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10 tips for using video analysis more effectively in physical education

- Beseler, Brad, Plumb, Mandy

Influence of selected environmental factors on seed germination and seedling emergence of Dinebra panicea var. brachiata (Steud.)

- Weller, Sandra, Florentine, Singarayer, Chauhan, Bhagirath

  • Authors: Weller, Sandra , Florentine, Singarayer , Chauhan, Bhagirath
  • Date: 2019
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Crop Protection Vol. 117, no. (2019), p. 121-127
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  • Description: Dinebra panicea var. brachiata (Steud.) is related to genus Leptochloa., some species of which are significant rice crop weeds. However, little is known about how D. panicea responds to various environmental cues. This study investigates the effects of temperature, light, salt stress, moisture stress, pH, heat shock, smoke, and burial depth on seeds collected in successive years (2015 and 2016) from Queensland, Australia. Seed germination was higher overall for older seeds (2015) compared to younger (2016) at 30/20 °C and 25/15 °C, but there was less difference between light treatments (12 L/D, 24D) in both temperature ranges for older seeds compared to younger. Increasing moisture and salt stress gradually reduced germination, germination was high over the pH range from pH 4 to pH 10, short term (three minutes) heat exposure to 80 °C or less did not inhibit germination, but there was no significant difference between years for any of these environmental cues. Germination was greatly reduced at 100 °C and eliminated at 120 °C. Smoke significantly inhibited germination. Seeds from both years germinated on the soil surface and emerged from 0.2 cm, with no emergence from deeper than 0.5 cm. The data collected from this study may assist land managers to manage infestations of this weed.

Livestock grazing effects on riparian bird breeding behaviour in agricultural landscapes

- Hansen, Birgita, Fraser, Hannah, Jones, Christopher

  • Authors: Hansen, Birgita , Fraser, Hannah , Jones, Christopher
  • Date: 2019
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment Vol. 270-271, no. (2019), p. 93-102
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  • Description: Globally, many bird species that rely on native woodland or forest environments are declining due to vegetation clearing for livestock pastures and cereal cropping. In many landscapes, woodland remnants are restricted to waterways and roadsides in narrow, sometimes degraded patches, and not all patches can necessarily provide the resources required to support bird populations. This study investigated the influence of livestock grazing and vegetation characteristics on bird breeding activity in riparian zones in northern Victoria, Australia, where much of the landscape is used for production and has experienced significant loss of woodland. Birds were broadly categorised as ‘woodland’ or ‘non-woodland’ species, based on dependency on woodlands for breeding. The majority of woodland species detected were relatively common, and where riparian zones were heavily grazed, there was significantly lower woodland bird breeding activity compared to non-woodland bird breeding activity (the latter increasing with grazing intensity). Woodland and non-woodland birds had consistently opposite responses to grazing intensity, vegetation and landscape characteristics, suggesting that the factors influencing breeding differ markedly between these two groups. Thus, where riparian zones are intensively grazed, the bird community shifts from predominantly woodland to largely non-woodland species. This has implications for the conservation of both rare and common woodland bird species in southern Australia. Simple changes in land management, for example, livestock exclusion from important breeding habitat, may confer large gains for population persistence of woodland bird species.

