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.

A promoter-level mammalian expression atlas

Abstract: Regulated transcription controls the diversity, developmental pathways and spatial organization of the hundreds of cell types that make up a mammal Using single-molecule cDNA sequencing, we mapped transcription start sites (TSSs) and their usage in human and mouse primary cells, cell lines and tissues to produce a comprehensive overview of mammalian gene expression across the human body We find that few genes are truly 'housekeeping', whereas many mammalian promoters are composite entities composed of several closely separated TSSs, with independent cell-type-specific expression profiles TSSs specific to different cell types evolve at different rates, whereas promoters of broadly expressed genes are the most conserved Promoter-based expression analysis reveals key transcription factors defining cell states and links them to binding-site motifs The functions of identified novel transcripts can be predicted by coexpression and sample ontology enrichment analyses The functional annotation of the mammalian genome 5 (FANTOM5) project provides comprehensive expression profiles and functional annotation of mammalian cell-type-specific transcriptomes with wide applications in biomedical research

Association of Torture and Other Potentially Traumatic Events With Mental Health Outcomes Among Populations Exposed to Mass Conflict and Displacement: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Abstract: Context Uncertainties continue about the roles that methodological factors and key risk factors, particularly torture and other potentially traumatic events (PTEs), play in the variation of reported prevalence rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression across epidemiologic surveys among postconflict populations worldwide. Objective To undertake a systematic review and meta-regression of the prevalence rates of PTSD and depression in the refugee and postconflict mental health field. Data Sources An initial pool of 5904 articles, identified through MEDLINE, PsycINFO and PILOTS, of surveys involving refugee, conflict-affected populations, or both, published in English-language journals between 1980 and May 2009. Study Selection Surveys were limited to those of adult populations (n ≥ 50) reporting PTSD prevalence, depression prevalence, or both. Excluded surveys comprised patients, war veterans, and civilian populations (nonrefugees/asylum seekers) from high-income countries exposed to terrorist attacks or involved in distal conflicts (≥25 years). Data Extraction Methodological factors (response rate, sample size and design, diagnostic method) and substantive factors (sociodemographics, place of survey, torture and other PTEs, Political Terror Scale score, residency status, time since conflict). Data Synthesis A total of 161 articles reporting results of 181 surveys comprising 81 866 refugees and other conflict-affected persons from 40 countries were identified. Rates of reported PTSD and depression showed large intersurvey variability (0%-99% and 3%-85.5%, respectively). The unadjusted weighted prevalence rate reported across all surveys for PTSD was 30.6% (95% CI, 26.3%-35.2%) and for depression was 30.8% (95% CI, 26.3%-35.6%). Methodological factors accounted for 12.9% and 27.7% PTSD and depression, respectively. Nonrandom sampling, small sample sizes, and self-report questionnaires were associated with higher rates of mental disorder. Adjusting for methodological factors, reported torture (Δ total R 2 between base methodological model and base model + substantive factor [ΔR 2 ] = 23.6%; OR, 2.01; 95% CI, 1.52-2.65) emerged as the strongest factor associated with PTSD, followed by cumulative exposure to PTEs (ΔR 2 = 10.8%; OR, 1.52; 95% CI, 1.21-1.91), time since conflict (ΔR 2 = 10%; OR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.66-0.91), and assessed level of political terror (ΔR 2 = 3.5%; OR, 1.60; 95% CI, 1.03-2.50). For depression, significant factors were number of PTEs (ΔR 2 = 22.0%; OR, 1.64; 95% CI, 1.39-1.93), time since conflict (ΔR 2 = 21.9%; OR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.69-0.93), reported torture (ΔR 2 = 11.4%; OR, 1.48; 95% CI, 1.07-2.04), and residency status (ΔR 2 = 5.0%; OR, 1.30; 95% CI, 1.07-1.57). Conclusion Methodological factors and substantive population risk factors, such as exposure to torture and other PTEs, after adjusting for methodological factors account for higher rates of reported prevalence of PTSD and depression.

Competency-based medical education: theory to practice.

