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.

Burden of disease. Methods of calculating disability from mental disorder

Abstract: BACKGROUND The Global Burden of Disease studies are important because they encompass morbidity as well as mortality. Burden due to morbidity is calculated from incidence, duration and disability. There is a dearth of epidemiological measurements of disability. METHOD Data from a quasi-community sample (n = 1364) were analysed. Diagnoses of mental and physical disorders, and reports of disability, were based on established methods. RESULTS The disabilities reported in mental and physical disorders were comparable. Disability was correlated with comorbidity. The disability in mental disorders was examined by three methods: pure disorders, main problem and regression. It appears that major depression and substance disorder weights were overestimated, and anxiety disorder weights were underestimated in the Global Burden of Disease studies. CONCLUSIONS A method for disentangling the effects of concurrent comorbidity is presented. The size of burden attributed to mental disorders is of potential benefit for funding mental health services, It is important that we get the estimates right.

Building information modelling demystified: does it make business sense to adopt BIM?

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to inform project management practice on the business benefits of building information modelling (BIM) adoption.Design/methodology/approach – BIM needs to compete against well‐ingrained methods to deliver projects in a fragmented and rather traditional industry. This paper investigates 47 value propositions for the adoption of BIM under a multiple case study investigation carried out in Australia and Hong Kong. The selected case study projects included a range of public (1) and private (4) sector building developments of small and large‐scale. Findings are coded, interpreted and synthesised in order to identify the challenges and business drivers, and the paper focuses mainly on challenges and benefits for architectural and engineering consultants, contractors and steel fabricators. As a condition for the selection criteria all case studies had to be collaborating by sharing BIM data between two or more consultants/stakeholders. As practices cannot afford to ignore B...

Radiation track, DNA damage and response—a review

Abstract: The purpose of this paper has been to review the current status and progress of the field of radiation biophysics, and draw attention to the fact that physics, in general, and radiation physics in particular, with the aid of mathematical modeling, can help elucidate biological mechanisms and cancer therapies. We hypothesize that concepts of condensed-matter physics along with the new genomic knowledge and technologies and mechanistic mathematical modeling in conjunction with advances in experimental DNA (Deoxyrinonucleic acid molecule) repair and cell signaling have now provided us with unprecedented opportunities in radiation biophysics to address problems in targeted cancer therapy, and genetic risk estimation in humans. Obviously, one is not dealing with 'low-hanging fruit', but it will be a major scientific achievement if it becomes possible to state, in another decade or so, that we can link mechanistically the stages between the initial radiation-induced DNA damage; in particular, at doses of radiation less than 2 Gy and with structural changes in genomic DNA as a precursor to cell inactivation and/or mutations leading to genetic diseases. The paper presents recent development in the physics of radiation track structure contained in the computer code system KURBUC, in particular for low-energy electrons in the condensed phase of water for which we provide a comprehensive discussion of the dielectric response function approach. The state-of-the-art in the simulation of proton and carbon ion tracks in the Bragg peak region is also presented. The paper presents a critical discussion of the models used for elastic scattering, and the validity of the trajectory approach in low-electron transport. Brief discussions of mechanistic and quantitative aspects of microdosimetry, DNA damage and DNA repair are also included as developed by the authors' work.

Evolutionary pathway to increased virulence and epidemic group A Streptococcus disease derived from 3,615 genome sequences.

Abstract: We sequenced the genomes of 3,615 strains of serotype Emm protein 1 (M1) group A Streptococcus to unravel the nature and timing of molecular events contributing to the emergence, dissemination, and genetic diversification of an unusually virulent clone that now causes epidemic human infections worldwide. We discovered that the contemporary epidemic clone emerged in stepwise fashion from a precursor cell that first contained the phage encoding an extracellular DNase virulence factor (streptococcal DNase D2, SdaD2) and subsequently acquired the phage encoding the SpeA1 variant of the streptococcal pyrogenic exotoxin A superantigen. The SpeA2 toxin variant evolved from SpeA1 by a single-nucleotide change in the M1 progenitor strain before acquisition by horizontal gene transfer of a large chromosomal region encoding secreted toxins NAD+-glycohydrolase and streptolysin O. Acquisition of this 36-kb region in the early 1980s into just one cell containing the phage-encoded sdaD2 and speA2 genes was the final major molecular event preceding the emergence and rapid intercontinental spread of the contemporary epidemic clone. Thus, we resolve a decades-old controversy about the type and sequence of genomic alterations that produced this explosive epidemic. Analysis of comprehensive, population-based contemporary invasive strains from seven countries identified strong patterns of temporal population structure. Compared with a preepidemic reference strain, the contemporary clone is significantly more virulent in nonhuman primate models of pharyngitis and necrotizing fasciitis. A key finding is that the molecular evolutionary events transpiring in just one bacterial cell ultimately have produced millions of human infections worldwide.

Modeling Cellular-to-UAV Path-Loss for Suburban Environments

Abstract: Operating unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) over cellular networks would open the barriers of remote navigation and far-flung flying by combining the benefits of UAVs and the ubiquitous availability of cellular networks. In this letter, we provide an initial insight on the radio propagation characteristics of cellular-to-UAV (CtU) channel. In particular, we model the statistical behavior of the path-loss from a cellular base station toward a flying UAV. Where we report the value of the path-loss as a function of the depression angle and the terrestrial coverage beneath the UAV. The provided model is derived based on extensive experimental data measurements conducted in a typical suburban environment for both terrestrial (by drive test) and aerial coverage (using a UAV). The model provides simple and accurate prediction of CtU path-loss that can be useful for both researchers and network operators alike.