Faith-based motivation for health behavior change: a pilot of the Daniel Plan in a small, rural Alaskan community

Motivating patients to make beneficial lifestyle changes such as improved diet and exercise habits is a challenging but important role for Nurse Practitioners. This project addressed this problem by exploring one promising method for motivating patients, that of faith-based interventions. The Daniel Plan, a previously successful faith-based, six-week small group study was implemented in a small, rural Alaskan community. Data collection included biometric measurements and self-report questionnaires on nutrition and physical activity. All those who completed the study lost weight and improved their diet and exercise habits. Participants reported that the group setting and the spiritual focus were most effective in facilitating their positive changes. These results support previous evidence that faith-based wellness interventions should be considered as a valuable tool for facilitating health behavior changes. They also indicate the importance of incorporating spirituality assessments into the care of patients as a potential way of motivating them to make such changes. More specifically, this project identified that the Daniel Plan was an effective program to recommend to those patients who identify with Biblical teachings.Title Page / Abstract / Table of Contents / List of Tables / List of Appendices / Faith-Based Motivation for Health Behavior Change / Background and Significance / Purpose and Rationale / Clinical Questions / Relevance to best practice / Literature Review / Theoretical Framework / Multi-behavior Interventions / Faith-Based Wellness Interventions / Methods / Design / Setting / Consent Process and Protection of Human Subjects / Recruitment of Subjects / Intervention / Measurements / Demographics / Weight and BMI measurement / Waist circumference measures / Physical activity measures / Nutrition measures / Results / Attendance / Demographics / Weight and Body Mass Index / Waist Circumference / Physical Activity / Nutrition / Subjective Outcomes / Pre-intervention questionnaire / Post-intervention questionnaire / Discussion and Conclusions / Change in Practice / Outcomes and Self Determination Theory / Limitations and Recommendations for Further Study / Dissemination Plan/ References / Appendice

Effectiveness of universal school-based programs for prevention of violence in adolescents

Objective: Violence is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality amongst young people. Primary preventive programs aimed at reducing the involvement of young people in violence are often implemented in a school setting. This systematic review evaluated the effectiveness of universal school-based programs aimed at the primary prevention of violence in 11-18 year olds. Method: A pre-defined search strategy was used to search various sources (i.e. databases, gray literature, previous reviews, and reference lists of included studies) for randomised design trials and quasi-experimental design trials published between 2002 and March 2014. After screening 8051 abstracts, 21 studies were identified that satisfied the inclusion/exclusion criteria. These studies evaluated 16 different programs based mainly in the US. Results: Due to the heterogeneity meta-analysis was not possible; thus a narrative synthesis was reported. The most effective interventions utilised social development and social norms components. Attitudes towards violence was the most frequently measured outcome with six studies reporting a beneficial effect and two reporting no effect; three of the six studies examining violent behaviour demonstrated a small beneficial effect; and four of the seven studies examining physical aggression demonstrated a small beneficial effect. Conclusions: In general, this review found limited evidence of the effectiveness of universal school-based programs in the primary prevention of violence in 11-18 year olds; however, those that combined social development and social norms approaches appeared to be the most effective. Additional qualitative research/process evaluation is required to establish the processes that underpin the success/failure of such programs in order to inform their refinement, and the future development of effective programs.PostprintPeer reviewe

Metal Abundances of Intermediate-Redshift AGN: Evidence for a Population of Lower-Metallicty Seyfert 2 Galaxies at z = 0.3-0.4

We derive oxygen abundances for two samples of Seyfert 2 (Sy2) active galactic nuclei (AGN) selected from the KPNO International Spectroscopic Survey (KISS). The two samples from KISS include 17 intermediate-redshift (0.29 < z < 0.42) Sy2s detected via their [O III] lines, and 35 low-redshift (z < 0.1), Halpha-detected Sy2s. The primary goal of this work is to explore whether the metallicity distribution of these two samples changes with redshift. To determine the oxygen abundances of the KISS galaxies, we use Cloudy to create a large number of photoionization model grids by varying the temperature of the accretion disk, the ratio of X-ray to UV continuum light, the ionization parameter, the hydrogen density, and the metallicity of the narrow-line region clouds. We link the results of these models to the observed [O III]/H-beta and [N II]/H-alpha emission-line ratios of the KISS sample on the BPT diagram, interpolating across the model grids to derive metallicity. The two redshift samples overlap substantially in terms of derived metal abundances, but we find that some of the intermediate-redshift Sy2 galaxies possess lower abundances than their local universe counterparts. Our analysis provides evidence for modest levels of chemical evolution (0.18 +/- 0.06 dex) over 3-4 Gyrs of look-back time. We compare our results to other AGN abundance derivation methods from the literature.Comment: 17 pages, 12 figures; accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

Designed asymmetric coordination helicates with bis-β-diketonate ligands.

A new bis-(β-diketone) ligand featuring built-up structural asymmetry yields non-symmetric Fe(iii) and Ga(iii) dinuclear, triple-stranded helicates by design. Their structural properties have been studied, both in solid state and in solution, and compared with their corresponding symmetric analogues. The robustness observed shows the potential of this synthetic strategy to develop non-symmetric helicoidal motifs with specific functional groups

The Association between Hypertension and Depression and Anxiety Disorders: Results from a Nationally-Representative Sample of South African Adults

Objective Growing evidence suggests high levels of comorbidity between hypertension and mental illness but there are few data from low- and middle-income countries. We examined the association between hypertension and depression and anxiety in South Africa.Methods Data come from a nationally-representative survey of adults (n = 4351). The Composite International Diagnostic Interview was used to measure DSM-IV mental disorders during the previous 12-months. The relationships between self-reported hypertension and anxiety disorders, depressive disorders and comorbid anxiety-depression were assessed after adjustment for participant characteristics including experience of trauma and other chronic physical conditions.Results Overall 16.7% reported a previous medical diagnosis of hypertension, and 8.1% and 4.9% were found to have a 12-month anxiety or depressive disorder, respectively. In adjusted analyses, hypertension diagnosis was associated with 12-month anxiety disorders [Odds ratio (OR) = 1.55, 95% Confidence interval (CI) = 1.10–2.18] but not 12-month depressive disorders or 12-month comorbid anxiety-depression. Hypertension in the absence of other chronic physical conditions was not associated with any of the 12-month mental health outcomes (p-values all &lt;0.05), while being diagnosed with both hypertension and another chronic physical condition were associated with 12-month anxiety disorders (OR = 2.25, 95% CI = 1.46–3.45), but not 12-month depressive disorders or comorbid anxiety-depression.Conclusions These are the first population-based estimates to demonstrate an association between hypertension and mental disorders in sub-Saharan Africa. Further investigation is needed into role of traumatic life events in the aetiology of hypertension as well as the temporality of the association between hypertension and mental disorders.African and African American Studie

Progressing gender equality in fisheries by building strategic partnerships with development organisations

Gender equality, a universal agreed principle and value, has been adopted widely but implemented to varying levels in different sectors. Our study was designed to contrast how development and fisheries sectors view and invest in gender, and then explore opportunities to strengthen collaborative relationships and networks between the two, with the aim of improving capacity for gender inclusion in practice in fisheries. We conducted key informant interviews with fisheries (n=68) and development (n=32) practitioners (including managers) in Fiji, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu between 2018 and 2019. We found three points of divergence between fisheries and development practitioners and/or their organisations when it comes to the inclusion of gender into their work: (1) fundamental differences in organisational motivations for working on gender ‒ (i.e., fisheries organisations viewed gender equality as a means to achieve fisheries objectives (instrumental), while development organisations viewed it as a core value or principle (inherent); (2) fisheries practitioners had comparatively little to no access to qualified gender focal points and training, and limited networks with gender experts; and (3) differences in what each considered successful versus failed approaches to gender integration. Our findings illustrate opportunities, as well as limitations or challenges (e.g. resistance and indifference), to transfer knowledge and capacity to integrate gender into fisheries policies and practice. We suggest using these divergences to ‘pivot change’ in the fisheries sector by building on decades of knowledge, learning and experience from the development sector focusing on four areas for strategic partnership: (1) shifting values; (2) gender mainstreaming; (3) adopting gender best practice; and (4) investing in gender networks and coalitions. We argue that fundamental to the success of such a partnership will be the ability and willingness of fisheries and development practitioners and their organisations to break down silos and work collaboratively towards gender equality in the fisheries sector

Coral reef ecosystem services in the Anthropocene

Coral reefs underpin a range of ecosystem goods and services that contribute to the well‐being of millions of people. However, tropical coral reefs in the Anthropocene are likely to be functionally different from reefs in the past. In this perspective piece, we ask, what does the Anthropocene mean for the provision of ecosystem services from coral reefs? First, we provide examples of the provisioning, regulating, cultural and supporting services underpinned by coral reef ecosystems. We conclude that coral reef ecosystem service research has lagged behind multidisciplinary advances in broader ecosystem services science, such as an explicit recognition that interactions between social and ecological systems underpin ecosystem services. Second, drawing on tools from functional ecology, we outline how these social–ecological relationships can be incorporated into a mechanistic understanding of service provision and how this might be used to anticipate future changes in coral reef ecosystem services. Finally, we explore the emergence of novel reef ecosystem services, for example from tropicalized coastlines, or through changing technological connections to coral reefs. Indeed, when services are conceived as coming from social–ecological system dynamics, novelty in services can emerge from elements of the interactions between people and the ecosystem. This synthesis of the coral reef ecosystem services literature suggests the field is poorly prepared to understand the changing service provision anticipated in the Anthropocene. A new research agenda is needed that better connects reef functional ecology to ecosystem service provision. This research agenda should embrace more holistic approaches to ecosystem service research, recognizing them as co‐produced by ecosystems and society. Importantly, the likelihood of novel ecosystem service configurations requires further conceptualization and empirical assessment. As with current ecosystem services, the loss or gain of services will not affect all people equally and must be understood in the context in which they occur. With the uncertainty surrounding the future of coral reefs in the Anthropocene, research exploring how the benefits to people change will be of great importance

The epidemiology of major depression in South Africa: Results from the South African Stress and Health study

Background. Mental disorders are a major contributor to the burden of disease in all regions of the world. There are limited data on the epidemiology of major depressive disorder in South Africa. Methods. A nationally representative household survey was conducted between 2002 and 2004 using the World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) to establish a diagnosis of depression. The dataset analysed included 4 351 adult South Africans of all racial groups. Results. The prevalence of major depression was 9.7% for lifetime and 4.9% for the 12 months prior to the interview. The prevalence of depression was significantly higher among females than among males. The prevalence was also higher among those with a low level of education. Over 90% of all respondents with depression reported global role impairment. Conclusion. In comparison with data from other countries, South Africa has lower rates of depression than the USA but higher rates than Nigeria. The findings are broadly consistent with previous findings in South Africa. These findings are the first step in documenting a level of need for care in a context of significant under-funding of mental health services and research in South Africa

Magnetic Field Tomography in Nearby Galaxies with the Square Kilometre Array

Magnetic fields play an important role in shaping the structure and evolution of the interstellar medium (ISM) of galaxies, but the details of this relationship remain unclear. With SKA1, the 3D structure of galactic magnetic fields and its connection to star formation will be revealed. A highly sensitive probe of the internal structure of the magnetoionized ISM is the partial depolarization of synchrotron radiation from inside the volume. Different configurations of magnetic field and ionized gas within the resolution element of the telescope lead to frequency-dependent changes in the observed degree of polarization. The results of spectro-polarimetric observations are tied to physical structure in the ISM through comparison with detailed modeling, supplemented with the use of new analysis techniques that are being actively developed and studied within the community such as Rotation Measure Synthesis. The SKA will enable this field to come into its own and begin the study of the detailed structure of the magnetized ISM in a sample of nearby galaxies, thanks to its extraordinary wideband capabilities coupled with the combination of excellent surface brightness sensitivity and angular resolution.Comment: 11 pages, 1 figure; to appear as part of 'Cosmic Magnetism' in Proceedings 'Advancing Astrophysics with the SKA (AASKA14)', PoS(AASKA14)10