Bone tissue engineering

Currently, well-established clinical therapeutic approaches for bone reconstruction are restricted to the transplantation of autografts and allografts, and the implantation of metal devices or ceramic-based implants to assist bone regeneration. These standard techniques face significant disadvantages. As a result, research has focused on the development of alternative therapeutic concepts aiming to design and engineer unparalleled structural and functional bone grafts. Substantial academic and commercial interest has been sparked in bone engineering methods to stimulate, control and eventually replicate key events of bone regeneration ex vivo. Over the years, this interest has further increased and bone tissue engineering has now become a well-recognized research discipline in the area of regenerative medicine. The following chapter gives an overview of bone tissue engineering principles. It focuses on research related to the combination of scaffolds with multipotent precursor cells, such as bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells or human umbilical cord perivascular cells, and the clinical applications of these tissue engineered bone constructs.

The verdine facies off French Guiana

This chapter reviews green grains from the shelf of French Guiana as a regional example of sedimentologic process occurring on the whole stable continental margin from the Amazon to the Orinoco River. Green grains have been observed and analyzed off the Orinoco delta and on the continental shelf of Surinam. These green grains were identified as “chamosite” and “glauconite.” The muddy coast of French Guiana is generally very flat and occupied by wet swamps and mangrove as a result of the equatorial climate. Most green grains on the continental shelf represent the verdine facies. Green grains are ubiquitous on the shelf and top of the slope off French Guiana. Two sedimentological facies exist: glaucony deeper than 150 m and verdine at shallower depths. The verdine facies has mainly developed from mineral debris and especially chloritized biotite. Carbonate bioclasts and faecal pellets are also utilized. The mica flakes were never wholly replaced by authigenic clay and the phenomenon leads to mixed grains where authigenic and substrate remains are recognizable. Carbonate substrates lead to mainly clay pure green grains becasue the initial carbonate has been dissolved. The formation of verdine can be located in a general marine environment at a comparatively warm sea-water temperature and at a depth probably shallower than 60 m.

Comparative eye tracking of experts and novices in web single sign-on

Security indicators in web browsers alert users to the presence of a secure connection between their computer and a web server; many studies have shown that such indicators are largely ignored by users in general. In other areas of computer security, research has shown that technical expertise can decrease user susceptibility to attacks. In this work, we examine whether computer or security expertise affects use of web browser security indicators. Our study takes place in the context of web-based single sign-on, in which a user can use credentials from a single identity provider to login to many relying websites; single sign-on is a more complex, and hence more difficult, security task for users. In our study, we used eye trackers and surveyed participants to examine the cues individuals use and those they report using, respectively. Our results show that users with security expertise are more likely to self-report looking at security indicators, and eye-tracking data shows they have longer gaze duration at security indicators than those without security expertise. However, computer expertise alone is not correlated with recorded use of security indicators. In survey questions, neither experts nor novices demonstrate a good understanding of the security consequences of web-based single sign-on.

Management of delirium in medicine : experience of a close observation unit

Objective(s): A new model of care for the management of patients with delirium was developed and evaluated. Method: A 4-bedded Close Observation Unit (COU) was introduced. The model comprised an education strategy for assistants in nursing (AIN), environmental adaptations and AIN to patient ratio of 1:4. Outcomes in all patients with delirium before and after introduction of the new model of care were compared. Results: 105 patients were admitted to COU, of whom 100 (95%) were diagnosed with delirium. In-hospital mortality improved after introduction of the unit (15% versus 5%; p=0.002) without significant change in length of stay, discharge destination or falls frequency. Conclusion: A dedicated unit for delirium management within medicine achieved a reduction in mortality.

Intercultural competence in engineering education : who are we teaching?

