Mapping changes in landscape-scale patterns of vegetation in coal seam gas development areas

In the 15 years to 2013, the rate of coal seam gas (CSG) development in Queensland increased dramatically. Drilling of gas wells and installation of associated infrastructure sometimes requires the removal of vegetation. Although a change in vegetation cover on a small scale does not necessarily correspond to significant landscape-­‐scale change, research overseas indicates that the extent and configuration of vegetation patches in a landscape is altered in areas of concentrated oil and gas extraction. The focus of previous research has been on oil and shale gas activity, mainly in North America. There has been little work on the nature and extent of the impact of similar developments in an Australian context, or impacts due specifically to CSG activity anywhere in the world. The aim of this study is to determine the nature of land cover change in a region of southern Queensland under intense CSG development. The extent and fragmentation of vegetation in 1999, immediately before CSG development began, is compared to the extent and fragmentation of vegetation in 2013, after 1562 coal seam gas wells had been drilled. Land cover was determined by classification of a LANDSAT 4 image taken in 1999 and a Landsat 8 image taken in 2013. ArcGIS 10.2 was used for image manipulation, and vegetation patch metrics were determined using FRAGSTATS 4.2 software. For comparison, the same metrics were also calculated in hot spot regions defined in two different ways to focus more closely around drilling sites. Similarly, the same metrics were calculated on a classified image modified to ensure that known linear clearings were continuously defined despite the automatic classification. The study finds that processes causing land cover change in the study area generally have a net positive effect on the landscape. Positive changes were observed despite clear evidence that CSG activity has directly led to vegetation loss on a small scale around CSG developments within the study area. This study shows that, while CSG development has a distinguishable impact on land cover at a landscape scale in southern Queensland, other more significant drivers of change mask the effect of CSG activity

Evaluating the effect of the digital divide between teachers and students on the meaningful use of information and communication technology in the classroom

In recent years the usage of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in schools has become more prominent (Pegrum, Oakley, & Faulkner, 2013), with the majority of the focus being on hardware implementation (Hunter, 2013). However, teachers have generally struggled to integrate the use of ICT fully to promote learning in their classrooms (Sipilä, 2014). Therefore, schools may need to develop teachers’ ICT skills; this also being in response to students demonstrating higher levels of ICT skills within schools (Morgan, 2012). The well documented limitations in ICT skills of many teachers, and the likely increasing ICT skill levels of students’ is creating the potential for a digital divide between the teacher and his/ her students. A digital divide is normally identified between developing countries that lack the resources and financial support when compared to developed countries (Shih, Kraemer, & Dedrick, 2008). However, there is a concern regarding the knowledge and skills of teachers to make use of ICT in the classroom (Asia Society, 2012). In addition, it is likely that as teachers get older the ICT knowledge and skills gap between them and younger people will widen (Department of Education and Training in Western Australia, 2006). Is this widening skills gap creating a critical digital divide between teachers and students in the classroom? It has been argued that students have lived in a world of technology since a young age, and therefore, have developed a natural ability to use technology to communicate and find information (Groff, 2013). Is this natural ability exploited in the classroom and do the students exhibit higher-levels of ICT knowledge and skills than the teacher? If a digital divide exists, would this affect the way in which ICT is used by students in the classroom? This study sought to investigate this question. The environment for this study was a Western Australian secondary school, with the participants being teachers and students. The study implemented a quasi-ethnographic multiple case studies approach to research, with multifactorial surveys and interviews, was implemented for the study. The primary sample for the study comprised eight teachers, two from each of the core learning areas of Mathematics, English, Science, and History and Social Sciences. Each teacher sampled, allowed access to one of his/her student classes, resulting in a sample of 154 students from Year Seven to Year Eleven, therefore there were eight distinct case studies. Initially, the students and teachers participated in a survey to establish the extent and nature of the potential digital divide (the first construct) between the teacher and his/her class. This construct analysed the ICT competence by assessing the level of ICT Skills, Application and Attitude for each of the students and teachers. The responses to the teacher interview questions and some of the questionnaire items were also used to determine the extent of the Meaningful Use of ICT (the second construct) with each class. Finally, this was compared with the extent and nature of the digital divide for each case study class to investigate whether there was likely to be a qualitative connection between the two constructs. That is, the study aimed to investigate whether a digital divide existed, and whether it was likely that this affected the use of ICT in the classroom. The intention of the study was to assist in directing teacher professional learning practices, and policies to support enhanced learning with ICT. The study found that both the sample of teachers and sample of students had varying levels of ICT competence. However, there was little difference in the student mean for each class on the measures of ICT competence. For some case study classes, it was determined that there was a digital divide in favour of the students, and for others the divide was in favour of the teacher. This outcome was determined by the ICT competence of the teacher, not the students, because there wasn\u27t a significant difference between the student means for the eight class. The study found that when the digital divide for a class was in favour of the students there was limited evidence of Meaningful Use of ICT. However, when the divide was clearly in favour of the teacher for the class, there was a noticeable level of Meaningful Use of ICT with the students. The results of the study suggested that the difference in ICT competence of the teacher compared with students was likely to affect the Meaningful Use of ICT in the classroom. Therefore, it is recommended that policies and practices in schools and school systems be enacted with the aim of increasing the ICT competence of teachers

