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Two hundred ninety-eight primary teachers (88% female) from across all Australian states and territories reported on the frequency with which they implemented instructional adaptations for struggling writers in their classrooms. They also rated their preparation and self-efficacy for teaching writing. The majority of participating teachers indicated they provided additional instruction on spelling, capitalization and punctuation, and sentence construction at least once a week or more often. Teachers further reported implementing additional minilessons and reteaching strategies and skills, as well as extra instruction on grammar, handwriting, text structure, revising, and planning on a monthly basis or more often. The majority of teachers reported never or only once a year using adaptations to support digital writing. The frequency with which teachers provided extra instruction on spelling, handwriting, text structure, revising, and computer use differed by grade. Only teachers' perceived efficacy to teach writing made a unique and statistically significant contribution to predicting the use of instructional adaptations for writing and adaptations to support digital writing after controlling for teacher and classroom variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flood mitigation behavior is essential for effective flood risk management, particularly in Australia, where the federal government has increasingly emphasized individual responsibility for preventing and preparing for flood disasters. Despite this emphasis, around 60% of flood-prone residents hesitate to adopt private mitigation measures. Their reluctance highlights the complexities of decision making regarding the implementation mitigation measures, emphasizing the need for a comprehensive understanding of flood mitigation behavior among Australian residents. In order to address this knowledge gap, we conducted household surveys in flood-prone regions of Australia and used six machine learning algorithms—logistic regression, k -nearest neighbor, support vector machine, random forest, extreme gradient boosting, and artificial neural network—to analyze the proposed framework for flood mitigation behavior. The results of five-fold cross-validation demonstrated that the random forest algorithm provided superior accuracy for predicting protection motivation compared to the other five algorithms. Furthermore, seven of the 37 predictors utilized in the model had a higher impact on protection motivation than the other predictors. These influential predictors included self-efficacy, response efficacy, response costs, key variables within the coping appraisal factor, fear or worry about future flood risk, one variable associated with the threat appraisal factor, past experiences of flooding inside the house linked to the prior flood experience factor, and the implementation of flood mitigation measures by individuals connected to the householder, such as family, friends, and neighbors, which pertains to the social environment factor within the proposed framework for flood mitigation behavior. These predictors were deemed adequate to be used as input variables in the random forest model, because they provided accuracy and performance similar to when all 37 predictors were included. These insights into influential predictors can be used to develop an optimal prediction model for protection motivation in flood-prone areas of Australia and reduce the effort needed to collect the required data during postdisaster surveys. This research is of value to policymakers and floodplain managers in designing effective flood mitigation strategies and promoting the adoption of protective measures in flood-prone communities to reduce flood risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study analyses Australian healthy hospital retail policies to identify the similarities and differences in the policies and policy implementation processes across jurisdictions and to examine the potential impact of different policy components on dietary behaviours. Study type: Policy analysis and scoping review. Methods: Healthy retail policy documents and policy implementation guidelines for public healthcare facilities were identified via a grey literature search of health department websites in all Australian jurisdictions. Policy components and policy implementation processes were extracted and analysed for similarities and differences. The potential effectiveness of the different policy components on purchasing and/or dietary behaviours was identified via a scoping review of the academic literature, conducted in March 2023 across seven electronic databases and Google Scholar. The scoping review included studies reporting the impacts of healthy food retail interventions implemented in hospitals. No timeframe restriction was applied for either the grey literature search or the scoping review. Results: All Australian state and territory jurisdictions except the state of Tasmania have implemented jurisdiction-specific healthy retail policies in public hospital settings. There are similarities and differences in the policy components and implementation design across jurisdictions. Similarities include the policy scope, the use of a traffic-light system to classify the nutritional healthiness of food and beverages for sale, and the standards used to determine the mix of healthy and unhealthy food availability. These similarities allowed the sharing of resources across some jurisdictions. There is limited evaluation of policy impacts on purchase and/or consumption behaviours. Twenty of 27 studies identified via the scoping literature review examined interventions similar to the Australian policies and showed that these policies could result in increased purchase of healthier products among hospital staff and visitors. Key implementation success factors include strong support for the policy from all stakeholders, practical implementation support resources, and impacts on retailer profitability. Conclusions: The healthy hospital retail policies implemented across Australian jurisdictions could encourage healthier food and beverage purchases among staff and visitors. Evaluation of the policies could facilitate further refinement to enhance the effectiveness of the policies and translation of learnings to international contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hazaras are a newly emerging community in Australia and limited research has explored their mental health. The first aim of this study was to explore levels of psychological distress and subjective well-being reported by Hazaras in Australia, and whether scores on psychosocial variables (self-compassion, self-coldness, acculturation, resilience, spirituality), psychological distress and domains of subjective well-being differed by sociodemographic groups. The second aim had two parts: (a) to examine bivariate relationships between the psychosocial variables, psychological distress and subjective well-being; and (b) to examine whether the psychosocial predictor variables independently contributed to subjective well-being and psychological distress when controlling for sociodemographic characteristics. Seventy-two Hazaras (58 men and 14 women), with a mean age of 28.82 years (SD = 8.84) and average length of time residing in Australia of 10.17 years (SD = 4.11), completed an online survey. There were sociodemographic differences in relation to key variables of interest; for example, participants who did not have family members in Australia reported lower levels of global life satisfaction. Moderate negative relationships were found between self-compassion and psychological distress and between self-coldness and subjective well-being. Self-coldness, self-compassion, resilience and acculturation contributed uniquely to psychological distress and subjective well-being when controlling for sociodemographic variables. Although migration programmes that provide permanent residency and allow family members to join refugees in Australia are limited, they appear important. Many of the difficulties facing Hazaras are ongoing, external and beyond their control (e.g. visa status); however, there is a possibility that self-compassion can play a role as a protective factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces an innovative framework for wind power prediction that focuses on the future of energy forecasting utilizing intelligent deep learning and strategic feature engineering. This research investigates the application of a state-of-the-art deep learning model for wind energy prediction to make extremely short-term forecasts using real-time data on wind generation from New South Wales, Australia. In contrast with typical approaches to wind energy forecasting, this model relies entirely on historical data and strategic feature engineering to make predictions, rather than relying on meteorological parameters. A hybrid feature engineering strategy that integrates features from several feature generation techniques to obtain the optimal input parameters is a significant contribution to this work. The model's performance is assessed using key metrics, yielding optimal results with a Mean Absolute Error (MAE) of 8.76, Mean Squared Error (MSE) of 139.49, Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) of 11.81, R-squared score of 0.997, and Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) of 4.85%. Additionally, the proposed framework outperforms six other deep learning and hybrid deep learning models in terms of wind energy prediction accuracy. These findings highlight the importance of advanced data analysis for feature generation in data processing, pointing to its key role in boosting the precision of forecasting applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the narratives that circulate about borderline personality disorder (BPD) in health-care settings in Australia and the effects such narratives can have on how people practice and seek out care. People with a BPD diagnosis frequently access health-care services, often encountering stigma and discrimination. Drawing on narrative theory, we critically unpack the circulation and capacities of BPD narratives and the ways they can often contribute to poor and troubling experiences. This article is based on qualitative interviews with people living with a BPD diagnosis, as well as health practitioners who work with people with a BPD diagnosis. Our findings identified insidious and powerful BPD narratives that circulate in health-care settings, particularly in short-term, acute, or non-specialist contexts, such as emergency departments and in-patient units. These narratives influenced the ways that participants both practiced and sought out care. To improve health service quality for people with a BPD diagnosis, or those experiencing mental distress, it is important to challenge the sociocultural-political norms and relations that can influence approaches to care and practice. Disrupting and reframing negative BPD narratives and raising awareness about the impact of stories that are told about BPD have the potential to generate social change., (© 2024 The Author(s). Sociology of Health & Illness published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness.)

