The role of love stories in Romance Scams : A qualitative analysis of fraudulent profiles
- Authors: Kopp, Christian , Layton, Robert , Sillitoe, Jim , Gondal, Iqbal
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Cyber Criminology Vol. 9, no. 2 (2016), p. 205-216
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- Description: The Online Romance Scam is a very successful scam which causes considerable financial and emotional damage to its victims. In this paper, we provide a perspective that might be helpful to explain the success of this scam. In a similar way to the "The Nigerian letter", we propose that the scam techniques appeal to strong emotions, which are clearly involved in Romantic relationships. We also assume that the same success factors found in normal relationships contribute to the success of the romance scam. In an exploratory study using a qualitative analysis of fraudulent profiles from an international dating website, we examined this assumption. The findings show that personal affinities related to personal romantic imaginations, which are described by personal love stories, play an important role in the success of a romance scam. © 2016 International Journal of Cyber Criminology (IJCC).
The shame and guilt scales of the Test of Self-Conscious Affect-Adolescent (TOSCA-A) : Psychometric properties for responses from children, and measurement invariance across children and adolescents
- Authors: Watson, Shaun , Gomez, Rapson , Gullone, Eleonora
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Frontiers in Psychology Vol. 7, no. MAY (2016), p. 1-10
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- Description: This study examined various psychometric properties of the items comprising the shame and guilt scales of the Test of Self-Conscious Affect-Adolescent (TOSCA-A) in a group children between 8 and 11 years of age. A total of 699 children (367 females and 332 males) completed these scales, and also measures of depression and empathy. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) provided support for an oblique two-factor model, with the originally proposed shame and guilt items comprising shame and guilt factors, respectively. There was good internal consistency reliability for the shame and guilt scales, with omega coefficient values of 0.77 and 0.81 for shame and guilt, respectively. Also, shame correlated with depression symptoms positively (0.34, p < 0.001) and had no relation with empathy (-0.07, ns). Guilt correlated with depression symptoms negatively (-0.28, p < 0.001), and with empathy positively (0.13. p < 0.05). Thus there was support for the convergent and discriminant validity of the shame and guilt factors. Multiple-group CFA comparing this group of children with a separate group of adolescents (320 females and 242 males), based on the chi-square difference test, supported full metric invariance, the intercept invariance of 17 of the 30 shame and guilt items, and higher latent mean scores among children for both shame and guilt. The non-equivalency for intercepts and mean scores were of small effect sizes. Comparisons based on the difference in root mean squared error of approximation values supported full measurement invariance and no group difference for latent mean scores. The findings in the current study support the use of the TOSCA-A in children and the valid comparison of scores between children and adolescents, thereby opening up the possibility of evaluating change in the TOSCA-A shame and guilt factors over these developmental age groups. © 2016 Watson, Gomez and Gullone.
The social construction of retirement and evolving policy discourse of working longer
- Authors: Taylor, Philip , Earl, Catherine
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Social Policy Vol. 45, no. 2 (2016), p. 251-268
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- Description: This article is concerned with the evolving social construction of older workers and retirement. Evolving and competing 'world-views' from public policy, and social advocacy of productive and vulnerable older workers, are described and critiqued. Contradictions and disjunctions, in terms of public policies aimed at changing employer behaviour towards older workers, are identified. It is argued that present representations of older workers have serious flaws that provide a weak basis for policy development and may not only undermine the prospects for overcoming prejudicial societal attitudes but may in fact strengthen them. It is further argued that sheltering older workers in employment placements will inevitably limit the extent and nature of their participation. Instead, the mainstreaming of their employment is justified, bearing in mind negative attitudes towards ageing. © 2015 Cambridge University Press.
