Search Results (222)

Background: Melioidosis, caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei, is a serious infectious disease in Southeast Asia and northern Australia. Methods: We systematically reviewed observational studies measuring C-reactive protein (CRP) in laboratory-confirmed melioidosis for diagnosis, severity assessment, or outcome evaluation. PubMed, Embase, and Scopus were searched up to May 2025. Data were pooled using a random-effects model; heterogeneity was quantified (I²). Results: Seven studies (n = 451) were included. The pooled mean CRP level in melioidosis was 74.37 mg/L (95% Confidence Interval [CI], 32.76–168.83; I² = 99.1%), considerably higher than healthy reference values (<10 mg/L). Conclusions: CRP is consistently raised in melioidosis and may aid in early diagnosis and severity monitoring, although high heterogeneity limits the precision of pooled estimates. Integration of CRP into multimodal prediction tools, rather than use in isolation, is recommended. Further prospective studies should define optimal diagnostic thresholds. Full article

The intensifying global competition for cobalt resources and the increasing likelihood of trade decoupling and disruption are profoundly impacting the global energy transition. In a globalized trade environment, a decline in cobalt supply from exporting countries can spread through the trade network, negatively affecting demand countries. Quantitative analysis of the negative impacts of export supply declines in various countries can help identify early risks in the global supply chain, providing a scientific basis for energy security, industrial development, and policy responses. This study constructs a trade network using trade data on metal cobalt, cobalt powder, cobalt concentrate, and ore sand from the upstream (mining, selection, and smelting) stages of the cobalt industry chain across 155 countries and regions from 2000 to 2023. Based on this, an impact diffusion model is established, incorporating the trade volumes and production levels of cobalt resources in each country to measure their resilience to shocks and determine their direct or indirect dependencies. The study then simulates the impact on countries (regions) when each country’s supply is completely interrupted or reduced by 50%. The results show that: (1) The global cobalt trade network exhibits a ‘one superpower, multiple strong players’ characteristic. Congo (DRC) has a far greater destructive power than other countries, while South Africa, Zambia, Australia, Russia, and other countries have higher destructive power due to their strong storage and production capabilities, strong smelting capabilities, or as important trade transit countries. (2) The global cobalt trade network primarily consists of three major risk areas. The African continent, the Philippines and Indonesia in Southeast Asia, Australia in Oceania, and Russia, the United States, China, and the United Kingdom in Eurasia and North America form the primary risk zones for global cobalt trade. (3) When there is a complete disruption or a 50% reduction in export supply, China will suffer the greatest average demand loss, far exceeding the second-tier countries such as the United States, South Africa, and Zambia. In contrast, European countries and other regions worldwide will experience the smallest average demand loss. Full article

Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) provides three-dimensional information that can be used to extract tree parameter measurements such as height (H), canopy volume (CV), canopy diameter (CD), canopy area (CA), and tree stand density. LiDAR data does not directly give diameter at breast height (DBH), an important input into allometric equations to estimate biomass. The main objective of this study is to estimate tree DBH using existing allometric models. Specifically, it compares three global DBH pantropical models to calculate DBH and to estimate the aboveground biomass (AGB) of the Lake Broadwater Forest located in Southeast (SE) Queensland, Australia. LiDAR data collected in mid-2022 was used to test these models, with field validation data collected at the beginning of 2024. The three DBH estimation models—the Jucker model, Gonzalez-Benecke model 1, and Gonzalez-Benecke model 2—all used tree H, and the Jucker and Gonzalez-Benecke model 2 additionally used CD and CA, respectively. Model performance was assessed using five statistical metrics: root mean squared error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), percentage bias (MBias), and the coefficient of determination (R²). The Jucker model was the best-performing model, followed by Gonzalez-Benecke model 2 and Gonzalez-Benecke model 1. The Jucker model had an RMSE of 8.7 cm, an MAE of −13.54 cm, an MAPE of 7%, an MBias of 13.73 cm, and an R² of 0.9005. The Chave AGB model was used to estimate the AGB at the tree, plot, and per hectare levels using the Jucker model-calculated DBH and the field-measured DBH. AGB was used to estimate total biomass, dry weight, carbon (C), and carbon dioxide (CO₂) sequestered per hectare. The Lake Broadwater Forest was estimated to have an AGB of 161.5 Mg/ha in 2022, a Total C of 65.6 Mg/ha, and a CO₂ sequestered of 240.7 Mg/ha in 2022. These findings highlight the substantial carbon storage potential of the Lake Broadwater Forest, reinforcing the opportunity for landholders to participate in the carbon credit systems, which offer financial benefits and enable contributions to carbon mitigation programs, thereby helping to meet national and global carbon reduction targets. Full article

