Potential markets for logs and sawn timber from Darwin stringybark forests of Cape York Peninsula

On Cape York Peninsula there are about 1.7 Mha of eucalypt forests with commercially attractive timber species on land tenures other than National Park. Potential north Queensland markets for Darwin stringybark (Eucalyptus tetrodonta), Cooktown ironwood (Erythrophleum chlorostachys) and Melville Island bloodwood (Corymbia nesophila) are described, and prices and quantities demanded estimated from informal discussions with timber processors and consumers who are familiar with the species are reported. Interviewees are optimistic about market prospects for the former two species, but are pessimistic about Melville Island bloodwood. The structural hardwood market is the largest market for hardwood timbers in north Queensland. Other products from the region with relatively high demand include strip flooring and electricity poles. Darwin stringybark is considered to be highly suitable for the electricity pole, structural timber and strip flooring markets, where prices of about $500/m3 of chemically treated log,$1,400/m3 of chemically treated structural timbers and $2,750/m3 of kiln dried floorboards, respectively, could be achieved. Cooktown ironwood is regarded as a high-quality appearance grade timber, with interviewees indicating a willingness to pay at least$2,000/m3 of dried timber and potentially up to about $5,000/m3. Opportunities exist to sell small volumes of Cooktown ironwood into extremely high-value domestic musical instrument markets. Interviewees asserted that Darwin stringybark and Cooktown ironwood have sound prospects in overseas markets

Appendix A: MCA Terminology

This appendix reviews the terminology of multiple criteria analysis

The Systems Approach to Environmental Pollution Control

Talk by J. Venn Leeds, Jr

Potential specialty timber markets for hardwoods of Western Queensland, Australia

Small volumes of timber from Acacia and Eucalyptus woodlands of western Queensland, Australia, have achieved high prices in specialty timber markets, which has aroused the interest of landholders. A postal survey of 225 domestic and international specialty timber product manufacturers was undertaken to determine current utilisation of these lesser-known species, establish their suitability for various product markets, ascertain desirable timber dimensions and condition, and estimate potential future domestic and international demand. An overall response rate of 31% was achieved. Responses indicated that current utilisation of these timbers is probably not more than 200 m3/yr. Nevertheless, respondents generally indicated that western Queensland hardwoods are highly suited to the manufacture of specialty timber products, including small-scale furniture items, custom knife handles and musical instruments, and that they have high export potential. Some furniture and musical instrument manufacturers indicated they would be willing to pay up to $3,000/m3 and$30,000/m3 respectively, for small volumes of high-quality appropriately processed western hardwoods. Large, well-directed marketing campaigns will be necessary to expand specialty timber markets for western Queensland hardwoods

Repeatability And Validity Of IUATLD Respiratory Questionnaire Responses As A Measure Of Asthma In An Ethiopian Population

EAMJ Dec. Repeatability.indd Objective: To assess the repeatability and validity of the IUATLD respiratory symptoms questionnaire in relation to exercise-induced bronchoconstriction or bronchodilator responses in a community in southern Ethiopia.Design: A case-control study.Setting: Rural and small town setting in southern Ethiopia, April to May 2006.Subjects: Two hundred and forty seven adults and children who previously reported wheeze in the past year, and 174 who did not.Interventions: Administered IUATLD bronchial symptoms questionnaire; standardised free-running exercise test or (for those with airflow obstruction) assessment of bronchodilator response to inhaled salbutamol.Results: Kappa values for four-week repeatability for the wheeze and asthma questions were 0.61 (95% CI 0.52 to 0.70) and 0.75 (0.63 to 0.87), respectively. Of the 58 people who reported wheeze in 2003 and in April 2006, only five had a positive exercise test or bronchodilator challenge (Positive Predictive Value (PPV) 0.09, 95% CI 0.01 to 0.22). Of the 12 who reported asthma in 2003 and April 2006, three had a positive result to either to exercise test or bronchodilator challenge test (PPV 0.25, 95% CI 0.05 to 0.50).Conclusion: Our findings suggest that self-reported wheeze and asthma have good short-term repeatability, but do not closely reflect exercise-induced bronchospasm or bronchodilator responsiveness. The validity of questionnaire methods of studying asthma epidemiology in developing countries needs further investigation

Euler diagrams through the looking glass: From extent to intent

Extension and intension are two ways of indicating the fundamental meaning of a concept. The extent of a concept, C, is the set of objects which correspond to C whereas the intent of C is the collection of attributes that characterise it. Thus, intension denotes the set of objects corresponding to C without naming them individually. Mathematicians switch comfortably between these perspectives but the majority of logical diagrams deal exclusively in extension. Euler diagrams indicate sets using curves to depict their extent in a way that intuitively matches the relations between the sets. What happens when we use spatial diagrams to depict intension? What can we infer about the intension of a concept given its extension, and vice versa? We present the first steps towards addressing these questions by defining extensional and intensional Euler diagrams and translations between the two perspectives. We show that translation in either direction leads to a loss of information, yet preserves important semantic properties. To conclude, we explain how we expect further exploration of the relationship between the two perspectives could shed light on connections between diagrams, extension, intension, and well-matchedness