Growing Out of Poverty: Does Urban Agriculture Contribute to Household Food Security in Southern African Cities?

Abstract The literature on urban agriculture (UA) as a food security and poverty alleviation strategy is bifurcating into two distinct positions. The first is that UA is a viable and effective pro-poor development strategy, and the second is that UA has demonstrated limited positive outcomes on either food security or poverty. These two positions are tested against data generated by the African Urban Food Security Network's (AFSUN) baseline food security survey undertaken in 11 Southern African cities. At the aggregate level, the analysis shows that (1) urban context is an important predictor of rates of household engagement in UA-the economic, political, and historical circumstances and conditions of a city are key factors that either promote or hinder UA activity and scale; (2) UA is not an effective household food security strategy for poor urban households-the analysis found few significant relationships between UA participation and food security; and (3) household levels of earnings and land holdings may mediate UA impacts on food security-wealthier households derive greater net food security benefits from UA than poor households do. These findings call into question the potential benefits of UA as a broad urban development strategy and lend support to the position that UA has limited poverty alleviation benefits under current modes of practice and regulation

Minimally-invasive debulking of ovarian cancer in the rat pelvis by means of photodynamic therapy using the pegylated photosensitizer PEG-m-THPC

Interstitial photodynamic therapy (PDT) using the pegylated photosensitizer PEG-m-THPC was evaluated as a minimally-invasive procedure to selectively debulk unrespectable pelvic ovarian cancer (NuTu-19) in immunocompetent rats. To assess tumour selectivity, PEG-m-THPC at dosages of 0.3, 3.0 and 30 mg kg−1 body weight was administered intravenously to 30 rats 4 weeks following tumour induction. Eight days later laser light at 652 nm and optical doses ranging from 100 to 900 J cm−1 diffuser-length was delivered by an interstitial cylindrical diffusing fibre inserted blindly into the pelvis. Three days following light application, the volume of necrosis was measured and the damage to pelvic organs was assessed histologically on cross sections. For analysis of survival, 20 tumour-bearing rats received PDT using drug doses of 3 or 9 mg kg−1 body weight and an optical dose of 900 J cm−1 diffuser-length, whereas ten untreated tumour-bearing rats served as controls. The histological assessment of PDT induced necrosis showed a non-linear dose–response for both the photosensitizer dose and the optical dose. The lowest drug dose activated with the highest optical dose did not induce more necrosis than seen in tumour-bearing control animals. The same optical dose induced necrosis of 17 mm in diameter using 30 mg kg−1 and 11 mm using 3 mg kg−1 photosensitizer. The optical threshold for induction of significant necrosis was between 100 and 300 J cm−1 diffuser-length for 30 mg kg−1 and between 300 and 500 J cm−1 for 3 mg kg−1 PEG-m-THPC. Significant damage to normal pelvic organs was only seen if 30 mg kg−1 photosensitizer was activated with optical doses of 700 J cm−1 or more. In the survival study, all treated animals survived PDT for at least 2 weeks and the intestinal and urinary tract remained functional. No clinical signs of blood vessel or nerve injury were observed. Mean overall survival of untreated tumour-bearing rats was 25.0 ± 4.5 days compared to 38.4 ± 3.8 days and 40.0 ± 3.6 days for rats treated with 3 mg kg−1 or 9 mg kg−1 PEG-m-THPC mediated PDT respectively (P < 0.05). We conclude that PEG-m-THPC mediated PDT has a favourable therapeutic window and that this minimally-invasive procedure can reduce pelvic cancer bulks effectively and selectively. © 1999 Cancer Research Campaig

Longitudinal decrease in blood oxygenation level dependent response in cerebral amyloid angiopathy

AbstractLower blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) signal changes in response to a visual stimulus in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have been observed in cross-sectional studies of cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), and are presumed to reflect impaired vascular reactivity. We used fMRI to detect a longitudinal change in BOLD responses to a visual stimulus in CAA, and to determine any correlations between these changes and other established biomarkers of CAA progression. Data were acquired from 22 patients diagnosed with probable CAA (using the Boston Criteria) and 16 healthy controls at baseline and one year. BOLD data were generated from the 200 most active voxels of the primary visual cortex during the fMRI visual stimulus (passively viewing an alternating checkerboard pattern). In general, BOLD amplitudes were lower at one year compared to baseline in patients with CAA (p=0.01) but were unchanged in controls (p=0.18). The longitudinal difference in BOLD amplitudes was significantly lower in CAA compared to controls (p<0.001). White matter hyperintensity (WMH) volumes and number of cerebral microbleeds, both presumed to reflect CAA-mediated vascular injury, increased over time in CAA (p=0.007 and p=0.001, respectively). Longitudinal increases in WMH (rs=0.04, p=0.86) or cerebral microbleeds (rs=−0.18, p=0.45) were not associated with the longitudinal decrease in BOLD amplitudes

State of Reproductive Health In Women Veterans – VA Reproductive Health Diagnoses and Organization of Care

Reproductive health (RH) is a critical part of health. For women, RH encompasses gynecological health throughout life, preconception care, maternity care, cancer care, and the interaction of RH with other mental and medical conditions. Reproductive Health is defined as a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-be­ing and not merely the absence of reproductive disease or infirmity. This definition highlights the importance of taking a health systems approach that integrates RH care issues and services with other aspects of care needed across the life course. The RH needs of women are shaped by their stages of life and life experiences. For women Veterans, their military experiences may influence their RH in important ways. Given the increasing numbers of women in the military and women Veterans, it is critical to understand key aspects of RH in this unique population of women. This first report of the State of Reproductive Health in Women Veterans provides an overview of the RH diagnoses of women Veterans utilizing the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care services, VA delivery of RH care, and a vision for RH in VA

