143 research outputs found
Consumer Perception, Attitudes, Liking and Preferences for Olive Oil
The consumption of healthful olive oil (OO) has grown considerably over the past 20 years, particularly in areas outside of Europe. To meet this demand, worldwide production of OO has doubled over this time period. Greece, Italy and Spain remain the major producers of this commodity; however, significant growth in production has also occurred in countries such as Australia and the US. OO consumption is closely associated with the traditional Mediterranean diet. It is likely that the potential health benefits of using OO as a primary dietary fat have been a driver of increased intake, but undoubtedly other factors will be involved. An understanding of the factors that influence consumers’ perceptions, attitudes, liking and preferences for OO will be of benefit to the OO sector. Olive growers, OO manufacturers, packaging specialists and marketers, etc. can utilize these insights to aid in the development and delivery of OO products in line with consumer needs and wants, and help drive further growth in this sector particularly with regard to new and emerging markets. The following chapter details information on the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that have demonstrated an influence on consumer perception, attitudes, liking and preferences for OO
Coffee husk mulch on soil erosion and runoff: experiences under rainfall simulation experiment
[EN] The high erosion rates found in the agriculture
land make valuable the use of mulches to control the soil and
water losses. Coffee husk (Coffea canephora var. robusta)
can be one of those mulches. This paper evaluates how to apply
the mulch in order to obtain the best effectiveness. An experimental
factorial design 4×3×2 with two replicates was
designed in a greenhouse with a total number of 48 cases. All
the samples were deposited in trays of 0.51m2 and applied a
simulated rain of 122mmh−1 during 21 min. The factors examined
were the following: four soil classes; three treatments
buried (B), surface (S) and non-residue (C) and the presence
(WC) or absence (WOC) of the soil surface crusting.
The coffee husk residue (S and B treatments) reduced runoff
by 10.2 and 46% respectively, soil losses by 78.3 and 88.7%
and sediment concentration by 77 and 84.4 %. The infiltration
rate increased on average by 104 and 167 %, and time to
runoff by 1.58 and 2.07 min respectively. Coffee husk is an
efficient mulch to reduce the soil and water losses, although
it could not completely cushion the influence of crust.Moreno-Ramón, H.; Quizembe, S.; Ibañez Asensio, S. (2014). Coffee husk mulch on soil erosion and runoff: experiences under rainfall simulation experiment. Solid Earth and Discussions. 5:851-862. doi:10.5194/se-5-851-2014S8518625Abdelkadir, A. and Yimer, F.: Soil water property variations in three adjacent land use types in the Rift Valley area of Ethiopia, J. Arid Environ., 75, 1067–1071, 2011.Adekalu, K. O., Okunade, D. A., and Osunbitan, J. A.: Compaction and mulching effects on soil loss and runoff from two southwestern Nigeria agriculture soils, Geoderma, 137, 226–230, 2006.Bakr, N., Weindorf, D. C., Zhu, Y., Arceneaux, A. E., and Selim, H. M.: Evaluation of compost/mulch as highway embankment erosion control in Louisiana at the plot-scale, J. Hydrol., 468–469, 257–267, 2012.Bekalo, S. A. and Reinhart, H.-W.: Fibers of coffee husk and hulls for the production of particleboard, Mater. Struct. 43, 1049–1060, 2010.Bielders, C. 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Predicting Clinical Outcomes in Cardiovascular Diseases : methodological advancements and applications
In this thesis we aimed to improve the prediction of clinical outcomes in cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in several ways. Motivated by an increasing attention for CVD in women, we made an overview of all available prediction models for CVD in women and investigated how well they performed.
Secondly we focused on dynamic models, that use changes in the status of the patient to get better estimates of the risk of clinical outcomes
Colorectal cancer Outcomes in people with Severe Mental Illness Cohort (COSMIC): A protocol for an Australian retrospective cohort using linked administrative data
Introduction: Colorectal cancer (CRC) mortality is significantly higher in those with severe mental illness (SMI) compared with the general population, despite similar incidence rates, suggesting that barriers to optimal screening and cancer care may contribute to disparities in CRC mortality in those with SMI. This study aims to compare participation in Australia's National Bowel Cancer Screening Programme (NBCSP) in those with SMI and those in the general population. We will also investigate treatment pathways after diagnosis to determine whether treatment variations could explain differences in CRC mortality.
Methods and analysis: We will undertake a retrospective cohort study of Australians using linked administrative data to assess differences in screening and cancer care between those with and without SMI, aged 50-74 years on or after 1 January 2006. People with SMI will be defined using antipsychotic medication prescription data. The comparison group will be people enrolled in Medicare (Australia's universal healthcare system) who have not been prescribed antipsychotic medication. Data on outcomes (NBCSP participation, follow-up colonoscopy, CRC incidence and CRC-cause and all-cause mortality) and confounders will be obtained from national-based and state-based administrative health datasets. All people in New South Wales, aged 50-74 with a new diagnosis of CRC on or after 1 January 2006, will be ascertained to examine stage at diagnosis and cancer treatment in those with and without SMI. Poisson regression will be used to calculate incidence rates and rate ratios for each outcome.
Ethics and dissemination: Ethics approval has been obtained from the University of Queensland Human Research Ethics Committee, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Ethics Committee and data custodians from every Australian State/Territory. Findings will be disseminated via publications in peer-reviewed journals and presented at appropriate conferences. Trial registration number ACTRN12620000781943
Joint models for longitudinal and time-to-event data in a case-cohort design
Studies with longitudinal measurements are common in clinical research. Particular interest lies in studies where the repeated measurements are used to predict a time‐to‐event outcome, such as mortality, in a dynamic manner. If event rates in a study are low, however, and most information is to be expected from the patients experiencing the study endpoint, it may be more cost efficient to only use a subset of the data. One way of achieving this is by applying a case‐cohort design, which selects all cases and only a random samples of the noncases. In the standard way of analyzing data in a case‐cohort design, the noncases who were not selected are completely excluded from analysis; however, the overrepresentation of the cases will lead to bias. We propose to include survival information
Prognostic value of serial N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide measurements in adults with congenital heart disease
Background--A single NT-proBNP (N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide) measurement is a strong prognostic factor in adult congenital heart disease. This study investigates NT-proBNP profiles within patients with adult congenital heart disease and relates these to cardiovascular events. Methods and Results--In this prospective cohort, 602 patients with adult congenital heart disease were enrolled at the outpatient clinic (years 2011-2013). NT-proBNP was measured at study inclusion in 595 patients (median age 33 [IQR 25-41] years, 58% male, 90% NYHA I) and at subsequent annual visits. The primary end point was defined as death, heart failure, hospitalization, arrhythmia, thromboembolic event, or cardiac intervention; the secondary end point as death or heart failure. Repeated measurements were analyzed using linear mixed models and joint models. During a median follow-up of 4.4 [IQR 3.8-4.8] years, a total of 2424 repeated measurements were collected. Average NT-proBNP increase was 2.9 pmol/L the year before the primary end point (n=199, 34%) and 18.2 pmol/L before the secondary end point (n=58, 10%), compared with 0.3 pmol/L in patients who remained end point-free (P-value for difference in slope 0.006 and < 0.
The geometry of spontaneous spiking in neuronal networks
The mathematical theory of pattern formation in electrically coupled networks
of excitable neurons forced by small noise is presented in this work. Using the
Freidlin-Wentzell large deviation theory for randomly perturbed dynamical
systems and the elements of the algebraic graph theory, we identify and analyze
the main regimes in the network dynamics in terms of the key control
parameters: excitability, coupling strength, and network topology. The analysis
reveals the geometry of spontaneous dynamics in electrically coupled network.
Specifically, we show that the location of the minima of a certain continuous
function on the surface of the unit n-cube encodes the most likely activity
patterns generated by the network. By studying how the minima of this function
evolve under the variation of the coupling strength, we describe the principal
transformations in the network dynamics. The minimization problem is also used
for the quantitative description of the main dynamical regimes and transitions
between them. In particular, for the weak and strong coupling regimes, we
present asymptotic formulas for the network activity rate as a function of the
coupling strength and the degree of the network. The variational analysis is
complemented by the stability analysis of the synchronous state in the strong
coupling regime. The stability estimates reveal the contribution of the network
connectivity and the properties of the cycle subspace associated with the graph
of the network to its synchronization properties. This work is motivated by the
experimental and modeling studies of the ensemble of neurons in the Locus
Coeruleus, a nucleus in the brainstem involved in the regulation of cognitive
performance and behavior
Can Australian Universities Take Measures to Increase the Lecture Attendance of Marketing Students?
Genomewide meta-analysis identifies loci associated with IGF-I and IGFBP-3 levels with impact on age-related traits
The growth hormone/insulin-like growth factor (IGF) axis can be manipulated in animal models to promote longevity, and IGF-related proteins including IGF-I and IGF-binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) have also been implicated in risk of human diseases including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and cancer. Throug
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