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Joint Ventures
No full text[Extract] The term ‘joint venture’ is not a technical one with a settled common law meaning. It connotes an association of persons for the purposes of a particular trading, commercial, mining or other financial undertaking or endeavour with a view to mutual profit, with each participant usually, but not necessarily, contributing money, property or skill
Characterisation of the gut microbiome and surveillance of antibiotic resistance genes in green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas)
No full textGreen sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) are globally endangered marine herbivores that maintain the health of seagrass and coastal ecosystems. Their populations are declining due to human activities, including environmental pollution, which can disrupt gut microbial communities and compromise nutrition, immunity, and overall health. In this study, cloacal swabs from 139 green sea turtles categorised as captive juveniles, captive adults and wild stranded animals in the Gulf of Thailand, were analysed via shotgun metagenomic sequencing to elucidate bacterial taxonomic diversity and ARG profiles. In captive juveniles, Pseudomonadota was the most abundant phylum, followed by Ascomycota and Basidiomycota. In captive adults, Pseudomonadota exhibited an even greater predominance, with only minor contributions from unclassified bacteria and other taxa. In wild stranded green sea turtles, Pseudomonadota was dominant in their gut microbiome, but this was accompanied by notable levels of Actinomycetota, Bacteroidota, and Bacillota. Stranded turtles exhibited highest microbial diversity and variability, while captive adult turtles showed the lowest. Resistome profiling also revealed significant differences in the relative abundance of antibiotic resistance genes across all three groups. MacB (macrolide resistance) was the most abundant gene overall, with the highest abundance observed in juveniles (4.8 %). Stranded turtles exhibited elevated levels of TetA(58) (tetracycline resistance, 2.6 %) and msbA (nitroimidazole resistance, 2.2 %), while adults showed the greatest enrichment of Ecol_fabG_TRC (triclosan resistance, 3.8 %) and TxR (tetracycline resistance, 3.6 %). These data demonstrate that marked variability existed in the gut microbiome and resistome of green sea turtles across different life stages in captive or wild environments. This offers critical insights for the development of targeted conservation strategies and health management practices for both wild and captive green sea turtles. Strategies to mitigate the spread of antibiotic resistance should be developed
African Immigrants’ Employment Experiences and Outcomes in Australia: Race, Immigration and Labour Market
No full textIn this article, I examine the labour market experiences and employment outcomes of African immigrants to Australia. Drawing on findings from a qualitative study conducted among thirty participants in Queensland, I identify barriers to and other factors shaping meaningful employment. The findings highlight the impact of race and ethnicity, including structural and institutional practices on the labour force participation of African immigrants to Australia. Given the global significance of issues around race, ethnicity, identity, difference and living across cultural diversity, the article shows how skin colour, alongside race, combines to reveal how the participants’ experiences provide novel framework and insight into our understanding of
race, immigration, and labour market. The findings indicate the need to develop targeted policies to facilitate African immigrants’ incorporation and socioeconomic mobility, highlighting the need for integration policies to be informed by immigrants’ labour market experiences and employment outcomes. The article hopes to renew public interest and broadens discussion on the role of meaningful employment and labour force participation for good settlement, inclusion, and successful integration outcomes of African immigrants and other ethnically and racially marked minority people in White settler and dominated societies
Essentialising teachers' education for inclusive education: The forms, characteristics, and synergies that support capacity building for sustainable inclusive practice
No full textHow teachers are trained and professionally developed for inclusive education is an important focus of policy, research, and practice. Such preparation arguably affects their knowledge, skills, beliefs, attitudes, and motivation to improve student learning outcomes and transform practice. However, the context and approach to teachers' education for inclusion vary across countries and educational institutions and searching for its effective features remains an unending goal. To capture holistic perspectives on preparing teachers for inclusive education from a non-Western, developing context, we used a multi-site case study approach and conducted interviews with headteachers and teachers of early childhood settings and schools. Findings indicate inclusive education-based training and learning programmes with practical, authentic, and blended characterisations support development of teachers' core knowledge, skills, values, and dispositions. This article also reveals essential synergies among the education programmes that are all requisites enhancing teacher preparedness, currency, and professionalism. The study suggests pre-service training programmes essentially leverage new learning, knowledge, and capacity acquisition. In concluding, this article calls for rethinking inclusive teacher preparation as continuing synergistic and to attend to contextual influences on it
Integration of ESG standards in Australian sugarcane farming: A co-design approach to accelerate ESG adoption and innovation
No full textContext
Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices have become critical for the agricultural sector, particularly for high-impact and sensitive consumer demand industries like sugarcane. In Australia, the sugarcane industry faces mounting environmental and regulatory pressures, including concerns over nutrient and pesticide runoff affecting the Great Barrier Reef, climate change-driven, water resource challenges, and the need to reduce carbon emissions.
Objective
Aiming to enhance environmental performance and facilitate access to environmental markets and new income streams, this research focuses on developing and testing an ESG Rapid Assessment framework tailored to sugarcane farmers in North Queensland, Australia.
Methods
In this research we adopted a co-design approach, integrating stakeholder insights and industry needs to develop the ESG tool, to facilitate the adoption of ESG standards on farm.
Results and conclusions
Findings highlight the importance of simplified ESG tools, clear implementation roadmaps, and ongoing support to drive adoption. Addressing knowledge gaps, improving data collection, and aligning policy incentives will be crucial for fostering transparency, sustainability, and long-term economic resilience while minimising regulatory burdens. Results from two case studies involving sugarcane producers and stakeholders showed that over 75 % of participants found the ESG assessment easy to use, and 62.5 % considered it valuable in supporting their ESG management. However, only 25 % indicated a willingness to change practices, likely due to prior engagement in sustainability best practices. These findings validate the tool's usability and highlight key barriers and opportunities for ESG adoption in agriculture.
Significance
This research offers a practical and innovative tool for North Queensland sugarcane farmers to strengthen their sustainability credentials. The ESG Rapid Assessment tool serves as a gateway to capital and environmental markets, supporting the transition to new decarbonisation pathways. By empowering farmers with actionable insights, the tool can enhance resilience, drive sustainable practices, and contribute to achieve net-zero goals
Polymorphism analysis of GDF9 and BMP15 genes and their association with litter size in crossbreed goats in Malaysia
No full textThe goat industry plays a crucial role in Malaysia's economy, with breeds such as Katjang and Boer being integral to the chevon supply. However, achieving self-sufficiency in goat meat production is still challenging due to the insufficient local carcass supply. To address this issue, a crossbreeding program has been initiated to improve reproductive performance in local breeds. In mammals, there are BMP15 and GDF9 genes, which are the components of the TGF-β superfamily that are key regulators of ovulation and litter size. This study aimed to improve reproductive performance in crossbred goats from Katjang and Boer populations in Sabah, Malaysia, by analyzing genetic variations in the BMP15 and GDF9 genes. A total of sixty female cross-Katjang goats, with recorded litter size and parities, were sampled. Five milliliters of blood was taken from the jugular vein using K2-EDTA tubes. Genetic analysis was performed using conventional PCR at the Biotechnology Research Institute, University Malaysia Sabah, followed by sequencing at Apical Scientific, Malaysia. Four novel polymorphic loci were identified within the GDF9 gene: G320C, A352G, G366T, and G375T. All of these loci resulted in missense mutations, causing a change in amino acid sequences. Notably, the A352G and G375T loci showed significant associations with litter size, with the AG genotype at position 352 and the GG genotype at position 375 emerging as potential markers for selective breeding. However, the polymorphic information content (PIC)values indicated low genetic diversity (< 0.25) at these loci. Interestingly, no polymorphisms were detected in the BMP15 gene, suggesting a monomorphic state (wild-type genotype) in the Cross-Katjang goat population. This finding indicates that BMP15 may not play a significant role in litter size variation in this crossbreed, shifting the focus towards GDF9 as a more relevant genetic marker for enhancing reproductive traits. This study provides important insights into the genetic factors influencing reproductive traits in crossbred goats, with potential applications in marker-assisted selection to improve reproductive and productivity performance
Global tracking of marine megafauna space use reveals how to achieve conservation targets
No full textThe recent Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) sets ambitious goals but no clear pathway for how zero loss of important biodiversity areas and halting human-induced extinction of threatened species will be achieved. We assembled a multi-taxa tracking dataset (11 million geopositions from 15,845 tracked individuals across 121 species) to provide a global assessment of space use of highly mobile marine megafauna, showing that 63% of the area that they cover is used 80% of the time as important migratory corridors or residence areas. The GBF 30% threshold (Target 3) will be insufficient for marine megafauna’s effective conservation, leaving important areas exposed to major anthropogenic threats. Coupling area protection with mitigation strategies (e.g., fishing regulation, wildlife-traffic separation) will be essential to reach international goals and conserve biodiversity
Targeting Interferon-Gamma (IFN-γ)-Related Signalling Pathways in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Emerging Inhibitors and Therapeutic Advances
No full textInflammatory bowel disease (IBD) encompasses a group of chronic and relapsing inflammatory disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, driven by a multifaceted interplay between genetic predisposition, environmental factors and dysregulated immune responses. Central to its immunopathogenesis is the aberrant activation of pro-inflammatory cytokine networks, among which interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) has been increasingly recognised as a critical mediator of mucosal damage and disease perpetuation. IFN-γ exerts pleiotropic effects on both innate and adaptive immune compartments, orchestrating a pathogenic immune milieu that disrupts intestinal epithelial integrity and sustains chronic inflammation. Recent therapeutic advances have focused on the modulation of IFN-γ signalling as a targeted approach to restoring intestinal homeostasis. A growing repertoire of IFN-γ inhibitors—including neutralising monoclonal antibodies (MAbs), small-molecule Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors and bioactive phytochemicals—are being explored for their capacity to attenuate IFN-γ-driven inflammatory cascades. These agents offer distinct mechanistic profiles, targeting various nodes of the IFN-γ axis, and hold significant promise for addressing therapeutic gaps in refractory IBD. This review provides a comprehensive evaluation of emerging IFN-γ-targeted therapies, detailing their mechanisms of action, preclinical and clinical efficacy and translational potential. By elucidating the therapeutic landscape of IFN-γ modulation, this study aims to inform the development of more effective and personalised treatment strategies for patients with IBD
Potential of anogenital distance as a genetic selection trait in Canadian Holsteins
No full textMaintaining optimal fertility in dairy cattle herds is a global challenge that is typically addressed through the genetic selection of fertility indicator traits. However, many of the traits currently implemented in breeding programs are heavily influenced by environmental factors, resulting in a slow rate of genetic improvement. Anogenital distance (AGD) has recently emerged as a promising fertility indicator trait due to its association with favorable reproductive outcomes and its higher heritability estimates compared with currently evaluated traits. This study aimed to enhance the understanding of AGD's genetic potential by estimating its genetic parameters in Canadian Holsteins, assessing the reliability of breeding values, comparing pedigree BLUP to single-step genomic BLUP approaches, and estimating the correlation between AGD breeding values and those of currently evaluated traits. The dataset used in this study comprised 5,541 Canadian Holstein cows and heifers from 20 herds, collected between 2015 and 2020. The final dataset consisted of 4,988 animals with AGD phenotypes after filtering. The pedigree-based heritability estimate for AGD was 0.39 ± 0.04, whereas the incorporation of genomics resulted in a lower estimate of 0.37 ± 0.03. The reliability of estimated breeding values ranged from 0.49 ± 0.03 for phenotyped animals to 0.81 ± 0.05 for proven sires with at least 30 phenotyped daughters. The integration of genomic information improved the reliability of breeding values, with gains ranging from 0.01 gain for proven sires to 0.14 relative gain for unproven sires. High gain in observed reliability for females without records was demonstrated when genomic information was included, using both split forward validation (0.26) and 5-fold cross-validation (0.14). The AGD breeding values showed moderate unfavorable correlations with relative breeding values of age at first service and production traits including milk yield, fat yield, and protein yield. This suggests that AGD may influence reproductive maturity in heifers but could also have an unfavorable association with production traits, highlighting the need for balanced breeding strategies that consider both fertility and production outcomes. Future studies should aim to expand phenotype data across lifetimes and breeds and estimate genetic correlations with traditional reproduction and production traits using multitrait models
Regional conservation genomics: insights and opportunities from northern Australia
No full textBiodiversity conservation in northern Australia is characterised by high endemism, data deficiency, and high Indigenous land tenure and population. The Northern Australia Conservation Genomics Forum brought together experts to explore current genetic research with particular emphasis on integration of genomics within conservation practices. We discuss the regional biodiversity of northern Australia, highlighting the unique biogeographic patterns, known and unknown species diversity, and ongoing threats such as habitat degradation, altered fire regimes, invasive species, and climate change. This article synthesises key themes from the forum, including the current application of genomics in conservation, gaps and areas of need and opportunity to advance species conservation in this sparsely populated, yet iconic region of Australia. We highlight the need to expand collaborative research partnerships across land tenures with Indigenous organisations, pastoralists, government and non-government organisations, which is crucial for the effective study and conservation of the region’s biodiversity. The paper identifies the challenges and opportunities in applying genomic data to conservation strategies and applied management, including species translocations and habitat management, while acknowledging the limitations and gaps in current research and collections. The insights from this forum emphasise the advantages in using genomics to inform conservation decisions, and the need for continued research and collaboration to protect northern Australia’s unique biodiversity