BACKGROUND There is little doubt that our engineering graduates’ ability to identify cultural differences and their potential to impact on engineering projects, and to work effectively with these differences is of key importance in the modern engineering practice. Within engineering degree programs themselves there is also a significant need to recognise the impact of changing student and staff profiles on what happens in the classroom. The research described in this paper forms part of a larger project exploring issues of intercultural competence in engineering. PURPOSE This paper presents an observational and survey study of undergraduate and postgraduate engineering students from four institutions working in groups on tasks with a purely technical focus, or with a cultural and humanitarian element. The study sought to explore how students rate their own intercultural competence and team process and whether any differences exist depending on the nature of the task they are working on. We also investigated whether any differences were evident between groups of first year, second year and postgraduate students. DESIGN/METHOD The study used the miniCQS instrument (Ang & Van Dyne, 2008) and a Bales Interaction Process Analysis based scale (Bales, 1950; Carney, 1976) to collect students self ratings of group process, task management, and cultural experience and behaviour. The Bales IPA was also used for coding video observations of students working in groups. Survey data were used to form descriptive variables to compare outcomes across the different tasks and contexts. Observations analysed in Nvivo were used to provide commentary and additional detail on the quantitative data. RESULTS The results of the survey indicated consistent mean scores on each survey item for each group of students, despite vastly different tasks, student backgrounds and educational contexts. Some small, statistically significant mean differences existed, offering some basic insights into how task and student group composition could affect self ratings. Overall though, the results suggest minimal shift in how students view group function and their intercultural experience, irrespective of differing educational experience. CONCLUSIONS The survey results, contrasted with group observations, indicate that either students are not translating their experience (in the group tasks) into critical self assessment of their cultural competence and teamwork, or that they become more critical of team performance and cultural competence as their competence in these areas grows, so their ratings remain consistent. Both outcomes indicate that students need more intensive guidance to build their critical self and peer assessment skills in these areas irrespective of their year level of study.

Digital archives and cultural memory : discovering lost histories in digitised Australian children's literature 1851-1945

A recent Australian literature digitisation project uncovered some surprising discoveries in the children’s books that it digitised. The Children’s Literature Digital Resources (CLDR) Project digitised children’s books that were first published between 1851 to 1945 and made them available online through AustLit: The Australian Literature Resource. The digitisation process also preserved, within the pages of those books, a range of bookplates, book labels, inscriptions, and loose ephemera. This material allows us to trace the provenance of some of the digitised works, some of which came from the personal libraries of now-famous authors, and others from less celebrated sources. These extra-textual traces can contribute to cultural memory of the past by providing evidence of how books were collected and exchanged, and what kinds of books were presented as prizes in schools and Sunday schools. They also provide insight into Australian literary and artistic networks, particularly of the first few decades of the 20th century. This article describes the kinds of material uncovered in the digitisation process and suggests that the material provides insights into literary and cultural histories that might otherwise be forgotten. It also argues that the indexing of this material is vital if it is not to be lost to future researchers.

Increasing learners’ satisfaction/intention to adopt more e-learning

Purpose: E-learning is an organisationally risky investment given the cost and poor levels of adoption by users. In order to gain a better understanding of this problem, a study was conducted into the use of e-learning in a rail organisation. Design/methodology/approach: Using an online survey, employees of a rail-sector organisation were questioned about their use and likelihood of adoption of e-learning. This study explores the factors that affect the way in which learners experience and perceive such systems. Using statistical analysis, twelve hypotheses are tested and explored. Relationships between learning satisfaction, intention to adopt and the characteristics of e-learning systems were established. Findings: The study found that e-learning characteristics can buffer the relationship between learner characteristics and intention to adopt further e-learning in the future. Further, we found that high levels of support can compensate individuals who are low in technological efficacy to adopt e-learning. Research limitations/implications: The cross-sectional design of the study and its focus on measuring intention to adopt as opposed to actual adoption are both limitations. Future research using longitudinal design and research employing a time lag design measuring actual adoption as well as intention are recommended. Practical implications: From a practical perspective, organizations can focus on the actual content and authenticity of the learning experience delivered by the e-learning system to significantly impact how employees will perceive and use e-learning in the future. Low technological efficacy individuals tend not to adopt new technology. Instead of changing individuals’ personalities, organizations can implement supportive policies and practices which would lead to higher e-learning adoption rate among low efficacy individuals. Originality/value: The study integrates technology adoption and learning literatures in developing enablers for e-learning in organizations. Further, this study collects data from rail employees, and therefore the findings are practical to an industry.

