The Open Provenance Model Core Specification (v1.1)

The Open Provenance Model is a model of provenance that is designed to meet the following requirements: (1) To allow provenance information to be exchanged between systems, by means of a compatibility layer based on a shared provenance model. (2) To allow developers to build and share tools that operate on such a provenance model. (3) To define provenance in a precise, technology-agnostic manner. (4) To support a digital representation of provenance for any 'thing', whether produced by computer systems or not. (5) To allow multiple levels of description to coexist. (6) To define a core set of rules that identify the valid inferences that can be made on provenance representation. This document contains the specification of the Open Provenance Model (v1.1) resulting from a community-effort to achieve inter-operability in the Provenance Challenge series.

Casitas b-lineage lymphoma-deficient mice are pretected against high-fat diet-induuced obesity and insulin resistance

Casitas b-lineage lymphoma (c-Cbl) is a multiadaptor protein with E3-ubiquitin ligase activity involved in regulating the degradation of receptor tyrosine kinases. We have recently reported that c-Cbl^–/– mice exhibit a lean phenotype and enhanced peripheral insulin action likely due to elevated energy expenditure. In the study reported here, we examined the effect of a high-fat diet on energy homeostasis and glucose metabolism in these animals. When c-Cbl^–/– mice were fed a high-fat diet for 4 weeks, they maintained hyperphagia, higher whole-body oxygen consumption (27%), and greater activity (threefold) compared with wild-type animals fed the same diet. In addition, the activity of several enzymes involved in mitochondrial fat oxidation and the phosphorylation of acetyl CoA carboxylase was significantly increased in muscle of high-fat–fed c-Cbl–deficient mice, indicating a greater capacity for fat oxidation in these animals. As a result of these differences, fat-fed c-Cbl^–/– mice were 30% leaner than wild-type animals and were protected against high-fat diet–induced insulin resistance. These studies are consistent with a role for c-Cbl in regulating nutrient partitioning in skeletal muscle and emphasize the potential of c-Cbl as a therapeutic target in the treatment of obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Graphical authentication : an architectural design specification

Graphical authentication is proposed as an alternative to password, smartcard, and biometric authentication as it uses the innate ability of humans to recognise visual stimuli. Despite passionate debate surrounding their privacy and invasiveness issues, smartcards and biometrics require an excessive amount of extra hardware for widespread deployment. Conversely graphical authentication extends existing infrastructure as it builds largely on the foundations of passwords with one important difference: it takes humans into account as they are better at recognising visual stimuli than recalling text-based passwords. This paper follows a preceding proof of concept paper and essentially outlines the architectural and technical design for a graphical authentication solution.

Mucosal vascular addressin cell adhesion molecule-1 is expressed outside the endothelial lineage on fibroblasts and melanoma cells

Mucosal vascular addressin cell adhesion molecule-1 (MAdCAM-1) is predominantly expressed on high endothelial venules in inflamed tissues where it assists with leucocyte extravasation. Here we report that MAdCAM-1 has the potential to be more widely expressed outside the endothelial cell lineage than previously appreciated. Thus, MAdCAM-1 RNA transcripts and cell-surface protein were expressed by NIH 3T3 fibroblasts following activation with tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), and by freshly isolated and cultured primary mouse splenic and tail fibroblasts in the absence of TNF-alpha stimulation. They were constitutively expressed by B16F10 melanoma cells, and expression was enhanced by cell activation with TNF-alpha. Mucosal vascular addressin cell adhesion molecule-1 was expressed on the apical surface of isolated cells, but became predominantly localized to cell junctions in confluent cell monolayers, suggesting it may play a role in the homotypic aggregation of cells. Tumour necrosis factor-alpha enhanced the expression of a firefly luciferase reporter directed by the MAdCAM-1 promoter in NIH 3T3 and B16F10 cells. A DNA fragment extending from nt -1727 to -673 was sufficient to confer cell-type selective expression. Mucosal vascular addressin cell adhesion molecule-1 expressed by NIH 3T3 cells was biologically active, as it supported the adhesion of TK-1 T cells in an alpha4beta7-dependent fashion. The expression of MAdCAM-1 by fibroblasts, and melanomas suggests MAdCAM-1 may play a role in regulating host responses in the periphery, leucocyte transmigration across nonendothelial boundaries, or the homotypic interactions of some malignant melanomas.

