67 research outputs found
Epidemiology of chronic hepatitis B and C in Victoria, Australia: insights and impacts from enhanced surveillance
Objective: To assess the impact of an enhanced viral hepatitis surveillance program on datacompleteness and on epidemiological assessment of affected populations.Methods: Notified cases of non-acute hepatitis B and C were analysed to determinedemographic characteristics and risk factors during the period prior to July 2015–June 2016,and during enhanced surveillance of the period July 2016–June 2017, during which timedoctors were contacted for information about new diagnoses.Results: During the enhanced period, completeness for country of birth and Indigenous statusdoubled for both hepatitis B and hepatitis C, from 18–37% to 48–65%. The incidence ratio ofhepatitis C among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people increased from eight-fold to 11.4-fold, and the proportion of hepatitis B cases reported as born in China and Vietnam relative toother countries increased. New data fields identified that 12% of hepatitis C diagnoses occurredin a correctional facility, and 2% of hepatitis B cases were healthcare workers.Conclusions: Improved data completeness highlighted the underlying epidemiology ofchronic viral hepatitis, demonstrating the increased burden of infection among specific prioritypopulations.Implications for public health: Enhanced surveillance provides greater insight into theepidemiology of chronic viral hepatitis, identifying groups at risk and opportunities for publichealth action
Reconstructing Galaxy Histories from Globular Clusters
Nearly a century after the true nature of galaxies as distant "island
universes" was established, their origin and evolution remain great unsolved
problems of modern astrophysics. One of the most promising ways to investigate
galaxy formation is to study the ubiquitous globular star clusters that
surround most galaxies. Recent advances in our understanding of the globular
cluster systems of the Milky Way and other galaxies point to a complex picture
of galaxy genesis driven by cannibalism, collisions, bursts of star formation
and other tumultuous events.Comment: Review Article published in Nature, 1 January 2004. 18 pages, 4
figures, pdf format onl
Quantifying Morphological Evolution from Low to High Redshifts
Establishing the morphological history of ordinary galaxies was one of the original goals for the Hubble Space Telescope, and remarkable progress toward achieving this this goal has been made. How much of this progress has been at the expense of the Hubble sequence? As we probe further out in redshift space, it seems time to re-examine the underlying significance of Hubble's tuning fork in light of the the spectacular and often bizarre morphological characteristics of high redshift galaxies. The aim of this review is to build a morphological bridge between high-redshift and low-redshift galaxy populations, by using quantitative morphological measures to determine the maximum redshift for which the Hubble sequence provides a meaningful description of the galaxy population. I will outline the various techniques used to quantify high-redshift galaxy morphology, highlight the aspects of the Hubble sequence being probed by these techniques, and indicate what is getting left behind. I will argue that at higher redshifts new techniques (and new ideas) that place less emphasis on classical morphology and more emphasis on the link between morphology and resolved stellar populations are needed in order to probe the evolutionary history of high-redshift galaxies
Radiating on Oceanic Islands: Patterns and Processes of Speciation in the Land Snail Genus Theba (Risso 1826)
Island radiations have played a major role in shaping our current understanding of allopatric, sympatric and parapatric speciation. However, the fact that species divergence correlates with island size emphasizes the importance of geographic isolation (allopatry) in speciation. Based on molecular and morphological data, we investigated the diversification of the land snail genus Theba on the two Canary Islands of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. Due to the geological history of both islands, this study system provides ideal conditions to investigate the interplay of biogeography, dispersal ability and differentiation in generating species diversity. Our analyses demonstrated extensive cryptic diversification of Theba on these islands, probably driven mainly by non-adaptive allopatric differentiation and secondary gene flow. In a few cases, we observed a complete absence of gene flow among sympatrically distributed forms suggesting an advanced stage of speciation. On the Jandía peninsula genome scans suggested genotype-environment associations and potentially adaptive diversification of two closely related Theba species to different ecological environments. We found support for the idea that genetic differentiation was enhanced by divergent selection in different environments. The diversification of Theba on both islands is therefore best explained by a mixture of non-adaptive and adaptive speciation, promoted by ecological and geomorphological factors
Shedding Light on the Galaxy Luminosity Function
From as early as the 1930s, astronomers have tried to quantify the
statistical nature of the evolution and large-scale structure of galaxies by
studying their luminosity distribution as a function of redshift - known as the
galaxy luminosity function (LF). Accurately constructing the LF remains a
popular and yet tricky pursuit in modern observational cosmology where the
presence of observational selection effects due to e.g. detection thresholds in
apparent magnitude, colour, surface brightness or some combination thereof can
render any given galaxy survey incomplete and thus introduce bias into the LF.
Over the last seventy years there have been numerous sophisticated
statistical approaches devised to tackle these issues; all have advantages --
but not one is perfect. This review takes a broad historical look at the key
statistical tools that have been developed over this period, discussing their
relative merits and highlighting any significant extensions and modifications.
In addition, the more generalised methods that have emerged within the last few
years are examined. These methods propose a more rigorous statistical framework
within which to determine the LF compared to some of the more traditional
methods. I also look at how photometric redshift estimations are being
incorporated into the LF methodology as well as considering the construction of
bivariate LFs. Finally, I review the ongoing development of completeness
estimators which test some of the fundamental assumptions going into LF
estimators and can be powerful probes of any residual systematic effects
inherent magnitude-redshift data.Comment: 95 pages, 23 figures, 3 tables. Now published in The Astronomy &
Astrophysics Review. This version: bring in line with A&AR format
requirements, also minor typo corrections made, additional citations and
higher rez images adde
Five insights from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019
The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 provides a rules-based synthesis of the available evidence on levels and trends in health outcomes, a diverse set of risk factors, and health system responses. GBD 2019 covered 204 countries and territories, as well as first administrative level disaggregations for 22 countries, from 1990 to 2019. Because GBD is highly standardised and comprehensive, spanning both fatal and non-fatal outcomes, and uses a mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive list of hierarchical disease and injury causes, the study provides a powerful basis for detailed and broad insights on global health trends and emerging challenges. GBD 2019 incorporates data from 281 586 sources and provides more than 3.5 billion estimates of health outcome and health system measures of interest for global, national, and subnational policy dialogue. All GBD estimates are publicly available and adhere to the Guidelines on Accurate and Transparent Health Estimate Reporting. From this vast amount of information, five key insights that are important for health, social, and economic development strategies have been distilled. These insights are subject to the many limitations outlined in each of the component GBD capstone papers.Peer reviewe
Clinical presentation and management ofCOVID-19
The rapid spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 led to the declaration of a global pandemic within 3 months of its emergence. The majority of patients presenting with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) experience a mild illness that can usually be managed in the community. Patients require careful monitoring and early referral to hospital if any signs of clinical deterioration occur. Increased age and the presence of comorbidities are associated with more severe disease and poorer outcomes. Treatment for COVID-19 is currently predominantly supportive care, focused on appropriate management of respiratory dysfunction. Clinical evidence is emerging for some specific therapies (including antiviral and immune-modulating agents). Investigational therapies for COVID-19 should be used in the context of approved randomised controlled trials. Australian clinicians need to be able to recognise, diagnose, manage and appropriately refer patients affected by COVID-19, with thousands of cases likely to present over the coming years
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