Assessing the Financial Vulnerability of Not-for-Profit Organisations in the Australian Aged Care Sector

This study addresses the measurement of financial vulnerability (FV) of aged care non-profit organisations (NFPs) in Australia by creating a revised multi-dimensional framework and the development of an FV index and FV scores. In addition to its methodological contribution, the study assesses the extent of FV faced by aged care NFPs, using annual reporting data collected from 200 organisations in the period from 2017 to 2019. The results suggest aged care NFPs hold a limited capacity to withstand financial shocks and provide an alarming message on the high level of FV risks faced by all NFPs. This study contributes to the literature in several ways: (1) by examining the conceptual and empirical disjuncture among the dimensions developed for measuring financial health in the NFP sector; (2) by providing evidence to the limited literature on measuring the extent of FV in the NFP sector, especially as related to the Australian aged care sector; and (3) by extending the literature on the risk associated with outsourcing public sector service delivery. Consequently, the study provides new insights to allow the Australian government to identify potential risks associated with outsourced government service delivery.   DOI: http://doi.org/10.31357/fhss/vjhss.v08i02.12 &nbsp

Effect of ximenynic acid on cell cycle arrest and apoptosis and COX-1 in HepG2 cells

Ximenynic acid is a conjugated enyne fatty acid, which is currently of interest due to its anti-inflammatory activity. Due to the association between inflammation and cancer, the present study was designed to investigate the anti-cancer activity of ximenynic acid in the HepG2 human hepatoma cell line and the underlying mechanisms. The current study demonstrated the anti-proliferation and pro-apoptosis activities of ximenynic acid by cell viability assay and flow cytometry analysis. The expression of anti-apoptosis protein silent information regulator T1 (SIRT1) was significantly suppressed by ximenynic acid. Furthermore, ximenynic acid blocked G1/S phase transition by inhibiting the protein expression of the cell cycle-associated protein general control of amino acid synthesis yeast homolog like 2 (GCN5L2), and the mRNA expression of cyclin D3 and cyclin E1. Furthermore, ximenynic acid suppressed the expression of angiogenesis-associated genes, including vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-B and VEGF-C. Finally, ximenynic acid significantly inhibited the expression of cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1) mRNA and protein, however COX-2 expression was not reduced. The results of the present study suggested that ximenynic acid may inhibit growth of HepG2 cells by selective inhibition of COX-1 expression, which leads to cell cycle arrest, and alters the apoptosis pathway and expression of angiogenic factors. The current study aimed to investigate whether ximenynic acid might be developed as novel anticancer agent

A Case Study of Assessing Button Bits Failure through Wavelet Transform Using Rock Drilling Induced Noise Signals

Finding the precise moment of button breakage of bits during drilling, with the experience of drill rig operators is a serious concern for modern vibrant mining industry. This research proposed a new methodology to find the failure of button using the sound generated by rock-bit interactions. The experiment is conducted by the video and sound data recorded during a drilling process in an underground mine, that uses a Sandvik AXERA7 twin boom jumbo drill rig and Polycrystalline diamond (PCD) tapered button bits. Signal analysis techniques such as Fourier transform and Wavelet transform are utilised to analyse the hectic noise signal recorded. The analysed results are shown that Wavelet Transform is much more effective in finding singularity points such as chipping or breakage of a button in compared to the Fourier Transform. The outcome of this analysis, which is the peak intensity at the breakage point, was correlated to the average intensity of the sound wave using moving average method. The results suggest that the noise generated during the drilling process can be used to detect the condition of the drill bit

Fate of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Coated onto Macronutrient Fertilizers in an Alkaline Calcareous Soil

Citation: Milani, N., Hettiarachchi, G. M., Kirby, J. K., Beak, D. G., Stacey, S. P., & McLaughlin, M. J. (2015). Fate of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Coated onto Macronutrient Fertilizers in an Alkaline Calcareous Soil. Plos One, 10(5), 16. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0126275Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles may provide a more soluble and plant available source of Zn in Zn fertilizers due to their greater reactivity compared to equivalent micron-or millimetresized (bulk) particles. However, the effect of soil on solubility, spatial distribution and speciation of ZnO nanoparticles has not yet been investigated. In this study, we examined the diffusion and solid phase speciation of Zn in an alkaline calcareous soil following application of nanoparticulate and bulk ZnO coated fertilizer products (monoammonium phosphate (MAP) and urea) using laboratory-based x-ray techniques and synchrotron-based mu-x-ray fluorescence (mu-XRF) mapping and absorption fine structure spectroscopy (mu-XAFS). Mapping of the soil-fertilizer reaction zones revealed that most of the applied Zn for all treatments remained on the coated fertilizer granule or close to the point of application after five weeks of incubation in soil. Zinc precipitated mainly as scholzite (CaZn2(PO4)(2)center dot 2H(2)O) and zinc ammonium phosphate (Zn(NH4)PO4) species at the surface of MAP granules. These reactions reduced dissolution and diffusion of Zn from the MAP granules. Although Zn remained as zincite (ZnO) at the surface of urea granules, limited diffusion of Zn from ZnO-coated urea granules was also observed for both bulk and nanoparticulate ZnO treatments. This might be due to either the high pH of urea granules, which reduced solubility of Zn, or aggregation (due to high ionic strength) of released ZnO nanoparticles around the granule/point of application. The relative proportion of Zn(OH)(2) and ZnCO3 species increased for all Zn treatments with increasing distance from coated MAP and urea granules in the calcareous soil. When coated on macronutrient fertilizers, Zn from ZnO nanoparticles (without surface modifiers) was not more mobile or diffusible compared to bulk forms of ZnO. The results also suggest that risk associated with the presence of ZnO NPs in calcareous soils would be the same as bulk sources of ZnO

A SURVEY OF THE MARKET AVAILABILITY AND ITS POTENTIAL FOR NON-WOOD FOREST PRODUCTS, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO MEDICINAL PLANTS AND CANE

Forests provide numerous benefits other than timber and fuelwood and these arecalled non-wood forest products. They playa vital role especially in the ruraleconomy and provide benefits of considerable importance at the national level.Despite an escalating demand, these non wood forest products do not entermarkets directly due to the absence of proper marketing channels. Thisdiscourage primary collectors, do not warrant for sustainable collection of theproduce in the wild and the possible planting of the resources.This study was conducted to assess the current market situation for non-woodforest products with special reference to medicinal plants and cane with a view tomake recommendations for the improvement of the marketing situation in thisregard.Data were collected from plant collectors, small scale regional buyers andwholesale dealers by way of questionnaires and interviews. To collectinformation on medicinal plants 4 areas where medicinal plants are very muchabundant were selected, viz. Ritigala (Anuradhapura District), Rajawakaa·(Ratnapura District), Kanneliya (Galle District) and Bibile (Moneragala District).With regard to Cane, the most abundant areas; Manampitiya (PolonnaruwaDistrict) and BaduraJiya (Kalutara District) were selected. Further, data were alsocollected from wholesale dealers of medicinal plants at Gabo's Lane andayurvedic product manufacturers. With regard to cane, product manufacturers atRadawadunna were interviewed. Secondary data were collected from institutions.The results revealed that both medicinal plants and cane are being collected in aunsustainable manner. As the existing marketing situation is disorganised, themiddle man is benefited most while the collectors do not reap much benefit fortheir labour. Majority of the crude medicinal plant materials are still importedwhile there is very low value addition to the material that is exported. Most of theraw cane too is imported. The cane available in the country do not fetch a gooddemand as it is considered as low quality. Most of the people engaged in thesebusinesses do not use the facilities offered by the banks very much possiblythrough unawareness.The following recommendations emanated from the study to improve themarketing situation with regard to the above industries in the country;introduction of sustainable methods of collection, planting of the produce incountry as large medium scale plantations, improving the quality of products andvalue addition and making the people more aware for the facilities provided byfinancial organizations to improve the industries.

Morphological and heartwood variation of Santalum macgregorii in Papua New Guinea

© 2020 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Santalum macgregorii (sandalwood), which is endemic to the southern part of Papua New Guinea (PNG), has been heavily exploited for its fragrant heartwood and is classified as threatened across its natural range. Domestication and smallholder agroforestry offer the means to preserve remaining diversity. This study was undertaken to understand the extent of remaining natural variation to support the species’s conservation and domestication. We evaluated morphological, heartwood and essential oil characters in 126 S. macgregorii trees in five populations (districts) in PNG’s Central, Gulf and Western provinces. The heartwood oil of this species is characterised by extreme tree-to-tree variation in key fragrant compounds. Proportions of individual compounds range from negligible to high for (Z)-α-santalol (0.5–51%), (Z)-β-santalol (0–24.2%), (Z)-nuciferol (0–40.5%) and (Z)-lanceol (0–72%). Despite the wide variation found within populations, an ordination of seven oil constituents revealed broad provenance-based variation in which trees from the eastern provinces (i.e. Central and Gulf) were more influenced by (Z)-nuciferol content and the trees from the Western Province site were more strongly influenced by (Z)-lanceol. The driver of this variation was the different associations between oil constituents, with (Z)-α- and (Z)-β-santalol both negatively correlated with (Z)-nuciferol for sites in the eastern provinces and (Z)-lanceol in Western Province. No evidence of distinct chemotypes was found, with continuous variation demonstrated across all major oil constituents. Of the trees surveyed with a basal diameter of \u3e 10 cm, 79% had heartwood. Mean heartwood percentage was 15.8% of basal area, with no significant differences between sites. Significant tree-to-tree variation in heartwood percentage (0–61%) was found. A modest positive correlation was found between stem and heartwood diameter (r = 0.39). Heartwood percentage and heartwood oil quality varied independently and, therefore, independent selection of these traits may be required for their simultaneous improvement. The population in Western Province is non-contiguous with those in the eastern part of the species distribution. It also has a distinct phenotype based on oil composition, leaf shape, flower colour and potential reproductive failure. It is possible that sandalwood in Western Province is more closely related to the proximal populations of S. lanceolatum in Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, than the more distant populations of S. macgregorii in PNG. While these phenotypic features do not necessarily discriminate a new species, molecular genetic research is required to determine the potential existence of a cryptic species of sandalwood. The implications of the variation found in S. macgregorii are discussed with respect to its domestication and conservation

Generating swarm solution classes using the Hamiltonian Method of swarm design

We utilize a swarm design methodology that enables us to develop classes of swarm solutions to specific specifications. The method utilizes metrics devised to evaluate the swarm’s progress – the global variables – along with the set of available technologies in order to answer varied questions surrounding a swarm design for the task. These questions include the question of whether or not a swarm is necessary for a given task. The Jacobian matrix, here identified as the technology matrix, is created from the global variables. This matrix may be interpreted in a way that allows the identification of classes of technologies required to complete the task. This approach allows us to create a class of solutions that are all suitable for accomplishing the task. We demonstrate this capability for accumulation swarms, generating several configurations that can be applied to complete the task. If the technology required to complete the task either cannot be implemented on a single agent or is unavailable, it may be possible to utilize a swarm to generate the capability in a distributed way. We demonstrate this using a gradient-based search task in which a minimal swarm is designed along with two additional swarms, all of which extend the agents’ capabilities and successfully accomplish the task