A comparison of MiL‐Lx and Hybrid‐III responses in seated and standing postures with blast mats in simulated under‐vehicle explosions

Blast mats that can be retrofitted to the floor of military vehicles are considered to reduce the risk of injury from under‐vehicle explosions. Anthropometric test devices (ATDs) are validated for use only in the seated position. The aim of this study was to use a traumatic injury simulator fitted with 3 different blast mats in order to assess the ability of 2 ATD designs to evaluate the protective capacity of the mats in 2 occupant postures under 2 severities. Tests were performed for each combination of mat design, ATD, severity and posture using an antivehicle under‐belly injury simulator. The differences between mitigation systems were larger under the H‐III compared to the MiL‐Lx. There was little difference in how the 2 ATDs and how posture ranked the mitigation systems. Results from this study suggest that conclusions obtained by testing in the seated position can be extrapolated to the standing. However, the different percentage reductions observed in the 2 ATDs suggests different levels of protection. It is therefore unclear which ATD should be used to assess such mitigation systems. A correlation between cadavers and ATDs on the protection offered by blast mats is required in order to elucidate this issue.

A standing vehicle occupant is likely to sustain a more severe injury than one who has flexed knees in an under‐vehicle explosion : a cadaveric study

The lower limb of military vehicle occupants has been the most injured body part due to undervehicle explosions in recent conflicts. Understanding the injury mechanism and causality of injury severity could aid in developing better protection. Therefore, we tested 4 different occupant postures (seated, brace, standing, standing with knee locked in hyper‐extension) in a simulated under‐vehicle explosion (solid blast) using our traumatic injury simulator in the laboratory; we hypothesised that occupant posture would affect injury severity. No skeletal injury was observed in the specimens in seated and braced postures. Severe, impairing injuries were observed in the foot of standing and hyper‐extended specimens. These results demonstrate that a vehicle occupant whose posture at the time of the attack incorporates knee flexion is more likely to be protected against severe skeletal injury to the lower leg.

Supine to standing Cobb Angle change in idiopathic scoliosis: The effect of endplate preselection

Introduction Standing radiographs are the ‘gold standard’ for clinical assessment of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS), with the Cobb Angle used to measure the severity and progression of the scoliotic curve. Supine imaging modalities can provide valuable 3D information on scoliotic anatomy, however, due to changes in gravitational loading direction, the geometry of the spine alters between the supine and standing position which in turn affects the Cobb Angle measurement. Previous studies have consistently reported a 7-10° [1-3] Cobb Angle increase from supine to standing, however, none have reported the effect of endplate pre-selection and which (if any) curve parameters affect the supine to standing Cobb Angle difference. Methods Female AIS patients with right-sided thoracic major curves were included in the retrospective study. Clinically measured Cobb Angles from existing standing coronal radiographs and fulcrum bending radiographs [4] were compared to existing low-dose supine CT scans taken within 3 months of the reference radiograph. Reformatted coronal CT images were used to measure Cobb Angle variability with and without endplate pre-selection (end-plates selected on the radiographs used on the CT images). Inter and intra-observer measurement variability was assessed. Multi-linear regression was used to investigate whether there was a relationship between supine to standing Cobb Angle change and patient characteristics (SPSS, v.21, IBM, USA). Results Fifty-two patients were included, with mean age of 14.6 (SD 1.8) years; all curves were Lenke Type 1 with mean Cobb Angle on supine CT of 42° (SD 6.4°) and 52° (SD 6.7°) on standing radiographs. The mean fulcrum bending Cobb Angle for the group was 22.6° (SD 7.5°). The 10° increase from supine to standing is consistent with existing literature. Pre-selecting vertebral endplates was found to increase the Cobb Angle difference by a mean 2° (range 0-9°). Multi-linear regression revealed a statistically significant relationship between supine to standing Cobb Angle change with: fulcrum flexibility (p=0.001), age (p=0.027) and standing Cobb Angle (p<0.001). In patients with high fulcrum flexibility scores, the supine to standing Cobb Angle change was as great as 20°.The 95% confidence intervals for intra-observer and inter-observer measurement variability were 3.1° and 3.6°, respectively. Conclusion There is a statistically significant relationship between supine to standing Cobb Angle change and fulcrum flexibility. Therefore, this difference can be considered a measure of spinal flexibility. Pre-selecting vertebral endplates causes only minor changes.

