Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Concise Synthesis Of (-)-Steviamine And Analogues And Their Glycosidase Inhibitory Activities, Nadechanok Jiangseubchatveera, Marc E. Bouillon, Boonsom Liawruangrath, Saisunee Liawruangrath, Robert J. Nash, Stephen G. Pyne

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

A concise synthesis of (−)-steviamine is reported along with the synthesis of its analogues 10-nor-steviamine, 10-nor-ent-steviamine and 5-epi-ent-steviamine. These compounds were tested against twelve glycosidases (at 143 μg mL−1 concentrations) and were found to have in general poor inhibitory activity against most enzymes. The 10-nor analogues however, showed 50–54% inhibition of α-L-rhamnosidase from Penicillium decumbens while one of these, 10-nor-steviamine, showed 51% inhibition of N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase (from Jack bean) at the same concentration (760 μM).

How Do Dentists And Their Teams Incorporate Evidence About Preventive Care? An Empirical Study, Alexandra Sbaraini, Stacy M. Carter, R Wendell Evans, Anthony Blinkhorn

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Objectives To identify how dentists and their teams adopt evidence‐based preventive care. Methods A qualitative study using grounded theory methodology was conducted. We interviewed 23 participants working in eight dental practices about their experience and work processes, while adopting evidence‐based preventive care. During the study, Charmaz's grounded theory methodology was employed to examine the social process of adopting preventive dental care in dental practices. Charmaz's iteration of the constant comparative method was used during the data analysis. This involved coding of interview transcripts, detailed memo‐writing and drawing diagrams. The transcripts were analyzed as soon as possible after each round of …

Regaining Their "Cool": Can The Big Three Surf Brands Recover?, Andrew T. Warren

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Australia's "big three" surf brands have found themselves in choppy financial waters.

Last week, Billabong, one of Australia's most iconic surf brands confirmed a $386 million refinancing agreement with US consortium Centerbridge-Oaktree Capital Management acquiring a 40% share, guaranteeing the struggling brand's short-term future after it posted an $859 million loss last financial year.

Like Billabong, public surf company Quiksilver has reported declining revenues, asset write-downs and growing losses, recently announcing third-quarterly earnings had declined 84%. Privately-owned Rip Curl has also been in profit free-fall. In mid-2012 Rip Curl founders Brian Singer and Doug Warbrick engaged Bank of America Merrill …

A Descriptive Examination Of The Types Of Relationships Formed Between Children With Developmental Disability And Their Closest Peers In Inclusive School Settings, Amanda A. Webster, Mark Carter

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background One of the most commonly cited rationales for inclusive education is to enable the development of quality relationships with typically developing peers. Relatively few researchers have examined the features of the range of relationships that children with developmental disability form in inclusive school settings. Method Interviews were conducted with 25 children with developmental disability, aged 5 and 12 years, their 3 closest peers, and parents and teachers to examine 6 types of relationships. Results Behaviours associated with general friendship and acquaintance were the most commonly reported. Few dyads reported high rates of behaviour associated with special treatment, helping, ignoring, …

Baby Leafy Green Vegetables: Providing Insight Into An Old Problem? An Exploratory Qualitative Study Examining Influences On Their Consumption, Anne-Therese Mcmahon, Linda Tapsell, Peter Williams, Jennifer Jobling

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

Issue addressed: Populations in many developed countries continue to fail to meet vegetable consumption recommendations despite ongoing health promotion activities supported by public health policies. Novel ways to encourage vegetable consumption may help address this concern. The aim of the present study was to describe female consumers' perceptions about leafy green vegetables and identify consumption issues. Methods: Three age-stratified semistructured focus groups were conducted with 23 female participants. Food shopping habits, reported consumption and/or knowledge, and the perceived benefits of and/or issues associated with the consumption of leafy green vegetables were explored. Focus groups were transcribed verbatim. Two researchers examined …

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 …

Quality Of Life Of Community-Based Palliative Care Clients And Their Caregivers, Tanya Connell, Ritin S. Fernandez, Duong Tran, Rhonda Griffiths, Janeane Harlum, Meera Agar

