Refining animal models in fracture research: Seeking consensus in optimising both animal welfare and scientific validity for appropriate biomedical use

Background In an attempt to establish some consensus on the proper use and design of experimental animal models in musculoskeletal research, AOVET (the veterinary specialty group of the AO Foundation) in concert with the AO Research Institute (ARI), and the European Academy for the Study of Scientific and Technological Advance, convened a group of musculoskeletal researchers, veterinarians, legal experts, and ethicists to discuss, in a frank and open forum, the use of animals in musculoskeletal research. Methods The group narrowed the field to fracture research. The consensus opinion resulting from this workshop can be summarized as follows: Results & Conclusion Anaesthesia and pain management protocols for research animals should follow standard protocols applied in clinical work for the species involved. This will improve morbidity and mortality outcomes. A database should be established to facilitate selection of anaesthesia and pain management protocols for specific experimental surgical procedures and adopted as an International Standard (IS) according to animal species selected. A list of 10 golden rules and requirements for conduction of animal experiments in musculoskeletal research was drawn up comprising 1) Intelligent study designs to receive appropriate answers; 2) Minimal complication rates (5 to max. 10%); 3) Defined end-points for both welfare and scientific outputs analogous to quality assessment (QA) audit of protocols in GLP studies; 4) Sufficient details for materials and methods applied; 5) Potentially confounding variables (genetic background, seasonal, hormonal, size, histological, and biomechanical differences); 6) Post-operative management with emphasis on analgesia and follow-up examinations; 7) Study protocols to satisfy criteria established for a "justified animal study"; 8) Surgical expertise to conduct surgery on animals; 9) Pilot studies as a critical part of model validation and powering of the definitive study design; 10) Criteria for funding agencies to include requirements related to animal experiments as part of the overall scientific proposal review protocols. Such agencies are also encouraged to seriously consider and adopt the recommendations described here when awarding funds for specific projects. Specific new requirements and mandates related both to improving the welfare and scientific rigour of animal-based research models are urgently needed as part of international harmonization of standards.

Grading : harmonising standards and stakeholder expectations

This paper suggests that when a course is planned within one culture for delivery to members of another culture, appropriate quality control of assessment becomes an issue of major proportions. Based on their experience of presenting an Aid Agency-funded Masters course in a developing country in the Pacific, the authors describe the processes to address the needs and wants of all the stakeholders, with different cultural expectations. Maintaining a balance between domestic and Pacific student cohorts regarding resources and opportunities for study was especially challenging. However, grounding grades in course curriculum and clearly stated objectives permitted the teaching team to meet external requirements while maintaining their professional and academic freedom.

Train service timetabling in railway open markets by particle swarm optimisation

Railway timetabling is an important process in train service provision as it matches the transportation demand with the infrastructure capacity while customer satisfaction is also considered. It is a multi-objective optimisation problem, in which a feasible solution, rather than the optimal one, is usually taken in practice because of the time constraint. The quality of services may suffer as a result. In a railway open market, timetabling usually involves rounds of negotiations among a number of self-interested and independent stakeholders and hence additional objectives and constraints are imposed on the timetabling problem. While the requirements of all stakeholders are taken into consideration simultaneously, the computation demand is inevitably immense. Intelligent solution-searching techniques provide a possible solution. This paper attempts to employ a particle swarm optimisation (PSO) approach to devise a railway timetable in an open market. The suitability and performance of PSO are studied on a multi-agent-based railway open-market negotiation simulation platform.

Understanding user differences in open-source workflow management system usage intentions

Open-source software systems have become a viable alternative to proprietary systems. We collected data on the usage of an open-source workflow management system developed by a university research group, and examined this data with a focus on how three different user cohorts – students, academics and industry professionals – develop behavioral intentions to use the system. Building upon a framework of motivational components, we examined the group differences in extrinsic versus intrinsic motivations on continued usage intentions. Our study provides a detailed understanding of the use of open-source workflow management systems in different user communities. Moreover, it discusses implications for the provision of workflow management systems, the user-specific management of open-source systems and the development of services in the wider user community.

The teacher as reflexive professional : making visible the excluded discourse in teacher standards

In the current climate of accountability, political manoeuvring, changing curriculum, increasingly diverse student cohorts and community expectations, teachers, more than ever, need to develop the skills and abilities to be reflective and reflexive practitioners. This study examines national teacher professional standards from Australia and the UK to identify the extent to which reflexivity is embedded in key policy documents that are intended to guide the work of teachers in those countries. Using Margaret Archer's theories of reflexivity and morphogenesis, and methods of critical discourse analysis, we argue that these blueprints for teachers’ work exclude reflexivity as an essential and overarching discourse of teacher professionalism.

