Cyanoacrylate glue as an alternative mounting medium for resin-embedded semithin sections

Commercially available generic Superglue (cyanoacrylate glue) can be used as an alternative mounting medium for stained resin-embedded semithin sections. It is colourless and contains a volatile, quick-setting solvent that produces permanent mounts of semithin sections for immediate inspection under the light microscope. Here, we compare the use of cyanoacrylate glue for mounting semithin sections with classical dibutyl phthalate xylene (DPX) in terms of practical usefulness, effectiveness and the quality of the final microscopic image.

Mycobacterium abscessus isolated from municipal water : a potential source of human infection

Background Mycobacterium abscessus is a rapidly growing mycobacterium responsible for progressive pulmonary disease, soft tissue and wound infections. The incidence of disease due to M. abscessus has been increasing in Queensland. In a study of Brisbane drinking water, M. abscessus was isolated from ten different locations. The aim of this study was to compare genotypically the M. abscessus isolates obtained from water to those obtained from human clinical specimens. Methods Between 2007 and 2009, eleven isolates confirmed as M. abscessus were recovered from potable water, one strain was isolated from a rainwater tank and another from a swimming pool and two from domestic taps. Seventy-four clinical isolates referred during the same time period were available for comparison using rep-PCR strain typing (Diversilab). Results The drinking water isolates formed two clusters with ≥97% genetic similarity (Water patterns 1 and 2). The tankwater isolate (WP4), one municipal water isolate (WP3) and the pool isolate (WP5) were distinctly different. Patient isolates formed clusters with all of the water isolates except for WP3. Further patient isolates were unrelated to the water isolates. Conclusion The high degree of similarity between strains of M. abscessus from potable water and strains causing infection in humans from the same geographical area, strengthens the possibility that drinking water may be the source of infection in these patients.

Expression, regulation and putative nutrient-sensing function of taste GPCRs in the heart

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are critical for cardiovascular physiology. Cardiac cells express >100 nonchemosensory GPCRs, indicating that important physiological and potential therapeutic targets remain to be discovered. Moreover, there is a growing appreciation that members of the large, distinct taste and odorant GPCR families have specific functions in tissues beyond the oronasal cavity, including in the brain, gastrointestinal tract and respiratory system. To date, these chemosensory GPCRs have not been systematically studied in the heart. We performed RT-qPCR taste receptor screens in rodent and human heart tissues that revealed discrete subsets of type 2 taste receptors (TAS2/Tas2) as well as Tas1r1 and Tas1r3 (comprising the umami receptor) are expressed. These taste GPCRs are present in cultured cardiac myocytes and fibroblasts, and are enriched in myocytes, which we corroborated using in situ hybridization. Tas1r1 gene-targeted mice (Tas1r1Cre/Rosa26tdRFP) strikingly recapitulated these data. In vivo taste receptor expression levels were developmentally regulated in the postnatal period. Intriguingly, several Tas2rs were upregulated in cultured rat myocytes and in mouse heart in vivo following starvation. The discovery of taste GPCRs in the heart opens an exciting new field of cardiac research. We predict that these taste receptors may function as nutrient sensors in the heart.

Exploring the international market selection of small to medium sized enterprises

Research into the international market selection (IMS) of small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) commonly identifies psychic distance and networks as being the most important determinants of a firm’s IMS. Whether regional factors, such as bilateral and multilateral regional integration, are important as determinants of IMS is not well understood. This paper utilises a multiple case study method through in-depth interviews to investigate, in the context of the current business environment, how important regionalisation, psychic distance and networks are as determinants of IMS among SMEs in the food and beverage industries within Australia and Malaysia. The study found regional considerations to be important to the IMS of Malaysian but not Australian firms, while psychic distance was considered an important determinant on IMS by only half of the sampled firms. The role of networks, however, was considered the most important determinant of IMS among all the sampled firms.

Challenges of knowledge integration in small and medium enterprises

This study attempts to develop a better understanding of the challenges of knowledge integration (KI) within the innovation process in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Using several case studies, this study investigates how knowledge integration may be managed within the context of innovation in SMEs. The research places particular focus on identifying the challenges of knowledge integration in SMEs in relation to three aspects of knowledge integration activities, namely knowledge identification, knowledge acquisition, and knowledge sharing. Four distinct tasks emerged in the knowledge integration process, namely team building capability, capturing tacit knowledge, role of knowledge management (KM) systems, and technological systemic integration. The paper suggests that managing knowledge integration in SMEs can be best managed by focusing on these four tasks, which in turn will lead to innovation.

