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This paper examines the response by a Vocational Education and Training (VET) provider in the Northern Territory (NT) of Australia to the travel and social distancing restrictions brought about by COVID-19. The paper commences with a description of the impact of COVID-19 on the VET sector. The paper then describes the VET regulatory environment prior to February 2020 and the responsibility of VET providers to comply with the requirements of the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA), in the delivery of VET programs to domestic and international students. A discussion of the lack of a specific vocational education pedagogy, the complexity of delivering VET programs online as well as current research findings in this area follows. A description of the College provides the context to examine the impact of COVID-19 on the delivery of programs in the Northern Territory VET sector. The paper describes how the College, which had a high international student cohort, migrated their courses online in order to remain viable in the highly volatile and unforeseen circumstances brought about by COVID-19. In order to ascertain the effectiveness of the online delivery of course offerings, a questionnaire and a series of face to face and telephone interviews were conducted with key stakeholders. The mixed method approach employed in this research was consistent with contemporary social and educational research. The paper concludes with the call for a new paradigm and policy shift in Vocational Education and Training post COVID-19.

While research on online tests in higher education is steadily growing, there is little evidence in the literature of the use of learning management systems (LMS), such as Blackboard™, as rich sources of data on online tests practices. This paper reports on an investigation that used data from Blackboard™ LMS to gain insight into the purpose for and practice of online tests at the Charles Darwin University (CDU) Business School in Australia. Focussing on curriculum and pedagogical practices, the paper identifies indications of good practice as well as potential issues related to curriculum mapping, including possible misalignment between learning outcomes and online tests. It also affirms the versatility of using data from LMSs in the study of e-assessment in general and online tests in particular.

Integral abutment bridges (IAB), especially the short to medium-span IABs, have become more popular throughout the years in Australia as well as globally. IABs have advantages over traditional bridges in terms of their construction and maintenance costs due to the elimination of expansion joints. However, the thermal expansion can develop significantly larger earth pressure behind the abutment, thus leading to excessive forces (i.e. moment and shear force) to the foundation, which are not considered during the design process and can cause cracking and failures, eventually. It is observed from the field monitoring of IABs that the earth pressure model used to estimate the pressure distribution is not adequate to capture possible variations. Further, the performance of IABs highly depends on the complex interaction of abutment-backfill and soil-foundation and the time-dependent and cyclic behaviour of backfill and foundation soils. In this paper, nonlinear finite element model of an IAB considering the time-dependent effects of materials is presented to simulate long-term responses due to thermal loading. The developed IAB model results are validated using field monitoring data and parametric study is performed including the geometry of IAB, thermal loading, and soil properties. The results are used to investigate the functional relationship between input parameters and long-term responses which are further utilised to develop a new earth pressure distribution model for the design and performance assessment of IABs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is no currently available standard of care for triple‐class exposed, relapsed refractory myeloma (RRMM) patients in Australia. CARTITUDE‐1 (CART‐1) was a single‐arm, phase 1b/2 study of 97 triple‐class exposed RRMM patients, who received BCMA‐CAR‐T cell therapy with ciltacabtagene autocel. Overall response rate (ORR) was 98%. Median progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) had not been reached at a median follow‐up of 28 months. Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis on a cohort of CART‐1 comparable RRMM patients participating in the Australian and New Zealand Myeloma and Related Diseases Registry (MRDR), to compare outcomes in triple‐class exposed MM patients treated with currently available therapies, in a real‐world context. The CE‐MRDR cohort (n = 28) fulfilled CARTITUDE‐1 eligibility (CE) criteria: ≥3 lines of therapy (LOT) including an immunomodulatory agent, proteasome inhibitor and CD38‐directed monoclonal antibody (CD38mAb) and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status (ECOG PS) score of 0–2 at diagnosis. The modified‐CE‐MRDR (n = 132) received ≥3 LOT but may not have received a CD38mAb with an ECOG PS score of 3 (0–3). Results: Responses to the first subsequent therapy after eligibility were poor – ORR was 23% and 0% with progressive