Contribution of three rivers to floodplain and coastal productivity in the Gulf of Carpentaria: Finfish catch and growth

Barramundi were used as an indicator species for the effects of river flows on estuaries because they use a variety of aquatic habitats (marine to freshwater) and are an iconic fisheries species of significance in northern Australia. The Fisheries Queensland commercial catch logbook and monitoring data for length, age and reproductive data provide a long-term data series of this estuarine-dependent species in the Gulf of Carpentaria (GoC)

Choices for equity and sustainability: securing solidarity and the common good.

The Review provides both an analysis of the present and a basis for future economic and social policy. It outlines a vision for the future and provides viable pathways to deliver policies that can build a fair and just society. It is a comprehensive resource that should be of interest to policy makers and those who will be directly affected by policy decisions. Using a number of subject headings that will be familiar to past readers, the Socio Economic Review will assist in enabling evidence-based proposals be considered by those who will design our future policy and will ensure social justice is a part of the agenda to be set. 1. Introduction and summary of main proposals p.7 2. A guiding vision and a policy framework p.16 3. Income distribution p.37 4. Taxation p.75 5. Work, unemployment and job-creation p.106 6. Housing and accommodation p.121 7. Healthcare p.150 8. Education and educational disadvantage p.177 9. Other public services p.196 10. People and participation p.209 11. Sustainability p.225 12. Rural development p.250 13. The global south p.263 14. Values p.2

Are the processes recommended by the NHMRC for improving Cardiac Rehabilitation (CR) for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people being implemented?: an assessment of CR Services across Western Australia

Background: Cardiovascular disease is the major cause of premature death of Indigenous Australians, and despite evidence that cardiac rehabilitation (CR) and secondary prevention can reduce recurrent disease and deaths, CR uptake is suboptimal. The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) guidelines Strengthening Cardiac Rehabilitation and Secondary Prevention for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, published in 2005, provide checklists for services to assist them to reduce the service gap for Indigenous people. This study describes health professionals' awareness, implementation, and perspectives of barriers to implementation of these guidelines based on semi-structured interviews conducted between November 2007 and June 2008 with health professionals involved in CR within mainstream health services in Western Australia (WA). Twenty-four health professionals from 17 services (10 rural, 7 metropolitan) listed in the WA Directory of CR services were interviewed.Results: The majority of respondents reported that they were unfamiliar with the NHMRC guidelines and as a consequence implementation of the recommendations was minimal and inconsistently applied. Respondents reported that they provided few in-patient CR-related services to Indigenous patients, services upon discharge were erratic, and they had few Indigenous-specific resources for patients. Issues relating to workforce, cultural competence, and service linkages emerged as having most impact on design and delivery of CR services for Indigenous people in WA.Conclusions: This study has demonstrated limited awareness and poor implementation in WA of the recommendations of the NHMRC Strengthening Cardiac Rehabilitation and Secondary Prevention for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples: A Guide for Health Professionals. The disproportionate burden of CVD morbidity and mortality among Indigenous Australians mandates urgent attention to this problem and alternative approaches to CR delivery. Dedicated resources and alternative approaches to CR delivery for Indigenous Australians are needed. © 2009 Thompson et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd

Microtesla MRI of the human brain combined with MEG

One of the challenges in functional brain imaging is integration of complementary imaging modalities, such as magnetoencephalography (MEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). MEG, which uses highly sensitive superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) to directly measure magnetic fields of neuronal currents, cannot be combined with conventional high-field MRI in a single instrument. Indirect matching of MEG and MRI data leads to significant co-registration errors. A recently proposed imaging method - SQUID-based microtesla MRI - can be naturally combined with MEG in the same system to directly provide structural maps for MEG-localized sources. It enables easy and accurate integration of MEG and MRI/fMRI, because microtesla MR images can be precisely matched to structural images provided by high-field MRI and other techniques. Here we report the first images of the human brain by microtesla MRI, together with auditory MEG (functional) data, recorded using the same seven-channel SQUID system during the same imaging session. The images were acquired at 46 microtesla measurement field with pre-polarization at 30 mT. We also estimated transverse relaxation times for different tissues at microtesla fields. Our results demonstrate feasibility and potential of human brain imaging by microtesla MRI. They also show that two new types of imaging equipment - low-cost systems for anatomical MRI of the human brain at microtesla fields, and more advanced instruments for combined functional (MEG) and structural (microtesla MRI) brain imaging - are practical.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures - accepted by JM

International policy responses and early management of threats posed by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic to social care

