Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in dust from primary schools in South East Queensland, Australia

PBDE concentrations are higher in children compared to adults with exposure suggested to include dust ingestion. Besides the home environment, children spend a great deal of time in school classrooms which may be a source of exposure. As part of the “Ultrafine Particles from Traffic Emissions and Children's Health (UPTECH)” project, dust samples (n=28) were obtained in 2011/12 from 10 Brisbane, Australia metropolitan schools and analysed using GC and LC–MS for polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) -17, -28, -47, -49, -66, -85, -99, -100, -154, -183, and -209. Σ11PBDEs ranged from 11–2163 ng/g dust; with a mean and median of 600 and 469 ng/g dust, respectively. BDE-209 (range n.d. −2034 ng/g dust; mean (median) 402 (217) ng/g dust) was the dominant congener in most classrooms. Frequencies of detection were 96%, 96%, 39% and 93% for BDE-47, -99, -100 and -209, respectively. No seasonal variations were apparent and from each of the two schools where XRF measurements were carried out, only two classroom items had detectable bromine. PBDE intake for 8–11 year olds can be estimated at 0.094 ng/day BDE-47; 0.187 ng/day BDE-99 and 0.522 ng/day BDE-209 as a result of ingestion of classroom dust, based on mean PBDE concentrations. The 97.5% percentile intake is estimated to be 0.62, 1.03 and 2.14 ng/day for BDEs-47, -99 and -209, respectively. These PBDE concentrations in dust from classrooms, which are higher than in Australian homes, may explain some of the higher body burden of PBDEs in children compared to adults when taking into consideration age-dependant behaviours which increase dust ingestion.

Comparison of the effects of litigation and ADR in South-East Queensland

Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods, such as arbitration, are often used instead of litigation to resolve construction disputes, as industry folklore considers litigation overly expensive and time-consuming. But is this actually the case? Do the people most involved in construction dispute resolution agree? What are the real advantages and disadvantages of using litigation or ADR? When, if ever, is litigation the most appropriate way of resolving construction disputes? To answer these questions, this paper first provides a review of the literature on the use of litigation and ADR for construction dispute resolution. This is followed by the results of a survey of construction and legal personnel with moderate to extensive experience of dispute resolution in the Australian South-East Queensland construction industry. The main results of this are that, in addition to litigation being more expensive in money and time than ADR methods, the nature of the existing relationship between the parties has an important effect on the resolution process, what happens after an unsuccessful ADR and, if adversarial, is more likely to lead to litigation. The results are then validated and verified by one of the most experienced practitioners in claims and disputes in the whole of Australia.

Mitochondrial DNA sequence analysis from multiple gene fragments reveals genetic heterogeneity of Crassostrea ariakensis in East Asia

The native Asian oyster, Crassostrea ariakensis is one of the most common and important Crassostrea species that occur naturally along the coast of East Asia. Molecular species diagnosis is a prerequisite for population genetic analysis of wild oyster populations because oyster species cannot be discriminated reliably using external morphological characters alone due to character ambiguity. To date there have been few phylogeographic studies of natural edible oyster populations in East Asia, in particular this is true of the common species in Korea C. ariakensis. We therefore assessed the levels and patterns of molecular genetic variation in East Asian wild populations of C. ariakensis from Korea, Japan, and China using DNA sequence analysis of five concatenated mtDNA regions namely; 16S rRNA, cytochrome oxidase I, cytochrome oxidase II, cytochrome oxidase III, and cytochrome b. Two divergent C. ariakensis clades were identified between southern China and remaining sites from the northern region. In addition, hierarchical AMOVA and pairwise UST analyses showed that genetic diversity was discontinuous among wild populations of C. ariakensis in East Asia. Biogeographical and historical sea level changes are discussed as potential factors that may have influenced the genetic heterogeneity of wild C. ariakensis stocks across this region.

