Androgen receptor: A master regulator of lipid metabolism. This project aims to understand how male sex hormones, or androgens, affect the amount and metabolism of fats in normal body tissues. By integrating our multi-disciplinary expertise in androgen action, molecular biology, metabolism and bioinformatics with novel techniques and instrumentation, this collaboration expects to generate the first detailed picture of how fat metabolism is controlled by androgens in humans, and how closely this ....Androgen receptor: A master regulator of lipid metabolism. This project aims to understand how male sex hormones, or androgens, affect the amount and metabolism of fats in normal body tissues. By integrating our multi-disciplinary expertise in androgen action, molecular biology, metabolism and bioinformatics with novel techniques and instrumentation, this collaboration expects to generate the first detailed picture of how fat metabolism is controlled by androgens in humans, and how closely this relates to mice. Expected outcomes and benefits will be a new understanding of which aspects of fat metabolism are most influenced by androgens, and an ability to anticipate potential metabolic impacts of natural or pharmacological fluctuations in androgen levels in humans, laboratory animals and livestock.Read moreRead less
A network perspective for ecosystem responses to plant invasion. Invasive species are key drivers of global change, yet, our understanding of their negative impacts on ecosystems is limited within many contexts. This project will provide the first large-scale test for interactions between plants and microbes, via network analyses, as yardsticks for invasive species impacts on ecosystems. Using innovative approaches that link interactions network properties with ecosystem functioning, the fundame ....A network perspective for ecosystem responses to plant invasion. Invasive species are key drivers of global change, yet, our understanding of their negative impacts on ecosystems is limited within many contexts. This project will provide the first large-scale test for interactions between plants and microbes, via network analyses, as yardsticks for invasive species impacts on ecosystems. Using innovative approaches that link interactions network properties with ecosystem functioning, the fundamental data generated in this study will answer unsolved theoretical questions, providing evidence for the use of networks to predict and mitigate invader impacts. These benefits are not only crucial for biodiversity managers but also for those responsible for sustainable crop development under future climates.Read moreRead less
Assembling the building blocks in the blueprint of the embryonic head. This project aims to profile and impute the genome activity and validate the cellular and molecular mechanism underpinning the generation, in time and space, of diverse types of tissues that constitute the building blocks of the embryonic head. The knowledge gain enriches our understanding of the early steps of head formation during embryogenesis in the context of the niche conditions associated with the acquisition of progen ....Assembling the building blocks in the blueprint of the embryonic head. This project aims to profile and impute the genome activity and validate the cellular and molecular mechanism underpinning the generation, in time and space, of diverse types of tissues that constitute the building blocks of the embryonic head. The knowledge gain enriches our understanding of the early steps of head formation during embryogenesis in the context of the niche conditions associated with the acquisition of progenitor state, enhancement of lineage propensity, and driving early lineage differentiation. Expected outcome of this research on the developmental biology of a model organism provides a framework of the mechanism of establishing a blueprint of development that may be conserved across multiple mammalian species.Read moreRead less
Novel Architecture for Next Generation Wireless Relay Networks. The proposed project will provide a diverse range of benefits for the nation, by providing future solutions to address a number of key telecommunication networking requirements in Australia. One such area is the provision of broadband connectivity to rural and remote regions of Australia. It is well known, that wireless relay networks could potentially provide low-cost networking infrastructure for rural and remote communities. The ....Novel Architecture for Next Generation Wireless Relay Networks. The proposed project will provide a diverse range of benefits for the nation, by providing future solutions to address a number of key telecommunication networking requirements in Australia. One such area is the provision of broadband connectivity to rural and remote regions of Australia. It is well known, that wireless relay networks could potentially provide low-cost networking infrastructure for rural and remote communities. The solutions developed in this project will enable a wider deployment of such networks, as they would increase the capacity of these networks both in terms of bandwidth and their coverage. This is of major benefit to Australia, due to our large desert land-mass and sparsely populated remote and rural communities.Read moreRead less
Numerically Robust Extruder Die Design for Fabricating High-Quality Preforms for Microstructured Polymer Optical Fibres. Microstructural polymer optical fibres (mPOFs) were pioneered in Australia, are now comparable in performance (but much more versatile) than conventional polymer fibre, and are a highly attractive commercial option. Potential industrial applications envisage cost-effective preform fabrication as a key issue, with extrusion as the favoured route. This interdisciplinary project ....Numerically Robust Extruder Die Design for Fabricating High-Quality Preforms for Microstructured Polymer Optical Fibres. Microstructural polymer optical fibres (mPOFs) were pioneered in Australia, are now comparable in performance (but much more versatile) than conventional polymer fibre, and are a highly attractive commercial option. Potential industrial applications envisage cost-effective preform fabrication as a key issue, with extrusion as the favoured route. This interdisciplinary project benefits Australia by (i) extending and exploiting our research advantages in advanced photonics and computational rheology, (ii) providing the 'missing link' for large-scale mPOF production and positioning us to reap the economic benefits of this innovative technology, and (iii) providing computational techniques for rheological modelling that are applicable in diverse Australian industry sectors.Read moreRead less
