QUT structural health monitoring system and the capture of recent Queensland earthquakes

This article reports the main features of an innovative full-scale Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) system which has been implemented onto a landmark building on QUT Gardens Point Campus and its efficacy in capturing the recent Queensland earthquakes although they occurred almost 300 km away from where the system is located.

Experimental studies of lipped channel beams subject to web crippling under ETF and ITF load cases

Lipped channel beams (LCBs) are commonly used as floor joists and bearers in buildings. However, they are subjected to specific failure modes such as web crippling. Despite considerable web crippling research, recent studies [1-6] have shown that the current web crippling design rules are unable to predict the test capacities under ETF and ITF load cases. In many instances, the predictions by the available design standards such as AISI S100, AS/NZS 4600 and Eurocode 3 Part 1-3 [7-9] are inconsistent. Hence thirty-six tests were conducted to assess the web crippling behaviour and strengths of LCBs under two flange load cases. Experimental web crippling capacities were then compared with the predictions from the current design rules. These comparisons showed that AS/NZS 4600 and AISI S100 design equations are very unconservative for LCB sections under ETF load case and are conservative for ITF load case. Hence improved equations were proposed to determine the web crippling capacities of LCBs. Suitable design rules were also developed using the direct strength method. This paper presents the details of this study and the results including improved design rules.

Building resilient communities: Creating effective multi-channel communication during disaster response and recovery

Our aim is to examine evidence-based strategies to motivate appropriate action and increase informed decision-making during the response and recovery phases of disasters. We combine expertise in communication, consumer psychology and marketing, disaster and emergency management, and law. This poster presents findings from a social media work package, and preliminary findings from the focus group work package on emergency warning message comprehension.

Channel selection in the short-time modulation domain for distant speech recognition

Automatic speech recognition from multiple distant micro- phones poses significant challenges because of noise and reverberations. The quality of speech acquisition may vary between microphones because of movements of speakers and channel distortions. This paper proposes a channel selection approach for selecting reliable channels based on selection criterion operating in the short-term modulation spectrum domain. The proposed approach quantifies the relative strength of speech from each microphone and speech obtained from beamforming modulations. The new technique is compared experimentally in the real reverb conditions in terms of perceptual evaluation of speech quality (PESQ) measures and word error rate (WER). Overall improvement in recognition rate is observed using delay-sum and superdirective beamformers compared to the case when the channel is selected randomly using circular microphone arrays.

The discursive positioning of graduating teachers in accreditation of teacher education programs

This paper uses discourse analysis techniques associated with Foucauldian archaeology to examine a teacher education accreditation document from Australia to reveal how graduating teachers are constructed through the discourses presented. The findings reveal a discursive site of contestation within the document itself and a mismatch between the identified policy discourses and those from the academic archive. The authors suggest that rather than contradictory representations of what constitutes graduating teacher quality and professionalism, what is needed is an accreditation process that agrees on constructions of graduate identity and professional practice that enact an intellectual and reflexive form of professionalism.

Genetic studies in osteoporosis: The end of the beginning

Osteoporosis and disorders of bone fragility are highly heritable, but despite much effort the identities of few of the genes involved has been established. Recent developments in genetics such as genome-wide association studies are revolutionizing research in this field, and it is likely that further contributions will be made through application of next-generation sequencing technologies, analysis of copy number variation polymorphisms, and high-throughput mouse mutagenesis programs. This article outlines what we know about osteoporosis genetics to date and the probable future directions of research in this field.

Experimental study of cold-formed steel floors made of hollow flange channel section joists under fire conditions

Fire safety plays a vital role in building design because appropriate level of fire safety is important to safeguard lives and property. Cold-formed steel channel sections along with fire-resistive plasterboards are used to construct light-gauge steel frame (LSF) floor systems to provide adequate fire resistance ratings (FRR). It is common practice to use lipped channel sections (LCS) as joists in LSF floor systems, and past research has only considered such systems. This research focuses on adopting improved joist sections such as hollow flange channel (HFC) sections to improve the structural performance and FRR of cold-formed LSF floor systems under standard fire conditions. The structural and thermal performances of LSF floor systems made of a welded HFC, LiteSteel Beams (LSB), with different plasterboard and insulation configurations, were investigated using four full-scale fire tests under standard fires. These fire tests showed that the new LSF floor system with LSB joists improved the FRR in comparison to that of conventional LCS joists. Fire tests have provided valuable structural and thermal performance data of tested floor systems that included time-temperature profiles and failure times, temperatures, and modes. This paper presents the details of the fire tests conducted in this study and their results along with some important findings.

Kits and methods for diagnosis, screening, treatment and disease monitoring [WO 2015048852 A1]

Disclosed are methods for detecting the presence of a carcinoma or an increased likelihood that a carcinoma is present in a subject. More particularly, the present invention discloses methods for diagnosis, screening, treatment and monitoring of carcinomas associated with aberrant DNA methylation of the MED15 promoter region

Metrological assessment of a portable analyzer for monitoring the particle size distribution of ultrafine particles

Adverse health effects caused by worker exposure to ultrafine particles have been detected in recent years. The scientific community focuses on the assessment of ultrafine aerosols in different microenvironments in order to determine the related worker exposure/dose levels. To this end, particle size distribution measurements have to be taken along with total particle number concentrations. The latter are obtainable through hand-held monitors. A portable particle size distribution analyzer (Nanoscan SMPS 3910, TSI Inc.) was recently commercialized, but so far no metrological assessment has been performed to characterize its performance with respect to well-established laboratory- based instruments such as the scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS) spectrometer. The present paper compares the aerosol monitoring capability of the Nanoscan SMPS to the laboratory SMPS in order to evaluate whether the Nanoscan SMPS is suitable for field experiments designed to characterize particle exposure in different microenvironments. Tests were performed both in a Marple calm air chamber, where fresh diesel particulate matter and atomized dioctyl phthalate particles were monitored, and in microenvironments, where outdoor, urban, indoor aged, and indoor fresh aerosols were measured. Results show that the Nanoscan SMPS is able to properly measure the particle size distribution for each type of aerosol investigated, but it overestimates the total particle number concentration in the case of fresh aerosols. In particular, the test performed in the Marple chamber showed total concentrations up to twice those measured by the laboratory SMPS—likely because of the inability of the Nanoscan SMPS unipolar charger to properly charge aerosols made up of aggregated particles. Based on these findings, when field test exposure studies are conducted, the Nanoscan SMPS should be used in tandem

Monitoring care processes in the gynecologic oncology department

The care processes of healthcare providers are typically considered as human-centric, flexible, evolving, complex and multi-disciplinary. Consequently, acquiring an insight in the dynamics of these care processes can be an arduous task. A novel event log based approach for extracting valuable medical and organizational information on past executions of the care processes is presented in this study. Care processes are analyzed with the help of a preferential set of process mining techniques in order to discover recurring patterns, analyze and characterize process variants and identify adverse medical events.

Optimal management of the critically Ill: Anaesthesia, monitoring, data capture, and point-of-care technological practices in ovine models of critical care

Animal models of critical illness are vital in biomedical research. They provide possibilities for the investigation of pathophysiological processes that may not otherwise be possible in humans. In order to be clinically applicable, the model should simulate the critical care situation realistically, including anaesthesia, monitoring, sampling, utilising appropriate personnel skill mix, and therapeutic interventions. There are limited data documenting the constitution of ideal technologically advanced large animal critical care practices and all the processes of the animal model. In this paper, we describe the procedure of animal preparation, anaesthesia induction and maintenance, physiologic monitoring, data capture, point-of-care technology, and animal aftercare that has been successfully used to study several novel ovine models of critical illness. The relevant investigations are on respiratory failure due to smoke inhalation, transfusion related acute lung injury, endotoxin-induced proteogenomic alterations, haemorrhagic shock, septic shock, brain death, cerebral microcirculation, and artificial heart studies. We have demonstrated the functionality of monitoring practices during anaesthesia required to provide a platform for undertaking systematic investigations in complex ovine models of critical illness.

UWB channel measurement and data transfer analysis for multiuser Infostation applications

In this paper, the results of the time dispersion parameters obtained from a set of channel measurements conducted in various environments that are typical of multiuser Infostation application scenarios are presented. The measurement procedure takes into account the practical scenarios typical of the positions and movements of the users in the particular Infostation network. To provide one with the knowledge of how much data can be downloaded by users over a given time and mobile speed, data transfer analysis for multiband orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (MB-OFDM) is presented. As expected, the rough estimate of simultaneous data transfer in a multiuser Infostation scenario indicates dependency of the percentage of download on the data size, number and speed of the users, and the elapse time.

