Common DC link in residential LV network to improve the penetration level of Small-Scale Embedded Generators

This paper presents a new approach for network upgrading to improve the penetration level of Small Scale Generators in residential feeders. In this paper, it is proposed that a common DC link can be added to LV network to alleviate the negative impact of increased export power on AC lines, allowing customers to inject their surplus power with no restrictions to the common DC link. In addition, it is shown that the proposed approach can be a pathway from current AC network to future DC network.

Fine-mapping identifies multiple prostate cancer risk loci on 5p15 some associating with TERT expression

Associations between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at 5p15 and multiple cancer types have been reported. We have previously shown evidence for a strong association between prostate cancer (PrCa) risk and rs2242652 at 5p15, intronic in the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) gene that encodes TERT. To comprehensively evaluate the association between genetic variation across this region and PrCa, we performed a fine-mapping analysis by genotyping 134 SNPs using a custom Illumina iSelect array or Sequenom MassArray iPlex, followed by imputation of 1094 SNPs in 22 301 PrCa cases and 22 320 controls in The PRACTICAL consortium. Multiple stepwise logistic regression analysis identified four signals in the promoter or intronic regions of TERT that independently associated with PrCa risk. Gene expression analysis of normal prostate tissue showed evidence that SNPs within one of these regions also associated with TERT expression, providing a potential mechanism for predisposition to disease.

Referral patterns and proximity to palliative care inpatient services by level of socio-economic disadvantage : a national study using spatial analysis

Background: A range of health outcomes at a population level are related to differences in levels of social disadvantage. Understanding the impact of any such differences in palliative care is important. The aim of this study was to assess, by level of socio-economic disadvantage, referral patterns to specialist palliative care and proximity to inpatient services. Methods: All inpatient and community palliative care services nationally were geocoded (using postcode) to one nationally standardised measure of socio-economic deprivation – Socio-Economic Index for Areas (SEIFA; 2006 census data). Referral to palliative care services and characteristics of referrals were described through data collected routinely at clinical encounters. Inpatient location was measured from each person’s home postcode, and stratified by socio-economic disadvantage. Results: This study covered July – December 2009 with data from 10,064 patients. People from the highest SEIFA group (least disadvantaged) were significantly less likely to be referred to a specialist palliative care service, likely to be referred closer to death and to have more episodes of inpatient care for longer time. Physical proximity of a person’s home to inpatient care showed a gradient with increasing distance by decreasing levels of socio-economic advantage. Conclusion: These data suggest that a simple relationship of low socioeconomic status and poor access to a referral-based specialty such as palliative care does not exist. Different patterns of referral and hence different patterns of care emerge.

Come together : forging publics in Brisbane's Gallery of Modern Art

The Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) in Brisbane, Australia’s third largest city, recently staged ‘21st Century: Art of the First Decade’. The gallery spaces were replete with a commissioned slide by Carsten Höller, an installation of Rivane Neuenschwande’s I Wish Your Wish (2003), a table of white Legos, a room of purple balloons and other participatory or interactive artworks designed to engage multiple publics and encourage audience participation in a variety of ways. Many of the featured projects used day-to-day experiences and offered new conceptions about art practice and what they can elicit in their public – raise awareness about local issues, help audiences imagine different ways of negotiating their environs or experi-ence a museum in a new way. At times, the bottom floor galleries resembled a theme park – adults and children playing with Legos and using Höller’s slide. This article examines the benefits and limitations of such artistic interventions by relating the GoMA exhibition to Brisbane City Council’s campaign of ‘Together Brisbane’ (featuring images of Neunenschwande’s ribbons); a response to the devastation brought to the city and its surrounds in January 2011. During the Brisbane floods, GoMA’s basement was damaged, the museum closed and upon reopening, visitor numbers soared. In this context, GoMA’s use of engaged art practice – always verging on the ephemeral and ‘fun’ – has been used to project a wider notion of a collective urban public. What questions does this raise, not only regarding the cultural politics around the social and participatory ‘turn’ in art practice, but its use to address a much wider urban public in a moment of crisis.

Cultural diplomacy with Chinese characteristics : the case of Confucius Institutes in Australia

Since 2004,China has set up more than 400 Confucius Institutes and 500 Confucius Classrooms in 108 countries to promote Chinese language and culture. Despite these impressive numbers, these institutions are still surprisingly under-studied. This article uses Confucius Institutes in Australia as a case study to deepen the understanding of China’s new cultural diplomacy tool. The article describes Confucius Institutes as a form of strategic stakeholder engagement and argues that this collaborative tool of cultural diplomacy depends heavily on the commitment of its local stakeholders.

Custom digital workflows : a new framework for design analysis integration

Flexible information exchange is critical to successful design-analysis integration, but current top-down, standards-based and model-oriented strategies impose restrictions that contradicts this flexibility. In this article we present a bottom-up, user-controlled and process-oriented approach to linking design and analysis applications that is more responsive to the varied needs of designers and design teams. Drawing on research into scientific workflows, we present a framework for integration that capitalises on advances in cloud computing to connect discrete tools via flexible and distributed process networks. We then discuss how a shared mapping process that is flexible and user friendly supports non-programmers in creating these custom connections. Adopting a services-oriented system architecture, we propose a web-based platform that enables data, semantics and models to be shared on the fly. We then discuss potential challenges and opportunities for its development as a flexible, visual, collaborative, scalable and open system.

Custom digital workflows : a new framework for design analysis integration

Flexible information exchange is critical to successful design integration, but current top-down, standards-based and model-oriented strategies impose restrictions that are contradictory to this flexibility. In this paper we present a bottom-up, user-controlled and process-oriented approach to linking design and analysis applications that is more responsive to the varied needs of designers and design teams. Drawing on research into scientific workflows, we present a framework for integration that capitalises on advances in cloud computing to connect discrete tools via flexible and distributed process networks. Adopting a services-oriented system architecture, we propose a web-based platform that enables data, semantics and models to be shared on the fly. We discuss potential challenges and opportunities for the development thereof as a flexible, visual, collaborative, scalable and open system.

The Botanist at his Mother's Grave

In this poem about processing human grief, I consciously drew on eco-critical theory – (Wilson 1992, Bate 2000) – and Darwinian literary theory (Carroll 2004) to explore the tension between ideas of the ‘natural’ apprehended through the senses, and poststructuralist ideas of the construction of reality through language.

Countering the ADHD epidemic : a question of ethics?

Recently in Australia, another media skirmish has erupted over the problem we currently call “Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder”. This particular event was precipitated by the comments of a respected District Court judge. His claim that doctors are creating a generation of violent juvenile offenders by prescribing Ritalin to young children created a great deal of excitement, attracting the attention of election-conscious politicians who appear blissfully unaware of the role played by educational policy in creating and maintaining the problem. Given the short (election-driven) attention span of government policymakers, I bypass government to question what those at the front line can do to circumvent the questionable practice of diagnosing and medicating young children for difficulties they experience in schools and with learning.

Cryo-electron tomography of Marburg Virus particles and their morphogenesis within infected cells

Several major human pathogens, including the filoviruses, paramyxoviruses, and rhabdoviruses, package their single-stranded RNA genomes within helical nucleocapsids, which bud through the plasma membrane of the infected cell to release enveloped virions. The virions are often heterogeneous in shape, which makes it difficult to study their structure and assembly mechanisms. We have applied cryo-electron tomography and sub-tomogram averaging methods to derive structures of Marburg virus, a highly pathogenic filovirus, both after release and during assembly within infected cells. The data demonstrate the potential of cryo-electron tomography methods to derive detailed structural information for intermediate steps in biological pathways within intact cells. We describe the location and arrangement of the viral proteins within the virion. We show that the N-terminal domain of the nucleoprotein contains the minimal assembly determinants for a helical nucleocapsid with variable number of proteins per turn. Lobes protruding from alternate interfaces between each nucleoprotein are formed by the C-terminal domain of the nucleoprotein, together with viral proteins VP24 and VP35. Each nucleoprotein packages six RNA bases. The nucleocapsid interacts in an unusual, flexible "Velcro-like" manner with the viral matrix protein VP40. Determination of the structures of assembly intermediates showed that the nucleocapsid has a defined orientation during transport and budding. Together the data show striking architectural homology between the nucleocapsid helix of rhabdoviruses and filoviruses, but unexpected, fundamental differences in the mechanisms by which the nucleocapsids are then assembled together with matrix proteins and initiate membrane envelopment to release infectious virions, suggesting that the viruses have evolved different solutions to these conserved assembly steps.

Health service pathways for patients with chronic leg ulcers : identifying effective pathways for facilitation of evidence based wound care

Background: Chronic leg ulcers cause long term ill-health for older adults and the condition places a significant burden on health service resources. Although evidence on effective management of the condition is available, a significant evidence-practice gap is known to exist, with many suggested reasons e.g. multiple care providers, costs of care and treatments. This study aimed to identify effective health service pathways of care which facilitated evidence-based management of chronic leg ulcers. Methods: A sample of 70 patients presenting with a lower limb leg or foot ulcer at specialist wound clinics in Queensland, Australia were recruited for an observational study and survey. Retrospective data were collected on demographics, health, medical history, treatments, costs and health service pathways in the previous 12 months. Prospective data were collected on health service pathways, pain, functional ability, quality of life, treatments, wound healing and recurrence outcomes for 24 weeks from admission. Results: Retrospective data indicated that evidence based guidelines were poorly implemented prior to admission to the study, e.g. only 31% of participants with a lower limb ulcer had an ABPI or duplex assessment in the previous 12 months. On average, participants accessed care 2–3 times/week for 17 weeks from multiple health service providers in the twelve months before admission to the study clinics. Following admission to specialist wound clinics, participants accessed care on average once per week for 12 weeks from a smaller range of providers. The median ulcer duration on admission to the study was 22 weeks (range 2–728 weeks). Following admission to wound clinics, implementation of key indicators of evidence based care increased (p<0.001) and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis found the median time to healing was 12 weeks (95% CI 9.3–14.7). Implementation of evidence based care was significantly related to improved healing outcomes (p<0.001). Conclusions: This study highlights the complexities involved in accessing expertise and evidence based wound care for adults with chronic leg or foot ulcers. Results demonstrate that access to wound management expertise can promote streamlined health services and evidence based wound care, leading to efficient use of health resources and improved health.

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.

Low vitamin B12 levels among newly-arrived refugees from Bhutan, Iran and Afghanistan : a multicentre Australian study

Background: Vitamin B12 deficiency is prevalent in many countries of origin of refugees. Using a threshold of 5% above which a prevalence of low Vitamin B12 is indicative of a population health problem, we hypothesised that Vitamin B12 deficiency exceeds this threshold among newly-arrived refugees resettling in Australia, and is higher among women due to their increased risk of food insecurity. This paper reports Vitamin B12 levels in a large cohort of newly arrived refugees in five Australian states and territories. Methods: In a cross-sectional descriptive study, we collected Vitamin B12, folate and haematological indices on all refugees(n = 916; response rate 94% of eligible population) who had been in Australia for less than one year, and attended one of the collaborating health services between July 2010 and July 2011. Results: 16.5% of participants had Vitamin B12 deficiency (,150 pmol/L). One-third of participants from Iran and Bhutan, and one-quarter of participants from Afghanistan had Vitamin B12 deficiency. Contrary to our hypothesis, low Vitamin B12 levels were more prevalent in males than females. A higher prevalence of low Vitamin B12 was also reported in older age groups in some countries. The sensitivity of macrocytosis in detecting Vitamin B12 deficiency was only 4.6%. Conclusion: Vitamin B12 deficiency is an important population health issue in newly-arrived refugees from many countries. All newly-arrived refugees should be tested for Vitamin B12 deficiency. Ongoing research should investigate causes,treatment, and ways to mitigate food insecurity, and the contribution of such measures to enhancing the health of the refugee communities.

Animating and sustaining niche social networks

Within the communicative space online Social Network Sites (SNS) afford, Niche Social Networks Sites (NSNS) have emerged around particular geographic, demographic or topic-based communities to provide what broader SNS do not: specified and targeted content for an engaged and interested community. Drawing on a research project developed at the Queensland University of Technology in conjunction with the Australian Smart Services Cooperative Research Centre that produced an NSNS based around Adventure Travel, this paper outlines the main drivers for community creation and sustainability within NSNS. The paper asks what factors motivate users to join and stay with these sites and what, if any, common patterns can be noted in their formation. It also outlines the main barriers to online participation and content creation in NSNS, and the similarities and differences in SNS and NSNS business models. Having built a community of 100 registered members, the staywild.com.au project was a living laboratory, enabling us to document the steps taken in producing a NSNS and cultivating and retaining active contributors. The paper incorporates observational analysis of user-generated content (UGC) and user profile submissions, statistical analysis of site usage, and findings from a survey of our membership pool in noting areas of success and of failure. In drawing on our project in this way we provide a template for future iterations of NSNS initiation and development across various other social settings: not only niche communities, but also the media and advertising with which they engage and interact. Positioned within the context of online user participation and UGC research, our paper concludes with a discussion of the ways in which the tools afforded by NSNS extend earlier understandings of online ‘communities of interest’. It also outlines the relevance of our research to larger questions about the diversity of the social media ecology.

Transmission X-ray microscopy : a new tool in clay mineral floccules characterization

Effective flocculation and dewatering of mineral processing streams containing clays are microstructure dependent in clay-water systems. Initial clay flocculation is crucial in the design and for the development of a new methodology of gas exploitation. Microstructural engineering of clay aggregates using covalent cations and Keggin macromolecules have been monitored using the new state of the art Transmission X-ray Microscope (TXM) with 60 nm tomography resolution installed in a Taiwanese synchrotron. The 3-D reconstructions from TXM images show complex aggregation structures in montmorillonite aqueous suspensions after treatment with Na+, Ca2+ and Al13 Keggin macromolecules. Na-montmorillonite displays elongated, parallel, well-orientated and closed-void cellular networks, 0.5–3 μm in diameter. After treatment by covalent cations, the coagulated structure displays much smaller, randomly orientated and openly connected cells, 300–600 nm in diameter. The average distances measured between montmorillonite sheets was around 450 nm, which is less than half of the cell dimension measured in Na-montmorillonite. The most dramatic structural changes were observed after treatment by Al13 Keggin; aggregates then became arranged in compacted domains of a 300 nm average diameter composed of thick face-to-face oriented sheets, which forms porous aggregates with larger intra-aggregate open and connected voids.