Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Reducing The Ecological Footprint: The Prospect For Green Energy, Sophie Telfar, Tor Hundloe

Tor Hundloe

Extract: In this chapter we ask the question: what scope is there for Gold Coast citizens, businesses and government agencies to play a proportionally appropriate role in replacing greenhouse gas-producing fossil fuels (in the generation of electricity and for transport) by environmentally friendly energy sources? We could expect that a sunny coastal city caressed by waves, subject to diurnal tidal flows and noted for its sea breezes would have more than average potential to play a leading role in this cause. This we will explore after putting the question into perspective.

The Evolution Of Environmental Management As A Profession In Australia And New Zealand, E. Anderson, W. Haylock, Tor Hundloe, S. Molesworth, M. Morris, J. Roper-Lindsay, P. Skelton, J. Womersley

Tor Hundloe

Environmental management is a relatively new profession, having evolved since the rapid worldwide rise in environmental consciousness in the 1960s. This article, by past presidents of the Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand, the inaugural editor of the Australasian Journal of Environmental Management, and collaborators, reflects on the establishment and development of environmental management as a profession, and the parallel development of the Institute as the focus for the profession. It concludes by considering future directions for the profession and Institute.

Jurassic Eolian Oolite On A Paleohigh In The Sundance Sea, Bighorn Basin, Wyoming, Zoran Kilibarda, David Loope

David B. Loope

Aeolian limestones are widespread in the Quaternary record and have been identified in outcrops and cores of late Palaeozoic strata. These rocks have been interpreted as a low latitude signal of glacio-eustatic sea level fluctuations and have not been previously reported from the Mesozoic or from other episodes of earth history generally believed to have been non-glacial. Numerous lenticular bodies of cross-stratified oolite lie near the contact between the lower and upper members of the mudstone-dominated lower Sundance Formation (Middle and Upper Jurassic) in the Bighorn Basin of north-central Wyoming, USA. The lenses, up to 12 m thick, contain sedimentary …

Deposition, Deflation And Diagenesis Of Upper Paleozoic Eolian Sediments Canyonlands National Park, Utah, David Loope

David B. Loope

No abstract provided.

Forensic Significance Of Teal Colored Cashmere And Black Acrylic Fibers, Nicole M. Martin

Nicole M Martin

Forensic Significance of Teal Colored Cashmere and Black Acrylic Fibers Textile fibers are a valuable type of trace evidence within forensic cases. They have the ability to connect a perpetrator to a victim and or a crime scene. Some types of fibers are more prevalent than others. The purpose of this research was to conduct a target fiber study in order to determine the significance of the selected fibers in a forensic case. Two fibers were selected from two different garments, black acrylic fiber and a teal colored cashmere fiber. Unknown fibers were collected from three local clothing stores and …

Teaching An Undergraduate Ai Course With Games And Simulation, Philip Hingston, Barbara Combes, Martin Masek

Martin Masek

In this paper, we report on our experiences in using an animated competitive game with simulated physics to teach Artificial Intelligence techniques in an undergraduate computer science course. Students develop intelligent controllers for simulated vehicles, which compete with each other in a tournament. The simulation includes a real-time visualization of the contests, and the students' solutions utilise an AI toolkit that provides animated displays showing the internal workings of their controllers in parallel with the simulation. The result is a learning experience that engages students' enthusiasm, and 'helps them to development mental models of the AI algorithms.

Exergame Development Using The Dual Flow Model, Jeffrey Sinclair, Philip Hingston, Martin Masek

Martin Masek

No abstract provided.

Considerations For The Design Of Exergames, Jeffrey Ronald Sinclair, Philip Hingston, Martin Masek

Martin Masek

No abstract provided.

Use Of Online Tools To Aid Group Work, Martin Masek

Martin Masek

No abstract provided.

