3
JIB 103 .~Jl
I:dens Point
nv.Vin Grove edron Park Carseldinfl
lss..~e No 63 Queensland University of Technology newspaper 19 Novembe< ~ 990
Guinea pigs open the way for a VD vaccine
The first effective vaccine against Chlamydia, the world's most prolific sexually-transmitted disease, is the aim of a new study funded by the National Health and Medical Re- search Council.
Molecular biologist, Dr Peter Timms, said the vaccine if successful would be applicable to other sexually- transmitted diseases and possibly even AIDS.
To be conducted through QUT' Centre for Molecular Biotechnology, the research, involving female guinea pigs, represents the centre's first at- tempt to treat Chlamydia in humans.
Dr Timms said Lactobacillus, a harmless vaginal bacterium in most animal species, including guinea pigs and humans, would be isolated and ge- netically combined to an antibiotic re- sistance gene and a chlamydia! antigen gene.
"When this modified Lactobacillus is put back into the vagina it should again become part of the normal body flora and should stimulate the vaginal immune system to continually produce protective antibodies against Chlamydia and thereby prevent dis- ease," Dr Timms said.
Chlamydia trachomatis, five times more common than gonorrhoea, is the major cause of sexually-transmitted disease in the world, and can also lead to blindness and pelvic inflammatory
disease in women.
It is estimated to have caused blindness in 500 million people world- wide and $US2 billion in health care bills this year alone.
Men tend to be carriers of the dis- ease, while infection, which can po- tentially cause infertility, usually only strikes women. Between five and ten percent of Australian women are be- lieved to be infected.
Effective antibiotics are available, although secondary and tertiary in- fections often result in persistent dis- ease. This is thought to be because antibodies in the vagina which fight the disease disappear soon after the Chlamydia are removed by the anti- biotic.
Dr Timms said most of the suc- cessful vaccines were aimed at sys- temic diseases present in the blood stream like rubella.
Because Chlamydia infects a lo- calised area, it does not respond to a standard vaccination treatment. Re- search will ~ht>refore attempt to manufacture a cream vaccine to be applied locally.
Dr Timms said such a vaccine would overcome many treatment problems.
"Because Chlamydia lies dormant in the system for so long, it is often at quite a progressed stage when pelvic pain develops," he said.
"And because of the social stigma attached to sexually-transmitted dis- eases, people often tend to delay go- ing to a doctor."
The research gained initial funding this year through an internal QUT re- search and development grant. PhD candidate, Cathy Rush, conducted preliminary tests.
Now funded by NH&MRC for
$32 000 per year for three years, it will also involve Dr Louise Hafner and Dr Ron Epping. Depending on results at the end of the three-year period, di- rect application of the vaccine to hu- mans will be tested.
0 0 0
Dr Timms' research was one of two QUT submissions to receive no- tification ofNH&MRC funding this month.
Optometry lecturer, Ms Chris Wildsoet, was also successful in her bid to study eye growth and refrac- tive error in chickens.
t>'lear~h afht<itl)
understanding of short~sightedness in humans. (See story on page 3)
Office of Research manager, Dr Lyn Grigg, said four other continu- ing projects had also received re- newal funding.
Final confirmation of funding al- locations for these projects was not yet available, she said.
Chemist to develop a new semi-conductor from organic molecule
A QUT chemist is attempting to develop an organic chemical semi- conductor to be used in minute Mo- lecular Electronic Devices (MEDs).
Dr Dennis Arnold has received a
$25 000 Australian Research Council (ARC) grant to study the suitability of organic (carbon-based) chemicals called porphyrin diacetylenes as semi- conductors.
Dr Arnold said electronic systems and devices had been decreasing in size over the past two decades, but further reductions would partly depend on the production of suitably small semi-conductors.
He said semi-conductors tradition- ally had been either metals or inor- ganic chemicals: "Although there are now many organic conductors known and being used, I'm looking to make a tailor-made one which could be used in Molecular Electronic Devices."
In 1976 Dr Arnold made the world's first porphyrin diacetylene molecule wl,ile worki'lg in Pr;tain.
Porphyrins are molecules conrain- ing carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen found in natural systems such as chlorophyll (the green colouring in plants), haemoglobin and enzymes (proteins which act as catalysts in biological processes).
Dr Arnold gave three reasons why porphyrins were the perfect chemical
building blocks. Firstly they are large, flat and stable molecules; secondly the carbon atoms which line the edge of each molecule are easily bonded to other atoms; and finally, porphyrins have a central cavity into which metal atoms can be inserted.
By building on and manipulating these bonds and atoms, Dr Arnold hopes to be able to create chains and sheets of porphyrin molecules.
In order to achieve this, he will need to use another group of atoms, called a diacetylene, to join porphyrin mol- ecules to each other.
He said the porphyrin molecules would not act as semi-conductors if electronic communication from one to the next was halted.
However, the manipulation required on the porphyrin molecules means Dr Arnold needs to separate one from another. The piggy-in-the-middle diacetylene unit sufficiently distances porphyrins from each other, while al- owing the vital flow of electronic communication between the porphyrin molecules to ce>ntinue.
Dr Arnold said the chains of porphyrin diacetylene would carry electronic communication in much the same manner as a wire carried electri- cal current.
The sheets could be developed as a conducting layer on a flat surface.
Capers to paint campus red
Inside QUTwould like to wish all staff and
students a happy, safe Christmas and a very
merry New Year.
Our next issue will be February next
year to coincide with Orientation
Week (starting 11 February).
Lectures will begin 18
February.
Erin Osmond (left) and Carseldine Capers organiser Ms Lisa MacDonald.
..,
GUT
Entertaining children during the Christmas school holidays will be easy at QUT's Carseldine Capers, a childcare program for 5-14 year olds.
Organiser and Diploma of Teaching student, Ms Lisa MacDonald, said activities includ- ing art, crafts, novelty and aerobic games, drama and sport would be organised between 8.30am and
Q!JT Central Administration 2 George Street Brisbane 4000 Telephone (07) 223 2111
4.30pm daily.
Carseldine Capers will run for the week before Christmas ( 17-21 De- cember) and for three weeks in the new year (7-25 January).
Parents can deliver and collect chil- dren between Sam and 5pm.
Activities include excursions to the movies, water parks and the local skating rink.
