Internal and external motivation factors in virtual and collocated project environments : a principal component investigation

In this study, we explore motivation in collocated and virtual project teams. The literature on motivation in a project set.,ting reveals that motivation is closely linked to team performance. Based on this literature, we propose a set., of variables related to the three dimensions of ‘Nature of work’, ‘Rewards’, and ‘Communication’. Thirteen original variables in a sample size of 66 collocated and 66 virtual respondents are investigated using one tail t test and principal component analysis. We find that there are minimal differences between the two groups with respect to the above mentioned three dimensions. (p= .06; t=1.71). Further, a principal component analysis of the combined sample of collocated and virtual project environments reveals two factors- ‘Internal Motivating Factor’ related to work and work environment, and ‘External Motivating Factor’ related to the financial and non-financial rewards that explain 59.8% of the variance and comprehensively characterize motivation in collocated and virtual project environments. A ‘sense check’ of our interpretation of the results shows conformity with the theory and existing practice of project organization

Chemopreventive effect of PSP through targeting of prostate cancer stem cell-like population

Recent evidence suggested that prostate cancer stem/progenitor cells (CSC) are responsible for cancer initiation as well as disease progression. Unfortunately, conventional therapies are only effective in targeting the more differentiated cancer cells and spare the CSCs. Here, we report that PSP, an active component extracted from the mushroom Turkey tail (also known as Coriolus versicolor), is effective in targeting prostate CSCs. We found that treatment of the prostate cancer cell line PC-3 with PSP led to the down-regulation of CSC markers (CD133 and CD44) in a time and dose-dependent manner. Meanwhile, PSP treatment not only suppressed the ability of PC-3 cells to form prostaspheres under non-adherent culture conditions, but also inhibited their tumorigenicity in vivo, further proving that PSP can suppress prostate CSC properties. To investigate if the anti-CSC effect of PSP may lead to prostate cancer chemoprevention, transgenic mice (TgMAP) that spontaneously develop prostate tumors were orally fed with PSP for 20 weeks. Whereas 100% of the mice that fed with water only developed prostate tumors at the end of experiment, no tumors could be found in any of the mice fed with PSP, suggesting that PSP treatment can completely inhibit prostate tumor formation. Our results not only demonstrated the intriguing anti-CSC effect of PSP, but also revealed, for the first time, the surprising chemopreventive property of oral PSP consumption against prostate cancer.

Hydrogen-bonding in the structures of the 1:1 salts of isonipecotamide with a set of four polyfunctional monocyclic heteroaromatic carboxylic acids

The crystal structures of the 1:1 proton-transfer compounds of isonipecotamide (piperidine-4-carboxamide) with the monocyclic heteroaromatic carboxylic acids, isonicotinic acid, picolinic acid, dipicolinic acid and pyrazine-2,3-dicarboxylic acid have been determined at 200 K and their hydrogen-bonding patterns examined. The compounds are respectively anhydrous 4-carbamoylpiperidinium pyridine-4-carboxylate (1), the partial hydrate 4-carbamoylpiperidinium pyridine-2-carboxylate 0.25 water (2), the solvate 4-carbamoylpiperidinium 6-carboxypyridine-2-carboxylate methanol monosolvate (3), and anhydrous 4-carbamoylpiperidinium 3-carboxypyrazine-2-carboxylate (4). In compounds 1 and 3, hydrogen-bonding interactions give two-dimensional sheet structures which feature enlarged cyclic ring systems, while in compounds 2 and 4, three-dimensional structures are found. The previously described cyclic R2/2(8) hydrogen-bonded amide-amide dimer is present in 2 and 3. The hydrogen-bonding in 2 involves the partial-occupancy water molecule while the structure of 4 is based on inter-linked homomolecular hydrogen-bonded cation-cation and anion-anion associated chains comprising head-to-tail interactions. This work further demonstrates the utility of the isonipecotamide cation in the generation of chemically stable hydrogen-bonded systems, particularly with aromatic carboxylate anions, providing crystalline solids.

Large body size in an island-dwelling bird : a microevolutionary analysis

Island races of passerine birds display repeated evolution towards larger body size compared with their continental ancestors. The Capricorn silvereye (Zosterops lateralis chlorocephalus) has become up to six phenotypic standard deviations bigger in several morphological measures since colonization of an island approximately 4000 years ago. We estimated the genetic variance-covariance (G) matrix using full-sib and 'animal model' analyses, and selection gradients, for six morphological traits under field conditions in three consecutive cohorts of nestlings. Significant levels of genetic variance were found for all traits. Significant directional selection was detected for wing and tail lengths in one year and quadratic selection on culmen depth in another year. Although selection gradients on many traits were negative, the predicted evolutionary response to selection of these traits for all cohorts was uniformly positive. These results indicate that the G matrix and predicted evolutionary responses are consistent with those of a population evolving in the manner observed in the island passerine trend, that is, towards larger body size.

