Fluorescent labelling of strychnine: A novel approach for recognition of strychnine binding sites on neuronal membrane

trychnine was coupled to fluorescein isothiocyanate to mark strychnine binding sites in spinal cord of rat. Specific binding of strychnine could be demonstrated in synaptosomal fraction. Addition of glycine to the strychninised membrane led to a decrease in fluorescence indicating same receptor loci.

Comparison of sampling sites and detection methods for Haemophilus parasuis

Objective To improve the isolation rate and identification procedures for Haemophilus parasuis from pig tissues. Design Thirteen sampling sites and up to three methods were used to confirm the presence of H. parasuis in pigs after experimental challenge. Procedure Colostrum-deprived, naturally farrowed pigs were challenged intratracheally with H parasuis serovar 12 or 4. Samples taken during necropsy were either inoculated onto culture plates, processed directly for PCR or enriched prior to being processed for PCR. The recovery of H parasuis from different sampling sites and using different sampling methods was compared for each serovar. Results H parasuis was recovered from several sample sites for all serovar 12 challenged pigs, while the trachea was the only positive site for all pigs following serovar 4 challenge. The method of solid medium culture of swabs, and confirmation of the identity of cultured bacteria by PCR, resulted in 38% and 14% more positive results on a site basis for serovars 12 and 4, retrospectively, than direct PCR on the swabs. This difference was significant in the serovar 12 challenge. Conclusion Conventional culture proved to be more effective in detecting H parasuis than direct PCR or PCR on enrichment broths. For subacute (serovar 4) infections, the most successful sites for culture or direct PCR were pleural fluid, peritoneal fibrin and fluid, lung and pericardial fluid. For acute (serovar 12) infections, the best sites were lung, heart blood, affected joints and brain. The methodologies and key sampling sites identified in this study will enable improved isolation of H parasuis and aid the diagnosis of Glässer's disease.

Fostering interpersonal trust on social media: Physicians' perspectives and experiences

Background The problem of developing and sustaining mutual trust is one of the main barriers to knowledge sharing on social media platforms such as blogs, wikis, micro-blogs and social networking websites. While many studies argue that mutual trust is necessary for online communication and knowledge sharing, few have actually explored and demonstrated how physicians can establish and sustain trusted relationships on social media. Objectives To identify approaches through which physicians establish interpersonal trust on social media. Methods Twenty-four physicians, who were active users of social media, were interviewed using a semi-structured approach between 2013 and 2014. Snowball sampling was employed for participant recruitment. The data were analysed using a thematic analysis approach. Results Physicians trust their peers on social media in a slightly different way than in face-to-face communication. The study found that the majority of participants established trust on social media mainly through previous personal interaction, authenticity and relevancy of voice, professional standing, consistency of communication, peer recommendation, and non-anonymous and moderated sites. Conclusions Healthcare professionals need to approach social media carefully when using it for knowledge sharing, networking and developing trusted relations with like-minded peers.

Selecting replacements for invasive plants to support frugivores in highly modified sites: a case study focusing on Lantana camara

Invasive plants are regarded as a major threat to biodiversity worldwide. Yet, in some cases, invasive plants now perform important ecological functions. For example, fleshy-fruited invasive plants provide food that supports indigenous frugivore populations. How can the disparate goals of conservation versus invasive weed control be managed? We suggest using the fruit characteristics of the invasive plant to select replacement indigenous plants that are functionally similar from the perspective of frugivores. These could provide replacement food resources at sites where plants with these characteristics are part of the goal plant community and where such plants would not otherwise regenerate. Replacement plants could also redirect seed dispersal processes to favour indigenous, rather than invasive, plant species. We investigated the utility of this approach by ranking all indigenous fleshy-fruited plant species from a region using a simple model that scored species based upon measures of fruit phenology, morphology, conspicuousness and accessibility relative to a target invasive species, Lantana (Lantana camara). The model successfully produced high scores for indigenous plant species that were used by more of the frugivores of Lantana than a random selection of plants, suggesting that this approach warrants further investigation.

Enabling people to ‘see what they can be’… The Community Aspirations Program (CAP-ED)

The Community Aspirations Program in Education (CAP-ED) was delivered by CQUniversity’s Office of Indigenous Engagement to increase Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander student participation in higher education. CAP-ED was developed through scoping studies of six individual communities within the CQuniversity footprint, including a designated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community and rural and regional communities. The scoping process included developing community profiles and extensive consultation with Traditional Owners, Elders, community members and key stakeholders. This process proved to be an essential component of CAP-ED’s success, resulting in Indigenous participation in the program’s networking lunches, through to the delivery of information and workshop sessions. Moreover, it witnessed engagement with people in communities as partners in the program’s delivery and co-presenters in workshops and other events. The CAP-ED workshops focus on identity, culture, aspirations and assist participants to see that they have the potential to participate in higher education. The other essential components of the program’s success have included enabling people to ‘see what they can be’, offering opportunities for people to ask questions, voice honest concerns, and build confidence. The flexibility of delivery was paramount in accommodating the varying needs of each community and the differences in cultural protocols and community approaches, while the face to face engagement between knowledgeable and skilled staff and community members proved to be vital. Over the life of the project, CAP-ED has developed into a broad based strategy that has successfully matched community needs and university based responses through the process of community engagement.

Producer Demonstration Sites (PDS) coordination and delivery

Producer Demonstration Site (PDS) - Funding to accommodate the establishment of 14 PDS sites over 3 years. Implementation of PDS to increase research adoption and practice change in Queensland.

Probing into the role of conserved N-glycosylation sites in the Tyrosinase glycoprotein family

N-linked glycosylation has a profound effect on the proper folding, oligomerization and stability of glycoproteins. These glycans impart many properties to proteins that may be important for their proper functioning, besides having a tendency to exert a chaperone-like effect on them. Certain glycosylation sites in a protein however, are more important than other sites for their function and stability. It has been observed that some N-glycosylation sites are conserved over families of glycoproteins over evolution, one such being the tyrosinase related protein family. The role of these conserved N-glycosylation sites in their trafficking, sorting, stability and activity has been examined here. By scrutinizing the different glycosylation sites on this family of glycoproteins it was inferred that different sites in the same family of polypeptides can perform distinct functions and conserved sites across the paralogues may perform diverse functions.

Technical Advice Tully Cane Demo Farm Sites

Provision of technical advice for Tully cane demo farm sites as part of the Paddock-scale monitoring in the Wet Tropics Natural Resource Management region.

Evaluation of polymorphisms in predicted target sites for micro RNAs differentially expressed in endometriosis

Previous microarray analyses identified 22 microRNAs (miRNAs) differentially expressed in paired ectopic and eutopic endometrium of women with and without endometriosis. To investigate further the role of these miRNAs in women with endometriosis, we conducted an association study aiming to explore the relationship between endometriosis risk and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in miRNA target sites for these differentially expressed miRNAs. A panel of 102 SNPs in the predicted miRNA binding sites were evaluated for an endometriosis association study and an ingenuity pathway analysis was performed. Fourteen rare variants were identified in this study. We found SNP rs14647 in the Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome candidate gene1 (WHSC1) 3'UTR (untranslated region) was associated with endometriosis-related infertility presenting an odds ratio of 12.2 (95% confidence interval = 2.4-60.7, P = 9.03 x 10(-5)). SNP haplotype AGG in the solute carrier family 22, member 23 (SLC22A23) 3'UTR was associated with endometriosis-related infertility and more severe disease. With the individual genotyping data, ingenuity pathways analysis identified the tumour necrosis factor and cyclin-dependant kinase inhibitor as major factors in the molecular pathways. Significant associations between WHSC1 alleles and endometriosis-related infertility and SLC22A23 haplotypes and the disease severe stage were identified. These findings may help focus future research on subphenotypes of this disease. Replication studies in independent large sample sets to confirm and characterize the involvement of the gene variation in the pathogenesis of endometriosis are needed.

Remote management technologies: Producer demonstration sites Roma region

Technology demonstration sites for remote water management for Roma region.

Prediction of bubble growth rates and departure volumes in nucleate boiling at isolated sites

A model has been developed to predict heat transfer rates and sizes of bubbles generated during nucleate pool boiling. This model assumes conduction and a natural convective heat transfer mechanism through the liquid layer under the bubble and transient conduction from the bulk liquid. The temperature of the bulk liquid in the vicinity of the bubble is obtained by assuming a turbulent natural convection process from the hot plate to the liquid bulk. The shape of the bubble is obtained by equilibrium analysis. The bubble departure condition is predicted by a force balance equation. Good agreement has been found between the bubble radii predicted by the present theory and the ones obtained experimentally.

Soil hydrological properties and conditions, site preparation, and the long-term performance of planted Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) on upland forest sites in Finnish Lapland

Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) forests dominate in Finnish Lapland. The need to study the effect of both soil factors and site preparation on the performance of planted Scots pine has increased due to the problems encountered in reforestation, especially on mesic and moist, formerly spruce-dominated sites. The present thesis examines soil hydrological properties and conditions, and effect of site preparation on them on 10 pine- and 10 spruce-dominated upland forest sites. Finally, the effects of both the site preparation and reforestation methods, and soil hydrology on the long-term performance of planted Scots pine are summarized. The results showed that pine and spruce sites differ significantly in their soil physical properties. Under field capacity or wetter soil moisture conditions, planted pines presumably suffer from excessive soil water and poor soil aeration on most of the originally spruce sites, but not on the pine sites. The results also suggested that site preparation affects the soil-water regime and thus prerequisites for forest growth over two decades after site preparation. High variation in the survival and mean height of planted pine was found. The study suggested that on spruce sites, pine survival is the lowest on sites that dry out slowly after rainfall events, and that height growth is the fastest on soils that reach favourable aeration conditions for root growth soon after saturation, and/or where the average air-filled porosity near field capacity is large enough for good root growth. Survival, but not mean height can be enhanced by employing intensive site preparation methods on spruce sites. On coarser-textured pine sites, site preparation methods don t affect survival, but methods affecting soil fertility, such as prescribed burning and ploughing, seem to enhance the height growth of planted Scots pines over several decades. The use of soil water content in situ as the sole criterion for sites suitable for pine reforestation was tested and found to be a relatively uncertain parameter. The thesis identified new potential soil variables, which should be tested using other data in the future.

Patterns of seed bank and size asymmetry of plant growth across varying sites in the invasive Lantana camara L. (Verbenaceae)

Lantana camara L. (Verbenaceae) is a weed of great significance in Australia and worldwide, but little is known about connections among components of its life history. We document over a 3-year period, the links between L. camara seed-bank dynamics and its above-ground growth, including size asymmetry in four land-use types (a farm, a hoop pine plantation and two open eucalypt forests) invaded by the weed near Brisbane, Queensland Australia. Seed-bank populations varied appreciably across sites and in response to rainfall and control measures, and they were higher (~1,000 seeds/m2) when annual rainfall was 15-30 % below the long-term yearly average. Fire reduced seed-bank populations but not the proportion germinating (6-8 %). Nearly a quarter of fresh seeds remain germinable after 3 years of soil burial. For small seedlings (<10 cm high), the expected trade-offs in two life-history traits-survival and growth-did not apply; rather the observed positive association between these two traits, coupled with a persistent seed-bank population could contribute to the invasiveness of the plant. Relationships between absolute growth rate and initial plant size (crown volume) were positively linear, suggesting that most populations are still at varying stages of the exponential phase of the sigmoid growth; this trend also suggests that at most sites and despite increasing stand density and limiting environmental resources of light and soil moisture, lantana growth is inversely size asymmetric. From the observed changes in measures of plant size inequality, asymmetric competition appeared limited in all the infestations surveyed. © 2013 Crown Copyright as represented by: Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Australia.

Resting sites, edge effects and dispersion of a polyphagous Bactrocera fruit fly within crops of different architecture

The spot or strip application of poisoned protein bait is a lure-and-kill technique used for the management of fruit flies. Knowledge of where flies occur in the crop environment is an important part of maximizing the efficacy of this tool. Bactrocera tryoni is a polyphagous pest of horticulture for which very little is known about its distribution within crops. With particular reference to edge effects, we monitored the abundance of B. tryoni in two crops of different architecture; strawberry and apple. In strawberries, we found more flies on the crop edge early in the fruiting season, which lessened gradually and eventually disappeared as the season progressed. In apple orchards, no such edge effect was observed and flies were found equally throughout the orchard. We postulated these differences may be due to differences in crop height (high vs. short) and/or crop canopy architecture (opened and branched in apple, dense and closed in strawberry). In a field cage trial, we tested these predictions using artificial plants of different height and canopy condition. Height and canopy structure type had no significant effects on fly oviposition and protein feeding, but the ‘apple’ type canopy significantly influenced resting. We thus postulate that there was an edge effect in strawberry because the crop was not providing resting sites and flies were doing so in vegetation around the field margins. The finding that B. tryoni shows different resting site preferences based on plant architecture offers the potential for strategic manipulation of the fly through specific border or inter-row plantings.