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.

Pt/SnO2 nanowires/SiC based hydrogen gas sensor

Pt/SnO2 nanowires/SiC based metal-oxidesemiconductor (MOS) devices were fabricated and tested for their gas sensitivity towards hydrogen. Tin oxide (SnO2) nanowires were grown on SiC substrates by the vapour liquid solid growth process. The material properties of the SnO2 nanowires such as its formation and dimensions were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The currentvoltage (I-V) characteristics at different hydrogen concentrations are presented. The effective change in the barrier height for 0.06 and 1% hydrogen were found to be 20.78 and 131.59 meV, respectively. A voltage shift of 310 mV at 530°C for 1% hydrogen was measured.

2-[(3,3-Dimethylindolin-2-ylidene)methyl]-4-[(3,3-dimethyl-3H-indol-1-ium-2-yl)methylidene]-3-oxocyclobut-1-en-1-olate chloroform disolvate

In the title squaraine dye solvate, C26H24N2O2·2CHCl3, the dye molecule is essentially planar, except for the methyl groups, having a maximum deviation over the 26-membered delocalized bond system of 0.060 (2) Å. It possesses crystallographic twofold rotational symmetry with the indole ring systems adopting a syn conformation. The molecular structure features intramolecular N-HO hydrogen bonds enclosing conjoint S7 ring motifs about one of the dioxocyclobutene O atoms, while the two chloroform solvent molecules are linked to the second O atom through C-HO hydrogen bonds.

ClusterEval 1.0 : Cluster quality Evaluation software

This report describes the available functionality and use of the ClusterEval evaluation software. It implements novel and standard measures for the evaluation of cluster quality. This software has been used at the INEX XML Mining track and in the MediaEval Social Event Detection task.

A systematic review on quality of life among patients at 1 year after treatment for head and neck cancer

Introduction: Although advances in treatment modalities have improved the survival of head and neck (H&N) cancer patients over recent years, survivors’ quality of life (QoL) could be impaired for a number of reasons. The investigation of QoL determinants can inform the design of supportive interventions for this population. Objectives: To examine the QoL of H&N cancer survivors at 1 year after treatment and to identify potential determinants affecting their QoL. Methods: A systematic search of literature was done in December 2011 in five databases: Pubmed, Medline, Scopus, Sciencedirect and CINAHL, using combined search terms ‘head and neck cancer’, ‘quality of life’, ‘health-related quality of life’ and ‘systematic review’. The methodological qualities of selected studies were assessed by two reviewers using predefined criteria. The study characteristics and results were abstracted and summarized. Results: Thirty-seven studies met all inclusion criteria with methodological quality from moderate to high. The global QoL of H&N cancer survivors returned to baseline at 1 year after treatment. Significant improvement showed in emotional functioning while physical functioning, xerostomia, sticky/insufficient saliva, and fatigue were consistently worse at 12 months compared with baseline. Age, cancer sites and stages, social support, smoking, presence of feeding tube are significant QoL determinants at 12 months. Conclusions: Although the global QoL of H&N cancer survivors recover by 12 months after treatment, problems with physical functioning, fatigue, xerostomia and sticky saliva persist. Regular assessment should be carried out to monitor these problems. Further research is required to develop appropriate and effective interventions for this population.

Addition of diazomethane to armchair single-walled carbon nanotubes and their reaction sequences : A computational study

The sidewall additions of diazomethane to (n, n), n = 3–10 armchair single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) on two different orientations of C–C bonds have been studied using the ONIOM(B3LYP/6-31G(d):PM3) approach. The binding energies of SWCNTs complexes with CH2N2, CH2 and their transition-state structures were computed at the B3LYP/6-31G(d) level. The effects of diameters of armchair SWCNTs on their binding energies were studied. Relative reactivities of all the SWCNTs and their complexes based on their frontier orbital energies gaps are reported.

Validation and consistency in the application of a trauma team activation system at a level 1 trauma centre

- The RAH was activated over 2500 trauma calls in 2009. This figure is over twice the number of calls put out by similar services. - Many trauma calls (in particular L2 trauma calls) from the existing system do not warrant activation of the trauma team - Sometimes trauma calls are activated for nontrauma reasons (eg rapid access to radiology, departmental pressures etc) - The excess of trauma calls has several deleterious effects particularly on time management for the trauma service staff: ward rounds/tertiary survey rounds, education, quality improvement, research

Integration-segregation decisions under general value functions: "create your own bundle - choose 1, 2, or all 3!",

Whether to keep products segregated (e.g., unbundled) or integrate some or all of them (e.g., bundle) has been a problem of profound interest in areas such as portfolio theory in finance, risk capital allocations in insurance and marketing of consumer products. Such decisions are inherently complex and depend on factors such as the underlying product values and consumer preferences, the latter being frequently described using value functions, also known as utility functions in economics. In this paper, we develop decision rules for multiple products, which we generally call ‘exposure units’ to naturally cover manifold scenarios spanning well beyond ‘products’. Our findings show, e.g. that the celebrated Thaler's principles of mental accounting hold as originally postulated when the values of all exposure units are positive (i.e. all are gains) or all negative (i.e. all are losses). In the case of exposure units with mixed-sign values, decision rules are much more complex and rely on cataloging the Bell number of cases that grow very fast depending on the number of exposure units. Consequently, in the present paper, we provide detailed rules for the integration and segregation decisions in the case up to three exposure units, and partial rules for the arbitrary number of units.

