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In Australia, several rounds of policy and training reforms, and investments by governments, industry and other stakeholders, have fallen short of meeting the learning and employment needs of women. Their level of engagement in education, through Vocational Education and Training (VET), for example, remains below expectation. In this paper, we use a practice theory lens to examine literature on the history of VET for women in Australia and analyse the kinds of arrangements that have enabled and constrained women’s participation in vocational fields, completion of certification, and subsequent employment outcomes. Historicising practices is critical for understanding the extent to which the conditions of the ‘past’ can be traced to the conditions of ‘present’ to identify the intrinsically ‘ecologically’ relatedness between remnants of practices as they are encountered and change over time, to advance practices and practice architectures themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In silage corn ( Zea mays L.), Fusarium graminearum causes diseases and produces the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON). The work presented here investigated DON accumulation and its fate during the ensiling of ground, whole-plant material obtained from dual-purpose (DP) and brown midrib (BMR) corn hybrids. Multi-year field trials arranged in a randomized complete block design were conducted in Wisconsin to evaluate BMR and DP corn hybrids in response to fungicide treatment. At harvest, the samples were chopped and vacuum sealed for a mini-silo time series assessment with silos opened following anaerobic fermentation for 0, 30, 60, 90 and 120 days. Repeated measures analysis of ensiled corn showed that hybrid ( P < 0.01) and ensiling duration ( P < 0.01) significantly impacted DON concentration through ensiling, while fungicide treatment had no significant effect ( P > 0.05). Across hybrids and treatments, DON concentrations detected at harvest were the lowest with DON3G at harvest significantly ( P < 0.01) and highly correlated (r = 0.74) with DON concentration 30-days post ensiling. These findings suggest that mycotoxin testing in corn should include not only DON but also for conjugates of DON that can be metabolized back to DON and increase the final DON concentration during ensiling.

Aim: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a safe and effective treatment option for people with refractory obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Yet our understanding of predictors of response and prognostic factors remains rudimentary, and long-term comprehensive follow-ups are lacking. We aim to investigate the efficacy of DBS therapy for OCD patients, and predictors of clinical response., Methods: Eight OCD participants underwent DBS stimulation of the nucleus accumbens (NAc) in an open-label longitudinal trial, duration of follow-up varied between 9 months and 7 years. Post-operative care involved comprehensive fine tuning of stimulation parameters and adjunct multidisciplinary therapy., Results: Six participants achieved clinical response (35% improvement in obsessions and compulsions on the Yale Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (YBOCS)) within 6-9 weeks, response was maintained at last follow up. On average, the YBOCS improved by 45% at last follow up. Mixed linear modeling elucidated directionality of symptom changes: insight into symptoms strongly predicted (P = 0.008) changes in symptom severity during DBS therapy, likely driven by initial changes in depression and anxiety. Precise localization of DBS leads demonstrated that responders most often had their leads (and active contacts) placed dorsal compared to non-responders, relative to the Nac., Conclusion: The clinical efficacy of DBS for OCD is demonstrated, and mediators of changes in symptoms are proposed. The symptom improvements within this cohort should be seen within the context of the adjunct psychological and biopsychosocial care that implemented a shared decision-making approach, with flexible iterative DBS programming. Further research should explore the utility of insight as a clinical correlate of response. The trial was prospectively registered with the ANZCTR (ACTRN12612001142820)., (© 2023 The Authors. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Japanese Society of Psychiatry and Neurology.)