Years lived with disability (YLDs) for 1160 sequelae of 289 diseases and injuries 1990–2010 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010

Background Non-fatal health outcomes from diseases and injuries are a crucial consideration in the promotion and monitoring of individual and population health. The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) studies done in 1990 and 2000 have been the only studies to quantify non-fatal health outcomes across an exhaustive set of disorders at the global and regional level. Neither effort quantified uncertainty in prevalence or years lived with disability (YLDs). Methods Of the 291 diseases and injuries in the GBD cause list, 289 cause disability. For 1160 sequelae of the 289 diseases and injuries, we undertook a systematic analysis of prevalence, incidence, remission, duration, and excess mortality. Sources included published studies, case notification, population-based cancer registries, other disease registries, antenatal clinic serosurveillance, hospital discharge data, ambulatory care data, household surveys, other surveys, and cohort studies. For most sequelae, we used a Bayesian meta-regression method, DisMod-MR, designed to address key limitations in descriptive epidemiological data, including missing data, inconsistency, and large methodological variation between data sources. For some disorders, we used natural history models, geospatial models, back-calculation models (models calculating incidence from population mortality rates and case fatality), or registration completeness models (models adjusting for incomplete registration with health-system access and other covariates). Disability weights for 220 unique health states were used to capture the severity of health loss. YLDs by cause at age, sex, country, and year levels were adjusted for comorbidity with simulation methods. We included uncertainty estimates at all stages of the analysis. Findings Global prevalence for all ages combined in 2010 across the 1160 sequelae ranged from fewer than one case per 1 million people to 350 000 cases per 1 million people. Prevalence and severity of health loss were weakly correlated (correlation coefficient −0·37). In 2010, there were 777 million YLDs from all causes, up from 583 million in 1990. The main contributors to global YLDs were mental and behavioural disorders, musculoskeletal disorders, and diabetes or endocrine diseases. The leading specific causes of YLDs were much the same in 2010 as they were in 1990: low back pain, major depressive disorder, iron-deficiency anaemia, neck pain, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, anxiety disorders, migraine, diabetes, and falls. Age-specific prevalence of YLDs increased with age in all regions and has decreased slightly from 1990 to 2010. Regional patterns of the leading causes of YLDs were more similar compared with years of life lost due to premature mortality. Neglected tropical diseases, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and anaemia were important causes of YLDs in sub-Saharan Africa. Interpretation Rates of YLDs per 100 000 people have remained largely constant over time but rise steadily with age. Population growth and ageing have increased YLD numbers and crude rates over the past two decades. Prevalences of the most common causes of YLDs, such as mental and behavioural disorders and musculoskeletal disorders, have not decreased. Health systems will need to address the needs of the rising numbers of individuals with a range of disorders that largely cause disability but not mortality. Quantification of the burden of non-fatal health outcomes will be crucial to understand how well health systems are responding to these challenges. Effective and affordable strategies to deal with this rising burden are an urgent priority for health systems in most parts of the world. Funding Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

100% pure New Zealand

Tourism New Zealand (TNZ) is the national tourism office responsible for coordinating international marketing of New Zealand as a tourism destination (see www.newzealand.com ). Typical of most destination marketing organisations (DMO), TNZ is funded by government to work with the private sector in an effort to improve the financial viability of the tourism industry. A competitive tourism industry can provide a number of economic and socio-cultural benefits to a community, such as increased job opportunities and lower unemployment, new amenities and attractions, and revival of indigenous culture.

