Climate change, activism, and supporting the mental health of children and young people: Perspectives from Western Australia.

The climate crisis has detrimental impacts on the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people. Psychological effects include feelings of fear, overwhelm, worry, distress, hopelessness and anger; PTSD; depression; anxiety; phobias; panic disorder; sleep disturbances; attachment disorders; learning difficulties; substance abuse; shock and trauma symptoms; adjustment problems; behavioural problems; and, suicidal thinking. First Nations' children and young people are particularly at risk due to loss of place, identity, culture, land and customs informed by kinship relationships with the Earth; while sustainable land use practices and connection to Country and community can enhance climate resilience. In Western Australia (WA), some young people engage in climate activism - including striking from school - to demand government action to address the causes of climate change, including colonisation and capitalism. Climate activism can promote resilience, particularly when children and young people can emotionally engage in the climate crisis; when mental health is systemically supported; when climate communication is transparent and comprehensive; and, when activism is informed by the knowledges and wisdoms of First Nations peoples and grounded on Country. This article is co-authored by WA young people, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal academics, activists and practitioners engaged in youth, mental health and climate justice spaces. We argue for structural change to address the causes of the climate crisis, alongside enhanced evidence and approaches to appropriately support the mental health of children and young people. Furthermore, we support the call of Aboriginal peoples to ensure culturally appropriate, place-based responses based in caring for Country.

A Review of the Types of Training Aids Used for Canine Detection Training.

The canine detection community is a diverse one, ranging from scientific fields such as behavior, genetics, veterinary medicine, chemistry, and biology to applications in law enforcement, military, medicine, and agricultural/environmental detection. This diversity has allowed for a flourishing and innovative community, yet it has also led to little acceptance and agreement on terminology. This is especially true when discussing the variety of training aids used in olfactory-based exercises. In general, authentic materials and pseudo-scents are the most commonly discussed, with the former accepted widely for training and certification, and the latter more often disregarded. However, as advances are made in the creation of training materials, alternative training aids are being introduced that do not fit into either of these categories. The misconceptions surrounding how these alternative training aids are manufactured has led to confusion on their classification, and therefore their reliance as an effective tool. This manuscript will review the existing language surrounding canine training aids, address relevant research revealing effectiveness, and clarify the different types based on their manufacture, chemical nature, and fundamental function.

Forensic utility of isotope ratio analysis of the explosive urea nitrate and its precursors.

Urea nitrate (UN) is an improvised explosive made from readily available materials. The carbon and nitrogen isotope composition of UN and its component ions, urea and nitrate, could aid in a forensic investigation. A method was developed to separate UN into its component ions for δ(15)N measurements by dissolving the sample with KOH, drying the sample, followed by removal of the urea by dissolution into 100% methanol. UN was synthesized to assess for preservation of the carbon and nitrogen isotope compositions of reactants (urea and nitric acid) and product UN. Based on nitrogen isotope mass balance, all UN samples contained varying amounts of excess nitric acid, making the ionic separation an essential step in the nitrogen isotope analysis. During UN synthesis experiments, isotopic composition of the reactants is preserved in the product UN, but the urea in the product UN is slightly enriched in (15)N (<1‰) relative to the reactant urea. Published isotopic compositions of UN reactants, urea and nitric acid, have large ranges (urea δ(15)N = -10.8 to +3.3‰; urea δ(13)C = -18.2 to -50.6‰; and nitric acid δ(15)N = -1.8 to +4.0‰). The preservation of isotopic composition of reactants in UN, along with a significant variability in isotopic composition of reactants, indicates that isotope ratio analysis may be used to test if urea or nitric acid collected during an investigation is a possible reactant for a specific UN sample. The carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios differ significantly between two field-collected UN samples, as well as the lab-synthesized UN samples. These observed variations suggest that this approach is useful for discriminating between materials which are otherwise chemically identical.