Digital Commons Network^™

Sludge Formation In The Activated Sludge Process: Mathematical Analysis, Asma O. M Alharbi, Mark I. Nelson, Annette L. Worthy, Harvinder S. Sidhu

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

One drawback associated with the activated sludge process is the production of 'sludge'. The expense for treating excess sludge can account for 50-60% of the running costs of a plant. Traditional methods for disposing of excess sludge, which include incineration, the use of landfill sites and dumping at sea are becoming increasingly regulated worldwide due to concerns about the presence of potentially toxic elements in it. Furthermore, a combination of the limited amount of land available for landfill, particularly in urban areas, with stringent legislation has seen the economic costs of using landfill sites increasing sharply. Thus there is a …

Investigation On Slab Continuous Straightening Technology And Deformation Analysis, Xingzhong Zhang, Hongtao Zhu, Wen Huang, Baojun Shi, Anh Kiet Tieu

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

A new method of setting continuous bending and straightening strain rate according to temperature subzone was brought forward. By making use of the high temperature creep character effectively during the continuous casting slab being straightened, a new model curve of continuous caster was developed. And by using theoretical and finite element method the strain and strain rate of the slab under multi-point straightening and the new continuous straightening were analysed. The result shows that for continuous straightening the strain rate of the slab is constant and lower than that of the slab under multi-point straightening, and the strain varies linearly. …

Analysis Of Interference Factors Of Air Turbine Cascades, Andrei Gareev, Prabuono Buyung Kosasih, Paul Cooper

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

This paper reports viscous compressible aerodynamics analysis of two-dimensional cascades (arrays of aerofoils).

A Bi-Level Decision Model For Customer Churn Analysis, Ya Gao, Guangquan Zhang, Jie Lu, Jun Ma

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

This paper develops a bi-level decision model and a solution approach to optimizing service features for a company to reduce its customer churn rate. First, a bi-level decision model, together with its modeling approach, are developed to describe the gaming relationship between decision makers in a company (service provider) and its customers. Then, a practical solution approach to reaching solutions for the bi-level-modeled customer churn problem is developed. Finally, experiments and case studies are conducted to illustrate the bi-level decision model and the solution approach.

Trace Elements In The Si Furnace-Part Ii: Analysis Of Condensate In Carbothermal Reduction Of Quartz, Elena Dal Martello, Gabriella Tranell, Oleg Ostrovski, Guangqing Zhang, Ola Raaness, Rune Berg Larsen, Kai Tang, Pramod Koshy

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Silicon feedstock for production of solar-grade silicon should be as pure as possible to decrease the cost of manufacturing of solar cells. Impurities in quartz, carbonaceous materials, electrodes, and refractories are mostly present in the form of oxides. These oxides can be reduced to volatile gaseous compounds in presence of SiO(g) and CO(g) atmosphere and potentially leave the furnace or stay in the condensed reaction products, metal, and slag. This work investigates the conditions under which volatile impurities report to the gas phase in laboratory experiments with lumpy and pelletized mixtures of SiO2, SiC, and Si at 1923 K and …

Blending Fairness And Efficiency: An Analysis Of Its Desirability In The Context Of Insider Trading Laws In Australia, Afroza Begum

Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts - Papers (Archive)

Purpose - The regulatory approach to insider trading (IT) in Australia is premised on a "blend" of fairness and efficiency which has generated an important controversy. The study aims to investigate this controversy by critically analysing the way the policy maker and judiciary have been striving to accomplish the regulatory goals based on this blend.

Design/methodology/ approach - This research is based on existing primary and secondary legal resources.

Findings - Regulation of insider trading (IT) with an appropriate enforcement mechanism has become an important issue in Australia. As part of this, a range of legal studies have unveiled significant …

Teaching A Mother Tongue Far Away From The Motherland: An Analysis Of Chinese Language Curriculum In Australian High Schools, Min Tao, Wei Wang

Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts - Papers (Archive)

This article is concerned with the situation of teaching of Chinese as a first language or a mother tongue in Australia. Based on the analysis of the curriculum documents, students ' identities and exam papers in Victoria and New South Wales, the two biggest states in Australia, we argue that 1 ) the emergence of Chinese as a first language curriculum in Australia where English is the de facto national language is attributed to the globalisation and commercialisation in education; 2) the curriculum design of Chinese as a first language represents the curriculum' s Euro-centric mind-set and this also results …

Surface Analysis Of Lipids By Mass Spectrometry: More Than Just Imaging, Shane R. Ellis, Simon H. Brown, Marc In Het Panhuis, Stephen J. Blanksby, Todd W. Mitchell

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Mass spectrometry is now an indispensable tool for lipid analysis and is arguably the driving force in the renaissance of lipid research. In its various forms, mass spectrometry is uniquely capable of resolving the extensive compositional and structural diversity of lipids in biological systems. Furthermore, it provides the ability to accurately quantify molecular-level changes in lipid populations associated with changes in metabolism and environment; bringing lipid science to the "omics" age. The recent explosion of mass spectrometry-based surface analysis techniques is fuelling further expansion of the lipidomics field. This is evidenced by the numerous papers published on the subject of …

Is Quality Of Diet Associated With The Microvasculature? An Analysis Of Diet Quality And Retinal Vascular Calibre In Older Adults, Bamini Gopinath, Victoria M. Flood, Jie Jin Wang, Elena Rochtchina, Tien Y. Wong, Paul Mitchell

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

It is unknown whether diet quality is associated with microvascular structure. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between diet quality, reflecting adherence to dietary guidelines, with retinal microvascular calibre in older adults. The dietary data of 2720 Blue Mountains Eye Study participants, aged 50þ years, were collected using a semi-quantitative FFQ. A modified version of the Healthy Eating Index for Australians was developed to determine total diet scores (TDS). Fundus photographs were taken and retinal vascular calibre measured using computer-assisted techniques and summarised. After adjusting for age, sex, BMI, mean arterial blood pressure, smoking, serum glucose, leucocyte count …

An Improved High-Throughput Lipid Extraction Method For The Analysis Of Human Brain Lipids, Sarah K. Abbott, Andrew M. Jenner, Todd W. Mitchell, Simon H. Brown, Glenda M. Halliday, Brett Garner

Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute

We have developed a protocol suitable for high-throughput lipidomic analysis of human brain samples. The traditional Folch extraction (using chloroform and glass-glass homogenization) was compared to a high-throughput method combining methyl-tert-butyl ether (MTBE) extraction with mechanical homogenization utilizing ceramic beads. This high-throughput method significantly reduced sample handling time and increased efficiency compared to glass-glass homogenizing. Furthermore, replacing chloroform with MTBE is safer (less carcinogenic/toxic), with lipids dissolving in the upper phase, allowing for easier pipetting and the potential for automation (i.e., robotics). Both methods were applied to the analysis of human occipital cortex. Lipid species (including ceramides, sphingomyelins, choline glycerophospholipids, …

Analysis Of Subcellular [57co] Cobalamin Distribution In Sh-Sy5y Neurons And Brain Tissue, Hua Zhao, Kalani Ruberu, Hongyun Li, Brett Garner

Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute

Cobalamin (Cbl) utilization as a cofactor for methionine synthase and methylmalonyl-CoA mutase is dependent on the transport of Cbl through lysosomes and its subsequent delivery to the cytosol and mitochondria. We speculated that neuropathological conditions that impair lysosomal function (e.g., age-related lipofuscinosis and specific neurodegenerative diseases) might impair lysosomal Cbl transport. To address this question, an appropriate method to quantify intracellular Cbl transport in neuronal cell types and brain tissue is required. Thus, we developed methods to measure [⁵⁷Co] Cbl levels in lysosomes, mitochondria and cytosol obtained from in vitro and in vivo sources. Human SH-SY5Y neurons or …

Analysis Of Axisymmetric Cup Forming Of Metal Foil And Micro Hydroforming Process, Hideki Sato, Kenichi Manabe, Dongbin Wei, Zhengyi Jiang

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

A novel forming method "micro hydromechanical deep drawing (MHDD)" is focused to improve the tribological property and forming limit. In this study, a theoretical model for MHDD is developed to investigate the size effect on deformation behavior in micro hydromechanical deep drawing. The effects of fluid pressure, the difference of friction coefficients at inner pockets and outer pockets are considered in the investigation on the size effect of tribological property. The friction force decreases as the scale factor decreases in MHDD process. It is also found that the tribological property in micro scale can be improved by applying the fluid …

