Catholic Identity and the Laity

Paul F. Lakeland is a contributing author, Maturity and the Lay Vocation: From Ecclesiology to Ecclesiality p. 241-260. Original essays explore the role of the laity within the Catholic Church and the nature of Catholic identity. –Publisher description.https://digitalcommons.fairfield.edu/religiousstudies-books/1003/thumbnail.jp

Prehypertensive blood pressures and regional cerebral blood flow independently relate to cognitive performance in midlife

Background High blood pressure is thought to contribute to dementia in late life, but our understanding of the relationship between individual differences in blood pressure ( BP ) and cognitive functioning is incomplete. In this study, cognitive performance in nonhypertensive midlife adults was examined as a function of resting BP and regional cerebral blood flow ( rCBF ) responses during cognitive testing. We hypothesized that BP would be negatively related to cognitive performance and that cognitive performance would also be related to rCBF responses within areas related to BP control. We explored whether deficits related to systolic BP might be explained by rCBF responses to mental challenge. Methods and Results Healthy midlife participants (n=227) received neuropsychological testing and performed cognitive tasks in a magnetic resonance imaging scanner. A pseudocontinuous arterial spin labeling sequence assessed rCBF in brain areas related to BP in prior studies. Systolic BP was negatively related to 4 of 5 neuropsychological factors (standardized β&gt;0.13): memory, working memory, executive function, and mental efficiency. The rCBF in 2 brain regions of interest was similarly related to memory, executive function, and working memory (standardized β&gt;0.17); however, rCBF responses did not explain the relationship between resting systolic BP and cognitive performance. Conclusions Relationships at midlife between prehypertensive levels of systolic BP and both cognitive and brain function were modest but suggested the possible value of midlife intervention. </jats:sec

Participant‐Reported Health Status Predicts Cardiovascular and All‐Cause Mortality Independent of Established and Nontraditional Biomarkers: Evidence From a Representative US Sample

Background: Participant‐reported health status is a key indicator of cardiovascular health, but its predictive value relative to traditional and nontraditional risk factors is unknown. We evaluated whether participant‐reported health status, as indexed by self‐rated health, predicted cardiovascular disease, and all‐cause mortality risk excess of 10‐year atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk scores and 5 nontraditional risk biomarkers. Methods and Results: Analyses used prospective observational data from the 1999–2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys among those aged 40 to 79 years (N=4677). Vital status was ascertained through 2011, during which there were 850 deaths, 206 from cardiovascular disease (CVD). We regressed CVD and all‐cause mortality on standardized values of self‐rated health in survival models, adjusting for age, sex, education, existing chronic disease, race/ethnicity, ASCVD risk, and standardized biomarkers (fibrinogen, C‐reactive protein [CRP], triglycerides, albumin, and uric acid). In sociodemographically adjusted models, a 1‐SD decrease in self‐rated health was associated with increased risk of CVD mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 1.92; 95% CI, 1.51–2.45; P<0.001), and this hazard remained strong after adjusting for ASCVD risk and nontraditional biomarkers (HR, 1.79; 95% CI, 1.42–2.26; P<0.001). Self‐rated health also predicted all‐cause mortality even after adjustment for ASCVD risk and nontraditional biomarkers (HR, 1.50; 95% CI, 1.35–1.66; P<0.001). Conclusions: Self‐rated health provides prognostic information beyond that captured by traditional ASCVD risk assessments and by nontraditional CVD biomarkers. Consideration of self‐rated health in combination with traditional risk factors may facilitate risk assessment and clinical care

Rocket Testing and Integrated System Health Management

Integrated System Health Management (ISHM) describes a set of system capabilities that in aggregate perform: determination of condition for each system element, detection of anomalies, diagnosis of causes for anomalies, and prognostics for future anomalies and system behavior. The ISHM should also provide operators with situational awareness of the system by integrating contextual and timely data, information, and knowledge (DIaK) as needed. ISHM capabilities can be implemented using a variety of technologies and tools. This chapter provides an overview of ISHM contributing technologies and describes in further detail a novel implementation architecture along with associated taxonomy, ontology, and standards. The operational ISHM testbed is based on a subsystem of a rocket engine test stand. Such test stands contain many elements that are common to manufacturing systems, and thereby serve to illustrate the potential benefits and methodologies of the ISHM approach for intelligent manufacturing

