Analyzing China’s contributions to major dermatologic journals from the past 20 years

Background: Over the past 20 years, China has experienced an increased popularity of Western medicine. The impact of Western medicine in China on the field of dermatology is not well characterized. Objective: To assess the impact China has had on the field of dermatology by analyzing the total publications to six dermatological journals, compared to two other Asian countries: Japan and Korea. Methods: PubMed was utilized to search for publications from China, Japan, and Korea within the past 20 years. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the average percentage change in publications during this 20-year period, and the average annual increase in total number of publications from each country. Comparisons were made using one-way ANOVA and two-group t-tests. Results: From 1998 to 2019, there was a 24% average annual increase in publications from China (M=24.4, SD=24.5), compared to a 6% increase from Japan (M=5.6, SD=25.4, P=0.02) and 8% increase from Korea (M=7.8, SD=23.4, P=0.03). Conclusion: For the past 20 years, there has been a strong positive trend regarding the total number of publications from China. This finding might be related in part to an increased acceptance of Western medicine, which follows a similar trend during the time period we analyzed

The successful life cycle of the pasture weed giant rats tail grass (Sporobolus pyramidalis)

Giant rats tail grass (Sporobolus pyramidalis) is an unpalatable, perennial, tussock grass that has invaded at least 200 000ha of pasture-land in Queensland. This exotic weed from southern Africa has proven to be difficult to control using conventional weed control techniques, with infestations often re-establishing after substantial control efforts. Clearly, a greater knowledge of the life cycle of giant rats tail grass was required to identify its weaknesses and strengths, which could then be targeted or avoided within control strategies. For this thesis, three field experiments were conducted to observe the response of giant rats tail grass to various pasture management techniques (fire, slashing, fertiliser, cultivation, sown competitive species and herbicides – Chapter 4) and levels of pasture competition (manipulated via sowing competitive species with a range of growth habits and vigour – Chapter 5; by creating artificial canopy gaps and root exclusion tubes in a native pasture – Chapter 6). The impact of these treatments was assessed in relation to the life cycle stages (soil seed bank, seedling, mature plant) and transitions (germination and emergence, survival and growth, seed production) of giant rats tail grass. Many strengths within the life cycle of giant rats tail grass were identified and characterised (eg. large long-lived soil seed bank, tough persistent seedlings), while only a small number of weaknesses were discovered (eg. seedling emergence and survival of very young seedlings is sensitive to high pasture competition). The results of this thesis have highlighted why giant rats tail grass has become such a problem weed within Queensland’s grazing industry. However, the information gained will allow the strengths of this weed to be addressed within current control strategies (eg. recognizing the need to maintain the pasture in a healthy competitive condition for many years following the removal of giant rats tail grass plants to prevent re-establishment from the long-lived soil seed bank), therefore increasing the likelihood of successful long-term control. The major strengths identified within the life cycle of giant rats tail grass were: the large (generally 1000-10000 seeds/m2) long-lived (>3years) soil seed bank; the ability of seedlings to germinate and emerge from only a proportion of the soil seed bank whenever conditions are suitable (eg. above-average rainfall seasons); 6-8 week old seedlings which have begun to tiller are tough and able to survive intense pasture competition; the mature plants are resistant to common agronomic manipulations (fire, slashing, fertiliser) and are long-lived (no plant death due to age was identified during 3 years of experiments); the leaf blades of mature plants are tough and therefore avoided by livestock, which selectively graze other species; the high seed production (up to 80000 seeds/m2); and, very high seed viability (generally >90%). The weaknesses identified within the life cycle of giant rats tail grass included: seedling emergence and early survival is sensitive to plant competition (no seedlings established within a healthy native pasture sward under full competition); the soil seed bank can be significantly depleted by a fire event (a variable 10-90% reduction), however it is generally replenished by the high seed production in the subsequent season; giant rats tail grass plants are sensitive to some herbicide techniques and if all giant rats tail grass plants are selectively removed from a pasture containing an appropriately managed, vigorous competitive species, successful control is possible; and, some vigorous competitive sown pasture species have been identified for use within giant rats tail grass control strategies in south-east Queensland. A recurring theme throughout the thesis is the importance of a competitive, well-managed pasture sward to minimise gaps within the pasture throughout the year thus preventing giant rats tail grass seedling establishment from the long-lived soil seed bank. Without a vigorous, competitive pasture being present, any attempts to control giant rats tail grass will be futile

Assessing the economic impact of an emissions trading scheme on agroforestry in Australia’s northern grazing systems

Although agriculture generates a significant portion of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions, it also has the potential to sequester large quantities of emissions through changed land use management such as agroforestry. Whilst there is an extensive amount of agroforestry literature, little has been written on the economic consequences of adopting silvopastoral systems in northern Australia. This paper reports the economic feasibility of adopting complimentary agroforestry systems in the low rainfall region of northern Australia. The analysis incorporates the dynamic tradeoffs between tree and pasture growth, carbon sequestration, cleared regrowth decomposition rates and livestock methane emissions in a bioeconomic model. The results suggest there are financial benefits for landholders who integrate complimentary agroforestry activities into existing grazing operations depending on the rules of the carbon accounting framework used.carbon sequestration, financial analysis, carbon accounting framework, Agroforestry, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Role Ambiguity in Sport Teams

