Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Low Cost Technology For Monitoring Sustainable Development, R John Morrison, Ursula Kaly, Alifereti Tawake, Batiri Thaman

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

The term 'sustainable development' first appeared in a significant way in the World Conservation Strategy (IUCN 1980), but the basic ideas had been discussed much earlier. 'Ecologically sustainable development' became particularly popular after the publication of Our Common Future, the Brundtland report (WCED 1987). Many agencies claim that their work is highly dependent on, or governed by, sustainable development or sustainability principles. One of the major problems with the concept of sustainability, however, is that, while many people claim to be utilising sustainability principles, there is often little evidence to confirm this. Supporting data are frequently absent, perhaps because …

The Edge Effect And Ecotonal Species: Bird Communities Across A Natural Edge In Southeastern Australia, Jack Baker, Kris French, Robert Whelan

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

Ecotones have been considered as unique environments, and the concepts of edge effect and ecotonal species have been widely used, especially in avian community ecology. We studied the patterns of bird densities across heath-wood edges at replicated sites in three locations in southeastern Australia. Multivariate analysis showed that the bird community in the ecotone was intermediate between the heath and wood communities, indicating that the ecotone contained a mixing of species rather than a unique bird community. ANOVA showed a modest increase in bird density at the wood side of the ecotone, which may be partly due to sampling biases …

Functional Foods Ii: Claims And Evidence, Peter Williams

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

Book review of: Functional Foods II: Claims and Evidence Judy Buttriss & Michael Saltmarsh (eds) The Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, 2000 ISBN 0-85404-789-1 xx+244 pp £59.50 c. $A180

Molecular Analysis Of Group B Protective Surface Protein, A New Cell Surface Protective Antigen Of Group B Steptococci, Sezgin Erdogan, Peter K. Fagan, Susanne R. Talay, Manfred Rohde, Patricia Ferrieri, Aurea E. Flores, Carlos A. Guzman, Mark J. Walker, Gursharan S. Chhatwal

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

Group B streptococci (GBS) express various surface antigens designated c, R, and X antigens. A new R-like surface protein from Streptococcus agalactiae strain Compton R has been identified by using a polyclonal antiserum raised against the R protein fraction of this strain to screen a lambda Zap library. DNA sequence analysis of positive clones allowed the prediction of the primary structure of a 105-kDa protein designated BPS protein (group B protective surface protein) that exhibited typical features of streptococcal surface proteins such as a signal sequence and a membrane anchor region but did not show significant similarity with other known …

Validation Of Version 5.20 Ilas Hno3, Ch4, N2o, O3, And No2 Using Ground-Based Measurements At Arrival Heights And Kiruna, S W. Wood, G E. Bodeker, I S. Boyd, Nicholas Jones, B J. Connor, P V. Johnston, W A. Matthews, S E. Nichol, F J. Murcray, H Nakajima, Y Sasano

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

Ground-based measurements of O₃ and NO₂ columns at Kiruna (68°N) and Arrival Heights (78°S) were used to validate stratospheric profile measurements of the same species by the satellite-based Improved Limb Atmospheric Spectrometer (ILAS) flown between November 1996 and June 1997. In addition, measurements of HNO₃, CH₄, and N₂O made at Arrival Heights are compared with measurements of these species by ILAS. Even though there were no temporal coincidences in the latter comparison, the ground-based data provide a climatological context for the ILAS measurements. ILAS profiles measured within 10° of longitude and 2° …

Multiyear Infrared Solar Spectroscopic Measurements Of Hcn, Co, C2h6, And C2h2 Tropospheric Columns Above Lauder, New Zealand (45 S Latitude), C P. Rinsland, Nicholas Jones, Brian J. Connor, Stephen W. Wood, Aaron Goldman, Thomas M. Stephen, Frank J. Murcray, Linda S. Chiou, Rodolphe Zander, Emmanuel Mahieu

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

Near-simultaneous, 0.0035 or 0.007 cm⁻¹ resolution infrared solar absorption spectra of tropospheric HCN, C₂H₂, CO, and C₂H₆ have been recorded from the Network for the Detection of Stratospheric Change station in Lauder, New Zealand (45.04°S, 169.68°E, 0.37 km altitude). All four molecules were measured on over 350 days with HCN and C₂H₂ reported for the first time based on a new analysis procedure that significantly increases the effective signal-to-noise of weak tropospheric absorption features in the measured spectra. The CO measurements extend by 2.5 years a database of measurements …

Ground-Based Infrared Spectroscopic Measurements Of Carbonyl Sulfide: Free Tropospheric Trends From A 24-Year Time Series Of Solar Absorption Measurements, C P. Rinsland, A Goldman, E Mahieu, R Zander, J Notholt, Nicholas Jones, D W. T Griffith, T M. Stephen, L S. Chiou

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

Solar absorption spectra recorded over a 24-year time span have been analyzed to retrieve average free tropospheric mixing ratios of carbonyl sulfide (OCS). The measurements were recorded with the Fourier transform spectrometer located in the U.S. National Solar Observatory McMath solar telescope facility on Kitt Peak (altitude 2.09 km, lat. 31.9°N, long. 111.6°W), southwest of Tucson, Arizona, and were obtained on 167 days between May 1978 and February 2002, typically at 0.01-cm⁻¹ spectral resolution. A best fit to the time series shows an average mixing ratio of 566 pptv (1 pptv = 10⁻¹² per unit volume) between 2.09 …

Continued Declines Of Black Abalone Along The Coast Of California: Are Mass Mortalities Related To El Nino Events?, Peter Raimondi, C M. Wilson, Richard E. Ambrose, John M. Engle, Todd Minchinton

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

The intertidal black abalone Haliotis cracherodii has experienced mass mortalities along the coast of California, USA, since the mid-1980s. Mortality is due to infection by a pathogen that leads to a fatal wasting disease called Œwithering syndrome¹, where the foot of the abalone atrophies until it can no longer adhere to the substratum. Massive die-offs due to withering syndrome were first noted on the Channel Islands in 1986, and by 1992 withering syndrome was observed near Point Conception on the mainland and was suspected to be spreading northward up the coast of California. The timing of the initial mass mortalities …

Precipitation During El Nino Correlates With Increasing Spread Of Phragmites Australis In New England, Usa, Coastal Marshes, Todd Minchinton

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

The grass Phragmites australis has historically been restricted to the relatively benign upper border of coastal marshes, but over the past century, and particularly in recent decades, it has been spreading aggressively in New England throughout brackish and salt marshes with high soil salinities that are physiologically stressful to the plant. Here I tested the hypothesis that variations in climatic conditions, particularly increased precipitation during the 1997-98 El Niño event, buffer harsh abiotic conditions and enhance the performance of this nuisance species. I monitored the growth and reproductive output of P. australis in the year before, during, and after …

Retention Of Visible Implant Tags In Small Rockpool Fishes, Shane Griffiths

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

Retention and associated fish mortality of visible implant alphanumeric (VIA) and fluorescent elastomer tags was assessed in 2 Australian intertidal rockpool fishes, Girella elevata (Girellidae) and Bathygobius cocosensis (Gobiidae). Mean retention of VIA and elastomer tags after 90 d was 32 ± 20% and 77 ± 19%, respectively. After 90 d the fish mean mortality from VIA tags (20 ± 5%) was significantly higher than from elastomer tags (7 ± 2%) and untagged control groups (11 ± 2%). Elastomer tags appear most suitable for marking batches of fish of various size, while VIA tags appear suitable for identification of larger …

Decreased Heat Stability And Increased Chaperone Requirement Of Modified Human Βb1-Crystallins, Kirsten J Lampi, Yung H. Kim, Hans Peter Bachinger, Bruce A. Boswell, Robyn A. Lindner, John A. Carver, Thomas R Shearer, Larry L. David, Deborah M. Kapfer

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

Purpose: To determine how deamidation and partial loss of the N- and C-terminal extensions alter the heat stability of βB1-crystallin.

Methods: Human lens βB1, a deamidated βB1, Q204E, and αA-crystallins were expressed. Truncated βB1 was generated by proteolytic removal of part of its terminal extensions. The aggregation and precipitation of these proteins due to heating was monitored by circular dichroism and light scattering. The effect of heat on the stability of both monomers and oligomers was investigated. The flexibility of the extensions in wild type and deamidated βB1 was assessed by ¹H NMR spectroscopy.

Results: With heat, deamidated βB1 …

Photoelectron Spectroscopy Of Hccn- And Hcnc- Reveals The Quasilinear Triplet Carbenes, Hccn And Hcnc, Mark R. Nimlos, Gustavo Davico, C Michael Geise, Paul G. Wenthold, W Carl Lineberger, Stephen J. Blanksby, Christopher M. Hadad, George A. Petersson, G Barney Ellison

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

Negative ion photoelectron spectroscopy has been used to study the HCCN⁻ and HCNC⁻ ions. The electron affinities (EA) of cyanocarbene have been measured to be EA(HCCN X̃ ³Σ−=2.003±0.014 eV and EA(DCCN X̃³Σ⁻)=2.009±0.020 eV. Photodetachment of HCCN⁻ to HCCN X̃³Σ⁻ shows a 0.4 eV long vibrational progression in ν₅, the H–CCN bending mode; the HCCN⁻ photoelectron spectra reveal excitations up to 10 quanta in ν₅. The term energies for the excited singlet state are found to be T₀(HCCN ã ¹A′)=0.515±0.016 eV and …

Marlboro''S Marketing In Western Europe: Is It Ethical?, Sandra C. Jones

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

There has been considerable publicity in the United States and Australia opposing the cigarette marketing efforts of British and U.S. tobacco companies in Eastern Europe. However, little attention has been paid to the marketing campaigns ofthe same companies in Western Europe, perhaps on the assumption that Western Europeans are too sophisticated to fall for the marketing tricks that have worked elsewhere over the last several decades. However, smoking rates are on the increase in many Western European countries, where tobacco advertising is largely unregulated. This paper analyzes magazine advertising for the Marlboro brand targeted at young adults in The Netherlands …

Promotion Of Prescription Medicines: A Critical Review And Research Agenda, Janet Hoek, Philip Gendall, Judith Holdershaw, Sandra C. Jones, John Rossiter

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Direct to consumer advertising (DTCA) of prescription medicines has generated considerable controversy in both New Zealand and the United States, the only two countries that currently permit promotion ofrestricted medicines. Arguments against DTCA include the effect this may have on doctor-patient relationships, its implications for drug costs, and the extent to which it fully informs potential patients. Conversely, proponents of DTCA claim that it increases knowledge of a variety of common medical conditions, thus fostering earlier diagnosis and better compliance with treatments. However, although arguments for and against DTCA have merit, neither side has supported its position with empirical evidence. …

Profiles Of Underreporting In Healthy Adults And Adults With Type Ii Diabetes Mellitus Participating In A Dietary Intervention Trial, Gina Martin, Linda C. Tapsell, Marijka Batterham

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Abstract from The Proceedings of the Nutrition Society of Australia, 2002.

Fat In Food And The Obesity Epidemic, Linda C. Tapsell

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Dietary fat is strongly implicated in the development of insulin resistance and obesity, both major public health problems today. While the amount of dietary fat is relevant, the type of fat is important in fuel utilisation, storage and appetite regulatory mechanisms. Human calorimetry research confirms the importance of dietary fat in energy balance, but more work needs to be done to uncover the impact of type of dietary fat in weight control. Population and intervention research confirm the importance of fat in dietary interventions, bearing in mind the contribution of physical activity to energy balance. The food industry has an …

Prevalence Of Household Food Poverty In South Africa: Results From A Large Nationally Representative Survey, Karen E. Charlton, Donald Rose

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

OBJECTIVES: Household food insecurity is a major determinant of undernutrition, yet there is little information on its prevalence in the South African population. This paper assesses household food insecurity in South Africa using a quantitative and objective measure, known as food poverty, and provides prevalence estimates by geographic area and socio-economic condition. DESIGN: Secondary data analysis combining two sources: Statistics South Africa's household-based 1995 Income and Expenditure Survey; and the University of Port Elizabeth's Household Subsistence Level series, a nationally-conducted, market-based survey. SETTING: South Africa. SUBJECTS: A nationally representative sample of the entire country - stratified by race, province, and …