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The Centrality of Compassion in Mental Health Nursing
No full textCompassion is central to mental health nursing, deeply embedded in the ethos of care and principles of recovery. However, at a time of increasing clinical demands and workforce shortages, the expression of compassion in nursing may be constrained. How can nurses ensure that compassion remains central to their practice, even in challenging circumstances? In this editorial, we consider the vital role of compassion in nursing, highlighting its impact on patient outcomes, its role in fostering therapeutic relationships through effective communication, and its contribution to professional resilience
Diverse Methods for Diverse Systems: A Large-Scale Comparison of Reptile Sampling Methods
No full textReptiles play a crucial role in maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem health, yet many species face increasing threats because of various anthropogenic factors. To enhance our understanding of reptile diversity and habitat use, evaluation of the effectiveness of diverse survey techniques is necessary. The relative efficacy of different methods may vary significantly across regions or communities, highlighting the need for a comprehensive approach using multiple survey methods over extensive spatial and temporal scales. In this study, we compared the effectiveness of seven survey methods—pitfall traps, funnel traps, spotlighting, arboreal cover boards, incidental encounters, camera traps, and passive acoustic monitoring (PAM)—for assessing reptile biodiversity over several years across an extensive spatial range in open eucalypt woodlands in eastern Australia. Pitfall and funnel traps were the most effective methods for detecting reptiles across all sites and latitudes. A combination of pitfall and funnel traps accumulated species most quickly, had high detection probabilities, and accounted for nearly 90% of all different reptile species detected in this study. However, with a decrease in latitude reptile diversity increased and other survey methods became necessary to document the full extent of the reptile communities. Reptile assemblages captured by different survey methods varied significantly, except for the communities captured by pitfall and funnel traps. No single method captured all species, and no species was detected by every method. PAM failed to detect any reptiles and may not be viable for assessing reptile biodiversity in Australia. Pitfall and funnel traps proved highly effective for detecting terrestrial reptiles within open eucalypt woodlands in Australia; however, the selection of methods for evaluating reptile biodiversity depended on the objectives and target fauna. When possible, to maximize species richness, survey designs should incorporate an array of concurrently deployed methods, particularly in regions with higher overall species richness. Nevertheless, if resources and time are limited, pitfall and funnel traps, combined with incidental encounters, should capture the majority of species
Justinian’s Wonder Warriors. Some Observations on the Development of Multi-role Cavalry in Early Byzantium
No full textThe social and political history of Southern Africa's languages
No full textThis book is the first to offer an interdisciplinary and comprehensive reference work on the often-marginalised languages of southern Africa. The authors analyse a range of different concepts and questions, including language and sociality, social and political history, multilingual government, and educational policies. In doing so, they present significant original research, ensuring that the work will remain a key reference point for the subject. This ambitious and wide-ranging edited collection will appeal to students and scholars of southern African languages, sociolinguistics, history and politics
The performance of pineapple supply chains in Riau province, Indonesia”, Emerging Challenges and Opportunities in Horticulture Supporting Sustainable Development Goals
No full textThe Association Between IQ and Its Components and Anxiety in Autistic Girls
No full textObjectives To explore the effects of specific components of IQ on various forms of anxiety in autistic girls. Methods Full-Scale IQ, Block Design, Vocabulary, Matrix Reasoning and Similarities subtests of IQ, and Generalised Anxiety Disorder, Social Anxiety, and Separation Anxiety were assessed in a sample of 53 autistic girls aged 6 to 17 years old. The sample was dichotomised for age and menarche. Results Matrix Reasoning was found to be the only meaningful correlate of Social Anxiety for the entire sample, although inversely. Exploratory analyses suggested the possible effect of a developmentally based interaction between aspects of IQ and anxiety in autistic girls. Conclusions The role of developmentally linked sex hormone influences upon the social brain and prefrontal cortex function may underlie the associations between Matrix Reasoning and Social Anxiety in autistic girls
Impacts of food wastage on economic growth
No full textThis paper attempts to identify the impact of food wastage on economic growth using the data for 165 countries over the 2014–2018 period. With the help of ordinary least squares (OLS) and generalized linear model (GLM), the study shows that food wastage and poverty impact GDP growth negatively. Poverty and food wastage are positively related. Reducing food wastage can lead to poverty reduction, stimulating GDP growth. Measures are required to reduce food wastage, especially in middle-income countries with a high undernourishment rate. Food wastage reflects poor regulatory capacity, and strengthening the institutional quality can also reduce the wastage of food
A spontaneous dissociative episode during an EEG experiment
No full textA depersonalization episode occurred unexpectedly during an electroencephalogram (EEG) recording for a study. Experience reports tracked the time course of this event and, in conjunction, with EEG data, were analyzed. The source activity across canonical frequency bands was analyzed across four periods ended by retrospective experience reports (depersonalization was reported in the 2nd period). Delta and theta decreases occurred across all time periods with no relation to reported events. Theta and alpha increases occurred in right secondary visual areas following depersonalization, which also coincided with surges in beta and gamma. The largest increases occurred in bilateral fronto-polar and medial prefrontal cortex, followed by inferior left lateral fronto-insulatemporal cortices and right secondary visual cortex. A high frequency functional network with a principal hub in left insula closely overlapped inferior left cortical gamma band-power increases. Bilateral frontal increases in gamma are consistent with studies of dissociation. We interpret gamma and later beta, alpha, and theta band increases as arising from the generation of visual priors, in the absence of precise visual signals, which constrain interoceptive and proprioceptive predictions to reestablish a stable sense of physiological-self. Beta showed local increases following the pattern of gamma but showed no changes in functional connectivity
Effect of cropping practices on soil organic carbon: evidence from long-term field experiments in Victoria, Australia
No full textslowness of change and apparent site specificity of the effects. We compared SOC stocks (equivalent soil mass to ~0–0.3 m depth) under various tillage, residue management and rotation treatments in three long-term (12-, 28- and 94-year-old) field experiments in two contrasting environments (Mallee and Wimmera regions). Our hypotheses were that SOC stocks are increased by: (1) minimum tillage rather than traditional tillage; (2) continuous cropping, rather than crop–fallow rotations; and (3) phases of crop or pasture legumes in rotations, relative to continuous cropping with cereals. We found that zero tillage and stubble retention increased SOC in some circumstances (by up to 1.5 Mg C ha–1 , or 8%) but not in others. Inclusion of bare fallow in rotations reduced SOC (by 1.4–2.4 Mg C ha–1 , or 8–12%) compared with continuous cropping. Including a pulse crop (field pea, where the grain was harvested) in rotations also increased SOC in some instances (by ~6–8 Mg C ha–1 , or 29–35%) but not in others. Similarly, leguminous pasture (medic or lucerne) phases in rotations either increased SOC (by 3.5 Mg C ha–1 , or 21%) or had no significant effect compared with continuous wheat. Inclusion of a vetch green manure or unfertilised oat pasture in the rotation did not significantly increase SOC compared with continuous wheat. The responses in SOC to these management treatments were likely to be due, in part, to differences in nitrogen and water availability (and their effects on carbon inputs and decomposition) and, in part, to other, unidentified, interactions. We conclude that the management practices examined in the present study may not reliably increase SOC on their own, but that significant increases in SOC are possible under some circumstances through the long-term use of multiple practices, such as stubble retention + zero tillage + legume N input + elimination of fallow. The circumstances under which increases in SOC can be achieved require further investigation
Australian police detainees who use anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) and their involvement in violent crimes compared to detainees using substances other than AAS
No full textIntroduction: Although anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) use is associated with an increased risk of violent behaviour, this relationship is complex. Many methodological issues also exist with current studies and most focus on community or prison settings, targeting people who use AAS only. This will be the first Australian study to compare police detainees who at the time of arrest report the use of AAS with those who report using other substances in the past 12 months; focussing on demographic characteristics, most serious charged offences and presence of poly-drug use. Methods: Data is drawn from the Drug Use Monitoring in Australia (DUMA) program, which collects data around drug use and criminal justice information from police detainees across Australia. Data was requested for 2017-2021. Our sample included 10,105 offenders who reported substance use, including 312 who had used AAS. Results: We found that detainees who had used AAS in the 12 months before their offence were charged with violent crimes (40.5%) at a similar rate to those who used substances other than AAS (36.5%). We found high rates of other substance use amongst AAS-using detainees, particularly alcohol and stimulants. Discussion and conclusions: Committing violent offences does not seem to be a unique feature of individuals using AAS, with the prevalence of violent crime among detainees no different to those who use other substances. It however did form the most serious offence of the majority of detainees who used AAS. Drug programs for violent offenders to overcome their drug dependence and criminal offending are however absent