The structure of divalent and trivalent cation substituted β-tricalcium phosphate

Current methods of nuclear waste disposal are not suitable for the immobilisation of novel defence-based waste due to the high halogen content resulting from pyrochemical reprocessing. The objective of this thesis was to investigate β-tricalcium phosphate (β- TCP, Ca3(PO4)2) encapsulated in a sodium aluminoborophosphate glass (NABP) matrix as a potential host for this waste using a variety of structural probes. Samples were prepared to determine the structural changes in β-TCP as components of the simulated waste streams were substituted into the material. Zn, Mg, Al, and Ga incorporation was investigated. A combination of X-ray and neutron diffraction was used to determine the changes in long-range order as a function of Zn and Mg substitution up to 13% and 25% cation substitution respectively. Both Zn and Mg substitution caused a contraction of the unit cell up to complete substitution of the Ca(5) site, at which point the contraction ceased. Under further substitution on the Ca(4) site, the a lattice parameter continued to decrease, while the c lattice parameter increased, resulting in an unchanged unit cell volume. Evidence of tricalcium trimagnesium phosphate second phase was observed for the Mg-based compositions above Ca2:8Mg0:2(PO4)2, as has been previously documented, however single phase samples were observed for all Zn-based compositions, in contrast to previous studies. 31P NMR was used to confirm this Ca(5)-Ca(4) substitution model for the Zn-based β-TCP compositions by tightly constrained simulations as a function of composition. A combination of solid-state NMR techniques were used to identify the substitution mechanism of Al and Ga in β-TCP up to the composition Ca9M(PO4)7, where M is Al or Ga respectively. The 31P and 43Ca NMR spectra were simulated as with the divalent cations mentioned above to determine the origin of each resonance in the spectra. Subsequently, 27Al-f31Pg and 71Ga-f31Pg R3-HMQC experiments were performed to explicitly identify substitution on the Ca(5) site only. Studies were also performed to model the NABP:β-TCP interface formed as a result of the encapsulation process, for both pure β-TCP and Ga-substituted β-TCP. To simulate the range of compositions expected at this interface, calcium phosphate and NABP preparations were mixed in proportions from 10 wt:% to 80 wt:% (Ga-substituted) β- TCP. 31P NMR and Raman spectroscopy showed a progressive depolymerisation of the phosphorus network, consistent with the replacement of Al3+ and Na+ with Ca2+. The Al3+ was shown to exist primarily in a 4 coordinated state, showing a tendency to exist within the phosphorus network, whereas 11B NMR showed the B to move from a 4 coordinated site in NABP to a B-rich 3 coordinated environment. Differential thermal analysis showed an increase in the temperature of the two recrystallisation events as a function of both β-TCP and Ga-substituted β-TCP. Studies of the phases present after recrystallisation of the pure β-TCP-based samples showed calcium sodium phosphate and Na Al co-substituted β-TCP for the lower and higher crystallisation temperatures with β-TCP incorporation. For the Ga-containing samples, Na Al Ga co-substituted β-TCP was observed for both crystallisation temperatures. Critically, Ga was shown to displace Al in the β-TCP phase

Catch and release’ cascades: a resin-mediated three-component cascade approach to small molecules

The application of a ‘catch and release’ approach to palladium-catalysed multi-component cascade reactions leads to diverse libraries of pharmacologically interesting small molecules in high yield and with excellent purity

Monitoring Frog Communities: An Application of Machine Learning

Automatic recognition of animal vocalisations would be a valuable tool for a variety of biological research and environmental monitoring applications . We report the development of a software system which can recognise the vocalisations of 22 species of frogs which occur in an area of Northern Australia. This software system will be used in unattended operation to monitor the effect on frog populations of the introduced Cane Toad. The system is based around classification of local peaks in the spectrogram of the audio signal using Quinlan's machine learning system, C4.5 (Quinlan 1993). Unreliable identifications of peaks are aggregated together using a hierarchical structure of segments based on the typical temporal vocalisation species' patterns. This produces robust system performance

Variable tree establishment in bauxite mine restoration in south-west Australia linked to rainfall distribution, seasonal temperatures and seed rain

Reasons for variable establishment of Jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata D. Don ex Sm.) and Marri (Corymbia calophylla (Lindl). K. D. Hill & L. A. S. Johnson) on restored forest sites after bauxite mining in south‐west Australia are not well understood. To refine restoration outcomes, we compiled tree seedling density establishment data from surveys of 654 previously mined sites restored between 1998 and 2017, and applied generalised linear models to discriminate the effects of 24 climatic and restoration practice variables. Final models explained 50% and 31% of the variation in Jarrah and Marri density, respectively. Broadcast seeding and fertiliser rates were positively related to seedling density. A more even rainfall distribution in the early wet season increased seedling density. However, persistent rain later in the wet season decreased density, possibly as a result of ripline soil saturation or ponding. Higher average daily maximum temperatures in the dry season decreased seedling density probably due to drought stress, but warmer daily temperature minima in both wet and dry seasons increased density. Seed rain from surrounding unmined forest was implicated as a significant, but highly variable, source of additional seed to restored sites. Restoration practices that influence soil moisture relations (tillage, depth and texture of returned soil), shallow burial of applied seed and timing of fertiliser application are likely to be important in refining restoration outcomes

