The role of military leadership in servicemembers\u27 perceptions of mental health treatment

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine how combat veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation New Dawn, and Operation Enduring Freedom believe unit leadership in the military addresses the topic of mental health wellness, and how this may influence their individual perceptions on the issue. The specific research question of the study was, How do veterans perceive mental health wellness is addressed by unit leadership, and how does this affect their attitudes towards psychological treatment in the military? A total of 107 servicemembers completed an online survey consisting of 13 Likert scale and four open-ended questions that were used to capture their experiences on the topic. Results found that while servicemembers\u27 perceptions vary greatly as to how mental health is handled by unit leadership, up to 40-50% hold a negative view on the matter. This indicates that many servicemembers are receiving mixed messages about mental health, since the military, at an institutional level, has heightened its efforts in addressing issues related to mental health since the beginning of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Results of this study may help explain why, despite these efforts, many servicemembers do not seek mental health treatment and suicide rates in the military remain at an all-time high. These findings have serious implications on future research, social work practice, and military policy

Photoactive platinum(II) azopyridine complexes

Platinum(II) complexes containing the strong π-acceptor N,N-chelating ligand phenylazopyridine (Ph-azpy) [Pt(p-R-Ph-azpy)X2], R = H, NMe2 or OH, X = Cl or N3, have been synthesized and characterized to explore the effects of monodentate ligands and phenyl substituents on their absorption spectra and photoactivation. Time-dependent density functional theory calculations showed that the complexes have a low-lying unoccupied orbital with strong σ-antibonding character toward the majority of the coordination bonds. The UV–visible absorption bands were assigned as mainly ligand-centered or metal-to-ligand charge-transfer transitions, with strong contributions from the chlorido and azido groups. In complexes with substituted Ph-azpy ligands, σ-donation from NMe2 and OH/O– groups results in a redshift of the main absorption bands compared with unsubstituted Ph-azpy complexes. The diazido complexes are photoactive in solution upon irradiation with either UVA or visible light for R = H or NMe2, or UVA only when R = OH/O–. Intriguingly, the phenolate group of the latter complex undergoes very slow protonation in solution. Biological screening was limited by poor solubility; however, initial tests showed that the phenolato diazido complex is rapidly taken up into the nuclei of HaCaT keratinocytes, which are stained intensely blue, and its cytotoxicity is increased upon irradiation with UVA light

How do healthcare consumers process and evaluate comparative healthcare information? A qualitative study using cognitive interviews

Background: To date, online public healthcare reports have not been effectively used by consumers. Therefore, we qualitatively examined how healthcare consumers process and evaluate comparative healthcare information on the Internet. Methods: Using semi-structured cognitive interviews, interviewees (n = 20) were asked to think aloud and answer questions, as they were prompted with three Dutch web pages providing comparative healthcare information. Results: We identified twelve themes from consumers' thoughts and evaluations. These themes were categorized under four important areas of interest: (1) a response to the design; (2) a response to the information content; (3) the use of the information, and (4) the purpose of the information. Conclusion: Several barriers to an effective use of comparative healthcare information were identified, such as too much information and the ambiguity of terms presented on websites. Particularly important for future research is the question of how comparative healthcare information can be integrated with alternative information, such as patient reviews on the Internet. Furthermore, the readability of quality of care concepts is an issue that needs further attention, both from websites and communication experts.

A transient presence: black visitors and sojourners in Imperial Germany, 1884-1914

The onset of German colonial rule in Africa brought increasing numbers of Black men and women to Germany. Pre-1914 the vast majority of these Africans can best be described as visitors or sojourners and the Black population as a whole was a transient one. This makes recovering their presence in the archival record exceptionally difficult and it is not surprising that the existing historiography almost exclusively focuses on individual biographies of well documented lives. Through utilising a number of newly digitised archival materials, particularly the Hamburg Passenger Lists, this article draws upon a database with information on 1092 individuals from sub-Saharan Africa who spent time in Germany over the period 1884-1914 in order to add considerable bread and depth to our understanding of the Black presence as a whole. It provides increasing empirical detail about the make-up and character of this fluid population - where visitors came from, why they came to Germany, their age on arrival - as well as more accurate detail on the temporal and, to a lesser extent, spatial distribution of visitors

HIV-1 Epidemic in the Caribbean Is Dominated by Subtype B

The molecular epidemiology of HIV-1 in the Caribbean has been described using partial genome sequencing; subtype B is the most common subtype in multiple countries. To expand our knowledge of this, nearly full genome amplification, sequencing and analysis was conducted.Virion RNA from sera collected in Haiti, Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago were reverse transcribed, PCR amplified, sequenced and phylogenetically analyzed. Nearly full genomes were completed for 15 strains; partial pol was done for 67 strains. All but one of the 67 strains analyzed in pol were subtype B; the exception was a unique recombinant of subtypes B and C collected in the Dominican Republic. Of the nearly full genomes of 14 strains that were subtype B in pol, all were subtype B from one end of the genome to the other and not inter-subtype recombinants. Surprisingly, the Caribbean subtype B strains clustered significantly with each other and separate from subtype B from other parts of the pandemic.The more complete analysis of HIV-1 from 4 Caribbean countries confirms previous research using partial genome analysis that the predominant subtype in circulation was subtype B. The Caribbean strains are phylogenetically distinct from other subtype B strains although the biological meaning of this finding is unclear

Emergence of Respiratory Streptococcus agalactiae Isolates in Cystic Fibrosis Patients

Streptococcus agalactiae is a well-known pathogen for neonates and immunocompromized adults. Beyond the neonatal period, S. agalactiae is rarely found in the respiratory tract. During 2002–2008 we noticed S. agalactiae in respiratory secretions of 30/185 (16%) of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. The median age of these patients was 3–6 years older than the median age CF patients not harboring S. agalactiae. To analyze, if the S. agalactiae isolates from CF patients were clonal, further characterization of the strains was achieved by capsular serotyping, surface protein determination and multilocus sequence typing (MLST). We found a variety of sequence types (ST) among the isolates, which did not substantially differ from the MLST patterns of colonizing strains from Germany. However serotype III, which is often seen in colonizing strains and invasive infections was rare among CF patients. The emergence of S. agalactiae in the respiratory tract of CF patients may represent the adaptation to a novel host environment, supported by the altered surfactant composition in older CF patients