A new dasyurid marsupial from eastern Queensland, Australia : the buff-footed Antechinus, Antechinus mysticus sp. nov. (Marsupialia: Dasyuridae)

Antechinus mysticus sp. nov. occurs in coastal Australia, ranging from just north of the Queensland (Qld)/New South Wales (NSW) border to Mackay (mid-east Qld), and is sympatric with A. flavipes (Waterhouse) and A. subtropicus Van Dyck & Crowther in south-east Qld. The new species can be distinguished in the field, having paler feet and tail base than A. flavipes and a greyish head that merges to buff-yellow on the rump and flanks, compared with the more uniform brown head and body of A. subtropicus and A. stuartii Macleay. Features of the dentary can also be used for identification: A. mysticus differs from A. flavipes in having smaller molar teeth, from A. subtropicus in having a larger gap between front and rear palatal vacuities, and from A. stuartii in having a generally broader snout. Here, we present a morphological analysis of the new species in comparison with every member of the genus, including a discussion of genetic structure and broader evolutionary trends, as well as an identification key to species based on dental characters. It seems likely that the known geographic range of A. mysticus will expand as taxonomic focus on the genus is concentrated in south-east Queensland and north-east New South Wales.

Studies of assisted reproduction in the spotted grass frog Limnodynastes tasmaniensis: ovulation, early development and microinjection (ICSI)

Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) offer a wide range of techniques that have the potential to augment efforts to conserve and manage endangered amphibians and improve wild and captive population numbers. Gametes and tissues of species nearing endangered or extinct status can be cryopreserved and stored in gene banks, to provide material that can be utilised in the future as ART methods are refined. The Spotted Grass Frog, Limnodynastes tasmaniensis, is an abundant amphibian species in South-Eastern Australia of the family Myobatrachidae, that is suitable for the development of ART systems that can be applied to the threatened and endangered myobatrachid and other amphibian species native to Australia. The aim of this study was to advance the understanding of ovulation, fertilisation and embryo nic development of Lim. tasmaniensis and in vitro manipulations of reproduction and development for use in the development of advanced ART procedures such as intracytoplasmic spermatozoon injection (ICSI), androgenesis and nuclear transfer. Ovulation in amphibians can be induced by protocols utilising natural or synthetic hormones. All protocols tested on Lim. tasmaniensis in this study required two injections and the most effective protocols continued to require a first injection of pituitary extracts to induce ovulation. The second injection was, however, successfully replaced by synthetic chorionic gonadotrophin at a threshold dosage of 100 iu and halved the number of cane toads required to source the pituitaries. A combination of LHRH and Pimozide offered a less effective protocol, that did not require the use of pituitary extracts, and avoided the risk of pathogen transfer associated with unsterilised pituitary extracts. Unfertilised eggs of Lim. tasmaniensis were exposed to media of various osmolalities to determine media effects on eggs and their surrounding jelly layers that might impact on egg viability and fertilisability. Osmolality had no effect upon the egg diameter, however, rapid swelling of the jelly layers occurred within 15 minutes of exposure to various media treatments and plateaued from 30-90 minutes without further expansion. Swelling of the jelly layers was increased in hypotonic media (2.5% SAR, H2O) and minimised in the isotonic media (100% SAR). The optimal conditions for the culture of Lim. tasmaniensis eggs were identified as a holding media of 100% SAR, followed by a medium change to 2.5% SAR at insemination. This sequence of media minimised the rate of swelling of the jelly layers prior to contact with the spermatozoa, and maximised the activation of spermatozoa and eggs throughout fertilisation and embryonic development. Embryos of Lim. tasmaniensis were cultured at four temperatures (13 C, 17 C, 23 C and 29 C), to determine the effect of temperature on cleavage and embryonic development rates. Embryonic development progressed through a sequence of stages that were not altered by changes in temperature. However cleavage rates were affected by changes in temperature as compared with normal embryonic growth at 23 C. Embryonic development was suspended at the lowest temperature (13 C) while embryonic viability was maintained. A moderate decrease in temperature (17 C) slowed cleavage, while the highest temperature (29 C) increased the cleavage rate, but decreased the embryo survival. Rates of embryonic development can be manipulated by changes in temperature and this method can be used to source blastomeres of a specific size/stage at a predetermined age or halt cleavage at specific stages for embryos or embryo derived cells to be included in ART procedures. This study produced the first report of the application of Intracytoplasmic Spermatozoon Injection (ICSI) in an Australian amphibian. Eggs that were activated by microinjection with a single spermatozoon (n=50) formed more deep, but abnormal, cleavage furrows post-injection (18/50, 36%), than surface changes (12/50, 24%). This result is in contrast to eggs injected without a spermatozoon (n=42), where the majority of eggs displayed limited surface changes (36/42, 86%), and few deep, abnormal furrows (3/42, 7%). Three advanced embryos (3/50, 6%) were produced by ICSI that developed to various stages within the culture system. Technical difficulties were encountered that prevented the generation of any metamorphs from ICSI tadpoles. Nevertheless, when these blocks to ICSI are overcome, the ICSI procedure will be both directly useful as an ART procedure in its own right, and the associated refinement of micromanipulation procedures will assist in the development of other ART procedures in Lim. tasmaniensis. A greater understanding of basic reproductive and developmental biology in Lim. tasmaniensis would greatly facilitate refinement of fertilisation by ICSI. Assisted Reproductive Technologies, in conjunction with gene banks may in the future regenerate extinct amphibian species, and assist in the recovery of declining amphibian populations nationally and worldwide.

