Half a minute past midnight - The threat of antibiotic-resistant superbug bacteria

The threat posed to public health by antibiotic resistant bacteria has been well known since the early 1990s however recent reports in the media of potential discoveries of new drugs has given hope that the threat is being mitigated, if not resolved. This is an unduly optimistic and premature belief.

The recent report on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) to the UK Prime Minister in December 2014 highlighted that antimicrobial resistant infections currently claim over 50,000 lives each year across Europe and the United States alone. In 15 European countries more than 10% of bloodstream Staphylococcus aureas infections are now caused by methicillin-resistant strains (or MRSA) with some countries now approaching 50%. Drug-resistant tuberculosis prevalence amounted to 480,000 new cases in 2013 worldwide and reported cases of drug resistant malaria have started increasing in South East Asia particularly in Myanmar and Thailand. The death toll from drug resistant malaria is only available as a vague estimate of between 10,000 and 200,000 people worldwide, mainly children. The tough gut-bacteria known as Enterobacteriaceae of which the best known is Escherichia coli (or E-coli) have also been found to have drug-resistant strains. In the United States, currently 4% of Enterobacteriaceae are drug resistant and in Greece it has reached 68% for the strain of Klebsiella.

Research from the United States has found that drug resistant bacteria from cattle has been able to become airborne and move distances for further contamination.

Without effective prophylactic antibiotics to reduce infections, many surgical procedures would become too risky to undertake. Four areas of high-volume medical intervention would particularly be affected: caesarean sections for births; joint replacements; cancer surgical treatment; and organ transplants. In effect modern medicine would be plunged backwards into the pre-antibiotic period.

In early 2015, the discovery of Teixobactin, a small molecule antibiotic was announced in the journal Nature. Teixobactin was found to effectively kill both Staphylococcus aureas and Mycobacterium tuberculosis without the bacteria developing resistance. However this drug has not yet undergone clinical trials involving humans and is at best 5 to 6 years away from this stage of testing. A newer class of drugs termed carbapenems have been in use but a significant number of these remain suspended from development due to economic and regulatory hurdles. Even so carabapenem-resistant bacteria are on the rise.

And what are the causes of this growing health crisis ? Drug development is less than half the problem with over-prescribing/misuse of antimicrobials, and counterfeit/sub-standard drugs being sold over the counter without a prescription being major culprits, particularly in developing countries such as parts of Africa, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Researchers have found drug-resistant Enterobacteriaceae in street puddles in Delhi, India and in water samples taken in Pakistan and Bangladesh. Although infection control in hospitals can provide short term solutions, the fundamental need for new discoveries, faster pathways for antibiotics to be available and stricter management of drug access and use remains the pivotal changes needed.

The link to the research findings for Teixobactin is at the link below:

Nature: Teixobactin

The link to the UK report can be accessed at the link below:

Review Paper: Tackling acrisis for the health and wealth of nations

Australia's decline in renewable energy investment

The Clean Energy Council's diagram below shows the strength of the industry and its value to Australia in 2013 but with reports that investment in large scale renewable energy has declined by 88% to $240 milion by the end of 2014, what is the future ? Australia has fallen from 11th in the world ranking for renewable energy investment to 39th.

The Age of New Fundamentalism

Fundamentalism. The word often conjures the impression and images of fanaticism, extremism and a strict literal interpretation of doctrine. The term is usually associated with religious connotations and   unconditional adherence to a set of irreducible beliefs. It's  key characteristic of rejection of diversity of opinion or tolerance of any form of alternative intepretation poses a challenge to any society operating on a pluralist and diversity model. Fundamentalism is usually associated with conflict but this is not always exclusively the case. In the early 21st Century new fundamentalism has emerged based on old beliefs and paradigms but with new messaging methods.

Historically, Islam has experienced several periods of turmoil based on fundamentalism or in some cases forms of nationalism which have been linked to religious beliefs (however inappropriate this form of association may be). Since the 7th Century, there have been many Shia and Sunni internal religious conflicts and in later centuries, state-level expansionism by Islamic caliphates or States. This is by no means unusual as Christianity, Hinduism and Shintoism have also been linked to Nationalism or quasi nationalist causes at various times and engaged in various actions to expand their territorial influences.

Fundamentalist conflict and expansionism has often attracted followers from other parts of the world distant to the actual geographical location in which the conflict is taking place. Therefore it's not unusual that entities such as Daesh (or Islamic State [IS] as it tries to present itself ) might attract followers from other nations and societies. What has made Daesh effective in the promotion of its ideal has been the careful alignment of its message to similar conflict narratives and dramatic motifs conveyed in Western  media.

This theme has been explored by Jeff Lewis, Professor of Media and Cultural Politics at RMIT,  who has commented "..consider the ways in which our news is structured, and the political debates which are perennially laced by visions of social, economic and ecological collapse.....IS has mimicked the style and force of these heroic and erotic apocalyptic narratives. An examination of the IS images and narratives reveals the same masculinist potency as Hollywood thrillers.."

During the 1930s and until the commencement of World War II, Nazi Germany was supported by sympathetic fascist movements which existed in the United States, Great Britain, the Baltic States and across Europe. The dire nature of Hitler's movement did not dissuade support for his ideology, which in many respects also had elements of a death cult, as evidenced by the conduct of the regime during the war and at the end in 1945. During WWII, the police/security organisation of the Nazi State, known as the SS (which coincidentally had the death's head as their emblem) had over 350,000 troops drawn from over 25 countries serving in its military arm, the Waffen SS. The German Army, the Wehrmacht, had many more bringing the total number of foreigners under German command to around 1 million.

During the Spanish Civil War (1936-39) between the Republican Government and the Nationalists under General Francisco Franco, in addition to the support for the two sides afforded by various Governments, over 45,000 volunteers from around the world supported the Republic of whom 32,000 were in combat roles in the International Brigades. A further 10,000 served in various capacities in medical, nursing and engineering. These volunteers were drawn from Europe, the United States and beyond. They were just a fervent in their belief for the cause as those who were born and lived in Spain.

Challenging and disproving the legitimacy of the public media narrative of Daesh in the Middle East remains as important a task as actual military action.

The Photograph and Australia - Exhibition Review - Art Gallery of NSW - 21 March to 8 June 2015

 

Migrants arriving in Australia - David Moore, 1966

The Photograph and Australia is the most substantial large-scale thematic photographic exhibition that has been held in Australia for the past 25 years. Covering the period from the 1840s to 2015 and drawn from 35 private and public collections from across Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, the exhibition investigates the role that photography has played in shaping Australians views of the world, themselves and each other. The exhibition explores four themes: settler and indigenous relations; exploration; portraiture; and transmission being spread over nine rooms in the main temporary exhibition space at the Art Gallery of NSW.  The images in the exhibition trace the evolution of the photographic medium and its many uses covering documentary, commemorative to speculative and conceptual while posing questions about how Australia has been represented and imagined through photography.

The nine rooms in the exhibition are separately titled with sub themes: Self and Image; Imaging Place; People and Place; Picturing the colony; Cities and Communities; Becoming Modern; Critique; Technology; and Time and Transmission.  The selection of works contains some of the earliest examples of photography from the mid to late 19th Century hence special dimmed lighting enables ease of viewing.

Artists represented include Morton Allport, Richard Daintree, Paul Foelsche, Samuel Sweet, JJ Dwyer, Charles Bayliss, Frank Hurley, Harold Cazneaux, Olive Cotton, Max Dupain, David Moore, Sue Ford, Carol Jerrems, Tracey Moffatt, Simryn Gill, Robyn Stacey, Ricky Maynard, Anne Ferran, David Stephenson and many others.

This is a must-see exhibition which has been in the planning for over four years and contains many unique and fragile works rarely seen in public. The exhibition runs until 8 June 2015.

Australia in 2055 - The 2015 Intergenerational Report

The Australian Government has released the latest Intergenerational Report 2015 as required by the Charter of Budget Honesty Act which has a stipulation for the report to be produced every five years (The previous ones being in 2002, 2007 and 2010). This much anticipated report contains a number of key themes which have been enunciated by the Federal Government and the Federal Treasurer.

Of note:
Population: Male life expectancy is projected to rise from 91.5 years to 95.1 years in 2050. Female life expectancy will rise from 93.6 years to 96.6 years in the same period. There are likely to be 40,000 people aged over 100 years by 2055 and.the population is projected to reach 39.7 million.

Economic growth: is projected to be 2.8 % per annum on average over the next forty years with the annual income per Australian rising from $66,500 today to $117,300 by 2055. The Australian Government is currently spending over $100 million per day more than it collects in revenue and is borrowing to meet the shortfall. The total costs of interest payments amounts to $40 million per day  to cover this debt.

Health spending: is projected to increase from 4.5 % of GDP to 5.5 % by 2054-55. If the proposed current budget approach is not followed health expenditure will reach 7.1% of GDP by 2054-55.

Social Services: currently the Federal Government spend $150 billion or 35 % of the Commonwealth Budget covering pensions, aged care, payments to families and individuals and the National Disability Insurance Scheme. This is expected to rise but is  projected to be placed on a sustainable pathway.

Education: As the population ages it is forecast that the proportion of the population in education will be smaller especially in primary and secondary sectors. It is projected nonetheless that the cost per person will rise from $1,500 today to $1,900 in 2054-55.

The Report in many aspects reflects the perspective of the current Federal Government but it does not convey that the Australian economy is, in any form, in a critical state nor that there is a budget crisis. There are however challenges to meet over the next 5 to 10 years. The Report also devotes little content to the issue of climate change and its corresponding impact on health and economic activity. This critical factor will have greater influence, predominantly negative, as each decade passes.

The report can be accessed via the link below:

2015 Intergenerational Report

Aircraft, contrails and climate change - options for change

White contrails often seen streaking across the sky are the water vapour in hot aircraft exhaust which freezes when it meets cold moist air in the atmosphere. These contrails can and do form into wispy cirrus clouds which trap heat and thus contribute to global warming and more so that the actual carbon emissions from the aircraft themselves. Are there options to address this effect ?

Noting that there are few viable technological options for reducing contrails, one proposal canvassed by researchers, Irvine, Hoskins and Shine, is to consider re-routing aircraft to control emissions depending on the weather. In one transit model posited by the researchers, a 13.7 mile detour for a transatlantic flight eliminated a contrail 62 miles long and the clouds which would have formed from it.

Whether this method can have a practical application remains to be seen. The need for considering relatively cost-effective options with a positive environmental result remains paramount.

The original research article can be found at the link below:

Environmental Research Letters - Contrails and Climate Change

Earth Hour - Saturday 28 March 2015

Earth Hour this year is on Saturday 28th March 2015 from 8.30 PM to 9.30 PM. Although largely symbolic with little practical impact on energy saving, the event continues to remind people across the globe on the importance of tackling climate change. What will you be doing ?

The Link is here: Earth hour 2015 

Film Review - Birdman - Michael Keaton

L to R: Michael Keaton and Edward Norton "Birdman"

Billed somewhat as Michael Keaton's rebooting of his own acting career, Birdman can be a confusing film at times due to its structure and the use of a filming technique similar to one continuous take.  Co-written, co-produced and directed by Mexican film director, Alejandro González Iñárritu, the film follows the attempt by former Hollywood superhero actor, Riggan Thomson (Micheal Keaton) to restart his acting career by staging his own adaptation and production of a short story by Raymond Carver in one of Broadway's theatres. His efforts are dogged with uncertainty with a multitude of problems - his own previous typecasting as 'Birdman' and personal insecurity, the quality of the play's cast (leading to the replacement of one member with a famed Broadway prima donna, method actor, Mike [Edward Norton]), his daughter Sam (Emma Stone) a recovering addict who works as his assistant, while his girlfriend Laura (Andrea Riseborough) is also in the play's cast. Naomi Watts completes the key ensemble cast appearing as first-time Broadway actress Lesley and the former love-interest of Mike.

This film has many strong points and takes the viewer into the backstage activities of live theatre which would be of interest to theatre aficionados. In contrast, the character of Riggan can be irritating at times as he has conversations with his alto-ego, Birdman, throughout the film, visualises live action scenes on the street, floats above New York city and uses telekinetic special powers - all of which are in his mind. Is life imitating art for Michael Keaton ? The awarding of a Golden Globe for Best Actor would appear to say it is.  This is not film which will find a place on the American Film Institute's best film list, but it is a competent dramatic effort nonetheless.

Film Review - Mr Turner - Mike Leigh

Timothy Spall as J.M.W Turner in Mr Turner

Mike Leigh's biographical drama film, Mr Turner, won't appeal to all audiences with some aspects of his representation of the great British painter, J. W. M. Turner however it is nonetheless an impressive period work with an excellent cast and high production values.

The film is set in the last 25 years or so of Turner's life when he has long been established as an artist with fame, fortune and recognition as a popular if somewhat anarchic member of the Royal Academy of Arts. As the film progresses, Turner is shown sketching, painting, travelling to picturesque locations, staying as a guest with the aristocracy, visiting a brothel to do some sketch work, being strapped to a ship's mast to view a snowstorm and awkwardly navigating relationships with lovers, his housekeeper and children with very limited success. Leigh's objective with the film was to show not only the brilliance of Turner but also the man himself as a very flawed and awkward person seeking to distill, in an almost spiritual form, the world as represented in his paintings.

Timothy Spall gives a strong performance as Turner (for which he received the best actor award at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival), Dorothy Atkinson portrays his housekeeper, Hannah Danby (with minimal dialogue but many long takes showing various expressions), Paul Jesson is William Turner, the much beloved father and Marion Bailey is the widow Sophia Booth with whom Turner spends his last years.

The film's has several strong points: the clever linkages between painting scenes and specific Turner paintings orients the viewer to Turner's  works; the scripting of the film is 19th Century without the error of slipping into 20th/21st Century dialogue which comprises many other period set films. The weak elements of the film provide some obvious flaws: Turner is portrayed as mainly grunting rather than responding in speech to other characters; there is an overstated drabness to most settings and clothes which reflects more the director's bias than reality.  Overall the film is a positive experience and well worth a cinema ticket.

2015 - The Year Ahead

As the new year approaches, it's topical to consider the overall economic and socio-political environment which will frame the following twelve months - and potentially affect lives across the globe.

Economically the international situation remains fragile: during 2014 the United States had annualised GDP growth of only 2.7% (a similar rate also applied to Australia), the European Union was 0.8%,  Japan was negative with -1.2% and China dropped to 7.3%. The US Fed ended its Quantitative Easing policy and Central banks across the world continued to warn of the need for greater debt control stringency, improved capital adequacy requirements while retaining liquidity in funding markets. The greatest concern remains that critical lessons from the GFC have not been learned and applied.

In terms of international relations and stability the United Nations and Member Nation States continue to face challenges from well organised terrorist organisations such as Islamic State (formerly ISIS, ISIL or perhaps better referred to as DAESH), Al-Shabaab, Boko Haram and the Taliban operating in both Afghanistan and Northern Pakistan. The festering confrontational relationship between Israel and the Palestinians shows little progress in the immediate future nor does the unproclaimed conflict between the Russian Federation and the Ukraine. The Syrian civil war grinds on with little prospect of an immediate outcome and peace.

From an Australian perspective, the world has never looked more unsettled since the end of the Cold War and the influence/competition between the two Superpowers of that era.

The power of the World Wide Web, various mobile devices and software applications has meant the power of disruptive technologies has never been greater than when the first steam train and automobile heralded the end of horse drawn carriages and carts. Realignment and adjustment of national economies and workforces to this new order continues to present hard and difficult lessons.

Happy New Year, one can only hope.