Association between food marketing exposure and adolescents' food choices and eating behaviors

The present study examined associations between food marketing exposure and adolescents’ food choices and reported consumption of energy-dense and nutrient-poor (EDNP) foods. A cross-sectional survey of 12,188 Australian secondary students aged 12–17 years was conducted, using a web-based self-report questionnaire. Measures included students’ level of exposure to commercial television and non-broadcast types of food marketing, whether they had tried a new product or requested a product they had seen advertised, and their reported consumption of fast food, sugary drinks and sweet and salty snacks. Results indicated greater exposure to commercial television, print/transport/school food marketing and digital food marketing were all independently associated with students’ food choices. High commercial television viewers (>2 h/day) were more likely to report higher consumption of EDNP foods (ORs ranged from 1.31 for fast food to 1.91 for sweet snacks). Some associations between digital food marketing exposure and students’ eating behaviors were found; however, print/transport/school food marketing was only related to sweet snack consumption. These study results suggest that cumulative exposure to television food advertising and other food marketing sources are positively linked to adolescents’ food choices and eating behaviors. Policy changes to restrict food marketing to young people should include both television and non-broadcast media.

Return to pre-injury health status and function 12 months after hospitalisation for sport and active recreation related orthopaedic injury

Background Hospitalised sport and active recreation injuries can have serious long-term consequences. Despite this, few studies have examined the long-term outcomes of these injuries. The purpose of this study was to establish whether patients hospitalised with orthopaedic sport and active recreation injuries, have returned to their pre-injury levels of health status and function, 12 months post injury and identify factors associated with poor outcomes. The present work was a cohort study with retrospective assessment of pre-injury status and prospective assessment of outcome at 12 months post injury.

Methods Adults with orthopaedic sport and active recreation injuries, captured by the Victorian Orthopaedic Trauma Outcomes Registry were recruited to the study. Pre-injury and 12-month outcomes were assessed using the 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) and the extended Glasgow Outcome Scale. Differences in pre-injury and post-injury SF-36 scores were examined and demographic, injury, hospital and physical activity variables were assessed for associations with outcome using multivariate linear regression.

Results Of the 324 participants 98% were followed-up at 12 months post injury. At 12 months, participants reported a mean 7.0-point reduction in physical health (95% CI 5.8 to 7.8) and a 2.5-point reduction in mental health (95% CI 1.2 to 3.0), with 58% (95% CI 52.6% to 63.4%) reporting reduced function. Sporting group (p=0.001), Injury Severity Score >15 (p=0.007) and high pre-injury vigorous activity levels (p=0.04), were related to poorer physical health outcomes.

Conclusions At 12 months post injury, most participants reported large reductions in physical health and reduced function. This information is important for furthering our understanding of the burden of sport and active recreation injury and setting priorities for treatment and rehabilitation.

The use of molecular phylogenetic and morphological tools to identify cryptic and paraphyletic species : examples from the diminutive long-fingered bats (Chiroptera : Miniopteridae : Miniopterus) on Madagascar

Based on nearly complete (1125 bp) cytochrome-b sequence data and morphological characters, two new endemic species of Miniopterus are described from Madagascar that were previously identified as M. manavi. Using phylogenetic analysis, the basal nodes of major lineages in the Malagasy members of this genus are weakly supported, while, in most cases, the branches leading to each of the clades are well resolved. Miniopterus mahafaliensis, new species, occurs in the southwestern semidesert areas and M. brachytragos, new species, has a broad distribution across the northern half of the island, ranging across several different biomes. Phylogenetic inference indicates that these two new taxa are not closely related to M. manavi sensu stricto, with average genetic distances of 9.2% and 5.7% from this taxon, respectively. On the basis of this and previous revisions, the former M. manavi complex is now recognized to represent at least five taxa, which do not form a monophyletic group with respect to one another, and represent extraordinary examples of convergent evolution. Miniopterus brachytragos is closely related to the recently named M. aelleni, while M. mahafaliensis is not closely associated with any of these species. Molecular phylogenetic analysis was imperative to resolve the species limits of these taxa and morphology then provided the means to corroborate the recovered clades. There are localities on the island, specifically limestone karstic zones, where four species of the former M. manavi sensu lato complex occur in strict sympatry. These species often use the same day-roost caves and have similar external and craniodental measurements. This raises intriguing questions as to how these animals divide their worlds with regard to dietary regimes and foraging strategies, as well as their speciation history.

Mitochondrial DNA analysis of field populations of Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera : Noctuidae) and of its relationship to H. zea

Background
Helicoverpa armigera and H. zea are amongst the most significant polyphagous pest lepidopteran species in the Old and New Worlds respectively. Separation of H. armigera and H. zea is difficult and is usually only achieved through morphological differences in the genitalia. They are capable of interbreeding to produce fertile offspring. The single species status of H. armigera has been doubted, due to its wide distribution and plant host range across the Old World. This study explores the global genetic diversity of H. armigera and its evolutionary relationship to H zea.

Results
We obtained partial (511 bp) mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) Cytochrome Oxidase-I (COI) sequences for 249 individuals of H. armigera sampled from Australia, Burkina Faso, Uganda, China, India and Pakistan which were associated with various host plants. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the partial COI gene differentiated H. armigera populations into 33 mtDNA haplotypes. Shared haplotypes between continents, low F-statistic values and low nucleotide diversity between countries (0.0017 – 0.0038) suggests high mobility in this pest. Phylogenetic analysis of four major Helicoverpa pest species indicates that H. punctigera is basal to H. assulta, which is in turn basal to H. armigera and H. zea. Samples from North and South America suggest that H. zea is also a single species across its distribution. Our data reveal short genetic distances between H. armigera and H. zea which seem to have been established via a founder event from H. armigera stock at around 1.5 million years ago.

Conclusion
Our mitochondrial DNA sequence data supports the single species status of H. armigera across Africa, Asia and Australia. The evidence for inter-continental gene flow observed in this study is consistent with published evidence of the capacity of this species to migrate over long distances. The finding of high genetic similarity between Old World H. armigera and New World H. zea emphasises the need to consider work on both pests when building pest management strategies for either.

Environmental sustainability in higher education : how do academics teach?

The concept of sustainability can be controversial and difficult to define. As a result, it has been suggested that there should be specific pedagogies and teaching methods for education for sustainability (EfS). How well these methods are used within universities can inform the future of EfS pedagogy. One quarter of the teaching academics in every discipline of every Australian university (except one) (n = 38) was sent an online questionnaire asking for their recollections of their teaching practices and EfS. Data were obtained from 1819 respondents (26% response rate) and analysed with descriptive and inferential statistics (χ ² tests of independence and one-way between-groups analysis of variance). This study presents the views of approximately 6% of the entire university teaching workforce of Australia. It presents the findings that academics prefer, and utilise, lectures, tutorials, critical thinking and discussions in their teaching. Although the adoption of the pedagogies and teaching methods advocated for EfS is low, there is evidence that academics are actively seeking to make their lessons more interactive. Although EfS is largely not practiced within classrooms, when EfS is taught, teaching methods remain the same as when it is not taught – suggesting EfS is not currently associated with pedagogical innovation.

The Bassian Isthmus and the major ocean currents of southeast Australia influence the phylogeography and population structure of a southern Australian intertidal barnacle Catomerus polymerus (Darwin)

Southern Australia is currently divided into three marine biogeographical provinces based on faunal distributions and physical parameters. These regions indicate eastern and western distributions, with an overlap occurring in the Bass Strait in Victoria. However, studies indicate that the boundaries of these provinces vary depending on the species being examined, and in particular on the mode of development employed by that species, be they direct developers or planktonic larvae dispersers. Mitochondrial DNA sequence analysis of the surf barnacle Catomerus polymerus in southern Australia revealed an east–west phylogeographical split involving two highly divergent clades (cytochrome oxidase I 3.5 ± 0.76%, control region 6.7 ± 0.65%), with almost no geographical overlap. Spatial genetic structure was not detected within either clade, indicative of a relatively long-lived planktonic larval phase. Five microsatellite loci indicated that C. polymerus populations exhibit relatively high levels of genetic divergence, and fall into four subregions: eastern Australia, central Victoria, western Victoria and Tasmania, and South Australia. F_ST values between eastern Australia (from the eastern mitochondrial DNA clade) and the remaining three subregions ranged from 0.038 to 0.159, with other analyses indicating isolation by distance between the subregions of western mitochondrial origin. We suggest that the east–west division is indicative of allopatric divergence resulting from the emergence of the Bassian land-bridge during glacial maxima, preventing gene flow between these two lineages. Subsequently, contemporary ecological conditions, namely the East Australian, Leeuwin, and Zeehan currents and the geographical disjunctions at the Coorong and Ninety Mile Beach are most likely responsible for the four subregions indicated by the microsatellite data.

Development and characterisation of 20 microsatellite loci isolated from the large bent-wing bat, Miniopterus schreibersii (Chiroptera: Miniopteridae) and their cross-taxa utility in the family Miniopteridae

The large bent-wing bat, Miniopterus schreibersii (Kuhl 1819), has a long history of taxonomic uncertainty and many populations are known to be in a state of decline. Microsatellite loci were developed for the taxonomic and population genetic assessment of the Australian complex of this species. Of the 33 primer sets designed for this research, seven (21%) were deemed suitably polymorphic for population-level analyses of the Australian taxa, with five (71%) of these loci revealing moderate to high levels of polymorphism (PIC = 0.56 to 0.91). The cross-taxa utility of the M. schreibersii microsatellite markers was assessed in the microbat (Chiroptera) family Miniopteridae. Sub-species and species covering the Miniopteridae’s global distribution (with the exception of the Middle East) were selected, numbering 25 taxa in total. Amplification was successful for 26 loci, of which 20 (77%) were polymorphic. High cross-taxa utility of markers was observed with amplification achieved for all taxa for between four (20%) and 20 (100%) loci, and polymorphism was considered moderate to high (PIC = 0.47–0.91) for 12 (60%) of these loci. The high cross-taxa utility of the microsatellites reported herein reveal versatile and cost-effective molecular markers, contributing an important genetic resource for the research and conservation of Miniopteridae species worldwide.

Copy number variation and transposable elements feature in recent, ongoing adaptation at the Cyp6g1 locus

The increased transcription of the Cyp6g1 gene of Drosophila melanogaster, and consequent resistance to insecticides such as DDT, is a widely cited example of adaptation mediated by cis-regulatory change. A fragment of an Accord transposable element inserted upstream of the Cyp6g1 gene is causally associated with resistance and has spread to high frequencies in populations around the world since the 1940s. Here we report the existence of a natural allelic series at this locus of D. melanogaster, involving copy number variation of Cyp6g1, and two additional transposable element insertions (a P and an HMS-Beagle). We provide evidence that this genetic variation underpins phenotypic variation, as the more derived the allele, the greater the level of DDT resistance. Tracking the spatial and temporal patterns of allele frequency changes indicates that the multiple steps of the allelic series are adaptive. Further, a DDT association study shows that the most resistant allele, Cyp6g1-[BP], is greatly enriched in the top 5% of the phenotypic distribution and accounts for ~16% of the underlying phenotypic variation in resistance to DDT. In contrast, copy number variation for another candidate resistance gene, Cyp12d1, is not associated with resistance. Thus the Cyp6g1 locus is a major contributor to DDT resistance in field populations, and evolution at this locus features multiple adaptive steps occurring in rapid succession.

Shedding new light on old species identifications : morphological and genetic evidence suggest a need for conservation status review of the critically endangered bat, Saccolaimus saccolaimus

Information based on the accurate identification of species is a vital component for achieving successful outcomes of biodiversity conservation and management. It is difficult to manage species that are poorly known or that are misidentified with other similar species. This is particularly problematic for rare and threatened species. Species that are listed under endangered species classification schemes need to be identified accurately and categorised correctly so that conservation efforts are appropriately allocated. In Australia, the emballonurid Saccolaimus saccolaimus is currently listed as ‘Critically Endangered’. On the basis of new observations and existing museum specimens, we used a combination of genetic (mitochondrial DNA sequence) and morphological (pelage characteristics, dig III : phalanx I length ratio, inter-upper canine distance) analyses to identify six new geographic records for S. saccolaimus, comprising ~100 individuals. Our analyses also suggested that there are likely to be more records in museum collections misidentified as S. flaviventris specimens. The external morphological similarities to S. flaviventris were addressed and genetic, morphological and echolocation analyses were used in an attempt to provide diagnostic characters that can be used to readily identify the two species in the field. We recommend genetic testing of all museum specimens of Australian Saccolaimus to clarify species’ distributions and provide data for reassessing the conservation status for both S. saccolaimus and S. flaviventris. Museum curators, taxonomists and wildlife managers need to be aware of potential species misidentifications, both in the field and laboratory. Misidentifications that result in misclassification of both threatened and non-threatened species can have significant implications.

The use of molecular and morphological characters to resolve the taxonomic identity of cryptic species : the case of Miniopterus manavi (Chiroptera, Miniopteridae)

Based on recent molecular phylogenetic studies, the Old World bat family Miniopteridae, composed of species in the genus Miniopterus, has been shown to contain complex paraphyletic species, many of which are cryptic based on convergent morphological characters. Herein we resolve the phylogenetic relationships and taxonomy of the species complex M. manavi on Madagascar and in the Comoro Archipelago, where these animals occur in different bioclimatic zones. First using mitochondrial cytochrome-b sequence data to define clades and then morphology to corroborate the molecular data, including comparisons to type specimens, we demonstrate that animals identified as this taxon are a minimum of three species: M. manavi sensu stricto occurs in at least the central portion of the Central Highlands; M. griveaudi has a broad distribution in lowland northern and central western Madagascar and the Comoros (Anjouan and Grande Comore), and M. aelleni sp. n. has been found in northern and western Madagascar and the Comoros (Anjouan). In each case, these three clades were genetically divergent and monophyletic and the taxa are diagnosable based on different external and craniodental characters. One aspect that helped to define the systematics of this group was isolation of DNA from one of the paratypes of M. manavi collected in 1896 and new topotypic material. Miniopterus manavi is most closely allied to a recently described species, M. petersoni. At several localities, M. griveaudi and M. aelleni have been found in strict sympatry, and together with M. manavi sensu stricto show considerable convergence in morphological characters, but are not immediate sister taxa. In defining and resolving the systematics of cryptic species, such as miniopterid bats, the process of defining clades with molecular tools, segregating the specimens accordingly, and identifying corroborative morphological characters has been notably efficient.

Morphological, bioacoustical, and genetic variation in Miniopterus bats from eastern Madagascar, with the description of a new species

Recent molecular genetic work, combined with morphological comparisons, of Malagasy members of the bat genus Miniopterus (Family Miniopteridae), has revealed several cryptic species. Based on new specimens and associated tissues, we examine patterns of variation in the recently described species M. petersoni, the holotype of which comes from extreme southeastern Madagascar, and for which specimens from more northerly portions of eastern Madagascar were noted to show some morphological divergence from typical M. petersoni. On the basis of morphological and genetic (cytochrome b) characters we described a new species, M. egeri sp. nov. This taxon also shows bioacoustical differences from M. petersoni. Miniopterus egeri is widely distributed in the eastern portion of Madagascar across an elevational range from near sea level to 550 m. The specific status of moderately small Miniopterus from Montagne d'Ambre in the far north remains to be determined.