Late Pleistocene stratigraphy of IODP Site U1396 and compiled chronology offshore of south and south west Montserrat, Lesser Antilles

Marine sediments around volcanic islands contain an archive of volcaniclastic deposits, which can be used to reconstruct the volcanic history of an area. Such records hold many advantages over often incomplete terrestrial datasets. This includes the potential for precise and continuous dating of intervening sediment packages, which allow a correlatable and temporally-constrained stratigraphic framework to be constructed across multiple marine sediment cores. Here, we discuss a marine record of eruptive and mass-wasting events spanning ~250 ka offshore of Montserrat, using new data from IODP Expedition 340, as well as previously collected cores. By using a combination of high-resolution oxygen isotope stratigraphy, AMS radiocarbon dating, biostratigraphy of foraminifera and calcareous nannofossils and clast componentry, we identify five major events at Soufriere Hills volcano since 250 ka. Lateral correlation of these events across sediment cores collected offshore of the south and south west of Montserrat, have improved our understanding of the timing, extent and associations between events in this area. Correlations reveal that powerful and potentially erosive density-currents travelled at least 33 km offshore, and demonstrate that marine deposits, produced by eruption-fed and mass-wasting events on volcanic islands, are heterogeneous in their spatial distribution. Thus, multiple drilling/coring sites are needed to reconstruct the full chronostratigraphy of volcanic islands. This multidisciplinary study will be vital to interpreting the chaotic records of submarine landslides at other sites drilled during Expedition 340 and provides a framework that can be applied to the stratigraphic analysis of sediments surrounding other volcanic islands.

No worries – we’ll take care of it!! An examination into managing equality and inclusivity in multicultural Australia

This paper explores the various paths to equality and inclusivity developed in the past 40 years within the Australian workplace with a view to critically examining their capability of addressing diversity and equality within the cultural needs of a unique society. A society which struggles to overcome the tyranny of distance and a colonial past as it takes its place in the world as a global 1st world economy country in what is often considered ‘the global north’ despite its geographical location. Findings indicate that despite various legislative and non-legislative approaches including anti-discrimination; affirmative action; equal opportunity; managing diversity and more recently gender equality, the individual members of the many diverse groups in the Australian workplace still experience inferior work conditions and work opportunities.

Does the price of oil interact with clean energy prices in the stock market?

In this paper, we analyze the relationships among oil prices, clean energy stock prices, and technology stock prices, endogenously controlling for structural changes in the market. To this end, we apply Markov-switching vector autoregressive models to the economic system consisting of oil prices, clean energy and technology stock prices, and interest rates. The results indicate that there was a structural change in late 2007, a period in which there was a significant increase in the price of oil. In contrast to the previous studies, we find a positive relationship between oil prices and clean energy prices after structural breaks. There also appears to be a similarity in terms of the market response to both clean energy stock prices and technology stock prices. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.

Effect of Oil Price on Emissions Trading Market: VAR Analysis

In this study, we investigated the relationship of European Union carbon dioxide CO2 allowances EUAs prices and oil prices by employing a VAR analysis, Granger causality test and impulse response function. If oil price continues increasing, companies will decrease dependency on fossil fuels because of an increase in energy costs. Therefore, the price of EUAs may be affected by variations in oil prices if the greenhouse gases discharged by the consumption of alternative energy are less than that of fossil fuels. There are no previous studies that investigated these relationships. In this study, we analyzed eight types of EUAs EUA05 to EUA12 with a time series daily data set during 2005-2007 collected from a European Climate Exchange time series data set. Differentiations in these eight types were redemption period. We used the New York Mercantile Exchange light sweet crude price as an oil price. From our examination, we found that only the EUA06 and EUA07 types of EUAs Granger-cause oil prices and vice versa and other six types of EUAs do not Granger-cause oil price. These results imply that the earlier redemption period types of EUAs are more sensitive to oil price. In employing the impulse response function, the results showed that a shock to oil price has a slightly positive effect on all types of EUAs for a very short period. On the other hand, we found that a shock to price of EUA has a slightly negative effect on oil price following a positive effect in only EUA06 and EUA07 types. Therefore, these results imply that fluctuations in EUAs prices and oil prices have little effect on each other. Lastly, we did not consider the substitute energy prices in this study, so we plan to include the prices of coal and natural gas in future analyses.

Stock prices of clean energy firms, oil and carbon markets : a vector autoregressive analysis

Recent discussions of energy security and climate change have attracted significant attention to clean energy. We hypothesize that rising prices of conventional energy and/or placement of a price on carbon emissions would encourage investments in clean energy firms. The data from three clean energy indices show that oil prices and technology stock prices separately affect the stock prices of clean energy firms. However, the data fail to demonstrate a significant relationship between carbon prices and the stock prices of the firms.

