Finding Longitude: The Investigator Expedition, 1801-1803

This article analyses the methods deployed for finding longitude on the Investigator’s expedition to circumnavigate Australia, made under the command of Matthew Flinders in the period 1801–1803. Timekeeping and astronomy were complementary methods for ascertaining longitude; they were carried out using chronometers and by taking lunar observations. The article explains who was responsible for handling the astronomical readings on the expedition; the performance of the chronometers used; Flinders’s comparisons of the longitudinal readings with the work of previous navigators; and the reasons why dissemination of the longitudes taken during the voyage was delayed. The article shows how the combined use of chronometers and lunar observations helped Flinders to achieve scientific accuracy in his charting of coastal Australia in the atlas to his major work entitled A Voyage to Terra Australis. </jats:p

Music, finance, and politics: Henri verbrugghen and the New South Wales State Orchestra, 1919-1923

This paper examines the musical, financial, and political difficulties that beset Henri Verbrugghen’s attempts to establish a permanent professional orchestra in New South Wales between 1919 and 1923. Appointed as the founding Director of the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music in 1915, Verbrugghen established a Conservatorium Orchestra in 1916 and then, with government financial support, a State Orchestra in 1919. This was the first permanent professional symphony orchestra in Australia. It played hundreds of concerts in NewSouth Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia andNew Zealand. In 1923, however, the orchestra collapsed when Verbrugghen took leave of absence from Sydney to work in the United States. Verbrugghen’s personal difficulties, it is argued, placed the State Orchestra in a vulnerable position, although consideration of the circumstances under which he gave concerts suggests he was placed under considerable duress. The organizational shortcomings of the orchestra and the difficulty in attracting continuing funding and political support from the New South Wales government eventually combined with Verbrugghen’s personal predicament to make the orchestra unviable

The OPERA trial : a protocol for the process evaluation of a randomised trial of an exercise intervention for older people in residential and nursing accommodation

Background: The OPERA trial is large cluster randomised trial testing a physical activity intervention to address depression amongst people living in nursing and residential homes for older people. A process evaluation was commissioned alongside the trial and we report the protocol for this process evaluation. Challenges included the cognitive and physical ability of the participants, the need to respect the privacy of all home residents, including study non-participants, and the physical structure of the homes. Evaluation activity had to be organised around the structured timetable of homes, leaving limited opportunities for data collection. The aims of this process evaluation are to provide findings that will assist in the interpretation of the clinical trial results, and to inform potential implementation of the physical activity intervention on a wider scale. Methods/design: Quantitative data on recruitment of homes and individuals is being collected. For homes in the intervention arm, data on dose and fidelity of the intervention delivered; including individual rates of participation in exercise classes are collected. In the control homes, uptake and delivery of depression awareness training is monitored. These data will be combined with qualitative data from an in-depth study of a purposive sample of eight homes (six intervention and two control). Discussion: Although process evaluations are increasingly funded alongside trials, it is still rare to see the findings published, and even rarer to see the protocol for such an evaluation published. Process evaluations have the potential to assist in interpreting and understanding trial results as well as informing future roll-outs of interventions. If such evaluations are funded they should also be reported and reviewed in a similar way to the trial outcome evaluation

Systematic review of context-aware digital behavior change interventions to improve health

Health risk behaviors are leading contributors to morbidity, premature mortality associated with chronic diseases, and escalating health costs. However, traditional interventions to change health behaviors often have modest effects, and limited applicability and scale. To better support health improvement goals across the care continuum, new approaches incorporating various smart technologies are being utilized to create more individualized digital behavior change interventions (DBCIs). The purpose of this study is to identify context-aware DBCIs that provide individualized interventions to improve health. A systematic review of published literature (2013-2020) was conducted from multiple databases and manual searches. All included DBCIs were context-aware, automated digital health technologies, whereby user input, activity, or location influenced the intervention. Included studies addressed explicit health behaviors and reported data of behavior change outcomes. Data extracted from studies included study design, type of intervention, including its functions and technologies used, behavior change techniques, and target health behavior and outcomes data. Thirty-three articles were included, comprising mobile health (mHealth) applications, Internet of Things wearables/sensors, and internet-based web applications. The most frequently adopted behavior change techniques were in the groupings of feedback and monitoring, shaping knowledge, associations, and goals and planning. Technologies used to apply these in a context-aware, automated fashion included analytic and artificial intelligence (e.g., machine learning and symbolic reasoning) methods requiring various degrees of access to data. Studies demonstrated improvements in physical activity, dietary behaviors, medication adherence, and sun protection practices. Context-aware DBCIs effectively supported behavior change to improve users' health behaviors

