Benefits of using modern cementing techniques in the acetabulum : the rim cutter

Purpose. To compare radiological records of 90 consecutive patients who underwent cemented total hip arthroplasty (THA) with or without use of the Rim Cutter to prepare the acetabulum. Methods. The acetabulum of 45 patients was prepared using the Rim Cutter, whereas the device was not used in the other 45 patients. Postoperative radiographs were evaluated using a digital templating system to measure (1) the positions of the operated hips with respect to the normal, contralateral hips (the centre of rotation of the socket, the height of the centre of rotation from the teardrop, and lateralisation of the centre of rotation from the teardrop) and (2) the uniformity and width of the cement mantle in the 3 DeLee Charnley acetabular zones, and the number of radiolucencies in these zones. Results. The study group showed improved radiological parameters and were closer to the anatomic centre of rotation both vertically (1.5 vs. 3.7 mm, p<0.001) and horizontally (1.8 vs. 4.4 mm, p<0.001) and had consistently thicker and more uniform cement mantles (p<0.001). There were 2 radiolucent lines in the control group but none in the study group. Conclusion. The Rim Cutter resulted in more accurate placement of the centre of rotation of a cemented prosthetic socket, and produced a thicker, more congruent cement mantle with fewer radiolucent lines.

From tiers to tables – enhancing student experience through collaborative learning spaces

BACKGROUND Collaborative and active learning have been clearly identified as ways students can engage in learning with each other and the academic staff. Traditional tier based lecture theatres and the didactic style they engender are not popular with students today as evidenced by the low attendance rates for lectures. Many universities are installing spaces designed with tables for group interaction with evolutions on spaces such as the TEAL (Technology Enabled Active Learning) (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, n.d.) and SCALE-UP (Student-Centred Activities for Large-Enrolment Undergraduate Programs) (North Carolina State University, n.d.) models. Technology advances in large screen computers and applications have also aided the move to these collaborative spaces. How well have universities structured learning using these spaces and how have students engaged with the content, technology, space and each other? This paper investigates the application of collaborative learning in such spaces for a cohort of 800+ first year engineers in the context of learning about and developing professional skills representative of engineering practice. PURPOSE To determine whether moving from tiers to tables enhances the student experience. Does utilising technology rich, activity based, collaborative learning spaces lead to positive experiences and active engagement of first year undergraduate engineering students? In developing learning methodology and approach in new learning spaces, what needs to change from a more traditional lecture and tutorial configuration? DESIGN/METHOD A post delivery review and analysis of outcomes was undertaken to determine how well students and tutors engaged with learning in new collaborative learning spaces. Data was gathered via focus group and survey of tutors, students survey and attendance observations. The authors considered the unit delivery approach along with observed and surveyed outcomes then conducted further review to produce the reported results. RESULTS Results indicate high participation in the collaborative sessions while the accompanying lectures were poorly attended. Students reported a high degree of satisfaction with the learning experience; however more investigation is required to determine the degree of improvement in retained learning outcomes. Survey feedback from tutors found that students engaged well in the activities during tutorials and there was an observed improvement in the quality of professional practice modelled by students during sessions. Student feedback confirmed the positive experiences in these collaborative learning spaces with 30% improvement in satisfaction ratings from previous years. CONCLUSIONS It is concluded that the right mix of space, technology and appropriate activities does engage students, improve participation and create a rich experience to facilitate potential for improved learning outcomes. The new Collaborative Teaching Spaces, together with integrated technology and tailored activities, has transformed the delivery of this unit and improved student satisfaction in tutorials significantly.

Intraurban rail access : Policy implications of five revealed perspectives from a Q-sorting exercise in three Australian cities

This project advances current understanding of intra-urban rail passengers and their travel experiences in order to help rail industry leaders tailor policy approaches to fit specific, relevant segments of their target population. Using a Q sorting technique and cluster analysis, our preliminary research identified five perspectives occurring in a small sample of rail passengers, who varied in their frequency and location of rail travel as well as certain socio-demographic characteristics. Revealed perspectives (named to capture the gist of their content) included: ‘Rail Travel is About the Destination, Not the Journey’; ‘Despite Challenges, Public Transport is Still the Best Option’; ‘Rail Travel is Fine’; ‘Rail Travel? So Far, So Good’; and ‘Bad Taste for Rail Travel’. This paper discusses each of the perspectives in detail, and considers them in terms of tailored policy implications. An overarching finding from this study is that improving railway travel ‘access’ requires attention to physical, psychological, financial, and social facets of accessibility. For example, designing waiting areas to be more socially functional and comfortable has the potential to increase ridership by addressing social forms of access, decreasing perceived wait times, and making time at the station feel like time well spent. Even at this preliminary stage, the Q sorting technique promises to provide a valuable, holistic albeit fine-grained analysis of passenger attitudes and experiences that will assist industry efforts to increase ridership.

