An interpretative phenomenological analysis of participation in a pro-anorexia Internet site and its relationship to disordered eating

Pro-anorexia Internet sites aim to promote, support and discuss anorexia nervosa. Media coverage has raised concerns that sites may increase the level of eating disorders. This research examines the meaning of participation in a pro-anorexia Internet site and its relationship with disordered eating by using an interpretative phenomenological analysis of fifteen separate message ‘threads’ followed over a six-week period. Four themes were identified: (1) tips and techniques; (2) ‘ana’ v. anorexia nervosa; (3) social support; and (4) need for anorexia. Findings suggest participation was multi-purpose, providing a coping function in relation to weight loss, and the contribution of sites to increased levels of eating disorders is not inevitable.

Pro-inflammatory growth factors reduce secondary degeneration after traumatic spinal cord injury

The role of inflammatory response after spinal cord injury remains unclear. This thesis was a step forward in studying how promoting the inflammation, by delivery pro-inflammatory growth factors, affects the outcomes of spinal cord injury. A significant functional improvement was observed after treatment and these results suggest an interesting avenue for future clinical treatments and may provide a platform to improve the efficacy of other treatments.

Effect of moisture and temperature distribution on dried food microstructure and porosity

Dehydration of food materials requires water removal from it. This removal of moisture prevents the growth and reproduction of microorganisms that cause decay and minimizes many of the moisture-driven deterioration reactions (Brennan, 1994). However, during food drying, many other changes occur simultaneously resulting in a modified overall quality (Kompany et al., 1993). Among the physical attributes of dried food material porosity and microstructure are the important ones that can dominant other quality of dried foods (Aguilera et al., 2000). In addition, this two concerned quality attributes affected by process conditions, material components and raw structure of food stuff. In this work, temperature moisture distribution within food materials during microwave drying will be taken into consideration to observe its participation on the microstructure and porosity of the finished product. Apple is the selective materials for this work. Generally, most of the food materials are found in non-uniformed moisture contained condition. To develop non uniform temperature distribution, food materials have been dried in a microwave oven with different power levels (Chua et al., 2000). First of all, temperature and moisture model is simulated by COMSOL Multiphysics. Later on, digital imaging camera and Image Pro Premier software have been deployed to observation moisture distribution and thermal imaging camera for temperature distribution. Finally, Microstructure and porosity of the food materials are obtained from scanning electron microscope and porosity measuring devices respectively . Moisture distribution and temperature during drying influence the microstructure and porosity significantly. Specially, High temperature and moisture contained regions show less porosity and more rupture. These findings support other literatures of Halder et al. (2011) and Rahman et al (1990). On the other hand, low temperature and moisture regions depict uniform microstructure and high porosity. This work therefore assists in better understanding of the role of moisture and temperature distribution to a prediction of micro structure and porosity of dried food materials.

Effect of induced airway inflammation in asthma : the expression of trefoil factors, secretoglobins and genes involved in histone acetylation