Tax Deductible Giving in 2010 - 2011:ACPNS Current Issues Information Sheet 2013/1

Each year The Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies (ACPNS) at QUT analyses statistics on tax-deductible donations made by Australians in their individual income tax returns to Deductible Gift Recipients (DGRs). The information presented below is based on the amount and type of tax-deductible donations made by Australian taxpayers to DGRs for the period 1 July 2010 to 30 June 2011 extracted from the Australian Taxation Office's publication Taxation Statistics 2010-2011.1

Evidence for the adsorption of molecules at special sites located at copper/zinc oxide interfaces: Part 1. -- A Fourier-transform infrared study of formic acid and formaldehyde adsorption on reduced and oxidised Cu/ZnO/SiO2 catalysts

Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectra are reported of formic acid and formaldehyde on ZnO/SiO2, reduced Cu/ZnO/SiO2 and reoxidised Cu/ZnO/SiO2 catalyst. Formic acid adsorption on ZnO/SiO2 produced mainly bidentate zinc formate species with a lesser quantity of unidentate zinc formate. Formic acid on reduced Cu/ZnO/SiO2 catalyst resulted not only in the formation of bridging copper formate structures but also in an enhanced amount of formate relative to that for ZnO/SiO2 catalyst. Formic acid on reoxidised Cu/ZnO/SiO2 gave unidentate formate species on copper in addition to zinc formate moieties. The interaction of formaldehyde with ZnO/SiO2 catalyst resulted in the formation of zinc formate species. The same reaction on reduced Cu/ZnO/SiO2 catalyst gave bridging formate on copper and a remarkable increase in the quantity of formate species associated with the zinc oxide. Adsorption of formaldehyde on a reoxidised Cu/ZnO/SiO2 catalyst produced bridging copper formate and again an apparent increase in the concentration of zinc formate species. An explanation in terms of the adsorption of molecules at special sites located at the interface between copper and zinc oxide is given.

Molecular cocrystals of 5-(4-bromophenyl)-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-amine: hydrogen bonding in the structures of the 1:1 adduct with 2-(naphthalen-2-yloxy)acetic acid and the salt with 3,5-dinitrobenzoic acid

The structures of the anhydrous products from the interaction of 2-amino-5-(4-bromophenyl)-1,3,4-thiadiazole with (2-naphthoxy)acetic acid, the 1:1 adduct C8H6BrN3S . C12H10O3 (I) and 3,5-dinitrobenzoic acid, the salt C8H7BrN3S+ C7H3N2O6- (II) have been determined. In the adduct (I), a heterodimer is formed through a cyclic hydrogen-bonding motif [graph set R2/2(8)], involving carboxylic acid O-H...N(hetero)and amine N-H...O(carboxyl) interactions. The heterodimers are essentially planar with a thiadiazole to naphthyl ring dihedral angle of 15.9(2)deg. and the intramolecular thiadiazole to phenyl ring angle of 4.7(2)deg. An amine N-H...N(hetero) hydrogen bond between the heterodimers generates a one-dimensional chain structure extending down [001]. Also present are weak benzene-benzene and naphthalene-naphthalene pi-pi stacking interactions down the b axis [minimum ring centroid separation, 3.936(3) Ang.]. With the salt (II), the cation-anion association is also through a cyclic R2/2(8) motif but involving duplex N-H...O(carboxyl) hydrogen bonds, giving a heterodimer which is close to planar [dihedral angles between the thiadiazole ring and the two benzene rings, 5.00(16)deg. (intra) and 7.23(15)deg. (inter)]. A secondary centrosymmetric cyclic N-H...O(carboxyl) hydrogen-bonding association involving the second amino H-atom generates a heterotetramer. Also present in the crystal are weak pi-pi i-\p interactions between thiadiazolium rings [minimum ring centroid separation, 3.936(3)Ang.], as well as a short Br...O(nitro) interaction [3.314(4)Ang.]. The two structures reported here now provide a total of three crystallographically characterized examples of co-crystalline products from the interaction of 2-amino-5-(4-bromophenyl)-1,3,4-thiadiazole with carboxylic acids, of which only one involves proton-transfer.

Association study of the calcitonin gene-related polypeptide-alpha (CALCA) and the receptor activity modifying 1 (RAMP1) genes with migraine

Migraine is a common neurovascular brain disorder characterised by recurrent attacks of severe headache that may be accompanied by various neurological symptoms. Migraine is thought to result from activation of the trigeminovascular system followed by vasodilation of pain-producing intracranial blood vessels and activation of second-order sensory neurons in the trigeminal nucleus caudalis. Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) is a mediator of neurogenic inflammation and the most powerful vasodilating neuropeptide, and has been implicated in migraine pathophysiology. Consequently, genes involved in CGRP synthesis or CGRP receptor genes may play a role in migraine and/or increase susceptibility. This study investigates whether variants in the gene that encodes CGRP, calcitonin-related polypeptide alpha (CALCA) or in the gene that encodes a component of its receptor, receptor activity modifying protein 1 (RAMP1), are associated with migraine pathogenesis and susceptibility. The single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) rs3781719 and rs145837941 in the CALCA gene, and rs3754701 and rs7590387 at the RAMP1 locus, were analysed in an Australian Caucasian population of migraineurs and matched controls. Although we find no significant association of any of the SNPs tested with migraine overall, we detected a nominally significant association (p = 0.031) of the RAMP1 rs3754701 variant in male migraine subjects, although this is non-significant after Bonferroni correction for multiple testing.

SettleMEN-2: Displaced twice? Impact of the Queensland floods on men from refugee backgrounds living in Brisbane and Toowoomba. Broadsheet No. 1: Exposure to and impact of the floods

Between 2008 and 2010, the SettleMEN study followed a group of 233 recently arrived men from refugee backgrounds living in urban and regional Southeast Queensland with the aim of documenting their health and settlement experiences. The study found that overall, these men bring important resources that may help them to cope better with the challenges of settlement: good levels of subjective health status, mental health and wellbeing; good family and social support; and good levels of engagement in tertiary/trade education in Australia. Over time, however, their levels of wellbeing decreased as they experienced barriers to social participation and inclusion within their host community, including: unemployment and difficulties securing good jobs (even for those with tertiary/trade qualifications obtained in Australia), financial stress, difficulties accessing housing, limited interactions with neighbours, and experiences of racism and discrimination. Importantly, although men living in the Toowoomba acknowledged some of the benefits of regional settlement, they faced greater barriers to participation in the labour market, reported lower job satisfaction, and were more likely to experience social exclusion overall. In 2012 method approach and a peer interviewer model, we were able to conduct a follow 141 (61%) of the original 233 SettleMEN participants to document the impact of the January 2011 Queensland floods on their health and settlement. This broadsheet focuses on participants’ degree of exposure to and impact of the floods, their perceptions of safety and security, and their vulnerability and adaptive capacity to extreme weather events.

Genome-wide association study identifies new multiple sclerosis susceptibility loci on chromosomes 12 and 20

To identify multiple sclerosis (MS) susceptibility loci, we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in 1,618 cases and used shared data for 3,413 controls. We performed replication in an independent set of 2,256 cases and 2,310 controls, for a total of 3,874 cases and 5,723 controls. We identified risk-associated SNPs on chromosome 12q13-14 (rs703842, P = 5.4 x 10(-11); rs10876994, P = 2.7 x 10(-10); rs12368653, P = 1.0 x 10(-7)) and upstream of CD40 on chromosome 20q13 (rs6074022, P = 1.3 x 10(-7); rs1569723, P = 2.9 x 10(-7)). Both loci are also associated with other autoimmune diseases. We also replicated several known MS associations (HLA-DR15, P = 7.0 x 10(-184); CD58, P = 9.6 x 10(-8); EVI5-RPL5, P = 2.5 x 10(-6); IL2RA, P = 7.4 x 10(-6); CLEC16A, P = 1.1 x 10(-4); IL7R, P = 1.3 x 10(-3); TYK2, P = 3.5 x 10(-3)) and observed a statistical interaction between SNPs in EVI5-RPL5 and HLA-DR15 (P = 0.001).

Association analysis of chromosome 1 migraine candidate genes

Migraine with aura (MA) is a subtype of typical migraine. Migraine with aura (MA) also encompasses a rare severe subtype Familial Hemiplegic Migraine (FHM) with several known genetic loci. The type 2 FHM (FHM-2) susceptibility locus maps to chromosome 1q23 and mutations in the ATP1A2 gene at this site have recently been implicated. We have previously provided evidence of linkage of typical migraine (predominantly MA) to microsatellite markers on chromosome 1, in the 1q31 and 1q23 regions. In this study, we have undertaken a large genomic investigation involving candidate genes that lie within the chromosome 1q23 and 1q31 regions using an association analysis approach. Methods We have genotyped a large population of case-controls (243 unrelated Caucasian migraineurs versus 243 controls) examining a set of 5 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and the Fas Ligand dinucleotide repeat marker, located within the chromosome 1q23 and 1q31 regions. Results Several genes have been studied including membrane protein (ATP 1 subtype A4 and FasL), cytoplasmic glycoprotein (CASQ 1) genes and potassium (KCN J9 and KCN J10) and calcium (CACNA1E) channel genes in 243 migraineurs (including 85% MA and 15% of migraine without aura (MO)) and 243 matched controls. After correction for multiple testing, chi-square results showed non-significant P values (P > 0.008) across all SNPs (and a CA repeat) tested in these different genes, however results with the KCN J10 marker gave interesting results (P = 0.02) that may be worth exploring further in other populations. Conclusion These results do not show a significant role for the tested candidate gene variants and also do not support the hypothesis that a common chromosome 1 defective gene influences both FHM and the more common forms of migraine.