Safety impacts of alcohol and other drugs in the construction industry : a research methodology

Anecdotal evidence from the infrastructure and building sectors highlights issues of drugs and alcohol and its association with safety risk on construction sites. Operating machinery and mobile equipment, proximity to live traffic together with congested sites, electrical equipment and operating at heights conspire to accentuate the potential adverse impact of drugs and alcohol in the workplace. While most Australian jurisdictions have identified this as a critical safety issue, information is limited regarding the prevalence of alcohol and other drugs in the workplace and there is limited evidential guidance regarding how to effectively and efficiently address such an issue. No known study has scientifically evaluated the relationship between the use of drugs and alcohol and safety impacts in construction, and there has been only limited adoption of nationally coordinated strategies, supported by employers and employees to render it socially unacceptable to arrive at a construction workplace with impaired judgement from drugs and alcohol. A nationally consistent collaborative approach across the construction workforce - involving employers and employees; clients; unions; contractors and sub-contractors is required to engender a cultural change in the construction workforce – in a similar manner to the on-going initiative in securing a cultural change to drink-driving in our society where peer intervention and support is encouraged. This study has four key objectives. Firstly, using the standard World Health Organisation AUDIT, a national qualitative and quantitative assessment of the use of drugs and alcohol will be carried out. This will build upon similar studies carried out in the Australian energy and mining sectors. Secondly, the development of an appropriate industry policy will adopt a non-punitive and rehabilitative approach developed in consultation with employers and employees across the infrastructure and building sectors, with the aim it be adopted nationally for adoption at the construction workplace. Thirdly, an industry-specific cultural change management program will be developed through a nationally collaborative approach to reducing the risk of impaired performance on construction sites and increasing workers’ commitment to drugs and alcohol safety. Finally, an implementation plan will be developed from data gathered from both managers and construction employees. Such an approach stands to benefit not only occupational health and safety, through a greater understanding of the safety impacts of alcohol and other drugs at work, but also alcohol and drug use as a wider community health issue. This paper will provide an overview of the background and significance of the study as well as outlining the proposed methodology that will be used to evaluate the safety impacts of alcohol and other drugs in the construction industry.

A study of environmental and management drivers of non-co2 greenhouse gas emissions in Australian agro-ecosystems

Australian climate, soils and agricultural management practices are significantly different from those of the northern hemisphere nations. Consequently, experimental data on greenhouse gas production from European and North American agricultural soils and its interpretation are unlikely to be directly applicable to Australian systems.

A comparison of the driving behavior between remunerated and volunteer drivers

Introduction: Past research suggests that some groups of work-related drivers practice more safe driving behavior than others. However, no research to date has compared the driving behavior of those remunerated for their services and volunteer work-related drivers. As such, based on a theoretical discussion of the organizational and social contexts in which work-related driving occurs, this study hypothesized that volunteers would report safer driving behavior compared with remunerated drivers. Methods: One-hundred and ninety remunerated drivers and fifty-nine volunteers completed a self-reported driving behavior questionnaire. Results: Some support was found for the hypotheses, as volunteers reported more safe driving behavior than remunerated drivers. Specifically, volunteers reported less inattention and tiredness while driving compared to remunerated drivers. Conclusions: The results suggested that organizations need to formalize the roles and responsibilities of the work-related driver, and better integrate driving within the wider occupational health and safety system.

Influences of age and mechanical stability on volume, microstructure, and mineralization of the fracture callus during bone healing : Is osteoclast activity the key to age-related impaired healing?

Earlier studies have shown that the influence of fixation stability on bone healing diminishes with advanced age. The goal of this study was to unravel the relationship between mechanical stimulus and age on callus competence at a tissue level. Using 3D in vitro micro-computed tomography derived metrics, 2D in vivo radiography, and histology, we investigated the influences of age and varying fixation stability on callus size, geometry, microstructure, composition, remodeling, and vascularity. Compared were four groups with a 1.5-mm osteotomy gap in the femora of Sprague–Dawley rats: Young rigid (YR), Young semirigid (YSR), Old rigid (OR), Old semirigid (OSR). Hypothesis was that calcified callus microstructure and composition is impaired due to the influence of advanced age, and these individuals would show a reduced response to fixation stabilities. Semirigid fixations resulted in a larger ΔCSA (Callus cross-sectional area) compared to rigid groups. In vitro μCT analysis at 6 weeks postmortem showed callus bridging scores in younger animals to be superior than their older counterparts (pb0.01). Younger animals showed (i) larger callus strut thickness (pb0.001), (ii) lower perforation in struts (pb0.01), and (iii) higher mineralization of callus struts (pb0.001). Callus mineralization was reduced in young animals with semirigid fracture fixation but remained unaffected in the aged group. While stability had an influence, age showed none on callus size and geometry of callus. With no differences observed in relative osteoid areas in the callus ROI, old as well as semirigid fixated animals showed a higher osteoclast count (pb0.05). Blood vessel density was reduced in animals with semirigid fixation (pb0.05). In conclusion, in vivo monitoring indicated delayed callus maturation in aged individuals. Callus bridging and callus competence (microstructure and mineralization) were impaired in individuals with an advanced age. This matched with increased bone resorption due to higher osteoclast numbers. Varying fixator configurations in older individuals did not alter the dominant effect of advanced age on callus tissue mineralization, unlike in their younger counterparts. Age-associated influences appeared independent from stability. This study illustrates the dominating role of osteoclastic activity in age-related impaired healing, while demonstrating the optimization of fixation parameters such as stiffness appeared to be less effective in influencing healing in aged individuals.

Bioengineered 3D platform to explore cell-ECM interactions and drug resistance of epithelial ovarian cancer cells

The behaviour of cells cultured within three-dimensional (3D) structures rather than onto two-dimensional (2D) culture plastic more closely reflects their in vivo responses. Consequently, 3D culture systems are becoming crucial scientific tools in cancer cell research. We used a novel 3D culture concept to assess cell-matrix interactions implicated in carcinogenesis: a synthetic hydrogel matrix equipped with key biomimetic features, namely incorporated cell integrin-binding motifs (e.g. RGD peptides) and the ability of being degraded by cell-secreted proteases (e.g. matrix metalloproteases). As a cell model, we chose epithelial ovarian cancer, an aggressive disease typically diagnosed at an advanced stage when chemoresistance occurs. Both cell lines used (OV-MZ-6, SKOV-3) proliferated similarly in 2D, but not in 3D. Spheroid formation was observed exclusively in 3D when cells were embedded within hydrogels. By exploiting the design flexibility of the hydrogel characteristics, we showed that proliferation in 3D was dependent on cell-integrin engagement and the ability of cells to proteolytically remodel their extracellular microenvironment. Higher survival rates after exposure to the anti-cancer drug paclitaxel were observed in cell spheroids grown in hydrogels (40-60%) compared to cell monolayers in 2D (20%). Thus, 2D evaluation of chemosensitivity may not reflect pathophysiological events seen in patients. Because of the design flexibility of their characteristics and their stability in long-term cultures (28 days), these biomimetic hydrogels represent alternative culture systems for the increasing demand in cancer research for more versatile, physiologically relevant and reproducible 3D matrices.

