Murdoch University

8月25日、26日，学校“协和班”2021级全体学生及其他学院学生代表分两批抵达澳大利亚珀斯，开展为期13天的访学交流活动。学校教务处、对外合作交流处、基础医学院、临床医学院分别派出带队教师同行。 8月27日，西澳洲政府教育推广署举行了欢迎仪式。全球推广主任Andrew Oldfield对远道而来的贵医师生表示欢迎，他详细介绍了西澳洲的教育环境、发展举措、政策支持、留学服务等，希望同学们在访学期间能够深切感受珀斯怡人的自然与人文环境以及享誉全球的高质量教育。贵医访学团团长重点介绍了贵州医科大学的建校历史、发展情况以及国际交流合作工作，他欢迎Andrew Oldfield到访贵州医科大学，进一步促进与西澳洲各高校文化和教育的交流合作。 访学团先后参访科廷大学、伊迪斯科文大学、西澳大学、莫道克大学4所西澳洲的顶级学府，并与各高校国际处的负责人深入交流。同学们从中深刻感受到了西澳洲先进的教育理念与国际化的教育环境，扩大了国际视野。 交流期间，同学们参加了“医疗健康科学的科研”“螺旋杆菌创新：推进诊断技术，促进早期癌症预防和公共健康”“澳大利亚医疗系统”“AI在公共健康上的应用”等专题培训以及其它通识知识培训。通过参访和集中培训，同学们形成了“幽门螺杆菌感染的二联、四联疗法比较” “基于人工智能的中国儿童青少年高血压发病率模型研究”“探究VR在澳大利亚解剖学教学实践中可行性和效果”等6个论文选题，同时进行分组研讨并在结业仪式上汇报。 此次访学交流活动是我校继澳门大学、瑞典卡罗林斯卡医学院访学之后第三次组织“协和班”学生赴国境外知名高校开展交流活动，加深了他们对专业知识与科学研究的认识和理解，更加激发了他们对医学科学探索的热情与追求，有助于培养具有全球胜任力的高素质国际化医学人才。 来源：对外交流合作处 作者：龙章波 编辑：李菡逸 一审：李牧 二审：钱禾 三审：陈颖  往期回顾 RECENTLY RELEASED 再创佳绩！贵州医科大学国家自然科学基金立项120项 (⁎⁍̴̛ᴗ⁍̴̛⁎) 给你一节课的时间沉浸式阅读 打开！2024级新生与贵医的第一张照片 贵州医科大学版权所有 期待投稿合作 邮箱：gmctougao@163.com

The exciting discovery of three new species of a small Australian marsupial has been tempered by the sad fact that each of the newly identified species of mulgara is likely already extinct. The exciting discovery of three new species of a small Australian marsupial has been tempered by the sad fact that each of the newly identified species of mulgara is likely already extinct. The Curtin University-led study has identified three new species of mulgaras, which are small carnivorous marsupials related to the Tasmanian Devil and quoll and that are important to the arid and semi-arid regions they inhabit in South Australia, Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland. Led by Curtin PhD student Jake Newman-Martin, a collaboration with Dr Kenny Travouillon from the Western Australian Museum, Associate Professor Natalie Warburton from Murdoch University and Associate Professor Milo Barham and Dr Alison Blyth both from Curtin analysed preserved specimens of mulgaras from museums across the country, including bones found in caves which had previously not been identifiable. Mr Newman-Martin said the research had identified six species of mulgaras, as opposed to the previously accepted two and it also concluded that a third previously named mulgara was indeed a valid species. However, four of the proposed species appeared to be already extinct. "Known as 'ecosystem engineers', mulgaras are immensely important to the regions they inhabit as they help control the population of insects and small rodents and assist turning over the desert soils by burrowing," Mr Newman-Martin said. "By taking precise measurements of the skulls and teeth of preserved mulgara specimens, we were able to differentiate the species, the exact number of which had previously been the source of some debate. "Using the skulls and teeth of mulgaras had previously not been achievable because no study had documented and measured the bones in detail. Our study shows that mulgaras are actually far more diverse than previously thought." Research co-author Dr Kenny Travouillon, Curator of Mammalogy at the Western Australian Museum, said while the discovery of more species of mulgaras may sound like good news, the fact they were likely already extinct was disconcerting. "While Australia is renowned for its diverse and unique marsupials, it also has the highest mammalian extinction rate in the world, with many species suffering from the impacts of environmental degradation and introduced predators such as foxes and cats," Dr Travouillon said. "The most at-risk species are often overlooked small marsupials, which have suffered a great drop in their abundance and distribution since European colonisation. "The mulgaras may even represent the first recorded Australian extinction within the broader family of related animals (Dasyuridae) and are sadly disappearing with even less recognition than their now infamous 'cousins' the Tasmanian Tiger (Thylacine). "It is likely that many more undescribed species have already become extinct before they could be known to science, highlighting the need to better understand Australian wildlife and the growing threats to our ecosystems."

Increasing opportunities for up-close encounters with sharks and other animals are making wildlife tourism one of the fastest growing tourism sectors -- leading ecology experts to venture to one of the world's main sites to investigate the effects of tourism on endangered whale sharks. At Oslob in the Philippines, Flinders University's Southern Shark Ecology Group and Global Ecology Lab joined local Filipino researchers to measure how the daily feeding regimes for resident whale shark population might have affected their behaviour and physiology by assessing their activity and metabolic requirements. Increasing opportunities for up-close encounters with sharks and other animals are making wildlife tourism one of the fastest growing tourism sectors -- leading Australian ecology experts to venture to one of the world's main sites to investigate the effects of tourism on endangered whale sharks. At Oslob in the Philippines, Flinders University's Southern Shark Ecology Group and Global Ecology Lab joined local Filipino researchers to measure how the daily feeding regimes for resident whale shark population might have affected their behaviour and physiology by assessing their activity and metabolic requirements. Oslob is home to one of the world's largest whale shark (Rhincodon typus) tourism sites, and operators use 150kg to 400kg of food to attract the impressive animals to the picturesque location. In the 12 years since feeding whale sharks began, mass tourism at the location has increased the size of shark aggregation as well as changed shark behaviour, including 'desensitisation' to boat and human contact. "By fitting 16 whale sharks with small accelerometers, similar to a fitness tracker, we found their daily movements and resulting metabolic rate increased by up to 55% in response to their quest for food at the tourism site," says Flinders University Honours researcher Christine Barry, who is now doing a PhD at Murdoch University, Western Australia. "Our bioenergetics model suggests that providing about 220kg of food per day would be sufficient to offset higher metabolic rate driven by tourism. "However, the unknown long-term consequences of feeding whale sharks suggests that managers should focus on making changes to operating procedures to reduce the high activity we see at the site." Supported by the Harry Butler Institute at Murdoch University and the Australian Institute of Marine Science, Ms Barry hopes her current PhD project will support management at West Australia's Ningaloo Reef by measuring the importance of foraging ground for this vulnerable species. The Oslob study and data analysis were supported by Dr Adrian Gleiss from the Harry Butler Institute and Flinders University Professor Corey Bradshaw, who both contributed to the article just published in the journal Biological Conversation. Senior author Flinders University Professor Charlie Huveneers, Research Director of the Southern Shark Ecology Group, says the two-fold increase in whale shark activity was due to more rapid acceleration and altered tailbeat frequency and amplitude required by the sharks to move between and avoid each other and boats. "While wildlife tourism has many benefits, including educational and conservation opportunities, we need to be mindful of a range of possible negative effects on the movement and activity of the animals targeted by tourism. "Without adequate management and regulation, tourism could have a range of negative effects on whale sharks and their ecosystems, and therefore the industry relying on these whale sharks," he says. Ms Barry says whale shark tourism at Oslob is vital for international tourism and the local economy, and therefore understanding how to ensure sustainable practices is important. "Feeding whale sharks is becoming an increasingly common strategy for tourism in the Indo-Pacific region, so it is essential to continue investigating how this might be affecting the endangered whale shark," she says.