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Sustained observations allow for the tracking of change in oceanography and ecosystems, however, these are rare, particularly for the Southern Hemisphere. To address this in part, the Australian Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) implemented a network of nine National Reference Stations (NRS). The network builds on one long-term location, where monthly water sampling has been sustained since the 1940s and two others that commenced in the 1950s. In-situ continuously moored sensors and an enhanced monthly water sampling regime now collect more than 50 data streams. Building on sampling for temperature, salinity and nutrients, the network now observes dissolved oxygen, carbon, turbidity, currents, chlorophyll a and both phytoplankton and zooplankton. Additional parameters for studies of ocean acidification and bio-optics are collected at a sub-set of sites and all data is made freely and publically available. Our preliminary results demonstrate increased utility to observe extreme events, such as marine heat waves and coastal flooding; rare events, such as plankton blooms; and have, for the first time, allowed for consistent continental scale sampling and analysis of coastal zooplankton and phytoplankton communities. Independent water sampling allows for cross validation of the deployed sensors for quality control of data that now continuously tracks daily, seasonal and annual variation. The NRS will provide multi-decadal time series, against which more spatially replicated short-term studies can be referenced, models and remote sensing products validated, and improvements made to our understanding of how large-scale, long-term change and variability in the global ocean are affecting Australia's coastal seas and ecosystems. The NRS network provides an example of how a continental scaled observing systems can be developed to collect observations that integrate across physics, chemistry and biology.

Item does not contain fulltext, Mutations in the SCN9A gene leading to deficiency of its protein product, Na(v)1.7, cause congenital indifference to pain (CIP). CIP is characterized by the absence of the ability to sense pain associated with noxious stimuli. In contrast, the opposite phenotype to CIP, inherited erythromelalgia (IEM), is a disorder of spontaneous pain caused by missense mutations resulting in gain-of-function in Na(v)1.7 that promote neuronal hyperexcitability. The primary aim of this study was to demonstrate that Na(v)1.7 antagonism could alleviate the pain of IEM, thereby demonstrating the utility of this opposite phenotype model as a tool for rapid proof-of-concept for novel analgesics. An exploratory, randomized, double-blind, 2-period crossover study was conducted in 4 SCN9A mutation-proven IEM patients. In each treatment period (2days), separated by a 2-day washout period, patients were orally administered XEN402 (400mg twice daily) or matching placebo. In 3 patients, pain was induced by heat or exercise during each treatment arm. A fourth patient, in constant severe pain, required no induction. Patient-reported outcomes of pain intensity and/or relief were recorded, and the time taken to induce pain was measured. The ability to induce pain in IEM patients was significantly attenuated by XEN402 compared with placebo. XEN402 increased the time to maximal pain induction and significantly reduced the amount of pain (42% less) after induction (P=.014). This pilot study showed that XEN402 blocks Na(v)1.7-mediated pain associated with IEM, thereby demonstrating target engagement in humans and underscoring the use of rare genetic disorders with mutant target channels as a novel approach to rapid proof-of-concept.

We have completed a genome scan of a 12-generation, 3,400-member pedigree with schizophrenia. Samples from 210 individuals were collected from the pedigree. We performed an "affecteds-only" genome-scan analysis using 43 members of the pedigree. The affected individuals included 29 patients with schizophrenia, 10 with schizoaffective disorders, and 4 with psychosis not otherwise specified. Two sets of white-European allele frequencies were used-one from a Swedish control population (46 unrelated individuals) and one from the pedigree (210 individuals). All analyses pointed to the same region: D6S264, located at 6q25.2, showed a maximum LOD score of 3.45 when allele frequencies in the Swedish control population were used, compared with a maximum LOD score of 2.59 when the pedigree's allele frequencies were used. We analyzed additional markers in the 6q25 region and found a maximum LOD score of 6.6 with marker D6S253, as well as a 6-cM haplotype (markers D6S253-D6S264) that segregated, after 12 generations, with the majority of the affected individuals. Multipoint analysis was performed with the markers in the 6q25 region, and a maximum LOD score of 7.7 was obtained. To evaluate the significance of the genome scan, we simulated the complete analysis under the assumption of no linkage. The results showed that a LOD score >2.2 should be considered as suggestive of linkage, whereas a LOD score >3.7 should be considered as significant. These results suggest that a common ancestral region was inherited by the affected individuals in this large pedigree.

Two closely related genes, the presenilins ( PS ), located at chromosomes 14q24.3 and 1q42.1, have been identified for autosomal dominant Alzheimer disease (AD) with onset age below 65 years (presenile AD). We performed a systematic mutation analysis of all coding and 5'-non-coding exons of PS -1 and PS -2 in a population-based epidemiological series of 101 unrelated familial and sporadic presenile AD cases. The familial cases included 10 patients of autosomal dominant AD families sampled for linkage analysis studies. In all pati