38869 research outputs found
Sort by
Infection of western gray kangaroos (Macropus fuliginosus) with Australian arboviruses associated with human infection.
No full textTaylor-Robinson, AW ORCiD: 0000-0001-7342-8348More than 75 arboviruses (arthropod-borne viruses) have been identified in Australia. While Alfuy virus (ALFV), Barmah Forest virus (BFV), Edge Hill virus (EHV), Kokobera virus (KOKV), Murray Valley encephalitis virus (MVEV), Sindbis virus (SINV), Ross River virus (RRV), Stratford virus (STRV), and West Nile virus strain Kunjin (KUNV) have been associated with human infection, there remains a paucity of data regarding their respective transmission cycles and any potential nonhuman vertebrate hosts. It is likely that these viruses are maintained in zoonotic cycles involving native animals rather than solely by human-to-human transmission. A serosurvey (n = 100) was undertaken to determine the prevalence of neutralizing antibodies against a panel of Australian arboviruses in western gray kangaroos (Macropus fuliginosus) obtained from 11 locations in the midwest to southwest of Western Australia. Neutralizing antibodies against RRV were detected in 25%, against BFV in 14%, and antibodies to both viruses in 34% of serum samples. The prevalence of antibodies against these two viruses was the same in males and females, but higher in adult than in subadult kangaroos (p < 0.05). Twenty-one percent of samples had neutralizing antibodies against any one or more of the flaviviruses ALFV, EHV, KOKV, MVEV, and STRV. No neutralizing antibodies against SINV and KUNV were detected. If this sample of kangaroo sera was representative of the broader Australian population of macropods, it suggests that they are common hosts for RRV and BFV. The absence or low seroprevalence of antibodies against the remaining arboviruses suggests that they are not prevalent in the region or that kangaroos are not commonly infected with them. The detection of neutralizing antibodies to MVEV requires further investigation as this virus has not been identified previously so far south in Western Australia
Carrageenans from the red seaweed Sarconema filiforme attenuate symptoms of diet-induced metabolic syndrome in rats
No full textdu Preez, R ORCiD: 0000-0003-2164-0819Carrageenans are thickening and gelling agents that may provide health benefits. Iota (ι)-carrageenan, a linear sulfated polysaccharide, is produced by the red seaweed, Sarconema filiforme. This study investigated the potential of this seaweed as a functional food for the reversal of metabolic syndrome and possible mechanisms. Male Wistar rats were divided into four groups in a 16-week protocol: corn starch diet-fed rats (C); C rats supplemented with 5% S. filiforme for the last 8 weeks (CSF); high-carbohydrate, high-fat diet-fed rats (H); and H rats supplemented with 5% S. filiforme for the last 8 weeks (HSF). S. filiforme was produced in tank-based aquaculture yielding 27 g dry weight/day/m2 of culture area. H rats developed obesity, hypertension, dyslipidaemia, glucose intolerance, fatty liver and increased left ventricular collagen deposition. S. filiforme supplementation decreased body weight, abdominal and liver fat, systolic blood pressure, plasma total cholesterol concentrations, and plasma activities of alanine transaminase and aspartate transaminase. S. filiforme supplementation modulated gut microbiota without changing the Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes ratio. S. filiforme improved symptoms of high-carbohydrate, high-fat diet-induced metabolic syndrome in rats. Possible mechanisms include a reduced infiltration of inflammatory cells into organs as well as prebiotic actions in the gastrointestinal tract.</jats:p
Antioxidative properties and macrochemical composition of five commercial mungbean varieties in Australia
No full textChandra, SS ORCiD: 0000-0002-4257-5860; Johnson, JB ORCiD: 0000-0002-9172-8587; Naiker, M ORCiD: 0000-0002-6844-8325; Power, A ORCiD: 0000-0002-7119-8486Mungbeans are growing in popularity among Australian consumers, driven by theirbeneficial nutritional and phytochemical composition. However, data on theantioxidative, mineral, and phytochemical content of Australian mungbeans at thepoint of consumer purchase remains scarce. Here, five commercial mungbean sam-ples were analysed for total antioxidant capacity, total phenolics, and total mono-meric anthocyanins. Attenuated total reflectance midinfrared spectroscopy wasutilised as a rapid and reliable method of obtaining information about the mac-rochemical composition of the mungbean hulls. Total antioxidant capacity rangedfrom 170 to 570 mg Trolox equivalents per 100 g, total phenolic content from130 to 240 mg gallic acid equivalents per 100 g, and anthocyanin content from 10 to40 mg cyanidin-3-glucoside equivalents per 100 g. There was a significant differencebetween varieties in all measures of antioxidant, phenolic and anthocyanin contents.Using principal component analysis, the midinfrared spectra for the five mungbeanvarieties could be isolated, highlighting the differences in their phytochemical compo-sition. In general, whole Australian mungbeans appear to have the highest antioxi-dant, phenolic, and anthocyanin contents. Midinfrared spectroscopy appears to be avaluable method of obtaining and comparing the macrochemical composition ofmungbeans. This technology is likely to be of increasing use in the future
"Monkey see, monkey do, that’s not going to actually teach you": Becoming a self-directed learner in enabling mathematics units
No full textMann, GE ORCiD: 0000-0001-8257-2958; Willans, JA ORCiD: 0000-0002-8539-0057To explore the mathematics learning experiences of those more likely to come from non-traditional educational backgrounds, ten students studying one or two maths units in the Skills for Tertiary Education Preparatory Studies (STEPS) at CQUniversity Australia were interviewed. The aim was to investigate how these students learnt to become self-directed learners during their preparation for their intended undergraduate study. Using grounded theory methodology, data were analysed within the theoretical framework of andragogy, namely, adult learning. Analysis of data indicated that students were able to learn how to become self-directed learners when lecturers ‘tailored’ teaching to the students’ needs, taking into consideration their state of mind, ability to plan their work, developing adeptness at engaging in mathematical activities, and assistance received in evaluating their own learning outcomes. In practice, findings of this study provide some insight into how enabling mathematics lecturers can tailor activities to best meet the needs of their students. Further, the development of self-directed learning skills in the context of mathematics has potential to benefit these students in all their university study
Parallel computing of wheel-rail contact
No full textCole, CR ORCiD: 0000-0001-8840-7136; Spiryagin, M ORCiD: 0000-0003-1197-898X; Wu, Q ORCiD: 0000-0001-9407-5617Railway wheel–rail contact simulations are the most important and time-consuming tasks when simulating the system dynamics of vehicles. Parallel computing is a good approach for improving the numerical computing speed. This paper reports the advances in parallel computing of the wheel–rail contact simulations. The proposed method uses OpenMP to parallelise the multiple contact points of all the wheel–rail interfaces of a locomotive model. The method has been implemented in the vehicle system dynamics simulation package GENSYS. Simulations were conducted using two numerical solvers (4th Runge-Kutta and HeunC) and a maximum of four computer cores. Simulation cases have shown exactly the same numerical results using serial computing and parallel computing, which prove the effectiveness of the parallel computing method. The HeunC solver achieved the same simulation results and is 3.5 times faster than the 4th Runge-Kutta method. Simulation results obtained from both numerical solvers show that parallel computing using 2, 3 and 4 computer cores can improve the simulation speeds by roughly 29, 39 and 41%, respectively. There is an apparent diminishing of the rate of improvement due to the increase of the communication resource overhead when more computer cores are used. Using up to four computer cores does not require revision of the GENSYS code, and simulations can be executed using personal computers. © IMechE 2019
Performance, emission and combustion characteristics of a diesel engine powered by macadamia and grapeseed biodiesels
No full textAzad, M ORCiD: 0000-0001-8258-6057; Rasul, M ORCiD: 0000-0001-8159-1321Biodiesel is an alternative, eco-friendly and renewable source of energy. It can be produced from a wide range of feedstocks which can be grown in marginal land use. It has drawn more attention to the researchers. In this study, the oil extraction, biodiesel conversion, and physiochemical properties of Macadamia (Macadamia integrifolia) and Grapeseed (Vitis vinifera) biodiesels are presented. The experimental investigation of diesel engine performance, emissions and combustion characteristics were conducted using B5 (5% biodiesel and 95% diesel by volume) and B10 (10% biodiesel and 90% diesel by volume) blends. The engine performance parameters, such as brake power (BP), brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC), and brake thermal efficiency (BTE) have been investigated in this experiment. The emission parameters, for example, carbon monoxide (CO), the ratio of CO2/CO, nitrogen oxide (NOx), hydrocarbon (HC), particulate matter (PM) have been measured during the experiment. Finally, the combustion parameters such as cylinder pressure (CP) were recorded, and heat release rate (HRR) was analysed and compared with that of diesel fuel. The study revealed that the Macadamia biodiesel performed better than Grapeseed biodiesel and behaved closely to that of diesel fuel. A significant reduction of engine emissions was found in the case of Macadamia biodiesel with a minimal reduction of engine performance. Further analysis of energy, exergy and tribological characteristics of the Macadamia biodiesel is recommended for assessing its feasibility for commercial application
Tropical foods as functional foods for metabolic syndrome
