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Effects Of Weather On Foraging Success And Hunting Frequency In Winter-Irruptive Snowy Owls (Bubo Scandiacus) In Upstate New York, Russell E. Winter, William M. Shields

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The effects of weather on an individual can often alter the population dynamics of a species. Knowledge of how weather influences individual behavior is therefore essential in understanding its full impact in the context of population ecology. Snowy Owls (Bubo scandiacus) exhibit expensive long-distance migrations in winters following population irruptions. During irruptive movements, many owls migrate past the southernmost extent of their traditional wintering grounds, the mechanism for which is still debated. We propose and test the “milder climate” hypothesis; Snowy Owls wintering in lower latitudes are better able to meet their metabolic demands due to higher temperatures …

Tracking The Racial Validity Of Placement By Probability, Annie M. Del Principe, Lesley Broder, Lauren Levesque

Publications and Research

Any placement decision is a gamble on the validity of the mech- anism used. The better the placement mechanism matches the actual pro- ficiencies required for success in a future, real-life context, the more accu- rately it will place students into the best classes for them and the more valid it will prove to be. But what happens if the most obvious, commonsensical approaches to placement that would appear to have the strongest validity— writing tests for placement into writing classes—prove unreliable? Rather than accurately placing students into the “right” class for them, we now know that writing placement tests …

Governing Science And Technology Under The International Economic Order: Regulatory Divergence And Convergence In The Age Of Megaregionals By Shin-Yi Peng, Han-Wei Liu And Ching-Fu Lin, Henry S. Gao, Weihuan Zhou

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Trade and technology have a long history of interdependence. It was the trade along the ancient silk road that helped to spread the technologies of China – such as paper-making, gun power, compass, and moveable type printing – to Europe. These technologies helped to launch the Renaissance, the Reformation, and the Great Discoveries, which in turn set in motion globalization as we know today. As we enter the third decade of the twenty-first century, the role of science and technology grows even stronger in international trade. For example, the advancement of information and communications technology (ICT) has greatly facilitated the …

Coronary 18f-Sodium Fluoride Pet Detects High-Risk Plaque Features On Optical Coherence Tomography And Ct-Angiography In Patients With Acute Coronary Syndrome, Kamran Majeed, Jamie W. Bellinge, Steele C. Butcher, Richard Alcock, Jon Spiro, David Playford, Graham S. Hillis, David E. Newby, Trevor A. Mori, Roslyn Francis, Carl J. Schultz

Medical Papers and Journal Articles

Background and aims: ¹⁸F-Sodium Fluoride Positron Emission Tomography (¹⁸F–NaF PET) non-invasively detects micro-calcification activity, the earliest stage of atherosclerotic arterial calcification. We studied the association between coronary ¹⁸F–NaF uptake and high-risk plaque features on intra-coronary optical coherence tomography (OCT) and CT-angiography (CTCA) and the potential application to patient-level risk stratification.

Methods: Sixty-two prospectively recruited patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) underwent multi-vessel OCT, ¹⁸F–NaF PET and CTCA. The maximum tissue to background ratio (TBRmax = standardised uptake value (SUV)max/SUVbloodpool) was measured in each coronary segment on ¹⁸F–NaF PET scans. High-risk plaque features on OCT …

Could "The Wonder Equation" Help Us To Be More Ethical? A Personal Reflection, Margaret Somerville

Medical Papers and Journal Articles

This is a personal reflection on what I have learnt as an academic, researching, teaching and participating in the public square in Bioethics for over four decades. I describe a helix metaphor for understanding the evolution of values and the current “culture wars” between “progressive” and “conservative” values adherents, the uncertainty people’s “mixed values packages” engender, and disagreement in prioritizing individual rights and the “common good”. I propose, as a way forward, that individual and collective experiences of “amazement, wonder and awe” have the power to enrich our lives, help us to find meaning and sometimes to bridge the secular/ …

Diagnosing Death 50 Years After The Harvard Brain Death Report, Francis J. O'Keeffe, George L. Mendz