disease (PD) reported in 61% and 36%, CE‐MRDR and m‐CE‐MRDR respectively. Responses to the second subsequent therapy after eligibility were worse, ORR 0% and 31%, CE‐MRDR and m‐CE‐MRDR respectively, with high rates of PD, particularly in CE‐MRDR. Median OS was 5.4 versus 9.5 months, CE‐MRDR versus m‐CE‐MRDR. Conclusions: This retrospective analysis confirms uniformly poor outcomes for Australian RRMM patients. There remains a critical need for greater accessibility to novel treatments, such as CAR‐T, outside clinical trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strategic cost management is vital to the Australian university sector’s performance, and activity-based costing (ABC) is a widely accepted and used accounting technology assisting with this. We examine the status of ABC technology adoption in two categories—adopters and non-adopters of the technology—informed by Technology Diffusion Framework, Social Cognitive Theory and Dynamic Theory of Strategy. The study collected data by sending a pilot-tested survey questionnaire to senior executives for electronic completion. From the 39 universities that elected to participate, 24 usable responses were received, representing a 61% response rate. The data were analyzed using cognitive characteristics supported by Social Cognitive Theory, and organizational characteristics supported by the Dynamic Theory of Strategy of universities ABC technology adopter and non-adopter status. Cognitive characteristics provide a qualitative explanation, but selected determinants show no statistical significance. Organizational characteristics also provide a qualitative explanation and show organizational revenue is the most significant determinant; followed by universities located outside the cities, and in the southern part of Australia, have more propensity for ABC technology adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The regulation of occupations such as aviation pilots can result in their facing the shock of losing their medical certification and thus, their license to work. What are the issues that these former pilots face upon losing their medical certification? The key issues may take the form of protean career characteristics and mechanisms such as identity, adaptability, and agency, which may help the individuals match to a new occupational environment. The method of convergent interviewing is used to inductively acquire the key common issues that arise when pilots lose their medical certification in Australia. The results indicate that the clarity and strength of the pilots' sense of occupational identity may amplify the impact of the shock when that career is denied to them. The findings highlight the importance of adaptability, although the reliance on adaptability varies depending on the pathway chosen to respond to the shock. Those in situations with less adaptability, agency, or support may be most in need of career and mental health counseling. Support and adaptability may be particularly important for those facing career shocks in occupations with substantial investments in their career identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key Points: Question: Does adding posterior wall isolation (PWI) to pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) improve success in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) undergoing first-time catheter ablation? Findings: In this randomized clinical trial that included 338 patients with persistent AF, there was no significant difference in 12-month freedom from recurrent atrial arrhythmia after a single procedure and without antiarrhythmic medication among those with PVI and PWI compared with PVI alone (52.4% vs 53.6%, respectively; hazard ratio, 0.99). Meaning: Among patients with persistent AF undergoing first-time catheter ablation, the addition of PWI to PVI did not improve freedom from atrial arrhythmias compared with PVI alone. Importance: Pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) alone is less effective in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) compared with paroxysmal AF. The left atrial posterior wall may contribute to maintenance of persistent AF, and posterior wall isolation (PWI) is a common PVI adjunct. However, PWI has not been subjected to randomized comparison. Objective: To compare PVI with PWI vs PVI alone in patients with persistent AF undergoing first-time catheter ablation. Design, Setting, and Participants: Investigator initiated, multicenter, randomized clinical trial involving 11 centers in 3 countries (Australia, Canada, UK). Symptomatic patients with persistent AF were randomized 1:1 to either PVI with PWI or PVI alone. Patients were enrolled July 2018-March 2021, with 1-year follow-up completed March 2022. Interventions: The PVI with PWI group (n = 170) underwent wide antral pulmonary vein isolation followed by posterior wall isolation involving linear ablation at the roof and floor to achieve electrical isolation. The PVI-alone group (n = 168) underwent wide antral pulmonary vein isolation alone. Main Outcomes and Measures: Primary end point was freedom from any documented atrial arrhythmia of more than 30 seconds without antiarrhythmic medication at 12 months, after a single ablation procedure. The 23 secondary outcomes included freedom