Epiphytic bryophytes of Dicksonia antarctica Labill. from selected pockets of cool temperate rainforest, Central Highlands, Victoria

Epiphytic bryophytes of the Soft Tree-fern Dicksonia antarctica Labill. were examined in four Cool Temperate Rainforest pockets of the Central Highlands of Victoria. Thirty-two species, 17 mosses and 15 liverworts, were noted. There was no distinction in species assemblage between the north and south side of tree-ferns although bryophytes occurred on the south side of more tree-ferns than they did on the north side.<br /

Metrics and the Success of a Higher Education Non-transactional Website

The purpose of this study was to discover relationships between metrics and usability standards to assess the success of the University of North Carolina System Office website. Though no relationship was arguably found, the study results will be used to improve the UNC System Office website and other non-transactional websites that convey policy based information to the general public. Remote usability testing with nine users on desktop computers revealed that the site succeeds in terms of aesthetic design and top-level navigation but suffers from critical errors, poor organization, and an overuse of industry-specific terminology. The testing results demonstrate the importance of presenting the wide breadth of information to the general public in a way that is visually appealing and topical for some while direct and deeply specialized for others. Above all, the study provides a case study in conducting usability testing.Master of Arts in Digital Communicatio

Planting Date Effects on Winter Triticale Grain Yield

Triticale (trit-ah-kay-lee) is a close relative of wheat resulting from pollinating durum wheat with rye pollen and using the cross in a breeding program to produce stable, self-replicating varieties. Yield, stress tolerance, and disease resistance are typically greater in triticale than in wheat. Triticale doesn’t currently possess the grain traits of bread wheat, so its greatest market potential is as animal feed

Prediction of novel alloy phases of Al with Sc or Ta

Using the evolutionary optimization algorithm, as implemented in the USPEX crystal predictor program, and first principles total energy calculations, the compositional phase diagrams for Al-Sc and Al-Ta alloy systems at zero temperature and pressure have been calculated. In addition to the known binary intermetallic phases, new potentially stable alloys, AlSc3 and AlTa7, have been identified in the Al-poor region of the phase diagram. The dynamic and thermal stability of their lattices has been confirmed from the calculated vibrational normal mode spectra in the harmonic approximation

Modelling of an inexpensive 9M satellite dish from 3D point clouds captured by terrestrial laser scanners

This paper presents the use of Terrestrial laser scanners (TLS) to model the surface of satellite dish. In this case, the dish was an inexpensive 9m parabolic satellite dish with a mesh surface, and was to be utilised in radio astronomy. The aim of the modelling process was to determine the deviation of the surface away from its true parabolic shape, in order to estimate the surface efficiency with respect to its principal receiving frequency. The main mathematical problems were the optimal and unbiased estimation the orientation of the dish and the fitting of a parabola to the local orientation or coordinate system, which were done by both orthogonal and algebraic minimization using the least-squares method. Due to the mesh structure of the dish, a classification method was also applied to filter out erroneous points being influenced by the supporting structure behind the dish. Finally, a comparison is performed between the ideal parabolic shape, and the data collected from three different temporal intervals