Education research in Australia: where is it conducted?

Research assessment exercises aim to identify research quantity and quality and provide insights into research capacity building strategies for the future. Yet with limited knowledge of the ecology of Australian educational research, there is little chance of understanding what research audits might contribute towards a capacity building agenda for such a complex field. This paper draws on secondary data analysis of research outputs submitted by 13 Australian higher education institutions to the Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) 2010 and 2012 national research assessment exercises, to show where Australian educational research is conducted. Findings offer a profile of education researchers by location in academic organisational units within universities. By analyzing data not accessible through reported ERA data we were also able to present information about appointment profiles, specifically levels and type of appointment within universities, as well as data on institutional and geographic region, and patterns associated with type of outputs (books, book chapters, journal articles, conference papers and other outputs) and field of research. Analysis of the data reveals definitive shifts in the nature of the published outputs and in employment profiles of researchers and their location across university and regional groupings. Research audits are administrative processes that reshape institutional and disciplinary governance structures, policies, individual outputs, work practices and careers, but they are not the sum total of the field per se

Polyphosphate delays fibrin polymerisation and alters the mechanical properties of the fibrin network

Summary Polyphosphate (polyP) binds to fibrin(ogen) and alters fibrin structure, generating a heterogeneous network composed of ‘knots’ interspersed by large pores. Here we show platelet-derived polyP elicits similar structural changes in fibrin and examine the mechanism by which polyP alters fibrin structure. Polymerisation of fibrinogen with thrombin and CaCl2 was studied using spinning disk confocal (SDC) microscopy. PolyP delayed fibrin polymerisation generating shorter protofibrils emanating from a nucleus-type structure. Consistent with this, cascade blue-polyP accumulated in fibrin ‘knots’. Protofibril formation was visualized by atomic force microscopy (AFM) ± polyP. In the presence of polyP abundant monomers of longer length were visualised by AFM, suggesting that polyP binds to monomeric fibrin. Shorter oligomers form in the presence of polyP, consistent with the stunted protofibrils visualised by SDC microscopy. We examined whether these structural changes induced by polyP alter fibrin’s viscoelastic properties by rheometry. PolyP reduced the stiffness (G’) and ability of the fibrin network to deform plastically G”, but to different extents. Consequently, the relative plastic component (loss tangent (G”/G’)) was 61 % higher implying that networks containing polyP are less stiff and more plastic. Local rheological measurements, performed using magnetic tweezers, indicate that the fibrin dense knots are stiffer and more plastic, reflecting the heterogeneity of the network. Our data show that polyP impedes fibrin polymerisation, stunting protofibril growth producing ‘knotted’ regions, which are rich in fibrin and polyP. Consequently, the mechanical properties of the fibrin network are altered resulting in clots with overall reduced stiffness and increased ability to deform plastically. Supplementary Material to this article is available online at www.thrombosis-online.com

Polymorphisms in the WNK1 gene are asociated with blood pressure variation and urinary potassium excretion

WNK1 - a serine/threonine kinase involved in electrolyte homeostasis and blood pressure (BP) control - is an excellent candidate gene for essential hypertension (EH). We and others have previously reported association between WNK1 and BP variation. Using tag SNPs (tSNPs) that capture 100% of common WNK1 variation in HapMap, we aimed to replicate our findings with BP and to test for association with phenotypes relating to WNK1 function in the British Genetics of Hypertension (BRIGHT) study case-control resource (1700 hypertensive cases and 1700 normotensive controls). We found multiple variants to be associated with systolic blood pressure, SBP (7/28 tSNPs min-p = 0.0005), diastolic blood pressure, DBP (7/28 tSNPs min-p = 0.002) and 24 hour urinary potassium excretion (10/28 tSNPs min-p = 0.0004). Associations with SBP and urine potassium remained significant after correction for multiple testing (p = 0.02 and p = 0.01 respectively). The major allele (A) of rs765250, located in intron 1, demonstrated the strongest evidence for association with SBP, effect size 3.14 mmHg (95%CI:1.23–4.9), DBP 1.9 mmHg (95%CI:0.7–3.2) and hypertension, odds ratio (OR: 1.3 [95%CI: 1.0–1.7]).We genotyped this variant in six independent populations (n = 14,451) and replicated the association between rs765250 and SBP in a meta-analysis (p = 7×10−3, combined with BRIGHT data-set p = 2×10−4, n = 17,851). The associations of WNK1 with DBP and EH were not confirmed. Haplotype analysis revealed striking associations with hypertension and BP variation (global permutation p10 mmHg reduction) and risk for hypertension (OR<0.60). Our data indicates that multiple rare and common WNK1 variants contribute to BP variation and hypertension, and provide compelling evidence to initiate further genetic and functional studies to explore the role of WNK1 in BP regulation and EH

Improving survey methods in sero-epidemiological studies of injecting drug users: a case example of two cross sectional surveys in Serbia and Montenegro

