Ananyi (Going) by Tjupi Band

Research background: Ananyi (Going) is an intercultural music project with lyrics sung in Luritja and English, undertaken in collaboration with the Tjupi Band and producer Jeffrey McLaughlin. The project contributes to cultural maintenance for Australian First Nations peoples, and is informed by prior work in this area by scholars including Peter Dunbar-Hall, Chris Gibson and Karl Neuenfeldt. These existing studies have discussed the complexities of intercultural collaboration, and the types of cultural politics that are involved when Indigenous and non-Indigenous musicians and scholars work together on projects of cultural significance. Critical race theory has also informed the creative work, as a means of interpreting the implicit and explicit discourses of race that arise through intercultural creative practice. The project asked the research question, how can collaborative music making contribute to intercultural understanding and the maintenance of Australian First Nations languages and cultures? Research contribution: The project has identified that recorded popular music is important in the maintenance of Luritja language and culture, and that intercultural collaboration in the areas of digital sound production and distribution can assist with cultural maintenance in both local and national contexts. Research significance: The compact disc was released on the CAAMA Music label, and supported through competitive grants from the Australian Government’s Contemporary Music Touring Grant and the Arnhem Land Progress Association (ALPA). The research context of the work is detailed in Brydie-Leigh Bartleet and Gavin Carfoot 2013. "Desert harmony: Stories of collaboration between Indigenous musicians and university students." International Education Journal: Comparative Perspectives 12 (1): 180-196.

Phenotypic changes associated with RNA interference silencing of chalcone synthase in apple (Malus × domestica)

We have identified in apple (Malus × domestica) three chalcone synthase (CHS) genes. In order to understand the functional redundancy of this gene family RNA interference knockout lines were generated where all three of these genes were down-regulated. These lines had no detectable anthocyanins and radically reduced concentrations of dihydrochalcones and flavonoids. Surprisingly, down-regulation of CHS also led to major changes in plant development, resulting in plants with shortened internode lengths, smaller leaves and a greatly reduced growth rate. Microscopic analysis revealed that these phenotypic changes extended down to the cellular level, with CHS-silenced lines showing aberrant cellular organisation in the leaves. Fruit collected from one CHS-silenced line was smaller than the 'Royal Gala' controls, lacked flavonoids in the skin and flesh and also had changes in cell morphology. Auxin transport experiments showed increased rates of auxin transport in a CHS-silenced line compared with the 'Royal Gala' control. As flavonoids are well known to be key modulators of auxin transport, we hypothesise that the removal of almost all flavonoids from the plant by CHS silencing creates a vastly altered environment for auxin transport to occur and results in the observed changes in growth and development.

RNA interference silencing of CHS greatly alters the growth pattern of apple (Malus x domestica)

Plants produce a vast array of phenolic compounds which are essential for their survival on land. One major class of polyphenols are the flavonoids and their formation is dependent on the enzyme chalcone synthase (CHS). In a recent study we silenced the CHS genes of apple (Malus × domestica Borkh.) and observed a loss of pigmentation in the fruit skin, flowers and stems. More surprisingly, highly silenced lines were significantly reduced in size, with small leaves and shortened internode lengths. Chemical analysis also revealed that the transgenic shoots contained greatly reduced concentrations of flavonoids which are known to modulate auxin flow. An auxin transport study verified this, with an increased auxin transport in the CHS-silenced lines. Overall, these findings suggest that auxin transport in apple has adapted to take place in the presence of high endogenous concentrations of flavonoids. Removal of these compounds therefore results in abnormal auxin movement and a highly disrupted growth pattern. © 2013 Landes Bioscience.

Thin single-walled carbon nanotubes with narrow chirality distribution : constructive interplay of plasma and Gibbs–Thomson effects

Multiscale, multiphase numerical modeling is used to explain the mechanisms of effective control of chirality distributions of single-walled carbon nanotubes in direct plasma growth and suggest effective approaches to further improvement. The model includes an unprecedented combination of the plasma sheath, ion/radical transport, species creation/loss, plasma–surface interaction, heat transfer, surface/bulk diffusion, graphene layer nucleation, and bending/lift-off modules. It is shown that the constructive interplay between the plasma and the Gibbs–Thomson effect can lead to the effective nucleation and lift-off of small graphene layers on small metal catalyst nanoparticles. As a result, much thinner nanotubes with narrower chirality distributions can nucleate at much lower process temperatures and pressures compared to thermal CVD. This approach is validated by a host of experimental results, substantially reduces the amounts of energy and atomic matter required for the nanotube growth, and can be extended to other nanoscale structures and materials systems, thereby nearing the ultimate goal of energy- and matter-efficient nanotechnology.

Effective control of ion fluxes over large areas by magnetic fields : from narrow beams to highly uniform fluxes

An effective control of the ion current distribution over large-area (up to 103 cm2) substrates with the magnetic fields of a complex structure by using two additional magnetic coils installed under the substrate exposed to vacuum arc plasmas is demonstrated. When the magnetic field generated by the additional coils is aligned with the direction of the magnetic field generated by the guiding and focusing coils of the vacuum arc source, a narrow ion density distribution with the maximum current density 117 A m-2 is achieved. When one of the additional coils is set to generate the magnetic field of the opposite direction, an area almost uniform over the substrate of 103 cm2 ion current distribution with the mean value of 45 A m-2 is achieved. Our findings suggest that the system with the vacuum arc source and two additional magnetic coils can be effectively used for the effective, high throughput, and highly controllable plasma processing.

Semantic interference in object naming : an fMRI study of the postcue naming paradigm

It is well established that the time to name target objects can be influenced by the presence of categorically related versus unrelated distractor items. A variety of paradigms have been developed to determine the level at which this semantic interference effect occurs in the speech production system. In this study, we investigated one of these tasks, the postcue naming paradigm, for the first time with fMRI. Previous behavioural studies using this paradigm have produced conflicting interpretations of the processing level at which the semantic interference effect takes place, ranging from pre- to post-lexical. Here we used fMRI with a sparse, event-related design to adjudicate between these competing explanations. We replicated the behavioural postcue naming effect for categorically related target/distractor pairs, and observed a corresponding increase in neuronal activation in the right lingual and fusiform gyri-regions previously associated with visual object processing and colour-form integration. We interpret these findings as being consistent with an account that places the semantic interference effect in the postcue paradigm at a processing level involving integration of object attributes in short-term memory.

Self-interaction of surface polaritons at the narrow-gap n-type semiconductor metal interface

The non-linear self-interaction of the potential surface polaritons (SP) which is due to the free carriers dispersion law where nonparabolicity is studied. The SP propagate at the interface between n-type semiconductor and a metal. The self interaction of the SP is shown to be different in semiconductors with normal and inverse zone structures. The results of the SP field envelope evolution are given. The obtained nonlinear frequency shift has been compared with shifts which are due to another self-interaction mechanisms. This comparison shows that the nonlinear self-interaction mechanism, which is due to free carriers spectrum nonparabolicity, is especially significant in narrow-gap semiconductor materials.

The impact of employment-level characteristics on work-life interference in school aged children

Work–life interference is important for school-aged workers because it influences their educational outcomes/career aspirations. Although research highlights the role of work hours in determining work–life interference for these workers, work/job-level characteristics have received limited attention. Using survey data from Queensland school students who work part-time, we assess the influence of a range of employment-level variables on work–life interference. The results of multiple regression analysis indicate work–life interference is exacerbated by having low trust in managers and limited scope to refuse work hours and stability in work hours, emphasising the importance of organisational variables in integrating work and non-work spheres for school-aged workers.

Band gap tunable N-type molecules for organic field effect transistors

A series of four novel n-type molecules has been synthesized. Unlike previous approaches, the end group of these molecules was fixed and the molecular core was varied. The resulting materials were thoroughly analyzed. Electronic properties were derived from photoemission spectroscopy, optical properties were derived with the help of optical spectroscopy, and the structure of thin films on Au(111) was derived by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). In addition, prototypical organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) (forming n-channels in OFETs) have been fabricated and tested. The correlation between the device performance of the respective OFETs (i.e., electron mobility) and their electronic as well as structural properties was investigated. It turned out that a combination of beneficial electronic and structural properties provides the best results. These findings are important for the design of new materials for future device applications.

A fluorenone based low band gap solution processable copolymer for air stable and high mobility organic field effect transistors

A fluorenone based alternating copolymer (PFN-DPPF) with a furan based fused aromatic moiety has been designed and synthesized. PFN-DPPF exhibits a small band gap with a lower HOMO value. Testing this polymer semiconductor as the active layer in organic thin-film transistors results in hole mobilities as high as 0.15 cm2 V-1 s-1 in air.

Furan substituted diketopyrrolopyrrole and thienylenevinylene based low band gap copolymer for high mobility organic thin film transistors

