Identification of nuclear reprogramming factors in oocyte cytoplasm. The mature oocyte contains dominant factors that are capable of erasing tissue specific gene expression profiles of somatic cells. These reprogramming factors would be valuable for dedifferentiation of cells and for nuclear transfer in animal cloning. The research involves determination of reprogramming factors present in active cytoplasm following enucleation of the germinal vesicle, blockage of transcription and translation, ....Identification of nuclear reprogramming factors in oocyte cytoplasm. The mature oocyte contains dominant factors that are capable of erasing tissue specific gene expression profiles of somatic cells. These reprogramming factors would be valuable for dedifferentiation of cells and for nuclear transfer in animal cloning. The research involves determination of reprogramming factors present in active cytoplasm following enucleation of the germinal vesicle, blockage of transcription and translation, and timed cultures. The assays will involve maintenance of reprogramming ability and erasure of somatic gene transcription. By subtractive elimination the function of isolated proteins which are involved in reprogramming will be identified for potential recombinant production.Read moreRead less
In vitro prediction tests of fertility of frozen semen of sheep and cattle. Variation in fertility after artificial insemination (AI) of frozen semen is high and leads to economic loss. Routine assessment of the quality of frozen semen relies on crude, simple tests of motility and morphology of sperm. More sophisticated sperm ultrastructural and function tests have recently been developed, but it is not known how these tests relate to fertility in the field. In this project we will test a ran ....In vitro prediction tests of fertility of frozen semen of sheep and cattle. Variation in fertility after artificial insemination (AI) of frozen semen is high and leads to economic loss. Routine assessment of the quality of frozen semen relies on crude, simple tests of motility and morphology of sperm. More sophisticated sperm ultrastructural and function tests have recently been developed, but it is not known how these tests relate to fertility in the field. In this project we will test a range of in vitro methods of assessment of motility and morphology of sperm and compare them with fertility of frozen semen samples after AI, leading to more objective methods of semen analysis.Read moreRead less
A generic decision-making design environment to enable end users in rural industries to develop expert systems. Successful decision support systems developed by end-users has been limited: our proposed approach advances this capability. Using natural representations of industry knowledge, this project will specify a generic design environment in which industry end-users can develop relevant decision support systems. It extends expert systems technologies to overcome known limitations, increasin ....A generic decision-making design environment to enable end users in rural industries to develop expert systems. Successful decision support systems developed by end-users has been limited: our proposed approach advances this capability. Using natural representations of industry knowledge, this project will specify a generic design environment in which industry end-users can develop relevant decision support systems. It extends expert systems technologies to overcome known limitations, increasing context and relevance and encouraging user uptake. Key industry stakeholders will select relevant problems to identify decision categories, leading to specification of the generic design environment. This promises improved decision quality for dairy farmers in the recently deregulated dairy industry; the design environment will be transferable to other rural industries.Read moreRead less
Improving dairy cow fertility: targeting exosome-responsive cell pathways. . This project aims to assist the dairy industry to achieve its goal of increasing the six-week in-calf pregnancy rate in dairy cows by at least 10 per cent within five years via the identification of circulating exosomal biomarkers of improved fertility that will be used to develop superior breeding stock to deliver higher industry productivity. The impact of novel biomarkers will permit the Australian and New Zealand da ....Improving dairy cow fertility: targeting exosome-responsive cell pathways. . This project aims to assist the dairy industry to achieve its goal of increasing the six-week in-calf pregnancy rate in dairy cows by at least 10 per cent within five years via the identification of circulating exosomal biomarkers of improved fertility that will be used to develop superior breeding stock to deliver higher industry productivity. The impact of novel biomarkers will permit the Australian and New Zealand dairy industries to meet their targets and provide economic benefit to the respective industries, whilst ensuring availability of low cost milk to Australian citizens.Read moreRead less
Immunological mechanisms underlying the protective immune responses induced by botulinum oil adjuvanted vaccine. Botulism is recognised as an important bacterial pathogen in commercial beef cattle in Australia and around the world. Development of affective, well-researched vaccine against Clostridium botulinum is a high priority for the cattle industry. A novel oil adjuvanted vaccine (Singvac from Fort Dodge Pty Ltd) has advantage over conventional vaccines as it provides full protection follo ....Immunological mechanisms underlying the protective immune responses induced by botulinum oil adjuvanted vaccine. Botulism is recognised as an important bacterial pathogen in commercial beef cattle in Australia and around the world. Development of affective, well-researched vaccine against Clostridium botulinum is a high priority for the cattle industry. A novel oil adjuvanted vaccine (Singvac from Fort Dodge Pty Ltd) has advantage over conventional vaccines as it provides full protection following a single administration. The aims of this study are to investigate the immunological mechanisms underlying the protective response by this novel vaccine using bovine and murine models. This study will discover new control measures for botulism in Australia.Read moreRead less
