University of Queensland

About: University of Queensland is a education organization based out in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 51138 authors who have published 155721 publications receiving 5717659 citations. The organization is also known as: UQ & The University of Queensland.

Evaluation of unsupervised semantic mapping of natural language with Leximancer concept mapping

Abstract: The Leximancer system is a relatively new method for transforming lexical co-occurrence information from natural language into semantic patterns in an unsupervised manner. It employs two stages of co-occurrence information extraction—semantic andrelational—using a different algorithm for each stage. The algorithms used are statistical, but they employ nonlinear dynamics and machine learning. This article is an attempt to validate the output of Leximancer, using a set of evaluation criteria taken from content analysis that are appropriate for knowledge discovery tasks.

Titania-based photocatalysts—crystal growth, doping and heterostructuring

Abstract: Semiconductor photocatalysts have important applications in renewable energy and environment fields. To overcome the serious drawbacks of low efficiency and narrow light-response range in most stable semiconductor photocatalysts, many strategies have been developed in the past decades. This review attempts to provide a comprehensive update and examination of some fundamental issues in titania (TiO2)-based semiconductor photocatalysts, such as crystal growth, doping and heterostructuring. We focus especially on recent progress in exploring new strategies to design TiO2-based photocatalysts with unique structures and properties, elucidating the chemical states and distribution of dopants in doped TiO2, designing and fabricating integrated heterostructure photocatalysts with different charge-carrier transfer pathways, and finally identifying the key factors in determining the photocatalytic efficiency of titania-based photocatalysts.

Projecting Coral Reef Futures Under Global Warming and Ocean Acidification

Abstract: Many physiological responses in present-day coral reefs to climate change are interpreted as consistent with the imminent disappearance of modern reefs globally because of annual mass bleaching events, carbonate dissolution, and insufficient time for substantial evolutionary responses. Emerging evidence for variability in the coral calcification response to acidification, geographical variation in bleaching susceptibility and recovery, responses to past climate change, and potential rates of adaptation to rapid warming supports an alternative scenario in which reef degradation occurs with greater temporal and spatial heterogeneity than current projections suggest. Reducing uncertainty in projecting coral reef futures requires improved understanding of past responses to rapid climate change; physiological responses to interacting factors, such as temperature, acidification, and nutrients; and the costs and constraints imposed by acclimation and adaptation.

Sixteen years of change in the global terrestrial human footprint and implications for biodiversity conservation

Abstract: Human pressures on the environment are changing spatially and temporally, with profound implications for the planet’s biodiversity and human economies. Here we use recently available data on infrastructure, land cover and human access into natural areas to construct a globally standardized measure of the cumulative human footprint on the terrestrial environment at 1 km2 resolution from 1993 to 2009. We note that while the human population has increased by 23% and the world economy has grown 153%, the human footprint has increased by just 9%. Still, 75% the planet’s land surface is experiencing measurable human pressures. Moreover, pressures are perversely intense, widespread and rapidly intensifying in places with high biodiversity. Encouragingly, we discover decreases in environmental pressures in the wealthiest countries and those with strong control of corruption. Clearly the human footprint on Earth is changing, yet there are still opportunities for conservation gains. Habitat loss and urbanization are primary components of human impact on the environment. Here, Venter et al.use global data on infrastructure, agriculture, and urbanization to show that the human footprint is growing slower than the human population, but footprints are increasing in biodiverse regions.