Most Popular Books by Michael Brett

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Clive Parsons returns to his at, and hides some jewellery. Two policemen appear and arrest him, for a neighbour has seen him entering through the kitchen window. Clive explains that he has lost his key and asks them to fetch the neighbour, James Strang, who will establish his identity. Strang, having arrived, apologizes; he had though it might be the mysterious jewel thief known as ''the shadow''. After drinks, the police depart, and Strang reveals he has grounds for his suspicion. Parsons allows himself to be blackmailed into handing over the jewels, and the police return by arrangement, to apprehend the wanted man.

I present a stratigraphically layered dual-permeability model composed of thin, alternating, high (̃9.2 x 10−20 m2) and low (̃3.0 x 10−22 m2) permeability layers to explain pressure dissipation observed during pulse-decay permeability testing on an intact Barnett Shale core. I combine both layer parallel and layer perpendicular measurements to estimate layer permeability and layer porosity. Micro-computed x-ray tomography and scanning electron microscopy confirm the presence of alternating cm-scale layers of silty-claystone and organic-rich claystone. I interpret that the silty-claystone has a permeability of 9.2 x 10−20 m2 (92 NanoDarcies) and a porosity of 1.4% and that the organic-rich claystone has a permeability of 3.0 x 10−22 m2 (0.3 NanoDarcies) and a porosity of 14%. A layered architecture explains the horizontal (k [subscript H] = 107 x 10−21 m2) to vertical (k [subscript V] = 2.3 x 10−21 m2) permeability anisotropy ratio observed in the Barnett Shale. These core-scale results suggest that spacing between high-permeability carrier beds can influence resource recovery in shales at the reservoir-scale. I also illustrate the characteristic pulse-decay behavior of core samples with multiple mutually-orthogonal fracture planes, ranging from a single planar fracture to the Warren and Root (1963) "sugar cube" model with three mutually-orthogonal fracture sets. By relating sub core-scale matrix heterogeneity to core-scale gas transport, this work is a step towards upscaling experimental permeability results to describe in-situ gas flow through matrix at the reservoir scale.

Mergers of a neutron star and a black hole are interesting because of the dual complexity of the black hole''s strong gravity and the neutron star''s nuclear-density fluid. Mergers can yield short-lived nuclear accretion disks, emitting copious neutrinos. This radiation may change the thermodynamic state of the disk itself, may drive an ultrarelativistic jet of electrons and positrons, may oscillate in its flavor content, may irradiate surrounding matter, playing a role in nucleosynthesis, and may be detected directly.

[Truncated] Herbicide-resistant weeds pose a significant threat to the sustainability of global grain production. Of all weeds in Australian farming systems, wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum L.) is one of the most economically damaging, aggressively competing for water, nutrients and light. As a result of herbicide over-reliance, wild radish populations in the Western Australian (WA) grainbelt have evolved multiple resistances to inhibitors of acetolactate synthase (ALS), phytoene desaturase (PDS), photosynthetic electron transport (PSII) and synthetic auxin herbicides. However, following 40 years of over-reliance on glyphosate, this PhD study is the first to report glyphosate resistance in wild radish. Two wild radish populations from fallow fields near Mingenew and Carnamah in the WA grainbelt exhibited a heritable, 3.2 (WARR37) and 4.5 (WARR38) fold resistance (LD50) to glyphosate. Both populations also had multiple resistances to ALS inhibitors, PDS inhibitors and synthetic auxin herbicides, which is expected to intensify the selection for glyphosate resistance in these populations. The inspection of 24,000 ha of the first commercial transgenic glyphosate-resistant (GR) canola plantings in the WA grainbelt (2010-2011) found large wild radish populations treated solely with glyphosate, which often resulted in less than complete control. Glyphosate resistance in wild radish however was rare, with only one additional GR population identified. This survey also identified glyphosate resistance in eight annual ryegrass (Lolium rigidum L.) populations. However no glyphosate resistance was identified in barley grass species (Hordeum sp.), brome grass species (Bromus sp.), wild oat species (Avena sp.), capeweed (Arctotheca calendula L.) and mallow (Malvia parviflora L.). The less than complete control of wild radish in the first GR canola crops grown in the WA grainbelt was of concern, as four generations of glyphosate selection at rates that do not provide full control, resulted in modest increases in glyphosate resistance (2.4-fold). Additionally this selection also resulted in weak cross resistance to the ALS-inhibiting herbicides imazamox (4.7-fold) and metosulam (3.7-fold). The biochemical basis of this weak resistance remains to be investigated.

Using a simple, jargon-free style this book tackles the complexities of company accounts from the perspective of the beginner, introducing the basic concepts before moving on to detail. The language of accounts is set out to enable the non-expert to understand it.