Sleep-disordered breathing was associated with lower health-related quality of life and cognitive function in a cross-sectional study of older adults

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The clinical significance of sleep‐disordered breathing (SDB) in older age is uncertain. This study determined the prevalence and associations of SDB with mood, daytime sleepiness, quality of life (QOL) and cognition in a relatively healthy older Australian cohort. METHODS: A cross‐sectional analysis was conducted from the Study of Neurocognitive Outcomes, Radiological and retinal Effects of Aspirin in Sleep Apnoea. Participants completed an unattended limited channel sleep study to measure the oxygen desaturation index (ODI) to define mild (ODI 5–15) and moderate/severe (ODI ≥ 15) SDB, the Centre for Epidemiological Studies Scale, the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, the 12‐item Short‐Form for QOL and neuropsychological tests. RESULTS: Of the 1399 participants (mean age 74.0 years), 36% (273 of 753) of men and 25% (164 of 646) of women had moderate/severe SDB. SDB was associated with lower physical health‐related QOL (mild SDB: beta coefficient [β] −2.5, 95% CI −3.6 to −1.3, p < 0.001; moderate/severe SDB: β −1.8, 95% CI −3.0 to −0.6, p = 0.005) and with lower global composite cognition (mild SDB: β −0.1, 95% CI −0.2 to 0.0, p = 0.022; moderate/severe SDB: β −0.1, 95% CI −0.2 to 0.0, p = 0.032) compared to no SDB. SDB was not associated with daytime sleepiness nor depression. CONCLUSION: SDB was associated with lower physical health‐related quality of life and cognitive function. Given the high prevalence of SDB in older age, assessing QOL and cognition may better delineate subgroups requiring further management, and provide useful treatment target measures for this age group

Beyond the therapeutic: a Habermasian view of self-help groups’ place in the public sphere

Self-help groups in the United Kingdom continue to grow in number and address virtually every conceivable health condition, but they remain the subject of very little theoretical analysis. The literature to date has predominantly focused on their therapeutic effects on individual members. And yet they are widely presumed to fulfil a broader civic role and to encourage democratic citizenship. The article uses Habermas’ model of the public sphere as an analytical tool with which to reconsider the literature on self-help groups in order to increase our knowledge of their civic functions. In doing this it also aims to illustrate the continuing relevance of Habermas’ work to our understanding of issues in health and social care. We consider, within the context of current health policies and practices, the extent to which self-help groups with a range of different forms and functions operate according to the principles of communicative rationality that Habermas deemed key to democratic legitimacy. We conclude that self-help groups’ civic role is more complex than is usually presumed and that various factors including groups’ leadership, organisational structure and links with public agencies can affect their efficacy within the public sphere

Self-help groups challenge health care systems in the US and UK

Purpose: This research considers how self-help groups (SHGs) and self- help organizations (SHOs) contribute to consumerist trends in two different societies: United States and United Kingdom. How do the health care systems and the voluntary sectors affect the kinds of social changes that SHGs/SHOs make? Methodology/approach: A review of research on the role of SHGs/SHOs in contributing to national health social movements in the UK and US was made. Case studies of the UK and the US compare the characteristics of their health care systems and their voluntary sector. Research reviews of two community level self-help groups in each country describe the kinds of social changes they made. Findings: The research review verified that SHGs/SHOs contribute to national level health social movements for patient consumerism. The case studies showed that community level SHGs/SHOs successfully made the same social changes but on a smaller scale as the national movements, and the health care system affects the kinds of community changes made. Research limitations: A limited number of SHGs/SHOs within only two societies were studied. Additional SHGs/SHOs within a variety of societies need to be studied. Originality/value of chapter Community SHGs/SHOs are often trivialized by social scientists as just inward-oriented support groups, but this chapter shows that local groups contribute to patient consumerism and social changes but in ways that depend on the kind of health care system and societal context

‘That’s how Muslims are required to view the world’:race, culture and belief in non-Muslims’ descriptions of Islam and science

