532 research outputs found
Material culture, identity, and colonial society in the Canadian fur trade
No full textCitation: Peers, L. (2009) Material culture, identity, and colonial society in the Canadian fur trade. In: Daly Goggin, M. & Fowkes Tobin, B. (eds.) Women and things, 1750-1950: gendered material strategies. Farnham: Ashgate, pp. 55-74
"Something in your belly": Fantasy, disability and desire in My One-Legged Dream Lover
No full textIn this article we explore fantasy, disability and desire in the groundbreaking 1998 Australian TV documentary My One-Legged Dream Lover. Based upon self-reflexive documentary conventions, the video uncovers journalist-cum-freak raconteur Kath Duncan's explorations into the world of amputee fetish. Duncan is a double congenital amputee. She says, "I've tried most things men, women, sex toys, unusual locations, dominance and submission games but I wanted to know what it was like to be desired because of my impairments." Gerard Goggin is a temporarily able-bodied (or TAB) academic with his own history of queer desire and a personal investment in exploring issues of difference. Duncan's and Goggin's collaboration includes accessing each other's edgier fantasies, aiming to give voice to some of the negotiations, anxieties, pleasures, and risks we have taken, speaking across the chasm of our personal histories, different genders and respective bodies
Cooling of cilia allows functional analysis of the beat pattern for diagnostic testing
No full textBackground: Reports of the effect of low temperatures on ciliary beat frequency (CBF) are conflicting, and the effect on ciliary beat pattern has not been reported. We aimed to clarify this association and determine whether cooling of cilia may allow ciliary function to be assessed without the need of expensive high-speed video microscopy.
Methods: Fourteen nasal brush biopsy samples were collected, and the CBF and beat pattern of undisrupted ciliated edges were evaluated. Two methods were used to strictly control changes in temperature: One enabled rapid transitory measurements during cooling and warming, and the other was used to maintain accurate low temperatures over longer periods of time.
Results: A sigmoid relationship between CBF and temperature was observed. CBF decreased with cooling and increased with warming. Ciliary function was unaffected by the direction of temperature change and was maintained down 102 degrees C. The percentage of dyskinetic cilia observed at 2 degrees C or 4 degrees C was unchanged from that at 37 degrees C.
Conclusions: Contrary to previous research, our data show that cilia continue to beat with a normal pattern at temperatures as low as 2 degrees C. Slowing of cilia by cooling may allow detailed analysis of ciliary beat pattern without the need of expensive high-speed video microscopy. CHEST 2011; 140(1):186-19
Characteristics of recurrent gallstones following non-surgical treatment: implications for retreatment
No full textAccuracy of diagnostic testing in primary ciliary dyskinesia
No full textDiagnosis of primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) lacks a "gold standard" test and is therefore based on combinations of tests including nasal nitric oxide (nNO), high-speed video microscopy analysis (HSVMA), genotyping and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). There are few published data on the accuracy of this approach.Using prospectively collected data from 654 consecutive patients referred for PCD diagnostics we calculated sensitivity and specificity for individual and combination testing strategies. Not all patients underwent all tests.HSVMA had excellent sensitivity and specificity (100% and 93%, respectively). TEM was 100% specific, but 21% of PCD patients had normal ultrastructure. nNO (30?nL·min(-1) cut-off) had good sensitivity and specificity (91% and 96%, respectively). Simultaneous testing using HSVMA and TEM was 100% sensitive and 92% specific.In conclusion, combination testing was found to be a highly accurate approach for diagnosing PCD. HSVMA alone has excellent accuracy, but requires significant expertise, and repeated sampling or cell culture is often needed. TEM alone is specific but misses 21% of cases. nNO (?30?nL·min(-1)) contributes well to the diagnostic process. In isolation nNO screening at this cut-off would miss ?10% of cases, but in combination with HSVMA could reduce unnecessary further testing. Standardisation of testing between centres is a future priority
Mobile message services and communications policy
No full textSomething of a design after-thought, mobile phone SMS (Short-Message Services) have been enthusiastically adopted by consumers worldwide, who have created a new text culture. SMS is now being deployed to provide a range of services and transactions, as well as playing a critical role in offering an interactive path for television broadcasting. In this paper we offer a case study of a lucrative, new industry developing internationally at the intersection of telecommunications, broadcasting, and information services—namely, premium rate SMS/MMS. To explore the issues at stake we focus on an Australian case study of policy responses to the development of premium rate mobile messaging services in the 2002-2005 period. In the first part, we give a brief history of premium rate telecommunications. Secondly, we characterise premium rate mobile message services and examine their emergence. Thirdly, we discuss the responses of Australian policy-makers and industry to these services. Fourthly, we place the Australian experience in international context, and indicate common issues. Finally, we draw some conclusions from the peregrinations of mobile message services for regulators grappling with communications policy frameworks.mobile, wireless, communications, policy, cultural citizenship, consumer protection,
Late onset post-keratoplasty astigmatism in patients with keratoconus
No full textCopyright © 2004 by the BMJ Publishing Group Ltd.Aim: 10 eyes of 10 patients are reported where progression of keratoconus in the host cornea occurred more than 10 years after penetrating keratoplasty with resultant increase in astigmatism. The technique and results of graft refractive surgery in seven eyes are presented. Methods: The clinical features and management of these patients were retrospectively analysed. Graft refractive surgery involved an incision at the graft-host junction adjacent to the host thinning with compressive resuturing. Astigmatic changes were calculated using vector analysis. Results: There were seven men and three women with a mean age of 41.2 years. The average age when undergoing penetrating keratoplasty in the affected eye was 28.4 years and the average time after penetrating keratoplasty until keratoconus appeared in the host cornea defined by host thinning was 13.5 years. The mean cylinder power before host thinning was noted was 5.07D (SD 2.19) and the mean after host thinning was 11.0D (2.53). The mean vector calculated disease induced astigmatism magnitude was 7.59D (3.09). Graft refractive surgery was performed in seven eyes. The mean cylinder power before and after graft refractive surgery was 11.28D (2.15) and 7.09D (5.53) respectively. The surgically induced astigmatism vector magnitude was 7.36D (4.88). Conclusion: Progression of keratoconus in the host cornea late after penetrating keratoplasty is characterised by a large astigmatic change where the flat axis of astigmatism passes through an area of host thinning visible on slit lamp examination. Compressive resuturing performed in the area of host thinning resulted in satisfactory reduction of astigmatism.L Lim, K Pesudovs, M Goggin, D J Coste
The Fitzroy project - a study of the dynamics of an Australian tropical estuary
No full textAfter the Burdekin, the Fitzroy River supplies the second largest load of sediments and nutrients to the lagoon of the Great Barrier Reef. With Coastal CRC funding, a multiagency team has studied the hydrodynamics, fine-sediment dynamics and biogeochemistry of the Fitzroy Estuary and adjacent Keppel Bay over the last 6 years. The main aims of the project are to assess the impact that catchment loads have on the Fitzroy Estuary itself and the role that the estuary plays in mediating the delivery of material from the river to the GBR lagoon. The discharge of the Fitzroy is highly episodic; its discharge usually occurs as a series of high-flow events during the summer months with virtually no discharge occurring during the rest of the year. Interannual variability is also very high with total annual discharges varying by a factor of 100. The variability in the discharge poses significant challenges for studies of the estuarine dynamics and we have chosen a combined measurement, remote sensing, and modelling approach to address this issue. In my talk, I will present an overview of the project together with some of the significant results achieved so far. (Author abstract
The Social Shaping of the Brazilian Internet
No full textCo-author of a chapter on Latin America: "Stuart Davis, Joe Straubhaar, Martha Fuentes-Batista, and Jeremiah Spence provide another Latin American case study, drawn from the contrasting case of Brazil. Davis et al. dissect the social shaping of the Brazilian Internet, arguing that here “ICT diffusion was largely driven by creative innovations in diffusion from below by NGOs who sought to create new forms of access to the Internet to fulfill demand by users”. However, as they point out “these efforts were heavily influenced by national policies regarding public access, liberalization of regulations governing the national telecommunications market, as well as attempts by private corporations vying for consumer access”.
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