Relationship between teacher checklist, parent rating scale, and California Test of Personality in grades I, II, and III

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

Undiagnosed Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Physical Activity in Older Manual Workers

First paragraph: Sleep is essential for life and integral to health and well-being (Roehrs, 2000). However, during the aging process, sleep patterns become disrupted, which leads to sleep deprivation (Stanley, 2005). Inadequate sleep has adverse effects on the body, including the production of higher cortisol (stress hormone) levels, which causes wear and tear physiologically, and further contributes to wakefulness (Stanley, 2005)

Resilience, work engagement and stress reactivity in a middle-aged manual worker population

Work stress is a growing problem in Europe. Together, the negative physiological effect of stress on health, and increasing age increases the risk of developing cardiovascular disease in those aged over 50 years. Therefore, identifying older workers who may be at risk of work-related stress, and its physiological effects, is key to promoting their health and wellbeing in the workforce. The present study examined the relationship between perceived psychological resilience and work-related factors (work engagement and presenteeism) and the physiological response to acute psychological stress in older manual workers in the UK. Thirty-one participants, mean (SD) age 54.9 (3.78) years reported perceived levels of resilience, work engagement, and presenteeism using standardized questionnaires. Cardiovascular measurements (heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) and salivary cortisol were used to assess their physiological response to an acute psychological stress task. Resilience was not associated with work-related factors or reactivity. However, workers with higher work engagement showed lower SBP (p = 0.02) and HR (p = 0.001) reactivity than those with lower work engagement. Further, those with higher sickness presenteeism also had higher HR reactivity (p = 0.03). This suggests a potential pathway by which higher work stress might contribute to the risk of future cardiovascular disease

Lisianthus Cut Flower Production in Utah

Lisianthus is a florist staple and excellent crop for local farms. Its limited cool-storage period, long vase-life, and broad range of pastel- to jewel-tone colors are superior to wholesale imports. This fact sheet reviews lisianthus groups, site preparation, germination, transplanting, fertilizing, and irrigation and disease and pest management. It also provides information on trellising, harvest and storage, and economics as a specialty crop option for local farms

Can mother-to-child transmission of HIV be eliminated without addressing the issue of stigma? Modeling the case for a setting in South Africa.

BACKGROUND: Stigma and discrimination ontinue to undermine the effectiveness of the HIV response. Despite a growing body of evidence of the negative relationship between stigma and HIV outcomes, there is a paucity of data available on the prevalence of stigma and its impact. We present a probabilistic cascade model to estimate the magnitude of impact stigma has on mother-to-child-transmission (MTCT). METHODS: The model was parameterized using 2010 data from Johannesburg, South Africa, from which loss-to-care at each stage of the antenatal cascade were available. Three scenarios were compared to assess the individual contributions of stigma, non-stigma related barriers, and drug ineffectiveness on the overall number of infant infections. Uncertainty analysis was used to estimate plausible ranges. The model follows the guidelines in place in 2010 when the data were extracted (WHO Option A), and compares this with model results had Option B+ been implemented at the time. RESULTS: The model estimated under Option A, 35% of infant infections being attributed to stigma. This compares to 51% of total infections had Option B+ been implemented in 2010. Under Option B+, the model estimated fewer infections than Option A, due to the availability of more effective drugs. Only 8% (Option A) and 9% (Option B+) of infant infections were attributed to drug ineffectiveness, with the trade-off in the proportion of infections being between stigma and non-stigma-related barriers. CONCLUSIONS: The model demonstrates that while the effect of stigma on retention of women at any given stage along the cascade can be relatively small, the cumulative effect can be large. Reducing stigma may be critical in reaching MTCT elimination targets, because as countries improve supply-side factors, the relative impact of stigma becomes greater. The cumulative nature of the PMTCT cascade results in stigma having a large effect, this feature may be harnessed for efficiency in investment by prioritizing interventions that can affect multiple stages of the cascade simultaneously

What women want from local primary care services for unintended pregnancy in rural Australia: a qualitative study from rural New South Wales

