Contribution of thickened drinks, food and enteral and parenteral fluids to fluid intake in hospitalised patients with dysphagia

Background Studies amongst older people with acute dysphagic stroke requiring thickened fluids have assessed fluid intakes from combinations of beverage, food, enteral and parenteral sources, but not all sources simultaneously. The study aimed to comprehensively assess total water intake from food, beverages, enteral and parenteral sources amongst dysphagic adult in-patients receiving thickened fluids. Methods Patients requiring thickened fluid following dysphagia diagnosis were recruited consecutively from a tertiary teaching hospital’s medical and neurosurgical wards. Fluid intake from food and beverages was assessed by wastage, direct observation and quantified from enteral and parenteral sources through clinical medical records. Results No patients achieved their calculated fluid requirements unless enteral or parenteral fluids were received. The mean daily fluid intake from food was greater than from beverages whether receiving diet alone (food 807±363mL, food and beverages 370±179mL, p<0.001) or diet with enteral or parenteral fluid support (food 455±408mL, food and beverages 263±232mL, p<0.001). Greater daily fluid intakes occurred when receiving enteral and parenteral fluid in addition to oral dietary intake, irrespective of age group, whether assistance was required, diagnosis and whether stage 3 or stage 2 thickened fluids were required (p<0.05). After enteral and parenteral sources, food provided the most important contribution to daily fluid intakes. Conclusions The greatest contribution to oral fluid intake was from food, not beverages. Designing menus and food services which promote and encourage the enjoyment of fluid dense foods, in contrast to thickened beverages, may present an important way to improve fluid intakes of those with dysphagia. Supplemental enteral or parenteral fluid may be necessary to achieve minimum calculated fluid requirements.

Juvenile justice in Queensland and Canada : new legislation reflecting new directions

Due to their similar colonial histories and common law heritage, Australia and Canada provide an ideal comparative context for examining legislation reflecting new directions in the field of juvenile justice. Toward this end, this article compares the revised juvenile justice legislation which came into force in Queensland and Canada in 2003 (Canada, Youth Criminal Justice Act, enacted on 19 February 2002 and proclaimed in force 1 April 2003; Queensland, Juvenile Justice Act, amended 2003). There are a series of questions that could be addressed including: How similar and how sweeping have been the legislative changes introduced in each jurisdiction?; What are likely to be some of the effects of the implementation of these new legislative regimes?; and, how well does the legislation enacted in either jurisdiction address the fundamental difficulties experienced by children who have been caught up in juvenile justice systems? This article addresses mainly the first of these questions, offering a systematic comparison of recent Queensland and Canadian legislative changes. Although, due to the recentness of these changes, there is no data available to assess long-term effects, anecdotal evidence and preliminary research findings from our comparative study are offered to provide a start at answering the second question. We also offer critical yet sympathetic comments on the ability of legislation to address the fundamental difficulties experienced by children caught up in juvenile justice systems. Specifically, we conclude that while more than simple legislative responses are required to address the difficulties faced by youth offenders, and especially overrepresented Indigenous young offenders, the amended Queensland and new Canadian legislation appear to provide some needed reforms that can be used to help address some of these fundamental difficulties.

Contribution of cross-functional teams to the improvement in operational performance

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of cross-functional teams in the alignment between system effectiveness and operational effectiveness after the implementation of enterprise information systems (EIS). In addition, it aims to explore the contribution of cross-functional teams to improvement in operational performance. ---------- Design/methodology/approach: The research uses a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, in a two-stage methodological approach, to investigate the influence of cross-functional teams on the alignment between system effectiveness and operational effectiveness and the impact of the stated alignment on the improvement in operational performance. ---------- Findings: Initial findings suggest that factors stemming from system effectiveness and the performance objectives stemming from operational effectiveness are important and significantly well correlated factors that promote the alignment between the effectiveness of technological implementation and the effectiveness of operations. In addition, confirmatory factor analysis has been used to find the structural relationships and provide explanations for the stated alignment and the contribution of cross-functional teams to the improvement in operational performance. ---------- Research limitations/implications: The principal limitation of this study is its small sample size. ---------- Practical implications: Cross-functional teams have been used by many organisations as a way of involving expertise from different functional areas in the implementation of innovative technologies. An appropriate use of the dimensions that emerged from this research, in the context of cross-functional teams, will assist organisations to properly utilise cross-functional teams with the aim of improving operational performance. ---------- Originality/value: The paper presents a new approach to measure the effectiveness of EIS implementation by adding new dimensions to measure it.

Solving graphics tasks : gender differences in middle-school students

The capacity to solve tasks that contain high concentrations of visual-spatial information, including graphs, maps and diagrams, is becoming increasingly important in educational contexts as well as everyday life. This research examined gender differences in the performance of students solving graphics tasks from the Graphical Languages in Mathematics (GLIM) instrument that included number lines, graphs, maps and diagrams. The participants were 317 Australian students (169 males and 148 females) aged 9 to 12 years. Boys outperformed girls on graphical languages that required the interpretation of information represented on an axis and graphical languages that required movement between two- and three-dimensional representations (generally Map language).

Changes in Level of Virus Accumulation and Incidence of Infection are Critical in the Characterization of Rice Tungro Bacilliform Virus (RTBV) Resistance in Rice

Analysis by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay showed that Rice tungro bacilliform virus (RTBV) accumulated in a cyclic pattern from early to late stages of infection in tungro-susceptible variety, Taichung Native 1 (TN1), and resistant variety, Balimau Putih, singly infected with RTBV or co-infected with RTBV+Rice tungro spherical virus (RTSV). These changes in virus accumulation resulted in differences in RTBV levels and incidence of infection. The virus levels were expressed relative to those of the susceptible variety and the incidence of infection was assessed at different weeks after inoculation. At a particular time point, RTBV levels in TN1 or Balimau Putih singly infected with RTBV were not significantly different from the virus level in plants co-infected with RTBV+RTSV. The relative RTBV levels in Balimau Putih either singly infected with RTBV or co-infected with RTBV+RTSV were significantly lower than those in TN1. The incidence of RTBV infection varied at different times in Balimau Putih but not in TN1, and to determine the actual infection, the number of plants that became infected at least once anytime during the 4wk observation period was considered. Considering the changes in RTBV accumulation, new parameters for analyzing RTBV resistance were established. Based on these parameters, Balimau Putih was characterized having resistance to virus accumulation although the actual incidence of infection was >75%.

Railway junction traffic control by heuristic methods

Traffic conflicts at railway junctions are very conmon, particularly on congested rail lines. While safe passage through the junction is well maintained by the signalling and interlocking systems, minimising the delays imposed on the trains by assigning the right-of-way sequence sensibly is a bonus to the quality of service. A deterministic method has been adopted to resolve the conflict, with the objective of minimising the total weighted delay. However, the computational demand remains significant. The applications of different heuristic methods to tackle this problem are reviewed and explored, elaborating their feasibility in various aspects and comparing their relative merits for further studies. As most heuristic methods do not guarantee a global optimum, this study focuses on the trade-off between computation time and optimality of the resolution.

Optimal traffic control at railway junctions

Conflict occurs when two or more trains approach the same junction within a specified time. Such conflicts result in delays. Current practices to assign the right of way at junctions achieve orderly and safe passage of the trains, but do not attempt to reduce the delays. A traffic controller developed in the paper assigns right of way to impose minimum total weighted delay on the trains. The traffic flow model and the optimisation technique used in this controller are described. Simulation studies of the performance of the controller are given.

Thinking spatially, acting collaboratively : a GIS-based health decision support system for improving the collaborative health-planning practice

The field of collaborative health planning faces significant challenges due to the lack of effective information, systems and the absence of a framework to make informed decisions. These challenges have been magnified by the rise of the healthy cities movement, consequently, there have been more frequent calls for localised, collaborative and evidence-driven decision-making. Some studies in the past have reported that the use of decision support systems (DSS) for planning healthy cities may lead to: increase collaboration between stakeholders and the general public, improve the accuracy and quality of the decision-making processes and improve the availability of data and information for health decision-makers. These links have not yet been fully tested and only a handful of studies have evaluated the impact of DSS on stakeholders, policy-makers and health planners. This study suggests a framework for developing healthy cities and introduces an online Geographic Information Systems (GIS)-based DSS for improving the collaborative health planning. It also presents preliminary findings of an ongoing case study conducted in the Logan-Beaudesert region of Queensland, Australia. These findings highlight the perceptions of decision-making prior to the implementation of the DSS intervention. Further, the findings help us to understand the potential role of the DSS to improve collaborative health planning practice.

Fostering cultural awareness in pre-service teacher education : an experiment in Asia literacy capacity building in an Australian university

This paper presents the findings of a small pilot study conducted with a group of final year pre-service teachers studying a secondary social science curriculum method unit in an Australian university. One of the study’s research objectives aimed at identifying how students responded to efforts to embed intercultural understanding through Studies of Asia in their final curriculum method unit. The unit was designed and taught by the researcher on the assumption that beginning social science teachers need to be empowered with pedagogical skills and new dispositions to deal with value laden emerging regional and global concerns in their Australian secondary school classrooms. This pilot study’s research methodology was located within the qualitative framework of a participatory action research model whereby the lecturer who designed, coordinated and taught the unit was also the researcher. Its scope was limited to one semester with volunteer students. The pilot study sought to investigate responses to several issues, and this paper reports on pre-service teacher reflections on the content, pedagogy and learning they experienced in their weekly sessions with specific reference to cultural understanding, Studies of Asia and the development of Asia literacy. It also reports on pre-service teacher reflections about their own evolving capacity as beginning teachers. The findings indicate that pre-service teachers valued the opportunity to engage with learning experiences which enhanced their conceptual understandings about culture whilst also extending their pedagogical and content knowledge.

