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Background: Poor oral health literacy has been proposed as a causal factor in disparities in oral health outcomes. This study aims to investigate oral health literacy (OHL) in a socially and culturally diverse population of Australian adults visiting a public dental clinic in Western Sydney. Methods: A mixed methods study where oral health literacy was assessed using the Health Literacy in Dentistry scale (HeLD-14) questionnaire and semi-structured interviews explored oral health related knowledge, perceptions and attitudes. Interviews were analysed using a thematic approach. Results: A sample of 48 participants attending a public dental clinic in Western Sydney was recruited, with a mean age of 59.9 (SD16.2) years, 48% female, 50% born in Australia, 45% with high school or lower education, and 56% with low-medium OHL. A subgroup of 21 participants with a mean age of 68.1 (SD14.6) years, 40% female, 64% born in Australia, 56% with a high school or lower education, and 45% with low-medium OHL completed the interview. Three themes identified from the interviews included 1) attitudes and perceptions about oral health that highlighted a lack of agency and low prioritisation of oral health, 2) limited knowledge and education about the causes and consequences of poor oral health, including limited access to oral health education and finally 3) barriers and enablers to maintaining good oral health, with financial barriers being the main contributor to low OHL. Conclusions: Strategies aimed at redressing disparities in oral health status should include improving access to oral health information. The focus should be on the impact poor oral health has on general health with clear messages about prevention and treatment options in order to empower individuals to better manage their oral health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coastal aquifers are vital water sources for humanity. Their quality and the ecosystem services they provide depend on the integrity of their subterranean biota. However, current anthropogenic impacts such as climate change effects and coastal population growth place enormous pressure on the sustainability of these environments.Despite the significance of subterranean biota to ecosystem function and the delivery of ecosystem services, stygofauna—groundwater‐dwelling aquatic animals—have until recently been largely ignored in aquifer monitoring and management. This issue is of importance in both coastal and inland zones. Common threats in inland and coastal areas are water extraction, reduced recharge caused by aridification, and pollution, while, in coastal zones, additional complications arise from sea‐level change and salt water ingress.This review examines stygofaunal diversity, impacts, and future conservation challenges in coastal aquifers. Focussing on Australia, we provide a summary of the available data on stygofaunal communities and distributions; identify and describe potential threats to these communities across the diverse coastal regions of the continent; and propose future research priorities with the goal of facilitating the long‐term preservation of these ecosystems on the Australian continent. While we focus this review on Australia, the threats and management issues discussed are relevant globally.Recent subterranean studies in Australia have been primarily undertaken in inland areas, and while coastal data exist, ecological assessment of coastal subterranean ecosystems is incomplete, compromising the efficacy of conservation plans. This review indicates that the Australian continent hosts five major coastal stygofaunal biodiversity areas characterised by heterogeneous community assemblages, involving a total of 17 taxonomic groups spanning microscopic aquatic invertebrates to vertebrates. The most relevant impacts and threats identified were aquifer size reduction, intrusion of seawater, land clearing, contamination, and mining.Given the projections of increasing coastal development and subsequent loss or degradation of habitat during coming decades, it is important to improve our limited understanding of the ecology of coastal aquifers. Future research should include the refinement of biological assessment tools for coastal systems, functional and ecotoxicological studies, and faunal surveys of urban coastal aquifers. The recommendations and guidelines outlined in this review are applicable globally and provide a further step toward the sustainable use of coastal groundwater resources and the maintenance of healthy groundwater ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: Oral health is an important predictor for general health, and poor oral health is interrelated with the manifestations of systemic disease. Aim: To determine the extent of oral health education in medical schools across Australia. Methods: A survey of Australian medical schools was conducted (September 2013 to June 2014). Participants were administrators and curricula coordinators of medical programmes. The main outcome measures were teaching hours of specific areas of oral health education. Data were descriptively analysed. Results: Participants from 8 of 18 universities responded to the questionnaire. The total hours dedicated to oral health in the medical programmes were: zero in one school; less than 2 h in three schools, 6–10 h in three schools and 30 h in one school. Only four schools taught the correlation between oral health and overall health, two schools taught about dental diseases (caries and periodontal disease), three schools taught dental trauma management and six schools taught oral anatomy. Only five schools taught about oral cancer: two of these taught about cancer for 10–15 min. No school reported hands‐on training in an oral health setting. Conclusions: The results indicate that Australian medical school graduates have little, if any, foundational knowledge of oral health (dental caries, bidirectional relationship between diabetes and periodontal disease, oral cancer and dental emergencies). The recognition of poor oral health plays a significant part in the early detection and care of chronic diseases. The teaching of fundamental oral health to medical students is crucial and should be integrated into medical school curricula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water quality outcomes affecting Australia’s Great Barrier Reef (GBR) are governed by multi-level and multi-party decision-making that influences forested and agricultural landscapes. With international concern about the GBR’s declining ecological health, this paper identifies and focuses on implementation failure (primarily at catchment scale) as a systemic risk within the overall GBR governance system. There has been limited integrated analysis of the full suite of governance subdomains that often envelop defined policies, programs and delivery activities that influence water quality in the GBR. We consider how the implementation of separate purpose-specific policies and programs at catchment scale operate against well-known, robust design concepts for integrated catchment governance. We find design concerns within ten important governance subdomains that operate within GBR catchments. At a whole-of-GBR scale, we find a weak policy focus on strengthening these delivery-oriented subdomains and on effort integration across these subdomains within catchments. These governance problems when combined may contribute to failure in the implementation of major national, state and local government policies focused on improving water quality in the GBR, a lesson relevant to landscapes globally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three new species of stygobitic Dytiscidae are described from groundwater calcretes in the Yilgarn region of Western Australia; Paroster angustus sp. nov., Limbodessus yeelirrieensis sp. nov. and Limbodessus odysseus sp. nov. As is the case in most Yilgarn stygobitic beetles the three species are eyeless, apterous, uniformly light testaceous and do not overlap in body length. All three species are short range endemics with their distribution restricted to a series of geologically discontinuous groundwater calcrete deposits occupying a linear extent of approximately 60 kilometres on Yeelirrie Station in the upper reaches of the Carey Palaeoriver system. The sympatric occurrence of the three species at one of the calcrete deposits is consistent with speciation, differentiation in body-size, and distribution patterns observed at numerous other calcretes in the Yilgarn region. Limbodessus odysseus has a wider distribution range than the other two species within the Yeelirrie groundwater system, possibly related to its smaller body size which may facilitate its dispersal and colonisation of interstitial or sub-karstic calcrete habitats. DNA sequencing established that the two Limbodessus species from Yeelirirrie are more closely related to species from calcretes in adjacent palaeochannels than to each other. A proposed uranium mine and associated aquifer dewatering activities would impact 42% of the core stygofauna habitat and 60% of the recorded distribution range of Paroster angustus sp. nov. and Limbodessus yeelirrieensis sp. nov. The impact of this amount of habitat removal and watertable lowering on the long term viability of the surviving populations of these two dytiscid species, and their associated stygofauna community, is unknown and cannot be predicted with any confidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global ecosystems underwent major changes through the Quaternary, as climates cycled from cool and dry glacial conditions to relatively warm and humid interglacial conditions. How these changes affected the diversity and composition of small-mammal communities is mostly unknown, especially for the southern-temperate regions of Australia. We used fossil assemblages from owl regurgitates to investigate changes in small mammals from Tasmania's forest environments over the last 20,000 years, encompassing the transition from cold glacial conditions of the Last Glacial′ Maximum (LGM) into the warmer Holocene. During the early part of this period, Tasmania was connected to mainland Australia via a low-elevation land bridge, but was transformed into a large island by rising sea levels during the Late Pleistocene – Holocene transition. Despite these changes, the regional small-mammal fauna appears to have been persistent over this entire period, with no loss of species. However, the relative abundance of most species changed dramatically, apparently in response to habitat changes, which also provoked substantial shifts in community composition and diversity. A strong indicator of the magnitude of change is Mastacomys fuscus , a graminivorus specialist murid, which dominated the assemblage prior to and during the LGM, but declined as temperature and sea level rose during the Late Pleistocene – Holocene. In contrast, the generalist rodent Pseudomys higginsi , along with the small forest-dependent marsupials Cercartetus