University Of Western Australia Research Articles

Improving separation of CH4 and N2 by adsorption on zeolite Y Ion–Exchanged with ammonium Cations: An experimental and Grand–Canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) simulation investigation

The separation of methane (CH4) from industrially–important nitrogen (N2)-rich vent streams such as those in liquefied natural gas processing plants is challenging. Pressure swing adsorption (PSA) is a promising, cost–effective solution in gas separation, especially for small–scale units. Further development and commercialisation of PSA–based technologies require access to low–cost, selective adsorbent materials. The current work investigates the improved separation of CH4 from N2 by TMA–Y zeolite which is obtained from the ion exchange treatment of Na–Y zeolite with the ammonium salt tetramethylammonium chloride (TMACl). TMA–Y is commercially called Ionic Liquidic Zeolite (ILZ), patented at The University of Western Australia, and has now been demonstrated on tonne–scale. In particular, we use a combination of experimental and molecular simulation techniques to provide insights into the high CH4–over–N2 selectivity of TMA–Y. For this, we obtain equilibrium isotherms of CH4 and N2 on Na–Y at different temperatures and pressures before and after ion exchange. The true selectivities of the zeolite samples are determined using the Ideal Adsorbed Solution Theory (IAST) and binary–gas grand–canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) molecular simulations. From experiments and IAST calculations, we report an increase of >110% in the CH4/N2 selectivity of Na–Y after treatment with TMACl (from 2.2 to 4.7 at 5.0 MPa and 303.15 K for a mixture of 0.1 CH4+0.9 N2 mol.mol−1). GCMC molecular simulations provide a detailed picture of the molecular origins of this effect. Specifically, the introduction of TMA+ ions into the structure of Na–Y zeolite leads to a reduction of the available adsorption volume by more than 40% (from 0.30 to 0.17 cm3.g−1 with N2 as the probe molecule) for both adsorbing gas species (i.e. CH4 and N2). However, at the same time, this leads to stronger CH4–cation interactions due to the much higher affinity of TMA+ cations (5 kJ.mol−1) than extra–framework Na+ cations (1 kJ.mol−1) towards CH4. The overall effect of these two trends combined is the higher selectivity of the resulting TMA–Y zeolite for CH4. These molecular insights are useful in the systematic engineering of new materials with improved separation performance.

Soil health characteristics

Soil health characteristics Lynette Abbott from The University of Western Australia, places the spotlight on soil health, including its physical, chemical, biological and hydrological characteristics. Soil health encompasses its physical, chemical, biological, and hydrological characteristics. Inherent soil properties underpin how components of soil health combine to support productive agricultural or natural ecosystems. Soil health encompasses its physical, chemical, biological, and hydrological characteristics. Inherent soil properties underpin how components of soil health combine to support productive agricultural or natural ecosystems. The origin of the underlying parent rock materials and the extent to which they are weathered, influences naturally occurring nutrient cycling processes in soil. Hence, some soils have inherently high levels of nutrients available for plants, but others have more limited plant-available nutrient resources.

Preface

It is a great honor for us, Faculty of Forestry of Hasanuddin University, to host the 3rd Biennial Conference of Tropical Biodiversity (3rd-BCTB) on August 8 - 9th, 2023, in Makassar City of South Sulawesi Province, Indonesia. The Biennial Conference of Tropical Biodiversity is a scientific forum to enhance science and technology, together with researchers, scientists, practitioners, and scholars to anticipate the impacts of climate change in biodiversity. This is also conducted to promote Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).The 3rd Biennial Conference of Tropical Biodiversity has performed a hybrid with a live meeting at Aston Hotel and Convention, Makassar, Indonesia, and a virtual conference instead of a live meeting. The 3rd Biennial Conference of Tropical Biodiversity theme was Biodiversity and Governance for Environment Valorization to Mitigate Climate Change. This international conference involves around 88 participants from 5 countries from: Germany, Australia, Japan, Malaysia, and Indonesia. The keynote speaker was Prof. Ts. Mohd. Nazip Suratman, Ph.D. from Universiti Teknologi MARA-Malaysia. The Invited Speakers were Prof. Dr. Martin Zimmer (Leibniz-Zentrum für Marine Tropenforschng-Germany), Prof. Dr. Takahiro Fujiwara (Kyushu University-Japan), Dr. Peter Christiaan Speldewinde (University of Western Australia), Dr. Christina Griffin (The University of Melbourne-Australia) and Dr. Ir. Roland Alexander Barkey (Hasanuddin University-Indonesia). Oral presenters and participants, and has five sub-themes, namely 1) mangrove ecosystem as carbon sink to achieve Indonesia’s FOLU net sink 2030, 2) community partnership for biodiversity conservation: social and policy, 3) ecological risk and natural disaster, 4) global biodiversity assessment: climate change impacts for biodiversity, and 5) biodiversity and ecotourism.Participant presentations were held in 3 sessions, and each session was divided into 3 rooms. The number of participants per room was 5-7 participants with an allocation of presentations for 7 minutes/participant conducted in parallel as many as three parallel sessions. Discussions sessions were held in parallel in each parallel session with an allocation of 3 minutes per participant. The Virtual BCTB conference implementation applied the zoom meeting application provided by the Faculty of Forestry, Universitas Hasanuddin. We received 95 abstracts in total, but after the review process, the committee accepted 52 manuscripts and rejected five manuscripts because they did not fit the sub themes.On behalf of the committee of this conference, we wish to convey our appreciation to the Minister of Environment and Forestry, the Rector of Hasanuddin University, and the Dean of Forestry Faculty for their support in ensuring the conference’s success. We want to thank the PT. Vale Indonesia, Kalla Group, AAS Foundation, PT. Inhutani 1 and the Ministry of Environment and Forestry unit in South Sulawesi for their valuable sponsorship of this international conference.Finally, we sincerely thank all committee members and a volunteer team of the Forestry Faculty at Hasanuddin University, who are committed and work hard for this international conference. We also sincerely thank all parties, including session chairs, Publication Management Center (PMC) of Universitas Hasanuddin, speakers, authors, and participants who made this conference meaningful and happening. We sincerely thank you for your generous support and look forward to working with you in the future.List of Conference Committee is available in this Pdf.

An efficient technique for detecting document forgery in hyperspectral document images

In document forensics, identifying ink mismatches is crucial for detecting forgeries and determining document authenticity. However, identifying and separating specific inks from paper can be challenging. Hyperspectral imaging can capture unique spectral patterns exhibited by inks composed of different materials, even when their colors appear identical. Hyperspectral document analysis (HSDI) can be employed to authenticate documents by analyzing the ink. Earlier studies had insufficiently accurate black ink detection, so this paper proposes a novel approach using deep learning and pre-processing methods to improve black ink detection accuracy. The proposed approach uses supervised deep learning to identify ink mismatches in hyperspectral document images. The study evaluated the performance of the proposed model using a hyperspectral image dataset consisting of UWA (University of Western Australia) writing ink in both blue and black colors and different types of artificially identical color inks mixed in various ratios to find ink mismatches. The results showed that the proposed system performed better than other systems reported in the literature, improving the average accuracy by up to 0.18% for blue and 0.36% for black. The proposed method accurately detects ink mismatches and identifies various inks based on their unique spectral response, rendering it highly beneficial for applications in document forensics.

Is mathematics a barrier for engineering?

