Heterosexual and nonheterosexual young university students’ involvement in traditional and cyber forms of bullying

Research has consistently found that school students who do not identify as self-declared completely heterosexual are at increased risk of victimization by bullying from peers. This study examined heterosexual and nonheterosexual university students’ involvement in both traditional and cyber forms of bullying, as either bullies or victims. Five hundred twenty-eight first-year university students (M= 19.52 years old) were surveyed about their sexual orientation and their bullying experiences over the previous 12 months. The results showed that nonheterosexual young people reported higher levels of involvement in traditional bullying, both as victims and perpetrators, in comparison to heterosexual students. In contrast, cyberbullying trends were generally found to be similar for heterosexual and nonheterosexual young people. Gender differences were also found. The implications of these results are discussed in terms of intervention and prevention of the victimization of nonheterosexual university students.

Interactive product browsing and configuration using remote augmented reality sales services

Real-time remote sales assistance is an underdeveloped component of online sales services. Solutions involving web page text chat, telephony and video support prove problematic when seeking to remotely guide customers in their sales processes, especially with configurations of physically complex artefacts. Recently, there has been great interest in the application of virtual worlds and augmented reality to create synthetic environments for remote sales of physical artefacts. However, there is a lack of analysis and development of appropriate software services to support these processes. We extend our previous work with the detailed design of configuration context services to support the management of an interactive sales session using augmented reality. We detail the context and configuration services required, presenting a novel data service streaming configuration information to the vendor for business analytics. We expect that a fully implemented configuration management service, based on our design, will improve the remote sales experience for both customers and vendors alike via analysis of the streamed information.

Locomotor activation by theacrine, a purine alkaloid structurally similar to caffeine : involvement of adenosine and dopamine receptors

Purine compounds, such as caffeine, have many health-promoting properties and have proven to be beneficial in treating a number of different conditions. Theacrine, a purine alkaloid structurally similar to caffeine and abundantly present in Camellia kucha, has recently become of interest as a potential therapeutic compound. In the present study, theacrine was tested using a rodent behavioral model to investigate the effects of the drug on locomotor activity. Long Evans rats were injected with theacrine (24 or 48 mg/kg, i.p.) and activity levels were measured. Results showed that the highest dose of theacrine (48 mg/kg, i.p.) significantly increased locomotor activity compared to control animals and activity remained elevated throughout the duration of the session. To test for the involvement of adenosine receptors underlying theacrine's motor-activating properties, rats were administered a cocktail of the adenosine A₁ agonist, N⁶-cyclopentyladenosine (CPA; 0.1 mg/kg, i.p.) and A(2A) receptor agonist 2-p-(2-carboxyethyl)phenethylamino-5'-N-ethylcarboxamidoadenosine (CGS-21680; 0.2 mg/kg, i.p.). Pre-treatment with theacrine significantly attenuated the motor depression induced by the adenosine receptor agonists, indicating that theacrine is likely acting as an adenosine receptor antagonist. Next, we examined the role of DA D₁ and D₂ receptor antagonism on theacrine-induced hyperlocomotion. Both antagonists, D₁R SCH23390 (0.1 or 0.05 mg/kg, i.p.) and D₂R eticlopride (0.1 mg/kg, i.p.), significantly reduced theacrine-stimulated activity indicating that this behavioral response, at least in part, is mediated by DA receptors. In order to investigate the brain region where theacrine may be acting, the drug (10 or 20 μg) was infused bilaterally into nucleus accumbens (NAc). Theacrine enhanced activity levels in a dose-dependent manner, implicating a role of the NAc in modulating theacrine's effects on locomotion. In addition, theacrine did not induce locomotor sensitization or tolerance after chronic exposure. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that theacrine significantly enhances activity; an effect which is mediated by both the adenosinergic and dopaminergic systems.

A novel cyclization product from the polyphosphoric acid catalyzed addition of propanal to limonene

The polyphosphoric acid catalyzed addition of propanal to limonene yielded a novel bicyclic ether 2,2,6-trimethyl-4-ethyl-3-oxabicyclo[3.3.1]non-6-ene (I). The yield of (I) was significantly increased by carrying out the reaction under nitrogen rather than in air.

Depression: an emotional obstacle to seeking medical advice for infertility

Objective: To investigate the mental and general health of infertile women who had not sought medical advice for their recognized infertility and were therefore not represented in clinical populations. Design: Longitudinal cohort study.Setting Population based.Patient(s) Participants in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health aged 28-33 years in 2006 who had ever tried to conceive or had been pregnant (n = 5,936).Intervention(s) None.Main Outcome Measure(s) Infertility, not seeking medical advice. Result(s): Compared with fertile women (n = 4,905), infertile women (n = 1,031) had higher odds of self-reported depression (odds ratio [OR] 1.20, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01-1.43), endometriosis (5.43, 4.01-7.36), polycystic ovary syndrome (9.52, 7.30-12.41), irregular periods (1.99, 1.68-2.36), type II diabetes (4.70, 1.79-12.37), or gestational diabetes (1.66, 1.12-2.46). Compared with infertile women who sought medical advice (n = 728), those who had not sought medical advice (n = 303) had higher odds of self-reported depression (1.67, 1.18-2.37), other mental health problems (3.14, 1.14-8.64), urinary tract infections (1.67, 1.12-2.49), heavy periods (1.63, 1.16-2.29), or a cancer diagnosis (11.33, 2.57-49.89). Infertile women who had or had not sought medical advice had similar odds of reporting an anxiety disorder or anxiety-related symptoms. Conclusion(s): Women with self-reported depression were unlikely to have sought medical advice for infertility. Depression and depressive symptoms may be barriers to seeking medical advice for infertility.

Towards a better understanding of fashion clothing involvement

This study is concerned with consumer involvement in fashion clothing. Amidst the consumer objects that facilitate everyday life, fashion clothing is an important and meaningful object for many consumers. In the extant consumer literature few studies have attempted to examine fashion clothing involvement, particularly in terms of its causes and outcomes. This study then focuses on building a reliable nomological network to bring a greater understanding to this facet of consumer behaviour. To achieve this, materialism and gender are examined as drivers of fashionclothinginvolvement. Recreational shopper identity, ongoing information search, market mavenism, and purchase decision involvement are explored as outcomes of fashion clothing involvement. Data were gathered using an Australian Generation Y sample resulting in 200 completed questionnaires. The results support the study’s model and its hypotheses and show that materialism and gender are significant drivers of fashion clothing involvement. While also, recreational shopper identity, ongoing information search, market mavenism and purchase decision involvement are significant outcomes of fashion clothing involvement.

A framework for life cycle cost estimation of a product family at the early stage of product development

A cost estimation method is required to estimate the life cycle cost of a product family at the early stage of product development in order to evaluate the product family design. There are difficulties with existing cost estimation techniques in estimating the life cycle cost for a product family at the early stage of product development. This paper proposes a framework that combines a knowledge based system and an activity based costing techniques in estimating the life cycle cost of a product family at the early stage of product development. The inputs of the framework are the product family structure and its sub function. The output of the framework is the life cycle cost of a product family that consists of all costs at each product family level and the costs of each product life cycle stage. The proposed framework provides a life cycle cost estimation tool for a product family at the early stage of product development using high level information as its input. The framework makes it possible to estimate the life cycle cost of various product family that use any types of product structure. It provides detailed information related to the activity and resource costs of both parts and products that can assist the designer in analyzing the cost of the product family design. In addition, it can reduce the required amount of information and time to construct the cost estimation system.

Positive emotional experiences with portable interactive products

Positive emotions are central to human life and have implications to the overall quality of people's life (Fredrickson, 1998). This paper reports on positive experiences with two types of portable interactive devices (PIDs), specifically media/entertainment and medical/health devices. The study is based on a six-month longitudinal study exploring people's emotional experience and how PIDs mediate these experiences in everyday contexts. Previous findings by the authors (Gomez, Popovic & Blackler, 2011) presented four categories of activities including Feature, Functional, Mediation and Auxiliary activities and their relationship to emotional experience. The paper presents emotional experiences with specific activities reported with a focus on positive emotions. It concludes with a discussion of the findings on positive experiences and the implications for the future design of PIDs.

A visual language for the collaborative visualization of integrated conceptual models in product development scenarios

In various industrial and scientific fields, conceptual models are derived from real world problem spaces to understand and communicate containing entities and coherencies. Abstracted models mirror the common understanding and information demand of engineers, who apply conceptual models for performing their daily tasks. However, most standardized models in Process Management, Product Lifecycle Management and Enterprise Resource Planning lack of a scientific foundation for their notation. In collaboration scenarios with stakeholders from several disciplines, tailored conceptual models complicate communication processes, as a common understanding is not shared or implemented in specific models. To support direct communication between experts from several disciplines, a visual language is developed which allows a common visualization of discipline-specific conceptual models. For visual discrimination and to overcome visual complexity issues, conceptual models are arranged in a three-dimensional space. The visual language introduced here follows and extends established principles of Visual Language science.

Understanding Indigenous Australian women's social and emotional wellbeing and wellness through yarning : the Indigenous Women's Wellness Program

This paper explores Indigenous Australian women’s understanding of wellness, through the lens of social and emotional wellbeing. The authors use a “yarning” approach to explore how wellness is important to Indigenous women who live in North Brisbane (Australia). They discuss the benefits of yarning and its strength as a methodology for conducting research and building activism within Indigenous Australian communities. They argue that, for Indigenous Australian women, wellness is linked to a sense of wholeness and strongly related to the feeling of connection that women get from meeting together and having time for women’s business. They describe the way that their research project developed into a community summit focused on Indigenous women’s wellness.

