Application of TG-FTIR to study SO2 evolved during the thermal decomposition of coal-derived pyrite

The thermal decomposition of the coal-derived pyrite was studied using thermogravimetry combining with Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (TG-FTIR) techniques to gain knowledge on the SO2 gas evolution process and formation mechanism during the thermal decomposition of the coal-derived pyrite. The results showed that the thermal decomposition of the coal-derived pyrite which started at about 400 ◦C was complete at 600 ◦C; the gas evolved can be established by combining the DTG peak, the Gram–Schmidt curve and in situ FTIR spectroscopic evolved gas analysis. It can be observed from the spectra that the pyrolysis products for the sample mainly vary in quantity, but not in species. It was proposed that the oxidation of the coal-derived pyrite started at about 400 ◦C and that pyrrhotite and hematite were formed as primary products. The SO2 released by the thermal decomposition of the coal-derived pyrite mainly occurred in the first pyrolysis stage between 410 and 470 ◦C with the maximum rate at 444 ◦C. Furthermore, the SO2 gas evolution and formation mechanism during the thermal decomposition of the coal-derived pyrite has been proposed.

Visualising security incidents through event aggregation

Extracting and aggregating the relevant event records relating to an identified security incident from the multitude of heterogeneous logs in an enterprise network is a difficult challenge. Presenting the information in a meaningful way is an additional challenge. This paper looks at solutions to this problem by first identifying three main transforms; log collection, correlation, and visual transformation. Having identified that the CEE project will address the first transform, this paper focuses on the second, while the third is left for future work. To aggregate by correlating event records we demonstrate the use of two correlation methods, simple and composite. These make use of a defined mapping schema and confidence values to dynamically query the normalised dataset and to constrain result events to within a time window. Doing so improves the quality of results, required for the iterative re-querying process being undertaken. Final results of the process are output as nodes and edges suitable for presentation as a network graph.

How the environment affects opportunity recognition by entrepreneurs at the bottom of the pyramid

There is an army of bottom of the pyramid entrepreneurs (BOPE) who have the potential to transform developing economies, if they can identify and exploit business opportunities. BOPE could have unidentified resources that could lead to the recognition of radical new opportunities. This study paper asks how environmental factors and identification of resources affect Opportunity Recognition by BOP entrepreneurs in developing economies. To investigate this research question we conduct a literature review and plan semi-structured interviews of existing and nascent entrepreneurs in the largest and arguably the poorest country in Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In this paper we review the context of BOPE and describe the methodology we will use to gather and analyse data. Finally, we describe our access to suitable respondents for this study and how it will be conducted.

Two novel numerical methods for solving the two-dimensional fractional Fitzhugh-Nagumo-monodomain model

Fractional mathematical models represent a new approach to modelling complex spatial problems in which there is heterogeneity at many spatial and temporal scales. In this paper, a two-dimensional fractional Fitzhugh-Nagumo-monodomain model with zero Dirichlet boundary conditions is considered. The model consists of a coupled space fractional diffusion equation (SFDE) and an ordinary differential equation. For the SFDE, we first consider the numerical solution of the Riesz fractional nonlinear reaction-diffusion model and compare it to the solution of a fractional in space nonlinear reaction-diffusion model. We present two novel numerical methods for the two-dimensional fractional Fitzhugh-Nagumo-monodomain model using the shifted Grunwald-Letnikov method and the matrix transform method, respectively. Finally, some numerical examples are given to exhibit the consistency of our computational solution methodologies. The numerical results demonstrate the effectiveness of the methods.

Steps toward the validation of the Trendelenburg Test : the effect of experimentally reduced hip abductor muscle function on frontal plane mechanics

Objective: To investigate the validity of the Trendelenburg test (TT) using an ultrasound-guided nerve block (UNB) of the superior gluteal nerve and determine whether the reduction in hip abductor muscle (HABD) strength would result in the theorized mechanical compensatory strategies measured during the TT. Design: Quasi-experimental. Setting: Hospital. Participants: Convenience sample of 9 healthy men. Only participants with no current or previous injury to the lumbar spine, pelvis, or lower extremities, and no previous surgeries were included. Interventions: Ultrasound-guided nerve block. Main Outcome Measures: Hip abductor muscle strength (percent body weight [%BW]), contralateral pelvic drop (cPD), change in contralateral pelvic drop (Delta cPD), ipsilateral hip adduction, and ipsilateral trunk sway (TRUNK) measured in degrees. Results: The median age and weight of the participants were 31 years (interquartile range [IQR], 22-32 years) and 73 kg (IQR, 67-81 kg), respectively. An average 52% reduction of HABD strength (z = 2.36, P = 0.02) resulted after the UNB. No differences were found in cPD or Delta cPD (z = 0.01, P = 0.99, z = 20.67, P = 0.49, respectively). Individual changes in biomechanics showed no consistency between participants and nonsystematic changes across the group. One participant demonstrated the mechanical compensations described by Trendelenburg. Conclusions: The TT should not be used as a screening measure for HABD strength in populations demonstrating strength greater than 30% BW but should be reserved for use with populations with marked HABD weakness. Clinical Relevance: This study presents data regarding a critical level of HABD strength required to support the pelvis during the TT.

