The finest edge

University of Technology, Sydney. Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.In the stories 'A Tale of Four Cities- Fremantle, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa', 'Secrets' and the novella The Finest Edge, I have attempted to come to terms with my experience as a child of a family involved in the Holocaust. 'A Tale ofFour Cities' introduces my cousin, the writer Simon Louvish, and how our first meeting in Perth celebrated a reunion with Simon, his wife, my brother and myself while attending a Jewish Writer's Conference. 'Tel Aviv' examines my meeting in Israel with Ya'akov Ariel, my mother's nephew, and his family. 'Jerusalem' takes me to the home of my mother's first cousin, Misha Louvish. 'Haifa', brings me to the city and mountain, Mt. Carmel, after which I was named. Family history unravels in these four sections as I make my first trip to Israel. Memories link the story's parts- my mother's memories of her village and family, my own memory of growing up with her. In the novella, three characters - Esther, Am and Monique - meet and encounter each other in a private clinic dealing with drug related problems. The theme of Holocaust enters again in a fictional setting through the reminiscence of the character Esther, who is portrayed as a child of Holocaust survivors. She views her own past and identity in the light of this historical event. The characters take turns addressing each other in a series of dramatic monologues. The story 'Secrets' examines the manner in which five people attempt to come to terms with their Jewish background and the difficulties they face in an Australian setting. The writer Aharon Appelfeld, said of his own oblique approach in writing about the Holocaust, 'one does not look directly at the sun'. I have used both ficto-memoir and fiction to describe the space where history and memory merge

Project-based Learning for Environmental Sustainability Action

The quest for social and economic development coupled with a growing population has led to complex and unsustainable interactions between humans and the natural resources of planet Earth. One approach to addressing complex, ‘wicked’ problems involves closing the gap between the sustainability knowledge of individuals and the competencies for positive environmental behaviours. Projectbased learning is one teaching-learning strategy which provides opportunities for cultivating a wide range of sustainability competencies to close this gap. Two cases are presented in this paper in which project-based learning was used for fostering environmental competencies and advancing sustainability. One relates to teachers in a graduate course, and the other, to students using an online learning platform. Evaluation of various qualitative documents and artefacts produced by participants revealed that i) teachers and students were motivated and enabled to take action on environmental and sustainability issues through project-based learning ii) participants’ environmental knowledge and sustainability competencies such as communication and collaboration skills were enhanced. School administrators should therefore encourage a culture where project-based learning is infused into the curriculum, and teachers’ collaborative efforts regarding projects are supported

Geraniol and Linalool Loaded Nanoemulsions and Their Antimicrobial Activity

Geraniol and linalool have been found to be effective against foodborne microorganisms in vitro. However, due to their hydrophobic nature, it is difficult to achieve an even dispersion in foods with high water content resulting in dramatic loss of activity. The aim of the study was to fabricate geraniol or linalool nanoemulsions and investigate their effect against Escherichia coli K12, Listeria innocua and Pseudomonas lundensis in a meat simulation medium. The agar diffusion assay revealed that both geraniol and linalool had a potent antimicrobial activity against all bacteria. Dynamic light scattering showed that geraniol and linalool nanoemulsions had a mean diameter of 68.22±2.46 and 173.59±4.15 nm, respectively. Killing assay results showed that both nanoemulsions were able to significantly reduce E. coli and L. innocua counts by approx. 3 log CFU/ml. Ps. lundensis proved to be more resistant to both nanoemulsions showing a reduction of approx. 1.2 log CFU/ml,. Overall, this study showed that nanoemulsions loaded with geraniol or linalool represent a promising antimicrobial system to improve food preservation and food safety

NACA Research Memorandums

Report presenting results for a canard bomber-type configuration designed for supersonic cruise flight at Mach numbers 2.50 and 2.87 and over a range of angles of attack and angles of sideslip. Results regarding longitudinal characteristics and lateral stability are provided. The original configuration was directionally unstable at low angles of attack, but satisfactory directional stability could be obtained using upper-surface vertical fins

Virulence characteristics of hcp (+) Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli isolates from retail chicken.

BACKGROUND: Recently the Type VI secretion system (T6SS), which can play a significant role in bacterial survival and pathogenesis, was reported in Campylobacter spp., having the hcp gene as a key component. METHODS: Campylobacteriosis is associated with the consumption of infected chicken meat. Our study aimed to explore the presence of T6SS in C. jejuni (n = 59) and C. coli (n = 57) isolates, from retail raw chicken and to investigate their pathogenic potential. The hcp gene was used as an indicator for the T6SS presence. RESULTS: Using multiplex PCR we have identified a significantly higher prevalence of hcp in C. coli isolates (56.1%) than in C. jejuni (28.8%) and AFLP analysis of the isolates showed a high degree of genetic similarity between the isolates carrying the hcp gene. Genome sequencing data showed that 84.3% of the C. coli and 93.7% of the C. jejuni isolates had all 13 T6SS open reading frames. Moreover, the virulence characteristics of hcp + isolates, including motility and the ability to invade human intestinal epithelial cells in vitro, were significantly greater than in the control strain C. jejuni 12502; a human isolate which is hcp positive. CONCLUSION: Overall, it was discovered that hcp (+) C. coli and C. jejuni isolated from retail chicken isolates posses genetic and phenotypic properties associated with enhanced virulence. However, since human infections with C. coli are significantly less frequent than those of C. jejuni, the relationship between virulence factors and pathogenesis requires further study

