Smoking Cessation Programs for LGBTI People: A Systematic Review of Content and Effect

Despite widespread evidence of smoking’s harms to health, rising costs of tobacco products, and the visibility of public health interventions aimed at tobacco users, tobacco use remains high among lesbian women, gay men, bisexual people and transgender people (LGBT ) internationally, with US data showing at least double the smoking rates of the general population. [1-5] Although anecdotal evidence suggests similar rates internationally, no formal smoking data exist for intersex people, representing an important area for research.[6] There are many reasons why LGBT people may begin or continue smoking. Commonly cited reasons include minority stress due to the effects of discrimination, harassment, and violence; lack of social support; and fear of weight gain.[7,8] The NSW Tobacco Strategy 2012-17 stresses the importance of promoting smoking cessation and assistance to priority groups, i.e. those with high smoking prevalence.[9] Similarly to LGBT communities internationally, 30% of Australia’s LGB people smoke compared to 16% of the general population.[10-13] While smoking rates have declined among heterosexual people, the 2013 National Drug Strategy Household Survey shows no significant change among LGB people since 2010.[10] There is little specific Australian data regarding smoking rates amongst trans people, but one study in 2006 reported smoking rates of 44% of trans men and 35% of trans women.[14] Applying existing public health interventions to marginalised populations without modifying, piloting, and evaluating them may lead to further inequalities. In 2014, ACON received a Cancer Institute NSW Evidence to Practice Grant to develop a smoking cessation intervention to address the high and stable smoking rate among sexual minority women in Australia. The current review is intended to guide development of that intervention and promote future research on smoking cessation interventions for LGBT people.The production of this report would not have been possible without the financial support from an Evidence to Practice grant provided by the Cancer Institute NSW – Australia’s first state-wide, government-funded cancer control agency, funding from ACON Health – New South Wales’s leading health promotion organisation specialising in HIV prevention, HIV support, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) health, and in-kind support from the School of Public, University of Sydney

THE IMPACT OF TAX-BENEFIT SYSTEMS ON LOWINCOME HOUSEHOLDS IN THE BENELUX COUNTRIES. A SIMULATION APPROACH USING SYNTHETIC DATASETS.

Computing the tax-benefit position of similar "typical" households across countries is a method widely used in comparative fiscal- and social policy research. These calculations provide convenient summary pictures of certain aspects of tax-benefit systems. They can, however, be seriously misleading because they reduce very complex systems to single point estimates. Using an integrated European tax-benefit model (EUROMOD), we substitute the typical household by a synthetic dataset, which can be used across countries. By varying certain important household characteristics (notably income), this dataset captures a much larger range of household situations. The calculations performed on this range of households not only show the tax-benefit position of many individual households but also demonstrate which household characteristics determine taxes and benefits in each country. Hypothetical calculations such as those presented here do not exploit the ability of EUROMOD to determine the impact of social and fiscal policies on actual populations. Nevertheless, they can be a valuable contribution to understanding tax-benefit systems since they allow us to separate the effects of tax-benefit rules from those of the population structure. We compute and compare disposable incomes for a large range of pre-tax-and-benefit income (so called budget constraints) of households in the Benelux countries. Disposable incomes are then decomposed to separately show the effects of each simulated tax and transfer payment. Based on these results, we illustrate the performance of the three tax-benefit systems in terms of ensuring a minimum level of household income.Microsimulation; European Union; Benelux; Average Production Worker; Poverty

Étude des déterminants liés à la démarche infirmière dans l'approche d'une famille en vue d'un don d'organes

Partant principalement de la théorie du comportement planifié, cette étude vise à identifier les déterminants de l'intention des infirmières de demander un consentement au don d'organes à la famille d'un patient suite à son diagnostic de décès neurologique. Quatre-vingts infirmières de Québec ont participé volontairement en répondant à un questionnaire autoadministré. L'analyse de régression multiple indique que l'importance perçue des obstacles/facilitateurs et l'autonomie perçue expliquent 66 % de la variance de l'intention. Les analyses de régression logistique indiquent que les infirmières avec une intention faible/forte se différencient en regard de leur perception que la signature de la carte d'assurance-maladie est un facilitateur et en regard des obstacles perçus suivants : manque de temps, absence de formation en don d'organes et le décès subit du patient. Ces résultats pourraient être utilisés pour définir le contenu d'intervention visant à favoriser, chez les infirmières, l'approche à la famille en vue d'un don d'organes

Effects of a Therapeutic Dance Program on Balance and Quality of Life in Community Dwelling Older Adults

