The politics of race and immigration in Australia: One Nation voting in the 1998 Election

Much has been written in a short space of time about the rapid rise and equally sharp decline of Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party in Australia. Many of these studies have alluded to the importance of the race issue for One Nation, but argued that ultimately the anti-immigrant and anti-aboriginal sentiments associated with the party failed to mobilize voters. This study examines the debate using a multilevel analysis of One Nation [ON] support in the 148 federal electorates. The competing explanations for ON support are tested using a combination of survey data and aggregate political, demographic and socio-economic statistics. The results show that race and immigration were major factors mobilizing ON supporters, and concerns about economic insecurity were of lesser importance. Conclusions are drawn on the extent to which ON's emergence corresponds to the growth in radical right populism in many continental European nations.     

Functional importance for developmental regulation of sterol biosynthesis in Acanthamoeba castellanii

The sterol metabolome of Acanthamoeba castellanii (Ac) yielded 25 sterols. Substrate screening of cloned AcCYP51 revealed obtusifoliol as the natural substrate which converts to ?^8,14-sterol (<95%). The combination of [²H₃-methyl]methionine incubation to intact cultures showing C₂₈-ergosterol incorporates 2-²H atoms and C₂₉-7-dehydroporiferasterol incorporates 5 ²H-atoms, the natural distribution of sterols, CYP51 and previously published sterol methyltransferase (SMT) data indicate separate ?²⁴⁽²⁸⁾- and ?²⁵⁽²⁷⁾-olefin pathways to C₂₈- and C₂₉-sterol products from the protosterol cycloartenol. In cell-based culture, we observed a marked change in sterol compositions during the growth and encystment phases monitored microscopically and by trypan blue staining; trophozoites possess C₂₈/C₂₉-?^5,7-sterols, viable encysted cells (mature cyst) possess mostly C₂₉-?⁵-sterol and non-viable encysted cells possess C₂₈/C₂₉-?^5,7-sterols that turnover variably from stress to 6-methyl aromatic sterols associated with changed membrane fluidity affording lysis. An incompatible fit of steroidal aromatics in membranes was confirmed using the yeast sterol auxotroph GL7. Only viable cysts, including those treated with inhibitor, can excyst into trophozoites. 25-Azacycloartanol or voriconazole that target SMT and CYP51, respectively, are potent enzyme inhibitors in the nanomolar range against the cloned enzymes and amoeba cells. At minimum amoebicidal concentration of inhibitor amoeboid cells rapidly convert to encysted cells unable to excyst. The correlation between stage-specific sterol compositions and the physiological effects of ergosterol biosynthesis inhibitors suggests that amoeba fitness is controlled mainly by developmentally-regulated changes in the phytosterol B-ring; paired interference in the ?^5,7-sterol biosynthesis (to ?^5,7) - metabolism (to ?⁵ or 6-methyl aromatic) congruence during cell proliferation and encystment could be a source of therapeutic intervention for Acanthamoeba infections.     

A novel gene expression index (GEI) with software support for comparing microarray gene signatures

This study was aimed to examine the validity of commonly used statistical tests for comparison of expression data from simulated and real gene signatures as well as pathway-characterized gene sets. A novel algorithm based on 10 sub-gradations (5 for up- and 5 for down-regulation) of fold-changes has been designed and testified using an Excel add-in software support. Our findings showed the limitations of conventional statistics for comparing the microarray gene expression data. However, the newly introduced Gene Expression Index (GEI) appeared to be more robust and straightforward for two-group comparison of normalized data. The software automation simplifies the task and the results are displayed in a comprehensive format including a color-coded bar showing the intensity of cumulative gene expression.     

Proteomic Discovery of Plasma Protein Biomarkers and Development of Models Predicting Prognosis of High-Grade Serous Ovarian Carcinoma

Ovarian cancer is one of the most lethal female cancers. For accurate prognosis prediction, this study aimed to investigate novel, blood-based prognostic biomarkers for high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (HGSOC) using mass spectrometry–based proteomics methods. We conducted label-free liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry using frozen plasma samples obtained from patients with newly diagnosed HGSOC (n = 20). Based on progression-free survival (PFS), the samples were divided into two groups: good (PFS ≥18 months) and poor prognosis groups (PFS <18 months). Proteomic profiles were compared between the two groups. Referring to proteomics data that we previously obtained using frozen cancer tissues from chemotherapy-naïve patients with HGSOC, overlapping protein biomarkers were selected as candidate biomarkers. Biomarkers were validated using an independent set of HGSOC plasma samples (n = 202) via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). To construct models predicting the 18-month PFS rate, we performed stepwise selection based on the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) with 5-fold cross-validation. Analysis of differentially expressed proteins in plasma samples revealed that 35 and 61 proteins were upregulated in the good and poor prognosis groups, respectively. Through hierarchical clustering and bioinformatic analyses, GSN, VCAN, SND1, SIGLEC14, CD163, and PRMT1 were selected as candidate biomarkers and were subjected to ELISA. In multivariate analysis, plasma GSN was identified as an independent poor prognostic biomarker for PFS (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.556; 95% confidence interval, 1.073–2.256; p = 0.020). By combining clinical factors and ELISA results, we constructed several models to predict the 18-month PFS rate. A model consisting of four predictors (FIGO stage, residual tumor after surgery, and plasma levels of GSN and VCAN) showed the best predictive performance (mean validated AUC, 0.779). The newly developed model was converted to a nomogram for clinical use. Our study results provided insights into protein biomarkers, which might offer clues for developing therapeutic targets.     

Legacies of more frequent drought in ponderosa pine across the western United States

Despite widespread interest in drought legacies—multiyear impacts of drought on tree growth—the key implication of reported drought legacies remains unaddressed: as impaired growth and slow recovery associated with drought legacies are pervasive across forest ecosystems, what is the impact of more frequent drought conditions? We investigated the assumption that either multiple drought years occurring during a short period (multiyear droughts), or droughts occurring during the recovery period from previous drought (compounded droughts), are detrimental to subsequent growth. There is evidence that drought responses may vary among populations of widespread species, leading us to examine regional differences in responses of the conifer Pinus ponderosa to historic drought frequency in the western United States. More frequent drought conditions incurred additional growth declines and shifts in growth–climate sensitivities in the years following drought relative to single‐drought events, with ‘triple‐droughts' being worse than ‘double‐droughts'. Notably, prediction skill was not strongly reduced when ignoring compounded droughts, a consequence of the temporally comprehensive formulation of our stochastic antecedent model that accounts for the climatic memory of tree growth. We argue that incorporating drought‐induced temporal variability in tree growth sensitivities can aid inference gained from statistical models, where more simplistic models could overestimate the severity of drought legacies. We also found regional differences in response to repeated drought, and suggest plastic post‐drought sensitivities and climatic memory may represent beneficial physiological adjustments in interior regions. Within‐species variability may thus mediate forest responses to increasing drought frequency under future climate change, but experimental approaches using more species are necessary to improve our understanding of the mechanisms that underlie drought legacy effects on tree growth.