‘He No Doubt Felt Insulted’: The White Australia Policy and Australia’s Relations with India, 1944–1964

Australia and the World celebrates the pioneering role of Neville Meaney in the formation and development of foreign relations history in Australia and his profound influence on its study, teaching and application. The contributors to the volume, historians, practitioners of foreign relations and political commentators, many of whom were taught by Meaney at the University of Sydney over the years, focus especially on the interaction between geopolitics, culture and ideology in shaping Australian and American approaches to the world

Myogenin modulates exercise endurance by altering skeletal muscle metabolism

The function of myogenic regulatory factors (MRFs) during adult life is not well understood. The requirement of one of these MRFs, myogenin (Myog), during embryonic muscle development suggests an equally important role in adult muscle. In this study, we have determined the function of myogenin during adult life using a conditional allele of Myog. In contrast to embryonic development, myogenin is not required for adult viability, and Myog-deleted mice exhibited no remarkable phenotypic changes during sedentary life. Remarkably, sedentary Myog-deleted mice demonstrated enhanced exercise endurance during involuntary treadmill running. Altered blood glucose and lactate levels in sedentary Myog-deleted mice after exhaustion suggest an enhanced glycolytic metabolism and an ability to excessively deplete muscle and liver glycogen stores. Traditional changes associated with enhanced exercise endurance, such as fiber type switching, and increased oxidative potential, were not detected in sedentary Myog-deleted mice. After long-term voluntary exercise, trained Myog-deleted mice demonstrated an enhanced adaptive response to exercise. Trained Myog-deleted mice exhibited superior exercise endurance associated with an increased proportion of slow-twitch fibers and increased oxidative capacity. In a parallel experiment, dystrophin-deficient young adult mice showed attenuated muscle fatigue following the deletion of Myog. These results demonstrate a novel and unexpected role for myogenin in modulating skeletal muscle metabolism

Role of Gp120 Glycosylation in Sexual Transmission of HIV

Background: In chronic HIV patients, the viral populations are genetically diverse due to mutations introduced by the viral reverse transcriptase during HIV replication. However, more than 80% new infections result from single transmission founder (TF) viruses; therefore, targeting the TFs is key to control AIDS worldwide. Gp120 is a glycosylated envelope protein required for HIV infection, propagation, and transmission. Glycans on gp120 influence HIV infectivity through their interactions with lectins, the carbohydrate-binding immune proteins in the host mucosa. To transmit sexually, viruses must overcome the lectin traps to access more target T cells. Hypothesis: TF viruses are less likely to be trapped by host lectins due to their reduced gp120 glycosylation, thus more infectious. Methods: We aim to characterize and compare the gp120 glycosylation signatures in TF and chronic HIV strains, B4 and Q0 respectively, using mass spectrometry (MS), surface plasmon resonance (SPR), and capillary electrophoresis (CE). To date, we have established a work flow to purify gp120 glycoproteins, perform MS using ETHcD methods, and analyze raw MS data using the GlycoPAT software. We are currently analyzing MS data for three replicates of B4 and the first replicate of Q0. Then we will compare the glycosylation patterns between the two strains. CE and SPR will be performed to test the glycan enrichment and functional interactions between gp120 and lectins, respectively. Discussion: Our results will provide qualitative and quantitative details about gp120 glycosylation underlying the strong infectivity of TF viruses, shedding light on new strategies to develop HIV vaccines

Management of RFID Systems in Hospital Transfusion Services

Radio Frequency Identification Devices (RFID) technology is used by hospital supply chains to track various medical products and monitor inventories. To improve overall operations, hospitals have implemented RFID as part of their supply chain processes. Hospitals have also have begun incorporating RFID technology as part of their transfusion services processes. The purpose of this review was to analyze how healthcare organization supply chains can benefit from the utilization of RFID systems in transfusion services departments. The methodology for this study was a literature review following the steps of a systematic review with a total of 51 sources referenced. RFID technology is being used to manage and track blood products from the initial donor phlebotomy to final disposition or product transfusion. Through RFID, transfusion departments and hospital supply chains have been able to manage blood samples and components to facilitate identification and transfusion of blood products to the correct patient. RFID-enabled transfusion practices have successfully increased provider productivity and product quality through work-reduction times and error reduction. A pilot study in one Iowa hospital system yielded a 3%-10% reduction in misidentification of patients and/or blood products during transfusion. A cost-benefit assessment reported showed a 5-year ROI of 2%, with an approximate pay-back period of four years. Cost of RFID tags can be 10-15 times more expensive than barcode systems. There are also risks of this technology involving privacy and the security of patient information. Findings of this research study suggest that RFID has provided improvements in quality of care and efficiency, while initial costs, security and privacy appeared as principal barriers of adoption

Benefits and Barriers of Implementation and Utilization of Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) Systems in Transfusion Medicine

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology is used by hospital supply chains to track medical products and monitor inventories. Hospitals have also begun incorporating RFID technology as part of their transfusion processes. The purpose of this review was to analyze how healthcare organization supply chains can benefit from the utilization of RFID systems in transfusion service departments. The methodology for this study was a literature review following the steps of a systematic review with a total of 52 sources referenced. RFID technology is used to manage and track blood products from the initial donor phlebotomy to final disposition or product transfusion. RFID-enabled transfusion practices have successfully increased provider productivity and product quality through work-time reduction and error reduction. Findings of this research study suggest that RFID has provided improvements in quality of care and efficiency, while initial costs, security, and privacy appear to be the principal barriers to adoption