Mathematics is traditionally considered necessary for engineering courses. Over the last three decades, the mathematics requirements for entry into engineering programmes has steadily weakened in Australia. Further, the mathematics component of engineering programmes has progressively decreased. This research aims to investigate the following two questions. First, is mathematics a barrier for students to complete an engineering programme? And second, is performance in mathematics associated with performance in engineering? We identified the significant factors associated with weighted average mark and the completion status of engineering studies at both an undergraduate level and a Masters level. Of particular interest was the students' mathematical background. Furthermore, a survey of students enrolled in engineering at the University of Western Australia was conducted to obtain more in depth views of student attitudes and perceptions towards how mathematics has affected their engineering studies. Binary logistic models were fitted to the survey data. Additionally, focus group interviews were conducted to gain insight on student perspectives regarding the effectiveness of mathematics teaching in engineering. The results are discussed in relation to the importance of mathematics and statistics for the engineering curriculum.

A scientometric analysis of mine closure research

AbstractMine closure is a global challenge. To date, there has been no scientometric analysis of the mine closure literature. This paper uses a scientometric analysis to assess the literature on mine closure. We assessed 2078 papers published since 2002. There was a rapid increase in the research output, with 76% of the papers published in the last 10 years. We identify the journals and co-citation index of journals associated with mine closure research. Geography journals are prominent with 20% of papers, but there is also evidence of journals linked to mining and interdisciplinary journals. Four clusters of universities are working on mine closure (the University of Western Australia, the University of Queensland, the University of the Free State and the University of Alberta) and the co-citation index groups journals into three clusters (environmental and ecological concerns, environmental health, multidisciplinary issues). The co-citation index groups the themes into 20 clusters, which we have regrouped into five themes (health, environment, geography, society, and regulation/politics). We draw seven conclusions. Although original social science research focused on the impact of mining, (1) there is clear evidence of work focusing on mine closure and (2) this work is rapidly increasing. The geography remains important (3) but has negative effects. Despite the geographical focus, ideas and concepts are substantially integrated across the available work (4). Focusing on geographical journals might prevent work from being published in multidisciplinary journals (5). Papers linking theory and mine closure are limited (6) and the available work needs careful thought on planning closures in cities and communities (7).

Trends and hotspots in familial hypercholesterolemia: A bibliometric systematic review from 2002 to 2022.

We visually assessed the research hotspots of familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) using bibliometrics and knowledge mapping in light of the research state and development trend of FH. We employed bibliometric tools, such as CiteSpace and the alluvial generator, to illustrate the scientific accomplishments on FH by extracting pertinent literature on FH from the Web of Science Core Collection database from January 1, 2002, to December 31, 2022. A total of 4402 papers in total were selected for study; 29.2% of all articles globally were from the USA, followed by the Netherlands and England. The University of Amsterdam, University of Oslo, and University of Western Australia are the 3 institutions with the most publications in this area. Gerald F. Watts, Raul D. Santos, and John J. P. Kastelein wrote the majority of the pieces that were published. The New England Journal of Medicine, Circulation, and Atherosclerosis were the journals with the greatest number of papers in this field. Prevalence and genetic analysis of FH, proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin 9 inhibitors, and inclisiran are current research hotspots for the condition. Future research in this area will be focused on gene therapy. FH research has shown shows a trend of ascending followed by leveling off. The prevalence and diagnosis of FH, proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin 9 inhibitors, inclisiran, and gene therapy are current research hotspots. This report may serve as a reference for current research trends.

Let us start a dialogue about interprofessional research.

Journal Article Let us start a dialogue about interprofessional research Get access Joon Soo Park, Joon Soo Park International Research Collaborative—Oral Health and Equity, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, AustraliaUWA Dental School, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Western Australia, AustraliaSchool of Allied Health, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, AustraliaInstitute for Sustainable Industries & Liveable Cities, Victoria University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Correspondence: Joon Soo Park, International Research Collaborative—Oral Health and Equity, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia. Email: alex.park@uwa.edu.au https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2052-558X Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Manorika Ratnaweera Manorika Ratnaweera UWA Dental School, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Western Australia, Australia Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar International Journal of Pharmacy Practice, riad039, https://doi.org/10.1093/ijpp/riad039 Published: 24 June 2023

Revisiting news editors’ evaluation of journalism courses and graduate employability

This research project deployed one-on-one, semi-structured interviews with news editors in Perth, Western Australia, to evaluate journalism courses and student employability across the five Perth-based universities that teach journalism (Edith Cowan, Murdoch, Curtin, University of Western Australia [UWA] and Notre Dame universities). The 2022 interviews were undertaken with a view to compare and contrast the results to similar interviews published in 2014. The findings indicate that industry practitioners still think universities are typically the best place to teach journalism, and that students are highly competent in digital technologies. However, there is concern about the current state of graduate general and civil knowledge. Other trends include a growing sense that journalism students should be given training in public relations foundations and, additionally, that most editors would like to be involved with university curriculums. A major difference was an awareness during interviews in 2022 that tertiary staff cuts and financial pressures complicate the maintenance of high standards.

Deep space debris—Detection of potentially hazardous asteroids and objects from the southern hemisphere

Space debris are composed of both natural and human made objects, some in near Earth orbits while others are passing through deep space. Asteroids may represent one form of near Earth and deep space debris. In this article we report on a set of asteroid observations from the southern hemisphere. We indicate that Apollo and Aten class asteroids represent another form of deep space debris of a potentially hazardous nature to orbiting spacecraft and/or Earth based locations. We also show some of the operational challenges, types of facilities and the importance of geographic diversity, that is, necessary for detecting, observing and characterising asteroids, especially PHA’s. For many years, space agencies and institutions have observed and monitored near Earth asteroids and objects (NEO’s) using high gain radio frequency antennas and optical telescopes in the northern hemisphere (GSSR, Arecibo, Catalina, Pan-STARRS, Atlas and Linear) 1) However a regular operational system to monitor the southern skies does not have the same level of maturity and is where a percentage of asteroids and various human made objects are not detected until they pass into northern skies. To fill that gap the Southern Hemisphere Asteroid Radar Program (SHARP) 2) located in Australia uses available antenna time on either a 70 or 34 m beam waveguide antenna located at the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex (CDSCC) to transmit a Doppler compensated continuous radio wave at 2.114 GHz (14.2 cm) and 7.15945 GHz (4.2 cm) toward the NEO and receive its echoes at the 64 m Parkes or 6 m × 22 m Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) antennas at Narrabri in Australia. This mode of NEO observation is termed a deep space bistatic radar. The southern hemisphere program has also recently been joined by the 12 m University of Tasmania antennas at Hobart (Tasmania) and Katherine (Northern Territory). Combining SHARPS bistatic radar with small optical apertures located at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and University of Western Australia (UWA) allows combined optical/RF NEO detections. Whilst sub-metre class optical instruments have contributed independently to asteroid detection over decades, the use of coordinated small 0.3–0.5 m instruments synchronized to large asteroid radars offers an observational flexibility and adaptability when larger optical systems 3) are dedicated to other forms of professional optical astronomy. Since 2015, SHARP has illuminated and tracked over 30 NEO’s ranging in diameter from 7 to 5000 m at ranges of 0.1–18 lunar distances (LD) from Australia.

