Don't talk about me . . . like I'm not here: Disability in Australian national cinema

The article analyzes the representation of disability in Australian national cinema. Disability has been an enduring topic in Australian films and it has got occasional mentions in film and cultural criticism. An important pioneering treatment in this field is film critic Elizabeth Ferrier's examination of the trope of creative disabilities. Ferrier draws attention to disability in Australian film. She provides a stimulating and nuanced reading in light of the thematics of Australian cultural anxieties. "My One Legged Dream Lover," is one of the few productions that features a disabled lead character, Kath Duncan, played by disabled performer, Kath Duncan.

Investigation of an acetate-fed denitrifying microbial community by stable isotope probing, full-cycle rRNA analysis, and fluorescent in situ hybridization-microautoradiography

The acetate-utilizing microbial consortium in a full-scale activated sludge process was investigated without prior enrichment using stable isotope probing (SIP). [C-13]acetate was used in SIP to label the DNA of the denitrifiers. The [C-13]DNA fraction that was extracted was subjected to a full-cycle rRNA analysis. The dominant 16S rRNA gene phylotypes in the C-13 library were closely related to the bacterial families Comamonadaceae and Rhodocyclaceae in the class Betaproteobacteria. Seven oligonucleotide probes for use in fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) were designed to specifically target these clones. Application of these probes to the sludge of a continuously fed denitrifying sequencing batch reactor (CFDSBR) operated for 16 days revealed that there was a significant positive correlation between the CFDSBR denitrification rate and the relative abundance of all probe-targeted bacteria in the CFDSBR community. FISH-microautoradiography demonstrated that the DEN581 and DEN124 probe-targeted cells that dominated the CFDSBR were capable of taking Up [C-14] acetate under anoxic conditions. Initially, DEN444 and DEN1454 probe-targeted bacteria also dominated the CFDSBR biomass, but eventually DEN581 and DEN124 probe-targeted bacteria were the dominant bacterial groups. All probe-targeted bacteria assessed in this study were denitrifiers capable of utilizing acetate as a source of carbon. The rapid increase in the number of organisms positively correlated with the immediate increase in denitrification rates observed by plant operators when acetate is used as an external source of carbon to enhance denitrification. We suggest that the impact of bacteria on activated sludge subjected to intermittent acetate supplementation should be assessed prior to the widespread use of acetate in the waste-water industry to enhance denitrification.

Effects of acetate and propionate on the performance of a photosynthetic biofilm reactor for sulfide removal

The effects of acetate and propionate on the performance of a recently proposed and characterized photosynthetic biological sulfide removal system have been investigated with a view to predicting this concept's suitability for removing sulfide from wastewater undergoing or having undergone anaerobic treatment. The concept relies on substratum-irradiated biofilms dominated by green sulfur bacteria (GSB), which are supplied with radiant energy in the band 720 - 780 nm. A model reactor was fed for 7 months with a synthetic wastewater free of volatile fatty acids (VFAs), after which time intermittent dosing of the wastewater with acetate or propionate was begun. Such dosing suppressed the areal net sulfide removal rate by similar to50%, and caused the principal net product of sulfide removal to switch from sulfate to elemental-S. Similarly suppressed values of this rate were observed when the wastewater was dosed continuously with acetate, and this rate was not significantly affected by changes in the concentration of ammonia-N in the feed. The main net product of sulfide removal was again elemental-S, which was scarcely released into the liquid, however. Sulfate reduction and sulfur reduction were observed when the light supply was interrupted and were inferred to be occurring within the irradiated biofilm. A preexisting conceptual model of the biofilm was augmented with both of these reductive processes, and this augmented model was shown to account for most of the observed effects of VFA dosing. The implications of these findings for the practicality of the technology are considered. (C) 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Anaerobic metabolism of propionate by polyphosphate-accumulating organisms in enhanced biological phosphorus removal systems

