Judging Your Genome: Adducing Genetic Evidence to Support or Refute Causation in Australian and American Toxic Tort Litigation

This thesis answers the following question, ‘Does genetic information alleviate or exacerbate the causal uncertainty in toxic torts?’ In doing so, it provides an original contribution to knowledge, by critically examining Australian and United States (‘US') case law and literature focusing on genetic evidence in toxic torts. A comprehensive analysis of the case law and literature is vital to inform best practice for the future by identifying the past, present and predicted impact and challenges of genetic evidence. The comparative case law analysis has ultimately demonstrated that, if used properly, this evidence could shed light on causation, especially when viewed alongside all the other available evidence. However, without further guidance on the utility of such markers, this evidence will only further confuse and mislead the judge or jury. This could exacerbate the problem of causal indeterminacy, leading to inconsistent case outcomes and posing further obstacles to meritorious claims. This thesis therefore concludes that there is a strong need for practice-oriented instruments designed to assist courts, legal professionals and litigants in considering the strengths and weaknesses of genetic markers as a means of proving or disproving causation. As articulated throughout the thesis, a Reference Guide would help to ensure that the probative value of genetic evidence is properly weighed against any potential harms. The proposed guide would mimic the structure and contents of Chapters 4-7 of this thesis, containing a comprehensive survey of the case law and literature, and a detailed explanation and analysis of both the legal and scientific issues pertaining to genetic evidence. The findings outlined in this thesis extend to a wide variety of legal areas where health-related genetic evidence is likely to be used including medical negligence, employment law, criminal law, family law and insurance claims (such as workers’ compensation or life insurance)

Regulating the Use of Genetic Information in the Life Insurance Industry

Sara Golru explores the Australian life insurance industry’s treatment of genetic information in the underwriting process. The Australian life insurance industry has struggled to keep up with scientific and international legal advancements, resulting in an increase in the potential for genetic discrimination. Therefore, Sara Golru provides a critical review of the current international legal frameworks governing the use of genetic information in life insurance, highlights contemporary policy concerns and, recognising the need for extensive reform, provides insightful recommendations

Novel Thermoplastic Fibre-Metal Laminates Manufactured by Vacuum Resin Infusion: The Effect of Surface Treatments on Interfacial Bonding

The manufacturing process of a new generation of thermoplastic fibre-metal laminates (TP-FMLs) was investigated. A vacuum assisted resin infusion method was used to produce the hybrid laminates. The effect of various chemical and physical treatments on the surface morphology of the aluminium (Al) alloy sheets and on the bond strength at the metal-composite interface was examined. The wettability, topography and chemical composition of the treated Al alloy sheets were studied by employing contact-angle goniometry, coherence scanning interferometry, profilometry and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results showed that the applied treatments on the Al alloy sheet changed the surface morphology and surface energy in a different degree, which in turn effectively enhanced the interfacial bond strength between the constituents. In addition, the flexural, interlaminar shear strength and interlaminar fracture toughness of the manufactured TP-FMLs with the optimum metal surface treatment were evaluated. The experimental results of the TP-FMLs were compared to an equivalent thermoplastic composite. The composite-metal interface and the fracture surface characteristics were examined under scanning electron microscopy. In-situ polymerisation was found to play a key role in bonding the treated Al alloy with the composite layer during manufacturing

The Challenge of Proving Toxic Tort Causation: Genetic Markers as the Solution?

Sara Golru, in this Special Edition on Causation, presents a comparative analysis of the role of genetic marker evidence in toxic tort cases throughout Australia and the United States. Sara identifies inconsistencies in the approach of Australian courts to genetic evidence of causation, and considers how developments in the US can inform toxic tort litigation in Australia

Designing the Electrode Geometry and Electrolyte to Enhance the Product Selectivity and Activity in Carbon Dioxide Electroreduction

