Different cognitive profiles for single compared with recurrent fallers without Dementia

Relationships between self-reported retrospective falls and cognitive measures (executive function, reaction time, processing speed, working memory, visual attention) were examined in a population based sample of older adults (n = 658). Two of the choice reaction time tests involved inhibiting responses to either targets of a specific color or location with hand and foot responses. Potentially confounding demographic variables, medical conditions and postural sway were controlled for in logistic regression models, excluding participants with possible cognitive impairment. A factor analysis of cognitive measures extracted factors measuring reaction time, accuracy and inhibition, and visual search. Single fallers did not differ from non-fallers in terms of health, sway or cognitive function, except that they performed worse on accuracy and inhibition. In contrast, recurrent fallers performed worse than non-fallers on all measures. Results suggest that occasional falls in late life may be associated with subtle age-related changes in the pre-frontal cortex leading to failures of executive control, whereas recurrent falling may result from more advanced brain ageing that is associated with generalized cognitive decline.

Socioeconomic differences in takeaway food consumption and their contribution to inequalities in dietary intakes

Background Takeaway consumption has been increasing and may contribute to socioeconomic inequalities in overweight/obesity and chronic disease. This study examined socioeconomic differences in takeaway consumption patterns, and their contributions to dietary intake inequalities. Method Cross-sectional dietary intake data from adults aged between 25 and 64 years from the Australian National Nutrition Survey (n= 7319, 61% response rate). Twenty-four hour dietary recalls ascertained intakes of takeaway food, nutrients and fruit and vegetables. Education was used as socioeconomic indicator. Data were analysed using logistic regression and general linear models. Results Thirty-two percent (n = 2327) consumed takeaway foods in the 24 hour period. Lower-educated participants were less likely than their higher-educated counterparts to have consumed total takeaway foods (OR 0.64; 95% CI 0.52, 0.80). Of those consuming takeaway foods, the lowest-educated group was more likely to have consumed “less healthy” takeaway choices (OR 2.55; 95% CI 1.73, 3.77), and less likely to have consumed “healthy” choices (OR 0.52; 95% CI 0.36, 0.75). Takeaway foods made a greater contribution to energy, total fat, saturated fat, and fibre intakes among lower than higher-educated groups. Lower likelihood of fruit and vegetable intakes were observed among “less healthy” takeaway consumers, whereas a greater likelihood of their consumption was found among “healthy” takeaway consumers. Conclusions Total and the types of takeaway foods consumed may contribute to socioeconomic inequalities in intakes of energy, total and saturated fats. However, takeaway consumption is unlikely to be a factor contributing to the lower fruit and vegetable intakes among socioeconomically-disadvantaged groups.

Confidence to cook vegetables and the buying habits of Australian households

Cooking skills are emphasized in nutrition promotion but their distribution among population subgroups and relationship to dietary behavior is researched by few population-based studies. This study examined the relationships between confidence to cook, sociodemographic characteristics, and household vegetable purchasing. This cross-sectional study of 426 randomly selected households in Brisbane, Australia, used a validated questionnaire to assess household vegetable purchasing habits and the confidence to cook of the person who most often prepares food for these households. The mutually adjusted odds ratios (ORs) of lacking confidence to cook were assessed across a range of demographic subgroups using multiple logistic regression models. Similarly, mutually adjusted mean vegetable purchasing scores were calculated using multiple linear regression for different population groups and for respondents with varying confidence levels. Lacking confidence to cook using a variety of techniques was more common among respondents with less education (OR 3.30; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01 to 10.75) and was less common among respondents who lived with minors (OR 0.22; 95% CI 0.09 to 0.53) and other adults (OR 0.43; 95% CI 0.24 to 0.78). Lack of confidence to prepare vegetables was associated with being male (OR 2.25; 95% CI 1.24 to 4.08), low education (OR 6.60; 95% CI 2.08 to 20.91), lower household income (OR 2.98; 95% CI 1.02 to 8.72) and living with other adults (OR 0.53; 95% CI 0.29 to 0.98). Households bought a greater variety of vegetables on a regular basis when the main chef was confident to prepare them (difference: 18.60; 95% CI 14.66 to 22.54), older (difference: 8.69; 95% CI 4.92 to 12.47), lived with at least one other adult (difference: 5.47; 95% CI 2.82 to 8.12) or at least one minor (difference: 2.86; 95% CI 0.17 to 5.55). Cooking skills may contribute to socioeconomic dietary differences, and may be a useful strategy for promoting fruit and vegetable consumption, particularly among socioeconomically disadvantaged groups.

Simplified numerical models of LiteSteel Beam floor joists with Web openings for the prediction of section moment capacities

This paper is aimed at investigating the effect of web openings on the plastic bending behaviour and section moment capacity of a new cold-formed steel beam known as LiteSteel beam (LSB) using numerical modelling. Different LSB sections with varying circular hole diameter and spacing were considered. A simplified but appropriate numerical modelling technique was developed for the modelling of monosymmetric sections such as LSBs subject to bending, and was used to simulate a series of section moment capacity tests of LSB flexural members with web openings. The buckling and ultimate strength behaviour was investigated in detail and the modeling technique was further improved through a comparison of numerical and experimental results. This paper describes the simplified finite element modeling technique used in this study that includes all the significant behavioural effects affecting the plastic bending behaviour and section moment capacity of LSB sections with web holes. Numerical and test results and associated findings are also presented.

