Dynamic assessment of tongue function in children with dysarthria associated with acquired brain injury using electromagnetic articulography

The study to be presented is the first to use a new physiological device, the electromagnetic articulograph, to assess articulatory dysfunction in children with acquired brain injury. Two children with dysarthria subsequent to acquired brain injury participated in the study. One child, a female aged 12 years 9 months exhibited a mild-moderate ataxic dysarthria following traumatic head injury while the other, a male aged 13 years 10 months, demonstrated a moderate-severe flaccid-ataxic dysarthria also following traumatic head injury. The speed and accuracy of their tongue movements was assessed using the Carstens AG100 electromagnetic articulograph. Movement trajectories together with a range of quantitative kinematic parameters were estimated during performance of ten repetitions of the lingual consonants /t, s, k/ and consonant cluster /kl/ in the word initial position of single syllable words. A group of ten non-neurologically impaired children served as controls. Examination of the kinematic parameters, including movement trajectories, velocity, acceleration, deceleration, distance travelled and duration of movement, revealed differences in the speed and accuracy of the tongue movements in both children with acquired brain injury compared to those produced by the non-neurologically impaired controls. The results are discussed in relation to contemporary theories of the effects of acquired brain injury on neuromuscular function. The implications of the findings for the treatment of articulatory dysfunction in children with motor speech disorders associated with acquired brain injury are highlighted.

Pest risk assessment of insects in sea cargo containers

A survey of the floors of 3001 empty sea cargo containers in storage was undertaken to estimate the quarantine risk of importing exotic insect pests into Australia, with special reference to pests of timber. More than 7400 live and dead insects were collected from 1174 containers. No live infestations of timber-feeding insects were recorded, but feeding damage detected in one floor indicates a low risk of importing colonies of timber pests in containers. The survey collection of dead insects demonstrates that containers are regularly exposed to economically important quarantinable insects, including timber pests (bostrichids, curculionids, cerambycids, siricids and termites), agricultural pests (including Adoretus sinicus, Adoretus sp., Carpophilus obsoletus and Philaenus spumarius), and nuisance pests (vespids and Solenopsis sp.). Stored product pests were found in more than 10% of containers. The assessment of pest risk associated with shipping containers is discussed in terms of the quantity and quality of opportunities for exotic insects to establish via this pathway.

Assessing the Use of Flexible Assessment

A course which has a large student enrolment consequently puts a heavy load on instructors both in the presentation and the assessment areas. In the School of Economics at the University of Queensland, this is the case for the quantitative analysis subjects. Assessment for many years has been through mid-semester and end of semester exams, as well as Computer Managed Learning (CML) assignments. In 2000 it was decided to incorporate a system of flexible assessment where neither the CML nor the mid-semester exam was compulsory. The outcomes are assessed and the advantages and disadvantages discussed.

New methods for the assessment of in vitro and in vivo stress cracking in biomedical polyurethanes

This article describes a new test method for the assessment of the severity of environmental stress cracking of biomedical polyurethanes in a manner that minimizes the degree of subjectivity involved. The effect of applied strain and acetone pre-treatment on degradation of Pellethane 2363 80A and Pellethane 2363 55D polyurethanes under in vitro and in vivo conditions is studied. The results are presented using a magnification-weighted image rating system that allows the semi-quantitative rating of degradation based on distribution and severity of surface damage. Devices for applying controlled strain to both flat sheet and tubing samples are described. The new rating system consistently discriminated between. the effects of acetone pre-treatments, strain and exposure times in both in vitro and in vivo experiments. As expected, P80A underwent considerable stress cracking compared with P55D. P80A produced similar stress crack ratings in both in vivo and in vitro experiments, however P55D performed worse under in vitro conditions compared with in vivo. This result indicated that care must be taken when interpreting in vitro results in the absence of in vivo data. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) kinase and ATM and Rad3 related kinase mediate phosphorylation of Brca1 at distinct and overlapping sites - In vivo assessment using phospho-specific antibodies

Recent studies have provided evidence that breast cancer susceptibility gene products (Brca1 and Brca2) suppress cancer, at least in part, by participating in DNA damage signaling and DNA repair. Brca1 is hyperphosphorylated in response to DNA damage and co-localizes with Rad51, a protein involved in homologous-recombination, and Nbs1.Mre11.Rad50, a complex required for both homologous-recombination and nonhomologous end joining repair of damaged DNA. Here, we report that there is a qualitative difference in the phosphorylation states of Brca1 between ionizing radiation (IR) and UV radiation. Brca1 is phosphorylated at Ser-1423 and Ser-1524 after IR and W; however, Ser-1387 is specifically phosphorylated after IR, and Ser-1457 is predominantly phosphorylated after W. These results suggest that different types of DNA-damaging agents might signal to Brca1 in different ways. We also provide evidence that the rapid phosphorylation of Brca1 at Ser-1423 and Ser-1524 after IR (but not after W) is largely ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) kinase-dependent. The overexpression of catalytically inactive ATM and Rad3 related (ATR) kinase inhibited the UV-induced phosphorylation of Brca1 at these sites, indicating that ATR controls Brca1 phosphorylation in vivo after the exposure of cells to UV light. Moreover, ATR associates with Brca1; ATR and Brca1 foci co-localize both in cells synchronized in S phase and after exposure of cells to DNA-damaging agents. ATR can itself phosphorylate the region of Brca1 phosphorylated by ATM (Ser-Gln cluster in the C terminus of Brca1, amino acids 1241-1530), However, there are additional uncharacterized ATR phosphorylation site(s) between residues 521 and 757 of Brca1, Taken together, our results support a model in which ATM and ATR act in parallel but somewhat overlapping pathways of DNA damage signaling but respond primarily to different types of DNA lesion.

