Physical activity and television viewing in relation to risk and undiagnosed abnormal glucose metabolism in adults

OBJECTIVE--The goal of this study was to assess the associations of physical activity time and television (TV) time with risk of "undiagnosed" abnormal glucose metabolism in Australian adults.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS--This population-based cross-sectional study using a stratified cluster design involving 42 randomly selected Census Collector Districts across Australia included 8,299 adults aged 25 years or older who were free from new type 2 diabetes and self-reported ischemic disease and did not take lipid lowering or antihypertensive drugs. Abnormal glucose metabolism (impaired fasting glycetnia [IFG], impaired glucose tolerance [IGT], or new type 2 diabetes) was based on an oral glucose tolerance test Self reported physical activity time and TV time (previous week) were assessed using interviewer administered questionnaires.

RESULTS--Alter adjustment for known confounders and TV time, the odds ratio (OR) of having abnormal glucose metabolism was 0.62 (95% CI 0.41-0.96) in men and 0.71 (0.501.00) in women for those engaged in physical activity [greater than or equal to] 2.5 h/week compared with those who were sedentary (0 h/week). The ORs of having abnormal glucose metabolism were 1.16 (0.791.70) in men and 1.49 (1.12-1.99) in women who watched TV > 14 h/week compared with those who watched [less than or equal to] 7.0 h/week. Higher TV viewing (> 14 h/week) was also associated with an increased risk of new type 2 diabetes in men and women and IGT in women compared with those watching < 14 h/week. Total physical activity of [greater than or equal to] 2.5 h/week was associated with a reduced risk of IFG, IGT, and new type 2 diabetes in both sexes: however, only the association with IGT in women was statistically significant.

CONCLUSIONS--These findings suggest a protective effect of physical activity and a deleterious effect of TV time on the risk of abnormal glucose metabolism in adults. Population strategies to reduce risk of abnormal glucose metabolism should focus on reducing sedentary behaviors such as TV time, as well as increasing physical activity.

The nature and impact of incontinence in men who have undergone prostate surgery and implications for nursing practice

Aim: The aim of this study was to increase knowledge and understanding of the nature and experiences of incontinence in men one or more years post prostate surgery.

Methods: This descriptive study used a sample of convenience. Two hundred and twelve male participants who had undergone prostate surgery more than a year ago were asked about their experiences of incontinence. Participants were asked to fill in two questionnaires: The Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite and the Incontinence Impact Questionnaire. Participants were also asked about their prostate surgery, their health seeking behaviour in relation to incontinence, the type of discharge information they were given, and demographic information.

Results: Sixty-six percent of participants indicated that, in the last four weeks, their overall urinary function had been a problem and 36.3% reported their bowel habits were problematic, which affected the quality of their lives. In addition, 41% of participants reported that they were not given discharge information regarding the possibility of developing urinary incontinence and sexual problems post prostate surgery.

Conclusions: Health care professionals should pay more attention to routinely providing information to all men regarding the possibility of developing incontinence or sexual problems post prostate surgery. This may assist them to better manage these problems.

Housing price diffusion pattern of Australia's state capital cities

The ripple effect of house prices within metropolitan areas has recently been recognised by researchers. However, it is very difficult to formulate and measure this effect using conventional house price theories particularly in consideration of the spatial locations of cities. Based on econometrics principles of the cointegration test and the error correction model, this research develops an innovative approach to quantitatively examine the diffusion patterns of house prices in mega-cities of a country. Taking Australia's eight capital cities as an example, the proposed approach is validated in terms of an empirical study. The results show that a 1-1-2-4 diffusion pattern exists within these cities. Sydney is on the top tier with Melbourne in the second; Perth and Adelaide are in the third level and the other four cities lie on the bottom. This research may be applied to predict the regional housing market behavior in a country.

Stroke : the increasing complexity of carer needs

In Australia, more than 346,000 individuals who experience a stroke return to living in their homes with varying degrees of disability. They rely on emotional and physical support from informal carers, typically family members. Informal carers have an indispensable role in patient care poststroke, and the ability of carers to manage this role effectively is crucial for stroke survivors to be able to return home. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of the caring role on carers of stroke survivors, particularly the services provided and the levels of depression and well-being experienced. The study used a longitudinal design incorporating survey methods. Stroke survivors were assessed for functional ability, quality of life, and depression using three assessment tools: the Stroke Impact Scale, World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF scale, and Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale. A total of 26 people were surveyed: 13 stroke survivors and their 13 carers. Carer knowledge of stroke support services was also explored. Information was collected by using survey methods and structured interviews at 3 weeks and at 3 months postdischarge. The main finding was that depression scores for carers and stroke survivors were below Australian norms at both assessment time points. The major concern identified by carers was poor follow-up procedures for initiating rehabilitation in the home. This study highlighted that a lack of appropriate discharge planning, in conjunction with early discharge of stroke survivors, can have an impact on the rehabilitation process and place increased and unrealistic demands on carers.

E-Governance in Australian local government: spinning a web around community?

Local government in Australia is under pressure to modernize its structures in the new public management environment, as well as respond to  increasing demands from its local electorates for better delivery of services and greater levels of participation in the democratic process. This article analyzes local government’s response to these pressures through its use of information communication technologies (ICT) to execute its broad range of tasks. I begin by discussing e-governance in the light of Chadwick and May’s (2003) three basic models of interaction between the state and its citizens: managerial, consultative, and participatory. Using data collected from an analysis of 658 local government Web sites in Australia together with existing survey research, I analyze the extent to which local government sites fit into the three models. The article then concludes with a discussion of the issues and problems faced by local government in its attempt to develop e-governance, as both an extension of its administrative as well as democratic functions.

Synthesis and reactivity of para-substituted benzoylmethyltellurium(II and IV) compounds: observation of intermolecular C-H-O hydrogen bonding in the crystal structure of (p-MeOC6H4COCH2)2TeBr2

Bis(p-substituted benzoylmethyl)tellurium dibromides, (p-YC₆H₄COCH₂)₂TeBr₂, (y=H (1a), Me (1b), MeO (1c)) can be prepared
either by direct insertion of elemental Te across CRf-Br bonds (where C_Rf refers to α-carbon of a functionalized organic moiety) or by the oxidative addition of bromine to (p-YC₆H₄COCH₂)₂Te (y = H (2a), Me (2b), MeO (2c)). Bis(p-substituted benzoylmethyl)tellurium dichlorides, (p-YC₆H₄COCH₂)₂TeCh (y = H (3a), Me (3b), MeO (3c)), are prepared by the reaction of the bis(p-substituted benzoylmethyl)tellurides 2a--c with S0₂Cl₂, whereas the corresponding diiodides (p-YC₆H₄COCH₂)₂Teh (y = H
(4a), Me (4b), MeO (4c)) can be obtained by the metathetical reaction of la--c with KI, or alternatively, by the oxidative addition of
iodine to 2a--c. The reaction of 2a--c with allyl bromide affords the diorganotellurium dibrornides la--c, rather than the expected
triorganotelluronium bromides. Compounds 1-4 were characterized by elemental analyses, IR spectroscopy, ¹H, ^l3C and ¹²⁵Te
NMR spectroscopy (solution and solid-state) and in case of Ie also by X-ray crystallography. (p-MeOC₆H₄COCH₂)₂TeBr₂ (1c) provides, a rare example, among organotellurium compounds, of a supramolecular architecture, where C-H-O hydrogen bonds appear to be the non-covalent intermolecular associative force that dominates the crystal packing.

Meat consumption among 18-month-old children participating in the Childhood Asthma Prevention Study

Objective: To document meat consumption among 18-month-old children, for use in refining population dietary assessment methods and dietary guidance for young children.

Design: A secondary analysis of data collected in 1998-2000 from the 18 months follow up of the Childhood Asthma Prevention Study: an intervention trial of omega-3 oil supplementation and house-dust mite reduction, from birth to five years.

Subjects and setting: Pregnant women whose unborn children had an atopic family history were recruited from antenatal clinics of six hospitals in western Sydney. Carers of 429 18-month-old children (80% response) satisfactorily completed three-day weighed food records.

Main outcome measures: Mean and median intakes per day and portion sizes of various meats and meat products.

Statistical analyses: T-tests for comparing gender differences; Pearson correlation and one-way analysis of variance for relationships between meat and nutrient intake.

Results: During the recording period 94% of the children ate meat. McDonald's Chicken McNuggets^TM, beef mince, and beef sausages were the most frequently consumed meats. Median portion sizes ranged from 20-50 g, and were considerably smaller than 'usual' portions specified on food frequency questionnaires in common use. Higher meat diets in this age group were not associated with higher intakes of iron or zinc per MJ.

Conclusion: The marginally low intakes of iron and zinc in this age group could be improved by greater use of cuts of red meat appropriately prepared for toddlers.

The Australian construction linkages in the 1990s

Abstract: During the 1990s, the construction sector played an important role with its growing contributions to the gross national product, gross domestic product and employment in the Australian economy. Using the newly released 1998-99 input-output table and four previously published tables by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, this paper aims to measure the sectoral linkages of the Australian construction sector in the 1990s in relation to other industrial countries. Results describe the increase in construction volume was mainly due to the increase in governmental and non-residential construction expenditures and lagging construction technology. The technical level of the non-residential construction sub-sector was a drag to the total construction, while the non-residential construction sub-sector presented a stronger economic push than that of the residential construction sub-sector. In the 1990s, the inputs and outputs' components of the construction sector were stable. The linkages of the Australian construction sector are discussed from an international point of view.

Organisational innovation

Adela McMurray, Peter O'Neill, John Buckeridge and Julie Wolfram-Cox identify challenges and blockages to skills acquisition in the technical professions.

