Publications by authors named "Philip Ward"

The winter ant, Prenolepis imparis, is one of the most common, widespread, and conspicuous ant species in North America. P. imparis is well adapted to cold climates, and consequently, is often noted as the only active ant species during colder months.

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Objective: To identify the COVID-19 pandemic impact on well-being/mental health, coping strategies, and risk factors in adolescents worldwide.

Method: This study was based on an anonymous online multi-national/multi-language survey in the general population (representative/weighted non-representative samples, 14-17 years of age), measuring change in well-being (World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index [WHO-5]/range = 0-100) and psychopathology (validated composite P-score/range = 0-100), WHO-5 <50 and <29, pre- vs during COVID-19 pandemic (April 26, 2020-June 26, 2022). Coping strategies and 9 a priori- defined individual/cumulative risk factors were measured.

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At the 2024 General Assembly of the European Geophysical Union, a workshop was organized to introduce the EO4Multihazards project and its three main research questions. The workshop included a project overview, panel discussion, group activities, and a feedback session. It also showcased an interactive poster.

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Introduction: is a member of the pyogenic cluster of commonly associated with intramammary infection and mastitis in dairy cattle. It is a poorly controlled globally endemic pathogen responsible for a significant cause of the disease worldwide. The ruminant mammary gland provides an atypical body niche in which immune cell surveillance occurs on both sides of the epithelial tissue.

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Article Synopsis
  • The COH-FIT study is a large, multi-country survey aimed at identifying factors affecting wellbeing and mental health outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic, involving a representative sample of 121,066 adults.
  • Researchers analyzed both modifiable (like coping strategies and pre-pandemic stress) and non-modifiable factors (such as age, gender, and socioeconomic status), finding significant negative effects on wellbeing and psychopathology scores during the pandemic.
  • The study identified 15 modifiable and 9 non-modifiable risk factors, alongside 13 modifiable and 3 non-modifiable protective factors, emphasizing the importance of social support and coping strategies in mental health outcomes.
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Article Synopsis
  • There is a lack of comprehensive international studies examining multidimensional mental health and wellbeing before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly identifying at-risk groups and effective coping strategies.
  • The COH-FIT survey, conducted from April 2020 to June 2022 in 30 languages, assessed changes in well-being and psychopathology among over 121,000 participants, revealing significant declines in mental health during the pandemic.
  • Key findings indicated that certain demographics, such as young adults and people in low-income countries, were particularly affected, while coping strategies like exercise, internet use, and maintaining social contacts emerged as the most effective for managing stress.
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Polyergus kidnapper ants are widely distributed, but relatively uncommon, throughout the Holarctic, spanning an elevational range from sea level to over 3000 m. These species are well known for their obligate social parasitism with various Formica ant species, which they kidnap in dramatic, highly coordinated raids. Kidnapped Formica larvae and pupae become integrated into the Polyergus colony where they develop into adults and perform nearly all of the necessary colony tasks for the benefit of their captors.

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Objective: To examine the accuracy and likely clinical usefulness of the Psychosis Metabolic Risk Calculator (PsyMetRiC) in predicting up-to six-year risk of incident metabolic syndrome in an Australian sample of young people with first-episode psychosis.

Method: We conducted a retrospective study at a secondary care early psychosis treatment service among people aged 16-35 years, extracting relevant data at the time of antipsychotic commencement and between one-to-six-years later. We assessed algorithm accuracy primarily via discrimination (C-statistic), calibration (calibration plots) and clinical usefulness (decision curve analysis).

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Island biotas provide unparalleled opportunities to examine evolutionary processes. Founder effects and bottlenecks, e.g.

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People with mental illness tend to present low levels of physical activity and high levels of sedentary behavior. The study aims to compare these levels in mental illness patients, exploring the role of socioeconomic development and treatment setting. This cross-sectional study used accelerometers and the Simple Physical Activity Questionnaire (SIMPAQ) to assess physical activity and sedentary behavior in mental illness individuals living in 23 countries.

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What Is Known On The Subject: Smoking rates have decreased in the general population but remain high among people with severe mental illness (SMI).

What The Paper Adds To Existing Knowledge: An individualized smoking cessation program was tested with 99 adults with SMI. The program showed it is possible to help people with SMI smoke fewer cigarettes and reduce nicotine addiction.

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Objectives: In 2013, a cluster-controlled pilot study found the 12-week Keeping the Body in Mind (KBIM) lifestyle and life skills intervention was able to prevent weight gain in a small sample of youth experiencing first-episode psychosis (FEP) with fewer than 4 weeks of antipsychotic exposure. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of KBIM as routine care on anthropometry and metabolic biochemistry in a larger sample of youth with FEP across three community mental health services.

Method: This retrospective chart audit was conducted on youth with FEP, prescribed a therapeutic dose of antipsychotic medication, and who engaged with KBIM between 2015 and 2019.

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Multi-hazard events, characterized by the simultaneous, cascading, or cumulative occurrence of multiple natural hazards, pose a significant threat to human lives and assets. This is primarily due to the cumulative and cascading effects arising from the interplay of various natural hazards across space and time. However, their identification is challenging, which is attributable to the complex nature of natural hazard interactions and the limited availability of multi-hazard observations.

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Introduction: Children and adolescents are increasingly prescribed antipsychotic medications off-label in the treatment of behavioural disorders. While antipsychotic medications are effective in managing behavioural issues, they carry a significant risk of adverse events that compromise ongoing physical health. Of particular concern is the negative impact antipsychotic medications have on cardiometabolic health.

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Carpenter ants in the genus Camponotus are large, conspicuous ants that are abundant and ecologically influential in many terrestrial ecosystems. The bicolored carpenter ant, Camponotus vicinus Mayr, is distributed across a wide range of elevations and latitudes in western North America, where it is a prominent scavenger and predator. Here, we present a high-quality genome assembly of C.

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This study presents a new method, the MYRIAD-Hazard Event Sets Algorithm (MYRIAD-HESA), that compiles historically-based multi-hazard event sets. MYRIAD-HESA is a fully open-access method that can create multi-hazard event sets from any hazard events that occur on varying time, space, and intensity scales. In the past, multi-hazards have predominately been studied on a local or continental scale, or have been limited to specific hazard combinations, such as the combination between droughts and heatwaves.

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Studying the historical biogeography and life history transitions from eusocial colony life to social parasitism contributes to our understanding of the evolutionary mechanisms generating biodiversity in eusocial insects. The ants in the genus Myrmecia are a well-suited system for testing evolutionary hypotheses about how their species diversity was assembled through time because the genus is endemic to Australia with the single exception of the species M. apicalis inhabiting the Pacific Island of New Caledonia, and because at least one social parasite species exists in the genus.

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In our increasingly interconnected world, natural hazards and their impacts spread across geographical, administrative, and sectoral boundaries. Owing to the interrelationships between multi-hazards and socio-economic dimensions, the impacts of these types of events can surmount those of multiple single hazards. The complexities involved in tackling multi-hazards and multi-risks hinder a more holistic and integrative perspective and make it difficult to identify overarching dimensions important for assessment and management purposes.

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Objective: Poor mental health represents a large proportion of disease burden faced by young Australians, which has been further exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic and the reluctance of this population to seek support. Surf therapy is a novel form of intervention targeting mental health. The objective of this study was to interrogate programme theory within surf therapy, as delivered by the Waves of Wellness Foundation (WOW) in Australia.

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People with severe mental illness (SMI), including schizophrenia and related psychoses and bipolar disorder, are at greater risk for obesity compared with people without mental illness. An altered resting metabolic rate (RMR) may be a key driving factor; however, published studies have not been systematically reviewed. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to determine whether the RMR of people with SMI assessed by indirect calorimetry differs from (i) controls, (ii) predictive equations and (iii) after administration of antipsychotic medications.

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The enterobacterial common antigen (ECA) is a carbohydrate polymer that is associated with the cell envelope in the . ECA contains a repeating trisaccharide which is polymerized by WzyE, a member of the Wzy membrane protein polymerase superfamily. WzyE activity is regulated by a membrane protein polysaccharide co-polymerase, WzzE.

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Consideration of compound drivers and impacts are often missing from applications within the Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) cycle, leading to poorer understanding of risk and benefits of actions. The need to include compound considerations is known, but lack of guidance is prohibiting practitioners from including these considerations. This article makes a step toward practitioner guidance by providing examples where consideration of compound drivers, hazards, and impacts may affect different application domains within disaster risk management.

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Objective: To estimate the efficacy of exercise on depressive symptoms compared with non-active control groups and to determine the moderating effects of exercise on depression and the presence of publication bias.

Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis with meta-regression.

Data Sources: The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, SPORTDiscus, PsycINFO, Scopus and Web of Science were searched without language restrictions from inception to 13 September2022 (PROSPERO registration no CRD42020210651).

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Background: The Collaborative Outcome study on Health and Functioning during Infection Times (COH-FIT; www.coh-fit.com) is an anonymous and global online survey measuring health and functioning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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