Designed biodegradable hydrogel structures prepared by stereolithography using poly(ethylene glycol)/poly(D,L-lactide)-based resins

Designed three-dimensional biodegradable poly(ethylene glycol)/poly(D,L-lactide) hydrogel structures were prepared for the first time by stereolithography at high resolutions. A photopolymerisable aqueous resin comprising PDLLA-PEG-PDLLA-based macromer, visible light photo-initiator, dye and inhibitor in DMSO/water was used to build the structures. Porous and non-porous hydrogels with well-defined architectures and good mechanical properties were prepared. Porous hydrogel structures with a gyroid pore network architecture showed narrow pore size distributions, excellent pore interconnectivity and good mechanical properties. The structures showed good cell seeding characteristics, and human mesenchymal stem cells adhered and proliferated well on these materials.

Carbon capture and storage laws in Australia : project facilitation or a precautionary approach?

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is considered to be an integral transitionary measure in the mitigation of the global greenhouse gas emissions from our continued use of fossil fuels. Regulatory frameworks have been developed around the world and pilot projects have been commenced. However, CCS processes are largely untested at commercial scales and there are many unknowns associated with the long terms risks from these storage projects. Governments, including Australia, are struggling to develop appropriate, yet commercially viable, regulatory approaches to manage the uncertain long term risks of CCS activities. There have been numerous CCS regimes passed at the Federal, State and Territory levels in Australia. All adopt a different approach to the delicate balance facilitating projects and managing risk. This paper will examine the relatively new onshore and offshore regimes for CCS in Australia and the legal issues arising in relation to the implementation of CCS projects. Comparisons will be made with the EU CCS Directive where appropriate.

Positive correlation of male and female Bactrocera tryoni (Froggatt) (Diptera: Tephritidae) catches in orange-ammonia traps

Populations of the Queensland fruit fly, Bactrocera tryoni, are routinely monitored using cue-lure, a male-only attractant. Such monitoring provides no information about females and there is little information available to show if male and female B. tryoni numbers are correlated in the field. Using a data set of 1 148 weekly clearances of orange-ammonia baited traps, which catch both males and females, the correlation between male and female numbers was tested for 48 weeks of the year (four weeks each month) and for the combined data set. Weekly male and female trap catches were almost entirely highly correlated, regardless of mean population size or time of year. For the whole year, the correlation between male and female numbers was r = 0.722, significant at p<0.001. Results suggest that changes in the number if male B. tryoni, as detected through cue-lure sampling, will reflect changes in numbers of female B. tryoni.

Ability of silver-impregnated contact lenses to control microbial growth and colonisation

Purpose: To examine the ability of silver nano-particles to prevent the growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus in solution or when adsorbed into contact lenses. To examine the ability of silver nano-particles to prevent the growth of Acanthamoeba castellanii. ----- ----- Methods: Etafilcon A lenses were soaked in various concentrations of silver nano-particles. Bacterial cells were then exposed to these lenses, and numbers of viable cells on lens surface or in solution compared to etafilcon A lenses not soaked in silver. Acanthamoeba trophozoites were exposed to silver nano-particles and their ability to form tracks was examined. ----- ----- Results: Silver nano-particle containing lenses reduced bacterial viability and adhesion. There was a dose-dependent response curve, with 10 ppm or 20 ppm silver showing > 5 log reduction in bacterial viability in solution or on the lens surface. For Acanthamoeba, 20 ppm silver reduced the ability to form tracks by approximately 1 log unit. ----- ----- Conclusions: Silver nanoparticles are effective antimicrobial agents, and can reduce the ability of viable bacterial cells to colonise contact lenses once incorporated into the lens.----- ----- Resumen: Objetivos: Examinar la capacidad de las nanopartículas de plata para prevenir el crecimiento de Pseudomonas aeruginosa y Staphylococcus aureus en soluciones para lentes de contacto o cuando éstas las adsorben. Examinar la capacidad de las nanopartículas de plata para prevenir el crecimiento de Acanthamoeba castellanii.----- ----- Métodos: Se sumergieron lentes etafilcon A en diversas concentraciones de nanopartículas de plata. Las células bacterianas fueron posteriormente expuestas a dichas lentes, y se compararon cantidades de células viables en la superficie de la lente o en la solución con las presentes en lentes etafilcon A que no habían sido sumergidas en plata. Trofozoítos de Acanthamoeba fueron expuestos a nanopartículas de plata y se examinó su capacidad para formar quistes.----- ----- Resultados: Las lentes que contienen nanopartículas de plata redujeron la viabilidad bacteriana y la adhesión. Hubo una curva de respuesta dependiente de la dosis, en la que 10 ppm o 20 ppm de plata mostró una reducción logarítmica > 5 en la viabilidad bacteriana tanto en la solución como en la superficie de la lente. Para Acanthamoeba, 20 ppm de plata redujeron la capacidad de formar quistes en aproximadamente 1 unidad logarítmica.----- ----- Conclusiones: Las nanopartículas de plata son agentes antimicrobianos eficaces y pueden reducir la capacidad de células bacterianas viables para colonizar las lentes de contacto una vez que se han incorporado en la lente.