A Couples-based Approach to the Problem of Workless Families

The goal of this paper is to evaluate a “couples-based” policy intervention designed to reduce the number of Australian families without work. In 2000 and 2001, the Australian Government piloted a new counseling initiative targeted towards couple-headed families with dependent children in which neither partner was in paid employment. Selected women on family benefits (who were partnered with men receiving unemployment benefits) were randomly invited to participate in an interview process designed to identify strategies for increasing economic and social participation. While some women were interviewed on their own, others participated in a joint interview with their partners. Our results indicate that the overall effect of the interview process led to lower hours of work among family benefit recipients in the intervention group than the control group, but to greater participation and hours in job search and in study or training for work-related reasons. Whether women were interviewed with their partner or not had no effect on the level of economic and social activity of participants.

Taking Chances: The Effect of Growing Up on Welfare on the Risky Behavior of Young People

We analyze the effect of growing up on welfare on young people's involvement in a variety of social and health risks. Young people in welfare families are much more likely to take both social and health risks. Much of the apparent link between family welfare history and risk taking disappears, however, once we account for family structure and mothers' decisions regarding their own risk taking and investment in their children. Interestingly, we find no significant effect of socio-economic status per se. Overall, we find no evidence that growing up on welfare causes young people to engage in risky behavior.youths, welfare, risky behavior, socio-economic disadvantage

A Couples-Based Approach to the Problem of Workless Families

The goal of this paper is to evaluate a ?couples-based? policy intervention designed to reduce the number of Australian families without work. In 2000 and 2001, the Australian Government piloted a new counseling initiative targeted towards couple-headed families with dependent children in which neither partner was in paid employment. Selected women on family benefits (who were partnered with men receiving unemployment benefits) were randomly invited to participate in an interview process designed to identify strategies for increasing economic and social participation. While some women were interviewed on their own, others participated in a joint interview with their partners. Our results indicate that the overall effect of the interview process led to lower hours of work among family benefit recipients in the intervention group than the control group, but to greater participation and hours in job search and in study or training for work-related reasons. At the same time, there are few significant differences in the effect of the interview process on the economic and social activity of women interviewed with and without their unemployed partners

Forest stand conditions after Phytophthora ramorum management in northern California: post-treatment observations inform future responses

In 2006, several isolated Phytophthora ramorum infested locations were selected just outside an 800-ha infested area in southern Humboldt County, California, for silvicultural treatments that targeted the removal and/or reduction of tanoak (Notholithocarpus densiflorus) and California bay laurel (Umbellularia californica), the main tree hosts supporting sporulation of P. ramorum. The treatments included cutting of hosts, cutting with burning, and herbicide removal. Important differences emerged between the treatment responses in shrub cover, tanoak resprouting, fuel loads, and host tree regeneration. In 2010, another isolated infestation was verified in northern Humboldt County. This infestation was 80 km away from the core infested area in southern Humboldt. Stand-level P. ramorum disease dynamic models and forest growth simulations parameterized with data collected in this northern infestation suggested that California bay laurel and tanoak thinning treatments may slow tanoak mortality, foster a greater component of mature tanoak over the next 100 years, and contribute to greater amounts of live-tree carbon. Reviewing these long-running, landscape-scale P. ramorum management projects provides a platform to inform future adaptive management of P. ramorum. This paper summarizes two presentations from the Sixth Sudden Oak Death Science Symposium held in June 2016 in San Francisco, California

A pilot randomised controlled trial to reduce suffering and emotional distress in patients with advanced cancer

AbstractIntroductionA pilot trial was carried out to determine if a focussed narrative interview could alleviate the components of suffering and anxiety and depression in advanced cancer patients.InterventionPatients recruited were invited to participate in a focussed narrative interview and reflect on their perspectives on their sense of “meaning”, regarding suffering and their psychological, physical, social and spiritual well being – the emphasis was on allowing the patient to tell their story. Patients were encouraged to share what resources they themselves had utilised in addition to what professional care they may have received, to maintain a sense of well being.MethodPatients with advanced metastatic disease were recruited from hospices in the North West of England – the only exclusion criteria were not being able to understand written and spoken English and a non cancer diagnosis. At recruitment patients were asked to complete a numerical scale for suffering; the Brief Edinburgh Depression Scale, Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS), FACIT Spiritual well being questionnaire, Demographic information was collected and patients were randomised to either the intervention arm of the trial or the usual care arm of the study. Patients in both groups were invited to complete each measure at 2, 4 and 8 weeks.ResultsOne hundred people were recruited into the study – 49 were randomised to intervention group and 51 to control group. The median age of patients was 66 years age range (31–89 years) and 68% of patients were female. At baseline the ECOG performance of 75% of patients recruited was 1 or 2. The median survival of all patients in the study was 169.5 days (range 10 days to still alive at end of study). There was no significant difference at any timepoint in scores on suffering measure between intervention group and control group. At each time point the intervention demonstrated mean improvement in scores for depression and anxiety on ESAS – the greatest changes for both depression and anxiety were seen at 4 weeks.ConclusionThis pilot randomised controlled trial of a focussed narrative intervention demonstrated an improvement in mean changes in scores for depression and anxiety at 2, 4, and 8 weeks. We suggest this intervention may have beneficial effects on depression and anxiety, but a larger powered trial is required to determine the full effects

Acute simvastatin increases endothelial nitric oxide synthase phosphorylation via AMP-activated protein kinase and reduces contractility of isolated rat mesenteric resistance arteries

