Life Sciences Commons^™

Exploring The Relevancy Of The Person Centred Care Model For Dementia Care Within Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Communities, Faye B. Mcmillan, David R. Kampers, Victoria Traynor, J Dewing

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

No abstract provided.

Utility Of Virtual Communities For `Carers Of Children And Disabilities', Rodney J. Clarke, Elias Kyriazis, Gary I. Noble, Jennifer Ann Algie

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

A pilot study of services for children with disabilities conducted in the Illawarra (Noble et al.2005) identified a basic lack of awareness on the part of parents and carers about available services. In particular, there was a lack of awareness of the availability of different support services, application processes to acquire assistance, information about specific disabilities,and the location of various support services. The study indicated that there was no centralsource of information for parents and carers of children with a disability in the Illawarra. Instead, parents and carers had to learn about these issues by `word of mouth', raising issues …

A Behavioural Comparison Of Acute And Chronic Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol And Cannabidiol In C57bl/6jarc Mice, Ian Mcgregor, Xu-Feng Huang, Tim Karl, Jonathon Arnold, Rose Chesworth, Leonora E. Long

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Cannabis contains over 70 unique compounds and its abuse is linked to an increased risk of developing schizophrenia. The behavioural profiles of the psychotropic cannabis constituent Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ⁹-THC) and the non-psychotomimetic constituent cannabidiol (CBD) were investigated with a battery of behavioural tests relevant to anxiety and positive, negative and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia. Male adult C57BL/6JArc mice were given 21 daily intraperitoneal injections of vehicle, Δ⁹-THC (0.3, 1, 3 or 10 mg/kg) or CBD (1, 5, 10 or 50 mg/kg). Δ⁹-THC produced the classic cannabinoid CB₁ receptor-mediated tetrad of hypolocomotion, analgesia, …

The Utility Of Different Object Properties In Change Detection, Simone K. Favelle, Stephen A. Palmisano

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Previous research has shown that changes to the configuration of an object's parts are better detected than changes to the shape/arrangement of those parts. This finding suggests that configural, rather than shape, information plays a critical role in object change detection. The current study investigated configural and shape changes in greater detail to determine what aspects of these two types of object properties, if any, were more or less important for change detection. Specifically we investigated configural changes in terms of the orientation of the part change and shape changes in terms of the non-accidental properties of the part change. …

Easy Preparation Of Sno2@Carbon Composite Nanofibers With Improved Lithium Ion Storage Properties, Zhixin Chen, Zaiping Guo, Hua-Kun Liu, Guodong Du, Xuebin Yu, Guonan Chen, Peng Zhang, Zunxian Yang

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

SnO2@carbon nanofibers were synthesized by a combination of electrospinning and subsequent thermal treatments in air and then in argon to demonstrate their potential use as an anode material in lithium ion battery applications. The as-prepared SnO2@carbon nanofibers consist of SnO2 anoparticles/nanocrystals encapsulated in a carbon matrix and contain many mesopores. Because of the charge pathways, both for the electrons and the lithium ions, and the buffering function provided by both the carbon encapsulating the SnO2 nanoparticles and the mesopores, which tends to alleviate the volumetric effects during the charge/discharge cycles, the nanofibers display a greatly improved reversible capacity of 420 …

Nursing Care - Moving Beyond Being A Commodity And Measuring The Actual Contribution That Nurses Make To Patient Outcomes, Jenny Sim, Patrick A. Crookes, Kenneth Walsh

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

There is a new imperative on nursing as a profession to identify and measure the contribution that nurses make to patient outcomes. This is not an easy task. All nurses know that nursing is complex. Largely because of the complexity of the nursing task there has been no collective agreement in the literature or in practice of what constitutes good nursing care and no consensus or universal measure of quality nursing practice. This lack of consensus and inability to define a set of nursing indicators that quantify the impact that nursing care has on patient outcomes has left the nursing …

Nursing Sensitive Outcomes: Identifying A Definition, Exploration Of Conceptual Challenges And An Overview Of The Literature, Jenny Sim, Patrick A. Crookes, Kenneth D. Walsh