Integration of CENA practice standards for postgraduate emergency nursing assessment

The use of professional competency standards to assess postgraduate nursing student’s clinical performance has been in place since 2004, at the Queensland University of Technology, School of Nursing & Midwifery (SONAM) when the Graduate Certificate in Emergency Nursing degree commenced. Emergency nursing students were assessed in their workplace, using a Clinical Performance Appraisal Tool or CPAT which was based on the Australian College of Critical Care Nurses (ACCCN) Competency Standards. With the subsequent formation of a separate Emergency Nursing Course advisory group in 2007, there was a review of clinical assessment course component. The release of the 2008 CENA revised Practice Standards for the Emergency Nursing Specialist’s, led to the emergency nursing course advisory committee supporting the integration of the CENA practice standards for assessment of emergency nurses in preference to the less relevant ACCCN competency standards. The SONAM emergency nursing study area team commenced the phasing in and progression of the CENA practice standards across the two Graduate Certificate units, and Graduate Diploma and Master of Nursing (emergency) clinical major options in 2009. As some units undertaken in the degree are available to nurses in other disciplines a separate CPAT was devised for the clinical assessments according to speciality context. The team has had to carefully consider how the professional standards are integrated into the teaching and assessment of the unit and not just applied instead of the ACCCN competency standards. Professional standards for the emergency context has also helped tailor course content and learning outcomes to be relevant across a number of emergency nursing contexts in Australia. The assessment of the CPAT is undertaken at the workplace by QUT appointed clinical lecturers. Clinical lecturers need to apply and have suitable postgraduate qualification to undertake the position. The clinical lecturer support role is well established at QUT. The integration of the new CENA practice standards has necessitated a review of the postgraduate assessment of emergency nurses. A clinical lecturer workshop has been organised to review role, scope and how to utilise the new look CENA based CPAT, clinical assessment format.

Open source innovation in physical products : advantages and disadvantages, a corporate perspective

A better understanding of Open Source Innovation in Physical Product (OSIP) might allow project managers to mitigate risks associated with this innovation model and process, while developing the right strategies to maximise OSIP outputs. In the software industry, firms have been highly successful using Open Source Innovation (OSI) strategies. However, OSI in the physical world has not been studied leading to the research question: What advantages and disadvantages do organisations incur from using OSI in physical products? An exploratory research methodology supported by thirteen semi-structured interviews helped us build a seven-theme framework to categorise advantages and disadvantages elements linked with the use of OSIP. In addition, factors impacting advantage and disadvantage elements for firms using OSIP were identified as: „h Degree of openness in OSIP projects; „h Time of release of OSIP in the public domain; „h Use of Open Source Innovation in Software (OSIS) in conjunction with OSIP; „h Project management elements (Project oversight, scope and modularity); „h Firms. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) values; „h Value of the OSIP project to the community. This thesis makes a contribution to the body of innovation theory by identifying advantages and disadvantages elements of OSIP. Then, from a contingency perspective it identifies factors which enhance or decrease advantages, or mitigate/ or increase disadvantages of OSIP. In the end, the research clarifies the understanding of OSI by clearly setting OSIP apart from OSIS. The main practical contribution of this paper is to provide manager with a framework to better understand OSIP as well as providing a model, which identifies contingency factors increasing advantage and decreasing disadvantage. Overall, the research allows managers to make informed decisions about when they can use OSIP and how they can develop strategies to make OSIP a viable proposition. In addition, this paper demonstrates that advantages identified in OSIS cannot all be transferred to OSIP, thus OSIP decisions should not be based upon OSIS knowledge.

Determinants of rapid weight gain during infancy: Baseline results from the NOURISH randomised controlled trial.