Productivity assessment of Angola's oil blocks

This paper analyzes the change in productivity as a result of Angola oil policy from 2001 to 2007. Angola oil blocks are the main source of tax receipts and, therefore, strategically important for public finances. A Malmquist index with the input technological bias is applied to measure productivity change. Oil blocks on average became both more efficient and experienced technological progress. Our results indicate that the traditional growth accounting method, which assumes Hicks neutral technological change, is not appropriate for analyzing changes in productivity for Angola oil blocks. Policy implications are derived.

Promoting law student well-being through the curriculum

The Australian tertiary sector is becoming increasingly concerned about the psychological well-being of its students.Empirical research in Australia indicates that more than one-third of law students suffer from psychological distress, and the competitive, isolated, adversarial learning environment at law school has been suggested as partly responsible (Brain and Mind Research Institute, 2009). This fellowship program has mobilised strategic change to improve the psychological health of law students. It has lead and stimulated advancement in the legal curriculum, its pedagogy, and assessment practice to better engage, motivate and support student learning of law, focussing on the potential of non-adversarial legal practice. A new conceptual framework for legal education has been developed, demonstrating the pursuit of excellence in the teaching of law, and raising the profile of learning and teaching in Australian law schools. In addition the fellowship has created a national community of practice around this issue through the Wellness Network for Law, and made significant contributions to research and scholarship in the field.

Breathe easier online : evaluation of a randomized controlled pilot trial of an internet-based intervention to improve well-being in children and adolescents with a chronic respiratory condition

Background Chronic respiratory illnesses are the most common group of childhood chronic health conditions and are overrepresented in socially isolated groups. Objective To conduct a randomized controlled pilot trial to evaluate the efficacy of Breathe Easier Online (BEO), an Internet-based problem-solving program with minimal facilitator involvement to improve psychosocial well-being in children and adolescents with a chronic respiratory condition. Methods We randomly assigned 42 socially isolated children and adolescents (18 males), aged between 10 and 17 years to either a BEO (final n = 19) or a wait-list control (final n = 20) condition. In total, 3 participants (2 from BEO and 1 from control) did not complete the intervention. Psychosocial well-being was operationalized through self-reported scores on depression symptoms and social problem solving. Secondary outcome measures included self-reported attitudes toward their illness and spirometry results. Paper-and-pencil questionnaires were completed at the hospital when participants attended a briefing session at baseline (time 1) and in their homes after the intervention for the BEO group or a matched 9-week time period for the wait-list group (time 2). Results The two groups were comparable at baseline across all demographic measures (all F < 1). For the primary outcome measures, there were no significant group differences on depression (P = .17) or social problem solving (P = .61). However, following the online intervention, those in the BEO group reported significantly lower depression (P = .04), less impulsive/careless problem solving (P = .01), and an improvement in positive attitude toward their illness (P = .04) compared with baseline. The wait-list group did not show these differences. Children in the BEO group and their parents rated the online modules very favorably. Conclusions Although there were no significant group differences on primary outcome measures, our pilot data provide tentative support for the feasibility (acceptability and user satisfaction) and initial efficacy of an Internet-based intervention for improving well-being in children and adolescents with a chronic respiratory condition. Trial registration Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry number: ACTRN12610000214033;

Simulation study for analysis of online dielectric measurement problems on transformer insulation system

Determining the condition as well as the remaining life of an insulation system is essential for the reliable operation of large oil-filled power transformers. Frequency-domain spectroscopy (FDS) is one of the diagnostic techniques used to identify the dielectric status of a transformer. Currently, this technique can only be implemented on a de-energized transformer. This paper presents an initial investigation into a novel online monitoring method based on FDS dielectric measurements for transformers. The proposed technique specifically aims to address the real operational constraints of online testing. This is achieved by designing an online testing model extending the basic “extended Debye” linear dielectric model and taking unique noise issues only experienced during online measurements into account via simulations. Approaches to signal denoising and potential problems expected to be encountered during online measurements will also be discussed. Using fixed-frequency sinusoidal excitation waveforms will result in a long measurement times. The use of alternatives such as a chirp has been investigated using simulations. The results presented in the paper predict that reliable measurements should be possible during online testing.

Effect of temperature and moisture on high pressure lipid/oil extraction from microalgae

Commercially viable carbon–neutral biodiesel production from microalgae has potential for replacing depleting petroleum diesel. The process of biodiesel production from microalgae involves harvesting, drying and extraction of lipids which are energy- and cost-intensive processes. The development of effective large-scale lipid extraction processes which overcome the complexity of microalgae cell structure is considered one of the most vital requirements for commercial production. Thus the aim of this work was to investigate suitable extraction methods with optimised conditions to progress opportunities for sustainable microalgal biodiesel production. In this study, the green microalgal species consortium, Tarong polyculture was used to investigate lipid extraction with hexane (solvent) under high pressure and variable temperature and biomass moisture conditions using an Accelerated Solvent Extraction (ASE) method. The performance of high pressure solvent extraction was examined over a range of different process and sample conditions (dry biomass to water ratios (DBWRs): 100%, 75%, 50% and 25% and temperatures from 70 to 120 ºC, process time 5–15 min). Maximum total lipid yields were achieved at 50% and 75% sample dryness at temperatures of 90–120 ºC. We show that individual fatty acids (Palmitic acid C16:0; Stearic acid C18:0; Oleic acid C18:1; Linolenic acid C18:3) extraction optima are influenced by temperature and sample dryness, consequently affecting microalgal biodiesel quality parameters. Higher heating values and kinematic viscosity were compliant with biodiesel quality standards under all extraction conditions used. Our results indicate that biodiesel quality can be positively manipulated by selecting process extraction conditions that favour extraction of saturated and mono-unsaturated fatty acids over optimal extraction conditions for polyunsaturated fatty acids, yielding positive effects on cetane number and iodine values. Exceeding biodiesel standards for these two parameters opens blending opportunities with biodiesels that fall outside the minimal cetane and maximal iodine values.

Straminipilan protists : a study of their taxonomic position, morphology and abiotic stress-mediated gene expression

Thraustochytrids have become of considerable industrial and scientific interest in the past decade due to their health benefits. They have been proven to be the principle source in marine and estuarine fish diets with high percentage of long chain (LC) or polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). Therefore, the oil extracted from fish for human document.forms[0].elements[13].select();consumption is rich in PUFA with high omega-3 fatty acid content. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) of all of the omega-3 fatty acids, are considered beneficial essential oils for humans with a wide range of health benefits. These include brain and neural development in infants, general wellbeing of adults and drug delivery through precursor molecules. They have become one of the most extensively studied organisms for industrial oil preparations as PUFA extraction from fish becomes less profitable. Many forms of these Thraustochytrid oils are being trialled for human consumption all over the world. In Australia, there has been little research performed on these organisms in the past ten years. A few Australian studies have been conducted in the form of comparative studies related to PUFA production within the related genera, but not focussed on their identification or cellular and genomic characterisation. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to investigate the morphological and genetic characteristics of Australian Thraustochytrids in order to aid in their identification and characterisation, as well as to better understand the effect of environmental conditions in the regulation of PUFA production. It was also noted that there was a knowledge gap in the preservation and total genomic DNA extraction of these organisms for the purposes of scientific research. The cryopreservation of these organisms for studies around the world follows existing generic methods. However, it is well understood that many of these generic methods attract not only high costs for chemicals, but also uses considerable storage space and other resources, all of which can be improved with new or modified approaches. In this context, a simple and inexpensive bead preservation method is described, without compromising the storage shelf life. We also describe, for the first time, the effects of culture age on the successful cryopreservation of Thraustochytrids. It was evident in the literature that DNA and RNA extractions for molecular and genetic studies of Thraustochytrids follow the classical phenol-chloroform extraction methods. It was also observed that modern protocols failed to avoid the use of phenol-chloroform rather than improving preparation and cell disruption. In order to provide a high quantity and quality DNA extraction, a modified protocol has been introduced that employs the use of modern commercial extraction kits and standard laboratory equipment. Thraustochytrids have been shown to be highly conserved in their 18S rDNA gene sequences, which is used as the current standard for identification. It was demonstrated that the 18S rDNA gene sequence limits the recognition of closely related genera or within the genera from each member. Therefore, it was proposed that another profile, such as a randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) based profiling system, be tested for use in the characterisation of Thraustochytrids. The RAPD profiles were shown to provide a unique DNA fingerprint for each isolate and small variations in their genome were able to be detected. This method involved the use of a minimum number of standard arbitrary primers and with an increase in the number of different primers used, a very high discrimination between organisms could be achieved. However, the method was not suitable for taxonomic purposes because the results did not correlate with other taxonomic features such as morphology. Another knowledge gap was found with respect to Australian Thraustochytrid growth characteristics, in that these had not been recorded and published. In order to rectify this, a record of colony and microscopic features of 12 selected isolates was performed. The results of preliminary studies indicated that further microbiological and biochemical studies are needed for full characterisation of these organisms. This information is of great importance to bio-prospecting of new Thraustochytrids from Australian ecosystems and would allow for their accurate identification, and so permit the prediction of their PUFA capability by comparison with related genera/species. It was well recognized that environmental stress plays a role in the PUFA production and is mainly due to the reactive oxygen species as abiotic stress (Chiou et al., 2001; Okuyama et al., 2008; Shabala et al., 2009; Shabala et al., 2001). In this aspect, this study makes the first attempt towards better understanding of this phenomenon by way of the use of real-time PCR for the detection of environmental effects on the regulation of PUFA production. Three main environmental conditions including temperature, pH and oxygen availability were monitored as stress inducers. In summary, this study provides novel approaches for the preservation and handling of Thraustochytrids, their molecular biological features, taxonomy, characterisation and responses to environmental factors with respect to their oil production enzymes. The information produced from this study will prove to be vital for both industrial and scientific investigations in the future.