Asthma is an incapacitating disease of the respiratory system, which causes extensive morbidity and mortality worldwide. Asthma affects more than 300 million people globally(Masoli et al. 2004). In Australia, it affects 10.2% of the population (Masoli et al. 2004) and causes 60,000 people to be hospitalised annually. Health care expenditure due to asthma in Australia was $606 million in 2004–2005. There are four primary biological factors that function in the initiation and exacerbation of asthma. Airway inflammation is important as it is often the first response to an airway insult, initiating the three other components: bronchoconstriction, mucus hyper-secretion and hyper-reactivity. The mediators involved in asthma are still not well understood, and current anti-inflammatory corticosteroid treatments are not effective with all asthmatics. As there is currently no cure for asthma, and airway inflammation is the primary component of the disease, it is important that we understand and investigate the mediators of airway inflammation to look for a potential cure and to produce better therapeutics to treat the inflammation. Trefoil factors (TFFs) and secretoglobins (SCGBs) are small secreted proteins involved in the mediation of inflammation and epithelial restitution. TFFs are pro-inflammatory and SCGBs anti-inflammatory by nature. The hypothesis of this study is that in response to induced acute airway inflammation, the expression of TFF1 and TFF3 will increase and expression of SCGB1A1 and SCGB3A2 will decrease in non-asthmatics (N-A), asthmatics medicating with bronchodilators (A-BD) and asthmatics medicating with corticosteroids (A-ST). When comparing the three groups, we expect to see higher expression of the TFFs in the A-BD group compared to the N-A and A-ST groups, indicating that inflammation is mediated by TFFs in asthma and that corticosteroid medication controls their expression as part of the control of inflammation. We expect to see the opposite with SCGBs, with a greater decrease in the A-BD group compared to the other two groups, suggesting that the A-BD group has the least anti-inflammatory activity in response to inflammatory insult. Epigenetic modification plays a role in the regulation of genes that initiate disease states such as inflammatory conditions and cancers. Histone acetylation is one such modification, which involves the acetylation of histones in chromatin by histone acetyltransferases (HATs). This increases the transcription of genes involved with inflammation or enrols histone deacetylases (HDACs) to down-regulate the transcription of inflammatory genes. These HATs and HDACs work in a homeostatic fashion; however, in the event of inflammation, increased HAT activity can stimulate further inflammation, which is believed to be the mechanism involved in some inflammatory diseases. This study hypothesises that in response to inflammation, the expression of HDACs (HDAC1-5) will decrease and the expression of HATs (NCOA1-3, HAT-1 and CREBBP) will increase in all groups. When comparing the expression between the groups, it was expected that a greater decrease in HDACs and a greater increase in HATs will be seen in the A-BD group compared to the other two groups. This would identify histone acetylation as a mechanism involved in the inflammatory condition of asthma and indicate that corticosteroids may treat the inflammation in asthma at least in part by controlling histone acetylation. The aim of the project was to compare the expression of inflammatory genes TFF1, TFF3, SCGB1A1 and SCGB3A2, as well as to compare the gene expression of HDAC1-5, NCOA1-3, HAT-1 and CREBBP within and between N-A (n=15), A-BD (n=15) and A-ST (n=15) groups in response to inflammation. This was performed by collecting airway cells and proteins by sputum induction in three sessions. The sessions were coordinated into an initial baseline collection (SI-1), followed by a second session at least one week later (SI-2) and a third session, six hours after SI-2 to collect a sample containing the resultant acute inflammation caused in SI-2 (SI-3). Analysis of the SI-1 and SI-2 samples in all three groups had high amounts of variability between samples. The samples were taken at least one weak apart and the environmental stimuli on each participant outside of the testing sessions could not be controlled. For this reason, the SI-1 samples were not used for analysis; instead SI-2 and SI-3 samples were compared as they were same-day collections, reducing the probability of differences being due to anything other than the sputum induction. The gene expressions of the TFFs, SCGBs, HDACs and HATs were analysed using real-time PCR. Western blot analysis was performed to analyse the protein concentrations of the TFFs and SCGBs in secreted fractions of the sputum collection. Both the secreted and intracellular protein fractions collected from the sputum inductions for pre- and post-inflammation (SI-2, SI-3) samples of the N-A and A-BD groups were analysed using a proteomic method called iTRAQ. This allowed the comparison of the change in protein expression as a result of airway inflammation in each group. This technique was used as a discovery method to identify novel proteins that are modulated by induced acute airway inflammation. Any proteins of interest would then be further validated and used for future research. Inflammation was achieved in the SI-3 samples of the N-A group with a 21% unit increase in % neutrophils