bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Grey Album: Copyright Law and Digital Sampling
Authors: Rimmer Matthew
Published: March 2018

In the field of digital sampling, disk jockeys have shown a recent enthusiasm for ‘mash-ups’ — new compositions created by combining the rhythm tracks of one song and the vocal track of another. Most famously of all, DJ Danger Mouse remixed the vocals from Jay-Z's The Black Album and the Beatles' White Album and called his creation The Grey Album. The Grey Album poses a number of difficult issues regarding copyright law and digital sampling. Does such a ‘mash-up’ go beyond the de minimis use of a copyright work? Is The Grey Album protected by the defence of fair use under copyright law because it provides a transformative use of copyright works? Can such remixes by compulsorily licensed? Does a ‘mash-up’ raise issues concerning the moral rights of attribution and integrity, which are recognised in Europe and Australia?
Current Indigenous Arts Law Issues
Authors: Joseph Samantha , Ayres Robyn
Published: March 2018

This paper provides a snapshot of recent developments affecting Indigenous artists and their communities, with a focus on Indigenous communal moral rights, resale rights and Indigenous protocols. Whilst there is an appreciation of the value that Indigenous art and culture provides both domestically and internationally, there appears to be resistance to introducing legislation or schemes to ensure Indigenous artists and their communities benefit financially.
‘Be [Net] Alert, but Not Alarmed’? Regulating the Parents of Generation MSN
Authors: Long Jane
Published: March 2018

The proliferation of net safety discourses in recent years in Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom situate the parent at the centre of the family home as the monitor and protector of children and teenagers — Generation MSN — while they ideally acquire skills to become responsible net citizens. This paper considers such discourses to analyse their gendered nature, their underlying assumptions about teenage users and their models of ‘globalised’ parenting. It argues that, in the drive to create and regulate a ‘safe’ internet for young people, such discourses actively produce a new version, for the twenty-first century, of the good parent — for which should be read ‘monitoring mum’.
Popular ‘Series’ Drama in Tv's Multichannel Age
Authors: Dunleavy Trisha
Published: March 2018

Devised to introduce the themed section of this MIA issue and the ‘popular’ area of TV drama that is its focus, this paper examines the contemporary drama series form and outlines some key institutional and cultural conditions for its production in non-American countries.1 Interested in the commercial pressures being brought to bear on drama by intensifying prime-time competition and increasing audience fragmentation, the paper looks at how the series, in particular, has adapted to these. It assesses the contribution of three pervasive approaches to this area of drama: ‘recombination’ (Gitlin, 1994), ‘flexi-narrative’ (Nelson, 1997) and ‘must see-TV’ (Jankovich and Lyons, 2003). To foreground some specific challenges for locally produced drama in the emerging era of television ‘plenty’, a case study of New Zealand TV drama follows. Although its domestic TV drama has a 40-year tradition, New Zealand's efforts to maintain profile and diversity in this meta-genre have been frustrated by its position as a small, English-speaking country for whom leading American and British imports have been popular, affordable and available. Risky and commercially fragile in comparison with these imports, the position of New Zealand TV drama has never been guaranteed to the extent that it is reliant on the support and supply of public funding. Since the mid-1990s, these problems have combined with the challenges of multi-channel competition in television. While the resulting pressures have left some forms of local TV drama as ‘endangered species’, it is the popular, long-form genres — the drama series, soaps and sitcoms — that have shown the greatest resilience.
Lines and Criss-Crossings: Hyperlinks in Australian Indigenous Narratives
Authors: Glowczewski Barbara
Published: March 2018

The issue of an ethical approach to pleasure does not imply a religious or moral order, but a constant re-evaluation of how each image or representation of any contemporary culture (Indigenous, musical, professional, digital, etc.) impacts on social justice, equity, tolerance and freedom. Two attempts of anthropological restitution developed with Aboriginal peoples for a mixed audience are presented here. The first is a CD-ROM ( Dream Trackers: Yapa Art and Knowledge of the Australian Desert), focused on one Central Australian community (Lajamanu in the Northern Territory), while the second is an interactive DVD ( Quest in Aboriginal Land) based on films by Indigenous filmmaker Wayne Barker, juxtaposing four regions of Australia. Both projects aim to explore and enhance the cultural foundations of the reticular way in which many Indigenous people in Australia map their knowledge and experience of the world in a geographical virtual web of narratives, images and performances. The relevance of games for anthropological insights is also discussed in the paper. Nonlinear or reticular thinking mostly stresses the fact that there is no centrality to the whole but a multipolar view from each recomposed network within each singularity, a person, a place (a Dreaming in the case of Aboriginal cultures), allowing the emergence of meanings and performances, encounters, creations as new original autonomous flows. Reticular or network thinking, I argue, is a very ancient Indigenous practice but it gains today a striking actuality thanks to the fact that our so called scientific perception of cognition, virtuality and social performance has changed through the use of new technologies.
Empty Heartland: The Absent Regions on New Zealand Television
Authors: Fountaine Susan , Comrie Margie , Cheyne Christine
Published: March 2018