from atrial arrhythmia with/without antiarrhythmic medication after multiple procedures, freedom from symptomatic AF with/without antiarrhythmic medication after multiple procedures, AF burden between study groups at 12 months, procedural outcomes, and complications. Results: Among 338 patients randomized (median age, 65.6 [IQR, 13.1] years; 76.9% men), 330 (97.6%) completed the study. After 12 months, 89 patients (52.4%) assigned to PVI with PWI were free from recurrent atrial arrhythmia without antiarrhythmic medication after a single procedure, compared with 90 (53.6%) assigned to PVI alone (between-group difference, –1.2%; hazard ratio [HR], 0.99 [95% CI, 0.73-1.36]; P =.98). Of the secondary end points, 9 showed no significant difference, including freedom from atrial arrhythmia with/without antiarrhythmic medication after multiple procedures (58.2% for PVI with PWI vs 60.1% for PVI alone; HR, 1.10 [95% CI, 0.79-1.55]; P =.57), freedom from symptomatic AF with/without antiarrhythmic medication after multiple procedures (68.2% vs 72%; HR, 1.20 [95% CI, 0.80-1.78]; P =.36) or AF burden (0% [IQR, 0%-2.3%] vs 0% [IQR, 0%-2.8%], P =.47). Mean procedural times (142 [SD, 69] vs 121 [SD, 57] minutes, P <.001) and ablation times (34 [SD, 21] vs 28 [SD, 12] minutes, P <.001) were significantly shorter for PVI alone. There were 6 complications for PVI with PWI and 4 for PVI alone. Conclusions and Relevance: In patients undergoing first-time catheter ablation for persistent AF, the addition of PWI to PVI alone did not significantly improve freedom from atrial arrhythmia at 12 months compared with PVI alone. These findings do not support the empirical inclusion of PWI for ablation of persistent AF. Trial Registration: anzctr.org.au Identifier: ACTRN12616001436460 This randomized clinical trial compares pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) vs PVI with posterior wall isolation for achieving freedom from atrial arrhythmia in adult patients with persistent atrial fibrillation undergoing first-time catheter ablation in Australia, the UK, and Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Young people in Out of Home Care (OoHC) have complex mental health and psychosocial needs due to a range of individual, systemic and intergenerational factors that may limit the effectiveness of usual clinic-based services. To address this, in 2017 an assertive-integrated service (AIS) model of care was adopted by the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) in South Western Sydney Local Health District (SWSLHD), Australia, through outreach to the young person in the community. This paper outlines the study protocol comparing AIS with clinic-based CAMHS usual care to meet the physical, mental health and wellbeing needs of young people in OoHC. Using routinely collected outcome data, the AIS model will be compared to clinic-based CAMHS treatment as usual care. Measures of overall functioning (e.g. Global Assessment Scale [CGAS]), psychological functioning (e.g. Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire [SDQ]), general health and social functioning (e.g. Health of the Nation Outcome Scales for Children and Adolescents [HoNOSCA]) and other relevant socio-demographic and clinical variables will be collected at intake and at 3-month intervals until discharge from the respective services. Semi-structured interviews will also be conducted with young people, their carers, and service providers, to examine qualitative themes about the suitability of service provision. It is expected that a better understanding of the key indicators of functioning for young people accessing AIS and clinic-based services will help inform what works for these young people so that they can receive targeted and tailored support from the start of service engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to assess the seismic performance of typical reinforced concrete buildings constructed in Australia before the enforcement for seismic design. The response of both the primary lateral load resisting system and the gravity load resisting system is considered. A brief description of the modelling approaches adopted to simulate the response of the buildings' components is provided. Nonlinear time history analyses are conducted and "cloud analysis" is used to develop the probabilistic seismic demand models. The results from the fragility assessment suggest that the low-rise buildings located on soft sites are the most vulnerable buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peanut allergy is one of the serious health concern and affects more than 1% of the world's population mainly in Americas, Australia, and Europe. Peanut allergy is sometimes life-threatening and adversely affect the life quality of allergic individuals and their families. Consumption of hypoallergen peanuts is the best solution, however, not much effort has been made in this direction for identifying or developing hypoallergen peanut varieties. A highly diverse peanut germplasm panel was phenotyped using a recently developed monoclonal antibody-based ELISA protocol to quantify five major allergens. Results revealed a wide phenotypic variation for all the five allergens studied i.e. , Ara h 1 (4–36,833 µg/g), Ara h 2 (41–77,041 µg/g), Ara h 3 (22–106,765 µg/g), Ara