http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/services/Feed ${session.getAttribute("locale")} 5 http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12843 Piecewise affine functions arise from Lagrangian duals of integer programming problems, and optimizing them provides good bounds for use in a branch and bound method. Methods such as the subgradient method and bundle methods assume only one subgradient is available at each point, but in many situations there is more information available. We present a new method for optimizing such functions, which is related to steepest descent, but uses an outer approximation to the subdifferential to avoid some of the numerical problems with the steepest descent approach. We provide convergence results for a class of outer approximations, and then develop a practical algorithm using such an approximation for the compact dual to the linear programming relaxation of the uncapacitated facility location problem. We make a numerical comparison of our outer approximation method with the projection method of Conn and Cornuéjols, and the bundle method of Schramm and Zowe. 2013-05-02T01:46:25.205Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12820 We consider a constrained asymmetric traveling salesman problem with knapsack-like constraints on subpaths of the tour. This problem arises in routing aircraft. We formulate the problem with an exponential number of variables that correspond to feasible subpaths. We study certain polyhedral aspects of the reformulation and present a branch-and-price-and-cut algorithm for solving it. We test the algorithm on both random instances and real instances that arise in the airline application. 2013-04-30T05:03:40.239Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12819 In this paper we consider and present formulations and solution approaches for the capacitated multiple allocation hub location problem. We present a new mixed integer linear programming formulation for the problem. We also construct an efficient heuristic algorithm, using shortest paths. We incorporate the upper bound obtained from this heuristic in a linear-programming-based branch-and-bound solution procedure. We present the results of extensive computational experience with both the heuristic and the exact methods. 2013-04-30T05:02:53.442Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12818 The Asymmetric Travelling Salesman Problem with Replenishment Arcs (RATSP) is a new class of problem arising from work related to aircraft routing. This paper describes the problem and presents heuristic approaches for solving the RATSP. We use simulated annealing to obtain feasible solutions, and hence, upper bounds on the optimum value, and solve a Lagrangean dual problem using a subgradient optimization method to obtain lower bounds. While previous methods failed to obtain optimal solutions to some problem classes after 2 h of computation time, with average gaps ranging from 15% to 30%, our heuristic approaches take only 15–20 min to obtain feasible solutions, with gaps of less than 3%. We give computational results comparing these approaches 2013-04-30T05:02:10.616Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2994 Summary: 1. The regional coronary circulation is under the control of local metabolic and myogenic factors, but is also influenced by autonomic systems, including sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves. 2. General anaesthetic agents influence not only local control through changes in metabolic demand, but also neural control through suppression of autonomic influence. 3. Anaesthetic agents have differing effects on reflex control systems, which are dependent on coronary territory and ventricular rate. 4. Effects of anaesthesia should be taken into account when interpreting results in anaesthetized models of coronary control. 2012-12-17T00:20:02.614Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12191 1. The Darwin hypothesis that human and animal expressions of emotion are the product of evolution and are tied to patterns of autonomic activity specified to progress the emotion remains under challenge. 2. The sigh is a respiratory behaviour linked with emotional expression in animals and humans from birth to death. The aim of the present study was to explore Darwin’s hypothesis with respect to tied autonomic activity underlying sigh-induced changes in the bronchial and coronary circulations. 3. Awake dogs were prepared using pulsed ultrasonic flow probes on the right bronchial artery, parent intercostal artery and brachial artery, or on the right, circumflex and anterior descending coronary arteries. Central venous (CVP) and arterial pressures (AP) were measured; heart rate and flow conductances were derived. Three spontaneous sighs were monitored before and during random blockade of individual and combinations of cholinoceptors, -adrenoceptors and β-adrenoceptors using methscopolamine, phentolamine and propranolol infusions. The data were subject to a 2 3 factorial analysis. 4. A spontaneous sigh is marked by a transient fall and return (< 3 s) in CVP of 18 mmHg (from 4±1 to –14±2 mmHg), usually followed by apnoea lasting 23±2 s. There is an immediate tachycardia and small rise in AP (phase 1) then, during apnoea, bradycardia and a fall in AP (phase 2). During phase 2, bronchial and coronary blood flow and conductance rise two- to three-fold over 30 s (peak at 8 s). The vascular changes are absent in parent intercostal and brachial beds. 5. The phase 1 tachycardia is entirely cholino/adrenoceptor in origin and is due to cholinoceptor withdrawal and positive β-adrenoceptor plus β-adrenoceptor/cholinoceptor interaction activity, in the ratio 1.75 : 1. The phase 2 bradycardia is entirely cholinoceptor. However, only 17% of the peak rise in bronchial conductance is due to -/β-adrenoceptor interactions (sympathetic withdrawal); 83% is due to non-cholino/adrenoceptor mechanisms. In a separate four animals, the total sigh-induced conductance rise is virtually abolished by prior infusion of NG-nitro- L-arginine methyl ester. 6. Therefore, the mechanism of the sigh-induced bronchial and conductance effects may be an efferent nitrergic component of an arterial chemoreceptor reflex induction of sighing. An alternative hypothesis invokes local stretch-sensitive C-fibre sensory nerve endings releasing substance P–calcitonin gene-related peptide–neurokinin A in response to cardiovascular distortion secondary to the sudden transmural pressure rise when intrapleural pressure falls. Whatever the case, these effects and the cholino/adrenoceptor base for the heart rate and broncho/coronary changes support the Darwin hypothesis. 2012-12-12T23:57:01.713Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12190 Background: Baroreflex adaptation to repetitive +Gz has been reported previously. The underlying mechanism may involve different responses of stroke volume (SV) and total peripheral resistance (TPR) to +Gz. Hypothesis: The previously observed enhanced mean arterial pressure (MAP) regulation in fighter pilots (FP) is mediated by increases in SV and/or TPR. Methods: There were 8 pilots and 12 non-pilots who underwent head-up tilt. SV was determined using impedance cardiography. Results: MAP increased significantly in FP, due to heart rate (HR) and TPR increasing more and SV decreasing less. Conclusion: Baroreflex adaptation results in better performance of HR, SV and TPR in response to +Gz. 2012-12-12T23:55:28.288Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2925 Summary: 1. Fentanyl, a synthetic μ-opioid receptor agonist, is the preferred induction and maintenance anaesthetic agent in cardiac surgery. 2. Its actions on myocardial blood flow are poorly understood. There are reports of intra-operative myocardial ischaemia. Its reported actions on cardiorespiratory control vary widely, but do involve hypertension, bradycardia and peripheral vasoconstriction. 3. Accordingly, the postulate that fentanyl would cause coronary vasoconstriction and myocardial disadvantage was examined in awake dogs with a continuous wave Doppler flow probe mounted on the circumflex coronary artery. 4. Continuous intravenous infusion of fentanyl citrate (550 ng/kg per min) raised plasma concentrations of fentanyl to 3.37 ng/mL in a linear fashion at 20 min. There was a fall in core temperature of 0.7°C and, although no apparent depression of ventilation or fall in arterial or coronary sinus PO₂, there was a rise in PCO₂ and H⁺ concentration. Some dogs salivated and panted transiently. Thus, fentanyl may reset temperature regulation in low doses but, at higher doses, is associated with metabolic acidosis. 5. In sinus rhythm, the arterial pressure of the dogs fell slightly, then rose to 115% of resting control. Circumflex flow and conductance rose early, then conductance steadily declined to 83%. Heart rate fell, then rose before returning to pre-infusion levels. The early circumflex coronary vasodilator effects, but not the later vasoconstrictor effects, were reduced in dogs with paced hearts. 6. In dogs with paced hearts, a dose–effect study using 138, 275, 550 and 1100 ng/kg per min fentanyl suggested that, at low plasma concentrations of 1–2 ng/mL, vasodilatation does occur in both coronary and systemic circulations; however, at higher doses, intense coronary and systemic vasoconstriction supervenes. 7. The dose–response effect of fentanyl on arterial baroreflex control of circumflex conductance was examined during the immediate 8 s circumflex vasodilator response to a step rise in aortic pressure caused by inflation of an intra-aortic balloon. At low plasma concentrations of fentanyl, baroreflex control of circumflex conductance appears to be enhanced but, with increasing plasma concentrations of fentanyl, appears to be depressed. 8. Therefore, the effects of fentanyl are dose dependent. At low plasma concentrations, left ventricular blood flow and its baroreflex control is enhanced but, at higher concentrations, it is depressed. 2012-12-11T01:40:05.875Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12113 Previous work from this laboratory and others has shown that powerful autonomic influences modulate coronary flow. In particular, the parasympathetic nervous system produces vasodilatation when activated by baroreceptors via the vagus nerve. Differences exist in baroreflex coronary vasodilator mechanisms among the right, circumflex and anterior descending coronary vascular beds in the awake chronically instrumented dog. Our hypothesis is that neurogenic acetylcholine acting from the adventitial side and endothelial nitric oxide from the luminal aspect of coronary smooth muscle compete with powerful intrinsic myogenic constrictor mechanisms to regulate regional flow conductance. There is also increasing evidence that heterogeneity of control systems exists in different-sized coronary vessels within an individual coronary vascular bed. It is concluded that coronary vessels in vascular beds can no longer be assumed to respond in a uniform manner to neural, myogenic, metabolic or humoral factors. These new perspectives of regional control mechanisms have important implications for understanding pathophysiological mechanisms inducing and sustaining tachyarrhythmias involved in ischaemic heart disease. 