Digital Commons Network^™

Chronic Kidney Disease Of Unknown Origin Is Associated With Environmental Urbanisation In Belfast, Uk, Jennifer M. Mckinley, Ute Mueller, Peter M. Atkinson, Ulrich Ofterdinger, Siobhan F. Cox, Rory Doherty, Damian Fogarty, J. J. Egozcue, V. Pawlowsky-Glahn

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020, The Author(s). Chronic kidney disease (CKD), a collective term for many causes of progressive renal failure, is increasing worldwide due to ageing, obesity and diabetes. However, these factors cannot explain the many environmental clusters of renal disease that are known to occur globally. This study uses data from the UK Renal Registry (UKRR) including CKD of uncertain aetiology (CKDu) to investigate environmental factors in Belfast, UK. Urbanisation has been reported to have an increasing impact on soils. Using an urban soil geochemistry database of elemental concentrations of potentially toxic elements (PTEs), we investigated the association of the standardised …

Increased Fascicle Length But Not Patellar Tendon Stiffness After Accentuated Eccentric-Load Strength Training In Already-Trained Men, Simon Walker, Joanne Trezise, Guy Gregory Haff, Robert U. Newton, Keijo Häkkinen, Anthony J. Blazevich

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020, The Author(s). Purpose: This study examined whether additional external load during the eccentric phase of lower limb strength training exercises led to greater adaptations in knee extensor strength, muscle architecture, and patellar tendon properties than traditional concentric–eccentric training in already-trained men. Methods: Twenty-eight men accustomed to strength training were randomized to undertake 10 weeks of supervised traditional (TRAD) or accentuated eccentric loading (AEL) or continue their habitual unsupervised (CON) strength training. TRAD and AEL trained 2∙week−1 with a six-repetition maximum (RM) session and a ten-RM session. TRAD used the same external load in both concentric and eccentric phases, …

Are Current Clinical Guidelines On The Use Of Peripheral Intravenous Cannula For Blood Draws Supported By Evidence? An Organizational Case Study, Alycia Jacob, Linda Coventry, Hugh Davies, Elisabeth Jacob

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020 The Authors. Nursing Open published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd Aim: To examine the quality of evidence used to inform health policies. Policies on peripheral intravenous cannulas were used as exemplars. Design: An organizational case study design was used, using the STROBE reporting guidelines. Methods: Policy guidelines were sourced between June and September 2018 from health departments in Australia. Seven documents were compared regarding intravenous cannula dwell times and blood collection use. Evidence used in the documents was critiqued using assessment guideline from the Oxford Centre for Evidence Based Medicine. Results: Large variations exist between policies regarding …

Making Meaning Of Being Bereaved By Suicide: An Everyday Experience, Colleen Carlon

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This autoethnography explores the experience of societal meanings of suicide from the perspective of people bereaved by suicide. The research focuses on three autoethnographic stories of everyday experiences in which personal meaning making and societal meanings of suicide intersect in contemporary Australian settings. Personal perspectives are positioned alongside broader discussions of suicide taboo to consider the implications for agency and meaning making. Key differences between conventional notions of stigma and structural stigma, and ways in which suicide taboo influences meaning making for people bereaved by suicide are explored. The paper proposes a recasting of action previously framed as internalised stigma …

Confirmatory Factor Analysis And Reliability Of The Diabetes Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire (Dtsq) For Arabic Speaking Patients With Type Ii Diabetes, Diana Arabiat, Lisa Whitehead, Buthina Abu Sheikh, Ebenezer Afrifa-Yamoah

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Background: Treatment satisfaction is an important indicator for treatment compliance and glycemic control. Although psychometric properties of the Diabetes Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire have been confirmed in several languages, it remains unclear the extent to which the factorial structure of this tool is valid for Arabic speaking populations.

