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• Water retention curves (WRCs) of municipal solid wastes (MSWs) • Hysteresis of WRCs of MSWs with decomposition. • Effects of decomposition and paper content on the WRCs. • Unsaturated hydraulic and gas conductivity of MSWs. This paper investigates the drying and wetting water retention curves (WRCs) of municipal solid wastes (MSWs) with different paper contents, dry unit weights and degrees of biodegradation (DOBs). Fresh synthetic samples were prepared based on the field composition of the MSWs at Mugga Lane Landfill, the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), Australia. The degraded samples were prepared in simulators with MSWs of different initial dry unit weights and decomposition periods with leachate recirculation. The water retention curves (WRCs) of the MSWs were determined using pressure plate tests, in both drying and wetting phases. The outflow from MSWs was analysed using Gardner's method to obtain the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity. The results indicate that the WRCs of the MSWs are greatly affected by the DOB, paper content and dry unit weight. When DOB < 30 %, as DOB increases, the air-entry pressure of MSWs with paper increases, and the residual moisture content decreases regardless of paper content. With DOB > 30 %, the air entry pressure and residual water content depend on the balance between organic matter and highly decomposed organic constituents. The paper content affects the WRCs of MSWs due to its water retention capacity and change in the particle size distribution with decomposition. The increase in the dry unit weight of MSWs significantly increases the air entry pressure and residual moisture content, similar to the borehole samples with combined effects of biodegradation and increase in stress level from literature. Hysteresis effects have been observed during the drying and wetting of MSWs. The hysteresis of WRCs increases with the paper content and DOB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Portfolios are used in midwifery education to provide students with a central place to store their accumulative evidence of clinical experience for initial registration in Australia. Portfolio formats can be paper-based or electronic. Anecdotal discussion between midwifery students in Queensland debated the best format to document the requirements for the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council (ANMAC) standard 8.11. Midwifery students using paper-based portfolios envisioned that an ePortfolio would be streamline, simple, safe to use, and able to be used anywhere with WIFI, while some students using an ePortfolio expressed a desire to have a paper-based portfolio as a hard copy. This situation called for evidence of a comparison to resolve the debate. The aim of this study was to investigate midwifery students' experiences of the benefits and challenges between paper-based and ePortfolios when compiling evidence to meet the requirements for initial registration as a midwife in Australia (ANMAC, 2014). • Each type of portfolio had challenges and benefits. • Portfolio completion is time consuming, and stressful due to the need for verification of evidence. • Students require early and regular feedback on portfolio development. • National standards are required for consistency in documentation across universities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This discussion paper highlights the importance of Australian nursing and midwifery students' lack of exposure to electronic medical records during their undergraduate programs. There is pressure on universities offering nursing and midwifery programs to provide students with opportunities to learn to use patient electronic medical records. This will provide authentic rehearsal with the digital technology prior to clinical placements and increase graduate work readiness. Informed by contemporary literature, we describe the benefits of implementing electronic medical records (eMR) in health organisations and identify the challenges and barriers to implementing and integrating the education of electronic records into undergraduate nursing and midwifery programs. Undergraduate students who had not experienced eMR as part of on-campus learning felt unprepared and lacked confidence when commencing clinical practice. Some international nursing and midwifery programs have found that student's skills improve in decision-making and documenting patient observations when eMR is integrated into their university education program. Successful integration of an eMR program should consider academic/teaching staff skills and confidence in technology use, initial and ongoing costs and technical support required to deliver the program. In conclusion, Australian universities need to embed eMR learning experiences into the nursing and midwifery undergraduate curricula to increase students work-readiness with a focus on patient safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• First assessment of paper chromatography using large sample sizes and microbe DNA. • Chromatogram features did not vary consistently with gradients of soil condition. • Results imply context dependent response of chromatogram features to soil condition. • Paper chromatography needs more testing before being embraced for soil assessment. Although paper chromatography is being promoted as a cost-effective tool for rapid assessment of soil health, few studies have explored the quantitative relationship between chromatogram features and soil health variables, and no studies have investigated the association between chromatogram features and microbial diversity as determined using DNA sequences. We assessed 343 soil samples from varying land uses in southwestern Australia to investigate the relationship between total organic carbon, microbial activity and diversity, salinity and pH levels and 12 chromatogram features. Spearman's correlations and variance partitioning were used to detect relationships. Although total organic carbon and microbial activity displayed the strongest correlations with chromatogram features, they were not associated with greater development of radial features and median zone radius as expected. This was in contrast to what has been previously reported, implying context dependent responses of chromatogram features to gradients in soil variables. Microbial community structure was found to explain changes in chromatogram features better than the measured soil variables. These results indicate that further studies are necessary before paper chromatography is embraced as a tool for soil health assessment, and raises questions regarding the use of chromatography by community groups as a tool to measure soil health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internet surveys are becoming an increasing popular survey collection method because collection times are quicker and survey costs are lower than other collection techniques. Many studies have been conducted overseas to compare the effects of survey collection modes with results still remaining inconsistent. Fewer studies have compared collection methods for nonmarket valuation surveys, particularly for the more complex stated preference, choice modelling surveys. In this study, a comparison of internet and paper-based surveys is made to determine if the results for overseas studies can be replicated in Australia. The valuation exercise elicited values from Brisbane respondents for future improvements in the environmental condition of the Great