Online alcohol interventions: A systematic review
- Authors: White, Angela , Kavanagh, David , Stallman, Helen , Klein, Britt , Kay-Lambkin, Frances , Proudfoot, Judith , Drennan, Judy , Connor, Jason , Baker, Amanda , Hines, Emily , Young, Ross
- Date: 2010
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: Journal of Medical Internet Research Vol. 12, no. 5 (2010), p. e62p.1-e62p.12
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- Description: Background: There has been a significant increase in the availability of online programs for alcohol problems. A systematic review of the research evidence underpinning these programs is timely. Objectives: Our objective was to review the efficacy of online interventions for alcohol misuse. Systematic searches of Medline, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and Scopus were conducted for English abstracts (excluding dissertations) published from 1998 onward. Search terms were: (1) Internet, Web*; (2) online, computer *; (3) alcohol*; and (4) Eeffect *, trial*, random* (where * denotes a wildcard). Forward and backward searches from identified papers were also conducted. Articles were included if (1) the primary intervention was delivered and accessed via the Internet, (2) the intervention focused on moderating or stopping alcohol consumption, and (3) the study was a randomized controlled trial of an alcohol-related screen, assessment, or intervention. Results: The literature search initially yielded 31 randomized controlled trials (RCTs), 17 of which met inclusion criteria. Of these 17 studies, 12 (70.6%) were conducted with university students, and 11 (64.7%) specifically focused on at-risk, heavy, or binge drinkers. Sample sizes ranged from 40 to 3216 (median 261), with 12 (70.6%) studies predominantly involving brief personalized feedback interventions. Using published data, effect sizes could be extracted from 8 of the 17 studies. In relation to alcohol units per week or month and based on 5 RCTs where a measure of alcohol units per week or month could be extracted, differential effect sizes to posttreatment ranged from 0.02 to 0.81 (mean 0.42, median 0.54). Pre-post effect sizes for brief personalized feedback interventions ranged from 0.02 to 0.81, and in 2 multi-session modularized interventions, a pre-post effect size of 0.56 was obtained in both. Pre-post differential effect sizes for peak blood alcohol concentrations (BAC) ranged from 0.22 to 0.88, with a mean effect size of 0.66. Conclusions: The available evidence suggests that users can benefit from online alcohol interventions and that this approach could be particularly useful for groups less likely to access traditional alcohol-related services, such as women, young people, and at-risk users. However, caution should be exercised given the limited number of studies allowing extraction of effect sizes, the heterogeneity of outcome measures and follow-up periods, and the large proportion of student-based studies. More extensive RCTs in community samples are required to better understand the efficacy of specific online alcohol approaches, program dosage, the additive effect of telephone or face-to-face interventions, and effective strategies for their dissemination and marketing.
