Interior under construction, Carpenter Hall house, Wilston, Brisbane

View to upper tower from lower section of house.

Reliability and validity of physical fitness field tests for adults aged 55 to 70 years

The aim of this study was to examine the reliability and validity of field tests for assessing physical function in mid-aged and young-old people (55–70 y). Tests were selected that required minimal space and equipment and could be implemented in multiple field settings such as a general practitioner's office. Nineteen participants completed 2 field and 1 laboratory testing sessions. Intra-class correlations showed good reliability for the tests of upper body strength (lift and reach, R= .66), lower body strength (sit to stand, R= .80) and functional capacity (Canadian Step Test, R= .92), but not for leg power (single timed chair rise, R= .28). There was also good reliability for the balance test during 3 stances: parallel (94.7% agreement), semi-tandem (73.7%), and tandem (52.6%). Comparison of field test results with objective laboratory measures found good validity for the sit to stand (cf 1RM leg press, Pearson r= .68, p< .05), and for the step test (cf PWC140, r= −.60, p< .001), but not for the lift and reach (cf 1RM bench press, r= .43, p> .05), balance (r= −.13, −.18, .23) and rate of force development tests (r= −.28). It was concluded that the lower body strength and cardiovascular function tests were appropriate for use in field settings with mid-aged and young-old adults.

A method to lower the detection limit for optical beat signals from a frequency-dithered stabilized laser

A narrow absorption feature in an atomic or molecular gas (such as iodine or methane) is used as the frequency reference in many stabilized lasers. As part of the stabilization scheme an optical frequency dither is applied to the laser. In optical heterodyne experiments, this dither is transferred to the RF beat signal, reducing the spectral power density and hence the signal to noise ratio over that in the absence of dither. We removed the dither by mixing the raw beat signal with a dithered local oscillator signal. When the dither waveform is matched to that of the reference laser the output signal from the mixer is rendered dither free. Application of this method to a Winters iodine-stabilized helium-neon laser reduced the bandwidth of the beat signal from 6 MHz to 390 kHz, thereby lowering the detection threshold from 5 pW of laser power to 3 pW. In addition, a simple signal detection model is developed which predicts similar threshold reductions.

Upper circulation deck, Mooloomba House, Point Lookout, North Stradbroke Island

View along circulation deck to belvedere (deck) beyond.

Continuous high-frequency turbulence and suspended sediment concentration measurements in an upper estuary

The present study details new turbulence field measurements conducted continuously at high frequency for 50 hours in the upper zone of a small subtropical estuary with semi-diurnal tides. Acoustic Doppler velocimetry was used, and the signal was post-processed thoroughly. The suspended sediment concentration wad further deduced from the acoustic backscatter intensity. The field data set demonstrated some unique flow features of the upstream estuarine zone, including some low-frequency longitudinal oscillations induced by internal and external resonance. A striking feature of the data set is the large fluctuations in all turbulence properties and suspended sediment concentration during the tidal cycle. This feature has been rarely documented.

Palynological reconnaissance of the Lower Carboniferous of Spitsbergen.

Microspores are described from three representative rock samples from the Billefjorden sandstones of the lower Carboniferous of central Vestspitsbergen. The age of this series is considered to range from Tournaisian to at least Visean and perhaps Namurian. One new genus, Velosporites, and thirteen new species are erected. Several species are shown to resemble previously described Russian, Canadian and Scottish types.

Existence of Multiple Solutions for Second Order Boundary Value Problems

We give conditions on f involving pairs of lower and upper solutions which lead to the existence of at least three solutions of the two point boundary value problem y" + f(x, y, y') = 0, x epsilon [0, 1], y(0) = 0 = y(1). In the special case f(x, y, y') = f(y) greater than or equal to 0 we give growth conditions on f and apply our general result to show the existence of three positive solutions. We give an example showing this latter result is sharp. Our results extend those of Avery and of Lakshmikantham et al.

Experimental Analysis of Froude Number Effect on Air Entrainment in the Hydraulic Jump

A hydraulic jump is characterized by strong energy dissipation and mixing, large-scale turbulence, air entrainment, waves and spray. Despite recent pertinent studies, the interaction between air bubbles diffusion and momentum transfer is not completely understood. The objective of this paper is to present experimental results from new measurements performed in rectangular horizontal flume with partially-developed inflow conditions. The vertical distributions of void fraction and air bubbles count rate were recorded for inflow Froude number Fr1 in the range from 5.2 to 14.3. Rapid detrainment process was observed near the jump toe, whereas the structure of the air diffusion layer was clearly observed over longer distances. These new data were compared with previous data generally collected at lower Froude numbers. The comparison demonstrated that, at a fixed distance from the jump toe, the maximum void fraction Cmax increases with the increasing Fr1. The vertical locations of the maximum void fraction and bubble count rate were consistent with previous studies. Finally, an empirical correlation between the upper boundary of the air diffusion layer and the distance from the impingement point was provided.

The emergence of the determiner system in Mauritian Creole: a syntax semantics mapping

This paper describes the emergence of new functional items in the Mauritian Creole noun phrase, following the collapse of the French determiner system when superstrate and substrate came into contact. The aim of the paper is to show how the new language strived to express the universal semantic contrasts of (in)definiteness and singular vs. plural. The process of grammaticalization of new functional items in the determiner system was accompanied by changes in the syntax from French to creole. An analysis within Chomsky’s Minimalist framework (1995, 2000, 2001) suggests that these changes were driven by the need to map semantic features onto the syntax.

The Indotriradites dolianitii Morphon, a distinctive group of miospore species from the Lower Carboniferous of Gondwana

An emended diagnosis and generic reallocation are proposed for the trilete miospore Indotriradites dolianitii (Daemon, 1974) Loboziak et al., comb. nov. A new species, I. daemonii Loboziak et al., sp. nov., from Viséan strata of Western Gondwana, is erected. These two species, together with I. zosteriformis (Playford et Satterthwait) Playford, 1991 from the Viséan of Australia, belong to a cohesive morphological miospore category, here termed the Indotriradites dolianitii Morphon, which is evidently restricted to the Lower Carboniferous of Gondwana.

Radiizonates arcuatus, a distinctive new miospore species from the Lower Carboniferous of Western Gondwana

A new species of trilete zonate miospores, Radiizonates arcuatus, is established for Lower Carboniferous Western Gondwanan forms hitherto ascribed misguidedly to Radiizonates genuinus (Jushko) Loboziak and Alpern (1978), a Russian Lower Carboniferous species. The latter binomen is, moreover, not a valid combination and is more correctly designated as Vallatisporites genuinus (Jushko) Byvsheva, 1980. R. arcuatus is, from records to date, confined to westerly parts of Gondwana (Brazil, North Africa and Middle East), in which it is characteristic of Early Carboniferous strata, albeit with some slightly older and slightly younger occurrences.

Lower Carboniferous microfloras of Spitsbergen, Part One

Describes and discusses the stratigraphic value of dispersed microspores from Culm localities, particularly from three of the most complete sections of the Billefjorden sandstones in the region. Two successive microfloral assemblages are distinguished. Correlations can be made locally and with various zones of Europe and North America. One new genus and many new species are represented in the microfloras.

Sections of some spores from the Lower Carboniferous of Spitsbergen

Sections of four lower Carboniferous dispersed-spore species, Labiadensites fimbriatus (Waltz) Hacquebard and Barss, Cristatisporites echinatus Playford, Camptozonotriletes velatus (Waltz) Playford, and Spinozonotriletes uncatus Hacquebard, are discussed and illustrated.