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Uropathogenic Escherichia coli invade bladder epithelial cells (BECs) by direct entry into specialized cAMP regulated exocytic compartments. Remarkably, a significant number of these intracellular bacteria are subsequently expelled in a nonlytic and piecemeal fashion by infected BECs. Here, we report that expulsion of intracellular E. coli by infected BECs is initiated by the pattern recognition receptor, Toll-like receptor (TLR)4, after activation by LPS. Also, we reveal that caveolin-1, Rab27b, PKA, and MyRIP are components of the exocytic compartment, and that they form a complex involved in the exocytosis of bacteria. This capacity of TLR4 to mediate the expulsion of intracellular bacteria from infected cells represents a previously unrecognized function for this innate immune receptor.

The superficial bladder epithelium is a powerful barrier to urine and also serves as a regulator of bladder volume, which is achieved by apical exocytosis of specialized fusiform vesicles during distension of the bladder. We report that type 1 fimbriated uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) circumvents the bladder barrier by harboring in these Rab27b/CD63-positive and cAMP-regulatable fusiform vesicles within bladder epithelial cells (BECs). Incorporation of UPEC into BEC fusiform compartments enabled bacteria to escape elimination during voiding and to re-emerge in the urine as the bladder distended. Notably, treatment of UPEC-infected mice with a drug that increases intracellular cAMP and induces exocytosis of fusiform vesicles reduced the number of intracellular E. coli .

Deceivingly simple and often colloquial, the Fair Go is pervasive to the Australian lexicon and a feature of the projected national identity. The Fair Go has historically been used as a plea for fairness in contexts where there is perceived injustice. The Australian media hold significant power to shape public perceptions and debate, including those around fairness; however, there is a limited understanding as to how the Australian media use the term. Examining the use of the Fair Go by the Australian media allowed for greater understanding of the role that the Fair Go plays within Australian society. A media frame analysis was conducted to explore the Australian media’s use of the Fair Go, revealing that the Australian media imbued the Fair Go with complex power dynamics. Re-enforcing the Fair Go as a narrative of injustice, the Australian media used the Fair Go to both personalise and politicise experiences of disadvantage through dominant humanisation and responsibility narratives. The results demonstrate how the often used, yet simplistic, façade of the term masks the complexity and power that the media have imbued the Fair Go with. Furthermore, the findings raise questions surrounding the media’s use of the term and the legitimacy of the Fair Go as a moniker of injustice.

Causal layered analysis (CLA) is an emerging qualitative methodology adopted in the discipline of planning as an approach to deconstruct complex social issues. With psychologists increasingly confronted with complex, and “wicked” social and community issues, we argue that the discipline of psychology would benefit from adopting CLA as an analytical method. Until now, the application of CLA for data interpretation has generally been poorly defined and overwhelming for the novice. In this paper we propose an approach to CLA that provides a method for the deconstruction and analysis of complex social psychological issues. We introduce CLA as a qualitative methodology well suited for psychology, introduce the epistemological foundations of CLA, define a space for it adoption within the discipline, and, outline the steps for conducting a CLA using an applied example.

Aerial and satellite imagery are widely used to assess the severity and impact of wildfires. Light detection and ranging (LiDAR) is a newer remote sensing technology that has demonstrated utility in measuring vegetation structure. Combined use of imagery and LiDAR may improve the assessment of wildfire impacts compared to imagery alone. Estimation of tree mortality at the plot scale could serve for more rapid, broad-scale, and lower cost post-fire assessments than feasible through field assessment. We assessed the accuracy of classifying color-infrared imagery in combination with post-fire LiDAR, and with differenced (pre- and post-fire) LiDAR, in estimating plot percent mortality in a second-growth coast redwood forest near Santa Cruz, CA. Percent mortality of trees greater than 25.4 cm DBH in 47 permanent 0.08 ha plots was categorized as low (<25%), moderate (25%–50%), or high (>50%). The model using Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) from National Agricultural Imagery Program (NAIP) was 74% accurate; the model using NDVI and post-fire LiDAR was 85% accurate, while the model using NDVI and differenced LiDAR was 83% accurate. The addition of post-fire LiDAR data provided a modest increase in accuracy compared to imagery alone, which may not justify the substantial cost of data acquisition. The method demonstrated could be applied to rapidly estimate tree mortality resulting from wildfires at fine to moderate scale.