- Description: Background: There has been a significant increase in the availability of online programs for alcohol problems. A systematic review of the research evidence underpinning these programs is timely. Objectives: Our objective was to review the efficacy of online interventions for alcohol misuse. Systematic searches of Medline, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and Scopus were conducted for English abstracts (excluding dissertations) published from 1998 onward. Search terms were: (1) Internet, Web*; (2) online, computer *; (3) alcohol*; and (4) E\effect *, trial*, random* (where * denotes a wildcard). Forward and backward searches from identified papers were also conducted. Articles were included if (1) the primary intervention was delivered and accessed via the Internet, (2) the intervention focused on moderating or stopping alcohol consumption, and (3) the study was a randomized controlled trial of an alcohol-related screen, assessment, or intervention. Results: The literature search initially yielded 31 randomized controlled trials (RCTs), 17 of which met inclusion criteria. Of these 17 studies, 12 (70.6%) were conducted with university students, and 11 (64.7%) specifically focused on at-risk, heavy, or binge drinkers. Sample sizes ranged from 40 to 3216 (median 261), with 12 (70.6%) studies predominantly involving brief personalized feedback interventions. Using published data, effect sizes could be extracted from 8 of the 17 studies. In relation to alcohol units per week or month and based on 5 RCTs where a measure of alcohol units per week or month could be extracted, differential effect sizes to posttreatment ranged from 0.02 to 0.81 (mean 0.42, median 0.54). Pre-post effect sizes for brief personalized feedback interventions ranged from 0.02 to 0.81, and in 2 multi-session modularized interventions, a pre-post effect size of 0.56 was obtained in both. Pre-post differential effect sizes for peak blood alcohol concentrations (BAC) ranged from 0.22 to 0.88, with a mean effect size of 0.66. Conclusions: The available evidence suggests that users can benefit from online alcohol interventions and that this approach could be particularly useful for groups less likely to access traditional alcohol-related services, such as women, young people, and at-risk users. However, caution should be exercised given the limited number of studies allowing extraction of effect sizes, the heterogeneity of outcome measures and follow-up periods, and the large proportion of student-based studies. More extensive RCTs in community samples are required to better understand the efficacy of specific online alcohol approaches, program dosage, the additive effect of telephone or face-to-face interventions, and effective strategies for their dissemination and marketing.
Facilitating patients' dietary change : A review of dietitians' correspondence practices with general practitioners
- Authors: Cant, Robyn , Pomeroy, Sylvia
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: Nutrition and Dietetics Vol. 68, no. 2 (2011), p. 140-148
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- Description: Aim: Dietitian and general practitioner collaboration in the nutrition care of a patient is important to assist patients to achieve their nutrition goals. This paper aims to review the published literature on dietitians' correspondence practices with recipient general practitioners regarding nutrition interventions recommended to patients. Methods: A literature search was conducted of publications from 1995 to December 2009. Key words were used to search the electronic databases Medline, CINAHL Plus, ProQuest, PsycINFO and Google Scholar. Twenty papers that addressed this topic were selected by two authors for inclusion in the review. Results: There is evidence that dietitians often fail to provide general practitioners with formalised correspondence that describes dietitians' nutrition interventions with patients. Doctors report they lack patient information via dietitians' correspondence. Information about nutrition care of hospital patients often remains within hospital records. Doctors prefer standardised letter formats with content presented succinctly. The letter should include a nutrition diagnosis, agreed goals, a plan for ongoing dietetic visits and instructions for a general practitioner's supportive actions. Conclusion: Dietitians need skill in drafting reports or letters useful for general practitioners by selecting content of value to doctors and using a suitable style. Implementation of shared electronic records in Australia will facilitate information transfer to help realise collaborative patient care. Further investigations of dietitian-general practitioner correspondence are warranted to determine best practice. © 2011 The Authors. Nutrition & Dietetics © 2011 Dietitians Association of Australia.
Managing projected midwifery workforce deficits through collaborative partnerships
- Authors: McIntyre, Meredith , Patrick, Alison , Jones, Linda , Newton, Michelle , McLachlan, Helen , Morrow, Jane , Morton, Harriet
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: Australian Health Review Vol. 36, no. 1 (2012), p. 75-78
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- Description: To address workforce shortages, the Australian Government funded additional nursing and midwifery places in 2009 pre-registration courses. An existing deficit in midwifery clinical placements, combined with the need to secure additional clinical placements, contributed to a serious shortfall. In response, a unique collaboration between Midwifery Academics of Victoria (MIDAC), rural and metropolitan maternity managers (RMM andMMM)groups and Department of Health (DOH) Victoria was generated, in order to overcome difficulties experienced by maternity services in meeting the increased need. This group identified the large number of different clinical assessment tools required to be being completed by midwives supervising students as problematic. It was agreed that the development of a Common Assessment Tool (CAT) for use in clinical assessment across all pre-registration midwifery courses in Victoria had the potential to reduce workload associated with student assessments and, in doing so, release additional placements within each service. The CAT was developed in 2009 and implemented in 2010. The unique collaboration involved in the development of theCATis a blueprint for future projects. The collaboration on this project provided a range of benefits and challenges, as well as unique opportunities for further collaborations involving industry, government, regulators and the tertiary sector. © 2012 AHHA.
