Pittwater Online News

21 JUL 2015:  WILSON DA SILVA: UNSW

A new wave flume facility – essential to model coastal and inland water behaviour – has been opened by NSW Planning Minister Rob Stokes at the UNSW Water Research Lab in northern Sydney.

From left - Professor Ian Turner, Stephen Foster, NSW Planning Minister Rob Stokes and Professor Mark Hoffman

A new wave flume facility – essential to model coastal and inland water behaviour – has been opened by NSW Planning Minister Rob Stokes at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Water Research Lab in Manly Vale in Sydney's north.

The lab, considered the birthplace of coastal engineering in the country, has four instrument-laden laboratories across four hectares downstream from Manly Dam, where large-scale physical models of coastal and inland waterways are recreated for research. It is part of the largest coastal hydraulics research complex in Australia.

“In many ways, the Water Research Laboratory is a model for the kind of engagement we aim for in academia: doing research work of high excellence while also solving real-world problems for industry and government,” said Professor Mark Hoffman, Dean of Engineering at UNSW.

A small section of the new 44-metre-long Doug Foster Wave Flume facility at UNSW Water Research Laboratory in Manly Vale.

The new wave flume – a wave channel for the physical modelling of waves to study their properties and effects – is 44 m long, 0.9 m wide, and 1.4 m deep, making it the largest such facility in Australia. “Flumes are essential in fluid dynamics research, allowing engineers to understand coastal and offshore structures, sediment transport and other water transport phenomena,” said Professor Ian Turner, the newly appointed director of the laboratory.

This new facility will expand the Water Research Laboratory’s (WRL) coastal research programs that seek to improve fundamental understanding of the forces that are shaping coastlines now and in the future. Importantly, the facility will improve the WRL’s ability to deliver practical advice and better inform ‘best practice’ design and planning of future development around the NSW and Australian coastlines. 

Professor Turner said that even with the enormous computing power available today, no computer models can match the richness of data extracted from large-scale experimental laboratory facilities.

“A computer model is only as good as the physics the modeller understands,” said Professor Turner. “When you are working at the edge of existing knowledge, or in unique physical environments, your understanding of the physical processes will be incomplete.  Hence, to be at the forefront of hydraulic research, it remains fundamentally important to put real water in real tanks and pipes – while still making extensive use of computer modelling.”

A good example of this is the new wave flume, which is being use to examine – for the first time anywhere in the world – the interaction of coastal engineering structures as coastlines evolve (and most likely erode) in response to rising sea-levels, he added.

The flume was officially opened by NSW Planning Minister Rob Stokes and named in the memory of Douglas Neil Foster (1930-2001), widely known by engineers and researchers in the field as ‘the father of coastal engineering in Australia’. A foundation staff member of WRL, he became its second director in 1973 and led it for 14 years. In recognition of Foster's contribution to coastal engineering, Engineers Australia created the Doug N. Foster Memorial Fellowship Fund in 2001 to encourage engineering students to take up careers in coastal or ocean engineering.

“This is an area of policy development that has vexed governments for many, many years,” said Mr Stokes. His hope was that the research at WRL would, he said, “provide some confidence to decision-makers and communities along the coast about how to plan for the future of their communities in light of existing coastal hazards, and the likelihood that those hazards will be amplified in the future as a result of future sea-level rise”.

 Rock theft in Sydney Basin destroying snake habitat

21 Jul 2015- UTS

One of the oldest and most spectacular animals found in the Sydney basin has become a casualty of the city’s love for bush gardens.

The black and yellow broad-headed snake, once common in suburbs such as Bondi, Randwick and Watsons Bay, is now found in only a few pockets of bushland within 200 kilometres of Sydney. The sandstone rocks that were integral to its habitat now dot the suburban landscape in people’s backyards.

The lucrative trade in bush rock, combined with relentless development, has contributed to the destruction of the species’ habitat to make Hoplocephalus bungaroides one of Australia’s most endangered snakes, says wildlife ecologist Dr Jonathan Webb.

Dr Webb has been monitoring broad-headed snake populations in locations south of Sydney for more than 20 years. The species is under such pressure that he will not reveal the precise location of his study sites.

Using mark-and-recapture techniques and radio telemetry, often in collaboration with the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, he has identified an environmental problem that is bigger than one species. The animal’s decline is “the story of a whole ecosystem’s destruction”, says Dr Webb, a senior lecturer in the School of Life Sciences at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS).

“The broad-headed snake’s ecology is so closely linked to one habitat resource, sandstone rocks, that if you take away the rocks you disrupt the whole ecosystem.

“People want to bring the bush into their backyard … people are taking rocks and selling them in landscape suppliers [and that] is what has really driven the decline in this species.”

Dr Webb says many outcrops in the Sydney region were stripped of their rocks in the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s and “now rock collectors are targeting sites further afield”, including the last strongholds for broad-headed snakes.

It is one of many species – including reptiles, amphibians, insects and small mammals – that rely on sandstone rocks for shelter and food.

Bush rock collection has been a huge industry for many years. While it is an offence to disturb or remove bush rock, and the National Parks and Wildlife Service conducts protection and public education programs, it is not illegal to sell the rocks.

