Understanding classroom trouble through regulative gravity and instructional elasticity

This paper aims to develop a more nuanced analytic vocabulary to typify how and where classroom trouble can manifest in pedagogic discourse. It draws on classroom ethnographies conducted in non-academic secondary school pathways and alternative programs in Australian communities with high youth unemployment, where the policy of ‘earning or learning’ till age 17 has effectively extended compulsory schooling. Three concepts are developed and exemplified: ‘regulative flares’, being moments when teachers resort to explicitly reasserting the lesson’s social order; ‘moral gravity’ to describe the degree to which the moral order underpinning the regulative discourse is tied to the immediate context or beyond; and ‘instructional elasticity’ to account for trouble originating in the instructional register.

A nationwide web-based automated system for early outbreak detection and rapid response in China

Timely reporting, effective analyses and rapid distribution of surveillance data can assist in detecting the aberration of disease occurrence and further facilitate a timely response. In China, a new nationwide web-based automated system for outbreak detection and rapid response was developed in 2008. The China Infectious Disease Automated-alert and Response System (CIDARS) was developed by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention based on the surveillance data from the existing electronic National Notifiable Infectious Diseases Reporting Information System (NIDRIS) started in 2004. NIDRIS greatly improved the timeliness and completeness of data reporting with real time reporting information via the Internet. CIDARS further facilitates the data analysis, aberration detection, signal dissemination, signal response and information communication needed by public health departments across the country. In CIDARS, three aberration detection methods are used to detect the unusual occurrence of 28 notifiable infectious diseases at the county level and to transmit that information either in real-time or on a daily basis. The Internet, computers and mobile phones are used to accomplish rapid signal generation and dissemination, timely reporting and reviewing of the signal response results. CIDARS has been used nationwide since 2008; all Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in China at the county, prefecture, provincial and national levels are involved in the system. It assists with early outbreak detection at the local level and prompts reporting of unusual disease occurrences or potential outbreaks to CDCs throughout the country.

Malaria imported from Ghana by returning gold miners, China, 2013

During May-August 2013, a malaria outbreak comprising 874 persons in Shanglin County, China, was detected among 4,052 persons returning from overseas. Ghana was the predominant destination country, and 92.3% of malarial infections occurred in gold miners. Preventive measures should be enhanced for persons in high-risk occupations traveling to malaria-endemic countries.

Removal of herbicides from aqueous solutions by modified forms of montmorillonite

This investigation for the removal of agricultural pollutants, imazaquin and atrazine was conducted using montmorillonite (MMT) exchanged with organic cations through ion exchange. The study found that the adsorption of the herbicides was affected by the degree of organic cation saturations, the size of organic cations and the different natures of the herbicides. The modified clays intercalated with the larger surfactant molecules at the higher concentrations tended to enhance the adsorption of imazaquin and atrazine. In particular, the organoclays were highly efficient for the removal of imazaquin while the adsorption of atrazine was minimal due to the different hydrophobicities. Both imazaquin and atrazine were influenced by the changes of pH. The amphoteric imazaquin exists as an anion at the pH 5–7 and the anionic imazaquin was protonated to a neutral and further a cationic form when the pH is lower. The weak base, atrazine was also protonated at lower pH values. The anionic imazaquin had a strong affinity to the organoclays on the external surface as well as in the interlayer space of the MMT through electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions. In this study, the electrostatic interaction can be the primary mechanism involved during the adsorption process. This study also investigated a comparative adsorption for the imazaquin and atrazine and the lower adsorption of atrazine was enhanced and this phenomenon was due to the synergetic effect. This work highlights a potential mechanism for the removal of specific persistence herbicides from the environment.

Centroid training to achieve effective text classification

Traditional text classification technology based on machine learning and data mining techniques has made a big progress. However, it is still a big problem on how to draw an exact decision boundary between relevant and irrelevant objects in binary classification due to much uncertainty produced in the process of the traditional algorithms. The proposed model CTTC (Centroid Training for Text Classification) aims to build an uncertainty boundary to absorb as many indeterminate objects as possible so as to elevate the certainty of the relevant and irrelevant groups through the centroid clustering and training process. The clustering starts from the two training subsets labelled as relevant or irrelevant respectively to create two principal centroid vectors by which all the training samples are further separated into three groups: POS, NEG and BND, with all the indeterminate objects absorbed into the uncertain decision boundary BND. Two pairs of centroid vectors are proposed to be trained and optimized through the subsequent iterative multi-learning process, all of which are proposed to collaboratively help predict the polarities of the incoming objects thereafter. For the assessment of the proposed model, F1 and Accuracy have been chosen as the key evaluation measures. We stress the F1 measure because it can display the overall performance improvement of the final classifier better than Accuracy. A large number of experiments have been completed using the proposed model on the Reuters Corpus Volume 1 (RCV1) which is important standard dataset in the field. The experiment results show that the proposed model has significantly improved the binary text classification performance in both F1 and Accuracy compared with three other influential baseline models.

