Editors' introduction

In approaching this Special Issue on Foresight, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (FI&E) we considered that globalisation and rapid modernisation were increasingly creating the need for social reflexivity. We thought that in respect to the production and diffusion of innovations, both social and technical, that the landscape for new enterprise was characterised by widening change horizons and deeper ethical concerns. As a consequence of the greater demand for innovation to achieve economic prosperity, it was conceived that 'unforesightful' innovation may have irreparable affects on social and ecological systems and uncertain implications for our futures. Therefore, we considered a new intellectual alliance between FI&E was potentially a matter of human survival. New approaches to thinking about how and what we innovate, the choices we face for new enterprise creation and the influence of infrastructure for generating entrepreneurship, we considered, would need to emerge if we are to positively impact human and planetary sustainability in the 21st century. Hence this special issue was designed to bring together cross-disciplinary research aimed at exploring the synergies between foresight, innovation and entrepreneurship and the way in which these connections may be taking place in both the practical and theoretical sense.

ACE research vignette 001 : benefits and drawbacks of start-up team heterogeneity

This series of research vignettes is aimed at sharing current and interesting research findings from our team of international Entrepreneurship researchers. In this vignette, Dr. Micheal Stuetzer considers some of the benefits and drawbacks associated with team start-up.

ACE research vignette 004 : growing profitable or growing from profits?

This series of research vignettes is aimed at sharing current and interesting research findings from our team of international Entrepreneurship researchers. In this vignette, Professor Per Davidsson considers some of the dynamics associated with firm growth.

ACE research briefing paper 004 : emerging and young high potential start-ups

In this report we take a look at what separates high potential emerging and young start-ups from others. We compare the characteristics, intentions and behaviours of start-ups that we judge to be 'high potential' with other start-ups. We utilise the first two years of data from the CAUSEE study. We also compare Australian start-ups with a similar study conduced in the US.

Reduced electron recombination of dye-sensitized solar cells based on TiO 2 spheres consisting of ultrathin nanosheets with [001] facet exposed

An anatase TiO 2 material with hierarchically structured spheres consisting of ultrathin nanosheets with 100% of the [001] facet exposed was employed to fabricate dye-sensitized solar cells (DSC s). Investigation of the electron transport and back reaction of the DSCs by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy showed that the spheres had a threefold lower electron recombination rate compared to the conventional TiO 2 nanoparticles. In contrast, the effective electron diffusion coefficient, D n, was not sensitive to the variation of the TiO 2 morphology. The TiO 2 spheres showed the same Dn as that of the nanoparticles. The influence of TiCl 4 post-treatment on the conduction band of the TiO 2 spheres and on the kinetics of electron transport and back reactions was also investigated. It was found that the TiCl 4 post-treatment caused a downward shift of the TiO 2 conduction band edge by 30 meV. Meanwhile, a fourfold increase of the effective electron lifetime of the DSC was also observed after TiCl4 treatment. The synergistic effect of the variation of the TiO 2 conduction band and the electron recombination determined the open-circuit voltage of the DSC. © 2012 Wang et al.

Patients’ satisfaction with acute care hospital foodservice: does age matter?

In an aging population, healthcare providers should understand the foodservice preferences of the elderly to reduce the risk of malnutrition through adequate nutrition. Conflicting reports exist for elderly patient satisfaction regarding foodservice.1 This study aimed to investigate the relationship between age and foodservice satisfaction within the acute care hospital setting. Patient satisfaction was assessed using the Acute Care Hospital Foodservice Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire with data collected over three years (2008–2010, n = 785) at The Wesley Hospital, Brisbane. Age was grouped into three categories; <50, 51–70 and >70 years. ANOVA was used to measure age related differences in patients’ overall foodservice satisfaction, four foodservice dimensions and two independent statements (meal size and hot food temperature). Results showed that older patients were more satisfied than younger patients and indicated increasing satisfaction with increasing age regarding food quality (F2,767 = 15.787, p < 0.001), staff/service issues (F2,768 = 12.243, p < 0.001), physical environment (F2,765 = 5.454, p = 0.004), meal size (F2,730 = 10.646, p < 0.001) and hot food temperature (F2,730 = 10.646, p < 0.001). While patients aged >70 years also reported greater satisfaction with meal service quality, those aged 51–70 years indicated the lowest (F2,762 = 9.988, p < 0.001). Overall patient satisfaction across all age groups was high (4.26–4.43/5) and a trend of increasing satisfaction with increasing age was evident (F2,752 = 2.900, p = 0.056). These findings suggest patients’ satisfaction with hospital foodservice increases with age and can assist foodservices to meet the varying generational expectations of their clients.

The obesity-associated polymorphisms FTO rs9939609 and MC4R rs17782313 and endometrial cancer risk in non-Hispanic white women

Overweight and obesity are strongly associated with endometrial cancer. Several independent genome-wide association studies recently identified two common polymorphisms, FTO rs9939609 and MC4R rs17782313, that are linked to increased body weight and obesity. We examined the association of FTO rs9939609 and MC4R rs17782313 with endometrial cancer risk in a pooled analysis of nine case-control studies within the Epidemiology of Endometrial Cancer Consortium (E2C2). This analysis included 3601 non-Hispanic white women with histologically-confirmed endometrial carcinoma and 5275 frequency-matched controls. Unconditional logistic regression models were used to assess the relation of FTO rs9939609 and MC4R rs17782313 genotypes to the risk of endometrial cancer. Among control women, both the FTO rs9939609 A and MC4R rs17782313 C alleles were associated with a 16% increased risk of being overweight (p = 0.001 and p = 0.004, respectively). In case-control analyses, carriers of the FTO rs9939609 AA genotype were at increased risk of endometrial carcinoma compared to women with the TT genotype [odds ratio (OR) = 1.17; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.03–1.32, p = 0.01]. However, this association was no longer apparent after adjusting for body mass index (BMI), suggesting mediation of the gene-disease effect through body weight. The MC4R rs17782313 polymorphism was not related to endometrial cancer risk (per allele OR = 0.98; 95% CI: 0.91–1.06; p = 0.68). FTO rs9939609 is a susceptibility marker for white non-Hispanic women at higher risk of endometrial cancer. Although FTO rs9939609 alone might have limited clinical or public health significance for identifying women at high risk for endometrial cancer beyond that of excess body weight, further investigation of obesity-related genetic markers might help to identify the pathways that influence endometrial carcinogenesis.

The 3D kinematics of the single leg flat and decline squat

Background: Pre-participation screening is commonly used to measure and assess potential intrinsic injury risk. The single leg squat is one such clinical screening measure used to assess lumbopelvic stability and associated intrinsic injury risk. With the addition of a decline board, the single leg decline squat (SLDS) has been shown to reduce ankle dorsiflexion restrictions and allowed greater sagittal plane movement of the hip and knee. On this basis, the SLDS has been employed in the Cricket Australia physiotherapy screening protocols as a measure of lumbopelvic control in the place of the more traditional single leg flat squat (SLFS). Previous research has failed to demonstrate which squatting technique allows for a more comprehensive assessment of lumbopelvic stability. Tenuous links are drawn between kinematics and hip strength measures within the literature for the SLS. Formal evaluation of subjective screening methods has also been suggested within the literature. Purpose: This study had several focal points namely 1) to compare the kinematic differences between the two single leg squatting conditions, primarily the five key kinematic variables fundamental to subjectively assess lumbopelvic stability; 2) determine the effect of ankle dorsiflexion range of motion has on squat kinematics in the two squat techniques; 3) examine the association between key kinematics and subjective physiotherapists’ assessment; and finally 4) explore the association between key kinematics and hip strength. Methods: Nineteen (n=19) subjects performed five SLDS and five SLFS on each leg while being filmed by an 8 camera motion analysis system. Four hip strength measures (internal/external rotation and abd/adduction) and ankle dorsiflexion range of motion were measured using a hand held dynamometer and a goniometer respectively on 16 of these subjects. The same 16 participants were subjectively assessed by an experienced physiotherapist for lumbopelvic stability. Paired samples t-tests were performed on the five predetermined kinematic variables to assess the differences between squat conditions. A Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons was used which adjusted the significance value to p = 0.005 for the paired t-tests. Linear regressions were used to assess the relationship between kinematics, ankle range of motion and hip strength measures. Bivariate correlations between hip strength measures and kinematics and pelvic obliquity were employed to investigate any possible relationships. Results: 1) Significant kinematic differences between squats were observed in dominant (D) and non-dominant (ND) end of range hip external rotation (ND p = <0.001; D p = 0.004) and hip adduction kinematics (ND p = <0.001; D p = <0.001). With the mean angle, only the non-dominant leg observed significant differences in hip adduction (p = 0.001) and hip external rotation (p = <0.001); 2) Significant linear relationships were observed between clinical measures of ankle dorsiflexion and sagittal plane kinematic namely SLFS dominant ankle (p = 0.006; R2 = .429), SLFS non-dominant knee (p = 0.015; R2 = .352) and SLFS non-dominant ankle (p = 0.027; R2 = .305) kinematics. Only the dominant ankle (p = 0.020; R2 = .331) was found to have a relationship with the decline squat. 3) Strength measures had tenuous associations with the subjective assessments of lumbopelvic stability with no significant relationships being observed. 4) For the non-dominant leg, external rotation strength and abduction strength were found to be significantly correlated with hip rotation kinematics (Newtons r = 0.458 p = 0.049; Normalised for bodyweight: r = 0.469; p = 0.043) and pelvic obliquity (normalised for bodyweight: r = 0.498 p = 0.030) respectively for the SLFS only. No significant relationships were observed in the dominant leg for either squat condition. Some elements of the hip strength screening protocols had linear relationships with kinematics of the lower limb, particularly the sagittal plane movements of the knee and ankle. Strength measures had tenuous associations with the subjective assessments of lumbopelvic stability with no significant relationships being observed; Discussion: The key finding of this study illustrated that kinematic differences can occur at the hip without significant kinematic differences at the knee as a result of the introduction of a decline board. Further observations reinforce the role of limited ankle dorsiflexion range of motion on sagittal plane movement of the hip and knee and in turn multiplanar kinematics of the lower limb. The kinematic differences between conditions have clinical implications for screening protocols that employ frontal plane movement of the knee as a guide for femoral adduction and rotation. Subjects who returned stronger hip strength measurements also appeared to squat deeper as characterised by differences in sagittal plane kinematics of the knee and ankle. Despite the aforementioned findings, the relationship between hip strength and lower limb kinematics remains largely tenuous in the assessment of the lumbopelvic stability using the SLS. The association between kinematics and the subjective measures of lumbopelvic stability also remain tenuous between and within SLS screening protocols. More functional measures of hip strength are needed to further investigate these relationships. Conclusion: The type of SLS (flat or decline) should be taken into account when screening for lumbopelvic stability. Changes to lower limb kinematics, especially around the hip and pelvis, were observed with the introduction of a decline board despite no difference in frontal plane knee movements. Differences in passive ankle dorsiflexion range of motion yielded variations in knee and ankle kinematics during a self-selected single leg squatting task. Clinical implications of removing posterior ankle restraints and using the knee as a guide to illustrate changes at the hip may result in inaccurate screening of lumbopelvic stability. The relationship between sagittal plane lower limb kinematics and hip strength may illustrate that self-selected squat depth may presumably be a useful predictor of the lumbopelvic stability. Further research in this area is required.

