Incentivising fire management in Pindan (Acacia shrubland): A proposed fuel type for Australia's Savanna burning greenhouse gas emissions abatement methodology

The Australian Government has sanctioned development of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) abatement methodologies to meet international emissions reduction obligations. Savanna burning emissions abatement methodologies have been available since 2012, and there are currently 72 registered projects covering approximately 32 million ha. Abatement to date has exceeded 4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2‐e) principally through the application of low intensity early dry season fire management to reduce the amount of biomass combusted in higher intensity late dry season (LDS) fires. Savanna burning projects can only be conducted on areas with eligible fire‐prone vegetation fuel types where implementing the improved fire management regime is considered ecologically appropriate. This study assesses the suitability of including tall Acacia shrublands (‘Pindan’) as a new eligible fuel type. These shrublands make up 12% (~2 million ha) of the Kimberley region, Western Australia, where, on average, 32% is fire affected annually, mostly in the LDS. A standard assessment protocol was applied to describe vegetation fuel type structural and pyrolysis characteristics. We show that Pindan (i) can be identified and mapped as a unique tall Acacia shrubland vegetation fuel type, (ii) characterised by a significantly greater shrubby fuel load biomass, and (iii) the conservation status of which would benefit from imposition of strategic prescribed burning programme. Savanna burning projects in the Pindan fuel type could potentially abate up to 24.43 t.CO₂‐e/km² per year, generating significant income and employment opportunities for predominantly Indigenous land managers in the region.     

Pandemic pharmaceutical dosing effects on wastewater treatment: no adaptation of activated sludge bacteria to degrade the antiviral drug oseltamivir (Tamiflu®) and loss of nutrient removal performance

The 2009-2010 influenza pandemic saw many people treated with antivirals and antibiotics. High proportions of both classes of drugs are excreted and enter wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in biologically active forms. To date, there has been no study into the potential for influenza pandemic-scale pharmaceutical use to disrupt WWTP function. Furthermore, there is currently little indication as to whether WWTP microbial consortia can degrade antiviral neuraminidase inhibitors when exposed to pandemic-scale doses. In this study, we exposed an aerobic granular sludge sequencing batch reactor, operated for enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR), to a simulated influenza-pandemic dosing of antibiotics and antivirals for 8 weeks. We monitored the removal of the active form of Tamiflu(?), oseltamivir carboxylate (OC), bacterial community structure, granule structure and changes in EBPR and nitrification performance. There was little removal of OC by sludge and no evidence that the activated sludge community adapted to degrade OC. There was evidence of changes to the bacterial community structure and disruption to EBPR and nitrification during and after high-OC dosing. This work highlights the potential for the antiviral contamination of receiving waters and indicates the risk of destabilizing WWTP microbial consortia as a result of high concentrations of bioactive pharmaceuticals during an influenza pandemic.     

Larval fish assemblage recovery: a reflection of environmental change in a large degraded river

Estuaries are globally important to fisheries but face many anthropogenic stressors that reduce water quality and degrade benthic habitat. The Maumee River estuary has been degraded by industrial contaminants, high sediment and nutrient loads, channelization and elimination of surrounding wetlands, lessening its value as spawning habitat for fishes of Lake Erie. Regulation and better management practices (BMPs) in the watershed have improved the water quality in this estuary, which should result in a response of the biotic community. We compared recent (2010/2011) larval fish assemblage data to similar data from the 1970s (1976/1977) in order to identify changes due to improved water and habitat quality. Family‐level diversity was greater in recent study years compared to the 1970s and family richness increased from 6 to 10. In addition, the abundance of lithophilic spawning fishes was significantly greater in the recent study years. Increased diversity and family richness were consistent with increased water quality in the Maumee River whereas the observed increase in abundance of lithophilic spawners was consistent with an increase in the amount or quality of benthic habitat used by species in these families for spawning. Better wastewater management and agricultural practices in coastal watersheds can benefit the early life stages of fishes, thus benefitting coastal fisheries. Furthermore, larval fish assemblages may be useful indicators of biological integrity because of their sensitivities to environmental change. Routine sampling of estuarine larval fish assemblages could provide practitioners with insight into ecosystem changes and measure the response of the biotic community to restoration.     

Comparative whole-genome hybridization reveals genomic islands in Brucella species

Brucella species are responsible for brucellosis, a worldwide zoonotic disease causing abortion in domestic animals and Malta fever in humans. Based on host preference, the genus is divided into six species. Brucella abortus, B. melitensis, and B. suis are pathogenic to humans, whereas B. ovis and B. neotomae are nonpathogenic to humans and B. canis human infections are rare. Limited genome diversity exists among Brucella species. Comparison of Brucella species whole genomes is, therefore, likely to identify factors responsible for differences in host preference and virulence restriction. To facilitate such studies, we used the complete genome sequence of B. melitensis 16M, the species highly pathogenic to humans, to construct a genomic microarray. Hybridization of labeled genomic DNA from Brucella species to this microarray revealed a total of 217 open reading frames (ORFs) altered in five Brucella species analyzed. These ORFs are often found in clusters (islands) in the 16M genome. Examination of the genomic context of these islands suggests that many are horizontally acquired. Deletions of genetic content identified in Brucella species are conserved in multiple strains of the same species, and genomic islands missing in a given species are often restricted to that particular species. These findings suggest that, whereas the loss or gain of genetic material may be related to the host range and virulence restriction of certain Brucella species for humans, independent mechanisms involving gene inactivation or altered expression of virulence determinants may also contribute to these differences.     

Semiparametric modeling of longitudinal measurements and time-to-event data--a two-stage regression calibration approach

SUMMARY: In this article we investigate regression calibration methods to jointly model longitudinal and survival data using a semiparametric longitudinal model and a proportional hazards model. In the longitudinal model, a biomarker is assumed to follow a semiparametric mixed model where covariate effects are modeled parametrically and subject-specific time profiles are modeled nonparametrially using a population smoothing spline and subject-specific random stochastic processes. The Cox model is assumed for survival data by including both the current measure and the rate of change of the underlying longitudinal trajectories as covariates, as motivated by a prostate cancer study application. We develop a two-stage semiparametric regression calibration (RC) method. Two variations of the RC method are considered, risk set regression calibration and a computationally simpler ordinary regression calibration. Simulation results show that the two-stage RC approach performs well in practice and effectively corrects the bias from the naive method. We apply the proposed methods to the analysis of a dataset for evaluating the effects of the longitudinal biomarker PSA on the recurrence of prostate cancer.     

Emerging perspectives in store-operated Ca2+ entry: roles of Orai, Stim and TRP

Depletion of intracellular Ca2+ stores induces Ca2+ influx across the plasma membrane through store-operated channels (SOCs). This store-operated Ca2+ influx is important for the replenishment of the Ca2+ stores, and is also involved in many signaling processes by virtue of the ability of intracellular Ca2+ to act as a second messenger. For many years, the molecular identities of particular SOCs, as well as the signaling mechanisms by which these channels are activated, have been elusive. Recently, however, the mammalian proteins STIM1 and Orai1 were shown to be necessary for the activation of store-operated Ca2+ entry in a variety of mammalian cells. Here we present molecular, pharmacological, and electrophysiological properties of SOCs, with particular focus on the roles that STIM1 and Orai1 may play in the signaling processes that regulate various pathways of store-operated entry.