Large area noise evaluation

A software tool (DRONE) has been developed to evaluate road traffic noise in a large area with the consideration of network dynamic traffic flow and the buildings. For more precise estimation of noise in urban network where vehicles are mainly in stop and go running conditions, vehicle sound power level (for acceleration/deceleration cruising and ideal vehicle) is incorporated in DRONE. The calculation performance of DRONE is increased by evaluating the noise in two steps of first estimating the unit noise database and then integrating it with traffic simulation. Details of the process from traffic simulation to contour maps are discussed in the paper and the implementation of DRONE on Tsukuba city is presented.

The dual orexin/hypocretin receptor antagonist, almorexant, in the ventral tegmental area attenuates ethanol self-administration

Recent studies have implicated the hypocretin/orexinergic system in reward-seeking behavior. Almorexant, a dual orexin/hypocretin R1 and R2 receptor antagonist, has proven effective in preclinical studies in promoting sleep in animal models and was in Phase III clinical trials for sleep disorders. The present study combines behavioral assays with in vitro biochemical and electrophysiological techniques to elucidate the role of almorexant in ethanol and sucrose intake. Using an operant self-administration paradigm, we demonstrate that systemic administration of almorexant decreased operant selfadministration of both 20% ethanol and 5% sucrose. We further demonstrate that intraventral tegmental area (VTA) infusions, but not intra substantia nigra infusions, of almorexant reduced ethanol self-administration. Extracellular recordings performed in VTA neurons revealed that orexin-A increased firing and this enhancement of firing was blocked by almorexant. The results demonstrate that orexin/hypocretin receptors in distinct brain regions regulate ethanol and sucrose mediated behaviors.

Take care with 'care and consideration', and keep an eye on fees for reasons

In Southwell v Jackson [2012] QDC 65, McGill DCJ examined a number of rules in Chapter 17A of the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 (Qld) dealing with costs assessment as well as relevant provisions of the Legal Profession Act 2007 (Qld). This article looks at issues of general principle raised by the decision.

A butterfly eye's view of birds

The striking color patterns of butterflies and birds have long interested biologists. But how these animals see color is less well understood. Opsins are the protein components of the visual pigments of the eye. Color vision has evolved in butterflies through opsin gene duplications, through positive selection at individual opsin loci, and by the use of filtering pigments. By contrast, birds have retained the same opsin complement present in early-jawed vertebrates, and their visual system has diversified primarily through tuning of the short-wavelength-sensitive photoreceptors, rather than by opsin duplication or the use of filtering elements. Butterflies and birds have evolved photoreceptors that might use some of the same amino acid sites for generating similar spectral phenotypes across approximately 540 million years of evolution, when rhabdomeric and ciliary-type opsins radiated during the early Cambrian period. Considering the similarities between the two taxa, it is surprising that the eyes of birds are not more diverse. Additional taxonomic sampling of birds may help clarify this mystery.

One-year delayed effect of fog on malaria transmission : a time-series analysis in the rain forest area of Mengla County, south-west China

Background: Malaria is a major public health burden in the tropics with the potential to significantly increase in response to climate change. Analyses of data from the recent past can elucidate how short-term variations in weather factors affect malaria transmission. This study explored the impact of climate variability on the transmission of malaria in the tropical rain forest area of Mengla County, south-west China. Methods: Ecological time-series analysis was performed on data collected between 1971 and 1999. Auto-regressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models were used to evaluate the relationship between weather factors and malaria incidence. Results: At the time scale of months, the predictors for malaria incidence included: minimum temperature, maximum temperature, and fog day frequency. The effect of minimum temperature on malaria incidence was greater in the cool months than in the hot months. The fog day frequency in October had a positive effect on malaria incidence in May of the following year. At the time scale of years, the annual fog day frequency was the only weather predictor of the annual incidence of malaria. Conclusion: Fog day frequency was for the first time found to be a predictor of malaria incidence in a rain forest area. The one-year delayed effect of fog on malaria transmission may involve providing water input and maintaining aquatic breeding sites for mosquitoes in vulnerable times when there is little rainfall in the 6-month dry seasons. These findings should be considered in the prediction of future patterns of malaria for similar tropical rain forest areas worldwide.

