Stimulation of MMP-11 (stromelysin-3) expression in mouse fibroblasts by cytokines, collagen and co-culture with human breast cancer cell lines

Background Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are central to degradation of the extracellular matrix and basement membrane during both normal and carcinogenic tissue remodeling. MT1-MMP (MMP-14) and stromelysin-3 (MMP-11) are two members of the MMP family of proteolytic enzymes that have been specifically implicated in breast cancer progression. Expressed in stromal fibroblasts adjacent to epithelial tumour cells, the mechanism of MT1-MMP and MMP-11 induction remains unknown. Methods To investigate possible mechanisms of induction, we examined the effects of a number of plausible regulatory agents and treatments that may physiologically influence MMP expression during tumour progression. Thus NIH3T3 and primary mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) were: a) treated with the cytokines IL-1β, IL-2, IL-6, IL-8 and TGF-β for 3, 6, 12, 24, and 48 hours; b) grown on collagens I, IV and V; c) treated with fibronectin, con-A and matrigel; and d) co-cultured with a range of HBC (human breast cancer) cell lines of varied invasive and metastatic potential. Results Competitive quantitative RT-PCR indicated that MMP-11 expression was stimulated to a level greater than 100%, by 48 hour treatments of IL-1β, IL-2, TGF-β, fibronectin and collagen V. No other substantial changes in expression of MMP-11 or MT1-MMP in either tested fibroblast culture, under any treatment conditions, were observed. Conclusion We have demonstrated significant MMP-11 stimulation in mouse fibroblasts using cytokines, matrix constituents and HBC cell lines, and also some inhibition of MT1-MMP. Our data suggest that the regulation of these genes in the complex stromal-epithelial interactions that occur in human breast carcinoma, is influenced by several mechanisms.

Infrared and Raman spectroscopic characterization of the arsenate mineral ceruleite Cu2Al7(AsO4)4(OH)13⋅11.5(H2O)

The molecular structure of the arsenate mineral ceruleite has been assessed using a combination of Raman and infrared spectroscopy. The most intense band observed at 903 cm-1 is assigned to the (AsO4)3- symmetric stretching vibrational mode. The infrared spectrum shows intense bands at 787, 827 and 886 cm-1, ascribed to the triply degenerate m3 antisymmetric stretching vibration. Raman bands observed at 373, 400, 417 and 430 cm-1 are attributed to the m2 vibrational mode. Three broad bands for ceruleite found at 3056, 3198 and 3384 cm-1 are assigned to water OH stretching bands. By using a Libowitzky empirical equation, hydrogen bond distances of 2.65 and 2.75 Å are calculated. Vibrational spectra enable the molecular structure of the ceruleite mineral to be determined and whilst similarities exist in the spectral patterns with the roselite mineral group, sufficient differences exist to be able to determine the identification of the minerals.

Self in the City : Young Adult Fiction about New York City after 9/11

This chapter discusses fictional texts set in New York City soon after Septem- ber 11, 2001 (9/11), or whose characters are affected by the attacks on the World Trade Center. Whereas these texts may not have been directly marketed at young adults, they all address ‘youth issues’. Each of the books discussed here contain or are focalized through the eyes of adolescent protagonists. They are all coming-of-age narratives in that the crises within them are usually a result of a catastrophe, taking the characters on journeys of self-discovery, which, once fulfilled, lead them back home.1 As Jerry Griswold (1992) has suggested, coming-of-age stories are especially well suited to the American psyche, and are already familiar to readers of literature based in New York City (the most familiar work being J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye). As with other clas- sic American young adult (YA) literature, the journey and homecoming com- monly associated with coming-of-age are often employed in fiction about 9/11. With the key elements of loss and suffering, self-awareness, introspection, and growth, the coming-of-age novel also fulfils agendas common to both litera- ture and politics: the literary journey becomes the nation’s journey.