“It’s illegal to come into a national park and remove bush rock,” says Dr Webb, “but because nurseries are still selling the product for $60 a square metre – roughly three rocks, so about $20 a rock – a truckload of rocks is worth a couple of thousand dollars.”

Dr Webb says he has heard of vehicles with stolen number plates and people being run off the road in national parks after photographing illegal activity. The NSW Office of Environment and Heritage urges anyone who witnesses a suspected bush rock theft to contact the department but warns people not to approach suspected thieves.

“I’d love to see some laws in place that make it illegal to sell bush rock. I don’t think there is any reason we need to sell this product. There are plenty of alternatives,” says Dr Webb.

“Quarried rocks leave a much smaller footprint, and don’t result in loss of habitat across broad geographic areas.”

Linda Bell from the Office of Environment and Heritage says the Saving our Species program targets the removal of bush rocks and dead trees to protect or restore habitat for the broad-headed snake. She says limiting access to priority sites is one approach; creating more public awareness may also help.

Dr Webb says public knowledge of the negative effect of collecting bush rocks is very low. “People simply don’t understand that having these rocks in their gardens contributes to environmental degradation,” he says. “In most people’s eyes, a rock is simply a rock.”

He says an entire ecosystem is at risk unless consumers learn the importance of rocks to the health of Australia’s bushland.

To report suspected bush rock theft, phone the Environment Hotline on 131 555

The broad-headed snake, once common in Sydney’s suburbs, is now endangered. Photo: Jonathan Webb

 FIRST LOWER HUNTER DUST STUDY FINDINGS RELEASED TODAY

Media release: 23 July 2015

An EPA commissioned report outlining the interim results of a study into visible dust in the Lower Hunter has been released today.

Concerns have been raised about the levels of visible black dust in the lower Hunter region.

The EPA, at the request of the Newcastle Community Consultative Committee on the Environment, commissioned a study to examine the quantity, composition and likely sources of this dust.

The monitoring program began in October 2014 and runs for a full year, to ensure that seasonal variations in weather conditions and dust deposition are considered.

The project is overseen by a Lower Hunter Dust Deposition Project Reference Group comprising community and industry representatives and independent experts.

In the first six months of the study, 29 samples were taken between 15 October 2014 and 15 April 2015 from sites in proximity to the rail corridor and coal loaders between Hexham and Port Waratah.

The report released today provides a very preliminary summary of the sampling undertaken to date. The number of useable samples was limited by the wet weather during the period.

Conjoint Associate Professor Howard Bridgman from the University of Newcastle is a member of the Reference Group overseeing the project. Professor Bridgman said “This study is a great example of citizen involvement in decision making for air pollution science. There was a problem identified by the community and the EPA has responded.”

The preliminary results in the interim report suggest the following

• The six-month averages for dust deposition data collected from all twelve sites between October 2014 and April 2015 ranged from 0.7 g/m2.month to 1.4 g/m2.month. These values are well below the EPA criterion of 4 g/m2.month, which is as an annual average for an acceptable level of deposited dust,   measured as insoluble solids.

• Soil or rock dust comprised the greatest proportion of the samples (average of 73 %; maximum of 95 %).

• Coal was detected in measurable amounts in 22 of the 29 samples, and comprised between 5 – 20 % of the samples (average of 6.2 %). Coal was not detected in one sample,  and detected in trace amounts in the remaining six samples.

• Soot was detected in measurable amounts in 11 of the samples and comprised between 2 – 10 % of the samples (average of 2.1 %). Soot was found in trace amounts in all   but three of the remaining samples.

• Black rubber dust was detected in measureable quantities in 3 of 29 samples, and in trace levels in a further 13 samples.  Rubber averaged 0.7 % of each sample.

• Halite (rock salt)/salt was found in four of the brush samples in greater than trace amounts (comprising 5 – 10 % of the samples) and in six of the petri dish    samples, where it formed 5 - 20 % of the samples. On average, Halite accounted for 3.6 % of each sample.

• Insect debris, plant debris and miscellaneous fibres were found in many of the samples.

Associate Professor Bridgman said: “The report provides useful indicators for the community of the Lower Hunter who have concerns about the composition of visible dust in their neighbourhoods. However, we must wait for the 12 month results at the end of the study before drawing any final conclusions.”

Adam Gilligan, EPA Hunter Region Manager added “It is also pleasing to see that the overall levels of dust deposited were below guideline levels. The six-month rolling averages for data collected at the 12 monitoring sites were all well below 4 grams per square metre per month, which is the EPA guideline value for the acceptable annual average amount of deposited dust.”

Mr Gilligan noted that “These results will be important in directing our regulatory actions and responses on air quality in the Hunter. The results will also be of great value to the community by providing detailed information on air quality issues based on strong scientific evidence. In turn, this will enable informed debate and decision making.”

The EPA commissioned AECOM Australia Pty Limited to carry out the study, using 12 dust deposition gauges and random petri dish and brush sampling to monitor dust.

Locations for dust monitoring were selected on the basis of historical complaints data and feedback from the Newcastle Community Consultative Committee on the Environment and the Project Reference Group.

The dust deposition study will continue for another six months with another report to be released at the conclusion of the study. The interim report and the final report will be publicly available on the EPA website.

Lower Hunter Particle Characterisation Study (Download the fourth progress report - PDF 2.6MB at:

www.environment.nsw.gov.au/aqms/lowhunterparticle.

