The expanding roles of the ghrelin-gene derived peptide obestatin in health and disease

Obestatin is a 23 amino acid, ghrelin gene-derived peptide hormone produced in the stomach and a range of other tissues throughout the body. While it was initially reported that obestatin opposed the actions of ghrelin with regards to appetite and food intake, it is now clear that obestatin is not an endogenous ghrelin antagonist of ghrelin, but it is a multi-functional peptide hormone in its own right. In this review we will discuss the controversies associated with the discovery of obestatin and explore emerging central and peripheral roles of obestatin, roles in adipogenesis, pancreatic homeostasis and cancer.

Remote monitoring of outdoor performance of low scale dye sensitized solar cells for nanosensors nodes

This is the first outdoor test of small-scale dye sensitized solar cells (DSC) powering a standalone nanosensor node. A solar cell test station (SCTS) has been developed using standard DSC to power a gas nanosensor, a radio transmitter, and the control electronics (CE) for battery charging. The station is remotely monitored through wired (Ethernet cable) or wireless connection (radio transmitter) in order to evaluate in real time the performance of the solar cells powering a nanosensor and a transmitter under different weather conditions. We analyze trends of energy conversion efficiency after 60 days of operation. The 408 cm2 active surface module produces enough energy to power a gas nanosensor and a radio transmitter during the day and part of the night. Also, by using a variable programmable load we keep the system working on the maximum power point (MPP) quantifying the total energy generated and stored in a battery. Although this technology is at an early stage of development, these experiments provide useful data for future outdoor applications such as nanosensor network nodes.

Spatially offset Raman spectroscopy (SORS) for the analysis and detection of packaged pharmaceuticals and concealed drugs

Spatially offset Raman spectroscopy (SORS) is a powerful new technique for the non-invasive detection and identification of concealed substances and drugs. Here, we demonstrate the SORS technique in several scenarios that are relevant to customs screening, postal screening, drug detection and forensics applications. The examples include analysis of a multi-layered postal package to identify a concealed substance; identification of an antibiotic capsule inside its plastic blister pack; analysis of an envelope containing a powder; and identification of a drug dissolved in a clear solvent, contained in a non-transparent plastic bottle. As well as providing practical examples of SORS, the results highlight several considerations regarding the use of SORS in the field, including the advantages of different analysis geometries and the ability to tailor instrument parameters and optics to suit different types of packages and samples. We also discuss the features and benefits of SORS in relation to existing Raman techniques, including confocal microscopy, wide area illumination and the conventional backscattered Raman spectroscopy. The results will contribute to the recognition of SORS as a promising method for the rapid, chemically-specific analysis and detection of drugs and pharmaceuticals.

Relationship management implementation in the Australian construction industry from the contractor's perspective

Many studies carried out in relation to construction procurement methods reveal evidence of a need to change of culture and attitude in the construction industry. This culture change would transition from traditional adversarial relationships to cooperative and collaborative relationships. Relational contracting approaches, such as partnering and relationship management, are business strategies whereby client, commercial participants’ and stakeholders’ objectives are aligned for mutual benefit. The efficacy of relationship management in the client and contractor groups is proven and well documented. However, the industry has a slow implementation of relational contracting down the value chain. This paper reports the findings of an empirical study which examined the practices and prerequisites for relationship management implementation success and for supply chain engagement to develop. Questionnaire survey, interviews and case studies were conducted with Australian contracting organisations in this study. The study reveals that the adaption of relational contracting approach in the supply chain is found to be limited and contractors still prefer to keep suppliers and subcontractors at arm’s length. Findings also show that the degree of match and mismatch between organizational structuring and organizational process is found to have an impact on staff’s commitment level and performance effectiveness.

A kiss is just...

This paper proposes that a survey of representations of men not-kissing men in recent television drama series makes clear a particularly hysterical fascination. While the Australian program GP has managed to produce a banal representation of two men kissing, American equivalents have resorted to a series of strategies which make insistently clear that not only can men not kiss-but that the act of not-kissing must be repeatedly displayed. By refusing to have lovers kiss; by having lovers kiss but refusing to show the act; by having gay lovers, but having one played by a woman; by having men kiss but rendering the act ridiculous; in these ways, American television programs make clear the importance of this act by consistently pointing towards it and declaring its impossibility. This paper calls for the justice of equal access to public images of kissing.