The use of on-farm water points and artificial wildlife ponds in providing habitat for fauna in the Wimmera and Southern Mallee, Victoria, Australia
- Authors: Starks, Jonathan
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Thesis , Masters
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- Description: Fauna living in arid environments face strong ecological and physiological constraints. Water is the key requirement and vertebrates exhibit a range of adaptations for survival. Some species obtain water from their diet, but those which require water to drink or as habitat must either live in or near permanent water, or move in search of water. This strongly influences the distribution and abundance of vertebrate species in arid environments. In arid agricultural landscapes, the development of artificial water sources for stock has benefited water-dependant native fauna, particularly frogs. Little is known about the effects of removal of artificial water sources in these environments. In North-western Victoria, completion of the Northern Mallee Pipeline and the proposed construction of the Wimmera Mallee Pipeline will ultimately replace over 20,000 farm dams, resulting in the widespread loss of an open water resource currently used by fauna across the Wimmera and southern Mallee. The wildlife values of the different on-farm water points in the Northern Mallee Pipeline region and the remaining Wimmera Mallee Domestic and Stock Channel System were examined. Species richness and abundance of vertebrates were surveyed at farm dams, channels and stock troughs in open paddocks, and at farm dams in Mallee woodlands. Mallee woodlands with no available water were also surveyed. Sites were surveyed once per season to determine which species were utilising the different on-farm water points and Mallee woodlands. Knowledge of their usage by different species allowed the importance of each water point type to be determined and the impact of the closure of the channel system to be assessed. The study recorded 57 vertebrate species in the Northern Mallee Pipeline region, including six reptile, 43 bird, seven mammal and zero frog species. Surveys in the Wimmera Mallee Channel/dam region recorded 74 different species, including three reptile , 57 bird, eight mammal and six frog species. Overall species richness and abundance was highest at sites with a farm dam in a Mallee woodland, and the levels of species richness and abundance were significantly higher than at sites with Mallee woodland and no available water. The differences between the two site types were due mainly to greater abundance of water- dependant species at farm dams in Mallee woodland sites. For water points in open paddocks, species richness and abundance was highest at sites with a farm dam in an open paddock and lowest at sites with a stock trough in an open paddock. The difference between the different open paddock water point types were significant, and like woodland sites, were driven by greater numbers of water-dependant species. The study also examined whether purpose-built artificial wildlife ponds could provide habitat for water-dependant fauna and whether artificial wildlife ponds could potentially maintain fauna populations after de-commissioning of the existing channel system. The results of this study showed that artificial wildlife ponds placed in Mallee woodlands can provide habitat for birds, both in the Northern Mallee Pipeline region and the Wimmera Mallee Channel/dam region. The results also showed that these wildlife ponds can support species assemblages at levels comparable to a farm dam in a Mallee woodland, demonstrating that wildlife ponds can be effective in providing a degree of ‘replacement’ habitat for birds on farms. Frogs were not recorded using wildlife ponds situated in Mallee woodlands and this was considered due to the wildlife ponds being placed at least 900 metres from a nearby water source potentially too far for many frog species to disperse in an arid environment. Given these findings, the position of ponds was adjusted for the ponds installed in Black Box woodlands. Wildlife ponds in Black Box woodlands were also successful in providing habitat for birds and functioned as an important source of water for water-dependant birds in summer. Frogs were recorded using the wildlife ponds situated in Black Box woodlands and this was most likely due to their close proximity (<200 metres) to a nearby water source, as well as being located in a wetland-associated vegetation type. The success of the wildlife ponds concept has been demonstrated both in their ability to function as habitat for water-dependant fauna and through widespread community acceptance and support. With the de-commissioning of the channel and dam system removing open water sources from the farming landscape, artificial wildlife ponds installed on farms across the region could provide not just a vital habitat resource supporting water-dependant fauna, but in many areas, the only source of water for wildlife within the Wimmera and southern Mallee regions.