compared to SI-2 (p=0.01). The N-A group had a marked 5.5-fold decrease in HDAC1 gene expression in SI-3 compared to SI-2 (p=0.03). No differences were seen in any of the TFFs, SCGBs or any of the rest of the HDACs and HATs. Western blot data did not display any significant changes in the protein levels of the TFFs and SCGBs analysed. However, non-significant analysis of the data displayed increases in TFF1 and TFF3, and decreases in SCGB1A1 and SCGB3A2 for the majority of SI-3 samples compared to SI-2. The A-BD group also presented a marked increase in neutrophils in the SI-3 samples compared to SI-2 (27% unit increase, p=0.04). The A-BD group had a significant increase in TFF3 and SCGB1A1 gene expression concomitant with induced acute airway inflammation. A 7.3-fold increase in TFF3 (p=0.05) in SI-3 indicated that TFF3 is linked to inflammation in asthmatics. A 2.8-fold increase in SCGB1A1 (p=0.03) indicated that this gene is also up-regulated, suggesting that this SCGB is expressed to try to combat induced acute airway inflammation. No significant changes were seen in any of the other genes analysed. Western blot data did not display any significant changes in the protein levels of the TFFs and SCGBs analysed. However, non-significant analysis of the data displayed an increase in TFF1 and TFF3, and a decrease in SCGB1A1 and SCGB3A2 in SI-3, similar to that seen in the N-A group. The A-ST group was different from the A-BD group, characterised by the use of inhaled corticosteroid medication to treat asthma symptoms. Inhaled corticosteroids are known to treat asthma symptoms through the control of inflammation. Therefore, it was expected that corticosteroid medication would also control the expression of TFFs, SCGBs, HATs and HDACs. Gene expression results only identified a 7.6-fold decrease in HDAC2 expression in SI-3 (p=0.001), which is proposed to be due to the up-regulation of HDAC2 protein that is known to be a function of corticosteroid use. Western blot data did not display any significant changes in the protein levels of the TFFs and SCGBs analysed. The gene expression in SI-2 and SI-3 in each group was compared. When comparing the A-BD group to the N-A group, a 9-fold increase in TFF3 (p=0.008) and a 34-fold increase in SCGB1A1 (p=0.03) were seen in the SI-3 samples. Comparisons of the A-ST group to the N-A group had an increased expression in SI-2 samples for HDAC5 (3.6-fold, p=0.04), NCOA2 (8.5-fold, p=0.04), NCOA3 (17-fold, p=0.01), HAT-1 (36-fold, p=0.003) and CREBBP (13-fold, p=0.001). The SI-3 samples in the A-ST group compared to the N-A group had increased expression for HDAC1 (6.4-fold, p=0.04), HDAC5 (5.2-fold, p=0.008), NCOA2 (9.6-fold, p=0.03), NCOA3 (16-fold, p=0.06), HAT-1 (41-fold, p<0.001) and CREBBP (31-fold, p=0.001). Comparisons of the A-ST group to the A-BD group had SI-2 increases in HDAC1 (3.8-fold, p=0.03), NCOA3 (4.5-fold, p=0.03), HAT-1 (5.3-fold, p=0.01) and CREBBP (23-fold, p=0.001), while SI-3 comparisons saw a decrease in HDAC2 (41-fold, p=0.008) and increases in HAT-1 (4.3-fold, p=0.003) and CREBBP (40-fold, p=0.001). Results showed that TFF3 and SCGB1A1 expression is higher in asthmatics than non-asthmatics and that histone acetylation is more active in the A-ST group than either the N-A or A-BD group, which suggests that histone acetylation activity may be positively correlated with asthma severity. The iTRAQ proteomic analysis of the secreted protein samples identified the SCGB1A1 protein and found it to be decreased in both the N-A and A-BD groups post-inflammation, but significantly so only in the A-BD group. Although no significant results were obtained from the western blot data, both groups displayed a decrease in SCGB1A1 concentration in SI-3 samples, suggesting a correlation with the proteomic data. Only 31 peptides were identified from the secreted samples. The intracellular iTRAQ analysis successfully identified 664 peptides, eight of which had differential expression in association with induced acute airway inflammation. Significant increases were seen in the A-BD group in SI-3 compared to SI-2 than in the N-A group in chloride intracellular channel protein 1, keratin-19, eosinophil cationic protein, calnexin, peroxiredoxin-5, and ATP-synthase delta subunit, while decreases were seen in cystatin-A and mucin-5AC. The iTRAQ analysis was only a discovery measure and further validation must be performed. In summary, the expression of TFFs and SCGBs differed between non-asthmatics and asthmatics. It is clear that TFF3 is active in the airway inflammation associated with asthma as indicated by an increase associated with inflammation in the A-BD group compared to the N-A group. Results for HDAC and HAT genes showed high HAT expression in the A-ST group compared to the N-A and A-BD groups, suggesting that histone acetyltransferases may be responsible for the characteristic unregulated inflammatory symptoms of asthmatics taking corticosteroids. Interestingly, corticosteroid medication did not seem to silence the expression of the analysed HAT genes, which indicates that corticosteroids may not control inflammation by direct regulation of HATs, but instead by competition, most probably with HDAC2 protein. As a discovery tool, iTRAQ is a potent method to both identify and compare the concentration of proteins between samples. The method is a powerful first step into the identification of novel proteins that are regulated in response to different treatments.

Pro Bono partnerships : community lawyering to promote environmental justice

Rural communities across Australia are increasingly being asked to shoulder the environmental and social impacts of intensive mining and gas projects. Escalating demand for coal seam gas (CSG) is raising significant environmental justice issues for rural communities. Chief amongst environmental concerns are risks of contamination or depletion of vital underground aquifers as well as treatment and disposal of high-saline water close to high quality agricultural soils. Associated infrastructure such as pipelines, electricity lines, gas processing and port facilities can also adversely affect communities and ecosystems great distances from where the gas is originally extracted. Whilst community submission (and appeal) rights do exist, accessing expert independent information is challenging, legal terminology is complex and submission periods are short, leading ultimately to a lack of procedural justice for landholders and their communities. Since August 2012, Queensland University of Technology (QUT) has worked in partnership with not-for-profit legal centre - Queensland’s Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) - to help better educate communities about mining and CSG assessment processes. The project, now entering its third semester, aims to empower communities to access relevant information and actively engage in legal processes on their own behalf. Students involved in the project so far have helped to research chapters of a comprehensive community guide to mining and CSG law as well as organising multidisciplinary community forums and preparing information on land access and compensation rights for landholders. While environmental justice issues still exist without significant law reform, the project has led to greater awareness amongst the community of the laws relating the CSG. At the same time, it has led to a greater understanding by students and academics of real life environmental justice issues currently faced by rural communities.

Reply to comment on “Characterising metal build-up on urban road surfaces” by Egodawatta et al. (2013)

In the recent manuscript published by Egodawatta et al. (2013), the authors investigated the build-up process of heavy metals (HMs) associated with road-deposited sediment (RDS) on residential road surfaces, and presented empirical models for the prediction of both the surface loads and build-up rates of HMs on these surfaces...

IL-23 is pro-proliferative, epigenetically regulated and modulated by chemotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer

Background IL-23 is a member of the IL-6 super-family and plays key roles in cancer. Very little is currently known about the role of IL-23 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods RT-PCR and chromatin immunopreciptiation (ChIP) were used to examine the levels, epigenetic regulation and effects of various drugs (DNA methyltransferase inhibitors, Histone Deacetylase inhibitors and Gemcitabine) on IL-23 expression in NSCLC cells and macrophages. The effects of recombinant IL-23 protein on cellular proliferation were examined by MTT assay. Statistical analysis consisted of Student's t-test or one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) where groups in the experiment were three or more. Results In a cohort of primary non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tumours, IL-23A expression was significantly elevated in patient tumour samples (p<0.05). IL-23A expression is epigenetically regulated through histone post-translational modifications and DNA CpG methylation. Gemcitabine, a chemotherapy drug indicated for first-line treatment of NSCLC also induced IL-23A expression. Recombinant IL-23 significantly increased cellular proliferation in NSCLC cell lines. Conclusions These results may therefore have important implications for treating NSCLC patients with either epigenetic targeted therapies or Gemcitabine. © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

The role of prostacyclin synthase and thromboxane synthase signaling in the development and progression of cancer

Prostacyclin synthase and thromboxane synthase signaling via arachidonic acid metabolism affects a number of tumor cell survival pathways such as cell proliferation, apoptosis, tumor cell invasion and metastasis, and angiogenesis. However, the effects of these respective synthases differ considerably with respect to the pathways described. While prostacyclin synthase is generally believed to be anti-tumor, a pro-carcinogenic role for thromboxane synthase has been demonstrated in a variety of cancers. The balance of oppositely-acting COX-derived prostanoids influences many processes throughout the body, such as blood pressure regulation, clotting, and inflammation. The PGI2/TXA2 ratio is of particular interest in-vivo, with the corresponding synthases shown to be differentially regulated in a variety of disease states. Pharmacological inhibition of thromboxane synthase has been shown to significantly inhibit tumor cell growth, invasion, metastasis and angiogenesis in a range of experimental models. In direct contrast, prostacyclin synthase overexpression has been shown to be chemopreventive in a murine model of the disease, suggesting that the expression and activity of this enzyme may protect against tumor development. In this review, we discuss the aberrant expression and known functions of both prostacyclin synthase and thromboxane synthase in cancer. We discuss the effects of these enzymes on a range of tumor cell survival pathways, such as tumor cell proliferation, induction of apoptosis, invasion and metastasis, and tumor cell angiogenesis. As downstream signaling pathways of these enzymes have also been implicated in cancer states, we examine the role of downstream effectors of PGIS and TXS activity in tumor growth and progression. Finally, we discuss current therapeutic strategies aimed at targeting these enzymes for the prevention/treatment of cancer. © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Percutaneous coronary intervention with drug-eluting stents or coronary artery bypass surgery in subjects with type 2 diabetes : evaluation of: Farkouth ME, Domanski M, Sleeper LA, et al. Strategies for multivessel revascularization in patients with diabetes. N Engl J Med 2012;367(25):2375-84, and Contini GA, Nicolini F, Fortuna D, et al. Five-year outcomes of surgical or percutaneous myocardial revascularization in diabetic patients. Int J Cardiol 2012. [Epub ahead of print]

There is debate as to whether percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with drug-eluting stents or coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) is the best procedure for subjects with type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease requiring revascularization. There is some evidence that following these procedures there is less further revascularization with CABG than PCI in subjects with diabetes. Two recent studies; the FREEDOM (Future Revascularization Evaluation in patients with Diabetes mellitus: Optimal Management of Multivessel Disease) trial, and a trial using a real world diabetic population from a Registry, have shown that the benefits of CABG over PCI in subjects with type 2 diabetes extends to lower rates of death and myocardial infarct, in addition to lower rates of revascularization. However, the rates of stroke may be higher with CABG than PCI with drug-eluting stents in this population. Thus, if CABG is going to be preferred to PCI in subjects with type 2 diabetes and multivessel coronary disease, consideration should be given to how to reduce the rates of stroke with CABG.

Pro-osteogenic topographical cues promote early activation of osteoprogenitor differentiation via enhanced TGFβ, Wnt, and Notch signaling

Objectives Titanium implant surfaces with modified topographies have improved osteogenic properties in vivo. However, the molecular mechanisms remain obscure. This study explored the signaling pathways responsible for the pro-osteogenic properties of micro-roughened (SLA) and chemically/nanostructurally (modSLA) modified titanium surfaces on human alveolar bone-derived osteoprogenitor cells (BCs) in vitro. Materials and methods The activation of stem cell signaling pathways (TGFβ/BMP, Wnt, FGF, Hedgehog, Notch) was investigated following early exposure (24 and 72 h) of BCs to SLA and modSLA surfaces in the absence of osteogenic cell culture supplements. Results Key regulatory genes from the TGFβ/BMP (TGFBR2, BMPR2, BMPR1B, ACVR1B, SMAD1, SMAD5), Wnt (Wnt/β-catenin and Wnt/Ca2+) (FZD1, FZD3, FZD5, LRP5, NFATC1, NFATC2, NFATC4, PYGO2, LEF1) and Notch (NOTCH1, NOTCH2, NOTCH4, PSEN1, PSEN2, PSENEN) pathways were upregulated on the modified surfaces. These findings correlated with a higher expression of osteogenic markers bone sialoprotein (IBSP) and osteocalcin (BGLAP), and bone differentiation factors BMP2, BMP6, and GDF15, as observed on the modified surfaces. Conclusions These findings demonstrate that the activation of the pro-osteogenic cell signaling pathways by modSLA and SLA surfaces leads to enhanced osteogenic differentiation as evidenced after 7 and 14 days culture in osteogenic media and provides a mechanistic insight into the superior osseointegration on the modified surfaces observed in vivo.

Mechanical stimulation of the pro-angiogenic capacity of human fracture haematoma: Involvement of VEGF mechano-regulation

Compromised angiogenesis appears to be a major limitation in various suboptimal bone healing situations. Appropriate mechanical stimuli support blood vessel formation in vivo and improve healing outcomes. However, the mechanisms responsible for this association are unclear. To address this question, the paracrine angiogenic potential of early human fracture haematoma and its responsiveness to mechanical loading, as well as angiogenic growth factors involved, were investigated in vitro. Human haematomas were collected from healthy patients undergoing surgery within 72. h after bone fracture. The haematomas were embedded in a fibrin matrix, and cultured in a bioreactor resembling the in vivo conditions of the early phase of bone healing (20 compression, 1. Hz) over 3. days. Conditioned medium (CM) from the bioreactor was then analyzed. The matrices were also incubated in fresh medium for a further 24. h to evaluate the persistence of the effects. Growth factor (GF) concentrations were measured in the CM by ELISAs. In vitro tube formation assays were conducted on Matrigel with the HMEC-1 cell line, with or without inhibition of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2). Cell numbers were quantified using an MTS test. In vitro endothelial tube formation was enhanced by CM from haematomas, compared to fibrin controls. The angiogenesis regulators, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1), were released into the haematoma CM, but not angiopoietins 1 or 2 (Ang1, 2), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) or platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF). Mechanical stimulation of haematomas, but not fibrin controls, further increased the induction of tube formation by their CM. The mechanically stimulated haematoma matrices retained their elevated pro-angiogenic capacity for 24. h. The pro-angiogenic effect was cancelled by inhibition of VEGFR2 signalling. VEGF concentrations in CM tended to be elevated by mechanical stimulation; this was significant in haematomas from younger, but not from older patients. Other GFs were not mechanically regulated. In conclusion, the paracrine pro-angiogenic capacity of early human haematomas is enhanced by mechanical stimulation. This effect lasts even after removing the mechanical stimulus and appears to be VEGFR2-dependent.

A multilevel investigation into the effects of the philosophical community of inquiry on 6th grade students' reading comprehension, interest in maths, self-esteem, pro-social behaviours and emotional well-being

This investigation measured the effects of a one year participation in an Australian Philosophical Community of Inquiry program on 280 sixth grade students' reading comprehension, interest in maths, self-esteem, social behaviours, and emotional well-being. A multilevel model for change was used to detect differences in the response variables, between a quasi-experimental group and comparison group. Results showed that, for participants, reading comprehension significantly increased while interest in maths decreased. No differences between the groups were found for pro-social behaviour and emotional well-being. Self esteem, however, declined for participants while nonparticipants' self esteem increased.

Selection et controle de modes de deplacement pour un robot mobile autonome en environnements naturels

Autonomous navigation and locomotion of a mobile robot in natural environments remain a rather open issue. Several functionalities are required to complete the usual perception/decision/action cycle. They can be divided in two main categories : navigation (perception and decision about the movement) and locomotion (movement execution). In order to be able to face the large range of possible situations in natural environments, it is essential to make use of various kinds of complementary functionalities, defining various navigation and locomotion modes. Indeed, a number of navigation and locomotion approaches have been proposed in the literature for the last years, but none can pretend being able to achieve autonomous navigation and locomotion in every situation. Thus, it seems relevant to endow an outdoor mobile robot with several complementary navigation and locomotion modes. Accordingly, the robot must also have means to select the most appropriate mode to apply. This thesis proposes the development of such a navigation/locomotion mode selection system, based on two types of data: an observation of the context to determine in what kind of situation the robot has to achieve its movement and an evaluation of the behavior of the current mode, made by monitors which influence the transitions towards other modes when the behavior of the current one is considered as non satisfying. Hence, this document introduces a probabilistic framework for the estimation of the mode to be applied, some navigation and locomotion modes used, a qualitative terrain representation method (based on the evaluation of a difficulty computed from the placement of the robot's structure on a digital elevation map), and monitors that check the behavior of the modes used (evaluation of rolling locomotion efficiency, robot's attitude and configuration watching. . .). Some experimental results obtained with those elements integrated on board two different outdoor robots are presented and discussed.