Epidermal growth factor-induced ovarian carcinoma cell migration is associated with JAK2/STAT3 signals and changes in the abundance and localization of α6β1 integrin

Peritoneal dissemination of ovarian carcinoma is mediated by epithelial–mesenchymal interconversions leading to the disruption of cell–cell contact and modulation of cell–extracellular matrix (ECM) interactions. The present study was designed to evaluate the effects of epidermal growth factor (EGF) as a modulator of Janus kinase 2 (JAK2) and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) signalling and changes in integrin expression during the process similar to EMT. A fibroblastic morphology with reduced intercellular cell contacts and increased cell motility was observed in ovarian cancer cell lines in response to EGF and was concomitant with the up regulation of EMT-associated N-cadherin and vimentin expression. These changes were accompanied by an increase in α2, α6 and β1 integrin subunits and activation of JAK2 and STAT3 signalling which was suppressed by a specific JAK2 inhibitor. Consistent with the suppression of STAT3 activity, N-cadherin and vimentin expression were abrogated and was coherent with the loss of cell motility and the expression of α6 and β1 integrin subunits. Neutralizing antibodies against α6 and β1 subunits inhibited cancer cell migration. A strong correlation between the expression of N-cadherin, vimentin and JAK2/STAT3 levels were detected in high-grade ovarian tumors and was consistent with the previously reported enhanced expression of α6 integrin subunit in advanced tumors [Ahmed N, Riley C, Oliva K, Rice G, Quinn M. Ascites induces modulation of α6β1 integrin and urokinase plasminogen activator receptor expression and associated functions in ovarian carcinoma. British Journal of Cancer 2005;92:1475–85]. Our data incorporating the clinical samples and the cancer cell lines is the first to demonstrate that JAK2/STAT3 pathway may be one of the downstream events in EMT-like process and α6β1 integrin-mediated signalling in ovarian carcinomas.

Displaced self : the impact of language-migration on self-identity

In this dissertation I explore the impact that language-migration has on Self-Identity. The thesis consists of two parts: a memoir The Strangeness of Freedom, and an exegesis. Each is intended to stand alone, but also to complement the other. In the memoir I draw on my personal recollections of my family's migrations across five countries (Czechoslovakia, West Germany, USA and Australia) and into three languages (Czech, German and English) in order to convey my particular experience of language migration. In the exegesis I analyse several memoirs written by other language migrants and examine what impact they believe migrating into a new language and culture had on their own Self-identity. I draw on postmodern and psychoanalytic theory to explore the nature of Self-Identity formation and why migrants, as well as non-migrants might experience a change in their Self-identity during the course of their lives. I attempt to tease out to what extent the change in Self-identity is a universal experience that results from living across time and moving from a known past into an unknown future, regardless of whether one physically migrates or not. I found that while language-migrants tend to describe a more intense disruption of their Self-Identity, non-migrants also experience such a disruption in their sense of Self, simply by living in a rapidly changing world. I propose that while changing locations and languages clearly disrupts the continuity we presume life entails, it is in fact the passage of time that distances us from our known past, including our familiar Self, even if we never physically or linguistically migrate.

Multiple strategy process migration

The future of computing lies with distributed systems, i.e. a network of workstations controlled by a modern distributed operating system. By supporting load balancing and parallel execution, the overall performance of a distributed system can be improved dramatically. Process migration, the act of moving a running process from a highly loaded machine to a lightly loaded machine, could be used to support load balancing, parallel execution, reliability etc. This thesis identifies the problems past process migration facilities have had and determines the possible differing strategies that can be used to resolve these problems. The result of this analysis has led to a new design philosophy. This philosophy requires the design of a process migration facility and the design of an operating system to be conducted in parallel. Modern distributed operating systems follow the microkernel and client/server paradigms. Applying these design paradigms, in conjunction with the requirements of both process migration and a distributed operating system, results in a system where each resource is controlled by a separate server process. However, a process is a complex resource composed of simple resources such as data structures, an address space and communication state. For this reason, a process migration facility does not directly migrate the resources of a process. Instead, it requests the appropriate servers to transfer the resources. This novel solution yields a modular, high performance facility that is easy to create, debug and maintain. Furthermore, the design easily incorporates providing multiple migration strategies. In order to verify the validity of this design, a process migration facility was developed and tested within RHODOS (ResearcH Oriented Distributed Operating System). RHODOS is a modern microkernel and client/server based distributed operating system. In RHODOS, a process is composed of at least three separate resources: process state - maintained by a process manager, address space - maintained by a memory manager and communication state - maintained by an InterProcess Communication Manager (IPCM). The RHODOS multiple strategy migration manager utilises the services of the process, memory and IPC Managers to migrate the resources of a process. Performance testing of this facility indicates that this design is as fast or better than existing systems which use faster hardware. Furthermore, by studying the results of the performance test ing, the conditions under which a particular strategy should be employed have been identified. This thesis also addresses heterogeneous process migration. The current trend is to have islands of homogeneous workstations amid a sea of heterogeneity. From this situation and the current literature on the topic, heterogeneous process migration can be seen as too inefficient for general use. Instead, only homogeneous workstations should be used for process migration. This implies a need to locate homogeneous workstations. Entities called traders, which store and disseminate knowledge about the resources of several workstations, should be used to provide resource discovery. Resource discovery will enable the detection of homogeneous workstations to which processes can be migrated.

Trace metal speciation in the Pieman River catchment, western Tasmania

The Pieman River catchment has seen continuous mining of economic deposits of gold, silver, lead, copper, zinc and tin since the 1870’s. Tributaries of this river which receive mining effluent, either directly or from acid mine drainage (AMID), have total metal concentrations considerably above background levels and are of regulatory concern. The lower Pieman River is however classified as a State Reserve in which recreational fishing and tourism are the major activities. It is therefore important that water entering the lower Pieman River from upstream hydroelectric impoundments is of high quality. Metals in natural waters exist in a variety of dissolved, colloidal and particulate forms. The bioavailability and hence toxicity of heavy metal pollutants is very dependant on their physico form. Knowledge of the speciation of a metal in natural aquatic environments is therefore necessary for understanding its geochemical behaviour and biological availability. Complexation of metal ions by natural ligands in aquatic systems is believed to play a significant role in controlling their chemical speciation. This study has investigated temporal and spatial variation in complexation of metal ions in the Pieman River. The influence of pH, temperature, organic matter, salinity, ionic strength and time has been investigated in a series of field studies and in laboratory-based experiments which simulated natural and anthropogenic disturbances. Labile metals were measured using two techniques in various freshwater and estuarine environments. Diffusive gradients in thin-films (DGT) allowed in situ measurement of solution speciation whilst differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV) was used to measure labile metal species in water samples collected from the catchment. Organic complexation was found to be a significant regulating mechanism for copper speciation and the copper-binding ligand concentration usually exceeded the total copper concentration in the river water. Complexation was highly dependent on pH and at the river-seawater interface was also regulated by salinity, probably as a result of competitive complexation by major ions in seawater (eg. Ca 2+ ions). Zinc complexation was also evident, however total zinc concentrations in the water column often far exceeded the potential binding capacity of available ligands. In addition to organic complexation, Zn speciation may also be associated with adsorption by flocculated or resuspended colloidal Mn and/or Fe oxyhydroxides. Metal ion complexation and hence speciation was found to be highly variable within the Pieman River catchment. This presents major difficulties for environmental managers, as it is therefore not possible to make catchment-wide assumptions about the bioavailability of these metals. These results emphasise the importance of site-specific sampling protocols and speciation testing, ideally incorporating continuous, in situ monitoring.

Modelling immigration flows : an application of the bounds test to Fiji - Australia migration

This paper examines the long-run and short-run determinants of migration from Fiji to Australia between 1972 and 2001 using a human capital framework, which is extended to take account of political instability in Fiji. Our main findings are that in the long run the real wage differential and political instability in Fiji are the main determinants. In the short run, there is some evidence that the wage differential and transport costs are important factors, but this finding is not robust across all specifications. Lagged migration and political instability are the most important determinants in the short run.

Arsenic accumulation and speciation in Cherax destructor

Yabbies from contaminated sites and those fed arsenic in a lab. study accumulated significant levels of arsenic mostly as As(III) and As(V). Arsenic accumulation affects the structure of the internal organs and contractile function of their muscle. The arsenic in their tissues was found to be bioaccessible to human consumers.

Study of calcium and silicon migration in refractory magnesia

Studied the effect calcium and silicon impurities have on magnesia refractories, a material frequently used to line high-temperature furnaces. Advanced analytical techniques identified and mapped these impurities in both raw materials and finished magnesia refractories. This research considerably enhanced understanding of factors influencing refractory properties and quality.