Performance measures for Australian laboratories reporting cervical cytology : a decade of data 1998–2008

Aim Performance measures for Australian laboratories reporting cervical cytology are a set of quantifiable measures relating to the profile and accuracy of reporting. This study reviews aggregate data collected over the ten years in which participation in the performance measures has been mandatory. Methods Laboratories submit annual data on performance measures relating to the profile of reporting, including reporting rates for technically unsatisfactory specimens, high grade or possible high grade abnormalities and abnormal reports. Cytology-histology correlation data and review findings of negative smears reported from women with histological high grade disease are also collected. Suggested acceptable standards are set for each measure. This study reviews the aggregate data submitted by all laboratories for the years 1998-2008 and examines trends in reporting and the performance of laboratories against the suggested standards. Results The performance of Australian laboratories has shown continued improvement over the study period. There has been a fall in the proportion of laboratories with data outside the acceptable standard range in all performance measures. Laboratories are reporting a greater proportion of specimens as definite or possible high grade abnormality. This is partly attributable to an increase in the proportion of abnormal results classified as high grade or possible high grade abnormality. Despite this, the positive predictive value for high grade and possible high grade abnormalities has continued to rise. Conclusion Performance measures for cervical cytology have provided a valuable addition to external quality assurance procedures in Australia. They have documented continued improvements in the aggregate performance, as well as providing benchmarking data and goals for acceptable performance for individual laboratories.

Productive inefficiency analysis and toxic chemical substances in US and Japanese manufacturing sectors

Corporate social responsibility is imperative for manufacturing companies to achieve sustainable development. Under a strong environmental information disclosure system, polluting companies are disadvantaged in terms of market competitiveness, because they lack an environmentally friendly image. The objective of this study is to analyze productive inefficiency change in relation to toxic chemical substance emissions for the United States and Japan and their corresponding policies. We apply the weighted Russell directional distance model to measure companies productive inefficiency, which represents their production technology. The data encompass 330 US manufacturing firms observed from 1999 to 2007, and 466 Japanese manufacturing firms observed from 2001 to 2008. The article focuses on nine high-pollution industries (rubber and plastics; chemicals and allied products; paper and pulp; steel and non-ferrous metal; fabricated metal; industrial machinery; electrical products; transportation equipment; precision instruments) categorized into two industry groups: basic materials industries and processing and assembly industries. The results show that productive inefficiency decreased in all industrial sectors in the United States and Japan from 2001 to 2007. In particular, that of the electrical products industry decreased rapidly after 2002 for both countries, possibly because of the enforcement of strict environmental regulations for electrical products exported to European markets.

Heat strain evaluation of overt and covert body armour in a hot and humid environment

The aim of this study was to elucidate the thermophysiological effects of wearing lightweight non-military overt and covert personal body armour (PBA) in a hot and humid environment. Eight healthy males walked on a treadmill for 120 min at 22% of their heart rate reserve in a climate chamber simulating 31 °C (60%RH) wearing either no armour (control), overt or covert PBA in addition to a security guard uniform, in a randomised controlled crossover design. No significant difference between conditions at the end of each trial was observed in core temperature, heart rate or skin temperature (P > 0.05). Covert PBA produced a significantly greater amount of body mass change (−1.81 ± 0.44%) compared to control (−1.07 ± 0.38%, P = 0.009) and overt conditions (−1.27 ± 0.44%, P = 0.025). Although a greater change in body mass was observed after the covert PBA trial; based on the physiological outcome measures recorded, the heat strain encountered while wearing lightweight, non-military overt or covert PBA was negligible compared to no PBA. Practitioner summary The wearing of bullet proof vests or body armour is a requirement of personnel engaged in a wide range of occupations including police, security, customs and even journalists in theatres of war. This randomised controlled crossover study is the first to examine the thermophysiological effects of wearing lightweight non-military overt and covert personal body armour (PBA) in a hot and humid environment. We conclude that the heat strain encountered while wearing both overt and covert lightweight, non-military PBA was negligible compared to no PBA.

Determination of glutathione transferase (GSTT1-1) activities in different tissues based on formation of radioactive metabolites using 35S-glutathione

A new system has been developed to determine enzyme activities of glutathione transferase θ (GSTT1-1) based on radiometric product detection resulting from the enzymic reaction of methyl chloride with 35S-labelled glutathione. In principle, the method is universally applicable for determination of glutathione transferase activities towards a multiplicity of substrates. The method distinguishes between erythrocyte GSTT1-1 activities of human 'non-conjugators', 'low conjugators' and 'high conjugators'. Application to cytosol preparations of livers and kidneys of male and female Fischer 344 and B6C3F1 mice reveals differential GSTT1-1 activities in hepatic and renal tissues. These ought to be considered in species-specific modellings of organ toxicities of chlorinated hydrocarbons.

