"Grammar, I hate" or "I grammar hate"?: L1 and L2 word order differences and bilingual DLD assessment
- Authors: Han, Weifeng
- Date: 2024
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Multifaceted multilingualism Chapter 7 p. 184-203
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- Description: Cross-module interfaces, such as the syntax-semantics interface, are among the most problematic properties to fully acquire in a second language (L2). First language (L1) monodialectal and bidialectal speakers may show different performances at the interfaces in L2. However, little is known if such a different performance is caused by learners' diverse L1 dialectal backgrounds. The study is motivated by the need to link speech-language pathology and word order typological studies in a bidialectal/bilingual context. The aim is to investigate L1 bidialectism in the L2 syntax-semantics interface acquisition outcome and to separate language difference from language disorder. A sentence-picture matching task on the topic-comment structure was administered among 37 Mandarin monodialectal and 39 Mandarin - Wu bidialectal child speakers. Results of a generalized linear model showed that L1 bidialectals exhibited better syntactic-semantic awareness in L2 than their L1 monodialectal counterparts. The results showed that mono- and bidialectal speakers have different performance patterns at the syntax-semantics interface involving noncanonical word orders for L2. However, the L2 performance was under the impact of language difference between L1 and L2, it does not qualify for Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). Finally, the study offers both theoretical and clinical implications for the diagnosis and assessment of bilingual DLD. © 2024 John Benjamins Publishing Company.
"Resisting Social Identity Threat and Maintaining Resilience" : A Qualitative Study of Chinese Parents Following the Loss of an Only Child
- Authors: Wang, Anni , Guo, Yufang , Cross, Wendy , Lam, Louisa , Plummer, Virginia , Zhang, Wen , Zhang, Jingping
- Date: 2024
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Psychol Trauma Vol. 16, no. 2 (2024), p. 167-175
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- Description: Objective: Parents who lose an only child in China are stressed and traumatized due to social identity threat (SIT). This qualitative study aimed to interpret their experience to inform culturally and socially sensitive intervention strategies. Methods: Using a phenomenological approach, 17 bereaved parents who lost an only child were interviewed. The transcripts were analyzed using Colaizzi's method. Results: Three themes were identified, namely, "assuming a new social identity," "triggering social identity threat," and "resisting social identity threat and maintaining resilience." The study showed that SIT initially began with identity reconstruction, where self-identity and social identity occurred 1 after another. Once labeled with such social identity, the bereaved parents suffered social identity threat triggered by inner inferiority and external stigmatization. The bereaved parents undertook a variety of coping strategies to resist the threat and to maintain resilience of these strategies, 4 patterns depicting resilience and threat were interpreted. Conclusion: The findings offer an understanding of the multifaceted bereavement dilemma and lay a foundation for developing intervention strategies. Promoting or maintaining resilience and alleviating SIT are 2 important ways that help parents move on. To help them with identity reconstruction, the development of culturally sensitive resilience-based programs and the linking of social resources to solve practical problems are recommended. Community health professionals should encourage parents to maintain good health management to prevent their predicament from worsening. Raising economic assistance, building an elderly care support system, and promoting social acceptance are strategies that could be considered by policymakers. Clinical Impact StatementThe bereaved parents who have lost an only child in China is facing a multifaceted dilemma, which involves psychological, economic and cultural issues. This study applies the construct of social identity threat to interpretive lived experience of parents in China who have lost their only child. The study contributes to better understanding of their multifaceted bereavement dilemma, and lay the foundation for developing psycho-behavioural intervention strategies, which potentially also benefit other marginalized or traumatized bereaved groups. Results in this study offered several recommendations for psychological counselors, community workers, community health professionals, and government policymakers.
A new systemic disease mouse model for glioblastoma capable of single-tumour-cell detection
- Authors: Ware, Thomas , Luwor, Rodney , Zhu, Hong-Jian
- Date: 2024
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Cells Vol. 13, no. 2 (2024), p.
