Edith Cowan University

About: Edith Cowan University is a education organization based out in Perth, Western Australia, Australia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Tourism. The organization has 4040 authors who have published 13529 publications receiving 339582 citations. The organization is also known as: Edith Cowan & ECU.

Time-cost relationships in Australian building construction projects

Abstract: Project time-cost relationships were examined by using project scope factors as predictors for 161 construction projects that were completed in various Australian States using the multiple regression technique of weighted least squares. The analysis was per- formed between project duration (i.e., time), project type, procurement method, tender type, gross floor area (GFA), and number of stories. An alternative model to that proposed by Bromilow more than three decades ago for forecasting time and cost performance is proposed. It is shown that GFA and the number of stories in a building are key determinants of time performance in projects. Furthermore, the results indicate that cost is a poor predictor of time performance. Limitations and practical implications of the research are also presented. projects that were completed in Australia. From the analysis pre- sented, we propose an approach to predicting the time and cost performance of building construction projects. While the research was conducted in an Australian context, it is envisaged that the research outcome could be applicable in other locations. In the next section of this paper, we present a contextual backdrop to previous time-cost studies that have been undertaken in Australia.

A high-efficiency solar desalination evaporator composite of corn stalk, Mcnts and TiO2: ultra-fast capillary water moisture transportation and porous bio-tissue multi-layer filtration

Abstract: Studies on solar steam evaporation for potential application in desalination have attracted much attention due to its unique advantages of low energy consumption environmental friendliness, etc. However, water molecule transportation in the capillaries of solar steam evaporators to develop a high-efficiency solar evaporation system is critical but often ignored. This work reports high-yield and low-cost natural corn stalks as solar steam generators with ultra-fast water transportation in capillaries, multi-layer self-cleaning of sea salt, large seawater storage capacity, long-term anti-corrosion properties against seawater, low thermal conductivity, and excellent evaporation properties. This solar steam evaporator with the conventional photothermal coating by multi-walled carbon nanotubes and titanium dioxide (Mcnt-TiO2) exhibits an outstanding evaporation rate of 2.48 kg m−2 h−1 and evaporation efficiency of 68.2% under solar light. These advantages are significantly attributed to the natural structural features of the stem marrow of corn stalks including scattered vascular bundles with super-hydrophilic properties achieving high-speed water moisture transportation, porous basic tissues with layer by layer bio-filtration, porous cavities realizing multi-stage filtration, transportation and storage of seawater, and low moisture enthalpy and heat loss. Meanwhile, an efficient and low-cost solar desalination device via bundling pluralities of corn stalks is developed to collect freshwater, and the average daily freshwater amount per unit area (4.3–5.8 kg m−2 on sunny days and 3.0–3.9 kg m−2 on cloudy days) can meet the daily water needs of more than twenty adults. These findings not only provide the possibility of discovering corn stalks as low-cost, scalable, highly efficient evaporation-based heat transfer devices for future efficient desalination, but also present an innovative inspiration for reducing the greenhouse effect brought by corn stalk burning, which promotes the efficient use of bio-mass straws.

Compositional Variation in Sugars and Organic Acids at Different Maturity Stages in Selected Small Fruits from Pakistan

Abstract: Selected soluble sugars and organic acids were analyzed in strawberry, sweet cherry, and mulberry fruits at different ripening stages by HPLC. The amounts of fructose, glucose and sucrose were found to be: strawberry (1.79–2.86, 1.79–2.25 and 0.01–0.25 g/100 g FW), sweet cherry (0.76–2.35, 0.22–3.39 and 0.03–0.13 g/100 g) and mulberry (3.07–9.41, 1.53–4.95 and 0.01–0.25 g/100 g) at un-ripened to fully-ripened stages, respectively. The strawberry, sweet cherry and mulberry mainly contained tartaric, citric and ascorbic acids in the range of 16–55, 70–1934 and 11–132 mg/100 g; 2–8, 2–10 and 10–17 mg/100 g; 2–118, 139–987 and 2–305 mg/100 g at un-ripened to fully-ripened stages, respectively. Fructose and glucose were established to be the major sugars in all the tested fruit while citric and ascorbic acid were the predominant organic acids in strawberry and mulberry while tartaric acid was mainly present in sweet cherry. The tested fruits mostly showed an increase in the concentration of sugars and organic acids with ripening.

Iron considerations for the athlete: A narrative review

Abstract: Iron plays a significant role in the body, and is specifically important to athletes, since it is a dominant feature in processes such as oxygen transport and energy metabolism. Despite its importance, athlete populations, especially females and endurance athletes, are commonly diagnosed with iron deficiency, suggesting an association between sport performance and iron regulation. Although iron deficiency is most common in female athletes (~ 15–35% athlete cohorts deficient), approximately 5–11% of male athlete cohorts also present with this issue. Furthermore, interest has grown in the mechanisms that influence iron absorption in athletes over the last decade, with the link between iron regulation and exercise becoming a research focus. Specifically, exercise-induced increases in the master iron regulatory hormone, hepcidin, has been highlighted as a contributing factor towards altered iron metabolism in athletes. To date, a plethora of research has been conducted, including investigation into the impact that sex hormones, diet (e.g. macronutrient manipulation), training and environmental stress (e.g. hypoxia due to altitude training) have on an athlete’s iron status, with numerous recommendations proposed for consideration. This review summarises the current state of research with respect to the aforementioned factors, drawing conclusions and recommendations for future work.