Synthesis, Structural Analysis, And Thermal Decomposition Studies Of [(Nh3)2bh2]B3h8, Zhenguo Huang, Hima K. Lingam, Xuenian Chen, Spencer Porter, Aijun Du, Patrick M. Woodard, Sheldon Shore, Ji-Cheng Zhao

Australian Institute for Innovative Materials - Papers

Boron–nitrogen containing compounds with high hydrogen contents as represented by ammonia borane (NH3BH3) have recently attracted intense interest for potential hydrogen storage applications. One such compound is [(NH3)2BH2]B3H8 with a capacity of 18.2 wt% H. Two safe and efficient synthetic routes to [(NH3)2BH2]B3H8 have been developed for the first time since it was discovered 50 years ago. The new synthetic routes avoid a dangerous starting chemical, tetraborane (B4H10), and afford a high yield. Single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis reveals N–Hd+…Hd2–B dihydrogen interactions in the [(NH3)2BH2]B3H8?18- crown-6 adduct. Extended strong dihydrogen bonds were observed in pure [(NH3)2BH2]B3H8 through crystal structure solution …

Lower-Limb Amputee Rehabilitation In Australia: Analysis Of A National Data Set 2004-10, Brenton G. Hordacre, Tara Stevermuer, Frances Simmonds, Maria Crotty, Kathy Eagar

Australian Health Services Research Institute

Objective. Examine demographics, clinical characteristics and rehabilitation outcomes of lower-limb amputees, using the Australasian Rehabilitation Outcomes Centre (AROC) database.

Methods. Lower-limb amputee rehabilitation separations between 2004 and 2010 were identified using AROC impairment codes 5.3-5.7.1 Analysis was conducted by year, impairment code, Australian National Sub-acute and Non-Acute Patient (AN-SNAP) classification (S2-224, Functional Independence Measure (FIM) motor(Mot) score 72-91; S2-225, FIM (Mot) score 14-71) and states of Australia.

Results. Mean length of stay (LOS) for all lower-limb amputee episodes was 36.1 days (95% confidence interval (CI): 35.4-36.9). Majority of episodes were unilateral below knee (63.6%), males (71.8%) with a mean age …

Analysis Of Some Environmental Policy Instruments, Juergen H. Seufert, Brian Andrew

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

Benjamin Franklin once said that "[i]n this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes" (Franklin, 1840 p.410) and a significant body of the scientific literature, including the IPCC, have indicated that the climate change problem has become such a pressing issue that we now face a stark choice between the premature death of hundreds of millions of the people on this planet (from storm, flood, starvation, war or pestilence) and the use of taxation or other financial strategies to change the relative cost of carbon intensive sources of energy compared to the cost of 'green' …

Factors Affecting The Technical Inefficiency Of Thai Manufacturing And Exporting Small And Medium Sized Enterprises: A Stochastic Frontier Analysis (Sfa), Yot Amornkitvikai, Charles Harvie, Teerawat Charoenrat

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

This study employs a stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) and technical inefficiency effects model to predict the technical efficiency of 3,168 Thai manufacturing and exporting SMEs, analyze their returns to scale and key factors impacting on their technical efficiency. Analysis of cross-sectional data from a 2007 census of Thai manufacturing SMEs indicates that their average technical efficiency is approximately 69.72 percent, signifying a moderate level of technical inefficiency which is reducing potential output. With respect to each group of manufacturing and exporting SMEs, SMEs exporting to East Asia have a level of technical efficiency of 0.7081, followed by SMEs exporting to …

Performance Of Automakers In China And India: An Empirical Investigation Using Ratio Analysis, Ying Deng, Anura De Zoysa, Shyam Bhati

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

Automakers in China and India are continually increasing their shares of the automobile market by adopting cost leadership strategy. In this study, we examine the operational and financial performance of automobile firms in China and India through a range of accounting ratios. This analysis provides a snap shot of operating and financial performance of Chinese automakers in comparison to one of their main competitors, India. The results of the analysis suggests that despite the public view that Indian automakers are posing serious challenge to Chinese automaker in recent years on the cost competitiveness, Chinese automakers have shown continuous improvement in …

Analysis Of Elemental Segregation In A Microalloyed Cast Steel, Jingwei Zhao, Zhengyi Jiang, Dongbin Wei