Approaches to designing for older adults' intuitive interaction with complex devices

Many older people have difficulties using modern consumer products due to increased product complexity both in terms of functionality and interface design. Previous research has shown that older people have more difficulty in using complex devices intuitively when compared to the younger. Furthermore, increased life expectancy and a falling birth rate have been catalysts for changes in world demographics over the past two decades. This trend also suggests a proportional increase of older people in the work-force. This realisation has led to research on the effective use of technology by older populations in an effort to engage them more productively and to assist them in leading independent lives. Ironically, not enough attention has been paid to the development of interaction design strategies that would actually enable older users to better exploit new technologies. Previous research suggests that if products are designed to reflect people's prior knowledge, they will appear intuitive to use. Since intuitive interfaces utilise domain-specific prior knowledge of users, they require minimal learning for effective interaction. However, older people are very diverse in their capabilities and domain-specific prior knowledge. In addition, ageing also slows down the process of acquiring new knowledge. Keeping these suggestions and limitations in view, the aim of this study was set to investigate possible approaches to developing interfaces that facilitate their intuitive use by older people. In this quest to develop intuitive interfaces for older people, two experiments were conducted that systematically investigated redundancy (the use of both text and icons) in interface design, complexity of interface structure (nested versus flat), and personal user factors such as cognitive abilities, perceived self-efficacy and technology anxiety. All of these factors could interfere with intuitive use. The results from the first experiment suggest that, contrary to what was hypothesised, older people (65+ years) completed the tasks on the text only based interface design faster than on the redundant interface design. The outcome of the second experiment showed that, as expected, older people took more time on a nested interface. However, they did not make significantly more errors compared with younger age groups. Contrary to what was expected, older age groups also did better under anxious conditions. The findings of this study also suggest that older age groups are more heterogeneous in their capabilities and their intuitive use of contemporary technological devices is mediated more by domain-specific technology prior knowledge and by their cognitive abilities, than chronological age. This makes it extremely difficult to develop product interfaces that are entirely intuitive to use. However, by keeping in view the cognitive limitations of older people when interfaces are developed, and using simple text-based interfaces with flat interface structure, would help them intuitively learn and use complex technological products successfully during early encounter with a product. These findings indicate that it might be more pragmatic if interfaces are designed for intuitive learning rather than for intuitive use. Based on this research and the existing literature, a model for adaptable interface design as a strategy for developing intuitively learnable product interfaces was proposed. An adaptable interface can initially use a simple text only interface to help older users to learn and successfully use the new system. Over time, this can be progressively changed to a symbols-based nested interface for more efficient and intuitive use.

Effects of schedule pressure on construction performance

Accelerating a project can be rewarding. The consequences, however, can be troublesome if productivity and quality are sacrificed for the sake of remaining ahead of schedule, such that the actual schedule benefits are often barely worth the effort. The tradeoffs and paths of schedule pressure and its causes and effects are often overlooked when schedule decisions are being made. This paper analyses the effects that schedule pressure has on construction performance, and focuses on tradeoffs in scheduling. A research framework has been developed using a causal diagram to illustrate the cause-and-effect analysis of schedule pressure. An empirical investigation has been performed by using survey data collected from 102 construction practitioners working in 38 construction sites in Singapore. The results of this survey data analysis indicate that advantages of increasing the pace of work—by working under schedule pressure—can be offset by losses in productivity and quality. The negative effects of schedule pressure arise mainly by working out of sequence, generating work defects, cutting corners, and losing the motivation to work. The adverse effects of schedule pressure can be minimized by scheduling construction activities realistically and planning them proactively, motivating workers, and by establishing an effective project coordination and communication mechanism.

A new database compilation of whole-rock chemical and geochronological data of igneous rocks in Queensland : a new resource for HDR geothermal resource exploration

The Geothermal industry in Australia and Queensland is in its infancy and for hot dry rock (HDR) geothermal energy, it is very much in the target identification and resource definition stages. As a key effort to assist the geothermal industry and exploration for HDR in Queensland, we are developing a comprehensive and new integrated geochemical and geochronological database on igneous rocks. To date, around 18,000 igneous rocks have been analysed across Queensland for chemical and/or age information. However, these data currently reside in a number of disparate datasets (e.g., Ozchron, Champion et al., 2007, Geological Survey of Queensland, journal publications, and unpublished university theses). The goal of this project is to collate and integrate these data on Queensland igneous rocks to improve our understanding of high heat producing granites in Queensland, in terms of their distribution (particularly in the subsurface), dimensions, ages, and controlling factors in their genesis.