Discrimination experienced by HIV/AIDS infected persons and its associations with mental health in an Indian sample

Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate the nature and prevalence of discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS in West Bengal, India, and how discrimination is associated with depression, suicidal ideation and suicidal attempts. Method Semi-structured interviews and the Beck Depression Inventory were administered to 105 HIV infected persons recruited by incidental sampling, at an Integrated Counseling and Testing Center (ICTC) and through Networks of People Living with HIV/AIDS, in the West Bengal area. Results Findings showed that 40.8% of the sample has experienced discrimination at least in one social setting – such as family (29.1%), health centers (18.4%), community (17.5%) and workplace (6.8%). About two-fifths (40.8%) reported experiencing discrimination in multiple social settings. Demographic factors associated with discrimination were gender, age, occupation, education, and current residence. More than half of the sample was suffering from severe depression while 8.7% had attempted suicide. Discrimination in most areas was significantly associated with suicidal ideation and suicidal attempts. Conclusions Prevalence of discrimination associated with HIV/AIDS is high in our sample from West Bengal. While discrimination was not associated with depressive symptomatology, discrimination was associated with suicidal ideation and attempts. These findings suggest that there is an urgent need for interventions to reduce discrimination of HIV/AIDS in the West Bengal region.

Language and utilisation of emergency care in Queensland

Objective: To compare access and utilisation of EDs in Queensland public hospitals between people who speak only English at home and those who speak another language at home. Methods: A retrospective analysis of a Queensland statewide hospital ED dataset (ED Information System) from 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2010 was conducted. Access to ED care was measured by the proportion of the state’s population attending EDs. Logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the relationships between ambulance use and language, and between hospital admission and language, both after adjusting for age, sex and triage category. Results: The ED utilisation rate was highest in English only speakers (290 per 1000 population), followed by Arabic speakers (105), and lowest among German speakers (30). Compared with English speakers, there were lower rates of ambulance use in Chinese (odds ratio 0.50, 95% confidence interval, 0.47–0.54), Vietnamese (0.87, 0.79–0.95), Arabic (0.87, 0.78–0.97), Spanish (0.56, 0.50–0.62), Italian (0.88, 0.80–0.96), Hindi (0.61, 0.53–0.70) and German (0.87, 0.79–0.90) speakers. Compared with English speakers, German speakers had higher admission rates (odds ratio 1.17, 95% confidence interval, 1.02–1.34), whereas there were lower admission rates in Chinese (0.90, 0.86–0.99), Arabic (0.76, 0.67–0.85) and Spanish (0.83, 0.75–0.93) speakers. Conclusion: This study showed that there was a significant association between lower utilisation of emergency care and speaking languages other than English at home. Further researches are needed using in-depth methodology to investigate if there are language barriers in accessing emergency care in Queensland.

Adaptive radiotherapy for virally mediated head and neck cancer

Introduction: Clinical investigation has revealed a subgroup of head and neck cancers that are virally mediated. The relationship between nasopharyngeal cancer and Epstein Barr Virus (EBV) has long been established and more recently, the association between oropharyngeal cancer and Human Papillomavirus (HPV) has been revealed1,2 These cancers often present with nodal involvement and generally respond well to radiation treatment, evidenced by tumour regression1. This results in the need for treatment plan adaptation or re-planning in a subset of patients. Adaptive techniques allow the target region of the radiotherapy treatment plan to be altered in accordance with treatment-induced changes to ensure that under or over dosing does not occur3. It also assists in limiting potential overdosing of surrounding critical normal tissues4. We sought to identify a high-risk group based on nodal size to be evaluated in a future prospective adaptive radiotherapy trial. Method: Between 2005-2010, 121 patients with virally mediated, node positive nasopharyngeal (EBV positive) or oropharyngeal (HPV positive) cancers, receiving curative intent radiotherapy treatment were reviewed. Patients were analysed based on maximum size of the dominant node at diagnosis with a view to grouping them in varying risk categories to determine the need of re-planning. The frequency and timing of the re-planning scans were also evaluated. Results: Sixteen nasopharyngeal and 105 oropharyngeal tumours were reviewed. Twenty-five (21%) patients underwent a re-planning CT at a median of 22 (range, 0-29) fractions with 1 patient requiring re-planning prior to the commencement of treatment. Based on the analysis, patients were subsequently placed into risk categories; ≤35mm (Group 1), 36-45mm (Group 2), ≥46mm (Group 3). Re-planning CT’s were performed in Group 1- 8/68 (11.8%), Group 2- 4/28 (14.3%), Group 3- 13/25 (52%). Conclusion: In this series, patients with virally mediated head and neck cancer and nodal size > 46mm appear to be a high-risk group for the need of re-planning during a course of curative radiotherapy. This finding will now be tested in a prospective adaptive radiotherapy study. ‘Real World’ Implications: This research identifies predictive factors for those patients with virally mediated head and neck cancer that will benefit most from treatment adaptation. This will assist in minimising the side effects experienced by these patients thereby improving their quality of life after treatment.

