Australian National University

About: Australian National University is a education organization based out in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Galaxy. The organization has 34419 authors who have published 109261 publications receiving 4315448 citations. The organization is also known as: The Australian National University & ANU.

Caring for Aged Dementia Care Resident Study (CADRES) of Person-Centred Care, Dementia-Care Mapping, and Usual Care in dementia: a cluster-randomised trial

Abstract: Summary Background Evidence for improved outcomes for people with dementia through provision of person-centred care and dementia-care mapping is largely observational. We aimed to do a large, randomised comparison of person-centred care, dementia-care mapping, and usual care. Methods In a cluster randomised controlled trial, urban residential sites were randomly assigned to person-centred care, dementia-care mapping, or usual care. Carers received training and support in either intervention or continued usual care. Treatment allocation was masked to assessors. The primary outcome was agitation measured with the Cohen-Mansfield agitation inventory (CMAI). Secondary outcomes included psychiatric symptoms including hallucinations, neuropsychological status, quality of life, falls, and cost of treatment. Outcome measures were assessed before and directly after 4 months of intervention, and at 4 months of follow-up. Hierarchical linear models were used to test treatment and time effects. Analysis was by intention to treat. This trial is registered with the Australia and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, number ACTRN12608000084381. Findings 15 care sites with 289 residents were randomly assigned. Pairwise contrasts revealed that at follow-up, and relative to usual care, CMAI score was lower in sites providing mapping (mean difference 10·9, 95% CI 0·7–21·1; p=0·04) and person-centred care (13·6, 3·3–23·9; p=0·01). Compared with usual care, fewer falls were recorded in sites that used mapping (0·24, 0·08–0·40; p=0·02) but there were more falls with person-centred care (0·15, 0·02–0·28; p=0·03). There were no other significant effects. Interpretation Person-centred care and dementia-care mapping both seem to reduce agitation in people with dementia in residential care. Funding Australian Health Ministers' Advisory Council.

Dating the late prehistoric dispersal of Polynesians to New Zealand using the commensal Pacific rat.

Abstract: The pristine island ecosystems of East Polynesia were among the last places on Earth settled by prehistoric people, and their colonization triggered a devastating transformation. Overhunting contributed to widespread faunal extinctions and the decline of marine megafauna, fires destroyed lowland forests, and the introduction of the omnivorous Pacific rat (Rattus exulans) led to a new wave of predation on the biota. East Polynesian islands preserve exceptionally detailed records of the initial prehistoric impacts on highly vulnerable ecosystems, but nearly all such studies are clouded by persistent controversies over the timing of initial human colonization, which has resulted in proposed settlement chronologies varying from ≈200 B.C. to 1000 A.D. or younger. Such differences underpin radically divergent interpretations of human dispersal from West Polynesia and of ecological and social transformation in East Polynesia and ultimately obfuscate the timing and patterns of this process. Using New Zealand as an example, we provide a reliable approach for accurately dating initial human colonization on Pacific islands by radiocarbon dating the arrival of the Pacific rat. Radiocarbon dates on distinctive rat-gnawed seeds and rat bones show that the Pacific rat was introduced to both main islands of New Zealand ≈1280 A.D., a millennium later than previously assumed. This matches with the earliest-dated archaeological sites, human-induced faunal extinctions, and deforestation, implying there was no long period of invisibility in either the archaeological or palaeoecological records.

The Economics of Bitcoin and Similar Private Digital Currencies

Abstract: Recent innovations have made it feasible to transfer private digital currency without the intervention of an institution. A digital currency must prevent users from spending their balances more than once, which is easier said than done with purely digital currencies. Current digital currencies such as Bitcoin use peer-to-peer networks and open-source software to stop double spending and create finality of transactions. This paper explains how the use of these technologies and limitation of the quantity produced can create an equilibrium in which a digital currency has a positive value. This paper also summarizes the rise of 24/7 trading on computerized markets in Bitcoin in which there are no brokers or other agents, a remarkable innovation in financial markets. I conclude that exchanges of foreign currency may be the obvious way in which use of digital currencies can become widespread and that Bitcoin is likely to limit governments’ revenue from inflation.

Globalization, Climate Change, and Human Health

Abstract: Climate change affects the range of pathogens and temperatures to which populations are exposed. This article reviews the nature of these changes and explores how efforts to mitigate climate change could be of value to the global community.