Purpose: This study set out to confirm the construct validity of the Arabic version of the Diabetes Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire (DTSQ) by investigating the fit of published factor structures and the reliability of responses in patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

Methods: Data were from a large cross-sectional study of 1002 patients with …

Time-Layered Cultural Map Of Australia, Paul Longley Arthur, Erik Champion, Hugh Craig, Ning Gu, Mark Harvey, Victoria Haskins, Andrew May, Bill Pascoe, Alana Piper, Lyndall Ryan, Rosalind Smith, Deb Verhoeven

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Copyright © 2020 for this paper by its authors. Use permitted under Creative Commons License Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). This paper reports on an Australian project that is developing an online system to deliver researcher-driven national-scale infrastructure for the humanities, focused on mapping, time series, and data integration. Australian scholars and scholars of Australia worldwide are well served with digital resources and tools to deepen the understanding of Australia and its historical and cultural heritage. There are, however, significant barriers to use. The Time Layered Cultural Map of Australia (TLCMap) will provide an umbrella infrastructure related to time …

A Handbook Of Wildfire Engineering: Guidance For Wildfire Suppression And Resilient Urban Design, Greg Penney, Daryoush Habibi, Marcus Cattani, Steven Richardson

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

A Handbook of Wildfire Engineering (the Handbook) provides firefighters, engineers and town planners with detailed technical approaches and analysis to enhance the resilience of communities in areas prone to wildfire impacts, and enhance the safety and effectiveness of wildfire suppression at the urban interface during catastrophic wildfire conditions

Mus Musculus Populations In Western Australia Lack Vkorc1 Mutations Conferring Resistance To First Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides: Implications For Conservation And Biosecurity, Bridget J.M. Duncan, Annette Koenders, Quinton Burnham, Michael T. Lohr

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Background

Humans routinely attempt to manage pest rodent populations with anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs). We require information on resistance to ARs within rodent populations to have effective eradication programs that minimise exposure in non-target species. Mutations to the VKORC1 gene have been shown to confer resistance in rodents with high proportions of resistance in mice found in all European populations tested. We screened mutations in Mus musculus within Western Australia, by sampling populations from the capital city (Perth) and a remote island (Browse Island). These are the first Australian mouse populations screened for resistance using this method. Additionally, the mitochondrial D-loop …

Lower-Body Power, Linear Speed, And Change-Of-Direction Speed In Division I Collegiate Women's Volleyball Players, Robert G. Lockie, J. Jay Dawes, Samuel J. Callaghan

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020 Institute of Sport. All rights reserved. Volleyball players need to sprint and change direction during a match. Lower-body power, often measured by jump tests, could contribute to faster movements. How different jumps relate to linear and change-of-direction (COD) speed has not been analyzed in Division I (DI) collegiate women's volleyball players. Fifteen female volleyball players completed the vertical jump (VJ), two-step approach jump (AppJ), and standing broad jump (SBJ). Peak power and power-to-body mass ratio (P:BM) were derived from VJ and AppJ height; relative SBJ was derived from SBJ distance. Linear speed was measured via a 20-m sprint …

Sam-Sos: A Stochastic Software Architecture Modeling And Verification Approach For Complex System-Of-Systems, Ahmad Mohsin, Naeem Khalid Janjua, Syed M. S. Islam, Muhammad Ali Babar

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

A System-of-Systems (SoS) is a complex, dynamic system whose Constituent Systems (CSs) are not known precisely at design time, and the environment in which they operate is uncertain. SoS behavior is unpredictable due to underlying architectural characteristics such as autonomy and independence. Although the stochastic composition of CSs is vital to achieving SoS missions, their unknown behaviors and impact on system properties are unavoidable. Moreover, unknown conditions and volatility have significant effects on crucial Quality Attributes (QAs) such as performance, reliability and security. Hence, the structure and behavior of a SoS must be modeled and validated quantitatively to foresee any …

South West Food Community: Understanding Systemic Change, And Its Associated Challenges And Successes, Among Food Security Projects, Johanna Rewa, Amanda Devine, Stephanie Godrich

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Objective: The South West Food Community (SWFC) project (2018) aimed to identify initiatives working to support food security in the South West region of Western Australia, and to enhance how these initiatives functioned as a system. The SWFC project used a Systemic Innovation Lab approach that, prior to this study, had not been evaluated. This evaluation aimed to: i) measure system transitions (changes) to initiatives; and ii) understand the challenges and successes associated with system transitions.

Methods: SWFC initiative leaders (n=46) such as directors, managers or coordinators, volunteers or committee members were invited to participate in this evaluation. …

Summary Of Kidney Health Among Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander People, Australian Indigenous Healthinfonet

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

No abstract provided.

Understanding The “Gut Instinct” Of Expert Coaches During Talent Identification, Alexandra H. Roberts, Daniel Greenwood, Mandy Stanley, Clare Humberstone, Fiona Iredale, Annette Raynor

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Coaches are an integral part of talent identification in sport and are often used as the “gold standard” against which scientific methods of talent identification are compared. However, their decision-making during this process is not well understood. In this article, we use an ecological approach to explore talent identification in combat sports. We interviewed twenty-four expert, international-level coaches from the Olympic disciplines of boxing, judo, and taekwondo (age: 48.7 + 7.5 years; experience: 20.8 + 8.3 years). Findings indicated that when coaches identify talent they rely on “gut instinct”: intuitive judgements made without conscious thought, used to direct attention to …

Beyond The Authentic Taste: The Tourist Experience At A Food Museum Restaurant, Sangkyun Kim, Eerang Park, Min Xu

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This study investigates the factors influencing food experiences perceived by food tourists in the context of a food museum and its associated restaurant. A qualitative exploratory approach was employed, using Chinese tourists visiting Hangzhou Cuisine Museum in Zhejiang province. This research finds that food tourists look for knowledge accumulation and gastronomic experiences when visiting a food museum and restaurant complex, and each experience is formed by both tourist and setting factors. The findings highlight the significant and more complex engagement of setting factors in the museum restaurants. The institutionalised characteristics of museums are equally expected within the in-house restaurants, and …

School Librarians As Literacy Educators Within A Complex Role, Margaret K. Merga

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Librarians in schools are expected to play an important role as literacy educators, and have a positive impact on young people’s literacy learning. However in the context of their diverse workload, relatively little is known about how this aspect of their role sits within its competing demands, and the exact scope of the literacy educator requirements. Using a hybrid approach to content analysis, this article analyses 40 recent job description documents to identify the nature and prevalence of different aspects of the role, and to explore the literacy educator aspect of this profession. Findings suggest that while the literacy educator …

Modeling Mycorrhizal Fungi Dispersal By The Mycophagous Swamp Wallaby (Wallabia Bicolor), Melissa Danks, Natalie Simpson, Todd F. Elliot, C.E. Timothy Paine, Karl Vernes

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

No abstract provided.

Sustainable International Experience: A Collaborative Teaching Project, Thomas Mejtoft, Helen Cripps, Stefan Berglund, Christopher Blocker

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Within engineering education, there is an increasing need for providing our students with international experiences. This is most often done by exchange studies abroad. However, a majority of the students on engineering programs do not engage in any international exchange. This paper presents insights from a collaborative cross-disciplinary international project to give students international experience without having to travel. From both a sustainability perspective and a situation where e.g. a global virus outbreak stop students from travelling, solutions that give engineering students experience of working in an international setting are becoming increasingly important. Initial challenges, for the teachers involved in …

Reviewing The Current Methods Of Assessing Hydration In Athletes, Oliver R. Barley, Dale W. Chapman, Chris R. Abbiss

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Background

Despite a substantial body of research, no clear best practice guidelines exist for the assessment of hydration in athletes. Body water is stored in and shifted between different sites throughout the body complicating hydration assessment. This review seeks to highlight the unique strengths and limitations of various hydration assessment methods described in the literature as well as providing best practice guidelines.

Main body

There is a plethora of methods that range in validity and reliability, including complicated and invasive methods (i.e. neutron activation analysis and stable isotope dilution), to moderately invasive blood, urine and salivary variables, progressing to non-invasive …

Mhd Heat Transfer In W-Shaped Inclined Cavity Containing A Porous Medium Saturated With Ag/Al2o3 Hybrid Nanofluid In The Presence Of Uniform Heat Generation/Absorption, Mohamed Dhia Massoudi, Mohamed Bechir Ben Hamida, Hussein A. Mohammed, Mohammed A. Almeshaal

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020 by the Authors. In this paper, a 2D numerical study of natural convection heat transfer in a W-shaped inclined enclosure with a variable aspect ratio was performed. The enclosure contained a porous medium saturated with Ag/Al2O3 hybrid nanofluid in the presence of uniform heat generation or absorption under the effect of a uniform magnetic field. The vertical walls of the enclosure were heated differentially; however, the top and bottom walls were kept insulated. The governing equations were solved with numerical simulation software COMSOL Multiphysics which is based on the finite element method. The results showed that the convection …

