Space Missions for Automation and Robotics Technologies (SMART) Program

NASA is currently considering the establishment of a Space Mission for Automation and Robotics Technologies (SMART) Program to define, develop, integrate, test, and operate a spaceborne national research facility for the validation of advanced automation and robotics technologies. Initially, the concept is envisioned to be implemented through a series of shuttle based flight experiments which will utilize telepresence technologies and real time operation concepts. However, eventually the facility will be capable of a more autonomous role and will be supported by either the shuttle or the space station. To ensure incorporation of leading edge technology in the facility, performance capability will periodically and systematically be upgraded by the solicitation of recommendations from a user advisory group. The facility will be managed by NASA, but will be available to all potential investigators. Experiments for each flight will be selected by a peer review group. Detailed definition and design is proposed to take place during FY 86, with the first SMART flight projected for FY 89

Effects of smolt length and emigration timing on marine survival and age at maturity of wild coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) at Auke Creek, Juneau Alaska

Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2003Coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch smolt were collected during the 1993-1997 emigrations at Auke Creek near Juneau, Alaska. Each day emigrants were separated into four size categories: small 125 mm), tagged with a sequentially coded-wire tag, and released at tidewater. Tags from returning adults and jacks were collected and decoded in 1993-1998. Most survivors originated from the large and extra large categories, 40.5% and 43.1%, respectively. Large smolts contributed 28.9% to smolt-to-jack returns, significantly less than the smolt-to-jack survival contributed by extra large smolts, 67.8%. Smolt year, emigration date, and smolt length were significant in determining the length of returning jacks. In the 1993 and 1997 smolt years, significantly smaller returning adults originated from smolts that migrated later. Larger smolts produced significantly larger returning adults in all smolt years except 1994

Preconception Care - Issues Paper

The evidence for the link between maternal risk factors (including smoking, obesity, alcohol use and maternal mental health) and perinatal morbidity and mortality rates among Australian women is clear. There is also a growing body of evidence that Indigenous women are significantly more likely than their non-Indigenous counterparts to be impacted by these risk factors. Risk factors originate from genetic, environmental and behavioural factors. In alignment with the Health and Social Policy Branch’s Strategic Plan, Healthy, Safe and Well, the purpose of this paper is to focus on those risk factors that have a behavioural element and can, therefore, be modified, or impacted by strategies to minimise associated harms. Smoking in pregnancy has been highlighted as the most significant preventable cause of morbidity and death among women and infants. The risk of smoking increases among Indigenous and other disadvantaged women. A combination of policy and social marketing interventions involving comprehensive bans on advertising and sponsorship, tobacco price increases, bans on smoking in work and public places, health warnings on packs, mass media, QUIT telephone coaching and monitoring by a physician have been found to be most effective. Trends in nutrition, physical activity and obesity suggest a need for greater awareness and education of women in their reproductive years, prior to conception. Given women who are overweight or obese at conception are at increased risk of excessive gestational weight gain, parenting education and the setting of weight management goals have had some traction in antenatal care, however, the success of such programs relies on regular attendance and health practitioner skill. Although targeted health promotion interventions have increased acceptance of the importance of a healthy diet and exercise, many health practitioners lack skills to manage the problem, and evidence of the efficacy of such interventions in achieving reductions in obesity at the population level is lacking. Aboriginal women are at increased risk of obesity and government support for culturally appropriate programs targeting lifestyle behaviours and supporting health eating and physical activity in local communities have the potential to impact positively. Alcohol consumption among young women and pregnant women in NSW represents a significant risk factor potentially impacting the unborn fetus. Whilst the proportion of women engaged in heavy drinking in pregnancy is low, the adverse outcomes (including FASD) of heavy gestational alcohol consumption and the lack of evidence around safe levels of consumption highlight the issue as a high public health priority. Mandatory labelling of alcohol products and training of health professionals have been proposed as best practice interventions, in combination with addressing issues of pricing and taxation and advocating abstinence from drinking during pregnancy. The estimated prevalence of harmful drinking in Indigenous populations is twice that of non-Indigenous populations and the normalisation of harmful consumption highlights the need to target Indigenous populations, Aboriginal Medical Services (AMS) and Aboriginal clinicians to give health practitioners the skills and resources needed to advocate for reduced alcohol consumption in pre-pregnancy. Key components of effective interventions targeting Aboriginal women and health practitioners in contact with women in preconception and pregnancy are interactive community-based education, culturally appropriate printed resources and ongoing community engagement. Maternal mental health issues are estimated to affect 10-15% of women in high income countries during the perinatal period. Policy frameworks in NSW reflect recognition of the need for greater awareness of maternal mental health and the requirement to integrate programs that provide support for women’s well-being in the antenatal and postnatal phase into policy, planning and delivery of health services. An evidence-based health home visiting program called Sustaining NSW Families, developed for the identification and treatment of women at risk of antenatal and postnatal depression, has been found to be effective as an early intervention tool. Factors impacting the health and well-being of Aboriginal people include spirituality, the relationship with family, land and culture and these factors are all intertwined. Programs targeting these women need to be culturally appropriate, driven by the community and run by a workforce who understands the psycho-social risks resulting from intergenerational trauma.Health and Social Policy Branch, NSW Ministry of Healt

Australian consumer perspectives, attitudes and behaviours on antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance: A qualitative study with implications for public health policy and practice