The Rapid Formation Of Functional Monolayers On Silicon Under Mild Conditions, Simone Ciampi, Erwann Luais, Michael James, Moinul Choudhury, Nadim Darwish, J Gooding

Michael C James

We report on an exceedingly mild chemical functionalization of hydrogen-terminated Si(100) with unactivated and unprotected bifunctional α,ω-dialkynes. Monolayer formation occurs rapidly in the dark, and at room temperature, from dilute solutions of an aromatic-conjugated acetylene. The method addresses the poor reactivity of p-type substrates under mild conditions. We suggest the importance of several factors, including an optimal orientation for electron transfer between the adsorbate and the Si surface, conjugation of the acetylenic function with a π-system, as well as the choice of a solvent system that favors electron transfer and screens Coulombic interactions between surface holes and electrons. The passivated …

Modeling Multiple-Mode Systems With Predictive State Representations, Britton Wolfe, Michael James, Satinder Singh

Michael C James

Predictive state representations (PSRs) are a class of models that represent the state of a dynamical system as a set of predictions about future events. This work introduces a class of structured PSR models called multi-mode PSRs (MMPSRs), which were inspired by the problem of modeling traffic. In general, MMPSRs can model uncontrolled dynamical systems that switch between several modes of operation. An important aspect of the model is that the modes must be recognizable from a window of past and future observations. Allowing modes to depend upon future observations means the MMPSR can model systems where the mode cannot …

The Gambler's Fallacy: A Test Of Football-Betting Market Efficiency, Ladd Kochman, Ravija Badarinathi

Ladd Kochman

Imaginary wagers placed on college football teams during the 2006-2010 seasons that were expected to beat the point spread following two games in which they lost both on the field and against the spread produced a wins-to-bets ratio that was statistically nonrandom but not profitable. However, when that rule was limited to the major conference schools, a significantly profitable W/B ratio emerged that challenges the efficiency of a competitive market.

Dogs No Longer Man's Best Friend: A Test Of Football Market Efficiency, Ladd Kochman

Ladd Kochman

The outcomes of wagers on underdogs in the National Football League for the 2003-2007 seasons indicated that what had been anomalous behavior no longer existed. The failure of underdogs to beat the spread in profitable or nonrandom fashion supports the argument that competitive markets are efficient and undermines the proposition that behavioral finance can illuminate exploitable betting patterns.

Revisiting The Streaking Teams Phenomenom: A Note, Ladd Kochman, Randy Goodwin

Ladd Kochman

In an effort to learn if systematic misperceptions by market participants can undermine efficient prices and create regular profit opportunities, Camerer (1989) and Brown and Sauer (1993) investigated whether participants in the basketball-betting market overbet streaking (or "hot") teams. The purpose of this note is determine whether streaking teams - both hot and cold-in college football alter point spreads to an exploitable degree. The pointwise outcomes of college football teams following 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, 6-, 7-, 8-, and 9-game streaks during the 1996-2000 seasons. Streaks in the aggregate produced only breakeven results when used to predict the outcomes of …

Baseball Attendance And Outcome Uncertainty: A Note, Ladd Kochman, Ravija Badarinathi

Ladd Kochman

Recent claims that spiraling players' salaries doom the demand for Major League Baseball (MLB) make studies like Knowles et al. (1992) especially timely and useful. By following the lead of past writers--most notably Quirk and El Hodiri (1974)--Knowles et al. proxied the demand for MLB with game attendance and (like Quirk and El Hodiri) reported that attendance is maximized when the home team is slightly favored.

Mathematical Classification Of Tight Junction Protein Images, Katherine Ogawa, Caitlin Troyer, Robert Doss, Farzan Aminian, Eduardo Balreira, Jonathan King

Eduardo Cabral Balreira

We present the rationale for the development of mathematical features used for classification of images stained for selected tight junction proteins. The project examined localization of zonula occludens-1, claudin-1 and F-actin in a model epithelium, Madin-Darby canine kidney II cells. Cytochalasin D exposure was used to perturb junctional localization by actin cytoskeleton disruption. Mathematical features were extracted from images to reliably reveal characteristic information of the pattern of protein localization. Features, such as neighborhood standard deviation, gradient of pixel intensity measurement and conditional probability, provided meaningful information to classify complex image sets. The newly developed mathematical features were used as …

An Empirical Study On The Relationship Between Sustainability Performance And Business Competitiveness Of International Construction Contractors, Yongtao Tan, Jorge Ochoa, Craig Langston, Li-Yin Shen

Craig Langston

With expectations for resource efficiency and climate change adaptation in the construction industry, there is an increasing need for contractors to implement sustainable practices. Such action will burden contractors with additional costs that will lower their economic performance. There are few research studies on how sustainability relates to a firm's competitiveness. This paper represents an empirical study of the relationship between sustainability performance and business competitiveness of international construction contractors. An inverse U-shape relationship between contractors' sustainability performance and their international revenue, and a U-shape relationship between contractors' sustainability performance and their international revenue growth was discovered. The findings can …

