Getting ready for the marriage market? The association between divorce risks and investments in attractive body mass among married Europeans

This article explores to what extent married middle-aged individuals in Europe are governed by the risk of experiencing divorce, when shaping their physical appearance. The main result is that divorce risks, proxied by national divorce rates, are negatively connected to body mass index (BMI) among married individuals but unrelated to BMI among singles. Hence, it seems that married people in societies where divorce risks are high are more inclined to invest in their outer appearance. One interpretation is that high divorce rates make married people prepare for a potential divorce and future return to the marriage market

"Practical Knowledge" and Perceptions of Antibiotics and Antibiotic Resistance Among Drugsellers in Tanzanian Private Drugstores.

Studies indicate that antibiotics are sold against regulation and without prescription in private drugstores in rural Tanzania. The objective of the study was to explore and describe antibiotics sale and dispensing practices and link it to drugseller knowledge and perceptions of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance. Exit customers of private drugstores in eight districts were interviewed about the drugstore encounter and drugs bought. Drugsellers filled in a questionnaire with closed- and open-ended questions about antibiotics and resistance. Data were analyzed using mixed quantitative and qualitative methods. Of 350 interviewed exit customers, 24% had bought antibiotics. Thirty percent had seen a health worker before coming and almost all of these had a prescription. Antibiotics were dispensed mainly for cough, stomachache, genital complaints and diarrhea but not for malaria or headache. Dispensed drugs were assessed as relevant for the symptoms or disease presented in 83% of all cases and 51% for antibiotics specifically. Non-prescribed drugs were assessed as more relevant than the prescribed. The knowledge level of the drugseller was ranked as high or very high by 75% of the respondents. Seventy-five drugsellers from three districts participated. Seventy-nine percent stated that diseases caused by bacteria can be treated with antibiotics but 24% of these also said that antibiotics can be used for treating viral disease. Most (85%) said that STI can be treated with antibiotics while 1% said the same about headache, 4% general weakness and 3% 'all diseases'. Seventy-two percent had heard of antibiotic resistance. When describing what an antibiotic is, the respondents used six different kinds of keywords. Descriptions of what antibiotic resistance is and how it occurs were quite rational from a biomedical point of view with some exceptions. They gave rise to five categories and one theme: Perceiving antibiotic resistance based on practical experience. The drugsellers have considerable "practical knowledge" of antibiotics and a perception of antibiotic resistance based on practical experience. In the process of upgrading private drugstores and formalizing the sale of antibiotics from these outlets in resource-constrained settings, their "practical knowledge" as well as their perceptions must be taken into account in order to attain rational dispensing practices

Views on primary prevention of cardiovascular disease - an interview study with Swedish GPs

Background: General practitioners (GPs) have gradually become more involved in the prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD), both through more frequent prescribing of pharmaceuticals and by giving advice regarding lifestyle factors. Most general practitioners are now faced with decisions about pharmaceutical or non-pharmaceutical treatment for primary prevention every day. The aim of this study was to explore, structure and describe the views on primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in clinical practice among Swedish GPs. Methods: Individual interviews were conducted with 21 GPs in southern Sweden. The interview transcripts were analysed using a qualitative approach, inspired by phenomenography. Results: Two main categories of description emerged during the analysis. One was the degree of reliance on research data regarding the predictability of real risk and the opportunities for primary prevention of CVD. The other was the allocation of responsibility between the patient and the doctor. The GPs showed different views, from being convinced of an actual and predictable risk for the individual to strongly doubting it; from relying firmly on protection from disease by pharmaceutical treatment to strongly questioning its effectiveness in individual cases; and from reliance on prevention of disease by non-pharmaceutical interventions to a total lack of reliance on such measures. Conclusions: The GPs' different views, regarding the rationale for and practical management of primary prevention of CVD, can be interpreted as a reflection of the complexity of patient counselling in primary prevention in clinical practice. The findings have implications for development and implementation of standard treatment guidelines, regarding long-time primary preventive treatment

