Outdated journal rankings and the ERA exercise

As the results of the latest Excellence in Research Australia (ERA) exercise come closer to being announced, universities around Australia are holding their collective breaths. The ERA claims to be an assessment of research strengths and quality at Australian universities. While it is not supposed to produce a set of league tables, ultimately that is what tends to happen...

A proposal for a clean technology directive: European patent law and climate change

This article charts the conflicted, dissonant policies of the European Union towards intellectual property and climate change. It contends that there is a mismatch between the empirical work of the European Patent Office and the quietist policy options contemplated by the European Union. This article contends that the European Union needs to develop a Clean Technology Directive to allow for a differentiated approach to patent law and clean technologies - especially given the past complicity of the European Union in global warming and climate change. It highlights essential elements in a comprehensive policy package for the reform of patent law - considering patentable subject matter; patent incentives; and patent exceptions.

Toughness and toughening mechanisms of porous thin films

Toughness is the ability of a material to deform plastically and to absorb energy before fracture. The first of its kind, this book covers the most recent developments in the toughening of hard coatings and the methodologies for measuring the toughness of thin films and coatings. The book looks at the present status of toughness for coatings and discusses high-temperature nanocomposite coatings, porous thin films, laser treated surface layers, cracking resistance, indentation techniques, sliding contact fracture, IPN hybrid composites for protection, and adhesion strength.

Comparative analysis and distribution of Omega-3 lcPUFA Biosynthesis genes in marine molluscs

Recent research has identified marine molluscs as an excellent source of omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (lcPUFAs), based on their potential for endogenous synthesis of lcPUFAs. In this study we generated a representative list of fatty acyl desaturase (Fad) and elongation of very long-chain fatty acid (Elovl) genes from major orders of Phylum Mollusca, through the interrogation of transcriptome and genome sequences, and various publicly available databases. We have identified novel and uncharacterised Fad and Elovl sequences in the following species: Anadara trapezia, Nerita albicilla, Nerita melanotragus, Crassostrea gigas, Lottia gigantea, Aplysia californica, Loligo pealeii and Chlamys farreri. Based on alignments of translated protein sequences of Fad and Elovl genes, the haeme binding motif and histidine boxes of Fad proteins, and the histidine box and seventeen important amino acids in Elovl proteins, were highly conserved. Phylogenetic analysis of aligned reference sequences was used to reconstruct the evolutionary relationships for Fad and Elovl genes separately. Multiple, well resolved clades for both the Fad and Elovl sequences were observed, suggesting that repeated rounds of gene duplication best explain the distribution of Fad and Elovl proteins across the major orders of molluscs. For Elovl sequences, one clade contained the functionally characterised Elovl5 proteins, while another clade contained proteins hypothesised to have Elovl4 function. Additional well resolved clades consisted only of uncharacterised Elovl sequences. One clade from the Fad phylogeny contained only uncharacterised proteins, while the other clade contained functionally characterised delta-5 desaturase proteins. The discovery of an uncharacterised Fad clade is particularly interesting as these divergent proteins may have novel functions. Overall, this paper presents a number of novel Fad and Elovl genes suggesting that many mollusc groups possess most of the required enzymes for the synthesis of lcPUFAs.

Confronting expectation in grade 4: Tossing two coins

This study focuses on the experiences of 91 Grade 4 students who had been introduced to expectation and variation through trials of tossing a single coin many times. They were then given two coins to toss simultaneously and asked to state their expectation of the chances for the possible outcomes, in a similar manner expressed for a single coin. This paper documents the journey of the students in discovering that generally their initial expectation for two coins was incorrect and that despite variation, a large number of tosses could confirm a new expectation.

Postglacial Early Permian (late Sakmarian-early Artinskian) shallow-marine carbonate deposition along a 2000 km transect from Timor to west Australia

Late Sakmarian to early Artinskian (Early Permian) carbonate deposition was widespread in the marine intracratonic rift basins that extended into the interior of Eastern Gondwana from Timor in the north to the northern Perth Basin in the south. These basins spanned about 20° of paleolatitude (approximately 35°S to 55°S). This study describes the type section of the Maubisse Limestone in Timor-Leste, and compares this unit with carbonate sections in the Canning Basin (Nura Nura Member of the Poole Sandstone), the Southern Carnarvon Basin (Callytharra Formation) and the northern Perth Basin (Fossil Cliff Member of the Holmwood Shale). The carbonate units have no glacial influence and formed part of a major depositional cycle that, in the southern basins, overlies glacially influenced strata and lies a short distance below mudstone containing marine fossils and scattered dropstones (perhaps indicative of sea ice). In the south marine conditions became more restricted and were replaced by coal measures at the top of the depositional sequence. In the north, the carbonate deposits are possibly bryozoan–crinoidal mounds; whereas in the southern basins they form laterally continuous relatively thin beds, deposited on a very low-gradient seafloor, at the tops of shale–limestone parasequences that thicken upward in parasequence sets. All marine deposition within the sequence took place under very shallow (inner neritic) conditions, and the limestones have similar grain composition. Bryozoan and crinoidal debris dominate the grain assemblages and brachiopod shell fragments, foraminifera and ostracod valves are usually common. Tubiphytes ranged as far south as the Southern Carnarvon Basin, albeit rarely, but is more common to the north. Gastropod and bivalve shell debris, echinoid spines, solitary rugose corals and trilobite carapace elements are rare. The uniformity of the grain assemblage and the lack of tropical elements such as larger fusulinid foraminifera, colonial corals or dasycladacean algae indicate temperate marine conditions with only a small increase in temperature to the north. The depositional cycle containing the studied carbonate deposits represents a warmer phase than the preceding glacially influenced Asselian to early Sakmarian interval and the subsequent cool phase of the “mid” Artinskian that is followed by significant warming during the late Artinskian–early Kungurian. The timing of cooler and warmer intervals in the west Australian basins seems out-of-phase with the eastern Australian succession, but this may be a problem of chronostratigraphic miscorrelation due to endemic faunas and palynofloras.

Separable spatiotemporal priors for convex reconstruction of time-varying 3D point clouds

Reconstructing 3D motion data is highly under-constrained due to several common sources of data loss during measurement, such as projection, occlusion, or miscorrespondence. We present a statistical model of 3D motion data, based on the Kronecker structure of the spatiotemporal covariance of natural motion, as a prior on 3D motion. This prior is expressed as a matrix normal distribution, composed of separable and compact row and column covariances. We relate the marginals of the distribution to the shape, trajectory, and shape-trajectory models of prior art. When the marginal shape distribution is not available from training data, we show how placing a hierarchical prior over shapes results in a convex MAP solution in terms of the trace-norm. The matrix normal distribution, fit to a single sequence, outperforms state-of-the-art methods at reconstructing 3D motion data in the presence of significant data loss, while providing covariance estimates of the imputed points.

Hot spot detection and spatio-temporal dynamics of dengue in Queensland, Australia

Dengue has been a major public health concern in Australia since it re-emerged in Queensland in 1992-1993. This study explored spatio-temporal distribution and clustering of locally-acquired dengue cases in Queensland State, Australia and identified target areas for effective interventions. A computerised locally-acquired dengue case dataset was collected from Queensland Health for Queensland from 1993 to 2012. Descriptive spatial and temporal analyses were conducted using geographic information system tools and geostatistical techniques. Dengue hot spots were detected using SatScan method. Descriptive spatial analysis showed that a total of 2,398 locally-acquired dengue cases were recorded in central and northern regions of tropical Queensland. A seasonal pattern was observed with most of the cases occurring in autumn. Spatial and temporal variation of dengue cases was observed in the geographic areas affected by dengue over time. Tropical areas are potential high-risk areas for mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue. This study demonstrated that the locally-acquired dengue cases have exhibited a spatial and temporal variation over the past twenty years in tropical Queensland, Australia. There is a clear evidence for the existence of statistically significant clusters of dengue and these clusters varied over time. These findings enabled us to detect and target dengue clusters suggesting that the use of geospatial information can assist the health authority in planning dengue control activities and it would allow for better design and implementation of dengue management programs.

