The use of complementary and alternative medicine among people living with diabetes in Sydney

Background: Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is common in patients with chronic disease such as diabetes mellitus. The primary objective of the study was to determine the overall prevalence and type of CAM use in individuals with diabetes mellitus (DM) in Western Sydney and to compare the prevalence and factors associated with CAM use with the literature.

Methods: A multicenter cross-sectional study was undertaken using a self-completed questionnaire distributed to patients with DM attending a public hospital and specialist endocrinology clinics in the region. The type of DM and pattern of CAM utilisation were analyzed.

Results: Sixty nine people responded to the questionnaire: age range of 18-75 years during a twelve week collection period. Overall, 32 respondents with diabetes were using some form of CAM, resulting in a utilisation rate of 46.3%. Twenty of the 32 CAM users used CAM specifically to treat their diabetes accounting for 28.9% of the respondent sample population. Multivitamins (40%), cinnamon, Co-enzyme q10 and prayer were the most frequently used CAM modalities. There was no significant difference between males and females, age range, income or diabetes complications between CAM and non-CAM users. (p values each > 0.05) The factor most significantly associated with CAM usage was being born overseas (p = 0.044).

Conclusions: Almost half the respondents (46.3%) used CAM: 28% used CAM specifically to treat their diabetes. Individuals born overseas were significantly more likely to use CAM than those born in Australia. Other factors such as age, gender, wealth and duration of living with diabetes were not associated with higher rate of CAM usage.

Alternative dimensions in assessment : an overview

This four-part paper is the 'highlights' of the 2009 Australian Technology Network conference, 'Assessment in Different Dimensions: a conference on teaching and learning in tertiary education', held at RMIT University, 19–20 November 2009.

The main theme of this paper is an exploration of how 'progressive and innovative' assessment techniques from other higher education providers might be used to 'progress and innovate' the assessment of Media and Communication students at Deakin University.

As lecturers and tutors have traditionally had almost total control over the learning and assessment environment, for most students, the approach to assessment has changed little. The arrival of 'new media', 'digital culture' and 'dispersed learning' threatens this stability and control. Students are now able to operate in a more open, collaborative, interactive and distributed manner, and this fact challenges many of the traditional perceptions about what constitutes a 'university experience' and what are now 'appropriate' assessment tasks (Crisp 2009).

Each of the four speakers will present a 'spotlight' initiative from the 2009 Australian Technology Network conference, describing how each assessment innovation might be useful to (a) confront our current ideas and values around what is 'good' and 'bad' assessment; (b) explain why some assessment myths are 'hard to shift'; and (c) suggest how these new approaches might be useful in the years to come.

The impact of educational research: alternative methodologies and conclusions

Recent controversy regarding the nature, organization and impact of educational research in the UK (Hargreaves, 1996; 1997; 1999; Hammersley, 1997; Tooley, 1998; Hillage et al., 2000; Ball, 2001) seems to devote little attention to research on the impact of educational research. This paper examines a recent Australian report (The Impact of Educational Research, DETYA, 2000) in terms of both its conclusions and its methodologies. It suggests that the impact of educational research on both policy and practice is often complex and indirect rather than linear and straightforward and that the methodologies employed in assessing such impact need to be similarly complex. Moreover, it would appear that this particular research supports Atkinson's (2000) contention that the ways in which educational research is typically produced and utilized is as part of a complex conversation about a diversity of purposes, effects and judgements rather than a more technically oriented implementation of 'what works'.

Surface bands on deepwater squalid dorsal-fin spines : an alternative method for ageing centroselachus crepidater

Bands on the external surface of the second dorsal-fin spine proved to be a novel method of estimating the age and growth of Centroselachus crepidater. Bands that followed the shape of the spine base were enhanced with an alizarin red derivative. Internal bands in spine cross sections were also examined. The number of both external and internal bands increased with animal size, although most spines had more external than internal bands. External bands were more reliable and were assumed to be annuli. The rate of band formation differed after five bands had been formed, and internal bands ceased forming after 30 years. Females to 54 years old and males to 34 years old were examined. Maturity occurred over a wide age range, with estimates of 20 years for females and 9 years for males. The youngest pregnant female was 27 years old. The Francis reparameterized von Bertalanffy growth model found similar growth for males and females, and the von Bertalanffy equations were L _t = 96.12^{(1 – e(–0.072(t+6.13))}) for females and L_t = 73.22(1 – e^{(–0.141(t+2.99))}) for males.

An almost universal scheme of national service in Australia in the 1950s

While the Australian Government partly justified the introduction of a universal National Service Training Scheme for eighteen-year old males in 1951 by highlighting the threat of imminent war and the consequent need for military preparedness, advocates also believed that national service encouraged the development of a sense of civil responsibility. Its confidence in the potential of national service to promote citizenship explains why the government was so strongly committed to the scheme's universality. Nonetheless, although the government went to great lengths to enforce compliance, Aborigines and those from other "non-white" backgrounds were actively discouraged from participation and women were only reluctantly admitted to the professional army. As would be expected in this period, they were never considered for national service. An examination of the rationale for national service and the associated discourse for inclusion and exclusion not only indicates the social assumptions shaping policy-making by government and bureaucratic elites in 1950s Australia, but also reveals their wider social aspirations.

