Concentration and oxidative potential of on-road particle emissions and their relationship with traffic composition : Relevance to exposure assessment

Particles emitted by vehicles are known to cause detrimental health effects, with their size and oxidative potential among the main factors responsible. Therefore, understanding the relationship between traffic composition and both the physical characteristics and oxidative potential of particles is critical. To contribute to the limited knowledge base in this area, we investigated this relationship in a 4.5 km road tunnel in Brisbane, Australia. On-road concentrations of ultrafine particles (<100 nm, UFPs), fine particles (PM2.5), CO, CO2 and particle associated reactive oxygen species (ROS) were measured using vehicle-based mobile sampling. UFPs were measured using a condensation particle counter and PM2.5 with a DustTrak aerosol photometer. A new profluorescent nitroxide probe, BPEAnit, was used to determine ROS levels. Comparative measurements were also performed on an above-ground road to assess the role of emission dilution on the parameters measured. The profile of UFP and PM2.5 concentration with distance through the tunnel was determined, and demonstrated relationships with both road gradient and tunnel ventilation. ROS levels in the tunnel were found to be high compared to an open road with similar traffic characteristics, which was attributed to the substantial difference in estimated emission dilution ratios on the two roadways. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that the levels of pollutants and ROS were generally better correlated with total traffic count, rather than the traffic composition (i.e. diesel and gasoline-powered vehicles). A possible reason for the lack of correlation with HDV, which has previously been shown to be strongly associated with UFPs especially, was the low absolute numbers encountered during the sampling. This may have made their contribution to in-tunnel pollution largely indistinguishable from the total vehicle volume. For ROS, the stronger association observed with HDV and gasoline vehicles when combined (total traffic count) compared to when considered individually may signal a role for the interaction of their emissions as a determinant of on-road ROS in this pilot study. If further validated, this should not be overlooked in studies of on- or near-road particle exposure and its potential health effects.

Ownership structure and concentration and the timeliness of corporate earnings : Malaysian evidence

This thesis provides the first evidence on how ownership concentration and structure relate to the timeliness of price discovery and reporting lags in Malaysia. Based on a sample of 1,276 Malaysian firms from 1996 to 2009, the results show that ownership concentration and the identity of the largest shareholder matter to the timeliness of price discovery and reporting lags. Specifically, closely-held firms are more timely in their price discovery and have shorter reporting lags, particularly if the largest shareholder is a foreigner or a financial institution. Government-owned firms have longer reporting lags, as expected, but we find no evidence that family-owned firms have significantly different timeliness of price discovery and reporting lags than other firms. Additional analysis shows that prior to the implementation of the Malaysian Code of Corporate Governance, firms were more timely in their price discovery but longer in their reporting lag.

An interpretation of current progress towards an industry model for Queensland's surveying and mapping industry

A strongly progressive surveying and mapping industry depends on a shared understanding of the industry as it exists, some shared vision or imagination of what the industry might become, and some shared action plan capable of bringing about a realisation of that vision. The emphasis on sharing implies a need for consensus reached through widespread discussion and mutual understanding. Unless this occurs, concerted action is unlikely. A more likely outcome is that industry representatives will negate each other's efforts in their separate bids for progress. The process of bringing about consensual viewpoints is essentially one of establishing an industry identity. Establishing the industry's identity and purpose is a prerequisite for rational development of the industry's education and training, its promotion and marketing, and operational research that can deal .with industry potential and efficiency. This paper interprets evolutionary developments occurring within Queensland's surveying and mapping industry within a framework that sets out logical requirements for a viable industry.

Large scale monocular vision-only mapping from a fixed-wing sUAS

This paper presents the application of a monocular visual SLAMon a fixed-wing small Unmanned Aerial System (sUAS) capable of simultaneous estimation of aircraft pose and scene structure. We demonstrate the robustness of unconstrained vision alone in producing reliable pose estimates of a sUAS, at altitude. It is ultimately capable of online state estimation feedback for aircraft control and next-best-view estimation for complete map coverage without the use of additional sensors.We explore some of the challenges of visual SLAM from a sUAS including dealing with planar structure, distant scenes and noisy observations. The developed techniques are applied on vision data gathered from a fast-moving fixed-wing radio control aircraft flown over a 1×1km rural area at an altitude of 20-100m.We present both raw Structure from Motion results and a SLAM solution that includes FAB-MAP based loop-closures and graph-optimised pose. Timing information is also presented to demonstrate near online capabilities. We compare the accuracy of the 6-DOF pose estimates to an off-the-shelfGPS aided INS over a 1.7kmtrajectory.We also present output 3D reconstructions of the observed scene structure and texture that demonstrates future applications in autonomous monitoring and surveying.

