Tangible cultural heritage and adaptive reuse: the Old Government House, Brisbane, Australia

The Old Government House, a former residence of the Queen’s representatives in Brisbane, Australia, symbolises British cultural heritage of Colonial Queensland. Located on the campus of the Queensland University of Technology, it is one of the oldest surviving examples of a stately residence in Queensland. Built in 1860s, the Old Government House was originally intended as a temporary residence for the first governor of the newly independent colony of Queensland. However, it remained the vice-regal residence until 1909, serving eleven succeeding governors. Nearly seven decades later, it became the first building in Queensland to be protected under heritage legislation. Thus its importance, as an excellent exemplar that demonstrates the significance of cultural heritage, was established. The Old Government House has survived 150 years of restoration work, refurbishments, and additions. Through these years, it has served the people of Queensland in a multitude of roles. This paper aims to investigate the survival of heritage listed buildings through their adaptive re-use. Its focus will be on the adaptive reuse of the Old Government House through its refurbishments and additions over a period of 150 years. Through a qualitative research process this paper will endeavour to establish the significance of restoration work on the Old Government house; the new opportunities that has opened up as a result of the restoration work; the continued maintenance and management of the building through adaptive re-use; the economic benefits of restoration work; and its contribution to the on-going interest in the preservation of the Tangible Cultural Heritage.

Kallikrein-related peptidase 15 (prostinogen)

The third edition of the Handbook of Proteolytic Enzymes aims to be a comprehensive reference work for the enzymes that cleave proteins and peptides, and contains over 800 chapters. Each chapter is organized into sections describing the name and history, activity and specificity, structural chemistry, preparation, biological aspects, and distinguishing features for a specific peptidase. The subject of Chapter 619 is Kallikrein-related Peptidase 15 (Prostinogen).

Third International Conference on plant-based vaccines and antibodies

This relatively new biennial meeting - the first was in Prague in 2005 - was chaired by Julian Ma (Guy's Hospital, London, UK), with Mario Pezzotti (University of Verona, Italy) as local organizer, and attracted approximately 180 delegates from 25 countries. The theme was 'Plant Expression Systems for Recombinant Pharmacologics': there were 46 talks gathered into two plenaries, 12 themed sessions and 72 posters. Topics covered included publicly funded and commercial developments, innovation, regulation and commercialization, competition with conventional technology, manufacture and new products. © 2009 Expert Reviews Ltd.

Success factors for ICT shared services in the higher education sector

Shared services is a prominent organizational arrangement for organizations, in particular for support functions. The success (or failure) of shared services is a critical concern as the move to shared services can entail large scale investment and involve fundamental organizational change. The Higher Education (HE) sector is particularly well poised to benefit from shared services as there is a need to improve organizational performance and strong potential from sharing. Through a multiple case study of shared services experiences in HE, this study identifies ten important antecedents of shared services success: (1) Understanding of shared services; (2) Organizational environment; (3) Top management support; (4) IT environment; (5) Governance; (6) Process centric view; (7) Implementation strategy; (8) Project management; (9) Change management; and (10) Communication. The study then develops a preliminary model of shared services success that addresses the interdependencies between the success factors. As the first empirical success model for shared services, it provides valuable guidance to practice and future research.

A meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies to identify prostate cancer susceptibility loci associated with aggressive and non-aggressive disease

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified multiple common genetic variants associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer (PrCa), but these explain less than one-third of the heritability. To identify further susceptibility alleles, we conducted a meta-analysis of four GWAS including 5953 cases of aggressive PrCa and 11 463 controls (men without PrCa). We computed association tests for approximately 2.6 million SNPs and followed up the most significant SNPs by genotyping 49 121 samples in 29 studies through the international PRACTICAL and BPC3 consortia. We not only confirmed the association of a PrCa susceptibility locus, rs11672691 on chromosome 19, but also showed an association with aggressive PrCa [odds ratio = 1.12 (95% confidence interval 1.03-1.21), P = 1.4 × 10(-8)]. This report describes a genetic variant which is associated with aggressive PrCa, which is a type of PrCa associated with a poorer prognosis.

Identification of 23 new prostate cancer susceptibility loci using the iCOGS custom genotyping

Prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in males in developed countries. To identify common prostate cancer susceptibility alleles, we genotyped 211,155 SNPs on a custom Illumina array (iCOGS) in blood DNA from 25,074 prostate cancer cases and 24,272 controls from the international PRACTICAL Consortium. Twenty-three new prostate cancer susceptibility loci were identified at genome-wide significance (P < 5 × 10−8). More than 70 prostate cancer susceptibility loci, explaining ~30% of the familial risk for this disease, have now been identified. On the basis of combined risks conferred by the new and previously known risk loci, the top 1% of the risk distribution has a 4.7-fold higher risk than the average of the population being profiled. These results will facilitate population risk stratification for clinical studies.