Angiotensin converting enzyme 2 and atherosclerosis
- Authors: Wang, Yutang , Tikellis, Chris , Thomas, Merlin , Golledge, Jonathan
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: Atherosclerosis Vol. 226, no. 1 (2013), p. 3-8
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- Description: Angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is a homolog of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) which generates angiotensin II from angiotensin I. ACE, its product angiotensin II and the downstream angiotensin type I receptor are important components of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS). Angiotensin II, the most important component of the RAS, promotes the development of atherosclerosis. The identification of ACE2 in 2000 opened a new chapter of research on the regulation of the RAS. ACE2 degrades pro-atherosclerotic angiotensin II and generates anti-atherosclerotic angiotensin 1-7. In this review, we explored the importance of ACE2 in protecting experimental animals from developing atherosclerosis and its involvement in human atherosclerosis. We also examined the published evidence assessing the importance of ACE2 in different cell types relevant to atherosclerosis and putative underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms linking ACE2 with protection from atherosclerosis. ACE2 shifts the balance from angiotensin II to angiotensin 1-7 inhibiting the progression of atherosclerosis in animal models. © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd.
Current programs and future needs in health literacy for older people : a literature review
- Authors: Lê, Quynh , Terry, Daniel , Woodroffe, Jess
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: Journal of Consumer Health on the Internet Vol. 17, no. 4 (2013), p. 369-388
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- Description: Inadequate health literacy occurs more amongst older adults and can result in difficulties synthesising information and communicating with health professionals, increased emergency visits and hospitalizations, poor uptake of preventative interventions, increased mortality, and ultimately greater health care costs. A literature review was conducted that identified 12 articles that discussed and examined health literacy interventions among older adults. It revealed few papers exist which highlight programs that examine health literacy outcomes for older adults. The review identified evidence-based best-practice models of health literacy interventions need to be further developed to meet the health literacy needs of aging population. © 2013 Copyright Quynh Le, Daniel R. Terry, and Jess Woodroffe.
Family needs and involvement in the intensive care unit : A literature review
- Authors: Al Mutair, Abbas , Plummer, Virginia , O'Brien, Anthony , Clerehan, Rosemary
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: Journal of Clinical Nursing Vol. 22, no. 13-14 (2013), p. 1805-1817
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- Description: Aims and objectives: To understand the needs of critically ill patient families', seeking to meet those needs and explore the process and patterns of involving family members during routine care and resuscitation and other invasive procedures. Methods: A structured literature review using Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Pubmed, Proquest, Google scholar, Meditext database and a hand search of critical care journals via identified search terms for relevant articles published between 2000 and 2010. Results: Thirty studies were included in the review either undertaken in the Intensive Care Unit or conducted with critical care staff using different methods of inquiry. The studies were related to family needs; family involvement in routine care; and family involvement during resuscitation and other invasive procedures. The studies revealed that family members ranked both the need for assurance and the need for information as the most important. They also perceived their important needs as being unmet, and identified the nurses as the best staff to meet these needs, followed by the doctors. The studies demonstrate that both family members and healthcare providers have positive attitudes towards family involvement in routine care. However, family members and healthcare providers had significantly different views of family involvement during resuscitation and other invasive procedures. Conclusion: Meeting Intensive Care Unit family needs can be achieved by supporting and involving families in the care of the critically ill family member. More emphasis should be placed on identifying the family needs in relation to the influence of cultural values and religion held by the family members and the organisational climate and culture of the working area in the Intensive Care Unit. © 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
A revision of Chara sect. Charopsis (Characeae: Charophyceae) in Australia, including specimens collected for Bush Blitz
- Authors: Casanova, Michelle
- Date: 2014
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: Australian Systematic Botany Vol. 27, no. 6 (2014), p. 403-414
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- Description: Australian species of Chara L. sect. Charopsis (Kütz.) Leonh. are revised. Multivariate analysis supports recognition of four species: Chara braunii C.C.Gmel., C. Evanida Casanova, C. karolii Casanova and C. Muelleri (A.Braun) F.Muell. These taxa are described and illustrated, and a key is provided. © 2015 CSIRO.