Novel PCL-based honeycomb scaffolds as drug delivery systems for rhBMP-2

This study investigated a novel drug delivery system (DDS), consisting of polycaprolactone (PCL) or polycaprolactone 20% tricalcium phosphate (PCL-TCP) biodegradable scaffolds, fibrin Tisseel sealant and recombinant bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2) for bone regeneration. PCL and PCL-TCP-fibrin composites displayed a loading efficiency of 70% and 43%, respectively. Fluorescence and scanning electron microscopy revealed sparse clumps of rhBMP-2 particles, non-uniformly distributed on the rods’ surface of PCL-fibrin composites. In contrast, individual rhBMP-2 particles were evident and uniformly distributed on the rods’ surface of the PCL-TCP-fibrin composites. PCL-fibrin composites loaded with 10 and 20 μg/ml rhBMP-2 demonstrated a triphasic release profile as quantified by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). This consisted of burst releases at 2 h, and days 7 and 16. A biphasic release profile was observed for PCL-TCP-fibrin composites loaded with 10 μg/ml rhBMP-2, consisting of burst releases at 2 h and day 14. PCL-TCP-fibrin composites loaded with 20 μg/ml rhBMP-2 showed a tri-phasic release profile, consisting of burst releases at 2 h, and days 10 and 21. We conclude that the addition of TCP caused a delay in rhBMP-2 release. Sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and alkaline phosphatase assay verified the stability and bioactivity of eluted rhBMP-2 at all time points

Sustainable urban stormwater management : water sensitive urban design perceptions, drivers and barriers

Stormwater has been recognised as one of the main culprits of aquatic ecosystem pollution and as a significant threat to the goal of ecological sustainable development. Water sensitive urban design is one of the key responses to the need to better manage urban stormwater runoff, the objectives of which go beyond rapid and efficient conveyance. Underpinned by the concepts of sustainable urban development, water sensitive urban design has proven to be an efficient and environmentally-friendly approach to urban stormwater management, with the necessary technical know-how and skills already available. However, large-scale implementation of water sensitive urban design is still lacking in Australia due to significant impediments and negative perceptions. Identification of the issues, barriers and drivers that affect sustainability outcomes of urban stormwater management is one of the first steps towards encouraging the wide-scale uptake of water sensitive urban design features which integrate sustainable urban stormwater management. This chapter investigates key water sensitive urban design perceptions, drivers and barriers in order to improve sustainable urban stormwater management efforts.

The crash involvement of older drivers is associated with their hazard perception latencies

Hazard perception in driving is the one of the few driving-specific skills associated with crash involvement. However, this relationship has only been examined in studies where the majority of individuals were younger than 65. We present the first data revealing an association between hazard perception and self-reported crash involvement in drivers aged 65 and over. In a sample of 271 drivers, we found that individuals whose mean response time to traffic hazards was slower than 6.68 seconds (the ROC-curve derived pass mark for the test) were 2.32 times (95% CI 1.46, 3.22) more likely to have been involved in a self-reported crash within the previous five years than those with faster response times. This likelihood ratio became 2.37 (95% CI 1.49, 3.28) when driving exposure was controlled for. As a comparison, individuals who failed a test of useful field of view were 2.70 (95% CI 1.44, 4.44) times more likely to crash than those who passed. The hazard perception test and the useful field of view measure accounted for separate variance in crash involvement. These findings indicate that hazard perception testing and training could be potentially useful for road safety interventions for this age group.

Cochrane review summary for cancer nursing : drug therapy for cancer-related fatigue

Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is one of themost debilitating symptoms in patients with cancer. It is prevalent at the time of diagnosis and during and after antineoplastic treatment and in patients with advanced disease. The multifactorial and complex nature of CRF makes it challenging for health professionals to identify a clear underlying mechanism and manage this symptom effectively. Often, the management plan for CRF (whether pharmacological or nonpharmacological) can be further complicated by the coexistence of other symptoms. This systematic review1 is therefore important in informing health professionals on the effectiveness of pharmacological management for CRF.

A three year outcome evaluation of a theory based drink driving education program

This study reports on the impact of a "drink driving education program" taught to grade ten high school students. The program which involves twelve lessons uses strategies based on the Ajzen and Madden theory of planned behavior. Students were trained to use alternatives to drink driving and passenger behaviors. One thousand seven hundred and seventy-four students who had been taught the program in randomly assigned control and intervention schools were followed up three years later. There had been a major reduction in drink driving behaviors in both intervention and control students. In addition to this cohort change there was a trend toward reduced drink driving in the intervention group and a significant reduction in passenger behavior in this group. Readiness to use alternatives suggested that the major impact of the program was on students who were experimenting with the behavior at the time the program was taught. The program seems to have optimized concurrent social attitude and behavior change.