Comparative aspects of resistance to body-cooling in newborn lambs and kids : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Agricultural Science in Animal Science at Massey University

THE PROBLEM OF PERINATAL MORTALITY IN LAMBS AND KIDS Fibre-producing goats are becoming an increasingly important species on New Zealand farms. There is a considerable lack of information about the physiology of goats, especially as it relates to the development of appropriate management strategies. For instance, goats are reputed to be more susceptible than sheep to cold, wet, windy conditions but comparisons between the species have not been reported. Newborn kids are thought to be very susceptible to cold-stress, but it is not clear whether this is a function of their low birth weight or some particular characteristic of the species ( such as a low capacity for heat production) which leads to high mortality. The problem of kid mortality is important from the viewpoints of both animal welfare and economic loss. The extent of kid losses in New Zealand has not been investigated, but industry sources suggest that kid mortality is high. In particular, deaths occur during inclement weather. It is expected that losses will increase with increasing goat numbers and the consequent reduction in management intensity

Nephroblastoma in MRI Data

The main objective of this work is the mathematical analysis of nephroblastoma in MRI sequences. At the beginning we provide two different datasets for segmentation and classification. Based on the first dataset, we analyze the current clinical practice regarding therapy planning on the basis of annotations of a single radiologist. We can show with our benchmark that this approach is not optimal and that there may be significant differences between human annotators and even radiologists. In addition, we demonstrate that the approximation of the tumor shape currently used is too coarse granular and thus prone to errors. We address this problem and develop a method for interactive segmentation that allows an intuitive and accurate annotation of the tumor. While the first part of this thesis is mainly concerned with the segmentation of Wilms’ tumors, the second part deals with the reliability of diagnosis and the planning of the course of therapy. The second data set we compiled allows us to develop a method that dramatically improves the differential diagnosis between nephroblastoma and its precursor lesion nephroblastomatosis. Finally, we can show that even the standard MRI modality for Wilms’ tumors is sufficient to estimate the developmental tendencies of nephroblastoma under chemotherapy

'Finally a Human Being in this Palace': How 'Sissi' Deals with the Past

The article uses the Sissi trilogy as a case study to offer a new perspective on popular film in the 1950s in general and on Heimatfilm in particular. Rather than reading those films as the expression of a wilful collective amnesia, the article aims to show that, despite representing a sugar-coated world of royal romance, these films form a crucial part of people’s coping with the past. In adopting a phenomenological approach to cinematic representation, the article emphasises the fact that realism is not to be sought in the fantastic setting of the costume spectacle but in narrative structure. The conventionality of narrative patterns and iconographies is brought out as an integral part of a social practice of narrativising, and thereby integrating, historical events within the private sphere of everyday experience. Within this familiar sphere, urgent issues of the 1950s such as gender relations and national identity were addressed and renegotiated. The argument culminates in the claim that it is only by suspending rash moral judgement and acknowledging this ‘privatisation’ as a necessary element in people’s narrative coping with the past that a new perspective on films like Sissi can emerge to provide us with a more complete picture of the 1950s

Prediction of Search Targets From Fixations in Open-World Settings

Previous work on predicting the target of visual search from human fixations only considered closed-world settings in which training labels are available and predictions are performed for a known set of potential targets. In this work we go beyond the state of the art by studying search target prediction in an open-world setting in which we no longer assume that we have fixation data to train for the search targets. We present a dataset containing fixation data of 18 users searching for natural images from three image categories within synthesised image collages of about 80 images. In a closed-world baseline experiment we show that we can predict the correct target image out of a candidate set of five images. We then present a new problem formulation for search target prediction in the open-world setting that is based on learning compatibilities between fixations and potential targets

Characterization of MRIP2 as a NO-sensitive guanylyl cyclase-associated protein

Poster presentation: NO-sensitive guanylyl cyclases (sGCs) are cytosolic receptors for nitric oxide (NO) catalyzing the conversion of GTP to cGMP. sGCs are obligate heterodimers composed of one alpha and beta subunit each. The allosteric mechanism of sGC activation via NO is well understood, however, our knowledge about alternative mechanisms such as protein-protein interactions regulating activity, availability, translocation and expression of sGC is rather limited. In a search by the yeast two-hybrid system using the catalytic domain of the alpha1 subunit as the bait, we have identified two structurally related proteins AGAP1 [1] and MRIP2 as novel sGC interacting proteins. MRIP2 is a multi-domain protein of 75 kDa comprising a single PH and ArfGAP domain each and two ankyrin repeats. Co-immunoprecipitation experiments using COS1 cells overexpressing both proteins demonstrated the interaction of MRIP2 with both subunits of the sGC alpha1beta1. Confocal microscopical analysis showed a prominent plasma membrane staining of MRIP2. This membrane association is mediated through an N-terminal myristoylation site and through binding of its PH domain to phospholipids such as phosphatidylinositol-3,5-bisphosphate (PI(3,5)P2). We hypothesize that MRIP2 may represent an acceptor protein for sGC that mediates recruitment of cytosolic sGC to the plasma membrane or other subcellular compartments