At the crossroads of violence and aggression in the emergency department : Perspectives of Australian emergency nurses
- Authors: Morphet, Julia , Griffiths, Debra , Plummer, Virginia , Innes, Kelli , Fairhall, Robyn , Beattie, Jill
- Date: 2014
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: Australian Health Review Vol. 38, no. 2 (2014), p. 194-201
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- Description: Objective Violence is widespread in Australian emergency departments (ED) and most prevalent at triage. The aim of the present study was to identify the causes and common acts of violence in the ED perceived by three distinct groups of nurses. Methods The Delphi technique is a method for consensus-building. In the present study a three-phase Delphi technique was used to identify and compare what nurse unit managers, triage and non-triage nurses believe is the prevalence and nature of violence and aggression in the ED. Results Long waiting times, drugs and alcohol all contributed to ED violence. Triage nurses also indicated that ED staff, including security staff and the triage nurses themselves, can contribute to violence. Improved communication at triage and support from management to follow up episodes of violence were suggested as strategies to reduce violence in the ED Conclusion There is no single solution for the management of ED violence. Needs and strategies vary because people in the waiting room have differing needs to those inside the ED. Participants agreed that the introduction and enforcement of a zero tolerance policy, including support from managers to follow up reports of violence, would reduce violence and improve safety for staff. Education of the public regarding ED processes, and the ED staff in relation to patient needs, may contribute to reducing ED violence. What is known about the topic? Violence is prevalent in Australian healthcare, and particularly in emergency departments (ED). Several organisations and government bodies have made recommendations aimed at reducing the prevalence of violence in healthcare but, to date, these have not been implemented consistently, and violence continues. What does this paper add? This study examined ED violence from the perspective of triage nurses, nurse unit managers and non-triage nurses, and revealed that violence is experienced differently by emergency nurses, depending on their area of work. Triage nurses have identified that they themselves contribute to violence in the ED by their style of communication. Nurse unit managers and non-triage nurses perceive that violence is the result of drugs and alcohol, as well as long waiting times. What are the implications for practitioners? Strategies to reduce violence must address the needs of patients and staff both within the ED and in the waiting room. Such strategies should be multifaceted and include education of ED consumers and staff, as well as support from management to respond to reports of violence. © AHHA 2014.
Dynamic modelling and optimisation of flexible operation in post-combustion CO2 capture plants - A review
- Authors: Bui, Mai , Gunawan, Indra , Verheyen, Vincent , Feron, Paul , Meuleman, Erik , Adeloju, Samuel
- Date: 2014
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: Computers and Chemical Engineering Vol. 61, no. (2014), p. 245-265
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- Description: The drive for efficiency improvements in post-combustion CO2 capture (PCC) technologies continues to grow, with recent attention being directed towards flexible operation of PCC plants. However, there is a lack of research into the effect of process disturbances when operating flexibly, justifying a need for validated dynamic models of the PCC process. This review critically examines the dynamic PCC process models developed to date and analyses the different approaches used, as well as the model complexity and their limitations. Dynamic process models coupled with economic analysis will play a crucial role in process control and optimisation. Also discussed are key areas that need to be addressed in future dynamic models, including the lack of reliable dynamic experimental data for their validation, development of feasible flexible operation and process control strategies, as well as process optimisation by integrating accurate process models with established economic analysis tools. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.
