4-hexylbithieno[3,2-b:2′3′-e]pyridine: An efficient electron-accepting unit in fluorene and indenofluorene copolymers for light-emitting devices

4-Hexylbithienopyridine has been prepared as a novel electron-accepting monomer for conjugated polymers. To test its electronic properties, alternating copolymers with fluorene and indenofluorene polymers have been prepared. The copolymers displayed reduction potentials about 0.5 V lower than for the corresponding fluorene and indenofluorene homopolymers, indicating much improved electron-accepting properties. Analysis of the microscopic morphology of thin films of the copolymers by AFM shows that they lack the extensive supramolecular order seen with the homopolymers, which is attributed to the bithienopyridine units disrupting the π-stacking. LEDs using these polymers as the emitting layer produce blue-green emission with low turn-on voltages with aluminum electrodes confirming their improved electron affinity. The indenofluorene copolymer displayed an irreversible red shift in emission at high voltages, which is attributed to oxidation of the indenofluorene units. This red shift occurred at higher potentials than for indenofluorene homopolymers in LEDs, suggesting that the heterocyclic moieties offer some protection against electrically promoted oxidation.

Posthumous conception in South Australia : the case continues in Re H, AE (No 3) [2013] SASC 196

This editorial considers the issue of posthumous conception as discussed in the case of Re H, AE (No 3) [2013] SASC 196, which involved an application by a South Australian woman to the Supreme Court for authorisation to export her deceased partner's sperm to the Australian Capital Territory, for use in an assisted reproductive technology procedure.

Human CD141(+) (BDCA-3)(+) dendritic cells (DCs) represent a unique myeloid DC subset that cross-presents necrotic cell antigens

The characterization of human dendritic cell (DC) subsets is essential for the design of new vaccines. We report the first detailed functional analysis of the human CD141(+) DC subset. CD141(+) DCs are found in human lymph nodes, bone marrow, tonsil, and blood, and the latter proved to be the best source of highly purified cells for functional analysis. They are characterized by high expression of toll-like receptor 3, production of IL-12p70 and IFN-beta, and superior capacity to induce T helper 1 cell responses, when compared with the more commonly studied CD1c(+) DC subset. Polyinosine-polycytidylic acid (poly I:C)-activated CD141(+) DCs have a superior capacity to cross-present soluble protein antigen (Ag) to CD8(+) cytotoxic T lymphocytes than poly I:C-activated CD1c(+) DCs. Importantly, CD141(+) DCs, but not CD1c(+) DCs, were endowed with the capacity to cross-present viral Ag after their uptake of necrotic virus-infected cells. These findings establish the CD141(+) DC subset as an important functionally distinct human DC subtype with characteristics similar to those of the mouse CD8 alpha(+) DC subset. The data demonstrate a role for CD141(+) DCs in the induction of cytotoxic T lymphocyte responses and suggest that they may be the most relevant targets for vaccination against cancers, viruses, and other pathogens.

Morphometric stability of the corneal subbasal nerve plexus in healthy individuals a 3-year longitudinal study using corneal confocal microscopy

Purpose We examined the age-dependent alterations and longitudinal course of subbasal nerve plexus (SNP) morphology in healthy individuals. Methods Laser-scanning corneal confocal microscopy, ocular screening, and health and metabolic assessment were performed on 64 healthy participants at baseline and at 12-month intervals for 3 years. At each annual visit, eight central corneal images of the SNP were selected and analyzed using a fully-automated analysis system to quantify corneal nerve fiber length (CNFL). Two linear mixed model approaches were fitted to examine the relationship between age and CNFL, and the longitudinal changes of CNFL over three years. Results At baseline, mean age was 51.9 ± 14.7 years. The cohort was sex balanced (χ2 = 0.56, P = 0.45). Age (t = 1.6, P = 0.12) and CNFL (t = -0.50, P = 0.62) did not differ between sexes. A total of 52 participants completed the 36-month visit and 49 participants completed all visits. Age had a significant effect on CNFL (F1,33 = 5.67, P = 0.02) with a linear decrease of 0.05 mm/mm2 in CNFL per one year increase in age. No significant change in CNFL was observed over the 36-month period (F1,55 = 0.69, P = 0.41). Conclusions The CNFL showed a stable course over a 36-month period in healthy individuals, although there was a slight linear reduction in CNFL with age. The findings of this study have implications for understanding the time-course of the effect of pathology and surgical or therapeutic interventions on the morphology of the SNP, and serves to confirm the suitability of CNFL as a screening/monitoring marker for peripheral neuropathies.