Can Exercise Adaptations Be Maintained In Men With Prostate Cancer Following Supervised Programmes? Implications To The Covid-19 Landscape Of Urology And Clinical Exercise, Pedro Lopez, Dennis R. Taaffe, Robert U. Newton, Nigel Spry, Tom Shannon, Mark Frydenberg, Fred Saad, Daniel A. Galvão

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020 The Author(s) In this brief correspondence, we evaluate the potential impact of pivoting from face-to-face supervised to unsupervised home-based exercise programmes to contextualise the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in prostate cancer patients. A meta-analysis was undertaken in fatigue, quality of life, and lean and fat mass outcomes in the four studies included. Our analysis indicates that unsupervised home-based exercise maintains patient-reported outcomes, except for fat mass. In summary, changing to unsupervised exercise is unlikely to provide further benefits on patient-reported and body composition outcomes, but may help maintain initial gains during physical distancing restrictions. Patient summary: We …

Basalt-Co2-Brine Wettability At Storage Conditions In Basaltic Formations, Stefan Iglauer, Ahmed Zarzor Al-Yaseri, Domenik Wolff-Boenisch

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020 Elsevier Ltd CO2 geo-storage in basaltic formations has recently been demonstrated as a viable solution to rapidly sequester and mineralize CO2. In case CO2 is injected into such basalt reservoirs in supercritical form, a two-phase system (reservoir brine and supercritical CO2) is created, and it is of key importance to specify the associated CO2-basalt wettability so that fluid distributions and CO2 flow through the reservoir can be predicted. However, there is a serious lack of data for basalt CO2-wettability. We therefore measured water contact angles on basalt substrates in CO2 atmosphere. The results indicate that at shallow depth …

Correlations Between Covid-19 Case Growth And Mental Health-Related Internet Search: An Unexpected Finding, Tenghao (Nick) Zhang

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

At the time of writing, the number of global con-firmed COVID-19 cases has topped 18.8 million with over 707,000 deaths (1). The Internet plays a pivotal role during this unprecedented pandemic (2,3) in the way that people predominantly use the Internet to contact each other and acquire information due to sweeping stay-at-home orders and strict lockdown restrictions imposed by au-thorities around the world. Health-related mental health issues could lead to spikes in online infor-mation search (4, 5). Therefore, this letter aims to investigate whether the rise of regional COVID cases is correlated with the increase in residents’ online searches of …

Addressing The Confusion Within Periodization Research, W. Guy Hornsby, Andrew C. Fry, G. Gregory Haff, Michael H. Stone

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020 by the authors. In this editorial, we focus on recent problematic developments in sport science, and more specifically, problems related to periodization research. Primary areas discussed are (1) appreciation of history, (2) considerations for training studies, (3) the development of concepts, and (4) programming-driven training models.

Comparison And Verification Of Turbulence Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes Closures To Model Spatially Varied Flows, Kudzai Chipongo, Mehdi Khiadani, Kaveh Sookhak Lari

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The robustness and accuracy of Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) models was investigated for complex turbulent flow in an open channel receiving lateral inflow, also known as spatially varied flow with increasing discharge (SVF). The three RANS turbulence models tested include realizable k–ε, shear stress transport k–ω and Reynolds stress model based on their prominence to model jets in crossflows. Results were compared to experimental laser Doppler velocimetry measurements from a previous study. RANS results in the uniform flow region and farther from the jet centreline were more accurate than within the lateral inflow region. On the …

Detection Of Braf Splicing Variants In Plasma-Derived Cell-Free Nucleic Acids And Extracellular Vesicles Of Melanoma Patients Failing Targeted Therapy Therapies, Michael E. Clark, Helen Rizos, Michelle Pereira, Ashleigh Mcevoy, Gabriela Marsavela, Leslie Calapre, Katie Meehan, Olivia Ruhen, Muhammad A. Khattak, Tarek M. Meniawy, Georgina Long, Matteo S. Carlino, Alexander M. Menzies, Michael Millward, Melanie Ziman, Elin S. Gray