Comparative effects of posterior eye cup tissues from Myopic and Hyperopic chick eyes on cultured scleral fibroblasts

The role of individual ocular tissues in mediating changes to the sclera during myopia development is unclear. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of retina, RPE and choroidal tissues from myopic and hyperopic chick eyes on the DNA and glycosaminoglycan (GAG) content in cultures of chick scleral fibroblasts. Primary cultures of fibroblastic cells expressing vimentin and -smooth muscle actin were established in serum-supplemented growth medium from 8-day-old normal chick sclera. The fibroblasts were subsequently co-cultured with posterior eye cup tissue (full thickness containing retina, RPE and choroid) obtained from untreated eyes and eyes wearing translucent diffusers (form-deprivation myopia, FDM) or -15D lenses (lens-induced myopia, LIM) for 3 days (post hatch day 5 to 8) (n=6 per treatment group). The effect of tissues (full thickness and individual retina, RPE, and choroid layers) from -15D (LIM) versus +15D (lens-induced hyperopia, LIH) treated eyes was also determined. Refraction changes in the direction predicted by the visual treatments were confirmed by retinoscopy prior to tissue collection. Glycosaminoglycan (GAG) and DNA content of the scleral fibroblast cultures were measured using GAG and PicoGreen assays. There was no significant difference in the effect of full thickness tissue from either FDM or LIM treated eyes on DNA and GAG content of scleral fibroblasts (DNA 8.9±2.6 µg and 8.4±1.1 µg, p=0.12; GAG 11.2±0.6 µg and 10.1±1.0 µg, p=0.34). Retina from LIM eyes did not alter fibroblast DNA or GAG content compared to retina from LIH eyes (DNA 27.2±1.7 µg versus 23.2±1.5 µg, p=0.21; GAG 28.1±1.7 µg versus. 28.7±1.2 µg, p=0.46). Similarly, the choroid from LIH and LIM eyes did not produce a differential effect on DNA content (DNA, LIM 46.9±6.4 versus LIH 51.5±4.7 µg, p=0.31), whereas GAG content was higher for cells in co-culture with choroid from LIH eyes (GAG 32.5±0.7 µg versus 18.9±1.2 µg, F1,6=9.210, p=0.0002). In contrast, fibroblast DNA was greater in co-culture with RPE from LIM eyes than the empty basket and DNA content less for co-culture with RPE from LIH eyes (LIM: 72.4±6.3 µg versus Empty basket: 46.03±1.0 µg; F1,6=69.99, p=0.0005 and LIH: 27.9±2.3 µg versus empty basket: 46.03±1.0 µg; p=0.0004). GAG content was higher with RPE from LIH eyes (LIH: 33.7±1.9 µg versus empty basket: 29.5±0.8 µg, F1,6=13.99, p=0.010) and lower with RPE from LIM eyes (LIM: 27.7±0.9 µg versus empty basket: 29.5±0.8 µg, p=0.021). GAG content of cells in co-culture with choroid from LIH eyes was higher compared to co-culture with choroid from LIM eyes (32.5±0.7 µg versus 18.9±1.2 µg respectively, F1,6=9.210, p=0.0002). In conclusion, these experiments provide evidence for a directional growth signal that is present (and remains) in the ex-vivo RPE, but that does not remain in the ex-vivo retina. The identity of this factor(s) that can modify scleral cell DNA and GAG content requires further research.

