27 research outputs found
The 2022 report of the MJA-Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: Australia unprepared and paying the price
The MJA-Lancet Countdown on health and climate change in Australia was established in 2017 and produced its first national assessment in 2018 and annual updates in 2019, 2020 and 2021. It examines five broad domains: climate change impacts, exposures and vulnerability; adaptation, planning and resilience for health; mitigation actions and health co-benefits; economics and finance; and public and political engagement. In this, the fifth year of the MJA-Lancet Countdown, we track progress on an extensive suite of indicators across these five domains, accessing and presenting the latest data and further refining and developing our analyses. Within just two years, Australia has experienced two unprecedented national catastrophes - the 2019-2020 summer heatwaves and bushfires and the 2021-2022 torrential rains and flooding. Such events are costing lives and displacing tens of thousands of people. Further, our analysis shows that there are clear signs that Australia's health emergency management capacity substantially decreased in 2021. We find some signs of progress with respect to health and climate change. The states continue to lead the way in health and climate change adaptation planning, with the Victorian plan being published in early 2022. At the national level, we note progress in health and climate change research funding by the National Health and Medical Research Council. We now also see an acceleration in the uptake of electric vehicles and continued uptake of and employment in renewable energy. However, we also find Australia's transition to renewables and zero carbon remains unacceptably slow, and the Australian Government's continuing failure to produce a national climate change and health adaptation plan places the health and lives of Australians at unnecessary risk today, which does not bode well for the future.Paul J Beggs, Ying Zhang, Alice McGushin, Stefan Trueck, Martina K Linnenluecke, Hilary Bambrick, Anthony G Capon, Sotiris Vardoulakis, Donna Green, Arunima Malik, Ollie Jay, Maddie Heenan, Ivan C Hanigan, Sharon Friel, Mark Stevenson, Fay H Johnston, Celia McMichael, Fiona Charlson, Alistair J Woodward, Marina B Romanell
Threatened and uncommon plants of New Zealand
A reappraisal of the conservation status
of the indigenous New Zealand vascular plant flora
is presented. The list comprises 792 taxa (34% of
New Zealand’s total indigenous vascular flora) in the
following categories: Extinct 4 taxa, Acutely Threatened
122 taxa (comprising 47 taxa Nationally Critical,
54 Nationally Endangered, 21 Nationally
Vulnerable), Chronically Threatened 96 taxa (comprising
Serious Decline 26 taxa, Gradual Decline 70
taxa), At Risk 499 taxa (comprising Sparse 126 taxa,
Range Restricted 373 taxa), Non-resident Native 26
taxa (comprising Vagrant 16 taxa, Colonist 10 taxa),
and Data Deficient 45 taxa. A further 208 plants are
listed as Taxonomically Indeterminate, being those
which might warrant further conservation attention
once their taxonomic status is clarified. A further 31
named taxa and 18 rated as Taxonomically Indeterminate,
and previously considered to be threatened
and/or uncommon, are removed from this updated
listing. A concordance of plant names is provided.
The lists presented use a new threat classification
system developed by the New Zealand Department
of Conservation for sole use within this country. This
paper represents the first time the entire known
indigenous vascular flora has been assessed from a
conservation perspective since the mid 1970s.
A brief analysis of the patterns of rarity exhibited by
the taxa listed is presented
Hypercrosslinked resins as precursors to carbon electrodes in electrochemical capacitors: pore structure characterization of resins and pyrolytic carbons
This paper discusses hypercrosslinked resins as precursors to carbon electrodes in electrochemical capacitors. It was presented at the 229th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in 2005
Inhibition of established subcutaneous murine tumour growth with topical Melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree) oil
Purpose: Systemic toxicity coupled with long treatment regimes of approved topical chemotherapeutic agents such as imiquimod and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) are limiting. There is now more focus on the potential use of topical terpene agents as skin cancer treatments. Here, we show for the first time that topical Melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree) oil (TTO), abundant in terpenes, has in vivo antitumour activity.
Method: Topical TTO formulations applied to immunocompetent tumour-bearing mice were assessed for antitumour efficacy by monitoring tumour growth and by histological analysis following treatment.
