Improving Treatment Strategies For Chronic Alphaviral Arthritic Diseases
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$643,624.00
Summary
Chikungunya virus and Ross River virus cause epidemics of acute and chronic arthritic disease in humans, which is often poorly managed with current treatments. This grant seeks to understand the mechanisms that give rise to disease in order to identify improved treatment strategies. Both the persistence of viral replication in joint tissues and unnecessary inflammatory responses appear to be important factors driving chronic disease.
Driving Change: Using Emergency Department Data To Reduce Alcohol-related Harm
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,468,026.00
Summary
The proposed project is a system change within partner emergency departments, providing them the information and tools to act on both risky alcohol consumption in individual patients and the sources of alcohol in the community which cause the harm they experience. Most importantly, the proposed public health interventions act as a tool for emergency departments to regularly raise awareness with the public and policymakers regarding the impact of alcohol on patients, clinicians and hospitals.
The vision we rely on every day to read and recognise faces depends upon the health of the central portion of our retina, the macula. Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness in Australia and the western world. Researchers at the Australian National University are collaborating to bring a new test for AMD severity to the market within 3 years. The objective is to provide doctors with a rapid, cost-effective tool to help them manage treatment.
Novel water treatment processes. The objective of this project is the discovery of novel methods for the treatment and reuse of water for both industrial and household applications. Improved treatment systems with the potential for water reuse offer significant improvements to our overall water management potential. The first part of the project is designed to focus on the study of hot bubble column evaporators for solute decomposition, sterilisation and the de-watering of heavily contaminated i ....Novel water treatment processes. The objective of this project is the discovery of novel methods for the treatment and reuse of water for both industrial and household applications. Improved treatment systems with the potential for water reuse offer significant improvements to our overall water management potential. The first part of the project is designed to focus on the study of hot bubble column evaporators for solute decomposition, sterilisation and the de-watering of heavily contaminated industrial wastewater. The second part would be based on the study of a suitable depth filter medium for the treatment of partially treated household sewage water. This is designed to form part of an on-site household sewage water treatment and reuse system which is currently being developed.Read moreRead less
Precision Pulsar Timing and its Applications. The rapidly rotating pulsars known as millisecond pulsars have period stabilities which rival that of the best terrestrial clocks. Observations of many millisecond pulsars spread across the sky should allow detection of the gravitational-wave background - likely to be the first direct detection of gravity waves. It will also enable establishment of a long-term time standard which is independent of and probably superior to that derived from terrestria ....Precision Pulsar Timing and its Applications. The rapidly rotating pulsars known as millisecond pulsars have period stabilities which rival that of the best terrestrial clocks. Observations of many millisecond pulsars spread across the sky should allow detection of the gravitational-wave background - likely to be the first direct detection of gravity waves. It will also enable establishment of a long-term time standard which is independent of and probably superior to that derived from terrestrial clocks. New analysis techniques and establishment of an international observing network will be required. Investigation and application of techniques for overcoming radio interference will be an important part of the project.Read moreRead less
Defeating Radio Frequency Interference. The radio spectrum is a valuable resource. Development of techniques which minimize the impact of various users on one another, allowing this resource to be shared, will benefit the entire community. For astronomy in particular, shared use is essential because of the very wide bandwidths needed to obtain sufficient sensitivity. Usage of the radio spectrum is increasing rapidly and radio telescopes are becoming more and more sensitive, compounding the probl ....Defeating Radio Frequency Interference. The radio spectrum is a valuable resource. Development of techniques which minimize the impact of various users on one another, allowing this resource to be shared, will benefit the entire community. For astronomy in particular, shared use is essential because of the very wide bandwidths needed to obtain sufficient sensitivity. Usage of the radio spectrum is increasing rapidly and radio telescopes are becoming more and more sensitive, compounding the problems. The digital signal processing techniques developed under this project will be widely applicable, not only to future radio astronomy facilities such as the Square Kilometer Array, but also to the communications industry generally.Read moreRead less
Parole in crisis? Public opinion on the use of parole. Serious crimes committed by parolees in Australia have brought parole into the public eye. Without concrete evidence, governments often act on the assumption that the public holds punitive attitudes. This project is expected to develop an evidence base to inform policy on parole at a crucial time when governments are under pressure to restrict its use. Three mixed-method studies aim to assess: what public views on parole are; why the public ....Parole in crisis? Public opinion on the use of parole. Serious crimes committed by parolees in Australia have brought parole into the public eye. Without concrete evidence, governments often act on the assumption that the public holds punitive attitudes. This project is expected to develop an evidence base to inform policy on parole at a crucial time when governments are under pressure to restrict its use. Three mixed-method studies aim to assess: what public views on parole are; why the public holds these views; and what influence these views have on policy and practice. The project is expected to make contributions to: creating information strategies that properly inform the public; supporting prisoner reintegration strategies; and shaping criminal justice policies based on informed community feedback.Read moreRead less
A Future Beyond the Wall: Improving Post-release Employment Outcomes for People Leaving Prison. Engaging in meaningful work has been shown to reduce re-offending by ex-prisoners, but few prison releasees internationally or in Australia gain employment, and successful pathways to employment for this group are poorly researched and understood. This study aims to gather and analyse, for the first time, comparative data from Australian jurisdictions and employment agencies on the relationship betwee ....A Future Beyond the Wall: Improving Post-release Employment Outcomes for People Leaving Prison. Engaging in meaningful work has been shown to reduce re-offending by ex-prisoners, but few prison releasees internationally or in Australia gain employment, and successful pathways to employment for this group are poorly researched and understood. This study aims to gather and analyse, for the first time, comparative data from Australian jurisdictions and employment agencies on the relationship between in-prison and post-prison vocational education and employment programs, employment and recidivism. It aims to identify effective elements, strategies, program and policy directions in offender training and employment. This is a unique partnership amongst key academics in the field, peak national bodies, correctional and employment organisations.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0989759
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$360,000.00
Summary
Australian Access to and Operation of Advanced Synchrotron Radiation Facilities at the Photon Factory. The primary national benefit of this application will be continued access by peer review for Australian scientists to the advanced synchrotron-radiation capabilities of the Australian National Beamline Facility and other complementary beamlines at the Photon Factory, Japan. This proposal is consistent with the National Research Priorities of An Environmentally Sustainable Australia, Promoting a ....Australian Access to and Operation of Advanced Synchrotron Radiation Facilities at the Photon Factory. The primary national benefit of this application will be continued access by peer review for Australian scientists to the advanced synchrotron-radiation capabilities of the Australian National Beamline Facility and other complementary beamlines at the Photon Factory, Japan. This proposal is consistent with the National Research Priorities of An Environmentally Sustainable Australia, Promoting and Maintaining Good Health and Frontier Technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries and will generate science to support and stimulate domestic industry, enhance the domestic knowledge base and international research profile, train students and future synchrotron scientists and foster domestic and international collaborations.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE130100087
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$500,000.00
Summary
Enabling future technology by building light element analysis capability: a light element optimised ultra-high resolution electron microprobe. The capability to characterise the chemistry of materials at very small scales is critical for geologists, metallurgists and materials scientists. The new instrument is world-leading technology that will enable analysis of light element-rich materials at extremely high resolution (< 50 nanometers) with very low detection limits.