The relationship between construction firm strategies and innovation outcomes

Survey results provide a preliminary assessment of the relative contribution of a range of tactical business strategies to innovation performance by firms in the Australian construction industry. Over 1,300 firms were surveyed in 2004, resulting in a response rate of 29%. Respondents were classified as high, medium or low innovators according to an innovation index based on the novelty and impact of their innovations and their adoption of listed technological and organizational advances. The relative significance of 23 business strategies concerning (1) employees, (2) marketing, (3) technology, (4) knowledge and (5) relationships was examined by determining the extent to which they distinguished high innovators from low innovators. The individual business strategies that most strongly distinguished high innovators were (1) ‘investing in R&D’, (2) ‘participating in partnering and alliances on projects’, (3) ‘ensuring project learnings are transferred into continuous business processes’, (4) ‘monitoring international best practice’, and (5) ‘recruiting new graduates’. Of the five types of strategies assessed, marketing strategies were the least significant in supporting innovation. The results provide practical guidance to managers in project-based industries wishing to improve their innovation performance.

A systematic review of the association between physical activity and colorectal cancer risk

This review evaluated the strength of the evidence for a causal relationship between physical activity (PA) and colorectal cancer (CRC). A systematic review of databases through February 2008 was conducted to identify studies that assessed the association between total or recreational PA and incidence or mortality of CRC (including CRC, rectal cancer, colon cancer, and proximal or distal colon cancer). Studies were evaluated for significant associations between PA and risk of CRC endpoints and for evidence of dose–response relationships in the highest quality studies. Twenty cohort studies were evaluated; 11 were high-quality. Fifty percent of all studies and 64%of highest quality studies reported at least one significant association between PA and risk of a CRC endpoint (Po0.05).However, only 28%of all analyses (31% of analyses of highest quality studies) were significant (Po0.05). Only 40% of analyses of highest quality studies resulted in a significant P for trend (Po0.05); however, a non-significant inverse linear association between PA and colon cancer riskwas apparent.Heterogeneity in the evidence from all studies and from the highest quality studies was evident. Evidence from cohort studies is not sufficient to claim a convincing relationship exists between PA and CRC risk.

‘I could eat a horse’! : meal planning determines meal size

Evidence that our food environment can affect meal size is often taken to indicate a failure of ‘conscious control’. By contrast, our research suggests that ‘expected satiation’ (fullness that a food is expected to confer) predicts self-selected meal size. However, the role of meal planning as a determinant of actual meal size remains unresolved, as does the extent to which meal planning is commonplace outside the laboratory. Here, we quantified meal planning and its relation to meal size in a large-cohort study. Participants (N= 764; 25.6 yrs, 78% female) completed a questionnaire containing items relating to their last meal. The majority (91%) of meals were consumed in their entirety. Furthermore, in 92% of these cases the participants decided to consume the whole meal, even before it began. A second major objective was to explore the prospect that meal plans are revised based on within-meal experience (e.g., development of satiation). Only 8% of participants reported ‘unexpected’ satiation that caused them to consume less than anticipated. Moreover, at the end of the meal 57% indicated that they were not fully satiated, and 29% continued eating beyond comfortable satiation (often to avoid wasting food). This pattern was neither moderated by BMI nor dieting status, and was observed across meal types. Together, these data indicate that meals are often planned and that planning corresponds closely with amount consumed. By contrast, we find limited evidence for within-meal modification of these plans, suggesting that ‘pre-meal cognition’ is an important determinant of meal size in humans.

Evaluation cortical bone elasticity in response to pulse power excitation using ultrasonic technique

This paper presents the ultrasonic velocity measurement method which investigates the possible effects of high voltage high frequency pulsed power on cortical bone material elasticity. Before applying a pulsed power signal on a live bone, it is essential to determine the safe parameters of pulsed power applied on bone non-destructively. Therefore, the possible changes in cortical bone material elasticity due to a specified pulsed power excitation have been investigated. A controllable positive buck-boost converter with adjustable output voltage and frequency has been used to generate high voltage pulses (500V magnitude at 10 KHz frequency). To determine bone elasticity, an ultrasonic velocity measurement has been conducted on two groups of control (unexposed to pulse power but in the same environmental condition) and cortical bone samples exposed to pulsed power. Young’s modulus of cortical bone samples have been determined and compared before and after applying the pulsed power signal. After applying the high voltage pulses, no significant variation in elastic property of cortical bone specimens was found compared to the control. The result shows that pulsed power with nominated parameters can be applied on cortical bone tissue without any considerable negative effect on elasticity of bone material.