2012-12-11T01:29:01.573Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:11739 In this paper it is demonstrated that the measurable costs of the sustained high rate of unemployment in Australia are substantially higher than the alleged gains from neo-liberal (microeconomic) reforms. In addition, significant individual and social costs can be identified. Consequently macroeconomic intervention to reduce unemployment should be viewed as a priority, rather than the imposition of market reform with its uncertain impact. The paper concludes with a brief outline of a Job Guarantee Program, advocated by Mitchell that utilises the principles of the buffer stock mechanism to reduce unemployment. It is argued that the net increase in government outlays is modest and could be offset by a reduction in the level of annual corporate welfare. 2012-10-16T05:01:23.682Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:11737 In Australia centralised wage determination and collective arrangements prevailed over the period 1983-86, through an award system that specified minimum wages and working conditions across enterprises. Since then the industrial relations system has been significantly reformed by both state and federal governments. The federal Workplace Relations Act 1996 (Cwlth), in particular, has facilitated both non-union agreements and direct employment contracts. Using a technique developed by Morris, Bernhardt and Handcock (1994), we show that the period of labour market reform, 1986-98, has coincided with increasing hours and full-time weekly earnings dispersion that has typically taken the form of polarisation. We conclude that labour market reform in Australia has been a contributory factor in the polarisation of earnings, but that a polarised earnings distribution is not necessary for the achievement of full employment. Finally we briefly consider the implications of the Australian findings with respect to earnings and hours of employment for equity, employment opportunities and living standards. 2012-10-16T04:40:38.519Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:11736 In Australia and most OECD economies there have been persistent differences in labour market outcomes for males and females, reflecting differences in human capital, the distribution of non-market work, employment conditions and arrangements, the structure of internal labour markets and direct and indirect forms of gender discrimination. Each country has inherited a different set of institutional arrangements that underpin the functioning of the labour market. 2012-10-16T04:31:37.861Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:11616 Let G be a discrete group, and let N be a normal subgroup of G. Then the quotient map G → G/N induces a group algebra homomorphism T_N : ℓ¹(G) → ℓ¹(G/N). It is shown that the kernel of this map may be decomposed as ker(T_N) = R + L, where R is a closed right ideal with a bounded left approximate identity and L is a closed left ideal with a bounded right approximate identity. It follows from this fact that, if I is a closed two-sided ideal in ℓ¹(G), then T_N(I) is closed in ℓ¹(G/N). This answers a question of Reiter. 2012-10-02T00:40:05.905Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:11618 We investigate amenable and weakly amenable Banach algebras with compact multiplication. Any amenable Banach algebra with compact multiplication is biprojective. As a consequence, every semisimple such algebra which has the approximation property is a topological direct sum of full matrix algebras. In the radical case no such structure theorem is at hand. We also investigate Banach algebras which have a bounded approximate identity consisting of normalized powers of an element x. Any such Banach algebra is either unital or radical; if the algebra is also generated by x, it is weakly amenable. We construct a radical example with compact multiplication which moreover is an integral domain. This furnishes a new example of a commutative, weakly amenable, non-amenable, radical Banach algebra. 2012-09-28T02:50:03.150Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:11617 Let G be a locally compact group. The question of whether H¹ L¹(G),M(G), the first Hochschild cohomology group of L¹(G) with coefficients in M(G), is zero was first studied by B. E. Johnson and initiated his development of the theory of amenable Banach algebras. He was able to show that H¹(L¹( G), M( G) = 0 whenever G is amenable, a [SIN]-group, or a matrix group satisfying certain conditions. No group such that H¹(L¹(G),M(G) ≠ 0 is known. In this paper, we approach the problem of whether H¹(L¹(G),M(G) = 0 from several angles. Using weakly almost periodic functions, we show that H¹(L¹(G),L¹(G) is always Hausdorff for unimodular G. We also show that for [IN]-groups, every derivation D : L¹(Gto L¹(G is implemented, not necessarily by an element of M(G), but at least by an element of VN(G), the group von Neumann algebra of G. This applies, in particular, to the group G : = T² ⋊ SL(2,Z}, for which it is unknown whether H}(L¹(G),M(G) = 0. Finally, we analyse the structure of derivations on L¹(G); an important role is played by the closed normal subgroup N of G generated by the elements of G with relatively compact conjugacy classes. We can write an arbitrary derivation D : L¹(G) to L¹(G) as a sum D = D_N D_N⊥$, where D_N and D_N⊥ can be tackled with different techniques. Under suitable conditions, all satisfied by T² ⋊ SL(2,Z}, we can show that D_N is implemented by an element of VN(G) and that D_N⊥ is implemented by a measure. 2012-09-28T02:30:02.439Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:11055 First I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which I speak, the Ngunnawal people. My talk is about some of the experiences I had researching the topic of my PhD thesis, 'My One Bright Spot', which was about relationships between Aboriginal and white women in New South Wales in the first half of the twentieth century. Based on a life story of my great-grandmother, a white woman, it involved my own family history, as well as the personal and family histories of a number of Aboriginal women connected with her. In the course of my research, I came to reassess the value of family history for enlarging our understanding of Australian history, especially our understanding of race relations history, and especially, the history of the Stolen Generations. 2012-07-06T06:00:02.543Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:11054 The china painter Brownie Downing and the pottery firm Martin Boyd were significant creators of images of Aboriginal people in Australian popular culture during the 1950s. Brownie Downing's transfer-printed plates and wall-plaques with their Aboriginal children were an inescapable feature of suburban Australian life in the 1950s and 1960s. Likewise, the homeware turned out by the Martin Boyd factory, hand decorated with 'authentic' Aboriginal designs and with images of Arrernte elders, was prominently displayed in popular magazine spreads and department stores of the time. 2012-07-06T05:00:10.467Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:11031 An extensive survey by Heathcote et al. (in press) found that the Law of Practice is closer to an exponential than a power form. We show that this result is hard to obtain for models using leaky competitive units when practice affects only the input, but that it can be accommodated when practice affects shunting self-excitation. 2012-07-03T02:26:36.004Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2058 The power function is treated as the law relating response time to practice trials. However, the evidence for a Power Law is flawed because it is based on averaged data. We report a survey that assessed the form of the practice function for individual learners and learning conditions in paradigms that have shaped theories of skill acquisition. We fit power and exponential functions to 40 sets of data representing 7910 learning series from 475 subjects in 24 experiments. The exponential function fit better than the power in all the unaveraged data sets. Averaging produced a bias in favour of the power function. A new practice function based on the exponential, the APEX function, fit better than a power function with an extra, pre-experimental practice, parameter. Clearly, the best candidate for the Law of Practice is the exponential or APEX function, not the generally accepted power function. Theoretical implications are discussed. 2012-05-28T05:02:36.911Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2884 A hidden state Markov (HSM) model is developed as a new approach for generating hydroclimatic time series with long-term persistence. The two-state HSM model is motivated by the fact that the interaction of global climatic mechanisms produces alternating wet and dry regimes in Australian hydroclimatic time series. The HSM model provides an explicit mechanism to stochastically simulate these quasi-cyclic wet and dry periods. This is conceptually sounder than the current stochastic models used for hydroclimatic time series simulation. Models such as the lag-one autoregressive (AR(1)) model have no explicit mechanism for simulating the wet and dry regimes. In this study the HSM model was calibrated to four long-term Australian hydroclimatic data sets. A Markov Chain Monte Carlo method known as the Gibbs sampler was used for model calibration. The results showed that the locations significantly influenced by tropical weather systems supported the assumptions of the HSM modeling framework and indicated a strong persistence structure. In contrast, the calibration of the AR(1) model to these data sets produced no statistically significant evidence of persistence. 2012-03-12T07:34:23.379Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:6551 Sperm-triggered Ca²⁺ oscillations occur throughout the animal kingdom. The mechanism sperm use to trigger Ca²⁺ oscillations at fertilization has not been resolved in any egg. The temporal, spatial and regulatory characteristics of the Ca²⁺ oscillations during fertilization in ascidians offer a unique advantage over other systems for determining the mechanism of fertilization. For example, sperm trigger two phases of Ca²⁺ oscillations that are all waves in ascidians. The first of these Ca²⁺ waves begins at the point of sperm-egg fusion while a second phase of Ca²⁺ waves originates at a vegetal protrusion termed the contraction pole. In addition, cyclin B1-dependent kinase activity provides a form of positive feedback, maintaining the second phase of Ca²⁺ waves during meiosis and thereby ensuring meiotic exit. We therefore prepared cytosolic ascidian sperm extracts or MonoQ-fractionated ascidian sperm extracts from this urochordate to investigate if a Ca²⁺-releasing sperm-borne factor was responsible for egg activation. Spatially, ascidian sperm extract induced repetitive Ca²⁺ waves that mimicked the spatial pattern displayed during fertilization: all the second-phase Ca²⁺ waves originated at a vegetal protrusion termed the contraction pole (thus mimicking fertilisation). We also demonstrated that ascidian sperm extract-induced Ca²⁺ oscillations were maintained when CDK activity was elevated and MAP kinase activity was low, as found previously for spermtriggered Ca²⁺ oscillations. As would be predicted, large doses of ascidian sperm extract injected into prophasestage oocytes, lacking CDK activity, failed to induce any Ca²⁺ release even though they responded to microinjection of the Ca²⁺-releasing second messenger inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate. Finally, since the Ca²⁺-releasing activity from Mono-Q fractionated ascidian sperm extract eluted predominantly as one fraction, this may imply that one factor is responsible for the Ca²⁺-releasing activity. These data support a model of egg activation whereby the sperm introduces a Ca²⁺-releasing cytosolic factor into the egg. We demonstrated that ascidian sperm contain a protein factor(s) that is regulated by the egg CDK activity and can trigger all the Ca²⁺ waves observed at fertilization with a spatial pattern that mimics those initiated by sperm. 