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Pluri-Gaussian Rapid Updating of Geological Domains
No full textOnlinePublOver the past decade, the rapid updating of resource knowledge and the integration of real-time sensor information have gained attention in both industry and academia. However, most studies on rapid resource model updating have focused on continuous variables, such as grade variables and coal quality parameters. Geological domain modelling is an essential component of resource estimation, which is why it is crucial to extend data assimilation techniques to enable the rapid updating of categorical vari- ables. In this paper, a methodology inspired by pluri-Gaussian simulation is proposed for near-real-time updating of geological domains, followed by updating of grade vari- ables within these domain boundaries. The proposed algorithm consists of a Gibbs sampler for converting geological domains into Gaussian random fields, an ensemble Kalman filter with multiple data assimilations for rapid updating, and rotation-based iterative Gaussianisation for multi-Gaussian transformation. We demonstrate the algo- rithm by using a synthetic case study with observations sampled from the ground truth, as well as a real case study that uses production drilling samples to jointly update geo- logical domains and grade variables. Both case studies are based on real data from an iron oxide-copper-gold deposit in South Australia. This approach enhances resource knowledge by incorporating both categorical and continuous variables, leading to improved reproduction of domain geometries, closer matches between predictions and observations, and more geologically realistic resource models.Sultan Abulkhair, Peter Dowd, Chaoshui X
Crafting identity: lessons for Australia from the European Union’s geographical indications framework—crafting culture, anchored in place
No full textOnlinePublAustralia’s current geographical indication (GI) framework primarily serves the wine industry under the Wine Australia Act 2018 (Cth). This limited application overlooks the broader potential of GIs to protect and promote a diverse range of origin-linked products, from regional foods to artisanal crafts. In contrast, trade marks dominate Australia’s IP landscape, offering individual brand protection but lacking the communal, place-based identity that GIs uniquely safeguard. • Drawing on the European Union’s (EU’s) expansive GI framework, the article highlights recent developments in the EU’s protection of non-agricultural products, such as craft and industrial goods, under its new regulation for craft and industrial GIs. This progression reflects the EU’s strategic recognition of how GIs can foster local economies, preserve cultural traditions and enhance global competitiveness. • This article also reviews the Australia-European Union Free Trade Agreement, explaining where the negotiations have reached and the regained momentum for finalizing the Agreement. It discusses the highlights of this Agreement and the possibilities it provides for Australia to expand its GI framework beyond wine and grape products. • Framed around the theme of crafting identity, this article invites readers to reimagine Australia’s approach to GIs. It argues for a more sophisticated GI framework that truly embraces the full spectrum of products anchored in place. Through comparative analysis, legal critique and policy insight, the article will explore how Australia can better protect its cultural fabric and unlock new opportunities in regional branding and international trade.Paula Zit
Towards a new corporate governance in the digital age – an expanded stakeholder approach?
No full textOnlinePublCorporate governance debates have shifted their primary focus from a stockholder primacy approach to a more stakeholder primacy approach. They have also increasingly emphasised the importance of long-term corporate wealth maximisation and sustainability. This article mainly addresses the benefits of a broader stakeholder focus in governance. We have seen the growing influence of digital technology, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and big data and the development of digital technology, has promoted the expansion of many companies with digital platforms. The rise of large companies with digital platforms poses a challenge to narrower stakeholder-focused corporate governance ideas. This article seeks to analyse the extent to which the stakeholder-focused approach can be extended to deal with challenges in corporate governance in companies whose business has a heavy reliance upon digital platforms; it argues that this approach to corporate governance can be widened to embrace other stakeholders who use these digital platforms.Ping Xionga and Roman Tomasi
Introduction: The Brave New World of Private Law and Digital Assets
No full textThis chapter provides an overview of chapters contained in this edited this collection, entitled Private Law, Digital Assets, and Infrastructure. The book contains ten chapters, divided into four parts. Part I deals with the broader question of private law as it attempts to respond to digital assets. Parts II and III deal with specific issues that arise in the interplay between this new technology and the doctrinal categories of contract and fraud, respectively. Part IV deals with perhaps the most important issue in this field: the impact which AI and digital assets has on the environment. Each chapter makes a novel and cutting edge contribution to the ever expanding body of scholarship in this exciting field.Mark Giancaspro and P. T. Babi
