Podcast episode 5: Theology, Public Health, and Social Service

This article and podcast was originally published in The Prophet -- a journal created by and for the students at the Boston University School of Theology (BUSTH) to amplify the voices of STH students by promoting and sharing a range of perspectives on matters of concern including, but not limited to, spiritual practices, faith communities and society, the nature of theology, and current affairs. It serves as a platform for STH students to share their academic work, theological reflections, and life experiences with one another and the wider community.Kathy Boss, MDiv ’20 talks with fellow student, Fernando Ona MDiv ’20, who is also a full-time Associate Professor of Public Health and Community Medicine at Tufts University, about the complicated intersection of theology and the secular, scientific world of public health

Dominant aerosol processes during high-pollution episodes over Greater Tokyo

This paper studies two high-pollution episodes over Greater Tokyo: 9 and 10 December 1999, and 31 July and 1 August 2001. Results obtained with the chemistry-transport model (CTM) Polair3D are compared to measurements of inorganic PM2.5. To understand to which extent the aerosol processes modeled in Polair3D impact simulated inorganic PM2.5, Polair3D is run with different options in the aerosol module, e.g. with/without heterogeneous reactions. To quantify the impact of processes outside the aerosol module, simulations are also done with another CTM (CMAQ). In the winter episode, sulfate is mostly impacted by condensation, coagulation, long-range transport, and deposition to a lesser extent. In the summer episode, the effect of long-range transport largely dominates. The impact of condensation/evaporation is dominant for ammonium, nitrate and chloride in both episodes. However, the impact of the thermodynamic equilibrium assumption is limited. The impact of heterogeneous reactions is large for nitrate and ammonium, and taking heterogeneous reactions into account appears to be crucial in predicting the peaks of nitrate and ammonium. The impact of deposition is the same for all inorganic PM2.5. It is small compared to the impact of other processes although it is not negligible. The impact of nucleation is negligible in the summer episode, and small in the winter episode. The impact of coagulation is larger in the winter episode than in the summer episode, because the number of small particles is higher in the winter episode as a consequence of nucleation.Comment: Journal of Geophysical Research D: Atmospheres (15/05/2007) in pres

Measuring pathways to care in first-episode psychosis : a systematic review

Background Adequately understanding and measuring pathways to care is a prerequisite for early detection and effective treatment of first-episode psychosis. Method We conducted a systematic review of studies on pathways to care in first-episode psychosis to establish what measures currently exist to assess pathways in first-episode psychosis and to compare these measures. Results We identified 15 studies which had used six different measures of pathways to care. Differences in aims, methodology and lack of psychometric data did not allow a direct comparison of pathways measures but certain common themes emerged. Discussion Pathways to care in first-episode psychosis are diverse and varied. There is no measure with established psychometric properties that has been devised on a well-developed theoretical or conceptual framework and had its psychometric properties established. The conflict between exploring the patient's narrative and journey through the healthcare system and developing an empirical measure of pathways with optimal outcomes has hindered the development of such a measure

Offspring of parents with recurrent depression: which features of parent depression index risk for offspring psychopathology?

Background: Parental depression is associated with an increased risk of psychiatric disorder in offspring, although outcomes vary. At present relatively little is known about how differences in episode timing, severity, and course of recurrentdepression relate to risk in children. The aim of this study was to consider the offspring of parents with recurrentdepression and examine whether a recent episode of parental depressionindexesrisk for offspringpsychopathology over and above these other parental depressionfeatures. <p/>Methods: Three hundred and thirty seven recurrently depressed parents and their offspring (aged 9–17) were interviewed as part of an ongoing study, the ‘Early Prediction of Adolescent Depression Study’. The Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Assessment was used to assess two child outcomes; presence of a DSM-IV psychiatric disorder and number of DSM-IV child-rated depression symptoms. <p/>Results: Children whose parents had experienced a recent episode of depression reported significantly more depression symptoms, and odds of child psychiatric disorder were doubled relative to children whose parents had not experienced a recent episode of depression. Past severity of parental depression was also significantly associated with child depression symptoms. <p/>Limitations: Statistical analyses preclude causal conclusions pertaining to parental depression influences on offspringpsychopathology; several features of parental depression were recalled retrospectively. <p/>Conclusions: This study suggests that particular features of parental depression, specifically past depression severity and presence of a recent episode, may be important indicators of risk for child psychiatric disorder and depressive symptoms

Lithostratigraphy and depositional episodes of the Oligocene carbonate-rich Tikorangi Formation, Taranaki Basin, New Zealand

The subsurface Oligocene Tikorangi Formation is a unique and important oil producer in the onshore Waihapa-Ngaere Field, Taranaki Basin, being the only carbonate and fracture-producing reservoir within the basin. Core sample data from seven onshore wells (foredeep megafacies) and a single offshore well (basinal megafacies) are correlated with a suite of sonic and gamma-ray geophysical well log data to derive interpretative carbonate facies for the Tikorangi Formation. Four mixed siliciclastic-carbonate to carbonate facies have been defined: facies A-calcareous siliciclastite (75% carbonate). Single or interbedded combinations of these facies form the basis for identifying nine major lithostratigraphic units in the Tikorangi Formation that are correlatable between the eight wells in this study.The Tikorangi Formation accumulated across a shelf-slope-basin margin within a tectonically diversified basin setting, notably involving considerable off-shelf redeposition of sediment into a bounding foredeep. Analysis of gamma, sonic, and resistivity well logs identifies five major episodes of sedimentary evolution. Episode I comprises retrogradational siliciclastic-dominated redeposited units associated with foredeep subsidence. Episode II is a continuation of episode I retrogradation, but with increased mass-redeposited carbonate influx during accelerated foredeep subsidence and relative sea-level rise, the top marking the maximum flooding surface. Episode III involves a progradational sequence comprising relatively pure redeposited carbonate units associated with declining subsidence rates and minimal siliciclastic input, with movement of facies belts basinward. Episode IV consists of prograding aggradation involving essentially static facies belts dominated by often thick, periodically mass-emplaced, carbonate-rich units separated by thin background siliciclastic shale-like units. Episode V is a retrogradational sequence marking the reintroduction of siliciclastic material into the basin following uplift of Mesozoic basement associated with accelerated compressional tectonics along the Australia-Pacific plate boundary, initially diluting and ultimately extinguishing carbonate production factories and terminating deposition of the Tikorangi Formation