Editorial: Core outcome sets and measures for clinical trials in implant dentistry

Journal of Clinical PeriodontologyVolume 50, Issue S25 p. 4-4 INVITED EDITORIAL Editorial: Core outcome sets and measures for clinical trials in implant dentistry Lisa Heitz-Mayfield, Corresponding Author Lisa Heitz-Mayfield [email protected] orcid.org/0000-0001-5755-8265 International Research Collaborative, Oral Health and Equity, School of Human Anatomy and Biology, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia Discipline of Periodontics, School of Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The university of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia Correspondence Panos N. Papapanou, Division of Periodontics, Section of Oral, Diagnostic and Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Dental Medicine, Columbia University, 630 W 168th Street, PH-7E-110, New York, NY 10032, USA. Email: [email protected] Lisa Heitz-Mayfield, International Research Collaborative, Oral Health and Equity, School of Human Anatomy and Biology, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia. Email: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorPanos N. Papapanou, Corresponding Author Panos N. Papapanou [email protected] orcid.org/0000-0002-6538-3618 Division of Periodontics, Section of Oral, Diagnostic and Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Dental Medicine, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA Correspondence Panos N. Papapanou, Division of Periodontics, Section of Oral, Diagnostic and Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Dental Medicine, Columbia University, 630 W 168th Street, PH-7E-110, New York, NY 10032, USA. Email: [email protected] Lisa Heitz-Mayfield, International Research Collaborative, Oral Health and Equity, School of Human Anatomy and Biology, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia. Email: [email protected]Search for more papers by this author Lisa Heitz-Mayfield, Corresponding Author Lisa Heitz-Mayfield [email protected] orcid.org/0000-0001-5755-8265 International Research Collaborative, Oral Health and Equity, School of Human Anatomy and Biology, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia Discipline of Periodontics, School of Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The university of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia Correspondence Panos N. Papapanou, Division of Periodontics, Section of Oral, Diagnostic and Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Dental Medicine, Columbia University, 630 W 168th Street, PH-7E-110, New York, NY 10032, USA. Email: [email protected] Lisa Heitz-Mayfield, International Research Collaborative, Oral Health and Equity, School of Human Anatomy and Biology, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia. Email: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorPanos N. Papapanou, Corresponding Author Panos N. Papapanou [email protected] orcid.org/0000-0002-6538-3618 Division of Periodontics, Section of Oral, Diagnostic and Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Dental Medicine, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA Correspondence Panos N. Papapanou, Division of Periodontics, Section of Oral, Diagnostic and Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Dental Medicine, Columbia University, 630 W 168th Street, PH-7E-110, New York, NY 10032, USA. Email: [email protected] Lisa Heitz-Mayfield, International Research Collaborative, Oral Health and Equity, School of Human Anatomy and Biology, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia. Email: [email protected]Search for more papers by this author First published: 26 May 2023 https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpe.13810 This manuscript was simultaneously and jointly published in the Journal of Clinical Periodontology and Clinical Oral Implants Research Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL No abstract is available for this article. Volume50, IssueS25Supplement: The Implant Dentistry Core Outcome Set and Measurement (ID‐COSM) International Consensus ReportMay 2023Pages 4-4 RelatedInformation

Editorial: Core outcome sets and measures for clinical trials in implant dentistry

Clinical Oral Implants ResearchVolume 34, Issue S25 p. 3-3 INVITED EDITORIAL Editorial: Core outcome sets and measures for clinical trials in implant dentistry Lisa Heitz-Mayfield, Corresponding Author Lisa Heitz-Mayfield [email protected] orcid.org/0000-0001-5755-8265 International Research Collaborative, Oral Health and Equity, School of Human Anatomy and Biology, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia Discipline of Periodontics, School of Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The university of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia Correspondence Panos N. Papapanou, Division of Periodontics, Section of Oral, Diagnostic and Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Dental Medicine, Columbia University, 630 W 168th Street, PH-7E-110, New York, NY 10032, USA. Email: [email protected] Lisa Heitz-Mayfield, International Research Collaborative, Oral Health and Equity, School of Human Anatomy and Biology, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia. Email: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorPanos N. Papapanou, Corresponding Author Panos N. Papapanou [email protected] orcid.org/0000-0002-6538-3618 Division of Periodontics, Section of Oral, Diagnostic and Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Dental Medicine, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA Correspondence Panos N. Papapanou, Division of Periodontics, Section of Oral, Diagnostic and Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Dental Medicine, Columbia University, 630 W 168th Street, PH-7E-110, New York, NY 10032, USA. Email: [email protected] Lisa Heitz-Mayfield, International Research Collaborative, Oral Health and Equity, School of Human Anatomy and Biology, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia. Email: [email protected]Search for more papers by this author Lisa Heitz-Mayfield, Corresponding Author Lisa Heitz-Mayfield [email protected] orcid.org/0000-0001-5755-8265 International Research Collaborative, Oral Health and Equity, School of Human Anatomy and Biology, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia Discipline of Periodontics, School of Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The university of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia Correspondence Panos N. Papapanou, Division of Periodontics, Section of Oral, Diagnostic and Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Dental Medicine, Columbia University, 630 W 168th Street, PH-7E-110, New York, NY 10032, USA. Email: [email protected] Lisa Heitz-Mayfield, International Research Collaborative, Oral Health and Equity, School of Human Anatomy and Biology, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia. Email: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorPanos N. Papapanou, Corresponding Author Panos N. Papapanou [email protected] orcid.org/0000-0002-6538-3618 Division of Periodontics, Section of Oral, Diagnostic and Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Dental Medicine, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA Correspondence Panos N. Papapanou, Division of Periodontics, Section of Oral, Diagnostic and Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Dental Medicine, Columbia University, 630 W 168th Street, PH-7E-110, New York, NY 10032, USA. Email: [email protected] Lisa Heitz-Mayfield, International Research Collaborative, Oral Health and Equity, School of Human Anatomy and Biology, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia. Email: [email protected]Search for more papers by this author First published: 26 May 2023 https://doi.org/10.1111/clr.14075 This manuscript was simultaneously and jointly published in the Journal of Clinical Periodontology and Clinical Oral Implants Research Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL No abstract is available for this article. Volume34, IssueS25Special Issue: The Implant Dentistry Core Outcome Set and Measurement (ID‐COSM) International Consensus ReportMay 2023Pages 3-3 RelatedInformation

Efficacy of Several Design Methods for Predicting the Axial Compressive Capacity of Piles

A variety of design methods for determining piles’ axial compressive load capacity are routinely employed in current practice. These range from methods specified in building codes to proprietary methods developed and employed by an assortment of engineering firms. In this study, the performance of eight commonly used design methods was evaluated using a database of 505 load tests and associated geotechnical design parameters compiled from Professor Olson’s database and that of the Iowa State Department of Transportation. The methods investigated included standard penetration test (SPT)-based methods, such as those recommended by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, American Petroleum Institute, and Revised Lambda; and cone penetration test (CPT)-based methods such as those recommended by the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute, Imperial College, Fugro, and University of Western Australia. Pile capacities were calculated using APILE software and were compared with the measured capacities interpreted using the standard Davisson criterion and stored in the databases. The performance of all design methods was evaluated in relation to accuracy, precision, effect of soil type, diameter, and length. Both SPT and CPT methods exhibited similar accuracies, however, CPT-based design methods exhibited significantly better precision compared with SPT-based methods. All methods had shortcomings and appeared to work best under certain conditions, which are documented in this paper. The authors believe that this evaluation will permit practicing engineers and regulating bodies to better understand the efficacy of various design approaches in common use.

