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From the “Desk Set” to “Doraemon”: A comparative analysis on the sociotechnical imaginaries of artificial intelligence in news work
No full textArtificial intelligence has become increasingly pervasive throughout the entire news cycle. In response to this trend, this paper explores journalists’ sociotechnical imaginaries concerning the integration of AI in news production, focusing on their perceptions of AI’s opportunities and ethical challenges. The study also examines the influence of diverse media and discourse cultures on these perceptions by conducting problem-centered interviews with journalists from China, Japan, Switzerland, and the UK. Through an inductive thematic analysis of the interviews, the results reveal that journalists across these four countries acknowledge the potential advantages of AI in journalism, such as enhanced efficiency and improved data analysis. However, their expectations regarding human-machine collaboration in news work vary according to cultural contexts. Furthermore, the findings highlight that the interviewed journalists advocate for the design and implementation of AI systems to adhere to ethical standards.</p
Weaving frames linked with fractal convolutions
No full textWeaving frames have been introduced to deal with some problems in signal processing and wireless sensor networks. More recently, the notion of fractal operator and fractal convolutions have been linked with perturbation theory of Schauder bases and frames. However, the existing literature has established limited connections between the theory of fractals and frame expansions. In this paper we define weaving frames generated via fractal operators combined with fractal convolutions. The aim is to demonstrate how partial fractal convolutions are associated to Riesz bases, frames and the concept of weaving frames in a Hilbert space. The context deals with ones-sided convolutions i.e both left and right partial fractal convolution operators on Lebesgue space Lp (1 ≤ p ≤ ∞). Some applications using partial fractal convolutions with null function have been obtained for the perturbation theory of bases and weaving frames.</p
Mobile measurements with bicycles: a systematic review applied to the thermal environment of urban microclimates
No full textThis study concerns in to collect, via a systematic review, papers from international academic researches that employed bicycles only to collect primary data on environmental variables for research on microclimatic thermal problems in urban contexts and others. Three international article search platforms were used. After reading the titles, abstracts, and entire works, 13 articles were chosen that employed bicycles in their mobile transects between 2011 and 2023. The analytical methodologies connected them to the thermal environment employed by the research, such as the primary characterizers of urban morphology, were visible from this. It is worth emphasizing that, while the platforms offer outstanding results in terms of article discovery, it is know that there are additional publications that employed similar technique but did not appear in the platforms' results. Six more items were discovered that were absent from the chosen search engines. It is significant to observe that, after looking over the 19 articles, the most part of them were only released in the past 25 years, with the oldest being found in 1998. Research has indicated that the use of bicycles to collect environmental data is related to the possibility that bicycles are more accessible than cars and more safety than walking along cities, moreover, this approach is less expensive. Apart from the several benefits that studies utilizing this methodology observed, it is believed that bicycles would be a more environmentally responsible and sustainable mode of transportation than alternatives. In this manner, it is hoped that additional research utilizing the effective mobile measurement technique with bicycles would be carried out in the future.</p
Freshwater wetland restoration and conservation are long-term natural climate solutions
No full textFreshwater wetlands have a disproportionately large influence on the global carbon cycle, with the potential to serve as long-term carbon sinks. Many of the world's freshwater wetlands have been destroyed or degraded, thereby affecting carbon-sink capacity. Ecological restoration of degraded wetlands is thus becoming an increasingly sought-after natural climate solution. Yet the time required to revert a degraded wetland from a carbon source to sink remains largely unknown. Moreover, increased methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions might complicate the climate benefit that wetland restoration may represent. We conducted a global meta-analysis to evaluate the benefits of wetland restoration in terms of net ecosystem carbon and greenhouse gas balance. Most studies (76 %) investigated the benefits of wetland restoration in peatlands (bogs, fens, and peat swamps) in the northern hemisphere, whereas the effects of restoration in non-peat wetlands (freshwater marshes, non-peat swamps, and riparian wetlands) remain largely unexplored. Despite higher CH4 emissions, most restored (77 %) and all natural peatlands were net carbon sinks, whereas most degraded peatlands (69 %) were carbon sources. Conversely, CH4 emissions from non-peat wetlands were similar across degraded, restored, and natural non-peat wetlands. When considering the radiative forcings and atmospheric lifetimes of the different greenhouse gases, the average time for restored wetlands to have a net cooling effect on the climate after restoration is 525 years for peatlands and 141 years for non-peat wetlands. The radiative benefit of wetland restoration does, therefore, not meet the timeframe set by the Paris Agreement to limit global warming by 2100. The conservation and protection of natural freshwater wetlands should be prioritised over wetland restoration as those ecosystems already play a key role in climate change mitigation.</p
What is Delegation Interpreting: A Study of Chinese-language Delegation Interpreting in the Australian Context through the Conceptual Lens of Trust
No full textThis thesis, situated in the discipline of interpreting studies, investigates the phenomenon of
delegation interpreting and establishes it as a distinct sub-field of interpreting. Specifically, the
research focuses on Chinese-language delegation interpreting in the Australian context. Delegation
interpreting involves facilitating communication for international delegates of an institution or
company during their visit to another country. These visits typically serve education or relational
purposes, such as conducting study activities, exchanging ideas and sharing information, and
building relationships, rather than seeking direct economic benefits. While such activities have
attracted academic attention in fields such as tourism and educational tourism, they remain largely
under-explored within interpreting studies.
This research defines and describes delegation interpreting through the conceptual lens of trust,
exploring its key features and the role of the interpreter in this context. Adopting a qualitative
approach, this project conducted semi-structured interviews with all three parties in an interpreter-
mediated encounter: the interpreter, the Chinese delegate and the Australian host. Community
interpreting is employed as a secondary, comparative dataset, serving as a backdrop against which
the unique aspects or otherwise of delegation interpreting are illustrated. To support data analysis,
a theoretical framework of trust is developed, drawing on existing literature in both trust and
interpreting studies. In this framework, trust is divided into two categories: affective trust and
cognitive trust. Findings from the current study reveal that delegation interpreting places strong
emphasis on the establishment of affective trust, which is contingent upon the interpreter’s
interaction history with their clients, shared social similarities, demonstration of empathy, care and
sincerity, and their ability to manage “face”. Through the lens of cognitive trust, the delegation
interpreting context highlights the interpreter’s competence and their professional demeanour. In
delegation interpreting settings, the interpreter plays an active, multifaceted role, not only
facilitating linguistic exchanges, but also bridging cultural gaps and managing interpersonal
relations. The current study advances the understanding of delegation interpreting and highlights
the crucial role of interpreters in fostering trust and facilitating effective and culturally sensitive
communication.</p
Investigating Nanostructured Titanium Surfaces for Advanced Antimicrobial Applications
No full textHospital acquired infections of antimicrobial resistant pathogens are the leading cause of patient readmission. Pathogens, including bacteria, fungi, parasites and viruses, are regularly transferred via surfaces to compromised individuals. Microbes, specifically bacteria and fungi, are responsible for implant associated infections and with the rise of antibiotic resistance, these infections are becoming increasingly difficult to treat. This is due to the overuse, over prescription and misuse of antimicrobial pharmaceuticals, including antibiotics and antifungals, that microbes have built inherent resistance to the mechanism of action. Without a new strategy to treat infections, what was once easy to treat can become life-threatening or potentially fatal infection. Prevention in the transfer of bacteria and fungi is an important aspect of infection control especially across surfaces. Once adhered to a surface, microbes are able to form a biofilm: a self-sustaining colony within a secreted mucous matrix. The protective coating makes it more difficult for the body’s immune response and antimicrobial drugs to combat the biofilm infection. The search for alternatives to prevent biofilm formation led to the discovery of naturally occurring, antifouling and antimicrobial surfaces on cicada and dragonfly wings. Biomimetic surfaces that possess similar nanostructured topography as these insect wings have been engineered to physically rupture microbial cells and the dimensions of the structures can be customised based on fabrication techniques.
Firstly, the adhesive properties of bacteria and fungi and the effects of how the membrane composition changes the response to a nanostructured titanium surface are discussed. Specifically, this fundamental study probed the inherent differences in microbial cell membrane and the response of each cell atop three surface morphologies. Bacterial and fungal cell membranes were probed via single-cell force spectroscopy to elucidate the elasticity and force required to rupture the membrane, properties that were dependent on membrane composition. Rigidity and ease of rupture effected the rate of microbial death leading to the conclusion that there is no one-size fits all approach when it comes to synthesising antimicrobial structures.
Since bacterial and fungal infections are commonly found at the site of newly inserted orthopaedic implants, it was appropriate to investigate the resilience of these structures over longer incubation periods. Bacterial and fungal strains were investigated to understand whether the presence of previously inactivated cells atop the nanostructures mask the surface’s ability to continue to be antimicrobial between 1 and 7 days. It was found that while the nanostructures can initially combat attaching cells, as the interaction continues, the contents of the cells and the extracellular matrix conceals the structures which provided a smooth surface for incoming cells to form a biofilm.