Hurdle rate : executive stock options

Executive stock options with a rising strike price are a recent innovation in executive compensation in Australia and New Zealand. These options combine a dividend protection feature and a strike price that increases at a hurdle rate set with reference to a cost of capital estimate. With a constant dividend yield, the strike price becomes a path-dependent function of the stock price and exact analytic valuation becomes intractable. However, path-dependent American options can be valued using a Monte Carlo approach proposed in Longstaff and Schwartz (2001). We examine procedures for valuing these options and compare them with Black and Scholes (1973) and Merton (1973) formula valuations.

Contrasting longitudinal and cross-sectional relationships between insulin resistance and percentage of body fat, fitness, and physical activity in children—the LOOK study

Background: Knowledge of individual changes in insulin resistance (IR) and longitudinal relationships of IR with lifestyle-associated factors are of important practical significance, but little longitudinal data exist in asymptomatic children. We aimed to determine (a) changes in the homeostatic model of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) over a 2-yr period and (b) comparisons of longitudinal and cross-sectional relationships between HOMA-IR and lifestyle-related risk factors.

Methods: Our subjects, 241 boys and 257 girls, were assessed at age 8.1 yr (SD 0.35) and again 2 yr later for fasting blood glucose and insulin, dual X-ray absorptiometry-assessed percentage of body fat (%BF), pedometer-assessed physical activity (PA), and cardio-respiratory fitness (CRF) by multistage running test.

Results: HOMA-IR was initially 9% greater in girls than boys and 27% greater 2 yr later. There was no evidence of longitudinal relationships between HOMA-IR and %BF in boys or girls, despite significant cross-sectional relationships (p < 0.001). In boys, there was evidence of a longitudinal relationship between HOMA-IR and both PA (p < 0.001) and CRF (p = 0.05). In girls, we found a cross-sectional relationship between HOMA-IR and CRF (p < 0.001).

Conclusions: HOMA-IR increases between 8 and 10 yr of age and to a greater extent in girls. Longitudinal, unlike cross-sectional, relationships do not support the premise that body fat has any impact on HOMA-IR during this period or that PA or CRF changes affect HOMA-IR in girls. These data draw attention to difficulties in interpreting observational studies in young children.

Common structural basis for central nervous system drug design

The main theme of this thesis is that there is a common structural basis for drugs acting on the central nervous system (CNS), and that this concept may be used to design new CNS-active drugs which have greater specificity and hence less side-effects. To develop these ideas, the biological basis of how drugs modify CMS neurotransmission is described, and illustrated using dopaminergic pathways. An account is then given of the use of physicochemical concepts in contemporary drug design. The complete conformational analysis of several antipsychotic drugs is used to illustrate some of these techniques in the development of a model for antipsychotic drug action. After reviewing current structure-activity studies in several classes of CNS drugs (antipsychotics, anti-depressants, stimulants, hal1ucinogens, anticonvulsants and analgesics), a hypothesis for a common structural basis of CNS drug action is proposed- This is based on a topographical comparison of the X-ray structures of eight representative CNS-active drugs, and consists of three parts: 1.there is a common structural basis for the activity of many different CNS-active drug classes; 2. an aromatic ring and a nitrogen atom are the primary binding groups whose topographical arrangement is fundamental to the activity of these drug classes; 3. the nature and placement of secondary binding determines different classes of CNS drug activity. A four-Point model for this common structural basis is then defined using 14- CNS-active drug structures that include the original eight used in proposing the hypothesis. The coordinates of this model are: R1 (0. 3.5, 0), R2 (0, -3.5, O), N (4.8. -0.3, 1.4), and R3 (6.3, 1.3, 0), where R1 and R2 represent the point locations of a hydrophobic interaction of the common aromatic ring with a receptor, and R3 locates the receptor point for a hydrogen bond involving the common nitrogen, N. Extended structures were used to define the receptor points R1, R2 and R3, and the complete conformational space of each of the 14 molecules was considered. It is then shoun that the model may be used to predict whether a given structure is likely to show CNS activity: a search over 1,000 entries in the current Merck Index shows a high probability (82%) of CNS activity in compounds fitting the structural model. Analysis of CNS neurotransmitters and neuropeptides shows that these fit the common model well. Based on the available evidence supporting chemical evolution, protein evolution, and the evolution of neurotransmitter functions, it is surmised that the aromatic ring/nitrogen atom pharmacophore proposed in the common model supports the idea of the evolution of CNS receptors and their neurotransmitters, possibly from an aromatic amine or acety1cho1ine acting as a primaeval communicating molecule. The third point in the hypothesis trilogy is then addressed. The extensive conformation-activity analyses that have resulted in well-defined models for five separate CNS drug classes are used to map out the locations of secondary binding groups relative to the common model for anti-psychotics, antidepressants, analgesics, anticholinergics, and anticonvulsants. With this information, and knowledge derived from receptor-binding data, it is postulated that drugs having specified activity could be designed. In order to generate novel structures having a high probability of CNS-activity, a process of drug design is described in which known CNS structures are superimposed topographically using the common model as a template. Atoms regarded as superfluous may be selectively deleted and the required secondary binding groups added in predicted locations to give novel structures. It is concluded that this process provides the basis for the rational design of new lead compounds which could further be optimized for potent and specific CNS activity.