The environmental reconstruction of the last glacial cycle at Redhead Lagoon in coastal, eastern Australia

This study reconstructs the palaeoenvironmental history during the last full glacial cycle (approximately the last 75,000 years) at Redhead Lagoon, an enclosed lake basin located in coastal, eastern New South Wales, Australia. This has been achieved primarily through sedimentological, palaeoecological and mineral magnetic analyses of long cores. The sequence adds to the limited number of long-term records in Australia and from this region in particular. The chronology of the sediment record is established through AMS radiocarbon and Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dating. More than 30 AMS radiocarbon ages, using a variety of pre-treatment methods, have been obtained for three cores, which makes this one of the most comprehensively dated lake sediment sequences thus far in Australia. During the initial stages of the last glacial period the site was dominated by a mobile dune system with no permanent water, Supporting only semi-arid vegetation communities. The dune sand was part of a sequence of cliff-top dunes located on nearby Dudley Bluff emplaced by a process of ‘sand ramping’ during an earlier Pleistocene phase of lower sea level. Pollen analysis indicates that the sequence of vegetation changes seen at Redhead Lagoon broadly compares with the cyclical pattern of climatically induced changes seen in many other pollen records in southeastern Australia. Alternating open herbaceous and woodland/forest communities correspond with glacial and interglacial periods respectively. Superimposed on this pattern is a change towards a more open understorey vegetation assemblage, i.e. increasing values of Poaceae relative to Asteraceae (particularly type B) over the last 35,000 years. A sharp increase in the incidence of Casuarinaceae from the height of the last glacial and its subsequent decline relative to Eucalyptus in the latter stages of the Holocene is evident. While reduced moisture availability may have initially facilitated the expansion of Casuarinaceae, the restriction of Casuarinaceae during earlier arid periods indicates that another factor appears to have been in operation. An examination of changing Chenopodiaceae/Casuarinaceae ratios, an indicator of salt-tolerance, shows that soil salinity may have been a significant contributor to the incidence of Casuarinaceae at Redhead Lagoon. The driest period during the last glacial cycle occurred during MIS 2. A hiatus in one core from 0. 28,000 to 12,000 BP may have been caused by the erosion of sediments during the LGM and late glacial period. However, deposits dating from this period are preserved in a second core. This core indicates the presence of a Casuarinaceae-dominated open sclerophyll woodland in association with grassland and low water balances during the height of the last glacial period. The Holocene marks the start of a period of climatic amelioration. It is characterised by highly organic sediment deposition, an increase in pollen taxa diversity and the disappearance of several colder and/or drier taxa indicators (e.g. Asteraceae type B). The highest water balances in the sequence are attained during the early to mid-Holocene. This is suggested by the development of wet sclerophyll forest and the attainment of maximum values of taxa such as Pomaderris and Mela/euca. There is also a possible switch to a summer rainfall dominated climatic regime during this period. Both microscopic and macroscopic charcoal counting methods have been employed in this study. Importantly, this has allowed the quantitative assessment of the macroscopic charcoal method over a longer time period than previously documented in Australian records. An evaluation of the two procedures reveals several notable differences. In particular, the macroscopic charcoal method records several more local fire events unable to be distinguished by the microscopic charcoal technique. The relative importance of climatic and human influences on environmental change has been assessed. The majority of changes in the vegetation and charcoal records correlate with periods of significant climatic fluctuation. From around 35,000 years ago the vegetation became more open and ceased to support frequent or intense fires, resulting in a dramatic reduction in charcoal concentrations. This change may correspond with the start of a period of increased aridity that has been suggested from geomorphic evidence from southwestern New South Wales and increased ENSO variability. The small size of the Redhead Lagoon catchment, the close proximity of other larger and probably more attractive sites for humans, along with the limited population and nomadic lifestyle of the indigenous Aborigines, were probably major factors contributing to the relatively limited impact. In addition, the close proximity of the site to the coastline would likely have meant that fishing was an important activity and the open woodland found on this sandstone catchment is unlikely to have furnished many useful plant foods. Therefore, there may have been little advantage for humans in a location such as Redhead lagoon in manipulating the vegetation using fire. During the mid-Holocene, however, there is evidence of increases in disturbed ground taxa and the ‘fire adapted’ genus Eucalyptus, along with increased charcoal fragments. In addition, there is a significant increase in the aquatic wetland plant Typha, which was extensively used by the Aborigines. In the absence of climatic stress the combination of these increases in various vegetation types and charcoal concentrations suggest that anthropogenic burning may have caused landscape change from this time. There have been significant environmental changes since permanent European settlement began in the catchment. These include the introduction of several exotic vegetation types and significant increases in sediment accumulation rates, charcoal particles and possibly nutrient levels. In addition, there has been a decline in the incidence of several tree and rainforest taxa, which may reflect land clearing practices and the increasing fragmentation of forest communities after the arrival of European settlers. Changes in land use and human activity have had far more impact on the catchment than climatic and other natural fluctuations during this most recent period

