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Tag: University of South Australia

  • Trouble sleeping? You could be at risk of type 2 diabetes

    Trouble sleeping? You could be at risk of type 2 diabetes

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    Newswise — As the Christmas season starts to ramp up, University of South Australia researchers are reminding people to prioritise a good night’s sleep as new research shows that a troubled sleep may be associated with risk factors for type 2 diabetes.

    In the first study of its kind, researchers found that people who reported trouble sleeping were on average more likely to have indicators of poor cardiometabolic health – inflammatory markers, cholesterol and body weight – which can contribute to type 2 diabetes.

    In Australia, almost one million adults have type 2 diabetes. Globally, type 2 diabetes affects more than 422 million people.

    UniSA researcher Dr Lisa Matricciani says different aspects of sleep are associated with risk factors for diabetes.

    “Everyone knows that sleep is important. But when we think about sleep, we mainly focus on how many hours of sleep we get, when we should also be looking at our sleep experience as a whole,” Dr Matricciani says.

    “How soundly we sleep, when we go to bed and get up, and how regular our sleep habits are, may be just as important as sleep duration.”

    “In this study, we examined the association of different aspects of sleep, and risk factors for diabetes, and found a connection between those who had troubled sleep and those who were at risk of type 2 diabetes.”

    The study assessed more than 1000 Australian adults* with a median age of 44.8 years. Researchers examined a range of sleep characteristics: self-report trouble sleeping, duration, timing, efficiency, and day-to-day sleep length variability.

    “People who reported having trouble sleeping were also more likely to have a higher body mass index, as well as blood markers of cholesterol and inflammation,” Dr Matricciani says.

    “When it comes down to the crunch, we know we must prioritise our sleep to help stay in good health. More research is needed, but as this study shows, it’s important to think about sleep as a whole, not just as one aspect.”

     

    Notes to editors:

    • *Most participants (87 per cent) were mothers.
    • Approximately half of all participants (48 per cent) reported that they never had troubled sleep.

     

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    University of South Australia

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  • Mangroves: environmental guardians of our coastline

    Mangroves: environmental guardians of our coastline

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    Newswise — They are the salt-tolerant shrubs that thrive in the toughest of conditions, but according to new UniSA research, mangroves are also avid coastal protectors, capable of surviving in heavy metal contaminated environments.

    The researchers found that grey mangroves (Avicennia marina) can tolerate high lead, zinc, arsenic, cadmium and copper in contaminated sediment – without sustaining adverse health impacts themselves.

    The study tested the health of grey mangroves living around the Port Pirie smelter. Using leaf chlorophyll content as a proxy to plant health, mangroves were found to be unaffected by metallic contaminants, despite lead and zinc levels being 60 and 151-fold higher than regulatory guidance values.

    The findings highlight the vital role of mangroves in stabilising polluted regions, and the importance of protecting these ‘coastal guardians’ around the world.

    The study also coincides with a $3 million federal government initiative to restore mangrove forests in Adelaide’s north.

     Dr Farzana Kastury from UniSA’s Future Industries Institute says that ability of mangroves to withstand high metal concentrations make them invaluable in managing polluted environments.

    “Mangroves are the ideal eco-defender: they protect our coastlines from erosion and sustain biodiversity, but they also have an incredible ability to trap toxic contaminants in their sediments,” Dr Farzana says.

    “Grey mangroves are known for their tolerance of potentially toxic elements, but until now, little has been known about the health of these plants in the Upper Spencer Gulf.

    “Our research found that grey mangroves were able to adapt and survive exposure to very high levels of lead and zinc – without adverse health effects in their chlorophyll content – demonstrating how valuable they are to coastal ecosystems.”

    Other, ongoing work being done at Port Pirie by UniSA’s Associate Professor Craig Styan suggests there may be 4-7 times more metals stored in the sediments in mangroves than in adjacent unvegetated mudflats.  Assoc Prof Styan said that, generally, a greater concentration of metals found in sediments means greater contamination risk for the animals and plants living on/in them.

    “The levels of bioavailable metals we measured in the surface sediments in mangrove stands are the same as adjacent mudflats, meaning that although mangroves storing significantly more metals this doesn’t appear to increase the risk of contamination for the many animals that use mangrove habitats,” Prof Styan says.

    “People should nonetheless still refer to the SA Department of Health’s advice if they are considering eating fish caught near the smelter.”

    Mangroves (along with tidal marshes and seagrasses) are part of the blue carbon ecosystem; when protected or restored, they sequester and store carbon, but when degraded or destroyed, they emit stored carbon into the atmosphere as greenhouse gases.

    Dr Kastury says understanding the role of mangrove forests in safely stabilising metallic contaminants in highly polluted areas is imperative – not only for South Australian communities, but also around the world.

    “Globally, over a third of mangrove forests have disappeared, mostly due to human impact such as reclaiming land for agriculture and industrial development and infrastructure projects,” Dr Kastury says.

    “We must protect our mangrove forests so that they can continue their job in protecting our environment.”