h 6 (829–103,892 µg/g), and Ara h 8 (0.01–70.12 µg/g). The hypoallergen peanut genotypes with low levels of allergen proteins for Ara h 1 (4 µg/g), Ara h 2 (41 µg/g), Ara h 3 (22 µg/g), Ara h 6 (829 µg/g), and Ara h 8 (0.01 µg/g) have paved the way for their use in breeding and genomics studies. In addition, these hypoallergen peanut genotypes are available for use in cultivation and industry, thus opened up new vistas for fighting against peanut allergy problem across the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The decomposition of organic waste going to landfills produces methane gas, which is 21 times worse than CO 2 in its global warming potential. Spent coffee grounds (SCG) are one type of organic waste that makes up a significant proportion of the organic waste going to landfills. Therefore, it becomes imperative to look for a recycling solution to transform this waste into a valuable resource. The concrete industry has the potential to contribute significantly to increasing the recycling rate of this waste material. However, due to its high organic content, it is unsuitable to be used directly in structural concrete. Therefore, this experimental project looks at pyrolysing this waste at different temperatures (350 and 500 °C) to identify its suitability in improving the physicochemical and mechanical properties of concrete. The raw and pyrolysed forms of SCG were used as a replacement of fine aggregates (FA; sand) at 5, 10, 15 and 20% volume replacement levels. X-ray fluorescence (XRF), Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, and Sulfur (CHNS) analysis, laser diffraction particle size analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and compressive strength tests were undertaken to investigate the properties of the raw material and their performance in the blended concrete composites. The results show that the leaching of organic compounds from the SCG hinders the hydration reaction of cement particles, thereby significantly hampering the compressive strength of SCG-blended concrete. However, pyrolysing the SCG at 350 °C led to a significant improvement in its material properties, which resulted in a 29.3% enhancement in the compressive strength of the composite concrete blended with coffee biochar. [Display omitted] • Spent coffee grounds (SCG) leach organic compounds that hinder the hydration reaction and compressive strength of concrete. • SCG pyrolysed at 350 and 500 °C show strong bond formation with the cement matrix. • 15 vol% replacement of sand with pyrolysed SCG at 350 °C provides ∼30% improvement in concrete strength. • 100% of 75,000 tonnes of waste SCG produced in Australia can be utilised in structural concrete. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objective: To describe characteristics of ED admissions that resulted in unsolicited complaints and compare with overall ED admissions. The site utilised is an inner city tertiary hospital, with 630 beds, with approximately 82 600 annual presentations, where 32.5% were children. Methods: Complaints between the dates of 27 November 2012 and 10 March 2016 were reviewed. Performance indicators and the distribution of presentations by diagnostic code were reviewed. Results: A total of 572 different complaint reasons were found and grouped into 12 categories. The most common reasons for complaints were treatment (33.2%) and communication (28.3%), and most complaints concerned medical staff. Other variables including wait times have no effect on patient complaints. Utilising aggregate numbers, the overall paediatric complaint ratio was 0.98:1000 presentations, and the total adult department complaints were 1.78:1000 presentations. Conclusion: As seen in this study the vast majority of patient complaints were associated with treatment and communication issues and skewed towards doctors. It may be feasible for medical staff to undertake communication training as clinician‐patient communication in the ED is an important aspect in the improvement of patient satisfaction and in decreasing patient complaints as waiting times and triage categories had no major influence on patient complaints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective and Method: We used the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) to compare the specific eating disorder psychopathology of young adult women in Australia (n = 339) and Singapore (n = 164). All participants completed a brief questionnaire that included the EDE-Q, basic sociodemographic information, and self-reported height and weight. Results: Overall levels of eating disorder psychopathology, as measured by the EDE-Q global score, were very similar. There were also no differences between groups on the EDE-Q subscales. However, analysis at the item level indicated that Singaporean women were more fearful of losing control over their eating, more fearful of gaining weight or becoming fat, and more anxious at the prospect of regularly weighing themselves, than Australian women. Singaporean women were also more likely to report binge eating and laxative misuse, whereas excessive exercise was more common among Australian women. The findings were unaltered when between-group differences in body weight were statistically controlled. Discussion: The findings provide further