Steps towards the validation of the Trendelenburg test : The effect of experimentally reduced hip abductor muscle function on frontal plane mechanics

Introduction: The Trendelenburg Test (TT) is used to assess the functional strength of the hip abductor muscles (HABD), their ability to control frontal plane motion of the pelvis, and the ability of the lumbopelvic complex to transfer load into single leg stance. Rationale: Although a standard method to perform the test has been described for use within clinical populations, no study has directly investigated Trendelenburg’s hypotheses. Purpose: To investigate the validity of the TT using an ultrasound guided nerve block (UNB) of the superior gluteal nerve and determine whether the reduction in HABD strength would result in the theorized mechanical compensatory strategies measured during the TT. Methods: Quasi-experimental design using a convenience sample of nine healthy males. Only subjects with no current or previous injury to the lumbar spine, pelvis, or lower extremities, and no previous surgeries were included. Force dynamometry was used to evaluation HABD strength (%BW). 2D mechanics were used to evaluate contralateral pelvic drop (cMPD), change in contralateral pelvic drop (∆cMPD), ipsilateral hip adduction (iHADD) and ipsilateral trunk sway (TRUNK) measured in degrees (°). All measures were collected prior to and following a UNB on the superior gluteal nerve performed by an interventional radiologist. Results: Subjects’ age was median 31yrs (IQR:22-32yrs); and weight was median 73kg (IQR:67-81kg). An average 52% reduction of HABD strength (z=2.36,p=0.02) resulted following the UNB. No differences were found in cMPD or ∆cMPD (z=0.01,p= 0.99, z=-0.67,p=0.49). Individual changes in biomechanics show no consistency between subjects and non-systematic changes across the group. One subject demonstrated the mechanical compensations described by Trendelenburg. Discussion: The TT should not be used as screening measure for HABD strength in populations demonstrating strength greater than 30%BW but reserved for use with populations with marked HABD weakness. Importance: This study presents data regarding a critical level of HABD strength required to support the pelvis during the TT.

Hepatitis C : a socio-cultural perspective on the effects of a new virus on a community’s health

Since the emergence of diagnostic medical tests in Australia in 1990, hepatitis C (HCV) has been shown to account for over 90 percent of all non-A non-B hepatitis, revealing it to be a widespread and major public health problem. The diagnosis of HCV involves a diverse range of issues for affected persons, introducing identity and lifestyle changes, which are commonly articulated through psychological concepts. In this article we argue that it is important to examine the broader social and cultural contexts that contribute to the experiences of persons affected by HCV. The thematic analysis of qualitative data from six individuals diagnosed with HCV is included to exemplify some of the processes that are involved in the changing identity of a person following a positive diagnosis. The theoretical framework for the interpretation of these processes is interpretive interactionism. In this research, we are attempting to extend the understanding of the effects of HCV diagnoses beyond internal, psychological processes by examining how these diagnoses transform some of the processes of self-formation and expression. The participants’ experiences indicate that there are at least four dimensions of self that were significant to their changing sense of self: relationship of self to others; the emotional self; self-stories and identity; and self-scrutiny and relationships. We conclude that a socio-cultural perspective contributes to the explanation of the transition period following a HCV-positive diagnosis and the redefinition of self towards a HCV status.

Mapping Multiple Literacies: An Introduction to Deleuzian Literacy Studies

Mapping Multiple Literacies brings together the latest theory and research in the fields of literacy study and European philosophy, Multiple Literacies Theory (MLT) and the philosophical work of Gilles Deleuze. It frames the process of becoming literate as a fluid process involving multiple modes of presentation, and explains these processes in terms of making maps of our social lives and ways of doing things together. For Deleuze, language acquisition is a social activity of which we are a part, but only one part amongst many others. Masny and Cole draw on Deleuze's thinking to expand the repertoires of literacy research and understanding. They outline how we can understand literacy as a social activity and map the ways in which becoming literate may take hold and transform communities. The chapters in this book weave together theory, data and practice to open up a creative new area of literacy studies and to provoke vigorous debate about the sociology of literacy.

An objective measure of reactive behaviour in horses

Several tests have been devised in an attempt to detect behaviour modification due to training, supplements or diet in horses. These tests rely on subjective observations in combination with physiological measures, such as heart rate (HR) and plasma cortisol concentrations, but these measures do not definitively identify behavioural changes. The aim of the present studies was to develop an objective and relevant measure of horse reactivity. In Study 1, HR responses to auditory stimuli, delivered over 6 days, designed to safely startle six geldings confined to individual stalls was studied to determine if peak HR, unconfounded by physical exertion, was a reliable measure of reactivity. Both mean (±SEM) resting HR (39.5 ± 1.9 bpm) and peak HR (82 ± 5.5 bpm) in response to being startled in all horses were found to be consistent over the 6 days. In Study 2, HR, plasma cortisol concentrations and speed of departure from an enclosure (reaction speed (RS)) in response to a single stimulus of six mares were measured when presented daily over 6 days. Peak HR response (133 ± 4 bpm) was consistent over days for all horses, but RS increased (3.02 ± 0.72 m/s on Day 1 increasing to 4.45 ± 0.53 m/s on Day 6; P = 0.005). There was no effect on plasma cortisol, so this variable was not studied further. In Study 3, using the six geldings from Study 1, the RS test was refined and a different startle stimulus was used each day. Again, there was no change in peak HR (97.2 ± 5.8 bpm) or RS (2.9 ± 0.2 m/s on Day 1 versus 3.0 ± 0.7 m/s on Day 6) over time. In the final study, mild sedation using acepromazine maleate (0.04 mg/kg BW i.v.) decreased peak HR in response to a startle stimulus when the horses (n = 8) were confined to a stall (P = 0.006), but not in an outdoor environment when the RS test was performed. However, RS was reduced by the mild sedation (P = 0.02). In conclusion, RS may be used as a practical and objective test to measure both reactivity and changes in reactivity in horses.

Preparation and characterization of TiO2/acid leached serpentinite tailings composites and their photocatalytic reduction of Chromium(VI)

Composite TiO2/acid leached serpentine tailings (AST) were synthesized through the hydrolysis–deposition method and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energydispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and surface area measurement (BET). The XRD analysis showed that TiO2 coated on the surface of acid leached serpentine tailings was mixed crystal phases of rutile and anatase, the grain size of which is 10–30 nm. SEM, TEM, and EDS analysis exhibited that nano-TiO2 particles were deposited on the surface and internal cavities of acid leaching serpentine tailings. The XPS and FT-IR analysis demonstrated that the coating process of TiO2 on AST was a physical adsorption process. The large specific surface area, porous structure, and plentiful surface hydroxyl group of TiO2/AST composite resulted in the high adsorption capacity of Cr(VI). The experimental results demonstrated that initial concentration of Cr(VI), the amount of the catalyst, and pH greatly influenced the removal efficiency of Cr(VI). The removal kinetics of Cr(VI) at a relative low initial concentration was fitted well with Langmuir–Hinshelwood kinetics model with R2 value of about unity. The asprepared composites exhibited strong adsorption and photocatalytic capacity for the removal of Cr(VI), and the possible photocatalytic reduction mechanism was studied. The photodecomposition of Cr(VI) was as high as 95% within 2 h, and the reusability of the photocatalysis was proven.

Beijing : a media capital in the making

In the two decades since 2001, when China joined the World Trade Organization,the commercialization of the Chinese media has become a significant force. With the increasing demand for original content and a possible “cultural trade deficit” in media content, there has been much discussion about agglomeration and clustering. Beijing, as the national media centre of China, has witnessed the process of media agglomeration while facing the problem of cultural export during the commercialization of the media. Michael Curtin’s idea of media capital, which sees it as absorbing media resources and personnel and exporting media products transnationally, provides a dynamic perspective on understanding media agglomeration and dispersion under different political social and cultural circumstances. Hence, the question of whether Beijing will transform into a transnational media capital is worth studying in order to observe and comprehend China’s media industry in transition. Drawing on Michael Curtin’s three media capital trajectories, this paper interprets tensions and challenges generated in the process of media industry agglomeration and growth in Beijing. Emphasis is placed on the third trajectory, socio-cultural variation.

Online calibration of stereo rigs for long-term autonomy

Stereo-based visual odometry algorithms are heavily dependent on an accurate calibration of the rigidly fixed stereo pair. Even small shifts in the rigid transform between the cameras can impact on feature matching and 3D scene triangulation, adversely affecting pose estimates and applications dependent on long-term autonomy. In many field-based scenarios where vibration, knocks and pressure change affect a robotic vehicle, maintaining an accurate stereo calibration cannot be guaranteed over long periods. This paper presents a novel method of recalibrating overlapping stereo camera rigs from online visual data while simultaneously providing an up-to-date and up-to-scale pose estimate. The proposed technique implements a novel form of partitioned bundle adjustment that explicitly includes the homogeneous transform between a stereo camera pair to generate an optimal calibration. Pose estimates are computed in parallel to the calibration, providing online recalibration which seamlessly integrates into a stereo visual odometry framework. We present results demonstrating accurate performance of the algorithm on both simulated scenarios and real data gathered from a wide-baseline stereo pair on a ground vehicle traversing urban roads.

Generating transgenic banana (cv. Sukali Ndizi) resistant to Fusarium Wilt

Banana is one of the world’s most popular fruit crops and Sukali Ndizi is the most popular dessert banana in the East African region. Like other banana cultivars, Sukali Ndizi is threatened by several constraints, of which the Fusarium wilt disease is the most destructive. Fusarium wilt is caused by a soil-borne fungus, Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense (Foc). No effective control strategy currently exists for this disease and although disease resistance exists in some banana cultivars, introducing resistance into commercial cultivars by conventional breeding is difficult because of low fertility. Considering that conventional breeding generates hybrids with additional undesirable traits, transformation is the most suitable way of introducing resistance in the banana genome. The success of this strategy depends on the availability of genes for genetic transformation. Recently, a novel strategy involving the expression of anti-apoptosis genes in plants was shown to result in resistance against several necrotrophic fungi, including Foc race 1 in banana cultivar Lady Finger. This thesis explores the potential of a plant-codon optimised nematode anti-apoptosis gene (Mced9) to provide resistance against Foc race 1 in dessert banana cultivar Sukali Ndizi. Agrobacterium-mediated transformation was used to transform embryogenic cell suspension of Sukali Ndizi with plant expression vector pYC11, harbouring maize ubiquitin promoter driven Mced9 gene and nptII as a plant selection marker. A total of 42 independently transformed lines were regenerated and characterized. The transgenic lines were multiplied, infected and evaluated for resistance to Foc race 1 in a small pot bioassay. The pathogenicity of the Ugandan Foc race 1 isolate used for infection was pre-determined and the spore concentration was standardised for consistent infection and symptom development. This process involved challenging tissue culture plants of Sukali Ndizi, a Foc race 1 susceptible cultivar and Nakinyika, an East African Highland cultivar known to be resistant to Foc race 1, with Fusarium inoculum and observing external and internal disease symptom development. Rhizome discolouration symptoms were the best indicators of Fusarium wilt with yellowing being an early sign of disease. Three transgenic lines were found to show significantly less disease severities compared to the wild-type control plants after 13 weeks of infection, indicating that Mced9 has the potential to provide tolerance to Fusarium wilt in Sukali Ndizi.

Essays on volatility and liquidity in financial markets

The price formation of financial assets is a complex process. It extends beyond the standard economic paradigm of supply and demand to the understanding of the dynamic behavior of price variability, the price impact of information, and the implications of trading behavior of market participants on prices. In this thesis, I study aggregate market and individual assets volatility, liquidity dimensions, and causes of mispricing for US equities over a recent sample period. How volatility forecasts are modeled, what determines intradaily jumps and causes changes in intradaily volatility and what drives the premium of traded equity indexes? Are they induced, for example, by the information content of lagged volatility and return parameters or by macroeconomic news, changes in liquidity and volatility? Besides satisfying our intellectual curiosity, answers to these questions are of direct importance to investors developing trading strategies, policy makers evaluating macroeconomic policies and to arbitrageurs exploiting mispricing in exchange-traded funds. Results show that the leverage effect and lagged absolute returns improve forecasts of continuous components of daily realized volatility as well as jumps. Implied volatility does not subsume the information content of lagged returns in forecasting realized volatility and its components. The reported results are linked to the heterogeneous market hypothesis and demonstrate the validity of extending the hypothesis to returns. Depth shocks, signed order flow, the number of trades, and resiliency are the most important determinants of intradaily volatility. In contrast, spread shock and resiliency are predictive of signed intradaily jumps. There are fewer macroeconomic news announcement surprises that cause extreme price movements or jumps than those that elevate intradaily volatility. Finally, the premium of exchange-traded funds is significantly associated with momentum in net asset value and a number of liquidity parameters including the spread, traded volume, and illiquidity. The mispricing of industry exchange traded funds suggest that limits to arbitrage are driven by potential illiquidity.

CUOL – "See You Online" : teaching strategies for digital literacy practices in the English curriculum

Literacy educator Kathy Mills, observes that creating multimodal and digital texts is an essential part of the national English curriculum in Australia. Here, she presents five practical and engaging ways to transform conventional writing tasks in a digital world.