Archimedes, aid/watch, constitutional levers and where we now stand

Significant reform of the laws regulating charities is under way in Australia. The reforms cover almost every facet of the relationship between charities and government and the process has brought to the surface different assumptions about the role of charities in society, their entitlement to fiscal and other privileges and the scope and nature of regulation that can or should be imposed on the charities. This paper explores these broader issues in the context of the Aid/Watch case, involving an organisation used by citizens to challenge the State. Such organisations occupy contested space as to what does and does not constitute a charity. Accordingly the case provides a useful perspective from which to consider the broader issues in the relationship between government and charity. This paper seeks to build on the contribution made by other academics, by exploring the constitutional significance of political purposes and drawing from philosophy to provide context and meaning to potentially significant aspects of the judgment that might be missed when it is analysed only in terms of legal precedent through the narrow lens of the existing four heads of charity. Revenue implications for taxation of charities and political parties are also considered and it is suggested that in practice, if not in theory, the fence between them has come down.

Varenicline decreases alcohol consumption in heavy-drinking smokers

Rationale Emerging evidence suggests that the α4β2 form of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) modulates the rewarding effects of alcohol. The nAChR α4β2 subunit partial agonist varenicline (Chantix™), which is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for smoking cessation, also decreases ethanol consumption in rodents (Steensland et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 104:12518–12523, 2007) and in human laboratory and open-label studies (Fucito et al., Psychopharmacology (Berl) 215:655–663, 2011; McKee et al., Biol Psychiatry 66:185–190 2009). Objectives We present a randomized, double-blind, 16-week study in heavy-drinking smokers (n = 64 randomized to treatment) who were seeking treatment for their smoking. The study was designed to determine the effects of varenicline on alcohol craving and consumption. Outcome measures included number of alcoholic drinks per week, cigarettes per week, amount of alcohol craving per week, cumulative cigarettes and alcoholic drinks consumed during the treatment period, number of abstinent days, and weekly percentage of positive ethyl glucuronide and cotinine screens. Results Varenicline significantly decreases alcohol consumption (χ 2 = 35.32, p < 0.0001) in smokers. Although varenicline has previously been associated with suicidality and depression, side effects were low in this study and declined over time in the varenicline treatment group. Conclusions Varenicline can produce a sustained decrease in alcohol consumption in individuals who also smoke. Further studies are warranted to assess varenicline efficacy in treatment-seeking alcohol abusers who do not smoke and to ascertain the relationship between varenicline effects on smoking and drinking.

Evaluation of implementation of a healthy food and drink supply strategy throughout the whole school environment in Queensland state schools, Australia

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: This paper reports on the evaluation of the Smart Choices healthy food and drink supply strategy for Queensland schools (Smart Choices) implementation across the whole school environment in state government primary and secondary schools in Queensland, Australia. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Three concurrent surveys using different methods for each group of stakeholders that targeted all 1275 school Principals, all 1258 Parent and Citizens’ Associations (P&Cs) and a random sample of 526 tuckshop convenors throughout Queensland. Nine hundred and seventy-three Principals, 598 P&Cs and 513 tuckshop convenors participated with response rates of 78%, 48% and 98%, respectively. RESULTS: Nearly all Principals (97%), P&Cs (99%) and tuckshop convenors (97%) reported that their school tuckshop had implemented Smart Choices. The majority of Principals and P&Cs reported implementation, respectively, in: school breakfast programs (98 and 92%); vending machine stock (94 and 83%); vending machine advertising (85 and 84%); school events (87 and 88%); school sporting events (81 and 80%); sponsorship and advertising (93 and 84%); fundraising events (80 and 84%); and sporting clubs (73 and 75%). Implementation in curriculum activities, classroom rewards and class parties was reported, respectively, by 97%, 86% and 75% of Principals. Respondents also reported very high levels of understanding of Smart Choices and engagement of the school community. CONCLUSIONS: The results demonstrated that food supply interventions to promote nutrition across all domains of the school environment can be implemented successfully.

Hepatitis C and policy implementation : ethics as a dialogic process for resource allocation

Hepatitis C, which was first identified in 1988, has become an important issue for public health as epidemiological and clinical evidence has emerged. These disciplines have highlighted the extent of infection and its medical consequences. Now, governments at both the state and federal levels are sifting through this evidence and are attempting to create structures to deal with the problem of hepatitis C. These structures have generally taken the form of expert committees and working parties organised from established medical, scientific and public health bodies...

Sentencing policy : the politics of law and order

Against the advice of their own parliamentary committees, and despite the experience of other jurisdictions, both the Government and Opposition parties seem to be intent on outbidding each other on mandatory sentencing regimes in the lead-up to the 2003 NSW election, says DAVID BROWN.

The Politics and Legality of Prisoner Disenfranchisement in Australian Federal Elections

To remove the right of prisoners to vote does many things. … It signals that whatever the prisoner says is not of interest to those at the top, that you are not interested in talking to them or even listening to them, that you want to exclude them and that you have no interest in knowing about them. INTRODUCTION In June 2006, Australia passed legislation disenfranchising all prisoners serving full-time custodial sentences from voting in federal elections. This followed a succession of changes dating from 1983 that alternately extended and restricted the prisoner franchise. In 1989 and 1995, the Australian Labor Party (ALP) federal government prepared draft legislation removing any restrictions on prisoner voting rights in federal elections; the measures were defeated and withdrawn. With the 2006 legislation, the Howard Coalition government (composed of the Liberal and National parties) successfully achieved the total disenfranchisement it first sought in 1998. This chapter examines the politics and legality of the 2006 disenfranchisement. This will be approached, first, by briefly outlining the key provisions of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918, offering a short legislative history of prisoner franchise, and examining some of the key constitutional issues. Second, the 2006 disenfranchisement introduced in the Electoral and Referendum (Electoral Integrity and Other Measures) Act 2006 will be examined in greater detail, particularly in terms of the manner in which it was achieved and the arguments that were mobilized both in support of and against the change.

Voluntary palliated starvation : A lawful and ethical way to die?

Increasingly, individuals want control over their own destiny. This includes the way in which they die and the timing of their death. The desire for self-determination at the end of life is one of the drivers for the ever-increasing number of jurisdictions overseas that are legalising voluntary euthanasia and/or assisted suicide, and for the continuous attempts to reform state and territory law in Australia. Despite public support for law reform in this field, legislative change in Australia is unlikely in the near future given the current political landscape. We argue that there may be another solution which provides competent adults with control over their death and to have any pain and symptoms managed by doctors, but which is currently lawful and consistent with prevailing ethical principles. ‘Voluntary palliated starvation’ refers to the process which occurs when a competent individual chooses to stop eating and drinking, and receives palliative care to address pain, suffering and symptoms that may be experienced by the individual as he or she approaches death. In this article, we argue that, at least in some circumstances, such a death would be lawful for the individual and doctors involved, and consistent with principles of medical ethics.

Improving wound management for residents in Residential Aged Care Facilities: National dissemination and implementation of the evidence based Champions for Skin Integrity Program

Overview The incidence of skin tears, pressure injuries and chronic wounds increases with age [1-4] and therefore is a serious issue for staff and residents in Residential Aged Care Facilities (RACFs). A pilot project funded in Round 2 of the Encouraging Best Practice in Residential Aged Care (EBPRAC) program by the then Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing found that a substantial proportion of residents in aged care facilities experienced pressure injuries, skin tears or chronic wounds. It also found the implementation of the evidence based Champions for Skin Integrity (CSI) model of wound care was successful in significantly decreasing the prevalence and severity of wounds in residents, improving staff skills and knowledge of evidence based wound management, increasing staff confidence with wound management, increasing implementation of evidence based wound management and prevention strategies, and increasing staff awareness of their roles in evidence based wound care at all levels [5]. Importantly, during the project, the project team developed a resource kit on evidence based wound management. Two critical recommendations resulting from the project were that: - The CSI model or a similar strategic approach should be implemented in RACFs to facilitate the uptake of evidence based wound management and prevention - The resource kit on evidence based wound management should be made available to all Residential Aged Care Facilities and interested parties A proposal to disseminate or rollout the CSI model of wound care to all RACFs across Australia was submitted to the department in 2012. The department approved funding from the Aged Care Services Improvement Healthy Ageing Grant (ACSIHAG) at the same time as the Round 3 of the Encouraging Better Practice in Aged Care (EBPAC) program. The dissemination involved two crucial elements: 1. The updating, refining and distribution of a Champions for Skin Integrity Resource Kit, more commonly known as a CSI Resource Kit and 2. The presentation of intensive one day Promoting Healthy Skin “Train the Trainer” workshops in all capital cities and major regional towns across Australia Due to demand, the department agreed to fund a second round of workshops focussing on regional centres and the completion date was extended to accommodate the workshops. Later, the department also decided to host a departmental website for a number of clinical domains, including wound management, so that staff from the residential aged care sector had easy access to a central repository of helpful clinical resource material that could be used for improving the health and wellbeing of their older adults, consumers and carers. CSI Resource Kit Upgrade and Distribution: At the start of the project, a full evidence review was carried out on the material produced during the EBPRAC-CSI Stage 1 project and the relevant evidence based changes were made to the documentation. At the same time participants in the EBPRAC-CSI Stage 1 project were interviewed for advice on how to improve the resource material. Following this the documentation, included in the kit, was sent to independent experts for peer review. When this process was finalised, a learning designer and QUT’s Visual Communications Services were engaged to completely refine and update the design of the resources, and combined resource kit with the goal of keeping the overall size of the kit suitable for bookshelf mounting and the cost at reasonable levels. Both goals were achieved in that the kit is about the same size as a 25 mm A4 binder and costs between $19.00 and $28.00 per kit depending on the size of the print run. The dissemination of the updated CSI resource kit was an outstanding success. Demand for the kits was so great that a second print run of 2,000 kits was arranged on top of the initial print run of 4,000 kits. All RACFs across Australia were issued with a kit, some 2,740 in total. Since the initial distribution another 1,100 requests for kits has been fulfilled as well as 1,619 kits being distributed to participants at the Promoting Healthy Skin workshops. As the project was winding up a final request email was sent to all workshop participants asking if they required additional kits or resources to distribute the remaining kits and resources. This has resulted in requests for 200 additional kits and resources. Feedback from the residential aged care sector and other clinical providers who have interest in wound care has been very positive regarding the utility of the kit, (see Appendix 4). Promoting Healthy Skin Workshops The workshops also exceeded the project team’s initial objective. Our goal of providing workshop training for staff from one in four facilities and 450 participants was exceeded, with overwhelming demand for workshop places resulting in the need to provide a second round of workshops across Australia. At the completion of the second round, 37 workshops had been given, with 1286 participants, representing 835 facilities. A number of strategies were used to promote the workshops ranging from invitations included in the kit, to postcard mail-outs, broadcast emailing to all facilities and aged care networks and to articles and paid advertising in aged care journals. The most effective