Results: Four, daily, topical treatments of 10% TTO/DMSO regressed subcutaneous AE17 mesotheliomas in mice for a period of 10 days and significantly retarded the growth of subcutaneous B16-F10 melanomas. The antitumour effect of topical 10% TTO/DMSO was accompanied by skin irritation similar to other topical chemotherapeutic agents, but unlike other approved topical agents, quickly and completely resolved. Furthermore, we show that topical 10% TTO/DMSO caused an influx of neutrophils and other immune effector cells in the treated area, with no evidence of systemic toxicity.
Conclusion: TTO combined with an effective carrier significantly inhibited the growth of aggressive, subcutaneous, chemo-resistant tumours in immunocompetent mice. Taken together, these findings highlight the potential of topical TTO as an alternative topical antitumour treatment
Toward the discrimination of early melanoma from common and dysplastic nevus using fiber optic diffuse reflectance spectroscopy
We describe a study of the discrimination of early melanoma from common and dysplastic nevus using fiber optic diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. Diffuse reflectance spectra in the wavelength range 550 to 1000 nm are obtained using 400-µm core multimode fibers arranged in a six-illumination-around-one- collection geometry with a single fiber-fiber spacing of 470 µm. Spectra are collected at specific locations on 120 pigmented lesions selected by clinicians as possible melanoma, including 64 histopathologically diagnosed as melanoma. These locations are carried through to the histopathological diagnosis, permitting a spatially localized comparison with the corresponding spectrum. The variations in spectra between groups of lesions with different diagnoses are examined and reduced to features suitable for discriminant analysis. A classifier distinguishing between benign and malignant lesions performs with sensitivity/ specificity of between 64/69% and 72/78%. Classifiers between pairs of the group common nevus, dysplastic nevus, in situ melanoma, and invasive melanoma show better or similar performance than the benign/malignant classifier, and analysis provides evidence that different spectral features are needed for each pair of groups. This indicates that multiple discriminant systems are likely to be required to distinguish between melanoma and similar lesions
Toward the discrimination of early melanoma from common and dysplastic nevus using fiber optic diffuse reflectance spectroscopy
We describe a study of the discrimination of early melanoma from common and dysplastic nevus using fiber optic diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. Diffuse reflectance spectra in the wavelength range 550 to 1000 nm are obtained using 400-µm core multimode fibers arranged in a six-illumination-around-one- collection geometry with a single fiber-fiber spacing of 470 µm. Spectra are collected at specific locations on 120 pigmented lesions selected by clinicians as possible melanoma, including 64 histopathologically diagnosed as melanoma. These locations are carried through to the histopathological diagnosis, permitting a spatially localized comparison with the corresponding spectrum. The variations in spectra between groups of lesions with different diagnoses are examined and reduced to features suitable for discriminant analysis. A classifier distinguishing between benign and malignant lesions performs with sensitivity/ specificity of between 64/69% and 72/78%. Classifiers between pairs of the group common nevus, dysplastic nevus, in situ melanoma, and invasive melanoma show better or similar performance than the benign/malignant classifier, and analysis provides evidence that different spectral features are needed for each pair of groups. This indicates that multiple discriminant systems are likely to be required to distinguish between melanoma and similar lesions
A nationwide survey of observer variation in the diagnosis of thin cutaneous malignant melanoma including the MIN terminology. CRC Melanoma Pathology Panel.
Venous thromboembolism at time of diagnosis of ovarian cancer: Survival differs in symptomatic and asymptomatic cases
Objectives To determine the impact on survival of symptomatic and asymptomatic venous thromboembolism (VTE) at time of diagnosis of primary ovarian malignancy. Materials and methods The clinical records of 397 consecutive cases of primary ovarian malignancy were studied. Clinical, pathological and survival data were obtained. Results and conclusions Of 397 cases, 19 (4.8%) were found to have VTE at diagnosis, of which 63.2% (n = 12) were asymptomatic. VTE was significantly associated with reduced overall median survival (28 vs. 45 months, p = 0.004). Decreased survival was associated with symptomatic VTE compared to patients with asymptomatic VTE (21 vs. 36 months, p = 0.02) whose survival was similar to that of patients without VTE. Decreased survival remained significant in symptomatic patients after controlling for stage of disease at diagnosis, cytoreductive status and adjuvant chemotherapy use. Overall these data suggest for the first time that symptomatic but not asymptomatic VTE prior to primary treatment of ovarian cancer is an independent adverse prognostic factor