Whole-body substrate metabolism is associated with disease severity in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Objectives In non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), hepatic steatosis is intricately linked with a number of metabolic alterations. We studied substrate utilisation in NAFLD during basal, insulin-stimulated and exercise conditions, and correlated these outcomes with disease severity. Methods 20 patients with NAFLD (mean±SD body mass index (BMI) 34.1±6.7 kg/m2) and 15 healthy controls (BMI 23.4±2.7 kg/m2) were assessed. Respiratory quotient (RQ), whole-body fat (Fatox) and carbohydrate (CHOox) oxidation rates were determined by indirect calorimetry in three conditions: basal (resting and fasted), insulin-stimulated (hyperinsulinaemic–euglycaemic clamp) and exercise (cycling at an intensity to elicit maximal Fatox). Severity of disease and steatosis were determined by liver histology, hepatic Fatox from plasma β-hydroxybutyrate concentrations, aerobic fitness expressed as , and visceral adipose tissue (VAT) measured by computed tomography. Results Within the overweight/obese NAFLD cohort, basal RQ correlated positively with steatosis (r=0.57, p=0.01) and was higher (indicating smaller contribution of Fatox to energy expenditure) in patients with NAFLD activity score (NAS) ≥5 vs <5 (p=0.008). Both results were independent of VAT, % body fat and BMI. Compared with the lean control group, patients with NAFLD had lower basal whole-body Fatox (1.2±0.3 vs 1.5±0.4 mg/kgFFM/min, p=0.024) and lower basal hepatic Fatox (ie, β-hydroxybutyrate, p=0.004). During exercise, they achieved lower maximal Fatox (2.5±1.4 vs. 5.8±3.7 mg/kgFFM/min, p=0.002) and lower (p<0.001) than controls. Fatox during exercise was not associated with disease severity (p=0.79). Conclusions Overweight/obese patients with NAFLD had reduced hepatic Fatox and reduced whole-body Fatox under basal and exercise conditions. There was an inverse relationship between ability to oxidise fat in basal conditions and histological features of NAFLD including severity of steatosis and NAS

Photocatalytic and photovoltaic activities of TiO2 architectures with dominant {001} facets

Titanium dioxide is one of the most basic materials in our daily life, which has emerged as an excellent photocatalyst material for environmental purification and photovoltaic material working in dye-sensitized solar cell. We present two types of TiO2 architectures which are constructed by plates and sheets, respectively, and both subunits are dominant with {001} facets. The photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange in UV/supported-TiO2 systems was investigated and the mechanism was discussed. The experimental results show that photocatalytic degradation rate is favoured by larger surface area. The sheet structure shows superior photocatalytic activity than plate structure. Moreover, the materials with sheet structure were also used to investigate the photovoltaic property. The power conversion efficiency is 7.57%, indicating the materials with this unique structure are excellent in photocatalytic and photovoltaic applications.