2012-01-30T04:07:31.709Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:717 This thesis addresses the issue of environmental influences on the manifestation of unwanted child behaviours (UCBs) in early childhood services. Specifically it examines the evidence for UCBs that result from the interface of physical, social, structural, and cultural components of the environment of a child care centre with the psychological habitats of individual children over the full day of their attendances. The identified unwanted behaviours are used as starting points to analyse children’s behaviour streams for indication of environmental influences in the production of UCBs and to establish common patterns of influence across different children. To facilitate a systematic investigation of the complex child:environment relationships in a child care centre, a conceptual framework was developed to describe time-space locations of settings and situations, the basic components of environmental influence, the child’s psychological habitat, UCBs, and the contextualisation of child behaviours in situ. The framework was utilised to review literature associated with components of both the child’s psychological habitat and the environment of a child care centre, implement an appropriate data collection strategy, as well as guiding data analysis and interpretation of findings. The qualitative approach to data collection involved full-day observations of individual children and recording on audio-tape a continuous concurrent narrative of their actions within a variety of settings and situations. Observations of 30 different children over 54 days yielded almost 400 hours of recordings, which were transcribed onto more than 1000 typed pages. Examination of the transcripts provided evidence of 1384 manifestations of UCBs embedded in 1028 distinct sequences of unwanted behaviours within behaviour streams. Analysis of the behaviour streams and interpretation of antecedent events implicated a variety of interrelated physical, social, structural, and cultural factors in the production of UCBs, which are considered in light of findings from previous studies. Overall, no single factor was found to influence the behaviours of all children, or the same child across different settings and situations. The findings serve to reinforce the known complexity of person:environment relationships, which is further intensified in children between the ages of 3-5 years by their developing socio-emotional and cognitive systems, innate and learned within-child characteristics, and different experiences of centre-based child care. The findings also reinforce the need for practitioners and researchers to consider more fully the individuality of each child when planning programs and investigations into the impact of child care on children. Implications of the findings for practitioners are stated and recommendations are made for future research. 2011-12-20T23:10:22.256Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:702 Paediatrics became a viable medical specialty in Australia and New South Wales between 1945 and 1965. Paediatricians took possession of occupational spaces previously claimed by other medical groups and created their own new spaces. They argued that children were still growing and differed physically and emotionally from adults. Their special needs warranted the formation of a new division in medicine. Paediatricians adopted the new knowledge, technology and therapeutics that became available in the post-war period and demonstrated that they were capable of following the scientific medicine paradigm, the prevailing standard in internal medicine. Access to the children's hospital was essential for paediatricians as a workshop for their professional development, to treat their seriously ill patients, to support their claims for occupational space and for their authority and status as specialists in medicine.. Scientific medicine demanded more of the time of the paediatricians and in RAHC they elected to continue working in an honorary capacity. In another children's hospital, RCH in Melbourne, paediatricians were employed in a version of the full-time system. The different approaches to staffing illustrate the conflicts of interest found in specialty development in Australia and the pervasive influence of medico-political issues. As members of a privileged autonomous profession paediatricians in RAHC owed a duty to the people of NSW, and in their honorary positions, to the hospital. They had responsibilities to their patients, both private and public. They were committed to their own professional development and they had to make a living in private practice. By retaining the honorary system paediatricians in RAHC were obliged to give priority to their interests outside the hospital so that scientific medicine expanded only slowly. In RCH service development and research were enhanced because the conflicts of interest were reduced and paediatricians could devote more of their time to the hospital without compromising their other roles. The development of a new specialty required the acquisition by members of professional power, authority and status. This process was assisted by the formation of a professional association, but paediatricians had difficulty in creating an independent body that they controlled. For professional authority and status paediatricians in RAHC were strongly dependent on maintaining their dominant position in the hierarchy of the hospital. Although children were central to the development of paediatrics, their place at the bottom of the institutional hierarchy meant they were disempowered and unable to influence the development of the specialty. 2011-12-20T23:10:15.983Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:706 This is an historical investigation into the provision of education services for deaf children in the State of New South Wales in Australia since 1860. The main focus is those deaf children without additional disabilities who have been placed in mainstream classes, special classes for the deaf and special schools for the deaf. The study places this group at centre stage in order to better understand their educational situation in the late 1990s. The thesis has taken a chronological and thematic approach. The chapters are defined by significant events that impacted on the education of the deaf, such as the establishment of special schools in New South Wales, the rise of the oral movement, and aftermath of the rubella epidemic in Australia during the 1940s. Within each chapter, there is a core of key elements around which the analysis is based. These key elements tend to be based on institutions, players, and specific educational features, such as the mode of instruction or the curriculum. The study found general agreement that language acquisition was a fundamental prerequisite to academic achievement. Yet the available evidence suggests that educational programs for most deaf children in New South Wales have seldom focused on ensuring adequate language acquisition in conjunction with the introduction of academic subjects. As a result, language and literacy competencies of deaf students in general have frequently been acknowledged as being below those of five their hearing counterparts, to the point of presenting a barrier to successful post-secondary study. It is proposed that the reasons for the academic failings of the deaf are inherent in five themes. 2011-12-20T23:10:11.741Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:688 This thesis concerns general improvements to rainfall runoff models and focuses on two particular aspects, namely flood-wave routing in the main channel and consistent parameterisation of the rainfall-runoff process under different degrees of discretization of the catchment. The primary goal is to: 1) describe a general methodology for parameterisation of a rainfall runoff model so that the parameters are consistent across catchments modelled at different discretization scales and 2) develop an improved channel routing technique which takes proper account of the effects of all characteristics of wave motions in the channels. The first of these concerns methods for removing the inconsistency of parameterisation that results from different catchment discretizations in rainfall-runoff models. A stochastic Tokunaga network is developed for dealing with the scaling inconsistence. The problem of network embedding is also discussed. The second is a relatively simple method for the solution of the full dynamic wave equations for one-dimensional channel flow, which accurately simulates the effects of shocks. 2011-12-20T23:10:08.598Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2862 Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) 2011-12-19T23:00:08.906Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:971 Masters Research - Master of Engineering (Research) 2011-12-19T23:00:04.859Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:9636 Ellen Gould White (1827-1915), the prophet and joint founder of the Seventh-day Adventist church, was one of the most significant women and religious leaders of her age. This paper explores the sources of White’s prophetic authority through an examination of her activity in Australia where she lived from 1891 − 1900. It will be argued that White drew strength from the long tradition of female prophecy within radical, millennialist Protestantism which remained an active part of the religious mainstream in the United States until the mid nineteenth-century. White chose Australia to be the location of a missionary operation in order to secure the continued expansion of the Seventh-day Adventist church and to seek the fulfilment of her own prophetic vision. Although less successful than she might have wished, White’s Australian mission was probably the most ambitious adventure of her life and merits closer scrutiny. 2011-12-07T03:10:04.690Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:9564 My own religious studies texts have occasionally been criticised for being overly faith neutral, that is, for encouraging openness and literacy at the expense of providing some means by which the truth claims of various religions might be appraised or, more blatantly, be compared with those of Christianity (in its entirety or through one of its species). This criticism was made most vocal some years ago at a workshop held for Year 12 teachers of the NSW HSC Studies of Religion subject. On sharing the results of my own research into conversion patterns among the Hindu-inspired sect, Brahma Kurnaris (as an instance of the 'new spiritualities' section ofthe syllabus), I was taken to task for being too equable in my treatment of these people's testimonies. It was alleged that this was the problem with many of my texts and that, as such, they were more likely to be the cause of confusion than education among high school students. After some discussion, it seemed the real concern related to the teachers' dilemma about their role as Studies of Religion tutors, and especially the extent to which this entailed arbitration on their part of 'true' religious claims (coinciding with those espoused by their school's ethos) and others. Their concern was not that I was failing to provide amply analytical tools, but, more blatantly, that I was not illustrating the undesirability of conversion to a marginal if not illicit faith, and especially when it was away from Christianity (which was invariably the case). 