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- Description: Background: Glioblastoma is characterised by extensive infiltration into the brain parenchyma, leading to inevitable tumor recurrence and therapeutic failure. Future treatments will need to target the specific biology of tumour recurrence, but our current understanding of the underlying mechanisms is limited. Significantly, there is a lack of available methods and models that are tailored to the examination of tumour recurrence. Methods: NOD-SCID mice were orthotopically implanted with luciferase-labelled donor U87MG or MU20 glioblastoma cells. Four days later, an unlabelled recipient tumor was implanted on the contralateral side. The mice were euthanised at a humane end-point and tissue and blood samples were collected for ex vivo analyses. Results: The ex vivo analyses of the firefly-labelled MU20 tumours displayed extensive invasion at the primary tumour margins, whereas the firefly-labelled U87MG tumours exhibited expansive phenotypes with no evident invasions at the tumour margins. Luciferase signals were detected in the contralateral unlabelled recipient tumours for both the U87MG and MU20 tumours compared to the non-implanted control brain. Remarkably, tumour cells were uniformly detected in all tissue samples of the supratentorial brain region compared to the control tissue, with single tumour cells detected in some tissue samples. Circulating tumour cells were also detected in the blood samples of most of the xenografted mice. Moreover, tumour cells were detected in the lungs of all of the mice, a probable event related to haematogenous dissemination. Similar results were obtained when the U87MG cells were alternatively labelled with gaussian luciferase. Conclusions: These findings describe a systemic disease model for glioblastoma which can be used to investigate recurrence biology and therapeutic efficacy towards recurrence. © 2024 by the authors.
A step-up 5-level transformer-less switched capacitor inverter without leakage current for PV system application
- Authors: Ardashir, Jaber , Ghadim, Hadi , Ogly, Aydin , Hu, Jiefeng , Peyghami, Saeed
- Date: 2024
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications Vol. 60, no. 1 (2024), p. 622-632
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- Description: This article proposes a 1-
A survey of commercial and industrial demand response flexibility with energy storage systems and renewable energy
- Authors: Yasmin, Roksana , Amin, B.M. Ruhu , Shah, Rakibuzzaman , Barton, Andrew
- Date: 2024
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: Sustainability (Switzerland) Vol. 16, no. 2 (2024), p.
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- Description: The transition from traditional fuel-dependent energy systems to renewable energy-based systems has been extensively embraced worldwide. Demand-side flexibility is essential to support the power grid with carbon-free generation (e.g., solar, wind.) in an intermittent nature. As extensive energy consumers, commercial and industrial (C&I) consumers can play a key role by extending their flexibility and participating in demand response. Onsite renewable generation by consumers can reduce the consumption from the grid, while energy storage systems (ESSs) can support variable generation and shift demand by storing energy for later use. Both technologies can increase the flexibility and benefit by integrating with the demand response. However, a lack of knowledge about the applicability of increasing flexibility hinders the active participation of C&I consumers in demand response programs. This survey paper provides an overview of demand response and energy storage systems in this context following a methodology of a step-by-step literature review covering the period from 2013 to 2023. The literature review focuses on the application of energy storage systems and onsite renewable generation integrated with demand response for C&I consumers and is presented with an extensive analysis. This survey also examines the demand response participation and potential of wastewater treatment plants. The extended research on the wastewater treatment plant identifies the potential opportunities of coupling biogas with PV, extracting the thermal energy and onsite hydrogen production. Finally, the survey analysis is summarised, followed by critical recommendations for future research. © 2024 by the authors.