Characterization of sky-region morphological-temporal airborne collision detection

Automated airborne collision-detection systems are a key enabling technology for facilitat- ing the integration of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) into the national airspace. These safety-critical systems must be sensitive enough to provide timely warnings of genuine air- borne collision threats, but not so sensitive as to cause excessive false-alarms. Hence, an accurate characterisation of detection and false alarm sensitivity is essential for understand- ing performance trade-offs, and system designers can exploit this characterisation to help achieve a desired balance in system performance. In this paper we experimentally evaluate a sky-region, image based, aircraft collision detection system that is based on morphologi- cal and temporal processing techniques. (Note that the examined detection approaches are not suitable for the detection of potential collision threats against a ground clutter back- ground). A novel collection methodology for collecting realistic airborne collision-course target footage in both head-on and tail-chase engagement geometries is described. Under (hazy) blue sky conditions, our proposed system achieved detection ranges greater than 1540m in 3 flight test cases with no false alarm events in 14.14 hours of non-target data (under cloudy conditions, the system achieved detection ranges greater than 1170m in 4 flight test cases with no false alarm events in 6.63 hours of non-target data). Importantly, this paper is the first documented presentation of detection range versus false alarm curves generated from airborne target and non-target image data.

Dutch tilt, Aussie auteur : the films of Rolf de Heer. 2nd ed.

Dutch-born Australian director, Rolf de Heer, is Australia's most successful and unpredictable film-maker, with thirteen feature films of widely varying style and genre to his name. Arising from the author's 2006 - 2009 PhD research at the Queensland University of Technology (which focussed on the psychoanalytic use of sound in his films), and a fixed term Research Fellowship at the National Film and Sound Archive in Canberra, Australia, "Dutch Tilt, Aussie Auteur: The Films of Rolf de Heer" was first published in 2009 by VDM in Saarbrucken, Germany. This second edition addresses de Heer's additional film-making since 2009, and as with the first edition, is an auteur analysis of the thirteen feature films he has directed (and mostly written and produced). The book explores the theoretical instability of the concept of auteurism and concludes that there is a signature world view to be detected in his oeuvre, and that de Heer (quite possibly unconsciously) promotes unlikely protagonists who are non-hyper masculine, child-like and nurturing, as opposed to the typical Hollywood hero who is macho, exploitative and hyper masculine. Rolf de Heer was born in Heemskerk, Holland, in 1951 and migrated to Australia with his family in 1959. He spent seven years working for the ABC before gaining entry to Australia's Film, Television and Radio School, where he studied Producing and Directing. From his debut feature film after graduating, the children's story about the restoration of a Tiger Moth biplane, "Tail of a Tiger" (1984) to his breakout cult sensation "Bad Boy Bubby" (1993) which "tore Venice [Film Festival] apart" to the first Aboriginal Australian language film "Ten Canoes" (2006) which scooped the pool at the Australian Film Institute awards, de Heer has consistently proven himself unpredictable. This analysis of his widely disparate films, however, suggests that Australia's most innovative film-maker has a signature pre-occupation with giving a voice to marginalised, non-hyper masculine protagonists. Demonstrating a propensity to write and direct in a European-like style, his 'Dutch tilt' is very much not Hollywood, but is nevertheless representative of a typically Aussie world-view.

