Whatever happened to frank and fearless?

The former head of evaluation for the Australian Public Service Commission considers the tension between the public service’s role in providing ‘frank and fearless’ advice to government and its role in development and implementation of government policy

Homage from the Universitat de Barcelona

Homage to Geoff Davis from the Universitat de Barcelona

Studies on the premature bolting of the chicory cultivar \u27Daliva\u27

The flower Initiation and bolting responses of the extra-early F-1 hybrid chicory cultivar \u27Daliva\u27 (Cichorium intybus L. var witloof) were investigated under controlled daylength and field conditions at Knoxville, TN (35°, 53\u27N and 83°, 57\u27W). Histological sectioning and biochemical screenings from apical shoot tips for soluble sugars (glucose, fructose, and sucrose) and total free amino acids prior to and after floral transition, in addition to various plant size measurements, were conducted. Under controlled daylength (10 hours light) for 143 days, pot grown plants did not exceed 22 leaves and no plants initiated a floral transition. After 143 days similar plants were subjected to long photoperiods (\u3e14 hours) for up to 15 days. Over the 15 days of long photoperiods six harvests were made but no floral initiation was found. Total amino acids from all shoot tips ranged from 15 to 30 mg / g dry weight (DW). Soluble sugars leached from apical shoot tips followed no apparent trends. Glucose and fructose each ranged from 25 to 120 umol / g DW while sucrose ranged from 30 to 130 umol / g DW. Immediately after the imposition of the long day photoperiods the total free amino acid level in the shoot tips appeared to rise. In a field experiment, some field grown \u27Daliva\u27 chicory sown on 29 May had signs of bolting within 90 days. Vegetative meristems appeared flattened, even sunken beneath the overarching leaf primordia while induced meristems were domed and hemispherical in shape; this is consistent with other reports from the Cichorieae. In vegetative shoot tips, total free amino acids from shoot tips ranged between 23 and 40 mg / g DW with the maximum value at the middle harvest. Glucose and fructose each were less than 100 umol / g DW and remained steady through three harvests. Sucrose from the same tissue dropped linearly from 450 to near 50 umol / g DW over a 27 day harvest period. Shoot tips identified as transitional had levels of free amino acids which rose steadily from 15 to 25 to 35 mg / g DW over three harvests within 13 days. From the same shoot tips all sugars also rose steadily; glucose from 90 to 700, fructose from 60 to 260, and sucrose from 10 to 400 umol per g DW. Transitional plants exceeded 33 leaves and had root diameters greater than 20 mm. A separate field experiment investigating \u27Daliva\u27 plant growth and bolting response was begun on 19 June when seeds were planted into an Etowah clay loam. Five weeks later half the plants were mulched with 10 cm of straw mulch. Harvests began 14 days after planting and continued for 14 weeks. Bolting plants were observed after 8 weeks. Measurements of bolting plants showed that although the mulched plants grew faster and larger they did not bolt with any more frequency than plants in the bare soil. However, a comparison of various plant parameters (leaf number, area, DW, root diameter, root DW and crown diameter) between bolting and non-bolting plants showed that the leaf number differed (PIn summary, these experiments investigated the bolting responses of \u27Daliva\u27 chicory and found that the juvenile stage of this cultivar is passed at approximately 30 leaves and thereafter the plant may proceed directly into flowering. Once induced to flower the apical shoot meristem appeared distinctly domed, in contrast to the vegetative meristem which was flattened at the top

An investigation of genetic factors in Ebola virus disease

Introduction The West African Ebola epidemic was the largest Ebola epidemic to date with over 28,000 cases. The large number of cases permitted assessment of different disease phenotypes and outcomes of Ebola virus disease (EVD). Given the variety of disease phenotypes in EVD, a genetic predisposition to disease phenotype and outcome was hypothesised. Methods Samples from 325 deceased patients and 174 surviving patients were provided through the Sierra Leone Ministry of Health-Public Health England Ebola Biobank. Additionally, 1021 household contacts, 1004 community controls and 504 Ebola survivors were recruited in Sierra Leone. Participants provided a saliva sample for DNA extraction and an oral fluid sample for anti-EBOV IgG antibodies. Exome sequencing was undertaken on 250 extreme phenotype cases and genome wide genotyping was undertaken on 2153 Ebola patients, household contacts and community controls. Data analysis of the exome data included within family segregation studies, gene burden testing and pathway analysis. The genotyped data was interrogated through a genome wide association study comparing deceased and surviving cases. Results Of the household contacts, 3.5% were positive for anti-EBOV IgG. Seropositivity correlated with risk exposure level, with the highest risk level demonstrating seropositivity rates of 15.6%. Ebola survivors with more severe acute disease demonstrated lower levels of anti-EBOV IgG antibodies (p=0.01), as did those with more severe post-Ebola syndrome, although this was not significant. Exome sequencing revealed multiple protective mutations within cholesterol metabolism pathways. A key finding was a protective variant in the PCSK9 gene (p=0.002). Preliminary GWAS analysis of deceased versus surviving Ebola patients identified a genome wide significant (p=2.9x10-8) SNP in the Carbonic Anhydrase 5a gene. Conclusions The study established different extreme phenotypes of EVD, including highly exposed antibody negative and asymptomatic antibody positive individuals. Genetic factors affect both susceptibility to and severity of Ebola virus disease; with rare deleterious mutations in genes within cholesterol metabolism pathways, and common polymorphisms determining outcome of exposure to Ebola virus.Open Acces

Glass walls: Australia's highly gender-segregated workforce

Workplaces lacking gender balance employ 60% of Australian workers, the same as 20 years ago - comments by Alison Sheridan and Kathy MacDermot

OT Employment Program Addressing Homelessness for Women Experiencing Homelessness

Women experiencing homelessness face many barriers to employment participation. Occupational therapy (OT) is a well-suited profession to address employment barriers; however, there is a lack of OT programs that address the unique barriers to employment participation for women experiencing homelessness. The purpose of the capstone project was to develop a program focused on employment obtainment and maintenance for women experiencing homelessness. The employment program was developed based upon the findings from an in-depth literature review and needs assessment.https://soar.usa.edu/otdcapstonesspring2023/1038/thumbnail.jp

Supporting the Transition Out of the Family Caregiver Role: An Occupation-Centered Approach

Engagement in meaningful and valued occupations can be used as a means to help former family caregivers cope, heal, and grow following the loss of their loved one (Pickens, 2011). Occupational engagement can be used as a means to help former family caregivers reshape their personal identity, experience a sense of wholeness, and reestablish purpose and balance in their lives (Hocking, 2016). The purpose of this doctoral capstone project was to educate hospice care staff on ways to support individuals with transitioning out of the family caregiver role following the death of the care recipient. An educational resource was developed to inform hospice care staff on the use of occupation-centered interventions and activities to foster adaptation to shifts in roles, routines, habits, and rituals after caregiving ends.https://soar.usa.edu/otdcapstones-spring2022/1009/thumbnail.jp

Entrepreneurship and OT

The purpose of this project was to discover the perceived and actual barriers to business ownership through research with current OT businesses and create a deliverable supporting OTs entering business ownership.https://soar.usa.edu/otdcapstones-spring2022/1043/thumbnail.jp