Catching drink drivers in Queensland through Random Breath Testing : what does the last decade of data tell us

Background Random Breath Testing (RBT) has proven to be a cornerstone of enforcement attempts to deter (as well as apprehend) motorists from drink driving in Queensland (Australia) for decades. However, scant published research has examined the relationship between the frequency of implementing RBT activities and subsequent drink driving apprehension rates across time. Aim This study aimed to examine the prevalence of apprehending drink drivers in Queensland over a 12 year period. It was hypothesised that an increase in breath testing rates would result in a corresponding decrease in the frequency of drink driving apprehension rates over time, which would reflect general deterrent effects. Method The Queensland Police Service provided RBT data that was analysed. Results Between the 1st of January 2000 and 31st of December 2011, 35,082,386 random breath tests (both mobile and stationary) were conducted in Queensland, resulting in 248,173 individuals being apprehended for drink driving offences. A total of 342,801 offences were recorded during this period, representing an intercept rate of .96. Of these offences, 276,711 (80.72%) were recorded against males and 66,024 (19.28%) offences committed by females. The most common drink driving offence was between 0.05 and 0.08 BAC limit. The largest proportion of offences was detected on the weekends, with Saturdays (27.60%) proving to be the most common drink driving night followed by Sundays (21.41%). The prevalence of drink driving detection rates rose steadily across time, peaking in 2008 and 2009, before slightly declining. This decline was observed across all Queensland regions and any increase in annual figures was due to new offence types being developed. Discussion This paper will further outline the major findings of the study in regards to tailoring RBT operations to increase detection rates as well as improve the general deterrent effect of the initiative.

Plasmonic effect of annealed gold islands for improving efficiency of organic solar cells

Embedding metallic nanoparticles in organic solar cells can enhance the photoabsorption through light trapping processes. This paper investigates how gold islands obtained by annealing 1–5 nm thick Au layers affect the photoabsorption. Using finite-difference time-domain simulations, the cell efficiency for various island geometries and thicknesses are analyzed and the properties of the islands for maximal photocurrent are discussed. It is shown that a careful choice of size and concentration of gold islands could contribute to enhance the power conversion efficiencies when compared to standard organic solar cell devices. The conclusions are then compared to experimental data for thermally annealed gold islands in bulk heterojunction solar cells. The results of this paper will contribute to the optimization of plasmonic organic solar cell systems and will pave the way for the development of highly efficient organic solar cell devices.

Kallikrein 4 (hK4) and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) are associated with the loss of E-cadherin and an epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-like effect in prostate cancer cells

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and the related kallikrein family of serine proteases are current or emerging biomarkers for prostate cancer detection and progression. Kallikrein 4 (KLK4/hK4) is of particular interest, as KLK4 mRNA has been shown to be elevated in prostate cancer. In this study, we now show that the comparative expression of hK4 protein in prostate cancer tissues, compared with benign glands, is greater than that of PSA and kallikrein 2 (KLK2/hK2), suggesting that hK4 may play an important functional role in prostate cancer progression in addition to its biomarker potential. To examine the roles that hK4, as well as PSA and hK2, play in processes associated with progression, these kallikreins were separately transfected into the PC-3 prostate cancer cell line, and the consequence of their stable transfection was investigated. PC-3 cells expressing hK4 had a decreased growth rate, but no changes in cell proliferation were observed in the cells expressing PSA or hK2. hK4 and PSA, but not hK2, induced a 2.4-fold and 1.7-fold respective increase, in cellular migration, but not invasion, through Matrigel, a synthetic extracellular matrix. We hypothesised that this increase in motility displayed by the hK4 and PSA-expressing PC-3 cells may be related to the observed change in structure in these cells from a typical rounded epithelial-like cell to a spindle-shaped, more mesenchymal-like cell, with compromised adhesion to the culture surface. Thus, the expression of E-cadherin and vimentin, both associated with an epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), was investigated. E-cadherin protein was lost and mRNA levels were significantly decreased in PC-3 cells expressing hK4 and PSA (10-fold and 7-fold respectively), suggesting transcriptional repression of E-cadherin, while the expression of vimentin was increased in these cells. The loss of E-cadherin and associated increase in vimentin are indicative of EMT and provides compelling evidence that hK4, in particular, and PSA have a functional role in the progression of prostate cancer through their promotion of tumour cell migration.

Much ado about nothing? The surprising persistence of nascent entrepreneurs through macroeconomic crisis

We hypothesize that a major macroeconomic crisis triggers four alternative responses among nascent entrepreneurs: disengagement, delay, compensation, and adaptation. We also suggest that commitment and ambition (or “high potential”) moderate these responses. Our most important finding is the relative absence of behavioral crisis responses. However, crises may make high-tech founders become more likely to disengage, whereas the opposite holds for founders far into the process. Our study sheds light on the mechanisms behind aggregate effects of crises on the number and type of start-ups in an economy, and can guide future research on the effect of crises on nascent entrepreneurship.