Standardising the Collection of Socio-Demographic Data in Pain Research
No full textWe begin this letter by acknowledging the European Journal of Pain's commitment to promoting inclusion, diversity and equity in pain research and upholding the pain field to rigorous standards of integrity in research conduct (Palermo et al. 2025; Palermo et al. 2023). In this correspondence, we draw the attention of your readership to the recent publication of our author group in Lancet EClinicalMedicine: ‘Identifying Social Factors that Stratify Health Opportunities and Outcomes (ISSHOOs) in pain research: Consensus recommendations for the collection and reporting of equity-relevant data’ (Karran et al. 2025b). This manuscript details globally relevant, consensus-derived recommendations for use in human pain research that are closely aligned with the principles and values your journals promote.Emma L. Karran, Aidan G. Cashin, Alessandro Chiarotto, Saurab Sharma, Trevor Barker, Mark A. Boyd, Lara J. Maxwell, Vina Mohabir, Jennifer Petkovic, Peter Tugwell, G. Lorimer Mosele
Stakeholder perspectives on build-to-rent housing development in Australia: an industry-based qualitative analysis of challenges and opportunities
No full textOnlinePublThe build-to-rent (BTR) housing model is experiencing growth in Australia. This research aims to identify the key themes that emerged from BTR practices and develop a roadmap for achieving success in Australian BTR developments. Nineteen semi-structured interviews with industry professionals from key BTR stakeholders were conducted to capture experts’ insights and perspectives on BTR developments. The findings reveal the drivers and challenges of BTR development in Australia, such as high rental demand, investment opportunities, planning approval, taxation, and local government concerns. The study also highlights the tenant-focused management and design strategies to meet developers’ expectations. The interviews provide valuable insights into the Australian BTR landscape and its potential as a viable rental housing approach. The locality and reduced number of participants (19) are limitations and may not necessarily reflect the overall view. The study is focused on the Australian BTR characteristics and compares them to a successful BTR framework, offering practical recommendations to various stakeholders for enhancing BTR projects in Australia. It concludes that government and industry should focus on creating or reforming policies and improving sustainability, efficiency, quality, and customer satisfaction in the sector. This research underscores the importance of the BTR model in addressing rental housing challenges and improving living standards
Host, microbial, and environmental drivers of vaginal microbiota composition
No full textOnlinePublThe human vagina harbours a microbial community that differs markedly in compositional structure from all mammals, including closely related primates. Lactobacilli are the most abundant vaginal species, and their dominance in this niche are associated with protection against adverse health outcomes including preterm birth, sexually transmitted infections and bacterial vaginosis. However, the vaginal environment can also support compositions of diverse anaerobic bacteria, which have been linked to poor reproductive health outcomes. Here, we review current knowledge on host and microbial determinants that influence microbial community structure within the vaginal niche, emphasising the interplay between host physiology, immune and metabolic interactions as well as lifestyle factors. This integrated understanding provides a foundation for linking vaginal microbiome compositions to clinically relevant phenotypes and highlights mechanisms that could be exploited to promote improved reproductive health.Remy B. Young, Gonçalo D.S. Correia, David A. MacIntyr
Facilitating healthier food purchases through product placement, promotional cues, and pricing interventions in Australian food relief pantries
No full textA primary response to Australia’s food insecurity involves provision of food relief. Evidence suggests those with more severe food insecurity lack regular access to sufficient nutritious food to meet dietary needs. Marketing techniques such as nudging are commonly used in food retail environments to influence consumer purchases, yet use of these to support healthier client purchases in the food relief sector is uncommon. This study measured the effectiveness of nudging on in-store purchases and store displays in two client-choice food relief pantries using promotional cues and product placement (2P), followed by the addition of a pricing intervention (3P) applied to discretionary snacks and sugar-sweetened beverages. Both pantries underwent four consecutive stages: a 9-week baseline, a 12-week intervention using 2P, a 6-week intervention applying 3P, and