Holt and the establishment of arbitration: an Australian perspective

'Even the argument that New Zealand has done something is not sufficient to satisfy me of the correctness of the present government.' The speaker was Sir John Downer, a delegate to the final session of the Australian Federal Convention in 1898. The occasion was a debate on industrial arbitration, during which enthusiasts pointed repeatedly to the success of the New Zealand Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act of 1894. And the outcome was that by a narrow majority the Convention reversed its previous decisions and empowered the Commonwealth to make laws for conciliation and arbitration for the prevention and settlement of industrial dispules extending beyond the limits of any one State. (Victorian Government Printer. 1898. vol. I. p. 187

Bayesian analysis of models of population divergence for SNP variation data

Probabilistic models to describe genetic differentiation between populations typically fail to include the effect of complex ancestry. A Bayesian hierarchical model proposed by Nicholson et al. (2002) (ND) provides a framework for assessing differentiation using population-wise parameters for single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data under certain assumptions regarding the evolution of allele frequencies over time. Although the ND model offers a coherent method to estimate population divergence, a rather simplistic assumption must be made about the historical evolution of populations. Since shared ancestry between populations results in correlations in allele frequencies, it is the potential capture of such correlations that motivates the development of the new model reported here. This thesis presents a review of the ND model using simulated and newly available SNP data, highlighting situations where the ND model does and does not fit the data well. The model was fitted using Markov-chain Monte-Carlo (MCMC) methods, and the fit assessed using residual diagnostics. Nicholson et al. (2002) reported instability in parameter estimates when a population was removed from the data set and the model re-fitted. Analysis of simulated data ensured that this is not an inherent property of the ND model and therefore can be used to highlight discrepancies with the model. Analyses on real data show that the ND model works well for groups of Europeans with low levels of genetic differentiation between populations, but a lack of fit is found when groups of populations dispersed across continents are considered. Data are also simulated under an alternative ancestral configuration and it is shown that lack of fit, manifest in residuals and estimator instability, is present when analysed using the ND model. An extension to the ND model is developed and fitted, supposing that discrepancies in the modelling assumptions of the ND model are due to the effect of alternative ancestral relationships. The ND and the new model are compared, as regards their fit to various data sets, and it is found that in some cases the new model does provide a better fit and in other cases the distinction is unclear. The new model is also used to infer the most likely ancestral relationships between populations sampled from the Human Genome Diversity Panel

The Calcitonin and Glucocorticoids Combination: Mechanistic Insights into Their Class-Effect Synergy in Experimental Arthritis

PMCID: PMC3564948This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

Vanguards and avant-gardes : The reason in revolt online project on political and cultural radicalism

The 'Reason in Revolt' project aims to bring together primary source documents of Australian radicalism as a readily accessible digitised resource. By 'radical' we refer to those who aimed to make society more equal and to emancipate the exploited or oppressed. As it grows and develops, the project website will become an expanding record of the movements, institutions, venues and publications through which radicals sought to influence Australian society. Burgmann, Macintyre and Milner intend to utilise the technological benefits of this website in the production of a monograph on the role of intellectuals in the development of radical thought and practice

Global surveillance of cancer survival 1995-2009: analysis of individual data for 25,676,887 patients from 279 population-based registries in 67 countries (CONCORD-2)

BACKGROUND: Worldwide data for cancer survival are scarce. We aimed to initiate worldwide surveillance of cancer survival by central analysis of population-based registry data, as a metric of the effectiveness of health systems, and to inform global policy on cancer control. METHODS: Individual tumour records were submitted by 279 population-based cancer registries in 67 countries for 25·7 million adults (age 15-99 years) and 75,000 children (age 0-14 years) diagnosed with cancer during 1995-2009 and followed up to Dec 31, 2009, or later. We looked at cancers of the stomach, colon, rectum, liver, lung, breast (women), cervix, ovary, and prostate in adults, and adult and childhood leukaemia. Standardised quality control procedures were applied; errors were corrected by the registry concerned. We estimated 5-year net survival, adjusted for background mortality in every country or region by age (single year), sex, and calendar year, and by race or ethnic origin in some countries. Estimates were age-standardised with the International Cancer Survival Standard weights. FINDINGS: 5-year survival from colon, rectal, and breast cancers has increased steadily in most developed countries. For patients diagnosed during 2005-09, survival for colon and rectal cancer reached 60% or more in 22 countries around the world; for breast cancer, 5-year survival rose to 85% or higher in 17 countries worldwide. Liver and lung cancer remain lethal in all nations: for both cancers, 5-year survival is below 20% everywhere in Europe, in the range 15-19% in North America, and as low as 7-9% in Mongolia and Thailand. Striking rises in 5-year survival from prostate cancer have occurred in many countries: survival rose by 10-20% between 1995-99 and 2005-09 in 22 countries in South America, Asia, and Europe, but survival still varies widely around the world, from less than 60% in Bulgaria and Thailand to 95% or more in Brazil, Puerto Rico, and the USA. For cervical cancer, national estimates of 5-year survival range from less than 50% to more than 70%; regional variations are much wider, and improvements between 1995-99 and 2005-09 have generally been slight. For women diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2005-09, 5-year survival was 40% or higher only in Ecuador, the USA, and 17 countries in Asia and Europe. 5-year survival for stomach cancer in 2005-09 was high (54-58%) in Japan and South Korea, compared with less than 40% in other countries. By contrast, 5-year survival from adult leukaemia in Japan and South Korea (18-23%) is lower than in most other countries. 5-year survival from childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is less than 60% in several countries, but as high as 90% in Canada and four European countries, which suggests major deficiencies in the management of a largely curable disease. INTERPRETATION: International comparison of survival trends reveals very wide differences that are likely to be attributable to differences in access to early diagnosis and optimum treatment. Continuous worldwide surveillance of cancer survival should become an indispensable source of information for cancer patients and researchers and a stimulus for politicians to improve health policy and health-care systems

