RMIT University

About: RMIT University is a education organization based out in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Health care. The organization has 40468 authors who have published 82923 publications receiving 1729499 citations. The organization is also known as: Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology & Melbourne Technical College.

The Association between Job Strain and Atrial Fibrillation: Results from the Swedish WOLF Study

Abstract: Introduction. Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common heart rhythm disorder. Several life-style factors have been identified as risk factors for AF, but less is known about the impact of work-related stress. This study aims to evaluate the association between work-related stress, defined as job strain, and risk of AF. Methods. Data from the Swedish WOLF study was used, comprising 10,121 working men and women. Job strain was measured by the demand-control model. Information on incident AF was derived from national registers. Cox proportional hazard regression was used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the association between job strain and AF risk. Results. In total, 253 incident AF cases were identified during a total follow-up time of 132,387 person-years. Job strain was associated with AF risk in a time-dependent manner, with stronger association after 10.7 years of follow-up (HR 1.93, 95% CI 1.10–3.36 after 10.7 years, versus HR 1.11, 95% CI 0.67–1.83 before 10.7 years). The results pointed towards a dose-response relationship when taking accumulated exposure to job strain over time into account. Conclusion. This study provides support to the hypothesis that work-related stress defined as job strain is linked to an increased risk of AF.

Electrocatalysts for Hydrogen Evolution in Alkaline Electrolytes: Mechanisms, Challenges, and Prospective Solutions

Abstract: Hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in alkaline medium is currently a point of focus for sustainable development of hydrogen as an alternative clean fuel for various energy systems, but suffers from sluggish reaction kinetics due to additional water dissociation step. So, the state-of-the-art catalysts performing well in acidic media lose considerable catalytic performance in alkaline media. This review summarizes the recent developments to overcome the kinetics issues of alkaline HER, synthesis of materials with modified morphologies, and electronic structures to tune the active sites and their applications as efficient catalysts for HER. It first explains the fundamentals and electrochemistry of HER and then outlines the requirements for an efficient and stable catalyst in alkaline medium. The challenges with alkaline HER and limitation with the electrocatalysts along with prospective solutions are then highlighted. It further describes the synthesis methods of advanced nanostructures based on carbon, noble, and inexpensive metals and their heterogeneous structures. These heterogeneous structures provide some ideal systems for analyzing the role of structure and synergy on alkaline HER catalysis. At the end, it provides the concluding remarks and future perspectives that can be helpful for tuning the catalysts active-sites with improved electrochemical efficiencies in future.

Physical activity and sedentary behavior: a population-based study of barriers, enjoyment, and preference.

Abstract: The associations of physical activity and sedentary behavior with barriers, enjoyment, and preferences were examined in a population-based mail survey of 1,332 adults. Respondents reporting high enjoyment and preference for physical activity were more likely to report high levels of activity. Those reporting cost, the weather, and personal barriers to physical activity were less likely to be physically active. Preference for sedentary behavior was associated with the decreased likelihood of being physically active, and the weather as a barrier to physical activity was associated with the increased likelihood of sedentary behavior. These constructs can be used to examine individual and environmental influences on physical activity and sedentary behavior in specific populations and could inform the development of targeted interventions.

Modeling air-to-ground path loss for low altitude platforms in urban environments

Abstract: The reliable prediction of coverage footprint resulting from an airborne wireless radio base station, is at utmost importance, when it comes to the new emerging applications of air-to-ground wireless services. These applications include the rapid recovery of damaged terrestrial wireless infrastructure due to a natural disaster, as well as the fulfillment of sudden wireless traffic overload in certain spots due to massive movement of crowds. In this paper, we propose a statistical propagation model for predicting the air-to-ground path loss between a low altitude platform and a terrestrial terminal. The prediction is based on the urban environment properties, and is dependent on the elevation angle between the terminal and the platform. The model shows that air-to-ground path loss is following two main propagation groups, characterized by two different path loss profiles. In this paper we illustrate the methodology of which the model was deduced, as well as we present the different path loss profiles including the occurrence probability of each.