 Vale Felicity Wishart – Australia loses a true hero for the environment

Tue 21 July 2015: AMCS

The Australian Marine Conservation Society and the Australian environmental movement is in mourning over the sudden and unexpected loss of Felicity ‘Flic’ Wishart who passed away in her sleep on Sunday night aged 50.

Flic was one of Australia’s leading conservationists and was a great and inspiring champion for the planet, the cause she dedicated her life to.

For thirty years Flic played a fundamental role in many of the key environmental campaigns in Australia.

Flic was a leader of seminal campaigns to protect the rainforests, to stop land clearing in Queensland, to confront the threat of climate change and national campaigns to protect the marine environment through the creation of a national network of marine protected areas and in her last, greatest and yet unfinished campaign, to protect the Great Barrier Reef.

She was a hugely influential force in the Australian environmental movement working at the Australian Conservation Foundation, the Queensland Conservation Council, The Wilderness Society and the Australian Marine Conservation Society to tremendous effect. She mentored and inspired many newer campaigners, especially up and coming women in the environment movement.

None worked harder, with as much grace and achieved as many results to protect our heritage. As a leader she combined great warmth and humility, with an ability to understand and fearlessly challenge powerful forces that threatened our heritage.

All Australians, whether they realise it or not, owe a debt of gratitude for her work. We are all beneficiaries of her life and work.

As campaign director of the Australian Marine Conservation Society’s Fight for the Reef campaign she spearheaded the work that has led to a massive increase in protection for the Great Barrier Reef over the last three years.

She was a beloved mentor and guide, friend and confidant, inspiration and leader, mother and partner. Her intelligence, warmth, wisdom and energy are irreplaceable.

For someone with so much love and time for others it is now that we must continue her work to make Australia a better place for all.

Her legacy will endure. Her fight is our fight.

Our hearts are with her family, including her partner and two young sons at this tragic time.

Producing a vaccine to save the Tasmanian devil

July 21, 2015 - New research, led by University of Southampton biological scientist Dr Hannah Siddle, is aiming to develop an effective vaccine against an infectious cancer that is eradicating the Tasmanian devil, the world's largest remaining marsupial carnivore.

Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD) is a rare contagious facial tumour, which emerged from a neural (Schwann) cell in a single Tasmanian devil more than 18 years ago.

The tumour cells pass between individuals during biting behaviour and tumours form predominantly around the face and neck, grow rapidly and cause close to 100 per cent mortality. What began with one individual has now spread rapidly throughout the population of devils in Tasmania, killing almost all the animals and threatening survival of the species in the wild.

Thanks to £183,759 funding from the Leverhulme Trust to the University, Dr Siddle will lead a three-year research project to understand how the disease moves between the animals and then use this information to design a vaccine against the tumour.

The research will also enhance understanding of how cancers avoid the immune system, which could have implications for cancer treatment in humans.

Dr Siddle says: "This contagious cancer is very unusual in that the cancer cells can move between animals. We are looking for the proteins that make the tumour cells different to the host devils that they infect and then use these 'tumour specific' proteins to design a vaccine that will save the devil from extinction.

"We have an opportunity to develop an effective vaccine against a disease that is rapidly destroying a unique and important species. The Tasmanian devil is the top carnivore in Tasmania and its loss would be a disastrous outcome for the ecosystem. It has proven impossible to prevent the spread of DFTD and only a successful vaccine will allow captive, immunised animals to be released into the wild, eventually eradicating the disease."

The grant will finance further study by a postdoctoral researcher and a PhD student who will study the disease at a molecular level. Dr Siddle will also collaborate with an interdisciplinary team of experts -- Professor Tim Elliott and Dr Paul Skipp from the University of Southampton, Professor Anthony Purcell at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia and Professor Greg Woods at the University of Tasmania in Hobart, Australia.

The above is reprinted from materials provided by University of Southampton.

Below: Karawinna, a one-year old devil, picture credit: Hannah Siddle

 BLUE MOUNTAINS TOURISM ICON RE-OPENS AFTER MAJOR UPGRADE 

Monday, 20 July 2015

Environment Minister Mark Speakman has officially re-opened the Three Sisters walking track in the Blue Mountains after a $1.5 million upgrade. The National Parks and Wildlife Service, along with local contractors, have resurfaced the track’s pathways, upgraded landscaping and signage and improved visitor safety. The work, which took 12 months to complete, also involved upgrading Spooner’s, Oreades and Lady Game Lookouts. 

“The Three Sisters walking track is part of the Echo Point and Three Sisters visitor precinct, which receives close to two million visits per year and is one of Australia’s top 10 tourist destinations”, Mr Speakman said. 

“I’m delighted to re-open this site to ensure many more visitors can enjoy this ancient and spectacular landscape and add another world-class experience to their Blue Mountains visit. “I’m also delighted that this has been a collaborative project involving the local Aboriginal community”. 