A circular economy involves managing and reducing the environmental and social impacts of products and materials throughout their entire lifecycle, from production to end of life, including clean energy technologies. The remarkable growth of wind turbine (WT) deployment in Australia, as a clean energy source, is promising, with over 10 gigawatts (GW) installed by 2023. Responsible management of wind turbines throughout the entire supply chain, including their end of life, is crucial to prevent potential environmental issues caused by significant waste volumes and to identify opportunities for resource recovery. This study offers a comprehensive overview of current and future WT waste through material flow analysis (MFA) under five national wind energy deployment scenarios, considering various wind turbine technologies. The results indicate that the projected cumulative WT installation capacity will range from 13 to 38 GW by 2041. Consequently, the cumulative WT waste volume is expected to range between 6.69 and 19.76 million tonnes in 2060, depending on the scenario, with the "slow change" scenario producing the least waste and the "step change" scenario generating the most. The estimated waste stream will see a rapid increase from about 2028, encompassing a variety of materials, primarily concrete at 10.20 million tonnes, followed by 3.21 million tonnes of steel and 35.41 kt of copper by 2060. Additionally, valuable materials such as rare earth elements (REEs) and composites, despite their smaller quantities, have significant environmental, economic, and supply chain security implications. This substantial waste material presents an opportunity for resource recovery and underscores the importance of adopting a circular economy approach for wind energy systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large proportion of photovoltaic (PV) power generation is connected to the power grid, and its volatility and stochasticity have significant impacts on the power system. Accurate PV power forecasting is of great significance in optimizing the safe operation of the power grid and power market transactions. In this paper, a novel dual-channel PV power forecasting method based on a temporal convolutional network (TCN) is proposed. The method deeply integrates the PV station feature data with the model computing mechanism through the dual-channel model architecture; utilizes the combination of multihead attention (MHA) and TCN to extract the multidimensional spatio-temporal features between other meteorological variables and the PV power; and utilizes a single TCN to fully extract the temporal constraints of the power sequence elements. The weighted fusion of the dual-channel feature data ultimately yields the ideal forecasting results. The experimental data in this study are from a 26.52 kW PV power plant in central Australia. The experiments were carried out over seven different input window widths, and the two models that currently show superior performance within the field of PV power forecasting: the convolutional neural network (CNN), and the convolutional neural network combined with a long and short-term memory network (CNN_LSTM), are used as the baseline models. The experimental results show that the proposed model and the baseline models both obtained the best forecasting performance over a 1-day input window width, while the proposed model exhibited superior forecasting performance compared to the baseline model. It also shows that designing model architectures that deeply integrate the data input method with the model mechanism has research potential in the field of PV power forecasting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: People with lived experience of severe mental illness (PWLE) live around 20 years less than the general population. Most deaths are due to preventable health conditions. Improved access to high-quality preventive health care could help reduce this health inequity. This study aimed to answer the question: What helps PWLE access preventive care from their GP to prevent long-term physical conditions? Methods: Qualitative interviews (n = 10) and a focus group (n = 10 participants) were conducted with PWLE who accessed a community mental health service and their carers (n = 5). An asset-based framework was used to explore what helps participants access and engage with a GP. A conceptual framework of access to care guided data collection and analysis. Member checking was conducted with PWLE, service providers and other stakeholders. A lived experience researcher was involved in all stages of the study. Results: PWLE and their carers identified multiple challenges to accessing high-quality preventive care, including the impacts of their mental illness, cognitive capacity, experiences of discrimination and low income. Some GPs facilitated access and communication. Key facilitators to access were support people and affordable preventive care. Conclusion: GPs can play an important role in facilitating access and communication with PWLE but need support to do so, particularly in the context of current demands in the Australian health system. Support workers, carers and mental health services are key assets in supporting PWLE and facilitating communication between PWLE and GPs. GP capacity building and system changes are needed to strengthen primary care's responsiveness to PWLE and ability to engage in collaborative/shared care. People with lived experience of severe mental illness (PWLE) experience poorer physical health and worse access to preventive care than the general population. This paper provides information from a lived experience perspective on how PWLE in Sydney, Australia have been able to access preventive care from a GP. These results highlight the importance of supporting PWLE to access effective preventive care across their journey and suggest specific areas for improvement in GP capabilities and care coordination/shared care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Duboisia species, a group of plants native to Australia, have been historically valued for their pharmacological properties and have played a significant role in traditional medicine and pharmaceutical research. Persistent efforts are underway to enhance the efficacy of the active ingredient scopolamine, employing both conventional breeding methods and advanced biotechnology tools. The primary objective of this research was to establish a highly efficient method for isolating mesophyll protoplasts and facilitating their regeneration, thereby laying a robust foundation for the application of various advanced plant biotechnology tools in the pursuit of genetic enhancement. The mesophyll protoplast isolation process was developed for hybrid D. myoporoides × D. hopwoodii with careful optimisation of the following parameters: leaf strip size; incubation conditions; physical treatment; and enzyme concentration. The optimal parameters were combined in each individual step; the best enzyme concentration was determined to be 2% (w/v) cellulysin and 0.5% (w/v) macerase. Protoplast yield was found to be greatly affected by the enzyme concentrations. The isolated protoplasts were cultured at a density of 0.5 × 105 to best sustain the highest cell division (33.2%) and a microcalli induction frequency of 17.9%. After 40 days of culture in a modified KM8P medium at 25 °C in darkness, visible microcalli were transferred to a solidified Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium with 1 mg L−1 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) for callus induction under a 16 h photoperiod. After 30 days of culture, compact organogenic calli were transferred into a solid MS medium with 6-benzylaminopurine (BA) alone or thidiazuron (TDZ) alone or in combination with BA or naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) for shoot regeneration. The maximum shoot regeneration frequency (63.3%) was observed in the medium with 1.5 mg L−1 TDZ alone. For the first time, a reliable protoplast isolation and regeneration system from mesophyll cells was established for Duboisia with high protoplast viability, successful microcalli formation, and intact plant regeneration. This innovation will significantly contribute towards the genetic enhancement of the Duboisia species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims: Phosphorus (P) is a restricting nutrient for crop productivity worldwide. P deficiency can lead to stunted growth and development, eventually affecting crop yield. But less is documented about the impact of P fertility on industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) production in the low-P soils of south-western Australia. We aimed to investigate the effect of P rates on growth, physiology, rhizosphere carboxylate exudation, nutrient uptake and P-use efficiency in hemp. Methods: The study was conducted in a randomised complete block design with four P rates (0, 40, 80 and 120 mg P kg–1 dry soil) and three hemp varieties (Morpeth, Han FNQ and Fedora 17). Plants were grown and raised in a controlled-environment phytotron until harvested 35 days after sowing at vegetative growth stage (3rd to nth leaf pair). Results: Our results revealed a strong influence of treatment (P rate) on hemp growth, physiology, biomass, nutrient uptake and P-use efficiency compared to variety and the variety × treatment interaction. Hemp roots predominantly released citrate in P-deficient conditions and gradually shifted to malate exudation with increasing P supply. The N:P ratio, leaf chlorophyll, and gas exchange data coupled with shoot and root length data suggest that Morpeth and Fedora 17 differ in morpho-physiological adaptations for optimum photosynthesis and growth, with high leaf chlorophyll and coarse root length achieved by Morpeth and high intercellular CO2 concentration and shoot length by Fedora 17. Conclusions: Morpeth and Fedora 17 had high shoot biomass, root length, root surface area and agronomic P-use and P-utilisation efficiencies in response to increasing soil P, while Han FNQ had moderate shoot yield, root growth, high citrate exudation, tissue P concentration and P-uptake efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Hybrids between the critically endangered Siamese crocodile (Crocodylus siamensis) and least-concern saltwater crocodile (C. porosus) pose a significant challenge to conservation efforts due to human activities. Previous studies used microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA data to identify these hybrids, but potential biases and genetic drift within the populations could influence the results. To address these limitations and gain a clearer understanding of the genetic dynamics, we employed DArT sequencing to identify genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in both species and confirm hybrid scenarios. We compared a population of Australian saltwater crocodiles to assess species-specific SNP distribution. Various analytical approaches were used to diagnose hybridization levels, especially in cases with potential backcrossing. Approximately 17.00–26.00% of loci were shared between Siamese and saltwater crocodile genomes. We identified 8051 species-specific SNP loci for Siamese crocodiles and 1288 for saltwater crocodiles. Using a PCR-based approach, three SNP loci were developed as markers, successfully enabling the distinction between species and various levels of hybridization. By combining mitochondrial and nuclear genetic information with species-diagnostic DNA markers, we developed a novel method for conservation prioritization, aiding long-term species survival through reintroduction and management programs. Hybrids between the critically endangered Siamese crocodile (Crocodylus siamensis) and least-concern saltwater crocodile (C. porosus) in captive populations represent a serious challenge for conservation and reintroduction programs due to the impact of anthropogenic activities. A previous study used microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA data to establish the criteria for identifying species and their hybrids; however, the results may have been influenced by biased allelic frequencies and genetic drift within the examined population. To overcome these limitations and identify the true signals of selection, alternative DNA markers and a diverse set of populations should be employed. Therefore, this study used DArT sequencing to identify genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in both species and confirm the genetic scenario of the parental species and their hybrids. A population of saltwater crocodiles from Australia was used to compare the distribution of species-diagnostic SNPs. Different analytical approaches were compared to diagnose the level of hybridization when an admixture was present, wherein three individuals had potential backcrossing. Approximately 17.00–26.00% of loci were conserved between the Siamese and saltwater crocodile genomes. Species-diagnostic SNP loci for Siamese and saltwater crocodiles were identified as 8051 loci and 1288 loci, respectively. To validate the species-diagnostic SNP loci, a PCR-based approach was used by selecting 20 SNP loci for PCR primer design, among which 3 loci were successfully able to differentiate the actual species and different hybridization levels. Mitochondrial and nuclear genetic information, including microsatellite genotyping and species-diagnostic DNA markers, were combined as a novel method that can compensate for the limitations of each method. This method enables conservation prioritization before release into the wild, thereby ensuring sustainable genetic integrity for long-term species survival through reintroduction and management programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analysed changes in magnitude and timing of the largest annual observed daily flow (Amax), in each water year, for 596 stations in high-value water resource catchments and flood risk locations across Australia. These stations are either included in the Bureau of Meteorology's Hydrologic Reference Stations or used in its operational flood forecasting services. Monotonic trend (which is either consistently increasing or decreasing) analyses of the magnitude and timing of flood peaks (estimated using Amax) were performed using the Theil–Sen and Mann–Kendall approaches and circular statistics to identify the strength of seasonality and timing. We analysed regional significance across different drainage divisions using the Walker test. Monotonic decreasing trends in Amax flood magnitude were found in the Murray–Darling River Basin and in other drainage divisions in Victoria, southwest and midwest of Western Australia and South Australia. No significant obvious pattern in Amax magnitude was detected in northern Queensland, coastal NSW, central Australia and Tasmania. Monotonic increasing trends were only found in the Tanami–Timor Sea Coast drainage division in northern Australia. Monotonic trends in Amax magnitude were regionally significant at the drainage division scale. We found two distinct patterns in flood seasonality and timing. In the northern and southern parts of Australia, flood peaks generally occur from February to March and August to October, respectively. The strength of this seasonality varies across the country. Weaker seasonality was detected for locations in the Murray–Darling River Basin, and stronger seasonality was evident in northern Australia, the southwest of Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania. The trends of seasonality and timing reveal that in general, flood peaks have occurred later in the water year in recent years. In northern Australia, flood peaks have generally occurred earlier, at a rate of 12 days/decade. In Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania, the trends in timing are generally mixed. However, in the southwest of Western Australia, the largest change in timing was evident, with Amax peaks commencing later at a rate of 15 days/decade. Decadal variability in flood timing was found at the drainage division scale as well. Most stations show a decreasing trend in Amax magnitude, but how that trend is associated with the change in timing is not clear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Conservation Biology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Australians with a psychosocial disability (PSD) and a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) plan may at times require emergency care due to the fluctuating nature of their physical and mental health conditions or when their supports have become insufficient. This nationwide study investigated the experiences of people presenting to an emergency department (ED) who have a PSD and an NDIS plan. The objective was to understand current care and communication practices and to provide recommendations for service integration. Twenty-four interviews were conducted with people who had a PSD and an NDIS plan. Participants were asked semi-structured questions about their experiences when engaging with NDIS processes and when engaging with the ED as an NDIS recipient and how communication practices could be improved between the two services. A qualitative, descriptive thematic analysis approach was used. A lived experience advisory group participated in the research and provided commentary. The findings of this study indicate that the NDIS, as a personalised budget scheme, presents challenges for people with complex PSD and physical needs. ED clinicians appear to be unclear about what the NDIS provides and communication between the two systems is fragmented and inconsistent. The themes identified from the analysed transcripts are: (a) People with PSD experience distress when dealing with the NDIS; (b) There's a blame game between the ED and the NDIS; and (c) Inadequate service integration between the ED and NDIS. Recommendations to assist with service integration include building service capacity, providing overlapping care and bridging the diverse biomedical, psychosocial and disability care services., (© 2024 The Authors. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

A strong First Nations health workforce is necessary to meet community needs, health rights, and health equity. This paper reports the findings from a national survey of Australia's First Nations people employed in health services to identify enablers and barriers to career development, including variations by geographic location and organisation type. A cross-sectional online survey was undertaken across professions, roles, and jurisdictions. The survey was developed collaboratively by Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal academics and Aboriginal leaders. To recruit participants, the survey was promoted by key professional organisations, First Nations peak bodies and affiliates, and national forums. In addition to descriptive statistics, logistic regression was used to identify predictors of satisfaction with career development and whether this varied by geographic location or organisation type. Of the 332 participants currently employed in health services, 50% worked in regional and remote areas and 15% in Aboriginal Community-Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs) with the remainder in government and private health services. All enablers identified were associated with satisfaction with career development and did not vary by location or organisation type. "Racism from colleagues" and "lack of cultural awareness," "not feeling supported by their manager," "not having role models or mentors," and "inflexible human resource policies" predicted lower satisfaction with career development only for those employed in government/other services. First Nations people leading career development were strongly supported. The implications for all workplaces are that offering even a few career development opportunities, together with supporting leadership by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff, can make a major difference to satisfaction and retention. Concurrently, attention should be given to building managerial cultural capabilities and skills in supporting First Nations' staff career development, building cultural safety, providing formal mentors and addressing discriminatory and inflexible human resources policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Universities often struggle to translate theory of inclusive education into real life practices for pre-service teachers (PSTs). In this paper, we evaluate an innovative partnership between Australian secondary school teachers and university academics where they co-designed and co-taught an undergraduate inclusive education course. We used a quasi-experimental design where 67 PSTs were grouped into two cohorts: one co-taught by the team of school educators and university academics (n = 26), the other taught only by university academics (n = 41). PSTs' scores on teaching efficacy, attitudes and intentions to teach in inclusive classrooms were measured at the pre and posttest stages of the course. Our evaluation showed significant increases in positive attitudes and teaching efficacy skills, decreased concerns and higher intentions to teach in inclusive classrooms among PSTs who were co-taught. The co-teaching team also identified various professional and personal benefits of collaborating. We further