The photogrammetric recording of rock art in the Kakadu National Park, Australia

An important feature of the recently declared Kakadu National Park is its archaeological resources, in particular the rock art galleries which are among the oldest and most extensive in the world. Situated in the remote Alligator River region some 250km east of Darwin, the Park covers an area of approximately 6500 sq.km and will be progressively increased to almost double this area. In recent years there has been a growing awareness of the cultural, physiographic and biological resources of this region and the declaration of the National Park has resulted in the preparation by the Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service of management programs to protect these resources in the climate of increasing activities in mineral exploration and tourism. The imminent exploitation of the large deposits of uranium in this locality has lent a sense of urgency to this task. The protection and scientific investigation of these rock art sites necessitates a systematic identification and recording program which will provide information for immediate conservation and management schemes and also archival records for future scientific study. As there are an estimated 1000 rock art sites in the park area, this presents a daunting task for any systematic recording program. Faced with this task, the Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service requested the Department of Surveying at the University of Melbourne to investigate the potential of photogrammetry in the recording, interpretation and conservation of the rock art sites in the Park

2-(1,4-Dioxo-1,4-dihydro-2-naphthyl)-2-methylpropanoic acid

The sterically crowded title compound, C₁₄H₁₂O₄, crystallizes as centrosymmetric hydrogen-bonded dimers involving the carboxyl groups. The naphthoquinone ring system is folded by 11.5 (1)° about a vector joining the 1,4-C atoms, and the quinone O atoms are displaced from the ring plane, presumably because of steric interactions with the bulky substituent

Diameter of orientations of graphs with given order and number of blocks

A strong orientation of a graph $G$ is an assignment of a direction to each edge such that $G$ is strongly connected. The oriented diameter of $G$ is the smallest diameter among all strong orientations of $G$. A block of $G$ is a maximal connected subgraph of $G$ that has no cut vertex. A block graph is a graph in which every block is a clique. We show that every bridgeless graph of order $n$ containing $p$ blocks has an oriented diameter of at most $n-\lfloor \frac{p}{2} \rfloor$. This bound is sharp for all $n$ and $p$ with $p \geq 2$. As a corollary, we obtain a sharp upper bound on the oriented diameter in terms of order and number of cut vertices. We also show that the oriented diameter of a bridgeless block graph of order $n$ is bounded above by $\lfloor \frac{3n}{4} \rfloor$ if $n$ is even and $\lfloor \frac{3(n+1)}{4} \rfloor$ if $n$ is odd.Comment: 15 pages, 2 figure

Investigation into the role of c-MYC in differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells

The protein products of the myc family of proto-oncogenes regulate a wide variety of cellular processes, such as proliferation, apoptosis and cell growth. The importance of this family of genes is highlighted by the observation that their absence in mouse development results in significant defects and death during early embryogenesis. Investigation into the events of early embryogenesis can be modelled in the laboratory via the use of mouse embryonic stem (mES) cells, which are derived from the inner cell mass (ICM) of the mouse embryo and are equivalent to 4.5 days post coitum (dpc). An important characteristic of ES cells is that they are pluripotent, meaning that they have the potential to form every embryonic cell type. Maintenance of a pluripotent state, in culture is achieved by the exposure to the cytokine, Leukemia Inhibitory Factor (LIF). Differentiation of ES cells can achieved in cell culture in various ways, one of which leads to the formation of structures called embryoid bodies. These can be used as an in vitro model for embryonic differentiation of cells of the pluripotent ICM to the three primary germ layers, Ectoderm, Endoderm and Mesoderm. In the embryo and embryoid bodies it has be demonstrated that the differentiation of pluripotent cells into the germ layers there is a deceleration in the cell cycle times and adoption of a more tightly regulated cell cycle. It was the focus of this research to investigate the role of c-Myc protein in the differentiation of pluripotent embryonic stem cells into the three primary germ layers. To analyse the association of c-Myc protein with changes in cell cycle kinetics Western Blot Analysis was utilised. In this experiment, two distinct protein species were detected in early time points but were down-regulated as differentiation proceeded. Based on the estimated size of the proteins detected it was proposed that one of the bands was fulllength c-Myc and the other was the shorter, differentially translated c-Myc subtype, cMycS. Specific antibodies generated in the course of this research demonstrated that the shorter band detected in the Western Analysis was c-MycS, which illustrated that translation of the c-Myc protein is differentially regulated during differentiation of ES cells. 1bis thesis also describes the impact of c-Myc over-expression on differentiation and the maintenance of pluripotency. This effect was analysed during embryoid body differentiation experiments utilising No1ihern blot detection of RNA markers, which showed delayed differentiation kinetics. LIF titration assays demonstrated that c-Myc overexpression decreased dependence on LIF for ES cells to maintain pluripotency.Thesis (M.Sc.)--University of Adelaide, School of Molecular and Biomedical Science, Discipline of Biochemistry, 2004

