Relationships between numbers of extension contacts, employment and selected factors contributing to stress in Tennessee homemakers

The purposes of this study were to: 1) study the relationships between selected factors contributing to homemakers\u27 stress and number of contacts they had with Extension Agents during fiscal year 1980, and 2) study the relationships between selected factors contributing to homemakers\u27 stress and their employment status. Data were obtained through group interviews of homemakers in 91 Tennessee counties in the Fall 1980. Sampling was done on a county basis by Extension Agents. The Nth number technique of random sampling was used. Computations were made by The University of Tennessee Computer Center. Information was tabulated by frequency counts. The analysis of variance F-test was used to determine relationships between factors contributing to homemakers\u27 stress and number of contacts they had with Extension. The chi square test was used to determine factors contributing to homemakers\u27 stress and employment. A probability level of .05 was accepted as being statistically significant. Findings indicated that homemakers who worried about family finances, rearing children, and family relationships made fewer Exten-sion contacts than homemakers who did not worry about these matters. Significant relationships were found between Extension meetings and these variables. In contrast, homemakers who worried about being overworked made more Extension contacts. It was also found that homemakers who felt guilty about not making their own money made significantly more visits and telephone calls to the County Extension Office and also more total Extension contacts than homemakers who did not feel guilty. Only one of the causes of dissatisfaction, not having enough time for special projects for own enjoyment, was found to be significantly related to all Extension contacts. Homemakers who often, frequently, and very frequently had enough time for special projects made more Extension contacts than homemakers who rarely or never had enough time. Findings indicated that homemakers\u27 contacts with Extension were significantly related to their source of advice for family problems. Homemakers who turned to the church. Extension Agent, school, and other professionals made significantly more total Extension contacts and attended significantly more Extension meetings. It was found that homemakers who wanted information on handling stress and tension tended to make more visits and telephone calls to the County Extension Office while homemakers who wanted information on mid-life/mid-career decision making attended significantly more Exten-sion meetings, made significantly more telephone calls, and received significantly more Extension newsletters. Findings indicated that more employed homemakers worried about family finances, rearing children, family relationships, and being overworked. These findings also indicated that a higher percentage of employed homemakers had guilt feelings about not spending time with spouse, not developing their talents, and amount of time spent on self than unemployed homemakers. Further, more employed homemakers reported a greater number of dissatisfactions and periods of discouragement, unhappiness, and depression. It was found that a higher percentage of employed homemakers com-pared with unemployed homemakers turned to friends, relatives, and the Extension Service for advice on family problems. More unemployed homemakers sought help from the church, school, and other professionals. And finally, a higher percentage of employed than unemployed homemakers wanted information on parenting and child development, marital and family relations, handling stress and tension, personal growth and life planning, and mid-life/mid-career decision making. A greater percentage of unemployed homemakers wanted information on handling depression. Implications and recommendations, and recommendations for further study are also included

Nitrite formulations and their use as nitric oxide prodrugs

Compositions comprising from about 40 weight parts to about 1000 weight parts of a botanical nitrate source; from about 20 weight parts to about 500 weight parts of a botanical source of nitrite reduction activity; and from about 4 weight parts to about 100 weight parts of a nitrite salt. Use of the composition in methods of reducing triglycerides or reducing C-reactive protein levels are also provided.Board of Regents, University of Texas Syste