Unidirectional arrays of vertically standing graphenes in reactive plasmas

The possibility for the switch-over of the growth mode from a continuous network to unidirectional arrays of well-separated, self-organized, vertically oriented graphene nanosheets has been demonstrated using a unique, yet simple plasma-based approach. The process enables highly reproducible, catalyst-free synthesis of arrays of graphene nanosheets with reactive open graphitic edges facing upwards. Effective control over the nanosheet length, number density, and the degree of alignment along the electric field direction is achieved by a simple variation of the substrate bias. These results are of interest for environment-friendly fabrication of next-generation nanodevices based on three-dimensional, ordered self-organized nanoarrays of active nanostructures with very large surface areas and aspect ratios, highly reactive edges, and controlled density on the substrate. Our simple and versatile plasma-based approach paves the way for direct integration of such nanoarrays directly into the Si-based nanodevice platform.

Standing surface waves in a dust-contaminated large-area planar plasma source

The effect of charged particulates or dusts on surface wave produced microwave discharges is studied. The frequencies of the standing electromagnetic eigenmodes of large-area flat plasmas are calculated. The dusts absorb a significant amount of the plasma electrons and can lead to a modification of the electromagnetic field structure in the discharge by shifting the originally excited operating mode out of resonance. For certain given proportions of dusts, mode conversion is found to be possible. The power loss in the discharge is also increased because of dust-specific dissipations, leading to a decrease of the operating mode quality factor.

Benefits and risks of large hydrostatic recesses in hydroelectric turbine thrust bearings

Operators of hydroelectric power stations sometimes call upon engineers to modify existing hydroelectric turbines, usually several decades old, for improved maintainability and reliability. One common modification is the hybridisation of plain thrust pads to allow hydrostatic operation to reduce the risk of bearing wipe at low speed (virtually all new installations benefit from this feature). A modification such as this is not a difficult undertaking; however, there are numerous factors that need to be considered in order to maximize bearing performance. One factor that stands out above the others is whether the thrust bearing should be designed to lift the turbine immediately from the standing condition, which presents an interesting challenge: the recess has to have a sufficiently large area in order for the supply pressure to be able to overcome the dead weight of the turbine. If the combination of groove area and pressure is insufficient, then lifting is neither immediate nor guaranteed. This need not be a significant problem, as the bearings have exhibited adequate performance even in the absence of a hydrostatic lubricant supply. A case study is presented whereby relatively large hydrostatic recesses are added to the pads of thrust bearing. It is demonstrated with the aid of simple numerical modelling that the impact of the recess relative to the original pad is small under normal operating conditions. Most surprising, however, is that significant reductions in average oil film temperature and power dissipation are predicted.

Supine to standing Cobb angle change in idiopathic scoliosis : the effect of endplate pre-selection

Background Supine imaging modalities provide valuable 3D information on scoliotic anatomy, but the altered spine geometry between the supine and standing positions affects the Cobb angle measurement. Previous studies report a mean 7°-10° Cobb angle increase from supine to standing, but none have reported the effect of endplate pre-selection or whether other parameters affect this Cobb angle difference. Methods Cobb angles from existing coronal radiographs were compared to those on existing low-dose CT scans taken within three months of the reference radiograph for a group of females with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Reformatted coronal CT images were used to measure supine Cobb angles with and without endplate pre-selection (end-plates selected from the radiographs) by two observers on three separate occasions. Inter and intra-observer measurement variability were assessed. Multi-linear regression was used to investigate whether there was a relationship between supine to standing Cobb angle change and eight variables: patient age, mass, standing Cobb angle, Risser sign, ligament laxity, Lenke type, fulcrum flexibility and time delay between radiograph and CT scan. Results Fifty-two patients with right thoracic Lenke Type 1 curves and mean age 14.6 years (SD 1.8) were included. The mean Cobb angle on standing radiographs was 51.9° (SD 6.7). The mean Cobb angle on supine CT images without pre-selection of endplates was 41.1° (SD 6.4). The mean Cobb angle on supine CT images with endplate pre-selection was 40.5° (SD 6.6). Pre-selecting vertebral endplates increased the mean Cobb change by 0.6° (SD 2.3, range −9° to 6°). When free to do so, observers chose different levels for the end vertebrae in 39% of cases. Multi-linear regression revealed a statistically significant relationship between supine to standing Cobb change and fulcrum flexibility (p = 0.001), age (p = 0.027) and standing Cobb angle (p < 0.001). The 95% confidence intervals for intra-observer and inter-observer measurement variability were 3.1° and 3.6°, respectively. Conclusions Pre-selecting vertebral endplates causes minor changes to the mean supine to standing Cobb change. There is a statistically significant relationship between supine to standing Cobb change and fulcrum flexibility such that this difference can be considered a potential alternative measure of spinal flexibility.