discuss the implications of our research for teacher education programmes and the usefulness of including school educators' expertise in bridging the gaps between theory and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Australian Seismological Reference Model (AuSREM) represents a state‐of‐the‐art geophysical synthesis of the Australian continent. To date, its shear‐wave component has limited resolution at lower‐crustal to uppermost‐mantle depths, where it is mainly constrained by sparse measurements collected at the local scale. In this study, we compile a large data set of surface‐wave phase velocities based on seismic ambient noise and teleseismic earthquakes, to produce Rayleigh and Love phase‐velocity maps of continental Australia in a broad period range (4–200 s). Via transdimensional Bayesian inversion, we translate the phase‐velocity maps into a 3‐D shear‐wave velocity model extending to 300 km depth. Owing to the unprecedented seismic coverage and to the joint use of ambient‐noise and teleseismic data, the retrieved model fills a tomographic gap in the known shear‐wave velocity structure of the continent, comprising lower‐crustal to uppermost mantle depths. Consistent with AuSREM, strong velocity heterogeneities in our model highlight the (faster) cratonic blocks and the (slower) sedimentary basins at upper‐crustal depths. At mantle depths, the most prominent feature of the continent is a large‐scale eastward decrease in shear‐wave velocity. We interpret our observations in light of the relevant literature, and produce depth maps of the Moho and lithosphere‐asthenosphere boundary (LAB). Notably, our LAB proxy features a stripe of thicker lithosphere extending to the east coast, which is not visible in the AuSREM LAB model. This observation supports the idea that lateral variations in lithospheric thickness control both the composition and volume of surface volcanism in eastern Australia. Plain Language Summary: The current seismological reference model of Australia (AuSREM) provides spatial variations in compressional‐ and shear‐wave velocity, but has limited resolution at lower‐crustal to uppermost‐mantle depths. In this study, we measure surface‐wave (Rayleigh and Love) phase velocities across Australia using both seismic ambient noise (continuous background noise largely generated by oceans) and teleseismic (distant) earthquakes. We use the compiled data set to produce a 3‐D shear‐wave velocity model of Australia, characterized by unprecedented resolution throughout the crust and extending to 300 km depth. Consistent with AuSREM, our model allows the (faster) cratonic blocks to be clearly discriminated from the (slower) sedimentary basins at upper‐crustal depths. The upper mantle beneath Australia is characterized by a large‐scale pattern of shear‐wave velocity decreasing eastward. Through our 3‐D shear‐wave velocity model, we also provide estimates of crustal and lithospheric thickness. The lateral variations of the latter support the hypothesis that lithospheric thickness controls both the composition and volume of surface volcanism in eastern Australia. Key Points: 3‐D shear‐velocity model of Australia extending to 300 km depth, derived from Rayleigh and Love phase velocities in the period range 4–200 sContinent‐wide estimate of Moho, and good illumination of structural continuity between lower crust and upper mantleLithosphere‐asthenosphere boundary proxy supports lithospheric thickness controlling the composition and volume of surface volcanism in eastern Australia [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study intends to review studies on the success criteria and critical success factors (CSFs) for mega infrastructure construction projects (MICPs) from journal articles between 2000 and 2018 to (1) identify the publication trend of success criteria and CSFs for MICPs; (2) explore distributions of selected papers, including the distribution of journals, authors' origin/country and publications by country or region focus; and (3) summarize the findings of success criteria and CSFs studies of MICPs. Design/methodology/approach: A methodical and systematic analysis of 38 selected journal articles was conducted using descriptive analysis to obtain the annual trend of publications, distributions of publication sources, contributors' origin/country, regions/countries of research focus, methods involved in publications and thematic analysis to identify and categorize success criteria and CSFs for MICPs. Findings: Australia, the USA, UK, China and Hong Kong had been the leading contributors for publications on success criteria and CSFs for MICPs; meanwhile, China, Australia and the UK have been the countries of focus for most studies on this specific topic. This review identified 20 success criteria grouped into 5 constructs and 36 CSFs grouped into 5 categories and, respectively, integrated them into two conceptual frameworks. The top five CSFs were adequate resource availability, partnering/relationships with key stakeholders, adequate communication and coordination among related parties, public support or acceptance and clear strategic vision. Three implications, namely, evaluation indicators, relationships between CSFs and the success of MICPs and human-related factors, are highlighted in future research. Originality/value: The identified success criteria and CSFs provide a basis for evaluating the success possibility of MICPs and serve to identify areas for further improvement. Additionally, the CSFs checklist and framework have been established, which could help to conduct further empirical studies. Finally, the holistic analysis identifies gaps in the body of knowledge, revealing avenues for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable construction should navigate the trade-offs between minimising pressure on scarce resources and the environment and maximising economic viability and human wellbeing through the whole building lifetime. In the pursuit of improving the environmental performance of the construction sector, there is growing interest in substituting conventional materials with bio-based materials. In the last decade, the use of industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) as an aggregate for bio-based materials has attracted significant attention because of its ability to sequester carbon dioxide (CO2) during plant development, its fast-growing nature, the reduced level of agricultural input requirements and its good technical properties, which could potentially result in better sustainability performance across their life cycle. This review discusses the outcomes published in the scientific literature that have dealt with the use of hemp-based construction materials in the global and Australian construction sectors, with particular emphasis on the evaluation of their sustainability aspects (i.e., environmental, economic and social) throughout their lifetime. Relevant studies were identified from a structured keyword search in the Scopus database. The results found that research on hemp-based materials has mainly focused on assessing the environmental dimension, with an emphasis on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and little consideration for economic and social aspects. The existing literature showed a strong geographical bias towards Europe; thus, the outcomes of the life cycle studies conducted may not be representative of Australia. In that line, the development of a region specific of the life cycle sustainability approach is recommended to evaluate whether hemp-based construction materials can assist in achieving GHG targets in a sustainable manner in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Crops expressing insecticidal crystal proteins of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), often provide an opportunity for lower resistance selection toward synthetic pesticides due to reduced spraying frequency and the subsequent significant increase of natural enemies for the control of secondary pests. We would therefore expect declines in insecticide resistance levels. We analyzed patterns of resistance to insecticides used against cotton bollworm (CBW, Helicoverpa armigera) and cotton aphid (Aphis gossypii) in Australia and China in relation to landscape composition and pesticide applications. In both countries, insecticide resistance in H. armigera declined rapidly in the first 7-8 years of commercial Bt cotton farming, but the trend then reversed with resistance levels either higher or the same as before Bt cotton was commercialized. The susceptibility of A. gossypii to insecticides differs between China and Australia. In China, the relatively high resistance levels in aphids did not decline after introducing Bt cotton and in fact increased. In contrast, there was no clear trend of declining resistance levels in A. gossypii after the adoption of Bt cotton in established cotton growing areas in Australia. We conclude that the resistance in H. armigera was influenced by sprays in crops other than cotton in diverse cropping landscapes; in A. gossypii, resistance was driven by the insecticide use patterns within traditional cotton growing regions. Our study implies that the principals of rational landscape level resistance management for both target and secondary pests should be adopted when commercializing Bt cotton, to better account for the compatibility of Bt crops with IPM outside and within cotton industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alexithymia refers to difficulties identifying feelings (DIF), describing feelings (DDF), and externally orientated thinking (EOT). Originally conceptualized by American psychiatrists, some researchers have since questioned the validity and application of this construct in Asian cultures. However, to date, there is little empirical work formally assessing the invariance of alexithymia across Asian and Western cultures. The present study aimed to help address this gap, by examining the psychometric properties and measurement invariance of two alexithymia measures, the Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire (PAQ) and Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 (TAS-20), across samples from Singapore (n = 434) or Australia (n = 489). The same theoretically congruent factor structure was supported across both samples; this structure was fully invariant across samples for the PAQ, and partially invariant for the TAS-20. Both measures had good internal consistency and concurrent validity across samples, except the TAS-20 EOT subscale which had low internal consistency and factor loadings in both samples. The Singaporean sample reported higher DIF and DDF for positive emotions than the Australian sample. Overall, our results support the cross-cultural validity and application of the alexithymia construct. The PAQ and TAS-20 both appear to have good utility in this respect, though the PAQ may provide a more detailed facet-level profile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mutation profile of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron (lineage BA.1) variant posed a concern for naturally acquired and vaccine-induced immunity. We investigated the ability of prior infection with an early SARS-CoV-2 ancestral isolate (Australia/VIC01/2020, VIC01) to protect against disease caused by BA.1. We established that BA.1 infection in naïve Syrian hamsters resulted in a less severe disease than a comparable dose of the ancestral virus, with fewer clinical signs including less weight loss. We present data to show that these clinical observations were almost absent in convalescent hamsters challenged with the same dose of BA.1 50 days after an initial infection with ancestral virus. These data provide evidence that convalescent immunity against ancestral SARS-CoV-2 is protective against BA.1 in the Syrian hamster model of infection. Comparison with published pre-clinical and clinical data supports consistency of the model and its predictive value for the outcome in humans. Further, the ability to detect protection against the less severe disease caused by BA.1 demonstrates continued value of the Syrian hamster model for evaluation of BA.1-specific countermeasures. Author summary: The Golden Syrian hamster model has proved to be a robust model for SARS-CoV-2, with clinical signs, pathological changes and viral load outputs providing endpoints for an animal model of COVID-19, suitable for the assessment of interventions that may serve to prevent infection, transmission and/or disease. Following wild type virus infection in the hamster model there is robust, lasting immunity and protection upon rechallenge making studying breakthrough infection difficult. The initial purpose of this study is to monitor for waning immunity in the hamster model and characterise at what timepoint breakthrough infection might occur when rechallenged. When the Omicron variant emerged in November 2021 the opportunity was taken to assess the Omicron variant in the hamster model. Here we show that at 50 days following ancestral SARS-CoV-2 infection hamsters are well protected from Omicron rechallenge, and although Omicron infection is mild in hamsters we could discriminate well between protected and unprotected hamsters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cultural competency is often promoted as a strategy to address health inequities; however, there is little evidence linking cultural competency with improved patient outcomes. This article describes the characteristics of recent educational interventions designed to improve cultural competency in healthcare workers for First Nations peoples of Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the USA. Methods: In total, 13 electronic databases and 14 websites for the period from January 2015 to May 2021 were searched. Information on the characteristics and methodological quality of included studies was extracted using standardised assessment tools. Results: Thirteen published evaluations were identified; 10 for Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The main positive outcomes reported were improvements in health professionals' attitudes and knowledge, and improved confidence in working with First Nations patients. The methodological quality of evaluations and the reporting of methodological criteria were moderate. Conclusions: Cultural competency education programs can improve knowledge, attitudes and confidence of healthcare workers to improve the health of First Nations peoples. Providing culturally safe health care should be routine practice, particularly in places where there are concentrations of First Nations peoples, yet there is relatively little research in this area. There remains limited evidence of the effectiveness of cultural education programs alone on community or patient outcomes. Cultural competency is often promoted as a strategy to address health inequities, although evidence linking cultural competency to patient outcomes is scarce. We conducted a narrative review of the recent literature on cultural education programs and found 13 published evaluations, mainly reporting improvements in health professionals' attitudes and knowledge, and improved confidence in working with First Nations patients. Although cultural education has a positive short-term impact, none of the studies included measured improved patient health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transformative urban development is urgent to achieve future sustainable development and wellbeing. Transformation can benefit from shared and cumulative learning on strategies to guide urban development across local to national scales, while also reflecting the complex emergent nature of urban systems, and the need for context-specific and place-based solutions. The article addresses this challenge, drawing on extensive transdisciplinary engagement and National Strategy co-development processes for Australia. This includes generation of two frameworks as boundary objects to assist such transdisciplinary strategy development. An 'enabling urban systems transformation' framework comprises four generic overarching transformation enablers and a set of necessary underpinning urban capacities. This also built cumulatively on other sustainability and urban transformation studies. A complementary 'knowledge for urban systems transformation' framework comprises key knowledge themes that can support an integrated systems approach to mission-focused urban transformations, such as decarbonising cities. The article provides insights on the transdisciplinary processes, urban systems frameworks, and scoping of key strategies that may help those developing transformation strategies from local to national scales. Science highlights • Transdisciplinary national urban strategy development is used to distil generic frameworks and strategy scopes with potential international application. • The frameworks also build on other published framings to support convergent, cumulative and transdisciplinary urban science. • The 'enabling transformations' and 'urban knowledge' frameworks include the perspective of those developing sustainable urban systems strategies. • The enabling framework also informs 'National Urban Policy' and 'Knowledge and Innovation Hub' strategies, and prevailing power imbalances. • The knowledge framework can help frame urban challenges, missions and knowledge programs. Policy and practice recommendations • An urban 'transformation imperative' and 'strategic response' can be co-developed from local to national scales. • Local initiative is crucial to drive urban strategies, but sustained national leadership with coherent policy across sectors and scales is also key. • Diversity in engagement participation and processes generates whole-of-urban-systems and local-to-national perspectives. • Urban solutions are context-specific but generic frameworks can help collaborative issue framing and responses. • Collaborative issue framing informed by generic frameworks can bring broader perspectives to context-specific and contested policy and practice issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It appears that up to 80% of females with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) have not been diagnosed by the age of 18. This translates to a prevalence of about 5–6%, and if true, has serious implications for female mental health. One way of finding the true value is to use Bayes' Theorem with a comorbid condition as a more easily recognizable flag. An obvious choice is anorexia nervosa (AN), but it transpires that the proportion of women with ASD who develop AN is unknown. This study uses published data in novel ways to provide two methods of estimating a range for this variable, and gives a median value of 8.3% for AN in ASD and, with four other methods, a median prevalence of 6% for female ASD. The clinical implications of the diagnosis and management of ASD and its comorbidities are discussed and, as an example, a solution is provided for the rate of ASD in symptomatic generalized joint hypermobility. It is probable that one in six women with a mental health condition is autistic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coordination of specialist with mainstream service systems is prone to role delineation and implementation difficulties worldwide. In the case of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), this specialist/mainstream interface is complicated by federalism and funding responsibilities held by different levels of government. People with disability, especially cognitive or intellectual disability, are over‐represented in Australia's prisons. Through semi‐structured interviews with professionals working at the interface of disability and criminal justice, we explore some of these interface issues with regard to NDIS services (specialist) in prisons (mainstream). We find that policy permits some NDIS‐funded services to be delivered inside prisons, such as transition services related to a person's disability, but in practice there is significant variation in how policy is understood and implemented, leading to exclusion and service gaps. This case study shines light on longstanding debates about service coordination across organisational and jurisdictional boundaries. Summary at a glance People with disability are over‐represented in Australian prisons, yet seldom have access to adequate disability services while incarcerated. This article investigates an important service interface issue for incarcerated people with disability: the availability and accessibility of National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) services in prisons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

X-linked retinitis pigmentosa (XLRP) is a rare inherited retinal disease predominantly affecting males. A comprehensive literature review was conducted to determine the prevalence of retinitis pigmentosa GTPase regulator (RPGR)-mutated XLRP. Identified studies were used to estimate four components among males: the prevalence of retinitis pigmentosa (RP), the proportion of RP that was X-linked, the proportion of misclassified inheritance type among RP cases, and the proportion of XLRP that was RPGR-mutated. Studies providing a direct estimate of XLRP prevalence were also included. The components' sample size-weighted averages were combined to determine an overall prevalence estimate. The prevalence of XLRP was estimated to be between 2.7–3.5 per 100,000 males in the US, Europe, and Australia. After correction for misclassification, the prevalence increased to 4.0–5.2 per 100,000 males. Finally, the proportion of XLRP cases due to RPGR mutations was applied, resulting in an RPGR-mutated XLRP estimate of 3.4–4.4 per 100,000 males. Studies from other countries were consistent with the results for the overall XLRP prevalence but were not included in the final calculation because of regional variations and lack of detailed information. These findings address an important gap in the understanding of RPGR-mutated XLRP by summarizing the global burden of this condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genetic progress in seed yield in lentils (Lens culinaris Medik) has increased by 1.1% per year in Australia over the past 27 years. Knowing which plant traits have changed through breeding during this time can give important insights as to how lentil yield has increased. This study aims to identify morphological and physiological traits that were directly or indirectly selected between 1993 and 2020 in the Australian lentil breeding program using 2 years of experimental data. Major changes occurred in plant architecture during this period. Divergent selection has seen the release of varieties that have sprawling to very upright types of canopies. Despite this genetic diversity in recently released varieties, there is an overall tendency of recently released varieties having increased plant height and leaf size with reduced number of branches. Increased light interception was positively correlated with year of release (YOR) and yield, and likely results from indirect selection of yield and taller plant types. There is an indication that recently released varieties have lower CO2 assimilation rate, stomatal conductance and canopy temperature depression (CTD) at high ambient temperatures (~30°C). Understanding lentil physiology will assist in identifying traits to increase yield in a changing climate with extreme weather events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bladder cancer is one of the top ten most common cancers and top ten causes of cancer death globally. 5-year survival rates have decreased in Australia from 66% to 55% in the past three decades. The current gold standard for diagnosis is cystoscopy. However, cystoscopies are an invasive and health-resource intensive procedure which has sub-optimal sensitivity for flat lesions such as CIS (carcinoma in situ) and low specificity for differentiating inflammation from cancer - hence requiring biopsies under anesthesia. Frequent and life-long surveillance cystoscopy is required for most patients since there are high rates of progression and local recurrence in high-risk non-muscle invasive cancer (NMIBC) as well as poor outcomes associated with delayed detection of muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC). There is an unmet need for a noninvasive test to provide better discrimination and risk-stratification of bladder cancer which could aid clinicians by improving patient selection for cystoscopy; enhanced risk stratification methods may guide the frequency of surveillance cystoscopies and inform treatment choices. Exosomes, which are nano-sized extracellular vesicles containing genetic material and proteins, have been shown to have functional roles in the development and progression of bladder cancer. Exosomes have also been demonstrated to be a robust source of potential biomarkers for bladder cancer diagnosis and prognosis and may also have roles as therapeutic agents. In this review, we summarize the latest evidence of biological roles of exosomes in bladder cancer and highlight their clinical significance in bladder cancer diagnosis, surveillance and treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The geostationary satellite Himawari-8 has become the primary source for fire remote-sensing detection because of its advantages of high frequency, large width and easy access. To solve the problem of difficulty in small fire detection and with a high omission on Himawari-8 image, a spatio-temporal fire detection (STFD) method based on Himawari-8 image brightness temperature change is proposed. Calculate the mean value difference of brightness temperature between multi-time series images before the target time, and use the least square model to fit the ideal mean value difference of brightness temperature between the target time and the image at the previous time. Then, the difference value of the actual brightness temperature between the target time and the last image time is calculated. The initial brightness temperature change pixels are obtained by the comparative analysis method. Based on the spatial statistical characteristics, the potential fire point is determined by the brightness temperature value ratio of the image, temperature mean and standard temperature deviation. Then, combined with the spatio-temporal context information, the persistent fire points are detected according to the threshold conditions to supplement undetected persistent fires. The results of experiments on the Himawari-8 images in Guizhou, China and southwestern Australia indicate that STFD exhibits superior performance on small fire detection points, and the accuracy is better than the several traditional methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Declines in soil multifunctionality (e.gsoil capacity to provide food and energy) are closely related to changes in the soil microbiome (e.g., diversity) Determining ecological drivers promoting such microbiome changes is critical knowledge for protecting soil functions. However, soil-microbe interactions are highly variable within environmental gradients and may not be consistent across studies. Here we propose that analysis of community dissimilarity (β-diversity) is a valuable tool for overviewing soil microbiome spatiotemporal changes. Indeed, β-diversity studies at larger scales (modelling and mapping) simplify complex multivariate interactions and refine our understanding of ecological drivers by also giving the possibility of expanding the environmental scenarios. This study represents the first spatial investigation of β-diversity in the soil microbiome of New South Wales (800,642 km 2 ), Australia. We used metabarcoding soil data (16S rRNA and ITS genes) as exact sequence variants (ASVs) and UMAP (Uniform Manifold Approximation and Projection) as the distance metric. β-Diversity maps (1000-m resolution)-concordance correlations of 0.91-0.96 and 0.91-0.95 for bacteria and fungi, respectively-showed soil biome dissimilarities driven primarily by soil chemistry-pH and effective cation exchange capacity (ECEC)-and cycles of soil temperature-land surface temperature (LST-phase and LST-amplitude). Regionally, the spatial patterns of microbes parallel the distribution of soil classes (e.g., Vertosols) beyond spatial distances and rainfall, for example. Soil classes can be valuable discriminants for monitoring approaches, for example pedogenons and pedophenons. Ultimately, cultivated soils exhibited lower richness due to declines in rare microbes which might compromise soil functions over time., (© 2023 The Authors. Molecular Ecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Wolbachia, an intracellular maternally transmitted endosymbiont, has been shown to interfere with the replication of dengue virus in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. The Wolbachia-transinfected Ae. aegypti has been currently released in many countries to test its effectiveness in preventing the transmission of dengue virus. ICMR-Vector Control Research Centre in collaboration with World Mosquito Program Monash University, Australia, has generated two new Wolbachia-introgressed Ae. aegypti Puducherry (Pud) lines via backcrossing Ae. aegypti females of Australian (Aus) strains, infected with wMel and wAlbB Wolbachia with wild-type Ae. aegypti Puducherry (Pud) males. Wolbachia infections are known to induce a fitness cost and confer benefit on the host mosquito populations that will influence spread of the Wolbachia into native wild mosquito populations during the field release. Hence, the induced fitness cost or benefit/advantage in the two newly generated Ae. aegypti (Pud) lines was assessed in the laboratory in comparison with the wild-type Ae. aegypti (Pud) strain. In addition, maternal transmission (MT) efficiency, induced cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), and insecticide resistance status of the two (Pud) lines were determined to assess the likely frequency of wMel and wAlbB infections in the native wild population after field invasion. The study shows that wMel and wAlbB infections did not induce any fitness cost on the two newly generated (Pud) lines. Rather, in terms of wing length, fecundity, egg hatch rate, and adult survival, the Wolbachia introgression conferred fitness benefits on the (Pud) lines compared to uninfected Wolbachia free wild Ae. aegypti population. wMel and wAlbB exhibited a high maternal transmission (99-100%) and induced nearly complete (98-100%) cytoplasmic incompatibility. Both the (Pud) lines were resistant to deltamethrin, malathion, DDT, and temephos, and the level of resistance was almost the same between the two lines as in the wild type. Overall, the stable association of wMel and wAlbB established with Ae. aegypti and the reproductive advantages of the (Pud) lines encourage a pilot release in the field for population replacement potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Birch (Betula platyphylla Suk.), distributed in Eurasia, North America, and Australia, is a kind of cold-resistant, fast-growing, and vital pulpwood tree species. It is also one of the most important ecological restoration tree species with high values of economic benefits in Northeast China. To improve the genetic gain and expand the economic benefit of B. platyphylla, many genetic improvements have been carried out. In China, B. platyphylla is widely distributed and varied, and there are many varieties with excellent genetic characteristics. In this paper, the genetic improvement of B. platyphylla was reviewed, and the previous research results were discussed from two aspects: conventional breeding and molecular breeding. Some problems and corresponding solutions in the genetic improvement were put forward to provide ideas for B. platyphylla breeding in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have gained significant popularity in orthopedic imaging in recent years due to their ability to solve fracture classification problems. A common criticism of CNNs is their opaque learning and reasoning process, making it difficult to trust machine diagnosis and the subsequent adoption of such algorithms in clinical setting. This is especially true when the CNN is trained with limited amount of medical data, which is a common issue as curating sufficiently large amount of annotated medical imaging data is a long and costly process. While interest has been devoted to explaining CNN learnt knowledge by visualizing network attention, the utilization of the visualized attention to improve network learning has been rarely investigated. This paper explores the effectiveness of regularizing CNN network with human-provided attention guidance on where in the image the network should look for answering clues. On two orthopedics radiographic fracture classification datasets, through extensive experiments we demonstrate that explicit human-guided attention indeed can direct correct network attention and consequently significantly improve classification performance. The development code for the proposed attention guidance is publicly available on https://github.com/zhibinliao89/fracture_attention_guidance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Whilst Enhanced Recovery after Surgery (ERAS) has been widely accepted in the international colorectal surgery community, there remains significant variations in ERAS programme implementations, compliance rates and best practice recommendations in international guidelines. Methods: A questionnaire was distributed to colorectal surgeons from Australia and New Zealand after ethics approval. It evaluated specialist attitudes towards the effectiveness of specific ERAS interventions in improving short term outcomes after colorectal surgery. The data were analysed using a rating scale and graded response model in item response theory (IRT) on Stata MP, version 15 (StataCorp LP, College Station, TX). Results: Of 300 colorectal surgeons, 95 (31.7%) participated in the survey. Of eighteen ERAS interventions, this study identified eight strategies as most effective in improving ERAS programmes alongside early oral feeding and mobilisation. These included pre-operative iron infusion for anaemic patients (IRT score = 7.82 [95% CI: 6.01–9.16]), minimally invasive surgery (IRT score = 7.77 [95% CI: 5.96–9.07]), early in-dwelling catheter removal (IRT score = 7.69 [95% CI: 5.83–9.01]), pre-operative smoking cessation (IRT score = 7.68 [95% CI: 5.49–9.18]), pre-operative counselling (IRT score = 7.44 [95% CI: 5.58–8.88]), avoiding drains in colon surgery (IRT score = 7.37 [95% CI: 5.17–8.95]), avoiding nasogastric tubes (IRT score = 7.29 [95% CI: 5.32–8.8]) and early drain removal in rectal surgery (IRT score = 5.64 [95% CI: 3.49–7.66]). Conclusions: This survey has demonstrated the current attitudes of colorectal surgeons from Australia and New Zealand regarding ERAS interventions. Eight of the interventions assessed in this study including pre-operative iron infusion for anaemic patients, minimally invasive surgery, early in-dwelling catheter removal, pre-operative smoking cessation, pre-operative counselling, avoidance of drains in colon surgery, avoiding nasogastric tubes and early drain removal in rectal surgery should be considered an important part of colorectal ERAS programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global plant breeding activities are reliant on the available genetic variation held in extant varieties and germplasm collections. Throughout the mid- to late 1900s, germplasm collecting efforts were prioritized for breeding programs to archive precious material before it disappeared and led to the development of the numerous large germplasm resources now available in different countries. In recent decades, however, the maintenance and particularly the expansion of these germplasm resources have come under threat, and there has been a significant decline in investment in further collecting expeditions, an increase in global biosecurity restrictions, and restrictions placed on the open exchange of some commercial germplasm between breeders. The large size of most genebank collections, as well as constraints surrounding the availability and reliability of accurate germplasm passport data and physical or genetic characterization of the accessions in collections, limits germplasm utilization by plant breeders. To overcome these constraints, core collections, defined as a representative subset of the total germplasm collection, have gained popularity. Core collections aim to increase germplasm utilization by containing highly characterized germplasm that attempts to capture the majority of the variation in a whole collection. With the recent availability of many new genetic tools, the potential to unlock the value of these resources can now be realized. The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) cotton breeding program supplies 100% of the cotton cultivars grown in Australia. The program is reliant on the use of plant genetic resources for the development of improved cotton varieties to address emerging challenges in pest and disease resistance as well as the global changes occurring in the climate. Currently, the CSIRO germplasm collection is actively maintained but underutilized by plant breeders. This review presents an overview of the Australian cotton germplasm resources and discusses the appropriateness of a core collection for cotton breeding programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spectral indices derived from satellite optical remote sensing data have typically been used for fire severity estimation, although other remote sensing systems such as Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) are increasingly applied. Despite a multitude of remotely sensed fire severity estimation methods, comparisons of method performance are few. Insights into the merits and limitations of remotely sensed fire severity methods help develop appropriate spatial tools for the management of fire-affected areas. We evaluated the performance of seven passive (optical) and active (LiDAR) remotely sensed fire severity estimation methods in classifying and explaining variation in a field-estimated modified Composite Burn Index (MCBI) for a recent large wildfire in south-eastern Australia. Our evaluation included three commonly applied indices; the differenced Normalized Burn Ratio (dNBR), Relative dNBR (RdNBR) and Relative Burn Ratio (RBR). We compared these NBR indices against two recently proposed fire severity estimation methods that have not previously been evaluated with CBI field data – the Vegetation Structure Perpendicular Index (VSPI) spectral index and the LiDAR point cloud-derived Profile Area Change (PAC), along with experimental relativized forms of these indices (RVSPI and RPAC, respectively). The RVSPI (κ = 0.47) demonstrated similar overall classification accuracy (N classes = 4) to the PAC (κ = 0.48), however both indices had lower classification accuracy than the dNBR (κ = 0.59), RdNBR (κ = 0.59) and RBR (κ = 0.61). The VSPI and PAC were unable to accurately represent non-structural changes caused by lower severity fire. Application of these optical and LiDAR indices should consider their discussed limitations in relation to the objectives of their application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When a longwall face approaches the finish-off line, 1 month is normally required to relocate the longwall equipment and seal the longwall panel, during which time the goaf gas atmosphere changes and the risk of spontaneous combustion and gas explosion considerably increases. To minimise the occurrence of these hazards, an improved insight into gas flow dynamics within the longwall panel is essential during the panel sealing-off process. Based on mining conditions of an Australian underground coal mine, three-dimensional computational models were developed and calibrated with onsite gas monitoring data, allowing for evaluating ventilation arrangements and understanding methane dispersion in the longwall workings during the six-stage panel sealing-off process with confidence. The simulation results indicate that nitrogen should be injected on the travel road side at a distance of 120 m behind the longwall face at a rate of 0.75 m 3 /s and the rear of the travel road should be tightly sealed at the final sealing-off stage, resulting in oxygen levels lowering than 5% in the longwall workings and producing desired panel sealing-off performance. In addition, gas sensors should be employed and positioned at the appropriate locations to reliably monitor goaf atmosphere change. This study sheds improved insights into evaluating ventilation arrangements and understanding gas flow dynamics during the panel sealing-off process and provides critical knowledge of effective proactive goaf inertisation strategies, thus minimising the risk of spontaneous heating and gas explosion and reducing environmental pollution induced by these hazards., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Background: Anastomotic leaks (AL) and surgical site infections (SSI) are serious complications after colorectal resection. Studies have shown the benefits of pre-operative oral antibiotics (OAB) with mechanical bowel preparation (MBP) in reducing AL and SSI rates. We aim to investigate our experience with the short-term outcomes of AL and SSI following elective colorectal resections in patients receiving OAB with MBP versus MBP only., Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed from our database for patients who underwent elective colorectal resection between January 2019 and November 2021. Prior to August 2020, OAB was not used as part of MBP. After 2020, Neomycin and Metronidazole were used in conjunction with MBP. We evaluated differences in AL and SSI between both groups., Results: Five hundred and seventeen patients were included from our database with 247 having MBP while 270 had OAB and MBP. There was a significantly lower rate of AL in patients receiving MBP and OAB as compared to MBP alone (0.4% versus 3.0%, P-value = 0.03). The SSI rate at our institution was 4.4%. It was lower in patients with MBP and OAB as compared to MBP alone, but this was not clinically significant (3.3% versus 5.7%, P-value = 0.19)., Conclusion: The association in the reduction of AL with the addition of OAB to the MBP protocol seen here reinforces the need for future randomized controlled trials in the Australasian context. We recommend colorectal institutions in Australian and New Zealand consider OAB with MBP as part of their elective colorectal resection protocol., (© 2023 Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.)

