Suchergebnisse

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to explore the financial habits and experience of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) migrants via a case study of first and second wave migrants from the Vietnamese community in Australia.Design/methodology/approach– This paper utilises a qualitative approach through semi-structured interviews. A thematic analysis was adopted when coding the interview data which led to the emergence of identified themes related to financial habits and experience.Findings– The findings reveal that first and second wave migrants shared similar views on seeking professional financial advice, but not on the use of community-based financial schemes. When asked about the potential benefits of attending financial education workshops to inform themselves of financial services, most were unwilling to attend.Research limitations/implications– Although the research targets first and second wave Vietnamese CALD migrants, no claims can be made regarding the representation of CALD migrants as a whole. The research has implications with respect to the perceived necessity of CALD migrants to utilise mainstream financial services. This paper provides recommendations for future research in this area.Originality/value– The paper provides one of the few studies of an Australian CALD migrant cohort with respect to financial habits. The paper also provides an understanding of the cultural barriers and challenges facing this specific cohort of the Vietnamese community in Australia with respect to potentially accessing financial services.

ABSTRACT:This paper outlines the impact that transition to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) had in Australia with reference to the teaching approaches across university accounting classrooms. The discussion begins with a short history of past rules governing accounting in Australia, followed by a review of the transition to IFRS in Australia. An assessment of the ways in which the Australian accounting academic community incorporated the adoption of IFRS into their curriculum is also provided. The review suggests that despite an initial period of foreboding from accounting educators, the transition to IFRS involved minimal changes in teaching approaches. We argue that there were missed opportunities to revise the curriculum, particularly at the introductory level, by adopting a framework-based teaching approach in line with the principles-based IFRS. The paper concludes with some observations about lessons learned from the Australian experience as a guide for accounting faculty in other parts of the world who are about to embark on the transition to IFRS.

AbstractThe United Nations' Human Development Index remains a widely used and accepted measure of human development. Although it has been revised over the years to address various critiques, a remaining concern is the way the three dimensions are aggregated into the single index. A deterioration in one dimension can be compensated for by an improvement in another. Since compensability is inextricably linked with trade-offs and intensity of preferences, a non-compensatory (i.e., Condorcet) approach to aggregation is employed in this paper. Although non-compensatory approaches have been employed previously, this paper adds to the literature by undertaking an application of the Condorcet approach to the entire HDI. This approach, which does not use intensities of preferences, ensures that the degree of compensability connected with the aggregation model is at the minimum possible level. To achieve this, country level rankings are then compared to those for the 2020 Human Development Index which aggregates dimensions using a geometric mean. The findings demonstrated substantial changes in rank-order between the HDI and Condorcet approach. This outcome provides empirical evidence which demonstrates that the non-compensatory Condorcet approach can mitigate issues of compensation present within the geometric aggregation technique currently employed by the HDI. These findings have potential implications in aiding the identification and employment of potential policy priorities—specifically, the notion that policy should emphasise the development of a country as opposed to economic growth alone.

Purpose Dysregulation of the complement cascade contributes to a variety of retinal dystrophies, including age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The central component of complement, C3, is expressed in abundance by macrophages in the outer retina, and its ablation suppresses photoreceptor death in experimental photo-oxidative damage. Whether this also influences macrophage reactivity in this model system, however, is unknown. We investigate the effect of C3 ablation on macrophage activity and phagocytosis by outer retinal macrophages during photo-oxidative damage. Methods Age-matched C3 knockout (KO) mice and wild-type (WT) C57/Bl6 mice were subjected to photo-oxidative damage. Measurements of the outer nuclear layer (ONL) thickness and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining were used to assess pathology and photoreceptor apoptosis, respectively. Macrophage abundance and phagocytosis were assessed with immunolabeling for pan-macrophage and phagocytic markers, in conjunction with TUNEL staining in cohorts of C3 KO and WT mice. Results The C3 KO mice exhibited protection against photoreceptor cell death following photo-oxidative damage, which was associated with a reduction in immunoreactivity for the stress-related factor GFAP. In conjunction, there was a reduction in IBA1-positive macrophages in the outer retina compared to the WT mice and a decrease in the number of CD68-positive cells in the outer nuclear layer and the subretinal space. In addition, the engulfment of TUNEL-positive and -negative photoreceptors by macrophages was significantly lower in the C3 KO mice cohort following photo-oxidative damage compared to the WT cohort. Conclusions The results show that the absence of C3 mitigates the phagocytosis of photoreceptors by macrophages in the outer retina, and the net impact of C3 depletion is neuroprotective in the context of photo-oxidative damage. These data improve our understanding of the impact of C3 inhibition in subretinal inflammation and inform the development of treatments for targeting complement activation in diseases such as AMD. ; This study was supported by project grants from the National Health and Medical Research Council (APP1165599; APP1127705), Australian National University Translational Fellowship and Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship.

The diversity of color vision systems found in extant vertebrates suggests that different evolutionary selection pressures have driven specializations in photoreceptor complement and visual pigment spectral tuning appropriate for an animal's behavior, habitat, and life history. Aquatic vertebrates in particular show high variability in chromatic vision and have become important models for understanding the role of color vision in prey detection, predator avoidance, and social interactions. In this study, we examined the capacity for chromatic vision in elasmobranch fishes, a group that have received relatively little attention to date. We used microspectrophotometry to measure the spectral absorbance of the visual pigments in the outer segments of individual photoreceptors from several ray and shark species, and we sequenced the opsin mRNAs obtained from the retinas of the same species, as well as from additional elasmobranch species. We reveal the phylogenetically widespread occurrence of dichromatic color vision in rays based on two cone opsins, RH2 and LWS. We also confirm that all shark species studied to date appear to be cone monochromats but report that in different species the single cone opsin may be of either the LWS or the RH2 class. From this, we infer that cone monochromacy in sharks has evolved independently on multiple occasions. Together with earlier discoveries in secondarily aquatic marine mammals, this suggests that cone-based color vision may be of little use for large marine predators, such as sharks, pinnipeds, and cetaceans. ; This work was supported by the Australian Research Council (Grant Nos. DP0558681, CE0561903, DP110103294, and LP160100333), the State Government of Western Australia, and the Sea World Research and Rescue Foundation

Purpose: The use of small non-coding nucleic acids, such as siRNA and miRNA, has allowed for a deeper understand-ing of gene functions, as well as for development of gene therapies for complex neurodegenerative diseases, including retinal degeneration. For effective delivery into the ePurpose: The use of small non-coding nucleic acids, such as siRNA and miRNA, has allowed for a deeper understanding of gene functions, as well as for development of gene therapies for complex neurodegenerative diseases, including retinal degeneration. For effective delivery into the eye and transfection of the retina, suitable transfection methods are required. We investigated the use of a lipid-based transfection agent, Invivofectamine® 3.0 (Thermo Fisher Scientific), as a potential method for delivery of nucleic acids to the retina. Methods: Rodents were injected intravitreally with formulations of Invivofectamine 3.0 containing scrambled, Gapdh, Il-1β, and C3 siRNAs, or sterile PBS (control) using a modified protocol for encapsulation of nucleic acids. TdT-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) and IBA1 immunohistochemistry was used to determine histological cell death and inflammation. qPCR were used to determine the stress and inflammatory profile of the retina. Electroretinography (ERG) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) were employed as clinical indicators of retinal health. Results: We showed that macrophage recruitment, retinal stress, and photoreceptor cell death in animals receiving Invivofectamine 3.0 were comparable to those in negative controls. Following delivery of Invivofectamine 3.0 alone, no statistically significant changes in expression were found in a suite of inflammatory and stress genes, and ERG and OCT analyses revealed no changes in retinal function or morphology. Injections with siRNAs for proinflammatory genes (C3 and Il-1β) and Gapdh, in combination with Invivofectamine 3.0, resulted in statistically significant targeted gene knockdown in the retina for up to 4 days following injection. Using a fluorescent Block-It siRNA, transfection was visualized throughout the neural retina with evidence of transfection observed in cells of the ganglion cell layer, inner nuclear layer, and outer nuclear layer. Conclusions: This work supports the use of Invivofectamine 3.0 as a transfection agent for effective delivery of nucleic acids to the retina for gene function studies and as potential therapeutics. ; This study was partly supported through funding from the Thermo Fisher Scientific Applications and Claims Expansions Grant with two of the authors (NA and XM) members of the Thermo Fisher Scientific team. Other funding bodies are The National Health and Medical Research Council (APP1127705, 2017-2019), the Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship and the Australian National University Translational Fellowship. The authors do not have any other competing interests or conflicts of interest to disclose with regards to this paper.

PURPOSE. We sought to determine the role and retinal cellular location of microRNA-124 (miR-124) in a neuroinflammatory model of retinal degeneration. Further, we explored the anti-inflammatory relationship of miR-124 with a predicted messenger RNA (mRNA) binding partner, chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 2 (Ccl2), which is crucially involved in inflammatory cell recruitment in the damaged retina. METHODS. Human AMD donor eyes and photo-oxidative damaged (PD) mice were labeled for miR-124 expression using in situ hybridization. PDGFRa-cre RFP mice were used for Müller cell isolation from whole retinas. MIO-M1 immortalized cells and rat primary Müller cells were used for in vitro analysis of miR-124 expression and its relationship with Ccl2. Therapeutic efficacy was tested with intravitreal administration of miR-124 mimic in mice, with electroretinography used to determine retinal function. IBA1 immunohistochemistry and photoreceptor row counts were used for assessment of inflammation and cell death. RESULTS. MiR-124 expression was correlated with progressive retinal damage, inflammation, and cell death in human AMD and PD mice. In addition, miR-124 expression was inversely correlated to Ccl2 expression in mice following PD. MiR-124 was localized to both neuronal-like photoreceptors and glial (Müller) cells in the retina, with a redistribution from neurons to glia occurring as a consequence of PD. Finally, intravitreal administration of miR-124 mimics decreased retinal inflammation and photoreceptor cell death, and improved retinal function. CONCLUSIONS. This study has provided an understanding of the mechanism behind miR-124 in the degenerating retina and demonstrates the usefulness of miR-124 mimics for the modulation of retinal degenerations. ; Supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council in Australia (APP1127705, 2017-2019), the Australian Government Research Training Program, the Gretel and Gordon Bootes Foundation (2013), and the Ophthalmic Research Institute of Australia/Eye Surgeons' Foundation (2015).