Digital Commons Network^™

Antiquity Of The Oceans And Continents, Allen Phillip Nutman

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

Tracing the origin of the oceans and the division of the crust into distinct oceanic and continental realms relies on incomplete information from tiny vestiges of surviving oldest crust (>3.6 billions years old). Billions of years of tectonism, melting and erosion have obliterated the rest of that crust. Oceans and continental crust already existed almost four billion years ago because water-laid sedimentary rocks of this age have been found and because tonalites dominate in gneissic sequences dating from this period. Tonalites are igneous rocks produced by partial melting of hydrated basaltic crust at convergent plate boundaries. Collisional orogenic systems …

Current Applications Of Hyperspectral Remote Sensing In The Discrimination Of Australian Eucalypt Species, Laurie A. Chisholm, B Datt

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

hyperspectral remote sensing provides detail on biophysical variables related to forest ecosystem processes useful for tracking and predicting structure and function of vegetation considerable potential of laboratory spectrometry and near-range work in the field to derive stress indicators and changes in cholorphyll content has been demonstrated that includes a range of studies conducted on unique Australian vegetation types.

Application Of Surrogate Methods For Assessing The Bioavailability Of Pahs In Sediments To A Sediment Ingesting Bivalve, Stuart L. Simpson, Victoria L. Burston, Dianne F. Jolley, Kim Chau

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

The usefulness of two surrogate methods for rapidly determining the bioavailability of PAHs in hydrocarbon-contaminated marine sediments was assessed. Comparisons are made between the PAHs accumulated by the benthic bivalve, Tellina deltoidalis, and the extractable-PAHs determined using a 6-h XAD-2 resin desorption method and a 4-h gut fluid mimic (GFM) extraction method. There were significant positive relationships between PAH bioaccumulation by the bivalves and sediment PAH concentrations. These relationships were not improved by normalising the sediment PAH concentrations to the organic carbon concentration. The average percentage lipid content of the bivalves was 1.47 ± 0.22% and BSAFs for total-PAHs ranged …

Landscape Variability And The Response Of Asian Megadeltas To Environmental Change, Colin D. Woodroffe, Robert J. Nicholls, Yoshiki Saito, Zhongyuan Chen, S L. Goodbred

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

Deltas, occurring at the mouths of river systems that deposit sediments as they enter the sea, are some of the most dynamic sedimentary environments. They contain a long, and often economically significant, sedimentary record of their response to past episodes of climate and sea-level change. Geological investigation of these deposits, and the processes controlling sedimentation, provide insights into the response of deltas to environmental change, which in turn may offer rational and cost-effective strategies for the sustainable management of natural resources and land use in these dynamic systems in the face of future environmental change.

Recruitment Failure And Shifts In Community Structure Following Mass Mortality Limit Recovery Prospects Of Black Abalone, C. Melissa Miner, Jessica M. Altstatt, Peter T. Raimondi, Todd E. Minchinton

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

Mass mortalities of species can fundamentally alter the structure of natural communities, which can in turn negatively impact species’ recovery. Beginning in 1994, some of the largest remaining populations of black abaloneHaliotis cracherodii on the mainland coast of California, experienced mass mortalities due to the fatal disease called ‘withering syndrome’, which led to its listing as a species of concern by the USA National Marine Fisheries Service. We have been monitoring black abalone populations along the coast of southern and central California since 1992, and detection of withering syndrome at our southernmost site prompted us to investigate how the …

Aeolian-Fluvial Interaction: Evidence For Late Quaternary Channel Change And Wind-Rift Linear Dune Formation In The Northwestern Simpson Desert, Australia, Gerald C. Nanson, Brian G. Jones, David M. Price, Tim Pietsch, C Bristow, Cameron B. Hollands

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

In central Australia the most easterly extent of the MacDonnell Ranges borders the northwestern Simpson Desert where widely spaced strike ridges intercept the regional linear dunefield. Topographic basins have disrupted regional drainage lines and isolated dune sets from the main dunefield. In the western part of Camel Flat basin large, red coloured linear dunes of fine sand, ~ 74 ka and older, are oriented almost due north. Through gaps in the ranges the Todd River traversed the eastern part of the basin until ~25 ka when it apparently avulsed ~25 km eastwards to its present position. Subsequently, linear dunes, smaller, …

