The effect of synthetic and bovine conjugated linoleic acid on energy balance : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Nutritional Science at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is biologically active and has altered body composition in experimental animals. Dietary supplementation with synthetic CLA reduced body fat in mice and rats in a number of studies. The CLA used in previously published research contained mixed isomers, the majority of which were 9cl 1t-CLA and 10t12c-CLA. The biologically active isomer at the time of starting the trials described in this thesis was assumed to be 9cl 1t-CLA, due to the prevalence of this isomer in biological tissues. The two trials in this thesis were designed to investigate the effect of dietary CLA on energy balance. In the first (refer Abstract, section 2.1), synthetic CLA reduced body fat in male BALB/c mice in a dose response manner, over the range 0.25 to 1.0% w/w CLA in the diet. High levels (1.0% and 2.0%) caused a reduction in growth. In the second (refer Abstract, section 3.1) dietary treatments supplemented with synthetic CLA, or bovine CLA in milk fat, at levels similar to the 0.25% w/w synthetic CLA treatment found to be effective in reducing body fat in mice, had no effect on energy balance in female Sprague-Dawley rats. The CLA in milk fat contains approximately 86% of the 9cl 1t-CLA isomer while synthetic CLA contains approximately 37%.9cl 1t-CLA and 46 % 10t12c-CLA. Results from these two trials support recent evidence from research demonstrating 10t12c-CLA is the biologically active isomer, in relation to energy metabolism and body composition. 9cl 1t-CLA is the prevalent isomer of CLA found in the human diet. The CLA used previously published research was chemically synthesised and contained a considerably higher proportion of 10t12c-CLA then found in human food sources. PREVIOUS PUBLICATION: The study described in Chapter 2 has been previously published as an abstract and displayed as a poster presentation at the Pacific Partners in Nutrition Conference, held at Auckland, New Zealand, September, 1999 (Hayman, et al., 1999)