Bisphenol A sorption by organo-montmorillonite: Implications for the removal of organic contaminants from water

Remediation of bisphenol A (BPA) from aqueous solutions by adsorption using organoclays synthesized from montmorillonite (MMT) with different types of organic surfactant molecules was demonstrated. High adsorption capacities of the organoclays for the uptake of BPA were observed and these demonstrated their potential application as strong adsorbents for noxious organic water contaminants. The adsorption of BPA was significantly influenced by pH, with increased adsorption of BPA in acidic pH range. However, the organoclays intercalated with highly loaded surfactants and/or large surfactant molecules were less influenced by the pH of the environment and this was thought to be due to the shielding the negative charge from surfactant molecules and the development of more positive charge on the clay surface, which leads to the attraction of anionic BPA even at alkaline pH. The hydrophobic phase created by loaded surfactant molecules contributed to a partitioning phase, interacting with BPA molecules strongly through hydrophobic interaction. Pseudo-second order kinetic model and Langmuir isotherm provided the best fit for the adsorption of BPA onto the organoclays. In addition, the adsorption process was spontaneous and exothermic with lower temperature facilitating the adsorption of BPA onto the organoclays. The described process provides a potential pathway for the removal of BPA from contaminated waters.

Removal characteristics of ammonium nitrogen from wastewater by modified Ca-bentonites

A modified inorganic bentonite (Na/Al) based on purified Ca-bentonite was prepared through exchanging Al and Na ions in the interlayer space of Ca-bentonite. The structural properties of purified and modified bentonites were characterized by XRD and SEM analysis. Batch experiments were performed for the adsorption of ammonium nitrogen and different experimental conditions were studied in order to investigate the optimum adsorption conditions. Comparative experiments were also carried out for natural Ca-bentonite (RB), unmodified purified bentonite (PB) and modified purified bentonite (MB). Through the thermodynamic analysis, the ammonium nitrogen adsorption process can be spontaneous, the standard heat was −41.46kJmol −1 , and the adsorption process based on ion exchange adsorption. The ammonium nitrogen adsorption capacity of MB (46.904mg/g) was improved compared to raw bentonite (RB) (26.631mg/g), which was among the highest values of ammonium nitrogen adsorption compared with other adsorbents according to the literatures. The described process provides a potential pathway for the removal of ammonium nitrogen at low concentrations encountered in most natural waters.

Effective removal of zinc (II) from aqueous solutions by tricalcium aluminate (C3A)

Recently, studies have identified high zinc levels in various environmental resources, and excessive intake of zinc has long been considered to be harmful to human health. The aim of this research was to investigate the effectiveness of tricalcium aluminate (C3A) as a removal agent of zinc from aqueous solution. Inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometer (ICP-AES), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) have been used to characterize such removal behavior. The effects of various factors such as pH influence, temperature and contact time were investigated. The adsorption capacity of C3A for Zn2+ was computed to be up to 13.73 mmol g−1, and the highest zinc removal capacity was obtained when the initial pH of Zn(NO3)2 solution was between 6.0 and 7.0, with temperature around 308 K. The XRD analysis showed that the resultant products were ZnAl-LDHs. Combined with the analysis of solution component, it was proved the existence of both precipitation and cation exchange in the removal process. From the experimental results, it was clear that C3A could be potentially used as a cost-effective material for the removal of zinc in aqueous environment.

Methods for the illumination of multilevel buildings with vertical light pipes

This paper examines the feasibility of using vertical light pipes to naturally illuminate the central core of a multilevel building not reached by window light. The challenges addressed were finding a method to extract and distribute equal amounts of light at each level and designing collectors to improve the effectiveness of vertical light pipes in delivering low elevation sunlight to the interior. Extraction was achieved by inserting partially reflecting cones within transparent sections of the pipes at each floor level. Theory was formulated to estimate the partial reflectance necessary to provide equal light extraction at each level. Designs for daylight collectors formed from laser cut panels tilted above the light pipe were developed and the benefits and limitations of static collectors as opposed to collectors that follow the sun azimuth investigated. Performance was assessed with both basic and detailed mathematical simulation and by observations made with a five level model building under clear sky conditions.

Remaining useful life prediction of rotating equipment using covariate-based hazard models : industry applications

The ability to estimate the expected Remaining Useful Life (RUL) is critical to reduce maintenance costs, operational downtime and safety hazards. In most industries, reliability analysis is based on the Reliability Centred Maintenance (RCM) and lifetime distribution models. In these models, the lifetime of an asset is estimated using failure time data; however, statistically sufficient failure time data are often difficult to attain in practice due to the fixed time-based replacement and the small population of identical assets. When condition indicator data are available in addition to failure time data, one of the alternate approaches to the traditional reliability models is the Condition-Based Maintenance (CBM). The covariate-based hazard modelling is one of CBM approaches. There are a number of covariate-based hazard models; however, little study has been conducted to evaluate the performance of these models in asset life prediction using various condition indicators and data availability. This paper reviews two covariate-based hazard models, Proportional Hazard Model (PHM) and Proportional Covariate Model (PCM). To assess these models’ performance, the expected RUL is compared to the actual RUL. Outcomes demonstrate that both models achieve convincingly good results in RUL prediction; however, PCM has smaller absolute prediction error. In addition, PHM shows over-smoothing tendency compared to PCM in sudden changes of condition data. Moreover, the case studies show PCM is not being biased in the case of small sample size.

