Thyroxine and reserpine-induced changes in metabolic profiles of rat urine and the therapeutic effect of Liu Wei Di Huang Wan detected by UPLC-HDMS

The promise of metabonomics, a new "omics" technique, to validate Chinese medicines and the compatibility of Chinese formulas has been appreciated. The present study was undertaken to explore the excretion pattern of low molecular mass metabolites in the male Wistar-derived rat model of kidney yin deficiency induced with thyroxine and reserpine as well as the therapeutic effect of Liu Wei Di Huang Wan (LW) and its separated prescriptions, a classic traditional Chinese medicine formula for treating kidney yin deficiency in China. The study utilized ultra-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization synapt high definition mass spectrometry (UPLC/ESI-SYNAPT-HDMS) in both negative and positive electrospray ionization (ESI). At the same time, blood biochemistry was examined to identify specific changes in the kidney yin deficiency. Distinct changes in the pattern of metabolites, as a result of daily administration of thyroxine and reserpine, were observed by UPLC-HDMS combined with a principal component analysis (PCA). The changes in metabolic profiling were restored to their baseline values after treatment with LW according to the PCA score plots. Altogether, the current metabonomic approach based on UPLC-HDMS and orthogonal projection to latent structures discriminate analysis (OPLS-DA) indicated 20 ions (14 in the negative mode, 8 in the positive mode, and 2 in both) as "differentiating metabolites".

Rating defense mega-project success : the role of personal attributes and stakeholder relationships

In this paper, we develop and test a model of the relationships between mega-project leaders’ personal attributes and their ratings of project success in the context of the Australian defense industry. In our model, emotional intelligence, cognitive flexibility, and systemic thinking were hypothesized to be related to project success ratings, mediated by internal and external stakeholder relationships. We tested the model in an online survey study of 373 mega-project leaders. Results were that emotional intelligence and cognitive flexibility were found to be related to the quality of mega-project leader’s relationships with both internal and external stakeholders; and that these relationships in turn were found to be associated with the project leaders’ ratings of project success. We found however that systemic thinking had no relationship with either stakeholder relationships or ratings of project success. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of these findings and make recommendations for future research. In particular, additional research is needed to examine the contribution of a wider range of competencies on stakeholder relationships and project success in mega-projects, and that there is also a need for research in future to attempt to use more objective ratings of project success.

Defining mega project success in Australian defence : a relation-based framework for value co-creation with project stakeholders

Defining success in mega projects has been a challenging exercise for Australian Defence. The inherent conflict between nation capability building and cost efficiency raises questions about how to appropriately define mega project success. Contrary to the traditional output-focused project methodology, the value creation perspective argues for the importance of creating new knowledge, processes, and systems for suppliers and customers. Stakeholder involvement is important in this new perspective, as the balancing of competing needs of stakeholders in mega projects becomes a major challenge in managing the value co-creation process. In our earlier study reported interview data from three Australian defence mega projects and reported that those senior executives have a more complex understanding of project success than traditional iron triangle measures. In these mega defence projects, customers and other stakeholders actively engage in the value creation process, and over time both content and process value are created to increase defence and national capability. Value created and captured during and post projects are the key to true success. We aim to develop a comprehensive theoretical model the capture the value co-creation process as a way of re-conceptualising success in mega projects. We propose a new framework redefine project value as multi-dimensional, contextual and temporal construct that emerges from the interactions among multiple stake holders over the complete project life cycle. The framework distinguishes between exploitation and exploration types of projects, and takes into consideration the requisite governance structures.

Navigating the social dimension of sustainability decision making of mega-projects

Until recently, sustainable development was perceived as essentially an environmental issue, relating to the integration of environmental concerns into economic decision-making. As a result, environmental considerations have been the primary focus of sustainability decision making during the economic development process for major projects, and the assessment and preservation of social and cultural systems has been arguably too limited. The practice of social impact and sustainability assessment is an established and accepted part of project planning, however, these practices are not aimed at delivering sustainability outcomes for social systems, rather they are designed to minimise ‘unsustainability’ and contribute to project approval. Currently, there exists no widely recognised standard approach for assessing social sustainability and accounting for positive externalities of existing social systems in project decision making. As a result, very different approaches are applied around the world, and even by the same organisations from one project to another. This situation is an impediment not only to generating a shared understanding of the social implications as related to major projects, but more importantly, to identifying common approaches to help improve social sustainability outcomes of proposed activities. This paper discusses the social dimension of sustainability decision making of mega-projects, and argues that to improve accountability and transparency of project outcomes it is important to understand the characteristics that make some communities more vulnerable than others to mega-project development. This paper highlights issues with current operational level approaches to social sustainability assessment at the project level, and asserts that the starting point for project planning and sustainability decision making of mega-projects needs to include the preservation, maintenance, and enhancement of existing social and cultural systems. It draws attention to the need for a scoping mechanism to systematically assess community vulnerability (or sensitivity) to major infrastructure development during the feasibility and planning stages of a project.

