The Effects of Diary Writing Support Groups On Women\u27s Depression, Self-Acceptance and Well-Being

This study was conducted to determine whether learning specific writing techniques and discussing them in a small group is more beneficial to women than writing a journal using self-taught techniques, or not writing at all. Instruments used included the Beck Depression Inventory and the California Personality Inventory (Self-Acceptance and Well-Being scales). The literature review covers four general areas: a brief discussion of the impact of contemporary feminism on traditional therapy; an examination of feminist therapy, specifically its advocacy of consciousness-raising groups as a therapy alternative; women\u27s self-reports on diary or journal writing; and information on modern non-literary journal uses including an investigation into the status of therapeutic uses of journal writing. A group model was developed and examined for this study using a modified consciousness-raising format to teach journal writing techniques and provide for group discussion of the writing practices. Pre- and posttest scores were compared among three groups of women (N = 52). An additional follow-up sub-sample was contacted (n = 25) to test statistical differences in writing frequency, number of writing techniques used and level of subjective satisfaction with personal writing. No empirical evidence was found to justify the supposition that structured journal writing groups are more beneficial than either self-taught, solitary diary writing or not writing at all. Includes bibliography for journal writers, outline for 8-week structured writing group, references, and recommendations for possible further investigation

Oat phyA containing transgenic tobacco: an examination of oat phyA mRNA stability and the role of oat phyA in germination of tobacco seed

The regulation of oat phytochrome A (phyA) mRNA stability and the photoregulation of germination of tobacco seeds containing the oat phyA gene was examined using oat phyA containing transgenic tobacco. Oat phyA mRNA has been previously shown to be a relatively unstable mRNA. The intent of this research was to identify elements within the phyA mRNA responsible for rendering the message unstable. The approach taken was to use tobacco transformed with either the full-length or truncated versions of the oat phyA gene and examine the half-lives of the resulting oat phyA mRNAs in transgenic tobacco. RNA blot analysis of oat phyA in both oats and in tobacco transformed with the oat phyA gene showed a pattern of oat phyA hybridizable fragments smaller than the full-length mRNA band. These fragments were thought to be degradation products indicative of a short-lived message. The half-lives of the truncated oat phyA mRNAs were found to be between 90 minutes and four hours. The full-length oat phyA mRNA had a half-life of about four hours in transgenic tobacco. Determination of the half-life of both truncated and full-length oat phyA mRNAs in transgenic tobacco suggests that the amount of oat phyA hybridizable fragments does not correlate with mRNA half-life. Germination of seeds from wild-type tobacco plants requires light. Approximately 20% of the seeds from transgenic tobacco plants containing the oat phyA gene and grown under fluorescent lighting were found to germinate in the dark. Seeds from transgenic tobacco grown under fluorescent and incandescent lighting did not germinate in darkness. A higher percentage of seeds from both wild-type and transgenic plants were found to germinate when imbibed in the presence of nitrate. About 50% of the seeds from transgenic plants grown in the presence of incandescent lighting and imbibed in the presence of nitrate germinated in darkness. The higher level of phytochrome in the transgenic seedlings promoted germination and was sensitive to the light conditions under which the parent plants were grown. These findings suggest that phyA plays a role in promoting germination in tobacco seeds

Community environment, cognitive impairment and dementia in later life: results from the Cognitive Function and Ageing Study

Background: Few studies have investigated the impact of the community environment, as distinct from area deprivation, on cognition in later life. This study explores cross-sectional associations between cognitive impairment and dementia and environmental features at the community level in older people. Method: The postcodes of the 2424 participants in the year-10 interview of the Cognitive Function and Ageing Study in England were mapped into small area level geographical units (Lower-layer Super Output Areas) and linked to environmental data in government statistics. Multilevel logistic regression was conducted to investigate associations between cognitive impairment (defined as MMSE3 in GMS-AGECAT) and community level measurements including area deprivation, natural environment, land use mix and crime. Sensitivity analyses tested the impact of people moving residence within the last two years. Results: Higher levels of area deprivation and crime were not significantly associated with cognitive impairment and dementia after accounting for individual level factors. Living in areas with high land use mix was significantly associated with a nearly 60% reduced odds of dementia (OR: 0.4; 95% CI: 0.2, 0.8) after adjusting for individual level factors and area deprivation, but there was no linear trend for cognitive impairment. Increased odds of dementia (OR: 2.2, 95% CI: 1.2, 4.2) and cognitive impairment (OR: 1.4, 95% CI: 1.0, 2.0) were found in the highest quartile of natural environment availability. Findings were robust to exclusion of the recently relocated. Conclusion: Features of land use have complex associations with cognitive impairment and dementia. Further investigations should focus on environmental influences on cognition to inform health and social policies

Planning a facility for value-added farm business incubation and educational use

A survey of the community and surrounding region was conducted to determine the financial viability of a shared-use certified kitchen, which would be offered as one of the services of the Midwest Center for Entrepreneurial Agriculture

Plan demonstration farm to include farm business incubator and educational use

A farm plan was created to guide land use decisions for the demonstration farm at the Midwest Center for Entrepreneurial Agriculture in Marshalltown, Iowa

WP 2019-402

Long-term interest rates have been falling globally since the early 1980s and have reached historically low levels. Past forecasts largely missed this secular decline. This paper reviews methodologies for making long-term interest rate projections. We synthesize results from studies that use long historical series and cross-country data to estimate the trend and decompose it into components. We then construct a set of economic indicators that are potentially useful in interest rate forecasting. We add international, forward-looking economic indicators as explanatory variables in a standard macrofinance forecasting model. We find that the model with international variables can outperform the other models by better tracking the falling trajectory of United States interest rates in the post-2008 period, a trend missed by domestic variables. Further, we find that global economic indicators, especially the composite leading indicator for the European Union, are capable of accounting for a large portion of yield variance not only in the U.S. but in other advanced economies as well.U.S. Social Security Administration Award RDR18000002; UM19-05https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/152442/1/wp402.pdfDescription of wp402.pdf : Working pape