Fine-mapping identifies multiple prostate cancer risk loci on 5p15 some associating with TERT expression

Associations between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at 5p15 and multiple cancer types have been reported. We have previously shown evidence for a strong association between prostate cancer (PrCa) risk and rs2242652 at 5p15, intronic in the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) gene that encodes TERT. To comprehensively evaluate the association between genetic variation across this region and PrCa, we performed a fine-mapping analysis by genotyping 134 SNPs using a custom Illumina iSelect array or Sequenom MassArray iPlex, followed by imputation of 1094 SNPs in 22 301 PrCa cases and 22 320 controls in The PRACTICAL consortium. Multiple stepwise logistic regression analysis identified four signals in the promoter or intronic regions of TERT that independently associated with PrCa risk. Gene expression analysis of normal prostate tissue showed evidence that SNPs within one of these regions also associated with TERT expression, providing a potential mechanism for predisposition to disease.

Towards a typology of structural arrangements for shared services : evidence from the higher education sector

Shared services are increasingly prevalent in practice, their introduction potentially entailing substantive and highly consequential organizational redesign. Yet, attention to the structural arrangements of shared services has been limited. This study explores types of structural arrangements for shared services that are observed in practice, and the salient dimensions along which those types can be usefully differentiated. Through inductive attention to the shared services literature, and content analysis of 36 secondary case studies of shared services in the higher education sector, three salient dimensions emerged: (1) the existence or not of a separate organizational entity, (2) an intra- or inter-organizational sharing boundary, and (3) involvement or not of a third party. Each dimension being dichotomous yields 23 combinations, or eight shared services structural arrangement types. Each of the eight structural arrangement types is defined and demonstrated through case examples. The typology offers clarity around shared services structural arrangements. It can serve as a useful analytical tool for researchers investigating the phenomenon further, and for practitioners considering the introduction or further development of shared services arrangements. Important follow on research is suggested too.

The human tissue kallikrein and kallikrein-related peptidase family

The human kallikrein-related peptidases are a subgroup of trypsin and chymotrypsin-like serine peptidases that are characterized by their homology to tissue kallikrein or kallikrein 1 (KLK1) encoded by the KLK1 gene (reviewed in[1-4]). The human KLK locus spans an approximately 320 kb region on chromosome 19q13.3-13.4 and contains fifteen genes encoding KLK1 and fourteen other kallikrein-related peptidases, KLK2-KLK15, which have been named contiguously in the locus in the order of their discovery [5-8] (Figure 606.1). It is the largest contiguous cluster of serine protease encoding genes in the human genome which has evolved from gene duplication of KLK1 and then subsequent reduplication of the newly evolved KLK genes [2]. The high conservation noted for KLK1-KLK3 (62-77%) reflects the proposed duplication of the KLK1 gene that produced the KLK2 gene which further generated the KLK3 gene. In contrast, the newer KLK4-KLK15 proteases share much less similarity, from 24-66%, although strong homology between KLK4 and KLK5, KLK9 and KLK11, and KLK10 and KLK12 suggests these genes are duplications of each other [2]...

Years lived with disability (YLDs) for 1160 sequelae of 289 diseases and injuries 1990–2010 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010

Background Non-fatal health outcomes from diseases and injuries are a crucial consideration in the promotion and monitoring of individual and population health. The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) studies done in 1990 and 2000 have been the only studies to quantify non-fatal health outcomes across an exhaustive set of disorders at the global and regional level. Neither effort quantified uncertainty in prevalence or years lived with disability (YLDs). Methods Of the 291 diseases and injuries in the GBD cause list, 289 cause disability. For 1160 sequelae of the 289 diseases and injuries, we undertook a systematic analysis of prevalence, incidence, remission, duration, and excess mortality. Sources included published studies, case notification, population-based cancer registries, other disease registries, antenatal clinic serosurveillance, hospital discharge data, ambulatory care data, household surveys, other surveys, and cohort studies. For most sequelae, we used a Bayesian meta-regression method, DisMod-MR, designed to address key limitations in descriptive epidemiological data, including missing data, inconsistency, and large methodological variation between data sources. For some disorders, we used natural history models, geospatial models, back-calculation models (models calculating incidence from population mortality rates and case fatality), or registration completeness models (models adjusting for incomplete registration with health-system access and other covariates). Disability weights for 220 unique health states were used to capture the severity of health loss. YLDs by cause at age, sex, country, and year levels were adjusted for comorbidity with simulation methods. We included uncertainty estimates at all stages of the analysis. Findings Global prevalence for all ages combined in 2010 across the 1160 sequelae ranged from fewer than one case per 1 million people to 350 000 cases per 1 million people. Prevalence and severity of health loss were weakly correlated (correlation coefficient −0·37). In 2010, there were 777 million YLDs from all causes, up from 583 million in 1990. The main contributors to global YLDs were mental and behavioural disorders, musculoskeletal disorders, and diabetes or endocrine diseases. The leading specific causes of YLDs were much the same in 2010 as they were in 1990: low back pain, major depressive disorder, iron-deficiency anaemia, neck pain, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, anxiety disorders, migraine, diabetes, and falls. Age-specific prevalence of YLDs increased with age in all regions and has decreased slightly from 1990 to 2010. Regional patterns of the leading causes of YLDs were more similar compared with years of life lost due to premature mortality. Neglected tropical diseases, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and anaemia were important causes of YLDs in sub-Saharan Africa. Interpretation Rates of YLDs per 100 000 people have remained largely constant over time but rise steadily with age. Population growth and ageing have increased YLD numbers and crude rates over the past two decades. Prevalences of the most common causes of YLDs, such as mental and behavioural disorders and musculoskeletal disorders, have not decreased. Health systems will need to address the needs of the rising numbers of individuals with a range of disorders that largely cause disability but not mortality. Quantification of the burden of non-fatal health outcomes will be crucial to understand how well health systems are responding to these challenges. Effective and affordable strategies to deal with this rising burden are an urgent priority for health systems in most parts of the world. Funding Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Walk@Work : an automated intervention to increase walking in university employees not achieving 10,000 daily steps

