The molecular structure of the phosphate mineral chalcosiderite – a vibrational spectroscopic study

The mineral chalcosiderite with formula CuFe6(PO4)4(OH)8⋅4H2O has been studied by Raman spectroscopy and by infrared spectroscopy. A comparison of the chalcosiderite spectra is made with the spectra of turquoise. The spectra of the mineral samples are very similar in the 1200–900 cm−1 region but strong differences are observed in the 900–100 cm−1 region. The effect of substitution of Fe for Al in chalcosiderite shifts the bands to lower wave numbers. Factor group analysis (FGA) implies four OH stretching vibrations for both the water and hydroxyl units. Two bands ascribed to water are observed at 3276 and 3072 cm−1. Three hydroxyl stretching vibrations are observed. Calculations using a Libowitzky type formula show that the hydrogen bond distances of the water molecules are 2.745 and 2.812 Å which are considerably shorter than the values for the hydroxyl units 2.896, 2.917 and 2.978 Å. Two phosphate stretching vibrations at 1042 and 1062 cm−1 in line with the two independent phosphate units in the structure of chalcosiderite. Three bands are observed at 1102, 1159 and 1194 cm−1 assigned to the phosphate antisymmetric stretching vibrations. FGA predicts six bands but only three are observed due to accidental degeneracy. Both the ν2 and ν4 bending regions are complex. Four Raman bands observed at 536, 580, 598 and 636 cm−1 are assigned to the ν4 bending modes. Raman bands at 415, 420, 475 and 484 cm−1are assigned to the phosphate ν2 bending modes. Vibrational spectroscopy enables aspects of the molecular structure of chalcosiderite to be assessed.

A comprehensive investigation of the risky driving behaviour of young novice drivers

