The rurality of sex : community resistance and objection to prostitution in rural and regional areas throughout Queensland

Queensland legislation currently defines two legally recognised forms of prostitution: sex work conducted in a licensed brothel; or, sex work conducted privately by a sole operator.Despite prostitution’s legality in these contexts, it continues to be heavily controlled and restricted by authorities, while also being rejected by surrounding communities. Such resistance towards prostitution is demonstrated in Queensland where over 200 towns with populations of less than 25,000 have been successful in applying for exemption from the development of licensed brothels in those jurisdictions (Prostitution Licensing Authority 2012). Queensland’s legislative acknowledgement of prostitution as a legal act, while simultaneously allowing small communities to reject such activity, seems somewhat contradictory. This paper will provide a theoretical examination of common community objections to prostitution in modern society, determining whether such attitudes are applicable to communities in rural and regional Queensland towns. Additionally, this paper will incorporate an analysis of rural and urban areas via the ‘gemeinschaft‐gesellschaft’ dichotomy to understand the potential justification for opposing areas being subject to differential treatment under the law.

Security properties analysis in a TPM-based protocol

Security protocols are designed in order to provide security properties (goals). They achieve their goals using cryptographic primitives such as key agreement or hash functions. Security analysis tools are used in order to verify whether a security protocol achieves its goals or not. The analysed property by specific purpose tools are predefined properties such as secrecy (confidentiality), authentication or non-repudiation. There are security goals that are defined by the user in systems with security requirements. Analysis of these properties is possible with general purpose analysis tools such as coloured petri nets (CPN). This research analyses two security properties that are defined in a protocol that is based on trusted platform module (TPM). The analysed protocol is proposed by Delaune to use TPM capabilities and secrets in order to open only one secret from two submitted secrets to a recipient

A prospective study of the determinants of physical activity in rural fifth-grade children

Background Understanding the factors that influence physical activity behavior is important in the design of intervention programs targeted at youth. Methods A prospective study design was used to identify the predictors of vigorous physical activity (VPA) (greater than or equal to 6 METs) and moderate and vigorous physical activity (MVPA) (greater than or equal to 3 METs) among 202 rural, predominantly African-American children. Selected social-cognitive determinants of physical activity were assessed via questionnaire in the fifth grade. Participation in VPA and MVPA was assessed via the previous day physical activity recall 1 year later in the sixth grade. Results For girls, participation in community sports, self-efficacy in overcoming barriers, enjoyment of school physical education, race (white > black), and perception of mother's activity level (active vs inactive) were significant predictors of VPA. For MVPA, participation in community sports and self-efficacy in overcoming barriers were significant predictors. For boys, self-efficacy in overcoming barriers was the only significant predictor of VPA, while beliefs regarding activity outcomes and participation in community sports were significant predictors of MVPA. Conclusion Social-cognitive constructs such as physical activity self-efficacy, access to community physical activity outlets, and positive beliefs regarding physical activity outcomes are important predictors of future physical activity behavior among rural, predominantly African-American children.

Differences in physical activity between black and white girls living in rural and urban areas

This study examined the relationship of race and rural/urban setting to physical, behavioral, psychosocial, and environmental factors associated with physical activity. Subjects included 1,668 eighth-grade girls from 31 middle schools: 933 from urban settings, and 735 from rural settings. Forty-six percent of urban girls and 59% of rural girls were Black. One-way and two-way ANOVAs with school as a covariate were used to analyze the data. Results indicated that most differences were associated with race rather than setting. Black girls were less active than White girls, reporting significantly fewer 30-minute blocks of both vigorous and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Black girls also spent more time watching television, and had higher BMIs and greater prevalence of overweight than White girls. However, enjoyment of physical education and family involvement in physical activity were greater among Black girls titan White girls. Rural White girls and urban Black girls had more favorable attitudes toward physical activity. Access to sports equipment, perceived safety of neighborhood, and physical activity self-efficacy were higher in White girls than Black girls.