Epithelial-stromal interactions in mammary lineage development and carcinogenesis

This study determined that the microenvironment influences mammary cellular development and that this microenvironment differs between normal and malignant tissue. Cancer-associated fibroblasts, loss of an extracellular protein and presence of a growth factor were demonstrated to influence cancer cell migration, presenting a basis for the understanding of breast cancer metastasis.

Characterisation of monotreme caseins reveals lineage-specific expansion of an ancestral casein locus in mammals

Using a milk-cell cDNA sequencing approach we characterised milk-protein sequences from two monotreme species, platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) and echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus) and found a full set of caseins and casein variants. The genomic organisation of the platypus casein locus is compared with other mammalian genomes, including the marsupial opossum and several eutherians. Physical linkage of casein genes has been seen in the casein loci of all mammalian genomes examined and we confirm that this is also observed in platypus. However, we show that a recent duplication of β-casein occurred in the monotreme lineage, as opposed to more ancient duplications of α-casein in the eutherian lineage, while marsupials possess only single copies of α- and β-caseins. Despite this variability, the close proximity of the main α- and β-casein genes in an inverted tail-tail orientation and the relative orientation of the more distant kappa-casein genes are similar in all mammalian genome sequences so far available. Overall, the conservation of the genomic organisation of the caseins indicates the early, pre-monotreme development of the fundamental role of caseins during lactation. In contrast, the lineage-specific gene duplications that have occurred within the casein locus of monotremes and eutherians but not marsupials, which may have lost part of the ancestral casein locus, emphasises the independent selection on milk provision strategies to the young, most likely linked to different developmental strategies. The monotremes therefore provide insight into the ancestral drivers for lactation and how these have adapted in different lineages.

Early Connections : reflections on the canonical lineage of Southeast Asian temples

Temples were constructed across Southeast Asia following the spread of Brahmanic/Hindu culture between the fifth to eight centuries CE. Epigraphic evidence, architectural and stylistic similarities between temples in the region are strongly indicative of historic cross cultural links between the traditions. This paper presents the findings of a research project that pieces together fragments of evidence from early temple sites in Southeast Asia to establish the linkages between the Southeast Asian temple building traditions. The focus of the paper is on tracing the canonical connections between these traditions through an examination of temple sites in Cambodia and Java respectively. The legacy of this ancient diasporic movement remains celebrated today in the admiration of Southeast Asian monuments such as Angkor Wat and Prambanan. However this architecture evolved over time through a process of long experimentation with philosophies, world-views, and methods. . In order to permit a deeper examination of canonical connections, the authors use methods such as photogrammetry, digital and physical models to reconstruct the architectural forms. A detailed analysis of the canonical geometry and compositional form of these temples is undertaken with reference to Indic texts and temples. Comparing the relationships between cosmology, geometry and physical form in this earlier sites with both Indian and developed Southeast Asian models, it is intended that its generative role within Southeast Asian architectural historiography can be clarified and more fully celebrated.

Estuary environmental flows assessment methodology : final specification report

This report provides a consistent and systematic approach to the determination of environmental water requirements for estuaries in Victoria.

Victoria’s limited water resources are subject to competing demands. These demands, including town water supplies and irrigation requirements, often deplete the flow entering estuaries and put their environmental values at risk.

The Estuary Environmental Flows Assessment Methodology (EEFAM) is a standard methodology which can be applied in a consistent manner across all Victorian estuaries, according to their priority. It is not anticipated that this method would be used for the Gippsland Lakes or Port Phillip or Western Port Bay.