Summer Cottage

O SCAR POPHAM stood gazing at the huge Northern Pike mounted above the mantle of the lodge fireplace and read again the plaque\u27s inscription: Taken from Lake Carlana, 1932, by Oscar Popham and sons

Academic and Personal-Social Adjustment Challenges of University of Cape Coast Freshmen

This study was carried out to investigate the common adjustment challenges freshmen in the University of Cape Coast experience during their first year in school, and the coping strategies they used in response to the adjustment challenges. A mixed model research design was used in carrying out the study. A sample of 355 students made up of 235 males and 120 females was selected through purposive and proportional stratified random sampling techniques. Adapted forms of the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (SACQ) developed by Baker and Siryk (1999) and the Ways of Coping Questionnaire (WCQ) developed by Folkman and Lazarus (1988) were used along with a semi-structured interview. Quantitative data was analysed descriptively while qualitative data was analysed thematically. The study found that freshmen in the University of Cape Coast encountered adjustment challenges such as difficulty handling the academic pressure and lack of involvement in social activities. In terms of coping, most respondents adopted Planful Problem Solving strategies which involved planning, concentrating and taking action to resolve issues. It was recommended that university authorities make the timetable of freshmen more flexible to enable them cope with the academic pressure. Keywords: Adjustment, Challenges, Coping, Strategies DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-18-07 Publication date:June 30th 202

Digestive environments of benthic macroinvertebrate guts: Enzymes, surfactants and dissolved organic matter

Hydrolytic enzyme activity, surfactancy, and dissolved organic matter in the digestive lumens of 19 benthic echinoderm and polychaete species were examined, using consistent and quantifiable methods. Enzyme activities were compared with those of extracellular enzymes from ambient sediments. Enzyme activities ranged over five orders of magnitude, with averages decreasing in the order polychaetes \u3e echinoderms \u3e sediment. Highest activities in animals were usually associated with the fluid phase in midgut sections, with posteriorward decreases indicating little export to the external environment. At some phyletic levels, activity correlated inversely with animal size. Hydrolase patterns reflected food type; for example, high lipase:protease ratios in carnivores reflected esterified lipids in their diets. High surfactant activity was found in gut sections having high enzyme activity. Deposit feeders had the most intense surfactancy, including evidence for micelles. While enzymes reflected the biochemical nature of the digestible food substrate regardless of feeding mode (e.g., deposit vs. suspension feeder), surfactants reflected dilution of this digestible substrate with mineral grains. Dissolved organic matter levels were high, with amino acids reaching levels \u3e 1M and lipids commonly 1 g L−1. Among polychaete deposit-feeders, low molecular weight amino acids reflected the composition of the food substrate, but were present at much higher concentrations than could be explained by sediment present in the gut—suggesting longer residence times for fluid than for transiting sediment particles. Deposit feeder digestive fluids are better able to solubilize sedimentary food substrates than are sedimentary extracellular enzymes, owing to either more powerful solubilizing agents or to their deployment in freely diffusing, dissolved form. Gut environments may lead to chemical condensation as well as solubilization reactions

Strategies to Reduce the Harmful Effects of Extreme Heat Events: A Four-City Study

Extreme heat events (EHEs) are becoming more intense, more frequent and longer lasting in the 21st century. These events can disproportionately impact the health of low-income, minority, and urban populations. To better understand heat-related intervention strategies used by four U.S. cities, we conducted 73 semi-structured interviews with government and non-governmental organization leaders representing public health, general social services, emergency management, meteorology, and the environmental planning sectors in Detroit, MI; New York City, NY; Philadelphia, PA and Phoenix, AZ—cities selected for their diverse demographics, climates, and climate adaptation strategies. We identified activities these leaders used to reduce the harmful effects of heat for residents in their city, as well as the obstacles they faced and the approaches they used to evaluate these efforts. Local leaders provided a description of how local context (e.g., climate, governance and city structure) impacted heat preparedness. Despite the differences among study cities, political will and resource access were critical to driving heat-health related programming. Upon completion of our interviews, we convened leaders in each city to discuss these findings and their ongoing efforts through day-long workshops. Our findings and the recommendations that emerged from these workshops could inform other local or national efforts towards preventing heat-related morbidity and mortality

Exposure to Secondhand Smoke in hospitality settings in Ghana::Evidence of Changes since Implementation of Smoke-Free Legislation

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Survival rates of head and neck cancers in Ghana: a retrospective study at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital

OBJECTIVE: Data was collected to evaluate the survival rates of head and neck (conjunctiva, oropharyngeal and non-oropharyngeal) squamous cell carcinomas in Ghana. DATA DESCRIPTION: We provided data on a retrospective review of 8 years (January 2004 to December 2009) survival rate of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs) at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Ghana. The data consist of patient demographic data and clinicopathological findings which includes tumour site, tumour stage and histological grades of the patients. Clinical outcome measurement was death through to January 2013 on record and confirmed from the hospitals birth and death registry department. More than 85% of death cases were confirmed by gender, age, and folder identification numbers from the birth and death registry

Reporting transparency and completeness in trials : Paper 3 – trials conducted using administrative databases do not adequately report elements related to use of databases

Acknowledgments The development of CONSORT-ROUTINE and the present review were funded by grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (PI Thombs, #PJT-156172; PIs Thombs and Kwakkenbos, #PCS-161863) and from the United Kingdom National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Clinical Trials Unit Support Funding (PI Juszczak, Co-PI Gale, supported salary of SM). The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care. Dr. Langan was supported by a Wellcome Senior Clinical Fellowship in Science (205039/Z/16/Z). Dr. Moher is supported by a University Research Chair (uOttawa). Dr. Gale was supported by the United Kingdom Medical Research Council through a Clinician Scientist Fellowship. Dr. Thombs was supported by a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Mainstreaming domestic and gender-based violence into sociology and the criminology of violence

Sociological and criminological views of domestic and gender-based violencegenerally either dismiss it as not worthy of consideration, or focus on specificgroups of offenders and victims (male youth gangs, partner violence victims). Inthis paper, we take a holistic approach to violence, extending the definition fromthat commonly in use to encompass domestic violence and sexual violence. Weoperationalize that definition by using data from the latest sweep of the CrimeSurvey for England and Wales. By so doing, we identify that violence is currentlyunder-measured and ubiquitous; that it is gendered, and that other forms of violence (family violence, acquaintance violence against women) are equally ofconcern. We argue that violence studies are an important form of activity forsociologists

Protocol for a scoping review to support development of a CONSORT extension for randomised controlled trials using cohorts and routinely collected health data.

INTRODUCTION: Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) conducted using cohorts and routinely collected health data, including registries, electronic health records and administrative databases, are increasingly used in healthcare intervention research. The development of an extension of the CONsolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) statement for RCTs using cohorts and routinely collected health data is being undertaken with the goal of improving reporting quality by setting standards early in the process of uptake of these designs. To develop this extension to the CONSORT statement, a scoping review will be conducted to identify potential modifications or clarifications of existing reporting guideline items, as well as additional items needed for reporting RCTs using cohorts and routinely collected health data. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: In separate searches, we will seek publications on methods or reporting or that describe protocols or results from RCTs using cohorts, registries, electronic health records and administrative databases. Data sources will include Medline and the Cochrane Methodology Register. For each of the four main types of RCTs using cohorts and routinely collected health data, separately, two investigators will independently review included publications to extract potential checklist items. A potential item will either modify an existing CONSORT 2010, Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology or REporting of studies Conducted using Observational Routinely collected health Data item or will be proposed as a new item. Additionally, we will identify examples of good reporting in RCTs using cohorts and routinely collected health data. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The proposed scoping review will help guide the development of the CONSORT extension statement for RCTs conducted using cohorts and routinely collected health data

Does Proximity to Retailers Influence Alcohol and Tobacco Use Among Latino Adolescents?

Despite decades of research surrounding determinants of alcohol and tobacco (A&T) use among adolescents, built environment influences have only recently been explored. This study used ordinal regression on 205 Latino adolescents to explore the influence of the built environment (proximity to A&T retailers) on A&T use, while controlling for recognized social predictors. The sample was 45% foreign-born. A&T use was associated with distance from respondents’ home to the nearest A&T retailer (−), acculturation (+), parents’ consistent use of contingency management (−), peer use of A&T (+), skipping school (+), attending school in immediate proximity to the US/Mexico border (+), and the interaction between the distance to the nearest retailer and parents’ consistent use of contingency management (+). The association between decreasing distance to the nearest A&T retailer and increased A&T use in Latino adolescents reveals an additional risk behavior determinant in the US–Mexico border region