A pre-treatment verification tool for IMRT based on EPID measurements and a GEANT4 back projection application

The aim of this work is to develop software that is capable of back projecting primary fluence images obtained from EPID measurements through phantom and patient geometries in order to calculate 3D dose distributions. In the first instance, we aim to develop a tool for pretreatment verification in IMRT. In our approach, a Geant4 application is used to back project primary fluence values from each EPID pixel towards the source. Each beam is considered to be polyenergetic, with a spectrum obtained from Monte Carlo calculations for the LINAC in question. At each step of the ray tracing process, the energy differential fluence is corrected for attenuation and beam divergence. Subsequently, the TERMA is calculated and accumulated to an energy differential 3D TERMA distribution. This distribution is then convolved with monoenergetic point spread kernels, thus generating energy differential 3D dose distributions. The resulting dose distributions are accumulated to yield the total dose distribution, which can then be used for pre-treatment verification of IMRT plans. Preliminary results were obtained for a test EPID image comprised of 100 9 100 pixels of unity fluence. Back projection of this field into a 30 cm9 30 cm 9 30 cm water phantom was performed, with TERMA distributions obtained in approximately 10 min (running on a single core of a 3 GHz processor). Point spread kernels for monoenergetic photons in water were calculated using a separate Geant4 application. Following convolution and summation, the resulting 3D dose distribution produced familiar build-up and penumbral features. In order to validate the dose model we will use EPID images recorded without any attenuating material in the beam for a number of MLC defined square fields. The dose distributions in water will be calculated and compared to TPS predictions.

Alcohol and other drugs in the Australian construction industry : a pathway for safety focused cultural change

Background: Anecdotal evidence from the infrastructure and building sectors highlights issues of alcohol and other drugs (AODs) and its association with safety risk on construction sites. Currently, there is no clear evidence on the prevalence and risk of AOD use among Australian construction workers and there is limited evidential guidance regarding how to effectively address such an issue. Aims: The current research aims to scientifically evaluate the use of AODs within the Australian construction industry in order to reduce the potential resulting safety and performance impacts and engender a cultural change in the workforce. A nationally consistent and collaborative approach across the workforce will be adopted. Methods: A national assessment of the use of AODs was conducted in participating organisations across three states. The World Health Organisation’s Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) was used to measure alcohol use. Illicit drug use, ‘readiness to change’, impediments to reducing impairment, feasibility of proposed interventions, and employee attitudes and knowledge regarding AOD was also measured through a combination of survey items and interviews. Through an educative approach and consultation with employers, employees, union groups and leaders in applied AOD research, this assessment was used to inform and support cultural change management of AOD use in the industry. Results: Results (n=494) indicate that as in the general population, a proportion of those sampled in the construction sector may be at risk of hazardous alcohol consumption. A total of 286 respondents (58%) scored above the cut-off cumulative score for risky or hazardous alcohol use. Other drug use was also identified as a major issue. Interview responses and input from all project partners is presented within a guiding principle framework for cultural change. Conclusions: Results support the need for evidence-based, comprehensive and tailored responses in the workplace. This paper will discuss the final results in the context of facilitating cultural change in the construction industry.

Correct procedures and cutting corners: a qualitative study of women's occupational health and safety in a beauty therapy industry

Objective: To examine the context of occupational health and safety related to blood-borne communicable diseases practice. Methods: A case study approach using qualitative semi-structured interviews with five key informants who represented different sectors of the beauty therapy industry in South Australia. Results: Four main themes were identified: (i) exposure to blood and blood-borne communicable diseases; (ii) prevention in practice; (iii) OH&S problems; and (iv) industry needs. Conclusion: Key OH&S issues in the beauty therapy industry include: power relationships between employers and employees, equipment costs, the need for more continuing education, and monitoring of practitioners. Implications: Economic constraints, continuing education, and government regulation of the beauty therapy industry are highlighted as significant areas for further consideration in addressing the OH&S needs of practitioners and their clients.

