Using Regulation to Tackle the Challenge of Diffuse Water Pollution and its Impact on the Great Barrier Reef

Diffuse water pollution poses a significant threat to water quality globally. Challenges associated with managing and regulating diffuse water pollution stem from difficulties in measurement and attribution of pollution ‘emissions’, as well as the cumulative nature of diffuse water pollution. The introduction of Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef Protection Amendment Act 2009 provides a timely opportunity to explore challenges associated with managing and regulating diffuse water pollution from agriculture, using the Great Barrier Reef as a case study. This article, which is presented in two parts (sections II and III), outlines the nature of diffuse water pollution; potential management and regulatory options; and existing policy, management and legislative frameworks that exist at Commonwealth and Queensland State government levels relevant to managing Great Barrier Reef water quality. In section III, the article undertakes a detailed analysis of Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef Protection Amendment Act 2009, including an assessment of the likely effectiveness of this legislation; challenges associated with the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of measures taken under this new legislation; and its significance and role in the context of other relevant Commonwealth and Queensland government responsibilities, legislation and policies

An analytic solution to the Busemann-Petty problem on sections of convex bodies

We derive a formula connecting the derivatives of parallel section functions of an origin-symmetric star body in R^n with the Fourier transform of powers of the radial function of the body. A parallel section function (or (n-1)-dimensional X-ray) gives the ((n-1)-dimensional) volumes of all hyperplane sections of the body orthogonal to a given direction. This formula provides a new characterization of intersection bodies in R^n and leads to a unified analytic solution to the Busemann-Petty problem: Suppose that K and L are two origin-symmetric convex bodies in R^n such that the ((n-1)-dimensional) volume of each central hyperplane section of K is smaller than the volume of the corresponding section of L; is the (n-dimensional) volume of K smaller than the volume of L? In conjunction with earlier established connections between the Busemann-Petty problem, intersection bodies, and positive definite distributions, our formula shows that the answer to the problem depends on the behavior of the (n-2)-nd derivative of the parallel section functions. The affirmative answer to the Busemann-Petty problem for n\le 4 and the negative answer for n\ge 5 now follow from the fact that convexity controls the second derivatives, but does not control the derivatives of higher orders.Comment: 13 pages, published versio

Covid-19 induced taste dysfunction and recovery:association with smell dysfunction and oral health behaviour

Background and Objectives: Disruption to taste and smell are common symptoms of COVID-19 infection. The current literature overlooks taste symptoms and tends to focus on the sense of smell. Persisting cases (>28 days) of taste dysfunction are increasingly recognised as a major future healthcare challenge. This study focuses on the severity and recovery of COVID-19 induced taste loss and association with olfactory symptoms, lifestyle and oral health factors. Materials and Methods: This study was a cross-sectional survey comparing 182 rapid taste recovery participants (≤28 days) with 47 participants with prolonged taste recovery >28 days. Analyses of taste loss in association with smell loss, age, sex, illness severity, diet, BMI, vitamin-D supplementation, antidepressants, alcohol use, smoking, brushing frequency, flossing, missing teeth, appliances and number of dental restorations were conducted. Differences in the severity of the loss of sour, sweet, salt, bitter and umami tastes were explored. Results: Both the severity and the duration of taste and smell loss were closely correlated (p < 0.001). Salt taste was significantly less affected than all other taste qualities (p < 0.001). Persisting taste loss was associated with older age (mean ± 95% CI = 31.73 ± 1.23 years vs. 36.66 ± 3.59 years, p < 0.001) and reduced likelihood of using floss (odds ratio ± 95% CI = 2.22 (1.15–4.25), p = 0.047). Conclusions: Smell and taste loss in COVID-19 are closely related, although a minority of individuals can experience taste or smell dysfunction in the absence of the other. The taste of salt may be less severely affected than other taste qualities and future work exploring this finding objectively is indicated. The association of flossing with rapid taste recovery adds to the growing evidence of a link between good periodontal health and favourable COVID-19 outcomes

Relationship between Recovery from COVID-19-Induced Smell Loss and General and Oral Health Factors

