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The authors report the findings of a study designed to: (1) develop a social profile of southwestern United States enduro dirt‐bike riders, (2) determine the environmental preference and attitudes of these enduro dirt‐bike riders, and (3) investigate the benefits respondents derived from participating in enduro dirt‐bike riding. Questionnaires were mailed to a random sample of 400 dirt‐bike riders who competed in enduro events held on public land in the state of Texas. Response rate was 74.5 percent. Respondents were disproportionately middle class, male, and relatively young. Almost half of the sample valued speed and power, which characterize “prole” sports. They overwhelmingly preferred varying terrain. Factor analysis was used to help authors analyze benefits obtained from enduro dirt‐bike riding. The order of benefits obtained was: self‐image building, physical benefits, immediate gratification, separation, affiliation, and status and prestige. Riding skills of participants affected benefits obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses the expansion of case management in relation to discovery by the Australian Federal Court through the Access to Justice Amendment Act 2012 which provides for a clarification that the procedure for pre-trial oral examination can be used to discovery, and an acknowledgment on the court's cost-shifting and cost-capping orders pertaining to discovery. It states the two recommendations of pre-trial examinations on the Federal Court of Australia Act and the Federal Court Rules.

The article focuses on the amendments for the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules (UCPR) r.7.4, which covers the class action lawsuits in New South Wales (NSW). It notes that the changes were initially applied to the James v. Professional Investment Services Pty. Ltd. Case, wherein the NSW Court of Appeals noticed its flexibility. Meanwhile, the Federal Attorney General's Access to Justice Taskforce proposed PartIVA of Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 (FCAA)'s reform in September 2009.

The article discusses a court case wherein the High Court of Australia (HCA) allowed a litigation funder to reap substantial benefits without risks, as they are protected from paying an adverse cost order by an impecunious plaintiff. The HCA ruled that the New South Wales (NSW) Supreme Court cannot make a cost order against a third-party company litigation funder without indemnifying the plaintiff against an adverse court order. The victorious defendant then did not recover their legal cost.

The article focuses on the proposal of Victorian Law Reform Commission (VLRC) and Justice Finkelstein for the adoption of U.S. deposition system in Australia. It discusses the operation of U.S. deposition system by citing its governing rules, procedural requirements, and examination and objections. It details the difference of the two proposals with U.S. deposition system as well as the differences between them. It implies on the difficulty of adopting the system due to conflict in procedure.

The article discusses why lawyers behave badly, overcharge clients and take from their trust accounts and adds that understanding their behavioral ethics can help in avoiding common missteps which leads to poor ethical decision-making and behavior.

The article presents information on the court case Australian Securities and Investments Commission v Richards [2013] FCAFC 89 wherin the federal court of Australia over-turned 35 per cent uplift in recovery for group members who self-financed the cost of prosecuting their class action. It informs that the decision emphasizes the important protective role that the courts should play in relation to class action settlements.

The article focuses on the litigation for James Hardie Industries Ltd. which deals with the duties of directors and non-executive directors (NEDs). It mentions the significance of the roles of in-house counsels in corporate decision making. It states that the concept of lawyers being gatekeepers involves the solicitor-client relationship.

The article focuses on the Corporations Amendment Regulation 2012 which has led to the ending of unregulated status of litigation funding industry in Australia. The new amendment regulation aims at regulating management of conflicts of interest among class action participants. Under the regulations, inadequately resourced funders will be invited to litigate profit at low cost.

The article discusses the use of colloidal crystals as a medium for chemical separations. The researchers claim that colloidal crystals exhibit fast mass transport and have the ability to withstand high electric fields. Several experiments confirm the ability of colloidal crystals to separate chemicals. Cited as an example is the separation of three cationic, hydrophobic dyes in 6 seconds with the use of colloidal crystals.

Pathology informatics has evolved to varying levels around the world. The history of pathology informatics in different countries is a tale with many dimensions. At first glance, it is the familiar story of individuals solving problems that arise in their clinical practice to enhance efficiency, better manage (e.g., digitize) laboratory information, as well as exploit emerging information technologies. Under the surface, however, lie powerful resource, regulatory, and societal forces that helped shape our discipline into what it is today. In this monograph, for the first time in the history of our discipline, we collectively perform a global review of the field of pathology informatics. In doing so, we illustrate how general far-reaching trends such as the advent of computers, the Internet and digital imaging have affected pathology informatics in the world at large. Major drivers in the field included the need for pathologists to comply with national standards for health information technology and telepathology applications to meet the scarcity of pathology services and trained people in certain countries. Following trials by a multitude of investigators, not all of them successful, it is apparent that innovation alone did not assure the success of many informatics tools and solutions. Common, ongoing barriers to the widespread adoption of informatics devices include poor information technology infrastructure in undeveloped areas, the cost of technology, and regulatory issues. This review offers a deeper understanding of how pathology informatics historically developed and provides insights into what the promising future might hold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surveys by the RCPA PITUS Project have shown significant variations in report rendering between Australasian Pathology Providers. The same project collected anecdotal evidence that this variation has led to the misunderstanding and misreading of results - a clinical safety issue. Recommendations are given for the rendering of reference limits on pathology reports, determination and rendering of result flags, and the documentation of sub-population partitions for reference intervals. These recommendations apply equally for paper or electronic reporting, but should not limit the use of novel techniques within electronic reports to convey additional meaning. PITUS Working Group 4 will publish draft recommendations for peer review and comment in relation to the above in the second half of 2014.

This paper is a review of the standardisation required to achieve interoperability for pathology test requesting and reporting. Interoperability is the ability of two parties, either human or machine, to exchange data or information in a manner that preserves shared meaning. This is needed to make healthcare safer, more efficient and more effective. Interoperability requires standardisation around: transmission of data; identification policies; information structures; common terminology; common understanding; and behavioural agreement. It is dependent on consensus. Each of these aspects is considered from the perspective of pathology requesting and reporting concluding that while much has been done, much remains to be done., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Non-porous, colloidal silica particles were annealed at three different temperatures, 800, 900 and 1050 °C. The adsorption of lysozyme, a probe of surface roughness, was consistent with progressively reduced surface roughness as temperature increased. The heat treated silica particles were rehydroxylated and then used to pack UHPLC columns. The cationic protein lysozyme was used to probe silanol activity, which exhibited progressively less tailing as the annealing temperature increased. FTIR spectroscopy confirmed that the abundance of isolated silanols on the surface was reduced by annealing at 900 °C or 1050 °C. FTIR also revealed that there was markedly increased hydrogen bonding of the isolated silanols to neighbors after rehydroxylation. These results combine to support the hypothesis that (a) isolated silanols on silica cause tailing in RP-LC and (b) nonplanar topography gives rise to isolated silanols., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)