Nation and Internet : Malaysia and the multimedia super corridor

As part of a development plan-in-progress spanning a total of 25 years (1996 to 2020), Malaysia’s Multimedia Super Corridor MSC provides a unique opportunity to witness a brief and microcosmic unfolding of that process which Lewis Mumford lays out in exhaustive detail in Technics and Civilization (Mumford, 1963). What makes it doubly interesting is the interlocking of national imagining, destiny and progress with a specific group of technologies, information and communication technologies (ICT), of which the Internet is part. This paper casts Malaysia’s development and implementation of the MSC as the core round which an enquiry of the association between the nation and the Internet is woven. I argue here that there are 3 dissonances that occur within the relationship between the Malaysian nation and the Internet. The first of these arises from the tension between the premises underlying techno-utopianism and pro-Malay affirmative action. The second is born of the discordance between the “guaranteed” freedom from online censorship and the absolute punitive powers of the state. The third lies in the contradiction between the Malaysian nation, as practiced through graduated sovereignty and its pro-Bumiputera affirmative action. Together, these three comprise the inflections that the Internet has on Malaysia. Further, I contend that aside from adding to the number of ways in which the nation is understood and experienced, these inflections also have the potential to disrupt how the nation is lived. By lived I mean to denote the realisation of the nation that occurs in and through everyday life.

Tinamous and moa flock together : mitochondrial genome sequence analysis reveals independent losses of flight among ratites

Ratites are large, flightless birds and include the ostrich, rheas, kiwi, emu, and cassowaries, along with extinct members, such as moa and elephant birds. Previous phylogenetic analyses of complete mitochondrial genome sequences have reinforced the traditional belief that ratites are monophyletic and tinamous are their sister group. However, in these studies ratite monophyly was enforced in the analyses that modeled rate heterogeneity among variable sites. Relaxing this topological constraint results in strong support for the tinamous (which fly) nesting within ratites. Furthermore, upon reducing base compositional bias and partitioning models of sequence evolution among protein codon positions and RNA structures, the tinamou–moa clade grouped with kiwi, emu, and cassowaries to the exclusion of the successively more divergent rheas and ostrich. These relationships are consistent with recent results from a large nuclear data set, whereas our strongly supported finding of a tinamou–moa grouping further resolves palaeognath phylogeny. We infer flight to have been lost among ratites multiple times in temporally close association with the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event. This circumvents requirements for transient microcontinents and island chains to explain discordance between ratite phylogeny and patterns of continental breakup. Ostriches may have dispersed to Africa from Eurasia, putting in question the status of ratites as an iconic Gondwanan relict taxon. [Base composition; flightless; Gondwana; mitochondrial genome; Palaeognathae; phylogeny; ratites.]

Immunity against a Chlamydia infection and disease may be determined by a balance of IL-17 signaling

Most vaccines developed against Chlamydia using animal models provide partial protection against a genital tract infection. However, protection against the oviduct pathology associated with infertility is highly variable and often has no defining immunological correlate. When comparing two adjuvants (CTA1-DD and a combination of Cholera toxin plus CpG- oligodeoxynucleotide–CT/CpG) combined with the chlamydial major outer membrane protein (MOMP) antigen and delivered via the intranasal (IN), sublingual (SL) or transcutaneous (TC) routes, we identified two vaccine groups with contrasting outcomes following infection. SL immunization with MOMP/CTA1-DD induced a 70% reduction in the incidence of oviduct pathology, without significantly altering the course of infection. Conversely, IN immunization with MOMP/CT/CpG prevented an ascending infection, but not the oviduct pathology. This anomaly presented a unique opportunity to study the mechanisms by which vaccines can prevent oviduct pathology, other than by controlling the infection. The IL-17 signaling in the oviducts was found to associate with both the enhancement of immunity to infection and the development of oviduct pathology. This conflicting role of IL-17 may provide some explanation for the discordance in protection between infection and disease and suggests that controlling immunopathology, as opposed to the rapid eradication of the infection, may be essential for an effective human chlamydial vaccine that prevents infertility.

Estimating the under-reporting of road crash injuries to police using multiple linked data collections

The reliance on police data for the counting of road crash injuries can be problematic, as it is well known that not all road crash injuries are reported to police which under-estimates the overall burden of road crash injuries. The aim of this study was to use multiple linked data sources to estimate the extent of under-reporting of road crash injuries to police in the Australian state of Queensland. Data from the Queensland Road Crash Database (QRCD), the Queensland Hospital Admitted Patients Data Collection (QHAPDC), Emergency Department Information System (EDIS), and the Queensland Injury Surveillance Unit (QISU) for the year 2009 were linked. The completeness of road crash cases reported to police was examined via discordance rates between the police data (QRCD) and the hospital data collections. In addition, the potential bias of this discordance (under-reporting) was assessed based on gender, age, road user group, and regional location. Results showed that the level of under-reporting varied depending on the data set with which the police data was compared. When all hospital data collections are examined together the estimated population of road crash injuries was approximately 28,000, with around two-thirds not linking to any record in the police data. The results also showed that the under-reporting was more likely for motorcyclists, cyclists, males, young people, and injuries occurring in Remote and Inner Regional areas. These results have important implications for road safety research and policy in terms of: prioritising funding and resources; targeting road safety interventions into areas of higher risk; and estimating the burden of road crash injuries.

Overcoming language barriers in healthcare: A protocol for investigating safe and effective communication when patients or clinicians use a second language

Background Miscommunication in the healthcare sector can be life-threatening. The rising number of migrant patients and foreign-trained staff means that communication errors between a healthcare practitioner and patient when one or both are speaking a second language are increasingly likely. However, there is limited research that addresses this issue systematically. This protocol outlines a hospital-based study examining interactions between healthcare practitioners and their patients who either share or do not share a first language. Of particular interest are the nature and efficacy of communication in language-discordant conversations, and the degree to which risk is communicated. Our aim is to understand language barriers and miscommunication that may occur in healthcare settings between patients and healthcare practitioners, especially where at least one of the speakers is using a second (weaker) language. Methods/Design Eighty individual interactions between patients and practitioners who speak either English or Chinese (Mandarin or Cantonese) as their first language will be video recorded in a range of in- and out-patient departments at three hospitals in the Metro South area of Brisbane, Australia. All participants will complete a language background questionnaire. Patients will also complete a short survey rating the effectiveness of the interaction. Recordings will be transcribed and submitted to both quantitative and qualitative analyses to determine elements of the language used that might be particularly problematic and the extent to which language concordance and discordance impacts on the quality of the patient-practitioner consultation. Discussion Understanding the role that language plays in creating barriers to healthcare is critical for healthcare systems that are experiencing an increasing range of culturally and linguistically diverse populations both amongst patients and practitioners. The data resulting from this study will inform policy and practical solutions for communication training, provide an agenda for future research, and extend theory in health communication.

Low birth weight in MZ twins discordant for birth weight is associated with shorter telomere length and lower IQ, but not anxiety/depression in later life

Shorter telomere length (TL) has found to be associated with lower birth weight and with lower cognitive ability and psychiatric disorders. However, the direction of causation of these associations and the extent to which they are genetically or environmentally mediated are unclear. Within-pair comparisons of monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins can throw light on these questions. We investigated correlations of within pair differences in telomere length, IQ, and anxiety/depression in an initial sample from Brisbane (242 MZ pairs, 245 DZ same sex (DZSS) pairs) and in replication samples from Amsterdam (514 MZ pairs, 233 DZSS pairs) and Melbourne (19 pairs selected for extreme high or low birth weight difference). Intra-pair differences of birth weight and telomere length were significantly correlated in MZ twins, but not in DZSS twins. Greater intra-pair differences of telomere length were observed in the 10% of MZ twins with the greatest difference in birth weight compared to the bottom 90% in both samples and also in the Melbourne sample. Intra-pair differences of telomere length and IQ, but not of TL and anxiety/depression, were correlated in MZ twins, and to a smaller extent in DZSS twins. Our findings suggest that the same prenatal effects that reduce birth weight also influence telomere length in MZ twins. The association between telomere length and IQ is partly driven by the same prenatal effects that decrease birth weight.

Avian diversification patterns across the K-Pg boundary: Influence of calibrations, datasets, and model misspecification

Birds represent the most diverse extant tetrapod clade, with ca. 10,000 extant species, and the timing of the crown avian radiation remains hotly debated. The fossil record supports a primarily Cenozoic radiation of crown birds, whereas molecular divergence dating analyses generally imply that this radiation was well underway during the Cretaceous. Furthermore, substantial differences have been noted between published divergence estimates. These have been variously attributed to clock model, calibration regime, and gene type. One underappreciated phenomenon is that disparity between fossil ages and molecular dates tends to be proportionally greater for shallower nodes in the avian Tree of Life. Here, we explore potential drivers of disparity in avian divergence dates through a set of analyses applying various calibration strategies and coding methods to a mitochondrial genome dataset and an 18-gene nuclear dataset, both sampled across 72 taxa. Our analyses support the occurrence of two deep divergences (i.e., the Palaeognathae/Neognathae split and the Galloanserae/Neoaves split) well within the Cretaceous, followed by a rapid radiation of Neoaves near the K-Pg boundary. However, 95% highest posterior density intervals for most basal divergences in Neoaves cross the boundary, and we emphasize that, barring unreasonably strict prior distributions, distinguishing between a rapid Early Paleocene radiation and a Late Cretaceous radiation may be beyond the resolving power of currently favored divergence dating methods. In contrast to recent observations for placental mammals, constraining all divergences within Neoaves to occur in the Cenozoic does not result in unreasonably high inferred substitution rates. Comparisons of nuclear DNA (nDNA) versus mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) datasets and NT- versus RY-coded mitochondrial data reveal patterns of disparity that are consistent with substitution model misspecifications that result in tree compression/tree extension artifacts, which may explain some discordance between previous divergence estimates based on different sequence types. Comparisons of fully calibrated and nominally calibrated trees support a correlation between body mass and apparent dating error. Overall, our results are consistent with (but do not require) a Paleogene radiation for most major clades of crown birds.