Pipeline slug flow dynamic load characterization

- Reda, Ahmed, Forbes, Gareth, Sultan, Ibrahim, Howard, Ian

  • Authors: Reda, Ahmed , Forbes, Gareth , Sultan, Ibrahim , Howard, Ian
  • Date: 2019
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Journal of Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering Vol. 141, no. 1 (2019), p. 1-8
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  • Description: Flow of gas in pipelines is subject to thermodynamic conditions which produces twophase bulks (i.e., slugs) within the axial pipeline flow. These moving slugs apply a moving load on the free spanning pipe sections, which consequently undergo variable bending stresses, and flexural deflections. Both the maximum pipeline stress and deflection due to the slug flow loads need to be understood in the design of pipeline spans. However, calculation of a moving mass on a free spanning pipeline is not trivial and the required mathematical model is burdensome for general pipeline design engineering. The work in this paper is intended to investigate the conditions under which simplified analysis would produce a safe pipeline design which can be used by practicing pipeline design engineers. The simulated finite element models presented here prove that replacing the moving mass of the slug by a moving force will produce adequately accurate results at low speeds where the mass of the slug is much smaller than the mass of the pipe section. This result is significant, as the assumption of point load simplifies the analysis to a considerable extent. Since most applications fall within the speed and mass ratio which justify employing this simplified analysis, the work presented here offers a powerful design tool to estimate fatigue stresses and lateral deflections without the need of expensive timeconsuming inputs from specialized practitioners.

Quantification of Achilles and patellar tendon structure on imaging does not enhance ability to predict self-reported symptoms beyond grey-scale ultrasound and previous history

- Docking, Sean, Rio, Ebonie, Cook, Jill, Carey, David, Fortington, Lauren

  • Authors: Docking, Sean , Rio, Ebonie , Cook, Jill , Carey, David , Fortington, Lauren
  • Date: 2019
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport Vol. 22, no. 2 (2019), p. 145-150
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  • Description: Background: Tendon pathology on imaging has been associated with an increased risk of developing symptoms. This evidence is based on classifying the tendon as normal or pathological. It is unclear whether the extent of tendon pathology is associated with the development or severity of symptoms. Objectives: To investigate whether the presence and extent of tendon pathology on ultrasound tissue characterisation (UTC), or a previous history of symptoms, were associated with the development of symptoms over a football season. Methods: 179 male Australian football players underwent UTC imaging of their Achilles and/or patellar tendon at the start of the pre-season. Players completed monthly OSTRC overuse questionnaires to quantify the presence and severity of Achilles and/or patellar tendon symptoms. Risk factor analysis was performed to identify associations between imaging and the development of symptoms. Results: A pathological Achilles tendon increased the risk of developing symptoms (RR = 3.2, 95%CI 1.7–5.9). Conversely, a pathological patellar tendon was not significantly associated with the development of symptoms (RR = 1.8, 95%CI 0.9–3.7). Quantification of tendon structure using UTC did not enhance the ability to identify athletes who developed symptoms. Previous history of symptoms was the strongest predictor for the development of symptoms (Achilles RR = 3.0 95%CI 1.8–4.8; patellar RR = 3.7 95%CI 2.2–6.1). Conclusion: Tendon pathology was associated with the development of self-reported symptoms; however previous history of symptoms was a stronger risk factor. The extent of disorganisation quantified by UTC should not be used as a marker for the presence or severity of current and future symptoms.

Seasonal time-loss match injury rates and burden in South African under-16 rugby teams

- Sewry, Nicola, Verhagen, Evert, Lambert, Mike, van Mechelen, Willem, Readhead, Clint, Viljoen, Wayne, Brown, James

  • Authors: Sewry, Nicola , Verhagen, Evert , Lambert, Mike , van Mechelen, Willem , Readhead, Clint , Viljoen, Wayne , Brown, James
  • Date: 2019
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport Vol. 22, no. 1 (2019), p. 54-58
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  • Description: Objectives: Youth rugby union is a popular sport with a high injury incidence density (IID) and burden. This high risk has called for further research into the factors affecting the injuries in youth rugby. The aim of the study was to analyse time-loss IID and burden in multiple schoolboy rugby teams over a season and the potential factors associated with injury. Design: Prospective cohort Methods: All time-loss injuries were recorded from three schools for the whole season. Overall IID and injury burden were calculated, as well as for injury event, type, location and the match quarter in which they occurred and Poisson regression analyses were performed to determine differences. Results: IID was 28.8 (18.9–38.6) injuries per 1000 player hours over the season, with an injury burden of 379.2 (343.6–414.9) days lost per 1000 player hours. The ball-carrier had a significantly higher IID (11.3 (5.2–17.5) per 1000 player hours) compared to other events, and the joint (non-bone)/ligament injuries were the most common (IID of 12.2 (5.8–18.6) per 1000 player hours) and severe type of injury (burden of 172.6 (148.5–196.6) days lost per 1000 player hours). Conclusions: The IID was similar to previous youth rugby studies, however the injury burden was much lower. The South African youth cohort showed similar factors associated with injury for inciting event (the tackle) and injury type (joint (non-bone)/ligament) and location (lower limb) as seen in other studies in both youth and senior players.

