Assessment of police subjective workload and preference for using a voice-based interface during simulated driving

Police in-vehicle systems include a visual output mobile data terminal (MDT) with manual input via touch screen and keyboard. This study investigated the potential for voice-based input and output modalities for reducing subjective workload of police officers while driving. Nineteen experienced drivers of police vehicles (one female) from New South Wales (NSW) Police completed four simulated urban drives. Three drives included a concurrent secondary task: an imitation licence number search using an emulated MDT. Three different interface output-input modalities were examined: Visual-Manual, Visual-Voice, and Audio-Voice. Following each drive, participants rated their subjective workload using the NASA - Raw Task Load Index and completed questions on acceptability. A questionnaire on interface preferences was completed by participants at the end of their session. Engaging in secondary tasks while driving significantly increased subjective workload. The Visual-Manual interface resulted in higher time demand than either of the voice-based interfaces and greater physical demand than the Audio-Voice interface. The Visual-Voice and Audio-Voice interfaces were rated easier to use and more useful than the Visual-Manual interface, although not significantly different from each other. Findings largely echoed those deriving from the analysis of the objective driving performance data. It is acknowledged that under standard procedures, officers should not drive while performing tasks concurrently with certain invehicle policing systems; however, in practice this sometimes occurs. Taking action now to develop voice-based technology for police in-vehicle systems has potential to realise visions for potentially safer and more efficient vehicle-based police work.

Exenatide extended-release; clinical trials, patient preference, and economic considerations

Type 2 diabetes remains an escalating world-wide problem, despite a range of treatments. The revelation that insulin secretion is under the control of a gut hormone, glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) led to a new paradigm in the management of type 2 diabetes, medicines that directly stimulate, or that prolong the actions of the endogenous GLP-1, at its receptors. Exenatide is an agonist at the GLP-1 receptors, and was initially developed as a subcutaneous twice daily medication, ExBID. The clinical trials with ExBID established a role for exenatide in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Subsequently, once weekly exenatide (ExQW) was shown to have advantages over ExBID, and there is now more emphasis on the development of ExQW. ExQW alone reduces glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and body weight, and is well tolerated. ExQW has been compared to sitagliptin, pioglitazone and metformin, and shown to have a greater ability to reduce HbA1c than these other medicines. The only preparation of insulin, which ExQW has been compared to, is insulin glargine, and the ExQW has some favourable properties in this comparison, notably causing weight loss, compared to the gain with insulin glargine. ExQW has been compared to another GLP-1 receptor agonist, liraglutide, and ExQW is non-inferior to liraglutide in reducing HbA1c. The small amount of evidence available, shows that subjects with type 2 diabetes, prefer ExQW to ExBID, and that adherence was high to these in the clinical trial setting. Healthcare and economic modelling suggests that ExQW will reduce diabetic complications and be cost-effective, compared to other medications, with long term use. Little is known about whether subjects with type 2 diabetes prefer ExQW to other medicines, and whether adherence is good to ExQW in practice, and these important topics require further study.

Enterovirus71 (EV71) utilise host microRNAs to mediate host immune system enhancing survival during infection

Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) is a self-limiting viral disease that mainly affects infants and children. In contrast with other HFMD causing enteroviruses, Enterovirus71 (EV71) has commonly been associated with severe clinical manifestation leading to death. Currently, due to a lack in understanding of EV71 pathogenesis, there is no antiviral therapeutics for the treatment of HFMD patients. Therefore the need to better understand the mechanism of EV71 pathogenesis is warranted. We have previously reported a human colorectal adenocarcinoma cell line (HT29) based model to study the pathogenesis of EV71. Using this system, we showed that knockdown of DGCR8, an essential cofactor for microRNAs biogenesis resulted in a reduction of EV71 replication. We also demonstrated that there are miRNAs changes during EV71 pathogenesis and EV71 utilise host miRNAs to attenuate antiviral pathways during infection. Together, data from this study provide critical information on the role of miRNAs during EV71 infection.

Bayesian imputation of non-chosen attribute values in revealed preference surveys

Obtaining attribute values of non-chosen alternatives in a revealed preference context is challenging because non-chosen alternative attributes are unobserved by choosers, chooser perceptions of attribute values may not reflect reality, existing methods for imputing these values suffer from shortcomings, and obtaining non-chosen attribute values is resource intensive. This paper presents a unique Bayesian (multiple) Imputation Multinomial Logit model that imputes unobserved travel times and distances of non-chosen travel modes based on random draws from the conditional posterior distribution of missing values. The calibrated Bayesian (multiple) Imputation Multinomial Logit model imputes non-chosen time and distance values that convincingly replicate observed choice behavior. Although network skims were used for calibration, more realistic data such as supplemental geographically referenced surveys or stated preference data may be preferred. The model is ideally suited for imputing variation in intrazonal non-chosen mode attributes and for assessing the marginal impacts of travel policies, programs, or prices within traffic analysis zones.

