The temperature of maximum pyrolysis yield (known as Tmax) can be used to determine the level of thermal alteration in sedimentary organic matter; higher Tmax values represent higher thermal alteration. Tmax is commonly measured on petroleum source rocks or similar sediments with high organic carbon contents. It would be desirable to measure the Tmax of volcanic sediments because they can have complex patterns of thermal alteration. However, volcanic sediments often have low total organic carbon contents and consequently are susceptible to analytical interferences. Despite this, it can be shown that meaningful Tmax measurements can still be made in sediment with organic carbon contents as low as 0.2% and that interference caused by bitumen or ionizable salts can be mitigated by solvent extraction and rinsing with water. Thus, it is reasonable to use temperature programmed pyrolysis to assess levels of thermal alteration in even low total organic carbon volcanoclastic sediments.

Surface mineral crusts on Earth are highly diverse and usually, contain microbial life. Crusts constitute an attractive target to search for life: they require water for their formation, they efficiently entrap organic matter and are relatively easy to sample and process. They hold a record of life in the form of microbial remains, biomolecules and carbon isotope composition. A miniaturized Raman spectrometer is included in the ExoMars 2020 payload as it is sensitive to a range of photosynthetic pigments. Samples from the Haughton Impact Structure, Canadian High Arctic and others, shows the preservation of pigments in a range of crust types, especially supra-permafrost carbonate crusts and cryptogamic crusts. The Raman spectral signatures of these crusts are shown along with biomarker analysis to showcase these techniques prior to the ExoMars 2020 mission. Carotenoids and other photoprotective microbial pigments are identified in the Haughton surface crusts using Raman spectroscopy. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analyses show a distribution of fatty acids which are most likely from a cyanobacterial source. The successful demonstration of these analyses in the Haughton Impact structure shows the biosignature of surface mineral crusts can be easily extracted and provides an excellent target for sampling evidence of life on Mars.

Impact craters and associated hydrothermal systems are regarded as sites within which life could originate on Earth, and on Mars. The Haughton impact crater, one of the most well preserved craters on Earth, is abundant in Ca-sulphates. Selenite, a transparent form of gypsum, has been colonized by viable cyanobacteria. Basement rocks, which have been shocked, are more abundant in endolithic organisms, when compared with un-shocked basement. We infer that selenitic and shocked gypsum are more suitable for microbial colonization and have enhanced habitability. This is analogous to many Martian craters, such as Gale Crater, which has sulphate deposits in a central layered mound, thought to be formed by post-impact hydrothermal springs. In preparation for the 2020 ExoMars mission, experiments were conducted to determine whether Raman spectroscopy can distinguish between gypsum with different degrees of habitability. Ca-sulphates were analysed using Raman spectroscopy and results show no significant statistical difference between gypsum that has experienced shock by meteorite impact and gypsum, which has been dissolved and re-precipitated as an evaporitic crust. Raman spectroscopy is able to distinguish between selenite and unaltered gypsum. This shows that Raman spectroscopy can identify more habitable forms of gypsum, and demonstrates the current capabilities of Raman spectroscopy for the interpretation of gypsum habitability.

Bitumen veins were formerly mined as ‘coal’ from Moinian metamorphic basement at Castle Leod, Strathpeffer, Ross-shire. The abundance and spatial concentration of hydrocarbons implies generation of a large volume of oil that exerted a fluid pressure great enough to open veins to 1+ m width. Biomarker characteristics, including β-carotane and a high proportion of C28 steranes, correlate the bitumen to Lower Devonian non-marine shales separated from the Moinian basement by a major fault. Bitumen in the Moinian basement has higher diasterane/sterane ratios than bitumen in the Devonian sequence, indicating greater levels of biodegradation, which may reflect more interaction with water in the basement. Replacive bitumen nodules in the Moinian basement, containing thoriferous/uraniferous mineral phases, are comparable with bitumen nodules in basement terrains elsewhere. Formation of the nodules represents hydrocarbon penetration of low-permeability basement, consistent with high fluid pressure. Bitumen veins are particularly orientated E–W, and may be associated with E–W transfer faults attributed to Permo-Carboniferous basin inversion.

The Warehouse has been a company synonymous with growth and success in New Zealand since Stephen Tindall founded the company in 1982. By 1999, The Warehouse had become the largest retailer in New Zealand and had continued to steam ahead since. In early 2001, incoming CEO Greg Muir faced a real challenge in transferring that success across the Tasman into Australia. In August 2000, The Warehouse had acquired the Clint's Crazy Bargains/Silly Solly's chain of 115 discount variety stores in Australia. Could The Warehouse implement their format in Australia and would it be as successful as in New Zealand?

The story of Kiwi International Airlines is a brief one. Begun on a 'shoe-string’ in 1994 by Ewan Wilson, the airline had collapsed by 1996. But during that brief time Kiwi Airlines had a dramatic effect on trans-Tasman airfares. This case is designed to allow a discussion of the reasons behind Kiwi Airlines initial success and ultimate failure. The case is particularly suited to explaining the concept of Judo economics or Judo strategy.

