Forced child removal and the politics of national apologies in Australia

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A List of the Species of Polyamia (Homoptera: Cicadellidae) Known to Occur in Mexico, with Descriptions of New Species

Author Institution: Department of Entomology, The Ohio State UniversitySeventeen species of Polyamia are treated, 16 of which are known to occur in Mexico. Seven previously described species, P. arachnion Kramer, P. gangamon Kramer, P. tolteca Kramer, P. delongi (Kramer), P. reticulata (Linnavuori), P. satur (Ball), and P. incerta Bcamer and Tuthill are listed and illustrated. Ten species, P. duella n. sp., P. acura n. sp., P. dualis n. sp., P. bradshawi n. sp., P. scina n. sp., P. randa n. sp., P. frustrara n. sp., P. triplehorni n. sp., P. nidula n. sp. and P. tulara n. sp. are described as new

Adoption and feminism: Towards framing a feminist response to contemporary developments in adoption

In 2004 the sociologist Rosemary Pringle remarked that the 'climate of apology' surrounding adoption in Australia, linked with understandable shame regarding past adoption practices and the 'stolen generation' of Aboriginal children, meant that it had become 'almost impossible' to endorse adoption as a policy option (Pringle 2004, 225). In 2004, this was an apt call for all the reasons outlined astutely by Pringle

'Why can't I have my baby tomorrow?': A legislative periodisation of intercountry adoption in Victoria and Australia from the early 1970s to the present

Intercountry adoption involves relatively small and currently declining numbers. But it is a platform for Australia's engagement with the wider world, and a highly contested field. Efforts to rationalise and regulate the field have to reconcile many competing interests, inside and outside Australia. This periodic overview focuses on government responses to the evolving practice of intercountry adoption from the end of the Vietnam War, charting the emergence of the current regulatory regime. It uses Victoria as a case study, to show the intricacies of a split state/federal jurisdiction, the challenge of transnational regulation in a globalised world, the flow-on effect of enabling legislation, and the impact of public scandals

The application of change of direction deficit to evaluate cutting ability

The purpose of this study was to examine the application of the change of direction deficit (CODD) to a 90° cut test in order to examine whether CODD provides a unique evaluation of an individual’s cutting ability. Thirty-six male collegiate team–sport (23 Rugby/ 13 Soccer) athletes (age: 20 ± 1.4 years; height: 1.80 ± 0.08 m; mass: 83 ± 13.2 kg) participated in the study. Each athlete performed 3 trials of a 20 m sprint (with 5 m and 10 m splits) and 2 change of direction [COD] tests (90° cut and 505 tests) cutting/ turning from both limbs. Completion times for all sprint and COD tests were measured using timing cells. For both COD tests, CODD was determined (COD completion time – 10 m sprint time). Pearson’s correlation was used to explore relationships between sprint times and CODD and completion times. Significant (P 0.05) trivial to small correlations (r ≤ 0.199) were found between sprint variables and 90° cut CODD. Significant (P < 0.001) large to very large correlations (r ≥ 0.531) were revealed between left and right 90° cut and 90° cut CODD. The results suggest the CODD could be applied to isolate and assess cutting ability in COD speed tests that involve a single cutting maneuver. Failure to inspect CODD could lead to incorrect evaluation of an athletes cutting or COD ability

Strong "quantum" chaos in the global ballooning mode spectrum of three-dimensional plasmas

The spectrum of ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) pressure-driven (ballooning) modes in strongly nonaxisymmetric toroidal systems is difficult to analyze numerically owing to the singular nature of ideal MHD caused by lack of an inherent scale length. In this paper, ideal MHD is regularized by using a $k$-space cutoff, making the ray tracing for the WKB ballooning formalism a chaotic Hamiltonian billiard problem. The minimum width of the toroidal Fourier spectrum needed for resolving toroidally localized ballooning modes with a global eigenvalue code is estimated from the Weyl formula. This phase-space-volume estimation method is applied to two stellarator cases.Comment: 4 pages typeset, including 2 figures. Paper accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Letter

The effect of Nordic hamstring exercise intervention volume on eccentric strength and muscle architecture adaptations : a systematic review and meta-analyses

Although performance of the Nordic hamstring exercise (NHE) has been shown to elicit adaptations that may reduce hamstring strain injury (HSI) risk and occurrence, compliance in NHE interventions in professional soccer teams is low despite a high occurrence of HSI in soccer. A possible reason for low compliance is the high dosages prescribed within the recommended interventions. The aim of this review was to investigate the effect of NHE-training volume on eccentric hamstring strength and biceps femoris fascicle length adaptations. A literature search was conducted using the SPORTDiscus, Ovid, and PubMed databases. A total of 293 studies were identified prior to application of the following inclusion criteria: (1) a minimum of 4 weeks of NHE training was completed; (2) mean ± standard deviation (SD) pre- and post-intervention were provided for the measured variables to allow for secondary analysis; and (3) biceps femoris muscle architecture was measured, which resulted in 13 studies identified for further analysis. The TESTEX criteria were used to assess the quality of studies with risk of bias assessment assessed using a fail-safe N (Rosenthal method). Consistency of studies was analysed using I as a test of heterogeneity and secondary analysis of studies included Hedges' g effect sizes for strength and muscle architecture variables to provide comparison within studies, between-study differences were estimated using a random-effects model. A range of scores (3-11 out of 15) from the TESTEX criteria were reported, showing variation in study quality. A 'low risk of bias' was observed in the randomized controlled trials included, with no study bias shown for both strength or architecture (N = 250 and 663, respectively; p < 0.001). Study consistency was moderate to high for strength (I  = 62.49%) and muscle architecture (I  = 88.03%). Within-study differences showed that following interventions of ≥ 6 weeks, very large positive effect sizes were seen in eccentric strength following both high volume (g = 2.12) and low volume (g = 2.28) NHE interventions. Similar results were reported for changes in fascicle length (g ≥ 2.58) and a large-to-very large positive reduction in pennation angle (g ≥ 1.31). Between-study differences were estimated to be at a magnitude of 0.374 (p = 0.009) for strength and 0.793 (p < 0.001) for architecture. Reducing NHE volume prescription does not negatively affect adaptations in eccentric strength and muscle architecture when compared with high dose interventions. These findings suggest that lower volumes of NHE may be more appropriate for athletes, with an aim to increase intervention compliance, potentially reducing the risk of HSI

The mRNA expression of SETD2 in human breast cancer: Correlation with clinico-athological parameters

BACKGROUND: SET domain containing protein 2 (SETD2) is a histone methyltransferase that is involved in transcriptional elongation. There is evidence that SETD2 interacts with p53 and selectively regulates its downstream genes. Therefore, it could be implicated in the process of carcinogenesis. Furthermore, this gene is located on the short arm of chromosome 3p and we previously demonstrated that the 3p21.31 region of chromosome 3 was associated with permanent growth arrest of breast cancer cells. This region includes closely related genes namely: MYL3, CCDC12, KIF9, KLHL18 and SETD2. Based on the biological function of these genes, SETD2 is the most likely gene to play a tumour suppressor role and explain our previous findings. Our objective was to determine, using quantitative PCR, whether the mRNA expression levels of SETD2 were consistent with a tumour suppressive function in breast cancer. This is the first study in the literature to examine the direct relationship between SETD2 and breast cancer. METHODS: A total of 153 samples were analysed. The levels of transcription of SETD2 were determined using quantitative PCR and normalized against (CK19). Transcript levels within breast cancer specimens were compared to normal background tissues and analyzed against conventional pathological parameters and clinical outcome over a 10 year follow-up period. RESULTS: The levels of SETD2 mRNA were significantly lower in malignant samples (p = 0.0345) and decreased with increasing tumour stage. SETD2 expression levels were significantly lower in samples from patients who developed metastasis, local recurrence, or died of breast cancer when compared to those who were disease free for > 10 years (p = 0.041). CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates a compelling trend for SETD2 transcription levels to be lower in cancerous tissues and in patients who developed progressive disease. These findings are consistent with a possible tumour suppressor function of this gene in breast cancer

Rodent eradication scaled up:clearing rats and mice from South Georgia

The Subantarctic island of South Georgia lost most of its birds to predation by rodents introduced by people over 2 centuries. In 2011 a UK charity began to clear brown rats Rattus norvegicus and house mice Mus musculus from the 170 km long, 3,500 km2 island using helicopters to spread bait containing Brodifacoum as the active ingredient. South Georgia's larger glaciers were barriers to rodent movement, resulting in numerous independent sub-island populations. The eradication could therefore be spread over multiple seasons, giving time to evaluate results before recommencing, and also reducing the impact of non-target mortality across the island as a whole. Eradication success was achieved in the 128 km2 Phase 1 trial operation. Work in 2013 (Phase 2) and early 2015 (Phase 3) covered the remaining 940 km2 occupied by rodents. By July 2017, 28 months after baiting was concluded, there was no sign of surviving rodents, other than one apparently newly introduced by ship in October 2014. A survey using detection dogs and passive devices will search the Phase 2 and Phase 3 land for rodents in early 2018. Seven (of 30) species of breeding birds suffered losses from poisoning, but all populations appear to have recovered within 5 years. The endemic South Georgia pipit Anthus antarcticus was the first bird to breed in newly rat-free areas, but there were also signs that cavity-nesting seabirds were exploring scree habitat denied them for generations. Enhanced biosecurity measures on South Georgia are needed urgently to prevent rodents being reintroduced.</p