Main Roads Western Australia

Procedures for the analysis of the shakedown of pavements are developed. The approach employed models the elastoplastic behavior of a horizontally‐layered continuum subjected to repeated moving loads, and permits the incremental process of pavement failure to be considered. Following an examination of the effect of materials and geometry upon the shakedown of a half‐space and a two‐layer continuum, the analysis is applied to the results of a comprehensive road test. It is found that pavement shakedown may be both observed and satisfactorily predicted, and further that the life under traffic of weaker pavements may be conveniently estimated. An outline of a possible design approach utilizing the theory concludes the paper.

<?Pub Dtl=""?> Conventional industrial microgrids (IMGs) consist of factories with distributed energy resources (DERs) and electric loads that rely on combined heat and power (CHP) systems while the developing IMGs are expected to also include renewable DERs and plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) with different vehicle ratings and charging characteristics. This paper presents an electricity and heat generation scheduling method coordinated with PEV charging in an IMG considering photovoltaic (PV) generation systems coupled with PV storages. The proposed method is based on dynamic optimal power flow (DOPF) over a 24-hour period and includes security-constrained optimal power flow (SCOPF), IMG's factories constraints, PV storage constraints and PEVs dynamic charging constraints. It will utilize the generators waste heat to fulfill thermal requirements while considering the status of renewable DERs to decrease the overall cost of IMGs. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method, detailed simulation results are presented and analyzed for an 18-bus IMG consisting of 12 factories and 6 types of PEVs without/with PV generation systems operating in grid-connected and stand-alone modes. The main contribution is including PEVs with dynamic constraints that have changed the nature of scheduling formulation from a simple hourly OPF to a dynamic OPF.

Abstract Aim Estimates of endemic and non‐endemic native vascular plant species in each of the three Western Australian Botanical Provinces were made by East in 1912 and Beard in 1969. The present paper contains an updated assessment of species endemism in the State. Location Western Australia comprises one third of the continental Australian land mass. It extends from 13° to 35° S and 113° to 129° W. Methods Western Australia is recognized as having three Botanical Provinces (Northern, Eremaean and South‐West) each divided into a number of Botanical Districts. Updated statistics for number of species and species endemism in each Province are based on the Census of Western Australian Plants data base at the Western Australian Herbarium ( Western Australian Herbarium, 1998 onwards). Results The number of known species in Western Australia has risen steadily over the years but reputed endemism has declined in the Northern and Eremaean Provinces where cross‐continental floras are common. Only the isolated South‐West Province retains high rates of endemism (79%). Main conclusions With 5710 native species, the South‐West Province contains about the same number as the California Floristic Province which has a similar area. The Italian mediterranean zone also contains about this number but in a smaller area, while the much smaller Cape Floristic Region has almost twice as many native species. The percentage of endemic species is highest at the Cape, somewhat less in south‐western Australia and less again in California. Italy, at 12.5%, has the lowest value. Apart from Italy, it is usual for endemism to reach high values in the largest plant families. In Western Australia, these mainly include woody sclerophyll shrubs and herbaceous perennials with special adaptations to environmental conditions. While those life forms are prominent in the Cape, that region differs in the great importance of herbaceous families and succulents, both of which are virtually absent from Western Australia. In California and Italy, most endemics are in families of annual, herbaceous perennial and soft shrub plants. It is suggested that the dominant factor shaping the South‐West Province flora is the extreme poverty of the area’s soils, a feature that emphasizes sclerophylly, favours habitat specialization and ensures relatively many local endemic species.

Footbridges vibrate because the forces imparted by the user are applied with the frequency of the pace and movement, however small, is therefore a forced vibration. In instances where the pace coincides with a structure resonant frequency dynamic movement can be quite large and the user may be disturbed or even alarmed. Vibration is recognized as a serviceability limit state and a process that can be employed as a design tool permitting an early assessment of behavior is proposed. The subject is investigated in terms of the pedestrian excitation source, the structure response, and acceptance criteria. Calculated response compares favorably with test results. Remedial or preventative options in the form of various damping devices are reviewed.