Effect of functionalized kaolinite on the curing kinetics of cycloaliphatic epoxy/anhydride system

Silane grafted kaolinite (KGS) was prepared through grinding kaolinite and then grafting with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane. The influence of KGS on the curing kinetics of cycloaliphatic epoxy resin was studied by non-isothermal differential scanning calorimetry at different heating rates. The reaction activation energy (Ea) was determined based on the Flynn–Wall–Ozawa method. The results of dynamic differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) kinetic analysis show that the surface hydroxyl groups of clay decreases the Ea from 70.6 kJ mol− 1 to 62.8 kJ mol− 1 and accelerates the curing reaction of the epoxy resin. The silane grafting reactions consume the surface hydroxyl groups of kaolinite and lead to a decrease in the catalytic efficiency of KGS in the curing of epoxy resin.

Mechanisms underlying the effect of acupuncture on cognitive improvement: A systematic review of animal studies

Acupuncture has been reported to be beneficial in treating cognitive impairment in various pathological conditions. This review describes the effort to understand the signaling pathways that underlie the acupunctural therapeutic effect on cognitive function. We searched the literature in 12 electronic databases from their inception to November 2013, with full text available and language limited to English. Twenty-three studies were identified under the selection criteria. All recruited animal studies demonstrate a significant positive effect of acupuncture on cognitive impairment. Findings suggest acupuncture may improve cognitive function through modulation of signaling pathways involved in neuronal survival and function, specifically, through promoting cholinergic neural transmission, facilitating dopaminergic synaptic transmission, enhancing neurotrophin signaling, suppressing oxidative stress, attenuating apoptosis, regulating glycometabolic enzymes and reducing microglial activation. However, the quality of reviewed studies has room for improvement. Further high-quality animal studies with randomization, blinding and estimation of sample size are needed to strengthen the recognition of group differences.

The Times They Are A Changin': The Effect of Institutional Change on Cooperative Behaviour at 26,000ft over Sixty Years

In 2006, Sir Edmund Hillary lambasted the modern climbing fraternity for abandoning other climbers to a slow frozen death on Everest, claiming that in his day they would never leave someone to die. This followed the controversial death of David Sharp, passed by an estimated 40 climbers who were more interested in the summit than the life of a fellow human being. But was this stinging criticism true or just the faded recollections of a former climbing giant? This book investigates that claim through a narrative analysis, which combines the empirical analysis of Hawley and Salisbury's Himalayan Expedition Database with the anecdotal evidence provided by a plethora of newspaper articles and books. While there is evidence supporting the claim that commercialization is to blame for the breakdown of pro-social behaviour, the results cannot conclude if it is the commercial climber or the operator driving the problem and that the Sherpa are the saving grace.

Habitus realisation: Negotiating identities through Chinese looks and Chinese language

The increasing linguistic and cultural diversity of our contemporary world points to the salience of maintaining and developing Heritage Language of ethnic minority groups. The mutually constitutive effect between Heritage Language learning and ethnic identity construction has been well documented in the literature. Classical social psychological work often quantitatively structures this phenomenon in a predictable linear relationship. In contrast, poststructural scholarship draws on qualitative approaches to claim the malleable and multiple dynamics behind the phenomenon. The two schools oppose but complement each other. Nevertheless, both schools struggle to capture the detailed and nuanced construction of ethnic identity through Heritage Language learning. Different from the extant research, we make an attempt to ethno-methodologically unearth the nuisances and predicaments embedded in the reflexive, subtle, and multi-layered identity constructions through nuanced, inter-nested language practices. Drawing on data from the qualitative phase of a large project, we highlight some small but powerful moments abstracted from the interview accounts of five Chinese Australian young people. Firstly, we zoom in on the life politics behind the ‘seen but unnoticed’ stereotype that looking Chinese means being able to speak Chinese. Secondly, we speculate the power relations between the speaker and the listener through the momentary and inadvertent breaches of the taken-for-granted stereotype. Next, we unveil how learning Chinese has become an accountably rational priority for these young Chinese Australians. Finally, we argue that the normalised stereotype becomes visible and hence stable when it is breached – a practical accomplishment that we term ‘habitus realisation’.

