University of Wollongong

About: University of Wollongong is a education organization based out in Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 15674 authors who have published 46658 publications receiving 1197471 citations. The organization is also known as: UOW & Wollongong University.

Principal leadership for outstanding educational outcomes

Abstract: Purpose – Aims to explore the role of Principals in producing outstanding education outcomes in Years 7 to 10 in New South Wales (Australia) government schools.Design/methodology/approach – Sites where “outstanding” educational outcomes were believed to be occurring were selected using a variety of data including performance in standardised tests, public examinations, various value added measures and nominations from various stakeholders. Sites were of two types: subject departments responsible for teaching certain subjects and teams responsible for cross‐school programs in Years 7 to 10. Sites were selected to be broadly representative. Some schools had more than one site, e.g. Mathematics and Student Welfare. A total of 50 sites across NSW from 38 secondary schools were studied.Findings – With both subject departments and teams responsible for cross‐school programs, leadership was found to be a key factor in the achievement of outstanding educational outcomes. Often, this leadership was exercised by the...

Host–pathogen checkpoints and population bottlenecks in persistent and intracellular uropathogenic Escherichia coli bladder infection

Abstract: Bladder infections affect millions of people yearly, and recurrent symptomatic infections (cystitis) are very common. The rapid increase in infections caused by multidrug-resistant uropathogens threatens to make recurrent cystitis an increasingly troubling public health concern. Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) cause the vast majority of bladder infections. Upon entry into the lower urinary tract, UPEC face obstacles to colonization that constitute population bottlenecks, reducing diversity, and selecting for fit clones. A critical mucosal barrier to bladder infection is the epithelium (urothelium). UPEC bypass this barrier when they invade urothelial cells and form intracellular bacterial communities (IBCs), a process which requires type 1 pili. IBCs are transient in nature, occurring primarily during acute infection. Chronic bladder infection is common and can be either latent, in the form of the quiescent intracellular reservoir (QIR), or active, in the form of asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB/ABU) or chronic cystitis. In mice, the fate of bladder infection, QIR, ASB, or chronic cystitis, is determined within the first 24 h of infection and constitutes a putative host–pathogen mucosal checkpoint that contributes to susceptibility to recurrent cystitis. Knowledge of these checkpoints and bottlenecks is critical for our understanding of bladder infection and efforts to devise novel therapeutic strategies.

Glutathione transferases: a structural perspective

Abstract: The glutathione transferases (GSTs) are one of the most important families of detoxifying enzymes in nature. The classic activity of the GSTs is conjugation of compounds with electrophilic centers to the tripeptide glutathione (GSH), but many other activities are now associated with GSTs, including steroid and leukotriene biosynthesis, peroxide degradation, double-bond cis-trans isomerization, dehydroascorbate reduction, Michael addition, and noncatalytic “ligandin” activity (ligand binding and transport). Since the first GST structure was determined in 1991, there has been an explosion in structural data across GSTs of all three families: the cytosolic GSTs, the mitochondrial GSTs, and the membrane-associated proteins in eicosanoid and glutathione metabolism (MAPEG family). In this review, the major insights into GST structure and function will be discussed.

Prussian Blue@C Composite as an Ultrahigh-Rate and Long-Life Sodium-Ion Battery Cathode

Abstract: Rechargeable sodium ion batteries (SIBs) are surfacing as promising candidates for applications in large-scale energy-storage systems. Prussian blue (PB) and its analogues (PBAs) have been considered as potential cathodes because of their rigid open framework and low-cost synthesis. Nevertheless, PBAs suffer from inferior rate capability and poor cycling stability resulting from the low electronic conductivity and deficiencies in the PBAs framework. Herein, to understand the vacancy-impacted sodium storage and Na-insertion reaction kinetics, we report on an in-situ synthesized PB@C composite as a high-performance SIB cathode. Perfectly shaped, nanosized PB cubes were grown directly on carbon chains, assuring fast charge transfer and Na-ion diffusion. The existence of [Fe(CN)6] vacancies in the PB crystal is found to greatly degrade the electrochemical activity of the FeLS(C) redox couple via first-principles computation. Superior reaction kinetics are demonstrated for the redox reactions of the FeHS(N) couple, which rely on the partial insertion of Na ions to enhance the electron conduction. The synergistic effects of the structure and morphology results in the PB@C composite achieving an unprecedented rate capability and outstanding cycling stability (77.5 mAh g−1 at 90 C, 90 mAh g−1 after 2000 cycles at 20 C with 90% capacity retention).

Human physiological responses to cold exposure.

Abstract: Thermal energy is transferred within and between bodies via several avenues, but for most unprotected human cold exposures, particularly during immersion, convective heat loss dominates. Lower tissue temperatures stimulate thermoreceptors, and the resultant afferent flow elicits autonomic homoeostatic responses (thermogenesis and vasoconstriction) that regulate body temperature within a narrow range. The most powerful effector responses occur when both superficial and deep thermoreceptors are cooled simultaneously, but thermoeffector activation can also occur as a result of peripheral cooling alone. The responses to cold, and the hazards associated with cold exposure, are moderated by factors which influence heat production and heat loss, including the severity and duration of cold stimuli, accompanying exercise, the magnitude of the metabolic response, and individual characteristics such as body composition, age, and gender. Cold stress can quickly overwhelm human thermoregulation with consequences ranging from impaired performance to death. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the human physiological responses to acute cold exposure.