The theory of international business: the role of economic models

This paper reviews the scope for economic modelling in international business studies. It argues for multi-level theory based on classic internalisation theory. It present a systems approach that encompasses both firm-level and industry-level analysis

Common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) alters its feeding niche in response to changing food resources: direct observations in simulated ponds

We used customized fish tanks as model fish ponds to observe grazing, swimming, and conspecific social behavior of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) under variable food-resource conditions to assess alterations in feeding niche. Different food and feeding situations were created by using only pond water or pond water plus pond bottom sediment or pond water plus pond bottom sediment and artificial feeding. All tanks were fertilized twice, prior to stocking and 2 weeks later after starting the experiment to stimulate natural food production. Common carp preferred artificial feed over benthic macroinvertebrates, followed by zooplankton. Common carp did not prefer any group of phytoplankton in any treatment. Common carp was mainly benthic in habitat choice, feeding on benthic macroinvertebrates when only plankton and benthic macroinvertebrates were available in the system. In the absence of benthic macroinvertebrates, their feeding niche shifted from near the bottom of the tanks to the water column where they spent 85% of the total time and fed principally on zooplankton. Common carp readily switched to artificial feed when available, which led to better growth. Common carp preferred to graze individually. Behavioral observations of common carp in tanks yielded new information that assists our understanding of their ecological niche. This knowledge could be potentially used to further the development of common carp aquaculture

Preliminary evidence of reductive stress in human cytotoxic T-cells following exercise

This study investigated immunophenotypic differences in intracellular thiol redox state of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) isolated from trained (TR, n=9, mean {plus minus} SD: age 28 {plus minus} 5 years; BMI 23.2 {plus minus} 2.6 kg·m2; VO2max 56.9 {plus minus} 6.1 ml·kg-1·min-1) and recreationally active (RA, n=11, mean {plus minus} SD: age 27 {plus minus} 6 years; BMI 24.2 {plus minus} 3.7 kg·m2; VO2max 45.1 {plus minus} 6.4 ml·kg-1·min-1) participants before and after a maximal aerobic exercise tolerance test. Blood samples were taken before (PRE), during (sample acquired at 70% HRmax), immediately (POST+0) and 15 minutes post-exercise (POST+15). PBMCs were isolated and reduced thiol analysis (fluorescein-5 maleimide (F5M)) by immunophenotype (CD3+, CD4+ and CD8+) was performed using flow cytometry. A significant increase in cellular F5M fluorescence was observed in CD3+ T-cells at POST+0, with changes driven to a greater extent by CD8+ T-cells (fold change in both groups CD4: +2.3, CD8: +2.8; p<0.05). Further analysis revealed a population of highly reduced CD8+ T-cells (CD8+T-reduced+) that significantly increased from PRE to POST+0 in RA participants only (RA: +272 cell/µL, p<0.05). To further understand these results, CD8+T-reduced+ and CD8+T-reduced- cells were analysed for immunophenotype in response to the same exercise protocol (n=6, mean {plus minus} SD: age 24 {plus minus} 5 years; BMI 25.7 {plus minus} 4.1 kg·m-2; VO2max 41.33 {plus minus} 7.63 ml·kg-1·min-1). CD8+T-reduced+ had significantly less lymphoid homing potential (CCR7) POST+0 compared to PRE. This study is the first to demonstrate that lymphocyte populations become more reductive in response to acute exercise

Healthcare staff's experience in providing end-of-life care to children: A mixed-method review.

BACKGROUND: Staff who provide end-of-life care to children not only have to deal with their own sense of loss but also that of bereaved families. There is a dearth of knowledge on how they cope with these challenges. AIM: The aim of this review is to explore the experiences of healthcare professionals who provide end-of-life care to children in order to inform the development of interventions to support them, thereby improving the quality of paediatric care for both children and their families. DATA SOURCES: Searches included CINAHL, MEDLINE, Web of Science, EMBASE, PsychINFO and The Cochrane Library in June 2015, with no date restrictions. Additional literature was uncovered from searching reference lists of relevant studies, along with contacting experts in the field of paediatric palliative care. DESIGN: This was a systematic mixed studies review. Study selection, appraisal and data extraction were conducted by two independent researchers. Integrative thematic analysis was used to synthesise the data. RESULTS: The 16 qualitative, 6 quantitative and 8 mixed-method studies identified included healthcare professionals in a range of settings. Key themes identified rewards and challenges of providing end-of-life care to children, the impact on staff's personal and professional lives, coping strategies and key approaches to help support staff in their role. CONCLUSION: Education focusing on the unique challenges of providing end-of-life care to children and the importance of self-care, along with timely multidisciplinary debriefing, are key strategies for improving healthcare staff's experiences, and as such the quality of care they provide