Each night, two-thirds of New Zealanders tune into prime-time national news on free-to-air channels TV One and TV3. This paper argues, however, that viewers get a very limited view of their nation on the box. While the archetypal Kiwi identity reflects ties to ‘the land’ and accompanying values of self-sufficiency and resourcefulness, television news is preoccupied with urban happenings, and tells heartland stories from a city perspective. Content analysis shows overseas stories are a third of network news, and well over half of the rest comes from Auckland and Wellington. Regional coverage is largely restricted to crime or human interest, and there is an absence of rural news. Since 1990, New Zealanders have had no regional news programs to fill these gaps. The government has, until recently, reneged on funding promises for local television, relying instead on TVNZ's charter objective to ‘reflect the regions to the nation’. The paper considers the success of this policy, and its implications for the heartland and national identity.
Creative Practice as Research: A Creative Writing Case Study
Authors: Brien Donna Lee
Published: March 2018

This paper utilises a case study approach to examine practice-led research in a specific discipline of the creative arts by examining the range of research strategies utilised during the author's doctoral studies in creative writing. This personal example is then situated within a broader context through suggestions about the contribution such creative arts-based research practice can make to the development and enhancement of creativity more generally, and an exploration of why this is important.
Thirty Years of MIA: A Commemorative Editorial
Authors: Wilson Helen
Published: March 2018

To commemorate 30 years of the journal, MIA editor Helen Wilson has been exploring the archive and speaking with some of the many people who helped give it birth, carry it through difficult transformations and take responsibility for the content.
Advertising and the New Search Media
Authors: Spurgeon Christina
Published: March 2018

This article takes a co-evolutionary approach to considering the influence of internet cultures and revenue sources on the development of the new commercial search media. The extent to which advertising revenues can be relied upon as a defining characteristic of commercial media in the global era is also problematised. A comparative consideration of the cases of Yahoo!, Google and Sensis pays particular attention to informational forms of advertising and the rhetorical, if not strategic, importance of small advertisers. Also considered are the disruptive impacts of new modes of interaction upon the established social relations of media, advertisers and consumers in the production, circulation and uses of symbolic power. While new search media business models are suggestive of new strategies for civilising advertising and capital more generally, the resilience and adaptability of the advertiser-funded business model provides an important point of historical continuity between the new search media and the politics and economics of modern mass (‘old’) media. The more things change, the more they also seem to be at risk of remaining the same.
Going Global: An Analysis of Global Women's Magazine ADS in China
Authors: Cheng Hong , Frith Katherine Toland
Published: March 2018

Over the past few decades, some women's magazines have rapidly spread as a global medium. While previous researchers have noted that women's magazines act as agents of socialisation, perpetuating certain gender stereotypes and institutionalising certain gender conventions, there has been little research on how this global medium portrays women of various races. Combining content and semiotic analyses, this article is an examination of the context and content of ads that have appeared in the Chinese versions of global women's magazines. The study focused on Elle, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire and Harper's Bazaar, all global titles currently marketed in the Chinese mainland. Findings suggest that women of different races tend to be stereotyped in different ways in these magazines, and that Western models are presented in significantly different ways from Asian models. The impact of globalisation on these differences and the implications of the findings for global advertising are discussed.
Digital Challenges for Community Broadcasting
Authors: Melville Barry
Published: March 2018

This article considers the current developments in convergence from the perspective of community broadcasting in Australia. It examines government media reforms and plans relating to digital technology and content, and notes the potential of community broadcasting to contribute to goals of diversity, innovation and new services. The paper concludes with various policy proposals which aim to ensure that the ‘third tier’ of free-to-air broadcasting is included in the transition to digital services.
Media Studies: Finding an Identity
Authors: Quin Robyn
Published: March 2018

This paper argues that, from the beginning, Media Studies — at least in Australian schools and universities — did not display the usual organising principles of an academic subject. Media Studies in both Australian secondary schools and universities has traditionally been organised to include the written alongside the oral and practical, to integrate theory with practice, to focus on the application — often at the expense of the abstraction of knowledge. At the school level, this theory/production integration has been justified and promoted under the rubric that students ‘learn by doing’. At university level, much of the same rhetoric is used but at the tertiary level media production classes also cater for the students who see — or hope to see — that a degree in Media Studies is an entrée into the media industries. This approach, the integration of training in media production with education in media theory and criticism, produces tensions, apparent contradictions and misalignments that are obvious to teachers and students alike. Drawing from post-modernist critiques and sociologies of subject knowledge, the study uses interviews with school teachers, students, academics and observations of lessons at school and university level to describe the issues and concerns from multiple perspectives.
‘The Weaker Sisters’: The First Decade of ATV-0 Melbourne and TEN-10 Sydney, 1964–1975
Authors: Herd Nick
Published: March 2018

This paper presents aspects of an historical analysis of commercial television as a cultural industry by reference to the introduction of the third licences in Sydney and Melbourne. I am looking at the period between 1964 and 1972 and the development of ATV-0 and TEN-10. In the first part of the paper, I examine some aspects of the industry and organisational structures of the time. Since programming flow is the structuring logic of television as a cultural industry, the second part of the paper looks at the programming strategies used by the stations to differentiate them from and allow them to compete with the other commercial stations. I will do this with reference to particular Australian programs scheduled by the stations. My argument is that, for most of the 1960s and into the early 1970s, these stations pursued an essentially defensive strategy attempting to change the station's competitive position within the existing rules. The change to a more offensive strategy with the genesis of Number 96 was what laid the foundation for financial success.
Cash and Controversy: A Short History of Commercial Talkback Radio
Authors: Gould Liz
Published: March 2018

While many scholars rightly point to the contemporary influence of talkback radio as an increasingly prominent platform for civic and political debate, as talkback radio approaches its fortieth anniversary, little is known about the history and development of the format. It was in 1967 that metropolitan radio stations in Australia rushed to embrace a ‘new’ radio programming format, as talkback radio became formally — and finally — legally permissible. However, the documented history of commercial talkback in Australia began many years earlier and has been punctuated by frequent clashes between radio programmers and broadcasting regulators over issues relating to the nature of programming content. As a platform for the discussion of contemporary social issues, talkback has thrived by courting controversy and debate. The commercial talkback radio format has supported the rise of a small, but highly prominent, group of men and continues to be strongly guided by economic imperatives, as witnessed in recent developments such as the ‘cash for comment’ affair. This article details the growth of metropolitan commercial talkback radio in Australia over the last four decades and looks at the extent to which public policy and economic influences have shaped the development of the format.
‘A Wild Idea’: Rupert Murdoch, Maxwell Newton and the Foundation of The Australian Newsper
Authors: Cryle Denis
Published: March 2018

This article outlines the particular difficulties faced by The Australian in its critical startup period, and documents the competitive forces and dominant personalities that shaped its dramatic birth. Although he ultimately lacked Murdoch's business acumen, Maxwell Newton, as The Australian';s first editor, also made a powerful intellectual contribution to national journalism and to the Canberra venture. This article revisits the Newton-Murdoch relationship in the context of The Australian, focusing on the Canberra years and their deep-seated differences prior to their eventual reconciliation in the 1980s.
Copyright and Creativity: Changing Paradigms and the Implications for Intellectual Property and the Music Industry
Authors: McIntyre Phillip
Published: March 2018

Copyright law is entangled with the Romantic conception of the creative process. So is the music industry. This Romantic conception has been challenged more recently to the point where there has been a paradigmatic shift of the conception of creative activity within the research community. This change has not as yet occurred for popular conceptions of creativity, nor has the law changed its basis. Once these older views are substituted with the recent work on cultural production and confluence models of creativity, the implication for rights-holders in the music industry may be significant, yet remain dependent upon the industry and others' general acceptance of these recent creativity research findings. Examples of the changing structures of intellectual property and what this shift might mean for songwriters in particular can be drawn from the struggles of Lindy Morrison, former Go-Betweens drummer, and the attitude to songwriting developed by writers such as Paul Mac and Daniel Johns.
Work and Play: Vagaries Surrounding Contemporary Cultural Production in Sydney's Dance Music Culture
Authors: Brennan-Horley Chris
Published: March 2018

Much recent research has documented how, under ‘creative’ capitalism, approaches towards work and types of work are changing. This paper extends this research direction, uncovering the discourses that influence conditions of work in one sector of the cultural industries: what can loosely be defined as the ‘dance music industry’. It examines the role that networking and social relations play in maintaining a music scene through which work opportunities are created. The paper also explores how attitudes toward work in this particular cultural pursuit are emblematic of wider shifts in working practices within the cultural and creative industries. The findings are based on interviews with various DJs and promoters within dance and electronic music scenes in Sydney. It is argued that the boundaries between work and non-work, and between ‘industry’ and ‘scene’, are porous for those engaged in this form of cultural production, with a need to further discuss the implications of these observations for the future of cultural work under advanced capitalism.
Promotional Desires: Popular Media's Presence on the Internet
Authors: Marshall P. David , Luckman Susan , Smith Sean
Published: March 2018

For a variety of reasons, the traditional popular or ‘mass’ media have attempted to position themselves on the Internet through the establishment of often elaborate Websites, The potential future delivery of film, television and radio through the Internet represents a serious challenge to the continued viability of media companies and their vested modes of delivery and exhibition. Their Internet sites represent their reaction to a possible computer/media converged future. At present, these sites play with the different interactive aesthetics of the Internet and tend to emphasise the use of the Internet as primarily a promotional tool. This article analyses the Websites of selected national and international media corporations, identifies the promotional quality of their presence, and charts their organisation of desire.
The Goldsworthy Report: Credibility and Australian Information Policy
Authors: Flew Terry
Published: March 2018