Context: People with prior health conditions are susceptible to severe and sometimes fatal outcomes of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, that causes the disease COVID-19. The protection of the capacity of systems for social care was thus an important consideration for governments in the early stages of the global pandemic. Objectives: This paper reports and discusses the results of a rapid review of international early policy responses for the protection of social care systems after the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that SARS-CoV-2 had evolved into a pandemic. Literature was collected in March 2020. Method: Rapid online review of government responses to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic using official government statements and press reports from 13 countries. Findings: The analysis of early responses in and about social care to the pandemic suggested an initial focus on avoiding the outbreak of the virus in care homes, with first steps being to limit visitors in these contexts and considering ways to isolate residents with symptoms or a confirmed infection. Responses to protect people receiving social care in their homes and schemes to support informal or family carers were less prominent. Limitations: Only publications in the public domain and in local languages of the 13 countries were considered for this analysis. It is possible that further strategies and responses were not made available to the public and are therefore not included, which limits this article’s scope for analysis. Implications: The findings of this article can support reflection on the trajectory of policy responses to the threats that SARS-CoV-2 poses to social care. They can thereby potentially inform planning and policy responses for enhanced pandemic preparedness and stronger social care systems in the future

Promoting and maintaining changes in smoking behaviour for patients following discharge from a smokefree mental health inpatient stay: Development of a complex intervention using the Behaviour Change Wheel.

Evidence suggests that smokers can successfully quit, remain abstinent or reduce smoking during a smokefree mental health inpatient stay, provided behavioural/pharmacological support are offered. However, few evidence-based strategies to prevent the return to pre-hospital smoking behaviours post-discharge exist. We report the development of an intervention designed to support smoking-related behaviour change following discharge from a smokefree mental health stay. We followed the Behaviour Change Wheel (BCW) intervention development process. The target behaviour was supporting patients to change their smoking behaviours following discharge from a smokefree mental health stay. Using systematic reviews, we identified the barriers/enablers, classified according to the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF). Potential intervention functions to address key influences were identified by consulting the BCW and Behaviour Change Technique (BCT) taxonomy. Another systematic review identified effectiveness of BCTs in this context. Stakeholder consultations were conducted to prioritise/refine intervention content. Barriers/enablers to supporting smoking cessation were identified within the domains of environmental context and resources (lack of staff time); knowledge (ill-informed interactions about smoking); social influences, and intentions (lack of intention to deliver support). Potential strategies to address these influences included goal setting, problem solving, feedback, social support, and information on health consequences. A strategy for operationalising these techniques into intervention components was agreed: pre-discharge evaluation sessions, personalised resource folder, tailored behavioural and text message support post-discharge, and a peer interaction group, delivered by a trained mental health worker. The intervention includes targeted resources to support smoking-related behaviour change in patients following discharge from a smokefree mental health setting. Using the BCW and TDF supported a theoretically and empirically informed process to define and develop a tailored intervention that acknowledges barriers and enablers to supporting smoking cessation in mental health settings. The result is a novel complex theory- and evidence-based intervention that will be formally tested in a randomised controlled feasibility study

Wildfire Risk as a Socioecological Pathology

Wildfire risk in temperate forests has become a nearly intractable problem that can be characterized as a socioecological “pathology”: that is, a set of complex and problematic interactions among social and ecological systems across multiple spatial and temporal scales. Assessments of wildfire risk could benefit from recognizing and accounting for these interactions in terms of socioecological systems, also known as coupled natural and human systems (CNHS). We characterize the primary social and ecological dimensions of the wildfire risk pathology, paying particular attention to the governance system around wildfire risk, and suggest strategies to mitigate the pathology through innovative planning approaches, analytical tools, and policies. We caution that even with a clear understanding of the problem and possible solutions, the system by which human actors govern fire-prone forests may evolve incrementally in imperfect ways and can be expected to resist change even as we learn better ways to manage CNHS

New Strategies for Combining Mindfulness with Integrative Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for the Treatment of Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) severely impacts social functioning, distress levels, and utilization of medical care compared with that of other major psychiatric disorders. Neither pharmacological nor psychotherapy interventions have adequately controlled cardinal symptoms of GAD: pervasive excessive anxiety and uncontrollable worry. Research has established cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) as the most effective psychotherapy for controlling GAD; however, outcomes remain at only 50% reduction, with high relapse rates. Mindfulness has been integrated with CBT to treat people suffering from numerous psychiatric disorders, with mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR) being the most researched. Preliminary evidence supports MBSR’s potential for controlling GAD symptoms and key researchers suggest mindfulness practices possess key elements for treating GAD. Classical mindfulness (CM) differs significantly from MBSR and possesses unique potentials for directly targeting process and state GAD symptoms inadequately treated by CBT. This article introduces the theory and practice of CM, its differences from MBSR, and a critical review of MBSR and CBT treatments for GAD. CM strategies designed to complement CBT targeting cardinal GAD symptoms are outlined with a case study illustrating its use