Development of non-intrusive monitoring for reactive switching of high voltage circuit breaker

High-voltage circuit breakers are among the most important equipments for ensuring the efficient and safe operation of an electric power system. On occasion, circuit breaker operators may wish to check whether equipment is performing satisfactorily and whether controlled switching systems are producing reliable and repeatable stress control. Monitoring of voltage and current waveforms during switching using established methods will provide information about the magnitude and frequency of voltage transients as a result of re-ignitions and restrikes. However, high frequency waveform measurement requires shutdown of circuit breaker and use of specialized equipment. Two utilities, Hydro-Québec in Canada and Powerlink Queensland in Australia, have been working on the development and application of a non-intrusive, cost-effective and flexible diagnostic system for monitoring high-voltage circuit breakers for reactive switching. The proposed diagnostic approach relies on the non-intrusive assessment of key parameters such as operating times, prestrike characteristics, re-ignition and restrike detection. Transient electromagnetic emissions have been identified as a promising means to evaluate the abovementioned parameters non-intrusively. This paper describes two complimentary methods developed concurrently by Powerlink and Hydro-Québec. Also, return of experiences on the application to capacitor bank and shunt reactor switching is presented.

Time, place and space – student group collaboration using Google Drive

Virtual working environments are intrinsic to the contemporary workplace and collaborative skills are a vital graduate capability. To develop students’ collaborative skills, first year medical laboratory science students undertake a group poster project, based on a blended learning model. Learning is scaffolded in lectures, workshops in collaborative learning spaces, practitioner mentoring sessions, and online resources. Google Drive provides an online collaborative space for students to realise tangible outcomes from this learning. A Google Drive document is created for each group and shared with members. In this space, students assign tasks and plan workflow, share research, progressively develop poster content, reflect and comment on peer contributions and use the messaging functions to ‘talk’ to group members. This provides a readily accessible, transparent record of group work, crucial in peer assessment, and a communication channel for group members and the lecturer, who can support groups if required. This knowledge creation space also augments productivity and effectiveness of face-to-face collaboration. As members are randomly allocated to groups and are often of diverse backgrounds and unknown to each other, resilience is built as students navigate the uncertainties and complexities of group dynamics, learning to focus on the goal of the team task as they constructively and professionally engage in team dialogue. Students are responsible and accountable for individual and group work. The use of Google Drive was evaluated in a survey including Likert scale and open ended qualitative questions. Statistical analysis was carried out. Results show students (79%) valued the inclusion of online space in collaborative work and highly appreciated (78%) the flexibility provided by Google Drive, while recognising the need for improved notification functionality. Teaching staff recognised the advantages in monitoring and moderating collaborative group work, and the transformational progression in student collaborative as well as technological skill acquisition, including professional dialogue.

Monitoring illicit drug use through wastewater analysis in south east Queensland, Australia

Introduction and Aims: Wastewater analysis has become a useful technique for monitoring illicit drug use in communities. Findings have been reported from different countries in Europe and North America. We applied this technique to gauge the illicit drug consumption in an urban catchment from South East Queensland, Australia. Design and Methods: The sampling campaigns were conducted in 2009 (21st November – 2nd December) and 2010 (19th – 25th November). We collected daily composite wastewater samples from the inlet of the sewage treatment plant using continuous flow-proportional sampling. Ten illicit drug residues (parent compounds and key metabolites) in the samples were measured using liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometer. Results: Seven compounds were quantified in all the samples. Our data indicated higher drug consumption on weekends. Cannabis was the highest used drug in both sampling periods. Compared to the first sampling campaign which indicated that cocaine and methamphetamine use exceeded ecstasy usage, the second sampling campaign suggested the use of methamphetamine exceeded that of ecstasy which in turn exceeded cocaine use. Discussion and Conclusions: The observed weekly trend of drug use in our study is in agreement with findings in other studies. The variation between two sampling periods in the prevalence of drug use may relate to the availability and prices of the drugs on markets. The cocaine use we estimated in 2009 was much greater than estimations obtained through the national household survey [1], implying under- reporting of cocaine use in surveys. Future work is underway to tackle methodological challenges for more accurate estimation.