Persistent ocean monitoring with underwater gliders : towards accurate reconstruction of dynamic ocean processes

Ocean processes are dynamic and complex events that occur on multiple different spatial and temporal scales. To obtain a synoptic view of such events, ocean scientists focus on the collection of long-term time series data sets. Generally, these time series measurements are continually provided in real or near-real time by fixed sensors, e.g., buoys and moorings. In recent years, an increase in the utilization of mobile sensor platforms, e.g., Autonomous Underwater Vehicles, has been seen to enable dynamic acquisition of time series data sets. However, these mobile assets are not utilized to their full capabilities, generally only performing repeated transects or user-defined patrolling loops. Here, we provide an extension to repeated patrolling of a designated area. Our algorithms provide the ability to adapt a standard mission to increase information gain in areas of greater scientific interest. By implementing a velocity control optimization along the predefined path, we are able to increase or decrease spatiotemporal sampling resolution to satisfy the sampling requirements necessary to properly resolve an oceanic phenomenon. We present a path planning algorithm that defines a sampling path, which is optimized for repeatability. This is followed by the derivation of a velocity controller that defines how the vehicle traverses the given path. The application of these tools is motivated by an ongoing research effort to understand the oceanic region off the coast of Los Angeles, California. The computed paths are implemented with the computed velocities onto autonomous vehicles for data collection during sea trials. Results from this data collection are presented and compared for analysis of the proposed technique.

Engineered silk fibroin protein 3D matrices for in vitro tumor model

3D in vitro model systems that are able to mimic the in vivo microenvironment are now highly sought after in cancer research. Antheraea mylitta silk fibroin protein matrices were investigated as potential biomaterial for in vitro tumor modeling. We compared the characteristics of MDA-MB-231 cells on A. mylitta, Bombyx mori silk matrices, Matrigel, and tissue culture plates. The attachment and morphology of the MDA-MB-231 cell line on A. mylitta silk matrices was found to be better than on B. mori matrices and comparable to Matrigel and tissue culture plates. The cells grown in all 3D cultures showed more MMP-9 activity, indicating a more invasive potential. In comparison to B. mori fibroin, A. mylitta fibroin not only provided better cell adhesion, but also improved cell viability and proliferation. Yield coefficient of glucose consumed to lactate produced by cells on 3D A. mylitta fibroin was found to be similar to that of cancer cells in vivo. LNCaP prostate cancer cells were also cultured on 3D A. mylitta fibroin and they grew as clumps in long term culture. The results indicate that A. mylitta fibroin scaffold can provide an easily manipulated microenvironment system to investigate individual factors such as growth factors and signaling peptides, as well as evaluation of anticancer drugs.

Flagging Spaces : exploring the myth of the Australian beach as an egalitarian space

The Australian beach is now accepted as a significant part of Australian national culture and identity. However, Huntsman (2001) and Booth (2001) both believe that the beach is dying: “intellectuals have failed to apply to the beach the attention they have lavished on the bush…” (Huntsman 2001, 218). Yet the beach remains a prominent image in contemporary literature and film; authors such as Tim Winton and Robert Drewe frequently set their stories in and around the coast. Although initially considered a space of myth (Fiske, Hodge, and Turner 1987), Meaghan Morris labelled the beach as ‘ordinary’ (1998), and as recently as 2001 in the wake of the Sydney Olympic Games, Bonner, McKee, and Mackay termed the beach ‘tacky’ and ‘familiar’. The beach, it appears, defies an easy categorisation. In fact, I believe the beach is more than merely mythic or ordinary, or a combination of the two. Instead it is an imaginative space, seamlessly shifting its metaphorical meanings dependent on readings of the texts. My studies examine the beach through five common beach myths; this paper will explore the myth of the beach as an egalitarian space. Contemporary Australian national texts no longer conform to these mythical representations – (in fact, was the beach ever a space of equality?), instead creating new definitions for the beach space that continually shifts in meaning. Recent texts such as Tim Winton’s Breath (2008) and Stephen Orr’s Time’s Long Ruin (2010) lay a more complex metaphorical meaning upon the beach space. This paper will explore the beach as a space of egalitarianism in conjunction with recent Australian fiction and films in order to discover how the contemporary beach is represented.

