A three species model to simulate application of hyperbaric oxygen therapy to chronic wounds

Chronic wounds are a significant socioeconomic problem for governments worldwide. Approximately 15% of people who suffer from diabetes will experience a lower-limb ulcer at some stage of their lives, and 24% of these wounds will ultimately result in amputation of the lower limb. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) has been shown to aid the healing of chronic wounds; however, the causal reasons for the improved healing remain unclear and hence current HBOT protocols remain empirical. Here we develop a three-species mathematical model of wound healing that is used to simulate the application of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in the treatment of wounds. Based on our modelling, we predict that intermittent HBOT will assist chronic wound healing while normobaric oxygen is ineffective in treating such wounds. Furthermore, treatment should continue until healing is complete, and HBOT will not stimulate healing under all circumstances, leading us to conclude that finding the right protocol for an individual patient is crucial if HBOT is to be effective. We provide constraints that depend on the model parameters for the range of HBOT protocols that will stimulate healing. More specifically, we predict that patients with a poor arterial supply of oxygen, high consumption of oxygen by the wound tissue, chronically hypoxic wounds, and/or a dysfunctional endothelial cell response to oxygen are at risk of nonresponsiveness to HBOT. The work of this paper can, in some way, highlight which patients are most likely to respond well to HBOT (for example, those with a good arterial supply), and thus has the potential to assist in improving both the success rate and hence the costeffectiveness of this therapy.

Equal employment opportunity and diversity management : can either live up to the promise of achieving gender equity?

This paper examines the extent to which women movement into management positions. Like many other countries, this progress in Australia is slow. The paper includes discussion of the theoretical explanations for this and the extent to which these are borne out in Australia. We are aware this group represents only a minority of Australian women workers, and there are many other groups of women workers for whom constraints to women’s access to senior management may not be the most pressing issue. We have, however, chosen to focus on women in management in this paper, as while there was considerable research and public policy attention directed towards this group in the 1980s and early 1990s, over the past decade there seems to have been a reluctance to continue to address this group, despite the numerical evidence that women continue to be disproportionately represented in senior management positions. We believe it’s timely to refocus on women in management.

A review of non-traditional occupational therapy practice placement education : a focus on role-emerging and project placements

Practice placement education has been recognised as an integral and critical component of the training of occupational therapy students. Although there is an extensive body of literature on clinical education and traditional practice placement education models, there has been limited research on alternative placements.-------- This paper reviews the literature on various practice placement education models and presents a contemporary view on how it is currently delivered. The literature is examined with a particular focus on the increasing range of practice placement education opportunities, such as project and role-emerging placements. The drivers for non-traditional practice placement education include shortages of traditional placement options, health reform and changing work practices, potential for role development and influence on practice choice. The benefits and challenges of non-traditional practice placement education are discussed, including supervision issues, student evaluation, professional and personal development and the opportunity to practise clinical skills.--------- Further research is recommended to investigate occupational therapy graduates' perceptions of role-emerging and project placements in order to identify the benefits or otherwise of these placements and to contribute to the limited body of knowledge of emerging education opportunities.

Prevalence and correlates of low back pain among occupational therapy students in Northern Queensland

Background: Although low back pain (LBP) is an important issue for the health profession, few studies have examined LBP among occupational therapy students. Purpose. To investigate the prevalence and distribution of LBP, its adverse sequelae; and to identify potential risk factors.----------- Methods: In 2005, a self-reported questionnaire was administered to occupational therapy students in Northern Queensland.----------- Findings: The 12-month period-prevalence of LBP was 64.6%. Nearly half (46.9%) had experienced pain for over 2 days, 38.8% suffered LBP that affected their daily lives, and 24.5% had sought medical treatment. The prevalence of LBP ranged from 45.5 to 77.1% (p=0.004), while the prevalence of LBP symptoms persisting longer than two days was 34.1 to 62.5% (p=0.020). Logistic regression analysis indicated that year of study and weekly computer usage were statistically-significant LBP risk factors.----------- Implications: The occupational therapy profession will need to further investigate the high prevalence of student LBP identified in this study.

Gender Dilemmas in Children's Fiction

Gender Dilemmas in Children's Fiction examines how fictional texts – picture books, novels, and films – produced for children and young adults are responding to the tensions and dilemmas that arise from new gender relations and sexual differences. The book discusses a diverse range of international children's fiction published between 1990 and 2008. Some of the key dilemmas that emerge are around the texts' treatment of romance, beauty, cyberbodies, queer, and comedy.

Optimal allocation of a cross-connection and sectionalizers in distribution systems

In this paper, the placement of sectionalizers, as well as, a cross-connection is optimally determined so that the objective function is minimized. The objective function employed in this paper consists of two main parts, the switch cost and the reliability cost. The switch cost is composed of the cost of sectionalizers and cross-connection and the reliability cost is assumed to be proportional to a reliability index, SAIDI. To optimize the allocation of sectionalizers and cross-connection problem realistically, the cost related to each element is considered as discrete. In consequence of binary variables for the availability of sectionalizers, the problem is extremely discrete. Therefore, the probability of local minimum risk is high and a heuristic-based optimization method is needed. A Discrete Particle Swarm Optimization (DPSO) is employed in this paper to deal with this discrete problem. Finally, a testing distribution system is used to validate the proposed method.

Gender and the Australian parliament : putting the political scientist into the picture

This paper draws on a study of gender and politics in the Australian parliament in order to make a contribution to methodological debates in feminist political science. The paper begins by outlining the different dimensions of feminist political science methodology that have been identified in the literature. According to this literature five key principles can be seen to constitute feminist approaches to political science. These are: a focus on gender, a deconstruction of the public/private divide, giving voice to women, using research as a basis for transformation, and using reflexivity to critique researcher positionality. The next part of the paper focuses more specifically on reflexivity tracing arguments about its definition, usefulness and the criticisms it has attracted from researchers. Following this, I explore how my background as a member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1987 to 1996 provided an important academic resource in my doctoral study of gender and politics in the national parliament. Through this process I highlight the value of a reflexive approach to research.

An investigation of cross-cultural differences in binge-drinking perceptions and behaviours

This paper examines the variance in binge-drinking attitudes and behaviours between university student cohorts from Western and Eastern countries who reside in Australia. In particular, we investigate the impact of social influence on these consumer responses. An online survey resulted in 190 useable responses from university students at three different Australian universities. The results show that students from Western countries consume alcohol at higher levels and demonstrate more ‘approach’ behaviours towards binge-drinking, whereas students from Eastern countries demonstrate more ‘avoid’ behaviours. Social distancing from drunk or story-telling people is evident as students from Eastern countries while students from Western countries were more likely to indulge in story-telling and either ignored or encouraged surrounding people who were drunk.

Cross-cultural differences in self-reported decision-making style and confidence

The Melbourne Decision Making Questionnaire (Mann, Burnett, Radford, & Ford, 1997) measures selfreported decision-making coping patterns. The questionnaire was administered to samples of University students in the US (N = 475), Australia (N = 262), New Zealand (N = 260), Japan (N = 359), Hong Kong (N = 281), and Taiwan (N = 414). As predicted, students from the three Western, individualistic cultures (US, Australia, and New Zealand) were more con® dent of their decision-making ability than students from the three East Asian, group-oriented cultures (Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan). No cross-cultural differences were found in scores on decision vigilance (a careful decision-making style). However, compared with Western students, the Asian students tended to score higher on buck-passing and procrastination (avoidant styles of decision making) as well as hypervigilance (a panicky style of decision making). Japanese students scored lowest on decision self-esteem and highest on procrastination and hypervigilance. It was argued that the con¯ ict model and its attendant coping patterns is relevant for describing and comparing decision making in both Western and Asian cultures.

Gender and grade differences in upper elementary school children’s descriptive and evaluative self-statements and self-esteem

Gender and developmental differences in self-description, self-evaluation and self-esteem were investigated using 957 elementary school children in grades 3 to 7. Gender differences were found for six of the seven descriptive statements and for five of the seven evaluative statements. The major gender stereotypical findings from previous studies were replicated. Boys reported higher scores than girls on descriptive and evaluative statements about their physical abilities and mathematics, while girls reported higher scores on descriptive and evaluative statements about reading. Declines over time were noted for all self-evaluations except having good relations with peers and for global self-esteem, providing some support for the notion that the decline in self-concepts and self-esteem may be attributed to the children's perceptions of themselves becoming more accurate and less egocentric in line with their cognitive capacity to integrate external feedback realistically.

Cognitive behaviour therapy vs rational-emotive education : impact on children's self-talk, self-esteem and irrational beliefs

This study investigated the impact of Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Rational~Emotive Education (REE) self-enhancement programs on children's self-talk, self-esteem and irrational beliefs. A total of 116 children (50.9% girls) with a mean age of 9.8 years attending Years 4 and 6 at two primary schools participated in the study. eBT resulted in a reduction in negative self-talk while REE seemed to enhance independence beliefs. Both programs were associated with increased positive self-talk and with having increased rationality in Conformity and Discomfort Intolerance beliefs.

The PG500 series : novel heparan sulfate mimetics as potent angiogenesis and heparanase inhibitors for cancer therapy

Heparan sulfate mimetics, which we have called the PG500 series, have been developed to target the inhibition of both angiogenesis and heparanase activity. This series extends the technology underpinning PI-88, a mixture of highly sulfated oligosaccharides which reached Phase III clinical development for hepatocellular carcinoma. Advances in the chemistry of the PG500 series provide numerous advantages over PI-88. These new compounds are fully sulfated, single entity oligosaccharides attached to a lipophilic moiety, which have been optimized for drug development. The rational design of these compounds has led to vast improvements in potency compared to PI-88, based on in vitro angiogenesis assays and in vivo tumor models. Based on these and other data, PG545 has been selected as the lead clinical candidate for oncology and is currently undergoing formal preclinical development as a novel treatment for advanced cancer.