Surveying the landscape five years on : An examination of how teachers, and the teaching of Australia's shared-history, is constructed within Australian academic literature

- Weuffen, Sara

  • Authors: Weuffen, Sara
  • Date: 2019
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Teaching and Teacher Education Vol. 78, no. (2019), p. 117-124
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  • Description: The purpose of this paper is to conduct a literature review of academic debates relating to the Australian Curriculum: History (ACH), in particular subjective constructions of teachers, and the teaching of Australian History and Aboriginal peoples' and Torres Strait Islanders’ histories. The literature reviewed from a socio-political lens, examines functions of power/knowledge operating in discourses of education to illuminate how teachers, Aboriginal peoples, and Torres Strait Islanders, take up and/or resist subjectivities constructing them. Drawing from the toolbox of post-structuralism, this literature review troubles the notion of the non-Indigenous perspective as dominant, and the teacher as an active, non-critical participant in the process.

The behaviour change techniques used by Australian physiotherapists to promote non-treatment physical activity to patients with musculoskeletal conditions

- Kunstler, Breanne, Cook, Jill, Kemp, Joanne, O'Halloran, Paul, Finch, Caroline

  • Authors: Kunstler, Breanne , Cook, Jill , Kemp, Joanne , O'Halloran, Paul , Finch, Caroline
  • Date: 2019
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport Vol. 22, no. 1 (2019), p. 2-10
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  • Description: Objectives: To determine: (i) the behaviour change techniques used by a sample of Australian physiotherapists to promote non-treatment physical activity; and (ii) whether those behaviour change techniques are different to the techniques used to encourage adherence to rehabilitation exercises. Design: Cross-sectional survey. Method: An online self-report survey was advertised to private practice and outpatient physiotherapists treating patients with musculoskeletal conditions. The use of 50 behaviour change techniques were measured using five-point Likert-type scale questions. Results: Four-hundred and eighty-six physiotherapists responded to the survey, with 216 surveys fully completed. Most respondents (85.1%) promoted non-treatment physical activity often or all of the time. Respondents frequently used 29 behaviour change techniques to promote non-treatment physical activity or encourage adherence to rehabilitation exercises. A similar number of behaviour change techniques was frequently used to encourage adherence to rehabilitation exercises (n = 28) and promote non-treatment physical activity (n = 26). Half of the behaviour change techniques included in the survey were frequently used for both promoting non-treatment physical activity and encouraging adherence to rehabilitation exercises (n = 25). Graded tasks was the most, and punishment was the least, frequently reported technique used to promote non-treatment physical activity and encourage adherence to rehabilitation exercises. Conclusions: Respondents reported using similar behaviour change techniques to promote non-treatment physical activity and encourage adherence to rehabilitation exercises. The variability in behaviour change technique use suggests the behaviour the physiotherapist is promoting influences their behaviour change technique choice. Including the frequently-used behaviour change techniques in non-treatment physical activity promotion interventions might improve their efficacy. © 2018 Sports Medicine Australia

The effects of resilience and turnover intention on nurses’ burnout : Findings from a comparative cross-sectional study

- Guo, Yu-fang, Plummer, Virginia, Lam, Louisa, Wang, Yan, Cross, Wendy, Zhang, Jing-ping

  • Authors: Guo, Yu-fang , Plummer, Virginia , Lam, Louisa , Wang, Yan , Cross, Wendy , Zhang, Jing-ping
  • Date: 2019
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Journal of Clinical Nursing Vol. 28, no. 3-4 (2019), p. 499-508
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  • Description: Aims and objectives: To investigate burnout among nurses from Australia and China and explore the effects of resilience and turnover intention on nurse burnout between the two countries. Background: Nursing shortages and burnout have become serious problems worldwide in recent years. In both developed and developing countries, such as Australia and China, nurse burnout levels are high and therefore attract concern from nurse managers, hospital administrators, nurse educators and researchers. However, few studies have been conducted exploring the differences in burnout and its predictors between Australian and Chinese nurses, particularly investigating the differences in the effect sizes of the predictors. Design: A comparative cross-sectional design was employed. Methods: A total of 100 Australian nurses and 197 Chinese nurses participated in the study. Australian participants completed an online questionnaire, while Chinese participants completed a hardcopy questionnaire. Burnout, resilience and turnover intention were measured. Results: Burnout was worse for Australian participants than Chinese participants. Only having turnover intention significantly predicted burnout in Australian participants, while low resilience, having turnover intention and low level of regular exercise strongly predicted burnout in Chinese participants. The effect size of turnover intention on burnout in the Australian group was almost twice that of the Chinese group. Conclusion: The findings of this study show that there are differences in burnout between Australian and Chinese nurses. The effects of resilience and turnover intention on burnout between the two groups are also identified. Relevance to clinical practice: The differences in nurse burnout and the effects of resilience and turnover intention on burnout should be better understood by nurse managers from Australia and China. Moreover, developing effective strategies relevant to their own country to reduce nurse burnout is recommended.

The role of interoperable data standards in precision livestock farming in extensive livestock systems : A review

- Bahlo, Christiane, Dahlhaus, Peter, Thompson, Helen, Trotter, Mark

  • Authors: Bahlo, Christiane , Dahlhaus, Peter , Thompson, Helen , Trotter, Mark
  • Date: 2019
  • Type: Text , Journal article , Review
  • Relation: Computers and Electronics in Agriculture Vol. 156, no. (2019), p. 459-466
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  • Description: Livestock industries are increasingly embracing precision farming and decision support tools. As a result, sensors, weather stations, individual animal tracking, feed monitoring and other sources create large data volumes, much of which is used only for a single purpose. There are unrealised potential benefits of making on farm data interoperable and accessible and federating it with public data sources. We reviewed recent literature on precision livestock farming (PLF) technologies in relation to the use of public data, open standards and interoperability. Livestock farms produce rising volumes of disparate private datasets, reflecting a variety of information needs and technological opportunities, but typically lacking interoperable formats and metadata. These as well as large amounts of accessible public datasets are currently underutilised in decision support tools. Tools that demonstrate the use of interoperable standards and bring together public and private data for decision support can enhance the value proposition and help lower barriers to the sharing and re-use of data. This review of interoperable standards in extensive livestock farming systems concludes that there is a need for not only a new type of decision support tool, but also a consensus on data exchange standards to prove the value of shared data at farm scale (commercial benefit) and a regional scale (public good). © 2018

Time-to-event analysis for sports injury research part 1 : Time-varying exposures

- Nielsen, Rasmus, Bertelsen, Michael, Ramskov, Daniel, Møller, Merete, Hulme, Adam, Theisen, Daniel, Finch, Caroline, Fortington, Lauren, Mansournia, Mohammad, Parner, Erik