Funding : Australia’s grant system wastes time

We found that scientists in Australia spent more than five centuries' worth of time preparing research-grant proposals for consideration by the largest funding scheme of 2012. Because just 20.5% of these applications were successful, the equivalent of some four centuries of effort returned no immediate benefit to researchers and wasted valuable research time. The system needs reforming and alternative funding processes should be investigated...

Perceptions of corporate social and environmental accounting and reporting practices from accountants in Bangladesh

Purpose – The aim of this study is to elicit accountants’ perceptions regarding corporate social and environmental accounting and reporting practices in a developing country such as Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach – Members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB) were surveyed to determine their perceptions on issues pertaining to social and environmental accounting and reporting practices in Bangladesh. Findings – Whilst the findings show that accountants have positive attitudes toward corporate social and environmental accounting, progress is limited, with the absence of ICAB in making any noticeable effort to develop such practices. Research implications – Unlike prior studies, the implications of this study suggest that without international influence, it is less likely that institutional forces in Bangladesh (ICAB and the government) would be effective in dealing with social and environmental accounting and reporting issues. Originality/value – While prior studies advocate proactive roles of the accounting profession, this study argues that proactive roles are less likely to prevail in the context of Bangladesh without direct intervention from institutional and regulatory authorities in the international arena.

Possible comet samples : The NASA Cosmic Dust Program

Beginning in 1974, a limited effort to collect extraterrestrial dust samples from the stratosphere using impactors mounted on NASA U-2 aircraft was initiated at NASA Ames Research Center (1). Subsequent studies (e.g. 1-9) have clearly established an extraterrestrial origin for some of the material. Attrition of comets is considered to be one of the potential sources of extraterrestrial dust(1,5). Additionally, some of the particles appear to represent a type of primitive material not represented in meteorite collections. In order to provide a greater availability of these samples to the scientific community, NASA-Johnson Space Center (JSC) began in May of 1981 a program dedicated to the systematic collection and curation of cosmic dust for scientific investigation. Collections were made at 18 to 20 km altitude by means of collectors mounted under the wings of a WB57F. When the aircraft reaches operating altitude, the collector plates (impactors) are extended into the ambient airstream with the collection surface normal to the airflow. To prevent particles from bouncing off the surface, the impactors are coated with a film of high viscosity silicone oil. The impactors are sealed in canisters to minimize contamination when not collecting.

The role of, and key considerations for, advertising campaigns and educational awareness workshops within the work-related road safety context

Australian and international evidence suggests that, in the work-related driving context, road crashes account for a substantial number of occupational incidents. In the attempt to reduce injury and improve safety, organisations may implement an array of strategies and interventions ranging from policy development and implementation, vehicle selection and incident monitoring through to education and awareness-raising. This conceptual paper discusses aspects relating to the latter collection of interventions and, in particular, the role, and some key considerations with respect to the content and dissemination, of advertising campaigns and educational awareness workshops. In relation to advertising campaigns, this paper discusses how some of the overarching principles associated with advertising in the broader general community road safety strategy also apply within the work-related road safety context. Specifically, advertising campaigns/materials should be viewed as a key component within a dedicated organisational approach to road (driver) safety. This dedicated approach would need to comprise of a number, and varied array, of strategies. In addition, the content of, and medium/s (e.g., posters) by which to deliver such advertising campaigns, cannot be addressed by a one-size-fits all approach but, rather, requires careful consideration of the needs as well as characteristics of specific organisations and their driver fleet. The paper provides a summary of some key considerations when devising an advertising campaign, including the nature of campaign/message content as well as the processes by which to devise and refine such content. In relation to driver education awareness workshops, this paper outlines the key considerations for delivering a series of workshops specifically aimed at occupational driving within the organisational context. A case study approach will be utilised to demonstrate the manner in which educational awareness workshops can compliment successful advertising campaigns promoting safer work related driving through better risk management practice. Research underpinning the development of driver behaviour modification tools incorporated within the workshops will also be discussed along with the mechanisms utilised to encourage improvements in driver monitoring and behaviour. In an effort to assist organisations with their continual search for cost-effective approaches which may, ultimately, contribute to improvements in driver behaviour and safety, the current paper offers some clear and practical suggestions in relation to the development and dissemination of two types of interventions, advertising campaigns and education awareness workshops.

