Australian Aboriginal anthropology at the crossroads: Finding a successor to A. P. Elkin, 1955

A. P. Elkin, who had dominated Australian anthropology since his appointment to the Chair of Anthropology at the University of Sydney in 1934, was concerned that coinciding with his retirement in 1955 was the possibility of the demise of Aboriginal anthropology as the core of the Sydney department. He thus attempted to influence the University authorities in their selection of his chosen successor, Ronald Murray Berndt. Such a selection would ensure the continuance of the department as the pre‐eminent authority on all matters to do with Aboriginal ethnography and affairs, and maintain its critical role in the formulation of policy with mission bodies and government. The other long‐serving member of the department, H. Ian Hogbin, was equally determined to see this did not happen. Hogbin wanted an appointment of a scholar who was in no way connected to Elkin. This would address the problem, inadvertently, of changing the focus of the department and would open the possibility of a shift in theoretical orientation and renewal. This article examines the machinations of the protagonists, the selection process, the quality of the candidates and the role of the mostly British‐based referees, especially the LSE‐based anthropologists Raymond Firth and Isaac Schapera, in shaping and influencing the decision to appoint the Africanist J. A. Barnes.     

Lymphedema. A clinical review and follow-up study.

In a retrospective study of primary lymphedema, we found that the age of onset ranged from 0 to 16 years; sex did not appear to be a factor; and treatment was preventive rather than surgical. Thirteen patients were available for follow-up studies, the time interval being at least 6 years. The degree of swelling at the time of the follow-up examination was defined as mild, moderate, or severe. In patients with mild and moderate swelling the edema was not progressive and surgical treatment was not indicated. Severe swelling appeared to be associated with congenital lymphedema and with repeated infection. Pressure-support treatment can be effective in the reduction of swelling or in the prevention of further swelling, if applied constantly over a long period of time. The authors discuss the histological similarity between lymphedema and lymphagioma, and present an anatomical classification for the two entities.     

Cover Image,Volume 116, Number 9, September 2019

The new and rapid advancement in the complexity of biologics drug discovery has been driven by a deeper understanding of biological systems combined with innovative new therapeutic modalities, paving the way to breakthrough therapies for previously intractable diseases. These exciting times in biomedical innovation require the development of novel technologies to facilitate the sophisticated, multifaceted, high-paced workflows necessary to support modern large molecule drug discovery. A high-level aspiration is a true integration of “lab-on-a-chip” methods that vastly miniaturize cellulmical experiments could transform the speed, cost, and success of multiple workstreams in biologics development. Several microscale bioprocess technologies have been established that incrementally address these needs, yet each is inflexibly designed for a very specific process thus limiting an integrated holistic application. A more fully integrated nanoscale approach that incorporates manipulation, culture, analytics, and traceable digital record keeping of thousands of single cells in a relevant nanoenvironment would be a transformative technology capable of keeping pace with today's rapid and complex drug discovery demands. The recent advent of optical manipulation of cells using light-induced electrokinetics with micro- and nanoscale cell culture is poised to revolutionize both fundamental and applied biological research. In this review, we summarize the current state of the art for optical manipulation techniques and discuss emerging biological applications of this technology. In particular, we focus on promising prospects for drug discovery workflows, including antibody discovery, bioassay development, antibody engineering, and cell line development, which are enabled by the automation and industrialization of an integrated optoelectronic single-cell manipulation and culture platform. Continued development of such platforms will be well positioned to overcome many of the challenges currently associated with fragmented, low-throughput bioprocess workflows in biopharma and life science research.