method, by far, was directly phoning the facilities. This enabled the caller to contact the relevant staff member and enlist their support for the workshop. As this is a labour intensive exercise, it was only used where numbers needed bolstering, with one venue rising from 3 registrants before the calls to 53 registrants after. The workshops were aimed at staff who had the interest and the capability of implementing evidence-based wound management within their facility or organisation. This targeting was successful in that a large proportion (68%) of participants were Registered Nurses, Nurse Managers, Educators or Consultants. Twenty percent were Endorsed Enrolled Nurses with the remaining 12% being made up of Personal Care Workers or Allied Health Professionals. To facilitate long term sustainability, the workshop employed train-the-trainer strategies. Feedback from the EBPRAC-CSI Stage 1 interviews was used in the development of workshop content. In addition, feedback from the workshop conducted at the end of the EBPRAC-CSI Stage 1 project suggested that change management and leadership training should be included in the workshops. The program was trialled in the first workshop conducted in Brisbane and then rolled out across Australia. Participants were asked to complete pre and post workshop surveys at the beginning and end of the workshop to determine how knowledge and confidence improved over the day. Results from the pre and post surveys showed significant improvements in the level of confidence in attendees’ ability to implement evidence based wound management. The results also indicated a significant increase in the level of confidence in ability to implement change within their facility or organisation. This is an important indication that the inclusion of change management/leadership training with clinical instruction can increase staff capacity and confidence in translating evidence into practice. To encourage the transfer of the evidence based content of the workshop into practice, participants were asked to prepare an Action Plan to be followed by a simple one page progress report three months after the workshop. These reports ranged from simple (e.g. skin moisturising to prevent skin tears), to complex implementation plans for introducing the CSI model across the whole organisation. Outcomes described in the project reports included decreased prevalence of skin tears, pressure injuries and chronic wounds, along with increased staff and resident knowledge and resident comfort. As stated above, some organisations prepared large, complex plans to roll out the CSI model across their organisation. These plans included a review of the organisation’s wound care system, policies and procedures, the creation of new processes, the education of staff and clients, uploading education and resource material onto internal electronic platforms and setting up formal review and evaluation processes. The CSI Resources have been enthusiastically sought and incorporated into multiple health care settings, including aged care, acute care, Medicare Local intranets (e.g. Map of Medicine e-pathways), primary health care, community and home care organisations, education providers and New Zealand aged and community health providers. Recommendations: Recommendations for RACFs, aged care and health service providers and government  Skin integrity and the evidence-practice gap in this area should be recognised as a major health issue for health service providers for older adults, with wounds experienced by up to 50% of residents in aged care settings (Edwards et al. 2010). Implementation of evidence based wound care through the Champions for Skin Integrity model in this and the pilot project has demonstrated the prevalence of wounds, wound healing times and wound infections can be halved.  A national program and Centre for Evidence Based Wound Management should be established to: - expand the reach of the model to other aged care facilities and health service providers for older adults - sustain the uptake of models such as the Champions for Skin Integrity (CSI) model - ensure current resources, expertise and training are available for consumers and health care professionals to promote skin integrity for all older adults  Evidence based resources for the CSI program and similar projects should be reviewed and updated every 3 – 4 years as per NH&MRC recommendations  Leadership and change management training is fundamental to increasing staff capacity, at all levels, to promote within-organisation dissemination of skills and knowledge gained from projects providing evidence based training Recommendations for future national dissemination projects  A formal program of opportunities for small groups of like projects to share information and resources, coordinate activities and synergise education programs interactively would benefit future national dissemination projects - Future workshop programs could explore an incentive program to optimise attendance and reduce ‘no shows’ - Future projects should build in the capacity and funding for increased follow-up with workshop attendees, to explore the reasons behind those who are unable to translate workshop learnings into the workplace and identify factors to address these barriers.

Friends or foes: Group influence effects on moderate drinking behaviors

Drunkenness and the addictive consumption of alcohol remains a key social and public health concern. Advancing beyond traditional individualized prevention approaches, this research explores the role of social influences in determining individual and group influence in moderate-drinking decision-making and participatory actions. A social influence model of intentional moderate drinking actions is conceptualized and validated. Results show group norm as the single social influence predictor of intentions and desire to drink moderately, as opposed to well-known social influence factors (e.g., subjective norm, social identity and drinking contextual effects). Significantly, the peer-group is identified as a key influencer supporting moderate drinking practices, and i-intentions to drink moderately predict group-related we-intentions, which suggests that moderate drinking is a shared goal. These findings advance alcohol prevention research drawing attention to the power of group dynamics to support positive changes in youth drinking behaviors.

Illicit drug use between an annual key holiday and a control period: Wastewater analysis in a semi-rural, an urban and a vacation area

Introduction and Aims: Holiday periods are potentially a time for increased substance use as social events and private parties are more common. Data on community illicit drug consumption during holiday periods are limited. Besides existing methods for determining drug use, such as population surveys, one emerging method is to measure illicit drugs and/or their metabolites in wastewater samples. This study examined the change in consumption of cannabis, methamphetamine, cocaine and 3,4- methylenedioxymethamphetamine in three different types of areas (an inland semi-rural area, a coastal urban area and a vacation island) with respect to holiday times. Design and Methods: Samples were collected at the inlet of the major wastewater treatment plant in each area during a key annual holiday (i.e. the summer holiday including Christmas and New Year) and control period. Illicit drug residues in the daily composited samples were measured by liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. Results: Drug use varied substantially among the three areas within each monitoring period as well as between the holiday and control period within each area. Use consistently increased and peaked over New Year particularly for cocaine and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine whereas cannabis and methamphetamine were relatively less subjected to holiday times in all the areas. Discussion and Conclusions: Wastewater sampling and analysis provides higher spatio-temporal resolution than national surveys and supplements drug epidemiology studies originating primary in metropolitan locations. Such data is essential for policy makers to plan potential intervention strategies associated with these illicit substances in regional areas and other settings besides urban areas in the future.

Social media in selected Australian federal and state election campaigns, 2010-15

Campaigning in Australian election campaigns at local, state, and federal levels is fundamentally affected by the fact that voting is compulsory in Australia, with citizens who are found to have failed to cast their vote subject to fines. This means that - contrary to the situation in most other nations – elections are decided not by which candidate or party has managed to encourage the largest number of nominal supporters to make the effort to cast their vote, but by some 10-20% of genuine ‘swinging voters’ who change their party preferences from one election to the next. Political campaigning is thus aimed less at existing party supporters (so-called ‘rusted on’ voters whose continued support for the party is essentially taken for granted) than at this genuinely undecided middle of the electorate. Over the past decades, this has resulted in a comparatively timid, vague campaigning style from both major party blocs (the progressive Australian Labor Party [ALP] and the conservative Coalition of the Liberal and National Parties [L/NP]). Election commitments that run the risk of being seen as too partisan and ideological are avoided as they could scare away swinging voters, and recent elections have been fought as much (or more) on the basis of party leaders’ perceived personas as they have on stated policies, even though Australia uses a parliamentary system in which the Prime Minister and state Premiers are elected by their party room rather than directly by voters. At the same time, this perceived lack of distinctiveness in policies between the major parties has also enabled the emergence of new, smaller parties which (under Australia’s Westminster-derived political system) have no hope of gaining a parliamentary majority but could, in a close election, come to hold the balance of power and thus exert disproportionate influence on a government which relies on their support.

Psychological resources, their social antecedents, and association with well-being and health behaviour in early adulthood

The success of entering work life, young people s psychological resources and self-reported well-being were studied in a longitudinal setting from a life-span developmental-contextual perspective in early adulthood. The aim was to analyse how psychosocial characteristics in early childhood and adolescence predict successful entrance into work life, how this is associated with well-being, and to assess the level of psychological resources such as dispositional optimism, personal meaning of work and coping in early adulthood. The role of these and social support, in the relationship between regional factors (such as place of residence and migration), self-reported health and life satisfaction was studied. The association between a specific coping strategy, i.e. eating and drinking in a stressful situation and eating habits, was studied to demonstrate how coping is associated with health behaviour. Multivariate methods, including binary logistic regression analyses and ANOVA, were used for statistical analyses. The subjects were members of the Northern Finland 1966 Birth Cohort, which consists of all women and men born in 1966 in the two northernmost provinces of Finland (n= 12,058). The most recent follow-up, at the age of 31 years when 11,637 subjects were alive, took place in 1997-1998. The results show, first, that social resources in the childhood family and adolescence school achievement predict entrance into the labour market. Secondly, psychosocial resources were found to mediate the relationship between migration from rural to urban areas, and subjective well-being. Thirdly, psychological resources at entrance into the labour market were found to develop from early infancy on. They are, however, influenced later by work history. Fourthly, stress-related eating and drinking, as a way of coping, was found to be directly associated with unhealthy eating habits and alcohol use. Gender differences were found in psychosocial resources predicting, and being associated with success in entering the labour market. For men, the role of attitudinal and psychological factors seems to be especially important in entrance into work life and in the development of psychological resources. For women, academic attainment was more important for successfully entering work life, and lack of emotional social support was a risk factor for stress-related eating only among women. Stress-related eating and drinking habits were predicted by a long history of unemployment as well as a low level of education among both genders, but not excluding an academic degree among men. The results emphasize the role of childhood psychosocial factors in preventing long-term unemployment and in enhancing psychological well-being in early adulthood. Success in entering work life, in terms of continuous work history, plays a crucial role for well-being and the amount of psychological resources in early adulthood. The results emphasize the crucial role of enhancing psychological resources for promoting positive health behaviour and diminishing regional differences in subjective well-being.

