ORCID Profile
0000-0003-2469-1355
Current Organisation
University of Tasmania
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Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 2022
Abstract: Animal health is directly linked to population viability, which may be impacted by anthropogenic disturbances and diseases. Reference intervals (RIs) for haematology and blood biochemistry are essential tools for the assessment of animal health. However, establishing and interpreting robust RIs for threatened species is often challenged by small s le sizes. Bayesian predictive modelling is well suited to s le size limitations, accounting for in idual variation and interactions between influencing variables. We aimed to derive baseline RIs for green turtles (Chelonia mydas) across two foraging aggregations in North Queensland, Australia, using Bayesian generalized linear mixed-effects models (n = 97). The predicted RIs were contained within previously published values and had narrower credible intervals. Most analytes did not vary significantly with foraging ground (76%, 22/29), body mass (86%, 25/29) or curved carapace length (83%, 24/29). Length and body mass effects were found for eosinophils, heterophil:lymphocyte ratio, alkaline phosphatase, aspartate transaminase and urea. Significant differences between foraging grounds were found for albumin, cholesterol, potassium, total protein, triglycerides, uric acid and calcium:phosphorus ratio. We provide derived RIs for foraging green turtles, which will be helpful in future population health assessments and conservation efforts. Future RI studies on threatened species would benefit from adapting established veterinary and biomedical standards.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 20-12-2021
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 21-05-2020
DOI: 10.1186/S12981-020-00272-5
Abstract: The anti-retroviral combination of abacavir/lamivudine plus rilpivirine (ABC/3TC/RPV) is not recommended by international guidelines as the first-line regimen. However, it is potent, well-tolerated, and affordable, especially in resource-limited settings. This study evaluates the efficacy and safety of ABC/3TC/RPV as an initial regimen for treatment-naïve HIV-1 infected patients. A retrospective study was conducted in the largest HIV care centre in Singapore, with data collected June 2011 to September 2017. All treatment-naïve HIV-1 infected adults prescribed ABC/3TC as part of their initial anti-retroviral therapy regimen were included. The third drug was a non-nucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) such as RPV or efavirenz (EFV), or boosted protease-inhibitor (PI). Patients were followed up for 48 weeks. The primary end-point was the percentage of patients achieving virologic suppression, analysed using on-treatment analysis. Secondary outcomes included CD4-count change, treatment discontinuation and treatment-related adverse events. 170 patients were included in the study, 66 patients in the RPV group, 104 patients in the comparator group (EFV or boosted PI). 96% (n = 24) in the RPV group and 87% (n = 26) in the comparator group achieved viral suppression at 48 weeks (p = 0.28). Median (interquartile range) time to viral suppression was similar: 17 (14–24) weeks in the RPV group, and 21 (13–26) weeks in the comparator group. There were no statistically significant differences in the CD4 count between the two groups. 14% (n = 9) of patients on RPV discontinued treatment before 48 weeks, compared to 30% (n = 31) from the comparator group (p = 0.053). Of these, 23 discontinuations were due to drug adverse effects, and only 1 attributed to RPV (p 0.01). One patient in each group had virologic failure. RPV is effective, safe and considerably more tolerable than compared to NNRTI or boosted PI in ABC/3TC-containing regimens for treatment-naïve patients. It offers an affordable and attractive option, especially in resource-limited settings.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 25-06-2022
DOI: 10.1111/CSP2.12755
Abstract: Fibropapillomatosis (FP) is a tumor‐forming disease which affects all species of marine turtle, but predominantly the green turtle ( Chelonia mydas ). Expression of this disease is thought to be precipitated by poor environmental conditions and often linked to anthropogenically induced environmental changes. Although FP is a globally distributed disease, targeted studies on the spatial distribution of the disease in Australia are limited. Here, we present the first comprehensive report of FP prevalence in Queensland, Australia. A retrospective analysis of 25,645 capture records for 15 sites along the Queensland coast were used to determine FP prevalence and trends in foraging green turtles. Within this data set, 791 turtles (3.1%) with FP tumors were recorded. Our analysis showed that prevalence varies between sites and years, with juvenile turtles being the most frequently affected by the disease. We found that survey method has a significant influence on the apparent FP prevalence detected at each site. That is, surveys which were explicitly FP‐targeted detected higher numbers of in idual turtles with FP, and therefore generated higher prevalence rates than comprehensive population surveys. We also report the first attempt at developing water quality indices (WQIs) to compare with FP prevalence data in foraging green turtles. The WQIs were built from metrics published in a range of peer‐reviewed papers, reports, and based on expert opinion. Despite utilizing an extensive data set, a relationship between FP prevalence and WQI rankings at each site could not be quantified. The analysis was confounded by a range of limitations, including data gaps, varying temporal scales and data capture methods in the FP prevalence, and water quality data sets. This study has significant implications for management as it highlights the benefits of designing and collecting centralized data that can be integrated and used across multiple projects or programs.
Publisher: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Date: 16-12-2019
Abstract: Efforts to confront the challenges of environmental change and uncertainty include attempts to adaptively manage social–ecological systems. However, critical questions remain about whether adaptive management can lead to sustainable outcomes for both ecosystems and society. Here, we make a contribution to these efforts by presenting a 16-y analysis of ecological outcomes and perceived livelihood impacts from adaptive coral reef management in Papua New Guinea. The adaptive management system we studied was a customary rotational fisheries closure system (akin to fallow agriculture), which helped to increase the biomass of reef fish and make fish less wary (more catchable) relative to openly fished areas. However, over time the amount of fish in openly fished reefs slowly declined. We found that, overall, resource users tended to have positive perceptions about this system, but there were negative perceptions when fishing was being prohibited. We also highlight some of the key traits of this adaptive management system, including 1) strong social cohesion, whereby leaders played a critical role in knowledge exchange 2) high levels of compliance, which was facilitated via a “carrot-and-stick” approach that publicly rewarded good behavior and punished deviant behavior and 3) high levels of participation by community actors.
No related grants have been discovered for Edith Shum.