Factors shaping the lived experience of resettlement for former refugees in regional Australia

Refugees experience traumatic life events with impacts amplified in regional and rural areasdue to barriers accessing services. This study examined the factors influencing the lived experienceof resettlement for former refugees in regional Launceston, Australia, including environmental,social, and health-related factors. Qualitative interviews and focus groups were conducted withadult and youth community members from Burma, Bhutan, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, Iran,and Sudan, and essential service providers (n = 31). Thematic analysis revealed four factorsas primarily influencing resettlement: English language proficiency; employment, education andhousing environments and opportunities; health status and service access; and broader socialfactors and experiences. Participants suggested strategies to overcome barriers associated with thesefactors and improve overall quality of life throughout resettlement. These included flexible Englishlanguage program delivery and employment support, including industry-specific language courses;the provision of interpreters; community events fostering cultural sharing, inclusivity and promotingwell-being; and routine inclusion of nondiscriminatory, culturally sensitive, trauma-informed practicesthroughout a former refugee’s environment, including within education, employment, housing andservice settings

Coral restoration and adaptation in Australia: The first five years.

While coral reefs in Australia have historically been a showcase of conventional management informed by research, recent declines in coral cover have triggered efforts to innovate and integrate intervention and restoration actions into management frameworks. Here we outline the multi-faceted intervention approaches that have developed in Australia since 2017, from newly implemented in-water programs, research to enhance coral resilience and investigations into socio-economic perspectives on restoration goals. We describe in-water projects using coral gardening, substrate stabilisation, coral repositioning, macro-algae removal, and larval-based restoration techniques. Three areas of research focus are also presented to illustrate the breadth of Australian research on coral restoration, (1) the transdisciplinary Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program (RRAP), one of the world's largest research and development programs focused on coral reefs, (2) interventions to enhance coral performance under climate change, and (3) research into socio-cultural perspectives. Together, these projects and the recent research focus reflect an increasing urgency for action to confront the coral reef crisis, develop new and additional tools to manage coral reefs, and the consequent increase in funding opportunities and management appetite for implementation. The rapid progress in trialling and deploying coral restoration in Australia builds on decades of overseas experience, and advances in research and development are showing positive signs that coral restoration can be a valuable tool to improve resilience at local scales (i.e., high early survival rates across a variety of methods and coral species, strong community engagement with local stakeholders). RRAP is focused on creating interventions to help coral reefs at multiple scales, from micro scales (i.e., interventions targeting small areas within a specific reef site) to large scales (i.e., interventions targeting core ecosystem function and social-economic values at multiple select sites across the Great Barrier Reef) to resist, adapt to and recover from the impacts of climate change. None of these interventions aim to single-handedly restore the entirety of the Great Barrier Reef, nor do they negate the importance of urgent climate change mitigation action

Potent Tetrahydroquinolone Eliminates Apicomplexan Parasites

Apicomplexan infections cause substantial morbidity and mortality, worldwide. New, improved therapies are needed. Herein, we create a next generation anti-apicomplexan lead compound, JAG21, a tetrahydroquinolone, with increased sp3-character to improve parasite selectivity. Relative to other cytochrome b inhibitors, JAG21 has improved solubility and ADMET properties, without need for pro-drug. JAG21 significantly reduces Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoites and encysted bradyzoites in vitro, and in primary and established chronic murine infections. Moreover, JAG21 treatment leads to 100% survival. Further, JAG21 is efficacious against drug-resistant Plasmodium falciparum in vitro. Causal prophylaxis and radical cure are achieved after P. berghei sporozoite infection with oral administration of a single dose (2.5 mg/kg) or 3 days treatment at reduced dose (0.625 mg/kg/day), eliminating parasitemia, and leading to 100% survival. Enzymatic, binding, and co-crystallography/pharmacophore studies demonstrate selectivity for apicomplexan relative to mammalian enzymes. JAG21 has significant promise as a pre-clinical candidate for prevention, treatment, and cure of toxoplasmosis and malaria

Adverse childhood experiences and mental health in young adults: a longitudinal survey