2011-12-02T04:10:04.347Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:8475 In order to monitor therapy and determine its effectiveness in asthma we need to assess health and wellbeing as it relates to this disease. Quality of life (QOL) questionnaires are one way of achieving this. Quality of life is a broad concept that refers to an individual's general health, wellbeing and ability to function in society. Asthma-specific QOL questionnaires attempt to measure those dimensions of QOL which are influenced by asthma. 2011-07-29T07:10:01.786Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2922 Oxidative stress is believed to play an important role in the pathophysiology of asthma. Recently discovered F2-isoprostanes, of which 8-iso-PGF₂α is the most well-known isomer, have emerged as the most reliable marker of in vivo oxidative stress. The aim of this study was to examine 8-iso-PGF₂α as a biomarker of oxidative stress in mild asthma in relation to endogenous and dietary antioxidant protection. Total (free and esterified) plasma 8-iso-PGF₂α, plasma dietary antioxidants (vitamins E and C,β-carotene, Zn, and Se), and erythrocyte antioxidant enzyme activities (glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase) were measured in 15 mild asthmatics and 15 age-and sex-matched controls. Total plasma 8-iso-PGF₂α levels [median (quartile 1-quartile 3)] were significantly increased in the sthmatics [213 pg/mL (122–455) vs. 139 pg/mL (109–174), P=0.042]. The 8-iso-PGF₂α levels were found to be associated with clinical asthma severity (P=0.044) and inhaled corticosteroid use (P=0.027) in asthmatics. No differences were observed in the plasma dietary antioxidant vitamins. The asthmatics had significantly lower plasma levels of Zn (P=0.027) and Se (P=0.006). Plasma Se correlated negatively with 8-iso-PGF₂α (r=−0.725, P=0.002). No differences between the groups were observed for glutathione peroxidase or superoxide dismutase, however, superoxide dismutase activity was negatively associated with asthma severity (P=0.042). In conclusion, oxidative stress is increased in mild asthmatics, as reflected by increased plasma levels of 8-iso-PGF₂α and a deficiency in plasma Zn and Se. The isoprostane 8-iso-PGF₂α may provide a useful tool in intervention studies aimed at improving clinical status in asthma. 2011-06-14T01:50:01.802Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2755 Masonry is cost competitive on a life cycle basis with other forms of construction, and should therefore be considered as a structural material more frequently by both architects and engineers. Post-tensioned geometric sections of masonry are structurally efficient wall systems. Post-tensioning with carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) is an attractive solution to potential corrosion problems with unbonded tendons. Tests on CFRP post-tensioned diaphragm walls have revealed that shear strength in prestressed masonry is an area deserving more study and improvement. The tests also showed that the bonding pattern of the masonry at the web-flange junction can have a substantial effect on the resulting strength of that connection. A test series to evaluate the effects of prestress force and bed reinforcement on shear strength has been carried out and a summary of the results is presented here. Tests to determine the effect of bonding pattern on the strength of the web-flange connection have also been conducted. 2010-09-14T02:20:01.857Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:6583 We have previously described a phospholipase C (PLC) activity in mammalian sperm cytosolic extracts. Here we have examined the Ca²⁺ dependency of the enzyme, whether there is enough in a single sperm to account for Ca²⁺ release at fertilization, and finally where in the egg is the phosphatidyl 4,5-bisphosphate, the substrate for the enzyme. As for all PLCs examined so far in vitro, we found that the boar sperm PLC activity was Ca²⁺ dependent. Specific activity increased when free Ca²⁺ levels were micromolar. However, even at nanomolar free Ca²⁺ concentration the boar sperm PLC activity was considerable, being two orders of magnitude greater than PLC activities in other tissues. We calculated that PLC activity of a single boar sperm in a mammalian egg is enough to generate 400 nM inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP₃) in 1 min, which may be sufficient to account for the observed Ca²⁺ changes in an egg at fertilization. We fractionated sea urchin egg homogenate and examined the ability of boar sperm extract to generate InsP₃ from these fractions. The sperm PLC activity triggered InsP₃ production from a PIP₂-enriched nonmicrosomal egg compartment that contained yolk platelets. We propose that this sperm PLC activity, which is active at nanomolar Ca²⁺ levels and hydrolyzes PIP₂ from intracellular membranes, could be involved in the Ca²⁺ changes observed at fertilization. 2010-07-28T06:10:02.818Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:6580 The precise mechanisms by which sperm trigger calcium transients in eggs or oocytes during fertilization remain unknown. Based on time-lapse confocal microscopy, we show that intracellular injections of porcine sperm extracts cause the oocytes of a marine nemertean worm to undergo repetitive calcium oscillations resembling those obtained during normal fertilizations. Such findings are consistent with the view that fertilization involves a soluble sperm factor (SF) which is capable of eliciting calcium transients without binding to externally situated receptors on the oocyte plasmalemma. This study also describes for the first time the wave-like propagation patterns of SF-induced calcium transients that are generated in a heterologous combination of gametes obtained from different phyla of animals. Such cross-reactivity between distantly related taxa suggests that the intracellular signaling pathways triggered by sperm factors can be well conserved. 2010-07-28T05:40:05.795Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:6579 At fertilisation of mammalian and ascidian eggs the sperm induces a series of Ca²⁺ oscillations. These Ca²⁺ oscillations are triggered by a sperm-borne Ca²⁺-releasing factor whose identity is still unresolved. In both mammals and ascidians Ca²⁺ oscillations in eggs are associated with the period leading up to exit from meiosis and entry into the first embryonic cell cycle. Thus, in mammals Ca²⁺ oscillations continue for several hours but are complete by within 30 min in the ascidian. In mammals and ascidians Ca²⁺ oscillations stop at around the time when pronuclei form in the 1-cell embryo. There is evidence to show that cell cycle factors are important in regulating the fertilisation Ca²⁺ signal. If the formation of pronuclei is blocked either in mammals (by spindle disruption) or in ascidians (by clamping maturation promoting factor levels high) then Ca²⁺ oscillations continue indefinitely. Here, we explore the nature of the sperm Ca²⁺-releasing factor and examine the relationship between cell cycle resumption and the control of Ca²⁺ oscillations at fertilisation. 2010-07-28T05:40:05.466Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:6576 During mouse fertilization the spermatozoon induces a series of low-frequency long-lasting Ca²⁺ oscillations. It is generally accepted that these oscillations are due to Ca²⁺ release through the inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP₃) receptor. However, InsP₃ microinjection does not mimic sperm-induced Ca²⁺ oscillations, leading to the suggestion that the spermatozoon causes Ca²⁺ release by sensitizing the InsP₃ receptor to basal levels of InsP₃. This contradicts recent evidence that the spermatozoon triggers Ca²⁺ oscillations by introducing a phospholipase C or else an activator of phospholipase C. Here we show for the first time that sperm-induced Ca²⁺ oscillations may be mimicked by the photolysis of caged InsP₃ in both mouse metaphase II eggs and germinal vesicle stage oocytes. Eggs, and also oocytes that had displayed spontaneous Ca²⁺ oscillations, gave long-lasting Ca²⁺ oscillations when fertilized or when caged InsP₃ was photolyzed. In contrast, oocytes that had shown no spontaneous Ca²⁺ oscillations did not generate many oscillations when fertilized or following photolysis of caged InsP₃. Fertilization in eggs was most closely mimicked when InsP₃ was uncaged at relatively low amounts for extended periods. Here we observed an initial Ca²⁺ transient with superimposed spikes, followed by a series of single transients with a low frequency; all characteristics of the Ca²⁺ changes at fertilization. We therefore show that InsP₃ can mimic the distinctive pattern of Ca²⁺ release in mammalian eggs at fertilization. It is proposed that a sperm Ca²⁺-releasing factor operates by generating a continuous small amount of InsP₃ over an extended period of time, consistent with the evidence for the involvement of a phospholipase C. 2010-07-28T05:10:01.273Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:6571 A soluble phospholipase C (PLC) from boar sperm generates InsP₃and hence causes Ca²⁺ release when added to sea urchin egg homogenate. This PLC activity is associated with the ability of sperm extracts to cause Ca²⁺ oscillations in mammalian eggs following fractionation. A sperm PLC may, therefore, be responsible for causing the observed Ca²⁺ oscillations at fertilization. In the present study we have further characterized this boar sperm PLC activity using sea urchin egg homogenate. Consistent with a sperm PLC acting on egg PtdIns(4,5)P₂, the ability of sperm extracts to release Ca²⁺ was blocked by preincubation with the PLC inhibitor U73122 or by the addition of neomycin to the homogenate. The Ca²⁺-releasing activity was also detectable in sperm from other species and in whole testis extracts. However, activity was not observed in extracts from other tissues. Moreover recombinant PLCβ1, -γ1, -γ2, -δ1, all of which had higher specific activities than boar sperm extracts, were not able to release Ca²⁺ in the sea urchin egg homogenate. In addition these PLCs were not able to cause Ca²⁺ oscillations following microinjection into mouse eggs. These results imply that the sperm PLC possesses distinct properties that allow it to hydrolyse PtdIns(4,5)P₂in eggs. 2010-07-28T04:30:03.054Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2632 This paper presents a new algorithm for the control of AC machines based on the concept of controlling the instantaneous real and imaginary power. This strategy, called Instantaneous Power Control (IPC), allows decoupled control of the torque and flux in the machine. This paper outlines the basic algorithm and then presents simulation results of its performance. 2010-04-27T07:00:31.342Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2633 The brushless doubly-fed machine (BDFM) allows the use of a partially rated inverter in many variable speed applications with limited speed variations. In its induction machine form (BDFIM), however, the BDFM has significant rotor losses and poor efficiency due to the cage rotor design. A reluctance version of the BDFM, the brushless doubly-fed reluctance machine (BDFRM), ideally has no rotor losses, and therefore offers the potential for greater efficiency and simpler control compared to the BDFIM. A theoretical study of this interesting machine is very important in order to gain a thorough understanding of its unusual operation, control features and compromises between optimal performance and the size of the inverter and the machine. This paper specifically concentrates on power factor control properties of the machine and trade-offs with other control objectives such as maximum torque per inverter ampere and minimum copper losses. To date this kind of analysis has not appeared in the literature. 