Multiple facets of cutting-edge mycorrhizal research: 11th International Conference on Mycorrhiza (ICOM 11), Beijing, China, August 2022: 11th International Conference on Mycorrhiza (ICOM 11), Beijing, China, 1-5 August 2022.

‘Progress made in the field, presented at ICOM 11, has led to cutting-edge results that challenge current teachings on mycorrhizal fungi.’ Held on 1–5 August 2022, the 11th International Conference on Mycorrhiza (ICOM11) provided participants from 34 countries around the world with an overview of the latest research in the different mycorrhizal fields (Fig. 1). During this fully virtual edition hosted in Beijing, > 700 attendees and speakers of multiple time zones exchanged their thoughts and findings on mycorrhizas allowing a better comprehension of these fungal–plant partnerships and identifying key research perspectives. ICOM 11 facilitated an interesting discussion on how mycorrhizal fungi are affected by and respond to global change. Thanks to recent advances in molecular ecological and computational approaches, the distributions of plants forming arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) and ectomycorrhizal (EM) associations have been investigated comprehensively at a large scale. In his keynote presentation, Kabir Peay (Stanford University, USA) presented the relative abundance of trees forming AM and EM symbioses as a function of latitude on a global scale. Furthermore, he demonstrated via global modeling and glasshouse experiments that climate change has a direct effect on mycorrhizal systems. An exploration of the environmental determinants of AM and EM distribution was also presented by Stephanie Kivlin (University of Tennessee, USA). In these studies, machine learning-based modeling approaches were developed to quantitatively describe the impact of climate transition signals and soil nutrient availability on the abundance of different mycorrhizal types. Peay showed that climate variables, more than soil nutrients, control the abundance of EM trees on a global scale, consistent with the findings of Barceló et al. (2019). Kivlin, however, suggested that while climate variables were the main factor affecting the distribution of mycorrhizal types, soil variables, such as soil organic carbon and sand content, also played an important role in this distribution. In summary, environmental factors stand out in shaping plant mycorrhizal type and the capacity of plants to form mycorrhizal associations. The patterns of mycorrhizal fungal diversity and their drivers are becoming better understood, and regional differences indicate a degree of dispersal limitation, with human impact such as pollution and agricultural management playing an important role. The evolution of mycorrhizal fungi has always been a subject of particular interest for the mycorrhizal research community. Approaching this topic from the plant side, Pierre-Marc Delaux (Université de Toulouse, France) proposed a set of plant genes required to allow AM symbiosis. Interestingly, almost all non-AM forming plants that specifically retain a portion of this gene set have been shown to host other kinds of intracellular symbioses such as intracellular bacteria, orchid mycorrhizae, or ericoid-like mycorrhizae (Radhakrishnan et al., 2020). There, thus, seems to occur a universal signaling pathway for plant intracellular symbiosis initially associated with AM fungi and co-opted in multiple plant lineages to form different symbiotic partnerships. On the fungal side, Annegret Kohler (Université de Lorraine, France) argued that the evolution from saprotrophic to EM fungal lifestyle was also associated with the co-option of genes preceding the appearance of symbiotic lifestyle complemented by lineage-specific innovation (Miyauchi et al., 2020). These co-opted genes appeared to be different among the independent EM fungal lineages but share similar functions. Despite these various advances, mechanisms leading to the mycorrhizal transition, and more generally the evolution of mycorrhizas, are far from understanding. Taking a leap forward with this notion, Leho Tedersoo (Tartu University, Estonia) proposed a focus on the Endogonomycetes lineage, which experienced multiple independent shifts to the EM fungal lifestyle, thus offering a promising playground to investigate mycorrhizal evolution (Chang et al., 2019; Rimington et al., 2019). Noteworthy, Mark Brundrett (University of Western Australia, Australia) raised one of the challenges of in silico analyses that include root and mycorrhizal coevolution studies: database reliability. In his presentation, Brundrett showed that errors in Mycorrhiza database increase over time and that a strong linear relationship exists between the abundance of mycorrhizal records and the frequency of mycorrhizal trait errors. These errors were mostly associated with publications predating current definition of mycorrhizal types, but also to new misdiagnosis especially on tree species with complex root anatomy or contaminations by samples roots of species that commonly grow together (Brundrett, 2021). Fortunately, at present, most of the data (90%) are correct but this will be an increasing concern in the future. Mycorrhizal fungi are not only intimately associated with plants, but are also entangled with diverse microbes that mutualistically, parasitically, or commensally colonize mycorrhizal hyphae. The soil upon, or close to, the mycorrhizal hyphae and beyond the influence of plant roots is called the hyphosphere. Hyphae are difficult to sample in isolation, as they are mixed with heterogeneous soil components and are fragile in nature. Thereby, the diversity of the mycorrhizal hyphosphere microbial community and its properties remain largely unknown. Thanks to the development of sequencing technologies and elaborately designed experiments, evidence presented at ICOM 11 indicates that mycorrhizas impact soil microbial communities and hyphosphere microbes exert important functions in mycorrhizal development. In temperate and boreal ecosystems, Bahram et al. (2018) presented evidence that plants forming EM and AM symbioses harbor distinct bacterial and fungal communities. In agricultural ecosystems, a series of experiments performed under divergent phosphorous conditions, presented by Lin Zhang (China Agricultural University, China), demonstrated that the secretion of fructose by AM fungi increases the phosphatase activity in the soil. It does this by enriching the abundance of phosphorus-solubilizing bacteria colonizing the hyphosphere. In addition to the bacteria and fungi that actively interact with AM fungi, Jan Jansa (Czech Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic) draws attention to AM fungi–protist interactions. The addition of the soil protist Polysphondylium pallidum combined with a Paenibacillus sp. strain to AM fungal hyphae significantly increased the organic nitrogen utilization of the mycorrhizal plants (Rozmoš et al., 2022). In view of the increasing evidence that mycorrhiza-attached microbial communities play critical roles in mycorrhizal ecophysiology, several new research frontiers have been proposed. These new areas include the establishment of a global map of mycorrhiza-helper bacteria and mycorrhiza-associated microbiomes (as proposed by Marcel van der Heijden, Agroscope, Switzerland). This work can lead to a better understanding of the contribution of mycorrhizas to nutrient cycling and ecosystem performance in general. Talks from three keynote speakers at ICOM 11 highlighted anomalies in aspects of mycorrhizal reproduction and taxonomy that challenged traditional views of these symbioses. Furthermore, these exceptions could have significant and widespread ecological impacts. For example, Anne Pringle (University of Wisconsin Madison, USA) explored how invasive fungi could satisfy the characteristics of an ‘ideal weed’ (as described by Baker in 1965), with an important criterion being the ability to be self-compatible. She showed that in rare cases Amanita phalloides individuals possessed only one mating type locus. The ability of these homokaryotic individuals to produce fruiting bodies and reproduce could therefore be an overlooked aspect of the invasive success of Amanita phalloides. By contrast, among AM fungi, Nicolas Corradi (University of Ottawa, Canada) showed that strains of Rhizophagus irregularis are either homokaryotic or dikaryotic, and that the ratio of coexisting parental nuclei in dikaryons is regulated in response to plant host identity, leading to potential advantages in fitness. Dikaryons are thought to be more generalist than homokaryons, as observed by their ability to produce more spores and denser hyphal networks with a wider range of host plants (Serghi et al., 2021). Megan Ryan (University of Western Australia, Australia) reminded us that AM fungi colonizing plants are not mono-phylogenetic but rather divided into Glomeromycotinian-AM fungi (G-AMF) and Mucoromycotinian-AM fungi (M-AMF). M-AMF, previously known as ‘fine root endophytes’, are understudied compared with G-AMF and thus our current understanding of them is limited. Researchers were encouraged to routinely check for both types of AM fungi, and to adopt the G-AMF/M-AMF terminology to increase clarity in research findings. M-AMF and G-AMF occupy distinct but overlapping ecological niches (Albornoz et al., 2022), suggesting differences in function and benefit to plants. All these studies have laid a strong foundation for new research to expand our understanding of mycorrhizal fungi and serve as a reminder to consider anomalies that may otherwise be missed. ICOM 11 successfully consolidated mycorrhizal research from a diverse range of disciplines and spatial scales. Ranging from ecosystem-level impacts of co-invasive EM fungi communities (Sapsford et al., 2022), as presented by Ian Dickie (University of Canterbury, New Zealand), to the flow of nutrients and development of intricate AM fungi hyphal networks, shown by Toby Kiers (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands). Progress made in the field, presented at ICOM 11, has led to cutting-edge results that challenge current teachings on mycorrhizal fungi. These new findings will provide an excellent foundation for stimulating conversations and novel research to be presented at the next ICOM to be held in Manchester (United Kingdom) in 2024. The authors would like to thank all the participants of ICOM 11 and those who contributed with talks, posters, and engaging discussions, especially those whose names are not mentioned here due to constraints on space. They also acknowledge the Chinese Society of Mycology for organizing this event especially in light of the challenges presented by COVID-19. AL was supported by the Laboratory of Excellence ARBRE. YM was supported by European Regional Development Fund (Centre of Excellence EcolChange) and Estonian Research Council (PRG1065). JVR was supported by Bio-Protection Aotearoa – a Center of Research Excellence.

Mitigating the impacts of racism on Indigenous wellbeing through human rights, legislative and health policy reform.

System-wide racial discrimination and inequitable access to justice impedes Indigenous rights to health and wellbeing Indigenous people's health and health rights have been harmed and undermined by racism globally. There is substantial evidence that interpersonal and structural racism contributes to Indigenous people's physical and mental ill health1 and reduces access to health services. In Australia, the racist violation of Indigenous human rights since colonisation has a profound impact on the social and emotional wellbeing of individuals, families and communities across generations.2 This has resulted in an unacceptable health equity gap, which the 2007 Closing the Gap strategy sought to address.3 Recognition of the urgent need to address the health and wellbeing impacts of racism guided The Boatshed Racism Roundtable Declaration4 in 2009, which called on the Prime Minister and First Ministers of Australia to initiate constitutional, policy and practice reforms underpinned by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) — particularly Article 3 (the right to self-determination) and Article 42 (calling on United Nations signatories to implement the Declaration) — to ensure protection against racial discrimination.5 The right to health is the right to access the necessary services and facilities to prevent and manage ill health.6 It encompasses a human rights-based approach to the social determinants of health: access to nutritious food, safe and secure housing, sanitation, secure employment, education, health care, and freedom from violence and discrimination are fundamental inter-related human rights. In this Perspective, we argue that a human rights-based approach underpinned by UNDRIP is central to the guiding vision of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan 2021–2031,5 which states that “Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people enjoy long, healthy lives that are centred in culture, with access to services that are prevention-focused, culturally safe and responsive, equitable and free of racism”.7 The right to health is a cornerstone of inter-related international human rights instruments that seek to uphold concepts of human freedom, equality and dignity. In theory, Indigenous Australians are protected from racial discrimination by seven international human rights treaties and covenants to counter racism and eliminate racial discrimination, including the International Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination,8 to which Australia is a signatory. The states that ratify the Convention undertake to eliminate racial discrimination by passing legislation, devising policies, implementing educational initiatives, or carrying out prosecutions.9 However, none of these conventions are legally binding and all fail to recognise and address racism, tolerating racist acts and oppressive ideologies.10 Although most signatory governments, including Australia, denounce racism, most allow racism in its different forms due to inadequate legal mechanisms, poor definitions of racism, a lack of moral and political will, and a lack of accurate data revealing the inequalities in accessing services experienced by Indigenous people.9-11 Moreover, although Article 40 in UNDRIP enshrines a right to access justice for Indigenous peoples as both a fair procedure to resolve conflicts and disputes and an effective remedy for the contravention of their rights, and Article 15 (2) requires that states take effective measures to combat prejudice and eliminate discrimination, Australia's failure to establish strategies for this to occur, as Allison12 argues, “makes access to justice institutionally racist or discriminatory as it applies to Indigenous people”. Furthermore, Australia's Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth) fails to include, or make reference to, the UNDRIP principles.13 Racism is an affront to human dignity and rights when embedded in institutions, and a significant driver of health disparities globally6, 8 and in Australia. Being subjected to racism generates physiological changes that result in irreparable damage and long term adverse effects on mental health, including high levels of psychological distress,1 depression, and suicidal ideation.13, 14 Indigenous social and emotional wellbeing, and mental and physical health have been adversely affected by over 200 years of institutional, cultural and interpersonal racism. The Queensland Mental Health Commission report Don't judge, and listen found that Indigenous people were subjected to a general and pervasive racism throughout their lifetime, recommending a multifaceted, whole-of-system approach to address racism and improve Indigenous social and emotional wellbeing.15 Racial discrimination is prohibited by law in Australia through the Racial Discrimination Act,13 and a total of 13 Acts and a Charter of Human Rights developed by states and territories across Australia identify indirect and direct discrimination against Indigenous Australians in health services as unlawful (Box). However, racial discrimination in the justice system impedes access to health justice. There is extensive concern in Australia that recourse to laws and statutory mechanisms against racial discrimination towards Indigenous Australians are seldom accessed, and when they are, justice is rarely enacted.11, 12 Despite extensive ongoing experiences of racism in health services, few Indigenous people have sought legislative recourse to justice through the Racial Discrimination Act for fear of being revictimised.12 Interpersonal and structural racism within the legal system remains a chronic and formidable barrier to access to justice and health rights for Indigenous people. Given racism has adverse long term effects on Indigenous people across generations13 and is an important determinant of social and emotional wellbeing, there is an urgent need to address the legal determinants of health. The crucial role of law to ensure equitable access to health is emerging as a global human rights issue; According to Gostin and colleagues,16 “law can be a powerful tool for securing and advancing health and equity. It can be used to set and defend the norms and standards of good health, to establish and strengthen resilient health systems, and to hold actors and institutions accountable”. This is especially true of interpersonal and institutionalised racism within the health system.12 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people's experiences of racism and discrimination must be fed back into system improvement processes to ensure whole-of-health system accountability and change. This includes building in protocols for cultural safety, respect and confidentiality. Complaints driven processes require monitoring and reporting mechanisms that demonstrate their effectiveness for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and compliance with racial discrimination law.7 Many Indigenous people experience a historically and structurally entrenched lack of access to health and justice services. Access to justice is a recognised determinant of mental health and wellbeing.16 Both the legal and health systems have a crucial role in protecting Indigenous people from the complex biopsychosocial harms of racism.22 Objective 8.3 of the Health Plan is crucial in this respect.7 A whole-of-system approach to eliminating racism requires culturally safe legal mechanisms within the justice system for reporting interpersonal and structural racism and racial discrimination experienced in the health system. Institutional and systemic racism within the legal system currently prevents access to justice to seek redress for adverse Indigenous encounters with racism and racial discrimination in health.12 Even though few human rights, including UNDRIP, are implemented and protected by legislation in Australia, there is evolving legislation around protection against racial discrimination23 globally as well as calls for greater focus on racism.10, 11 The new public awareness campaign “Racism. It stops with me” urges Australians to reflect on the impact of racism and do more to confront it.24 The multiplatform campaign aims to build awareness of how racism operates at both a structural and interpersonal level by providing tools to recognise it and address it. The cultural safety frameworks established to support mainstream services to create culturally safe environments, services and practices need recourse to a legislative framework as well.17 Cultural safety can be strengthened by integrating legislation that protects Indigenous people from racial discrimination, ensuring their dignity and fundamental human right to health are protected. Indigenous service users require access to their rights under the law and to culturally safe legal pathways for reporting racial discrimination experienced in the health system. Recent work through the Partnership for Justice in Health and the Lowitja Institute has potential to inform the evidence base, health policy, legislation and rights to strengthen Indigenous access to justice and health,11 particularly through the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services sector under the auspice of the Closing the Gap Partnership and Coalition of Peaks. Open access publishing facilitated by The University of Western Australia, as part of the Wiley - The University of Western Australia agreement via the Council of Australian University Librarians. No relevant disclosures. Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

