Fresh Science is a communication boot camp for researchers no more than five years out from their PhD. We teach them essential communication skills and get their stories out to local, national and international media.

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Genetics can be used to shape plants underground so they absorb water better

Recent discoveries by a University of Queensland agricultural scientist provide the basis for custom designing plant roots. Her discovery is already being used by plant breeders to develop drought-resistant sorghum crops.

The shape of the root system plays an important role in sorghum’s capacity to absorb water.  Dr Vijaya Singh has demonstrated this is governed largely by a region of the plant genome that she has located. Her findings and techniques could well be transferrable to other crop plants.

“Improving efficiency of water use in field crops is a global imperative for food security,” Vijaya says.

Sorghum is an important dryland cereal crop, which is grown in parts of the developing world where drought is common, and also in north-eastern Australia. “Despite the fact that root systems are critical to water capture by plants and to drought adaptation, little attention has been paid to them because they are so difficult to study,” Vijaya says

So, she developed a technique of growing sorghum seedlings in narrow transparent Perspex containers and then scanning them to measure their root characteristics. What she found was that the angle at which seedling roots strike out from their first branch point underground indicates the shape and function of the root system of the mature plant.

And this “nodal root angle” is under genetic control. “I used this discovery to locate the controlling genetic regions,” she says.

Vijaya Singh and her large root chamber experiment (photo: Graeme Hammer)

“My results showed that strains with a wide nodal root angle at the seedling stage had a tendency to gather a greater proportion of their water at a distance, due to the broader spatial pattern of their root systems. Conversely, strains with a narrow nodal root angle had a greater capacity to extract water from depth immediately below the plant. This understanding will make it easier to design varieties better adapted to drought stress.”

Vijaya’s identification of the regions of the genome related to root system shape presents opportunities for improving drought adaptation through breeding. “This could provide farmers with better grain yields, particularly in extreme drought years,” she says. “Ultimately, this would help to stabilise farm income, which could improve the social and economic structures of rural communities.”

Vijaya Singh is one of 16 winners of Fresh Science, a national competition for early-career scientists who are unveiling their research to the public for the first time. Her training and challenges have included presenting her discoveries in verse at a Melbourne pub, and to schools in Melbourne and country Victoria.

• For interviews contact Vijaya Singh on v.singh@uq.edu.au
• For UQ contact Jan King on j.king@uq.edu.au
• For Fresh Science contact AJ Epstein on 0433 339 141 or Niall Byrne on 0417 131 977 or niall@scienceinpublic.com.au, photos available at www.freshscience.org.au

Vijaya Singh (photo: Fresh Science/Mark Coulson)

Scanned images showing root growth at different leaf stages (image: Vijaya Singh)

Vijaya Singh and her large root chamber experiment (photo: Graeme Hammer)

Experimental display showing the growth of the roots (photo Vijaya Singh)

Two thymus glands fast-track immune defences

Baby wallaby photos available

Until now, it was a mystery why many marsupials have two thymuses—key organs in the immune system—instead of the one typical of other mammals. Now postdoctoral researcher Dr Emily Wong from the University of Sydney and her colleagues have found that the two organs are identical, which suggests why they are there.

“The presence of two organs with identical function can allow the young to produce white blood cells rapidly, leading to faster development of immune defences,” Emily says. “This may be especially critical in marsupials, as they are born at an immature stage without immune tissues. They need to develop an immune system very quickly while growing in the pouch.”

“It used to be believed that the marsupial immune system was more primitive than that of humans and other mammals,” Emily says. “But, in fact, some aspects of the marsupial immune system appear more complex than our own—the two thymuses, for instance.”

Humans and most other mammals have only one thymus, the immune organ which produces T cells, the white blood cells that act as sentries to protect us from infection. The presence of multiple thymuses was an evolutionary mystery.

Using the latest DNA sequencing technology, Emily explored the genetic contents of the two organs in the Tammar wallaby. “The sequencing allowed us to compare the genetic material in the two thymuses quickly and thoroughly,” she said. “And we found they were the same.”

The researchers selected the Tammar wallaby because it was the first Australian marsupial to have its entire genome sequenced and published. “The availability of the genome has allowed for unprecedented insights into the marsupial immune system,” Emily says. The Tammar wallaby genome project is a joint collaboration between Australian and US scientists.

Emily’s research is part of a larger, ongoing project to understand how newborn marsupials survive in dirty pouches without an immune system.

Emily Wong is one of 16 early-career scientists unveiling their research to the public for the first time through Fresh Science, a national program sponsored by the Australian Government. Her challenges included presenting her discoveries in verse at a Melbourne pub.

• For interviews, contact Emily Wong on 0433 567 288 or emily.wong@sydney.edu.au
• For University of Sydney, contact BenWilson, 0402 128-073, ben.wilson@sydney.edu.au
• For Fresh Science, contact AJ Epstein on 0433 339 141 or Niall Byrne on 0417 131 977 or niall@scienceinpublic.com.au

Photos available at www.freshscience.org.au

A Tammar Wallaby (photo: AGRF/Vicci Crowley-Clough)

A Tammar wallaby (photo: AGRF/Vicci Crowley-Clough)

A Tammar wallaby joey suckling in the pouch (photo: AGRF/Vicci Crowley-Clough)

Showing a Tammar wallaby joey in the pouch (photo: AGRF/Vicci Crowley-Clough)

A Tammar wallaby joey in the pouch (photo: AGRF/Vicci Crowley-Clough)

Emily Wong (photo: Fresh Science/Mark Coulson)

The work should lead to a better understanding of autoimmune conditions, such as diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis, she says, and may even provide new ways to target treatments.

“Why the immune system sometimes attacks different parts of our body is still poorly understood,” Charis says. “Consequently, no specific prevention or treatment is yet available.”

Autoimmmune diseases collectively affect more than one in 20 Australians. As well as diabetes, they include multiple sclerosis, thyroid disease, and lupus.

The JCSMR researchers, led by Charis’ supervisors, Professor Chris Goodnow and Dr Anselm Enders, have focused their work on understanding the progress of a condition caused by a single genetic defect, Autoimmune Polyendocrine Syndrome 1. People with this disease often seem perfectly healthy before the first vital organ is attacked, usually in childhood. Then come attacks on additional organs. Different organs are affected in different people, and the age when problems begin varies.

By studying a mouse strain incorporating an equivalent gene defect, the researchers discovered that the immune system is engineered with a series of back-up systems against such friendly fire, like multiple layers of armour.

Charis Teh outside the John Curtin School of Medical Research in Canberra (photo: Karen Edwards)

Normally, any immune cells that could attack organs in the body are eliminated within the thymus gland where they develop, before they are released into the bloodstream. In the mice with the Autoimmune Polyendocrine Syndrome 1 gene defect, this does not happen. Despite this, the mice remain healthy, because a backup mechanism steps in to disable the ability of the rogue cells to launch an attack on the body’s tissue.

But when this backup mechanism is crippled by introducing a second genetic change, the mice succumb to a disastrous immune attack. Even then, many organs are still not attacked, suggesting they are protected by additional backup systems.

The work was published recently in the US journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.

Charis Teh is one of 16 early-career scientists unveiling their research to the public for the first time thanks to Fresh Science, a national program sponsored by the Australian Government. Her challenges included presenting her discoveries in verse at a Melbourne pub.

• For interviews contact Charis Teh on charis.teh@anu.edu.au
• For John Curtin School of Medical Research, contact Madeleine Nicol on madeleine.nicol@anu.edu.au
• For Fresh Science, contact AJ Epstein on 0433 339 141 or Niall Byrne by email on niall@scienceinpublic.com.au

Charis Teh and co-workers (photo: Karen Edwards)

Charis Teh in the laboratory (photo: Karen Edwards)

Charis Teh (photo: Mark Coulson/Fresh Science)

A new technology to stop falls before they happen could help the elderly stay in their own homes longer.

Researchers at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) have developed a simple way of predicting the likelihood of an elderly person falling in the near future, allowing action to reduce the chances of it happening.

One in three persons over the age of 65 in Australia falls each year. The cost of treating them last year was estimated to be close to $850 million.

“By asking elderly people to perform three normal everyday physical activities and one test of their reactions, and then observing how well they do, we can estimate their likelihood of falling,” says Dr Stephen Redmond from UNSW’s Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering. “Their performance is measured by a small device worn on their waist. This allows the test to be done at home, at any time, by anyone, without supervision. It’s a big step forward from existing clinical assessments.”

Stephen’s work is being presented for the first time in public through Fresh Science, a communication boot camp for early career scientists held at the Melbourne Museum. He was one of 16 winners from across Australia.

Because they require the assistance of well-trained staff, the current methods used in medical clinics to assess the risk of falling are limited in their ability to screen large numbers of people. Stephen’s research has shown that it is feasible for the elderly to measure their own risk at home.

“We use a common movement sensor known as an accelerometer. We tested 68 elderly patients with the normal clinic assessment and then tested them again with our unsupervised assessment, using the sensor as they would use it at home. And we found the unsupervised predictions were 99 per cent in agreement with the clinical falls-risk estimate.”

Performing a stepping test—one of three physical tests which comprise the unsupervised falls risk assessment (photo: Stephen Redmond)

The research team expects such home-monitoring technologies will be able pick out people in need of help, and improve their quality of life. They should also reduce the incidence of falls generally, together with the associated cost of hospitalisation.

“At present we require people to go through a scripted series of assessment tasks. In future, we hope that just by getting them to wear the sensor for a period of time we can unobtrusively estimate their risk of falling by monitoring how they perform activities like walking as they go about their daily lives. What we have learned so far tells us this is a very achievable goal.”

Stephen Redmond is one of 16 early-career scientists unveiling their research to the public for the first time thanks to Fresh Science, a national program sponsored by the Australian Government.

• For interviews, contact Stephen Redmond on 0450 036 605 or s.redmond@unsw.edu.au
• For the University of New South Wales, contact Peter Trute on 0410 271 826 or p.trute@unsw.edu.au
• For Fresh Science, contact Sarah Brooker on 0413 332 489 or Niall Byrne on 0417 131 977 or niall@scienceinpublic.com.au

A movement sensor is clipped onto a belt worn around the waist (photo: Stephen Redmond)

A movement sensor is clipped onto a belt worn around the waist (photo: Stephen Redmond)

Stephen Redmond and his wearable movement sensor (photo: Gráinne McMahon)

Stephen Redmond at the Duke of Kent for Fresh Science 2011 (photo: Mark Coulson/Fresh Science)

Stephen Redmond (photo: Mark Coulson/Fresh Science)

Australian researchers have revealed a new pattern of ocean circulation which will change our understanding of marine events.

Research at the University of Melbourne and the Bureau of Meteorology has overturned conventional ideas of ocean circulation.

Rather than moving simply in large clockwise (northern hemisphere) and anti-clockwise (southern hemisphere) gyres, the open waters of the southeast Indian Ocean are flowing east-west in bands, Prasanth Divakaran, a PhD candidate in the University’s School of Earth Sciences, and his colleagues have shown.

The findings have important implications for our understanding of all sorts of ocean events from the movements of fish and marine life to the prediction of weather and climate.

“For instance,” he says, “We found that ocean eddies—the marine analogues of atmospheric weather systems like tropical cyclones—form off Australia and begin a three-year journey across the Indian Ocean along what we call ‘ocean arteries’, transporting sea-water and biology with them.”

Prasanth’s work is being released for the first time in public through Fresh Science, a communication boot camp for early career scientists held at the Melbourne Museum. He was one of 16 winners from across Australia.

Prasanth is also presenting his research at the XXV International Union of Geophysics and Geodesy General Assembly in Melbourne this week.

On the basis of initial studies of water movement, Prasanth analysed a model of the circulation of the southeast Indian Ocean using advanced computing and new software for visualising the results. He and his colleagues then checked their findings against satellite observations.

“New international satellites and modern technologies developed in Australia helped to reveal the previously unknown ocean circulation patterns.”

The results are also in keeping with some of the latest research from overseas, he says.

The basin-wide ocean currents the researchers revealed are organised into alternating bands, which connect the north-south currents on the east and west side of the Ocean.

“They look  a bit like the patterns seen on the surface of Jupiter.”

Recent work on the lobster life cycle around Western Australia has shown that the probability of growing into an adult depends on which deep artery of ocean circulation the larvae are swept into.

“Nature has known about these ocean arteries for centuries, but we humans have only just discovered them.”

