The impact of community health professional contact postpartum on breastfeeding at 3 months : a cross-sectional retrospective study

This study investigated the effect of any health professional contact and the types of contact new mothers received in the first 10 days post-discharge on breastfeeding rates at 3 months. This cross-sectional retrospective self-report survey was distributed to women who birthed in Queensland, Australia between 1st February and 31st May 2010 at 4–5 months postpartum. Data were collected on pregnancy, birth, postpartum care and infant feeding. Logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between health professional contact and breastfeeding at 3 months. Data were analysed by birthing facility sector because of significant differences between sectors in health professional contact. The study cohort consisted of 6,852 women. Women in the public sector were more likely to be visited at home than women birthing in the private sector. Any health professional contact (AOR 1.65 99 % CI 0.98–2.76 public sector, AOR 0.78 99 % CI 0.59–1.03 private sector) and home visits (AOR 1.50 99 % CI 0.89–2.54 public sector, AOR 0.80 99 % CI 0.46–1.39 private sector) were not associated with breastfeeding at 3 months in either sector. A telephone call (AOR 2.07 99 % CI 1.06–4.03) or visit to a general practitioner (GP) (AOR 1.83 99 % CI 1.04–3.21) increased the odds of breastfeeding in public sector women. Health professional contact or home visiting in the first 10 days post-discharge did not have a significant impact on breastfeeding rates at 3 months. Post-discharge telephone contact for all women and opportunities for self-initiated clinic visits for women assessed to be at higher risk of ceasing breastfeeding may be the most effective care.

Application of cepstrum pre-whitening for the diagnosis of bearing faults under variable speed conditions

Diagnostics of rolling element bearings involves a combination of different techniques of signal enhancing and analysis. The most common procedure presents a first step of order tracking and synchronous averaging, able to remove the undesired components, synchronous with the shaft harmonics, from the signal, and a final step of envelope analysis to obtain the squared envelope spectrum. This indicator has been studied thoroughly, and statistically based criteria have been obtained, in order to identify damaged bearings. The statistical thresholds are valid only if all the deterministic components in the signal have been removed. Unfortunately, in various industrial applications, characterized by heterogeneous vibration sources, the first step of synchronous averaging is not sufficient to eliminate completely the deterministic components and an additional step of pre-whitening is needed before the envelope analysis. Different techniques have been proposed in the past with this aim: The most widely spread are linear prediction filters and spectral kurtosis. Recently, a new technique for pre-whitening has been proposed, based on cepstral analysis: the so-called cepstrum pre-whitening. Owing to its low computational requirements and its simplicity, it seems a good candidate to perform the intermediate pre-whitening step in an automatic damage recognition algorithm. In this paper, the effectiveness of the new technique will be tested on the data measured on a full-scale industrial bearing test-rig, able to reproduce the harsh conditions of operation. A benchmark comparison with the traditional pre-whitening techniques will be made, as a final step for the verification of the potentiality of the cepstrum pre-whitening.

The TFOS International Workshop on Contact Lens Discomfort: report of the contact lens interactions with the ocular surface and adnexa subcommittee

The report of this subcommittee concerns the impact of contact lenses (CLs) on the ocular surface, with a particular emphasis on CL discomfort (CLD). We define the ocular surface, its regional anatomy, and the physiological responses of each region to CL wear.

The epidemiology of microbial keratitis with silicone hydrogel contact lenses

It was widely anticipated that after the introduction of silicone hydrogel lenses, the risk of microbial keratitis would be lower than with hydrogel lenses because of the reduction in hypoxic effects on the corneal epithelium. Large-scale epidemiological studies have confirmed that the absolute and relative risk of microbial keratitis is unchanged with overnight use of silicone hydrogel materials. The key findings include the following: (1) The risk of infection with 30 nights of silicone hydrogel use is equivalent to 6 nights of hydrogel extended wear; (2) Occasional overnight lens use is associated with a greater risk than daily lens use; (3) The rate of vision loss due to corneal infection with silicone hydrogel contact lenses is similar to that seen in hydrogel lenses; (4) The spectrum of causative organisms is similar to that seen in hydrogel lenses, and the material type does not impact the corneal location of presumed microbial keratitis; and (5) Modifiable risk factors for infection include overnight lens use, the degree of exposure, failing to wash hands before lens handling, and storage case hygiene practice. The lack of change in the absolute risk of disease would suggest that exposure to large number of pathogenic organisms can overcome any advantages obtained from eliminating the hypoxic effects of contact lenses. Epidemiological studies remain important in the assessment of new materials and modalities. Consideration of an early adopter effect with studies involving new materials and modalities and further investigation of the impact of second-generation silicone hydrogel materials is warranted.

