Exploring Health Attitudes and Academic-Community Engagement of Faculty at Accredited Schools and Colleges of Public Health in the U.S.

Academic-community collaborations (ACCs) help communities identify health problems/priorities, improve social determinants of health, engage in the design and implementation of projects, and provide students with opportunities to learn outside the classrooms. Extensive research has focused on exploring challenges, facilitators, lessons learned, and best practices for conducting ACCs and engaging in partnerships. Nevertheless, no studies have evaluated the intra-organizational health attitudes of faculty in schools and colleges of public health and their impact on academic-community engagement. Organizational health attitudes matter because these are basic underlying assumptions that can shape the culture of academic-community engagement at schools and colleges of public health. Hence, this study explored health attitudes and academic-community engagement of faculty at accredited schools and public health colleges (SPHs) to assess academic-community engagement through an organizational lens. The study used a sequential mixed-methods study design. The data were collected from a stratified cluster sample of 21 SPHs, using an online survey of faculty members and a 45-minute follow-up phone interview. Spearman rank-order correlations were employed to assess the association between health attitudes, including (value of health interdependence, the value on well-being, emotional connection to the community, and community membership), and academic-community engagement. The total sample size included 147 participants. The majority of participants recognized that social and physical external factors influenced health. More than a third of the participants believed that community investment around five different policies to improve health and well-being was a top priority. Less than eleven percent of participants had a strong emotional connection and membership to their community. There was a weak negative correlation between value on well-being and engagement in population health activities. Interview results showed that lack of leadership support and tenure and promotional process affected both academic-community engagement and the health culture in SPHs. These findings highlight the importance of studying and nurturing health attitudes regarding academic-community engagement, as SPHs with strong health attitudes can lead the way towards a national culture of health

Should Catalonia hold an independence referendum? Four responses from EUROPP contributors

A demonstration in support of Catalan independence from Spain was held on 11 September to coincide with the National Day of Catalonia. With no agreement between the Catalan and Spanish governments over whether a proposed referendum on independence should be held in November, we asked four of EUROPP’s contributors to give their views. Francesc Trillas: “Catalonia should find a better way than a secession referendum to decide about its future constitutional status” Montserrat Guibernau: “Why should Catalans be ‘different’ from the Scots? Are they second-rate citizens?” Joan Costa-i-Font: “An independence referendum is the only solution to the current constitutional conundrum” José Javier Olivas: “This referendum would likely aggravate rather than solve the complex social problems that have emerged during the recent economic crisis

Experts react: Catalan elections

Catalonia held elections on 27 September, with the poll being framed by several parties as a de facto vote on Catalan independence. The final result produced a majority of seats in the Catalan Parliament for pro-independence parties, with these parties securing 47.8 per cent of the votes cast. We asked some of EUROPP’s contributors for their reaction to the result and what it means for Catalonia and Spain going forward. Jonathan Hopkin: “The elections have produced a very complex outcome” Luis Moreno: “The Spanish elections in December will be crucial in determining what happens next” Alejandro Quiroga: “Artur Mas might have more pressing issues than the declaration of independence in the short term” Jose Javier Olivas: “Unilateral solutions, even when they seek to impose the ‘will of the majority’, are unlikely to deliver satisfactory results in the long run” Karlo Basta: “All sides have at least some leverage, and the true commitments of none are fully known, confounding any reliable predictions” Joan Costa Font: “The independence cause has attained an exceptional result, now it is time to either negotiate a referendum or, failing this, prepare for an orderly break up“ Mireia Borrell Porta: “A referendum has now become unavoidable

Visual data mining with self-organizing maps for ''self-monitoring'' data analysis

