Catherine or Kate, the royal name dilemma : humour and performance in collaborative art practice

The traditional model of visual arts practice is one that privileges highly individuated reflection and research on studio based, predominately material outcomes. This archetypal approach to thinking about cultural production tends to overlook all of the conceptual and contextual collaborations that take place, both informally and formally in the process of making artworks. The aim of this practice-led research project is to creatively and critically explore the potential for actively engaging in a collaborative process for making artworks. It will focus on this approach to research and making through performance and video based works made in conjunction with Kate Woodcroft. Through doing this it aims to explore the possibilities for thinking and working beyond singular, materially based practices and develop new understandings for this as a model for generating new and unexpected creative outcomes. Key departure points for this discussion include; tertiary performance, conceptual art, and humour.

Catherine or Kate : the tertiary spaces of collaboration, performance and humour in contemporary art

The traditional model of visual arts practice is one that privileges highly individuated and predominantly material investigations and outcomes. This approach overlooks and devalues the formal and informal dialogues and collaborations that take place in the process of making art. This Masters research project considers how the experience of working in collaboration can generate a new model for thinking about practice-led methodologies in visual arts. It aims to do this by mapping out and elaborating on the processes and approaches to making that fellow Masters student Catherine Sagin and I have come to use in our alliance as ‘Fiona Mail’, ‘Catherine Sagin’ and ‘Catherine or Kate’ respectively. The fluidity of our collaborative moniker is one example of the way this project creatively explores and re-assesses the implications of collaboration. Drawing upon the contextual frames of conceptual art, performance art, and comedy this research looks at the significance of and possibilities for working as a collaborative duo.

Methyl ester preparation from peanut oil and its effect on DI diesel engine combustion

This study investigated the preparation of methyl ester (Biodiesel) from peanut oil by transesterification method and its effect on DI diesel engine. Two parameters were measured during the engine operation: one is engine performance (brake thermal efficiency and brake specific fuel consumption), and the other is the exhaust emissions (NOx and CO). The result showed that, when compared with neat diesel fuel, the brake thermal efficiency of biodiesel blend was almost similar or a slight lower. However, brake specific fuel consumption (bsfc) was a little higher than neat diesel. CO was lower and NOx was little higher with biodiesel blend than that of diesel. The engine performance for B10 and B20 was very similar. At medium and high load conditions the engine emissions for B10 and B20 has no significant variation. Hence, B20 can safely be used in diesel engine without any significant penalty in engine performance and emissions.

Thyroxine and reserpine-induced changes in metabolic profiles of rat urine and the therapeutic effect of Liu Wei Di Huang Wan detected by UPLC-HDMS

The promise of metabonomics, a new "omics" technique, to validate Chinese medicines and the compatibility of Chinese formulas has been appreciated. The present study was undertaken to explore the excretion pattern of low molecular mass metabolites in the male Wistar-derived rat model of kidney yin deficiency induced with thyroxine and reserpine as well as the therapeutic effect of Liu Wei Di Huang Wan (LW) and its separated prescriptions, a classic traditional Chinese medicine formula for treating kidney yin deficiency in China. The study utilized ultra-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization synapt high definition mass spectrometry (UPLC/ESI-SYNAPT-HDMS) in both negative and positive electrospray ionization (ESI). At the same time, blood biochemistry was examined to identify specific changes in the kidney yin deficiency. Distinct changes in the pattern of metabolites, as a result of daily administration of thyroxine and reserpine, were observed by UPLC-HDMS combined with a principal component analysis (PCA). The changes in metabolic profiling were restored to their baseline values after treatment with LW according to the PCA score plots. Altogether, the current metabonomic approach based on UPLC-HDMS and orthogonal projection to latent structures discriminate analysis (OPLS-DA) indicated 20 ions (14 in the negative mode, 8 in the positive mode, and 2 in both) as "differentiating metabolites".

Modulation of in vitro platelet 5-HT release by species of Erythrina and Cymbopogon

Extracts of Australian plants were screened to detect constituents affecting adenosine di-phosphate (ADP) induced platelet aggregation and [14C]5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) release. Extracts of four tested plants including, Eremophila gilesii, Erythrina vespertilio, Cymbopogon ambiguus, and Santalum acuminatum, were found to cause significant inhibition of platelet 5-HT release. Inhibition levels ranged from 56-98%, and was not due to the non-specific effects of protein binding tannins. These extracts, and those we have previously identified as being active, were examined further to determine if they affect epinephrine (EPN), arachidonic acid (A.A) or collagen stimulated platelet aggregation and 5-HT release. Among those extracts investigated, we found that both the methanolic extract of E. vespertilio and the dichloromethane (DCM) extract of C. ambiguus were most potent and caused significant inhibition of platelet activation induced by EPN, A.A and to a lesser extent by collagen. Inhibition of ADP induced platelet 5-HT release by both of these extracts, was dose-dependent, with IC50 values for E. vespertilio and C. ambiguus estimated to be 20.4 microl (1.855 mg/ml) and 8.34 microl (0.758 mg/ml), respectively. Overall, C. ambiguus exhibited most activity and also caused dose-dependent inhibition of A.A induced platelet activation. These results indicate that inhibition may occur specifically at a site within the A.A pathway, and suggest the presence of a cyclo-oxygenase inhibitor. Both E. vespertilio and C. ambiguus are reported to be traditional headache treatments, with the present study providing evidence that they affect 5-HT release.

