Personal processes interface mock up

Situated on Youtube, and shown in various locations. In this video we show a 3D mock up of a personal house purchasing process. A path traversal metaphor is used to give a sense of progression along the process stages. The intention is to be able to use console devices like an Xbox to consume business processes. This is so businesses can expose their internal processes to consumers using sophisticated user interfaces. The demonstrator was developed using Microsoft XNA, with assistance from the Suncorp Bank and the Smart Services CRC. More information at: www.bpmve.org

Secured e-health data retrieval in DaaS and Big Data

Big Data is a rising IT trend similar to cloud computing, social networking or ubiquitous computing. Big Data can offer beneficial scenarios in the e-health arena. However, one of the scenarios can be that Big Data needs to be kept secured for a long period of time in order to gain its benefits such as finding cures for infectious diseases and protecting patient privacy. From this connection, it is beneficial to analyse Big Data to make meaningful information while the data is stored securely. Therefore, the analysis of various database encryption techniques is essential. In this study, we simulated 3 types of technical environments, namely, Plain-text, Microsoft Built-in Encryption, and custom Advanced Encryption Standard, using Bucket Index in Data-as-a-Service. The results showed that custom AES-DaaS has a faster range query response time than MS built-in encryption. Furthermore, while carrying out the scalability test, we acknowledged that there are performance thresholds depending on physical IT resources. Therefore, for the purpose of efficient Big Data management in eHealth it is noteworthy to examine their scalability limits as well even if it is under a cloud computing environment. In addition, when designing an e-health database, both patient privacy and system performance needs to be dealt as top priorities.

Countermeasures to driver sleepiness : is the message getting through?

The most effective countermeasures to driver sleepiness (caffeine and a nap, ideally in combination) are not the most popular choice for UK drivers. Groups susceptible to driver sleepiness (OSA patients and truck drivers) do not favour effective countermeasures to driver sleepiness. Prior experience of driver sleepiness does not promote an effective choice of countermeasure.

Objectifying the Subjective : Assessment and Feedback in Creative Arts Studio Learning and Teaching

This paper examines the Assessment and Feedback aspects of Studio Teaching as Creative Arts pedagogy. Prompted by USQ’s newly offered Bachelor of Creative Arts (BCA), the author has developed an Assessment Matrix specifically designed to satisfy a number of imperatives, including: • ‘objectifying’ the subjective aspects of creative practice as assessable coursework/research • providing the means by which accurate, detailed, personalised and confidential feedback may be provided to students individually • providing consistent, accurate, meaningful assessment records for student, lecturer, and institution • ensuring consistency, continuity, and transparency of assessment processes and records to satisfy quality audits • minimising marking and assessment time, whilst maximising assessment integrity and depth • requiring only basic level skills and knowledge of a computer application already in common use (Microsoft Excel) • adaptability to a range of creative courses ‐ across disciplines This Assessment Matrix has been in development (and trialled) since January 2009.