Understanding the impact of the arteries on ocean heat transport and climate is critical, Prasanth says.

• For interviews, contact Prasanth Divakaran on 0421 936 761 or p.divakaran@bom.gov.au
• For Fresh Science, contact AJ Epstein on 0433 339 141 or aj@scienceinpublic.com.au, Sarah Brooker on 0413 332 489 or Niall Byrne on niall@scienceinpublic.com.au

Prasanth Divakaran (photo: Mark Coulson)

Single day snapshot of sea surface temperature from Bureau of Meteorology ocean forecasting system (image: Dr Justin Freeman)

Ocean arteries at mid-depth (250 - 1000 m) in the southeast Indian Ocean (image: Prasanth Divakaran)

Cell death genes essential for cancer therapy identified.

New research has uncovered why certain cancers don’t respond to conventional chemotherapy, highlighting the need to match treatments to cancers better.

Cancer researcher Lina Happo and colleagues at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute have identified three ‘cell death’ genes that are crucial for making anti-cancer drugs more effective at killing cancer cells. The discovery could be the first step in developing new cancer treatments that target only cancer cells.

Most currently available chemotherapy drugs do not distinguish between normal and cancerous cells, Lina says. This means when using them that collateral damage to healthy cells—the origin of side effects—is unavoidable.

“By understanding which of the three genes we identified are required for successful drug responses, medical researchers should be able to work out how conventional cancer therapies work, and why they sometimes fail,” Lina says.

Programmed cell death, or apoptosis, removes unwanted or dangerous cells from our bodies, protecting us against cancer and autoimmune diseases. The process is regulated by a family of genes called Bcl-2.

“Many anti-cancer drugs act by damaging the DNA in tumour cells, causing the cells themselves to commit suicide. Until now we didn’t know which genes were essential for this process,” Lina says.

Working with colleagues from the institute’s Molecular Genetics of Cancer division, she was able to identify that three Bcl-2 genes – puma, noxa and bim – tell cancer cells to commit suicide following treatment with conventional chemotherapy drugs.

Lina Happo (photo: Mark Coulson)

“In our studies we found that puma, noxa and bim work together to instruct the cancer cell to die, once its DNA has been damaged by chemotherapy drugs.”

“But if certain combinations of these genes are missing or not functioning, the anti-cancer therapies are unable to work effectively, so the cancer cells continue to survive and the tumour continues to grow,” she said.

Abnormalities within the Bcl-2 gene family are common in many human cancers, Lina says, and can often be responsible for resistance to chemotherapy treatments.

Her discovery has the potential to improve treatment through the development of more efficient, targeted therapies for blood, breast and ovarian cancers.

“We hope to be able to reduce unwarranted toxicity, ultimately improving the quality of life for patients.”

Lina Happo is one of 16 early-career scientists unveiling their research to the public for the first time thanks to Fresh Science, a national program sponsored by the Australian Government. Her challenges included presenting her discoveries in verse at a Melbourne pub.

• For interviews contact Lina Happo on happo@wehi.edu.au
• For the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, contact Liz Williams williams@wehi.edu.au
• For Fresh Science, contact Sarah Brooker on 0413 332 489 or AJ Epstein on 0433 339 141 or Niall Byrne by email on niall@scienceinpublic.com.au

Lina Happo presenting her work in under a minute (photo: Rachel Rayner)

Lina at work in the lab (photo: Czesia Markiewicz)

Lina Happo (photo: Czesia Markiewicz)

Lina Happo (photo: Mark Coulson)

HIV can hide out in the brain, protected from the immune system and antiviral drugs, Dr Lachlan Gray and his colleagues at Monash University and the Burnet Institute have found.

Their discovery is an important step in understanding the link between HIV infection and HIV dementia, and is important for the eradication of HIV in general.

“The persistence of the virus in the brain compromises the brain’s normal function, and leads to the death of neurons and to clinical dementia,” Lachlan says.

In fact, about one in five of those infected by HIV ends up with dementia.

“We believe our findings will aid the development of novel drugs that will prevent HIV using the brain as a sanctuary, and help to shape future eradication strategies.”

Lachlan’s work is being presented for the first time in public through Fresh Science, a communication boot camp for early career scientists held at the Melbourne Museum. He was one of 16 winners from across Australia.

Lachlan has been examining the life cycle of the virus to understand better how it survives within the brain.

“We’ve identified changes in the way the virus reproduces, which allows it to keep a low profile and persist undetected in the brain.”

At present, people living with HIV must rely on the continued use of antiviral drugs to control their infection.

“Viral persistence is a major barrier to the cure of AIDS. Modern drugs are very good at controlling the virus, but they are unable to eradicate it from ‘sanctuary’ sites like the brain,” Lachlan’s supervisor, Associate Professor Melissa Churchill says.

“Unfortunately, brain infection often leads to dementia which can be very debilitating. Somewhat more concerning, HIV is now the commonest cause of dementia in people under the age of 40, and is placing an extra burden on our mental health services.”

Lachlan’s research is part of a larger project aiming to trial new drugs that could potentially eradicate or even cure HIV.

Lachlan Gray is one of 16 early-career scientists unveiling their research to the public for the first time thanks to Fresh Science, a national program sponsored by the Australian Government.

His challenges included presenting his discoveries in verse at a Melbourne pub.

• For interviews, contact Lachlan Gray on 0416 148 377 or Lachlan.gray@monash.edu
• For Monash University, contact Glynis Smalley on (03) 9903 4843 or  glynis.smalley@monash.edu.au
• For the Burnet Institute, contact Cath Somerville on (03) 8506 2404, 0422 043 498, cathsomerville@burnet.edu.au
• For Fresh Science, contact AJ Epstein on 0433 339 141, aj@scienceinpublic.com.au or Sarah Brooker on 0413 332 489 or email Niall Byrne on niall@scienceinpublic.com.au

Lachlan Gray presenting his work at the pub (photo: Rachel Rayner/ Fresh Science)

Lachlan Gray in the lab (photo: Hazel Squair)

Lachlan Gray at work (photo: Hazel Squair)

Lachlan Gray (photo: Mark Coulson/Fresh Science)

Lachlan Gray (photo: Hazel Squair)

]]> http://freshscience.org.au/?feed=rss2&p=2817 0 http://freshscience.org.au/?p=2827 http://freshscience.org.au/?p=2827#comments Tue, 28 Jun 2011 15:00:11 +0000 AJ http://freshscience.org.au/?p=2827

Australian researchers have invented nanotech solar cells that are thin, flexible and use 1/100^th the materials of conventional solar cells.

Printable, flexible solar cells that could dramatically decrease the cost of renewable energy have been developed by PhD student Brandon MacDonald in collaboration with his colleagues from CSIRO’s Future Manufacturing Flagship and the University of Melbourne’s Bio21 Institute.

Their patented technology is based on inks containing tiny, semiconducting nanocrystals, which can be printed directly onto a variety of surfaces.

By choosing the right combination of ink and surface it is possible to make efficient solar cells using very little material or energy.

“The problem with traditional solar cells,” Brandon says, “is that making them requires many complex and energy intensive steps.”

“Using nanocrystal inks, they can be manufactured in a continuous manner, which increases throughput and should make the cells much cheaper to produce.”

Nanocrystals, also known as quantum dots, are semiconducting particles with a diameter of a few millionths of a millimetre. Because of their extremely small size they can remain suspended in a solution.

This solution can then be deposited onto a variety of materials, including flexible plastics or metal foils. It is then dried to form a thin film.

Brandon and his colleagues discovered that by depositing multiple layers of nanocrystals they can fill in any defects formed during the drying process.

Brandon examines one of his nanocrystal inks (photo: Anthony Chesman)

The result is a densely packed, uniform film, ideal for lightweight solar cells.

The nanocrystals consist of a semiconducting material called cadmium telluride, which is a very strong absorber of light. This means that the resulting cells can be made very thin.

“The total amount of material used in these cells is about 1% of what you would use for a typical silicon solar cell.

Even compared to other types of cadmium telluride cells ours are much thinner, using approximately one-tenth as much material,” Brandon says.

The technology is not limited to solar cells. It can also be used to make printable versions of other electronic devices, such as light emitting diodes, lasers or transistors.

For his work Brandon has received the 2010/11 DuPont Young Innovator’s Award and has had his work published in the journal Nano Letters.

Brandon MacDonald is one of 16 early-career scientists presenting their research to the public for the first time thanks to Fresh Science, a national program sponsored by the Australian Government.

His challenges included presenting his discoveries in verse at a Melbourne pub.

• For interviews contact Brandon MacDonald on 0450 620 107 or Brandon.Macdonald@csiro.au
• For CSIRO, contact Tracey Nicholls on (03) 9545 2960 or Tracey.Nicholls@csiro.au
• For University of Melbourne, contact Helen Varnavas on (03) 8344 2225 or varnavas@unimelb.edu.au
• For Fresh Science, contact Sarah Brooker on 0413 332 489 or AJ Epstein on 0433 339 141 or email Niall Byrne on niall@scienceinpublic.com.au

Brandon in front of the solar simulator used to test solar cell performance (photo: Anthony Chesman)

A completed nanocrystal solar cell (photo: Anthony Chesman)

Brandon examines one of his nanocrystal inks (photo: Anthony Chesman)

Soil has the answer to burning climate questions

Decreasing the frequency of wild fires in northern Australia would lead to an increase in the amount of carbon stored in the soil, significantly lowering greenhouse gas emissions, according to CSIRO ecologist, Dr Anna Richards.

Fire is part of the natural cycle of northern Australia’s savannas. But what’s the best regime? Anna’s studies show that reducing fire frequencies results in greater carbon capture. Up to four times more greenhouse gases are stored underground. And that means they are not going up in smoke.

There are more fires each year in the northern third of the country than anywhere else in Australia. These fires account for about 3 per cent of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions.

While fire is important for maintaining a healthy environment in northern Australia, Anna says, scientists have become concerned at the increase in frequency and intensity of wild fires over the past century. “About half the Top End is burnt each year and this is changing the environment as well as releasing large quantities of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.”

Until now, it was assumed that it was really only the amount of smoke that contributed to these emissions, but Anna has shown that things are much more complicated than that. There is an interaction with the soil as well.

“The frequency of fires affects the chemistry of the soil and the workings of the plant roots—hence the capacity of the soil to store carbon, “she says. “In general, the greater the frequency of fires, the more carbon is released from the soil, and vice versa.”

Using measurements of soil carbon from long-term fire experiments conducted near Darwin and sophisticated computer modelling, Anna found that reducing fire frequency to one fire every four to six years is best for storing carbon. Her work was published recently in the international journal Ecosystems.

As part of the Tiwi Carbon Study with the Tiwi Land Council, Anna Richards works with Indigenous rangers to collect carbon data”. She is pictured here with Tiwi Land Ranger Kim Brooks (photo: Barbara McKaige)

“Until now, scientists have known little about the impact of different fire management options on the amount of carbon stored in soil. These findings are significant for managing carbon in northern Australia, particularly for programs that use indigenous fire management practices to reduce fire frequency and severity,” she said.

Anna is conducting further research on the effects of fire on soil carbon as part of the Tiwi Carbon Study in the Tiwi Islands, north of Darwin. The Tiwi Carbon Study is a partnership between CSIRO, the Tiwi Land Council, the Tiwi College and Tiwi Forests.

Anna Richards is one of 16 winners of Fresh Science, a national competition for early-career scientists who are unveiling their research to the public for the first time. Her training and challenges have included presenting her discoveries in verse at a Melbourne pub, and to schools in Melbourne and country Victoria.

For interviews, contact Anna Richards on Anna.Richards@csiro.au

For the CSIRO, contact Barbara McKaige on Barbara.McKaige@csiro.au

For Fresh Science, contact Sarah Brooker on 0413 332 489 or Niall Byrne on 0417 131 977 or niall@scienceinpublic.com.au

Fresh Scientist Anna Richards (photo: Mark Coulson)

Close up of soil surface covered in ash and charcoal following a savanna fire, with green re-sprouting shrubs in the background (photo: Anna Richards)

Dr Anna Richards, post-doctoral scientists studying the effect of fire on soil carbon storage, based at CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences in Darwin (photo: Barbara McKaige)

As part of the Tiwi Carbon Study with the Tiwi Land Council, Anna Richards works with Indigenous rangers to collect carbon data”. She is pictured here with Tiwi Land Ranger Kim Brooks (photo: Barbara McKaige)