Somatic-Vegetative Symptoms of Depression Predict 6-Year Increases in Insulin Resistance: Data from the Pittsburgh Healthy Heart Project

poster abstractAlthough prospective studies suggest a bidirectional association between depression and type 2 diabetes, few studies have examined depressive symptom clusters or concurrently evaluated both directions of this relationship. Consequently, our objective was to examine the longitudinal, bidirectional associations between the somatic-vegetative and cognitive-affective clusters of depressive symptoms and insulin resistance, which is implicated in the pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes. Participants were 269 adults (baseline age range: 50-70 years, 55% female, 14% non-white) without diabetes enrolled in the Pittsburgh Healthy Heart Project, a prospective cohort study. At baseline and the 6-year visits, participants completed the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) to assess depressive symptoms and underwent a blood draw to quantify fasting serum insulin and glucose. We examined baseline BDI-II total and subscale scores as predictors of 6-year change in the homeostatic model assessment (HOMA) score, an index of insulin resistance computed from fasting insulin and glucose. We also examined baseline HOMA score as a predictor of 6-year change in BDI-II total and subscale scores. HOMA and BDI-II change were computed as follow-up score minus baseline score. Regression analyses, adjusted for baseline HOMA score and demographic factors, revealed that the baseline BDI-II somatic-vegetative score (beta=.14, p=.03), but not the total (beta=.10, p=.11) or cognitive-affective (beta=.004, p=.95) scores, was a predictor of 6-year increases in the HOMA score. The pattern of results was similar after further adjustment for body mass index, except that the BDI-II total score became a predictor of HOMA change (beta=.13, p=.03). In contrast, the baseline HOMA score did not predict 6-year change in BDI-II total, somatic-vegetative, or cognitive-affective scores (all p’s>.48). Our findings indicate that older adults experiencing the somatic-vegetative symptoms of depression (e.g., fatigue, sleep disturbance, and appetite changes) may be at an increased risk of insulin resistance and subsequent type 2 diabetes

Depressive symptom clusters as predictors of 6-year increases in insulin resistance: data from the Pittsburgh Healthy Heart Project

OBJECTIVE: To examine longitudinal bidirectional associations between two depressive symptom clusters-the cognitive-affective and somatic-vegetative clusters--and insulin resistance, a marker of prediabetes. METHODS: Participants were 269 adults aged 50 to 70 years without diabetes enrolled in the Pittsburgh Healthy Heart Project, a prospective cohort study. At baseline and 6-year visits, participants completed the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) and underwent a blood draw to quantify fasting insulin and glucose. We examined baseline BDI-II total, cognitive-affective, and somatic-vegetative scores as predictors of 6-year change in the homeostatic model of assessment (HOMA) score, an estimate of insulin resistance computed from fasting insulin and glucose. We also examined baseline HOMA score as a predictor of 6-year change in BDI-II total and subscale scores. RESULTS: Regression analyses, adjusted for demographic factors and baseline HOMA score, revealed that the baseline BDI-II somatic-vegetative score (β = 0.14, p = .025), but not the cognitive-affective (β = 0.001, p = .98) or total (β = 0.10, p = .11) scores, predicted 6-year HOMA change. This result persisted in models controlling for anxiety symptoms and hostility. Several factors were examined as candidate mediators; however, only change in body mass index was a significant mediator (p = .042), accounting for 23% of the observed association. Baseline HOMA score did not predict 6-year change in BDI-II total or subscale scores (all p values >.56). CONCLUSIONS: Among adults aged 50 to 70 years, the somatic-vegetative symptoms of depression (e.g., fatigue, sleep disturbance, and appetite changes) may worsen insulin resistance and increase diabetes risk, partly, by increasing body mass index