Diet-Dependent Epigenetic Silencing of Transposable Elements

Rapidly changing dietary conditions are of concern as to how they influence our genome function and overall health. Transposable elements (TEs) are genomic parasites that replicate and move throughout the genome, causing disruptions that have been associated with aging, various diseases, and cancers. To mitigate damage, cells deposit repressive epigenetic marks at TEs to reduce their movement. Interestingly, it has been found that dietary metabolites can act as substrates, cofactors, or inhibitors for the enzymes that deposit epigenetic marks. Accordingly, I hypothesize that altered diets, and thus metabolite profiles, change the silencing of TEs. By rearing flies under different dietary conditions, I discovered that a low-calorie diet led to concentration-dependent reduction or enhancement of TE silencing. The high sugar diet led to the enhancement of TE silencing, while the turmeric and ketogenic diets led to opposite effects. We also tested whether such diet-dependent epigenetic silencing of TEs can be inherited transgenerationally or developmentally. We found that developmental reversibility had diet and sex-specific impacts on TE silencing. Surprisingly, TE silencing was passed down across generations and there was a mixed parental dependency. Such observations suggest that transgenerational inheritance and dietary impacts through development are both important to diet-induced changes in TE silencing. We propose that dietary conditions could impact histone methylation processes, inducing changes to TE silencing, but we plan to further investigate the mechanistic impacts of diet on TE silencing. I am hopeful that my findings will inform the scientific community of the impact of a healthy lifestyle to prevent health complications caused by epigenetic changes

Genetic markers of anthelmintic resistance in gastrointestinal parasites of ruminants

Parasitic gastroenteritis is the primary production limiting disease of sheep in the UK and is a considerable welfare concern. A global problem, it is caused by nematode parasites and mixed species infections can be common. In the UK, the primary pathogen in growing lambs is Teladorsagia circumcincta, an abomasal parasite of small ruminants, causing severe pathology and reduced weight gain. T. circumcincta is expertly adapted to both the host and the farming year and control is extremely difficult. The majority of UK farmers will use anthelmintics to manage parasitic gastroenteritis. Nevertheless, anthelmintic resistance is increasing, reducing control options. Many farmers will now dose sheep with a macrocyclic lactone (e.g. ivermectin) to treat T. circumcincta as this species has developed resistance to multiple anthelmintic classes. Unfortunately, over fifty percent of farms in recent UK studies had detectable ivermectin resistance. There is a pressing need to conserve anthelmintics for future use. However, the mechanism of ivermectin resistance is unknown, and the lack of a sensitive test for ivermectin resistance limits research into resistance spread and development. Many excellent studies have investigated ivermectin resistance in nematode parasites, however mutations responsible for ivermectin resistance remain elusive. The purpose of this PhD was to perform a genome wide association study to identify genomic regions under ivermectin selection within UK T. circumcincta field populations. L3 progeny were sequenced pre- and post-ivermectin treatment using next generation sequencing techniques (ddRAD-Seq and Pool-Seq) and population genetics analyses were performed. Multiple loci were genetically differentiated between pre- and post-ivermectin populations. However, the reference genomes used were highly fragmented and the number of loci under selection cannot be concluded. Genes identified included those with neuronal functions, metabolic and regulatory genes. Many genes had associations with pharyngeal structures and chemosensory behaviour. Nevertheless, multiple copies of genes expected to be single copy were detected in both reference genomes and these may have affected read alignment and results. The work performed here provides an important basis for future studies, and has generated high quality next generation sequenced resources from two UK field populations of T. circumcincta

Employer and Employee Perceptions of Workers With Disabilities and How They Effect Supported Employment

Twenty-three percent of the businesses participated in the study with 8 employer and 24 employee subjects. The purpose of the study was to determine the perceptions of people with disal:\u3eilities by their nondisabled coworkers and employers. The first part of the purpose was to address the employers\u27 perceptions of people with disabilities and how experience and level of education can affect those perceptions.The second part addressed the amount of.experience the individual\u27s had in working with people with disabilities and the types of disabilities presented in their workplace. The data were analyzed with frequency distributions and an item analysis using Pearson - r was computed for relationships between demographic variables and employer perception. The results indicated·an overall positive perception of working with people with disabilities. A significant relationship (r = .81) with employer results was found between one to five years experience and knowledge-of legislation and the type of job people with disabilities were considered to be capable of performing. A significant relationship (r = .40) was revealed with the employee results between amount of experience of nondisabled coworkers and the quality of work of people with disabilities

Rewiring our teaching practice

Over the past decade neuroscientists have made more breakthrough discoveries about brain function than in all previous scientific investigation. Educators see brain research as having implications and application to classroom settings by enhancing teacher practice and student learning experience. Tertiary institutions and practising teachers are implementing brain based teaching strategies to improve student outcomes. However, there is a level of disconnect between brain research discovery and current educational practice. Researchers from both neuroscience and education fields are calling for collaborative research to be conducted that would support classroom practice for the future. Researchers from neuroscience and education insist that appropriate professional development for teachers is imperative and that a serious undertaking for teaching neuroscientific facts should be included in tertiary education student programs. Pre-service teachers’ studying at the University of Southern Queensland (USQ) have learned about current developments in neuroscience research during their final year of teacher training. This research investigates how these newly graduated teachers use brain research in their first year of teaching to inform their classroom practices. Findings would indicate that in order to encourage the implementation of neuroscience supported practices in classrooms, teachers need to develop an appreciation of educational neuroscience. There were a number of patterns that emerged from the research including the impact of school and community expectation and the need for professional development of pre-service teachers

Fact Sheet: Mentoring matters

Mentoring is a process involving communication and relationships. It is the basis for the informal exchange of knowledge, information and support between a person who has these attributes and a person who needs them. This fact sheet lists key information about mentoring matters

Graphene toxicity as a double-edged sword of risks and exploitable opportunities: A critical analysis of the most recent trends and developments

Increased production volumes and a broadening application spectrum of graphene have raised concerns about its potential adverse effects on human health. Numerous reports demonstrate that graphene irrespective of its particular form exerts its effects on a widest range of living organisms, including prokaryotic bacteria and viruses, plants, micro-and macro-invertebrates, mammalian and human cells and whole animals in vivo. However, the available experimental data is frequently a matter of significant divergence and even controversy. Therefore, we provide here a critical analysis of the most recent (2015-2016) reports accumulated in the graphene-related materials biocompatibility and toxicology field in order to elucidate the cutting edge achievements, emerging trends and future opportunities in the area. Experimental findings from the diverse in vitro and in vivo model systems are analysed in the context of the most likely graphene exposure scenarios, such as respiratory inhalation, ingestion route, parenteral administration and topical exposure through the skin. Key factors influencing the toxicity of graphene and its complex derivatives as well as potential risk mitigation approaches exploiting graphene physicochemical properties, surface modifications and possible degradation pathways are also discussed along with its emerging applications for healthcare, diagnostics and innovative therapeutic approaches

Taking references beyond your PC: Collaborating with local and internationally dispersed colleagues to write and publish a paper

EndNote, EndNote Web and RefWorks can be used to assist you when collaborating with internationally dispersed colleagues on writing and publishing an academic paper.https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ecuposters/1001/thumbnail.jp

Potential of Raman Spectroscopy For the Analysis of Plasma/serum in the Liquid State: Recent Advances

There is compelling evidence in the literature to support the application of Raman spectroscopy for analysis of bodily fluids in their native liquid state. Naturally, the strategies described in the literature for Raman spectroscopic analysis of liquid samples have advantages and disadvantages. Herein, recent advances in the analysis of plasma/serum in the liquid state are reviewed. The potential advantages of Raman analysis in the liquid form over the commonly employed infrared absorption analysis in the dried droplet form are initially highlighted. Improvements in measurement protocols based on inverted microscopic geometries, clinically adaptable substrates, data preprocessing and analysis, and applications for routine monitoring of patient health as well as therapeutic administration are reviewed. These advances suggest that clinical translation of Raman spectroscopy for rapid biochemical analysis can be a reality. In the future, this method will prove to be highly beneficial to clinicians for rapid screening and monitoring of analytes and drugs in the biological fluids, and to the patients themselves, enabling early treatment, before the disease becomes symptomatic, allowing early recovery

A comparison of catabolic pathways induced in primary macrophages by pristine single walled carbon nanotubes and pristine graphene

Understanding the correlation between the physico-chemical properties of carbonaceous nanomaterials and how these properties impact on cells and subcelluar mechanisms is critical to their risk assessment and safe translation into newly engineered devices. Here the toxicity, uptake and catabolic response of primary human macrophages to pristine graphene (PG) and pristine single walled carbon nanotubes (pSWCNT) are explored, compared and contrasted. The nanomaterial toxicity was assessed using three complementary techniques (live-dead assay, real time impedance technique and confocal microscopic analysis), all of which indicated no signs of acute cytotoxicity in response to PG or pSWCNT. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) demonstrated that PG was phagocytosed by the cells into single membrane lysosomal vesicles, whereas the primary macrophages exposed to pSWCNT contained many double membrane vesicles indicative of an autophagic response. These distinct catabolic pathways were further verified by biochemical and microscopic techniques. Raman spectroscopic mapping was used to explore the nanomaterial uptake and distribution. Based on the G-band, significant uptake and accumulation of the PG in discrete vesicles was recorded, whereas the pSWCNT were not taken up to the same extent. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of the cells treated with PG revealed that ~ 20-30% of the remaining dry mass was made up of PG. No detectable amount of pSWCNT was recorded using TGA. TEM analysis confirmed that PG was still graphitic even after 24 hours of accumulation in the lysosomal compartments. In conclusion, these two nanomaterials with similar surface chemistries but unique geometries differ significantly in their uptake mechanisms and subsequently induced lysosomal and autophagic catabolic pathways in human primary macrophages

Quantitative Analysis of Human Blood Serum using Vibrational Spectroscopy.

Analysis of bodily fluids using vibrational spectroscopy has attracted increasing attention in recent years. In particular, infrared spectroscopic screening of blood products, particularly blood serum, for disease diagnostics has been advanced considerably, attracting commercial interests. However, analyses requiring quantification of endogenous constituents or exogenous agents in blood are less well advanced. Recent advances towards this end are reviewed, focussing on infrared and Raman spectroscopic analyses of human blood serum. The importance of spectroscopic analysis in the native aqueous environment is highlighted, and the relative merits of infrared absorption versus Raman spectroscopy are considered, in this context. It is argued that Raman spectroscopic analysis is more suitable to quantitative analysis in liquid samples, and superior performance for quantification of high and low molecular weight components, is demonstrated. Applications for quantitation of viral loads, and therapeutic drug monitoring are also discussed