Rafael Travieso (left) and Kyle Tuntland (right) with a Burmese python at SRS-6, Shark River Slough

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation through the Florida Coastal Everglades Long-Term Ecological Research program under Cooperative Agreements #DBI-0620409 and #DEB-9910514. This image is made available for non-commercial or educational use only.

Valentin Nechita (left) and Rafael Travieso (right) with a Burmese python at SRS-6, Shark River Slough

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation through the Florida Coastal Everglades Long-Term Ecological Research program under Cooperative Agreements #DBI-0620409 and #DEB-9910514. This image is made available for non-commercial or educational use only.

Burmese python at SRS-6, Shark River Slough

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation through the Florida Coastal Everglades Long-Term Ecological Research program under Cooperative Agreements #DBI-0620409 and #DEB-9910514. This image is made available for non-commercial or educational use only.

A Land That Has Yet to Heal: The Burmese Civil War (1948 – present)

Since its independence from Great Britain in 1948, the state of Burma has been at war with itself. Ethnic and religious tension fuel the conflict and has led to territorial disputes while no resolution to this strife is expected under a fragile and corrupt central government. Additionally, proxy wars have delayed any peaceful negotiations. The combinations of failing social welfare programs and prolonged peace talks have led many Burmese people join the military as soldiers in either the Burmese military or any one of the numerous ethnic paramilitary groups in the country. Human rights violations are common in Burma, including rape, pillaging, and ethnic cleansing. Essentially, Burma has had the longest ongoing civil war due to combination of grievances, many of which predate the 21st century.

A review of non-traditional occupational therapy practice placement education : a focus on role-emerging and project placements

Practice placement education has been recognised as an integral and critical component of the training of occupational therapy students. Although there is an extensive body of literature on clinical education and traditional practice placement education models, there has been limited research on alternative placements.-------- This paper reviews the literature on various practice placement education models and presents a contemporary view on how it is currently delivered. The literature is examined with a particular focus on the increasing range of practice placement education opportunities, such as project and role-emerging placements. The drivers for non-traditional practice placement education include shortages of traditional placement options, health reform and changing work practices, potential for role development and influence on practice choice. The benefits and challenges of non-traditional practice placement education are discussed, including supervision issues, student evaluation, professional and personal development and the opportunity to practise clinical skills.--------- Further research is recommended to investigate occupational therapy graduates' perceptions of role-emerging and project placements in order to identify the benefits or otherwise of these placements and to contribute to the limited body of knowledge of emerging education opportunities.

Heparan sulfate mediates the proliferation and differentiation of rat mesenchymal stem cells

The growth and differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells is controlled by various growth factors, the activities of which can be modulated by heparan sulfates. We have previously underscored the necessity of sulfated glycosaminoglycans for the FGF-2-stimulated differentiation of osteoprogenitor cells. Here we show that exogenous application of heparan sulfate to cultures of primary rat MSCs stimulates their proliferation leading to increased expression of osteogenic markers and enhanced bone nodule formation. FGF-2 can also increase the proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of rMSCs when applied exogenously during their linear growth. However, as opposed to exogenous HS, the continuous use of FGF-2 during in vitro differentiation completely blocked rMSC mineralization. Furthermore, we show that the effects of both FGF-2 and HS are mediated through FGF receptor 1 (FGFR1) and that inhibition of signaling through this receptor arrests cell growth resulting in the cells being unable to reach the critical density necessary to induce differentiation. Interestingly, blocking FGFR1 signaling in post-confluent osteogenic cultures significantly increased calcium deposition. Taken together our data clearly suggests that FGFR1 signaling plays an important role during osteogenic differentiation, firstly by stimulating cell growth that is closely followed by an inhibitory affect once the cells have reached confluence. It also underlines the importance of HS as a co-receptor for the signaling of endogenous FGF-2 and suggests that purified glycosaminoglycans may be attractive alternatives to growth factors for improved ex vivo growth and differentiation of MSCs.

Artful determination : "state of the art" and PCME Ltd v. Goyen COntrols Co. UK Ltd

In a recent decision by Mr Justice Laddie, a patent was held anticipated by, inter alia, prior use of a device which fell within the claims of the patent in suit, even though its circuitry was enclosed in resin. The anticipating invention had been "made available to the public" within the terms of section 2 (2) of the Patents Act 1977 because its essential integers would have been revealed by an interesting character, the "skilled forensic engineer".

Autocrine fibroblast growth factor 2 increases the multipotentiality of human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells

Multipotent mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), first identified in the bone marrow, have subsequently been found in many other tissues, including fat, cartilage, muscle, and bone. Adipose tissue has been identified as an alternative to bone marrow as a source for the isolation of MSCs, as it is neither limited in volume nor as invasive in the harvesting. This study compares the multipotentiality of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) with that of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (AMSCs) from 12 age- and sex-matched donors. Phenotypically, the cells are very similar, with only three surface markers, CD106, CD146, and HLA-ABC, differentially expressed in the BMSCs. Although colony-forming units-fibroblastic numbers in BMSCs were higher than in AMSCs, the expression of multiple stem cell-related genes, like that of fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2), the Wnt pathway effectors FRAT1 and frizzled 1, and other self-renewal markers, was greater in AMSCs. Furthermore, AMSCs displayed enhanced osteogenic and adipogenic potential, whereas BMSCs formed chondrocytes more readily than AMSCs. However, by removing the effects of proliferation from the experiment, AMSCs no longer out-performed BMSCs in their ability to undergo osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation. Inhibition of the FGF2/fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 signaling pathway demonstrated that FGF2 is required for the proliferation of both AMSCs and BMSCs, yet blocking FGF2 signaling had no direct effect on osteogenic differentiation. Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest is found at the end of this article.

Advertising and Celebrity Endorsement in Burma

Burma (or Myanmar) is not a place that people normally associate with the glamour of film stars, or the fun and frivolity of celebrities, unlike in neighbouring India or Thailand. But each year the very matter-of-factly named ‘Myanmar Economics Import/Export VCD’ company produces a disk of the year’s most memorable television ads, showcasing some of the many Burmese celebrities on television at the moment. As a testament to the catchiness of the ads, disks have become so popular that they can be bought on street corners in Yangon for about 1000 Kyats (US$1). Though advertising in Burma is highly vetted for political content, much like film and print media, the samples featured show a surprising array of entertaining themes and ideas. Much of television advertising, in some way or another, draws upon the profiles of versatile Burmese celebrities to engage and build brand value.

Reading in the Australian curriculum English : describing the effects of structure and organisation on multimodal texts

The recently introduced Australian Curriculum: English Version 3.0 (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA], 2012) requires students to ‘read’ multimodal text and describe the effects of structure and organisation. We begin this article by tracing the variable understandings of what reading multimodal text might entail through the Framing Paper (National Curriculum Board, 2008), the Framing Paper Consultation Report (National Curriculum Board, 2009a), the Shaping Paper (National Curriculum Board, 2009b) and Version 3.0 of the Australian Curriculum English (ACARA, 2012). Our findings show that the theoretical and descriptive framework for doing so is implicit. Drawing together multiple but internally coherent theories from the field of semiotics, we suggest one way to work towards three Year 5 learning outcomes from the reading/writing mode. The affordances of assembling a broad but explicit technical metalanguage for an informed reading of the integrated design elements of multimodal texts are noted.

Early years activities for NLNW 2012 - Pearl Barley & Charlie Parsley

This Early Years unit is designed to engage students in a sequence of activities that use a range of literacies which explore feelings, friendships and personality traits. The text, Pearl Barley and Charlie Parsley, is the focus of this unit. Suggested activities promote participation through simple and effective strategies, using technology, process drama, graphic ogranisers and critical literacy. This unit allows for flexibility so teachers can select activities that best suit time, resources and students' needs and interests. Students are asked to make connections between the text and their own friendships, understanding that the best of friends can be different in almost every way.