Fitness Versus Fatness: Disentangling Their Effects On Disease Outcomes And Estimating The Population Burden Of Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$188,537.00
Summary
Overweight and physical inactivity are two of the major risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetes. With increasing population levels of overweight, governments are increasingly advocating public health measures aimed at increasing physical activity levels or otherwise decreasing weight. There has been much research concerning which of these factors is the key prognostic factor for adverse health outcomes, but an ongoing lack of clarity of research findings has led to uncertainty as to ....Overweight and physical inactivity are two of the major risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetes. With increasing population levels of overweight, governments are increasingly advocating public health measures aimed at increasing physical activity levels or otherwise decreasing weight. There has been much research concerning which of these factors is the key prognostic factor for adverse health outcomes, but an ongoing lack of clarity of research findings has led to uncertainty as to the direction of recommendations for preventive health strategies and population lifestyle changes. In addition, the risks of overweight, in particular, have been accused of being exaggerated in both the scientific and lay literature. This is often due to the difficulty of dealing appropriately with time varying confounders which are also intermediate factors (such as hypertension). To date, no studies have performed careful longitudinal modelling of the joint effects of physical inactivity and overweight on cardiovascular events and diabetes while taking into account the effects of factors, such as hypertension or atherosclerosis, that influence both physical activity and overweight as well as disease, and simultaneously are consequences of these risk factors. Standard statistical methods are known to produce biased estimates in these situations but we will apply more recently developed statistical techniques to provide much improved estimation of these effects. After the statistical modelling stage, we will model the burden of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and mortality associated with given levels of overweight and physical inactivity. These will be combined with population levels of overweight and inactivity to identify the fraction of the current and future burden of disease attributable to these risk factors.Read moreRead less
Effects Of Biological And Environmental Factors And Of Fishing Practices On Recruitment And Abundance Of Scallops
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$55,396.00
Summary
Objectives: 1. To determine information needs for developing a predictive model based on environmental and fisheries variables 2. To collate all the existing and relevant local data on scallop recruitment and abundance, associated environmental factors and fishing effort 3. Combine these data into a model describing relationships between environment, fishing effort, recruitment and abundance 4. Build a model of the fishery using the Port Phillip Bay data (which is the most ....Objectives: 1. To determine information needs for developing a predictive model based on environmental and fisheries variables 2. To collate all the existing and relevant local data on scallop recruitment and abundance, associated environmental factors and fishing effort 3. Combine these data into a model describing relationships between environment, fishing effort, recruitment and abundance 4. Build a model of the fishery using the Port Phillip Bay data (which is the most comprehensive data set). Include sensitivity analysis. Identify any additional data needs 5. Determine suitabilityof the Port Phillip Bay model for modelling the scallop fishery in south-eastern Australia 6. Recommend further course of action for data collection and fisheries management in order to refine the model Read moreRead less
Interdisciplinary Insights Into The Rational Design Of Malaria Therapy And Vaccines
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$318,768.00
Summary
Malaria is a global health concern with almost half a million deaths annually. There is an urgent need for a highly effective malaria vaccine and new antimalarials. However, despite decades of research into this pathogen, our understanding of what causes illness in a person and how immunity operates is limited. This project will use a mathematical modelling approach to provide a new way to understand infection, as a rapidly changing and intricate process.
Seafood CRC: Maximising The Quality Of Australian Wild-caught Prawns (Quality Assurance)
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$177,179.94
Summary
Despite overwhelming support for industry investment to implement the national prawn market development strategy developed by Brand Council (CRC 2011/736), a major aligned industry concern was the inconsistent quality of, in particular wild caught prawns, and how this inconsistency may have the potential to negatively impact the market development activities. The Australian wild catch prawn industry is widely distributed and characterised by variation in geography, target species, operating/h ....Despite overwhelming support for industry investment to implement the national prawn market development strategy developed by Brand Council (CRC 2011/736), a major aligned industry concern was the inconsistent quality of, in particular wild caught prawns, and how this inconsistency may have the potential to negatively impact the market development activities. The Australian wild catch prawn industry is widely distributed and characterised by variation in geography, target species, operating/harvest systems, size of vessel and operator capabilities. Additionally, there can be high staff turnover, language and cultural differences and literacy issues. This leads to inconsistent product harvesting, brining, cooling, preserving, packaging and grading and/or inappropriate processing, which causes inconsistent product quality. Such quality issues can be exacerbated by poor handling at both retailer and consumer level.
While prawn quality standards have previously been created, there has been little integration, acceptance or uptake of these standards and associated training by indutry More often, standards have been created at fishery, company and vessel level, or are at the request of down chain partners. With considerable industry investment to both develop and implement the national Australian prawn strategy, there is now a greater incentive for the production of a consistent quality product to underpin the Australian prawn strategy messages/activities and ensure the best possible prawn experience for consumers.
Objectives: 1. The Australian prawn market development strategy is underpinned by supply of a consistent, high quality product. 2. To establish, trial, and evaluate the impact of a national, whole of chain, prawn quality program for grading, shelf-life, appearance and provenance of Australian prawns. Read moreRead less