Two relaxation processes of the magnetization in an antiferromagnetically coupled Dy₂ metallacrown-based complex.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common complex endocrine genetic disorder, which involves overproduction of androgens, leading to heterogeneous range of symptoms and associated with increased metabolic and cardiovascular morbidity. This review focuses on androgen biosynthesis, use, metabolism in PCOS and clinical consequences of hyperandrogenism. RECENT FINDINGS: Controversial definition of the disorder and different phenotypic subgroups present a challenge for clinical and basic research. Further investigation of different phenotypes highlights the fact that PCOS probably represents a group of disorders with different etiologies. Prenatal androgen exposure and adolescent studies suggest early in life androgen excess as initiating factor of PCOS, but insufficient evidence available to confirm this hypothesis. Various intracellular signaling pathways implicated in PCOS steroidogenesis and in androgen action have been studied, however, PCOS pathogenesis remains obscure. Growing evidence links androgens with pathophysiology of PCOS and metabolic derangements. SUMMARY: Despite intensive investigation, etiology and underlying mechanisms of PCOS remain unclear, warranting further investigation. Better understanding of molecular and genetic basis might lead to invention of novel therapeutic approaches. Long-term interventional studies that lower androgen levels in women with hyperandrogenism might protect against metabolic and cardiovascular comorbidities are needed.

A composite bilayer actuator device which uses spin crossover to convert electrical energy into motion <italic>via</italic> Joule heating is described.

Cameras have been widely used in traffic operations. While many technologically smart camera solutions in the market can be integrated into Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) for automated detection, monitoring and data generation, many Network Operations (a.k.a Traffic Control) Centres still use legacy camera systems as manual surveillance devices. In this paper, we demonstrate effective use of these older assets by applying computer vision techniques to extract traffic data from videos captured by legacy cameras. In our proposed vision-based pipeline, we adopt recent state-of-the-art object detectors and transfer-learning to detect vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists from monocular videos. By weakly calibrating the camera, we demonstrate a novel application of the image-to-world homography which gives our monocular vision system the efficacy of counting vehicles by lane and estimating vehicle length and speed in real-world units. Our pipeline also includes a module which combines a convolutional neural network (CNN) classifier with projective geometry information to classify vehicles. We have tested it on videos captured at several sites with different traffic flow conditions and compared the results with the data collected by piezoelectric sensors. Our experimental results show that the proposed pipeline can process 60 frames per second for pre-recorded videos and yield high-quality metadata for further traffic analysis.

Wingbeat frequency (f(w)) and amplitude (theta;(w)) were measured for 23 species of Australian bat, representing two sub-orders and six families. Maximum values were between 4 and 13 Hz for f(w), and between 90 and 150 degrees for theta;(w), depending on the species. Wingbeat frequency for each species was found to vary only slightly with flight speed over the lower half of the speed range. At high speeds, frequency is almost independent of velocity. Wingbeat frequency (Hz) depends on bat mass (m, kg) and flight speed (V, ms(-1)) according to the equation: f(w)=5.54-3.068log10m-2.857log10V. This simple relationship applies to both sub-orders and to all six families of bats studied. For 21 of the 23 species, the empirical values were within 1 Hz of the model values. One species, a small molossid, also had a second mode of flight in which f(w) was up to 3 Hz lower for all flight speeds. The following relationship predicts wingbeat amplitude to within +/-15 degrees from flight speed and wing area (S(REF), m(2)) at all flight speeds: theta;(w)=56.92+5.18V+16.06log10S(REF). This equation is based on data up to and including speeds that require maximum wingbeat amplitude to be sustained. For most species, the maximum wingbeat amplitude was 140 degrees.

This review is focused on the recent use of cyclotriphosphazene-based dendrimers in biomedicine. Since its synthesis for the first time in 1834, cyclotriphosphazene has been an important compound of phosphorus chemistry as a scaffold, and a large number of cyclotriphosphazene derivatives have been synthesized and applied in various fields such as biology, catalysis, fluorescence, nanomaterials, etc. Today, one of the most important uses concerns its biomedical applications. In this review, the recent developments (since 2012) of cyclotriphosphazene for major pharmaceutical applications are highlighted and analyzed.

