Deakin University

About: Deakin University is a education organization based out in Burwood, Victoria, Australia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 12118 authors who have published 46470 publications receiving 1188841 citations. The organization is also known as: Deakin.

Degenerately hydrogen doped molybdenum oxide nanodisks for ultrasensitive plasmonic biosensing

Abstract: Plasmonic biosensors based on noble metals generally suffer from low sensitivities if the perturbation of refractive-index in the ambient is not significant. By contrast, the features of degenerately doped semiconductors offer new dimensions for plasmonic biosensing, by allowing charge-based detection. Here, this concept is demonstrated in plasmonic hydrogen doped molybdenum oxides (H x MoO 3 ), with the morphology of 2D nanodisks, using a representative enzymatic glucose sensing model. Based on the ultrahigh capacity of the molybdenum oxide nanodisks for accommodating H + , the plasmon resonance wavelengths of H x MoO 3 are shifted into visible-near-infrared wavelengths. These plasmonic features alter significantly as a function of the intercalated H + concentration. The facile H + deintercalation out of H x MoO 3 provides an exceptional sensitivity and fast kinetics to charge perturbations during enzymatic oxidation. The optimum sensing response is found at H 1.55 MoO 3 , achieving a detection limit of 2 × 10 -9 m at 410 nm, even when the biosensing platform is adapted into a light-emitting diode-photodetector setup. The performance is superior in comparison to all previously reported plasmonic enzymatic glucose sensors, providing a great opportunity in developing high performance biosensors.

Using improved genetic algorithms to facilitate time-cost optimization

Abstract: Time-cost optimization problems in construction projects are characterized by the constraints on the time and cost requirements. Such problems are difficult to solve because they do not have unique solutions. Typically, if a project is running behind the scheduled plan, one option is to compress some activities on the critical path so that the target completion time can be met. As combinatorial optimization problems, time-cost optimization problems are suitable for applying genetic algorithms (GAs). However, basic GAs may involve very large computational costs. This paper presents several improvements to basic GAs and demonstrates how these improved GAs reduce computational costs and significantly increase the efficiency in searching for optimal solutions.

GolP-CHARMM: First-Principles Based Force Fields for the Interaction of Proteins with Au(111) and Au(100).

Abstract: Computational simulation of peptide adsorption at the aqueous gold interface is key to advancing the development of many applications based on gold nanoparticles, ranging from nanomedical devices to smart biomimetic materials. Here, we present a force field, GolP-CHARMM, designed to capture peptide adsorption at both the aqueous Au(111) and Au(100) interfaces. The force field, compatible with the bio-organic force field CHARMM, is parametrized using a combination of experimental and first-principles data. Like its predecessor, GolP (Iori, F.; et al. J. Comput. Chem.2009, 30, 1465), this force field contains terms to describe the dynamic polarization of gold atoms, chemisorbing species, and the interaction between sp2 hybridized carbon atoms and gold. A systematic study of small molecule adsorption at both surfaces using the vdW-DF functional (Dion, M.; et al. Phys. Rev. Lett.2004, 92, 246401–1. Thonhauser, T.; et al. Phys. Rev. B2007, 76, 125112) is carried out to fit and test force field parameters and a...

Nurses' perceptions of the nature and frequency of aggression in general ward settings and high dependency areas.

Abstract: Studies on aggression in healthcare settings have reported increased frequency of this behaviour in both psychiatric and accident and emergency areas; however, to date, very few studies have addressed this issue in general ward settings in Australia. This descriptive study was conducted to determine nurses' perceptions of the nature and frequency of aggressive behaviours in general wards and high dependency areas and thereby address the gap in the literature. Two hundred and nine nurses in one Australian hospital completed a 23-item questionnaire on aggression in the workplace. The findings revealed that the majority (89.5%) of nurses defined aggressive behaviour as including verbal aggression, physical aggression and intimidation. Ninety-five per cent of respondents had encountered at least several episodes of verbal aggression within the last 12 months. Patients were found to be the main perpetrators of aggressive acts, followed by relatives. After experiencing either verbal or physical aggression nurses most frequently reported feeling angry or emotionally hurt. These findings confirm that acts of aggression are experienced frequently in the general medical and surgical ward areas of the study hospital. Consequently, there is a need to provide staff with education and support in order to deal with this issue and minimize the impact of increasing levels of aggression in the workplace.