Education reform makes no sense without social class
- Authors: Smyth, John
- Date: 2014
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: British Journal of Sociology of Education Vol. 35, no. 6 (2014), p. 953-962
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- Description: In enlightened and civilised societies we like to think that the blatantly racist eugenics movement that involved social selection based upon genetic traits is a disgraceful notion relegated to the past; but it seems not, it has just re-emerged in another form through the back door. It is an interesting question as to why social class continues to remain such a verboten topic, and to understand why we need to get inside what is going on. I can get to the essence of my argument quickly through an example from a university colleague: ‘This is bullshit,’ the student muttered under her breath. The tutorial topic assigned for that week was class. I’d kicked things off by asking whether class existed in modern Australia, or whether it was a relic of nineteenth century Europe. Struck by the student’s response, I asked her to elaborate. She did: Look, I went to private school and my Dad’s a CEO and most of his friends are business people. So I guess that’s supposed to make me upper class? But class has nothing to do with it. Going to a private school was my parents’ decision. And my Dad’s friends are just his friends. I suggested that the choice of school – not to mention the capacity to affordthe fees – and her father’s friendship network might have been heavily shaped by their class position. That wasn’t to say there was anything wrong with it, but it did show how our lives are shaped by larger social and economic forces we don’t control. The student was having none of it. It was clear that she’d encountered the notion of class before and found it singularly unconvincing. In her world, everything was simply a matter of individual choice – choices that were unconstrained … [and while] she didn’t actually say it, … class seemed to be an excuse for people who made the wrong choices in life. (Scanlon 2014)
Liver fluke vaccines in ruminants : Strategies, progress and future opportunities
- Authors: Toet, Hayley , Piedrafita, David , Spithill, Terry
- Date: 2014
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: International Journal for Parasitology Vol. 44, no. 12 (2014), p. 915-927
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- Description: The development of a vaccine for Fasciola spp. in livestock is a challenge and would be advanced by harnessing our knowledge of acquired immune mechanisms expressed by resistant livestock against fluke infection. Antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity directed to the surface tegument of juvenile/immature flukes is a host immune effector mechanism, suggesting that antigens on the surface of young flukes may represent prime candidates for a fluke vaccine. A Type 1 immune response shortly after fluke infection is associated with resistance to infection in resistant sheep, indicating that vaccine formulations should attempt to induce Type 1 responses to enhance vaccine efficacy. In cattle or sheep, an optimal fluke vaccine would need to reduce mean fluke burdens in a herd below the threshold of 30-54 flukes to ensure sustainable production benefits. Fluke infection intensity data suggest that vaccine efficacy of approximately 80% is required to reduce fluke burdens below this threshold in most countries. With the increased global prevalence of triclabendazole-resistant Fasciola hepatica, it may be commercially feasible in the short term to introduce a fluke vaccine of reasonable efficacy that will provide economic benefits for producers in regions where chemical control of new drug-resistant fluke infections is not viable. Commercial partnerships will be needed to fast-track new candidate vaccines using acceptable adjuvants in relevant production animals, obviating the need to evaluate vaccine antigens in rodent models. © 2014 Australian Society for Parasitology Inc.
A brief review of exercise, bipolar disorder, and mechanistic pathways
- Authors: Thomson, Daniel , Turner, Alyna , Lauder, Sue , Gigler, Margaret , Berk, Lesley , Singh, Ajeet , Pasco, Julie , Berk, Michael , Sylvia, Louisa
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: Frontiers in Psychology Vol. 6, no. (2015), p. 1-10
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- Description: Despite evidence that exercise has been found to be effective in the treatment of depression, it is unclear whether these data can be extrapolated to bipolar disorder. Available evidence for bipolar disorder is scant, with no existing randomized controlled trials having tested the impact of exercise on depressive, manic or hypomanic symptomatology. Although exercise is often recommended in bipolar disorder, this is based on extrapolation from the unipolar literature, theory and clinical expertise and not empirical evidence. In addition, there are currently no available empirical data on program variables, with practical implications on frequency, intensity and type of exercise derived from unipolar depression studies. The aim of the current paper is to explore the relationship between exercise and bipolar disorder and potential mechanistic pathways. Given the high rate of medical co-morbidities experienced by people with bipolar disorder, it is possible that exercise is a potentially useful and important intervention with regard to general health benefits; however, further research is required to elucidate the impact of exercise on mood symptomology. © 2015 Thomson, Turner, Lauder, Gigler, Berk, Singh, Pasco, Berk and Sylvia.
