Ecological drivers of shark distributions along a tropical coastline.

As coastal species experience increasing anthropogenic pressures there is a growing need to characterise the ecological drivers of their abundance and habitat use, and understand how they may respond to changes in their environment. Accordingly, fishery-independent surveys were undertaken to investigate shark abundance along approximately 400 km of the tropical east coast of Australia. Generalised linear models were used to identify ecological drivers of the abundance of immature blacktip Carcharhinus tilstoni/Carcharhinus limbatus, pigeye Carcharhinus amboinensis, and scalloped hammerhead Sphyrna lewini sharks.

Intensive care unit admission in patients following rapid response team activation: call factors, patient characteristics and hospital outcomes.

Rapid Response Systems (RRSs) have been widely introduced throughout hospital health systems, yet there is limited research on the characteristics and outcomes of patients admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) following RRS activation. Using database extraction, this study examined the factors associated with ICU admission and patient outcome in patients receiving RRS activation in a tertiary level hospital between 2009 and 2013. Of 3004 RRS activations, 392 resulted in ICU admissions.

Profiling of spatial metabolite distributions in wheat leaves under normal and nitrate limiting conditions.

The control and interaction between nitrogen and carbon assimilatory pathways is essential in both photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic tissue in order to support metabolic processes without compromising growth. Physiological differences between the basal and mature region of wheat (Triticum aestivum) primary leaves confirmed that there was a change from heterotrophic to autotrophic metabolism. Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy confirmed the suitability and phenotypic reproducibility of the leaf growth conditions.

Post-translational protein modifications in malaria parasites.

Post-translational modifications play crucial parts in regulating protein function and thereby control several fundamental aspects of eukaryotic biology, including cell signalling, protein trafficking, epigenetic control of gene expression, cell-cell interactions, and cell proliferation and differentiation. In this Review, we discuss protein modifications that have been shown to have a key role in malaria parasite biology and pathogenesis. We focus on phosphorylation, acetylation, methylation and lipidation.

Heatwave hyponatraemia: a case series at a single Victorian tertiary centre during January 2014.

Heatwaves are a major public health threat for Australians. Hyponatraemia is common, with an increased incidence previously described during heatwaves. We report a series of 10 patients admitted with moderate to profound hyponatraemia, the majority with a history of excess water consumption, during the January 2014 heatwave.

Computed tomography pulmonary angiogram as a result of medical emergency team calls: a 5-year retrospective audit.

Objective: To determine the proportion of computed tomography pulmonary angiograms (CTPAs), performed after medical emergency team (MET) calls, that are positive for pulmonary embolism (PE), and whether there are useful clinical predictors of positive CTPA results.

Design: All patients from a tertiary referral hospital in Melbourne who had an MET response and an associated CTPA within 6 hours, from 2009 to 2013, were included. We reviewed medical records to assess indications for CTPA, including MET clinical triggers, time of day of the MET (implying the seniority of decision making), chest x-ray results and Wells scores as a clinical decision rule for PE.

Engineered hyperphosphorylation of the β2-adrenoceptor prolongs arrestin-3 binding and induces arrestin internalization.

G protein-coupled receptor phosphorylation plays a major role in receptor desensitization and arrestin binding. It is, however, unclear how distinct receptor phosphorylation patterns may influence arrestin binding and subsequent trafficking. Here we engineer phosphorylation sites into the C-terminal tail of the β2-adrenoceptor (β2AR) and demonstrate that this mutant, termed β2AR(SSS), showed increased isoprenaline-stimulated phosphorylation and differences in arrestin-3 affinity and trafficking.

Quantifying shark distribution patterns and species-habitat associations: implications of marine park zoning.

Quantifying shark distribution patterns and species-specific habitat associations in response to geographic and environmental drivers is critical to assessing risk of exposure to fishing, habitat degradation, and the effects of climate change. The present study examined shark distribution patterns, species-habitat associations, and marine reserve use with baited remote underwater video stations (BRUVS) along the entire Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (GBRMP) over a ten year period. Overall, 21 species of sharks from five families and two orders were recorded.

Inhibition of the SR protein-phosphorylating CLK kinases of Plasmodium falciparum impairs blood stage replication and malaria transmission.

Cyclin-dependent kinase-like kinases (CLKs) are dual specificity protein kinases that phosphorylate Serine/Arginine-rich (SR) proteins involved in pre-mRNA processing. Four CLKs, termed PfCLK-1-4, can be identified in the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum, which show homology with the yeast SR protein kinase Sky1p. The four PfCLKs are present in the nucleus and cytoplasm of the asexual blood stages and of gametocytes, sexual precursor cells crucial for malaria parasite transmission from humans to mosquitoes.

Hidradenitis suppurativa: the role of immune dysregulation.

Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic relapsing inflammatory disease of follicular occlusion characterized by boils, sinus tracts, fistulae, and scarring. It has a significant underestimated morbidity. Antimicrobial, immunosuppressive, anti-androgenic, and surgical approaches have been used with varying results.

Concomitant action of structural elements and receptor phosphorylation determines arrestin-3 interaction with the free fatty acid receptor FFA4.

In addition to being nutrients, free fatty acids act as signaling molecules by activating a family of G protein-coupled receptors. Among these is FFA4, previously called GPR120, which responds to medium and long chain fatty acids, including health-promoting ω-3 fatty acids, which have been implicated in the regulation of metabolic and inflammatory responses. Here we show, using mass spectrometry, mutagenesis, and phosphospecific antibodies, that agonist-regulated phosphorylation of the human FFA4 receptor occurred primarily at five residues (Thr(347), Thr(349), Ser(350), Ser(357), and Ser(360)) in the C-terminal tail.

Age and growth parameters of shark-like batoids.

Estimates of life-history parameters were made for shark-like batoids of conservation concern Rhynchobatus spp. (Rhynchobatus australiae, Rhynchobatus laevis and Rhynchobatus palpebratus) and Glaucostegus typus using vertebral ageing. The sigmoid growth functions, Gompertz and logistic, best described the growth of Rhynchobatus spp.

Employing novel animal models in the design of clinically efficacious GPCR ligands.

The headline success of targeting GPCRs in human diseases has masked the fact that many GPCR drug discovery programmes fail. This is despite a substantial increase in our understanding of GPCR pharmacology that has provided an array of ligands that target both orthosteric and allosteric sites as well as ligands that show stimulus bias. From this plethora of pharmacological possibilities, can we design ligand properties that would deliver maximal clinical efficacy with lowest toxicity? This may be achieved through animal models that both validate a particular GPCR as a target as well as revealing the signalling mechanisms that underlie receptor-mediated physiological and clinical responses.

Malaria protein kinase CK2 (PfCK2) shows novel mechanisms of regulation.

Casein kinase 2 (protein kinase CK2) is a conserved eukaryotic serine/theronine kinase with multiple substrates and roles in the regulation of cellular processes such as cellular stress, cell proliferation and apoptosis. Here we report a detailed analysis of the Plasmodium falciparum CK2, PfCK2, demonstrating that this kinase, like the mammalian orthologue, is a dual specificity kinase able to phosphorylate at both serine and tyrosine. However, unlike the human orthologue that is auto-phosphorylated on tyrosine within the activation loop, PfCK2 shows no activation loop auto-phosphorylation but rather is auto-phosphorylated at threonine 63 within subdomain I.

Spatial variation in the effects of size and age on reproductive dynamics of common coral trout Plectropomus leopardus.

The effects of size and age on reproductive dynamics of common coral trout Plectropomus leopardus populations were compared between coral reefs open or closed (no-take marine reserves) to fishing and among four geographic regions of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), Australia. The specific reproductive metrics investigated were the sex ratio, the proportion of vitellogenic females and the spawning fraction of local populations. Sex ratios became increasingly male biased with length and age, as expected for a protogyne, but were more male biased in southern regions of the GBR (Mackay and Storm Cay) than in northern regions (Lizard Island and Townsville) across all lengths and ages.

Refuge-seeking impairments mirror metabolic recovery following fisheries-related stressors in the Spanish flag snapper (Lutjanus carponotatus) on the Great Barrier Reef.

Fisheries and marine park management strategies for large predatory reef fish can mean that a large proportion of captured fish are released. Despite being released, these fish may experience high mortality while they traverse the water column to locate suitable refuge to avoid predators, all the while recovering from the stress of capture. The predatory reef fish Spanish flag snapper (Lutjanus carponotatus) is frequently released because of a minimum-size or bag limit or by fishers targeting more desirable species.

Do outlier inpatients experience more emergency calls in hospital? An observational cohort study.

Objective: To determine the effect of spending time as an outlier (ie, an inpatient who spends time away from his or her "home" ward) on the frequency of emergency calls for patients admitted to a tertiary referral hospital.

Design, Setting And Patients: Observational cohort study of all patients admitted to a university-affiliated tertiary referral hospital in Melbourne, Victoria, between 1 July 2009 and 30 November 2011.

Main Outcome Measure: The number of emergency calls per hospital admission, with reference to location within the hospital.

ERK5 activation by Gq-coupled muscarinic receptors is independent of receptor internalization and β-arrestin recruitment.

G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are known to activate both G protein- and β-arrestin-dependent signalling cascades. The initiation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways is a key downstream event in the control of cellular functions including proliferation, differentiation, migration and apoptosis. Both G proteins and β-arrestins have been reported to mediate context-specific activation of ERK1/2, p38 and JNK MAPKs.