This study assessed the workday step counts of lower active (<10,000 daily steps) university employees using an automated, web-based walking intervention (Walk@Work). METHODS: Academic and administrative staff (n=390; 45.6±10.8years; BMI 27.2±5.5kg/m2; 290 women) at five campuses (Australia [x2], Canada, Northern Ireland and the United States), were given a pedometer, access to the website program (2010-11) and tasked with increasing workday walking by 1000 daily steps above baseline, every two weeks, over a six week period. Step count changes at four weeks post intervention were evaluated relative to campus and baseline walking. RESULTS: Across the sample, step counts significantly increased from baseline to post-intervention (1477 daily steps; p=0.001). Variations in increases were evident between campuses (largest difference of 870 daily steps; p=0.04) and for baseline activity status. Those least active at baseline (<5000 daily steps; n=125) increased step counts the most (1837 daily steps; p=0.001), whereas those most active (7500-9999 daily steps; n=79) increased the least (929 daily steps; p=0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Walk@Work increased workday walking by 25% in this sample overall. Increases occurred through an automated program, at campuses in different countries, and were most evident for those most in need of intervention.

An evaluation of corpus-driven measures of medical concept similarity for information retrieval

Measures of semantic similarity between medical concepts are central to a number of techniques in medical informatics, including query expansion in medical information retrieval. Previous work has mainly considered thesaurus-based path measures of semantic similarity and has not compared different corpus-driven approaches in depth. We evaluate the effectiveness of eight common corpus-driven measures in capturing semantic relatedness and compare these against human judged concept pairs assessed by medical professionals. Our results show that certain corpus-driven measures correlate strongly (approx 0.8) with human judgements. An important finding is that performance was significantly affected by the choice of corpus used in priming the measure, i.e., used as evidence from which corpus-driven similarities are drawn. This paper provides guidelines for the implementation of semantic similarity measures for medical informatics and concludes with implications for medical information retrieval.

Service management and engineering in information systems research

Service research in information systems (IS) has received attention over many years (e.g. Kettinger and Lee, 1994), but more recently has increased substantially in both diversity and volume (Rai and Sambamurthy, 2006). A service-oriented view of information technology (IT) is gradually taking hold in both academia and industry. This is concomitant with the growth of service-related phenomena and concepts (Lusch and Vargo, 2006), stimulating a global discourse about 'service science' as a new, cross-disciplinary field of research (Chesbrough and Spohrer, 2006).

Exploring shared services from an IS perspective : a literature review and research agenda

Shared services have gained significance as an organizational arrangement, in particular for support functions, to reduce costs, increase quality and create new capabilities. The Information Systems (IS) function is amenable to sharing arrangements and information systems can enable sharing in other functional areas. However, despite being a promising area for IS research, literature on shared services in the IS discipline is scarce and scattered. There is still little consensus on what shared services is. Moreover, a thorough understanding of why shared services are adopted, who are involved, and how things are shared is lacking. In this article, we set out to progress IS research on shared services by establishing a common ground for future research and proposing a research agenda to shape the field based on an analysis of the IS literature. We present a holistic and inclusive definition, discuss the primacy of economic-strategic objectives so far, and introduce conceptual frameworks for stakeholders and the notion of sharing. We also provide an overview of the theories and research methods applied. We propose a research agenda that addresses fundamental issues related to objectives, stakeholders, and the notion of sharing to lay the foundation for taking IS research on shared services forward.

Health effects of daily airborne particle dose in children : direct association between personal dose and respiratory health effects

Air pollution is a widespread health problem associated with respiratory symptoms. Continuous exposure monitoring was performed to estimate alveolar and tracheobronchial dose, measured as deposited surface area, for 103 children and to evaluate the long-term effects of exposure to airborne particles through spirometry, skin prick tests and measurement of exhaled nitric oxide (eNO). The mean daily alveolar deposited surface area dose received by children was 1.35×103 mm2. The lowest and highest particle number concentrations were found during sleeping and eating time. A significant negative association was found between changes in pulmonary function tests and individual dose estimates. Significant differences were found for asthmatics, children with allergic rhinitis and sensitive to allergens compared to healthy subjects for eNO. Variation is a child’s activity over time appeared to have a strong impact on respiratory outcomes, which indicates that personal monitoring is vital for assessing the expected health effects of exposure to particles.