Young novice drivers - that is, drivers aged 16-25 years who are relatively inexperienced in driving on the road and have a novice (Learner, Provisional) driver's licence - have been overrepresented in car crash, injury and fatality statistics around the world for decades. There are numerous persistent characteristics evident in young novice driver crashes, fatalities and offences, including variables relating to the young driver themselves, broader social influences which include their passengers, the car they drive, and when and how they drive, and their risky driving behaviour in particular. Moreover, there are a range of psychosocial factors influencing the behaviour of young novice drivers, including the social influences of parents and peers, and person-related factors such as age-related factors, attitudes, and sensation seeking. Historically, a range of approaches have been developed to manage the risky driving behaviour of young novice drivers. Traditional measures predominantly relying upon education have had limited success in regulating the risky driving behaviour of the young novice driver. In contrast, interventions such as graduated driver licensing (GDL) which acknowledges young novice drivers' limitations - principally pertaining to their chronological and developmental age, and their driving inexperience - have shown to be effective in ameliorating this pervasive public health problem. In practice, GDL is a risk management tool that is designed to reduce driving at risky times (e.g., at night) or in risky driving conditions (e.g., with passengers), while still enabling novice drivers to obtain experience. In this regard, the GDL program in Queensland, Australia, was considerably enhanced in July 2007, and major additions to the program include mandated Learner practice of 100 hours recorded in a logbook, and passenger limits during night driving in the Provisional phase. Road safety researchers have also continued to consider the influential role played by the young driver's psychosocial characteristics, including psychological traits and states. In addition, whilst the majority of road safety user research is epidemiological in nature, contemporary road safety research is increasingly applying psychological and criminological theories. Importantly, such theories not only can guide young novice driver research, they can also inform the development and evaluation of countermeasures targeting their risky driving behaviour. The research is thus designed to explore the self-reported behaviours - and the personal, psychosocial, and structural influences upon the behaviours - of young novice drivers This thesis incorporates three stages of predominantly quantitative research to undertake a comprehensive investigation of the risky driving behaviour of young novices. Risky driving behaviour increases the likelihood of the young novice driver being involved in a crash which may harm themselves or other road users, and deliberate risky driving such as driving in excess of the posted speed limits is the focus of the program of research. The extant literature examining the nature of the risky behaviour of the young novice driver - and the contributing factors for this behaviour - while comprehensive, has not led to the development of a reliable instrument designed specifically to measure the risky behaviour of the young novice driver. Therefore the development and application of such a tool (the Behaviour of Young Novice Drivers Scale, or BYNDS) was foremost in the program of research. In addition to describing the driving behaviours of the young novice, a central theme of this program of research was identifying, describing, and quantifying personal, behavioural, and environmental influences upon young novice driver risky behaviour. Accordingly the 11 papers developed from the three stages of research which comprise this thesis are framed within Bandura's reciprocal determinism model which explicitly considers the reciprocal relationship between the environment, the person, and their behaviour. Stage One comprised the foundation research and operationalised quantitative and qualitative methodologies to finalise the instrument used in Stages Two and Three. The first part of Stage One involved an online survey which was completed by 761 young novice drivers who attended tertiary education institutions across Queensland. A reliable instrument for measuring the risky driving behaviour of young novices was developed (the BYNDS) and is currently being operationalised in young novice driver research in progress at the Centre for Injury Research and Prevention in Philadelphia, USA. In addition, regression analyses revealed that psychological distress influenced risky driving behaviour, and the differential influence of depression, anxiety, sensitivity to punishments and rewards, and sensation seeking propensity were explored. Path model analyses revealed that punishment sensitivity was mediated by anxiety and depression; and the influence of depression, anxiety, reward sensitivity and sensation seeking propensity were moderated by the gender of the driver. Specifically, for males, sensation seeking propensity, depression, and reward sensitivity were predictive of self-reported risky driving, whilst for females anxiety was also influential. In the second part of Stage One, 21 young novice drivers participated in individual and small group interviews. The normative influences of parents, peers, and the Police were explicated. Content analysis supported four themes of influence through punishments, rewards, and the behaviours and attitudes of parents and friends. The Police were also influential upon the risky driving behaviour of young novices. The findings of both parts of Stage One informed the research of Stage Two. Stage Two was a comprehensive investigation of the pre-Licence and Learner experiences, attitudes, and behaviours, of young novice drivers. In this stage, 1170 young novice drivers from across Queensland completed an online or paper survey exploring their experiences, behaviours and attitudes as a pre- and Learner driver. The majority of novices did not drive before they were licensed (pre-Licence driving) or as an unsupervised Learner, submitted accurate logbooks, intended to follow the road rules as a Provisional driver, and reported practicing predominantly at the end of the Learner period. The experience of Learners in the enhanced-GDL program were also examined and compared to those of Learner drivers who progressed through the former-GDL program (data collected previously by Bates, Watson, & King, 2009a). Importantly, current-GDL Learners reported significantly more driving practice and a longer Learner period, less difficulty obtaining practice, and less offence detection and crash involvement than Learners in the former-GDL program. The findings of Stage Two informed the research of Stage Three. Stage Three was a comprehensive exploration of the driving experiences, attitudes and behaviours of young novice drivers during their first six months of Provisional 1 licensure. In this stage, 390 of the 1170 young novice drivers from Stage Two completed another survey, and data collected during Stages Two and Three allowed a longitudinal investigation of self-reported risky driving behaviours, such as GDL-specific and general road rule compliance; risky behaviour such as pre-Licence driving, crash involvement and offence detection; and vehicle ownership, paying attention to Police presence, and punishment avoidance. Whilst the majority of Learner and Provisional drivers reported compliance with GDL-specific and general road rules, 33% of Learners and 50% of Provisional drivers reported speeding by 10-20 km/hr at least occasionally. Twelve percent of Learner drivers reported pre-Licence driving, and these drivers were significantly more risky as Learner and Provisional drivers. Ten percent of males and females reported being involved in a crash, and 10% of females and 18% of males had been detected for an offence, within the first six months of independent driving. Additionally, 75% of young novice drivers reported owning their own car within six months of gaining their Provisional driver's licence. Vehicle owners reported significantly shorter Learner periods and more risky driving exposure as a Provisional driver. Paying attention to Police presence on the roads appeared normative for young novice drivers: 91% of Learners and 72% of Provisional drivers reported paying attention. Provisional drivers also reported they actively avoided the Police: 25% of males and 13% of females; 23% of rural drivers and 15% of urban drivers. Stage Three also allowed the refinement of the risky behaviour measurement tool (BYNDS) created in Stage One; the original reliable 44-item instrument was refined to a similarly reliable 36-item instrument. A longitudinal exploration of the influence of anxiety, depression, sensation seeking propensity and reward sensitivity upon the risky behaviour of the Provisional driver was also undertaken using data collected in Stages Two and Three. Consistent with the research of Stage One, structural equation modeling revealed anxiety, reward sensitivity and sensation seeking propensity predicted self-reported risky driving behaviour. Again, gender was a moderator, with only reward sensitivity predicting risky driving for males. A measurement model of Akers' social learning theory (SLT) was developed containing six subscales operationalising the four constructs of differential association, imitation, personal attitudes, and differential reinforcement, and the influence of parents and peers was captured within the items in a number of these constructs. Analyses exploring the nature and extent of the psychosocial influences of personal characteristics (step 1), Akers' SLT (step 2), and elements of the prototype/willingness model (PWM) (step 3) upon self-reported speeding by the Provisional driver in a hierarchical multiple regression model found the following significant predictors: gender (male), car ownership (own car), reward sensitivity (greater sensitivity), depression (greater depression), personal attitudes (more risky attitudes), and speeding (more speeding) as a Learner. The research findings have considerable implications for road safety researchers, policy-makers, mental health professionals and medical practitioners alike. A broad range of issues need to be considered when developing, implementing and evaluating interventions for both the intentional and unintentional risky driving behaviours of interest. While a variety of interventions have been historically utilised, including education, enforcement, rehabilitation and incentives, caution is warranted. A multi-faceted approach to improving novice road safety is more likely to be effective, and new and existing countermeasures should capitalise on the potential of parents, peers and Police to be a positive influence upon the risky behaviour of young novice drivers. However, the efficacy of some interventions remains undetermined at this time. Notwithstanding this caveat, countermeasures such as augmenting and strengthening Queensland's GDL program and targeting parents and adolescents particularly warrant further attention. The findings of the research program suggest that Queensland's current-GDL can be strengthened by increasing compliance of young novice drivers with existing conditions and restrictions. The rates of speeding reported by the young Learner driver are particularly alarming for a number of reasons. The Learner is inexperienced in driving, and travelling in excess of speed limits places them at greater risk as they are also inexperienced in detecting and responding appropriately to driving hazards. In addition, the Learner period should provide the foundation for a safe lifetime driving career, enabling the development and reinforcement of non-risky driving habits. Learners who sped reported speeding by greater margins, and at greater frequencies, when they were able to drive independently. Other strategies could also be considered to enhance Queensland's GDL program, addressing both the pre-Licence adolescent and their parents. Options that warrant further investigation to determine their likely effectiveness include screening and treatment of novice drivers by mental health professionals and/or medical practitioners; and general social skills training. Considering the self-reported pre-licence driving of the young novice driver, targeted education of parents may need to occur before their child obtains a Learner licence. It is noteworthy that those participants who reported risky driving during the Learner phase also were more likely to report risky driving behaviour during the Provisional phase; therefore it appears vital that the development of safe driving habits is encouraged from the beginning of the novice period. General education of parents and young novice drivers should inform them of the considerably-increased likelihood of risky driving behaviour, crashes and offences associated with having unlimited access to a vehicle in the early stages of intermediate licensure. Importantly, parents frequently purchase the car that is used by the Provisional driver, who typically lives at home with their parents, and therefore parents are ideally positioned to monitor the journeys of their young novice driver during this early stage of independent driving. Parents are pivotal in the development of their driving child: they are models who are imitated and are sources of attitudes, expectancies, rewards and punishments; and they provide the most driving instruction for the Learner. High rates of self-reported speeding by Learners suggests that GDL programs specifically consider the nature of supervision during the Learner period, encouraging supervisors to be vigilant to compliance with general and GDL-specific road rules, and especially driving in excess of speed limit. Attitudes towards driving are formed before the adolescent reaches the age when they can be legally licensed. Young novice drivers with risky personal attitudes towards driving reported more risky driving behaviour, suggesting that countermeasures should target such attitudes and that such interventions might be implemented before the adolescent is licensed. The risky behaviours and attitudes of friends were also found to be influential, and given that young novice drivers tend to carry their friends as their passengers, a group intervention such as provided in a school class context may prove more effective. Social skills interventions that encourage the novice to resist the negative influences of their friends and their peer passengers, and to not imitate the risky driving behaviour of their friends, may also be effective. The punishments and rewards anticipated from and administered by friends were also found to influence the self-reported risky behaviour of the young novice driver; therefore young persons could be encouraged to sanction the risky, and to reward the non-risky, driving of their novice friends. Adolescent health programs and related initiatives need to more specifically consider the risks associated with driving. Young novice drivers are also adolescents, a developmental period associated with depression and anxiety. Depression, anxiety, and sensation seeking propensity were found to be predictive of risky driving; therefore interventions targeting psychological distress, whilst discouraging the expression of sensation seeking propensity whilst driving, warrant development and trialing. In addition, given that reward sensitivity was also predictive, a scheme which rewards novice drivers for safe driving behaviour - rather than rewarding the novice through emotional and instrumental rewards for risky driving behaviour - requires further investigation. The Police were also influential in the risky driving behaviour of young novices. Young novice drivers who had been detected for an offence, and then avoided punishment, reacted differentially, with some drivers appearing to become less risky after the encounter, whilst for others their risky behaviour appeared to be reinforced and therefore was more likely to be performed again. Such drivers saw t