This study investigates the durability of precast fly ash–based geopolymer concrete (GPC) exposed to an outdoor atmospheric environment for 8 years. Core specimens from GPC culverts are tested to determine the effect of carbonation, permeation properties, and pore-size distribution, and the durability is compared with that of ordinary portland cement (OPC) concrete from the same exposure environment. It is found that the GPC has lower carbonation resistance than OPC concrete. According to mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) test results, the porosity of the GPC surface increased with carbonation under field-exposed conditions, whereas no significant changes occurred between laboratory-prepared carbonated and uncarbonated GPC specimens. The GPC produced sodium-based carbonation products that are soluble in water. The surface porosity of the GPC therefore increased, and this process accelerates the carbonation in field conditions. In addition, sorptivity test results correlate well with the MIP analysis and carbonation resistance. Therefore this study reveals that the fly ash–based geopolymer concrete is more susceptible to carbonation in an atmospheric environment.

BACKGROUND: Adoptive cell therapy with allogenic NK cells constitutes a promising approach for the treatment of certain malignancies. Such strategies are currently limited by the requirement of an efficient protocol for NK cell expansion. We have developed a method using synthetic nanosized phosphonate-capped dendrimers allowing such expansion. We are showing here that this is due to a specific inhibitory activity towards CD4+ T cell which could lead to further medical applications of this dendrimer. METHODS: Mononuclear cells from human peripheral blood were used to investigate the immunomodulatory effects of nanosized phosphonate-capped dendrimers on interleukin-2 driven CD4+T cell expansion. Proliferation status was investigated using flow cytometry analysis of CFSE dilution and PI incorporation experiments. Magnetic bead cell sorting was used to address activity towards individual or mixed cell sub-populations. We performed equilibrium binding assay to assess the interaction of fluorescent dendrimers with pure CD4+ T cells. RESULTS: Phosphonate-capped dendrimers are inhibiting the activation, and therefore the proliferation; of CD4+ T cells in IL-2 stimulated PBMCs, without affecting their viability. This allows a rapid enrichment of NK cells and further expansion. We found that dendrimer acts directly on T cells, as their regulatory property is maintained when stimulating purified CD4+ T cells with anti-CD3/CD28 microbeads. Performing equilibrium binding assays using a fluorescent analogue, we show that the phosphonate capped-dendrimers are specifically interacting with purified CD4+ T cells. Ultimately, we found that our protocol prevents the IL-2 related expansion of regulatory T cells that would be deleterious for the activity of infused NK cells. CONCLUSION: High yield expansion of NK cells from human PBMCs by phosphonate-capped dendrimers and IL-2 occurs through the specific inhibition of the CD4+ lymphocyte compartment. Given the specificity of the interaction of dendrimers with CD4+ T cell, we hypothesize that regulatory activity may signal through a specific receptor that remains to be identified. Therefore phosphonate-capped dendrimers constitute not only tools for the ex-vivo expansion of NK cells in immunotherapy of cancers but their mode of action could also lead to further medical applications where T cell activation and proliferation need to be dampened.

Objective. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading disease burden in Aboriginal Australians, but culturally appropriate cardiac rehabilitation programs are lacking. We evaluated the uptake and effects on lifestyle, and cardiovascular risk factors, of cardiac rehabilitation at an Aboriginal Medical Service (AMS). Methods. The program involved weekly exercise and education sessions (through ‘yarning’) for Aboriginal people with or at risk of CVD. Participants’ perceptions of the program and the impact on risk factors were evaluated following 8 weeks of attendance. Results. In twenty-eight participants (20 females) who completed 8 weeks of sessions, body mass index (34.0 ± 5.1 v. 33.3 ± 5.2 kg m–2; P &amp;lt; 0.05), waist girth (113 ± 14 v. 109 ± 13 cm; P &amp;lt; 0.01) and blood pressure (135/78 ± 20/12 v. 120/72 ± 16/5 mmHg; P &amp;lt; 0.05) decreased and 6- min walk distance increased (296 ± 115 v. 345 ± 135 m; P &amp;lt; 0.01). ‘Yarning’ helped identify and address a range of chronic health issues including medication compliance, risk factor review and chest pain management. Conclusions. AMS-based cardiac rehabilitation was well attended, and improved cardiovascular risk factors and health management. An AMS is an ideal location for managing cardiovascular health and provides a setting conducive to addressing a broad range of chronic conditions. What is known about the topic? Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in Aboriginal Australians, but less than 5% of eligible Aboriginal people attend hospital-based cardiac rehabilitation. What does this paper add? This is the first study to describe a culturally appropriate cardiac rehabilitation program conducted in a metropolitan Aboriginal Medical Service. It provides a detailed account of the program’s components and its effects on physical and psychosocial determinants of cardiovascular health in participants. What are the implications for practitioners? Health management programs similar to the one evaluated in this study could be developed to suit the specific needs of other Indigenous communities around Australia to address a range of chronic conditions.

