Fitness Versus Fatness: Disentangling Their Effects On Disease Outcomes And Estimating The Population Burden Of Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$188,537.00
Summary
Overweight and physical inactivity are two of the major risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetes. With increasing population levels of overweight, governments are increasingly advocating public health measures aimed at increasing physical activity levels or otherwise decreasing weight. There has been much research concerning which of these factors is the key prognostic factor for adverse health outcomes, but an ongoing lack of clarity of research findings has led to uncertainty as to ....Overweight and physical inactivity are two of the major risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetes. With increasing population levels of overweight, governments are increasingly advocating public health measures aimed at increasing physical activity levels or otherwise decreasing weight. There has been much research concerning which of these factors is the key prognostic factor for adverse health outcomes, but an ongoing lack of clarity of research findings has led to uncertainty as to the direction of recommendations for preventive health strategies and population lifestyle changes. In addition, the risks of overweight, in particular, have been accused of being exaggerated in both the scientific and lay literature. This is often due to the difficulty of dealing appropriately with time varying confounders which are also intermediate factors (such as hypertension). To date, no studies have performed careful longitudinal modelling of the joint effects of physical inactivity and overweight on cardiovascular events and diabetes while taking into account the effects of factors, such as hypertension or atherosclerosis, that influence both physical activity and overweight as well as disease, and simultaneously are consequences of these risk factors. Standard statistical methods are known to produce biased estimates in these situations but we will apply more recently developed statistical techniques to provide much improved estimation of these effects. After the statistical modelling stage, we will model the burden of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and mortality associated with given levels of overweight and physical inactivity. These will be combined with population levels of overweight and inactivity to identify the fraction of the current and future burden of disease attributable to these risk factors.Read moreRead less
Tactical Research Fund: Evaluating Source-sink Relationships Of The Western Rock Lobster Fishery Using Oceanographic Modelling
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$75,000.00
Summary
The puerulus settlement in 2007/08 was the second lowest in 40 years and follows several years of below-average settlements. Previous studies have shown that environment factors such as the Leeuwin Current and storms affect the abundance and spatial distribution of puerulus settlement. However it is important to identify if there are some changes to these environmental factors contributing to the low recruitment. Initial monitoring indicates very low 2008/09 settlement despite the Leeuwin Curr ....The puerulus settlement in 2007/08 was the second lowest in 40 years and follows several years of below-average settlements. Previous studies have shown that environment factors such as the Leeuwin Current and storms affect the abundance and spatial distribution of puerulus settlement. However it is important to identify if there are some changes to these environmental factors contributing to the low recruitment. Initial monitoring indicates very low 2008/09 settlement despite the Leeuwin Current being above average this year. This event is unexpected based on previous settlements during years of strong Leeuwin Current and has serious implications for the management of the fishery. The breeding stock overall is believed to be within historic ranges and so is not expected to have contributed to the recent decline in settlement. However it is possible that the breeding stock in certain parts of the fishery may be more critical than others and this could have changed over the years due to climate change effects. Advances in quality of satellite data in the 1990s measuring sea surface topography (altimeter satellites) have enabled significant improvements in our understanding of the environmental factors, with the assistance of oceanographic modelling. Previous oceanographic models were focussed on the open ocean circulation off the continental shelf. Recent advances enable the development of high-resolution models at 10 km spatial scale which resolve the dominant processes on the shelf. Understanding the causes of recruitment variability and their long-term trends has important implications in the stock assessment and management of the fishery. The management response would be significantly different if the cause of the series of low recruitment was due to egg production or environmental factors. An adjustment to the sustainable harvest rate may be required if there are long-term environmental trends that affect the average recruitment of the western rock lobster. Objectives: 1. To determine the relative contribution of larval production from different areas to the abundance and spatial distribution of puerulus settlement over 15 years using a larval advection model Read moreRead less
Oxygen Signalling in Grapevine Bud Dormancy. Dormancy is an important economic and ecological trait of many trees and crop plants, including most commercially valuable fruit species. This project aims to: define oxygen and radicals of oxygen as central cues of grapevine bud development and dormancy; identify and model the developmental processes that occur during dormancy onset, maintenance and release (bud burst); as well as to identify the molecular and biochemical regulators of oxygen signals ....Oxygen Signalling in Grapevine Bud Dormancy. Dormancy is an important economic and ecological trait of many trees and crop plants, including most commercially valuable fruit species. This project aims to: define oxygen and radicals of oxygen as central cues of grapevine bud development and dormancy; identify and model the developmental processes that occur during dormancy onset, maintenance and release (bud burst); as well as to identify the molecular and biochemical regulators of oxygen signals in bud dormancy. The knowledge generated could provide a platform to test impacts of climate change on fruit and tree species, and lead to better management of fruit and tree species in agricultural and ecological systems.Read moreRead less
Larval Transport And Recruitment Processes Of Southern Rock Lobster
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$333,640.00
Summary
This project arises from the need within the SRL fishery to address a series of regional and fishery-wide questions including:
What areas contribute to successful recruitment within regions of the fishery?
Will increasing the spawning biomass in regions, where it is currently very low, be likely to increase recruitment to the fishery globally, only in certain restricted areas or not at all?
To what extent are management zones linked via larval transport from both west ....This project arises from the need within the SRL fishery to address a series of regional and fishery-wide questions including:
What areas contribute to successful recruitment within regions of the fishery?
Will increasing the spawning biomass in regions, where it is currently very low, be likely to increase recruitment to the fishery globally, only in certain restricted areas or not at all?
To what extent are management zones linked via larval transport from both west to east and east to west?
What drives puerulus settlement across the range of the fishery and how can regional and interannual differences in settlement be utilised to assess the health of the stock, and assist in the future with the prediction of catch rates?
These needs have been identified by managers, industry and research providers in South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania. In Tasmania, the Crustacean Research Advisory Group gave this issue their highest priority ranking due to its importance in targeting the current management objective aimed at rebuilding egg production.
Addressing these questions will help to ensure the sustainability of the fishery, assess the merits of alternative management strategies for improving recruitment (and hence yield) and provide the basis for possible future predictions of catch rates based on puerulus and or ocean monitoring.
Objectives: 1. To examine the relationship between spawning region and settlement success across the range of the SRL fishery - identify where successfully settling puerulus come from 2. To model the effects on settlement, throughout the range of the fishery, of changing spawning output in various areas of the fishery – provide information on whether increasing spawning stock biomass in some areas will help to increase recruitment and, hence, yield 3. To identify major physical processes contributing to differences in settlement between years and between regions – help understand whether variations in puerulus settlement result from management changes or environmental effects 4. To identify mechanisms for incorporating findings of the project into on-going assessments of recruitment indices and stock status – how best to develop the model outputs into a form that managers, researchers and industry can use on an on-going basis Read moreRead less
Ascorbate and glutathione integrate the control of grapevine development. This project aims to make a step-change in understanding how the growth of woody perennial crops is regulated. The study of herbaceous annual plants has established that the antioxidants, ascorbate and glutathione, are important in regulating every step of plant development. However, this cannot readily translate to perennial life cycles. This project will develop novel genetic tools in grapevine that enable functional stu ....Ascorbate and glutathione integrate the control of grapevine development. This project aims to make a step-change in understanding how the growth of woody perennial crops is regulated. The study of herbaceous annual plants has established that the antioxidants, ascorbate and glutathione, are important in regulating every step of plant development. However, this cannot readily translate to perennial life cycles. This project will develop novel genetic tools in grapevine that enable functional studies of these antioxidants in a perennial plant for the first time. It will investigate how ascorbate and glutathione regulate the development of grapevine, and how these functions integrate with hormone and energy metabolism. The outcomes will advance our ability to manage perennial crops in current and future climates.Read moreRead less
Assessment Of Rectal And Urinary Toxicity From The RADAR Prostate Radiotherapy Trial – Dosimetric Constraints For Novel Symptom Clustering, Derivation Of Radiobiological Parameters And Assessment Of Patient Localisation Effects
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$323,484.00
Summary
Increasing prostate radiotherapy cure rates by increasing radiation dose is limited by side-effects in the rectum and bladder which can greatly decrease patient quality of life. This study will utilise detailed data, collected during a large Australasian trial, to extract information on how patterns of dose delivery influence side-effects in the bladder and rectum, including a novel definition of rectal toxicity. The result will be more effective future treatment.
An Investigation Of The Habitat Requirements Of Post-puerulus Stocks Of Western Rock Lobster (Panulirus Cygnus)
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Summary
Objectives: 1. Investigate natural habitat of post-puerulus western rock lobster; compare densities of p. settlement on artificial collectors & in natural habitats; 2. Predict catches more accurately; enhance abundance & survival of post-p hence adult through knowledge of habitat requirements.
A Preliminary Study Of The Dynamics Of Recreational Fishing In The Western Rock Lobster Fishery For Use In Integrated Fisheries Management
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$33,149.00
Summary
The western rock lobster fishery is to be one of the first of Western Australia’s fisheries to move to an integrated fisheries management (IFM) approach. Fundamental to this approach is the allocation of catch shares to the commercial and recreational fishing sectors and the implementation of appropriate controls to ensure that these catch shares are not exceeded. Although the commercial fishery has been the subject of much study, no dynamic models of the impact on the rock lobster fishery of r ....The western rock lobster fishery is to be one of the first of Western Australia’s fisheries to move to an integrated fisheries management (IFM) approach. Fundamental to this approach is the allocation of catch shares to the commercial and recreational fishing sectors and the implementation of appropriate controls to ensure that these catch shares are not exceeded. Although the commercial fishery has been the subject of much study, no dynamic models of the impact on the rock lobster fishery of recreational fishing effort have been developed. The only models that exist are empirical, statistical models that describe the catch and effort that are likely to be experienced following the specific levels of puerulus settlement that were recorded. To ensure that integrated fisheries management of the western rock lobster fishery is successful, there is an urgent need to develop a conventional fisheries model to describe the relationships between recreational and commercial catches and recreational fishing effort, particularly in the nearshore region where recreational fishing effort is concentrated. Knowledge of such relationships is essential if the response of catch shares to controls on recreational effort is to be predicted. The proposed study is intended as a pilot study to develop a basic model of the nearshore commercial and recreational fishery in several specific locations for use in the development of an IFM approach for the western rock lobster fishery and to identify more clearly the framework of a more detailed model of the fishery that will be required in the future to support IFM. Objectives: 1. To model commercial and recreational fishing of the nearshore rock lobster fishery. Read moreRead less