In early 2014, the Three Sisters became the 98th Aboriginal Place declared in NSW. The declaration recognised the special cultural, social and spiritual significance of the site to the Aboriginal community. The project received widespread support from other local stakeholders including Blue Mountains City Council, Federal Member Louise Markus MP, and Blue Mountains, Lithgow and Oberon Tourism. Mr Speakman acknowledged that while there has been some short-term disruption to visitors and the Katoomba community, local stakeholders were excited about improving local tourism opportunities and the flow-on benefits for local businesses and the community. The upgraded walking track complements other improvements in the Blue Mountains, including the Honeymoon Bridge that links Echo Point to the Three Sisters and which was replaced two years ago. The walking track links Echo Point Lookout to Lady Game Lookout, both of which overlook the Three Sisters. 

“The NSW Government is committed to increasing visitor access and enjoyment of the state’s parks and reserves,” he said. Visit the national parks website for more information on where to go, what to do and where to stay in our national parks.

 Bee covered in pollen – Northern Hemisphere Summer 2015

 It's dating and mating season for the Eastern Grass Owl

Media release: 20 July 2015

Love is in the air for the Eastern Grass Owl as they begin their search for a mate before heading off to nest and settle down with their new family.

The ground-nesting owls are listed as ‘vulnerable’ on the NSW Threatened Species list by the independent Scientific Committee. 

Jill Smith, Conservation Officer at the Office of Environment and Heritage, said the ghostly night birds mainly inhabit open tussock grasslands, grassy heathland and agricultural crops such as sugar cane in the coastal plains of the NSW north coast with occasional records on the north-western slopes and south to Sydney and vagrant records farther south.

“Because they are rare, sparsely distributed and nocturnal, the Eastern Grass Owl remains largely unstudied, but what we do know is they’re interesting and strikingly beautiful birds,” Ms Smith said.

“After finding their mate, they’ll build a nest in grasslands where they will form a system of grass tunnels to get to and from their nest.

“They will defend their family against predators by bursting out of one of their passageways, flying low and slowly, before dropping straight down again into the safety of their grass tunnels.”

Eastern Grass Owls are ground-nesting and about 35 centimetres tall when perched. They are closely related to barn owls, as seen in their large pale facial disc highlighting their eyes, while their feathers are a combination of white, browns, yellow-orange with silvery spots.

The Office of Environment and Heritage is seeking to learn more about these fascinating birds with a view of one day implementing a strategy for them so they can survive for years to come.

Anyone who spots what they believe to be an Eastern Grass Owl should contact their local National Parks and Wildlife Service office.

A survival strategy may fall under the Saving our Species conservation program where already 75 threatened species are being managed to help their survivability in the future.

Threatened fauna and flora including the koala, brush-tailed rock wallaby and Wollemi pine are assigned to different management streams so the individual requirements of each species can be met.

The NSW community and businesses are invited to participate, because projects to save threatened species are best when they are collaborative efforts.

Saving our Species: environment.nsw.gov.au/savingourspecies/about.htm

Eastern Grass Owl: environment.nsw.gov.au/threatenedSpeciesApp/profile.aspx?id=10819

 Australian Environment Ministers agree on clean air, feral cats and koalas

Media release: 17 July 2015, The Hon. Greg Hunt MP, Minister for the Environment

All states and territories have joined with the Commonwealth in reaching agreement on several high profile environmental issues.

At a meeting of state and territory environment ministers I chaired this week, crucial progress was made towards finalising the National Clean Air Agreement, prioritising the development of a national recovery plan for koalas, and taking action on feral cats.

I am delighted with the progress towards establishing a National Clean Air Agreement.

We have committed to finalise the Agreement and its initial work plan before the end of 2015, over six months ahead of schedule. The Agreement will deliver actions to reduce air pollution and establish a new process for jurisdictions to work cooperatively to address emerging air quality issues, to ensure Australians continue to enjoy clean air into the future.

Recent public consultations to inform the development of the Agreement saw broad and positive engagement from industry and the community with over 300 submissions received, highlighting the importance of air quality as a key issue in Australia.

My colleagues and I agreed in-principle to two key actions under the Agreement's initial work plan.

In recognising the health impacts of airborne particles, it is our intent to strengthen the reporting standards for particles (PM2.5 and PM10) in the National Environment Protection (Ambient Air Quality) Measure.

We agreed in-principle to adopt annual average and daily PM2.5 reporting standards of 8 µg/m3 and 25 µg/m3, respectively, with a move to 7 µg/m3 and 20 µg/m3 in the longer term.

We also signalled our intention to establish pollution standards for new non-road spark ignition engines, such as garden equipment and marine outboard motors. As a next step, a working group of experts will be established to provide advice on the design of standards with the aim of implementing framework legislation in the first half of 2016.

In another long-heralded move, ministers agreed that, as a priority, the Commonwealth lead the development of a recovery plan for the koala. As a result the Commonwealth and Victoria will co-lead work on national koala translocation guidelines, consistent with the koala recovery plan and in consultation with relevant jurisdictions, with a focus on health, welfare and genetic implications of translocations.

Last but by no means least, I am especially delighted that ministers endorsed the national declaration in relation to feral cats.

This means that all states and territories will now review arrangements within their respective jurisdictions and, where required, remove unnecessary barriers to effective and humane control of feral cats.

This opens the doorway for new feral cat eradication programmes to access the $50 million for management of established pest animals recently announced as part of the national Agriculture Competitiveness White Paper.

The communique is available online: http://www.environment.gov.au/about-us/mem

 TURNING THE TIDE ON MARINE MANAGEMENT

The NSW Government is improving the management of our precious marine estate with the launch of a new Threat and Risk Assessment Framework.

Minister for Primary Industries, Niall Blair, and Minister for the Environment, Mark Speakman, today released new guidelines on how the NSW Government will assess the threats and risks to our marine estate.

“Last year, an historic bill passed the NSW Parliament to make sure the state’s marine estate is managed based on science and not politics,” Mr Blair said.

“This is the first step in implementing this Marine Estate Management Act 2014, which sets out a robust legal requirement to assess economic, social and environmental threats, such as pollution, loss of biodiversity, restricted access, anti-social behaviour, and impacts of pests and diseases.

“This framework, developed by the Marine Estate Management Authority with expert guidance from the Marine Estate Expert Knowledge Panel, is at the heart of the NSW Liberals & Nationals Government’s new era in marine estate management.”

Mr Speakman said the framework will consider not only the imminent threats to our coasts and marine waters, but also the cumulative impacts and potential threats over the coming decades.

“This will allow the NSW Government to focus its efforts around the key threats to the marine environment, and deliver on its vision for a healthy coast and sea,” Mr Speakman said.

“We are committed to managing our marine environment for the greatest well-being of the community, now and into the future.”

Initially the framework will be applied to two key projects:

- a state-wide Marine Estate Threat and Risk Assessment; and

- the Hawkesbury Shelf Marine Bioregion Assessment, covering the area from Newcastle to Shellharbour.

The community is encouraged to have their say about both of these projects and the framework in the coming months, and the Authority may refine the framework over time after it has been applied to the first two projects.

The Ministers also today launched an interactive web portal to allow the community to have input into the Hawkesbury Shelf Marine Bioregion Assessment by providing local information on benefits and threats associated with their favourite sites within the bioregion. 

The NSW Government is now seeking crucial information from the public regarding sites within the bioregion, the benefits they gain from their use of these sites, and what they see as key threats and ideas on how to manage those threats.

Along with expert input, the information people provide will help identify management options to enhance marine biodiversity conservation whilst maximising community benefits.”

Eleven sites in the Hawkesbury marine bioregion have already been identified for priority assessment and the community is invited to nominate additional sites via the web portal that they would like to see considered:

• Barrenjoey Head (an existing Aquatic Reserve)

• Bouddi National Park Marine Extension

• Bronte-Coogee (an existing Aquatic Reserve)

• Cape Banks (an existing Aquatic Reserve)

• Chowder Bay

• Long Reef (an existing Aquatic Reserve)

• Narrabeen Head (an existing Aquatic Reserve)

• North Harbour (an existing Aquatic Reserve)

• North Harbour extension – Manly Wharf and Manly Cove

• Magic Point, Malabar

• Wybung Head

The web portal, framework and more information can be accessed at www.marine.nsw.gov.au

Direct Link to page: www.marine.nsw.gov.au/key-initiatives/hawkesbury-shelf-marine-assessment/hawkesbury-shelf-marine-bioregion-assessment-webportal

The web portal will be open until 28 August 2015.

 Elderberry benefits air travelers

July 21, 2015 - The negative health effects of international air travel are well documented but now it seems that the common elderberry can provide some relief.

Associate Professor Evelin Tiralongo and Dr Shirley Wee from Griffith's Menzies Health Institute Queensland (MHIQ) have completed a clinical trial showing that an elderberry supplement can provide some protection from cold and flu-like symptoms following long-haul flights.

Intercontinental air travel can be stressful and affect a passenger's physical and psychological wellbeing. Whilst jet lag and fatigue remain the best known problems, holidaymakers also often experience upper respiratory symptoms.

Presenting their results at the 21st Annual International Integrative Medicine Conference in Melbourne, the research team showed how elderberry appears to reduce the duration and severity of the cold.

The randomised, double-blind placebo controlled clinical trial was conducted with 312 economy class passengers travelling from Australia to an overseas destination. Cold episodes, cold duration and symptoms were recorded in a daily diary and participants also completed surveys before, during and after travel.

"We found that most cold episodes occurred in the placebo group, but the difference between the placebo and active group was not significant. However, the placebo group had a significantly higher number of cold episode days, and the symptom score in the placebo group over these days was also significantly higher," says Associate Professor Tiralongo.

"Complementary medicines are used by two in three Australians, thus increasing the evidence base of these medicines should be at the forefront of our efforts. It's often forgotten that the evidence for various herbal medicines is extract specific," says Associate Professor Tiralongo.

The trial used capsules containing 300mg of a standardised, proprietary membrane-filtered elderberry extract which has shown to be effective in working against respiratory bacteria and influenza viruses.

The Griffith study follows recent European research published in the open access journal Current Therapeutic Research which suggests that a combination of Echinacea herb and root extract supplemented with elderberry can be as effective as the conventional antiviral medicine Tamiflu for the early treatment of influenza. 

Top; Elderberries. Credit: Iprona AG

 Bust up big kidney stones with tamsulosin

July 21, 2015 - Tamsulosin works no better than placebo on small kidney stones, but does improve passage of more large kidney stones than placebo does. The results of this large clinical trial evaluating tamsulosin versus placebo were published online Friday in Annals of Emergency Medicine.

