Scholarly publishing depends on peer reviewers

The peer-review crisis is posing a risk to the scholarly peer-reviewed journal system. Journals have to ask many potential peer reviewers to obtain a minimum acceptable number of peers accepting reviewing a manuscript. Several solutions have been suggested to overcome this shortage. From reimbursing for the job, to eliminating pre-publication reviews, one cannot predict which is more dangerous for the future of scholarly publishing. And, why not acknowledging their contribution to the final version of the article published? PubMed created two categories of contributors: authors [AU] and collaborators [IR]. Why not a third category for the peer-reviewer?Scopu

Do we all face the same risk when bathing in the estuary?

With the development of coastal areas, microbial water quality is an emerging public health issue though few studies have focused on risks according to age. A survey was undertaken of faecal contamination in relation to recreational activities in the Peel Harvey estuarine system, Western Australia. Levels of exposure to contaminated water were estimated though social surveys. Follow-up was also conducted to estimate the incidence of disease associated with bathing in the estuary. Pathogen levels exceeded the guideline values recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) at most locations throughout the year. The social survey provided information about exposure of the population in age groups. Only 31% of the recreational users belonged to the healthy adult group upon which the WHO quantitative microbial risk assessment model is based. A correlation was established between microbial water quality and incidence of respiratory diseases for children as well as for adults. Exposure to recreational water increased the incidence of respiratory illnesses for the whole population almost by a factor 2. Behaviours which resulted in increased exposures were associated with increased incidence of illnesses were observed, particularly among children aged 11-15 yr, who exhibited the highest odd ratio (OR 4.23 [2.44-6.01], CI 95%, p = 0.05). There is a need for combining epidemiology studies with risk assessment processes and complementing them with social surveys for understanding the risk of recreational activities to public health

Biology of seagrasses : a treatise on the biology of seagrasses with special reference to the Australian region

Hardbound. Seagrasses are a common feature of inshore coastal waters of all continents except Antarctica. This book, the first to attempt a comprehensive coverage of seagrasses, will attract a wide audience including botanists, zoologists, geologists, and experts in fisheries and coastal management. There are individual chapters on all aspects of the plants themselves, from questions of taxonomy, reproduction and evolution, through ecology and biogeography, to the physiological aspects of photosynthesis, nutrition and salt balance.The fauna associated with seagrass beds are also dealt with extensively, including meiofauna, large grazers (including dugongs and turtles), and fish. The book examines the role of seagrass beds as nursery grounds for commercially important fish, and addresses the problems of human impact on seagrass communities, the conservation of seagrass beds, and their restoration

Importance of public information and perception for managing recreational activities in the Peel-Harvey estuary, Western Australia

Surveys of water recreational activities were conducted in the Peel-Harvey estuary. Channels used by recreationists to gain information about water quality, the perception of water quality and resulting behaviour were investigated. This study showed that personal perception, local knowledge and history, absence of warnings and residency were major factors contributing to risk perception and behaviour in this recreational community. Management strategies should take this information into account to achieve maximal outcomes

Faecal waste and the natural environment: Water quality and epidemiological implications

With the development of coastal areas, microbial water quality and its implication for the health of recreational users is an emerging public health issue. A survey was undertaken of faecal contamination levels resulting from poor agricultural and urban waste management in the Peel Harvey estuarine system in Western Australia. Indicator levels were compared to maximum values recommended by Australian and international guidelines. Exposure to contamination was estimated though social surveys so that the health risk of the recreational population could be assessed. Pathogen levels exceeded the guideline values recommended by NHMRC and WHO at most locations all year through. The social survey provided information of exposure of the population per age group. Only 31 % of the recreational users belonged to the healthy adult group upon which the QRA model is based, and the limitations of this approach are discussed, Conclusions were drawn on the implications of poor waste management practices on water recreational users' health and on the validity of the current national and international guidelines