On 13 September 2012, the Good George Brewery and bar opened for business in the Hamilton, New Zealand suburb of Frankton. This case describes the start of the business, the environment that supported it and the resources and capabilities that were utilised. The case won the ANZAM award for best case study at the 2013 ANZAM Conference.

This paper examines four businesses that were located in Christchurch's CBD prior to the earthquake on February 22, 2011. Immediately following the quake Christchurch's CBD was cordoned off and for many Christchurch businesses it was necessary to find new premises in an environment of extreme uncertainty and very limited information. The four businesses used in this study were all required to relocate, however the specifics of their situations differed. All four businesses examined were larger professional services firms (lawyers, accountants, architects or engineers) who had a national presence. Given the limited number of suitable and available properties speed was of the essence in relocating. Through the four cases we explore how rapidly each firm initiated and completed the relocation process and the factors influencing their speed. We examine the means by which new premises were secured and the plans in regard to immediate and longer term business location. Finally, we explore the impact of relocation and the earthquake more broadly for these firms. The results obtained highlight the differences between the firms based on both initial conditions and the way each firm managed the process.

Background: In many English-speaking countries neuropsychological assessment of non-English speakers is often performed in English or through an interpreter. Relying on interpreters often involves unstandardized and ad hoc translations of tests which may limit valid assessment.

Methods: In a sample of 75 Italian-born elderly Australians from the general community (48 women and 27 men, aged 56–90 years) we administered standardized and normed psychological tests in both English (WMS-III, WAIS-III, BNT, Schonell Graded Word Reading Test) and Italian (Milan Overall Dementia Assessment, MODA). We examined the hypothesis that long-term retrieval ability assessed in English is primarily influenced by cognitive abilities assessed in Italian and by English language competence.

Results: Regression analysis showed that the strongest predictor of long-term retrieval in English was long-term retrieval in Italian (R2 = 0.229, F(72) = 29.12, p<0.01). After inclusion of an estimate of general cognitive ability in Italian, English language competence failed to add significantly to variance explained in memory tested in English (p > 0.05).

Conclusions: Results of the present study support the view that long-term retrieval memory is not significantly affected by second language proficiency after control of cognitive ability assessed in Italian. As a consequence, if an Italian-born elder Australian with English as a second language scores poorly on a diagnostic memory test, this result may be due to cognitive impairment rather than language issues. If, instead, we attribute poor performance to language competence, an increased risk of false negative diagnosis may arise.

Reduction spots are common within continental red beds in the geological record. The method of formation of reduction spots is a subject of debate, but they are thought to be the result of the reducing nature of microbial life present in the sediment during burial, which caused localized reduction in sediment that was otherwise oxidized during diagenesis. Reduction spots often have dark concretionary cores commonly enriched in elements such as vanadium and uranium. This enrichment is also believed to be associated with the microbial reduction of the sediment. Isotopic data from sulphides present in the cores of analogue Triassic reduction spots are consistent with a potential microbial formation mechanism.

Here we report the presence of reduction spots with vanadium-rich mica (roscoelite) – enriched cores within a terrestrial red bed sequence of the Mesoproterozoic age. These findings may be a possible indicator of life within the terrestrial geological record during the Mesoproterozoic age, a time when such evidence is otherwise very rare. These findings suggest that life had not only colonized terrestrial environments during the Mesoproterozoic age, but had established a deep biosphere in the sediment.

Clinicians are accustomed to interpreting diagnostic test scores in terms of sensitivity and specificity. Many clinicians also appreciate that sensitivity and specificity need to be interpreted in terms of local base rates (i.e., pretest probability). However, most neuropsychological tests contain a wide range of scores. Important diagnostic information may be sacrificed when valid test scores are reduced to the simple dichotomy of “positive” or “negative” diagnosis that underlies sensitivity and specificity analysis. The purpose of this study is to provide an introduction to multiple-level likelihood ratios, a method for preserving the information in a wider range of scores. These statistics are first described using a hypothetical example of dementia screening, then with patient data from an epilepsy surgery sample. Multiple-level likelihood ratios have several advantages over sensitivity and specificity analysis because they are applied across a wider range of diagnostic scores, and generalize to settings with different base rates. We suggest that the diagnostic validity of many psychological tests may be underestimated by relying solely on traditional dichotomous sensitivity and specificity analysis. (JINS, 2009, 15, 769–776.)