Commercial Law in East Asia

The shift of economic gravity towards East Asia requires a critical examination of law's role in the Asian Century. This volume explores the diverse scholarly perspectives on law's role in the economic rise of East Asia and moves from general debates, such as whether law enjoys primacy over culture, state intervention or free markets in East Asian capitalism, to specific case studies looking at the nature of law in East Asian negotiations, contracts, trade policy and corporate governance. The collection of articles exposes the clefts and cleavages in the scholarly literature explaining law's form, function and future in the Asian Century.

Monitoring illicit drug use through wastewater analysis in south east Queensland, Australia

Introduction and Aims: Wastewater analysis has become a useful technique for monitoring illicit drug use in communities. Findings have been reported from different countries in Europe and North America. We applied this technique to gauge the illicit drug consumption in an urban catchment from South East Queensland, Australia. Design and Methods: The sampling campaigns were conducted in 2009 (21st November – 2nd December) and 2010 (19th – 25th November). We collected daily composite wastewater samples from the inlet of the sewage treatment plant using continuous flow-proportional sampling. Ten illicit drug residues (parent compounds and key metabolites) in the samples were measured using liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometer. Results: Seven compounds were quantified in all the samples. Our data indicated higher drug consumption on weekends. Cannabis was the highest used drug in both sampling periods. Compared to the first sampling campaign which indicated that cocaine and methamphetamine use exceeded ecstasy usage, the second sampling campaign suggested the use of methamphetamine exceeded that of ecstasy which in turn exceeded cocaine use. Discussion and Conclusions: The observed weekly trend of drug use in our study is in agreement with findings in other studies. The variation between two sampling periods in the prevalence of drug use may relate to the availability and prices of the drugs on markets. The cocaine use we estimated in 2009 was much greater than estimations obtained through the national household survey [1], implying under- reporting of cocaine use in surveys. Future work is underway to tackle methodological challenges for more accurate estimation.

The burden of child maltreatment in the East Asia and Pacific region

This study estimated the health and economic burden of child maltreatment in the East Asia and Pacific region, addressing a significant gap in the current evidence base. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses were conducted to estimate the prevalence of child physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, neglect, and witnessing parental violence. Population Attributable Fractions were calculated and Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) lost from physical and mental health outcomes and health risk behaviors attributable to child maltreatment were estimated using the most recent comparable Global Burden of Disease data. DALY losses were converted into monetary value by assuming that one DALY is equal to the sub-region’s per capita GDP. The estimated economic value of DALYs lost to violence against children as a percentage of GDP ranged from 1.24% to 3.46% across sub-regions defined by the World Health Organization. The estimated economic value of DALYs (in constant 2000 US$) lost to child maltreatment in the EAP region totaled US $151 billion, accounting for 1.88% of the region’s GDP. Updated to 2012 dollars, the estimated economic burden totaled US $194 billion. In sensitivity analysis, the aggregate costs as a percentage of GDP range from 1.36% to 2.52%. The economic burden of child maltreatment in the East Asia and Pacific region is substantial, indicating the importance of preventing and responding to child maltreatment in this region. More comprehensive research into the impact of multiple types of childhood adversity on a wider range of putative health outcomes is needed to guide policy and programs for child protection in the region, and globally.

Examining the profile and experiences of older sub-acute patients who present to public hospital emergency departments in South East Queensland: A mixed methods approach

There is a scarcity of research that informs Interface Health Service (IHS) development. This research applied a mixed methods approach to profile older emergency department patients and patterns of health service use and to explore their ED experiences in public hospital EDs in South-East Queensland. IHS was under-utilised by older people with complex co-morbidities. Lack of communication and need identification were factors that undermined the effectiveness of IHS in reaching this cohort which highlighted a need for change.

