This study investigated the impact of spatial location on the effectiveness of populationbased breast screening in reducing breast cancer mortality compared to other detection methods among Queensland women. The analysis was based on linked population-based datasets from BreastScreen Queensland and the Queensland Cancer Registry for the period of 1997-2008 for women aged less than 90 years at diagnosis. A Bayesian hierarchical regression modelling approach was adopted and posterior estimation was performed using Markov Chain Monte Carlo techniques. This approach accommodated sparse data resulting from rare outcomes in small geographic areas, while allowing for spatial correlation and demographic influences to be included. A relative survival model was chosen to evaluate the relative excess risk for each breast cancer related factor. Several models were fitted to examine the influence of demographic information, cancer stage, geographic information and detection method on women's relative survival. Overall, the study demonstrated that including the detection method and geographic information when assessing the relative survival of breast cancer patients helped capture unexplained and spatial variability. The study also found evidence of better survival among women with breast cancer diagnosed in a screening program than those detected otherwise, as well as lower risk for those residing in a more urban or socio-economically advantaged region, even after adjusting for tumour stage, environmental factors and demographics. However, no evidence of dependency between method of detection and geographic location was found. This project provides a sophisticated approach to examining the benefit of a screening program while considering the influence of geographic factors.

BackgroundAlthough early diagnosis and improved treatment can reduce breast cancer mortality, there still appears to be a geographic differential in patient outcomes. This study aims to determine and quantify spatial inequalities in intended adjuvant (radio-, chemo- and hormonal) therapy usage among women with screen-detected breast cancer in Queensland, Australia.MethodsLinked population-based datasets from BreastScreen Queensland and the Queensland Cancer Registry during 1997−2008 for women aged 40−89 years were used. We adopted a Bayesian shared spatial component model to evaluate the relative intended use of each adjuvant therapy across 478 areas as well as common spatial patterns between treatments.ResultsWomen living closer to a cancer treatment facility were more likely to intend to use adjuvant therapy. This was particularly marked for radiotherapy when travel time to the closest radiation facility was 4 + h (OR =0.41, 95 % CrI: [0.23, 0.74]) compared to <1 h. The shared spatial effect increased towards the centres with concentrations of radiotherapy facilities, in north-east (Townsville) and south-east (Brisbane) regions of Queensland. Moreover, the presence of residual shared spatial effects indicates that there are other unmeasured geographical barriers influencing women’s treatment choices.ConclusionsThis highlights the need to identify the additional barriers that impact on treatment intentions among women diagnosed with screen-detected breast cancer, particularly for those women living further away from cancer treatment centers.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12889-015-2527-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Beef production drives a significant proportion of Australia's agricultural economy, representing AUD11 billion in agricultural production value annually.The profitability of cattle farms across seasons varies greatly and is particularly influenced by weather and associated uncertainty through pasture growth.

Abstract--Power Electronics has continuously been a crucial part of Electrical Engineering; it is how we transmit and convert electric energy, hence it is desired to develop good fundamental basics of Power Electronics for Electrical Engineers. Therefore the main objective of this research work is to create a program that provides an interactive, user friendly and enlightening learning environment to assist users, undergraduate students to learn about Power Electronics. The program comprises a Graphical User Interface and when the program is executed, a detail labeled simulation graph of desired circuit is presented with user input parameters, embracing the relationship between the relative input/output voltage and currents. The program could potentially save tremendous amounts of time and be extremely useful for educational purpose. This paper will discuss the basics of Power Electronics, specifications, algorithm of the program, simulation results and case studies Index Terms-power electronics, interactive educational learning, graphical user interface

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