Queensland University of Technology

About: Queensland University of Technology is a education organization based out in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 14188 authors who have published 55022 publications receiving 1496237 citations. The organization is also known as: QUT.

Optimal multiuser spectrum balancing for digital subscriber lines

Abstract: Crosstalk is a major issue in modern digital subscriber line (DSL) systems such as ADSL and VDSL. Static spectrum management, which is the traditional way of ensuring spectral compatibility, employs spectral masks that can be overly conservative and lead to poor performance. This paper presents a centralized algorithm for optimal spectrum balancing in DSL. The algorithm uses the dual decomposition method to optimize spectra in an efficient and computationally tractable way. The algorithm shows significant performance gains over existing dynamics spectrum management (DSM) techniques, e.g., in one of the cases studied, the proposed centralized algorithm leads to a factor-of-four increase in data rate over the distributed DSM algorithm iterative waterfilling.

Critical Policy Analysis: exploring contexts, texts and consequences

Abstract: (1997). Critical Policy Analysis: exploring contexts, texts and consequences. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education: Vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 23-35.

Genomic analyses identify hundreds of variants associated with age at menarche and support a role for puberty timing in cancer risk

Abstract: The timing of puberty is a highly polygenic childhood trait that is epidemiologically associated with various adult diseases. Using 1000 Genomes Project-imputed genotype data in up to ∼370,000 women, we identify 389 independent signals (P < 5 × 10-8) for age at menarche, a milestone in female pubertal development. In Icelandic data, these signals explain ∼7.4% of the population variance in age at menarche, corresponding to ∼25% of the estimated heritability. We implicate ∼250 genes via coding variation or associated expression, demonstrating significant enrichment in neural tissues. Rare variants near the imprinted genes MKRN3 and DLK1 were identified, exhibiting large effects when paternally inherited. Mendelian randomization analyses suggest causal inverse associations, independent of body mass index (BMI), between puberty timing and risks for breast and endometrial cancers in women and prostate cancer in men. In aggregate, our findings highlight the complexity of the genetic regulation of puberty timing and support causal links with cancer susceptibility.

Effects of soil moisture on the temperature sensitivity of heterotrophic respiration vary seasonally in an old-field climate change experiment

Abstract: Microbial decomposition of soil organic matter produces a major flux of CO2 from terrestrial ecosystems and can act as a feedback to climate change Although climate-carbon models suggest that warming will accelerate the release of CO2 from soils, the magnitude of this feedback is uncertain, mostly due to uncertainty in the temperature sensitivity of soil organic matter decomposition We examined how warming and altered precipitation affected the rate and temperature sensitivity of heterotrophic respiration (Rh) at the Boston-Area Climate Experiment, in Massachusetts, USA We measured Rh inside deep collars that excluded plant roots and litter inputs In this mesic ecosystem, Rh responded strongly to precipitation Drought reduced Rh, both annually and during the growing season Warming increased Rh only in early spring During the summer, when Rh was highest, we found evidence of threshold, hysteretic responses to soil moisture: Rh decreased sharply when volumetric soil moisture dropped below ~15% or exceeded ~26%, but Rh increased more gradually when soil moisture rose from the lower threshold The effect of climate treatments on the temperature sensitivity of Rh depended on the season Apparent Q10 decreased with high warming (~35 °C) in spring and fall Presumably due to limiting soil moisture, warming and precipitation treatments did not affect apparent Q10 in summer Drought decreased apparent Q10 in fall compared to ambient and wet precipitation treatments To our knowledge, this is the first field study to examine the response of Rh and its temperature sensitivity to the combined effects of warming and altered precipitation Our results highlight the complex responses of Rh to soil moisture, and to our knowledge identify for the first time the seasonal variation in the temperature sensitivity of microbial respiration in the field We emphasize the importance of adequately simulating responses such as these when modeling trajectories of soil carbon stocks under climate change scenarios

Advanced Workflow Patterns

Abstract: Conventional workflow functionality like task sequencing, split parallelism, join synchronization and iteration have proven effective for business process automation and have widespread support in current workflow products. However, newer requirements for workflows are encountered in practice, opening grave uncertainties about the extensions for current languages. Different concepts, although outwardly appearing to be more or less the same, are based on different paradigms, have fundamentally different semantics and different levels of applicability – more specialized for modeling or more generalized for workflow engine posit. By way of developmental insight of new requirements, we define workflow patterns which are described imperatively but independently of current workflow languages. These patterns provide the basis for an in-depth comparison of 12 workflow management systems. As such, the work reported in this paper can be seen as the academic response to evaluations made by prestigious consulting companies. Typically, these evaluations hardly consider the workflow modeling language and routing capabilities and focus more on the purely technical and commercial aspects.