Early challenges of shifting an Australian manufacturer’s utilisation of design

This paper presents the findings from the initial exploration phase of an 11 month project, identifying the early challenges that a design innovation catalyst faces while initiating a shift in the way a medium sized manufacturing firm utilises design. Ultimately, the overarching aims of the project are to transform the utilisation of design within the participating company from a styling tool to a strategic process through the implementation of a design led approach to innovation. Insights were found through qualitative interviews with company staff and reflective journal entries as part of an Action Research methodology. Challenges identified include managing expectations, conveying the potential of a design innovation catalyst and a design led approach to innovation, and a siloed and risk averse culture. Findings presented in this paper will assist in identifying and understanding the preliminary challenges encountered by a design innovation catalyst when embarking on a design led transformation. Future innovation catalysts can prepare for possible barriers by highlighting considerations, opportunities and challenges when embarking on a design led transformation. Implications of this research are provided as possible approaches to overcoming these challenges.

The challenges of adopting design-led innovative strategies in not for profits : the role of consumers, culture and employees

Major changes to regulations, funding and consumer demand in the Australian aged care industry are driving not for profits in this sector to reshape and rethink the services they offer and the ways in which they deliver their services to consumers. Many not for profit organisations facing these new challenges are also facing organisational cultural barriers in the development and implementation of innovative strategies. This paper presents a case study where one organisation, using design led innovation, explored consumer insights and employee values to find new ways to facilitate change.

Making sense of purpose, direction and innovation : an embedded design led innovation case study in the Australian mining industry

The mining equipment technology services sector is driven by a reactive and user-centered design approach, with a technological focus on incremental new product development. As Australia moves out of its sustained mining boom, companies need to rethink their strategic position, to become agile to stay relevant in an enigmatic market. This paper reports on the first five months on an embedded case study within an Australian, family-owned mining manufacturer. The first author is currently engaged in a longitudinal design led innovation project, as a catalyst to guide the company’s journey to design integration. The results find that design led innovation could act as a channel for highlighting and exploring company disconnections with the marketplace and offer a customer-centric catalyst for internal change. Data collected for this study is from 12 analysed semistructured interviews, a focus group and a reflective journal, over a five-month period. This paper explores limitations to design integration, and highlights opportunities to explore and leverage entrepreneurial characteristics to stay agile, broaden innovation and future-proof through the next commodity cycle in the mining industry.

Higher harmonic large-amplitude fourier transformed alternating current voltammetry : analytical attributes derived from studies of the oxidation of ferrocenemethanol and uric acid at a glassy carbon electrode

An analytical evaluation of the higher ac harmonic components derived from large amplitude Fourier transformed voltammetry is provided for the reversible oxidation of ferrocenemethanol (FcMeOH) and oxidation of uric acid by an EEC mechanism in a pH 7.4 phosphate buffer at a glassy carbon (GC) electrode. The small background current in the analytically optimal fifth harmonic is predominantly attributed to faradaic current associated with the presence of electroactive functional groups on the GC electrode surface, rather than to capacitive current which dominates the background in the dc, and the initial three ac harmonics. The detection limits for the dc and the first to fifth harmonic ac components are 1.9, 5.89, 2.1, 2.5, 0.8, and 0.5 µM for FcMeOH, respectively, using a sine wave modulation of 100 mV at 21.46 Hz and a dc sweep rate of 111.76 mV s−1. Analytical performance then progressively deteriorates in the sixth and higher harmonics. For the determination of uric acid, the capacitive background current was enhanced and the reproducibility lowered by the presence of surface active uric acid, but the rapid overall 2e− rather than 1e– electron transfer process gives rise to a significantly enhanced fifth harmonic faradaic current which enabled a detection limit of 0.3 µM to be achieved which is similar to that reported using chemically modified electrodes. Resolution of overlapping voltammetric signals for a mixture of uric acid and dopamine is also achieved using higher fourth or fifth harmonic components, under very low background current conditions. The use of higher fourth and fifth harmonics exhibiting highly favorable faradaic to background (noise) current ratios should therefore be considered in analytical applications under circumstances where the electron transfer rate is fast.

