Education and Opportuntty: Creating a Scholarship Program in Ecuador

Educating young women offers significant benefits to societies, including economic progress and improved health outcomes. Despite the benefit, many girls around the world lack access and opportunity to education. The Rochester, Minnesota 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Hands For Humanity, addresses this inequity through offering a college scholarship program for young Ecuadorian women living in Portoviejo, Manabi province, Ecuador. Hands For Humanity collaborates with Ecuadorian teachers and business leaders to select high-achieving students with a financial need. Currently there are six young women completing their college education with the help of the scholarship. Due to rising tuition costs and extended academic program lengths, fundraising efforts have had to increase to further expand and sustain the program. The scholarship program is explored using the application of Leininger\u27s theory and sunrise model addressing philanthropy, empowerment, education as a social determinant of health, opportunity, and relationships

Efficiency Costs of Subsidy Rules for Crop Insurance

Participation in federal crop insurance programs has been encouraged through premium subsidies. The current subsidy depends on contract features as well as coverage levels. This type of subsidy rule causes farmers to choose contract designs and coverages that are not efficient for managing risk, in order to capture subsidy. Farmers are found to be as well off with a flat subsidy that is up to 25% less than the value of the current regressive proportional subsidy.crop insurance, futures, risk management, subsidy, Risk and Uncertainty,

A multicenter evaluation of pediatric emergency department injury visits during the COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND: Injuries, the leading cause of death in children 1-17 years old, are often preventable. Injury patterns are impacted by changes in the child\u27s environment, shifts in supervision, and caregiver stressors. The objective of this study was to evaluate the incidence and proportion of injuries, mechanisms, and severity seen in Pediatric Emergency Departments (PEDs) during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: This multicenter, cross-sectional study from January 2019 through December 2020 examined visits to 40 PEDs for children \u3c 18 years old. Injury was defined by at least one International Classification of Disease-10th revision (ICD-10) code for bodily injury (S00-T78). The main study outcomes were total and proportion of PED injury-related visits compared to all visits in March through December 2020 and to the same months in 2019. Weekly injury visits as a percentage of total PED visits were calculated for all weeks between January 2019 and December 2020. RESULTS: The study included 741,418 PED visits for injuries pre-COVID-19 pandemic (2019) and during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020). Overall PED visits from all causes decreased 27.4% in March to December 2020 compared to the same time frame in 2019; however, the proportion of injury-related PED visits in 2020 increased by 37.7%. In 2020, injured children were younger (median age 6.31 years vs 7.31 in 2019), more commonly White (54% vs 50%, p \u3c 0.001), non-Hispanic (72% vs 69%, p \u3c 0.001) and had private insurance (35% vs 32%, p \u3c 0.001). Injury hospitalizations increased 2.2% (p \u3c 0.001) and deaths increased 0.03% (p \u3c 0.001) in 2020 compared to 2019. Mean injury severity score increased (2.2 to 2.4, p \u3c 0.001) between 2019 and 2020. Injuries declined for struck by/against (- 4.9%) and overexertion (- 1.2%) mechanisms. Injuries proportionally increased for pedal cycles (2.8%), cut/pierce (1.5%), motor vehicle occupant (0.9%), other transportation (0.6%), fire/burn (0.5%) and firearms (0.3%) compared to all injuries in 2020 versus 2019. CONCLUSIONS: The proportion of PED injury-related visits in March through December 2020 increased compared to the same months in 2019. Racial and payor differences were noted. Mechanisms of injury seen in the PED during 2020 changed compared to 2019, and this can inform injury prevention initiatives

On the Origin and Evolution of Life in the Galaxy

A simple stochastic model for evolution, based upon the need to pass a sequence of n critical steps (Carter 1983, Watson 2008) is applied to both terrestrial and extraterrestrial origins of life. In the former case, the time at which humans have emerged during the habitable period of the Earth suggests a value of n = 4. Progressively adding earlier evolutionary transitions (Maynard Smith and Szathmary, 1995) gives an optimum fit when n = 5, implying either that their initial transitions are not critical or that habitability began around 6 Ga ago. The origin of life on Mars or elsewhere within the Solar System is excluded by the latter case and the simple anthropic argument is that extraterrestrial life is scarce in the Universe because it does not have time to evolve. Alternatively, the timescale can be extended if the migration of basic progenotic material to Earth is possible. If extra transitions are included in the model to allow for Earth migration, then the start of habitability needs to be even earlier than 6 Ga ago. Our present understanding of Galactic habitability and dynamics does not exclude this possibility. We conclude that Galactic punctuated equilibrium (Cirkovic et al. 2009), proposed as a way round the anthropic problem, is not the only way of making life more common in the Galaxy.Comment: See http://www.astrobiologysociety.org/index.ph

Examining supports and barriers to breastfeeding through a socio-ecological lens: a qualitative study

Background Early breastfeeding cessation is a societal concern given its importance to the health of mother and child. More effective interventions are needed to increase breastfeeding duration. Prior to developing such interventions more research is needed to examine breastfeeding supports and barriers from the perspective of breastfeeding stakeholders. One such framework that can be utilized is the Socio-Ecological Model which stems from Urie Broffenbrenner’s early theoretical frameworks (1973–1979). The purpose of this study was to examine supports and barriers to breastfeeding across environmental systems. Methods A total of 49 representatives participated in a telephone interview in Nebraska, USA in 2019. Interviewees represented various levels of the model, based on their current breastfeeding experience (i.e., mother or significant other) or occupation. A direct content analysis was performed as well as a constant comparative analysis to determine differences between level representatives. Results At the Individual level, breastfeeding is a valued behavior, however, women are hindered by exhaustion, isolation, and the time commitment of breastfeeding. At the Interpersonal level, social media, peer-to-peer, and family were identified as supports for breastfeeding, however lack of familial support was also identified as a barrier. At the community level, participants were split between identifying cultural acceptance of breastfeeding as support or barrier. At the organizational level, hospitals had supportive breastfeeding friendly policies in place however lacked enough personnel with breastfeeding expertise. At the policy level, breastfeeding legislation is supportive, however, more specific breastfeeding legislation is needed to ensure workplace breastfeeding protections. Conclusion Future efforts should target hospital-community partnerships, family-centered education, evidence-based social media strategies and improved breastfeeding legislation to ensure breastfeeding women receive effective support throughout their breastfeeding journey

The Contribution of Leisure Center Usage to Physical Activity in the United Kingdom: Evidence From a Large Population-Based Cohort

Background: Physical activity (PA) levels vary across specific population groups, contributing to health inequalities. Little is known about how local authority leisure centres contribute to population PA, and whether this differs by age, sex or socioeconomic group.Methods: We calculated weekly leisure centre-based moderate/vigorous PA for 20,904 registered adult users of local authority leisure facilities in Northumberland, U.K., between July 2018-June 2019, using administrative data. We categorised activity levels (< 30 minutes/week, 30-149 minutes/week and 150+ minutes/week) and used ordinal regression to examine predictors for activity category achieved. Results: Registered users were mainly female (58.7%), younger (23.9% aged 18-29 years versus 10.1% aged 70+ years) and from the two most affluent socio-economic quintiles (53.7%). Median weekly moderate/vigorous leisure centre-based activity was 55 (IQR 30-99) minutes/week. Being female (OR: 2.09, 95% CI: 1.95-2.35), older (OR: 1.14, 95% CI: 1.11-1.16), and using a large facility (OR: 1.21, 95% CI: 1.03-1.42) were positive predictors of leisure centre-based PA.Conclusion: Older adults and females were more likely to be active and achieve recommended PA levels through centre usage. Widespread use of this novel measure of leisure centre-based activity would improve understanding of how local authority leisure centres can address physical inactivity and associated inequalities

Integrated care in mental health: next steps after the NHS Long Term Plan.

Health and social care face growing and conflicting pressures: mounting complex needs of an ageing population, restricted funding and a workforce recruitment and retention crisis. In response, in the UK the NHS Long Term Plan promises increased investment and an emphasis on better 'integrated' care. We describe key aspects of integration that need addressing.Declaration of interestD.K.T. and S.S.S. are on the editorial board of the British Journal of Psychiatry and executives of the Academic Faculty at the Royal College of Psychiatrists. A.J.B.J., H.P. and Z.M. have roles at the Royal College of Psychiatrists that include evaluation of integrated care systems. A.J.B.J. is married to Dr Sarah Wollaston, Member of Parliament for Totnes and Chair of the Health Select Committee

Measures matter: A scoping review of maternal and newborn indicators.

BACKGROUND: A variety of global-level monitoring initiatives have recommended indicators for tracking progress in maternal and newborn health. As a first step supporting the work of WHO's Mother and Newborn Information for Tracking Outcomes and Results (MoNITOR) Technical Advisory Group, we aimed to compile and synthesize recommended indicators in order to document the landscape of maternal and newborn measurement and monitoring. METHODS: We conducted a scoping review of indicators proposed by global multi-stakeholder groups to suggest next steps to further support maternal and newborn measurement and monitoring. Indicators pertaining to pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum/postnatal and newborn care were extracted and included in the indicator compilation, together with key indicator metadata. We examined patterns and relationships across the compiled indicators. RESULTS: We identified 140 indicators linked to maternal and newborn health topics across the continuum of service provision. Fifty-five indicators relate to inputs and processes, 30 indicators relate to outputs, outcomes comprise 37 indicators in the database, and 18 impact indicators. A quarter of indicators proposed by global groups is either under development/discussion or is considered "aspirational", highlighting the currently evolving monitoring landscape. Although considerable efforts have been made to harmonize indicator recommendations, there are still relatively few indicators shared across key monitoring initiatives and some of those that are shared may have definitional variation. CONCLUSION: Rapid, wide-ranging work by a number of multi-stakeholder groups has resulted in a substantial number of indicators, many of which partially overlap and many are not supported with adequate documentation or guidance. The volume of indicators, coupled with the number of initiatives promoting different indicator lists, highlight the need for strengthened coordination and technical leadership to harmonize recommendations for improved measurement and monitoring of data related to maternal and newborn heath

Host‐derived population genomics data provides insights into bacterial and diatom composition of the killer whale skin

Recent exploration into the interactions and relationship between hosts and their microbiota has revealed a connection between many aspects of the host's biology, health and associated micro-organisms. Whereas amplicon sequencing has traditionally been used to characterize the microbiome, the increasing number of published population genomics data sets offers an underexploited opportunity to study microbial profiles from the host shotgun sequencing data. Here, we use sequence data originally generated from killer whale Orcinus orca skin biopsies for population genomics, to characterize the skin microbiome and investigate how host social and geographical factors influence the microbial community composition. Having identified 845 microbial taxa from 2.4 million reads that did not map to the killer whale reference genome, we found that both ecotypic and geographical factors influence community composition of killer whale skin microbiomes. Furthermore, we uncovered key taxa that drive the microbiome community composition and showed that they are embedded in unique networks, one of which is tentatively linked to diatom presence and poor skin condition. Community composition differed between Antarctic killer whales with and without diatom coverage, suggesting that the previously reported episodic migrations of Antarctic killer whales to warmer waters associated with skin turnover may control the effects of potentially pathogenic bacteria such as Tenacibaculum dicentrarchi. Our work demonstrates the feasibility of microbiome studies from host shotgun sequencing data and highlights the importance of metagenomics in understanding the relationship between host and microbial ecology