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In this article, we study multivariate monitoring systems based on a bivariate integer-valued autoregressive process of order 1, BINAR(1). The charting procedures are evaluated using extensive simulated shift scenarios, and are compared to multiple univariate charts. The proposed methods improve the efficiency of surveillance systems by taking account of both pairwise correlation and autocorrelation in a bivariate data structure. The methods also account for overdispersion in responses for which the Poisson distribution is inappropriate. An example of hepatitis A incidents in Australia is presented to demonstrate the application of these methods. The proposed methods have important applications in public healthcare and biosurveillance as well as industrial and business applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim To investigate whether feral cats influence the distribution of Australia's largest remnant population of the threatened brush-tailed rabbit-rat Conilurus penicillatus and examine whether they influenced the extinction probability of C. penicillatus over a 15-year period (2000-2015). Location Melville Island, northern Australia. Methods In 2015, small mammal surveys were conducted at 88 sites across Melville Island, 86 of which had previously been surveyed in 2000-2002. We used single-season occupancy models to investigate correlates of the current distribution of C. penicillatus and dynamic occupancy models to investigate correlates of C. penicillatus local extinction. Results Our results show that C. penicillatus, which once occurred more widely across the island, is now restricted to parts of the island where feral cats are rarely detected and shrub density is high. Our results suggest that feral cats are driving C. penicillatus towards extinction on Melville Island, and hence have likely been a significant driver in the decline of this species in northern Australia more broadly. The impact of feral cats appears to be mitigated by vegetation structure. Main conclusions The ongoing development and implementation of methods to effectively reduce feral cat densities, coupled with the management of landscape processes to maintain shrub density, through fire management and the removal of large exotic herbivores, will contribute substantially to conserving this threatened species. This study demonstrates that the distribution of species can be strongly influenced by top-down factors such as predation, thereby highlighting the importance of including biotic interactions when investigating the distribution of predation-susceptible species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Defining goals and objectives is a critical component of adaptive management of natural resources because they provide the basis on which management strategies can be designed and evaluated. The aims of this study are: (i) to apply and test a collaborative method to elicit goals and objectives for inshore fisheries and biodiversity in the coastal zone of a regional city in Australia; (ii) to understand the relative importance of management objectives for different community members and stakeholders; and (iii) to understand how diverse perceptions about the importance of management objectives can be used to support multiple-use management in Australia’s iconic Great Barrier Reef. Management goals and objectives were elicited and weighted using the following steps: (i) literature review of management objectives, (ii) development of a hierarchy tree of objectives, and (iii) ranking of management objectives using survey methods. The overarching goals identified by the community group were to: (1) protect and restore inshore environmental assets; (2) improve governance systems; and (3) improve regional (socio-economic) well-being. Interestingly, these goals differ slightly from the usual triple-bottom line objectives (environmental, social and economic) often found in the literature. The objectives were ranked using the Analytical Hierarchical Process, where a total of 141 respondents from industry, government agencies, and community from across Queensland State undertook the survey. The environment goal received the highest scores, followed by governance and lastly well-being. The approach to elicit and rank goals and objectives developed in this study can be used to effectively support coastal resource management by providing opportunities for local communities to participate in the setting of regional objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Simulation models have been widely adopted in fisheries for management strategy evaluation (MSE). However, in catchment management of water quality, MSE is hampered by the complexity of both decision space and the hydrological process models. Empirical models based on monitoring data provide a feasible alternative to process models; they run much faster and, by conditioning on data, they can simulate realistic responses to management actions. Using 10years of water quality indicators from Queensland, Australia, we built an empirical model suitable for rapid MSE that reproduces the water quality variables’ mean and covariance structure, adjusts the expected indicators through local management effects, and propagates effects downstream by capturing inter-site regression relationships. Empirical models enable managers to search the space of possible strategies using rapid assessment. They provide not only realistic responses in water quality indicators but also variability in those indicators, allowing managers to assess strategies in an uncertain world. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The spread of non-indigenous species into new marine habitats represents an increasing threat to global diversity. Genetic techniques provide basic understanding of the invasion processes. The ascidian Microcosmus squamiger is considered to be native to Australia, having been spread worldwide via transoceanic vessels. It has successfully invaded artificial and natural habitats where it has become a pest. We studied phylogeography and genetic structure of 12 M. squamiger populations, including samples from its native range (Australia) and introduced populations from the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans, as well as the Mediterranean Sea. We amplified 574 bp of the mitochondrial COI gene in 258 individuals and found a total of 52 haplotypes. A haplotype tree revealed two main groups of haplotypes. The relative frequency of each group of haplotypes, multidimensional scaling, and analysis of molecular variance showed important differences between the western Australia localities and the remaining ones (eastern Australia and introduced populations). Furthermore, we found that the colonization of the different areas by M. squamiger has not occurred independently, as many introduced populations shared some low frequency alleles. A nested clade analysis showed a global pattern of restricted gene flow with isolation by distance, although we found episodes of long-distance dispersal in some clades. A contiguous range expansion was detected between Australian populations. We conclude that M. squamiger is native to Australia and has most likely expanded its range of distribution sequentially through worldwide shipping, especially from the harbours of the more populated eastern Australia. In introduced populations, we found a high genetic diversity which suggests enhanced invasive potential. Consequently, there is a need to control this species, as it outcompetes local biota and is an economic threat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Altimetric performance of Global Navigation Satellite System - Reflectometry (GNSS-R) instruments depends on receiver's bandwidth and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The altimetric delay is usually computed from the time difference between the peak of the direct signal waveform and the maximum of the derivative of the reflected signal waveform. Dual-frequency data gathered by the airborne Microwave Interferometric Reflectometer (MIR) in the Bass Strait, between Australia and Tasmania, suggest that this approach is only valid for flat surfaces and large bandwidth receivers. This work analyses different methods to compute the altimetric observables using GNSS-R. A proposed novel method, the Peak-to-Minimum of the 3rd Derivative (P-Min3D) for narrow-band codes (e.g., L1 C/A), and the Peak-to-Half Power (P-HP) for large bandwidth codes (e.g., L5 or E5a codes) show improved performance when using real data. Both methods are also compared to the Peak-to-Peak (P-P) and Peak-to-Maximum of the 1st Derivative (P-Max1D) methods. The key difference between these methods is the determination of the delay position in the reflected signal waveform in order to compute the altimetric observable. Airborne experimental results comparing the different methods, bands and GNSS-R processing techniques show that centimeter level accuracy can be achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ascidian Microcosmus squamiger is native to Australia and has recently spread worldwide. It has become a pest in some littoral communities within its introduced range. An enriched genomic library of M. squamiger resulted in a total of eight polymorphic loci that were genotyped in 20 individuals from a population within its introduced range, and 20 individuals more from a native population. The mean number of alleles per locus was 5.33 and mean observed heterozygosity was 0.432. No significant linkage disequilibrium was found among loci pairs. Significant genetic differentiation was observed between populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As compared to GPS L1C/A signals, L5/E5a Global Navigation Satellite System-Reflectometry (GNSS-R) improves the spatial resolution due to the narrower auto-correlation function. Furthermore, the larger transmitted power (+3 dB), and correlation gain (+10 dB) allow the reception of weaker reflected signals. If directive antennas are used, very short incoherent integration times are enough to achieve good signal-to-noise ratios, allowing the reception of multiple specular reflection points without the blurring induced by long incoherent integration times. This study presents for the first time experimental evidence of the wind and swell waves signatures in the GNSS-R waveforms, and it performs a statistical analysis, a time-domain analysis, and a frequency-domain analysis for a unique data set of waveforms collected by the UPC MIR instrument during a series of flights over the Bass Strait, Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cognizant of the educational needs of the member states, and taking advantage of the current technological advances in this digital age, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) officially launched in 2010 the Human Health Campus (HHC; http://humanhealth.iaea.org), which is an online educational resource initiative geared toward enhancing professional knowledge of health professionals in radiation medicine. Aim: Determine how and by whom the IAEA HHC is being visited and used since its inception in October 2010. Methods: Using the information provided by Google Analytics, determine the overall key performance indicators (KPIs) such as total sessions, total users, total page views, session duration, including daily number of visits to the HHC, county of origin, evaluation of the most popular sections and source of the traffic. Results: Since its launch on October 6th, 2010, KPIs are as follows: total sessions 374,279, total users 243,195, total page views 1,393,310, pages/session 3.72, average session duration 00:03:08. % of new sessions 64.92%. The HHC has witnessed continual growth year on year (YoY) in total sessions (visits) since its inception in October 2010, and total users. For 2016 (the highest performing year so far) there were 201 visits/day, 40% increase in traffic YoY and 20% user growth. Traffic to the Webinar content has seen sustained growth in the number of YoY since being introduced to the HHC in 2013. 2016 saw the largest increase of over +600%. E-Learning modules have also seen growth in the traffic YoY since being introduced to the HHC in 2011. The year 2015 saw a large increase in total traffic with over +95%. E-Learning traffic accounts for almost 25% of all traffic to the Nuclear Medicine section. Visits by mobile devices have increased YoY exponentially since the launch of the HHC, with the mobile traffic growing strong through 2015-2016 with an increase of 5482 sessions, or an 81% uplift YoY. For 2017, it represented 18% of the total traffic (from 3% in 2012). There is a clear prevalence of desktop users (85.5%), as the preferred method of browsing the HHC. A total of 210 countries and overseas territories have visited the HHC. The United States is the largest contributor of traffic from a global perspective with 16.31% of total traffic, almost double the next largest which is the UK with 9.10%. India with 5.45% and Australia with 3.27% of total traffic, respectively, round out the top 4. Not surprisingly, more than 60% of users are from English-speaking countries. Spanish is the second most popular language of users with just over 6% of total traffic. Conclusion: The HHC is an IAEA open access Web based educational resource for professionals in the field of radiation medicine being visited by as many as 210 countries. The upward trend in its use suggests that the IAEA HHC will continue to be an important player in providing educational resources for professionals worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genotypes of 290 cultivars from ten countries (four continents) of spring wheat Triticum aestivum , were analyzed through the identification of alleles at the gliadin-encoding (Gli) loci. The group of cultivars bred in one country during the 20th century might be characterized by its level of genetic diversity (H) and a specific set of alleles. Strong differences between genotypes of cultivars bred in different countries were confirmed by cluster analysis of genetic distances. Genotypes of cultivars bred in regions of the same country might differ, but they always composed a single cluster and strongly differed from genotypes from other countries or regions. Therefore, world polymorphism of spring wheat germplasm of the 20th century is highly structured and differentiated between countries and their regions. This differentiation seems to be mainly a result of natural selection acting in different ways in different eco-climatic conditions of breeding and propagation. At a regional scale, statistically significant temporal changes in frequency of some gliadin alleles and a tendency to temporal decrease of overall genetic diversity were discovered in cultivars bred in each of seven regions studied in Australia, Canada and the former USSR. In regions of Canada (provinces of Manitoba and Ontario) and of the former USSR (Saratov), a statistically significant decay of the genetic diversity of cultivars bred during the 20th century was discovered. However, the influence of breeders' selection for end-use wheat quality on the wheat genetic diversity was the least, if any. • Gliadin genotypes of 299 world-wide T. aestivum cultivars and accessions are compared. • Genetic distances between groups of cultivars from different countries are very long. • The 20th-century's wheat polymorphism is highly structured among countries and regions. • There was a statistically confirmed genetic erosion of polymorphism in two regions. • Differentiation of polymorphism is not necessarily a result of breeders' selection for quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High genetic diversity (H = 0.85 ± 0.03) of spring common wheats (290 cultivars from nine countries, four continents) was discovered through the identification of alleles at the gliadin-encoding (Gli) loci. There were no indications of the existence of genetic erosion (narrowing of polymorphism with time) either for wheat germplasm studied throughout the 20th century, or in the group of cultivars bred in any country. At the same time, there was a significant change of the frequency of occurrence, in wheat germplasm of Australia, Canada, Mexico, Nordic countries, Spain, and the former USSR, of certain gliadin alleles related (as shown earlier) to end-use wheat quality, mainly to dough strength. The increase in frequency, in genotypes of groups of more recent cultivars, of gliadin alleles positively influencing dough strength (Gli-B1b , Gli-B1d , and Gli-B2c) caused a loss of genetic diversity at the corresponding Gli loci. It is suggested that these alleles may serve as an indirect targets of breeders' selection for dough quality. Mechanisms of the involvement of some allelic variants of the Gli loci in the manipulation of dough quality are discussed. • Alleles at the Gli-1 and Gli-2 loci have been identified for 290 world-wide cultivars. • The 20th-century's spring common wheat polymorphism is very high (H = 0.85). • There are no signs of genetic erosion for wheat germplasm throughout the 20th century. • Gli alleles, known to relate to quality, are indirect targets of breeders' selection. • Selection for quality-related Gli alleles reduces genetic diversity at some Gli loci. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many of 450 common wheat cultivars bred and registered during the twentieth century in 12 countries were proved, due to seed-by-seed analysis, to be composed of two or more biotypes differing in their alleles at the gliadin (Gli) loci. These multiple biotypes may be regarded as authentic progeny of the respective parent lines, as evidenced by the gliadin composition of the respective parents. Therefore, the official claim for each cultivar to be uniform is commonly not maintained in practice. The most frequent was a non-uniform cultivar composed of two biotypes differing at one Gli locus, but there were cultivars represented by a large set of related genotypes differing at several Gli loci. The proportion of the multi-biotype cultivars was never less than 15% for a country collection, exceeding 50% in other countries. This proportion differed significantly between neighbouring countries. In Australia, all multi-biotype cultivars were found in eastern states; in the state of Victoria, their frequency was statistically higher than in the rest of the country. The proportion of multi-biotype cultivars among newly-released cultivars decreased with time in Australia and the UK. Thus, the non-uniformity of registered cultivars represents a general and important phenomenon of common wheat as a crop. Image 1 • Seed-by-seed analysis of registered cultivars has revealed the non-uniformity of many. • Up to 70% of cultivars studied from a country were composed of multiple biotypes. • Each biotype of a non-uniform cultivar carried alleles present in its known parents. • The "DUS" claim for each cultivar to be uniform is not commonly realised in practice. • Is complete genetic uniformity an adequate requirement for cultivar registration? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe the first occurrence in Spain of community cases of CTX-M-27-producing Shigella sonnei sequence type 152 (ST152), resistant to quinolones and azithromycin. The cases included adult males and also one pediatric case. The isolates were clustered together with an Australian isolate and differed from other outbreak-causing strains in England by more than 50 alleles. They carried the bla gene on an 83-Kb F2:A-:B- plasmid, similar to that found in a British isolate.CTX-M-27 gene on an 83-Kb F2:A-:B- plasmid, similar to that found in a British isolate.

The aim of this study was to search for plasmid-encoded quinolone resistance determinants QnrA and QnrS in fluoroquinolone-resistant and extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing enterobacterial isolates recovered in Sydney, Australia, in 2002. Twenty-three fluoroquinolone-resistant, of which 16 were also ESBL-positive, enterobacterial and nonrelated isolates were studied. PCR with primers specific for qnrA and qnrS genes and primers specific for a series of ESBL genes were used. A qnrA gene was identified in two ESBL-positive isolates, whereas no qnrS-positive strain was found. The QnrA1 determinant was identified in an Enterobacter cloacae isolate and in a carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae isolate, both of which expressed the same ESBL SHV- 12. Whereas no plasmid was identified in the E. cloacae isolate, K. pneumoniae K149 possessed two conjugative plasmids, one that harbored the qnrA and bla (SHV)-12 genes whereas the other expressed the carbapenemase gene bla (IMP-4). The qnrA gene, was located in both cases downstream of the orf513 recombinase gene and upstream of the qnrA1 gene, a structure identical to that found in sul1-type integron In36 and qnrA-positive strains from Shanghai, China. However, the gene cassettes of the sul1-type integrons were different. This study identified the first plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance determinant in Enterobacteriaceae in Australia.