Critical reflections on the use of participatory methodologies to build evaluation capacities in international development organisations

There has been a greater focus on strengthening evaluation capacity building (ECB) within development organisations in recent years. This can be attributed in part to the growing appreciation of the value of participatory and collaborative forms of evaluation. Evaluation is increasingly seen as an ongoing learning process and an important means of strengthening capacity and improving organisational performance (Horton et al., 2003:7). While there are many benefits of using participatory methodologies in ECB projects, our experiences and a review of the literature in this area highlight the many challenges, issues and contradictions that can affect the success of such ECB efforts. We discuss these issues, drawing on our learnings from the ongoing participatory action research (PAR) project 'Assessing Communication for Social Change’ (AC4SC). This four year project, which began in 2007, is a collaboration between communication and development academics and evaluation specialists from two Australian universities and communication for development practitioners and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) staff in the NGO Equal Access Nepal (EAN). The aim is to develop, implement, and evaluate a participatory methodology for assessing the social change impacts of community radio programs produced by EAN. It builds on previous projects that used ethnographic action research (EAR) methodology (Tacchi et al., 2007).

Advanced pubertal status at age 11 and lower physical activity in adolescent girls

Objective To examine the relationship between pubertal timing and physical activity. Study design A longitudinal sample of 143 adolescent girls was assessed at ages 11 and 13 years. Girls' pubertal development was assessed at age 11 with blood estradiol levels, Tanner breast staging criteria, and parental report of pubertal development. Girls were classified as early maturers (n = 41) or later maturers (n = 102) on the basis of their scores on the 3 pubertal development measures. Dependent variables measured at age 13 were average minutes/day of moderate to vigorous and vigorous physical activity as measured by the ActiGraph accelerometer. Results Early-maturing girls had significantly lower self-reported physical activity and accumulated fewer minutes of moderate to vigorous and vigorous physical activity and accelerometer counts per day at age 13 than later maturing girls. These effects v.-ere independent of differences in percentage body fat and self-reported physical activity at age 11. Conclusion Girls experiencing early pubertal maturation at age 11 reported lower subsequent physical activity at age 13 than their later maturing peers. Pubertal maturation, in particular early maturation relative to peers, may lead to declines in physical activity among adolescent girls.

Why are early maturing girls less active? Links between pubertal development, psychological well-being, and physical activity among girls at ages 11 and 13

Previous research has shown that early maturing girls at age I I have lower subsequent physical activity at age 13 in comparison to later maturing girls. Possible reasons for this association have not been assessed. This study examines girls' psychological response to puberty and their enjoyment of physical activity as intermediary factors linking pubertal maturation and physical activity. Participants included 178 girls who were assessed at age 11, of whom 168 were reassessed at age 13. All participants were non-Hispanic white and resided in the US. Three measures of pubertal development were obtained at age I I including Tanner breast stage, estradiol levels, and mothers' reports of girls' development on the Pubertal Development Scale (PDS). Measures of psychological well-being at ages I I and 13 included depression, global self-worth, perceived athletic competence, maturation fears, and body esteem. At age 13, girls' enjoyment of physical activity was assessed using the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale and their daily minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) were assessed using objective monitoring. Structural Equation Modeling was used to assess direct and indirect pathways between pubertal development at age I I and MVPA at age 13. In addition to a direct effect of pubertal development on MVPA, indirect effects were found for depression, global self-worth and maturity fears controlling for covariates. In each instance, more advanced pubertal development at age I I was associated with lower psychological wellbeing at age 13, which predicted lower enjoyment of physical activity at age 13 and in turn lower MVPA. Results from this study suggest that programs designed to increase physical activity among adolescent girls should address the self-consciousness and discontent that girls' experience with their bodies during puberty, particularly if they mature earlier than their peers, and identify activities or settings that make differences in body shape less conspicuous.

Federal Court Rules 027 r 11 - Subpoena to give evidence

In Australian Prudential Regulation Authority v Rural and General Insurance Let [2004] FCA 933, Gyles J considered what he described as "a novel question", namely, whether taking steps to prepare to give oral evidence when subpoenaed to attend for that purpose, including the obtaining of legal advice and assistance, could be recovered by the witness under O 27 r 11 of the Federal Court Rules

AISC '11 Proceedings of the Ninth Australasian Information Security Conference

The Australasian Information Security Conference (AISC) 2011 was held on 18th-19th January 2011 in Perth, Australia, as a part of the Australasian Computer Science Week 2011. AISC grew out of the Australasian Information Security Workshop and officially changed the name to Australasian Information Security Conference in 2008. The main aim of the AISC is to provide a venue for Australasian and other researchers to present their work on all aspects of information security and promote collaboration between academic and industrial researchers working in this area.

The molecular structure of the phosphate mineral kidwellite NaFe93+(PO4)6(OH)11⋅3H2O – a vibrational spectroscopic study

The mineral kidwellite, a hydrated hydroxy phosphate of ferric iron and sodium of approximate formula NaFe93+(PO4)6(OH)11⋅3H2O, has been studied using a combination of electron microscopy with EDX and vibrational spectroscopic techniques. Raman spectroscopy identifies an intense band at 978 cm−1 and 1014 cm−1. These bands are attributed to the PO43− ν1 symmetric stretching mode. The ν3 antisymmetric stretching modes are observed by a large number of Raman bands. The series of Raman bands at 1034, 1050, 1063, 1082, 1129, 1144 and 1188 cm−1 are attributed to the ν3 antisymmetric stretching bands of the PO43− and HOPO32− units. The observation of these multiple Raman bands in the symmetric and antisymmetric stretching region gives credence to the concept that both phosphate and hydrogen phosphate units exist in the structure of kidwellite. The series of Raman bands at 557, 570, 588, 602, 631, 644 and 653 cm−1are assigned to the PO43− ν2 bending modes. The series of Raman bands at 405, 444, 453, 467, 490 and 500 cm−1 are attributed to the PO43− and HOPO32− ν4 bending modes. The spectrum is quite broad but Raman bands may be resolved at 3122, 3231, 3356, 3466 and 3580 cm−1. These bands are assigned to water stretching vibrational modes. The number and position of these bands suggests that water is in different molecular environments with differing hydrogen bond distances. Infrared bands at 3511 and 3359 cm−1 are ascribed to the OH stretching vibration of the OH units. Very broad bands at 3022 and 3299 cm−1 are attributed to the OH stretching vibrations of water. Vibrational spectroscopy offers insights into the molecular structure of the phosphate mineral kidwellite.

Characteristics of low-speed vehicle run-over events in children : an 11-year review

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics associated with fatal and non-fatal low-speed vehicle run-over (LSVRO) events in relation to person, incident and injury characteristics, in order to identify appropriate points for intervention and injury prevention. Methods: Data on all known LSVRO events in Queensland, Australia, over 11 calendar years (1999–2009) were extracted from five different databases representing the continuum of care ( prehospital to fatality) and manually linked. Descriptive and multivariate analyses were used to analyse the sample characteristics in relation to demographics, health service usage, outcomes, incident characteristics, and injury characteristics. Results: Of the 1641 LSVRO incidents, 98.4% (n=1615) were non-fatal, and 1.6% were fatal (n=26). Over half the children required admission to hospital (56%, n=921); mean length of stay was 3.4 days. Younger children aged 0–4 years were more frequently injured, and experienced more serious injuries with worse outcomes. Patterns of injury (injury type and severity), injury characteristics (eg, time of injury, vehicle type, driver of vehicle, incident location), and demographic characteristics (such as socioeconomic status, indigenous status, remoteness), varied according to age group. Almost half (45.6%; n=737) the events occurred outside major cities, and approximately 10% of events involved indigenous children. Parents were most commonly the vehicle drivers in fatal incidents. While larger vehicles such as four-wheel drives (4WD) were most frequently involved in LSVRO events resulting in fatalities, cars were most frequently involved in non-fatal events. Conclusions: This is the first study, to the authors’ knowledge, to analyse the characteristics of fatal and non-fatal LSVRO events in children aged 0–15 years on a state-wide basis. Characteristics of LSVRO events varied with age, thus age-specific interventions are required. Children living outside major cities, and indigenous children, were over-represented in these data. Further research is required to identify the burden of injury in these groups.

