The Events City: Sport, Culture, and the Transformation of Inner Melbourne, 1977–2006

In 2006 Melbourne, Australia, played host to an almost monthly lineup of major international sporting and cultural events: the Australian Open Tennis tournament, the Commonwealth Games and associated cultural festival, a Formula One Grand Prix, an International Flower and Garden Show, an arts festival, and what is billed as the third largest comedy festival in the world. Almost all of these events were staged primarily in a revitalized region within a five-kilometre radius of the city centre, and all—bar the Commonwealth Games—are annual events, part of a deliberate economic and tourism strategy that attempts to sell Melbourne as an “events city.” This paper charts the emergence of this events strategy and argues that, rather than being a phenomenon of the 1990s as is often assumed, its origins lie in the early 1980s and was a deliberate response to deindustrialization, urban decay, and “crisis” in the inner Melbourne economy in the 1970s. The paper recognizes the many successes of this economic policy but raises questions about a policy that adds to a growing economic gap between the now prosperous, gentrified inner city and the increasingly marginalized outer zones of the metropolis.En 2006, la ville de Melbourne en Australie a été l’hôte d’une série d’événements sportifs et culturels d’envergure internationale: le tournoi de tennis Open d’Australie, les Jeux du Commonwealth auxquels était associé un festival culturel, un Grand Prix de Formule 1, un festival international d’horticulture et de jardins, un festival d’arts et un festival de l’humour qui fut alors présenté comme le plus grand au monde. Presque tous ces événements se sont déroulés dans une zone revitalisée se trouvant dans un rayon de cinq kilomètres du centre de la ville. Tous, à l’exception des Jeux du Commonwealth, sont devenus des événements annuels et ils s’inscrivent dans une stratégie délibérée de développement économique et touristique visant à promouvoir Melbourne comme une ville de festivals et de grands événements. Cet article reconstitue la mise en forme de cette stratégie de revitalisation du centre. J’y argumente que cette stratégie n’a pas été élaborée dans les années 1990 comme il l’est souvent évoqué. Visant à relancer l’économie du centre de Melbourne, cette approche soutenue par les pouvoirs publics en partenariat avec les acteurs privés et civiques trouve plutôt ses origines dans les années 1980 alors que Melbourne traversait depuis une dizaine d’années une phase de désindustrialisation et de dévitalisation urbaine. Tout en reconnaissant les retombées positives de cette stratégie de développement économique sur la vitalité du centre, cet article soulève aussi des enjeux reliés à l’écart économique prévalant entre les zones prospères et gentrifiées du centre-ville et les secteurs excentriques de plus en plus marginalisés de la métropole

Neuropathophysiological potential of Guillain-Barré syndrome anti-ganglioside-complex antibodies at mouse motor nerve terminals

Objectives:  Anti-ganglioside antibodies are present in approximately half of Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS) patients. Recently, it has been shown that a considerable proportion of these patients has serum antibodies against antigenic epitopes formed by a complex of two different gangliosides. However, direct experimental evidence for neuropathogenicity of this special category of antibodies is currently lacking. Here, we explored a series of GBS and GBS-variant sera with anti-ganglioside-complex antibodies for their ability to induce complement-dependent deleterious effects at the living neuronal membrane. Methods:  The neuropathophysiological potential of 31 GBS sera containing either anti-GM1/GD1a- or anti-GM1/GQ1b-ganglioside-complex antibodies was studied at motor nerve terminal presynaptic membranes in the mouse phrenic nerve/diaphragm muscle ex vivo experimental model. With electrophysiological measurements and confocal fluorescence microscopy, we assessed and quantified the damaging effect on neuronal membranes by anti-ganglioside-complex antibodies. Results:  We show that anti-GM1/GD1a- and anti-GM1/GQ1b-ganglioside-complex positive sera can induce complement-mediated functional and morphological injury at mouse motor nerve terminals ex vivo. Of the 31 investigated anti-ganglioside-complex patient sera, 17 sera induced increases in miniature end-plate potential frequency in this experimental model, mostly associated with muscle fibre twitches. Variability in potency was observed, with the anti-GM1/GD1a-complex sera inducing the most outspoken effects.<b></b> Conclusions:  The present study shows the presence of ganglioside-complexes as available antigens in living neuronal membranes and supplies proof-of-principle that anti-ganglioside-complex antibodies in sera from GBS patients can induce complement-mediated damage. This strongly supports the hypothesis that autoimmune targeting of ganglioside-complexes is of pathogenic relevance in a proportion of GBS patients

Towards a Model of Internet Technology Adoption for Not-for-profit Organisations

This paper describes research into the adoption of internet technologies by not-for-profit organisations. Five factors were identified from previous research that may influence the adoption of internet technologies by non-profit organisations. These factors were perceived external pressure, internal support, organisational readiness (comprised of technical resources, financial resources, knowledge and workforce composition) and the organisation’s compatibility with internet technologies. To investigate the influence of these factors a survey of West Australian community sector organisations was conducted. Surveys were completed by 119 respondents from a range of non-profit organisations. The results of the survey are discussed and an amended internet technology model for not-for-profit organisations is proposed

1/t pressure and fermion behaviour of water in two dimensions

A variety of metal vacuum systems display the celebrated 1/t pressure, namely power-law dependence on time t, with the exponent close to unity, the origin of which has been a long-standing controversy. Here we propose a chemisorption model for water adsorbates, based on the argument for fermion behaviour of water vapour adsorbed on a stainless-steel surface, and obtain analytically the power-law behaviour of pressure, with an exponent of unity. Further, the model predicts that the pressure should depend on the temperature T according to T^(3/2), which is indeed confirmed by our experiment. Our results should help elucidate the unique characteristics of the adsorbed water.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure

Second generation sequencing allows for mtDNA mixture deconvolution and high resolution detection of heteroplasmy

Aim To use parallel array pyrosequencing to deconvolute mixtures of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence and provide high resolution analysis of mtDNA heteroplasmy. Methods The hypervariable segment 1 (HV1) of the mtDNA control region was analyzed from 30 individuals using the 454 GS Junior instrument. Mock mixtures were used to evaluate the system’s ability to deconvolute mixtures and to reliably detect heteroplasmy, including heteroplasmic differences between 5 family members of the same maternal lineage. Amplicon sequencing was performed on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products generated with primers that included multiplex identifiers (MID) and adaptors for pyrosequencing. Data analysis was performed using NextGENe® software. The analysis of an autosomal short tandem repeat (STR) locus (D18S51) and a Y-STR locus (DYS389 I/II) was performed simultaneously with a portion of HV1 to illustrate that multiplexing can encompass different markers of forensic interest. Results Mixtures, including heteroplasmic variants, can be detected routinely down to a component ratio of 1:250 (20 minor variant copies with a coverage rate of 5000 sequences) and can be readily detected down to 1:1000 (0.1%) with expanded coverage. Amplicon sequences from D18S51, DYS389 I/II, and the second half of HV1 were successfully partitioned and analyzed. Conclusions The ability to routinely deconvolute mtDNA mixtures down to a level of 1:250 allows for high resolution analysis of mtDNA heteroplasmy, and for differentiation of individuals from the same maternal lineage. The pyrosequencing approach results in poor resolution of homopolymeric sequences, and PCR/sequencing artifacts require a filtering mechanism similar to that for STR stutter and spectral bleed through. In addition, chimeric sequences from jumping PCR must be addressed to make the method operational

Human rights in the new Global Strategy.

The Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health (2010), with its emphasis on participatory decision making processes, non-discrimination, and accountability, affirmed the importance of human rights. Despite important gains following its launch women, children, and adolescents continue to experience serious violations of their health and health related human rights, including discrimination in access to quality healthcare. A human rights based approach must thus be fully integrated throughout the Global Strategy. The right to health is recognised by several legal tools and treaties relating to human rights, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; the Convention on the Rights of the Child; and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. A human rights framework for realising the right to health of women, children, and adolescents calls for national governments to ensure that health facilities, goods, and services are of good quality, are available in sufficient quantity, and are physically accessible and affordable on the basis of non-discrimination.1 Health facilities, goods, and services must also be acceptable—that is, gender and child sensitive and respectful of confidentiality and the requirement for informed consent, among other things