The emergence of an architectural anthropology in Aboriginal Australia: the work of the Aboriginal Environments Research Centre

Colonial ethnographers commenced compiling records on Australian indigenous shelters and camps from the 1870s and this work was extended into more complex settlement models by a small number of anthropologists and archaeologists in the mid-twentieth century. Building on this earlier work, a distinctive architectural anthropology has been developed and practised by researchers at the Aboriginal Environments Research Centre (AERC) based at the School of Architecture, University of Queensland, since the 1970s. The broad focus is on the nature of people–environment relationships of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, but the resulting theories and methods may contribute to ongoing developments in the field internationally. This paper (with the aid of a case study) demonstrates how various research tools in the AERC theoretical frame have been incorporated into design processes, including the constructs of the “intercultural”, “recognition space”, “personhood”, and “cultural landscape”

NO2 column changes induced by volcanic eruptions

Nitrogen dioxide slant column amounts measured by ground-based remote sensing from Lauder, New Zealand (45 deg S) and Campbell Island (53 deg S) during the second half of 1991 and early 1992 show anomalously low values that are attributed to the effects of volcanic eruptions. It is believed that the eruptions of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines in June 1991 and possibly Mount Hudson in Chile in August 1991 are responsible for the stratospheric changes, which first became apparent in July 1991. The effects in the spring of 1991 are manifested as a reduction in the retrieved NO2 column amounts from normal levels by 35 to 45 percent, and an accompanying increase in the overnight decay of NO2. The existence of an accurate long-term record of column NO2 from the Lauder site enables us to quantify departures from the normal seasonal behavior with some confidence. Simultaneous retrievals of column ozone agree well with Dobson measurements, confirming that only part of the NO2 changes can be attributed to a modification of the scattering geometry by volcanic aerosols. Other reasons for the observed behavior are explored, including the effects of stratospheric temperature increases resulting from the aerosol loading and the possible involvement of heterogeneous chemical processes

Molecular investigation of the Aum Shinrikyo anthrax release in Kameido, Japan

In 1993, the Aum Shinrikyo cult aerosolized Bacillus anthracis spores over Kameido, Japan. Spore samples were obtained from the release site, cultured, and characterized by molecular genetic typing. The isolates were consistent with strain Sterne 34F2, which is used in Japan for animal prophylaxis against anthrax

Measurements of stratospheric odd nitrogen at Arrival Heights, Antarctica, in 1991

An FTIR spectrometer was installed at Arrival Heights, Antarctica (78 deg S, 167 deg E) in February 1991 to measure the evolution of stratospheric HNO3 during the year. In particular, it was the intention to make the first observations of HNO3 trends during autumn, concurrently with ongoing measurements of column NO2 made with a grating spectrometer. The time-series of NO2 in the Antarctic shows a rapid decline in the column amount during autumn, and a slow recovery in spring, as the photochemical conditions move the species to and from higher storage reservoirs. The new nitric acid data show for the first time that during autumn the vertical column increases from approximately 1.9 x 10(exp 16) molecule cm(exp -2) at day 30 to approximately 3.1 x 10(exp 16) molecule cm(exp -2) by day 100. When the sun returns in spring, it is found that the column amount has fallen to about half the value at the end of autumn. Spring amounts are variable, but as found in the data from previous years remain low inside the vortex. The autumn increase is attributed to the heterogeneous conversion of N2O5 to gas-phase HNO3 on background aerosols. Low nitric acid column amounts at the start of spring suggest that the HNO3 has moved from the gas to the condensed phase on polar stratospheric clouds with the advent of low temperatures during the polar night

Bacillus anthracis Bioterrorism Incident, Kameido, Tokyo, 1993

In July 1993, a liquid suspension of Bacillus anthracis was aerosolized from the roof of an eight-story building in Kameido, Tokyo, Japan, by the religious group Aum Shinrikyo. During 1999 to 2001, microbiologic tests were conducted on a liquid environmental sample originally collected during the 1993 incident. Nonencapsulated isolates of B. anthracis were cultured from the liquid. Multiple-locus, variable-number tandem repeat analysis found all isolates to be identical to a strain used in Japan to vaccinate animals against anthrax, which was consistent with the Aum Shinrikyo members’ testimony about the strain source. In 1999, a retrospective case-detection survey was conducted to identify potential human anthrax cases associated with the incident, but none were found. The use of an attenuated B. anthracis strain, low spore concentrations, ineffective dispersal, a clogged spray device, and inactivation of the spores by sunlight are all likely contributing factors to the lack of human cases

Selecting hybrid pine clones for deployment - The pointy end of wood quality improvement

A clonal forestry research programme on Pinus elliottii Engelm. (slash pine) x P. caribaea Morelet var. hondurensis Barrett & Golfari (Caribbean pine) hybrids commenced in Queensland in 1986. Each cycle of clonal tests covered about 5 calendar years from field planting, and studies of wood quality variation have so far been used in selecting superior clones from the first three series of tests for commercial plantation deployment. Experience from the Series III clonal selection round is used to highlight the difficulties of ranking elite clones given a large number of growth, form, and wood property traits. Three to six ramets were felled from the best 32 clones in the Series III trials at age 6.8 years and a 3-m butt log from each was sawn into 70 × 35-mm structural boards. The clones sawn were ranked for routine deployment using data on growth, form, and wood traits. All recovered boards were assessed for distortion and tested for modulus of elasticity and modulus of rupture. Various non-destructive wood evaluation methods were used to estimate modulus of elasticity (wood stiffness) in these trees. Standing tree acoustic velocity assessed with an ST300 tool was slightly less strongly correlated phenotypically with the average modulus of elasticity of the recovered boards (r = 0.88**) than with predictions of modulus of elasticity from resonance vibration test samples and SilviScan estimates (both r = 0.89**). Moderate phenotypic relationships were found for individual tree means between average twist of the sawn boards and the average spiral grain angle of growth rings 2, 3, and 4 (r = 0.70**) assessed using a breast-height 12-mm increment core, and between average bow in the boards and average microfibril angle (r = 0.64**) from SilviScan assessments of core samples

An optimised assay for quantitative, high-throughput analysis of polysialyltransferase activity

YesThe polysialyltransferases are biologically important glycosyltransferase enzymes responsible for the biosynthesis of polysialic acid, a carbohydrate polymer that plays a critical role in the progression of several diseases, notably cancer. Having improved the chemical synthesis and purification of the fluorescently-labelled DMB-DP3 acceptor, we report optimisation and validation of a highly sensitive cell-free high-throughput HPLC-based assay for assessment of human polysialyltransferase activity