Background and Objectives: Loss of smell is one of the strongest predictors of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and can persist long after other symptoms have resolved. “Long” cases (>28 days) of smell dysfunction present future challenges to medical and dental professionals, as there is a lack of evidence on the causes and any exacerbating or relieving factors. This study aimed to explore the persistence of COVID-19-induced smell loss and association with physical, lifestyle and oral health factors. Materials and Methods: This study was a cross-sectional survey of 235 participants. Recovery of smell was explored, comparing rapid recovery (≤28 days) with prolonged recovery (>28 days). Associative factors included age, sex, illness severity, diet, BMI, vitamin D supplementation, antidepressants, alcohol use, smoking, brushing frequency, flossing, missing teeth, appliances and number of dental restorations. Results: Smell loss showed 87% resolution within 30 days. Prolonged smell loss was significantly associated with older age (mean ± 95%, CI = 31.53 ± 1.36 years for rapid recovery vs. mean ± 95%, CI = 36.0 ± 3 years for prolonged recovery, p = 0.003) and increased self-reported illness severity (mean ± 95%, CI = 4.39 ± 0.27 for rapid recovery vs. 5.01 ± 0.54 for prolonged recovery, p = 0.016). Fisher’s exact test revealed flossing was associated with rapid recovery, with flossers comprising 75% of the rapid-recovery group, compared to 56% in the prolonged-recovery group (odds ratio ± 95%, CI = 2.26 (1.23–4.15), p = 0.01). All other factors were not significantly associated (p > 0.05). Conclusions: Increased age and illness severity were associated with prolonged smell recovery. Use of floss was the only modifiable factor associated with rapid recovery of smell loss. As 87% of cases resolve within 30 days, future studies may benefit from targeted recruitment of individuals experiencing prolonged sense loss. This would increase statistical confidence when declaring no association with the other factors assessed, avoiding type II errors

Salivary Metabolomics:From Diagnostic Biomarker Discovery to Investigating Biological Function

Metabolomic profiling of biofluids, e.g., urine, plasma, has generated vast and ever-increasing amounts of knowledge over the last few decades. Paradoxically, metabolomic analysis of saliva, the most readily-available human biofluid, has lagged. This review explores the history of saliva-based metabolomics and summarizes current knowledge of salivary metabolomics. Current applications of salivary metabolomics have largely focused on diagnostic biomarker discovery and the diagnostic value of the current literature base is explored. There is also a small, albeit promising, literature base concerning the use of salivary metabolomics in monitoring athletic performance. Functional roles of salivary metabolites remain largely unexplored. Areas of emerging knowledge include the role of oral host&ndash;microbiome interactions in shaping the salivary metabolite profile and the potential roles of salivary metabolites in oral physiology, e.g., in taste perception. Discussion of future research directions describes the need to begin acquiring a greater knowledge of the function of salivary metabolites, a current research direction in the field of the gut metabolome. The role of saliva as an easily obtainable, information-rich fluid that could complement other gastrointestinal fluids in the exploration of the gut metabolome is emphasized

Zuckerbergs or Luddites? The Use of Social Media by Senior Executives in the Banking Industry

Many organisations are starting to use social media for business purposes, although some industries are more advanced than others. This paper looks at the banking industry, and focuses specifically on how senior executives in this industry perceive social media and its value. Hence this paper is an exploratory interpretive study of the attitudes of senior banking executives to social media. Assuming that senior executives have a significant influence on the adoption of social media within their organization, this study throws some light on its potential uptake within the banking industry

Abraham Lincoln

The photolithograph is a reproduction print of a photograph by Alexander Gardner [ref: O-71]. In the image, Abraham Lincoln is seated at a table. He holds a document in his proper left hand and his glasses in his proper right. His right leg is crossed over his left. Below the image is a facsimile of Lincoln\u27s signature.https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/fvw-prints/1471/thumbnail.jp

Reproduction Portrait Photograph of Abraham Lincoln

The object is a reproduction portrait image of Abraham Lincoln taken just four days before his assassination. [Ref: O-118.]https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/fvw-artifacts/3201/thumbnail.jp