Single-Cell RNA Sequencing Analysis of the Early Postnatal Mouse Lens Epithelium.

Purpose: The lens epithelium maintains the overall health of the organ. We used single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) technology to assess transcriptional heterogeneity between cells in the postnatal day 2 (P2) epithelium and identify distinct epithelial cell subtypes. Analysis of these data was used to better understand lens growth, differentiation, and homeostasis on P2.

A database of zooplankton biomass in Australian marine waters.

Zooplankton biomass data have been collected in Australian waters since the 1930s, yet most datasets have been unavailable to the research community. We have searched archives, scanned the primary and grey literature, and contacted researchers, to collate 49187 records of marine zooplankton biomass from waters around Australia (0-60°S, 110-160°E). Many of these datasets are relatively small, but when combined, they provide >85 years of zooplankton biomass data for Australian waters from 1932 to the present.

Rice bran arabinoxylan compound and quality of life of cancer patients (RBAC-QoL): Study protocol for a randomized pilot feasibility trial.

Introduction: Rice bran arabinoxylan compound (RBAC) is a nutraceutical for enhancing a depleted immune system during and after cancer treatment. This pilot feasibility trial aims to evaluate the effects of RBAC on cancer patients' quality of life during active treatment, compared to placebo, using a validated questionnaire. Other outcome measures include changes in inflammatory and nutritional status, cytokine profile, and gut microbiota.

Kv2.1 channels play opposing roles in regulating membrane potential, Ca channel function, and myogenic tone in arterial smooth muscle.

The accepted role of the protein Kv2.1 in arterial smooth muscle cells is to form K channels in the sarcolemma. Opening of Kv2.

Common and differential transcriptional responses to different models of traumatic stress exposure in rats.

The effect of six different traumatic stress protocols on the transcriptome of the rat adrenal gland was examined using RNA sequencing. These protocols included chronic variable stress, chronic shock, social defeat and social isolation. The response of the transcriptome to stress suggested that there are genes that respond in a universal or stress modality-independent manner, as well as genes that respond in a stress modality-specific manner.

Plastic recycling in the Nordics: A value chain market analysis.

There is low utilisation of plastic waste in the Nordic region and only a fraction of plastic materials go back into production processes through reuse and recycling practices. This paper aims to increase knowledge concerning factors that inhibit demand for recycled plastics, and to identify critical barriers for plastic recycling across the regional plastics value chain. A literature review and targeted interviews with key actors across the plastics value chain enabled the mapping of interactions between the major actors and identified hotspots that act as barriers to the flow of plastic materials.

Transmural gradients in ion channel and auxiliary subunit expression.

Evolution has acted to shape the action potential in different regions of the heart in order to produce a maximally stable and efficient pump. This has been achieved by creating regional differences in ion channel expression levels within the heart as well as differences between equivalent cardiac tissues in different species. These region- and species-dependent differences in channel expression are established by regulatory evolution, evolution of the regulatory mechanisms that control channel expression levels.

The Australian Monstrilloida (Crustacea: Copepoda) II. Cymbasoma Thompson, 1888.

Monstrilloid copepods collected during the past two decades from zooplankton surveys in reef and coastal areas of Australia were analyzed. A first contribution included the taxonomic analysis of three genera of the Monstrilloida, Monstrillopsis Sars, 1921, Maemonstrilla Grygier & Ohtsuka, 2008, and the newly described Australomonstrillopsis Suárez-Morales & McKinnon, 2014. In this document a taxonomic analysis of the species belonging to the genus Cymbasoma Thompson, 1888 is provided.

Assessment of collection schemes for packaging and other recyclable waste in European Union-28 Member States and capital cities.

The Waste Framework Directive obliged European Union Member States to set up separate collection systems to promote high quality recycling for at least paper, metal, plastic and glass by 2015. As implementation of the requirement varies across European Union Member States, the European Commission contracted BiPRO GmbH/Copenhagen Resource Institute to assess the separate collection schemes in the 28 European Union Member States, focusing on capital cities and on metal, plastic, glass (with packaging as the main source), paper/cardboard and bio-waste. The study includes an assessment of the legal framework for, and the practical implementation of, collection systems in the European Union-28 Member States and an in depth-analysis of systems applied in all capital cities.

A database of marine phytoplankton abundance, biomass and species composition in Australian waters.

There have been many individual phytoplankton datasets collected across Australia since the mid 1900s, but most are unavailable to the research community. We have searched archives, contacted researchers, and scanned the primary and grey literature to collate 3,621,847 records of marine phytoplankton species from Australian waters from 1844 to the present. Many of these are small datasets collected for local questions, but combined they provide over 170 years of data on phytoplankton communities in Australian waters.

Zooplankton Growth, Respiration and Grazing on the Australian Margins of the Tropical Indian and Pacific Oceans.

The specific activity of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (spAARS), an index of growth rate, and of the electron transport system (spETS), an index of respiration, was measured in three size fractions (73-150 μm, >150 μm and >350 μm) of zooplankton during five cruises to tropical coastal waters of the Kimberley coast (North West Australia) and four cruises to waters of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR; North East Australia). The N-specific biomass of plankton was 3-4-fold higher in the Kimberley than on the GBR in all 3 size classes: Kimberley 1.27, 3.

Attitudes toward the capabilities of deaf and hard of hearing adults: insights from the parents of deaf and hard of hearing children.

Children who are d/Deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) grow up in environments influenced by their parents' attitudes, which may facilitate or impede these children's development and participation (World Health Organization, 2007). The attitudes of 152 Australian parents of DHH children ages 3 years 7 months to 9 years 5 months (M = 6 years 5 months) were investigated with the Opinions About Deaf People Scale (Berkay, Gardner, & Smith, 1995a). The parents' responses showed very positive attitudes toward the capabilities of DHH adults, particularly on items describing their intellectual and vocational capabilities.

Regulatory evolution and voltage-gated ion channel expression in squid axon: selection-mutation balance and fitness cliffs.

It has been suggested that optimization of either axonal conduction velocity or the energy efficiency of action potential conduction predominates in the selection of voltage-gated sodium conductance levels in the squid axon. A population genetics model of channel gene regulatory function was used to examine the role of these and other evolutionary forces on the selection of both sodium and potassium channel expression levels. In this model, the accumulating effects of mutations result in degradation of gene regulatory function, causing channel gene expression to fall to near-zero in the absence of positive selection.

Inhibition of histone deacetylase (HDAC) by 4-phenylbutyrate results in increased junctional conductance between rat corpora smooth muscle cells.

4-phenylbutyrate (4-PB) has been shown to increase the protein content in a number of cells types. One such protein is Connexin43 (Cx43). We show here that 4-phenylbutyrate exposure results in significantly elevated cell to cell coupling, as determined by dual whole cell patch clamp.

The Australian Monstrilloida (Crustacea: Copepoda) I. Monstrillopsis Sars, Maemonstrilla Grygier & Ohtsuka, and Australomonstrillopsis gen. nov.

Monstrilloid copepods were collected during zooplankton surveys in reef and coastal areas of Australia. Representatives of all four genera of the Monstrilloida (Monstrilla Dana, Monstrillopsis Sars, Cymbasoma Thompson, and Maemonstrilla Grygier & Ohtsuka) were recorded. In this contribution a taxonomic analysis of specimens belonging to the latter two genera is provided, and a new genus described.

Speech, sign, or multilingualism for children with hearing loss: quantitative insights into caregivers' decision making.

Purpose: The authors sought to investigate the influence of a comprehensive range of factors on the decision making of caregivers of children with hearing loss regarding the use of speech, the use of sign, spoken language multilingualism, and spoken language choice. This is a companion article to the qualitative investigation described in Crowe, Fordham, McLeod, and Ching (2014).

Method: Through a questionnaire, 177 caregivers of 157 Australian children with hearing loss (ages 3;5 to 9;4 [years;months], Mage = 6;6) rated the importance of a range of potential influences on their decision making regarding their children's communication.

The coral sea: physical environment, ecosystem status and biodiversity assets.

The Coral Sea, located at the southwestern rim of the Pacific Ocean, is the only tropical marginal sea where human impacts remain relatively minor. Patterns and processes identified within the region have global relevance as a baseline for understanding impacts in more disturbed tropical locations. Despite 70 years of documented research, the Coral Sea has been relatively neglected, with a slower rate of increase in publications over the past 20 years than total marine research globally.

Tropical marginal seas: priority regions for managing marine biodiversity and ecosystem function.

Tropical marginal seas (TMSs) are natural subregions of tropical oceans containing biodiverse ecosystems with conspicuous, valued, and vulnerable biodiversity assets. They are focal points for global marine conservation because they occur in regions where human populations are rapidly expanding. Our review of 11 TMSs focuses on three key ecosystems-coral reefs and emergent atolls, deep benthic systems, and pelagic biomes-and synthesizes, illustrates, and contrasts knowledge of biodiversity, ecosystem function, interaction between adjacent habitats, and anthropogenic pressures.

Multilingual children with hearing loss: Factors contributing to language use at home and in early education.

Understanding the relationship between children's cultural and linguistic diversity and child, caregiver, and environmental characteristics is important to ensure appropriate educational expectations and provisions. As part of the Longitudinal Outcomes of Children with Hearing Impairment (LOCHI) study, children's caregivers and educators completed questionnaires on demographic characteristics, including the communication mode (oral, manual, or mixed) and languages used in home and early educational environments. This article reports an exploratory analysis to examine factors associated with language use and communication mode of children at 3 years of age.

Evolution of CpG island promoter function underlies changes in KChIP2 potassium channel subunit gene expression in mammalian heart.

Scaling of cardiac electrophysiology with body mass requires large changes in the ventricular action potential duration and heart rate in mammals. These changes in cellular electrophysiological function are produced by systematic and coordinated changes in the expression of multiple ion channel and transporter genes. Expression of one important potassium current, the transient outward current (I(to)), changes significantly during mammalian evolution.

Robust L-type calcium current expression following heterozygous knockout of the Cav1.2 gene in adult mouse heart.

Mechanisms that contribute to maintaining expression of functional ion channels at relatively constant levels following perturbations of channel biosynthesis are likely to contribute significantly to the stability of electrophysiological systems in some pathological conditions. In order to examine the robustness of L-type calcium current expression, the response to changes in Ca²⁺ channel Cav1.2 gene dosage was studied in adult mice.

Impact of hydrotalcite deposition on biogeochemical processes in a shallow tropical bay.

The biogeochemistry of a tropical shoal bay (Melville Bay, Australia) impacted by the effluent release, precipitation, and deposition of hydrotalcite from an alumina refinery was studied in both wet and dry seasons. Within the deposition zone, sulfate reduction dominated benthic carbon cycling accounting for ≈100% of total microbial activity, with rates greater than those measured in most other marine sediments. These rapid rates of anoxic metabolism resulted in high rates of sulfide and ammonium production and low C:S ratios, implying significant preservation of S in stable sulfide minerals.