In the previous studies, the surface of titanium was modified via hydrothermal etching to impart nanostructures. These structures prevent colonisation of a cell and increase antimicrobial efficacy compared to unmodified titanium surfaces. However, these surfaces had no effect on the cells that did not directly contact the nanostructures and a secondary mode of action was added to increase the effectiveness. Silver nanoparticles were deposited on these surfaces and increased the antimicrobial efficacy against bacterial and fungal species.
Finally, as implant manufacturing begins to advance into a customisable and ‘just-in-time’ healthcare model, it is important to investigate whether newly printed forms of titanium are able to undergo the same forms of modification to achieve similar levels of antimicrobial efficacy as commercially pure titanium. Selective laser melting was utilised to print titanium at various angles, effecting how the laser melts the metallic powder and resulted in a difference in the roughness caused by the partially melted particles on the surface. Here, adhesion of bacteria and fungi were investigated for the various surface roughnesses and then the surfaces were nanostructured and cell adhesion examined again to understand if the same antimicrobial structures can be transferred from commercial to additively manufactured titanium.
Together, this work presents the advancement of antimicrobial, nanostructured titanium as a method to mitigate and reduce the presence of live bacteria and fungi on a surface. In addition, fundamental studies provide deeper understanding into the interactions between strains of microbes and nanostructured surfaces to contribute to the improvement of nanostructured surfaces for broader microbiological mitigation applications.</p
Genetic Manipulation of Campylobacter hepaticus and the Role of N-glycosylation in Spotty Liver Disease
No full textSpotty Liver disease (SLD) is a poultry disease with global economic and animal welfare implications. Free-range hens infected with the causative organism Campylobacter hepaticus can experience decreased egg production and, in severe cases, mortality. The global demand for egg production has rapidly increased in the past three decades and continues to rise. Thus, the egg production industry needs new intervention strategies in the form of vaccines to reduce the incidence and spread of SLD.
At the commencement of this thesis's work, knowledge of C. hepaticus pathogenicity, key virulence factors, and vaccination prospects were limited. While several genes had been identified to be suspected key virulence factors, their functional roles in the development of SLD had not been characterised due to the lack of available genetic tools and methods for mutagenesis studies in this emerging pathogen. Consequently, targeted intervention strategies in the form of vaccines against C. hepaticus remained largely unexplored. This thesis aims to develop genetic tools and methods to identify and characterise C. hepaticus virulence factors that contribute to the pathogenesis of SLD to aid in vaccine development against SLD.
The functionality of the C. hepaticus N-glycosylation system was confirmed by glycoproteomic analysis (Chapter 2). Proteins were found to be modified with an N-linked heptasaccharide. A large proportion of these glycoproteins were highly conserved with Campylobacter jejuni, playing critical roles in host colonisation. Some glycoproteins were unique to C. hepaticus, possibly required for niche adaptation and survival. Importantly, this chapter provided the first evidence that C. hepaticus N-glycosylation may function as an essential virulence factor but lacked the genetic tools to functionally characterise the individual genes involved in the system.
Chapter 3 describes the development of genetic tools and methods for the genetic manipulation of C. hepaticus. These tools were used to investigate the pglB gene and its product's role in the N-glycosylation of proteins. This chapter reports the first successful generation of targeted genetic mutants in C. hepaticus, specifically pglB, which abolished C. hepaticus’s ability to N-glycosylate proteins. Successful complementation of the pglB mutant demonstrated the value of the developed tools and provided direct evidence of the role of PglB in protein N-glycosylation. More importantly, this work provides the methods and tools to characterise other suspected virulence factors involved in SLD pathogenesis.
Chapter 4 characterises, validates, and assesses the immunological response of a novel S. Typhimurium vaccine engineered to express the Campylobacter heptasaccharide as a part of S. Typhimurium endogenous LPS. Administration of the vaccine strain demonstrated sufficient attenuation of the live vector and significantly increased IgY antibody titres specific to the Campylobacter heptasaccharide antigen. Introduction of the heterologous heptasaccharide into S. Typhimurium endogenous LPS had not significantly impacted IgY antibody responses raised against S. Typhimurium, highlighting the vaccine's bi-valent immunological potential to vaccinate against two common pathogens of free-range poultry.