Applied phosphorus has long-term impacts on vegetation responses in restored jarrah forest

Nutrient enrichment can result in long-term negative impacts on a range of native and semi-native plant communities worldwide. Despite this knowledge, fertiliser application is generally viewed as a necessary step in re-establishing native plant communities in post-mining restoration. However, long-term effects of nutrient addition to restored plant communities, particularly in native ecosystems that are adapted to inherently low-nutrient soils, have received little attention. Here we report results of two experiments run for 15 and 20 years, respectively, to investigate the effect of applied P fertiliser on responses of Eucalyptus marginata (jarrah) forest re-sprouter understorey species in sites restored after bauxite mining in Western Australia. Re-sprouter species are abundant in unmined forest but are under-represented in restored sites. At the end of the two experiments (i.e. after 15 and 20 years), the abundance of three groups of re-sprouter understorey species was reduced, compared with the zero-fertiliser treatment, when P fertiliser was applied at rates from 20 to 120 kg P ha-1. In both experiments, the cover associated with P responsive legumes increased with increasing P application rates. This result suggests that when fertiliser is applied, slow-growing re-sprouter species are susceptible to being outcompeted by more vigorous understorey species. Consequently, if the goal of restoration is to re-establish a diverse plant community, then minimising fertiliser application rates may be appropriate

Enduring effects of large legumes and phosphorus fertiliser on jarrah forest restoration 15 years after bauxite mining

Restoring nutrients lost in the mining process and re-establishing nutrient-cycling are often key goals of mine restoration. One common strategy to facilitate these goals is to seed fast-growing legumes combined with one application of P-fertiliser to maximise legume growth and increase soil-N. However, the longer term effects of this strategy have received little attention. Here we report the results of a 15-year-old experiment that was established to test the effects of fertiliser-P application and seeding large understorey legumes, both singly and in combination, on jarrah forest restoration after bauxite mining. Fifteen years after the establishment of this experiment, the majority of the seeded legumes had senesced, with total legume cover having declined significantly compared with results of the same experiment at 5-years-of-age. Yet, despite the legumes having senesced there were still negative effects of both large legumes and P-fertiliser on species richness and abundance of non-leguminous understorey species. These negative effects may be mediated by the persistent effects of legume competition that was evident at 5 years and the accumulation of significant quantities of leaf litter and fine woody debris in the large legume × P-addition treatments. Compared with the 0 kg P ha−1 treatment, application of 20 kg P ha−1 significantly increased jarrah tree growth, but there was no additional benefit of 80 kg P ha−1. These data suggest that moderation of P-fertiliser and large understorey legumes could maximise understorey cover, tree growth and understorey species richness, and therefore simultaneously address multiple key restoration goals

Acute exposure of mice to high-dose ultrafine carbon black decreases susceptibility to pneumococcal pneumonia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Epidemiological studies suggest that inhalation of carbonaceous particulate matter from biomass combustion increases susceptibility to bacterial pneumonia. <it>In vitro </it>studies report that phagocytosis of carbon black by alveolar macrophages (AM) impairs killing of <it>Streptococcus pneumoniae</it>. We have previously reported high levels of black carbon in AM from biomass smoke-exposed children and adults. We therefore aimed to use a mouse model to test the hypothesis that high levels of carbon loading of AM <it>in vivo </it>increases susceptibility to pneumococcal pneumonia.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Female outbred mice were treated with either intranasal phosphate buffered saline (PBS) or ultrafine carbon black (UF-CB in PBS; 500 μg on day 1 and day 4), and then infected with <it>S. pneumoniae </it>strain D39 on day 5. Survival was assessed over 72 h. The effect of UF-CB on AM carbon loading, airway inflammation, and a urinary marker of pulmonary oxidative stress was assessed in uninfected animals.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Instillation of UF-CB in mice resulted a pattern of AM carbon loading similar to that of biomass-smoke exposed humans. In uninfected animals, UF-CB treated animals had increased urinary 8-oxodG (P = 0.055), and an increased airway neutrophil differential count (P < 0.01). All PBS-treated mice died within 72 h after infection with S<it>. pneumoniae</it>, whereas morbidity and mortality after infection was reduced in UF-CB treated animals (median survival 48 h vs. 30 h, P < 0.001). At 24 hr post-infection, UF-CB treated mice had lower lung and the blood S<it>. pneumoniae </it>colony forming unit counts, and lower airway levels of keratinocyte-derived chemokine/growth-related oncogene (KC/GRO), and interferon gamma.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Acute high level loading of AM with ultrafine carbon black particles <it>per se </it>does not increase the susceptibility of mice to pneumococcal infection <it>in vivo</it>.</p

Protocol for a systematic review to identify and weight the indicators of risk of asthma exacerbations in children aged 5-12 years

No abstract available