Overweight and obesity alters the cumulative transverse strain in the Achilles tendon immediately following exercise

This research evaluated the effect of obesity on the acute cumulative transverse strain of the Achilles tendon in response to exercise. Twenty healthy adult males were categorized into ‘low normal-weight’ (BMI <23 kg m−2) and ‘overweight’ (BMI >27.5 kg m−2) groups based on intermediate cut-off points recommended by the World Health Organization. Longitudinal sonograms of the right Achilles tendon were acquired immediately prior and following weight-bearing ankle exercises. Achilles tendon thickness was measured 20-mm proximal to the calcaneal insertion and transverse tendon strain was calculated as the natural log of the ratio of post- to pre-exercise tendon thickness. The Achilles tendon was thicker in the overweight group both prior to (t18 = −2.91, P = 0.009) and following (t18 = −4.87, P < 0.001) exercise. The acute transverse strain response of the Achilles tendon in the overweight group (−10.7 ± 2.5%), however, was almost half that of the ‘low normal-weight’ (−19.5 ± 7.4%) group (t18 = −3.56, P = 0.004). These findings suggest that obesity is associated with structural changes in tendon that impairs intra-tendinous fluid movement in response to load and provides new insights into the link between tendon pathology and overweight and obesity.

Fabrication of SiGe rings and holes on Si(001) by flash annealing

We show that SiGe islands are transformed into nanoholes and rings by annealing treatments only and without Si capping. Rings are produced by a rapid flash heating at temperatures higher than the melting point of Ge, whereas nanoholes are produced by several minute annealing. The rings are markedly rich in Si with respect to the pristine islands, suggesting that the evolution path from islands to rings is driven by the selective dissolution of Ge occurring at high temperature.

Interaction of water with the fluorine-covered anatase TiO2(001) surface

The interaction of water with the fluorine-covered (001) surface of anatase titanium dioxide (TiO2) has been studied within the framework of density functional theory (DFT). Our results show that water dissociation is unfavorable due to repulsive interactions between surface fluorine and oxygen. We also found that the reaction of hydrofluoric acid with a surface hydroxyl group to form a surface Ti–F bond is exothermic, while the removal of fluorine from the surface needs additional energy of about half an eV. Therefore, water molecules are predicted to remain intact at the interface with the F-terminated anatase (001).

The catalytic role of an isolated-Ti atom in the hydrogenation of Ti-doped Al(001) surface : An ab initio density functional theory calculation

Recent work [S. Chaudhuri, J.T. Muckerman, J. Phys. Chem. B 109 (2005) 6952] reported that two Ti-substituted atoms on an Al(0 0 1) surface can form a catalytically active site for the dissociation of H2, but the diffusion barrier of atomic H away from Ti site is as high as 1.57 eV. By using ab initio density functional calculations, we found that two hydrogen molecules can dissociate on isolated-Ti atom doped Al(0 0 1) surface with small activation barriers (0.21 and 0.235 eV for first and second H2, respectively). Additionally, the diffusion barrier of atomic H away from Ti site is also moderate (0.47 eV). These results contribute further towards understanding the improved kinetics observed in recycling of hydrogen with Ti-doped NaAlH4.

Molecular dynamics study of ‘contact epitaxy’ in Ag clusters supported on a copper (001) surface

In this paper, the formation of heteroepitaxial interfacial layers was investigated by molecular dynamics simulation of soft silver particles landing on the (001) surface of single-crystal copper. In our simulations, the clusters Ag13, Ag55, Ag147 and Ag688 were chosen as projectiles. A small cluster will rearrange into an f.c.c. structure when it is supported on the substrate, due to the large value of its surface/volume ratio. Contact epitaxy appeared in large clusters. The characteristic structure of an epitaxial layer in large silver cluster shows the 〈111〉 direction to be the preferential orientation of heteroepitaxial layers on the surface because of the lattice mismatch between the cluster and the substrate. This was confirmed by studying soft landing events in other systems (Au/Cu and Al/Ni).