Successional changes in epiphytic rainforest lichens : implications for the management of rainforest communities

We explored lichen species richness and patterns of lichen succession on rough barked Nothofagus cunninghamii trees and on smooth barked Atherosperma moschatum trees in cool temperate rainforests in Victoria, Australia. Nothofagus cunninghamii trees from the Yarra Ranges, and A.moschatum trees from Errinundra were ranked into size classes (small, medium, large and extra-large), and differences in species richness and composition were compared between size classes for each tree species. Nothofagus cunninghamii supported a rich lichen flora (108 trees, 52 lichen species), with the largest trees supporting a significantly higher number of species, including many uncommon species. This success was attributed to varying bark texture, stand characteristics and microhabitat variations as the trees age. Atherosperma moschatum supported a comparable number of species (120 trees, 54 lichen species). Indeed on average, this host supported more lichen species than N. cunninghamii. However, successional patterns with increasing girth were not as clear for A. moschatum, possibly due to the more stable microclimate that this smooth barked host provided. Victorian cool temperate rainforests exist primarily as small, often isolated pockets within a sea of Eucalypt-dominated, fire-prone forest. Many are regenerating from past disturbance. We find that protection of Victoria&rsquo;s oldest rainforest pockets is crucial, as they represent sources of rare, potentially threatened lichen species, and may be acting as reservoirs for propagules for nearby ageing rainforests. Indeed, even single, large old trees have conservation importance, as they may provide exceptional microhabitats, not found elsewhere in the regenerating rainforest environment.<br /

Service user suicides and coroner's inquests

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Criminal Justice Matters on 22nd May 2013, available online: DOI:10.1080/09627251.2013.805375The expansion of victimology in the 1980s produced a more nuanced understanding of victims and victimisation. Yet responses of government, criminal justice agencies, media and general public to victims are predictably and predominantly focused on victims of ‘conventional crime’. We challenge this perspective, thus widening the victimological lens. We discuss the impact of self-inflicted deaths and subsequent coronial inquests on practitioners working on behalf of the state

The Actin-Bundling Protein L-Plastin: A Critical Regulator of Immune Cell Function

L-plastin is a leukocyte-specific protein that cross-links actin filaments into tight bundles, increasing the stability of actin-based structures such as podosomes and lamellipodia. While first identified as an abundant cytoplasmic protein in hematopoietically derived cells over 25 years ago, the requirement for L-plastin in multiple functions critical for immunity, such as antigen receptor signaling, adhesion, and motility, has only recently become clear. L-plastin has been identified as an important component in cellular processes critical for neutrophil, macrophage, osteoclast, eosinophil, and T- and B-lymphocyte biology. Following a brief description of the structure and function of L-plastin, the regulation of immune cell functions by L-plastin will be reviewed in detail

Neutrophil L-plastin controls ocular paucibacteriality and susceptibility to keratitis

Why ocular mucosa is paucibacterial is unknown. Many different mechanisms have been suggested but the comprehensive experimental studies are sparse. We found that a deficiency in L-plastin (LCP1), an actin bundling protein, resulted in an ocular commensal overgrowth, characterized with increased presence of conjunctiva

Experiences and Attitudes of Genome Investigators Regarding Return of Individual Genetic Test Results

Purpose Whether and how to return individual genetic results to study participants is among the most contentious policy issues in contemporary genomic research. Methods: We surveyed corresponding authors of genome-wide association studies (GWAS), identified through the National Human Genome Research Institute's Catalog of Published GWAS, to describe the experiences and attitudes of these stakeholders. Results: Of 357 corresponding authors, 200 (56%) responded. One hundred twenty-six (63%) had been responsible for primary data and sample collection, whereas 74 (37%) had performed secondary analyses. Only 7 (4%) had returned individual results within their index GWAS. Most (69%) believed that return of results to individual participants was warranted under at least some circumstances. Most respondents identified a desire to benefit participants's health (63%) and respect for participants's; desires for information (57%) as major motivations for returning results. Most also identified uncertain clinical utility (76%), the possibility that participants will misunderstand results (74%), the potential for emotional harm (61%), the need to ensure access to trained clinicians (59%), and the potential for loss of confidentiality (51%) as major barriers to return. Conclusion: Investigators have limited experience returning individual results from genome-scale research, yet most are motivated to do so in at least some circumstances

