Microbial lipases : at the interface of aqueous and non-aqueous media: a review

In recent times, biotechnological applications of <b>microbial lipases</b> in synthesis of many organic molecules have rapidly increased in <b>non-aqueous media</b>. <b>Microbial lipases</b> are the working horses' in biocatalysis and have been extensively studied when their exceptionally high stability in <b>non-aqueous media</b> has been discovered. Stability of lipases in organic solvents makes them commercially feasibile in the enzymatic esterification reactions. Their stability is affected by temperature, reaction medium, water concentration and by the biocatalyst's preparation. An optimization process for ester synthesis from pilot scale to industrial scale in the reaction medium is discussed. The water released during the esterification process can be controlled over a wide range and has a profound effect on the activity of the <b>lipases</b>. Approaches to <b>lipase</b> catalysis like protein engineering, directed evolution and metagenome approach were studied. This review reports the recent development in the field of <b>non-aqueous microbial lipase</b> catalysis and factors controlling the esterification/transesterification processes in organic <b>media</b>.

Understanding criminal behaviour: identifying psychological differences between domestically violent offenders and non-offenders

Numerous theories have been formulated in an attempt to explain the psychological differences between violent offenders and non-offenders. Constructs that have emerged as salient in such scholarship include anger expression, social problem solving, locus of control, attitudes toward women, impulsivity and temper. Although a considerable amount of sound research has been conducted into 'violent offending' per se, in general terms, research into family and domestic violence is yet to be as methodologically and theoretically rigorous. In an attempt to link these areas of work, and to identify the risk factors (or 'criminogenic needs') of specific sub-groups of male offenders, this research compared: (I) property offenders, (2) those who had been&middot; 'violent against strangers', (3) those who had been 'violent against intimates' and (4) non-offenders. In an effort to address one of the shortcomings of prior research, potentially confounding variables such as age, education level cultural identity, and socio-economic status were controlled for in an effort to arrive at more meaningful representations of each offender group's specific psychological deficits and abundances. A number of differences were highlighted between the groups, but few of these remained after demographic<br />covariates were controlled for. This paper details the nature of these differences, while also proposing that future studies adopt a similar methodology.<br />

Validity and reliability of a physical activity recall instrument among overweight and non-overweight men and women

This study examined the validity and reliability of survey items measuring one-week recall of physical activity (PA) and examined differences by weight status. A sub-aim of the study was to objectively assess the intensity of activity that most closely matches self-report. A questionnaire was administered to adults twice, three days apart. It was again administered after subjects wore a MTI/CSA accelerometer for seven days (n = 118). Several metabolic equivalent (MET) thresholds were applied to the accelerometer data. Agreement between test and re- test estimates of sufficient physical activity for health benefits (150 min/week) was high (% agreement &gt; 90%). Correlations (rho) between total reported PA (mins/day) and accelerometer data were 0.29 (p &lt; 0.05) among men and 0.25 (p &lt; 0.05) among women. Among men, self- reported duration of moderate PA (3-5.9 METS) and accelerometer data were significantly correlated (rho = 0.40, p &lt; 0.01), with no differences by weight status. Among women, a significant relationship was found only for those who were not overweight (rho = 0.52, p &lt; 0.001). A significant correlation between self-reported duration of vigorous PA (6+ METS) and accelerometer data was only found for overweight men (rho = 0.40, p &lt; 0.05). When lower MET thresholds were applied to the accelerometer data, women's reported duration of moderate-intensity PA was most strongly correlated with moderate PA (accelerometer) defined as 2.0-5.9 METS (rho = 0.39, p &lt; 0.01). The recall instrument provides a consistent measure of physical activity and validation coefficients were similar to those obtained for other physical activity recall questionnaires. However, the ability to measure PA by self-report may vary by weight status.<br />

Sociocultural influences on body image concerns and body change strategies among Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Australian adolescent girls and boys

Sociocultural messages about the ideal body build have been studied predominantlyamong White adolescent girls. In the current study we examined the relationships between perceived sociocultural influences, body image concerns, and body change strategies among 47 (22 boys and 25 girls) Indigenous Australian adolescents. These relationships were compared to those from 47 non-Indigenous adolescents (predominantly from an Anglo-Saxon background), who were matched on gender, age, and school grade. Overall, the sociocultural influences were found to be associated with body image concerns and body change strategies among both cultural groups. The only exception was that the sociocultural influences were not associated with the Indigenous girls levels of body dissatisfaction or body image importance. These findings are discussed in relation to past studies of White and Black girls.<br />

Introducing personal liability under the continuous disclosure regime : The essentials and non-essentials

Under the Federal Government's CLERP 9 legislation, expected at the time of writing to come into force in July 2004, personal liability will be introduced for the first time under the continuous disclosure regime. Individuals who are 'involved' in a failure to immediately disclose materially price sensitive information to the market will be subject to a civil penalty, in addition to the company being liable. According to the author, the introduction of personal liability per se is not contentious and indeed is a favourable change; what is questionable, however, is whether 'involvement' in a contravention is the appropriate test for imposing personal liability in relation to breaches of the continuous disclosure provisions. Based on the case law to date on the meaning of 'involved', there is particular uncertainty as to whether an individual would need to have actual knowledge that non-disclosed information is 'materially price sensitive' in order to satisfy the test of 'involved' in the context of continuous disclosure, or whether mere knowledge that the information has not been disclosed would be sufficient. This uncertainty arises due to the vague concept of 'essential matters' which the courts have developed as a test for what degree of knowledge a person needs to have in order to be 'involved'. The author argues that all the confusion as to what 'involved' means could be addressed by removing the word 'essential' from the dialogue, so that the test of 'involvement' would simply be based on whether the particular person had actual knowledge of each of the factual elements constituting the offence.<br />

Commonwealth legislative power and "non punitive" detention: a constitutional roadmap

In 2004 The High Court handed down a number of decisions concerning detention imposed for purposes allegedly unrelated to punishment. This paper outlines the way the Federal Constitution restricts (and also facilitates) the imposition of &quot;non punitive detention&quot; by our governments. Such laws (as passed by the Federal Legislature) are constitutionally valid provided they can be characterised as falling within a legislative head of power under&nbsp; section 51 off he Constitution. The power to detain for non punitive purposes can be reposed by the Legislature in the either the Executive or Judicial arms of government. Detention by the Executive is non punitive (and therefore does not offend the separation of powers) even though it involves a deprivation of liberty, provided it is imposed for &ldquo;legitimate non punitive purposes&rdquo;.&nbsp; Legitimacy is in turn determined by reference to the section 51 heads of power. Detention for non punitive purposes by the judicial arm of government is constitutionally valid provided that (i) a &ldquo;judicial process &rdquo; is adopted and (ii) (arguably) there is some link (albeit tenuous) with a previous finding of criminal guilt. The continuing existence of the &ldquo;constitutional immunity &rdquo;from being detained by other than judicial order identified by the High Court in its 1992 decision in Lim v Minister for Immigration is called into question.<br />

Blind equalization of non-irreducible and non-column-reduced channels driven by constant modulus signals

We address the blind equalization of finite-impulse-response (FIR), multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) channels excited by constant modulus (CM) signals. It is known that the algorithms based on the constant modulus (CM) criterion can equalize an FIR MIMO channel that is irreducible and column-reduced. We show in this paper that the CM property of signals can be exploited to construct a zero-forcing equalizer for a non-irreducible and non-column-reduced channel. We also give a lower bound for the order of the equalizer. Simulation examples demonstrate the proposed result.<br />

Aboriginal and non-aboriginal Australia : the dilemma of apologies, forgiveness, and reconciliation

