IMPACT OF FOOD STAMP AND NUTRITION EDUCATION PROGRAMS ON FOOD GROUP EXPENDITURE AND NUTRIENT INTAKE OF LOW INCOME HOUSEHOLDS

Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

IMPACT OF THE FOOD STAMP PROGRAM ON LOW INCOME HOUSEHOLD FOOD CONSUMPTION IN RURAL FLORIDA

Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Utilizing the Theory of Planned Behavior to Explain Suicidal Intent

Suicide has become a national and global problem, with the prevalence of suicide attempts increasing in recent years (Brown, Henriques, Sosdjan, & Beck, 2004; Kessler, Borges, & Walters, 1999). Even though research on suicide has identified risk factors and demographic characteristics to help aid in predicting who is at risk for attempting suicide, predictive models of intent of suicide have been unsuccessful in identifying particular individuals at risk of eventually dying by suicide (Cassells, Paterson, Dowding, & Morrison, 2005; Goldstein, Black, & Nasrallah, 1991; Powell, Geddes, Deeks, Goldacre, & Hawton, 2000). The purpose of this study is to propose an alternative framework to studying suicide by utilizing the theory of planned behavior to explain variables associated with suicidal ideation and intent. Differences in individual attitudes, beliefs, and social norms were also compared to levels of depression and hopelessness to help understand the components that contribute to suicidal ideation. The results revealed that the theory of planned behavior variables explained 49% of the variance in suicidal ideation, with perceived behavioral control accounting for the largest proportion of the variance. The theory of planned behavior variables was also found to explain more variance than depression and hopelessness in suicidal ideation

Not Everybody Loves Raymond: How the Case of Raymond v. Raymond Made a Shambles of Interspousal Gift Presumptions and the Parol Evidence Rule in Matters of Texas Community Property

Abstract forthcomin

Tactile Thresholds are Preserved yet Cortical Sensory Function is Impaired in Chronic Non-Specific Low Back Pain Patients

Introduction: A substantial amount of evidence points to an alteration in brain structure and function patients with chronic non-specific low back pain (CNSLBP) [1-6]. One interpretation of these findings is that the observed brain changes may represent a disruption of the brain’s representations of the body part and the resultant body perception disturbance may underpin this clinical problem. The current study aimed to investigate sensory dysfunction in CNSLBP. Specifically we aimed to distinguish cortically mediated sensory dysfunction from peripheral dysfunction by comparing simple tactile thresholds with more complex cortically mediated sensory tests Methods: We investigated tactile thresholds (TTH), two point discrimination (TPD) and graphaesthesia over the lumbar spine of 19 CLBP patients and 19 age and sex matched healthy controls as a way of investigating whether CLBP patients present with a perceptual disturbance of their lumbar spine. Differences in performance of the sensory tests was explored using the Mann Whitney U Test and one-way between groups multivariate analysis of variance. Results: We found no difference in tactile threshold between the two groups (P=.0.751). There was a statistically significant difference between controls and LBP for TPD: F(1,36)=10.15, p=.003 and letter error rate: F(1, 36)=6.54 p=0.015. The data indicate that LBP patients had a larger lumbar TPD distance and a greater letter recognition error rate. Discussion: Both TPD and graphaesthesia are dependant on the integrity of the primary sensory cortex [7]. These data support existing findings of perceptual abnormality in chronic back pain [8] and the preservation of tactile thresholds is suggestive of cortical rather than peripheral sensory dysfunction. Amelioration of these abnormalities may present a target for therapeutic intervention

Advances in the treatment of gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors

Gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs) are a rare and heterogeneous class of neoplasms. While surgical resection is the mainstay of treatment, non-surgical therapies play a role in the setting of unresectable and metastatic disease. The goals of medical therapy are directed both at alleviating symptoms of peptide release and shrinking tumor mass. Biotherapies such as somatostatin analogs and interferon can decrease the secretion of peptides and inhibit their end-organ effects. A second objective for treatment of unresectable GEP-NETs is limiting tumor growth. Options for limiting tumor growth include somatostatin analogs, systemic chemotherapy, locoregional therapies, ionizing radiation, external beam radiation, and newer targeted agents. In particular, angiogenesis inhibitors, tyrosine kinase inhibitors, and mTOR inhibitors have shown early promising results. The rarity of these tumors, their resistance to standard chemotherapy, and the excellent performance status of most of these patients, make a strong argument for consideration of novel therapeutic trials

AN INTRODUCTION TO VIRGINIA ISSUES: INFORMATION AND ANALYSIS: SPECIAL REPORT FOR VIRGINIA COOPERATIVE EXTENSION

Community/Rural/Urban Development, Labor and Human Capital, Land Economics/Use,

Tropical Cyclones and Storm Surge Modelling Activities

The Global Disasters Alert and Coordination System (GDACS) automatically invokes ad hoc numerical models to analyse the level of the hazard of natural disasters like earthquakes, tsunamis, tropical cyclones, floods and volcanoes. The Tropical Cyclones (TCs) are among the most damaging events, due to strong winds, heavy rains and storm surge. In order to estimate the area and the population affected, all three types of the above physical impacts must be taken into account. GDACS includes all these dangerous effects, using various sources of data. The JRC set up an automatic routine that includes the TC information provided by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) into a single database, covering all TCs basins. This information is used in GDACS for the wind impact and as input for the JRC storm surge system. Recently the global numerical models and other TC models have notably improved their resolutions, therefore one of the first aim of this work is the assessment and implementation of new data sources for the wind, storm surge and rainfall impacts in GDACS. Moreover the TC modelling workflow has been revised in order to provide redundancy, transparency and efficiency while addressing issues of accuracy and incorporation of additional physical processes. The status of development is presented along with the outline of future steps.JRC.E.1-Disaster Risk Managemen

Pollution, health, and the moderating role of physical activity opportunities

Cunningham GB, Wicker P, McCullough BP. Pollution, health, and the moderating role of physical activity opportunities. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2020;17(17): 6272.Air and water pollution have detrimental effects on health, while physical activity opportunities have a positive relationship. The purpose of this study was to explore whether physical activity opportunities moderate the relationships among air and water pollution, and measures of health. Aggregate data were collected at the county level in the United States (n = 3104). Variables included the mean daily density of fine particle matter (air pollution), reported cases of health-related drinking water violations (water pollution), subjective ratings of poor or fair health (overall health), the number of physically and mentally unhealthy (physical and mental health, respectively), and the percentage of people living in close proximity to a park or recreation facility (access to physical activity). Air and water pollution have a significant positive effect on all measures of residents' poor health, while physical activity opportunities only have a negative effect on overall health and physical health. Access to physical activity only moderates the relationship between air pollution and all health outcomes. Since physical activity behavior can be more rapidly changed than some causes of pollution, providing the resident population with better access to physical activity can represent an effective tool in environmental health policy