Hepatitis C in the workplace : a survey of women’s occupational health and safety in the beauty therapy industry

Objective: To examine current knowledge and practice of occupational health and safety (OH&S) regarding hepatitis C in beauty therapy practice. Methods: A questionnaire was sent to all beauty therapy practices identified through the Telstra Yellow Pages and distributed via beauty therapy product agencies. Results: 119 questionnaires were completed by employers and employees in 99 beauty therapy practices in metropolitan Adelaide. Beauty therapists reported carrying out many practices that had exposed them to blood in the past. More than 80% of the procedures carried out by beauty therapists in the previous week were reported to have led to exposure to blood. 39.5% of respondents had not received information about OH&S practices related to blood spills and 77.5% of respondents had received no OH&S information about hepatitis C. Knowledge of hepatitis C and its transmission was poor, with 62% of respondents incorrectly identifying the prevalence of hepatitis C and respondents incorrectly identifying sneezing (28%), kissing (46%) and sharing coffee cups (42%) as a modes of transmission. 80% of beauty therapy practices had no OH&S representative. Conclusion: Beauty therapy practice can expose both operator and client to blood and is therefore a potential site for the transmission of blood-borne diseases including hepatitis C. OH&S information is inadequate in this industry and knowledge of hepatitis C is poor.

Augmented Reality Process Modelling Tool

Video presented as part of BPM2011 demonstration(France). In this video we show a prototype BPMN process modelling tool which uses Augmented Reality techniques to increase the sense of immersion when editing a process model. The avatar represents a remotely logged in user, and facilitates greater insight into the editing actions of the collaborator than present 2D web-based approaches in collaborative process modelling. We modified the Second Life client to integrate the ARToolkit in order to support pattern-based AR.

IMO mandatory energy efficiency measures for international shipping : the first mandatory global greenhouse gas reduction instrument for an international industry

Bunker fuels used in the aviation and maritime sectors are responsible for nearly 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions.1 According to a scientific survey: ‘[s]hipping is estimated to have emitted 1,046 million tonnes of CO2 in 2007, which corresponds to 3.3% of the global emissions during 2007. International shipping is estimated to have emitted 870 million tonnes, or about 2.7% of the global emissions of CO2 in 2007’. The study also predicted that ‘by 2050, in the absence of policies, ship emissions may grow by 150% to 250% (compared to the emissions in 2007) as a result of the growth in shipping.’

Environmental pollution from shipbreaking industry : international law and national legal response

The international legal regime on shipbreaking is in its formative years. At the international level, the shipbreaking industry is partially governed by the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal. However, how far this convention will be applicable for all aspects of transboundary movement of end-of-life ships is still, at least in the view of some scholars, a debatable issue. Against this backdrop, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has adopted a new, legally binding convention for shipbreaking. There is a rising voice from the developing countries that the convention is likely to impose more obligations on recycling facilities in the developing countries than on shipowners from rich nations. This may be identified as a clear derogation from the globally recognized international environmental law principle of common but differentiated treatment. This article will examine in detail major international conventions regulating transboundary movement and environmentally sound disposal of obsolete ships, as well as the corresponding laws of Bangladesh for implementing these conventions in the domestic arena. Moreover this article will examine in detail the recently adopted IMO Ship Recycling Convention.

Collaborative design learning for traditional crafts industry

Traditional craft industries need assistance with being transformed into creative industries; as such a transformation will support them to face the future competitive global market. Assistance such as advisory programs should serve long-term benefit for crafts industries as well as optimize self-help potential. Advisory programs using participatory methods will enable craftspeople and stakeholders to reveal resources and potencies, such as socio-cultural value, tradition and other kind of heritages, to generate new innovative ideas of craft design in a sustainable way.

Integrating agency and resource dependence theory : firm profitability, industry regulation, and board task performance

Boards of directors are key governancemechanisms in organizations and fulfill twomain tasks:monitoringmanagers and firm performance, and providing advice and access to resources. In spite of a wealth of researchmuch remains unknown about how boards attend to the two tasks. This study investigates whether organizational (firm profitability) and environmental factors (industry regulation) affect board task performance. The data combine CEOs' responses to a questionnaire, and archival data from a sample of large Italian firms. Findings show that past firm performance is negatively associatedwith board monitoring and advice tasks; greater industry regulation enhances perceived board task performance; board monitoring and advice tasks tend to reinforce each other, despite their theoretical and practical distinction.