Determinants of drink-driving and association between drink-driving and road traffic fatalities in Ghana

Background Drink-driving has been implicated in many road traffic crashes in the world. Consequently, the developed countries have prioritized drink-driving research. Contrary, drink-driving research has not attained any meaningful consideration in many developing countries. It is therefore imperative to intensify drink-driving research so as to provide research driven solutions to the menace. Aims The objective is to establish determinants of drink-driving and its association with traffic crashes in Ghana. Methods A randomized roadside breathalyzer survey was conducted. A multivariable logistic regression was used to establish significant determinants of drink-driving and a bivariate logistic regression to establish the association between drink–driving and road traffic crashes in Ghana. Results In total, 2,736 motorists were randomly stopped for breath testing of whom 8.7% tested positive for alcohol. Among the total participants, 5.5% exceeded the legal BAC limit of 0.08%. Formal education is associated with a reduced likelihood of drink-driving compared with drivers without formal education. The propensity to drink-drive is 1.8 times higher among illiterate drivers compared with drivers with basic education. Young adult drivers also recorded elevated likelihoods for driving under alcohol impairment compared with adult drivers. The odds of drink-driving among truck drivers is OR=1.81, (95% CI=1.16 to 2.82) and two wheeler riders is OR=1.41, (95% CI=0.47 to 4.28) compared with car drivers. Contrary to general perception, commercial car drivers have a significant reduced likelihood of 41%, OR=0.59, (95% CI=0.38 to 0.92) compared with the private car driver. Bivariate analysis conducted showed a significant association between the proportion of drivers exceeding the legal BAC limit and road traffic fatalities, p<0.001. The model predicts a 1% increase in the proportion of drivers exceeding the legal BAC to be associated with a 4% increase in road traffic fatalities, 95% CI= 3% to 5% and vice versa. Discussion and conclusion A positive and significant association between roadside alcohol prevalence and road traffic fatality has been established. Scaling up roadside breath test, determining standard drink and disseminating to the populace and formulating policies targeting the youth such as increasing minimum legal drinking age and reduced legal BAC limit for the youth and novice drivers might improve drink-driving related crashes in Ghana.

Exploring the influences of country-level factors on mid-age women’s drink driving attitudes

Drink driving remains a major cause of serious and fatal car crashes in Australia and internationally. While this problem is more prevalent among male drivers, the rates of female intoxicated drivers have increased steadily over the past decades in many motorised countries. A combination of police enforcement, media awareness campaigns, and community initiatives has played a key role in reducing incidents of illegal drink driving by targeting public drink driving attitudes. However, important cultural differences in regards to the tolerance towards drink driving have been noted. While many countries, including Australia, have a legal Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) limit of .05 or higher, some countries have moved towards a zero –or low tolerance approach to drink driving; several European countries, including Sweden, Hungary, Slovakia, and Estonia currently enforce .00 or .02 BAC limits.

Design, implementation and multisite evaluation of a system suitability protocol for the quantitative assessment of instrument performance in liquid chromatography-multiple reaction monitoring-MS (LC-MRM-MS)

Multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mass spectrometry coupled with stable isotope dilution (SID) and liquid chromatography (LC) is increasingly used in biological and clinical studies for precise and reproducible quantification of peptides and proteins in complex sample matrices. Robust LC-SID-MRM-MS-based assays that can be replicated across laboratories and ultimately in clinical laboratory settings require standardized protocols to demonstrate that the analysis platforms are performing adequately. We developed a system suitability protocol (SSP), which employs a predigested mixture of six proteins, to facilitate performance evaluation of LC-SID-MRM-MS instrument platforms, configured with nanoflow-LC systems interfaced to triple quadrupole mass spectrometers. The SSP was designed for use with low multiplex analyses as well as high multiplex approaches when software-driven scheduling of data acquisition is required. Performance was assessed by monitoring of a range of chromatographic and mass spectrometric metrics including peak width, chromatographic resolution, peak capacity, and the variability in peak area and analyte retention time (RT) stability. The SSP, which was evaluated in 11 laboratories on a total of 15 different instruments, enabled early diagnoses of LC and MS anomalies that indicated suboptimal LC-MRM-MS performance. The observed range in variation of each of the metrics scrutinized serves to define the criteria for optimized LC-SID-MRM-MS platforms for routine use, with pass/fail criteria for system suitability performance measures defined as peak area coefficient of variation <0.15, peak width coefficient of variation <0.15, standard deviation of RT <0.15 min (9 s), and the RT drift <0.5min (30 s). The deleterious effect of a marginally performing LC-SID-MRM-MS system on the limit of quantification (LOQ) in targeted quantitative assays illustrates the use and need for a SSP to establish robust and reliable system performance. Use of a SSP helps to ensure that analyte quantification measurements can be replicated with good precision within and across multiple laboratories and should facilitate more widespread use of MRM-MS technology by the basic biomedical and clinical laboratory research communities.

Reversibility of liver failure secondary to metastatic breast cancer by vinorelbine and cisplatin chemotherapy

Purpose: The development of liver metastases from breast cancer is associated with a very poor prognosis, estimated at 4 months median survival. Since treatment with many chemotherapeutic agents is relatively contraindicated, we assessed the safety, tolerability and potential efficacy of combination chemotherapy with vinorelbine and cisplatin (ViP). Method: Pilot study in 11 patients with histologically confirmed breast carcinoma, radiological evidence of liver metastases and serum bilirubin greater than 1.5 times the upper limit of normal. Patients received up to six cycles of cisplatin (75 mg/m 2) every 21 days and vinorelbine (20 mg/m 2) on days 1 and 8 of every 21-day cycle. Measurement of liver lesions was performed on CT scan every 8 weeks into treatment. Results: The most frequently reported adverse event was myelosuppression. Other adverse effects included nausea, vomiting and mild neurotoxicity. Two patients died after one treatment with ViP, one of whom suffered an intracerebral haemorrhage that was possibly treatment-related. Improvement in liver function tests was observed in 10 patients, and mean time to normalization of bilirubin levels was 36 days. Partial responses were documented radiologically in 7 out of 11 patients treated. Median overall survival from trial entry was 6.5 months (range 11-364 days), with one patient alive 13 months from trial entry. Conclusion: Normalization of liver function is possible with ViP treatment of metastatic breast cancer, offering the potential to prolong survival. Phase II clinical trials of this regimen in this patient group should include measurement of quality of life in order to assess risk versus benefit.

Tailoring the resonance of bilayer graphene sheets by interlayer sp3 bonds

Graphene-based resonators are envisioned to build the ultimate limit of two-dimensional nanoelectromechanical system due to their ultrasensitive detection of mass, force, pressure and charge. However, such application has been greatly impeded by their extremely low quality factor. In the present work, we explore, using the large-scale molecular dynamics simulation, the possibility of tailoring the resonance properties of a bilayer graphene sheet (GS) with interlayer sp3 bonds. For the bilayer GS resonator with interlayer sp3 bonds, we discovered that the sp3 bonds can either degrade or enhance the resonance properties of the resonator depending on their density and location. It is found that the distribution of sp3 bonds only along the edges of either pristine or hydrogenated bilayer GS, leads to a greatly enhanced quality factor. A quality factor of ~1.18×105 is observed for a 3.07×15.31 nm2 bilayer GS resonator with sp3 bonds, which is more than 30 times larger comparing with that of a pristine bilayer GS. The present study demonstrates that the resonance properties of a bilayer GS resonator can be tuned by introducing sp3 bonds. This finding provides a useful guideline for the synthesis of the bilayer GS for its application as a resonator component.

Pooled biological specimens for human biomonitoring of environmental chemicals : opportunities and limitations

Biomonitoring has become the ‘gold standard’ in assessing chemical exposures, and plays an important role in risk assessment. The pooling of biological specimens – combining multiple individual specimens into a single sample – can be used in biomonitoring studies to monitor levels of exposure and identify exposure trends, or to identify susceptible populations in a cost-effective manner. Pooled samples provide an estimate of central tendency, and may also reveal information about variation within the population. The development of a pooling strategy requires careful consideration of the type and number of samples collected, the number of pools required, and the number of specimens to combine per pool in order to maximize the type and robustness of the data. Creative pooling strategies can be used to explore exposure-outcome associations, and extrapolation from other larger studies can be useful in identifying elevated exposures in specific individuals. The use of pooled specimens is advantageous as it saves significantly on analytical costs, may reduce the time and resources required for recruitment, and in certain circumstances, allows quantification of samples approaching the limit of detection. In addition, use of pooled samples can provide population estimates while avoiding ethical difficulties that may be associated with reporting individual results.

Large-scale analysis of formations in soccer

Due to the demand for better and deeper analysis in sports, organizations (both professional teams and broadcasters) are looking to use spatiotemporal data in the form of player tracking information to obtain an advantage over their competitors. However, due to the large volume of data, its unstructured nature, and lack of associated team activity labels (e.g. strategic/tactical), effective and efficient strategies to deal with such data have yet to be deployed. A bottleneck restricting such solutions is the lack of a suitable representation (i.e. ordering of players) which is immune to the potentially infinite number of possible permutations of player orderings, in addition to the high dimensionality of temporal signal (e.g. a game of soccer last for 90 mins). Leveraging a recent method which utilizes a "role-representation", as well as a feature reduction strategy that uses a spatiotemporal bilinear basis model to form a compact spatiotemporal representation. Using this representation, we find the most likely formation patterns of a team associated with match events across nearly 14 hours of continuous player and ball tracking data in soccer. Additionally, we show that we can accurately segment a match into distinct game phases and detect highlights. (i.e. shots, corners, free-kicks, etc) completely automatically using a decision-tree formulation.

Rapid quantification of free cholesterol in tears using direct insertion/electron ionization-Mass spectrometry

Purpose. To establish a simple and rapid analytical method, based on direct insertion/electron ionization-mass spectrometry (DI/EI-MS), for measuring free cholesterol in tears from humans and rabbits. Methods. A stable-isotope dilution protocol employing DI/EI-MS in selected ion monitoring mode was developed and validated. It was used to quantify the free cholesterol content in human and rabbit tear extracts. Tears were collected from adult humans (n = 15) and rabbits (n = 10) and lipids extracted. Results. Screening, full-scan (m/z 40-600) DI/EI-MS analysis of crude tear extracts showed that diagnostic ions located in the mass range m/z 350 to 400 were those derived from free cholesterol, with no contribution from cholesterol esters. DI/EI-MS data acquired using selected ion monitoring (SIM) were analyzed for the abundance ratios of diagnostic ions with their stable isotope-labeled analogues arising from the D6-cholesterol internal standard. Standard curves of good linearity were produced and an on-probe limit of detection of 3 ng (at 3:1 signal to noise) and limit of quantification of 8 ng (at 10:1 signal to noise). The concentration of free cholesterol in human tears was 15 ± 6 μg/g, which was higher than in rabbit tears (10 ± 5 μg/g). Conclusions. A stable-isotope dilution DI/EI-SIM method for free cholesterol quantification without prior chromatographic separation was established. Using this method demonstrated that humans have higher free cholesterol levels in their tears than rabbits. This is in agreement with previous reports. This paper provides a rapid and reliable method to measure free cholesterol in small-volume clinical samples. © 2013 The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Inc.