Net advantage: securing our fisheries management

This report argues that Australian commercial fisheries can gain a global competitive edge by embracing the benefits of marine reserves. Introduction The world’s oceans are at risk of collapse, with significant implications for fishing industries, food security and marine biodiversity. Historically, overfishing has been the main threat to global fish stocks. This is now being exacerbated by the risks of climate change, pollution and pests. Yet with risk comes opportunity. Countries with well-managed fish stocks, supported by healthy marine ecosystems, will be better placed to tap rapidly growing markets for sustainably certified seafood. In the long‑term, they should also benefit from stronger commercial fishing industries. This report finds that Australia can gain a global competitive edge by embracing the benefits of marine reserves. The United Nations and Global Ocean Commission have recommended 10 to 30 per cent of the world’s oceans be placed in marine protected areas (MPAs). Implementation of the Commonwealth Marine Reserves Network (CMRN) of MPAs would establish Australia as a world leader in marine protection. This policy has bipartisan support, but implementation has been suspended pending a review by the current Commonwealth Government. This report analyses the effects of marine reserves on the economic sustainability of Australia’s commercial fishing industry. For the purpose of this report, ‘marine reserves’ refer to those areas within MPAs such as the Marine National Park Zones within the CMRN (see Figure 1 below). These are ‘no-take’ zones: highly protected areas where no fishing is allowed at all. The focus of this report is primarily on the relationship of these marine reserves to commercial fisheries in Commonwealth waters. Examples are also drawn from overseas and State waters. This is not to diminish marine reserves’ ecological and biological importance. CPD notes the 1998 policy guidelines specified biodiversity conservation as the primary purpose of MPAs.[i] There are also broader issues of intergenerational equity to consider. However, this report focuses on points where the economic and ecological arguments intersect: fisheries are central to that debate.    Findings Marine reserves deliver economic, reputational and ecosystem benefits that can provide a competitive advantage for Australia\u27s commercial fisheries. This includes a potential marketing edge, and insurance against vulnerability to rising fuel costs and unpredictable prices. Rapid growth in sustainably certified seafood should provide an opportunity to improve the margins of Australian commercial fisheries. Given the variety and quality of Australian seafood, sustainably certified products are an increasingly feasible sector of the market for commercial fisheries to target. Sustainably certified seafood is a growing global market. Worldwide, the number of fisheries certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) jumped more than four-fold over the four years to 2012. Last year there was a 35 per cent increase in MSC labelled products globally. Leading Australian seafood businesses are supporting sustainable certification. The World Wildlife Fund has partnered with Blackmores, Coles, John West and Tassal to help them shift to responsibly sourced seafood and fish oil products. Australian retailers including Woolworths, Coles and Aldi have made the MSC certification central to their sustainable seafood sourcing policy, with Woolworths aiming to have all of their wild-catch seafood MSC certified. Marine reserves can make it easier for commercial fisheries to gain and maintain sustainability certification. MSC performance indicators assess how appropriate fisheries management and its outcomes are for ensuring the long-term sustainability of fisheries and the ecosystems that support them. Benefits generated by MPAs can assist in improving scores, and may make it easier to retain certification even if standards rise over time. Marine reserves provide key information to help commercial fisheries get their management strategies right, and demonstrate this to the MSC. Marine reserves provide a buffer that may help ecosystems recover from shocks and fisheries to maintain scores against MSC performance indicators. This is important because even the best fisheries management settings can be inadequate in the face of unforseen risks. Marine reserves can increase fish stock populations in surrounding areas, improving the economics of commercial fisheries. Spill-overs occur when fish leave marine reserves. This increases fish stock populations in surrounding areas. Spill-overs can benefit commercial fishers by increasing the amount caught for the same level of effort, and by enabling harvests of larger and more highly valued fish. Global comparison shows that in some cases the catch per unit of effort can increase by up to 66 per cent near ‘no-take’ zones within MPAs, within five years of protection. Global examples show fisher income can be as much as 135 per cent higher near ‘no-take’ zones within MPAs in some cases, compared to open access areas. Marine reserves provide long-term insurance against population crashes. The increased diversity and density of marine species improves the overall health and resilience of marine ecosystems. This allows ecosystems to support larger and more stable populations of commercial fish stocks, insuring against risks – such as climate change, pollution and pests – that are hard to address with fisheries management tools. Based on cross-country reviews, on average ‘no-take’ zones see an increase in the number of species by 21 per cent, size of organisms by 28 per cent, organism density by 166 per cent and biomass by 446 per cent – when compared to nearby unprotected areas, or the same areas before protection. International evidence shows that under proper management, ‘no-take’ zones within MPAs have twice as many large fish species, five times more large fish biomass, and 14 times more shark biomass on average than fished areas. Recommendations This report recommends the current review of the CMRN be used to establish marine reserves that will deliver benefits for the long-term. 1.Ensure the design of marine reserves is informed by the latest science. MPAs are a conservative investment in Australia’s key marine assets. Adequately sized and appropriately located ‘no-take’ zones will enable increasing dividends to flow from MPAs in the future. This review should start by accepting that scientific consensus on the benefits of MPAs dates back to 2001. It should also focus on the latest scientific evidence for designing effective ‘no-take’ zones, and consider the possibility that ecological risks will increase over time. 2.Find common ground between stakeholders by focusing on MPA benefits. Well-planned marine protection generates a range of economic benefits, in addition to ecological benefits. To increase community acceptance of final decisions on zoning, the Bioregional Advisory Panels should seek to find common ground between stakeholders. Attention should be directed to the long-term benefits of well-designed MPAs to all stakeholders, rather than on short-term costs. 3.Set aside sufficient funding for structural adjustment and ongoing management. Australia has learned from previous adjustment packages, and now has a more rational policy and rigorous assessment process for determining and targeting adjustment funding. However, there may be opportunities to achieve a double dividend from adjustment funding by identifying opportunities to buy out excess commercial fishing fleet capacity. To ensure MPAs are effective, 15 years of funding sufficient for ongoing management should be placed in a trust. Getting this right is an opportunity we do not want to miss. Chopping and changing policy on marine protection will short-change all Australians, and deny future generations the chance to enjoy the same benefits from marine assets as their parents and grandparents. [i] Australian and New Zealand Environmental and Conservation Council Taskforce, “Guidelines for Establishing the National Representative System of Marine Protected Areas”, Environment Australia, Canberra, December 1998, available at http://www.scew.gov.au/system/files/resources/378b7018-8f2a-8174-3928-2056b44bf9b0/files/anzecc-gl-guidelines-establishing-national-representative-system-marine-protected-areas-199812.pd

Allocentric directional processing in the rodent and human retrosplenial cortex

Copyright © 2014 Knight and Hayman. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these termsHead direction (HD) cells in the rodent brain have been investigated for a number of years, providing us with a detailed understanding of how the rodent brain codes for allocentric direction. Allocentric direction refers to the orientation of the external environment, independent of one’s current (egocentric) orientation. The presence of neural activity related to allocentric directional coding in humans has also been noted but only recently directly tested. Given the current status of both fields, it seems beneficial to draw parallels between this rodent and human research. We therefore discuss how findings from the human retrosplenial cortex (RSC), including its “translational function” (converting egocentric to allocentric information) and ability to code for permanent objects, compare to findings from the rodent RSC. We conclude by suggesting critical future experiments that derive from a cross-species approach to understanding the function of the human RSCPeer reviewedFinal Published versio

All boom, no benefit?

This paper responds to the draft Queensland Plan, asking where economic growth will come from to lift incomes above the rest of Australia. All boom, no benefit?  from the Centre for Policy Development argues Queensland must chart a new course toward reliable, sustainable and equitably distributed growth – or face a future of fewer jobs and economic disruption. Queensland is at a fork in the road. The days of easy coal mining revenue are running out, and Queensland’s incomes are yet to match the rest of Australia. In fact, average Queensland household incomes are 5 per cent below the national average. Experience from previous mining booms suggests incomes may fall further behind as the investment phase of the latest mining boom cools. A new era of global growth will challenge the performance of commodity exporting economies. Focusing on economic diversity is now more important because the structure of the global economy is changing rapidly. The transformation underway is unlikely to be smooth. Slowing demand for coal, a new economic growth model in China, and high commodity price volatility are likely to be permanent features of the next phase of global growth. Key findings from the report include: Coal prices have dropped at least 30 per cent from their 2008 highs, and the rest of Asia is unlikely to replace falling Chinese demand. China’s new growth model will reshape Queensland’s economy, since it represents Queensland’s largest export market. Exports to China were Queensland’s largest growth point over the past decade, increasing from $1 billion to over$9 billion. A tripling in commodity price volatility will challenge Queensland’s less competitive mines and impact government budgets. Agribusiness, tourism, education, health and wealth management are industries forecast to grow rapidly over coming decades, while mining is forecast to grow slower than global GDP. Only 26 per cent of jobs from new mines and related infrastructure are long-term. The draft Queensland Plan shows Queenslanders understand these risks and want to develop a much more diverse economy to prepare for them. The Queensland Plan represents a step in the right direction toward governing for the future – if it has staying power through multiple election cycles and no gaps in its measures of progress. If Queensland misses this opportunity to chart a new path, it is likely to be forced through a rapid economic transit ion as underperforming industries and their assets become stranded. The report recommends Queensland adopt a new economic strategy that focuses less on attracting capital investment, and more on promoting economic diversity. To capitalise on its natural competitive advantages, Queensland should level the playing field for non-mining industries, establish an endowment fund to manage natural resources, and convene a State Summit to identify growth opportunities. Download the All boom, no benefit? report by Laura Eadie and Michael Hayman Read more about the Too Many Ports report showing the under-utilisation in Queensland’s existing ports and questioning the need for port growth

Independence and concurrent separation logic

A compositional Petri net-based semantics is given to a simple language allowing pointer manipulation and parallelism. The model is then applied to give a notion of validity to the judgements made by concurrent separation logic that emphasizes the process-environment duality inherent in such rely-guarantee reasoning. Soundness of the rules of concurrent separation logic with respect to this definition of validity is shown. The independence information retained by the Petri net model is then exploited to characterize the independence of parallel processes enforced by the logic. This is shown to permit a refinement operation capable of changing the granularity of atomic actions

A slight improvement to Korenblum's constant

Let $A^2(D)$ be the Bergman space over the open unit disk $D$ in the complex plane. Korenblum conjectured that there is an absolute constant $c \in (0,1)$ such that whenever $|f(z)|\le |g(z)|$ in the annulus $c<|z|<1$ then $||f(z)|| \le ||g(z)||$.In 2004 C.Wang gave an upper bound on $c$,that is, $c < 0.67795$, and in 2006 A.Schuster gave a lower bound ,$c > 0.21$ .In this paper we slightly improve the upper bound for $c$

On the Hausdorff dimension of the Julia set of a regularly growing entire function

We show that if the growth of a transcendental entire function f is sufficiently regular, then the Julia set and the escaping set of f have Hausdorff dimension 2.Comment: 21 page

Stability and photochemistry of ClO dimers formed at low temperature in the gas phase

The recent observations of elevated concentrations of the ClO radical in the austral spring over Antarctica have implicated catalytic destruction by chlorine in the large depletions seen in the total ozone column. One of the chemical theories consistent with an elevated concentration of the ClO is a cycle involving the formation of the ClO dimer through the association reaction: ClO + ClO = Cl2O2 and the photolysis of the dimer to give the active Cl species necessary for O3 depletion. Here, researchers report experimental studies designed to characterize the dimer of ClO formed by the association reaction at low temperatures. ClO was produced by static photolysis of several different precursor systems: Cl sub 2 + O sub 3; Cl sub 2 O sub 2; OClO + Cl sub 2 O spectroscopy in the U.V. region, which allowed the time dependence of Cl sub 2, Cl sub 2 O, ClO, OClO, O sub 3 and other absorbing molecules to be determined

Demographic differences and annual trends in childhood and adolescent cancer incidence and mortality in Michigan during the period 1999-2012

Background. Michigan has declining economic conditions and factories that release pollutants. During the period 1999-2012, only 10 out of 50 states had an overall cancer incidence rate that was higher than that in Michigan. It is not known how children’s cancer rates in Michigan vary by age, gender, race/ethnicity, and year as well as how these rates compare to those in the U.S. Method: The Center for Disease Control and Prevention WONDER database obtained cancer incidence and mortality data from cancer registries and death certificates. We compared age-adjusted incidence and mortality cancer rates by gender, race/ethnicity, and year for children and adolescents aged 0 to 19 years in Michigan and the U.S. for the period 1999-2012. Results. Males in Michigan had higher incidence rates of cancer than females in both Michigan and the U.S. Non-Hispanic Whites had higher cancer incidence rates than people of all other races/ethnicities in Michigan. The childhood cancer incidence rates increased for all racial/ethnic groups except for Hispanic Whites in Michigan during the period 1999-2012. Incidence rates increased more so in Michigan compared to the U.S. for some racial/ethnic groups such as non-Hispanic Whites during the period 1999-2012. Hispanic Whites in all age categories had higher cancer mortality rates than people of all other races/ethnicities in Michigan. Mortality rates for both males and females exhibited a downward trend from 1999 to 2002 in both Michigan and the U.S. Conclusions. Males, non-Hispanic Whites, and Hispanic Whites tended to be disproportionately affected by cancer in Michigan. Future research should investigate the relationship of genetic determinants, socio-economic factors, prenatal behaviors, and air pollution with cancer rates among racial/ethnic groups in Michigan