Background: Under the generalist model of health care in rural Australia, general practitioners (GPs) are often the first point of contact for women seeking health services for unintended pregnancy, including pregnancy decision-making support and options advice, antenatal or abortion care. Rural women are more likely to experience unintended pregnancy in Australia, yet little is known about how well local rural primary healthcare services currently meet their needs. Methods: To address this gap, this qualitative study explores through in-depth semi-structured interviews, the experiences of 20 rural women managing an unintended pregnancy, and their expectations of, and satisfaction with, the quality of care they received. The Framework Method was used to organise data and conduct an inductive thematic analysis. Results: Three themes related to management of unintended pregnancy in a rural primary care setting were identified: (1) women expect informed and efficient care once services are reached; (2) women desire greater choice and aftercare; and (3) comprehensive reproductive health should be part of rural primary care. Participants indicated an awareness of the limitations of the rural health system, yet a firm expectation that despite access delays, all of their reproductive health needs would be met. Choice, time efficiency, and aftercare were identified as gaps in the current primary care service experience. A desire for greater attention to rural reproductive health, including improved contraception, was also emphasised. Conclusions: Rural women with unintended pregnancy experienced gaps in service quality and described a lack of woman-centred care in their local rural health setting. This study offers insight into how rural primary care providers can better support women to make decisions about and reach their preferred services for unintended pregnancy

Low-income, African American Adolescent Mothers and Their Toddlers Exhibit Similar Dietary Variety Patterns

ABSTRACT Objective: To examine the relationship between maternal and toddler dietary variety. Design: Longitudinal; maternal and toddler dietary data were collected at 13 months; anthropometry was collected at 13 and 24 months. Setting: Data were collected in homes. Participants: 109 primiparous, low-income, African American adolescent mothers and toddlers. Main Outcome Measures: Maternal and toddler dietary variety and toddler obesity at 24 months. Analysis: Correlations were computed to estimate associations between maternal and toddler dietary variety at 13 months; multiple logistic regression analyses were conducted to estimate associations between maternal and toddler diet and toddler growth. Results: Maternal and toddler fruit, vegetable, snack, meat, dairy, and soda variety were significantly correlated. There was no association between maternal and toddler dietary variety and obesity at 24 months. Adolescent mothers who purchased groceries consumed more fruits and vegetables and provided more variety for their toddlers than those who relied on others to purchase groceries. Conclusions and Implications: Adolescent mothers and toddlers exhibited similar dietary patterns; consuming more sweets and less fruits and vegetables than recommended. Toddlerhood is an optimal time to address healthful dietary patterns and to help adolescent mothers influence grocery purchasing decisions. Goals are to establish healthful dietary patterns and reduce pediatric obesity

Papers in Australian linguistics No. 15 : Australian Aboriginal lexicography

The past f if teen years have seen major developments in the description and analysis of Australian Aboriginal languages. A large number of descriptive grammars have been published (see Walsh (1979: 8-10) for a partial listing) and several theoretical topics have been discussed in detail, for example , casemarking and ergativity (see papers in Topic B and Topic D of Dixon 1 976, Dixon 1979, Blake 1977 and Silverstein 1981). In addition, some excellent surveys of the f ield have appeared: Blake 1 981, Dixon 1 980 , Yallop 1 982. During this time , lexicography and dictionary production has lagged behind the s tudy of phonological and grammatical issues. In a seminal article on lexicography in Aboriginal Australia , O'Grady 197 1 discussed and evaluated work completed and research in progress for the period 1 780 to 1 968. In an appendix, he gave a summary listing of forty-nine unpublished dictionaries representing thirty-nine different Austral ian languages . A mere four of those have been published in the intervening fif teen years. Admittedly , several vocabularies and d ictionaries not known to O' Grady have appeared recently (for example Coate and Elkin 1975, Hansen and Hansen 1977 and Heath 1982 ) , however , the number of published dictionaries is small compared to the number of available grammars . In addition, no dictionary of an Aus tralian language published to date could be describ�d as truly comprehensive (cf. La ughlin 1 975 or Young and Morgan 1980 for indigenous languages elsewhere in the world ). This situation is set to change in the near future. There are a number of projects currently underway which will see the preparation and publication over the next few years of large comprehensive bilingual dictionaries for a range of Australian languages. Several scholars working on dictionary projects were present at the annual conference of the Australian Linguistic Society held at the Australian National University in 1981. In informal discussions I raised the idea of our getting together to exchange ideas and share experiences . To this end I convened a workshop on Australian Aboriginal lexicography which was held in conjuction with the ALS annual conference at the Univers ity of Sydney in August 1982. Eight papers were presented at the workshop which was attended by thirty-five linguists , many of whom had begun or were about to begin dictionary preparation. All the presentations , with the exception of one by R.M.W. Dixon on the Dyirbal dictionary-thesaurus , were written up and appear in this volume

Analysis of a spatial Lotka-Volterra model with a finite range predator-prey interaction

We perform an analysis of a recent spatial version of the classical Lotka-Volterra model, where a finite scale controls individuals' interaction. We study the behavior of the predator-prey dynamics in physical spaces higher than one, showing how spatial patterns can emerge for some values of the interaction range and of the diffusion parameter.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure