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Background While governments are urging adult mental health services to support consumers in the context of their family, there is little information about what family focused practice is, nor how it might be enacted. Methods Informed by the principles of Community Based Participatory Research, workshops were held in three rural Australian communities in 2015 to discuss the meaning of family focused practice and how such practices might be promoted. Results Participants described the need to raise community awareness about mental illness and provide practical support to the family. Participants emphasized the importance of practitioners genuinely communicating with consumers and their families about mental illness and the need for collaborative care and treatment planning. They also highlighted the challenges of living in rural places and posed some solutions. Conclusion On the basis of the results and previous literature, we developed a model of family focused practice that outlined various stakeholders and their enactments. The model has the potential to inform policy, professional development and practice guidelines.

Background Physical activity (PA) interventions may benefit youth with problematic substance use (SU); however, the acceptability of these interventions in young people is poorly understood. In this mixed-methods study, predictors and correlates of treatment acceptability of PA interventions as part of SU treatment were investigated, and young people’s perspectives on PA intervention (e.g., perceived barriers and service-related needs) were explored. Methods Young people aged 16-25 years (n=145) with problematic SU completed a quantitative online survey on substance use, PA engagement, treatment acceptability, and perceived barriers and benefits of PA. Data were analysed using data mining and modelling approaches. Four participants aged 18-25 years participated in a subsequent, semi-structured focus group; data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Quantitative and qualitative findings were integrated using an established model of behaviour change (COM-B). Results Generalised additive modelling identified perceived PA barriers to be a predictor of treatment acceptability ( p ≤.001). Decision tree analyses confirmed that lower psychological distress (1 st partition, p <.001) and higher PA levels (2 nd partition, p =.03) predicted lower perceived PA barriers. Latent class analysis suggested a 2-class model differentiating young people at moderate substance-related risk, reporting low psychological distress and perceived PA barriers (class 1) from young people at severe substance-related risk, reporting higher psychological distress and perceived barriers. Qualitative findings revealed substantial barriers to PA, including substance-related, mental health, access, and social barriers. Together, findings illustrated complex interactions between different dimensions related to behaviour change and areas where clinical services may increase young people’s capability, opportunity and motivation to prompt behaviour change. Conclusions PA levels and psychological distress predict perceived barriers to PA in young people with problematic SU. PA barriers predict treatment acceptability of PA interventions. Knowledge of such predictors may inform treatment decisions by clinicians. Young people’s insights should be integrated into PA intervention research to inform intervention and understand the unique barriers, preferences and needs of youth affected by problematic SU. Integration of young people’s perspectives may increase behaviour change, as well as motivation, engagement and positive feelings in young people participating in PA interventions within substance use treatment.

Less than half of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions remain in the atmosphere. While carbon balance models imply large carbon uptake in tropical forests, direct on-the-ground observations are still lacking in Southeast Asia. Here, using long-term plot monitoring records of up to half a century, we find that intact forests in Borneo gained 0.43 Mg C ha −1 per year (95% CI 0.14–0.72, mean period 1988–2010) in above-ground live biomass carbon. These results closely match those from African and Amazonian plot networks, suggesting that the world’s remaining intact tropical forests are now en masse out-of-equilibrium. Although both pan-tropical and long-term, the sink in remaining intact forests appears vulnerable to climate and land use changes. Across Borneo the 1997–1998 El Niño drought temporarily halted the carbon sink by increasing tree mortality, while fragmentation persistently offset the sink and turned many edge-affected forests into a carbon source to the atmosphere. The existence of a pan-tropical forest carbon sink remains uncertain due to the lack of data from Asia. Here, using direct on-the-ground observations, the authors confirm remaining intact forests in Borneo have provided a long-term carbon sink, but carbon net gains are vulnerable to drought and edge effects.