The effect of endplate preselection when measuring supine versus standing cobb angle change in idiopathic scoliosis

The primary aim of this study was to determine whether endplate pre-selection makes a difference to the Cobb Angle change between supine and standing which is known to occur in idiopathic scoliosis. A secondary aim of this study was to identify which (if any) patient characteristics were correlated with supine versus standing Cobb change. The study found that pre-selecting vertebral endplates causes only has a minor effect on supine to standing Cobb change in scoliosis. There is a statistically significant relationship between supine to standing Cobb Angle change and fulcrum flexibility. Therefore, supine to standing Cobb Angle change can be considered as a measure of spinal flexibility when both standing and supine images are clinically available.

Eight dead, 70 missing as flash floods strike Queensland

"Eight people are dead and there are grave fears the toll may rise with at least 70 missing after flash floods swept through southeastern Queensland."

Better half-dead than read? The Mezzomorto cases and their implications for literary culture in the 1930s

This article focusses on the two libel cases arising from Brian Penton's review of Vivian Crockett's novel Mezzomorto for the Bulletin in 1934, viewing them as points of entry into Australian literary politics in the 1930s, and as windows on to one of the most enduring and interesting feuds in Australian literary culture, that between P.R. 'Inky' Stephensen, self-styled 'Bunyip Critic,' and Brian Penton, arch exponent of 'destructive criticism' and scourge of parochial pretension. The cases are particularly interesting for what they reveal about the evolving positions of two influential figures in Australian writing of the 1930s and 1940s. They also play in to contemporary debates about the state and status of 'literature' in Australia. And while Penton's biographer Patrick Buckridge avers that the cases did not impact on any of the larger contemporary literary issues (meaning censorship and free speech), a case may be made for the significance of the libel actions in the context of attempts to establish an industrial and cultural presence for a diverse range of Australian writing.

Submission to Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs on the Copyright Amendment (Online Infringement) Bill 2015

We argue that safeguards are necessary to ensure human rights are adequately protected. All systems of blocking access to online content necessarily raise difficult and problematic issues of infringement of freedom of speech and access to information. Given the importance of access to information across the breadth of modern life, great care must be taken to ensure that any measures designed to protect copyright by blocking access to online locations are proportionate. Any measures to block access to online content must be carefully tailored to avoid serious and disproportionate impact on human rights. This means first that the measures must be effective and adapted to achieve a legitimate purpose. The experience of foreign jurisdictions suggests that this legislation is unlikely to be effective. Unless and until there is clear evidence that the proposed scheme is likely to increase effective returns to Australian creators, this legislation should not be introduced. Second, the principle of proportionality requires ensuring that the proposed legislation does not unnecessarily burden legitimate speech or access to information. As currently worded, the draft legislation may result in online locations being blocked even though they would, if operated in Australia, not contravene Australian law. This is unacceptable, and if introduced, the law should be drafted so that it is clearly limited only to foreign locations where there is clear and compelling evidence that the location would authorise copyright infringement if it were in Australia. Third, proportionality requires that measures are reasonable and strike an appropriate balance between competing interests. This draft legislation provides few safeguards for the public interest or the interests of private actors who would access legitimate information. New safeguards should be introduced to ensure that the public interest is well represented at both the stage of the primary application and at any applications to rescind or vary injunctions. We recommend that: The legislation not be introduced unless and until there is compelling evidence that it will have a real and significant positive impact on the effective incomes of Australian creators. The ‘facilitates an infringement’ test in s 115A(1)(b) should be replaced with ‘authorises infringement’. The ‘primary purpose’ test in s 115A(1)(c) should be replaced with: “the online location has no substantial non-infringing uses”. An explicit role for public interest groups as amici curiae should be introduced. Costs of successful applications should be borne by applicants. Injunctions should be valid only for renewable two year terms. Section 115A(5) should be clarified, and cl (b) and (c) be removed. The effectiveness of the scheme should be evaluated in two years.

The dead poets society: The copyright term and the public domain

In a victory for corporate control of cultural heritage, the Supreme Court of the United States has rejected a constitutional challenge to the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act 1998 (U.S.) by a majority of seven to two. This paper evaluates the litigation in terms of policy debate in a number of discourses — history, intellectual property law, constitutional law and freedom of speech, cultural heritage, economics and competition policy, and international trade. It argues that the extension of the copyright term will inhibit the dissemination of cultural works through the use of new technologies — such as Eric Eldred's Eldritch Press and Project Gutenberg. It concludes that there is a need to resist the attempts of copyright owners to establish the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act 1998 (U.S.) as an international model for other jurisdictions — such as Australia.

The Australia-Chile free trade agreement 2008: Intellectual property and development. A submission to the Joint Standing Committee on treaties

A submission to the Joint Standing Committee on treaties