Changes in the racial composition of Phytophthora sojae in Australia between 1979 and 1996

Surveys of commercial soybean fields, disease nurseries, and trial plots of soybean were conducted throughout eastern Australia between 1979 and 1996, and 694 isolates of Phytophthora sojae were collected and classified into races. Fourteen races, 1, 2, 4, 10, 15, and 25, and eight new races, 46 to 53, were identified, but only races 1, 4, 15, 25, 46, and 53 were found in commercial fields. Races 1 and 15 were the only races found in commercial fields in the soybean-growing areas of Australia up until 1989, with race 1 being the dominant race. Race 4 was found in central New South Wales in 1989 on cultivars with the Rps1a gene, and it is now the dominant race in central and southern New South Wales. Races 46 and 53 have only been found once, in southern New South Wales, and race 25 was identified in the same region in 1994 on a cultivar with the Rps1k gene. Only races 1 and 15 have been found in the northern soybean-growing regions, with the latter dominating, which coincides with the widespread use of cultivars with the Rps2 gene. Changes in the race structure of the P. sojae population from commercial fields in Australia follow the deployment of specific resistance genes.

A dual catalyst bed system for the elimination of hydrogen from CO2 feed gas in urea synthesis

A dual catalyst bed system (Au/Fe2O3 + Pt-Pd/Al2O3) for eliminating hydrogen from the CO2 feed gas in urea synthesis is found to be far superior to commercially available and patented catalysts in catalytic activity. At relatively low temperatures, hydrogen is eliminated and coexistent CO is also oxidized completely to useful CO2. This can avoid effectively the accidental explosion of hydrogen-oxygen-ammonia mixed gases, thus ensuring the safety of urea synthesis.

The burden of mental disorders in Victoria, 1996

Background: Between 1998 and 1999, a burden of disease assessment was carried out in Victoria, Australia applying and improving on the methods of the Global Burden of Disease Study. This paper describes the methods and results of the calculations of the burden due to 22 mental disorders, adding 14 conditions not included in previous burden of disease estimates, Methods: The National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing provided recent data on the occurrence of the major adult mental disorders in Australia. Data from international studies and expert advice further contributed to the construction of disease models, describing each condition in terms of incidence, average duration and level of severity, with adjustments for comorbidity with other mental disorders. Disability weights for the time spent in different states of mental ill health were borrowed mainly from a study in the Netherlands, supplemented by weights derived in a local extrapolation exercise. Results: Mental disorders were the third largest group of conditions contributing to the burden of disease in Victoria, ranking behind cancers and cardiovascular diseases. Depression was the greatest cause of disability in both men and women. Eight other mental disorders in men and seven in women ranked among the top twenty causes of disability. Conclusions: Insufficient information on the natural history of many of the mental disorders, the limited information on the validity of mental disorder diagnoses in community surveys and considerable differences between ICD-10 and DSM-IV defined diagnoses were the main concerns about the accuracy of the estimates. Similar and often greater concerns have been raised in relation to the estimation of the burden from common non-fatal physical conditions such as asthma, diabetes and osteoarthritis. In comparison, psychiatric epidemiology can boast greater scientific rigour in setting standards for population surveys.

Effects of alkalis, oxidants and urea on the nutritive value of rhodes grass (Chloris gayana cv. Callide)

Two in sacco experiments were conducted to evaluate the impact on the nutritive value of rhodes grass hay (Chloris gayana cv. Callide) of treatment with alkalis or oxidants. In Experiment 1, three alkalis (Ca(OH)(2), NaOH, CaO) and two oxidants (NaOCl and H2O2) were applied at levels of 0, 20, 40, 60 or 80 g/kg of dry matter (DM). NaOH, Ca(OH)(2) and CaO had negative linear effects (P < 0.05) on the neutral detergent fibre (NDF) content and positive linear effects (P < 0.05) on the 48 h in sacco disappearances of DM, organic matter (OM), NDF and acid detergent fibre (ADF). NaOCl reduced (P < 0.05) NDF content but had no effect (P > 0.05) on the in sacco disappearances. H2O2 had no effect (P > 0.05) on the composition or digestibility of rhodes grass hay. In Experiment 2, effects of urea (0, 20, 40, 60 and 80 g urea/kg DM) and water (250, 500 and 750 g/kg DM) treatment of rhodes grass hay were examined in a 5 x 3 factorial experiment. Significant interactions between water and urea (P < 0.05) occurred for concentrations of crude protein (CP) and NDF, and 48 h in sacco disappearances of DM, OM (OMD) and NDE The combinations of water (g/kg DM) and urea (g/kg DM) that resulted in the highest concentrations of CP (281 g/kg DM) and OMD (747 g/kg DM) were 250 + 80 and 500 + 80, respectively. NaOH, Ca(OH)(2), CaO and urea significantly alter the NDF content and digestibility of rhodes grass hay, and urea also increases its CP content. Overall, NaOH was the most efficacious, followed by Ca(OH)(2), CaO, urea, NaOCl and H2O2. Crown Copyright (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Surgical management of lung cancer in Western Australia in 1996 and its outcomes

Background: All cases of lung cancer diagnosed in Western Australia in 1996 in which surgery was the primary treatment, were reviewed. Reported herein are the characteristics of the patients, the treatment outcomes and a comparison of the management undertaken with that recommended by international guidelines. Methods: All patients with a new diagnosis of lung cancer in Western Australia in the calendar year of 1996 were identified using two different population-based registration systems: the Western Australian (WA) Cancer Registry and the WA Hospital Morbidity Data System. A structured questionnaire on the diagnosis and management was completed for each case. Date of death was determined through the WA Cancer Registry. Results: Six hundred and sixty-eight patients with lung cancer were identified; 132 (20%) were treated with surgery. Lobectomy was the most frequently performed procedure (71%), followed by pneumonectomy (19%). Major complications affected 23% of patients. Postoperative mortality was 6% (3% lobectomy, 12% pneumonectomy). At 5 years the absolute survival was as follows for stage I, II, IIIA, IIIB, respectively: 51%, 45%, 12%, 5%. Conclusions: Investigations and choice of surgery in WA in 1996 reflect current international guidelines. The survival of patients with resectable lung cancer remains unsatisfactory.

Ion and urea regulation in elasmobranch fish

In recent years our understanding of the control of ion and urea metabolism in elasmobranch fish has increased with many more species being investigated. This has demonstrated that many species regarded as stenohaline marine are at least, partially euryhaline and may survive in environments less concentrated than full seawater. This presentation will review these recent findings and then compare the osmoregulatory strategies of a partially euryhaline species, Scyliorhinus canicula, with a fully euryhaline migratory species Carcharinus leucas. This will include new data for both species and will generate new models for the control of ion and urea metabolism in elasmobranchs on which to base future research.

MHCPEP, a database of MHC-binding peptides: Update 1996

MHCPEP is a curated database comprising over 9000 peptide sequences known to bind MHC molecules. Entries are compiled from published reports as well as from direct submissions of experimental data. Each entry contains the peptide sequence, its MHC specificity and, when available, experimental method, observed activity, binding affinity, source protein, anchor positions and publication references. The present format of the database allows text string matching searches but can easily be converted for use in conjunction with sequence analysis packages. The database can be accessed via Internet using WWW, FTP or Gopher.

Out of the shadows: The critical sociology of sport in Australia, 1986 to 1996

The sociology of sport in Australia has reached a key point in its development. A critical tradition in the subdiscipline has been established over the last decade, but its intellectual and institutional progress has been uneven. This article briefly traces the emergence of critical sports sociology in a country outside the major centers in the UK and U.S., its break with functionalist approaches, and its attempts to overcome the neglect of local mainstream sociology. The authors proceed to examine (self-reflexively) the changes of theoretical direction and the new lines of research that are being explored in the field. A recent ''skirmish'' with narrative history over the preferred theories and methods in sports analysis is discussed as illustrative of the difficulties encountered by an energetic but small, dispersed and underorganized scholarly movement in Australia.

Geographic variation of notified Ross River virus infections in Queensland, Australia, 1985-1996

The spatial and temporal variations of Ross River virus infections reported in Queensland, Australia, between 1985 and 1996 were studied by using the Geographic Information System. The notified cases of Ross River virus infection came from 489 localities between 1985 and 1988, 805 between 1989 and 1992, and 1,157 between 1993 and 1996 (X (2)((df = 2)) = 680.9; P < 0.001). There was a marked increase in the number of localities where the cases were reported by 65 percent for the period of 1989-1992 and 137 percent for 1993-1996, compared with that for 1985-1988. The geographic distribution of the notified Ross River virus cases has expanded in Queensland over recent years. As Ross River virus disease has impacted considerably on tourism and industry, as well as on residents of affected areas, more research is required to explore the causes of the geographic expansion of the notified Ross River virus infections.

Stomatogenesis in the ciliate genus Macropodinium Dehority, 1996 (Litostomatea : Macropodiniidae)

Stomatogenesis and the cell division cycle was investigated for Macropodinium yalanbense Dehority, 1996 from Macropus giganteus using light and electron microscopy. Macropodinium spp. are endosymbiotic ciliates found only in the stomachs of macropodid marsupials. Stomatogenesis proceeds through 4 stages: initial formation of a transverse division suture; formation of the preoral field and formation of vestibular kineties in an internal pouch; extension of vestibulum posteriorly and external formation of new adoral kineties; and extension of somatic and adoral kineties accompanying dorsal and ventral constriction of the cell. Karyokinesis and formation of the new cytoproct occur immediately prior to cytokinesis. Comparison with other litostome ciliates shows that the formation of new vestibular kineties is most similar to that of the entodiniomorphs, formation of adoral kineties is most similar to that of the haptorians and formation of the somatic kineties to that of the vestibuliferans. The phylogenetic affinities of Macropodinium are thus difficult to infer from the ontogeny of organelle systems. Stomatogenesis of the adoral kineties is either epiapokinetal or a new type of cryptotelokinetal whereas the vestibular kineties are formed by either endoapokinetal or cryptotelokinetal processes. No other ciliate has been observed to utilise 2 types of stomatogenesis in its division cycle.