Feeding to increase productivity and reduce greenhouse gas emissions

Methane is a by-product in the digestion of plant material by all cattle and sheep. Effectively it is wasted feed material and energy that could otherwise be available for animal production. It is also a major greenhouse gas (14% of Australia’s emissions). Beef cattle contribute 50% of these emissions. Feed materials containing lipid can reduce methane and increase productivity. We evaluated coconut and cottonseed oil containing feed supplements both in the laboratory and as feed supplements for beef cattle. Both supplements increased liveweight gain (up to 20-30 kg) over a 7 week period. There was no overall increase in methane emissions per head but a substantial decrease in methane emitted per unit of production. We recommended the use of coconut and cottonseed additives, with oil content up to 6%, to increase liveweight gain in cattle and decrease methane per kilogram of average daily gain

Enhancing digestibility of native pastures by cattle using kangaroo fibrolytic bacteria

This project investigated whether plant fibrolytic bacteria from the kangaroo gut could establish stable populations in cattle and improve digestion of native pastures. Four fibrolytic bacterial isolates were evaluated. All except one species failed to persist when introduced to a rumen-based fermentation in vitro and unfortunately all rapidly disappeared when inoculated into the rumen of rumen cannulated cattle. Analysis of kangaroo forestomach contents from 42 kangaroos indicated that the fibrolytic bacteria that had been evaluated were unlikely to be the dominant fibrolytic species in vivo, suggesting a culture-based bias towards these fibrolytic species. Culture-independent, DNA-based techniques have now provided a more accurate picture of the dominant fibrolytic community in the kangaroo gut. However, additional research would be required to isolate, characterise and assess the ability of these fibrolytic bacteria to colonise the rumen and improve the digestion of native pastures

Communication of suicide intent by schizophrenic subjects: data from the Queensland Suicide Register

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Suicide in mentally ill subjects, like schizophrenics, remains unbearably frequent in Australia and elsewhere. Since these patients are known to constitute a high-risk group, suicide in them should be amongst the most preventable ones. The objective of this study is to investigate the frequency of suicide communication in subjects with reported history of schizophrenia who completed suicide.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>The Queensland Suicide Register (QSR) was utilised to identify suicide cases. Frequency of suicide communication was examined in subjects with schizophrenia, and compared with persons with other psychiatric conditions and with subjects with no reported diagnosis. Socio-demographic variables, history of suicidal behaviour, pharmacological treatment and mental health service utilisation were also compared among the three groups.</p> <p>Results and discussion</p> <p>Subjects with a reported diagnosis of schizophrenia comprised 7.2% (n = 135) of the 1,863 suicides included in this study. Subjects with schizophrenia and those with other psychiatric disorders communicated their suicide intent more frequently than those with no psychiatric diagnosis, and persons with schizophrenia communicated their intent more than those with other psychiatric diagnoses. Seventy one per cent of schizophrenia subjects had contact with a mental health professional within the three months prior to suicide.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The fact that subjects with schizophrenia had the highest prevalence of suicide intent communication could offer concrete opportunities for suicide prevention.</p

Increasing productivity and reducing methane emissions by supplementing feed with dietary lipids

Methane (CH4) is a by-product in the digestion of plant material by all cattle and sheep. Effectively it is wasted feed material and energy that could otherwise be available for animal production. It is also a major greenhouse gas (14% of Australia’s emissions). Beef cattle contribute 50% of these emissions. Many lipid containing feed materials are known to reduce methane emissions, as well as increasing productivity when used as supplementary feeds. The purpose of this project is to investigate the impact of lipid containing feed additives on the suppression of methane emissions and improvements in the growth rate of steers fed a basal diet of tropical pastures

Rumen bacterial diversity with and without mulga (Acacia aneura) tannins

Feral goats are able to survive in many semi-arid areas of Australia. Under drought conditions, the only form of available feed is often mulga, which has a very high content of condensed tannins (5-24% dry weight). While feral goats apparently thrive on this diet, sheep do very poorly and lose liveweight rapidly. It has been shown that the transfer of rumen contents from feral goats to sheep can significantly improve mulga digestion, suggesting that the ruminal microflora of feral goats may contain tannin tolerant or degrading bacteria. To identify likely communities or associations of bacteria that may undertake this task, a comparative study of the bacterial ecology of the rumens of feral goats fed mulga and sheep fed either mulga or grass was undertaken. This study used the culture independent techniques of generation of 16S rDNA clone libraries and fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) probing. From the clone libraries, bacteria were mainly (>90%) within the divisions Cytophaga-Flexibacter-Bacteroides (CFB) and low mol% G+C Gram positive bacteria (LGCGPB). In animals fed mulga, the CFB predominated (goat - 82% CFB and 11% LGCGPB; sheep - 78% CFB and 21% LGCGPB) whereas in sheep fed grass, the LGCGPB predominated (25% CFB vs 74% LGCGPB). In all clone libraries, few bacterial species were closely related to previously cultured bacteria, making it difficult to assign phenotypic traits. FISH probing of mulga fed -rumen (feral goats and sheep) or -fermentor samples demonstrated a predominance of CFB and gamma proteobacteria. This first molecular ecological study of tannin associated microbial communities suggested that bacteria from these two groups may be either more tolerant to tannins or able to degrade tannins. Further work will be required to elucidate the important members of these groups and to obtain them in culture

Culturally and Linguistically Diverse School Environments – Exploring the Unknown

Abstract: Australian education policies aspire to meet the unique needs of all students including those from linguistically diverse backgrounds; however, a first step in achieving this aim is clear identification of such students. Many children from previous migrant families and new arrivals to Australia come from homes where at least one parent speaks a language other than English. This exploratory research utilises survey and interview responses from students and staff in five Queensland state high schools. Results showed that 79.5% of the 2,484 students surveyed were from English-only homes with only 10.5% classified as having English as Another Language/Dialect. The remaining 10% were also from bi/multilingual homes. While early identification of bi/multilingual students allows for appropriate assessment and strategic support, staff responses highlighted limited preservice training and/or understanding of how to support these students. Only 4.7% of staff surveyed had received any academic training, and 10.4% professional development, about teaching students from diverse backgrounds who, in the surveyed schools, accounted for 20.5% of the student cohort