Image-based safety assessment : automated spatial safety risk identification of earthmoving and surface mining activities

This paper presents an automated image‐based safety assessment method for earthmoving and surface mining activities. The literature review revealed the possible causes of accidents on earthmoving operations, investigated the spatial risk factors of these types of accident, and identified spatial data needs for automated safety assessment based on current safety regulations. Image‐based data collection devices and algorithms for safety assessment were then evaluated. Analysis methods and rules for monitoring safety violations were also discussed. The experimental results showed that the safety assessment method collected spatial data using stereo vision cameras, applied object identification and tracking algorithms, and finally utilized identified and tracked object information for safety decision making.

Flow field investigation in a water treatment reactor using computational fluid dynamics

The hydrodynamic behaviour of a novel flat plate photocatalytic reactor for water treatment is investigated using CFD code FLUENT. The reactor consists of a reactive section that features negligible pressure drop and uniform illumination of the photocatalyst to ensure enhanced photocatalytic efficiency. The numerical simulations allowed the identification of several design issues in the original reactor, which include extensive boundary layer separation near the photocatalyst support and regions of flow recirculation that render a significant portion of the reactive area. The simulations reveal that this issue could be addressed by selecting the appropriate inlet positions and configurations. This modification can cause minimal pressure drop across the reactive zone and achieves significant uniformization of the tested pollutant on the photocatalyst surface. The influence of roughness elements type has also been studied with a view to identify their role on the distribution of pollutant concentration on the photocatalyst surface. The results presented here indicate that the flow and pollutant concentration field strongly depend on the geometric parameters and flow conditions.

Composition and source identification of road deposited pollutants

Road deposited solids are a mix of pollutants originating from a range of anthropogenic sources common to urban land uses and soil inputs from surrounding areas. These particles accumulate potentially toxic pollutants thereby posing a threat to receiving waters. Reliable estimation of sources of particulate pollutants in build-up and quantification of particle composition is important for the development of best management practices for stormwater quality mitigation. The research study analysed build-up pollutants from sixteen different urban road surfaces and soil from four background locations. The road surfaces were selected from residential, industrial and commercial land uses from four suburbs in Gold Coast, Australia. Collected build-up samples were analysed for solids load, organic matter and mineralogy. The soil samples were analysed for mineralogy. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of mineralogical data, along with multivariate data analysis were employed to identify the relative source contributions to road deposited solids. The build-up load on road surfaces in different suburbs showed significant differences due to the nature of anthropogenic activities, road texture depth and antecedent dry period. Analysis revealed that build-up pollutants consists primarily of soil derived minerals (60%) and the remainder is composed of traffic generated pollutants and organic matter. Major mineral components detected were quartz and potential clay forming minerals such as albite, microline, chlorite and muscovite. An average of 40-50% of build-up pollutants by weight was made up of quartz. Comparison of the mineral component of build-up pollutants with background soil samples indicated that the minerals primarily originate from surrounding soils. About 2.2% of build-up pollutants were organic matter which originates largely from plant matter. Traffic related pollutants which are potentially toxic to the receiving water environment represented about 30% of the build-up pollutants at the study sites.

Experimental investigation on extruded snack products from rice and Mung bean : optimization of parameters

Experiments were undertaken to study effect of initial conditions on the expansion ratio of two grains in a laboratory scale, single speed, single screw extruder at Naresuan University, Thailand. Jasmine rice and Mung bean were used as the material. Three different initial moisture contents were adjusted for the grains and classified them into three groups according to particle sizes. Mesh sizes used are 12 and 14. Expansion ratio was measured at a constant barrel temperature of 190oC. Response surface methodology was used to obtain optimum conditions between moisture content and particle size of the materials concerned.

Seeing the Wood for the Trees: A Critical Evaluation of Methods to Estimate the Parameters of Stochastic Differential Equations

Maximum-likelihood estimates of the parameters of stochastic differential equations are consistent and asymptotically efficient, but unfortunately difficult to obtain if a closed-form expression for the transitional probability density function of the process is not available. As a result, a large number of competing estimation procedures have been proposed. This article provides a critical evaluation of the various estimation techniques. Special attention is given to the ease of implementation and comparative performance of the procedures when estimating the parameters of the Cox–Ingersoll–Ross and Ornstein–Uhlenbeck equations respectively.

Identification of circulating tumour cells in early stage breast cancer patients using multi marker immunobead RT-PCR

Introduction The ability to screen blood of early stage operable breast cancer patients for circulating tumour cells is of potential importance for identifying patients at risk of developing distant relapse. We present the results of a study of the efficacy of the immunobead RT-PCR method in identifying patients with circulating tumour cells. Results Immunomagnetic enrichment of circulating tumour cells followed by RT-PCR (immunobead RT-PCR) with a panel of five epithelial specific markers (ELF3, EPHB4, EGFR, MGB1 and TACSTD1) was used to screen for circulating tumour cells in the peripheral blood of 56 breast cancer patients. Twenty patients were positive for two or more RT-PCR markers, including seven patients who were node negative by conventional techniques. Significant increases in the frequency of marker positivity was seen in lymph node positive patients, in patients with high grade tumours and in patients with lymphovascular invasion. A strong trend towards improved disease free survival was seen for marker negative patients although it did not reach significance (p = 0.08). Conclusion Multi-marker immunobead RT-PCR analysis of peripheral blood is a robust assay that is capable of detecting circulating tumour cells in early stage breast cancer patients.