Incidence of paediatric fatal and non-fatal low speed vehicle run over events in Queensland, Australia : eleven year analysis

Background The purpose of this study was to estimate the incidence of fatal and non-fatal Low Speed Vehicle Run Over (LSVRO) events among children aged 0–15 years in Queensland, Australia, at a population level. Methods Fatal and non-fatal LSVRO events that occurred in children resident in Queensland over eleven calendar years (1999-2009) were identified using ICD codes, text description, word searches and medical notes clarification, obtained from five health related data bases across the continuum of care (pre-hospital to fatality). Data were manually linked. Population data provided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics were used to calculate crude incidence rates for fatal and non-fatal LSVRO events. Results There were 1611 LSVROs between 1999–2009 (IR = 16.87/100,000/annum). Incidence of non-fatal events (IR = 16.60/100,000/annum) was 61.5 times higher than fatal events (IR = 0.27/100,000/annum). LSVRO events were more common in boys (IR = 20.97/100,000/annum) than girls (IR = 12.55/100,000/annum), and among younger children aged 0–4 years (IR = 21.45/100000/annum; 39% or all events) than older children (5–9 years: IR = 16.47/100,000/annum; 10–15 years IR = 13.59/100,000/annum). A total of 896 (56.8%) children were admitted to hospital for 24 hours of more following an LSVRO event (IR = 9.38/100,000/annum). Total LSVROs increased from 1999 (IR = 14.79/100,000) to 2009 (IR = 18.56/100,000), but not significantly. Over the 11 year period, there was a slight (non –significant) increase in fatalities (IR = 0.37-0.42/100,000/annum); a significant decrease in admissions (IR = 12.39–5.36/100,000/annum), and significant increase in non-admissions (IR = 2.02-12.77/100,000/annum). Trends over time differed by age, gender and severity. Conclusion This is the most comprehensive, population-based epidemiological study on fatal and non-fatal LSVRO events to date. Results from this study indicate that LSVROs incur a substantial burden. Further research is required on the characteristics and risk factors associated with these events, in order to adequately inform injury prevention. Strategies are urgently required in order to prevent these events, especially among young children aged 0-4 years.

The contribution of major depression to the global burden of ischemic heart disease : a comparative risk assessment

Background Cardiovascular disease and mental health both hold enormous public health importance, both ranking highly in results of the recent Global Burden of Disease Study 2010 (GBD 2010). For the first time, the GBD 2010 has systematically and quantitatively assessed major depression as an independent risk factor for the development of ischemic heart disease (IHD) using comparative risk assessment methodology. Methods A pooled relative risk (RR) was calculated from studies identified through a systematic review with strict inclusion criteria designed to provide evidence of independent risk factor status. Accepted case definitions of depression include diagnosis by a clinician or by non-clinician raters adhering to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) or International Classification of Diseases (ICD) classifications. We therefore refer to the exposure in this paper as major depression as opposed to the DSM-IV category of major depressive disorder (MDD). The population attributable fraction (PAF) was calculated using the pooled RR estimate. Attributable burden was calculated by multiplying the PAF by the underlying burden of IHD estimated as part of GBD 2010. Results The pooled relative risk of developing IHD in those with major depression was 1.56 (95% CI 1.30 to 1.87). Globally there were almost 4 million estimated IHD disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), which can be attributed to major depression in 2010; 3.5 million years of life lost and 250,000 years of life lived with a disability. These findings highlight a previously underestimated mortality component of the burden of major depression. As a proportion of overall IHD burden, 2.95% (95% CI 1.48 to 4.46%) of IHD DALYs were estimated to be attributable to MDD in 2010. Eastern Europe and North Africa/Middle East demonstrate the highest proportion with Asia Pacific, high income representing the lowest. Conclusions The present work comprises the most robust systematic review of its kind to date. The key finding that major depression may be responsible for approximately 3% of global IHD DALYs warrants assessment for depression in patients at high risk of developing IHD or at risk of a repeat IHD event.