There are many reports which suggest that patients with affective illness (mania and/or depression) have abnormalities in the functioning of one or more neurobiological systems. At a conference convened by the Clinical Research Branch, Division of Extramural Research Programs, National Institute of Mental Health, these findings were reviewed and some of the factors impeding movement towards a more complete and integrated view of the functioning of neurobiological systems in patients with mania or depression were identified. As a result, a multi-research centre, collaborative approach to the study of the psychobiology of affective disorders was developed. In this collaborative programme, which has now been underway for several years, the focus has been upon: (a) the assessment of the functioning of several different types of biological systems in the same patient, both before and during treatment; (b) obtaining a reasonably large number of patients and comparison subjects; and (c) the use within and across centres of standardized diagnostic categories and behavioural rating methodologies. In this paper the history, background, and rationale for this collaborative effort are reviewed. Those biological systems chosen for study are noted, and issues such as reliability and validity of diagnoses, measurement of state variables, assessment of change with treatment, and logistical and coordinating problems are discussed.

Despite increasing knowledge of the neurochemical bases of the action of the tricyclic drugs, little is known about the sequence of psychological effects which precede recovery in drug-responsive patients. This research was aimed at identifying the specific behavioural effects associated with the therapeutic action of amitriptyline in depression. The design involved measurement (post-hoc) of weekly changes in a severely depressed placebo-resistant group who recovered with drug treatment, compared with a group of similar patients treated for the equivalent four weeks, who showed minimal to no clinical response. The research strategy, in accordance with a dose–response paradigm, was to determine which of the early changes in emotion and behaviour found in treatment responders were systematically associated with plasma concentrations of amitriptyline or its major metabolite. Amitriptyline was found to act within seven days on the components of anxiety and on hostility in the responders, and on sleep disorder in all patients. After 12 to 14 days of treatment these effects increased, with improvements in other significant components distinguishing the responders from the non-responders. At the 12th to 14th treatment days when a steady state concentration of drug in plasma was approached, reductions in anxiety and hostility and in certain somatic components correlated significantly with plasma concentrations of amitriptyline. Implications of the findings for clarifying the specificity of clinical actions of the tricyclic drugs, and for understanding the psychobiological dynamics underlying rapid drug-induced recovery in depression, were explored.

Neuropsychological batteries are often translated for use across populations differing in preferred language. Yet, equivalence in construct measurement across groups cannot be assumed. To address this issue, we examined data from the Canadian Study of Health and Aging, a large study of older adults. We tested the hypothesis that the latent variables underlying the neuropsychological battery administered in French or English were the same (invariant). The best-fitting baseline model, established in the English-speaking Exploratory sample (n = 716), replicated well in the English-speaking Validation sample (n = 715), and the French-speaking sample (FS, n = 446). Across the English- and FSs, two of the factors, Long-term Retrieval and Visuospatial speed, displayed invariance, that is, reflected the same constructs measured in the same scales. In contrast, the Verbal Ability factor showed only partial invariance, reflecting differences in the relative difficulty of some tests of language functions. This empirical demonstration of partial measurement invariance lends support to the continued use of these translated measures in clinical and research contexts and illustrates a framework for detailed evaluation of the generality of models of cognition and psychopathology, across groups of any sort. (JINS, 2009, 15, 416–425.)

We examined the sensitivity of the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT), California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT), Boston Naming Test (BNT), and Multilingual Aphasia Examination Visual Naming subtest (MAE VN) to lateralized temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) in patients who subsequently underwent anterior temporal lobectomy. For the AVLT (n = 189), left TLE patients performed more poorly than their right TLE counterparts [left TLE = 42.9 (10.6), right TLE = 47.7 (9.9); p < .002 (Cohen's d = .47)]. Although statistically significant, the CVLT group difference (n = 212) was of a smaller magnitude [left LTE = 40.7 (11.1), right TLE = 43.8 (9.9); (p < .03, Cohen's d = .29)] than the AVLT. Group differences were also present for both measures of confrontation naming ability [BNT: left LTE = 43.1 (8.9), right TLE = 48.1 (8.9); p < .001 (Cohen's d = .56); MAE VN: left TLE = 42.2, right TLE = 45.6, p = .02 (Cohen's d = .36)]. When these data were modeled in independent logistic regression analyses, the AVLT and BNT both significantly predicted side of seizure focus, although the positive likelihood ratios were modest. In the subset of 108 patients receiving both BNT and AVLT, the AVLT was the only significant predictor of seizure laterality, suggesting individual patient variability regarding whether naming or memory testing may be more sensitive to lateralized TLE. (JINS, 2008, 14, 394–400.)

Water-soluble sulphate minerals such as epsomite and gypsum have been reported on a number of planetary bodies of astrobiological interest and their presence is often used as an indicator for potential habitability as it can indicate the presence of liquid water. The sulphate minerals can incorporate biomarkers and biomolecules as intracrystalline inclusions. These intracrystalline inclusions are protected from their exterior chemical environments and their analysis can yield a biomarker record, even in environments where extreme oxidizing conditions may have degraded any record present in non-intracrystalline organic matter. In this study, organic compounds were incorporated within epsomite as intracrystalline inclusions by co-precipitating a mineral from solutions of a mineral and organic compound. A feasibly study utilizing a microfluidic H-cell to process finely ground samples of the inclusion-bearing epsomite indicates that a similar device may be used to extract biomarkers for analysis.