Care of patients in emergency department waiting rooms - an integrative review
- Authors: Innes, Kelli , Jackson, Debra , Plummer, Virginia , Elliott, Doug
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: Journal of Advanced Nursing Vol. 71, no. 12 (2015), p. 2702-2714
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- Description: Aim: To conduct an integrative review of primary research examining patient care roles introduced into emergency department waiting rooms. Background: Internationally, emergency departments are under pressure to meet increasing patient demand with limited resources. Several initiatives have been developed that incorporate a healthcare role in waiting rooms, to assess and initiate early interventions to decrease waiting times, detect patient deterioration and improve communication. The literature reporting these roles has not been systematically evaluated. Design: Integrative review. Data sources: Published English-language peer reviewed articles in CINAHL, Scopus, Medline and Web of Knowledge between 2003-2014. Review methods: Identified literature was evaluated using an integrative review framework, incorporating methodological critique and narrative synthesis of findings. Results: Six papers were included, with three waiting room roles identified internationally - clinical initiative nurse, Physician-Nurse Supplementary Assessment Team and clinical assistants. All roles varied in terms of definitions, scope, responsibilities and skill sets of individuals in the position. There was limited evidence that the roles decreased waiting times or improved patient care, especially during busy periods. Of note, staff members performing these roles require high-level therapeutic relationship and effective interpersonal skills with patients, family and staff. The role requires support from other staff, particularly during periods of high workload, for optimal functioning and effective patient care. Conclusion: Generalisations and practice recommendations are limited due to the lack of available literature. Further research is required to evaluate the impact emergency department waiting room roles have on patient outcomes and staff perspectives. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Dealing with Trade-Offs in destructive sampling designs for occupancy surveys
- Authors: Canessa, Stefano , Heard, Geoffrey , Robertson, Peter , Sluiter, Ian
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: PLoS ONE Vol. 10, no. 3 (2015), p. e0120340
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- Description: Occupancy surveys should be designed to minimise false absences. This is commonly achieved by increasing replication or increasing the efficiency of surveys. In the case of destructive sampling designs, in which searches of individual microhabitats represent the repeat surveys, minimising false absences leads to an inherent trade-off. Surveyors can sample more low quality microhabitats, bearing the resultant financial costs and producing wider-spread impacts, or they can target high quality microhabitats were the focal species is more likely to be found and risk more severe impacts on local habitat quality. We show how this trade-off can be solved with a decision-theoretic approach, using the Millewa Skink Hemiergis millewae from southern Australia as a case study. Hemiergis millewae is an endangered reptile that is best detected using destructive sampling of grass hummocks. Within sites that were known to be occupied by H. millewae, logistic regression modelling revealed that lizards were more frequently detected in large hummocks. If this model is an accurate representation of the detection process, searching large hummocks is more efficient and requires less replication, but this strategy also entails destruction of the best microhabitats for the species. We developed an optimisation tool to calculate the minimum combination of the number and size of hummocks to search to achieve a given cumulative probability of detecting the species at a site, incorporating weights to reflect the sensitivity of the results to a surveyor's priorities. The optimisation showed that placing high weight on minimising volume necessitates impractical replication, whereas placing high weight on minimising replication requires searching very large hummocks which are less common and may be vital for H. millewae. While destructive sampling methods are sometimes necessary, surveyors must be conscious of the ecological impacts of these methods. This study provides a simple tool for identifying sampling strategies that minimise those impacts. © 2015 Canessa et al.