How talk and interaction unfold in a digitally enabled preschool classroom

The use of mobile digital devices, such as laptops and tablets, has implications for how teachers interact with young students within the institutional context of educational settings. This article examines language and participation in a digitally enabled preschool classroom as students engage with teachers and peers. Ethnomethodology, conversation analysis and membership categorization analysis are used to explicate video-recorded episodes of students (aged 3-5 years) interacting while using a laptop and a tablet. Attending to the sequential organization (when, how) and the context relevance (where) of talk and interaction, analysis shows how the intersection of interactions involving the teacher, students and digital devices, shape the ways that talk and interactions unfold. Analysis found that the teacher-student interactions were jointly arranged around a participation framework that included: 1) the teacher’s embodied action that mobilizes an accompanying action by a student, 2) allocation of turn-taking and participation while using a digital device and, 3) the affordances of the digital device in relation to the participants’ social organization. In this way, it is possible to understand not just what a digital device is or does, but the affordances of what it makes possible in constituting teachers’ and students’ social and learning relationships.

Interethnic studies of TNF polymorphisms confirm the likely presence of a second MHC susceptibility locus in ankylosing spondylitis

The objective of this study was to investigate TNF promoter region polymorphisms for association with susceptibility to ankylosing spondylitis (AS). The TNF -238 and -308 polymorphisms were genotyped in 306 English AS cases and 204 ethnically matched healthy B27-positive controls, and 96 southern German AS cases, 58 B27-positive and 251 B27-negative ethnically matched controls. Additionally, the TNF -376 polymorphism was genotyped in the southern German cases and controls. In the southern German AS patients a significant reduction in TNF -308.2 alleles was seen, compared with B27 positive controls (odds ratio 0.4, P= 0.03, 95% confidence interval 0.2-0.9), but no difference in allele frequencies was observed at TNF -238. Significant association between AS and both TNF -238 and TNF -308 was excluded in the English cases. These results confirm previous observations in the southern German population of association between TNF promoter region polymorphisms and AS, but the lack of association in the English population suggests that these polymorphisms themselves are unlikely to be directly involved. More likely, a second, non-HLA-B, MHC locus is involved in susceptibility to AS in these two populations.

Growth and characterization of pure and doped single crystals of $CuGeO_{3}$

Good quality single crystals of copper metagermanite, CuGeO3, are grown by flux technique. Growth is carried out at relatively low temperatures by using Bi2O3 along with CuO in an optimal flux ratio. Besides rendering the procedure simple, lower growth temperature reduces growth defect concentration. Single crystals of Cu1 - xCoxGeO3 and CuGe1 - yGayO3 are grown by the same method for different values of x and y to investigate the influence of in-chain and off-chain doping on spin-Peierls (SP) transition. Change in color, morphology and surface features as a result of doping are briefly discussed. Spin-Peierls transition of these crystals is studied by susceptibility measurements on a commercial SQUID magnetometer. Cationic substitution resulted in reduction of spin-Peierls transition temperature (T-SP) of CuGeO3. Substitution of magnetic impurity cobalt in-chain site caused more pronounced effects such as suppression of SP phase.

Estimating the efficiency of a small beam trawl for sampling tiger prawns Penaeus esculentus and P. semisulcatus in seagrass by removal experiments

The efficiency with which a small beam trawl (1 x 0.5 m mouth) sampled postlarvae and juveniles of tiger prawns Penaeus esculentus and P, semisulcatus at night was estimated in 3 tropical seagrass communities (dominated by Thalassia hemprichii, Syringodium isoetifolium and Enhalus acoroides, respectively) in the shallow waters of the Gulf of Carpentaria in northern Australia. An area of seagrass (40 x 3 m) was enclosed by a net and the beam trawl was repeatedly hand-hauled over the substrate. Net efficiency (q) was calculated using 4 methods: the unweighted Leslie, weighted Leslie, DeLury and Maximum-likelihood (ML) methods. The Maximum-likelihood is the preferred method for estimating efficiency because it makes the fewest assumptions and is not affected by zero catches. The major difference in net efficiencies was between postlarvae (mean ML q +/- 95% confidence limits = 0.66 +/- 0.16) and juveniles of both species (mean q for juveniles in water less than or equal to 1.0 m deep = 0.47 +/- 0.05), i.e. the beam trawl was more efficient at capturing postlarvae than juveniles. There was little difference in net efficiency for P, esculentus between seagrass types (T, hemprichii versus S. isoetifolium), even though the biomass and morphologies of seagrass in these communities differed greatly (biomasses were 54 and 204 g m(-2), respectively). The efficiency of the net appeared to be the same for juveniles of the 2 species in shallow water, but was lower for juvenile P, semisulcatus at high tide when the water was deeper (1.6 to 1.9 m) (0.35 +/- 0.08). The lower efficiency near the time of high tide is possibly because the prawns are more active at high than low tide, and can also escape above the net. Factors affecting net efficiency and alternative methods of estimating net efficiency are discussed.

Effect of nitrogen on the skin colour and other quality attributes of ripe ‘Kensington Pride’ mango (Mangifera indica L.) fruit

Near-ripe ‘Kensington Pride’ mango (Mangifera indica L.) fruit with green skin colour generally return lower wholesale and retail prices. Pre-harvest management, especially nitrogen (N) nutrition, appears to be a major causal factor. To obtain an understanding of the extent of the problem in the Burdekin district (dry tropics; the major production area in Australia), green mature ‘Kensington Pride’ mango fruit were harvested from ten orchards and ripened at 20 ± 0.5 O C. Of these orchards, 70% produced fruit with more than 25% of the skin surface area green when ripe. The following year, the effect of N application on skin colour and other quality attributes was investigated on three orchards, one with a high green (HG) skin problem and two with a low green (LG) skin problem. N was applied at pre-flowering and at panicle emergence at the rate of 0,75,150,300 g per tree (soil applied) or 50 g per tree as foliar N for the HG orchard, and 0,150,300,450 g per tree (soil applied) or 50 g per tree (foliar) for the LG orchards. In all orchards the proportion of green colour on the ripe fruit was significantly (P<0.05) higher with soil applications of 150 g N or more per tree. Foliar sprays resulted in a higher proportion of green colour than the highest soil treatment in the HG orchard, but not in the LG orchards. Anthracnose disease severity was significantly (P<0.05) higher with 300 g of N per tree or foliar treatment in the HG orchard, compared with no additional N. Thus, N can reduce mango fruit quality by increasing green colour and anthracnose disease in ripe fruit.

Magnetic properties of quasi-two-dimensional La2NiO4

Magnetic susceptibility studies on single crystals of nearly stoichiometric La2NiO4 with the applied field both parallel and perpendicular to the c axis show a transition at 204 K below which two-dimensional canted antiferromagnetic order seems to exist. This oxide also undergoes a transition from isotropic to anisotropic susceptibility near 100 and 250 K.

The effects of psychosocial factors on the emotional well-being of women during pregnancy: A cross-cultural study of Britain and Greece

The effects of life events, social support and the emotional well-being of partner on the emotional well-being of the mother during pregnancy was examined within the cultural contexts of Britain and Greece. It was proposed that social support, impact of life events and relationship of the mother with her partner would be affected by the different social structures of each culture and would influence emotional well-being. A sample of 200 Greek and 156 British mothers and their partners completed questionnaires which included a life event inventory, measure of social support and measure of emotional well-being (Crown-Crisp Experiential Index). Greek mothers were found to score significantly higher on measures of depression, anxiety and somaticism, experience more stressful life events (most relating to family issues) and report feeling less supported than British mothers. Life events, particularly those relating to family stresses were found to predict poor emotional well-being among Greek mothers. For British mothers, social support was the strongest predictor of emotional well-being. Findings were discussed in the light of differences in social structure and it was suggested that future research might focus on the disruption of established social support structures rather than the differences in availability of social support per se when considering maternal emotional well-being.