Low serum cortisol predicts early death following acute myocardial infarction

<b>Objective</b>: Low serum cortisol concentrations have been associated with adverse prognosis in critical illness of diverse aetiology. We aimed to determine whether low serum cortisol concentrations are associated with adverse prognosis in patients with acute myocardial infarction. <b>Design</b>: Nested case-control study. <b>Setting</b>: Prospective cohort study of consecutive patients admitted with acute myocardial infarction to 9 Scottish hospitals. <b>Patients</b>: 100 patients who survived 30 days (controls) and 100 patients who died within 30 days (cases). <b>Measurements and Main Results</b>: Admission cortisol concentrations were lower in patients who died than those who survived (median 1,189 versus 1,355 nmol/L, p<0.001). A cortisol concentration in the bottom quartile (<1,136 nmol/L) was a strong predictor of death within 30 days, and remained so after adjustment for age and cardiac troponin concentration (adjusted OR 8.78, 95% CI 3.09-24.96, p<0.001). <b>Conclusions</b>: Patients who mount a lesser cortisol stress response to acute myocardial infarction have a poorer early prognosis

Worldwide comparison of survival from childhood leukaemia for 1995–2009, by subtype, age, and sex (CONCORD-2): a population-based study of individual data for 89 828 children from 198 registries in 53 countries

Background Global inequalities in access to health care are reflected in differences in cancer survival. The CONCORD programme was designed to assess worldwide differences and trends in population-based cancer survival. In this population-based study, we aimed to estimate survival inequalities globally for several subtypes of childhood leukaemia. Methods Cancer registries participating in CONCORD were asked to submit tumour registrations for all children aged 0-14 years who were diagnosed with leukaemia between Jan 1, 1995, and Dec 31, 2009, and followed up until Dec 31, 2009. Haematological malignancies were defined by morphology codes in the International Classification of Diseases for Oncology, third revision. We excluded data from registries from which the data were judged to be less reliable, or included only lymphomas, and data from countries in which data for fewer than ten children were available for analysis. We also excluded records because of a missing date of birth, diagnosis, or last known vital status. We estimated 5-year net survival (ie, the probability of surviving at least 5 years after diagnosis, after controlling for deaths from other causes [background mortality]) for children by calendar period of diagnosis (1995-99, 2000-04, and 2005-09), sex, and age at diagnosis (< 1, 1-4, 5-9, and 10-14 years, inclusive) using appropriate life tables. We estimated age-standardised net survival for international comparison of survival trends for precursor-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) and acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). Findings We analysed data from 89 828 children from 198 registries in 53 countries. During 1995-99, 5-year agestandardised net survival for all lymphoid leukaemias combined ranged from 10.6% (95% CI 3.1-18.2) in the Chinese registries to 86.8% (81.6-92.0) in Austria. International differences in 5-year survival for childhood leukaemia were still large as recently as 2005-09, when age-standardised survival for lymphoid leukaemias ranged from 52.4% (95% CI 42.8-61.9) in Cali, Colombia, to 91.6% (89.5-93.6) in the German registries, and for AML ranged from 33.3% (18.9-47.7) in Bulgaria to 78.2% (72.0-84.3) in German registries. Survival from precursor-cell ALL was very close to that of all lymphoid leukaemias combined, with similar variation. In most countries, survival from AML improved more than survival from ALL between 2000-04 and 2005-09. Survival for each type of leukaemia varied markedly with age: survival was highest for children aged 1-4 and 5-9 years, and lowest for infants (younger than 1 year). There was no systematic difference in survival between boys and girls. Interpretation Global inequalities in survival from childhood leukaemia have narrowed with time but remain very wide for both ALL and AML. These results provide useful information for health policy makers on the effectiveness of health-care systems and for cancer policy makers to reduce inequalities in childhood survival

Marine Macroalgal Diversity Assessment of Saba Bank, Netherlands Antilles

Background: Located in the Dutch Windward Islands, Saba Bank is a flat-topped seamount (20–45 m deep in the shallower regions). The primary goals of the survey were to improve knowledge of biodiversity for one of the world’s most significant, but little-known, seamounts and to increase basic data and analyses to promote the development of an improved management plan. Methodology/Principal Findings: Our team of three divers used scuba to collect algal samples to depths of 50 m at 17 dive sites. Over 360 macrophyte specimens (12 putative new species) were collected, more than 1,000 photographs were taken in truly exceptional habitats, and three astonishing new seaweed community types were discovered. These included: (1) ‘‘Field of Greens’ ’ (N 17u30.6209, W63u27.7079) dominated by green seaweeds as well as some filamentous reds, (2) ‘‘Brown Town’ ’ (N 17u28.0279, W63u14.9449) dominated by large brown algae, and (3) ‘‘Seaweed City’ ’ (N 17u26.4859, W63u16.8509) with a diversity of spectacular fleshy red algae. Conclusions/Significance: Dives to 30 m in the more two-dimensional interior habitats revealed particularly robust specimens of algae typical of shallower seagrass beds, but here in the total absence of any seagrasses (seagrasses generally do not grow below 20 m). Our preliminary estimate of the number of total seaweed species on Saba Bank ranges from a minimum of 150 to 200. Few filamentous and thin sheet forms indicative of stressed or physically disturbed environments were observed. A more precise number still awaits further microscopic and molecular examinations in the laboratory. The expedition, while intensive, has only scratched the surface of this unique submerged seamount/atoll