SOCIAL CAPITAL, MALARIA, AND HEALTH IN SOLOMON

Social capital and health have drawn much attention in public health. Employing three models, this study examines relationships between vertical/horizontal/comprehensive social capital, self-rated health, malaria infection, as well as health-related behaviors/attitudes. In Model 1, odds ratios were calculated to scrutinize the relationships between component variables of social capital and “Self-rated health,” one by one. In Model 2, the variable “Health,” which combined “Self-rated health” and malaria infection, was used in lieu of “Self-rated health” in Model 1. Lastly, Model 3 utilized three composite measures of social capital and examined their associations with health, and health-related behaviors/attitudes. Model 1 highlighted associations between some of the components of vertical social capital and self-rated health, whereas, in Model 2, it was elucidated that some of the constituent factors classified as horizontal social capital have significant relationships with “Health.” The most comprehensive approach in this study, Model 3, found significant associations between: Horizontal Social Capital (HSC) and “Health”; HSC and infection with malaria; and Vertical Social Capital (VSC) and malaria infection. In addition, Comprehensive Social Capital (CSC) and “Health,” CSC and malaria infection, and, finally, CSC and “Feeling threatened by malaria in the community” were found to be significantly associated. In conclusion, the three methods employed in this study indicated some significant associations between social capital (or its components) and health outcomes in general and social capital and malaria infection in particular. It is noteworthy that Model 3 resulted in demonstrating significant relationships between HSC, VSC, respectively on the one hand, and malaria infection, on the other. Hence, developing social capital should possibly help deal with or reduce malaria infection, particularly in nations where other resources are scarce

The coaching behavior scale for sport: factor structure examination for Singaporean youth athletes

The Coaching Behavior Scale for Sport (CBS-S) is designed to evaluate coaches’ involvement in developing athletes, taking into considerations the complex training and competition environment. Although the CBS-S has been used in a number of empirical studies, the factor structure of the instrument has not been examined rigorously. The present study was, therefore, conducted to assess the factor structure of the CBS-S for Singaporean youth athletes. A total of 519 participants completed the CBS-S, and their responses were examined with confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and recent exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM). Both sevenfactor CFA and ESEM models fit to the sample data adequately. In addition, the sizes of factor loadings on target factors were substantial and found comparable between the CFA and ESEM solutions. The findings from this study supported the factorial validity of the CBS-S for the present sample

Preliminary result of the relationship between the breathing frequency and dynamic body acceleration

March 5-6, 2009, Bangkok, ThailandIn this study, the relationship between the breathing frequency and the dynamic body acceleration (DBA) of one hatchery-reared loggerhead turtle Carretta carretta was examined using acceleration data loggers. Two acceleration data loggers (M190L-D2GT, W1000-3MPD3GT, Little Leonard, Japan) were attached on the lower-beak and carapace of a hatchery-reared loggerhead turtle, respectively. Breathing was successfully detected from the angle and depth of the beak-attached data logger and DBA, which has been used as an index of activity levels (Wilson et al., 2006), was calculated from the forward acceleration of the carapace-attached logger. There was a positive correlation between the DBA in the previous dive and the breathing frequency; the relationship was exponential. The result suggests that the number of breaths increased exponentially after a more active dive

Calculation of Radiated Electromagnetic Field from Multi-Pair Cable by Method of Moment

The speed of communication signal propagating on an UTP cable goes high and, the radiated electromagnetic field from an UTP cable may become a problem of EMC. Therefore, the radiated electromagnetic field has been analysed to reduce the field strength. As one of the analysis methods, the method of moment was effective to analyse it and the calculation model for single twisted pair was reported. However, the model for multiple-pair has not yet been cleared. In this report, the calculation model for multiple-pair is proposed. The each twisted pair constructing the cable was modelled to modify the wire radius and the inserting capacitance between wires, and the wire models were assembled to construct the UTP cable. The twist pitch of each pair was considered. The calculation results indicated that the characteristic impedance and the phase constant of each pair were not influenced by the assembly. The radiated electromagnetic field from the UTP cable constructed with four pairs was measured from 0.3 GHz to 3GHz. The investigation results show that the calculation results were almost agree with the measured one and the difference of the twisting pitch did not pay the significant influence to the radiated electromagnetic field.2009 International Symposium on Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC\u2709/Kyoto), July 20-24, 2009, Kyoto International Conference Center, Kyoto, Japa

