70040 research outputs found
Sort by
Developing genetic literacy in high school students with intellectual disability: Teachers’ experiences and perspectives
No full textGenetics is a rapidly evolving field with the potential to achieve improved health outcomes through precision medicine. People with intellectual disability have asked to know more about genetic conditions that they may have, but require education to build their genetic literacy, thereby empowering them to make informed healthcare decisions. Key to this is ensuring students with intellectual disability can access and participate in genetics education at school. Despite integration of genetics into curriculum, little is known about whether teachers are equipped to engage students with intellectual disability with this content. To explore this issue, fifteen teachers who teach genetic content to students with intellectual disability participated in semi-structured interviews or in a focus group. The analysis revealed three interconnected themes addressing genetics education for students with intellectual disability. These themes encompassed effective pedagogical approaches and curriculum adaptations, the necessity for targeted professional development with appropriate resources, and the importance of fostering comprehensive genetic literacy across the entire school community to build capacity among students, staff, and families. These findings have widespread implications for supporting teachers to develop genetic literacy in students with intellectual disability. A key recommendation is to create professional learning and a suite of accessible, multimodal, online resources for students with intellectual disability, their teachers, and the broader school community. (Figure presented.
Amplification-free cancer diagnosis based on inhibition of Cas12a activity by site-specific 5mC-modified cfDNA
No full textDNA methylation detection holds significant value for cancer diagnosis and recurrence monitoring. However, current methods are often time-consuming, costly, and necessitate specialized techniques. The CRISPR–Cas system, particularly Cas12a, presents a precise and user-friendly platform for disease diagnosis. We developed the CRISPR-Methylated DNA Detection Test (CRISPR-MeDNA Test), a Cas12a-based method for detecting methylation in plasma cell-free DNA (cfDNA). The results reveal that 5mC-modified DNA significantly suppresses the trans-cleavage activity of Cas12a, depending on the methylation site, number, and interval spacing. Simultaneously, methylation of the non-target strand (NTS) suppresses Cas12a activity more strongly than methylation of the target strand (TS), as the NTS plays a critical role in R-loop formation, which is essential for Cas12a cleavage target DNA. Mechanistically, 5mC-modified DNA was found to trigger conformational rearrangements in the Cas12a complex, as predicted by AlphaFold3 modeling and corroborated by FRET assays. Notably, the combination of Cas12a with multiplexed guide RNAs enables effective discrimination between cfDNA from healthy donors and cancer patients without the need for pre-amplification, based on the inhibitory effects of methylated DNA on the Cas12a trans-cleavage activity. This work provides a Cas12a-based detection for a rapid, cost-effective, low-complexity method for 5mC-modified cfDNA in liquid biopsies
Filmmaking Education Using Virtual Reality and Generative AI for Real-Time Feedback in Simulated Environments
No full textThis paper presents the design and evaluation of a Virtual Reality-based cinematography training platform enhanced by Generative AI to provide real-time feedback. Developed using Unreal Engine, the system lets students practice lighting, camera angles, and scene composition in simulated environments while receiving real-time GenAI feedback on scene accuracy. A user study with 21 novice filmmaking students showed significant improvement in post-test scores compared to pre-test results. Qualitative feedback highlighted increased confidence, appreciation for AI-driven feedback, and usability challenges. The findings demonstrate the potential of VR and AI to enhance accessibility, and skill acquisition in filmmaking education
What does it mean to “/IMAGINE” with GenAI?
No full textIn this paper, I explore and problematise the implications of metaphors which conflate our imaginations with generative AI outputs. I discuss how via this conflation, the technical, ethical and conceptual limitations of AI applications are repositioned as the limitations of users and that the distributed nature of generation is obscured. Through this, I assert that generative AI image applications stake a claim upon the possibilities, worlds, subjects and futures we can imagine for ourselves in ways that are difficult to detect and critique. In response to this, I developed a workshop for artists to probe the inherent biases, limitations and claims contained in AI image production and communities via creative exploration and analysis. Through the presentation of the motivations and creative outcomes of the workshop, I reflect on how we may begin to disentangle our minds from computation and find new ways of understanding what it means to individually and collectively imagine images
Functionalisation of Liquid Metal Droplets by Surface and Interface Engineering and Electrification
No full textLiquid metals, particularly gallium-based alloys, have attracted increasing attention as a class of functional materials due to their excellent electrical conductivity, fluidity, and tunable surface chemistry. This thesis explores strategies to engineer tunable interfaces in liquid metals through alloy composition modulation and particle functionalisation, ultimately enabling the development of reconfigurable electroluminescent display systems.
In Chapters 1 and 2, the background and fundamental principles of gallium-based liquid metals, surface modulation, and electric discharge-induced electroluminescence are introduced through a critical review of relevant literature.
In Chapter 3, the author investigates the influence of minor alloying elements (Sn, Bi, Zn) on the electrocapillarity and electrochemical surface behaviour of gallium (Ga). By systematically analysing how trace elements affect surface tension, wetting dynamics, and oxidation-induced structures, this study reveals the underlying mechanisms that govern surface reactivity and electric field responses in Ga-based liquid metals.
In Chapter 4, the author demonstrates a particle-functionalized liquid metal platform by embedding electroluminescent phosphor particles (e.g., ZnS:Cu) into the oxide shell of EGaIn droplets, forming liquid metal marbles. These marbles enable dynamic visualisation of electric discharge paths under applied voltage, offering a novel approach to spatially map and manipulate discharge trajectories.
In Chapter 5, building upon the discharge-path visualisation strategy established in Chapter 4, the author further develops a reconfigurable multi-colour display platform using phosphor-coated liquid metal marbles. This chapter extends the concept from single-colour discharge visualisation to full-spectrum, programmable colour display. By incorporating red, green, and blue phosphors in controlled ratios, additive colour mixing is achieved without the need for physically separated subpixels.
In Chapter 6, the thesis concludes by summarizing the major findings and outlining future research directions. The results collectively establish a unified interface engineering framework for gallium-based liquid metals, with potential applications ranging from fundamental electrochemical modulation to advanced soft optoelectronic systems
Microscopy-capable electronics for simultaneous optical and electrical study of membrane proteins
No full textA microscopy-capable bioelectronic device enables simultaneous optical and electrical interrogation of biomolecules, such as membrane proteins incorporated into lipid bilayers for proper functioning. While correlating these signals improves data reliability and interpretability, commonly used unconstrained lipid bilayers often produce ensemble-averaged signals. This thesis aims to address this challenge. The platform features an array of PEDOT:PSS organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) positioned beneath microscale fluoropolymer wells on ultra-thin microscope coverslips. Each well is sealed with an isolated segment of lipid bilayer containing membrane proteins, enabling simultaneous optical and electrical studies of spatially confined biomolecules, with the potential for single-molecule detection. First, we highlight key fabrication techniques tailored to the proposed devices. The process begins with defining metal lead patterns, which electrically connect the OECTs , on the coverslips using an optimized photolithographic process. Following the formation of the OECT channels on these metal leads, a fluoropolymer well array is patterned on top using a process-compatible method that allows flexible tuning of the polymer’s surface hydrophobicity. The resulting OECTs exhibit robust ion-sensing capabilities when tested in biologically relevant assay media. Second, we optimize an α-hemolysin-based biological assay specifically designed to validate our device, in which a concentration gradient in the electrolyte solution is established between the inner and outer wells. Key factors critical to successful assay performance are identified, including minimizing osmotic stress on lipid bilayers caused by concentration gradients, maintaining the ion sensitivity of the OECTs within a measurable range, and establishing favorable conditions for membrane protein insertion into the lipid bilayers.
In the final part of this thesis, we demonstrate the simultaneous electrical and optical recording of biomolecules using a custom-built measurement setup fully compatible with microscopy-capable electronics. Besides, we address a key consideration to provide a pathway for simultaneous single-molecule resolution recordings: operating the OECTs below the threshold electrical bias to prevent electroporation. The outcomes of this research are expected to lay the groundwork for advanced bioelectronics applications, including neuromorphic computing, drug screening, and e-nose systems
It takes a village to raise a child, but not everybody gets the support
No full textMany of us have heard the saying, “it takes a village to raise a child”. The idea that families need communities of support to raise their children has long resonated.