Optimisation-based analysis and synthesis of sparse systems in signal processing and communication. This project will make onceptual advances in the areas of signal processing and communication. A major benefit of this project will be its direct applications to digital industry - perhaps the major electrical industry of our era. The project will also aim to build a world class research activity at the University of New South Wales to focus attention on low-cost signal processing and communicatio ....Optimisation-based analysis and synthesis of sparse systems in signal processing and communication. This project will make onceptual advances in the areas of signal processing and communication. A major benefit of this project will be its direct applications to digital industry - perhaps the major electrical industry of our era. The project will also aim to build a world class research activity at the University of New South Wales to focus attention on low-cost signal processing and communication, increase capacity for contract research, enhance nternational collaboration with leading researchers in the area, and produce quality PhD graduates in the field of signal processing and communication.Read moreRead less
Broadband to the bush: Polarization as a new resource in wireless cross-layer design. 'Broadband to the Bush' is a national priority - more than 1.6 million homes, small businesses and not-for-profit organizations in rural, regional, and remote Australia are set to benefit from broadband access to phone networks and the internet. The immediate challenges lie in overcoming poor download speeds and area coverage, as well as expensive access. This research will deliver cost and power-efficient re ....Broadband to the bush: Polarization as a new resource in wireless cross-layer design. 'Broadband to the Bush' is a national priority - more than 1.6 million homes, small businesses and not-for-profit organizations in rural, regional, and remote Australia are set to benefit from broadband access to phone networks and the internet. The immediate challenges lie in overcoming poor download speeds and area coverage, as well as expensive access. This research will deliver cost and power-efficient receiver architectures to provide end-user utility, and will train postgraduate researchers across traditional discipline boundaries in mathematics and engineering. The project represents an important contribution to frontier technologies in information and communications technology for building and transforming Australian industries.Read moreRead less
Hollow-core microstructured polymer fibres for optical sensing applications. A range of remarkable new optical fibres will be fabricated utilising the capabilities of a unique polymer fibre fabrication facility and focussing on the highly demanding class of microstructured fibres in which guidance in a hollow core is achieved through photonic band gap or Bragg guidance. Long lengths of low-loss fibres of this type will be developed, and applications in optical gas sensing, spectroscopy, voltage ....Hollow-core microstructured polymer fibres for optical sensing applications. A range of remarkable new optical fibres will be fabricated utilising the capabilities of a unique polymer fibre fabrication facility and focussing on the highly demanding class of microstructured fibres in which guidance in a hollow core is achieved through photonic band gap or Bragg guidance. Long lengths of low-loss fibres of this type will be developed, and applications in optical gas sensing, spectroscopy, voltage sensing and telecommunications will be explored.Read moreRead less
Silicon All-Optical Nanophotonic Devices for 160Gb/s Systems. With the exponential growth in global bandwidth demand, the speed, cost, size, and energy requirements of telecommunications equipment are reaching a crisis point. This project will pioneer ultra-high speed silicon integrated all-optical signal processing devices that will provide faster, cheaper and more energy efficient solutions than current electronic based approaches. In doing so, this will also directly benefit the Australian ph ....Silicon All-Optical Nanophotonic Devices for 160Gb/s Systems. With the exponential growth in global bandwidth demand, the speed, cost, size, and energy requirements of telecommunications equipment are reaching a crisis point. This project will pioneer ultra-high speed silicon integrated all-optical signal processing devices that will provide faster, cheaper and more energy efficient solutions than current electronic based approaches. In doing so, this will also directly benefit the Australian photonics, telecommunications, and defence industries. It will use novel structures such as nanowire waveguides and micro-ring resonators to demonstrate all-optical signal regeneration, wavelength conversion, demultiplexing and other functions at speeds up to 160Gb/s.Read moreRead less
ARROW - the route to better Photonic Crystal Fibres. The Frontier Technology based on Photonic crystal fibres (PCFs) will be a vital component of next generation photonic networks and devices. Australia is among the 5 leading nations in PCF research. However we are now at a pivotal stage in the development of PCFs: their production is close to maturity, and it is now up to PCF designers to make the difference. The proposed project will provide the Australian scientific community as well as Austr ....ARROW - the route to better Photonic Crystal Fibres. The Frontier Technology based on Photonic crystal fibres (PCFs) will be a vital component of next generation photonic networks and devices. Australia is among the 5 leading nations in PCF research. However we are now at a pivotal stage in the development of PCFs: their production is close to maturity, and it is now up to PCF designers to make the difference. The proposed project will provide the Australian scientific community as well as Australian photonics companies with advanced PCF designing capabilities, giving Australia an opportunity to take a leading position in PCF development and commercialisation. Read moreRead less