From monocausality to systems thinking: a complementary and alternative conceptual approach for better understanding the development and prevention of sports injury
- Authors: Hulme, Adam , Finch, Caroline
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: Injury Epidemiology Vol. 2, no. 1 (2015), p. 1-12
- Relation: http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1058737
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- Description: The science of sports injury control, including both its cause and prevention, has largely been informed by a biomedical and mechanistic model of health. Traditional scientific practice in sports injury research has routinely involved collapsing the broader socioecological landscape down in order to analyse individual-level determinants of injury - whether biomechanical and/or behavioural. This approach has made key gains for sports injury prevention research and should be further encouraged and allowed to evolve naturally. However, the public health, Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics, and injury epidemiological literature more broadly, has accepted the value of a socioecological paradigm for better understanding disease and injury processes, and sports injury research will fall further behind unless it does the same. A complementary and alternative conceptual approach towards injury control known as systems thinking that builds on socioecological science, both methodologically and analytically, is readily available and fast developing in other research areas. This review outlines the historical progression of causal concepts in the field of epidemiology over the course of the modern scientific era. From here, causal concepts in injury epidemiology, and models of aetiology as found in the context of sports injury research are presented. The paper finishes by proposing a new research agenda that considers the potential for a systems thinking approach to further enhance sports injury aetiological understanding. A complementary systems paradigm, however, will require that sports injury epidemiologists bring their knowledge and skillsets forwards in an attempt to use, adapt, and even refine existing systems-based approaches. Alongside the natural development of conventional scientific methodologies and analyses in sports injury research, progressing forwards to a systems paradigm is now required. © 2015, Hulme and Finch.
Microencapsulation of omega-3 fatty acids : A review of microencapsulation and characterization methods
- Authors: Kaushik, Pratibha , Dowling, Kim , Barrow, Colin , Adhikari, Benu
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: Journal of Functional Foods Vol. 19, no. Part B (2015), p. 868-881
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- Description: To improve consumption of omega-3 fatty acids, foods can be enriched with omega-3 rich oils. Microencapsulation of omega-3 oils minimizes oxidative deterioration and allows their use in stable and easy-to-handle form. Microencapsulation of omega-3 fatty acids can be achieved by using a variety of methods, with the two most commonly used commercial processes being complex coacervation and spray dried emulsions. A variety of other methods are in development including spray chilling, extrusion coating and liposome entrapment. The key parameter in any of these processes is the selection of wall material. For spray dried emulsions and complex coacervates protein or polysaccharides are primarily used as shell material, although complex coacervation is currently commercially limited to gelatin. Here we review the need for microencapsulation of omega-3 oils, methods of microencapsulation and analysis, and the selection of shell material components. In particular, we discuss the method of complex coacervation, including its benefits and limitations. This review highlights the need for research on the fundamentals of interfacial and complexation behaviour of various proteins, gums and polyphenols to encapsulate and deliver omega-3 fatty acids, particularly with regard to broadening the range of shell materials that can be used in complex coacervation of omega-3 rich oils. © 2014 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Nursing 'our boys' during the Great war
- Authors: Wood, Pamela
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: Kai Tiaki Nursing New Zealand Vol. 21, no. 3 (2015), p. 14-16
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- Description: More than 500 New Zealand nurses served overseas in World War 1. At the end of the war, nearly a quarter of the country’s nursing workforce was still overseas. Most nurses served with the New Zealand Army Nursing Service (NZANS) but, in the early months of the war, before the NZANS had been sufficiently organised to send nurses, some joined the Australian service. Others went independently to Britain or were already there and joined services such as the Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps (QAs), the French Flag Corps and Red Cross, or worked in British military hospitals or hospitals in France run by wealthy British women.
