The detection of latent fingermarks on porous surfaces using amino acid sensitive reagents : a review

The introduction of ninhydrin treatment as a chemical technique for the visualisation of latent fingermarks on porous surfaces revolutionised approaches to forensic fingermark examination. Since then, a range of amino acid sensitive reagents has been developed and such compounds are in widespread use by law enforcement agencies worldwide. This paper reviews the development and use of these reagents for the detection of latent fingermarks on porous surfaces. A brief overview is provided, including an historical background, forensic significance, and a general approach to the development of latent fingermarks on porous surfaces. This is followed by a discussion of specific amino acid sensitive treatments.

Assessing physical activity during recess using accelerometry

Background : Physical activity guidelines recommend children should engage in 60 min of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) a day. School recess presents an opportunity for children to be physically active during the school day. Limited research has investigated children's activity levels during recess and its contribution to physical activity recommendations. Moreover, no target for physical activity during recess has been set.

Methods : One hundred sixteen boys and 112 girls (aged 5–10 years) from 23 schools had their physical activity during recess quantified using a uniaxial accelerometer during three recess breaks on one school day. The percentage of time spent engaged in moderate, high, and very high intensity activity was calculated using existing thresholds.

Results : Boys engaged in more moderate, high, and very high intensity activity than girls. On average, boys and girls spent 32.9% and 23% of recess engaged in physical activity, respectively.

Conclusions : Boys engaged in higher intensity activities than girls. The results suggest that recess can contribute 28 min for boys and 21.5 min for girls toward the accumulation of recommended daily physical activity. However, the physical activity intensities that children engaged in were low during recess. On average, children in this study did not achieve 50% of recess time in physical activity. Interventions for increasing the physical activity of children in the playground are warranted.

Last interglacial climates of south-eastern Australia : plant and beetle-based reconstructions from Yarra Creek, King Island, Tasmania

This paper explores the palaeoclimatic significance of a fossil plant and insect record from Yarra Creek, on King Island, between Tasmania and the Australian mainland. The record dates, based upon a thermoluminescence chronology and other evidence, to Marine Isotope Stage 5 (MIS 5); the exact timing is impossible to ascertain given the resolution of the thermoluminescence results and the presence of an unconformity in the dated section. The presence of a cool-temperate rainforest flora, outside its modern range, and other independent evidence, suggest the sequence may represent the last interglacial (MIS 5e) rather than a later MIS 5 substage. Using coexistence methods that compare modern climatic ranges of the taxa in the assemblage we reconstruct independent beetle and plant based annual and seasonal temperate and precipitation parameters. The results imply the assemblage was deposited under a wetter summer climate and suggest conditions of enhanced temperature seasonality. It is probable that enhanced temperature seasonality is a methodological artefact reflecting the rarity of extremely equable climates (like King Island) in modern climate space. This would indicate a limitation of most methods of palaeoclimatic reconstruction that rely on modern datasets – it is only possible to reconstruct past climates as being within the range of values in that currently exist in modern climate space.

The electrochemistry of lithium in ionic liquid/organic diluent mixtures

The electrochemistry of lithium is investigated in a number of electrolytes that consist of a lithium salt dissolved in a combined ionic liquid-organic diluent medium. We find that ethylene carbonate and vinylene carbonate improve electrochemical behaviour, while toluene and tetrahydrofuran are less promising.We also present insights into the electrode passivation caused by these diluents in an ionic liquid electrolyte during lithium cycling. We observe that during lithium cycling those electrolytes with carbonate based diluents are the most able to utilise their previously reported improved lithium ion diffusivities. Conversely, tetrahydrofuran, the most promising diluent of those studied in terms of its known ability to increase lithium ion diffusivity is found not to be as advantageous as a diluent. It appears that the poor electrochemical interfacial properties of the tetrahydrofuran electrolyte prevented the realisation of the benefits of the high solution lithium ion diffusivity.

Serum levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in schizophrenia on a hypocaloric diet

Dietary factors influence BDNF in animal studies, but there is no comparable data in clinical populations. We examined the effect of a dietary intervention on BDNF serum levels in 67 DSM-IV schizophrenic outpatients (51 males and 16 females). Two groups were assessed in a cross-sectional study: one on a hypocaloric diet (HD) and the other not on a hypocaloric diet. Weight, height and BMI data were collected concurrently with 5-ml blood sampling of each subject. BDNF levels were measured with a sandwich-ELISA. The blood sample was obtained a minimum of one month after the exposure to dietary intervention. Serum BDNF levels were significantly higher in patients on the HD (p = 0.023). Additional research examining the interaction among patterns of nutritional food behavior and underlying physiopathology may result in insights upon which evidence-based decisions regarding dietary interventions can be made in people identified with major psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia.

Depression and bone mineral density in a community sample of perimenopausal women: Geelong Osteoporosis Study

Objective: Reduced bone mineral density (BMD) in women with a history of depressive disorders has been shown in some, but not all studies. This study investigated the association between self-reported depression and BMD in an age-stratified community sample of perimenopausal women residing in the South-Eastern region of Australia.

Design: Symptoms of depression in the year between July 2000 and July 2001 were ascertained by a self-report questionnaire based on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV) criteria. Women in the perimenopausal group who had undergone a BMD total hip and spine assessment within the 12-month period after the depression assessment were included in the analysis, resulting in a sample of 78 women aged 45 to 60 years.

Results: In this sample, 14 women were identified as depressed. There was no difference in age, hormone therapy (HT) use, or unadjusted BMD at the total hip or spine between the depressed and nondepressed women (P = 0.14, 0.89, 0.57, and 0.70, respectively), but the depressed women tended to be heavier [depressed (median weight, interquartile range = 80 kg, 66-94) vs nondepressed (72 kg, 61-80) P = 0.06]. Whereas there was no significant difference in age-, HT-, and weight-adjusted BMD at the spine [depressed (mean ± SE = 1.21 ± 0.05) vs nondepressed (1.28 ± 0.03 g/cm2) P = 0.18], adjusted BMD at the total hip for the depressed women was 7.8% lower than for the nondepressed [depressed (mean ± SE = 0.957 ± 0.038) vs nondepressed (1.038 ± 0.023 g/cm2) P = 0.04].

Conclusions: These results suggest that in perimenopausal women, self-reported depression is associated with lower BMD at the hip.

Solar industrial process heating in Australia - Past and current status

Thirty years ago in Australia, there was a significant research, development and demonstration programme in solar industrial process heating (SIPH). This activity was led principally by the Commonwealth Science and Industrial Research Organisation, the country’s main scientific research body. Other state government bodies also funded demonstration projects. Today, there is very little SIPH activity at any level in Australia. The contrast with the progress in other renewable energy technologies like wind and solar photovoltaic systems is striking. While the implementation of these technologies has progressed, SIPH has gone backwards. If Australia is to decarbonise its economy at the rate required, a massive deployment of solar thermal technology in those industries which use large quantities of low temperature hot water is also required. Recent developments nationally and internationally may rekindle new applications of solar thermal energy use by industry. This paper reviews the past achievements in SIPH in Australia and describes the lessons learned in order to better prepare for any new wave of SIPH activity.