Gender differences in physical activity and determinants of physical activity in rural fifth grade children

This study determined if gender differences in physical activity could be accounted for by differences in selected social-cognitive determinants of activity behavior. Some 334 fifth grade, predominantly African-American students provided information regarding after-school physical activity and the hypothesized determinants of activity behavior. Boys reported significantly greater participation in vigorous (greater than or equal to 6 METs) and in moderate to vigorous (greater than or equal to 4 METs). Relative to girls, boys demonstrated higher levels of physical fitness, greater self-efficacy in overcoming barriers to physical activity, greater amounts of television watching, and higher levels of participation in community sports and physical activity organizations. When mean physical activity scores for girls and boys were adjusted for the effects of these determinant variables, the significant gender difference in physical activity remained. However, adjustment for self-efficacy in overcoming barriers and community sports reduced the gender gap by 5% and 7%, respectively. In contrast, adjustment for television watching increased the gender gap by about 8%. Results indicated perceived confidence in overcoming barriers to physical activity and participation in community physical activity programs are factors related to the gender difference in physical activity.

The cooling steam of the Polar Express : historical origins, properties and implications of performance capture

As the first academically rigorous interrogation of the generation of performance within the global frame of the motion capture volume, this research presents a historical contextualisation and develops and tests a set of first principles through an original series of theoretically informed, practical exercises to guide those working in the emergent space of performance capture. It contributes a new understanding of the framing of performance in The Omniscient Frame, and initiates and positions performance capture as a new and distinct interdisciplinary discourse in the fields of theatre, animation, performance studies and film.

Correlates of physical activity behavior in rural youth

The purpose of this study was to identify correlates of physical activity behavior in a sample of rural, predominantly African American youth. Three hundred sixty-one fifth-grade students from two rural counties in South Carolina (69% African American, median age = II years) completed a questionnaire designed to measure beliefs and social influences regarding physical activity, physical activity self-efficacy, perceived physical activity habits of family members and friends, and access to exercise and fitness equipment at home. After school physical activity and television watching were assessed using the Previous Day Physical Activity Recall (PDPAR). Students were classified as physically active according to a moderate physical activity standard: two or more 30-min blocks at an intensity of 3 METs (metabolic equivalents) or greater, and a vigorous physical activity standard: one or more 30-min blocks at an intensity of 6 METs or greater According to the moderate physical activity standard, 34.9% of students were classified as low-active. Multivariate analysis revealed age, gender television watching, and exercise equipment at home to be significant correlates of low activity status. According to the vigorous physical activity standard, 32.1 % of the students were classified as low-active. Multivariate analysis revealed age, gender television watching, and self-efficacy with respect to seeking support for physical activity to be significant correlates of low activity status. In summary, gender and the amount of television watching were found to be the most important correlates of physical activity in rural, predominantly African American youth.

Invasive and metastatic properties of MCF-7 cells and ras(H)-transfected MCF-7 cell lines

In vitro invasion and in vivo metastasis assays were performed with a panel of MCF-7 cells transfected with isogenic constructs of mutated ras(H) genes. Both increased levels of ras(H) expression and ras(H) oncogene activation increased activity of derivative cell lines in in vitro invasion assays. In vivo formation of spontaneous metastases was assessed after intradermal inoculation of MCF-7 cells in the vicinity of the mammary fat pads of ovariectomized nude mice. No metastases were seen in the absence of estradiol treatment of the mice. With estradiol supplementation of the mice both the ras(H)-transfected and control transfected cell lines gave a higher incidence of metastases than parental MCF-7 cells. Prolonged treatment of mice with exogenous estradiol (60 days vs. 21 days) resulted in more frequent metastases to liver and lung at the end of the 90-day observation period. In contrast to activated ras(H)-gene enhancement of metastatic capacity of rodent fibroblast and epithelial cell lines, there was no correlation of ras(H) expression with in vivo metastatic capacity of a human mammary carcinoma cell line.

Heregulin regulates the actin cytoskeleton and promotes invasive properties in breast cancer cell lines

The metastatic process requires changes in tumor cell adhesion properties, cell motility and remodeling of the extracellular matrix. The erbB2 proto-oncogene is overexpressed in approximately 30% of breast cancers and is a major prognostic parameter when present in invasive disease. A ligand for the erbB2 receptor has not yet been identified but it can be activated by heterodimerization with heregulin (HRG)-stimulated erbB3 and erbB4 receptors. The HRGs are a family of polypeptide growth factors that have been shown to play a role in embryogenesis, tumor formation, growth and differentiation of breast cancer cells. The erbB3 and erbB4 receptors are involved in transregulation of erbB2 signaling. The work presented here suggests biological roles for HRG including regulation of the actin cytoskeleton and induction of motility and invasion in breast cancer cells. HRG-expressing breast cancer cell lines are characterized by low erbB receptor levels and a high invasive and metastatic index, while those which overexpress erbB2 demonstrate minimal invasive potential in vitro and are non-tumorigenic in vivo. Treatment of the highly tumorigenic and metastatic HRG-expressing breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 with an HRG-neutralizing antibody significantly inhibited proliferation in culture and motility in the Boyden chamber assay. Addition of exogenous HRG to non-invasive erbB2 overexpressing cells (SKBr-3) at low concentrations induced formation of pseudopodia, enhanced phagocytic activity and increased chemomigration and invasion in the Boyden chamber assay. The specificity of the chemomigration response to HRG is demonstrated by inhibition with the anti-HRG neutralizing antibody. These results suggest that either HRG can act as an autocrine or paracrine ligand to promote the invasive behavior of breast cancer cells in vitro or thus may enhance the metastatic process in vivo.

Tuneable resonance properties of graphene by nitrogen-dopant

Doping as one of the popular methods to manipulate the properties of nanomaterials has received extensive application in deriving different types of graphene derivates, while the understanding of the resonance properties of dopant graphene is still lacking in literature. Based on the large-scale molecular dynamics simulation, reactive empirical bond order potential, as well as the tersoff potential, the resonance properties of N-doped graphene were studied. The studied samples were established according to previous experiments with the N atom’s percentage ranging from 0.43%-2.98%, including three types of N dopant locations, i.e., graphitic N, pyrrolic N and pyridinic N. It is found that different percentages of N-dopant exert different influence to the resonance properties of the graphene, while the amount of N-dopant is not the only factor that determines its impact. For all the considered cases, a relative large percentage of N-dopant (2.98% graphitic N-dopant) is observed to introduce significant influence to the profile of the external energy, and thus lead to an extremely low Q-factor comparing with that of the pristine graphene. The most striking finding is that, the natural frequency of the defective graphene with N-dopant appears uniformly larger than that of the pristine defective graphene. While for the perfect graphene, the N-dopant shows less influence to its natural frequency. This study will enrich the current understanding of the influence of dopants on graphene, which will eventually shed lights on the design of different molecules-doped graphene sheet.

Impact of a change in tillage and crop residue management practice on soil chemical and microbiological properties in a cereal-producing red duplex soil in NSW, Australia

The effect of a change of tillage and crop residue management practice on the chemical and micro-biological properties of a cereal-producing red duplex soil was investigated by superimposing each of three management practices (CC: conventional cultivation, stubble burnt, crop conventionally sown; DD: direct-drilling, stubble retained, no cultivation, crop direct-drilled; SI: stubble incorporated with a single cultivation, crop conventionally sown), for a 3-year period on plots previously managed with each of the same three practices for 14 years. A change from DD to CC or SI practice resulted in a significant decline, in the top 0-5 cm of soil, in organic C, total N, electrical conductivity, NH4-N, NO3-N, soil moisture holding capacity, microbial biomass and CO2 respiration as well as a decline in the microbial quotient (the ratio of microbial biomass C to organic C; P <0.05). In contrast, a change from SI to DD or CC practice or a change from CC to DD or SI practice had only negligible impact on soil chemical properties (P >0.05). However, there was a significant increase in microbial biomass and the microbial quotient in the top 0-5 cm of soil following the change from CC to DD or SI practice and with the change from SI to DD practice (P <0.05). Analysis of ester-linked fatty acid methyl esters (EL-FAMEs) extracted from the 0- to 5-cm and 5- to 10-cm layers of the soils of the various treatments detected changes in the FAME profiles following a change in tillage practice. A change from DD practice to SI or CC practice was associated with a significant decline in the ratio of fungal to bacterial fatty acids in the 0- to 5-cm soil (P <0.05). The results show that a change in tillage practice, particularly the cultivation of a previously minimum-tilled (direct-drilled) soil, will result in significant changes in soil chemical and microbiological properties within a 3-year period. They also show that soil microbiological properties are sensitive indicators of a change in tillage practice.