Barrier Reef. The results indicate that there were some socio-demographic and attitudinal differences between the two samples and the models developed to explain the influence on choice selection were also significantly different. However, no differences in value estimates were found in the final results; household willingness-to-pay for an improvement in the condition of the GBR was equivalent across collection methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When undertaking any study of the isotope abundance values of a bulk material, consideration should be given to the source materials and how they are combined to reach the final product being measured. While it is demonstrative to measure and record the values of clean papers, such as the results published as part one of this series, the majority of forensic casework samples would have undergone some form of writing or printing process prior to examination. Understanding the effects of these processes on the δ13C values of paper is essential for interpretation and comparison with clean samples, for example in cases where printed documents need to be compared to paper from an unprinted suspect ream. This study was undertaken so that the source materials, the effects of the production process and the effects of printing and forensic testing could be observed with respect to 80 gsm white office papers. Samples were taken sequentially from the paper production facility at the Australian Paper Mill (Maryvale, VIC). These samples ranged from raw wood chips through the pulping, whitening and refinement steps to the final formed and packed paper. Cellulose was extracted from each sample to observe both fractionation and mixing steps and their effect on the δ13C values. Overall, the mixing steps were observed to have a larger effect on the isotopic values of the bulk materials than any potential fractionation. Printing of papers using toner and inkjet printing processes and forensic testing were observed to have little effect on δ13C. These experiments highlighted considerations for sampling and confirmed the need for a holistic understanding of sample history to inform the interpretation of results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Staphylococcus argenteus and Staphylococcus schweitzeri, previously known as divergent Staphylococcus aureus clonal lineages, have been recently established as novel, difficult-to-delimit, coagulase-positive species within the S. aureus complex. Methicillin-resistant strains of S. argenteus are known from Australia and the UK. Knowledge of their epidemiology, medical significance and transmission risk is limited and partly contradictory, hampering definitive recommendations. There is mounting evidence that the pathogenicity of S. argenteus is similar to that of 'classical' S. aureus , while as yet no S. schweitzeri infections have been reported. To provide decision support on whether and how to distinguish and report both species. PubMed, searched for S. argenteus and S. schweitzeri. This position paper reviews the main characteristics of both species and draws conclusions for microbiological diagnostics and surveillance as well as infection prevention and control measures. We propose not distinguishing within the S. aureus complex for routine reporting purposes until there is evidence that pathogenicity or clinical outcome differ markedly between the different species. Primarily for research purposes, suitably equipped laboratories are encouraged to differentiate between S. argenteus and S. schweitzeri. Caution is urged if these novel species are explicitly reported. In such cases, a specific comment should be added (i.e. 'member of the S.aureus complex') to prevent confusion with less- or non-pathogenic staphylococci. Prioritizing aspects of patient safety, methicillin-resistant isolates should be handled as recommended for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). In these cases, the clinician responsible should be directly contacted and informed by the diagnosing microbiological laboratory, as they would be for MRSA. Research is warranted to clarify the epidemiology, clinical impact and implications for infection control of such isolates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In Australia, a pervasive response to increasing atmospheric greenhouse gasses and the exchange of these gasses between the atmosphere and forests has been to focus on storing carbon (C) in forested landscapes. However, the amount of C stored and able to be stored in the landscape, which is often called carbon carrying capacity, is commonly over-estimated and over-emphasised. This occurs, in part, due to a focus on the continent’s most C-rich forests when discussing landscape C storage or carbon carrying capacity, and by failing to account for wildfires that will prevent all forests from becoming old and C-rich. These effects on forest age-class structure and thus C-stocks, in the Australian landscape currently tend to be overlooked at the policy level. Underemphasised is the widely recognised role of wood products in greenhouse gas mitigation, both as a C-stock and by providing society with low emission products. Improving atmospheric outcomes will only be achieved if variation in landscape C stocks is accurately described and the full role of forests in greenhouse gas mitigation including the role of wood products is explored and reflected in policy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Systematic conservation planning (SCP) is a field of conservation biology concerned with the effective allocation of conservation efforts and the implementation of actions aiming to guarantee biodiversity persistence in the long-term and the efficient use of conservation resources. Here, we evaluated the main spatial-temporal trends and patterns among highly-cited papers in SCP. We considered "highly-cited" articles as those papers with at least 100 citations according to Web of Science database. A total of 132 highly-cited articles were published between 1989 and 2014, with the highest frequency at 2006. Papers were published in 25 different scientific journals (with a highlight for Conservation Biology and Biological Conservation) by researchers from 208 institutions and 25 countries (most from Australia and USA). Most of the analytical and methodological studies were carried out in the terrestrial environment, by considering more than one taxonomic group, and at a regional scale. Eleven studies included information on costs (e.g., economic or land use) in the prioritization process, and only one article considered information on other biodiversity dimensions such as phylogenetic diversity. Among analytical papers, 41 included only biodiversity data in the prioritization process, while 16 papers considered data on other features such as ecosystem services, biophysical factors, and vegetation. Furthermore, a plethora of different algorithms and software were used to perform the analyses. By analyzing the top-cited papers, we could track through time the main advances and stages of the development in SCP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on supporting physical education teachers through a web-based education intervention which increases physical activity during physical education classes in students from low socioeconomic communities. It mentions that the internet-supported professional learning intervention for physical education teachers improve the proportion of time that students spend in moderate to-vigorous physical activity in physical education classes.