A nutrition and physical activity intervention for family child care homes

Background Family child care homes (FCCHs) provide child care to 1.9 million children in the U.S., but many do not meet established child care standards for healthy eating and physical activity. Purpose To determine the effects of a community-based train-the-trainer intervention on FCCHs policies and practices related to healthy eating and physical activity. Design Quasi-experimental design with replication in three independent cohorts of FCCHs. Setting/participants Registered FCCHs from 15 counties across Kansas participated in the Healthy Kansas Kids (HKK) program. Resource and referral agencies (RRAs) in each county recruited and enrolled between five and 15 child care providers in their service delivery area to participate in the program. The number of registered FCCHs participating in HKK in Years 1 (2006-2007); 2 (2007-2008); and 3 (2008-2009) of the program were 85, 64, and 87, respectively. A stratified random sample of registered FCCHs operating in Kansas (n=297) served as a normative comparison group. Interventions Child care trainers from each RRA completed a series of train-the-trainer workshops related to promotion of healthy eating and physical activity. FCCHs were subsequently guided through a four-step iterative process consisting of (1) self-evaluation; (2) goal setting; (3) developing an action plan; and (4) evaluating progress toward meeting goals. FCCHs also received U. S. Department of Agriculture resources related to healthy eating and physical activity. Main outcome measures Nutrition and Physical Activity Self-Assessment for Child Care (NAP SACC) self-assessment instrument (NAP SACC-SA). Analyses of outcome measures were conducted between 2008 and 2010. Results Healthy Kansas Kids FCCHs exhibited significant improvements in healthy eating (Delta=6.9%-7.1%) and physical activity (Delta=15.4%-19.2%) scores (p<0.05). Within each cohort, pre-intervention scores were not significantly different from the state average, whereas post-intervention scores were significantly higher than the state average. Conclusions Community-based train-the-trainer interventions to promote healthy eating and physical activity in FCCHs are feasible, sustainable, and effective.

Computational science for undergraduate biologists via QUT.Bio.Excel

Molecular biology is a scientific discipline which has changed fundamentally in character over the past decade to rely on large scale datasets – public and locally generated - and their computational analysis and annotation. Undergraduate education of biologists must increasingly couple this domain context with a data-driven computational scientific method. Yet modern programming and scripting languages and rich computational environments such as R and MATLAB present significant barriers to those with limited exposure to computer science, and may require substantial tutorial assistance over an extended period if progress is to be made. In this paper we report our experience of undergraduate bioinformatics education using the familiar, ubiquitous spreadsheet environment of Microsoft Excel. We describe a configurable extension called QUT.Bio.Excel, a custom ribbon, supporting a rich set of data sources, external tools and interactive processing within the spreadsheet, and a range of problems to demonstrate its utility and success in addressing the needs of students over their studies.

Women, peace and security as an ASEAN priority

The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretariat and its member states have repeatedly professed their commitment to the protection and advancement of women’s economic and human rights. Such commitments have included the Declaration on the Advancement of Women in ASEAN in 1988, the ASEAN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women in 2004, and the ASEAN Declaration of Human Rights in 2012, as well as the establishment of the ASEAN Committee on Women in 2002 and the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Women and Children in 2009. However, none of these regional commitments or institutions expressly take up the core concern of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda set out in United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 1325 in 2000. ASEAN has no 1325 regional action plan and amongst the ASEAN membership, the Philippines is the only state that has adopted a 1325 National Action Plan (NAP). We explore the possible reasons for lack of ASEAN institutional engagement with 1325, outline the case for regional engagement, and suggest specific roles for ASEAN Secretariat, donor governments and individual member states to commit to UNSCR 1325 as a regional priority.

Three dimensional digitisation of plant leaves

Realistic plant models are important for leaf area and plant volume estimation, reconstruction of growth canopies, structure generation of the plant, reconstruction of leaf surfaces and agrichemical spray droplet modelling. This article investigates several different scanning devices for obtaining a three dimensional digitisation of plant leaves with a point cloud resolution of 200-500μm. The devices tested were a Roland mdx-20, Microsoft Kinect, Roland lpx-250, Picoscan and Artec S. The applicability of each of these devices for scanning plant leaves is discussed. The most suitable tested digitisation device for scanning plant leaves is the Artec S scanner.