Handbook for Success in Leadership

Andrew Carnegie reportedly once said that he wanted to put on his gravestone, “Here lies a man who knew how to put into his service more able men than he was himself” (Carnegie & Covey, 2017). If we think of these words as how Andrew Carnegie feels about what made him a success and an effective leader, we must recognize that leadership characteristics are multi-faceted and require more than just one component. Nahavandi (2015) shared that the definition of leadership effectiveness should consider all the roles and functions a leader performs and the way that should be measured is on the outcomes they achieve. The reason we as leaders are successful, is not through just sheer hard work, fancy degrees or strategies on leadership. Instead it is something that renowned leadership scholar Peter Drucker characterized as a focus on understanding what needs to be done, what they as leaders are good at and what difference can be made by executing on those things (Karlgaard, 2004). In order to be the best leader, you can be, you must understand yourself, and be surrounded by good and competent people, they will help you be successful. With his statement, Andrew Carnegie was showed us what he valued in his own leadership, and it was not only his shrewd mind or business savvy, it was his ability to build a coalition of people that were talented in ways he was not, that allowed the sum to be more than the parts of the team and the success to be greater, measured by the outcomes he achieved. Success is not a solo sport, and neither is leadership. In the coming chapters, we will focus on the strategies and advice that will help any leader become more effective. The focus of these chapters will approach best practices of leadership components such as building self-awareness, taking accountability, leading in an ethical way and decision-making. The components of leadership that we will focus on are all practical applications of scholarly and real-world experience that should allow for others to gather a simple picture of places to review in order to build your leadership brand

The process of change in offender rehabilitation programmes

Whilst the overall effectiveness of offender rehabilitation programmes in reducing recidivism is now well established, there has been less discussion of the reasons why rehabilitation programmes may be unsuccessful for some offenders. In this paper we suggest that models of change developed in counselling and psychotherapy may have utility in explaining how offender rehabilitation programmes bring about change, and argue that the dominance of cognitive-behavioural treatments in the rehabilitation field means that those offenders who have particularly low levels of problem awareness may be at increased risk of treatment failure. Understanding more about the mechanisms by which programmes help offenders to desist from offending is likely to lead to the development of more responsive and, ultimately, more effective programmes. Some suggestions for those involved in the delivery of offender rehabilitation programmes include: being mindful of the sequence of components of programmes, the development of preparation (or readiness) programmes and offering a broad suite of programmes to cater for different stages of problem awareness and assimilation among offenders. <br /

Association between dietary saccharide intake and self-reported memory performance in middle-aged adults

The aims of the present study were to assess dietary intake of saccharides in middle-aged adults, and to determine whether intakes of these sugar nutrients were related to self-reported memory performance. A population-based sample of 1183 men and women (aged 40-60 years) completed questionnaires assessing everyday memory function. Dietary intake status of saccharides was estimated using a self-completed, quantified FFQ. After controlling for demographic and health measures (for example, time spent exercising, smoking and alcohol consumption), saccharide intake was related to better self-reported memory functioning. Thus, longer-term intakes of saccharides through the usual diet may be positively related to perceived memory performance in mid-life

Saccharide Effects on Cognition and Well-Being in Middle-Aged Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Author version made available in accordance with the publisher's policy.The current study used a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled design to investigate the effects of saccharide supplementation on cognition and well-being in middle-aged adults. Participants (N=109; 45 - 60 years) took a teaspoon of a combination of saccharides or a placebo twice daily for 12 weeks (3.6 g per day). Before and after this supplementation period, participants completed alternate forms of standardised tests of cognition and self-report measures of well-being. Significant beneficial effects of saccharide supplementation were found for memory performance and indicators of well-being. The potential for these nutrients to optimise cognitive function and well-being in older adults warrants on-going investigation

Perceived Changes in Well-Being Following Polysaccharide Intake in Middle-Aged Adults

Author version made available in accordance with the publisher's policy.Objectives: There is increased scientific interest in the effects of nutrition on cognition and well-being. Plant sourced polysaccharides play multiple roles in the biological processes required for health and well-being. This study explored the subjective experiential reports of well-being following intake of a plant derived polysaccharide supplement. Design: The study used a 12 week double-blind, placebo controlled polysaccharide supplementation design. Method: 109 middle-aged adults (45-60 years) took a standardised teaspoon of a combination of plant polysaccharides or a placebo twice daily for 12 weeks (3.6 g per day), and completed three, open-ended interviews at weeks 4, 8 and 12. Results: Participants who took the polysaccharide supplement reported significantly more perceived beneficial changes in both physical and psychological well-being, specifically at week 12, compared to those who received the placebo. Conclusion: This study provides a starting point for understanding the perceived beneficial impact of polysaccharide interventions on aspects of well-being. Importantly, as a healthrelated application of polysaccharide science, this research supports the relationship that is emerging between the properties and function of polysaccharides. It is essential that future research assesses the effects of polysaccharide intake on a range of physical and psychological well-being outcomes to further the understanding of structure-function relationships with the aim of enhancing the functional health and well-being of individuals

Exploring interspecies sensemaking: dog tracking semiotics and multispecies ethnography

The domestic use of tracking technology with pets is on the rise, yet is under-researched. We investigate how tracking practices reconfigure human-dog relationships changing both humans and dogs. We question the sensemaking mechanisms by which both humans and dogs engage in context-based meaningful exchanges via the technology’s mediation. We show how an indexical semiotic perspective could inform the development of interspecies technology. Finally, we discuss the methodological issues raised by doing research with animals and propose an interspecies semiotics which integrates animal companions and animal researchers’ accounts into ethnographic observation

Regular group exercise is associated with improved mood but not quality of life following stroke

Purpose. People with stroke living in the community have an increased prevalence of depression and lower quality of life than healthy older adults. This cross-sectional observational study investigated whether participation in regular exercise was associated with improved mood and quality of life.Methods. We recruited three groups of community dwelling participants: 13 healthy older adults, 17 adults post-stroke who regularly participated in group exercise at a community fitness facility and 10 adults post-stroke who did not regularly exercise. We measured mood using the Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale (DASS) and quality of life using the Assessment of Quality of Life (AQoL) scale.Results. Levels of stress and depression were significantly greater in the people with stroke who did not undertake regular exercise (p = 0.004 and p = 0.004 respectively), although this group had more recent strokes (p < 0.001). Both stroke groups had lower quality of life scores (p = 0.04) than the healthy adults.Conclusions. This small, community-based study confirms that people following stroke report poorer quality of life than stroke-free individuals. However, those who exercise regularly have significantly lower stress and depression compared to stroke survivors who do not. Future research should focus on the precise type and amount of exercise capable of improving mood following stroke

Complete reversal of epithelial to mesenchymal transition requires inhibition of both ZEB expression and the Rho pathway

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) induced by Transforming Growth Factor-β (TGF-β) is an important cellular event in organogenesis, cancer, and organ fibrosis. The process to reverse EMT is not well established. Our purpose is to define signaling pathways and transcription factors that maintain the TGF-β-induced mesenchymal state.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Inhibitors of five kinases implicated in EMT, TGF-β Type I receptor kinase (TβRI), p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK), MAP kinase kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase activator kinase (MEK1), c-Jun NH-terminal kinase (JNK), and Rho kinase (ROCK), were evaluated for reversal of the mesenchymal state induced in renal tubular epithelial cells. Single agents did not fully reverse EMT as determined by cellular morphology and gene expression. However, exposure to the TβRI inhibitor SB431542, combined with the ROCK inhibitor Y27632, eliminated detectable actin stress fibers and mesenchymal gene expression while restoring epithelial E-cadherin and Kidney-specific cadherin (Ksp-cadherin) expression. A second combination, the TβRI inhibitor SB431542 together with the p38 MAPK inhibitor SB203580, was partially effective in reversing EMT. Furthermore, JNK inhibitor SP600125 inhibits the effectiveness of the TβRI inhibitor SB431542 to reverse EMT. To explore the molecular basis underlying EMT reversal, we also targeted the transcriptional repressors ZEB1 and ZEB2/SIP1. Decreasing ZEB1 and ZEB2 expression in mouse mammary gland cells with shRNAs was sufficient to up-regulate expression of epithelial proteins such as E-cadherin and to re-establish epithelial features. However, complete restoration of cortical F-actin required incubation with the ROCK inhibitor Y27632 in combination with ZEB1/2 knockdown.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We demonstrate that reversal of EMT requires re-establishing both epithelial transcription and structural components by sustained and independent signaling through TβRI and ROCK. These findings indicate that combination small molecule therapy targeting multiple kinases may be necessary to reverse disease conditions.</p