High load transit line passenger transmission and productiveness efficiencies

Performance of urban transit systems may be quantified and assessed using transit capacity and productive capacity in planning, design and operational management activities. Bunker (4) defines important productive performance measures of an individual transit service and transit line, which are extended in this paper to quantify efficiency and operating fashion of transit services and lines. Comparison of a hypothetical bus line’s operation during a morning peak hour and daytime hour demonstrates the usefulness of productiveness efficiency and passenger transmission efficiency, passenger churn and average proportion line length traveled to the operator in understanding their services’ and lines’ productive performance, operating characteristics, and quality of service. Productiveness efficiency can flag potential pass-up activity under high load conditions, as well as ineffective resource deployment. Proportion line length traveled can directly measure operating fashion. These measures can be used to compare between lines/routes and, within a given line, various operating scenarios and time horizons to target improvements. The next research stage is investigating within-line variation using smart card passenger data and field observation of pass-ups. Insights will be used to further develop practical guidance to operators.

High load transit line passenger transmission and productiveness efficiencies

Performance of urban transit systems may be quantified and assessed using transit capacity and productive capacity in planning, design and operational management activities. Bunker (4) defines important productive performance measures of an individual transit service and transit line, which are extended in this paper to quantify efficiency and operating fashion of transit services and lines. Comparison of a hypothetical bus line’s operation during a morning peak hour and daytime hour demonstrates the usefulness of productiveness efficiency and passenger transmission efficiency, passenger churn and average proportion line length traveled to the operator in understanding their services’ and lines’ productive performance, operating characteristics, and quality of service. Productiveness efficiency can flag potential pass-up activity under high load conditions, as well as ineffective resource deployment. Proportion line length traveled can directly measure operating fashion. These measures can be used to compare between lines/routes and, within a given line, various operating scenarios and time horizons to target improvements. The next research stage is investigating within-line variation using smart card passenger data and field observation of pass-ups. Insights will be used to further develop practical guidance to operators.

Planning for transit system reliability using productive performance and risk assessment

Urban transit system performance may be quantified and assessed using transit capacity and productive capacity for planning, design and operational management. Bunker (4) defines important productive performance measures of an individual transit service and transit line. Transit work (p-km) captures transit task performed over distance. Transit productiveness (p-km/h) captures transit work performed over time. This paper applies productive performance with risk assessment to quantify transit system reliability. Theory is developed to monetize transit segment reliability risk on the basis of demonstration Annual Reliability Event rates by transit facility type, segment productiveness, and unit-event severity. A comparative example of peak hour performance of a transit sub-system containing bus-on-street, busway, and rail components in Brisbane, Australia demonstrates through practical application the importance of valuing reliability. Comparison reveals the highest risk segments to be long, highly productive on street bus segments followed by busway (BRT) segments and then rail segments. A transit reliability risk reduction treatment example demonstrates that benefits can be significant and should be incorporated into project evaluation in addition to those of regular travel time savings, reduced emissions and safety improvements. Reliability can be used to identify high risk components of the transit system and draw comparisons between modes both in planning and operations settings, and value improvement scenarios in a project evaluation setting. The methodology can also be applied to inform daily transit system operational management.

Planning for transit system reliability using productive performance and risk assessment

Urban transit system performance may be quantified and assessed using transit capacity and productive capacity for planning, design and operational management. Bunker (4) defines important productive performance measures of an individual transit service and transit line. Transit work (p-km) captures transit task performed over distance. Transit productiveness (p-km/h) captures transit work performed over time. This paper applies productive performance with risk assessment to quantify transit system reliability. Theory is developed to monetize transit segment reliability risk on the basis of demonstration Annual Reliability Event rates by transit facility type, segment productiveness, and unit-event severity. A comparative example of peak hour performance of a transit sub-system containing bus-on-street, busway, and rail components in Brisbane, Australia demonstrates through practical application the importance of valuing reliability. Comparison reveals the highest risk segments to be long, highly productive on street bus segments followed by busway (BRT) segments and then rail segments. A transit reliability risk reduction treatment example demonstrates that benefits can be significant and should be incorporated into project evaluation in addition to those of regular travel time savings, reduced emissions and safety improvements. Reliability can be used to identify high risk components of the transit system and draw comparisons between modes both in planning and operations settings, and value improvement scenarios in a project evaluation setting. The methodology can also be applied to inform daily transit system operational management.