Medical Papers and Journal Articles

More than 50 years after the publication of the Harvard Committee Report that sought to define death according to whole-brain function criteria, this document continues to generate a diversity of opinions regarding how death should be defined. The various perspectives show that doubts linger regarding when brain death should be diagnosed, the criteria to pinpoint the occurrence of death, and the alignment of medical practices seeking to establish human death with these criteria. This study reviews and assesses three perspectives that have made significant contributions to the debate. Attention is also given to definitions of death that depart from the …

Ejection Fraction And Mortality: A Nationwide Register-Based Cohort Study Of 499 153 Women And Men, Simon Stewart, David Playford, Gregory M. Scalia, Philip Currie, David S. Celermajer, David Prior, Jim Codde, Geoff Strange

Medical Papers and Journal Articles

Aims: We investigated the sex-based risk of mortality across the spectrum of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in a large cohort of patients in Australia.

Methods and results: Quantified levels of LVEF from 237 046 women (48.1%) and 256 109 men undergoing first-time, routine echocardiography (2000–2019) were linked to 119 232 deaths (median 5.6 years of follow-up). Overall, 17.6% of men vs. 8.3% of women had an LVEF P< 0.001] in women and 1.21 (95% CI 1.05–1.39; P = 0.008) in men. In women, an LVEF of 60.0–64.9% was also associated with a HR 1.33 (95% CI 1.16–1.52; P< 0.001) for cardiovascular-related mortality. These associations were most striking in women and men aged

Conclusions: Among patients investigated for suspected or established cardiovascular …

Essentials Of A New Clinical Practice Guidance On Familial Hypercholesterolaemia For Physicians, Gerald F. Watts, David R. Sullivan, David L. Hare, Karam M. Kostner, Ari E. Horton, Damon A. Bell, Tom Brett, Ronald J. Trent, Nicola K. Poplawski, Andrew Martin, Shubha Srinivasan, Robert N. Justo, Clara K. Chow, Jing Pang

Medical Papers and Journal Articles

Familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) is a common, heritable and preventable cause of premature coronary artery disease. New clinical practice recommendations are presented to assist practitioners in enhancing the care of all patients with FH. Core recommendations are made on the detection, diagnosis, assessment and management of adults, children and adolescents with FH. Management is under-pinned by the precepts of risk stratification, adherence to healthy lifestyles, treatment of non-cholesterol risk factors and appropriate use of low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol-lowering therapies including statins, ezetimibe and proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitors. The recommendations need to be utilised using judicious clinical judgement and shared …

Exported Plasmodial J Domain Protein, Pfe0055c, And Pfhsp70-X Form A Specific Co-Chaperone-Chaperone Partnership, Tanima Dutta, Harpreet Singh, Jason E. Gestwicki, Gregory L. Blatch

Medical Papers and Journal Articles

Plasmodium falciparum is a unicellular protozoan parasite and causative agent of a severe form of malaria in humans, accounting for very high worldwide fatality rates. At the molecular level, survival of the parasite within the human host is mediated by P. falciparum heat shock proteins (PfHsps) that provide protection during febrile episodes. The ATP-dependent chaperone activity of Hsp70 relies on the co-chaperone J domain protein (JDP), with which it forms a chaperone-co-chaperone complex. The exported P. falciparum JDP (PfJDP), PFA0660w, has been shown to stimulate the ATPase activity of the exported chaperone, PfHsp70-x. Furthermore, PFA0660w has been shown to associate …

Transfer Learning Artificial Intelligence For Automated Detection Of Atrial Fibrillation In Patients Undergoing Evaluation For Suspected Obstructive Sleep Apnoea: A Feasibility Study, Nestor Gahungu, Afsin Shariar, David Playford, Christopher Judkins, Eli Gabbay

Medical Papers and Journal Articles

Background: Individuals with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) experience a higher burden of atrial fibrillation (AF) than the general population, and many cases of AF remain undetected. We tested the feasibility of an artificial intelligence (AI) approach to opportunistic detection of AF from single-lead electrocardiograms (ECGs) which are routinely recorded during in-laboratory polysomnographic sleep studies.

Methods: Using transfer learning, an existing ECG AI model was applied to 1839 single-lead ECG traces recorded during in-laboratory sleep studies without any training of the algorithm. Manual review of all traces was performed by two trained clinicians who were blinded to each other's review. Discrepancies …

Examining The Potential For Coronary Artery Calcium (Cac) Scoring For Individuals At Low Cardiovascular Risk., David Playford, Christian Hamilton-Craig, Girish Dwivedi, Gemma Figtree

Medical Papers and Journal Articles

Atherosclerosis is the commonest cause of death in Australia. Cardiovascular (CV) risk calculators have an important role in preventative cardiology, although they are are strongly age-dependent and designed to identify individuals at high risk of an imminent event. The imprecision around “intermediate” or “low” risk generates therapeutic uncertainty, and a significant proportion of patients presenting with myocardial infarction come from these groups, often with no warning. This highlights a conundrum: “Low” risk does not mean “no” risk.

A fresh approach may be required to address the clinical conundrum around CV preventative approaches in non-high-risk individuals. While probabilistic calculators do not …

The Impact Of Device-Assisted Therapies On The Gut Microbiome In Parkinson's Disease, Michal Lubomski, Xiangnan Xu, Andrew J. Holmes, Jean Y.H. Yang, Carolyn M. Sue, Ryan L. Davis

Medical Papers and Journal Articles

Background: Microbiome feedbacks are proposed to influence Parkinson’s disease (PD) pathophysiology. A number of studies have evaluated the impact of oral medication on the gut microbiome (GM) in PD. However, the influence of PD device-assisted therapies (DATs) on the GM remains to be investigated.

Objectives: To profile acute gut microbial community alterations in response to PD DAT initiation.

Methods: Clinical data and stool samples were collected from 21 PD patients initiating either deep brain stimulation (DBS) or levodopa–carbidopa intestinal gel (LCIG) and ten spousal healthy control (HC) subjects. 16S amplicon sequencing of stool DNA enabled comparison of …

Transhumanist Genetic Enhancement: Creation Of A 'New Man' Through Technological Innovation, George Mendz, Michael Cook

Medical Papers and Journal Articles

The transhumanist project of reshaping human beings by promoting their improvement through technological innovations has a broad agenda. This study focuses on the enhancement of the human organism through genetic modification techniques. Transhumanism values and a discussion of their philosophical background provide a framework to understand its ideals. Genetics and ethics are employed to assess the claims of the transhumanist program of human enhancement. A succinct description of central concepts in genetics and an explanation of current techniques to edit the human genome serve to assess the capabilities and limitations of editing techniques. Potential benefits and liabilities of human enhancement …

Posthumanism: Creation Of 'New Men' Through Technological Innovation, George L. Mendz, Michael Cook

Medical Papers and Journal Articles

he posthumanist project proposes directing the evolution of human beings by promoting their improvement through technological means to create a variety of entities that will have few or no common characteristics with current humans. Its agenda is extremely broad and this study mostly addresses enhancement of the human organism through genetic modification techniques. An overview of posthumanist values and a brief discussion of its philosophical background provide a framework to understand its ideals. Genetics and ethics are employed to assess some claims of the posthumanist program of creating evolved humans; in particular, the capabilities and limitations of techniques for somatic …

Behavioural Phenotyping Of Thunder Mice With A Hypomorphic Mutation Of Heterogeneous Nuclear Ribonuclear Protein L-Like (Hnrnpll) And Reduced T Cell Function, Maarten Van Den Buuse, Paul Halley, Gerard Hoyne

Medical Papers and Journal Articles

Heterogeneous nuclear ribonuclear protein l-like (hnRNPLL) is an RNA binding protein that regulates alternative splicing of mRNA and is abundantly expressed in memory T lymphocytes of the immune system and in the brain. A hypomorphic allele of the gene encoding hnRNPLL (Hnrpllthunder) selectively reduces T cell accumulation in lymphoid tissues, but little is known about its effects in the brain. Therefore, we exposed Hnrpllthunder mice to a test battery with relevance for a range of psychiatric illnesses. Thunder mice showed enhanced immobility in the tail-suspension test for depression-related behaviours, impaired short-term spatial memory in the Y-maze and reduced …

Incident Aortic Stenosis In 49 449 Men And 42 229 Women Investigated With Routine Echocardiography, Simon Stewart, Yih-Kai Chan, David Playford, Geoffrey Strange

Medical Papers and Journal Articles

Objective

We addressed the paucity of data describing the characteristics and consequences of incident aortic stenosis (AS).

Methods

Adults undergoing echocardiography with a native aortic valve (AV) and no AS were studied. Subsequent age-specific and sex-specific incidence of AS were derived from echocardiograms conducted a median of 2.8 years apart. Progressive AV dysfunction and individually linked mortality were examined per AS category.

Results

49 449 men (53.9%, 60.9±15.8 years) and 42 229 women (61.6±16.9 years) with no initial evidence of AS were identified. Subsequently, 6293 (6.9%) developed AS—comprising 5170 (5.6%), 636 (0.7%), 339 (0.4%) and 148 (0.2%) cases of mild, …

Combining External Beam Radiation And Radionuclide Therapies: Rationale, Radiobiology, Results And Roadblocks, E M. Abbott, N Falzone, Nat P. Lenzo, K A. Vallis

Medical Papers and Journal Articles

The emergence of effective radionuclide therapeutics, such as radium-223 dichloride, [¹⁷⁷Lu]Lu-DOTA-TATE and [¹⁷⁷Lu]Lu-PSMA ligands, over the last 10 years is driving a rapid expansion in molecular radiotherapy (MRT) research. Clinical trials that are underway will help to define optimal dosing protocols and identify groups of patients who are likely to benefit from this form of treatment. Clinical investigations are also being conducted to combine new MRT agents with other anticancer drugs, with particular emphasis on DNA repair inhibitors and immunotherapeutics. In this review, the case is presented for combining MRT with external beam radiotherapy (EBRT). The …

Breast Density Notification: A Systematic Review Of The Impact On Primary Care Practitioners, Brooke Nickel, Tessa Copp, Meagan Brennan, Rachel Farber, Kirsten Mccaffery, Nehmat Houssami

Medical Papers and Journal Articles

Background: In the last decade, there has been an unprecedented amount of advocacy and attention surrounding the issue of breast density (BD) in relation to mammography screening. It is largely unknown what impact notifying women of their BD has had on clinical practice for PCPs. This systematic review aimed to synthesize evidence from existing studies to understand the impact of BD notification on primary care practitioners' (PCPs) knowledge, attitudes, and practice implications.

Methods: Empirical studies were identified through relevant database searches (database inception to May 2020). Two authors evaluated the eligibility of studies, extracted and crosschecked data, and assessed the …

Breast Density Notification: Evidence On Whether Benefit Outweighs Harm Is Required To Inform Future Screening Practice, Brooke Nickel, Rachel Farber, Meagan Brennan, Jolyn Hersch, Kirsten Mccaffery, Nehmat Houssami

Medical Papers and Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Status Reports Of The Fisheries And Aquatic Resources Of Western Australia 2019/20. State Of The Fisheries, Daniel J. Gaughan, K. Santoro

Status Reports of the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources

The Status Reports of the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources of Western Australia (SRFAR) provide an annual update on the state of the fish stocks and other aquatic resources of Western Australia (WA). These reports outline the most recent assessments of the cumulative risk status for each of the aquatic resources (assets) within WA’s six Bioregions using an Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management (EBFM) approach.

Status Reports Of The Fisheries And Aquatic Resources Of Western Australia 2020/21, S.J. Newman, B.S. Wise, K.G. Santoro, D.J. Gaughan

Status Reports of the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources

The Status Reports of the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources of Western Australia (SRFAR) provide an annual update on the state of the fish stocks and other aquatic resources of Western Australia (WA). These reports outline the most recent assessments of the cumulative risk status for each of the aquatic resources (assets) within WA’s six Bioregions using an Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management (EBFM) approach. The Departments’ risk based EBFM framework is the State government’s basis for management of all Western Australia’s aquatic resources.

