Fluorescent labelling of strychnine: A novel approach for recognition of strychnine binding sites on neuronal membrane

trychnine was coupled to fluorescein isothiocyanate to mark strychnine binding sites in spinal cord of rat. Specific binding of strychnine could be demonstrated in synaptosomal fraction. Addition of glycine to the strychninised membrane led to a decrease in fluorescence indicating same receptor loci.

Comparison of sampling sites and detection methods for Haemophilus parasuis

Objective To improve the isolation rate and identification procedures for Haemophilus parasuis from pig tissues. Design Thirteen sampling sites and up to three methods were used to confirm the presence of H. parasuis in pigs after experimental challenge. Procedure Colostrum-deprived, naturally farrowed pigs were challenged intratracheally with H parasuis serovar 12 or 4. Samples taken during necropsy were either inoculated onto culture plates, processed directly for PCR or enriched prior to being processed for PCR. The recovery of H parasuis from different sampling sites and using different sampling methods was compared for each serovar. Results H parasuis was recovered from several sample sites for all serovar 12 challenged pigs, while the trachea was the only positive site for all pigs following serovar 4 challenge. The method of solid medium culture of swabs, and confirmation of the identity of cultured bacteria by PCR, resulted in 38% and 14% more positive results on a site basis for serovars 12 and 4, retrospectively, than direct PCR on the swabs. This difference was significant in the serovar 12 challenge. Conclusion Conventional culture proved to be more effective in detecting H parasuis than direct PCR or PCR on enrichment broths. For subacute (serovar 4) infections, the most successful sites for culture or direct PCR were pleural fluid, peritoneal fibrin and fluid, lung and pericardial fluid. For acute (serovar 12) infections, the best sites were lung, heart blood, affected joints and brain. The methodologies and key sampling sites identified in this study will enable improved isolation of H parasuis and aid the diagnosis of Glässer's disease.

Analysis of an inter-centre, web-based radiation oncology peer-review case conference

Purpose Peer-review programmes in radiation oncology are used to facilitate the process and evaluation of clinical decision-making. However, web-based peer-review methods are still uncommon. This study analysed an inter-centre, web-based peer-review case conference as a method of facilitating the decision-making process in radiation oncology. Methodology A benchmark form was designed based on the American Society for Radiation Oncology targets for radiation oncology peer review. This was used for evaluating the contents of the peer-review case presentations on 40 cases, selected from three participating radiation oncology centres. A scoring system was used for comparison of data, and a survey was conducted to analyse the experiences of radiation oncology professionals who attended the web-based peer-review meetings in order to identify priorities for improvement. Results The mean scores for the evaluations were 82·7, 84·5, 86·3 and 87·3% for cervical, prostate, breast and head and neck presentations, respectively. The survey showed that radiation oncology professionals were confident about the role of web-based peer-reviews in facilitating sharing of good practice, stimulating professionalism and promoting professional growth. The participants were satisfied with the quality of the audio and visual aspects of the web-based meeting. Conclusion The results of this study suggest that simple inter-centre web-based peer-review case conferences are a feasible technique for peer review in radiation oncology. Limitations such as data security and confidentiality can be overcome by the use of appropriate structure and technology. To drive the issues of quality and safety a step further, small radiotherapy departments may need to consider web-based peer-review case conference as part of their routine quality assurance practices.

The acceptability, usability and short-term outcomes of Get Real: A web-based program for psychotic-like experiences (PLEs)