Gender studies : Intersex by Catherine Harper

Intersex is the condition whereby an individual is born with biological features that are simultaneously perceived as male and female. Ranging from the ambiguous genitalia of the true 'hermaphrodite' to the 'mildly or internally intersexed', the condition may be as common as cleft palate. Like cleft palate, it is hidden and surgically altered, but for very different reasons. Intersex draws heavily on the personal testimony of intersexed individuals, their loved ones and medical carers. The impact of early sex-assignment surgery on an individual's later life is examined within the context of ethical and clinical questions. Harper challenges the conventional and radical 'treatment' of intersexuality through non-consensual infant sex-assignment surgery. In doing so, she exposes powerful myths, taboos and constructions of gender - the perfect phallus, a bi-polar model of gender and the infallibility of medical decisions. Handling sensitive material with care, this book deepens our understanding of a condition that has itself only been medically understood in recent years.

Poly[di-mu-aqua-bis{2-amino-4-nitrobenzoato)]-dirubidium

In the structure of title compound [Rb2(C7H5N2O4)2(H2O)2]n the asymmetric unit comprises two independent and different seven-coordinate Rb centres, one RbO7, the other RbO6N, with both having irregular stereochemistry. The RbO7 coordination comprises bridging oxygen donors from two water molecules, three carboxylate groups, and a nitro group, with one doubly bridging. The RbO6N coordination comprises the two bridging water molecules, one monodentate amine N donor, one carboxyl O donor and three O donors from nitro groups (one from the chelate bridge). The extension of the dinuclear unit gives a three-dimensional polymeric structure which is stabilized by both intra- and intermolecular amine N-H...O and water O-H...O hydrogen bonds to carboxyl and water O-atom acceptors, as well as a number of inter-ring \p--\p interactions [minimum ring centroid separation, 3.364(2) \%A]. This complex is both isostructural with the analogous Cs -nitroanthranilate monohydrate complex.

ACE research briefing paper 007 : Ken Talbot - an entrepreneur's contribution to the growth of the Australian Mining Industry

Ken Talbot was one of Australian mining’s most successful entrepreneurs and rose to the top of his industry to become one of Australia’s wealthiest men. Although the nation’s resources industry is synonymous with global names such as Xstrata, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, Ken was an individual who made a big impact on the development and growth of the sector. This case study examines Ken’s achievements, his transition from employee to entrepreneur, and the qualities that enabled him to succeed at such a high level. In particular, it focuses on his Jellinbah and Coppabella mining developments that directly led to the creation of Macarthur Coal and the Talbot Group. By the time of his premature death in an African plane crash in 2010, Ken had amassed a fortune estimated at almost $1 billion and was aged just 59. The last publically available Talbot Group annual report for calendar year 2009 showed that the investment portfolio of the group returned 113 per cent that year. Even throughout the global financial crisis the portfolio made a positive return on investment of no less than 10 per cent. Ken’s sense of mateship and his tremendous people skills were keys to his success in the mining industry and the wider community. In addition to excelling in business, he is also remembered for his philanthropy and leaving 30 per cent of his estate to charity through the Talbot Family Foundation.

Poly(2,5-bis(2-octyldodecyl)-3,6-di(furan-2-yl)-2,5-dihydro-pyrrolo[3,4-c] pyrrole-1,4-dione-co-thieno[3,2-b]thiophene): A high performance polymer semiconductor for both organic thin film transistors and organic photovoltaics

A new diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP)-containing donor-acceptor polymer, poly(2,5-bis(2-octyldodecyl)-3,6-di(furan-2-yl)-2,5-dihydro-pyrrolo[3,4-c] pyrrole-1,4-dione-co-thieno[3,2-b]thiophene) (PDBF-co-TT), is synthesized and studied as a semiconductor in organic thin film transistors (OTFTs) and organic photovoltaics (OPVs). High hole mobility of up to 0.53 cm 2 V -1 s -1 in bottom-gate, top-contact OTFT devices is achieved owing to the ordered polymer chain packing and favoured chain orientation, strong intermolecular interactions, as well as uniform film morphology of PDBF-co-TT. The optimum band gap of 1.39 eV and high hole mobility make this polymer a promising donor semiconductor for the solar cell application. When paired with a fullerene acceptor, PC 71BM, the resulting OPV devices show a high power conversion efficiency of up to 4.38% under simulated standard AM1.5 solar illumination.