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

This study aimed to investigate health-related quality of life of palliative care (PC) clients and their caregivers, at baseline and follow-up, following a referral to a community PC service. Quality of life of clients and their caregivers was respectively measured using the McGill Quality of Life instrument (MQoL) and the Caregiver Quality of Life Cancer Index (CQoLC) instruments. Participants were recruited from June 8 to October 27, 2006. This study was undertaken in one zone of an Area Health Service in New South Wales, which has a diverse socioeconomic population. The zone covers an area of 6237 km2 and is …

Patients Communicating With Their Primary Care Physician About Chronic Disease Treatment In Regional Australia: Is Health Literacy Important?, J Mullan, K Weston, A Bonney, C Magee, G Albert, B Gerges, Soheir Abadier, T Smith, V Bonney, B Dijkmans-Hadley, C Kielly-Carroll

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

No abstract provided.

Invited Review: Caseins And The Casein Micelle: Their Biological Functions, Structures, And Behavior In Foods, C Holt, J A. Carver, H Ecroyd, D C. Thorn

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

A typical casein micelle contains thousands of casein molecules, most of which form thermodynamically stable complexes with nanoclusters of amorphous calcium phosphate. Like many other unfolded proteins, caseins have an actual or potential tendency to assemble into toxic amyloid fibrils, particularly at the high concentrations found in milk. Fibrils do not form in milk because an alternative aggregation pathway is followed that results in formation of the casein micelle. As a result of forming micelles, nutritious milk can be secreted and stored without causing either pathological calcification or amyloidosis of the mother's mammary tissue. The ability to sequester nanoclusters of …

Alkaloids From The Roots And Leaves Of Stichoneuron Halabalensis And Their Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitory Activities, Rosdayati Alino Ramli, Wilford Lie, Stephen G. Pyne

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

A study of the hitherto unreported Stichoneuron halabalensis Inthachub led to the characterization of the known compounds (+)-α-tocopherol and (R)-(+)- goniothalamin; four known Stemona alkaloids, bisdehydoxystemoninine A (1), stemoninine (2), sessilistemonamine C (3) and sessilistemonamine A (4); and three new alkaloids, stichoneurine C (5), D (6) and E (7). The structures of these compounds were determined on the basis of their spectroscopic data. Alkaloid 7 showed significant inhibitory activity against electric eel acetylcholinesterase (AChE) (IC50 5.90+0.084 μM), while goniothalamin and compounds 1 and 2 showed significant inhibitory activities against human AChE (IC50 7.24+0.52, 5.52+0.13 and 3.74+0.09 μM, respectively).

Morphological Characterisation Of Reef Types In Torres Strait And An Assessment Of Their Carbonate Production, Javier X. Leon, Colin D. Woodroffe

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

Coral reefs represent major accumulations of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). The particularly labyrinthine network of reefs in Torres Strait, north of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), has been examined in order to estimate their gross CaCO3 productivity. The approach involved a two-step procedure, first characterising and classifying the morphology of reefs based on a classification scheme widely employed on the GBR and then estimating gross CaCO3 productivity rates across the region using a regional census-based approach. This was undertaken by independently verifying published rates of coral reef community gross production for use in Torres Strait, based on site-specific ecological and morphological …

Oscillatory Underpinnings Of Mismatch Negativity And Their Relationship With Cognitive Function In Patients With Schizophrenia, Muzaffer Kaser, Fruzsina Soltesz, Phil Lawrence, Sam Miller, Chris Dodds, Rodney J. Croft, Robert B. Dudas, Rashid Zaman, Emilio Fernandez-Egea, Ulrich Mueller, Anna Dean, Edward T. Bullmore, Pradeep J. Nathan

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background: Impairments in mismatch negativity (MMN) generation have been consistently reported in patients with schizophrenia. However, underlying oscillatory activity of MMN deficits in schizophrenia and the relationship with cognitive impairments have not been investigated in detail. Time-frequency power and phase analyses can provide more detailed measures of brain dynamics of MMN deficits in schizophrenia. Method: 21 patients with schizophrenia and 21 healthy controls were tested with a roving frequency paradigm to generate MMN. Time-frequency domain power and phase-locking (PL) analysis was performed on all trials using short-time Fourier transforms with Hanning window tapering. A comprehensive battery (CANTAB) was used to …

