Queer Vibrations

A review of Lynn Comella, 'Vibrator Nation: How Feminist Sex-toy Stores Changed the Business of Pleasure', Duke University Press, Durham and London, 2017

Get out in front!: an evaluation of a media workshop for young elite sportswomen

Research into sport and gender in Australia has suggested that teenage girls are still under-represented in sport and physical activity when compared to boys of similar age groups. Sports such as football and cricket dominate media coverage (and sponsorship interest) and remain male-dominated. While there has been increasing opportunity for young girls to participate in mixed and non-traditional sports, the perception of these sports as predominantly a masculine pursuit at pre-elite and elite levels affects assumptions about adolescent girls’ competency and interest in sporting participation. This article is about how young elite sportswomen view the fact that women’s sports continue to struggle for recognition and coverage in newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations. This type of representation impacts on women’s sports credibility

Get out in front!: an evaluation of a media workshop for young elite sportswomen

Research into sport and gender in Australia has suggested that teenage girls are still under-represented in sport and physical activity when compared to boys of similar age groups. Sports such as football and cricket dominate media coverage (and sponsorship interest) and remain male-dominated. While there has been increasing opportunity for young girls to participate in mixed and non-traditional sports, the perception of these sports as predominantly a masculine pursuit at pre-elite and elite levels affects assumptions about adolescent girls’ competency and interest in sporting participation. This article is about how young elite sportswomen view the fact that women’s sports continue to struggle for recognition and coverage in newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations. This type of representation impacts on women’s sports credibility

Encouraging creativity in design through student competitions

This paper reports on a student competition in which teams of 4 students were asked to design an egg launching and catching device capable of launching an egg an initial distance of 2 metres without breakage. The design exercise was part of a creativity module in a Systems Engineering course and the objective of the exercise was to illustrate to students how the design process involves trade-offs between sometimes potentially conflicting criteria. Thus, the designs were judged not only on the winning distance but also factored into the total score were points for weight, cost, good appearance and accuracy/repeatability. Anecdotal comments from students indicated an immense enjoyment of the design experience and a full cognisance of the objectives of the competition

Dual mechanism of brain injury and novel treatment strategy in maple syrup urine disease

Maple syrup urine disease (MSUD) is an inherited disorder of branched-chain amino acid metabolism presenting with lifethreatening cerebral oedema and dysmyelination in affected individuals. Treatment requires life-long dietary restriction and monitoring of branched-chain amino acids to avoid brain injury. Despite careful management, children commonly suffer metabolic decompensation in the context of catabolic stress associated with non-specific illness. The mechanisms underlying this decompensation and brain injury are poorly understood. Using recently developed mouse models of classic and intermediate maple syrup urine disease, we assessed biochemical, behavioural and neuropathological changes that occurred during encephalopathy in these mice. Here, we show that rapid brain leucine accumulation displaces other essential amino acids resulting in neurotransmitter depletion and disruption of normal brain growth and development. A novel approach of administering norleucine to heterozygous mothers of classic maple syrup urine disease pups reduced branched-chain amino acid accumulation in milk as well as blood and brain of these pups to enhance survival. Similarly, norleucine substantially delayed encephalopathy in intermediate maple syrup urine disease mice placed on a high protein diet that mimics the catabolic stress shown to cause encephalopathy in human maple syrup urine disease. Current findings suggest two converging mechanisms of brain injury in maple syrup urine disease including: (i) neurotransmitter deficiencies and growth restriction associated with branchedchain amino acid accumulation and (ii) energy deprivation through Krebs cycle disruption associated with branched-chain ketoacid accumulation. Both classic and intermediate models appear to be useful to study the mechanism of brain injury and potential treatment strategies for maple syrup urine disease. Norleucine should be further tested as a potential treatment to prevent encephalopathy in children with maple syrup urine disease during catabolic stress

Towards Open Access Publishing in High Energy Physics : Report of the SCOAP3 Working Party

This Report concerns the implementation of a process today supported by leading actors from the particle physics community, and worked through in detail by members of an international Working Party. The initiative offers an opportunity for the cost-effective dissemination of high-quality research articles in particle physics, enabling use of the new technologies of e-Science across the literature of High Energy physics