Bi-objective bundle adjustment: towards large-scale visual sea-floor mapping with a minimal sensor suite

Visual sea-floor mapping is a rapidly growing application for Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs). AUVs are well-suited to the task as they remove humans from a potentially dangerous environment, can reach depths human divers cannot, and are capable of long-term operation in adverse conditions. The output of sea-floor maps generated by AUVs has a number of applications in scientific monitoring: from classifying coral in high biological value sites to surveying sea sponges to evaluate marine environment health.

Semi-parametric modelling of ultrafine particle number concentration

Quantifying spatial and/or temporal trends in environmental modelling data requires that measurements be taken at multiple sites. The number of sites and duration of measurement at each site must be balanced against costs of equipment and availability of trained staff. The split panel design comprises short measurement campaigns at multiple locations and continuous monitoring at reference sites [2]. Here we present a modelling approach for a spatio-temporal model of ultrafine particle number concentration (PNC) recorded according to a split panel design. The model describes the temporal trends and background levels at each site. The data were measured as part of the “Ultrafine Particles from Transport Emissions and Child Health” (UPTECH) project which aims to link air quality measurements, child health outcomes and a questionnaire on the child’s history and demographics. The UPTECH project involves measuring aerosol and particle counts and local meteorology at each of 25 primary schools for two weeks and at three long term monitoring stations, and health outcomes for a cohort of students at each school [3].

Wide-field assessment of the human corneal subbasal nerve plexus in diabetic neuropathy using a novel mapping technique

To develop a rapid optimized technique of wide-field imaging of the human corneal subbasal nerve plexus. A dynamic fixation target was developed and, coupled with semiautomated tiling software, a rapid method of capturing and montaging multiple corneal confocal microscopy images was created. To illustrate the utility of this technique, wide-field maps of the subbasal nerve plexus were produced in 2 participants with diabetes, 1 with and 1 without neuropathy. The technique produced montages of the central 3 mm of the subbasal corneal nerve plexus. The maps seem to show a general reduction in the number of nerve fibers and branches in the diabetic participant with neuropathy compared with the individual without neuropathy. This novel technique will allow more routine and widespread use of subbasal nerve plexus mapping in clinical and research situations. The significant reduction in the time to image the corneal subbasal nerve plexus should expedite studies of larger groups of diabetic patients and those with other conditions affecting nerve fibers. The inferior whorl and the surrounding areas may show the greatest loss of nerve fibers in individuals with diabetic neuropathy, but this should be further investigated in a larger cohort.

Temporal boundary objects in megaprojects : mapping the system with the integrated master schedule

Recently, a stream of project management research has recognized the critical role of boundary objects in the organization of projects. In this paper, we investigate how one advanced scheduling tool, the Integrated Master Schedule (IMS), is used as a temporal boundary object at various stages of complex projects. The IMS is critical to megaprojects which typically span long periods of time and face a high degree of complexity and uncertainty. In this paper, we conceptualize projects of this type as complex adaptive systems (CAS). We report the findings of four case projects on how the IMS mapped interactions, interdependencies, constraints, and fractal patterns of these emerging projects, and how the process of IMS visualization enabled communication and negotiation of project realities. This paper highlights that this advanced timeline tool acts as a boundary object and elicits shared understanding of complex projects from their stakeholders.

Airborne concentration of Volatile Organic Compounds in school environment in Brisbane

Traffic emissions are considered as a major source of pollutants, particularly ultrafine particles, in the urban environment. There is an increased concern about airborne particles not only because of their environmental effects but also due to their potential adverse health effects on humans. There have been a number of studies related to the number concentration and size distribution of these particles but studies on the chemical composition of aerosols, especially in the school environment, are very limited. Mejia et. al (2011) reviewed studies on the exposure to and impact of air pollutants on school children and found that there were only a handful of studies on this topic. Therefore, the main focus of this research is on an analysis of the chemical composition of airborne particles, as well as source apportionment and the quantification of ambient concentrations of organic pollutants in the vicinity of schools, as a part of “Ultrafine Particles from Traffic Emissions on Children’s Health” (UPTECH) project. The aim of the present study was to find out the concentrations of different Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in both outdoor and indoor locations from six different schools in Brisbane.