  • Authors: Nielsen, Rasmus , Bertelsen, Michael , Ramskov, Daniel , Møller, Merete , Hulme, Adam , Theisen, Daniel , Finch, Caroline , Fortington, Lauren , Mansournia, Mohammad , Parner, Erik
  • Date: 2019
  • Type: Text , Journal article , Review
  • Relation: British Journal of Sports Medicine Vol. 53, no. 1 (2019), p. 61-68
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  • Description: Background: 'How much change in training load is too much before injury is sustained, among different athletes?' is a key question in sports medicine and sports science. To address this question the investigator/practitioner must analyse exposure variables that change over time, such as change in training load. Very few studies have included time-varying exposures (eg, training load) and time-varying effect-measure modifiers (eg, previous injury, biomechanics, sleep/stress) when studying sports injury aetiology. Aim: To discuss advanced statistical methods suitable for the complex analysis of time-varying exposures such as changes in training load and injury-related outcomes. Content: Time-varying exposures and time-varying effect-measure modifiers can be used in time-to-event models to investigate sport injury aetiology. We address four key-questions (i) Does time-to-event modelling allow change in training load to be included as a time-varying exposure for sport injury development? (ii) Why is time-to-event analysis superior to other analytical concepts when analysing training-load related data that changes status over time? (iii) How can researchers include change in training load in a time-to-event analysis? and, (iv) Are researchers able to include other time-varying variables into time-to-event analyses? We emphasise that cleaning datasets, setting up the data, performing analyses with time-varying variables and interpreting the results is time-consuming, and requires dedication. It may need you to ask for assistance from methodological peers as the analytical approaches presented this paper require specialist knowledge and well-honed statistical skills. Conclusion: To increase knowledge about the association between changes in training load and injury, we encourage sports injury researchers to collaborate with statisticians and/or methodological epidemiologists to carefully consider applying time-to-event models to prospective sports injury data. This will ensure appropriate interpretation of time-to-event data. © 2019 Author(s).

Time-to-event analysis for sports injury research part 2 : Time-varying outcomes

- Nielsen, Rasmus, Bertelsen, Michael, Ramskov, Daniel, Møller, Merete, Hulme, Adam, Theisen, Daniel, Finch, Caroline, Fortington, Lauren, Mansournia, Mohammad, Parner, Erik

  • Authors: Nielsen, Rasmus , Bertelsen, Michael , Ramskov, Daniel , Møller, Merete , Hulme, Adam , Theisen, Daniel , Finch, Caroline , Fortington, Lauren , Mansournia, Mohammad , Parner, Erik
  • Date: 2019
  • Type: Text , Journal article , Review
  • Relation: British Journal of Sports Medicine Vol. 53, no. 1 (2019), p. 70-78
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  • Description: Background: Time-to-event modelling is underutilised in sports injury research. Still, sports injury researchers have been encouraged to consider time-to-event analyses as a powerful alternative to other statistical methods. Therefore, it is important to shed light on statistical approaches suitable for analysing training load related key-questions within the sports injury domain. Content: In the present article, we illuminate: (i) the possibilities of including time-varying outcomes in time-to-event analyses, (ii) how to deal with a situation where different types of sports injuries are included in the analyses (ie, competing risks), and (iii) how to deal with the situation where multiple subsequent injuries occur in the same athlete. Conclusion: Time-to-event analyses can handle time-varying outcomes, competing risk and multiple subsequent injuries. Although powerful, time-to-event has important requirements: researchers are encouraged to carefully consider prior to any data collection that five injuries per exposure state or transition is needed to avoid conducting statistical analyses on time-to-event data leading to biased results. This requirement becomes particularly difficult to accommodate when a stratified analysis is required as the number of variables increases exponentially for each additional strata included. In future sports injury research, we need stratified analyses if the target of our research is to respond to the question: 'how much change in training load is too much before injury is sustained, among athletes with different characteristics?' Responding to this question using multiple time-varying exposures (and outcomes) requires millions of injuries. This should not be a barrier for future research, but collaborations across borders to collecting the amount of data needed seems to be an important step forward.

