Does climate play any role in covid-19 spreading? : an Australian perspective
- Authors: Abraham, Joji , Turville, Christopher , Dowling, Kim , Florentine, Singarayer
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Vol. 18, no. 17 (2021), p.
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- Description: Compared to other countries, the COVID-19 pandemic did not severely affect Australia as measured by total deaths until mid-2021. Though a substantial number of daily confirmed cases (up to 698) were reported during the second wave, most of them were from the southern state of Victoria. This study examined the possible correlations between climate variables and the number of daily confirmed COVID-19 cases in Victoria, Australia, from 25 January to 31 October 2020. Appropriate regression models and cross-correlation diagnostics were used to examine the effect of temperature, rainfall, solar exposure, and ultraviolet index (UVI) with the number of daily confirmed cases. Significant positive associations were identified for solar exposure and maximum and average UVI for confirmed cases one and 19 days later. Negative associations for these variables were found for confirmed cases five days later. Minimum temperature had a significant negative correlation one day later and a positive effect 21 days later. No significant correlation was found for maximum temperature and rainfall. The most significant relationships were found for confirmed cases 19 days after changes in the meteorological variables. A 1% increase in solar exposure, maximum UVI, and average UVI was associated with a 0.31% (95% CI: 0.13 to 0.51), 0.71% (95% CI: 0.43 to 0.98), and 0.63% (95%CI: 0.20 to 1.61) increase 19 days later in the number of confirmed cases, respectively. The implications of these results can be used in the public health management of any possible future events in Australia. It also highlights the significance of considering the climatic variables and seasonality in all kinds of epidemics and pandemics. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Poster : Privacy protection for real world participatory sensing system
- Authors: Abrar, Nafeez , Iqbal, Anindya , Zaman, Shaolin , Murshed, Manzur
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: 14th Annual International Conference on Mobile Systems, Applications, and Services Companion
- Full Text: false
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- Description: Participatory Sensing System (PSS) is an emerging technology for collection of useful information as the use of smart-phones has been increasing lately among community people. It has a wide range of applications like environmental monitoring, product price sharing, health monitoring etc. But people have to share their location and other information which is a high privacy risk. Our main contribution of this work is to develop a technique for PSS which can provide privacy protection for the participants in manageable time in real world.
A review on chemical diagnosis techniques for transformer paper insulation degradation
- Authors: Abu Bakar, Norazhar , Abu Siada, Ahmed , Islam, Syed
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Conference proceedings , Conference paper
- Relation: 2013 Australasian Universities Power Engineering Conference, AUPEC 2013; Hobart, Australia; 29th September-3rd October 2013 p. 1-6
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- Description: Energized parts within power transformer are isolated using paper insulation and are immersed in insulating oil. Hence, transformer oil and paper insulation are essential sources to detect incipient and fast developing power transformer faults. Several chemical diagnoses techniques are developed to examine the condition of paper insulation such as degree of polymerization, carbon oxides, furanic compounds and methanol. The principle and limitation of these diagnoses are discussed and compared in this paper.
Effects of transformer oil properties and contamination on its spectral response
- Authors: Abu Bakar, Norazhar , Abu-Siada, Ahmed , Islam, Syed , El-Naggar, M.
- Date: 2014
- Type: Text , Conference proceedings
- Relation: 2014 International Conference on Condition Monitoring and Diagnosis, CMD 2014; Jeju, Korea; 21st September 2014
- Full Text: false
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- Description: UV Spectrophotometry is a non-intrusive test that can be employed to determine power transformer’s integrity. Light transmitted through transformer oil sample containing various contaminations is decreased by that fraction being absorbed and is detected as a function of wavelength. This paper investigates the impact of various contaminations and oil properties such as water content, acidity, interfacial tension and average voltage breakdown on the spectral response of the transformer oil. In this regard, various transformer oil samples are collected from in-service transformers and the aforementioned parameters are measured. Same oil samples are scanned with UV-Vis spectroscopic and the spectral responses are obtained and analysed.
