Self-reported suboptimal sleep and receipt of sleep assessment and treatment among persons with and without a mental health condition in Australia: a cross sectional study

Background Poor sleep and poor mental health go hand in hand and, together, can have an adverse impact on physical health. Given the already disproportionate physical health inequities experienced by people with a mental health condition worldwide, the need to consider and optimise sleep has been highlighted as a means of improving both physical and mental health status. Sleep recommendations recently developed by the United States’ National Sleep Foundation incorporate a range of sleep parameters and enable the identification of ‘suboptimal’ sleep. Among community-dwelling persons with and without a 12-month mental health condition in Australia, this study reports: [1] the prevalence of ‘suboptimal’ sleep and [2] rates of sleep assessment by a health care clinician/service and receipt of and desire for sleep treatment. Methods A descriptive study (N = 1265) was undertaken using self-report data derived from a cross-sectional telephone survey of Australian adults, undertaken in 2017. Results Fifteen per cent (n = 184) of participants identified as having a mental health condition in the past 12 months. Across most (7 of 8) sleep parameters, the prevalence of suboptimal sleep was higher among people with a mental health condition, compared to those without (all p < 0.05). The highest prevalence of suboptimal sleep for both groups was seen on measures of sleep duration (36–39% and 17–20% for people with and without a mental health condition, respectively). In terms of sleep assessment and treatment, people with a mental health condition were significantly more likely to: desire treatment (37% versus 16%), have been assessed (38% versus 12%) and have received treatment (30% versus 7%). Conclusions The prevalence of suboptimal sleep among persons with a mental health condition in Australia is significantly higher than those without such a condition, and rates of assessment and treatment are low for both groups, but higher for people with a mental health condition. Population health interventions, including those delivered as part of routine health care, addressing suboptimal sleep are needed

Analysis of an Energetic Electron Injection at GEO Using FalconSEED: A Low SWaP-C, CubeSat-Compatible Instrument for Space Environments

We present a detailed analysis of an energetic electron injection (10s - 100s keV) observed at geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) on March 5, 2022 in order to highlight the capabilities of the Falcon Solid-state Energetic Electron Detector (SEED). The high time- and energy-resolution of SEED are used to quantify the dispersion of the injection front and to explore the morphology of the energy distribution throughout the injection encounter. Observations of the same event from nearby platforms are included for context. The SEED is a CubeSat compatible, single element particle telescope, designed to measure 14 to 145keV electrons in GEO. The flight payload has a volume of 10 cm x 10 cm x 20 cm, in a 4.3-kg, 3.4-W package. The SEED was manifested on the Department of Defense (DoD) Space Test Program Satellite—6 (STPSat-6) which was launched in December of 2021 to GEO at 112 W longitude. During the first year of mission operations, the SEED has demonstrated the ability, evidenced in this paper, or a low-resource particle detector comprised of predominantly commercial-off-the-shelf components to provide relevant science observations of the space plasma environment

Changes in standard of candidates taking the MRCP(UK) Part 1 examination, 1985 to 2002: Analysis of marker questions

The maintenance of standards is a problem for postgraduate medical examinations, particularly if they use norm-referencing as the sole method of standard setting. In each of its diets, the MRCP(UK) Part 1 Examination includes a number of marker questions, which are unchanged from their use in a previous diet. This paper describes two complementary studies of marker questions for 52 diets of the MRCP(UK) Part 1 Examination over the years 1985 to 2001 to assess whether standards have changed

Academic performance of undergraduate dental students with learning disabilities

© 2017 British Dental Association. All rights reserved.Aims To compare the academic performance of undergraduate dental students with known learning disabilities (LDs) to their peers.Methods This study analysed the results of students in applied dental knowledge (ADK) progress tests across four cohorts of dental students. A mixed model analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to compare the performance of students with known disability to their peers. ADK test sitting was treated as a repeated measures variable, and the outcome variable of interest was percentage score on the ADK.Results Students' performance data on five ADK test sittings (ADK15, ADK16, ADK17, ADK18, and ADK19) by disability showed a significant main effect of test but no significant effect of disability or any interaction between disability and test.Conclusions This is the first study that explores the academic performance of dental students with a diagnosis of disability. The findings give reassurance to all stakeholders that, within the study population, students with LDs are not disadvantaged in knowledge-based assessments, demonstrating compliance with the legal obligations. Further research is required to explore how generalisable these findings are, as well as assess academic, clinical, and behavioural attributes of students with learning disabilities

Vocation, Belongingness, and Balance: A Qualitative Study of Veterinary Student Well-Being

An elevated risk for suicide among veterinarians has stimulated research into the mental health of the veterinary profession, and more recently attention has turned to the veterinary student population. This qualitative study sought to explore UK veterinary students' perceptions and experiences of university life, and to consider how these may affect well-being. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 students from a single UK school who were purposively selected to include perspectives from male, female, graduate-entry, standard-entry (straight from high school), and widening participation students across all 5 years of the program. Three main themes were identified: a deep-rooted vocation, navigating belongingness, and finding balance. Participants described a long-standing goal of becoming a veterinarian, with a determination reflected by often circuitous routes to veterinary school and little or no consideration of alternatives. Although some had been motivated by a love of animals, others were intrinsically interested in the scientific and problem-solving challenges of veterinary medicine. Most expressed strong feelings of empathy with animal owners. The issue of belongingness was central to participants' experiences, with accounts reflecting their efforts to negotiate a sense of belongingness both in student and professional communities. Participants also frequently expressed a degree of acceptance of poor balance between work and relaxation, with indications of a belief that this imbalance could be rectified later. This study helps highlight future avenues for research and supports initiatives aiming to nurture a sense of collegiality among veterinary students as they progress through training and into the profession

Development options in Heteropogon contortus grasslands in south-east Queensland: tree killing, legume oversowing and pasture replacement. 2. Animal production

Abstract This paper reports levels of animal production from various development options in a black speargrass (Heteropogon contortus) community in south-east Queensland. The study commenced in 1972 and measured the effects of tree killing, siratro oversowing and pasture replacement at a range of stocking rates. Summer rainfall was mostly above average during Phase I (1972-77), and mostly below average in Phase II (1979-86). During Phase I, killing trees increased liveweight gain (LWG) from 12 kg/ha to 22 kg/ha at 0.18 hd/ha, and to 40 kg/ha at 0.41 hd/ha, with corresponding LWG/hd of 67, 121 and 97 kg. Oversowing with siratro (Macroptilium atropurpureum cv. Siratro) + Mo superphosphate increased LWG to 60 kg/ha (161 kg/hd) at 0.41 hd/ha and 104 kg/ha (139 kg/hd) at 0.75 hd/ha. In the second phase, LWG at 0.75 hd/ha remained almost unchanged at 102 kg/ha. In Phase I, introducing buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris cv. Biloela) and siratro (+ Mo superphosphate) as a fully sown pasture increased LWG to 123 kg/ha (164 kg/hd) at an average stocking rate of 0.74 hd/ha, compared with 109 kg/ha (145 kg/hd) for the native-siratro pasture averaged over the same stocking rates. At 1.11 hd/ha the buffel-siratro pasture produced 177 kg/ha LWG. However, in the drier second phase, this decreased to 146 kg/ha at the same stocking rate. The development options of oversowing siratro into cleared native pasture and establishing a fully sown grass-siratro pasture led to 3-and 4-fold increases in LWG/ha, respectively, over that from cleared native pasture. However, the higher stocking rates imposed are now considered unsustainable and at more sustainable rates the increases in LWG/ha were 2-and 3-fold, with similar increases in gross income. Yield of green pasture in autumn explained 50% of the variation in LWG in the buffel-siratro pasture (P&lt;0.01), with no correlation between LWG and green yield for the other 3 pasture types. Similar results were found when LWG was related to % utilisation. The implications of treatment, stocking rate, green yield, % utilisation and the different climate periods are discussed in relation to sustainable stocking rates, animal production and economic viability of the development options. The stocking rates considered sustainable are considerably lower than the calculated &apos;optimum&apos; rate using the linear stocking rate model, and the inapplicability of the linear stocking rate model for use in the rangelands is also discussed

Handling and archiving of magnetic fusion data at DIII-D

Recent modifications to the computer network at DIII-D enhance the collection and distribution of newly acquired and archived experimental data. Linked clients and servers route new data from diagnostic computers to centralized mass storage and distribute data on demand to local and remote workstations and computers. Capacity for data handling exceeds the upper limit of DIII-D Tokamak data production of about 4 GBytes per day. Network users have fast access to new data stored on line. An interactive program handles requests for restoration of data archived off line. Disk management procedures retain selected data on line in preference to other data. Redundancy of all components on the archiving path from the network to magnetic media has prevented loss of data. Older data are rearchived as dictated by limited media life

Diabetic cardiomyopathy is associated with defective myocellular copper regulation and both defects are rectified by divalent copper chelation

BACKGROUND: Heart disease is the leading cause of death in diabetic patients, and defective copper metabolism may play important roles in the pathogenesis of diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM). The present study sought to determine how myocardial copper status and key copper-proteins might become impaired by diabetes, and how they respond to treatment with the Cu (II)-selective chelator triethylenetetramine (TETA) in DCM. METHODS: Experiments were performed in Wistar rats with streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes with or without TETA treatment. Cardiac function was analyzed in isolated-perfused working hearts, and myocardial total copper content measured by particle-induced x-ray emission spectroscopy (PIXE) coupled with Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS). Quantitative expression (mRNA and protein) and/or activity of key proteins that mediate LV-tissue-copper binding and transport, were analyzed by combined RT-qPCR, western blotting, immunofluorescence microscopy, and enzyme activity assays. Statistical analysis was performed using Student’s t-tests or ANOVA and p-values of < 0.05 have been considered significant. RESULTS: Left-ventricular (LV) copper levels and function were severely depressed in rats following 16-weeks’ diabetes, but both were unexpectedly normalized 8-weeks after treatment with TETA was instituted. Localized myocardial copper deficiency was accompanied by decreased expression and increased polymerization of the copper-responsive transition-metal-binding metallothionein proteins (MT1/MT2), consistent with impaired anti-oxidant defences and elevated susceptibility to pro-oxidant stress. Levels of the high-affinity copper transporter-1 (CTR1) were depressed in diabetes, consistent with impaired membrane copper uptake, and were not modified by TETA which, contrastingly, renormalized myocardial copper and increased levels and cell-membrane localization of the low-affinity copper transporter-2 (CTR2). Diabetes also lowered indexes of intracellular (IC) copper delivery via the copper chaperone for superoxide dismutase (CCS) to its target cuproenzyme, superoxide dismutase-1 (SOD1): this pathway was rectified by TETA treatment, which normalized SOD1 activity with consequent bolstering of anti-oxidant defenses. Furthermore, diabetes depressed levels of additional intracellular copper-transporting proteins, including antioxidant-protein-1 (ATOX1) and copper-transporting-ATPase-2 (ATP7B), whereas TETA elevated copper-transporting-ATPase-1 (ATP7A). CONCLUSIONS: Myocardial copper deficiency and defective cellular copper transport/trafficking are revealed as key molecular defects underlying LV impairment in diabetes, and TETA-mediated restoration of copper regulation provides a potential new class of therapeutic molecules for DCM

Support needs of adolescents' post-cancer treatment: A systematic review.

INTRODUCTION: The study aimed to investigate the support needs for adolescents' post-cancer treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A systematic literature review was conducted, articles were obtained from the following databases, Science Direct, PubMed and SCOPUS. Additional studies were identified from the reference lists of articles included in the review. RESULTS: 119 articles were identified as potentially relevant, of these, a total of 16 articles were nominated to be included in the review for analysis. CONCLUSION: The role of relationships and key workers were important to enabling survivors to self-manage. Studies have commended the role of friendships during the cancer treatment process but also as a means to coping with issues relating to survivorship. Using a coping mechanism thought to be beneficial by the survivor often improves their overall wellbeing. The eagerness to continue a normal successful life post-cancer treatment seems to be over-shadowed by the fear of not being able to conceive offspring. This, in turn, can impact the psychological wellbeing of survivors, thus signifying the need to develop ways in supporting these individuals. With research into quality of life (QoL) and survivorship issues continuing to progress and reach new heights, there is still much to be done