Macquarie University

About: Macquarie University is a education organization based out in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 14075 authors who have published 47673 publications receiving 1416184 citations. The organization is also known as: Macquarie uni.

Top management support: mantra or necessity?

Abstract: This research provides evidence that top management support is the most important critical success factor for project success and is not simply one of many factors. The finding is justified in the context of the project management literature and the IS factor research on project success. There are implications for practice because it appears that the conventional technical and project management advice has less impact on project success than previously thought. Boards and top managers may have to personally accept that they have more influence on whether a project succeeds or fails. 2008 Elsevier Ltd and IPMA. All rights reserved.

A flow cytometry method for rapid detection and enumeration of total bacteria in milk.

Abstract: Application of flow cytometry (FCM) to microbial analysis of milk is hampered by the presence of milk proteins and lipid particles. Here we report on the development of a rapid (≤1-h) FCM assay based on enzymatic clearing of milk to determine total bacteria in milk. When bacteria were added to ultra-heat-treated milk, a good correlation (r ≥ 0.98) between the FCM assay and the more conventional methods of plating and direct microscopic counting was achieved. Raw milk data showed a significant correlation (P

Characterization of Methanotrophic Bacterial Populations in Soils Showing Atmospheric Methane Uptake

Abstract: The global methane cycle includes both terrestrial and atmospheric processes and may contribute to feedback regulation of the climate. Most oxic soils are a net sink for methane, and these soils consume approximately 20 to 60 Tg of methane per year. The soil sink for atmospheric methane is microbially mediated and sensitive to disturbance. A decrease in the capacity of this sink may have contributed to the approximately 1%. year(-1) increase in the atmospheric methane level in this century. The organisms responsible for methane uptake by soils (the atmospheric methane sink) are not known, and factors that influence the activity of these organisms are poorly understood. In this study the soil methane-oxidizing population was characterized by both labelling soil microbiota with (14)CH(4) and analyzing a total soil monooxygenase gene library. Comparative analyses of [(14)C]phospholipid ester-linked fatty acid profiles performed with representative methane-oxidizing bacteria revealed that the soil sink for atmospheric methane consists of an unknown group of methanotrophic bacteria that exhibit some similarity to type II methanotrophs. An analysis of monooxygenase gene libraries from the same soil samples indicated that an unknown group of bacteria belonging to the alpha subclass of the class Proteobacteria was present; these organisms were only distantly related to extant methane-oxidizing strains. Studies on factors that affect the activity, population dynamics, and contribution to global methane flux of "atmospheric methane oxidizers" should be greatly facilitated by use of biomarkers identified in this study.