Effects of alternative dietary lipid sources on performance, tissues chemical composition, mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation capabilities, and sensory characteristics in brown trout (Salmo trutta L.)

The efficiency of five dietary lipid sources (fish oil as control—C; canola oil—CO; poultry fat—PF; pork lard—PL; and oleine oil—OO) were evaluated in juvenile brown trout (58.4±0.7 g) in an experiment conducted over 70 days at 14.6±0.4 °C. The best growth was observed in fish fed the C diet whereas the PL diet fed fish had the best feed utilization. Significant differences in carcass and muscle proximate composition, but not in liver, were noted among fish fed the different dietary treatments. The fatty acid composition of muscle largely reflected that of the diets, while total cholesterol was not affected. The atherogenicity and the thrombogenicity qualities of the trout flesh were modified by the lipid sources. Sensory analysis did not show any significant differences among the cooked fillets with respect to dietary treatments, while in uncooked products, some significant differences were observed. The carnitine palmitoyltransferase I and II (CPT-I and CPT-II) activities of liver and white muscle were assayed for a better understanding of the potential β-oxidation capability of the different dietary lipid sources. The hepatic, but not white muscle CPT-I and CPT-II activities were affected by dietary treatments. This study showed that alternative lipid sources could be used effectively for oil coating extruded diets for brown trout.

Solar adsorption refrigeration : an alternative/auxiliary way for thermal storage for air conditioning

This paper presents an idea of using solar powered adsorption ice making system as an alternative or an auxiliary way for the traditional ice storage air conditioning systems. A simple solar adsorption refrigeration system runs in intermittent cycle. It makes cooling effect at night, and the cooling effect can be stored for the day use. It fits in well with the cycle of the existing off-peak ice storage air conditioning system. On the top of green effect of the solar powered ice making system, the idea is specifically beneficial for places where the price of the off-peak electricity is not significantly lower than peak price. Based on our many years experience on the solar ice making systems, the paper discusses the technical feature of the solar ice making technology and the solutions we are working on to attack the problems which may have potential damage to application of the solar ice making system for air conditioning purposes.

Alternative learning trajectories

Lesson planning usually involves the generation of a hypothetical learning trajectory. This paper illustrates a teaching strategy that is one focus of a major research project. Alternative learning trajectories with different entry level prompts were used to enable students to access the concepts and procedures necessary for their joining the main learning trajectory. The strategy is being trialled in primary classrooms that have a large proportion of lower SES students, with the aim of maximising success in mathematics for all students.

Alternative strategies for decision list construction

This work surveys well-known approaches to building decision lists. Some novel variations to strategies based on default rules for the most common class and insertion of new rules before the default rule are presented. These are expected to offer speed up in the construction of the decision list as well as compression of the length of the list. These strategies and a testing regime have been implemented and some empirical studies done to compare the strategies. Experimental results are presented and interpreted. We show that all strategies deliver decision lists of comparable accuracy. However, two techniques are shown to deliver this accuracy with lists composed of significantly fewer rules than alternative strategies. Of these, one also demonstrates significant computational advantages. The prepending strategy is also demonstrated to produce decision lists which are as much as an order of magnitude shorter than those produced by CN2.

Predicting consumer innovative behavior using alternative theories and likelihood measures: a longitudinal study

This paper reports on a longitudinal study of consumers, where two dominant theories that purport to predict innovative behavior are applied and compared directly, using a methodology suggested as ideal by past researchers. Predictions made prior to launch were then evaluated against multiple measures of purchase likelihood, and against actual adoption behavior up to 12 months after launch. The results of this study suggest that perceptions of the innovations characteristics (PIC) predicted the selfreported likelihood of adoption better than the Domain Specific Innovativeness (DSI) scale, a personality-based measure. Prediction of actual adoption was largely inaccurate and both theories massively over predicted adoption levels, however the DSI scale was slightly more accurate. The conclusions here are that no one theory could make adequate predictions of behavior, that purchase likelihood measures are a poor substitute for measuring actual behavior but that purchase probability scales should be used more often in adoption research.

Electrosorption: an alternative option for desalination

Electrosorption is generally defined as adsorption on the surfaces of charged electrodes by applying potential or current. Electrosorption deionization method is a low-pressure non-membrane deionization process, with the potential to be a low energy cost alternative for desalination in the future. In this paper, the principle and mechanism of the electrosorption deionization method are discussed, the materials and properties of the electrode used in electrosorption process are summarized and the application and prospect of this promising desalination method are reviewed.

Alternative methods for the MnO2 oxidation of codeine methyl ether to thebaine utilizing ionic liquids

The MnO2 oxidation of codeine methyl ether, CME, to thebaine has been accomplished via the use of the ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate, bmimBF4. The ionic liquid has been used to remove or extract excess MnO2 and associated impurities from the reaction mixture to afford thebaine in 36 to >95% yield. © 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.