Decline of seagrasses

Other chapters underline the importance of seagrasses to our nearshore ecosystems, for example in supporting fish populations and modifying sediment movement wave energy, and it is clear that seagrasses are important components of major Australian ecosystems. While in the natural environment a variety of factors affect the dynamic processed involved in the establishment, maintenance and erosion of seagrass meadows in an unstable, often high-energy environment, one can only view with concern the more or less irreversible loss of meadows, often over extensive areas, which have taken place as a consequence of man's activities. It is this 'cultural' decline in seagrass meadows which is the subject of this chapter, which addresses case studies drawn from several States, reviews mechanisms which may be responsible for seagrass decline, and addresses management considerations. The most extensively documented example of seagrass decline on the western coast has occurred in Cockburn Sound, a marine embayment 30kmsouth of the capital city, Perth (Figure 12.1). A decision was taken to locate a major industrial development around the Sound, which is the only extensive, sheltered, deep-water area close to Perth on an otherwise inhospitable and high-energy coastline. A basin almost 20m deep, the Sound is protected on the east by Garden Island, and on the north and south by shallow banks covered by 3-5 m of water; these features restrict the exchange of water between the basin and the open ocean. A dredged channel through the northern bank allows access by deep-draught vessels. Development began in 1954. On the mainland several major industries were established, including an oil refinery, blast furnace and steel-rolling mill, superphosphate factory, and processing plants for alumina and nickel. Garden Island became the site for a major naval facility. Industrial effluents began to enter the Sound, and to the north a sewage treatment plant began discharging in the mid 1960's. Ten species of seagrasses were associated with the Sound. Posidonia sinuosa (formerly included in Posidonia australis) formed extensive meadows, with Posidonia australis, Amphibolis antarctica and Amphibolis griffithii at the edges of P. sinuosa meadows or in more turbulent, disturbed areas. Posidonia angustifolia is included tentatively; though no longer found there it was probably present around limestone rocks as it is in adjoining waters

What happens when you add salt: Predicting impacts of secondary salinisation on shallow aquatic ecosystems by using an alternative-states model

Alternative-states theory commonly applied, for aquatic systems, to shallow lakes that may be dominated alternately by macrophytes and phytoplankton, under clear-water and enriched conditions, respectively, has been used in this study as a basis to define different states that may occur with changes in wetland salinity. Many wetlands of the south-west of Western Australia are threatened by rapidly increasing levels of salinity as well as greater water depths and permanency of water regime. We identified contrasting aquatic vegetation states that were closely associated with different salinities. Salinisation results in the loss of freshwater species of submerged macrophytes and the dominance of a small number of more salt-tolerant species. With increasing salinity, these systems may undergo further change to microbial mat-dominated systems composed mostly of cyanobacteria and halophilic bacteria. The effect of other environmental influences in mediating switches of vegetation was also examined. Colour and turbidity may play important roles at low to intermediate salinities [concentration of total dissolved solids (TDS) 10 000 mg L–1 TDS). The role of nutrients remains largely unquantified in saline systems. We propose that alternative-states theory provides the basis of a conceptual framework for predicting impacts on wetlands affected by secondary salinisation. The ability to recognise and predict a change in state with changes in salinity adds a further tool to decision-making processes. A change in state represents a fundamental change in ecosystem function and may be difficult to reverse. This information is also important for the development of restoration strategies. Further work is required to better understand the influence of temporal variation in salinity on vegetation states and probable hysteresis effects

Characterization Of The Human Nek7 Interactome Suggests Catalytic And Regulatory Properties Distinct From Those Of Nek6

Human NEK7 is a regulator of cell division and plays an important role in growth and survival of mammalian cells. Human NEK6 and NEK7 are closely related, consisting of a conserved C-terminal catalytic domain and a nonconserved and disordered N-terminal regulatory domain, crucial to mediate the interactions with their respective proteins. Here, in order to better understand NEK7 cellular functions, we characterize the NEK7 interactome by two screening approaches: one using a yeast two-hybrid system and the other based on immunoprecipitation followed by mass spectrometry analysis. These approaches led to the identification of 61 NEK7 interactors that contribute to a variety of biological processes, including cell division. Combining additional interaction and phosphorylation assays from yeast two-hybrid screens, we validated CC2D1A, TUBB2B, MNAT1, and NEK9 proteins as potential NEK7 interactors and substrates. Notably, endogenous RGS2, TUBB, MNAT1, NEK9, and PLEKHA8 localized with NEK7 at key sites throughout the cell cycle, especially during mitosis and cytokinesis. Furthermore, we obtained evidence that the closely related kinases NEK6 and NEK7 do not share common interactors, with the exception of NEK9, and display different modes of protein interaction, depending on their N- and C-terminal regions, in distinct fashions. In summary, our work shows for the first time a comprehensive NEK7 interactome that, combined with functional in vitro and in vivo assays, suggests that NEK7 is a multifunctional kinase acting in different cellular processes in concert with cell division signaling and independently of NEK6.13940744090Ma, H.T., Poon, R.Y., How protein kinases co-ordinate mitosis in animal cells (2011) Biochem. 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