A fast track SAP R/3 implementation at Guilbert Niceday

This paper examines the approach of Guilbert, a European stationery company, which has chosen a fast track strategy towards implementation of enterprise resource planning.

Governing virtual worlds : to what extent is it possible to empower players and preserve their rights in virtual worlds, and what is the best method of doing so?

In this paper the author considers the possibilities for establishing democratic governance in virtual worlds. He looks at the freedoms currently available to players in “Second Life”, contrasting these to those established in Raph Koster’s “A Declaration of the Rights of Avatars”, and assess whether some restrictions are more necessary in game spaces than social spaces. The author looks at the early implementations of self-governance in online spaces, and consider what lessons can be taken from these, investigating what a contemporary democratic space looks like, in the form of “A Tale in the Desert”, and finally considers how else we may think of giving players more rights in these developing social spaces.

‘He has a way gayer Facebook than I do’ : investigating sexual identity disclosure and context collapse on a social networking site

This study extends previous research into social networking sites (SNSs) as environments that often reduce spatial, temporal, and social boundaries, which can result in collapsed contexts for social situations. Context collapse was investigated through interviews and Facebook walkthroughs with 27 LGBTQ young people in the United Kingdom. Since diverse sexualities are often stigmatized, participants’ sexual identity disclosure decisions were shaped by both the social conditions of their online networks and the technological architecture of SNSs. Context collapse was experienced as an event through which individuals intentionally redefined their sexual identity across audiences or managed unintentional disclosure. To prevent unintentional context collapse, participants frequently reinstated contexts through tailored performances and audience separation. These findings provide insight into stigmatized identity performances in networked publics while situating context collapse within a broader understanding of impression management, which paves the way for future research exploring the identity implications of everyday SNS use.

Book Review : "The Media Gaze: Representations of Diversities in Canada by Augie Fleras". Vancouver and Toronto: UBC Press, 2011.

The Media Gaze effectively shatters the assumption that Canada, in all its political correctness, is a cultural mosaic free of discrimination and prejudice. While great strides have been made to reduce blatant racism and sexism in Canadian media, Fleras illustrates how discriminatory and oppressive discourses are still very present in news, television, and film.He brings to light the structural, institutional, and practice-oriented means by which the media is systemically biased toward privileging mainstream audiences while misrepresenting minority groups in the public eye...

“My hands are plunged in oranges”…: an experiential account of a working process

This presentation incorporated the live performance throughout, by the author, of movement from “The All Weather Project” by Liz Roche. Movement sections are indicated by italics. “I am going to start by dancing for you… Movement: Live performance of solo approximately 10 minutes in duration This is the introduction... Through my PhD research, I am examining the choreographic process from the perspective of the independent contemporary dancer, through embodying this role as a researcher/participant. My methodological frameworks, which utilise video documentation and journal writing, could be characterised as ethnographic, multi-modal embodied theorising, leading to “multi-dimensional theorising” (I adopt this term from Susan Melrose). In this way, I am unwinding the embodied practice of dancing, through the co-existent layers of experience, towards forming a theoretical understanding of the issues that arise for the dancer. The issues that I have identified as relevant to my research are those relating to the dancer’s ‘moving identity’ or way of moving, as a mutable and adaptable form that must alter and re-adjust to each different choreographic engram or movement vocabulary, that she/he encounters. I am examining this interplay between stability and change. I also reflect on the impact of destabilisation and flux on the dancer’s identity in a wider sense, as she/he relates outwardly to signifying factors within the social strata. Today I am going to bring you through a reflection on the working process of a dance piece as experienced from the inside. By doing so, I hope to capture and elucidate the multi-dimensional layers which existed for me within this process. Through displaying these fragments together, I endeavour to invoke the ‘totality’ of the experience...