Longitudinal brain atrophy rates in transient ischemic attack and minor ischemic stroke patients and cognitive profiles

Introduction: Patients with transient ischemic attack (TIA) and minor stroke demonstrate cognitive impairment, and a four-fold risk of late-life dementia. Aim: To study the extent to which the rates of brain volume loss in TIA patients differ from healthy controls and how they are correlated with cognitive impairment. Methods: TIA or minor stroke patients were tested with a neuropsychological battery and underwent T1 weighted volumetric magnetic resonance imaging scans at fixed intervals over a 3 years period. Linear mixed effects regression models were used to compare brain atrophy rates between groups, and to determine the relationship between atrophy rates and cognitive function in TIA and minor stroke patients. Results: Whole brain atrophy rates were calculated for the TIA and minor stroke patients; n = 38 between 24 h and 18 months, and n = 68 participants between 18 and 36 months, and were compared to healthy controls. TIA and minor stroke patients demonstrated a significantly higher whole brain atrophy rate than healthy controls over a 3 years interval (p = 0.043). Diabetes (p = 0.012) independently predicted higher atrophy rate across groups. There was a relationship between higher rates of brain atrophy and processing speed (composite P = 0.047 and digit symbol coding P = 0.02), but there was no relationship with brain atrophy rates and memory or executive composite scores or individual cognitive tests for language (Boston naming, memory recall, verbal fluency or Trails A or B score). Conclusion: TIA and minor stroke patients experience a significantly higher rate of whole brain atrophy. In this cohort of TIA and minor stroke patients changes in brain volume over time precede cognitive decline

Impact of socioeconomic deprivation on rate and cause of death in severe mental illness

Background: Socioeconomic status has important associations with disease-specific mortality in the general population. Although individuals with Severe Mental Illnesses (SMI) experience significant premature mortality, the relationship between socioeconomic status and mortality in this group remains under investigated.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Aims: To assess the impact of socioeconomic status on rate and cause of death in individuals with SMI (schizophrenia and bipolar disorder) relative to the local (Glasgow) and wider (Scottish) populations.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Methods: Cause and age of death during 2006-2010 inclusive for individuals with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder registered on the Glasgow Psychosis Clinical Information System (PsyCIS) were obtained by linkage to the Scottish General Register Office (GRO). Rate and cause of death by socioeconomic status, measured by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD), were compared to the Glasgow and Scottish populations.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Results: Death rates were higher in people with SMI across all socioeconomic quintiles compared to the Glasgow and Scottish populations, and persisted when suicide was excluded. Differences were largest in the most deprived quintile (794.6 per 10,000 population vs. 274.7 and 252.4 for Glasgow and Scotland respectively). Cause of death varied by socioeconomic status. For those living in the most deprived quintile, higher drug-related deaths occurred in those with SMI compared to local Glasgow and wider Scottish population rates (12.3% vs. 5.9%, p = &#60;0.001 and 5.1% p = 0.002 respectively). A lower proportion of deaths due to cancer in those with SMI living in the most deprived quintile were also observed, relative to the local Glasgow and wider Scottish populations (12.3% vs. 25.1% p = 0.013 and 26.3% p = &#60;0.001). The proportion of suicides was significantly higher in those with SMI living in the more affluent quintiles relative to Glasgow and Scotland (54.6% vs. 5.8%, p = &#60;0.001 and 5.5%, p = &#60;0.001). Discussion and conclusions: Excess mortality in those with SMI occurred across all socioeconomic quintiles compared to the Glasgow and Scottish populations but was most marked in the most deprived quintiles when suicide was excluded as a cause of death. Further work assessing the impact of socioeconomic status on specific causes of premature mortality in SMI is needed

Integration of Women Veterans into VA Quality Improvement Research Efforts: What Researchers Need to Know

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and other federal agencies require funded researchers to include women in their studies. Historically, many researchers have indicated they will include women in proportion to their VA representation or pointed to their numerical minority as justification for exclusion. However, women’s participation in the military—currently 14% of active military—is rapidly changing veteran demographics, with women among the fastest growing segments of new VA users. These changes will require researchers to meet the challenge of finding ways to adequately represent women veterans for meaningful analysis. We describe women veterans’ health and health-care use, note how VA care is organized to meet their needs, report gender differences in quality, highlight national plans for women veterans’ quality improvement, and discuss VA women’s health research. We then discuss challenges and potential solutions for increasing representation of women veterans in VA research, including steps for implementation research

From passionate labour to compassionate work: Cultural co-ops, do what you love and social change

This article focuses on the relation between work and pleasure in the cultural sector. I first unpack the concept of passionate work, situating it within four possible ways of relating work and pleasure. I argue that the work ethic of do what you love, contrary to what it promises, limits the prospects of loveable work. As part of a neoliberal work culture, do what you love transfers the battleground from society onto the self. It favours self-management over politics. Drawing on findings from interview research with members of worker co-operatives in the UK cultural industries, I then go on to explore the relation between work and pleasure within cultural co-ops. I discuss how cultural co-ops might inspire and contribute to a movement for transforming the future of work by turning the desire for loveable work from a matter of individual transformation and competition into a practice of co-operation and social change