Insolvency academics contributing to the review of insolvency laws: An Australian perspective

Introduction 1 It gives me great pleasure to contribute to this publication to honour Professor Ian Fletcher on his retirement as Foundation Chair of the INSOL International Academic Group. A collection of essays that include topics on domestic, cross-border and international insolvency appropriately reflects the breadth of Professor Fletcher’s impact on the scholarship of insolvency law – not only in his “home” jurisdiction of England and Wales and closer to home in Europe, but also stretching around the globe, in this case, to Australia. 2 In the early 1990s when I first began to research in the area of cross-border insolvency law, a colleague mentioned that they had recently attended the XIIIth International Congress of Comparative Law in Montreal in August 1990 and heard the Cross-border Insolvency: General Report expertly delivered by an English academic, Ian Fletcher, who was widely regarded as an authority in the area. This was my first introduction to Professor Fletcher’s work and over the intervening years I have referred often to his scholarship....

Somewhere between haste and delay... Investigating the interactions of road users and pedestrians in a dynamic rail level crossing environment

There are currently 23,500 level crossings in Australia, broadly divided into one of two categories: active level crossings which are fully automatic and have boom barriers, alarm bells, flashing lights, and pedestrian gates; and passive level crossings, which are not automatic and aim to control road and pedestrianised walkways solely with stop and give way signs. Active level crossings are considered to be the gold standard for transport ergonomics when grade separation (i.e. constructing an over- or underpass) is not viable. In Australia, the current strategy is to annually upgrade passive level crossings with active controls but active crossings are also associated with traffic congestion, largely as a result of extended closure times. The percentage of time level crossings are closed to road vehicles during peak periods increases with the rise in the frequency of train services. The popular perception appears to be that once a level crossing is upgraded, one is free to wipe their hands and consider the job done. However, there may also be environments where active protection is not enough, but where the setting may not justify the capital costs of grade separation. Indeed, the associated congestion and traffic delay could compromise safety by contributing to the risk taking behaviour by motorists and pedestrians. In these environments it is important to understand what human factor issues are present and ask the question of whether a one size fits all solution is indeed the most ergonomically sound solution for today’s transport needs.

Sequential MRI of growing scoliotic spines reveals individual level deformities that are clinically masked by the cobb angle

INTRODUCTION. Clinically, the Cobb angle method measures the overall scoliotic curve in the coronal plane but does not measure individual vertebra and disc wedging. The contributions of the vertebrae and discs in the growing scoliotic spine were measured to investigate coronal plane deformity progression with growth. METHODS. A 0.49mm isotropic 3D MRI technique was developed to investigate the level-by-level changes that occur in the growing spine of a group of Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS) patients, who received two to four sequential scans (spaced 3-12 months apart). The coronal plane wedge angles of each vertebra and disc in the major curve were measured to capture any changes that occurred during their adolescent growth phase. RESULTS. Seventeen patients had at least two scans. Mean patient age was 12.9 years (SD 1.5 years). Sixteen were classified as right-sided major thoracic Lenke Type 1 (one left sided). Mean standing Cobb angle at initial presentation was 31° (SD 12°). Six received two scans, nine three scans and two four scans, with 65% showing a Cobb angle progression of 5° or more between scans. Overall, there was no clear pattern of deformity progression of individual vertebrae and discs, nor between patients who progressed and those who didn’t. There were measurable changes in the wedging of the vertebrae and discs in all patients. In sequential scans, change in direction of wedging was also seen. In several patients there was reverse wedging in the discs that counteracted increased wedging of the vertebrae such that no change in overall Cobb angle was seen. CONCLUSION. Sequential MRI data showed complex patterns of deformity progression. Changes to the wedging of individual vertebrae and discs may occur in patients who have no increase in Cobb angle measure; the Cobb method alone may be insufficient to capture the complex mechanisms of deformity progression.

