ORCID Profile
0000-0002-4759-3873
Current Organisations
Macquarie University
,
Nepean Hospital
Does something not look right? The information on this page has been harvested from data sources that may not be up to date. We continue to work with information providers to improve coverage and quality. To report an issue, use the Feedback Form.
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 16-10-2021
DOI: 10.1177/1357633X211045586
Abstract: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in a widespread adoption of telehealth (phone and video consultations) in cancer care worldwide. The aim of this study was to determine patient satisfaction with telehealth consultations with their medical oncologist at a tertiary cancer centre in Sydney, Australia. Patients who attended a routine telehealth appointment at the medical oncology outpatient clinic were recruited to complete a questionnaire containing 16 items, each on a 5-point Likert scale regarding satisfaction levels in various aspects of telehealth and their willingness to continue telehealth after the pandemic. Patients were also invited to provide suggestions for improvement. In total, 150 patients were invited to participate, and 103 valid questionnaires were returned. Median age was 63 years (range: 25–90), 49% of patients were male, 63% of patients had advanced cancer and 81% were on active treatment. In total, 95% of participants indicated that they were satisfied (score ≥4) with telehealth. 82% of participants preferred to continue telehealth consultations after the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, but ideally with a mix of telehealth and in-person consultations. Phone appointments (vs. video, p 0.002), patients with advanced cancer (vs. early, p 0.036) and pre-chemotherapy/immunotherapy/targeted therapy treatment reviews (vs. follow-up appointments, p 0.001) were significantly associated with a willingness to continue telehealth. Patients were overwhelmingly satisfied with telehealth during the study period and were willing to continue telehealth for some appointments beyond the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. More research into the effectiveness, safety and implementation of telehealth to compliment traditional face-to-face services for patient-centred cancer care is required.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 31-12-2019
DOI: 10.1111/GCB.14904
Abstract: Plant traits—the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants—determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to bio ersity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait‐based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits—almost complete coverage for ‘plant growth form’. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait–environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on in idual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives.
Publisher: American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
Date: 03-2023
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-08-2019
DOI: 10.1111/NPH.16042
Abstract: Catastrophic failure of the water transport pathway in trees is a principal mechanism of mortality during extreme drought. To be able to predict the probability of mortality at an in idual and landscape scale we need knowledge of the time for plants to reach critical levels of hydraulic failure. We grew plants of eight species of Eucalyptus originating from contrasting climates before allowing a subset to dehydrate. We tested whether a trait-based model of time to plant desiccation t
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2020
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 16-03-2019
Abstract: Drought-induced tree mortality alters forest structure and function, yet our ability to predict when and how different species die during drought remains limited. Here, we explore how stomatal control and drought tolerance traits influence the duration of drought stress leading to critical levels of hydraulic failure. We examined the growth and physiological responses of four woody plant species (three angiosperms and one conifer) representing a range of water-use and drought tolerance traits over the course of two controlled drought–recovery cycles followed by an extended dry-down. At the end of the final dry-down phase, we measured changes in biomass ratios and leaf carbohydrates. During the first and second drought phases, plants of all species closed their stomata in response to decreasing water potential, but only the conifer species avoided water potentials associated with xylem embolism as a result of early stomatal closure relative to thresholds of hydraulic dysfunction. The time it took plants to reach critical levels of water stress during the final dry-down was similar among the angiosperms (ranging from 39 to 57 days to stemP88) and longer in the conifer (156 days to stemP50). Plant dry-down time was influenced by a number of factors including species stomatal-hydraulic safety margin (gsP90 – stemP50), as well as leaf succulence and minimum stomatal conductance. Leaf carbohydrate reserves (starch) were not depleted at the end of the final dry-down in any species, irrespective of the duration of drought. These findings highlight the need to consider multiple structural and functional traits when predicting the timing of hydraulic failure in plants.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 24-06-2020
DOI: 10.1104/PP.20.00464
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 26-07-2020
DOI: 10.1111/NPH.16746
Abstract: Hydraulic failure of the plant vascular system is a principal cause of forest die‐off under drought. Accurate quantification of this process is essential to our understanding of the physiological mechanisms underpinning plant mortality. Imaging techniques increasingly are applied to estimate xylem cavitation resistance. These techniques allow for in situ measurement of embolism formation in real time, although the benefits and trade‐offs associated with different techniques have not been evaluated in detail. Here we compare two imaging methods, microcomputed tomography (microCT) and optical vulnerability (OV), to standard hydraulic methods for measurement of cavitation resistance in seven woody species representing a ersity of major phylogenetic and xylem anatomical groups. Across the seven species, there was strong agreement between cavitation resistance values (P 50 ) estimated from visualization techniques (microCT and OV) and between visual techniques and hydraulic techniques. The results indicate that visual techniques provide accurate estimates of cavitation resistance and the degree to which xylem hydraulic function is impacted by embolism. Results are discussed in the context of trade‐offs associated with each technique and possible causes of discrepancy between estimates of cavitation resistance provided by visual and hydraulic techniques.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 19-10-2020
Abstract: High temperature stress imposes constraints on the productivity of agricultural systems, such as pastures, and predicted increases in global temperatures are set to exacerbate these limitations. Here, we sought to understand the impact of warmer growth temperature on gas exchange and net primary productivity for two widely cultivated pasture species. We grew a C3 legume, Medicago sativa (lucerne), and a C3 grass, Festuca arundinacea Schreb. (tall fescue), in a climate-controlled facility exposed to two temperature treatments (ambient: 26 °C, aT elevated: 30 °C, eT). Soil water was maintained at non-limiting conditions in both temperature treatments to control for the confounding effects of warming on soil moisture. We found that warming reduced photosynthetic capacity and increased leaf dark respiration (Rdark) in lucerne, while tall fescue showed little physiological change at the leaf level, but increased ecosystem respiration (Reco). Growth temperature had no significant impact on the thermal optimum of photosynthesis (Topt) or water use efficiency in either species. Both species exhibited significant reductions in productivity with warming lucerne had greater reductions in shoot biomass, while tall fescue had greater reductions in root biomass. Our results highlight the potential for significant declines in pasture productivity associated with even modest increases in average temperature and highlights the need for suitable management strategies and implementation of more heat-resistant cultivars. Improvements in photosynthetic performance for greater heat tolerance in lucerne, and traits associated with biomass allocation and root performance at higher temperatures in tall fescue, should be the focus for improving high temperature resistance in these plant species.
Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
Date: 11-2022
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 23-08-2021
DOI: 10.1111/ANS.17151
Abstract: Neoadjuvant therapy may increase the likelihood of complete (R0) resection for borderline resectable pancreatic cancer. The optimal approach is unknown and differs amongst treatment centres. We identified patients with biopsy‐proven borderline resectable pancreatic adenocarcinoma who commenced neoadjuvant therapy between January 2012 and June 2019 at three centres in Sydney, Australia. Patterns of care and outcomes of varying approaches were examined. Forty‐eight patients were identified. Median age was 66 years (range: 41–84). Staging included endoscopic ultrasound in 98%, PET‐CT scan in 77%, laparoscopy in 46%. Neoadjuvant regimens used were a combination of chemotherapy and chemo‐radiation (58%), chemotherapy alone (13%) and chemoradiation alone (29%). Radiologic complete or partial response occurred in 33% and progression in 25%. Complete macroscopic surgical resection was achieved in 50%, and R0 resection in 38%. At median follow‐up of 15 months, the 1‐year and 2‐year overall survival was 75% and 63% respectively, and the 1‐year and 2‐year progression‐free survival was 50% and 29% respectively. Significant predictors of macroscopic resectability were radiologic response ( p = 0.005) but not addition of radiotherapy to chemotherapy (OR 0.87, p = 0.81). Predictors of overall survival included baseline Ca19.9 level ( p = 0.04) and a trend to the use of systemic chemotherapy (HR 0.51, p = 0.07), but not use of radiotherapy (HR 0.70, p = 0.47). There is high variability in staging and neoadjuvant approaches for borderline resectable pancreas cancer. Despite aggressive neoadjuvant therapies, R0 resection and prolonged survival are uncommon. The incremental benefit of neoadjuvant radiotherapy after neoadjuvant chemotherapy was not demonstrated in this observational study.
No related grants have been discovered for Andrew Parsonson.