The changing face of conveyancing responsibility

In this note the authors examine two cases, one from Australia, the other from New Zealand, both of which explore the responsibility of legal practitioners engaged as professionals in the buying and selling of land. What is shown is that the allocation of risk and responsibility is constantly under scrutiny for those involved in the conveyancing process, something which the nascent Australian electronic conveyancing protocols will only heighten.

Traffic safety at road–rail level crossings using a driving simulator and traffic simulation

Several intelligent transportation systems (ITS) were used with an advanced driving simulator to assess its influence on driving behavior. Three types of ITS interventions were tested: video in vehicle, audio in vehicle, and on-road flashing marker. The results from the driving simulator were inputs for a developed model that used traffic microsimulation (VISSIM 5.4) to assess the safety interventions. Using a driving simulator, 58 participants were required to drive through active and passive crossings with and without an ITS device and in the presence or absence of an approaching train. The effect of changes in driver speed and compliance rate was greater at passive crossings than at active crossings. The slight difference in speed of drivers approaching ITS devices indicated that ITS helped drivers encounter crossings in a safer way. Since the traffic simulation was not able to replicate a dynamic speed change or a probability of stopping that varied depending on ITS safety devices, some modifications were made to the traffic simulation. The results showed that exposure to ITS devices at active crossings did not influence drivers’ behavior significantly according to the traffic performance indicator, such as delay time, number of stops, speed, and stopped delay. However, the results of traffic simulation for passive crossings, where low traffic volumes and low train headway normally occur, showed that ITS devices improved overall traffic performance.

General properties of electrochemical capacitors

The use of capacitors for electrical energy storage actually predates the invention of the battery. Alessandro Volta is attributed with the invention of the battery in 1800, where he first describes a battery as an assembly of plates of two different materials (such as copper and zinc) placed in an alternating stack and separated by paper soaked in brine or vinegar [1]. Accordingly, this device was referred to as Volta’s pile and formed the basis of subsequent revolutionary research and discoveries on the chemical origin of electricity. Before the advent of Volta’s pile, however, eighteenth century researchers relied on the use of Leyden jars as a source of electrical energy. Built in the mid-1700s at the University of Leyden in Holland, a Leyden jar is an early capacitor consisting of a glass jar coated inside and outside with a thin layer of silver foil [2, 3]. With the outer foil being grounded, the inner foil could be charged with an electrostatic generator, or a source of static electricity, and could produce a strong electrical discharge from a small and comparatively simple device.

Genome-wide association study of major depressive disorder: New results, meta-analysis, and lessons learned

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a common complex disorder with a partly genetic etiology. We conducted a genome-wide association study of the MDD2000+ sample (2431 cases, 3673 screened controls and >1 M imputed single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)). No SNPs achieved genome-wide significance either in the MDD2000+ study, or in meta-analysis with two other studies totaling 5763 cases and 6901 controls. These results imply that common variants of intermediate or large effect do not have main effects in the genetic architecture of MDD. Suggestive but notable results were: (a) gene-based tests suggesting roles for adenylate cyclase 3 (ADCY3, 2p23.3) and galanin (GAL, 11q13.3); published functional evidence relates both of these to MDD and serotonergic signaling; (b) support for the bipolar disorder risk variant SNP rs1006737 in CACNA1C (P=0.020, odds ratio=1.10), and; (c) lack of support for rs2251219, a SNP identified in a meta-analysis of affective disorder studies (P=0.51). We estimate that sample sizes 1.8- to 2.4-fold greater are needed for association studies of MDD compared with those for schizophrenia to detect variants that explain the same proportion of total variance in liability. Larger study cohorts characterized for genetic and environmental risk factors accumulated prospectively are likely to be needed to dissect more fully the etiology of MDD.

