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Cosmogenic 21ne Analysis Of Individual Detrital Grains: Opportunities And Limitations, Alexandru T. Codilean, Paul Bishop, Trevor B. Hoey, Finlay M. Stuart, Derek Fabel

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

We use a numerical model describing cosmogenic nuclide acquisition in sediment moving through the upper Gaub River catchment to evaluate the extent to which aspects of source area geomorphology and geomorphological processes can be inferred from frequency distributions of cosmogenic 21Ne (21Nec) concentrations in individual detrital grains. The numerical model predicts the pathways of sediment grains from their source to the outlet of the catchment and calculates the total 21Nec concentration that each grain acquires along its pathway. The model fully accounts for variations in nuclide production due to changes in latitude, altitude and topographic shielding and allows for spatially …

Building Capacity In Medical Education Research In Australia, Ian G. Wilson

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

ANZAME (the Australian and New Zealand Association for Medical Education) shares two significant concerns about medical education in Australia that were raised in articles published recently in the Journal.

Learning The Ways Of Teaching: Medical Students As Co-Assessors And Peer Teachers, Susan Vella, Lisa Brown

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

No abstract provided.

A Comparative Study Of Assessment Grading And Nursing Students' Perceptions Of Quality In Sessional And Tenured Teachers, Yenna Salamonson, Elizabeth J. Halcomb, Sharon Andrew, Kathleen Peters, Debra Jackson

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Purpose: Although the global nursing faculty shortage has led to increasing reliance upon sessional staff, limited research has explored the impact of these sessional staff on the quality of teaching in higher education. We aim to examine differences in (a) student satisfaction with sessional and tenured staff and (b) assessment scores awarded by sessional and tenured staff in students' written assignments. Design: A comparative study method was used. Participants were recruited from students enrolled in the three nursing practice subjects across the 3 years of the baccalaureate program in an Australian university during the second semester of 2008. Methods: This …

Quit In General Practice: A Cluster Randomised Trial Of Enhanced In-Practice Support For Smoking Cessation, Nicholas Arnold Zwar, Robyn Richmond, Elizabeth Halcomb, John Furler, Julie Smith, Oshana Hermiz, Irene Blackberry, Ron Borland

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Background This study will test the uptake and effectiveness of a flexible package of smoking cessation support provided primarily by the practice nurse (PN) and tailored to meet the needs of a diversity of patients. Methods/Design This study is a cluster randomised trial, with practices allocated to one of three groups 1) Quit with Practice Nurse 2) Quitline referral 3) GP usual care. PNs from practices randomised to the intervention group will receive a training course in smoking cessation followed by access to mentoring. GPs from practices randomised to the Quitline referral group will receive information about the study and …

Casualisation Of The Teaching Workforce: Implications For Nursing Education, Elizabeth J. Halcomb, Sharon Andrew, Kath Peters, Yenna Salamonson, Debra Jackson

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Internationally, nursing faculty shortages have been reported and there is a potential for them to worsen into the next decade as existing faculty age. To, in part, address this issue, across disciplines there is clearly an international trend towards the increasing casualisation of the higher education workforce. Despite the potential impact of this two-tiered workforce structure, there has been limited examination of the discipline specific issues related to the employment of a growing number of sessional nursing staff. This paper provides a critical review of the literature related to the employment of sessional teachers in higher education. The paper advances …

Sessional Teachers In A Bn Program: Bridging The Divide Or Widening The Gap?, Sharon Andrew, Elizabeth J. Halcomb, Debra Jackson, Kath Peters, Yenna Salamonson

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Casualisation of the academic workforce has resulted in an increase in the employment of sessional teachers in Bachelor of Nursing (BN) programs. Many of these teachers are drawn from specialty clinical areas and continue to work clinically while teaching part-time. The aim of this study was to explore the perceptions of sessional teachers about their perceived contribution to an undergraduate Bachelor of Nursing program in a single Australian university. Twelve sessional teachers participated in semi-structured interviews as part of a larger mixed method study exploring the issues related to sessional teaching in the Bachelor of Nursing program. Three themes emerged …

Uptake Of Medicare Chronic Disease Items In Australia By General Practice Nurses And Aboriginal Health Workers, Elizabeth J. Halcomb, Patricia M. Davidson, Nicola Brown

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

The Australian health care system is currently in a state of reform and there is increasing pressure to provide care in community settings. Rising costs, demands and population ageing underscore the importance of adopting models of health care delivery to address changing epidemiological patterns. Population ageing and the increase of chronic conditions challenge models based on acute care. Changes to the Medicare benefits schedule have facilitated the development of a range of expanded nursing services in the general practice setting. In particular, item number 10997 was introduced to reimburse practice nurses and Aboriginal health workers (AHWs) for providing monitoring and …

Influenza Outbreaks During World Youth Day 2008 Mass Gathering, Christopher C. Blyth, Hong Foo, Sebastiaan J. Van Hal, Aeron C. Hurt, Ian G. Barr, Ken Mcphie, Paul K. Armstrong, William D. Rawlinson, Vicky Sheppeard, Stephen Conaty, Michael Staff, Dominic E. Dwyer, V Sintchenko, G L. Gilbert, N Komadina, R Shaw, S Adamson, J Fizzell, P M. Fennell, F Ba Alawi, S Corbett, K Weston, G Truman, O Nguyen, J Paterson, S Gabriele, C Moreira, B Forssman, M Cretikos, P Maywood, V Bowden, C Lowbridge, S Williams, M Torres, L Heron

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Influenza outbreaks during mass gatherings have been rarely described, and detailed virologic assessment is lacking. An influenza outbreak occurred during World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia, July 2008 (WYD2008). We assessed epidemiologic data and respiratory samples collected from attendees who sought treatment for influenza-like illness at emergency clinics in Sydney during this outbreak. Isolated influenza viruses were compared with seasonal influenza viruses from the 2008 influenza season. From 100 infected attendees, numerous strains were identified: oseltamivir-resistant influenza A (H1N1) viruses, oseltamivir-sensitive influenza A (H1N1) viruses, influenza A (H3N2) viruses, and strains from both influenza B lineages (B/Florida/4/2006-like and B/Malaysia/2506/2004-like). Novel …

National Review Of Food Label Law & Policy - Australia, Heather Yeatman

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Australia is the first country in the world to undertake a complete review of food label law and policy. This independent Review Panel is charged with examining current policies, standards and laws relevant to food labelling; the policy drivers impacting on demands for food labelling; and the policies and mechanisms that are needed to ensure that government plays its optimum role. Particular areas of nutrition focus include health claims and front of pack labelling. The genesis of the review was Australian governments' commitment to regulatory reform to create a seamless national economy, reduce the regulatory burden, and maintain or increase …

穴位按壓對護理之家住民便秘成效之研究, Hui Chen Chang, Su-Ching Kuo, Pei Ying Chen, Hui-Wen Chien

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

The purpose of this study is to compare the acupressure program with abdominal massage and laxatives for constipation in elderly nursing home residents. An experimental research design was conducted in two nursing homes in Hsinchu City, Taiwan, with ninety elderly (aged over sixty-five years) nursing home residents who experienced bowel openings less than twice a week.

Subjects were assigned to three groups randomly, one is control group (with laxatives only), and the other two are experimental groups (one with laxatives and abdominal massage and the other with laxatives, acupressure and abdominal massage). The research was performed over 10 days. A …

Imaging Spectroscopy Of Vegetation Photosynthetic Activity, Zbynek Malenovky, Michael E. Schaepman, Alexander Damm, Felix Morsdorf

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Abstract of paper that was presented at the Symposium GIS Ostrava 2010: GIS meets Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry towards Digital World, 24-27 Janurary, VSB - Technical University of Ostrava campus, the New Hall building, Ostrava, Czech Republic.

Simplification With Fixed-Dose Tenofovir-Emtricitabine Or Abacavir-Lamivudine In Treatment Experienced, Virologically Suppressed Adults With Hiv Infection: Combined Analysis Of Two Randomised, Non-Inferiority Trials Bicombo And Steal, Janaki Amin, E De Lazzari, Sean Emery, Allison Martin, E Martinez, Andrew Carr, J Gatell, David A. Cooper

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Background: There is uncertainty about the comparative safety and effi cacy of the fi xed-dose-combination tablets tenofovir 300mg+emtricitabine 200mg (TDF/FTC); and abacavir 600mg+lamivudine 300mg (ABC/3TC). Methods: We used random effects meta-analysis to compare 96 week data for ABC/3TC and TDF/FTC randomised arms from the BICOMBO (n=333) and STEAL (n=357) treatment experienced and virologically suppressed switch studies. Endpoints included: virological failure (VF, repeat plasma HIV RNA >400 copies/mL); mean change to week 96 in CD4 and metabolic parameters; proportion with serious non-AIDS events (SNAEs, retrospectively collected in BICOMBO). We used exact statistics for relative difference in proportions (RD), and ANOVA for …

Identifying Refugia From Climate Change, Michael B. Ashcroft

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

This article highlights how the loose definition of the term 'refugia' has led to discrepancies in methods used to assess the vulnerability of species to the current trend of rising global temperatures. The term 'refugia' is commonly used without distinguishing between macrorefugia and microrefugia, ex situ refugia and in situ refugia, glacial and interglacial refugia or refugia based on habitat stability and refugia based on climatic stability. It is not always clear which definition is being used, and this makes it difficult to assess the appropriateness of the methods employed. For example, it is crucial to develop accurate fine-scale climate …

Using Generalised Dissimilarity Models And Many Small Samples To Improve The Efficiency Of Regional And Landscape Scale Invertebrate Sampling, Michael B. Ashcroft, John R. Gollan, Daniel P. Faith, Gareth A. Carter, Scott A. Lassau, Scott G. Ginn, Matthew W. Bulbert, Gerasimos Cassis

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

It is rarely cost-effective to survey invertebrates for use in systematic conservation planning activities. The efficiency of sampling methods needs to be improved, and this is especially important at landscape and regional scales. We investigated two methods that could be used to improve regional scale sampling efficiency using a case study of ants, beetles, flies, bugs, spiders and wasps from the semi-arid Pilbara region of Western Australia. First, Generalised Dissimilarity Models (GDMs) were used to divide the region into landscapes with relatively homogeneous communities and environmental conditions. We found that some of these landscapes were large, and a low sampling …

Examining The Knowledge Of And Attitudes To Pandemic Influenza Among General Practice Staff, Holly Seale, Kirsten Ward, Nicholas Zwar, Debbie Van, Julie Leask, C Raina Macintyre

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Objective: To assess the views, needs and intended behaviour of general practitioners and practice nurses (PNs) regarding pandemic influenza. Design, setting and participants: A postal survey of GPs and PNs in four Divisions of General Practice in New South Wales, selected to represent a diverse sample of practices from inner-city, semi-urban and rural areas. The study was undertaken from 1 February to 1 April 2009. Main outcome measures: GPs' and PNs' responses to survey statements assessing their awareness and perceived personal risk, intended behaviour in the event of a pandemic, and expectations surrounding antivirals, vaccine and personal and family protection. …

Experience In Implementation Of Cardiovascular Absolute Risk Assessment And Management In Australian General Practice, Qing Wan, Mark Fort Harris, Nicholas Zwar, Sanjyot Vagholkar, Lynn Kemp, Terry Campbell

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Cardiovascular absolute risk (CVAR) assessment (the probability of a cardiovascular event over 5 or 10 years calculated from multiple risk factors) has been recommended as a means of more accurately tailoring cardiovascular disease primary prevention strategies to the patient's risk level (1-4). Although the use of CVAR assessment has been advocated for some time, the lack of an implementation strategy has hindered its translation from guideline into practice both in Australia (5-8) and overseas (9-11). Our team has developed a theoretical implementation model of CVAR assessment and management using multiple strategies to encourage use (12,13).

Cardiovascular Absolute Risk Assessment And Management Engagement And Outcomes In General Practice Patients, Qing Wan, Nicholas Zwar, Sanjyot Vagholkar, Terry Campbell, Mark Fort Harris

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Despite a decline in recent decades, cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the major cause of death and disability in Australia.1,2 To improve primary prevention of CVD, many clinical guidelines recommend using cardiovascular absolute risk (CVAR) assessment to guide risk factor management.3-6 Cardiovascular absolute risk assessment predicts the overall risk of a cardiovascular event over a given time period (usually 5 or 10 years). However, use of CVAR is limited and has not been incorporated well in routine general practice.7-9 There has been little research on CVAR implementation and an effective implementation strategy has been lacking.10

Variation In Seagrass Biomass Estimates In Low And High Density Settings: Implications For The Selection Of Sample Size, Mustafa K. Hossain, Kerrylee Rogers, Neil Saintilan

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Few seagrass biomass monitoring studies have considered the adequacy of monitoring intensity in their design. Power analysis is now widely used in ecological monitoring to determine sample size (replication) and the power (probability of not making a Type II error) of the monitoring design to detect change (effect size). We investigated seasonal variation of above-ground biomass of Zostera species at Woolooware Bay, Botany Bay, NSW and Ukerebagh Channel, Tweed River, NSW to show that seagrass biomass varies significantly between sites and seasonally. By conducting preliminary power analysis at each study site we found that our sampling design would only detect …

Oat Β-Glucan Supplementation Does Not Enhance The Effectiveness Of An Energy-Restricted Diet In Overweight Women, Eleanor J. Beck, Linda C. Tapsell, Marijka J. Batterham, Susan M. Tosh, Xu-Feng Huang

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Epidemiological evidence shows an inverse relationship between dietary fibre intake and body weight gain. Oat β-glucan, a soluble fibre alters appetite hormones and subjective satiety in acute meal test studies, but its effects have not been demonstrated with chronic consumption. The present study aimed to test the effects in women of two different doses of oat β-glucan on weight loss and hormones associated with appetite regulation. In a 3-month parallel trial, sixty-six overweight females were randomised into one of three 2 MJ energy-deficit diets: a control and two interventions including 5–6 g or 8–9 g β-glucan. Anthropometric and metabolic variables …

Teaching In The Simulated Learning Environment, Leeanne Heaton

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Abstract of a presentation that was presented at SimTecT Health 2010, 30 August - 2 September, Melbourne, Australia.

Potential Control Of Antipsychotic-Induced Hyperprolactinemia And Obesity In Children And Adolescents By Aripiprazole, J Lian, Xu-Feng Huang, Nagesh Pai, Chao Deng

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

The paper published in your journal by Migiliardi et al. (2009) reported that increased hyperprolactinemia is a major side-effect of risperidone and olanzapine treatment in children and adolescents. They showed that risperidone could cause 10 times higher prolactin levels than olanzapine treatment in children and adolescents. This was a well-designed study that controlled for dose, gender, and individual differences, as well as response differences to treatment duration (Migliardi et al. 2009). However, another important issue that should be considered, but was not reported in this study, is antipsychotic-induced weight gain/obesity. Clinical data have demonstrated that weight gain is a major …