Strategies for gaining and maintaining academic support for the institutional open access repository

The impact of research can be measured by use or citation count. The more widely available that research outputs are; the more likely they are to be used, and the higher the impact. Making the author-manuscript version of research outputs freely available via the institutional repository greatly increases the availability of research outputs and can increase the impact. QUT ePrints, the open access institutional repository of research outputs at Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Australia, was established in 2003 and is managed by the QUT Library. The repository now contains over 39,000 records. More than 21,000 of these records have full-text copies attached as result of continuous effort to maintain momentum and encourage academic engagement. The full-text deposit rate has continued to increase over time and, in 2012 (August, at the time of writing), 88% of the records for works published in 2012 provide access to a full-text copy. Achieving success has required a long term approach to collaboration, open access advocacy, repository promotion, support for the deposit process, and ongoing system development. This paper discusses the various approaches adopted by QUT Library, in collaboration with other areas of the University, to achieve success. Approaches include mainstreaming the repository via having it report to the University Research and Innovation Committee; regular provision of deposit rate data to faculties; championing key academic supporters; and holding promotional competitions and events such as during Open Access Week. Support and training is provided via regular deposit workshops with academics and faculty research support groups and via the provision of online self-help information. Recent system developments have included the integration of citation data (from Scopus and Web of Science) and the development of a statistical reporting system which incentivise engagement.

Reconceptualising policy integration in road safety management

Unless sustained, coordinated action is generated in road safety, road traffic deaths are poised to rise from approximately 1.3 to 1.9 million a year by 2020 (Krug, 2012). To generate this harmonised response, road safety management agencies are being urged to adopt multisectoral collaboration (WHO, 2009b), which is achievable through the principle of policy integration. Yet policy integration, in its current hierarchical format, is marred by a lack of universality of its interpretation, a failure to anticipate the complexities of coordinated effort, dearth of information about its design and the absence of a normative perspective to share responsibility. This paper addresses this ill-conception of policy integration by reconceptualising it through a qualitative examination of 16 road safety stakeholders’ written submissions, lodged with the Australian Transport Council in 2011. The resulting, new principle of policy integration, Participatory Deliberative Integration, provides a conceptual framework for the alignment of effort across stakeholders in transport, health, traffic law enforcement, relevant trades and the community. With the adoption of Participatory Deliberative Integration, road safety management agencies should secure the commitment of key stakeholders in the development and implementation of, amongst other policy measures, National Road Safety Strategies and Mix Mode Integrated Timetabling.

