A public survey on electroconvulsive therapy

Health care professionals have debated the use and effects of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for more than 65 years. Yet, the attitudes towards, and knowledge about, ECT have not been thoroughly researched within the Australian community. There is also little empirical research documenting ECT recipient characteristics, the number of ECT administrations and the number of patients treated. This study aimed to develop an Australian perspective on: (1) the level of Public knowledge about and attitudes towards ECT and (2) the practice of ECT. The objectives were achieved through the development of questionnaires, and the distribution of these questionnaires to the public to survey knowledge about and attitudes towards ECT. The Mental Health Information System (MHIS) together with data of some State psychiatric hospitals, was examined in order to estimate the characteristics of ECT recipients, and the frequency of the practice. Results from 379 questionnaires indicated that more than 60% of respondents have some knowledge about the main aspects of ECT. Furthermore, participants were generally opposed to the use of ECT on individuals with psychosocial issues; children; and those who refuse to have ECT. This study showed that public perceptions of ECT were mainly negative. Furthermore, this thesis revealed that most WA ECT recipients were adult females who were diagnosed with affective disorders. ECT usage appeared to be a constant proportion of the psychiatric population in WA over a five-year period, although the number of ECT recipients rose dramatically each year. The findings of this thesis suggested that clinicians should ensure that individuals recommended for ECT are at least knowledgeable about basic ECT processes and their implications. With this basic awareness, individuals would then be able to give informed consent. Another recommendation was that a more comprehensive State ECT register be created. This would allow more accurate estimations of the number of ECT administrations in future, and facilitate more effective and efficient monitoring of ECT practice. Overall, it was anticipated that the result of this thesis would contribute towards the prescribing practice of clinicians, and direct mental health education programmers, researchers and policy makers

The simplification of fuzzy control algorithm and hardware implementation

The conventional interface composition algorithm of a fuzzy controller is very time and memory consuming. As a result, it is difficult to do real time fuzzy inference, and most fuzzy controllers are realized by look-up tables. Here, researchers derive a simplified algorithm using the defuzzification mean of maximum. This algorithm takes shorter computation time and needs less memory usage, thus making it possible to compute the fuzzy inference on real time and easy to tune the control rules on line. A hardware implementation based on a simplified fuzzy inference algorithm is described

A buckling model for the stability design of steel columns with intermediate gravity loads

This paper points out an accurate buckling model for determining the flexural effective length of a steel column subjected to intermediate gravity loads, for applications in the 2D second-order elastic analysis based design procedure. The proposed buckling model has notional horizontal restraints where equivalent horizontal forces have been applied, and can be readily programmed into a structural analysis/design software. Thirty columns having various end restraints and subjected to concentrated gravity loads within their unsupported lengths are analysed to demonstrate the merits of the proposed buckling model. It is shown that, in most of the cases analysed, the proposed buckling model leads to more liberal column capacities compared to the use of the unity effective length factor or the buckling model described in the European drive-in rack design code. The more liberal capacities are very close to the ultimate loads determined through second-order plastic-zone analysis

In-plane Shear Lag of Bolted Connections

This paper points out that the shear lag factors embedded in the design equations specified in the North American, European and Australasian cold-formed steel structures codes for determining the net section tension capacity of bolted connections in flat steel sheets either yield “anomalous” results or become irrelevant when they exceed unity. The anomaly is demonstrated through laboratory tests and is explained using simple calculus. A proper mathematical expression for the in-plane shear lag factor, which does not suffer from the anomaly of the code equations and never implies shear lag factors greater than unity for any configuration, is presented and found to yield improved results compared to the current code equations. A resistance factor of 0.8 for the proposed equation is determined with respect to the LRFD approach given in the North American specification for the design of cold-formed steel structures

Design Equations for Tensile Rupture Resistance of Bolted Connections in Cold-Formed Steel Members

This paper summarises and re-examines the authors’ previous research results concerning the tensile rupture resistance of cold-formed steel bolted connections in a flat sheet, in a channel’s web, and in one leg of an angle section. Staggered bolted connections are also included. The fundamental shortcomings of the design equations given in the 2012 North American Specification for the Design of Cold-formed Steel Structural Members are described, and the alternative design equations proposed by the authors are shown. The alternative equations are checked against laboratory test results obtained by the authors and other researchers where the bolts had not been snug-tightened and the failure modes were correctly identified. The reliability analyses previously carried out by the authors are repeated using additional test data and the statistical data provided in the current North American specification. A uniform resistance factor of 0.70 is recommended for all the proposed equations for determining the tensile rupture resistance of bolted connections in cold-formed steel members

Henneguya sp. in yellowfin goby Acanthogobius flavimanus from the San Francisco Estuary.

Myxozoan spores were observed in yellowfin goby Acanthogobius flavimanus collected from Suisun Marsh, San Francisco Estuary (SFE). Although histopathological changes associated with the parasite were not observed, the spores formed plasmodia that partially blocked the gastric and intestinal mucosa and gut lumen and may affect the perfomance and survival of the yellowfin goby. Morphological features of the spores resembled Henneguya sp. and molecular analysis of the 18S ribosomal DNA (Domain III) confirmed close similarity to H. rhinogobii and H. pseudorhinogobii isolated from the Japanese freshwater goby. The yellowfin goby myxozoan however, is likely an undescribed species based on phylogenetic analysis and morphologic features. Detailed description of vegetative and spore stages are currently lacking for proposal to a new species of Henneguya. A specific PCR test was developed, which confirmed a 100% prevalence of the parasite among randomly collected gobies in group 1 (N = 30) and group 2 (N = 15) at termination of the study at one month in captivity. The myxozoan was also detected from 18 gobies (12%) that died in the first group within two weeks in captivity. Apparently healthy gobies that served as controls did not reveal the presence of the myxozoan by PCR. This study documents the occurrence of a potentially new species of myxozoan in the yellowfin goby and underscores the detection of a parasitic infection in an introduced fish in the SFE. Although the pathogenesis of the myxozoan was not assessed and the prevalence as reported here is restricted to a comparatively small collection site in Suisun slough, the reemergence, identification, and ecological relevance of the parasite on goby populations in the SFE may be investigated in the future using the specific diagnostic tool developed in this study