Living with Fire

Dr Ian Weir appears on ABC Televisions WA Statewide program to discuss the H House (featured) and the cost savings associated with taking an integrated approach to building in bushfire prone areas.

Effects of strain artefacts arising from a pre-defined callus domain in models of bone healing mechanobiology

Iterative computational models have been used to investigate the regulation of bone fracture healing by local mechanical conditions. Although their predictions replicate some mechanical responses and histological features, they do not typically reproduce the predominantly radial hard callus growth pattern observed in larger mammals. We hypothesised that this discrepancy results from an artefact of the models’ initial geometry. Using axisymmetric finite element models, we demonstrated that pre-defining a field of soft tissue in which callus may develop introduces high deviatoric strains in the periosteal region adjacent to the fracture. These bone-inhibiting strains are not present when the initial soft tissue is confined to a thin periosteal layer. As observed in previous healing models, tissue differentiation algorithms regulated by deviatoric strain predicted hard callus forming remotely and growing towards the fracture. While dilatational strain regulation allowed early bone formation closer to the fracture, hard callus still formed initially over a broad area, rather than expanding over time. Modelling callus growth from a thin periosteal layer successfully predicted the initiation of hard callus growth close to the fracture site. However, these models were still susceptible to elevated deviatoric strains in the soft tissues at the edge of the hard callus. Our study highlights the importance of the initial soft tissue geometry used for finite element models of fracture healing. If this cannot be defined accurately, alternative mechanisms for the prediction of early callus development should be investigated.

Children living in HIV families : a review

This review article summarizes the current knowledge about children born or living in families affected by HIV, a topic of recent interest in the HIV field. It also presents a case study of a child's narrative about the implications of living with a HIV parent. The case study is part of a larger study involving both parents and children living with HIV in Bangladesh. The paper discusses the implications of HIV for children, their families, and social services to gain a better understanding of some of the social issues, such as stigma, associated with this illness. The paper recommends that the development of effective social and service interventions using appropriate language, information, and access to social support services are urgently needed to reduce the concerns and increases the life opportunities of children living in HIV families.

The Healthy Living after Cancer Partnership Project [Conference Abstract]

There is considerable evidence for the efficacy of physical activity, diet and weight loss interventions in improving health outcomes for cancer survivors, but limited uptake into practice. Healthy Living after Cancer (HLaC) is an evidence-based, telephone-delivered lifestyle intervention targeting cancer survivors. This paper describes the translation of HLaC into practice in partnership with Australian state-based Cancer Councils.

Experimental and numerical investigation of strain-rate dependent mechanical properties of single living cells

The objective of this project is to investigate the strain-rate dependent mechanical behaviour of single living cells using both experimental and numerical techniques. The results revealed that living cells behave as porohyperlastic materials and that both solid and fluid phases within the cells play important roles in their mechanical responses. The research reported in this thesis provides a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying the cellular responses to external mechanical loadings and of the process of mechanical signal transduction in living cells. It would help us to enhance knowledge of and insight into the role of mechanical forces in supporting tissue regeneration or degeneration.

Classification of activities of daily living of individual with limb loss

The monitoring of the actual activities of daily living of individuals with lower limb amputation is essential for an evidence-based fitting of the prosthesis, more particularly the choice of components (e.g., knees, ankles, feet)[1-4]. The purpose of this presentation was to give an overview of the categorization of the load regime data to assess the functional output and usage of the prosthesis of lower limb amputees has presented in several publications[5, 6]. The objectives were to present a categorization of load regime and to report the results for a case.

Microscale consolidation analysis of relaxation behavior of single living chondrocytes subjected to varying strain-rates

Besides the elastic stiffness, the relaxation behavior of single living cells is also of interest of various researchers when studying cell mechanics. It is hypothesized that the relaxation response of the cells is governed by both intrinsic viscoelasticity of the solid phase and fluid-solid interactions mechanisms. There are a number of mechanical models have been developed to investigate the relaxation behavior of single cells. However, there is lack of model enable to accurately capture both of the mechanisms. Therefore, in this study, the porohyperelastic (PHE) model, which is an extension of the consolidation theory, combined with inverse Finite Element Analysis (FEA) technique was used at the first time to investigate the relaxation response of living chondrocytes. This model was also utilized to study the dependence of relaxation behavior of the cells on strain-rates. The stress-relaxation experiments under the various strain-rates were conducted with the Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). The results have demonstrated that the PHE model could effectively capture the stress-relaxation behavior of the living chondrocytes, especially at intermediate to high strain-rates. Although this model gave some errors at lower strain-rates, its performance was acceptable. Therefore, the PHE model is properly a promising model for single cell mechanics studies. Moreover, it has been found that the hydraulic permeability of living chondrocytes reduced with decreasing of strain-rates. It might be due to the intracellular fluid volume fraction and the fluid pore pressure gradients of chondrocytes were higher when higher strain-rates applied.

Walking and talking with living texts: Breathing life against static standardisation

Current educational reform, policy and public discourse emphasise standardisation of testing, curricula and professional practice, yet the landscape of literacy practices today is fluid, interactive, multimodal, ever-changing, adaptive and collaborative. How then can English and literacy educators negotiate these conflicting terrains? The nature of today’s literacy practices is reflected in a concept of living texts which refers to experienced events and encounters that offer meaning-making that is fluid, interactive and changing. Literacy learning possibilities with living texts are described and discussed by the authors who independently investigated the place of living texts across two distinctly different learning contexts: a young people’s community arts project and a co-taught multiliteracies project in a high school. In the community arts project, young people created living texts as guided walks of urban spaces that adapt and change to varying audiences. In the multiliteracies project, two parents and a teacher created interactive spaces through co-teaching and cogenerative dialoguing. These spaces generate living texts that yield a purposefully connected curriculum rich in community-relevant and culturally significant texts. These two studies are shared with a view of bringing living texts into literacy education to loosen rigidity in standardisation.

Influencers on quality of life as reported by people living with dementia in long-term care: A descriptive exploratory approach

Background Over half of the residents in long-term care have a diagnosis of dementia. Maintaining quality of life is important, as there is no cure for dementia. Quality of life may be used as a benchmark for caregiving, and can help to enhance respect for the person with dementia and to improve care provision. The purpose of this study was to describe quality of life as reported by people living with dementia in long-term care in terms of the influencers of, as well as the strategies needed, to improve quality of life. Methods A descriptive exploratory approach. A subsample of twelve residents across two Australian states from a national quantitative study on quality of life was interviewed. Data were analysed thematically from a realist perspective. The approach to the thematic analysis was inductive and data-driven. Results Three themes emerged in relation to influencers and strategies related to quality of life: (a) maintaining independence; (b) having something to do, and; (c) the importance of social interaction. Conclusions The findings highlight the importance of understanding individual resident needs and consideration of the complexity of living in large group living situations, in particular in regard to resident decision-making.

The effectiveness of meaningful occupation interventions for people living with dementia in residential aged care: A systematic review protocol

Review questions/objective What is the effectiveness of meaningful occupation interventions for people living with dementia in residential aged care facilities? More specifically, the objectives are to identify: The effectiveness of interventions based on engaging residents of residential aged care facilities who have dementia in meaningful occupation (activities that have meaning for the individual) on: quality of life, behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (such as agitation, aggression, depression, wandering, apathy, etc.), mood, function, cognition, and sleep. Inclusion criteria Types of participants This review will consider studies that include participants with a confirmed diagnosis of any type of dementia living in residential aged care facilities / long term care/nursing homes/permanent care. Types of intervention(s)/phenomena of interest This review will consider studies that evaluate non-pharmacological interventions that are based on occupational or activity interventions considered to be meaningful to the person with dementia, and tailoring the intervention to meet their needs, abilities, interests and/or preferences will be required as part of the study’s methodology. Such interventions may include reminiscence therapy, exercise therapy, music therapy, individualized activity, behavioral interventions, recreational therapy, diversional therapy and psychosocial interventions. Trials of combinations of two or more such interventions will also be considered. Interventions may be in comparison to usual care, other meaningful occupation interventions, or any other non-pharmacological control or comparator.

Active aging: Exploration into self-ratings of "being active," out-of-home physical activity, and participation among older Australian adults living in four different settings

We examined whether self-ratings of “being active” among older people living in four different settings (major city high and lower density suburbs, a regional city, and a rural area) were associated with out-of-home participation and outdoor physical activity. A mixed-methods approach (survey, travel diary, and GPS tracking over a one-week period) was used to gather data from 48 individuals aged over 55 years. Self-ratings of “being active” were found to be positively correlated with the number of days older people spent time away from home but unrelated to time traveled by active means (walking and biking). No significant differences in active travel were found between the four study locations, despite differences in their respective built environments.The findings suggest that additional strategies to the creation of “age-friendly” environments are needed if older people are to increase their levels of outdoor physical activity. “Active aging” promotion campaigns may need to explicitly identify the benefits of walking outdoors to ambulatory older people as a means of maintaining their overall health, functional ability, and participation within society in the long-term and also encourage the development of community-based programs in order to facilitate regular walking for this group.

‘A contributing life’: Living a contributing life as ‘a person’, ‘an artist’ and ‘an artist with a mental illness’

The Australian National Mental Health Commission, recently adopted a focus on ‘a contributing life’ to acknowledge the importance of full and meaningful participation in community life. This concept compels new conversations about the complex nature of every day and whole of life experiences for people with lived experience of mental illness. This article reflects on narratives by eight artists with lived experience of mental illness, in Australia to understand how opportunities are available through art for people with lived experience of mental illness to lead a contributing life. A twelve month study gained insight of how participants saw themselves, made meaning and sense of their experiences, and how each person asserted their choice to be an artist. This article shares a common premise held by the participants to choose a “way of life as ‘who I am’”. This declaration emphasised the relevance of living a contributing life as ‘a person’, ‘an artist’ and ‘an artist with a mental illness’. A number of conceptual issues are raised in light of the findings, not least how opportunities for participation are framed and available, or otherwise, to live a contributing life.

A qualitative exploration of parental experiences of stigma while living with HIV in Bangladesh

With much of the focus on the “risk” groups, families have often been less studied in HIV research. Further, because of a focus on the aetiology and epidemiology of HIV, the social impacts associated with HIV on families and neighbours are sometimes overlooked. This study examined parental experiences of stigma and discrimination while living with HIV within a family context in Bangladesh. A qualitative research design using a grounded theory approach was used for this research. Data was collected through in-depth interviews with 19 HIV-positive parents, recruited with the support of two self-help groups of HIV-positive people, in two settings namely Khulna and Dhaka in Bangladesh. The findings indicate that HIV-positive parents held the view that they continue to experience significant stigma and their narratives clearly show how this affected them and their children. A range of informal practices were enacted in everyday contexts by extended family and community members to identify, demarcate and limit the social interaction of HIV-positive parents. Parents highlighted a number of factors including negative thoughts and behaviours, rejection, isolation and derogatory remarks as manifestations of stigma and discrimination, impacting upon them and their children because of their association with HIV.

Relationship between living alone and food and nutrient intake

The increase in the number of individuals living alone has implications for nutrition and health outcomes. This review aimed to investigate whether there is a difference in food and nutrient intake between adults living alone and those living with others. Eight electronic databases were searched, using terms related to living alone, nutrition, food, and socioeconomic factors. Forty-one papers met the inclusion criteria, and data of interest were extracted. Results varied but suggested that, compared with persons who do not live alone, persons who live alone have a lower diversity of food intake, a lower consumption of some core foods groups (fruit, vegetables, and fish) and a higher likelihood of having an unhealthy dietary pattern. Associations between living alone and nutrient intake were unclear. Men living alone were more often observed to be at greater risk of undesirable intakes than women. The findings of this review suggest that living alone could negatively affect some aspects of food intake and contribute to the relationship between living alone and poor health outcomes, although associations could vary between socioeconomic groups. Further research is required to help to elucidate these findings.

Deltaic urbanism for living with flooding in Southern Vietnam

Waterfront communities in the Mekong Delta live with the inundation of their homes and businesses from seasonal flooding every year. This project investigated housing types, social practices and feelings of vulnerability of local people in the Cai Rang waterfront community in Can Tho City. The project made a significant contribution to methods for assessing vulnerability, adaptability and resilience of inhabitants of flood-prone housing in Vietnam. It also developed a new concept of 'Deltaic Urbanism' that offers a better urbanist approach specifically for deltaic regions subject to the potential impacts of climate change.