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Introduction/background: A literature review on nursing sensitive outcomes has been conducted as part of a larger research project. The literature was reviewed to: - identify a definition of nursing sensitive outcomes - determine the conceptual models used to describe nursing sensitive outcomes - identify significant contributions made by researchers on the development and use of nursing sensitive outcomes in clinical practice.The overall aim of the research project is to develop a set of indicators that provides a balanced view of nursing care and its contribution to patient outcomes. It is anticipated that this research will broaden the debate on nursing …

A Psychometric Analysis Of The Mental Health Consumer Participation Questionnaire, Brenda Happell, Lorna Moxham, Chris Platania-Phung

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

If consumer participation is to be translated from rhetoric into reality, the attitudes of health professionals need to be addressed. Educational strategies can play an important role, but measures of attitudes are needed to determine the effectiveness of these strategies. This paper seeks to establish the Mental Health Consumer Participation Questionnaire (MHCPQ) on psychometric grounds, and explore attitude levels. Overall, the 150 nursing students who participated saw consumer participation in a favourable light, although this varied with the nature and extent of involvement. Psychometric properties, attitude structure, and attitude differences are reported. The MHCPQ displays good face validity and can …

Postural Responses To Multidirectional Perturbations To The Hand During Stance, Ali Forghani, Sheida Rabipour, Theodore E. Milner, Paul J. Stapley

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Humans are easily able to maintain their balance while applying force with their hands to move or stabilize objects. Based on Newton's laws, the applied force must be counteracted by ground reaction force (GRF) to maintain balance. However, because the GRF is partitioned between the two legs there is no unique solution. Furthermore, central nervous system (CNS) can employ an infinite number of muscle activation patterns to achieve ground reaction force (GRF) vectors needed to satisfy both the task-level goal and balance. This study examines the postural response when hand position must remain stable as an external force is applied …

Stereoscopic Perception Of Real Depths At Large Distances, Stephen Palmisano, Barbara Gillam, Donovan Govan, Robert Allison, Julie Harris

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

There has been no direct examination of stereoscopic depth perception at very large observation distances and depths. We measured perceptions of depth magnitude at distances where it is frequently reported without evidence that stereopsis is non-functional. We adapted methods pioneered at distances up to 9 m by R. S. Allison, B. J. Gillam, and E. Vecellio (2009) for use in a 381-m-long railway tunnel. Pairs of Light Emitting Diode (LED) targets were presented either in complete darkness or with the environment lit as far as the nearest LED (the observation distance). We found that binocular, but not monocular, estimates of …

Eccentric Gaze Dynamics Enhance Vection In Depth, Juno Kim, Stephen Palmisano

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This study examined the role of eccentric gaze dynamics in the generation of visual illusions of self-motion (i.e., vection). In Experiment 1, observers maintained their gaze either upward, downward, leftward, or rightward with respect to the center of a radially expanding optic flow pattern, which simulated forward self-motion in depth through a 3D cloud of objects. Realtime vection strength ratings and changes in horizontal and vertical eye positions were recorded simultaneously. Vection strength was found to increase progressively over the course of each 30-s presentation of radial flow. Eye tracking revealed strong optokinetic responses, consistent with ocular following responses (OFRs). …

Molecular Cloning And Characterization Of The Global Regulator Laea In Penicillium Citrinum, Wei Xing, Chao Deng, Chang-Hua Hu

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

We have cloned and analysed a laeA gene (Pci-laeA) that may control mevastatin biosynthesis in Penicillium citrinum. The full-length Pci-laeA sequence is 1,340 bp with an ORF of 1,284 bp encoding 427 amino acids. It shows 95% identity with LaeA from P. chrysogenum. The predicted molecular mass of Pci-LaeA is 48.72 kDa with an estimated theoretical isoelectric point of 6.96. Pci-LaeA has a conserved S-adenosylmethionine binding site and a potential MlcR (a pathway specific regulator in mevastatin biosynthesis) binding site.

Development Of Australian Portion Size Photographs To Enhance Self-Administered Online Dietary Assessments For Adults, Yasmine Probst, Holley-Anne Jones, Gemma Sampson, Kimberley Smith

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Aim:  Technology is being used increasingly for dietary assessment, to streamline and improve the efficiency. These technologies allow for the inclusion of visual food portion images within the assessments rather than in addition to them as previously required. This paper describes the methodology for creating these food portion images using an online dietary assessment website (DietAdvice) as an example technology. The images include country-specific Australian food items, not previously available.