Getting into shape: the tongue and hypoglossal nerve stimulation.

Subscription RequiredCommentaryGetting into shape: the tongue and hypoglossal nerve stimulation David R. Hillman, MBBS David R. Hillman, MBBS Centre for Sleep Science, School of Human Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia West Australian Sleep Disorders Research Institute, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Perth, Western Australia, Australia Search for more papers by this author Published Online:March 1, 2023https://doi.org/10.5664/jcsm.10550

Elective surgery after COVID19 infection: long exclusion times may not be justified in a highly vaccinated population and milder strains of the virus.

Since the publication of an increase in perioperative morbidity and mortality up to 6 weeks after infection with COVID-19 by the COVIDSurg Collaborative,1 many hospitals worldwide have adopted policies of post COVID waiting periods before elective surgery may be performed. However, the introduction of such ‘exclusion times’ has the potential to significantly interrupt the flow of elective surgery,2 and the postponement of surgery due to COVID has been shown to have a negative impact on emotional wellbeing and the perception of the quality of life.3 The findings of the COVIDSurg group included a heterogenous group of patients, many of whom likely infected with either the original COVID strain or the Delta variant, and many patients were either unvaccinated or only partially vaccinated. This invites the question whether in a highly vaccinated population and with the predominance of the Omicron variant outcomes after surgery may be different. The current vaccination rate for 2 or 3 doses of a COVID vaccine in Australia's general population is approx. 96% and 72%, respectively. Western Australia experienced a surge of COVID (vast majority Omicron) infections between February and September 2022. At the Royal Perth Hospital (RPH), the trauma centre of Western Australia, some patients underwent surgery during their active COVID infection due to the urgency of their condition. The aim of an audit done by us at the end of 2022 (approved by the Royal Perth Hospital on 14/10/2022, approval number 47637) was to identify all cases operated at RPH during this period. We then followed up their postoperative outcomes in order to identify whether the acute COVID infection was associated with an increase in postoperative morbidity or mortality. Patients were counted as COVID positive if either a positive rapid antigen test or a polymerase chain reaction test had been performed prior to their surgery. Patients undergoing cardiac or pulmonary interventions were excluded. Thirty-eight patients (median age 42 years) were identified. Two percent of patients had received four COVID vaccines, 50% percent of the patients were triple vaccinated, 32% double vaccinated, and 16% had received a single dose. Sixty-one percent of patients were classified as ASA 3 or 4, with 63% of patients having at least 2 cardio-pulmonary significant co-morbidities. Fifty-five percent presented with a fever (≥38°C) and cough. Seventy-four percent of the patients underwent surgery within 4 days of their COVID-19 diagnosis, with the majority having surgery on day two of the COVID-19 diagnosis. Eighty-two percent of the patients underwent general anaesthesia, with the seven remaining cases comprised of five regional blocks, one neuraxial anaesthesia and one case done under infiltration (local) anaesthesia. Of interest, only one of the 38 patients suffered a likely COVID-related complication, manifested as postoperatively diagnosed COVID pneumonitis. This patient was a 48-year-old female (active smoker with a past medical history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) who developed increasing oxygen requirements shortly after surgery. However, the patient recovered after a short course of anti-viral treatment. All 38 patients who underwent surgery during an active COVID infection were successfully discharged from the hospital. Though all but one patient had no complication after surgery, our follow-up ended at the time of hospital discharge. Hence, complications may have been missed if only occurring after this time point. However, on 30-day follow-up the mortality in our cohort was 0 %, at least indicating no extremes of impaired outcomes were missed. We conclude that the rate of postoperative complications in a relatively co-morbid cohort of patients with active COVID infection at the time of their emergency/urgent surgery was very low. Though our relatively small case series may not allow final conclusions, it may at least introduce the hypothesis that, in a highly vaccinated population and predominance of a milder COVID strain, the currently frequently observed 6–8 weeks after COVID infection until elective surgery can be performed may be overly cautious, and that an increase in surgical wait times may ultimately adversely affect patient physical and emotional health. Open access publishing facilitated by The University of Western Australia, as part of the Wiley - The University of Western Australia agreement via the Council of Australian University Librarians. Calvin Lo: Conceptualization; data curation; investigation; methodology; project administration; software; writing – review and editing. Thomas Ledowski: Conceptualization; data curation; formal analysis; investigation; methodology; project administration; supervision; writing – original draft; writing – review and editing.

Sleep disordered breathing in children seeking orthodontic care - an Australian perspective.

Test your knowledge by first reading the article, then go to www.ada.org.au. Log on to the members site and click on Professional Information. Under Publications, follow the links to this month's Quiz. Select the option that you think provides the best answer to each question. Click ‘Done’ and in an instant you will know how you scored. Remember to print out a copy of your score for your records. Completion of this quiz entitles you to 1 CPD hour. Please note the Editorial Office does not accept hard copies of completed questionnaires. The Quiz must be completed online and a printed copy of your results retained for CPD audit purposes. Open access publishing facilitated by The University of Western Australia, as part of the Wiley - The University of Western Australia agreement via the Council of Australian University Librarians.