A test of the job demands : resources model with HIV/AIDS volunteers

Burnout has been identified as a significant factor in HIV/AIDS volunteering. It has been associated with depression, anxiety and the loss of volunteers from the health care delivery system. The aim of this study was to test the independence of the health and motivational processes hypothesized within the Job Demands – Resources model of burnout in HIV/AIDS volunteers. Participants were 307 HIV/AIDS volunteers from state AIDS Councils throughout Australia who completed self-report measures pertaining to role ambiguity and role conflict, social support, burnout, intrinsic and organizational satisfaction, and depression. Findings suggested that the independence of the dual processes hypothesized by the model was only partially supported. These findings provide a model for burnout which gives a framework for interventions at both the individual and organizational level which would contribute to the prevention of burnout, depression, and job dissatisfaction in HIV/AIDS volunteers.

The nature of caregiving in children of a parent with multiple sclerosis from multiple sources and the associations between caregiving activities and youth adjustment overtime

This study explored youth caregiving for a parent with multiple sclerosis (MS) from multiple perspectives, and examined associations between caregiving and child negative (behavioural emotional difficulties, somatisation) and positive (life satisfaction, positive affect, prosocial behaviour) adjustment outcomes overtime. A total of 88 families participated; 85 parents with MS, 55 partners and 130 children completed questionnaires at Time 1. Child caregiving was assessed by the Youth Activities of Caregiving Scale (YACS). Child and parent questionnaire data were collected at Time 1 and child data were collected 12 months later (Time 2). Factor analysis of the child and parent YACS data replicated the four factors (instrumental, social-emotional, personal-intimate, domestic-household care), all of which were psychometrically sound. The YACS factors were related to parental illness and caregiving context variables that reflected increased caregiving demands. The Time 1 instrumental and social-emotional care domains were associated with poorer Time 2 adjustment, whereas personal-intimate was related to better adjustment and domestic-household care was unrelated to adjustment. Children and their parents exhibited highest agreement on personal-intimate, instrumental and total caregiving, and least on domestic-household and social-emotional care. Findings delineate the key dimensions of young caregiving in MS and the differential links between caregiving activities and youth adjustment.

The largest volcanic eruptions on Earth

Large igneous provinces (LIPs) are sites of the most frequently recurring, largest volume basaltic and silicic eruptions in Earth history. These large-volume (N1000 km3 dense rock equivalent) and large-magnitude (NM8) eruptions produce areally extensive (104–105 km2) basaltic lava flow fields and silicic ignimbrites that are the main building blocks of LIPs. Available information on the largest eruptive units are primarily from the Columbia River and Deccan provinces for the dimensions of flood basalt eruptions, and the Paraná–Etendeka and Afro-Arabian provinces for the silicic ignimbrite eruptions. In addition, three large-volume (675– 2000 km3) silicic lava flows have also been mapped out in the Proterozoic Gawler Range province (Australia), an interpreted LIP remnant. Magma volumes of N1000 km3 have also been emplaced as high-level basaltic and rhyolitic sills in LIPs. The data sets indicate comparable eruption magnitudes between the basaltic and silicic eruptions, but due to considerable volumes residing as co-ignimbrite ash deposits, the current volume constraints for the silicic ignimbrite eruptions may be considerably underestimated. Magma composition thus appears to be no barrier to the volume of magma emitted during an individual eruption. Despite this general similarity in magnitude, flood basaltic and silicic eruptions are very different in terms of eruption style, duration, intensity, vent configuration, and emplacement style. Flood basaltic eruptions are dominantly effusive and Hawaiian–Strombolian in style, with magma discharge rates of ~106–108 kg s−1 and eruption durations estimated at years to tens of years that emplace dominantly compound pahoehoe lava flow fields. Effusive and fissural eruptions have also emplaced some large-volume silicic lavas, but discharge rates are unknown, and may be up to an order of magnitude greater than those of flood basalt lava eruptions for emplacement to be on realistic time scales (b10 years). Most silicic eruptions, however, are moderately to highly explosive, producing co-current pyroclastic fountains (rarely Plinian) with discharge rates of 109– 1011 kg s−1 that emplace welded to rheomorphic ignimbrites. At present, durations for the large-magnitude silicic eruptions are unconstrained; at discharge rates of 109 kg s−1, equivalent to the peak of the 1991 Mt Pinatubo eruption, the largest silicic eruptions would take many months to evacuate N5000 km3 of magma. The generally simple deposit structure is more suggestive of short-duration (hours to days) and high intensity (~1011 kg s−1) eruptions, perhaps with hiatuses in some cases. These extreme discharge rates would be facilitated by multiple point, fissure and/or ring fracture venting of magma. Eruption frequencies are much elevated for large-magnitude eruptions of both magma types during LIP-forming episodes. However, in basaltdominated provinces (continental and ocean basin flood basalt provinces, oceanic plateaus, volcanic rifted margins), large magnitude (NM8) basaltic eruptions have much shorter recurrence intervals of 103–104 years, whereas similar magnitude silicic eruptions may have recurrence intervals of up to 105 years. The Paraná– Etendeka province was the site of at least nine NM8 silicic eruptions over an ~1 Myr period at ~132 Ma; a similar eruption frequency, although with a fewer number of silicic eruptions is also observed for the Afro- Arabian Province. The huge volumes of basaltic and silicic magma erupted in quick succession during LIP events raises several unresolved issues in terms of locus of magma generation and storage (if any) in the crust prior to eruption, and paths and rates of ascent from magma reservoirs to the surface.

