Factors associated with suboptimal adherence to antiretroviral therapy in Viet Nam: A cross-sectional study using audio computer-assisted self-interview (ACASI)

Background: Optimal adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) is necessary for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV). There have been relatively few systematic analyses of factors that promote or inhibit adherence to antiretroviral therapy among PLHIV in Asia. This study assessed ART adherence and examined factors associated with suboptimal adherence in northern Viet Nam. Methods: Data from 615 PLHIV on ART in two urban and three rural outpatient clinics were collected by medical record extraction and from patient interviews using audio computer-assisted self-interview (ACASI). Results: The prevalence of suboptimal adherence was estimated to be 24.9% via a visual analogue scale (VAS) of past-month dose-missing and 29.1% using a modified Adult AIDS Clinical Trial Group scale for on-time dose-taking in the past 4 days. Factors significantly associated with the more conservative VAS score were: depression (p < 0.001), side-effect experiences (p < 0.001), heavy alcohol use (p = 0.001), chance health locus of control (p = 0.003), low perceived quality of information from care providers (p = 0.04) and low social connectedness (p = 0.03). Illicit drug use alone was not significantly associated with suboptimal adherence, but interacted with heavy alcohol use to reduce adherence (p < 0.001). Conclusions: This is the largest survey of ART adherence yet reported from Asia and the first in a developing country to use the ACASI method in this context. The evidence strongly indicates that ART services in Viet Nam should include screening and treatment for depression, linkage with alcohol and/or drug dependence treatment, and counselling to address the belief that chance or luck determines health outcomes.

Computer simulation of underground blast response of pile in saturated soil

This paper treats the blast response of a pile foundation in saturated sand using explicit nonlinear finite element analysis, considering complex material behavior of soil and soil–pile interaction. Blast wave propagation in the soil is studied and the horizontal deformation of pile and effective stresses in the pile are presented. Results indicate that the upper part of the pile to be vulnerable and the pile response decays with distance from the explosive. The findings of this research provide valuable information on the effects of underground explosions on pile foundation and will guide future development, validation and application of computer models.

Engaging students in authoring and playing computer games

Computer games have become a commonplace but engaging activity among students. They enjoy playing computer games as they can perform larger-than-life activities virtually such as jumping from great heights, flying planes, and racing cars; actions that are otherwise not possible in real life. Computer games also offer user interactivity which gives them a certain appeal. Considering this appeal, educators should consider integrating computer games into student learning and to encourage students to author computer games of their own. It is thought that students can be engaged in learning by authoring and using computer games and can also gain essential skills such as collaboration, teamwork, problem solving and deductive reasoning. The research in this study revolves around building student engagement through the task of authoring computer games. The study aims to demonstrate how the creation and sharing of student-authored educational games might facilitate student engagement and how ICT (information and communication technology) plays a supportive role in student learning. Results from this study may lead to the broader integration of computer games into student learning and contribute to similar studies. In this qualitative case study, based in a state school in a low socio-economic area west of Brisbane, Australia, students were selected in both junior and senior secondary classes who have authored computer games as a part of their ICT learning. Senior secondary students (Year 12 ICT) were given the task of programming the games, which were to be based on Mathematics learning topics while the junior secondary students (Year 8 ICT) were given the task of creating multimedia elements for the games. A Mathematics teacher volunteered to assist in the project and provided guidance on the inclusion of suitable Mathematics curricular content into these computer games. The student-authored computer games were then used to support another group of Year 8 Mathematics students to learn the topics of Area, Volume and Time. Data was collected through interviews, classroom observations and artefacts. The teacher researcher, acting in the role of ICT teacher, coordinated with the students and the Mathematics teacher to conduct this study. Instrumental case study was applied as research methodology and Third Generation Activity Theory served as theoretical framework for this study. Data was analysed adopting qualitative coding procedures. Findings of this study indicate that having students author and play computer games promoted student engagement and that ICT played a supportive role in learning and allowed students to gain certain essential skills. Although this study will suggest integrating computer games to support classroom learning, it cannot be presumed that computer games are an immediate solution for promoting student engagement.

Computer experiment – a case study for modelling and simulation of manufacturing systems

Deterministic computer simulation of physical experiments is now a common technique in science and engineering. Often, physical experiments are too time consuming, expensive or impossible to conduct. Complex computer models or codes, rather than physical experiments lead to the study of computer experiments, which are used to investigate many scientific phenomena. A computer experiment consists of a number of runs of the computer code with different input choices. The Design and Analysis of Computer Experiments is a rapidly growing technique in statistical experimental design. This paper aims to discuss some practical issues when designing a computer simulation and/or experiments for manufacturing systems. A case study approach is reviewed and presented.