2010-04-27T07:00:31.082Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2923 2010-04-27T07:00:24.621Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2617 The results of research into the use of a unified set of mechanisms to support store stability and concurrency control is presented. It is shown that the use and extension of the data structures already maintained by the system to support stability provides support for a novel approach to provision of cooperative concurrency control in persistent systems. 2010-04-27T06:59:53.853Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2883 The distribution of tachykinin NK₁ and NK₃ receptors in the prefrontal (Brodmann area 9) and visual cortex (Brodmann area 17) of formalin-fixed postmortem human brain tissue was studied by immunohistochemistry. NK₁-like immunoreactivity (NK₁-LI) was observed as a thin band at the cortical surface and dots of NK₁-LI localised on small non-pyramidal cells and in the neuropil (layers I–III). NK₃-LI was found in beaded fibres and cells with astrocyte-like morphology in the superficial cortical layers and white matter. Dots of NK₃-LI were prominent in the neuropil and on pyramidal (layers III/V) and non-pyramidal (layers V/VI) cells. The NK₃-LI was more abundant and widespread than the NK₁-LI. This is the first report of the distribution of the NK₁ receptor in the prefrontal and visual cortex of the human brain by immunohistochemistry. 2010-04-27T06:57:12.768Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2880 This work is a fundamental rewriting of Australian history from 1943 to 1968. It argues that after World War II, Australian defence policy was premised on Joint nuclear weapons development with the United Kingdom; and that while this endeavour failed, it shaped domestic and foreign policy until the end of the 1950s. Nuclear weapons have traditionally been seen as American and British concerns, and various official histories have held that the development of rockets and atomic weapon testing were essentially British exercises. But author Wayne Reynolds reveals an entirely new perspective on Australia's role in these events. Australia's Bid for the Atomic Bomb examines the implications of this for major social, political and security issues and developments in Austalia's recent history. 2010-04-27T06:57:06.815Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2881 The rise of Prussia and its role in German development is central to eighteenth and nineteenth century European history. In this collection, the analysis goes beyond the political, military and diplomatic concerns of the Prussian elite and explains its rise in relation to Prussian society as a whole. Political analysis is integrated with material on such areas as agrarian society, urban life and religion, which are not fully examined in existing histories. 2010-04-27T06:57:04.805Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2885 There is a mainstream consensus about Sophocles' Electra. Most interpreters believe that Sophocles expected his audience to approve of the "heroic constancy" of Electra, and to be gratified by the triumph of Orestes and Electra. Jebb wrote of "a deed of unalloyed merit, which brings the troubles of the house to an end," while more recent commentators have elaborated on this reading. Bowra wrote that " ... a new light shines for men. Justice and order are restored, and even in the welter of vengeance and hatred rises a new force of love." This reading is not simply a product of the pro-liberationist stance that was often adopted in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries; Gardiner and March have aggressively revived it in recent years. The reading seems to me to be quite impossible, however, in the light of what actually happens in the tragedy, especially in the finale; it also interprets Electra without any reference to its cultural context. Sheppard (1918, 1927) and Kells pioneered an a lternative interpretation, which I outline in what follows. 2010-04-27T06:57:04.716Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2503 The brushless doubly fed reluctance machine (BDFRM) is related to the better known brushless doubly fed induction machine (BDFIM). Research into doubly fed machines is motivated by the fact that they allow the use of a partially rated inverter in many variable-speed applications. Research into the BDFRM has been largely ignored in comparison to the BDFIM, despite the fact that it has the potential for greater efficiency as compared to the BDFIM, and the rotor is simpler to manufacture. This paper compares the BDFRM and its singly fed cousin, the synchronous reluctance machine. This is a natural comparison since both machines use the same reluctance rotor. The first part of the paper establishes relationships between the inductances of the two machines. This is then used to facilitate a comparison using the constraints that both machines have the same amount of active material, i.e., the same amount of copper and iron, and that the copper losses for both machines are the same. This analysis also allows an approximate comparison with the conventional squirrel-cage induction machine. The analysis is carried out using machine-independent normalizations 2010-04-27T06:49:56.155Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2845 The A. explores the creative practices of cargo cult followers in the Kaliai bush of West New Britain. He focuses on how rural villagers reworked their experiences of meaning and sociality through their appropriations of western technology. In particular, bush Kaliai cult followers frequently used telephones and cameras in idiosyncratic ways that mapped out a new and redisclosed the spaces occupied by a racialised human existence. Through their novel use of western technology, cult followers struggled to resituate and overcome the new distances and cleavages of modernity by unearthing other ways of being white that came from their customary past and ancestral homelands. 2010-04-27T06:47:07.489Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2847 Piezoelectric transducer (PZT) patches may be attached to structures to reduce vibration. The PZT patches essentially convert vibrational mechanical energy to electrical energy. The electrical energy can be dissipated via an electrical impedance. The authors introduce a method of implementing any arbitrary impedance, using a digital signal processor. The `synthetic impedance' is demonstrated on a resonant simply supported beam. 2010-04-27T06:47:07.289Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2848 Community intervention trials are becoming increasingly popular as a tool for evaluating the effectiveness of health education and intervention strategies. Typically, units such as households, schools, towns, counties, are randomized to receive either intervention or control, then outcomes are measured on individuals within each of the units of randomization. It is well recognized that the design and analysis of such studies must account for the clustering of subjects within the units of randomization. Furthermore, there are usually both subject level and cluster level covariates that must be considered in the modelling process. While suitable methods are available for continuous outcomes, data analysis is more complicated when dichotomous outcomes are measured on each subject. This paper will compare and contrast several of the available methods that can be applied in such settings, including random effects models, generalized estimating equations and methods based on the calculation of `design effects', as implemented in the computer package SUDAAN. For completeness, the paper will also compare these methods of analysis with more simplistic approaches based on the summary statistics. All the methods will be applied to a case study based on an adolescent anti-smoking intervention in Australia. The paper concludes with some general discussion and recommendations for routine design and analysis. 2010-04-27T06:47:05.249Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2846 The pH and bicarbonate concentrations of luminal fluids in the efferent ducts of the rat were estimated from pH measurements of samples in vitro under conditions of controlled temperature and carbon dioxide tension. The pH of scrotal blood was estimated to be more acidic than systemic blood (mean pH=7.44) at either of the putative scrotal carbon dioxide tensions (5% and 7%, pH, respectively,=7.42 and 7.28). For PCO2 tensions of 5% and 7%, respectively, the data indicated that the pH in the efferent ducts was significantly higher (distal initial zone pH=7.55 or 7.41; coni vasculosi pH=7.66 or 7.51; p < 0.01) than in fluid entering (rete testis fluid, pH=7.34 or 7.20) or leaving the ducts (zone 1a of the epididymal duct 7.26 or 7.11). Bicarbonate concentrations were also significantly higher (p < 0.01) in the efferent ducts (35.4 ± 4.7 mM, distal initial zone; 45.2 ± 7.6 mM, coni vasculosi) than in fluids entering (22.9 ± 3.6 mM) or leaving (20.4 ± 4.9 mM) the ducts. Estimates of the reabsorption of bicarbonate and fluid indicated that 96% of the testicular output of bicarbonate was reabsorbed in the efferent ducts, but there was also some secretion of bicarbonate into the ducts. It is concluded that luminal pH and bicarbonate levels in the efferent ducts of the rat are high relative to those found in the epididymis where low pH and bicarbonate contributes to sperm quiescence during storage. Nevertheless, the high rate of bicarbonate reabsorption in the efferent ducts is a major contributor to the establishment of the low pH and bicarbonate milieu of the epididymis. 2010-04-27T06:47:05.068Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2843 This participatory action research study is the first formal research study undertaken by nurses in a nursing development unit. The study emerged as the result of nurses brainstorming issues that they perceived to be problematic in their nursing practice and their unit environment. The nurses of the psycho-geriatric nursing development unit, Wallsend Aged Care Facility, New South Wales, Australia identified that the management of agitated behaviour manifested by their severely demented clients was a major challenge in their practice. As a result, a pilot participatory action research study was designed to measure how agitation manifested, to measure the severity of agitation and to identify current nursing practices used to manage it and their outcome. Results of the study demonstrated that nurse actions triggered the majority of most highly rated episodes of agitated behaviour in this group of elderly residents, and that the majority of these nurse actions related to those involved in carrying out activities of daily living for the residents. 2010-04-27T06:47:03.249Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2844 CRH, the principal neuropeptide regulator of pituitary ACTH secretion, is also expressed in placenta. Placental CRH has been linked to the process of human parturition. However, the mechanisms regulating transcription of the CRH gene in placenta remain unclear. cAMP signaling pathways play important roles in regulating the expression of a diverse range of endocrine genes in the placenta. Therefore, we have explored the effect of cAMP on CRH promoter activity in primary cultures of human placental cells. Both forskolin and 8-bromo-cAMP, activators of protein kinase A, can increase CRH promoter activity 5-fold in transiently transfected human primary placental cells, in a manner that parallels the increase in endogenous CRH peptide. Maximal stimulation of CRH promoter activity occurs at 500 µmol/L 8-bromo-cAMP and 10 µmol/L forskolin. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay and mutation analysis combined with transient transfection demonstrate that in placental cells cAMP stimulates CRH gene expression through a cAMP regulatory element in the proximal CRH promoter region and involves a placental nuclear protein interacting specifically with the cAMP regulatory element. 2010-04-27T06:47:03.209Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2011 Research on the factors affecting progress in medical schools has typically focused on mainstream (non-Indigenous Australian, non-international) students in traditional, didactic programmes. These results may not be applicable to students, particularly those from culturally diverse backgrounds, undertaking problem-based learning courses. Objective This study used qualitative methodology to explore and compare factors affecting progress for mainstream Australian students (non-Indigenous Australian, non-international) and international students (full fee-paying students who had relocated countries to study) in a problem-based learning medical course. Intervention strategies were devised on the basis of the participants’ experiences. Methods Six focus group discussions were conducted (three with mainstream Australian and three with international participants). Transcripts of these discussions were coded and analysed independently by two researchers and discussed until consensus was attained. Results Participants identified both positive and negative experiences related to the course structure, which were consistent with previous findings. The participants’ experiences demonstrated a relationship between sense of ‘belongingness’ to the medical school community, participation in learning opportunities and progress through the course. Conclusions The results suggest that interventions aimed at reducing barriers to progress need to promote students’ confidence, motivation and subsequent participation in course learning opportunities. These results have application to other problem-based learning courses particularly those which face the challenge of providing an optimal learning environment for students from diverse backgrounds. 2010-04-27T06:46:30.910Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2004 The power function is treated as the law relating response time to practice trials. However, the evidence for a power law is flawed, because it is based on averaged data. We report a survey that assessed the form of the practice function for individual learners and learning conditions in paradigms that have shaped theories of skill acquisition. We fit power and exponential functions to 40 sets of data representing 7,910 learning series from 475 subjects in 24 experiments. The exponential function fit better than the power function in all the unaveraged data sets. Averaging produced a bias in favor of the power function. A new practice function based on the exponential, the APEX function, fit better than a power function with an extra, preexperimental practice parameter. Clearly, the best candidate for the law of practice is the exponential or APEX function, not the generally accepted power function. The theoretical implications are discussed. 2010-04-27T06:46:28.099Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2960 The cleavage of plasmid DNA by a dinuclear copper(II) complex of 1,2,4,5-tetrakis(1′-amino-3′-thiabutyl)benzene is promoted significantly (rate constant of 3.3×10⁻⁵ s⁻¹ at pH 7.8 and 37℃) compared with the essentially inactive mononuclear copper(II) complex of the analogue 1,2-bis(1′-amino-3′-thiabutyl)benzene (rate constant <10⁻¹⁰ s⁻¹). This implies that the two copper ions in close proximity and acting synergetically are important in accelerating cleavage, and separate roles for the two coppers in the dimer are proposed. 2010-04-27T06:46:16.979Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2957 Calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMPK-II) is a key regulatory enzyme in living cells. Modulation of its activity, therefore, could have a major impact on many cellular processes. We found that Zn²⁺ has multiple functional effects on CaMPK-II. Zn²⁺ generated a Ca²⁺/CaM-independent activity that correlated with the autophosphorylation of Thr²⁸⁶, inhibited Ca²⁺/CaM binding that correlated with the autophosphorylation of Thr³⁰⁶, and inhibited CaMPK-II activity at high concentrations that correlated with the autophosphorylation of Ser²⁷⁹. The relative level of autophosphorylation of these three sites was dependent on the concentration of zinc used. The autophosphorylation of at least these three sites, together with Zn²⁺ binding, generated an increased mobility form of CaMPK-II on sodium dodecyl sulfate gels. Overall, autophosphorylation induced by Zn²⁺ converts CaMPK-II into a different form than the binding of Ca2+/CaM. In certain nerve terminals, where Zn²⁺ has been shown to play a neuromodulatory role and is present in high concentrations, Zn²⁺ may turn CaMPK-II into a form that would be unable to respond to calcium signals. 2010-04-27T06:46:10.060Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2124 2010-04-27T06:43:49.743Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2108 2010-04-27T06:43:21.505Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:772 The contribution of this paper is twofold. First we give a generalization of the S-procedure which has been proven useful for robustness analysis of control systems. We then apply the generalized S-procedure to derive an extension of the Kalman – Yakubovich – Popov lemma that converts a frequency domain condition within a finite interval to a linear matrix inequality condition suitable for numerical computations. 2010-04-27T06:34:15.197Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2143 In this paper a new systematic switching control approach to adaptive stabilization of linear time-varying (LTV) discrete-time systems is presented. A feature of the localization-based method is its high model falsification capability, which in the case of LTI systems is manifested as the rapid convergence of the switching controller.We believe that the proposed method may help pave the way for design of practical adaptive switching controllers applicable to a wide range of linear time-invariant and timevarying systems. 2010-04-27T06:33:54.943Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2842 Context: Pharmacoeconomic analyses are being used increasingly as the basis for reimbursement of the costs of new drugs. Reports of these analyses are often published in peer-reviewed journals. However, the analyses are complex and difficult to evaluate. Objective: To describe the nature of problems encountered in the evaluation and interpretation of pharmacoeconomic analyses used as a basis for reimbursement decisions. Data Sources: All major submissions to the Department of Health and Aged Care (DHAC) by the pharmaceutical industry for funding made under the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Specifically, the DHAC's database of submissions that were received between January 1994 and December 1997 were reviewed. Study Selection: Of a total of 326 submissions, 218 had serious problems of interpretation and were included in the analysis. The nature of the serious problems reviewed were classified as estimates of comparative clinical efficacy, comparator issues, modeling issues, and calculation errors. Data Extraction: All submissions in the DHAC's database were reviewed and data were extracted if both the DHAC evaluators and technical subcommittee considered problems to have a significant bearing on the decisions of the parent committee. Data Synthesis: Of a total of 326 submissions, 218 (67%) had significant problems and 31 had more than 1 problem. Of the 249 problems identified, 154 (62%) related to uncertainty in the estimates of comparative clinical efficacy, and 71 (28.5%) related to modeling issues, which included clinical assumptions or cost estimates, used in the construction of the economic models. There were 15 instances of disagreement over the choice of comparator, and serious calculation errors were found on 9 occasions. Overall, 159 problems (64%) were considered to be avoidable. Conclusions: Significant problems were identified in these pharmacoeconomic analyses. The intensive evaluation process used in the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme allowed for identification and correction of pharmacoecomomic analysis problems, but the resources that are required may be beyond the capacity of many organizations, including peer-reviewed journals. 2010-04-27T06:33:20.597Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2841 2010-04-27T06:33:18.118Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2840 In this paper, some practical aspects of the finite element implementation of critical state models are discussed. Improved automatic algorithms for stress integration and load and time stepping are presented. The implementation of two generalized critical state soil models, with one described first in this paper and the other recently published elsewhere, is discussed. The robustness and correctness of the proposed numerical algorithms are illustrated through both coupled and uncoupled analyses of geotechnical problems. 2010-04-27T06:33:17.033Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2838 2010-04-27T06:33:12.623Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2837 Objective: To assess the effectiveness of the National Death Index (NDI) in identifying participants in the oldest cohort of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (ALSWH) who had died between 1996 and 1998. Methods: identifying information for each woman was matched with the NDI using a probabilistic algorithm and clerical review. Differences in full name, date of birth, State of residence and date of last contact were used to assess the probability of a true match. Results: NDI identified 410 matches of death records for 409 women; 386 were categorised as true matches and 23 were doubtful matches. Responses to the follow-up survey confirmed that for six of the doubtful matches the women had died, 16 were alive and the vital status of one woman remained unconfirmed at 30 June 1998. Twelve deaths, known to have occurred before July 1998, were not identified through NDI. The sensitivity of the NDI for identifying known deaths was 95%. Detailed identifying information, particularly the middle name, was important for accurate identification of the vital status. Conclusions: Using surname, all given names, gender, date of birth, State of residence and age at last contact as matching variables, the NDI was an effective tool for identifying women who had died. Implications: Routinely collected mortality data in the NDI are useful for the practice of epidemiology. 2010-04-27T06:33:10.678Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2834 Background: The news media are an important source of information about new medical treatments, but there is concern that some coverage may be inaccurate and overly enthusiastic. Methods: We studied coverage by U.S. news media of the benefits and risks of three medications that are used to prevent major diseases. The medications were pravastatin, a cholesterol-lowering drug for the prevention of cardiovascular disease; alendronate, a bisphosphonate for the treatment and prevention of osteoporosis; and aspirin, which is used for the prevention of cardiovascular disease. We analyzed a systematic probability sample of 180 newspaper articles (60 for each drug) and 27 television reports that appeared between 1994 and 1998. Results: Of the 207 stories, 83 (40 percent) did not report benefits quantitatively. Of the 124 that did, 103 (83 percent) reported relative benefits only, 3 (2 percent) absolute benefits only, and 18 (15 percent) both absolute and relative benefits. Of the 207 stories, 98 (47 percent) mentioned potential harm to patients, and only 63 (30 percent) mentioned costs. Of the 170 stories citing an expert or a scientific study, 85 (50 percent) cited at least one expert or study with a financial tie to a manufacturer of the drug that had been disclosed in the scientific literature. These ties were disclosed in only 33 (39 percent) of the 85 stories. Conclusions: News-media stories about medications may include inadequate or incomplete information about the benefits, risks, and costs of the drugs as well as the financial ties between study groups or experts and pharmaceutical manufacturers. 