Summary The current study draws on work in the areas of team adaptation, team compilation, and small groups as complex systems to predict and test relationships between time, taskwork team mental models, team action patterns, and team effectiveness. Three‐person teams performed 9 scenarios of a firefighting simulation distributed over 3 days with discontinuous task changes introduced in the fourth and seventh scenarios ( N = 41 teams; 123 individuals). We applied pattern detection algorithm software to the behavioral data to identify emergent performative patterns in the team members' task‐oriented actions. We also used discontinuous growth modeling to track the development of these team action patterns and their dynamic relation to team effectiveness. The results indicate that pattern emergence increased over time. This was particularly true for teams with similar taskwork mental models, and these teams also showed a more acute decrease in action patterns after a task change. In addition, team action patterns became increasingly positively related to team effectiveness over time, but this effect was reset after the occurrence of a task change. Overall, our research provides practical guidance to managers by illustrating the value of teams having highly shared taskwork team mental models and of enhancing the effects of teams' action patterns on team adaptive outcomes.

Abstract Solutions are presented for the non‐linear load‐settlement behaviour of square‐configuration pile groups. The groups are represented by an equivalent axially symmetric model, and a non‐linear finite element is used to examine the mechanisms of group behaviour and their variation with pile spacing. It is shown that, at close spacings, the block failure mechanism occurs, with significant plastic zones being developed below the group and full pile‐soil slip only being developed along the outer piles. As the pile spacing increases, the failure mechanism gradually changes to the ‘single‐pile’ mode, whereby full pile‐soil slip occurs along all piles. Within the limitations of accuracy of the finite element solution, the values of group settlement ratio and efficiency are in reasonable agreement with values derived from existing theories.

Research Article| July 01, 2008 Quality Control of Assay Data: A Review of Procedures for Measuring and Monitoring Precision and Accuracy M. Abzalov M. Abzalov † 1MASSA Geoservices, Mt. Claremont, Western Australia, Australia WA6010. *Present address: Rio Tinto Exploration, PO Box 175, Western Australia, Australia WA6984. †Corresponding Author: E-mail: marat.abzalov@riotinto.com Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Exploration and Mining Geology (2008) 17 (3-4): 131–144. https://doi.org/10.2113/gsemg.17.3-4.131 Article history received: 30 Aug 2007 accepted: 09 Sep 2008 first online: 13 Jul 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation M. Abzalov; Quality Control of Assay Data: A Review of Procedures for Measuring and Monitoring Precision and Accuracy. Exploration and Mining Geology 2008;; 17 (3-4): 131–144. doi: https://doi.org/10.2113/gsemg.17.3-4.131 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu nav search search input Search input auto suggest search filter All ContentBy SocietyExploration and Mining Geology Search Advanced Search Abstract Control of analytical data quality is usually referred to in the mining industry as Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QAQC), and involves the monitoring of sample quality and quantification of analytical accuracy and precision. QAQC procedures normally involve using sample duplicates and specially prepared standards whose grade is known. Numerous case studies indicate that reliable control of sample precision is achieved by using approximately 5% to 10% of field duplicates and 3% to 5% of pulp duplicates. These duplicate samples should be prepared and analyzed in the primary laboratory.Bias in the analytical results can be identified by inclusion of 3% to 5% of the standard in each sample batch. Several different standards are used, with values spanning the practical range of grades in the actual samples. A blank (a sample in which the concentration of metal of interest is below detection limit) should also be included. Standard samples alone cannot identify biases introduced during sample preparation, and therefore approximately 5% of the duplicate samples (coarse rejects and pulp) should be processed and assayed at another, external, reputable laboratory.This paper discusses techniques used for estimation of errors in precision and accuracy, and overviews diagnostic tools. It is shown that one of the most commonly used methods, the Thompson-Howarth technique, produces consistently lower results than other methods. These results reflect the nature of this method, which relies on the assumption of a normally distributed error, and thus produces biased results when errors have a skewed distribution. This study concurs with the suggestion of Stanley and Lawie (2007: Exploration and Mining Geology, v. 16, p. 265–274) to use the average coefficient of variation (CVAVR(%)) as the universal measure of relative precision error in mine geology applications:Based on case studies, an acceptable level of sample precision is proposed for several different deposit types. You do not currently have access to this article.

The climate crisis has detrimental impacts on the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people. Psychological effects include feelings of fear, overwhelm, worry, distress, hopelessness and anger; PTSD; depression; anxiety; phobias; panic disorder; sleep disturbances; attachment disorders; learning difficulties; substance abuse; shock and trauma symptoms; adjustment problems; behavioural problems; and, suicidal thinking. First Nations' children and young people are particularly at risk due to loss of place, identity, culture, land and customs informed by kinship relationships with the Earth; while sustainable land use practices and connection to Country and community can enhance climate resilience. In Western Australia (WA), some young people engage in climate activism - including striking from school - to demand government action to address the causes of climate change, including colonisation and capitalism. Climate activism can promote resilience, particularly when children and young people can emotionally engage in the climate crisis; when mental health is systemically supported; when climate communication is transparent and comprehensive; and, when activism is informed by the knowledges and wisdoms of First Nations peoples and grounded on Country. This article is co-authored by WA young people, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal academics, activists and practitioners engaged in youth, mental health and climate justice spaces. We argue for structural change to address the causes of the climate crisis, alongside enhanced evidence and approaches to appropriately support the mental health of children and young people. Furthermore, we support the call of Aboriginal peoples to ensure culturally appropriate, place-based responses based in caring for Country.

Geostatistical methods have been widely used for spatial prediction and the assessment of traffic issues. Most previous studies use point-based interpolation, but they ignore the critical information of the road segment itself. This can lead to inaccurate predictions, which will negatively affect decision making of road agencies. To address this problem, segment-based regression kriging (SRK) is proposed for traffic volume prediction with differentiation between heavy and light vehicles in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia. Cross validations reveal that the prediction accuracy for heavy vehicles is significantly improved by SRK (R <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> = 0.677). Specifically, 78% of spatial variance and 53% of estimated uncertainty are improved by SRK for heavy vehicles compared with regression kriging, a best performing point-based geostatistical model. This improvement shows that SRK can provide new insights into the spatial characteristics and spatial homogeneity of a road segment. Implementation results of SRK-based predictions show that the impact of heavy vehicles on road maintenance is much larger than that of light vehicles and it varies across space, and the total impacts of heavy vehicles account for more than 82% of the road maintenance burden even though its volume only accounts for 21% of traffic.

The betaine adduct of N-heterocyclic carbene and carbodiimide (ICy·((p-tol))NCN) was found to be a very efficient ligand to prepare very small (1-1.3 nm) ruthenium nanoparticles (RuNPs). The coordination of the ligand on the metal surface takes place through the carbodiimide moiety. The resulting RuNPs led to decarbonylation of THF and showed size selectivity for styrene hydrogenation.

Road infrastructure is important to the well-being and economic health of all nations. The performance of road pavement infrastructure is sophisticated and affected by numerous factors and varies greatly across different roads. Large scale spatial analysis for assessing road infrastructure performance is increasingly required for road management, therefore multi-source factors, including satellite remotely sensed climate and environmental data, and ground-monitored vehicles observations, are collected as explanatory variables. Different from the traditional point or area based geospatial attributes, the performance of pavement infrastructure is the line segment based spatial data. Thus, a segment-based spatial stratified heterogeneity method is utilized to explore the comprehensive impacts of vehicles, climate, properties of road and socioeconomic conditions on pavement infrastructure performance. Segment-based optimal discretization is applied on discretizing segment-based pavement data, and a segment-based geographical detector is utilized to assess the spatial impacts of variables and their interactions. Results show that the segment-based methods can more reasonably and accurately describe the characteristics of line segment based spatial data and assess the spatial associations. The two major categories of factors associated with pavement damage are the variables of traffic vehicles and heavy vehicles in particular, and climate and environmental conditions. Meanwhile, the interactions between the explanatory variables in these two categories have much more influence than the single explanatory variables, and the interactions can explain more than half of the pavement damage. This study highlights the great potential of remote sensing based large scale spatial analysis of road infrastructures. The approach in this study provides new ideas for spatial analysis for segmented geographical data. The findings indicate that the quantified comprehensive impacts of variables are practical for wise decision-making for road design, construction and maintenance.