Site and mechanism of the colokinetic action of the ghrelin receptor agonist, HM01

Background It has been recently demonstrated that the ghrelin receptor agonist, HM01, caused defecation in rats that were treated to provide a model for the constipation of Parkinson's disease. HM01 significantly increased fecal output and increased Fos activity in neurons of the hypothalamus and hindbrain, but not in the spinal defecation center. Other ghrelin agonists act on the defecation center. Methods Receptor pharmacology was examined in ghrelin receptor (GHSR1a) transfected cells. Anesthetized rats were used to investigate sites and mechanisms of action. Key Results HM01 activated rat GHSR1a at nanomolar concentrations and was antagonized by the GHSR1a antagonist, YIL781. HM01, intravenous, was potent to activate propulsive colorectal contractions. This was prevented by pelvic nerve section and by intravenous YIL781, but not by spinal cord section rostral to the defecation centers. Direct intrathecal application of HM01 to the defecation center at spinal level L6-S1 initiated propulsive contractions of the colorectum. Conclusions & Inferences HM01 stimulates GHSR1a receptors on neurons in the lumbosacral defecation centers to cause propulsive contractions and emptying of the colorectum. It has greater potency when given systemically, compared with other GHSR1a agonists.

Finding line of action of the force exerted on erect spine based on lateral bending test in personalization of scoliotic spine models

In multi-body models of scoliotic spine, personalization of mechanical properties of joints significantly improves reconstruction of the spine shape. In personalization methods based on lateral bending test, simulation of bending positions is an essential step. To simulate, a force is exerted on the spine model in the erect position. The line of action of the force affects the moment of the force about the joints and thus, if not correctly identified, causes over/underestimation of mechanical properties. Therefore, we aimed to identify the line of action, which has got little attention in previous studies. An in-depth analysis was performed on the scoliotic spine movement from the erect to four spine positions in the frontal plane by using pre-operative X-rays of 18 adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) patients. To study the movement, the spine curvature was considered as a 2D chain of micro-scale motion segments (MMSs) comprising rigid links and 1-degree-of-freedom (DOF) rotary joints. It was found that two MMSs representing the inflection points of the erect spine had almost no rotation (0.0028° ± 0.0021°) in the movement. The small rotation can be justified by weak moment of the force about these MMSs due to very small moment arm. Therefore, in the frontal plane, the line of action of the force to simulate the left/right bending position was defined as the line that passes through these MMSs in the left/right bending position. Through personalization of a 3D spine model for our patients, we demonstrated that our line of action could result in good estimates of the spine shape in the bending positions and other positions not included in the personalization, supporting our proposed line of action.

Putting the spoils of litigation into the shareholders’ pockets: when can shareholders bring a personal action against the directors of their company?

company is legally incorporated it must be treated like any other independent person with its rightsand liabilities appropriate to itself”.2 A consequence of this is the “proper plaintiff” principleestablished in Foss v Harbottle (1843) 2 Hare 461; 67 ER 189: the proper plaintiff in an action inrespect of a wrong done to a corporation is the corporation itself.3 It is also a “hallowed rule” thatdirectors owe their duties to the company, not the shareholders,4 and so any loss accruing to thecompany as a result of the directors’ breach of their duties is recoverable only by the company.5An obvious problem with this state of affairs is that a company will be unlikely to initiateproceedings against its directors when the company is controlled by those directors.6 While there aregood economic reasons for this division of management and ownership,7 shareholders are left with acritical question: under what circumstances can they initiate proceedings to recover loss suffered as aresult of company directors’ breach of their duties? Although one writer has referred to the“expansive statutory and common law arsenals” available to aggrieved shareholders,8 it seems ratherthe case that there are few effective remedies. For shareholders have no contractual relationship withdirectors,9 and the personal rights conferred on shareholders by statute or general law are largelyprocedural10 and seem a rather ineffective basis for “scrutinising directorial performance”.

Can online participation on issues of asylum seeking lead to action? Understanding the intent to act

Objective Issues of refuge and asylum are often controversial in Australia, with misinformation, fear, and emotion often used to sway public opinion. The objective of this study was to understand individuals’ willingness to advocate on asylum seeker issues. Method Using an online survey, this study investigated the attitudes, opinions, and activities of those who had signed up to a Facebook page or newsletter of an asylum seeker support organisation. Results In total, 3,978 surveys were completed; 1,688 from people who were signed up to a regular newsletter, and 2,416 people who ‘liked’ the Facebook site. Most respondents were women, from Victoria, and were educated to at least the university level. Conclusions The findings of this study indicate that the engagement of those who had ‘liked’ the Facebook page were more Internet based, suggesting that when the cost of engaging action is low, people do little more than engage in token support, a number of interpretations for this finding are presented. Organisations need to consider how to engage this group in more ‘meaningful support’.

Social media bodies : revealing the entanglement of sexual well-being, mental health, and social media in education

While media and youth research reveal the intersectionality of young people’s sexual well-being, mental health, and social media practices, little attention has been paid to how this entanglement is addressed in education. Pedagogy that is not informed by a nuanced and interconnected understanding of young people’s everyday experiences of sexual well-being, mental health, and social media is likely to be ineffective and inadequate. I describe a workshop activity with young people experiencing mental ill health that uses bodies as a metaphor for social media, allowing participants to reveal and discuss their experiences, attitudes, and values through dressing up and illustrating “social media bodies.” I outline three themes that arose from the workshops: revealing and destabilising affordances, the spatial and temporal affordances of social media, and young people’s affective relationships through and with social media, and advocate for an intersectional approach to sexuality education, one that is necessarily complex and ambivalent.

Power to the virtuous? Civic culture in the changing digital terrain

Much scholarship laments a decline in civic participation and community social capital in a changing media world. But the concept of “civicness” remains important to functioning societies across the globe. This research borrows from the cultural turn in studies of media, communication and citizenship to examine civic as culture, anchored in the practices and symbolic milieu of everyday life. As its theoretical entry point, this research paper positions civic as virtue. Drawing on scholars from Aristotle to Pierre Bourdieu, civic virtue may be understood as a perceived moral obligation to serve the common good, especially the interests of a “community” in which individuals and/or groups are connected. In particular, the research extends Bourdieu's ideas to consider news media as a powerful institution alongside the state that may claim monopoly over the manipulation of civic virtue under certain social conditions. Civic virtue offers much in discussions about media power in the digital age and its relationship to the future viability and legitimacy of news media. The research draws on exemplars from a study into digitally mediated civic participation in a rural/regional Australian context to position certain local media as “keepers” and “conferrers” of civic virtue in the social settings they serve.