The Frying Pan or the Fire: Public Attitudes About Using Herbicides to Manage Invasive Weeds

How do we balance risks? This paper assesses hypotheses derived from instrumental rationality and risk society theories about the reasoning strategies that people will use to develop views supportive or oppositional to the use of herbicides to manage cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum), an invasive weed. Cheatgrass is well-known in the population of the American West to increase wildfire risks substantially and to harm the environment in other ways. But are the cures worse than the disease? One demonstrably effective method of cheatgrass suppression is the use of herbicides, and the paper explores sources of support for and opposition to the use of herbicides for this purpose. The data are from a representative sample of residents of Nevada, one of the states greatly at risk from cheatgrass (N = 532). Attitude and cultural practice clusterings are assessed using factor analysis. Direct and indirect effects of demographic and back-ground variables and cultural practices on support for/opposition to herbicide use are assessed via structural equation models. Results show that there is more support for the instrumental rationality hypothesis, but that the risk society hypothesis is also needed to account for all the findings

Regulation and Rose of Heme Oxygenase-1 (HO-1) During Inflammation in Human Gingival Fibroblasts (HGF)

Periodontitis is the most common cause of adult tooth loss in the U.S., with an estimated 1 in 3 adults suffering from some form and 10-15% of adults developing severe forms. In addition to its direct impact, periodontitis also contributes to the development of several other diseases, including cardiovascular disease, pre-term low birth weight, and diabetes. Although the primary function of HO-1 is the breakdown of heme to carbon monoxide, iron and bilirubin, it has also been shown to play an important role in wound repair and the resolution of inflammation by mechanisms involving homeostatic regulation of the redox state of cells. A series of experiments has been designed to determine whether and to what extent the levels of HO-1 mRNA and protein are regulated by inflammatory cytokines in HGF isolated from individuals with or without periodontitis. Preliminary results show that HO-1 mRNA is expressed in HGF cultures derived from patients with periodontitis and that mRNA levels are inhibited over 60% by Interleukin-1 at 6 hours (10 ng/ml, p \u3c 0.001). Interestingly however, HO-1 protein levels as measured by ELISA are not decreased by IL-1. Experiments are currently underway to address this apparent paradox, as well as the potential role of HO-1 in the regulation of inflammatory mediators in HGF

Is 8:30 a.m. Still Too Early to Start School? A 10:00 a.m. School Start Time Improves Health and Performance of Students Aged 13-16.

While many studies have shown the benefits of later school starts, including better student attendance, higher test scores, and improved sleep duration, few have used starting times later than 9:00 a.m. Here we report on the implementation and impact of a 10 a.m. school start time for 13 to 16-year-old students. A 4-year observational study using a before-after-before (A-B-A) design was carried out in an English state-funded high school. School start times were changed from 8:50 a.m. in study year 0, to 10 a.m. in years 1-2, and then back to 8:50 a.m. in year 3. Measures of student health (absence due to illness) and academic performance (national examination results) were used for all students. Implementing a 10 a.m. start saw a decrease in student illness after 2 years of over 50% (p < 0.0005 and effect size: Cohen's d = 1.07), and reverting to an 8:50 a.m. start reversed this improvement, leading to an increase of 30% in student illness (p < 0.0005 and Cohen's d = 0.47). The 10:00 a.m. start was associated with a 12% increase in the value-added number of students making good academic progress (in standard national examinations) that was significant (<0.0005) and equivalent to 20% of the national benchmark. These results show that changing to a 10:00 a.m. high school start time can greatly reduce illness and improve academic performance. Implementing school start times later than 8:30 a.m., which may address the circadian delay in adolescents' sleep rhythms more effectively for evening chronotypes, appears to have few costs and substantial benefits

Cultural pathway to osteopathic medical school: The Native American pre-admissions workshop