Poly[di-mu-aqua-bis{2-amino-4-nitrobenzoato)]-dirubidium

In the structure of title compound [Rb2(C7H5N2O4)2(H2O)2]n the asymmetric unit comprises two independent and different seven-coordinate Rb centres, one RbO7, the other RbO6N, with both having irregular stereochemistry. The RbO7 coordination comprises bridging oxygen donors from two water molecules, three carboxylate groups, and a nitro group, with one doubly bridging. The RbO6N coordination comprises the two bridging water molecules, one monodentate amine N donor, one carboxyl O donor and three O donors from nitro groups (one from the chelate bridge). The extension of the dinuclear unit gives a three-dimensional polymeric structure which is stabilized by both intra- and intermolecular amine N-H...O and water O-H...O hydrogen bonds to carboxyl and water O-atom acceptors, as well as a number of inter-ring \p--\p interactions [minimum ring centroid separation, 3.364(2) \%A]. This complex is both isostructural with the analogous Cs -nitroanthranilate monohydrate complex.

Think of the children! The decline of the big day out and mega-festivals

What does the future look like for music festivals in Australia? This article examines the decline of the large festivals that have grown to dominate the scene in Australia in the last twenty years, and the rise of small, specialized festivals that offer a boutique experience.

Poly(2,5-bis(2-octyldodecyl)-3,6-di(furan-2-yl)-2,5-dihydro-pyrrolo[3,4-c] pyrrole-1,4-dione-co-thieno[3,2-b]thiophene): A high performance polymer semiconductor for both organic thin film transistors and organic photovoltaics

A new diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP)-containing donor-acceptor polymer, poly(2,5-bis(2-octyldodecyl)-3,6-di(furan-2-yl)-2,5-dihydro-pyrrolo[3,4-c] pyrrole-1,4-dione-co-thieno[3,2-b]thiophene) (PDBF-co-TT), is synthesized and studied as a semiconductor in organic thin film transistors (OTFTs) and organic photovoltaics (OPVs). High hole mobility of up to 0.53 cm 2 V -1 s -1 in bottom-gate, top-contact OTFT devices is achieved owing to the ordered polymer chain packing and favoured chain orientation, strong intermolecular interactions, as well as uniform film morphology of PDBF-co-TT. The optimum band gap of 1.39 eV and high hole mobility make this polymer a promising donor semiconductor for the solar cell application. When paired with a fullerene acceptor, PC 71BM, the resulting OPV devices show a high power conversion efficiency of up to 4.38% under simulated standard AM1.5 solar illumination.

3,6-Di(furan-2-yl)pyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole-1,4(2H,5H)-dione and bithiophene copolymer with rather disordered chain orientation showing high mobility in organic thin film transistors

Pyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole-1,4(2H,5H)-dione or diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) is a useful electron-withdrawing fused aromatic moiety for the preparation of donor-acceptor polymers as active semiconductors for organic electronics. This study uses a DPP-furan-containing building block, 3,6-di(furan-2-yl)pyrrolo[3,4- c]pyrrole-1,4(2H,5H)-dione (DBF), to couple with a 2,2′-bithiophene unit, forming a new donor-acceptor copolymer, PDBFBT. Compared to its structural analogue, 3,6-di(thiophen-2-yl)pyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole-1,4(2H,5H)-dione (DBT), DBF is found to cause blue shifts of the absorption spectra both in solution and in thin films and a slight reduction of the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy level of the resulting PDBFBT. Despite the fact that its thin films are less crystalline and have a rather disordered chain orientation in the crystalline domains, PDBFBT shows very high hole mobility up to 1.54 cm 2 V-1 s-1 in bottom-gate, top-contact organic thin film transistors.

Solution processable poly(2,5-dialkyl-2,5-dihydro-3,6-di-2-thienyl- pyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole-1,4-dione) for ambipolar organic thin film transistors

Solution processable diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP)-bithiophene polymers (PDBT) with long branched alkyl side chains on the DPP unit are synthesized. These polymers have favourable highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy levels for the injection and transport of both holes and electrons. Organic thin film transistors (OTFTs) using these polymers as semiconductors and gold as source/drain electrodes show typical ambipolar characteristics with very well balanced high hole and electron mobilities (μ h = 0.024 cm 2 V -1 s -1 and μ e = 0.056 cm 2 V -1 s -1). These simple and high-performing polymers are promising materials for ambipolar organic thin film transistors for low-cost CMOS-like logic circuits.

A statistical model for combustion resonance from a DI diesel engine with applications

Introduced in this paper is a Bayesian model for isolating the resonant frequency from combustion chamber resonance. The model shown in this paper focused on characterising the initial rise in the resonant frequency to investigate the rise of in-cylinder bulk temperature associated with combustion. By resolving the model parameters, it is possible to determine: the start of pre-mixed combustion, the start of diffusion combustion, the initial resonant frequency, the resonant frequency as a function of crank angle, the in-cylinder bulk temperature as a function of crank angle and the trapped mass as a function of crank angle. The Bayesian method allows for individual cycles to be examined without cycle-averaging|allowing inter-cycle variability studies. Results are shown for a turbo-charged, common-rail compression ignition engine run at 2000 rpm and full load.