© 2017 The Author(s). Background: Consumers receive over 27 million antibiotic prescriptions annually in Australian primary healthcare. Hence, consumers are a key group to engage in the fight against antibiotic resistance. There is a paucity of research pertaining to consumers in the Australian healthcare environment. This study aimed to investigate the perspectives, attitudes and behaviours of Australian consumers on antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance, to inform national programs for reducing inappropriate antibiotic consumption. Method: Semi-structured interviews with 32 consumers recruited via convenience and snowball sampling from a university population in South East Queensland. Interview transcripts were deductively and inductively coded. Main themes were identified using iterative thematic analysis. Results: Three themes emerged from the analysis, to elucidate factors affecting antibiotic use: (a) prescription type; (b) consumer attitudes, behaviours, skills and knowledge; and (c) consumer engagement with antibiotic resistance. Consumers held mixed views regarding the use of delayed antibiotic prescriptions, and were often not made aware of the use of repeat antibiotic prescriptions. Consumers with regular general practitioners were more likely to have shared expectations regarding minimising the use of antibiotics. Even so, advice or information mediated by general practitioners was influential with all consumers; and helped to prevent inappropriate antibiotic use behaviours. Consumers were not aware of the free Return of Unwanted Medicines service offered by pharmacies and disposed of leftover antibiotics through household waste. To engage with mitigating antibiotic resistance, consumers required specific information. Previous public health campaigns raising awareness of antibiotics were largely not seen by this sample of consumers. Conclusions: Australian consumers have specific information needs regarding prescribed antibiotics to enable appropriate antibiotic use behaviours. Consumers also have expectations for high quality general practice consults conducted in a manner that increases consumer confidence in the treatment decision, regardless of whether an antibiotic is prescribed. To reduce inappropriate consumption of antibiotics and to more fully engage Australian consumers in mitigating antibiotic resistance, changes in health policy and practice are required

Supporting research translation through partnership

This paper provides a brief introduction to research translation in health care and three essential building blocks that support the process of using evidence to inform health policy and practice: partnerships, system readiness and diversity of evidence. We then describe a ‘live’ example of research translation currently underway between a research group and policy makers working together to support maternity care in NSW, and the important facilitating role of a shared knowledge broker.NSW Population Health and Health Services Research Support Program (PHHSRSP) gran

Contextual cropping and scaling of TV productions

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11042-011-0804-3. Copyright @ Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011.In this paper, an application is presented which automatically adapts SDTV (Standard Definition Television) sports productions to smaller displays through intelligent cropping and scaling. It crops regions of interest of sports productions based on a smart combination of production metadata and systematic video analysis methods. This approach allows a context-based composition of cropped images. It provides a differentiation between the original SD version of the production and the processed one adapted to the requirements for mobile TV. The system has been comprehensively evaluated by comparing the outcome of the proposed method with manually and statically cropped versions, as well as with non-cropped versions. Envisaged is the integration of the tool in post-production and live workflows

Assortative human pair-bonding for partner ancestry and allelic variation of the dopamine receptor D4 (DRD4) gene

The 7R allele of the dopamine receptor D4 gene has been associated with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and risk taking. On the cross-population scale, 7R allele frequencies have been shown to be higher in populations with more of a history of long-term migrations. It has also been shown that the 7R allele is associated with individuals having multiple-ancestries. Here we conduct a replication of this latter finding with two independent samples. Measures of subjects’ ancestry are used to examine past reproductive bonds. The individuals’ history of inter-racial/ancestral dating and their feelings about this are also assessed. Tentative support for an association between multiple ancestries and the 7R allele were found. These results are dependent upon the method of questioning subjects about their ancestries. Inter-racial dating and feelings about inter-racial pairing were not related to the presence of the 7R allele. This might be accounted for by secular trends that might have substantively altered the decision-making process employed when considering relationships with individuals from different groups. This study provides continued support for the 7R allele playing a role in migration and/or mate choice patterns. However, replications and extensions of this study are needed and must carefully consider how ancestry/race is assessed

No one knows what will happen after these five years': narratives of ART, access and agency in Nigeria

Rural Nigerians pursue a range of strategies to maximize current and future access to HIV treatment in the context of securing livelihoods and minimizing the social and economic risks of stigma. This study reports on qualitative interviews with service providers and anti-retroviral therapy (ART) patients accessing care in Benue State, Nigeria, or travelling several hours to Abuja for treatment (n = 34). Nigerians living with HIV are keenly aware of the fragility and complex global and local politics of funding. Their narratives of pervasive stigma, economic and health system barriers to access, growing fears that free ART will cease, and strategies to secure access to care reveal a sophisticated synthesis of social determinants of health and clinical care, and challenge practitioners, planners, and scholars to take a similarly robust and nuanced approach to vulnerability, access, and agency.Department of HE and Training approved lis

Robust Upward Dispersion of the Neutron Spin Resonance in the Heavy Fermion Superconductor Ce1−x_{1-x}Ybx_{x}CoIn5_5

The neutron spin resonance is a collective magnetic excitation that appears in copper oxide, iron pnictide, and heavy fermion unconventional superconductors. Although the resonance is commonly associated with a spin-exciton due to the $d$($s^{\pm}$)-wave symmetry of the superconducting order parameter, it has also been proposed to be a magnon-like excitation appearing in the superconducting state. Here we use inelastic neutron scattering to demonstrate that the resonance in the heavy fermion superconductor Ce$_{1-x}$Yb$_{x}$CoIn$_5$ with $x=0,0.05,0.3$ has a ring-like upward dispersion that is robust against Yb-doping. By comparing our experimental data with random phase approximation calculation using the electronic structure and the momentum dependence of the $d_{x^2-y^2}$-wave superconducting gap determined from scanning tunneling microscopy for CeCoIn$_5$, we conclude the robust upward dispersing resonance mode in Ce$_{1-x}$Yb$_{x}$CoIn$_5$ is inconsistent with the downward dispersion predicted within the spin-exciton scenario.Comment: Supplementary Information available upon reques