Recent Australian federal government statements on information policy can be seen as manifesting a tension, and possibility a deeper crisis of credibility. On the one hand, the rhetoric of global neo-liberalism emphasises the ‘ungovernability’ of the global information infrastructure and the need to forsake interventionist approaches by nation-states. On the other, documents such as the Goldsworthy Report promote a supply-side economic nationalism, premised upon incentives to encourage new investment in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector. It is argued that national initiatives are important in a global information economy, but that the Goldsworthy Report's approach is flawed by its neglect of issues of consumer demand and equitable access. Consideration of these issues points to a need for a different vision of information policy, which stresses its social, cultural and community development aspect as well as economic outcomes.
National Culture, Communications and the Information Economy
Authors: Spurgeon Christina
Published: March 2018

This article analyses developments in Australian communications policy since the March 1996 change of national government. It considers Artsinfo, a new Australian government-sponsored Internet and telephone-based information service, as a product of this conjunction. It argues that Artsinfo is emblematic of the ways in which Internetworking developments are altering social space on local, national and global scales. This article also explores temporal dimensions of these themes. It reviews the Artsinfo launch event as an exercise in nation-building which is suggestive of a paradoxical limit faced by peripheral economies seeking to locate ‘the nation’ in the global ‘information economy’, where that development is contingent upon the privatisation of communications infrastructure. Specifically, what kinds of national public culture can be sustained on the basis of wholly and partly privatised communications infrastructures?
Some Issues for Community Radio at the Turn of the Century
Authors: Thompson Michael
Published: March 2018

Community radio faces the new century with some threats to its original ideals, but with the opportunity to remake itself and to harness new technologies to improve its position in the radio industry. There are challenges with the decline of government support and the inexorable pressure of commercialism; however, new licences and the arrival of digital radio provide opportunities for an expanding sector.
Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) in the Asia-Pacific Region: A Regional Perspective
Authors: Soothill David B.
Published: March 2018

The Asia-Pacific is the world's largest region and it has a huge range of potential radio uses that analogue terrestrial broadcasting simply cannot meet. This article explores the impact that digital radio transmission will have on the region, and the importance of satellite broadcasting and multichannel broadcasting for better coverage and quality of services.
Razer's Edge: Styling Vocality for Youth Radio
Authors: Cook Lackie
Published: March 2018

This paper examines the vocal performance of Helen Razer in her Triple J programs. It argues against established accounts of radio as a disembodied medium in favour of considering the physiological techniques of all vocalising as having social and cultural meaning. It sets out to ‘read’ radio voice as conscious performance of style — in Razer's case, a radically gendered style in opposition to the various performances of masculinity pervasive on the youth network as well as in more dominant forms of radio.
The Popular Media of the Vietnamese Diaspora
Authors: Nguyen Tina , Cunningham Stuart
Published: March 2018

This paper forms part of a larger study mapping and analysing the way audiovisual media are used in the dual processes of cultural maintenance and adaptation within Asian diasporic communities and seeks to complement media and cultural studies' emphasis on the representation of ‘ethnic minorities' in mainstream media with a focus on media produced for and consumed within the communities.

The paper overviews popular media of the Vietnamese diaspora. The largest refugee community in Australia, it supports a thriving popular culture produced by and for overseas Vietnamese. Issues of how narrowcast media forms are used to ‘broadcast’ cultural production within a globally dispersed, relatively small community transected by age, class, education, gender, migration and refugee status, recency of arrival and regional background are raised.
Sex, Satire and ‘Middle-Class Morality': Reflections on Some Recent Defamation Cases
Authors: Eisenberg Julie
Published: March 2018

This article examines recent defamation cases, especially the Hanson and Abbott and Costello cases, as studies of how courts distil meanings from publications and judicial perceptions about how ordinary readers interpret publications. It explores the difficulty in defining the line between publications that are tasteless, tacky or hurtful and those that are defamatory, particularly those which deal at the fringes of sexual morality or subversive humour. Finally, it addresses the question of whether defamation law creates a parallel system of censorship.
Regulation of Children's Television in Australia: Past and Present
Authors: Mencinsky Nadia , Mullen Belinda
Published: March 2018

The provision of quality television programming made specifically for children has been a significant issue in Australia since television was introduced. From 1979, specific requirements have been in place to ensure children have access to a variety of quality television programs made specifically for them, including Australian drama and non-drama programs. This article traces the development of these requirements and how they have led to the current Children's Television Standards (CTS).

