Long-term assessment of efficacy of permeable pond covers for odour reduction

Three anaerobic ponds used to store and treat piggery wastes were fully covered with permeable materials manufactured from polypropylene geofabric, polyethylene shade cloth and supported straw. The covers were assessed in terms of efficacy in reducing odour emission rates over a 40-month period. Odour samples were collected from the surface of the covers, the surface of the exposed liquor and from the surface of an uncovered (control) pond at one of the piggeries. Relative to the emission rate of the exposed liquor at each pond, the polypropylene, shade cloth and straw covers reduced average emission rates by 76%, 69% and 66% respectively. At the piggery with an uncovered control pond, the polypropylene covers reduced average odour emission rates by 50% and 41% respectively. A plausible hypothesis, consistent with likely mechanisms for the odour reduction and the olfactometric method used to quantifying the efficacy of the covers, is offered.

Reduction of Secondary Degeneration after Spinal Cord Injury by Acute Delivery of Proinflammatory Growth Factors

INTRODUCTION Inflammation is a protective attempt to facilitate the removal of damaged tissue and to initiate the healing response in other tissues. However, after spinal cord injury (SCI), this response is prolonged leading to secondary degeneration and glial scarring. Here, we investigate the potential of sustained delivery of pro-inflammatory factors vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and platelet derived growth factor (PDGF) to increase early inflammatory events and promote inflammatory resolution. Method Animal ethics approval was obtained from the Queensland University of Technology. Adult Wistar-Kyoto rats (12-16 weeks old) were subjected to laminectomies and T10 hemisections. Animals were then randomised to treatment (implantation of osmotic pump (Alzet) loaded with 5ug VEGF & 5 ug PDGF) or control groups (lesion control or lesion plus pump delivering PBS). Rats were sacrificed at one month and the spinal cords were harvested and examined by immunohistology, using anti-neurofilament-200(NF200) and anti- ionized calcium binding adapter molecule 1 (Iba1). One way ANOVA was used for statistic analysis. Results At 1 month, active pump-treated cords showed a high level of axonal filament throughout the defects as compared to the control groups. The mean lesion size, as measured by NF200, was 0.47mm2 for the lesion control, 0.39mm2 for the vehicle control and 0.078mm2 for the active pump group. Significant differences were detected between the active pump group and the two control groups (AP vs LC p= 0.017 AG vs VC p= 0.004). Iba-1 staining also showed significant differences in the post-injury inflammatory response. Discussion We have shown that axons and activated microglia are co-located in the lesion of the treated cord. We hypothesise the delivery of VEGF/PDGF increases the local vessel permeability to inflammatory cells and activates these along with the resident microglia to threshold population, which ultimately resolved the prolonged inflammation. Here, we have shown that maintaining the inflammatory signals for at least 7 days improved the morphology of the injured cord. Conclusion This study has shown that boosting inflammation, by delivery VEGF/PDGF, in the early phase of SCI helps to reduce secondary degeneration and may promote inflammation resolution. This treatment may provide a platform for other neuro-regenrative therapies.

Downtime reduction analysis of the Australia Post flat mail optical character reader

Machine downtime, whether planned or unplanned, is intuitively costly to manufacturing organisations, but is often very difficult to quantify. The available literature showed that costing processes are rarely undertaken within manufacturing organisations. Where cost analyses have been undertaken, they generally have only valued a small proportion of the affected costs, leading to an overly conservative estimate. This thesis aimed to develop a cost of downtime model, with particular emphasis on the application of the model to Australia Post’s Flat Mail Optical Character Reader (FMOCR). The costing analysis determined a cost of downtime of $5,700,000 per annum, or an average cost of $138 per operational hour. The second section of this work focused on the use of the cost of downtime to objectively determine areas of opportunity for cost reduction on the FMOCR. This was the first time within Post that maintenance costs were considered along side of downtime for determining machine performance. Because of this, the results of the analysis revealed areas which have historically not been targeted for cost reduction. Further exploratory work was undertaken on the Flats Lift Module (FLM) and Auto Induction Station (AIS) Deceleration Belts through the comparison of the results against two additional FMOCR analysis programs. This research has demonstrated the development of a methodical and quantifiable cost of downtime for the FMOCR. This has been the first time that Post has endeavoured to examine the cost of downtime. It is also one of the very few methodologies for valuing downtime costs that has been proposed in literature. The work undertaken has also demonstrated how the cost of downtime can be incorporated into machine performance analysis with specific application to identifying high costs modules. The outcome of this report has both been the methodology for costing downtime, as well as a list of areas for cost reduction. In doing so, this thesis has outlined the two key deliverables presented at the outset of the research.