This article presents a qualitative study of the indigenous Australian perspective on reconciliation with nonindigenous Australia, with a focus on the role of an apology for the oppression and violence perpetrated by nonindigenous Australians, and forgiveness on the part of indigenous Australians. A brief historical analysis of the relationship between Aborigines and waves of settlers is presented to demonstrate the extent of the wrong that was perpetrated against Aborigines and the need for social as well as practical reconciliation in the current context. It is argued that negotiated forgiveness is a concept that is pertinent to the discussion of reconciliation, because it requires a dialogue between the parties and ultimately for the wrongdoer to accept accountability and responsibility for offending actions, thereby opening the door for forgiveness and, ultimately, possible reconciliation. It is suggested that a first step in the required reconciliation dialogue is an apology, but the issue of who should give and receive an apology is a complex one. The issue of who should forgive and who should be forgiven is shown to be similarly complex. Qualitative analysis of interview data from 10 participants indicated that at this point in time, forgiveness might not be salient to the indigenous population, whose primary focus is more on the matter of an apology. This suggests that negotiated forgiveness and reconciliation will remain elusive goals until the matter of an apology is resolved.<br />

Injury profiles of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in New South Wales

<b>Objectives: </b><br />To compare the injury profiles of the Indigenous population in New South Wales with that of the non-Indigenous population.<br /><b>Design and setting: </b><br />Descriptive analysis of NSW Health data obtained from the Health Outcomes Information and Statistical Toolkit (HOIST) database. Hospitalisation data were collected for the period 1 July 1999 to 30 June 2003. Mortality data were collected for the period 1 January 1999 to 31 December 2002.<br /><b>Main outcome measures: </b><br />Hospitalisation and death rates due to injury by age, sex, injury mechanism and Indigenous status. Rate ratios for comparison between Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations.<br /><b>Results: </b><br />Rates of death from injury were higher for all age groups in the Indigenous population, except people older than 65 years. Indigenous people aged 25&ndash;44 years were twice as likely to be hospitalised as their non-Indigenous counterparts (rate ratio [RR], 2.09; 95% CI, 2.03&ndash;2.14), and five times as likely to be hospitalised for interpersonal violence (RR, 5.19; 95% CI, 4.98&ndash;5.40).<br /><b>Conclusion: </b><br />The higher rates of injury-related hospitalisation and death in the Indigenous population in NSW are consistent with data reported for other parts of Australia. Of particular concern is the number of Indigenous deaths and hospitalisations due to interpersonal violence.<br /><br />

Burden of disease and injury in Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal populations in the Northern Territory

<b>Objective:</b><br />To quantify the burden of disease and injury for the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal populations in the Northern Territory.<br /><br /><b>Design and setting: </b><br />Analysis of Northern Territory data for 1 January 1994 to 30 December 1998 from multiple sources.<br /><br /><b>Main outcome measures:</b><br />Disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), by age, sex, cause and Aboriginality.<br /><br /><b>Results:</b><br />Cardiovascular disease was the leading contributor (14.9%) to the total burden of disease and injury in the NT, followed by mental disorders (14.5%) and malignant neoplasms (11.2%). There was also a substantial contribution from unintentional injury (10.4%) and intentional injury (4.9%). Overall, the NT Aboriginal population had a rate of burden of disease 2.5 times higher than the non-Aboriginal population; in the 35-54-year age group their DALY rate was 4.1 times higher. The leading causes of disease burden were cardiovascular disease for both Aboriginal men (19.1%) and women (15.7%) and mental disorders for both non-Aboriginal men (16.7%) and women (22.3%).<br /><br /><b>Conclusions:</b><br />A comprehensive assessment of fatal and non-fatal conditions is important in describing differentials in health status of the NT population. Our study provides comparative data to identify health priorities and facilitate a more equitable distribution of health funding.<br /><br /><br />

Brokering knowledge : managing knowledge in a network of government and non-government human service delivery agencies

This paper examines aspects of knowledge management that are particularly important in the network of human service delivery agencies in Victoria. This network is characterised by four features: it is a cluster of networked organisations; professionals and others may act as knowledge brokers within and between organisations in the network; rapid change in both knowledge and organisation accentuates the importance of innovative knowledge and emergent organisation over and above routine instrumental knowledge within stable organisation; and consequently there is an underlying concern with dialogical rather than instrumental knowledge and its management, and particularly how it constitutes and is constituted by organisation. The paper describes the analytical tools that we consider particularly important in examining this situation &ndash; in particular, the distinction between instrumental and dialogical knowledge, and the role of knowledge brokers (and professionals as knowledge brokers). It concludes by relating this analysis to broader issues in organisation studies, and suggests paths for further examination of these issues.<br />