This study investigates formation homogeneous regions in regional flood frequency analysis (RFFA) and compares two RFFA methods, the quantile regression technique (QRT) and the index flood method (IFM). A total of 201 gauged stations from southeast Australia were adopted in this study. Multivariate statistical techniques were applied to form candidate regions. Also, regions are formed in the L-moments space (such as the L coefficient of variation (LCV) and L coefficient of skewness (LCS) of annual maximum flood data). Hosking and Wallis test statistics were used to find discordant sites and for testing the homogeneity of the assumed regions. No homogeneous regions were found in southeast Australia based on catchment characteristics data; however, homogeneous regions can be formed in the space of L-moments. It was found that regions formed in the L-moments space have little link with the catchment characteristics data space. The QRT provides more accurate flood quantile estimates than the IFM. Full article

As energy-efficient buildings become central to climate change mitigation, the opportunity for interior and interstitial moisture accumulation and mould growth can increase. This study investigated the potential simulation-based mould growth risks associated with the current generation of insulated low-rise timber framed external wall systems within southeastern Australia. More than 8000 hygrothermal and bio-hygrothermal simulations were completed to evaluate seasonal moisture patterns and calculate mould growth potential for nine typical external wall systems. Results reveal that the combination of increased thermal insulation and air-tightness measures between the 2010 and 2022 specified building envelope energy efficiency regulations further increased predicted Mould Index values, particularly in cool-temperate climates. This was in part due to insufficient moisture management requirements, like an air space between the cladding and the weather resistive layer and/or the low-water vapour permeability of exterior weather resistive pliable membranes. By contrast, warmer temperate climates and drier cool-temperate climates exhibit consistently lower calculated Mould Index values. Despite the 2022 requirement for a greater water vapour-permeance of exterior pliable membranes, the external walls systems explored in this research had a higher calculated Mould Index than the 2010 regulatory compliant external wall systems. Lower air change rates significantly increased calculated interstitial mould growth risk, while the use of interior vapour control membranes proved effective in its mitigation for most external wall systems. The addition of ventilated cavity in combination with either or both an interior vapour control membrane and a highly vapour-permeable exterior pliable membranes further reduced risk. The findings underscore the need for tailored, climate-responsive design interventions to minimise surface and interstitial mould growth risk and building durability, whilst achieving high performance external wall systems. Full article