Atmospheric Carbonyl Sulfide (Ocs) Variation From 1992-2004 By Ground-Based Solar Ftir Spectrometry, Nicholas M. Deutscher, Nicholas B. Jones, David W. Griffith, S. W. Wood, F Murcray

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

Analysis of ground-based high-resolution solar FTIR absorption spectra from four sites was performed to determine trends and variability in OCS columns over the period 1992–2004. The sites were Wollongong, Australia (34.45° S, 150.88° E), Lauder, New Zealand (45.0° S, 169.7° E), Arrival Heights, Antarctica (77.8° S, 166.6° E) and Mauna Loa, Hawaii (19.5° N, 155.6° W). Small but significant long-term trends of −0.18±0.02% yr^-1 above Hawaii, −0.30±0.12% yr^-1 above Wollongong and −0.29±0.14% yr^-1 above Lauder, were seen. No significant trend was seen above Arrival Heights. A large peak-to-peak seasonal difference observed in 1996–1997 above Wollongong and reported …

Sydney's Creative Economy: Social And Spatial Challenges, Christopher R. Gibson

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

The recent popularity of Richard Florida's work on the rise of the 'creative class' invites attention not only on the size and impact of the creative economy in Australia, but on its geography as well." At the core of Florida's approach is the premise that places compete with each other for a new kind of economic development, fuelled not by the availability of raw materials, cheap labour, or state investment in infrastructure, but by the decisions of producers in creative industries such as film, music, design and advertising to live and work in particular localities. Such creative producers constitute a …

Ostracodos (Crustacea, Ostracoda) Y Carofitos (Chlorophyta, Charales) De La Formacion Desencuentro (Mioceno Superior), Provincia De La Rioja, Argentina, Gabriela Cusminsky, Adriana Garcia, Rafael Herbst

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

Dust deposition in the Wollongong-Port Kembla region, New South Wales, Australia, arising from local industrial and mining activities, has been of major concern since the early 1960s. Reports dealing with dust deposition rates in the region have been published by different organisations where the data have been averaged for the region. This provides a general trend for the deposition rates for the whole region without considering the trends occurring in specific locations. This study was the first to examine the trends observed at 35 individual gauges to identify more localised trends in dust deposition rates in the Wollongong-Port Kembla region, …

Tandem Mass Spectrometry Reveals The Quaternary Organization Of Macromolecular Assemblies, J L Benesch, Andrew Aquilina, Brandon T. Ruotolo, Frank Sobott, C V Robinson

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

The application of mass spectrometry (MS) to the study of progressively larger and more complex macromolecular assemblies is proving increasingly useful for structural biologists. The scope of this approach has recently been widened through the application of a tandem MS procedure. This two-step technique involves the selection of specific assemblies in the gas phase, and inducing their dissociation through collisions with argon atoms. Here we investigate the mechanism of this process and show that dissociation of subunits from a macromolecular assembly follows a sequential pathway, with the partitioning of charge between the dissociation products governed primarily by their relative surface …

New Applications Of Modulated Digital Images In Document Security, Robert A. Lee, Patrick W. Leech, Lawrey D. Mccarthy, Gerhard F. Swiegers

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

In previous work we have demonstrated that selective masking, or modulation, of digital images can be used to create documents and transparent media containing covert or optically variable, overt images. In the present work we describe new applications and techniques of such "modulated digital images" (MDI's) in document security. In particular, we demonstrate that multiple hidden images can be imperceptibly concealed within visible, host images by incorporating them as a new, half-tone, printing screen. Half-toned hidden images of this type may contain a variety of novel features that hinder unauthorized copying, including concealed multiple images, and microprinted-, color-, and various …

Helicase-Binding To Dnai Exposes A Cryptic Dna-Binding Site During Helicase Loading In Bacillus Subtilis, Charikleia Ioannou, Patrick M. Schaeffer, Nicholas E. Dixon, Panos Soultanas

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

The Bacillus subtilis DnaI, DnaB and DnaD proteins load the replicative ring helicase DnaC onto DNA during priming of DNA replication. Here we show that DnaI consists of a C-terminal domain (Cd) with ATPase and DNA-binding activities and an N-terminal domain (Nd) that interacts with the replicative ring helicase. A Zn21-binding module mediates the interaction with the helicase and C67, C70 and H84 are involved in the coordination of the Zn21. DnaI binds ATP and exhibits ATPase activity that is not stimulated by ssDNA, because the DNAbinding site on Cd is masked by Nd. The ATPase activity resides on the …