The general purpose of the present study was to examine the nature of role ambiguity in sport teams and to explore the construct validity of the operational definition of role ambiguity developed by Beauchamp, Bray, Eys, and Carron (2002). Role ambiguity was operationalized as a multidimensional construct (Scope of Responsibilities, Behavioral Responsibilities, Evaluation of Performance, and Consequences of Not Fulfilling Responsibilities) that occurs in two contexts, offense and defense. Consistent with the a priori hypothesis, perceptions of role ambiguity exhibited some degree of within-group consistency and group-level variability, but most of the variance in role ambiguity was seen at the individual level. Also, perceptions of role ambiguity decreased from early to late season. Finally, veteran athletes experienced less role ambiguity than first-year athletes at the beginning of the season, but not at the end. Implications of the findings and suggestions for future research are discussed

Item Wording and Internal Consistency of a Measure of Cohesion: The Group Environment Questionnaire

A common practice for counteracting response acquiescence in psychological measures has been to employ both negatively and positively worded items. However, previous research has highlighted that the reliability of measures can be affected by this practice (Spector, 1992). The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect that the presence of negatively worded items has on the internal reliability of the Group Environment Questionnaire (GEQ). Two samples (N = 276) were utilized, and participants were asked to complete the GEQ (original and revised) on separate occasions. Results demonstrated that the revised questionnaire (containing all positively worded items) had significantly higher Cronbach α values for three of the four dimensions of the GEQ. Implications, alternatives, and future directions are discussed

Publication rates on the topic of racial and ethnic diversity in dermatology versus other specialties

Background: The population of the U.S. is becoming more diverse every year. The field of dermatology is not following the same trend. Objective: To assess the promotion of diversity in the field of dermatology by analyzing publications focused on diversity, compared to other specialties. Methods: The PubMed database was systematically searched to identify publications focused on diversity from January 2008 to July 2019. The search criteria were as follows: dermatology/radiology/ophthalmology/ anesthesiology/orthopedic surgery/family medicine/ internal medicine/general surgery AND diversity/ diverse/racial/race/ethnic/ethnicity/cultural/culture/competency/competence. Comparisons were made using single-factor ANOVA and two-group t-tests. A qualitative analysis was performed for publications in the field of dermatology. Results: From January 2016 to July 2019, there were 25 publications focused on diversity in dermatology (Mean=6.25, SD=2.06), compared to 6 in radiology (Mean=1.50, SD=1.29, P=0.01), two in ophthalmology (Mean=0.50, SD=0.58, P=0.01), two in anesthesiology (Mean=0.50, SD=1.00, P=0.01), 12 in orthopedic surgery (Mean=3.00, SD=1.41, P=0.04), 23 in family medicine (Mean=5.75, SD=2.22, P=0.75), 9 in internal medicine (Mean=2.25, SD=1.71, P=0.02), and 7 in general surgery (Mean=1.75, SD=0.50, P=0.02). Conclusions: Although the field of dermatology has suffered from a lack of racial/ethnic diversity, efforts to promote diversity via increased publications in the last four years have been stronger in dermatology compared to many other fields

The Effect of Role Ambiguity on Competitive State Anxiety

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between role ambiguity and precompetition state anxiety (A-state). Consistent with multidimensional anxiety theory (Martens, Vealey, & Burton, 1990), it was hypothesized that role ambiguity would be positively related to cognitive but not to somatic A-state. Based on the conceptual model presented by Beauchamp, Bray, Eys, and Carron (2002), role ambiguity in sport was operationalized as a multidimensional construct (i.e., scope of responsibilities, role behaviors, role evaluation, and role consequences) potentially manifested in each of two contexts, offense and defense. Consistent with hypotheses, ambiguity in terms of the scope of offensive role responsibilities predicted cognitive A-state (R2 = .19). However, contrary to hypotheses, offensive role-consequences ambiguity also predicted somatic A-state (R2 = .09). Results highlight the importance of using a multidimensional approach to investigate role ambiguity in sport and are discussed in terms of both theory advancement and possible interventions

Development of a Cohesion Questionnaire for Youth: The Youth Sport Environment Questionnaire

The purpose of the current study was to initiate the development of a psychometrically sound measure of cohesion for youth sport groups. A series of projects were undertaken in a four-phase research program. The initial phase was designed to garner an understanding of how youth sport group members perceived the concept of cohesion through focus groups (n = 56), open-ended questionnaires (n = 280), and a literature review. In Phase 2, information from the initial projects was used in the development of 142 potential items and content validity was assessed. In Phase 3, 227 participants completed a revised 87-item questionnaire. Principal components analyses further reduced the number of items to 17 and suggested a two-factor structure (i.e., task and social cohesion dimensions). Finally, support for the factorial validity of the resultant questionnaire was provided through confirmatory factor analyses with an independent sample (n = 352) in Phase 4. The final version of the questionnaire contains 16 items that assess task and social cohesion in addition to 2 negatively worded spurious items. Specific issues related to assessing youth perceptions of cohesion are discussed and future research directions are suggested