Foucault’s Thought

Michel Foucault was a French philosopher and historian of ideas who was born in Poitiers in France in 1926 and died in Paris in 1984. Since his death his work has had a steadily increasing impact across the social sciences and humanities, generating new research methodologies, new areas of empirical interest, and a whole panoply of theoretical concepts. Foucault produced some 11 books during his lifetime and a collection of 364 of his shorter writings was published in 1994. From 1970 to 1984, in his capacity as Professor of Systems of Thought at the research institution the Collège de France, he also produced an annual series of lectures reporting on his research. These lectures have gradually appeared in print since 1997. This entry provides an overview of Foucault’s overall philosophy and methodology, looks at key concepts in his work and provides descriptions of his best known books.

Meal induced thermogenesis and appetite : methodological issues and responses to energy restriction

Diet Induced Thermogenesis (DIT) is the energy expended consequent to meal consumption, and reflects the energy required for the processing and digestion of food consumed throughout each day. Although DIT is the total energy expended across a day in digestive processes to a number of meals, most studies measure thermogenesis in response to a single meal (Meal Induced Thermogenesis: MIT) as a representation of an individual’s thermogenic response to acute food ingestion. As a component of energy expenditure, DIT may have a contributing role in weight gain and weight loss. While the evidence is inconsistent, research has tended to reveal a suppressed MIT response in obese compared to lean individuals, which identifies individuals with an efficient storage of food energy, hence a greater tendency for weight gain. Appetite is another factor regulating body weight through its influence on energy intake. Preliminary research has shown a potential link between MIT and postprandial appetite as both are responses to food ingestion and have a similar response dependent upon the macronutrient content of food. There is a growing interest in understanding how both MIT and appetite are modified with changes in diet, activity levels and body size. However, the findings from MIT research have been highly inconsistent, potentially due to the vastly divergent protocols used for its measurement. Therefore, the main theme of this thesis was firstly, to address some of the methodological issues associated with measuring MIT. Additionally this thesis aimed to measure postprandial appetite simultaneously to MIT to test for any relationships between these meal-induced variables and to assess changes that occur in MIT and postprandial appetite during periods of energy restriction (ER) and following weight loss. Two separate studies were conducted to achieve these aims. Based on the increasing prevalence of obesity, it is important to develop accurate methodologies for measuring the components potentially contributing to its development and to understand the variability within these variables. Therefore, the aim of Study One was to establish a protocol for measuring the thermogenic response to a single test meal (MIT), as a representation of DIT across a day. This was done by determining the reproducibility of MIT with a continuous measurement protocol and determining the effect of measurement duration. The benefit of a fixed resting metabolic rate (RMR), which is a single measure of RMR used to calculate each subsequent measure of MIT, compared to separate baseline RMRs, which are separate measures of RMR measured immediately prior to each MIT test meal to calculate each measure of MIT, was also assessed to determine the method with greater reproducibility. Subsidiary aims were to measure postprandial appetite simultaneously to MIT, to determine its reproducibility between days and to assess potential relationships between these two variables. Ten healthy individuals (5 males, 5 females, age = 30.2 ± 7.6 years, BMI = 22.3 ± 1.9 kg/m2, %Fat Mass = 27.6 ± 5.9%) undertook three testing sessions within a 1-4 week time period. During the first visit, participants had their body composition measured using DXA for descriptive purposes, then had an initial 30-minute measure of RMR to familiarise them with the testing and to be used as a fixed baseline for calculating MIT. During the second and third testing sessions, MIT was measured. Measures of RMR and MIT were undertaken using a metabolic cart with a ventilated hood to measure energy expenditure via indirect calorimetry with participants in a semi-reclined position. The procedure on each MIT test day was: 1) a baseline RMR measured for 30 minutes, 2) a 15-minute break in the measure to consume a standard 576 kcal breakfast (54.3% CHO, 14.3% PRO, 31.4% FAT), comprising muesli, milk toast, butter, jam and juice, and 3) six hours of measuring MIT with two, ten-minute breaks at 3 and 4.5 hours for participants to visit the bathroom. On the MIT test days, pre and post breakfast then at 45-minute intervals, participants rated their subjective appetite, alertness and comfort on visual analogue scales (VAS). Prior to each test, participants were required to be fasted for 12 hours, and have undertaken no high intensity physical activity for the previous 48 hours. Despite no significant group changes in the MIT response between days, individual variability was high with an average between-day CV of 33%, which was not significantly improved by the use of a fixed RMR to 31%. The 95% limits of agreements which ranged from 9.9% of energy intake (%EI) to -10.7%EI with the baseline RMRs and between 9.6%EI to -12.4%EI with the fixed RMR, indicated very large changes relative to the size of the average MIT response (MIT 1: 8.4%EI, 13.3%EI; MIT 2: 8.8%EI, 14.7%EI; baseline and fixed RMRs respectively). After just three hours, the between-day CV with the baseline RMR was 26%, which may indicate an enhanced MIT reproducibility with shorter measurement durations. On average, 76, 89, and 96% of the six-hour MIT response was completed within three, four and five hours, respectively. Strong correlations were found between MIT at each of these time points and the total six-hour MIT (range for correlations r = 0.990 to 0.998; P < 0.01). The reproducibility of the proportion of the six-hour MIT completed at 3, 4 and 5 hours was reproducible (between-day CVs ≤ 8.5%). This indicated the suitability to use shorter durations on repeated occasions and a similar percent of the total response to be completed. There was a lack of strong evidence of any relationship between the magnitude of the MIT response and subjective postprandial appetite. Given a six-hour protocol places a considerable burden on participants, these results suggests that a post-meal measurement period of only three hours is sufficient to produce valid information on the metabolic response to a meal. However while there was no mean change in MIT between test days, individual variability was large. Further research is required to better understand which factors best explain the between-day variability in this physiological measure. With such a high prevalence of obesity, dieting has become a necessity to reduce body weight. However, during periods of ER, metabolic and appetite adaptations can occur which may impede weight loss. Understanding how metabolic and appetite factors change during ER and weight loss is important for designing optimal weight loss protocols. The purpose of Study Two was to measure the changes in the MIT response and subjective postprandial appetite during either continuous (CONT) or intermittent (INT) ER and following post diet energy balance (post-diet EB). Thirty-six obese male participants were randomly assigned to either the CONT (Age = 38.6 ± 7.0 years, weight = 109.8 ± 9.2 kg, % fat mass = 38.2 ± 5.2%) or INT diet groups (Age = 39.1 ± 9.1 years, weight = 107.1 ± 12.5 kg, % fat mass = 39.6 ± 6.8%). The study was divided into three phases: a four-week baseline (BL) phase where participants were provided with a diet to maintain body weight, an ER phase lasting either 16 (CONT) or 30 (INT) weeks, where participants were provided with a diet which supplied 67% of their energy balance requirements to induce weight loss and an eight-week post-diet EB phase, providing a diet to maintain body weight post weight loss. The INT ER phase was delivered as eight, two-week blocks of ER interspersed with two-week blocks designed to achieve weight maintenance. Energy requirements for each phase were predicted based on measured RMR, and adjusted throughout the study to account for changes in RMR. All participants completed MIT and appetite tests during BL and the ER phase. Nine CONT and 15 INT participants completed the post-diet EB MIT and 14 INT and 15 CONT participants completed the post-diet EB appetite tests. The MIT test day protocol was as follows: 1) a baseline RMR measured for 30 minutes, 2) a 15-minute break in the measure to consume a standard breakfast meal (874 kcal, 53.3% CHO, 14.5% PRO, 32.2% FAT), and 3) three hours of measuring MIT. MIT was calculated as the energy expenditure above the pre-meal RMR. Appetite test days were undertaken on a separate day using the same 576 kcal breakfast used in Study One. VAS were used to assess appetite pre and post breakfast, at one hour post breakfast then a further three times at 45-minute intervals. Appetite ratings were calculated for hunger and fullness as both the intra-meal change in appetite and the AUC. The three-hour MIT response at BL, ER and post-diet EB respectively were 5.4 ± 1.4%EI, 5.1 ± 1.3%EI and 5.0 ± 0.8%EI for the CONT group and 4.4 ± 1.0%EI, 4.7 ± 1.0%EI and 4.8 ± 0.8%EI for the INT group. Compared to BL, neither group had significant changes in their MIT response during ER or post-diet EB. There were no significant time by group interactions (p = 0.17) indicating a similar response to ER and post-diet EB in both groups. Contrary to what was hypothesised, there was a significant increase in postprandial AUC fullness in response to ER in both groups (p < 0.05). However, there were no significant changes in any of the other postprandial hunger or fullness variables. Despite no changes in MIT in both the CONT or INT group in response to ER or post-diet EB and only a minor increase in postprandial AUC fullness, the individual changes in MIT and postprandial appetite in response to ER were large. However those with the greatest MIT changes did not have the greatest changes in postprandial appetite. This study shows that postprandial appetite and MIT are unlikely to be altered during ER and are unlikely to hinder weight loss. Additionally, there were no changes in MIT in response to weight loss, indicating that body weight did not influence the magnitude of the MIT response. There were large individual changes in both variables, however further research is required to determine whether these changes were real compensatory changes to ER or simply between-day variation. Overall, the results of this thesis add to the current literature by showing the large variability of continuous MIT measurements, which make it difficult to compare MIT between groups and in response to diet interventions. This thesis was able to provide evidence to suggest that shorter measures may provide equally valid information about the total MIT response and can therefore be utilised in future research in order to reduce the burden of long measurements durations. This thesis indicates that MIT and postprandial subjective appetite are most likely independent of each other. This thesis also shows that, on average, energy restriction was not associated with compensatory changes in MIT and postprandial appetite that would have impeded weight loss. However, the large inter-individual variability supports the need to examine individual responses in more detail.

Discrete loading of the foot during hurdle drills: A pilot investigation

Introduction: Lower limb function in hurdling is patently asymmetrical. The lead limb undertakes the preparatory and landing steps while the trail limb contends with the hurdle and recovery steps. Discrete loading profiles of these steps will reflect the asymmetrical function and may provide useful insight into injury mechanisms. A pilot study was undertaken to determine the loading profiles of the hurdle, landing and recovery steps of elite male hurdlers. Equivalent data for steps between hurdles, where the running action is more symmetrical, were used for the purpose of comparison, simultaneously minimising the confounding effect of speed. Methodology: In-shoe pressures were recorded (FScan, 200 Hz) for four elite male hurdlers while they completed a routine hurdle drill at a self-selected fast but sub-race speed. The drill comprised of three consecutive hurdles. Data for the hurdle, landing and recovery steps of the first and second hurdles, along with data for the running steps between hurdles 1 and 2, and 2 and 3, were used for the purpose of analysis. Peak pressures within 1cm2 masks were determined for the hallux, first, central and fifth metatarsals (T1, M1, M2–4 and M5 respectively). Peak pressure (kPa) and loading duration (ms) for the hurdle, landing and recovery steps are reported as a percentage of the respective limb-matched values for between-hurdle steps. Results/discussion: For between-hurdle steps, T1, M1 and M2–4 peak pressures were 312/357, 356/306 and 362/368 kPa, lead/trail limbs respectively. For the hurdle, landing and recovery steps, pressures at T1 and M1 increased. For T1 the increases were in the order of 17%, 36% and 8% (hurdle, landing and recovery steps, respectively) while the corresponding increases at M1 were 7%, 54% and 20%. Pressures at M2–4 were similar for all steps, while M5 loaded erratically. For the between-hurdle steps, the loading durations at T1, M1 and M2–4, were 160/162, 170/142 and 190/191 ms, respectively. For the landing step, loading duration decreased for T1, M1and M2–4 (−8%, −19% and −18%, respectively). In the hurdle step, loading duration decreased for the metatarsals but not for T1. Conclusions: The hurdling action leads to regional pressure increases that act for shorter durations in comparison to the between-hurdle running steps. These changes are most notable at the first metatarsal, a common site of foot injury.

Does preoperative oral carbohydrate reduce hospital stay?

Background Carbohydrate-rich fluids are used to improve postoperative recovery but the effectiveness of the product for reducing length of hospital stay is uncertain. Objective To assess the effectiveness of preoperative loading with carbohydrates on postoperative outcomes. Participants Forty six patients booked for elective colorectal surgery. Methods Participants were allocated to a Carbohydrate-rich fluid group or Usual Care group during their pre-admission clinic visit. The primary outcome was ‘Time to readiness for discharge’. Results Patients in the control group spent on average 4.3 days (95% confidence interval 3.2 to 5.7) and the Carbohydrate-rich fluid group spent 4.1 days (95% confidence interval 3.2 to 5.4) until the primary outcome was met (p=0.824). Conclusion The safety of preoperative high carbohydrate fluids is supported but we were unable to confirm or refute the benefit of CHO for shorter hospital stay following elective colorectal surgery.

Methodological considerations for meal-induced thermogenesis : measurement duration and reproducibility

Meal-Induced Thermogenesis (MIT) research findings are highly inconsistent, in part, due to the variety of durations and protocols used to measure MIT. We aimed to determine: 1) the proportion of a 6 h MIT response completed at 3, 4 and 5 h; 2) the associations between the shorter durations and the 6 h measure; 3) whether shorter durations improved the reproducibility of the measurement. MIT was measured in response to a 2410 KJ mixed composition meal in ten individuals (5 male, 5 female) on two occasions. Energy expenditure was measured continuously for 6 h post-meal using indirect calorimetry and MIT was calculated as the increase in energy expenditure above the pre-meal RMR. On average, 76%, 89%, and 96% of the 6 h MIT response was completed within 3, 4 and 5 h respectively, and the MIT at each of these time points was strongly correlated to the 6 h MIT (range for correlations, r = 0.990 to 0.998; p < 0.01). The between-day CV for the 6 h measurement was 33%, but was significantly lower after 3 h of measurement (CV = 26%, p = 0.02). Despite variability in the total MIT between days, the proportion of the MIT that was complete at 3, 4 and 5 h was reproducible (mean CV: 5%). While 6 h is typically required to measure the complete MIT response, 3 h measures provide sufficient information about the magnitude of the MIT response and may be applicable for measuring individuals on repeated occasions.

Perspectives in multiphasic osteochondral tissue engineering

Critical-sized osteochondral defects are clinically challenging, with limited treatment options available. By engineering osteochondral grafts using a patient's own cells and osteochondral scaffolds designed to facilitate cartilage and bone regeneration, osteochondral defects may be treated with less complications and better long-term clinical outcomes. Scaffolds can influence the development and structure of the engineered tissue, and there is an increased awareness that osteochondral tissue engineering concepts need to take the in vivo complexities into account in order to increase the likelihood of successful osteochondral tissue repair. The developing trend in osteochondral tissue engineering is the utilization of multiphasic scaffolds to recapitulate the multiphasic nature of the native tissue. Cartilage and bone have different structural, mechanical, and biochemical microenvironments. By designing osteochondral scaffolds with tissue-specific architecture, it may be possible to enhance osteochondral repair within shorter timeframe. While there are promising in vivo outcomes using multiphasic approaches, functional regeneration of osteochondral constructs still remains a challenge. In this review, we provide an overview of in vivo osteochondral repair studies that have taken place in the past three years, and define areas which needs improvement in future studies

The use of an electrostatic lens to enhance the efficiency of the electrospinning process

Electrospun scaffolds manufactured using conventional electrospinning configurations have an intrinsic thickness limitation, due to a charge build-up at the collector. To overcome this limitation, an electrostatic lens has been developed that, at the same relative rate of deposition, focuses the polymer jet onto a smaller area of the collector, resulting in the fabrication of thick scaffolds within a shorter period of time. We also observed that a longer deposition time (up to 13 h, without the intervention of the operator) could be achieved when the electrostatic lens was utilised, compared to 9–10 h with a conventional processing set-up and also showed that fibre fusion was less likely to occur in the modified method. This had a significant impact on the mechanical properties, as the scaffolds obtained with the conventional process had a higher elastic modulus and ultimate stress and strain at short times. However, as the thickness of the scaffolds produced by the conventional electrospinning process increased, a 3-fold decrease in the mechanical properties was observed. This was in contrast to the modified method, which showed a continual increase in mechanical properties, with the properties of the scaffold finally having similar mechanical properties to the scaffolds obtained via the conventional process at longer times. This “focusing” device thus enabled the fabrication of thicker 3-dimensional electrospun scaffolds (of thicknesses up to 3.5 mm), representing an important step towards the production of scaffolds for tissue engineering large defect sites in a multitude of tissues.

Moderate sleep restriction in treated older male OSA participants: Greater impairment during monotonous driving compared with controls

Objectives To examine the effects on monotonous driving of normal sleep versus one night of sleep restriction in continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treated obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) patients compared with age matched healthy controls. Methods Nineteen CPAP treated compliant male OSA patients (OSA-treated patients (OPs)), aged 50–75 years, and 20 healthy age-matched controls underwent both a normal night’s sleep and sleep restriction to 5 h (OPs remained on CPAP) in a counterbalanced design. All participants completed a 2 h afternoon monotonous drive in a realistic car simulator. Driving was monitored for sleepiness-related minor and major lane deviations, with ‘safe’ driving time being total time driven prior to first major lane deviation. EEGs were recorded continuously, and subjective sleepiness ratings were taken at regular intervals throughout the drive. Results After a normal night’s sleep, OPs and controls did not differ in terms of driving performance or in their ability to assess the levels of their own sleepiness, with both groups driving ‘safely’ for approximately 90 min. However, after sleep restriction, OPs had a significantly shorter (65 min) safe driving time and had to apply more compensatory effort to maintain their alertness compared with controls. They also underestimated the enhanced sleepiness. Nevertheless, apart from this caveat, there were generally close associations between subjective sleepiness, likelihood of a major lane deviation and EEG changes indicative of sleepiness. Conclusions With a normal night’s sleep, effectively treated older men with OSA drive as safely as healthy men of the same age. However, after restricted sleep, driving impairment is worse than that of controls. This suggests that, although successful CPAP treatment can alleviate potential detrimental effects of OSA on monotonous driving following normal sleep, these patients remain more vulnerable to sleep restriction.

One night’s CPAP withdrawal in otherwise compliant OSA patients: marked driving impairment but good awareness of increased sleepiness

Purpose Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) patients effectively treated by and compliant with continuous positive air pressure (CPAP) occasionally miss a night’s treatment. The purpose of this study was to use a real car interactive driving simulator to assess the effects of such an occurrence on the next day’s driving, including the extent to which these drivers are aware of increased sleepiness. Methods Eleven long-term compliant CPAP-treated 50–75-year-old male OSA participants completed a 2-h afternoon, simulated, realistic monotonous drive in an instrumented car, twice, following one night: (1) normal sleep with CPAP and (2) nil CPAP. Drifting out of road lane (‘incidents’), subjective sleepiness every 200 s and continuous electroencephalogram (EEG) activities indicative of sleepiness and compensatory effort were monitored. Results Withdrawal of CPAP markedly increased sleep disturbance and led to significantly more incidents, a shorter ‘safe’ driving duration, increased alpha and theta EEG power and greater subjective sleepiness. However, increased EEG beta activity indicated that more compensatory effort was being applied. Importantly, under both conditions, there was a highly significant correlation between subjective and EEG measures of sleepiness, to the extent that participants were well aware of the effects of nil CPAP. Conclusions Patients should be aware that compliance with treatment every night is crucial for safe driving.

The life course of Australian researchers : experiences of applying for research funding

The life course of Australian researchers includes regular funding applications, which incur large personal and time costs. We previously estimated that Australian researchers spent 550 years preparing 3,727 proposals for the 2012 NHMRC Project Grant funding round, at an estimated annual salary cost of AU$66 million. Despite the worldwide importance of funding rounds, there is little evidence on what researchers think of the application process. We conducted a web-based survey of Australian researchers (May–July 2013) asking about their experience with NHMRC Project Grants. Almost all researchers (n=224 at 31 May) supported changes to the application (96%) and peer-review (88%) processes; 73% supported the introduction of shorter initial Expressions of Interest; and half (50%) provided extensive comments on the NHMRC processes. Researchers agreed preparing their proposals always took top priority over other work (97%) and personal (87%) commitments. More than half (57%) provided extensive comments on the ongoing personal impact of concurrent grant-writing and holiday seasons on family, children and other relationships. Researchers with experience on Grant Review Panels (34%) or as External Reviewers (78%) reported many sections of the proposals were rarely or never read, which suggests these sections could be cut with no impact on the quality of peer review. Our findings provide evidence on the experience of Australian researchers as applicants. The process of preparing, submitting and reviewing proposals could be streamlined to minimise the burden on applicants and peer reviewers, giving Australian researchers more time to work on actual research and be with their families.

A fuzzy TOPSIS based multi criteria performance measurement model for lean supply chain

Increasing global competition, rapid technological changes, advances in manufacturing and information technology and discerning customers are forcing supply chains to adopt improvement practices that enable them to deliver high quality products at a lower cost and in a shorter period of time. A lean initiative is one of the most effective approaches toward achieving this goal. In the lean improvement process, it is critical to measure current and desired performance level in order to clearly evaluate the lean implementation efforts. Many attempts have tried to measure supply chain performance incorporating both quantitative and qualitative measures but failed to provide an effective method of measuring improvements in performances for dynamic lean supply chain situations. Therefore, the necessity of appropriate measurement of lean supply chain performance has become imperative. There are many lean tools available for supply chains; however, effectiveness of a lean tool depends on the type of the product and supply chain. One tool may be highly effective for a supply chain involved in high volume products but may not be effective for low volume products. There is currently no systematic methodology available for selecting appropriate lean strategies based on the type of supply chain and market strategy This thesis develops an effective method to measure the performance of supply chain consisting of both quantitative and qualitative metrics and investigates the effects of product types and lean tool selection on the supply chain performance Supply chain performance matrices and the effects of various lean tools over performance metrics mentioned in the SCOR framework have been investigated. A lean supply chain model based on the SCOR metric framework is then developed where non- lean and lean as well as quantitative and qualitative metrics are incorporated in appropriate metrics. The values of appropriate metrics are converted into triangular fuzzy numbers using similarity rules and heuristic methods. Data have been collected from an apparel manufacturing company for multiple supply chain products and then a fuzzy based method is applied to measure the performance improvements in supply chains. Using the fuzzy TOPSIS method, which chooses an optimum alternative to maximise similarities with positive ideal solutions and to minimise similarities with negative ideal solutions, the performances of lean and non- lean supply chain situations for three different apparel products have been evaluated. To address the research questions related to effective performance evaluation method and the effects of lean tools over different types of supply chains; a conceptual framework and two hypotheses are investigated. Empirical results show that implementation of lean tools have significant effects over performance improvements in terms of time, quality and flexibility. Fuzzy TOPSIS based method developed is able to integrate multiple supply chain matrices onto a single performance measure while lean supply chain model incorporates qualitative and quantitative metrics. It can therefore effectively measure the improvements for supply chain after implementing lean tools. It is demonstrated that product types involved in the supply chain and ability to select right lean tools have significant effect on lean supply chain performance. Future study can conduct multiple case studies in different contexts.

Early life predictors of preschool overweight and obesity : a case–control study in Sri Lanka

Background Childhood obesity increases the risk of obesity in adulthood and is associated with cardiovascular disease risk factors. Our aim was to assess the early life risk factors associated with overweight and obesity among preschool children. Methods In this case–control study, from the 1087 preschool children measured, age, sex and ethnicity matched 71 cases and 71 controls were recruited. Cases and controls were defined according to the WHO 2006 growth standards. The birth and growth characteristics were extracted from the child health development records. Infant feeding practices and maternal factors were obtained from the mother. Rapid weight gain was defined as an increase in weight-for-age Z score (WHO standards) above 0.67 SD from birth to 2 years. The magnitude and significant difference in mean values of the variables associated with overweight and obesity were evaluated using logistic regressions and paired t-test, respectively. Results Cases had significantly shorter duration (months) of breastfeeding (19.4, 24.6, p = 0.003), and smaller duration (months) of exclusive breastfeeding (3.7, 5.1, p = 0.001) compared to controls. Rapid weight gain (OR = 6.3, 95% CI = 2.04–19.49), first born status (OR = 3.6, 95% CI = 1.17-10.91) and pre-pregnancy obesity (OR = 4.0, 95% CI = 1.46-10.76) were positively associated with overweight and obesity. Breastfeeding more than 2 years (OR = 0.2, 95% CI = 0.06-0.57) was negatively associated with overweight and obesity. Conclusion Rapid weight gain within first two years, first–born status and pre-pregnancy obesity of the mother contributed for preschool obesity. Our results suggest that intervention may be indicated earlier in infancy and during the toddler and preschool years to tackle the increasing prevalence of obesity.

XML clustering and its application to XML transformation

The continuous growth of the XML data poses a great concern in the area of XML data management. The need for processing large amounts of XML data brings complications to many applications, such as information retrieval, data integration and many others. One way of simplifying this problem is to break the massive amount of data into smaller groups by application of clustering techniques. However, XML clustering is an intricate task that may involve the processing of both the structure and the content of XML data in order to identify similar XML data. This research presents four clustering methods, two methods utilizing the structure of XML documents and the other two utilizing both the structure and the content. The two structural clustering methods have different data models. One is based on a path model and other is based on a tree model. These methods employ rigid similarity measures which aim to identifying corresponding elements between documents with different or similar underlying structure. The two clustering methods that utilize both the structural and content information vary in terms of how the structure and content similarity are combined. One clustering method calculates the document similarity by using a linear weighting combination strategy of structure and content similarities. The content similarity in this clustering method is based on a semantic kernel. The other method calculates the distance between documents by a non-linear combination of the structure and content of XML documents using a semantic kernel. Empirical analysis shows that the structure-only clustering method based on the tree model is more scalable than the structure-only clustering method based on the path model as the tree similarity measure for the tree model does not need to visit the parents of an element many times. Experimental results also show that the clustering methods perform better with the inclusion of the content information on most test document collections. To further the research, the structural clustering method based on tree model is extended and employed in XML transformation. The results from the experiments show that the proposed transformation process is faster than the traditional transformation system that translates and converts the source XML documents sequentially. Also, the schema matching process of XML transformation produces a better matching result in a shorter time.