- Description: Masters of Applied Science
Thermodynamic analysis questions claims of improved cardiac efficiency by dietary fish oil
- Authors: Loiselle, Denis , Han, June-Chiew , Goo, Eden , Chapman, Brian , Barclay, Christopher , Hickey, Anthony , Taberner, Andrew
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of General Physiology Vol. 148, no. 3 (2016), p. 183-193
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- Description: Studies in the literature describe the ability of dietary supplementation by omega-3 fish oil to increase the pumping efficiency of the left ventricle. Here we attempt to reconcile such studies with our own null results. We undertake a quantitative analysis of the improvement that could be expected theoretically, subject to physiological constraints, by posing the following question: By how much could efficiency be expected to increase if inefficiencies could be eliminated? Our approach utilizes thermodynamic analyses to investigate the contributions, both singly and collectively, of the major components of cardiac energetics to total cardiac efficiency. We conclude that it is unlikely that fish oils could achieve the required diminution of inefficiencies without greatly compromising cardiac performance.
Thermodynamics and kinetics of the FoF1-ATPase: application of the probability isotherm
- Authors: Chapman, Brian , Loiselle, Denis
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Royal Society Open Science Vol. 3, no. 2 (2016), p. 1-12
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- Description: We use the results of recent publications as vehicles with which to discuss the thermodynamics of the proton-driven mitochondrial F
Too much information? A document analysis of sport safety resources from key organisations
- Authors: Bekker, Sheree , Finch, Caroline
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: BMJ Open Vol. 6, no. 5 (2016), p. 1-8
- Relation: http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1058737
- Relation: http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/565907
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- Description: Objectives: The field of sport injury prevention has seen a marked increase in published research in recent years, with concomitant proliferation of lay sport safety resources, such as policies, fact sheets and posters. The aim of this study was to catalogue and categorise the number, type and topic focus of sport safety resources from a representative set of key organisations. Design: Cataloguing and qualitative document analysis of resources available from the websites of six stakeholder organisations in Australia. Setting: This study was part of a larger investigation, the National Guidance for Australian Football Partnerships and Safety (NoGAPS) project. Participants: The NoGAPS study provided the context for a purposive sampling of six organisations involved in the promotion of safety in Australian football. These partners are recognised as being highly representative of organisations at national and state level that reflect similarly in their goals around sport safety promotion in Australia. Results: The catalogue comprised 284 resources. More of the practical and less prescriptive types of resources, such as fact sheets, than formal policies were found. Resources for the prevention of physical injuries were the predominant sport safety issue addressed, with risk management, environmental issues and social behaviours comprising other categories. Duplication of resources for specific safety issues, within and across organisations, was found. Conclusions: People working within sport settings have access to a proliferation of resources, which creates a potential rivalry for sourcing of injury prevention information. Important issues that are likely to influence the uptake of safety advice by the general sporting public include the sheer number of resources available, and the overlap and duplication of resources addressing the same issues. The existence of a large number of resources from reputable organisations does not mean that they are necessarily evidence based, fully up to date or even effective in supporting sport safety behaviour change. © 2016, BMJ Publishing Group. All rights reserved.
Tourism and Islandscapes: Cultural realignment, social-ecological resilience and change
- Authors: Cheer, Joseph , Cole, Stroma , Reeves, Keir , Kato, Kumi
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Shima (Sydney, N.S.W.) Vol. 11, no. 1 (2016), p.41-54
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- Description: If, as according to Robin (2015: online), “islands are idealised ecological worlds, the Edens of a fallen planet’”, the rationale underpinning tourism expansion should acknowledge MacLeod’s (2013) notion of “cultural realignment” that calls for optimal and resilient encounters. This introductory article to the subsequent theme section of the journal on sustainable tourism acts as a bridge toward the development of emergent themes that describe how island peoples adapt and respond in localised cultural islandscapes as a consequence of tourism expansion. The links between cultural alignment and social-ecological resilience are clear and the principal and overarching question posed in this introductory article is: To what extent are islandscapes resilient to rapidly changing utilities, significances and ways of life wrought by tourism expansion? The vulnerabilityresilience duality remains firmly entrenched in the discourse on islands where tourism has become prominent, and although tourism provides some resiliency, overall, islandscapes remain subject to externally driven fast and slow change that exercises an overwhelming influence. Islander agency will likely remain subject to the fluctuations in the demands of the tourism supply chain. Therefore, tourism as a standalone focus of islands is a high-risk proposition, especially in contexts where externally driven change is likely to intensify.
