Improving interagency service integration of the Australian Nurse Family Partnership Program for First Nations women and babies: a qualitative study.

BackgroundThe Australian Nurse Family Partnership Program (ANFPP) is an evidence-based, home visiting program that offers health education, guidance, social and emotional support to first-time mothers having Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) babies. The community-controlled sector identified the need for specialised support for first time mothers due to the inequalities in birthing and early childhood outcomes between First Nations' and other babies in Australia. The program is based on the United States' Nurse Family Partnership program which has improved long-term health outcomes and life trajectories for mothers and children. International implementation of the Nurse Family Partnership program has identified interagency service integration as key to program recruitment, retention, and efficacy. How the ANFPP integrates with other services in an Australian urban setting and how to improve this is not yet known. Our research explores the barriers and enablers to interagency service integration for the Australian Nurse Family Partnership Program ANFPP in an urban setting.MethodsA qualitative study using individual and group interviews. Purposive and snowball sampling was used to recruit clients, staff (internal and external to the program), Elders and family members. Interviews were conducted using a culturally appropriate 'yarning' method with clients, families and Elders and semi-structured interview guide for staff. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed prior to reflexive thematic analysis.ResultsSeventy-six participants were interviewed: 26 clients, 47 staff and 3 Elders/family members. Three themes were identified as barriers and three as enablers. Barriers: 1) confusion around program scope, 2) duplication of care, and 3) tensions over 'ownership' of clients. Enablers (existing and potential): 1) knowledge and promotion of the program; 2) cultural safety; and 3) case coordination, co-location and partnership forums.ConclusionEffective service integration is essential to maximise access and acceptability of the ANFPP; we provide practical recommendations to improve service integration in this context

Climatology and Modeling of Quasi-monochromatic Atmospheric Gravity Waves Observed over Urbana Illinois

From analyzing nine months of airglow imaging observations of atmospheric gravity waves (AGWs) over Adelaide, Australia (35°S) [Walterscheid et al., 1999] have proposed that many of the quasi-monochromatic waves seen in the images were primarily thermally ducted. Here are presented 15 months of observations, from February 1996 to May 1997, for AGW frequency and propagation direction from a northern latitude site, Urbana Illinois (40°N). As Adelaide, Urbana is geographically distant from large orographic features. Similar to what was found in Adelaide, the AGWs seem to originate from a preferred location during the time period around summer solstice. In conjunction with these airglow data there exists MF radar data to provide winds in the 90 km region and near-simultaneous lidar data which provide a temperature climatology. The temperature data have previously been analyzed by States and Gardner [2000]. The temperature and wind data are used here in a full wave model analysis to determine the characteristics of the wave ducting and wave reflection during the 15 month observation period. This model analysis is applied to this and another existing data set recently described by Nakamura et al. [1999]. It is shown that the existence of a thermal duct around summer solstice can plausibly account for our observations. However, the characteristics of the thermal duct and the ability of waves to be ducted is also greatly dependent on the characteristics of the background wind. A simple model is constructed to simulate the trapping of these waves by such a duct. It is suggested that the waves seen over Urbana originate no more than a few thousand kilometers from the observation site

Larval dispersal in a changing ocean with an emphasis on upwelling regions

Dispersal of benthic species in the sea is mediated primarily through small, vulnerable larvae that must survive minutes to months as members of the plankton community while being transported by strong, dynamic currents. As climate change alters ocean conditions, the dispersal of these larvae will be affected, with pervasive ecological and evolutionary consequences. We review the impacts of oceanic changes on larval transport, physiology, and behavior. We then discuss the implications for population connectivity and recruitment and evaluate life history strategies that will affect susceptibility to the effects of climate change on their dispersal patterns, with implications for understanding selective regimes in a future ocean. We find that physical oceanographic changes will impact dispersal by transporting larvae in different directions or inhibiting their movements while changing environmental factors, such as temperature, pH, salinity, oxygen, ultraviolet radiation, and turbidity, will affect the survival of larvae and alter their behavior. Reduced dispersal distance may make local adaptation more likely in well-connected populations with high genetic variation while reduced dispersal success will lower recruitment with implications for fishery stocks. Increased dispersal may spur adaptation by increasing genetic diversity among previously disconnected populations as well as increasing the likelihood of range expansions. We hypothesize that species with planktotrophic (feeding), calcifying, or weakly swimming larvae with specialized adult habitats will be most affected by climate change. We also propose that the adaptive value of retentive larval behaviors may decrease where transport trajectories follow changing climate envelopes and increase where transport trajectories drive larvae toward increasingly unsuitable conditions. Our holistic framework, combined with knowledge of regional ocean conditions and larval traits, can be used to produce powerful predictions of expected impacts on larval dispersal as well as the consequences for connectivity, range expansion, or recruitment. Based on our findings, we recommend that future studies take a holistic view of dispersal incorporating biological and oceanographic impacts of climate change rather than solely focusing on oceanography or physiology. Genetic and paleontological techniques can be used to examine evolutionary impacts of altered dispersal in a future ocean, while museum collections and expedition records can inform modern-day range shifts

Thickness dependence study of current-driven ferromagnetic resonance in Y3Fe5O12/heavy metal bilayers

We use ferromagnetic resonance to study the current-induced torques in YIG/heavy metal bilayers. YIG samples with thickness varying from 14.8 nm to 80 nm, with the Pt or Ta thin film on top, are measured by applying a microwave current into the heavy metals and measuring the longitudinal DC voltage generated by both spin rectification and spin pumping. From a symmetry analysis of the FMR lineshape and its dependence on YIG thickness, we deduce that the Oersted field dominates over spin-transfer torque in driving magnetization dynamics

Analysis of European colour vision certification requirements for air traffic control officers

The advantages of using colour in large-field, visual displays have been investigated with emphasis on ATC applications. This study examined and quantified the relationship between severity of colour vision loss in congenital deficiency and the corresponding changes in visual performance. Analysis of current colour assessment protocols and the current findings provide the basis for a new system of colour categories that can be enforced. The report also describes how a colour category can be selected for a given occupational task by examining the colour-related requirements and the applicant’s class of colour deficiency

MitoQ supplementation augments acute exercise-induced increases in muscle PGC1α mRNA and improves training-induced increases in peak power independent of mitochondrial content and function in untrained middle-aged men

The role of mitochondrial ROS in signalling muscle adaptations to exercise training has not been explored in detail. We investigated the effect of supplementation with the mitochondria-targeted antioxidant MitoQ on a) the skeletal muscle mitochondrial and antioxidant gene transcriptional response to acute high-intensity exercise and b) skeletal muscle mitochondrial content and function following exercise training. In a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel design study, 23 untrained men (age: 44 ± 7 years, VO2peak: 39.6 ± 7.9 ml/kg/min) were randomised to receive either MitoQ (20 mg/d) or a placebo for 10 days before completing a bout of high-intensity interval exercise (cycle ergometer, 10 × 60 s at VO2peak workload with 75 s rest). Blood samples and vastus lateralis muscle biopsies were collected before exercise and immediately and 3 h after exercise. Participants then completed high-intensity interval training (HIIT; 3 sessions per week for 3 weeks) and another blood sample and muscle biopsy were collected. There was no effect of acute exercise or MitoQ on systemic (plasma protein carbonyls and reduced glutathione) or skeletal muscle (mtDNA damage and 4-HNE) oxidative stress biomarkers. Acute exercise-induced increases in skeletal muscle peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1-alpha (PGC1-α) mRNA expression were augmented in the MitoQ group. Despite this, training-induced increases in skeletal muscle mitochondrial content were similar between groups. HIIT-induced increases in VO2peak and 20 km time trial performance were also similar between groups while training-induced increases in peak power achieved during the VO2peak test were augmented in the MitoQ group. These data suggest that training-induced increases in peak power are enhanced following MitoQ supplementation, which may be related to the augmentation of skeletal muscle PGC1α expression following acute exercise. However, these effects do not appear to be related to an effect of MitoQ supplementation on exercise-induced oxidative stress or training-induced mitochondrial biogenesis in skeletal muscle

Brewing of filter coffee

We report progress on mathematical modelling of coffee grounds in a drip filter coffee machine. The report focuses on the evolution of the shape of the bed of coffee grounds during extraction with some work also carried out on the chemistry of extraction. This work was sponsored by Philips who are interested in understanding an observed correlation between the final shape of the coffee grounds and the quality of the coffee. We used experimental data gathered by Philips and ourselves to identify regimes in the coffee brewing process and relevant regions of parameter space. Our work makes it clear that a number of separate processes define the shape of the coffee bed depending on the values of the parameters involved e.g. the size of the grains and the speed of fluid flow during extraction. We began work on constructing mathematical models of the redistribution of the coffee grounds specialised to each region and on a model of extraction. A variety of analytic and numerical tools were used. Furthermore our research has progressed far enough to allow us to begin to exploit connections between this problem and other areas of science, in particular the areas of sedimentology and geomorphology, where the processes we have observed in coffee brewing have been studied

Multi-omic profiling reveals the ataxia protein sacsin is required for integrin trafficking and synaptic organization

Autosomal recessive spastic ataxia of Charlevoix-Saguenay (ARSACS) is a childhood-onset cerebellar ataxia caused by mutations in SACS, which encodes the protein sacsin. Cellular ARSACS phenotypes include mitochondrial dysfunction, intermediate filament disorganization, and progressive death of cerebellar Purkinje neurons. It is unclear why the loss of sacsin causes these deficits or why they manifest as cerebellar ataxia. Here, we perform multi-omic profiling in sacsin knockout (KO) cells and identify alterations in microtubule dynamics and mislocalization of focal adhesion (FA) proteins, including multiple integrins. Deficits in FA structure, signaling, and function can be rescued by targeting PTEN, a negative regulator of FA signaling. ARSACS mice possess mislocalization of ITGA1 in Purkinje neurons and synaptic disorganization in the deep cerebellar nucleus (DCN). The sacsin interactome reveals that sacsin regulates interactions between cytoskeletal and synaptic adhesion proteins. Our findings suggest that disrupted trafficking of synaptic adhesion proteins is a causal molecular deficit in ARSACS

Cardiometabolic Plasticity in Response to a Short-Term Diet and Exercise Intervention in Young Hispanic and NonHispanic White Adults

BACKGROUND: Young adult Mexican Americans (MA) exhibit lower insulin sensitivity (Si) than nonHispanic whites (NHW), even when controlling for fitness and adiposity. It is unclear if MA are as responsive to the same lifestyle intervention as NHW. OBJECTIVE: We developed a model to examine cardiometabolic plasticity (i.e., changes in Si and plasma lipids) in MA compared to NHW adults in response to a diet-exercise intervention. DESIGN: Sedentary subjects (20 NHW: 11F, 9M, 23.0 y, 25.5 kg/m(2); 17 MA: 13F, 4M, 22.7 y, 25.4 kg/m(2)) consumed their habitual diets and remained sedentary for 7 days, after which fasting blood samples were obtained, and a 3-h intravenous glucose tolerance test (IVGTT) was performed with the insulin area under the curve (IAUC) used to estimate Si. Subjects then completed a 7-day diet/exercise intervention (diet: low saturated fat, low added sugar, high fiber; exercise: cycling, six total sessions lasting 40-45 min/session at 65% VO(2) max). Pre-intervention tests were repeated. RESULTS: Pre intervention IAUC was 28% higher (p<0.05) in MA (IAUC pre  =  2298 µU*180 min/mL) than in NHW (IAUC = 1795 µU*180 min/mL). Following the intervention, there was a significant reduction in IAUC in MA (29%) and NHW (32%), however, the IAUC remained higher (p<0.05) for MA (post  = 1635 µU*180 min/mL) than for NHW (post = 1211 µU*180 min/mL). Pre test plasma lipids were not different in MA compared to NHW. Plasma cholesterol and TG concentrations significantly improved in both groups, but concentrations of low density lipoprotein-cholesterol and small dense LDL particles significantly improved only in the NHW. CONCLUSION: With a short-term diet-exercise intervention, the magnitude of improvements in Si and serum cholesterol and TG in Hispanics are similar to those in NHW. However, because at the outset MA were less insulin sensitive compared to NHW, within the short timeframe studied the ethnic gap in insulin sensitivity remained