Bone and Joint Diseases: Prevention and Control

Arthritis is Australia's major cause of disability and chronic pain. In Australian women, osteoarthritis is the third leading cause of years lost due to disability. Osteoporosis affects nearly two million Australians. The Federal government acknowledged the importance of musculoskeletal diseases by designating arthritis and musculoskeletal diseases as the seventh National Health Priority. This decade has been designated by the United Nations and the World Health Organization as the Decade of Bone and Joint Disease. To try to raise awareness, the National Action Network (the committee charged with organising activities in Australia) arranged a summit in 2002 to focus on preventive issues for osteoporosis and arthritis, and the benefits of surgical approaches

Interlaboratory comparison of particle filtration efficiency testing equipment

This work presents the results of two interlaboratory comparisons of particle filtration efficiency measurements performed by a network of laboratories across Canada and Australia. Testing across multiple layers of a common verification material demonstrates a constant size-resolved quality factor when layering uncharged materials. Size-resolved filtration curves also match expectations, with increasingly size-dependent curves and a predictable increase in the PFE. Candidate reference materials with controlled material properties were also tested across multiple laboratories. Each set of materials sharing a common charge level show specific trends with the material basis weight. Respirators showed more consistency between the laboratories than the other filters. However, across a majority of the tests, dark uncertainties, which are otherwise unexplained variability between laboratories, are significant. This leaves room to improve the test method by developing improved verification procedures and additional reference materials.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figure

Oxygen Dependence of Omeprazole Clearance and Sulfone and Sulfide Metabolite Formation in the Isolated Perfused Rat Liver1

ABSTRACT and hemoglobin content of perfusate)

Systematic experimental comparison of particle filtration efficiency test methods for commercial respirators and face masks

Respirators, medical masks, and barrier face coverings all filter airborne particles using similar physical principles. However, they are tested for certification using a variety of standardized test methods, creating challenges for the comparison of differently certified products. We have performed systematic experiments to quantify and understand the differences between standardized test methods for N95 respirators (NIOSH TEB-APR-STP-0059 under US 42 CFR 84), medical face masks (ASTM F2299/F2100), and COVID-19-related barrier face coverings (ASTM F3502-21). Our experiments demonstrate the role of face velocity, particle properties (mean size, size variability, electric charge, density, and shape), measurement techniques, and environmental preconditioning. The measured filtration efficiency was most sensitive to changes in face velocity and particle charge. Relative to the NIOSH method, users of the ASTM F2299/F2100 method have commonly used non-neutralized (highly charged) aerosols as well as smaller face velocities, each of which may result in approximately 10% higher measured filtration efficiencies. In the NIOSH method, environmental conditioning at elevated humidity increased filtration efficiency in some commercial samples while decreasing it in others, indicating that measurement should be performed both with and without conditioning. More generally, our results provide an experimental basis for the comparison of respirators certified under various international methods, including FFP2, KN95, P2, Korea 1st Class, and DS2.Comment: 34 pages, 8 figures, 3 table

A multi-scale cortical wiring space links cellular architecture and functional dynamics in the human brain.

The vast net of fibres within and underneath the cortex is optimised to support the convergence of different levels of brain organisation. Here, we propose a novel coordinate system of the human cortex based on an advanced model of its connectivity. Our approach is inspired by seminal, but so far largely neglected models of cortico-cortical wiring established by postmortem anatomical studies and capitalises on cutting-edge in vivo neuroimaging and machine learning. The new model expands the currently prevailing diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tractography approach by incorporation of additional features of cortical microstructure and cortico-cortical proximity. Studying several datasets and different parcellation schemes, we could show that our coordinate system robustly recapitulates established sensory-limbic and anterior-posterior dimensions of brain organisation. A series of validation experiments showed that the new wiring space reflects cortical microcircuit features (including pyramidal neuron depth and glial expression) and allowed for competitive simulations of functional connectivity and dynamics based on resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) and human intracranial electroencephalography (EEG) coherence. Our results advance our understanding of how cell-specific neurobiological gradients produce a hierarchical cortical wiring scheme that is concordant with increasing functional sophistication of human brain organisation. Our evaluations demonstrate the cortical wiring space bridges across scales of neural organisation and can be easily translated to single individuals

Aircraft Engine Particulate Matter Emissions from Sustainable Aviation Fuels: Results from Ground-Based Measurements during the NASA/DLR Campaign ECLIF2/ND-MAX

The use of alternative jet fuels by commercial aviation has increased substantially in recent years. Beside the reduction of carbon dioxide emission, the use of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) may have a positive impact on the reduction of particulate emissions. This study summarizes the results from a ground-based measurement activity conducted in January 2018 as part of the ECLIF2/ND-MAX campaign in Ramstein, Germany. Two fossil reference kerosenes and three different blends with the renewable fuel component HEFA-SPK (Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene) were burned in an A320 with V2527-A5 engines to investigate the effect of fuel naphthalene/aromatic content and the corresponding fuel hydrogen content on non-volatile particle number and mass emissions. Reductions up to 70% in non-volatile particle mass emission compared to the fossil reference fuel were observed at low power settings. The reduction trends to decrease with increasing power settings. The fuels showed a decrease in particle emission with increasing fuel hydrogen content. Consequently, a second fossil fuel with similar hydrogen content as one of the HEFA blends featured similar reduction factors in particle mass and number. Changes in the fuel naphthalene content had significant impact on the particle number emission. A comparison to in-flight emission data shows similar trends at cruise altitudes. The measurements highlight the importance of individual fuel components in regulating engine emissions, particularly at the low thrust settings typically employed during ground operations (e.g. during idle and taxi). Therefore, when selecting and mixing SAF blends to meet present fuel-certification standards, attention should be paid to minimizing complex aromatic content to achieve the greatest possible air quality and climate benefits

ERK and mTORC1 Inhibitors Enhance the Anti-Cancer Capacity of the Octpep-1 Venom-Derived Peptide in Melanoma BRAF(V600E) Mutations

Melanoma is the main cause of skin cancer deaths, with special emphasis in those cases carrying BRAF mutations that trigger the mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) signaling and unrestrained cell proliferation in the absence of mitogens. Current therapies targeting MAPK are hindered by drug resistance and relapse that rely on metabolic rewiring and Akt activation. To identify new drug candidates against melanoma, we investigated the molecular mechanism of action of the Octopus Kaurna-derived peptide, Octpep-1, in human BRAF(V600E) melanoma cells using proteomics and RNAseq coupled with metabolic analysis. Fluorescence microscopy verified that Octpep-1 tagged with fluorescein enters MM96L and NFF cells and distributes preferentially in the perinuclear area of MM96L cells. Proteomics and RNAseq revealed that Octpep-1 targets PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling in MM96L cells. In addition, Octpep-1 combined with rapamycin (mTORC1 inhibitor) or LY3214996 (ERK1/2 inhibitor) augmented the cytotoxicity against BRAF(V600E) melanoma cells in comparison with the inhibitors or Octpep-1 alone. Octpep-1-treated MM96L cells displayed reduced glycolysis and mitochondrial respiration when combined with LY3214996. Altogether these data support Octpep-1 as an optimal candidate in combination therapies for melanoma BRAF(V600E) mutations

The oceanography and marine ecology of Ningaloo, a world heritage area

The Ningaloo coast of north-western Australia (eastern Indian Ocean) hosts one of the world’s longest and most extensive fringing coral reef systems, along with globally significant abundances of large marine fauna such as whale sharks. These characteristics – which have contributed to its inscription on the World Heritage list – exist because of the unique climatic, geomorphologic and oceanographic conditions. The region is hot and arid, so runoff of water from land is low, facilitating clear water that allows corals to grow close to the shore. The poleward-flowing Leeuwin Current is an important influence, bringing warm water and generally suppressing coastal upwelling. During the austral summer, strong southerly winds generate the equatorward-flowing Ningaloo Current on the inner shelf – this current facilitates sporadic upwelling events that enhance concentrations of nutrients, which in turn enhance pelagic primary productivity that supports the reef’s biota. The coast has experienced several marine heatwaves since 2011 that have caused mortality of corals and probably seagrass, albeit relatively less than elsewhere along the coast. Wind-generated surface waves break over the fringing reef crest, causing cooling currents that tend to dampen warming – although this mechanism seems not to have prevented some areas from experiencing damaging heat, and corals in places that do not receive the wave-generated currents have experienced substantial mortality. Herbivores, from fish to green turtles, are abundant, and in the lagoon, extensive stands of large brown algae provide an important habitat for newly recruited fish. There has been a decline in abundance of some fish. Predictions of future pressures include a weaker but more variable Leeuwin Current and increased human use. The ability of Ningaloo’s ecosystems to withstand growing pressures will depend partly on the rate and magnitude of global warming but also on actions that manage local pressures from increasing human use. These actions will rely on continued science to provide the evidence needed to identify the pressures, the changes they create and the ways that we can mitigate them

Proteomic Analysis of Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium Isolated from RAW 264.7 Macrophages

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Chapter 4 The Oceanography and Marine Ecology of Ningaloo, A World Heritage Area

The Ningaloo coast of north-western Australia (eastern Indian Ocean) hosts one of the world’s longest and most extensive fringing coral reef systems, along with globally-significant abundances of large marine fauna such as whale sharks. These characteristics — which have contributed to its inscription on the World Heritage list — exist because of the unique climatic, geomorphologic and oceanographic conditions. The region is hot and arid, so runoff of water from land is low, facilitating clear water that allows corals to grow close to the shore. The poleward-flowing Leeuwin Current is an important influence, bringing warm water and generally suppressing coastal upwelling. During the austral summer, strong southerly winds generate the equatorward-flowing Ningaloo Current on the inner shelf — this current facilitates sporadic upwelling events that enhance concentrations of nutrients, which in turn enhances pelagic primary productivity that supports the reef’s biota. The coast has experienced several marine heatwaves since 2011 that have caused mortality of corals, and probably seagrass, albeit relatively less than elsewhere along the coast. Wind-generated surface waves break over the fringing reef crest, causing cooling currents that tend to dampen warming — although this mechanism seems not to have prevented some areas from experiencing damaging heat, and corals in places that do not experience the wave-generated currents have experienced substantial mortality. Herbivores, from fish to green turtles, are abundant, and in the lagoon extensive stands of large brown algae provide an important habitat for newly-recruited fish. There has been a decline in abundance of some fish. Predictions of future pressures include a weaker but more variable Leeuwin Current, and increased human use. The ability of Ningaloo’s ecosystems to withstand growing pressures will depend partly on the rate and magnitude of global warming, but also on actions that manage local pressures from increasing human use. These actions will rely on continued science to provide the evidence needed to identify the pressures, the changes they create and the ways that we can mitigate them