Data collected in psychological studies are mainly characterized by containing a large number of variables (multidimensional data sets). Analyzing multidimensional data can be a difficult task, especially if only classical approaches are used (hypothesis tests, analyses of variance, linear models, etc.). Regarding multidimensional models, visual techniques play an important role because they can show the relationships among variables in a data set. Parallel coordinates and Chernoff faces are good examples of this. This article presents self-organizing maps (SOM), a multivariate visual data mining technique used to provide global visualizations of all the data. This technique is presented as a tutorial with the aim of showing its capabilities, how it works, and how to interpret its results. Specifically, SOM analysis has been applied to analyze the data collected in a study on the efficacy of a cognitive and behavioral treatment (CBT) for childhood obesity. The objective of the CBT was to modify the eating habits and level of physical activity in a sample of children with overweight and obesity. Children were randomized into two treatment conditions: CBT traditional procedure (face-to-face sessions) and CBT supported by a web platform. In order to analyze their progress in the acquisition of healthier habits, self-register techniques were used to record dietary behavior and physical activity. In the traditional CBT condition, children completed the self-register using a paper-and-pencil procedure, while in the web platform condition, participants completed the self-register using an electronic personal digital assistant. Results showed the potential of SOM for analyzing the large amount of data necessary to study the acquisition of new habits in a childhood obesity treatment. Currently, the high prevalence of childhood obesity points to the need to develop strategies to manage a large number of data in order to design procedures adapted to personal characteristics and increase treatment efficacy

Crane collision modelling using a neural network approach

The objective of the present work is to find a Collision Detection algorithm to be used in the Virtual Reality crane simulator (UVSim®), developed by the Robotics Institute of the University of Valencia for the Port of Valencia. The method is applicable to box-shaped objects and is based on the relationship between the colliding object positions and their impact points. The tool chosen to solve the problem is a neural network, the multilayer perceptron, which adapts to the characteristics of the problem, namely, non-linearity, a large amount of data, and no a priori knowledge. The results achieved by the neural network are very satisfactory for the case of box-shaped objects. Furthermore, the computational burden is independent from the object positions and how the surfaces are modelled; hence, it is suitable for the real-time requirements of the application and outperforms the computational burden of other classical methods. The model proposed is currently being used and validated in the UVSim Gantry Crane simulator

Impact of the foliar application of magnesium nanofertilizer on physiological and biochemical parameters and yield in green beans

One of the most significant challenges humanity will face is food production. In order to preserve the output, mineral fertilizers are essential. However, it's not a suitable option in the long term. Magnesium is a crucial macronutrient, but it is the most limiting element in agriculture. Nanotechnology, with the implementation of nanofertilizers, is an excellent alternative since it provides nutrients, supports growth, and improves production; this in low amounts is more sustainable than conventional fertilizers. Although there is a piece of limited information regarding the proper foliar application of this macronutrient, the study helped to validate the effect of the foliar application of Magnesium nano fertilizer on the physiological, biochemical responses and yield of bean plants. Bean plants ejotero cv. ‘Strike’ and magnesium nanoparticles were applied at doses of 0, 50, 100, and 200 ppm. The biomass accumulation, yield, activity of the enzyme nitrate reductase, and photosynthetic pigments were evaluated. The foliar application of Mg nanoparticles at 50 ppm generated the highest amount of biomass and photosynthetic pigments. The 100 ppm dose improved pods yield and allowed the increased activity of the Nitrate Reductase enzyme. The results obtained suggest that, when increasing the dose of magnesium in plants, the amount of carotenes decreases

Estudio del Síndrome de apnea-hipopnea del sueño y la resistencia a la insulina

El nostre objectiu fou analitzar la prevalença de la resistència a la insulina (RI) en una cohort de pacients amb síndrome d'apnea-hipopnea de la son (SAHS) sota la hipòtesi que el SAHS és un factor de risc independent per al desenvolupament de RI. Realitzarem un estudi prospectiu transversal incloent-hi pacients consecutius diagnosticats de SAHS. Estudiarem les diferències entre pacients SAHS amb i sense RI. Incloem 103 pacients (73,8% homes). El 46,7% (n=42) tenien RI, i aquest grup va tenir major IMC i paràmetres més greus d'hipòxia intermitent nocturna. Els factors de risc independents per a la RI van ser l'IMC i l'ODINuestro objetivo fue analizar la prevalencia de la resistencia a la insulina (RI) en una cohorte de pacientes con síndrome de apnea-hipopnea del sueño (SAHS) bajo la hipótesis de que el SAHS es un factor de riesgo independiente para el desarrollo de RI. Realizamos un estudio prospectivo transversal incluyendo pacientes consecutivos diagnosticados de SAHS. Estudiamos las diferencias entre pacientes SAHS con y sin RI. Incluímos 103 pacientes (73,8% hombres). El 46,7% (n=42) tenían RI, y éste grupo tuvo mayor IMC y parámetros de mayor gravedad de hipoxia intermitente nocturna. Los factores de riesgo independientes para la RI fueron el IMC y el ODI