Background: Native Americans (NAs) experience significant health disparities compared to the general US population. Medical education has a key role to play in addressing these inequities; however, it is currently falling short. Providers lack sufficient knowledge of NA heritage, cultures, perspectives, and social determinants of health. Under-representation begins in the medical education pathway, with only 0.3% of residents and merely 0.15% of faculty serving the 2.9% of identifying NAs. Because NA health professionals are more likely to serve the NA community, training more NAs has the potential to address current workforce challenges in Indian Country. However, there is a void in literature specific to the recruitment, training, and development of NA providers in the US workforce. This likely contributes to the limited success of US medical schools to train NA physicians. Therefore, our primary objective is to increase awareness of osteopathic medicine, including introduction of osteopathic practice and philosophy, among NAs interested in pursuing a career in medicine. Our secondary objective is to provide prospective NA applicants exposure to the knowledge, skills, behaviors, and attitudes necessary for successful matriculation to osteopathic medical school.Methods: Due to COVID-19, the NAPA Workshops (Spring 2021 and Fall 2021) were held virtually via the telecommunications platform Zoom. This allowed nationwide participation for learning about the partnership between OSU-COM and the Cherokee Nation, Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine, clinical skills, admissions acumen, current student perspectives, and how the principles of Osteopathic Medicine parallel traditional NA beliefs and practices. For example, the osteopathic tenets address the body as a unit, with the person representing a combination of body, mind, and spirit. These same principles embody wellness and healing beliefs for many NAs.Results: When surveyed at the time of the inaugural NAPA Workshop, 56% of participants reported plans to apply to medical school within the next year, 33% within the next two to three years, 7% were unsure of their timeline, and 4% had already applied. In total, after the 2021 Spring and 2021 Fall NAPA Workshops, a total of forty-one students (twenty-seven in Spring, fourteen in Fall) had attended, nine students (one in 2020-2021 cycle, eight in 2021-2022 cycle) had completed applications, and two students (zero in 2020-2021 cycle, two in 2021-2022 cycle) had been admitted to the OSUCOM.Conclusion: Building on Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine’s (OSUCOM) existing pathway programs focused on underrepresented groups, including Native Explorers, Native OKStars, Operation Orange, and the Minority Association of Pre-Medical Students (MAPS) Conference, the Native American Students of Osteopathic Medicine (NASOM) organization created the Native American Pre-Admission (NAPA) Workshop. The Student-led NAPA Workshop has resulted in an additional, culturally sensitive pathway for increased recruitment of NA medical students, the most underrepresented group in medicine, furthering OSUCOM’s mission to recruit, train, and retain physicians serving rural and tribal communitie

Patterns of change and stability in the gender division of household labour in Australia, 1986-1997

Recent research in Australia and overseas has suggested that we are witnessing a convergence of men's and women's time on domestic labour activities. But there is disagreement about whether this is due to women reducing their time on housework or men increasing their time on housework. This article addresses these issues using national survey data collected in Australia in 1986, 1993 and 1997. The results show some changes in the proportional responsibilities of men and women in the home with men reporting a greater share of traditional indoor activities. But overall both men and women are spending less time on housework. In particular, women's time on housework has declined by six hours per week since 1986. Hence, while the gender gap between men's and women's involvement in the home is getting smaller, it is not the result of men increasing their share of the load, but is due to the large decline in women's time spent on domestic labour. There is also evidence of change in the relationship. between paid and unpaid work for women. Women's hours of,paid labour had a greater impact on their involvement in domestic labour in 1997 compared to a decade earlier. The article concludes that women's increased labour force involvement in combination with changing patterns and styles, of consumption is leading to some changes in the gender-division:of household labour, but not in the direction anticipated by earlier commentators on the domestic division of labour

Economic Development and Happiness: Evidence from 32 Nations

Drawing on reference group, relative deprivation, conspicuous consumption and hierarchy of needs theories, this paper tests the hypothesis that goods (material and other) bring more satisfaction if few other people have them. We test this hypothesis by estimating the effect of education and income on happiness in large representative national samples from 32 nations at various levels of economic development. The results indicate that, net of individuals’ socio-demographic characteristics and country’s level of development, the higher the average education in a given society, the smaller the gain from advanced education on individuals’ happiness. Similarly, the richer the society, the less do gains in family income confer gains in individuals’ happiness. Thus, the more that goods such as education and income diffuse through a society, the less they enhance people’s subjective well-being. However, the nation’s level of economic development has a strong, independent positive effect on well-being. Taken together, the quantitative implication of these patterns is that economic growth enhances well-being, especially for poor people, and more so in poor nations than in rich nations

IL-4 Inhibition of IL-1 Induced Matrix Metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3) Expression in Human Fibroblasts Involves Decreased AP-1 Activation Via Negative Crosstalk Involving of Jun N-Terminal Kinase (JNK)

Matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3) over-expression is associated with tissue destruction in the context of chronic inflammation. Previous studies showed that IL-4 inhibits induction of MMP-3 by IL-1β, and suggested that AP-1 might be involved. Here we show that IL-1 induced binding of transcription factor AP-1 to the MMP-3 promoter consists primarily of c-Jun, JunB, and c-Fos and that binding of c-Jun and c-Fos is inhibited by the combination of cytokines while binding of Jun B is not. Mutation of the AP-1 site in the MMP-3 promoter decreased the ability of IL-4 to inhibit its transcription in transfected MG-63 cells. Western blotting showed that both cytokines activate Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), but with somewhat different kinetics, and that activation of JNK by both cytokines individually is inhibited by the combination. These results indicate that IL-4 inhibition of MMP-3 expression is associated with reduction of IL-1 induced binding of active forms of the AP-1 dimer, while less active JunB-containing dimers remain, and suggest that these changes are associated with decreased activation of JNK