First Steps: Study Protocol For A Randomized Controlled Trial Of The Effectiveness Of The Group Family Nurse Partnership (Gfnp) Program Compared To Routine Care In Improving Outcomes For High-Risk Mothers And Their Children And Preventing Abuse, Jacqueline Barnes, Dipti Aistrop, Elizabeth Allen, Jane Barlow, Diana Elbourne, Geraldine Macdonald, Edward Melhuish, Stavros Petrou, Joshua Pink, Claire Snowdon, Helen Spiby, Jane Stuart, Joanna Sturgess

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background

Evidence from the USA suggests that the home-based Family Nurse Partnership program (FNP), extending from early pregnancy until infants are 24 months, can reduce the risk of child abuse and neglect throughout childhood. FNP is now widely available in the UK. A new variant, Group Family Nurse Partnership (gFNP) offers similar content but in a group context and for a shorter time, until infants are 12 months old. Each group comprises 8 to 12 women with similar expected delivery dates and their partners. Its implementation has been established but there is no evidence of its effectiveness.

Methods/Design

The study …

Where Do Older Australians Receive Their Health Information? Health Information Sources And Their Perceived Reliability, Pippa Burns, Sandra C. Jones, Donald C. Iverson, Peter Caputi

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background: Chronic disease prevalence is increasing, in part due to the ageing population, adding further pressure to Australia's over-stretched primary health care services. While patients are encouraged to self-manage their chronic disease(s) in order to minimise the impact on their day-to-day functioning, little is known about where older adults receive health information and their perceptions of the reliability of these sources. Such knowledge would facilitate the development of self-management support strategies using health information sources that are acceptable to older adults. Methods: A cross-sectional design was utilised to investigate where older adults receive their health information and their perceptions of …

Self-Assembly Of Hierarchical Star-Like Co3o4 Micro/Nanostructures And Their Application In Lithium Ion Batteries, Li Li, Kuok Hau Seng, Zhixin Chen, Zaiping Guo, Hua-Kun Liu

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

A novel hierarchical star-like Co3O4 was successfully synthesized from self-assembled hierarchical Co(OH)F precursors via a facile hydrothermal method and subsequent annealing in air. The morphological evolution process of the Co(OH)F precursors was investigated by examining the different reaction times during synthesis. First, hexagonal plates are formed, and then nanodiscs grow on the surface of the plates. Subsequently, dissolution and regrowth of Co(OH)F occur to form the star-like hierarchical structures. Co3O4 obtained from thermal decomposition of the Co(OH)F precursor in air at 350 °C exhibited high reversible capacity as an anode material in lithium ion batteries. The specific charge capacity of …

Understanding The Factors Controlling The Removal Of Trace Organic Contaminants By White-Rot Fungi And Their Lignin Modifying Enzymes: A Critical Review, Shufan Yang, Faisal I. Hai, Long D. Nghiem, William E. Price, Felicity Roddick, Maria T. Moreira, Saleh F. Magram

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

White-rot fungi (WRF) and their lignin modifying enzymes (LME) can degrade a wide range of trace organic contaminants (TrOC), which are suspected to cause adverse health effects in humans and other biota. Recent studies have successfully applied either whole-cell WRF or their extracellular culture extract to remove TrOC from the aqueous phase. TrOC removal by a WRF system is dependent on a range of factors including molecular structure of the TrOC, fungal species and their specific LME, culture medium composition, and methods to enhance fungal degradation capacity; however, the specific relationships between these factors have not been systematically delineated. The …

Effects Of Caustic Cleaning On Pore Size Of Nanofiltration Membranes And Their Rejection Of Trace Organic Chemicals, Alexander Simon, James A. Mcdonald, Stuart J. Khan, William E. Price, Long D. Nghiem