an 8-week post-intervention. Food and beverage turnover was measured using nett weight of products and a purpose-designed Decision Matrix classification tool which organised foods based on food groups and nutritioncolour categories. In-store displays were assessed for adherence to intervention requirements and potential exposure to these food groups and nutrition-colour categories. Compared to baseline, implementation of 2P, with or without the addition of recommended retail pricing 3P, successfully enabled healthy food purchasing: 2P significantly increased turnover of healthier options such as fresh fruit and vegetables and reduced turnover of discretionary snacks and sugar-sweetened beverages. Application of 3P amplified these changes, with some effects sustained post-intervention. Findings suggest nudging with or without a pricing strategy can enable healthy food purchasing in these settings, contingent on a consistent and sufficient supply of healthy core foods.Shaeny Chandra, Scott Hanson-Easey, Olena Kravchuk, Shao Jia Zhou, Helen Morri
Evaluating the Clinical Utility of Genomic Sequencing After Perinatal Death
No full textFirst published: 09 August 2025Following termination of pregnancy for fetal anomaly or unexplained perinatal death (PND), clinical geneticists advise on possible genetic causes and likelihood of recurrence, often with limited use of molecular analysis. In the Australian Genomic Autopsy Study (GAS) cases that were unresolved following standard-of-care investigations underwent exome and/or genome sequencing (ES/GS). This diagnostic before-and-after study measured the changes in clinical management, in terms of the effect on clinical counselling that was provided to parents following ES/GS. Clinicians were surveyed before and after receiving sequencing results about the likelihood of recurrence and the reproductive planning advice they would provide to families. 161 pairs of before-and-after surveys were completed. Clinician estimates regarding PND recurrence changed for 45% (73/161) of families after receiving test results, despite a genetic diagnosis being found in only 19%. Families with an 'unknown likelihood' of recurrence reduced from 26% to 15% (p = 0.01). The information provided to parents about recurrence and reproductive planning increased significantly, both with and without a diagnosis, and clinicians reported that most parents expressed value was obtained from the investigation. The utility of genomic autopsy for clinical management is not restricted to families with a genetic finding.Camille M. Schubert, Matilda R. Jackson, Christopher P. Barnett, Hamish S. Scott, Thomas Sullivan, Stephen Goodall, Tracy Merlin, the Genomic Autopsy Study Research Networ
Combustion performance, flame structure and EINO scaling of an industrial burner with high excess air fired with natural gas, hydrogen and blends: a numerical study
No full textWe report on a method to scale NOₓ emissions from a numerical study of a 7.5 MWth industrial-scale, non-premixed, swirl burner (register-type) used as a hot gas generator (HGG) for an iron ore pelletisation plant firing a range of blends containing hydrogen. The method considers pure natural gas (NG), hydrogen or their blends. A detailed 3D CFD model of the burner and HGG was developed in Ansys Fluent 2024 (version R1) incorporating a realisable k-ε turbulence model, detailed GRI 3.0 chemistry, a non-adiabatic steady diffusion flamelet model, and the Discrete Ordinates radiation model. NOₓ formation was modeled via both thermal and prompt pathways. The blend ratios were varied with both a constant thermal input, whilst also keeping one of the following two additional parameters constant relative to the NG baseline, namely: (i) constant inlet air mass flow rate, and (ii) constant equivalence ratio. The model was verified against plant-scale NG operation data, and laboratory-scale NG, H₂ and NG/H₂ flame experiments, demonstrating good agreement. Results show that while flame shape remains relatively insensitive to fuel type, H₂ addition significantly increases peak flame temperature and Emission Index of NOₓ (EINO) values. Local extinction zones near to the base of the burner were found to more likely as the fraction of NG is increased, leading to a reduction in NOₓ emissions. It was also found that blending with a constant air mass flow rate maintains the flue gas enthalpy and temperature near to the baseline levels, ensuring minimal disruption to downstream pelletising operations - unlike the constant equivalence ratio approach. A method of scaling NOₓ emissions was proposed, based on local strain rate, with all calculated data following a linear trend regardless of fuel type and firing strategy. Two linear NOₓ emissions regimes were also observed, namely high NOₓ and low NOₓ regimes. It also shows that retrofitting the current industrial burner for H₂ co-firing (up to 90% H₂ by volume) is technically feasible with minimal process impact, provided that the air flow rate is appropriately managed. However, full H₂ conversion will necessitate burner redesign and refined firing strategies to meet NOₓ emission constraints.M.A. Chishty, A. Katoch, Woei Saw, Michael J. Evans, Paul R. Medwell, G.J. Nathan, A. Chinnic