The Children's Television Standards (CTS), administered by the Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA), are widely regarded in Australia and overseas as a notable example — if not benchmark — for how to regulate children's television in the public interest. The article also examines some key trends in programming since 1979 and identifies areas of the standards which are problematic and/or might need to be revised to ensure the expected outcomes are still being achieved.
Production of Australian Children's Drama: Is There a Future?
Authors: Aisbett Kate
Published: March 2018

To mark the twentieth anniversary of the introduction of the children's programs classification scheme (1979–99), the Australian Broadcasting Authority, the Australian Children's Television Foundation and the Australian Film Finance Corporation commissioned a joint research project on C classification programs. The research investigated trends in programming over the 20 years of the classification scheme and current issues related to the financing of children's programs. This paper explores current developments in the production and broadcast of children's television in Australia and the place of regulation in facilitating the community's desire for quality Australian children's programs.
Kumara Kai or the Big Mac Pak? Television for Six- to 12-Year-Olds in New Zealand
Authors: Zanker Ruth
Published: March 2018

The producers of local television for children in New Zealand face daunting challenges. No public-service channel exists in New Zealand's deregulated television environment and the country has a small population of 3 million. This paper draws on a year-long production case-study of a publicly funded flagship magazine program for six- to 12-year-olds and considers the strategies used by a range of other productions targeting the same audience. This paper raises questions about the rationale of current funding mechanisms.
Association of obstructive sleep apnea with microvascular endothelial dysfunction and subclinical coronary artery disease in a community-based population
Authors: Shpilsky Daniel , Erqou Sebhat , Patel Sanjay R , Kip Kevin E , Ajala Oluremi , Aiyer Aryan , Strollo Patrick J , Reis Steven E , Olafiranye Oladipupo
Published: March 2018

Studies have reported an association between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Proposed mechanisms include endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerosis. We aimed to investigate the associations of OSA with endothelial dysfunction and subclinical atherosclerotic coronary artery disease (CAD), and assess the impact of race on these associations. We used data from the Heart Strategies Concentrating on Risk Evaluation (Heart SCORE) study, a community-based prospective cohort with approximately equal representation of black and white participants. OSA severity was measured in 765 individuals using the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI). Endothelial dysfunction was measured using the Endo-PAT device, expressed as Framingham reactive hyperemia index (F_RHI). Coronary artery calcium (CAC), a marker of subclinical CAD, was quantified by electron beam computed tomography. There were 498 (65%) female participants, 282 (37%) black individuals, and 204 (26%) participants with moderate/severe OSA (AHI ≥15). In univariate models, moderate/severe OSA was associated with lower F_RHI and higher CAC, as well as several traditional CVD risk factors including older age, male sex, hypertension, diabetes, higher body mass index, and lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. In a multivariable model, individuals with moderate/severe OSA had 10% lower F_RHI and 35% higher CAC, which did not reach statistical significance ( p=0.08 for both comparisons). There was no significant interaction of race on the association of OSA with F_RHI or CAC ( p-value >0.1 for all comparisons). In a community-based cohort comprised of black and white participants, moderate/severe OSA was modestly associated with endothelial dysfunction and subclinical atherosclerotic CAD. These associations did not vary by race.
Traditional opera consumption as the new game of distinction for the Chinese middle class
Authors: Ma Haili
Published: March 2018

Utilizing theories of Becker’s art worlds, Veblen’s conspicuous consumption and Bourdieu’s capital forms, this article critically examines the formation of a new art world of the traditional Chinese opera Kunqu, with university students turned middle class as identified consumers. It argues that the art world has been developed through the innovation of artists working within the tight ideological control of the market. Only artists who support party-state ideological evolution, allowing access to ‘central bank’ capital in the forms of university curriculum, opera house resources and land use, may continue to experiment and innovate before a new audience taste is nurtured and a new art world is developed. This article suggests that the rise of Kunqu reflects the political castration of the new millennium Chinese middle class, with their value and identity resting on a fantasized historical leisure class distinction and associated conspicuous consumption. The establishment of a new Kunqu art world exemplifies the characteristics of the Chinese art market, which is developed under party-state ‘central bank’ monopoly, for continued Chinese Communist Party (CCP) ideological evolution and legitimacy.
A comparison study on gust factor considering non-stationary effects under typhoon and monsoon conditions
Authors: Wang Shouqiang , Zhao Lin , Cao Shuyang , Zhang Yufeng , Yin Feng , Ge Yaojun
Published: March 2018

This article studies the feasibility and effectiveness of a non-stationary model using field measurements. Gust factors are compared for both typhoon and monsoon winds whose maximum 10-min mean wind speeds were all greater than 20 m/s using non-stationary models. Wind speeds were recorded by three-dimensional anemometers by the Structural Health Monitoring System of Xihoumen Bridge. The study focuses on the dependences of gust factor on gust averaging time, sample duration, and mean wind speed for both typhoon and monsoon climates. The gust factor curve and the relationship between gust factor and turbulence intensity are also studied. The results suggest that a non-stationary model is more suitable for actual turbulence flow, particularly under typhoon conditions. The article also compares resulting gust factor curves with those obtained in former studies and shows that accurate gust factor curves can be obtained by field measurements for monsoon wind. It is thus recommended that gust factor research should differentiate between typhoon and monsoon winds.
The surrender of wrongly allocated greenhouse gas emission allowances
Authors: Legnaioli Marta
Published: March 2018

The EU emissions trading scheme (EU ETS) is considered one of the most important EU policies in the fight against climate change as it aims to reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions by industries located in the EU. This article examines the EU (EU ETS) and in particular the question of whether the surrender of wrongly allocated greenhouse emission allowances is compatible with Directive 2003/87/EC. This question was referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union in the context of a preliminary ruling. This case is particularly relevant as for the first time the Court is asked to express its interpretation on the legal nature of emission allowances. This issue is highly debated and has gained increasing relevance due to the fact that the classification of allowances is not harmonised at EU level.
Liability for Contaminated Land
Authors: Lees Emma
Published: March 2018

Powys County Council v Price, a follow-up to the decision of the House of Lords in R (National Grid Gas Plc) v Environment Agency (hereafter National Grid Gas), is concerned with the question of when statutory successors to public authorities will be liable as Class A persons (polluters) for having ‘caused or knowingly permitted’ the relevant substances to be in, on, or under the land, thanks to the contaminated land provisions contained in the Environmental Protection Act 1990, Part IIA. In deciding that such a body will not be liable unless the legislation establishing the succession on its wording specifically makes such liabilities pass – an outcome which is highly unlikely – the Court emphasises that corporate identity is critical to liability under the provisions but also goes beyond the earlier decision in National Grid Gas. The result is that the burden of remediating land contaminated by a public authority whose identity has changed, and where the acts were committed before the relevant provisions came into force, will almost certainly fall on the owner or occupier of the land for the time being. This note discusses the facts and reasoning in this case, before considering the questions raised by the decision: the issue of succession and the definition of polluter; the question of contingent liabilities; and the consequences of finding that the only ‘appropriate person’ is the owner or occupier of the contaminated land.
Standing and the sources of liberalism
Authors: Kolodny Niko
Published: March 2018

Whatever else liberalism involves, it involves the idea that it is objectionable, and often wrong, for the state, or anyone else, to intervene, in certain ways, in certain choices. This article aims to evaluate different possible sources of support for this core liberal idea. The result is a pluralistic view. It defends, but also stresses the limits of, some familiar elements: that some illiberal interventions impair valuable activities and that some violate rights against certain kinds of invasion. More speculatively, it points to two further sources of support for liberalism, each of which represents a certain kind of social standing: a self-sovereignty compromised simply by being subject to certain kinds of commands and a relational equality compromised by the condemnation of choices with which one’s group is identified.
Self-Perceived Mate Value, Facial Attractiveness, and Mate Preferences: Do Desirable Men Want It All?
Authors: Arnocky Steven
Published: March 2018

Ten years ago, Buss and Shackelford demonstrated that high mate value (i.e., physically attractive) women held more discerning mate preferences relative to lower mate value women. Since then, researchers have begun to consider the equally important role of men’s sexual selectivity in human mate choice. Yet, little research has focused on whether high mate value men are similarly choosy in their mate preferences. In a sample of 139 undergraduate men, relationships between self-perceived mate value as well as female-rated facial attractiveness were examined in relation to men’s expressed mate preferences. Results showed that self-perceived mate value was unrelated to men’s facial attractiveness as rated by women. Men who believed they were of high mate value were more likely than lower mate value men to prefer to marry at a younger age; to have a spouse who was younger than them; and to have a partner who was sociable, ambitious, high in social status, with good financial prospects, a desire for children, health, good looks, and mutual attraction. Objective male facial attractiveness was generally unrelated to heightened mate preferences, with the exception of heightened preference for similar religious background and good physical health. Findings suggest that men who perceive themselves as high in overall mate value are selective in their mate choice in a manner similar to high mate value women.
Effect of exposure duration and light spectra on nighttime melatonin suppression in adolescents and adults
Authors: Nagare R , Plitnick B , Figueiro MG
Published: March 2018