"Carseldine Capers was started five
years ago by a student who saw the need for holiday care in the local community," said Lisa.
"It started with only a few chil- dren and we now limit numbers to 30-40 a day so there are no more than ten children per leader."
The cost is $8 a day or $35 a week. For more information and bookings phone Gay Bishop on (07) 263 4942.
Registered by Australia Post- Publication No. QBF 4778
Vice-Chancellor's comment
Demand for QUT places soars
Despite the year being consumed by amalgamation issues for staff and to a lesser extent, students, early figures from QTAC indicate that the demand for student places at the new QUT is significantly higher than total first preferences for courses of the former QUT and BCAE.
This is a real achievement. It shows we have been successful in projecting a positive external image for the university while internally we have been operating under considerable difficulty with interim structures and parallel systems.
The ability to market more efficiently under one banner was one of the benefits cited for amalgamation.
Improved performance in obtaining research grants, announced in the last issue of Inside QUT, was very pleasing. Also, several new academic programs were developed for introduction in 1991.
Even though our outward vision may have been limited by the impact of a large amalgamation, it has been a year of significant
"' achievement. A great deal of time has been invested in meeting col- leagues, and in laying philosophi- cal and structural foundations for a major university which truly meets the needs of the commu- nitv.
Next year will see a consolida- tion of the plans and structures laid down in the foundation year.
I am grateful for the contribu-
:.~ tion towards these plans by staff particularly, and by students, alumni and external people. I wish readers a merry Christmas and an exciting, if challenging, I 991.
Professor Dennis Gibson
MIM receives new award
MIM Holdings, a major supporter of QUT, has received the first Vice- Chancellor's Fellow award.
The award, to be accepted on be- half of the company by MIM Chairman, Sir Bruce Watson, will
AVCC backs animal code
The Australian Vice-Chancellor~.:
Committee (A VCC) "'ill thro"' ih collective weight behind the national code for the care of animah used in scientific experiments.
The move follows the Federal Gov- ernment"s support for the role of insti- tutions and animal ethics committee-, in its response to a Senate committee report on animal experimentation.
The A VCC will encourage all members to promote the code of prac- tice.
The National Health and Medical Research Council (NH&MRC), CSJRO and other research bodies de- veloped the code, which already has the support of the Australian Council for the Care of Animals in Research and Training (ACCART). This advi- sory body is co-funded by the A VCC, CSJRO and NH&MRC.
Although QUT's animal experi- mentation is small compared with other tertiary institutions, the univer- sity's Council has had an active Bio- medical Ethics Committee since 1978.
The committee oversees all research involving animals.
be presented at a ceremony in Old Government House on 20 Novem- ber.
Second only to the Chancellor's Fellow, the Vi~e-Chancellor's Fellow is awarded to corporations who in- vest more than $500 000 or to indi- viduals who contribute more than
$250 000.
Other major QUT supporters will also be inducted at the ceremony as Fellows of the QUT Foundation.
Fellows of the QUT Foundation awards recognise substantial inves- tors who support research and education programs which benefit the community.
This, the third annual ceremony, will see I 7 awards in seven discipii- nary categories presented.
The awards are named in honour of the first incumbent in the disci- plinary area at the institution.
For example, the award to inves- tors in engineering was named after Dr John Wilby, foundation head of School of Engineering in 1968.
QUT's Assistant Dean Develop- ment, Mr Rod Miller, said: "This year's winners have contributed more than $2 million in pledges to QUT since the 1989 ceremony."
He said it was the combination of QUT's practical or "hands-on"
reputation and the quality propos- als developed by staff that attracted such support.
"The investment from companies and individuals takes place because the resulting activity makes a posi- tive difference to the community and the economy," Mr Miller said.
Letter to the si:JiforK
Sally's sexuality struggle
I would like to comment on the front page of the latest issue of Inside QUT.
The majority of that page - the front page news - revolves around a new degree course (very interesting) and a play about Sally struggling with her unconventional sexuality (more de- tails, please!).
It is the item slotted beside the skel- eton on the right hand side of the page that holds the most interest for me.
This is the article on ARC funding for 1991. ARC funding is featured in In- side QUT once a year at the time of announcement of grants.
Now is the most relevant time for this story.
This year, QUT just happened to outperform every other institution in
the country in terms of percentage in- crease in funding. No big deal, I guess, but riveting news for those within the institution who realise the significance of such a result, and who are inter- ested in the further development of a research culture at QUT.
Now I realise that James Dale (page 3) doesn't have as much hair as the "Sallies" on the front page, but his smile and the way he holds a lettuce and exposes its heart so lovingly is, I would imagine, just as newsworthy as the other front page pictorials, and certainly relevant to a new universi- ty's achievements in the national arena.
Dr Lyn Grigg
Manager - Office of Research
I STD CLINIC I
GUINEA PIGS HELP IN CHLAHYDtt:i VACCINE.
QUT RESEARCH INTO A
(SEE ST'ORY PAGE 1 )
Council offers first QUT management positions
Only a few of the more than 50 QUT management positions advertised in- ternally following amalgamation have been filled formally as this issue goes to press.
Applications closed on 2 Novem- ber and QUT Council met on 14 No- vember to consider recommendations of faculty and non-academic selection panels. However. offers will not be made public until each manager has accepted appointment.
In addition to the 18 academic man- agement positions to be filled by in- vitation. offers have been made in five dean of faculty positions and 19 non-faculty management positions.
The following have accepted the university's offer.
Academic appointments
Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Professor Tom Dixon
Law Faculty
Dean: Professor David Gardiner Built Environment and Engi- neering Faculty
Head of School of Architecture, Interior and Industrial Design: Pro- fessor Bill Lim
Head of School of Construction Management: Professor David Scott
Head of School of Electrical and Electronic Systems: Professor Miles Moody
Head of School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering: Professor Walter Wong
Head of School of Planning and Landscape Architecture: Associate Professor Phil Heywood
Head of School of Surveying: Pro- fessor Kurt Kubik
Education Faculty
Head of School of Early Childhood:
Professor Gerald Ashby Health Faculty
Head of School of Nursing: Pro- fessor Michael Clinton
Head of School of Optometry: Pro- fessor Ken Bowman
Information Technology Faculty Head of School of Computing Sci- ence: Professor John Gough
Science Faculty
Dean: Professor Tony Webber Head of School of Chemistry: As- sociate Professor Stan Dyke
Head of School of Geology: Asso- ciate Professor David Gust
Head of School of Mathematics:
Associate Professor Tony Pettit Head of School of Physics: Asso- ciate Professor Brian W Thomas
Non-faculty appointments Mr Brian Waters has accepted ap-
pointment as Registrar and Mr Tom Cochrane, as Director of the Division of Information Services.
The following have also accepted offers.
Research and Advancement Development Manager: Mr Rod Miller
Information Services
External Studies Manager: Mr Bruce Scriven
Computer Based Education Man- ager: Dr Dan Ellis
Administrative Services
Campus Registrar (Kelvin Grove): Mr David Spann
Campus Registrar (Sunshine Coast):
Mr Col Wheeler
Publications Manager: Mr !an Wynne
Chancellery
Executive Officer: Ms Mary-Rose MacColl
Responses to the university's offer of other dean of faculty positions are expected shortly.
Selection panels will meet in the next week or so to consider appoint- ments to head of school positions and other non-faculty management posi- tions.
Elections have been conducted for staff members to serve on selection panels for head of school appointments within faculties.
Elected candidates arc:
• Arts: Mr George Schofield
• Business: Ms Lynn Gallagher
• Education: Ms Miriam Henry
• Health: Mr Tom Cuddihy
•Information Technology: Dr David Edmond
• Science: Dr Bill Dodd
doctorates approved
QUT is to introduce profe-.-.ional doctorate awards.
Council approved the move follow- ing lengthy debate within the univer- sity's academic and research commit- tees.
Professional doctorates will be concerned with the professions as fields of practice a.., well as academic disciplines, allowing for advanced study in preparation for specialisation in practice and teaching in a profes- sional area.
Like the PhD, professional doctoral degrees will be regarded as degrees of the University rather than of a specific faculty.
New QUT is more popular with - students seeking entry
Amalgamation has increased QUT's popularity with students.
First preference demand for undergraduate courses at the new QUT for 1991 is 2600 up on the sum of students expressing a first preference for QUT or BCAE at the same time last year.
QUT's share of all first preferences for university places in Queensland also has risen slightly with over 30 percent of applicants listing QUT first.
With a predicted enrolment of 21 500 next year (20 300 in 1990), QUT is also one of Australia's largest universities.
Students beginning undergraduate courses in 1991 at QUT's four Brisbane campuses will number 6300, 75 percent of whom will study full- time. A further 2000 will start postgraduate programs.
Some of the most popular courses
include communication, law, accountancy, drama, early childhood (teaching) and physical education.
Four new courses
Four new degree courses will begin in 1991, two of which were not available before the Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre (QTAC) application date of I October.
The courses are:
• Nursing degree (replaces diploma, subject to final approval);
• Teaching degree - primary, early childhood (replaces diploma);
• Occupational Health and Safety degree; and
• Justice Studies degree.
Students have the option to change preferences for courses through QT AC until3 January. TE scores are released to students around 15 December. For details phone QUT Admissions on 3528153.
Page 2 INSIDE OUT, 19 November 1990
.J I ~ L4. r;') i
,,:;
- -·- ---- -----· .. --... "!
ptometrists to set sights on eye focus
The menacing link between eye strain and computer use is to be in- vestigated by QUT optometrists in re- search due to start this month.
Principal investigator, Mr Michael Collins, said the research would in- volve people performing identical tasks on both paper and visual display terminals (VDTs).
A detailed comparison of the eye as it focuses on these two surfaces should shed light on what was already a se- rious workplace health issue.
"Studying the eye focusing mecha- nism seems to be the most likely way to establish the link between eye strain and computer use," Mr Collins said.
"Most people seem to report more symptoms of eye strain when working at computer terminals than when do- ing paper work.
"It is already recognised that people should take breaks away from com- puter screens, but no-one really knows the science behind this."
The project, funded by the Austral- ian Research Council, began this year
"
with an initial $32 750 grant. A re- newal of $21 000 for 1991 was an- nounced this month.
Mr Collins said research this year had concentrated on the modification of an auto refractor, a machine com- monly used to determine spectacle len~
prescription.
Now, after extensive alteration, the machine provides a continuous meas- urement of the eye's focal length.
Three beams of infra-red light directed through two light sources are bounced off a mirror into the patient's eye. That light is bounced back into the optics of the machine. An image of the eye and voltage read-out of the focusing field is displayed on an adjacent com- puter screen.
The computer then stores where the patient has been focusing over a pe- riod of time.
Subtle output voltage differences, as small as I 00 milli-volts, will be used to investiga:e eye fatigue.
Mr Collins said six different experiments each involving about six
...
_______ _
people were planned for the study.
Eye focusing measurements, screen reflection, work patterns, character/
screen contrast and colour combina- tion will be studied in relation to eye fatigue.
In 1988, Mr Collins, together with Associate Professor Brian Brown and Professor Ken Bowman, was involved in a related study prepared for the National Occupational Health and Safety Commission.
The study found a consistently high eye strain rate during VDT as opposed to non-screen work.
Eye fatigue was recorded at least once during five days by about 60 percent of subjects.
Mr Collins, principal investigator of the ARC project, will work in con- junction with Associate Professor Brown and Dr David Atchison.
QUT physics graduate, Mr Brett Davis, has been employed as research assistant. Testing will begin at the end of the year and continue throughout next year.
... t
Optometry researcher, Mr Michael Collins, demonstrates eye testing facilities.
New research to trash specs
Eye research focusing on chicken vision could make spectacles for the short-sighted a thing of the past, ac- cording to a QUT optometrist.
In the 1991 round of National Health and Medical Research Council grants, researcher, Ms Chris Wildsoet, will receive $36 000 over three years to continue work which aims to unravel the mystery of human myopia, or short-sightedness.
"Results thus obtained will have an important bearing on the direction that research into treatment alternatives should take," Ms Wildsoet said.
"This research takes on added sig- nificance when it is considered that myopia ranks third in the world as a cause of blindness and that the inci- dence of myopia may be increasing."
Myopia is caused when the eye
grows too long for its optic, whereas in hyperopia, or long-sightedness, the eye does not grow long enough.
Ms Wildsoet said the traditional prescription of glasses could be superseded if the key to excessive eye growth was better understood.