BACKGROUND: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been consistently linked to psychiatric difficulties in children and adults. However, the long-term effects of ACEs on mental health during the early adult years have been understudied. In addition, many studies are methodologically limited by use of non-representative samples, and few studies have investigated gender and racial differences. The current study relates self-reported lifetime exposure to a range of ACEs in a community sample of high school seniors to three mental health outcomes–depressive symptoms, drug abuse, and antisocial behavior–two years later during the transition to adulthood. METHODS: The study has a two-wave, prospective design. A systematic probability sample of high school seniors (N = 1093) was taken from communities of diverse socioeconomic status. They were interviewed in person in 1998 and over the telephone two years later. Gender and racial differences in ACE prevalence were tested with chi-square tests. Each mental health outcome was regressed on one ACE, controlling for gender, race/ethnicity, and SES to obtain partially standardized regression coefficients. RESULTS: Most ACEs were strongly associated with all three outcomes. The cumulative effect of ACEs was significant and of similar magnitude for all three outcomes. Except for sex abuse/assault, significant gender differences in the effects of single ACEs on depression and drug use were not observed. However, boys who experienced ACEs were more likely to engage in antisocial behavior early in young adulthood than girls who experienced similar ACEs. Where racial/ethnic differences existed, the adverse mental health impact of ACEs on Whites was consistently greater than on Blacks and Hispanics. CONCLUSION: Our sample of young adults from urban, socio-economically disadvantaged communities reported high rates of adverse childhood experiences. The public health impact of childhood adversity is evident in the very strong association between childhood adversity and depressive symptoms, antisocial behavior, and drug use during the early transition to adulthood. These findings, coupled with evidence that the impact of major childhood adversities persists well into adulthood, indicate the critical need for prevention and intervention strategies targeting early adverse experiences and their mental health consequences

Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in arthritis patients in eastern China

Background: There is accumulating evidence for an increased susceptibility to infection in patients with arthritis. We sought to understand the epidemiology of Toxoplasma gondii infection in arthritis patients in eastern China, given the paucity of data on the magnitude of T. gondii infection in these patients. Methods: Seroprevalence of T. gondii infection was assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using a crude antigen of the parasite in 820 arthritic patients, and an equal number of healthy controls, from Qingdao and Weihai cities, eastern China. Sociodemographic, clinical and lifestyle information on the study participants were also obtained. Results: The prevalence of anti-T. gondii IgG was significantly higher in arthritic patients (18.8%) compared with 12% in healthy controls (P < 0.001). Twelve patients with arthritis had anti-T. gondii IgM antibodies comparable with 10 control patients (1.5% vs 1.2%). Demographic factors did not significantly influence these seroprevalence frequencies. The highest T. gondii infection seropositivity rate was detected in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (24.8%), followed by reactive arthritis (23.8%), osteoarthritis (19%), infectious arthritis (18.4%) and gouty arthritis (14.8%). Seroprevalence rates of rheumatoid arthritis and reactive arthritis were significantly higher when compared with controls (P < 0.001 and P = 0.002, respectively). A significant association was detected between T. gondii infection and cats being present in the home in arthritic patients (odds ratio [OR], 1.68; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.24 – 2.28; P = 0.001). Conclusions: These findings are consistent with and extend previous results, providing further evidence to support a link between contact with cats and an increased risk of T. gondii infection. Our study is also the first to confirm an association between T. gondii infection and arthritis patients in China. Implications for better prevention and control of T. gondii infection in arthritis patients are discussed. Trial registration: This is an epidemiological survey, therefore trial registration was not required

Gate-tuning of graphene plasmons revealed by infrared nano-imaging

Surface plasmons are collective oscillations of electrons in metals or semiconductors enabling confinement and control of electromagnetic energy at subwavelength scales. Rapid progress in plasmonics has largely relied on advances in device nano-fabrication, whereas less attention has been paid to the tunable properties of plasmonic media. One such medium-graphene-is amenable to convenient tuning of its electronic and optical properties with gate voltage. Through infrared nano-imaging we explicitly show that common graphene/SiO2/Si back-gated structures support propagating surface plasmons. The wavelength of graphene plasmons is of the order of 200 nm at technologically relevant infrared frequencies, and they can propagate several times this distance. We have succeeded in altering both the amplitude and wavelength of these plasmons by gate voltage. We investigated losses in graphene using plasmon interferometry: by exploring real space profiles of plasmon standing waves formed between the tip of our nano-probe and edges of the samples. Plasmon dissipation quantified through this analysis is linked to the exotic electrodynamics of graphene. Standard plasmonic figures of merits of our tunable graphene devices surpass that of common metal-based structures.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figure

The Functioning of the Drosophila CPEB Protein Orb Is Regulated by Phosphorylation and Requires Casein Kinase 2 Activity

The Orb CPEB protein regulates translation of localized mRNAs in Drosophila ovaries. While there are multiple hypo- and hyperphosphorylated Orb isoforms in wild type ovaries, most are missing in orbF303, which has an amino acid substitution in a buried region of the second RRM domain. Using a proteomics approach we identified a candidate Orb kinase, Casein Kinase 2 (CK2). In addition to being associated with Orb in vivo, we show that ck2 is required for orb functioning in gurken signaling and in the autoregulation of orb mRNA localization and translation. Supporting a role for ck2 in Orb phosphorylation, we find that the phosphorylation pattern is altered when ck2 activity is partially compromised. Finally, we show that the Orb hypophosphorylated isoforms are in slowly sedimenting complexes that contain the translational repressor Bruno, while the hyperphosphorylated isoforms assemble into large complexes that co-sediment with polysomes and contain the Wisp poly(A) polymerase

A preliminary screening and characterization of suitable acids for sandstone matrix acidizing technique: a comprehensive review

Matrix acidizing is a broadly developed technique in sandstone stimulation to improve the permeability and porosity of a bottom-hole well. The most popular acid used is mud acid (HF–HCl). It is a mixture of hydrofluoric acid and hydrochloric acid. However, one of the conventional problems in sandstone acidizing is that mud acid faces significant issues at high temperature such as rapid rate of reaction, resulting in early acid consumption. This downside has given a negative impact to sandstone acidizing as it will result in not only permeability reduction, but can even extend to acid treatment failure. So, the aim of this study is to provide a preliminary screening and comparison of different acids based on the literature to optimize the acid selection, and targeting various temperatures of sandstone environment. This paper has comprehensively reviewed the experimental works using different acids to understand the chemical reactions and transport properties of acid in sandstone environment. The results obtained indicated that fluoroboric acid (HBF4) could be useful in enhancing the sandstone acidizing process, although more studies are still required to consolidate this conclusion. HBF4 is well known as a low damaging acid for sandstone acidizing due to its slow hydrolytic reaction to produce HF. This would allow deeper penetration of the acid into the sandstone formation at a slower rate, resulting in higher porosity and permeability enhancement. Nevertheless, little is known about the effective temperature working range for a successful treatment. Considering the pros and cons of different acids, particularly those which are associated with HF and HBF4, it is recommended to perform a comprehensive analysis to determine the optimum temperature range and effective working window for sandstone acidizing before treatment operation. Prior to sandstone acid stimulation, it is essential to predict the feasibility of acid selected by integrating the effects of temperature, acid concentration and injection rate. Therefore, this manuscript has thrown light into the research significance of further studies

The historical origins of corruption in the developing world: a comparative analysis of East Asia

A new approach has emerged in the literature on corruption in the developing world that breaks with the assumption that corruption is driven by individualistic self-interest and, instead, conceptualizes corruption as an informal system of norms and practices. While this emerging neo-institutionalist approach has done much to further our understanding of corruption in the developing world, one key question has received relatively little attention: how do we explain differences in the institutionalization of corruption between developing countries? The paper here addresses this question through a systematic comparison of seven developing and newly industrialized countries in East Asia. The argument that emerges through this analysis is that historical sequencing mattered: countries in which the "political marketplace" had gone through a process of concentration before universal suffrage was introduced are now marked by less harmful types of corruption than countries where mass voting rights where rolled out in a context of fragmented political marketplaces. The paper concludes by demonstrating that this argument can be generalized to the developing world as a whole