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The analysis of plasma circulating tumour nucleic acids provides a non-invasive approach to assess disease burden and the genetic evolution of tumours in response to therapy. BRAF splicing variants are known to confer melanoma resistance to BRAF inhibitors. We developed a test to screen cell-free RNA (cfRNA) for the presence of BRAF splicing variants. Custom droplet digital PCR assays were designed for the detection of BRAF splicing variants p61, p55, p48 and p41 and then validated using RNA from cell lines carrying these variants. Evaluation of plasma from patients with reported objective response to BRAF/MEK inhibition followed by disease progression …

Stopping Targeted Therapy For Complete Responders In Advanced Braf Mutant Melanoma, Lydia Warburton, Tarek M. Meniawy, Leslie Calapre, Michelle Pereira, Ashleigh Mcevoy, Mel Ziman, Elin Gray, Michael Millward

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

BRAF inhibitors revolutionised the management of melanoma patients and although resistance occurs, there is a subgroup of patients who maintain durable disease control. For those cases with durable complete response (CR) it is not clear whether it is safe to cease therapy. Here we identified 13 patients treated with BRAF +/− MEK inhibitors, who cease therapy after prolonged CR (median = 34 months, range 20–74). Recurrence was observed in 3/13 (23%) patients. In the remaining 10 patients with sustained CR off therapy, the median follow up after discontinuation was 19 months (range 8–36). We retrospectively measured ctDNA levels using droplet …

Reversible And Irreversible Adsorption Of Bare And Hybrid Silica Nanoparticles Onto Carbonate Surface At Reservoir Condition, Zain-Ul-Abedin Arain, Sarmad Al-Anssari, Muhammad Ali, Shoaib Memon, Masood Ahmed Bhatti, Christopher Lagat, Mohammad Sarmadivaleh

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020 Southwest Petroleum University Realistic implementation of nanofluids in subsurface projects including carbon geosequestration and enhanced oil recovery requires full understanding of nanoparticles (NPs) adsorption behaviour in the porous media. The physicochemical interactions between NPs and between the NP and the porous media grain surface control the adsorption behavior of NPs. This study investigates the reversible and irreversible adsorption of silica NPs onto oil-wet and water-wet carbonate surfaces at reservoir conditions. Each carbonate sample was treated with different concentrations of silica nanofluid to investigate NP adsorption in terms of nanoparticles initial size and hydrophobicity at different temperatures, and pressures. …

“Fallen Through The Cracks”: Teachers’ Perceptions Of Barriers Faced By Struggling Literacy Learners In Secondary School, Margaret K. Merga

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2019 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Struggling literacy learners are typically low achievers with poor engagement in literacy learning, and the gap between struggling and capable students widens as children move through the years of schooling. Literacy research and interventions for struggling literacy learners typically focus on the primary school years. The 2019 Supporting Struggling Secondary Literacy Learners mixed-methods project collected qualitative data on teacher perceptions of the barriers experienced by their struggling literacy learners in Australian mainstream secondary English classrooms. Recurring barriers included literacy skill gaps and English as an …

We Have The Program, What Now? Development Of An Implementation Plan To Bridge The Research-Practice Gap Prevalent In Exercise Oncology, Mary A. Kennedy, Sara Bayes, Robert U. Newton, Yvonne Zissiadis, Nigel A. Spry, Dennis R. Taaffe, Nicolas H. Hart, Michael Davis, Aileen Eiszele, Daniel A. Galvão

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020 The Author(s). Background: Exercise has emerged as a promising therapy for people with cancer. Novel programs have been developed to translate research into practice; however, implementation barriers have limited their success in part because successful translation of exercise oncology research into practice requires context-specific implementation plans. The aim of this study was to employ the implementation mapping protocol to develop an implementation plan to support programming of a co-located exercise clinic and cancer treatment center. Methods: The Implementation Mapping protocol, which consists of five specific iterative tasks, was used. A stakeholder advisory group advised throughout the process. Results: …

A Bitter Pill To Swallow: Registered Nurses And Medicines Regulation In Remote Australia, Katie R. Pennington, Kim D. Clark, Sabina Knight

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

INTRODUCTION: Access to essential medicines is a human right and an objective of the National Medicines Policy in Australia. Health workforce distribution characteristics in remote Australia implies registered nurses (RNs) may find themselves responsible for a broader range of activities in the medication management cycle than they would be elsewhere in the nation. The regulation of health professionals and their training requirements provides essential but complex protections for the public. These protections include the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme for health practitioners and the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency. Other levels of control or regulation are also exerted over health …