Propionate, a carbon substrate abundant in many prefermenters, has been shown in several previous studies to be a more favorable substrate than acetate for enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR). The anaerobic metabolism of propionate by polyphosphate accumulating organisms (PAOs) is studied in this paper. A metabolic model is proposed to characterize the anaerobic biochemical transformations of propionate uptake by PAOs. The model is demonstrated to predict very well the experimental data from a PAO culture enriched in a laboratory-scale reactor with propionate as the sole carbon source. Quantitative fluorescence in-situ hybridization (FISH) analysis shows that Candidatus Accumulibacter phosphatis, the only identified PAO to date, constitute 63% of the bacterial population in this culture. Unlike the anaerobic metabolism of acetate by PAOs, which induces mainly poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) production, the major fractions of poly-beta-hydroxyalkanoate (PHA) produced with propionate as the carbon source are poly-beta-hydroxyvalerate (PHV) and poly-beta-hydroxy-2-methylvalerate (PH2MV). PHA formation correlates very well with a selective (or nonrandom) condensation of acetyl-CoA and propionyl-CoA molecules. The maximum specific propionate uptake rate by PAOs found in this study is 0.18 C-mol/C-mol-biomass h, which is very similar to the maximum specific acetate uptake rate reported in literature. The energy required for transporting 1 carbon-mole of propionate across the PAO cell membrane is also determined to be similar to the transportation of 1 carbon-mole of acetate. Furthermore, the experimental results suggest that PAOs possess a similar preference toward acetate and propionate uptake on a carbon-mole basis. (c) 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Comparison of acetate and propionate uptake by polyphosphate accumulating organisms and glycogen accumulating organisms

Enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) performance is directly affected by the competition between polyphosphate accumulating organisms (PAOs) and glycogen accumulating organisms (GAOs). This study investigates the effects of carbon source on PAO and GAO metabolism. Enriched PAO and GAO cultures were tested with the two most commonly found volatile fatty acids (VFAs) in wastewater systems, acetate and propionate. Four sequencing batch reactors (SBRs) were operated under similar conditions and influent compositions with either acetate or propionate as the sole carbon source. The stimulus for selection of the PAO and GAO phenotypes was provided only through variation of the phosphorus concentration in the feed. The abundance of PAOs and GAOs was quantified using fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH). In the acetate fed PAO and GAO reactors, Candidatus Accumulibacter phosphatis (a known PAO) and Candidatus Competibacter phosphatis (a known GAO) were present in abundance. A novel GAO, likely belonging to the group of Alphaproteobacteria, was found to dominate the propionate fed GAO reactor. The results clearly show that there are some very distinctive differences between PAOs and GAOs in their ability to take up acetate and propionate. PAOs enriched with acetate as the sole carbon source were immediately able to take up propionate, likely at a similar rate as acetate. However, an enrichment of GAOs with acetate as the sole carbon source took up propionate at a much slower rate (only about 5% of the rate of acetate uptake on a COD basis) during a short-term switch in carbon source. A GAO enrichment with propionate as the sole carbon source took up acetate at a rate that was less than half of the propionate uptake rate on a COD basis. These results, along with literature reports showing that PAOs fed with propionate (also dominated by Accumulibacter) can immediately switch to acetate, suggesting that PAOs are more adaptable to changes in carbon source as compared to GAOs. This study suggests that the PAO and GAO competition could be influenced in favour of PAOs through the provision of propionate in the feed or even by regularly switching the dominant VFA species in the wastewater. Further study is necessary in order to provide greater support for these hypotheses. (c) 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A Comparison of Methodologies from Two Longitudinal Community-Based Randomized Controlled Trials of Similar Interventions in Palliative Care: What Worked and What Did Not

Background: Methodological challenges such as recruitment problems and participant burden make clinical trials in palliative care difficult. In 2001-2004, two community-based randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of case conferences in palliative care settings were independently conducted in Australia-the Queensland Case Conferences trial (QCC) and the Palliative Care Trial (PCT). Design: A structured comparative study of the QCC and PCT was conducted, organized by known practical and organizational barriers to clinical trials in palliative care. Results: Differences in funding dictated study designs and recruitment success; PCT had 6 times the budget of QCC. Sample size attainment. Only PCT achieved the sample size goal. QCC focused on reducing attrition through gatekeeping while PCT maximized participation through detailed recruitment strategies and planned for significant attrition. Testing sustainable interventions. QCC achieved a higher percentage of planned case conferences; the QCC strategy required minimal extra work for clinicians while PCT superimposed conferences on normal work schedules. Minimizing participant burden. Differing strategies of data collection were implemented to reduce participant burden. QCC had short survey instruments. PCT incorporated all data collection into normal clinical nursing encounters. Other. Both studies had acceptable withdrawal rates. Intention-to-treat analyses are planned. Both studies included substudies to validate new outcome measures. Conclusions: Health service interventions in palliative care can be studied using RCTs. Detailed comparative information of strategies, successes and challenges can inform the design of future trials. Key lessons include adequate funding, recruitment focus, sustainable interventions, and mechanisms to minimize participant burden.

Perceptual speed does not cause intelligence, and intelligence does not cause perceptual speed

There is ongoing debate whether the efficiency of local cognitive processes leads to global cognitive ability or whether global ability feeds the efficiency of basic processes. A prominent example is the well-replicated association between inspection time (IT), a measure of perceptual discrimination speed, and intelligence (IQ), where it is not known whether increased speed is a cause or consequence of high IQ. We investigated the direction of causation between IT and IQ in 2012 genetically related subjects from Australia and The Netherlands. Models in which the reliable variance of each observed variable was specified as a latent trait showed IT correlations of -0.44 and -0.33 with respective Performance and Verbal IQ; heritabilities were 57% (IT), 83% (PIQ) and 77% (VIQ). Directional causation models provided poor fits to the data, with covariation best explained by pleiotropic genes (influencing variation in both IT and IQ). This finding of a common genetic factor provides a better target for identifying genes involved in cognition than genes which are unique to specific traits.

Towards the preparative and large-scale precision manafacture of virus-like particles

Virus-like particles (VLPs) are of interest in vaccination, gene therapy and drug delivery, but their potential has yet to be fully realized. This is because existing laboratory processes, when scaled, do not easily give a compositionally and architecturally consistent product. Research suggests that new process routes might ultimately be based on chemical processing by self-assembly, involving the precision manufacture of precursor capsomeres followed by in vitro VLP self-assembly and scale-up to required levels. A synergistic interaction of biomolecular design and bioprocess engineering (i.e. biomolecular engineering) is required if these alternative process routes and, thus, the promise of new VLP products, are to be realized.

Gene expression profiles in murine hematopoietic stem cells revisited: Analysis of cDNA libraries reveals high levels of translational and metabolic activities

Gene expression studies from hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) populations purified to variable degrees have defined a set of sternness genes. Unexpectedly, results also hinted toward a HSC chromatin poised in a wide-open state. With the aim of providing a robust tool for further studies into the molecular biology of HSCs, the studies herein describe the construction and comparative molecular analysis of A-phage cDNA libraries from highly purified HSCs that retained their long-term repopulating activities (long-term HSCs [LT-HSCs]) and from short-term repopulating HSCs that were largely depleted of these activities. Microarray analysis of the libraries confirmed the previous results but also revealed an unforeseen preferential expression of translation- and metabolism-associated genes in the LT-HSCs. Therefore, these data indicate that HSCs are quiescent only in regard of proliferative activities but are in a state of readiness to provide the metabolic and translational activities required after induction of proliferation and exit from the HSC pool.

Differential distribution of ammonia- and nitrite-oxidising bacteria in flocs and granules from a nitrifying/denitrifying sequencing batch reactor

A lab-scale sequencing batch reactor was operated with alternating anoxic/aerobic conditions for nitrogen removal. Flocs and granules co-existed in the same reactor, with distinct aggregate structure and size, for over 180 days of reactor operation' Process data showed complete nitrogen removal, with temporary nitrite accumulation before full depletion of ammonia in the aerobic phase. Microbial quantification of the biomass by fluorescence in situ hybridisation showed that granules contained most of the nitrite-oxidising bacteria (NOB) whereas the ammonium-oxidising bacteria (AOB) seemed to be more abundant in the flocs. This was supported by microsensor measurements, which showed a higher potential of NO2- uptake than NH4 uptake in the granules. The segregation is possibly linked to the different growth rates of the two types of nitrifiers and the reactor operational conditions, which produced different sludge retention time for flocs and granules. The apparent physical separation of AOB and NOB in two growth forms could potentially affect mass transfer of NO2- from AOB to NOB, but the data presented here shows that it did not impact negatively on the overall nitrogen removal. (c) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Greengenes, a chimera-checked 16S rRNA gene database and workbench compatible with ARB

A 16S rRNA gene database (http://greengenes.bl.gov) addresses limitations of public repositories by providing chimera screening, standard alignment, and taxonomic classification using multiple published taxonomies. It was found that there is incongruent taxonomic nomenclature among curators even at the phylum level. Putative chimeras were identified in 3% of environmental sequences and in 0.2% of records derived from isolates. Environmental sequences were classified into 100 phylum-level lineages in the Archaea and Bacteria.