Health-related quality of life of individuals with transfemoral amputation fitted with the Transcutaneous Bone Anchoring Prosthesis following the OGAAP

Background The benefits and safety transcutaneous bone anchored prosthesis relying on a screw fixation are well reported.[1-17] However, most of the studies on press-fit implants and joint replacement technology have focused on surgical techniques.[3, 18-23] One European centre using this technique has reported on health related quality of life (HRQOL) for a group of individuals with transfemoral amputation (TFA).[3] Data from other centres are needed to assess the effectiveness of the technique in different settings. Aim This study aimed at reporting HRQOL data at baseline and up to 2-year follow-up for a group of TFAs treated by Osseointegration Group of Australia who followed the Osseointegration Group of Australia Accelerated Protocol (OGAAP), in Sydney between 08/12/2011 and 09/04/2014. Method A total of 16 TFAs (7 females and 9 males, age 51 ± 12 y, height 1.73 ± 0.12 m, weight 83 ±18 kg) participated in this study. The cause of amputation was trauma or congenital limb deficiency for 11 (69%) and 5 (31%) participants, respectively. A total of 12 (75%) participants were prosthetic users while 4(25%) were wheelchair bound prior the surgery. The HRQOL were obtained from Questionnaire for Persons with Transfemoral Amputation (Q-TFA) using the four main scales (i.e., Prosthetic use, Mobility, Problem, Global) one year before and between 6.5 and 24 months after the Stage 1 of the surgeries for the baseline and follow-up, respectively. Results The lapse of time before and after Stage 1 was -6.19±3.54 and 10.83±3.58 months respectively. The raw score and percentage of improvement are presented in Figures 1 and 2, respectively. Discussion & Conclusion The average results demonstrated an improvement in each domain, particularly in the reduction of problems and an increase in global state. Furthermore, 56%, 75%, 94% and 69% of the participants reported an improvement in Prosthetic use, Mobility, Problem, Global scales, respectively. These results were comparable to previous studies relying of screwed fixation confirming that press-fit implantation is a viable alternative for bone-anchored prostheses.[1, 7, 8]

Loading compliance of static load bearing exercises performed by transfemoral amputees fitted with an osseointegrated implant

Background To date bone-anchored prostheses are used to alleviate the concerns caused by socket suspended prostheses and to improve the quality of life of transfemoral amputees (TFA). Currently, two implants are commercially available (i.e., OPRA (Integrum AB, Sweden), ILP (Orthodynamics GmbH, Germany)). [1-17]The success of the OPRA technique is codetermined by the rehabilitation program. TFA fitted with an osseointegrated implant perform progressive mechanical loading (i.e. static load bearing exercises (LBE)) to facilitate bone remodelling around the implant.[18, 19] Aim This study investigated the trustworthiness of monitoring the load prescribed (LP) during experimental static LBEs using the vertical force provided by a mechanical bathroom scale that is considered a surrogate of the actual load applied. Method Eleven unilateral TFAs fitted with an OPRA implant performed five trials in four loading conditions. The forces and moments on the three axes of the implant were measured directly with an instrumented pylon including a six-channel transducer. The “axial” and “vectorial” comparisons corresponding to the difference between the force applied on the long axis of the fixation and LP as well as the resultant of the three components of the load applied and LP, respectively were analysed Results For each loading condition, Wilcoxon One-Sample Signed Rank Tests were used to investigate if significant differences (p<0.05) could be demonstrated between the force applied on the long axis and LP, and between the resultant of the force and LP. The results demonstrated that the raw axial and vectorial differences were significantly different from zero in all conditions (p<0.05), except for the vectorial difference for the 40 kg loading condition (p=0.182). The raw axial difference was negative for all the participants in every loading condition, except for TFA03 in the 10 kg condition (11.17 N). Discussion & Conclusion This study showed a significant lack of axial compliance. The load applied on the long axis was significantly smaller than LP in every loading condition. This led to a systematic underloading of the long axis of the implant during the proposed experimental LBE. Monitoring the vertical force might be only partially reflective of the actual load applied, particularly on the long axis of the implant.

PW376 A pilot study of a post-discharge nurse-led, educational intervention on cardiac self-efficacy and anxiety in post-PCI patients

Introduction Hospitalisation for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is often short, with limited nurse-teaching time and poor information absorption. Currently, patients are discharged home only to wait up to 4-8 weeks to commence a secondary prevention program and visit their cardiologist. This wait is an anxious time for patients and confidence or self-efficacy (SE) to self-manage may be low. Objectives To determine the effects of a nurse-led, educational intervention on participant SE and anxiety in the early post-discharge period. Methods A pilot study was undertaken as a randomised controlled clinical trial. Thirty-three participants were recruited, with n=13 randomised to the intervention group. A face-to-face, nurse-led, educational intervention was undertaken within the first 5-7 days post-discharge. Intervention group participants received standard post-discharge education, physical assessment, with a strong focus on the emotional impact of cardiovascular events and PCI. Early reiteration of post-discharge education was offered, along with health professional support with the aim to increase patients’ SE and to effectively manage their post-discharge health and well being, as well as anxieties. Self-efficacy to return to normal activities was measured to gauge participants’ abilities to manage post-PCI after attending the intervention using the cardiac self-efficacy (CSE) scale. State and trait anxiety was also measured using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) to determine if an increase in SE would influence participant anxiety. Results There were some increases in mean CSE scores in the intervention group participants over time. Areas of increase included return to normal social activities and confidence to change diet. Although reductions were observed in mean state and trait anxiety scores in both groups, an overall larger reduction in intervention group participants was observed over time. Conclusion It is essential that patients are given the education, support, and skills to self-manage in the early post-discharge period so that they have greater SE and are less anxious. This study provides some initial evidence that nurse-led support and education during this period, particularly the first week following PCI, is beneficial and could be trialled using alternate modes of communication to support remote and rural PCI patients and extend to other cardiovascular patients.

Stress analysis of carotid plaque based on in vivo MRI of acute symptomatic and asymptomatic patients

Stress analysis within carotid plaques based on in vivo MR imaging has shown to be useful for the identification of vulnerable atheroma. This study is to investigate whether magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) based-biomechanical stress analysis of carotid plaques can differentiate acute symptomatic and asymptomatic patients. 54 asymptomatic and 45 acute symptomatic patients underwent in vivo multi-contrast MRI of the carotid arteries. Plaque geometry used for finite element analysis was derived from in vivo MR images at the site of maximum and minimum plaque burden. In total 198 slices were used for the computational simulations. A pre shrink technique was used to refine the simulation. Maximum principle stress at the vulnerable plaque sites (i.e. critical stress) was extracted for the selected slices and a comparison was performed between the two groups. Critical stress at the site of maximum plaque burden is significantly higher in acute symptomatic patients as compared to asymptomatic patients [median: 198.0kPa (inter quartile range (IQR) = (119.8 - 359.0) vs. 138.4kPa (83.8, 242.6), p=0.04]. No significant difference was found at the minimum plaque burden site between the two groups [196.7kPa (133.3- 282.7) vs. 182.4kPa (117.2 - 310. 6), p=0.82). Stress analysis at the site of maximal plaque burden can be effectively used for differentiating acute symptomatic carotid plaques from asymptomatic plaques. This maybe potentially used for development of biomechanical risk stratification criteria based on plaque burden in future studies.