Influence of filtration on I/O particle concentration ratios at urban office buildings

Epidemiological research has consistently shown an association between fine and ultrafine particle concentrations, and increases in both respiratory and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. These particles, often found in vehicle emissions outside buildings, can penetrate inside via their envelopes and mechanically ventilated systems. Indoor activities such as printing, cooking and cleaning, as well as the movement of building occupants are also an additional source of these particles. In this context, the filtration systems of mechanically ventilated buildings can reduce indoor particle concentrations. Several studies have quantified the efficiency of dry-media and electrostatic filters, but they mainly focused on the particle size range > 300 nm. Some others studied ultrafine particles but their investigations were conducted in laboratories. At this point, there is still only limited information on in situ filter efficiency and an incomplete understanding of filtration influence on I/O ratios of particle concentrations. To help address these gaps in knowledge and provide new information for the selection of appropriate filter types in office building HVAC systems, we aimed to: (1) measure particle concentrations at up and down stream flows of filter devices, as well as outdoor and indoor office buildings; (2) quantify efficiency of different filter types at different buildings; and (3) assess the impact of these filters on I/O ratios at different indoor and outdoor source operation scenarios.

Spatial variation of particle number concentration in school microscale environment

There is significant toxicological evidence of the effects of ultrafine particles (<100nm) on human health (WHO 2005). Studies show that the number concentration of particles has been associated with adverse human health effects (Englert 2004). This work is part of a major study called ‘Ultrafine Particles form Traffic Emissions and Children’s Health’ (UPTECH), which seeks to determine the effect of the exposure to traffic related ultrafine particles on children’s health in schools (http://www.ilaqh.qut.edu.au/Misc/UPT ECH%20Home.htm). Quantification of spatial variation of particle number concentration (PNC) in a microscale environment and identification of the main affecting parameters and their contribution levels are the main aims of this analysis.

Mapping the dynamics of the project management field : project management in action (part 6)

This is the sixth part of a Letter from the Editor series where the results are presented of an ongoing research undertaken in order to investigate the dynamic of the evolution of the field of project management and the key trends. Dynamics of networks is a key feature in strategic diagrams analysis. The radical change in the configuration of a network between two periods, or the change at subnetwork level reflects the dynamic of science. I present here an example of subnetwork comparison over the four periods of time considered in this study. I will develop and discuss an example of subnetwork transformation in future Letter from the Editor article..

Mapping the dynamics of the project management field : project management in action (part 5)

This is the fifth part of a Letter From the Editor series where the results are presented of an ongoing research undertaken in order to investigate the dynamic of the evolution of the field of project management and the key trends. I present some general findings and the strategic diagrams generated for each of the time periods introduced herein and discuss what we can learn from them on a general standpoint. I will develop and discuss some detailed findings in future Letter From the Editor articles...

Fashion meets journalism : mapping and evaluating Australian fashion media

This study demonstrates how to study fashion journalism from the point of view, that it is its own field of journalism, akin to other journalism beats such as politics, sports and health. There is scope here for comment on the co-evolution of fashion and journalism, leading to ‘fashion journalism’ developing as a distinct field of study in its own right. This research contributes more generally to the field of media and cultural studies, by developing the threepart producer/text/reader model, which is the standard ‘media studies’ analytical framework. The study of fashion media from a cultural studies perspective acknowledges that cultural studies has pioneered the formal study of both journalism and fashion, for instance in studies of women’s magazines; but it has not brought the two areas together sufficiently. What little work has been done, however, has allowed theorists to explore how magazines promote feminism and form culture, which acts as a step in concreting fashion’s importance theoretically. This thesis has contributed to cultural studies by showing the relationship between the corporate industry, of both fashion and media (producer), and the active audience (reader) can be rethought and brought up to date for the more interactive era of the 21st century.