Tourism governance for sustainable heritage tourism in Sri Lankan heritage destinations
- Authors: Sivanandamoorthy, Sivesan
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
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- Description: This thesis investigates tourism governance models for sustainable heritage tourism in Kandy, a world heritage city situated in central Sri Lanka. Additionally, it explains how the success of sustainable heritage tourism has underpinned sustainable livelihoods development from a socio-cultural perspective. The main objective is to find, identify and assess the influence of tourism governance on sustainable heritage tourism in Sri Lanka. Stemming from this approach is the development of a tourism governance model for sustainable heritage tourism in Kandy. This thesis is intended as a response to the challenges of adopting a sustainable livelihoods development approach. Accordingly, it investigates the role sustainable heritage tourism plays in host community development within the context of sociocultural, economic and environmental aspects in Kandy. Employing a qualitative methodological approach, this thesis is underpinned by an interpretive research philosophy. Research data was collected through field-based in-country interviews and open-ended questionnaires as this approach allowed respondents to offer more information and to include their feelings, attitudes and understanding of the subject. Research results from in-country fieldwork reveal that tourism governance models have a major influence on the viability of sustainable heritage tourism at Sri Lankan heritage destinations. Macro-scale and micro-scale factors were found to be influential in tourism governance models. Additionally, sustainable heritage tourism was found to be a persuasive factor in host community development. Research from this thesis provides policy recommendations and potential management frameworks for tourism practitioners and policy makers. These insights into Kandy and other Sri Lankan heritage localities enable improvement of tourism governance systems and sustainable heritage tourism.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Towards a model of learning and development practice
- Authors: Hodge, Steven , Smith, Erica , Barratt-Pugh, Llandis
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Human Resource Development: Practice, Policy & Research Vol. 1, no. 2 (2016), p. 7-25
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- Description: It is widely acknowledged that learning and development (L&D) is key to well-being, innovation andsuccess for individuals, organizations and societies (Delahaye, 2011). Learning and development practice involves application of distinctive knowledge, skills and techniques in distinctive contexts. The sheer range of contexts and kinds of expertise associated with this work produces a complex challenge to any attempt to model L&D practice. The Australian Institute of Training and Development (AITD) took up this challenge in the Australian setting. A team of researchers was engaged to produce a model of L&D practice that the organization could use to conceptualize the work of its members and refine organizational strategy in areas such as professional development services. Although there have been attempts to represent the work of L&D practitioners (e.g. the ASTD ‘Competency Model’), the research presented here focused on the Australian setting and was also guided by a commitment to recognizing the role of organizational contexts in shaping L&D practice. This focus on context distinguishes the model from others that are concerned with the expertise and attributes of individual L&D practitioners. The model presented here thus represents contexts of L&D practice as well as knowledge and skills applied within them. The article describes the research process used to develop the model, including analysis of existing models, interviews with senior L&D practitioners and a survey of practitioners. The result is a model that acknowledges the complexity of L&D practice in a contemporary environment.
Towards supremum-sum subdifferential calculus free of qualification conditions
- Authors: Correa, Rafael , Hantoute, Abderrahim , López, Marco
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Siam Journal on Optimization Vol. 26, no. 4 (2016), p. 2219-2234
- Relation: http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP160100854
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- Description: We give a formula for the subdifferential of the sum of two convex functions where one of them is the supremum of an arbitrary family of convex functions. This is carried out under a weak assumption expressing a natural relationship between the lower semicontinuous envelopes of the data functions in the domain of the sum function. We also provide a new rule for the subdifferential of the sum of two convex functions, which uses a strategy of augmenting the involved functions. The main feature of our analysis is that no continuity-type condition is required. Our approach allows us to unify, recover, and extend different results in the recent literature.
