Framing a Biobanking Response to Myrtle Rust in Western Australia.

Myrtle rust is a plant disease caused through infection by the fungus and was first detected in Australia in 2010. The disease has spread through New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, the Northern Territory, and Tasmania. In this short timeframe, myrtle rust has had a devastating impact on many native species in the family Myrtaceae, including several rainforest species that are now at risk of extinction.

Thermally Primed Seeds Exhibit Higher Germination Rates Than Those From Ambient Conditions.

Seagrasses provide critical ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, sediment stabilisation and nursery habitat for juvenile fish. is ubiquitous within Australian and New Zealand estuaries, however, as a species is relatively understudied. We sourced seeds from a thermally affected east Australian estuary and investigated whether germination rates differed between ambient and thermally affected seeds over a variety of temperatures (16°C-28°C) to determine how seagrass systems might react in a warming climate.

Small populations of Palaeolithic humans in Cyprus hunted endemic megafauna to extinction.

The hypothesized main drivers of megafauna extinctions in the late Quaternary have wavered between over-exploitation by humans and environmental change, with recent investigations demonstrating more nuanced synergies between these drivers depending on taxon, spatial scale, and region. However, most studies still rely on comparing archaeologically based chronologies of timing of initial human arrival into naïve ecosystems and palaeontologically inferred dates of megafauna extinctions. Conclusions arising from comparing chronologies also depend on the reliability of dated evidence, dating uncertainties, and correcting for the low probability of preservation (Signor-Lipps effect).

Demographic models predict end-Pleistocene arrival and rapid expansion of pre-agropastoralist humans in Cyprus.

The antiquity of human dispersal into Mediterranean islands and ensuing coastal adaptation have remained largely unexplored due to the prevailing assumption that the sea was a barrier to movement and that islands were hostile environments to early hunter-gatherers [J. F. Cherry, T.

Hepatitis C Virus Antiviral Drug Resistance and Salvage Therapy Outcomes Across Australia.

Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection can now be cured with well-tolerated direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy. However, a potential barrier to HCV elimination is the emergence of resistance-associated substitutions (RASs) that reduce the efficacy of antiviral drugs, but real-world studies assessing the clinical impact of RASs are limited. Here, an analysis of the impact of RASs on retreatment outcomes for different salvage regimens in patients nationally who failed first-line DAA therapy is reported.

Genetic differentiation and bottleneck effects in the malaria vectors and after an LLIN-based vector control program in Papua New Guinea.

Implementation of long-lasting insecticide-treated net (LLIN) programs to control human malaria transmission leads to substantial reductions in the abundance of mosquitoes, but the impact on the population genetic structure of the malaria vectors is poorly known, nor has it been investigated in Papua New Guinea, where malaria is highly endemic and where several species of have vector roles. Here, we applied Wright's -statistic, analysis of molecular variance, Bayesian structure analysis, and discriminant analysis of principle components to microsatellite genotype data to analyze the population genetic structure of between and within the northern and southern lowland plains and of within the northern plain of Papua New Guinea after such a program. Bottleneck effects in the two malaria vectors were analyzed using Luikart and Cornuet's tests of heterozygosity.

Biparental incubation behaviour under temperature extremes in sandbank nesting black skimmers.

Birds nesting on riverine beaches are exposed to large temperature fluctuations, while changing water levels pose flooding risks. We used miniature temperature loggers (Buttons®) placed in nests and on the beach surface combined with time-lapse photography to study incubation behaviour in the black skimmer () on the Manu River, Peru. Since the species exhibits sexual size dimorphism, we could identify partner switches in images and the contribution to incubation effort by each pair member.

Peptide derived from progranulin of the carcinogenic liver fluke, Opisthorchis viverrini stimulates cell hyperproliferation and proinflammatory cytokine production.

Purpose: Progranulin (PGRN) is a secreted glycoprotein growth factor with roles in wound healing, inflammation, angiogenesis and malignancy. An orthologue of the gene encoding human PGRN was identified in the carcinogenic liver fluke .

Methods: Sequence structure, general characteristics and possible function of PGRN was analyzed using bioinformatics.

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Structuring functional groups of aquatic insects along the resistance/resilience axis when facing water flow changes.

Understanding how differences in intensity and frequency of hydrological disturbances affect the resistance and resilience of aquatic organisms is key to manage aquatic systems in a fast-changing world. Some aquatic insects have strategies that improve the permanence (resistance), while others use strategies that favor recolonization (resilience). Therefore, we carried out a manipulative experiment to understand the influence of functional characteristics of aquatic insects in their permanence and recolonization against hydrological disturbances in streams in the biodiversity hotspot of the Cerrado of Brazil.

Gene flow between island populations of the malaria mosquito, , may have contributed to the spread of divergent host preference phenotypes.

is a mosquito species with variable host preference. Throughout New Guinea and northern Australia, .  feeds on humans (it is opportunistically anthropophagic) while in the south-west Pacific's Solomon Archipelago, the species is abundant but has rarely been found biting humans (it is exclusively zoophagic in most populations).

