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Marketing Transnational Childhoods: The Bio Blurbs of Third Culture Novelists
No full textMany contemporary novelists experienced high levels of transnational mobility during their childhood and were thus raised ‘among’ different countries and cultures. Predominantly the offspring of diplomats, business executives, missionaries, military personnel and academics, these writers have compelling backgrounds of transnational and transient childhoods. Third Culture Kid (TCK), coined by the sociologist Ruth Useem, is the term given to this childhood experience. Until 2010, the term TCK was only used by sociologists, anthropologists, psychologists, and cultural educators, but never before by scholars of literary studies. In 2011, Antje Rauwerda adapted this concept and coined the term ‘Third Culture Literature’ to describe the fictional writings by authors who share a ‘cultural background of expatriatism’. For Rauwerda, these novelists do not fit ‘a postcolonial, diasporic or cosmopolitan paradigm’ so that an up-to-date classification is needed for this new ‘subset of international writing’. The purpose of this article is to verify to what extent cultural identities are deployed in the marketing of Third Culture Literature. The article focuses on five contemporary well-known authors (such as Ian Martel and Ian McEwan) who have ‘grown up across worlds’ and analyses over 25 biographical details that are offered to readers by publishers in selected editions of their novels. The biographical details I examine are not only distributed in English but also, for example, in Arabic, Danish, German and Spanish. Not all publishers choose to portray their transnational authors in a ‘global’ light. However, due to the primarily international settings of Third Culture novels, many publishers either adopt the expatriate culture of their authors or adapt their biographies in order to kindle their target audiences
Review of Post-Empire Imaginaries?: Anglophone Literature, History and the Demise of Empires edited by Barbara Buchenau, Virginia Richter and Marijke Denger.
No full textReview of Post-Empire Imaginaries?: Anglophone Literature, History and the Demise of Empires edited by Barbara Buchenau, Virginia Richter and Marijke Denger
An Internet-supported Physical Activity Intervention Delivered in Secondary Schools Located in Low Socio-economic Status Communities: Study Protocol for the Activity and Motivation in Physical Education (AMPED) Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial
No full text© 2016 Lonsdale et al. Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.School-based physical education is an important public health initiative as it has the potential to provide
students with regular opportunities to participate in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Unfortunately, in many physical education lessons students do not engage in sufficient MVPA to achieve health benefits. In this trial we will test the efficacy of a teacher professional development intervention, delivered partially via the Internet, on secondary school students’ MVPA during physical education lessons. Teaching strategies covered in this training are designed to (i) maximize opportunities for students to be physically active during lessons and (ii) enhance students’ autonomous motivation towards physical activity.This project is funded by a Discovery Project grant (Reference: DP130104659)
from the Australian Research Council (ARC)
Inhibitors of the Hydrolytic Enzyme Dimethylarginine Dimethylaminohydrolase (DDAH): Discovery, Synthesis and Development
No full textThis article is an open access
article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution
(CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase (DDAH) is a highly conserved hydrolytic enzyme found in numerous species, including bacteria, rodents, and humans. In humans, the DDAH-1 isoform is known to metabolize endogenous asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) and monomethyl arginine (l-NMMA), with ADMA proposed to be a putative marker of cardiovascular disease. Current literature reports identify the DDAH family of enzymes as a potential therapeutic target in the regulation of nitric oxide (NO) production, mediated via its biochemical interaction with the nitric oxide synthase (NOS) family of enzymes. Increased DDAH expression and NO production have been linked to multiple pathological conditions, specifically, cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, and septic shock. As such, the discovery, chemical synthesis, and development of DDAH inhibitors as potential drug candidates represent a growing field of interest. This review article summarizes the current knowledge on DDAH inhibition and the derived pharmacokinetic parameters of the main DDAH inhibitors reported in the literature. Furthermore, current methods of development and chemical synthetic pathways are discussed
A retrospective analysis of Victorian and South Australian clinical registries for prostate cancer: trends in clinical presentation and management of the disease
No full textOpen AccessThis article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.Abstract
Background: Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most commonly diagnosed malignancy reported to Australian
cancer registries with numerous studies from individual registries summarizing diagnostic and treatment
characteristics. The aim of this study was to describe annual trends in clinical and treatment characteristics,
and changes in surveillance practice within a large combined cohort of men with PCa in South Australia (SA)
and Victoria, Australia in 2008–2013.
Methods: Common data items from clinical registries in SA and Victoria were merged to develop a crossjurisdictional
dataset consisting of 13,598 men with PCa. Frequencies were used to describe these variables
using the National Comprehensive Cancer Network risk of disease progression categories in 10 year age
groups. A logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the impact of a number of factors (both
individually and together) on the likelihood of men receiving no active treatment within twelve months of
the diagnosis (i.e. managed with active surveillance/watchful waiting).
Results: Trend analysis showed that over time: (1) men in SA and Victoria are being diagnosed at older age in 2013,
66.1 (SD = 9.7) years compared to 2009 (64.5 (SD = 9.7)); (2) diagnostic methods and characteristics have changed with
time; and (3) types of the treatments have changed, with more men having no active treatment. The majority of men
were diagnosed with Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) <10 ng/mL (66 %) and Grade Group < 4 (65 %). Nearly seventy
percent received radical treatment within 12 months of diagnosis, while ~20 % had no active treatment. In 14 % of
cases treatment was not recorded or had not commenced. Having no active treatment was strongly associated older
age, lower PSA and lower Grade Group at diagnosis, and in 2013 it was offered more frequently (more than 3 times)
than in 2009 (OR = 2.63, 95 % CI: 2.16–3.22).