On the probability density function of the product of Rayleigh distributed random variables

In this paper we investigate the distribution of the product of Rayleigh distributed random variables. Considering the Mellin-Barnes inversion formula and using the saddle point approach we obtain an upper bound for the product distribution. The accuracy of this tail-approximation increases as the number of random variables in the product increase.

Project success ideas

QUT Learning and Teaching Unit QUT Grants Workshops 2. Undertaking a Successful Project The purpose of this workshop was to assist QUT grant recipients to make connections, identify synergies and build a sense of scholarly community with each other; leverage grants outwards and possibly upwards; share factors that should be considered to undertake a successful project. Presenter: Shannon Satherley. "Initial Planning = Flexibility, Sanity & Success (or at least honourable failure) 1. Top & Tail 2. Divide and Delineate 3. Communicate Clearly & Consistently"

Hydrogen bonding in two ammonium salts of 5-sulfosalicylic acid : ammonium 3-carboxy-4-hydroxybenzenesulfonate monohydrate and triammonium 3-carboxy-4-hydroxybenzenesulfonate 3-carboxylato-4-hydroxybenzenesulfonate

The structures of two ammonium salts of 3-carboxy-4-hydroxybenzenesulfonic acid (5-sulfosalicylic acid, 5-SSA) have been determined at 200 K. In the 1:1 hydrated salt, ammonium 3-carboxy-4-hydroxybenzenesulfonate monohydrate, NH4+·C7H5O6S-·H2O, (I), the 5-SSA- monoanions give two types of head-to-tail laterally linked cyclic hydrogen-bonding associations, both with graph-set R44(20). The first involves both carboxylic acid O-HOwater and water O-HOsulfonate hydrogen bonds at one end, and ammonium N-HOsulfonate and N-HOcarboxy hydrogen bonds at the other. The second association is centrosymmetric, with end linkages through water O-HOsulfonate hydrogen bonds. These conjoined units form stacks down c and are extended into a three-dimensional framework structure through N-HO and water O-HO hydrogen bonds to sulfonate O-atom acceptors. Anhydrous triammonium 3-carboxy-4-hydroxybenzenesulfonate 3-carboxylato-4-hydroxybenzenesulfonate, 3NH4+·C7H4O6S2-·C7H5O6S-, (II), is unusual, having both dianionic 5-SSA2- and monoanionic 5-SSA- species. These are linked by a carboxylic acid O-HO hydrogen bond and, together with the three ammonium cations (two on general sites and the third comprising two independent half-cations lying on crystallographic twofold rotation axes), give a pseudo-centrosymmetric asymmetric unit. Cation-anion hydrogen bonding within this layered unit involves a cyclic R33(8) association which, together with extensive peripheral N-HO hydrogen bonding involving both sulfonate and carboxy/carboxylate acceptors, gives a three-dimensional framework structure. This work further demonstrates the utility of the 5-SSA- monoanion for the generation of stable hydrogen-bonded crystalline materials, and provides the structure of a dianionic 5-SSA2- species of which there are only a few examples in the crystallographic literature.

Thermal stability and hot-stage Raman spectroscopic study of Ca-montmorillonite modified with different surfactants : a comparative study

Three long chain cationic surfactants were intercalated into Ca-montmorillonite through ion exchangeand the obtained organoclays were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), high resolution thermo-gravimetric analysis (TG) and Raman spectroscopy. The intercalation of surfactants not only changes thesurface properties of clay from hydrophilic to hydrophobic but also greatly increases the basal spacing ofthe interlayers based on XRD analysis. The thermal stability of organoclays intercalated with three sur-factants (TTAB, DTAB and CTAB) and the different arrangements of the surfactant molecules intercalatedinto Ca-montmorillonite were determined by TG-DTG analysis. A Raman spectroscopic study on the Ca-montmorillonite modified by three surfactants prepared at different concentrations provided the detailedconformational ordering of different intercalated long-chain surfactants under different conditions. Thewavenumber of the antisymmetric stretching mode is more sensitive than that of the symmetric stretch-ing mode to the mobility of the tail of the amine chain. At room temperature, the conformational orderingis more easily affected by the packing density in the lateral model. With the increase of the temperature,the positions of both the antisymmetric and symmetric stretching bands shift to higher wavenumbers,which indicates a decrease of conformational ordering. This study offers new insights into the struc-ture and properties of Ca-montmorillonite modified with different long chain surfactants. Moreover, theexperimental results confirm the potential applications of organic Ca-montmorillonites for the removalof organic impurities from aqueous media.

Cyclooxygenase-2-linked attenuation of hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension and intravascular thrombosis

Exogenous prostacyclin is effective in reducing pulmonary vascular resistance in some forms of human pulmonary hypertension (PH). To explore whether endogenous prostaglandins played a similar role in pulmonary hypertension, we examined the effect of deleting cyclooxygenase (COX)-gene isoforms in a chronic hypoxia model of PH. Pulmonary hypertension, examined by direct measurement of right ventricular end systolic pressure (RVESP), right ventricular hypertrophy (n = 8), and hematocrit (n = 3), was induced by 3 weeks of hypobarichypoxia in wild-type and COX-knockout (KO) mice. RVESP was increased in wild-type hypoxic mice compared with normoxic controls (24.4 ± 1.4 versus 13.8 ± 1.9 mm Hg; n = 8; p < 0.05). COX-2 KO mice showed a greater increase in RVESP following hypoxia (36.8 ± 2.7 mm Hg; p < 0.05). Urinary thromboxane (TX)B2 excretion increased following hypoxia (44.6 ± 11.1 versus 14.7 ± 1.8 ng/ml; n = 6; p < 0.05), an effect that was exacerbated by COX-2 gene disruption (54.5 ± 10.8 ng/ml; n = 6). In contrast, the increase in 6-keto-prostacyclin1α excretion following hypoxia was reduced by COX-2 gene disruption (29 ± 3 versus 52 ± 4.6 ng/ml; p < 0.01). Tail cut bleed times were lower following hypoxia, and there was evidence of intravascular thrombosis in lung vessels that was exacerbated by disruption of COX-2 and reduced by deletion of COX-1. The TXA2/endoperoxide receptor antagonist ifetroban (50 mg/kg/day) offset the effect of deleting the COX-2 gene, attenuating the hypoxia-induced rise in RVESP and intravascular thrombosis. COX-2 gene deletion exacerbates pulmonary hypertension, enhances sensitivity to TXA2, and induces intravascular thrombosis in response to hypoxia. The data provide evidence that endogenous prostaglandins modulate the pulmonary response to hypoxia. Copyright © 2008 by The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.

Would you like data with that? Library provision of financial datasets

Within the QUT Business School (QUTBS)– researchers across economics, finance and accounting depend on data driven research. They analyze historic and global financial data across a range of instruments to understand the relationships and effects between them as they respond to news and events in their region. Scholars and Higher Degree Research Students in turn seek out universities which offer these particular datasets to further their research. This involves downloading and manipulating large datasets, often with a focus on depth of detail, frequency and long tail historical data. This is stock exchange data and has potential commercial value therefore the license for access tends to be very expensive. This poster reports the following findings: •The library has a part to play in freeing up researchers from the burden of negotiating subscriptions, fundraising and managing the legal requirements around license and access. •The role of the library is to communicate the nature and potential of these complex resources across the university to disciplines as diverse as Mathematics, Health, Information Systems and Creative Industries. •Has demonstrated clear concrete support for research by QUT Library and built relationships into faculty. It has made data available to all researchers and attracted new HDRs. The aim is to reach the output threshold of research outputs to submit into FOR Code 1502 (Banking, Finance and Investment) for ERA 2015. •It is difficult to identify what subset of dataset will be obtained given somewhat vague price tiers. •The integrity of data is variable as it is limited by the way it is collected, this occasionally raises issues for researchers(Cook, Campbell, & Kelly, 2012) •Improved library understanding of the content of our products and the nature of financial based research is a necessary part of the service.

A novel T-DNA vector design for selection of transgenic lines with simple transgene integration and stable transgene expression

Plants transformed with Agrobacterium frequently contain T-DNA concatamers with direct-repeat (d/r) or inverted-repeat (i/r) transgene integrations, and these repetitive T-DNA insertions are often associated with transgene silencing. To facilitate the selection of transgenic lines with simple T-DNA insertions, we constructed a binary vector (pSIV) based on the principle of hairpin RNA (hpRNA)-induced gene silencing. The vector is designed so that any transformed cells that contain more than one insertion per locus should generate hpRNA against the selective marker gene, leading to its silencing. These cells should, therefore, be sensitive to the selective agent and less likely to regenerate. Results from Arabidopsis and tobacco transformation showed that pSIV gave considerably fewer transgenic lines with repetitive insertions than did a conventional T-DNA vector (pCON). Furthermore, the transgene was more stably expressed in the pSIV plants than in the pCON plants. Rescue of plant DNA flanking sequences from pSIV plants was significantly more frequent than from pCON plants, suggesting that pSIV is potentially useful for T-DNA tagging. Our results revealed a perfect correlation between the presence of tail-to-tail inverted repeats and transgene silencing, supporting the view that read-through hpRNA transcript derived from i/r T-DNA insertions is a primary inducer of transgene silencing in plants. © CSIRO 2005.