Global inequity in access to and availability of essential mental health services is well recognized. The mental health treatment gap is approximately 50% in all countries, with up to 90% of people in the lowest-income countries lacking access to required mental health services. Increased investment in global mental health (GMH) has increased innovation in mental health service delivery in LMICs. Situational analyses in areas where mental health services and systems are poorly developed and resourced are essential when planning for research and implementation, however, little guidance is available to inform methodological approaches to conducting these types of studies. This scoping review provides an analysis of methodological approaches to situational analysis in GMH, including an assessment of the extent to which situational analyses include equity in study designs. It is intended as a resource that identifies current gaps and areas for future development in GMH. Formative research, including situational analysis, is an essential first step in conducting robust implementation research, an essential area of study in GMH that will help to promote improved availability of, access to and reach of mental health services for people living with mental illness in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). While strong leadership in this field exists, there remain significant opportunities for enhanced research representing different LMICs and regions.

This paper describes the system architecture of a newly constructed radio telescope – the Boolardy engineering test array, which is a prototype of the Australian square kilometre array pathfinder telescope. Phased array feed technology is used to form multiple simultaneous beams per antenna, providing astronomers with unprecedented survey speed. The test array described here is a six-antenna interferometer, fitted with prototype signal processing hardware capable of forming at least nine dual-polarisation beams simultaneously, allowing several square degrees to be imaged in a single pointed observation. The main purpose of the test array is to develop beamforming and wide-field calibration methods for use with the full telescope, but it will also be capable of limited early science demonstrations.

The present study assessed the relationship between breakfast frequency and measures of obesity in Hong Kong Chinese children aged 9–18 years. A total of 11 570 children (50 % boys) underwent anthropometric measurements and completed a simple self-administered dietary behaviour questionnaire. Their parents completed a questionnaire providing demographic information. Breakfast frequency was assessed by a single question, ‘How many days over the past week did you have breakfast?’ Children were categorised into three groups: skippers (ate breakfast 0–2 times/week); semi-skippers (ate breakfast 3–4 times/week); non-skippers (ate breakfast 5–7 times/week), to assess all associated characteristics. Of the 3644 primary and 7926 secondary school students, 8 % (8·7 % of boys and 6·9 % of girls) and 14 % (14 % of boys and 15 % of girls), respectively, were breakfast skippers. The prevalence of obesity among breakfast skippers, semi-skippers and non-skippers was, respectively, 9·8, 10·6 and 3·8 % (P < 0·001) for primary school students and 3·9, 3·1 and 2·4 % (P < 0·001) for secondary school students. The 12 % of Hong Kong children aged 9–18 years who skipped breakfast had higher BMI, BMI z-scores and percentage of body fat (PBF) than their counterparts. The dose effects of breakfast frequency (unstandardised regression coefficient, P < 0·001) on BMI and PBF were, respectively, − 0·125 kg/m2 and − 0·219 % for boys and − 0·165 kg/m2 and − 0·353 % for girls, adjusting for physical activity per additional breakfast meal per week. Further study is recommended to elucidate whether regular breakfast consumption may have a role in the prevention of childhood obesity.

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2009 in Richmond, Virginia, USA, July 26 – July 30, 2009

Blessed-Roth Dementia Scale has been one of the most widely used rating scales in dementia. Previous studies indicated that this behavioral assessment scale is a useful tool for differentiating elderly subjects with no or minimal intellectual decline from those with cognitive deterioration. In the present study, the authors examined the validity of the Chinese version of the Blessed-Roth Dementia Scale (CDS) in Hong Kong. A total of 106 Chinese subjects were recruited from a social center, an old-age home,and psychogeriatric outpatient clinics. At a cutoff score of 3 of 4, the CDS achieved a sensitivity of 90.5% and specificity of 98.1% in differentiating demented from healthy control subjects. In the Chinese population studied, the scale was readily acceptable and considered to be an useful adjunct in screening of dementia.

As part of a 4-year Cosmology and Particle Astrophysics (CosPA) Research Excellence Initiative in Taiwan, AMiBA - a 19-element dual-channel 85-105 GHz interferometer array is being specifically built to search for high redshift clusters of galaxies via the Sunyaev-Zeldovich Effect (SZE). In addition, AMiBA will have full polarization capabilities, in order to probe the polarization properties of the Cosmic Microwave Background. AMiBA, to be sited on Mauna Kea in Hawaii or in Chile, will reach a sensitivity of ˜ 1 mJy or 7μK in 1 hour. The project involves extensive international scientific and technical collaborations. The construction of AMiBA is scheduled to starting operating in early 2004.

A process has been invented for growing alumina (Al2O3) whiskers in the matrix of the aluminum-based metal matrix composite by the internal oxidation reaction between aluminum (Al) and molybdenum oxide (MoO3) at 850 °C. The whiskers were formed during the firing stage and distributed uniformly throughout the metal matrix. The fractional volume of the whiskers was about 30%, and their average size was 1 μm in diameter and 10 μm in length. The growth mechanism of the Al2O3 whiskers was studied. It was found that the nutrient for the growth of the whiskers was supplied from the molten Al at the base of the whiskers where they reacted with MoO3 forming the Al2O3 whiskers and the Al–Mo intermetallic phases.

The effect of heat treatment on the corrosion behavior of seven amorphous melt-spun Mg–Ni–Nd alloys containing 10–20 at.% Ni and 5–15 at.% Nd has been studied. Hydrogen evolution testing was used to determine the dissolution rate of the heat-treated specimens immersed in a 3% NaCl solution saturated with Mg(OH)2. The dissolution rates of the partially crystallized specimens were found to be lower than those of the untreated specimens, while the fully crystallized specimens exhibited marked deterioration of corrosion resistance. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies on the heat-treated specimens revealed precipitation of Mg3Nd, Mg12Nd, and Mg2Ni phases during the crystallization. TEM results show that the partially crystallized structure consists of uniform dispersion of either Mg3Nd or Mg2Ni in the amorphous matrix. In contrast, multiple phases precipitate in the fully crystallized specimen.

Using a newly developed temperature modulated differential scanning calorimetry (TMDSC), glass transition has been detected in several RE-Fe-Al (RE = ND, Pr, Sm and Y) metallic glasses, which can not be observed by a conventional DSC. Our results show that the glass transition occurred together with a small fraction crystallization in the as-spun samples, the final main crystallization transition occurred at higher temperature (over 720K) in these rare-earth based alloys. Large undercooled liquid regions up to 200K at a underlying heating rate of 5K/min have been observed in these glasses.