EFFECTS OF MASSAGE ON POST-EXERCISE MUSCLE STIFFNESS: PRELIMINARY FINDINGS

This study examined the effects of massage on post-exercise muscle stiffness. Six well trained male runners underwent a 40-minute downhill run and had one leg massaged and the contralateral leg receiving a placebo treatment on the rectus femoris (RF) and tibialis anterior (TA). Muscle soreness perception and stiffness were assessed at baseline, post-run, post-treatment, 24,48, 72, and 96 hours post-run. Muscle stiffness of the RF and TA increased and peaked at 24 hours after the downhill run before a gradual reduction in subsequent days. A more rapid recovery (decrease in stiffness) was oberved in the massaged RF compared with the contralateral leg although soreness perceptions were similar between legs for both muscles. Massage might be effective in reducing stiffness of muscles that are larger in size and that experience greater soreness post-exercise

Prediction of Electric Field Strength at 10m Distance Using Emission Source Finding Method

The equipment under test (EUT) was modeled by current sources. The current positions were estimated using the finding method of radiated emission source by electric field strength data alone. The current vectors were determined by the conditions, where Norm (deviation between the calculated electric field and the measured one) was minimized. Using estimated current sources model, the electric filed strength at 10m distance was predicted. The predicted results were compared with the measured data for an imitated equipment and a personal computer. The results indicate that the radiation patterns were similar to the measured ones, and the maximum electric field strength at10m distance was comparable to the measured value and the calculated value on the assumption where electric field decreases in proportion to distance.2004 International Symposium on Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC\u2704/Sendai), June 1-4, 2004, Sendai International Center, Sendai, Japa

Comparison of FDTD and Ray-Tracing Method for Site Attenuation Analysis of Compact Anechoic Chamber

In this paper, the FDTD method and the ray tracing method have been applied to analyze the site attenuation of a compact anechoic chamber in the frequency range from 30 MHz to 200 MHz. For FDTD analysis, half-wave dipole antenna, shortened dipole antenna and EM absorber were modeled by using large-cells, which were larger than the diameter of antenna element and the thickness of EM absorber. For verification, the site attenuation of a compact anechoic chamber was measured and compared with the calculated values through the FDTD method and the ray tracing method. As the results, the calculated values through the FDTD method agreed well with the measured ones within 2 dB and the calculated values through the ray tracing method have larger deviation in the frequency range less than 180 MHz.2004 International Symposium on Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC\u2704/Sendai), June 1-4, 2004, Sendai International Center, Sendai, Japa

Genetic diversity in two sibling species of the Anopheles punctulatus group of mosquitoes on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The mosquito <it>Anopheles irenicus</it>, a member of the <it>Anopheles punctulatus </it>group, is geographically restricted to Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. It shows remarkable morphological similarities to one of its sibling species, <it>An. farauti sensu stricto </it>(<it>An. farauti s.s</it>.), but is dissimilar in host and habitat preferences. To infer the genetic variations between these two species, we have analyzed mitochondrial <it>cytochrome oxidase subunit II </it>(<it>COII</it>) and nuclear ribosomal <it>internal transcribed spacer 2 </it>(<it>ITS2</it>) sequences from Guadalcanal and from one of its nearest neighbours, Malaita, in the Solomon Islands.</p> <p>Results</p> <p><it>An. farauti s.s</it>. was collected mostly from brackish water and by the human bait method on both islands, whereas <it>An. irenicus </it>was only collected from fresh water bodies on Guadalcanal Island. <it>An. irenicus </it>is distributed evenly with <it>An. farauti s.s</it>. (Φ_SC= 0.033, 0.38%) and its range overlaps in three of the seven sampling sites. However, there is a significant population genetic structure between the species (Φ_CT= 0.863, <it>P </it>< 0.01; Φ_ST= 0.865, <it>P </it>< 0.01 and <it>F</it>_ST= 0.878, <it>P </it>< 0.01). Phylogenetic analyses suggest that <it>An. irenicus </it>is a monophyletic species, not a hybrid, and is closely related to the <it>An. farauti s.s</it>. on Guadalcanal. The time estimator suggests that <it>An. irenicus </it>diverged from the ancestral <it>An. farauti s.s</it>. on Guadalcanal within 29,000 years before present (BP). <it>An. farauti s.s</it>. expanded much earlier on Malaita (<it>t</it>_exp= 24,600 BP) than the populations on Guadalcanal (<it>t</it>_exp= 16,800 BP for <it>An. farauti s.s</it>. and 14,000 BP for <it>An. irenicus</it>).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These findings suggest that <it>An. irenicus </it>and <it>An. farauti s.s</it>. are monophyletic sister species living in sympatry, and their populations on Guadalcanal have recently expanded. Consequently, the findings further suggest that <it>An. irenicus </it>diverged from the ancestral <it>An. farauti s.s</it>. on Guadalcanal.</p