Analysis and design of control systems via parameter‐based approach

Control laws can be constructed in systems design by introducing parameters to obtain good system performance or robustness. A typical example of such a class of design approaches is the high-gain design approach. In the design of high-gain controllers, an introduction of a parameter results in a family of feedback control laws. Such a feedback law is given by a parametrized gain matrix which approaches infinity as the introduced parameter approaches its extreme value. Such a class of design approach can be called a parameter-based approach. Another case of the parameter-based approach is to establish mathematical models by introducing some extra parameters. A typical example is to derive the mathematical model of a spacecraft by unit quaternions which are constructed by introducing three extra parameters i, j and k with the properties i 2 = j 2 = k 2 = − 1 ${i^2} = {j^2} = {k^2} = - 1$ , i j = k $ij\; = {\rm{\;}}k$ , j k = i $jk\; = {\rm{\;}}i$ and k i = j $ki\; = {\rm{\;}}j$ . This Special Issue aims to present the recent development of the parameter-based approach in analysing and designing control systems. The theme of this special issue can be divided into three parts: Model construction by introducing parameters, control law design by introducing parameters and parametric solutions to control-related matrix equations. This topic includes 6 papers. Qi et al., in their paper ‘Finite-time attitude consensus control for multiple rigid spacecraft based on distributed observers’, use unit quaternions, which are constructed by, to investigate attitude consensus control for multiple rigid spacecraft. Based on this model, a group of distributed finite-time observers is constructed for each follower, and then an attitude control protocol based on a fast nonsingular terminal sliding mode is proposed by using the observed information. In the papers ‘Adaptive dual model predictive control for linear systems with parametric uncertainties’ by Lin et al. and ‘Generalized predictive controller (GPC) design on single-phase full-bridge inverter with a novel identification method’ by Ghamari et al., regressive models including the unknown parameters are used, and the dual adaptive model predictive control (MPC) and the generalized MPC are respectively proposed by incorporating least squares identification algorithms. In the paper ‘A recursive identification algorithm for linear discrete periodic systems’ by Lv et al., a periodic autoregressive and moving average (ARMA) model of a linear discrete-time periodically time-varying system is transformed into a time-invariant ARMA model by adopting cyclic lifting techniques. With this model, the considered system is described by a regressive form with the unknown coefficients as parameters, and then the corresponding least squares identification algorithm is proposed. Cai et al., in their paper ‘Design of LPV controller for morphing aircraft using inexact scheduling parameters’, establish a linear parameter-varying model for a morphing aircraft by Jacobian linearization. In this model, there exist a group of scheduling parameters. With such a model, Cai et al. investigate the design problem of gain-scheduled output-feedback controllers by using inexact scheduling parameters for morphing aircraft during the wing transition process. Liu et al., in their paper ‘Event-triggered fuzzy output feedback fault-tolerant control for interval type-2 Takagi-Sugeno large-scale systems with time delays’, propose an observer-based event-triggered fault-tolerant control law for a class of T-S fuzzy systems. In order to obtain the desired control laws, the considered T-S fuzzy system is represented as a linearly-parameterized dynamical system by introducing a set of parameters related to the membership functions. This topic includes 6 papers. Jin et al., in their paper ‘Optimal control of nonlinear Markov jump systems by control parametrization technique’, investigate the optimal control problem for nonlinear Markov jump systems with continuous state inequality constraints. In this paper, the control parametrization technique is used to represent the control function by a piecewise constant function. In such a representation, the heights of the piecewise constant function on the subintervals are the introduced parameters, and can be taken as decision variables to be optimized. With such an efficient treatment, the original problem is converted into an approximate finite-dimensional optimization problem. Huang et al., in their paper ‘Fixed-time fault-tolerance attitude tracking control for spacecraft without unwinding’, propose a disturbance-observer-based fixed-time fault-tolerance control law for rigid spacecraft by adopting backstepping techniques. Some design parameters exist in the part of the observer and the part of the fixed-time control law. In addition, the singularity problem in traditional fixed-time controllers based on signal function is eliminated with the aid of the arctangent function in the proposed controller. Wu et al., in their paper ‘Fractional-order sliding mode attitude coordinated control for spacecraft formation flying with unreliable wireless communication’, present two types of fractional order sliding mode control protocols to solve the coordinated attitude control problem for spacecraft formation flying. The introduced design parameters in these protocols can be appropriately chosen to improve convergence speed. It should be pointed out that a set of weighting parameters are introduced in the first class control protocol such that some nonlinear functions can be approximated by Chebyshev neural network. In the paper ‘Asymptotic stabilization for nonlinear systems with time-varying delays’, Li et al. present a novel output feedback control law for a class of nonlinear systems with unknown time-varying delays by introducing the static gain functions as parameters. In addition, in the control law there also exists another positive parameter which can be adjusted to improve system performance. Bi, in his paper ‘Neural networks adaptive control for fractional-order nonlinear with unmodelled dynamics and actuator faults’, investigate the problem of fault-tolerant control for fractional-order nonlinear systems. Two groups of parameters are introduced to construct the control law. The first group of parameters are introduced in the neural networks to approximate unknown nonlinear functions in the system, and the second group of parameters are dynamic, and its evolution law is given by a fractional-order adaptation law. Hou et al., in their paper ‘Fuzzy linear extended states observer based iteration learning fault-tolerant control for autonomous underwater vehicle trajectory tracking system’, develops a fault-tolerant control law based on a linear extended state observer (LESO) for autonomous underwater vehicles. In this control law, the LESO includes some parameters to be adjusted. This topic includes two papers. In these two papers, two classes of matrix equations with their applications in systems control are investigated. Cao et al., in their paper ‘Output feedback based poles configuration for LDP systems with varying state and input dimension’, convert the problem of poles configuration via periodic output feedback for linear discrete periodic systems into the problem of solving a class of special Sylvester matrix equations. A parametric solution to this class of matrix equations is presented in this paper, and then the output feedback gains for the periodic system are provided based on this parametric solution. Lei Zhang et al., in their paper ‘On the solutions to Sylvester-conjugate periodic matrix equations via iteration’, develop an iterative algorithm to solve the so-called Sylvester-conjugate periodic matrix equations. In this algorithm, two scalar parameters are involved. When the gradient principle is applied to a quadratic index function related to the considered matrix equations, the explicit expressions for these two scalars are determined, and in this case the developed algorithm is finite-time convergent. All of the papers selected for this Special Issue show that the parameter-based approach plays an importantly instrumental role in the analysis and design of control systems. It can be observed from these papers and some existing results that many control problems can be cast into such a framework. It is expected that this parameter-based approach can be further applied in more aspects of control systems design. Ai-Guo Wu was born in Gong'an, Hubei, China, in 1980. He received the B.Eng. degree in automation, an M.Eng. degree in navigation, guidance and control, and the Ph.D. degree in control science and engineering from the Harbin Institute of Technology, in 2002, 2004, and 2008, respectively. In 2008, he joinedthe Shenzhen Graduate School, Harbin Institute of Technology as an Assistant Professor, where he was promoted to Professor in 2012. He was a Research Fellow with the Department of Manufacturing Engineering and Engineering Management, City University of Hong Kong, from 2009 to 2011. He was a Visiting Professor with the Department of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering, The University of Western Australia, Australia, from 2013 to 2014. Since 2018, he has been a Professor at Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen). His research interests include spacecraft control, time delay systems, fully actuated systems theory, and robust control. He has authored/co-authored one English monograph and over 100 SCI journal papers. He received the National Natural Science Award (Second Prize) from China in 2015, and the National Excellent Doctoral Dissertation Award from the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council and the Ministry of Education of China in 2011. He was supported by the Program for New Century Excellent Talents in Universities in 2011, and by the National Natural Science Foundation of China for Excellent Young Scholars in 2018. He has been serving as a Regional Editor for Nonlinear Dynamics and Systems Theory since 2015, and an International Subject Editor for Applied Mathematical Modeling since 2017. Zheng-Guang Wu (Member, IEEE) was born in 1982. He received the B.S. and M.S. degrees in mathematics from Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China, in 2004 and 2007, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree in control science and engineering from Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China,in 2011. He has authored or co-authored over 100 papers in refereed international journals. His current research interests include hybrid systems, Markov jump systems, sampled-data systems, fuzzy systems, multi-agent systems, Boolean control networks, stochastic systems, and neural networks. Dr. Wu also serves as an Associate Editor/Editorial Board Member for some international journals, such as the IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON SYSTEMS, MAN, AND CYBERNETICS: SYSTEMS, the Journal of The Franklin Institute, Neurocomputing, the International Journal ofControl, Automation, and Systems, IEEE ACCESS, the International Journal of Sensors, Wireless Communications and Control, and IEEE Control Systems Society Conference Editorial Board. He was named a Highly Cited Researcher (Clarivate Analytics). He is also an Invited Reviewer of Mathematical Reviews of the American Mathematical Society. Victor Sreeram obtained Bachelor's degree in 1981 from Bangalore University, India, a Master's degree in 1983 from Madras University, India, and Ph.D. degree from the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada in 1990, all in Electrical Engineering. He worked as a Project Engineer in the Indian Space Research Organisation from 1983 to 1985. He joined the Department of Electrical, Electronic, and Computer Engineering, the University of Western Australia in 1990 as a lecturer and he is now a Professor and the Head of Department. He was a Graduate Research Coordinator from 2008 to 2017. He is an associated editor of IET Control Theory and Applications, and the Asian Journal of Control. He is currently the Vice President of the Asian Control Association for Technical Activities and the Chairman of the Australia New Zealand Control Conference Steering Committee Association Incorporated. He has authored over 250 publications including over 125 journal publications. He is a co-recipient of the 2012 Premium Award for Best Paper in IET Power Electronics, and the 2014 Premium Award for Best Paper in IET Generation, Transmission & Distribution. He is also a recipient of the 2013 Outstanding Reviewer for IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control Award. He is now a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers, Australia. He has successfully supervised over 25 PhD students and has examined over 50 PhD theses in his career. His teaching and research interests are Control Systems, Signal Processing, Communications, Power engineering and Smart Grid and Renewable Energy. Xiaofeng Wang is an associate professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of South Carolina, Columbia. He earned his B.S. degree in Applied Mathematics and M.S. in Operation Research and Control Theory from East China Normal University, China, in 2000 and2003, respectively, and obtained his PhD degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame in 2009. After that, he worked as postdoctoral research associate at the University of Illinois at Urbana and Champaign and then joined the University of South Carolina in 2012. His research interests include robotics and control, cyber-physical systems, networked control systems, robust adaptive control, and optimization. He is an associate editor of Journal of The Franklin Institute since 2015 and IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems since 2021. He is also an associate editor of IEEE Control Systems Society Conference Editorial Board since 2018. He was the recipient of the best paper award in the Annual Conference of the Prognostics and Health Management Society in 2014. The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Principles for consumer involvement in health and medical research.