Validity of injury self-reports by novice runners : Comparison with reports by sports medicine physicians

- Smits, Dirk-Wouter, Backx, Frank, van der Worp, Henk, van Middelkoop, Marienke, Hartgens, Fred, Verhagen, Evert, Kluitenberg, Bas, Huisstede, Bionka

  • Authors: Smits, Dirk-Wouter , Backx, Frank , van der Worp, Henk , van Middelkoop, Marienke , Hartgens, Fred , Verhagen, Evert , Kluitenberg, Bas , Huisstede, Bionka
  • Date: 2019
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Research in Sports Medicine Vol. 27, no. 1 (2019), p. 72-87
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  • Description: This study examined the criterion validity of self-reported running-related injuries (RRI) by novice runners. Fifty-eight participants (41 females; age 46 ± 11 yrs) of the “Start-to-Run” program provided self-reports on their RRIs using an online questionnaire. Subsequently, they attended injury consultations with sports medicine physicians who provided physician-reports (blinded for the self-reports) as a reference standard. Self-reports and physician-reports included information on injury location (i.e., hip/groin, upper leg, knee, lower leg, and ankle/foot) and injury type (i.e., muscle-tendon unit, joint, ligament, or bone). Sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive values were 100% for all five injury locations. For injury type, sensitivity was low (66% for muscle-tendon unit, 50% for ligament, and 40% for bone) and lowest for joint injuries (17%). In conclusion, the validity of self-reported RRIs by novice runners is good for injury locations but not for injury types. In particular for joint injuries, the validity of novice runners’ self-reports is low. Abbreviations: RRI: Running Related Injury; SMC: Sports Medicine Centre; MTU: Muscle Tendon Unit; PPV: Positive Predictive Value.

Why articles continue to be cited after they have been retracted : An audit of retraction notices

- Gray, Richard, Al-Ghareeb, Amal, McKenna, Lisa

  • Authors: Gray, Richard , Al-Ghareeb, Amal , McKenna, Lisa
  • Date: 2019
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: International Journal of Nursing Studies Vol. 90, no. (2019), p. 11-12
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  • Description: Background: Papers continue to be cited by authors even after they have been retracted. Retraction notices provide readers with information about retracted papers and may help minimise post-retraction citation. To date, a review of the quality of retraction notices in nursing science has not been reported. Design: An audit of retraction notices associated with 29 retracted manuscripts published in nursing science journals. Methods: Retraction notices were reviewed again using the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines. Results: In total, 28 retraction notices were retrieved and reviewed (one retracted paper did not have a retraction notice). Details of the retracted manuscripts were included in all reviewed notices and, in all but two, author names were reported. Details of the time between a paper being published and retracted were not reported and generally there was a little information in notices about how the retraction decisions were made. All retraction notices were freely available. Seven notices stated who had made the decision to retract. Twenty-two (77%) notices stated the reason for retraction. Notices were brief and contained factual information. The webpages of three retracted articles did not clearly indicate that the paper had been retracted. Conclusion: More detailed and informative retraction notices will inform readers and may help reduce post- retraction citation.

"Regardless of age" : Australian university managers' attitudes and practices towards older academics

- Earl, Catherine, Taylor, Philip, Cannizzo, Fabian

  • Authors: Earl, Catherine , Taylor, Philip , Cannizzo, Fabian
  • Date: 2018
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Work, Aging and Retirement Vol. 4, no. 3 (2018), p. 300-313
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  • Description: As with other industrialized nations Australia's population is aging and older workers are encouraged to work for longer. At the same time, Australia's university sector, which is aging, is being reconfigured through changes that potentially marginalize its older workers as higher education institutions try to become more competitive in a global market. In this context, youthfulness appears to embody competitiveness and academic institutions are increasingly aspiring to a young workforce profile. This qualitative article builds on previous research to explore to what extent ageist assumptions shape attitudes to older workers and human resource management (HRM) practices within Australian universities even when HRM practitioners are well versed in antidiscrimination legislation that (unlike the Age Discrimination in Employment Act in the United States) applies to workers of all ages. Semistructured interviews conducted with 22 HRM practitioners in Australian universities reveal that university HRM practices generally overlook the value of retaining an older workforce by conflating "potential" with "youthfulness," assuming that staff potential and performance share a negative correlation with age. While mostly lower-ranked institutions have attempted to retain older academics to maintain an adequate labor supply, this study finds that university policies targeting the ongoing utilization of older workers generally are underdeveloped. Consequently, the availability of late career employment arrangements is dependent upon institutions' strategic goals, with favorable ad hoc solutions offered to academics with outstanding performance records, while a rhetoric of performance decline threatens to marginalize older academic researchers and teachers more generally.

