The increased feminization of the surfing economy: An exploration of the lived experiences of female surfers in Muizenberg, South Africa

This thesis is a phenomenological exploration of female surfers' lived experiences in the surfing culture and economy of Muizenberg, South Africa. The research design includes a review of literature, participant observation and semi structured in-depth interviews. The approach was qualitative so as to gain deep insights into women's lived experiences participating in a predominantly male sporting culture and economy. Thereby, the everyday experiences, feelings, victories and constraints of female surfers were central to the investigation. Even though some athletes showed active resistance to gendered identities and contest stereotypical femininities, this research demonstrates that females still feel marginalized in what they see as the continued male-dominant sport of surfing. The results reveal that identity creation of female surfers is influenced by the media representation of women as well as the masculinity of the sport. The female surfers of the study face structural, interpersonal as well as intrapersonal constraints in their surfing lives. It is striking that most of the interpersonal constraints refer to attitudes of male surfers towards women. Furthermore, it has been revealed that female surfers are active participants in and drivers of the surfing economy. However, women often are socially and economically devalued and continue to be a minority in the surfing community. There is little to suggest that female surfers' constraints and gendered identity creation at Muizenberg will change significantly as long as there is no combined effort of media, professional surfing organizations and men in positions of influence to work towards an improvement of support for female surfers from beginner to professional. In order to move towards advancing female surfing, gender equality has to be addressed across multidimensional structures

John Stroehlein, MD, Oral History Interview, December 12, 2012

Major Topics Covered: Personal and educational background; military experience; retirement Working at Methodist Hospital; MD Anderson in comparison to other institutions Gastroenterology and oncology: history and evolution; development of team approaches Research overview Department of Gastroenterology: history of Department of Patient Affairs: functions, organization Data management initiatives Quality assurance initiatives MD Anderson growth; cultural change; changing relationship to Texas/Houstonhttps://openworks.mdanderson.org/mchv_interviewsessions/1184/thumbnail.jp

John Stroehlein, MD, Oral History Interview, December 5, 2012

Major Topics Covered: Personal and educational background; military experience; retirement Working at Methodist Hospital; MD Anderson in comparison to other institutions Gastroenterology and oncology: history and evolution; development of team approaches Research overview Department of Gastroenterology: history of Department of Patient Affairs: functions, organization Data management initiatives Quality assurance initiatives MD Anderson growth; cultural change; changing relationship to Texas/Houstonhttps://openworks.mdanderson.org/mchv_interviewsessions/1183/thumbnail.jp

Reconstruction of the insulin-like signalling pathway of Haemonchus contortus

Background: In the present study, we reconstructed the insulin/insulin-like growth factor 1 signalling (IIS) pathway for Haemonchus contortus, which is one of the most important eukaryotic pathogens of livestock worldwide and is related to the free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Methods: We curated full-length open-reading frames from assembled transcripts, defined the complement of genes that encode proteins involved in this pathway and then investigated the transcription profiles of these genes for all key developmental stages of H. contortus. Results: The core components of the IIS pathway are similar to their respective homologs in C. elegans. However, there is considerable variation in the numbers of isoforms between H. contortus and C. elegans and an absence of AKT-2 and DDL-2 homologs from H. contortus. Interestingly, DAF-16 has a single isoform in H. contortus compared with 12 in C. elegans, suggesting novel functional roles in the parasitic nematode. Some IIS proteins, such as DAF-18 and SGK-1, vary in their functional domains, indicating distinct roles from their homologs in C. elegans. Conclusions: This study paves the way for the further characterization of key signalling pathways in other socioeconomically important parasites and should help understand the complex mechanisms involved in developmental processes

The Haemonchus contortus kinome - a resource for fundamental molecular investigations and drug discovery