Advanced Bioactive Inorganic Materials for Bone Regeneration and Drug Delivery

Bioceramics play an important role in repairing and regenerating bone defects. Annually, more than 500,000 bone graft procedures are performed in the United states and approximately 2.2 million are conducted worldwide. The estimated cost of these procedures approaches $2.5billion per year. Around 60% of the bone graft substitutes available on the market involve bioceramics. It is reported that bioceramics in the world market increase by 9% per year. For this reason, the research of bioceramics has been one of the most active areas during, the past several years. Considering the significant importance of bioceramics, our goal was to compile this book to review the latest research advances in the field of bioceramics. The text also summarizes our work during the past 10 years in an effort to share innovative concepts, design of bioceramisc, and methods for material synthesis and drug delivery. We anticipate that this text will provide some useful information and guidance in the bioceramics field for biomedical engineering researchers and material scientists. Information on novel mesoporous bioactive glasses and silicate-based ceramics for bone regeneration and drug delivery are presented. Mesoporous bioactive glasses have shown multifunctional characteristics of bone regeneration and drug delivery due to their special mesopore structures,whereas silicated-based bioceramics, as typical third-generation biomaterials,possess significant osteostimulation properties. Silica nanospheres with a core-shell structure and specific properties for controllable drug delivery have been carefully reviewed-a variety of advanced synthetic strategies have been developed to construct functional mesoporous silica nanoparticles with a core-shell structure, including hollow, magnetic, or luminescent, and other multifunctional core-shell mesoporous silica nanoparticles. In addition, multifunctional drug delivery systems based on these nanoparticles have been designed and optimized to deliver the drugs into the targeted organs or cells,with a controllable release fashioned by virtue of various internal and external triggers. The novel 3D-printing technique to prepare advanced bioceramic scaffolds for bone tissue engineering applications has been highlighted, including the preparation, mechanical strength, and biological properties of 3D-printed porous scaffolds of calcium phosphate cement and silicate bioceramics. Three-dimensional printing techniques offer improved large-pore structure and mechanical strength. In addition , biomimetic preparation and controllable crystal growth as well as biomineralization of bioceramics are summarized, showing the latest research progress in this area. Finally, inorganic and organic composite materials are reviewed for bone regeneration and gene delivery. Bioactive inorganic and organic composite materials offer unique biological, electrical, and mechanical properties for designing excellent bone regeneration or gene delivery systems. It is our sincere hope that this book will updated the reader as to the research progress of bioceramics and their applications in bone repair and regeneration. It will be the best reward to all the contributors of this book if their efforts herein in some way help reader in any part of their study, research, and career development.

Women as victims and offenders : incarcerated for murder in the Australian criminal justice system

This study was undertaken in an effort to contribute to the limited knowledge of women who commit murder. Women account for approximately 10% of the total Australian homicides and according to Mouzos (2000), 20% of these female perpetrated homicides result in murder convictions. In her extensive study of female homicide offending in England, Brookman (2005) asserts that nearly two thirds of the victims of women who kill are intimates, to include violent partners and their own children. The other third of the victims consist largely of acquaintances and to lesser degree strangers (Brookman, 2005). This study strives to introduce further knowledge regarding women convicted of murder; the smaller subgroup of female homicide offenders of which less is known. It is comprised of women who killed intimates and non-intimates to include acquaintances. The study engages the narratives of seven women, all of whom were convicted of murder and serving lengthy sentences at the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre, a medium and maximum security prison that is located on the outskirts of Melbourne, Australia. The seven women fall largely outside of the characteristics of female homicide offenders as revealed in the studies from Australia’s National Homicide Monitoring Program (NHMP, 2007), from Canada by Hoffmann, Lavigne, and Dickie (1998) and research from the United States by Scott and Davies (2002). In this study there were no Indigenous women represented. Only one of the women had a previous criminal charge. The women were older on average than the prevailing demographics from western nations. Two of the women had substance abuse and co-occurring mental illness, which reflects a significant lower rate than the literature suggests. This study expands the current understanding of the phenomenon of women who murder. It communicates the narratives of seven women charged and convicted of murder as they attempt to understand their lives and identities. It moves the dialogue beyond the preponderance of feminist criminological research that examines motive and the relationship the woman has with her victim to the social discourses which dominate in her identity formation. This research found that in their attempt to create a favourable identity the women needed to engage with the master script of normative femininity through the feminisation of victimisation, motherhood and domesticity.

