Increased plant volatile production affects oviposition, but not larval development, in the moth Helicoverpa armigera

It is well established that herbivorous insects respond to changes in plant odour production, but little attention has been given to whether these responses relate to direct fitness costs of plant volatile production on insect growth and survival. Here, we use transgenic Nicotiana tabacum (tobacco) plants that produce relatively large amounts of the volatile (S)-linalool to study whether the responses of egg-laying herbivorous insects to linalool production relate directly to the growth and survival of offspring. In choice tests, fewer eggs were laid on transgenic plants compared with non-transformed controls, indicating that increased linalool emissions have a deterrent effect on Helicoverpa armigera oviposition. Larval survival and larval mass after feeding on transgenic leaves, however, was comparable to non-transformed controls. (S)-linalool, whether in volatile or sequestered form, does not appear to have a direct effect on offspring fitness in this moth. We discuss how the ecology of this polyphagous moth species may necessitate a high tolerance for certain volatiles and their related non-volatile compounds, and suggest that responses by adult female H. armigera moths towards increased linalool production may be context specific and relate to other indirect effects on fitness.

Effects of soluble dietary cellulose on specific growth rate, survival and digestive enzyme activities in three freshwater crayfish (Cherax) species

Three native freshwater crayfish Cherax species are farmed in Australia namely; Redclaw (Cherax quadricarinatus), Marron (C. tenuimanus), and Yabby (C. destructor). Lack of appropriate data on specific nutrient requirements for each of these species, however, has constrained development of specific formulated diets and hence current use of over-formulated feeds or expensive marine shrimp feeds, limit their profitability. A number of studies have investigated nutritional requirements in redclaw that have focused on replacing expensive fish meal in formulated feeds with non-protein, less expensive substitutes including plant based ingredients. Confirmation that freshwater crayfish possess endogenous cellulase genes, suggests their potential ability to utilize complex carbohydrates like cellulose as nutrient sources in their diet. To date, studies have been limited to only C. quadricarinatus and C. destructor and no studies have compared the relative ability of each species to utilize soluble cellulose in their diets. Individual feeding trials of late-juveniles of each species were conducted separately in an automated recirculating culture system over 12 week cycles. Animals were fed either a test diet (TD) that contained 20% soluble cellulose or a reference diet (RD) substituted with the same amount of corn starch. Water temperature, conductivity and pH were maintained at constant and optimum levels for each species. Animals were fed at 3% of their body weight twice daily and wet body weight was recorded bi-weekly. At the end of experiment, all animals were harvested, measured and midgut gland extracts assayed for alpha-amylase, total protease and cellulase activity levels. After the trial period, redclaw fed with RD showed significantly higher (p<0.05) specific growth rate (SGR) compare with animals fed the TD while SGR of marron and yabby fed the two diets were not significantly different (p<0.05). Cellulase expression levels in redclaw were not significantly different between diets. Marron and yabby showed significantly higher cellulase activity when fed the RD. Amylase and protease activity in all three species were significantly higher in the animals fed with RD (Table 1). These results indicate that test animals of all species can utilize starch better than dietary soluble cellulose in their diet and inclusion of 20% soluble cellulose in diets does not appear to have any significant negative effect on their growth rate but survival was impacted in C. quadricarinatus while not in C. tenuimanus or C. destructor.

Effects of soluble dietary cellulose on specific growth rate, survival and digestive enzyme activities in three freshwater crayfish (Cherax) species

The current study evaluated the effect of soluble dietary cellulose on growth, survival and digestive enzyme activity in three endemic, Australian freshwater crayfish species (redclaw: Cherax quadricarinatus, marron: C. tenuimanus, yabby: C. destructor). Separate individual feeding trials were conducted for late-stage juveniles from each species in an automated recirculating freshwater, culture system. Animals were fed either a test diet (TD) that contained 20% soluble cellulose or a reference diet (RD) substituted with the same amount of corn starch, over a 12 week period. Redclaw fed with RD showed significantly higher (p<0.05) specific growth rates (SGR) compared with animals fed the TD, while SGR of marron and yabby fed the two diets were not significantly different. Expressed cellulase activity levels in redclaw were not significantly different between diets. Marron and yabby showed significantly higher cellulase activity when fed the RD (p<0.05). Amylase and protease activity in all three species were significantly higher in the animals fed with RD (p<0.05). These results indicate that test animals of all three species appear to utilize starch more efficiently than soluble dietary cellulose in their diet. The inclusion of 20% soluble cellulose in diets did not appear, however, to have a significant negative effect on growth rates.

Developing media production skills for literacy in a primary school classroom : digital materials, embodied knowledge and material contexts

This chapter investigates the relationship between technical and operational skills and the development of conceptual knowledge and literacy in Media Arts learning. It argues that there is a relationship between the stories, expressions and ideas that students aim to produce with communications media, and their ability to realise these in material form through technical processes in specific material contexts. Our claim is that there is a relationship between the technical and the operational, along with material relations and the development of conceptual knowledge and literacy in media arts learning. We place more emphasis on the material aspects of literacy than is usually the case in socio-cultural accounts of media literacy. We provide examples from a current project to demonstrate that it is just as important to address the material as it is the discursive and conceptual when considering how students develop media literacy in classroom spaces.

Yersinia high pathogenicity island genes modify the Escherichia coli primary metabolome independently of siderophore production

Bacterial siderophores may enhance pathogenicity by scavenging iron, but their expression has been proposed to exert a substantial metabolic cost. Here we describe a combined metabolomic-genetic approach to determine how mutations affecting the virulence-associated siderophore yersiniabactin affect the Escherichia coli primary metabolome. Contrary to expectations, we did not find yersiniabactin biosynthesis to correspond to consistent metabolomic shifts. Instead, we found that targeted deletion of ybtU or ybtA, dissimilar genes with similar roles in regulating yersiniabactin expression, were associated with a specific shift in arginine pathway metabolites during growth in minimal media. This interaction was associated with high arginine levels in the model uropathogen Escherichia coli UTI89 compared to its ybtU and ybtA mutants and the K12 strain MG1655, which lacks yersiniabactin-associated genes. Because arginine is not a direct yersiniabactin biosynthetic substrate, these findings show that virulence-associated secondary metabolite systems may shape bacterial primary metabolism independently of substrate consumption

If you build it... film studios and the transformative effects of migrating media production

In the years since the release of the film Field of Dreams, the phrase “If you build it, they will come” has become a cliché beloved by journalists, boosters of speculative land developments or remediations and misty-eyed enthusiasts of a host of unlikely schemes. It is one of the articles of faith of the location interest, the coalition of actors motivated to work to attract film business to a particular place. The phrase is full of optimism and potential. It seeks to instill confidence that the construction of production infrastructure like studios and the nourishment of conditions for local service providers will drive the (economic) locomotive and open the (celebrity) stargate. Unfortunately sometimes, it is just a crazy dream.

In Plant Activation: An inducible, hyperexpression platform for recombinant protein production in plants

In this study, we describe a novel protein production platform that provides both activation and amplification of transgene expression in planta. The In Plant Activation (INPACT) system is based on the replication machinery of tobacco yellow dwarf mastrevirus (TYDV) and is essentially transient gene expression from a stably transformed plant, thus combining the advantages of both means of expression. The INPACT cassette is uniquely arranged such that the gene of interest is split and only reconstituted in the presence of the TYDV-encoded Rep/RepA proteins. Rep/RepA expression is placed under the control of the AlcA:AlcR gene switch, which is responsive to trace levels of ethanol. Transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum cv Samsun) plants containing an INPACT cassette encoding the b-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter had negligible background expression but accumulated very high GUS levels (up to 10% total soluble protein) throughout the plant, within 3 d of a 1% ethanol application. The GUS reporter was replaced with a gene encoding a lethal ribonuclease, barnase, demonstrating that the INPACT system provides exquisite control of transgene expression and can be adapted to potentially toxic or inhibitory compounds. The INPACT gene expression platform is scalable, not host-limited, and has been used to express both a therapeutic and an industrial protein.

Effect of pretreatment on saccharification of sugarcane bagasse by complex and simple enzyme mixtures

Saccharification of sugarcane bagasse pretreated at the pilot-scale with different processes (in combination with steam-explosion) was evaluated. Maximum glucan conversion with Celluclast 1.5 L (15–25 FPU/g glucan) was in the following order: glycerol/HCl > HCl > H2SO4 > NaOH, with the glycerol system achieving ∼100% conversion. Surprisingly, the NaOH substrate achieved optimum saccharification with only 8 FPU/g glucan. Glucan conversions (3.6–6%) obtained with mixtures of endo-1,4-β-glucanase (EG) and β-glucosidase (βG) for the NaOH substrate were 2–6 times that of acid substrates. However, glucan conversions (15–60%) obtained with mixtures of cellobiohydrolase (CBH I) and βG on acidified glycerol substrate were 10–30% higher than those obtained for NaOH and acid substrates. The susceptibility of the substrates to enzymatic saccharification was explained by their physical and chemical attributes. Acidified glycerol pretreatment offers the opportunity to simplify the complexity of enzyme mixtures required for saccharification of lignocellulosics.

Genetic variants of angiotensin converting enzyme and methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase may act in combination to increase migraine susceptibility

Migraine, with and without aura (MA and MO), is a prevalent and complex neurovascular disorder that is likely to be influenced by multiple genes some of which may be capable of causing vascular changes leading to disease onset. This study was conducted to determine whether the ACE I/D gene variant is involved in migraine risk and whether this variant might act in combination with the previously implicated MTHFR C677T genetic variant in 270 migraine cases and 270 matched controls. Statistical analysis of the ACE I/D variant indicated no significant difference in allele or genotype frequencies (P > 0.05). However, grouping of genotypes showed a modest, yet significant, over-representation of the DD/ID genotype in the migraine group (88%) compared to controls (81%) (OR of 1.64, 95% CI: 1.00–2.69, P = 0.048). Multivariate analysis, including genotype data for the MTHFR C677T, provided evidence that the MTHFR (TT) and ACE (ID/DD) genotypes act in combination to increase migraine susceptibility (OR = 2.18, 95% CI: 1.15–4.16, P = 0.018). This effect was greatest for the MA subtype where the genotype combination corresponded to an OR of 2.89 (95% CI:1.47–5.72, P = 0.002). In Caucasians, the ACE D allele confers a weak independent risk to migraine susceptibility and also appears to act in combination with the C677T variant in the MTHFR gene to confer a stronger influence on the disease.

Association of a polymorphism of the angiotensin I-converting enzyme gene with essential hypertension

A polymorphism of the angiotensin I converting enzyme (ACE) gene has recently been reported and analysis of this polymorphism has indicated that it is associated with several cardiovascular diseases. However, the results are still controversial and such association has not yet been established conclusively. To determine whether the ACE gene may be responsible for essential hypertension in a Japanese population, we also compared the distribution of genotypes and the allele frequency of this polymorphism in our findings of a Japanese population with these features in other countries. Eighty-seven hypertensive patients with a family history of essential hypertension and 95 normotensive patients whose parents had no such history were enrolled in the study. Polymorphism of the ACE gene was determined by using the polymerase chain reaction. Homozygotes for this polymorphism had either a 490-bp band (II) or a 190-bp band (DD) and heterozygotes had both bands (ID). In hypertensive subjects, the numbers and frequency of the ACE genotypes were: II, 44 (0.51); ID, 26 (0.30); DD, 17 (0.19). In normotensive subjects these were: II, 35 (0.37); ID, 43 (0.45); DD, 17 (0.18). There were no significant differences between the two groups in derived allele frequencies (chi 2 = 1.41). The difference between the overall allelic frequency in Japan and that reported in several other countries was significant. We did not find any association between ACE gene polymorphism and essential hypertension in Japan. However, there were significant differences in derived allele frequencies between our findings in a Japanese population and those reported from Europe and Australia.

Constitutive production of IL-13 promotes early-life Chlamydia respiratory infection and allergic airway disease

Deleterious responses to pathogens during infancy may contribute to infection and associated asthma. Chlamydia respiratory infections in early life are common causes of pneumonia and lead to reduced lung function and asthma. We investigated the role of interleukin-13 (IL-13) in promoting early-life Chlamydia respiratory infection, infection-induced airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR), and severe allergic airway disease (AAD). Infected infant Il13−/− mice had reduced infection, inflammation, and mucus-secreting cell hyperplasia. Surprisingly, infection of wild-type (WT) mice did not increase IL-13 production but reduced IL-13Rα2 decoy receptor levels compared with sham-inoculated controls. Infection of WT but not Il13−/− mice induced persistent AHR. Infection and associated pathology were restored in infected Il13−/− mice by reconstitution with IL-13. Stat6−/− mice were also largely protected. Neutralization of IL-13 during infection prevented subsequent infection-induced severe AAD. Thus, early-life Chlamydia respiratory infection reduces IL-13Rα2 production, which may enhance the effects of constitutive IL-13 and promote more severe infection, persistent AHR, and AAD.

A sensitive assay for creatine kinase in serum samples dried on paper : enhanced thermal stability of the dried enzyme

A new bioluminescent creatine kinase (CK) assay using purified luciferase was used to analyse CK activity in serum samples dried on filter paper. Enzyme activity was preserved for over 1 wk on paper stored at room temperature. At 60°C, CK activity in liquid serum samples was rapidly inactivated, but the activity of enzyme stored on paper was preserved for at least 2 days.

Motion capture and the future of virtual production

Motion capture continues to be adopted across a range of creative fields including, animation, games, visual effects, dance, live theatre and the visual arts. This panel will discuss and showcase the use of motion capture across these creative fields and consider the future of virtual production in the creative industries.

From production to purpose : using design led innovation to Build Strategic Potential in a Family-Owned SME

There is an evident need to develop the strategic capabilities of companies from within, to ensure competitive competence in a time where strategy is a necessity. This paper is based on the first 4 months of a longitudinal embedded case study of a family-owned Australian small to medium enterprise, in their journey towards design integration. The first author was embedded as a ‘Design Innovation Catalyst’ to collaborate on overcoming early barriers of strategic development, using design led innovation. Action research methodology, semi-structured interviews with seven out of eight employees and a reflective journal revealed the absence of a shared vision, conflicting drivers and a focus on operational efficiency rather than strategy. Through the Catalyst’s facilitation, a company vision, general awareness, practice and knowledge in strategic development have emerged as the first steps to generating strategic design competence within the firm.

Microalgal species selection for biodiesel production based on fuel properties derived from fatty acid profiles

Physical and chemical properties of biodiesel are influenced by structural features of the fatty acids, such as chain length, degree of unsaturation and branching of the carbon chain. This study investigated if microalgal fatty acid profiles are suitable for biodiesel characterization and species selection through Preference Ranking Organisation Method for Enrichment Evaluation (PROMETHEE) and Graphical Analysis for Interactive Assistance (GAIA) analysis. Fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) profiles were used to calculate the likely key chemical and physical properties of the biodiesel [cetane number (CN), iodine value (IV), cold filter plugging point, density, kinematic viscosity, higher heating value] of nine microalgal species (this study) and twelve species from the literature, selected for their suitability for cultivation in subtropical climates. An equal-parameter weighted (PROMETHEE-GAIA) ranked Nannochloropsis oculata, Extubocellulus sp. and Biddulphia sp. highest; the only species meeting the EN14214 and ASTM D6751-02 biodiesel standards, except for the double bond limit in the EN14214. Chlorella vulgaris outranked N. oculata when the twelve microalgae were included. Culture growth phase (stationary) and, to a lesser extent, nutrient provision affected CN and IV values of N. oculata due to lower eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) contents. Application of a polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) weighting to saturation led to a lower ranking of species exceeding the double bond EN14214 thresholds. In summary, CN, IV, C18:3 and double bond limits were the strongest drivers in equal biodiesel parameter-weighted PROMETHEE analysis.