Modelling CO2 adsorption and separation on experimentally-realized B40 fullerene

Searching for efficient solid sorbents for CO2 adsorption and separation is important for developing emergent carbon reduction and natural gas purification technology. This work, for the first time, has investigated the adsorption of CO2 on newly experimentally realized cage-like B40 fullerene (Zhai et al., 2014) based on density functional theory calculations. We find that the adsorption of CO2 on B40 fullerene involves a relatively large energy barrier (1.21 eV), however this can be greatly decreased to 0.35 eV by introducing an extra electron. A practical way to realize negatively charged B40 fullerene is then proposed by encapsulating a Li atom into the B40 fullerene (Li@B40). Li@B40 is found to be highly stable and can significantly enhance both the thermodynamics and kinetics of CO2 adsorption, while the adsorptions of N2, CH4 and H2 on the Li@B40 fullerene remain weak in comparison. Since B40 fullerene has been successfully synthesized in a most recent experiment, our results highlight a new promising material for CO2 capture and separation for future experimental validation.

Engaging communities to make the big switch

Stepping out on the streets of Townsville, where the sun shines for 300 days a year, you can feel a buzz in the air. But it’s not just the sunshine, booming development or new esplanade that has this North Queensland city excited. There’s a groundswell of green activity as residents embrace ‘Townsville Solar City’ – the only Queensland city participating in the Federal Government’s Solar Cities program. Keen to create a more sustainable future, this community is participating in a range of initiatives led by Ergon Energy and Townsville City Council. These activities aim to reduce energy use, increase solar energy capacity and cut annual greenhouse gas emissions by more than 50 000 tonnes.

Tumour markers for oropharyngeal cancers

Head and neck cancers (HNC) are a globally prevalent malignancy. Despite the efforts of reducing several known etiological factors such as smoking and drinking to lower the incidence of HNC at the population level, the incidence of oropharyngeal cancers (OPC) is on the rise. OPC is caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) and most prevalent in a younger age group. This review critically examines the epidemiology, biology and laboratory detection of OPC and provides future insights into combating this debilitating disease.

Academic stress, parental pressure, anxiety and mental health among Indian high school students

This work investigates the academic stress and mental health of Indian high school students and the associations between various psychosocial factors and academic stress. A total of190 students from grades 11 and 12 (mean age: 16.72 years) from three government-aided and three private schools in Kolkata India were surveyed in the study. Data collection involved using a specially designed structured questionnaire as well as the General Health Questionnaire. Nearly two-thirds (63.5%) of the students reported stress due to academic pressure – with no significant differences across gender, age, grade, and several other personal factors. About two-thirds (66%) of the students reported feeling pressure from their parents for better academic performance. The degree of parental pressure experienced differed significantly across the educational levels of the parents, mother’s occupation, number of private tutors, and academic performance. In particular, children of fathers possessing a lower education level (non-graduates) were found to be more likely to perceive pressure for better academic performance. About one-thirds (32.6%) of the students were symptomatic of psychiatric caseness and 81.6% reported examination-related anxiety. Academic stress was positively correlated with parental pressure and psychiatric problems, while examination-related anxiety also was positively related to psychiatric problems. Academic stress is a serious issue which affects nearly two thirds of senior high school students in Kolkata. Potential methods for combating the challenges of academic pressure are suggested.

Interventions targeting the elderly population to reduce emergency department utilisation: A literature review

Objective High utilisation of emergency department (ED) among the elderly is of worldwide concern. This study aims to review the effectiveness of interventions targeting the elderly population in reducing ED utilisation. Methods Major biomedical databases were searched for relevant studies. Qualitative approach was applied to derive common themes in the myriad interventions and to critically assess the variations influencing interventions’ effectiveness. Quality of studies was appraised using the Effective Public Health Practice Project (EPPHP) tool. Results 36 studies were included. Nine of 16 community-based interventions reported significant reductions in ED utilisation. Five of 20 hospital-based interventions proved effective while another four demonstrated failure. Seven key elements were identified. Ten of 14 interventions associated with significant reduction on ED use integrated at least three of the seven elements. All four interventions with significant negative results lacked five or more of the seven elements. Some key elements including multidisciplinary team, integrated primary care and social care often existed in effective interventions, while were absent in all significantly ineffective ones. Conclusions The investigated interventions have mixed effectiveness. Our findings suggest the hospital-based interventions have relatively poorer effects, and should be better connected to the community-based strategies. Interventions seem to achieve the most success with integration of multi-layered elements, especially when incorporating key elements such as a nurse-led multidisciplinary team, integrated social care, and strong linkages to the longer-term primary and community care. Notwithstanding limitations in generalising the findings, this review builds on the growing body of evidence in this particular area.