University of New South Wales

About: University of New South Wales is a education organization based out in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 51197 authors who have published 153634 publications receiving 4880608 citations. The organization is also known as: UNSW & UNSW Australia.

Anxiety, depression and PTSD in asylum-seekers: assocations with pre-migration trauma and post-migration stressors.

Abstract: BACKGROUND Research into the mental health of refugees has burgeoned in recent times, but there is a dearth of studies focusing specifically on the factors associated with psychiatric distress in asylum-seekers who have not been accorded residency status. METHOD Forty consecutive asylum-seekers attending a community resource centre in Sydney, Australia, were interviewed using structured instruments and questionnaires. RESULTS Anxiety scores were associated with female gender, poverty, and conflict with immigration officials, while loneliness and boredom were linked with both anxiety and depression. Thirty subjects (79%) had experienced a traumatic event such as witnessing killings, being assaulted, or suffering torture and captivity, and 14 subjects (37%) met full criteria for PTSD. A diagnosis of PTSD was associated with greater exposure to pre-migration trauma, delays in processing refugee applications, difficulties in dealing with immigration officials, obstacles to employment, racial discrimination, and loneliness and boredom. CONCLUSIONS Although based on correlational data derived from'a convenient' sample, our findings raise the possibility that current procedures for dealing with asylum-seekers may contribute to high levels of stress and psychiatric symptoms in those who have been previously traumatised.

Search for Time Variation of the Fine Structure Constant

Abstract: An order of magnitude sensitivity gain is described for using quasar spectra to investigate possible time or space variation in the fine structure constant $\ensuremath{\alpha}$. Applied to a sample of 30 absorption systems, spanning redshifts $0.5lzl1.6$, we derive limits on variations in $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ over a wide range of epochs. For the whole sample, $\ensuremath{\Delta}\ensuremath{\alpha}/\ensuremath{\alpha}\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}=\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}(\ensuremath{-}1.1\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.4)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}5}$. This deviation is dominated by measurements at $zg1$, where $\ensuremath{\Delta}\ensuremath{\alpha}/\ensuremath{\alpha}\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}=\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}(\ensuremath{-}1.9\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.5)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}5}$. For $zl1$, $\ensuremath{\Delta}\ensuremath{\alpha}/\ensuremath{\alpha}\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}=\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}(\ensuremath{-}0.2\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.4)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}5}$. While this is consistent with a time-varying $\ensuremath{\alpha}$, further work is required to explore possible systematic errors in the data, although careful searches have so far revealed none.

The crystal structure of diphtheria toxin

Abstract: The crystal structure of the diphtheria toxin dimer at 2.5 A resolution reveals a Y-shaped molecule of three domains. The catalytic domain, called fragment A, is of the alpha + beta type. Fragment B actually consists of two domains. The transmembrane domain consists of nine alpha-helices, two pairs of which are unusually apolar and may participate in pH-triggered membrane insertion and translocation. The receptor-binding domain is a flattened beta-barrel with a jelly-roll-like topology. Three distinct functions of the toxin, each carried out by a separate structural domain, can be useful in designing chimaeric proteins, such as immunotoxins, in which the receptor-binding domain is substituted with antibodies to target other cell types.

Respiratory rate: the neglected vital sign.

Abstract: The level of documentation of vital signs in many hospitals is extremely poor, and respiratory rate, in particular, is often not recorded. There is substantial evidence that an abnormal respiratory rate is a predictor of potentially serious clinical events. Nurses and doctors need to be more aware of the importance of an abnormal respiratory rate as a marker of serious illness. Hospital systems that encourage appropriate responses to an elevated respiratory rate and other abnormal vital signs can be rapidly implemented. Such systems help to raise and sustain awareness of the importance of vital signs.