Developing A Community Profile Tool for Improving Health in New Mexican Rural Communities

Village Interventions and Venues for Action II (VIVA II) is an applied public health research project on the dissemination and implementation of evidence-based strategies for preventing chronic disease in rural communities in New Mexico. Implementation of VIVA programs requires characterized, identifiable community profiles to help determine which communities would benefit from the preventive strategies. As part of the profiling process, we asked, “How are NM rural communities different from those in NM and the US as a whole in regard to social determinants of public health and health outcomes?”https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/prc-posters-presentations/1012/thumbnail.jp

Using Pedestrian Counts to Assess Community-Wide Interventions to Increase Physical Activity in Rural Cuba, NM

Rural residents are often less active than urban and suburban residents. Reasons cited in the literature include certain environmental barriers such as lack of sidewalks, bike lanes, and affordable exercise facilities. The VIVA-Step Into Cuba project aims to address these barriers in Cuba, NM, by implementing community-wide interventions to increase physical activity. The aim of this study was to determine whether the implemented interventions resulted in an increase in walking over time. The data were collected according to methods established by the National Bicycle and Pedestrian Project. These methods included field observations performed by trained researchers and community members on three days of the week (Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday) during two time intervals (12 noon-2 pm and 5 pm-7 pm). The total sample included counts of pedestrians, bicyclists, and other non-motorized traffic obtained in the month of May from 2010-2015 and totaled 1,772 observations in three established locations. Data were characterized by type of traffic, location, gender, age, and year. Analysis showed a decline in travels over the study period, with an average decrease of 9. 08 people per year. There was an increase of about 5.2 pedestrians per year among individuals under the age of 18. Weather may have accounted for the decline, as rain was documented on observation dates for the last three years, while the first three were indicated as sunny or mild weather. These results will be used by the VIVA project to tailor further interventions to increase physical activity in rural communities in New Mexico.https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/prc-posters-presentations/1011/thumbnail.jp

The Connection, Volume 10, Issue 01, Spring 2016

The Connection is published by the Prevention Research Center (PRC), Prevention & Population Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. The purpose of The Connection is to provide reports and updates on programs of the PRC and those of its Community Advisory Council and other partners.https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/hsc_prc_newsletters/1000/thumbnail.jp

Infrasonic Gliding Reflects a Rising Magma Column at Mount Etna (Italy)

Infrasound is increasing applied as a tool to investigate magma dynamics at active volcanoes, especially at open-vent volcanoes, such as Mt. Etna (Italy), which are prodigious sources of infrasound. Harmonic infrasound signals have been used to constrain crater dimensions and track the movement of magma within the shallow plumbing system. This study interprets the remarkable systematic change in monotonic infrasound signals preceding a lava fountaining episode at Mt. Etna on 20 February 2021. We model the changing tones (0.7 to 3 Hz fundamental frequency) as a rise in the magma column from 172 ± 25 m below the crater rim to 78 ± 8 m over the course of 24 h. The infrasonic gliding disappears approximately 4 h before the onset of lava fountaining as the magma column approaches the flare of the crater and acoustic resonance is no longer supported. The featured 20 February event was just one of 52 lava fountain episodes that occurred at Mt. Etna over the course of 9 months in 2021 and was the only lava fountain episode where dramatic gliding was observed as a subsequent partial collapse of the crater prevented future resonance. The results presented here demonstrate that analysis of infrasonic gliding can be used to track the position of the magma free surface and hence may provide information on the processes taking place within the plumbing system before eruptive activity

The Influence of Volcano Topographic Changes on Infrasound Amplitude: Lava Fountains at Mt. Etna in 2021

Infrasound signals are used to investigate and monitor active volcanoes during eruptive and degassing activity. Infrasound amplitude information has been used to estimate eruptive parameters such as plume height, magma discharge rate, and lava fountain height. Active volcanoes are characterized by pronounced topography and, during eruptive activity, the topography can change rapidly, affecting the observed infrasound amplitudes. While the interaction of infrasonic signals with topography has been widely investigated over the past decade, there has been limited work on the impact of changing topography on the infrasonic amplitudes. In this work, the infrasonic signals accompanying 57 lava fountain paroxysms at Mt. Etna (Italy) during 2021 were analyzed. In particular, the temporal and spatial variations of the infrasound amplitudes were investigated. During 2021, significant changes in the topography around the most active crater (the South East Crater) took place and were reconstructed in detail using high resolution imagery from unoccupied aerial system surveys. Through analysis of the observed infrasound signals and numerical simulations of the acoustic wavefield, we demonstrate that the observed spatial and temporal variation in the infrasound signal amplitudes can largely be explained by the combined effects of changes in the location of the acoustic source and changes in the near-vent topography, together with source acoustic amplitude variations. This work demonstrates the importance of accurate source locations and high-resolution topographic information, particularly in the near-vent region where the topography is most likely to change rapidly and illustrates that changing topography should be considered when interpreting local infrasound observations over long time scales

Is higher physical fitness associated with better psychological health in young pediatric cancer survivors? A cross-sectional study from the iBoneFIT project

Objective To examine the associations of self-perceived and objectively-measured physical fitness with psychological well-being and distress indicators in young pediatric cancer survivors. Materials and Methods A total of 116 participants (12.1 ± 3.3 years, 56.9% boys) from the iBoneFIT project participated in this cross-sectional study. Objectively-measured physical fitness (muscular fitness) was obtained by handgrip strength and standing long jump tests for the upper and lower body, respectively. Self-perceived physical fitness was obtained by the International Fitness Scale (IFIS). Positive and negative affect were assessed by the positive affect schedule for children (PANAS-C), happiness by Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS), optimism by Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R), self-esteem by the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE), anxiety by State–Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC-R), and depression by Children Depression Inventory (CDI). Multiple linear regressions adjusted by key covariates were performed to analyze associations. Results No associations were found between objectively-measured muscular fitness and any of the psychological well-being and distress indicators (p > 0.05). Self-perceived overall fitness and flexibility were positively associated with positive affect (β ≥ 0.258, p < 0.05). Self-perceived cardiorespiratory fitness, speed/agility, and flexibility were negatively associated with depression (β ≥ −0.222, p < 0.05). Finally, self-perceived cardiorespiratory fitness was also negatively associated with anxiety and negative affect (β ≥ −0.264, p < 0.05). Conclusions Perceived physical fitness, but not objectively physical fitness, seems to be inversely related to psychological distress variables and to less extent positively related to psychological well-being. The findings from this study highlight the importance of promoting self-perceived fitness in the pediatric oncology population

Studying Trail Enhancement Plans - Health Impact Assessment

This report reflects work on the Studying Trail Enhancement Plans - Health Impact Assessment (STEP-HIA) for the proposed new Cuba Continental Divide National Scenic Trail segment as of April 30, 2015. It is provided to the Santa Fe National Forest and Bureau of Land Management New Mexico for use in preparing an Environmental Impact Assessment and subsequent planning for the proposed project. It was prepared by the University of New Mexico Prevention Research Center and Step Into Cuba Alliance, a partnership of individuals and organizations dedicated to the promotion of walking and hiking for better health in Cuba, NM. In this report, we present information by way of a sequential series of questions that support and lead to predictions and recommendations for the new trail segment

Producto fabricado y basado en las nuevas tecnologías para tratamientos de fisioterapia

En este proyecto se pretenende llegar a la conceptualización de un dispositivo de apoyo a la recuperación de lesiones que requieren inmovilización externa. Para conseguirlo, se llevará a cabo un estudio de mercado en el que se invesigará la situación actual del sector ortopédico, así como un análisis de los productos existentes, con el objetivo de detectar problemáticas y nichos a partir de los cuales comenzar la fase de ideación del producto. Se emplearán metodologías de diseño para extraer insights y oportunidades de diseño con el objetivo de crear una propuesta de valor innovadora, la cual se desarrollará a través de procesos y técnicas de generación de ideas, de manera que se obtengan los cimientos del producto que se desarrollará conceptualmente más adelante. En última instancia, se aplicarán análisis y técnicas de selección para determinar las características técnicas, geométricas y dimensionales del producto final. Se aplicarán, también, análisis medioambientales y de costes, de la misma manera que se desarrollará un modelo de negocio, todo ello con el objetivo de determinar si el producto conceptualizado tendrá, o no, cabida en el mercad

Producto fabricado y basado en las nuevas tecnologías para tratamientos de fisioterapia

En este proyecto se pretenende llegar a la conceptualización de un dispositivo de apoyo a la recuperación de lesiones que requieren inmovilización externa. Para conseguirlo, se llevará a cabo un estudio de mercado en el que se invesigará la situación actual del sector ortopédico, así como un análisis de los productos existentes, con el objetivo de detectar problemáticas y nichos a partir de los cuales comenzar la fase de ideación del producto. Se emplearán metodologías de diseño para extraer insights y oportunidades de diseño con el objetivo de crear una propuesta de valor innovadora, la cual se desarrollará a través de procesos y técnicas de generación de ideas, de manera que se obtengan los cimientos del producto que se desarrollará conceptualmente más adelante. En última instancia, se aplicarán análisis y técnicas de selección para determinar las características técnicas, geométricas y dimensionales del producto final. Se aplicarán, también, análisis medioambientales y de costes, de la misma manera que se desarrollará un modelo de negocio, todo ello con el objetivo de determinar si el producto conceptualizado tendrá, o no, cabida en el mercad