     

    Notes for editors:

    • Globally, mangrove forest, tidal marshes and seagrass meadows store more than 30,000 teragrams (or 30 trillion kilograms) of carbon across 185 million hectares, potentially reducing around three per cent of global carbon emissions.
    • In 1992, an oil spill from the Era, at Port Bonython, released 300 tonnes of bunker fuel was released into Spencer Gulf, with a small slick of condensate getting into the mangroves south of Port Pirie. Mangroves do very badly in oil spills, and you can still see the scars of where the oil landed to this day.

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  • Physicist strikes gold, solving 50-year lightning mystery

    Physicist strikes gold, solving 50-year lightning mystery

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    Newswise — Every day, about 8.6 million lightning strikes occur worldwide, each strike travelling at more than 320,000 kilometres per hour, generating a massive amount of electricity.

    Ever wondered about lightning? For the past 50 years, scientists have debated why lightning zig-zags and how it is connected to the thunder cloud above.

    There hasn’t been a definitive explanation until now, with a University of South Australia plasma physicist publishing a landmark paper that solves both mysteries.

    Dr John Lowke, former CSIRO scientist and now UniSA Adjunct Research Professor, says the physics of lightning has stumped the best scientific minds for decades.

    “There are a few textbooks on lightning, but none have explained how the zig-zags (called steps) form, why the electrically conducting column connecting the steps with the cloud remains dark, and how lightning can travel over kilometres,” Dr Lowke says.

    The answer? Singlet-delta metastable oxygen molecules.

    Basically, lightning happens when electrons hit oxygen molecules with enough energy to create high energy singlet delta oxygen molecules. After colliding with the molecules, the “detached” electrons form a highly conducting step – initially luminous – that redistributes the electric field, causing successive steps.

    The conducting column connecting the step to the cloud remains dark when electrons attach to neutral oxygen molecules, followed by immediate detachment of the electrons by singlet delta molecules.

    Why is this important?

    “We need to understand how lightning is initiated so we can work out how to better protect buildings, aeroplanes, skyscrapers, valuable churches, and people,” Dr Lowke says.

    While it is rare for humans to be hit by lightning, buildings are hit many times, especially tall and isolated ones (the Empire State Building is hit about 25 times each year).

    The solution to protect structures from lightning strikes has remained the same for hundreds of years.

    A lightning rod invented by Benjamin Franklin in 1752 is basically a thick fencing wire that is attached to the top of a building and connected to the ground. It is designed to attract lightning and earth the electric charge, saving the building from being damaged.

    “These Franklin rods are required for all buildings and churches today, but the uncertain factor is how many are needed on each structure,” Dr Lowke says.

    There are also hundreds of structures that are currently not protected, including shelter sheds in parks, often made from galvanized iron, and supported by wooden posts.

    This could change with new Australian lightning protection standards recommending that these roofs be earthed. Dr Lowke was a committee member of Standards Australia recommending this change.

    “Improving lightning protection is so important now due to more extreme weather events from climate change. Also, while the development of environmentally-friendly composite materials in aircraft is improving fuel efficiency, these materials significantly increase the risk of damage from lightning, so we need to look at additional protection measures.

    “The more we know about how lightning occurs, the better informed we will be in designing our built environment,” Dr Lowke says.

    Notes for editors

    The paper, “Toward a theory of stepped leaders in lightning” is published in the Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics. It is authored by Dr John Lowke and Dr Endre Szili from the Future Industries Institute at the University of South Australia.

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  • Surf’s up (and don’t mind the sharks)

    Surf’s up (and don’t mind the sharks)

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    Newswise — Clean, choppy, or cranking, when the surf’s up, so too are the surfers. But even the most avid surfer would steer clear of the waves when a shark is about… or would they? 

    In a new study from the University of South Australia, researchers found that 60 per cent of surfers are not afraid of sharks when surfing, despite more than half of them spotting a shark when out in the water. 

    It’s an interesting finding, particularly given people’s general fascination and fear of sharks, but as behavioural scientist and conservation psychology researcher, UniSA’s Dr Brianna Le Busque, says it’s a step in the right direction when it comes to shark conservation.

    “People have long feared sharks – not surprisingly given the hype generated from modern shark movies,” Dr Le Busque says. 

    “But exaggerated depictions of sharks have unfairly influenced people and as a result, have damaged shark conservation efforts. 

    “Surfers are frequent ocean users, so they’re in a unique position to change these perceptions.

    “Anecdotally, we know that surfers understand the role sharks play in ocean health and, for the most part, believe that shark conservation is good.

    “But the relationship between surfers and sharks is complex and has not been widely researched, so understanding their interactions is an important step in shark conservation and management policies.” 

    Surveying 391 surfers across 24 different countries (predominantly USA), the study found that:

    • 60 per cent were not afraid of sharks when surfing
    • 52 per cent had seen a shark when surfing
    • 44 per cent said a shark sighting would not stop them from going in the water
    • 17 per cent had been bitten or personally knew someone who had been bitten by a shark.

    Globally, 100 million sharks are killed each year with a quarter of shark species threatened by extinction.

    Le Busque says that the study will help to change people’s negative perceptions of sharks.

    “Surfers encounter sharks more than any other people in the community; they should be part of the consultation process when it comes to management or mitigation strategies,” Le Busque says.

    “When we step into the ocean, we step into their environment. We all need to be appropriately informed to ensure a logical balance between safety and conservation.”

    Notes to editors:

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    University of South Australia

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