An analysis of the nature of young students’ STEM learning in 3D technology-enhanced makerspaces
- Authors: Forbes, Anne , Falloon, Garry , Stevenson, Michael , Hatzigianni, Maria , Bower, Matt
- Date: 2024
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Developing culturally and developmentally appropriate early STEM learning experiences Chapter 11 p. 172-187
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- Description: Research Findings: This study was undertaken to investigate learning processes and outcomes from using 3D design and printing technologies with children aged 5–8 years, in three schools in a metropolitan city in Australia. Data were collected from five sources (teacher interviews, surveys, journals; student interviews; and iPad screen recordings) and analyzed to identify themes responding to the question: What is the nature of students’ learning and learning processes in technology-enhanced Makerspaces? Findings report the perspectives of teachers and students, supplemented by screen recordings from the iPads. Students were found to have significant engagement in learning through involvement in these technology-enhanced Makerspaces, and to have developed skills and understanding in a number of areas including: digital technical proficiency, design thinking, problem solving, critical thinking, collaboration, and communication. Findings are conceptualized using a research-informed Maker Literacies Framework, to better understand the nature of students’ learning and work processes while engaged in these environments. Practice or Policy: Findings imply that Makerspaces with 3D design and printing could be used to promote young children’s STEM literacies although teachers need to be mindful of the need to explicitly plan for and teach important STEM concepts, if learning in these disciplines is a goal. © 2020, © 2020 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
An exploration of online technoliteracy capability teaching and learning in early years classrooms
- Authors: Falloon, Garry
- Date: 2024
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Education and Information Technologies Vol. 29, no. 1 (2024), p. 625-654
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- Description: The increasing use of digital devices by young children, has led to calls for earlier teaching for information literacy. However, some research indicates reluctance to do this, due to perceived limitations of young children and notions about what is and is not ‘appropriate’ for them learn. This study examines this proposition, through analysis of 6 and 7 year olds’ application of ‘Technoliteracy’ capabilities during a unit of learning about Matariki (the Maori new year). It used an updated and expanded revision of Durrant and Green’s (2000) l(IT)eracy capability model, to understand how the students applied ‘Technoliteracy’ capabilities to online research and production of an information artefact for an identified audience. Although results were mixed, data was found of students’ productive engagement of ‘Technoliteracy’ capabilities aligned with Durrant and Green’s dimensions, suggesting that with developmentally-appropriate curriculum and pedagogy they were capable of integrating these for meaning making, judging meaning quality, and meaning sharing and communication. Given increasingly ubiquitous access to devices from a young age, results indicate that serious consideration should be given to teaching basic ‘Technoliteracy’ capabilities in early years classrooms. © 2023, Crown.
Analysing maintenance and renewal decision of sealed roads at city council in australia
- Authors: Shrestha, Kishan , Chattopadhyay, Gopi
- Date: 2024
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: 7th International Congress and Workshop on Industrial AI and eMaintenance, IAI 2023, Lulea, Sweden, 13-15 June 2023, International Congress and Workshop on Industrial AI and eMaintenance 2023 Conference proceedings p. 291-301
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- Description: Roads are one of the major physical infrastructures of Hepburn Shire Council (HSC) as of all other local councils. Every year HSC allocates and spends huge amount of budget on roads for maintenance and renewal. The road performance condition level has been the major priority for roads renewal selection. However, other criteria are under-considered, and there are gaps in significant analysis of the relation between roads age, condition, risk, and cost. In this study, decision-making framework or tool has developed using multi criteria technique (MCT) and analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) for single objective optimisation i.e., to provide an agreed level of service optimising Maintenance and Renewal cost or improve the condition subjected to annual budget. This study adopted decision criteria as per community and council needs, by developing a model for criteria selection. Additionally, this study analysed the adopted HSC maintenance strategies, condition monitoring systems, performance conditions of the roads, and operational and renewal budget of HSC. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024.
Animal models, pathogenesis, and potential treatment of thoracic aortic aneurysm
- Authors: Wang, Yutang , Panicker, Indu , Anesi, Jack , Sargisson, Owen , Atchison, Benjamin , Habenicht, Andreas
- Date: 2024
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: International Journal of Molecular Sciences Vol. 25, no. 2 (2024), p.
- Relation: https://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1062671
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- Description: Thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA) has a prevalence of 0.16–0.34% and an incidence of 7.6 per 100,000 person-years, accounting for 1–2% of all deaths in Western countries. Currently, no effective pharmacological therapies have been identified to slow TAA development and prevent TAA rupture. Large TAAs are treated with open surgical repair and less invasive thoracic endovascular aortic repair, both of which have high perioperative mortality risk. Therefore, there is an urgent medical need to identify the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying TAA development and rupture to develop new therapies. In this review, we summarize animal TAA models including recent developments in porcine and zebrafish models: porcine models can assess new therapeutic devices or intervention strategies in a large mammal and zebrafish models can employ large-scale small-molecule suppressor screening in microwells. The second part of the review covers current views of TAA pathogenesis, derived from recent studies using these animal models, with a focus on the roles of the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF
Assessing the validity and reliability of a baseball pitch discrimination online task
- Authors: Grieve, Georgia , Besler, Zachary , Müller, Sean , Spering, Miriam , Hodges, Nicola
- Date: 2024
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology Vol. 22, no. 2 (2024), p. 481-505
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- Description: There has been an increasing interest in training perceptual skills in sports through online video-based methods, particularly in baseball. However, there is little empirical evidence related to the reliability and validity of such online methods for the assessment of these skill. Here we developed an online task to assess pitch discrimination and evaluated (a) inter-item reliability, (b) reliability in assessment compared to an in-person task, also tapping into external validity and (c) discriminability across different skill groups. We also compared performance on a non-sport specific Dynamic Visual Acuity task (DVA), thought to tap into underlying visual skills comprising pitch discrimination. Skilled, Varsity-level baseball players (n = 17) were compared to novices (n = 14) when discriminating pitches thrown by two different pitchers, across three pitch types, edited to progressively remove sections of ball flight (3 time points). The online task discriminated across skill groups, showed good reliability across repeated viewings and from the online task to an in-person assessment of skilled athletes (n = 8). There were, however, differences in reliability and discriminant validity based on the type of pitcher, with one pitcher being responded to more accurately and reliably. Skilled participants showed good discriminability between fastballs and change-ups. There were no group differences for DVA, nor did it correlate with pitch discrimination for the skilled group. These data illustrate the reliability of online video assessments, but raise issues concerning discriminability across different pitchers and when standing ready to swing. Greater sensitivity testing of such assessments is still needed, within and across skill groups. © 2024 International Society of Sport Psychology.
Crop monitoring by multimodal remote sensing : a review
- Authors: Karmakar, Priyabrata , Teng, Shyh , Murshed, Manzur , Pang, Shaoning , Li, Yanyu , Lin, Hao
- Date: 2024
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: Remote Sensing Applications: Society and Environment Vol. 33, no. (2024), p.
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- Description: Effective approaches to achieve food safety and security can prevent catastrophic situations. Therefore, it is required to monitor agricultural crops on a regular basis. This can be easily achieved by capturing data from various remote sensing (RS) devices followed by processing them. Most RS devices are useful in monitoring crops and analysing different stages of plant growth successfully. However, individual devices have some limitations. To overcome this, multimodal remote sensing (MRS) methods have been gradually gaining popularity. In the multimodal approach, data from more than one modality are used together to obtain a better outcome. This is because, different modalities of data when used together can complement each other to achieve the same objective by combining their strengths and reducing their limitations, simultaneously. MRS methods have been found to be particularly useful for crop monitoring as they allow for the integration of data from multiple sources, resulting in a more comprehensive understanding of plant growth and development. By using MRS methods, it is possible to obtain a more accurate and detailed analysis of crop conditions, leading to improved decision-making and ultimately, better crop yields. In this paper, we will explore how MRS methods have been successfully utilised in crop monitoring and how the data obtained from these methods can provide valuable insights into the health and development of plants. © 2023 The Authors
DCCGAN based intrusion detection for detecting security threats in IoT
- Authors: Cyriac, Robin , Balasubaramanian, Sundaravadivazhagn , Balamurugan, Venkatachalam , Karthikeyan, R.
- Date: 2024
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Bio-Inspired Computation Vol. 23, no. 2 (2024), p. 111-124
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- Description: Internet of things (IoT) consists of wired/wireless network, sensor, and actuator, where security is more important when more devices are connected to IoT. To increase more security in IoT devices, this manuscript proposes a dual-channel capsule generation adversarial network (DCCGAN) espoused intrusion detection scheme for detecting security threats in IoT network (DCCGAN-IDF-DST-IoT). Data are collected from MQTT-IoT-IDS2020 dataset and Bot-IoT dataset. Then, the data are fed to local least squares, which eradicate the redundancy and replace the missing value. The pre-processed dataset is supplied to fertile field optimisation algorithm (FFOA), which selects the relevant features. Then DCCGAN is used for classifying the data as normal or anomalous. The proposed technique is activated in Python language. The performance of proposed technique for MQTT-IoT-IDS2020 dataset attains 16.55%, 21.37%, 32.99%, 27.66%, 26.45%, 21.47% and 22.86% higher accuracy compared with the existing methods. Copyright © 2024 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.
Description and assessment of a new high resolution erosion model for constructed landforms
- Authors: Yavari, Shahla , McIntyre, Neil , Shao, Qi , Baumgartl, Thomas
- Date: 2024
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Environmental Modelling and Software Vol. 172, no. (2024), p.
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- Description: Literature review reveals that many erosion models have limitations for application to constructed landforms. The new EroCA model aims to address this gap. The model uses established erosion and sediment transport models applied to multiple particle size classes at fine spatial and temporal resolutions, covering both suspended load and bedload. Using data from an experimental plot in Northern Australia, global sensitivity analysis was used to investigate the sources of uncertainty, limitations of the model, and priorities for data collection. Further analysis explored sensitivity to model grid size. The results showed that the Manning roughness, erodibility parameters and particle size are the most important parameters. Results also showed low parameter identifiability and hence the difficulty of calibration, even when using high quality experimental data. EroCA has the capacity to be a powerful landform modelling tool at appropriate scales of application; however ideally its data needs would be considered during monitoring design. © 2023 The Authors
Detection of anomalies and explanation in cybersecurity
- Authors: Samariya, Durgesh , Ma, Jiangang , Aryal, Sunil , Zhao, Xiaohui
- Date: 2024
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: 30th International Conference on Neural Information Processing, ICONIP 2023, Changsha, 20-23 November 2023, Neural Information Processing: 30th International Conference, ICONIP 2023, Changsha, China, November 20-23, 2023, Proceedings, Part XIII Vol. 1967 CCIS, p. 414-426
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- Description: Histogram-based anomaly detectors have gained significant attention and application in the field of intrusion detection because of their high efficiency in identifying anomalous patterns. However, they fail to explain why a given data point is flagged as an anomaly. Outlying Aspect Mining (OAM) aims to detect aspects (a.k.a subspaces) where a given anomaly significantly differs from others. In this paper, we have proposed a simple but effective and efficient histogram-based solution - HMass. In addition to detecting anomalies, HMass provides explanations on why the points are anomalous. The effectiveness and efficiency of HMass are evaluated using comparative analysis on seven cyber security datasets, covering the tasks of anomaly detection and outlying aspect mining. © 2024, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
Differences in anxiety, insomnia, and trauma symptoms in wildfire survivors from australia, canada, and the United States of America
- Authors: Isaac, Fadia , Toukhsati, Samia , Klein, Britt , Di Benedetto, Mirella , Kennedy, Gerard
- Date: 2024
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Vol. 21, no. 1 (2024), p.
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- Description: Many survivors of wildfires report elevated levels of psychological distress following the trauma of wildfires. However, there is only limited research on the effects of wildfires on mental health. This study examined differences in anxiety, depression, insomnia, sleep quality, nightmares, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms following wildfires in Australia, Canada, and the United States of America (USA). One hundred and twenty-six participants from Australia, Canada, and the USA completed an online survey. The sample included 102 (81%) women, 23 (18.3%) men, and one non-binary (0.8%) individual. Participants were aged between 20 and 92 years (M age = 52 years, SD = 14.4). They completed a demographic questionnaire, the Disturbing Dream and Nightmare Severity Index (DDNSI), Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire (GAD-7), the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and PTSD Checklist (PCL-5). Results showed that participants from the USA scored significantly higher on the GAD-7 (p = 0.009), ISI (p = 0.003), and PCL-5 (p = 0.021) than participants from Australia and Canada. The current findings suggest a need for more international collaboration to reduce the severity of mental health conditions in Australia, Canada, and the USA. © 2023 by the authors.
DQN approach for adaptive self-healing of VNFs in cloud-native network
- Authors: Arulappan, Arunkumar , Mahanti, Aniket , Passi, Kalpdrum , Srinivasan, Thiruvenkadam , Naha, Ranesh , Raja, Gunasekaran
- Date: 2024
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: IEEE Access Vol. 12, no. (2024), p. 34489-34504
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- Description: The transformation from physical network function to Virtual Network Function (VNF) requires a fundamental design change in how applications and services are tested and assured in a hybrid virtual network. Once the VNFs are onboarded in a cloud network infrastructure, operators need to test VNFs in real-time at the time of instantiation automatically. This paper explicitly analyses the problem of adaptive self-healing of a Virtual Machine (VM) allocated by the VNF with the Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) approach. The DRL-based big data collection and analytics engine performs aggregation to probe and analyze data for troubleshooting and performance management. This engine helps to determine corrective actions (self-healing), such as scaling or migrating VNFs. Hence, we proposed a Deep Queue Learning (DQL) based Deep Queue Networks (DQN) mechanism for self-healing VNFs in the virtualized infrastructure manager. Virtual network probes of closed-loop orchestration perform the automation of the VNF and provide analytics for real-time, policy-driven orchestration in an open networking automation platform through the stochastic gradient descent method for VNF service assurance and network reliability. The proposed DQN/DDQN mechanism optimizes the price and lowers the cost by 18% for resource usage without disrupting the Quality of Service (QoS) provided by the VNF. The outcome of adaptive self-healing of the VNFs enhances the computational performance by 27% compared to other state-of-the-art algorithms. © 2013 IEEE.
Dreaming of an indigenised Australia
- Authors: Tout, Dan
- Date: 2024
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Australian Studies Vol. 48, no. 1 (2024), p. 135-151
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- Description: This article offers a critical engagement with Billy Griffiths’s award-winning book Deep Time Dreaming: Uncovering Ancient Australia as a departure point towards uncovering and examining a significant tradition of Australian cultural reflection and interpretation it terms, following Anthony Moran, indigenising settler nationalism. Tracing the genealogy of the indigenising settler-nationalist tendencies that shape Deep Time Dreaming, and to which the text itself contributes, the article situates Griffiths’s contribution as a recent and notable exemplar of a longstanding historiographical tradition that responds to the continuing crisis of settler-national belonging and legitimacy by attempting to incorporate the historical depth of Indigenous occupation into its own national, nationalising narrative, and so to indigenise the settler nation itself. The tradition is not Griffiths’s alone. When read in the context of a broader indigenising settler-nationalist tradition, Griffiths’s approach is revealed as neither unusually problematic nor uniquely complicit in the dynamics the article draws attention to. On the contrary, the genealogical reading of Griffiths’s work I offer here is important precisely to the extent that it facilitates an understanding of the underlying tendencies towards settler indigenisation that continue to condition Australian settler-national/ist historiography, and culture at large. © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Ecological and statistical models to configure flow regime for environment benefit in highly engineered rivers : a case study in the MacKenzie River, Southeast Australia
- Authors: Atazadeh, Ehsan , Gell, Peter , Mills, Keely , Barton, Andrew , Newall, Peter
- Date: 2024
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Environmental Science and Pollution Research Vol. 31, no. 5 (2024), p. 7408-7427
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- Description: Ecological and statistical models were developed using freshwater algal assemblages to assess water quality and ecological health of a regulated river. These models were used to inform configuration of flows to maintain or improve environmental conditions of the waterway whilst meeting consumptive water supply commitments. The flow regime of the MacKenzie River, western Victoria, Australia, has been substantially modified since the construction of a water supply reservoir on its upper reach in 1887. Water is withdrawn at several locations downstream of the reservoir, creating a substantially modified flow regime, impacting key environmental values of the river. To assess the impact of the different flow regimes on river health and ecosystem function, ten sites were repeatedly sampled along the river between February 2012 and April 2014. Physical and chemical characteristics of water, including pH, temperature, turbidity, electrical conductivity, dissolved oxygen, total nitrogen, total phosphorous, cations, and anions, were measured. Biological properties of the algal periphyton communities, including dry mass, ash-free dry mass, chlorophyll-a concentration, and species composition, were also measured. Exploration of the algal assemblage and water chemistry data using the computationally unconstrained ordination technique such as principal component analysis principal component analysis (PCA), correspondence analysis (CA), detrended correspondence analysis (DCA), and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) indicated two strong gradients in the data sets. Furthermore, the quantitative ecosystem response models have been developed as the prototype tool to assist in the future configuration of flows in this river. The empirical data and models showed the lower reaches of the river to be in poor condition under low flows, but this condition improved under flows of 35 ML/day, as indicated by the reduction in green algae and cyanobacteria and improvement. Finally, the results are presented to tailor discharge and duration of water volume by amalgamation of consumptive and environmental flows to improve the condition of the stream thereby supplementing the flows dedicated to environmental outcomes. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.
