Accuracy of weight status perception in contemporary Australian children and adolescents

Aim: To explore weight status perception and its relation to actual weight status in a contemporary cohort of 5- to 17-year-old children and adolescents. Methods: Body mass index (BMI), derived from height and weight measurements, and perception of weight status (‘too thin’, ‘about right’ and ‘too fat’) were evaluated in 3043 participants from the Healthy Kids Queensland Survey. In children less than 12 years of age, weight status perception was obtained from the parents, whereas the adolescents self-reported their perceived weight status. Results: Compared with measured weight status by established BMI cut-offs, just over 20% of parents underestimated their child's weight status and only 1% overestimated. Adolescent boys were more likely to underestimate their weight status compared with girls (26.4% vs. 10.2%, P < 0.05) whereas adolescent girls were more likely to overestimate than underestimate (11.8% vs. 3.4%, P < 0.05). Underestimation was greater by parents of overweight children compared with those of obese children, but still less than 50% of parents identified their obese child as ‘too fat’. There was greater recognition of overweight status in the adolescents, with 83% of those who were obese reporting they were ‘too fat’. Conclusion: Whilst there was a high degree of accuracy of weight status perception in those of healthy weight, there was considerable underestimation of weight status, particularly by parents of children who were overweight or obese. Strategies are required that enable parents to identify what a healthy weight looks like and help them understand when intervention is needed to prevent further weight gain as the child gets older.

Performance measures for Australian laboratories reporting cervical cytology : a decade of data 1998–2008

Aim Performance measures for Australian laboratories reporting cervical cytology are a set of quantifiable measures relating to the profile and accuracy of reporting. This study reviews aggregate data collected over the ten years in which participation in the performance measures has been mandatory. Methods Laboratories submit annual data on performance measures relating to the profile of reporting, including reporting rates for technically unsatisfactory specimens, high grade or possible high grade abnormalities and abnormal reports. Cytology-histology correlation data and review findings of negative smears reported from women with histological high grade disease are also collected. Suggested acceptable standards are set for each measure. This study reviews the aggregate data submitted by all laboratories for the years 1998-2008 and examines trends in reporting and the performance of laboratories against the suggested standards. Results The performance of Australian laboratories has shown continued improvement over the study period. There has been a fall in the proportion of laboratories with data outside the acceptable standard range in all performance measures. Laboratories are reporting a greater proportion of specimens as definite or possible high grade abnormality. This is partly attributable to an increase in the proportion of abnormal results classified as high grade or possible high grade abnormality. Despite this, the positive predictive value for high grade and possible high grade abnormalities has continued to rise. Conclusion Performance measures for cervical cytology have provided a valuable addition to external quality assurance procedures in Australia. They have documented continued improvements in the aggregate performance, as well as providing benchmarking data and goals for acceptable performance for individual laboratories.

First results of a major study on safety at Queensland roadworks

The Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety – Queensland (CARRS-Q) is conducting a 3-year program of research, titled Integrating Technological and Organisational Approaches to Enhance the Safety of Roadworkers. The program is funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC), with support from industry partners Leighton Contractors, GHD, Queensland Transport and Main Roads (TMR), and the Australian Workers Union (AWU). This multidisciplinary project involves working together to enhance roadworker safety by: • Investigating the real and perceived dangers at roadworks. • Strengthening organisational policies and practices for roadworker safety. • Testing innovative initiatives to improve driver behaviour at roadworks. • Developing safety management models spanning different regulatory frameworks. The project outcomes will include the following benefits: • Practical and theoretical contributions at industry and academic levels for developing effective interventions/strategies to improve safety in road construction. • Development of new measures to evaluate effectiveness of policy and organisational interventions to produce behavioural change among organisations involved in roadworks. • Improved safety and productivity in urban and rural areas of Australia as a result of facilitating the delivery of road improvements. This paper presents an overview of the research conducted to date as part of the overall program. The paper concentrates on issues relevant to moving vehicles, although the research recognises the importance of other hazards and risks associated with roadworks and construction projects generally.

Health states for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder within the Global Burden of Disease 2010 Study

A comprehensive revision of the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study is expected to be completed in 2012. This study utilizes a broad range of improved methods for assessing burden, including closer attention to empirically derived estimates of disability. The aim of this paper is to describe how GBD health states were derived for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. These will be used in deriving health state-specific disability estimates. A literature review was first conducted to settle on a parsimonious set of health states for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. A second review was conducted to investigate the proportion of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder cases experiencing these health states. These were pooled using a quality-effects model to estimate the overall proportion of cases in each state. The two schizophrenia health states were acute (predominantly positive symptoms) and residual (predominantly negative symptoms). The three bipolar disorder health states were depressive, manic, and residual. Based on estimates from six studies, 63% (38%-82%) of schizophrenia cases were in an acute state and 37% (18%-62%) were in a residual state. Another six studies were identified from which 23% (10%-39%) of bipolar disorder cases were in a manic state, 27% (11%-47%) were in a depressive state, and 50% (30%-70%) were in a residual state. This literature review revealed salient gaps in the literature that need to be addressed in future research. The pooled estimates are indicative only and more data are required to generate more definitive estimates. That said, rather than deriving burden estimates that fail to capture the changes in disability within schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, the derived proportions and their wide uncertainty intervals will be used in deriving disability estimates.

Groundwater balance research to improve the accuracy of drawdown predictions in the Surat Basin, Queensland

Groundwater modelling studies rely on an accurate determination of inputs and outputs that make up the water balance. Often there is large uncertainty associated with estimates of recharge and unmetered groundwater use. This can translate to equivalent uncertainty in the forecasting of sustainable yields, impacts of extraction, and susceptibility of groundwater dependent ecosystems. In the case of Coal Seam Gas, it is important to characterise the temporal and special distribution of depressurisation in the reservoir and how this may or may not extend to the adjacent aquifers. A regional groundwater flow model has been developed by the Queensland Government to predict drawdown impacts due to Coal Seam Gas activities in the Surat basin. This groundwater model is undergoing continued refinement and there is currently scope to address some of the key areas of uncertainty including better quantification of groundwater recharge and unmetered groundwater extractions. Research is currently underway to improve the accuracy of estimates of both of these components of the groundwater balance in order to reduce uncertainty in predicted groundwater drawdowns due to CSG activities.

Are dietetics educators' attitudes to assessment a barrier to expanding placement opportunities? Results of a Delphi study

Aim Assessment of entry-level health professionals is complex, especially in the work-based setting, placing additional pressures on these learning environments. The present study aims to gain understanding and ideally consensus regarding the setting for assessment of all elements of competence for entry-level dietitians across Australia. Methods Seventy-five experienced academic and practitioner assessors were invited to participate in an online Delphi survey. The 166 entry-level performance criteria of the competency standards for dietitians formed the basis of the questions in the survey, with rating on which ones could be assessed in the practice setting, those which could be assessed in a classroom/university setting and which could be assessed in either setting. Forty-three of 75 invited assessors responded to the first round of the Delphi. A second modified survey was sent to the 43 participants with 34 responding. Results Consensus was achieved for the assessment setting for 86 (52%) of the performance criteria after two rounds of surveying. The majority of these performance criteria achieved consensus at round one (n = 44) and were deemed to be best assessed in the practice setting (n = 55). This study highlighted the perspectives of assessors and their preference for the work-based setting for assessment. Conclusions To reduce the focus on work-based settings as the only place for competence-based assessment of health professionals, there is a need to support individual and organisational change through challenging existing norms around assessment.

Pivotal people, pivotal journeys: Interim report on the impact of a fundraising study tour on CEOs and their organisations

A longitudinal qualitative study was conducted with CEOs of 12 fundraising organisations across Australia to answer the question - how mights a change in the CEO's fundraising knowledge improve fundraising activity and outcomes for their organisation? The CEOs along with the inaugural Australian Grantmaker of the Year, Caitriona Fay from Perpetual and lead researcher Dr Wendy Scaife travelled to San Antonio, Texas, USA to attend the annual Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) conference in March 2014. Participants identified five main success factors for such group learning initiatives about fundraising: - Getting away from the day to day business of running the organisation - Informal, social time to debrief and get to know others - Diversity of organisations whereby no one was in direct competition to others - Commitment, openness and willingness of individuals to participate - Group facilitation This research has been supported by the Perpetual Foundation – Trustees Endowment, The Edward Corbould Charitable Trust, and the Samuel and Eileen Gluyas Charitable Trust under the management of Perpetual Trustee Company Ltd.

Surface materials and aspects of care: A study in modes of being in a visual art practice

Through creative practice and written research, this thesis explores the peculiar qualities of surface materials, revealing a broader ethos of practice which I identify as care. I propose that care arises as a mode of being between artist and work, work and beholder, and between the parts of the work. The thesis situates the art practice within an ethical framework, premised on, but extending, Heidegger's ontological equation of care with being. The original contribution is in the claim that the particular qualities of worldly matter generate the terms for care as a particular mode of engagement that is reciprocal and intransitive.

The ATHEROMA (Atorvastatin Therapy: Effects on Reduction of Macrophage Activity) Study. Evaluation using ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging in carotid disease

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of low-dose (10 mg) and high-dose (80 mg) atorvastatin on carotid plaque inflammation as determined by ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide (USPIO)-enhanced carotid magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The hypothesis was that treatment with 80 mg atorvastatin would demonstrate quantifiable changes in USPIO-enhanced MRI-defined inflammation within the first 3 months of therapy. Background: Preliminary studies indicate that USPIO-enhanced MRI can identify macrophage infiltration in human carotid atheroma in vivo and hence may be a surrogate marker of plaque inflammation. Methods: Forty-seven patients with carotid stenosis >40% on duplex ultrasonography and who demonstrated intraplaque accumulation of USPIO on MRI at baseline were randomly assigned in a balanced, double-blind manner to either 10 or 80 mg atorvastatin daily for 12 weeks. Baseline statin therapy was equivalent to 10 mg of atorvastatin or less. The primary end point was change from baseline in signal intensity (ΔSI) on USPIO-enhanced MRI in carotid plaque at 6 and 12 weeks. Results: Twenty patients completed 12 weeks of treatment in each group. A significant reduction from baseline in USPIO-defined inflammation was observed in the 80-mg group at both 6 weeks (ΔSI 0.13; p = 0.0003) and at 12 weeks (ΔSI 0.20; p < 0.0001). No difference was observed with the low-dose regimen. The 80-mg atorvastatin dose significantly reduced total cholesterol by 15% (p = 0.0003) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol by 29% (p = 0.0001) at 12 weeks. Conclusions: Aggressive lipid-lowering therapy over a 3-month period is associated with significant reduction in USPIO-defined inflammation. USPIO-enhanced MRI methodology may be a useful imaging biomarker for the screening and assessment of therapeutic response to "anti-inflammatory" interventions in patients with atherosclerotic lesions. (Effects of Atorvastatin on Macrophage Activity and Plaque Inflammation Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging [ATHEROMA]; NCT00368589).

Characterization of tree-to-tree variation in morphological, nutritional and medicinal properties of Canarium indicum nuts

As part of a feasibility study of the commercialization potential of C. indicum nuts as Agroforestry Tree Products in Papua New Guinea, preliminary characterization studies have examined the tree-to-tree variation in morphological traits (nut and kernel mass and kernel:nut ratio), as well as nutritional (carbohydrate, fat, protein, sodium, vitamin E) and medicinal traits (anti-oxidant activity, anti-inflammatory activity and phenolic content) of kernels from 18 to 72 trees in a small number of different villages of Papua New Guinea (East New Britain Province). There was continuous variation in these traits indicating opportunities for multiple trait cultivar development targeted at food and pharmaceutical markets. Certain traits, for example anti-inflammatory activity, in which tree-to-tree variation was highly significant, present greater opportunities than others, such as saturated:unsaturated fatty acid ratio. This intraspecific variation was greater within populations than between populations. The data presented has allowed the development of a strategy to domesticate C. indicum for cultivation in homegardens and cocoa-coconut agroforests, using a participatory approach aimed at the production of agroforestry tree products (AFTPs) to empower small-holders and enhance their livelihoods and income.

Violence against the adolescents of Kolkata: A study in relation to the socio-economic background and mental health

This study attempts to understand the nature of violence suffered by the adolescents of Kolkata (erstwhile Calcutta) and to identify its relation with their socio-economic background and mental health variables such as anxiety, adjustment, and self-concept. It is a cross-sectional study covering a total of 370 adolescents (182 boys and 188 girls) from six higher secondary schools in Kolkata. The data was gathered by way of a semi-structured questionnaire and three standard psychological tests. Findings revealed that 52.4%, 25.1%, and 12.7% adolescents suffered psychological, physical, and sexual violence in the last year. Older adolescents (aged 17–18 years) suffered more psychological violence than the younger ones (15–16 years) (p < 0.05). Sixty nine (18.6%) adolescent students stood witness to violence between adult members in the family. More than three-fifth (61.9%) adolescents experienced at least one type of violence, while one-third (32.7%) experienced physical or sexual violence or both. Whatever its nature is, violence leaves a scar on the mental health of the victims. Those who have been through regular psychological violence reported high anxiety, emotional adjustment problem, and low self-concept. Sexual abuse left a damaging effect on self-concept (p < 0.05), while psychological violence or the witnessing of violence prompted high anxiety scores (p < 0.05), poor emotional adjustment (p < 0.05), and low self-concept (p < 0.05). This study stresses the need to provide individual counselling services to the maltreated adolescents of Kolkata so that their psychological traumas can heal and that they can move on in life with new hopes and dreams.