Regenerative sustainability for the built environment – from vision to reality: An introductory chapter

Regenerative sustainability is emerging as an alternative discourse around the transition from a ‘mechanistic’ to an ‘ecological’ or living systems worldview. This view helps us to re-conceptualize relationships among humans’ technological, ecological, economic, social and political systems. Through exploration of ‘net positive’ or ‘regenerative’ development lenses and the traditional sustainability literature, the conceptualization and approaches to achieve sustainable development and ecological modernization are expanded to articulate and to explore the evolving sustainability discourse, ‘regenerative sustainability’. This Special Volume of Journal of Cleaner Production (SV) is focused upon various dimensions of regenerative sustainability (e.g. regenerative design, regenerative development, and positive development) applied to the urban built environment at scales, which range from individual buildings, neighborhoods, and urban developments to integrated regional sustainable development. The main focus is on how these approaches and developments are evolving, how they can help us to prevent or adapt to climate change and how these approaches are likely to evolve in the next two to three decades. These approaches are addressed in four themes: (1) reviewing the theoretical development of the discourse of regenerative sustainability, its emerging principles and practices, (2) explaining how it can be measured and monitored, (3) providing encouraging practical pathways and examples of its implementation in multiple cultural and climatic contexts, and (4) mapping obstacles and enablers that must be addressed to help to ensure that more rapid progress is made in implementing the transitions towards an urban built environment that supports genuinely sustainable societies.

Ion irradiation as a tool for modifying the surface and optical properties of plasma polymerised thin films

Radio frequency (R.F.) glow discharge polyterpenol thin films were prepared on silicon wafers and irradiated with I10+ ions to fluences of 1 × 1010 and 1 × 1012 ions/cm2. Post-irradiation characterisation of these films indicated the development of well-defined nano-scale ion entry tracks, highlighting prospective applications for ion irradiated polyterpenol thin films in a variety of membrane and nanotube-fabrication functions. Optical characterisation showed the films to be optically transparent within the visible spectrum and revealed an ability to selectively control the thin film refractive index as a function of fluence. This indicates that ion irradiation processing may be employed to produce plasma-polymer waveguides to accommodate a variety of wavelengths. XRR probing of the substrate-thin film interface revealed interfacial roughness values comparable to those obtained for the uncoated substrate's surface (i.e., both on the order of 5 Å), indicating minimal substrate etching during the plasma deposition process.

G-protein beta3 subunit gene (GNB3) variant in causation of essential hypertension

-Essential hypertensives display enhanced signal transduction through pertussis toxin-sensitive G proteins. The T allele of a C825T variant in exon 10 of the G protein beta3 subunit gene (GNB3) induces formation of a splice variant (Gbeta3-s) with enhanced activity. The T allele of GNB3 was shown recently to be associated with hypertension in unselected German patients (frequency=0.31 versus 0.25 in control). To confirm and extend this finding in a different setting, we performed an association study in Australian white hypertensives. This involved an extensively examined cohort of 110 hypertensives, each of whom were the offspring of 2 hypertensive parents, and 189 normotensives whose parents were both normotensive beyond age 50 years. Genotyping was performed by polymerase chain reaction and digestion with BseDI, which either cut (C allele) or did not cut (T allele) the 268-bp polymerase chain reaction product. T allele frequency in the hypertensive group was 0.43 compared with 0.25 in the normotensive group (chi2=22; P=0.00002; odds ratio=2.3; 95% CI=1.7 to 3.3). The T allele tracked with higher pretreatment blood pressure: diastolic=105+/-7, 109+/-16, and 128+/-28 mm Hg (mean+/-SD) for CC, CT, and TT, respectively (P=0.001 by 1-way ANOVA). Blood pressures were higher in female hypertensives with a T allele (P=0.006 for systolic and 0.0003 for diastolic by ANOVA) than they were in male hypertensives. In conclusion, the present study of a group with strong family history supports a role for a genetically determined, physiologically active splice variant of the G protein beta3 subunit gene in the causation of essential hypertension.

Quality of life after early enteral feeding versus standard care for proven or suspected advanced epithelial ovarian cancer: Results from a randomised trial

Background Malnutrition is common in patients with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), and is associated with impaired quality of life (QoL), longer hospital stay and higher risk of treatment-related adverse events. This phase III multi-centre randomised clinical trial tested early enteral feeding versus standard care on postoperative QoL. Methods From 2009 to 2013, 109 patients requiring surgery for suspected advanced EOC, moderately to severely malnourished were enrolled at five sites across Queensland and randomised to intervention (n = 53) or control (n = 56) groups. Intervention involved intraoperative nasojejunal tube placement and enteral feeding until adequate oral intake could be maintained. Despite being randomised to intervention, 20 patients did not receive feeds (13 did not receive the feeding tube; 7 had it removed early). Control involved postoperative diet as tolerated. QoL was measured at baseline, 6 weeks postoperatively and 30 days after the third cycle of chemotherapy. The primary outcome measure was the difference in QoL between the intervention and the control group. Secondary endpoints included treatment-related adverse event occurrence, length of stay, postoperative services use, and nutritional status. Results Baseline characteristics were comparable between treatment groups. No significant difference in QoL was found between the groups at any time point. There was a trend towards better nutritional status in patients who received the intervention but the differences did not reach statistical significance except for the intention-to-treat analysis at 7 days postoperatively (11.8 intervention vs. 13.8 control, p 0.04). Conclusion Early enteral feeding did not significantly improve patients' QoL compared to standard of care but may improve nutritional status.

Prediction of masonry compressive behaviour using a damage mechanics inspired modelling method

Masonry under compression is affected by the properties of its constituents and their interfaces. In spite of extensive investigations of the behaviour of masonry under compression, the information in the literature cannot be regarded as comprehensive due to ongoing inventions of new generation products – for example, polymer modified thin layer mortared masonry and drystack masonry. As comprehensive experimental studies are very expensive, an analytical model inspired by damage mechanics is developed and applied to the prediction of the compressive behaviour of masonry in this paper. The model incorporates a parabolic progressively softening stress-strain curve for the units and a progressively stiffening stress-strain curve until a threshold strain for the combined mortar and the unit-mortar interfaces is reached. The model simulates the mutual constraints imposed by each of these constituents through their respective tensile and compressive behaviour and volumetric changes. The advantage of the model is that it requires only the properties of the constituents and considers masonry as a continuum and computes the average properties of the composite masonry prisms/wallettes; it does not require discretisation of prism or wallette similar to the finite element methods. The capability of the model in capturing the phenomenological behaviour of masonry with appropriate elastic response, stiffness degradation and post peak softening is presented through numerical examples. The fitting of the experimental data to the model parameters is demonstrated through calibration of some selected test data on units and mortar from the literature; the calibrated model is shown to predict the responses of the experimentally determined masonry built using the corresponding units and mortar quite well. Through a series of sensitivity studies, the model is also shown to predict the masonry strength appropriately for changes to the properties of the units and mortar, the mortar joint thickness and the ratio of the height of unit to mortar joint thickness. The unit strength is shown to affect the masonry strength significantly. Although the mortar strength has only a marginal effect, reduction in mortar joint thickness is shown to have a profound effect on the masonry strength. The results obtained from the model are compared with the various provisions in the Australian Masonry Structures Standard AS3700 (2011) and Eurocode 6.

School policies on bullying and cyberbullying: Perspectives across three Australian states