Synthesis of diketopyrrolopyrrole based copolymers via the direct arylation method for p-channel and ambipolar OFETs

In this paper, we have synthesized two novel diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) based donor-acceptor (D-A) copolymers poly{3,6-dithiophene-2-yl-2,5-di(2-octyl)- pyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole-1,4-dione-alt-1,5-bis(dodecyloxy)naphthalene} (PDPPT-NAP) and poly{3,6-dithiophene-2-yl-2,5-di(2-butyldecyl)-pyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole-1,4- dione-alt-2-dodecyl-2H-benzo[d][1,2,3]triazole} (PDPPT-BTRZ) via direct arylation organometallic coupling. Both copolymers contain a common electron withdrawing DPP building block which is combined with electron donating alkoxy naphthalene and electron withdrawing alkyl-triazole comonomers. The number average molecular weight (Mn) determined by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) for polymer PDPPT-NAP is around 23 400 g mol-1 whereas for polymer PDPPT-BTRZ it is 18 600 g mol-1. The solid state absorption spectra of these copolymers show a wide range of absorption from 400 nm to 1000 nm with optical band gaps calculated from absorption cut off values in the range of 1.45-1.30 eV. The HOMO values determined for PDPPT-NAP and PDPPT-BTRZ copolymers from photoelectron spectroscopy in air (PESA) data are 5.15 eV and 5.25 eV respectively. These polymers exhibit promising p-channel and ambipolar behaviour when used as an active layer in organic thin-film transistor (OTFT) devices. The highest hole mobility measured for polymer PDPPT-NAP is around 0.0046 cm2 V-1 s-1 whereas the best ambipolar performance was calculated for PDPPT-BTRZ with a hole and electron mobility of 0.01 cm2 V-1 s-1 and 0.006 cm2 V-1 s-1.

Isoindigo dye incorporated copolymers with naphthalene and anthracene: promising materials for stable organic field effect transistors

In this paper, we report the design and synthesis of isoindigo based low band gap polymer semiconductors, poly{N,N′-(2-octyldodecyl)-isoindigo-alt- naphthalene} (PISD-NAP) and poly{N,N′-(2-octyldodecyl)-isoindigo-alt- anthracene} (PISD-ANT). A series of donor-acceptor (D-A) copolymers can be prepared where donor and acceptor conjugated blocks can be attached alternately using organometallic coupling. In these polymers, an isoindigo dye acceptor moiety has been attached alternately with naphthalene and anthracene donor comonomer blocks by Suzuki coupling. PISD-NAP and PISD-ANT exhibit excellent solution processibility and good film-forming properties. Gel permeation chromatography exhibits a higher molecular mass with lower polydispersity. UV-vis-NIR absorption of these polymers exhibits a wide absorption band ranging from 300 nm to 800 nm, indicating the low band gap nature of the polymers. Optical band gaps calculated from the solid state absorption cutoff value for PISD-NAP and PISD-ANT are around 1.80 eV and 1.75 eV, respectively. Highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) values calculated respectively for PISD-NAP and PISD-ANT thin films on glass substrate by photoelectron spectroscopy in air (PESA) are 5.66 eV and 5.53 eV, indicative of the good stability of these materials in organic electronic device applications. These polymers exhibit p-channel charge transport characteristics when used as the active semiconductor in organic thin-film transistor (OTFT) devices in ambient conditions. The highest hole mobility of 0.013 cm2 V-1 s-1 is achieved in top contact and bottom-gate OTFT devices for PISD-ANT, whereas polymer PISD-NAP exhibited a hole mobility of 0.004 cm2 V -1 s-1. When these polymer semiconductors were used as a donor and PC71BM as an acceptor in OPV devices, the highest power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 1.13% is obtained for the PISD-ANT polymer.

Human identification from video using advanced gait recognition techniques

The solutions proposed in this thesis contribute to improve gait recognition performance in practical scenarios that further enable the adoption of gait recognition into real world security and forensic applications that require identifying humans at a distance. Pioneering work has been conducted on frontal gait recognition using depth images to allow gait to be integrated with biometric walkthrough portals. The effects of gait challenging conditions including clothing, carrying goods, and viewpoint have been explored. Enhanced approaches are proposed on segmentation, feature extraction, feature optimisation and classification elements, and state-of-the-art recognition performance has been achieved. A frontal depth gait database has been developed and made available to the research community for further investigation. Solutions are explored in 2D and 3D domains using multiple images sources, and both domain-specific and independent modality gait features are proposed.