AITPM Email Newsletter Volume 0902, February 2009: Presidents Message

President’s Report Hello fellow AITPM members, Welcome to the first edition of the AITPM National Newsletter for 2009! I trust we all had a relaxing break and managed to lose track of all things transport for just a little while. I know I had trouble doing so when hunting for a car space at the shopping centre, and experiencing new projects such as the Tugun Bypass – the new gateway between New South Wales and Queensland. Byron Bay is now as close as Noosa for those high profile beach goers of Brisbane. There was also my experience of the reduced posted speed of 90km/h on the Bruce Highway around the troublesome Gympie stretch, when returning from a short Fraser Coast holiday. I expect that this relatively inexpensive safety improvement will pay substantial dividends in terms of crash reduction. The Newsletter took its annual leave last month and is refreshed and ready for a new year to keep us all informed of the latest in traffic and transport engineering, planning and management. I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the ongoing significant contributions of many volunteers in the Newsletter’s production. Mr Andrew Hulse, AITPM’s Immediate Past National President, serves as the Editorial Coordinator on behalf of the Institute. Each Branch Committee also includes a Newsletter Coordinator and committee members frequently contribute as well. And the ongoing contributions of readers enable us to offer the Newsletter as a vehicle for dialogue and debate around our sector. If you would like to contribute please email AITPM’s administration officer Josephine Mitton at aitpm@aitpm.com or through your local Branch Committee. I would also like to welcome back on deck our Editor, Mr David Brown of Driven Media, who creates a fantastic package for us each month. Lastly, members would have received the Call for Papers for the AITPM 2009 National Conference, Traffic Beyond Tomorrow, to be held at the Adelaide Convention Centre between 5 – 7 August. Abstracts will be accepted up to 20 February 2009. We look forward to seeing everyone at this, our flagship event for the year. To all a good year ahead, Jon Bunker Post Script: We all will have seen through the media the enormous scale and nature of the two natural disasters Australia is experiencing at present. AITPM’s thoughts are with all of those members, family and friends who may be experiencing hardship as a result of the Victorian bushfires and North Queensland floods. AITPM is a not for profit organisation however the National Executive has taken the decision to donate in measure to the Red Cross Victorian Bushfire Disaster Relief fund and the Queensland Premier’s Disaster Relief fund as a gesture to support our fellow Australians in their time of need. Details about these funds can be found via the Victorian and Queensland Governments’ websites.

Efficient Voltage/Current Spike Reduction by Active Gate Signaling

This paper presents an Active Gate Signaling scheme to reduce voltage/current spikes across insulated gate power switches in hard switching power electronic circuits. Voltage and/or current spikes may cause EMI noise. In addition, they increase voltage/current stress on the switch. Traditionally, a higher gate resistance is chosen to reduce voltage/current spikes. Since the switching loss will increase remarkably, an active gate voltage control scheme is developed to improve efficiency of hard switching circuits while the undesirable voltage and/or current spikes are minimized.

How do other people influence your driving speed? Exploring the 'who' and the 'how' of social influences on speeding from a qualitative perspective

Using only legal sanctions to manage the speed at which people drive ignores the potential benefits of harnessing social factors such as the influence of others. Social influences on driver speeds were explored in this qualitative examination of 67 Australian drivers. Focus group interviews with 8 driver types (young, mid-age and older males and females, and self-identified Excessive and Rare speeders) were guided by Akers’ social learning theory (Akers, 1998). Findings revealed two types of influential others: people known to the driver (passengers and parents), and unknown other drivers. Passengers were generally described as having a slowing influence on drivers: responsibility for the safety of people in the car and consideration for passenger comfort were key themes. In contrast, all but the Rare speeders reported increasing their speed when driving alone. Parental role modelling was also described. In relation to other drivers, key themes included speeding to keep up with traffic flow and perceived pressure to drive faster. This ‘pressure’ from others to ‘speed up’ was expressed in all groups and reported strategies for managing this varied. Encouragingly, examples of actual or anticipated social rewards for speeding were less common than examples of social punishments. Three main themes relating to social punishments were embarrassment, breaching the trust of others, and presenting an image of a responsible driver. Impression management and self-presentation are discussed in light of these findings. Overall, our findings indicate scope to exploit the use of social sanctions for speeding and social praise for speed limit compliance to enhance speed management strategies.