Sterculia foetida L., commonly known as the Java olive, is a tropical tree species native to regions of East Africa, tropical Asia, and northern Australia. This study employs species distribution modeling (SDM) to predict the potential geographic distribution of S. foetida under current and future climate scenarios. Using 1425 occurrence data and 19 environmental variables, we applied an ensemble modelling approach of three algorithms: Boosting Regression Trees (BRT), Generalized Linear Model (GLM), and Random Forests (RF), to generate distribution maps. Our models showed high accuracy (mean AUC = 0.98) to indicate that S. foetida has a broad ecological niche, with high suitability in tropical and subtropical regions of north Australia (New Guinea and Papua), Southeast Asia (India, Thailand, Myanmar, Taiwan, Philippines, Malaysia, Sri Lanka), Oman and Yemen in the southwest of Asia, Central Africa (Guinea, Ghana, Nigeria, Congo, Kenya and Tanzania), the Greater and Lesser Antilles, Mesoamerica, and the north of South America (Colombia, Panama, Venezuela, Ecuador and Brazil). Indeed, the probability of occurrence of S. foetida positively correlates with the Maximum temperature of warmest month (bio5), Mean temperature of wettest quarter (bio8) and Precipitation of wettest month (bio13). The model results showed a suitability area of 4,744,653 km², representing 37.86% of the total study area, classified into Low (14.12%), Moderate (8.71%), and High suitability (15.02%). Furthermore, the study found that habitat suitability for S. foetida showed similar trends under both near future climate scenarios (SSP1-2.6 and SSP5-8.5 for 2041–2060), with a slight loss in potential distribution (0.24% and 0.25%, respectively) and moderate gains (1.98% and 2.12%). In the far future (2061–2080), the low scenario (SSP1-2.6) indicated a 0.29% loss and a 2.52% gain, while the high scenario (SSP5-8.5) showed a more dramatic increase in both loss (0.6%) and gain areas (3.79%). These findings are crucial for conservation planning and management, particularly in regions where S. foetida is considered invasive and could become problematic. The study underscores the importance of incorporating climate change projections in SDM to better understand species invasiveness dynamics and inform biodiversity conservation strategies. Full article

The suite of fungi that associate with mosses, bryophilous fungi, can be explored further to provide insights into the symbiotic functionality of mosses as well as the ecosystems in which they reside. So far, in-depth studies on the taxonomic diversity, ecology, and physiological functions of bryophilous fungi associated with the Australasian moss species Leucobryum candidum are lacking. To generate information on the physiology, biology, and ecology of these organisms and their interactions with the moss host, the combined use of selective isolation and molecular characterisation of the fungal associates was carried out. Once the pure cultures of the fungal associates were obtained, a bioactivity assay was used to investigate the effect of fungal metabolites on moss growth in vitro. Overall, L. candidum species collected from six different locations within Southeast Queensland exposed to different environmental parameters were found to have a highly diverse community of fungal species from 10 orders and 17 families. A total of 25 of the 33 isolates that were identified using molecular sequencing techniques were unique species, confirming high beta diversity of the fungal associates of L. candidum collected from coastal, forest, and urban environments in Southeast Queensland. The highest numbers of culturable isolates came from coastal and forest sites. Urban sites accounted for the lowest numbers of culturable isolates. The taxonomic matches for these associates were known to have diverse endophytic, saprophytic, and parasitic roles within vascular plants. Selected moss samples were inoculated with fermentation extracts of fungal isolates (USC-F426 and USC-F427) and their effects on the moss samples were observed for any change in heights, weights, diameters, and morphological characteristics. A significant (p ≤ 0.05) difference in the heights of the in vitro-assessed L. candidum between treatments was observed. No significant differences, however, were seen between the weights and diameters and no discernible host symptoms were detected, other than a few morphological change observations. Full article

Groundwater levels were monitored before, during and after groundwater pumping to understand the impacts of groundwater extraction on Abercorn Spring, a recharge spring in the Great Artesian Basin (GAB) in southeast Queensland, Australia. We measured the wetted area of the spring during this time to understand if changes in hydrology affected the water available for vegetation communities. Sustained groundwater extraction >20 km upgradient of the spring resulted in (1) rapid drawdown of the source aquifer, causing a reduction in aquifer pressure; (2) a small decline (0.35 m) in water level at the spring; and (3) a significant change (p = 0.0001) in wetted area in winter. Recovery of water levels and wetted area of the mound spring took over three years after pumping ceased. Our study demonstrated that significant changes to the wetted area occurred with only a minimal drawdown at the springs. Abercorn Springs have a natural low variability in water level (<0.2 m), implying a stable and predictable biological community. This natural range is less than half the water level change that is currently considered for impact assessment in artesian springs in the Queensland section of the GAB, highlighting the need to incorporate updated information to inform future management of both recharge and discharge springs. In the case of Abercorn Springs, long-term monitoring and research have led to refinement of license conditions for groundwater extraction, thereby mitigating further impacts to the springs and demonstrating adaptive management. Full article

Safety culture plays a vital role in creating safer work environments, making its understanding important. This paper comprehensively analyzes safety culture research trends through a bibliometric study using the Scopus database. This study provided a full insight by analyzing 7058 papers published between 1978 and 2023, employing the PRISMA method and VOSviewer 1.6.19 for bibliometric mapping. The USA, England, China, and Australia are the leading contributors, with Johns Hopkins University being the most active institution. Approximately 75% of publications are co-authored, indicating strong collaboration in this field. Guldenmund (2000) is the most referenced work in safety culture research. Based on the results, this work identifies significant geographical gaps, particularly in Oceania, South America, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Africa, as well as underexplored sectors such as transportation, logistics, energy, sports, education, and construction. The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted research in this area, particularly healthcare, while potentially diverting attention from other critical sectors. This study contributes a fresh perspective on the trends of safety culture research, offering valuable insights for scholars and practitioners. Additionally, it highlights the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in addressing the unique challenges faced by safety culture across diverse industries and regions. Full article

This study seeks to quantify the rising financial linkages between mainland China, Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand, and the six largest Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN group). Stock market co-movements would be consistent with growing trade ties. Our sample runs from 2010 through 2022, including the coronavirus pandemic. Markov switching analysis allows for changing effects as we move from periods of low market volatility to periods of high volatility. The results offer support for the premise that growing trade and investment ties between China, Australasia, Hong Kong, and the ASEAN region have been accompanied by significant financial market integration, as reflected in stock market co-movement. US effects are also significant and tend to be stronger during high-volatility episodes. Under low-volatility conditions, Shanghai effects become more important and are significant for all six ASEAN group countries. Full article

The eastern barn owl (Tyto javanica), a sub-group of Tyto alba, the most common species of owl in the world, is classified as “of least concern” under Queensland (Australia) legislation but appears to be affected by urban development. Between August 2010 and December 2021, 412 wild eastern barn owls were presented for treatment to the Currumbin Wildlife Hospital. A retrospective study of their medical records shows a strong association between the season and the number of admissions, with a combined total of 80% of admissions occurring in winter and spring (the breeding season for this species) in southeast Queensland. There was no significant association between age and admissions. The most common diagnosis was traumatic injuries, especially in winter and spring. Of all admissions, 46.61% died or were euthanized, 36.17% were transferred to wildlife carers, and 13.83% were discharged from the hospital. We postulate that the breeding season results in an increase in the owls’ activity, in turn resulting in greater risk exposure and increased admissions to veterinary clinics. These findings confirm that and thus provide information about the vulnerability of this species to anthropogenic activities and the implications for outcomes of injured owls. Full article

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) migrate annually along the east coast of Australia, utilizing various habitats, including open embayments such as the Gold Coast bay (GCB) in southeast Queensland, for resting and social behaviors. While their migration is well-documented, the influence of oceanographic factors such as the East Australian Current (EAC)—a warm ocean current near the GCB—on humpback whale counts nearshore is not well understood. This study aims to assess the regional distribution of humpback whales in the GCB over consecutive years and investigate how dynamic environmental factors, such as the proximity of the EAC’s inner edge to shore and sea surface temperature (SST), affect the distribution and migration patterns of humpback whales. We employed citizen science data to obtain humpback whale sightings and applied generalized additive models (GAM) to evaluate the effects of environmental variables on humpback whale counts. Results suggested that shifts in EAC proximity and SST significantly influence humpback whale presence in the GCB, indicating that oceanographic features may guide migratory pathways and aggregation patterns. These findings improve our understanding of how climatic factors affect coastal humpback whale distributions, providing insights relevant to management and abundance estimates. Full article