"Kidney stones bring more than a million Americans a year to emergency departments because they are excruciatingly painful," said lead study author Jeremy Furyk, MBBS, MPH and TM of The Townsville Hospital in Townsville, Queensland, Australia. "The news on small kidney stones isn't positive, but tamsulosin appears to offer benefit to those unlucky people whose kidney stones are really big."

Within 28 days of a visit to the emergency department, kidney stone passage occurred in 87 percent of patients treated with tamsulosin and 81.9 percent of those treated with placebo, a difference not considered significant. However, 83.3 percent of patients treated with tamsulosin whose kidney stones measured between 5 and 10 millimeters in length passed their stones, compared to only 61 percent of those who were treated with placebo.

"For patients with small kidney stones, time seems to be the one sure cure," said Dr. Furyk. "However, when treating patients with large kidney stones, emergency physicians should definitely consider tamsulosin."

Jeremy S. Furyk, Kevin Chu, Colin Banks, Jaimi Greenslade, Gerben Keijzers, Ogilvie Thom, Tom Torpie, Carl Dux, Rajan Narula. Distal Ureteric Stones and Tamsulosin: A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Randomized, Multicenter Trial. Annals of Emergency Medicine, 2015; DOI: 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2015.06.001

 New treatment for severe depression with far fewer side effects

July 21, 2015 - Electroconvulsive therapy remains one of the most effective treatments for severe depression, but new UNSW research shows ultra-brief pulse stimulation is almost as effective as standard ECT, with far fewer cognitive side effects.

The study, published today in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, is the first systematic review to examine the effectiveness and cognitive effects of standard ECT treatment, brief pulse stimulation, versus the newer treatment, known as ultra-brief pulse right unilateral (RUL) ECT.

It comes after previous trials had shown conflicting results. The latest study reviewed six international ECT studies comprising 689 patients with a median age of 50 years old.

It found while standard ECT was slightly more effective for treating depression and required one less treatment, this came at a cost with significantly more cognitive side effects.

"This new treatment, which is slowly coming into clinical practice in Australia, is one of the most significant developments in the clinical treatment of severe depression in the past two decades," according to UNSW Professor of Psychiatry Colleen Loo.

"Our analysis of the existing trial data showed that ultra-brief stimulation significantly lessened the potential for the destruction of memories formed prior to ECT, reduced the difficulty of recalling and learning new information after ECT and was almost as effective as the standard ECT treatment," Professor Loo said.

ECT delivers a finely controlled electric current to the brain's prefrontal cortex, an area that is underactive in people with depression. The current is delivered via electrodes on a patient's scalp while the patient is under general anaesthesia.

Ultra-brief stimulation delivers staccato pulses of electricity, with each pulse on for only a very short time. As the pulses are so short, the stimulation of brain tissue is reduced by a third.

It is estimated that up to 10,000 Australians with severe depression and who have not responded to first line treatments, such as medication, could benefit from the new treatment. Less than half of Australia's hospitals currently offer ultra-brief stimulation.

Professor Loo, who is also director of ECT at Sydney's Wesley Hospital and a researcher with the Black Dog Institute, said she hopes the study will result in an improved uptake of the new treatment for people with severe depression.

"We are still working hard to change the broader medical profession's and general public's perception of ECT, which has struggled to shake off the tarnished image given to it by popular movies such as the 1975 film 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'," Professor Loo said.

While the benefits of ultra-brief stimulation are significant, the study authors concluded that standard ECT treatment should still be considered over the new treatment, where urgency of response was paramount.

The study only analysed the short-term effectiveness and side effects of ultra-brief stimulation. Studies into the long-term effects of ECT are ongoing. The study was conducted in partnership with the Institute of Mental Health, Singapore.

1. Phern-Chern Tor, Alison Bautovich, Min-Jung Wang, Donel Martin, Samuel B. Harvey, Colleen Loo. A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Brief Versus Ultrabrief Right Unilateral Electroconvulsive Therapy for Depression. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 2015; DOI: 10.4088/JCP.14r09145

Centuries-old shipwreck discovered off North Carolina coast

July 17, 2015 - Scanning sonar from a scientific expedition has revealed the remains of a previously unknown shipwreck more than a mile deep off the North Carolina coast. Artifacts on the wreck indicate it might date to the American Revolution.

Marine scientists from Duke University, North Carolina State University and the University of Oregon discovered the wreck on July 12 during a research expedition aboard the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) research ship Atlantis.

They spotted the wreck while using WHOI's robotic autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) Sentry and the manned submersible Alvin. The team had been searching for a mooring that was deployed on a previous research trip in the area in 2012.

Among the artifacts discovered amid the shipwreck's broken remains are an iron chain, a pile of wooden ship timbers, red bricks (possibly from the ship cook's hearth), glass bottles, an unglazed pottery jug, a metal compass, and another navigational instrument that might be an octant or sextant.

The wreck appears to date back to the late 18th or early 19th century, a time when a young United States was expanding its trade with the rest of the world by sea.

"This is an exciting find, and a vivid reminder that even with major advances in our ability to access and explore the ocean, the deep sea holds its secrets close," said expedition leader Cindy Van Dover, director of the Duke University Marine Laboratory.

"I have led four previous expeditions to this site, each aided by submersible research technology to explore the sea floor -- including a 2012 expedition where we used Sentry to saturate adjacent areas with sonar and photo images," Van Dover said. "It's ironic to think we were exploring within 100 meters of the wreck site without an inkling it was there."

"This discovery underscores that new technologies we're developing to explore the deep-sea floor yield not only vital information about the oceans, but also about our history," said David Eggleston, director of the Center for Marine Sciences and Technology (CMAST) at NC State and one of the principal investigators of the science project.

After discovering the shipwreck, Van Dover and Eggleston alerted NOAA's Marine Heritage Program of their find. The NOAA program will now attempt to date and identify the lost ship.

Bruce Terrell, chief archaeologist at the Marine Heritage Program, says it should be possible to determine a date and country of origin for the wrecked ship by examining the ceramics, bottles and other artifacts.

"Lying more than a mile down in near-freezing temperatures, the site is undisturbed and well preserved," Terrell said. "Careful archaeological study in the future could definitely tell us more."

James Delgado, director of the Marine Heritage Program, notes that the wreck rests along the path of the Gulf Stream, which mariners have used for centuries as a maritime highway to North American ports, the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico and South America.

"The find is exciting, but not unexpected," he said. "Violent storms sent down large numbers of vessels off the Carolina coasts, but few have been located because of the difficulties of depth and working in an offshore environment."

Bob Waters of WHOI piloted Alvin to the site of the newly discovered shipwreck after Sentry's sonar-scanning system detected a dark line and a diffuse, dark area which they thought could be the missing scientific mooring. Bernie Ball of Duke and Austin Todd of NC State were aboard Alvin as science observers.

The expedition has been focused on exploring the ecology of deep-sea methane seeps along the East Coast. Van Dover is a specialist in the ecology of deep-sea ecosystems that are powered by chemistry rather than sunlight, and Eggleston studies the ecology of organisms that live on the seafloor.

"Our accidental find illustrates the rewards -- and the challenge and uncertainty -- of working in the deep ocean," Van Dover said. "We discovered a shipwreck but, ironically, the lost mooring was never found."

The above is reprinted from materials provided by Duke University. Top: Photo of the remnants of the shipwreck in the seabed off of the North Carolina coast. Credit: Image courtesy of Duke University 

 Small oxygen jump in atmosphere helped enable animals take first breaths

July 23, 2015 – If oxygen was a driver of the early evolution of animals, only a slight bump in oxygen levels facilitated it, according to a multi-institutional research team that includes a Virginia Tech geoscientist.

The discovery, published in the journal Nature, calls into question the long held theory that a dramatic change in oxygen levels might have been responsible for the appearance of complicated life forms like whales, sharks, and squids evolving from less complicated life forms, such as microorganisms, algae, and sponges.

The researchers discovered oxygen levels rose in the water and atmosphere, but at lower levels than was thought necessary to trigger life changes.

"We suggest that about 635 million to 542 million years ago, Earth passed some low, but critical, threshold in oxygenation for animals," said Benjamin Gill, an assistant professor of geoscience in the College of Science. "That threshold was in the range of a 10 to 40 percent increase, and was the second time in Earth's history that oxygen levels significantly rose."

The scientists estimated oxygen levels by analyzing iron found in shale rock, which was once mud on ancient seafloors. The location and amounts of iron in the rock gave important clues about ancient ocean water chemistries over time.

Rock data from across the world were collected by the research team, analyzed, compiled, and statistically modeled.

Many organisms on Earth, including animals, need oxygen to produce energy and perform other life functions.

"Going forward we will need much more precise constraints on the magnitude of oxygenation and the physiological requirements of early animals to continue testing the impact of oxygenation on Cambrian animal life," said Erik Sperling, an assistant professor of geological and environmental sciences at Stanford University, and first author on the paper.

1. Erik A. Sperling, Charles J. Wolock, Alex S. Morgan, Benjamin C. Gill, Marcus Kunzmann, Galen P. Halverson, Francis A. Macdonald, Andrew H. Knoll, David T. Johnston. Statistical analysis of iron geochemical data suggests limited late Proterozoic oxygenation. Nature, 2015; 523 (7561): 451 DOI:10.1038/nature14589

 How to cut worrying levels of arsenic in rice that is eaten all over the world

July 22, 2015 – Researchers at Queen's University Belfast have made a breakthrough in discovering how to lower worrying levels of arsenic in rice that is eaten all over the world.

After many laboratory experiments, they have discovered that a simple, shop-bought coffee percolator is the best method for removing the carcinogen, inorganic arsenic, from all types of rice, including white and wholegrain. The results are published in the PLOS ONE journal.

Rice is the only major crop grown under flooded conditions. It is this flooding that releases inorganic arsenic, normally locked up in soil minerals, which is then absorbed by the plant. Too much arsenic is associated with a range of health problems including, at worst, bladder and lung cancer.

Rice has, typically, ten times more inorganic arsenic than other foods and according to the European Food Standards Authority, people who eat a lot of rice, as is the case in many parts of the developing world, are exposed to worrying concentrations. Children and infants are of particular concern as they eat, relatively, three times more rice than adults -- baby rice being a popular food for weaning -- and their organs are still developing.

In this new study, researchers at Queen's tested two methods of percolating technology, one where the cooking water was recycled through condensing boiling-water steam and passing the freshly distilled hot water through the grain in a lab setting, and one where tap water was used to cook the rice held in an off-the-shelf coffee percolator in a domestic setting.

Both approaches proved highly effective, with up to 85% of arsenic removed from a variety of different rice types and brands, including wholegrain and white.

Andy Meharg, Professor of Plant and Soil Sciences at Queen's Institute for Global Food Security said: "This is a very significant breakthrough as this offers an immediate solution to decreasing inorganic arsenic in the diet.

"In our research we rethought the method of rice cooking to optimise the removal of inorganic arsenic and we discovered that by using percolating technology, where cooking water is continually passed through rice in a constant flow, we could maximise removal of arsenic.

"Chronic exposure to inorganic arsenic can cause a range of health problems including developmental problems, heart disease, diabetes and nervous system damage. However, most worrying are lung and bladder cancers. This new breakthrough is the latest example of the commitment of researchers at Queen's to changing lives and advancing knowledge that will have a lasting impact around the globe."

Queen's is at the patent stage for the development of a bespoke rice cooker based on a percolation system which means consumers could soon have this technology in their own kitchen.

Manus Carey, Xiao Jiujin, Júlia Gomes Farias, Andrew A. Meharg.Rethinking Rice Preparation for Highly Efficient Removal of Inorganic Arsenic Using Percolating Cooking Water. PLOS ONE, 2015; 10 (7): e0131608 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0131608

 First evidence of farming in Mideast 23,000 years ago

July 22, 2015 - Until now, researchers believed farming was "invented" some 12,000 years ago in the Cradle of Civilization -- Iraq, the Levant, parts of Turkey and Iran -- an area that was home to some of the earliest known human civilizations. A new discovery by an international collaboration of researchers from Tel Aviv University, Harvard University, Bar-Ilan University, and the University of Haifa offers the first evidence that trial plant cultivation began far earlier -- some 23,000 years ago.

The study focuses on the discovery of the first weed species at the site of a sedentary human camp on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. It was published inPLOS ONE and led by Prof. Ehud Weiss of Bar-Ilan University in collaboration with Prof. Marcelo Sternberg of the Department of Molecular Biology and Ecology of Plants at TAU's Faculty of Life Sciences and Prof. Ofer Bar-Yosef of Harvard University, among other colleagues.

"While full-scale agriculture did not develop until much later, our study shows that trial cultivation began far earlier than previously believed, and gives us reason to rethink our ancestors' capabilities," said Prof. Sternberg. "Those early ancestors were more clever and more skilled than we knew."

Evidence among the weeds

Although weeds are considered a threat or nuisance in farming, their presence at the site of the Ohalo II people's camp revealed the earliest signs of trial plant cultivation -- some 11 millennia earlier than conventional ideas about the onset of agriculture.

The plant material was found at the site of the Ohalo II people, who were fisher hunter-gatherers and established a sedentary human camp. The site was unusually well preserved, having been charred, covered by lake sediment, and sealed in low-oxygen conditions -- ideal for the preservation of plant material. The researchers examined the weed species for morphological signs of domestic-type cereals and harvesting tools, although their very presence is evidence itself of early farming.

"This uniquely preserved site is one of the best archaeological examples worldwide of the hunter-gatherers' way of life," said Prof. Sternberg. "It was possible to recover an extensive amount of information on the site and its inhabitants."

"Because weeds thrive in cultivated fields and disturbed soils, a significant presence of weeds in archaeobotanical assemblages retrieved from Neolithic sites and settlements of later age is widely considered an indicator of systematic cultivation," according to the study.

Early gatherers

The site bears the remains of six shelters and a particularly rich assemblage of plants. Upon retrieving and examining approximately 150,000 plant specimens, the researchers determined that early humans there had gathered over 140 species of plants. These included 13 known weeds mixed with edible cereals, such as wild emmer, wild barley, and wild oats.

The researchers found a grinding slab -- a stone tool with which cereal starch granules were extracted -- as well as a distribution of seeds around this tool, reflecting that the cereal grains were processed for consumption. The large number of cereals showing specific kinds of scars on their seeds indicate the likelihood of those cereals growing in fields, and the presence of sickle blades indicates that these humans deliberately planned the harvest of cereal.

The new study offers evidence that early humans clearly functioned with a basic knowledge of agriculture and, perhaps more importantly, exhibited foresight and extensive agricultural planning far earlier than previously believed.

Ainit Snir, Dani Nadel, Iris Groman-Yaroslavski, Yoel Melamed, Marcelo Sternberg, Ofer Bar-Yosef, Ehud Weiss. The Origin of Cultivation and Proto-Weeds, Long Before Neolithic Farming. PLOS ONE, 2015; 10 (7): e0131422 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0131422

 Summer in Northern Hemisphere: A walrus asleep on a Russian submarine

"In late spring and summer, for example, several hundred thousand Pacific walruses migrate from the Bering Sea into the Chukchi Sea through the relatively narrow Bering Strait."

 The walrus is the only living species in the Odobenidae family and Odobenus genus. This species is subdivided into three subspecies: the Atlantic walrus (O. r. rosmarus) which lives in the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific walrus (O. r. divergens) which lives in the Pacific Ocean, and O. r. laptevi, which lives in the Laptev Sea of the Arctic Ocean.-Wikipedia Ref.

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