Quantifying axial deformations of core shear walls using modal parameters

Differential axial deformation between column elements and shear wall elements of cores increase with building height and geometric complexity. Adverse effects due to the differential axial deformation reduce building performance and life time serviceability. Quantifying axial deformations using ambient measurements from vibrating wire, external mechanical and electronic strain gauges in order to acquire adequate provisions to mitigate the adverse effects is well established method. However, these gauges require installing in or on elements to acquire continuous measurements and hence use of these gauges is uneconomical and inconvenient. This motivates to develop a method to quantify the axial deformations. This paper proposes an innovative method based on modal parameters to quantify axial deformations of shear wall elements in cores of buildings. Capabilities of the method are presented though an illustrative example.

Identification of a cryptic Prokaryotic promoter within the cDNA encoding the 5′ End of Dengue Virus RNA Genome

Infectious cDNA clones of RNA viruses are important research tools, but flavivirus cDNA clones have proven difficult to assemble and propagate in bacteria. This has been attributed to genetic instability and/or host cell toxicity, however the mechanism leading to these difficulties has not been fully elucidated. Here we identify and characterize an efficient cryptic bacterial promoter in the cDNA encoding the dengue virus (DENV) 5′ UTR. Following cryptic transcription in E. coli, protein expression initiated at a conserved in-frame AUG that is downstream from the authentic DENV initiation codon, yielding a DENV polyprotein fragment that was truncated at the N-terminus. A more complete understanding of constitutive viral protein expression in E. coli might help explain the cloning and propagation difficulties generally observed with flavivirus cDNA.

Queue protection parameters’ fine-tuning for variable speed limits

Any incident on motorways potentially can be followed by secondary crashes. Rear-end crashes also could happen as a result of queue formation downstream of high speed platoons. To decrease the occurrence of secondary crashes and rear-end crashes, Variable Speed Limits (VSL) can be applied to protect queue formed downstream. This paper focuses on fine tuning the Queue Protection algorithm of VSL. Three performance indicators: activation time, deactivation time and number of false alarms are selected to optimise the Queue Protection algorithm. A calibrated microscopic traffic simulation model of Pacific Motorway in Brisbane is used for the optimisation. Performance of VSL during an incident and heavy congestion and the benefit of VSL will be presented in the paper.

Public sector strategy classification system for shared service identification

The purpose of this conceptual paper is to address the lack of consistent means through which strategies are identified and discussed across theoretical perspectives in the field of business strategy. A standardised referencing system is offered to codify the means by which strategies can be identified, from which new business services and information systems may be derived. This taxonomy was developed using qualitative content analysis study of government agencies’ strategic plans. This taxonomy is useful for identifying strategy formation and determining gaps and opportunities. Managers will benefit from a more transparent strategic design process that reduces ambiguity, aids in identifying and correcting gaps in strategy formulation, and fosters enhanced strategic analysis. Key benefits to academics are the improved dialogue in strategic management field and suggest that progress in the field requires that fundamentals of strategy formulation and classification be considered more carefully. Finally, the formalization of strategy can lead to the clear identification of new business services, which inform ICT investment decisions and shared service prioritisation.

Predicting wave glider speed from environmental measurements

In the ocean science community, researchers have begun employing novel sensor platforms as integral pieces in oceanographic data collection, which have significantly advanced the study and prediction of complex and dynamic ocean phenomena. These innovative tools are able to provide scientists with data at unprecedented spatiotemporal resolutions. This paper focuses on the newly developed Wave Glider platform from Liquid Robotics. This vehicle produces forward motion by harvesting abundant natural energy from ocean waves, and provides a persistent ocean presence for detailed ocean observation. This study is targeted at determining a kinematic model for offline planning that provides an accurate estimation of the vehicle speed for a desired heading and set of environmental parameters. Given the significant wave height, ocean surface and subsurface currents, wind speed and direction, we present the formulation of a system identification to provide the vehicle’s speed over a range of possible directions.

Identification of area-level influences on regions of high cancer incidence in Queensland, Australia : a classification tree approach

Background: Strategies for cancer reduction and management are targeted at both individual and area levels. Area-level strategies require careful understanding of geographic differences in cancer incidence, in particular the association with factors such as socioeconomic status, ethnicity and accessibility. This study aimed to identify the complex interplay of area-level factors associated with high area-specific incidence of Australian priority cancers using a classification and regression tree (CART) approach. Methods: Area-specific smoothed standardised incidence ratios were estimated for priority-area cancers across 478 statistical local areas in Queensland, Australia (1998-2007, n=186,075). For those cancers with significant spatial variation, CART models were used to identify whether area-level accessibility, socioeconomic status and ethnicity were associated with high area-specific incidence. Results: The accessibility of a person’s residence had the most consistent association with the risk of cancer diagnosis across the specific cancers. Many cancers were likely to have high incidence in more urban areas, although male lung cancer and cervical cancer tended to have high incidence in more remote areas. The impact of socioeconomic status and ethnicity on these associations differed by type of cancer. Conclusions: These results highlight the complex interactions between accessibility, socioeconomic status and ethnicity in determining cancer incidence risk.