The nature of errors made by drivers [Austroads Publication no: AP-R378-11]

It is important that we understand the factors and conditions that shape driver behaviour – those conditions within the road transport system that contribute to driver error and the situations where driver non-compliance to road regulations is likely. This report presents the findings derived from a program of research investigating the nature of errors made by drivers, involving a literature review and an on-road study. The review indicates that, despite significant investigation, the role of different error types in road traffic crashes remains unclear, as does the role of the wider road transport system failures in driver error causation.

The whole world shook : shifts in ethnic, national and heroic identities in children's fiction about 9/11

Like many other cataclysmic events September 11, a day now popularly believed to have 'changed the world', has become a topic taken up by children's writers. This thesis, titled The Whole World Shook: Ethnic, National and Heroic Identities in Children's Fiction About 9/11, examines how cultural identities are constructed within fictional texts for young people written about the attacks on the Twin Towers. It identifies three significant identity categories encoded in 9/11 books for children: ethnic identities, national identities, and heroic identities. The thesis argues that the identities formed within the selected children's texts are in flux, privileging performances of identities that are contingent on post-9/11 politics. This study is located within the field of children's literature criticism, which supports the understanding that children's books, like all texts, play a role in the production of identities. Children's literature is highly significant both in its pedagogical intent (to instruct and induct children into cultural practices and beliefs) and in its obscurity (in making the complex simple enough for children, and from sometimes intentionally shying away from difficult things). This literary criticism informed the study that the texts, if they were to be written at all, would be complex, varied and most likely as ambiguous and contradictory as the responses to the attacks on New York themselves. The theoretical framework for this thesis draws on a range of critical theories including literary theory, cultural studies, studies of performativity and postmodernism. This critical framework informs the approach by providing ways for: (i) understanding how political and ideological work is performed in children's literature; (ii) interrogating the constructed nature of cultural identities; (iii) developing a nuanced methodology for carrying out a close textual analysis. The textual analysis examines a representative sample of children's texts about 9/11, including picture books, young adult fiction, and a selection of DC Comics. Each chapter focuses on a different though related identity category. Chapter Four examines the performance of ethnic identities and race politics within a sample of picture books and young adult fiction; Chapter Five analyses the construction of collective, national identities in another set of texts; and Chapter Six does analytic work on a third set of texts, demonstrating the strategic performance of particular kinds of heroic identities. I argue that performances of cultural identities constructed in these texts draw on familiar versions of identities as well as contribute to new ones. These textual constructions can be seen as offering some certainties in increasingly uncertain times. The study finds, in its sample of books a co-mingling of xenophobia and tolerance; a binaried competition between good and evil and global harmony and national insularity; and a lauding of both the commonplace hero and the super-human. Being a recent corpus of texts about 9/11, these texts provide information on the kinds of 'selves' that appear to be privileged in the West since 2001. The thesis concludes that the shifting identities evident in texts that are being produced for children about 9/11 offer implicit and explicit accounts of what constitute good citizenship, loyalty to nation and community, and desirable attributes in a Western post-9/11 context. This thesis makes an original contribution to the field of children's literature by providing a focussed and sustained analysis of how texts for children about 9/11 contribute to formations of identity in these complex times of cultural unease and global unrest.