Diabetes and its effect on the life expectancy of Indigenous Australians

It has been established that diabetes does have an effect and impacts greatly on the life expectancy of Indigenous Australians. A possible explanation is that Indigenous Australians generally have different needs, primarily because of the variation in culture differences. For this reason it is imperative that health officials have an understanding of these additional pre-disposing factors and the associated complications which have resulted as a part of the colonisation process. These factors including diet, nutrition, exercise, obesity and have influenced and resulted, in a change to the way of life for many Indigenous Australians, primarily from a traditional to modern diet

Experimental Investigation on the Effect of Specimen Size in Determining Fracture Parameters of Concrete

his paper presents the experimental results in investigating the effect of specimen size (ratio of beam width to aggregate size) on the value of stress intensity factor (KIC) and fracture energy (GF) using three-point bend (TPB). A test method recommended by RILEM was chosen to measure the KIC and the GF as fracture parameters. Three different specimen sizes of concrete beam with water/binder ratio of 0.2 and 0.30 were engaged in the experiments. Both qualitative and quantitative analyses based on the normalized stress against deflection curve, and the KIC and the GF were employed. Statistical analysis was carried out based on coefficient of variation of the measured value of fracture parameters in order to investigate the variability of corresponding results. It was found that specimen size have a relatively insensitive influence on the value of KIC, however, have a significant effect on the value of GF

The United Kingdom’s New Opt-Out Class Action: The Unique Perspective of a “Third Generation” Statute

On 1 October 2015, a sea change in English civil procedure occurred, when the UK’s first opt-out class action regime took effect. Its drafting choices occurred against a backdrop of considerable comparative jurisprudence from Australia, Canada and the United States. For example, the regime’s flexible standing provisions avoid difficulties that have arisen in class action regimes in other jurisdictions, by enabling a class action to be brought either by a directly affected class member as representative or by a suitable representative who has no cause of action. On the other hand, the preliminary merits criteria which the class representative will need to prove are far-reaching and more onerous than those implemented elsewhere. In the first certification decision delivered under the regime—a moment of history created on 31 March 2017—the Competition Appeal Tribunal has made it plain that comparative insights will be highly relevant. This article analyses that milestone event, by examining this first decision in light of the drafting choices made under the UK regime, whilst also suggesting further ways in which comparative law may be helpful on key interpretive words and phraseology in cases to come

Microbial Community Assembly found with Sponge Orange Band Disease in Xestospongia muta (Giant Barrel Sponge)

The giant barrel sponge, Xestospongia muta is an iconic and essential species of the coral reefs in South Florida. The sponge has primary roles providing ecosystem services and creating unique habitats for diverse microbial communities. On April 27, 2012 an outbreak of Sponge Orange Band Disease (SOB) was detected off the coast of South Florida. The disease begins with sponge bleaching, followed by mesohyl or “mesohyl” necrosis and often total mesohyl disintegration. Sampling from two diseased populations at Boynton Beach and Fort Lauderdale, FL took place on May 11th and May 29th, 2012. Each of the nine diseased sponges from Boynton Beach and the five diseased sponges from Fort Lauderdale had three separate mesophyl samples collected to examine the effects of disease progression on the microbial community. These included healthy mesohyl from a diseased sponge (HoD), the boundary layer which captured the advancing line of diseased mesohyl (BL) and diseased mesohyl from a diseased sponge (D). Mesohyl from three sponges with no visible signs of SOB disease were also collected from each sampling location to use for healthy controls (HC). Sequencing of the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene was performed on all of these samples via the “454” pyrosequencing on a Titanium GS FLX platform. The microbial communities associated with the diseased samples revealed a microbiome shift that followed the progression of Sponge Orange Band Disease (SOB) and was dominated by Bacteroidetes, Protebacteria and Chloroflexi. No singular or group of microbes were solely found within the infected mesohyl of Xestospongia muta from both sampling site populations; therefore there is no unequivocal candidate as a definite microbial causative SOB agent. But there were bacteria associated with disease progression that included Armatimonadetes, Caldithrix, Chlorobi, Fibrobacteres, Fusobacteria, GN02, KSB3, OP1, OP2, OP8, Planctomycetes, SR1, TM6, Tenericutes, Verrucomicrobia, WPS-2 and ZB3. Verrucomicrobia and Plantomycetes increased significantly within the D and the BL populations, which was consistent within all the diseased sponges. This study provides a deep sequencing profile of microbial communities within Xestospongia muta affected with SOB Disease and provides a new insight into the sponge healthy microbiome