Excessive utilization of the fossil fuels due to the rapid growth of the global population has resulted in a dramatic increase in the carbon dioxide (CO2) level in the atmosphere which is the main reason for global warming and climate change. Therefore, green technologies are in high demand to develop carbon-neutral energy cycles. In this regard, CO2 electroreduction (CO2ER) has been proposed as a promising approach for CO2 utilization. CO2ER can mitigate the CO2 level in the atmosphere as well as produce value-added chemicals and fuels at ambient conditions. Despite the benefits of CO2 electroreduction, the low energy efficiency and poor product selectivity in CO2ER have retarded large-scale application of this process. Numerous strategies have been proposed to control the selectivity and enhance the catalytic activity in CO2ER. However, the electrode geometry and electrolyte composition in the aqueous electrolytes have been less studied in CO2ER compared to other factors such as catalyst materials and catalyst morphology. In the first part of this work, the effect of electrode geometry on CO2ER was examined for both polycrystalline Cu and Ag metals. For this purpose, CO2ER was performed on three different electrode shapes, flag (2-D), foil coil (3-D), and wire coil (3-D), in 0.1 M potassium bicarbonate (KHCO3). In addition to the experimental study, COMSOL Multiphysics was also used to predict the current, potential, and electric field distribution. Results showed that both foil coil and wire coil have a higher CO2ER catalytic activity in relation to the flag electrodesregardless of the electrode material (Cu or Ag). By changing the electrode geometry from flag to foil coil and wire coil, a 69% and 76% increase, respectively, in faradaic efficiency (FE) for C2 products were observed. However, the FE for methane increased only on Cu foil coil (104% increase compared to Cu flag), and the Cu wire coil showed a lower FEmethanecompared to other electrode shapes. The shape of the electrode also affected the CO selectivity and activity on Ag electrodes. Ag foil coil and Ag wire coil had a 20% and 5% increase in FE for CO compared to Ag flag at -1.12 V. The observed superior performance on foil coil and wire coil electrodes can be explained by the high electric fields around them due to the larger amount ofsharp and high curvature points on the surface compared to the flag electrode. Enhanced electric field at the interface causes more cations to adsorb to the surface and stabilize the intermediates such as CO2 •− radicals which are needed for CO2ER. In the second part of this study, the effect of anion and cation in ionic additives on the product selectivity and activity of the Cu catalyst in CO2ER was investigated. For the anion study, 10 mM of an ionic liquid (IL) with the same cation 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium [BMIM]+ and various anions: bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide [NTF2]–, triflate [OTF]–, acetate [Ac]–, chloride [Cl]–, and dicyanamide[DCA]– was used. The results showed that although imidazolium-based ILs have a potential to enhance CO2ER due to the interaction of CO2 with imidazolium ring, the anion of IL also plays an important role in CO2ER. It was found that there is a relationship between the hydrophobicity of the anion and CO2ER activity. Higher CO2ER activity was found for more hydrophobic ILs such as [BMIM][NTF2]. In all ILs except for [BMIM][DCA], the formate FE% increased by adding the ILs to the electrolyte. The maximum increase in formate (38.7% FE) was observed for [BMIM][NTF2] at -0.92 V which has the highest hydrophobicity compared to other ILs. However, [BMIM][DCA] which has a high hydrophilicity and a low CO2 affinity shut off the CO2ER and enhanced HER at all potentials. This observation is attributed to the surface poisoning due to the strong adsorption of [BMIM][DCA] which was confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Changing the cation from [BMIM]+ to sodium (Na+) and potassium (K+) with [NTF2]– and [DCA]– anions showed that the cation of the additive also plays a role in CO2ER especially for [NTF2]–-based additives. Results showed that all [NTF2]–-based additives increased the FE for formate compared to the additive-free electrolyte (9% FE). Among [NTF2]–-baased additives, [BMIM][NTF2] had a higher FE for formate (38.7%) compared to K[NTF2] (23.2%) and Na[NTF2] (18.5%) at -0.92 V probably due to the presence of imidazolium cation which can further stabilize the intermediates on the surface and enhance CO2ER. However, the FE for C2products (ethylene and ethanol) at high negative potentials were lower for [BMIM][NTF2] and K[NTF2] compared to the additive-free and Na[NTF2] electrolytes. This observation can be due to the presence of [BMIM]+ and hydrated K+ cations on the surface and inhibiting the *CO dimerization which is needed for the formation of C2 products. Electrolytes containing [DCA]–-based additives had a very high HER activity and low CO2ER activity regardless of the cation nature. This is due to the strong adsorption of [DCA]– anions on the surface which poisons the surface for CO2ER

Novel epoxy/metal phthalocyanines nanocomposite coatings for corrosion protection of carbon steel

In this study, epoxy/metal phthalocyanines nanocomposites (NiPc/Epoxy, CuPc/Epoxy, and ZnPc/Epoxy) are employed to protect carbon steel corrosion in 3.5% NaCl solution. The corrosion performances of the nanocomposites coatings were evaluated by using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), open circuit potential (OCP) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) measurements. The mechanical property of the coating system was investigated using nanoindentation technique. The results indicated that the incorporation of metal phthalocyanines pigments into epoxy resin coating significantly enhances the corrosion resistance as well as the hardness of epoxy coatings.Metal phthalocyanines pigments are able to cure the defect in epoxy resin and prevent the diffusion of corrosive electrolyte to carbon steel substrate. It was found that NiPc/Epoxy nanocomposite gave the best protection performance than others