Agricultural intensification, priming for persistence and the emergence of Nipah virus: a lethal bat-borne zoonosis

Emerging zoonoses threaten global health, yet the processes by which they emerge are complex and poorly understood. Nipah virus (NiV) is an important threat owing to its broad host and geographical range, high case fatality, potential for human-to-human transmission and lack of effective prevention or therapies. Here, we investigate the origin of the first identified outbreak of NiV encephalitis in Malaysia and Singapore. We analyse data on livestock production from the index site (a commercial pig farm in Malaysia) prior to and during the outbreak, on Malaysian agricultural production, and from surveys of NiV's wildlife reservoir (flying foxes). Our analyses suggest that repeated introduction of NiV from wildlife changed infection dynamics in pigs. Initial viral introduction produced an explosive epizootic that drove itself to extinction but primed the population for enzootic persistence upon reintroduction of the virus. The resultant within-farm persistence permitted regional spread and increased the number of human infections. This study refutes an earlier hypothesis that anomalous El Nino Southern Oscillation-related climatic conditions drove emergence and suggests that priming for persistence drove the emergence of a novel zoonotic pathogen. Thus, we provide empirical evidence for a causative mechanism previously proposed as a precursor to widespread infection with H5N1 avian influenza and other emerging pathogens.

What determines soil organic carbon stocks in the grazing lands of north-eastern Australia?

This study aimed to unravel the effects of climate, topography, soil, and grazing management on soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks in the grazing lands of north-eastern Australia. We sampled for SOC stocks at 98 sites from 18 grazing properties across Queensland, Australia. These samples covered four nominal grazing management classes (Continuous, Rotational, Cell, and Exclosure), eight broad soil types, and a strong tropical to subtropical climatic gradient. Temperature and vapour-pressure deficit explained >80% of the variability of SOC stocks at cumulative equivalent mineral masses nominally representing 0-0.1 and 0-0.3m depths. Once detrended of climatic effects, SOC stocks were strongly influenced by total standing dry matter, soil type, and the dominant grass species. At 0-0.3m depth only, there was a weak negative association between stocking rate and climate-detrended SOC stocks, and Cell grazing was associated with smaller SOC stocks than Continuous grazing and Exclosure. In future, collection of quantitative information on stocking intensity, frequency, and duration may help to improve understanding of the effect of grazing management on SOC stocks. Further exploration of the links between grazing management and above- and below-ground biomass, perhaps inferred through remote sensing and/or simulation modelling, may assist large-area mapping of SOC stocks in northern Australia. © CSIRO 2013.

The application of one health approaches to henipavirus research

Henipaviruses cause fatal infection in humans and domestic animals. Transmission from fruit bats, the wildlife reservoirs of henipaviruses, is putatively driven (at least in part) by anthropogenic changes that alter host ecology. Human and domestic animal fatalities occur regularly in Asia and Australia, but recent findings suggest henipaviruses are present in bats across the Old World tropics. We review the application of the One Health approach to henipavirus research in three locations: Australia, Malaysia and Bangladesh. We propose that by recognising and addressing the complex interaction among human, domestic animal and wildlife systems, research within the One Health paradigm will be more successful in mitigating future human and domestic animal deaths from henipavirus infection than alternative single-discipline approaches. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013.

The effect of pasture utilization rate on stocks of soil organic carbon and total nitrogen in a semi-arid tropical grassland

The influence of grazing management on total soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil total nitrogen (TN) in tropical grasslands is an issue of considerable ecological and economic interest. Here we have used linear mixed models to investigate the effect of grazing management on stocks of SOC and TN in the top 0.5 m of the soil profile. The study site was a long-term pasture utilization experiment, 26 years after the experiment was established for sheep grazing on native Mitchell grass (Astrebla spp.) pasture in northern Australia. The pasture utilization rates were between 0% (exclosure) and 80%, assessed visually. We found that a significant amount of TN had been lost from the top 0.1 m of the soil profile as a result of grazing, with 80% pasture utilization resulting in a loss of 84 kg ha−1 over the 26-year period. There was no significant effect of pasture utilization rate on TN when greater soil depths were considered. There was no significant effect of pasture utilization rate on stocks of SOC and soil particulate organic carbon (POC), or the C:N ratio at any depth; however, visual trends in the data suggested some agreement with the literature, whereby increased grazing pressure appeared to: (i) decrease SOC and POC stocks; and, (ii) increase the C:N ratio. Overall, the statistical power of the study was limited, and future research would benefit from a more comprehensive sampling scheme. Previous studies at the site have found that a pasture utilization rate of 30% is sustainable for grazing production on Mitchell grass; however, given our results, we conclude that N inputs (possibly through management of native N2-fixing pasture legumes) should be made for long-term maintenance of soil health, and pasture productivity, within this ecosystem.

Foliar, fruit and soilborne diseases.

This chapter provides an in-depth review of important diseases affecting avocado production throughout the world. The importance of understanding the interaction of plant pathogens with their avocado host in order for the development of disease management options is also discussed.

Grain sorghum proteomics: integrated approach toward characterization of endosperm storage proteins in kafirin allelic variants

Grain protein composition determines quality traits, such as value for food, feedstock, and biomaterials uses. The major storage proteins in sorghum are the prolamins, known as kafirins. Located primarily on the periphery of the protein bodies surrounding starch, cysteine-rich beta- and gamma-kafirins may limit enzymatic access to internally positioned alpha-kafirins and starch. An integrated approach was used to characterize sorghum with allelic variation at the kafirin loci to determine the effects of this genetic diversity on protein expression. Reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography and lab-on-a-chip analysis showed reductions in alcohol-soluble protein in beta-kafirin null lines. Gel-based separation and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry identified a range of redox active proteins affecting storage protein biochemistry. Thioredoxin, involved in the processing of proteins at germination, has reported impacts on grain digestibility and was differentially expressed across genotypes. Thus, redox states of endosperm proteins, of which kafirins are a subset, could affect quality traits in addition to the expression of proteins.

Strategic tillage in no-till farming systems in Australia’s northern grains-growing regions: II. Implications for agronomy, soil and environment

In semi-arid sub-tropical areas, a number of studies concerning no-till (NT) farming systems have demonstrated advantages in economic, environmental and soil quality aspects over conventional tillage (CT). However, adoption of continuous NT has contributed to the build-up of herbicide resistant weed populations, increased incidence of soil- and stubble-borne diseases, and stratification of nutrients and organic carbon near the soil surface. Some farmers often resort to an occasional strategic tillage (ST) to manage these problems of NT systems. However, farmers who practice strict NT systems are concerned that even one-time tillage may undo positive soil condition benefits of NT farming systems. We reviewed the pros and cons of the use of occasional ST in NT farming systems. Impacts of occasional ST on agronomy, soil and environment are site-specific and depend on many interacting soil, climatic and management conditions. Most studies conducted in North America and Europe suggest that introducing occasional ST in continuous NT farming systems could improve productivity and profitability in the short term; however in the long-term, the impact is negligible or may be negative. The short term impacts immediately following occasional ST on soil and environment include reduced protective cover, soil loss by erosion, increased runoff, loss of C and water, and reduced microbial activity with little or no detrimental impact in the long-term. A potential negative effect immediately following ST would be reduced plant available water which may result in unreliability of crop sowing in variable seasons. The occurrence of rainfall between the ST and sowing or immediately after the sowing is necessary to replenish soil water lost from the seed zone. Timing of ST is likely to be critical and must be balanced with optimising soil water prior to seeding. The impact of occasional ST varies with the tillage implement used; for example, inversion tillage using mouldboard tillage results in greater impacts as compared to chisel or disc. Opportunities for future research on occasional ST with the most commonly used implements such as tine and/or disc in Australia’s northern grains-growing region are presented in the context of agronomy, soil and the environment.

Critical point phenomena in the electrical resistivity of binary liquid systems: Cs2 + CH3CN and CS2 + CH3NO2

Electrical resistance measurements are reported on the binary liquid mixtures CS2 + CH3CN and CS2 + CH3NO2 with special reference to the critical region. Impurity conduction seems to be the dominant mechanism for charge transport. For the liquid mixture filled at the critical composition, the resistance of the system aboveT c follows the relationR=R c−A(T−T c) b withb=0·6±0·1. BelowT c the conductivities of the two phases obey a relation σ2−σ1=B(T c−T)β with β=0·34±0·02, the exponent of the transport coefficient being the same as the exponent of the order parameter, an equilibrium property.

Evaluation of mud filtrate clarification to improve factory performance

Clarification performance and flocculant dosage is strongly linked to the mud solids loading in the feed entering the clarifier. The recycle of filtrate can represent an extra ~10-15% mud solids loading on the clarifier, thereby reducing its effective capacity. Filtrate recycling may cause significant increase in turbidity, complexed calcium ion formation, phosphate, proteins and polysaccharides in mixed juice that impact on evaporator scale formation and molasses exhaustion. The paper details the results obtained from laboratory, pilot scale and factory trials of filtrate clarification using both sedimentation and flotation methods. Clarified filtrate could be produced of similar quality to ESJ. Filtrate clarification was able to significantly remove insoluble solids, turbidity, phosphate, and polysaccharides content with slight reductions in minerals content of the filtrate. On the basis of improved filtrate quality, the clarified filtrate could be directed to ESJ, instead of the normal practice of directing the mud filtrate to mixed juice. The potential impacts of implementing filtrate clarification are discussed in respect to improved performance and throughput of the clarification station.

The genetic associations of acute anterior uveitis and their overlap with the genetics of ankylosing spondylitis

Acute anterior uveitis (AAU) involves inflammation of the iris and ciliary body of the eye. It occurs both in isolation and as a complication of ankylosing spondylitis (AS). It is strongly associated with HLA-B*27, but previous studies have suggested that further genetic factors may confer additional risk. We sought to investigate this using the Illumina Exomechip microarray, to compare 1504 cases with AS and AAU, 1805 with AS but no AAU and 21 133 healthy controls. We also used a heterogeneity test to test the differences in effect size between AS with AAU and AS without AAU. In the analysis comparing AS+AAU+ cases versus controls, HLA-B*27 and HLA-A*02:01 were significantly associated with the presence of AAU (P<10−300 and P=6 × 10−8, respectively). Secondary independent association with PSORS1C3 (P=4.7 × 10−5) and TAP2 (P=1.1 × 10−5) were observed in the major histocompatibility complex. There was a new suggestive association with a low-frequency variant at zinc-finger protein 154 in the AS without AAU versus control analysis (zinc-finger protein 154 (ZNF154), P=2.2 × 10−6). Heterogeneity testing showed that rs30187 in ERAP1 has a larger effect on AAU compared with that in AS alone. These findings also suggest that variants in ERAP1 have a differential impact on the risk of AAU when compared with AS, and hence the genetic risk for AAU differs from AS.

Genome-wide association study of prostate cancer-specific survival

BACKGROUND: Unnecessary intervention and overtreatment of indolent disease are common challenges in clinical management of prostate cancer. Improved tools to distinguish lethal from indolent disease are critical. METHODS: We performed a genome-wide survival analysis of cause-specific death in 24,023 prostate cancer patients (3,513 disease-specific deaths) from the PRACTICAL and BPC3 consortia. Top findings were assessed for replication in a Norwegian cohort (CONOR). RESULTS: We observed no significant association between genetic variants and prostate cancer survival. CONCLUSIONS: Common genetic variants with large impact on prostate cancer survival were not observed in this study. IMPACT: Future studies should be designed for identification of rare variants with large effect sizes or common variants with small effect sizes.

New York Times Building

Manhattan gains another nocturnal landmark in the form of a new skyscraper, built for the well-established newspaper and featuring an illuminated façade. Architectual historian and lighting journalist Margaret Maile reports for us from New York.