D. Diepeveen

Parental factors affecting respiratory function during the first year of life

In a prospective, longitudinal, population‐based cohort study of familial and environmental influences on the development of wheezing respiratory illness in early childhood, we identified infant length, weight, gender, and exposure to maternal cigarette smoking as significant determinants of lung function during the first year of life. A cohort of 237 infants (106 females: 131 males) was evaluated, and 496 lung function measurements were made between the ages of 1–12 months. Respiratory function was assessed using the rapid thoracic compression technique to obtain maximum expiratory flow at functional residual capacity (V′maxFRC). Parental history of asthma and smoking habits during pregnancy were obtained by questionnaire. Data were analyzed using a longitudinal random effects model. Infants with a parental history of asthma and/or in utero passive smoke exposure were compared to a reference group of infants who had no parental history of asthma and in whom neither parent smoked pre‐ or postnatally.

Doppler flow velocity waveform analysis in high risk pregnancies: a randomized controlled trial

Objective— To test whether the introduction of Doppler waveform analysis into the ultrasound department of a tertiary level hospital reduces neonatal morbidity and improves obstetric management.

Zernike moments and genetic algorithm: Tutorial and application

Aims/ objectives: To demontrate effectiveness of Zernike Moments for Image Classification. Zernike moment(ZM) is an excellent region-based moment which has attracted the attentions of many image processing researchers since its first application to image analysis. Many papers have been published on several works done on ZM but no single paper ever give a detailed information of how the computation of ZM is done from the time the image is captured to the computation of ZM. This work showed how to effectively apply ZM on RGB images. We have demonstrated the effectiveness of Zernike moment in image classification system. A neuro-genetic intelligent system has been built with PNN classifier. The feature extracted viz ZM and Geometric features were further subjected to GA to bring the best combinatorial features for optimal accuracy. The algebraic structure of our novel fitness function enabled the GA to select the best results. The 10-fold CV used enabled the whole system to be unbiased giving a classification accuracy of 90.05%. A demonstration of affine properties of ZM are comprehensively stated and explained. In summary, the ZM enabled the classifier to have improved accuracy of 91% as compared with Geometric features with 89% accuracy.

Effective ICTs in agricultural value chains to improve food security: An international perspective

This paper examines the grains value chain in agriculture, and identifies the importance in developing strategies which could better secure food production. The study highlights examples of successful integration of ICTs in agricultural supply and value chains. The development of strategies to integrate these ICTs into the supply chain will be proposed. It will be argued that the use of high powered computing for data mining and other technologies such as sensor networks, mobile communications, and GPS technologies can revolutionize the efficiency of these supply chains and therefore improve the food security. The study carried out a situational analysis of agricultural resources using standard internet search engines and applying data mining techniques in order to demonstrate how such technologies can be used to show difference in value chains across different situations. An assessment of the study found that the results from the grain-industry dataset support the similar supply chain grouping reported for other research studies. These groupings reflect the more-developed food-industry supply chains and may not capture all the interactions in less-developed supply chains. For example, when several of the food production processes are carried out by one food-producer, the activities will be more difficult to identify.

Wheat Quality Requirements for Char Siew Bao Made from Australian Soft Wheat

ABSTRACT Australia exports 75% of the wheat produced annually, and the Asian region is an important export market for Australian wheat. These markets require suitable quality grain for use in wheat-based products, so the understanding of wheat end products from an Asian consumer point of view is important. The major wheat quality requirements for char siew bao, a Chinese Guangdong-style steamed bun, were determined. The research 1) developed laboratory methods for the production and assessment of char siew bao using a scoring system; 2) optimized the new methods and compared the new methods with a traditional method; and 3) used the new validated methods in an investigation of the role of soft wheat quality on char siew bao. A sponge-and-dough method with 1 hr fermentation time was developed to establish a simplified laboratory method for char siew bao production. The screening experiments and response surface methodology experiments showed that water addition, sugar, and sponge mixing time were responsib...

Survival and hunting mortality of Pacific black ducks and grey teal

To examine the importance of hunting mortality in the population dynamics of waterfowl in southwestern Australia, we estimated survival and recovery rates of 19,523 Pacific black ducks (Anas super-ciliosa) and 2,487 grey teal (A. gibberifrons) banded in 1968-76 and recovered by 1978. Both species showed strong evidence of year-to-year variation in survival rates, which averaged 63 +/- 4(SE)% and 56 +/- 6% for adult and young Pacific black ducks, respectively, and 55 +/-17% for adult grey teal. First-year recovery rates indicated the average annual hunting mortality over 6 years for Pacific black ducks and grey teal exposed to heavy hunting pressure was 23 +/-2% and 17 +/-2%, respectively. Hunting mortality was 9% in 1 year for Pacific black ducks exposed to light hunting. Estimates of mortality rate on opening day of hunting seasons at a site of intense hunting varied between 7 and 20% for Pacific black ducks and 5 and 16% for grey teal. In an intensively hunted waterfowl population in southwestern Australia, nearly 60% of all mortality of Pacific black ducks and 40% of grey teal mortality resulted from hunting. Hunting probably caused <25% of mortality in most parts of southwestern Australia, however, and there was no evidence of hunting reducing survival rates.

Overcoming the barriers of combining early flowering and anthracnose resistance in white lupin (Lupinus albus L.) for the Northern Agricultural Region of Western Australia

Abstract. White lupin (Lupinus albus L.) is an important grain legume crop in Australia. The anthracnose incursion in the mid-1990s wiped out the white lupin industry in Western Australia (WA). Since then, incorporation of anthracnose resistance has been a major focus in white lupin breeding. After a series of experiments and targeted breeding in WA, high-yielding anthracnose-resistant genotypes were developed. One of these lines, Amira, was released in 2012 as a replacement for the then-benchmark variety Andromeda. Amira is high-yielding and early-maturing and it has substantially improved resistance to anthracnose compared with Andromeda. Its yield and grain quality are similar to Kiev Mutant and it will be suitable for growing in parts of the Northern Agricultural Region of WA where anthracnose risk is moderate to low. With the adoption of this new variety, reliable production of white lupin can recommence in WA. The growing season in WA is characterised by terminal drought, and early flowering is as important as anthracnose resistance. However, combining these traits was difficult and their combination was not achieved at a desired level in earlier work. The incorporation of the early-flowering trait from a different genetic source from France demonstrated that it is possible to combine these traits at an appropriate level. There was no genetic linkage between the two traits, and consequently, new genotypes with earlier phenology and higher levels of resistance than Amira were developed. The combination of early flowering and anthracnose resistance represents a breakthrough that will significantly improve the adaptation and profitability of white lupin production in WA.

Impact of mid-season sulphur deficiency on wheat nitrogen metabolism and biosynthesis of grain protein

Wheat (Triticum aestivum) quality is mainly determined by grain storage protein compositions. Sulphur availability is essential for the biosynthesis of the main wheat storage proteins. In this study, the impact of different sulphur fertilizer regimes on a range of agronomically important traits and associated gene networks was studied. High-performance liquid chromatography was used to analyse the protein compositions of grains grown under four different sulphur treatments. Results revealed that sulphur supplementation had a significant effect on grain yield, harvest index, and storage protein compositions. Consequently, two comparative sulphur fertilizer treatments (0 and 30 kg ha−1 sulphur, with 50 kg ha−1 nitrogen) at seven days post-anthesis were selected for a transcriptomics analysis to screen for differentially expressed genes (DEGs) involved in the regulation of sulphur metabolic pathways. The International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium chromosome survey sequence was used as reference. Higher sulphur supply led to one up-regulated DEG and sixty-three down-regulated DEGs. Gene ontology enrichment showed that four down-regulated DEGs were significantly enriched in nitrogen metabolic pathway related annotation, three of which were annotated as glutamine synthetase. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment identified three significantly enriched pathways involved in nitrogen and amino acid metabolism.

Haplotype analyses in wheat for complex traits: tracking the chromosome 3B and 7B regions associated with late maturity alpha amylase (LMA) in breeding programs

The quantitative trait loci (QTLs) on chromosomes 7BL and 3BS from Halberd have been used as a major source of tolerance to late maturity α amylase (LMA) within Australian wheat breeding programs. New simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers identified from the sequencing of Bacterial Artificial Chromosome (BAC) clones from the wheat cv. Renan library, and known SSRs, were used to characterise these major QTLs. The reduction or elimination of the LMA defect in wheat cultivars is a major goal for wheat breeding programs and is confounded by the complexity in measuring the trait unambiguously. In this haplotyping study focussing on two significant chromosomal regions, markers and combinations of markers were investigated for their ability to discriminate between 39 Australian and Mexican wheat lines differing in levels of LMA. Genetic relationships among these wheat lines estimated by cluster analysis of molecular marker data were combined with phenotypic information in order to calibrate the genotypes of the wheat lines against their LMA phenotype. It was evident that some SSRs from the respective QTLs had greater discriminating power than others to identify LMA phenotypes. Discrimination was not, however, absolute and a statistical analysis of the data defined a risk factor associated with particular combinations of alleles, for use in early selection or backcrossing.

Protein interactions during flour mixing using wheat flour with altered starch

Wheat grain proteins responses to mixing and thermal treatment were investigated using Mixolab-dough analysis systems with flour from two cultivars, Ventura-26 (normal amylose content) and Ventura-19 (reduced amylose content). Size exclusion high performance liquid chromatography (SE-HPLC) and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DGE) analysis revealed that, stress associated and metabolic proteins largely interacted with dough matrix of Ventura-26 after 26min (56°C); gliadins, avenin-like b proteins, LMW-GSs, and partial globulins showed stronger interactions within the dough matrix of Ventura-26 at 32min/C3 (80°C), thereafter, however, stronger protein interactions were observed within the dough matrix of Ventura-19 at 38min/C4 (85°C) and 43min (80°C). Thirty-seven proteins associated with changes in dough matrix due to reduced amylose content were identified by mass spectrometry and mainly annotated to the chromosome group 1, 4, and 6. The findings provide new entry points for modifying final product attributes.