Search

In the environment, bacteria compete for niche occupancy and resources; they have, therefore, evolved a broad variety of antibacterial weapons to destroy competitors. Current laboratory techniques to evaluate antibacterial activity are usually labor intensive, low throughput, costly, and time consuming. Typical assays rely on the outgrowth of colonies of prey cells on selective solid media after competition. Here, we present fast, inexpensive, and complementary optimized protocols to qualitatively and quantitively measure antibacterial activity. The first method is based on the degradation of a cell-impermeable chromogenic substrate of the β-galactosidase, a cytoplasmic enzyme released during lysis of the attacked reporter strain. The second method relies on the lag time required for the attacked cells to reach a defined optical density after the competition, which is directly dependent on the initial number of surviving cells.Key features• First method utilizes the release of β-galactosidase as a proxy for bacterial lysis.• Second method is based on the growth timing of surviving cells.• Combination of two methods discriminates between cell death and lysis, cell death without lysis, or survival to quasi-lysis.• Methods optimized to various bacterial species such as Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Myxococcus xanthus.Graphical overview

Issue Addressed: There is considerable evidence that public stigma around mental illness inhibits help‐seeking for mental health problems. Hence there have been many interventions and campaigns designed to reduce stigma around mental illness. However, as far as could be ascertained, none of these stigma reduction interventions has reported any substantial impact of reducing stigma on people's mental health help‐seeking behaviours. The aim of this paper is to report on the impact of the Act‐Belong‐Commit positive mental health promotion Campaign on help‐seeking via increasing perceived openness around mental health and reducing perceived stigma around mental illness. Methods: State‐wide computer assisted telephone interviews (CATIs) of the general adult population were undertaken in 2018 and 2019 (N = 600 adults per year). The questionnaire included measures of respondents' awareness of the Act‐Belong‐Commit Campaign, their beliefs about the Campaign's impact on mental illness stigma and openness around mental health issues, and whether they had sought help for or information about a mental health problem as a result of their exposure to the Campaign. Results: Those who believed the Act‐Belong‐Commit Campaign increased openness around mental health issues were significantly more likely than those not holding this belief to have sought information about mental health and to have sought help for a mental health problem as a result of their exposure to the Campaign. Those who believed the Act‐Belong‐Commit Campaign decreased stigma around mental illness versus those not holding this belief were significantly more likely to have sought information, and more likely, but not significantly so, to have sought help as a result of their exposure to the Campaign. Overall, the effect was slightly greater for increased openness. Conclusion: As far as we are aware, these are the first reported findings of a positive impact on mental health help‐seeking behaviours as a result of a population‐wide mental health promotion Campaign being seen to have increased openness around mental health and decreased stigma around mental illness. So What?: These findings suggest that accompanying specific stigma reduction interventions with a broad‐based, population‐wide, positive mental health promotion Campaign such as the Act‐Belong‐Commit campaign, could amplify these interventions' impact on help‐seeking by increasing openness about mental health issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The Mentally Healthy Schools Framework (MHSF), based on the population-wide Act-Belong-Commit mental health promotion campaign, is a whole-school approach primarily targeting student mental health, but it is also intended for staff. This paper presents the results of an impact survey on staff after the implementation of the Framework in a number of schools in Western Australia. Design/methodology/approach: A baseline questionnaire was completed by n=87 staff at schools that had just signed up to the programme, and a participant questionnaire was completed by n=146 staff at schools that had been participating for at least 17 months. Findings: The results show that the Framework has had a substantial impact on many staff in terms of increased mental health literacy and taking action to improve their mental health. Originality/value: Mental health interventions in schools generally focus on students' well-being and how to deal with student mental health problems. There are few comprehensive interventions that also include staff well-being.