Infectious disease management in primary care: perceptions of GPs

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>It is important to keep the level of antibiotic prescribing low to contain the development of resistant bacteria. This study was conducted to reveal new knowledge about how GPs think in relation to the prescribing of antibiotics - knowledge that could be used in efforts toward rational treatment of infectious diseases in primary care. The aim was to explore and describe the variations in GPs' perceptions of infectious disease management, with special reference to antibiotic prescribing.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Twenty GPs working at primary care centres in a county in south-west Sweden were purposively selected based on the strategy of including GPs with different kinds of experience. The GPs were interviewed and perceptions among GPs were analysed by a phenomenographic approach.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Five qualitatively different perceptions of infectious disease management were identified. They were: (A) the GP must help the patient to achieve health and well-being; (B) the management must meet the GP's perceived personal, professional and organisational demands; (C) restrictive antibiotic prescribing is time-consuming; (D) restrictive antibiotic prescribing can protect the effectiveness of antibiotics; and (E) patients benefit personally from restrictive antibiotic prescribing.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Restrictive antibiotic prescribing was considered important in two perceptions, was not an issue as such in two others, and was considered in one perception although the actual prescribing was greatly influenced by the interaction between patient and GP. Accordingly, to encourage restrictive antibiotic prescribing several aspects must be addressed. Furthermore, different GPs need various kinds of support. Infectious disease management in primary care is complex and time-consuming, which must be acknowledged in healthcare organisation and planning.</p

Analysis of pre-weaning feeding policies and other risk factors influencing growth rates in calves on 11 commercial dairy farms

Growth rates in pre-weaned calves influence their health, age at first calving and lifetime productivity. Many farms restrict milk rations to encourage solid feed intake and facilitate early weaning, but this can compromise growth. This study determined the milk feeding policies and associated growth rates on 11 commercial dairy farms in South East England, each following their normal management regime. Between 26 and 54 heifers were recruited per farm, providing a final cohort of 492, of which 71% were pure Holstein. Information on calf rearing practices (feeding, weaning, housing) and health was collected via questionnaires and weekly observations. Estimates of actual milk fed (kg solids) between 1 and 63 days were calculated for individual calves. Morphometric data (weight, height, length) were taken at weeks 1, 5 and 9 and at a median age of 7.5 months and growth rates were calculated. Most calves were fed milk replacer via automated feeders (four farms), teat feeder (one) or buckets (four) whereas two farms provided drums of acidified waste milk. Farms fed between 4 and 6 l/day of milk at mixing rates of 10% to 15%, providing 400 to 900 g/day of milk solids. Both skeletal growth rates and average daily weight gain (ADG) increased in the second month of life compared with the first: height growth from 0.17±0.14 to 0.25±0.16 cm/day and ADG from 0.48±0.25 to 0.71±0.28 kg/day. Post-weaning heifers up to 7.5 months had height increases of 0.16±0.035 cm/day and ADG of 0.83±0.16 kg/day. From 1 to 63 days 70% of calves had growth rates <0.7 kg/day and of these 19.6% gained <0.5 kg/day. Mean ADG before 9 weeks varied between farms from 0.52±0.30 to 0.75±0.20 kg/day. This was related to the amount of milk fed at both a farm and individual calf level. Increasing the total milk solids fed between 1 and 63 days from 20.4 to 46.3 kg (the 10th to 90th percentile observed) was associated with an increase of 0.11 kg/day ADG. All farms had a wide variation in growth rates despite single feeding policies. Higher circulating immunoglobulin G and IGF1 concentrations were associated with better growth, whereas low temperatures in month of birth, high scores for diarrhoea, respiratory and umbilical disease and large birth size reduced growth. Many commercially grown dairy heifers therefore experienced growth restriction in the pre-weaned period, potentially reducing their health, welfare and productivity

The Social Contagion Effect of Marijuana Use among Adolescents

Research on adolescent substance use has consistently identified a strong relationship between adolescent behavior and the behavior of their peers. However, peer effects are difficult to estimate and causal interpretations must be undertaken with caution since individuals in most cases choose with whom to associate. In this paper we seek to empirically quantify the causal role of peer social networks in explaining marijuana usage among adolescents.Using data from a nationally representative sample of adolescents we utilize a multivariate structural model with school-level fixed effects to account for the problems of contextual effects, correlated effects and peer selections to purge the potential biases from the estimates of peer influence. Our peer group measures are drawn not only from the nomination of close friends (N = 6,377), but also from classmates (N = 19,335). Marijuana usage among the peer groups were constructed using the peers' own report of their marijuana consumption. Controlling for parent level characteristics, and other demographic parameters, we find that a 10% increase in the proportion of close friends and classmates who use marijuana increases the probability that an individual chooses to use marijuana by 5%.Our findings indicate that peer effects are important determinants of marijuana use even after controlling for potential biases We also found evidence to show that the influence of close friends and the more exogenous classmates are quite similar in magnitude under our preferred specification, supporting theory predicting the importance of peer influence. Effective policy aimed at reducing marijuana usage among adolescents would consider these significant peer effects

Heavy quarkonium: progress, puzzles, and opportunities

A golden age for heavy quarkonium physics dawned a decade ago, initiated by the confluence of exciting advances in quantum chromodynamics (QCD) and an explosion of related experimental activity. The early years of this period were chronicled in the Quarkonium Working Group (QWG) CERN Yellow Report (YR) in 2004, which presented a comprehensive review of the status of the field at that time and provided specific recommendations for further progress. However, the broad spectrum of subsequent breakthroughs, surprises, and continuing puzzles could only be partially anticipated. Since the release of the YR, the BESII program concluded only to give birth to BESIII; the $B$-factories and CLEO-c flourished; quarkonium production and polarization measurements at HERA and the Tevatron matured; and heavy-ion collisions at RHIC have opened a window on the deconfinement regime. All these experiments leave legacies of quality, precision, and unsolved mysteries for quarkonium physics, and therefore beg for continuing investigations. The plethora of newly-found quarkonium-like states unleashed a flood of theoretical investigations into new forms of matter such as quark-gluon hybrids, mesonic molecules, and tetraquarks. Measurements of the spectroscopy, decays, production, and in-medium behavior of c\bar{c}, b\bar{b}, and b\bar{c} bound states have been shown to validate some theoretical approaches to QCD and highlight lack of quantitative success for others. The intriguing details of quarkonium suppression in heavy-ion collisions that have emerged from RHIC have elevated the importance of separating hot- and cold-nuclear-matter effects in quark-gluon plasma studies. This review systematically addresses all these matters and concludes by prioritizing directions for ongoing and future efforts.Comment: 182 pages, 112 figures. Editors: N. Brambilla, S. Eidelman, B. K. Heltsley, R. Vogt. Section Coordinators: G. T. Bodwin, E. Eichten, A. D. Frawley, A. B. Meyer, R. E. Mitchell, V. Papadimitriou, P. Petreczky, A. A. Petrov, P. Robbe, A. Vair

C3 Peptide Promotes Axonal Regeneration and Functional Motor Recovery after Peripheral Nerve Injury

Peripheral nerve injuries are frequently seen in trauma patients and due to delayed nerve repair, lifelong disabilities often follow this type of injury. Innovative therapies are needed to facilitate and expedite peripheral nerve regeneration. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of a 1-time topical application of a 26-amino-acid fragment (C3156-181), derived from the Clostridium botulinum C3-exoenzyme, on peripheral nerve regeneration in 2 models of nerve injury and repair in adult rats. After sciatic nerve crush, different dosages of C3156-181 dissolved in buffer or reference solutions (nerve growth factor or C3bot-wild-type protein) or vehicle-only were injected through an epineurial opening into the lesion sites. After 10-mm nerve autotransplantation, either 8.0 nmol/kg C3156-181 or vehicle were injected into the proximal and distal suture sites. For a period of 3 to 10 postoperative weeks, C3156-181-treated animals showed a faster motor recovery than control animals. After crush injury, axonal outgrowth and elongation were activated and consequently resulted in faster motor recovery. The nerve autotransplantation model further elucidated that C3156-181 treatment accounts for better axonal elongation into motor targets and reduced axonal sprouting, which are followed by enhanced axonal maturation and better axonal functionality. The effects of C3156-181 are likely caused by a nonenzymatic down-regulation of active RhoA. Our results indicate the potential of C3156-181 as a therapeutic agent for the topical treatment of peripheral nerve repair sites