Efficient T cell migration and activation require L-plastin

Rapid re-organization of the actin cytoskeleton supports T-cell trafficking towards immune sites and interaction with antigen presenting cells (APCs). F-actin rearrangement enables T-cell trafficking by stabilizing adhesion to vascular endothelial cells and promoting transendothelial migration. T-cell/APC immune synapse (IS) maturation also relies upon f-actin-anchored LFA-1:ICAM-1 ligation. Therefore, efficient T-cell responses require tight regulation of f-actin dynamics. In this review, we summarize how the actin-bundling protein L-plastin (LPL) regulates T-cell activation and migration. LPL enhances f-actin polymerization and also directly binds to the β2 chain of the integrin LFA-1 to support intercellular adhesion and IS formation in human and murine T cells. LPL- deficient T cells migrate slowly in response to chemo-attractants such as CXCL12, CCL19, and poorly polarize towards ICAM-1. Loss of LPL impairs thymic egress and intranodal motility. LPL is also required for T-cell IS maturation with APCs, and therefore for efficient cytokine production and proliferation. LP

L-plastin is essential for alveolar macrophage production and control of pulmonary pneumococcal infection

We report that mice deficient for the hematopoietic-specific, actin-bundling protein L-plastin (LPL) succumb rapidly to intratracheal pneumococcal infection. The increased susceptibility of LPL(−/−) mice to pulmonary pneumococcal challenge correlated with reduced numbers of alveolar macrophages, consistent with a critical role for this cell type in the immediate response to pneumococcal infection. LPL(−/−) mice demonstrated a very early clearance defect, with an almost 10-fold-higher bacterial burden in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid 3 h following infection. Clearance of pneumococci from the alveolar space in LPL(−/−) mice was defective compared to that in Rag1(−/−) mice, which lack all B and T lymphocytes, indicating that innate immunity is defective in LPL(−/−) mice. We did not identify defects in neutrophil or monocyte recruitment or in the production of inflammatory cytokines or chemokines that would explain the early clearance defect. However, efficient alveolar macrophage regeneration following irradiation required LPL. We thus identify LPL as being key to alveolar macrophage development and essential to an effective antipneumococcal response. Further analysis of LPL(−/−) mice will illuminate critical regulators of the generation of alveolar macrophages and, thus, effective pulmonary innate immunity

Young women's narratives of violence

There is a growing interest in females who commit acts of violence with the mass media claiming that we are witnessing the emergence of a breed of new violent females. This thesis, however, challenges the argument that we are seeing the emergence of sassy, independent, violent females who are imitating, or in some circumstances being more violent, than males. Based on narrative interviews with a group of young women in the North West of England, this thesis reveals the pervasive nature of social control mechanisms that are at play in these young women's lives. In order to adhere to entrenched ideas of appropriate female behaviour, these young women employ a variety of preventative strategies in order to avoid or negotiate violence, sexual or otherwise. As such these strategies were not only employed to prevent violence by males, but also to prevent violence from other women, thus demonstrating women's universal fear of men and their particular fear ofother women. This thesis also builds on Kelly's (1988) continuum of violence theory, suggesting that a matrix of violence is better able to capture the subtleties and complexities ofviolence in the everyday lives ofthese young women. As such, there is no clear-cut distinction between victims and perpetrators, thus disrupting the dichotomy in which women are seen either as innocent victims or as offenders. Rather, the young women may fmd themselves at various places in this matrix as the dynamics of a conflict change. These conflicts are not only evident with regard to physical violence but also with the young women either being victims, or perpetrators of, what was termed 'mean' or 'bitchy' behaviour. However, the author suggests that we should be careful not to conflate the severity of this 'mean' behaviour with the harm inflicted by physical violence. The young women's motivations for using violence are also explored. Important here is the concept of 'respect', which, it is argued is not gender specific. Rather the young women regarded respect in the same marmer as boys and men; it gave them status among their peers. However, it was found that ideas of respectability and respectable femininity were gender specific. It was also evident that these latter terms carried different meanings for the young women at various times in their lives depending upon the circumstances and situations they found themselves in

What Makes You Proactive Can Burn You Out: The Downside of Proactive Skill Building Motivated by Financial Precarity and Fear

Proactivity at work is generally assumed to be preceded by positive motivational states with positive outcomes for employees. However, recent perspectives suggest downsides to proactive behavior, including that it can be driven by negative emotions or experienced as depleting for employees. Bringing these previously disconnected ideas together, we utilize cognitive–motivational–relational and self-determination theories to holistically examine the negative antecedents of proactivity and its outcomes. We argue that employees, particularly those with high impression management motives, experience burnout when financial precarity and fear drive them to proactively learn new skills. We test and show support for these hypotheses in a four-wave study of 1, 315 university employees during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, an external event that threatened employees’ financial security. Theoretically, our findings broaden our understanding of the antecedents and consequences of proactivity, while expanding the role of fear at work beyond “flight” responses to include motivating protective effort. Practically, our findings help to understand both how employees proactively develop their skills in light of financial precarity and how these proactive efforts are experienced as depleting