This study investigated how light exposure duration affects melatonin suppression, a well-established marker of circadian phase, and whether adolescents (13–18 years) are more sensitive to short-wavelength (blue) light than adults (32–51 years). Twenty-four participants (12 adolescents, 12 adults) were exposed to three lighting conditions during successive 4-h study nights that were separated by at least one week. In addition to a dim light (<5 lux) control, participants were exposed to two light spectra (warm (2700 K) and cool (5600 K)) delivering a circadian stimulus of 0.25 at eye level. Repeated measures analysis of variance revealed a significant main effect of exposure duration, indicating that a longer duration exposure suppressed melatonin to a greater degree. The analysis further revealed a significant main effect of spectrum and a significant interaction between spectrum and participant age. For the adolescents, but not the adults, melatonin suppression was significantly greater after exposure to the 5600 K intervention (43%) compared to the 2700 K intervention (29%), suggesting an increased sensitivity to short-wavelength radiation. These results will be used to extend the model of human circadian phototransduction to incorporate factors such as exposure duration and participant age to better predict effective circadian stimulus.
The long non-coding RNA NEAT1 contributes to extracellular matrix degradation in degenerative human nucleus pulposus cells
Authors: Ruan Zhi , Ma Hui , Li Jing , Liu Huiyong , Jia Haoruo , Li Feng
Published: March 2018

Intervertebral disc degeneration is a complex disease involving genetic and environmental factors and multiple cellular processes. The role and expression of the lncRNA NEAT1 were assessed in intervertebral disc degeneration. NEAT1 expression was assessed in degenerative and control nucleus pulposus using RT-PCR. Western blotting and RT-PCR were also used to investigate p53 and p21 levels in nucleus pulposus tissues. NEAT1 function in degenerative nucleus pulposus cells was assessed with gain- and loss-of-function experiments. ERK/MAPK signaling was also examined. NEAT1, p53, and p21 were dramatically upregulated in intervertebral disc degeneration. Furthermore, catabolic MMP13 and ADAMTS5 were dysregulated and collagen II and aggrecan were downregulated after NEAT1 overexpression. This effect was reversed by transfection with si-NEAT1 in degenerative nucleus pulposus cells. In addition, NEAT1 was found to affect the activation of the ERK/MAPK pathway. The NEAT1-induced ECM degradation may involve ERK1/2/MAPK signaling. LncRNA NEAT1 may represent a novel molecular target for intervertebral disc degeneration treatment by preventing nucleus pulposus ECM degradation.

Impact statement

For the first time, our study demonstrates that lncRNA NEAT1 plays a role in the occurrence and development of IDD by participating in extracellular matrix remodeling. This lncRNA regulates catabolic MMP13 and ADAMTS5 and anabolic collagen II and aggrecan by affecting the ERK/MAPK signaling pathway in degenerative human nucleus pulposus (NP) cells. Our research provides a scientific basis for targeting of NEAT1 for the IDD.
Duplex Evaluation of Trauma from Gunshot Wounds
Authors: Rama Kumara , Greene Kathleen , Heal Theresa , Hennard Lynn
Published: March 2018

Introduction

Diagnosis and repair of arterial injury from penetrating trauma is critical because the lack of intervention can result in limb loss or death. Patients that have conspicuous arterial injuries can be explored and repaired in the operating room with or without preoperative diagnostic imaging. Patients without definite clinical evidence of vascular injury (i.e., hematoma, pulsatile mass, bruit, or pulse deficit) generally undergo angiography because of proximity of injury. Arteriography is an expensive and invasive procedure for patients; it carries some discomfort and has potential complications associated with its use. In our experience, ankle/brachial index (ABI) alone has not been a dependable study to rule out significant arterial injury of extremities. Color flow duplex imaging is a painless procedure, has no risk to the patient, is not as expensive as arteriography and is readily available in most institutions. We present two patients who had normal pulses and ABIs after gunshot wounds to extremities. Both patients had significant arterial injury detected by color flow duplex imaging as the initial diagnostic modality and subsequently proceeded on to arteriography based on the findings of the duplex studies.

Conclusions

The findings of the duplex imaging were in direct correlation with arteriography. These two cases demonstrate the sensitivity of color flow duplex ultrasonography to detect extremity arterial injuries in a community hospital.
Femoral Artery Pseudoaneurysm Caused by an Osteochondroma of the Femur: A Case Report
Authors: Nelms Courtney , Carter Kathleen , DeMasi Richard , Meier George , Chaler Dulcie , Beedie Felicia , LeSar Chris , Gayle Robert , Parent F. Noel , Marcinczyk Michael
Published: March 2018

Introduction

The osteochondroma is the most common benign tumor of bone. Typically asymptomatic bony protuberances are discovered in childhood or adolescence. Although vascular complications are rare, these bony spikes can course along an artery and cause severe arterial complications. Reported here is a case involving the use of color duplex ultrasonography (CDU) to identify a superficial femoral artery (SFA) pseudoaneurysm as a result of an osteochondroma.

