Characterisation of a novel Fc conjugate of Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor (CSF1)

We have produced an Fc conjugate of colony-stimulating factor (CSF) 1 with an improved circulating half-life. CSF1-Fc retained its macrophage growth-promoting activity, and did not induce proinflammatory cytokines in vitro. Treatment with CSF1-Fc did not produce adverse effects in mice or pigs. The impact of CSF1-Fc was examined using the Csf1r-enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) reporter gene in MacGreen mice. Administration of CSF1-Fc to mice drove extensive infiltration of all tissues by Csf1r-EGFP positive macrophages. The main consequence was hepatosplenomegaly, associated with proliferation of hepatocytes. Expression profiles of the liver indicated that infiltrating macrophages produced candidate mediators of hepatocyte proliferation including urokinase, tumor necrosis factor, and interleukin 6. CSF1-Fc also promoted osteoclastogenesis and produced pleiotropic effects on other organ systems, notably the testis, where CSF1-dependent macrophages have been implicated in homeostasis. However, it did not affect other putative CSF1 targets, notably intestine, where Paneth cell numbers and villus architecture were unchanged. CSF1 has therapeutic potential in regenerative medicine in multiple organs. We suggest that the CSF1-Fc conjugate retains this potential, and may permit daily delivery by injection rather than continuous infusion required for the core molecule

Watching Saddam fall : Assyrian refugees in Sydney and the imagining of a new Iraq

This article brings together theoretical debates about transnationalism and the role of the imagination, and grounds these in a discussion of Iraqi-born Assyrian refugees who have recently settled in Sydney. The analysis is tied to the 2003 war and the ongoing U.S.-led occupation of Iraq. It provides rich ethnographic illustrations of the many and varied mediations through which Assyrians are relating to the conflict. Of special concern is the 'imagination' as an affective social dynamic. Tied to this is the idea of 'transnational imaginaries' that are produced through the intersection of specific embodied practices, implicit self-understandings, national frameworks, global flows, and transnational alliances

Rubbing shoulders in the global city : refugees, citizenship and multicultural alliances in Fairfield, Sydney

This article investigates how recently arrived refugees living in Fairfield – the most culturally diverse locality in Sydney – relate to citizenship and experience belonging in a global city context, where different people are compelled to live side by side. Extending Ang’s notion of ‘togetherness in difference’, the discussion explores the formation of horizontal alliances in a multicultural locality. Two small-scale empirical examples demonstrate how locations for citizenship are actualized outside the frame of the nation state, and signal the contours of a progressive multicultural politics, in this case, neighbours collectively dealing with landlord authorities, and young people discussing their encounters with Australia’s immigration regime

Translocations of affirmation : mediascapes and cultural flows among the stateless Oromo

This article concerns the media cultures of anticolonial stateless groups. The discussion is based upon the case of the Oromo, an ethno-national group within Ethiopia. The translocal dimensions of media and cultural flows among the Oromo are investigated, with a focus upon the important interlocutory roles of artists, media and cultural workers in diaspora contexts. The article indicates how Oromo people performatively conjoin with and chaotically produce their own mediascapes – at the various sites called the loci of affirmation – in the process of imagining themselves to be members of a global diaspora. An important theme is efforts by consecutive Ethiopian regimes to curb the influence of diaspora mediascapes within their borders

The language of culture and the culture of language : Oromo identity in Melbourne, Australia

Until recently, the Oromo were largely unknown among scholars of Africa. Since the Abyssinian conquest of the vast Oromo land-known today as Oromiyain the late-nineteenth century, Oromo within the Ethiopian empire state (where they number more than half the population) have remained politically, linguistically, economically and historically marginalised. Since the late 1970s, almost a century after their conquest, when the Derg military junta's campaign of terror was at its peak, and continuing with the present regime, large numbers of Oromo have fled Ethiopia to neighbouring countries. By 1997 a small number (approximately 500) had resettled in Melbourne, Australia. Over these past two decades Oromo nationalism has grown into a mass movement in east Africa and among the worldwide exilic communities. Central to the growth of nationalism has been the assertion of a pan-Oromo national identity (Oromumma, 'Oromoness'). Like all identity politics, Oromo nationalism remains academically deadlocked between essentialism and social constructionism: Oromo anti-colonial nationalists posit an atavistic account of Oromo identity, while 'Western' scholars generally conceive of it in politically disabling constructionist terms

Making up for lost time : young African refugees in Western Sydney high schools

The Africa region is currently the focus of Australia’s humanitarian program and is likely to remain so for some time. During 2003-04, 63 percent of people assisted under the Integrated Humanitarian Settlement Strategy (IHSS) were from the region, and African countries comprised eight of the top twelve countries of birth for humanitarian settlers. The majority are proposed by relatives and friends in Australia before entering under the Special Humanitarian Program (SHP: visa subclass 202); meanwhile, smaller numbers enter under the Refugee Category (especially visa subclasses 200: Refugee and 204: Woman at Risk)

Assyrian community capacity building in Fairfield City

This report relates community capacity building to the Assyrian community living in Fairfield City. It provides a snapshot of the community at a particular point in time and suggests directions for their future success. The report is the outcome of a twelve month project which surveyed the Assyrian community and mainstream service providers in the Fairfield area during 2004/05. It considers the broader Assyrian community, which includes new arrivals and those with a longer presence in Australia. The Assyrians currently constitute the second largest ethnic community within the Fairfield City Local Government Area (LGA) and lack equity in a range of key areas, including education, employment, housing and health

The sex [Male (1) and female (2)] age (in years), weight (in lbs), #GPS Points (total after filtering), and the 100% MCP, 95% KDE, and 50% KDE home ranges (ha) for all cats sampled in the study. All cats were desexed. The personality scores (shown as a percent), were obtained from a survey, based on the “Feline Five” (Litchfield et al., 2017), that evaluated how much owners agreed or disagreed that their cats showed certain traits. Traits were then summed and converted into percentages. Bold cats are considered to have a low neuroticism score. Road density was estimated by summing the road lengths, measured in meters, within a fixed boundary centred on each cat’s mean latitude and longitude coordinates. The variable “major road” indicated the presence (1) or absence (0) of a major road near the cat’s home range. Roads were labeled as “major” based on Google Maps’ classification, related to traffic rates, and through “ground-truthing”.

Domestic cats (Felis catus) play a dual role in society as both companion animals and predators. When provided with unsupervised outdoor access, cats can negatively impact native wildlife and create public health and animal welfare challenges. The effective implementation of management strategies, such as buffer zones or curfews, requires an understanding of home range size, the factors that influence their movement, and the types of habitats they use. Here, we used a community/citizen scientist approach to collect movement and habitat use data using GPS collars on owned outdoor cats in the Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge-Guelph region, southwestern Ontario, Canada.</p

Steelhead trout microsatellite DNA allele frequencies

Allele frequencies in GENEPOP forma