A novel natural antimicrobial can reduce the in vitro and in vivo pathogenicity of T6SS positive Campylobacter jejuni and campylobacter coli chicken isolates

© 2018 Sima, Stratakos, Ward, Linton, Kelly, Pinkerton, Stef, Gundogdu, Lazar and Corcionivoschi. Human campylobacteriosis is considered one of the most common foodborne diseases worldwide with poultry identified as the main source of infection accounting for 50-80% of human cases. Highly virulent Campylobacter spp., positive for the Type VI secretion system (T6SS), which have an increased ability to adhere to and invade the host gastrointestinal epithelium are highly prevalent in poultry. Multidrug resistant strains of bacteria are rapidly evolving and therefore, new antimicrobials to supplement animal feed that are able to control Campylobacter species, are in great need. The work presented herein indicates that a novel phenolic antimicrobial, Auranta 3001, is able to reduce the adhesion and invasion of human intestinal epithelial cells (HCT-8) by two T6SS positive chicken isolates, C. jejuni RC039 (p < 0.05) and C. coli RC013 (p < 0.001). Exposure of C. jejuni RC039 and C. coli RC013 to Auranta 3001 downregulated the expression of hcp and cetB genes, known to be important in the functionality of T6SS. Furthermore, the reduced adhesion and invasion is associated with a significant decrease in bacterial motility of both isolates (p < 0.05-p < 0.001) in vitro. Most importantly our in vivo results show that Auranta 3001 is able to reduce cecum colonization levels from log 8 CFU/ml to log 2 CFU/ml for C. jejuni RC039 and from log 7 CFU/ml to log 2 CFU/ml for C. coli RC013. In conclusion, this novel antimicrobial is able to reduce the pathogenic properties of T6SS campylobacters in vitro and also to decrease colonization in vivo

Attenuation of Vibrio parahaemolyticus Virulence Factors by a Mixture of Natural Antimicrobials.

Reducing acute mortality in aquatic crustaceans using natural alternatives to antibiotics has become a necessity, firstly for its positive impact on the aquaculture industry and, secondly, because the extensive use of antibiotics may lead to increased levels of drug resistance in pathogenic microorganisms. This study aimed to investigate the effect of a mixture of natural antimicrobials on the in vitro and in vivo virulence abilities of Type VI secretion system (T6SS)-positive Vibrio parahaemolyticus (A3 and D4), strains known as having potentially harmful health consequences for aquatic crustaceans and consumers. Herein, we report that a natural antimicrobial mixture (A3009) was capable of significantly reducing the virulence of V. parahaemolyticus strains A3 and D4 in an in vitro infection model, using the fish cell line CHSE-214, an effect which correlates with the bacterial downregulation of hcp1 and hcp2 gene expression and with the ability of the antimicrobial to efficiently retain low cytotoxic levels (p < 0.001). We show for the first time that a natural antimicrobial is able to significantly reduce the mortality of shrimps in a challenge experiment and is able to significantly attenuate H2O2 release during infection (p < 0.001), indicating that it could harbor positive intestinal redox balance effects

The stumbling blocks of integrating quantitative skills in science

The Science Higher Education community has acknowledged the essential role of quantitative skills (QS) as a graduate learning outcome. However, efforts to build QS across science degree programs have been meet with a range of obstacles that are inhibiting the development of QS to an appropriate standard. This presentation, drawing on interview data from the ALTC funded QS in Science project which used a case study approach, details the challenges institutions have found in trying to ensure that QS are developed and embraced in science curricula. Interview data (n = 48) from academic staff involved in the case studies revealed several broad categories that significantly impacted on embedding QS effectively in the science curriculum: 1) the attitude and background of students undertaking science courses, 2) the constraints of the various science degree program structures

The perspectives of scientists and mathematicians on quantitative skills

Mathematics is important in science, and becoming increasingly so. Not surprisingly, the scientific community is calling for graduates with higher standards of quantitative skills (QS), that is, the ability to apply mathematical and statistical thinking and reasoning in the context of science. How are academics addressing this QS challenge? Some see this as an interdisciplinary endeavour, with science and mathematics academics working together to develop the QS of students in undergraduate science programs. We present evidence which suggests that scientists and mathematicians have different attitudes to what is happening in universities currently. This work is a part of the ALTC funded QS in Science project in which 48 interviews were conducted with academics in both teaching and leadership roles from 11 universities in Australia and two in the USA