Electrochemistry and application of a novel monosubstituted squarate electron-transfer mediator in a glucose oxidase-doped poly(phenol) sensor

Electrosynthetic poly(phenol) nanofilms were deposited in situ on platinum electrodes in the presence and absence of glucose oxidase. The synthesis charges and currents of the nonconducting polymer films were recorded at various applied potentials for films grown from 25–100 mM phenol concentrations. Film parameters such as the standard rate constant for film deposition, film thickness, and surface concentration of the poly(phenol) films were evaluated from the cyclic and step voltammograms of the polymerization process. A novel electron-transfer mediator consisting of monosubstituted 4-hydroxycyclobut-3-ene-1,2-dione (squarate) was used as a mediator for Pt/poly(phenol) nano-film/GOx amperometric glucose biosensors. Amperometric responses for 3-diphenylamino-4-hydroxycyclobut-3-ene-1,2- dione (diphenylaminosquarate: E°′ = of +328 mV/Ag-AgCl at pH 7.0)-mediated systems were measured by both steady-state amperometric and cyclic voltammetry. The sensor sensitivity was calculated to be 558 nA cm –2 (µM) –1

An Assessment of How Australian Fisheries Management Plans Account for Climate Change Impacts

For Australian fisheries to remain productive and sustainable (environmentally and commercially), there is a need to incorporate climate change considerations into management and planning, and to implement planned climate adaptation options. Here, we determine the extent to which Australian state fisheries management documents consider issues relating to climate change, as well as how frequently climate change is considered a research funding priority within fisheries research in Australia. We conduct a content analysis of fisheries management documents investigating categories and themes relating to Australian state fisheries, climate, and environmental change. We also reviewed recent Research Priorities from the major fisheries research funding body for reference to climate change related themes, and the number of subsequently funded projects which considered climate change or related topics. Results show that commercial state fisheries management documents consider climate only to a limited degree in comparison to other topics, with less than one-quarter of all fisheries management documents having content relating to climate. However, we find that the south-east and south-west regions of the Australian coastline have the highest incorporation of “climate” and “environmental protection considerations” in their fisheries management documents, and that fisheries are more likely to have more “climate-related mentions” within their related management documents, if they (i) primarily target species with higher economic commercial catch values, (ii) commercial catch weights, or (iii) a greater number of commercial fish stocks existing. Only a small number of recently funded fisheries research projects considered climate change, representing only a small proportion of fisheries research investment. Given the extensive climate-driven impacts recently documented among key Australian fisheries species and associated ecosystems, we conclude that there is a clear need for fisheries management in Australia to consider longer-term climate adaptation strategies for Australian commercial state fisheries to remain sustainable into the future. We suggest that without additional climate-related fisheries research and funding, many Australian agencies and fisheries may not be prepared for the impacts and subsequent adaptation efforts required for sustainable fisheries under climate chang

Ocean warming hotspots provide early warning laboratories for climate change impacts

A growing literature describes a wide range of negative impacts of climate change on marine resources and the people and communities they support, including species range changes, changes in productivity of fisheries and declines in economic performance (Doney et al. 2012; Poloczanska et al. 2013). These impacts, many of which are projected to increase in future, are compounded by growing pressures on marine resources (Halpern et al. 2008; Maxwell et al. 2013). An estimated 260 million people are involved directly or indirectly in global marine fisheries (Teh and Sumaila 2013) with many of the resources for capture fisheries already fully (&57 % in 2009) or over exploited (30 %) (FAO 2012). Nevertheless, production of marine resources will need to increase to accommodate the demands of a growing population, and the impacts of climate change on food security will need to be minimised (FAO 2009). Identifying opportunities and threats, and developing adaptation options in response to climate change impacts in the marine realm, is essential for optimising the benefits that society can continue to derive from the goods and services provided by marine resources

Stakeholder influence and relationships informengagement strategies in marine conservation

Many current marine conservation approaches do not adequately consider the diverse social elements and human aspects necessary to achieve conservation outcomes. The results of conservation research are therefore not always useful for conservation managers to apply in practice. To address this gap, this study combines qualitative methods and quantitative social network analysis to help conservation managers gain in-depth insight into social elements of marine conservation and opportunities that can help achieve conservation outcomes. Specifically, using the North West Shelf Flatback Turtle Conservation Program as a case study, our analysis shows that 1) a stakeholder’s position in the turtle conservation network is not the sole or best indicator of their leadership potential to achieve conservation outcomes, 2) peripheral stakeholders are also important for trust, decision-making, and future success, 3) mixed-methods can identify additional opportunities to maintain and further build trust and influence between diverse stakeholders 4) building relationships to support conservation outcomes is accomplished by leveraging stakeholders’ roles in the conservation program. By identifying who has influence and who needs to be involved in marine conservation to achieve success, this study demonstrates the value of mixed-methods research approaches. Specifically, our findings show how social network approaches can help conservation managers and stakeholders strategically build communication and engagement strategies that can be used to achieve conservation outcomes.This work was supported by the North West Shelf Flatback Turtle Conservation program; GTP was supported by an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship; and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation

Psychological and somatic symptoms among breast cancer patients in four European countries : A cross-lagged panel model

Psychological and physical health among women with breast cancer are linked. However, more research is needed to test the interrelations between psychological and somatic symptoms, over time and throughout the different phases of breast cancer treatment, to determine when and which interventions should be prioritized. Six hundred and eighty nine women from four countries (Finland, Israel, Italy and Portugal) completed questionnaires during their first clinical consultation following diagnosis with breast cancer, and again after 3 and 6 months. The questionnaires included self-reported measures of psychological symptoms (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule Short Form) and somatic symptoms [selected items from the International European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) questionnaires]. Psychological and somatic symptoms were relatively stable across the three time-points. Cross-lagged paths leading from somatic to psychological symptoms (beta coefficients of 0.08-0.10), as well as vice-versa (beta 0.11-0.12), were found to be significant. No evidence was found for cross-cultural differences in mutual effects of psychological and somatic symptoms. The findings of this study call for tailoring personal interventions for breast cancer patients-either from a somatic perspective or a psychological perspective-and adjust them to the specific experiences of the individual patient.Peer reviewe

World squid fisheries

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

From global to regional and back again: common climate stressors of marine ecosystems relevant for adaptation across five ocean warming hotspots

Ocean warming ‘hotspots’ are regions characterized by above-average temperature increases over recent years, for which there are significant consequences for both living marine resources and the societies that depend on them. As such, they represent early warning systems for understanding the impacts of marine climate change, and test-beds for developing adaptation options for coping with those impacts. Here, we examine five hotspots off the coasts of eastern Australia, South Africa, Madagascar, India and Brazil. These particular hotspots have underpinned a large international partnership that is working towards improving community adaptation by characterizing, assessing and projecting the likely future of coastal-marine food resources through the provision and sharing of knowledge. To inform this effort, we employ a high-resolution global ocean model forced by Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 and simulated to year 2099. In addition to the sea surface temperature, we analyse projected stratification, nutrient supply, primary production, anthropogenic CO2-driven ocean acidification, deoxygenation and ocean circulation. Our simulation finds that the temperature-defined hotspots studied here will continue to experience warming but, with the exception of eastern Australia, may not remain the fastest warming ocean areas over the next century as the strongest warming is projected to occur in the subpolar and polar areas of the Northern Hemisphere. Additionally, we find that recent rapid change in SST is not necessarily an indicator that these areas are also hotspots of the other climatic stressors examined. However, a consistent facet of the hotspots studied here is that they are all strongly influenced by ocean circulation, which has already shown changes in the recent past and is projected to undergo further strong change into the future. In addition to the fast warming, change in local ocean circulation represents a distinct feature of present and future climate change impacting marine ecosystems in these areas

Gene Set Enrichment Analysis Identifies LIF as a Negative Regulator of Human Th2 Cell Differentiation

In this study we show that IL-4 is crucial during reinforcement window of human Th2 differentiation for optimal Th2 development. We have also shown here that during this stage, IL-4 helps in cellular decision-making process of differentiation versus proliferation. We have combined computational and experimental methods to analyze Th2 transcription network to name novel players of the process of Th2 differentiation. Here we report that LIF through STAT3 negatively regulates Th2 differentiation. This approach can be generalized to analyze “omics” data to identify key regulatory modules

Effects of Climate Variability and Change on the Population Dynamics of Cephalopods and a Predictive and Forecast Framework to Inform Fisheries Management

AFS Global Conference, 22-23 October 2020, onlineN