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Objectives: To investigate associations between components of psychological distress and five facets of mindfulness (i.e. "observing"; "describing"; "acting with awareness"; "non-reactivity"; "non-judging"). Participants: Students from a university in South Africa (n = 174). Methods: This cross-sectional study assessed psychological distress and mindfulness using the K10 and Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire. Multivariate regression analysis identified associations between psychological distress and facets of mindfulness, controlling for demographics. Results: Prevalence of psychological distress was 56.9% (95% CI 49.2%-64.4%). "Acting with awareness," "non-reactivity," and "non-judging" predicted significantly lower psychological distress, whereas "observing" and "describing" did not. "Acting with awareness" was the only facet of mindfulness that consistently predicted lower levels of negative affect, fatigue, nervousness, and agitation. Conclusions: Acting with awareness appears to be a key component of psychological wellbeing. To advance theory and practice, future research should consider why and how various facets of mindfulness predict lower psychological distress and its components among university students.

In competitive and elite sports, mental health and athletic performance cannot be considered separately. Mental disorders in sports are bidirectionally associated with reduced athletic performance. A decline in performance, both within and outside of sport, can be a sign of mental disorder. Additionally, poor athletic performance is a potential risk factor for mental disorders in athletes. The central role sports psychiatrists play in the mental health of athletes is well‐established. However, their role in athletic performance is less well‐described and more controversial, perhaps due to a perception that performance is purely a secondary outcome of good mental health. This paper discusses the role that sports psychiatrists can play in athletic performance within competitive and elite sports. Performance can be distinguished into three key focus areas for sports psychiatrists: (i) performance restoration, (ii) performance maintenance, and (iii) performance enhancement. These should be considered throughout the continuum of mental health care, from prevention, treatment, to ongoing care for mental disorders. When reduced performance is due to a mental disorder, psychiatric treatment should purposefully aim to restore functioning and performance as part of management. Maintenance of performance is, similarly, an important element of the prevention, psychiatric treatment, and ongoing care of mental disorders. Holistic sports psychiatrists may also choose to aim for athletic performance enhancement beyond the context of mental health symptoms and disorders, to help athletes flourish and achieve their goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although mental health screenings are not routinely conducted in rugby, the Sport Concussion Assessment Tool – Fifth Edition (SCAT-5) is widely performed and measures affective, cognitive, sleep, and physical symptoms. This study investigated the psychometric properties of the SCAT-5 to explore its potential as a mental health screening tool. During preseason for the 2021 Western Province Super League A in South Africa, clinicians conducted mental health assessments of 71 adult male rugby union players. The SCAT-5 Symptom Evaluation, Baron Depression Screener for Athletes (BDSA), Athlete Psychological Strain Questionnaire (APSQ), Center for Epidemiologic Studies–Depression (CES-D), and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) were compared to each other and to fully structured diagnostic interviews by mental health professionals using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) 7.0.2. Lifetime MINI-defined mental disorders were common, being identified in 33.8% (95% CI 22.79–46.17%). Only 4.29% of participants had a previous diagnosis. Exploratory Factor Analysis indicated a mental health construct of depression/anxiety being measured by the SCAT-5. The SCAT-5 had strong internal consistency (α = 0.94) and showed moderate convergent validity with the CES-D (r = 0.34; p = 0.008) and GAD-7 (r = 0.49; p < 0.0001). The area under the curve for the ability of the SCAT-5 to identify current disorders was 0.87 (p = 0.003), on par with the CES-D and GAD-7. Since the SCAT-5 has the potential to identify depression and anxiety, it may allow mental health screening without the need for additional measures. Follow-up studies should further explore its discriminative ability in larger samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate associations between components of psychological distress and five facets of mindfulness (i.e. observing; describing; acting with awareness; non-reactivity; non-judging). Students from a university in South Africa (n = 174). This cross-sectional study assessed psychological distress and mindfulness using the K10 and Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire. Multivariate regression analysis identified associations between psychological distress and facets of mindfulness, controlling for demographics. Prevalence of psychological distress was 56.9% (95% CI 49.2%–64.4%). Acting with awareness, non-reactivity, and non-judging predicted significantly lower psychological distress, whereas observing and describing did not. Acting with awareness was the only facet of mindfulness that consistently predicted lower levels of negative affect, fatigue, nervousness, and agitation. Acting with awareness appears to be a key component of psychological wellbeing. To advance theory and practice, future research should consider why and how various facets of mindfulness predict lower psychological distress and its components among university students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When charged with overseeing a project, how can one ensure that the project will be completed on time, within budget, and to the satisfaction of everyone involved? In this article, the authors examine project management methodology as a means of ensuring that projects are conducted in a disciplined, well-managed and consistent manner that serves to promote the delivery of quality products and results.

Abstract: Wet-weather logging can cause severe soil physical disturbances and redistribute residues. Although some research indicates negative effects of such disturbances on individual tree growth, the long-term resilience and resistance [...]

There has been much concern that traffic associated with the harvesting of intensively managed pine plantations reduces long-term soil-site productivity. Trafficking, especially during wet periods, can cause severe soil physical disturbance and redistribution of woody residues. Although the negative effects of soil compaction and rutting on root growth and the importance of organic matter for maintaining site productivity are well known, the connection between these factors and actual changes in soil and site productivity has been difficult to evaluate. Three productive, 20-ha loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) plantations located on fertile 'wet pine flats' on the coastal plain of South Carolina were subjected to wet- and dry-weather harvesting and mechanical site preparation. A factorial design was used to evaluate changes in soil-site quality after 5 yr based on postharvest classifications of soil physical disturbance, harvest residue removal, and the type of site preparation using a recently developed rank diagnostic approach. Trees on disturbed sites performed as well or better than trees on minimally disturbed sites with average levels of harvest residues. Bedding restored relative soil-site productivity (based on the rank diagnostic) on all but heavily disturbed sites with >25% bare soil; however, these heavily disturbed sites comprised about 5% of the total area harvested. Moderate levels of disturbance may increase relative soil-site productivity, perhaps by controlling competition or increasing nitrogen mineralization rates. Sites such as these may be good alternatives to more sensitive sites for wet-weather harvesting.

Soil quality research has focused on intensively managed agricultural and forest soils, but the concept and importance of soil quality is also pertinent to reclaimed mine soils and other disturbed ecosystems. Adding organic amendments has been used as a means for ameliorating mine soils and improving their quality, but the long-term effects of amendments on soil quality are not known. In 1982, a mined site was amended with seven different surface treatments: a control (nothing added), 30 cm of native soil, 112 Mg [ha.sup.-1] sawdust, and municipal sewage sludge (SS) at rates of 22, 56,112, and 224 Mg [ha.sup.-1]. Four replicates of each treatment were installed as a randomized complete block design. Each plot was split and planted with pitch x loblolly pine hybrid (Pinus rigida x taeda) trees and Kentucky-31 tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.). During the 16-yr period, organic matter content, total organic N, N mineralization potential, aggregate stability, and other physical and chemical properties were measured as mine soil quality indicators. The comparative ability of these organic amendments to positively affect organic matter content, total N, and other parameters was most apparent and pronounced after 5 yr. However, after 16 yr, soil organic matter (SOM) content and total N appeared to be equilibrating at [approximately equal to] 10 000 and 750 kg [ha.sup.-1], respectively. Organic matter inputs by vegetation alone across the 16-yr period in the control plots resulted in organic matter and N mineralization potential values comparable to levels in the organically-amended plots, indicating the overriding importance of vegetation in the soil recovery process. After 16 yr, there appears to be no lasting soil quality improvements due to addition of organic amendments to this mine soil. Amendments improved short-term production, but their cost of transport and application may be difficult to justify based on long-term soil quality improvement.

Sustaining forest soil productivity is a common goal of forest landowners in the Southeast, but determining the effects of forest management practices on soil and site quality has not been easy. An unbiased measurement is needed to monitor sustained soil and site productivity. Growth cycle comparisons, traditional measures of forest productivity, are not very timely, are often biased, and do not always account for changes in soil quality due to management. This was demonstrated by comparing growth curves of two successive loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) rotations, and by comparing growth curves influenced by two site preparation treatments within the last rotation. The growth cycle comparison between rotations was not a definitive indicator of sustained soil quality because stand response could have been confounded by differences in genotype and vegetation management from the first to the second rotation. Stand responses due to soil treatment in the last rotation were confounded by the influence of different levels of competing vegetation. Because stand response is a function of many confounding non-soil factors as well as soil quality, soil sustainability and the effects of management should be determined by measuring soil properties and processes directly.

The effects of inorganic nitrogen (N) fertilization, wood chip amendment, and native topsoil replacement on mine soil properties, ground cover dynamics and tree survival in Appalachian mine soil were evaluated. Inorganic N increased plant growth in the first year, but beyond this, plant productivity did not increase. The levels of total and mineralizable N were also unaffected. Wood chip amendment and topsoil replacement increased total and mineralizable N, which could improve long-term productivity by providing a constant supply of N. However, the short-term effects of these treatments were quite disappointing and will need further study.