Case Report

A 12-year-old girl had been experiencing left lower extremity pain for approximately 2 months. The pain became progressively severe, and her parents noticed that she was limping. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated a mass in the left thigh, suggesting the possibility of a femoral aneurysm. A bony spicule was noted on x-ray at the distal femur, projecting posteriorly. Clinical evaluation revealed an impressive pulsatile mass in the left distal medial thigh. The left thigh was noticeably larger than the right with poor pedal pulses compared with the asymptomatic limb. CDU was performed and identified an aneurysm of the SFA at the adductor canal. There was unusual oscillatory flow in the SFA proximal to the aneurysm with monophasic signals distally. The large aneurysm size displaced the normal anatomic course of the SFA and vein. Ankle-brachial indices (ABI) were 0.72 and monophasic in the affected limb and >1.0 and triphasic in the contralateral limb. Angiography confirmed the CDU and MRA findings, demonstrating a large pseudoaneurysm at the adductor canal caused by an osteochondroma of the femur. At time of surgical repair, the bony spicule was noted to have eroded into the femoral artery.

Conclusion

Vascular complications as a result of an osteochondroma are rare. Rapid diagnosis is necessary to prevent serious arterial compromise in these young patients. CDU can quickly and accurately confirm the presence of a pseudoaneurysm when an osteochondroma is suspected.
A Rare Case of Persistent Flow Reversal in the Vertebral and Carotid Arteries
Authors: Tice Teresa , Rolan Terry , Cannon Craig
Published: March 2018

Several types of steal syndromes have been described. We report here a case of persistent flow reversal in the right vertebral and carotid artery systems associated with occlusion of the innominate artery.
Ganglion “A Rare Finding in Popliteal Fossa”
Authors: Deibe Roger , Ganepola Ganepola , Strobeck John
Published: March 2018

Most medical conditions that occur in the popliteal fossa are symptomatic due to the compact anatomy of the area. Usually common problems behind the knee involve either the soft tissue, and/or vasculature and therefore are limited to several commonly known pathology and sequela. Complications behind the knee are mostly consistent in presentation due to a set of conditions, and are age/gender specific.

Ultrasound is a noninvasive (and for the most part) painless and inexpensive exam with a high sensitivity for identifying atypical structures behind the knee. This article draws attention to a rare mass in the popliteal space, which required an alternate approach to a set protocol in order to meet the specific symptoms of the patient. As a result, we were able to identify the vascular effect caused by this mass. In this particular situation, with the aid of another diagnostic modality, proper assessment of the structure was made possible. The findings were consistent with a ganglion, which is a relatively uncommon occurrence behind the knee.
Is Ultrasound Gel a Reservoir for Bacterial Pathogens? Results from a Tertiary Care Vascular Laboratory
Authors: Morrissette Jason R. , Heggerick Paula A. , Perry Ingrid L. , Iafrati Mark , Mackey William C. , Estes James
Published: March 2018

Purpose

We sought to determine whether refilling and heating of ultrasound gel bottles promotes bacterial colonization.

Methods

The study took place in a busy, university hospital–based vascular laboratory that performs approximately 300 studies per month. Six heated gel bottles, labeled A through F, along with two random bottles, were refilled with ultrasound gel, heated, and cultured weekly for 12-weeks. Control cultures were collected from clean, empty ultrasound gel bottles, a sterile pack of ultrasound gel, and a 5-liter bulk container of ultrasound gel. Of these, approximately 5% were performed on patients with bacterial isolation precautions.

Results

A total of 104 cultures was collected and analyzed for bacterial growth. Of these, 12 (12%) were positive. Propionibacterium species were present in six isolates (6%), diphtheroids in two isolates (2%), Staphylococcus species (coagulase negative) in one isolate (1%), Staphylococcus aureus in one isolate (1%), Micrococcus species in one isolate (1%), and anaerobic gram-positive cocci in one isolate (1%). All positive cultures were sporadic and did not persist throughout the sampling period. Initial control samples of the new gel bottles, sterile gel, and the 5-liter bulk container were negative for bacterial growth.

Conclusions

The isolation of pathogenic organisms from ultrasound gel is uncommon, even in a hospital environment favoring colonization of bacterial species. This suggests that ultrasound gel may resist the growth and proliferation of organisms and supports our current practice of heating and refilling bottles for 12-weeks. However, this study did not address the long-term colonization of gel bottles.
D-Dimer as a Screening Tool for Ultrasound Examination for Diagnosis of Deep Vein Thrombosis
Authors: Shane Ramon A. , Scott Joni
Published: March 2018

Ultrasound (US) examinations have become the standard for evaluation of deep venous thrombosis (DVT). Evaluation for a possible DVT constitutes more than 40% of the daily ultrasound examinations performed at St. John's Regional Health Center. Of the US examinations performed for DVT, 80% are negative. The addition of D-dimer testing to the diagnostic algorithm has the potential to make the diagnosis of DVT in outpatients more convenient and economical. Ultrasound examination and interpretation is expensive. This project was to evaluate the D-dimer determination as a screening tool to indicate the need for US evaluation for DVT. The focus of this evaluation was the negativity of the D-dimer as a predictor of a normal venous examination. This study found that with a negative D-dimer result, more than 90% of the venous examinations were negative for DVT.