Treatment of flue-gas impurities for liquid absorbent-based post-combustion CO2 capture processes
- Authors: Meuleman, Erik , Cottrell, Aaron , Ghayur, Adeel
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Absorption-Based Post-Combustion Capture of Carbon Dioxide Chapter 22 p. 519-551
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- Description: This chapter discusses the importance of flue-gas treatment and the effect of its impurities on post-combustion CO2 capture (PCC) process performance. Important consequences of nonoptimized flue-gas treatment include atmospheric emissions, amine degradation, extra maintenance requirements through corrosion or fly ash deposition, and waste handling. Each of these areas is strongly dependent on the others. We briefly describe existing flue-gas separation technologies and compare them to the requirements of PCC. Further pretreatment technologies are suggested to improve the composition and thereby the properties of the flue gas entering the PCC plant. For optimal plant operation, the overall process from boiler to atmosphere and waste needs to be analyzed holistically, because: certain approaches can increase efficiency when treating multiple contaminants compared with treating each component separately;most "cleaning" steps influence or generate other compounds that could reduce the performance of the process chain;all costs associated with the treatment chain increase production costs, with little or no increase in value. © 2016 Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved.
Trends in body image of adolescent females in metropolitan and non-metropolitan regions: a longitudinal study
- Authors: Craike, Melinda , Young, Janet , Symons, Caroline , Pain, Michelle , Harvey, Jack , Eime, Rochelle , Payne, Warren
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: BMC Public Health Vol. 16, no. 1 (2016), p. 1-9
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- Description: Background: Body dissatisfaction is associated with a range of adverse outcomes, including impaired psychological health, low physical activity and disordered eating. This longitudinal study used the Factors Influencing Transitions in Girls' Active Leisure and Sport (FITGALS) dataset to examine trends in body image of adolescent females. Specifically, the study examined satisfaction with body size, physical appearance and dieting behaviour for two cohorts at transitional life phases in two geographic regions longitudinally over a 3-year period. Methods: A sample of 732 adolescent females in Grade 7 (n = 489, 66.8 %) and Grade 11 (n = 243, 33.2 %) at randomly selected Australian metropolitan and non-metropolitan secondary schools responded to a questionnaire in three successive years from 2008 to 2010. Participants reported perceptions about their body size and physical appearance and whether they were, or ought to be, on a diet. The data were analysed using a series of longitudinal logistic regression models. Results: Dieting and dissatisfaction with body size significantly increased over time and more so for older than younger girls. Region significantly moderated the effect of grade level regarding dissatisfaction with body size but not dieting. In non-metropolitan regions, those in the younger cohort were significantly more likely to be dissatisfied with their body size than the older cohort; whereas in metropolitan regions, those in the older cohort were significantly more likely to be dissatisfied with their body size than the younger cohort. Adolescent female's perceptions of their appearance were unchanged over time, region and grade level. Conclusions: Differences across time, region and grade level were found among adolescent females on body size and dieting behaviour, but not physical appearance. Adolescent females experience early and increasing body size dissatisfaction and dieting as they age, but stable perceptions of physical appearance. Age and geographic region are important considerations for the timing and targeting of interventions to address body image concerns. Further investigation of regional differences in body image perceptions and factors that affect these is warranted. The findings of this study highlight the ongoing need for strategies during adolescence to promote a healthy appreciation of body size and appearance. © 2016 The Author(s).
