Muslims and the Australian labour market, 1980-2001

The unemployment of Muslims in Australia was 28 and 25 per cent compared to the national total of around nine per cent in 1986 and 1996 respectively (Australian Bureau of Statistics). This article conceptually analyses the disadvantaged position of the Muslims in the Australian labour market from 1980 to 2001 within a framework of 'structural racism'. It studies the Muslims from three perspectives: first, a comparative study of the qualifications and unemployment of the Muslim labour force in relation to the dominant population. Secondly, it examines the extent of this disadvantaged position in comparison with other ethnic minorities within an historical context. Finally, the basis of structural racism is explored to demonstrate how the Muslims have become systematically victimized. The analysis concludes that Muslims are significantly disadvantaged in Australia on the basis of their ethnicity and religion.

Genetic and Environmental Influences on Migraine: A Twin Study Across Six Countries

Migraine is a common neurovascular brain disorder that is manifested in recurrent episodes of disabling headache. The aim of the present study was to compare the prevalence and heritability of migraine across six of the countries that participate in GenomEutwin project including a total number of 29,717 twin pairs. Migraine was assessed by questionnaires that differed between most countries. It was most prevalent in Danish and Dutch females (32% and 34%, respectively), whereas the lowest prevalence was found in the younger and older Finnish cohorts (13% and 10%, respectively). The estimated genetic variance (heritability) was significant and the same between sexes in all countries. Heritability ranged from 34% to 57%, with lowest estimates in Australia, and highest estimates in the older cohort of Finland, the Netherlands, and Denmark. There was some indication that part of the genetic variance was non-additive, but this was significant in Sweden only. In addition to genetic factors, environmental effects that are non-shared between members of a twin pair contributed to the liability of migraine. After migraine definitions are homogenized among the participating countries, the GenomEUtwin project will provide a powerful resource to identify the genes involved in migraine.

Rab23, a negative regulator of hedgehog signaling, localizes to the plasma membrane and the endocytic pathway

The regulation of hedgehog signaling by vesicular trafficking was exemplified by the finding that Rab23, a Rab-GTPase vesicular transport protein, is mutated in open brain mice. In this study, the localization of Rab23 was analyzed by light and immunoelectron microscopy after expression of wild-type (Rab23-GFP), constitutively active Rab23 (Rab23Q68L-GFP), and inactive Rab23 (Rab23S23N-GFP) in a range of mammalian cell types. Rab23-GFP and Rab23Q68L-GFP were predominantly localized to the plasma membrane but were also associated with intracellular vesicular structures, whereas Rab23S23N-GFP was predominantly cytosolic. Vesicular Rab23-GFP colocalized with Rab5Q79L and internalized transferrin-biotin, but not with a marker of the late endosome or the Golgi complex. To investigate Rab23 with respect to members of the hedgehog signaling pathway, Rab23-GFP was coexpressed with either patched or smoothened. Patched colocalized with intracellular Rab23-GFP but smoothened did not. Analysis of patched distribution by light and immunoelectron microscopy revealed it is primarily localized to endosomal elements, including transferrin receptor-positive early endosomes and putative endosome carrier vesicles and, to a lesser extent, with LBPA-positive late endosomes, but was excluded from the plasma membrane. Neither patched or smoothened distribution was altered in the presence of wild-type nor mutant Rab23-GFP, suggesting that despite the endosomal colocalization of Rab23 and patched, it is likely that Rab23 acts more distally in regulating hedgehog signaling.

Role of China in the quest to define and control severe acute respiratory syndrome

China holds the key to solving many questions crucial to global control of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). The disease appears to have originated in Guangdong Province, and the causative agent, SARS coronavirus, is likely to have originated from an animal host, perhaps sold in public markets. Epidemiologic findings, integral to defining an animal-human linkage, may be confirmed by laboratory studies; once animal host(s) are confirmed, interventions may be needed to prevent further animal-to-human transmission. Community seroprevalence studies may help determine the basis for the decline in disease incidence in Guangdong Province after February 2002. China will also be able to contribute key data about how the causative agent is transmitted and how it is evolving, as well as identifying pivotal factors influencing disease outcome.

Detection of West Nile Virus Infection in birds in the United States by blocking ELISA and immunohistochemistry

A blocking ELISA targeting an immunodominant West Nile epitope on the West Nile Virus NS1 protein was assessed for the detection of West Nile-specific antibodies in blood samples collected from 584 sentinel chickens and 238 wild birds collected in-New Jersey from May-December 2000. Ten mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) experimentally infected with West Nile virus and six uninfected controls were also tested. The ELISA proved specific in detecting WNV antibodies in 9/10 chickens and 4/4 wild birds previously confirmed as positive by Plaque Reduction Neutralization test (PRNT) at the Center for Disease Control, Division of Vector Borne Diseases, Fort Collins, CO, USA (CDC). Nine out of the ten experimentally infected mallard ducks also tested positive for WN antibodies in the blocking ELISA, while 6/6 uninfected controls did not. Additionally, 1705 wild birds, collected in New Jersey from December 2000-November 2001 and Long Island, New York between November 1999 and August 2001 were also tested for WN antibodies by the blocking ELISA. These tests identified 30 positive specimens, 12 of which had formalin-fixed tissues available to allow detection of WN specific viral antigen in various tissues by WNV-specific immunohistochemistry. Our results indicate that rapid and specific detection of antibodies to WN virus in sera from a range of avian species by blocking ELISA is an effective strategy for WN Virus surveillance in avian hosts. In combination with detection of WN-specific antigens in tissues by immunohistochemistry (IHC) the blocking ELISA will also be useful for confirming WN infection in diseased birds.

Method for determining the shear stress in cylindrical systems

We develop a method for determining the elements of the pressure tensor at a radius r in a cylindrically symmetric system, analogous to the so-called method of planes used in planar systems [B. D. Todd, Denis J. Evans, and Peter J. Daivis, Phys. Rev. E 52, 1627 (1995)]. We demonstrate its application in determining the radial shear stress dependence during molecular dynamics simulations of the forced flow of methane in cylindrical silica mesopores. Such expressions are useful for the examination of constitutive relations in the context of transport in confined systems.