The global landscape for health and medical research has undergone significant changes since research funders and governments first encouraged or required researchers to include the consumer ‘voice’ in research. This is well illustrated by current events in Australia. Various principles, statements, guidelines, frameworks, and toolkits have been developed over the past two decades. These resources' collectively aim to support effective consumer involvement. Having worked as a consumer advocate and involvement program manager since 2004, I have contributed to many of these resources. I have used them to increase awareness and knowledge about the value consumers bring to research when involved in respectful partnerships. How the consumer ‘voice’ is implemented depends on various circumstances, including organisational culture, funding, experience and confidence of researchers, and access to consumer networks. The results are varied and provide examples where there is little or no evidence of involvement of consumers, through to good practice in areas such as HIV, cancer, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander research. The lack of a single set of agreed national principles wastes precious research funding and resources. Many senior consumer advocates have expressed similar concerns and how variation in expectations creates an inequitable environment for everyone. During the past 20 years, consumers, consumer organizations, research funders and government agencies have attempted to increase the consumer voice in research. In 2002, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and Consumers Health Forum (CHF) published a joint Statement on Consumer and Community Participation in Health and Medical Research (the Statement). The Statement was revised in 2016 and reflected changes to NHMRC's funding processes. Applicants applying for funding from schemes such as Centres of Research Excellence and Partnerships for Better Health were required to demonstrate how consumers were involved from developing through to disseminating research results. Applicants seeking funding for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander research must address the Indigenous Research Excellence Criteria which includes community engagement. There needs to be more information available about the implementation of the Statement and how organisational barriers and research culture are addressed. The real value of having this important commitment from the many consumers and researchers who contributed to the development of the Statements still needs to be fully realised. Cancer Australia and Cancer Voices Australia collaborated in 2011 to develop a National Framework for Consumer Involvement in Cancer Control (the Framework). The Framework's principles were intended for cancer research but are broadly applicable to all health and medical research areas. Significant resources were made available to ensure the Framework was implemented into all aspects of cancer research. The introduction of scoring and criteria to assess consumer involvement in grant applications was introduced to the Grant Review processes. This had a positive impact on ensuring the consumer's voice is integral to cancer research. The Framework for cancer research and the NHMRC processes demonstrates good practice principles for involvement activities. Unfortunately, there is limited transferability to all health and medical research areas. This has led to researchers and research organisations implementing their interpretation of consumer involvement. These variable practices may be due to a lack of understanding of the benefits of consumer involvement, training, or supportive national coordination and resourcing. The establishment of the NHMRC accredited Research Translation Centres in 2017 and the Australian Health Research Alliance has seen a strong commitment to strengthening consumer involvement. In 2022, the Health and Medical Research Office at the Department of Health and Aged Care established a Consumer Reference Panel to advise on strategies for strengthening consumer involvement in the Medical Research Futures Fund (MRFF). A key task has been to commence developing consumer involvement principles as part of various activities planned to enhance consumer involvement across the MRFF. The NHMRC and CHF will undertake a review of the Statement in 2023. Developing national principles inclusive of these elements would provide guidance and enable a national collaborative approach to implementing effective consumer involvement. The initiatives undertaken so far are laudable and underpinned by a will to make changes to large and complex systems. Continuing to develop resources for effective consumer involvement without consistent principles or coordinated implementation will compound issues consumers and researchers face. Consumer involvement is not standard practice in health and medical research in Australia and for some it remains an ‘optional extra’. We will see the continuation of ad hoc consumer involvement that is ineffective for consumers or researchers. Effective involvement will only be fully realized when partnerships between consumers and researchers are supported with policy, resources, and funding by governments, funders, research organizations, researchers, and consumers. The UK's National Institute of Health Research developed and implemented Standards for Public Involvement (2019) provides Australia with an exemplar of good practice. Increasing awareness of the value of including the consumer voice in research reinforces the need for a single set of national principles. Without a national approach, consumer involvement will continue to be implemented inconsistently and reflective of individual interpretations. We cannot be confident the rights of all Australians to be involved in research are respected, valued, and people's lived experiences truly inform health and medical research. None declared. Open access publishing facilitated by The University of Western Australia, as part of the Wiley - The University of Western Australia agreement via the Council of Australian University Librarians.