evidence that levels of eating disorder psychopathology in some Asian countries may be as high as, if not higher than, those of Western nations. Potentially important differences between different cultural groups may be obscured when the assessment of eating disorder psychopathology is confined to summary-type measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers in the area of auditor independence have examined the relationship between auditors' opinions and auditor-provided services. While DeFond et al. (2002) and Geiger and Rama (2003) fail to find auditor impairment for distressed U.S. companies, Sharma (2001) and Sharma and Sidhu (2001) find a negative relationship between the likelihood of a going-concern (GC) opinion and nonaudit fees paid to auditors for bankrupt Australian companies. These conflicting results may arise from jurisdictional differences between Australia and the U.S. or differential managerial incentives and firm costs between distressed and bankrupt firms. In light of these differences, an empirical question exists as to whether the results of the Australian studies will obtain in the U.S. We examine the relationship between the propensity of auditors to render GC opinions and nonaudit fees (and other auditor fees) for a sample of bankrupt U.S. firms. We do not observe any association between GC opinions and nonaudit fees, audit fees, total fees, or the ratio of nonaudit fees to total fees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the effects of changes in patent length on the research and development spending of firms in Australia. Information on patent length; Relevance of patent length to firms; Correlation between patent length and corporate spending.

• Very first study about the presence of micro-plastic in the Australian road dust. • Samples were collected from two different locations of Metropolitan Melbourne. • A large number of tyre wear-out particles were identified in the both samples. The threat of micro-plastics in the marine environment is seriously being recognized worldwide for the dangers it is posing to not only the marine life and biodiversity but even to the human beings that form part of this food chain. The majority of these micro-plastics are considered to be generated from the wear-out of vehicle tyres. In Australia, there is a complete lack of scientific evidence to support the extent to which MPs are released from the road dust. Therefore, this study was undertaken to identify the presence of micro-plastics in Australian road dust and the results were validated using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy material characterization techniques. The results clearly show the presence of a large number of tyre wear-out particles in small amounts of road dust samples collected from two separate suburban locations of metropolitan Melbourne area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dengue is highly prevalent in Asia and Latin America and has no specific dengue antiviral treatment. A recombinant monoclonal antibody (VIS513) that neutralises all four serotypes of the dengue virus has been developed in India. After confirmation of safety and efficacy in preclinical studies, it was tested in a first-in-human study to assess the safety and pharmacokinetics. This was a partially blind (observer-blind), randomised, placebo-controlled, phase 1, single ascending dose study in Australia. Participants were dengue naive, healthy adults (aged 18–45 years) with no clinically significant disorders or immunosuppressive conditions. Four dose levels of dengue monoclonal antibody (ie, 1 mg/kg, 3 mg/kg, 7 mg/kg, and 12 mg/kg; n=4 for 1 mg/kg and n=10 each for 3 mg/kg, 7 mg/kg, and 12 mg/kg doses) were assessed in a dose-ascending way with a placebo control (n=2 for each dose cohort, total n=6) for each cohort except for 1 mg/kg. Within each cohort, participants were first randomly assigned (1:1) in a sentinel sub-cohort and then randomly assigned (9:1) in an expansion sub-cohort to dengue monoclonal antibody or placebo except for the 1 mg/kg cohort. Participants, investigators, and outcome assessors were masked and treatment administrators were not masked. 40 participants received a single intravenous injection or infusion of either dengue monoclonal antibody or placebo over a period of 3 min to 2 h and were followed up until day 85. The primary outcomes were proportion of participants with adverse events and serious adverse events (SAEs) up to 84 days after dosing whereas the secondary outcomes were to assess the pharmacokinetic profile of dengue monoclonal antibody and to assess the presence of anti-drug antibody (ADA) to dengue monoclonal antibody. All participants were included in the safety analysis and the pharmacokinetic population involved participants receiving dengue monoclonal antibody. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov , NCT03883620. Between March 22 and Dec 23, 2019, 40 healthy adults were randomly assigned and all completed the study. There were no SAEs reported. None of the placebo recipients (n=6) reported any adverse events. 31 (91%) of 34 participants receiving dengue monoclonal antibody reported 143 adverse events (1 mg/kg: four [100%] of four participants; 3 mg/kg: ten [100%] of ten participants; 7 mg/kg: seven [70%] of ten participants; 12 mg/kg: ten [100%] of ten participants). Of these 143 adverse events, 80 were treatment-related adverse events in 28 (82%) of 34 participants. Headache (16 [47%] of 34), infusion reaction (11 [32%] of 34), lymphopenia (seven [21%] of 34), fatigue (five [15%] of 34), and pyrexia (four [12%] of 34) were the most common reactions. Infusion reactions were reduced in the 7 mg/kg (two [20%] of ten participants) and 12 mg/kg (three [30%] of ten) cohorts with paracetamol premedication compared with the 3 mg/kg cohort (five [50%] of ten). The majority of adverse events were grade 1 or grade 2 in severity, and resolved completely. Median maximum serum concentrations ranged from 28 μg/mL (1 mg/kg) to 525 μg/mL (12 mg/kg). The median elimination half-life ranged from 775 h (1 mg/kg) to 878 h (12 mg/kg). No ADA against dengue monoclonal antibody was detected. Dengue monoclonal antibody was safe and well tolerated. It showed a dose-proportionate increase in pharmacokinetic exposure. These data support further evaluation of dengue monoclonal antibody in patients with dengue for safety and efficacy. Serum Institute of India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation (AF) has increased exponentially in many developed countries, including Australia and New Zealand. This Expert Position Statement on Catheter and Surgical Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation from the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand (CSANZ) recognises healthcare factors, expertise and expenditure relevant to the Australian and New Zealand healthcare environments including considerations of potential implications for First Nations Peoples. The statement is cognisant of international advice but tailored to local conditions and populations, and is intended to be used by electrophysiologists, cardiologists and general physicians across all disciplines caring for patients with AF. They are also intended to provide guidance to healthcare facilities seeking to establish or maintain catheter ablation for AF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Timber utility poles represent a significant part of Australia's infrastructure for electricity distribution and telecommunication networks. Annual replacement of timber poles are undertaken to avoid pole failures and approximately 40–50 million dollars are spent annually on maintenance and asset management. However, currently practiced inspection techniques for timber poles are mostly subjective in nature and have a lack of reliability, hence, the condition-assessment results provide great difficulties for the asset owners to plan the renewal works. Commonly used wave-propagation based non-destructive testing (NDT) techniques for piles and other concrete structures were adopted and modified to assess the condition of timber poles. The effectiveness of the developed method to detect defects relies on the propagation and reflection of generated shear waves by a transverse impact. However, the orthotropic material properties of timber, the effect of soil embedment, the availability of natural imperfections in timber, and a highly dispersive nature of shear wave propagation make the analysis complex. Therefore, advanced signal-processing techniques are required to identify the damage, the damage location and to accurately assess the damage severity. This paper focuses on damage detection of timber poles using Hilbert-Huang transform as an effective time-frequency analysis technique. A numerical model for an in-situ pole system is developed to simulate the shear wave propagation and to evaluate the capability of the proposed signal-processing technique for an accurate detection of damages. The developed numerical model is validated with the experimental data from the pole yard test and with the data from field-testing. The validated model is then used to simulate different defect profiles, locations and multiple damages to further evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed damage detection technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic poses a significant stress on health resources in Australia. The Heart Rhythm Council of the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand aims to provide a framework for efficient resource utilisation balanced with competing risks when appropriately treating patients with cardiac arrhythmias. This document provides practical recommendations for the electrophysiology (EP) and cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIED) services in Australia. The document will be updated regularly as new evidence and knowledge is gained with time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The 240Pu/239Pu ratio of the global plutonium fallout from atmospheric nuclear weapons testing is typically in the range 0.17–0.19. However, the influence of regional nuclear installations or nearby weapons test sites can lead to local values outside this range. We report 240Pu/239Pu ratios at 14 representative sites across the Australian continent, and find that the weapons tests carried out in Australia appear to have made a significant contribution to the total fallout in the center of the continent, despite their relatively small explosive yield. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]