Myxococcus xanthus, a soil bacterium, predates collectively using motility to invade prey colonies. Prey lysis is mostly thought to rely on secreted factors, cocktails of antibiotics and enzymes, and direct contact with Myxococcus cells. In this study, we show that on surfaces the coupling of A-motility and contact-dependent killing is the central predatory mechanism driving effective prey colony invasion and consumption. At the molecular level, contact-dependent killing involves a newly discovered type IV filament-like machinery (Kil) that both promotes motility arrest and prey cell plasmolysis. In this process, Kil proteins assemble at the predator-prey contact site, suggesting that they allow tight contact with prey cells for their intoxication. Kil-like systems form a new class of Tad-like machineries in predatory bacteria, suggesting a conserved function in predator-prey interactions. This study further reveals a novel cell-cell interaction function for bacterial pili-like assemblages.

Purpose: Mentally Healthy WA developed and implemented the Mentally Healthy Schools Framework in 2010 in response to demand from schools wanting to promote the community-based Act-Belong-Commit mental health promotion message within a school setting. Schools are an important setting for mental health promotion, therefore, the Framework encourages schools to adopt a whole-of-school approach to mental health promotion based on the World Health Organisation's Health Promoting Schools framework. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach: A process evaluation was conducted consisting of six-monthly activity reports from 13 participating Western Australian schools. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with key school contacts in November 2011 with nine schools who had signed partner agreements prior to July 2011. Findings: The schools valued promoting the mentally healthy message and the majority felt the programme was implemented successfully. More intensive implementation was facilitated by a proactive and enthusiastic school "champion" who had influence over other staff, and who did not have too many competing priorities. Factors inhibiting implementation included a lack of effective time management, lack of whole school commitment, and evaluation demands. Originality/value: Act-Belong-Commit is a positive, proactive message making it easier for teachers to talk about mental health with their students. For schools reporting implementation success, the Mentally Healthy Schools Framework raised the profile of mental health in the school setting and fostered a sense of belonging among students.

The aim of this study was to assess the extent to which parents and school-based stakeholders (principals, teachers, canteen managers and Parents & Citizen Committee presidents) are supportive of potential expansions to a new school food policy. Eight additional policy components elicited in preliminary focus groups with parents and 19 additional policy components elicited from interviews with school stakeholders (including the eight also elicited from parents) were presented to 1200 parents and 607 school stakeholders, respectively. Each of the 8 potential policy components presented to parents was supported by more than two-thirds of parents, and 13 of the 19 policy components presented to school stakeholders received support from around two-thirds or more of the school stakeholder respondents. For all eight common policy components, parents exhibited significantly higher levels of support than school stakeholders. This information is of value to policy makers in their deliberations relating to the appropriate nature and timing of school food policy modifications.

Objective: The present study investigated stakeholders' reactions to the introduction of a traffic light food classification system in primary and secondary school canteens. Design: Interviews and focus groups were conducted with stakeholders approximately 18 months after the introduction of the traffic light system, followed by telephone and web-based surveys. Setting: The context of the study was Western Australia, where a comprehensive healthy food policy was recently introduced in government schools. Method: Stakeholder groups included parents, principals, teachers, canteen managers, and representatives of parents and citizens committees. Results: Participants reported high levels of acceptance of the traffic light system and supported its extension to nutrition education programmes targeting children and parents. Conclusion: The results suggest that there is likely to be considerable support for an extension of the traffic light policy to the health curriculum in schools and into other food provision contexts. (Contains 2 tables.)

This article discusses the development, implementation and impact of a social development program developed by the Holyoake Institute in Western Australia for use in schools. The program DRUMBEAT uses hand drumming to engage young people in social learning that assists them in integrating more fully into mainstream school and community life. DRUMBEAT was developed in response to a range of issues that disadvantaged Indigenous youth experienced within the educational system and acted to reinforce entrenched social exclusion. Operational for five years, DRUMBEAT is currently being delivered in over 350 schools across Australia. Since its inception the program has undergone several evaluations. The most recent of these, and the subject of this report, was conducted by researchers at The University of Western Australia and relates to participants in the program during the 2008 school year. This study demonstrated that participants in the program improved their level of self-confidence, reduced their level of behavioural incidents and reduced their level of school absenteeism. (Contains 4 tables and 1 figure.)