New research explores how this applies to modern Australian families and communities. We looked at the villages helping raise children and young people and importantly, who has one and who doesn’t.
Read the full article on The Conversation: https://theconversation.com/it-takes-a-village-to-raise-a-child-but-not-everybody-gets-the-support-26435
Seeing the signs: thinking historically about coercive control
No full textCoercive control is a course of conduct aimed at controlling and dominating another, most often perpetrated by men against women. It can include physical, sexual, emotional and / or psychological abuse, stalking, deprivation of resources, and technology-assisted abuse, among other tactics aimed at depriving victims of their autonomy. Evan Stark has been widely credited with bringing attention to coercive control, but he was hardly the first to identify these patterns or to theorise them through the lenses of male power and gender inequality. This article situates theories and debates about coercive control within a larger transnational history of expanding definitions and understandings of domestic and family violence, particularly intimate partner violence. Australia is offered as a case study of coercive control's trajectory, from the 1970s to the present when the murder of Hannah Clarke and her three young children by their estranged husband and father in early 2020 intensified public awareness, culminating in the criminalisation of coercive control in some jurisdictions. In historicising coercive control from the Australian perspective, this article contributes to ongoing transnational debates about how to address it, while aiming to challenge a dominant narrative about coercive control which culminates in criminalisation
ReINVEST: A pharmacotherapy-based intervention to reduce domestic violence offending
No full textThis summary report describes the implementation and results of a novel double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial (RCT)-ReINVEST. The trial investigated the effectiveness of a commonly prescribed antidepressant (a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, SSRI) called sertraline, administered to men with convictions for violence (including domestic violence) who were also highly impulsive. The study represents a world-first, large-scale RCT of a pharmacological approach to reducing violence, with the primary outcome unambiguously determined by linkage with Criminal Justice System records. The study commenced recruitment in late 2013 and continued for almost a decade until the last follow-up was completed in mid-2022
Sexual agreements and behaviour in male HIV serodiscordant couples in Australia, Brazil, and Thailand
No full textBiomedical approaches to HIV prevention are reshaping the ways that individuals, couples, and communities respond to HIV the epidemic. This thesis examines the agreements and behaviours related to HIV and sexual health within the context of male HIV serodiscordant couples, with data collected in Australia, Brazil, and Thailand. The data were drawn from the Opposites Attract study of male HIV serodiscordant couples. Chapter One showed that half of Opposites Attract couples in this cohort had a viral load agreement allowing condomless anal intercourse (CLAI) while the partner with HIV was virally suppressed at some point over follow-up and these agreements became more common over time. Communication about viral load status and belief in the efficacy of treatment as prevention were associated with having these agreements. Chapter Two investigated agreements about sex inside and outside these relationships. Three quarters of couples reported the same agreement over follow-up, and changes in agreements were more commonly towards having an open agreement. Behaviour was closely aligned with agreements but having CLAI within the relationship and being on pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) were both associated with breaking an agreement by having CLAI with outside partners. Chapter Three found that condom failure with their study partner was reported at least once by 26.5% of HIV-negative partners, and by 12.5% with other sexual partners. Condom failure was rare as a proportion of all acts of anal intercourse with a condom. Australian men were less likely to experience condom failure than Brazilian and Thai men. People were more likely to experience condom failure if they were also having condomless anal intercourse with their study partner. Chapter Four describes the diagnosis of sexually transmissible infections (STI) among Opposites Attract couples. Participants with HIV had higher incidence rates than their HIV-negative partners. Chlamydia rates were higher in Australia and Thailand compared to Brazil, and syphilis being higher in Brazil compared to Australia and Thailand. It was rare for both partners to be diagnosed with the same STI at the same study visit. The research in this thesis highlights the use of agreements to support the reduction of transmission risk in HIV serodiscordant male couples and reinforces that HIV risk for the HIV-negative partner is now more likely to come from outside the relationship