Effect of conducting materials on UV-Vis spectral response characteristics
- Authors: Abu Bakar, Norazhar , Abu-Siada, Ahmed , Das, Narottam , Islam, Syed
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Universal Journal of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Vol. 1, no. 3 (2013), p. 81-86
- Full Text: false
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- Description: Spectroscopic analysis is recently being employed to measure furan concentration in transformer oil. Light absorbance and spectral bandwidth are used as indicators to estimate furan concentration level in transformer oil. However, the possibility of dust and other conducting materials that might exist in transformer oil sample need to be considered as it may influence the spectroscopic performance. In this paper, series of tests are carried out to investigate the impact of dust on the transformer oil spectral response characteristics. Oil sample with various furan concentrations along with certain amount of copper powder are examined. Experimental results show that the spectral response characteristics only affected by dust at the beginning of mix process. However, the characteristic returns to the original one within a few minutes.
A new technique to measure interfacial tension of transformer oil using UV-Vis spectroscopy
- Authors: Abu Bakar, Norazhar , Abu-Siada, Ahmed , Islam, Syed , El-Naggar, Mohammed
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation Vol. 22, no. 2 (2015), p. 1275-1282
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- Description: Interfacial tension (IFT) and acid numbers of insulating oil are correlated with the number of years that a transformer has been in service and are used as a signal for transformer oil reclamation. Oil sampling for IFT measurement calls for extra precautions due to its high sensitivity to various oil parameters and environmental conditions. The current used technique to measure IFT of transformer oil is relatively expensive, requires an expert to conduct the test and it takes long time since the extraction of oil sample, sending it to external laboratory and getting the results back. This paper introduces a new technique to estimate the IFT of transformer oil using ultraviolet-to-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy. UV-Vis spectral response of transformer oil can be measured instantly with relatively cheap equipment, does not need an expert person to conduct the test and has the potential to be implemented online. Results show that there is a good correlation between oil spectral response and its IFT value. Artificial neural network (ANN) approach is proposed to model this correlation.
A review of dissolved gas analysis measurement and interpretation techniques
- Authors: Abu Bakar, Norazhar , Abu-Siada, Ahmed , Islam, Syed
- Date: 2014
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: IEEE Electrical Insulation Magazine Vol. 30, no. 3 (2014), p. 39-49
- Full Text: false
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- Description: Dissolved gas analysis (DGA) is used to assess the condition of power transformers. It uses the concentrations of various gases dissolved in the transformer oil due to decomposition of the oil and paper insulation. DGA has gained worldwide acceptance as a method for the detection of incipient faults in transformers.
Understanding power transformer frequency response analysis signatures
- Authors: Abu-Siada, Ahmed , Hashemnia, Naser , Islam, Syed , Masoum, Mohammad
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: IEEE Electrical Insulation Magazine Vol. 29, no. 3 (2013), p. 48-56
- Full Text: false
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- Description: This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the effects of various faults on the FRA signatures of a transformer simulated by a high-frequency model. The faults were simulated through changes in the values of some of the electrical components in the model. It was found that radial displacement of a winding alters the FRA signature over the entire frequency range (10 Hz-1 MHz), whereas changes due to axial displacement occur only at frequencies above 200 kHz. A Table listing various transformer faults and the associated changes in the FRA signature was compiled and could be used in the formulation of standard codes for power transformer FRA signature interpretation.
Image processing-based on-line technique to detect power transformer winding faults
- Authors: Abu-Siada, Ahmed , Islam, Syed
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Conference proceedings , Conference paper
- Relation: 39th Annual Conference of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society, IECON 2013; Vienna, Austria; 10th-14th November 2013 p. 1-6
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- Description: Frequency Response Analysis (FRA) has been growing in popularity in recent times as a tool to detect mechanical deformation within power transformers. To conduct the test, the transformer has to be taken out of service which may cause interruption to the electricity grid. Moreover, because FRA relies on graphical analysis, it calls for an expert person to analyse the results as so far, there is no standard code for FRA interpretation worldwide. In this paper an online technique is introduced to detect the internal faults within a power transformer by constructing the voltage-current (V-I) locus diagram to provide a current state of the transformer health condition. The technique does not call for any special equipment as it uses the existing metering devices attached to any power transformer to monitor the input voltage, output voltage and the input current at the power frequency and hence online monitoring can be realised. Various types of faults have been simulated to assess its impact on the proposed locus. A Matlab code based on digital image processing is developed to calculate any deviation of the V-I locus with respect to the reference one and to identify the type of fault.