Tripartite motif-containing 55 identified as functional candidate for spontaneous cardiac hypertrophy in the rat locus cardiac mass 22
- Authors: Prestes, Priscilla , Marques, Francine , Lopez-Campos, Guillermo , Booth, Scott , McGlynn, Maree , Lewandowski, Paul , Delbridge, Lea , Harrap, Stephen , Charchar, Fadi
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Hypertension Vol. 34, no. 5 (May 2016), p. 950-958
- Relation: http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1034371
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- Description: Background:Left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy is a risk factor for cardiovascular death, but the genetic factors determining LV size and predisposition to hypertrophy are not well understood. We have previously linked the quantitative trait locus cardiac mass 22 (Cm22) on chromosome 2 with cardiac hypertrophy independent of blood pressure in the spontaneously hypertensive rat. From an original cross of spontaneously hypertensive rat with F344 rats, we derived a normotensive polygenic model of spontaneous cardiac hypertrophy, the hypertrophic heart rat (HHR) and its control strain, the normal heart rat (NHR).Methods and results:To identify the genes and molecular mechanisms underlying spontaneous LV hypertrophy we sequenced the HHR genome with special focus on quantitative trait locus Cm22. For correlative analyses of function, we measured global RNA transcripts in LV of neonatal HHR and NHR and 198 neonatal rats of an HHRxNHR F2 crossbred population. Only one gene within locus Cm22 was differentially expressed in the parental generation: tripartite motif-containing 55 (Trim55), with mRNA downregulation in HHR (P<0.05) and reduced protein expression. Trim55 mRNA levels were negatively correlated with LV mass in the F2 cross (r=-0.16, P=0.025). In exon nine of Trim55 in HHR, we found one missense mutation that functionally alters protein structure. This mutation was strongly associated with Trim55 mRNA expression in F2 rats (F=10.35, P<0.0001). Similarly, in humans, we found reduced Trim55 expression in hearts of subjects with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy.Conclusion:Our study suggests that the Trim55 gene, located in Cm22, is a novel candidate gene for polygenic LV hypertrophy independent of blood pressure.
Two roles for ecological surrogacy : indicator surrogates and management surrogates
- Authors: Hunter, Malcolm , Westgate, Martin , Barton, Philip , Calhoun, Aram , Pierson, Jennifer
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Ecological Indicators Vol. 63, no. (2016), p. 121-125
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- Description: Ecological surrogacy - here defined as using a process or element (e.g., species, ecosystem, or abiotic factor) to represent another aspect of an ecological system - is a widely used concept, but many applications of the surrogate concept have been controversial. We argue that some of this controversy reflects differences among users with different goals, a distinction that can be crystalized by recognizing two basic types of surrogate. First, many ecologists and natural resource managers measure "indicator surrogates" to provide information about ecological systems. Second, and often overlooked, are "management surrogates" (e.g., umbrella species) that are primarily used to facilitate achieving management goals, especially broad goals such as "maintain biodiversity" or "increase ecosystem resilience." We propose that distinguishing these two overarching roles for surrogacy may facilitate better communication about project goals. This is critical when evaluating the usefulness of different surrogates, especially where a potential surrogate might be useful in one role but not another. Our classification for ecological surrogacy applies to species, ecosystems, ecological processes, abiotic factors, and genetics, and thus can provide coherence across a broad range of uses. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. **Please note that there are multiple authors for this article therefore only the name of the first 5 including Federation University Australia affiliate “Philip Barton" is provided in this record**
Unique proteome signature of post-chemotherapy ovarian cancer ascites-derived tumor cells
- Authors: Ahmed, Nuzhat , Greening, David , Samardzija, Chantel , Escalona, Ruth , Chen, Maoshan , Findlay, Jock , Kannourakis, George
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Scientific Reports Vol. 6, no. (2016), p. 1-13
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- Description: Eighty % of ovarian cancer patients diagnosed at an advanced-stage have complete remission after initial surgery and chemotherapy. However, most patients die within <5 years due to episodes of recurrences resulting from the growth of residual chemoresistant cells. In an effort to identify mechanisms associated with chemoresistance and recurrence, we compared the expression of proteins in ascites-derived tumor cells isolated from advanced-stage ovarian cancer patients obtained at diagnosis (chemonaive, CN) and after chemotherapy treatments (chemoresistant/at recurrence, CR) by using in-depth, high-resolution label-free quantitative proteomic profiling. A total of 2,999 proteins were identified. Using a stringent selection criterion to define only significantly differentially expressed proteins, we report identification of 353 proteins. There were significant differences in proteins encoding for immune surveillance, DNA repair mechanisms, cytoskeleton rearrangement, cell-cell adhesion, cell cycle pathways, cellular transport, and proteins involved with glycine/proline/arginine synthesis in tumor cells isolated from CR relative to CN patients. Pathway analyses revealed enrichment of metabolic pathways, DNA repair mechanisms and energy metabolism pathways in CR tumor cells. In conclusion, this is the first proteomics study to comprehensively analyze ascites-derived tumor cells from CN and CR ovarian cancer patients.
