ADHD symptoms, 4 symptoms (three of which were IA symptoms) lacked metric invariance. Nine thresholds (1 IA symptom, 6 HY symptoms, and 2 IM symptoms) lacked scalar invariance, with six being for the first thresholds. The psychometric and practical implications of the findings are discussed. © 2023 The Authors

Adolescent substance use and high school noncompletion : exploring the nature of the relationship using a discordant twin design

  • Authors: Davis, Christal , Gizer, Ian , Lynskey, Michael , Statham, Dixie , Heath, Andrew , Martin, Nicholas , Slutske, Wendy
  • Date: 2023
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Addiction Vol. 118, no. 1 (2023), p. 167-176
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  • Description: Background and Aims: Previous studies have demonstrated associations between substance use and reduced educational attainment; however, many were unable to account for potential confounding factors like genetics and the rearing environment. In the few studies that controlled for these factors, the substances assessed were limited to alcohol, cannabis, and tobacco. To address these limitations, we examined the relationship between adolescent use of seven kinds of substances, the number of additional substances used, and high school noncompletion within a large sample of Australian twins. Design: A series of two-level generalized mixed effects logistic regressions were conducted to examine associations between adolescent substance use and high school noncompletion. Setting: Australia. Participants: A total of 9579 adult Australian twins from two cohorts of the Australian Twin Registry. Measurements: Assessments of high school completion, childhood major depression, conduct disorder symptoms, substance use initiation, demographics, and parental educational attainment using the Australian version of the Semi-Structured Assessment for the Genetics of Alcoholism. Findings: There were unique within-twin-pair effects of use of sedatives (odds ratio [OR] = 22.39 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.18–423.48]) and inhalants/solvents (OR = 10.46 [95% CI = 1.30–84.16]) on high school noncompletion. The number of substances used in adolescence was strongly associated with high school noncompletion across all discordant twin models (ORs from 1.50–2.32, Ps < 0.03). Conclusions: In Australia, adolescent substance use appears to be associated with early school dropout, with the effects of any given substance largely because of the confounding factors of parental education, childhood conduct disorder symptoms, and use of other substances. Sedatives and inhalants/solvents have effects on high school noncompletion that cannot be explained by polysubstance use or familial factors. © 2022 Society for the Study of Addiction.