Auditory neuroscience: the salience of looming sounds

Sounds that move towards us have a greater biological salience than those that move away. Recent studies in human and non-human primates demonstrate a perceptual and behavioural priority for such looming sounds that is also reflected in an asymmetric pattern of cortical activation

Discrete adjoint approximations with shocks

This paper is concerned with the formulation and discretisation of adjoint equations when there are shocks in the underlying solution to the original nonlinear hyperbolic p.d.e. For the model problem of a scalar unsteady one-dimensional p.d.e. with a convex flux function, it is shown that the analytic formulation of the adjoint equations requires the imposition of an interior boundary condition along any shock. A 'discrete adjoint' discretisation is defined by requiring the adjoint equations to give the same value for the linearised functional as a linearisation of the original nonlinear discretisation. It is demonstrated that convergence requires increasing numerical smoothing of any shocks. Without this, any consistent discretisation of the adjoint equations without the inclusion of the shock boundary condition may yield incorrect values for the adjoint solution

Report: Current Status of Study, Perceptions of Children Living With a Parent With a Mental Illness

A brief summary of the key preliminary findings of the report "Perceptions of Children Living With a Parent With a Mental Illness" are provided. The research questions for this study are: How do children experience living with a parent with a mental illness? How do they manage this experience? What is helpful, what is unhelpful

\u3cem\u3eMeiothermus ruber\u3c/em\u3e mrub_0320 gene is an ortholog of the b3452 gene, mrub_0321 gene is an ortholog of the b3451 gene, mrub_0322 gene is an ortholog of the b3453 gene, mrub_2366 gene is an ortholog of the b3450 gene found in \u3cem\u3eEscherichia coli\u3c/em\u3e, which encode for components of an ABC transporter involved in sn-glycerol - 3-phosphate

In this project we investigated the biological function of the genes mrub_0320, mrub_0321, mrub_0322, and mrub_2366 (KEGG map number 02010). We predict these genes encode components of a sn-glycerol-3-phosphate (ABC) transporter: 1) mrub_0320 (DNA coordinates 288469..289401) encodes the permease component (aka transmembrane domain), predicted to be an ortholog; 2) mrub_0321 (DNA coordinates 289394..290218) encodes another permease domain, and also contains a transcriptional regular; ATP-binding domain (aka nucleotide binding domain); 3) mrub_0322 (DNA coordinates 290234..291541) encodes the solute binding protein; and 4) mrub_2366 (DNA coordinates 2418207..2419352 on the reverse strand) encodes for an ATP-binding domain for multiple sugar-related ABC transport systems (aka nucleotide binding domain). The unique function of mrub_2366 is not found in the E. coli ortholog; for that series of genes, the ATP-binding domain is ABC transporter specific. Since the ATP-binding domain for M. ruber has less specificity, it is not a part of the operon of the rest of the sn-glycerol-3-phosphate ABC transporter. This project is part of the Meiothermus ruber genome analysis project, which predicts gene function using the bioinformatics tools collected under the umbrella of the Guiding Education through Novel Investigation –Annotation Collaboration Toolkit (GENI-ACT)

Understanding the Changing Nature of Cluster Drivers

Many cluster examples from around the world offerinsights into cluster success, however there is relatively much lessattention given to the factors which drive the development andexistence of clusters. This paper examines cluster driversreported as part of the cluster literature, as well as examiningcluster drivers identified within the Australian AerospaceCluster. The findings of this research outline that existing clusterliterature offers a somewhat static view of cluster drivers thatdoes not adequately capture the impact of complex interrelationshipswhich exist between cluster drivers. The paperidentifies a number of inter-relationships between cluster driverswithin the Australian Aerospace Cluster

The effect of CO2-loaded amine solvents on the corrosion of a carbon steel stripper

The corrosive behaviour of loaded amine solvents was evaluated under stripper operating conditions, for post-combustion carbon capture, to determine the feasibility of using carbon steel in plant construction. In addition to monoethanolamine, three alternative amine solvents: methyldiethanolamine (MDEA), 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol (AMP), 1-(2-aminoethyl)piperazine (AEPZ), and the common additive K2CO3 were studied when in contact with carbon steel (C1018) over a 28-day period. Corrosive behaviour was evaluated using carbon steel coupons: gravimetric method for weight change, surface imaging (SEM) and analytical techniques (EDX and XRD), and Fe ion concentration in solution (ICP–OES). The results demonstrated that MDEA and AMP as well as K2CO3 develop a significant siderite (FeCO3) layer on the carbon steel surface. The presence of this layer is attributed to the preferred reaction pathway with CO2 for tertiary and sterically hindered amines. The FeCO3 layer formed in the case of MDEA provides superior protection from continued corrosion of the carbon steel. By contrast, MEA and AEPZ show significant corrosion to the carbon steel surface. In conclusion, MDEA, AMP, and K2CO3 can preferentially produce sufficient surface FeCO3 layers to reduce corrosion levels in carbon steels for use under stripper conditions in post-combustion carbon capture plants

Effects of mental imagery use on anxiety, confidence, mental well-being, and performance in track and field athletes

Background: Student athletes can experience a number of stressors above and beyond those of their classmates, one being competition anxiety in their specific sport, which is common among varsity athletes (Storch, Storch, Killiany, & Roberti, 2005). Unfortunately, the tools to help with the demands of their sport mentally are often overlooked by not only the athletes, but their coaches, teammates, and supporters. The purpose of the present study was to introduce imagery as a tool to help deal with competition anxiety (i.e., fear of failure), and to improve confidence, mental well-being, and performance. Methods: Two female varsity level throwers (Mage = 20) met individually with the researcher twice a week during the competitive season. Athletes were first introduced to breathing and relaxation techniques, followed by basic imagery scripts. For each session, the imagery scripts were changed and adjusted based on the needs and feedback from the athletes to focus on different elements (e.g., anxiety, technique, recovering from a bad throw). Results: Both athletes decreased their anxiety levels, while increasing their self-confidence, mental well-being, and performance. Discussion & Conclusion: The results highlight the positive effect of employing imagery in sport life. Interdisciplinary Reflection: Imagery use can be also applied in other aspects of athletes’ lives

HIV Transmission Rates in the United States, 2006-2008

National HIV incidence for a given year x [I(x)] equals prevalence [P(x)] times the transmission rate [T(x)]. Or, simply rearranging the terms, T(x) = [I(x)/P(x)]*100 (where T(x) is the number of HIV transmissions per 100 persons living with HIV in a given year). The transmission rate is an underutilized measure of the speed at which the epidemic is spreading. Here, we utilize recently updated information about HIV incidence and prevalence in the U.S. to estimate the national HIV transmission rate for 2006 through 2008, and present a novel method to express the level of uncertainty in these estimates. Transmission rate estimates for 2006 through 2008 are as follows (respectively): 4.39 (4.01 to 4.73); 4.90 (4.49 to 5.28); and 4.06 (3.70 to 4.38). Although there are methodological challenges inherent in making these estimates, they do give some indications that the U.S. HIV transmission rate is at a historically low level