Investigating TMS–EEG indices of long-interval intracortical inhibition at different interstimulus intervals

Available online 8 August 2016Abstract not availableGeorge M. Opie, Nigel C. Rogasch, Mitchell R. Goldsworthy, Michael C. Ridding, John G. Semmle

Probabilistic analysis of multi-layered soil effects on shallow foundation settlement

The document attached has been archived with permission from the copyright holder.The results of a preliminary investigation into the effects of multi-layered soil on foundation settlement are reported in this paper. In this study, the settlement of a square pad footing placed on two-layered soil profile is examined. Using a combination of Finite Element Method (FEM) analyses and random fields simulation, probabilistic analyses of the settlement of footing founded on two-layered soil profile is established through Monte Carlo simulation. The Young’s modulus field has been simulated via Local Average Subdivision method (LAS) with a fixed mean, various coefficients of variation and spatial correlation structures. The coefficients of variation and spatial correlation structures in each layer are set to be different. It is assumed that the boundary between two soil layers is abrupt as may be represented by faults and geological unconformities in the soil mass. The results of the analyses indicate a modest decrease in the coefficient of variation of settlement of the 2-layered soil profile compared to the settlement of the uniform single layer soil mass

Influence of site investigations on the design of pad footings

The document attached has been archived with permission from the copyright holder.The reliability of foundations is greatly influenced by uncertainties associated with the geotechnical model on which their design is based. In turn, the geotechnical model is derived from a site investigation whose scope is largely dictated by financial constraints, rather than the variability of the ground. This paper seeks to quantify the influence of the scope of site investigations on the design of pad footings. This is achieved by simulating geotechnical profiles, where the soil properties vary from location to location in a random yet continuous and realistic fashion. The simulated soil profiles are generated using random field theory, which makes use of three statistical parameters: the mean, variance and the scale of fluctuation – which is a measure of the randomness of the geotechnical property in question. The methodology involves generating a geotechnical profile by simulating a 3D random field to know soil properties at each point in detail. A site investigation is then simulated by sampling from the 3D random field. By using the sampled values, a pad footing is designed to conform to a serviceability criterion, as would be achieved in practice. A benchmark design is also undertaken making use of the complete knowledge of the soil profile. This design is achieved using a numerical process involving a 3D finite element analysis. Both designs are undertaken on numerous different simulated soil profiles in a Monte Carlo analysis. A comparison of the two designs provides failure and over-design probabilities for a series of site investigation plans. It was observed that the probability of failure and overdesign decreased with an increasing site investigation scope, as expected. The results provide information to estimate the relative benefit of conducting various scopes of site investigations

Howard Florey, Alexander Fleming and the fairy tale of penicillin

The document attached has been archived with permission from the editor of the Medical Journal of Australia. An external link to the publisher’s copy is included.The public myth of the discovery of penicillin is an archetypal "quest story" of the type common to every human culture. But the real story of the discovery, testing and refinement of penicillin is a complex tale of accident, serendipity, oversight, conflict, the pressure of war, idiosyncratic personalities and even - the invention of history.Peter D Goldsworthy and Alexander C McFarlan

Non-Equilibrium Reaction Rates in the Macroscopic Chemistry Method for DSMC Calculations

The Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method is used to simulate the flow of rarefied gases. In the Macroscopic Chemistry Method (MCM) for DSMC, chemical reaction rates calculated from local macroscopic flow properties are enforced in each cell. Unlike the standard total collision energy (TCE) chemistry model for DSMC, the new method is not restricted to an Arrhenius form of the reaction rate coefficient, nor is it restricted to a collision cross-section which yields a simple power-law viscosity. For reaction rates of interest in aerospace applications, chemically reacting collisions are generally infrequent events and, as such, local equilibrium conditions are established before a significant number of chemical reactions occur. Hence, the reaction rates which have been used in MCM have been calculated from the reaction rate data which are expected to be correct only for conditions of thermal equilibrium. Here we consider artificially high reaction rates so that the fraction of reacting collisions is not small and propose a simple method of estimating the rates of chemical reactions which can be used in the Macroscopic Chemistry Method in both equilibrium and non-equilibrium conditions. Two tests are presented: (1) The dissociation rates under conditions of thermal non-equilibrium are determined from a zero-dimensional Monte-Carlo sampling procedure which simulates ‘intra-modal’ non-equilibrium; that is, equilibrium distributions in each of the translational, rotational and vibrational modes but with different temperatures for each mode; (2) The 2-D hypersonic flow of molecular oxygen over a vertical plate at Mach 30 is calculated. In both cases the new method produces results in close agreement with those given by the standard TCE model in the same highly nonequilibrium conditions. We conclude that the general method of estimating the non-equilibrium reaction rate is a simple means by which information contained within non-equilibrium distribution functions predicted by the DSMC method can be included in the Macroscopic Chemistry Method

Two-microphone spatial filtering provides speech reception benefits for cochlear implant users in difficult acoustic environments

This article introduces and provides an assessment of a spatial-filtering algorithm based on two closely-spaced (∼1 cm) microphones in a behind-the-ear shell. The evaluated spatial-filtering algorithm used fast (∼10 ms) temporal-spectral analysis to determine the location of incoming sounds and to enhance sounds arriving from straight ahead of the listener. Speech reception thresholds (SRTs) were measured for eight cochlear implant (CI) users using consonant and vowel materials under three processing conditions: An omni-directional response, a dipole-directional response, and the spatial-filtering algorithm. The background noise condition used three simultaneous time-reversed speech signals as interferers located at 90°, 180°, and 270°. Results indicated that the spatial-filtering algorithm can provide speech reception benefits of 5.8 to 10.7 dB SRT compared to an omni-directional response in a reverberant room with multiple noise sources. Given the observed SRT benefits, coupled with an efficient design, the proposed algorithm is promising as a CI noise-reduction solution.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant R01 DC 000117)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant R01 DC DC7152)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant 2R44DC010524-02

Howard's War on Terror: A Conceivable, Communicable and Coercive Foreign Policy Discourse

This article explores the relationship between language and political possibility. It is argued that John Howard’s language from 11 September 2001 to mid 2003 helped to enable the ‘War on Terror’ in an Australian context in three principal ways. Firstly, through contingent and contestable constructions of Australia, the world and their relationship, Howard’s language made interventionism conceivable. Secondly, emphasising shared values, mateship and mutual sacrifice in war, Howard embedded his foreign policy discourse in the cultural terrain of ‘mainstream Australia’, specifically framing a foreign policy discourse that was communicable to ‘battlers’ and disillusioned ‘Hansonites’. Thirdly, positioning alternatives as ‘un-Australian’, Howard’s language was particularly coercive, silencing potential oppositional voices

The Orphan G Protein-coupled Receptors GPR41 and GPR43 Are Activated by Propionate and Other Short Chain Carboxylic Acids

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