Identification Of The Rest Regulon Reveals Extensive Transposable Element-Mediated Binding Site Duplication, Rory Johnson, Richard J. Gamblin, Lezanne Ooi, Alexander W. Bruce, Ian J. Donaldson, David R. Westhead, Ian Wood, Richard M. Jackson, Noel J. Buckley

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

The genome-wide mapping of gene-regulatory motifs remains a major goal that will facilitate the modelling of gene-regulatory networks and their evolution. The repressor element 1 is a long, conserved transcription factor-binding site which recruits the transcriptional repressor REST to numerous neuron-specific target genes. REST plays important roles in multiple biological processes and disease states. To map RE1 sites and target genes, we created a position specific scoring matrix representing the RE1 and used it to search the human and mouse genomes. We identified 1301 and 997 RE1s inhuman and mouse genomes, respectively, of which >40% are novel. By employing an …

Annotated Records Of The Greater Glider, Petauroides Volans, From The Victorian Naturalist 1884-2005, K Shane Maloney, Jamie M. Harris

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

A survey of The Victorian Naturalist was undertaken for records of the Greater Glider Petauroides volans. This report compiles around 52 distribution records, and summarises naturalists’ observations of the animal’s behaviour and feeding. Those concerned with the ecology and conservation of arboreal marsupials generally, and the Greater Glider in particular, should find this work useful as it compiles many interesting and important records of this the largest and most conspicuous of the gliding possums.

Annotated Records Of The Feathertail Glider, Acrobates Pygmeus, From The Victorian Naturalist, Jamie M. Harris, K Shane Maloney

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

The Victorian Naturalist was surveyed for past records of the Feathertail Glider Acrobates pygmaeus. We document many important records of their occurrence, as well as accounts on their feeding and behaviour. This report should be useful to researchers seeking primary source observations of this species.

Comparison Of Virulence Gene Profiles Between Escherichia Coli Strains Isolated From Healthy And Diarrheic Swine, Mark R. Wilson, Xi Yang Wu, Idris Barchia, Karl A Bettelheim, Steven Driesen, Darren J. Trott, Toni A. Chapman, James J C Chin

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

A combination of uni- and multiplex PCR assays targeting 58 virulence genes (VGs) associated with Escherichia coli strains causing intestinal and extraintestinal disease in humans and other mammals was used to analyze the VG repertoire of 23 commensal E. coli isolates from healthy pigs and 52 clinical isolates associated with porcine neonatal diarrhea (ND) and postweaning diarrhea (PWD). The relationship between the presence and absence of VGs was interrogated using three statistical methods. According to the generalized linear model, 17 of 58 VGs were found to be significant (P < 0.05) in distinguishing between commensal and clinical isolates. Nine of the 17 genes represented by iha, hlyA, aidA, east1, aah, fimH, iroN(E. coli), traT, and saa have not been previously identified as important VGs in clinical porcine isolates in Australia. The remaining eight VGs code for fimbriae (F4, F5, F18, and F41) and toxins (STa, STb, LT, and Stx2), normally associated with porcine enterotoxigenic E. coli. Agglomerative hierarchical algorithm analysis grouped E. coli strains into subclusters based primarily on their serogroup. Multivariate analyses of clonal relationships based on the 17 VGs were collapsed into two-dimensional space by principal coordinate analysis. PWD clones were distributed in two quadrants, separated from ND and commensal clones, which tended to cluster within one quadrant. Clonal subclusters within quadrants were highly correlated with serogroups. These methods of analysis provide different perspectives in our attempts to understand how commensal and clinical porcine enterotoxigenic E. coli strains have evolved and are engaged in the dynamic process of losing or acquiring VGs within the pig population.

Dust Deposition Rates In The Wollongong-Port Kembla Area, New South Wales, Australia, R J. Morrison, Bandar A. Fadhel, K Goss

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

Dust deposition in the Wollongong-Port Kembla region, New South Wales, Australia, arising from local industrial and mining activities, has been of major concern since the early 1960s. Reports dealing with dust deposition rates in the region have been published by different organisations where the data have been averaged for the region. This provides a general trend for the deposition rates for the whole region without considering the trends occurring in specific locations. This study was the first to examine the trends observed at 35 individual gauges to identify more localised trends in dust deposition rates in the Wollongong-Port Kembla region, …

Investigation Of Large-Scale Washover Of A Small Barrier System On The Southeast Australian Coast Using Ground Penetrating Radar, Brian G. Jones, C Bristow, Adam D. Switzer