2010-04-27T06:33:09.937Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2836 This article argues for the maintenance of the traditional anthropological analytic distinction between gifts and commodities, against a recent trend to refer to all objects as commodities when exchange is their socially relevant feature. It examines Marx's notions of alienation and commodity fetishism in the context of human praxis and suggests that rigorous, rather than impressionistic, use of these analytic concepts in anthropology can clarify a distinction between gifts and commodities in relation to praxis and intention, rather than exchange. 2010-04-27T06:33:08.596Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2835 Background: Experimental studies have shown that administration of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to susceptible individuals can lead to the development of congestive heart failure (CHF). There have been few epidemiological investigations of the importance of this adverse effect. Objective: To estimate the relative risk of first admission to a hospital with CHF in recent users of NSAIDs, compared with nonusers, and to determine whether the estimated relative risk was increased in those with a history of heart disease and the extent to which the level of risk varied with the dose and half-life of the drugs consumed. Methods: We conducted a matched case-control study of the relationship between recent use of NSAIDs and hospitalization with CHF. Cases (n = 365) were patients admitted to hospitals with a primary diagnosis of CHF. Controls (n = 658) were patients without CHF who were admitted to the same hospitals as case patients. Structured interviews were used to obtain information on several study factors, including recent use of aspirin and other NSAIDs. Results: Use of NSAIDs (other than low-dose aspirin) in the previous week was associated with a doubling of the odds of a hospital admission with CHF (adjusted odds ratio, 2.1; 95% confidence interval, 1.2-3.3). Use of NSAIDs by patients with a history of heart disease was associated with an odds ratio of 10.5 (95% confidence interval, 2.5-44.9) for first admission with heart failure, compared with 1.6 (95% confidence interval, 0.7-3.7) in those without such a history. The odds of a first admission to a hospital with CHF was positively related to the dose of NSAID consumed in the previous week, and was increased to a greater extent with long half-life than with short half-life drugs. Assuming these relationships are causal, NSAIDs were responsible for approximately 19% of hospital admissions with CHF. Conclusions: The burden of illness resulting from NSAID-related CHF may exceed that resulting from gastrointestinal tract damage. NSAIDs should be used with caution in patients with a history of cardiovascular disease. 2010-04-27T06:33:07.477Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2833 Scalp-applied recording electrodes were used to monitor changes in basal EEG patterns in chickens during posthatch development. Frequency spectra produced by Fast Fourier Transform show a biphasic morphology in all chickens with one peak at about 6 Hz and another at 26 Hz. Changes in the lower frequency band show progressive development and provide a possible index of brain development. Both amplitude and dominant frequency of the spectra decrease between Weeks 3 and 8 posthatch, reaching adult levels between Weeks 5 and 7. These results suggest that modifications of basal EEG reflect the widespread functional changes in neuronal circuits occurring in chicken during the synapse maturation period between 3 and 8 weeks' posthatch. 2010-04-27T06:33:03.068Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2646 Neu-Model, an ongoing project aimed at developing a neural simulation environment that is extremely computationally powerful and flexible, is described. It is shown that the use of good Software Engineering techniques in Neu-Model’s design and implementation is resulting in a high performance system that is powerful and flexible enough to allow rigorous exploration of brain function at a variety of conceptual levels. 2010-04-27T06:32:30.958Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2735 Previous analysis of linear multiuser receivers for DS-CDMA signals has considered the signal-to-interference (SIR) performance in large systems with each user employing random spreading sequences. Unfortunately, it is only in the special case of the received powers of all users being equal that a resulting integral equation for the SIR has an explicit solution with demonstrable approximation accuracy for finite-sized systems. This paper presents an alternative approach to calculating the SIR performance of MMSE receivers which relies primarily on the law of large numbers, and provides an estimate for the SIR that is valid for arbitrary distributions of the received interferer power. 2010-04-27T06:30:50.551Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2904 This paper attempts to identify the motivations, objectives, selection criteria for locations and partners of foreign invested enterprises (FIEs) in China and to compare the differences among investors from different source countries, by using a survey of 106 FIEs in China. It is found that the main motivations are China's huge potential market size, low labor cost and preferential government fiscal treatments. The main determinants of geographical destination are the location of the Chinese partner, better preferential policy and familiarity with the Chinese partner. The main determinants for partner selection are mutual trust between the two parties, good credit of the Chinese partner and capability to deal with local authorities. It is also found that there are no significant differences in the long-term objectives between the two distinguished groups of foreign investors (Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan versus other multinationals from the rest of the world), though the differences exist in their short-run objectives and selection criteria for partners. 2010-04-27T06:21:37.144Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2931 Changes in Indonesian television broadcasting are best gauged in terms of how they are viewed by their audiences. Here I examine Balinese households' viewing practices in the context of broadcasting after the 1998 fall of Suharto, finding enhanced levels of engagement by viewers compared to my observations of pre-1998. Balinese viewers are interested in the new broadcasting trends, and in new kinds of programs, particularly current affairs. They also remain devoted to traditional performance genres such as ludruk- short dramatic scenes which use stock Indonesian historical characters and situations to make satirical political commentary. My observations of changes in Indonesian television broadcasting after Suharto have been supported by newspaper articles on the subject published in the latter part of 1999. During this period I observed Balinese households routinely watching television, and discussed my observations with the members of these households. This paper is neither a study of media texts, nor a study of television reception. Instead, I try to link the micro-practice of watching television at home to the context of television broadcasting changes taking place at a time of great social, political and economic change in Indonesia. In this regard I attempt the project suggested by Raymond Williams, of looking 'not for the components of a product but for the conditions of a practice' (Williams 1980, 48). Both 'news' programs and 'entertainment' programs are considered in this light. Bali is an excellent choice for a critical 'take' on Indonesian television broadcasting given the strong local political claims of Balinese people within the civil and religious structures of Indonesian nationalism. I observed television watching in a small number of Balinese households at frequent intervals over a four-month period, and much of my data are in the form of notes written late at night from memory. In view of this limited ethnographic data, there is no attempt to generalise from the specifics of close engagement with certain programs observed in these households, to the wider Balinese population, and certainly not to the Indonesian television-viewing population. Nevertheless, in my observations over years of related visits to Bail, this figure of the highly engaged viewer appears as something new. My analysis here attempts to demonstrate the extent to which the materials of television broadcasting may be taken up by communities of viewers in their discursive reconstruction, I have worked through a body of theory in relation to my limited observational data on the practice of Balinese television viewing, and so discussion of that theory frames my analysis. It is hoped that this paper will generate ideas for further research and interpretation that others may find useful in extended research on television and media in Indonesia. 2010-04-27T06:18:38.853Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2580 Figtree Place is a water sensitive urban redevelopment consisting of 27 residential units located in Hamilton, an inner suburb of Newcastle, NSW, Australia. The site uses rainwater stored in tanks to supply hot water and toilet flushing demand. A two-year monitoring program for roofwater, tanks and hot water systems revealed that water quality improves in the roof to tank to hot water system treatment chain. Analysis of water quality from hot water systems and rainwater tanks showed compliance with the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines. 2010-04-27T06:18:01.061Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2582 The shower scene from Psycho (1960) almost certainly qualifies as the most referenced and parodied in the history of cinema. In this paper I hope to take the art of Psycho-analysis through one more twist. It is my desire here neither to dispel nor to expose the fascination which the film continues to exert upon cinema-goers, movie-makers, feminists, and scholars of film around the world, but to take the evident charisma of Psycho seriously and follow it to the limit. Unashamedly and without reservation, I construct Psycho as a whole - and the shower scene in particular - as if it provided a unique demonstration of the power of film in general, indeed, as if it constituted the exemplary exception in the history of popular film. 2010-04-27T06:17:57.048Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2583 This case study considers the experience of a mother who, like her young son, was deafened and underwent the cochlear implant process. This paper focuses on the emotive decision-making process this mother remembered for her son and then experienced for herself. The themes and quotations were drawn from 4 years of taped interviews that span the mother's implant candidacy, surgery and rehabilitation. The discussed decision-making themes from the transcripts were identified using NUD*IST 4 for qualitative data analysis. 