An interview with Dr. Benjamin Isakhan : on the alternative histories of democracy

Dr. Isakahn is currently a research associate with the Centre for Dialogue at La Trobe University in Australia. His latest works include several forthcoming books: Democracy in Iraq is a monograph soon to be released; whilst The Edinburgh Companion to the History of Democracy and The Secret History of Democracy, both done in concert with Stephen Stockwell, are edited collections. His most recent articles include “Targeting the Symbolic Dimension of Baathist Iraq,” “Measuring Islam in Australia” and “Manufacturing Consent in Iraq.” For further information regarding Dr. Isakhan and his works, please visit his website, www.benjaminisakhan.com.

Single-stranded DNA-binding protein hSSB1 is critical for genomic stability

Single-strand DNA (ssDNA)-binding proteins (SSBs) are ubiquitous and essential for a wide variety of DNA metabolic processes, including DNA replication, recombination, DNA damage detection and repair1. SSBs have multiple roles in binding and sequestering ssDNA, detecting DNA damage, stimulating nucleases, helicases and strand-exchange proteins, activating transcription and mediating protein–protein interactions. In eukaryotes, the major SSB, replication protein A (RPA), is a heterotrimer1. Here we describe a second human SSB (hSSB1), with a domain organization closer to the archaeal SSB than to RPA. Ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) kinase phosphorylates hSSB1 in response to DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). This phosphorylation event is required for DNA damage-induced stabilization of hSSB1. Upon induction of DNA damage, hSSB1 accumulates in the nucleus and forms distinct foci independent of cell-cycle phase. These foci co-localize with other known repair proteins. In contrast to RPA, hSSB1 does not localize to replication foci in S-phase cells and hSSB1 deficiency does not influence S-phase progression. Depletion of hSSB1 abrogates the cellular response to DSBs, including activation of ATM and phosphorylation of ATM targets after ionizing radiation. Cells deficient in hSSB1 exhibit increased radiosensitivity, defective checkpoint activation and enhanced genomic instability coupled with a diminished capacity for DNA repair. These findings establish that hSSB1 influences diverse endpoints in the cellular DNA damage response.

Plantar enthesopathy : thickening of the enthesis is correlated with energy dissipation of the plantar fat pad during walking

Background: The enthesis of the plantar fascia is thought to play an important role in stress dissipation. However, the potential link between entheseal thickening characteristic of enthesopathy and the stress-dissipating properties of the intervening plantar fat pad have not been investigated. Purpose: This study was conducted to identify whether plantar fat pad mechanics explain variance in the thickness of the fascial enthesis in individuals with and without plantar enthesopathy. Study Design: Case-control study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: The study population consisted of 9 patients with unilateral plantar enthesopathy and 9 asymptomatic, individually matched controls. The thickness of the enthesis of the symptomatic, asymptomatic, and a matched control limb was acquired using high-resolution ultrasound. The compressive strain of the plantar fat pad during walking was estimated from dynamic lateral radiographs acquired with a multifunction fluoroscopy unit. Peak compressive stress was simultaneously acquired via a pressure platform. Principal viscoelastic parameters were estimated from subsequent stress-strain curves. Results: The symptomatic fascial enthesis (6.7 ± 2.0 mm) was significantly thicker than the asymptomatic enthesis (4.2 ± 0.4 mm), which in turn was thicker than the enthesis (3.3 ± 0.4 mm) of control limbs (P < .05). There was no significant difference in the mean thickness, peak stress, peak strain, or secant modulus of the plantar fat pad between limbs. However, the energy dissipated by the fat pad during loading and unloading was significantly lower in the symptomatic limb (0.55 ± 0.17) when compared with asymptomatic (0.69 ± 0.13) and control (0.70 ± 0.09) limbs (P < .05). The sonographic thickness of the enthesis was correlated with the energy dissipation ratio of the plantar fat pad (r = .72, P < .05), but only in the symptomatic limb. Conclusion: The energy-dissipating properties of the plantar fat pad are associated with the sonograpic appearance of the enthesis in symptomatic limbs, providing a previously unidentified link between the mechanical behavior of the plantar fat pad and enthesopathy.

Surmounting BPM challenges : the YAWL story

The field of Business ProcessManagement (BPM) has evolved considerably over the past decade. Many proposals for business process modelling and/or execution have emerged and some of these have faded into oblivion again. The Workflow Patterns Initiative aimed at achieving a more structured approach to language comparison and development. The patterns that were distilled served as the basis for YAWL (Yet AnotherWorkflow Language). In this paper YAWL is positioned with respect to historical developments in BPM and current challenges in the field.

Designing a workflow system using coloured petri nets

Traditional workflow systems focus on providing support for the control-flow perspective of a business process, with other aspects such as data management and work distribution receiving markedly less attention. A guide to desirable workflow characteristics is provided by the well-known workflow patterns which are derived from a comprehensive survey of contemporary tools and modelling formalisms. In this paper we describe the approach taken to designing the newYAWL workflow system, an offering that aims to provide comprehensive support for the control-flow, data and resource perspectives based on the workflow patterns. The semantics of the newYAWL workflow language are based on Coloured Petri Nets thus facilitating the direct enactment and analysis of processes described in terms of newYAWL language constructs. As part of this discussion, we explain how the operational semantics for each of the language elements are embodied in the newYAWL system and indicate the facilities required to support them in an operational environment. We also review the experiences associated with developing a complete operational design for an offering of this scale using formal techniques.

Consumer satisfaction and redress with a government third-party complaints agency

As governments around the world adopt a marketing orientation, the importance of consumer satisfaction to the effectiveness of the organization is being recognized. While some investigation of satisfaction with a government agencies' service has occurred, there is little examination of satisfaction with a government agency that acts as a third-party on the behalf of consumers to gain marketplace redress. Given the number of third-party complaints is increasing as a result of internet access to complaint channels, this research is a timely investigation. This study reports the findings of a survey of 454 complainants to an Australian Government agency: the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). The findings show that satisfaction with the service was subjectively experienced, based around individual expectations of the redress and satisfaction levels were higher when the redress sought was financial compared with non-financial forms of redress such as apology.

Alcohol use within the sibship

With over 100,000 alcohol-related hospitalisations every year, risky drinking within Australia is a major health issue (Pascal, Chikritzhs, & Jones, 2009). Typically health advocates focus on parental and peer influence as a source of excessive drinking; leaving out the often overlooked role of siblings. Using consumer socialisation theory (Ward, 1974), the adoption of alcohol related behaviours between siblings was examined. Using a sample of 257 young adults alcohol behaviours were examined between sibship groups. The results revealed that alcohol type similarity was significant for siblings of who were of the same gender, but not significant for siblings of opposite genders. The results suggest that in order for an older sibling to influence a younger brother or sister they must be of the same gender and that there must be a relatively large age gap between them. This suggests that power in sibling relationships could play an important factor in alcohol behaviours.

A qualitative investigation of socio-cultural factors influencing binge-drinking : a multi-country study

Despite substantial investment by governments in social marketing campaigns and the introduction of various legislative and supply controls on alcohol, the binge drinking phenomenon amongst young people continues unabated in many countries and appears to be spreading to others. This paper examines drinking behaviour amongst university students from 50 countries across Europe, North America and the Asia Pacific region and argues that more needs to be done in understanding socio-cultural factors. To date, little is known of the specific socio-cultural factors that are common in countries that have high drinking behaviour compared to countries that have moderate bingedrinking behaviour. Using a marketing systems approach, this exploratory study identifies two key themes that distinguish these countries, namely family influences and peer influences.

The role of mother-centered factors influencing the complex social behaviour of breastfeeding : social support and self-efficacy

This research investigated the role of mother-centred issues that influence breastfeeding behaviours. The need for social marketing research for breastfeeding is indicated by the fact that despite evidence of the health benefits to both the infant and mother of longer breastfeeding duration, rates in developed countries have failed to increase in recent decades. Breastfeeding is a complex behaviour that for many women involves barriers that influence their commitment to continue breastfeeding. Structural equation modelling was used on a sample of 405 respondents to an online survey. The analysis revealed that personal social support had a significant impact on breastfeeding self-efficacy, which in turn had a significant impact on breastfeeding behaviour. The findings and implications for both social marketing theory and practice are discussed.