Determination of urinary thymidine glycol using affinity chromatography, HPLC and post-column reaction detection : a biomarker of oxidative DNA damage upon kidney transplantation

Reactive oxygen species are generated during ischaemia-reperfusion of tissue. Oxidation of thymidine by hydroxyl radicals (HO) leads to the formation of 5,6-dihydroxy-5,6-dihydrothymidine (thymidine glycol). Thymidine glycol is excreted in urine and can be used as biomarker of oxidative DNA damage. Time dependent changes in urinary excretion rates of thymidine glycol were determined in six patients after kidney transplantation and in six healthy controls. A new analytical method was developed involving affinity chromatography and subsequent reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) with a post-column chemical reaction detector and endpoint fluorescence detection. The detection limit of this fluorimetric assay was 1.6 ng thymidine glycol per ml urine, which corresponds to about half of the physiological excretion level in healthy control persons. After kidney transplantation the urinary excretion rate of thymidine glycol increased gradually reaching a maximum around 48 h. The excretion rate remained elevated until the end of the observation period of 10 days. Severe proteinuria with an excretion rate of up to 7.2 g of total protein per mmol creatinine was also observed immediately after transplantation and declined within the first 24 h of allograft function (0.35 + 0.26 g/mmol creatinine). The protein excretion pattern, based on separation of urinary proteins on sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophorosis (SDS-PAGE), as well as excretion of individual biomarker proteins, indicated nonselective glomerular and tubular damage. The increased excretion of thymidine glycol after kidney transplantation may be explained by ischaemia-reperfusion induced oxidative DNA damage of the transplanted kidney.

Determination of the ethylene oxide adduct S-(2-hydroxyethyl)cysteine by a fluorometric HPLC method in albumin and globin from human blood

A new method has been developed for the quantification of 2-hydroxyethylated cysteine resulting as adduct in blood proteins after human exposure to ethylene oxide, by reversed-phase HPLC with fluorometric detection. The specific adduct is analysed in albumin and in globin. After isolation of albumin and globin from blood, acid hydrolysis of the protein and precolumn derivatisation of the digest with 9-fluorenylmethoxycarbonylchloride, the levels of derivatised S-hydroxyethylcysteine are analysed by RP-HPLC and fluorescence detection, with a detection limit of 8 nmol/g protein. Background levels of S-hydroxyethylcysteine were quantified in both albumin and globin, under special consideration of the glutathione transferase GSTT1 and GSTM1 polymorphisms. GSTT1 polymorphism had a marked influence on the physiological background alkylation of cysteine. While S-hydroxyethylcysteine levels in "non-conjugators" were between 15 and 50 nmol/g albumin, "low conjugators" displayed levels between 8 and 21 nmol/g albumin, and "high conjugators" did not show levels above the detection limit. The human GSTM1 polymorphism had no apparent effect on background levels of blood protein 2-hydroxyethylation.

Force-deformation properties of the human heel pad during barefoot walking

Introduction: The plantar heel pad is a specialized fibroadipose tissue that attenuates and, in part, dissipates the impact energy associated with heel strike. Although near maximal deformation of the heel pad has been shown during running, in vivo measurement of the deformation and structural properties of the heel pad during walking remains largely unexplored. This study employed a fluoroscope, synchronized with a pressure platform, to obtain force–deformation data for the heel pad during walking. Methods: Dynamic lateral foot radiographs were acquired from 6 male and 10 female adults (age, 45 ± 10 yrs; height, 1.66 ± 0.10 m; and weight, 80.7 ± 10.8 kg), while walking barefoot at preferred speeds. The inferior aspect of the calcaneus was digitized and the sagittal thickness and deformation of the heel pad relative to the support surface calculated. Simultaneous measurement of the peak force beneath the heel was used to estimate the principal structural properties of the heel pad. Results: Transient loading profiles associated with walking induced rapidly changing deformation rates in the heel pad and resulted in irregular load–deformation curves. The initial stiffness (32 ± 11 N.mm-1) of the heel pad was an order of magnitude lower than its final stiffness (212 ± 125 N.mm-1) and on average, only 1.0 J of energy was dissipated by the heel pad with each step during walking. Peak deformation (10.3 mm) approached that predicted for the limit of pain tolerance (10.7 mm). Conclusion: These findings suggest the heel pad operates close to its pain threshold even at speeds encountered during barefoot walking and provides insight as to why barefoot runners may adopt ‘forefoot’ strike patterns that minimize heel loading.