The mixed anion mineral parnauite Cu9[(OH)10|SO4|(AsO4)2]•7H2O – a Raman spectroscopic study

The mixed anion mineral parnauite Cu9[(OH)10|SO4|(AsO4)2].7H2O from two localities namely Cap Garonne Mine, Le Pradet, France and Majuba Hill mine, Pershing County, Nevada, USA has been studied by Raman spectroscopy. The Raman spectrum of the French sample is dominated by an intense band at 975 cm-1 assigned to the ν1 (SO4)2- symmetric stretching mode and Raman bands at 1077 and 1097 cm-1 may be attributed to the ν3 (SO4)2- antisymmetric stretching mode. Two Raman bands 1107 and 1126 cm-1 are assigned to carbonate CO32- symmetric stretching bands and confirms the presence of carbonate in the structure of parnauite. The comparatively sharp band for the Pershing County mineral at 976 cm-1 is assigned to the ν1 (SO4)2- symmetric stretching mode and a broad spectral profile centered upon 1097 cm-1 is attributed to the ν3 (SO4)2- antisymmetric stretching mode. Two intense bands for the Pershing County mineral at 851 and 810 cm-1 are assigned to the ν1 (AsO4)3- symmetric stretching and ν3 (AsO4)3- antisymmetric stretching modes. Two Raman bands for the French mineral observed at 725 and 777 cm-1 are attributed to the ν3 (AsO4)3- antisymmetric stretching mode. For the French mineral, a low intensity Raman band is observed at 869 cm-1 and is assigned to the ν1 (AsO4)3- symmetric stretching vibration. Chemical composition of parnauite remains open and the question may be raised is parnauite a solid solution of two or more minerals such as a copper hydroxy-arsenate and a copper hydroxy sulphate.

A hydrogen gas sensor based on Pt/nanostructured WO3/SiC Schottky diode

Pt/nanostructured WO3/SiC Schottky diodes were fabricated and applied for hydrogen gas sensing applications. The nanostructured WO3 films were synthesized from tungsten coated SiC substrates via an acid-etching method using a 1.5 M HNO3 solution for 1 hr, 2 hrs and 3 hrs duration. Scanning electron microscopy of the developed films revealed platelet crystals with thicknesses in the order of 20-60 nm and lengths between 100-700 nm. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that the rate of oxidation of tungsten increases as the duration of acid-etching increases. The devices were tested towards hydrogen gas balanced in air at different temperatures from 25°C to 200°C. At 200°C, voltage shifts of 0.45 V, 0.93 V and 2.37 V were recorded for devices acid-etched for 1 hr, 2 hrs and 3 hrs duration, respectively upon exposure to 1% hydrogen, under a constant forward bias current of 500 µA.

Bilski v Kappos : The United States Supreme Court delivers mixed views on patenting non-physical inventions and business methods

The United States Supreme Court has handed down a once in a generation patent law decision that will have important ramifications for the patentability of non-physical methods, both internationally and in Australia. In Bilski v Kappos, the Supreme Court considered whether an invention must either be tied to a machine or apparatus, or transform an article into a different state or thing to be patentable. It also considered for the first time whether business methods are patentable subject matter. The decision will be of particular interest to practitioners who followed the litigation in Grant v Commissioner of Patents, a Federal Court decision in which a Brisbane-based inventor was denied a patent over a method of protecting an asset from the claims of creditors.

X + Y Bar

X + Y has attitude, enigma and re-establishes a venue drenched in a Valley persona etched over seven decades and surrounded by bars of a new generation. This is a bar without judgement, dress codes and without absolute refinement.

Tracking employees' twists and turns : describing a mixed methods approach to assessing change in the psychological contract

The psychological contract is a key analytical device utilised by both academics and practitioners to conceptualise and explore the dynamics of the employment relationship. However, despite the recognised import of the construct, some authors suggest that its empirical investigation has fallen into a 'methodological rut' [Conway & Briner, 2005, p. 89] and is neglecting to assess key tenets of the concept, such as its temporal and dynamic nature. This paper describes the research design of a longitudinal, mixed methods study which draws upon the strengths of both qualitative and quantitative modes of inquiry in order to explore the development of, and changes in, the psychological contract. Underpinned by a critical realist philosophy, the paper seeks to offer a research design suitable for exploring the process of change not only within the psychological contract domain, but also for similar constructs in the human resource management and broader organisational behaviour fields.

X-Aware Business Process Management

In my last Column this year, I want to draw your attention to some current efforts in the space of BPM research and education that try to move BPM thinking forward into new areas of application. I am subsuming these efforts under the notion of x-aware BPM.

Mixed convection laminar flow along a horizontal plate subject to streamwise sinusoidal surface temperature

Mixed convection of a two-dimensional laminar incompressible flow along a horizontal flat plate with streamwise sinusoidal surface temperature has been numerically investigated for different values of Rayleigh number and Reynolds number for constant values of Prandtl number, amplitude and frequency of periodic temperature. The numerical scheme is based on the finite element method adapted to rectangular non-uniform mesh elements by a non-linear parametric solution algorithm. The fluid considered in this study is air. The results are obtained for the Rayleigh number and Reynolds number ranging from 102 to 104 and 1 to 100, respectively, with constant physical properties for the fluid medium considered. Velocity and temperature profiles, streamlines, isotherms, and average Nusselt numbers are presented to observe the effect of the investigating parameters on fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics. The present results show that the convective phenomena are greatly influenced by the variation of Rayleigh numbers and Reynolds number.

Metaheuristics for the mixed shop scheduling problem

In this paper, three metaheuristics are proposed for solving a class of job shop, open shop, and mixed shop scheduling problems. We evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithms by means of a set of Lawrence’s benchmark instances for the job shop problem, a set of randomly generated instances for the open shop problem, and a combined job shop and open shop test data for the mixed shop problem. The computational results show that the proposed algorithms perform extremely well on all these three types of shop scheduling problems. The results also reveal that the mixed shop problem is relatively easier to solve than the job shop problem due to the fact that the scheduling procedure becomes more flexible by the inclusion of more open shop jobs in the mixed shop.

How effective is the new child restraint legislation in Queensland? A mixed methods evaluation

Research Interests: Are parents complying with the legislation? Is this the same for urban, regional and rural parents? Indigenous parents? What difficulties do parents experience in complying? Do parents understand why the legislation was put in place? Have there been negative consequences for other organisations or sectors of the community?

Good and bad Sharia : Australia's mixed response to Islamic law

Reflecting on the legal consequences of globalisation in the 21st century, Twining predicted that societies in the West would have to 'wrestle with the extent to which the state should recognise, make concessions to, or even enforce norms and values embedded in different religions, cultures or traditions'. This is borne out as the direction across the common law world moves towards entrenching legal pluralism. The concessions each nation has made to minorities with different religions, cultures and traditions have varied. The special character of Islam, as a comprehensive blueprint for life in which law and religion unite, has meant that the negotiations for a special place for Muslims within each common law jurisdiction has been at the forefront of new legal ordering possibilities. This is the crux of the pluralism debate. Cautiously, Australians have watched the, at times histrionic, discourse in Canada and Great Britain on official recognition for Islamic law.

In vitro estimation of foetal liver volume using ultrasound, x-ray computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging

Sixteen formalin-fixed foetal livers were scanned in vitro using a new system for estimating volume from a sequence of multiplanar 2D ultrasound images. Three different scan techniques were used (radial, parallel and slanted) and four volume estimation algorithms (ellipsoid, planimetry, tetrahedral and ray tracing). Actual liver volumes were measured by water displacement. Twelve of the sixteen livers also received x-ray computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) scans and the volumes were calculated using voxel counting and planimetry. The percentage accuracy (mean ± SD) was 5.3 ± 4.7%, −3.1 ± 9.6% and −0.03 ± 9.7% for ultrasound (radial scans, ray volumes), MR and CT (voxel counting) respectively. The new system may be useful for accurately estimating foetal liver volume in utero.