Enhancing Sustainability Through Designing For Adaptive Reuse From The Outset: A Comparison Of Adaptstar And Adaptive Reuse Potential (Arp) Models, Sheila Conejos, Craig Langston, Jim Smith

Craig Langston

Purpose – This paper aims to make the case for the development of an adaptive reuse rating tool targeted to new building design that maximises the embedded adaptive reuse potential of these buildings later in their life, thereby adding to built environment sustainability. Design/methodology/approach – This exploratory study retrospectively analyses successful adaptive reuse projects to establish and test a multi-criteria decision-making model for new design projects. This paper contains a report on the final stages of the research methodology (quantitative approach) used in the development of the adaptSTAR model that critically assesses the list of design criteria identified in the …

Rotation Lightcurves Of Small Jovian Trojan Asteroids, Linda French, Robert Stephens, Daniel Coley, Lawrence Wasserman, Jennifer Sieben

Linda French

Novel Techniques For Enhancing Sensitivity In Static Headspace, Nicholas Snow, G.P Bullock

Nicholas A Snow

No abstract provided.

Analysis Of Salvinorin A In Plants, Water, And Urine Using Solid-Phase Microextraction-Comprehensive Two-Dimensional Gas Chromatography–Time Of Flight Mass Spectrometry, Brian Barnes, Nicholas Snow

Nicholas A Snow

No abstract provided.

The Unusual Temporal And Spatial Slip History Of The Wassuk Range Normal Fault, Western Nevada (Usa): Implications For Seismic Hazard And Walker Lane Deformation, Benjamin Surpless, Glenn Kroeger

Benjamin E Surpless

We document temporal and spatial variations in vertical displacement rate across 6 temporal orders of magnitude to better under stand how the 100-km-long, east-dipping Wassuk Range normal fault system has accommodated strain in the context of the Walker Lane, a tectonically active, NNWtrending zone of dextral and extensional deformation that affects significant portions of western Nevada and eastern California. We combine 10Be and 26Al cosmonuclide exposure ages with shallow seismic and gravity data from the buried hanging wall of the Wassuk fault to derive a post-113 ka (105 yr time scale) vertical displacement rate of 0.82 ± 0.16 mm/yr. We …

Petascale Hydrologic Modeling - Needs And Challenges, Fred Ogden

Fred L. Ogden

In recent decades, computational schemes have been developed to model point-scale processes using physics-based or conceptual approaches. The integration of these processes across space-time has been limited by computational power to either high-resolution over small spatial domains, or coarse resolution over large spatial domains. These modeling approaches have lead to improved understanding at both small and large scales, but have required parameterization of important phenomenon, and the corresponding lack of model sensitivity to changes and uncertainties in parameter values. The CI-WATER project aims to develop a peta-scale modeling approach to simultaneously allow simulation of high-resolution processes such as snow melt, …

An Integrated Centrifugo-Opto-Microfluidic Platform For Arraying, Analysis, Identification And Manipulation Of Individual Cells, Robert Burger, D Kurzbuch, Robert Gorkin Iii, Gregor Kijanka, Macdara Glynn, C Mcdonagh, Jens Ducree

Robert Gorkin III

In this work we present a centrifugal microfluidic system enabling highly efficient collective trapping and alignment of particles such as microbeads and cells, their multi-colour fluorescent detection and subsequent manipulation by optical tweezers. We demonstrate array-based capture and imaging followed by "cherry-picking" of individual particles, first for fluorescently labelled polystyrene (PS) beads and then for cells. Different cell lines are discriminated based on intracellular as well as surface-based markers.

Optical Sensing System Based On Wireless Paired Emitter Detector Diode Device And Ionogels For Lab-On-A-Disc Water Quality Analysis, Monika Czugala, Robert Gorkin Iii, Thomas Phelan, Jennifer Gaughran, Vincenzo Curto, Jens Ducree, Dermot Diamond, Fernando Benito-Lopez

Robert Gorkin III

This work describes the first use of a wireless paired emitter detector diode device (PEDD) as an optical sensor for water quality monitoring in a lab-on-a-disc device. The microfluidic platform, based on an ionogel sensing area combined with a low-cost optical sensor, is applied for quantitative pH and qualitative turbidity monitoring of water samples at point-of-need. The autonomous capabilities of the PEDD system, combined with the portability and wireless communication of the full device, provide the flexibility needed for on-site water testing. Water samples from local fresh and brackish sources were successfully analysed using the device, showing very good correlation …