Modulators Of Change-Of-Direction Economy After Repeated Sprints In Elite Soccer Players, Filippo Dolci, Andrew E. Kilding, Tania Spiteri, Paola Chivers, Ben Piggott, Andrew Maiorana, Nicolas H. Hart

IHR Papers and Journal Articles

Purpose: To investigate the acute effect of repeated-sprint activity (RSA) on change-of-direction economy (assessed using shuttle running economy [SRE]) in soccer players and explore neuromuscular and cardiorespiratory characteristics that may modulate this effect.

Methods: Eleven young elite male soccer players (18.5 [1.4] y old) were tested on 2 different days during a 2-week period in their preseason. On day 1, lower-body stiffness, power and force were assessed via countermovement jumps, followed by an incremental treadmill test to exhaustion to measure maximal aerobic capacity. On day 2, 2 SRE tests were performed before and after a repeated-sprint protocol with …

A Prospective Pilot Study Of The Energy Balance Profiles In Acute Non-Severe Burn Patients, Tyler Osborne, Dale Edgar, Paul Gittings, Fiona Wood, Thomas Le Huray, Brodie Allan, Brendan R. Scott, Bradley Wall

IHR Papers and Journal Articles

Background:Major burn patients have been shown to exhibit a hyper-metabolic state of activity which can persist for up to two years after burn. The relationship between total body surface area (TBSA) and resting metabolic rate (RMR) has been investigated in larger burns (≥20% TBSA), however not in non-severe burns (≤15% TBSA). The primary aim of this observational study was to examine the association between the acute effects of burns

Methods: The study included data from 39 participants (82% male), all admitted to the State Adult Burn Unit at Fiona Stanley Hospital. Each patient was recruited upon admission and RMR …

Influence Of Age And Maturation Status On Sprint Acceleration Characteristics In Junior Australian Football, Toby Edwards, Jonathon Weakley, Harry G. Banyard, Ashley Cripps, Benjamin Piggott, G. Gregory Haff, Christopher Joyce

Health Sciences Papers and Journal Articles

This study aimed to investigate the influence of chronological age and maturation status on sprint acceleration characteristics in junior Australian football (AF) players. Biological maturity of 109 subjects was assessed and subjects were grouped according to predicted years from peak height velocity (PHV) (pre-, mid-, and post-PHV) and chronological age (13 years, 14 years, and 15 years). A one-way multivariate analysis of variance and magnitude-based decisions were used to determine between-group differences. Instantaneous velocity was measured during two maximal 30m sprints via radar gun with the velocity-time data used to derive the force, velocity, and power characteristics. Chronologically, the greatest …

Microbial Contaminants In Wild Harvested And Traded Edible Long-Horned Grasshopper, Ruspolia Differens (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae) In Uganda, S. Labu, S. Subramanian, F. M. Khamis, P. Akite, P. Kasangaki, M. Chemurot, C. M. Tanga, F. L.O. Ombura, J. P. Egonyu

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

This study investigated the relative abundance and identity of microbial contaminants of the edible long-horned grasshopper (Ruspolia differens) harvested from the wild and traded in informal markets in Uganda, to reveal high health risk points. Raw samples of whole R. differens were collected from wild vegetation, trapping sites and markets. Additionally, samples of plucked and deep-fried ready-to-eat R. differens were collected from the markets. The samples were cultured on standard media for microbial quantification, and pure cultures were characterised using molecular techniques. Bacterial and fungal counts in deep fried ready-to-eat R. differens were ~3 and 2-fold lower, respectively, than in …

Black Soldier Fly Larval Meal In Feed Enhances Growth Performance, Carcass Yield And Meat Quality Of Finishing Pigs, S. Y. Chia, C. M. Tanga, I. M. Osuga, A. O. Alaru, D. M. Mwangi, M. Githinji, T. Dubois, S. Ekesi, J. J.A. Van Loon, M. Dicke

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Using black soldier fly (BSF, Hermetia illucens) larvae as a novel protein source substituting fishmeal (FM) in animal feeds is globally gaining momentum. BSF can be reared on agro-industrial residues. However, incorporating BSF larval meal (BSFLM) into finisher pig diets has received inadequate attention. This study evaluated the effects of replacing dietary FM with BSFLM on growth, carcass traits and meat quality of finisher pigs. A control diet (including FM: 0% BSFLM) was compared with four dietary levels of replacement of FM with BSFLM at 25, 50, 75 or 100%. Forty hybrid pigs (crossbreeds of purebred Large White and Landrace) …

Prevalence Of Asymptomatic P. Falciparum Gametocyte Carriage Among School Children In Mbita, Western Kenya And Assessment Of The Association Between Gametocyte Density, Multiplicity Of Infection And Mosquito Infection Prevalence., Victor A. Mobegi, Jeremy K. Herren, Abdoulie O. Touray, Fred Wamunyokoli, Hellen Butungi

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Background: Asymptomatic Plasmodium falciparum gametocyte carriers are reservoirs for sustaining transmission in malaria endemic regions. Gametocyte presence in the host peripheral blood is a predictor of capacity to transmit malaria. However, it does not always directly translate to mosquito infectivity. Factors that affect mosquito infectivity include, gametocyte sex-ratio and density, multiplicity of infection (MOI), and host and vector anti-parasite immunity. We assess the prevalence of gametocyte carriage and some of its associated risk factors among asymptomatic schoolchildren in Western Kenya and to further analyse the association between gametocyte density, multiplicity of infection (MOI) and mosquito infection prevalence. Methods: P. falciparum …

Τhe Complete Mitochondrial Genomes Of Ceratitis Rosa And Ceratitis Quilicii, Members Of The Ceratitis Far Species Complex (Diptera: Tephritidae), Elena Drosopoulou, Aristi Damaskou, Angeliki Markou, Sunday Ekesi, Fathiya Khamis, Aruna Manrakhan, Antonios A. Augustinos, George Tsiamis, Kostas Bourtzis

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Ceratitis FAR is an African species complex comprising insect pests of great economic interest and obscure species limits. Here, we report the mitochondrial genomes of two members of the FAR complex, namely Ceratitis rosa and the recently characterized Ceratitis quilicii. A phylogenetic analysis based on PCGs of available Tephritidae mitogenomes is presented. The current mitochondrial sequences from the FAR complex could contribute toward the resolution of phylogenetic relationships and species limits within this taxonomically challenging group, which is also an important issue for the development of environment-friendly and species-specific control methods, such as the sterile insect technique (SIT).

Cocoyam (Colocasia Esculenta) Provides An Effective Monoxenic Culture Media For Radopholus Similis, Celestine A. Oduori, Janet Atandi, James Kisaakye, Danny Coyne

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

The burrowing nematode, Radopholus similis, is the most economically important nematode parasite of bananas, in addition to parasitising a range of other crops (Coyne & Kidane, 2018). Weakened, infected roots result in poor plant development and they are less able to provide anchorage to banana plants, which can lead to toppling of the entire plant. To enable research activities, such as resistance screening and efficacy studies, a readily available supply of inoculum is required for timely use in experiments. O’Bannon & Taylor (1968) developed the sterile carrot disc technique for the monoxenic culture of R. similis to support such routine …

Revisiting The Modified Baermann Extraction Method: Extraction Efficiency Of Radopholus Similis Using Different Extraction Materials, Kanan Saikai, Situma Wanjala, Celestine Oduori, Danny Coyne

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

In order to determine the threat that plant-parasitic nematodes pose to crop production, it is essential to establish an accurate estimation of their presence. The extraction efficiency from soil, therefore, is a critical step in establishing disease pressures presented by nematodes or the conditions of soil health. To achieve high nematode extraction efficiency, various methods and modifications have been developed over time (Oostenbrink, 1954; Seinhorst, 1956; Harrison & Green, 1976; Viaene et al., 2021) with variations being introduced locally, depending on the availability or access to certain materials. The simple extraction method was conceived and introduced by Baermann (1917), with …