Inactive Australian college students' preferred activities, sources of assistance, and motivators

Participation in regular physical activity reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality as well as providing numerous health benefits.' The steepest decline in physical activity occurs during adolescence (approximately 15 to 18 years of age) and young adulthood (20 to 25 years).(2) Australian population studies have found that levels of physical inactivity are twice as high for those 20 to 29 years old as they are for those under 20 years old.(3,4) As college students move through this period of changing roles within family and peer groups, they may be expected to have specific preferences and expected outcomes for physical activity participation that are different from those they had previously as high school students.(5) Studies of physical activity determinants suggest that while there are some similarities between males and females, there are differences in preferences for specific types of activity.(6) Calfas et al.(5) found that women reported body image factors (weight loss, dissatisfaction with body) to be more motivating, while young men rated strength (muscle gain, muscle tone) and social aspects (organized competition, meeting people) of physical activity more highly than did young women. We examined preferred physical activities, sources of assistance to be more active, and perceived motivators for activity in a sample of inactive college students. Differences between males and females were examined, and the implications for campus-based physical activity promotion strategies are considered.

Australian doctors' beliefs and practice regarding Helicobacter pylori

Objective: To determine beliefs and behaviours of Australian doctors regarding Helicobacter pylori. Design: Anonymous reply-paid postal survey mailed in December 1995 and again in March 1996. Subjects: All members on the mailing lists of the Gastroenterological Society of Australia Endoscopy Section (n = 397) and the Australian Society of Infectious Diseases (n = 264; those without medical qualifications were asked not to reply), and 400 general practitioners (GPs) randomly selected from the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. Main outcome measures: Differences between specialist groups in belief in a causative association between H. pylori and peptic disease and in use of eradication therapy and pre- and post-treatment testing for H. pylori. Results: 92.6% of doctors believed H. pylori causes duodenal ulcer, with GPs significantly less likely to believe than gastroenterologists (odds ratio [OR], 0.22; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.00-0.81). In duodenal ulcer, 93.4% of doctors believed H. pylori eradication therapy should be given, but fewer (83.4%) claimed to give it always or mostly, with GPs less likely to report giving it than gastroenterologists (OR, 0.06; 95% CI, 0.02-0.19). For non-ulcer dyspepsia, gastrointestinal surgeons were more likely than gastroenterologists to believe in a causative link with H. pylori (OR, 5.6; 95% CI, 3.0-10.7) and in a need for eradication therapy (OR, 3.6; 95% CI, 1.7-7.7). Most doctors (79.3%) believed in confirming the presence of H. pylori before eradication therapy in duodenal ulcer. Only 51.6% believed post-eradication testing necessary (45.5%), yet 79.1% reported performing it. Conclusions: Significant differences exist between specialist groups in beliefs and self-reported behaviours regarding H. pylori.

Glycine metabolism by plant roots and its occurrence in Australian plant communities

Soluble organic nitrogen, including protein and amino acids, was found to be a ubiquitous form of soil N in diverse Australian environments. Fine roots of species representative of these environments were found to be active in the metabolism of glycine. The ability to incorporate [N-15]glycine was widespread among plant species from subantarctic to tropical communities. In species from subantarctic herbfield, subtropical coral cay, subtropical rainforest and wet heathland, [N-15]glycine incorporation ranged from 26 to 45% of (NH4+)-N-15 incorporation and was 2- to 3-fold greater than (NO3-)-N-15 incorporation. Most semiarid mulga and tropical savanna woodland species incorporated [N-15]glycine and (NO3-)-N-15 in similar amounts, 18-26% of (NH4+)-N-15 incorporation. We conclude that the potential to utilise amino acids as N sources is of widespread occurrence in plant communities and is not restricted to those from low temperature regimes or where N mineralisation is limited. Seedlings of Hakea (Proteaceae) were shown to metabolise glycine, with a rapid transfer of N-15 from glycine to serine and other amino compounds. The ability to take up and metabolise glycine was unaffected by the presence of equimolar concentrations of NO3- and NH4+. Isonicotinic acid hydrazide (INH) did not inhibit the transfer of N-15-label from glycine to serine indicating that serine hydroxymethyltransferase was not active in glycine catabolism. In contrast aminooxyacetate (AOA) strongly inhibited transfer of N-15 from glycine to serine and labelling of other amino compounds, suggesting that glycine is metabolised in roots and cluster roots of Hakea via an aminotransferase.

Urban and rural suicide differentials in migrants and the Australian-born, New South Wales, Australia 1985-1994

We estimated risk of suicide in adults in New South Wales (NSW) by sex, country of birth and rural/urban residence, after adjusting for age; we also examined youth suicide (age 15-24 years). The study population was the entire population of NSW, Australia, aged greater than or equal to 15 years during the period 1985-1994. Poisson regression was used to examine the relationship between predictor variables and the risk of suicide, with the focus on migrant status and area of residence. A significantly higher risk of suicide was found in male migrants from Northern Europe and Eastern Europe/former USSR, compared to Australian-born males; a significantly lower suicide risk occurred in males from Southern Europe, the Middle East and Asia. In female migrants, those from UK/Eire, Northern Europe, Eastern Europe/former USSR and New Zealand exhibited a significantly higher risk of suicide compared to Australian-born females. A significantly lower risk of suicide occurred in females from the Middle East. Male migrants overall were at significantly lower risk of suicide than the Australian-born, while female migrants overall had a significantly higher risk of suicide than Australian-born females. Among migrant males overall, the rural-urban suicide risk differential was significantly higher for those living in non-metropolitan areas (RR = 1.9; 95% CI: 1.7-2.1). Suicide risk was significantly higher in non-metropolitan male immigrants from the UK/Eire (RR = 1.4; 95% CI: 1.1-1.7), Southern Europe (RR = 1.7; 95% CI: 1.2-2.4), Northern/Western Europe (1.5; 95% CI: 1.2-1.9), the Middle East (RR = 3.8; 95% CI: 1.9-7.8), New :Zealand (RR = 1.4; 95% CI: 1.0-1.8) and 'other' (RR = 2.6; 95% CI: 1.9-3.5), when compared to their urban counterparts. There was no statistically significant difference in suicide risk between rural and urban Australian-born males. For female suicide, significantly lower risk was found in female immigrants living in non-metropolitan areas who were from Northern/Western Europe (RR = 0.7; 95% CI: 0.4-0.96), as well as the Australian-born (RR = 0.7; 95% CI: 0.6-0.8), when compared to their urban counterparts. The non-metropolitan/metropolitan relative risk for suicide in female migrants overall was not significantly different from one. Among male youth there was a significantly higher suicide risk in non-metropolitan areas, with a relative risk estimate of 1.4 for Australian-born youth (95% CI: 1.2-1.5) and 1.7 for migrant youth (95% CI: 1.2-2.4), when compared with metropolitan counterparts. We conclude that suicide among migrant males living in non-metropolitan areas accounts for most of the excess of male suicide in rural NSW, and the significantly lower risk of suicide for non-metropolitan Australian-born women does not apply to migrant women. (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Agri-food restructuring: A synthesis of recent Australian research

Globalizing tendencies within capitalism are leading to important alterations in the structure of agricultural production and the ways food companies are involving themselves in processing and marketing. Increasingly, finance capital and transnational agribusiness have sought ways to influence, and in some cases redirect, farming activities in Australia. The penetration of farming structures by corporate capital has been hastened by state deregulation. Rather than providing detailed empirical evidence, this paper presents a broad synthesis of recent Australian research with the aim of informing readers otherwise unaware of events in the Antipodes of the forms and impacts of agri-food change in Australia.

Is the Australian wool futures market efficient as a predictor of spot prices?

Giles and Goss (1980) have suggested that, if a futures market provides a forward pricing function, then it is an efficient market. In this article a simple test for whether the Australian Wool Futures market is efficient is proposed. The test is based on applying cointegration techniques to test the Law of One Price over a three, six, nine, and twelve month spread of futures prices. We found that the futures market is efficient for up to a six-month spread, but no further into the future. Because futures market prices can be used to predict spot prices up to six months in advance, woolgrowers can use the futures price to assess when they market their clip, but not for longer-term production planning decisions. (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

A case-control study of employment status and mortality in a cohort of Australian youth