The pirate of Karoussades

A travel memoir about the village of Karoussades, Corfu. When Liam and I caught the overnight ferry to Corfu we didn't have money for food, and my shoes had opened at the seams. Our last lira had been spent on a carton of Lucky Strike, which had been stolen by the time we docked the next day. In the haze of a Greek morning we were ushered into a minivan by the owner of the Karousades Camp Ground, who said there was work in the north of the island. Your best chance was with the Pirate. He took a little getting used to, but you were sure to get something...

Exploitation of the menshutkin reaction for the controlled assembly of halogen bonded architectures incorporating 1,2-diiodotetrafluorobenzene and 1,3,5-Triiodotrifluorobenzene

1,4-Diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane (DABCO) forms well-defined co-crystals with 1,2-diiodotetrafluorobenzene (1,2-DITFB), [(1,2-DITFB)2DABCO], and 1,3,5-triiodotrifluorobenzene, [(1,3,5-TITFB)2DABCO]. Both systems exhibited lower-than-expected supramolecular connectivity, which inspired a search for polymorphs in alternative crystallization solvents. In dichloromethane solution, the Menshutkin reaction was found to occur, generating chloride anions and quaternary ammonium cations through the reaction between the solvent and DABCO. The controlled in situ production of chloride ions facilitated the crystallization of new halogen bonded networks, DABCO–CH2Cl[(1,2-DITFB)Cl] (zigzag X-bonded chains) and (DABCO–CH2Cl)3[(1,3,5-TITFB)2Cl3]·CHCl3 (2D pseudo-trigonal X-bonded nets displaying Borremean entanglement), propagating with charge-assisted C–I···Cl– halogen bonds. The method was found to be versatile, and substitution of DABCO with triethylamine (TEA) gave (TEA-CH2Cl)3[(1,2-DITFB)Cl3]·4(H2O) (mixed halogen bond hydrogen bond network with 2D supramolecular connectivity) and TEA-CH2Cl[(1,3,5-TITFB)Cl] (tightly packed planar trigonal nets). The co-crystals were typically produced in high yield and purity with relatively predictable supramolecular topology, particularly with respect to the connectivity of the iodobenzene molecules. The potential to use this synthetic methodology for crystal engineering of halogen bonded architectures is demonstrated and discussed.

Molecular analysis of type 3 fimbrial genes from Escherichia coli, Klebsiella and Citrobacter species

Background Catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) is the most common nosocomial infection in the United States and is caused by a range of uropathogens. Biofilm formation by uropathogens that cause CAUTI is often mediated by cell surface structures such as fimbriae. In this study, we characterised the genes encoding type 3 fimbriae from CAUTI strains of Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Klebsiella oxytoca, Citrobacter koseri and Citrobacter freundii. Results Phylogenetic analysis of the type 3 fimbrial genes (mrkABCD) from 39 strains revealed they clustered into five distinct clades (A-E) ranging from one to twenty-three members. The majority of sequences grouped in clade A, which was represented by the mrk gene cluster from the genome sequenced K. pneumoniae MGH78578. The E. coli and K. pneumoniae mrkABCD gene sequences clustered together in two distinct clades, supporting previous evidence for the occurrence of inter-genera lateral gene transfer. All of the strains examined caused type 3 fimbriae mediated agglutination of tannic acid treated human erythrocytes despite sequence variation in the mrkD-encoding adhesin gene. Type 3 fimbriae deletion mutants were constructed in 13 representative strains and were used to demonstrate a direct role for type 3 fimbriae in biofilm formation. Conclusions The expression of functional type 3 fimbriae is common to many Gram-negative pathogens that cause CAUTI and is strongly associated with biofilm growth. Our data provides additional evidence for the spread of type 3 fimbrial genes by lateral gene transfer. Further work is now required to substantiate the clade structure reported here by examining more strains as well as other bacterial genera that make type 3 fimbriae and cause CAUTI.