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A global analysis reveals a collective gap in the transparency of offset policies and how biodiversity is measured
No full textOffsetting policies have increased worldwide, utilizing a range of biodiversity metrics to compensate for development impacts. We conducted a global analysis of offset legislation by reviewing policies from 108 countries, which have voluntary offsets, or which require offsets by law. We sought to understand how well biodiversity metrics and offset currencies are documented in current policies. Where biodiversity metrics are documented we aimed to understand how metrics were scored, combined, and multiplied to create offset currencies. We found only 22 jurisdictions (from 14 countries) had guidelines documenting how biodiversity should be assessed during offsetting, representing a significant gap in the guidance available for offsets. Of the 22 guidelines, 14 (63%) documented use of aggregated currencies, eight (23%) did not aggregate biodiversity metrics into a single currency, and three (17%) did not specify either approach. Habitat type and condition, as well as area, were widely recommended across policies (>50%). Where species-level metrics were considered, guidelines generally focused on habitat distributions rather than abundance or population metrics. The lack of consistent and clear guidance about how biodiversity should be measured in offsets reduces our ability to determine the effectiveness of offsets in compensating for development impacts long term
Context matters: using an Evidence to Decision (EtD) framework to develop and encourage uptake of opioid deprescribing guideline recommendations at the point-of-care
No full textObjectives: To describe the development and use of an Evidence to Decision (EtD) framework when formulating recommendations for the Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guideline for Deprescribing Opioid Analgesics. Study Design and Setting: Evidence was derived from an overview of systematic reviews and qualitative studies conducted with healthcare professionals and people who take opioids for pain. A multidisciplinary guideline development group conducted extensive EtD framework review and iterative refinement to ensure that guideline recommendations captured contextual factors relevant to the guideline target setting and audience. Results: The guideline development group considered and accounted for the complexities of opioid deprescribing at the individual and health system level, shaping recommendations and practice points to facilitate point-of-care use. Stakeholders exhibited diverse preferences, beliefs, and values. This variability, low certainty of evidence, and system-level policies and funding models impacted the strength of the generated recommendations, resulting in the formulation of four ‘conditional’ recommendations. Conclusion: The context within which evidence-based recommendations are considered, as well as the political and health system environment, can contribute to the success of recommendation implementation. Use of an EtD framework allowed for the development of implementable recommendations relevant at the point-of-care through consideration of limitations of the evidence and relevant contextual factors
The evolution of human skin pigmentation: A changing medley of vitamins, genetic variability, and UV radiation during human expansion
No full textThis review examines putative, yet likely critical evolutionary pressures contributing to human skin pigmentation and subsequently, depigmentation phenotypes. To achieve this, it provides a synthesis of ideas that frame contemporary thinking, without limiting the narrative to pigmentation genes alone. It examines how geography and hence the quality and quantity of UV exposure, pigmentation genes, diet‐related genes, vitamins, anti‐oxidant nutrients, and cultural practices intersect and interact to facilitate the evolution of human skin color. The article has a strong focus on the vitamin D‐folate evolutionary model, with updates on the latest biophysical research findings to support this paradigm. This model is examined within a broad canvas that takes human expansion out of Africa and genetic architecture into account. A thorough discourse on the biology of melanization is provided (includes relationship to BH4 and DNA damage repair), with the relevance of this to the UV sensitivity of folate and UV photosynthesis of vitamin D explained in detail, including the relevance of these vitamins to reproductive success. It explores whether we might be able to predict vitamin‐related gene polymorphisms that pivot metabolism to the prevailing UVR exposome within the vitamin D‐folate evolutionary hypothesis context. This is discussed in terms of a primary adaptive phenotype (pigmentation/depigmentation), a secondary adaptive phenotype (flexible metabolic phenotype based on vitamin‐related gene polymorphism profile), and a tertiary adaptive strategy (dietary anti‐oxidants to support the secondary adaptive phenotype). Finally, alternative evolutionary models for pigmentation are discussed, as are challenges to future research in this area
Elements of power: Material-political entanglements in Australia's fossil fuel hegemony
No full textAnthropocentric climate change presents an existential threat through impacts such as rising sea levels, effects on agricultural crops and extreme weather events. However, governments, businesses and communities struggle to wean off fossil fuel dependency. In this article, we argue that this is due to the grip of fossil fuel hegemony. To explain this grip, we draw on the theoretical perspectives of new materialism to examine how fossil fuels and politics interact in upholding Australia's fossil fuel regime. Our analysis, based on 70 qualitative interviews conducted with politicians and political advisors, fossil fuel executives and experts and environmental activists, shows three processes – establishment, entrenchment and encroachment – through which political-material entanglements lock in a fossil fuel-based future. These processes are both discursive, with politicians and industry downplaying, if not outright denying, the climate emergency and material, with investment in new mines and infrastructure even while the negative ecological impacts of fossil fuel use gather pace
Spatio-temporal variability of tidal residuals along the New South Wales Coast driven by climate and synoptic processes
No full textCoastal water levels often deviate from those predicted by harmonic analysis based purely on astronomical forcing. These variations, termed tidal residuals, can lead to unexpected episodes of extensive and prolonged inundation along the coastal zone and nearby estuaries. This is a problem because of the uncertainty in predicting extreme water levels and the impacts associated with coastal flooding. These impacts include loss of infrastructure within low-lying areas and challenging the effective management of coasts and estuaries. This research aims to understand how Pacific and Southern Ocean large-scale climate modes, including the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), ENSO Modoki, Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation (IPO) and Southern Annular Mode (SAM), as well as local scale synoptic conditions modulate tidal residuals along the New South Wales (NSW) coast in Australia. To achieve this, a new dataset of tidal residuals for nine high-quality ocean tide gauges located along the NSW coast was compiled. The tidal data were adjusted to the vertical Australian Height Datum (AHD), rainfall-related peaks were removed from the records, gaps infilled, and trends removed. Statistical and spectral analyses were then used to investigate correlations between the tidal residuals and the large-scale climate modes, taking spatial and temporal variability into account. Finally, the tidal residual dataset was used to identify, characterise and assess the drivers of continental shelf waves (CSW) that travel along the NSW coast. CSWs can result in inundation, especially when this occurs during phases of large-scale modes that are favourable to the increased frequency of coastal flooding. The impact of climate modes on tidal residuals varied along the coast, where the collective impact of canonical ENSO and SAM increased southwards. When investigating over the 1987 – 2017 period, these two modes impacted tidal residuals significantly (R2 = 0.45) and covaried at frequencies ranging from 2 to 8 years. However, when investigating climate mode impacts on tidal residuals using the two longest datasets in the record, starting in 1931 and 1969, the significance of the low-frequency IPO in combination with the high-frequency SAM, becomes more apparent (R2 = 0.40), particularly at frequencies ranging from 4 to 16 years. Furthermore, synoptic analyses were conducted to identify CSWs for the 1990 to 2015 period. Generation of CSWs is likely associated with a low-pressure system located in the Great Australian Bight, with some events co-occurring with an additional low-pressure system along the coast. The teleconnection of ENSO and SAM during different seasons was also highlighted, as the occurrence of CSWs while SAM was positive was higher during La Niña than during El Niño events, especially during austral winter. This study has provided a new quality-controlled dataset of tidal residuals for NSW that can be used in subsequent studies. In addition, the role of large-scale climate modes in driving extreme tidal residuals that may cause inundation along the NSW coast was highlighted. Hence, the findings presented herein will also assist in updating existing management plans for the NSW coast and adjacent areas to account for long-term forecasting of extreme water levels and associated inundation caused by Pacific and Southern Ocean large-scale modes. Finally, the study has also improved knowledge of the frequency and characteristics of CSW as well as their causal mechanisms, which are known to result in flooding of coasts and estuaries in NSW during the passage of CSW. Based on the results, management can be improved with information to monitor the occurrence and the number of days to expect for a CSW to reach different locations along the NSW coast. Overall, the results of this study will assist in decision making and preparing long-term solutions for flood risk, especially as climate modes contribute to increased MSL, and projections indicate that sea levels will continue to rise
Tradeoffs between resources and risks shape the responses of a large carnivore to human disturbance.
No full textWide-ranging carnivores experience tradeoffs between dynamic resource availabilities and heterogeneous risks from humans, with consequences for their ecological function and conservation outcomes. Yet, research investigating these tradeoffs across large carnivore distributions is rare. We assessed how resource availability and anthropogenic risks influence the strength of lion (Panthera leo) responses to disturbance using data from 31 sites across lions' contemporary range. Lions avoided human disturbance at over two-thirds of sites, though their responses varied depending on site-level characteristics. Lions were more likely to exploit human-dominated landscapes where resources were limited, indicating that resource limitation can outweigh anthropogenic risks and might exacerbate human-carnivore conflict. Lions also avoided human impacts by increasing their nocturnal activity more often at sites with higher production of cattle. The combined effects of expanding human impacts and environmental change threaten to simultaneously downgrade the ecological function of carnivores and intensify human-carnivore conflicts, escalating extinction risks for many species
Mer-Neith-it-es 3D animation
No full textIn 2018 the discovery of a partially preserved mummy inside a faded 2600-year-old sarcophagus at the University of Sydney’s Nicholson Museum gained international media attention. Senior curator, Dr. James Fraser, immediately gathered a cross-institutional team of researchers with the goal of revealing more about the occupant, a priestess of the temple of Sekhmet, Mer-Neith-it-es. UoN’s School of Creative Industries researchers Drabsch, Howells and O’Donnell, were asked to digitally re-colour a high-definition 3D scan of the sarcophagus and produce an educational animation for museum display. The mammoth task was undertaken with the assistance of archaeologists (USyd), Egyptologists, radiologists (Macquarie University) and a team of scientists from Sydney Analytical, who helped to determine the original pigment colours through FTIR reflectance spectroscopy (infrared), Raman spectroscopy and pXRF analysis. The ongoing research project is being funded through a Small Research Consultancy established with the University of Sydney. It is pushing the boundaries of scientific illustration into new domains, as Drabsch, Howells and O’Donnell explore, through their practice, the question of whether it is possible to digitally replicate the hand drawn aesthetic of the ancient Egyptian artists by combining traditional line drawings with the latest digital technology. The team are utilising traditional research methods such as historical research, comparative iconographical studies and collaborative discussions along with practice-based methods such as storyboarding, colour enhancement, digital rendering and animation, using a suite of software packages, such as D-Stretch, Substance Painter, Photoshop, Illustrator, Blender and Premiere Pro. The process is iterative in nature, with many creative problem-solving moments, technical challenges and dead ends. The final animated outcome will tell two narratives: the first focuses on current research relating to the scanning and re-colourisation of the sarcophagus; and the second explores the iconographical elements of the coffin, illuminating Mer-Neith-it-es’ name, the protective goddesses, sons of Horus and the Anubis tableau. There have been many successes and challenges during the course of the research project, however, through experimentation the team have evidenced that the combination of traditional skills, such as hand-drawn scientific illustrations, with the latest digital techniques, can provide an accurate and visually appealing aesthetic suitable for cutting-edge museum display. The animation of the digitally recoloured 3D model will be the first of its kind in the field of museum displays and it will be on permanent display in the new Chau Chak Wing Museum at Sydney University.</p
Which Way? Indigenous-led Smoking Cessation Care: Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers and Practitioners - A National Cross-sectional Survey
No full textIntroduction: Tobacco is the leading preventable cause of morbidity and mortality for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Accordingly, the provisions of culturally safe and effective smoking cessation strategies are crucial. While previous research has suggested Aboriginal Health Workers/Practitioners are well placed to provide smoking cessation care, no research to date has explored the workforce knowledge, attitudes and practices in offering best practice cessation care. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among Aboriginal Health Workers/Practitioners from June to September 2021. Descriptive and inferential statistics were conducted to examine participant characteristics, provision of smoking cessation care, and explore the factors associated with smoking cessation care. Results: Out of 1052 registered Aboriginal Health Workers/Practitioners, 256 participants completed the full survey (24.3%). Smoking cessation counseling was always provided by 41.9%; provided some of the time by 42.4%, and never provided by 12.9%. Combination NRT and Quitline referral were always offered by 23.1% and 44.9% of participants, respectively. Those that received training, felt smoking cessation care was part of their role, and were based in Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organization were significantly more likely to offer best practice smoking cessation care. Conclusion: Aboriginal Health Workers/Practitioners and Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organizations play a critical role in delivering high quality, evidence based and culturally safe care to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Aboriginal Health Workers/Practitioners are well placed to offer smoking cessation care. Ongoing funding and implementation of a targeted smoking cessation workforce with appropriate training and resources are urgently required. Implications: Aboriginal Health Workers/Practitioners are well placed to offer culturally safe, best practice smoking cessation care. However, due to the magnitude and complexity of Aboriginal Health Workers/Practitioners roles, it is challenging for smoking cessation care to be consistently and feasibly integrated into usual care. Acknowledging Australia's National Preventative Health Strategy target of 27% or less Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people smoking by 2030, urgent investment and resourcing must be directed to building a skilled workforce to support quitting and maintaining smokefree behaviors, ensuring equitable access to smoking cessation care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
Validity of three risk prediction models for dementia or cognitive impairment in Australia
No full textBackground: no studies have compared the predictive validity of different dementia risk prediction models in Australia. Objectives: (i) to investigate the predictive validity of the Australian National University-Alzheimer's Disease Risk Index (ANU-ADRI), LIfestyle for BRAin Health (LIBRA) Index and cardiovascular risk factors, ageing and dementia study (CAIDE) models for predicting probable dementia/cognitive impairment in an Australian cohort. (ii) To develop and assess the predictive validity of a new hybrid model combining variables from the three models. Methods: the Hunter Community Study (HCS) included 3,306 adults aged 55-85 years with a median follow-up of 7.1 years. Probable dementia/cognitive impairment was defined using Admitted Patient Data Collection, dispensing of cholinesterase inhibitors or memantine, or a cognitive test. Model validity was assessed by calibration and discrimination. A hybrid model was developed using deep neural network analysis, a machine learning method. Results: 120 (3.6%) participants developed probable dementia/cognitive impairment. Mean calibration by ANU-ADRI, LIBRA, CAIDE and the hybrid model was 19, 0.5, 4.7 and 3.4%, respectively. The discrimination of the models was 0.65 (95% CI 0.60-0.70), 0.65 (95% CI 0.60-0.71), 0.54 (95% CI 0.49-0.58) and 0.80 (95% CI 0.78-0.83), respectively. Conclusion: ANU-ADRI and LIBRA were better dementia prediction tools than CAIDE for identification of high-risk individuals in this cohort. ANU-ADRI overestimated and LIBRA underestimated the risk. The new hybrid model had a higher predictive performance than the other models but it needs to be validated independently in longitudinal studies
Psychometric testing of the Determinants of Salt-Restriction Behaviour Questionnaire in people of Chinese ancestry: a methodological study
No full textPurpose: Nurses play a key role in educating people about a salt-reduced diet to prevent or manage hypertension or cardiac failure. Assessment tools such as the Chinese Determinants of Salt-Restriction Behaviour Questionnaire (DSRBQ) can provide essential evidence to inform education strategies. This study aimed to translate the DSRBQ into English and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Chinese and English versions for people of Chinese ethnicity in Australia. Methods: A two-phase cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted. Phase 1: The questionnaire was translated into English using the back-translation method. The translation equivalence and content relevance were evaluated by an expert panel. Three items were revised and eight items were removed. Phase 2: Internal consistency and stability of the questionnaires were evaluated by a group of Chinese Australians. Results: Both the English and Chinese versions had satisfactory psychometric properties. In phase 2, 146 participants completed the questionnaire (test), and 49 participants completed the retest. The Cronbach’s alpha scores were 0.638 and 0.584 respectively, and the overall intra-class correlation coefficients were 0.820 and 0.688 respectively for the English and Chinese versions. The Item-Content Validity Index (CVI) ranged from 0.50 to 1.00. The Scale-CVI was 0.94. Conclusion: The DSRBQ has been translated into English. Both English and Chinese versions have acceptable validity and reliability. The tools can be used in people from a Chinese cultural background living in Australia. Further validation testing may allow the tools to be adapted for use with other Chinese diaspora groups. The validated DSRBQ will support the development of evidence-based salt reduction nursing assessment tool and interventions for Chinese diasporas who reside in a country where Chinese cultural practices are employed by a minority