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Quantitative investigation is made on the elemental segregation in different zones of a heavy microalloyed cast steel by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. It is demonstrated that C shows serious segregation tendency than that of Mn and Si, and the degree of C segregation in the surface zone is higher than that in the central zone. C enrichment is generally observed at both dendrite arm and grain boundaries, and more C segregation at dendrite arm boundary in contrast to that at grain boundary is found in this steel. The distribution of C concentration shows a decreased trend from root to tip …

Encoding Navigable Speech Sources: A Psychoacoustic-Based Analysis-By-Synthesis Approach, Xiguang Zheng, Christian Ritz, Jiangtao Xi

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

This paper presents a psychoacoustic-based analysis-by-synthesis approach for compressing navigable speech sources. The approach targets multi-party teleconferencing applications, where selective reproduction of individual speech sources is desired. Based on exploiting sparsity of speech in the perceptual time-frequency domain, multiple speech signals are encoded into one mono mixture signal, which can be further compressed using a standard speech codec. Using side information indicating the active speech source for each time frequency instant enables flexible decoding and reproduction. Objective results highlight the importance of considering perception when exploiting the sparse nature of speech in the time-frequency domain. Results show that this sparsity, …

Security Analysis Of A Single Sign-On Mechanism For Distributed Computer Networks, Guilin Wang, Jiangshan Yu, Qi Xie

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Single sign-on (SSO) is a new authentication mechanism that enables a legal user with a single credential to be authenticated by multiple service providers in a distributed computer network. Recently, Chang and Lee proposed a new SSO scheme and claimed its security by providing well-organized security arguments. In this paper, however, we demonstrative that their scheme is actually insecure as it fails to meet credential privacy and soundness of authentication. Specifically, we present two impersonation attacks. The first attack allows a malicious service provider, who has successfully communicated with a legal user twice, to recover the user's credential and then …

Choosing An Optimal Model For Failure Data Analysis By Graphical Approach, Tieling Zhang, Richard Dwight

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Many models involving combination of multiple Weibull distributions, modification of Weibull distribution or extension of its modified ones, etc. have been developed to model a given set of failure data. The application of these models to modeling a given data set can be based on plotting the data on Weibull probability paper (WPP). Of them, two or more models are appropriate to model one typical shape of the fitting plot, whereas a specific model may be fit for analyzing different shapes of the plots. Hence, a problem arises, that is how to choose an optimal model for a given data …

Comparative Analysis Of Dynamic Line Rating Models And Feasibility To Minimise Energy Losses In Wind Rich Power Networks, Mathew Simms, Lasantha Meegahapola

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Wind power generation has indicated an exponential increase during last two decades and existing transmission network infrastructure is increasingly becoming inadequate to transmit remotely generated wind power to load centres in the network. The dynamic line rating (DLR) is one of the viable solutions to improve the transmission line ampacity during high wind penetration without investing on an additional transmission network. The main objective of this study is to identify the basic differences between two main line rating standards, since transmission network service providers (TNSPs) heavily depend on these two standards when developing their line rating models. Therefore, a parameter …

Incremental Service Level Agreements Violation Handling With Time Impact Analysis, Azlan Ismail, Jun Yan, Jun Shen

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

This research addresses a critical issue of service level agreement (SLA) violation handling, i.e., time constraint violation related to service-based systems (SBS). Whenever an SLA violation occurs to a service, it can potentially impact dependent services, leading to unreliable SBS. Therefore, an SLA violation handling support is much required to produce a robust and adaptive SBS. There are several approaches to realizing exceptions and faults handling support for SBS, focusing on the detection stage, the analysis stage, and the resolution stage. However, the current works have not considered the handling strategy that takes the impact information into account to reduce …

Community Safety During The 2009 Australian 'Black Saturday' Bushfires: An Analysis Of Household Preparedness And Response, Joshua Whittaker, Katharine Haynes, John Handmer, J Mclennan

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: Part B

On Saturday 7 February 2009, 173 people lost their lives and more than 2000 houses were destroyed in bushfires (wildfires) in the Australian State of Victoria. The scale of life and property loss raised fundamental questions about community bushfire safety in Australia, in particular the appropriateness of the 'Prepare, stay and defend or leave early' policy. This paper presents findings from research undertaken as part of the Australian Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre's (CRC) '2009 Victorian Bushfires Research Taskforce'. The research examined factors influencing patterns of life and property loss and survival across the fires through mail surveys (n = 1314) …