Research, Innovation and Commercialisation - Research Publications
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ItemNo Preview AvailableRising to the challenge of teaching Chinese students( 2020-05-23)
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ItemBasic income: trade-offs and bottom lines(Brotherhood of St Laurence, 2017-11-01)In 2016, Professor Brian Howe, University of Melbourne academic and former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Social Security in the Hawke Labor Government, recognised the opportunity to celebrate the 50 plus year legacy of Professor Ronald Henderson, the inaugural director of the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research at the University of Melbourne. Professor Henderson led the National Poverty Inquiry (1972–1975), which resulted in the Henderson Poverty Line as well as a proposal for a Basic Income. The crucial role of social security in mitigating the negative impact of poverty was also considered in the poverty inquiry. Professor Howe, together with Professor Shelley Mallett, General Manager of the Brotherhood of St Laurence’s Research and Policy Centre, and the Melbourne Institute have partnered in a program of activities throughout 2016 and 2017 that honour Professor Henderson’s work on poverty, social security and basic income. This working paper was commissioned by the partners to review existing proposals and trials of basic income and inform discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of basic income approaches, especially in relation to income adequacy. Further papers on basic income will be developed by a range of authors as part of the Henderson Program.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableDiversion Ahead? Change Is Needed but That Doesn’t Mean That Basic Income Is the Answer(Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, 2019)Using an expanded version of De Wispelaere and Stirton’s 2004 framework for assessing basic income policies, we examine selected past and recent trials. The trials have all produced inconclusive results, in part because of the political contexts in which they have been implemented. As a result, they do little to progress policy reforms to address the challenges of economic insecurities and inequalities. Basic income proposals can act as beacons for change, but because they often lack detail, they risk distracting attention from the challenges and opportunities for social security reform. Our expanded framework enables detailed assessment of the dimensions of proposals for change. It also enables the identification of the elements of basic income proposals that can be incorporated into progressive efforts to reclaim social security.
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ItemInduction of vaginal-resident HIV-specific CD8 T cells with mucosal prime-boost immunization(NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP, 2018-05)Tissue-resident memory (TRM) CD8 T cells survey a range of non-lymphoid mucosal tissues where they rapidly mediate clearance of viral infections at the entry portals. Vaccines that establish CD8 TRM cells in the cervicovaginal mucosa hold promise for effective immunity against sexually transmitted HIV. We demonstrate that HIV-specific CD8 TRM cells can be established in the murine vaginal mucosa using a combined intranasal and intravaginal mucosal immunization with recombinant influenza-HIV vectors. Using in situ tetramer immunofluorescence microscopy, we found that this mucosally administered prime-boost immunization also resulted in the durable seeding of CD8 T cells in the frontline vaginal epithelial compartment as opposed to the vaginal submucosa. Upon cognate antigen recognition within the vaginal mucosa, these HIV-specific CD8 TRM cells rapidly initiated a tissue-wide state of immunity. The activation of HIV-specific CD8 TRM cells resulted in the upregulation of endothelial vessel addressin expression and substantial recruitment of both adaptive and innate immune cells in the vaginal mucosa. These findings suggest that the epithelial localization of HIV-specific CD8 TRM cell populations and their capacity to rapidly activate both arms of the immune system could significantly augment frontline defenses against vaginal HIV infection.
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ItemEffect of cochlear implantation on middle ear function: A three-month prospective study(WILEY, 2018-05)OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS: To determine if cochlear implantation has a delayed effect on the middle ear conductive hearing mechanism by measuring laser Doppler vibrometry (LDV) of the tympanic membrane (TM) in both implanted and contralateral control ears preoperatively and 3 months postoperatively, and then comparing the relative change in LDV outcome measures between implanted and control ears. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. METHODS: Eleven preoperative adult unilateral cochlear implant recipients in previously unoperated ears with normal anatomy and aerated temporal bones were included in this study. The magnitude and phase angle of umbo velocity transfer function in response to air- conduction (AC) stimulus, and the magnitude of umbo velocity in response to bone- conduction (BC) stimulus were measured in the implant ear and the contralateral control ear preoperatively and 3 months postoperatively and compared. RESULTS: No significant changes in the magnitude or phase angle of TM velocity in response to either AC or BC stimulus were observed in the implanted ear relative to the contralateral control ear 3 months following cochlear implantation. CONCLUSIONS: From the results of LDV measurements, it can be said that cochlear implantation has no significant delayed effect on the middle ear conductive mechanism. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 4. Laryngoscope, 128:1207-1212, 2018.
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ItemNovel microsatellite markers suggest the mechanism of parthenogenesis in Extatosoma tiaratum is automixis with terminal fusion(Wiley, 2018-02-01)Parthenogenetic reproduction is taxonomically widespread and occurs through various cytological mechanisms, which have different impact on the genetic variation of the offspring. Extatosoma tiaratum is a facultatively parthenogenetic Australian insect (Phasmatodea), in which females oviposit continuously throughout their adult lifespan irrespective of mating. Fertilized eggs produce sons and daughters through sexual reproduction and unfertilized eggs produce female offspring via parthenogenesis. Here, we developed novel microsatellite markers for E. tiaratum and characterized them by genotyping individuals from a natural population. We then used the microsatellite markers to infer the cytological mechanism of parthenogenesis in this species. We found evidence suggesting parthenogenesis in E. tiaratum occurs through automixis with terminal fusion, resulting in substantial loss of microsatellite heterozygosity in the offspring. Loss of microsatellite heterozygosity may be associated with loss of heterozygosity in fitness related loci. The mechanism of parthenogenetic reproduction can therefore affect fitness outcomes and needs to be considered when comparing costs and benefits of sex versus parthenogenesis.
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ItemAntifogging Surface Facilitated by Nanoscale Coatings with Controllable Hydrophobicity and Cross-Linking Density(WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH, 2017-01)
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ItemThe inner ear proteome of fish(WILEY, 2019-01)The mechanisms that underpin the formation, growth and composition of otoliths, the biomineralized stones in the inner ear of fish, are largely unknown, as only a few fish inner ear proteins have been reported. Using a partial transcriptome for the inner ear of black bream (Acanthopagrus butcheri), in conjunction with proteomic data, we discovered hundreds of previously unknown proteins in the otolith. This allowed us to develop hypotheses to explain the mechanisms of inorganic material supply and daily formation of growth bands. We further identified a likely protein mediator of crystal nucleation and an explanation for the apparent metabolic inertness of the otolith. Due to the formation of both daily and annual increments, otoliths are routinely employed as natural chronometers, being used for age and growth estimation, fisheries stock assessments, and the reconstruction of habitat use, movement, diet and the impacts of climate change. Our findings provide an unprecedented view of otolith molecular machinery, aiding in the interpretation of these essential archived data.
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ItemBlood-Catalyzed RAFT Polymerization(WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH, 2018-08-06)The use of hemoglobin (Hb) contained within red blood cells to drive a controlled radical polymerization via a reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) process is reported for the first time. No pre-treatment of the Hb or cells was required prior to their use as polymerization catalysts, indicating the potential for synthetic engineering in complex biological microenvironments without the need for ex vivo techniques. Owing to the naturally occurring prevalence of the reagents employed in the catalytic system (Hb and hydrogen peroxide), this approach may facilitate the development of new strategies for in vivo cell engineering with synthetic macromolecules.