120 research outputs found
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR GEOLOGICAL SURVEY REGIONAL GEOLOGY, SEISMICITY, AND POTENTIAL GEOLOGIC HAZARDS AND CONSTRAINTS, OCS OIL AND GAS LEASE SALE 53, NORTHERN AND CENTRAL CALIFORNIA (SALE 53 PART A HELD MAY 28, 1981)
Women’s Situational Coping With Acquaintance Sexual Assault: Applying an Appraisal-Based Model
Drawing on theories of appraisal-based coping, the present study applied structural modeling to examine relationships among personal goal orientations, primary and secondary appraisals of acquaintance sexual assault, and women’s emotional and behavioral responses to it. Based on 415 college women’s reports of a sexual assault experience, the model shows both direct and indirect effects. Assertive, diplomatic, and immobilized responding were each predicted by a unique profile of appraisals and orientations; personal goal orientations and primary appraisals were completely mediated by secondary appraisals. Ways that these findings can facilitate self-protective coping in an acquaintance sexual assault situation, leading to the development of effective, well-tailored self-defense and resistance programs, are discussed
Factors affecting actualization of the WHO breastfeeding recommendations in urban poor settings in Kenya
Poor breastfeeding practices are widely documented in Kenya, where only a third of children are exclusively
breastfed for 6 months and only 2% in urban poor settings.This study aimed to better understand the factors that
contribute to poor breastfeeding practices in two urban slums in Nairobi, Kenya. In-depth interviews (IDIs),
focus group discussions (FGDs) and key informant interviews (KIIs) were conducted with women of childbear-
ing age, community health workers, village elders and community leaders and other knowledgeable people in the
community. A total of 19 IDIs, 10 FGDs and 11 KIIs were conducted, and were recorded and transcribed
verbatim. Data were coded in NVIVO and analysed thematically. We found that there was general awareness
regarding optimal breastfeeding practices, but the knowledge was not translated into practice, leading to
suboptimal breastfeeding practices. A number of social and structural barriers to optimal breastfeeding were
identified: (1) poverty, livelihood and living arrangements; (2) early and single motherhood; (3) poor social and
professional support; (4) poor knowledge, myths and misconceptions; (5) HIV; and (6) unintended pregnancies.
The most salient of the factors emerged as livelihoods, whereby women have to resume work shortly after
delivery and work for long hours, leaving them unable to breastfeed optimally. Women in urban poor settings
face an extremely complex situation with regard to breastfeeding due to multiple challenges and risk behaviours
often dictated to them by their circumstances. Macro-level policies and interventions that consider the ecological
setting are needed
Effectiveness of home-based nutritional counselling and support on exclusive breastfeeding in urban poor settings in Nairobi: a cluster randomized controlled trial
Background: Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) improves infant health and survival. We tested the effectiveness of a homebased
intervention using Community Health Workers (CHWs) on EBF for six months in urban poor settings in Kenya.
Methods: We conducted a cluster-randomized controlled trial in Korogocho and Viwandani slums in Nairobi.
We recruited pregnant women and followed them until the infant’s first birthday. Fourteen community clusters
were randomized to intervention or control arm. The intervention arm received home-based nutritional
counselling during scheduled visits by CHWs trained to provide specific maternal infant and young child
nutrition (MIYCN) messages and standard care. The control arm was visited by CHWs who were not trained in
MIYCN and they provided standard care (which included aspects of ante-natal and post-natal care, family
planning, water, sanitation and hygiene, delivery with skilled attendance, immunization and community
nutrition). CHWs in both groups distributed similar information materials on MIYCN. Differences in EBF by
intervention status were tested using chi square and logistic regression, employing intention-to-treat analysis.
Results: A total of 1110 mother-child pairs were involved, about half in each arm. At baseline, demographic
and socioeconomic factors were similar between the two arms. The rates of EBF for 6 months increased from
2% pre-intervention to 55.2% (95% CI 50.4–59.9) in the intervention group and 54.6% (95% CI 50.0–59.1) in the
control group. The adjusted odds of EBF (after adjusting for baseline characteristics) were slightly higher in the
intervention arm compared to the control arm but not significantly different: for 0–2 months (OR 1.27, 95% CI
0.55 to 2.96; p = 0.550); 0–4 months (OR 1.15; 95% CI 0.54 to 2.42; p = 0.696), and 0–6 months (OR 1.11, 95% CI
0.61 to 2.02; p = 0.718).
Conclusions: EBF for six months significantly increased in both arms indicating potential effectiveness of using
CHWs to provide home-based counselling to mothers. The lack of any difference in EBF rates in the two groups
suggests potential contamination of the control arm by information reserved for the intervention arm.
Nevertheless, this study indicates a great potential for use of CHWs when they are incentivized and monitored
as an effective model of promotion of EBF, particularly in urban poor settings. Given the equivalence of the
results in both arms, the study suggests that the basic nutritional training given to CHWs in the basic primary
health care training, and/or provision of information materials may be adequate in improving EBF rates in
communities. However, further investigations on this may be needed. One contribution of these findings to
implementation science is the difficulty in finding an appropriate counterfactual for community-based
educational interventions.