Expression of CD49f defines subsets of human regulatory T cells with divergent transcriptional landscape and function that correlate with ulcerative colitis disease activity.

Objective: Adoptive regulatory T cell (Treg) therapy is being trialled for the treatment of different autoimmune disorders, including inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). In-depth understanding of the biological variability of Treg in the human blood may be required to improve IBD immune monitoring and treatment strategies.

Methods: Through a combination of quantitative proteomic, multiparametric flow cytometry, RNA-sequencing data analysis and functional assays on Treg enriched from the blood of ulcerative colitis (UC) patients and healthy controls, we investigated the association between CD49f expression, Treg phenotype and function, and UC disease activity.

New targets acquired: Improving locus recovery from the Angiosperms353 probe set.

Premise: Universal target enrichment kits maximize utility across wide evolutionary breadth while minimizing the number of baits required to create a cost-efficient kit. The Angiosperms353 kit has been successfully used to capture loci throughout the angiosperms, but the default target reference file includes sequence information from only 6-18 taxa per locus. Consequently, reads sequenced from on-target DNA molecules may fail to map to references, resulting in fewer on-target reads for assembly, and reducing locus recovery.

A murine model of tuberculosis/type 2 diabetes comorbidity for investigating the microbiome, metabolome and associated immune parameters.

Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the deadliest infectious diseases in the world. The metabolic disease type 2 diabetes (T2D) significantly increases the risk of developing active TB. Effective new TB vaccine candidates and novel therapeutic interventions are required to meet the challenges of global TB eradication.

Perivascular macrophages create an intravascular niche for CD8 T cell localisation prior to the onset of fatal experimental cerebral malaria.

Objectives: The immunologic events that build up to the fatal neurological stage of experimental cerebral malaria (ECM) are incompletely understood. Here, we dissect immune cell behaviour occurring in the central nervous system (CNS) when ANKA (PbA)-infected mice show only minor clinical signs.

Methods: A 2-photon intravital microscopy (2P-IVM) brain imaging model was used to study the spatiotemporal context of early immunological events during ECM.

Beyond spider personality: The relationships between behavioral, physiological, and environmental factors.

Spiders are useful models for testing different hypotheses and methodologies relating to animal personality and behavioral syndromes because they show a range of behavioral types and unique physiological traits (e.g., silk and venom) that are not observed in many other animals.

Effectiveness of three different types of educational methods on implementation of proper oral hygiene behaviour prior to orthodontic treatment.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare three teaching methods' time and personnel requirements, and their effects on plaque and gingival indices.

Methods: This study was a single-blind randomized controlled trial on fixed orthodontic appliance candidates (n = 90), assigned into a control group (n = 30) and two different study groups (n = 30 each). The control group received standard printed educational material and was assisted with verbal information.

Robust correlations across six SARS-CoV-2 serology assays detecting distinct antibody features.

Objectives: As the world transitions into a new era of the COVID-19 pandemic in which vaccines become available, there is an increasing demand for rapid reliable serological testing to identify individuals with levels of immunity considered protective by infection or vaccination.

Methods: We used 34 SARS-CoV-2 samples to perform a rapid surrogate virus neutralisation test (sVNT), applicable to many laboratories as it circumvents the need for biosafety level-3 containment. We correlated results from the sVNT with five additional commonly used SARS-CoV-2 serology techniques: the microneutralisation test (MNT), in-house ELISAs, commercial Euroimmun- and Wantai-based ELISAs (RBD, spike and nucleoprotein; IgG, IgA and IgM), antigen-binding avidity, and high-throughput multiplex analyses to profile isotype, subclass and Fc effector binding potential.

A population of CD4CD38 T cells correlates with disease severity in patients with acute malaria.

Objective: CD4 T cells are critical mediators of immunity to spp. infection, but their characteristics during malarial episodes and immunopathology in naturally infected adults are poorly defined. Flow cytometric analysis of PBMCs from patients with either or malaria revealed a pronounced population of CD4 T cells co-expressing very high levels of CD4 and CD38 we have termed CD4CD38 T cells.

What lies beneath the airway mucosal barrier? Throwing the spotlight on antigen-presenting cell function in the lower respiratory tract.

The global prevalence of respiratory infectious and inflammatory diseases remains a major public health concern. Prevention and management strategies have not kept pace with the increasing incidence of these diseases. The airway mucosa is the most common portal of entry for infectious and inflammatory agents.

Checklist of the vascular flora of the Sunda-Sahul Convergence Zone.

The Sunda-Sahul Convergence Zone, defined here as the area comprising Australia, New Guinea, and Southeast Asia (Indonesia to Myanmar), straddles the Sunda and Sahul continental shelves and is one of the most biogeographically famous and important regions in the world. Floristically, it is thought to harbour a large amount of the world's diversity. Despite the importance of the area, a checklist of the flora has never before been published.