Background: The high contagiousness of the SARS-CoV-2, the large proportion of the population at risk of serious illness which will require hospital care and, certainly, the necessary need to protect public health has led countries worldwide to quickly resolve measures. Aims: Public health policies regarding the COVID-19 pandemic management of Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Finland and Iceland. Methods: A narrative literature review was conducted. The evaluation of the effectiveness of the countries' health policies was carried out using three indicators: the Case Fatality Rate (CFR), the number of cases and the number of deaths per 100,000 people. Results: The very fast response of the governments, the strict lockdown, the quarantine measures, the travel restrictions, the systematic testing, tracing and epidemiological surveillance, the effective communication between officials and citizens, the government's response to COVID-19 focused on allowing the relevant experts to convey important information directly to the public, the testing of older people and health professionals and the mobile tracing applications compose the most important public health interventions. All these measures combined with the adoption and implementation by the citizens and with the organization of health systems, resulted in better management of the pandemic in the countries under study. Discussion: These measures have undoubtedly been important public health policies, which are a testament to future responses to such pandemics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study contributes to the debate on the effectiveness of mandatory environmental reporting regulation in the Australian context. Our longitudinal in‐depth quantitative and qualitative analysis evaluates the changes in compliance with Australian mandatory environmental reporting regulation (the Corporations Act, s. 299(1)(f)) of Australian listed companies, as well as their changes in reporting quantity and quality from 1997 to 2017. We measure disclosure quality from a multidimensional and innovative perspective: the comprehensiveness, negativity, and substance of the disclosure. Adopting the institutional perspective of legitimacy theory and the various dynamics of the legitimacy framework developed by Suchman (1995), as well as a substantive legitimation perspective, we extend the interpretive power of legitimacy theory in the area of mandatory environmental reporting. The results show that, overall, mandatory environmental reporting in Australia is improving with respect to increased compliance with s. 299(1)(f), and increased quantity and quality of reporting. Our research provides an in‐depth examination of the process by which mandatory environmental reporting regulation becomes influential. Our findings show that s. 299(1)(f) remains effective 20 years after its adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Satin Bowerbird Optimisation (SBO) was inspired by the Satin Bowerbirds living in Australia's rainforests and other mesic habitats. Like other meta-heuristic algorithms, the main problem faced by the SBO is that it has been empirically demonstrated to become easily trapped into local optimal solutions, creating low precision and slow convergence speeds. To overcome these deficiencies, we propose herein the Adaptive Chaotic Satin Bowerbird Optimisation algorithm (AC-SBO). Within the AC-SBO algorithm, a chaotic map is introduced to modify the search process, with which to enhance global convergence speeds, and to obtain better performance. We introduced the chaos theory into the SBO optimisation process, in order to replace the main parameter's greatest step size ( α), which assists in controlling the balance between both exploration and exploitation. The search accuracy and performance of the AC-SBO algorithm were verified on ten classical benchmark functions. In addition, in the experimental CEC2014 results showed that for almost all functions, the AC-SBO technique proved superior to the other comparative algorithms optimisations. The Wilcoxon rank-sum statistical test was performed in order to judge the significance of the results, and further demonstrated the improved performance of the proposed AC-SBO algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deriving water quality criteria (WQC) for aquatic risk assessment requires sufficient toxicity data, which can determine the accuracy of WQC. Given that toxicity data vary between test species and endpoints, there is a great need to compare such data to generate the most suitable data set for WQC derivation. In the present study, a series of 11 ammonia exposure bioassays were conducted on Chironomidae species in either China or Australia, with test species and test endpoints varied (2 Chironomus sp., enzymatic up to lethal endpoints, and no‐observed‐effect concentration up to median lethal concentration [LC50] as endpoint metrics). There were no statistically significant differences between toxicity results generated from China compared to Australia using Chironomus sp., indicating that published data on native species generated in different countries could be appropriate for inclusion in the development of local Chinese WQC. In addition, the Chironomidae larvae laboratory‐based toxicity value (LC50 = 384.6 mg/L) was lower than that of the in situ field‐based toxicity value (LC50 ≥ 451.2 mg/L) where sensitive life stages are used, and, specifically for C. riparius, endpoints linked to biochemical and gene expression effects could be as sensitive as or more sensitive than chronic endpoints, both of which were more sensitive than acute endpoints. These findings help in the development of WQC by demonstrating the suitability of inclusion of toxicity data from a range of sources, as well as adding to the overall pool of knowledge regarding sensitivity to ammonia which can be used in aquatic risk assessment. Environ Toxicol Chem 2021;40:2899–2911. © 2021 SETAC [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acquiring accurate channel state information and mitigating severe intersymbol interference are challenging for underwater acoustic communications with moving transceivers due to the rapid changes of the underwater acoustic channels. In this work, we address the issue using a superimposed training (ST) scheme with a powerful channel estimation method. Different from the conventional time-multiplexed training, training sequences with a small power are superimposed with symbol sequences. The training signals are transmitted over all time, leading to enhanced tracking capability to deal with time-varying channels at the cost of only a small power loss. To realize this, based on the belief propagation, we develop a message-passing-based bidirectional channel estimation (BCE) algorithm, where all messages are Gaussian, enabling efficient implementation. In particular, the channel correlations are fully exploited through a forward recursion and a backward recursion, thereby achieving accurate channel estimation. Moreover, the ST-based BCE is combined with channel equalization (in the frequency domain) and decoding, and they are performed jointly in an iterative manner to significantly enhance the overall system performance. Field experiments were carried out in Jiaozhou Bay in 2019, and the results verify the effectiveness of the proposed scheme and algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The prevalence of dementia is generally reported to be higher among Indigenous peoples.Objective: The rates and coding of dementia mortality were compared between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.Methods: De-identified individual records on causes of death for all people aged 40 years or more who died in Australia between 2006 and 2014 (n = 1,233,084) were used. There were 185,237 records with International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, codes for dementia (Alzheimer's Disease, vascular dementia, or unspecified dementia) as the underlying cause of death or mentioned elsewhere on the death certificate. Death rates were compared using Poisson regression. Logistic regression was used to assess whether dementia was more likely to be classified as 'unspecified' type in Indigenous Australians.Results: The rates of death with dementia were 57% higher in Indigenous Australians, compared to non-Indigenous, relative rate (RR) 1.57, 95% confidence interval (CI) (1.48, 1.66), p < 0.0001. This excess of deaths was highest at ages below 75 (RRs > 2, test for interaction p < 0.0001), and among men (test for interaction p < 0.0001). When the underreporting of Indigenous status on the death certificate was taken into account the relative rate increased to 2.17, 95% CI (2.07, 2.29). Indigenous Australians were also more likely to have their dementia coded as 'unspecified' on their death certificate (Odds Ratio 1.92, 95% CI (1.66, 2.21), p < 0.0001), compared to the non-Indigenous group.Conclusion: This epidemiological analysis based on population level mortality data demonstrates the higher dementia-related mortality rate for Indigenous Australians especially at younger ages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online sales continue to grow in recent years, and so competition is increasing in the online retail industry. Website interactivity might play a crucial role in enhancing consumer perceptions, attitudes, and responses to retail websites. The purpose of this study is to propose an integrated conceptual model with the underpinnings of technology acceptance model (TAM) to demonstrate how the experiential context of website interactivity of online retail stores affect customer responses to online retailers. This study explores the effects of website interactivity on online consumers' perceptions of online retail sites using laboratory-based experiments (semi-online field experiments). A 2 × 2 between subject experimental design was conducted among 295 students from a major university in Australia. The results showed website interactivity enhances customer perceptions of usefulness and ease of using retail websites. Perceived usefulness (PU) of a website enhances intention to purchase and this influence is moderated by customer involvement in online shopping. Interestingly, the ad hoc test results indicate that the effects of involvement in online shopping on PU purchase intention link is high at high website-interactivity level. These findings contribute to the literature on online retailing and consumer behaviour in an online context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research identifies the underlying drivers impacting on health consumers' social media usage and acceptance behaviours using technology acceptance model (TAM) as the theoretical lens. A cross-sectional survey of 265 health consumers was conducted through a mall intercept technique. Participants in the survey were over the age of 18 and had access to a public or private healthcare service provider. The data were analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM). The major findings show that perceived ease of use, privacy threat, information quality, social influence and self-efficacy influence health consumers' social media adoption behaviours. Perceived usefulness was not found to affect health consumers' social media adoption behaviours. The moderation analysis showed that influences of privacy threats are non-significant for mature age respondents and non-frequent users of social media. This study's findings have important implications for designing social media strategies for the healthcare industry. The drivers that positively impact on health consumers' social media usages can be integrated into meaningful strategies to capture the attention of potential consumers. They need to be educated, informed and engaged as health consumers so that they employ social media effectively to their advantage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the factors affecting the issuance, accuracy and usefulness of analysts' cash flow forecasts (CFFs) in Australia. Given the economic importance of the mining industry in Australia, we find that analysts are likely to provide CFFs for mining firms with poor financial health and high default risk. In contrast, analysts' provision of CFFs increases with the degree of financial health for non‐mining firms. The determinants of the issuance and accuracy of analysts' CFFs also differ in pre‐ and post‐IFRS adoption periods. Our results add new evidence on the effect of IFRS adoption on analysts' cash flow forecasting behaviours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]