Background and Purpose Falls are common in older adults and linked to decreased balance and increased morbidity. Regular exercise can improve balance and decrease falls risk. Recent research suggests that participation in cultural-based activities, such as dance, may be associated with decreased falls risk and improved health. The purpose of this study was to examine effects of a dance-based exercise program called The Dancing Heart Program on balance and quality of life in community-dwelling older adults. This is an interactive program facilitated by professional instructors from Kairos Dance Theatre in the Twin Cities. It includes activities challenging balance while providing social engagement. Methods Ten subjects over age 60 were recruited from an assisted living facility and seven subjects completed the study. Demographic information was collected at the beginning of the study. Participants attended 60-minute sessions once a week for 13 sessions. Outcome measures included the Berg Balance Scale (BBS) and the 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). Participants were assessed 1 month prior to the program, at program initiation, and 12 weeks into the program. Results Three people who agreed to participate but did not attend Dancing Heart sessions were classified as non-participants; the four that attended were classified as participants. All subjects demonstrated significant improvement on the BBS over time (p=.01). There were no between group differences for balance or interaction effects. Scores on the SF-36 physical component were significantly lower for participants compared to non-participants (p=.01). There were no significant changes over time or interaction effects for the SF-36 physical component. No significant differences were found for the SF-36 mental component across time or based on participation status. Conclusions Results of this study suggest that the Dancing Heart Program had no significant effect on balance or quality of life. Significant differences between groups on the SF-36 physical component suggest there may be important differences between those who choose to participate in programs such as Dancing Heart and those who do not. In addition, the intensity of the Dancing Heart Program may be too low to effect changes. Primary limitations of this study include small sample size and low power

Protecting Migration Corridors: Challenges and Optimism for Mongolian Saiga

Hunting pressure and habitat loss place the endangered saiga, a type of antelope that was once abundant in central Asia, at high risk of extinction, and make the protection of the migratory routes of Mongolian populations even more critical for conserving the species

Grunnloven § 112 som begrensning for naturinngrep: En analyse av miljøbestemmelsens rettslige betydning med utgangspunkt i HR-2020-2472-P.

Avhandlingen vil drøfte den rettslige betydningen Grunnloven § 112 har for utøvelse av myndighet ved inngrep i naturen, med utgangspunkt i HR-2020-2472-P. Hovedproblemstillingen er om bestemmelsen legger føringer og begrensninger for lovgivende og utøvende makt, og i tilfelle hvilke

Changes in pain and nutritional intake modulate ultra-running performance: a case report

Ultra-endurance running provides numerous physiological, psychological, and nutritional challenges to the athlete and supporting practitioners. We describe the changes in physiological status, psychological condition, and nutritional intake over the course of two 100-mile running races, with differing outcomes: non-completion and completion. Athlete perception of pain, freshness, and motivation differed between events, independent of rating of perceived exertion. Our data suggest that the integration of multiple sensations (freshness, motivation, hunger, pain, and thirst) produce performance. Increases in carbohydrate feeding (+5 g·h −1) and protein intake (+0.3 g·kg −1) also likely contributed to successful completion of a 100-mile race, by reducing the fractional utilization of maximal oxygen uptake and satiating hunger, respectively. Nutritional data support the notion that the gut is a trainable, and critical organ with respect to ultra-endurance performance. Finally, we propose future research to investigate the rate at which peak feeding occurs throughout ultra-endurance events, as this may further serve to personalize sports nutrition strategies

Enhanced neuroinflammation and pain hypersensitivity after peripheral nerve injury in rats expressing mutated superoxide dismutase 1

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Neuroinflammation and nitroxidative stress are implicated in the pathophysiology of neuropathic pain. In view of both processes, microglial and astroglial activation in the spinal dorsal horn play a predominant role. The present study investigated the severity of neuropathic pain and the degree of glial activation in an inflammatory- and nitroxidative-prone animal model.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Transgenic rats expressing mutated superoxide dismutase 1 (hSOD1^G93A) are classically used as a model for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Because of the associated inflammatory- and nitroxidative-prone properties, this model was used to study thermal and mechanical hypersensitivity following partial sciatic nerve ligation (PSNL). Next to pain hypersensitivity assessment, microglial and astroglial activation states were moreover characterized, as well as inflammatory marker gene expression and the glutamate clearance system.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>PSNL induced thermal and mechanical hypersensitivity in both wild-type (WT) and transgenic rats. However, the degree of thermal hypersensitivity was found to be exacerbated in transgenic rats while mechanical hypersensitivity was only slightly and not significantly increased. Microglial Iba1 expression was found to be increased in the ipsilateral dorsal horn of the lumbar spinal cord after PSNL but such Iba1 up-regulation was enhanced in transgenic rats as compared WT rats, both at 3 days and at 21 days after injury. Moreover, mRNA levels of Nox2, a key enzyme in microglial activation, but also of pro-inflammatory markers (IL-1β and TLR4) were not modified in WT ligated rats at 21 days after PSNL as compared to WT sham group while transgenic ligated rats showed up-regulated gene expression of these 3 targets. On the other hand, the PSNL-induced increase in GFAP immunoreactivity spreading that was evidenced in WT rats was unexpectedly found to be attenuated in transgenic ligated rats. Finally, GLT-1 gene expression and uptake activity were shown to be similar between WT sham and WT ligated rats at 21 days after injury, while both parameters were significantly increased in the ipsilateral dorsal region of the lumbar spinal cord of hSOD1^G93Arats.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Taken together, our findings show that exacerbated microglial activation and subsequent inflammatory and nitroxidative processes are associated with the severity of neuropathic pain symptoms.</p