Tobermorite ion-exchanger from paper recycling ash and waste glass

Å tobermorite (Ca5(Si)6O16(OH)2.4H2O) and its Al-substituted counterpart are layer-lattice cation-exchangers that are of interest with respect to their applications in nuclear and hazardous wastewater treatment [1-3]. In 2015, the European Declaration on Paper Recycling reported that 71.5% of all paper consumed in Europe was recycled, corresponding to 1.2 million tonnes more than their 70% target [4]. Waste paper recycling ash (PRA) arising from this activity contains reactive calcium aluminosilicate phases that can be used for the hydrothermal synthesis of tobermorite when stoichiometrically adjusted with additional silicate-bearing reagents [1]. Waste soda-lime-silica container glass (SCG) has also been used as a partial feedstock for the preparation tobermorite in alkaline media [2]. This research tested the feasibility of a one-step synthesis of tobermorite from a combination of PRA and SCG under alkaline hydrothermal conditions at 100 °C. Reaction products were analysed by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). This study also evaluated the Cs+ cation-exchange capacity (CEC), selective Cs+ distribution coefficients (Kd, from Na+ and Ca2+ background solutions) and the uptake kinetics of Cd2+ and Pb2+ by the waste-derived tobermorite produc

A qualitative evaluation of healthy weight services in a local authority in England

Objective The purpose of this study was to evaluate the healthy weight services in one local authority in England, where obesity levels have been above the national average since 2006. Design We conducted process and outcome evaluation using a qualitative methodology. Data were generated in focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews with clients, practitioners, healthcare professionals and volunteers. Results Ninety-one individuals from six services participated in the evaluation. Staff competencies and empowerment outcomes were identified as areas of strength. However, despite examples of excellent practice and enthusiastic recommendations from clients, access and referral processes were areas of weakness. Conclusion In England, local authorities have an important role to play in tackling obesity. It is crucial that they are provided with the tools to be able to implement healthy weight interventions effectively. A whole-systems approach presents a real opportunity for staff in local authorities and public health to work collaboratively and innovatively towards the same goal of continuous improvement in obesity management

Waste-derived inosilicate carrier for antimicrobial Zn2+ and Ag+ ions

Recent research by the authors has demonstrated that the inosilicate, lithium metasilicate (Li2SiO3), can be prepared by hydrothermal synthesis from waste green container glass (GCG) [1,2]. This study investigated the potential of this material to be ion-exchanged with antimicrobial Zn2+ or Ag+ ions for use as a filler in polymer composites. Antimicrobial polymer composites are an advantage in applications where the communication of pathogenic bacteria poses a problem, such as hospitals, abattoirs and food-processing factories. The naturally-occurring biodegradable mucopolysaccharide derivative, chitosan, was used as a model polymer in this study. The lithium metasilicate product was synthesised from GCG in LiOH(aq) and ion-exchanged with either Zn2+ or Ag+ ions via batch sorption. The in vitro antibacterial properties of solvent-cast metasilicate-chitosan composite membranes were then evaluated by zone of inhibition against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus