Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Soil Formation Rates Determined From Uranium-Series Isotope Disequilibria In Soil Profiles From The Southeastern Australian Highlands, P O. Suresh, A Dosseto, P P. Hesse, H K. Handley

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

The sustainability of soil resources is determined by the balance between the rates of production and removal of soils. Samples from four weathering profiles at Frogs Hollow in the upper catchment area of the Murrumbidgee River (southeastern Australia) were analyzed for their uranium-series (U-series) isotopic composition to estimate soil production rates. Sequential leaching was conducted on sample aliquots to assess how U-series nuclides are distributed between primary and secondary minerals. Soil is increasingly weathered from bottom to top which is evident from the decrease in (234U/238U) ratios and increase in relative quartz content with decreasing soil depth. One soil profile …

Sedimentation, Elevation And Marsh Evolution In A Southeastern Australian Estuary During Changing Climatic Conditions, Kerrylee Rogers, Neil Saintilan, Alice J. Howe, José F. Rodríguez

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Mangrove and salt marsh vertical accretion and surface elevation change was measured at Kooragang Island within the Ramsar-listed Lower Hunter estuarine wetlands in New South Wales, Australia, using surface elevation tables and marker horizons over a ten-year period. We surveyed mangrove, salt marsh and a zone of mangrove encroachment into salt marsh. The period of analysis was dominated by El Niño (drought) climatic conditions, though included a series of east coast low pressure systems and associated storms over the central coast of NSW in June 2007. The storms may have initially caused scouring of sediments in the mangrove zone, followed …

The Significance And Vulnerability Of Australian Saltmarshes: Implications For Management In A Changing Climate, Neil Saintilan, Kerrylee Rogers

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

We review the distribution, status and ecology of Australian saltmarshes and the mechanisms whereby enhanced atmospheric carbon dioxide and associated climate change have influenced and will influence the provision of ecosystem goods and services. Research in temperate and subtropical saltmarsh has demonstrated important trophic contributions to estuarine fisheries, mediated by the synchronised mass-spawning of crabs, which feed predominantly on the C-4 saltmarsh grass Sporobolus virginicus and microphytobenthos. Saltmarshes also provide unique feeding and habitat opportunities for several species of threatened microbats and birds, including migratory shorebirds. Saltmarshes increased in extent relative to mangrove in Australia in both tide- and wave-dominated …

Allochthonous And Autochthonous Contributions To Carbon Accumulation And Carbon Store In Southeastern Australian Coastal Wetlands, N Saintilan, K Rogers, D Mazumder, C Woodroffe

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Estimates of carbon store and carbon accumulation rate in mangrove and saltmarsh are beset by issues of scale and provenance. Estimates at a site do not allow scaling to regional estimates if the drivers of variability are not known. Also, carbon accumulation within soils provides a net offset only if carbon is derived in-situ, or would not otherwise be sequestered. We use a network of observation sites extending across 2000 km of southeastern Australian coastline to determine the influence of geomorphic setting and coastal wetland vegetation type on rates of carbon accumulation, carbon store and probable sources. Carbon accumulation above …

Post-Glacial Sea-Level Changes Around The Australian Margin: A Review, Stephen E. Lewis, Craig R. Sloss, Colin V. Murray-Wallace, Colin D. Woodroffe, Scott G. Smithers

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

It has been known since Rhodes Fairbridge's first attempt to establish a global pattern of Holocene sea-level change by combining evidence from Western Australia and from sites in the northern hemisphere that the details of sea-level history since the Last Glacial Maximum vary considerably across the globe. The Australian region is relatively stable tectonically and is situated in the 'far-field' of former ice sheets. It therefore preserves important records of post-glacial sea levels that are less complicated by neotectonics or glacio-isostatic adjustments. Accordingly, the relative sea-level record of this region is dominantly one of glacio-eustatic (ice equivalent) sea-level changes. The …

Food Groups And Fatty Acids Associated With Self-Reported Depression: An Analysis From The Australian National Nutrition And Health Surveys, Barbara J. Meyer, Nithin Kolanu, David A. Griffiths, Ben Grounds, Peter R. C Howe, Irene A. Kreis

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Objective The aim of this study was to explore the associations between incidence of depression and dietary intakes of foods and fatty acids in adult Australians. Methods Data from the 1995 Australian National Nutrition Survey (NNS), the 1995 Australian National Health Survey (NHS) and an updated fatty acid database were merged and the 24-h fatty acid intakes were calculated for the 10 986 adult participants ages 18 to 79 y in the 1995 NNS. The merged data set was used to run a logistic regression with depression as the response variable and the food groups and calculated fatty acid values, …

Chaperones For Pap Smears: Do Australian Gps Offer Or Use Them?, Lucie Stanford, Andrew Bonney, Rowena Ivers

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

No abstract provided.

