19683 research outputs found
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On trilinear and quadrilinear equations associated with the lattice Gel'fand–Dikii hierarchy
No full textIntroduced in Zhang et al. (2012), the trilinear Boussinesq equation is the natural form of the equation for the τ-function of the lattice Boussinesq system. In this paper we study various aspects of this equation: its highly nontrivial derivation from the bilinear lattice AKP equation under dimensional reduction, a quadrilinear dual lattice equation, conservation laws, and periodic reductions leading to higher-dimensional integrable maps and their Laurent property. Furthermore, we consider a higher Gel'fand–Dikii lattice system, its periodic reductions and Laurent property. As a special application, from both a trilinear Boussinesq recurrence as well as a higher Gel'fand–Dikii system of three bilinear recurrences, we establish Somos-like integer sequences
“Trying to Wring an Ocean from the Precious Few Drops”: Language, Identity and Intergenerational Migrant Trauma in Second-Generation Fiction
No full textAbstract: This article analyses three recent works by second-generation Australian writers—Peter Polites’ Down the Hume (2017), Tracey Lien’s All That’s Left Unsaid (2022) and Omar Sakr’s Son of Sin (2022)—examining the ways in which these authors represent and engage with the reality of multicultural and multilingual Australia. Each of the novels speaks from the perspective of a young Australian for whom English is the native language, while the parents’ home language can be a marker of identity or provoke feelings of clumsiness, inadequacy or alienation. Polites and Sakr intersperse their writing with words and phrases in Greek, Arabic and Turkish in a realistic depiction of code-switching and complex cultural identities. Meanwhile, Lien unpacks some of the complexities of child language brokering and the struggle for language maintenance in her exploration of the intense familial and linguistic pressures that stem from intergenerational trauma in the Vietnamese community.</p
Age of Onset and DSM-5 Alcohol Use Disorder in Late Adolescence – A Cohort Study From Sweden
No full textPurpose: To examine if the prevalence of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition alcohol use disorder (AUD) differs between two groups with different age of onset of alcohol use and if endorsement of different AUD criteria differs between the two groups. Methods: A two-wave longitudinal prospective cohort survey conducted in Sweden (2017–2019) with a nationwide sample of 3,999 adolescents aged 15/16 years at baseline (T1), and 17/18 years at follow-up (T2); 2,778 current drinkers at T2 were analysed. Participants were categorized into early onset of drinking (drinking already at T1 54.3%) or late onset (not drinking at T1 but at T2, 45.8%). AUD was measured with questions corresponding to the 11 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition criteria for AUD. Potential confounding factors measured at T1 were sex, sensation-seeking, impulsivity, emotional symptoms, peer problems, conduct problems, and hyperactivity. Results: The early onset group had a higher prevalence of AUD at T2 compared to the late onset group (36.3% vs. 23.1%, p < .001). The higher risk of AUD remained significant in a linear probability model with control for additional confounding factors (β = 0.080, p < .001). All individual criteria were reported more in the early onset group, and there was no evidence of differential item functioning. Discussion: The age of onset of alcohol use was a significant predictor of AUD in late adolescence among Swedish adolescents. Those with an earlier onset of alcohol use had a higher prevalence of AUD and of all individual criteria. The items in the scale were similarly predictive of AUD in both groups
Mechanistic understanding and sustainable management of non-target site herbicide resistance in modern day agriculture
No full textBackground: The evolution of non-target site resistance (NTSR) to herbicides in weeds has made weed management extremely difficult. Weeds can develop NTSR to herbicides because of changes in one or more physiological processes.
Objective: This review aims to address the complexities of NTSR by investigating the factors influencing the evolution of NTSR in weeds. It explains mechanisms associated with NTSR and examines sustainable management strategies.
Methods: This review draws upon an extensive examination of existing literature on NTSR. It summarizes NTSR mechanisms in weeds and discusses strategies that delay the evolution of herbicide resistance.
Results: The analysis reveals that NTSR mechanisms threaten not only the efficacy of existing herbicides but also the utility of new herbicides. The study highlights that crop diversification, improved herbicide use patterns and understanding of weed biology, including fitness costs and gene flow, are crucial for developing sustainable weed management strategies. The study advocates a holistic approach, integrating diverse weed management practices and modern technologies, to effectively address the challenges posed by NTSR and ensure sustainable herbicide resistance management.
Conclusions: A holistic approach is urgently needed to manage NTSR. Understanding the complex interaction of genetic factors, inheritance patterns, effects of herbicide application patterns, and fitness costs is crucial for managing NTSR. This knowledge informs effective use of technology and conventional tools for effective weed control. </p
Ethnically Diverse Women in leadership in Australian corporate sector - Industry Report 1
No full textMost leaders in Australian corporations are men from Anglo-Celtic backgrounds, few are women, and even fewer are from ethnically diverse backgrounds including Black, Brown, Asian, or any other non-white women, referred to here as EDWIL (Ethnically Diverse Women in Leadership). Little is known about the factors that hinder or enable ethnically diverse women’s career pathways and leadership development in Australia.</p
Autism likelihood in infants born to mothers with asthma is associated with blood inflammatory gene biomarkers in pregnancy
No full textMothers with asthma or atopy have a higher likelihood of having autistic children, with maternal immune activation in pregnancy implicated as a mechanism. This study aimed to determine, in a prospective cohort of mothers with asthma and their infants, whether inflammatory gene expression in pregnancy is associated with likelihood of future autism. Mothers with asthma were recruited to the Breathing for Life Trial. RNA was extracted from blood samples collected at mid-pregnancy. 300 ng total RNA was hybridized with the nCounter Human Inflammation gene expression panel (Nanostring Technologies, 249 inflammation-related genes). Parents completed the First Year Inventory (FYI) at 12-month follow-up, which assessed an infant's likelihood for autism across 2 behavioural domains: social communication and sensory regulation. A total score ≥19.2 indicated increased likelihood for future autism. Inflammatory gene expression was profiled from 24 mothers: four infants scored in the high autism likelihood range; 20 scored in the low autism likelihood range. Six inflammatory genes were differentially expressed and significantly up-regulated in the high autism likelihood group: CYSLTR2, NOX1, C1QA, CXCL10, C8A, IL23R. mRNA count significantly correlated with social communication FYI score for CYSLTR2 (Pearson r = 0.46, p = 0.024) and CXCL10 (r = 0.43, p = 0.036) and with sensory regulation score for ALOX5 (r = −0.43, p = 0.038) and MAFK (r = −0.46, p = 0.022). In this proof-of-concept study, inflammatory gene expression during pregnancy in mothers with asthma was associated with an infant's likelihood of future autism as well as scores relating to social communication and sensory regulation
A comparative study of early shell knife production using archaeological, experimental and ethnographic datasets: 46,000 years of Melo (Gastropoda: Volutidae) shell knife manufacture in northern Australia
No full textWe investigate archaeological evidence for the early production of Melo (or commonly named ‘baler’) shell knives recovered from Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene deposits in Boodie Cave, Barrow Island. The site is in the Country of Thalanyji people in northwestern Western Australia. The oldest shell knife fragments were recovered from units dated to 46.2–42.6 ka, making this one of the oldest Homo sapiens sapiens shell tool technologies currently described. We situate this early and ongoing tradition of shell tool manufacture within recent discussions of the early development of shell industries from both Island Southeast Asia and globally. Although shell knives have been previously reported from Pilbara and Gulf of Carpentaria surface middens in northern Australia, systematic analysis of the manufacturing process and associated debris, and especially from pre-Holocene contexts, has not been previously conducted. This research explores the shell knife chaîne opératoire through the integration of three data sets derived from archaeology, ethnography, and experimental archaeology. This study highlights the significance of shell tool industries in the northwest of Australia, and globally, from the Pleistocene and into the Late Holocene in areas with limited access to hard rock geology where shell reduction represents a unique technological strategy
Using a Zebrafish pkd2-knockdown model to study the development of kidney cysts
No full textSubmitted in total fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Science to the School of Agriculture, Biomedicine and Environment, La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia.</p
Indigenising research: Moanaroa a philosophy for practice
No full textGrowing interest in Pacific issue’s has meant a surge in Pacific research across the globe. Sadly, some research on Pacific people has been done without Pacific knowledge, wisdom and culture. As Pacific researchers, we understand the importance of outputs that interweave our ancestral and cultural wisdom, whilst centring and privileging our people’s narratives. Through the birth of our Moanaroa Pacific Research group, we explore the importance of a research collective which decolonises and re indigenises research as we know it.</p
Pilot investigations into the mechanistic basis for adverse effects of glucocorticoids in dysferlinopathy
No full textBackground: Dysferlinopathies are a clinically heterogeneous group of muscular dystrophies caused by gene mutations resulting in deficiency of the membrane-associated protein dysferlin. They manifest post-growth and are characterised by muscle wasting (primarily in the limb and limb-gridle muscles), inflammation, and replacement of myofibres with adipose tissue. The precise pathomechanism for dysferlinopathy is currently unclear; as such there are no treatments currently available. Glucocorticoids (GCs) are widely used to reduce inflammation and treat muscular dystrophies, but when administered to patients with dysferlinopathy, they have unexpected adverse effects, with accelerated loss of muscle strength. Methods: To investigate the mechanistic basis for the adverse effects of GCs in dysferlinopathy, the potent GC dexamethasone (Dex) was administered for 4–5 weeks (0.5–0.75 µg/mL in drinking water) to dysferlin-deficient BLA/J and normal wild-type (WT) male mice, sampled at 5 (Study 1) or 10 months (Study 2) of age. A wide range of analyses were conducted. Metabolism- and immune-related gene expression was assessed in psoas muscles at both ages and in quadriceps at 10 months of age. For the 10-month-old mice, quadriceps and psoas muscle histology was assessed. Additionally, we investigated the impact of Dex on the predominantly slow and fast-twitch soleus and extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscles (respectively) in terms of contractile function, myofibre-type composition, and levels of proteins related to contractile function and metabolism, plus glycogen. Results: At both ages, many complement-related genes were highly expressed in BLA/J muscles, and WT mice were generally more responsive to Dex than BLA/J. The effects of Dex on BLA/J mice included (i) increased expression of inflammasome-related genes in muscles (at 5 months) and (ii) exacerbated histopathology of quadriceps and psoas muscles at 10 months. A novel observation was pronounced staining for glycogen in many myofibres of the damaged quadriceps muscles, with large pale vacuolated myofibres, suggesting possible myofibre death by oncosis. Conclusion: These pilot studies provide a new focus for further investigation into the adverse effects of GCs on dysferlinopathic muscles