Comparing the availability, price, variety and quality of fruits and vegetables across retail outlets and by area level socioeconomic position

Abstract Objective: To explore whether area-level socioeconomic position or the form of retail stream (conventional versus farmers’ market) are associated with differences in the price, availability, variety and quality of a range of fresh fruit and vegetables. Design: A multi-site cross-sectional pilot study of farmers’ markets, supermarkets and independent fruit and vegetable retailers. Each was surveyed to assess the price, availability, variety and quality of 15 fruit and 18 vegetable items. Setting: Retail outlets were located in South-East Queensland. Subjects: Fifteen retail outlets were surveyed (five of each retail stream). Results: Average basket prices were not significantly different across the socioeconomic spectrum however prices in low socioeconomic areas were cheapest. Availability, variety, and quality did not differ across levels of socioeconomic position however the areas with the most socioeconomic disadvantage scored poorest for quality and variety. Supermarkets had significantly better fruit and vegetable availability than farmers’ markets however price, variety and quality scores were not different across retail streams. Results demonstrate a trend to fruit and vegetable prices being more expensive at farmers’ markets, with the price of the Fruit basket being significantly greater at the organic farmer’s market compared with the non-organic farmers’ markets. Conclusions: Neither area-level socioeconomic position nor the form of retail stream was significantly associated with differences in the availability, price, variety and quality of fruit and vegetables, except for availability which was higher in supermarkets than farmers’ markets. Further research is needed to determine what role farmers’ markets can play in affecting fruit and vegetable intake.

Dynamic equivalent state estimation for multi-area power systems with synchronized phasor measurement units

This paper proposes a new approach for state estimation of angles and frequencies of equivalent areas in large power systems with synchronized phasor measurement units. Defining coherent generators and their correspondent areas, generators are aggregated and system reduction is performed in each area of inter-connected power systems. The structure of the reduced system is obtained based on the characteristics of the reduced linear model and measurement data to form the non-linear model of the reduced system. Then a Kalman estimator is designed for the reduced system to provide an equivalent dynamic system state estimation using the synchronized phasor measurement data. The method is simulated on two test systems to evaluate the feasibility of the proposed method.

An ingenuous Decision Support System (iDSS) approach for remote area pregnant women

This paper addresses development of an ingenious decision support system (iDSS) based on the methodology of survey instruments and identification of significant variables to be used in iDSS using statistical analysis. A survey was undertaken with pregnant women and factorial experimental design was chosen to acquire sample size. Variables with good reliability in any one of the statistical techniques such as Chi-square, Cronbach’s α and Classification Tree were incorporated in the iDSS. The ingenious decision support system was implemented with Visual Basic as front end and Microsoft SQL server management as backend. Outcome of the ingenious decision support system include advice on Symptoms, Diet and Exercise to pregnant women.

Comparative eye tracking of experts and novices in web single sign-on

Security indicators in web browsers alert users to the presence of a secure connection between their computer and a web server; many studies have shown that such indicators are largely ignored by users in general. In other areas of computer security, research has shown that technical expertise can decrease user susceptibility to attacks. In this work, we examine whether computer or security expertise affects use of web browser security indicators. Our study takes place in the context of web-based single sign-on, in which a user can use credentials from a single identity provider to login to many relying websites; single sign-on is a more complex, and hence more difficult, security task for users. In our study, we used eye trackers and surveyed participants to examine the cues individuals use and those they report using, respectively. Our results show that users with security expertise are more likely to self-report looking at security indicators, and eye-tracking data shows they have longer gaze duration at security indicators than those without security expertise. However, computer expertise alone is not correlated with recorded use of security indicators. In survey questions, neither experts nor novices demonstrate a good understanding of the security consequences of web-based single sign-on.

Managing intensified urban development and industrial uses in Qld : affected area notations

The Queensland government planning policies actively encourage increased dwelling density, sustainable infill development and transit oriented development to maximise land use and minimise urban sprawl. One of the detriments of such a policy is the potential for intensified residential development to create conflict between lawfully operating existing industrial uses and residences. In particular the government is concerned that intensified urban development will increase the risk of litigation from landowners and tenants detrimentally affected by the emission of aerosols, fumes, light, noise, odour, particles or smoke from existing industrial premises.