Functional Characterization of a FoxO Target Gene

Honors (Bachelor's)Cell and Molecular BiologyInt Med-Hematology/OncologyUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/107795/1/watersia.pd

Gender, Victimization, and Commercial Sex: A Comparative Study

This article critically examines and compares adult male and female experiences selling sex in Canada’s off-street sex industry. Findings indicate that gender disparities exist when it comes to the work of selling sex: male providers are better insulated from violence and exploitation because of their gender, while female sex workers are forced to navigate multiple layers of oppression to assure safer working conditions. Despite these differences, this data suggests that prioritizing overarching labour issues, instead of gendered experiences working in commercial sex, can function to increase all sex workers’ safety and access to justice.Cet article examine et compare dans un esprit critique les expériences des hommes et des femmes adultes qui vendent des services sexuels dans le cadre de l’industrie du sexe hors rue au Canada. Les résultats indiquent qu’il existe des disparités entre les genres en ce qui concerne la vente de services sexuels : les fournisseurs de sexe masculin sont plus à l’abri de la violence et de l’exploitation en raison de leur genre, alors que les femmes travailleuses du sexe sont obligées de naviguer plusieurs couches d’oppression pour s’assurer des conditions de travail plus sûres. Malgré ces différences, ces données indiquent que le fait d’accorder la priorité aux questions primordiales relatives au travail du sexe, plutôt qu’aux expériences sexospécifiques des personnes travaillant dans l’industrie du sexe, peut permettre d’améliorer la sécurité et l’accès à la justice de tous les travailleurs et de toutes les travailleuses du sexe

Pastoral Farmer Goals and Intensification Strategies

Focus groups were held with four pastoral sectors (sheep, dairy, deer, and beef) to investigate intensification strategies available to each sector. Focus groups first identified drivers of intensification in their sector, then identified the strategies they perceived as available, and evaluated the identified strategies in terms of favourability. For a researcher selected intensification strategy in each pastoral sector, benefits, barriers and solutions, and the relationship between farmer goals and the selected strategy was examined. The three main drivers of intensification in the sheep industry were profit, higher land values and return on capital. The researcher chosen strategy, high fecundity sheep, was viewed by the focus group as having benefits of increased financial security, increased profit, better return on capital and better land utilisation. However the strategy was seen as conflicting with other desirable goals such as lifestyle, social life, work variety, self reliance, environmental concerns and animal welfare. The three main drivers of intensification in the dairy sector were declining market prices, need for increased profit and need for increased productivity. The researcher chosen strategy, robotic milking, was viewed as having benefits of: reduced labour requirements, enhanced lifestyle, greater job satisfaction, reduce operational costs and increased profit. Implementation cost was viewed as a barrier as was the need for new specialised technical skills. The three main drivers of intensification in the deer industry were return on investment, competition from other land uses and returns per hectare compared with other pastoral sectors. The researcher chosen strategy, 100kg weaner by 1st June, had benefits of increased management options, increased profit, achievement of animals’ genetic potential, better predictability and a higher kill-out yield. The strategy presents challenges to animal welfare – an important consideration for the group. Three industry enterprises (dairy, calf rearers, and beef finishers) are involved in beef production. All three agreed that profit was the main driver for intensification. The researcher chosen strategy was dairy/beef progeny. Benefits of this strategy for the industry were: increased profit, access to prime markets, higher yielding quicker growing animals, and better behaved animals. The primary barrier to the success of this strategy was the need for co-operation across the three industry enterprises and the processors, and the need to ensure increased profits are distributed to all parts of the chain. Dairy farmers (the source of 65% of animals farmed for beef) were particular concerned about animal welfare issues and the consequent financial risks presented to their operations by this strategy.Agribusiness, Agricultural Finance, Consumer/Household Economics, Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Land Economics/Use, Livestock Production/Industries, Risk and Uncertainty,

Australia and Cyberwarfare

This book explores Australia’s prospective cyber-warfare requirements and challenges. It describes the current state of planning and thinking within the Australian Defence Force with respect to Network Centric Warfare, and discusses the vulnerabilities that accompany the use by Defence of the National Information Infrastructure (NII), as well as Defence’s responsibility for the protection of the NII. It notes the multitude of agencies concerned in various ways with information security, and argues that mechanisms are required to enhance coordination between them. It also argues that Australia has been laggard with respect to the development of offensive cyber-warfare plans and capabilities. Finally, it proposes the establishment of an Australian Cyber-warfare Centre responsible for the planning and conduct of both the defensive and offensive dimensions of cyber-warfare, for developing doctrine and operational concepts, and for identifying new capability requirements. It argues that the matter is urgent in order to ensure that Australia will have the necessary capabilities for conducting technically and strategically sophisticated cyber-warfare activities by the 2020s. The Foreword has been contributed by Professor Kim C. Beazley, former Minister for Defence (1984–90), who describes it as ‘a timely book which transcends old debates on priorities for the defence of Australia or forward commitments, [and] debates about globalism and regionalism’, and as ‘an invaluable compendium’ to the current process of refining the strategic guidance for Australia’s future defence policies and capabilities

Effect of supplementation with different fat sources on the mechanisms involved in reproductive performance in lactating dairy cattle

peer reviewedSupplementary fat positively influences reproductive performance in dairy cattle, although the mechanisms involved are not clearly defined. Our objective was to determine the effects of four different fat supplements on follicle development, plasma steroid hormone concentrations and prostaglandin (PG) synthesis in lactating dairy cattle. Forty-eight early lactation Holstein-Friesian cows (21 primiparous, 27 multiparous) were used in a completely randomized block design. Cows were fed the same basal TMR diet and received one of four fat supplements: (i) palmitic acid (18:0 fatty acid; Control), (ii) flaxseed (rich in 18:3 n-3 fatty acid; Flax), (iii) conjugated linoleic acid (a mixture of cis-9, trans-11 and trans-10, cis-12 isomers; CLA), and (iv) fish oil (rich in 20:5 and 22:6 n-3 fatty acids; FO). All lipid supplements were formulated to be isolipidic; palmitic acid was added as necessary to provide a total lipid supplement intake of 500 g/day. Cows were synchronized to be in estrus on Day 15 of dietary treatment. All antral follicles were counted, and dominant follicles, subordinate follicles and corpora lutea were measured daily via transrectal ovarian ultrasonography for one complete estrous cycle. Blood samples were collected daily, and selected samples were analyzed for progesterone, estradiol, insulin-like growth factor-1, insulin, cholesterol and non-esterified fatty acids. Estrus was synchronized a second time, and liver and endometrial biopsies were collected on Day 7 of the estrous cycle. Gene expression was evaluated for a number of genes involved in prostaglandin synthesis (endometrium) and fatty acid uptake and utilization (liver). Fat supplementation had little effect on follicle development. Cows receiving supplementary n-3 fatty acids had lesser plasma progesterone (P4) and smaller corpora lutea than cows receiving the CLA or Control supplements. Effects of fat supplementation on the endometrial expression of genes involved in PG synthesis were minor. Hepatic expression of SREBF1, ASCL1 and FABP1 was reduced by FO supplementation. Reduced plasma P4 in n-3 supplemented cows may lead to a suboptimal uterine environment for embryo development and hence reduced fertility compared to cows receiving the control or CLA supplements

Adding Dimensions to Information: GIS for the Divisions of General Practice Setting

With the rapid increase in uptake of information technologies in the health sector, and with concurrent trends in the need to be able to quantify health outcomes, the demands for access to information about a population and health services at a given location has increased. The Geographic Information Systems for General Practice Project was a pilot study in Victoria whereby a GIS was developed for use in the primary health care setting on whose areas the data was collected. This paper discusses the methodology adopted in the project and describes the implementation of the system on the Internet environment. Two different web sites have been prepared for use on the Internet, with access to data contingent on the user population. The practical application of the GIS in the field, and issues relating to evaluation of its utility in the primary care setting are detailed in this paper