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

Prehistoric depositional signatures for large-scale washover involving marine inundation events such as storm and tsunami have been the subject of considerable research over the last 15 years. Much of this research has focused on the identification of sand sheets in back-barrier environments as depositional records for extreme washover events. All these deposits must have a sediment source, and by their nature, the most likely source of sediment for washover into back-barrier environments is the barrier itself. This study identifies an erosional signature for large-scale washover from a small coastal barrier on the southeast Australian coast. A distinct lense of marine …

Assessment Of The Structural Development Of Resin Bonded Taphole Clay (Icsti 06), Sharon Nightingale, Lisa Wells, F W B U Tanzil, Jim Cummins, Brian J. Monaghan, K Price

Faculty of Engineering - Papers (Archive)

Resin in taphole clay provides good extrudability and strength at low temperatures. However, it also contains volatile matter that is lost on heating. The blast furnace taphole is subject to a large thermal gradient, leading to variation in the bonding and structure of the clay along the taphole’s length. This has a critical effect on properties. Effects of this variation in properties on furnace operations are not well understood. A simple laboratory test was devised to simulate the thermal gradient, and assess its effects on taphole clays.

Thermogravimetric tests were also conducted at different heating rates. Results of experiments are …

Modelling Solids Friction Factor For Dense-Phase Pneumatic Conveying Of Powders, Peter W. Wypych, David B. Hastie

Faculty of Engineering - Papers (Archive)

This paper presents results from an investigation into power-function modelling of solids friction factor for the dilute-phase and fluidised dense-phase (FDP) conveying of powders. Three different diameters/lengths of pipeline were used to generate a wide range of steady-state data and also explore important scale-up issues. The effect of pressure tapping locations on the data and derived models was also investigated. Different sets of power-function model solutions were used for comparison purposes and also to check scale-up stability and accuracy. Comparisons with predictions from recent models developed by other researchers are included. It is concluded that certain forms of the power …

Thermal Stability And Crystallization Kinetics Of Mechanically Alloyed Tic/Ti-Based Metallic Glass Matrix Composite, Laichang Zhang, J. Xu, J Eckert

Faculty of Engineering - Papers (Archive)

A Ti-based metallic glass matrix composite with 10vol% TiC is synthesized by mechanical alloying. The thermal stability and crystallization kinetics of the metallic glass and compositepowders are investigated by differential scanning calorimetry in the mode of isochronal heating and isothermal annealing. The isothermal transformation kinetics is analyzed by the Kolmogorov-Johnson-Mehl-Avrami equation. The values of the Avrami exponent calculated for low crystallization volume fractions imply that the crystallization of both types of powders is governed by diffusion-controlled three-dimensional growth. The mean activation energy of crystallization for the composite is slightly lower than that of the Ti-based metallic glass. The addition of …

Chemical Modification Of Precursor Solution For Long Length Ybco Coated Conductor Fabrication, Jaimoo Yoo, Young-Kuk Kim, Kookchae Chung, Jaewoong Ko, Gye-Won Hong, Hee-Gyoun Lee, Jin-Heung Kim, Hyungsik Chung, X. L. Wang, S. X. Dou

Faculty of Engineering - Papers (Archive)

Long length MOD processing of YBCO conductor requires high performance precursor solution without degradation during the process. In this study, effect of chemical modification of precursor solution on MOD processing was investigated to meet the requirement. Highly stable YBCO precursor solution was synthesized with PVP (polyvinylpyrrolidone) and crack-free thick precursor film was successfully fabricated. However, annealed YBCO film shows porous microstructures originated from large HF gas generation from thick films and residual carbon from additives. Reduction of fluorine content is required to densify microstructures. In order to reduce fluorine content, F-free Cu-precursor solution was synthesized. YBCO film with J_{c …}

A New Model For Thermal Conductivity In Nanofluids, Pei Tillman, James M. Hill

Faculty of Engineering - Papers (Archive)

Nanofluids exhibit enhanced thermal conductivity superior to traditional heat transfer fluids. The conventional theoretical models cannot explain the large enhancement of the thermal conductivity of nanofluids. It has been proposed that an interfacial structure formed by liquid molecular layering might play an important role. To date there is no known procedure to properly calculate the nanolayer thickness, and all previous investigators arbitrarily adopt a layer thickness which is consistent with experimental results. Here we investigate the thermal conductivity structure of this interfacial layer and its impact on the effective thermal conductivity and an expression for the thermal conductivity profile in …