Islam’s positioning in relation to Western ideals of individuality, freedom, women’s rights and democracy has been an abiding theme of sociological analysis and cultural criticism, especially since September 11th 2001. Less attention has been paid, however, to another concept that has been central to the image of Western modernity: science. This article analyzes comments about Islam gathered over the course of 117 interviews and 13 focus groups with non-Muslim members of the public and scientists in the UK and Canada on the theme of the relationship between science and religion. The article shows how participants’ accounts of Islam and science contrasted starkly with their accounts of other religious traditions, with a notable minority of predominantly non-religious interviewees describing Islam as uniquely, and uniformly, hostile to science and rational thought. It highlights how such descriptions of Islam were used to justify the cultural othering of Muslims in the West and anxieties about educational segregation, demographic ‘colonization’ and Islamist extremism. Using these data, the article argues for: 1) wider recognition of how popular understandings of science remain bound up with conceptions of Western cultural superiority; and 2) greater attentiveness to how prejudices concerning Islamic beliefs help make the idea that Muslims pose a threat to the West respectable

Movements of Diadromous Fish in Large Unregulated Tropical Rivers Inferred from Geochemical Tracers

Patterns of migration and habitat use in diadromous fishes can be highly variable among individuals. Most investigations into diadromous movement patterns have been restricted to populations in regulated rivers, and little information exists for those in unregulated catchments. We quantified movements of migratory barramundi Lates calcarifer (Bloch) in two large unregulated rivers in northern Australia using both elemental (Sr/Ba) and isotope (87Sr/86Sr) ratios in aragonitic ear stones, or otoliths. Chemical life history profiles indicated significant individual variation in habitat use, particularly among chemically distinct freshwater habitats within a catchment. A global zoning algorithm was used to quantify distinct changes in chemical signatures across profiles. This algorithm identified between 2 and 6 distinct chemical habitats in individual profiles, indicating variable movement among habitats. Profiles of 87Sr/86Sr ratios were notably distinct among individuals, with highly radiogenic values recorded in some otoliths. This variation suggested that fish made full use of habitats across the entire catchment basin. Our results show that unrestricted movement among freshwater habitats is an important component of diadromous life histories for populations in unregulated systems

Spatial and temporal monitoring of coastal water quality: refining the way we consider, gather, and interpret patterns

Copyright © 2009 Inter-Research.Environmental scientists are expected to provide interpretations about patterns across broad scales of space and time, but face the challenge that the environment can vary at smaller spatial scales than commonly recognised. We described spatial and temporal variability in nutrients and associated environmental parameters at sites associated with historical impacts to assess appropriate monitoring practices. Sites were selected on the basis of past research into nutrient-driven habitat change. Temporal variability was examined using a nested sampling design (i.e. days within weeks, weeks within months) that included monitoring nutrients and environmental parameters such as secchi depth, chlorophyll a, ammonia, total Kjeldahl nitrogen, total nitrogen (TN), and oxidised nitrogen. Impacted and control sites differed in nutrient concentration and Secchi depth, although sites did not differ on every sampling occasion. Impacted sites always ranked higher, based on means, in nutrient concentrations and were more turbid than control sites. In general, one impacted site had greater nutrient concentration and was more turbid than the other impacted site. Control sites typically had low and stable concentrations of TN. Variation over small time scales of days was large relative to variation at scales of weeks and months; these results warn that monitoring of long-term trends must be mindful of short-term variation and its capacity to confuse interpretations over broader time scales. In this regard, we make suggestions to improve the way we consider, gather, and interpret patterns in environmental data that almost always vary on small scales.Travis S. Elsdon, Sean D. Connel

Effects of kelp canopies on bleaching and photosynthetic activity of encrusting coralline algae

Copyright © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Canopy-forming algae often coexist with an understorey of encrusting coralline algae that bleach following the loss of canopies. We tested the hypothesis that canopy loss causes a reduction in photosynthetic activity of encrusting coralline algae concomitant with their bleaching. When canopies were experimentally removed, corallines bleached and their photosynthetic activity was rapidly reduced to half their activity observed under canopies. This result prompted us to test, and subsequently accept, the hypothesis that exposure of understorey corallines to enhanced light intensity per se (simulation of canopy loss) acts as a mechanism that causes bleaching and reduced photosynthetic activity. Despite bleaching, encrusting corallines maintained reduced levels of photosynthetic activity, and this may explain why, under certain conditions, bleached corallines can persist in the absence of canopy-forming algae. Nevertheless, our data provide evidence that the positive association between canopy-forming algae and encrusting coralline algae is maintained because of shade provided by the canopy.Andrew D. Irving, Sean D. Connell and Travis S. Elsdonhttp://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/523011/description#descriptio