Comparison of cellulose solubilisation rates in rumen and landfill leachate inoculated reactors

The aim of this study was to conduct a number of controlled digestions to obtain easily comparable cellulose solubilisation rates and to compare these rates to those found in the literature to see which operational differences were significant in affecting cellulose degradation during anaerobic digestion. The results suggested that differences in volumetric cellulose solubilisation rates were not indicative of the true performance of cellulose digestion systems. When cellulose solubilisation rates were normalised by the mass of cellulose in the reactor at each time step, the comparison of the rates became more meaningful. Cellulose solubilisation was surface area limited. Therefore, changes in the loading rate of cellulose to the reactor altered the volumetric solubilisation rate without changing the mass normalised rate. Comparison of mass normalised solubilisation rates from this study and the literature demonstrated that differences in reactor configuration and operational conditions did not significantly impact on the solubilisation rate whereas the difference in composition of the microbial communities showed a marked effect. This work highlights the importance of using appropriately normalised data when making comparisons between systems with differing operational conditions. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Competition between polyphosphate and glycogen accumulating organisms in enhanced biological phosphorus removal systems with acetate and propionate as carbon sources

Enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) is a widely used process for achieving phosphorus removal from wastewater. A potential reason for EBPR failure is the undesirable growth of glycogen accumulating organisms (GAOs), which can compete for carbon sources with the bacterial group responsible for phosphorus removal from wastewater: the polyphosphate accumulating organisms (PAOs). This study investigates the impact of carbon source on EBPR performance and the competition between PAOs and GAOs. Two sequencing batch reactors (SBRs) were operated during a 4-6 month period and fed with a media containing acetate or propionate, respectively, as the sole carbon source. It was found that the acetate fed SBR rarely achieved a high level of phosphorus removal, and that a large portion of the microbial community was comprised of Candidatus Competibacter phosphatis, a known GAO. The propionate fed SBR, however, achieved stable phosphorus removal throughout the study, apart from one brief disturbance. The bacterial community of the propionate fed SBR was dominated by Candidatus Accumulibacter phosphatis, a known PAO, and did not contain Competibacter In a separate experiment, another SBR was seeded with a mixture of PAOs and a group of alphaproteobacterial GAOs, both enriched with propionate as the sole carbon source. Stable EBPR was achieved and the PAO population increased while the GAOs appeared to be out-competed. The results of this paper suggest that propionate may provide PAOs with a selective advantage over GAOs in the PAO-GAO competition, particularly through the minimisation of Competibacter Propionate may be a more suitable substrate than acetate for enhancing phosphorus removal in EBPR systems. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Control of culture environment for improved polyethylenimine-mediated transient production of recombinant monoclonal antibodies by CHO cells

In this study we describe optimization of polyethylenimine (PEI)-mediated transient production of recombinant protein by CHO cells by facile manipulation of a chemically defined culture environment to limit accumulation of nonproductive cell biomass, increase the duration of recombinant protein production from transfected plasmid DNA, and increase cell-specific production. The optimal conditions for transient transfection of suspension-adapted CHO cells using branched, 25 kDa PEI as a gene delivery vehicle were experimentally determined by production of secreted alkaline phosphatase reporter in static cultures and recombinant IgG(4) monoclonal antibody (Mab) production in agitated shake flask cultures to be a DNA concentration of 1.25 mu g 10(6) cells(-1) mL(-1) at a PEI nitrogen: DNA phosphate ratio of 20:1. These conditions represented the optimal compromise between PEI cytotoxicity and product yield with most efficient recombinant DNA utilization. Separately, both addition of recombinant insulin-like growth factor (LR3-IGF) and a reduction in culture temperature to 32 degrees C were found to increase product titer 2- and 3-fold, respectively. However, mild hypothermia and LR3-IGF acted synergistically to increase product titer 11-fold. Although increased product titer in the presence of LR3-IGF alone was solely a consequence of increased culture duration, a reduction in culture temperature post-transfection increased both the integral of viable cell concentration (IVC) and cell-specific Mab production rate. For cultures maintained at 32 degrees C in the presence of LR3-IGF, IVC and qMab were increased 4- and 2.5-fold, respectively. To further increase product yield from transfected DNA, the duration of transgene expression in cell populations maintained at 32 C in the presence of LR3-IGF was doubled by periodic resuspension of transfected cells in fresh media, leading to a 3-fold increase in accumulated Mab titer from similar to 13 to similar to 39 mg L-1. Under these conditions, Mab glycosylation at Asn297 remained essentially constant and similar to that of the same Mab produced by stably transfected GS-CHO cells. From these data we suggest that the efficiency of transient production processes (protein output per rDNA input) can be significantly improved using a combination of mild hypothermia and growth factor(s) to yield an extended activated hypothermic synthesis.