Background Despite decades of research, bullying in all its forms is still a significant problem within schools in Australia, as it is internationally. Anti-bullying policies and guidelines are thought to be one strategy as part of a whole school approach to reduce bullying. However, although Australian schools are required to have these policies, their effectiveness is not clear. As policies and guidelines about bullying and cyberbullying are developed within education departments, this paper explores the perspectives of those who are involved in their construction. Purpose This study examined the perspectives of professionals involved in policy construction, across three different Australian states. The aim was to determine how their relative jurisdictions define bullying and cyberbullying, the processes for developing policy, the bullying prevention and intervention recommendations given to schools and the content considered essential in current policies. Sample Eleven key stakeholders from three Australian states with similar education systems were invited to participate. The sample selection criteria included professionals with experience and training in education, cyber-safety and the responsibility to contribute to or make decisions which inform policy in this area for schools in their state. Design and methods Participants were interviewed about the definitions of bullying they used in their state policy frameworks; the extent to which cyberbullying was included; and the content they considered essential for schools to include in anti-bullying policies. Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews and analysed thematically. Findings Seven themes were identified in the data: - (1) Definition of bullying and cyberbullying; - (2) Existence of a policy template; - (3) Policy location; - (4) Adding cyberbullying; - (5) Distinguishing between bullying and cyberbullying; - (6) Effective policy, and; - (7) Policy as a prevention or intervention tool. The results were similar both across state boundaries and also across different disciplines. Conclusion Analysis of the data suggested that, across the themes, there was some lack of information about bullying and cyberbullying. This limitation could affect the subsequent development, dissemination and sustainability of school anti-bullying policies, which have implications for the translation of research to inform better student outcomes.

Small firm internet adoption: A market oriented approach

Fundamental to the development of new customer value offerings via web-based commerce is a small firm's ability to strategically acquire and exploit knowledge. The focus of this paper is the empirical testing of a normative web-based commerce adoption model developed from a review of the extant literature related to electronic marketing, the Internet and the diffusion of new innovations. A preliminary test of the model's theoretical contentions lent support to its overall focus, but found that the firm's existing learning capabilities were diminished during the adoption of web-based commerce. Consequently, sub-optimal adoption outcomes were associated with insufficient knowledge development.

Does the addition of Clonidine to lumbar nerve root blocks improve outcome? A randomised, prospective, single-blinded controlled pilot study

Purpose To evaluate if adding clonidine to a standard nerve root block containing local anaesthetic and steroid improved the outcome of patients with severe lumbar nerve root pain secondary to MRI proven lumbar disc prolapse. Methods We undertook a single blind, prospective, randomised controlled trial evaluating 100 consecutive patients with nerve root pain secondary to lumbar disc prolapse undergoing trans-foraminal epidural steroid injection either with or without the addition of clonidine. 50 patients were allocated to each arm of the study. The primary outcome measure was the avoidance of a second procedure- repeat injection or micro-discectomy surgery. Secondary outcome measures were also studied: pain scores for leg and back pain using a visual analogue scale (VAS), the Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ) and the Measure Your Own Medical Outcome Profile (MYMOP). Follow up was carried out at 6 weeks, 6 months and 1 year. Results No serious complications occurred. Of the 50 patients who received the addition of clonidine, 56% were classified as successful injections, with no further intervention required, as opposed to 40% who received the standard injection. This difference did not reach statistical significance (p=0.109, chi-squared test). All secondary measures showed no statistically significant differences between the groups except curiously, the standard group who had been classified as successful had better leg pain relief than the clonidine group (p=0.026) at 1 year. Conclusions This pilot study has shown a 16% treatment effect with adding clonidine to lumbar nerve root blocks and that it is a safe injectate for this purpose.

Carbon dioxide emissions in the short run: The rate and sources of economic growth matter

This paper investigates the short-run effects of economic growth on carbon dioxide emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels and the manufacture of cement for 189 countries over the period 1961-2010. Contrary to what has previously been reported, we conclude that there is no strong evidence that the emissions-income elasticity is larger during individual years of economic expansion as compared to recession. Significant evidence of asymmetry emerges when effects over longer periods are considered. We find that economic growth tends to increase emissions not only in the same year, but also in subsequent years. Delayed effects - especially noticeable in the road transport sector - mean that emissions tend to grow more quickly after booms and more slowly after recessions. Emissions are more sensitive to fluctuations in industrial value added than agricultural value added, with services being an intermediate case. On the expenditure side, growth in consumption and growth in investment have similar implications for national emissions. External shocks have a relatively large emissions impact, and the short-run emissions-income elasticity does not appear to decline as incomes increase. Economic growth and emissions have been more tightly linked in fossil-fuel rich countries.