650 research outputs found

    Leisure studies: themes and perspectives

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    A Morphological and Anatomical Comparison of Winter Rosette Leaves and Summer Leaves of Some Prairie Forbs

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    Morphological characteristics including leaf size, shape, color, type of margins, type and degree of pubescence, and stomatal density, and anatomical characteristics including arrangement of tissues, relative size and shape of cells, and types of cells or tissues, of winter rosette leaves and summer leaves of some native forbs were compared. Morphological results were obtained by observing whole leaves. Later the leaves were pressed and then photographed. Comparison of stomatal densities were made by observing microscopic slides of epidermal peels. Photomicrographs of the epidermal sections were taken. Anatomical results were obtained by observing microscopic slides containing leaf cross-sections. Photomicrographs of the cross-sections were taken. Morphologically, the winter rosette leaves differed from summer leaves in that rosette leaves: (1) usually had fewer lobes when leaves were divided, (2) were relatively smaller, (3) of ten contained purple coloration, and (4) usually had a slightly higher density of trichomes. Two species showed variations in leaf margins. Variations of stomatal densities were also observed. Anatomically, winter rosette leaves differed from summer leaves in that most rosette leaves had: (1) a lower length to width ratio of palisade parenchyma cells, (2) a cross-section of reduced length and width, (3) a reduced amount of spongy or water storage parenchyma cells, and (4) a reduced amount of palisade parenchyma per volume of leaf

    An approach to treating depressive and psychotic illness in Indigenous communities.

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    This study is one of the activities of a multi-site research program, the Australian Mental Health Initiative (AIMhi), funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council. AIMhi in the Northern Territory collaborated with Aboriginal mental health workers and Northern Territory remote service providers in developing a range of resources and strategies to promote improved Indigenous mental health outcomes. A brief intervention that combines the principles of motivational interviewing, problem solving therapy and chronic disease self-management is described. The intervention has been integrated into a randomised controlled trial. Early findings suggest that the strategy and its components are well received by clients with chronic mental illness, and their carers, in remote communities

    Estimating long-term tuberculosis reactivation rates in Australian migrants

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    BACKGROUND: The risk of progression to tuberculosis (TB) disease is greatest soon after infection, yet disease may occur many years or decades later. However, rates of TB reactivation long after infection remain poorly quantified. Australia is a low-TB incidence setting and most cases occur among migrants. We explored how TB rates in Australian migrants varied with time from migration, age and gender. METHODS: We combined TB notifications in census years 2006, 2011 and 2016 with time and country-specific estimates oflatent TB prevalence in migrant cohorts to quantifypost-migration reactivation rates. RESULTS: During the census years 3,246 TB cases occurred among an estimated 2,084,000 migrants with latent-TB. There were consistent trends in post-migration reactivation rates, which appeared to be dependent on both time from migration and age. Rates were lower in cohorts with increasing time until at least twenty years from migration, and on this background there also appeared to be increasing rates during youth (15-24 years of age), and in those aged 70 years and above. Within five years of migration, annual reactivation rates were approximately 400 per 100,000 (uncertainty interval [UI]: 320-480), dropping to 170 (UI: 130-220) and 110 (UI: 70-160) from five-to-ten and ten-to-twenty, then sustaining at 60-70 per 100,000 up to sixty years from migration. Rates varied depending on age at migration. CONCLUSIONS: Post-migration reactivation rates appeared to show dependency on both time from migration and age. This approach to quantifying reactivation risk will enable evaluation of the potential impact of TB control and elimination strategies

    Delaying the COVID‐19 epidemic in Australia: evaluating the effectiveness of international travel bans

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    Objective: Following the outbreak of novel Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus‐2 (SARS‐CoV‐2), and the disease named COVID‐19, in Wuhan, China in late 2019, countries have implemented different interventions such as travel bans to slow the spread of this novel virus. This brief report evaluates the effect of travel bans imposed to prevent COVID‐19 importation in the Australian context. Methods: We developed a stochastic meta‐population model to capture the global dynamics and spread of COVID‐19. By adjusting our model to capture the travel bans imposed globally and in Australia, the predicted COVID‐19 cases imported to Australia were evaluated in comparison to observed imported cases. Results: Our modelling results closely aligned with observed cases in Australia and elsewhere. We observed a 79% reduction in COVID‐19 importation and a delay of the COVID‐19 outbreak in Australia by approximately one month. Further projection of COVID‐19 to May 2020 showed spread patterns depending on the basic reproduction number. Conclusion: Imposing the travel ban was effective in delaying widespread transmission of COVID‐19. However, strengthening of the domestic control measures is needed to prevent Australia from becoming another epicentre. Implications for public health: This report has shown the importance of border closure to pandemic control
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