Improving fluid registration through white matter segmentation in a twin study design

Robust and automatic non-rigid registration depends on many parameters that have not yet been systematically explored. Here we determined how tissue classification influences non-linear fluid registration of brain MRI. Twin data is ideal for studying this question, as volumetric correlations between corresponding brain regions that are under genetic control should be higher in monozygotic twins (MZ) who share 100% of their genes when compared to dizygotic twins (DZ) who share half their genes on average. When these substructure volumes are quantified using tensor-based morphometry, improved registration can be defined based on which method gives higher MZ twin correlations when compared to DZs, as registration errors tend to deplete these correlations. In a study of 92 subjects, higher effect sizes were found in cumulative distribution functions derived from statistical maps when performing tissue classification before fluid registration, versus fluidly registering the raw images. This gives empirical evidence in favor of pre-segmenting images for tensor-based morphometry.

Becoming-topologies of education: Deformations, networks and the database effect

This article uses topological approaches to suggest that education is becoming-topological. Analyses presented in a recent double-issue of Theory, Culture & Society are used to demonstrate the utility of topology for education. In particular, the article explains education's topological character through examining the global convergence of education policy, testing and the discursive ranking of systems, schools and individuals in the promise of reforming education through the proliferation of regimes of testing at local and global levels that constitute a new form of governance through data. In this conceptualisation of global education policy changes in the form and nature of testing combine with it the emergence of global policy network to change the nature of the local (national, regional, school and classroom) forces that operate through the ‘system’. While these forces change, they work through a discursivity that produces disciplinary effects, but in a different way. This new–old disciplinarity, or ‘database effect’, is here represented through a topological approach because of its utility for conceiving education in an increasingly networked world.

Large variations in the Holocene marine radiocarbon reservoir effect reflect ocean circulation and climatic changes

Accurate radiocarbon dating of marine samples requires knowledge of the marine radiocarbon reservoir effect. This effect for a particular site/region is generally assumed constant through time when calibrating marine 14C ages. However, recent studies have shown large temporal variations of several hundred to a couple of thousand years in this effect for a number of regions during the late Quaternary and Holocene. Here we report marine radiocarbon reservoir correction (ΔRΔR) for Heron Reef and Moreton Bay in southwestern (SW) Pacific for the last 8 ka derived from 14C analysis of 230Th-dated corals. Most of our ΔRΔR for the last ∼5.4 ka agree well with their modern value, but large ΔRΔR variability of ∼410 yr (from trough to peak) with possible decadal/centennial fluctuations is evident for the period ∼5.4–8 ka. The latter time interval also has significant variations with similar features in previously published ΔRΔR values for other sites in the Pacific, including southern Peru–northern Chile in southeastern (SE) Pacific, the South China Sea, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea, with the largest magnitude of ∼920 yr from SE Pacific. The mechanisms for these large ΔRΔR variations across the Pacific during the mid-Holocene are complex processes involving (1) changes in the quantity and 14C content of upwelled waters in tropical east Pacific (TEP) (frequency and intensity of ocean upwelling in the TEP, and contribution of Subantarctic Mode Water to the upwelled waters, which is influenced by the intensity and position of southern westerly winds), and (2) variations in ocean circulation associated with climate change (La Niña/El Niño conditions, intensity of easterly trade winds, positions of the Intertropical Convergence Zone and the South Pacific Convergence Zone), which control the spreading of the older upwelled surface waters in the TEP to the western sites. Our results imply the need for employing temporal changes in ΔRΔR values, instead of constant (modern) values, for age calibration of Holocene marine samples not only for the SW Pacific sites but also for other tropical and subtropical sites in the Pacific.

The case for unitary taxation with formulary apportionment in the finance sector and the effect on developing nations

In 2013 the OECD released its 15 point Action plan to deal with base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS). In that plan it was recognised that BEPS has a significant effect on developing countries. This is because the lack of tax revenue can lead to a critical underfunding of public investment that would help promote economic growth. To this end, the BEPS project is aimed at ensuring an inclusive approach to take into account not only views of the G20 and OECD countries but also the perspective of developing nations. With this focus in mind and in the context of developing nations, the purpose of this article is to consider a possible solution to profit shifting which occurs under the current transfer pricing regime, with that solution being unitary taxation with formulary apportionment. It does so using the finance sector as a specific case for application. Multinational financial institutions (MNFIs) play a significant role in financing activities of their clients in developing nations. Consistent with the ‘follow-the-client’ phenomenon which explains financial institution expansion, these entities are increasingly profiting from activities associated with this growing market. Further, not only are MNFIs persistent users of tax havens but also, more than other industries, have opportunities to reduce tax through transfer pricing measures. This article establishes a case for an industry specific adoption of unitary taxation with formulary apportionment as a viable alternative to the current regime. It argues that such a model would benefit not only developed nations but also developing nations which are currently suffering the effects of BEPS. In doing so, it considers the practicalities of such an implementation by examining both definitional issues and a possible formula for MNFIs. This article argues that, while there would be implementation difficulties to overcome, the current domestic models of formulary apportionment provide important guidance as to how the unitary business and business activities of MNFIs should be defined as well as factors that should be included in an allocation formula, along with the appropriate weighting. While it would be difficult for developing nations to adopt such a regime, it is argued that it would be no more difficult than addressing issues they face with the current transfer pricing regime. As such, this article concludes that unitary taxation with formulary apportionment is a viable industry specific alternative for MNFIs which would assist developing nations and aid independent fiscal soundness.