Adaptive radiotherapy for virally mediated head and neck cancer

Purpose: Virally mediated head and neck cancers (VMHNC) often present with nodal involvement, and are generally considered radioresponsive, resulting in the need for a re-planning CT during radiotherapy (RT) in a subset of patients. We sought to identify a high-risk group based on nodal size to be evaluated in a future prospective adaptive RT trial. Methodology: Between 2005-2010, 121 patients with virally-mediated, node positive nasopharyngeal (EBV positive) or oropharyngeal (HPV positive) cancers, receiving curative intent RT were reviewed. Patients were analysed based on maximum size of the dominant node with a view to grouping them in varying risk categories for the need of re-planning. The frequency and timing of the re-planning scans were also evaluated. Results: Sixteen nasopharyngeal and 105 oropharyngeal tumours were reviewed. Twenty-five (21%) patients underwent a re-planning CT at a median of 22 (range, 0-29) fractions with 1 patient requiring re-planning prior to the commencement of treatment. Based on the analysis, patients were subsequently placed into 3 groups; ≤35mm (Group 1), 36-45mm (Group 2), ≥46mm (Group 3). Re-planning CT’s were performed in Group 1- 8/68 (11.8%), Group 2- 4/28 (14.3%), Group 3- 13/25 (52%). Sample size did not allow statistical analysis to detect a significant difference or exclusion of a lack of difference between the 3 groups. Conclusion: In this series, patients with VMHNC and nodal size > 46mm appear to be a high-risk group for the need of re-planning during a course of definitive radiotherapy. This finding will now be tested in a prospective adaptive RT study.

Adaptive radiotherapy for virally mediated head and neck cancer

Purpose: Virally mediated head and neck cancers (VMHNC) often present with nodal involvement, and are generally considered radioresponsive, resulting in the need for a re-planning CT during radiotherapy (RT) in a subset of patients. We sought to identify a high-risk group based on nodal size to be evaluated in a future prospective adaptive RT trial. Methodology: Between 2005-2010, 121 patients with virally-mediated, node positive nasopharyngeal (EBV positive) or oropharyngeal (HPV positive) cancers, receiving curative intent RT were reviewed. Patients were analysed based on maximum size of the dominant node with a view to grouping them in varying risk categories for the need of re-planning. The frequency and timing of the re-planning scans were also evaluated. Results: Sixteen nasopharyngeal and 105 oropharyngeal tumours were reviewed. Twenty-five (21%) patients underwent a re-planning CT at a median of 22 (range, 0-29) fractions with 1 patient requiring re-planning prior to the commencement of treatment. Based on the analysis, patients were subsequently placed into 3 groups; ≤35mm (Group 1), 36-45mm (Group 2), ≥46mm (Group 3). Re-planning CT’s were performed in Group 1- 8/68 (11.8%), Group 2- 4/28 (14.3%), Group 3- 13/25 (52%). Sample size did not allow statistical analysis to detect a significant difference or exclusion of a lack of difference between the 3 groups. Conclusion: In this series, patients with VMHNC and nodal size > 46mm appear to be a high-risk group for the need of re-planning during a course of definitive radiotherapy. This finding will now be tested in a prospective adaptive RT study.

Adaptive radiotherapy for virally mediated head and neck cancer

Purpose: Virally mediated head and neck cancers (VMHNC) often present with nodal involvement, and are generally considered radioresponsive, resulting in the need for plan adaptation during radiotherapy in a subset of patients. We sought to identify a high-risk group based on pre-treatment nodal size to be evaluated in a future prospective adaptive radiotherapy trial. Methodology: Between 2005-2010, 121 patients with virally-mediated, node positive nasopharyngeal or oropharyngeal cancers, receiving definitive radiotherapy were reviewed. Patients were analysed based on maximum size of the dominant node at diagnosis with a view to grouping them in varying risk categories for the need of re-planning. The frequency and timing of the re-planning scans were also evaluated. Results: Sixteen nasopharyngeal and 105 oropharyngeal tumours were reviewed. Twenty-five (21%) patients underwent a re-planning CT at a median of 22 (range, 0-29) fractions with 1 patient requiring re-planning prior to the commencement of treatment. Based on the analysis, patients were subsequently placed into 3 groups defined by pre-treatment nodal size; ≤ 35mm (Group 1), 36-45mm (Group 2), ≥ 46mm (Group 3). Applying these groups to the patient cohort, re-planning CT’s were performed in Group 1- 8/68 (11.8%), Group 2- 4/28 (14.3%), Group 3- 13/25 (52%). Conclusion: In this series, patients with VMHNC and nodal size > 46mm appear to be a high-risk group for the need of plan adaptation during a course of definitive radiotherapy. This finding will now be tested in a prospective adaptive radiotherapy study.

Well-being of refugees from Burma: a salutogenic perspective

A salutogenic approach explored themes of strength and well-being in life stories of Burmese refugees (N = 18) in Australia. Previous refugee studies have tended to focus on negative responses to traumatic events (e.g. posttraumatic stress disorder, depression). To widen the scope of refugee related research the focus of the current study was informed by a salutogenic perspective, exploring sources of strength that may facilitate well-being. Semi-structured narrative interviews explored: the participant's life before fleeing Burma, the journey of exile, and post-migration in Australia. Eight women and 10 men (Mage = 39 years) were interviewed and transcriptions analysis of narratives was conducted using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), with major themes being explicated. Super-ordinate themes pertaining to strength during times of hardship were identified and explicated as: support from interpersonal relationships, the pivotal role of values, a sense of future and agency, and reliance on spiritual or religious beliefs. Results indicate the existence of sources of strength that may contribute to human responses in times of hardship. Recognition and reflection of strengths may be incorporated into therapeutic and resettlement approaches for people from refugee backgrounds.

Enhancing security of linux-based android devices

Our daily lives become more and more dependent upon smartphones due to their increased capabilities. Smartphones are used in various ways from payment systems to assisting the lives of elderly or disabled people. Security threats for these devices become increasingly dangerous since there is still a lack of proper security tools for protection. Android emerges as an open smartphone platform which allows modification even on operating system level. Therefore, third-party developers have the opportunity to develop kernel-based low-level security tools which is not normal for smartphone platforms. Android quickly gained its popularity among smartphone developers and even beyond since it bases on Java on top of "open" Linux in comparison to former proprietary platforms which have very restrictive SDKs and corresponding APIs. Symbian OS for example, holding the greatest market share among all smartphone OSs, was closing critical APIs to common developers and introduced application certification. This was done since this OS was the main target for smartphone malwares in the past. In fact, more than 290 malwares designed for Symbian OS appeared from July 2004 to July 2008. Android, in turn, promises to be completely open source. Together with the Linux-based smartphone OS OpenMoko, open smartphone platforms may attract malware writers for creating malicious applications endangering the critical smartphone applications and owners� privacy. In this work, we present our current results in analyzing the security of Android smartphones with a focus on its Linux side. Our results are not limited to Android, they are also applicable to Linux-based smartphones such as OpenMoko Neo FreeRunner. Our contribution in this work is three-fold. First, we analyze android framework and the Linux-kernel to check security functionalities. We survey wellaccepted security mechanisms and tools which can increase device security. We provide descriptions on how to adopt these security tools on Android kernel, and provide their overhead analysis in terms of resource usage. As open smartphones are released and may increase their market share similar to Symbian, they may attract attention of malware writers. Therefore, our second contribution focuses on malware detection techniques at the kernel level. We test applicability of existing signature and intrusion detection methods in Android environment. We focus on monitoring events on the kernel; that is, identifying critical kernel, log file, file system and network activity events, and devising efficient mechanisms to monitor them in a resource limited environment. Our third contribution involves initial results of our malware detection mechanism basing on static function call analysis. We identified approximately 105 Executable and Linking Format (ELF) executables installed to the Linux side of Android. We perform a statistical analysis on the function calls used by these applications. The results of the analysis can be compared to newly installed applications for detecting significant differences. Additionally, certain function calls indicate malicious activity. Therefore, we present a simple decision tree for deciding the suspiciousness of the corresponding application. Our results present a first step towards detecting malicious applications on Android-based devices.