Yeperenye Dreaming in Conceptual,Geographical, and Cyberspace: A Participatory Action Research Approach to Address Local Governance Within an Australian Indigenous Housing Association

Systemic Practice and Action Research - This paper discusses work in progress with an Indigenous housing association in Central Australia. It builds on and extends a 2-year policy and planning...     

A common origin for cosmic explosions inferred from calorimetry of GRB030329

Past studies have suggested that long-duration gamma-ray bursts have a 'standard' energy of E(gamma) approximately 10(51) erg in the ultra-relativistic ejecta, after correcting for asymmetries in the explosion ('jets'). But a group of sub-energetic bursts, including the peculiar GRB980425 associated with the supernova SN1998bw (E(gamma) approximately 10(48) erg), has recently been identified. Here we report radio observations of GRB030329 that allow us to undertake calorimetry of the explosion. Our data require a two-component explosion: a narrow (5 degrees opening angle) ultra-relativistic component responsible for the gamma-rays and early afterglow, and a wide, mildly relativistic component that produces the radio and optical afterglow more than 1.5 days after the explosion. The total energy release, which is dominated by the wide component, is similar to that of other gamma-ray bursts, but the contribution of the gamma-rays is energetically minor. Given the firm link of GRB030329 with SN2003dh, our result indicates a common origin for cosmic explosions in which, for reasons not yet understood, the energy in the highest-velocity ejecta is extremely variable.     

Disruption of mouse Slx4, a regulator of structure-specific nucleases, phenocopies Fanconi anemia

The evolutionarily conserved SLX4 protein, a key regulator of nucleases, is critical for DNA damage response. SLX4 nuclease complexes mediate repair during replication and can also resolve Holliday junctions formed during homologous recombination. Here we describe the phenotype of the Btbd12 knockout mouse, the mouse ortholog of SLX4, which recapitulates many key features of the human genetic illness Fanconi anemia. Btbd12-deficient animals are born at sub-Mendelian ratios, have greatly reduced fertility, are developmentally compromised and are prone to blood cytopenias. Btbd12(-/-) cells prematurely senesce, spontaneously accumulate damaged chromosomes and are particularly sensitive to DNA crosslinking agents. Genetic complementation reveals a crucial requirement for Btbd12 (also known as Slx4) to interact with the structure-specific endonuclease Xpf-Ercc1 to promote crosslink repair. The Btbd12 knockout mouse therefore establishes a disease model for Fanconi anemia and genetically links a regulator of nuclease incision complexes to the Fanconi anemia DNA crosslink repair pathway.     

High incidence area of cattle cancer with a possible interaction between an environmental carcinogen and a papilloma virus.

Cattle in upland areas of Scotland and northern England are substantially more prone to alimentary cancer than those of the immediately neighbouring lowlands, and epidemiological evidence implicates a combination of papilloma virus and bracken in the aetiology of the disease. Here Professor Jarrett outlines the circumstantial case against these agents and discusses its implications.     

Consideration of Categories and Tools for Holistic Thinking

Ethical thinking strives to understand the shape of the perceptions of all the stakeholders and eschews thinking in terms of simplistic categories or binary oppositions. This paper attempts to provide some tools for workers who are concerned about the quality of their practice and wish to find creative solutions. Tools can be used to enhance the ability of human service workers in both the corporate and the public sector to think creatively. Theoretical literacy is a response to a postmodernist reality of competing constructs of truth. The complexity of the variables with which we are faced needs to be considered in each instance, not brushed aside with a uniformly applied formula.     

Home-range size and overlap of sympatric male mule and white-tailed deer in Texas

Information about the ecology of sympatric male deer is limited, which may influence management strategies for these species. We estimated home-range and core-area sizes and overlap, and survival of sympatric male desert mule deer ( Odocoileus hemionus eremicus ) and white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus ) in west central Texas. We captured 18 males of each species, fitted them with radio-collars, and monitored them for mortality from 2000 through 2003. We calculated home ranges for 7 males of each species in 2001 and 2002. Home-range sizes of mule deer (8.8 km 2 ) and white-tailed deer (7.4 km 2 ) were similar. Interspecific home-range overlap was less common than intraspecific overlap. Mean annual survival was 0.76 (SE = 0.04) for mule deer and 0.80 (SE = 0.06) for white-tailed deer. The high degree of home-range overlap and similar survival between the 2 deer species suggest that management targeting only 1 species may be unfeasible.     

Loss of pancreatic islet tolerance induced by beta-cell expression of interferon-gamma

Interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) is produced during the response to infection and participates in immunostimulatory events. We have previously reported the induction of diabetes in transgenic mice (ins-IFN-gamma) in which the expression of the lymphokine IFN-gamma is directed by the insulin promoter. This diabetes is a result of the progressive destruction of pancreatic islets that occurs with the influx of inflammatory cells. Here we demonstrate that this islet cell loss is mediated by lymphocytes, that engrafted histocompatible islets are destroyed, and that lymphocytes from the transgenic mice are cytotoxic to normal islets in vitro. These results indicate that the pancreatic expression of IFN-gamma can result in a loss of tolerance to normal islets, consistent with its role as an inducer of costimulatory activity, which is essential for lymphocyte activation during an immune response.