Public Health Interventions for Children of Incarcerated Parents

The impact of social and structural determinants of health have lifelong consequences on an individual’s quality of life. Literature focusing on child health and wellbeing of incarcerated parents indicate significant negative health outcomes and adopted detrimental health behaviors. Using a systematic realist review, recent publications were reviewed for their potential discussion or recommendation for interventions in changing health outcomes. This review found that additional research is needed in identifying and testing potential interventions or determining if parallel public health initiatives have had positive impacts in promoting the health behavior change process for children and adolescents of incarcerated parents

Spatial and temporal distribution of shorebirds: predicting the effects of habitat change on the Forth Estuary.

First paragraph: Overview One of the many threats to coastal shorebirds globally is the loss or degradation of estuarine intertidal mudflats, a habitat that supports large concentrations of birds both on passage and throughout the winter months. British estuaries comprise 28% of the entire estuarine area of the Atlantic and North Sea coastal states (Atkinson et al. 2001), more than any other European country. Because of this, many UK estuaries are of great importance in both a European and international context for wintering birds (Pollitt et al. 2000). Furthermore, Britain’s estuaries can be particularly important during periods of severe cold weather in continental Europe (Norman & Coffey 1994), when there may be influxes of waterfowl from other coastal regions or inland areas. Some sites also act as cold weather refuges where parts of the estuarine system freeze more slowly than other nearby coastal and inland wetlands and so can provide feeding habitat when other sites are unavailable. Habitat change may not always mean habitat loss, even though large intertidal areas have been removed via landclaim (Evans 1979, McLusky et al. 1992) and engineering works (Schekkerman et al. 1994) or are threatened by the gradual rise in sea level (Austin et al. 2001). Determining the effects of habitat deterioration on shorebirds is often more difficult to predict (Sutherland 1998b) as, although the habitat remains intact, it may reduced in quality due to pollution events (McLusky 1982, McLusky & Martins 1998) or disturbance (Burger 1994, Burton 1996, West et al. 2002). The consequences of habitat change on estuaries are so potentially threatening to shorebird populations that programs of managed realignment (Burd 1995) have been introduced at some sites in order to mitigate such alteration (Dixon et al. 1998, French 1999, Hackney 2000). Such management activity involves the breaching of existing sea walls to allow the land behind to gradually return to estuarine habitat. It has been shown that invertebrates will colonise suitable intertidal habitats and that birds are quick to adapt to such new habitats (Evans et al. 1998)

Church Architectural Planning for Evangelical Christian Education

The church and Christian education are very closely related. The New Testament teaches that the church is the body of Christ. This body is composed of human beings whose lips, hands, and feet are dedicated, by the leading of the Holy Spirit, to the revealing of Christ to the world.l It is the evangelical position that points up the fact that all men are depraved, or incapable of saving themselves. Salvation can only come from the divine miracle of regeneration. For all Who hold to this evangelical standard of salvation by regeneration, the true aim of Christian education is two fold. First, to provide the knowledge necessary for the approach to this crisis experience, as well as the acceptance of Christ as Saviour and Lord. Second, the nurture then necessary to encourage growth as Christians. The true church is composed of persons supernaturally regenerated. Since true church membership is a spiritual relationship between God and man, there arises the question of how the church can best provide the proper educational function

Molecular diagnostics: the changing culture of medical microbiology

Diagnostic molecular biology is arguably the fastest growing area in current laboratory-based medicine. Growth of the so called ‘omics’ technologies has, over the last decade, led to a gradual migration away from the ‘one test, one pathogen’ paradigm, toward multiplex approaches to infectious disease diagnosis, which have led to significant improvements in clinical diagnostics and ultimately improved patient care

Funcionalização da liga Ti6Al4V via polimerização por plasma frio empregando óleo essencial de Eucalyptus globulus como precursor atividade antibacteriana, adesão e viabilidade de células-tronco mesenquimais