Providing A Context For First Year Engineering Students: A Report On Attempts At Course Inversion, Richard A. Dwight, Timothy J. Mccarthy, Anna L. Carew, Brian Ferry

Faculty of Engineering - Papers (Archive)

Observations of how engineering students approach learning activities in the earlier years of their degree, report that they do not recognise real-life context that links to the theory they are required to apply in learning tasks. This impacts on their motivation and contributes to a lack of transfer of basic knowledge in the latter years of their degree. A new subject for first year engineering students was introduced at the University of Wollongong in 2005 focusing on real-life engineering problems requiring analysis for effective solution. Students are encouraged to explore the use of basic principles and available analysis techniques relevant …

Essay Review: Final Test And Class And Schools, M. T. O'Brien

Faculty of Law - Papers (Archive)

In this essay review, O’Brien reviews two recent books that explore contemporary efforts to close the American black/white educational achievement gap. In Final Test: The Battle for Adequacy in America’s Schools, Peter Schrag chronicles on-going efforts to enlist the power of the courts to effect equal educational opportunity through court-ordered remedies. Richard Rothstein, in Class and Schools: Using Social, Economic and Educational Reform to Close the Black-White Achievement Gap, looks to social science, educational and social reform for potential solutions to the problem. O’Brien concludes that neither litigation nor educational reform is sufficient to provide universal access to high quality …

Up The Creek And Out At Sea: The Resurfacing Of The Public Right To Fish, Warwick Gullett

Faculty of Law - Papers (Archive)

The ancient common law public right to fish has had increasing resonance since 2001 when the High Court in Yarmirr denied the existence of asserted exclusive offshore native title rights in large part because of the “fundamental inconsistency” between them and the public right to fish. The Yarmirr decision also established that non-exclusive offshore native title rights must be consistent with the public right. This creates the potential for litigation where it is asserted that actions of native title holders have infringed the public right or where recreational anglers purportedly exercising the public right in an area subject to a …

The Scope And Limitations Of The Doctrine Of Misleading Or Deceptive Conduct In The Context Of Guarantees: Some Perspectives And Uncertainties, Charles Chew

Faculty of Law - Papers (Archive)

In this article, there is a critical analysis of the doctrine of misleading or deceptive conduct under s 52 of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) which is frequently relied upon for vitiation by guarantors or sureties who, as a result of such conduct on the part of the lender or credit provider, have given guarantees without adequate understanding or informed consent. It looks at how s 52 allows a party who is induced to enter into a contract of guarantee by misleading or deceptive conduct may be entitled to damages from the lender (the representor) in respect of any …

Blurring The Lines Of Environmental Responsibility: How Corporate And Public Governance Was Circumvented In The Ok Tedi Mining Limited Disaster, Judith M. Marychurch, Natalie P. Stoianoff

Faculty of Law - Papers (Archive)

This paper will present the preliminary findings of a research project into the impact of legislative legitimation of environmental damage on corporate governance in multinational companies and on public governance in the nation state. The environmental devastation of the Ok Tedi mine in Papua New Guinea (PNG) will be the focus of the paper.

The Hih Collapse: A Catalyst For Costly Reform, Gregor H. Allan

Faculty of Law - Papers (Archive)

This paper examines the corporate governance and audit law reforms wrought in the wake of recent corporate scandals such as the HIH collapse. It considers the cost of these reforms and, using HIH as a principle reference point, the likely benefits. In particular, it questions reforms in the areas of auditor independence and audit standards. Do the new independence requirements go far enough? Does audit practice regulation now go too far? Indeed, is the audit function inherently susceptible to legislated sanction – or does this denigrate the very essence of auditing as a profession?

Sexual Citizenship And The Civil Union Act 2004, Nan Seuffert

Faculty of Law - Papers (Archive)

This article analyses the parliamentary debates on the Civil Union Act 2004, which provides for legal recognition of same sex relationships, for stories of national identity. A close reading of the parliamentary debates on the Act suggests that although the supporters and opponents of the legislation seemed to be worlds apart, many told similar stories about New Zealand as a nation, and citizens within that nation, emphasising similar values and aspirations. Both sides told stories of citizens, of New Zealanders, as tolerant and fair, as forwarding-looking progressives who value stable long-term, committed relationships, warm loving communities for children, and strong …