Examining the intra-rater reliability of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)-Induced Motor Evoked Potentials (MEPs) within and between sessions: a step towards ensuring accuracy of observed mep changes in repeated measures studies conducted by newly trained TMS operators
- Authors: Salihu, Abubakar , Hill, Keith , Zoghi, Maryam , Jaberzadeh, Shapour
- Date: 2024
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Middle East Journal of Rehabilitation and Health Studies Vol. 11, no. 2 (2024), p.
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- Description: Background: An essential factor in the validity of motor evoked potential (MEP)s recorded by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over multiple times is their test-retest reliability which to a large extent depends on the accuracy and competence of the assessor (intra-rater reliability). However, intra-rater reliability is infrequently reported in TMS studies suggesting that this is rarely done. Objectives: This study was conducted to determine the intra-rater within and between-session reliability of a newly trained TMS assessor prior to a main TMS study and report on the methodology used to encourage similar practice. Methods: Fourteen (10 males, 4 females; mean age: 32 ± 5.8 years) participants took part in the study. Motor evoked potentials were elicited from a relaxed, right first dorsal interosseous (FDI) muscle three times (T1, T2 and T3) across two testing sessions at least 48 hours apart. During the first session, MEPs were recorded twice (T1 and T2) within an interval of 20 minutes to determine the within (intra) session reliability of the assessor. During the second session, a single measurement was carried out (T3) which was compared to T1 to determine the inter-session reliability. Results: Repeated measure analysis of variance (ANOVA) did not reveal significant difference in the amplitude of the MEPs obtained across the three time periods (P = 0.196) demonstrating agreement in the MEPs and hence the reliability of the assessor. Additionally, the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) between T1 and T2; and T1 and T3 were 0.952 (P < 0.001) and 0.833 (P = 0.001) respectively further indicating the within and between sessions reliability of the assessor. Conclusions: The agreement between the three measured MEPs amplitude and the significant ICC demonstrates the reliability of the assessor in this study to use TMS for research. We suggest that the intra-rater reliability of new TMS operators should be established using the methodology in this report prior to main TMS studies. © 2023, Salihu et al.
Fuzzy multiplier, sum and intersection rules in non-Lipschitzian settings : decoupling approach revisited
- Authors: Fabian, Marian , Kruger, Alexander , Mehlitz, Patrick
- Date: 2024
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Mathematical Analysis and Applications Vol. 532, no. 2 (2024), p.
- Relation: https://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP160100854
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- Description: We revisit the decoupling approach widely used (often intuitively) in nonlinear analysis and optimization and initially formalized about a quarter of a century ago by Borwein & Zhu, Borwein & Ioffe and Lassonde. It allows one to streamline proofs of necessary optimality conditions and calculus relations, unify and simplify the respective statements, clarify and in many cases weaken the assumptions. In this paper we study weaker concepts of quasiuniform infimum, quasiuniform lower semicontinuity and quasiuniform minimum, putting them into the context of the general theory developed by the aforementioned authors. Along the way, we unify the terminology and notation and fill in some gaps in the general theory. We establish rather general primal and dual necessary conditions characterizing quasiuniform