Highly effective direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapies for hepatitis C (HCV) have been available in Australian prisons since 2016. To address treatment interruption following release from prisons, the Queensland Injector’s Health Network (QuIHN) launched a Prison Transition Service (PTS) in south-east Queensland, Australia. Presently, the factors associated with continuity of post-release HCV care are poorly understood. The objective of this qualitative study was to explore the barriers and facilitators to HCV treatment among people recently released from prisons among PTS clients and stakeholders. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 27 participants, namely, 13 clients and 14 stakeholders (health and community support workers) of the PTS. We conducted thematic analysis using the framework of person-, provider-, and system-level barriers and facilitators. Person-level barriers included competing priorities post-release, while facilitators included self-improvement after treatment completion, preventing transmission to family, and social support. Provider-level treatment barriers included enacted stigma, limited prison health service capacity, and post-release health system challenges. Systemic barriers included stigma relating to HCV, injecting drug use, incarceration, and limited availability of harm reduction services. Policy changes and investment are required to expand HCV treatment in south-east Queensland prisons to facilitate patient navigation into community care. In terms of reducing stigma among health staff and the general community towards people with HCV, a history of incarceration and/or who inject drugs is crucial for improving treatment rates. Strategies such as peer-led or nurse-practitioner-led models of care may help improve treatment completion. Continuity of HCV treatment post-release from prisons is essential for Australia to meet the WHO’s 2030 HCV elimination target. Full article

Surveying and spatial science are experiencing a paradigm shift from traditional data outputs to more immersive and interactive formats, driven by the rise in Virtual Reality (VR). This study addresses the challenge of transforming UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle)-acquired photogrammetry data into VR-compatible surfaces while preserving the accuracy and quality crucial to professional surveying. The study leverages Blender, an open-source 3D creation tool, to develop a procedural guide for creating VR-ready models from high-quality survey data. The case study focuses on silos located in Yelarbon, Southeast Queensland, Australia. UAV mapping is utilised to gather the data necessary for 3D modelling with a few minor alterations in the photo capturing angle and processing. Key findings reveal that while Blender excels as a visualisation tool, it struggles with geospatial precision, particularly when handling large numbers coming from coordinate systems, leading to rounding errors seen within the VR model. Blender’s strength lies in creating immersive experiences for public engagement but is constrained by its lack of capability to hold survey metadata, hindering its applicability for professional survey-grade outputs. The results highlight the need for further development into possible Blender plugins that integrate geospatial accuracy with VR outputs. This study underscores the potential of VR to enhance how survey data are visualised, offering opportunities for future innovations in both the technical and creative aspects of the surveying profession. Full article

Freshwater shortages in coastal regions are intensifying due to rapid urbanisation, economic growth, and climate variability, particularly in deltaic areas where rivers meet the sea. This study evaluates the feasibility of implementing a Coastal Reservoir (CR) as an innovative solution to increase freshwater availability without relying on desalination. Using the Brisbane River Estuary (BRE), Australia, as a case study, the research examines critical factors such as freshwater inflow, seawater intrusion, and reservoir volume requirements. A three-dimensional hydrodynamic model (MIKE 3) was calibrated and validated using observed data from the 2008 and 2011 flow events. Simulation results indicate that a freshwater discharge of 150 m³/s during a spring-neap tidal cycle effectively pushes saline water out of the estuary. The CR can store 300 GL/year of freshwater with 92% reliability, meeting Southeast Queensland’s (SEQ) annual water demand of 440 GL during drought conditions combined with existing infrastructure. During its initial filling phase, the CR can flush 95% of saltwater within 240 days, using a steady inflow of 150 m³/s. The findings demonstrate the technical feasibility of CRs as a sustainable and practical water management strategy for mitigating freshwater shortages in BRE and other similar coastal regions. Full article