'These are my photos of when I was little' : Locating Media Arts in the Primary School Curriculum

‘Media Arts’ has been included as a fifth area of the Arts for the Australian Curriculum which will become mandatory learning for all Australian children from pre-school to Year Six (Y6) from 2014. The current curriculum design is underpinned by an approach familiar to media educators who combine creative practice and critical response to develop students’ media literacies. Media Arts within the Australian Curriculum will place Australia at the forefront of international efforts to promote media education as an entitlement for all children. Even with this mandated endorsement, however, there remains ongoing debate about where to locate media education in school curricula. Historically, media education in Australia has been approached through diverse curriculum activities at the secondary school level. These include subject English’s critical literacy objectives; vocationally oriented media and technology education or ICTs education; and Arts courses using new media technologies for creativity. In this chapter we consider the possibilities and challenges for Media Arts, specifically for primary school student learning. We draw on empirical evidence from a research project that has trialled a Media Arts curriculum with students attending a primary school in a low socio-economic status and culturally diverse community on the outskirts of Brisbane, Queensland.

Selective cleavage of human sex hormone-binding globulin by kallikrein-related peptidases and effects on androgen action in LNCaP prostate cancer cells

Stimulation of the androgen receptor via bioavailable androgens, including testosterone and testosterone metabolites, is a key driver of prostate development and the early stages of prostate cancer. Androgens are hydrophobic and as such require carrier proteins, including sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), to enable efficient distribution from sites of biosynthesis to target tissues. The similarly hydrophobic corticosteroids also require a carrier protein whose affinity for steroid is modulated by proteolysis. However, proteolytic mechanisms regulating the SHBG/androgen complex have not been reported. Here, we show that the cancer-associated serine proteases, kallikrein-related peptidase (KLK)4 and KLK14, bind strongly to SHBG in glutathione S-transferase interaction analyses. Further, we demonstrate that active KLK4 and KLK14 cleave human SHBG at unique sites and in an androgen-dependent manner. KLK4 separated androgen-free SHBG into its two laminin G-like (LG) domains that were subsequently proteolytically stable even after prolonged digestion, whereas a catalytically equivalent amount of KLK14 reduced SHBG to small peptide fragments over the same period. Conversely, proteolysis of 5α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT)-bound SHBG was similar for both KLKs and left the steroid binding LG4 domain intact. Characterization of this proteolysis fragment by [(3)H]-labeled DHT binding assays revealed that it retained identical affinity for androgen compared with full-length SHBG (dissociation constant = 1.92 nM). Consistent with this, both full-length SHBG and SHBG-LG4 significantly increased DHT-mediated transcriptional activity of the androgen receptor compared with DHT delivered without carrier protein. Collectively, these data provide the first evidence that SHBG is a target for proteolysis and demonstrate that a stable fragment derived from proteolysis of steroid-bound SHBG retains binding function in vitro.

Road Pricing - Is it Acceptable for a Developing Country?

Dhaka, which is the capital of Bangladesh, is facing serious traffic congestion and whole traffic situation in Dhaka is in chaos. Government has initiated some projects; such as BRT, MRT and elevated expressway; to improve the situation. Road pricing is very popular concept, which can be implemented in Dhaka with BRT and MRT as an integrated manner. Even though it is very popular concept not many countries except some developed countries implemented road pricing practically. None of the developing countries adopted this policy. For success of road pricing it has to be acceptable among the stakeholders. Public are the main stakeholders for road pricing. This paper will explore whether road pricing will be acceptable in Dhaka considering only work trip in Dhaka. A sample of workers had been surveyed randomly. They were asked some demographic questions, such as age, gender, income and educational qualification; how they travelled to work; and whether they would accept road pricing; and if they would not accept road pricing the reasons behind that. Also respondents were given several hypothetical choices to see how respondents react with different road charge by choosing travel mode for their work trip. The methodological approach taken for analysis is qualitative and quantitative analysis. For quantitative analysis Binary Logit Regression analysis was carried out to find out the significant factors for accepting or not accepting road pricing.