A century-scale, human-induced ecohydrological evolution of wetlands of two large river basins in Australia (Murray) and China (Yangtze)
- Authors: Kattel, Giri , Dong, Xuhui , Yang, Xiangdong
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Vol. 20, no. 6 (2016), p. 2151-2168
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- Description: Recently, the provision of food and water resources of two of the world's largest river basins, the Murray and the Yangtze, has been significantly altered through widespread landscape modification. Long-term sedimentary archives, dating back for some centuries from wetlands of these river basins, reveal that rapid, basin-wide development has reduced the resilience of biological communities, resulting in considerable decline in ecosystem services, including water quality. Large-scale human disturbance to river systems, due to river regulation during the mid-20th century, has transformed the hydrology of rivers and wetlands, causing widespread modification of aquatic biological communities. Changes to cladoceran zooplankton (water fleas) were used to assess the historical hydrology and ecology of three Murray and Yangtze river wetlands over the past century. Subfossil assemblages of cladocerans retrieved from sediment cores (94, 45, and 65 cm) of three wetlands: Kings Billabong (Murray), Zhangdu, and Liangzi lakes (Yangtze), showed strong responses to hydrological changes in the river after the mid-20th century. In particular, river regulation caused by construction of dams and weirs together with river channel modifications, has led to significant hydrological alterations. These hydrological disturbances were either (1) a prolonged inundation of wetlands or (2) reduced river flow, both of which caused variability in wetland depth. Inevitably, these phenomena have subsequently transformed the natural wetland habitats, leading to a switch in cladoceran assemblages to species preferring poor water quality, and in some cases to eutrophication. The quantitative and qualitative decline of wetland water conditions is indicative of reduced ecosystem services, and requires effective restoration measures for both river basins which have been impacted by recent socioeconomic development and climate change. © 2016 Author(s).
A review of instrumented equipment to investigate head impacts in sport
- Authors: Patton, Declan
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: Applied Bionics and Biomechanics Vol. 2016, no. (2016), p. 1-17
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- Description: Contact, collision, and combat sports have more head impacts as compared to noncontact sports; therefore, such sports are uniquely suited to the investigation of head impact biomechanics. Recent advances in technology have enabled the development of instrumented equipment, which can estimate the head impact kinematics of human subjects in vivo. Literature pertaining to head impact measurement devices was reviewed and usage, in terms of validation and field studies, of such devices was discussed. Over the past decade, instrumented equipment has recorded millions of impacts in the laboratory, on the field, in the ring, and on the ice. Instrumented equipment is not without limitations; however, in vivo head impact data is crucial to investigate head injury mechanisms and further the understanding of concussion. © 2016 Declan A. Patton.
A review of practical tools for rapid monitoring of membrane bioreactors
- Authors: Scholes, Emily , Verheyen, Vincent , Brook-Carter, Phillip
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: Water Research Vol. 102, no. (2016), p. 252-262
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- Description: The production of high quality effluent from membrane bioreactors (MBRs) arguably requires less supervision than conventional activated sludge (CAS) processes. Nevertheless, the use of membranes brings additional issues of activated sludge filterability, cake layer formation and membrane fouling. From a practical standpoint, process engineers and operators require simple tools which offer timely information about the biological health and filterability of the mixed liquor as well as risks of membrane fouling. To this end, a range of analytical tools and biological assays are critically reviewed from this perspective. This review recommends that Capillary Suction Time (CST) analysis along with Total Suspended and Volatile Solids (TSS/VSS) analysis is used daily. For broad characterisation, total carbon and nitrogen analysis offer significant advantages over the commonly used chemical and biological oxygen demand (COD/BOD) analyses. Of the technologies for determining the vitality of the microbial biomass the most robust and reproducible, are the second generation adenosine-5'-triphosphate (ATP) test kits. Extracellular polymer concentrations are best monitored by measurement of turbidity after centrifugation. Taken collectively these tools can be used routinely to ensure timely intervention and smoother operation of MBR systems. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd.