Global genetic diversity and geographical and host-species distribution of beak and feather disease virus isolates

Psittacine beak and feather disease (PBFD) has a broad host range and is widespread in wild and captive psittacine populations in Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe and Australasia. Beak and feather disease circovirus (BFDV) is the causative agent. BFDV has an ~2 kb single stranded circular DNA genome encoding just two proteins (Rep and CP). In this study we provide support for demarcation of BFDV strains by phylogenetic analysis of 65 complete genomes from databases and 22 new BFDV sequences isolated from infected psittacines in South Africa. We propose 94% genome-wide sequence identity as a strain demarcation threshold, with isolates sharing > 94% identity belonging to the same strain, and strain subtypes sharing> 98% identity. Currently, BFDV diversity falls within 14 strains, with five highly divergent isolates from budgerigars probably representing a new species of circovirus with three strains (budgerigar circovirus; BCV-A, -B and -C). The geographical distribution of BFDV and BCV strains is strongly linked to the international trade in exotic birds; strains with more than one host are generally located in the same geographical area. Lastly, we examined BFDV and BCV sequences for evidence of recombination, and determined that recombination had occurred in most BFDV and BCV strains. We established that there were two globally significant recombination hotspots in the viral genome: the first is along the entire intergenic region and the second is in the C-terminal portion of the CP ORF. The implications of our results for the taxonomy and classification of circoviruses are discussed. © 2011 SGM.

Forging the heteroglossic citizen : articulating local, national, regional and global horizons in the Australian Curriculum

This article offers a discourse analysis comparing selected articles in the national press over the consultative period for Phase 1 subjects in the new Australian Curriculum, with rationales prefacing official Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority documents. It traces how various versions of Australia, its ‘nation-ness’ and its future citizens have been taken up in the final product. The analysis uses Lemke's analytic elaboration of Bakhtin's concept of heteroglossia and its derivative, intertextuality. It identifies a range of intertextual thematic formations around ‘nation’, ‘history’, ‘citizen’ and ‘curriculum’ circulating in the public debates, then traces their presence in official curriculum documents. Rather than concluding that these themes are contradictory and incoherent, the conclusion asks how these multiple dialogic facets of Australian nation-ness potentially offer a better response to complex times than any coherent monologic orthodoxy might.

Making space for knowledge generation and place for knowledge communities : an analysis of the Australian practice

In the era of global knowledge economy, urban regions—seeking to increase their competitive edge, become destinations for talent and investment, and provide prosperity and quality of life to their inhabitants—have little chance achieving their development goals without forming effective knowledge-based urban development strategies. This paper aims to shed light on the planning and development processes of the knowledge-based urban development phenomenon with respect to the construction of knowledge community precincts aimed at making space for knowledge generation and place for knowledge communities. Following to a thorough review of the literature on knowledge-based urban development and strategic asset-based planning, the paper undertakes policy and best practice analyses to learn from the planning and development processes of internationally renowned knowledge community precincts—from Copenhagen, Eindhoven and Singapore. In the light of the analyses findings, this paper scrutinises major Australian knowledge community precinct initiatives—from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane—to better understand the dynamics of national practices, and benchmark them against the international best practice cases. The paper concludes with a discussion on the study findings and recommendations for successfully establishing space and place for both knowledge economy and society in Australian cities.

Adapting wheat sowing dates to projected climate change in the Australian subtropics: analysis of crop water use and yield

Projected increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration ([CO2]) and air temperature associated with future climate change are expected to affect crop development, crop yield, and, consequently, global food supplies. They are also likely to change agricultural production practices, especially those related to agricultural water management and sowing date. The magnitude of these changes and their implications to local production systems are mostly unknown. The objectives of this study were to: (i) simulate the effect of projected climate change on spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv. Lang) yield and water use for the subtropical environment of the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia; and (ii) investigate the impact of changing sowing date, as an adaptation strategy to future climate change scenarios, on wheat yield and water use. The multimodel climate projections from the IPCC Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP3) for the period 2030–2070 were used in this study. Climate scenarios included combinations of four changes in air temperature (08C, 18C, 28C, and 38C), three [CO2] levels (380 ppm, 500 ppm, and 600 ppm), and three changes in rainfall (–30%, 0%, and +20%), which were superimposed on observed station data. Crop management scenarios included a combination of six sowing dates (1 May, 10 May, 20 May, 1 June, 10 June, and 20 June) and three irrigation regimes (no irrigation (NI), deficit irrigation (DI), and full irrigation (FI)). Simulations were performed with the model DSSAT4.5, using 50 years of daily weather data.Wefound that: (1) grain yield and water-use efficiency (yield/evapotranspiration) increased linearly with [CO2]; (2) increases in [CO2] had minimal impact on evapotranspiration; (3) yield increased with increasing temperature for the irrigated scenarios (DI and FI), but decreased for the NI scenario; (4) yield increased with earlier sowing dates; and (5) changes in rainfall had a small impact on yield for DI and FI, but a high impact for the NI scenario.

Global forest governance

This book identifies the fundamental legal principles and the governance requirements of sustainable forest management. An analytical model for assessing forest regulation is created which identifies the doctrinal concepts that underpin forest regulation (justice, property, sovereignty and governance). It also highlights the dominant public international institutions involved in forest regulation (UNFF, UNFCCC and WB) which is followed by analysis of non-state international forest regulation (forest certification and ecosystem markets). The book concludes by making a number of practical recommendations for reform of global forest governance arrangements and suggested reforms for individual international forest institutions.

Shifting global powers and international law : challenges and opportunities [Challenges of Globalisation series]

This book examines the influence of emerging economies on international legal rules, institutions and processes. It describes recent and predicted changes in economic, political and cultural powers, flowing from the growth of emerging economies such as China, India, Brazil, South Africa and Russia, and analyses the influence of these changes on various legal frameworks and norms. Its contributors come from a variety of fields of expertise, including international law, politics, environmental law, human rights, economics and finance. The book begins by providing a broad analysis of the nature of the shifting global dynamic in its historical and contemporary contexts, including analysis of the rise of China as a major economic and political power and the end of the period of United States domination in international affairs. It illustrates the impact of these changes on states’ domestic policies and priorities, as they adapt to a new international dynamic. The authors then offer a range of perspectives on the impact of these changes as they relate to specific regimes and issues, including climate change regulation, collective security, indigenous rights, the rights of women and girls, environmental protection and foreign aid and development. The book provides a fresh and comprehensive analysis of an issue with extensive implications for international law and politics.

Design, simulation and analysis of a parallel hybrid electric propulsion system for unmanned aerial vehicles

Aerial Vehicles (UAV) has become a significant growing segment of the global aviation industry. These vehicles are developed with the intention of operating in regions where the presence of onboard human pilots is either too risky or unnecessary. Their popularity with both the military and civilian sectors have seen the use of UAVs in a diverse range of applications, from reconnaissance and surveillance tasks for the military, to civilian uses such as aid relief and monitoring tasks. Efficient energy utilisation on an UAV is essential to its functioning, often to achieve the operational goals of range, endurance and other specific mission requirements. Due to the limitations of the space available and the mass budget on the UAV, it is often a delicate balance between the onboard energy available (i.e. fuel) and achieving the operational goals. This paper presents the development of a parallel Hybrid Electric Propulsion System (HEPS) on a small fixed-wing UAV incorporating an Ideal Operating Line (IOL) control strategy. A simulation model of an UAV was developed in the MATLAB Simulink environment, utilising the AeroSim Blockset and the in-built Aerosonde UAV block and its parameters. An IOL analysis of an Aerosonde engine was performed, and the most efficient (i.e. provides greatest torque output at the least fuel consumption) points of operation for this engine were determined. Simulation models of the components in a HEPS were designed and constructed in the MATLAB Simulink environment. It was demonstrated through simulation that an UAV with the current HEPS configuration was capable of achieving a fuel saving of 6.5%, compared to the ICE-only configuration. These components form the basis for the development of a complete simulation model of a Hybrid-Electric UAV (HEUAV).

Heteroscedastic probabilistic linear discriminant analysis for manifold learning in video-based face recognition

To recognize faces in video, face appearances have been widely modeled as piece-wise local linear models which linearly approximate the smooth yet non-linear low dimensional face appearance manifolds. The choice of representations of the local models is crucial. Most of the existing methods learn each local model individually meaning that they only anticipate variations within each class. In this work, we propose to represent local models as Gaussian distributions which are learned simultaneously using the heteroscedastic probabilistic linear discriminant analysis (PLDA). Each gallery video is therefore represented as a collection of such distributions. With the PLDA, not only the within-class variations are estimated during the training, the separability between classes is also maximized leading to an improved discrimination. The heteroscedastic PLDA itself is adapted from the standard PLDA to approximate face appearance manifolds more accurately. Instead of assuming a single global within-class covariance, the heteroscedastic PLDA learns different within-class covariances specific to each local model. In the recognition phase, a probe video is matched against gallery samples through the fusion of point-to-model distances. Experiments on the Honda and MoBo datasets have shown the merit of the proposed method which achieves better performance than the state-of-the-art technique.

Which cultural values matter to business process management? Results from a global Delphi study

Purpose – Business process management (BPM) requires a holistic perspective that includes managing the culture of an organization to achieve objectives of efficient and effective business processes. Still, the specifics of a BPM-supportive organizational culture have not been examined so far. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to identify the characteristics of a cultural setting supportive of BPM objectives. Design/methodology/approach – The paper examines the constituent values of a BPM-supportive cultural setting through a global Delphi study with BPM experts from academia and practice and explore these values in a cultural value framework. Findings – The paper empirically identifies and defines four key cultural values supporting BPM, viz., customer orientation, excellence, responsibility, and teamwork. The paper discusses the relationships between these values and identifies a particular challenge in managing these seemingly competing values. Research limitations/implications – The identification and definition of these values represents a first step towards the operationalization (and empirical analysis) of what has been identified as the concept of BPM culture, i.e. a culture supportive of achieving BPM objectives. Practical implications – Identifying these cultural values provides the basis for developing an instrument that can measure how far an existing cultural context is supportive of BPM. This, in turn, is fundamental for identifying measures towards achieving a BPM culture as a necessary, yet not sufficient means to obtain BPM success. Originality/value – The paper examines which cultural values create an environment receptive for BPM and, thus, specifies the important theoretical construct BPM culture. In addition, the paper raises awareness for realizing these values in a BPM context.

A comparative analysis of the integration of SOA elements in widely-used enterprise architecture frameworks

In recent years, enterprise architecture (EA) has captured increasing interest as a means to systematically consolidate and manage various enterprise artefacts in order to provide holistic decision support for business/IT alignment and business/IT landscapes management. To provide a holistic perspective on the enterprise over time, EA frameworks need to co-evolve with the changes in the enterprise and its IT over time. In this paper we focus on the emergence of Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA). There is a need to integrate SOA with EA to keep EA relevant and to use EA products to help drive successful SOA. This paper investigates and compares the integration of SOA elements in five widely used EA frameworks: Archimate, The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF), Federal Enterprise Architecture Framework (FEAF), Department of Defence Architecture Framework (DoDAF) and the Ministry of Defence Architecture Framework (MODAF). It identifies what SOA elements are considered and their relative position in the overall structure. The results show that services and related elements are far from being well-integrated constructs in current EA frameworks and that the different EA frameworks integrated SOA elements in substantially different ways. Our results can support the academic EA and SOA communities with a closer and more consistent integration of EA and SOA and support practitioners in identifying an EA framework that provides the SOA support that matches their requirements.

Analysis of regionally enhanced GPS orbit and clock solutions and contribution to improvement of real-time precise point positioning

This work experimentally examines the performance benefits of a regional CORS network to the GPS orbit and clock solutions for supporting real-time Precise Point Positioning (PPP). The regionally enhanced GPS precise orbit solutions are derived from a global evenly distributed CORS network added with a densely distributed network in Australia and New Zealand. A series of computational schemes for different network configurations are adopted in the GAMIT-GLOBK and PANDA data processing. The precise GPS orbit results show that the regionally enhanced solutions achieve the overall orbit improvements with respect to the solutions derived from the global network only. Additionally, the orbital differences over GPS satellite arcs that are visible by any of the five Australia-wide CORS stations show a higher percentage of overall improvements compared to the satellite arcs that are not visible from these stations. The regional GPS clock and Uncalibrated Phase Delay (UPD) products are derived using the PANDA real time processing module from Australian CORS networks of 35 and 79 stations respectively. Analysis of PANDA kinematic PPP and kinematic PPP-AR solutions show certain overall improvements in the positioning performance from a denser network configuration after solution convergence. However, the clock and UPD enhancement on kinematic PPP solutions is marginal. It is suggested that other factors, such as effects of ionosphere, incorrectly fixed ambiguities, may be the more dominating, deserving further research attentions.