A new fuzzy logic approach for consistent interpretation of dissolved gas-in-oil analysis
- Authors: Abu-Siada, Ahmed , Hmood, Sdood , Islam, Syed
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation Vol. 20, no. 6 (2013), p. 2343-2349
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- Description: Dissolved gas analysis (DGA) of transformer oil is one of the most effective power transformer condition monitoring tools. There are many interpretation techniques for DGA results however all these techniques rely on personnel experience more than analytical formulation. As a result, various interpretation techniques do not necessarily lead to the same conclusion for the same oil sample. Furthermore, significant number of DGA results fall outside the proposed codes of the current based-ratio interpretation techniques and cannot be diagnosed by these methods. Moreover, ratio methods fail to diagnose multiple fault conditions due to the mixing up of produced gases. To overcome these limitations, this paper introduces a new fuzzy logic approach to reduce dependency on expert personnel and to aid in standardizing DGA interpretation techniques. The approach relies on incorporating all existing DGA interpretation techniques into one expert model. DGA results of 2000 oil samples that were collected from different transformers of different rating and different life span are used to establish the model. Traditional DGA interpretation techniques are used to analyze the collected DGA results to evaluate the consistency and accuracy of each interpretation technique. Results of this analysis were then used to develop the proposed fuzzy logic model.
Applications of power electronics in renewable energy systems
- Authors: Abu-Siada, Ahmed , Islam, Syed
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Power Electronics Handbook Chapter 23 p. 797-843
- Full Text: false
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- Description: The Kyoto and Paris agreements on global reduction of greenhouse gas emissions have prompted renewed interest in the adoption of clean renewable energy systems worldwide. Many renewable energy technologies have been well developed over the years and become morereliable, and cost-competitive with conventional fuel-based generation. The cost of renewable energy technologies is on a falling trend and is expected to fall further with the increase in demand and production. There are many renewable energy sources (RES) such as biomass, solar, wind, mini-hydro, and tidal power. However, solar and wind energy systems make use of advanced power electronics technologies, and therefore, the focus in this chapter will be on solar photovoltaic and wind power systems. © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Classification of Twitter users with eating disorder engagement : learning from the biographies
- Authors: Abuhassan, Mohammad , Anwar, Tarique , Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, Matthew , Jarman, Hannah , Shatte, Adrian , Liu, Chengfei , Sukunesan, Suku
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Computers in Human Behavior Vol. 140, no. (2023), p.
- Full Text: false
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- Description: Individuals with an Eating Disorder (ED) are typically reluctant to seek help via traditional means (e.g., psychologists). However, recent evidence suggests that many individuals seek assistance via social media for weight and diet related concerns. Sophisticated approaches are needed to better distinguish those who may be in need of help for an ED from those who are simply commenting on ED in online social environments. In order to facilitate effective communication between individuals with or at-risk of an ED and healthcare professionals, this research exploits a deep learning model to differentiate the users with ED engagement (e.g., ED sufferers, healthcare professionals or communicators) over social media. For this purpose, a collection of Twitter data is compiled using Twitter application programming interface (API) on the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) Nectar research cloud. After collecting 1,400,000 Twitter biographies in total, a subset of 4000 biographies are annotated manually. This annotation enables the differentiation of users engaged with ED-focused language on social media into five categories: ED-user, healthcare professional, communicator, healthcare professional-communicator, and other. Based on these annotated categories, a predictive deep learning model based on bidirectional encoder representations from transformers (BERT) and long short-term memory (LSTM) is developed. The model achieves an F1 score of 98.19% and an accuracy of 98.37%. It demonstrates the viability of detecting the individuals with possible ED risk and distinguishes them from other categories using their biography data. We further conducted a network analysis for investigating the communication network between these categories. Our analysis shows that ED-users are more secretive and self-protective, whereas the healthcare professionals and communicators frequently interact with each other and a wide range of other people. To the best of our knowledge, our research is the first of its kind for identifying the different user categories engaged with ED-focused communications on social media. © 2022
Sequence-to-sequence learning-based conversion of pseudo-code to source code using neural translation approach
- Authors: Acharjee, Uzzal , Arefin, Minhazul , Hossen, Kazi , Uddin, Mohammed , Uddin, Md Ashraf , Islam, Linta
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: IEEE Access Vol. 10, no. (2022), p. 26730-26742
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- Description: Pseudo-code refers to an informal means of representing algorithms that do not require the exact syntax of a computer programming language. Pseudo-code helps developers and researchers represent their algorithms using human-readable language. Generally, researchers can convert the pseudo-code into computer source code using different conversion techniques. The efficiency of such conversion methods is measured based on the converted algorithm's correctness. Researchers have already explored diverse technologies to devise conversion methods with higher accuracy. This paper proposes a novel pseudo-code conversion learning method that includes natural language processing-based text preprocessing and a sequence-to-sequence deep learning-based model trained with the SPoC dataset. We conducted an extensive experiment on our designed algorithm using descriptive bilingual understudy scoring and compared our results with state-of-the-art techniques. Result analysis shows that our approach is more accurate and efficient than other existing conversion methods in terms of several performances metrics. Furthermore, the proposed method outperforms the existing approaches because our method utilizes two Long-Short-Term-Memory networks that might increase the accuracy. © 2013 IEEE.
