Reducing Health Inequalities in Aging Through Policy Frameworks and Interventions

Lifepath, a European Commission Horizon 2020 programme of research adopted a life course approach to understanding the impacts of socioeconomic differences on healthy aging and considered the relative importance of lifetime effects by comparing studies on childhood and adult risks. A key component of the programme was the identification of policy relevant results and messages. Longitudinal European cohorts of over 1.7 million individuals from 48 independent cohort studies were harmonized and followed for the key outcomes of mortality and functional decline. Biological markers, allostatic load, and DNA methylation were also examined to help unravel the impact of socioeconomic factors including education, occupation, or income on aging. It is well-recognized that socioeconomic position affects behaviors such as smoking, high alcohol consumption, low physical activity, and a diet low in fruit and vegetables. Lifepath indicated that socioeconomic status is an independent risk factor for death and disease but that it also helps drive the uptake of these well-recognized risk behaviors. The evidence from Lifepath points to a suite of possible policies, some universal, some targeted but it was not possible to assess specific interventions, other than conditional cash transfers, or to explore how interventions might be effective in reducing health inequalities in aging. Nevertheless, it was clear that the timing of interventions is important as the consequences of early interventions may span the whole life course. These influences have important implications for policy making, since appropriate policies can reverse the embodiment of socioeconomic disadvantage, thus reducing health inequalities and resulting in healthier aging. Applying principles of proportional universalism as one approach to reducing inequalities should be considered

Effects of oral versus intra-muscular iron on the preweaning performance and hematology of swine

Sixteen Duroc sows bred to Yorkshire boars and their litters (127 York x Duroc piglets) from the winter farrowing, January, 1976, were used during this study. Hematological and performance data were collected on the piglets and analyzed to determine the effectiveness of the administration of iron, either orally or parenterally. At the beginning of the trial, the sows were randomly allotted to one of four different treatments: (1) control; (2) Crete Koate; (3) iron-dextran, and (4) a combination of treatments (2) and (3). All the piglets remained in confinement throughout the study. The piglets were bled at birth, seven, 14, 21, and 35 days of age. Blood analyses were performed on all procedures requiring whole blood on the day the blood was drawn, and at a later date for all tests requiring serum. Each piglet was weighed, checked for knee abrasions, and the pen condition was scored at each bleeding and at 56 days of age. The total amount of creep feed consumed per litter was recorded. The results of this study indicated that there was very little difference between iron-dextran and Crete Koate supplementation in preweaning swine. The hematological parameters and performance traits tested during the study confirmed this fact. In regard to hematological parameters, there were significant differences (P\u3c.05) demonstrated by both types of supplemental iron for hematocrit, hemoglobin, serum iron, total and unsaturated iron-binding capacity, percent saturation of transferrin, mean corpuscular volume and hemoglobin. There were no significant differences in erythrocyte and leukocyte counts or mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration. Of the performance traits tested, those pigs receiving Crete Koate demonstrated a significantly higher (P\u3c.05) total creep feed consumption, average weaning weight per pig, and weekly weights throughout the study. However, there was no significant difference in pen condition or knee abrasions. All those pigs receiving iron-dextran were not significantly different from the controls, with regard to any of the performance traits tested

The Incidence of Inguinal hernia recurrence after Laparoscopic herniorrhaphy - a retrospective multicentre cohort study of patients operated on at a private practice in Cape Town

Includes bibliographical references.The primary outcome will be the incidence of hernia recurrence. Secondary outcomes will be the incidence of post-operative and long-term pain and complications

An Investigation of the Understanding of Concepts in Mechanics by Pupils in Scottish Secondary Schools

The present investigation of pupils' understanding of concepts in mechanics originated from a preliminary study carried out in 1974-76 by Johnstone and Mughol at Glasgow University. Details of this preliminary study are given in chapter 1

The past as a lens for biodiversity conservation on a dynamically changing planet

We are in the midst of a major biodiversity crisis, with deep impacts on the functioning of ecosystems and derived benefits to people (1, 2). But we still have time to pull back. To do so, it is imperative that we learn from plants’ and animals’ pastactions (3, 4). Conservation biology, ecology, and paleontology all emphasize that natural systems must exhibit resilience and dynamic responses to rapid environmental changes (3, 5, 6). Both climate and land-use change have accelerated over thepast decades, underscoring the urgency for increased understanding and action (7–9). The cumulative effects of these disruptions are not additive or systematic; rather, they posecomplex, dynamic environmental challenges to ecological systems (see “dynamic systems” Table 1). With the dramatic ecological effects from climate fluctuations and increasing in stability of the fabric of life (10–12), we anticipate that biota will dramatically shift their ranges, reconfiguring ecological communities across Earth’s natural landscapes (13) (Fig. 1).Today’s most prevalent conservation approaches focus on the maintenance of static reserves. These approaches need to be supplemented by approaches that facilitate dynamic ecological shifts using flexible strategies that involve local stake holders(14–17). In addition, given the magnitude, rates, and complex interactions of anthropogenic and climatic change occurring today, these conservation approaches must beinformed by research that spans time scales to infer likely responses (18). This special feature integrates research from across spatial and temporal scales to explore how ecosystem sand communities function dynamically to respond to large scale environmental change, highlighting proposed solutions for conserving biodiversity on a rapidly changing planetFil: MacGuire, Jenny L.. Georgia Institute of Techology; Estados UnidosFil: Michelle Lawing, A.. Georgia Institute of Techology; Estados UnidosFil: Díaz, Sandra Myrna. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Stenseth, Nils Chr. University of Oslo; Noruega. International Union of Biological Sciences; Franci