Hybrid game evolutionary algorithm for mission path planning of aerial survey tasks

The aim of this paper is to implement a Game-Theory based offline mission path planner for aerial inspection tasks of large linear infrastructures. Like most real-world optimisation problems, mission path planning involves a number of objectives which ideally should be minimised simultaneously. The goal of this work is then to develop a Multi-Objective (MO) optimisation tool able to provide a set of optimal solutions for the inspection task, given the environment data, the mission requirements and the definition of the objectives to minimise. Results indicate the robustness and capability of the method to find the trade-off between the Pareto-optimal solutions.

Computational experiments involving population size for FPGA-based implementation of a GA for the TSP

The feasibility of using an in-hardware implementation of a genetic algorithm (GA) to solve the computationally expensive travelling salesman problem (TSP) is explored, especially in regard to hardware resource requirements for problem and population sizes. We investigate via numerical experiments whether a small population size might prove sufficient to obtain reasonable quality solutions for the TSP, thereby permitting relatively resource efficient hardware implementation on field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). Software experiments on two TSP benchmarks involving 48 and 532 cities were used to explore the extent to which population size can be reduced without compromising solution quality, and results show that a GA allowed to run for a large number of generations with a smaller population size can yield solutions of comparable quality to those obtained using a larger population. This finding is then used to investigate feasible problem sizes on a targeted Virtex-7 vx485T-2 FPGA platform via exploration of hardware resource requirements for memory and data flow operations.

An evolutionary computation approach to three-dimensional path planning for unmanned aerial vehicles with tactical and kinematic constraints

This paper presents a novel evolutionary computation approach to three-dimensional path planning for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with tactical and kinematic constraints. A genetic algorithm (GA) is modified and extended for path planning. Two GAs are seeded at the initial and final positions with a common objective to minimise their distance apart under given UAV constraints. This is accomplished by the synchronous optimisation of subsequent control vectors. The proposed evolutionary computation approach is called synchronous genetic algorithm (SGA). The sequence of control vectors generated by the SGA constitutes to a near-optimal path plan. The resulting path plan exhibits no discontinuity when transitioning from curve to straight trajectories. Experiments and results show that the paths generated by the SGA are within 2% of the optimal solution. Such a path planner when implemented on a hardware accelerator, such as field programmable gate array chips, can be used in the UAV as on-board replanner, as well as in ground station systems for assisting in high precision planning and modelling of mission scenarios.

Paclitaxel resistance and multicellular spheroid formation are induced by kallikrein-related peptidase 4 in serous ovarian cancer cells in an ascites mimicking microenvironment

High tumor kallikrein-related-peptidase 4 (KLK4) levels are associated with a poor outcome for women with serous epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), for which peritoneal dissemination and chemoresistance are key events. To determine the role of KLK4 in these events, we examined KLK4-transfected SKOV-3 and endogenous KLK4 expressing OVCA432 cells in 3-dimensional (3D) suspension culture to mimic the ascites microenvironment. KLK4-SKOV-3 cells formed multicellular aggregates (MCAs) as seen in ascites, as did SKOV-3 cells treated with active KLK4. MCA formation was reduced by treatment with a KLK4 blocking antibody or the selective active site KLK4 sunflower trypsin inhibitor (SFTI-FCQR). KLK4-MCAs formed larger cancer cell foci in mesothelial cell monolayers than those formed by vector and native SKOV-3 cells, suggesting KLK4-MCAs are highly invasive in the peritoneal microenvironment. A high level of KLK4 is expressed by ascitic EOC cells compared to matched primary tumor cells, further supporting its role in the ascitic microenvironment. Interestingly, KLK4 transfected SKOV-3 cells expressed high levels of the KLK4 substrate, urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA), particularly in 3D-suspension, and high levels of both KLK4 and uPA were observed in patient cells taken from ascites. Importantly, the KLK4-MCAs were paclitaxel resistant which was reversed by SFTI-FCQR and to a lesser degree by the general serine protease inhibitor, Aprotinin, suggesting that in addition to uPA, other as yet unidentified substrates of KLK4 must be involved. Nonetheless, these data suggest that KLK4 inhibition, in conjunction with paclitaxel, may improve the outcome for women with serous epithelial ovarian cancer and high KLK4 levels in their tumors.