A novel solution processable donor-acceptor (D-A) based low band gap polymer semiconductor poly{3,6-difuran-2-yl-2,5-di(2-octyldodecyl)-pyrrolo[3,4- c]pyrrole-1,4-dione-alt-thienylenevinylene} (PDPPF-TVT), was designed and synthesized by a Pd-catalyzed Stille coupling route. An electron deficient furan based diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) block and electron rich thienylenevinylene (TVT) donor moiety were attached alternately in the polymer backbone. The polymer exhibited good solubility, film forming ability and thermal stability. The polymer exhibits wide absorption bands from 400 nm to 950 nm (UV-vis-NIR region) with absorption maximum centered at 782 nm in thin film. The optical band gap (Eoptg) calculated from the polymer film absorption onset is around 1.37 eV. The π-energy band level (ionization potential) calculated by photoelectron spectroscopy in air (PESA) for PDPPF-TVT is around 5.22 eV. AFM and TEM analyses of the polymer reveal nodular terrace morphology with optimized crystallinity after 200 °C thermal annealing. This polymer exhibits p-channel charge transport characteristics when used as the active semiconductor in organic thin-film transistor (OTFT) devices. The highest hole mobility of 0.13 cm 2 V -1 s -1 is achieved in bottom gate and top-contact OTFT devices with on/off ratios in the range of 10 6-10 7. This work reveals that the replacement of thiophene by furan in DPP copolymers exhibits such a high mobility, which makes DPP furan a promising block for making a wide range of promising polymer semiconductors for broad applications in organic electronics.

Faster parameter estimation using risk-sensitive filters

In this paper, we propose a risk-sensitive approach to parameter estimation for hidden Markov models (HMMs). The parameter estimation approach considered exploits estimation of various functions of the state, based on model estimates. We propose certain practical suboptimal risk-sensitive filters to estimate the various functions of the state during transients, rather than optimal risk-neutral filters as in earlier studies. The estimates are asymptotically optimal, if asymptotically risk neutral, and can give significantly improved transient performance, which is a very desirable objective for certain engineering applications. To demonstrate the improvement in estimation simulation studies are presented that compare parameter estimation based on risk-sensitive filters with estimation based on risk-neutral filters.

Explanation of relevance judgement discrepancy with quantum interference

A key concept in many Information Retrieval (IR) tasks, e.g. document indexing, query language modelling, aspect and diversity retrieval, is the relevance measurement of topics, i.e. to what extent an information object (e.g. a document or a query) is about the topics. This paper investigates the interference of relevance measurement of a topic caused by another topic. For example, consider that two user groups are required to judge whether a topic q is relevant to a document d, and q is presented together with another topic (referred to as a companion topic). If different companion topics are used for different groups, interestingly different relevance probabilities of q given d can be reached. In this paper, we present empirical results showing that the relevance of a topic to a document is greatly affected by the companion topic’s relevance to the same document, and the extent of the impact differs with respect to different companion topics. We further analyse the phenomenon from classical and quantum-like interference perspectives, and connect the phenomenon to nonreality and contextuality in quantum mechanics. We demonstrate that quantum like model fits in the empirical data, could be potentially used for predicting the relevance when interference exists.

Late reactivation of herpes zoster keratitis results in band keratopathy

Purpose To report an unusual case of a late-stage reactivation of immune stromal keratitis associated with herpes zoster ophthalmicus (HZO), occurring without any apparent predisposing factors, more than 4 years after an acute zoster dermatomal rash. Significant corneal hypoesthesia and a central band keratopathy developed within 6 months of the late-stage reactivation. The clinical case management, issues associated with management, and management options are discussed, including the use of standardized, regulatory approved, antibacterial medical honey. Case Report An 83-year-old woman presented for routine review with a reactivation of right anterior stromal keratitis and mild anterior uveitis, occurring more than 4 years after an acute HZO dermatomal rash and an associated initial episode of anterior stromal keratitis. Corneal sensation became markedly impaired, and over the subsequent 6 months, a right central band keratopathy developed despite oral antiviral and topical steroid therapy. Visual acuity with pinhole was reduced to 20/100 in the affected eye and moderate irritation and epiphora were experienced. The patient declined the surgical intervention options of chelation, lamellar keratectomy, and phototherapeutic keratectomy to treat the band keratopathy. Longer-term management has involved preservative-free artificial tears, eyelid hygiene, standardized antibacterial medical honey, topical nonpreserved steroid, and UV-protective wraparound sunglasses. The clinical condition has improved over 14 months with this ocular surface management regimen, and visual acuity of 20/30 is currently achieved in a comfortable eye. Conclusions The chronic and recurrent nature of HZO can be associated with significant corneal morbidity, even many years after the initial zoster episode. Long-term review and management of patients with a history of herpes zoster stromal keratitis are indicated following the initial corneal involvement. Standardized antibacterial medical honey can be considered in the management of the chronic ocular surface disease associated with HZO and warrants further evaluation in clinical trials.

Longing band play at beautiful hope

This article enquires into the contextual dimensions of Indonesian consumerism by presenting the rise to national fame of provincial boy band, Kangen (Longing) Band. The case of Kangen Band suggests that Indonesian consumerism entails new ways of heralding the masses that rely on and play with old generic terms, kampungan (hick-ish) and ‘Melayu’ (Malay). It also reveals some of the specificities of the Indonesian consumerist environment, in which ring back tones, pirate recordings and corporatized fandom are important resources in the formation of consumer subjectivities.