2010-04-27T06:17:54.817Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2725 2010-04-27T06:14:22.405Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2608 Piezoelectric materials are finding increasing applications in active vibration control of structures. Modeling of a piezoelectric laminate, often results in an infinite-dimensional or a very high-order model. For control design purposes, such a model is simplified by removing higher frequency modes which lie out of the bandwidth of interest. Truncation can considerably perturb the in-bandwidth zeros of the truncated model. This paper suggests a method of minimizing the effect of the removed higher order modes on the low-frequency dynamics of the truncated model of a piezoelectric laminate beam by adding a zero frequency term to the low-order model of the structure. Simulations and experimental results are presented. 2010-04-27T06:14:14.493Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2165 A postal health survey was completed by 14 761 young women (aged 18–23 years), 14 070 middle-aged women (45–50 years) and 12 893 older women (70–75 years). The prevalence of constipation was 14.1% (CI 13.5–14.7) in young women, 26.6% (CI 25.9–27.4) in middle-aged women, and 27% (CI 26.9–28.5) in the older women. The prevalence of hemorrhoids was 3.2% (CI 2.9–3.4 young), 17.7% (CI 17.1–18.4 middle-aged) and 18.3% (CI 17.6–19.0 older). In the middle-aged and older women, those who reported previous gynecologic surgery were between 18% and 63% more likely to report constipation; in the younger cohort, women with one or two children were also more likely to report constipation (adjusted OR 1.43–1.46). One-third of the young women and half the middle-aged and older women had sought help for constipation; the majority indicated that they were satisfied with the help available to them. 2010-04-27T06:12:09.906Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2916 Geotechnical aspects of domestic on-site effluent systems (septic tanks) and their impact on groundwaters are discussed and the limited relevant literature is reviewed. While there are few Australian case studies, the early stages of an ongoing study at Dodges Ferry, Tasmania, show a connection between shallow aquifer quality, number of residences and domestic on-site wastewater disposal practices. Of 26 groundwater samples analysed, a number fail to meet established criteria for potable use. Most samples were highly or very highly saline. This renders them unpalatable and has an adverse impact on vegetation if the water is used for irrigation. Several samples had pH less than 6.0 and those taken from shallow wells were discoloured by leached soil organic matter. Elevated nitrate levels, an indicator of contamination by sewage effluents, were found at nine locations and these were usually associated with small clusters of residences. One very high sample was clearly contaminated by effluent from an adjacent on-site wastewater disposal system. One odorous, black organic seep was found at the foot of the dunes backing a bathing beach and this gives cause for concern that failing on-site wastewater disposal systems are contributory to reduced bathing water quality. Faecal coliforms and Escherichia coli were not found, even in samples with the highest nitrate concentrations, suggesting that residence time has been sufficient for bacterial die-off. Contamination of shallow aquifers is greatest where there is a high density of residences with small lots. 2010-04-27T06:09:02.111Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2077 2010-04-27T06:08:46.240Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2076 2010-04-27T06:08:36.891Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2078 2010-04-27T06:08:35.006Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:1078 Gas-phase hydrogen dehalogenation of halon 1301 (bromotrifluoromethane, CBrF₃) has been studied experimentally in a tubular alumina reactor operating at atmospheric pressure. It is found that hydrogen can accelerate the decomposition of halon 1301 and that conversion levels of CBrF₃ and H₂ increase with temperature and residence time. CBrF₃ conversion increases with decreasing input volume ratio of CBrF₃ to H₂. The species produced are a complex mixture of halogenated hydrocarbons including CHF₃, CH₂F₂, C₂HF₃, C₂F₆, C₂H₂F₄, C₂HF₅, CHBrF₂, CH₃Br, CH₂Br₂, CHBr₂F, and CH₂BrF in addition to HBr and HF. The production yield of CHF₃, the major product, increases with temperature to 1023 K, after which CHF₃ levels decrease with increasing temperature. Conversely, CHF₃ selectivity decreases with increasing temperature, residence time, or input ratio of CBrF₃ to H₂. The initiation reaction is believed to be the rupture of the C-Br bond in CBrF₃, and the radical species CF₃ then reacts with H₂ to produce H and CHF₃. The key step in the process is the attack of H radical on CBrF₃ to produce CF₃ and HBr. Experimental data are compared with the model predictions, and good agreement between experimental and modeling prediction is obtained for CHF₃ production. However, the existing mechanism does not predict the formation of CHBrF₂, which is detected during the experimental study, and the concentrations of CH₂F₂ and C₂F₆ measured experimentally are significantly different from those predicted. Modifications to the existing NIST mechanism are suggested to improve the prediction of the quantity of these species produced. 2010-04-27T06:06:51.953Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:1081 This paper provides data on a family in which three members, all female, have been diagnosed as having agenesis of the corpus callosum. That all three acallosal individuals came from the same family and showed relatively uniform neuropsychological impairment and could be compared in similar terms with their ‘‘callosal’’ siblings, also female, provides a unique sample. Inter-hemispheric transfer, psychometric measures, and motor and cognitive function were examined in the acallosal individuals, all of whom had borderline to low-average intelligence, with results compared to their non-acallosal siblings. The data indicated that all acallosal individuals exhibited deficits with the cognitive tests indicating difficulties of inter-hemispheric transfer of tactile information, difficulties in some areas of memory and, at least as far as the children are concerned, a marked difference in Verbal IQ and Performance IQ. 2010-04-27T06:06:47.113Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:1089 Significant similarities have been identified in the dynamic power spectra of induction magnetometer data recorded at the conjugate cusp stations of Davis, Antarctica (mlat -74.3, mlong 101.5) and Longyearbyen, Svalbard (mlat 75.0, mlong 114.5). A 60 day period in 1993 (January-February) has been studied to characterise two common features, 1) Broadband Pc5 bursts which predominantly occur 2-4 hours before and after local magnetic noon, and which exhibit polarisations suggestive of a Kelvin-Helmholtz-like source mechanism, and 2) A resonance structure which has’ an arch-shaped local time dependence. Interhemisphere phase measurements indicate oddmode toroidal standing-waves after field line resonance and azimuthal propagation effects are taken into account. Phase studies such as this may be used to study conjugacy at high latitudes and identify the location of the open and closed field line boundary, an important diagnostic parameter in space weather studies. 2010-04-27T06:06:33.073Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2972 The extended Brenner potential has been shown to provide a good description of the (001) and (111) surfaces of silicon. In this paper, this empirical potential is employed to study the energetics of steps on the Si(001)2×1 surface. Particular attention has been paid to the dependence of the step energies on the width of the terraces and the number of substrate layers. Formation energies for both the single-layer SA and SB steps, and the double layer DA and DB steps, have been determined. All of the formation energies are found to be negative. Values of the step-step and surface stress interaction energy coefficients are also determined. The correlation of these results with experiment and previous theoretical calculations is discussed. 2010-04-27T06:04:53.205Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2962 2010-04-27T06:04:50.364Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2965 Anti-windup strategies for dealing with input constraints date from the earliest stages of automatic control. They are ad-hoc procedures which achieve input saturation in an instantaneous fashion. Not surprisingly, anti-windup methods have a strong appeal to practitioners because of their simplicity. On the other hand, model predictive control (MPC) is a well established strategy for dealing with input constraint problems. The essential feature of the method is a receding horizon optimal quadratic control problem which is solved subject to input constraints. Both methods are known to perform well in practice and each has its strong advocates. In this paper, we explore connections between the methods for constrained single-input linear systems. In particular, we show that there are cases in which anti-windup schemes are identical to MPC schemes. In other cases, we show that anti-windup has performance which is close to that of MPC strategies. These comparisons are facilitated by formulating a general class of anti-windup algorithms in a form which highlights the connection with the state space formulations which are traditionally used in the MPC area. 2010-04-27T06:04:48.026Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:3539 When we practice, we practice in spaces, most commonly described as "rooms". The rooms we inhabit come to describe our ways of practice. Equally, through their inherent limits, the rooms we work in come to define our ways of working. Large dreams may well be dreamed in small spaces, but, in small spaces, large sculptures can only be modelled, and constructed as fragments. In an effort to redescribe these limitations and to explore the possibilities of practice, we give special names to rooms. Kitchens are where we cook - from the popular Latin, cucina to cook. This embedded meaning makes sense except that the connection is not immediate and obvious to those untutored in Latin. The lack of obvious reference adds the possibility of radical obscurity. Do all words mean something else, or do some words just mean themselves? And, which ones are which? In its lack of an obvious semantic reference, the word "kitchen" becomes translucent. Through this process of passive disguise, the everyday kitchen acquires a nominal mystique: it is a kitchen not simply a room for cooking. The Bauhaus, mythological in its importance, sounds much less auspicious when renamed "the making house". The same is true when we exchange the semi-magic term "studio" for its companion term "study". A study is a place where intellectual contemplation takes place; a studio is a place where artistic making takes place. One room is for theory and abstract matters, the other is for practice and sensory matters. We enter each space already disposed to construct things or contemplate ideas and yet in each room we are making. By attending to how we name our working spaces we are able to shift attention from expected purposes towards the possibility of new ways and understandings of practising. By colliding studio with study we can arrive at a composite making place: Studio Theoria. Here we may see ourselves work as we work. 2010-04-27T05:07:49.631Z ]]>