Methods:  Foods contained in the DietAdvice website were assessed to determine the number requiring food portion images. Preparation methods, recipes and portion sizes were determined for the foods, which varied …

Occupational Factors Associated With 4-Year Weight Gain In Australian Adults, Christopher A. Magee, Peter Caputi, Natalie Stefanic, Don Iverson

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

No abstract provided.

District-Level Estimates Of Institutional Births In Ghana: Application Of Small Area Estimation Technique Using Census And Dhs Data, Fiifi Amoako Johnson, Hukum Chandra, James J. Brown, Sabu S. Padmadas

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The Ghana Health Service functions under a decentralised approach; however, the lack of district level statistics implies that local authorities are faced with difficulties in making policy decisions without relevant statistics. The Ghanain Demographic and Health Surveys provide a range of invaluable data at the regional/national level; they cannot be used directly to produce reliable district-level estimates due to small sample sizes. This article uses small area estimation techniques to derive model-based district-level estimates of institutional births in Ghana by linking data from the 2003 GDHS and the 2000 Population and Housing Census. The models indicate considerable variability in the …

Health Warning Labels On Alcohol Products - The Views Of Australian University Students, Sandra C. Jones, Parri Gregory

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

While Australian legislation does not currently require health warning labels on alcohol products, several medical and advocacy organisations have been campaigning for their mandatory inclusion. The current study examines the attitudes and opinions of university students (a particularly high risk group) relating to these messages, and the likelihood of such labeling influencing personal behaviours, in order to establish whether the introduction of these labels is likely to be effective. Alcohol warning labels have the potential to influence behaviours of adolescents and young adults, especially if modifications are made to the content and format of these – suggestions are given in …

Effects Of High And Low Breast Support On Breast Kinematics And Kinetics During Treadmill Running, Deirdre Mcghee, Julie R. Steele, William J. Zealey

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Results: The mean vertical component of the peak bra/breast spring force during treadmill running was greatest during the downward breast trajectory and was approximately 30% less in the high breast support condition (13 N ± 7 N) compared to the low support condition (17 N ± 10 N). This force reduction was accompanied by a 300% decrease in breast and bra discomfort. Conclusion: Wearing a well-fitted supportive sports bra is recommended for females with large breasts to reduce the breast forces and, in tum, exercise induced breast and bra discomfort during physical activity such as treadmill running.

High Plantar-Flexor Passive Stiffness Increases Achilles Tendon Loading During Landings, John Whitting, Julie R. Steele, Deirdre Mcghee, Bridget J. Munro

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

No abstract provided.

Landing Strategies Of Athletes With An Asymptomatic Patellar Tendon Abnormality, Suzi Edwards, Julie R. Steele, Deirdre Mcghee, Sue Beattie, Craig Purdam, Jill L. Cook

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Purpose: Risk factors associated with a clinical presentation of patellar tendinopathy are patellar tendon ultrasonographic abnormality (PTA) and excessive loading. It remains unknown whether characteristics of an athlete's landing technique contribute to this excessive patellar tendon loading. This study investigated whether asymptomatic athletes with and without PTA had different landing strategies and hypothesized that asymptomatic athletes with a PTA would create higher patellar tendon loading and a different lower-limb landing strategy compared with athletes with normal patellar tendons. Methods: Seven athletes with no previous history or clinical signs of patellar tendon injury with a PTA were matched to athletes with …

People And Nature Adapting To A Changing Climate: Charting Maine’S Course Report, University Of Maine Climate Change Institute

General University of Maine Publications

Building on Maine’s Climate Future, in 2009 the Maine Legislature charged the Maine Department of Environmental Protection to bring together a broad group of stakeholders across business, agriculture, forestry, marine, health, conservation, and transportation interests to initiate a climate change stakeholder adaptation process. More than 70 groups representing government, private industry, non-governmental organizations, municipalities, and the University of Maine participated in the discussions and working committees. In February 2010, Maine DEP presented the Legislature with a report on the initial year of work in this stakeholder adaptation process that included a description of findings and recommendations.

The summary report …

Review: Back To Darwin, Timothy Shanahan

Philosophy Faculty Works

No abstract provided.