Using point cloud data to identify, trace, and regularize the outlines of buildings
- Authors: Awrangjeb, Mohammad
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Remote Sensing Vol. 37, no. 3 (2016), p. 551-579
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- Description: Rectilinear building outline generation from the point set of a building usually works in three steps. Boundary edges that constitute the building outline are first identified. A sequence of points is then traced from the edges to define the building boundary. Finally, lines are generated from the sequence of points and adjusted to form a regular building outline. Existing solutions have shortcomings in one or more of the following cases: identifying details along a concave shape, separate identification of a 'hole' inside the shape, proper boundary tracing, and preservation of detailed information along a regularized building outline. This article proposes new solutions to all three steps. By using the maximum point-to-point distance in the input data, the solution to the identification step properly detects the boundary edges for any type of shape and separately recognizes holes, if any, inside the shape. The proposed tracing algorithm divides boundary edges into segments, accurately obtains the sequence of points for each segment and then merges them, if necessary, to produce a single boundary for each shape. The regularization step proposes an improved corner and line extraction algorithm and adjusts the extracted lines with respect to the automatically determined principal directions of buildings. In order to evaluate the performance, an evaluation system that makes corner correspondences between an extracted building outline and its reference outline is also proposed. Experimental results show that the proposed solutions can preserve detail along the building boundary and offer high pixel-based completeness and geometric accuracy, even in low-density input data. © 2016 The Author(s). Published by Taylor & Francis.
- Description: Rectilinear building outline generation from the point set of a building usually works in three steps. Boundary edges that constitute the building outline are first identified. A sequence of points is then traced from the edges to define the building boundary. Finally, lines are generated from the sequence of points and adjusted to form a regular building outline. Existing solutions have shortcomings in one or more of the following cases: identifying details along a concave shape, separate identification of a ‘hole’ inside the shape, proper boundary tracing, and preservation of detailed information along a regularized building outline. This article proposes new solutions to all three steps. By using the maximum point-to-point distance in the input data, the solution to the identification step properly detects the boundary edges for any type of shape and separately recognizes holes, if any, inside the shape. The proposed tracing algorithm divides boundary edges into segments, accurately obtains the sequence of points for each segment and then merges them, if necessary, to produce a single boundary for each shape. The regularization step proposes an improved corner and line extraction algorithm and adjusts the extracted lines with respect to the automatically determined principal directions of buildings. In order to evaluate the performance, an evaluation system that makes corner correspondences between an extracted building outline and its reference outline is also proposed. Experimental results show that the proposed solutions can preserve detail along the building boundary and offer high pixel-based completeness and geometric accuracy, even in low-density input data. © 2016 The Author(s). Published by Taylor & Francis.