Pathological excretion patterns of urinary proteins in miners highly exposed to dinitrotoluene

A cohort of 161 underground miners who had been highly exposed to dinitrotoluene (DNT) in the copper-mining industry of the former German Democratic Republic was reinvestigated for signs of subclinical renal damage. The study included a screening of urinary proteins excreted by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), and quantitations of the specific urinary proteins α 1-microglobulin and glutathione-S-transferase α (GST α) as biomarkers for damage of the proximal tubule and glutathione-S-transferase π (GST π) for damage of the distal tubule. The exposures were categorized semiquantitatively (low, medium, high, and very high), according to the type and duration of professional contact with DNT. A straight dose-dependence of pathological protein excretion patterns with the semiquantitative ranking of DNT exposure was seen. Most of the previously reported cancer cases of the urinary tract, especially those in the higher exposed groups, were confined to pathological urinary protein excretion patterns. The damage from DNT was directed toward the tubular system. In many cases, the appearance of Tamm-Horsfall protein, a 105-kD protein marker, was noted. Data on the biomarkers α 1-microglobulin, GST α, and GST π consistently demonstrated a dose-dependent increase in tubular damage, which confirmed the results of screening by SDS-PAGE and clearly indicated a nephrotoxic effect of DNT under the given conditions of exposure. Within the cluster of cancer patients observed among the DNT-exposed workers, only in exceptional cases were normal biomarker excretions found.

A call for better care: the impact of postnatal contact services on women’s parenting confidence and experiences of postpartum care in Queensland, Australia

Background Universal postnatal contact services are provided in several Australian states, but their impact on women’s postnatal care experience has not been evaluated. Furthermore, there is lack of evidence or consensus about the optimal type and amount of postpartum care after hospital discharge for maternal outcomes. This study aimed to assess the impact of providing Universal Postnatal Contact Service (UPNCS) funding to public birthing facilities in Queensland, Australia on women’s postnatal care experiences, and associations between amount and type (telephone or home visits) of contact on parenting confidence, and perceived sufficiency and quality of postnatal care. Methods Data collected via retrospective survey of postnatal women (N = 3,724) were used to compare women who birthed in UPNCS-funded and non-UPNCS-funded facilities on parenting confidence, sufficiency of postnatal care, and perceived quality of postnatal care. Associations between receiving telephone and home visits and the same outcomes, regardless of UPNCS funding, were also assessed. Results Women who birthed in an UPNCS-funded facility were more likely to receive postnatal contact, but UPNCS funding was not associated with parenting confidence, or perceived sufficiency or perceived quality of care. Telephone contact was not associated with parenting confidence but had a positive dose–response association with perceived sufficiency and quality. Home visits were negatively associated with parenting confidence when 3 or more were received, had a positive dose–response association with perceived sufficiency and were positively associated with perceived quality when at least 6 were received. Conclusions Funding for UPNCS is unlikely to improve population levels of maternal parenting confidence, perceived sufficiency or quality of postpartum care. Where only minimal contact can be provided, telephone may be more effective than home visits for improving women’s perceived sufficiency and quality of care. Additional service initiatives may be needed to improve women’s parenting confidence.

In response: Changes in ultraviolet transmittance of hydrogel and silicone hydrogel contact lenses induced by wear

We thank Dr Shedden and Dr Pall for their insightful comments and the opportunity to clarify a number of points from our work.1 The “protection factor” (PF) expressed as the inverse of the transmittance of contact lens (CL) material (1/Tλ), where T is the percentage transmittance of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) in a given waveband (UVC, UVB or UVA) of the UV spectrum for contact lenses is the standard method for reporting PF values and as such there should not be any controversy. We have calculated the PF for each wavelength across the entire UV spectrum (UVC, UVB, UVA) as presented in figure 3 of our previous publication.1 In that article, we were simply stating the observation when transmission in the UVC spectra band is considered especially because appreciable amounts of potentially carcinogenic short UV wavelengths was shown to be present in sunlight in our region three decades ago2 and these short wavelength photons are reported to be more biologically damaging to ocular tissues.3 In addition, the depletion of the Ozone layer is still continuing. Nevertheless, we understand the concern of the authors that the results of the PF might be confusing to those who are not familiar with the science of UVR and as such we have made some revisions to the findings of the calculated PF...