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

The aim of this study was to assess the impact of caustic cleaning on the rejection of three different trace organic chemical (TrOC) groups (i.e. neutral hydrophilic, neutral hydrophobic and negatively charged) by two nanofiltration (NF) membranes ‒ namely NF270 and NF90. Chemical cleaning was simulated by exposing virgin membrane samples to commercial caustic cleaning formulations as well as sodium hydroxide solutions containing analytical grade additives such as sodium dodecyl sulfate or ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid. The membrane average pore size before and after exposure to a commercially available caustic cleaning formulation was determined based on the pore transport model. The results …

Magnetorheological Elastomers And Their Applications, W H. Li, X Z. Zhang, H Du

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Magnetorheological elastomers (MRE) are smart materials whose modulus or mechanical performances can be controlled by an external magnetic field. In this chapter, the current research on the MRE materials fabrication, performance characterisation, modelling and applications is reviewed and discussed. Either anistropic or isotropic or MRE materials are fabricated by different curing conditions where magnetic field is applied or not. Anistropic MREs exhibit higher MR effects than isotropic MREs. Both steady-state and dynamic performances were studied through both experimental and theoretical approaches. The modelling approaches were developed to predict mechanical performances of MREs with both simple and complex structures. The sensing …

Remarks On Some Fundamental Results About Higher-Rank Graphs And Their C*-Algebras, Robert Hazlewood, Iain Raeburn, Aidan Sims, Samuel B. G Webster

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Results of Fowler and Sims show that every k-graph is completely determined by its k-coloured skeleton and collection of commuting squares. Here we give an explicit description of the k-graph associated with a given skeleton and collection of squares and show that two k-graphs are isomorphic if and only if there is an isomorphism of their skeletons which preserves commuting squares. We use this to prove directly that each k-graph. is isomorphic to the quotient of the path category of its skeleton by the equivalence relation determined by the commuting squares, and show that this extends to a homeomorphism of …

Ionization Cross Section Data Of Nitrogen, Methane, And Propane For Light Ions And Electrons And Their Suitability For Use In Track Structure Simulations, Marion Bug, Elisabetta Gargioni, Heidi Nettelbeck, Woon Yong Baek, Gerhard Hilgers, Anatoly B. Rosenfeld, Hans Rabus

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Track structure Monte Carlo simulations are frequently applied in micro- and nanodosimetry to calculate the radiation transport in detail. The use of a well-validated set of cross section data in such simulation codes ensures accurate calculations of transport parameters, such as ionization yields. These cross section data are, however, scarce and often discrepant when measured by different groups. This work surveys literature data on ionization and charge-transfer cross sections of nitrogen, methane, and propane for electrons, protons, and helium particles, focusing on the energy range between 100 keV and 20 MeV. Based on the evaluated data, different models for the …

Facile Synthesis Of Hierarchical Networks Composed Of Highly Interconnected V2o5 Nanosheets Assembled On Carbon Nanotubes And Their Superior Lithium Storage Properties, Ruixiang Yu, Chaofeng Zhang, Qing Meng, Zhixin Chen, Hua-Kun Liu, Zaiping Guo

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Hierarchical networks with highly interconnected V2O5 nanosheets (NSs) anchored on skeletons of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are prepared by a facile hydrothermal treatment and a following calcination for the first time. Benefiting from these unique structural features, the as-prepared CNT@V2O5 material shows dramatically excellent electrochemical performance with remarkable long cyclability (137-116 mA h g-1 after 400 cycles) at various high rates (20 C to 30 C) and very good rate capability for highly reversible lithium storage. The excellent electrochemical performance suggests its promising use as a cathode material for future lithium-ion batteries.

Voltage Unbalance Emission Assessment: Sources Of Contribution And Their Ranking, U Jayatunga, Sarath Perera, P Ciufo, A P. Agalgaonkar

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

etermining sources of voltage unbalance (VU) and quantifying their individual contributions in an interconnected network is a complex task due to multiple interactions that take place between them. Post-connection VU emission assessment techniques in relation to customer installations are important not only in compliance assessment according to IEC/TR 61000-3- 13:2008 Limits - Assessment of emission limits for the connection of unbalanced installations to MV, HV and EHV power systems, but also in determining the various emission contributors in the power system being considered. This paper presents a case study on the application of a recently developed post-connection VU emission assessment …