Control and protection of a microgrid connected to utility through back-to-back converters

This paper discusses the control and protection of a microgrid that is connected to utility through back-to-back converters. The back-to-back converter connection facilitates bidirectional power flow between the utility and the microgrid. These converters can operate in two different modes–one in which a fixed amount of power is drawn from the utility and the other in which the microgrid power shortfall is supplied by the utility. In the case of a fault in the utility or microgrid side, the protection system should act not only to clear the fault but also to block the back-to-back converters such that its dc bus voltage does not fall during fault. Furthermore, a converter internal mechanism prevents it from supplying high current during a fault and this complicates the operation of a protection system. To overcome this, an admittance based relay scheme is proposed, which has an inverse time characteristic based on measured admittance of the line. The proposed protection and control schemes are able to ensure reliable operation of the microgrid.

Teaching new dogs old tricks. How the move to 24/7 interactive, integrated multimedia, multi-platform news and feature delivery is not really changing the skills employers demand of graduates

The journalism revolution is upon us. In a world where we are constantly being told that everyone can be a publisher and challenges are emerging from bloggers, Twitterers and podcasters, journalism educators are inevitably reassessing what skills we now need to teach to keep our graduates ahead of the game. QUT this year tackled that question head-on as a curriculum review and program restructure resulted in a greater emphasis on online journalism. The author spent a week in the online newsrooms of each of two of the major players – ABC online news and thecouriermail.com to watch, listen and interview some of the key players. This, in addition to interviews with industry leaders from Fairfax and news.com, lead to the conclusion that while there are some new skills involved in new media much of what the industry is demanding is in fact good old fashioned journalism. Themes of good spelling, grammar, accuracy and writing skills and a nose for news recurred when industry players were asked what it was that they would like to see in new graduates. While speed was cited as one of the big attributes needed in online journalism, the conclusion of many of the players was that the skills of a good down-table sub or a journalist working for wire service were not unlike those most used in online newsrooms.

Power through influence : the evolution of arts management in Australia

The purpose of this paper is to frame effective models of arts management for Australia in the nineties and beyond based on an analysis of historical practices. The evolutionary process of government subvention of the arts through non-profit arts organisations provides a clear statement of the role of power and influence. In particular the ascendancy of arts organisations and their management constitute a background against which to study other non-profit corporations.

The cradle of whose civilisation? : reading the Theseus myth in Riordan’s Percy Jackson and Ottley’s Requiem for a Beast

This paper considers the functions of Greek mythology in general and the “Theseus and the Minotaur” myth in particular in two contemporary texts of adolescent masculinity: Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series (2005-2009) and Matt Ottley’s Requiem for a Beast: A Work for Image, Word and Music (2007). These texts reveal the ongoing flexibility of mythic texts to be pressed into service of shoring up or challenging currently hegemonic ideologies of self and state. Both Riordan and Ottley make a variety of intertextual uses of classical hero plots in order to facilitate their own narrative explorations of contemporary adolescent men ‘coming of age’. These intertextual gestures might easily be read as gestures of alignment with narrative traditions and authority which simultaneously confer “legitimacy” on Riordan and Ottley, on their texts, and by extension, on their readers. However, when read in juxtaposition, it is clear that Riordan and Ottley may use classical mythology to articulate similarly gendered adolescence, they produce divergent visions of nationed adolescence.

Evaluation of financial incentives as a quality improvement strategy in the public hospital context : clinician attitudes, design variables, and economic costs