Disciplining the screen through education: The Royal Commission into the moving picture industry in Australia

In this article, we investigate the complex relationship between concerns about children and young people’s exposure to cinema in 1920s Australia and the use of film in education. In part, the Royal Commission into the Moving Picture Industry in Australia aimed to ‘ascertain the effect and the extent of the power of film upon juveniles’ and Commissioners spoke to educationalists, psychologists, medical professions, police officers and parents to gain insight into the impacts of movies on children. Numerous issues were canvassed in the Commission hearings such as exposure to sexual content, ‘excesses’ in film content, children’s inability to concentrate at school following cinema attendance and the influence of cinema on youth crime. While the Commission ultimately suggested it was parents’ role to police children’s engagements with cinema, it did make recommendations for restricting children’s access to films with inappropriate themes. Meanwhile, the Commission was very positive about film’s educational role stating that ‘the advantage to be gained by the use of the cinematograph as an adjunct to educational methods should be assisted in every possible way by the Commonwealth’. We draw on the Commission’s minutes of evidence, the Commission report and newspaper articles form the 1920s to the 1940s to argue that the Commission provides valuable insight into the beginnings of the use of screen content in formal schooling, both as a resource across the curriculum and as a specific focus of education through film appreciation and, later, broader forms of media education. The article argues debates about screen entertainment and education rehearsed in the Commission are reflected today as parents, concerned citizens and educators ponder the dangers and potential of new media technologies and media content used by children and young people such as video games, social media and interactive content.

Learning through writing: Reconceptualising the research supervision process

This paper seeks to re-conceptualize the research supervision relationship. The literature has tended to view doctoral study in four ways: (i) as an exercise in self-management; (ii) as a research experience; (iii) as training for research, or; (iv) as an instance of student-centred learning. Although each of these approaches has their merits, they also suffer from conceptual weaknesses. This paper seeks to harness the merits — and minimize the disadvantages — by re-conceptualizing doctoral research as a ‘writing journey’. The paper utilizes the insights of new rhetoric in linguistic theory to defend a writing-centered conception of supervised research and offers some practical strategies on how it might be put into effect.

The effect of LRP5 polymorphisms on bone mineral density is apparent in childhood

Bone mass acquired during childhood is the primary determinant of adult bone mineral density (BMD) and osteoporosis risk. Bone accrual is subject to genetic influences. Activating and inactivating LRP5 gene mutations elicit extreme bone phenotypes, while more common LRP5 polymorphisms are associated with normal variation of BMD. Our aim was to test the hypothesis that LRP5 gene polymorphisms influence bone mass acquisition during childhood. The association between LRP5 gene polymorphisms and bone size and mineralization was examined in 819 unrelated British Caucasian children (n = 429 boys) aged 9 years. Height, weight, pubertal status (where available), total-body and spinal bone area, bone mineral content (BMC), BMD, and area-adjusted BMC (aBMC) were assessed. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA)-gene associations were assessed by linear regression, with adjustment for age, gender, pubertal status, and body size parameters. There were 140, 79, 12, and 2 girls who achieved Tanner stages I-IV, respectively, and 179 and 32 boys who achieved Tanner stages I and II, respectively. The rs2306862 (N740N) coding polymorphism in exon 10 of the LRP5 gene was associated with spinal BMD and aBMC (each P = 0.01) and total-body BMD and aBMC (P = 0.04 and 0.03, respectively). Adjusting for pubertal stage strengthened associations between this polymorphism and spinal BMD and aBMC (P = 0.01 and 0.002, respectively). Individuals homozygous for the T allele had greater spinal BMD and aBMC scores than those homozygous for the C allele. A dose effect was apparent as the mean spinal BMD and aBMC of heterozygous TC individuals were intermediate between those of their TT and CC counterparts. The N740N polymorphism in exon 10 of LRP5 was associated with spinal BMD and aBMC in pre- and early pubertal children. These results indicate that LRP5 influences volumetric bone density in childhood, possibly through effects on trabecular bone formation.