Using the internet to assist court processes : delivery of justice in an electronic age

This article presents an overview of two aspects of the role the internet now plays in the court system - first, the extent to which judges, administrators and court officials at the different levels in the court hierarchy are using the internet to deliver enhanced access to the Australian justice system for the community as a whole, and second, how they have embraced that same technology as an aid for accessing information for better judgment delivery and administration.

Effect of handling and fixation processes on fluorescence spectroscopy of mouse skeletal muscles under two-photon excitation

We investigated the effects of handling and fixation processes on the two-photon fluorescence spectroscopy of endogenous fluorophors in mouse skeletal muscle. The skeletal muscle was handled in one of two ways: either sectioned without storage or sectioned following storage in a freezer. The two-photon fluorescence spectra measured for different storage or fixation periods show a differential among those samples that were stored in water or were fixed either in formalin or methanol. The spectroscopic results indicate that formalin was the least disruptive fixative, having only a weak effect on the two-photon fluorescence spectroscopy of muscle tissue, whereas methanol had a significant influence on one of the autofluorescence peaks. The two handling processes yielded similar spectral information, indicating no different effects between them.

Measures of nutrient processes as indicators of stream ecosystem health

To better understand how freshwater ecosystems respond to changes in catchment land-use, it is important to develop measures of ecological health that include aspects of both ecosystem structure and function. This study investigated measures of nutrient processes as potential indicators of stream ecosystem health across a land-use gradient from relatively undisturbed to highly modified. A total of seven indicators (potential denitrification; an index of denitrification potential relative to sediment organic matter; benthic algal growth on artificial substrates amended with (a) N only, (b) P only, and (c) N and P; and δ15N of aquatic plants and benthic sediment) were measured at 53 streams in southeast Queensland, Australia. The indicators were evaluated by their response to a defined gradient of agricultural land-use disturbance as well as practical aspects of using the indicators as part of a monitoring program. Regression models based on descriptors of the disturbance gradient explained a large proportion of the variation in six of the seven indicators. Denitrification index, algal growth in N amended substrate, and δ15N of aquatic plants demonstrated the best regression. However, the δ15N value of benthic sediment was found to be the best indicator overall for incorporation into a monitoring program, as samples were relatively easy to collect and process, and were successfully collected at more than 90% of the study sites.

The stabilising role of the costovertebral joints and spinous processes on thoracic spine stability

Introduction The importance of in vitro biomechanical testing in today’s understanding of spinal pathology and treatment modalities cannot be stressed enough. Different studies have used differing levels of dissection of their spinal segments for their testing protocols[1, 2]. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of removing the costovertebral joints and partial resection of the spinous process sequentially, on the stiffness of the immature thoracic bovine spinal segment. Materials and Methods Thoracic spines from 6-8 week old calves were used. Each spine was dissected and divided into motion segments with 5cm of attached rib on each side and full spinous processes including levels T4-T11 (n=28). They were potted in polymethylemethacrylate. An Instron Biaxial materials testing machine with a custom made jig was used for testing. The segments were tested in flexion/extension, lateral bending and axial rotation at 37⁰C and 100% humidity, using moment control to a maximum 1.75 Nm with a loading rate of 0.3 Nm per second. They were first tested intact for ten load cycles with data collected from the tenth cycle. Progressive dissection was performed by removing first the attached ribs, followed by the spinous process at its base. Biomechanical testing was carried out after each level of dissection using the same protocol. Statistical analysis of the data was performed using repeated measures ANOVA. Results In combined flexion/extension there was a significant reduction in stiffness of 16% (p=0.002). This was mainly after resection of the ribs (14%, p=0.024) and mainly occurred in flexion where stiffness reduced by 22% (p=0.021). In extension, stiffness dropped by 13% (p=0.133). However there was no further significant change in stiffness on resection of the spinous process (<1%) (p=1.00). In lateral bending there was a significant decrease in stiffness of 13% (p<0.001). This comprised a drop of 11% on resection of the ribs (p=0.009) and a further 8% on resection of the spinous process (p=0.014). There was no difference between left and right bending. In axial rotation there was no significant change in stiffness after each stage of dissection (p=0.253). There was no difference between left and right rotation. Conclusion The costovertebral joints play a significant role in providing stability to the bovine thoracic spine in both flexion/extension and lateral bending, whereas the spinous processes play a minor role. Both elements have little effect on axial rotation stability.