In conclusion, this thesis presents a systematic approach from identifying a suspected key virulence factor of C. hepaticus to its functional investigation and translational application in vaccine development. The work presented significantly advances our understanding of C. hepaticus N-glycosylation. The novel tools and methods developed during this study have fundamental implications for investigating other suspected key virulence determinants in C. hepaticus, their role in SLD pathogenesis, and in developing targeted vaccine control strategies against this economically significant poultry disease.</p
CAFÉ SECTOR ACTION PLAN REPORT 2024
No full textExecutive Summary
Food loss and waste has significant environmental, social and economic impacts. Australia produces enough food to feed 75 million people every year, yet 1 in 6 Australians go hungry regularly (Foodbank 2023). In Australia, 7.6 million tonnes of food go to waste each year (enough to fill the Melbourne Cricket Ground ten times), and 70% of which is edible. While consumers are often targeted in food waste campaigns, hospitality and the food industry are major contributors to overall food waste, with the hospitality sector responsible for 16% or 1.2 million tonnes of Australia’s annual food waste (FIAL, 2021). Sector Action Plans work with key stakeholder across a food industry sector or along a food commodity supply chain to understand where food waste is generated, why it occurs and what can be done to reduce it. This Sector Action Plan focuses on the small- to medium-sized businesses in the café sector. Reducing food waste within the café sector will benefit businesses, decrease environmental impact and is crucial for Australia to meet its objective of halving food waste by 2030 in line with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12.3. This Sector Action Plan, one of a suite of Foodservice SAPs, was funded by the New South Wales Environmental Protection Authority (NSW EPA), QDESI, and RMIT University’s Enabling Impact Platforms. Project partners included the City of Yarra, Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology, Australian Food Service Advocacy Body and William Angliss Institute. The plan was developed by End Food Waste Australia (EFWA) with stakeholders in the café sector and across the supply chain.</p
Defining the Genetic Causes of Antifungal Drug Resistance in Cryptococcus neoformans
No full textThe higher rates of both morbidity and mortality among immunocompromised people significantly increased the prevalence and severity of fungal infection, resulting in 1.5 million annual deaths globally. The fungal pathogens that represent 90% of systematic fungal infections are opportunistic yeasts and moulds, particularly species belonging to the genus Candida, Cryptococcus and Aspergillus.
Cryptococcus neoformans, an encapsulated yeast, commonly causes serious meningoencephalitis and meningitis; these conditions are treated using fluconazole (FLC), the most common azole antifungal agent used today. However, the widespread usage of antifungal drugs reduces the drugs’ effectiveness and results in treatment failure due to the evolution of resistant strains.
According to the latest report by the World Health Organization (WHO), which lists the globally recognised fungal priority pathogens (FPPs), C. neoformans is identified as one of the top primary threats to public health. In Australia, over 4,000 deaths were estimated due to serious fungal infections, and the mean annual incidence of cryptococcosis among HIV patients was about 25% yearly. This number significantly increased up to 90% in cryptococcal patients without HIV, including solid organ transplantation, cancer, or other immunocompromising diseases such as systemic inflammatory disease, diabetes, or chronic kidney or liver dysfunction.
Azole resistance is the most serious issue, as it is mostly used in long-term monotherapy. The microevolution of azole resistance in C. neoformans has been moderately studied, but the underlying genetic mutations remain unclear. Therefore, this research project conducted a literature review (Chapter 1) to determine the knowledge gaps in the microevolution of C. neoformans antifungal drug resistance mechanisms. The study was designed to achieve multiple objectives, representing thesis chapters and investigating the contribution of mutations, genetic metabolic function and aneuploidy to the microevolution of antifungal resistance in C. neoformans.
Chapter 2 focused on the microevolutionary emergence of azole antifungal drug resistance in C. neoformans, which identified the genetic determinants causing FLC resistance in C. neoformans msh2 resistant mutants. Whole genome sequencing data analysis revealed the mutational profile and genes carrying mutations. This study provided evidence that msh2, a mismatch repair pathway gene, has no role in transient and permanent aneuploidy but has a standard microevolutionary route to the emergence of antifungal resistance. This involved the accumulation of mutations in genes that alter stress signalling, cellular efflux, membrane trafficking, epigenetic modification, and aneuploidy. This complex pattern of microevolution highlighted the significant challenges posed by the diagnosis and treatment of drug-resistant fungal pathogens. The roles of these genes in the evolution of antifungal drug resistance were investigated further in Chapters 3 and 4.
