Flinders University

About: Flinders University is a education organization based out in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Health care. The organization has 12033 authors who have published 32831 publications receiving 973172 citations. The organization is also known as: Flinders University of South Australia.

Melioidosis epidemiology and risk factors from a prospective whole-population study in northern Australia

Abstract: Summary Objectives The aims of this study were to describe the epidemiology of melioidosis in tropical northern Australia and to assess the importance of defined risk factors. Methods The data were taken from a 14-year prospective study of 364 cases of melioidosis in the ‘Top End’ of the Northern Territory. A whole-population logistic regression model was used to estimate the crude and adjusted relative risk (RR) for the defined risk factors. Results The mean age of the study population was 46.8 years, 264 (72.5%) were male, 178 (49%) were aboriginal Australians and 59 (16.2%) died from melioidosis. Average annual incidence was 19.6 cases per 100 000 population, with an estimated rate of 260 cases per 100 000 diabetics per year. Using a whole-population logistic regression model, the estimated crude and adjusted RR [95% confidence intervals (CI)] for melioidosis were 6.3 (5.1–7.8) and 4.0 (3.2–5.1) for those aged ≥ 45 years, 2.3 (1.8–2.9) and 2.4 (1.9–3.0) for males, 2.9 (2.3–3.5) and 3.0 (2.3–4.0) for aboriginal Australians, 21.2 (17.1–26.3) and 13.1 (9.4–18.1) for diabetics, 2.7 (2.2–3.4) and 2.1 (1.6–2.6) for those with excess alcohol consumption, 6.8 (5.4–8.6) and 4.3 (3.4–5.5) for chronic lung disease and 6.7 (4.7–9.6) and 3.2 (2.2–4.8) for chronic renal disease, respectively. Conclusions Diabetes, excess alcohol intake, chronic renal disease and chronic lung disease are each independent risk factors for melioidosis. In tropical northern Australia, male sex, aboriginal ethnicity and age of ≥45 years are also independent predictors for melioidosis. Impaired polymorph function may be critical in the predisposition to melioidosis.

RNA-seq analysis reveals extensive transcriptional plasticity to temperature stress in a freshwater fish species

Abstract: Identifying genes of adaptive significance in a changing environment is a major focus of ecological genomics. Such efforts were restricted, until recently, to researchers studying a small group of model organisms or closely related taxa. With the advent of next generation sequencing (NGS), genomes and transcriptomes of virtually any species are now available for studies of adaptive evolution. We experimentally manipulated temperature conditions for two groups of crimson spotted rainbowfish (Melanotaenia duboulayi) and measured differences in RNA transcription between them. This non-migratory species is found across a latitudinal thermal gradient in eastern Australia and is predicted to be negatively impacted by ongoing environmental and climatic change. Using next generation RNA-seq technologies on an Illumina HiSeq2000 platform, we assembled a de novo transcriptome and tested for differential expression across the treatment groups. Quality of the assembly was high with a N50 length of 1856 bases. Of the 107,749 assembled contigs, we identified 4251 that were differentially expressed according to a consensus of four different mapping and significance testing approaches. Once duplicate isoforms were removed, we were able to annotate 614 up-regulated transfrags and 349 that showed reduced expression in the higher temperature group. Annotated blast matches reveal that differentially expressed genes correspond to critical metabolic pathways previously shown to be important for temperature tolerance in other fish species. Our results indicate that rainbowfish exhibit predictable plastic regulatory responses to temperature stress and the genes we identified provide excellent candidates for further investigations of population adaptation to increasing temperatures.

An Accounting Historiography: Subject Matter and Methodology

Abstract: This paper continues to study issues developed in a preceding manuscript which provided a definitional context for accounting history, its uses and limitations as a method of inquiry related to educational endeavours, standard setting and practice. In this study two aspects of the development of the history of accounting, subject matter and methodology, are extensively explored within the context of a definition of historiography. A set of outline tables is provided to assist researchers considering the topic areas as well as the process of historical inquiry, especially those scholars who do not specialise in historical study. As in the previous paper, an extensive bibliography is provided.

"It Hurts a Hell of a Lot...": The Effects of Indirect Aggression on Teenage Girls.

Abstract: This article reports on a qualitative investigation of the effects of indirect aggression from peers (e.g. spreading false stories, exclusion from the group) on teenage girls. Focus groups, pair and individual interviews were conducted with teenage girls and their key teachers to explore the effects of indirect aggression on girls. The perceived characteristics of typical victims of indirect aggression also emerged from the study. The girls initially respond to indirect aggression with confusion and may deny suffering any ill-effects. However, as is the case with other forms of victimization, girls certainly experience a range of negative psychological effects including anxiety, loss of selfesteem and depression. This pain leads to a desire to escape through leaving the group or the school and even to thoughts of suicide. The girls fear that the harassment from peers may not end and witnesses or bystanders do not intervene for fear of what may happen to them. The pain of indirect aggression may be compoun...

Association of the Jumping to Conclusions and Evidence Integration Biases With Delusions in Psychosis: A Detailed Meta-analysis

Abstract: We completed a meta-analysis to investigate the relationship between delusions in psychosis and 4 cognitive biases: "jumping to conclusions" (JTC), the "bias against disconfirmatory evidence" (BADE), the "bias against confirmatory evidence" (BACE), and "liberal acceptance" (LA). Building on recent meta-analyses we compared more narrowly defined groups. We identified 35 JTC, 8 BADE, 7 BACE, and 6 LA studies for inclusion. Groups with schizophrenia who were currently experiencing delusions demonstrated greater JTC, BADE, BACE, and LA than groups with schizophrenia who were not currently experiencing delusions, who in turn demonstrated no more JTC than healthy control groups. Hence JTC, BADE, BACE, and LA co-vary with delusions in cross-sectional samples of people with schizophrenia. Groups who were experiencing delusions due to other psychiatric illnesses also demonstrated greater JTC than healthy controls, and equivalent JTC to groups with schizophrenia currently experiencing delusions. Hence JTC is associated with delusions across a range of diagnoses. Groups with other, non-delusional psychiatric illnesses demonstrated less JTC, BADE, BACE, and LA than groups with schizophrenia currently experiencing delusions, less JTC than groups experiencing delusions due to other diagnoses, and no more JTC, BADE, BACE, or LA than healthy control groups. Hence JTC, BADE, BACE, and LA were not associated with psychiatric illnesses in general. Our results indicate all 4 biases are associated with delusions specifically rather than merely with a diagnosis of schizophrenia or with being psychiatrically ill, consistent with the possibility that they contribute to delusional severity.