New media [Fourth Edition]

This is the fourth edition of New Media: An Introduction, with the previous editions being published by Oxford University Press in 2002, 2005 and 2008. As the first edition of the book published in the 2010s, every chapter has been comprehensively revised, and there are new chapters on: • Online News and the Future of Journalism (Chapter 7) • New Media and the Transformation of Higher Education (Chapter 10) • Online Activism and Networked Politics (Chapter 12). It has retained popular features of the third edition, including the twenty key concepts in new media (Chapter 2) and illustrative case studies to assist with teaching new media. The case studies in the book cover: the global internet; Wikipedia; transmedia storytelling; Media Studies 2.0; the games industry and exploitation; video games and violence; WikiLeaks; the innovator’s dilemma; massive open online courses (MOOCs); Creative Commons; the Barack Obama Presidential campaigns; and the Arab Spring. Several major changes in the media environment since the publication of the third edition stand out. Of particular importance has been the rise of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, which draw out even more strongly the features of the internet as networked and participatory media, with a range of implications across the economy, society and culture. In addition, the political implications of new media have become more apparent with a range of social media-based political campaigns, from Barack Obama’s successful Presidential election campaigns to the Occupy movements and the Arab Spring. At the same time, the subsequent developments of politics in these and other cases has drawn attention to the limitations of thinking about the politics or the public sphere in technologically determinist ways. When the first edition of New Media was published in 2002, the concept of new media was seen as being largely about the internet as it was accessed from personal computers. The subsequent decade has seen a proliferation of platforms and devices: we now access media in all forms from our phones and other mobile platforms, therefore we seen television and the internet increasingly converging, and we see a growing uncoupling of digital media content and delivery platforms. While this has a range of implications for media law and policy, from convergent media policy to copyright reform, governments and policy-makers are struggling to adapt to such seismic shifts from mass communications media to convergent social media. The internet is no longer primarily a Western-based medium. Two-thirds of the world’s internet users are now outside of Europe and North America; three-quarters of internet users use languages other than English; and three-quarters of the world’s mobile cellular phone subscriptions are in developing nations. It is also apparent that conducting discussions about how to develop new media technologies and discussions about their cultural and creative content can no longer be separated. Discussions of broadband strategies and the knowledge economy need to be increasingly joined with those concerning the creative industries and the creative economy.

Colonizing while migrating : how do individual enteric neural crest cells behave?

Background Directed cell migration is essential for normal development. In most of the migratory cell populations that have been analysed in detail to date, all of the cells migrate as a collective from one location to another. However, there are also migratory cell populations that must populate the areas through which they migrate, and thus some cells get left behind while others advance. Very little is known about how individual cells behave to achieve concomitant directional migration and population of the migratory route. We examined the behavior of enteric neural crest-derived cells (ENCCs), which must both advance caudally to reach the anal end and populate each gut region. Results The behaviour of individual ENCCs was examined using live imaging and mice in which ENCCs express a photoconvertible protein. We show that individual ENCCs exhibit very variable directionalities and speed; as the migratory wavefront of ENCCs advances caudally, each gut region is populated primarily by some ENCCs migrating non-directionally. After populating each region, ENCCs remain migratory for at least 24 hours. Endothelin receptor type B (EDNRB) signaling is known to be essential for the normal advance of the ENCC population. We now show that perturbation of EDNRB principally affects individual ENCC speed rather than directionality. The trajectories of solitary ENCCs, which occur transiently at the wavefront, were consistent with an unbiased random walk and so cell-cell contact is essential for directional migration. ENCCs migrate in close association with neurites. We showed that although ENCCs often use neurites as substrates, ENCCs lead the way, neurites are not required for chain formation and neurite growth is more directional than the migration of ENCCs as a whole. Conclusions Each gut region is initially populated by sub-populations of ENCCs migrating non-directionally, rather than stopping. This might provide a mechanism for ensuring a uniform density of ENCCs along the growing gut.

Health monitoring of short-and medium-spen bridges using an improved modal strain energy method

Increasing the importance and use of infrastructures such as bridges, demands more effective structural health monitoring (SHM) systems. SHM has well addressed the damage detection issues through several methods such as modal strain energy (MSE). Many of the available MSE methods either have been validated for limited type of structures such as beams or their performance is not satisfactory. Therefore, it requires a further improvement and validation of them for different types of structures. In this study, an MSE method was mathematically improved to precisely quantify the structural damage at an early stage of formation. Initially, the MSE equation was accurately formulated considering the damaged stiffness and then it was used for derivation of a more accurate sensitivity matrix. Verification of the improved method was done through two plane structures: a steel truss bridge and a concrete frame bridge models that demonstrate the framework of a short- and medium-span of bridge samples. Two damage scenarios including single- and multiple-damage were considered to occur in each structure. Then, for each structure, both intact and damaged, modal analysis was performed using STRAND7. Effects of up to 5 per cent noise were also comprised. The simulated mode shapes and natural frequencies derived were then imported to a MATLAB code. The results indicate that the improved method converges fast and performs well in agreement with numerical assumptions with few computational cycles. In presence of some noise level, it performs quite well too. The findings of this study can be numerically extended to 2D infrastructures particularly short- and medium-span bridges to detect the damage and quantify it more accurately. The method is capable of providing a proper SHM that facilitates timely maintenance of bridges to minimise the possible loss of lives and properties.