Chapter 3 investigated the molecular mechanisms underlying antifungal drug resistance in C. neoformans, which examined the genes mutated in resistant isolates shown by genome sequencing (in Chapter 2). The analysis revealed insight into the changes in the chromosomal and putative metabolic functions that occur in response to drug exposure. The findings revealed that fluconazole exposure led to global genomic changes and a rapid, transient aneuploid response in C. neoformans, occurring within 24 hours, which highlights the remarkable plasticity of its genome. The findings also showed that FLC caused permanent aneuploidy in C. neoformans, highlighting a higher prevalence of permanent aneuploidy in both heterogeneous wildtype and mutant populations; identified critical pathways associated with drug resistance, which could be targeted for the development of new drug treatments and improve efficacy. Further studies were conducted to investigate permanent chromosomal changes contributing to antifungal drug resistance in Chapter 4.
Chapter 4 examined the microevolution of FLC resistance and the influence of pre-exposure on genes regulating cell division, DNA repair, cell wall integrity, osmotic tolerance, and telomere length. This study mainly focused on the genome plasticity of C. neoformans wildtype and mutants by evaluating acute 15-day evolution assay for 250 generations in the absence and presence of low FLC concentration in C. neoformans. The analysis revealed increased copy numbers of chromosomes 5 and 7, indicating the potential association of FLC resistance in C. neoformans. This suggests that selective amplification of chromosomal regions containing genes involved in relevant cellular processes may contribute to resistance. This study provided more insight into the role of CDC2801, CRK1, MRC1 and RAD53 genes in fluconazole resistance. These genes are members of the CMGC and CAMK protein kinases, which play a pivotal role in the regulation of cell cycle progression, proliferation, cell growth, checkpoint signalling and DNA damage response, and are associated with cancer development and progression.
Chapter 5 highlighted the main contributions of this work and suggested future applications. Specifically, this study provided evidence that the whole genome is amplified in the presence of FLC rather than specific chromosome amplification. It also demonstrated that resistance to FLC can evolve independently of ERG11 mutations, the most frequently observed and reported mechanism. Instead, a common evolutionary route to the emergence of resistance was identified in msh2 mutants. This is the first study that characterised the polygenic emergence of resistance through point mutations in Cryptococcus. Hence, this study should contribute to the development of more targeted genetic therapy to eliminate the emergence of resistance strains.</p
Memoryscoping the Bunurong Coast: Speculating on the Intimate and Complex Histories of a Personally Significant Place
No full textFocusing on intimate, affective and respectful storytelling practices, this project-based research investigates the intricate historical forces that shape post-colonial Australian localities. Adopting a local and deliberately intimate lens, it articulates the nuanced and sometimes contradictory connections that exist between the actants, locations, histories, memories, and archives of a personally significant place—an untamed strip of southern Victorian coastline known as the Bunurong Coast.
Drawing inspiration from diverse academic disciplines and creative fields, this PhD inquiry is guided by dynamic approaches to place-based historically informed storytelling. Utilising scholarship on the inherent mutability and polyvocality of place, as well as respectful visitation and intimate representation practices., this research embraces creative and deeply personal modes of remembrance to explore the place I was born into, where I live, and where I feel simultaneously settled yet unsettled.
The methodological approach utilises the forensic and aesthetic qualities of Ross Gibson’s concept of the ‘memoryscope’—aesthetic forms, artefacts or designed experiences that embrace dynamic, responsive and unfinished representations to contain, focus and direct the forces of the past into the present. Applying iterative sketching practices, a suite of speculative place-based mixed-media amalgams have been developed to respond to the intricacies and contradictions of my personal connection to the Bunurong Coast. These sketches navigate cultural disjunctures (both within the place and its archives) whilst elaborating upon eclectic and overlooked historical occurrances.
Ultimately, this project-based research offers this suite of deliberately local and intimate histories of a specific place—the Bunurong Coast—to demonstrate an intimate creative practice methodology. Addressing not just the ‘how’ but also the ‘why’ of creative place-based history, this PhD explores how the past continually informs the present. Asking how a fifth-generation white settler goes about undertaking respectful inhabitation and storytelling of unceded lands, this research offers the practice of ‘memoryscoping’, which has been developed in response to a specific location intertwined by deeply personal imperatives. In doing so, it elucidates the value of embracing well-considered but deliberately intimate, localised, speculative, uncertain, imprecise and amalgamative making practices.</p