Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

A Small Cohort Omega-3 Pufa Supplement Study: Implications Of Stratifying According To Lipid Membrane Incorporation In Cardiac Surgical Patients, Wendy T. K Ip, Chanchal Chandramouli, Julian A. Smith, Peter L. Mclennan, Salvatore Pepe, Lea M. D Delbridge

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Background: Epidemiological studies and randomised clinical trials (RCTs) report disparate findings in relation to omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) benefit for cardiac patients. With RCTs interpretation is potentially confounded by background n-3 PUFA intake. The goal of this pilot, small cohort, pre-surgical supplementation study was to evaluate post-operative atrial fibrillation (AF) and cardiac molecular expression profiles employing two data analysis approaches - by treatment randomisation and by stratification using measured n-3 PUFA. Methods: Patients (n=20) received 3g/day of fish or placebo oil (FO vs PO) in a double blind randomised protocol prior to elective coronary artery graft and valve …

Identifying Metabolic Syndrome In A Clinical Cohort: Implications For Prevention Of Chronic Disease, Allison Martin, Elizabeth Neale, Marijka Batterham, Linda C. Tapsell

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

In the clinical setting, calculating cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk is commonplace but the utility of the harmonised equation for metabolic syndrome (MetS) (Alberti et al., 2009) is less well established. The aims of this study were to apply this equation to an overweight clinical cohort to identify risk factors for being metabolically unhealthy and explore associations with chronic disease. Baseline data were analysed from a lifestyle intervention trial of Illawarra residents recruited in 2014/2015. Participants were aged 25–54 years with a BMI 25–40 kg/m2. Data included MetS, CVD risk, insulin sensitivity, weight, body fat, diet, peripheral artery disease (PAD), physical …

Aligning And Synchronization Of Mis5 Proxy Records From Lake Ohrid (Fyrom) With Independently Dated Mediterranean Archives: Implications For Deep Core Chronology, Giovanni Zanchetta, Eleonora Regattieri, Biagio Giaccio, Bernd Wagner, Roberto Sulpizio, Alexander Francke, Hendrik Vogel, Laura Sadori, Alessia Masi, Gaia Sinopoli

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

The DEEP site sediment sequence obtained during the ICDP SCOPSCO project at Lake Ohrid was dated using tephrostratigraphic information, cyclostratigraphy, and orbital tuning through the marine isotope stages (MIS) 15-1. Although this approach is suitable for the generation of a general chronological framework of the long succession, it is insufficient to resolve more detailed palaeoclimatological questions, such as leads and lags of climate events between marine and terrestrial records or between different regions. Here, we demonstrate how the use of different tie points can affect cyclostratigraphy and orbital tuning for the period between ca. 140 and 70 ka and how …

Comparative Mt Genomics Of The Tipuloidea (Diptera: Nematocera: Tipulomorpha) And Its Implications For The Phylogeny Of The Tipulomorpha, Xiao Zhang, Zehui Kang, Meng Mao, Xuankun Li, Stephen L. Cameron, Herman De Jong, Mengqing Wang, Ding Yang

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

A traditionally controversial taxon, the Tipulomorpha has been frequently discussed with respect to both its familial composition and relationships with other Nematocera. The interpretation of internal relationships within the Tipuloidea, which include the Tipulidae sensu stricto, Cylindrotomidae, Pediciidae and Limoniidae, is also problematic. We sequenced the first complete mitochondrial (mt) genome of Symplecta hybrida (Meigen, 1804), which belongs to the subfamily Chioneinae of family Limoniidae, and another five nearly complete mt genomes from the Tipuloidea. We did a comparative analysis of these mt genomics and used them, along with some other representatives of the Nematocera to construct phylogenetic trees. Trees …

Reappraisal Of Uranium-Series Isotope Data In Kamchatka Lavas: Implications For Continental Arc Magma Genesis, Anthony Dosseto, Simon Turner

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Uranium-series isotopes can be used to determine constraints on the timescale of slab dehydration and melt production at subduction zones. However, interpretations of U–Th–Ra data suggest very different timescales of slab dehydration. Here, we present new U–Th–Ra data from Kamchatka along with a number of alternative models for production of radioactive disequilibrium. Variations in (226Ra/230Th) and (231Pa/235U) activity ratios are best explained by crystal fractionation with host rock assimilation for a duration of less than c. 6000 years. The association of the largest 226Ra excesses with high Sr/Th in the most primitive lavas suggests that Ra–Th fractionation is controlled by …

Cross Sectional Survey Of Human-Bat Interaction In Australia: Public Health Implications, Beverley J. Paterson, Michelle T. Butler, Keith Eastwood, Patrick M. Cashman, Alison Jones, David N. Durrheim

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Background Flying foxes (megachiroptera) and insectivorous microbats (microchiroptera) are the known reservoirs for a range of recently emerged, highly pathogenic viruses. In Australia there is public health concern relating to bats' role as reservoirs of Australian Bat Lyssavirus (ABLV), which has clinical features identical to classical rabies. Three deaths from ABLV have occurred in Australia. A survey was conducted to determine the frequency of bat exposures amongst adults in Australia's most populous state, New South Wales; explore reasons for handling bats; examine reported practices upon encountering injured or trapped bats or experiencing bat bites or scratches; and investigate knowledge of …

Trace Elements And Metal Pollution In Aerosols At An Alpine Site, New Zealand: Sources, Concentrations And Implications, Samuel K. Marx, Karen S. Lavin, Kimberly J. Hageman, Balz S. Kamber, Tadhg O'Loingsigh, Grant H. Mctainsh

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Atmospheric aerosol samples were collected at a remote site in New Zealand's Southern Alps. Collected samples were found to be a mixture of New Zealand and Australian sourced sediment, using their trace element signatures. Aerosol concentrations and the relative contribution of different sources was found to be a function of specific air-mass trajectories influencing the study site, dust entrainment rates in source areas and rainfall. Results show that Australian dust is a major source of particulate matter in New Zealand, particularly in remote alpine locations; however, locally derived dust is also important. Metal pollutants, including Pb, Cu and Sn, were …

The Significance And Vulnerability Of Australian Saltmarshes: Implications For Management In A Changing Climate, Neil Saintilan, Kerrylee Rogers

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

We review the distribution, status and ecology of Australian saltmarshes and the mechanisms whereby enhanced atmospheric carbon dioxide and associated climate change have influenced and will influence the provision of ecosystem goods and services. Research in temperate and subtropical saltmarsh has demonstrated important trophic contributions to estuarine fisheries, mediated by the synchronised mass-spawning of crabs, which feed predominantly on the C-4 saltmarsh grass Sporobolus virginicus and microphytobenthos. Saltmarshes also provide unique feeding and habitat opportunities for several species of threatened microbats and birds, including migratory shorebirds. Saltmarshes increased in extent relative to mangrove in Australia in both tide- and wave-dominated …

Middle Carboniferous-Early Triassic Eclogite-Blueschist Blocks Within A Serpentinite Mélange At Port Macquarie, Eastern Australia: Implications For The Evolution Of Gondwana's Eastern Margin, Allen P. Nutman, Solomon Buckman, Hiroshi Hidaka, Tomoyuki Kamiichi, Elena Belousova, Jonathan Aitchison

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

The New England Orogen of easternmost Australia is dominated by suites of Palaeozoic to earliest Mesozoic rocks that formed in supra-subduction zone settings at Gondwana's eastern margin. On the northern New South Wales coast at Rocky Beach, Port Macquarie, a serpentinite mélange carries rare tectonic blocks of low-grade, high-pressure, metamorphic rocks derived from sedimentary and igneous protoliths. Dominant assemblages are glaucophane. +. phengite. ±. garnet. ±. lawsonite. ±. calcite. ±. albite blueschists and lawsonite-bearing retrogressed garnet. +. omphacite eclogites. In some blocks with sedimentary protoliths, eclogite forms folded layers within the blueschists, which is interpreted as Mn/(Mn. +. Fe) compositional …

Micro-Biomechanics Of The Kebara 2 Hyoid And Its Implications For Speech In Neanderthals, Ruggero D'Anastasio, Stephen Wroe, Claudio Tuniz, Lucia Mancini, Deneb T. Cesana, Diego Dreossi, Mayoorendra Ravichandiran, Marie Attard, William C. H Parr, Anne Agur, Luigi Capasso

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

The description of a Neanderthal hyoid from Kebara Cave (Israel) in 1989 fuelled scientific debate on the evolution of speech and complex language. Gross anatomy of the Kebara 2 hyoid differs little from that of modern humans. However, whether Homo neanderthalensis could use speech or complex language remains controversial. Similarity in overall shape does not necessarily demonstrate that the Kebara 2 hyoid was used in the same way as that of Homo sapiens. The mechanical performance of whole bones is partly controlled by internal trabecular geometries, regulated by bone-remodelling in response to the forces applied. Here we show that the …

Streptokinase Variants From Streptococcus Pyogenes Isolates Display Altered Plasminogen Activation Characteristics - Implications For Pathogenesis, Simon M. Cook, Amanda Skora, Christine M. Gillen, Mark J. Walker, Jason D. Mcarthur

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Streptococcus pyogenes (group A streptococcus, GAS) secretes streptokinase, a potent plasminogen activating protein. Among GAS isolates, streptokinase gene sequences (ska) are polymorphic and can be grouped into two distinct sequence clusters (termed cluster type-1 and cluster type-2) with cluster type-2 being further divided into sub-clusters type-2a and type-2b. In this study, far-UV circular dichroism spectroscopy indicated that purified streptokinase variants of each type displayed similar secondary structure. Type-2b streptokinase variants could not generate an active site in Glu-plasminogen through non-proteolytic mechanisms while all other variants had this capability. Furthermore, when compared with other streptokinase variants, type-2b variants displayed a 29- …

Dietary Docosahexaenoic Acid (22:6) Incorporates Into Cardiolipin At The Expense Of Linoleic Acid (18:2): Analysis And Potential Implications, Colin Cortie, Paul L. Else

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Cardiolipin is a signature phospholipid of major functional significance in mitochondria. In heart mitochondria the fatty acid composition of cardiolipin is commonly viewed as highly regulated due to its high levels of linoleic acid (18:2n − 6) and the dominant presence of a 4×18:2 molecular species. However, analysis of data from a comprehensive compilation of studies reporting changes in fatty acid composition of cardiolipin in heart and liver mitochondria in response to dietary fat shows that, in heart the accrual of 18:2 into cardiolipin conforms strongly to its dietary availability at up to 20% of total dietary fatty acid and …

Will Climate Severity Ever Lead To Climate Action? Implications For Adaptation Policy And Practice, Bastian Seidel, Erica Bell

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

No abstract provided.

Rapid Regolith Formation Over Volcanic Bedrock And Implications For Landscape Evolution, Anthony Dosseto, Heather L. Buss, P O Suresh

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

The ability to quantify how fast weathering profiles develop is crucial to assessing soil resource depletion and quantifying how landscapes evolve over millennia. Uranium-series isotopes can be used to determine the age of the weathering front throughout a profile and to infer estimates of regolith production rates, because the abundance of U-series isotopes in a weathering profile is a function of chemical weathering and time. This technique is applied to a weathering profile in Puerto Rico developed over a volcaniclastic bedrock. U-series isotope compositions are modelled, revealing that it takes 40–60 kyr to develop an 18 m-thick profile. This is …

Re-Creating The Rural, Reconstructing Nature: An International Literature Review Of The Environmental Implications Of Amenity Migration, Jesse B. Abrams, Hannah Gosnell, Nicholas J. Gill, Peter J. Klepeis

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

The term 'amenity migration' describes a broad diversity of patterns of human movement to rural places in search of particular lifestyle attributes. This review of international literature, drawn from the authors' own prior research and searches on relevant databases, synthesises findings on the implications of amenity migration for the creation and distribution of environmental harms and benefits. Further, we critique common framings of amenity migration-related environmental transformations and offer suggestions for future research. Analysis is positioned within a review of five common themes reflected in the cases we consider: land subdivision and residential development; changes in private land use; cross-boundary …

Variation In Seagrass Biomass Estimates In Low And High Density Settings: Implications For The Selection Of Sample Size, Mustafa K. Hossain, Kerrylee Rogers, Neil Saintilan

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Few seagrass biomass monitoring studies have considered the adequacy of monitoring intensity in their design. Power analysis is now widely used in ecological monitoring to determine sample size (replication) and the power (probability of not making a Type II error) of the monitoring design to detect change (effect size). We investigated seasonal variation of above-ground biomass of Zostera species at Woolooware Bay, Botany Bay, NSW and Ukerebagh Channel, Tweed River, NSW to show that seagrass biomass varies significantly between sites and seasonally. By conducting preliminary power analysis at each study site we found that our sampling design would only detect …

Casualisation Of The Teaching Workforce: Implications For Nursing Education, Elizabeth J. Halcomb, Sharon Andrew, Kath Peters, Yenna Salamonson, Debra Jackson

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Internationally, nursing faculty shortages have been reported and there is a potential for them to worsen into the next decade as existing faculty age. To, in part, address this issue, across disciplines there is clearly an international trend towards the increasing casualisation of the higher education workforce. Despite the potential impact of this two-tiered workforce structure, there has been limited examination of the discipline specific issues related to the employment of a growing number of sessional nursing staff. This paper provides a critical review of the literature related to the employment of sessional teachers in higher education. The paper advances …

Characterizing The Litter In Postfire Environments: Implications For Seedling Recruitment, Andrew J. Denham, Robert Whelan, Tony D. Auld

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Litter accumulation after fire influences the magnitude of seed predation and seed germination. How litter accumulation and patchiness influence postfire seedling recruitment is poorly known. Species with persistent seed banks have seeds available for germination in the immediate postfire period. In contrast, plants with transient seed banks must flower after fire to place seeds in the postfire habitat. In southeastern Australian sclerophyll forests, most seedling recruitment occurs within 3 yr after fire. We found that less litter had accumulated in sites mass, including some species with very light seeds. In contrast, the seed mass of transient seed bank species is …

Fgf-2 Counteracts Loss Of Tgfβ Affected Cells From Rat Lens Explants: Implications For Pco (After Cataract), Kylie Mansfield, Anna Cerra, Coral Chamberlain

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Purpose: While cataract surgery initially benefits most patients, many suffer secondary loss of vision because of posterior capsule opacification (PCO). Lens epithelial cells left behind at surgery become aberrant and migrate into the light path. TGF-beta (TGFβ) appears to play a key role in this process by inducing the cells to undergo an epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Paradoxically, it also typically induces them to undergo apoptotic death. The present study was undertaken to investigate the hypothesis that FGF plays a role in PCO formation by promoting the survival of abnormal cells with PCO-like characteristics.

Methods: Rat lens epithelial explants were cultured for …