Factors affecting the accuracy of engineers' estimates

Emerging sciences, such as conceptual cost estimating, seem to have to go through two phases. The first phase involves reducing the field of study down to its basic ingredients - from systems development to technological development (techniques) to theoretical development. The second phase operates in the direction in building up techniques from theories, and systems from techniques. Cost estimating is clearly and distinctly still in the first phase. A great deal of effort has been put into the development of both manual and computer based cost estimating systems during this first phase and, to a lesser extent, the development of a range of techniques that can be used (see, for instance, Ashworth & Skitmore, 1986). Theoretical developments have not, as yet, been forthcoming. All theories need the support of some observational data and cost estimating is not likely to be an exception. These data do not need to be complete in order to build theories. As it is possible to construct an image of a prehistoric animal such as the brontosaurus from only a few key bones and relics, so a theory of cost estimating may possibly be found on a few factual details. The eternal argument of empiricists and deductionists is that, as theories need factual support, so do we need theories in order to know what facts to collect. In cost estimating, the basic facts of interest concern accuracy, the cost of achieving this accuracy, and the trade off between the two. When cost estimating theories do begin to emerge, it is highly likely that these relationships will be central features. This paper presents some of the facts we have been able to acquire regarding one part of this relationship - accuracy, and its influencing factors. Although some of these factors, such as the amount of information used in preparing the estimate, will have cost consequences, we have not yet reached the stage of quantifying these costs. Indeed, as will be seen, many of the factors do not involve any substantial cost considerations. The absence of any theory is reflected in the arbitrary manner in which the factors are presented. Rather, the emphasis here is on the consideration of purely empirical data concerning estimating accuracy. The essence of good empirical research is to .minimize the role of the researcher in interpreting the results of the study. Whilst space does not allow a full treatment of the material in this manner, the principle has been adopted as closely as possible to present results in an uncleaned and unbiased way. In most cases the evidence speaks for itself. The first part of the paper reviews most of the empirical evidence that we have located to date. Knowledge of any work done, but omitted here would be most welcome. The second part of the paper presents an analysis of some recently acquired data pertaining to this growing subject.

A finite element model of seat cushion indentation with a soft tissue human occupant model

Effective digital human model (DHM) simulation of automotive driver packaging ergonomics, safety and comfort depends on accurate modelling of occupant posture, which is strongly related to the mechanical interaction between human body soft tissue and flexible seat components. This paper presents a finite-element study simulating the deflection of seat cushion foam and supportive seat structures, as well as human buttock and thigh soft tissue when seated. The three-dimensional data used for modelling thigh and buttock geometry were taken on one 95th percentile male subject, representing the bivariate percentiles of the combined hip breadth (seated) and buttock-to-knee length distributions of a selected Australian and US population. A thigh-buttock surface shell based on this data was generated for the analytic model. A 6mm neoprene layer was offset from the shell to account for the compression of body tissue expected through sitting in a seat. The thigh-buttock model is therefore made of two layers, covering thin to moderate thigh and buttock proportions, but not more fleshy sizes. To replicate the effects of skin and fat, the neoprene rubber layer was modelled as a hyperelastic material with viscoelastic behaviour in a Neo-Hookean material model. Finite element (FE) analysis was performed in ANSYS V13 WB (Canonsburg, USA). It is hypothesized that the presented FE simulation delivers a valid result, compared to a standard SAE physical test and the real phenomenon of human-seat indentation. The analytical model is based on the CAD assembly of a Ford Territory seat. The optimized seat frame, suspension and foam pad CAD data were transformed and meshed into FE models and indented by the two layer, soft surface human FE model. Converging results with the least computational effort were achieved for a bonded connection between cushion and seat base as well as cushion and suspension, no separation between neoprene and indenter shell and a frictional connection between cushion pad and neoprene. The result is compared to a previous simulation of an indentation with a hard shell human finite-element model of equal geometry, and to the physical indentation result, which is approached with very high fidelity. We conclude that (a) SAE composite buttock form indentation of a suspended seat cushion can be validly simulated in a FE model of merely similar geometry, but using a two-layer hard/soft structure. (b) Human-seat indentation of a suspended seat cushion can be validly simulated with a simplified human buttock-thigh model for a selected anthropomorphism.