Background: Protein kinases regulate a plethora of essential signalling and other biological pathways in all eukaryotic organisms, but very little is known about them in most parasitic nematodes. Methods: Here, we defined, for the first time, the entire complement of protein kinases (kinome) encoded in the barber’s pole worm (Haemonchus contortus) through an integrated analysis of transcriptomic and genomic datasets using an advanced bioinformatic workflow. Results: We identified, curated and classified 432 kinases representing ten groups, 103 distinct families and 98 subfamilies. A comparison of the kinomes of H. contortus and Caenorhabditis elegans (a related, free-living nematode) revealed considerable variation in the numbers of casein kinases, tyrosine kinases and Ca^(2+) /calmodulin-dependent protein kinases, which likely relate to differences in biology, habitat and life cycle between these worms. Moreover, a suite of kinase genes was selectively transcribed in particular developmental stages of H. contortus, indicating central roles in developmental and reproductive processes. In addition, using a ranking system, drug targets (n = 13) and associated small-molecule effectors (n = 1517) were inferred. Conclusions: The H. contortus kinome will provide a useful resource for fundamental investigations of kinases and signalling pathways in this nematode, and should assist future anthelmintic discovery efforts; this is particularly important, given current drug resistance problems in parasitic nematodes

Defining the Schistosoma haematobium kinome enables the prediction of essential kinases as anti-schistosome drug targets

The blood fluke Schistosoma haematobium causes urogenital schistosomiasis, a neglected tropical disease (NTD) that affects more than 110 million people. Treating this disease by targeted or mass administration with a single chemical, praziquantel, carries the risk that drug resistance will develop in this pathogen. Therefore, there is an imperative to search for new drug targets in S. haematobium and other schistosomes. In this regard, protein kinases have potential, given their essential roles in biological processes and as targets for drugs already approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in humans. In this context, we defined here the kinome of S. haematobium using a refined bioinformatic pipeline. We classified, curated and annotated predicted kinases, and assessed the developmental transcription profiles of kinase genes. Then, we prioritised a panel of kinases as potential drug targets and inferred chemicals that bind to them using an integrated bioinformatic pipeline. Most kinases of S. haematobium are very similar to those of its congener, S. mansoni, offering the prospect of designing chemicals that kill both species. Overall, this study provides a global insight into the kinome of S. haematobium and should assist the repurposing or discovery of drugs against schistosomiasis

Analyses of Compact Trichinella Kinomes Reveal a MOS-like Protein Kinase with a Unique N-terminal Domain

Parasitic worms of the genus Trichinella (phylum Nematoda; class Enoplea) represent a complex of at least twelve taxa that infect a range of different host animals, including humans, around the world. They are foodborne, intracellular nematodes, and their life cycles differ substantially from those of other nematodes. The recent characterization of the genomes and transcriptomes of all twelve recognized taxa of Trichinella now allows, for the first time, detailed studies of their molecular biology. In the present study, we defined, curated, and compared the protein kinase complements (kinomes) of Trichinella spiralis and T. pseudospiralis using an integrated bioinformatic workflow employing transcriptomic and genomic data sets. We examined how variation in the kinome might link to unique aspects of Trichinella morphology, biology, and evolution. Furthermore, we utilized in silico structural modeling to discover and characterize a novel, MOS-like kinase with an unusual, previously undescribed N-terminal domain. Taken together, the present findings provide a basis for comparative investigations of nematode kinomes, and might facilitate the identification of Enoplea-specific intervention and diagnostic targets. Importantly, the in silico modeling approach assessed here provides an exciting prospect of being able to identify and classify currently unknown (orphan) kinases, as a foundation for their subsequent structural and functional investigation

Flatworms have lost the right open reading frame kinase 3 gene during evolution

All multicellular organisms studied to date have three right open reading frame kinase genes (designated riok-1, riok-2 and riok-3). Current evidence indicates that riok-1 and riok-2 have essential roles in ribosome biosynthesis, and that the riok-3 gene assists this process. In the present study, we conducted a detailed bioinformatic analysis of the riok gene family in 25 parasitic flatworms (platyhelminths) for which extensive genomic and transcriptomic data sets are available. We found that none of the flatworms studied have a riok-3 gene, which is unprecedented for multicellular organisms. We propose that, unlike in other eukaryotes, the loss of RIOK-3 from flatworms does not result in an evolutionary disadvantage due to the unique biology and physiology of this phylum. We show that the loss of RIOK-3 coincides with a loss of particular proteins associated with essential cellular pathways linked to cell growth and apoptosis. These findings indicate multiple, key regulatory functions of RIOK-3 in other metazoan species. Taking advantage of a known partial crystal structure of human RIOK-1, molecular modelling revealed variability in nucleotide binding sites between flatworm and human RIOK proteins