Configurations of Gender, Class and Rurality in Resource Affected Rural Australia

Historically, class has been a key concern in studies of resource affected communities (e.g., Williamson 1982, Warwick and Littlejohn 1992). While work continues, particularly in Britain, today it reflects the rationalization of the British mining sector, and thus focuses largely on mining heritage (e.g., Strangleman et al. 1999, Dicks 2008). In contrast, this chapter examines class relations as manifest in a contemporary setting in rural Australia. This site, the Ravensthorpe Shire in the south west of Western Australia, relied largely on agriculture until 2004 when BHP Billiton commenced construction of a nickel mine in the area. This affected the entire Shire as well as the two rural communities of Ravensthorpe and Hopetoun. The mine, which was officially opened in June 2008, is one of a large number of new mineral and energy developments being established in non metropolitan areas of the country as high international demand for resources fuels significant growth in the sector. In a single six month period in 2009, for example, 15 major minerals and energy projects were completed across the nation and a further 74 projects were at advanced stages (Australian Bureau of Agricultural Economics 2009). A number of these were, as was the case in Ravensthorpe, in what had been traditionally agricultural communities.

Osteoimmunomodulatory properties of magnesium scaffolds coated with β-tricalcium phosphate

The osteoimmunomodulatory property of bone biomaterials is a vital property determining the in vivo fate of the implants. Endowing bone biomaterials with favorable osteoimmunomodulatory properties is of great importance in triggering desired immune response and thus supports the bone healing process. Magnesium (Mg) has been recognized as a revolutionary metal for applications in orthopedics due to it being biodegradable, biocompatible, and having osteoconductive properties. However, Mg's high rate of degradation leads to an excessive inflammatory response and this has restricted its application in bone tissue engineering. In this study, β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) was used to coat Mg scaffolds in an effort to modulate the detrimental osteoimmunomodulatory properties of Mg scaffolds, due to the reported favorable osteoimmunomodulatory properties of β-TCP. It was noted that macrophages switched to the M2 extreme phenotype in response to the Mg-β-TCP scaffolds, which could be due to the inhibition of the toll like receptor (TLR) signaling pathway. VEGF and BMP2 were significantly upregulated in the macrophages exposed to Mg-β-TCP scaffolds, indicating pro-osteogenic properties of macrophages in β-TCP modified Mg scaffolds. This was further demonstrated by the macrophage-mediated osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs). When BMSCs were stimulated by conditioned medium from macrophages cultured on Mg-β-TCP scaffolds, osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs was significantly enhanced; whereas osteoclastogenesis was inhibited, as indicated by the downregualtion of MCSF, TRAP and inhibition of the RANKL/RANK system. These findings suggest that β-TCP coating of Mg scaffolds can modulate the scaffold's osteoimmunomodulatory properties, shift the immune microenvironment towards one that favors osteogenesis over osteoclastogenesis. Endowing bone biomaterials with favorable osteoimmunomodulatory properties can be a highly valuable strategy for the development or modification of advanced bone biomaterials.

A disaggregate discrete choice model of transportation demand by elderly and disabled people in rural Virginia

This paper uses a correlated multinomial logit model and a Poisson regression model to measure the factors affecting demand for different types of transportation by elderly and disabled people in rural Virginia. The major results are: (a) A paratransit system providing door-to-door service is highly valued by transportation-handicapped people; (b) Taxis are probably a potential but inferior alternative even when subsidized; (c) Buses are a poor alternative, especially in rural areas where distances to bus stops may be long; (d) Making buses handicap-accessible would have a statistically significant but small effect on mode choice; (e) Demand is price inelastic; and (f) The total number of trips taken is insensitive to mode availability and characteristics. These results suggest that transportation-handicapped people take a limited number of trips. Those they do take are in some sense necessary (given the low elasticity with respect to mode price or availability). People will substitute away from relying upon others when appropriate transportation is available, at least to some degree. But such transportation needs to be flexible enough to meet the needs of the people involved.