Effects of Nutrition and Time of Weaning on Dry Season Liveweight Loss of Breeder Cows

In the seasonally dry tropics of northern Australia, breeder cows may lose up to 30% liveweight during the dry season when pasture is of low nutritive value. This is a major cause of low reproductive rates and high mortality. Weaning early in the dry season is effective to reduce this liveweight loss of the breeder (Holroyd et al. 1988). An experiment examined the dry season liveweight loss of breeders for a range of weaning times and levels of nutrition. From April to October through the dry season, 209 Bos indicus x Shorthorn cross cows 4-6 years of age grazed speargrass pastures in north Queensland. The cows had been joined with bulls from late January until April. Twenty-nine breeders had not suckled a calf during the previous wet season (DRY cows). In addition 180 cows lactating in April were weaned in late April, mid July or early September. The cows were allocated by stratified randomisation based on lactational status, stage of pregnancy and body condition to 15 x 40 ha paddocks. Five paddocks with low fertility soils provided LOW nutrition, while 10 paddocks with medium fertility soils and no supplementation or with supplementation provided MEDIUM and HIGH nutrition, respectively. The supplement consisted of molasses containing 14% urea offered ad libitum. Liveweight was measured at intervals and conceptus-free liveweight (CF-LW) calculated. Data were analyses by AOV within groups of paddocks. Animal production for a consuming world : proceedings of 9th Congress of the Asian-Australasian Association of Animal Production Societies [AAAP] and 23rd Biennial Conference of the Australian Society of Animal Production [ASAP] and 17th Annual Symposium of the University of Sydney, Dairy Research Foundation, [DRF]. 2-7 July 2000, Sydney, Australia.

Plasma Biochemical and Haematological Changes in Steers of Different Temperament during Feedlotting

Correlations between liveweight gains and temperament during feedlotting (Voisinet et al., 1997) may be an indication that cattle of different temperament suffer different degrees of stress. This paper describes the effect of grouping into feedlot pens, cattle of good, poor and mixed (some good and some poor) temperament on blood parameters that are indicators of stress (Bennett et al., 1989). Animal production for a consuming world : proceedings of 9th Congress of the Asian-Australasian Association of Animal Production Societies [AAAP] and 23rd Biennial Conference of the Australian Society of Animal Production [ASAP] and 17th Annual Symposium of the University of Sydney, Dairy Research Foundation, [DRF]. 2-7 July 2000, Sydney, Australia.

Milk Production Responses to Oversowing a Portion of Tropical Grass Pasture with Summer Crop Legumes on Sub-tropical Dairy Farms

Northern Australian dairy farms have a large area of tropical dryland grass pasture available for use as summer pastures. Late summer-autumn in sub-tropical Australia is traditionally a difficult period in which to produce milk because of the decline in both quality and quantity of tropical grasses (Ehrlich et al. 1994). Options to improve autumn feed on dairy farms include introducing forage crops and conservation, increasing concentrate feeding and introducing legumes. Perennial tropical legumes have not been successful at this time of year because of their inability to sustain stocking rates above one cow/ha. This experiment, conducted on farms, was designed to test if annual crop legumes could be successfully oversown into tropical grass areas using minimal till methods to measure the subsequent impact on milk production on farms. Previous experiments using annual legumes in plots at Mutdapilly Research Station had demonstrated yields up to 10 t/ha can be achieved using annual tropical legumes with protein levels as high as 20% in the whole legume plant. Animal production for a consuming world : proceedings of 9th Congress of the Asian-Australasian Association of Animal Production Societies [AAAP] and 23rd Biennial Conference of the Australian Society of Animal Production [ASAP] and 17th Annual Symposium of the University of Sydney, Dairy Research Foundation, [DRF]. 2-7 July 2000, Sydney, Australia.

Effect of Grouping Feedlot Steers by Temperament on Performance and Carcass Traits

Cattle temperament is correlated with liveweight gains during feedlotting (Voisinet et al., 1997) ie. cattle that are nervous and flighty (poor temperament) do not perform as well as those that are quiet and docile (good temperament). This experiment investigated the effect of grouping into feedlot pens cattle of good temperament, poor temperament and mixed (some good and some poor) temperament on average daily gain (ADG), body condition score (CS), feed conversion efficiency (FCE) and various carcase traits. Animal production for a consuming world : proceedings of 9th Congress of the Asian-Australasian Association of Animal Production Societies [AAAP] and 23rd Biennial Conference of the Australian Society of Animal Production [ASAP] and 17th Annual Symposium of the University of Sydney, Dairy Research Foundation, [DRF]. 2-7 July 2000, Sydney, Australia.