Background Psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) are subclinical delusional ideas and perceptual disturbances that have been associated with a range of adverse mental health outcomes. This study reports a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the acceptability, usability and short term outcomes of Get Real, a web program for PLEs in young people. Methods Participants were twelve respondents to an online survey, who reported at least one PLE in the previous 3 months, and were currently distressed. Ratings of the program were collected after participants trialled it for a month. Individual semi-structured interviews then elicited qualitative feedback, which was analyzed using Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR) methodology. PLEs and distress were reassessed at 3 months post-baseline. Results User ratings supported the program's acceptability, usability and perceived utility. Significant reductions in the number, frequency and severity of PLE-related distress were found at 3 months follow-up. The CQR analysis identified four qualitative domains: initial and current understandings of PLEs, responses to the program, and context of its use. Initial understanding involved emotional reactions, avoidance or minimization, limited coping skills and non-psychotic attributions. After using the program, participants saw PLEs as normal and common, had greater self-awareness and understanding of stress, and reported increased capacity to cope and accept experiences. Positive responses to the program focused on its normalization of PLEs, usefulness of its strategies, self-monitoring of mood, and information putting PLEs into perspective. Some respondents wanted more specific and individualized information, thought the program would be more useful for other audiences, or doubted its effectiveness. The program was mostly used in low-stress situations. Conclusions The current study provided initial support for the acceptability, utility and positive short-term outcomes of Get Real. The program now requires efficacy testing in randomized controlled trials.

Verkko-oppimateriaalin multimodaalisuus : kohteena YLEn Kansalaisen ABC -verkko-oppimateriaalit

Today information and communication technology allows us to use multimedia more than ever before in e-learning materials. Multimedia though can increase cognitive load in learning process. Because of that it cannot be taken granted what kind of learning materials should be produced. This paper intended to study the diversity of e-learning materials and the factors related cognitive load. The main purpose was to study the multimodality of the multimedia learning materials. The subject of this study is the learning materials on the web site Kansalaisen ABC published by YLE. Learning materials in the web site were approached from three different perspectives. The specific questions were: (1) What kind of form features are used in the representations of the learning material? Are certain form features preferred over others? (2) How do the cognitive load factors take shape in learning materials and between the forms? (3) How does the multimodality phenomenon appear in the learning materials and in what ways are form features and cognitive load factors related to multimodality? In this case study a qualitative approach was used. Analysis of the form features and the cognitive load factors in learning materials were based on content analysis. Form features included the specification of a format, the structure, the interactivity type and the type of learning material. The results showed that the web sites include various representations of both verbal and visual forms. Cognitive load factors were related mostly to visual than verbal material. Material presented according to the principles of cognitive multimedia theory multimedia representations did not cause cognitive overload in the informants. Cognitive load was increased in the case of students needing to split their attention between the multimedia forms in time and place. The results indicated how different individual characteristics are reflected by the cognitive load factors.

Sense of Community in Web Environment

The study of social phenomena in the World Wide Web has been rather fragmentary, andthere is no coherent, reseach-based theory about sense of community in Web environment. Sense of community means part of one's self-concept that has to do with perceiving oneself belonging to, and feeling affinity to a certain social grouping. The present study aimed to find evidence for sense of community in Web environment, and specifically find out what the most critical psychological factors of sense of community would be. Based on known characteristics of real life communities and sense of community, and few occational studies of Web-communities, it was hypothesized that the following factors would be the most critical ones and that they could be grouped as prerequisites, facilitators and consequences of sense of community: awareness and social presence (prerequisites), criteria for membership and borders, common purpose, social interaction and reciprocity, norms and conformity, common history (facilitators), trust and accountability (consequences). In addition to critical factors, the present study aimed to find out if this kind of grouping would be valid. Furthermore, the effect of Web-community members' background variables to sense of community was of interest. In order to answer the questions, an online-questionnaire was created and tested. It included propositions that reflect factors that precede, facilitate and follow the sense of community in Web environment. A factor analysis was calculated to find out the critical factors and analyses of variance were calculated to see if the grouping to prerequisites, facilitators and consequences was right and how the background variables would affect the sense of community in Web environment. The results indicated that the psychological structure of sense of community in Web environment could not be presented with critical variables grouped as prerequisites, facilitators and consequences. Most factors did facilitate the sense of community, but based on this data it could not be argued that some of the factors chronologically precedesense of community and some follow it. Instead, the factor analysis revealed that the most critical factors in sense of community in Web environment are 1) reciprocal involvement, 2) basic trust for others, 3) similarity and common purpose of members, and 4) shared history of members. The most influencing background variables were the member's own participation activity (indicated with reading and writing messages) and the phase in membership lifecycle (from visitor to leader). The more the member participated and the further in membership life cycle he was, the more he felt sense of community. There are many descreptions of sense of community, but the present study was one of the first to actually measure the phenomenon in Web environment, and that gained well documented, valid results based on large data, proving that sense of community in Web environment is possible, and clarifying its psychological structure, thus enhancing the understanding of sense of community in Web environment. Keywords: sense of community, Web-community, psychology of the Internet

Selecting replacements for invasive plants to support frugivores in highly modified sites: a case study focusing on Lantana camara

Invasive plants are regarded as a major threat to biodiversity worldwide. Yet, in some cases, invasive plants now perform important ecological functions. For example, fleshy-fruited invasive plants provide food that supports indigenous frugivore populations. How can the disparate goals of conservation versus invasive weed control be managed? We suggest using the fruit characteristics of the invasive plant to select replacement indigenous plants that are functionally similar from the perspective of frugivores. These could provide replacement food resources at sites where plants with these characteristics are part of the goal plant community and where such plants would not otherwise regenerate. Replacement plants could also redirect seed dispersal processes to favour indigenous, rather than invasive, plant species. We investigated the utility of this approach by ranking all indigenous fleshy-fruited plant species from a region using a simple model that scored species based upon measures of fruit phenology, morphology, conspicuousness and accessibility relative to a target invasive species, Lantana (Lantana camara). The model successfully produced high scores for indigenous plant species that were used by more of the frugivores of Lantana than a random selection of plants, suggesting that this approach warrants further investigation.

Ongelmana yhteistyökyvyttömyys? : Teoreettisen ymmärryksen etsintää web-avusteiselle tiedontuottamisyhteistyölle

Tutkimuksessa analysoidaan teoriatasolla web-avusteisen tiedontuottamisyhteistyön kokeilutoiminnassa esiin tulleita ongelmia ja kootaan niiden viitoittamana teoriaperustaa tulevaisuuden työskentelytavalle, tietämyksen web-avusteiselle ryhmäprosessoinnille. Keskiössä on ihminen kognitiivisena tiedonkäsittelijänä ja elinikäisenä oppijana. Organisaatiossa vallitsevat toimintastrategiat, ryhmätyöskentelyn organisointi ja ryhmässä toteutuvat käytännöt muodostavat yksilön toimintaa ohjaavan sosiaalisen toimintaympäristön, joka säätelee yhteistyöprosessin onnistumista. Yhteistyötä tarkastellaan sosiaalisen tiedonkäsittelyn ryhmäilmiönä, jossa käsite yhteistyökyky kyseenalaistuu. Tuotetussa teoriaperustassa ihminen nähdään monitasoisten oppimishaasteiden ristitulessa. Koulutuksessa vallitseva absoluuttinen tietokäsitys on pystyttävä muuttamaan konstruktivistiseksi tietokäsitykseksi: yhteistä tietämystä ryhmänä tuotettaessa yksilöiden tietämys on rakennusaineena. Koulussa saatu sosiaalisen tiedonkäsittelyn malli, itsekeskeisen tiedonkäsittelyn malli, ei sovellu tietämyksen ryhmäprosessointiin. Malliin liittyviä oppeja on poisopittava samalla kun ryhmäjäsenenä on suunniteltava ja yhdessä opeteltava ryhmäkeskeisiä ja web-avusteisia tiedonkäsittelymalleja. Näin yhteistyöprosessissa toteutuu rinnakkain asiaoppimista ja toimintaoppimista. Näitä molempia on tarpeen tukea kehitettäessä uudenlaisia web-avusteisia työskentelymenetelmiä. Osassa I esitellään tutkimuksen kokemusperäisiä virikkeitä. Suhteellisen tietokäsityksen mukaisesti tämä tutkimus on kiinteästi kytkeytynyt tutkijan elinikäiseen oppimiseen ja tutkimus kuvataan tutkijan yksilöllisen tietämyksen prosessointina. Tutkimusaiheen löytymiseen johtaneet käytännön havainnot aloittavat sen takia raportoinnin. Erityisesti koulun sosiaalisen tiedonkäsittelyn organisointi on tarkastelun kohteena. Osassa II hahmotetaan tutkimusnäkökulmaa. Tutkimuskysymykset ovat lähinnä viitoittamassa tietämyksen etsintää. Tutkimusmenetelmä, kokeilutoiminnan analysointi, on saanut vahvasti vaikutteita toimintatutkimuksesta. Tutkimusasetelman perustana on toimintaan kytkeytyvä ihmiskäsitys. Kirjallisuuden avulla etsitään mahdollisia kytkeytymiä ihmisen käyttäytymisen ja sosiaalisen toiminnan organisoinnin välillä. Osa III kuvailee tutkimusaihetta koskevan ymmärryksen prosessointia. Esiymmärrys yhteistyöstä ja yhteistyökäsitteen määrittely mahdollistavat kokeilutoimintaan ryhtymisen. Uusi viestintämahdollisuus (www) nähdään yhteisessä tiedonkäsittelyssä apuvälineenä. Käytännön kokeilujaksot tarjoavat aineksia kognitiivisen tiedonkäsittelyn syvällisten periaatteiden löytymiselle. Inhimillinen toiminta ja sosiaalinen tiedonkäsittely saavat teoriatason analysoinnissa oppimiseen perustuvia tulkintoja. Osassa IV esitellään tutkimuksen tavoitteena ollutta teoriaperustaa tietämyksen web-avusteiselle ryhmäprosessoinnille. Teoriatiivistelmässä keskiöön nousee ihmisen kognitiivinen tiedonkäsittely sekä konstruktivistisen asiaoppimisen että selviytymispainotteisen toimintaoppimisen muodossa. Sosiaalinen toimintaympäristö nähdään osallisena kognitiivisessa tiedonkäsittelyssä ja selityksenä sille, että yhteinen tiedonkäsittely ei onnistu pelkästään tietoverkkoympäristössä vaan tarvitaan myös sosiaalisia tapaamisia. Kokeilutoiminnan opetuksia tuodaan esille yhteistyöprosessin keskeisten tapahtumien tarkastelussa. Tuotettua teoriaperustaa koetellaan tieteen kentällä vertailemalla sitä muiden tutkijoiden julkaisemiin käsityksiin. Tietoverkkoteknologian suhdetta inhimilliseen tiedonkäsittelyyn verrataan muualla saatuihin ja julkaistuihin käsityksiin. Avainsanat: tietointensiivinen yhteistyö, tiedontuottamisyhteistyö, yhteistyöprosessi, yhteistyökyky, yhteistyökyvyttömyys, virtuaalinen yhteistyöorganisaatio, yksilöllinen tietämys, yhteisen ymmärryksen etsintä, yhteinen tietämys, kognitiivinen tiedonkäsittely, asiaoppiminen, toimintaoppiminen, sosiaalinen tiedonkäsittely, sosiaalinen toimintaympäristö, automatisoitunut toimintamalli, yksilökeskeinen toimintamalli, itsekeskeinen toimintamalli, ryhmäkeskeinen toimintamalli, sosiaalisen tiedonkäsittelyn toimintastrategia, työympäristössä oppiminen.

The influence of pre-processing on the estimation of readability of web documents

This paper investigates the effect that text pre-processing approaches have on the estimation of the readability of web pages. Readability has been highlighted as an important aspect of web search result personalisation in previous work. The most widely used text readability measures rely on surface level characteristics of text, such as the length of words and sentences. We demonstrate that different tools for extracting text from web pages lead to very different estimations of readability. This has an important implication for search engines because search result personalisation strategies that consider users reading ability may fail if incorrect text readability estimations are computed.

Deriving artefact-centric interfaces for overloaded web services

We present a novel framework and algorithms for the analysis of Web service interfaces to improve the efficiency of application integration in wide-spanning business networks. Our approach addresses the notorious issue of large and overloaded operational signatures, which are becoming increasingly prevalent on the Internet and being opened up for third-party service aggregation. Extending upon existing techniques used to refactor service interfaces based on derived artefacts of applications, namely business entities, we propose heuristics for deriving relations between business entities, and in turn, deriving permissible orders in which operations are invoked. As a result, service operations are refactored on business entity CRUD which then leads to behavioural protocols generated, thus supportive of fine-grained and flexible service discovery, composition and interaction. A prototypical implementation and analysis of web services, including those of commercial logistic systems (Fedex), are used to validate the algorithms and open up further insights into service interface synthesis.

Discovering behavioural interfaces for overloaded web services

The growth of APIs and Web services on the Internet, especially through larger enterprise systems increasingly being leveraged for Cloud and software-as-a-service opportuni- ties, poses challenges to improving the efficiency of integration with these services. Interfaces of enterprise systems are typically larger, more complex and overloaded, with single operation having multiple data entities and parameter sets, supporting varying requests, and reflecting versioning across different system releases, compared to fine-grained operations of contemporary interfaces. We propose a technique to support the refactoring of service interfaces by deriving business entities and their relationships. In this paper, we focus on the behavioural aspects of service interfaces, aiming to discover the sequential dependencies of operations (otherwise known as protocol extraction) based on the entities and relationships derived. Specifically, we propose heuristics according to these relationships, and in turn, deriving permissible orders in which operations are invoked. As a result of this, service operations can be refactored on business entity CRUD lines, with explicit behavioural protocols as part of an interface definition. This supports flexible service discovery, composition and integration. A prototypical implementation and analysis of existing Web services, including those of commercial logistic systems (Fedex), are used to validate the algorithms proposed through the paper.

Producer Demonstration Sites (PDS) coordination and delivery

Producer Demonstration Site (PDS) - Funding to accommodate the establishment of 14 PDS sites over 3 years. Implementation of PDS to increase research adoption and practice change in Queensland.

Probing into the role of conserved N-glycosylation sites in the Tyrosinase glycoprotein family

N-linked glycosylation has a profound effect on the proper folding, oligomerization and stability of glycoproteins. These glycans impart many properties to proteins that may be important for their proper functioning, besides having a tendency to exert a chaperone-like effect on them. Certain glycosylation sites in a protein however, are more important than other sites for their function and stability. It has been observed that some N-glycosylation sites are conserved over families of glycoproteins over evolution, one such being the tyrosinase related protein family. The role of these conserved N-glycosylation sites in their trafficking, sorting, stability and activity has been examined here. By scrutinizing the different glycosylation sites on this family of glycoproteins it was inferred that different sites in the same family of polypeptides can perform distinct functions and conserved sites across the paralogues may perform diverse functions.

Technical Advice Tully Cane Demo Farm Sites

Provision of technical advice for Tully cane demo farm sites as part of the Paddock-scale monitoring in the Wet Tropics Natural Resource Management region.

Evaluation of polymorphisms in predicted target sites for micro RNAs differentially expressed in endometriosis

Previous microarray analyses identified 22 microRNAs (miRNAs) differentially expressed in paired ectopic and eutopic endometrium of women with and without endometriosis. To investigate further the role of these miRNAs in women with endometriosis, we conducted an association study aiming to explore the relationship between endometriosis risk and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in miRNA target sites for these differentially expressed miRNAs. A panel of 102 SNPs in the predicted miRNA binding sites were evaluated for an endometriosis association study and an ingenuity pathway analysis was performed. Fourteen rare variants were identified in this study. We found SNP rs14647 in the Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome candidate gene1 (WHSC1) 3'UTR (untranslated region) was associated with endometriosis-related infertility presenting an odds ratio of 12.2 (95% confidence interval = 2.4-60.7, P = 9.03 x 10(-5)). SNP haplotype AGG in the solute carrier family 22, member 23 (SLC22A23) 3'UTR was associated with endometriosis-related infertility and more severe disease. With the individual genotyping data, ingenuity pathways analysis identified the tumour necrosis factor and cyclin-dependant kinase inhibitor as major factors in the molecular pathways. Significant associations between WHSC1 alleles and endometriosis-related infertility and SLC22A23 haplotypes and the disease severe stage were identified. These findings may help focus future research on subphenotypes of this disease. Replication studies in independent large sample sets to confirm and characterize the involvement of the gene variation in the pathogenesis of endometriosis are needed.