Conclusions: Findings of this study provide the first cross-jurisdictional description of PCa characteristics and
management in Australia. These findings will provide benchmarking for ongoing monitoring and feedback of disease
management and outcomes of PCa through the Prostate Cancer Outcomes Registry–Australia New Zealand to
improve evidence-based practice
Coxiella burnetii dormancy in a fatal ten-year multisystem dysfunctional illness: case report
No full textOpen AccessThis article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.Abstract
BACKGROUND:
In a previous study of a Q fever outbreak in Birmingham, our group identified a non-infective complex of Coxiella burnetii (C.b.) antigens able to survive in the host and provoked aberrant humoral and cell-mediated immunity responses. The study led to recognition of a possible pathogenic link between C.b. infection and subsequent long-term post Q fever fatigue syndrome (QFS). This report presents an unusually severe case of C.b. antigen and DNA detection in post-mortem specimens from a patient with QFS.
CASE PRESENTATION:
We report a 19-year old female patient who became ill with an acute unexplained febrile encephalitis-like illness, followed by increasingly severe multisystem dysfunction and death 10 years later. During life, extensive clinical and laboratory investigations from different disciplinary stand points failed to deliver a definitive identification of a cause. Given the history of susceptibility to infection from birth, acute fever and the diagnosis of "post viral syndrome", tests for infective agents were done starting with C.b. and Legionella pneumophila. The patient had previously visited farms a number of times. Comprehensive neuropathological assessment at the time of autopsy had not revealed gross or microscopic abnormalities. The aim was to extend detailed studies with the post-mortem samples and identify possible factors driving severe disturbance of homeostasis and organ dysfunction exhibited by the course of the patient's ten-year illness. Immunohistochemistry for C.b. antigen and PCR for DNA were tested on paraffin embedded blocks of autopsy tissues from brain, spleen, liver, lymph nodes (LN), bone marrow (BM), heart and lung. Standard H&E staining of brain sections was unrevealing. Immuno-staining analysis for astrocyte cytoskeleton proteins using glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) antibodies showed a reactive morphology. Coxiella antigens were demonstrated in GFAP immuno-positive grey and white matter astrocytes, spleen, liver, heart, BM and LN. PCR analysis (COM1/IS1111 genes) confirmed the presence of C.b. DNA in heart, lung, spleen, liver & LN, but not in brain or BM.
CONCLUSION:
The study revealed the persistence of C. b. cell components in various organs, including astrocytes of the brain, in a post-infection QFS. The possible mechanisms and molecular adaptations for this alternative C.b. life style are discussed
"Deepening Industry Engagement with International Students Through Work-integrated Learning"
No full text"This study canvasses employer, academic, and student perspectives on the barriers experienced by international students in gaining exposure to the Western Australian workplace through Work-integrated Learning (WIL). It explores international-student participation in work placements—one example of WIL offerings—as part of their university studies. WIL is highly regarded by international students who seek to gain local experience to improve their employment prospects; it is a key consideration for study destination. WIL also holds significant benefits for industry. These potential benefits include gaining cultural insight, linguistic expertise and, potentially, deepening existing collaborative global partnerships through the placement of participating international students. Findings indicate that a relatively low proportion of international students participate in WIL compared with domestic students. Implications of employer reluctance to engage with international students extend beyond individual employability and may affect international education’s status as one of Australia’s largest export industries. Stakeholder strategies to alleviate barriers to international students participating in WIL are discussed.
Molecular Cloning, Characterization, and mRNA Expression of Hemocyanin Subunit in Oriental River Prawn Macrobrachium nipponense
No full textThis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Hemocyanin is a copper-containing protein with immune function against disease. In this study, a hemocyanin subunit named MnHc-1 was cloned from Macrobrachium nipponense. The full-length cDNA of MnHc-1 was 2,163 bp with a 2,028-bp open reading frame (ORF) encoding a polypeptide of 675 amino acids. The MnHc-1 mRNA was expressed in the hepatopancreas, gill, hemocytes, intestine, ovary, and stomach, with the highest level in the hepatopancreas. In the infection trial, the MnHc-1 mRNA transcripts in the hemocytes were significantly downregulated at 3 h after injection of Aeromonas hydrophila and then upregulated at 6 h and 12 h, followed by a gradual recovery from 24 to 48 h. The MnHc-1 transcriptional expression in the hepatopancreas was measured after M. nipponense were fed seven diets with 2.8, 12.2, 20.9, 29.8, 43.1, 78.9, and 157.1 mg Cu kg−1 for 8 weeks, respectively. The level of MnHc-1 mRNA was significantly higher in the prawns fed 43.1–157.1 mg Cu kg−1 diet than in that fed 2.8–29.8 mg Cu kg−1 diet. This study indicated that the MnHc-1 expression can be affected by dietary copper and the hemocyanin may potentially participate in the antibacterial defense of M. nipponense