Monitoring climate change and child health: The case for putting children in all policies

Climate change is threatening the health of current and future generations of children. The most recent evidence from the Lancet Countdown: Tracking Progress on Health and Climate Change finds declining trends in yield potential of major crops, rising heatwave exposures, and increasing climate suitability for the transmission of infectious diseases, putting at risk the health and wellbeing of children around the world. However, if children are considered at the core of planning and implementation, the policy responses to climate change could yield enormous benefits for the health and wellbeing of children throughout their lives. Child health professionals have a role to play in ensuring this, with the beneficiaries of their involvement ranging from the individual child to the global community. The newly established Children in All Policies 2030 initiative will work with the Lancet Countdown to provide the evidence on the climate change responses necessary to protect and promote the health of children

Synthesis of Chiral Polyaniline Films via Chemical Vapor Phase Polymerization

Electrically and optically active polyaniline films doped with (1R)-(-)-10-camphorsulfonic acid were successfully deposited on nonconductive substrates via chemical vapor phase polymerization. The above polyaniline∕R-camphorsulfonate films were characterized by electrochemical and physical methods, such as cyclic voltammetry (CV), UV-vis spectroscopy, four-point probe conductivity measurement, Raman spectroscopy, circular dichroism spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. The poly aniline films grown by this method not only showed high electrochemical activity, supported by CV and Raman spectrum, but also exhibited optical activity corresponding to the polymer chains as observed by circular dichroism spectra

Clinical credibility and trustworthiness are key characteristics used to identify colleagues from whom to seek information

Aims and objectives To explore the use of information by nurses making decisions in clinically uncertain situations in one aspect of critical care nursing practice (enteral feeding). In this paper, we report the characteristics, which participants identified as important, of the people from whom they sought information for the purpose of making clinical decisions. Background Registered nurses have a plethora of information sources available to assist them in making clinical decisions. Identifying and selecting the best information to support these decisions can be difficult and is influenced by factors such as accessibility, usefulness and variations in quality of the information. Design An instrumental case study design using multiple case study analysis. Method Twenty-two critical care nurses from two intensive care units contributed to the data through multiple methods of data collection including concurrent verbal protocols (think aloud), retrospective probing and focus group interviews. Results Nurses preferentially used colleagues as a source of information when faced with uncertainty about their clinical practice. Most participants placed greater emphasis on evaluating the individual providing the information rather than on evaluating the information itself. Key features used for identifying an individual as a source of information included experience, clinical role, trust and approachability. Conclusion Establishing clearly what clinical credibility means, and to what extent trustworthiness and expertise play a role in the establishment of credibility, is an important debate for nursing. We need to carefully consider what defines the construct of clinical credibility and how this aligns with the concept of clinical currency, to allow clinicians to determine in others the characteristics associated with clinical credibility to access quality information through social interaction. Relevance to clinical practice Processes to focus on determining the quality of information obtained from colleagues should be emphasised. What these processes are and how they could be implemented into clinical practice remains unknown and is highlighted as an area for future research

Plotting the coloniality of conservation

Funding: NORFACE/Belmont Forum (ES/S007792/1).Contemporary and market-based conservation policies, constructed as rational, neutral and apolitical, are being pursued around the world in the aim of staving off multiple, unfolding and overlapping environmental crises. However, the substantial body of research that examines the dominance of neoliberal environmental policies has paid relatively little attention to how colonial legacies interact with these contemporary and market-based conservation policies enacted in the Global South. It is only recently that critical scholars have begun to demonstrate how colonial legacies interact with market-based conservation policies in ways that increase their risk of failure, deepen on-the-ground inequalities and cement global injustices. In this article, we take further this emerging body of work by showing how contemporary, market-based conservation initiatives extend the temporalities and geographies of colonialism, undergird long-standing hegemonies and perpetuate exploitative power relations in the governing of nature-society relations, particularly in the Global South. Reflecting on ethnographic insights from six different field sites across countries of the Global South, we argue that decolonization is an important and necessary step in confronting some of the major weaknesses of contemporary conservation and the wider socio-ecological crisis itself. We conclude by briefly outlining what decolonizing conservation might entail.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe