Health Information Science: 7th International Conference, HIS 2018, Cairns, QLD, Australia, October 5–7, 2018, Proceedings

[Extract] The International Conference Series on Health Information Science (HIS) provides a forum for disseminating and exchanging multidisciplinary research results in computer science/information technology and health science and services. It covers all aspects of health information sciences and systems that support health information management and health service delivery. The 7th International Conference on Health Information Science (HIS 2018) was held in Cairns, Queensland, Australia, during October 5–7, 2018. Founded in April 2012 as the International Conference on Health Information Science and Their Applications, the conference continues to grow to include an ever-broader scope of activities. The main goal of these events is to provide international scientific forums for researchers to exchange new ideas in a number of fields that interact in depth through discussions with their peers from around the world. The scope of the conference includes: (1) medical/health/biomedicine information resources, such as patient medical records, devices and equipments, software and tools to capture, store, retrieve, process, analyze, and optimize the use of information in the health domain; (2) data management, data mining, and knowledge discovery, all of which play a key role in decision-making, management of public health, examination of standards, privacy and security issues; (3) computer visualization and artificial intelligence for computer-aided diagnosis; and (4) development of new architectures and applications for health information systems

Potential for transmission of zoonotic helminth infections among dingoes and dogs in the Wet Tropics of North Queensland, Australia

Wild dogs (dingoes, free-ranging domestic dogs and hybrids) have the potential to pose a threat to biodiversity conservation and the health of domestic animals, livestock and humans in the Wet Tropics bioregion of north Queensland. The increasing human population in the Wet Tropics will inevitably result in more frequent interactions between people and wild dogs. One potential interaction is the transmission or 'spillover' of diseases, including zoonotic parasites, from dingoes to the area's native fauna, livestock, domestic animals, human residents and visitors. Investigating all potential hosts and their interactions is hence necessary to understand and mitigate the possibility of 'spill-over' or 'spill-back' of zoonotic infection. Indigenous communities are at particular risk due to limited management of domestic dog health and the ability of community dogs to roam free, possibly contacting dingoes and their habitat and resources. Dogs remain an integral part of Indigenous community culture and the health and treatment of dogs is intrinsically linked to community health and well-being. Research was undertaken in and around rural and remote Indigenous communities to understand the disease status of dingoes and sympatric community dogs. Using various parasitological techniques, combined with radio telemetry to track the movements of dingoes and free-roaming domestic dogs, risks of transmission of infection from dingoes to dogs and then people in Indigenous communities, or vice versa, were examined. Faecal samples collected from tracked dingoes revealed 100% infection with the zoonotic hookworm Ancylostoma caninum, and one animal was infected with Ancylostoma ceylanicum; this is the first report of this parasite in dingoes. A similar result was found for necropsied dingoes; however, a much more elevated infection rate was seen in dingo scats. Those scats positively sequenced for hookworm, contained A. ceylanicum, A. caninum and A. braziliense, with A. ceylanicum the dominant species in Mount Windsor National Park, with a prevalence of 100%, but decreasing to 68% and 30.8% in scats collected from northern and southern rural suburbs of Cairns, respectively. I also observed, for the first time, the presence of A. ceylanicum infection in domestic dogs (21.7%) and soil (55.6%) in an Indigenous community and found it was present in soil samples from two out of the three popular tourist locations sampled. Due to the ability of A. ceylanicum to cause a patent infection in humans, the zoonotic risk arising from this wild dog reservoir to communities in the Wet Tropics is of concern. Domestic dogs also had a high prevalence of A. caninum with 100%, 96.4%, and 88.0% infection of tracked dogs, necropsied dogs and dog scats, respectively, but A. ceylanicum was not found. Similar levels of infection of the zoonotic roundworm Toxocara canis were found in dingoes and domestic dogs. However, whipworm Trichuris vulpis infection was far more prevalent in domestic dog necropsies (78.6%) than in dingo necropsies (3.7%). Dirofilaria immitis infection was found in high prevalence with 71% infection seen in dingoes in low density housing areas. This result highlights the importance of dingoes as reservoir hosts of heartworm disease and that the subsequent risk of infection to companion animals and humans depends on local factors such as housing density, possibly linked to chemotherapeutic heartworm control in domestic dogs and climate. Eleven dingoes and seven free-roaming domestic dogs were fitted with GPS collars and tracked over an extended period. Dingo home ranges almost completely overlapped those of the domestic dogs and dingoes spent a substantial amount of time in areas used by dogs. I found that dingoes and dogs appeared to avoid direct contact however this spatial overlap in resource use presents an opportunity for the indirect spill-over and spill-back of zoonotic parasites, facilitated by the parasite's ability to survive for longer periods in the Wet Tropic's warm and humid conditions. Tracking and camera trap deployment in the Yarrabah community showed that the community rubbish tip and animal carcasses provided concentrated anthropogenic food sources for dogs and dingoes, and transmission risk is elevated in these locations. Two dog health days were conducted in the Yarrabah Aboriginal community to provide free veterinary consultation for pets, provide community members with information about new dog laws and registration and to provide information about parasites infecting dogs and the possible public health risks associated with them. This resulted in the provision of treatment and veterinary consultation to 134 dogs and one cat along with the development of guidelines for domestic animal management which I prepared and presented to Yarrabah Council to assist in the introduction of registration of pets. By using a "One Health" approach that integrated the disciplines of veterinary parasitology, epidemiology and ecological analysis of canids' home range and resource use, I was able to establish the prevalence of parasitic pathogens and the current status of infection in dingoes and determine the pathways and mechanisms which lead to the potential risk of transmission of infections among dingoes, wildlife, domestic animals and humans. I determined that hot spots of infection transmission are likely to be sources of anthropogenic-derived food such as the rubbish tip, animal carcasses and public congregational areas such as school sporting grounds. Similar risks are likely to occur in other Indigenous communities in the Wet Tropics and warrant investigation and intervention. Through collaboration with local, experienced environmental health workers I was able to achieve the overall aim of this project which was to determine, and provide workable and sustainable animal and health management practices to reduce the risk of spill-over of parasitic infection from dingoes to domestic dogs (or vice-versa). Mitigation measures should include exclusion fencing of the rubbish tip, effective disposal of animal carcasses, public education to increase community awareness about local zoonotic diseases and their prevention, along with regular chemoprophylactic therapy of community dogs and improved management of dogs and their diseases in Indigenous communities

