Conclaves and concurrent expert evidence: A positive development in Australian legal practice?

Many Australian courts now prefer pre-hearing meetings of experts (conclaves) being convened to prepare joint reports to identify areas of agreement and disagreement, followed by concurrent expert evidence at trial. This contrasts to the traditional approach where experts did not meet before trial and did not give evidence together. Most judges, lawyers and expert witnesses favour this as a positive development in Australian legal practice, at least for civil disputes. This new approach impacts medical practitioners who are called upon to give expert evidence, or who are parties to disputes before the courts. Arguably, it is too soon to tell whether the relative lack of transparency at the conclave stage will give rise to difficulties in the coronial, disciplinary and criminal arenas.

Eulerian two-phase flow simulation and experimental validation of semisolid slurry generation process using cooling slope

Experimental and numerical studies of slurry generation using a cooling slope are presented in the paper. The slope having stainless steel body has been designed and constructed to produce semisolid A356 Al alloy slurry. The pouring temperature of molten metal, slope angle of the cooling slope and slope wall temperature were varied during the experiment. A multiphase numerical model, considering liquid metal and air, has been developed to simulate the liquid metal flow along the cooling channel using an Eulerian two-phase flow approach. Solid fraction evolution of the solidifying melt is tracked at different locations of the cooling channel following Schiel's equation. The continuity, momentum and energy equations are solved considering thin wall boundary condition approach. During solidification of the melt, based on the liquid fraction and latent heat of the alloy, temperature of the alloy is modified continuously by introducing a modified temperature recovery method. Numerical simulations has been carried out for semisolid slurry formation by varying the process parameters such as angle of the cooling slope, cooling slope wall temperature and melt superheat temperature, to understand the effect of process variables on cooling slope semisolid slurry generation process such as temperature distribution, velocity distribution and solid fraction of the solidifying melt. Experimental validation performed for some chosen cases reveals good agreement with the numerical simulations.

Prueba avanzada de rendimiento, evaluación de diez lineas promisorias de arroz (Oryza sativa L.) en comparación con tres variedades comerciales bajo condiciones de riego. Malacatoya, Granada

Este experimento fue establecido en la finca las Lajas ubicada en el municipio de Malacatoya, departamento de Granada. La zona del ensayo se encuentra localizada a los 12° 04' 40" de latitud Norte y 86° 01'55" Oeste, a una altura de 30 msnm. El trabajo de campo estuvo comprendido entre el 4 de agosto hasta el 3 de diciembre de 1998. En el ensayo se evaluó: Características fenotípicas y genotípicas de las líneas y variedades de arroz (Oryza sativa L.) y adaptabilidad de trece líneas promisorias de arroz procedentes del CIAT, con tres variedades comerciales procedentes de Colombia, Nicaragua y Taiwán. Estas variedades son Oryzica Llanos-4, INTA N-1 Taichung sen-10 respectivamente. Se utilizó el diseño experimental de Bloques Completos al Azar (B.C.A) con trece tratamientos y seis repeticiones. Se evaluaron quince variables estas son las siguientes: Vigor, altura de planta, habilidad de macollamiento, floración, senescencia, acame, exerción de la panícula, desgrane, aceptabilidad fenotípica, longitud de la panícula, número de granos por panícula, fertilidad de las espiguillas, peso de 1 000 granos, rendimiento en grano y calidad industrial. De acuerdo a los resultados obtenidos en las evaluaciones de los componentes de rendimiento, características agronómicas y calidad industrial se procedió a seleccionar 3 líneas con buen potencial de rendimiento y buenas características agronómicas. Estas líneas son las siguientes: CT-8553-31-MI-MC, CT-8008-16-3 y CT-8008-1S-29-1P con rendimientos de 7 012.5, 6 650 y 6 502 kg/ha respectivamente. Además en la calidad industrial en el rendimiento de pilada (arroz integral) obtuvieron 76, 74.1 y 75.4 por ciento respectivamente. En el índice de pilada (grano entero pulido) presentaron un 82, 83.5 y 82.5 por ciento respectivamente.

Azadirachta indica (A. Juss) en Nicaragua: resultados: biomasa como fuente de leña en dos plantaciones diferentes

