Public disclosure of biological sequences in global patent practice

Biological sequences are an important part of global patenting, with unique challenges for their effective and equitable use in practice and in policy. Because their function can only be determined with computer-aided technology, the form in which sequences are disclosed matters greatly. Similarly, the scope of patent rights sought and granted requires computer readable data and tools for comparison. Critically, the primary data provided to the national patent offices and thence to the public, must be comprehensive, standardized, timely and meaningful. It is not yet. The proposed global Patent Sequence (PatSeq) Data platform can enable national and regional jurisdictions meet the desired standards.

A Global Constraint On Relative Rotation To Avoid Lumped Compliant Mechanisms In Topology Optimization

Some of the well known formulations for topology optimization of compliant mechanisms could lead to lumped compliant mechanisms. In lumped compliance, most of the elastic deformation in a mechanism occurs at few points, while rest of the mechanism remains more or less rigid. Such points are referred to as point-flexures. It has been noted in literature that high relative rotation is associated with point-flexures. In literature we also find a formulation of local constraint on relative rotations to avoid lumped compliance. However it is well known that a global constraint is easier to handle than a local constraint, by a numerical optimization algorithm. The current work presents a way of putting global constraint on relative rotations. This constraint is also simpler to implement since it uses linearized rotation at the center of finite-elements, to compute relative rotations. I show the results obtained by using this constraint oil the following benchmark problems - displacement inverter and gripper.

ACE research briefing paper 009: Global Entrepreneurship Monitor: GEM Australia - 2014 National Report

Most policymakers and academics agree that entrepreneurship is critical to the development and wellbeing of society. Entrepreneurs create jobs. They drive and shape innovation, thereby speeding up structural changes in the economy. By introducing new competition they contribute indirectly to increased productivity and overall economic activity. Entrepreneurship is thus a catalyst for economic growth and national competitiveness. In 2014, the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM)conducted its 15th annual survey of the rate and profile of entrepreneurial activity around the globe. GEM interviewed over 206,000 adults aged 18–64 in 70 economies, spanning diverse geographies and a range of development levels. The Australian Centre for Entrepreneurship Research (ACE) participated as the Australian GEM partner, surveying 2,177 Australian adults. This report provides a summary of entrepreneurship in Australia as measured by GEM, and benchmarks this against other countries. We compare the level of entrepreneurship in the population across different phases of the entrepreneurial process, and provide a profile of some key characteristics of entrepreneurs and the businesses they are starting. We also report on some of the institutional and framework conditions that support entrepreneurship.

Precarious Creativity: Global Media, Local Labor

Precarious Creativity examines the seismic changes confronting media workers in an age of globalization and corporate conglomeration. This pathbreaking anthology peeks behind the hype and supposed glamor of screen media industries to reveal the intensifying pressures and challenges confronting actors, editors, electricians, and others. The authors take on pressing conceptual and methodological issues while also providing insightful case studies of workplace dynamics regarding creativity, collaboration, exploitation, and cultural difference. Furthermore, it examines working conditions and organizing efforts on all six continents, offering broad-ranging and comprehensive analysis of contemporary screen media labor in such places as Lagos, Prague, Hollywood, and Hyderabad. The collection also examines labor conditions across a range of job categories that includes, for example, visual effects, production services, and adult entertainment. With contributions from such leading scholars as John Caldwell, Vicki Mayer, Herman Gray, and Tejaswini Ganti, Precarious Creativity offers timely critiques of media globalization while also intervening in broader debates about labor, creativity, and precarity.

The impact of global positioning systems and plotters on fishing power in the northern prawn fishery, Australia

The impact of global positioning systems (GPS) and plotter systems on the relative fishing power of the northern prawn fishery fleet on tiger prawns (Penaeus esculentus Haswell, 1879, and P. semisulcatus de Haan, 1850) was investigated from commercial catch data. A generalized linear model was used to account for differences in fishing power between boats and changes in prawn abundance. It was found that boats that used a GPS alone had 4% greater fishing power than boats without a CPS. The addition of a plotter raised the power by 7% over boats without the equipment. For each year between the first to third that a fisher has been working with plotters, there is an additional 2 or 3% increase. It appears that when all boats have a GPS and plotter for at least 3 years, the fishing power of the fleet will increase by 12%. Management controls have reduced the efficiency of each boat and lowered the number of days available to fish, but this may not have been sufficient to counteract the increases. Further limits will be needed to maintain the desired levels of mortality.

Assessment of an environmentally friendly, semi-pelagic fish trawl

Minimising catches of non-target animals in a trawl fishery reduces the impact on a marine community and may help to sustain the fishery resource in the long term. Hence the desirability for trawls that minimise impacts on non-target species while maintaining catches of target species. This study resulted from a need to further develop easily handled, semi-pelagic style trawls for Australia's Northern Fish Trawl Fishery. In November 1993 we compared catches from three differently rigged versions of a demersal wing trawl: one fished in a standard demersal configuration with its footrope on the sea bed, and two fished semi-pelagically, with their footropes raised to either 0.4-0.5 or 0.8-0.9 m above the sea bed. At two sites in the northeast Gulf of Carpentaria, each trawl type was used on the same combination of sites, grids within sites and times of day. Catches of the main target species (Lutjanus malabaricus and Lutjanus erythropterus) by the three trawl types were not significantly different. However, the mean catches of both these species and of other commercially important snappers, were highest in the semi-pelagic trawl raised 0.4-0.5 m above the sea bed. This increase could be due to a larger trawl spread or to the whole rig fishing higher in the water column. Of the 107 species of fishes analysed, 61 were caught in greater abundance in the demersal trawl. Seven species were caught more effectively in the semi-pelagic trawl with the footrope 0.4-0.5 m above the substrate; none was caught most effectively with the footrope set at 0.8-0.9 m. Epibenthic byproduct species (squid and Thenus orientalis), fish bycatch, sponges and other epibenthic invertebrates were also caught in lower numbers in the semi-pelagic trawls. The semi-pelagic trawls convincingly caught less (in both numbers and biomass) of the unwanted species which are normally discarded. Semi-pelagic fish trawls of the types tested would be suitable for Australia's Northern Fish Trawl Fishery and probably other demersal trawl fisheries that would benefit from the conservation of non-target epibenthic communities.

On global summer monsoonal drought mechanics

It is shown that within the framework of a linear five-level quasi-geostrophic steady state global model the middle latitude systems can always have significant influence on the Asian summer monsoonal system through the lower tropospheric monsoonal westerly window region around 80°E. It is hypothesized that quasistationarity of the middle latitude longwave systems results in stronger teleconnections through this window and the consequent monsoon breaks when the phase is right.

Incompressible micropolar fluid flow over a semi-infinite plate

Micropolar fluid flow over a semi-infinite flat plate has been described by using the parabolic co-ordinates and the method of series truncation in order to study the flow for low to large Reynolds numbers. These co-ordinates permit to study the flow regime at the leading edge. Numerical results have been presented for different Reynolds numbers. Results show a reduction in skin friction.

Using global formulary apportionment for international profit allocation: The case of Indonesia's mining industry

My thesis examined an alternative approach, referred to as the unitary taxation approach to the allocation of profit, which arises from the notion that as a multinational group exists as a single economic entity, it should be taxed as one taxable unit. The plausibility of a unitary taxation regime achieving international acceptance and agreement is highly contestable due to its implementation issues, and economic and political feasibility. Using a case-study approach focusing on Freeport-McMoRan and Rio Tinto's mining operations in Indonesia, this thesis compares both tax regimes against the criteria for a good tax system - equity, efficiency, neutrality and simplicity. This thesis evaluates key issues that arise when implementing a unitary taxation approach with formulary apportionment based on the context of mining multinational firms in Indonesia.

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.

Survival and Growth of Damara, Dorper, Dorset, Rambouillet, South African Meat Merino First Cross Lambs in Semi Arid Queensland

The recent introduction to Australia of superior sheep meat breeds from South Africa provides a basis for improving the quality and amount of sheep meat grown in Queensland’s semi arid area. Alternatively suitable breeds from existing Australian stocks of dual purpose and traditional terminal meat sheep may bring the desired attributes required by the market place. There has been no critical assessment of sheep meat breeds suitably adapted to the rangeland environment of western Queensland. 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.

Adaptability of Damara, Dorper and Traditional Meat Sheep Breeds in Semi-Arid Queensland

Reproductive rate is a major contributing factor to the profitability of a sheep meat enterprise. Low reproduction rate is a feature of sheep husbandry in semi-arid Queensland. High ambient temperatures are implicated in poor fertility (Moule 1970) where variation in response can be due to breed and to animals within a breed (Hopkins and Stephenson 1978). Breeds recently imported from South Africa were selected in arid environments and may be better adapted to pastoral conditions of northern Australia than traditional breeds. 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. This study will investigate (a) the thermoregulatory ability of Damara, Dorper, Poll Dorset, Rambouillet, South African Meat Merino and Queensland medium wool Merino rams prior to joinings in the autumn and spring of 1999, 2000 and 2001 and (b) the association between thermoregulatory parameters (rectal temperature and respiration rate) and ewe fertility. Results for the initial autumn joining are reported in this paper.

Global Nursing Issues and Development: Analysis of World Health Organization Documents

Purpose To analyze World Health Organization (WHO) documents to identify global nursing issues and development. Design Qualitative content analysis. Methods Documents published by the six WHO regions between 2007 and 2012 and with key words related to nurse/midwife or nursing/midwifery were included. Themes, categories, and subcategories were derived. The final coding reached 80% agreement among three independent coders, and the final coding for the discrepant coding was reached by consensus. Findings Thirty-two documents from the regions of Europe (n = 19), the Americas (n = 6), the Western Pacific (n = 4), Africa (n = 1), the Eastern Mediterranean (n = 1), and Southeast Asia (n = 1) were examined. A total of 385 units of analysis dispersed in 31 subcategories under four themes were derived. The four themes derived (number of unit of analysis, %) were Management & Leadership (206, 53.5), Practice (75, 19.5), Education (70, 18.2), and Research (34, 8.8). Conclusions The key nursing issues of concern at the global level are workforce, the impacts of nursing in health care, professional status, and education of nurses. International alliances can help advance nursing, but the visibility of nursing in the WHO needs to be strengthened. Clinical Relevance Organizational leadership is important in order to optimize the use of nursing competence in practice and inform policy makers regarding the value of nursing to promote people's health.