Using the ferret as an animal model for investigating influenza antiviral effectiveness
- Authors: Oh, Ding , Hurt, Aeron
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Frontiers in Microbiology Vol. 7, no. (2016), p. 1-12
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- Description: The concern of the emergence of a pandemic influenza virus has sparked an increased effort toward the development and testing of novel influenza antivirals. Central to this is the animal model of influenza infection, which has played an important role in understanding treatment effectiveness and the effect of antivirals on host immune responses. Among the different animal models of influenza, ferrets can be considered the most suitable for antiviral studies as they display most of the human-like symptoms following influenza infections, they can be infected with human influenza virus without prior viral adaptation and have the ability to transmit influenza virus efficiently between one another. However, an accurate assessment of the effectiveness of an antiviral treatment in ferrets is dependent on three major experimental considerations encompassing firstly, the volume and titer of virus, and the route of viral inoculation. Secondly, the route and dose of drug administration, and lastly, the different methods used to assess clinical symptoms, viral shedding kinetics and host immune responses in the ferrets. A good understanding of these areas is necessary to achieve data that can accurately inform the human use of influenza antivirals. In this review, we discuss the current progress and the challenges faced in these three major areas when using the ferret model to measure influenza antiviral effectiveness.
Venous access : The patient experience
- Authors: Robinson-Reilly, Melissa , Paliadelis, Penny , Cruickshank, Mary
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Supportive Care in Cancer Vol. 24, no. 3 (2016), p. 1181-1187
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- Description: The evolution of venous access via peripheral cannulation, particularly in relation to the risks and the benefits of this procedure, is reported widely in the literature. However, there is limited research specific to the patient experience of undergoing venous access. The intent of this qualitative study was to understand patients' experience of venous access, with the aim of bringing forth their voices about the experiences of repeated venous access/cannulation attempts. This qualitative study used a hermeneutic phenomenological approach to explore the experiences of 15 participants in two rural oncology units in Australia. The participants had experienced repeated peripheral cannulation in order to receive chemotherapy. Study participants were asked to describe what it was like for them to be repeatedly cannulated. Data were collected via audiotaped individual interviews, the participants' stories were transcribed and analysed thematically. Themes emerged from the participants' stories that provided insights into their perceptions of the experience of being cannulated and the decision-making processes regarding how and where the procedure occurred. The findings suggest that a holistic approach to care was often missing causing the participants to feel vulnerable. Gaining insight into their experiences led to a greater understanding of the impact of this procedure on patients and the need to improve care through encouraging more collaborative decision-making processes between clinicians and patients. The implications for policy and practice focus on improving patient outcomes via procedural governance and education, with the intent of translating the findings from this research into evidence-based practice.
Video game classification in Australia : Does it enable parents to make informed game choices for their children
- Authors: Ross, Julie
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: If Australian video game classification does not warn of all classifiable elements, parents may be making game choices that inadvertently expose their child to content that may be deemed inappropriate. Research shows that classification in the United States of America (USA) does not always warn of all elements, and to date there has been no comparable research in Australia. This research explored issues surrounding video game classification in Australia, and whether parents feel that provides enough information for them to make informed game choices, by asking the following questions: 1. Does video game classification in Australia provide enough information for parents to make informed decisions about what games their children play? 2. What are the factors that may prevent parents from protecting children from inappropriate content in video games? To answer the first question, a content analysis compared the classification given to video games classified ‘MA15+’ in Australia during the years 2009 - 2010 with their overseas counterparts. Results showed that a substantial number of video games in Australia carry different classification information than those overseas. To answer the second question, a mixed-methods questionnaire surveyed parents of children who played video games to explore issues surrounding video game classification, and the role it plays when making game choices for children. A quasi-longitudinal process within the questionnaire explored the effect that more detailed information has on game choices. Results showed that some parents use classification to assist them with choosing games for their child, but when presented with more information some parents will make different choices. Factors which may prevent parents from protecting their child from inappropriate content in video games were also identified. The Protection Motivation Theory underpinning this research was modified to produce the Vigilant Protection Motivation Theory. Overall, this research suggests that parents in Australia may not have enough information to make appropriate game choices.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy