On helical shear of a compressible elastic circular cylindrical tube

In this paper we examine the combined azimuthal and axial shear of a compressible isotropic elastic circular cylindrical tube of finite extent, otherwise referred to as helical shear (which is an isochoric deformation). The equilibrium equations are formulated in terms of the principal stretches, and explicit necessary and sufficient conditions on the strain-energy function for the material to support this deformation are obtained and compared with those obtained previously for this problem. Several classes of strain-energy functions are derived and in some general cases complete solutions of the equilibrium equations are obtained. Existing results are recovered as special cases and some new results for the strain-energy functions derived are determined and discussed.

The complete mitochondrial genome of Spilonota lechriaspis Meyrick (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)

We determined the nucleotide sequence of the mitochondrial genome (mtgenome) of Spilonota lechriaspis Meyrick (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). The entire closed circular molecule is 15,368 bp and contains 37 genes with the typical gene complement and order for lepidopteran mtgenomes. All tRNAs except tRNASer(AGN) can be folded into the typical cloverleaf secondary structures. The protein-coding genes (PCGs) have typical mitochondrial start codons, with the exception of COI, which uses the unusual CGA one as is found in all other Lepidoptera sequenced to date. In addition, six of 13 PCGs harbor the incomplete termination codons, a single T. The A+T-rich region contains some conserved structures that are similar to those found in other lepidopteran mtgenomes, including a structure combining the motif 'ATAGA', a 19-bp poly(T) stretch and three microsatellite (AT)n elements which are part of larger 122+ bp macrorepeats. This is the first report of macrorepeats in a lepidopteran mtgenome.

Regulation of microRNA-1288 in colorectal cancer : altered expression and its clinicopathological significance

We aim to examine the miR-1288 expression in cancer cell lines and a large cohort of patients with colorectal cancer. Two colon cancer cell lines (SW480 and SW48) and one normal colonic epithelial cell line (FHC) were recruited. The miRNA expressions of miR-1288 were tested on these cell lines by using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). An exogenous miR-1288 (mimic) was used to detect cell proliferation and cell cycle changes in SW480 using MTT calorimetric assay and flow cytometry, respectively. In addition, tissues from 122 patients with surgical resection of colorectum (82 adenocarcinomas, 20 adenomas, and 20 non-neoplastic tissues) were tested for miR-1288 expression by qRT-PCR. The colon cancer cell lines showed reduced expression of miR-1288 compared to normal colonic epithelial cell line. Over expression of miR-1288 in SW480 cell line showed increased cell proliferation and increased G2-M phase cells. In tissues, reduced miR-1288 expression was noted in majority of colorectal adenocarcinoma compared to colorectal adenoma and non-neoplastic tissues. Reduced or absent expression of miR-1288 was noted in 76% (n = 62/82) of the cancers. The expression levels of miR-1288 were higher in distal colorectal adenocarcinomas (P = 0.013) and in cancers of lower T staging (P = 0.033). To conclude, alternation of miR-1288 expression is important in the progression of colorectal cancer. The differential regulation of miR-1288 was found to be related to cancer location and pathological staging in colorectal cancers.

Six theories of neoliberalism

This article takes as its starting point the observation that neoliberalism is a concept that is ‘oft-invoked but ill-defined’. It provides a taxonomy of uses of the term neoliberalism to include: (1) an all-purpose denunciatory category; (2) ‘the way things are’; (3) an institutional framework characterizing particular forms of national capitalism, most notably the Anglo-American ones; (4) a dominant ideology of global capitalism; (5) a form of governmentality and hegemony; and (6) a variant within the broad framework of liberalism as both theory and policy discourse. It is argued that this sprawling set of definitions are not mutually compatible, and that uses of the term need to be dramatically narrowed from its current association with anything and everything that a particular author may find objectionable. In particular, it is argued that the uses of the term by Michel Foucault in his 1978–9 lectures, found in The Birth of Biopolitics, are not particularly compatible with its more recent status as a variant of dominant ideology or hegemony theories. It instead proposes understanding neoliberalism in terms of historical institutionalism, with Foucault’s account of historical change complementing MaxWeber’s work identifying the distinctive economic sociology of national capitalisms.