This study investigates the integration of Large Language Models (LLMs) into supply chain workflow automation, with a focus on their technical, operational, financial, and socio-technical implications. Building on Dynamic Capabilities Theory and Socio-Technical Systems Theory, the research explores how LLMs can enhance logistics operations, increase workflow efficiency, and support strategic agility within supply chain systems. Using two developed prototypes, the Q inventory management assistant and the nodeStream© workflow editor, the paper demonstrates the practical potential of GenAI-driven automation in streamlining complex supply chain activities. A detailed analysis of system architecture and data governance highlights critical implementation considerations, including model reliability, data preparation, and infrastructure integration. The financial feasibility of LLM-based solutions is assessed through cost analyses related to training, deployment, and maintenance. Furthermore, the study evaluates the human and organisational impacts of AI integration, identifying key challenges around workforce adaptation and responsible AI use. The paper culminates in a practical roadmap for deploying LLM technologies in logistics settings and offers strategic recommendations for future research and industry adoption.

The complex nature of colonisation presents with the potential for paradoxes in decolonising approaches, hence, fixed conventions and methods are discouraged. In this way, decolonising methodologies concerns interrogating dominant conventions in research that have typically excluded alternative ways of knowing from academia. This raises concern about the issue of breaking conventions, when it is potentially difficult to realise that one is depending upon them. An incremental approach to the research process and subsequent knowledge generated provides opportunity to challenge the conventions that typically dictate research praxis. In addition, fostering epistemological transformation and pluralism presents a solution to problems derived from dominant cultural assumptions and practices. My aim for this article is to extend upon the literature pertaining to decolonising methodologies, with this contribution of focusing on the research process as a means to avoid paradox in the decolonial intention. Accordingly, a process imperative that focuses on how researchers do research, over the tendency to focus on outcomes, emerges as a strategy to identify and contend with paradoxes within decolonial work. A questioning convention is posited as a means for mining the assumptions and biases of the dominant culture that would otherwise ensnare ones thinking. Consequently, research may be better liberated from oppressive colonising practices that are tacit within research and academic conventions. Narratives are provided throughout for illustrative example, and to better explore the concepts named.

The need for a model that can portray dynamic processes of change in mutual help groups for mental health (MHGMHs) is emphasized. A dynamic process model has the potential to capture a more comprehensive understanding of how MHGMHs may assist their members. An investigation into GROW, a mutual help organization for mental health, employed ethnographic, phenomenological and collaborative research methods. The study examined how GROW impacts on psychological well being. Study outcomes aligned with the social ecological paradigm (Maton in Understanding the self-help organization: frameworks and findings. Sage, Thousand Oaks 1994 ) indicating multifactorial processes of change at and across three levels of analysis: group level, GROW program/community level and individual level. Outcome themes related to life skills acquisition and a change in self-perception in terms of belonging within community and an increased sense of personal value. The GROW findings are used to assist development of a dynamic multi-dimensional process model to explain how MHGMHs may promote positive change.

The major functions of the auditory system are recognition (what is the sound) and localization (where is the sound). Although each of these has received considerable attention, rarely are they studied in combination. Furthermore, the stimuli used in the bulk of studies did not represent sound location in real environments and ignored the effects of reverberation. Another ignored dimension is the distance of a sound source. Finally, there is a scarcity of studies conducted in unanesthetized animals. We illustrate a set of efficient methods that overcome these shortcomings. We use the virtual auditory space method (VAS) to efficiently present sounds at different azimuths, different distances and in different environments. Additionally, this method allows for efficient switching between binaural and monaural stimulation and alteration of acoustic cues singly or in combination to elucidate neural mechanisms underlying localization and recognition. Such procedures cannot be performed with real sound field stimulation. Our research is designed to address the following questions: Are IC neurons specialized to process what and where auditory information? How does reverberation and distance of the sound source affect this processing? How do IC neurons represent sound source distance? Are neural mechanisms underlying envelope processing binaural or monaural?

Despite Australia’s high standard of health care provision, Australian Aboriginal women continue to experience poor pregnancy outcomes in terms of maternal and foetal morbidity and mortality. In an attempt to improve these outcomes, health care providers have developed targeted antenatal programmes that aim to address identified health behaviours that are known to contribute to poor health during pregnancy. While some areas of improvement have been noted in rates of engagement with health services, the rates of premature births and low birth weight babies continue to be significantly higher than in the non-Aboriginal population. It appears that Australian researchers have been focused on the behaviour of the individual and have failed to fully consider the impact that social and emotional well-being has on both health behaviours and pregnancy outcomes. This review has highlighted the need for an approach to both research and clinical practice that acknowledges the Aboriginal view of health which encompasses mental, physical, cultural and spiritual health. Until clinicians and Aboriginal women have a shared understanding of how social and emotional well-being is experienced by Aboriginal women, in other words their explanatory model, it is unlikely that any meaningful improvements will be seen.