University of Western Australia

About: University of Western Australia is a education organization based out in Perth, Western Australia, Australia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 29613 authors who have published 87405 publications receiving 3064466 citations. The organization is also known as: UWA & University of WA.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and its relationship with cardiovascular disease and other extrahepatic diseases.

Abstract: Key physiological functions of the liver, including glucose and lipid metabolism, become disturbed in the setting of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and may be associated with a systemic inflammatory 'milieu' initiated in part by liver-secreted cytokines and molecules. Consequently, the pathophysiological effects of NAFLD extend beyond the liver with a large body of clinical evidence demonstrating NAFLD to be independently associated with both prevalent and incident cardiovascular disease (CVD), chronic kidney disease (CKD) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The magnitude of risk of developing these extrahepatic diseases parallels the underlying severity of NAFLD, such that patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) appear to be at greater risk of incident CVD, CKD and T2DM than those with simple steatosis. Other modifiers of risk may include genetic variants (eg, patatin-like phospholipase domain-containing 3 and trans-membrane 6 superfamily member 2 polymorphisms), visceral adipose tissue accumulation, dietary intake and the gut microbiome. Emerging data also suggest that NAFLD may be a risk factor for colonic neoplasia and reduced bone mineral density, especially among men. Importantly, improvement/resolution of NAFLD is associated with a reduced incidence of T2DM and improved kidney function, adding weight to causality and suggesting liver focused treatments may reduce risk of extrahepatic complications. Awareness of these associations is important for the clinicians such that CVD risk factor management, screening for T2DM and CKD are part of the routine management of patients with NAFLD.

Heat Stress in Wheat during Reproductive and Grain-Filling Phases

Abstract: Ambient temperatures have increased since the beginning of the century and are predicted to continue rising under climate change. Such increases in temperature can cause heat stress: a severe threat to wheat production in many countries, particularly when it occurs during reproductive and grain-filling phases. Heat stress reduces plant photosynthetic capacity through metabolic limitations and oxidative damage to chloroplasts, with concomitant reductions in dry matter accumulation and grain yield. Genotypes expressing heat shock proteins are better able to withstand heat stress as they protect proteins from heat-induced damage. Heat tolerance can be improved by selecting and developing wheat genotypes with heat resistance. Wheat pre-breeding and breeding may be based on secondary traits like membrane stability, photosynthetic rate and grain weight under heat stress. Nonetheless, improvement in grain yield under heat stress implies selecting genotypes for grain size and rate of grain filling. Integrating ph...

First evidence of >3.2 Ga continental crust in the Yangtze craton of south China and its implications for Archean crustal evolution and Phanerozoic tectonics

Abstract: Ion microprobe (SHRIMP II) U-Pb zircon analyses reveal trondhjemitic magmatism at 2.90–2.95 Ga in the Kongling area of the Yangtze craton, south China, about 150 km south of the Permian-Triassic Qinling-Dabie-Sulu orogenic belt. Detrital zircons from nearby Archean metapelites are 2.87–3.28 Ga, and the rocks have Sm-Nd depleted mantle model ages of 3.07–3.21 Ga. The new data reveal, for the first time, >3.2 Ga sialic crust in the Yangtze craton, part of which predates that of the adjacent southern North China craton. Both trondhjemites and metapelites contain ca. 2.75 Ga high-grade metamorphic zircons, and ca. 1.9 Ga zircons, related to intrusion of the Quanqitang K-feldspar granite into the Archean basement. Many zircons also underwent Pb loss ca. 1.0 Ga during the Jinning orogeny, when the Cathysian block accreted to the Yangtze craton. The new data support correlation of part of the Korean Peninsula with the Yangtze craton along the eastern extension of the Qinling-Dabie-Sulu orogenic belt.

Are there two sides to colorectal cancer

Abstract: Colorectal carcinomas (CRC) that arise proximal (right) or distal (left) to the splenic flexure exhibit differences in incidence according to geographic region, age and gender. Together with observations that tumours in the hereditary cancer syndromes HNPCC and FAP occur predominantly in the right and left colon, respectively, the existence of 2 categories of CRC based on site of origin in the large bowel was proposed more than a decade ago. Differences between normal right and left colonic segments that could favour progression through different tumourigenic pathways are summarized in this review. Accumulating evidence suggests that the risk of CRC conferred by various environmental and genetic factors is different for proximal and distal tumours. Right- and left-sided tumours also exhibit different sensitivities to fluorouracil-based chemotherapy. Such differences are probably related to the molecular characteristics of the tumours, with the microsatellite instability and CpG island methylator phenotypes being associated with right-sided tumours and chromosomal instability with left-sided tumours. Future molecular-based classification systems for CRC that rely upon distinctive gene expression patterns may allow a clearer discrimination of subgroups than that provided by tumour site alone. Until then however, the existence of 2 broadly different groups of cancer defined by site of origin in the colon should be considered in the design of future epidemiologic studies as well as in the design of new clinical trials aimed at testing novel adjuvant therapies.