The First World War between Memory and History: A Conference Retrospective

Long after the guns of the First World War went silent on 11 November 1918, the war continues to spark debate. The many points of contention were on full display at the “From Memory to History” conference, hosted by Western University in London, Ontario, over three days in November 2011. Scholars and enthusiasts from around the world gathered to share, debate, and ultimately demonstrate that the war’s many legacies are still open to interpretation, even as the centenary of the war’s outbreak approaches. Perhaps the most crucial lesson learned is that both memory and history are malleable concepts, prone to revision, and there are numerous narratives in many disciplines that remain untold, even with an event as well-documented as the First World War

Raman Microscopy of Selected Autunite Minerals

Raman spectroscopy at ambient and liquid nitrogen temperature has been used to determine the molecular structure of selected minerals from the autunite and meta-autunite groups. Six hydroxyl stretching bands for autunite are observed of which three are highly polarised. The hydroxyl stretching vibrations are related to the strength of hydrogen bonding of the water units. Bands in the Raman spectrum of autunite at 998, 842 and 820 cm–1 are highly polarised. Low intensity band at 915 cm–1 is attributed to the 3 antisymmetric stretching vibration of (UO2)2+ units. The band at 820 cm–1 is attributed to the 1 symmetric stretching mode of the (UO2)2+ units. The (UO2)2+ bending modes are found at 295 and 222 cm–1. The presence of phosphate and arsenate anions and their isomorphic substitution are readily determined by Raman spectroscopy. The collection of Raman spectra at 77 K enables excellent band separation

BAC-FISH assays delineate complex chromosomal rearrangements in a case of post-Chernobyl childhood thyroid cancer

Structural chromosome aberrations are known hallmarks of many solid tumors. In the papillary form of thyroid cancer (PTC), for example, activation of the receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) genes, RET and neurotrophic tyrosine kinase receptor type I (NTRK1) by intra- and interchromosomal rearrangements has been suggested as a cause of the disease. However, many phenotypically similar tumors do not carry an activated RET or NTRK-1 gene or express abnormal ret or NTRK- 1 transcripts. Thus, we hypothesize that other cellular RTK-type genes are aberrantly expressed in these tumors. Using fluorescence in situ hybridization-based methods, we are studying karyotype changes in a relatively rare subgroup of PTCs, i.e., tumors that arose in children following the 1986 nuclear accident in Chernobyl, Ukraine. Here, we report our technical developments and progress in deciphering complex chromosome aberrations in case S48TK, an aggressively growing PTC cell line, which shows an unusual high number of unbalanced translocations

Rapid mapping of chromosomal breakpoints: from blood to BAC in 20 days

Structural chromosome aberrations and associated segmental or chromosomal aneusomies are major causes of reproductive failure in humans. Despite the fact that carriers of reciprocal balanced translocation often have no other clinical symptoms or disease, impaired chromosome homologue pairing in meiosis and karyokinesis errors lead to over-representation of translocations carriers in the infertile population and in recurrent pregnancy loss patients. At present, clinicians have no means to select healthy germ cells or balanced zygotes in vivo, but in vitro fertilization (IVF) followed by preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) offers translocation carriers a chance to select balanced or normal embryos for transfer. Although a combination of telomeric and centromeric probes can differentiate embryos that are unbalanced from normal or unbalanced ones, a seemingly random position of breakpoints in these IVF-patients poses a serious obstacle to differentiating between normal and balanced embryos, which for most translocation couples, is desirable. Using a carrier with reciprocal translocation t(4;13) as an example, we describe our state-of-the-art approach to the preparation of patient-specific DNA probes that span or 'extent' the breakpoints. With the techniques and resources described here, most breakpoints can be accurately mapped in a matter of days using carrier lymphocytes, and a few extra days are allowed for PGD-probe optimization. The optimized probes will then be suitable for interphase cell analysis, a prerequisite for PGD since blastomeres are biopsied from normally growing day 3 – embryos regardless of their position in the mitotic cell cycle. Furthermore, routine application of these rapid methods should make PGD even more affordable for translocation carriers enrolled in IVF programs

Environmental regulatory arrangements and aquaculture production

Aquaculture production in Australia is subject to an unnecessarily complex array of legislation and agencies - covering environmental protection, land use planning, marine and coastal management, land tenure, and quarantine and translocation. Unwarranted, or poorly developed and implemented, arrangements can impose unnecessary costs on producers, consumers and the community, affect competitiveness, and adversely affect management of the environment. This paper assess environmental regulatory arrangements for aquaculture, identifies potential constraints on the aquaculture industry, and opportunities for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of environmental regulatory arrangements.aquaculture, regulatory arrangements, environmental management, Agricultural and Food Policy,