In 2008, a three-year pilot ‘pay for performance’ (P4P) program, known as ‘Clinical Practice Improvement Payment’ (CPIP) was introduced into Queensland Health (QHealth). QHealth is a large public health sector provider of acute, community, and public health services in Queensland, Australia. The organisation has recently embarked on a significant reform agenda including a review of existing funding arrangements (Duckett et al., 2008). Partly in response to this reform agenda, a casemix funding model has been implemented to reconnect health care funding with outcomes. CPIP was conceptualised as a performance-based scheme that rewarded quality with financial incentives. This is the first time such a scheme has been implemented into the public health sector in Australia with a focus on rewarding quality, and it is unique in that it has a large state-wide focus and includes 15 Districts. CPIP initially targeted five acute and community clinical areas including Mental Health, Discharge Medication, Emergency Department, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, and Stroke. The CPIP scheme was designed around key concepts including the identification of clinical indicators that met the set criteria of: high disease burden, a well defined single diagnostic group or intervention, significant variations in clinical outcomes and/or practices, a good evidence, and clinician control and support (Ward, Daniels, Walker & Duckett, 2007). This evaluative research targeted Phase One of implementation of the CPIP scheme from January 2008 to March 2009. A formative evaluation utilising a mixed methodology and complementarity analysis was undertaken. The research involved three research questions and aimed to determine the knowledge, understanding, and attitudes of clinicians; identify improvements to the design, administration, and monitoring of CPIP; and determine the financial and economic costs of the scheme. Three key studies were undertaken to ascertain responses to the key research questions. Firstly, a survey of clinicians was undertaken to examine levels of knowledge and understanding and their attitudes to the scheme. Secondly, the study sought to apply Statistical Process Control (SPC) to the process indicators to assess if this enhanced the scheme and a third study examined a simple economic cost analysis. The CPIP Survey of clinicians elicited 192 clinician respondents. Over 70% of these respondents were supportive of the continuation of the CPIP scheme. This finding was also supported by the results of a quantitative altitude survey that identified positive attitudes in 6 of the 7 domains-including impact, awareness and understanding and clinical relevance, all being scored positive across the combined respondent group. SPC as a trending tool may play an important role in the early identification of indicator weakness for the CPIP scheme. This evaluative research study supports a previously identified need in the literature for a phased introduction of Pay for Performance (P4P) type programs. It further highlights the value of undertaking a formal risk assessment of clinician, management, and systemic levels of literacy and competency with measurement and monitoring of quality prior to a phased implementation. This phasing can then be guided by a P4P Design Variable Matrix which provides a selection of program design options such as indicator target and payment mechanisms. It became evident that a clear process is required to standardise how clinical indicators evolve over time and direct movement towards more rigorous ‘pay for performance’ targets and the development of an optimal funding model. Use of this matrix will enable the scheme to mature and build the literacy and competency of clinicians and the organisation as implementation progresses. Furthermore, the research identified that CPIP created a spotlight on clinical indicators and incentive payments of over five million from a potential ten million was secured across the five clinical areas in the first 15 months of the scheme. This indicates that quality was rewarded in the new QHealth funding model, and despite issues being identified with the payment mechanism, funding was distributed. The economic model used identified a relative low cost of reporting (under $8,000) as opposed to funds secured of over $300,000 for mental health as an example. Movement to a full cost effectiveness study of CPIP is supported. Overall the introduction of the CPIP scheme into QHealth has been a positive and effective strategy for engaging clinicians in quality and has been the catalyst for the identification and monitoring of valuable clinical process indicators. This research has highlighted that clinicians are supportive of the scheme in general; however, there are some significant risks that include the functioning of the CPIP payment mechanism. Given clinician support for the use of a pay–for-performance methodology in QHealth, the CPIP scheme has the potential to be a powerful addition to a multi-faceted suite of quality improvement initiatives within QHealth.

Waiver of statutory requirements : Property Agents and Motor Dealers Act 2000 (Qld)

One of the many difficulties associated with the drafting of the Property Agents and Motor Dealers Act 2000 (Qld) (‘the Act’) is the operation of s 365. If the requirements imposed by this section concerning the return of the executed contract are not complied with, the buyer and the seller will not be bound by the relevant contract and the cooling-off period will not commence. In these circumstances, it is clear that a buyer’s offer may be withdrawn. However, the drafting of the Act creates a difficulty in that the ability of the seller to withdraw from the transaction prior to the parties being bound by the contract is not expressly provided by s 365. On one view, if the buyer is able to withdraw an offer at any time before receiving the prescribed contract documentation the seller also should not be bound by the contract until this time, notwithstanding that the seller may have been bound at common law. However, an alternative analysis is that the legislative omission to provide the seller with a right of withdrawal may be deliberate given the statutory focus on buyer protection. If this analysis were correct the seller would be denied the right to withdraw from the transaction after the contract was formed at common law (that is, after the seller had signed and the fact of signing had been communicated to the buyer).