On cloud computing service considerations for the small and medium enterprises

The concept of cloud computing services is appealing to the small and medium enterprises (SMEs), with the opportunity to acquire modern information technology resources as a utility and avoid costly capital investments in technology resources. However, the adoption of the cloud computing services presents significant challenges to the SMEs. The SMEs need to determine a path to adopting the cloud computing services that would ensure their sustainable presence in the cloud computing environment. Information about approaches to adopting the cloud computing services by the SMEs is fragmented. Through an interpretive design, we suggest that the SMEs need to have a strategic and incremental intent, understand their organizational structure, understand the external factors, consider the human resource capacity, and understand the value expectations from the cloud computing services to forge a successful path to adopting the cloud computing services. These factors would contribute to a model of cloud services for SMEs.

Medium and mode : relationships between visual experience and perception in an installation arts practice

Working primarily within the natural landscape, this practice-led research project explored connections between the artist's visual and perceptual experience of a journey or place while simultaneously emphasizing the capacity for digital media to create a perceptual dissonance. By exploring concepts of time, viewpoint, duration of sequences and the manipulation of traditional constructs of stop-frame animation, the practical work created a cognitive awareness of the elements of the journey through optical sensations. The work allowed an opportunity to reflect on the nature of visual experience and its mediation through images. The project recontextualized the selected mediums of still photography, animation and projection within contemporary display modes of multiple screen installations by analysing relationships between the experienced and the perceived. The resulting works added to current discourse on the interstices between still and moving imagery in a digital world.

A biomechanical analysis of growing rods used in the management of early onset scoliosis (EOS)

The use of dual growing rods is a fusionless surgical approach to the treatment of early onset scoliosis (EOS) which aims to harness potential growth in order to correct spinal deformity. This study compared through in-vitro experiments the biomechanical response of two different rod designs under axial rotation loading. The study showed that a new design of telescoping growing rod preserved the rotational flexibility of the spine in comparison with rigid rods indicating them to be a more physiological way to improve the spinal deformity.

Identification and characterization of flowering genes in kiwifruit : sequence conservation and role in kiwifruit flower development

Background Flower development in kiwifruit (Actinidia spp.) is initiated in the first growing season, when undifferentiated primordia are established in latent shoot buds. These primordia can differentiate into flowers in the second growing season, after the winter dormancy period and upon accumulation of adequate winter chilling. Kiwifruit is an important horticultural crop, yet little is known about the molecular regulation of flower development. Results To study kiwifruit flower development, nine MADS-box genes were identified and functionally characterized. Protein sequence alignment, phenotypes obtained upon overexpression in Arabidopsis and expression patterns suggest that the identified genes are required for floral meristem and floral organ specification. Their role during budbreak and flower development was studied. A spontaneous kiwifruit mutant was utilized to correlate the extended expression domains of these flowering genes with abnormal floral development. Conclusions This study provides a description of flower development in kiwifruit at the molecular level. It has identified markers for flower development, and candidates for manipulation of kiwifruit growth, phase change and time of flowering. The expression in normal and aberrant flowers provided a model for kiwifruit flower development.

Characterization and novel activation of 72-kDa metalloproteinase in retinal interphotoreceptor matrix and Y-79 cell culture medium

Analysis of bovine interphotoreceptor matrix and conditioned medium from human Y-79 retinoblastoma cells by gelatin SDS-PAGE zymography reveals abundant activity of a 72-kDa M(r) gelatinase. The 72-kDa gelatinase from either source is inhibited by EDTA but not aprotinin or NEM, indicating that it is a metalloproteinase (MMP). The 72-kDa MMP is converted to a 62-kDa species with APMA treatment after gelatin sepharose affinity purification typical of previously described gelatinase MMP-2. The latent 72-kDa gelatinase from either bovine IPM or Y-79 media autoactivates without APMA in the presence of calcium and zinc after 72 hr at 37°C, producing a fully active mixture of proteinase species, 50 (48 in Y-79 medium), 38 and 35 kDa in size. The presence of inhibitory activity was examined in both whole bovine IPM and IPM fractions separated by SDS-PAGE. Whole IPM inhibited gelatinolytic activity of autoactivated Y-79-derived MMP in a dose-dependent manner. Inhibitory activities are observed in two protein fractions of 27-42 and 20-25 kDa. Western blots using antibodies to human tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1 and 2 (TIMP-1 and -2) reveal the presence of two TIMP-1-like proteins at 21 and 29 kDa in inhibitory fractions of the bovine IPM. TIMP-2 was not detected in the inhibitory IPM fractions, consistent with the observed autoactivation of bovine IPM 72-kDa gelatinase. Potential roles for this IPM MMP-TIMP system include physiologic remodelling of the neural retina-RPE cell interface and digestion of shed rod outer segment as well as pathological processes such as retinal detachment, PE cell migration, neovascularization and tumor progression. Cultured Y-79 cells appear to be a good model for studying the production and regulation of this proteinase system.