Statins can have beneficial cholesterol-independent effects on vascular contractility, which may involve increases in the bioavailability of NO (nitric oxide) as a result of phosphorylation of eNOS (endothelial NO synthase). Although this has been attributed to phosphorylation of Akt (also known as protein kinase B), studies in cultured cells have shown that statins can phosphorylate AMPK (AMP-activated protein kinase); it is unknown whether this has functional effects in intact arteries. Thus we investigated the acute effects of simvastatin on resistance arterial contractile function, evaluating the involvement of NO, Akt and AMPK. Isolated rat mesenteric resistance arteries were mounted on a wire myograph. The effects of incubation (1 and 2 h) with simvastatin (0.1 or 1 μM) on contractile responses were examined in the presence and absence of L-NNA (N-nitro-L-arginine; 10 μM) or mevalonate (1 mM). Effects on eNOS, phospho-eNOS (Ser1177), and total and phospho-Akt and -AMPK protein expression were investigated using Western blotting. The effect of AMPK inhibition (compound C, 10 μM) on eNOS phosphorylation and contractile responses were also studied. Simvastatin (1 μM, 2 h) significantly reduced constriction to U46619 and phenylephrine and enhanced dilations to ACh (acetylcholine) in depolarized, but not in U46619-pre-constricted arteries. These effects were completely and partially prevented by L-NNA and mevalonate respectively. Simvastatin increased eNOS and AMPKα phosphorylation, but had no effect on Akt protein expression and phosphorylation after 2 h incubation. Compound C prevented the effects of simvastatin on eNOS phosphorylation and contractility. Thus simvastain can acutely modulate resistance arterial contractile function via mechanisms that involve the AMPK/phospho-eNOS (Ser1177)/NO-dependent pathway

Dynamic Characterization, Flow Modeling, and Hierarchical Control of an Energy-Harvesting Underwater Kite in Realistic Ocean Conditions

This paper presents a hierarchical control framework for a kite-based marine hydrokinetic (MHK) system, along with a detailed characterization of the dynamic and energetic performance of the system under realistic flow conditions. The underwater kite, which is designed to be deployed off of an offshore floating platform, features a closed-loop controller that executes power-augmenting, cyclic cross-current flight. The robustness of the kite's undersea flight control algorithm is demonstrated in a realistic four-dimensional flow model (which captures both low-and high-frequency spatiotemporal variations in the current) that accounts for turbulence and wave effects, which is coupled with a detailed dynamic model that captures the six-degree-of-freedom kite and floating platform dynamics, in addition to the tether dynamics. Using data obtained by the Coastal Data Information Program (CDIP) 192 Oregon Inlet buoy [1], wave data from the Wave Information Studies Hindcast model [2], and a spectral turbulence model developed at Florida Atlantic University, we demonstrate the robustness of the kite's control system and the sensitivity of both average net power output and peak-to-average power to wave parameters. In common wave conditions, the average and net power output are shown to be highly robust to the peak period and significant wave height. In extreme wave conditions, the peak-to-average power ratio is shown to be highly positively correlated with an effective wave energy density metric, which characterizes the wave energy density presented to the kite system based on a weighted distribution along depth of the kite

A key role for peroxynitrite-mediated inhibition of cardiac ERG (Kv11.1) K+ channels in carbon monoxide–induced proarrhythmic early afterdepolarizations

Exposure to carbon monoxide (CO) causes early afterdepolarization arrhythmias. Previous studies in rats indicated arrhythmias arose due to augmentation of the late Na+ current. The purpose of the present study was to examine the basis of CO-induced arrhythmias in guinea pig myocytes in which action potentials more closely resemble those of human myocytes. Whole-cell current- and voltage-clamp recordings were made from isolated guinea pig myocytes and also from HEK293 cells expressing wild-type or a C723S mutant form of Kv11.1 (ERG). We also monitored formation of peroxynitrite (ONOO-) in HEK293 cells fluorimetrically. CO, applied as the CO releasing molecule, CORM-2, prolonged action potentials and induced early after-depolarizations (EADs) in guinea pig myocytes. In HEK293 cells CO inhibited wild-type but not C723S mutant Kv11.1 K+ currents. Inhibition was prevented by an antioxidant, mitochondrial inhibitors or inhibition of nitric oxide formation. CO also raised ONOO- levels, an effect reversed by the ONOO- scavenger, FeTPPS which also prevented CO inhibition of Kv11.1 currents, and abolished the effects of CO on Kv11.1 tail currents and action potentials in guinea pig myocytes. Our data suggest that CO induces arrhythmias in guinea pig cardiac myocytes via ONOO--mediated inhibition of Kv11.1 K+ channel

The State of the Region: Hampton Roads 2002

This is Old Dominion University\u27s third annual State of the Region report.While it represents the work of many individuals connected in various ways to the university, the report does not constitute an official viewpoint of the University, or it\u27s president, Dr. Roseann Runte. Our State of the Region reports maintain the modest goal of making Hampton Roads an even better place to live. We are proud of our region\u27s many successes, but realize that it is possible to improve the region\u27s performance. Yet, in order to improve our performance, we must have accurate information about where we are and a sound understanding of the policy options open to us. This year\u27s report places particular emphasis upon providing up-to-date information on how Hampton Roads compares to other regions nationally.https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/economics_books/1016/thumbnail.jp