Religious Identity, Religious Attendance, and Parental Control

Using a national sample of adolescents aged 10–18 years and their parents (N = 5,117), this article examines whether parental religious identity and religious participation are associated with the ways in which parents control their children. We hypothesize that both religious orthodoxy and weekly religious attendance are related to heightened levels of three elements of parental control: monitoring activities, normative regulations, and network closure. Results indicate that an orthodox religious identity for Catholic and Protestant parents and higher levels of religious attendance for parents as a whole are associated with increases in monitoring activities and normative regulations of American adolescents

Coquillettidia (Culicidae, Diptera) mosquitoes are natural vectors of avian malaria in Africa

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The mosquito vectors of <it>Plasmodium </it>spp. have largely been overlooked in studies of ecology and evolution of avian malaria and other vertebrates in wildlife.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p><it>Plasmodium </it>DNA from wild-caught <it>Coquillettidia </it>spp. collected from lowland forests in Cameroon was isolated and sequenced using nested PCR. Female <it>Coquillettidia aurites </it>were also dissected and salivary glands were isolated and microscopically examined for the presence of sporozoites.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In total, 33% (85/256) of mosquito pools tested positive for avian <it>Plasmodium </it>spp., harbouring at least eight distinct parasite lineages. Sporozoites of <it>Plasmodium </it>spp. were recorded in salivary glands of <it>C. aurites </it>supporting the PCR data that the parasites complete development in these mosquitoes. Results suggest <it>C. aurites</it>, <it>Coquillettidia pseudoconopas </it>and <it>Coquillettidia metallica </it>as new and important vectors of avian malaria in Africa. All parasite lineages recovered clustered with parasites formerly identified from several bird species and suggest the vectors capability of infecting birds from different families.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Identifying the major vectors of avian <it>Plasmodium </it>spp. will assist in understanding the epizootiology of avian malaria, including differences in this disease distribution between pristine and disturbed landscapes.</p

Scientific assessment of the use of sugars as cigarette tobacco ingredients: A review of published and other publicly available studies

Sugars, such as sucrose or invert sugar, have been used as tobacco ingredients in American-blend cigarettes to replenish the sugars lost during curing of the Burley component of the blended tobacco in order to maintain a balanced flavor. Chemical-analytical studies of the mainstream smoke of research cigarettes with various sugar application levels revealed that most of the smoke constituents determined did not show any sugar-related changes in yields (per mg nicotine), while ten constituents were found to either increase (formaldehyde, acrolein, 2-butanone, isoprene, benzene, toluene, benzo[k]fluoranthene) or decrease (4-aminobiphenyl, N-nitrosodimethylamine, N-nitrosonornicotine) in a statistically significant manner with increasing sugar application levels. Such constituent yields were modeled into constituent uptake distributions using simulations of nicotine uptake distributions generated on the basis of published nicotine biomonitoring data, which were multiplied by the constituent/nicotine ratios determined in the current analysis. These simulations revealed extensive overlaps for the constituent uptake distributions with and without sugar application. Moreover, the differences in smoke composition did not lead to relevant changes in the activity in in vitro or in vivo assays. The potential impact of using sugars as tobacco ingredients was further assessed in an indirect manner by comparing published data from markets with predominantly American-blend or Virginia-type (no added sugars) cigarettes. No relevant difference was found between these markets for smoking prevalence, intensity, some markers of dependence, nicotine uptake, or mortality from smoking-related lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. In conclusion, thorough examination of the data available suggests that the use of sugars as ingredients in cigarette tobacco does not increase the inherent risk and harm of cigarette smoking

Nurses' perceptions of aids and obstacles to the provision of optimal end of life care in ICU

Contains fulltext : 172380.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access

Host Specialization and Dispersal in Avian Haemosporidians

In order to be able to understand the ecological and evolutionary processes involved in the emergence of infectious diseases, one needs to comprehend how parasites arrive at new geographical areas and how they manage to maintain viable populations and even expand their ranges. We discuss host specificity in avian haemosporidians and how encounter and compatibility filters affect the dispersal of avian haemosporidians, and how these filters affect avian haemosporidian assemblages at different spatial and evolutionary scales. There are at least three important barriers to the dispersal of avian haemosporidians: (i) geographic barriers, (ii) environmental barriers, and (iii) interspecies barriers. In this chapter, we discuss the factors involved in these barriers and their effects on the structure of avian haemosporidian assemblages. Host specificity plays an important role in parasite dispersal, and in the case of avian haemosporidians that are vector-borne parasites, it needs to be evaluated both at the vector and bird host levels. Understanding the effects of these factors on host–vector–parasite dynamics is important to unravel the dispersal and diversification mechanisms of avian haemosporidians. We end this chapter reviewing host specialization in avian haemosporidians of tropical regions, discussing the mechanisms involved in the dispersal and specialization of these parasites and point out important research gaps that need attention

PTSD-related symptoms in relatives of patients following intensive care

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of the provision of information in the form of a rehabilitation program following critical illness in reducing psychological distress in the patients' close family. Design: Randomised controlled trial, blind at follow-up with final assessment at 6 months. Setting: Two district general hospitals and one teaching hospital. Patients and participants: The closest family member of 104 recovering intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Interventions: Ward visits, ICU clinic appointments at 2 and 6 months. Relatives and patients received the rehabilitation program at 1 week after ICU discharge. The program comprised a 6-week self-help manual containing information about recovery from ICU, psychological information and practical advice. Measurements and results: Psychological recovery of relatives was assessed by examining the rate of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)-related symptoms by 6 months after ICU. The proportion of relatives scoring in the range &gt;19 on the Impact of Events Scale (cause for concern) was high in both groups at 49% at 6 months. No difference was shown in the rate of depression, anxiety, or PTSD-related symptoms between the study groups. Conclusion: A high incidence of psychological distress was evident in relatives. Written information concerning recovery from ICU provided to the patient and their close family did not reduce this. High levels of psychological distress in patients were found to be correlated with high levels in relatives.</p

Rehabilitation after critical illness - a randomised controlled trial

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of a rehabilitation program following critical illness to aid physical and psychological recovery.Design: Randomized controlled trial, blind at follow-up with final assessment at 6 months.Setting: Two district general hospitals and one teaching hospital.Patients, Patients were 126 consecutively admitted intensive care patients meeting the inclusion criteria.Interventions: Control patients received ward visits, three telephone calls at home, and clinic appointments at 8 wks and 6 months. Intervention patients received the same plus a 6-wk self-help rehabilitation manual.Measurements and Main Results., We measured levels of depression and anxiety (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), phobic symptoms (Fear Index), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)-related symptoms (impact of Events Scale), and scores on the Short-Form Health Survey physical dimension 8 wks and 6 months after intensive care unit (ICU) treatment. Memory for ICU was assessed at 2 wks post-ICU discharge using the ICU Memory Tool.The intervention group improved, compared with the control patients, on the Short-Form Health Survey physical function scores at 8 wks and 6 months (p = .006), and there was a trend to a lower rate of depression at 8 wks (12% vs. 25%). However, there were no differences in levels of anxiety and PTSD-related symptoms between the groups. The presence of delusional memories was correlated significantly with both anxiety and Impact of Events Scale scores.Conclusions. A self-help rehabilitation manual is effective in aiding physical recovery and reducing depression. However, in those patients recalling delusional memories from the ICU, further psychological care may be needed to reduce the incidence of anxiety and PTSD-related symptoms.</p