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Commentary: The Road To Quality In Public Health, A Long But Important Journey, F. Douglas Scutchfield, Glen Mays, Marylou Wallace

Frontiers in Public Health Services and Systems Research

Quality improvement (QI) in public health departments is a focus in this sixth issue of Frontiers. Data is important to the development of quality improvement efforts. As we see growth of and meaningful use of electronic health records, the health department is in a position to take the lead as a data hub and to use this information wisely to both improve their QI efforts and link that QI to outcomes.

Conversion Of Australian Food Composition Data From Ausnut1999 To 2007 In The Clinical Trial Context, Elizabeth P. Neale, Yasmine C. Probst, Rebecca Thorne, Qingsheng Zhang, Jane E. O'Shea, Marijka J. Batterham, Linda C. Tapsell

Qingsheng Zhang

An Australian food composition database, AUSNUT1999, does not include long chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (LC omega-3 PUFA) data. Measurement of the fatty acid content of diets initially analysed using AUSNUT1999 requires conversion to AUSNUT2007, an updated database inclusive of LC omega-3 PUFA. The aim of this study was to convert clinical trial dietary data from AUSNUT1999 to AUSNUT2007 and measure LC omega-3 PUFA intake. Clinical trial diet history (DH) data was converted from AUSNUT1999 to 2007 using a staged approach. Macronutrient intake from AUSNUT1999 and 2007 were calculated and compared via paired t-tests and Wilcoxon Signed Ranks tests. Mean …

Bioregional Assessment Project: Sydney Metropolitan, Southern Rivers And Hawkesbury-Nepean Catchments: Data Collation Phase To Study The Impact Of Mining Activity And Coal Seam Gas On Environmental Assets, John Bradd, Tim Cohen, Sam Marx, Sol Buckman, Emma Burkhardt, A Clarke, Nicole Cook, Stephen Cullen, James Daley, Alexi Gavin, Ren Hu, Emma Kiekebosch-Fitt, Matt Lemcke, Andrew Lowe, Thomas Mcmahon, Luke Mcneilage, Kaitlyn O'Mara, Garth Nagle, Sam Robson, Carolyn Silveri, Joe Stammers

Solomon Buckman Dr.

This study was commissioned by the Hawkesbury-Nepean (HNCMA), Sydney Metropolitan (SMCMA) and Southern Rivers (SRCMA) Catchment Management Authorities and undertaken by the University of Wollongong to collate existing data and to provide a preliminary assessment of the potential impacts of coal seam gas (CSG) and coal mining activities on environmental assets within the three CMA regions, where environmental assets were defined under three broad themes; water, land and biodiversity. This study formed part of the Australian Federal Government’s Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (SEWPaC) Bioregional Assessment initiative within regions potentially affected by CSG and coal mining activities. …

Bioregional Assessment Project: Sydney Metropolitan, Southern Rivers And Hawkesbury-Nepean Catchments: Data Collation Phase To Study The Impact Of Mining Activity And Coal Seam Gas On Environmental Assets, John Bradd, Tim Cohen, Sam Marx, Sol Buckman, Emma Burkhardt, A Clarke, Nicole Cook, Stephen Cullen, James Daley, Alexi Gavin, Ren Hu, Emma Kiekebosch-Fitt, Matt Lemcke, Andrew Lowe, Thomas Mcmahon, Luke Mcneilage, Kaitlyn O'Mara, Garth Nagle, Sam Robson, Carolyn Silveri, Joe Stammers

John M Bradd Dr

This study was commissioned by the Hawkesbury-Nepean (HNCMA), Sydney Metropolitan (SMCMA) and Southern Rivers (SRCMA) Catchment Management Authorities and undertaken by the University of Wollongong to collate existing data and to provide a preliminary assessment of the potential impacts of coal seam gas (CSG) and coal mining activities on environmental assets within the three CMA regions, where environmental assets were defined under three broad themes; water, land and biodiversity. This study formed part of the Australian Federal Government’s Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (SEWPaC) Bioregional Assessment initiative within regions potentially affected by CSG and coal mining activities. …

Effects Of Atmospheric Light Scattering On Spectroscopic Observations Of Greenhouse Gases From Space. Part 2: Algorithm Intercomparison In The Gosat Data Processing For Co2 Retrievals Over Tccon Sites, Sergey Oshchepkov, Andrey Bril, Tatsuya Yokota, Paul O. Wennberg, Nicholas M. Deutscher, Debra Wunch, Geoffrey C. Toon, Yukio Yoshida, Christopher W. O'Dell, David Crisp, Charles E. Miller, Christian Frankenberg, Andre Butz, Ilse Aben, Sandrine Guerlet, Otto Hasekamp, Hartmut Boesch, Austin Cogan, Robert Parker, David Griffith, Ronald Macatangay, Justus Notholt, Ralf Sussmann, Markus Rettinger, Vanessa Sherlock, John Robinson, Esko Kyro, Pauli Heikkinen, Dietrich G. Feist, Isamu Morino, Nikolay Kadygrov, Dmitry Belikov, Shamil Maksyutov, Tsuneo Matsunaga, Osamu Uchino, Hiroshi Watanabe

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

This report is the second in a series of companion papers describing the effects of atmospheric light scattering in observations of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) by the Greenhouse gases Observing SATellite (GOSAT), in orbit since 23 January 2009. Here we summarize the retrievals from six previously published algorithms; retrieving column-averaged dry air mole fractions of CO2 (XCO2) during 22 months of operation of GOSAT from June 2009. First, we compare data products from each algorithm with ground-based remote sensing observations by Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON). Our GOSAT-TCCON coincidence criteria select satellite observations within a 5° radius of 11 …

Addressing The Deficiencies In The Evidence-Base For Primary Practice In Regional Australia - Sentinel Practices Data Sourcing (Spds) Project: A Pilot Study, Abhijeet Ghosh, Karen E. Charlton, Lisa Girdo, Marijka J. Batterham, Keith Mcdonald

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

Background Chronic disease risk on a population level can be quantified through health surveys, either continuous or periodic. To date, information gathered from primary care interactions, using sentinel sites, has not been investigated as a potentially valuable surveillance system in Australia.