A 12-month prospective cohort study of symptoms of common mental disorders among professional rugby players

- Gouttebarge, Vincent, Hopley, Philip, Kerkhoffs, Gino, Verhagen, Evert, Viljoen, Wayne, Wylleman, Paul, Lambert, Mike

  • Authors: Gouttebarge, Vincent , Hopley, Philip , Kerkhoffs, Gino , Verhagen, Evert , Viljoen, Wayne , Wylleman, Paul , Lambert, Mike
  • Date: 2018
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: European Journal of Sport Science Vol. 18, no. 7 (2018), p. 1004-1012
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  • Description: The primary aims were to determine the 12-month incidence (and comorbidity) of symptoms of common mental disorders (CMD) among male professional rugby players and to explore their association with potential stressors. A secondary aim was to explore the view of male professional rugby players about the consequences of symptoms of CMD and related medical support/needs. An observational prospective cohort study with three measurements over a 12-month period was conducted among male professional rugby players from several countries. Symptoms of CMD (distress, anxiety/depression, sleep disturbance, eating disorders and adverse alcohol use) and stressors (adverse life events, rugby career dissatisfaction) were assessed through validated questionnaires. A total of 595 players (mean age of 26 years; mean career duration of 6 years) were enrolled, of which 333 completed the follow-up period. The incidence of symptoms of CMD were: 11% for distress, 28% for anxiety/depression, 12% for sleep disturbance, 11% for eating disorders and 22% for adverse alcohol use (13% for two simultaneous symptoms of CMD). Professional rugby players reporting recent adverse life events or career dissatisfaction were more likely to report symptoms of CMD but statistically significant associations were not found. Around 95% of the participants stated that symptoms of CMD can negatively influence rugby performances, while 46% mentioned that specific support measures for players were not available in professional rugby. Supportive and preventive measures directed towards symptoms of CMD should be developed to improve not only awareness and psychological resilience of rugby players but also their rugby performance and quality-of-life. © 2018, © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

A comparative assessment of models to predict monthly rainfall in Australia

- Bagirov, Adil, Mahmood, Arshad

  • Authors: Bagirov, Adil , Mahmood, Arshad
  • Date: 2018
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Water Resources Management Vol. 32, no. 5 (2018), p. 1777-1794
  • Relation: http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP140103213
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  • Description: Accurate rainfall prediction is a challenging task. It is especially challenging in Australia where the climate is highly variable. Australia’s climatic zones range from high rainfall tropical regions in the north to the driest desert region in the interior. The performance of prediction models may vary depending on climatic conditions. It is, therefore, important to assess and compare the performance of these models in different climatic zones. This paper examines the performance of data driven models such as the support vector machines for regression, the multiple linear regression, the k-nearest neighbors and the artificial neural networks for monthly rainfall prediction in Australia depending on climatic conditions. Rainfall data with five meteorological variables over the period of 1970–2014 from 24 geographically diverse weather stations are used for this purpose. The prediction performance of each model was evaluated by comparing observed and predicted rainfall using various measures for prediction accuracy. © 2018, Springer Science+Business Media B.V., part of Springer Nature.