spp. and Antechinus spp., became more common during the Holocene. The continued survival of these species to the present, despite divergent environmental needs, implies that Tasmania's complex geomorphology provided multiple refugia that conferred resilience in the face of environmental change. • Last Glacial Maximum – present climate change did not cause extinctions in Tasmania. • Grassland species declined following Holocene global warming. • Forest–woodland species increased following Holocene global warming. • Species responses to Holocene global warming has conservation implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The discovery of two new non-marine ameirids from the southern Yilgarn region significantly extends the geographic range for this group in Australia and exposes weaknesses in the conservation and environmental impact assessment (EIA) of subterranean species potentially threatened by mining developments. Megastygonitocrella embe, sp. nov. differs from seven previously described Australian congeners by the armature of the second leg endopod and absence of spinules on the somites. A key to world species of Megastygonitocrella is presented. Phylogenetic analysis based on 57 morphological characters and 30 species belonging to the Stygonitocrella s.l. group suggests that Antistygonitocrella pardalotos, gen.et sp. nov. has noclose relatives anywhere in the world. Superficial similarities between the two new species are either plesiomorphies or homoplasies. The habitats of these new short-range endemic species are fractured-rock aquifers developed in Archaean greenstone, where the groundwater is characterised by acid conditions, high salinity and low dissolved oxygen. The population of A. pardalotos is threatened by a mining development. Despite the advanced level of environmental protection policy in Western Australia, our taxonomic study highlights limitations in EIA practices and discusses potential improvements which have global relevance in regions where short-range endemics coincide with extraction of mineral resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four new small subterranean cyclopid species are described from Australia in a newly erected genus Anzcyclops n. gen.: A. yarriensis n. sp. (type), A. belli n. sp., A. ballensis n. sp., and A. euryantennula n. sp. Three species are from the Pilbara region in Western Australia, the fourth species from central Queensland. Another previously described species from New Zealand is transferred to this genus, A. silvestris (Harding, 1958) n. comb., originally described in the genus Goniocyclops Kiefer, 1955. The new genus has a number of unique features, including dorsoventrally compressed habitus, reticulated integument of prosomites, and a characterstic shape of the fifth leg. It is most closely related to the South American genus Muscocyclops Kiefer, 1937, and the two share the same spine formula of the swimming legs (2.3.3.2), but they can be distinguished by a number of characters in the shape of the genital double-somite, caudal rami, and anal operculum, as well as in the armature of the first leg. Our preliminary cladistic analysis revealed the polyphyletic nature of the endemic Australian genus Fierscyclops Karanovic, 2004. As a result, the subgenus Pilbaracyclops Karanovic, 2006 is upgraded to full generic rank and its two species are given as new combinations: P. supersensus (Karanovic, 2006) n. comb. (type) and P. frustratio (Karanovic, 2006) n. comb. The assemblage of Australian species previously considered members of the genus Metacyclops Kiefer, 1927 is also found to be polyphyletic and all five Australian representatives and one New Zealand species of the so-called "trispinosus"-goup are transferred into a newly erected genus Pescecyclops n. gen.: P. laurentiisae (Karanovic, 2004) n. comb. (type), P. pilanus (Karanovic, 2004) n. comb., P. arnaudi (G. O. Sars, 1908) n. comb., P. monacanthus (Kiefer, 1928) n. comb., P. kimberleyi (Karanovic, 2004) n. comb., and P. pilbaricus (Karanovic, 2004) n. comb. After this, only two Australian species are left in the genus Metacyclops: M. mortoni Pesce, De Laurentiis & Humphreys, 1996 and M. superincidentis Karanovic, 2004. Pescecyclops is defined by the presence of three spines on the distal exopodal segment of all swimming legs, only one apical spine on the fourth leg endopod, and absence of any sexual dimorphism in postantennular appendages, in addition to a Metacyclops-like fifth leg. Two Australian species previously considered members of Goniocyclops and one as a member of Allocyclops Kiefer, 1932 proved to be relatively closely related to each other and quite separate from other members of their respective genera. They are transferred into a third new genus, Dussartcyclops n. gen., although subdivided into two subgenera: D. (s. str.) uniarticulatus (Karanovic, 2004) n. comb. (type), D. (s. str.) mortoni (Karanovic, 2004) n. comb., and D. (Barrowcyclops) consensus (Karanovic, 2003) n. comb. They all have a reduced armature of the swimming legs (spine formula 2.2.2.2), vermiform habitus, and the fifth leg exopod armed with two subequal apical setae, but the subgenus Barrowcyclops n. subgen. has the exopod of the fifth leg fused basally to the somite and the inner spine on the first leg basis absent, in addition to a more plesiomorphic endopodal armature of the first and fourth legs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australia was historically considered a poor prospect for subterranean fauna but, in reality, the continent holds a great variety of subterranean habitats, with associated faunas, found both in karst and non-karst environments. This paper critically examines the diversity of subterranean fauna in several key regions for the mostly arid western half of Australia. We aimed to document levels of species richness for major taxon groups and examine the degree of uniqueness of the fauna. We also wanted to compare the composition of these ecosystems, and their origins, with other regions of subterranean diversity world-wide. Using information on the number of ‘described’ and ‘known’ invertebrate species (recognised based on morphological and/or molecular data), we predict that the total subterranean fauna for the western half of the continent is 4140 species, of which ~10% is described and 9% is ‘known’ but not yet described. The stygofauna, water beetles, ostracods and copepods have the largest number of described species, while arachnids dominate the described troglofauna. Conversely, copepods, water beetles and isopods are the poorest known groups with less than 20% described species, while hexapods (comprising mostly Collembola, Coleoptera, Blattodea and Hemiptera) are the least known of the troglofauna. Compared with other regions of the world, we consider the Australian subterranean fauna to be unique in its diversity compared with the northern hemisphere for three key reasons: the range and diversity of subterranean habitats is both extensive and novel; direct faunal links to ancient Pangaea and Gondwana are evident, emphasising their early biogeographic history; and Miocene aridification, rather than Pleistocene post-ice age driven diversification events (as is predicted in the northern hemisphere), are likely to have dominated Australia’s subterranean speciation explosion. Finally, we predict that the geologically younger, although more poorly studied, eastern half of the Australian continent is unlikely to be as diverse as the western half, except for stygofauna in porous media. Furthermore, based on similar geology, palaeogeography and tectonic history to that seen in the western parts of Australia, southern Africa, parts of South America and India may also yield similar subterranean biodiversity to that described here. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the crocodyliform lineage extends back over 200 million years (Myr) to the Late Triassic, modern forms—members of Eusuchia—do not appear until the Cretaceous. Eusuchia includes the crown group Crocodylia, which comprises Crocodyloidea, Alligatoroidea and Gavialoidea. Fossils of non-crocodylian eusuchians are currently rare and, in most instances, fragmentary. Consequently, the transition from Neosuchia to Crocodylia has been one of the most poorly understood areas of crocodyliform evolution. Here we describe a new crocodyliform from the mid-Cretaceous (98–95Myr ago; Albian–Cenomanian) Winton Formation of Queensland, Australia, as the most primitive member of Eusuchia. The anatomical changes associated with the emergence of this taxon indicate a pivotal shift in the feeding and locomotor behaviour of crocodyliforms—a shift that may be linked to the subsequent rapid diversification of Eusuchia 20Myr later during the Late Cretaceous and Early Tertiary. While Laurasia (in particular North America) is the most likely ancestral area for Crocodylia, the biogeographic events associated with the origin of Eusuchia are more complex. Although the fossil evidence is limited, it now seems likely that at least part of the early history of Eusuchia transpired in Gondwana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Subsurface waters in Australia span massive aquifers to small cave streams and fluctuating hyporheic zones where stream water exchanges with groundwater. Groundwater resources have been exploited heavily, especially in the arid zone, and usage is predicted to increase. Ironically, preliminary surveys of some groundwater habitats in arid northwestern Australia indicate an extraordinarily diverse subsurface fauna with apparently highly localised distributions. Elsewhere in Australia, changes to river flows, gravel extraction, and poorly managed catchment land uses have altered the extent and ecological integrity of the hyporheic zone in most gravel and sand bed rivers. In many cave streams and karst aquifers, sedimentation, pollution and changes to the water table have caused extinction or reduction of the dependent biodiversity. Most of these subsurface habitats harbour ancient groups absent from surface waters (relictual stygofauna) and are 'hotspots' of unexpected aquatic biodiversity. Unfortunately, our knowledge of the regional extent of this biodiversity and its functional significance is fragmentary. Current threats vary according to the subsurface habitat. For example, lowering of the water table in calcrete aquifers by water abstraction may jeopardise isolated, endemic relictual faunas in Australia's arid zone whereas in many gravel bed rivers, siltation threatens the biodiversity and filtration capacity of the hyporheic zone. Groundwaters in karst, especially cave streams and their dependent fauna, are vulnerable to impacts in their surface catchments but these linkages are seldom obvious. Recognition of the intimate linkages between groundwater and many surface ecosystems has led recently to policies aimed at protecting 'Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems' in Australia. However, such protection is hampered by our scant taxonomic and ecological knowledge of these ecosystems. Successful conservation and management of groundwaters and their dependent ecosystems rely on better public understanding of their unique fauna and 'ecosystem services,' further research on subsurface processes and taxonomy, and legislative protection of rare and threatened subterranean communities and species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lava tubes at Undara became internationally recognised in the late 1980s, when 24 species of terrestrial cave-adapted invertebrates (troglobionts) were recorded from Bayliss Cave, making it one of the 20 richest known cave communities in the world at the time. Over the last decades, several of the Undara species have been taxonomically described and a great deal of research has been undertaken in other parts of Australia, which has revealed additional subterranean hotspots. It is therefore timely to update the list of Undara cave fauna, and to evaluate the Undara cave system in relation to other subterranean hotspots in Australia. The updated species list was compiled from the published literature and museum databases. Minimally, 78 species of arthropods have been recorded from 17 lava tube caves in the Undara Basalt. Sixteen species have been taxonomically described; 30 identified to genus and/or morpho-species; and 32 remain unidentified to species or genus level. Thirty troglobionts and one stygobiont species were recorded. Seven caves harboured obligate subterranean species; Bayliss Cave harboured the most obligate subterranean species: 23 troglobionts and one stygobiont. All these caves contained deep zone environments with high humidity, of which three also contained 'bad air' (CO2). The unique combination of geomorphic structure and environmental parameters (high humidity) and multiple energy sources (tree roots, bats and guano, organic material wash-in) are the main factors responsible for Bayliss Cave's extraordinary local richness. Further research is needed to investigate CO2 as a factor influencing troglobiont richness and distribution in 'bad air' caves. Undara remains the richest subterranean hotspot in humid tropical Australia; however, significantly richer subterranean assemblages are found in arid and semi-arid calcrete aquifers, karst and iron-ore terrains, mostly in Western Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Simple oral health measures were associated with risk of developing diabetes. • The association was strongest in younger (45–59 years), non-obese individuals. • The strength of the association was similar to that of other lifestyle risk factors. • Oral health measures may be used to screen for individuals at risk of diabetes. To examine whether simple measures of oral health are associated with incident diabetes. This prospective cohort study linked data from the 45 and Up Study, Australia, to administrative health records. The study participants were 213,389 men and women, aged ≥45 years, with no diabetes at baseline. The oral health of participants was assessed by questionnaire. Incident diabetes cases were ascertained based on self-report in follow-up questionnaires, linked data on medical and pharmaceutical claims, and hospitalisation data up until 2019. The association between oral health and incident diabetes were calculated using multivariable cox proportional hazards models. During 2,232,215 person-years of follow-up, 20,487 (9.6%) participants developed diabetes. Compared with those with ≥20 teeth, the adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) for incident diabetes was 1.12 (95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1.08, 1.17) for 10–19 teeth, 1.20 (1.14, 1.26) for 1–9 teeth and 1.15 (1.09, 1.21) for no teeth. Compared with those with excellent/very good teeth and gums, the aHR for incident diabetes was 1.07 (1.03, 1.12) for fair and 1.13 (1.07, 1.20) for poor teeth and gums. Simple measures of oral health were associated with risk of developing diabetes, demonstrating the potential importance of oral health screening for diabetes prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Home health care (HHC) refers to the delivery of social, medical and paramedical services to people in their homes. Caregivers are assigned and routed to perform various tasks such as personal care and household chores at the client's homes. Minimising the total cost and satisfying the client requirements and preferences are critical in HHC. In this paper, we present a mixed-integer linear programming model for HHC routing and scheduling problems, which considers fair and balanced workload allocation of caregivers while minimising the total cost and addressing the client's needs. Due to the complexity of the problem, using a commercial solver is not practical for real size instances. Therefore, we develop a multi-steps clustering approach using Ordering Points and Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering to solve the model. The proposed solution approach is applied on several test instances to examine its performance. We also apply the proposed model and solution approach on a case study in Australia. • Home health care planning problem with practical constraints is considered. • Clients and caregivers' satisfaction and balanced workload are considered. • A cluster-based framework is introduced to solve large-sized instances. • A standard benchmark for home care planning problem with preferences is generated. • Extensive numerical experiments based on real-life data are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]