No full textdu Preez, R ORCiD: 0000-0003-2164-0819Tropical foods are an integral part of the traditional diet and form part of traditional medicine in many countries. This review examines the potential of tropical foods to treat signs of metabolic syndrome, defined as a chronic low-grade inflammation leading to obesity, hypertension, impaired glucose tolerance, insulin resistance, dyslipidaemia and fatty liver. It is a major risk factor for cardiovascular and metabolic disease as well as osteoarthritis and some cancers. Tropical foods such as seaweeds and tropical fruits including indigenous fruits such as Davidson's plums are effective in reducing these signs of metabolic syndrome in rats, as well as reducing degeneration of bone cartilage and altering gut microbiome. Further, waste products from tropical fruits including mangosteen rind, coffee pulp and spent coffee grounds provide further options to reduce metabolic syndrome. Production of local tropical foods and local recovery of food waste from these foods could allow the development of commercial, sustainable and cost-effective functional foods in tropical countries. The aim is to develop these functional foods to reduce the incidence of metabolic syndrome and decrease the risk of costly chronic cardiovascular and metabolic disorders locally and globally
Measuring reproductive traits in tropical beef cattle breeds: Implications for genetic evaluation
No full textCorbet, NJ ORCiD: 0000-0002-7468-2177Reproduction in beef cattle herds is a key driver of productivity and profitability of beef enterprises. Improving the efficiency of reproduction is necessary to keep pace with an increasing global demand for animal protein. Grazing lands across northern Australia, however, comprise large areas of relatively lowly productive land-types with hot, dry climates and unpredictable seasonal rainfall. The challenge for many north Australian beef enterprises is to improve reproduction in the tropically adapted beef breeds grazed extensively in these regions.
Environmental factors influenced by climate and herd management practices account for a proportion of the variation in reproduction rate, but underlying genetic factors also explain individual animal differences. Industry-wide genetic improvement of herd reproductive performance has generally been slow, mainly due to perceptions of low heritability, late expression of the trait and difficulty in capturing the necessary joining and calving data. However, selection line experiments in research herds have demonstrated genetic improvement in pregnancy rates of 3% to 5% per annum in tropically adapted breeds. Likely contributors to the genetic differences seen in selected animals are the higher heritability of component traits of reproduction and genetic correlation of these component traits with reproductive performance.
This study incorporates a series of experiments conducted across 9 years and reports moderate to high heritability of reproductive component traits. The traits studied included age at puberty and post-partum anoestrus in females; and scrotal circumference and percent morphologically normal sperm in males. In addition, the study reports moderate genetic correlation between these key component traits and lifetime reproduction. The estimated genetic parameters indicate that selection for genetic improvement of these attributes of reproduction, in conjunction with sound breeder-herd management, offers a sustainable solution to the challenge of improving reproductive efficiency in north Australian herds.
The perceived challenge of data collection required for genetic evaluation, however, remains a barrier to the adoption of genetic improvement strategies by north Australian beef producers. With the aim of refining and automating data collection, the final two experiments report on the use of ultrasound scanning, on-animal devices and radio-frequency identification sequence through walk-over-weigh systems to autonomously record behavioural oestrus and predict time of conception in post-partum cows. Further detailed studies are required, but on-animal devices could potentially provide a suite of technologies to help reduce the challenge of recording and formatting data. Coupled with data handling software platforms, these technologies could provide beef producers with the necessary information on individual animals to more readily develop strategies for genetic improvement of reproductive efficiency
The birth charter for women in prisons in Australia
No full textBaldwin, AE ORCiD: 0000-0002-6325-4142; Capper, TS ORCiD: 0000-0003-3464-1423; Ferguson, B ORCiD: 0000-0002-7440-3609; Harvey, CL ORCiD: 0000-0001-9016-8840; Mainey, LJ ORCiD: 0000-0003-1438-8061The Australian Birth Charter aims to adapt the guidelines from the original Birth Charter for pregnant women in prisons in England and Wales (developed by Birth Companions UK) to the Australian context. The Australian Birth Charter for pregnant women in prison will provide a set of guidelines for best practice within which care for incarcerated pregnant
women should be provided. This Australian Birth Charter sets out our
recommendations for improving the care of pregnant women and their babies while they are in prison. At the same time, we (the authors) welcome input from all stakeholders to contribute to the improvement of the experiences of pregnant women and new mothers in prison. For the pregnant women and new mothers who remain in prison, we believe that, as per Birth Companions’ original intent, implementing an Australian Birth Charter is now more critical than ever
Submission in response to discussion paper 87: Corporate responsibility
No full textPrice, LA ORCiD: 0000-0003-2286-4881A response to the ALRC's Review Into Australia’s Corporate Criminal Responsibility Regime
Discussion paper: https://www.alrc.gov.au/publication/discussion-paper-87