Bioreactor for blood product production

The feasibility of ex vivo blood production is limited by both biological and engineering challenges. From an engineering perspective, these challenges include the significant volumes required to generate even a single unit of a blood product, as well as the correspondingly high protein consumption required for such large volume cultures. Membrane bioreactors, such as hollow fiber bioreactors (HFBRs), enable cell densities approximately 100-fold greater than traditional culture systems and therefore may enable a significant reduction in culture working volumes. As cultured cells, and larger molecules, are retained within a fraction of the system volume, via a semipermeable membrane it may be possible to reduce protein consumption by limiting supplementation to only this fraction. Typically, HFBRs are complex perfusion systems having total volumes incompatible with bench scale screening and optimization of stem cell-based cultures. In this article we describe the use of a simplified HFBR system to assess the feasibility of this technology to produce blood products from umbilical cord blood-derived CD34+ hematopoietic stem progenitor cells (HSPCs). Unlike conventional HFBR systems used for protein manufacture, where cells are cultured in the extracapillary space, we have cultured cells in the intracapillary space, which is likely more compatible with the large-scale production of blood cell suspension cultures. Using this platform we direct HSPCs down the myeloid lineage, while targeting a 100-fold increase in cell density and the use of protein-free bulk medium. Our results demonstrate the potential of this system to deliver high cell densities, even in the absence of protein supplementation of the bulk medium.

Reduced expression of retinoblastoma gene product (pRB) and high expression of p53 are associated with poor prognosis in ovarian cancer

Paraffin sections (n = 168, 27 benign, 16 low malignant potential [LMP] and 125 malignant tumours) from epithelial ovarian tumours were evaluated immunohistochemically for expression of retinoblastoma gene product (pRB) and p53 protein, and the relationship among pRB, p53 and cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2 (CDKN2) gene product p16INK4A (p16) was analysed, following our previous study of p16. Forty-one percent of the benign, 50% of the LMP and most (71%) of the malignant tumours showed high pRB expression. High expression of pRB (>50% pRB-positive cells) significantly correlated with non-mucinous histological subtypes. Reduced pRB expression, substage and residual disease were significant predictors for poor prognosis in stage I patients. All the benign and most of the LMP (81%) tumours were in either the p53-negative or low p53-positive category, but nearly half of the malignant tumours had high p53 expression. High p53 accumulation was found in non-mucinous, high grade and late stage tumours. For well-differentiated carcinomas, high p53 expression was a predictor of poor prognosis. However, even though high p53 expression was not associated with histological subtype, stage or the presence of residual disease, high p53 expression was not an independent predictor when all clinical parameters were combined. For all ovarian cancers, a close correlation was found between high p53 and high p16 expression. The relationship between the expression of pRB and p16 depended on tumour stage. In stage I tumours, high pRB was associated with low p16 reactivity. On the other hand, most advanced tumours showed both high pRB and high p16 reactivity. Int. J. Cancer 74:407–415, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Increased expression of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2 (CDKN2A) gene product P16INK4A in ovarian cancer is associated with progression and unfavourable prognosis

Paraffin sections from 190 epithelial ovarian tumours, including 159 malignant and 31 benign epithelial tumours, were analysed immunohistochemically for expression of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2 (CDKN2A) gene product p16INK4A (p16). Most benign tumours showed no p16 expression in the tumour cells, whereas only 11% of malignant cancers were p16 negative. A high proportion of p16-positive tumour cells was associated with advanced stage and grade, and with poor prognosis in cancer patients. For FIGO stage 1 tumours, a high proportion of p16-positive tumour cells was associated with poorer survival, suggesting that accumulation of p16 is an early event of ovarian tumorigenesis. In contrast to tumour cells, high expression of p16 in the surrounding stromal cells was not associated with the stage and grade, but was associated with longer survival. When all parameters were combined in multivariate analysis, high p16 expression in stromal cells was not an independent predictor for survival, indicating that low p16 expression in stromal cells is associated with other markers of tumour progression. High expression of p16 survival in the stromal cells of tumours from long-term survivors suggests that tumour growth is limited to some extent by factors associated with p16 expression in the matrix.

Involvement of KLF4 in sulforaphane- and iberin-mediated induction of p21waf1/cip1

Sulforaphane (SF; 4-methylsulfinylbutyl isothiocyanate), a dietary compound derived from broccoli, may exhibit chemopreventive properties by inducing cell cycle arrest via induction of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1A (p21(waf1/cip1)), but the exact molecular mechanism has not been determined. Here we evaluate the role of the transcription factor Kruppel-like factor 4 (KLF4) in mediating the induction of p21(waf1/cip1) and cellular differentiation by SF and iberin (IB; 3-methylsulphinyl propyl isothiocyanate), also derived from broccoli. Exposure of Caco-2 and Caco-2/TC7 cells to SF and IB increased expression of both KLF4 and p21(waf1/cip1), whereas exposure of HT29 cells resulted only in induction of p21(waf1/cip1). In Caco-2 cells, small interfering RNA knock down of KLF4 expression attenuated induction of p21(waf1/cip1) in response to either SF or IB treatment. Contrary to expectation, prolonged exposure to SF reduced sucrase isomaltase activity, a marker of small intestinal differentiation in Caco-2 cells. Additional support for the SF-mediated induction of p21(waf1/cip1) by KLF4 was obtained from analyses of gastric tissue of Apc(Min/+) mice following acute intervention with SF but not from the analyses of other tissue of the intestinal tract. These results suggest that induction of p21(waf1/cip1) by SF or IB may be partly mediated by KLF4 in some colon cancer cells and tissues.