Glycogen-accumulating organisms in laboratory-scale and full scale wastewater treatment processes

Laboratory-scale sequencing batch reactors (SBRs) as models for wastewater treatment processes were used to identify glycogen-accumulating organisms (GAOs), which are thought to be responsible for the deterioration of enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR). The SBRs (called Q and T), operated under alternating anaerobic-aerobic conditions typical for EBPR, generated mixed microbial communities (sludges) demonstrating the GAO phenotype. Intracellular glycogen and poly-beta-hydroxyalkanoate (PHA) transformations typical of efficient EBPR occurred but polyphosphate was not bioaccumulated and the sludges contained 1.8% P (sludge Q) and 1.5% P (sludge T). 16S rDNA clone libraries were prepared from DNA extracted from the Q and T sludges. Clone inserts were grouped into operational taxonomic units (OTUs) by restriction fragment length polymorphism banding profiles. OTU representatives were sequenced and phylogenetically analysed. The Q sludge library comprised four OTUs and all six determined sequences were 99.7% identical, forming a cluster in the gamma-Proteobacteria radiation. The T sludge library comprised eight OTUs and the majority of clones were Acidobacteria subphylum 4 (49% of the library) and candidate phylum OPU (39% of the library). One OTU (two clones, of which one was sequenced) was in the gamma-Proteobacteria radiation with 95% sequence identity to the Q sludge clones. Oligonucleotide probes (called GAOQ431 and GAOQ989) were designed from the gamma-Proteobacteria clone sequences for use in fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH); 92 % of the Q sludge bacteria and 28 % of the T sludge bacteria bound these probes in FISH. FISH and post-FISH chemical staining for PHA were used to determine that bacteria from a novel gamma-Proteobacteria cluster were phenotypically GAOs in one laboratory-scale SBR and two fullscale wastewater treatment plants. It is suggested that the GAOs from the novel cluster in the gamma-Proteobacteria radiation be named 'Candidatus Competibacter phosphatis'.

Identity and genetic diversity of the sorghum ergot pathogen in Australia

Sorghum ergot was first discovered in Australia in 1996. It affects seed production and grain usage in stock feed due to concerns of animal toxicity. Three species of Claviceps are known to cause ergot of sorghum with different epidemiological, animal toxicity, and management implications. Claviceps africana was identified as the causal agent but morphological differences between isolates raised the possibility of more than one species being involved. The major aim of this study was to identify the Claviceps species causing sorghum ergot and to determine the genetic diversity among isolates of the ergot pathogen from Australia and overseas. Symptom development, sequencing of the ITS1 region, and radiolabelled DNA amplification fingerprints (RAF) were used to confirm that ergot of sorghum in Australia is caused by C. africana. The morphology of sphacelia, microconidia, macroconidia, and secondary conidia of all 36 Australian isolates studied matched the description for C. africana and the DNA sequence of the ITS1 region of 2 selected Australian isolates was identical to that of C. africana. Based on RAF analysis of 110 Australian and overseas isolates of Claviceps spp., C. africana isolates could be clearly distinguished (

Up close and personal on physical education teachers' identity: Is conflict an issue?

Much of the research on teachers' work is informed by role theory, that assumes teachers' identity is largely ascribed. When there are inconsistencies in teachers' and others' expectations for different occupational roles such as physical education teacher and sports coach, 'role conflict' is said to occur. This stud), sought to investigate if role conflict was a major concern for Australian physical education teacher/coaches. Findings, informed by case studies with five teacher/coaches, challenge the assumption that moving between professional responsibilities causes role conflict. Rather, in moving across contexts, the physical education teachers managed inconsistencies in ways that resulted in positive and rawarding work experiences.

The relationship of natural killer cell counts, perforin mRNA and CD2 expression to post-exercise natural killer cell activity in humans

The aim of this study was to further investigate the mechanism of suppression of natural killer (NK) cell cytotoxic activity In peripheral blood following strenuous exercise. Blood was collected for analysis of NK cell concentration, cytotoxic activity, CD2 surface expression and perforin gene expression from runners (RUN, n = 6) and resting controls (CONTROL, n = 4) pre-exercise, 0, 1.5, 5, and 24 h following a 60-min treadmill run at 80% of VO2 peak. Natural killer cytotoxic activity, measured using a whole blood chromium release assay, fluctuated minimally in the CONTROL group and increased by 63% and decreased by 43% 0 and 1.5 h post-exercise, respectively, in the RUN group (group x time, P < 0.001). Lytic index (cytotoxic activity per cell) did not change. Perforin mRNA, measured using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (ORT-PCR) decreased from pre- to post-exercise and remained decreased through 24 h, The decrease from pre- to 0 In post-exercise was seen predominately in the RUN group and was inversely correlated r = - 0.95) to pre-exercise perform mRNA. The NK cell surface expression of CD2 (lymphocyte function-associated antigen-2) was determined using fluorescent antibodies and flow cytometry, There was no change in the proportion of NK cells expressing CD2 or CD2 density, We conclude that (1) numerical redistribution accounted for most of the change in NK cytotoxic activity following a strenuous run, (2) decrease in perforin gene expression during the run was inversely related to pre-exercise levels but did not parallel changes in cytotoxic activity, and (3) CD2 surface expression was not affected by exercise.

Diversity and change in Australia's rangelands: a post-productivist transition with a difference?

Australia's rangelands are experiencing a post-productivist transition at a tempo comparable to Western Europe's, but in contexts that ensure marked divergence in impulses, actors, processes and outcomes. In Australia's most marginal lands, a flimsy mode of pastoral occupance is being displaced by renewed indigenous occupance, conservation and tourism, with significant changes in land ownership, property rights, investment sources and power relations, but also with structural problems arising from fugitive income streams. The sharp delineation between structurally coherent commodity-oriented regions and emerging amenity-oriented regions can provisionally be mapped at a national scale. A comparison of Australia with Western Europe indicates that three distinct but interconnected driving forces are propelling the rural transition, namely: agricultural overcapacity; the emergence of amenity-oriented uses; and changing societal values.

Rural lines of flight: Telecommunications and post-metro dreaming

Information and communications technologies hold a prominent place in the cultural imagination of many people living outside the Australian metropolis, especially recent émigrés. A vision of a wired pastoral conjures up the possibilities of city work, connections and pleasures accompanying the flight to the country. Such aspirations have given a twist to one of the great topos of Australian post-invasion communications history, communications ameliorating the perceived isolation in the bush. This article examines important changes to rural telecommunications in the 1990s coinciding with post-metro dreaming and digital convergence, namely the rise of local telecommunications. Neo-Foucauldian accounts of citizenship hold some promise for explaining the criss-cross of tangled lines of flight in regional communications in the twenty-first century: emergent subjectivities, utopian digital modes of becoming, new politics of infrastructure, reconfigured relationships among state, market and citizen.

Harmful drinking in military veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder: Association with the D2 dopamine receptor A1 allele

Aims: The frequency of the Taq I A alleles (A1 and A2) of the D2 dopamine receptor (DRD2) gene was examined in Caucasian post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) patients and controls. Results: In 91 PTSD patients, the frequency of the A1 allele was higher (P = 6.12 x 10(-3)) than in the 51 controls. In the 38 PTSD harmful drinkers (greater than or equal to60 g alcohol/day), A1 allelic frequency was higher (P = 3.91 x 10(-2)) than in the 53 non-harmful drinkers (

Comparison of tafenoquine (WR238605) and primaquine in the post-exposure (terminal) prophylaxis of vivax malaria) in Australian Defence Force personnel

On return from duty in North Solomons Province (including Bougainville Island), Papua New Guinea, 586 Australian Defence Force personnel received either primaquine (14-d) or tafenoquine (3-d) post-exposure malaria prophylaxis. Within 12 months, 6 of the 214 volunteers receiving primaquine and 7 of 378 receiving tafenoquine had developed vivax malaria. Overall, volunteers preferred the shorter course of tafenoquine.

Post-discharge surveillance: can patients reliably diagnose surgical wound infections?

Post-discharge surgical wound infection surveillance is an important part of many infection control programs. It is frequently undertaken by patient self-assessment, prompted either by a telephone or postal questionnaire. To assess the reliability of this method, 290 patients were followed for six weeks post-operatively. Their wounds were photographed and also covertly assessed for signs of infection by two experienced infection control nurses (ICNs). Patients also responded to a postal questionnaire seeking evidence of infection at both week four and week six post-surgery. Correlation between the patient's assessment of their wound and the ICNs diagnosis was poor (r = 0. 37) with a low positive predictive value (28.7%), although negative predictive value was high (98.2%). Assessment of photos for signs of infection by two experienced clinicians also correlated poorly with the ICNs diagnosis of infection (r = 0.54). The patient's recall of prescription of an antibiotic by their general practitioner (GP) for wound infection during the postoperative period correlated best with the ICNs diagnosis (r = 0.76). This latter measure, particularly when confirmed by the GP in those patients reporting an infection, appears to provide the most valid and resource efficient marker of post-discharge surgical wound infection.