Do ENSO and coastal development enhance coastal burial of terrestrial carbon?

Carbon cycling on the east coast of Australia has the potential to be strongly affected by El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) intensification and coastal development (industrialization and urbanization). We performed paleoreconstructions of estuarine sediments from a seagrass-dominated estuary on the east coast of Australia (Tuggerah Lake, New South Wales) to test the hypothesis that millennial-scale ENSO intensification and European settlement in Australia have increased the transfer of organic carbon from land into coastal waters. Our data show that carbon accumulation rates within coastal sediments increased significantly during periods of maximum millennial-scale ENSO intensity ("super-ENSO") and coastal development. We suggest that ENSO and coastal development destabilize and liberate terrestrial soil carbon, which, during rainfall events (e.g., La Niña), washes into estuaries and becomes trapped and buried by coastal vegetation (seagrass in this case). Indeed, periods of high carbon burial were generally characterized as having rapid sedimentation rates, higher content of fine-grained sediments, and increased content of wood and charcoal fragments. These results, though preliminary, suggest that coastal development and ENSO intensificationboth of which are predicted to increase over the coming centurycan enhance capture and burial of terrestrial carbon by coastal ecosystems. These findings have important relevance for current efforts to build an understanding of terrestrial- marine carbon connectivity into global carbon budgets

Is it feasible to conduct a randomised controlled trial of pretransplant exercise (prehabilitation) for patients with multiple myeloma awaiting autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation? Protocol for the PREeMPT study

Introduction While myeloma is an incurable malignancy, developments in disease management have led to increased life expectancy in recent years. Treatment typically involves stem-cell transplantation. Increased survival rates equate to more patients living with the burden of both the disease and its treatment for increasing number of years, rendering myeloma a long-term condition. Evidence exists to demonstrate the benefits of exercise for patients recovering from stem-cell transplantation, and prehabilitation—exercise before treatment—has been shown to be effective in other disease areas. To date there has been no research into prehabilitation in patients with myeloma awaiting transplantation treatment. Our objective is to determine whether it is feasible to conduct a randomised controlled trial into pretransplant exercise for patients with multiple myeloma who are awaiting autologous stem-cell transplantation. Methods and analysis This mixed methods study identifies patients with diagnosis of multiple myeloma who have been assigned to the autologous transplantation list and invites them to participate in six weekly sessions of individualised, supervised exercise while awaiting transplantation. Quantitative data to determine feasibility targets include rates of recruitment, adherence and adverse events, and outcome measures including 6 min walking distance test and quality of life. Qualitative interviews are undertaken with a purposive sample of patients to capture their experiences of the study and the intervention

Cultural landscapes of tourism in New South Wales and Victoria

The field of cultural landscapes tourism is under-developed in Australia at the level of theory, research and policy development. Yet international research suggests that cultural landscapes tourism has significant potential in attracting new tourists. This research project is a scoping study designed to set out the parameters involved in cultural landscapes tourism research in Australia. It aims to identify how cultural heritage and contemporary cultural diversity impact on visitor experience and on local communities. The objective is to assist the Australian tourism industry particularly those located in regional and rural areas in understanding the growing importance of cultural tourism, by developing a number of case studies of cultural landscapes tourism in two Australia states. These case studies provide examples of existing tourism in a range of different cultural landscape sites, enabling the development of a process by which to identify change in cultural heritage tourism regions, including examining how multicultural precincts can operate as sustainable tourism destinations. Fieldwork with tourists and stakeholders will enable the development of industry strategies to increase tourism in the future. In addition, this fieldwork will facilitate the development of an innovative, multi-disciplinary theory of cultural landscapes tourism. This will set the stage for future research and policy development

Secondary literacy across the curriculum: Challenges and possibilities

This paper discusses the challenges and possibilities attendant upon successfully implementing literacy across the curriculum initiatives – or ‘school language policies’ as they have come to be known - particularly at the secondary or high school level. It provides a theoretical background to these issues, exploring previous academic discussions of school language policies, and highlights key areas of concern as well as opportunity with respect to school implementation of such policies. As such, it provides a necessary conceptual background to the subsequent papers in this special issue, which focus upon the Secondary Schools’ Literacy Initiative (SSLI) – a New Zealand funded programme that aims to establish cross-curricular language and literacy policies in secondary schools

Dealing with Climate Change: Paleoclimate research in Australia

Palaeoclimate research relevant to marine systems in Australia includes the collection and analysis of: (a) shallow-water and deep-sea corals, which provide highresolution archives, (b) deep-sea sediment and ice cores, which span longer time scales, and (c) palaeoclimate modelling, which gives us insights into mechanisms, dynamics and thresholds underlying past climate states. Palaeoclimate research in Australia is mature and well recognised internationally. To further advance Australian palaeoclimate research, we must address major challenges that include insufficient research vessel access, insufficient targeted research funding, as well as the lack of a well funded national centre to coordinate research efforts (e.g. academic institution or ARC Centre of Excellence for Palaeoclimate Research)

Exploring Access and Equity in Malaysia’s Private Higher Education

Private higher education institutions (PrHEIs) are utilized to complement public provision due to financial constraints faced in public provision. However, increasing private provision has raised interesting questions as to who gets educated in these PrHEIs. Is increasing private supply enlarging the circle of opportunity to reach those who might otherwise have been unable to enter university or college? In other words, has the explosion in private supply translated into greater inclusion or increased exclusion? This paper explores the access and equity issues in Malaysia's private higher education system. Malaysia is an interesting case study due to the significant presence of PrHEIs in the country and their contribution toward student enrolment. The findings show that the Malaysian government has provided considerable financial support for the development of PrHEIs, through the provision of incentives, subsidized loans, and scholarships. Quality assurance efforts further enhance the development of private provision, as student loans and scholarships are only provided for students on accredited programs. Therefore, PrHEIs have widened access and equity, with the help of government support. Despite this, Malaysia's model of providing access and equity through private provision may be unsustainable, due to the poor repayment record of student loans and the economic need to reduce the fiscal deficit of the government

Feasibility and benefits of a structured prehabilitation programme prior to autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) in patients with myeloma; a prospective feasibility study

Evidence supports the benefits of exercise-based rehabilitation in promoting recovery in myeloma patients following autologous stem-cell transplantation (ASCT). However, ‘prehabilitation’ has never been evaluated prior to ASCT, despite evidence of effectiveness in other cancers. Utilising a mixed method approach the authors investigated the feasibility of a mixed strength and cardiovascular exercise intervention pre-ASCT. Quantitative data were collected to determine feasibility targets; rates of recruitment, adherence and adverse events, including 6 minute walking distance (6MWD) test and patient reported outcome measures (PROMs). Qualitative interviews were undertaken with a purposive sample of patients to capture their experiences of the study and the intervention. The authors recruited 23 patients who attended a mean percentage of 75% scheduled exercise sessions. However, retention rates were limited, with only 14/23 (62%) completing the programme. In these patients, the 6MWD increased from a mean of 346 to 451 m (i.e. by 105 m, 95% CI 62 to 148 m) with no serious adverse events. Whist participants found the exercise programme acceptable and reported improvement in their physical fitness and overall mental health and wellbeing prior to ASCT, the study identified challenges in hospital attendance for the prehabilitation schedule whilst receiving induction or re-induction chemotherapy. Evaluation of digitally-enhanced directed but remote prehabilitation models for this patient group is warranted. Trial registration number NCT0313592