A potential role for lamellar insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor in the pathogenesis of hyperinsulinaemic laminitis

The reason why a sustained high concentration of insulin induces laminitis in horses remains unclear. Cell proliferation occurs in the lamellae during insulin-induced laminitis and in other species high concentrations of insulin can activate receptors for the powerful cell mitogen, insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1. The first aim of this study was to determine if IGF-1 receptors (IGF-1R) are activated in the hoof during insulin-induced laminitis. Gene expression for IGF-1R and the insulin receptor (InsR) was measured using qRT-PCR, in lamellar tissue from control horses and from horses undergoing a prolonged euglycaemic, hyperinsulinaemic clamp (p-EHC), during the mid-developmental (24 h) and acute (46 h) phases of insulin-induced laminitis. Gene expression for both receptors was decreased 13–32-fold (P < 0.05) at both time-points in the insulin-treated horses. A second aim was to determine if the down-regulation of the receptor genes could be accounted for by an increase in circulating IGF-1. Serum IGF-1 was measured at 0, 10, 25 and 46 h post-treatment in horses given a p-EHC for approximately 46 h, and in matched controls administered a balanced, electrolyte solution. There was no increase in serum IGF-1 concentrations during the p-EHC, consistent with down-regulation of both receptors by insulin. Stimulation of the IGF-1R by insulin may lead to inappropriate lamellar epidermal cell proliferation and lamellar weakening, a potential mechanism for hyperinsulinaemic laminitis. Targeting this receptor may provide insights into the pathogenesis or identify a novel therapy for hyperinsulinaemic laminitis.

Insulin and the insulin-like growth factor system : a novel theory for hyperinsulinemic laminitis pathogenesis

Research into hyperinsulinemic laminitis has progressed significantly in recent years with the use of the prolonged-euglycemic, hyperinsulinemic clamp (p-EHC). Previous investigations of laminitis pathophysiology have focused on digital vascular dysfunction, inflammation, altered glucose metabolism within the lamellae, and lamellar basement membrane breakdown by metalloproteinases. The etiopathogenesis of laminitis occurring in association with hyperinsulinemia is yet to be fully characterized, but it may not involve these mechanisms. Insulin stimulates cellular proliferation and can also affect other body systems, such as the insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system. Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) is structurally homologous to insulin and, like insulin, binds with strong affinity to a specific tyrosine kinase receptor on the cell surface to produce its effects, which include promoting cell proliferation. Receptors for IGF-1 (IGF-1R) are present in the lamellar epidermis. An alternative theory for the pathogenesis of hyperinsulinemic laminitis is that uncontrolled cell proliferation, mediated through both the insulin receptor (InsR) and IGF-1R, leads to lengthening, weakening, and failure of the lamellae. An analysis of the proliferative activity of lamellar epidermal cells during the developmental and acute phases of hyperinsulinemic laminitis, and lamellar gene expression of the InsR and IGF-1R was undertaken.

18th Biennale of Sydney

For Sydney’s eighteenth biennale, curators Catherine de Zegher and Gerald McMaster have proposed the theme “All Our Relations,” imagining the world as a complex, “breathing organism”—a cybernetic aggregation of specialized components meant to work in concert. This preview suggests that the biennale will promote art that encourages empathic relations with audiences and will seek to provide a trans-national focus via the work of global indigenous artists.

Paris 1947 : The woman of fashion

Paris 1947 is the site of one of twentieth century fashion’s fictive highpoints. The New Look combined drama and poetics through an abiding rhetoric of elegance. In doing so it employed traditional modes of femininity, casting the woman of fashion in the guise of an ambiguous ‘new’ figure: half fairytale princess, half evil witch. This fashionable ideal was widely disseminated through key photographic representations, Willy Maywald’s 1947 image of the Bar Suit being a case in point. It was precisely such mythic formulations of ‘woman’ which Simone de Beauvoir was to take to task just two years later with the publication of The Second Sex. Driven by frustration with the status quo of real women, de Beauvoir recognised the role of fictive representations, both textual and visual in defining women. This paper reads key sections of The Second Sex through a comparative analysis of two iconic images of French women from 1947; Cartier-Bresson’s classic portrait of de Beauvoir and Willy Mayhold’s spectacular evocation of Christian Dior’s New Look. Cued by a compelling range of similarities between these images this paper explores links between fashion, feminism and fiction in mid-century French culture.

Demanding a change : time to act on statutory demands

The statutory demand procedure has been a part of our corporate law from its earliest modern formulations and it has been suggested, albeit anecdotally, that under the current regime, it gives rise to more litigation than any other part of the Corporations Act. Despite this there has been a lack of consideration of the underlying policy behind the procedure in both the case law and literature; both of which are largely centred on the technical aspects of the process. The purpose of this article is to examine briefly the process of the statutory demand in the context of the current insolvency law in Australia.

Unnatural selection : curricular conversations in TIP 1962–2012

Our task is to consider the evolving perspectives around curriculum documented in the Theory Into Practice (TIP) corpus to date. The 50 years in question, 1962–2012, account for approximately half the history of mass institutionalized schooling. Over this time, the upper age of compulsory schooling has crept up, stretching the school curriculum's reach, purpose, and clientele. These years also span remarkable changes in the social fabric, challenging deep senses of the nature and shelf-life of knowledge, whose knowledge counts, what science can and cannot deliver, and the very purpose of education. The school curriculum is a key social site where these challenges have to be addressed in a very practical sense, through a design on the future implemented within the resources and politics of the present. The task's metaphor of ‘evolution’ may invoke a sense of gradual cumulative improvement, but equally connotes mutation, hybridization, extinction, survival of the fittest, and environmental pressures. Viewed in this way, curriculum theory and practice cannot be isolated and studied in laboratory conditions—there is nothing natural, neutral, or self-evident about what knowledge gets selected into the curriculum. Rather, the process of selection unfolds as a series of messy, politically contaminated, lived experiments; thus curriculum studies require field work in dynamic open systems. We subscribe to Raymond Williams' approach to social change, which he argues is not absolute and abrupt, one set of ideas neatly replacing the other. For Williams, newly emergent ideas have to compete against the dominant mindset and residual ideas “still active in the cultural process'” (Williams, 1977, p. 122). This means ongoing debates. For these reasons, we join Schubert (1992) in advocating “continuous reconceptualising of the flow of experience” (p. 238) by both researchers and practitioners.

Moving beyond traditional clinics : creating a new legal clinics through community partnerships

To overcome the challenge of finding placements for large student numbers, QUT has partnered with community organisations to enable students to work on community-based projects addressing a community need. Students work in interdisciplinary teams with the community organisation to resolve issues and identify solutions to suit the organisation and client base. This paper will describe the community engaged learning pedagogy that is employed in the subject and will consider the benefits and challenges to law students of working collaboratively and developing community relationships. Critical appraisal of the legal system and the role of lawyers and analysis of the professional and ethical responsibilities legal practitioners is a focus of the subject. Explicit emphasis is placed on developing a sense of social responsibility and inculcating a pro bono ethos. Students attend workshops on topics such as reflective practice, cultural competencies, client solutions, collaborative practice and ethical obligations. This paper will discuss the challenges in creating the new legal clinic subject, benefits to students and community partners, and the results of initial student evaluation of the subject.

Characterising one-to-one conservatoire teaching : Some implications of a quantitative analysis

Despite the significant recent growth in research relating to instrumental, vocal and composition tuition in higher education, little is known about the diversity of approaches that characterise one-to-one teaching in the Conservatoire, and what counts as optimal practice for educating 21st-century musicians. Through analysis of video-recorded one-to-one lessons that draws on a ‘bottom up’ methodology for characterising pedagogical practices (Taylor, 2012; Taylor et al, 2012), this paper provides empirical evidence about the nature of one-to-one pedagogy in one Australian institution. The research aims (1) to enable a better understanding of current one-to-one conservatoire teaching; and (2) to build and improve upon existing teaching practice using authentic insights gained through systematic investigation. The authors hope the research will lead to a better understanding of the diversity and efficacy of the pedagogical practice within the specific context in which the study was conducted, and beyond, to Conservatoire pedagogy generally.

Sejong Park's Birthday Boy and Korean-Australian encounters

This chapter focuses on some of the flows of film work between Australia and South Korea and some of the roles taken by Australians in the performance (and particularly the sound) of Koreanness in different film contexts. We explore Korean-Australian collaboration on film, through case studies of Sejong Park's Oscar nominated short animated film Birthday Boy (2004) and two Korean feature films - Musa (Kim Sung-su, 2001) and Shadowless Sword (Kim Young-jun, 2005) - for which Australian firms provided sound post-production services. We show how these films instanciate and expand Korean, Australian, diasporic and transnational filmmaking.

Spectroscopic investigation of the polymerisation of pyrrole and thiophene within zeolite channels

The reaction of pyrrole and thiophene monomers with copper- or nickel-exchanged mordenite has been investigated using X-ray photoelectron (XPS) and photoacoustic infrared (PAIRS) spectroscopies. Because of the differing oxidising powers of the cations studied, polymerisation occurred only with copper-exchanged mordenite. PAIRS and XPS data indicated that both polypyrrole and polythiophene were partially oxidised when synthesised within the zeolite structure. IR spectra of polythiophene and polythiophene and polypyrrole showed intense bands typical of ring vibrations which could couple to the large dipole change induced by charges moving along the polythiophene chain. In addition it was noted that only vibrations typical of oxidised polymer structures were recorded, suggesting that the charge carrier was located within these segments. Furthermore, N 1s spectra contained a high binding energy peak at 402.5 eV which was attributed to a positively charged nitrogen species, in agreement with IR data. Significantly, C 1s spectra confirmed that molecular wires were formed within the confines of the zeolite lattice. Depth-profiling experiments suggested that polypyrrole was distributed throughout the entire zeolite host. By contrast, polythiophene may have been restricted to the uppermost zeolite channels owing to the ability of sulfur species to bond to CuI sites [produced by reduction of copper(II) ions during the polymerisation process], thus obstructing movement along the channels.

Gestational Diabetes Mellitus in Far North Queensland, Australia, 2004 to 2010 : midwives’ perinatal data most accurate source

Objectives: This study examines the accuracy of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) case-ascertainment in routinely collected data. Methods: Retrospective cohort study analysed routinely collected data from all births at Cairns Base Hospital, Australia, from 1 January 2004 to 31 December 2010 in the Cairns Base Hospital Clinical Coding system (CBHCC) and the Queensland Perinatal Data Collection (QPDC). GDM case ascertainment in the National Diabetes Services Scheme (NDSS) and Cairns Diabetes Centre (CDC) data were compared. Results: From 2004 to 2010, the specificity of GDM case-ascertainment in the QPDC was 99%. In 2010, only 2 of 225 additional cases were identified from the CDC and CBHCC, suggesting QPDC sensitivity is also over 99%. In comparison, the sensitivity of the CBHCC data was 80% during 2004–2010. The sensitivity of CDC data was 74% in 2010. During 2010, 223 births were coded as GDM in the QPDC, and the NDSS registered 247 women with GDM from the same postcodes, suggesting reasonable uptake on the NDSS register. However, the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women was lower than expected. Conclusion: The accuracy of GDM case ascertainment in the QPDC appears high, with lower accuracy in routinely collected hospital and local health service data. This limits capacity of local data for planning and evaluation, and developing structured systems to improve post-pregnancy care, and may underestimate resources required. Implications: Data linkage should be considered to improve accuracy of routinely collected local health service data. The accuracy of the NDSS for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women requires further evaluation.

Postpartum care for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal women with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus across urban, rural and remote locations : a protocol for a cohort linkage study

Background: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is increasing, along with obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2DM), with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people* in Australia particularly affected. GDM causes serious complications in pregnancy, birth, and the longer term, for both women and their infants. Women diagnosed with GDM have an eightfold risk of developing T2DM after pregnancy, compared with women who have not had GDM. Indigenous women have an even higher risk, at a younger age, and progress more quickly from GDM to T2DM, compared to non-Indigenous women. If left undetected and untreated, T2DM can lead to heart disease, stroke, renal disease, kidney failure, amputations and blindness. A GDM diagnosis offers a ‘window of opportunity’ for diabetes health interventions and it is vital that acceptable and effective prevention, treatment, and post-pregnancy care are provided. Low rates of post-pregnancy screening for T2DM are reported among non-Aboriginal women in Australia and among Indigenous women in other countries, however data for Aboriginal women are scarce. Breastfeeding, a healthy diet, and exercise can also help to prevent T2DM, and together with T2DM screening are recommended elements of ‘post-pregnancy care’ for women with GDM, This paper describes methods for a data linkage study to investigate rates of post-pregnancy care among women with GDM. Methods/Design: This retrospective cohort includes all women who gave birth at Cairns Base Hospital in Far North Queensland, Australia, from 2004 to 2010, coded as having GDM in the Cairns Base Hospital Clinical Coding system. Data linkage is being conducted with the Queensland Perinatal Data Collection, and three laboratories. Hospital medical records are being reviewed to validate the accuracy of GDM case ascertainment, and gather information on breastfeeding and provision of dietary advice. Multiple logistic regression is being used to compare post-pregnancy care between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal women, while adjusting for other factors may impact on post-pregnancy care. Survival analysis is being used to estimate the rates of progression from GDM to T2DM. Discussion: There are challenges to collecting post-pregnancy data for women with GDM. However, research is urgently needed to ensure adequate post-pregnancy care is provided for women with GDM in Australia.

Australia - taxation of trusts – the problem of aligning concepts of income

The Australian government is currently considering options for the rewrite and reform of the current provisions which apply to the taxation of trust income. This article provides a discussion of the current regime and the proposed reforms. It is suggested that a major revamp of taxation of trust income in Australia is problematic and a simpler approach may be to leave the law as is, with modification where necessary to address key issues as and when they arise.

A meta-analysis of pigmentary characteristics, sun sensitivity, freckling and melanocytic nevi and risk of basal cell carcinoma of the skin

Objective: To calculate pooled risk estimates of the association between pigmentary characteristics and basal cell carcinoma (BCC) of the skin. Methods: We searched three electronic databases and reviewed the reference lists of the retrieved articles until July 2012 to identify eligible epidemiologic studies. Eligible studies were those published in between 1965 and July 2012 that permitted quantitative assessment of the association between histologically-confirmed BCC and any of the following characteristics: hair colour, eye colour, skin colour, skin phototype, tanning and burning ability, and presence of freckling or melanocytic nevi. We included 29 studies from 2236 initially identified. We calculated summary odds ratios (ORs) using weighted averages of the log OR, using random effects models. Results: We found strongest associations with red hair (OR 2.02; 95% CI: 1.68, 2.44), fair skin colour (OR 2.11; 95% CI: 1.56, 2.86), and having skin that burns and never tans (OR 2.03; 95% CI: 1.73, 2.38). All other factors had weaker but positive associations with BCC, with the exception of freckling of the face in adulthood which showed no association. Conclusions: Although most studies report risk estimates that are in the same direction, there is significant heterogeneity in the size of the estimates. The associations were quite modest and remarkably similar, with ORs between about 1.5 and 2.5 for the highest risk level for each factor. Given the public health impact of BCC, this meta-analysis will make a valuable contribution to our understanding of BCC.

Using images to communicate the hidden struggles of life on dialysis

Background: Nurse-patient communication in the hemodialysis context is unique given the amount of time spent together in a confined clinical room. Poor communication may lead to low quality nursing care and undesirable patient outcomes. Aim: To explore the use of images as a visual communication technique for nurses and patients in the hemodialysis context. Methods: Descriptive qualitative design. Fifty two cards containing specific photos, illustrations and words were used in conversations between patients (n = 9) and one of two nurse interviewers about being on hemodialysis. Interview transcripts were thematically analysed. Findings: An overall theme titled ‘revealing the hidden struggles of living on dialysis’ conceptually captured three sub-themes: (1) the increased importance of relationships; (2) the struggle with money; and (3) quality over quantity of life. The cards assisted in uncovering these often covert (to nurses) aspects of dialysis patients’ lives. Conclusion: Nurses may need to be aware of the dialysis patients’ hidden struggles which include the importance of relationships, financial issues and the importance of quality aspects such as travel. The use of images may assist in revealing the important issues for each patient struggling with the restrictive life that is imposed by dialysis.