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the prevalence of HIV or HCV in injecting drug users (IDUs) in Serbia and Montenegro. We measured prevalence of antibodies to HIV (anti-HIV) and hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV), and risk factors for anti-HCV, in community-recruited IDUs in Belgrade and Podgorica, and determined the performance of a parallel rapid HIV testing algorithm. METHODS: Respondent driven sampling and audio-computer assisted survey interviewing (ACASI) methods were employed. Dried blood spots were collected for unlinked anonymous antibody testing. Belgrade IDUs were offered voluntary confidential rapid HIV testing using a parallel testing algorithm, the performance of which was compared with standard laboratory tests. Predictors of anti-HCV positivity and the diagnostic accuracy of the rapid HIV test algorithm were calculated. RESULTS: Overall population prevalence of anti-HIV and anti-HCV in IDUs were 3% and 63% respectively in Belgrade (n = 433) and 0% and 22% in Podgorica (n = 328). Around a quarter of IDUs in each city had injected with used needles and syringes in the last four weeks. In both cities anti-HCV positivity was associated with increasing number of years injecting (eg Belgrade adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 5.6 (95% CI 3.2-9.7) and Podgorica AOR 2.5 (1.3-5.1) for >or= 10 years v 0-4 years), daily injecting (Belgrade AOR 1.6 (1.0-2.7), Podgorica AOR 2.1 (1.3-5.1)), and having ever shared used needles/syringes (Belgrade AOR 2.3 (1.0-5.4), Podgorica AOR 1.9 (1.4-2.6)). Half (47%) of Belgrade participants accepted rapid HIV testing, and there was complete concordance between rapid test results and subsequent confirmatory laboratory tests (sensitivity 100% (95%CI 59%-100%), specificity 100% (95%CI 98%-100%)). CONCLUSION: The combination of community recruitment, ACASI, rapid testing and a linked diagnostic accuracy study provide enhanced methods for conducting blood borne virus sero-prevalence studies in IDUs. The relatively high uptake of rapid testing suggests that introducing this method in community settings could increase the number of people tested in high risk populations. The high prevalence of HCV and relatively high prevalence of injecting risk behaviour indicate that further HIV transmission is likely in IDUs in both cities. Urgent scale up of HIV prevention interventions is needed

The natural history and management of hamstring injuries

Hamstring injuries in sport can be debilitating. The anatomical complexity of this muscle makes uniform assessment of injury epidemiology difficult and insures that post-injury management strategies must be individually focused. This article reviews the anatomy of the hamstring, its role in athletic movement, common mechanisms of injury, and management guidelines with the goal of return into sporting activity in mind

Symptoms predicting psychosocial impairment in bulimia nervosa

Purpose The current study aimed to determine which particular eating disorder (ED) symptoms and related features, such as BMI and psychological distress, uniquely predict impairment in bulimia nervosa (BN). Methods Two hundred and twenty-two adults with BN completed questionnaires assessing ED symptoms, general psychological distress, and psychosocial impairment. Regression analyses were used to determine predictors which account for variance in impairment. Results Four variables emerged as significant predictors of psychosocial impairment: concerns with eating; concerns with weight and shape; dietary restraint; and general psychological distress. Conclusions Findings support previous work highlighting the importance of weight and shape concerns in determining ED-related impairment. Other ED symptoms, notably dietary restraint and concerns with eating, were also significant predictors as was psychological distress. Results suggest that cognitive aspects of EDs, in addition to psychological distress, may be more important determinants of impairment than behavioural symptoms, such as binge eating or purging

Search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at √ s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum are reported. The search uses 20.3 fb−1 of √ s = 8 TeV data collected in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events are required to have at least one jet with pT > 120 GeV and no leptons. Nine signal regions are considered with increasing missing transverse momentum requirements between Emiss T > 150 GeV and Emiss T > 700 GeV. Good agreement is observed between the number of events in data and Standard Model expectations. The results are translated into exclusion limits on models with either large extra spatial dimensions, pair production of weakly interacting dark matter candidates, or production of very light gravitinos in a gauge-mediated supersymmetric model. In addition, limits on the production of an invisibly decaying Higgs-like boson leading to similar topologies in the final state are presente

Search for direct pair production of the top squark in all-hadronic final states in proton-proton collisions at s√=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The results of a search for direct pair production of the scalar partner to the top quark using an integrated luminosity of 20.1fb−1 of proton–proton collision data at √s = 8 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC are reported. The top squark is assumed to decay via t˜→tχ˜01 or t˜→ bχ˜±1 →bW(∗)χ˜01 , where χ˜01 (χ˜±1 ) denotes the lightest neutralino (chargino) in supersymmetric models. The search targets a fully-hadronic final state in events with four or more jets and large missing transverse momentum. No significant excess over the Standard Model background prediction is observed, and exclusion limits are reported in terms of the top squark and neutralino masses and as a function of the branching fraction of t˜ → tχ˜01 . For a branching fraction of 100%, top squark masses in the range 270–645 GeV are excluded for χ˜01 masses below 30 GeV. For a branching fraction of 50% to either t˜ → tχ˜01 or t˜ → bχ˜±1 , and assuming the χ˜±1 mass to be twice the χ˜01 mass, top squark masses in the range 250–550 GeV are excluded for χ˜01 masses below 60 GeV