Quality Assurance Through a Continuous Curriculum Review (CCR) Strategy: Reflections on a Pilot Project

Institutional research can be defined as "the activity in which the research effort of an academic institution is directed at the solution of its own problems and to the enhancement of its own performance" (Woodward, 1993, p. 113). This paper describes and reflects on an attempt at the University of Queensland to address the need for course quality appraisal for improvement. The strategy, Continuous Curriculum Review (CCR) is simply an attempt to trial and promote regular comprehensive data collection for developing 'snapshot' views of whole curricula so that decisions about what to change and what to change first can be made in an empirically defensible and timely manner. The strategy and reporting protocols that were developed are described, and the costs and benefits of engaging in this kind of data gathering exercise for quality assurance and quality enhancement purposes are discussed.

The design of hazard risk assessment matrices for ranking occupational health risks and their application in mining and minerals processing

Two hazard risk assessment matrices for the ranking of occupational health risks are described. The qualitative matrix uses qualitative measures of probability and consequence to determine risk assessment codes for hazard-disease combinations. A walk-through survey of an underground metalliferous mine and concentrator is used to demonstrate how the qualitative matrix can be applied to determine priorities for the control of occupational health hazards. The semi-quantitative matrix uses attributable risk as a quantitative measure of probability and uses qualitative measures of consequence. A practical application of this matrix is the determination of occupational health priorities using existing epidemiological studies. Calculated attributable risks from epidemiological studies of hazard-disease combinations in mining and minerals processing are used as examples. These historic response data do not reflect the risks associated with current exposures. A method using current exposure data, known exposure-response relationships and the semi-quantitative matrix is proposed for more accurate and current risk rankings.

Assessment of the ability to model proteins with leucine-rich repeats in light of the latest structural information

The three-dimensional structures of leucine-rich repeat (LRR) -containing proteins from five different families were previously predicted based on the crystal structure of the ribonuclease inhibitor. using an approach that combined homology-based modeling, structure-based sequence alignment of LRRs, and several rational assumptions. The structural models have been produced based on very limited sequence similarity, which, in general. cannot yield trustworthy predictions. Recently, the protein structures from three of these five families have been determined. In this report we estimate the quality of the modeling approach by comparing the models with the experimentally determined structures. The comparison suggests that the general architecture, curvature, interior/exterior orientations of side chains. and backbone conformation of the LRR structures can be predicted correctly. On the other hand. the analysis revealed that, in some cases. it is difficult to predict correctly the twist of the overall super-helical structure. Taking into consideration the conclusions from these comparisons, we identified a new family of bacterial LRR proteins and present its structural model. The reliability of the LRR protein modeling suggests that it would be informative to apply similar modeling approaches to other classes of solenoid proteins.

Clinical assessment of HIV-associated lipodystrophy syndrome: bioelectrical impedance analysis, anthropometry and clinical scores

Background Diagnosis of the HIV-associated lipodystrophy syndrome is based on clinical assessment, in lack of a consensus about case definition and reference methods. Three bedside methods were compared in their diagnostic value for lipodystrophy. Patients and Methods. Consecutive HIV-infected outpatients (n = 278) were investigated, 128 of which also had data from 1997 available. Segmental bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) and waist, hip and thigh circumferences were performed. Changes in seven body regions were rated by physicians and patients using linear analogue scale assessment (LASA). Diagnostic cut-off values were searched by receiver operator characteristics. Results. Lipodystrophy was diagnosed in 85 patients (31%). BIA demonstrated higher fat-free mass in patients with lipodystrophy but not after controlling for body mass index and sex. Segmental BIA was not superior to whole body BIA in detecting lipodystrophy. Fat-free mass increased from 1997 to 1999 independent from lipodystrophy. Waist-hip and waist-thigh ratios were higher in patients with lipodystrophy. BIA, anthropometry and LASA did not provide sufficient diagnostic cut-off values for lipodystrophy. Agreement between methods, and between patient and physician rating, was poor. Conclusion: These methods do not fulfil the urgent need for quantitative diagnostic tools for lipodystrophy. BIA estimates of fat free mass may be biased by lipodystrophy, indicating a need for re-calibration in HIV infected populations. (C) 2001 Harcourt Publishers Ltd.