Effects of Grouping Feedlot Steers with a Range of Flight Speeds on Liveweight and Temperament Changes

Poor temperament cattle that are nervous and flighty do not perform as well in feedlots as good temperament cattle that are quiet and docile (Burrow and Dillon, 1997). There are contradictory anecdotal reports from industry about the effect of mixing cattle of different temperament on subsequent performance and temperament. Supposedly the presence of a few docile cattle in a feedlot pen-group will have a ‘calming’ effect on flighty pen-mates or the presence of a few flighty animals will ‘upset’ a group of quiet cattle. These hypotheses were tested using data in the experiment described by Petherick et al. (2000) where cattle were grouped into feedlot pens of good temperament, poor temperament and mixed (some good and some poor) temperaments. Animal production for a consuming world : proceedings of 9th Congress of the Asian-Australasian Association of Animal Production Societies [AAAP] and 23rd Biennial Conference of the Australian Society of Animal Production [ASAP] and 17th Annual Symposium of the University of Sydney, Dairy Research Foundation, [DRF]. 2-7 July 2000, Sydney, Australia.

A Comparison of Methods for Describing Irregular Animal Growth and Testing for Treatment Effects

In many designed experiments with animals liveweight is recorded several times during the trial. Such data are commonly referred to as repeated measures data. An aim of such experiments is generally to compare the growth patterns for the applied treatments. This paper discusses some of the methods of analysing repeated measures data and illustrates the use of cubic smoothing splines to describe irregular cattle growth data. Animal production for a consuming world : proceedings of 9th Congress of the Asian-Australasian Association of Animal Production Societies [AAAP] and 23rd Biennial Conference of the Australian Society of Animal Production [ASAP] and 17th Annual Symposium of the University of Sydney, Dairy Research Foundation, [DRF]. 2-7 July 2000, Sydney, Australia.

Growth and Carcase Characters of Progeny from Caprine Feral Does Mated to Boer or Feral Bucks in Western Queensland

In recent years significant numbers of Australian goats have been harvested from the feral population to supply a strong demand for export of meat. In addition large numbers of feral does have been domesticated to increase breeding herds in western Queensland. Introduction of the Boer breed to Australia as a specialist meat goat may provide a genetic means for improving the productive performance of the Australian feral. The present paper reports growth and carcase attributes of feral and Boer x feral genotypes born in 1998 and birthweight of those born in 1999. Animal production for a consuming world : proceedings of 9th Congress of the Asian-Australasian Association of Animal Production Societies [AAAP] and 23rd Biennial Conference of the Australian Society of Animal Production [ASAP] and 17th Annual Symposium of the University of Sydney, Dairy Research Foundation, [DRF]. 2-7 July 2000, Sydney, Australia.

Reproductive Performance of Caprine Feral Does Mated to Boer or Feral Bucks in Semi-Arid Queensland

A strong world demand and current firm prices for goat meat provides opportunities for some wool/beef production enterprises in western Queensland to increase farm viability through diversification. In particular, there is rising interest in the use of Boer goats to improve productive performance of the Australian feral goat. Pastoral graziers have noted the high prolificacy of feral goats grazed in semi-arid areas, but there is no information on the breeding ability of feral does mated to Boer bucks. Animal production for a consuming world : proceedings of 9th Congress of the Asian-Australasian Association of Animal Production Societies [AAAP] and 23rd Biennial Conference of the Australian Society of Animal Production [ASAP] and 17th Annual Symposium of the University of Sydney, Dairy Research Foundation, [DRF]. 2-7 July 2000, Sydney, Australia.