62353 research outputs found
Sort by
Helminth extracellular vesicles co-opt host monocytes to drive T cell anergy
No full textParasitic helminths secrete extracellular vesicles (EVs) into their host tissues to modulate immune responses, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. We demonstrate that Ascaris EVs are efficiently internalised by monocytes in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells and increase the percentage of classical monocytes. Furthermore, EV treatment of monocytes induced a novel anti-inflammatory phenotype characterised by CD14+, CD16−, CC chemokine receptor 2 (CCR2−) and programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1)+ cells. In addition, Ascaris EVs induced T cell anergy in a monocyte-dependent mechanism. Targeting professional phagocytes to induce both direct and indirect pathways of immune modulation presents a highly novel and efficient mechanism of EV-mediated host-parasite communication. Intra-peritoneal administration of EVs induced protection against gut inflammation in the dextran sodium sulphate model of colitis in mice. Ascaris EVs were shown to affect circulating immune cells and protect against gut inflammation; this highlights their potential as a subject for further investigation in inflammatory conditions driven by dysregulated immune responses. However, their clinical translation would require further studies and careful consideration of ethical implications
Book Review of "Fascists in Exile: Post-War Displaced Persons in Australia" by Jayne Persian. Abingdon, United Kingdom, Routledge, 2024. ISBN 9780367696962
No full text[Extract] One of the most remarkable feats accomplished by Jayne Persian in Fascists in Exile, her account of the ‘war criminals, collaborators and fascist ultranationalists . . . resettled in Australia by the IRO [International Refugee Organisation] between 1947 and 1952’ (Persian 3), is her marked degree of impartiality, even by the standards of academic history writing. Persian makes it clear from the outset that her intention with this book is ‘to move away from both ignorance and polemic’ (4). This book is neither a Nazi-hunting expedition nor an apologia for the ideological shortcomings of a few bad apples. Persian is quick to point out that ‘the problematic politics of post-war migrants to Australia has largely been ignored by non-Jewish academics and deliberately omitted by DP ethnic historians’ (3). Nevertheless, the degree to which she succeeds in her task of providing an objective assessment of Australia’s post-war resettlement policies can, at times, be unnerving for an ideologically engaged reader. Persian’s is an account of moral and political failures which manages to restrain itself from levelling obvious—and justified—condemnations
Late Paleozoic slab rollback events in the southeastern part of the Central Asian orogenic belt: Implications for Paleo-Asian Ocean subduction and continental crust growth
No full textThe Central Asian orogenic belt is considered to be the largest Phanerozoic accretive orogenic belt on Earth. The late Paleozoic magmatic rocks in central Inner Mongolia are crucial for understanding continental crust growth and the tectonic evolution of the southeastern part of the Central Asian orogenic belt. We present comprehensive geochemical, isotopic, and geochronological data from three late Paleozoic magmatic units in the Mandula area, west of the Solonker suture zone. Zircon U-Pb dating indicates that these rocks formed during the late Carboniferous (316–304 Ma). The Mandula high-Mg diorites exhibit high MgO (3.9–6.5 wt%), high Mg# (61–69), and depleted Nd-Hf isotopic compositions, generated through interaction between a metasomatized mantle and slab melts with the overlying sediments. The Mandula granodiorites display adakite geochemical characteristics with high Sr/Y mass ratios (29–52), high MgO (1.7–2.2 wt%), and high Mg# (52–54), formed by partial melting of the oceanic slab with the addition of overlying sediment. Mafic microgranular enclaves have consistent ages, Sr-Nd-Hf isotope compositions, and hornblende temperature-pressure conditions with their host granodiorite, formed from a cognate magma associated with the host granodiorites through cumulate. We propose that two phases of slab rollback took place during the late Paleozoic southward subduction-accretion of the Paleo-Asian Ocean. The first phase corresponded to the transformation of low to medium-angle slab subduction, while the second phase led to subduction-related extension. Considering the tectonic-magmatic evolution, crustal maturity, and thickness variations in the late Paleozoic southeastern part of the Central Asian orogenic belt, we propose that prolonged subduction and slab rollback promoted continental crust growth. The Central Asian orogenic belt coincides temporally and spatially with the Phanerozoic Pangea cycle, suggesting that continuous subduction and supercontinent amalgamation significantly contributed to continental crust growth
Broadening equitable access to solar: renters, non-adopters and the impact of consumption values on attitudes and installation intentions
No full textAddressing inequities in rooftop solar access is crucial to achieving decarbonisation and energy justice goals. This study contributes to the literature by applying an adapted consumption values model to the rooftop solar context and by examining renters’ perceptions of factors that would reduce barriers to solar uptake. An online survey (n = 331) of Australian households reveals that value-for-money perceptions are the only significant difference between adopters and non-adopters of solar. Structural equation modelling shows that, while idealistic values influence attitudes towards rooftop solar, pragmatic values drive installation intentions, which is aligned with prior research. Logistic regression shows that the higher the functional value (defined as the perceived utility of a product based on value for money, performance or quality perceptions) and the higher the conditional value (defined as the perceived utility of a product based on the circumstances faced by the decision maker), the higher the odds of installing solar. The findings are consistent with studies reporting significant cost barriers to solar adoption. Several recommendations for policy makers and practitioners are made to support equitable access to rooftop solar and help address the negative effects of past policies that favoured homeowners over renters
'For the good of the Gugu Badhun people': Indigenous Nation building, economic development and sharing as sovereignty
No full textAs part of an ongoing process of Indigenous Nation Building, Gugu Badhun Nation is engaged in developing an economy according to Gugu Badhun values. Rather than simply mimicking capitalism, the practice of visioning this economy begins with considering core cultural principles for the Nation. Sharing is central for Gugu Badhun, and we argue that sharing is considered an act of sovereignty stemming from Gugu Badhun law. Other factors emerge from the focus on sharing, such as the responsibility to look after one another, Country, plants and animals, and neighbouring Nations. This articulation of sharing as sovereignty illustrates Indigenous conceptions of sovereignty as a verb, rather than a noun. Storytelling is one way that Gugu Badhun enacts economic sovereignty through centring the Nation. Our research demonstrates the transformative potential of Indigenous Nation Building and Gugu Badhun people’s freedom to consider and express a preference for alternative economies
Counselling in Asian Schools: A Decade Reviewed through an Ecological Lens
No full textInformation technology, clinical focus, and social changes are some of the key developments impacting the practice of counselling in Asian schools today. Using an ecological framework, this chapter reviews each of these areas to make sense of developments in Asian school counselling in the last decade, with a particular emphasis on Southeast Asia. The framework, comprised of four domains including Internal, External, Systems, and Personal, will be introduced at the beginning of the chapter. It provides the basis for the mapping and analysis of challenges and solutions within school counselling. This is followed by a brief review of how school counselling in Asia has been responding to changes in the information, communication, and technology arena. Trauma-informed care, bullying, mental health, and family counselling are selected for deeper analysis. Social changes, the movement of populations, sexual minorities, and social inequalities across the region are also discussed. This chapter makes a case for the importance of understanding the interactions between the domains in the framework. The appreciation of the dynamics between domains and careful examinations of school ecology generate insights that can inform counselling practice, policy changes, and service development in schools
Correlating the abdominal drawing in manoeuvre between ultrasound imaging, pressure biofeedback and manual palpation measurements in participants with low back pain: an observational cross-sectional study
No full textBackground:
Physiotherapists have several options to measure lateral abdominal muscle (LAM) activity clinically, including ultrasound imaging (USI), pressure biofeedback units (PBU) and manual palpation scales. However, the concurrent validity of these tools is yet to be examined. Understanding how these tools correlate will help physiotherapists make informed choices about tool selection.
Objectives:
To determine the correlation between the prone PBU test, manual palpation and USI measures (preferential activation, preferential activation modified and transversus abdominis muscle ratios and transversus abdominis slide) for examining the ADIM.
Design:
Observational cross-sectional study.
Method:
58 participants with LBP underwent measurement of LAM activation using the three measurement tools across two sessions (7-14 days apart). Results were analysed using correlation coefficients and tested for statistical significance.
Results/findings: Reliability of activation measures ranged from moderate to good. Correlations were found between manual palpation, PBU and USI, however, were non-significant after a Holm-Bonferroni correction.
Conclusions:
The findings question the concurrent validity of these tools, suggesting one cannot be used in place of another for measuring LAM activation during the ADIM
A bird’s-eye view: Industrial technology in eco-writing research
No full textCreative writers exploring environmental issues and human relationships with the more-than-human often employ methods for immersion in nature such as critical walking and ‘forest bathing’ or may seek to mirror what anthropologist Deborah Bird Rose describes as the ‘footwalk epistemology’ inherent in Aboriginal Australian worldviews. This article offers a new method of using industrial technology, in the form of a canopy crane, for eco-writing. Canopy cranes are typically used for scientific research. This article details my use of James Cook University's canopy crane in applied phenomenological research in comparison with walking on the Madja Boardwalk and with ‘forest bathing’. All these methods were employed in lowland rainforest at Cape Tribulation, Australia, which is within the Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage Area. This highly biodiverse Area covers only 0.12 per cent of the Australian land area yet is home to 30 per cent of Australia’s marsupials, 58 per cent of bats, 60 per cent of butterflies, and over 5000 species of plants. The JCU canopy crane is one of only fifteen worldwide and therefore offers a rare opportunity to use this technology for creative writing research. In this article, I also present an extract of eco-fiction written as part of this project
The Impact of COVID-19 on the Perceived Value of Music Listening
No full textThis study considers if, and how, the value people place in music listening changed during the COVID-19 pandemic, by comparing findings with pre-COVID data. A sample of 296 Australian university students (Mage = 19.32) completed an online survey in which they provided a short response to an open-ended question, “has the value you place in music listening changed during the pandemic? If so, how?” Of the 67.20% of respondents who indicated that their perceived value of music listening had changed, 99.50% expressed that the value had increased. A thematic analysis resulted in seven themes characterizing how people's value in listening had increased: emotion regulation, exploration, social connection, uses, listening more, self-connection, and reliance. Relative to pre-COVID value themes, emotion regulation remained the most frequently endorsed value. In the COVID context, many more people highlighted music's ability to combat loneliness, promote social connection, and provide solace, comfort, and companionship during difficult times. Our findings highlight that people's perception of the value of music is malleable and influenced by context. Future research will reveal whether the increased value of music listening seen in the present study is long-lasting
Integrating social work in an Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service primary health care setting: The first three months of data
No full textBackground: Social work within General Practice is an emerging contributor to primary healthcare aiming to address social determinants of health. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experience higher rates of health inequity and racism than non-Indigenous Australians. The Townsville Aboriginal and Islander Health Service [TAIHS] is an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Controlled Health Service [ATSICCHS] whose mission is to deliver culturally appropriate services to achieve better health and wellbeing outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Objective: This article reports on the first three months of data collection of a social worker employed at TAIHS as part of the North Queensland Social Work Placement in General Practice Expansion Project Research. The study co-funded the employment of social workers in GP clinics to evidence and evaluate the value of social workers in the GP setting.
Discussion: The findings highlight the broad nature of social work practice, using a range of interventions across mental, physical and social aspects of health. Social work can value add to general practice, alleviate workload pressure and address areas of concern to both patients and GPs, with social workers providing a link between primary care and community services