Market Trend Analysis of Purpose Built Office (PBO) in Malaysia

The purpose of this paper is to explore the trend of Purpose Built Office (PBO) supply and occupancy in Malaysia. In achieving this, the number of PBO supply by the private sector in the market is compared with the government sector to gain an understanding of the current emerging market for the PBO. There have been limited studies in Malaysia comparing the trend supply and occupancy of PBOs by both sectors. This paper outcome will illustrate the needs for public sector asset management in Malaysia, particularly for PBOs. An analytical framework is developed using time series to measure the level of supply and occupancy of PBO by both sectors, indicating the percentage of government’s PBO compared to the total numbers of PBOs in the market from 2004 to 2010

Raman spectroscopic study of the mineral arsenogorceixite BaAl3AsO3(OH)(AsO4,PO4)(OH,F)6

Arsenogorceixite BaAl3AsO3(OH)(AsO4,PO4)(OH,F)6 belongs to the crandallite mineral subgroup of the alunite supergroup. Arsenogorceixite forms a continuous series of solid solutions with related minerals including gorceixite, goyazite, arsenogoyazite, plumbogummite and philipsbornite. Two minerals from (a) Germany and (b) from Ashburton Downs, Australia were analysed by Raman spectroscopy. The spectra show some commonality but the intensities of the peaks vary. Sharp intense Raman bands for the German sample, are observed at 972 and 814 cm−1 attributed to the ν1 PO43− and AsO43− symmetric stretching modes. Raman bands at 1014, 1057, 1148 and 1160 cm−1 are attributed to the ν1 PO2 symmetric stretching mode and ν3 PO43− antisymmetric stretching vibrations. Raman bands at 764 and 776 cm−1 and 758 and 756 cm−1 are assigned to the ν3 AsO43− antisymmetric stretching vibrations. For the Australian mineral, the ν1 PO43− band is found at 973 cm−1. The intensity of the arsenate bands observed at 814, 838 and 870 cm−1 is greatly enhanced. Two low intensity Raman bands at 1307 and 1332 cm−1 are assigned to hydroxyl deformation modes. The intense Raman band at 441 cm−1 with a shoulder at 462 cm−1 is assigned to the ν2 PO43− bending mode. Raman bands at 318 and 340 cm−1 are attributed to the (AsO4)3−ν2 bending. The broad band centred at 3301 cm−1 is assigned to water stretching vibrations and the sharper peak at 3473 cm−1 is assigned to the OH stretching vibrations. The observation of strong water stretching vibrations brings into question the actual formula of arsenogorceixite. It is proposed the formula is better written as BaAl3AsO3(OH)(AsO4,PO4)(OH,F)6·xH2O. The observation of both phosphate and arsenate bands provides a clear example of solid solution formation.

Screening for alcohol and drug use in pregnancy

Objective - this study examined the clinical utility and precision of routine screening for alcohol and other drug use among women attending a public antenatal service. Study design - a survey of clients and audit of clinical charts. Participants and setting - clients attending an antenatal clinic of a large tertiary hospital in Queensland, Australia, from October to December 2009. Measurements and findings - data were collected from two sources. First, 32 women who reported use of alcohol or other drugs during pregnancy at initial screening were then asked to complete a full substance use survey. Second, data were collected from charts of 349 new clients who attended the antenatal clinic during the study period. Both sensitivity (86%, 67%) and positive predictive value (100%, 92%) for alcohol and other drug use respectively, were high. Only 15% of surveyed women were uncomfortable about being screened for substance use in pregnancy, yet the chart audit revealed poor staff compliance. During the study period, 25% of clients were either not screened adequately or not at all. Key conclusions and implications for practise - despite recommended universal screening in pregnancy and the apparent acceptance by our participants, alcohol and other drug (A&OD) screening in the antenatal setting remains problematic. Investigation into the reasons behind, and ways to overcome, the low screening rate could improve health outcomes for mothers and children in this at-risk group. Targeted education and training for midwives may form part of the solution as these clinicians have a key role in implementing prevention and early intervention strategies.

Direct fabrication as a patient-targeted therapeutic in a clinical environment

A paradigm shift is taking place in orthopaedic and reconstructive surgery. This transition from using medical devices and tissue grafts towards the utilization of a tissue engineering approach combines biodegradable scaffolds with cells and/or biological molecules in order to repair and/or regenerate tissues. One of the potential benefits offered by solid freeform fabrication (SFF) technologies is the ability to create such biodegradable scaffolds with highly reproducible architecture and compositional variation across the entire scaffold due to their tightly controlled computer-driven fabrication. Many of these biologically activated materials can induce bone formation at ectopic and orthotopic sites, but they have not yet gained widespread use due to several continuing limitations, including poor mechanical properties, difficulties in intraoperative handling, lack of porosity suitable for cellular and vascular infiltration, and suboptimal degradation characteristics. In this chapter, we define scaffold properties and attempt to provide some broad criteria and constraints for scaffold design and fabrication in combination with growth factors for bone engineering applications. Lastly, we comment on the current and future developments in the field, such as the functionalization of novel composite scaffolds with combinations of growth factors designed to promote cell attachment, cell survival, vascular ingrowth, and osteoinduction.

