The Biggest Problem in Diabetes

An assessment of the big gest problem in diabetes care from the viewpoint of 115 health care profes sionals and 428 diabetic patients was obtained. There was substantial agreement by health pro fessionals and patients alike that diet and diet- related issues constituted the most difficult problem faced by persons with diabetes and by health professionals caring for those persons. These find ings may be important in organizing diabetes patient education and in the selection of research efforts within the overall field of diabetes.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68782/2/10.1177_014572178601200107.pd

Pennsylvania Folklife Vol. 41, No. 2

• The Meetinghouse Connection: Plain Living in the Gilded Age • Paul Wieand\u27s Contributions to Pennsylvania German Folk Theater • Amish Cottage Industries • Aldes un Neies (Old and New)https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/pafolklifemag/1133/thumbnail.jp

Pennsylvania Folklife Vol. 41, No. 2

• The Meetinghouse Connection: Plain Living in the Gilded Age • Paul Wieand\u27s Contributions to Pennsylvania German Folk Theater • Amish Cottage Industries • Aldes un Neies (Old and New)https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/pafolklifemag/1133/thumbnail.jp

Validating an Amharic version of the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) in individuals with leprosy in Ethiopia

Background: Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) has now become an indispensable outcome measure in many randomized clinical trials and other studies. It provides the patient’s voice in measuring health improvement or decline and assessing treatment effectiveness. A validated Amharic version of HRQoL assessment tool was needed for leprosy clinical trials in Ethiopia. The SF-36 was chosen but a validated Amharic version was not available. We describe how this was developed. Methods: The SF-36 was translated from English into Amharic and evaluated for content acceptability in a patient focus group. Back translation was performed. Validity and reliability of the Amharic SF-36 in leprosy affected individuals was tested with 100 patients with leprosy attending the leprosy clinic at ALERT hospital and compared to the Amharic version of the WHOQOL-BREF. Results: Amharic versions of both the WHOQOL-BREF and the SF-36 had good reliability and validity amongst leprosy affected individuals. Internal consistency reliability estimates for each domain/scale exceeded 0.70. The Amharic SF-36 had better convergent and discriminant validity than WHOQOL-BREF in this group of patients. Good known-group validity was seen in both WHOQOL-BREF and SF-36 in leprosy affected patients. The Amharic SF-36 had good inter-rater reliability with seven out of 8 domains scoring above 0.8 in intra-class correlation. Conclusion: This Amharic version of the SF-36 is a valid instrument to measure HRQoL in studies and clinical settings involving leprosy affected individuals in Ethiopia

Inferring the structure of the solar corona and inner heliosphere during the Maunder minimum using global thermodynamic magnetohydrodynamic simulations

Observations of the Sun’s corona during the space era have led to a picture of relatively constant, but cyclically varying solar output and structure. Longer-term, more indirect measurements, such as from 10Be, coupled by other albeit less reliable contemporaneous reports, however, suggest periods of significant departure from this standard. The Maunder Minimum was one such epoch where: (1) sunspots effectively disappeared for long intervals during a 70 yr period; (2) eclipse observations suggested the distinct lack of a visible K-corona but possible appearance of the F-corona; (3) reports of aurora were notably reduced; and (4) cosmic ray intensities at Earth were inferred to be substantially higher. Using a global thermodynamic MHD model, we have constructed a range of possible coronal configurations for the Maunder Minimum period and compared their predictions with these limited observational constraints. We conclude that the most likely state of the corona during—at least—the later portion of the Maunder Minimum was not merely that of the 2008/2009 solar minimum, as has been suggested recently, but rather a state devoid of any large-scale structure, driven by a photospheric field composed of only ephemeral regions, and likely substantially reduced in strength. Moreover, we suggest that the Sun evolved from a 2008/2009-like configuration at the start of the Maunder Minimum toward an ephemeral-only configuration by the end of it, supporting a prediction that we may be on the cusp of a new grand solar minimum

Coordinate regulation of tissue macrophage and dendritic cell population dynamics by CSF-1

CSF-1 drives the homeostatic expansion of macrophages within the growing myometrium of pregnant mice by stimulating in situ proliferation and inducing monocyte precursor recruitment from the blood

Mindfulness-Based Childbirth and Parenting Education: Promoting Family Mindfulness During the Perinatal Period

We present the conceptual and empirical foundation and curriculum content of the Mindfulness-Based Childbirth and Parenting (MBCP) program and the results of a pilot study of n = 27 pregnant women participating in MBCP during their third trimester of pregnancy. MBCP is a formal adaptation of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program and was developed and refined over the course of 11 years of clinical practice with 59 groups of expectant couples. MBCP is designed to promote family health and well-being through the practice of mindfulness during pregnancy, childbirth, and early parenting. Quantitative results from the current study include statistically significant increases in mindfulness and positive affect, and decreases in pregnancy anxiety, depression, and negative affect from pre- to post-test (p < .05). Effect sizes for changes in key hypothesized intervention mediators were large (d > .70), suggesting that MBCP is achieving its intended effects on maternal well-being during pregnancy. Qualitative reports from participants expand upon the quantitative findings, with the majority of participants reporting perceived benefits of using mindfulness practices during the perinatal period and early parenting. Our future research will involve conducting a randomized controlled trial of MBCP to test effects on psychophysiological stress mechanisms and to examine effects on birth outcomes, family relationship quality, and child development outcomes

The Science Performance of JWST as Characterized in Commissioning

This paper characterizes the actual science performance of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), as determined from the six month commissioning period. We summarize the performance of the spacecraft, telescope, science instruments, and ground system, with an emphasis on differences from pre-launch expectations. Commissioning has made clear that JWST is fully capable of achieving the discoveries for which it was built. Moreover, almost across the board, the science performance of JWST is better than expected; in most cases, JWST will go deeper faster than expected. The telescope and instrument suite have demonstrated the sensitivity, stability, image quality, and spectral range that are necessary to transform our understanding of the cosmos through observations spanning from near-earth asteroids to the most distant galaxies.Comment: 5th version as accepted to PASP; 31 pages, 18 figures; https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1538-3873/acb29