Trial registration: ISRCTN ISRCTN83692672. Registered 11 November 2012. Retrospectively registered
A General Modeling Framework for Describing Spatially Structured Population Dynamics
Variation in movement across time and space fundamentally shapes the abundance and distribution of populations. Although a variety of approaches model structured population dynamics, they are limited to specific types of spatially structured populations and lack a unifying framework. Here, we propose a unified network‐based framework sufficiently novel in its flexibility to capture a wide variety of spatiotemporal processes including metapopulations and a range of migratory patterns. It can accommodate different kinds of age structures, forms of population growth, dispersal, nomadism and migration, and alternative life‐history strategies. Our objective was to link three general elements common to all spatially structured populations (space, time and movement) under a single mathematical framework. To do this, we adopt a network modeling approach. The spatial structure of a population is represented by a weighted and directed network. Each node and each edge has a set of attributes which vary through time. The dynamics of our network‐based population is modeled with discrete time steps. Using both theoretical and real‐world examples, we show how common elements recur across species with disparate movement strategies and how they can be combined under a unified mathematical framework. We illustrate how metapopulations, various migratory patterns, and nomadism can be represented with this modeling approach. We also apply our network‐based framework to four organisms spanning a wide range of life histories, movement patterns, and carrying capacities. General computer code to implement our framework is provided, which can be applied to almost any spatially structured population. This framework contributes to our theoretical understanding of population dynamics and has practical management applications, including understanding the impact of perturbations on population size, distribution, and movement patterns. By working within a common framework, there is less chance that comparative analyses are colored by model details rather than general principles
Genome of the Avirulent Human-Infective Trypanosome—Trypanosoma rangeli
Background: Trypanosoma rangeli is a hemoflagellate protozoan parasite infecting humans and other wild and domestic mammals across Central and South America. It does not cause human disease, but it can be mistaken for the etiologic agent of Chagas disease, Trypanosoma cruzi. We have sequenced the T. rangeli genome to provide new tools for elucidating the distinct and intriguing biology of this species and the key pathways related to interaction with its arthropod and mammalian hosts. Methodology/Principal Findings: The T. rangeli haploid genome is ,24 Mb in length, and is the smallest and least repetitive trypanosomatid genome sequenced thus far. This parasite genome has shorter subtelomeric sequences compared to those of T. cruzi and T. brucei; displays intraspecific karyotype variability and lacks minichromosomes. Of the predicted 7,613 protein coding sequences, functional annotations could be determined for 2,415, while 5,043 are hypothetical proteins, some with evidence of protein expression. 7,101 genes (93%) are shared with other trypanosomatids that infect humans. An ortholog of the dcl2 gene involved in the T. brucei RNAi pathway was found in T. rangeli, but the RNAi machinery is non-functional since the other genes in this pathway are pseudogenized. T. rangeli is highly susceptible to oxidative stress, a phenotype that may be explained by a smaller number of anti-oxidant defense enzymes and heatshock proteins. Conclusions/Significance: Phylogenetic comparison of nuclear and mitochondrial genes indicates that T. rangeli and T. cruzi are equidistant from T. brucei. In addition to revealing new aspects of trypanosome co-evolution within the vertebrate and invertebrate hosts, comparative genomic analysis with pathogenic trypanosomatids provides valuable new information that can be further explored with the aim of developing better diagnostic tools and/or therapeutic targets
Longitudinal evaluation of hepatic osteodystrophy in children and adolescents with chronic cholestatic liver disease
Composition and Function of Haemolymphatic Tissues in the European Common Shrew
BACKGROUND: Studies of wild animals responding to their native parasites are essential if we are to understand how the immune system functions in the natural environment. While immune defence may bring increased survival, this may come at a resource cost to other physiological traits, including reproduction. Here, we tested the hypothesis that wild common shrews (Sorex araneus), which produce large numbers of offspring during the one breeding season of their short life span, forgo investment in immunity and immune system maintenance, as increased longevity is unlikely to bring further opportunities for mating. In particular, we predicted that adult shrews, with shorter expected lifespans, would not respond as effectively as young animals to infection. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We examined haemolymphatic tissues from wild-caught common shrews using light and transmission electron microscopy, applied in conjunction with immunohistology. We compared composition and function of these tissues in shrews of different ages, and the extent and type of inflammatory reactions observed in response to natural parasitic infections. All ages seemed able to mount systemic, specific immune responses, but adult shrews showed some signs of lymphatic tissue exhaustion: lymphatic follicles in adults (n = 21) were both smaller than those in sub-adults (n = 18; Wald = 11.1, p<0.05) and exhibited greater levels of depletion (Wald = 13.3, p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Contrary to our expectations, shrews respond effectively to their natural parasites, and show little indication of immunosenescence as adults. The pancreas of Aselli, a unique lymphoid organ, may aid in providing efficient immune responses through the storage of large numbers of plasma cells. This may allow older animals to react effectively to previously encountered parasites, but infection by novel agents, and eventual depletion of plasma cell reserves, could both still be factors in the near-synchronous mortality of adult shrews observed shortly after breeding
Implementing precision methods in personalizing psychological therapies:Barriers and possible ways forward
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