Massively multiplayer online role-playing games : The past, present, and future
- Authors: Achterbosch, Leigh , Pierce, Robyn , Simmons, Gregory
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Computers in Entertainment Vol. 5, no. 4 (2008), p. 1-33
- Full Text: false
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- Description: Massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) are emerging in the computer game industry as a very popular genre. These games have existed since the late 1990s, but in the last few years the market has become increasingly strong. This relatively new genre is attracting a widespread audience, bringing together those who previously enjoyed both pen and paper and computer role-playing games, as well as those who enjoy socializing with other players in a virtual environment. Game developers see MMORPGs as a potentially profitable business due to its widespread appeal, but the reality is that only a small percentage of MMORPGs that are released become a success [Kosak 2006]. This article attempts to determine the many aspects that make a successful MMORPG; it also attempts to ascertain what new and innovative features are expected by the users from the next generation of MMORPGs. This is achieved by looking at and discussing past literature and surveying the MMORPG community's perception of previous and current MMORPGs, as well as their expectations of the next generation. An online survey attracted 122 participants to provide their perceptions of current and past MMORPGs. This article determines and outlines the respondents' preferences in the MMORPG genre, discussing what implications these could have on its future. The survey also gave insight into the respondents' expectations of the future of MMORPGs. We conclude this article with a discussion of aspects of current MMORPGs that the participants would like improved, as well as new features they would like incorporated into the next generation of games. © 2008 ACM.
- Description: C1
Ganking, corpse camping and ninja looting from the perception of the MMORPG community: Acceptable behaviour or unacceptable griefing?
- Authors: Achterbosch, Leigh , Miller, Charlynn , Vamplew, Peter
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: 9th Australasian Conference on Interactive entertainment p. 19
- Full Text: false
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- Description: Every day in online games designed to entertain, an unknown percentage of users are experiencing what is known as 'Griefing'. Griefing is used to describe when a player within a multiplayer online environment intentionally disrupts another player's game experience for his/her own personal enjoyment or material gain. Unrestrained, griefing could lead to a downward spiral of the number of people playing Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPG)s, and possibly the death of smaller MMORPGs. Big game publishers may not wish to risk supporting the genre. There have been studies conducted in the past that attempt to define griefing and the different forms it takes in MMORPGs. These were outlined from the perception of the general player, and so did not examine differences in perception of griefing by different types of players. The authors conducted an online survey with the intention to discover the perception of various in-game actions previously identified in research as griefing, among griefers and griefing victims. In general players who identified themselves as griefers were more likely to regard these actions as a part of the game people had to learn to accept and not griefing. However some patterns of commonality were also observed between griefers and subjects of griefing, with some actions previously identified as griefing in the literature less commonly regarded as griefing by both player types in this survey.
A taxonomy of griefer type by motivation in massively multiplayer online role-playing games
- Authors: Achterbosch, Leigh , Miller, Charlynn , Vamplew, Peter
- Date: 2017
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Behaviour and Information Technology Vol. 36, no. 8 (2017), p. 846-860
- Full Text: false
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- Description: There is an anti-social phenomenon known as griefing that occurs in online games. Griefing refers to the act of one player intentionally disrupting another player’s game experience for personal pleasure and possibly potential gain. Achterbosch [2015. “Causes, Magnitude and Implications of Griefing in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games.” PhD thesis, Faculty of Science and Technology, Federation University Australia] carried out a substantial two-phase mixed method investigation into the behaviour and experiences of both griefers and griefed players in massively multiplayer online role-playing games. The first phase consisted of a survey that attracted 1188 participants of a representative player population. The second phase consisted of interviews with 15 participants to expand the findings with more personalised data. The data were analysed from the perspectives of different demographics and different associations to griefing. One of the most unique findings is the factors that motivated a player to cause grief to another player. This paper analyses these factors to propose a taxonomy of ‘Griefer’ types (griefer being the individual who imposes upon others). The taxonomy consisted of eight types of griefers, based on their motivation for griefing. Some types related to previous studies, although new types of griefers were discovered such as the retaliator and elitist and these are discussed in detail in the article. © 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Causes, magnitude and implications of Griefing in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games
- Authors: Achterbosch, Leigh
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: This thesis presents findings from research into the global phenomenon known as griefing that occurs in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs). Griefing, in its simplest terms, refers to the act of one player intentionally disrupting another player’s game experience for personal pleasure and potential gain. For too long it has been unknown how pervasive griefing is, how frequently griefing occurs and, in particular, the impact on players that are subjected to griefing. There has also been limited research regarding what causes a player to perform griefing. This thesis addresses these concerns by answering the research question “What are the causes and implications of griefing in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games, and what magnitude of griefing exists in this genre?” Mixed method research was employed using the “Sequential Explanatory Strategy”, in which a quantitative phase was followed by a qualitative phase to strengthen the findings. The quantitative phase consisted of a survey that attracted 1188 participants of a representative player population. The qualitative phase consisted of interviews with 15 participants to give more personalised data. The data was analysed from the perspectives of different demographics and different associations to griefing. The thesis contributed original findings regarding the causes, magnitude and implications of griefing in MMORPGs. Some of the main findings were: • Factors that motivated a player to cause grief; • how griefers selected their targets based on particular demographics or avatar characteristics; • the pervasiveness, frequency and impact of different types of griefing; • the amount of griefing that can be tolerated; • how players reacted to griefing; • the impact to the well-being of the players after a griefing incident. The thesis concluded with advice to MMORPG developers regarding the most pervasive, frequent and impactful types of griefing, and how game design may increase or decrease the amount and intensity of griefing.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Griefers versus the Griefed - what motivates them to play Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games?
- Authors: Achterbosch, Leigh , Miller, Charlynn , Turville, Christopher , Vamplew, Peter
- Date: 2014
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: The Computer Games Journal Vol. 3, no. 1 (2014), p. 5-18
- Full Text:
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- Description: 'Griefing' is a term used to describe when a player within a multiplayer online environment intentionally disrupts another player’s game experience for his or her own personal enjoyment or gain. Every day a certain percentage of users of Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPG) are experiencing some form of griefing. There have been studies conducted in the past that attempted to ascertain the factors that motivate users to play MMORPGs. A limited number of studies specifically examined the motivations of users who perform griefing (who are also known as 'griefers'). However, those studies did not examine the motivations of users subjected to griefing. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to examine the factors that motivate the subjects of griefing to play MMORPGs, as well as the factors motivating the griefers. The authors conducted an online survey with the intention to discover the motivations for playing MMORPGs among those whom identified themselves as (i) those that perform griefing, and (ii) those who have been subjected to griefing. A previously devised motivational model by Nick Yee that incorporated ten factors was used to determine the respondents’ motivational trends. In general, players who identified themselves as griefers were more likely to be motivated by all three 'achievement' sub-factors (advancement, game mechanics and competition) at the detriment of all other factors. The subjects of griefing were highly motivated by 'advancement' and 'mechanics', but they ranked 'competition' significantly lower (compared to the griefers). In addition, 'immersion' factors were rated highly by the respondents who were subjected to griefing, with a significantly higher rating of the 'escapism' factor (compared with rankings by griefers). In comparison to the griefers, the respondents subjected to griefing with many years’ experience in the genre of MMORPGs, also placed a greater emphasis on the 'socializing' and 'relationship' factors. Overall, the griefers in this survey considered 'achievement' to be a prime motivating factor, whereas the griefed players tended to be motivated by all ten factors to a similar degree.