North Queensland's Chinese family landscape: 1860-1920

This thesis outlines the Chinese Family Landscape, which developed across North Queensland in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. It specifically focuses on women and the role that women and family played in the Chinese Diaspora, and the contribution they made to longevity and renewal of settlements such as Chinatowns, precincts and String Communities. This thesis is set within the framework of the historical pattern of settlement across the colony of Queensland, with a focus on North Queensland. It is firmly embedded in the broader global Chinese Diaspora, and confirms the importance of established links between destination countries and the ancestral village, China. By statistically and geographically mapping the presence of women as wives, lovers and friends of Chinese men across North Queensland, new understandings and interpretations of Queensland's Chinese experience have emerged. This indicates that a gender integrated approach to Chinese settlement patterns is important as a means to understand urban and social development of colonial Chinese settlements. A female presence in the Chinese settlement experience led to generational renewal of Chinatown's, and establishment of an Australian born, intergenerational Chinese presence within the Australian community. The politics of the private sphere, highlighted by a female approach to domestic affairs emerged through the application of "soft economics", which played out from an increase in male status due to the presence of a wife, to the strategic formation of companies via the marriage of Australian born sons and daughters. The presence of women in the community enabled the network of translocal and transnational kinship and family linkages to establish and grow but more importantly, enabled a Chinese presence to take root and prosper in a foreign land. The river of money and ideas, which flowed back to the village in China, from families moving between the two worlds, impacted on those who remained in the ancestral village in ways which are only just beginning to be understood in Queensland. Woman's participation in community formation, renewal and longevity emerges as an essential element in the North Queensland Chinese settlement experience and challenges the long held popular narrative of a single male gold-seeking sojourner, who was confined to the Palmer River Goldfields. A holistic approach to a gender integrated narrative should be included in future investigations with North Queensland's Chinese Family Landscape providing a starting point for this process

Northern promise: North Queensland and the politics of northern development, from 1939 to 1969

Patrick White studied the political history of northern development in Australia. With a focus on north Queensland’s local governments, this research revealed discord between local and national visions of northern development. The thesis demonstrated how local councils influenced federal policy and development in the Australian tropics between 1939 and 1969

Innovating new virus diagnostics and planting bed management in the Australian Sweetpotato Industry

The provision of disease free planting material is a key driver of Australia’s burgeoning sweetpotato industry, which currently achieves the highest commercial yields in the world. Australian Sweetpotato Growers Inc. (ASPG) investigated how to improve productivity of on-farm multiplication nurseries (plant beds). Their four-year project also studied virus occurrence and threats to the Australian industry and explored new techniques for detecting viruses. The project worked closely with commercial sweetpotato growers in Queensland and Northern New South Wales, representing 95% of Australia’s production. Queensland scientists monitored grower plant beds over four years, assessing production of planting material (sprouts), and problems, such as plant bed breakdown, that arose during the season. They investigated management options such as sweetpotato root size, plant bed nutrition, irrigation and soil temperatures, in detailed experiments at research facilities and with on-farm collaborators. The virology team surveyed viruses present in the Australian industry, and how they varied geographically and across the season. They compared different diagnostic techniques, including herbaceous indexing, NCM-ELISA and qPCR for accuracy and cost-efficiency. Research demonstrated sprout multiplication could be improved 25% by constructing higher, well-drained plant beds, only covering bedding roots with 3-5 cm of soil, irrigating sparingly early, and keeping soil temperatures between 17-26oC in spring by careful use of plastic covers. The dominant issue was premature plant bed breakdown, particularly with the new, nematode-resistant cultivar Bellevue. The project investigated physiological and pathogenic causes of breakdown and developed guidelines to reduce risk. Surveying found only two main viruses, sweetpotato feathery mottle virus (SPFMV) and sweetpotato leaf curl virus (SPLCV) in commercial cropping areas. North Queensland has two more viruses at least, mainly in home/market garden situations. The Australian industry planting material scheme is free of viruses, and by using pathogen-tested material, virus infections have negligible impact on yields. Herbaceous indexing with Ipomoea setosa is still the most reliable method of detecting sweetpotato viruses but is very time consuming. Molecular technologies such as qPCR proved accurate for two viruses, however for several endemic and exotic viruses, current assays produced too many false negatives, particularly testing asymptomatic sweetpotato material. The molecular technologies are very cost-effective and are rapidly improving. The project developed new virus assays for endemic and exotic viruses not currently in Australia. The project team prepared plant bed and virus management guides, as well as fact sheets and experimental reports, available on ASPG and Hort Innovation websites. They had excellent engagement with well over 85% of current Australian sweetpotato growers, through on-farm visits, and 24 field days and workshops during the project. The project also developed exciting collaborative relationships with sweetpotato researchers at several Australian Universities, neighbouring Pacific countries, and particularly scientists from Louisiana State University. The latter were involved in several reciprocal visits over the four years. Further research into the causes and management of premature breakdown of plant beds would certainly benefit the Australian industry, as would improvement in molecular diagnostic assays for virus detection, to support sweetpotato industry biosecurity

Annual Report 2014-15

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority is an Australian Government statutory authority within the Environment portfolio. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority is responsible for managing one of the world’s premier natural resources, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. The agency implements a range of policies and programmes, management strategies and legislative measures to work towards the following outcome: The long-term protection, ecologically sustainable use, understanding and enjoyment of the Great Barrier Reef for all Australians and the international community, through the care and development of the Marine Park

Realist evaluation for programs designed to reduce demand and harms of substance misuse at the community level in Australian remote Indigenous community settings

This thesis reviewed NHMRC-funded, community-level substance misuse interventions, documenting: outcomes; study designs; implicit program theory; and assumptions. Data from one intervention project, targeting cannabis misuse in Cape York, exemplified common evaluation constraints, and informed hypothetical context-mechanism-outcome clusters for a plausible program theory and proposed theory-driven evaluation