Methods A pilot study was conducted in a single General Practice in a regional area of New South Wales, Australia to assess the feasibility of accessing data obtained through a computerised chronic disease management program that has been designed for desktop application (Pen Computer Systems (PCS) Clinical Audit Tool: ™ PCS CAT). Collated patient data included information on chronic …

Multivariate Statistic And Time Series Analyses Of Grain-Size Data In Quaternary Sediments Of Lake El'gygytgyn, Ne Russia, Alexander Francke, V Wennrich, M A. Sauerbrey, O Juschus, Martin Melles, J Brigham-Grette

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

Lake El'gygytgyn, located in the Far East Rus- sian Arctic, was formed by a meteorite impact about 3.58 Ma ago. In 2009, the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) at Lake El'gygytgyn obtained a continu- ous sediment sequence of the lacustrine deposits and the up- per part of the impact breccia. Here, we present grain-size data of the past 2.6 Ma. General downcore grain-size varia- tions yield coarser sediments during warm periods and finer ones during cold periods. According to principal component analysis (PCA), the climate-dependent variations in grain- size distributions mainly occur in the coarse silt and very fine …

Analyzing Weight Loss Intervention Studies With Missing Data: Which Method Should Be Used?, Marijka J. Batterham, Linda C. Tapsell, Karen E. Charlton

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

Objective: Missing data due to study dropout is common in weight loss trials and several statistical methods exist to account for it. The aim of this study was to identify methods in the literature and to compare the effects of methods of analysis using simulated data sets. Methods: Literature was obtained for a 1-y period to identify analytical methods used in reporting weight loss trials. A comparison of methods with large or small between-group weight loss, and missing data that was, or was not, missing randomly was conducted in simulated data sets based on previous research. Results: Twenty-seven studies, some …

Utility Of Coi, Cad And Morphological Data For Resolving Relationships Within The Genus Sarcophaga (Sensu Lato) (Diptera: Sarcophagidae): A Preliminary Study, Kelly A. Meiklejohn, James F. Wallman, Thomas Pape, Stephen L. Cameron, Mark Dowton

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

Currently there are ∼3000 known species of Sarcophagidae (Diptera), which are classified into 173 genera in three subfamilies. Almost 25% of sarcophagids belong to the genus Sarcophaga (sensu lato) however little is known about the validity of, and relationships between the ∼150 (or more) subgenera of Sarcophaga s.l. In this preliminary study, we evaluated the usefulness of three sources of data for resolving relationships between 35 species from 14 Sarcophaga s.l. subgenera: the mitochondrial COI barcode region, ∼800 bp of the nuclear gene CAD, and 110 morphological characters. Bayesian, maximum likelihood (ML) and maximum parsimony (MP) analyses were performed on …

Improvement Of The Retrieval Algorithm For Gosat Swir Xco2 And Xch4 And Their Validation Using Tccon Data, Y Yoshida, N Kikuchi, I Morino, O Uchino, S Oshchepkov, A Bril, T Saeki, N Schutgens, G C. Toon, D Wunch, C M. Roehl, P O. Wennberg, D W. T Griffith, N M. Deutscher, T Warneke, J Notholt, J Robinson, V Sherlock, B Connor, M Rettinger, R Sussmann, P Ahonen, P Heikkinen, E Kyro, J Mendonca, K Strong, F Hase, S Dohe, T Yokota

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

The column-averaged dry-air mole fractions of carbon dioxide and methane (XCO2 and XCH4) have been retrieved from Greenhouse gases Observing SATellite (GOSAT) Short-Wavelength InfraRed (SWIR) observations and released as a SWIR L2 product from the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES). XCO2 and XCH4 retrieved using the version 01.xx retrieval algorithm showed large negative biases and standard deviations (−8.85 and 4.75 ppm for XCO2 and −20.4 and 18.9 ppb for XCH4, respectively) compared with data of the Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON). Multiple reasons for these error characteristics (e.g., solar irradiance database, handling of aerosol scattering) are identified and …

Paleoclimate Data-Model Comparison And The Role Of Climate Forcings Over The Past 1500 Years, Steven J. Phipps, Helen V. Mcgregor, Joelle Gergis, Ailie J. E Gallant, Raphael Neukom, Samantha Stevenson, Duncan Ackerley, Josephine R. Brown, Matt J. Fischer, Tas D. Van Ommen

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

The past 1500 years provide a valuable opportunity to study the response of the climate system to external forcings. However, the integration of paleoclimate proxies with climate modeling is critical to improving the understanding of climate dynamics. In this paper, a climate system model and proxy records are therefore used to study the role of natural and anthropogenic forcings in driving the global climate. The inverse and forward approaches to paleoclimate data–model comparison are applied, and sources of uncertainty are identified and discussed. In the first of two case studies, the climate model simulations are compared with multiproxy temperature reconstructions. …