Do left and right asymmetries of hemispheric preference interact with attention to predict local and global performance in applied tasks?

Many cognitive neuroscience studies show that the ability to attend to and identify global or local information is lateralised between the two hemispheres in the human brain; the left hemisphere is biased towards the local level, whereas the right hemisphere is biased towards the global level. Results of two studies show attention-focused people with a right ear preference (biased towards the left hemisphere) are better at local tasks, whereas people with a left ear preference (biased towards the right hemisphere) are better at more global tasks. In a third study we determined if right hemisphere-biased followers who attend to global stimuli are likely to have a stronger relationship between attention and globally based supervisor ratings of performance. Results provide evidence in support of this hypothesis. Our research supports our model and suggests that the interaction between attention and lateral preference is an important and novel predictor of work-related outcomes.

Host rather than graft origin of Matrigel-induced adipose tissue in the murine tissue-engineering chamber

We have recently shown that Matrigel-filled chambers containing fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF2) and placed around an epigastric pedicle in the mouse were highly adipogenic. Contact of this construct with pre-existing tissue or a free adipose graft was required. To further investigate the mechanisms underpinning formation of new adipose tissue, we seeded these chambers with human adipose biopsies and human adipose-derived cell populations in severe combined immunodeficient mice and assessed the origin of the resultant adipose tissue after 6 weeks using species-specific probes. The tissues were negative for human-specific vimentin labeling, suggesting that the fat originates from the murine host rather than the human graft. This was supported by the strong presence of mouse-specific Cot-1 deoxyribonucleic acid labeling, and the absence of human Cot-1 labeling in the new fat. Even chambers seeded with FGF2/Matrigel containing cultured human stromal-vascular fraction (SVF) labeled strongly only for human vimentin in cells that did not have a mature adipocyte phenotype; the newly formed fat tissue was negative for human vimentin. These findings indicate that grafts placed in the chamber have an inductive function for neo-adipogenesis, rather than supplying adipocyte-precursor cells to generate the new fat tissue, and preliminary observations implicate the SVF in producing inductive factors. This surprising finding opens the door for refinement of current adipose tissue-engineering approaches.

Graft versus host disease in oncology nursing practice

INTRODUCTION: Gastrointestinal graft-versus-host disease (GI-GvHD) is extremely debilitating and is multifactorial in its causative factors, management and treatment. It is an exaggeration of normal physiological mechanisms wherein the donor immune system attempts to rid itself of the host. The inflammatory process that follows has the benefit of providing an anti-tumour effect for many diseases, but unfortunately in patients undergoing human stem-cell transplantation, the nature of the inflammation can result in disability, wasting and death. AIM: The aim of this article is to discuss the pathophysiology of this often misunderstood or misdiagnosed condition, as well as its signs and symptoms, management and considerations for nursing care. Considerations for nursing practice: While the medical management is aimed at minimising GvHD through the reduction of T-cell production and proliferation and gastrointestinal decolonisation, the nursing care is often focused on the signs and symptoms that can have the most prominent impact on patients. CONCLUSION: GI-GvHD has serious life-threatening complications, namely wasting syndrome, diarrhoea and dehydration. The basis of signs and symptomology is easily recognisable owing to the stages of progression through the human stem-cell transplantation process. Oncology nurses are in a prime position to identify these serious risks, initiate treatment immediately and collaborate effectively within the multidisciplinary team to minimise GvHD onset and provide expert support to patients, family and caregivers.

Measuring the preference for dwelling characteristics of Melbourne : railway stations and house prices

The relationship between public transportation and home values has proven to be complex, with studies providing divergent findings. Using Victorian Valuer General Data for 2009, this paper applies a hedonic pricing approach to the Melbourne metropolitan housing market in order to estimate the impacts of proximity to a train station on residential property prices. The findings reveal a negative impact on dwelling price for those properties within 125 metres from a train station and a positive relationship between dwelling price and proximity for properties more than 125 metres away.

Room-temperature, atmospheric plasma needle reduces adenovirus gene expression in HEK 293A host cells

Room-temperature, atmospheric-pressure plasma needle treatment is used to effectively minimize the adenovirus (AdV) infectivity as quantified by the dramatic reduction of its gene expression in HEK 293A primary human embryonic kidney cells studied by green fluorescent protein imaging. The AdV titer is reduced by two orders of magnitude within only 8 min of the plasma exposure. This effect is due to longer lifetimes and higher interaction efficacy of the plasma-generated reactive species in confined space exposed to the plasma rather than thermal effects commonly utilized in pathogen inactivation. This generic approach is promising for the next-generation anti-viral treatments and imunotherapies.

Understanding Heliothine (Lepidoptera: Heliothinae) pests: What is a host plant?

Heliothine moths (Lepidoptera: Heliothinae) include some of the world's most devastating pest species. Whereas the majority of nonpest heliothinae specialize on a single plant family, genus, or species, pest species are highly polyphagous, with populations often escalating in size as they move from one crop species to another. Here, we examine the current literature on heliothine host-selection behavior with the aim of providing a knowledge base for research scientists and pest managers. We review the host relations of pest heliothines, with a particular focus on Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner), the most economically damaging of all heliothine species. We then consider the important question of what constitutes a host plant in these moths, and some of the problems that arise when trying to determine host plant status from empirical studies on host use. The top six host plant families in the two main Australian pest species (H. armigera and Helicoverpa punctigera Wallengren) are the same and the top three (Asteraceae, Fabaceae, and Malvaceae) are ranked the same (in terms of the number of host species on which eggs or larvae have been identified), suggesting that these species may use similar cues to identify their hosts. In contrast, for the two key pest heliothines in the Americas, the Fabaceae contains approximate to 1/3 of hosts for both. For Helicoverpa zea (Boddie), the remaining hosts are more evenly distributed, with Solanaceae next, followed by Poaceae, Asteraceae, Malvaceae, and Rosaceae. For Heliothis virescens (F.), the next highest five families are Malvaceae, Asteraceae, Solanaceae, Convolvulaceae, and Scrophulariaceae. Again there is considerable overlap in host use at generic and even species level. H. armigera is the most widely distributed and recorded from 68 plant families worldwide, but only 14 families are recorded as a containing a host in all geographic areas. A few crop hosts are used throughout the range as expected, but in some cases there are anomalies, perhaps because host plant relation studies are not comparable. Studies on the attraction of heliothines to plant odors are examined in the context of our current understanding of insect olfaction, with the aim of better understanding the connection between odor perception and host choice. Finally, we discuss research into sustainable management of pest heliothines using knowledge of heliothine behavior and ecology. A coordinated international research effort is needed to advance our knowledge on host relations in widely distributed polyphagous species instead of the localized, piecemeal approaches to understanding these insects that has been the norm to date.

The functional significance of fruit exocarp on host selection and oviposition by Queensland fruit fly, Bactrocera tryoni (Froggatt) (Tephritidae: Diptera)

Queensland fruit fly is Australia's most serious insect pest of horticulture. The fly lays its eggs into fruit, where they hatch into maggots which destroy the fruit. Understanding egg laying behaviour, known as oviposition, is a critical but under-researched aspect of fruit fly biology. This thesis focused on three aspects of oviposition: the role of fruit peel as a physical barrier to oviposition; the quality of fruit for maggot development; and the structure and wear of the egg laying organ – the ovipositor. Results showed that flies selected fruit based on their suitability for offspring survival, not because of the softness or hardness of fruit peel. Previously reported use of holes or wounds in fruit peel by ovipositing females was determined to be a mechanism which saved the female time, not a mechanism to reduce ovipositor wear. The results offer insights into the evolution of host use by fruit flies and their sustainable management.

The infectivity and host range of Orgyia anartoides nucleopolyhedrovirus

The painted apple moth (PAM), Teia anartoides (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) made a recent incursion into New Zealand. A nucleopolyhedrovirus (NPV), Orgyia anartoides NPV (OranNPV), originally isolated from PAM in Australia, was tested for its pathogenicity to PAM and a range of non-target insect species found in New Zealand, to evaluate its suitability as a microbial control for this insect invader. Dosage-mortality tests showed that OranNPV was highly pathogenic to PAM larvae; mean LT50 values for third instars ranged from 17.9 to 8.1 days for doses from 102 to 105 polyhedral inclusion bodies/larva, respectively. The cause of death in infected insects was confirmed as OranNPV. Molecular analysis established that OranNPV can be identified by PCR and restriction digestion, and this process complemented microscopic examination of infected larvae. No lymantriid species occur in New Zealand; however, the virus had no significant effects on species from five other lepidopteran families (Noctuidae, Tortricidae, Geometridae, Nymphalidae and Plutellidae) or on adult honeybees. Thus, all indications from this initial investigation are that OranNPV would be an important tool in the control of PAM in a future incursion of this species into New Zealand.

Molecular phylogeny, biogeography, and habitat preference evolution of marsupials

Marsupials exhibit great diversity in ecology and morphology. However, compared to their sister group, the placental mammals, our understanding of many aspects of marsupial evolution remains limited. We use 101 mitochondrial genomes and data from 26 nuclear loci to reconstruct a dated phylogeny including 97% of extant genera and 58% of modern marsupial species. This tree allows us to analyze the evolution of habitat preference and geographic distributions of marsupial species through time. We found a pattern of mesic-adapted lineages evolving to use more arid and open habitats, which is broadly consistent with regional climate and environmental change. However, contrary to the general trend, several lineages subsequently appear to have reverted from drier to more mesic habitats. Biogeographic reconstructions suggest that current views on the connectivity between Australia and New Guinea/Wallacea during the Miocene and Pliocene need to be revised. The antiquity of several endemic New Guinean clades strongly suggests a substantially older period of connection stretching back to the Middle Miocene, and implies that New Guinea was colonized by multiple clades almost immediately after its principal formation.