A través de este estudio se presentan los resultados obtenidos en la cuantificación de la biomasa y evolución del crecimiento y el rendimiento del A. indica en dos sitios de Nicaragua. La metodología empleada fue tomada en las normas para la investigación de silvicultural de especie de leña del CATIE. Los resultados obtenidos del estudio, en cuanto al crecimiento medio anual, el diámetro oscilo entre 17.5 mm y 19.1 mm, para el diámetro basal entre 21.3 mm y 35.4 mm, el diámetro de copa entre 3.4 dm y 9.1 dm, y la altura varía entre 13.4 dm y 19.0 dm. En cuanto al rendimiento por árbol, el incremento medio anual para peso de fuste, varía entre 6.4 kg. Y 7.0 kg. El peso de rama entre 1.0 k g. Y 2.0kg: el peso de follaje entre 0.94 kg y 1.9 kg; el peso de leña entre 7.4 kg. Y 9.0 kg; y el peso total en verde oscila entre 8.0 kg. Y 10.9 kg. El crecimiento medio anual del volumen estéreo varía entre 34.5 m3/ha. Y 35.4m3/ ha; y el volumen solido total con corteza esta entre 9.3 m 3/ ha. Y 15.8m3/ ha en verde. El componente de la biomasa aérea verde varía entre 64% y 76% para fuste; entre 13% y 19% para ramas: entre 11% y 17% para follaje; y entre 82% y 92% para leña. El seco el porcentaje para fuste varía entre 64% y 79% para rama entre 13% y 20% para follaje varía entre 7% y 13% ; y para leña entre 93% y 97%. Se presentaron ocho ecuaciones que predicen el rendimiento en kg, para las variables del árbol como; fuste, rama, follaje y total. El A. INDICA mostro una buena adaptación a las condiciones edafoclimaticas de Nicaragua. Se atribuye el clima más húmedo el mayor incremento volumétrico en santa Isabel y la fertilidad de las arcillas, del vertisol el incremento el peso de Guanacaste. Por tanto, es recomendable ejecutar plantaciones de neem con fines energético en las áreas vertisoles.

Nucleon structure functions from ν_µ-Fe interactions and a study of the valence quark distribution

Data were taken in 1979-80 by the CCFRR high energy neutrino experiment at Fermilab. A total of 150,000 neutrino and 23,000 antineutrino charged current events in the approximate energy range 25 < E_v < 250GeV are measured and analyzed. The structure functions F2 and xF_3 are extracted for three assumptions about σ_L/σ_T:R=0., R=0.1 and R= a QCD based expression. Systematic errors are estimated and their significance is discussed. Comparisons or the X and Q^2 behaviour or the structure functions with results from other experiments are made.

We find that statistical errors currently dominate our knowledge of the valence quark distribution, which is studied in this thesis. xF_3 from different experiments has, within errors and apart from level differences, the same dependence on x and Q^2, except for the HPWF results. The CDHS F_2 shows a clear fall-off at low-x from the CCFRR and EMC results, again apart from level differences which are calculable from cross-sections.

The result for the the GLS rule is found to be 2.83±.15±.09±.10 where the first error is statistical, the second is an overall level error and the third covers the rest of the systematic errors. QCD studies of xF_3 to leading and second order have been done. The QCD evolution of xF_3, which is independent of R and the strange sea, does not depend on the gluon distribution and fits yield

ʌ_(LO) = 88^(+163)_(-78) ^(+113)_(-70) MeV

The systematic errors are smaller than the statistical errors. Second order fits give somewhat different values of ʌ, although α_s (at Q^2_0 = 12.6 GeV^2) is not so different.

A fit using the better determined F_2 in place of xF_3 for x > 0.4 i.e., assuming q = 0 in that region, gives

ʌ_(LO) = 266^(+114)_(-104) ^(+85)_(-79) MeV

Again, the statistical errors are larger than the systematic errors. An attempt to measure R was made and the measurements are described. Utilizing the inequality q(x)≥0 we find that in the region x > .4 R is less than 0.55 at the 90% confidence level.

Microoptical research in Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics

This paper summarized the recent research results of Changhe Zhou's group of Information Optics Lab in Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics (SIOM). The first is about the Talbot self-imaging research. We have found the symmetry rule, the regular-rearranged neighboring phase difference rule and the prime-number decamping rule, which is briefly summarized in a recent educational publication of Optics and Photonics News, pp.46-50, November 2004. The second is about four novel microoptical gratings designed and fabricated in SIOM. The third is about the design and fabrication of novel supperresolution phase plates for beam shaping and possible use in optical storage. The fourth is to develop novel femtosecond laser information processing techniques by incorporating microoptical elements, for example, use of a pair of reflective Dammann gratings for splitting the femtosecond laser pulses. The most attractive feature of this approach is that the conventional beam splitter is avoided. The conventional beam splitter would introduce the unequal dispersion due to the broadband spectrum of ultrashort laser pulses, which will affect the splitting result. We implemented the Dammann splitting apparatus by using two-layered reflective Dammann gratings, which generates the almost same array without angular dispersion. We believe that our device is highly interesting for splitting femtosecond laser pulses.

Situation der Jungfischbestände in der Nordsee

180. (62.) Reise des FFS "Anton Dohrn" (ICES-Jungfischreise)

A Review of Interactions Between Hawaii's Fisheries and Protected Species

Several fisheries in Hawaii are known to have interactions with protected cetaceans, seabirds, marine turtles, or seals. Handline fisheries for bottomfish, tuna, and mackerel scad lose bait and catch to bottlenose dolphins, rough-toothed dolphins, and Hawaiian monk seals. Troll fisheries for billfish lose live bait to bottlenose dolphins, rough-toothed dolphins, albatrosses, and boobies; these fisheries may also lose catch to false killer whales. A longline fishery for tuna and billfish has burgeoned in Hawaii since 1987, resulting in interactions with protected species; marine turtles, seabirds, and monk seals take bait and are known to become hooked, and false killer whales may take catch. Research on deterrents or alternative fishing methods has been limited, and interactions have been reduced primarily through management and regulatory actions. These include area closures and gear requirements. An observer program has also been established for the bottomfish and longline fisheries.