Applications of probiotics in yoghurt, soy yoghurt and Cheddar cheese. The main goal of this study is to develop probiotic yoghurt and Cheddar cheese using selected strains of probiotic bacteria and examine their survival and effects on proteolysis and sensory attributes of these products. Research aimed at enrichment of suitable probiotic adjunct starter in these products provides the potential to markedly improve both the health status and quality of products. Optimum conditions for survival o ....Applications of probiotics in yoghurt, soy yoghurt and Cheddar cheese. The main goal of this study is to develop probiotic yoghurt and Cheddar cheese using selected strains of probiotic bacteria and examine their survival and effects on proteolysis and sensory attributes of these products. Research aimed at enrichment of suitable probiotic adjunct starter in these products provides the potential to markedly improve both the health status and quality of products. Optimum conditions for survival of probiotic bacteria and processing conditions that guarantee high levels of probiotic bacteria for health benefits will be known. The results will provide critical information for improving survival of probiotic bacteria and quality of probiotic yoghurt, and Cheddar cheese.Read moreRead less
Stability of bioactive isoflavone aglycones and probiotic bacteria in soy based food during processing and storage. The aims of this study are to ascertain the optimum conditions for bioconversion of inactive isoflavone glucosides to bioactive isoflavone aglycones by bifidobacteria and assess the stability of bioactive aglycones during processing and storage. Studies have shown that dietary phytoestrogen an important role in prevention of cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis and breast and prost ....Stability of bioactive isoflavone aglycones and probiotic bacteria in soy based food during processing and storage. The aims of this study are to ascertain the optimum conditions for bioconversion of inactive isoflavone glucosides to bioactive isoflavone aglycones by bifidobacteria and assess the stability of bioactive aglycones during processing and storage. Studies have shown that dietary phytoestrogen an important role in prevention of cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis and breast and prostate cancer (Nagata et al., 1998). Optimum conditions for production of bioactive isoflavones and processing conditions that guarantee high levels of bioactive isoflavones for health benefits will be known. The results will provide critical information for creating market potential for a range of health based functional foods.Read moreRead less
Carbon nanotube based electrodes for rapid, dry electro-physiological measurements. Optimised electrical sensors with nanotechnology coatings will be developed for a device that farmers can use to pregnancy test their herd without the need for a vet. This will lead to greater improved management of beef and dairy cattle pregnancies and has been estimated to be worth over $100 million per year to the Australian beef industry.
Markers of milk quality in commercially produced UHT milks and milk powders. Efficient production of safe, wholesome food relies on the application of the best available knowledge of the food material and the processing technologies involved. This project applies proteomics, the most advanced protein analysis technique, to determine the changes that occur in milk during high heat treatment and subsequent storage of the heat-processed milk product. Armed with such knowledge, the dairy processin ....Markers of milk quality in commercially produced UHT milks and milk powders. Efficient production of safe, wholesome food relies on the application of the best available knowledge of the food material and the processing technologies involved. This project applies proteomics, the most advanced protein analysis technique, to determine the changes that occur in milk during high heat treatment and subsequent storage of the heat-processed milk product. Armed with such knowledge, the dairy processing industry will be able to make informed decisions about processing and storage conditions to ensure the final products provided to the consumer are of the highest possible quality. Read moreRead less
Production of Concentrated Fresh Milk Products. This project focuses on developing production processes for concentrated fresh milk ingredients for the international market. Ultrafiltration of whole milk solutions will be extended to maximise the product protein concentration. Electrodialysis and nanofiltration will be tailored to separate salts from lactose and produce 'designer' products with minimum wastage and energy consumption. Production of lactitol from dairy lactose, a potential new man ....Production of Concentrated Fresh Milk Products. This project focuses on developing production processes for concentrated fresh milk ingredients for the international market. Ultrafiltration of whole milk solutions will be extended to maximise the product protein concentration. Electrodialysis and nanofiltration will be tailored to separate salts from lactose and produce 'designer' products with minimum wastage and energy consumption. Production of lactitol from dairy lactose, a potential new manufacturing operation for Australia, will be assessed. This project will result in diversion of quality ingredients from commodity markets to products with significant added value. The Korumburra region will benefit financially and socially from expansion in the local dairy industry.
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