'We must learn to': the institutional essence of learning as an anthropocentric praxis following Heidegger

This thesis begins from the belief that it is currently essential for us to relearn the essence of learning. To commence this task, this thesis works with the assumption that the essence of learning lies in the way learning can be ontological, changing the essence of what is, and instituting a new ‘what is’. This thesis is thus an attempt to take account of the radical constructivism that is the unavoidable anthropocentrism of such essential learning. The philosophical teachings of Martin Heidegger are brought to bear on this question concerning learning. This thesis suggests that on the one hand, the way in which Heidegger teaches, teaches us that learning is a process of instituting, a formative projection of necessities that metaleptically installs what is essential; on the other hand, what is thereby learned with and from Heidegger clarifies that this process of learning is a reflexively finitudinal praxis, a thingly effort that must be performed anew every time and can never be taken-as-finished. This means that the ‘freedom’ to change the essence of ‘what is’ by learning is never merely available to us because essential learning involves making-necessary in a sustained manner over-and-against what currently has been learnt-as-necessary, that is, ‘what presently is’. This thesis therefore learns that learning is an avowed act of willing, but one which cannot and must not be represented as a technical economy under the control of a humanist subject. The latter misrepresentations can in fact be understood as manifestations of the current withdrawal of essential learning. In the end, to try to capture what is being learned in this thesis, the process of essential learning is called ‘design’ as understood in relation to the current concern for sustainabilit

Identification of a New Rhoptry Neck Complex RON9/RON10 in the Apicomplexa Parasite Toxoplasma gondii

Apicomplexan parasites secrete and inject into the host cell the content of specialized secretory organelles called rhoptries, which take part into critical processes such as host cell invasion and modulation of the host cell immune response. The rhoptries are structurally and functionally divided into two compartments. The apical duct contains rhoptry neck (RON) proteins that are conserved in Apicomplexa and are involved in formation of the moving junction (MJ) driving parasite invasion. The posterior bulb contains rhoptry proteins (ROPs) unique to an individual genus and, once injected in the host cell act as effector proteins to co-opt host processes and modulate parasite growth and virulence. We describe here two new RON proteins of Toxoplasma gondii, RON9 and RON10, which form a high molecular mass complex. In contrast to the other RONs described to date, this complex was not detected at the MJ during invasion and therefore was not associated to the MJ complex RON2/4/5/8. Disruptions of either RON9 or RON10 gene leads to the retention of the partner in the ER followed by subsequent degradation, suggesting that the RON9/RON10 complex formation is required for proper sorting to the rhoptries. Finally, we show that the absence of RON9/RON10 has no significant impact on the morphology of rhoptry, on the invasion and growth in fibroblasts in vitro or on virulence in vivo. The conservation of RON9 and RON10 in Coccidia and Cryptosporidia suggests a specific relation with development in intestinal epithelial cells

Waist circumference has heterogeneous impact on development of diabetes in different populations : Longitudinal comparative study between Australia and Iran

Aims : Comparing waist circumference (WC) role in diabetes risk prediction and diagnosis of metabolic syndrome (MS) in different populations.Methods : Population-based samples from Australia (n = 9026) and Iran (n = 8259) were studied in 2000 and followed for 4 years. Follow-up attendance was 58% and mean age was 51 vs. 47. Pearson correlations calculated between WC and other MS components. ROC for the role of WC in the prediction of incident diabetes was used.Results : Prevalences of MS (48% vs. 28%), an increased WC (58.5% vs. 54.5%), low HDL-C (35% vs. 11.2%), high triglyceride (52.2% vs. 29.6%) were significantly higher in Iran. Fasting glucose &ge;5.6 mmol/L was higher in Australia (26% vs. 23%). Hypertension was no different (38%). Pearson correlations between WC and other MS components were stronger in Australians: FPG (0.32 vs. 0.2), HDL (0.47 vs. 0.16), TG (0.38 vs. 0.30) and SBP (0.38 vs. 0.36). Among women, area under ROC curve for WC as a predictor for diabetes was significantly higher for Australians (0.76 vs. 0.68, p &lt; 0.001) with no difference among men (0.69 vs. 0.71, p = 0.4).Conclusion : WC was more strongly related to other components of MS in Australia. Association between WC and MS or incident diabetes varies between ethnicities.<br /

Emergence of field-based underwater video for understanding the ecology of freshwater fishes and crustaceans in Australia

Underwater video is increasingly being used to record and research aquatic fauna in their natural environment, and is emerging alongside Dual Frequency Identification Sonar (DIDSON) as a powerful tool in Australian freshwater ecology. We review current progress with field-based applications of underwater video in studying Australian freshwater fish and crustacean ecology. Drawing upon searches of online literature databases and our expert knowledge, we located 11 relevant publications: five set in the Murray-Darling Basin, three in the Eastern Province, two in the Northern Province and a single study in the Pilbara Province. In total, 10 studies reported using video for fish ecology, while three studies included crustaceans. Across the 11 publications, eight examined threatened species, while the remaining studies developed video techniques for surveying species richness in remote or difficult to access habitats. Habitat-use was also a dominant theme (seven studies). Seven of the eight studies that centred on threatened species focused on at least one percichthyid species in either the Murray-Darling Basin or the Eastern Province. Miniaturisation in equipment and increases in compact battery capacity seem to have driven a shift from above-water battery supplies and data storage to small, inexpensive and mobile underwater cameras. We foresee wider use of video in freshwater ecology primarily in the study of animal behaviour and also to improve species detection in field surveys. There is scope for testing novel techniques such as animal-borne video and unmanned underwater vehicles and making use of video in citizen science initiatives

Intraduodenal guar attenuates the fall in blood pressure induced by glucose in healthy older adults

ObjectivesPostprandial hypotension occurs frequently in older people and may result in syncope and falls. It has recently been established that the magnitude of the fall in blood pressure is related to the rate at which glucose enters the small intestine. We addressed the hypothesis that the fall in blood pressure induced by an intraduodenal glucose infusion is influenced by the interaction of glucose with the small intestinal absorptive epithelium.MethodsEight healthy older participants (four male, four female, age 70.3 +/- 3.4 years) were studied on two separate occasions, in single-blind, randomized order. Participants received an intraduodenal glucose infusion (3 kcal/min) with or without guar gum (4 g) for 60 minutes (0-60 minutes), followed by 0.9% saline intraduodenally for a further 60 minutes (60-120 minutes). Blood pressure and heart rate were measured every 3 minutes. Levels of blood glucose, plasma insulin, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), and glucose-dependant insulinotropic-polypeptide (GIP) were also determined.ResultsBetween t = 0 and t = 30 minutes, the magnitude of the fall in systolic blood pressure (p =.03) and increase in heart rate (p =.027) were lower after guar. The blood glucose (p =.009), plasma insulin (p =.027), plasma GLP-1 (p =.018), and GIP (p ConclusionsIn healthy older participants, the magnitude of the fall in systolic blood pressure and increase in heart rate induced by intraduodenal glucose are attenuated when the exposure of glucose to the small intestinal mucosa and subsequent glucose absorption is slowed by guar.Deirdre O'Donovan, Christine Feinle-Bisset, Chilton Chong, Alexander Cameron, Anne Tonkin, Judith Wishart, Michael Horowitz and Karen Louise Jone

The politics of brand accounting in the United Kingdom

The debate on accounting for brand names in the UK is undoubtedly a significant episode in the recent history of accounting regulation. This essay describes the principal 'technical' parameters of the debate and places the question of a credible valuation technology for brands at its centre. A concept of the politics of consensus formation is developed to interpret the strategies adopted by the participants in the debate to contest and assert the authority of valuation expertise. This suggests a more complex view of the UK debate in which apparently technical disagreements about asset recognition cannot be abstracted from social questions of expert authority to determine such issues. The UK brand accounting debate therefore concerns much more than the need to solve an accounting problem. The concept of the branded product provokes a new and contested visibility for marketing bodies of knowledge in relation to financial reporting.