Abstract: Although competency-based medical education (CBME) has attracted renewed interest in recent years among educators and policy-makers in the health care professions, there is little agreement on many aspects of this paradigm. We convened a unique partnership – the International CBME Collaborators – to examine conceptual issues and current debates in CBME. We engaged in a multi-stage group process and held a consensus conference with the aim of reviewing the scholarly literature of competency-based medical education, identifying controversies in need of clarification, proposing definitions and concepts that could be useful to educators across many jurisdictions, and exploring future directions for this approach to preparing health professionals. In this paper, we describe the evolution of CBME from the outcomes movement in the 20th century to a renewed approach that, focused on accountability and curricular outcomes and organized around competencies, promotes greater learner-centredness and de-emphasizes time-based curricular design. In this paradigm, competence and related terms are redefined to emphasize their multi-dimensional, dynamic, developmental, and contextual nature. CBME therefore has significant implications for the planning of medical curricula and will have an important impact in reshaping the enterprise of medical education. We elaborate on this emerging CBME approach and its related concepts, and invite medical educators everywhere to enter into further dialogue about the promise and the potential perils of competency-based medical curricula for the 21st century.

Agronomic values of greenwaste biochar as a soil amendment

Abstract: A pot trial was carried out to investigate the effect of biochar produced from greenwaste by pyrolysis on the yield of radish (Raphanus sativus var. Long Scarlet) and the soil quality of an Alfisol. Three rates of biochar (10, 50 and 100 t/ha) with and without additional nitrogen application (100 kg N/ha) were investigated. The soil used in the pot trial was a hardsetting Alfisol (Chromosol) (0–0.1 m) with a long history of cropping. In the absence of N fertiliser, application of biochar to the soil did not increase radish yield even at the highest rate of 100 t/ha. However, a significant biochar × nitrogen fertiliser interaction was observed, in that higher yield increases were observed with increasing rates of biochar application in the presence of N fertiliser, highlighting the role of biochar in improving N fertiliser use efficiency of the plant. For example, additional increase in DM of radish in the presence of N fertiliser varied from 95% in the nil biochar control to 266% in the 100 t/ha biochar-amended soils. A slight but significant reduction in dry matter production of radish was observed when biochar was applied at 10 t/ha but the cause is unclear and requires further investigation. Significant changes in soil quality including increases in pH, organic carbon, and exchangeable cations as well as reduction in tensile strength were observed at higher rates of biochar application (>50 t/ha). Particularly interesting are the improvements in soil physical properties of this hardsetting soil in terms of reduction in tensile strength and increases in field capacity.

The Faces Pain Scale-Revised: toward a common metric in pediatric pain measurement.

Abstract: The Faces Pain Scale (FPS; Bieri et al., Pain 41 (1990) 139) is a self-report measure used to assess the intensity of children's pain. Three studies were carried out to revise the original scale and validate the adapted version. In the first phase, the FPS was revised from its original seven faces to six, while maintaining its desirable psychometric properties, in order to make it compatible in scoring with other self-rating and observational scales which use a common metric (0–5 or 0–10). Using a computer-animated version of the FPS developed by Champion and colleagues (Sydney Animated Facial Expressions Scale), psychophysical methods were applied to identify four faces representing equal intervals between the scale values representing least pain and most pain. In the second phase, children used the new six-face Faces Pain Scale – Revised (FPS-R) to rate the intensity of pain from ear piercing. Its validity is supported by a strong positive correlation (r=0.93, N=76) with a visual analogue scale (VAS) measure in children aged 5–12 years. In the third phase, a clinical sample of pediatric inpatients aged 4–12 years used the FPS-R and a VAS or the colored analogue scale (CAS) to rate pain during hospitalization for surgical and non-surgical painful conditions. The validity of the FPS-R was further supported by strong positive correlations with the VAS (r=0.92, N=45) and the CAS (r=0.84, N=45) in this clinical sample. Most children in all age groups including the youngest were able to use the FPS-R in a manner that was consistent with the other measures. There were no significant differences between the means on the FPS-R and either of the analogue scales. The FPS-R is shown to be appropriate for use in assessment of the intensity of children's acute pain from age 4 or 5 onward. It has the advantage of being suitable for use with the most widely used metric for scoring (0–10), and conforms closely to a linear interval scale.