Evaluation of PMIP2 and PMIP3 simulations of mid-Holocene climate in the Indo-Pacific, Australasian and Southern Ocean regions
- Authors: Ackerley, Duncan , Reeves, Jessica , Barr, Cameron , Bostock, Helen , Fitzsimmons, Kathryn , Fletcher, Michael-Shawn , Gouramanis, Chris , McGregor, Helen , Mooney, Scott , Phipps, Steven , Tibby, John , Tyler, Jonathan
- Date: 2017
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Climate of the Past Vol. 13, no. 11 (2017), p. 1661-1684
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- Description:
This study uses the
simplified patterns of temperature and effective precipitation
approach from the Australian component of the international palaeoclimate synthesis effort (INTegration of Ice core, MArine and TErrestrial records - OZ-INTIMATE) to compare atmosphere-ocean general circulation model (AOGCM) simulations and proxy reconstructions. The approach is used in order to identify important properties (e.g. circulation and precipitation) of past climatic states from the models and proxies, which is a primary objective of the Southern Hemisphere Assessment of PalaeoEnvironment (SHAPE) initiative. The AOGCM data are taken from the Paleoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project (PMIP) mid-Holocene (ca. 6000 years before present, 6 ka) and pre-industrial control (ca. 1750 CE, 0 ka) experiments. The synthesis presented here shows that the models and proxies agree on the differences in climate state for 6 ka relative to 0 ka, when they are insolation driven. The largest uncertainty between the models and the proxies occurs over the Indo-Pacific Warm Pool (IPWP). The analysis shows that the lower temperatures in the Pacific at around 6 ka in the models may be the result of an enhancement of an existing systematic error. It is therefore difficult to decipher which one of the proxies and/or the models is correct. This study also shows that a reduction in the Equator-to-pole temperature difference in the Southern Hemisphere causes the mid-latitude westerly wind strength to reduce in the models; however, the simulated rainfall actually increases over the southern temperate zone of Australia as a result of higher convective precipitation. Such a mechanism (increased convection) may be useful for resolving disparities between different regional proxy records and model simulations. Finally, after assessing the available datasets (model and proxy), opportunities for better model-proxy integrated research are discussed. © Author(s) 2017.
Hip and knee osteoarthritis affects younger people, too
- Authors: Ackerman, Ilana , Kemp, Joanne , Crossley, Kay , Culvenor, Adam , Hinman, Rana
- Date: 2017
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy Vol. 47, no. 2 (2017), p. 67-79
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Although osteoarthritis (OA) has traditionally been considered a disease of older age, hip and knee OA can and does affect younger adults, with a profound impact on psychosocial well-being and work capacity. Obesity and a history of traumatic knee injury (eg, anterior cruciate ligament rupture and/or meniscal tear) are key risk factors for the accelerated development of knee OA, while structural hip deformities (including those contributing to femoroacetabular impingement syndrome) are strong predictors of early-onset hip OA. In view of these associations, rising rates of obesity and sports injuries are concerning, and may signal a future surge in OA incidence among younger people. Assessment of hip and knee OA in younger people should focus on a patient-centered history, comprehensive physical examination, performance-based measures, and patient-reported outcome measures to enable monitoring of symptoms and function over time. Referral for imaging should be reserved for people presenting with atypical signs or symptoms that may indicate diagnoses other than OA. Nonpharmacological approaches are core strategies for the management of hip and knee OA in younger people, and these include appropriate disease-related education, activity modifcation (including for work-related tasks), physical therapist-prescribed exercise programs to address identifed physical impairments, and weight control or weight loss. High-quality evidence has shown no beneft of arthroscopy for knee OA, and there are no published clinical trials to support the use of hip arthroscopy for OA. Referral for joint-conserving or joint replacement surgery should be considered when nonpharmacological and pharmacological management strategies are no longer effective. © 2017 Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy.