An evaluation of the culture performance of two Macrobrachium species in Vanuatu: the exotic M. rosenbergii and the indigenous M. lar

Fisheries and aquaculture are important for food security, income generation and are critical to long term sustainability of many countries. Freshwater prawns have been harvested in the streams and creeks in Vanuatu, however due to over-exploitation catches have declined in recent years. To satisfy high demand for this product, Vanuatu government intends to establish economically viable small-scale aquaculture industries. The current project showed that wild Macrobrachium lar in Vanuatu constitute a single population for management purposes and that M. rosenbergii grows much faster than M. lar in simple pond grow-out systems, hence is a better species for culture in Vanuatu.

Developing sustainable fish farming in the Western Pacific : a viewpoint on potential reasons for why many attempts failed

Capture fisheries and aquaculture have been a major source of food and providers of economic benefits to many communities around the world for a very long time. While the history of aquaculture or fish farming can be traced back for more than 2000 years in some corners of the globe, notably in China, Japan and the Mediterranean, this is not true everywhere, where in general, fish farming is a relatively new industry. Rapid human population growth and increasing urbanisation over the last 20 to 40 years has meant that while fish consumption has doubled globally, returns from capture fisheries have remained static or have declined due to overexploitation and rising pollution levels, with some fisheries either closing or becoming economically unviable. Data from studies suggest that this trend is unlikely to be reversed unless appropriate fisheries management allows depleted wild stocks to rebuild. This has occurred during a time when demand for fish products has grown, in part due to improved purchasing power in some developing countries and changing dietary habits where fish are now considered to have a positive impact on health. Based on the projected population growth over the next two decades, Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) estimates that at least an additional 40 million tonnes of aquatic food will be required to maintain the current per capita consumption (FAO 2006).

Correlates of sedentary behaviours in preschool children : a review

Background Sedentary behaviour has been linked with a number of health outcomes. Preschool-aged children spend significant proportions of their day engaged in sedentary behaviours. Research into the correlates of sedentary behaviours in the preschool population is an emerging field, with most research being published since 2002. Reviews on correlates of sedentary behaviours which include preschool children have previously been published; however, none have reported results specific to the preschool population. This paper reviews articles reporting on correlates of sedentary behaviour in preschool children published between 1993 and 2009. Methods A literature search was undertaken to identify articles which examined correlates of sedentary behaviours in preschool children. Articles were retrieved and evaluated in 2008 and 2009. Results Twenty-nine studies were identified which met the inclusion criteria. From those studies, 63 potential correlates were identified. Television viewing was the most commonly examined sedentary behaviour. Findings from the review suggest that child's sex was not associated with television viewing and had an indeterminate association with sedentary behaviour as measured by accelerometry. Age, body mass index, parental education and race had an indeterminate association with television viewing, and outdoor playtime had no association with television viewing. The remaining 57 potential correlates had been investigated too infrequently to be able to draw robust conclusions about associations. Conclusions The correlates of preschool children's sedentary behaviours are multi-dimensional and not well established. Further research is required to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the influences on preschool children's sedentary behaviours to better inform the development of interventions.

Using the Event Analysis of Systemic Teamwork (EAST) to explore conflict between different road user groups when making right hand turns at urban intersections

Collisions between different types of road users at intersections form a substantial component of the road toll. This paper presents an analysis of driver, cyclist, motorcyclist and pedestrian behaviour at intersections that involved the application of an integrated suite of ergonomics methods, the Event Analysis of Systemic Teamwork (EAST) framework, to on-road study data. EAST was used to analyse behaviour at three intersections using data derived from an on-road study of driver, cyclist, motorcyclist and pedestrian behaviour. The analysis shows the differences in behaviour and cognition across the different road user groups and pinpoints instances where this may be creating conflicts between different road users. The role of intersection design in creating these differences in behaviour and resulting conflicts is discussed. It is concluded that currently intersections are not designed in a way that supports behaviour across the four forms of road user studied. Interventions designed to improve intersection safety are discussed.

The effects of geochemical conditions on the establishment and growth of mangrove seedlings in acid sulfate soil environments

Acid sulfate soils (ASS) is a stress factor that is responsible for the failure of some mangrove restoration projects, including abandoned aquaculture ponds converted from mangrove ecosystems. Through experimental and field studies, this research provides a better understanding of the biogeochemistry of ASS disturbance and the response of mangrove seedlings (Rhizophoraceae) under high metal levels and acidic conditions. This study found that mangrove restorations under ASS disturbance can work but with lower numbers of survived seedlings. To prevent toxicity under high levels of metal, seedlings retained metals in their roots and sparingly distributed them into aerial parts with low mobility. The presence of high levels of potential acidity parameters would allow pyrite to oxidise, thus increasing metal levels and acidity, which in turn affected the survival and growth of the seedlings.

A review of preschool children's physical activity and sedentary time using objective measures

CONTEXT: Identifying current physical activity levels and sedentary time of preschool children is important for informing government policy and community initiatives. This paper reviewed studies reporting on physical activity and time spent sedentary among preschool-aged children (2-5 years) using objective measures. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: Databases were searched for studies published up to and including April 2013 that reported on, or enabled the calculation of, the proportion of time preschool children spent sedentary and in light- and moderate to vigorous-intensity physical activity. A total of 40 publications met the inclusion criteria for physical activity and 31 met the inclusion criteria for sedentary time. Objective measures included ActiGraph, Actiwatch, Actical, Actiheart, and RT3 accelerometers, direct observation, and Quantum XL telemetry heart rate monitoring. Data were analyzed in May 2013. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: Considerable variation in prevalence estimates existed. The proportion of time children spent sedentary ranged from 34% to 94%. The time spent in light-intensity physical activity and moderate to vigorous-intensity physical activity ranged from 4% to 33% and 2% to 41%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The considerable variation of prevalence estimates makes it difficult to determine the "true" prevalence of physical activity and sedentary time in preschool children. Future research should aim to reduce inconsistencies in the employed methodologies to better understand preschoolers' physical activity levels and sedentary behavior.

Resistance to amoebic gill disease (AGD) is characterised by the transcriptional dysregulation of immune and cell cycle pathways

Amoebic gill disease (AGD) is a parasite-mediated proliferative gill disease capable of affecting a range of teleost hosts. While a moderate heritability for AGD resistance in Atlantic salmon has been reported previously, the mechanisms by which individuals resist the proliferative effects remain poorly understood. To gain more knowledge of this commercially important trait, we compared gill transcriptomes of two groups of Atlantic salmon, one designated putatively resistant, and one designated putatively susceptible to AGD. Utilising a 17k Atlantic salmon cDNA microarray we identified 196 transcripts that were differentially expressed between the two groups. Expression of 11 transcripts were further examined with real-time quantitative RT-PCR (qPCR) in the AGD-resistant and AGD-susceptible animals, as well as non-infected naïve fish. Gene expression determined by qPCR was in strong agreement with the microarray analysis. A large number of differentially expressed genes were involved in immune and cell cycle responses. Resistant individuals displayed significantly higher expression of genes involved in adaptive immunity and negative regulation of the cell cycle. In contrast, AGD-susceptible individuals showed higher expression of acute phase proteins and positive regulators of the cell cycle. Combined with the gill histopathology, our results suggest AGD resistance is acquired rather than innately present, and that this resistance is for the most part associated with the dysregulation of immune and cell cycle pathways. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The nature of errors made by drivers [Austroads Publication no: AP-R378-11]

It is important that we understand the factors and conditions that shape driver behaviour – those conditions within the road transport system that contribute to driver error and the situations where driver non-compliance to road regulations is likely. This report presents the findings derived from a program of research investigating the nature of errors made by drivers, involving a literature review and an on-road study. The review indicates that, despite significant investigation, the role of different error types in road traffic crashes remains unclear, as does the role of the wider road transport system failures in driver error causation.

The role of human factors in led outdoor activity accidents: literature review and exploratory analysis

While the exact rate of incidence is unknown (due to the paucity of exposure data), it is acknowledged that safety compromising accidents and incidents occur in the led outdoor activity domain, and that they represent an important issue. Despite this, compared to other safety critical domains, very little is currently known about the key causal factors involved in such accidents and incidents. This report presents the findings derived from a review of the literature, the aim of which was to identify the Human Factors-related issues involved in accidents and incidents occurring in this area. In addition, to demonstrate the utility of systems-based, theoretically underpinned accident analysis methodologies for identifying the systemic and human contribution to accidents and incidents occurring in the led outdoor activity domain, three case-study accidents were analysed using two such approaches. In conclusion, the review identified a range of causal factors cited in the literature; however, it was noted that the majority of the research undertaken to date lacks theoretical underpinning and focuses mainly on instructor or activity leader causal factors, as opposed to the wider system failures involved. The accident analysis presented highlighted the utility of systems-based, theoretically underpinned accident analysis methodologies for analysing and learning from accidents and incidents in the led outdoor activity sector. In closing, the need for further research in the area is articulated, in particular focussing on the development of standardised and universally accepted accident and incident reporting systems and databases, the development of data driven, theoretically underpinned causal factor taxonomies, and the development and application of systems-based accident analysis methodologies.

Using the WWW to teach undergraduate nurses clinical communication

On-line learning is increasingly being used in nursing education. Nevertheless, there is still insufficient evidence to demonstrate: whether students respond positively when this form of learning is used to teach relatively practical or clinical subjects; whether it is effective; and whether it is fair to students with less access to, or familiarity with, computers and the internet. In 2003, an on-line Unit on clinical communication was developed for Australian undergraduate nurses in partnership between an Australian School of Nursing and the a Department of Clinical Psychology. Students were overwhelmingly positive in their evaluation of the Unit although some regretted the lack of face-to-face contact with tutors and peers. The best aspects of the Unit included the content and structure being perceived as interesting, fun and informative, the relevance of the material for them as nurses, flexibility to work independently, promotion of critical thinking and gaining an understanding of client issues. Neither their evaluation nor their final grades were related to students’ age or whether they preferred on-line or traditional learning. Students who had readily available computer access, however, had better final grades. Also, students’ grades were correlated with how often they accessed the Unit.

Dewatering of microalgal culture for biodiesel production : exploring polymer flocculation and tangential flow filtration

Background: Conventional biodiesel production relies on trans-esterification of lipids extracted from vegetable crops. However, the use of valuable vegetable food stocks as raw material for biodiesel production makes it an unfeasibly expensive process. Used cooking oil is a finite resource and requires extra downstream processing, which affects the amount of biodiesel that can be produced and the economics of the process. Lipids extracted from microalgae are considered an alternative raw material for biodiesel production. This is primarily due to the fast growth rate of these species in a simple aquaculture environment. However, the dilute nature of microalgae culture puts a huge economic burden on the dewatering process especially on an industrial scale. This current study explores the performance and economic viability of chemical flocculation and tangential flow filtration (TFF) for the dewatering of Tetraselmis suecicamicroalgae culture. Results: Results show that TFF concentrates the microalgae feedstock up to 148 times by consuming 2.06 kWh m-3 of energy while flocculation consumes 14.81 kWhm-3 to concentrate the microalgae up to 357 times. Economic evaluation demonstrates that even though TFF has higher initial capital investment than polymer flocculation, the payback period for TFF at the upper extreme ofmicroalgae revenue is ∼1.5 years while that of flocculation is ∼3 years. Conclusion: These results illustrate that improved dewatering levels can be achieved more economically by employing TFF. The performances of these two techniques are also compared with other dewatering techniques.

History, status and future of Australia's native Sydney rock oyster industry

The Sydney rock oyster (Saccostrea glomerata) (SRO) is an oyster species that only occurs in estuaries along Australia's east coast. The SRO industry evolved from commercial gathering of oyster in the 1790s to a high production volume aquaculture industry in the 1970s. However, since the late 1970s the SRO industry has experienced a significant and continuous decline in production quantities and the industry's future commercial viably appears to be uncertain. The aim of this study was to review the history and the status of the SRO industry and to discuss the potential future prospects of this industry. This study summarised findings of the existing literature about the industry and defined development stages of the industry. Particular focus was put on the more recent development within the industry (1980s-present) which has not been covered adequately in the existing literature. The finding from this study revealed that major issues of the industry are linked to the management of prevailing diseases, the handling of water quality impairments from increasing coastal development, increasing competition from Australia's Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) industry and the current socio-economic profile of the industry. The study also found that policy makers are currently confronted by the dilemma of saving a "dying art". Findings from this industry review may be vital for current and future fisheries managers and stakeholders as a basis for reviewing industry management and development strategies. This review may also be of interest for other aquaculture industries and fisheries who are dealing with similar challenges as the SRO industry.

Socio-economic determinants for industry development : the case of Australia’s Sydney rock oyster industry

Socio-economic characteristics such as age, gender, educational attainment, employment status, and income contain vital information about how an industry may respond to changing circumstances, and hence are of importance to decision makers. While some socio-economic studies exist, relatively little attention has been given to fishery and aquaculture industries in regards to their socio-economic profiles and their role in the development prospects of these industries. In this study, by way of example, we focus on Australia’s Sydney rock oyster (Saccostrea glomerata) (SRO) industry. The aim of this study was identify the socio-economic profile of the SRO industry and to illustrate the value of such information for an industry management assessment. The SRO industry has experienced a major decrease in production volume since the late 1970 and continues to be affected by prevailing diseases and increasing market competition from Australia’s Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) industry. It is likely that socio-economic aspects have influenced this development within the SRO industry. The socio-economic profile was developed using data from a SRO industry farm survey which was undertaken in 2012. Findings suggested that this industry is characterised by a mature aged oyster farmer population and a part-time oyster farming approach. These characteristics may affect the farmers’ ability to drive innovation and growth. The results also suggested that there may be potential industry entry barriers present in the SRO industry which may prevent younger people taking up oyster farming. Given the results, the study concluded that the current socio-economic profile of the industry has likely contributed to the present economic status quo of the industry.