Menstrual effluent induces epithelial-mesenchymal transitions in mesothelial cells

Background Menstrual effluent affects mesothelial cell (MC) morphology. We evaluated whether these changes were consistent with epithelial-mesenchymal transitions (EMT). Methods Monolayer cultures of MC were incubated overnight in conditioned media, prepared from cells isolated form menstrual effluent, with or without kinase and ATP inhibitors. Changes in cell morphology were monitored using time-lapse video microscopy and immunohistochemistry. Effects on the expression of EMT-associated molecules were evaluated using real-time RT-PCR and/or Western blot analysis. Results Incubation in conditioned media disrupted cell-cell contacts, and increased MC motility. The changes were reversible. During the changes the distribution of cytokeratins, fibrillar actin and α-tubulin changed. Sodium azide, an inhibitor of ATP production, and Genistein, a general tyrosine kinase inhibitor, antagonized these effects. Wortmannin, a phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitor, and SU6656, an Src tyrosine kinase inhibitor, only partially antagonized the effect. The expression of Snail and vimentin was markedly up-regulated, whereas the expression of E-cadherin was decreased and cytokeratins were altered. Conclusions In MC, menstrual effluent initiates a reversible, energy-dependent transition process from an epithelial to a mesenchymal phenotype. Involvement of the (Src) tyrosine kinase signalling pathway and the changes in the expression of cytokeratins, Snail, vimentin and E-cadherin demonstrate that the morphological changes are EMT.

Triphasic pattern in the ex vivo response of human proliferative phase endometrium to oestrogens

The aim of this study was to evaluate the ex vivo oestrogen responsiveness of human proliferative phase endometrium using short-term explant cultures. The effects of oestrogen (17beta-E2) on proliferation and the expression of oestrogen-responsive genes known to be involved in regulating endometrial function were evaluated. Three distinct response patterns could be distinguished: (1) the menstrual (M) phase pattern (cycle days 2-5), which is characterised by a complete lack in the proliferative response to 17beta-E2, while an increased expression of AR (2.6-fold, P<0.01), PR (2.7-fold, P<0.01) and COX-2 (3.5-fold, P<0.01) at the mRNA level was observed and a similar upregulation was also found for AR, PR and COX-2 at the protein level; (2) the early proliferative (EP) phase pattern (cycle days 6-10) with 17beta-E2 enhanced proliferation in the stroma (1.7-fold, P<0.05), whereas the expression of AR, PR and COX-2 were not affected at the mRNA and protein levels and ER-a mRNA and protein levels were significantly reduced by 17beta-E2; (3) the late proliferative (LP) phase pattern (cycle days 11-14), which is characterised by a moderate stimulation of proliferation (1.4-fold, P<0.05) and PR mRNA expression (1.7-fold, P<0.01) by 17beta-E2. In conclusion, three distinct response patterns to 17beta-E2 could be identified with respect to proliferation and the expression of known oestrogen-responsive genes in human proliferative phase endometrium explant cultures.

Development of an electronic role-play assessment initiative in bioscience for nursing students

Devising authentic assessments for subjects with large enrolments is a challenge. This study describes an electronic role-play assessment for approximately 600 first-year nursing students to learn and apply pathophysiology (bioscience) concepts to nursing practice. Students used Microsoft Office PowerPoint® to prepare electronic role-plays both between a nurse and patient, and between two nurses, thus simulating workplace scenarios. Student feedback demonstrated that respondents found this assessment useful for learning pathophysiology, and for applying pathophysiology to a nursing clinical setting. This electronic presentation circumvented issues associated with a traditional oral presentation such as embarrassment and logistics of scheduling groups, and rated well with students of non-English speaking background. The electronic role-play assessment initiative encouraged students to apply their bioscience knowledge to a clinical setting, and allowed students to conceptualise the importance of bioscience within both the nursing degree and the profession.