Perceptions of Children's Rights in Three Early Childhood Settings

The purpose of this thesis was to investigate perceptions of young children's rights in early childhood settings and contribute to the expanding discourse about children's rights. The research focus canvassed teachers', parents', and young children's perceptions of their rights in early childhood settings: How did they understand children's rights, and what did these perceptions mean for them in the early childhood settings they participated in? A qualitative, interpretive approach to the research generated data through interviews with young children, teachers, and adults, focus groups with the adult participants, and observations of day-to-day life in the three case study centres. The early childhood centres selected represented three mainstream services and included a teacher-led creche for under-two-year-olds, a sessional state, teacher-led kindergarten for three- and four-year-olds, and a parent-led playcentre for mixed ages from birth to six years old. NVIVO, a qualitative data classifying computer program, was used initially to sort and categorise the data alongside more conventional methods for coding categories and identifying emerging themes. The research found that perceptions of children's rights were interwoven, interrelated, and interdependent. Provision rights, protections rights, and participation rights are recognised categories of children's rights. These categories were used to foreground participants' perceptions of rights in particular early childhood settings. Findings suggest that more in-depth awareness of children's rights in early childhood settings would support the development of a children's rights-based pedagogy. This thesis potentially contributes to a growing body of international research about children's rights with a particular focus on the early childhood sector in New Zealand Aotearoa. The contribution that this thesis makes is both theoretical and sociological. It combines sociocultural constructs and ecological perspective with an international human rights convention to understand more clearly what children's rights mean in an early childhood sector. The study of childhood sociology is relatively new and challenges universal definitions of childhood and child. This thesis highlights how different conceptual theoretical ideas intersect with diverse sociological constructs. The broad conclusion drawn by this thesis is that for children to participate fully in their early education, the ethos of the community of practice/learners must explicate what that participation entails in a particular context

Experimental investigation of the effects of aggregate size distribution on the fracture behaviour of high strength concrete

This paper examines the influence of different aggregate size distributions on the fracture behaviour of high strength concrete. Three-point bend test was performed on 63 notched beams casted using three aggregate size distributions and two water to binder ratios. The total fracture energy, GF, and critical stress intensity factor, KIC, were used to determine the fracture characteristic of concrete. The results show that the values of GF decrease substantially with increasing coarseness of aggregate grain structure, λ. Values of KIC also decreased but demonstrated only limited dependence on λ. In contrast, reducing the total w/b ratio substantially increases the value of KIC but had no measurable effect on GF

Opiate Prescription Practices and VPMS Use: Impacts of the Vermont Prescription Monitoring System

Introduction. Our project assessed prescriber use of the Vermont Prescription Monitoring System (VPMS) and collected suggestions for its improvement, and for reducing opiate diversion.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/comphp_gallery/1083/thumbnail.jp

Cost-effectiveness of cenobamate for focal seizures in people with drug-resistant epilepsy

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the cost-effectiveness of add-on cenobamate in the UK when used to treat drug-resistant focal seizures in adults who are not adequately controlled with at least two prior antiseizure medication, including at least one used adjunctively. METHODS: We estimated the cost per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) for cenobamate compared to brivaracetam, eslicarbazepine, lacosamide and perampanel in the UK National Health Service over a lifetime time horizon. We used a Markov cohort structure to determine response to treatment, using pooled data from three long-term studies of cenobamate. A network meta-analysis informed the likelihood of response to therapy with brivaracetam, eslicarbazepine, lacosamide and perampanel relative to cenobamate. Once individuals discontinued treatment, they transitioned to subsequent treatment health states, including other antiseizure medicines, surgery, and vagus nerve stimulation. Costs included treatment, administration, routine monitoring, event management and adverse events. Published evidence and expert opinion informed the likelihood of response to subsequent treatments, associated adverse events, and costs. Utility data was based on short-form, six dimensions utility. Discounting was applied at 3.5% per annum as per National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance. Uncertainty was explored through deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses. RESULTS: In the base case, cenobamate led to cost savings of £51,967 (compared to brivaracetam), £21,080 (compared to eslicarbazepine), £33,619 (compared to lacosamide), and £28,296 (compared to perampanel) and increased QALYs of 1.047 (compared to brivaracetam), 0.598 (compared to eslicarbazepine), 0.776 (compared to lacosamide), and 0.703 (compared to perampanel) per individual over a lifetime time horizon. Cenobamate also dominated the four drugs across most sensitivity analyses. Differences were due to reduced seizure frequency with cenobamate relative to comparators. SIGNIFICANCE: Cenobamate improved QALYs and was less costly than brivaracetam, eslicarbazepine, lacosamide and perampanel. Therefore, cenobamate may be considered as a cost-effective adjunctive antiseizure medication for people with drug-resistant focal seizures