Coulomb plasmas in outer envelopes of neutron stars

Outer envelopes of neutron stars consist mostly of fully ionized, strongly coupled Coulomb plasmas characterized by typical densities about 10^4-10^{11} g/cc and temperatures about 10^4-10^9 K. Many neutron stars possess magnetic fields about 10^{11}-10^{14} G. Here we briefly review recent theoretical advances which allow one to calculate thermodynamic functions and electron transport coefficients for such plasmas with an accuracy required for theoretical interpretation of observations.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, latex2e using cpp2e.cls (included). Proc. PNP-10 Workshop, Greifswald, Germany, 4-9 Sept. 2000. Accepted for publication in Contrib. Plasma Phys. 41 (2001) no. 2-

Conseil-santé dans la médecine de premier recours, partie 2

Les maladies non transmissibles (MNT, en anglais «non-communicable diseases») ont gagné du terrain dans le monde entier. Les approches de conseil fourni au cabinet médical ont déjà été présentées dans un premier article. Le présent article se consacre aux conditions permettant à ces approches de déployer leur efficacité au niveau de la population. Ceci est illustré sur la base des programmes suisses actuels «Vivre sans tabac», PAPRICA et «Coaching Santé» ainsi que de l’exemple historique «Ça débouche sur quoi?»

Trauma, poverty and mental health among Somali and Rwandese refugees living in an African refugee settlement – an epidemiological study

Onyut LP, Neuner F, Ertl V, Schauer E, Odenwald M, Elbert T. Trauma, poverty and mental health among Somali and Rwandese refugees living in an African refugee settlement – an epidemiological study. Conflict and Health. 2009;3(1):6.Background: The aim of this study was to establish the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression among Rwandese and Somali refugees resident in a Ugandan refugee settlement, as a measure of the mental health consequences of armed conflict, as well as to inform a subsequent mental health outreach program. The study population comprised a sample from 14400 (n = 519 Somali and n = 906 Rwandese) refugees resident in Nakivale refugee settlement in South Western Uganda during the year 2003. Methods: The Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale (PDS) and the Hopkins Symptom Checklist 25 were used to screen for posttraumatic stress disorder and depression. Results: Thirty two percent of the Rwandese and 48.1% of the Somali refugees were found to suffer from PTSD. The Somalis refugees had a mean of 11.95 (SD = 6.17) separate traumatic event types while the Rwandese had 8.86 (SD = 5.05). The Somalis scored a mean sum score of 21.17 (SD = 16.19) on the PDS while the Rwandese had a mean sum score of 10.05 (SD = 9.7). Conclusion: Mental health consequences of conflict remain long after the events are over, and therefore mental health intervention is as urgent for post-conflict migrant populations as physical health and other emergency interventions. A mental health outreach program was initiated based on this study

Use it or lose it! Cognitive activity as a protec-tive factor for cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer's disease.

Because of the worldwide aging of populations, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias constitute a devastating experience for patients and families as well as a major social and economic burden for both healthcare systems and society. Multiple potentially modifiable cardiovascular and lifestyle risk factors have been associated with this disease. Thus, modifying these risk factors and identifying protective factors represent important strategies to prevent and delay disease onset and to decrease the social burden. Based on the cognitive reserve hypothesis, evidence from epidemiological studies shows that low education and cognitive inactivity constitute major risk factors for dementia. This indicates that a cognitively active lifestyle may protect against cognitive decline or delay the onset of dementia. We describe a newly developed preventive programme, based on this evidence, to stimulate and increase cognitive activity in older adults at risk for cognitive decline. This programme, called "BrainCoach", includes the technique of "motivational interviewing" to foster behaviour change. If the planned feasibility study is successful, we propose to add BrainCoach as a module to the already existing "Health Coaching" programme, a Swiss preventive programme to address multiple risk factors in primary care