Development of lifetime warranty policies and models for estimating costs

In today's fiercely competitive products market, product warranty has started playing an important role. The warranty period offered by the manufacturer/dealer has been progressively increasing since the beginning of the 20th Century. Currently, a large number of products are being sold with long-term warranty policies in the form of extended warranty, warranty for used products, service contracts and lifetime warranty policies. Lifetime warranties are relatively a new concept. The modelling of failures during the warranty period and the costs for such policies are complex since the lifespan in these policies are not defined well and it is often difficult to tell about life measures for the longer period of coverage due to usage pattern/maintenance activities undertaken and uncertainties of costs over the period. This paper focuses on defining lifetime, developing lifetime warranty policies and models for predicting failures and estimating costs for lifetime warranty policies.

From conceptual process models to running systems: A holistic approach for the configuration of enterprise system processes

This paper proposes a method which aims at increasing the efficiency of enterprise system implementations. First, we argue that existing process modeling languages that feature different degrees of abstraction for different user groups exist and are used for different purposes which makes it necessary to integrate them. We describe how to do this using the meta models of the involved languages. Second, we argue that an integrated process model based on the integrated meta model needs to be configurable and elaborate on the enabling mechanisms. We introduce a business example using SAP modeling techniques to illustrate the proposed method.

Role of 3D visual conceptualisation of groundwater system models as a management support tool

After the recent prolonged drought conditions in many parts of Australia it is increasingly recognised that many groundwater systems are under stress. Although this is obvious for systems that are utilised for intensive irrigation many other groundwater systems are also impacted.Management strategies are highly variable to non-existent. Policy and regulation are also often inadequate, and are reactive or politically driven. In addition, there is a wide range of opinion by water users and other stakeholders as to what is “reasonable”management practice. These differences are often related to the “value”that is put on the groundwater resource. Opinions vary from “our right to free water”to an awareness that without effective management the resource will be degraded. There is also often misunderstanding of surface water-groundwater linkages, recharge processes, and baseflow to drainage systems.

Evaluating Specification Tests for Markov-Switching Time-Series Models

We evaluate the performance of several specification tests for Markov regime-switching time-series models. We consider the Lagrange multiplier (LM) and dynamic specification tests of Hamilton (1996) and Ljung–Box tests based on both the generalized residual and a standard-normal residual constructed using the Rosenblatt transformation. The size and power of the tests are studied using Monte Carlo experiments. We find that the LM tests have the best size and power properties. The Ljung–Box tests exhibit slight size distortions, though tests based on the Rosenblatt transformation perform better than the generalized residual-based tests. The tests exhibit impressive power to detect both autocorrelation and autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (ARCH). The tests are illustrated with a Markov-switching generalized ARCH (GARCH) model fitted to the US dollar–British pound exchange rate, with the finding that both autocorrelation and GARCH effects are needed to adequately fit the data.

Groundwater Visualisation System (GVS): a software framework for developing low-end, scalable and robust software for 3D visualisation and animation of groundwater conceptual models

Effective management of groundwater requires stakeholders to have a realistic conceptual understanding of the groundwater systems and hydrological processes.However, groundwater data can be complex, confusing and often difficult for people to comprehend..A powerful way to communicate understanding of groundwater processes, complex subsurface geology and their relationships is through the use of visualisation techniques to create 3D conceptual groundwater models. In addition, the ability to animate, interrogate and interact with 3D models can encourage a higher level of understanding than static images alone. While there are increasing numbers of software tools available for developing and visualising groundwater conceptual models, these packages are often very expensive and are not readily accessible to majority people due to complexity. .The Groundwater Visualisation System (GVS) is a software framework that can be used to develop groundwater visualisation tools aimed specifically at non-technical computer users and those who are not groundwater domain experts. A primary aim of GVS is to provide management support for agencies, and enhancecommunity understanding.

Object-centric process models and the design of flexible processes

Mainstream business process modelling techniques promote a design paradigm wherein the activities to be performed within a case, together with their usual execution order, form the backbone of a process model, on top of which other aspects are anchored. This paradigm, while eective in standardised and production-oriented domains, shows some limitations when confronted with processes where case-by-case variations and exceptions are the norm. In this thesis we develop the idea that the eective design of exible process models calls for an alternative modelling paradigm, one in which process models are modularised along key business objects, rather than along activity decompositions. The research follows a design science method, starting from the formulation of a research problem expressed in terms of requirements, and culminating in a set of artifacts that have been devised to satisfy these requirements. The main contributions of the thesis are: (i) a meta-model for object-centric process modelling incorporating constructs for capturing exible processes; (ii) a transformation from this meta-model to an existing activity-centric process modelling language, namely YAWL, showing the relation between object-centric and activity-centric process modelling approaches; and (iii) a Coloured Petri Net that captures the semantics of the proposed meta-model. The meta-model has been evaluated using a framework consisting of a set of work ow patterns. Moreover, the meta-model has been embodied in a modelling tool that has been used to capture two industrial scenarios.