Use of the Internet in the diffusion of GIS for General Practices in Victoria, Australia

This paper describes the delivery of a Geographic Information System (GIS) product through the Internet for primary health care services provided at general medical practices in the State of Victoria, Australia. The paper details a collaborative research project, the principal aim of which was to develop a methodology for creating a GIS as a decision support system, for more effective use of information about population and health services at a given location. The methodology employed is based on the ability of a GIS to establish interrelationships between a combination of health, geographic, and demographic data. An overview of GIS as a technology that allows geospatial data to be analyzed, displayed, and queried is given. The results of the project can be demonstrated through a live presentation, detailing specific and generic reasons for the choice of the Internet as the preferred delivery mechanism. The paper concludes with the identification of important issues related to the research and use of the World Wide Web for Geographic Information Systems and Health

Use of the Internet in the diffusion of GIS for General Practices in Victoria, Australia

This paper describes the delivery of a Geographic Information System (GIS) product through the Internet for primary health care services provided at general medical practices in the State of Victoria, Australia. The paper details a collaborative research project, the principal aim of which was to develop a methodology for creating a GIS as a decision support system, for more effective use of information about population and health services at a given location. The methodology employed is based on the ability of a GIS to establish interrelationships between a combination of health, geographic, and demographic data. An overview of GIS as a technology that allows geospatial data to be analyzed, displayed, and queried is given. The results of the project can be demonstrated through a live presentation, detailing specific and generic reasons for the choice of the Internet as the preferred delivery mechanism. The paper concludes with the identification of important issues related to the research and use of the World Wide Web for Geographic Information Systems and Health

Incipient slip detection and grasping automation for robotic surgery

Robotic minimally invasive surgery provides multiple improvements over traditional laparoscopic procedures, but one significant issue still encountered is their limited force control during the grasping and retraction of tissue, as the surgeon is separated from the instrument, and therefore denuded of their sense of touch and the applied forces. Prior solutions have largely looked towards haptic feedback to resolve this issue, but an alternative approach is to detect and monitor the occurrence of tissue slip events. This would allow the force to be automatically adjusted to prevent slip, minimising the clamp force used to maintain control, thus reducing the probability of tissue trauma. The aim of this work is to develop a method for the early detection and mitigation of tissue slip during robotic surgical manipulation tasks, helping to reduce tissue trauma and minimise tissue slip events. Initial investigations into literature, and evaluation of the slip mechanics when grasping soft, lubricated, deformable materials, indicated that small localised slips occur before the onset of macro slip. Two phenomena were identified in the slip mechanics investigation that could be employed to induce these slip in a measurable and repeatable manner. Firstly through using the tissue's deformable properties to create slip differentials between the front and rear of the grasper face, and secondly through using a curved surface to create a variation in the normal force, and thus frictional force, across the surface. Two instrumented grasper faces were developed, based on each of these phenomena, that were capable of monitoring the occurrence of localised tissue slip through monitoring the displacement of a series of independent movable islands that made up the grasper face. These were then demonstrated to be capable of automatically detecting slip events for a range of test conditions with tissue simulants, before being utilised to automatically control the grasping forces during a tissue retraction task. Both sensor systems provided similar levels of tissue control to one which utilised the maximum clamp force throughout the task, whilst applying lower forces during the early stages of retraction, reducing the probability of tissue damage. In addition the normal force based method, with the curved grasper face, was demonstrated to be effective for the early detection of slip when grasping porcine liver tissue, successfully detecting incipient slip in 77% of cases. This work provides a strong basis for further development of incipient slip sensing for surgical applications. It provides novel contributions in the understanding of slip mechanics of soft tissues, as well as presenting two separate novel sensing approaches for the automatic detection and mitigation of slip events, offering an opportunity for reducing the occurrence of tissue slip events whilst minimising tissue trauma, as well as surgeon fatigue