Chickens, like humans, share simi- lar neo-natal eye development. Both are born slightly long-sighted.
This refractive error tends to dis- appear with normal eye growth in the first few weeks of life in chickens and the first five year~ of human develop- ment. In experimentation, chickens allowed only blurred vision become myopic because their eyes are stimu- lated to grow more.
Ms Wildsoet said little was known about the mechanism which triggered either excessive or insufficient growth.
Evidence suggested, however, that the mechanism worked locally in the eye, independent of the brain.
The retina is also thought to have a direct role in triggering eye growth by the release of growth-active sub- stances.
Ms Wildsoet plans to research retina function further to establish how it communicates this growth.
The research will be conducted at the University of Queensland through the Vision Touch and Hearing Re- search Centre in the Department of Physiology.
It is also an extension Ms Wildsoet's doctorate study which is due to be submitted soon.
Her supervisor has been University of Queensland Professor Jack Pettigrew.
.· ..
·~-.. ·.· .·.·.• ..
·p··~···;·.···~··Campus quickies
As a special exam edition of Campus Quickies, we have a few sug- gested examination questions to help lighten flagging spirits (reprinted from Capital M, a publication of Mensa).
BIOLOGY: Create life. Estimate the differences in subsequent human culture if this form of life had been developed 500 million years ago, with special attention to the probable effect on the English parliamentary system. Prove your thesis.
ENGINEERING: The disassembled parts of a high powered rifle have been placed in a box on your desk. You will also find an instruc- tion manual printed in Swahili. In 10 minutes a hungry Bengal tiger will be admitted to the room. Take whatever action you feel appropri- ate. Be prepared to justify your decision.
POLITICAL SCIENCE: There is a red telephone on your desk.
Start World War Ill. Report at length on its socio-political effects, if any.
EDUCATION: Develop a fool-proof and inexpensive system of education that will meet the needs of all segments of society. Convince both the faculty and rioting students outside to accept it. Limit your- self of the vocabulary found in the Dick and Jane reading series.
MUSIC: Write a piano concerto. Orchestrate and perform it with flute and drum. You will find a piano under your chair.
0 0 0
It's amazing what can be achieved with plastics these days. The sug- gestion was forwarded to Inside QUT that the abbreviations PVC (Re- search and Advancement) and PVC (Academic) were most appropriate because the successful applicants would be moulded to fit the role.
0 0
0
Employees who are feeling a little down should apply for work in Management Computing. It seems Christmas came early in that neck of the woods where traditional festive season trappings went on dis- play in mid-October.
However, the prize for Yuletide enthusiasm must remain with the Gardens Point Enrolments Section who have refrained from remov- ing a chalked drawing of Santa and associated streamers since De- cember 1989.
0
0 0A sign above theM Block elevator reads: "DepartmenT of" Surreying, Lel'el Three". The sign is definitely a few degrees off horizontal.
0 0 0
Medical research, it seems, is an exacting pursuit requiring preci- sion and rectitude. How else could the National Health and Medical Research Council (NH&MRC) justify grants such as medical labora- tory science's Dr Peter Timms $31 939 AND SEVEN CENTS grant, or the funding to optometry's Ms Chris Wildsoet for $35 687 AND THREE CENTS.
After recent Council meetings which considered post-amalgamation management positions, Personnel Department has excelled itself in the speedy promulgation of information about what jobs were to be adver- tised and how they would be filled.
They have also moved quickly on the process of filling positions. Over 27 000 photocopies of 142 internal applications for 52 QUT management positions were taken on Friday night 2 November (when applications closed) for 70 selection panel members. Then on the weekend of 3-4 November, personnel assistant, Mr James McKay, flew around the na- tion's eastern capitals to deliver the material to external members of eight selection panels. According to personnel, this was far cheaper (and more reliable) than using couriers.
0 0 0
Asked whether he'd had a win at 3pm on Melbourne Cup day, Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dennis Gibson, wondered what issue was being enquired about. He said he'd just come out of a meeting.
0 0 0
On PEP leave in America recently, Dr Dan Ellis (Computer Based Education) was confronted in the street by a middle-aged woman who wanted to hug him. Some might argue no further explanation is required.
However, to set the record straight, the woman was attending a workshop which directed her to do ten risk-taking things during her lunch hour.
0 0 0
QUT selling BMWs?? While flicking through the used-car section of The Courier-Mail, Mrs Noela Waters, wife of Registrar, Mr Brian Waters, spotted a most intriguing advertisement. The ad, boasting a QUT logo, made the tempting offer of a BMW 320i 1980 automatic for $39 000. Mr Waters forwarded the misleading clipping to our attention saying: "I know we need the money, but this is slightly outside our mission statement." Mr Waters, is still wondering why his wife was looking for BMWs in the first place.
Fulb rig ht to make c lass roo m decisio ns easier
Educationalist, Dr Sue Johnston, is one of eight post-doctoral researchers in Australia to win a Fulbright Award this year.
Dr Johnston will spend six months next year at the University of Cincinnati studying how teachers make curriculum decisions in the usually unpredictable environment of the classroom.
The research will develop teaching strategies to help trainee and experi- enced teachers think more critically about their classroom decisions.
A senior lecturer in the Department
of Teaching and Curriculum Studies, Dr Johnston said the teaching profes- sion was often criticised for not being able to properly articulate the reasons behind a particular classroom ap- proach.
"Often in the classroom, teachers have to make curriculum decisions on the run and simply draw on their own experience," Dr Johnston said.
"Sometimes teachers can tell you why they make certain decisions, and then realise that what they say doesn't match up with their practice.
"If we can encourage teachers to
Page 3 INSIDE OUT, 19 November 1990
think more about why they are mak- ing certain decisions, they will then be able to question what they are doing in a more positive way."
Dr Johnston agreed many teachers would already be adopting a critical approach to their own classroom style.
However, a teaching strategy for critical, reflective thinking would give all teachers a helpful, systematic tool to explore.
Dr Johnston will work with small groups of trainee and experienced teachers through the Faculty of Edu- cation at Cincinnati University.
She will also present a paper on curriculum evaluation at the Ameri- can Educational Research Associa- tion's annual conference at Chicago in April.
The Fulbright Awards, granted through the Australian-American Educational Foundation, were an- nounced this year to 13 postgraduate students, eight post-doctoral fellows and eight senior scholars. Dr Johnston is one of four Queensland successful researchers in this latest round.
Right: Dr Sue Johnston
~ it,,
.
f, , ' "' ,..",, "
't. 'r /. , ,. '. \ ·.
Proteins give muscle to study Reef estuary
A QUT biotechnologist has discovered two forms of a protein found in cattle hearts which could in- crease understanding of how muscles contract.
Medical laboratory sci- entist, Dr Terry Walsh, has received a $44 000 Aus- tralian Research Council (ARC) grant renewal to study the structure and function of proteins in muscle contraction.
He said there were five major proteins employed in making a muscle con-
tract- one of which, called Troponin T, he was studying.
He hopes to identify the reasons for variations in the structure and make-up of this protein.
Proteins are formed from chains and sequences of amino acids which are found in all cells.
They include structural proteins such as the colla- gen found in connective tissue and bone, plasma proteins. and enzymes or proteins which act as
Day seminars add to become grad certificate
A program of intensive short courses on data security has been cleverly structured by QUT for 1991 to meet the casual and forn1al training needs of industry and government.
By attending all the short courses and meeting other commitments. participants can qualify for a new Graduate Certificate in Information Technology (Data Security). a formal award. If the student wants to con- tinue. the graduate certificate can be credited as half a graduate diploma or a quarter of a masters degree.
However. people not wishing to pursue the formal course can elect to attend any of the short courses, or the one-day seminars which are the building blocks for the short courses.
QUT is a national leader in the data security area. It established the Information Security Research Centre in 1988 under the directorship of Professor Bill Caelli.
Among ISRC Australian and international clients are Golden Casket. Defence Science Technology Organisa- tion. The Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club, CITEC and Eracom.
The intensive short courses will be run in March, July and November next year and will deal with Managerial and Technical Issues of Data Security, Network Control and Security, and Risk Management. Graduates or people with relevant experience in data security can gain a graduate certificate by attending all three two- week courses, completing assessment successfully and completing a project. Course fees are $5500.
Dean of Information Technology at QUT, Professor Dennis Longley, said the program was unique in its approach to meeting the training needs of industry in data security while at the same time offering formal academic credit to the individual.
catalysts in biological processes.
Dr Walsh has discov- ered two isoforms (com- pounds which differ from the original) of Troponin T.
He believes the amino acid sequencing in these types differ, thus produc- ing the different isoforms.
His next step will be to physically separate the two forms.
"The separation tech- niques used normally were unsuccessful because these
isoforms which are found in cattle hearts are so large compared to those in other species," Dr Walsh said.
"This is because there are more amino acids in sequence than in other animals I have researched, such as rabbits.
"Also, the two forms are very similar to each other in size, making separation more difficult."
After separation he will attempt to phosphorylate the isoforms. Phosphory- lation is a process whereby
a phosphate group is at- tached to a target com- pound - in this instance, Troponin T isoforms.
The process will enable Dr Walsh to alter the ac- tivities or functions per- formed by the isoforms in the muscle without having to synthesise an entirely new protein.
Dr Walsh hopes the ARC renewal will act as a catalyst for further funding of studies being conducted within QUT's Centre for Molecular Biotechnology.
study to test farm impact
Eroded sediments and fertilisers flowing into the delicate Great Bar- rier Reef ecosystem will come under the close scrutiny of a research team led by QUT geolo- gist, Dr Aro Arakel.
The team will tackle the first comparative study of six estuaries in the north- ern cane and banana growing region to better understand the relation~hip between the reef and land use practices.
Estuaries of the Johnstone, Moresby, Burdekin, Herbert and Fitaoy Rivers, and Keppel Sands Creek will be stud- ied.
The three-year project, funded through the American-based group, Earthwatch Inc, the Au~
tralian Re-,earch Council and the QUT Centre for Sedimentary and Environ- mental Geology, was an- nounced earlier this month.
Dr Arakel, centre direc- tor and project coordina- tor, said it would extend the work already con- ducted over the past seven years through the centre - particularly research on the Johnstone River estuary system funded through ARC and the Australian Water Research Advisory Council.
"A combination of high rainfall, erodible soil and unsatisfactory land use often results in excessive sedimentation and el- evated nutrient loads in the North Queensland estuar- ies," Dr Arakel said.
tial impact of enhanced sediment-nutrient dis- charges onto nearshore ecosystems of the reef."
Nitrogen and phospho- rous, found in many farm fertili~:ers, were the two most damaging nutrients flowing into the reef eco- system.
These nutrients lead to a build up of algae on coral which blocks off vital light and oxygen supplies nec- essary for coral growth and porosity.
Dr Arakel said that due to the high basalt content of the soil in the region, the soils in the Johnstone River area were excellent for agricultural use but highly prone to ero<.ion, particularly after high rainfall.
After 50 years of <,us- tained and exten-,ive farming, a huge amount of eroded sediment now line'>
the river bed'> of the area, causing increased flood levels and navigational problem<..
Suspended solids in the water also reduce the light penetration of the near- shore reef environment.
Dr Arakel said the principal aim of the project was therefore to compare the concentration, disper- sion and depositional pat- tern of eroded sediments and nutrients in each estu- ary and relate differences to variat1ons in the coastal water circulation syste!n, physiographical setting and land use practices.
One-day seminars cost $180 and intensive courses,
$750 per week. Dr Terry Walsh examines a cattle heart.
"Associated with the resulting sedimentation and water quality problems in the estuaries, there are concerns about the poten-
Other aims will be to identify the sources of sediment and nutrient in- put and to assess how they are transported and dis- persed within each estuary system.
The new
nursing degree from the leading
nursing school
OUT was the first 1n Queensland to run a D1ploma of Nurs1ng.
a progress1ve alternative to hospital-based tra1n1ng s1nce 1982 Now a new Bachelor of Nurs1ng · from OUT w1ll quahfy you for nurse reg1strat1on. replac1ng the d1ploma
The 3 year full· time or 5 year part·t1me degree will g1ve you the theory. the pract1cal sk1lls and the VISIOn to make a real1mpact on the future health of Oueenslanders. You"lllearn from h1ghly qualified.
expenenced staff of the state's prem1er School of Nurs1ng. 1n a range of chn1cal. class room and other sett1ngs
Later. you coulo take advantage of OUT"s well established postgraduate nurs1ng programs Educat1on for the nurs1ng profess1onal of the future starts here at OUT
If you're hav1ng second thoughts about your cho1ce for study next year. 1t"s not too late to hst the new nurs1ng degree from the lead1ng nurs1ng school as your f~rst preference for 1991
For more 1nformat1on. phone Ann Leske on (07) 223 2924
( • Deqree rcqu•res l1nal approval Fnsl preferences lor OUTs D•plom:1 or Nurs•nq w11l automatteally he converted to Bachelor ol Nursmg)
QUT
A university for the real world.
Queensland Umvers1ty of Technology
School cf Nursing: GPO Box 2434 Brisbane 4001. IDEA7117
Bioethics debate to spark interest
QUT will need to take greater notice of the bioethics debate in the fu- ture, according to Dean of Health Science, Professor Tony Webber.
As the chairman of the university's Biomedical Ethics Committee, he at- tended an Ethics and in- tellectual property - Should we create and commercialise new life forms? conference in Mel-
bourne last month.
He said that QUT DNA research included both molecular diagnosis and the development of new life forms, directly relevant to the conference topic.
"QUT will expand its bioethics R and D activi-
Professor Tony Webber
ties and we will be con- fronted with many of the issues facing other univer- sity researchers," he said. The conference, run by Monash University's Centre for Human Bioethics, was concerned with patenting new life forms and the questions such commercial ventures raised. Professor Webber said most who attended agreed that patenting new or genetically modified life forms was not economi- cally viable.
One example which supported their argument was that of the first pat- ented bacterium. Produced in America in the early 1980s, this marine bacte- rium was genetically al- tered to consume oil from slicks. The bacterium failed in expectations, rendering the commercial keepers of the bacterium embarrassed and eco- nomically dormant.
Professor Webber said altering a genetic structure for economic or environ- mental gain did not con- stitute unethical behaviour in his eyes.
He said Australian re- search had already spawned genetically modified products. For example, a university
group in South Australia developed "transgenic animals" which produce increased levels of a growth hormone for appli- cation in pig farming. In this instance the pigs do not grow any larger, but rather the percentage of fat in the animal is reduced- replaced with meat.
Professor Webber stressed that the bioethical debate was not "Brave New World stuff' where researchers were wanting to patent synthesised life forms, but was concerned with addressing the prob- lems associated with modifying existing life forms. He favoured a
managed approach with those concerned with bioethics working with scientists to understand what was aimed to be achieved.
He emphasised such re- search could ultimately lead to treating some of the most common and dam- aging medical conditions, such as Cystic Fibrosis and Haemophilia.
In an over-simplified explanation, sufferers of these conditions are defi- cient in a small segment of DNA material. An "injec- tion" of the missing ge- netic matter into the suf- ferer's existing DNA could rectify such disorders.
Last flying art show
The Flying Arts School, based at the Kelvin Grove campus, is staging its final exhibition before spreading its wings to the Darling Downs.
Although an independent organisation, it has been based at Kelvin Grove since 1978.
The Beyond the Boundaries exhibition was opened on 14 November and continues until 28 November at the Queensland College of Art, Foxton St, Morningside.
It features I 05 paintings and 43 ceramic pieces from students living in the far-flung corners of Queensland and northern NSW.
The Flying Arts School, established in 1971 by Bris- bane artist Mervin Moriarty, visits 30 centres and clocks 500 OOOkm every year to provide workshops to isolated artists. The school, while retaining its independence, will relocate to the University College of Southern Queensland at the end of the month.
Page 4 INSIDE OUT, 19 November 1990
Writer exposes youth scene
Youth at risk in urban society will be closely studied when playwright, Hugh Watson, joins the drama de- partment next year.
As Writer in Residence, Hugh will work with ten final year acting stu- dents to produce a play exploring what is becoming dark reality for a growing number of young people living in Australian cities.
The nine-week residency was an- nounced this month and will be funded through the Literature Board of the Australia Council and QUT, both providing $4000.
It is the first Australia Council residency for QUT drama.
Drama lecturer and acting program coordinator, Mr Mark Radvan, said the residency would broaden the cope of drama studies into a more community-based arena.
Mr Radvan said it would also help drama students explore a social group often not authenticated in mainstream theatre.
"'This kind of scene is not repre- sented in Neighbours or Counrry Pracrice." Mr Radvan said.
Hugh said preparation for the play would involve some direct observa- tion and discussion with young peo- ple living in Fortitude Valley.
Formerly a script writer for the children's television show Womhar.
Hugh has been involved in commu- nity theatre in Brisbane since 198-t particularly with the Street Arts Community Theatre Company based at West End and the theatre troupe Order By Numbers.
He is also one of three artists who estabbhed the Feral Arts group this year in the Logan area to pro\ ide an artistic (and legal) outlet for often wild and angry young spirit'>.
Hugh's \\Ork with disadvantaged youth began in 1988 when he wrote scripts for an AIDS show under the auspice of the Bri.,bane Youth Service.
Called PSST.' 1 Prm ri.1e Safe Sc1 Today). it toured with the Rock ·n Roll Circus to youth institution~ and centres around South East Queens-
land.
It was when Street Arb ap-
1\VN..,_ - , I . /1
i
I
)
~
Playwright Hugh Watson to join OUT drama next year.
proached Hugh l<l'>t year to work with disadvantaged youth that he ventured into the Logan area.
The '>econd large'>! city in Queens-
land. Logan City boast-. almO'>I I XO 000 people - and a 'ilaggering 49 percent are under I X years of age.
"Of those young people. between I 000 and 1500 are truanting on any given da) ... Hugh said.
His work in Logan was linked strongly with the work of the Centre Education Program and two plays Raise rile Roof" and Charged Up were produced.
"In Charged Up we had to cast the show three times because kids kept dropping out or getting arrested," he said.
"In the end we found that the play helped those involved articulate themselves, something they are not usually very good at.
"'They discovered that there's also a lot of adrenal in in theatre. There's a lot ofadrenalin in car stealing too, bll'l theittre · ~ leg>dl."
The drama production will be presented at the end of 1991 and may tour interstate.
Child sex offender study aims to improve treatment
A QUT psychologist has set out to determine what predisposing factors contribute to making a child sex of- fender.
Lecturer in community studies, Ms Sue McCulloch, believes the charac- teristics which lead to child sexual abuse must be studied before success- ful rehabilitation of offenders can oc- cur. Her study, part of research for a PhD thesis, will look at offenders' family lives, adolescent experiences, school relationships, attitudes towards personal relationships and opinions on sex.
She believes some offenders only abuse family members to avoid being reported while others have sufficient money for good legal representation. In either instance, the offender is more likely to avert prosecution.
This means the circumstances which contribute to sexual abuse are not the same for incarcerated offenders and free paedophiles.
For this reason, Ms McCulloch will
seek to analyse these facets of the lives of jailed offenders, non-incarcerated offenders and a non-offending control group.
From this information she hopes to generate a model, or modify an exist- ing one, to treat offenders.
She said: "One problem with this approach is how to be sure that none of the control group is a sex offender."
Such concern highlights a major problem in both researching this field and developing the necessary treat- ment models.
"The community would prefer to put its head in the sand and are not open to discussing sex offences, particularly where children are involved," Ms McCulloch said.
International literature suggests up to ten percent of the population are sexually abused as children. Ms McCulloch believes this figure scares community or family members into silence, although most people want offenders jailed.
A novel win for Wynne
After years of managing other peo- ple's publications, Mr Ian Wynne is to have his own novel published by someone else.
The QUT publications manager won
$5000 in the New Idea/Random Cen- tury FictiOn Prize 1990 for his novel, The Pawn.
The story traces a father's hunt for his daughter after she was abducted by terrorists.
Set in Lesotho and South Afnca.
home to Mr Wynne for many years,
The Pawn explores the thoughts of a white South African face to face with the harsh realities of oppression.
Mr Wynne was born in South Af- rica. As a journalist for the country's Daily Dispatch newspaper, he re- ported much of the civil unrest which led to the house arrest of famous anti- apartheid activist Donald Woods.
Donald Wood' wrote Bi/..o. the book on which the movie Cry Freedom was based, and wa' editor of the Dailv Dispalch at the time of his arrest. . Page s··J tNSIDE=OLi'1',:~9 -Novernber-"'lt990
One model she would like to see introduced in Australia, the American Giretto model, would help affected community and family members. as well as the offenders themselves. The model relies heavily on group and in- dividual therapy, not only within vic- tim or offender groups but also be- tween the various groups.
Ms McCulloch, who has worked with sex offenders at Waco! Correc- tional Centre, also runs a private practice on Wickham Terrace where she concentrates on helping people who recognise they have the potential to sexually abuse children.
"In the early stages of offending some people identify they have a problem but don't know where to go for help," she said.
"On the other hand, many don't know why they have these feelings.
Unless the reasons can be addressed then these people will offend again."
Ms McCulloch said the "old man in the raincoat" stereotype of a paedo- phile was simply not accurate and children needed educating to that fact.
It was imperative that the various disciplines which dealt with the prob- lem worked more closely together to make a greater impact on children's education.
Ms McCulloch emphasised that there were differences between rape and child sexual abuse, and that the two i'>sues required separate treatment.
She said rape was U'>ually commit- ted in anger with a need to express dominance. Child sexual abuse, par- ticularly within the home, was often not violent and covered a larger sphere of predisposing factors.
Cancer research to reduce use of
radiation therapy
QUT cancer research into a cell suicide mechanism is part of an in- ternational push to treat patients with less radiation and drug therapy.
Experimental pathologist, Dr David J Allan, said a more detailed understanding of apoptosis, or active cell suicide, was likely to make cancer treatment far less traumatic for pa- tients.
He said it could also provide a way to target cancerous cells in isolation, without affecting healthy tissue like present treatment methods.
Potentially less radiation and drugs will be needed to remove a cancerous tumour if the mechanism that triggers apoptosis can be isolated and if the cancerous cells themselves can then be made more susceptible to suicide.
"It is a very exciting field to be in- volved in. It really is the beginning of a very new stage in cancer research,"
Dr Allan said.
Apoptosis is one of four kinds of naturally-occurring "cell death". Un- like other forms, it does not cause in- flammation.
Radiation and drug therapy can cause any of the four varieties of cell death. The other varieties are mitotic (when normal cell division i., im- paired), differentiation (the loss of renewal capacity), or necrm.i'> (failure of cellular membrane permeability).
Dr Allan said honour., student, Catherine Johnson, had worked this year with the anti-cancer drug, hydroxyurea, and its effects on the lymphatic cancer. Burditt's Lymphoma.
Using these cancer cells in culture and add111g hydroxyurea. Catherine established that cell death occurred through apoptosis.
"It is significant to know that it wa. apoptosis and not the other kinds of cell death," Dr Allan said.
"However. hydroxyurea only causes up to 80 percent apoptosis. Therefore, not all cells are reacting and we need
to know why.
"Next year we plan to do further studies with testicular germ cells which are extremely sensitive to radiation and anti-cancer drugs."
This research would hopefully help towards a more specific and success- ful application of treatment in the fu- ture.
If cancer cells could be sensitised to suicide when radiation therapy was applied, much less radiation would be needed to achieve the desired results. An ultimate research aim is to attach a molecule that triggers cell suicide to another molecule that selects only cancerous cells.
Dr Allan and Ms Johnson last month attended the opening of the new Hanson Centre for Cancer Research in Adelaide.
At the opening, Dr Donnall Thomas, American Nobel Prize for Medicine winner, said the most difficult barrier in cancer research was the fundamen- tal resistance of tumours to presently available and tolerable treatment regi- mens.
"Our research is aimed at over- coming this resi'>!ancc of tumour'> by sen.,itising them to apoptosi'> while protecting normal tissue from dam- age," Dr Allan said.
Hi'> re.,earch this year, under a one-
year internal QUT research and devel- opment group grant, wa<, a collabora- tive effort between MrTrevor For<,ter, Miss Pam Stallybrass, Dr Peter Timm'>
and PhD student. Su/anne Elliot.
Dr Allan and Mr Forster have con-
centrated on the molecular mechani'>m of cell death by apopto'>i'>.
Mis., Stallybra.,., ha., -.tudied the detection of minimal re.,idual di'>e<l'.c in Acute Lymphobla.,tic Leukaemia (lnside QUT 16 May edition).
M., Elliot. supervi-.ed by Dr Timm-..
has researched molecular analysi., in the diagnosis and management of Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia (Inside QUT 30 March edition).
In brief
A process developed in Germany to make plastics from vegetable oils could transform Australian agriculture and manufacturing industries,according to QUT mechanical engineer, Mr Alan Crooks.
Mr Crooks said the process had a similar cost structure to using conventional raw products and used a renewable source, and useful farm by-products were produced during the process.
"The projected growth rate per year for the use of plastics. particularly with reinforcements, is considered to be four times that of any other material in the aerospace and automotive industries," he said.
He argued that a policy which assisted industry. reduced importation costs and gave promise to local research and development should be a priority for Queensland.
0 0 0
The new chaplaincy centre in Old Government House was officially opened last month with an outdoor worship service and luncheon.
QUT chaplain, Rev John Woodley. said the expanded facilities had given a ten-fold boost to the centre's student contact. The centre. formerly occupied by · the Health Service, features three offices, a chapel, a drop-in centre and a Muslim worship area.
QUT chaplains are now visiting all QUT campuses. Catholic minister, Father Michael Campbell, is at Gardens Point Tuesdays to Fridays. Rev John Woodley visits Gardens Point on Tuesdays, Kelvin Grove on Mondays and Thursdays.
and Carseldine on Wednesdays and Fridays. Kedron Park. until next year, will only be visited on request.
0 0 0
Boothville maternity hospital has received Consultancy advice from Kedron Park management students. Boothville. run by the Salvation Army, has suc- cessfully overcome moves to close its doors. It engaged the services of the business students to provide options for the hospital's future.
The consultation was part of the Management Policy and Strategy course headed by lecturer, Ms Sandra Harding.
0 .::1
0
A Queensland-wide series of two-day courses on hazardous materials man- agement began last month and will end in December.
Mr Bruce Fleming. course director and senior lecturer in the Department of Public Health and Nutrition, said the seminars followed the succe'>'> of a two- week course held at QUT in June.
The courses will involve officers from the Queensland Ambulance Service.
the State Emergency Service, Fire Service and the Police Department.
QUT worked in conjuction with the Bureau of Emergency Service "s Chemical Hanrds and Emergency Management Unit to develop the cour-.cs.
Panolpy of portr_ aits, pottery and paintings Dye identification of textile fibres to help solve crimes
The Director of the National Australian Gal- lery and former BCAE lecturer, Ms Betty Churcher, will open this year's QUT art gradu- ate exhibition on 5 December.
QUT Chancellor. Mr Vic Pullar, will host the opening for more than two hundred invited guests.
Head of art, Dr Joe Airo-Farulla, said the ex- hibition would be the third annual show organ- ised by the art department.
More than 90 pieces from 32 final year stu- dents will be on display at the Merivale Street complex in South Brisbane.
Dr Airo-Farulla said the student works in- cluded paintings, drawings, printmaking, sculp- tures, installations and mixed media pieces.
He said: "The graduate exhibition is not only a festive affair. but also an important learning experience and an integral part of the course.
"Students are responsible for all aspects of the exhibition, including a catalogue which is cir- culated widely throughout Australia.
"They also prepare the site. hang and con- struct the works in the gallery and organise the catering for the opening night."
Dr Airo-Farulla said many of the works would be on sale at the prerogative of each student.
A QUT chemistry team is developing a technique to ana- lyse dyes in textile fibres found at crime scenes.
The forensic information would help authorities match such textile samples with those from bedding, carpets, cur- tains, or the clothing of suspects and victims.
Team leader and $25 000 Australian Research Council (ARC) grant recipient, Dr Serge Kokot, said the technique required only a small sample of the textile.
A piece of cloth the size of a bull ant could herald as many as 20 samples for testing.
He said sometimes only one or two fibres were available from which to gain as much in- formation as possible.
The team's technique is aimed at increasing the amount of information available in such instances.
"The more data gathered from sampling textiles, then the better the chance of correctly judging whether two samples match each other," Dr Kokot said.
The team, which also in- cludes masters student Stewart Carswell and research assist- ant Christina Gilbert, is using infrared spectroscopy to ana- lyse the samples.
micro-sample to be separated.
Then a semi-quantitative method for dye comparison was developed using densitometry.
This allowed a comparison of proprtions of the different dyes which had been separated us- ing TLC.
Dr Kokot believes that by using Fourier Transform in- frared spectroscopy (FT-IR) sample matching can be done without separation.
In this process two millime- tres of a coloured yarn is ex- tracted and a few microlitres of this dye extract is deposited into a small metal "cup".
The FT-IR analysis is then performed and a fingerprint of the dye mixture obtained.
Dr Kokot said such finger- prints were then presented for matching using computer tech- niques.
He said preliminary investi- gations had developed screen- ing methods for textiles con- taining up to 14 dyes.
Work in progress is looking at a variety of fabrics with un- known dye compositions, in- cluding wool, cotton and some synthetic materials.
"In principle, the method under investigation would be applicable to testing any small dye samples such as those ob- tained from food additives or paints."
ABOVE: Painting student Paul Booth, with his own self-portrait.
LEFT: Sculpture student, Kristine Hegarty with her paper-mache creation.
In the mid-1980s QUT in- vestigated the matching of dye samples using Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC).
This technique enabled a mixture of dyes in an extracted
The 1991 ARC funding will be the third consecutive grant Dr Kokot has received to re- search this technique of textile sample matching.
For more information about loans or any other Unicredit service, please phone
Gary
or louise on extension2432
or229 1388.
Or visit us on Level 3, Community Building
Because College Credit Union at QUT is now part of UNICREDIT, we're STRONGER
and more secure than ever before. We can also offer even beHer rates and conditions on all types of loans, to help take the financial
~E3 i g h t- off your shoulders.
UNICREDIT offers:
,.Housing and mortgage loans to $280,000 ,.Unsecured personal loans to $20,000
,.Special student loans As well as:
,.Overseas travel arrangements ,.Insurance services
,.lnveshnent accounts and advice
,.Extended opening hours 8.30 to 4.30 Monday to Friday
uqi·cro~oit
RE\tVARD YOURSELF. .. SHARE THE CREDIT~
~i i
Page 6 INSIDE QUT, 19 November 1990