Causal factors of hot air ballooning incidents : identification, frequency, and potential impact

Background: Hot air ballooning incidents are relatively rare, however, when they do occur they are likely to result in a fatality or serious injury. Human error is commonly attributed as the cause of hot air ballooning incidents; however, error in itself is not an explanation for safety failures. This research aims to identify, and establish the relative importance of factors contributing towards hot air ballooning incidents. Methods: Twenty-two Australian Ballooning Federation (ABF) incident reports were thematically coded using a bottom up approach to identify causal factors. Subsequently, 69 balloonists (mean 19.51 years’ experience) participated in a survey to identify additional causal factors and rate (out of seven) the perceived frequency and potential impact to ballooning operations of each of the previously identified causal factors. Perceived associated risk was calculated by multiplying mean perceived frequency and impact ratings. Results: Incident report coding identified 54 causal factors within nine higher level areas: Attributes, Crew resource management, Equipment, Errors, Instructors, Organisational, Physical Environment, Regulatory body and Violations. Overall, ‘weather’, ‘inexperience’ and ‘poor/inappropriate decisions’ were rated as having greatest perceived associated risk. Discussion: Although errors were nominated as a prominent cause of hot air ballooning incidents, physical environment and personal attributes are also particularly important for safe hot air ballooning operations. In identifying a range of causal factors the areas of weakness surrounding ballooning operations have been defined; it is hoped that targeted safety and training strategies can now be put into place removing these contributing factors and reducing the chance of pilot error.

Sustainability of public health interventions to reduce the risk of dioxin exposure at severe dioxin hot spots in Vietnam

Severe dioxin contamination at Bien Hoa and Da Nang airbases, Vietnam is of international concern. Public Health risk reduction programs were implemented in Bien Hoa in 2007-2009 and in Da Nang in 2009-2011. In 2009 and 2011 we reported the encouraging results of these interventions in improving the knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) of local residents in reducing the dioxin exposure risk through foods. In 2013 we revisited these dioxin hot spots, aimed to evaluate whether the results of the intervention were maintained and to identify factors affecting the sustainability of the programs. To assess this, 16 in-depth interviews, six focus group discussions, and pre and post intervention KAP surveys were undertaken. 800 respondents from six intervention wards and 200 respondents from Buu Long Ward (the control site) were randomly selected to participate in the surveys. The results showed that as of 2013, the programs were rated as "moderately sustained" with a score of 3.3 out of 5.0 (cut off points 2.5 to <3.5) for Bien Hoa, and "well sustained" with a score of 3.8 out of 5.0 (cut off points 3.5 to <4.5) for Da Nang. Most formal intervention program activities had ceased and dioxin risk communication activities were no longer integrated into local routine health education programs. However, the main outcomes were maintained and were better than that in the control ward. Migration, lack of official guidance from City People's Committees and local authorities as well as the politically sensitive nature of dioxin issues were the main challenges for the sustainability of the programs.

Vision-based operations of a large industrial vehicle : autonomous hot metal carrier

Hot metal carriers (HMCs) are large forklift-type vehicles used to move molten metal in aluminum smelters. This paper reports on field experiments that demonstrate that HMCs can operate autonomously and in particular can use vision as a primary sensor to locate the load of aluminum. We present our complete system but focus on the vision system elements and also detail experiments demonstrating reliable operation of the materials handling task. Two key experiments are described, lasting 2 and 5 h, in which the HMC traveled 15 km in total and handled the load 80 times.

The influence of abrasive pretreatment on hot air drying of grape

The drying of grapes is a more complex process compared to the dehydration of other agricultural materials due to the necessity of a pretreatment operation prior to drying. Grape drying to produce raisins is a very slow process, due to the peculiar structure of grape peel, that is covered by a waxy layer.Its removal has benn so far carried out by using several chemical pre-treatments. However, they cause heterogeneity in the waxes removal and create microscopic cracks. In this paper an abrasive pretreatment for enhancing the drying rate and preserving the grape samples is proposed. Two cultivars of grape were investigated: Regina white grape and Red Globe red grape. The drying kinetics of untreated and treated samples were studied using a convective oven at 50 C. Fruit quality parameters such as sugar and organic acid contents, shrinkage, texture, peel damage (i.e. by SEM analysis) and rehydration capacity were studied to evaluate the effectiveness of abrasive pretreatment on raisins. Abrasive pretreatment contributed to reduce drying time and rehydration time. The treated and untreated dried grapes were significantly different (p<0.05) in sugar and in tartaric acid content. On the contrary, no significant differences (p<0.05) in malic and citric acids in texture peoperties between untreated and treated samples were observed.