3D immersive collection and teaching environments: the Yellow House project at UOW

This paper discusses the Yellow House VR project at the University of Wollongong. Innovative virtual reality technologies such as Oculus Rift are being utilised to recreate the 1970s Sydney artist community space known as the Yellow House, as both an historic replication and openly accessible, immersive teaching and learning environment for use and adaptation by teachers, students, researchers and the general community. The paper considers the role of the library in the enhanced presentation of digitised collections through new and evolving technologies that provide opportunities for knowledge enhancement and support the development of student e-portfolios

Management and Outcome of Abdominal Shotgun Wounds Trauma Score and the Role of Exploratory Laparotomy

OBJECTIVE: The management and outcome of 138 abdominal shotgun wounds were examined over a 5-year period. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: It has been proposed that exploratory laparotomy may be unnecessary and even overused in a subset of patients with abdominal shotgun wounds. METHODS: Data on shotgun wound patients from October 1987 through March 1992 from a statewide trauma registry were examined. Patients with abdominal shotgun wounds were identified and compared with patients with nonabdominal shotgun wounds. RESULTS: Of 516 shotgun wound patients, 138 (26.7%) had abdominal wounds and 88 (63.8%) had exploratory laparotomies. Abdominal shotgun wounds resulted in significantly longer number of intensive care unit days (4.3 vs. 2.5, p < 0.05), a greater number of blood units transfused (7.8 vs. 2.4, p < 0.05), and a higher mortality (15.9% vs. 4.8%, p < 0.05) when compared with nonabdominal shotgun wounds. When stratified for trauma score, the mortality for abdominal shotgun wounds always was significantly greater than for nonabdominal shotgun wounds. All abdominal shotgun wound patients with trauma scores less than ten died. The negative laparotomy rate for abdominal shotgun wound patients with normal trauma scores was 9.4%. No patient with a negative laparotomy died. CONCLUSION: Abdominal shotgun wounds are a particularly lethal subset of shotgun wounds. Although some abdominal shotgun wound patients can be managed without laparotomy, the morbidity and mortality for these injuries are substantial, even in patients with normal trauma score. Clinical judgment is an excellent predictor of the need for laparotomy

Allosteric interactions of DNA and nucleotides with S. cerevisiae RSC

RSC, Remodel the Structure of Chromatin, is an essential chromatin remodeler of Saccharomyces cerevisiae that has been shown to have DNA translocase properties. We studied the DNA binding properties of a ‘trimeric minimal RSC’ (RSCt) of the RSC chromatin remodeling complex and the effect of nucleotides on this interaction using fluorescence anisotropy. RSCt binds to 20 bp fluorescein labeled double stranded DNA with a Kd of approximately 100 nM. The affinity of RSCt for DNA is reduced in the presence of AMP-PNP and ADP in a concentration dependent manner with the addition of AMP-PNP having the more pronounced effect. These differences in the magnitude at which the binding of ADP and AMP-PNP affect the affinity of DNA binding by RSCt suggests that the physical movement of the enzyme along DNA begins between the binding of ATP and its subsequent hydrolysis. Furthermore, the fact that the highest affinity for DNA binding by RSCt occurs in the absence of bound nucleotide offers a mechanistic explanation for the low apparent processivity of DNA translocation by the enzyme.This work was supported by National Institutes of Health Grant P20 RR017708 to C.J.F. and NIH GM60415 to B.R.C. Evan Rich was supported, in part, by an Undergraduate Research Award provided by the Kansas University Honors Program

Using rank data to estimate health state utility models

In this paper we report the estimation of conditional logistic regression models for the Health Utilities Index Mark 2 and the SF-6D, using ordinal preference data. The results are compared to the conventional regression models estimated from standard gamble data, and to the observed mean standard gamble health state valuations. For both the HUI2 and the SF-6D, the models estimated using ordinal data are broadly comparable to the models estimated on standard gamble data and the predictive performance of these models is close to that of the standard gamble models. Our research indicates that ordinal data have the potential to provide useful insights into community health state preferences. However, important questions remain

FlgN is required for flagellum based motility by <em>Bacillus subtilis</em>

The assembly of the bacterial flagellum is exquisitely controlled. Flagellar biosynthesis is underpinned by a specialized type III secretion system that allows export of proteins from the cytoplasm to the nascent structure. Bacillus subtilis regulates flagellar assembly using both conserved and species-specific mechanisms. Here, we show that YvyG is essential for flagellar filament assembly. We define YvyG as an orthologue of the Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium type III secretion system chaperone, FlgN, which is required for the export of the hook-filament junction proteins, FlgK and FlgL. Deletion of flgN (yvyG) results in a nonmotile phenotype that is attributable to a decrease in hag translation and a complete lack of filament polymerization. Analyses indicate that a flgK-flgL double mutant strain phenocopies deletion of flgN and that overexpression of flgK-flgL cannot complement the motility defect of a ΔflgN strain. Furthermore, in contrast to previous work suggesting that phosphorylation of FlgN alters its subcellular localization, we show that mutation of the identified tyrosine and arginine FlgN phosphorylation sites has no effect on motility. These data emphasize that flagellar biosynthesis is differentially regulated in B. subtilis from classically studied Gram-negative flagellar systems and questions the biological relevance of some posttranslational modifications identified by global proteomic approaches

Personalizing neoadjuvant chemotherapy for locally advanced colon cancer:protocols for the international phase III FOxTROT2 and FOxTROT3 randomized controlled trials

AIM: FOxTROT1 established a new standard of care for managing locally advanced colon cancer (CC) with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). Six weeks of neoadjuvant oxaliplatin and fluoropyrimidine (OxFp) chemotherapy was associated with greater 2-year disease-free survival (DFS) when compared with proceeding straight to surgery (STS). There is now a need to refine the use of NAC and identify those most likely to benefit. FOxTROT2 will aim to investigate NAC in older adults and those with frailty. FOxTROT3 will aim to assess whether intensified triplet NAC provides additional benefits over OxFp.METHOD: FOxTROT2 and FOxTROT3 are international, open-label, phase III randomized controlled trials. Eligible patients will be identified by the multidisciplinary team. Patient age, frailty and comorbidities will be considered to guide trial entry. Participants will be randomized 2:1 to the intervention or control arm: 6 weeks of dose-adapted neoadjuvant OxFp versus STS in FOxTROT2 and 6 weeks of neoadjuvant modified oxaliplatin, 5-fluorouracil and irinotecan versus OxFp in FOxTROT3. The primary endpoint in FOxTROT2 is 3-year DFS. In FOxTROT3, tumour regression grade and 3-year DFS are co-primary endpoints.DISCUSSION: FOxTROT2 and FOxTROT3 will establish the FOxTROT platform, a key part of our long-term strategy to develop neoadjuvant treatments for CC. FOxTROT2 will investigate NAC in a population under-represented in FOxTROT1 and wider research. FOxTROT3 will assess whether it is possible to induce greater early tumour responses and whether this translates to superior long-term outcomes. Looking ahead, the FOxTROT platform will facilitate further trial comparisons and extensive translational research to optimize the use of NAC in CC.</p