Recent studies have demonstrated a link in young populations between unemployment and ill health. The purpose of this study is to correlate mortality with employment status in two cohorts of young Australian males, aged 17-25 years, from 1984 to 1988. Two youth cohorts consisting of an initially unemployed sample (n = 1424 males) and a population sample (n = 4573 males), were surveyed annually throughout the study period. Those lost to follow-up during the survey period were matched with death registries across Australia. Employment status was determined from weekly diaries and death certificates and was designated as: employed or student; unemployed; not in the work force (excluding students). Conditional logistic regression, using age- and cohort- matched cases (deaths) and controls (alive), was used to estimate the odds ratio (OR) of dying with regard to employment status, taking into account potential confounders such as ethnicity, aboriginality, educational attainment, pre-existing health problems, socio-economic status of parents, and other factors. Twenty three male survey respondents were positively matched to death registry records. Compared to those employed or students (referent group), significantly elevated ORs were found to be associated with neither being in the workforce nor a student for all cause, external cause, and external cause mortality other than suicide. Odds ratios were adjusted for age, survey cohort, ethnicity, pre-existing physical and mental health status, education level, and socio-economic status of parent(s). A statistically significant increasing linear trend in odds ratios of male mortality for most cause groups was found across the employment categories, from those employed or student (lowest ORs), through those unemployed; to those not in the workforce (highest ORs). Suicide was higher, but not statistically significantly, in those unemployed or not in the workforce. Suicide also was associated, though not significantly, with the respondent not living with their parents when they were 14 years of age. No association was found between mortality and past unemployment experience, as measured by length of time spent unemployed, or the number of spells of unemployment experienced during the survey. The results of this study underscore the elevated risk to survival in young males as a consequence of being neither employed nor a student. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Leaking urine in Australian women: Prevalence and associated conditions

The paper aims to (1) assess the prevalence of leaking urine and to (2) explore associations between leaking urine and a variety of other symptoms, conditions, surgical procedures and life events in three large cohorts of Australian women, who are participants in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health. Young women aged 18-23 (N = 14,000), mid-age women, 45-50 (N 13,738) and older women, 70-75 (N = 12,417), were recruited randomly from the national HIC/Medicare database. Leaking urine was reported by approximately one in eight young women [estimated prevalence 12.8% (95% CI: 12.2-13.3)] and one in three mid-age women [36.1% (CI: 35.2-37.0)] and older women [35.0% (CI: 34.1-35.9)]. Leaking urine was significantly associated with parity, conditions which increase the pressure on the pelvic floor such as constipation and obesity, past gynecological surgery and conditions which can impact on bladder control. The study showed that fewer than half the women had sought help for the problem and that younger women were less likely to be satisfied with the help available for this problem. Strategies for continence promotion, including opportunistic raising of the issue at the time of cervical screening and pregnancy care are suggested, so that the health and social outcomes of untreated chronic incontinence in women might be improved.

Psychological stress and disordered eating: An exploratory study with young Australian women

An exploratory study was conducted to examine whether the relationships between psychological stress and disordered eating, reported in many studies using American samples, would be found in a sample of young Australian women. A total of 212 women aged 18-22 years completed a questionnaire assessing a number of women's health issues, including life events stress, perceived stress levels, psychological distress, disordered eating behaviours, and concerns about weight and eating. While results showed few strong relationships between stress and eating variables for the sample overall, those women with high psychological stress levels appeared to be more likely to engage in disordered eating behaviours than women with low levels of stress. Results suggest that further investigation, targeting subgroups of women scoring highly on measures of psychological stress or disordered eating, may help clarify our understanding of the relationships between these factors in young Australian women.

The knowledge gap: A perspective on trade, industry, technology and policy from pre-war Australian music technology manufacturing (1903-30)

Australia struggles to achieve economic competitiveness, prevent expansion of the trade deficit and develop value-added production despite applications of policy strategies from protectionism to trade liberalisation. This article argues that these problems were emerging at the turn of the century, and that an investigation of music technology manufacturing in the first two decades of this century reveals fundamental problems in the conduct of relevant policy analysis. Analysis has focused on the trade or technology gap which is only symptomatic of an underlying knowledge gap. The article calls for a knowledge policy approach which can allow protection without the negative effects of isolation from global markets and without having to resort to unworkable utopian free-trade dogma. A shift of focus from a 'goods traded' view to a knowledge transaction (or diffusion) perspective is advocated.

Late Quaternary cycles of mangrove development and decline on the north Australian continental shelf

Mangrove communities in the Australian tropics presently occur as narrow belts of vegetation in estuaries and on sheltered, muddy coasts. Palynological data from continental shelf and deep-sea cores indicate a long-term cyclical component of mangrove development and decline at a regional scale, which can be linked to specific phases of late Quaternary sealevel change. Extensive mangrove development, relative to today, occurs during periods of marine transgression, whereas very diminished mangrove occurs during marine regressions and during rarer periods of relative sea-level stability. Episodes of flourishing mangrove cannot be linked to phases of humid climate, as has been suggested in studies elsewhere. Rather, the cycle of expansion and decline of mangrove communities on a grand scale is explained in terms of contrasting physiographic settings characteristic of continental-shelf coasts during transgressive and regressive phases, in particular by the existence, or lack, of well-developed tidal estuaries. Copyright (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A review of the Apocreadiidae Skrjabin, 1942 (Trematoda : Digenea) and description of Australian species

The Apocreadiidae is reviewed and is considered to include genera recognised previously within the families Apocreadiidae, Homalometridae, Schistorchiidae, Sphincterostomatidae and Trematobrienidae. Key features of the family are extensive vitelline follicles, eye-spot pigment dispersed in forebody, I-shaped excretory vesicle, no cirrus-sac and genital pore opening immediately anterior to the ventral sucker (usually) or immediately posterior to it (Postporus Manter, 1949). Three subfamilies and 18 genera are recognised within the Apocreadiidae. The Apocreadiinae comprises Homalometron Stafford, 1904 (new syn. Barbulostomum Ramsey, 1965), Callohelmis n. g., Choanodera Manter, 1940, Crassicutis Manter, 1936, Dactylotrema Bravo-Hollis & Manter, 1957, Marsupioacetabulum Yamaguti, 1952, Microcreadium Simer, 1929, Myzotus Manter, 1940, Neoapocreadium Siddiqi & Cable, 1960, Neomegasolena Siddiqi & Cable, 1960, Pancreadium Manter, 1954, Procaudotestis Szidat, 1954 and Trematobrien Dollfus, 1950. The Schistorchiinae comprises Schistorchis Luhe, 1906, Sphincterostoma Yamaguti, 1937, Sphincteristomum Oshmarin, Mamaev & Parukhin, 1961 and Megacreadium Nagaty, 1956. The Postporinae comprises only Postporus. A key to subfamilies and genera of the Apocreadiidae is provided. It is argued that there is no convincing basis for the recognition of the genus Apocreadium Manter, 1937 and all its constituent species are combined with Homalometron. The following new combinations are proposed for species previously recognised within Apocreadium: Homalometron balistis (Manter, 1947), H. caballeroi (Bravo-Hollis, 1953), H. cryptum (Overstreet, 1969), H. longisinosum (Manter, 1937), H. manteri (Overstreet, 1970), H. mexicanum (Manter, 1937) and H. vinodae (Ahmad, 1985). Apocreadium uroproctoferum Sogandares-Bernal, 1959 is found to lack a uroproct and is made a synonym of H. mexicanum. Homalometron verrunculi nom. nov. is proposed to replace the secondarily pre-occupied H. caballeroi Lamothe-Argumedo, 1965. Barbulostomum is made a synonym of Homalometron and H. cupuloris (Ramsey, 1965) n. comb. is proposed. Neochoanodera is made a synonym of Choanodera and Choanodera ghanensis (Fischthal & Thomas, 1970) n. comb. is proposed. Species within the Apocreadiinae and Postporinae are reviewed and the following are recorded or described from Australian fishes: Homalometron wrightae n. sp. from Achlyopa nigra (Macleay), H. synagris (Yamaguti, 1953) n. comb. from Scolopsis monogramma (Cuvier), H. stradbrokensis n. sp. from Gerres subfasciatus Cuvier, Marsupioacetabulum opallioderma n. sp. from G. subfasciatus, Neoapocreadium karwarensis (Hafeezullah, 1970) n. comb. from G. subfasciatus, N. splendens n. sp. from S. monogramma and Callohelmis pichelinae n. g., n. sp. from Hemigymnus melapterus (Bloch), H. fasciatus (Bloch), Stethojulis bandanensis (Bleeker) andChoerodon venustus (De Vis). Callohelmis is recognised by the combination of absence of tegumental spines, caeca terminating midway between the testes and posterior end of body, ventral sucker enclosed in a tegumental pouch, prominent muscles radiating through the body from the ventral sucker, vitelline follicles not extending into the forebody, and a very short excretory vesicle that opens ventrally. New combinations for species previously recognised within Crassicutis are proposed as follows: Neoapocreadium caranxi (Bilqees, 1976) n. comb., N. gerridis (Nahhas & Cable, 1964) n. comb., N. imtiazi (Ahmad, 1984) n. comb. and N. marina (Manter, 1947) n. comb. The host-specificity and zoogeography of the Apocreadiinae are considered.