Space allowances for confined livestock and their determination from allometric principles

The amount of space provided to animals governs important elements of their behaviour and, hence, is critical for their health and welfare. We review the use of allometric principles and equations to estimate the static space requirements of animals when standing and lying, and the space required for animals to feed, drink, stand-up and lie-down. We use the research literature relating to transportation and intensive housing of sheep and cattle to assess the validity of allometric equations for estimating space allowances. We investigated these areas because transportation and intensive housing provide points along a continuum in terms of the duration of confinement, (from hours to months) and spatial requirements are likely to increase with increasing duration of confinement, as animals will need to perform a greater behavioural repertoire for long-term survival, health and welfare. We find that, although there are theoretical reasons why allometric relationships to space allowances may vary slightly for different classes of stock, space allowances that have been demonstrated to have adverse effects on animal welfare during transportation correlated well with an inability to accommodate standing animals, as estimated from allometry. For intensive housing, we were able to detect a space allowance below which there were adverse effects on welfare. For short duration transportation during which animals remain standing, a space allowance per animal described by the allometric equation: area (m^2) = 0.020W^0.66, where W = liveweight (kg), would appear to be appropriate. Where it is desirable for all animals to lie simultaneously, then a minimum space allowance per animal described by the allometric equation: area (m^2) = 0.027W^0.66 appears to permit this, given that animals in a group time-share space. However, there are insufficient data to determine whether this allowance onboard a vehicle/vessel would enable animals to move and access food and water with ease. In intensive housing systems, a minimum space allowance per animal described by the allometric equation: area (m^2) = 0.033W^0.66 appears to be the threshold below which there are adverse effects on welfare. These suggested space allowances require verification with a range of species under different thermal conditions and, for transportation, under different conditions of vehicular/vessel stability. The minimum length of trough per animal (L in m) required for feeding and drinking can be determined from L = 0.064W^0.33, with the number of animals required to feed/drink simultaneously taken into account, together with any requirement to minimise competition. This also requires verification with a range of species. We conclude that allometric relationships are an appropriate basis for the formulation of space allowances for livestock.

Impact of the Human Bacterial Environment on Mycobacteriosis and Allergy

My work describes two sectors of the human bacterial environment: 1. The sources of exposure to infectious non-tuberculous mycobacteria. 2. Bacteria in dust, reflecting the airborne bacterial exposure in environments protecting from or predisposing to allergic disorders. Non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) transmit to humans and animals from the environment. Infection by NTM in Finland has increased during the past decade beyond that by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Among the farm animals, porcine mycobacteriosis is the predominant NTM disease in Finland. Symptoms of mycobacteriosis are found in 0.34 % of slaughtered pigs. Soil and drinking water are suspected as sources for humans and bedding materials for pigs. To achieve quantitative data on the sources of human and porcine NTM exposure, methods for quantitation of environmental NTM are needed. We developed a quantitative real-time PCR method, utilizing primers targeted at the 16S rRNA gene of the genus of Mycobacterium. With this method, I found in Finnish sphagnum peat, sandy soils and mud high contents of mycobacterial DNA, 106 to 107 genome equivalents per gram. A similar result was obtained by a method based on the Mycobacterium-specific hybridization of 16S rRNA. Since rRNA is found mainly in live cells, this result shows that the DNA detected by qPCR mainly represented live mycobacteria. Next, I investigated the occurrence of environmental mycobacteria in the bedding materials obtained from 5 pig farms with high prevalence (>4 %) of mycobacteriosis. When I used for quantification the same qPCR methods as for the soils, I found that piggery samples contained non-mycobacterial DNA that was amplified in spite of several mismatches with the primers. I therefore improved the qPCR assay by designing Mycobacterium-specific detection probes. Using the probe qPCR assay, I found 105 to 107 genome equivalents of mycobacterial DNA in unused bedding materials and up to 1000 fold more in the bedding collected after use in the piggery. This result shows that there was a source of mycobacteria in the bedding materials purchased by the piggery and that mycobacteria increased in the bedding materials during use in the piggery. Allergic diseases have reached epidemic proportions in urbanized countries. At the same time, childhood in rural environment or simple living conditions appears to protect against allergic disorders. Exposure to immunoreactive microbial components in rural environments seems to prevent allergies. I searched for differences in the bacterial communities of two indoor dusts, an urban house dust shown to possess immunoreactivity of the TH2-type and a farm barn dust with TH1-activity. The immunoreactivities of the dusts were revealed by my collaborators, in vitro in human dendritic cells and in vivo in mouse. The dusts accumulated >10 years in the respiratory zone (>1.5 m above floor), thus reflecting the long-term content of airborne bacteria at the two sites. I investigated these dusts by cloning and sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes from dust contained DNA. From the TH2-active urban house dust, I isolated 139 16S rRNA gene clones. The most prevalent genera among the clones were Corynebacterium (5 species, 34 clones), Streptococcus (8 species, 33 clones), Staphylococcus (5 species, 9 clones) and Finegoldia (1 species, 9 clones). Almost all of these species are known as colonizers of the human skin and oral cavity. Species of Corynebacterium and Streptococcus have been reported to contain anti-inflammatory lipoarabinomannans and immunmoreactive beta-glucans respectively. Streptococcus mitis, found in the urban house dust is known as an inducer of TH2 polarized immunity, characteristic of allergic disorders. I isolated 152 DNA clones from the TH1-active farm barn dust and found species quite different from those found from the urban house dust. Among others, I found DNA clones representing Bacillus licheniformis, Acinetobacter lwoffii and Lactobacillus each of which was recently reported to possess anti-allergy immunoreactivity. Moreover, the farm barn dust contained dramatically higher bacterial diversity than the urban house dust. Exposure to this dust thus stimulated the human dendritic cells by multiple microbial components. Such stimulation was reported to promote TH1 immunity. The biodiversity in dust may thus be connected to its immunoreactivity. Furthermore, the bacterial biomass in the farm barn dust consisted of live intact bacteria mainly. In the urban house dust only ~1 % of the biomass appeared as intact bacteria, as judged by microscoping. Fragmented microbes may possess bioactivity different from that of intact cells. This was recently shown for moulds. If this is also valid for bacteria, the different immunoreactivities of the two dusts may be explained by the intactness of dustborne bacteria. Based on these results, we offer three factors potentially contributing to the polarized immunoreactivities of the two dusts: (i) the species-composition, (ii) the biodiversity and (iii) the intactness of the dustborne bacterial biomass. The risk of childhood atopic diseases is 4-fold lower in the Russian compared with the Finnish Karelia. This difference across the country border is not explainable by different geo-climatic factors or genetic susceptibilities of the two populations. Instead, the explanation must be lifestyle-related. It has already been reported that the microbiological quality of drinking water differs on the two sides of the borders. In collaboration with allergists, I investigated dusts collected from homes in the Russian Karelia and in the Finnish Karelia. I found that bacterial 16S rRNA genes cloned from the Russian Karelian dusts (10 homes, 234 clones) predominantly represented Gram-positive taxa (the phyla Actinobacteria and Firmicutes, 67%). The Russian Karelian dusts contained nine-fold more of muramic acid (60 to 70 ng mg-1) than the Finnish Karelian dusts (3 to 11 ng mg-1). Among the DNA clones isolated from the Finnish side (n=231), Gram-negative taxa (40%) outnumbered the Gram-positives (34%). Out of the 465 DNA clones isolated from the Karelian dusts, 242 were assigned to cultured validly described bacterial species. In Russian Karelia, animal-associated species e.g. Staphylococcus and Macrococcus were numerous (27 clones, 14 unique species). This finding may connect to the difference in the prevalence of allergy, as childhood contacts with pets and farm animals have been connected with low allergy risk. Plant-associated bacteria and plant-borne 16S rRNA genes (chloroplast) were frequent among the DNA clones isolated from the Finnish Karelia, indicating components originating from plants. In conclusion, my work revealed three major differences between the bacterial communtites in the Russian and in the Finnish Karelian homes: (i) the high prevalence of Gram-positive bacteria on the Russian side and of Gram-negative bacteria on the Finnish side and (ii) the rich presence of animal-associated bacteria on the Russian side whereas (iii) plant-associated bacteria prevailed on the Finnish side. One or several of these factors may connect to the differences in the prevalence of allergy.

Characterization of Actinobacteria Degrading and Tolerating Organic Pollutants

Species of the genera Rhodococcus, Gordonia and Mycobacterium are known as degraders of recalcitrant pollutants. These bacteria are good survivors in harsh environments. Due to such properties these organisms are able to occupy a wide range of environmental niches. The members of these taxa have been suggested as tools for biotechnical applications such as bioremediation and biosynthesis. At the same time several of the species are known as opportunistic human pathogens. Therefore, the detailed characterization of any isolate that has potential for biotechnological applications is very important. This thesis deals with several corynebacterial strains originating from different polluted environments: soil, water-damaged indoor walls, and drinking water distribution systems. A polyphasic taxonomic approach was applied for characterization of the isolates. We found that the strains degrading monoaromatic compounds belonged to Rhodococcus opacus, a species that has not been associated with any health problem. The taxonomic position of strain B293, used for many years in degradation research under different names, was clarified. We assigned it to the species Gordonia polyisoprenivorans. This species is classified under European Biohazard grouping 1, meaning that it is not considered a health hazard for humans. However, there are reports of catheter-associated bacteraemia caused by G. polyisoprenivorans. Our results suggested that the ability of the organism to grow on phthalate esters, used as softeners in medical plastics, may be associated with the colonization of catheters and other devices. In this thesis Mycobacterium lentiflavum, a new emerging opportunistic human pathogen, was isolated from biofilms growing in public drinking water distribution systems. Our report on isolation of M. lentiflavum from water supplies is the second report on this species from drinking water systems, which may thus constitute a reservoir of M. lentiflavum. Automated riboprinting was evaluated for its applicability in rapidly identifying environmental mycobacteria. The technique was found useful in the characterization of several species of rapidly and slowly growing environmental mycobacteria. The second aspect of this thesis refers to characterization of the degradation and tolerance power of several R. opacus, M. murale and G. polyisoprenivorans strains. R. opacus GM-14 utilizes a wide range of aromatic substrates, including benzene, 15 different halobenzenes, 18 phenols and 7 benzoates. This study revealed the high tolerance of R. opacus strains toward toxic hydrophobic compounds. R. opacus GM-14 grew in mineral medium to which benzene or monochlorobenzene was added in amounts of 13 or 3 g l-1, respectively. R. opacus GM-29 utilized toluene and benzene for growth. Strain GM-29 grew in mineral medium with 7 g l-1 of liquid toluene or benzene as the sole carbon source, corresponding to aqueous concentrations of 470 and 650 mg l-1, respectively. Most organic solvents, such as toluene and benzene, due to their high level of hydrophobicity, pass through the bacterial membrane, causing its disintegration. In this thesis the mechanisms of adaptation of rhodococci to toxic hydrophobic compounds were investigated. The rhodococcal strains increased the level of saturation of their cellular fatty acids in response to challenge with phenol, chlorophenol, benzene, chlorobenzene or toluene. The results indicated that increase in the saturation level of cellular fatty acids, particularly that in tuberculostearic acid, is part of the adaptation mechanism of strains GM-14 and GM-29 to the presence of toxic hydrophobic compounds.