Adult socioeconomic, educational, social, and psychological outcomes of childhood obesity: a national birth cohort study

Objectives: To assess adult socioeconomic, educational, social, and psychological outcomes of childhood obesity by using nationally representative data. Design: 1970 British birth cohort. Participants: 16 567 babies born in Great Britain 5-11 April 1970 and followed up at 5, 10, and 29-30 years. Main outcome measures: Obesity at age 10 and 30 years. Self reported socioeconomic, educational, psychological, and social outcomes at 30 years. Odds ratios were calculated for the risk of each adult outcome associated with obesity in childhood only, obesity in adulthood only, and persistent child and adult obesity, compared with those obese at neither period. Results: Of the 8490 participants with data on body mass index at 10 and 30 years, 4.3% were obese at 10 years and 16.3% at 30 years. Obesity in childhood only was not associated with adult social class, income, years of schooling, educational attainment, relationships, or psychological morbidity in either sex after adjustment for confounding factors. Persistent obesity was not associated with any adverse adult outcomes in men, though it was associated among women with a higher risk of never having been gainfully employed (odds ratio 1.9, 95% confidence interval 1.1 to 3.3) and not having a current partner (2.0, 1.3 to 3.3). Conclusions: Obesity limited to childhood has little impact on adult outcomes. Persistent obesity in women is associated with poorer employment and relationship outcomes. Efforts to reduce the socioeconomic and psychosocial burden of obesity in adult life should focus on prevention of the persistence of obesity from childhood into adulthood

ABC of adolescence: sexual health, contraception, and teenage pregnancy

Sexual health becomes a new health priority in early adolescence. The sexual health of young people is a matter of intense public concern. The adverse consequences of unsafe sexual behaviour-such as pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV infection-affect adolescents as well as adults. "Risk taking" behaviours are common when adolescents start being sexually intimate and are often linked with other health risk behaviours, such as substance misuse

An examination of the development of standards, protocols and standard operating procedures in forensic radiography

Forensic Radiography has seen a rapid development over the last 20 years with the evolution of new technologies, but perhaps more significantly development of policy and guidelines for radiographers, the adoption of standards and standard operating procedures and changes in education and training. This thesis explores the author’s contribution to the body of knowledge in this discipline through the use of participatory action research which was undertaken through a sequence of iterative cycles over time. The author, as practitioner-researcher, examined the practice of forensic radiography through these cycles of data gathering, studying a number of different operational situations, each of which presented specific organisational issues requiring resolution. Practitioners and service users as members of the organisational system were active participants in the cyclical process of planning, taking action and evaluating the actions. Longitudinal, cross sectional and case study research designs employed observation and reflection, focus groups and multidisciplinary group discussions, questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. These led to collaborative findings and the development of new knowledge that was applied to subsequent situations, which were then further examined and refined within an overarching action research model. The thesis highlights the author’s new contributions to the body of knowledge from the respective studies and resultant publications with specific reference to the development of standards, protocols and standard operating procedures in forensic radiography

Introducing clinical audit into veterinary practice.

This project has been designed to increase our understanding of the clinical audit process, as it applies to veterinary practice in the UK, and to facilitate its introduction in a manner that brings maximum benefit to all stakeholders. It examines the medical scenario to define the process and glean any relevant information. It then takes the form of an action research project that examines in depth the introduction of the audit process into a small animal practice in outer NW London, including its impact upon the standard of clinical care supplied to its patients, and the sociological effect upon the working environment. The provisional conclusions reached in this way have then been triangulated with the findings of a focus group of veterinarians that are actively involved in the subject, and a broader questionnaire of veterinary practitioners and support staff. The research was able to highlight the key obstacles to introducing clinical audit into a veterinary practice, the benefits that can be achieved when its introduction has been successfully achieved, and how those benefits may ameliorate the time and expense involved. In particular, clinical audit was found to be an effective tool for improving client concordance with the recommended treatment regime for the animals in their care, and thus able to improve both patient welfare and practice income. The sociological changes that are needed to put clinical audit into place successfully, encouraging the development of an integrated team of highly motivated reflective practitioners working within a no-blame practice culture, can bring many additional benefits. This work has taken place at a time when various pressures, such as the RCVS Practice Standards Scheme, and an increased public demand for professional accountability have focused interest in the subject. The author has been leading the way in increasing public awareness of the process, encouraging further research, and ensuring that clinical audit is incorporated into the new modular postgraduate CertAVP designed to develop the learning and skills of the practicing vets of the future

Polyporoid and corticioid Basidiomycetes in pristine forests of the Pechora-Ilych Nature Reserve, Komi Republic, Russia

New data on non-agaricoid wood-inhabiting basidiomycetes collected from coniferous hosts in Pechora-Ilych Nature Reserve are provided. In total, 182 species were recorded during two field seasons (June‒July 2012‒2013), of them 64 are reported as new to Komi Republic. Each species in the list below is annotated with host information and specimen collecting data. The paper significantly extends the number of species reported for the region; new records of some rare species, Botryobasidium botryoideum, Chaetoporus mutabilis, Hyphoderma velatum, Physisporinus vitreus, Repetobasidium vile, Tulasnella eichleriana, Tulasnella hyalina, are discussed

Cognitive Distortions: Predictors of Medical Adherence and Health Behaviors Among Women at Risk for Breast Cancer

This study examined the relationship between cognitive distortions and health behaviors among women at risk for breast cancer. Sixty-eight participants completed an online survey consisting of demographic information, the Inventory of Cognitive Distortions (ICD), and the Health Adherence Behavior Inventory (HABIT). Results of the study indicate that health behaviors decrease as thinking becomes more distorted. The data also suggest that various cognitive distortions predict worse adherence, including fortune telling, minimization, and magnification. These findings have implications for the role of clinical psychologists in healthcare settings, and for the utility and implementation of cognitive behavioral interventions to increase early detection and promote prevention strategies among women at risk for breast cancer

Rethinking a defense of sweatshops

In this paper, I criticize Benjamin Powell’s alleged comprehensive moral defense of sweatshops in his book Out of Poverty: Sweatshops and the Global Economy New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014. I argue that his book is not comprehensive, for it fails to argue against his strongest moral opponent. Through two examples that I call “bullying” and “half rescue,” I argue that sweatshop employees are not being treated in accordance with the minimal moral treatment that they all deserve by virtue of the fact that they are persons. I also argue that we all have a moral duty to set up those institutions, policies and laws that can help sweatshop employees get this minimal moral treatment that they deserve. In addition, I contend that sweatshops no longer should be seen as the “first rung on the ladder out of extreme poverty.” Rather, it is more likely that sweatshops in today’s global economy keep the poor in poverty and cover up the fact that multinational enterprises can involve sweatshop employees in endless schemes that pit poor people against other poor people, ensuring that none of them will get the treatment that they deserve as persons.Dans cet article, je critique la prétendue défense morale des ateliers de misère de Benjamin Powell dans son livre Out of Poverty: Sweatshops and the Global Economy New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014. J'affirme que son livre n'est pas exhaustif, car il ne débat pas avec son plus fort adversaire moral. À travers deux exemples que j'appelle «intimidation» et «demi-sauvetage», je soutiens que les employés des ateliers clandestins ne sont pas traités conformément au traitement moral minimal qu'ils méritent tous, du fait qu'ils sont des personnes. Je soutiens également que nous avons tous le devoir moral de mettre en place ces institutions politiques et lois qui peuvent aider les employés des ateliers clandestins à obtenir ce traitement moral minimal qu’ils méritent. De plus, je soutiens que les ateliers clandestins ne devraient plus être considérés comme le «premier échelon de la pauvreté extrême». Au contraire, il est plus probable que les ateliers clandestins, dans l'économie mondiale actuelle, maintiennent les pauvres dans la pauvreté et dissimulent le fait que les entreprises multinationales peuvent impliquer les employés des ateliers clandestins dans des projets sans fin qui opposent les pauvres à d’autres pauvres, en veillant à ce qu’aucun d’entre eux ne reçoive le traitement qu’il mérite en tant que personne

Numerical modeling of meteorological and topographical effects on pollen shed, dispersion, and viability

For open-pollinated species, the success of a pollen grain pollinating a receptive plant is a function of when it is shed, its dispersion in the atmosphere, and the chance of germination upon deposition. Most studies of pollen dispersion have focused on a source and surrounding fields in relatively flat terrain, but dispersion to distances over 20 km has been reported in regions of complex terrain. For this reason, a more detailed examination of atmospheric dispersion over long distances and the components of dispersion - shed, transport, and successful pollination - was undertaken. This dissertation uses numerical models to predict these components in order to improve simulations of dispersion over long distances. Chapter One provides an overview of work previously done in pollen dispersion. Chapter Two describes a model that uses empirical relationships between pollen release and meteorological variables to predict diurnal variations in maize pollen shed. The model captured the general pattern of shed and predicted the time of peak shed on most days. In Chapter Three, a meteorological model was combined with a Lagrangian dispersion model to predict bentgrass pollen dispersion over complex terrain. The models predicted pollen deposition in locations where outcross was previously reported over 20 km from the source. However, pollen was not predicted to be deposited on upwind slopes of mountains or in valleys more than a few kilometers from the source. Chapter Four examines how thermally-generated updrafts resulting from surface sensible heat flux and mechanically-generated updrafts associated with complex topography affect dispersion. We determined the gaps in pollen dispersion found in Chapter Three resulted from additional lift created by convergence on the windward side of mountains and thermally-induced flow that traveled up valley walls and mountain slopes. Chapter Five examines how maize pollen viability is affected when pollen grains are lifted higher in the atmospheric boundary layer. Viability was predicted to be as much as 30% higher when the atmospheric conditions along a pollen grain\u27s trajectory are used compared to estimates of viability using conditions at the Earth\u27s surface. Chapter Six summarizes the dissertation. The results of this work are expected to improve future models of pollen dispersion, leading to more accurate predictions of outcrossing. Also, the methods described here are not limited to maize or bentgrass pollen, but can be modified for applications to other biological particles that rely on atmospheric conditions for dispersion