Asymptotic minimax robust and misspecified Lorden quickest change detection for dependent stochastic processes

The quick detection of an abrupt unknown change in the conditional distribution of a dependent stochastic process has numerous applications. In this paper, we pose a minimax robust quickest change detection problem for cases where there is uncertainty about the post-change conditional distribution. Our minimax robust formulation is based on the popular Lorden criteria of optimal quickest change detection. Under a condition on the set of possible post-change distributions, we show that the widely known cumulative sum (CUSUM) rule is asymptotically minimax robust under our Lorden minimax robust formulation as a false alarm constraint becomes more strict. We also establish general asymptotic bounds on the detection delay of misspecified CUSUM rules (i.e. CUSUM rules that are designed with post- change distributions that differ from those of the observed sequence). We exploit these bounds to compare the delay performance of asymptotically minimax robust, asymptotically optimal, and other misspecified CUSUM rules. In simulation examples, we illustrate that asymptotically minimax robust CUSUM rules can provide better detection delay performance at greatly reduced computation effort compared to competing generalised likelihood ratio procedures.

Charging and trapping of macroparticles in near-electrode regions of fluorocarbon plasmas with negative ions

Charging and trapping of macroparticles in the near-electrode region of fluorocarbon etching plasmas with negative ions is considered. The equilibrium charge and forces on particles are computed as a function of the local position in the plasma presheath and sheath. The ionic composition of the plasma corresponds to the etching experiments in 2.45 GHz surface-wave sustained and 13.56 MHz inductively coupled C4F8+Ar plasmas. It is shown that despite negligible negative ion currents collected by the particles, the negative fluorine ions affect the charging and trapping of particulates through modification of the sheath/presheath structure.

Electrical insulation of high voltage inductor with co-axial electrode at floating voltage

Inductive fault current limiters (FCLs) have several advantages, such as significant current limitation, immediate triggering and relatively low losses. Despite these advantages, saturated core FCLs have not been commercialized due to its large size and associated high costs. A major remaining challenge is to reduce the footprint of the device. In this paper, a solution to reduce the overall footprint is proposed and discussed. In arrangements of windings on a core in reactors such as FCLs, the core is conventionally grounded. The electrical insulation distance between high voltage winding and core can be reduced if the core is left at floating potential. This paper shows the results of the investigation carried out on the insulation of such a coil-core assembly. Two experiments were conducted. In the first, the behavior of the apparatus under high voltage conditions was assessed by performing power frequency and lightning impulse tests. In the second experiment, a low voltage test was conducted during which voltages of different frequencies and pulses with varying rise times were applied. A finite element simulation was also carried out for comparison and further investigation

Enhanced stochastic mobility prediction with multi-output Gaussian processes

Outdoor robots such as planetary rovers must be able to navigate safely and reliably in order to successfully perform missions in remote or hostile environments. Mobility prediction is critical to achieving this goal due to the inherent control uncertainty faced by robots traversing natural terrain. We propose a novel algorithm for stochastic mobility prediction based on multi-output Gaussian process regression. Our algorithm considers the correlation between heading and distance uncertainty and provides a predictive model that can easily be exploited by motion planning algorithms. We evaluate our method experimentally and report results from over 30 trials in a Mars-analogue environment that demonstrate the effectiveness of our method and illustrate the importance of mobility prediction in navigating challenging terrain.

Electric breakdown in liquids : faster ignition using less energy

The formation of vapor layers around an electrode immersed in a conducting liquid prior to generation of a plasma discharge is studied using numerical simulations. This study quantifies and explains the effects of the electrode geometry and applied voltage pulses, as well as the electrical and thermal properties of the liquids on the temporal dynamics of the pre-breakdown conditions in the vapor layer. This model agrees well with experimental data, in particular, the time needed to reach the electrical breakdown threshold. Because the time needed for discharge ignition can be accurately predicted from the model, the parameters such as the pulse shape, voltage, and electrode configuration can be optimized under different liquid conditions, which facilitates a faster and more energy-efficient plasma generation.

Effect of a floating electrode on a plasma jet

Two kinds of floating electrode, floating dielectric barrier covered electrode (FDBCE) and floating pin electrode (FPE), which can enhance the performance of plasma jet are reported. The intense discharge between the floating electrode and power electrode decreased the voltage to trigger the plasma jet substantially. The transition of plasma bullet from ring shape to disk shape in the high helium concentration region happened when the floating electrode was totally inside the powered ring electrode. The enhanced electric field between propagating plasma bullet and ground electrode is the reason for this transition. The double plasma bullets happened when part of the FDBCE was outside the powered ring electrode, which is attributed to the structure and surface charge of FDBCE. As part of the FPE was outside the powered ring electrode, the return stroke resulted in a single intensified plasma channel between FPE and ground electrode.

Event interval analysis: Why do processes take time?

Through the application of process mining, valuable evidence-based insights can be obtained about business processes in organisations. As a result the field has seen an increased uptake in recent years as evidenced by success stories and increased tool support. However, despite this impact, current performance analysis capabilities remain somewhat limited in the context of information-poor event logs. For example, natural daily and weekly patterns are not considered. In this paper a new framework for analysing event logs is defined which is based on the concept of event gap. The framework allows for a systematic approach to sophisticated performance-related analysis of event logs containing varying degrees of information. The paper formalises a range of event gap types and then presents an implementation as well as an evaluation of the proposed approach.