Effect of different surface profile on wear of rail steel (AS1085.1) used in Australian heavy-haul railways

The extreme diversity of conditions acting on railways necessitates a variety of experimental approaches to study the critical wear mechanisms that present themselves at the contact interface. This work investigates the effects of contact pressure and geometry in rolling-contact wear tests by using discs with different radii of curvature to simulate the varying contact conditions that may be typically found in the field. It is commonly adapted to line contact interface as it has constant contact pressure. But practical scenario of the rail wheel interface, the contact area increase and contact pressure change as tracks worn off. The tests were conducted without any significant amount of traction, but micro slip was still observed due to contact deformation. Moreover, variation of contact pressure was observed due to contact patch elongation and diameter reduction. Rolling contact fatigue, adhesive and sliding wear were observed on the curved contact interface. The development of different wear regimes and material removal phenomena were analysed using microscopic images in order to broaden the understanding of the wear mechanisms occurring in the rail-wheel contact.

Experimental investigation of wear modes of hardened rail material used in Australian heavy-haul railways

This work investigates the effects of contact pressure and geometry in rolling-contact wear tests by using discs with different radii of curvature to simulate the varying contact conditions that may be typically found in the field. The tests were conducted without any significant amount of traction, but micro slip was still observed due to contact deformation. Moreover, variation of contact pressure was observed due to contact patch elongation and diameter reduction. Rolling contact fatigue, adhesive and sliding wear were observed on the curved contact interface. The development of different wear regimes and material removal phenomena were analyzed using microscopic images in order to broaden the understanding of the wear mechanisms occurring in the rail-wheel contact.

Wetting, solubility and chemical characteristics of plasma-polymerized 1-isopropyl-4-methyl-1,4-cyclohexadiene thin films

Investigations on the wetting, solubility and chemical composition of plasma polymer thin films provide an insight into the feasibility of implementing these polymeric materials in organic electronics, particularly where wet solution processing is involved. In this study, thin films were prepared from 1-isopropyl-4-methyl-1,4-cyclohexadiene (γ-Terpinene) using radio frequency (RF) plasma polymerization. FTIR showed the polymers to be structurally dissimilar to the original monomer and highly cross-linked, where the loss of original functional groups and the degree of cross-linking increased with deposition power. The polymer surfaces were hydrocarbon-rich, with oxygen present in the form of O–H and C=O functional groups. The oxygen content decreased with deposition power, with films becoming more hydrophobic and, thus, less wettable. The advancing and receding contact angles were investigated, and the water advancing contact angle was found to increase from 63.14° to 73.53° for thin films prepared with an RF power of 10 W to 75 W. The wetting envelopes for the surfaces were constructed to enable the prediction of the surfaces’ wettability for other solvents. The effect of roughness on the wetting behaviour of the films was insignificant. The polymers were determined to resist solubilization in solvents commonly used in the deposition of organic semiconducting layers, including chloroform and chlorobenzene, with higher stability observed in films fabricated at higher RF power.

In response: UV–vis light transmittance through tinted contact lenses and the effect of color on values

In the study, we used the Agilent 8453 spectrophotometer (which is equipped with a limiting aperture that restricts the light beam to the central 5 mm of the contact lens), to measure the transmittance of various coloured contact lenses including the one Day Acuvue define manufactured by Johnson and Johnson which the authors represent. We measured the instrument baseline before the transmittance spectra of lenses were tested. The values of lens transmittances were thus the difference between baseline and lens measurement at each time. The transmittance measurements were obtained at 0.5 nm intervals, from 200 to 700 nm after a soak in saline to remove the influence of any surface active agents within the packaging products. The technique used in our study was not very different from how other research studies [2], [3], [4], [5] and [6] have measured the spectra transmittances of contact lenses...

Particle number and mass emission factors from combustion of wood samples collected from Queensland forest

Knowledge of particle emission characteristics associated with forest fires and in general, biomass burning, is becoming increasingly important due to the impact of these emissions on human health. Of particular importance is developing a better understanding of the size distribution of particles generated from forest combustion under different environmental conditions, as well as provision of emission factors for different particle size ranges. This study was aimed at quantifying particle emission factors from four types of wood found in South East Queensland forests: Spotted Gum (Corymbia citriodora), Red Gum (Eucalypt tereticornis), Blood Gum (Eucalypt intermedia), and Iron bark (Eucalypt decorticans); under controlled laboratory conditions. The experimental set up included a modified commercial stove connected to a dilution system designed for the conditions of the study. Measurements of particle number size distribution and concentration resulting from the burning of woods with a relatively homogenous moisture content (in the range of 15 to 26 %) and for different rates of burning were performed using a TSI Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS) in the size range from 10 to 600 nm and a TSI Dust Trak for PM2.5. The results of the study in terms of the relationship between particle number size distribution and different condition of burning for different species show that particle number emission factors and PM2.5 mass emission factors depend on the type of wood and the burning rate; fast burning or slow burning. The average particle number emission factors for fast burning conditions are in the range of 3.3 x 1015 to 5.7 x 1015 particles/kg, and for PM2.5 are in the range of 139 to 217 mg/kg.

Report : review of the literature : maintenance and rehabilitation costs for roads (Risk-based Analysis)

Realistic estimates of short- and long-term (strategic) budgets for maintenance and rehabilitation of road assessment management should consider the stochastic characteristics of asset conditions of the road networks so that the overall variability of road asset data conditions is taken into account. The probability theory has been used for assessing life-cycle costs for bridge infrastructures by Kong and Frangopol (2003), Zayed et.al. (2002), Kong and Frangopol (2003), Liu and Frangopol (2004), Noortwijk and Frangopol (2004), Novick (1993). Salem 2003 cited the importance of the collection and analysis of existing data on total costs for all life-cycle phases of existing infrastructure, including bridges, road etc., and the use of realistic methods for calculating the probable useful life of these infrastructures (Salem et. al. 2003). Zayed et. al. (2002) reported conflicting results in life-cycle cost analysis using deterministic and stochastic methods. Frangopol et. al. 2001 suggested that additional research was required to develop better life-cycle models and tools to quantify risks, and benefits associated with infrastructures. It is evident from the review of the literature that there is very limited information on the methodology that uses the stochastic characteristics of asset condition data for assessing budgets/costs for road maintenance and rehabilitation (Abaza 2002, Salem et. al. 2003, Zhao, et. al. 2004). Due to this limited information in the research literature, this report will describe and summarise the methodologies presented by each publication and also suggest a methodology for the current research project funded under the Cooperative Research Centre for Construction Innovation CRC CI project no 2003-029-C.

Controlled rate thermal analysis of sepiolite

CRTA technology offers better resolution and a more detailed interpretation of the decomposition processes of a clay mineral such as sepiolite via approaching equilibrium conditions of decomposition through the elimination of the slow transfer of heat to the sample as a controlling parameter on the process of decomposition. Constant-rate decomposition processes of non-isothermal nature reveal changes in the sepiolite as the sepiolite is converted to an anhydride. In the dynamic experiment two dehydration steps are observed over the ~20-170 and 170-350°C temperature range. In the dynamic experiment three dehydroxylation steps are observed over the temperature ranges 201-337, 337-638 and 638-982°C. The CRTA technology enables the separation of the thermal decomposition steps.

Engaging with the promises of education : African refugee students in Australian secondary schools

The research reported in this paper investigated the engagement of students who arrived in Australian secondary schools as refugees from Africa. Enrolment of large cohorts of refugees from Africa is a relatively new phenomenon in the English-speaking West. The literature provides evidence that emotional engagement with the promises of schooling is strong for many of the young African refugees. Students envision successful professional careers as doctors, engineers, lawyers, and IT experts; they envision returning to their country as professionals able to help the people. The question investigated in this paper is: How does schooling in Australia impact on young African refugees’ education and career aspirations? Engagement is understood in Bourdieuian terms as dispositions to be and to become an educated person. This is a disposition which entails fundamental belief in the value of the stakes of schooling. The data analysed in the paper were produced in a study undertaken in the state of Queensland where 5000 of the 39 000 African refugees who have arrived in Australia since 2000 have settled. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with students and their parents and teachers after arrival in an intensive language school, and then after transition to a regular secondary school. The findings show both the durability and malleability of educational dispositions in conditions of dramatic social change occasioned by refugee experience. Engagement in the stakes of schooling is both built and eroded as students flee their homelands for countries of refuge. Previously unimaginable educational dreams are possible for some; but for others, long-held dreams become unattainable. The paper concludes with recommendations for better supporting young people through this re-shaping of self.