A clear view of costs ‘of and incidental to’ : Mio Art Pty Ltd v Macequest (No.2) Pty Ltd [2013] QSC 271

In Mio Art Pty Ltd v Macequest (No.2) Pty Ltd [2013] QSC 271 Jackson J provided considered analysis of several aspects of costs law. His Honour regarded various orders which are commonly sought or made as reflecting practice that is inappropriate or unnecessary under the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 (Qld) (UCPR).

Metabolomic analysis of siderophore cheater mutants reveals metabolic costs of expression in uropathogenic escherichia coli

Bacterial siderophores are a group of chemically diverse, virulence-associated secondary metabolites whose expression exerts metabolic costs. A combined bacterial genetic and metabolomic approach revealed differential metabolomic impacts associated with biosynthesis of different siderophore structural families. Despite myriad genetic differences, the metabolome of a cheater mutant lacking a single set of siderophore biosynthetic genes more closely approximate that of a nonpathogenic K12 strain than its isogenic, uropathogen parent strain. Siderophore types associated with greater metabolomic perturbations are less common among human isolates, suggesting that metabolic costs influence success in a human population. Although different siderophores share a common iron acquisition function, our analysis shows how a metabolomic approach can distinguish their relative metabolic impacts in E.coli.

'Too high in human terms' : the costs of high security imprisonment. Review of Imprisoning Resistance by Bree Carlton and Intractable by Bernie Matthews.

The article discusses the issues of resistance; that is resistance by prisoners to the various manifestations of power operating in high security prisons, as well as that of attempted shifts in the regime from physical to psychological control. Other topics highlighted include legitimacy and 'official discourse', mourning and the construction of 'ungrievable lives' and the importance of finding a way out of the cycle of violence, which high security regimes perpetuate.

From "Secondary Punishment" to "Supermax" : the human costs of high-security regimes in Australia

“Supermax” prisons, conceived by the United States in the early 1980s, are typically reserved for convicted political criminals such as terrorists and spies and for other inmates who are considered to pose a serious ongoing threat to the wider community, to the security of correctional institutions, or to the safety of other inmates. Prisoners are usually restricted to their cells for up to twenty-three hours a day and typically have minimal contact with other inmates and correctional staff. Not only does the Federal Bureau of Prisons operate one of these facilities, but almost every state has either a supermax wing or stand-alone supermax prison. The Globalization of Supermax Prisons examines why nine advanced industrialized countries have adopted the supermax prototype, paying particular attention to the economic, social, and political processes that have affected each state. Featuring essays that look at the U.S.-run prisons of Abu Ghraib and Guantanemo, this collection seeks to determine if the American model is the basis for the establishment of these facilities and considers such issues as the support or opposition to the building of a supermax and why opposition efforts failed; the allegation of human rights abuses within these prisons; and the extent to which the decision to build a supermax was influenced by developments in the United States. Additionally, contributors address such domestic matters as the role of crime rates, media sensationalism, and terrorism in each country’s decision to build a supermax prison.

Prevention of surgical site infection in total joint arthroplasty : an international tertiary care center survery

Background Prevention strategies are critical to reduce infection rates in total joint arthroplasty (TJA), but evidence-based consensus guidelines on prevention of surgical site infection (SSI) remain heterogeneous and do not necessarily represent this particular patient population. Questions/Purposes What infection prevention measures are recommended by consensus evidence-based guidelines for prevention of periprosthetic joint infection? How do these recommendations compare to expert consensus on infection prevention strategies from orthopedic surgeons from the largest international tertiary referral centers for TJA? Patients and Methods A review of consensus guidelines was undertaken as described by Merollini et al. Four clinical guidelines met inclusion criteria: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's, British Orthopedic Association, National Institute of Clinical Excellence's, and National Health and Medical Research Council's (NHMRC). Twenty-eight recommendations from these guidelines were used to create an evidence-based survey of infection prevention strategies that was administered to 28 orthopedic surgeons from members of the International Society of Orthopedic Centers. The results between existing consensus guidelines and expert opinion were then compared. Results Recommended strategies in the guidelines such as prophylactic antibiotics, preoperative skin preparation of patients and staff, and sterile surgical attire were considered critically or significantly important by the surveyed surgeons. Additional strategies such as ultraclean air/laminar flow, antibiotic cement, wound irrigation, and preoperative blood glucose control were also considered highly important by surveyed surgeons, but were not recommended or not uniformly addressed in existing guidelines on SSI prevention. Conclusion Current evidence-based guidelines are incomplete and evidence should be updated specifically to address patient needs undergoing TJA.

Climate change and children’s health : a call for research on what works to protect children

Climate change is affecting and will increasingly influence human health and wellbeing. Children are particularly vulnerable to the impact of climate change. An extensive literature review regarding the impact of climate change on children’s health was conducted in April 2012 by searching electronic databases PubMed, Scopus, ProQuest, ScienceDirect, and Web of Science, as well as relevant websites, such as IPCC and WHO. Climate change affects children’s health through increased air pollution, more weather-related disasters, more frequent and intense heat waves, decreased water quality and quantity, food shortage and greater exposure to toxicants. As a result, children experience greater risk of mental disorders, malnutrition, infectious diseases, allergic diseases and respiratory diseases. Mitigation measures like reducing carbon pollution emissions, and adaptation measures such as early warning systems and post-disaster counseling are strongly needed. Future health research directions should focus on: (1) identifying whether climate change impacts on children will be modified by gender, age and socioeconomic status; (2) refining outcome measures of children’s vulnerability to climate change; (3) projecting children’s disease burden under climate change scenarios; (4) exploring children’s disease burden related to climate change in low-income countries, and ; (5) identifying the most cost-effective mitigation and adaptation actions from a children’s health perspective.

Ghost hunting with lollies, chess and Lego : appreciating the ‘messy’ complexity (and costs) of doing difficult research in education

This paper contributes to conversations about the funding and quality of education research. The paper proceeds in two parts. Part I sets the context by presenting an historical analysis of funding allocations made to Education research through the ARC’s Discovery projects scheme between the years 2002 and 2014, and compares these trends to allocations made to another field within the Social, Behavioural and Economic Sciences assessment panel: Psychology and Cognitive Science. Part II highlights the consequences of underfunding education research by presenting evidence from an Australian Research Council Discovery project that is tracking the experiences of disaffected students who are referred to behaviour schools. The re-scoping decisions that became necessary and the incidental costs that accrue from complications that occur in the field are illustrated and discussed through vignettes of research with “ghosts” who don’t like school but who do like lollies, chess and Lego.

Development of a Remote Sensing Core Curriculum submitted for the sessions on educational initiatives in Geoscience and Remote Sensing

A Remote Sensing Core Curriculum (RSCC) development project is currently underway. This project is being conducted under the auspices of the National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis (NCGIA). RSCC is an outgrowth of the NCGIA GIS Core Curriculum project. It grew out of discussions begun at NCGIA, Initiative 12 (I-12): 'Integration of Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems'. This curriculum development project focuses on providing professors, teachers and instructors in undergraduate and graduate institutions with course materials from experts in specific subject matter for areas use in the class room.

The Service Portfolio of a BPM Center of Excellence

A key concept for the centralized provision of Business Process Management (BPM) is the Center of Excellence (CoE). Organizations establish a CoE (aka BPM Support Office) as their BPM maturity increases in order to ensure a consistent and cost-effective way of offering BPM services. The definition of the offerings of such a center and the allocation of roles and responsibilities play an important role within BPM Governance. In order to plan the role of such a BPM CoE, this chapter proposes the productization of BPM leading to a set of fifteen distinct BPM services. A portfolio management approach is suggested to position these services. The approach allows identifying specific normative strategies for each BPM service, such as further training or BPM communication and marketing. A public sector case study provides further insights into how this approach has been used in practice. Empirical evidence from a survey with 15 organizations confirms the coverage of this set of BPM services and shows typical profiles for such BPM Centers of Excellence.

Assessment of costs : challenge to validity of client agreement between party entitled to costs and its solicitors

In ASIC v Atlantic 3 Financial (Aust) Pty Ltd [2006] QCA 540 the Queensland Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal from the decision of Mullins J at first instance in ASIC v Atlantic 3 Financial (Aust) Pty LTd [2006] QSC 152, the majority concluding that the client agreement in issue was not inconsistent with s48 of the Queensland Law Society Act 1952.

Concerted HO2 elimination from alpha-Aminoalkylperoxyl free radicals : Experimental and theoretical evidence from the gas phase NH2 center dot CHCO2- + O-2 reaction

We have investigated the gas-phase reaction of the alpha-aminoacetate (glycyl) radical anion (NH2(sic)CHCO2-) with O-2 using ion trap mass spectrometry, quantum chemistry, and statistical reaction rate theory. This radical is found to undergo a remarkably rapid reaction with O-2 to form the hydroperoxyl radical (HO2(sic)) and an even-electron imine (NHCHCO2-), with experiments and master equation simulations revealing that reaction proceeds at the ion molecule collision rate. This reaction is facilitated by a low-energy concerted HO2(sic) elimination mechanism in the NH2CH(OO(sic))CO2- peroxyl radical. These findings can explain the widely observed free-radical-mediated oxidation of simple amino acids to amides plus alpha-keto acids (their imine hydrolysis products). This work also suggests that imines will be the main intermediates in the atmospheric oxidation of primary and secondary amines, including amine carbon capture solvents such as 2-aminoethanol (commonly known as monoethanolamine, or MEA), in a process that avoids the ozone-promoting conversion of (sic)NO to (sic)NO2 commonly encountered in peroxyl radical chemistry.

A lesson in costs recovery

In La Spina v Macdonnells Law [2014] QSC 44 the Queensland Court of Appeal set aside a judgment entered in circumstances where the appellant had not been given the requisite notice of the application under r31 of the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 (Qld)(UCPR). The court found there had been a denial of natural justice. The court also considered whether in any event the entry of judgment in the circumstances was a proper exercise of the powers which may be exercised on an application for directions under r743H of the UCPR.

Practice and Procedure - offers to settle - no costs benefit if no compromise

In Jones v Millward [2005]QCA76 the Queensland Court of Appeal held that an offer to settle under the UCPR will not attract a costs benefit unless it involves some element of compromise