Effects of Different Seeds Pretreatments on the Germination of Five Local Trees: Four From The Fabaceae Family and One From the Bombacacea

The problem of the effectiveness of the established pre-treatments of seeds of local tree species is posed more and more often, with acuity. It appears necessary that studies are led to explore new methods of pre-treatment, or to update the old instructions applied, for a better success and at lower cost, of the production of seedlings. The present study concerned five species: Acacia nilotica, Adansonia digitata, Parkia biglobosa, Piliostigma reticulatum and Tamarindus indica. The methodology involved subjecting the seeds to three different pretreatments: (i) seeds treated with sulfuric acid (T0), (ii) seeds soaked in hot water for 24 hours (T1), (iii) seeds soaked in hot water for 48 hours (T2). For Acacia nilotica seeds, the different pretreatments did not result in statistically different germination rates. The germination rates are 77%, 65% and 62% (respectively for soaking in hot water for 48 hours, sulfuric acid and soaking in hot water for 24 hours). The different pretreatments also do not result in different germination rates for Tamarindus indica. Indeed, the germination rates after 30 days for this species are good but statistically identical (85% for the pretreatment with sulfuric acid and hot water for 24 hours). For Adansonia digitata, Parkia biglobosa and Piliostigma reticulatum, the sulfuric acid pretreatment gave the best germination rate (49%, 54% and 41% respectively). The results of this study may have practical consequences in terms of management of the different species studied. They show that immersing in boiling water and left for 24 hours and 48 hours yields fairly satisfactory germination rates for Acacia nilotica and Tamarindus indica seeds. These inexpensive techniques, accessible to all, can be considered as means to easily produce seedlings of these species

Practice-Driven Evaluation of a Multi-layered Psychosocial Care Package for Children in Areas of Armed Conflict

Psychosocial and mental health service delivery frameworks for children in low-income countries are scarce. This paper presents a practice-driven evaluation of a multi-layered community-based care package in Burundi, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Sudan, through a set of indicators; (a) perceived treatment gains; (b) treatment satisfaction; (c) therapist burden; (d) access to care; (e) care package costs. Across four settings (n = 29,292 children), beneficiaries reported high levels of client satisfaction and moderate post-treatment problem reductions. Service providers reported significant levels of distress related to service delivery. Cost analyses demonstrated mean cost per service user to vary from 3.46 to 17.32 € depending on country and specification of costs. The results suggest a multi-layered psychosocial care package appears feasible and satisfactory in reaching out to substantial populations of distressed children through different levels of care. Future replication should address therapist burden, cost reductions to increase sustainability and increase evidence for treatment efficacy

A controlled trial of implementing a complex mental health intervention for carers of vulnerable young people living in out-of-home care: the ripple project

BACKGROUND: Out-of-home care (OoHC) refers to young people removed from their families by the state because of abuse, neglect or other adversities. Many of the young people experience poor mental health and social function before, during and after leaving care. Rigorously evaluated interventions are urgently required. This publication describes the protocol for the Ripple project and notes early findings from a controlled trial demonstrating the feasibility of the work. The Ripple project is implementing and evaluating a complex mental health intervention that aims to strengthen the therapeutic capacities of carers and case managers of young people (12-17 years) in OoHC. METHODS: The study is conducted in partnership with mental health, substance abuse and social services in Melbourne, with young people as participants. It has three parts: 1. Needs assessment and implementation of a complex mental health intervention; 2. A 3-year controlled trial of the mental health, social and economic outcomes; and 3. Nested process evaluation of the intervention. RESULTS: Early findings characterising the young people, their carers and case managers and implementing the intervention are available. The trial Wave 1 includes interviews with 176 young people, 52% of those eligible in the study population, 104 carers and 79 case managers. CONCLUSIONS: Implementing and researching an affordable service system intervention appears feasible and likely to be applicable in other places and countries. Success of the intervention will potentially contribute to reducing mental ill-health among these young people, including suicide attempts, self-harm and substance abuse, as well as reducing homelessness, social isolation and contact with the criminal justice system. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12615000501549 . Retrospectively registered 19 May 2015

Compulsory admissions of patients with mental disorders : State of the art on ethical and legislative aspects in 40 European countries

Background. Compulsory admission procedures of patients with mental disorders vary between countries in Europe. The Ethics Committee of the European Psychiatric Association (EPA) launched a survey on involuntary admission procedures of patients with mental disorders in 40 countries to gather information from all National Psychiatric Associations that are members of the EPA to develop recommendations for improving involuntary admission processes and promote voluntary care. Methods. The survey focused on legislation of involuntary admissions and key actors involved in the admission procedure as well as most common reasons for involuntary admissions. Results. We analyzed the survey categorical data in themes, which highlight that both medical and legal actors are involved in involuntary admission procedures. Conclusions. We conclude that legal reasons for compulsory admission should be reworded in order to remove stigmatization of the patient, that raising awareness about involuntary admission procedures and patient rights with both patients and family advocacy groups is paramount, that communication about procedures should be widely available in lay-language for the general population, and that training sessions and guidance should be available for legal and medical practitioners. Finally, people working in the field need to be constantly aware about the ethical challenges surrounding compulsory admissions.Peer reviewe

On le croyait autiste, il était déprimé : un cas de psychiatrie du nourrisson

Dans un premier temps, nous passons en revue les études qui ont examiné les influences pathogènes des troubles psychiatriques parentaux sur le jeune enfant en général, et du trouble obsessionnel compulsif (TOC) en particulier. Puis nous présentons le cas d’un garçon de 2 ans et demi qui nous fut adressé, avec un diagnostic d’autisme et d’hyperactivité. La description du déroulement chronologique des séances thérapeutiques mère-enfant-père montre qu’il s’agissait en fait d’une dépression clinique de l’enfant provoquée par les conséquences d’un TOC grave et chronique maternel, resté secret jusque-là. Nous concluons par une réflexion sur l’entrée en constellation maternelle comme facteur d’aggravation de troubles mentaux préexistants d’un côté, et de motivation de demande de soins par ailleurs

Le couple : sa formation, sa destruction et ce qu’il y a entre les deux

La théorie de l’attachement représente un cadre théorique général à la compréhension de l’organisation des relations humaines tout au long de la vie et en particulier lors de l’adaptation aux situations de séparation. Si les premiers types de relations se reproduisent de manière générale au cours de la vie et dans les relations de couple en particulier, les expériences continuelles avec un conjoint - caractérisé par son propre type d’attachement - devenu une figure d’attachement importante, provoque la réactualisation du réseau de représentation interne (schémas internes actifs). Le type d’attachement de chaque partenaire influence donc le caractère de la relation de couple. Cet article décrit les différents types d’attachement d’individus et de couples et tente, d’une part, d’appréhender ce qui relie deux personnes, les attentes d’une relation, la capacité à créer une relation de proximité et d’intimité, et, d’autre part, de cerner les éléments qui éveillent les conflits, ceux susceptibles de briser la relation et ceux qui caractérisent le processus de séparation