A detector of structural similarity for multi-modal microscopic image registration

- Lv, Guohua, Teng, Shyh, Lu, Guojun

  • Authors: Lv, Guohua , Teng, Shyh , Lu, Guojun
  • Date: 2018
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Multimedia Tools and Applications Vol. 77, no. 6 (2018), p. 7675-7701
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  • Description: This paper presents a Detector of Structural Similarity (DSS) to minimize the visual differences between brightfield and confocal microscopic images. The context of this work is that it is very challenging to effectively register such images due to a low structural similarity in image contents. To address this issue, DSS aims to maximize the structural similarity by utilizing the intensity relationships among red-green-blue (RGB) channels in images. Technically, DSS can be combined with any multi-modal image registration technique in registering brightfield and confocal microscopic images. Our experimental results show that DSS significantly increases the visual similarity in such images, thereby improving the registration performance of an existing state-of-the-art multi-modal image registration technique by up to approximately 27%. © 2017, Springer Science+Business Media New York.

A lack of aquatic rescue competency : A drowning risk factor for young adults involved in aquatic emergencies

- Petrass, Lauren, Blitvich, Jennifer

  • Authors: Petrass, Lauren , Blitvich, Jennifer
  • Date: 2018
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Journal of Community Health Vol. 43, no. 4 (2018), p. 688-693
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  • Description: Drowning is an important public health issue with major impacts on young adults aged 15–24 years, yet little is known about the causal factors for drowning for this group. As young adults recreate with peers in unpatrolled aquatic environments, the capacity to perform effective and efficient rescues seems pivotal. This study examined perceived ability of young adults to perform a rescue; determined the level of aquatic rescue knowledge; and measured the effect of an aquatic rescue intervention. In total, 135 participants completed pre- and post-intervention surveys and rescue practical testing. Wilcoxon matched pairs signed rank tests were used to assess significant differences pre- and post-intervention and Mann–Whitney tests used to compare groups. Pre-intervention, participants had a low level of rescue knowledge (Mdn = 50) and the relationship between perceived rescue ability and practical rescue testing was weak (rs = 0.33, p ≤ 0.001). Post-intervention, ability to perform a contact tow demonstrated significant improvement (z = − 9.09, p < 0.001, r = − 0.79) and rescue knowledge also improved significantly (Mdn = 100, z = − 9.42, p < 0.001, r = − 0.81). Many young adults lacked both the physical capacity and knowledge required to safely perform a rescue, a factor that may place them at increased drowning risk if they attempt an aquatic rescue. As a rescue based intervention can significantly improve competency of young adults regardless of previous experience and/or qualifications, research needs to consider how best these competencies can be promoted and/or developed with this high risk group.

A new Australian record of a Parajapidae (Diplura): A potential pest of wheat

- Greenslade, Penelope, Luan, Yun-Xia

  • Authors: Greenslade, Penelope , Luan, Yun-Xia
  • Date: 2018
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Soil Research Vol. 56, no. 7 (2018), p. 657-663
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  • Description: Parajapyx isabellae (Grassi, 1886) is recorded for the first time from Australia. It is a cosmopolitan soil species found in Europe, North and South America and Asia. Womersley last studied Australian Parajapygidae 80 years ago, listing a single endemic species for the genus Parajapyx Silvestri, 1903, sensu stricta. In 2017, an unidentified Parajapyx was found in deep soil under wheat in winter, spring and summer at Harden, New South Wales, in a long-term tillage trial. It was most abundant in the minimum tillage/stubble retained plots in soil below 5 cm but rarely observed in the conventionally tilled/stubble burned plots. The same field experiment was sampled five times using the same methods over 3 years from 1993-95 but no specimens of Diplura were collected. The specimens were identified as P. isabellae using morphology and confirmed with the DNA barcoding sequence data. Most species of Parajapygidae are carnivores feeding on small arthropods but there are records from North America, Europe and Hawaii of P. isabellae feeding on roots of wheat and other agricultural crops. We provide here illustrations of species P. isabellae so that crop scientists in Australia are aware of the potential pest and can identify it. Sequence data indicate that the population may have originated from two sources.