Nucleic acid expressed in the hypothalamus or muscle tissue in obese animals

An isolated nucleic acid molecule comprising a sequence of nucleotides encoding or complementary to a sequence encoding a molecule or derivative or homologue thereof wherein said nucleic acid molecule is expressed in a larger amount in one or both hypothalamus tissue or muscle tissue of obese animals compared to lean animals or in fed animals compared to fasted animals. Nucleic acid sequences are disclosed. It is proposed to use the expression products of such nucleic acids as modulators and/or monitors of physiological processes associated with obesity, anorexia, weight maintenance, impaired muscle development, diabetes and/or metabolic energy levels.

Nucleic acid expressed in the hypothalamus or muscle tissue in obese animals

An isolated nucleic acid molecule comprising a sequence of nucleotides encoding or complementary to a sequence encoding a molecule or derivative or homologue thereof wherein said nucleic acid molecule is expressed in a larger amount in one or both hypothalamus tissue or muscle tissue of obese animals compared to lean animals or in fed animals compared to fasted animals. Nucleic acid sequences are disclosed. It is proposed to use the expression products of such nucleic acids as modulators and/or monitors of physiological processes associated with obesity, anorexia, weight maintenance, impaired muscle development, diabetes and/or metabolic energy levels.

Fish oil replacement in starter, grow-out, and finishing feeds for farmed aquatic animals

As aquaculture production continues to grow, there will be an increased use of lipid resources (oils and fats) alternative to fish oil for feed production. The potential for the use of these alternatives varies depending on the feeds in which they are included according to the production phase of the animals to which they are being fed. In starter feeds, where rapid growth, high survival, and normal development are critical priorities, there will remain a need for the use of lipid resources high in omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 LC-PUFA). Fish in this starter phase have a critical requirement for the n-3 LC-PUFA docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and fish oils remain the only cost-effective source of these nutrients in the volumes required. However, the greatest demand for lipids is in those diets for the grow-out phase. Most studies on alternative lipid use with animals in this part of the production phase show positive outcomes, in that there are few studies where all the added fish oil cannot be replaced. There are some species, however, where potential replacement levels are suggested to be more conservative, and a general substitution level in this production phase of 75% has been suggested. One of the key effects noted across the grow-out phase is that all alternatives affect the flesh fatty acid characteristics by reducing the level of n-3 LC-PUFA. This issue has provoked the concept of finisher diets, whereby a high n-3 LC-PUFA content diet is fed in order to restore the desired meat fatty acid profiles. Studies examining this concept have found that the tissue triacylglycerol fatty acids were greatly modified and responded in a simple dilution process to the added oil fatty acid composition, whereas the fatty acids of tissue phospholipids were less influenced by dietary fatty acid makeup.

Comparison of automated classification techniques for predicting benthic biological communities using hydroacoustics and video observations

The effective management of our marine ecosystems requires the capability to identify, characterise and predict the distribution of benthic biological communities within the overall seascape architecture. The rapid expansion of seabed mapping studies has seen an increase in the application of automated classification techniques to efficiently map benthic habitats, and the need of techniques to assess confidence of model outputs. We use towed video observations and 11 seafloor complexity variables derived from multibeam echosounder (MBES) bathymetry and backscatter to predict the distribution of 8 dominant benthic biological communities in a 54 km² site, off the central coast of Victoria, Australia. The same training and evaluation datasets were used to compare the accuracies of a Maximum Likelihood Classifier (MLC) and two new generation decision tree methods, QUEST (Quick Unbiased Efficient Statistical Tree) and CRUISE (Classification Rule with Unbiased Interaction Selection and Estimation), for predicting dominant biological communities. The QUEST classifier produced significantly better results than CRUISE and MLC model runs, with an overall accuracy of 80% (Kappa 0.75). We found that the level of accuracy with the size of training set varies for different algorithms. The QUEST results generally increased in a linear fashion, CRUISE performed well with smaller training data sets, and MLC performed least favourably overall, generating anomalous results with changes to training size. We also demonstrate how predicted habitat maps can provide insights into habitat spatial complexity on the continental shelf. Significant variation between patch-size and habitat types and significant correlations between patch size and depth were also observed.

Cruelty to animals and psychosocial adjustment among Chinese children

Childhood cruelty to animals is associated with interpersonal violence in later life. The study for this thesis investigated risk factors for childhood cruelty to animals in China. For both boys and girls externalising problems, poor communication within families, and harsh parental discipline predicted animal cruelty, providing targets for intervention to prevent later violence. The portfolio presents four clinical case studies which demonstrate the complex and varied impact that intimate partner violence has on women, and the importance of psychological intervention in assisting women to manage their physical and mental health and well-being.

NUCLEIC ACID EXPRESSED IN THE HYPOTHALAMUS OR MUSCLE TISSUE IN OBESE ANIMALS

An isolated nucleic acid molecule comprising a sequence of nucleotides encoding or complimentary to a sequence encoding a molecule or derivative or homologue thereof wherein said nucleic acid molecule is expressed in a large r amount in one or both hypothalamus tissue or muscle tissue of obese animals compared to lean animals or in fed animals compared to fasted animals. Nucle ic acid sequences are disclosed. It is proposed to use the expression products of such nucleic acids as modulators and/or monitors of physiological processes associated with obesity, anorexia, weight maintenance, impaired muscle development, diabetes and/or metabolic energy levels.

Nucleic acid expressed in hypothalamus or muscle tissue in obese animals

An isolated nucleic acid molecule comprising a sequence of nucleotides encoding or complimentary to a sequence encoding a molecule or derivative or homologue thereof wherein said nucleic acid molecule is expressed in a larger amount in one or both hypothalamus tissue or muscle tissue of obese animals compared to lean animals or in fed animals compared to fasted animals. Nucleic acid sequences are disclosed. It is proposed to use the expression products of such nucleic acids as modulators and/or monitors of physiological processes associated with obesity, anorexia, weight maintenance, impaired muscle development, diabetes and/or metabolic energy levels.

NUCLEIC ACID EXPRESSED IN THE HYPOTHALAMUS OR MUSCLE TISSUE IN OBESE ANIMALS

An isolated nucleic acid molecule comprising a sequence of nucleotides encoding or complimentary to a sequence encoding a molecule or derivative or homologue thereof wherein said nucleic acid molecule is expressed in a larger amount in one or both hypothalamus tissue or muscle tissue of obese animals compared to lean animals or in fed animals compared to fasted animals. Nucleic acid sequences are disclosed. It is proposed to use the expression products of such nucleic acids as modulators and/or monitors of physiological processes associated with obesity, anorexia, weight maintenance, impaired muscle development, diabetes and/or metabolic energy levels.

NUCLEIC ACID EXPRESSED IN THE HYPOTHALAMUS OR MUSCLE TISSUE IN OBESE ANIMALS

An isolated nucleic acid molecule comprising a sequence of nucleotides encoding or complimentary to a sequence encoding a molecule or derivative or homologue thereof wherein said nucleic acid molecule is expressed in a larger amount in one or both hypothalamus tissue or muscle tissue of obese animals compared to lean animals or in fed animals compared to fasted animals. Nucleic acid sequences are disclosed. It is proposed to use the expression products of such nucleic acids as modulators and/or monitors of physiological processes associated with obesity, anorexia, weight maintenance, impaired muscle development, diabetes and/or metabolic energy levels.

Integrating time-series hydroacoustics and video observations for detecting changes in benthic habitats

The ability to quantify change in marine benthic habitats must be considered a key goal of marine habitat mapping activities. Changes in distribution of distinct suites of benthic biological species may occur as a result of natural or human induced processes and these processes may operate at a range of temporal and spatial scales. It is important to understand natural small scale inter-annual patterns of change in order to separate these signals from potential patterns of longer term change. Work to describe these processes of change from an acoustic remote sensing stand point has thus far been limited due to the relatively recent availability of full coverage swath acoustic datasets and cost pressures associated with multiple surveys of the same area. This paper describes the use of landscape transition analysis as a means to differentiate seemingly random patterns of habitat change from systematic signals of habitat transition at a shallow (10–50 m depth) 18 km2 study area on the temperate Australian continental shelf between the years 2006 and 2007. Supervised classifications for each year were accomplished using independently collected high resolution (3 m cell-size) multibeam echosounder (MBES) and video-derived reference data. Of the 4 representative biotic classes considered, signals of directional systematic changes were observed to occur between a shallow kelp dominated class, a deep sessile invertebrate dominated class and a mixed class of kelp and sessile invertebrates. These signals of change are interpreted as inter-annual variation in the density and depth related extent of canopy forming kelp species at the site, a phenomenon reported in smaller scale temporal studies of the same species. The methods applied in this study provide a detailed analysis of the various components of the traditional change detection cross tabulation matrix allowing identification of the strongest signals of systematic habitat transitions across broad geographical regions. Identifying clear patterns of habitat change is an important first step in linking these patterns to the processes that drive them.

A head mountable deep brain stimulation device for laboratory animals

Deep brain stimulation has emerged as an effective method to treat certain medical conditions. Electrical charges are injected into the target tissue through a conducting electrode exciting the tissue. A variety of DBS devices have been developed based on different operation principles. Majority of these devices, however, employ complex circuitry and are bulky. In clinical trials, laboratory animals need to freely move around and perform activities whilst receiving brain stimulation for days. This paper presents a simple lightweight head mountable deep brain stimulation device that can be carried by the animal during the course of a clinical trial. The device produces continuous current pulses of specific characteristics. It employs passive charge balancing to minimize undesirable effects on the target tissue. The device is constructed and its performance tested.