Longitudinal Nasopharyngeal Carriage And Antibiotic Resistance Of Respiratory Bacteria In Indigenous Australian And Alaska Native Children With Bronchiectasis, Kim M. Hare, Rosalyn J. Singleton, Keith Grimwood, Patricia C. Valery, Allen C. Cheng, Peter S. Morris, Amanda J. Leach, Heidi Smith-Vaughan, Mark Chatfield, Greg Redding, Alisa L. Reasonover, Gabrielle B. Mccallum, Lori Chikoyak, Malcolm I. Mcdonald, Ngiare Brown, Paul J. Torzillo, Anne B. Chang

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Background Indigenous children in Australia and Alaska have very high rates of chronic suppurative lung disease (CSLD)/bronchiectasis. Antibiotics, including frequent or long-term azithromycin in Australia and short-term beta-lactam therapy in both countries, are often prescribed to treat these patients. In the Bronchiectasis Observational Study we examined over several years the nasopharyngeal carriage and antibiotic resistance of respiratory bacteria in these two PCV7-vaccinated populations. Methods Indigenous children aged 0.5-8.9 years with CSLD/bronchiectasis from remote Australia (n = 79) and Alaska (n = 41) were enrolled in a prospective cohort study during 2004-8. At scheduled study visits until 2010 antibiotic use in …

Dietary Intake And Food Sources Of Epa, Dpa And Dha In Australian Children, Setyaningrum Rahmawaty, Karen Charlton, Philippa Lyons-Wall, Barbara J. Meyer

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Secondary analysis of the 2007 Australian National Children's Nutrition and Physical Activity survey was undertaken to assess the intake and food sources of EPA, DPA and DHA (excluding supplements) in 4,487 children aged 2-16 years. An average of two 24-h dietary recalls was analysed for each child and food sources of EPA, DPA and DHA were assessed using the Australian nutrient composition database called AUSNUT 2007. Median (inter quartile range, IQR) for EPA, DPA and DHA intakes (mg/day) for 2-3, 4-8, 9-13, 14-16 year were: EPA 5.3 (1.5-14), 6.7 (1.8-18), 8.7 (2.6-23), 9.8 (2.7-28) respectively; DPA 6.2 (2.2-14), 8.2 (3.3-18), …

Improvement In Iodine Status Of Pregnant Australian Women 3 Years After Introduction Of A Mandatory Iodine Fortification Programme, Karen E. Charlton, Heather Yeatman, Erin Brock, Catherine Lucas, Luke Gemming, Alison Goodfellow, Gary Ma

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Introduction In order to address population-level mild iodine deficiency in Australia, a mandatory iodine fortification programme of salt used in bread was introduced in late 2009.

Methods A before–after study was conducted to assess changes in median urinary iodine concentration (MUIC) measurements, according to supplement use, in convenience samples of pregnant women attending a public antenatal clinic in a regional area of New South Wales, Australia in 2008 (n = 139), 2011 (n = 147) and 2012 (n = 114). Knowledge and practices related to iodine nutrition were investigated in 2012, using self-administered questionnaires.

Results The mild iodine deficiency confirmed …

Energy In-Equivalence In Australian Marsupials: Evidence For Disruption Of The Continent's Mammal Assemblage, Or Are Rules Meant To Be Broken?, Adam J. Munn, Craig Dunne, Dennis W.H Muller, Marcus Clauss

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

The energy equivalence rule (EER) is a macroecological hypothesis that posits that total population energy use (PEU) should be independent of species body mass, because population densities and energy metabolisms scale with body mass in a directly inverse manner. However, evidence supporting the EER is equivocal, and the use of basal metabolic rate (BMR) in such studies has been questioned; ecologically-relevant indices like field metabolic rate (FMR) are probably more appropriate. In this regard, Australian marsupials present a novel test for the EER because, unlike eutherians, marsupial BMRs and FMRs scale differently with body mass. Based on either FMR or …

A Physiological Evaluation Of Shelters That Might Sustain Life During An Australian Bushfire, Benjamin J. Haberley, David J. R Hoyle, Nigel A.S Taylor

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

South-Eastern Australia experiences the most frequent and severe bushfires in the world. In 2009, bushfires in Victoria claimed 173 lives and cost more than $4 billion in structural damage. As a consequence, the establishment of building standards that might govern the construction of bushfire shelters was recommended. Since no relevant standards existed, it was suggested that if these shelters could keep the internal conditions to a maximal mean Modified Discomfort Index (MDI) of 39o for 60 min, then they could restrain the rise in core temperature to no more than 2oC. The current investigators were invited to test this hypothesis …

Hydration Status Of Underground Miners In A Temperate Australian Region, Benjamin G. Polkinghorne, Vinodkumar Gopaldasani, Susan Furber, Brian Davies, Victoria M. Flood

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Background Dehydration is a health risk for miners in tropical regions of Australia. However, it is not known whether dehydration poses a health risk to miners working in temperate regions of Australia. Methods A cross-sectional study of 88 miners from two underground mines was undertaken in south-eastern New South Wales, Australia. Participants had their height, weight, waist circumference and hydration status measured and completed a self-administered questionnaire on fluid intake, access to water, and socio-demographic characteristics. Health and Safety managers were surveyed about guidelines relating to healthy work and lifestyle behaviours which impact/influence hydration. Results Hydration tests indicated that more …

Australian General Practitioner Perceptions Of The Detection And Screening Of At-Risk Drinking, And The Role Of The Audit-C: A Qualitative Study, Chun Wah Michael Tam, Nicholas Arnold Zwar, Roslyn Markham

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Background: At-risk drinking is common in Australia. Validated screening tools such as the AUDIT-C have been promoted to general practitioners (GPs), but appear rarely used and detection of at-risk drinking in primary care remains low. We sought to describe Australian GP perceptions of the detection and screening of at-risk drinking; to understand their low uptake of alcohol screening questionnaires, and in particular, their attitude to the adoption of the AUDIT-C. Methods. Semi-structured focus group interviews of four groups of GPs and GP trainees were conducted in metropolitan Sydney between August and October 2011. Audio recordings were transcribed and analysed using …

Gendered Dimensions Of Aboriginal Australian And California Indian Fire Knowledge Retention And Revival, Christine Eriksen

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Fire has played a key role in the land management practices of Aboriginal Australians and Native Americans for millennia. However, colonial interests have disrupted indigenous use of fire in multiple ways. This article summarises how gender is entwined—spatially and temporally— in the adaptive knowledge trajectories through which some Aboriginal Australian and California Indian fire knowledge is retained and revived. The article draws on oral narratives shared by indigenous elders, cultural practitioners, and land stewards during prescribed burns, fire knowledge workshops, field trips with students, informal conversations and audio-recorded interviews.

Has The Iodine Status, Knowledge And Practices Of Pregnant Australian Women Improved Since Mandatory Bread Fortification?, K Charlton, H Yeatman, E Brock, C Lucas, L Gemming, G Ma

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Abstract of poster that presented at the 20th International Congress of Nutrition: Granada, Spain, September 15-20, 2013.

How Well Do Australian Shoppers Understand Energy Terms On Food Labels?, Wendy L. Watson, Kathy Chapman, Lesley King, Bridget Kelly, Clare Hughes, Jimmy Chun Yu Louie, Jennifer Crawford, Timothy P. Gill

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Objective To investigate nutrition literacy among adult grocery buyers regarding energy-related labelling terms on food packaging. Design Qualitative interviews and quantitative surveys to determine shoppers' understanding of energy terms ('energy', 'calories' and 'kilojoules') and how energy terms affect perceptions of healthiness and intentions to purchase breakfast cereals, muesli bars and frozen meals. Setting Individual in-depth interviews and surveys in two metropolitan supermarkets, Sydney, Australia. Subjects Australian adults (interview n 40, survey n 405) aged 18-79 years. Results The relationship between energy and perceived healthiness of food varied by product type: higher energy breakfast cereals were perceived to be healthier, while …