Improving the Walkability of Subtropical Urban Areas: a case study analysis for the development of a design process

This research develops a new framework to be used as a tool for analysing and designing walkable communities. The literature review recognises the work of other researchers combining their findings with the theory of activity nodes and considers how a framework may be used on a more global basis. The methodology develops a set of criteria through the analysis of noted successful case studies and this is then tested against an area with very low walking rates in Brisbane, Australia. Results of the study suggest that as well as the accepted criteria of connectivity, accessibility, safety, security, and path quality further criteria in the form or planning hierarchy, activity nodes and climate mitigation could be added to allow the framework to cover a broader context. Of particular note is the development of the nodal approach, which allows simple and effective analysis of existing conditions, and may also prove effective as a tool for planning and design of walkable communities.

A comprehensive dual-scale wood torrefaction model : application to the analysis of thermal run-away in industrial heat treatment processes

A dual-scale model of the torrefaction of wood was developed and used to study industrial configurations. At the local scale, the computational code solves the coupled heat and mass transfer and the thermal degradation mechanisms of the wood components. At the global scale, the two-way coupling between the boards and the stack channels is treated as an integral component of the process. This model is used to investigate the effect of the stack configuration on the heat treatment of the boards. The simulations highlight that the exothermic reactions occurring in each single board can be accumulated along the stack. This phenomenon may result in a dramatic eterogeneity of the process and poses a serious risk of thermal runaway, which is often observed in industrial plants. The model is used to explain how thermal runaway can be lowered by increasing the airflow velocity, the sticker thickness or by gas flow reversal.

Designing the information architecture of governmental one-stop portals : on the application and analysis of card sorting

The latest paradigm shift in government, termed Transformational Government, puts the citizen in the centre of attention. Including citizens in the design of online one-stop portals can help governmental organisations to become more customer focussed. This study describes the initial efforts of an Australian state government to develop an information architecture to structure the content of their future one-stop portal. Hereby, card sorting exercises have been conducted and analysed, utilising contemporary approaches found in academic and non-scientific literature. This paper describes the findings of the card sorting exercises in this particular case and discusses the suitability of the applied approaches in general. These are distinguished into non-statistical, statistical, and hybrid approaches. Thus, on the one hand, this paper contributes to academia by describing the application of different card sorting approaches and discussing their strengths and weaknesses. On the other hand, this paper contributes to practice by explaining the approach that has been taken by the authors’ research partner in order to develop a customer-focussed governmental one-stop portal. Thus, they provide decision support for practitioners with regard to different analysis methods that can be used to complement recent approaches in Transformational Government.

Metabolomic analysis characterizes tissue specific indomethacin-induced metabolic perturbations of rats

In this study, the promising metabolomic approach integrating with ingenuity pathway analysis (IPA) was applied to characterize the tissue specific metabolic perturbation of rats that was induced by indomethacin. The selective pattern recognition analyses were applied to analyze global metabolic profiling of urine of rats treated by indomethacin at an acute dosage of reference that has been proven to induce tissue disorders in rats, evaluated throughout the time-course of -24-72 h. The results preliminarily revealed that modifications of amino acid metabolism, fatty acid metabolism and energetically associated metabolic pathways accounted for metabolic perturbation of the rats that was induced by indomethacin. Furthermore, IPA was applied to deeply analyze the biomarkers and their relations with the metabolic perturbations evidenced by pattern recognition analyses. Specific biochemical functions affected by indomethacin suggested that there is an important correlation of its effects in kidney and liver metabolism, based on the determined metabolites and their pathway-based analysis. The IPA correlation of the three major biomarkers, identified as creatinine, prostaglandin E2 and guanosine, suggested that the administration of indomethacin induced certain levels of toxicity in the kidneys and liver. The changes in the levels of biomarker metabolites allowed the phenotypical determination of the metabolic perturbations induced by indomethacin in a time-dependent manner.