Regulating the coal industry : striking a balance between commercial and public interests - a Queensland case study

The coal industry in Queensland operates in a very complex regulatory environment with a matrix of Federal and State laws covering the environment, health and safety, taxation and royalties, tenure, and development approvals. The Queensland Government in 2012 recognised the validity of certain industry concerns and passed two Acts being the Environmental Protection (Greentape Reduction) Amendment Act 2012 (the Greentape Act) and the Mines Legislation (Streamlining) Amendment Act 2012 (the Streamlining Act). Other changes are foreshadowed in relation to overlapping tenure and in the development of common resources legislation. Accordingly there is a great level of activity and change that has occurred or which is on the horizon. This article focuses upon these regulatory changes and foreshadows other areas requiring consideration. It commences with a consideration of the changes that have already occurred, examines those regulatory amendments that are on the drawing board and concludes with suggestions as to further interventions and amendments that have the potential to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the legislative framework in which coal mining is conducted.

Delivery of dimethyloxallyl glycine in mesoporous bioactive glass scaffolds to improve angiogenesis and osteogenesis of human bone marrow stromal cells

Development of hypoxia-mimicking bone tissue engineering scaffolds is of great importance in stimulating angiogenesis for bone regeneration. Dimethyloxallyl glycine (DMOG) is a cell-permeable, competitive inhibitor of hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase (HIF-PH), which can stabilize hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) expression. The aim of this study was to develop hypoxia-mimicking scaffolds by delivering DMOG in mesoporous bioactive glass (MBG) scaffolds and to investigate whether the delivery of DMOG could induce a hypoxic microenvironment for human bone marrow stromal cells (hBMSC). MBG scaffolds with varied mesoporous structures (e.g. surface area and mesopore volume) were prepared by controlling the contents of mesopore-template agent. The composition, large-pore microstructure and mesoporous properties of MBG scaffolds were characterized. The effect of mesoporous properties on the loading and release of DMOG in MBG scaffolds was investigated. The effects of DMOG delivery on the cell morphology, cell viability, HIF-1α stabilization, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) secretion and bone-related gene expression (alkaline phosphatase, ALP; osteocalcin, OCN; and osteopontin, OPN) of hBMSC in MBG scaffolds were systematically investigated. The results showed that the loading and release of DMOG in MBG scaffolds can be efficiently controlled by regulating their mesoporous properties via the addition of different contents of mesopore-template agent. DMOG delivery in MBG scaffolds had no cytotoxic effect on the viability of hBMSC. DMOG delivery significantly induced HIF-1α stabilization, VEGF secretion and bone-related gene expression of hBMSC in MBG scaffolds in which DMOG counteracted the effect of HIF-PH and stabilized HIF-1α expression under normoxic condition. Furthermore, it was found that MBG scaffolds with slow DMOG release significantly enhanced the expression of bone-related genes more than those with instant DMOG release. The results suggest that the controllable delivery of DMOG in MBG scaffolds can mimic a hypoxic microenvironment, which not only improves the angiogenic capacity of hBMSC, but also enhances their osteogenic differentiation.

Challenging the female underperformance hypothesis

Purpose – The question of whether female-owned firms underperform male-owned firms has triggered much research and discussion. Klapper and Parker's review concluded that the majority of prior research suggests that female-owned firms underperform relative to male-owned firms. However, using performance measures that control for size and risk (and after controlling for demographic differences such as industry, experience and hours worked) Robb and Watson found no gender performance difference in their sample of newly established US firms. The aim of this study, therefore, is to replicate Robb and Watson's study to determine whether their findings can be generalized to another geographical location, Australia. Design/methodology/approach – The authors test the female underperformance hypothesis using data from the CAUSEE project, a panel study which follows young firms over four years. They use three outcome variables: survival rates, return on assets and the Sharpe ratio. Findings – Consistent with Robb and Watson the results indicate that female-owned firms do not underperform male-owned firms. Originality/value – While replication studies are rare in entrepreneurship, they are an important tool for accumulating generalizable knowledge. The results suggest that while female-owned firms differ from male-owned firms in terms of many control variables (such as industry, owners' previous experience and hours worked) they are no less successful. This outcome should help dispel the female underperformance myth; which if left unchallenged could result in inappropriate policy decisions and, more importantly, could discourage women from establishing new ventures.