The effect of cryotherapy on the vascular regeneration following closed soft tissue trauma

INTRODUCTION Icing (cryotherapy) is being widely used for the treatment of closed soft tissue trauma (CSTT), such as those resulting from sport injuries. It is believed that cryotherapy induces vasoconstriction and through this mechanism reduces inflammation [1]. However, the impact of this technique on the healing of impaired vasculature and muscle injuries following trauma remains controversial. Recent evidence suggests that the muscle regeneration is delayed after cryotherapy [2]. Consequently, we aimed to investigate the effect of cryotherapy on the vascular morphology following CSTT using an experimental model in rats by contrast-enhanced micro-CT imaging. METHODS Fifty four rats were divided into three main groups: control (no injury, n=6), sham (CSTT but no icing treatment, n=24) and icing (CSTT, treated with one session of ice block massaged directly on the injured muscle for 20 minutes, n=24). The CSTT was induced to the left thigh (Biceps Femoris) of anaesthetised rats (Male, Wistar) to create a standardized and reproducible vascular and muscle injury using an impact device [3]. Following trauma, animals were euthanized after 1, 3, 7, and 28 days healing time (n=6 for each time point). For a three-dimensional vascular morphological assessment, the blood vessels of euthanised rats were flushed with heparinised saline and then perfused with a radio-opaque contrast agent (Microfil, MV 122, Flowtech, USA) using an infusion pump. Both hind-limbs were dissected, and then the injured and non-injured limbs were imaged using a micro-CT scanner (µCT 40, Scanco Medical, Switzerland) and total volume of the perfused blood vessels (TVV) was calculated. More detailed morphological parameters such as vessel volume (VV), diameter (VD), spacing (VSp), number (VN) and connectivity (VConn) were quantified through high resolution (6 µm), micro-CT-scanned biopsy samples (diameter: 8mm) taken directly from the region of the injured muscles. The biopsies were then analysed histologically to confirm the results derived from contrast-enhanced micro-CT imaging. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The TVV was significantly higher in the injured legs compared to the non-injured legs at day 1 and 7 in the sham group and at day 28 in both sham and icing groups. The biopsies from the injured legs of the icing group showed a significant reduction in VV, VN, VD, VConn and an increase in VSp compared to those in the sham and control groups at days 1, 3 and 7, post injury. While the injured legs of the sham group exhibited a decrease in VN and VConn 28 days post trauma, indicating a return to the original values prior to trauma, these parameters had increased in the icing group (Figure 1). Also, at day 1 post injury, VV and VD of the injured legs were significantly higher in the sham group compared to the icing group, which may be attributed to the effect of vasoconstriction induced by icing. Further histomorphological evaluation of day 1 post injury, indicated that although cryotherapy significantly reduced the injury size and influx of inflammatory cells, including macrophages and neutrophils, a delay in vascular and muscle fiber regeneration was found at later time points confirming other reports from the literature [2]. CONCLUSIONS We have demonstrated using micro-CT imaging that the vascular morphology changes after CSTT, and that its recovery is affected by therapeutic modalities such as icing. This may be useful for the development of future clinical monitoring, diagnosis and treatment of CSTT. While icing reduces the swelling after trauma, our results suggest that it may delay the recovery of the vasculature in the injured tissue.

Heat-related morbidity in Brisbane, Australia : spatial variation and area-level predictors

Background: Extreme heat is a leading weather-related cause of illness and death in many locations across the globe, including subtropical Australia. The possibility of increasingly frequent and severe heat waves warrants continued efforts to reduce this health burden, which could be accomplished by targeting intervention measures toward the most vulnerable communities. Objectives: We sought to quantify spatial variability in heat-related morbidity in Brisbane, Australia, to highlight regions of the city with the greatest risk. We also aimed to find area-level social and environmental determinants of high risk within Brisbane. Methods: We used a series of hierarchical Bayesian models to examine city-wide and intracity associations between temperature and morbidity using a 2007–2011 time series of geographically referenced hospital admissions data. The models accounted for long-term time trends, seasonality, and day of week and holiday effects. Results: On average, a 10°C increase in daily maximum temperature during the summer was associated with a 7.2% increase in hospital admissions (95% CI: 4.7, 9.8%) on the following day. Positive statistically significant relationships between admissions and temperature were found for 16 of the city’s 158 areas; negative relationships were found for 5 areas. High-risk areas were associated with a lack of high income earners and higher population density. Conclusions: Geographically targeted public health strategies for extreme heat may be effective in Brisbane, because morbidity risk was found to be spatially variable. Emergency responders, health officials, and city planners could focus on short- and long-term intervention measures that reach communities in the city with lower incomes and higher population densities, including reduction of urban heat island effects.

Book Review : "Statutory Will Applications : A practical Guide by Richard Williams and Sam McCullough"

The jurisdiction of Australian courts to make wills for those lacking testamentary capacity is relatively new, having been granted by legislation progressively enacted across the various states and territories between 1996 and 2010. Given increasing numbers of statutory will applications since the legislative reform, and a growing body of law, the publication of the specialist work, Statutory Will Applications: A Practical Guide, by Richard Williams and Sam McCullough, is timely and valuable. This work will be of great interest to those who act for individual clients, especially wills and estates practitioners, but also personal injury practitioners acting for incapacitated persons who have been awarded substantial damages.

The aerospace engineering challenge

Integrating Science, Technology, and Engineering in Mathematics authors share ideas and activities that stimulate student interest in the integrated fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in K–grade 6 classrooms. This article describes an activity that introduced fourth-grade students to the work of aerospace engineers and to the science, technology, and mathematics principles associated with flight.

Rough Seas

Favel Parrett’s second novel, When the Night Comes, opens with its teenage protagonist Isla lying awake in her bunk on a night ferry to Tasmania in the mid-1980s, ‘waiting for the rough seas’. Her younger brother sleeps beside her, and her distracted, emotionally distant mother – the kind of woman who is ‘always sitting places by herself in the night’ – is smoking on deck. Together, the three are weathering the roiling overnight passage in order to escape a violent past and make a new life in Hobart. The rough seas the novel goes on to navigate are, as one might expect, both literal and metaphorical...

KRAB zinc-finger proteins localise to novel KAP1-containing foci that are adjacent to PML nuclear bodies

The KRAB-zinc finger proteins (KRAB-ZFPs) represent a very large, but poorly understood, family of transcriptional regulators in mammals. They are thought to repress transcription via their interaction with KRAB-associated protein 1 (KAP1), which then assembles a complex of chromatin modifiers to lay down histone marks that are associated with inactive chromatin. Studies of KRAB-ZFP/KAP1-mediated gene silencing, using reporter constructs and ectopically expressed proteins, have shown colocalisation of both KAP1 and repressed reporter target genes to domains of constitutive heterochromatin in the nucleus. However, we show here that although KAP1 does indeed become recruited to pericentric heterochromatin during differentiation of mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells, endogenous KRAB-ZFPs do not. Rather, KRAB-ZFPs and KAP1 relocalise to novel nucleoplasmic foci that we have termed KRAB- and KAP1-associated (KAKA) foci. HP1s can also concentrate in these foci and there is a close spatial relationship between KAKA nuclear foci and PML nuclear bodies. Finally, we reveal differential requirements for the recruitment of KAP1 to pericentric heterochromatin and KAKA foci, and suggest that KAKA foci may contain sumoylated KAP1 - the form of the protein that is active in transcriptional repression.

A new life of Hans Christian Andersen : a study of the ‘peculiar nature’ of an author’s life

A review of "Hans Christian Andersen : European Witness" by Paul Binding (Yale UP, 2014). How a writer bears witness to his age is necessarily the expression of many things, not least the possibly quite peculiar nature of an author’s life. Literary works often emerge from complex upbringings, from periods of youthful isolation spent reading and writing. More still seem to have been written as a result of the fraught relationships that befall authors, perhaps because authors so often view their relationships with a degree of creative and critical distance. And yet, if a writer’s output evidences an unusual life, it also witnesses broader questions being asked by a community as a whole. At some level, even the most remarkable figures are typical of their age, and reflections of it. By the close of Paul Binding’s study of the life and works of Hans Christian Andersen (1805–75), we are reminded that extraordinary feats of originality and imagination are often the result of how unique minds enter wider discourses...

