Perceived Wellness of College Professors, Faculty and Staff

With the current rise in various concerning health conditions, researchers are placing greater importance on overall wellness. The World Health Organization defines wellness as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. Additionally, wellness is thought to be a crucial component to living a higher quality of life. Previous studies suggest that physical activity could play a large role in overall perceived wellness; however, current research has yet to explore this relationship. PURPOSE: Therefore, the purpose of the current investigation was to determine the relationship between physical wellness and the alternative wellness dimensions of university employees. METHODS: Participants (n = 49) were asked to complete the Perceived Wellness Survey, a 36-item, 6-point Likert scale assessment (1. “Very strongly disagree” to 6. “Very strongly agree”), which measures the following six dimensions of wellness: physical, psychological, social, emotional, intellectual and spiritual, with six questions per dimension. The researchers employed a Pearson Product Moment Coefficient (α \u3c.05) to determine the relationship between physical wellness and the remaining dimensions (psychological, emotional, spiritual, social, and intellectual). RESULTS: The results of the statistical analysis recognized physical wellness to only significantly correlated with psychological wellness (r= .290, p= .043). The psychological wellness, however, significantly correlates with all wellness dimensions: emotional dimension (r=.344, p = .015), spiritual dimension (r=.510, p \u3c .001), social dimension (r=.499, p \u3c .001) and lastly, the intellectual dimension (r=.357, p=.012). CONCLUSION: These results suggest physical wellness may not directly correlate with the other dimensions, however, the significant correlates with the psychological dimension may infer an indirectly impact of physical wellness on the four alterative wellness dimensions. Furthermore, the researchers advises university employees to regularly participate in physical activity and exercise geared towards optimizing health and overall well-being

Neuroplasticity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis early in life requires recurrent recruitment of stress-regulating brain regions.

An eloquent example of experience-induced neuroplasticity involves the enduring effects of daily "handling" of rat pups on the expression of genes regulating hormonal and behavioral responses to stress. Handling-evoked augmentation of maternal care of pups induces long-lasting reduction of hypothalamic corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) expression and upregulates hippocampal glucocorticoid receptor levels. These changes promote a lifelong attenuation of hormonal stress responses. We have found previously that handling-evoked downregulation of CRH expression occurs already by postnatal day 9, implicating it as an early step in this experience-induced neuroplasticity. Here, we investigated the neuronal pathways and cellular mechanisms involved. CRH mRNA expression in hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) diminished after daily handling but not after handling once only, indicating that "recurrent" handling was required for this effect. Return of handled pups to their cage provoked a burst of nurturing behavior in dams that, in turn, induced transient, coordinate Fos expression in selected regions of the pups' brains. These included central nucleus of the amygdala (ACe) and bed nucleus of the stria terminals (BnST), regions that are afferent to PVN and influence CRH expression there. Whereas handling once sufficed to evoke Fos expression within ACe and BnST, expression in thalamic paraventricular nucleus, a region involved in storing and processing stress-related experience, required recurrent handling. Fos induction in all three regions elicited reduced transcription factor phosphorylation, followed by attenuated activation of CRH gene transcription within the PVN. These studies provide a neurobiological foundation for the profound neuroplasticity of stress-related genes evoked by early-life experience

Overburden management in open pits: options and limits in large limestone quarries

This is the 'In press corrected proof' version. The final version is available from Elsevier via the DOI in this recordThe management of overburden is an important task in open pit exploitations. Site topography and morphology as well as geological and geotechnical properties of natural and remoulded materials are the most important factors affecting the disposal phase. Economic and environmental requirements must be followed in order to achieve the best reclamation results, keeping into account site constraints such as slope stability, hauling and dumping issues, and interactions with groundwater. This paper deals with the above mentioned issues, illustrating a rational approach applied on the case of a large limestone quarry where the thickness of the overburden is relevant and the spoil material has to be dumped in a flooded pit. The proposed multidisciplinary approach led to the selection of most suitable methods for excavation, transportation and disposal. The selection was based on a detailed laboratory and site characterisation that defined favorable and adverse factors to be considered during the preliminary study of a large quarrying project.Thanks are due to Mr G. Torchio for the graphics of the 3D simulation of overburden disposal from fixed discharge points. Special and extended thanks are due to the technical and support staff of CCB in Gaurain (Belgium) and Italcementi CGT in Bergamo (Italy), which supported part of this research by means of a research contract with Politecnico of Turin, DIATI (coordinator A. Godio

Efficiency of Surber net under different substrate and flow conditions: Insights for macroinvertebrates sampling and river biomonitoring

In biomonitoring great attention has been paid on the selection of the best indices and metrics, often neglecting a simple but fundamental aspect: how reliable are the sampling methodologies? We tested the efficiency of the Surber net in collecting stream macroinvertebrates by comparing two samples collected consecutively on the same plot. We found that substrate particle size and water depth and velocity significantly affected sampling efficiency, especially regarding the total taxa richness, EPT (Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera) richness and density. This study therefore provides useful insights to collect stream macroinvertebrates using the Surber net under different near-bed conditions