Background: Rapid weight gain in infancy is an important predictor of obesity in later childhood. Our aim was to determine which modifiable variables are associated with rapid weight gain in early life. Methods: Subjects were healthy infants enrolled in NOURISH, a randomised, controlled trial evaluating an intervention to promote positive early feeding practices. This analysis used the birth and baseline data for NOURISH. Birthweight was collected from hospital records and infants were also weighed at baseline assessment when they were aged 4-7 months and before randomisation. Infant feeding practices and demographic variables were collected from the mother using a self administered questionnaire. Rapid weight gain was defined as an increase in weight-for-age Z-score (using WHO standards) above 0.67 SD from birth to baseline assessment, which is interpreted clinically as crossing centile lines on a growth chart. Variables associated with rapid weight gain were evaluated using a multivariable logistic regression model. Results: Complete data were available for 612 infants (88% of the total sample recruited) with a mean (SD) age of 4.3 (1.0) months at baseline assessment. After adjusting for mother's age, smoking in pregnancy, BMI, and education and infant birthweight, age, gender and introduction of solid foods, the only two modifiable factors associated with rapid weight gain to attain statistical significance were formula feeding [OR=1.72 (95%CI 1.01-2.94), P= 0.047] and feeding on schedule [OR=2.29 (95%CI 1.14-4.61), P=0.020]. Male gender and lower birthweight were non-modifiable factors associated with rapid weight gain. Conclusions: This analysis supports the contention that there is an association between formula feeding, feeding to schedule and weight gain in the first months of life. Mechanisms may include the actual content of formula milk (e.g. higher protein intake) or differences in feeding styles, such as feeding to schedule, which increase the risk of overfeeding. Trial Registration: Australian Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12608000056392

Estimation and control for an open-source quadcopter

This paper describes modelling, estimation and control of the horizontal translational motion of an open-source and cost effective quadcopter — the MikroKopter. We determine the dynamics of its roll and pitch attitude controller, system latencies, and the units associated with the values exchanged with the vehicle over its serial port. Using this we create a horizontal-plane velocity estimator that uses data from the built-in inertial sensors and an onboard laser scanner, and implement translational control using a nested control loop architecture. We present experimental results for the model and estimator, as well as closed-loop positioning.

An architecture for enhanced assurance in e-health systems

Notwithstanding the obvious potential advantages of information and communications technology (ICT) in the enhanced provision of healthcare services, there are some concerns associated with integration of and access to electronic health records. A security violation in health records, such as an unauthorised disclosure or unauthorised alteration of an individual's health information, can significantly undermine both healthcare providers' and consumers' confidence and trust in e-health systems. A crisis in confidence in any national level e-health system could seriously degrade the realisation of the system's potential benefits. In response to the privacy and security requirements for the protection of health information, this research project investigated national and international e-health development activities to identify the necessary requirements for the creation of a trusted health information system architecture consistent with legislative and regulatory requirements and relevant health informatics standards. The research examined the appropriateness and sustainability of the current approaches for the protection of health information. It then proposed an architecture to facilitate the viable and sustainable enforcement of privacy and security in health information systems under the project title "Open and Trusted Health Information Systems (OTHIS)". OTHIS addresses necessary security controls to protect sensitive health information when such data is at rest, during processing and in transit with three separate and achievable security function-based concepts and modules: a) Health Informatics Application Security (HIAS); b) Health Informatics Access Control (HIAC); and c) Health Informatics Network Security (HINS). The outcome of this research is a roadmap for a viable and sustainable architecture for providing robust protection and security of health information including elucidations of three achievable security control subsystem requirements within the proposed architecture. The successful completion of two proof-of-concept prototypes demonstrated the comprehensibility, feasibility and practicality of the HIAC and HIAS models for the development and assessment of trusted health systems. Meanwhile, the OTHIS architecture has provided guidance for technical and security design appropriate to the development and implementation of trusted health information systems whilst simultaneously offering guidance for ongoing research projects. The socio-economic implications of this research can be summarised in the fact that this research embraces the need for low cost security strategies against economic realities by using open-source technologies for overall test implementation. This allows the proposed architecture to be publicly accessible, providing a platform for interoperability to meet real-world application security demands. On the whole, the OTHIS architecture sets a high level of security standard for the establishment and maintenance of both current and future health information systems. This thereby increases healthcare providers‘ and consumers‘ trust in the adoption of electronic health records to realise the associated benefits.

Facilitating Malaysia towards innovative society : arguing the case for open access policy

The Malaysian National Innovation Model blueprint states that there is an urgent need to pursue an innovation-oriented economy to improve the nation’s capacity for knowledge, creativity and innovation. In nurturing a pervasive innovation culture, the Malaysian government has declared the year 2010 as an Innovative Year whereby creativity among its population is highly celebrated. However, while Malaysian citizens are encouraged to be creative and innovative, scientific data and information generated from publicly funded research in Malaysia is locked up because of rigid intellectual property licensing regimes and traditional publishing models. Reflecting on these circumstances, this paper looks at, and argue why, scientific data and information should be made available, accessible and re-useable freely to promote the grassroots level of innovation in Malaysia. Using innovation theory as its platform of argument, this paper calls for an open access policy for publicly funded research output to be adopted and implemented in Malaysia. Simultaneously, a normative analytic approach is used to determine the types of open access policy that ought to be adopted to spur greater innovation among Malaysians.