Rank regression analysis of correlated water quality data from South East Queensland

With growing population and fast urbanization in Australia, it is a challenging task to maintain our water quality. It is essential to develop an appropriate statistical methodology in analyzing water quality data in order to draw valid conclusions and hence provide useful advices in water management. This paper is to develop robust rank-based procedures for analyzing nonnormally distributed data collected over time at different sites. To take account of temporal correlations of the observations within sites, we consider the optimally combined estimating functions proposed by Wang and Zhu (Biometrika, 93:459-464, 2006) which leads to more efficient parameter estimation. Furthermore, we apply the induced smoothing method to reduce the computational burden. Smoothing leads to easy calculation of the parameter estimates and their variance-covariance matrix. Analysis of water quality data from Total Iron and Total Cyanophytes shows the differences between the traditional generalized linear mixed models and rank regression models. Our analysis also demonstrates the advantages of the rank regression models for analyzing nonnormal data.

"We don't tell people what to do": An ethnography of health promotion with Indigenous Australians in South East Queensland

This thesis contributes to the decolonisation of health promotion by examining Indigenous-led health promotion practice in an urban setting. Using critical ethnography, the study revealed dialogical, identity-based approaches that centred relationship, community control and choice. Based on the findings, the thesis proposes four interrelated principles for decolonising health promotion and argues that Indigenous-led health promotion presents a way to bridge the rhetoric and practice of empowerment in Australian mainstream health promotion practice.

Effect of temperature and precipitation on salmonellosis cases in South-East Queensland, Australia: An observational study

Objective Foodborne illnesses in Australia, including salmonellosis, are estimated to cost over $A1.25 billion annually. The weather has been identified as being influential on salmonellosis incidence, as cases increase during summer, however time series modelling of salmonellosis is challenging because outbreaks cause strong autocorrelation. This study assesses whether switching models is an improved method of estimating weather–salmonellosis associations. Design We analysed weather and salmonellosis in South-East Queensland between 2004 and 2013 using 2 common regression models and a switching model, each with 21-day lags for temperature and precipitation. Results The switching model best fit the data, as judged by its substantial improvement in deviance information criterion over the regression models, less autocorrelated residuals and control of seasonality. The switching model estimated a 5°C increase in mean temperature and 10 mm precipitation were associated with increases in salmonellosis cases of 45.4% (95% CrI 40.4%, 50.5%) and 24.1% (95% CrI 17.0%, 31.6%), respectively. Conclusions Switching models improve on traditional time series models in quantifying weather–salmonellosis associations. A better understanding of how temperature and precipitation influence salmonellosis may identify where interventions can be made to lower the health and economic costs of salmonellosis.

The assessment of ecological condition in south-east Queensland, Australia: An evaluation of reliability across variable environments and surrogate efficacy for biodiversity values

Multimetric ecological condition assessment has become an important biodiversity management tool. This study was the first to examine the reliability of these ecological surrogates across variable environments, and the implications for surrogate efficacy. It was demonstrated that through strategic application and design of the multimetric ecological condition index, the effects of environmental gradients and disturbance regimes can be mitigated, and that ecological condition assessment may serve as a scientifically rigorous approach for conservation planning.

Energy efficient multi storey residential developments

Worldwide, the current pattern of urban development is unsustainable and metropolitan planning and development strategies deliver poor environmental outcomes in relation to energy production. As a result, an increasing number of governments and private sector development companies are initiating projects that aim to deliver enhanced environmental outcomes rather than a ‘business as usual’ approach. This paper will summarise the findings from a study that explored the link between building orientation and energy efficiencies in sub-tropical and tropical climates. The study used a new thermal modelling software tool developed by CSIRO that responds more accurately to residential heating and cooling energy performance in those climate zones. This software tool responds to industry criticisms regarding cold climate modelling systems that do not make sufficient allowance for natural ventilation. The study examined a range of low, medium and high-density dwelling types and investigated the impact of orientation, insulation, ventilation and shading devices on energy efficiencies. This paper will examine the findings from the medium and high-density case study developments as these are relevant to residential developments in many South East Asian countries, such as Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia. Finally, the paper will explore the potential benefits that medium and high-density residential developments have in the development of ‘solar cities’ and ‘solar suburbs’.