Enhancement of the chemoprotective enzymes glucuronosyl transferase and glutathione transferase in specific organs of the rat by the coffee components kahweol and cafestol

The coffee components kahweol and cafestol (K/C) have been reported to protect the colon and other organs of the rat against the formation of DNA adducts by 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b] pyridine (PhIP) and aflatoxin B1. PhIP is a cooked-food mutagen to which significant human exposure and a role in colon cancer etiology are attributed, and, interestingly, such cancers appear to develop at a lower rate in consumers of coffees with high amounts of K/C. Earlier studies in rodent liver have shown that a key role in the chemopreventive effect of K/C is likely to be due to the potential of these compounds to induce the detoxification of xenobiotics by glutathione transferase (GST) and to enhance the synthesis of the corresponding co-factor glutathione. However, mutagens like PhIP may also be detoxified by UDP-glucuronosyl transferase (UDPGT) for which data are lacking regarding a potential effect of K/C. Therefore, in the present study, we investigated the effect of K/C on UDPGT and, concomitantly, we studied overall GST and the pattern of individual GST classes, particularly GST-θ, which was not included in earlier experiments. In addition, we analyzed the organ-dependence of these potentially chemopreventive effects. K/C was fed to male F344 rats at 0.122% in the chow for 10 days. Enzyme activities in liver, kidney, lung, colon, salivary gland, pancreas, testis, heart and spleen were quantified using five characteristic substrates and the hepatic protein pattern of GST classes α, μ, and π was studied with affnity chromatography/HPLC. Our study showed that K/C is not only capable of increasing overall GST and GST classes α, μ, and π but also of enhancing UDGPT and GST-θ. All investigated K/C effects were strongest in liver and kidney, and some response was seen in lung and colon but none in the other organs. In summary, our results show that K/C treatment leads to a wide spectrum of increases in phase II detoxification enzymes. Notably, these effects occurred preferentially in the well perfused organs liver and kidney, which may thus not only contribute to local protection but also to anti-carcinogenesis in distant, less stimulated organs such as the colon.

PSMA-targeting iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles enhance MRI of preclinical prostate cancer

Aim Evaluate potential of newly-developed, biocompatible iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) conjugated with J591, an antibody to an extracellular epitope of prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA), to enhance MRI of prostate cancer (PCa). Materials & Methods Specific binding to PSMA by J591-MNP was investigated in vitro. MRI studies were performed on orthotopic tumor-bearing NOD.SCID mice 2h and 24hr after intravenous injection of J591-MNPs, or non-targeting MNPs. Results and Conclusions In vitro, MNPs did not affect PCa cell viability, and conjugation to J591 did not compromise antibody specificity and enhanced cellular iron uptake. In vivo, PSMA-targeting MNPs increased MR contrast of tumors, but not by non-targeting MNPs. This provides proof-of-concept that PSMA-targeting MNPs have potential to enhance MR detection/localization of PCa.,

Reproducibility of subjective appetite ratings and ad libitum test meal energy intake in overweight and obese males

Background To determine whether changes in appetite and energy intake (EI) can be detected and play a role in the effectiveness of interventions, it is necessary to identify their variability under normal conditions. We assessed the reproducibility of subjective appetite ratings and ad libitum test meal EI after a standardised pre-load in overweight and obese males. Methods Fifteen overweight and obese males (BMI 30.3 ± 4.9 kg/m2, aged 34.9 ± 10.6 years) completed two identical test days, 7 days apart. Participants were provided with a standardised fixed breakfast (1676 kJ) and 5 h later an ad libitum pasta lunch. An electronic appetite rating system was used to assess subjective ratings before and after the fixed breakfast, and periodically during the postprandial period. EI was assessed at the ad libitum lunch meal. Sample size estimates for paired design studies were calculated. Results Appetite ratings demonstrated a consistent oscillating pattern between test days, and were more reproducible for mean postprandial than fasting ratings. The correlation between ad libitum EI on the two test days was r = 0.78 (P < 0.01). Using a paired design and a power of 0.8, a minimum of 12 participants would be needed to detect a 10 mm change in 5 h postprandial mean ratings and 17 to detect a 500 kJ difference in ad libitum EI. Conclusion Intra-individual variability of appetite and ad libitum test meal EI in overweight and obese males is comparable to previous reports in normal weight adults. Sample size requirements for studies vary depending on the parameter of interest and sensitivity needed.