Global coverage of cetacean line-transect surveys : status quo, data gaps and future challenges

Knowledge of abundance, trends and distribution of cetacean populations is needed to inform marine conservation efforts, ecosystem models and spatial planning. We compiled a geo-spatial database of published data on cetacean abundance from dedicated visual line-transect surveys and encoded >1100 abundance estimates for 47 species from 430 surveys conducted worldwide from 1975-2005. Our subsequent analyses revealed large spatial, temporal and taxonomic variability and gaps in survey coverage. With the exception of Antarctic waters, survey coverage was biased toward the northern hemisphere, especially US and northern European waters. Overall, <25% of the world’s ocean surface was surveyed and only 6% had been covered frequently enough (≥ 5 times) to allow trend estimation. Almost half the global survey effort, defined as total area (km2) covered by all survey study areas across time, was concentrated in the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP). Neither the number of surveys conducted nor the survey effort had increased in recent years. Across species, an average of 10% of a species’ predicted range had been covered by at least one survey, but there was considerable variation among species. With the exception of three delphinid species, <1% of all species’ ranges had been covered frequently enough for trend analysis. We use a data-rich species, sperm whale, as an example to illustrate the challenges of using available data from line-transect surveys for the detection of trends or for spatial planning. Finally, we propose and contrast several field and analytical methods to fill in data gaps to improve future cetacean conservation management efforts.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

On harm thresholds and living organ donation:must the living donor benefit, on balance, from his donation?

For the majority of scholars concerned with the ethics of living organ donation, inflicting moderate harms on competent volunteers in order to save the lives or increase the life chances of others is held to be justifiable provided certain conditions are met. These conditions tend to include one, or more commonly, some combination of the following: 1. The living donor provides valid consent to donation. 2. Living donation produces an overall positive balance of harm-benefit for donors and recipients which cannot be obtained in a less harmful manner. 3. Donation is not liable to cause significant and long-term morbidity to, or the death of, the donor. This paper critically examines the suggestion that these criteria are not sufficient to offer a general account of justified living organ donation in the context of competent volunteers and that key to justified living organ donation is that donors receive sufficient benefits from their donation that these outweigh the harms they suffer. However, although this view – termed here ‘The Donor Benefit Standard’ – directs welcome attention to the many and complex motives which may underlie living organ donation, this paper ultimately concludes that given the threats this position poses to individual autonomy and the lives of those in need of organ transplants ‘The Donor Benefit Standard’ should ultimately be rejected

Choosing Deafness?:A Liberal Exploration of the Legal Prohibition on Selection For Disability in England and Wales

This paper concerns the insertion into English and Welsh law of a prohibition on selection for disability in one’s offspring for social reasons via the use of assisted reproductive technologies. It explores the changes in law that have occurred since the 2008 HFEA Act and subjects to philosophical scrutiny, from a liberal perspective of the limits of law, the reasons that have been given within legal and policy documents for its insertion

Ethical and Policy Issues Raised by Uterus Transplants

Introduction: In 2014, Brännström and colleagues reported the first human live birth following uterine transplantation (UTx). Research into this treatment for absolute uterine factor infertility has since grown with clinical trials currently taking place across centers in at least thirteen countries worldwide. Sources of data: This review summarizes and critiques the academic literature on ethical and policy issues raised by UTx. Areas of agreement: There is general agreement on the importance of risk reduction and, in principle, to the sharing and maintenance of patient data on an international registry. Areas of controversy: There are numerous areas of controversy ranging from whether it is ethically justified to carry out uterus transplants at all (considering the associated health risks) to how deceased donor organs for transplant should be allocated. This review focuses on three key issues: the choice between deceased and living donors, ensuring valid consent to the procedure and access to treatment. Growing points; UTx is presently a novel and rare procedure but is likely to become more commonplace in the foreseeable future, given the large number of surgical teams working on it worldwide. Areas timely for developing research: Uterus transplantation requires us to re-examine fundamental questions about the ethical and social value of gestation. If eventually extended to transgender women or even to men, it may also require us to reconceptualize what it is to be a ‘father’ or to be a ‘mother’, and the definition of these terms in law

Positioning Uterus Transplantation as a ‘More Ethical’ Alternative to Surrogacy?:Exploring Symmetries between UTx and Surrogacy Through Analysis of a Swedish Government White Paper

Within the ethics and science literature surrounding uterus transplantation (UTx) emphasis is often placed on the extent to which UTx might improve upon, or offer additional benefits when compared to, existing ‘treatment options’ for women with uterine factor infertility (AUFI) such as adoption and gestational surrogacy. Within this literature UTx is often positioned as superior to surrogacy because it can deliver things that surrogacy cannot (such as the experience of gestation). Yet, in addition to claims that UTx is superior in the aforementioned sense it is also often assumed (either implicitly or explicitly) that UTx is less fraught with ethical difficulties and thus should be considered a less morally problematic option. This article seeks to examine this assumption. Given that much UTx research has been performed in Sweden, a country where surrogacy is effectively although not currently explicitly forbidden, we do this through an analysis of the arguments underpinning a 2016 Swedish white paper which considered amending existing policy such that altruistic surrogacy arrangements would be permitted. By applying the white paper’s arguments for a restrictive position on altruistic surrogacy to the case of UTx using living altruistic donors we find that such arguments, if they hold in the case of surrogacy, apply similarly to UTx. We thus suggest that, for reasons of consistency, a similar stance should be taken towards the moral and legal permissibility of these two practices

Clonal amplification of Fasciola hepatica in Galba truncatula: within and between isolate variation of triclabendazole-susceptible and -resistant clones

Background: Fasciola hepatica is of worldwide significance, impacting on the health, welfare and productivity of livestock and regarded by WHO as a re-emerging zoonosis. Triclabendazole (TCBZ), the drug of choice for controlling acute fasciolosis in livestock, is also the drug used to treat human infections. However TCBZ-resistance is now considered a major threat to the effective control of F. hepatica. It has yet to be demonstrated whether F. hepatica undergoes a genetic clonal expansion in the snail intermediate host, Galba truncatula, and to what extent amplification of genotypes within the snail facilitates accumulation of drug resistant parasites. Little is known about genotypic and phenotypic variation within and between F. hepatica isolates. Results: Six clonal isolates of F. hepatica (3× triclabendazole-resistant, TCBZ-R and 3× triclabendazole-susceptible, TCBZ-S) were generated. Snails infected with one miracidium started to shed cercariae 42–56 days post-infection and shed repeatedly up to a maximum of 11 times. A maximum of 884 cercariae were shed by one clonally-infected snail (FhLivS1) at a single time point, with > 3000 clonal metacercariae shed over its lifetime. Following experimental infection all 12 sheep were FEC positive at the time of TCBZ treatment. Sheep infected with one of three putative TCBZ-S clones and treated with TCBZ had no parasites in the liver at post-mortem, whilst sheep each infected with putative TCBZ-R isolates had 35–165 adult fluke at post-mortem, despite TCBZ treatment. All six untreated control animals had between 15–127 parasites. A single multi-locus genotype was reported for every fluke from each of the six clonal isolates. Adult F. hepatica showed considerable variation in weight, ranging from 20–280 mg, with variation in weight evident within and amongst clonal isolates. Conclusions: A genetic clonal expansion occurs within G. truncatula, highlighting the potential for amplification of drug resistant genotypes of F. hepatica. Variation in the weight of parasites within and between clonal isolates and when comparing isolates that are either susceptible or resistant to TCBZ represent inherent variation in liver fluke and cannot be attributed to their resistance or susceptibility traits

Unmet supportive care needs of breast, colorectal and testicular cancer survivors in the first 8 months post primary treatment:A prospective longitudinal survey

Objectives To explore the supportive care needs of cancer survivors, the characteristics of patients with high levels of unmet need, changes in unmet need after treatment ends and differences in unmet needs of breast, colorectal and testicular survivors. Methods The method used was a prospective longitudinal mailed survey. Unmet needs, measured by 25-item modified Cancer Survivors Unmet Needs survey at baseline (immediately post-treatment) and 8 months later, were analysed descriptively. Results Of 434 breast, 186 colorectal and 75 testicular patients responding at baseline, 56.2%, 65.6% and 50.7%, respectively, had no unmet needs, the top decile having >= 10 (breast) or seven (colorectal and testicular) different needs and seven different unmet needs. The most frequently reported unmet need (all groups) was fear of cancer recurrence. Unmet needs fell significantly at 8 months for breast patients. Some patients reported new needs. Needs were lowest amongst colorectal survivors and differed between the three groups. Higher levels of unmet needs (breast and colorectal) were associated with having had chemotherapy. Conclusion Most survivors reported few unmet needs, but a small proportion have persisting or emerging needs. Routine or regular monitoring of unmet needs is required so that healthcare professionals can deliver personalised care based on individual needs, preferences and circumstances

A major locus confers triclabendazole resistance in Fasciola hepatica and shows dominant inheritance

Fasciola hepatica infection is responsible for substantial economic losses in livestock worldwide and poses a threat to human health in endemic areas. The mainstay of control in livestock and the only drug licenced for use in humans is triclabendazole (TCBZ). TCBZ resistance has been reported on every continent and threatens effective control of fasciolosis in many parts of the world. To date, understanding the genetic mechanisms underlying TCBZ resistance has been limited to studies of candidate genes, based on assumptions of their role in drug action. Taking an alternative approach, we combined a genetic cross with whole-genome sequencing to localise a ~3.2Mbp locus within the 1.2Gbp F. hepatica genome that confers TCBZ resistance. We validated this locus independently using bulk segregant analysis of F. hepatica populations and showed that it is the target of drug selection in the field. We genotyped individual parasites and tracked segregation and reassortment of SNPs to show that TCBZ resistance exhibits Mendelian inheritance and is conferred by a dominant allele. We defined gene content within this locus to pinpoint genes involved in membrane transport, (e.g. ATP-binding cassette family B, ABCB1), transmembrane signalling and signal transduction (e.g. GTP-Ras-adenylyl cyclase and EGF-like protein), DNA/RNA binding and transcriptional regulation (e.g. SANT/Myb-like DNA-binding domain protein) and drug storage and sequestration (e.g. fatty acid binding protein, FABP) as prime candidates for conferring TCBZ resistance. This study constitutes the first experimental cross and genome-wide approach for any heritable trait in F. hepatica and is key to understanding the evolution of drug resistance in Fasciola spp. to inform deployment of efficacious anthelmintic treatments in the field