Salmonella Virchow and Salmonella Weltevreden in a Random Survey of the Asian House Gecko, Hemidactylus frenatus, in Houses in Northern Australia.

Background: Salmonella enterica serotype Virchow is the most common cause of invasive nontyphoid salmonellosis in North Queensland, particularly in infants, but the zoonotic source is unknown. This study aimed at determining (i) the prevalence of the introduced Asian house gecko, Hemidactylus frenatus, in houses in North Queensland and (ii) whether they were a potential source of Salmonella Virchow. Methods: Asian house geckos were collected in a random survey of houses in Townsville, North Queensland. Gut contents underwent microbiological analysis within 2 h of removal using both direct plating and enrichment broth methods. Any organism found to be a presumptive Salmonella spp. was then sent to a reference lab for confirmation of genus/species, serotyping, and phage typing if indicated. Results: One hundred Asian house geckos were collected from 57 houses. Geckos were present in 100% of houses surveyed, and prevalence of Salmonella in large intestinal contents was 7% (95% confidence interval 2, 12%). Three serotypes were found: Virchow (phage type 8), Weltevreden, and an untypable subspecies 1 serotype 11:-:1,7. Conclusion: Since Salmonella Virchow (phage type 8) is associated with invasive disease, the introduced Asian house gecko may play a significant role in the epidemiology of sporadic salmonellosis in places invaded by these peridomestic reptiles. These results justify more detailed epidemiological studies on the role of the Asian house gecko in sporadic salmonellosis and development of evidence-based strategies to decrease this potential zoonotic hazard.

Biogas production by covered lagoons; Part 1 - piggery, QNPH

Establish a greenhouse gas pond cover and collection system providing data on methane and CO2 emissions.

Detection and differentiation of bovine herpesvirus 1 and 5 using a multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction.

A multiplex real-time PCR was developed for the detection and differentiation of two closely related bovine herpesviruses 1 (BoHV-1) and 5 (BoHV-5). The multiplex real-time PCR combines a duplex real-time PCR that targets the DNA polymerase gene of BoHV-1 and BoHV-5 and a real-time PCR targeting mitochondrial DNA, as a house-keeping gene, described previously by Cawthraw et al. (2009). The assay correctly identified 22 BoHV-1 and six BoHV-5 isolates from the Biosecurity Sciences Laboratory virus collection. BoHV-1 and BoHV-5 were also correctly identified when incorporated in spiked semen and brain tissue samples. The detection limits of the duplex assay were 10 copies of BoHV-1 and 45 copies of BoHV-5. The multiplex real-time PCR had reaction efficiencies of 1.04 for BoHV-1 and 1.08 for BoHV-5. Standard curves relating Ct value to template copy number had correlation coefficients of 0.989 for BoHV-1 and 0.978 for BoHV-5. The assay specificity was demonstrated by testing bacterial and viral DNA from pathogens commonly isolated from bovine respiratory and reproductive tracts. The validated multiplex real-time PCR was used to detect and differentiate BoHV-1 and BoHV-5 in bovine clinical samples with known histories.

Sensory Systems in Sawfishes. 1. The Ampullae of Lorenzini

The distribution and density of the ampullary electroreceptors in the skin of elasmobranchs are influenced by the phylogeny and ecology of a species. Sensory maps were created for 4 species of pristid sawfish. Their ampullary pores were separated into pore fields based on their innervation and cluster formation. Ventrally, ampullary pores are located in 6 areas (5 in Pristis microdon), covering the rostrum and head to the gills. Dorsally, pores are located in 4 areas (3 in P. microdon), which cover the rostrum, head and may extend slightly onto the pectoral fins. In all species, the highest number of pores is found on the dorsal and ventral sides of the rostrum. The high densities of pores along the rostrum combined with the low densities around the mouth could indicate that sawfish use their rostrum to stun their prey before ingesting it, but this hypothesis remains to be tested. The directions of ampullary canals on the ventral side of the rostrum are species specific. P. microdon possesses the highest number of ampullary pores, which indicates that amongst the study species this species is an electroreception specialist. As such, juvenile P. microdon inhabit low-visibility freshwater habitats.

Australian hardwood drying best practice manual. Part 1

This manual is a guide to establishing a set of operations to achieve high grade results in product quality and recovery, flexibility, innovation, cost, and competitiveness. The manual outlines: - economic and feasible technologies for increasing recovery and reducing avoidable loss during processing, from the log to the finished board, and - mechanisms that allow production value to be optimised in different sized mills. Part 1 covers sections 1 to 7: Drying overview and strategy, coupe, log yard, green mill, green pack, bioprotection, rack timber. Part 2 Link: http://era.deedi.qld.gov.au/3137 Includes sections 8 to 17: Air drying, pre-drying, reconditioning, controlled final drying, dry milling, storage, information assessment, drying quality assessment, moisture content monitoring, glossary.

The role of tillage, fertiliser and forage species in sustaining dairying based on crops in southern Queensland 1. Winter-dominant forage systems.

Field studies were conducted over 5 years on two dairy farms in southern Queensland to evaluate the impacts of zero-tillage, nitrogen (N) fertiliser and legumes on a winter-dominant forage system based on raingrown oats. Oats was able to be successfully established using zero-tillage methods, with no yield penalties and potential benefits in stubble retention over the summer fallow. N fertiliser, applied at above industry-standard rates (140 vs. 55 kg/ha.crop) in the first 3 years, increased forage N concentration significantly and had residual effects on soil nitrate-N at both sites. At one site, crop yield was increased by 10 kg DM/ha. kg fertiliser N applied above industry-standard rates. The difference between sites in fertiliser response reflected contrasting soil and fertiliser history. There was no evidence that modifications to oats cropping practices (zero-tillage and increased N fertiliser) increased surface soil organic carbon (0-10 cm) in the time frame of the present study. When oats was substituted with annual legumes, there were benefits in improved forage N content of the oat crop immediately following, but legume yield was significantly inferior to oats. In contrast, the perennial legume Medicago sativa was competitive in biomass production and forage quality with oats at both sites and increased soil nitrate-N levels following termination. However, its contribution to winter forage was low at 10% of total production, compared with 40% for oats, and soil water reserves were significantly reduced at one site, which had an impact on the following oat production. The study demonstrated that productive grazed oat crops can be grown using zero tillage and that increased N fertiliser is more consistent in its effect on N concentration than on forage yield. A lucerne ley provides a strategy for raising soil nitrate-N concentration and increasing overall forage productivity, although winter forage production is reduced.

Binding of polyphenols to plant cell wall analogues - Part 1: Anthocyanins

Anthocyanins are located within the vacuole of plant cells, and are released following cell rupture during eating or processing at which time they first come into contact with the plant cell wall. The extent of anthocyanin-cell wall interaction was investigated by monitoring the rate of anthocyanin depletion in the presence of pure cellulose or cellulose-pectin composites as cell wall models. It was found that anthocyanins interact with both cellulose and pectin over a two-stage process with initially (mins-hours) 13 similar to 18% of anthocyanins binding to cellulose or cellulose/pectincomposites. With prolonged exposure (days-weeks), a gradual increase in anthocyanin binding occurs, possibly due to anthocyanins stacking on top of a base layer. Binding of acylated and non-acylated anthocyanins followed a similar pattern with slightly more (5-10%) binding of the acylated forms. Composites with the highest pectin content had the greatest anthocyanin binding suggesting the existence of both ionic interactions (with pectin) and hydrophobic interactions (with cellulose) of anthocyanin with plant cell walls.