Technology could mean more effective warnings against flash flooding, like the kind that hit Toowoomba, Queensland in January 2011. Credit: KingBob.net

Flash flooding, brought on by sudden torrential rain, killed dozens of people in Australia in 2011. Because of their very nature, it has been difficult to provide effective warnings. And that is a significant gap in Australia’s natural disaster management, according to the submission of RMIT University’s Centre for Risk and Community Safety to the 2011 Queensland Floods Commission of Inquiry.

We now have the technology to deliver such warnings, says director of the Centre, Prof John Handmer. “But using it would raise issues about how quickly both the authorities and people at risk are prepared to make critical decisions when they receive the information.”

Based on more than a decade of local and international research, the Centre argues that improving warning systems, and eliciting community responses to them, is one of the most cost-effective ways of reducing losses and saving lives. “We know how to raise awareness [of flooding], but not how to ensure action,” John says.

The submission also underlines the general problem of communicating the uncertainties of warnings—an issue relevant not just to flooding, but to many other natural disasters, such as bushfires, tsunamis and violent storms. Because public understanding of numerical estimates of probability is limited, the submission suggests defining and using language such as “could,” “at least” or “between X and Y” to accompanying them.

The Centre, which is based in the University’s School of Mathematical and Geospatial Sciences, was established in 2001 as a collaborative project with the Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies (now the Fenner School) at the Australian National University, and the then peak body for dealing with natural disasters, Emergency Management Australia (now part of the Attorney-General’s Department).

Photo: Technology could mean more effective warnings against flash flooding, like the kind that hit Toowoomba, Queensland in January 2011.

Credit: KingBob.net

Centre for Risk and Community Safety, RMIT University, John Handmer, john.handmer@rmit.edu.au, http://www.rmit.edu.au/mathsgeo/research/geospatial/crcs

Computer simulation of brachytherapy prostate treatment showing radioactive source trajectories through the pelvic region. Credit: Rick Franich

Prostate and other soft-tissue cancers are often treated with radioactive sources implanted or inserted into the body. But monitoring the dose is problematic.

Medical physicists at Melbourne’s RMIT University are developing a technique to monitor the radiation dose more accurately.

In high dose rate brachytherapy, tumours are targeted by radioactive sources temporarily inserted into the body. “Until now, it has not been possible to check at the time of delivery whether the doses received by the tumour and by surrounding healthy tissue matched the planned levels,” says Dr Rick Franich, Medical Radiation Physics group leader at the University’s Health Innovations Research Institute.

Rick and researcher Ryan Smith believe their new system will be able to solve this problem, not only enabling closer control of the progress of therapy, but also recording information on patient dosage and outcomes that can be used to conduct much more finely tuned clinical research.

The researchers so far have determined that their approach can achieve what they want, and are now developing the necessary algorithms and safety protocols to control it. They hope their technology will be ready for use in the clinic in late 2011.

The new method relies on placing a silicon flat panel detector behind the patient which acts like a giant digital camera. The images are formed as it detects gamma rays emitted by the radioactive source coming out through the patient’s body. The trajectories of the rays can be analysed in real-time, so the movement of the source can be tracked.

The system will also use the information to calculate the radiation dose received at the panel surface, and the three-dimensional dose distribution in the patient. If a discrepancy with planned therapy is detected, treatment can be interrupted.

Photo: Computer simulation of brachytherapy prostate treatment showing radioactive source trajectories through the pelvic region

Credit: Rick Franich

Health Innovations Research Institute, RMIT University, Rick Franich,rick.franich@rmit.edu.au www.rmit.com.au/appliedsciences/radiation

Electricity is generated as a force is applied to a piezoelectric film. Credit: Dr Daniel J. White

Imagine a future where recharging your tablet could be as easy as typing a tweet—where portable electronic devices power themselves without ever plugging into the grid. Researchers at RMIT University, Melbourne have assessed the capacity of piezoelectric films—thin layers that turn mechanical pressure into electricity—to do this.

The study is the first to evaluate how piezoelectric thin films, a thousandth of a millimetre thick, perform at the molecular level, precisely measuring the level of electrical voltage and current—and therefore, power—that could be generated.

“Piezoelectrics could be incorporated into running shoes to charge mobile phones, for instance, or enable laptops to be powered through typing or even used to convert blood pressure into a power source for pacemakers—essentially creating an everlasting battery,” says Dr Madhu Bhaskaran, one of the leaders of the project.

The work combines the potential of piezoelectrics with thin film technology, a cornerstone of microchip manufacturing. “The concept of energy harvesting using piezoelectric nanomaterials has already been demonstrated, but the materials involved can be complex and are poorly suited to mass production. Our study focused on thin film coatings because we believe they hold the only practical possibility of integrating piezoelectrics into existing electronic technology.”

The research, which was undertaken with colleagues at RMIT and the Australian National University in Canberra, has been published in the materials science journal, Advanced Functional Materials.

Photo: Electricity is generated as a force is applied to a piezoelectric film

Credit: Dr Daniel J. White

School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, RMIT University, Madhu Bhaskaran, madhu.bhaskaran@rmit.edu.au, http://bit.ly/oq2wNu

Researchers are looking at the genetic and environmental factors that influence the taste of strawberries. Credit: RMIT

Why does the same species of strawberry taste different in different countries? How is it that Californian strawberries are loved by locals but fail to impress Down Under?

RMIT University researchers, Assoc. Prof. Eddie Pang and Prof. Phil Marriott, are looking for answers to those questions to help Australian strawberry growers identify which breeds grow best in which region.

The problem lies between the desire of strawberry lovers for the better tasting Australian breeds, which crop for only three months, and the financial needs of farmers, who would clearly prefer the nine-month season of the hardy varieties such as the Californian Selva.

“If you actually taste Californian varieties in California, they taste better there than they do here,” Eddie says. “We bring these varieties over and they are clones, exactly the same genetic material, and we don’t seem to be able to get the same flavour.”

The researchers are testing a hypothesis that it is the interaction between the genes and the environment that determines flavour.

By isolating the compounds and measuring the contribution of each compound to the smell and taste of the strawberry, they hope to figure out the specific environmental factors that influence the flavour of different species of strawberries.

For more information: RMIT University, Gosia Kaszubska, Tel: +61 (3) 9925 3176, +61 (417) 510 735, gosia.kaszubska@rmit.edu.au

Researchers are working with prawns in the search for a shellfish allergy vaccine. Credit: RMIT

A new oral vaccine against shellfish allergies is being developed by researchers at RMIT University.

Assoc. Prof. Andreas Lopata and his team in RMIT’s School of Applied Sciences are working to help find a different method for vaccination against the potentially deadly allergy.

“We want to create a vaccine that people can eat or swallow, rather than inject.” he said.

Seafood allergies affect millions around the world, with up to 50 per cent of Asian children reacting badly to shellfish and other seafood.

These allergies can grow worse as children grow older, and a child with allergic parents has a 30–40 per cent chance of inheriting the condition. It is estimated about one per cent of Australians are allergic to seafood.

The RMIT research team is also using sophisticated high-pressure machinery to test whether allergens can be removed from shellfish, such as prawns.

“We are looking at five types of prawn from outside Australia that are sold to our markets, as well as prawns produced in Australia for the local market and for export,” Andreas says.

“About 70 per cent of Australia’s seafood is imported and this means more species and different processing procedures. It’s not the quality of the seafood, it’s the allergic reaction in some sensitised consumers which is the problem.”

For more information: RMIT University, Gosia Kaszubska, Tel: +61 (3) 9925 3176, +61 (417) 510 735, gosia.kaszubska@rmit.edu.au

Nano-gold spikes magnified 200,000 times. Credit: RMIT

RMIT University researchers have used nanotechnology to create a pioneering sensor that can precisely measure one of the world’s most poisonous substances—mercury.

The mercury sensor developed by RMIT’s Industrial Chemistry Group uses tiny flecks of gold that are nano-engineered to make them irresistible to mercury molecules.

Efforts to reduce mercury contamination in the environment and associated health risks rely on being able to accurately measuring the toxin, a priority for mercury-emitting industries like coal-burning power generators and alumina refineries.

Prof. Suresh Bhargava, Dean of the School of Applied Sciences, says traditional mercury sensors could be unreliable.

“Industrial chimneys release a complex concoction of volatile organic compounds, ammonia and water vapour that can interfere with the monitoring systems of mercury sensors,” Suresh says.

“We wanted a sensor that would be robust enough to cope with that kind of industrial environment but also sensitive enough to give precise readings of the amount of mercury vapour in these emissions.”

The RMIT researchers used patented electrochemical processes to alter the surface of the gold, forming hundreds of tiny nano-spikes, each one about 1,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair.

The nano-engineered surfaces are then used with existing measuring technologies to determine the levels of mercury in the atmosphere.

For more information: RMIT University, Gosia Kaszubska, Tel: +61 (3) 9925 3176, +61 417 510 735, gosia.kaszubska@rmit.edu.au