Inter-sector leader transitions and organisation transformation : a research agenda

Faced with the need for strategic change, structural and cultural realignment, innovation and value-adding, many public sector organisations are tapping into a wider senior leadership talent pool and attracting successful leaders from other sectors (Flynn and Thompson, 2009). Leadership renewal has resulted, in some cases, in the external recruitment of whole senior leadership teams (Hockridge, 2008), raising issues about the influence of context on leader success (Pawar and Eastman, 1997) and potential leader transition failure, a costly outcome for leaders and organisations (Howard, 2001). There is little research on inter-sector leader transitions, which is surprising given the significant costs associated with leader acquisition and failure(Conger, 2010; Day and Halpin, 2004). For example, it is not clear what organizations do (or do not do) to ensure the outcomes of their significant investment in inter sector transitions are realised. In addition, it is not clear how the individual leader manages the challenging transition into a new leadership context and how their approach to leadership facilitates or inhibits successful transition (Avolio, 2010). Leader assimilation programs have been developed to assimilate new leaders (Manderscheid, 2008); however, assimilation is not necessarily a desired organisational outcome (Denis and Pineault, 2000). In this paper we critically review the limited literature on inter-sector leader transitions and transformational change outcomes and argue for a mutual accommodation approach. We draw on our own initial empirical work to propose the elements of a program for achieving this outcome from the perspective of the public organisation and the inter-sector appointee.

Remote monitoring of outdoor performance of low scale dye sensitized solar cells for nanosensors nodes

This is the first outdoor test of small-scale dye sensitized solar cells (DSC) powering a stand-alone nanosensor node. A solar cell test station (SCTS) has been developed using standard DSC to power a gas nanosensor, a radio transmitter, and the control electronics (CE) for battery charging. The station is remotely monitored through wired (Ethernet cable) or wireless connection (radio transmitter) in order to evaluate in real time the performance of the solar cells and devices under different weather conditions. The 408 cm2 active surface module produces enough energy to power a gas nanosensor and a radio transmitter during the day and part of the night. Also, by using a programmable load we keep the system working on the maximum power point (MPP) quantifying the total energy generated and stored in a battery. These experiments provide useful data for future outdoor applications such as nanosensor networks.

Reduction rules for YAWL workflows with cancellation regions and OR-joins

As the need for concepts such as cancellation and OR-joins occurs naturally in business scenarios, comprehensive support in a workflow language is desirable. However, there is a clear trade-off between the expressive power of a language (i.e., introducing complex constructs such as cancellation and OR-joins) and ease of verification. When a workflow contains a large number of tasks and involves complex control flow dependencies, verification can take too much time or it may even be impossible. There are a number of different approaches to deal with this complexity. Reducing the size of the workflow, while preserving its essential properties with respect to a particular analysis problem, is one such approach. In this paper, we present a set of reduction rules for workflows with cancellation regions and OR-joins and demonstrate how they can be used to improve the efficiency of verification. Our results are presented in the context of the YAWL workflow language.

How can soil monitoring networks be used to improve predictions of organic carbon pool dynamics and CO2 fluxes in agricultural soils?

Abstract As regional and continental carbon balances of terrestrial ecosystems become available, it becomes clear that the soils are the largest source of uncertainty. Repeated inventories of soil organic carbon (SOC) organized in soil monitoring networks (SMN) are being implemented in a number of countries. This paper reviews the concepts and design of SMNs in ten countries, and discusses the contribution of such networks to reducing the uncertainty of soil carbon balances. Some SMNs are designed to estimate country-specific land use or management effects on SOC stocks, while others collect soil carbon and ancillary data to provide a nationally consistent assessment of soil carbon condition across the major land-use/soil type combinations. The former use a single sampling campaign of paired sites, while for the latter both systematic (usually grid based) and stratified repeated sampling campaigns (5–10 years interval) are used with densities of one site per 10–1,040 km². For paired sites, multiple samples at each site are taken in order to allow statistical analysis, while for the single sites, composite samples are taken. In both cases, fixed depth increments together with samples for bulk density and stone content are recommended. Samples should be archived to allow for re-measurement purposes using updated techniques. Information on land management, and where possible, land use history should be systematically recorded for each site. A case study of the agricultural frontier in Brazil is presented in which land use effect factors are calculated in order to quantify the CO2 fluxes from national land use/management conversion matrices. Process-based SOC models can be run for the individual points of the SMN, provided detailed land management records are available. These studies are still rare, as most SMNs have been implemented recently or are in progress. Examples from the USA and Belgium show that uncertainties in SOC change range from 1.6–6.5 Mg C ha−1 for the prediction of SOC stock changes on individual sites to 11.72 Mg C ha−1 or 34% of the median SOC change for soil/land use/climate units. For national SOC monitoring, stratified sampling sites appears to be the most straightforward attribution of SOC values to units with similar soil/land use/climate conditions (i.e. a spatially implicit upscaling approach). Keywords Soil monitoring networks - Soil organic carbon - Modeling - Sampling design