Sample size considerations and augmentation of computer experiments

Computer Experiments, consisting of a number of runs of a computer model with different inputs, are now common-place in scientific research. Using a simple fire model for illustration some guidelines are given for the size of a computer experiment. A graph is provided relating the error of prediction to the sample size which should be of use when designing computer experiments. Methods for augmenting computer experiments with extra runs are also described and illustrated. The simplest method involves adding one point at a time choosing that point with the maximum prediction variance. Another method that appears to work well is to choose points from a candidate set with maximum determinant of the variance covariance matrix of predictions.

Some practical issues in the design and analysis of computer experiments

Deterministic computer simulations of physical experiments are now common techniques in science and engineering. Often, physical experiments are too time consuming, expensive or impossible to conduct. Complex computer models or codes, rather than physical experiments lead to the study of computer experiments, which are used to investigate many scientific phenomena of this nature. A computer experiment consists of a number of runs of the computer code with different input choices. The Design and Analysis of Computer Experiments is a rapidly growing technique in statistical experimental design. This thesis investigates some practical issues in the design and analysis of computer experiments and attempts to answer some of the questions faced by experimenters using computer experiments. In particular, the question of the number of computer experiments and how they should be augmented is studied and attention is given to when the response is a function over time.

TrainRoulette : promoting situated in-train social interaction between passengers

Travelling by public transport is usually regarded as boring and uninteresting. Refraining from talking to the stranger next to you may be due to limitations that are self-imposed and further corroborated by social expectations and cultural norms that govern behaviour in public space. Our design research into passenger interactions on board of urban commuter trains has informed the development of the TrainRoulette prototype – a mobile app for situated, real-time chats between train passengers. We study the impact of our design intervention on shaping perceptions of the train journey experience. Moreover, we are interested in the implications of such ICT-mediated interactions within train journeys for stimulating social offline interactions and new forms of passenger engagement.

Gamifying everyday activities using mobile sensing

The addition of game design elements to non-game contexts has become known as gamification. Previous research has suggested that framing tedious and non-motivating tasks as game-like can make them enjoyable and motivating (e.g., de Oliveira, et al., 2010; Fujiki, et al., 2007; Chiu, et al., 2009). Smartphone applications lend themselves to being gamified as the underlying mobile technology has the ability to sense user activities and their surrounding environment. These sensed activities can be used to implement and enforce game-like rules based around many physical activities (e.g., exercise, travel, or eating). If researchers wish to investigate this area, they first need an existing gamified application to study. However if an appropriate application does not exist then the researcher may need to create their own gamified prototype to study. Unfortunately, there is little previous research that details or explains the design and integration of game elements to non-game mobile applications. This chapter explores this gap and shares a framework that was used to add videogame-like achievements to an orientation mobile application developed for new university students. The framework proved useful and initial results are discussed from two studies. However, further development of the framework is needed, including further consideration of what makes an effective gamified experience.

Vacancy mediated desorption of hydrogen from a sodium alanate surface : An ab initio spin-polarized study

Ab initio spin-polarized density functional theory calculations are performed to explore the effect of single Na vacancy on NaAlH4(001) surface on the initial dehydrogenation kinetics. The authors found that two Al–H bond lengths become elongated and weakened due to the presence of a Na vacancy on the NaAlH4(001) surface. Spontaneous recombination from the surface to form molecular hydrogen is observed in the spin-polarized ab initio molecular dynamics simulation. The authors’ results indicate that surface Na vacancies play a critical role in accelerating the dehydrogenation kinetics in sodium alanate. The understanding gained here will aid in the rational design and development of complex hydride materials for hydrogen storage

Computer modeling of diffusion in biological tissues

Molecular-level computer simulations of restricted water diffusion can be used to develop models for relating diffusion tensor imaging measurements of anisotropic tissue to microstructural tissue characteristics. The diffusion tensors resulting from these simulations can then be analyzed in terms of their relationship to the structural anisotropy of the model used. As the translational motion of water molecules is essentially random, their dynamics can be effectively simulated using computers. In addition to modeling water dynamics and water-tissue interactions, the simulation software of the present study was developed to automatically generate collagen fiber networks from user-defined parameters. This flexibility provides the opportunity for further investigations of the relationship between the diffusion tensor of water and morphologically different models representing different anisotropic tissues.

Review : "Birthday Boy" -- Sejong Park

Synopsis and review of Sejong Park's film Birthday Boy. Includes credits. Birthday Boy has won over 40 awards at film festivals around the world including Best Animated Short at the prestigious SIGGRAPH Computer Animation Festival in 2004 which qualified the film for the 2005 Academy Awards even before Park and fellow students had graduated from the Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS). It was subsequently nominated for the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film, losing to another extraordinary short, Chris Landreth’s tribute to pioneering Canadian animator Ryan Larkin, Ryan. Other awards include the Prix Jean-Luc Xiberras at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival in 2005 (which had a special focus on Korea) and Best Short Animation at the 2005 BAFTA awards. It has screened at over 100 film festivals around the world, and is the most awarded film in the almost forty year history of the AFTRS...

Developing an adaptive radiotherapy technique for virally mediated head and neck cancer

Purpose Virally mediated head and neck cancers (VMHNC) often present with nodal involvement and are highly radioresponsive, meaning that treatment plan adaptation during radiotherapy (RT) in a subset of patients is required. We sought to determine potential risk profiles and a corresponding adaptive treatment strategy for these patients. Methodology 121 patients with virally mediated, node positive nasopharyngeal (Epstein Barr Virus positive) or oropharyngeal (Human Papillomavirus positive) cancers, receiving curative intent RT were reviewed. The type, frequency and timing of adaptive interventions, including source-to-skin distance (SSD) corrections, re-scanning and re-planning, were evaluated. Patients were reviewed based on the maximum size of the dominant node to assess the need for plan adaptation. Results Forty-six patients (38%) required plan adaptation during treatment. The median fraction at which the adaptive intervention occurred was 26 for SSD corrections and 22 for re-planning CTs. A trend toward 3 risk profile groupings was discovered: 1) Low risk with minimal need (< 10%) for adaptive intervention (dominant pre-treatment nodal size of ≤ 35 mm), 2) Intermediate risk with possible need (< 20%) for adaptive intervention (dominant pre-treatment nodal size of 36 mm – 45 mm) and 3) High-risk with increased likelihood (> 50%) for adaptive intervention (dominant pre-treatment nodal size of ≥ 46 mm). Conclusion In this study, patients with VMHNC and a maximum dominant nodal size of > 46 mm were identified at a higher risk of requiring re-planning during a course of definitive RT. Findings will be tested in a future prospective adaptive RT study.

Proteolytic activation of Chlamydia trachomatis HTRA is mediated by PDZ1 domain interactions with protease domain loops L3 and LC and beta strand β5

Chlamydia trachomatis is a bacterial pathogen responsible for one of the most prevalent sexually transmitted infections worldwide. Its unique development cycle has limited our understanding of its pathogenic mechanisms. However, CtHtrA has recently been identified as a potential C. trachomatis virulence factor. CtHtrA is a tightly regulated quality control protein with a monomeric structural unit comprised of a chymotrypsin-like protease domain and two PDZ domains. Activation of proteolytic activity relies on the C-terminus of the substrate allosterically binding to the PDZ1 domain, which triggers subsequent conformational change and oligomerization of the protein into 24-mers enabling proteolysis. This activation is mediated by a cascade of precise structural arrangements, but the specific CtHtrA residues and structural elements required to facilitate activation are unknown. Using in vitro analysis guided by homology modeling, we show that the mutation of residues Arg362 and Arg224, predicted to disrupt the interaction between the CtHtrA PDZ1 domain and loop L3, and between loop L3 and loop LD, respectively, are critical for the activation of proteolytic activity. We also demonstrate that mutation to residues Arg299 and Lys160, predicted to disrupt PDZ1 domain interactions with protease loop LC and strand β5, are also able to influence proteolysis, implying their involvement in the CtHtrA mechanism of activation. This is the first investigation of protease loop LC and strand β5 with respect to their potential interactions with the PDZ1 domain. Given their high level of conservation in bacterial HtrA, these structural elements may be equally significant in the activation mechanism of DegP and other HtrA family members.

Animated Kolam Patterns

The brief for the creative work was to produce a digital backdrop that would be projected behind and enhance a dance performance. The animation needed to display a static kolam pattern that would then dissolve at a choreographed point in the performance. The dissolving mimics the fragmentation that occurs to physical kolam patterns throughout the day as people interact with the drawings. The final animated work was incorporated into Vanessa Mafe-Keane’s performance titled “Paired Back” performed at the Judith Wright Centre, Brisbane 2013 as part of “Dance. Indie Dance. Through the use of motion capture technology the process of dissolving the pattern is a direct result of the performer’s movements allowing visual and temporal connection between motion of performer and digital graphic to be observed. This creative work presented an opportunity to expand upon experiments conducted in the production of experimental visual forms undertaken at QUT using the Xsens MVN Inertial Motion Capture System. The project took on the form of an investigation into practice with a focus on the additional complexities of capturing, then applying multiple data sources into the production of animated visuals along with bringing to light the considerations taken into account when producing this type of generative art work for live performance. The reported outcomes from this investigation have contributed to a larger study on the use of motion capture in the generative arts, furthering the understanding of and generating theories on practice.