Social enterprise versus social entrepreneurship : an examination of the ‘why’ and ‘how’ in pursuing social change

This article critically considers distinctions between, social enterprise and social entrepreneurship from a theoretical perspective. Using case study analysis of 10 non-governmental organisations the paper explores these concepts empirically. Findings on social enterprise reveal a focus on the purpose of social businesses, while findings on social entrepreneurship reveal an emphasis on the processes underlying innovative and entrepreneurial activity for social purposes. Discussion of these findings indicates important developments relevant to informing the growing area of social enterprise and social entrepreneurship research. Implications extend to understanding the need for action to achieve social change, and an acceptance of risk when existing actions fail to achieve their intended outcomes.

A natural oil-based emulsion containing allantoin versus aqueous cream for managing radiation-induced skin reactions in patients with cancer : a phase III double-blind randomised controlled trial

Purpose To investigate the effects of a natural oil-based emulsion containing allantoin versus aqueous cream for preventing and managing radiation induced skin reactions (RISR). Methods and Materials A total of 174 patients were randomised and participated in the study. Patients either received Cream 1 (the natural oil-based emulsion containing allantoin) or Cream 2 (aqueous cream). Skin toxicity, pain, itching and skin-related quality of life scores were collected for up to four weeks after radiation treatment. Results Patients who received Cream 1 had a significantly lower average level of Common Toxicity Criteria at week 3 (p<0.05), but had statistically higher average levels of skin toxicity at weeks 7, 8 and 9 (all p<0.001). Similar results were observed when skin toxicity was analysed by grades. With regards to pain, patients in the Cream 2 group had a significantly higher average level of worst pain (p<0.05) and itching (p=0.046) compared to the Cream 1 group at week 3, however these differences were not observed at other weeks. In addition, there was a strong trend for Cream 2 to reduce the incidence of grade 2 or more skin toxicity in comparison to Cream 1 (p=0.056). Overall, more participants in the Cream 1 group were required to use another topical treatment at weeks 8 (p=0.049) and 9 (p=0.01). Conclusion The natural oil-based emulsion containing allantoin appears to have similar effects for managing skin toxicity compared to aqueous cream up to week 5, however, it becomes significantly less effective at later weeks into the radiation treatment and beyond treatment completion (week 6 and beyond). There were no major differences in pain, itching and skin-related quality of life. In light of these results, clinicians and patients can base their decision on costs and preferences. Overall, aqueous cream appears to be a more preferred option.

Matters Arising: Role of HLA genes in familial spondyloarthropathy

Said-Nahal and colleagues report an intriguing finding of an association with HLA-DR4 independent of B27 in families with ankylosing spondylitis (AS),1 a finding highlighted by an accompanying editorial.2 The approach of studying B27 positive and B27 negative haplotypes may prove powerful in identifying further cis or trans encoded genes involved in AS. However, the reported association of DR4 with AS is quite a surprising finding given that no difference was noted in B27-DR4 haplotype frequencies in patients and ethnically matched healthy controls. Many previous studies have not reported any such association,3–9 including a similar preliminary study by the same authors.10 Although these studies were mainly case-control studies, population stratification is highly unlikely to cause a false negative finding if the effect size of the reported association with DR4 is as high as Said-Nahal and colleagues describe...

Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 301 acute and chronic diseases and injuries in 188 countries, 1990–2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013