Design And Fabrication Of A Cop-Based Microfluidic Chip: Chronoamperometric Detection Of Troponin T, Llibertat Abad, Francisco Javier Del Campo, Francesc Xavier Munoz, Luis J Fernandez, Daniel Calavia, Gloria Colom, Juan P Salvador, Maria Pilar Marco, Vanessa Escamilla-Gomez, Berta Esteban-Fernandez De Avila, Susana Campuzano, Maria Pedrero, Jose M Pingarron, Neus Godino, Robert Gorkin Iii, Jens Ducree

Robert Gorkin III

This work demonstrates the design and fabrication of an all cyclo-olefin polymer based microfluidic device capable of capturing magnetic beads and performing electrochemical detection in a series of gold electrodes. The size of chip is of a microscope slide and features six independent measuring cells formultianalyte detection purposes. The aim of this work is to show that rapid prototyping techniques can be instrumental in the development of novel bioassays, particularly in clinical diagnosis applications. We show the successful determination of troponin-T, a cardiac disease marker, in the clinically relevant range of 0.05–1.0 ng/mL. This methodology achieves a detection limit of …

Fabricating Electrodes For Amperometric Detection In Hybrid Paper/Polymer Lab-On-A-Chip Devices, Neus Godino, Robert Gorkin Iii, Ken Bourke, Jens Ducree

Robert Gorkin III

We present a novel, low-resource fabrication and assembly method for creating disposable amperometric detectors in hybrid paper-polymer devices. Currently, mere paper-based microfluidics is far from being able to achieve the same level of process control and integration as state-of-the-art microfluidic devices made of polymers. To overcome this limitation, in this work both substrate types are synergistically combined through a hybrid, multi-component/multi-material system assembly. Using established inkjet wax printing, we transform the paper into a profoundly hydrophobic substrate in order to create carbon electrodes which are simply patterned from carbon inks via custom made adhesive stencils. By virtue of the compressibility …

Centrifugo-Pneumatic Valving Utilizing Dissolvable Films, Robert Gorkin Iii, Charles Nwankire, Jennifer Gaughran, Xin Zhang, Gerard Donohoe, Martha Rook, Richard O'Kennedy, Jens Ducree

Robert Gorkin III

In this article we introduce a novel technology that utilizes specialized water dissolvable thin films for valving in centrifugal microfluidic systems. In previous work (William Meathrel and Cathy Moritz, IVD Technologies, 2007), dissolvable films (DFs) have been assembled in laminar flow devices to form efficient sacrificial valves where DFs simply open by direct contact with liquid. Here, we build on the original DF valving scheme to leverage sophisticated, merely rotationally actuated vapour barriers and flow control for enabling comprehensive assay integration with low-complexity instrumentation on "lab-on-a-disc" platforms. The advanced sacrificial valving function is achieved by creating an inverted gas-liquid stack …

Centrifugal Automation Of A Triglyceride Bioassay On A Low-Cost Hybrid Paper-Polymer Device, Neus Godino, Elizaveta Vereshchagina, Robert Gorkin Iii, Jens Ducree

Robert Gorkin III

We present a novel paper-polymer hybrid construct for the simple automation of fundamental microfluidic operations in a lab-on-a-disc platform. The novel design, we term a paper siphon, consists of chromatographic paper strips embedded along a siphon microchannel. The paper siphon relies on two main interplaying forces to create unique valving and liquid-sampling methods in centrifugal microfluidics. At sufficiently low speeds, the inherent wicking of the paper overcomes the rotationally induced centrifugal force to drive liquids towards inwards positions of the disc. At elevated speeds, the dominant centrifugal force will extract liquid from the siphon paper strip towards the edge of …

Centrifugal Microfluidics For Cell Analysis, Robert Burger, Daniel Kirby, Macdara Glynn, Charles E Nwankire, Mary O'Sullivan, Jonathan Siegrist, David Kinahan, Gerson Aguirre, Gregor Kijanka, Robert Gorkin Iii, Jens Ducree

Robert Gorkin III

Over the past two decades, centrifugal microfluidic systems have successfully demonstrated their capability for robust, high-performance liquid handling to enable modular, multipurpose lab-on-a-chip platforms for a wide range of lifescience applications. Beyond the handling of homogeneous liquids, the unique, rotationally controlled centrifugal actuation has proven to be specifically advantageous for performing cell and particle handling and assays. In this review we discuss technologies to implement two important steps for cell handling, namely separation and capturing/counting.