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Suicide is a significant health problem that is known to disproportionately affect those employed in manual occupations, including construction workers and tradespeople. Universal General Awareness Training (GAT) was part of a multi-component suicide prevention program in the Australian construction industry. The program's aims were to increase awareness of mental health and suicide, reduce stigma, and encourage help-seeking and help-offering behaviours. This paper sought to examine the effectiveness of the GAT program in shifting suicide beliefs. Pre- and post-training survey data of 20,125 respondents was obtained from a database of GAT evaluation results between 2016 and 2018. Generalized estimating equation (GEE) models were fitted to examine belief changes, and predictive margins and their SEs were computed. Mean differences in belief change were obtained for the overall sample, and by occupation. Modest but significant favourable shifts in three of the four beliefs assessed were observed following GAT. Managers and professionals showed greater propensity to shift beliefs, and Labourers and Machinery Operators and Drivers showed least. Results suggest that GAT can successfully shift some beliefs regarding suicide and mental health at least in the short term, but highlight the need to tailor communication to vulnerable occupational groups.

Objective: Among working‐age Australian adults with a disability, we assess the association between disability‐based discrimination and both overall health and psychological distress. Methods: Using data from the 2015 Australian Bureau of Statistics Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers we estimated the proportion of working‐age women and men (15–64 years) with disability who report disability‐based discrimination by socio‐demographic characteristics and assessed the association between disability‐based discrimination and self‐reported health and psychological distress. Results: Nearly 14% of Australians with disability reported disability‐based discrimination in the previous year. Disability‐based discrimination was more common among people living in more disadvantaged circumstances (unemployed, low income, lower‐status occupations), younger people and people born in English‐speaking countries. Disability‐based discrimination was associated with higher levels of psychological distress (OR: 2.53, 95%CI: 2.11, 3.02) and poorer self‐reported health (OR: 1.63, 95%CI: 1.37, 1.95). Conclusion: Disability‐based discrimination is a prevalent, important determinant of health for Australians with disability. Implications for public health: Disability‐based discrimination is an under‐recognised public health problem that is likely to contribute to disability‐based health inequities. Public health policy, research and practice needs to concentrate efforts on developing policy and programs that reduce discrimination experienced by Australians with disability.

Background This study sought to compare the prevalence of bullying victimization between adolescents with and without a disability and between adolescents with and without borderline intellectual functioning or intellectual disability (BIF/ID). We also sought to assess whether the relationships between either disability or BIF/ID and bullying victimization vary by gender and parental education.

Marine biogeographers have long speculated that macroalgal rafting presents a dispersal mechanism for brooding marine invertebrates of the Southern Ocean, but few direct observations of rafting by echinoderm taxa have been documented. Here we report rafting of the brooding benthic sea star Anasterias suteri, along with two mollusc taxa (Onithochiton neglectus – also a brooder – and Cantharidus roseus), on detached bull-kelp Durvillaea antarctica in Foveaux Strait, southern New Zealand. The rafting journey, intercepted at sea, likely lasted for 2–3 weeks and may have covered several hundred kilometres. We use DNA sequences, together with meteorological and prevailing oceanographic data, to infer the likely Fiordland (mainland) origins of the raft and its epifauna. This rafting dispersal mechanism provides an explanation for the broad (circum-subantarctic) but disjunct distribution of brooding Anasterias populations, and for the genetic connectivity observed between their populations.

This paper uses longitudinal data to examine the interrelationship between two central social determinants of mental health – employment security and housing affordability. Data from ten annual waves of the longitudinal Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey (which commenced in 2000/1 and is ongoing) were analysed using fixed-effects longitudinal linear regression. Change in the SF-36 Mental Component Summary (MCS) score of working age individuals (25–64 years) (51,885 observations of 10,776 people), associated with changes in housing affordability was examined. Models were adjusted for income, age, survey year, experience of serious injury/illness and separation/divorce. We tested for an additive interaction between the security of a household's employment arrangements and housing affordability. People in insecurely employed households appear more vulnerable than people in securely employed households to negative mental health effects of housing becoming unaffordable. In adjusted models, people in insecurely employed households whose housing became unaffordable experienced a decline in mental health (B=−1.06, 95% CI −1.75 to −0.38) while people in securely employed households experienced no difference on average. To progress our understanding of the Social Determinants of Health this analysis provides evidence of the need to bridge the (largely artificial) separation of social determinants, and understand how they are related.

OBJECTIVES: Little is known about how the distribution of destinations in the local neighbourhood is related to body mass index (BMI). Kernel density estimation (KDE) is a spatial analysis technique that accounts for the location of features relative to each other. Using KDE, this study investigated whether individuals living near destinations (shops and service facilities) that are more intensely distributed rather than dispersed, have lower BMIs. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: A cross-sectional study of 2349 residents of 50 urban areas in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. METHODS: Destinations were geocoded, and kernel density estimates of destination intensity were created using kernels of 400, 800 and 1200 m. Using multilevel linear regression, the association between destination intensity (classified in quintiles Q1(least)-Q5(most)) and BMI was estimated in models that adjusted for the following confounders: age, sex, country of birth, education, dominant household occupation, household type, disability/injury and area disadvantage. Separate models included a physical activity variable. RESULTS: For kernels of 800 and 1200 m, there was an inverse relationship between BMI and more intensely distributed destinations (compared to areas with least destination intensity). Effects were significant at 1200 m: Q4, β -0.86, 95% CI -1.58 to -0.13, p=0.022; Q5, β -1.03 95% CI -1.65 to -0.41, p=0.001. Inclusion of physical activity in the models attenuated effects, although effects remained marginally significant for Q5 at 1200 m: β -0.77 95% CI -1.52, -0.02, p=0.045. CONCLUSIONS: This study conducted within urban Melbourne, Australia, found that participants living in areas of greater destination intensity within 1200 m of home had lower BMIs. Effects were partly explained by physical activity. The results suggest that increasing the intensity of destination distribution could reduce BMI levels by encouraging high

Extracting high-quality DNA in large quantities from Phaeophyceae (brown), Rhodophyta (red), and Chlorophyta (green) macroalgae presents a substantial obstacle for modern molecular studies. Macroalgal tissues are rich in polysaccharides and polyphenols that are known to interfere with downstream molecular techniques. These compounds are released during DNA extraction procedures and often persist despite purification attempts. A wide range of DNA extraction and purification methods have been developed in attempts to overcome these challenges. Here, we review methods of macroalgal DNA extraction, including commercial kits. We discuss each method’s merits and limitations, and examine its potential use in both traditional and high-throughput molecular approaches. Finally, we present our own findings from a range of DNA extraction, purification, and sequencing trials based on the commercially available MoBio PowerPlant® Pro and PowerPlant® Clean kits, carried out on a number of Phaeophyceae species. We found that DNA yield and quality can be improved by lengthy soaking of tissue in extraction buffers, altering the homogenization procedures and modifying solutions used. The DNA extraction protocol presented here can be scaled up for high-throughput analyses and preliminary results suggest suitability for next-generation sequencing.

The fauna and flora from Azokh 1 are analyzed to provide evidence on past and present environments. The large mammal fauna was accumulated by carnivore and human agents, and it is dominated by woodland species. The small mammals, amphibians and reptiles were accumulated mainly by avian predators, barn owls and eagle owls which hunt over open areas, and their prey may have been brought to the cave from some distance away. The amphibians and reptiles indicate warm dry conditions, with some taxa specific to mountainous regions and many indicating warm arid conditions. The small mammals similarly indicate mainly arid environments with minor elements from deciduous woodland. The difference between small vertebrates and large mammals is taphonomic, and all four groups indicate slight transition to more arid conditions up the section. Bats are present in all units, and it appears likely that they are derived from natural deaths within the cave. They indicate woodland conditions low in the section changing to a treeless, arid and cold environment towards the top. Plant data from charcoal indicate that the regional vegetation was broadleaved deciduous woodland with mainly small trees and shrubs. The location of the cave on the lower slopes of the mountains of the Lesser Caucasus is close to the forest/steppe boundary, with forest on the mountain slopes and steppe on the lowlands to the east, and relatively minor fluctuations in climate would shift the boundary or and down slope, towards or away from the cave, with changes in climate. It is concluded, therefore, that the large mammals and flora represent the local woodland environment, and the small mammals, reptiles and amphibians represent prey species brought from further away.

BACKGROUND: Local destinations have previously been shown to be associated with higher levels of both physical activity and walking, but little is known about how the distribution of destinations is related to activity. Kernel density estimation is a spatial analysis technique that accounts for the location of features relative to each other. Using kernel density estimation, this study sought to investigate whether individuals who live near destinations (shops and service facilities) that are more intensely distributed rather than dispersed: 1) have higher odds of being sufficiently active; 2) engage in more frequent walking for transport and recreation. METHODS: The sample consisted of 2349 residents of 50 urban areas in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. Destinations within these areas were geocoded and kernel density estimates of destination intensity were created using kernels of 400m (meters), 800m and 1200m. Using multilevel logistic regression, the association between destination intensity (classified in quintiles Q1(least)-Q5(most)) and likelihood of: 1) being sufficiently active (compared to insufficiently active); 2) walking≥4/week (at least 4 times per week, compared to walking less), was estimated in models that were adjusted for potential confounders. RESULTS: For all kernel distances, there was a significantly greater likelihood of walking≥4/week, among respondents living in areas of greatest destinations intensity compared to areas with least destination intensity: 400m (Q4 OR 1.41 95%CI 1.02-1.96; Q5 OR 1.49 95%CI 1.06-2.09), 800m (Q4 OR 1.55, 95%CI 1.09-2.21; Q5, OR 1.71, 95%CI 1.18-2.48) and 1200m (Q4, OR 1.7, 95%CI 1.18-2.45; Q5, OR 1.86 95%CI 1.28-2.71). There was also evidence of associations between destination intensity and sufficient physical activity, however these associations were markedly attenuated when walking was included in the models. CONCLUSIONS: This study, conducted within urban Melbourne

Background: Local destinations have previously been shown to be associated with higher levels of both physical activity and walking, but little is known about how specific destinations are related to activity. This study examined associations between types and mix of destinations and both walking frequency and physical activity. Method: The sample consisted of 2349 residents of 50 urban areas in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. Using geographic information systems, seven types of destinations were examined within three network buffers (400 meters (m), 800 m and 1200 m) of respondents' homes. Multilevel logistic regression was used to estimate effects of each destination type separately, as well as destination mix (variety) on: 1) likelihood of walking for at least 10 min ≥ 4/week; 2) likelihood of being sufficiently physically active. All models were adjusted for potential confounders. Results: All destination types were positively associated with walking frequency, and physical activity sufficiency at 1200 m. For the 800 m buffer: all destinations except transport stops and sports facilities were significantly associated with physical activity, while all except sports facilities were associated with walking frequency; at 400 m, café/takeaway food stores and transport stops were associated with walking frequency and physical activity sufficiency, and sports facilities were also associated with walking frequency. Strongest associations for both outcomes were observed for community resources and small food stores at both 800 m and 1200 m. For all buffer distances: greater mix was associated with greater walking frequency. Inclusion of walking in physical activity models led to attenuation of associations. Conclusions: The results of this analysis indicate that there is an association between destinations and both walking frequency and physical activity sufficiency, and that this relationship varies by destination type. It is also clear that greater mix of