Interaction of NO-sensitive guanylyl cyclase with Src-like kinases

Poster presentation NO-sensitive guanylyl cyclases (soluble guanylyl cyclase, sGC) are among the key regulators of intracellular cGMP concentration. The mechanisms underlying NO-mediated activation of sGC are quite well understood, however, little is known about the fine-tuning of sGC activity through alternative mechanisms such as protein phosphorylation. Several reports have demonstrated the reversible phosphorylation of sGC on serine/threonine residues, and it has been speculated, though not experimentally proven, that sGC might also be phosphorylated on tyrosine residues. Using broad-spectrum phosphatase inhibitors we were able to demonstrate tyrosine phosphorylation at Tyr192 of the beta 1 subunit of human sGC in COS1 cells. This residue forms part of a sequence segment (YEDL) representing a preferential binding site for SH2 domains of Src-like kinases. Pull-down assays and co-immunoprecipitation experiments showed that Src can indeed bind via its SH2 domain to pTyr192 of beta 1 indicating that tyrosine phosphorylation of sGC may be followed by recruitment of Src-like kinases to the phosphorylated beta 1 subunit. In support of this hypothesis, immunofluorescence studies showed a colocalization of overexpressed sGC and Src at the plasma membrane of COS1 and Hela cells. Together, our results point to an unexpected crosstalk between tyrosine kinase pathway(s) and the NO/cGMP signalling cascade which may result in translocation of the predominantly cytosolic sGC to the cytosolic face of the plasma membrane

The Double Alexander the Great?

Basierend auf einer antiken Tradition über ihren gemeinsamen Besuch der gefangenen Familie des persischen Großkönigs wurde Hephaistion, der engste Gefährte und Vertraute Alexanders des Großen, in der Rezeption durch europäische Künstler der Renaissance und des Barock als sein äußerlich identischer Doppelgänger gezeigt. Antiker Hintergrund war eine Darstellung der beiden im Sinne der aristotelischen Freundschaftslehre, die von einer Seele in zwei Körpern ausgeht. In der Rezeption des 20. und 21. Jahrhunderts in Populärwissenschaft und Populärkultur erfährt die Darstellung des doppelten Alexanders weitere Facetten: die Abwertung Hephaistions als sein opportunistischer Schatten, die Betonung von Alexanders Hinwendung zur aristotelischen Philosophie und zum heroischen Ideal oder die Darstellung seiner inneren Zerrissenheit.On the basis of an ancient tradition on their visit to the captured royal family of the Persian great king, Hephaistion, the closest friend and confidant of Alexander the Great, was depicted in European art of the Renaissance and Baroque as his look-alike. The ancient background was Aristotle’s theories on friendship. During the 20th and 21st centuries the image of the doubled Alexander received further treatment. Hephaistion was shown as a mere shadow of Alexander and opportunist while Alexander was depicted as a true philosopher king and hero or as a person at odds with himself

Age-related increase of oxidative stress-induced apoptosis in mice prevention by Ginkgo biloba extract (EGb761)

Enhanced apoptosis and elevated levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) play a major role in aging. In addition, several neurodegenerative diseases are associated with increased oxidative stress and apoptosis in neuronal tissue. Antioxidative treatment has neuro-protective effects. The aim of the present study was to evaluate changes of susceptibility to apoptotic cell death by oxidative stress in aging and its inhibition by the antioxidant Ginkgo biloba extract EGb761. We investigated basal and ROS-induced levels of apoptotic lymphocytes derived from the spleen in young (3 months) and old (24 months) mice. ROS were induced by 2-deoxy-D-ribose (dRib) that depletes the intracellular pool of reduced glutathione. Lymphocytes from aged mice accumulate apoptotic cells to a significantly higher extent under basal conditions compared to cells from young mice. Treatment with dRib enhanced this difference, implicating a higher sensitivity to ROS in aging. Apoptosis can be reduced in vitro by treatment with EGb761. In addition, mice were treated daily with 100mg/kg EGb761 per os over a period of two weeks. ROS-induced apoptosis was significantly reduced in the EGb761 group. Interestingly, this effect seemed to be more pronounced in old mice