Background Several studies have assessed whether physical activity interventions can reduce substance use in young people at risk of problematic substance use. This report identifies and describes the reporting of implementation characteristics within published studies of physical activity interventions for young people at risk of problematic substance use and provides recommendations for future reporting. Methods Reported implementation strategies (including intervention manualization), barriers, implementation fidelity, and personnel acceptance were extracted from studies of physical activity interventions for young people aged 12–25 years at risk of problematic substance use that were included in a previous systematic review of intervention efficacy. Results Implementation strategies were reported in less than half of the included studies (42.9%), implementation barriers in only 10.7% of studies, intervention fidelity in 21.4%, and personnel acceptance in a single study (3.6%). Conclusions Results indicate insufficient reporting of implementation strategies, barriers, fidelity, and personnel acceptance. Consideration of implementation characteristics is essential for implementing physical activity interventions in practice. Inadequate or limited reporting of these characteristics may contribute to delayed uptake and adoption of evidence-based interventions in clinical practice. Recommendations to improve the reporting of implementation information include integrating standards for reporting implementation characteristics into existing reporting guidelines, developing an international taxonomy of implementation strategies, and upskilling intervention researchers in the fundamentals of implementation science.

Farmyard manure, an amendment traditionally used for improving the fertility of sandy soils in arid climates, is becoming scarce and expensive. Its shortage makes it necessary to evaluate, at field scale, the suitability and medium-term performance of other cheap, highly available substitutes. A field trial was established to analyze the effects of a single application of three organic residues on barley yield and nutrient uptake and selected soil properties after two consecutive harvests. Municipal solid waste compost (MSWC), sewage sludge compost (SSC) and farmyard manure (FYM) were tested at rates of 0, 20, 40 and 60 t ha−1. Adding all three organic amendments increased organic matter, cation exchange capacity and available P, Ca, Mg and K in the soil, the grain yield (up to 51%), and the barley plants’ nutrient contents. After the second harvest, a positive residual effect of the amendment was observed in plant yield (up to 77%) and nutrient contents. MSWC and SSC induced slight increases on the extractable fractions (BCR protocol) of Co, Cu and Ni, relative to the unamended soil. The results demonstrate the positive immediate and residual effect of the amendments evaluated as fertilizers for agricultural purposes.

Background The increasing number of people who experience mental disorders is a global problem. People with mental disorders have high rates of co-morbidity and significantly poorer oral health outcomes than the general public. However, their oral health remains largely a hidden and neglected issue. A complex range of factors impact the oral health of this group. These include anxiety and dental phobia, dietary habits, including the heavy consumption of sugary drinks, substance misuse of tobacco, alcohol, and/or psychostimulants, the adverse orofacial side effects of anti-psychotic and anti-depression medications, and financial, geographic, and social barriers to accessing oral health care. Methods The aim of this realist systematic review is to (a) identify and synthesise evidence that explores oral health interventions for people living with mental disorders; (b) explore the context and mechanisms that have contributed to the success of interventions or the barriers and challenges; (c) produce program theories on causal, contextual and mechanistic factors to facilitate outcomes and (d) produce recommendations and guidelines to guide future oral health interventions for people with mental disorders at both the policy and practice level. Using a five-step process, that incorporates primary data collection from key stakeholders, a beginning theoretical framework will be developed to describe contextual and mechanistic factors and how they might impact on the success or failure of oral health interventions for people with mental disorders. Key database searches will be conducted, with data extraction focused on the factors that might have impacted on intervention implementation and outcomes. Quality appraisal of studies will occur, and the theoretical framework will be populated with extracted data. Stakeholder input will support the development and refinement of a theory on oral health interventions for people with mental disorders. Discussion This will be the first review to take a realist approach to explore the broad scope of causal factors that impact on the success or failure of oral health interventions for people with mental disorders. The approach includes extensive stakeholder engagement and will advance realist systematic review methodology. Review outcomes will be important in guiding policy and practice to ensure oral health interventions better meet the needs of people with mental disorders. Systematic review registration This review protocol is registered with PROSPERO (Number) 155969.

Inoculation of plants with their associated microorganisms is a promising strategy for improving phytoremediation of organic contaminants. Isolation and characterisation of these organisms from plants growing in contaminated sites will permit the identification of candidate strains for re-inoculation studies. The diversity of culturable endophytic and rhizoplane bacteria found in association with Cytisus striatus plants growing at a hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH)-contaminated site was studied. A total of 97 strains of endophytic bacteria were isolated from the root, stem and leaf tissues, and 49 from the rhizoplane. They were further characterised genotypically (BOX-PCR, 16S rDNA sequencing, presence of linA and linB genes) and phenotypically (trace metal tolerance, capacity to produce biosurfactants and plant growth promoting (PGP) traits). Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria dominated the isolate collection, and taxonomic diversity was strongly tissue-specific. The linA and linB genes were not detected in the isolate collection. The majority of isolates had at least one of the PGP traits tested, whereas biosurfactant-producing strains were less frequent. Resistance to more than one trace metal was generally restricted to endophytes isolated from shoot tissues. The PGP characteristics found in an important number of the bacterial isolates obtained in this study could be particularly useful for exploiting the phytoremediation potential of C. striatus.

Digital storytelling is an art-based research method that has potential to engage mental health consumers and clinicians in dialogue about their lived experiences. However, few studies have examined the process of digital storytelling and people’s perspectives about making digital stories. In this article, a process evaluation framework is used to explore two digital storytelling workshops conducted with mental health consumers and clinicians. Project planning and implementation documents were collated, and interviews conducted with workshop participants thematically analyzed. Data were combined with facilitator reflections and are reported using a process evaluation framework. Findings indicate that the digital storytelling process is a useful research method that can be used to create a space where power differentials between consumers and clinicians are made visible and shared dialogue can develop. Recommendations from the study include the importance of employing skilled consumer and clinician support personnel to guide the process of participation and negotiate ethical tensions to ensure participant safety.

Purpose Problematic substance use (SU) in young people is a global health concern and leads to difficulties in key life areas. Rates of problematic SU are highest in young people aged 15-25 years. Physical activity (PA) may reduce problematic SU (ie., alcohol, tobacco, illicit use), and provide a less stigmatizing treatment option. Yet, research on this treatment approach in this population remains limited, targeted PA is rarely routinely implemented in substance treatment for young people, and global policy lacks responsivity to this health priority. Method A quantitative research survey (n = 145 young Australians) and a qualitative focus group (n = 4) were conducted and analyzed. Eligibility criteria included: i) aged 15-25 years; ii) moderate or severe risk of substance-related health and other problems (assessed by WHO ASSIST); and iii) prior access of SU treatment or willing to engage in future treatment. The purpose of this research was to explore young people’s perspectives on the (1) acceptability, (2) experienced barriers, and (3) preferences regarding the integration of PA as an adjunct intervention in existing treatment services. Results Survey data showed that 97.8% of young people found preference-driven PA interventions acceptable within SU treatment practice. A further 94.9% believed that PA-based interventions are appropriate and effective (95.6%) for reducing their SU, and 94.9% expressed their willingness to engage in these interventions. Barriers to PA were exercise-induced fatigue, cost of PA, lack of motivation, existing substance use, and lack of PA guidance. Interview data showed a clear preference for highly tailored, planned but unsupervised interventions, with frequent check-ins. Additional preferences were clear directives, highly passionate and motivating facilitators and a focus on behavior change. Preference-driven PA interventions were perceived to provide a sense of personal accomplishment and perceived care from service providers. Conclusion PA is perceived to be acceptable within the treatment of SU among young people and may offer a non-stigmatizing adjunct to existing treatments. Factors that might influence translation of PA interventions into practice and policy were identified in the preferences of young people involved in this study, highlighting the importance of including young people as key stakeholders in intervention design and delivery.

We evaluated the effect of compost amendment and/or bacterial inoculants on the growth and metal accumulation of Salix caprea (clone BOKU 01 AT-004) and Nicotiana tabacum (in vitro-bred clone NBCu10-8). Soil was collected from an abandoned Pb/Zn mine and rhizobacterial inoculants were previously isolated from plants growing at the same site. Plants were grown in untreated or compost-amended (5% w / w ) soil and were inoculated with five rhizobacterial strains. Non-inoculated plants were also established as a control. Compost addition increased the shoot DW yield of N. tabacum but not S. caprea , while it decreased soil metal availability and lowered shoot Cd/Zn concentrations in tobacco plants. Compost amendment enhanced the shoot Cd/Zn removal due to the growth promotion of N. tabacum or to the increase in metal concentration in S. caprea leaves. Bacterial inoculants increased photosynthetic efficiency (particularly in N. tabacum ) and sometimes modified soil metal availability, but this did not lead to a significant increase in Cd/Zn removal. Compost amendment was more effective in improving the Cd and Zn phytoextraction efficiency than bioaugmentation.