Background Up-to-date evidence about levels and trends in disease and injury incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability (YLDs) is an essential input into global, regional, and national health policies. In the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013 (GBD 2013), we estimated these quantities for acute and chronic diseases and injuries for 188 countries between 1990 and 2013. Methods Estimates were calculated for disease and injury incidence, prevalence, and YLDs using GBD 2010 methods with some important refi nements. Results for incidence of acute disorders and prevalence of chronic disorders are new additions to the analysis. Key improvements include expansion to the cause and sequelae list, updated systematic reviews, use of detailed injury codes, improvements to the Bayesian meta-regression method (DisMod-MR), and use of severity splits for various causes. An index of data representativeness, showing data availability, was calculated for each cause and impairment during three periods globally and at the country level for 2013. In total, 35 620 distinct sources of data were used and documented to calculated estimates for 301 diseases and injuries and 2337 sequelae. The comorbidity simulation provides estimates for the number of sequelae, concurrently, by individuals by country, year, age, and sex. Disability weights were updated with the addition of new population-based survey data from four countries. Findings Disease and injury were highly prevalent; only a small fraction of individuals had no sequelae. Comorbidity rose substantially with age and in absolute terms from 1990 to 2013. Incidence of acute sequelae were predominantly infectious diseases and short-term injuries, with over 2 billion cases of upper respiratory infections and diarrhoeal disease episodes in 2013, with the notable exception of tooth pain due to permanent caries with more than 200 million incident cases in 2013. Conversely, leading chronic sequelae were largely attributable to non-communicable diseases, with prevalence estimates for asymptomatic permanent caries and tension-type headache of 2∙4 billion and 1∙6 billion, respectively. The distribution of the number of sequelae in populations varied widely across regions, with an expected relation between age and disease prevalence. YLDs for both sexes increased from 537∙6 million in 1990 to 764∙8 million in 2013 due to population growth and ageing, whereas the age-standardised rate decreased little from 114∙87 per 1000 people to 110∙31 per 1000 people between 1990 and 2013. Leading causes of YLDs included low back pain and major depressive disorder among the top ten causes of YLDs in every country. YLD rates per person, by major cause groups, indicated the main drivers of increases were due to musculoskeletal, mental, and substance use disorders, neurological disorders, and chronic respiratory diseases; however HIV/AIDS was a notable driver of increasing YLDs in sub-Saharan Africa. Also, the proportion of disability-adjusted life years due to YLDs increased globally from 21·1% in 1990 to 31·2% in 2013. Interpretation Ageing of the world’s population is leading to a substantial increase in the numbers of individuals with sequelae of diseases and injuries. Rates of YLDs are declining much more slowly than mortality rates. The non-fatal dimensions of disease and injury will require more and more attention from health systems. The transition to nonfatal outcomes as the dominant source of burden of disease is occurring rapidly outside of sub-Saharan Africa. Our results can guide future health initiatives through examination of epidemiological trends and a better understanding of variation across countries.

Genetic control of bone density and turnover: Role of the collagen 1α1, estrogen receptor, and vitamin D receptor genes

Genetic factors are known to influence both the peak bone mass and probably the rate of change in bone density. A range of regulatory and structural genes has been proposed to be involved including collagen 1α1 (COL1A1), the estrogen receptor (ER), and the vitamin D receptor (VDR), but the actual genes involved are uncertain. We therefore studied the role of the COL1A1 and VDR loci in control of bone density by linkage in 45 dizygotic twin pairs and 29 nuclear families comprising 120 individuals. The influences on bone density of polymorphisms of COL1A1, VDR, and ER were studied by association both cross-sectionally and longitudinally in 193 elderly postmenopausal women (average age, 69 years) over a mean follow-up time of 6.3 years. Weak linkage of the COL1A1 locus with bone density was observed in both twins and families (p = 0.02 in both data sets), confirming previous observations of linkage of this locus with bone density. Association between the MscI polymorphism of COL1A1 and rate of lumbar spine bone loss was observed with significant gene-environment interaction related to dietary calcium intake (p = 0.0006). In the lowest tertile of dietary calcium intake, carriers of "s" alleles lost more bone than "SS" homozygotes (p = 0.01), whereas the opposite was observed in the highest dietary calcium intake (p = 0.003). Association also was observed between rate of bone loss at both the femoral neck and the lumbar spine and the TaqI VDR polymorphism (p = 0.03). This association was strongest in those in the lowest tertile of calcium intake, also suggesting the presence of gene-environment interaction involving dietary calcium and VDR, influencing bone turnover. No significant association was observed between the PvuII ER polymorphism alone or in combination with VDR or COL1A1 genotypes, with either bone density or its rate of change. These data support the involvement of COL1A1 in determination of bone density and the interaction of both COL1A1 and VDR with calcium intake in regulation of change of bone density over time.

Health-care-associated infections

In their recent Review, Walter Zingg and colleagues1 presented the findings of a mixed methods systematic review done to describe the most effective elements of infection control programmes. We believe the inclusion of both qualitative and quantitative research in this Article is commendable, particularly because qualitative research contributes important context for clinicians, researchers, and policy makers when designing, implementing, and assessing interventions. However, in view of the large scope covered by the systematic review, and difficulties associated with a mixed methods synthesis approach,2 we would like to seek further information from the authors...