A adesão e formação de biofilmes em superfícies metálicas de implantes biomédicos estão relacionadas a múltiplos casos de infecções em ambientes hospitalares e causam sérias preocupações à saúde pública. Nesse sentido, a funcionalização dessas superfícies visando ação antibacteriana têm sido estudadas. Além disso, é desejável que os revestimentos sejam obtidos a partir de precursores com baixo impacto ambiental, e nesse contexto, os precursores naturais (eco-friendly), têm despertado o interesse. O presente trabalho tem como objetivo avaliar a atividade antibacteriana, adesão e viabilidade de células-tronco mesenquimais em filmes obtidos a partir de óleo essencial de Eucalyptus globulus, sobre a liga Ti6Al4V através da polimerização por plasma a frio, bem como, o efeito da esterilização sobre as propriedades do mesmo. Pelo processo de plasma a frio foi obtido um filme fino (espessura determinada por elipsometria, na ordem 105 nm), com grupos funcionais oxigenados (O-H e C=O), que foram identificados por espectroscopia no infravermelho por transformada de Fourier (FTIR) e espectroscopia Raman. O filme obtido apresentou uma topografia uniforme, conforme foi observado por microscopia eletrônica de varredura (MEV). Com baixos valores de rugosidade, revelados pelas medidas de microscopia de força atômica (AFM) e perfilometria óptica. A partir da análise de molhabilidade observou-se um ângulo de contato na ordem de 85°, o que caracteriza essa superfície como moderadamente hidrofóbica. Considerando-se que implantes devem ser submetidos a processo de esterilização prévio, no presente estudo, foi avaliado o efeito dos processos da esterilização por radiação ultravioleta (UV-C), óxido de etileno (ETO), autoclave e plasma de ar, sobre a composição química e a morfologia do filme. Dentre esses processos a esterilização por radiação ultravioleta (UV-C) foi aquela que causou menos danos ao filme. A formação de biofilme por Staphylococcus aureus foi significativamente reduzida na superfície funcionalizada, que também não apresentou toxicidade para as células-tronco mesenquimais. Esses efeitos podem ser atribuídos à retenção de grupos funcionais oxigenados no filme polimérico obtido, aliados ao seu baixo valor de rugosidade superficial e comportamento moderadamente hidrofóbico. O comportamento antimicrobiano e não citotóxico da liga Ti6Al4V funcionalizada por plasma a frio, empregando como precursor o óleo essencial de Eucalyptus globulus, sugere um potencial para a aplicação desses filmes em biomateriais.The adhesion and formation of biofilms on metal surfaces of biomedical implants are related to multiple cases of infections in hospital environments and cause serious concerns to public health. In this sense, the functionalization of these surfaces aiming at antibacterial action has been studied. Furthermore, it is desirable that coatings be obtained from precursors with low environmental impact, and in this context, natural precursors (eco-friendly) have aroused interest. This work aims to evaluate the antibacterial activity and cytotoxicity of films obtained from essential oil of Eucalyptus globulus, on the Ti6Al4V alloy through cold plasma polymerization, as well as the effect of sterilization on its properties. By the cold plasma process, a thin film was obtained (thickness determined by ellipsometry, in the order of 105 nm), with oxygenated functional groups (O-H and C=O), which were identified by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy. The film obtained showed a uniform topography, as observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). With low roughness values, revealed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and optical profilometry measurements. Considering that implants must be submitted to a previous sterilization process, in the present study, the effect of the sterilization processes by ultraviolet radiation (UV-C), ethylene oxide (ETO), autoclave and air plasma, on the chemical composition and morphology of the film. Among these processes, sterilization by ultraviolet radiation (UV-C) was the one that caused less damage to the film. From the wettability analysis, a contact angle of around 85° was observed, which characterizes this surface as moderately hydrophobic. Biofilm formation by Staphylococcus aureus was significantly reduced on the functionalized surface, which also showed no toxicity to mesenchymal stem cells. These effects can be attributed to the retention of oxygenated functional groups in the obtained polymeric film, combined with its low surface roughness value and moderately hydrophobic behavior. The antimicrobial and non-cytotoxic behavior of the Ti6Al4V alloy functionalized by cold plasma, using Eucalyptus globulus essential oil as a precursor, suggests a potential for the application of these films in biomaterials

Investigation of complexation of thorium by humic acid using chemically immobilized humic acid on silica gel

International audienceTo model the influence of humic substances on the migration of tetravalent actinides (Pu, Np, U) in and around nuclear waste repositories we have immobilized humic acid on silica gel and investigated its complexation of Th(IV). It is anticipated that this material might serve as a geochemical model of the humate-coated minerals that are likely to be present in the vicinity of the repositories. The binding of Th(IV) by the immobilized humic acid was examined at pH 4, 5 and 6 in 0.1mol/L$^{-1}$ NaClO$_4$ by the batch method. Th(IV)-humate conditional interaction constants have been evaluated from data obtained from these experiments by using non-linear regression of binding isotherms